Comic Book Resources

Artistically Berserk

Berserker artist Jeremy Haun signs a copy of Berserker at Collector’s Paradise.

Geoff Johns

“I won’t be working the registers, but I’ll be in the store to talk about orders and other store business. I really want to learn more about the retail business. I’m invested in it. I want to keep comics going, the direct market going. I want to know what really sells, what people are really excited about.” - Geoff Johns on becoming a direct market retailer.

Earth 2

“I think it’s great that Geoff is buying a comic book store. He’ll be late on his deadlines and make me look better!” - Jeph Loeb

Jeph Loeb

Sterling Gates

While Geoff Johns needs a little help with the register, “Supergirl” writer Sterling Gates is an old hand at this business. His father owned Sooner Books & Comics in Tulsa, OK, and Gates worked at Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, OK, so Sterling at the counter is like riding a bike.

Writers on Writing

Jeph Loeb, Brian K. Vaughan and Jay Faerber are talking about writing. Maybe this post is a spoiler for something?

Mark Waid interrupted a CBR TV interview with Zeb Wells to tell the “Amazing Spider-Man” writer that President Obama was on the phone.

“Later!” said Wells, who wrote the best-selling Obama-meets-Spidey comic. “It’s like having a second girlfriend, it sucks!”

By Fan Request

Thanks to Dennis Culver for suggesting this photo.

Transmission from Earth-2

The CBR TV crew is on site to interview all the creators in attendance. Look for those on the main site soon.

Geoff Johns has finally taken a break from the register and handed it off to Zeb Wells. Wish him luck!

Guests arrive…

James Robinson and Sterling Gates are in the house, preparing to meet fans, sign comics, and provide additional customer support at Earth-2.

Also in attendance is Archaia’s Mel Caylo, Brave New World’s Atom! Freeman, and CBR’s Jonah Weiland.

Geoff tells us he’s never worked retail before, having taken the food service route as a younger man. Earth-2 manager Ricky is patiently guiding Johns through the complicated process of working the register.

Why Not Earth-3?

Retailers Carr D’Angelo and Judd Meyers have a well established and respected Earth-2 location in Sherman Oaks, CA. When asked why the new Geoff Johns-co-owned location in Northridge wasn’t called Earth-3, the gang had this to say:

“It came up. We seriously discussed it. But this is the post-Crisis Earth-2! NEW Earth-2!”

Green Lantern Rings Galore

Geoff Spending Time With Fans

CBR LIVE at Earth-2’s Opening with Geoff Johns

Fans are already lining up outside Earth-2 in Northridge, CA for the grand opening of Geoff Johns’ new comic book store. Waiting for them inside is “Green Lantern” writer Geoff Johns, working behind the register at the new store. It’s been a lifelong dream of Johns’, one of superhero comics’ biggest stars, to operate his own comics store, and Carr D’Angelo and Judd Myers of Earth-2 made it happen when they purchased the Northridge location from Golden Apple Comics.

Stay with CBR LIVE! throughout the day for more from this event, which will include appearances from a number of comics creators.

Tom Neely @ MoCCA

“The Blot” cartoonist Tom Neely sticks to his guns and should be congratulated for it whenever you see him. Also appearing: Dylan Williams of Sparkplug.

Comic Book Comics!

This photo of “Comic Book Comics” creators Ryan Dunlavey and Fred VanLente was probably the only “posed” photo of dudes I took all weekend. I’m a bad photographer.

Hope Larson

Unfortunately, Hope’s new book “Mercury” won’t be out until later in the year. Fortunately, she and her new haircut up MoCCA’s already high cool quotient.

Kate Beaton

She signed my book after I got to her by breaking the human bubble of XKCD fans all around her table all weekend.

The Floor at MoCCA!

Oh man, the floor at MoCCA was so hard to get a good photo of, but I think this shot of “Remake” cartoonist Lamar Abrams chatting someone up was pretty representative of what every aisle was like.

A Visit to Henk Comics in Amsterdam

On May 13th I embarked on my first vacation in almost four years. Where’d I go? Cities I’ve wanted to visit for a long time, Paris and Amsterdam. Now while I could have done a bunch of business while on the trip, this was vacation so we kept the business out of it entirely, but I still couldn’t resist the chance to visit a comic shop or two while in Europe.

On the afternoon of May 16th, I decided to stop by Henk Lie’s Comics and Mangastore in Amsterdam. It was about a 15 minute walk from my hotel near the Red Light District and pretty easily found. Here’s a picture of the storefront.

As you can probably tell by the Transformers, Batman, Spider-Man and Superman stained glass pieces above the door and window, this is an American centric comic shop. It’s tiny, but that’s really not fair to say considering the size of the shops I’m used to in Los Angeles. For Amsterdam, it’s about an average size for a store, but the low ceilings and packed confines of the store meant it was a bit cramped inside.

There was a large selection of Manga, American comics, toys, graphic novels and more back issues than you generally find in an American comic shop these days. The new weekly periodicals could be found on the left hand side of the store, as you walk in. I imagine if I spent an extended period of time in Amsterdam for some reason, this would become my store of choice to pick up my American comic needs. There was a small love seat at the front of the store.

As I walked out of the store, I noticed something interesting.

The store directly next door to Henk’s was a coffee shop named The Jolly Joker, where marijuana and hash and the like can be purchased. I could see New Comics Wednesdays being a far more interesting experience in Amsterdam, that’s for sure.

While I didn’t get the name of the two guys working the register that day (was one of them Henk?), they did point me in the direction of a more European centric comic shop just about five blocks down the road named Go Joker. I’ll share some pictures from that visit tomorrow.

Thanks to CBR Twitter follower @xclame for the suggestion to visit Henk.

Third (and Final) Lichtenstein Poster in Amsterdam

Here’s the third photo I took of this series of billboards found in Amsterdam this past weekend. Question is, can you tell which is Lichtenstein?
In the coming days I’ll post photos of some of my other comics findings in Amsterdam and Paris. I visited two comic shops in Amsterdam and today plan on visiting a few in Paris — in fact, just one block over from my hotel are FIVE manga stores on the same street, plus one American comics shop. And two streets over is another more European centric comic shop. Apparently the Bastille area of Paris really needs their comics.

Amazing Lichtenstein Poster in Amsterdam

Saw this in the Amsterdam Central Train station this afternoon. I’ve got two more photos of different billboards. I love this one particularly because of the Captain America on the bottom right. More good ones to come on Monday and Tuesday and maybe some photos of Parisian comic shops.

Link is to The Stedelijkindestad Museum Web Site, except if I’m reading this correctly it appears it doesn’t open until June 26th.  Too bad.  I’d love to check this out.  If any of CBR’s visitors are from Amsterdam or will be in Amsterdam during this exhibit, please write me.

– Jonah Weiland