Two Great Comic Shops You Should Visit in Belleville, Illinois

I live in the Saint Louis region but right across the river is the state of Illinois. Over in that nearby region is Belleville, and within that town, there are two comic shops that are worth a visit! They are Bigfoot Comics and Collectibles & Cosmic Comics Games and Collectibles. In the past, I met people from both shops at different comic events in the area and thought I would share how their stores are great whether you live in Illinois or don't mind a drive across the river from Missouri.

Bigfoot Comics and Collectibles

I'm friends with the owner of Bigfoot Comics and Collectibles, John Chaffee. I met him years ago through the ToyMan Show and have enjoyed visiting his store on a number of occasions. It is utterly packed to the brim with comics, toys, and other fantastic collectibles. I've heard some people who step into the shop describe it as, "Sensory overload," but in a good way. The store is full of older comics, newer comics, and tons of other cool stuff. Whether you're looking for cheap floppies to enjoy reading or rarer and high-end titles, Bigfoot Comics and Collectibles is a fantastic place to spend some hours digging for snazzy stuff.

Cosmic Comics Games and Collectibles

I met the folks behind Cosmic Comics Games and Collectibles previously at a Quad Con. I told them I would try to get to their store and now I've been able to visit it! At CCGC they get in a variety of new titles that come out weekly and have a good assortment of back-issues to dig through. Their store also has vinyl records for sale--something which I appreciate as a music lover. If you're looking for the newest comic releases or other fun stuff, give them a visit at Cosmic Comics Games and Collectibles!

The Pumpkin Spice Latte is Back for 2022!

I don't care if the calendar still says August. I also don't care if the heat of the Summer has a death grip on much of the World and refuses to cool. I just care that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks! I have multiple posts discussing my affinity for all things pumpkin and pumpkin spice. I love the Fall season (October is my favorite month for many reasons), and I adore pumpkin as a flavor. The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back, therefore it is now Fall. Don't question me on this, just go with it.

DC Comics is Looking Pretty Tone-Deaf in Its Effort to Promote Hispanic Heritage Month

 

UPDATE: DC is going to use the original cover that Jorge Molina did. Thank goodness for that, at least.

Oh, DC Comics, you really stepped in it. In an effort to promote the upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month, DC is doing some themed covers. This is perfectly normal as we've had themed variants for plenty of notable months. However, the actual execution this time has resulted in some problematic optics.

Almost every single cover involves food. The characters eating it, or it being a part of the image. It's a little odd. One really cool cover that was done Jorge Molina did not involve food. As Bleedingcool tells it, "Only the variant for, 'Titans United,' featuring Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, appeared to feature something other than a food theme, homaging La Patria, a painting by famous Mexican mural artist Jorge González Camarena." The original image Molina did is this one:

That's not what DC chose to publish. Some changes were made (Molina has politely expressed he is not a fan), and now the image features Kyle Rayner holding a bag of tamales. Yes, seriously. Have a look:

I mean, what the Hell? A big part of many cultures would be food. It doesn't have to be the only thing though. As Samantha King of Screenrant observes, "Culture and heritage is about far more than food. Though it is one of the most effective ways to bring people together and to begin building bridges, it shouldn't be the sole focus of covers that aim to celebrate so many different cultures." It is reductive. This would be like reducing my Jewish heritage to a bunch of comic covers featuring matzah ball soup. I eagerly await to see what DC does in response to how awkward a look this is.

My Review of, "Anatomy of Comics," is Up at Forces of Geek

I enjoy doing the occasional review of stuff my friends at Forces of Geek think I'll like. They provided me with a fascinating publication called, "Anatomy of Comics," which chronicles various interesting/important/notable comics throughout history. I shared my thoughts on their site and you can read my review over there via this handy link.

August 2022's ToyMan Show Was Splendid!

The last ToyMan Show of the Summer (the next one will be in October) was great fun--as is to be expected! I saw many of my awesome friends and was able to trade for and purchase some goodies. I kicked the show off saying hello to John Chaffee of Bigfoot Comics and Collectibles, he had his usual great stuff for sale! I next said hello to Tim Metzger. I got the entire first, “Kingpin,” mini-series from him for a stellar price!

My good chum Spike of Lost in Space Toys and Collectibles had his usual impressive assortment of toys and collectibles (he’s a hoot too). I chatted with Dustin and Tammy for a bit as well and picked up a copy of the 23rd issue of, “Conan the Barbarian,” from them. This issue features the first appearance of Red Sonja inside! Give it a look:

As I continued exploring the downstairs area of Toyman I was able to chat with Tom from Alliance Comics, Toys, and Games. We talked about a variety of stuff and then I ran into Larry of Bug’s Comics. I also greeted Vince of VK Toys and admired some lovely new stuff he had, including a couple of old precode horror comics in slabs. There were tons of other vendors I didn't know as much, and I loved looking at all the toys, Funko Pops, Legos, movies, comics, and all the other items ToyMan is always packed to the gills with!

I proceeded upstairs after a bit and saw my great friend Jessica Mathews! She spoke with me about all the projects she’s been working on and how busy life has been! I also browsed some more vendors upstairs and got to chat with the always-awesome Lindsay Hornsby of Mega Giganto! She had a variety of her comics and crafted items for sale. I couldn’t help but buy a really cute pin. Here it is:

This ToyMan show was a superb way to close out the month of August! Anytime I visit the show I see so many cool items for sale in basically any fandom you can think of. If you haven’t been to a Toyman show I would encourage you to attend the next one (or any future show that you can)! I know I’m pumped for the October 2nd one! It’ll be the same place as usual, 12365 St. Charles Rock Rd, Bridgeton, MO, 63044. It will run from 9AM-3PM with early bird entry at 8AM. I hope to see you all there in a bit over a month!

This Moon Knight Funko Statue is a New Favorite of Mine

I don't collect a ton of Funko Pops these days, but I always seek out the snazzy Moon Knight ones. There have been these Funko Pops styled to look like they are standing in front of a popular comic that featured a specific character, and Funko/Marvel released a really cool one of my favorite heroes. As you can see above, it is Moon Knight as he appears in, "Marvel Spotlight," #28, his first starring appearance (before that he appeared in other comics such as, "Werewolf by Night," or within the, "Hulk," magazine, but did not get solo billing).

Unfortunately, you cannot take this Pop out of its little statue area without breaking anything (the case is actually a nice harder plastic), but it looks snazzy standing there in front of the artwork it ties in with. This Pop is now proudly displayed with some of my other favorite Moon Knight stuff and I'm happy to have acquired it!

"V-Force: Veterinarians to the Rescue," is a Cute Promotional Comic-Book

I am a fan of odd and quirky comics, you all know that. Hence, when I was at the veterinarian's office for a check-up on one of our cats I spotted an interesting little comic--one which I obviously got a copy of to take home and read. Titled, "V-Force: Veterinarians to the Rescue," it is a publication by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). It centers on a variety of veterinarians in different positions as they help save the day. 

You've got vets on the farm, army veterinarians, and those involved in the food industry (that section was interesting as I didn't realize some USDA inspectors were in fact veterinarians), among others. Written by Matthew Zingale with art by Leo Perez, it is a cute little comic geared towards kids so that they understand how many different kinds of Veterinarians are out there and how they help. 

Obviously, real-life vets don't have x-ray vision or the ability to shrink themselves into the bloodstream, but they use all kinds of tools that allow them to help animals as well as people. "V-Force: Veterinarians to the Rescue," is a clever way to have kids read about vets and how they help us. You can maybe find a physical copy of the comic as your own local veterinarian's office or the comic is available to download for free at the AVMA website here.

The Pokémon Toys/Cards at McDonald's Are Fun

Currently, McDonald's has a Pokémon toy as their little promotional bonus that comes with a Happy Meal. There has been a lot of hype on the internet about it and I figured I would get a toy to see what all the hullaballo was for. The toy is a fun little spinner, a pack of cards exclusive to McDonald's (the Pokémon featured are tweaked a bit for the restaurant chain, apparently), and directions about how to play a game with the cards. Here are the cards I got:

It is all quite cute and admittedly over my head as back in my day when I played Pokémon on the Gameboy or enjoyed the card game there were only 151-ish Pokémon that existed. Now when I check Google it says there are nearly 1,000. Still, kids love and plenty of adults are going nuts over this new batch of cards found at McDonald's too. I like the fun little game that comes with these cards and I hope everyone who wants some of these Pokémon toys can get them!

The Comic-Book Market's Profit Margins Are Getting Ever Slimmer

Comic-book/pop-culture stores operate on a pretty thin margin when it comes to the actual comics. One shop owner told me comics take up the most space at his store for the most little profit compared to trading card games, board games, and so forth. Comics operate under the Direct Market model where stores get a big discount to buy comics upfront and lack the ability to return them if they end up unsold. Now, ever since the distributors of comics went from being a single entity (Diamond) to three in the form of PRH, Lunar, and Diamond, that has made it a good deal messier for shops. All three distributors are under a direct model, but some are easier to work with than others. I've heard from my local stores and read online that the distributor Lunar--the sole option for DC floppies (but not graphic novels, more on that in a minute)--offers some of the hardest terms to meet in minimum orders and the least forgiving percentage of a discount. Brian Hibbs latest, "Tilting at Windmills," article for Comicsbeat discusses just that.

Brian Hibbs is a longtime comic journalist who also owns a comic business and he discusses how with the shoddy discount Lunar offers his store essentially breaks even with comics they sell from DC. He gets the trade paperbacks from PRH because Lunar does a poor job keeping many options in stock, so even if he got more stuff from Lunar it wouldn't be as many graphic novels and it takes a long time for a better discount with Lunar to even kick in. As he says in his last sentence of the article, "I didn’t leave periodical comics. Periodical comics are leaving me." It's a worrying thought that comic stores are going to have to be even tighter with ordering for fear of even making a sale barely helping them survive or losing even more money than before on dead stock if something doesn't sell. One would have hoped more comic distributors would've helped to fix this problem, not exacerbated it.

Television Tuesday: "She-Hulk," Had a Great First Episode

First of all, thank God this show got pretty much all the background/set-up/etc. established and done in the first episode. As much as I enjoyed the Disney+ production of, "Moon Knight," it took forever for the show to properly explain the overall premise and--you know--give us Moon Knight. "She-Hulk," explains everything we need to know in the first episode, and I appreciate that. Jennifer Walters is Bruce Banner's cousin. Through an accident she becomes She-Hulk, she goes back to her job as a lawyer and is a combination crime-fighter and prosecutor. Bam, there you go. We get a chunk of jokes, a good fight scene, and fun is had. 

No insane World-ending stakes as every Marvel production acts like it has to have lately, just some good character moments (Tatiana Maslany is fantastic as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk), a bit of explosive action, and as I said, it is fun. I'm all for a fun legal drama-comedy (or dramedy, as the kids say) that throws in some super-heroics while examining various wild and wacky Marvel characters (as previews have indicated we should be seeing). I know some people online complained it was campy and there are the usual haters who are mad a female is the star of a show (seriously, they're enraged about a lady leading a show and complaining that somehow makes it, "Woke," or, "Feiminist," in a bad way), but I liked this debut episode a lot. I will be tuning in for more!

5 out of 5 stars.