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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 10, 2023 18:12:12 GMT -5
I'm a much bigger fan of Steve Ditko's artwork than Jack Kirby's generally speaking, but Kirby's cover for Amazing Fantasy #15 blows Ditko's one into the weeds. There's simply no competition. I'm Slam Bradley. And I endorse this message.
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Post by MDG on Apr 10, 2023 19:11:49 GMT -5
Reading through a book of Frazetta comics about which I'll probably write a bit more in a few days, but I just thought this was worth posting here. Just some set-up: this book includes a bunch of short pieces, often just one page, that Frazetta did for a series called Heroic Comics, which featured 'true life' stories of heroism. Most of the Frazetta bits are either brief accounts of acts of heroism by soldiers who won Purple Hearts of Bronze Stars, or PSAs about the dangers of drugs or how to render first aid. But then there was this one that made me chuckle, but also say, 'wha- huh?' I had a comic that had this same PSA, but printed without color. Apparently it was used several times.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 8:47:41 GMT -5
It’s good to get your perspective, codystarbuck . And, yes, I have experienced both ends of the spectrum and in between. As confusing as it is, here in the UK, Forbidden Planet and Forbidden Planet International are two separate entities. I went into Forbidden Planet once to see if I could order a graphic novel. I asked the guy on the counter if he had a particular graphic novel, but, after barely looking up, he said something like, “If it ain’t on the shelf, mate, I’d try Waterstones.” Great. No offer to even order it? I made sure people knew that Forbidden Planet International wasn’t the same as Forbidden Planet, which had not offered me good service. I went into another comic store once to enquire about setting up a book club. My idea was to tie it into the comic store. Customers would pick the graphic novel up from that store, and the store would advertise the book club meet, which would take place at a coffee shop or somewhere (the store had no meeting rooms). The woman on the counter seemed keen. She took my number and said the manager would ring me. I never got a call. I mean, not only would this graphic novel club be a good social occasion for us comic fans, but with the proviso that you’d pick the book up from the store, it’d bring some £££s to the store, too. (The idea was it’d be arranged via the store) I guess the manager didn’t ring back. Or maybe the store assistant didn’t pass my number on to him. I thought that a book club would be nice, but I also thought it’d be great to set up a Facebook page and give the comic store some free advertising, totally unconditional. Anyway, from what you describe, it sounds like they could have accommodated me. I was not looking for special treatment. But I do have an order with the store. The guy who happened to be passing anyway, and spotted a Swamp Thing figure in the window, is probably not gonna be too irked if he is told to come back. A customer with a regular order, like me, who has to travel six miles to that shop, expected something a bit more accommodating, I confess. They could have accommodated everyone. They chose not to; which I would bear in mind in future dealings. I could understand if you didn't have power to the store, or had something like flooding, or structural issues that prevented you from opening, period....even staffing issues (these days); but, just because you computer system is down? At Barnes & Noble, our registers could function in an off-line mode, if we lost the network. They would store sales information until the network was available again, the upload the sales information to the network. It would auto-approve credit card transactions up to $50 (since it is covered by insurance). For larger sales, we would call for authorization, give them the merchant ID number, the card number and the sale total and they would give us an approval code or a denial. The only issue would be that we couldn't access the B&N Member Card system. If the customer had their card, we applied the discount. If they didn't have it with them, we normally took their word for it, unless it was a high dollar item. If we had no operable registers, we had a "crash kit," with credit card authorization forms, a card imprinter (the old school sliding thing that imprinted the cards info on a carbon), tabulating calculators, and inventory forms to record the ISBNs or UPCs purchased. We then wrote out receipts, from a generic receipt book and stamped them with a store stamp. In 20 years, I think we resorted to that once. Our registers, while in offline mode, could be unplugged and taken to an off-site event, to ring sales. We used to provide retail books for author events at the local public librabry, so they could be signed. We'd haul the books and a register unit out there and hook it all up, ring the sales, then return to the store and plug the register back into the network, where it would upload all of the sales. Once in a great while we got a decline, on a credit card transaction; but, like I said, we were covered for up to $50 in value. Meanwhile, I have run into that situation at fast food restaurants, where they have no electronic payment back-up and usually just drive off to another restaurant that can take my debit card (I rarely carry cash). The fact that they have no back-up is on their franchise owner, who was too cheap to pop for something. Quick update: my LCS e-mailed me to tell me that due to the IT/till issues recently, they mailed Back Issue #142 out to me - with a £3.55 Royal Mail cost. I expected better after years of orders. Not preferential treatment, but perhaps they could have waived the postage costs for this ONE issue as I normally collect my orders. The magazine is £9.99. I’ve been given a PayPal invoice for £12.04. Maybe on this ONE occasion, as it was THEIR fault, they could have rang me and said, “No postal charges for this one issue, Stephen.” I’ve cancelled my standing order with them. The initial IT/till issues left a bad taste in my mouth, but many have told me similar tales over time. They even had trouble setting up an order for me once (IT issues again). Six-mile journeys with today’s fuel costs aren’t fun. There was even a time when they seemed disinterested in ordering a graphic novel for me. And a former employee once told me they NEVER set up the IT for him to get his staff discount. I mean, that should have been doable. As they are not willing to invest in receipt books, have back-up plans, provide a better response to IT issues, or even give an employee a staff discount, I think I am done with them. Regular newsagents around here can’t order in TwoMorrows magazines as they can only order in stuff that’s published in the UK (aren’t TwoMorrows magazines printed in China?). From what I can see on Facebook, quite a few customers made wasted journeys. I’ll end it there. Again, wasn’t looking for preferential treatment, but thanks to their non-response to an IT issue, the magazine has now cost me £12.04.
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 11, 2023 10:46:10 GMT -5
Twomorrows does offer digital editions; so, there is that alternative, though I have no idea how they handle international sales.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 15:41:40 GMT -5
Quick update: my LCS e-mailed me to tell me that due to the IT/till issues recently, they mailed Back Issue #142 out to me - with a £3.55 Royal Mail cost. I expected better after years of orders. Not preferential treatment, but perhaps they could have waived the postage costs for this ONE issue as I normally collect my orders. The magazine is £9.99. I’ve been given a PayPal invoice for £12.04. Maybe on this ONE occasion, as it was THEIR fault, they could have rang me and said, “No postal charges for this one issue, Stephen.” I’ve cancelled my standing order with them. The initial IT/till issues left a bad taste in my mouth, but many have told me similar tales over time. They even had trouble setting up an order for me once (IT issues again). Six-mile journeys with today’s fuel costs aren’t fun. There was even a time when they seemed disinterested in ordering a graphic novel for me. And a former employee once told me they NEVER set up the IT for him to get his staff discount. I mean, that should have been doable. As they are not willing to invest in receipt books, have back-up plans, provide a better response to IT issues, or even give an employee a staff discount, I think I am done with them. Regular newsagents around here can’t order in TwoMorrows magazines as they can only order in stuff that’s published in the UK (aren’t TwoMorrows magazines printed in China?). From what I can see on Facebook, quite a few customers made wasted journeys. I’ll end it there. Again, wasn’t looking for preferential treatment, but thanks to their non-response to an IT issue, the magazine has now cost me £12.04. That's not even "borderline" acceptable IMO, at some point as a seller you have to own up to problems and take care of your customers. To ADD a shipping charge after already inconveniencing you before is the wrong answer. I would not be happy either, I hope you can find a better option going forward.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 15:49:19 GMT -5
You know, their customer service was never the best. As I stated, they couldn’t even set up a discount for one of their own staff. He told me he was waiting forever and it never came.
Years ago, a company made mistakes with shipping something to me, causing a major delay. I received an unsolicited e-mail from an employee, who offered me £10 off my next order. I appreciated that. They didn’t have to do it. They could have taken it for granted. They chose to do that.
Cody’s posts about how his employers have dealt with IT/till issues opened my eyes. Six miles there, six miles back, wasted fuel costs. Now a £2.05 postage cost (bad maths on my part in previous posts, not £3.55, but £2.05). I’ve been using the shop since about 1999. Back issues and current stuff. Feel quite let down. Which is why I have e-mailed them (politely) to cancel my standing order. Maybe I’ll go to the next nearest comic store (in another city but the same county).
Oh well, typical me, I had to choose the day/hour to go into the store when the tills/IT wasn’t working. Rarely seem to be in the right place in life at times, I was a day late when I learnt about an apartment rental recently, I saw the sign but they’d gained a tenant the day before (wish they’d taken the sign down).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 15:57:09 GMT -5
In a way, it feels like some cities’ comic stores have a quasi-monopoly. I have a friend in London, and I’m sure he said that there are a lot of comic stores there.
But when I visited cities such as Brighton and Coventry, well last time I was there, I think they had one comic store only. And when I post “one comic store”, I’m referring to a store that offers new and old stuff. Sure, there are many stores with old stuff in, but sometimes a city will have just ONE comic store for all the stuff people want such as toys, new issues, back issues, etc.
Monopolies are rarely good. Okay, I think it’s good that the council has a monopoly on garbage collection because dozens of competing garbage trucks clogging up roads isn’t good for private houses, so a monopoly is good there. But when the likes of comic stores have a monopoly, I guess it means offering a poor service, doubly so here given TwoMorrows publications aren’t widely available.
This is an anomaly, though. I’ve had good experiences in other stores. Some are very helpful. Just wish there were more of them.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 16:06:52 GMT -5
This is an anomaly, though. I’ve had good experiences in other stores. Some are very helpful. Just wish there were more of them. Like probably all of us, I've had my share of good and bad with various stores. But I'll always remember one particular experience that stood out. Midtown Comics in NYC I've used for both online ordering and was my LCS for some period when I lived there. Many years ago while I was living out of state, I ordered online some back issues and one of them, Outsiders #1 from the 80's, had a ripped out page on the inside. I don't blame them for not catching since the outside looked fine and what are the odds that would be the case. I doubt I paid more than $2 for it, but I contacted them just on principle and they immediately refunded and apologized. So basic no nonsense good service which I appreciated. But then they said, we don't have another copy in stock right now, but we'd like to send you one when we get it in. I was like "sure, that sounds great", and didn't really give it that much thought. They had already refunded, I was good. So a few months go by, I've forgotten about it completely, and then in the mail guess what? I nice minty copy of Outsiders #1 (complete this time). The fact that they cared enough to track a back issue for me that long (and a very low dollar one at that) just to make up for a small mistake speaks volumes of how they valued customers.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 16:15:35 GMT -5
Great anecdote, @jaska.
It’s the little things that matter. I have heard some good things about Midtown Comics. And with your example, that goodwill goes a long way. I’m more likely to recommend a business that has gone that extra mile. But in the case of the LCS I’ve complained about, if anyone is seeking recommendations, I shall be encouraging them not to go to that store. Not out of vindictiveness, but, well, wouldn’t want to send someone miles to pick up an order only to inconvenience them if a till is out of order for five minutes.
I do miss a second-hand comic store over here. It was called Reader’s World. Front room and back room. Front room was UK and US comics, annuals, novels. Back room was magazines, mostly bodybuilding, martial arts, wrestling, sci-fi, film, horror, etc.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2023 13:05:24 GMT -5
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 13, 2023 20:25:27 GMT -5
Hate to see the state of his kidneys!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2023 22:04:13 GMT -5
New exhibit opening at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum on the campus of OSU in Columbus Ohio next month... featuring the art of Raina Telgemeier. If you have kids and are in the area, it is a great way to pique their interest in the museum if they like Raina's work, and possibly introduce them to a wider world of cartooning. Also a great place to discover the wider world of cartooning if your worldview of comics ends with the MU and/or DCU. But they have lots of stuff that appeals to fans of that as well. -M
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2023 4:32:33 GMT -5
Hate to see the state of his kidneys! My late father claimed that he never drank Pepsi or Coca-Cola (I bet he had one, God rest his soul). He claimed that Coca-Cola and Pepsi would damage the lining of your stomach. I’m not sure how true that is, I think moderation is the key!
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Post by Batflunkie on Apr 14, 2023 9:11:15 GMT -5
Hate to see the state of his kidneys! My late father claimed that he never drank Pepsi or Coca-Cola (I bet he had one, God rest his soul). He claimed that Coca-Cola and Pepsi would damage the lining of your stomach. I’m not sure how true that is, I think moderation is the key! Everything in moderation is important. I love Mountain Dew even though supposedly it's made with stuff that's used to make rocket fuel for NASA
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 14, 2023 10:27:33 GMT -5
Hate to see the state of his kidneys! My late father claimed that he never drank Pepsi or Coca-Cola (I bet he had one, God rest his soul). He claimed that Coca-Cola and Pepsi would damage the lining of your stomach. I’m not sure how true that is, I think moderation is the key! In excess, maybe. However, sodas do contribute to ketonuria, where excess amounts of ketones collect in the urinary tract, as well as the sugar content being off the charts, adding to all kinds of health conditions, including diabetes. You can do science experiments where you soak a piece of meat in a cola and see it deteriorate; but, your stomach acids are even stronger and do the same thing. Alcohol is more likely to damage your stomach lining than colas.
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