I have a new comic store. And they just made me a loyal customer.
See, here’s the deal, I fell for the whole Countdown to Infinite Crisis hook like a hypnotized lemur. I put them all on my reserve file at my old comic book shop.
I checked back in a while later. I had issues 1 and 3 from one title. Only issue 2 from another. Only issue 3 from a third… it was pretty pathetic. So, I wandered into Hall of Heroes in Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey and ended up talking to the guy behind the counter. He helped me plug most of the holes in all four series… even going to the back room to find some. He pointed out some great titles I’d forgotten to look for (Like “The Defenders”) and was an all-around likeable comic-shop guy. 🙂
Before I knew it, I’d started a new reserve list there and left with plans to cancel my reserve at the old place.
Good enough, right?
Well, first a little backstory…
I’m still sore about the OMAC project series. Issue #3 leaves off and says you have to read three other titles to fill in the gap between OMAC #3 and OMAC #4. I hate that. And I didn’t read it until I already had OMAC #4 in my hands, saying, “Wha–? When did that ha–? What’s going on h–?!”
So I go in to pick up my reserves today, and I get the OMAC #5 and a bunch of other titles.
It’s not till I get home when I find a little something that they threw in for me: The issue of Wonder Woman that was one of the three you needed to read to understand the OMAC gap. A wonderful ish. An ish not in my reserve list, but one I wanted very much.
The guy behind the counter (a different guy) had asked me to check them over to make sure they were the ones I wanted — and I didn, kinda — but I kinda thought it was a formality.
Anyway… Whoever was thoughtful enough to throw that WW issue into my file won over a loyal customer for a long time… and a little plug. If they had a Web site, I’d link it. But suffice it to say, stop in to Hall of Heroes in the Cherry Hill mall. It’s a really swank store with books, T-shirts, figurines, Godzilla stuff… kind of a comic con in a can.
This is going to be so much fun! Dave Kellett and I will be Drawing Anything with our friend Jason Chatfield at 3 p.m. eastern time today. Join us!
https://open.substack.com/live-stream/139523?r=12wah&utm_medium=ios
In and Out of Trouble
When Lightning Lady says she’s thinking about “In and Out,” she’s definitely not talking about burgers. Unfortunately, Angus the Minotaur is still stuck on the food angle — and it’s making for one very awkward (and unintentionally revealing) conversation about what she really wants tonight.
Transcript
Panel 1:
Angus (off-panel, shouting): “Hamburgers?! You want to go out for HAMBURGERS?!?”
Panel 2:
Lightning Lady: “HEY! You just said I don’t have to hide my feelings from you!”
Angus: “Tell me what you wanna do tonight, and I promise not to judge.”
Lightning Lady: “Ok… ok…”
Panel 3:
(Emotion bubble above Lightning Lady shows a Big Boy mascot holding burgers.)
Angus looks concerned.
Panel 4:
(Emotion bubble changes to a Steak ’n Shake logo.)
Angus facepalms.
Panel 5:
Angus: “Gods. You are NOT making this easy.”
Angus: “I don’t like the food at any of those places.”
Panel 6:
Lightning Lady: “I, um… stopped thinking about food three clouds ago.”
(Emotion bubble shows an In-N-Out sign.)
Angus is taken aback.
Alt Text
A six-panel comic featuring Lightning Lady, a blonde superhero in a blue-and-yellow costume, and her boyfriend Angus, a muscular minotaur wearing a white apron. Angus reacts loudly when she suggests hamburgers. She reminds him he said she could be honest, and he encourages her to share what she wants without judgment. As she hesitates, thought bubbles show fast food options like Jack in the Box, Steak ’n Shake, and In-N-Out. Angus grows increasingly stressed, facepalming and admitting he dislikes those places. In the final panel, Lightning Lady claims she stopped thinking about food while still gesturing, with a thought bubble indicating otherwise, as Angus is taken aback.
