Comics, Big Stack Of

Went to the comic shop yesterday with some birthday cash in hand and bought a big stack, which is always fun. But before I get into what I bought, I want to relate a little story about the store itself. While I was browsing the new releases, the manager and a staffer came over with the new order book and started trying to figure out what they should be ordering, by looking at what was on the shelves and counting what was left over. The manager actually said, "I wonder how many of those we actually sold?" This store is regarded as the best in Atlanta - possibly because it's the only one I can find inside the perimeter - and the manager didn't have any idea how much they were selling, which means that they were ordering in the dark. Before yesterday, I had not noticed the absence of a POS (point of sale) system, which means they're not using the bar codes on the comics, GN's, and various merchandise they sell to track their inventory. I am not a retailer, but I'm the son of one, and, really, you don't have to be the son of a retailer to realize this is a really bad way to manage your business. Comics retailer Brian Hibbs writes extensively about the benefits and insights gained from using a POS system in his column Tilting at Windmills, so if you're at all interested in this, it's worth checking out.

Now, to the fun stuff - here's what I bought:

• Captain America #48 - Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America has been outstanding, and the Butch Guice art on this arc is the best I've ever seen from him. Really great stuff. Killing off Steve Rogers and bringing back Bucky could have been hokey, but Brubaker's mastery of character has made this a compelling read every month for four years now, and that's quite an accomplishment.
• Daredevil #117 - Another great run on a book by Ed Brubaker, who for my money is one of the top three writers in comics. The Kingpin made his return last issue, and Brubaker, along with artist David Aja, showed us a side of Wilson Fisk that we've never seen. The great runs on Daredevil have always been less about the costume and more about the man inside it, and there's no character in comics with more drama in his life than Matt Murdock. Bad for him, but good reading for us, which is what it's all about.
• Black Lightning #6 - A good updating of the characters origin. I usually buy a comic for the writing, but this one was all about the art, and I don't think I've seen anything finer from Cully Hamner. (Who, in the interest of full disclosure, is a friend.)
• Fantastic Four #565 - I've really enjoyed Millar & Hitch's FF - it's no Ultimates, but it's been entertaining and typically full of big Millar ideas.
• Scalped #26 - One of the best comics currently being published, by writer Jason Aaron and artist R.M. Guera (although this issue is drawn by Davide Furno). Crime stories at their most brutal. I wrote about Scalped extensively here.
• Ex Machina Special #4 - Lost writer/producer Brian K. Vaughn's political fable set in New York, following the exploits of its mayor, the world's first and only superhero.
• Potter's Field: Stone Cold - A follow up to last year's Potter's Field miniseries by creators Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta. Solid crime/mystery comic.
• Batman: Battle for the Cowl #1 - I have to admit I was skeptical about this effort from writer/artist Tony Daniel, which is about the struggle to succeed Batman, who seemed to have perished at the end of Final Crisis. Not the best comics writing I've ever come across, but nevertheless, this was a lot of fun. If you're a longtime reader of superhero comics, it's easy to predict who's going to wind up as the next Batman, even when it's not accidentally leaked (all indications point to Dick Grayson), but the comics geek in me wants to see how it unfolds.
• Wolverine #71 - A continuation of the "Old Man Logan" storyline by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. I've enjoyed it. It's nice to see Marvel do a story which is clearly a stand-alone, non-continuity piece, as part of the monthly series rather than a mini. Of course, there's plenty of in-continuity Wolverine to go around on a monthly basis...
• Wolverine Saga - A free offering from Marvel that appears to be a linear explanation of Wolvie's convoluted history.

A couple of comics fell off my list of regular titles I'm following, including New Avengers and Dark Avengers. I generally really like Brian Bendis' writing, but I'm burned out on these books. I don't really buy the Norman Osborn Dark Reign thing (I've explained why here), and I'm feeling like I've had enough of the Marvel U status quo-changing storylines, which is part of what has made Captain America and Daredevil really appealing. They may touch on this stuff, but they're not about it - they're about the characters, and that's why I keep buying them.

-EB