the stuff inside my head that must get out
archives
Mon, 31 Dec 2007
where have you been all my life?
There's nothing better than fresh pancakes for breakfast, but they are a little labor intensive for some to manage in their groggy morning stupor. And while a frozen waffle may cut it for some, no frozen confection can compare with a fresh short stack of pancakes. The notion of canned flapjacks is so brilliant that I'm kind of amazed it took this long. The future is now!
Fri, 28 Dec 2007
Stan Lee is 85 years old. 'Nuff said.
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Thu, 27 Dec 2007Johnny Chung Lee has developed some pretty impressive demos based on the Nintendo Wii's amazing hardware. This one shows how to use head tracking to create single person VR effects on a regular screen. This guy is an inspiration to nerds everywhere!
Wed, 26 Dec 2007Just watching this brings me back to my youth. Space Ghost was cool and mysterious, but always fought the good fight. The show featured design work by the late, great Alex Toth that made it one of the classiest TV superheroes ever. Add the voice of the great Gary Owens and you've got a great show!
Fri, 21 Dec 2007
IM IN UR MANGER KILLING UR SAVIOR
Check out this hilarious cartoon about a clash of LARPers (Live Action Role Players) at a nativity scene. Then check out this response movie they animated to diss their own video. Pure nerdly comic gold!
Hijinx top 100 graphic novels 2007
2007 was a good year for graphic novels here at Hijinx. Presented here are the top 100 best-selling GNs. A great mix of stuff as usual that shows the diversity of readers here at Hijinx. Have a happy 2008!
- CIVIL WAR TP $24.99
- Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 3 (Star Wars) $6.95
- BOOKHUNTER $15.00
- Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 1 (Star Wars) $6.95
- Watchmen $19.99
- SERENITY TP $9.95
- STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL 7 TP $6.95
- Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 4 (Star Wars) $6.95
- STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL 6 TP $6.95
- SPIDER-MAN BIRTH OF VENOM TP $29.99
- Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 2 (Star Wars) $6.95
- 300 HC $30.00
- Y The Last Man Vol. 2: Cycles $12.99
- LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN BLACK DOSSIER VAR COVER $29.99
- Y THE LAST MAN VOL 9 MOTHERLAND TP $14.99
- ASTONISHING X-MEN VOL 3 TORN TP $14.99
- IRON MAN EXTREMIS TP $14.99
- Y The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned $12.99
- V for Vendetta $19.99
- ULTIMATES 2 VOL 2 TP $19.99
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns $14.99
- STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL 5 TP $6.95
- STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL 8 TP $6.95
- Y The Last Man Vol. 3: One Small Step $12.99
- Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Gra $22.95
- WALKING DEAD VOL 1 DAY GONE BYE TP $9.99
- MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL 6 BLACK COSTUME DIGEST TP $6.99
- WALKING DEAD SORROWFUL LIFE VOL 6 $12.99
- All Star Superman: Volume 1 HC $19.99
- FABLES VOL 9 SONS OF EMPIRE TP (MR) $17.99
- CIVIL WAR ROAD TO CIVIL WAR TP $14.99
- JUSTICE VOL 2 HC $19.99
- MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL 5 DIGEST TP $6.99
- POKEMON MYSTERY DUNGEON GINJIS RESCUE TEAM GN $7.99
- THE COURAGEOUS PRINCESS $14.95
- Cinderella $7.99
- DMZ VOL 1 ON THE GROUND TP (MR) $9.99
- Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art $22.95
- JUSTICE VOL 1 HC $19.99
- CIVIL WAR CAPTAIN AMERICA TP $11.99
- CIVIL WAR AMAZING SPIDER-MAN TP $17.99
- Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm $12.99
- RONIN TP $19.99
- Y The Last Man Vol. 4: Safeword $12.99
- W.I.T.C.H. Graphic Novel: The Power of Friendship - Book
- 1 $4.99
- CRIMINAL VOL 1 COWARD TP (MR) $14.99
- LITTLE LULU COLOR SPECIAL TP $13.95
- Tales Of The Vampires $15.95
- FABLES VOL 8 WOLVES TP (MR) $17.99
- JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED VOL 2 WORLDS GREATEST HEROES TP $6.99
- Batman: Year One (Batman (Graphic Novels)) $14.99
- HELLBOY VOL 7 THE TROLL WITCH & OTHERS TP $17.95
- Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love $14.99
- SPIDER-MAN AND POWER PACK BIG CITY SUPER HEROES DIGEST TP $6.99
- New Avengers, Vol. 4: The Collective $14.99
- Ex Machina: Smoke, Smoke - Volume 5 $12.99
- WALKING DEAD VOL 7 THE CALM BEFORE TP $12.99
- Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers $17.99
- Death Note, Vol. 1 $7.99
- 30 Days of Night $17.99
- 100 BULLETS VOL 11 ONCE UPON A CRIME TP (MR) $12.99
- CIVIL WAR FRONT LINE BOOK 1 TP $14.99
- Jack of Fables: The (Nearly) Great Escape - Volume 1 (Fables $14.99
- HULK PLANET HULK HC $39.99
- The Walking Dead Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars $12.99
- X-23 TARGET X $15.99
- Mega Morphs Digest $1.60
- Bone vol 1 Out From Boneville $9.99
- MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER MAN VOL 1 SINISTER SIX DIGEST $6.99
- Death Note, Volume 8 (Death Note) $7.99
- PRIDE OF BAGHDAD HC $19.99
- ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOL 18 ULTIMATE KNIGHTS TP $15.99
- DMZ VOL 2 BODY OF A JOURNALIST TP (MR) $12.99
- INCREDIBLE HULK PLANET HULK PRELUDE TP $13.99
- HOUSE OF M TP $24.99
- ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 15 MAGICAL TP $11.99
- Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1: Gifted $14.99
- DAREDEVIL DEVIL INSIDE & OUT VOL 2 TP $14.99
- ANNIHILATION BOOK 1 HC $29.99
- DR THIRTEEN ARCHITECTURE AND MORALITY TP $14.99
- Fray $19.95
- NEIL GAIMAN & CHARLES VESS STARDUST TP NEW PTG $19.99
- NEW AVENGERS VOL 2 SENTRY TP $14.99
- BUMPERBOY & LOUD LOUD MOUNTAIN GN $8.95
- The Ultimates 2 Vol. 1: Gods And Monsters $15.99
- Spongebob Squarepants: Tales From Bikini Bottom, Book 3 $7.99
- X-MEN DEADLY GENESIS TP $19.99
- Batman: Hush, Vol. 1 $12.99
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 $14.99
- Batman: The Long Halloween $19.99
- NEW AVENGERS VOL 3 SECRETS AND LIES TP $14.99
- CAPTAIN AMERICA WINTER SOLDIER VOL 2 TP $14.99
- Dark Days $19.99
- AVENGERS AND POWER PACK ASSEMBLE DIGEST TP $6.99
- 52 VOL 1 TP $19.99
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier $29.99
- The Zombie Survival Guide $13.95
- MOUSE GUARD VOL 1 FALL 1152 HC $24.95
- CIVIL WAR WOLVERINE TP $17.99
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Tue, 18 Dec 2007
Have a Patrick Swayze Christmas
This holiday carol from my favorite show is destined to become a classic some day!
Mon, 17 Dec 2007
This is just one little piece of a giant photomosaic of myself I made out of nothing but graphic novel covers. It was super-easy to do with an open source project called metapixel. I've always wanted to make one of these, but lacked the gumption to write it myself because I knew sooner or later someone would do the hard work for me! I took all 8800+ graphic novel covers in my database and ran it through metapixel. It didn't take as long as I thought to generate some pretty impressive images, but they're all too humongous to link to here!
Sun, 16 Dec 2007
thanks for the picks
I'm happy to announce that the new book recommendations at at ComicBookShelf.com are powered by analyzing the patterns of Hijinx book club members. It's all anonymous of course, but the books you buy and read (and earn book club credit on) are also helping others to discover new comics to read and enjoy.
I found out that it's pretty simple to generate fairly good suggestions once you've sold enough, but it didn't take as long as I thought to generate pretty good suggestions. I've had a lot of fun exploring the connections between books, and you might enjoy it too.
There's a lot of talk about online comics and downloading books floating around out there. Call me old school if you want, but I don't see these things ever replacing books 100%. Newspapers and Magazines I can see, but there will always be enough book junkies out there to keep me in business. After I'm dead and gone I give permission to phase out books, but by then it won't matter!
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Fri, 14 Dec 2007
what I want for x-mas this year
Yes, I'm ripping off a joke I saw on the internet a while back, but I'm doing it dynamically thanks to the newly released Google chart API. If you know how to use HTML and link to an image, you can use this, so check it out!
Mon, 03 Dec 2007
Please, don't click on this link unless you want to lose a lot of time playing an addictively simple flash game. Anyone who can tell me why this game is a metaphor for my life wins an extra 10 bonus points!
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Wed, 28 Nov 2007
This article at Forbes.com has nothing to do with comics, except to reinforce the stereotype of the frugal billionaire, popularized by my favorite comic book character, Scrooge McDuck.
It seems like even those with a lot of money realize that it's not the key to happiness. It's more important to define yourself by what you do than by what you own.
I still wouldn't mind a money bin, though.
Mon, 19 Nov 2007Check out this clip from the latest episode of the Simpsons. It features indy comic legends Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman and Dan Clowes signing at the new hip comic shop in Springfield.
It's gratifying to see that the changes the comics retailing business has undergone are being recognized. Now maybe I can stop having to pretend it's funny when a customer compares me to the Comic Book Guy!
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Fri, 02 Nov 2007
Check out the video of the only armed robot in Iraq. They sport a cool acronym for a title: S.W.O.R.D.S. or, "special weapons observation remote reconnaissance direct action system". I guess Killbot was already taken...
Wed, 31 Oct 2007
Alan Moore recites ode to Ditko
It's a pretty well-known fact that the design of Rorschach in Moore's epic book The Watchmen was fashioned after Steve Ditko's character The Question. What's less known is that the character of Rorshach is drawn more from Ditko's later objectivist work Mr A.
Moore even mentions this later when he explains what he had heard what Ditko thought about Rorshach. Moore quotes Ditko as saying "Rorshach is like Mr A. Except he's crazy!"
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Tue, 30 Oct 2007
Check out this New York Times article about real life super heroes in Manhattan. Thrill to the adventures of Red Justice, Direction Man, The Cleanser, Street Hero and The Super, all lonely people on a lonely mission.
Mon, 29 Oct 2007
What I want for Christmas this year
Just in case you were wondering what to get me this year, I'd really love this scale model of Uncle Scrooge's money bin. Click on the link for a full gallery of pics including fully detailed interior floors complete with office space, boobie traps and oodles upon oodles of miniture coins to swim in.
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Wed, 24 Oct 2007
I've been receiving lots of neat little packages in the mail lately full of magical trinkets. Alone, they're totally useless, but if you take the trinkets and arrange them just so, they'll let you tell them what to do. Naturally the first thing I thought to make was a tank.
I built this little puppy from some Tamiya kits I assembled and attached to an Arduino, an open source microprocessor controller board that you can program to do all kinds of stuff. This little guy has no sensors at the moment, but it's got an integrated electronics breadboard making it easy to add sensors and stuff without having to solder.
It's currently being powered by my computer's USB cable, but it can be hooked to batteries or an AC adapter when I'm ready to cut the cord.
Mon, 22 Oct 2007
Please take a moment if you will to vote in the Webcomics Idol poll over there on the internet somewhere. Take a look at all of the entries and vote for your favorite.
Personally, I'm voting for Shi Long Pang by Ben Costa, a young man with a future in comics and great taste in local comic book stores!
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Fri, 05 Oct 2007
giving something back to comics
I'm pleased as punch to announce that until the end of the year Hijinx will donate 10% of all online graphic novel purchases at ComicBookShelf.com to The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and The Hero Initiative which I view as two of the most important comics related charities. If you're not already familiar with the work of these two great organizations, click on their links to find out about the special work they do.
You can also click here to read the official press release.
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Here's a sneak peek at the new Hijinx bookmark designed by Debbie (Bumperboy) Huey. It's double-sided, so click the link to see bigger versions of both sides.
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Tue, 02 Oct 2007
Like something from a fever dream I had when I was 10 years old, here is a mashup of the Adam West Batman characters with dialogue from Frank Miller Batman comics. Beautiful!
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Fri, 28 Sep 2007
dice stacking: useless but way cool
I have no doubt that the young man in this amazing video is the best there is in the world at what he does, but the question remains: is it worth doing?
Thu, 27 Sep 2007
Like some biology lab test gone horribly wrong, here is Kermit the Frog Dissected. It come from yet another obscure but awesome blog I like to read: PuppetBuilding.com.
best comic book store in silicon valley
Confirming what you Hijinx loyalists out there already knew, the Metro has dubbed us The Best Comic Store in Silicon Valley! Check out our listing and those of the other recipients right here.
And thanks to all of you who voted for us. We couldn't do it without you and I promise to keep making this store better than ever!
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Brian Dettmer makes astoundingly beautiful art pieces out of old books by trimming pages and revealing the illustrations inside. Check out this amazing gallery of his work. Thanks to artist extraordinaire Eddie Cambell for pointing this out on his blog.
Mon, 24 Sep 2007
Bearing a shocking resemblance to the Gom Jabbar pain box featured in Frank Herbert's Dune, this box emits a ray that hurts like the dickens without actually doing any harm. Who says we don't live in the future? How long before jet-pack wearing sentinels use these weapons to control what comics we can and can't read? While it would make ordering comics easier, it would make them less fun to read. Anyway, read about the pain ray here.
Wed, 19 Sep 2007
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Tue, 18 Sep 2007
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Fri, 14 Sep 2007
Japan is ruled by nerds (officially)
How nerdy are the Japanese? Not only does it look like their next Prime Minister is a huge comics fan, but he's one otaku who wants to use manga and anime to spread goodwill and Japanese culture around the world. Smart fellers, them nerds.
According to this article in the Wall Street Journal online, shares of companies linked to "nerd products" like manga and anime skyrocketed. Smart fellers indeed.
Mon, 10 Sep 2007
As some of you may know, I've been using Menlo Park's TechShop to laser etch some custom signs for the store. I've also learned how to cast aluminum, MIG welding and how to use a vertical milling machine. I've been having so much fun, I keep forgetting to post pictures of all the cool equipment available at the TechShop facilities.
Luckily for lazy bloggers like me, former chief Macintosh Evangelist and high tech startup guru Guy Kawasaki has already done it here on his blog.
The thing I love most about the place is the emphasis on learning by doing. The classes are just long enough to get you up to speed on the technical and safety aspects of a given set of equipment. After that it's up to you to work on whatever scratches your creative itch in order to master the techniques.
Fri, 07 Sep 2007
Check out the trailer for what looks to be a fascinating documentary that explores the whole "modern art as con game" idea that seems to have been around since the advent of the style. I don't think there are any easy answers to the question, and I'm glad to see that it seems like the movie tries to explore the grey areas. Looks like a winner!
Thu, 06 Sep 2007Don't ask me what they're selling, but apparently it's quite mad.
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Tue, 04 Sep 2007
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Sun, 02 Sep 2007
I was messing around with the laser etching machine over at the Techshop in Menlo Park, making a balsa wood biohazard container when somebody strolled up to me with a bucket full of little missles. He told me they were called lazy dog bombs and that they were developed during WWII but first deployed in Vietnam.
It seems some genius realized that you didn't need any gunpowder if you just dumped your bullets out of a plane. While they weren't explosive, by the time they hit the ground each of these little projectiles was packing the power of a .50 caliber bullet. That's a big bullet. Just getting hit with one of these from 10 feet away would really hurt, now imagine them raining down from the sky at hundreds of miles an hour. Ouch!
Anyway, it turns out the guy who gave them to me turned out to be Jim Newton, former Mythbuster and founder of the Techshop. At that moment, I knew I was home!
Mon, 27 Aug 2007
Remember Shrinky-Dinks? I sure do. Now you can make your own using little more than some markers and an old salad container from the deli. Just make sure it has a little number 6 in the recyling logo and you're good to go! Color and pop in a 350 degree oven for about 10 seconds. Voila!
View Larger Map
It looks like my days of feeling special for being able to make my own custom google maps are over. Now it's as easy to embed custom maps on a page as it is to embed a YouTube video. I'm pretty happy, but I'm also a little surprised it wasn't this easy from the very beginning. This is just the latest in a steady stream of improvements to Google's already impressive mapping system.
I think I'll be using this new feature to do some map posts exploring comic shop penetration in the bay area. I really think there are good opportunities to open new shops, and I'll be blogging a bit about that.
Wed, 22 Aug 2007I can't wait for Forbidden Lego, the book of secret, unendorsed Lego contraptions made by Lego Masters. Diagrams and instruction for building a toy gun that shoots LEGO plates, a candy catapult, a high voltage LEGO vehicle, a continuous-fire ping-pong ball launcher, and other kooky stuff your mom wouldn't want you to make. The official website has a sample diagram and the complete table of contents. This one looks like a winner, and we'll be carrying it for sure!
A terrific time was had by all at our Scott McCloud appearance. Wine flowed and much cheese was eaten. There are very few pictures yet, as I was pretty busy with my hostmaster general duties, but I'm sure a few will pop up.
For documentary evidence of a different sort, try this blog entry by Hijinx irregular, and all around good egg, Matt Doar. Try to contain your excitement as you read his other blog entries about bug tracking, build configuration and source code control. Riveting stuff!
You may also be interested in reading this blog entry from the official Making Comics tour blog. Nice things are said about the store and the event, and I'd have to say it was one of the nicest events we've ever had in the store.
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Thu, 16 Aug 2007Most people have heard of a Rube Goldberg device, but most probably don't know who the man was. Rube was not an inventor, he was a cartoonist whose pictures of insanely complicated devices for accomplishing mundane tasks were popular in the early 20th century. He was a bay area guy, hailing from SF and trained as an engineer at UC Berkeley.
He drew lots of comics for different publications until he finally came up with a character called Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts who created the absurd contraptions of which Goldberg is best know for.
The video I've embedded above is from a Japanese TV show that created a bunch of Goldberg-style devices and set them in motion. Enjoy!
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What's the best comic shop in Silicon valley?
If you're already shopping at Hijinx you know the answer to that
question! Share your knowledge with the world by filling out the
Metro
best of Silicon Valley survey, or by grabbing a copy of the
paper and filling out a ballot by snail mail.
I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, but to not share your love of Hijinx with the world would practically be a crime against humanity. Won't someone please think of the children!
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Wed, 15 Aug 2007One of my customers (who just so happens to be the world's foremost authority on Qbert) told me about this great documentary he saw this weekend at the California Extreme classic video game convention. He said it was awesome, and if this trailer is any indication, he's right!
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The link leads to a recent review on the Candy Blog that really sums up the appeal of this confection, and also talks about some forgotten history. I never knew there was a Bit-o-Choc and even a Bit-o-Coconut. I'd love to try them!
Mon, 06 Aug 2007
Top 20 selling comics the for the week of August 1, 2007
My favorite comic of the week was probably New Avengers Illuminati #4, but it's much harder to pick my least favorite. It's a toss up between the equally lame and superfluous titles: Spider-Man Meets Red Sonja and Marvel Tarot. Marvel Tarot gets the edge as it's not really a comic at all.
- WORLD WAR HULK #3
- THOR #2
- COUNTDOWN #51
- UNCANNY X-MEN #489
- DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN #7
- NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #4
- JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #8
- FANTASTIC FOUR #548
- DETECTIVE COMICS #835
- NEW WARRIORS #3
- NIGHTWING #135
- MS MARVEL #18
- ACTION COMICS #853
- PUNISHER #50
- SUPERGIRL #20
- SHE-HULK 2 #20
- BLACK CANARY #3
- OUTSIDERS FIVE OF A KIND WEEK 1 NIGHTWING BOOMERANG #0
- JONAH HEX #22
- SPIDER-MAN RED SONJA #1
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Fri, 03 Aug 2007
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Wed, 01 Aug 2007
Top 20 bestselling graphic novels for July 2007
As predicted, Bookhunter has surged up the charts to become the #1 bestselling trade at Hijinx by a wide margin. It's always nice when customers listen to your suggestions, but it's even better when they come back an talk about what a good suggestion it was.
The Watchmen made an appearance pretty high on the list as the movie hype is starting to kick in. It still amazes me that any comics reader hasn't read it a long time ago, but it just goes to show how much potential for sales the comics market has.
It looks like the final Ultimates 2 volume spurred sales of the earlier books, which is always nice. I'd like to see another hardcover collecting the last 2 trades or even an omnibus collecting the whole magilla. That would be awesome and I'll bet I could sell more than just a few of them.
BOOKHUNTER
CIVIL WAR TP
ULTIMATES 2 VOL 2 TP
WATCHMEN
CLONE WARS ADVENTURES, VOL. 2
CLONE WARS ADVENTURES, VOL. 3
STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL 5 TP
ULTIMATES 2 VOL 1 GODS AND MONSTERS
CLONE WARS ADVENTURES, VOL. 1
FRAY
MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL 5 DIGEST TP
ULTIMATES VOL 2 HOMELAND SECURITY TP
DEATH NOTE, VOL. 1
FABLES VOL. 9: SONS OF EMPIRE TP
SERENITY TP
CIVIL WAR ROAD TO CIVIL WAR TP
ANNIHILATION BOOK 3 HC
52 VOL 2 TP
SHENZHEN: A TRAVELOGUE FROM CHINA
MOUSE GUARD VOL 1 FALL 1152 HC
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Tue, 31 Jul 2007
Top 20 selling comics the for the week of July 25, 2007
Overall the list was a little lackluster this week, but I'm still enjoying the goofy fun of Mighty Avengers as much as everybody else seems to be. I never thought Bendis could turn around the Avengers franchise as skillfully as he has, but I've been pleasantly surprised.
- MIGHTY AVENGERS #4
- CIVIL WAR FALLEN SON IRON MAN #0
- AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #542
- INCREDIBLE HULK #108
- COUNTDOWN #51
- ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN #6
- IRON MAN #20
- X-MEN #201
- BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #5
- GREEN LANTERN CORPS #14
- BATMAN #666
- ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #44
- SILVER SURFER REQUIEM #3
- TEEN TITANS #49
- WOLVERINE #55
- BLACK PANTHER #29
- ONSLAUGHT REBORN #4
- IMMORTAL IRON FIST #7
- SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #39
- WONDER WOMAN #11
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Fri, 27 Jul 2007
Top 20 bestselling graphic novels for June 2007
Better late than never, here's the top 20 GNs for June here at Hijinx. This month includes our first foray into convention sales, which effected sales more than even I expected. Some books, like The Boys might have sold much, much better, but reorders have been unavailable from the publisher Dynamite Entertainment. This was also the debut of Jason Shiga's Bookhunter at a very respectable #7, but it's rocketing up the July chart as we speak!
FABLES VOL. 9: SONS OF EMPIRE TP
HULK PLANET HULK HC
CLONE WARS ADVENTURES, VOL. 2
MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL 6 BLACK COSTUME DIGEST TP
52 VOL 1 TP
STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL 8 TP
BOOKHUNTER
DOCTOR STRANGE OATH TP
BATMAN: HUSH, VOL. 1
WALKING DEAD VOL 1 DAY GONE BYE TP
CIVIL WAR MARVEL UNIVERSE TP
CLONE WARS ADVENTURES, VOL. 1
ULTIMATES 2 VOL 2 TP
CLONE WARS ADVENTURES, VOL. 3
ASTONISHING X-MEN VOL 3 TORN TP
ASTONISHING X-MEN VOL. 1: GIFTED
BOYS VOL 1 TP
SPIDER-MAN BIRTH OF VENOM TP
CIVIL WAR TP
ANNIHILATION BOOK 3 HC
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Hijinx on list of top independent bookstores in Silicon Valley
Number 1 right now is our neighbor Hicklebee's Children's Books a ranking they richly deserve. I think our rating could be better than #15, but that's up to folks like you!
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Top 20 selling comics the for the week of July 18, 2007
I've decided that this list would be more useful if I only list the top 20 comics each week. If you'd like more data, you can email me and let me know.
Once again my favorite comic of the week was also our top-selling comic. I'm not sure why I care that Thunderbolt Ross think's he can kick the Hulk's butt when the rest of the Marvel U can't, but for some reason I do. This book reads big and dumb, just like it should. Lots of fighting and easily devined motivation for the main characters.
- WORLD WAR HULK #2
- CAPTAIN AMERICA #28
- COUNTDOWN #51
- JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #11
- ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #111
- AVENGERS INITIATIVE #4
- WORLD WAR HULK X-MEN #2
- SUPERMAN BATMAN #38
- ALL FLASH #1
- WORLD WAR HULK FRONT LINE #2
- WOLVERINE ORIGINS #15
- GHOST RIDER #13
- WOLVERINE ORIGINS ANNUAL #1
- THUNDERBOLTS DESPERATE MEASURES #0
- BRAVE AND THE BOLD #5
- FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #22
- NEW X-MEN #40
- ANNIHILATION CONQUEST QUASAR #1
- THE ORDER #1
- ACTION COMICS #852
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Top selling comics the for the week of July 11, 2007
This week's #1 seller was also my favorite comic of the week. I like where Bendis is taking the Marvel Universe, and I've always thought that Skrulls were cool and underused. Stephen Colbert's comic would have come in higher had I not sold out so quickly. Luckily, a lot more are on their way in very soon!
- NEW AVENGERS #32
- COUNTDOWN #51
- JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #7
- GREEN LANTERN #21
- OMEGA FLIGHT #4
- X-FACTOR #21
- NOVA #4
- ULTIMATE X-MEN #84
- SUB-MARINER #2
- PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #9
- SUPERMAN #664
- ANNIHILATION CONQUEST WRAITH #1
- WORLD WAR HULK GAMMA CORPS #1
- EXILES #96
- GREEN ARROW YEAR ONE #1
- NEW EXCALIBUR #21
- BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #7
- SPAWN #169
- FABLES #63
- MARTHA WASHINGTON DIES (ONE SHOT) #0
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Fri, 20 Jul 2007
sidewalk sale pics
If you weren't there, you've probably heard the stories about how awesome our 25th anniversary sidewalk sale went, but just in case here's
some pictures Mario took.
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Tue, 10 Jul 2007
Hijinx does Entertainment Weekly
Check out the July 13th issue of Entertainment Weekly with Optimus Prime on the cover. Page 75 features a brand new list of the top 10 comic books and graphic novels as sold at Hijinx. You read that right, our bestsellers are now a feature in a nationwide magazine! Proving once again that Hijinx customers are trendsetters!
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Warren Ellis just blogged this possible viral marketing campaign from Watchmen the movie. I don't think it really is for the movie, since Jude Law is confirmed to be playing Adrian Veidt, AKA Ozymandias, whose self-help program is on display on this webpage.
Tue, 03 Jul 2007
Comics delayed for Independence Day
We'll be closed Wednesday July 4th in honor of Independence day. Due to the holiday, comics will be shipping on Thursday July 5th instead of Wednesday. Don't piss off Uncle Sam, go celebrate independence!
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Mon, 02 Jul 2007[/topics/games] permanent link
Thu, 21 Jun 2007
|
July will mark my 25th anniversary of comics retailing.
We've had no buyouts or name changes here at XXX's Comics. We didn't close up for a while and then start again. It's been XXX's Comics for the whole 25 years. Others have come and gone, but XXX's Comics remains.
I get a chuckle out of some of my friends that own comic book shops that they recently bought. They are new owners with new business names, yet they are still celebrating a big anniversary. It seems to me that if you want to celebrate 25 years of "Acme Comics", there should have been an Acme comics for 25 years, but perhaps I'm a stickler. |
Thanks again XXX, for calling me out on my heinous misrepresentations. I'm a bad man.
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Tue, 19 Jun 2007
tell the world what we're Worth to you
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Fri, 08 Jun 2007
After looking over his schedule again, Scott McCloud realized that he had no public appearances at all scheduled for the south bay area, only gigs at private companies. Being the man of the people that he is, Scott decided that his one and only public appearance will be an informal meet & greet here at Hijinx Comics!
I was really bummed when he told me he couldn't make it, and now I'm ultra excited about finally getting him inside the store for my customers to meet (and greet, I guess). So keep watching this space, and keep Monday, August 20th at 7:30pm free, because that's our window for meeting (and greeting) Scott!
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Thu, 31 May 2007
ultimate nerd tops even himself
If there's any hobby more nerdy than building robots, it has to be the one where old dudes scour the landscape with metal detectors in order find hidden treasure and discarded soda tabs. Apparently one ultradork has figured out a way to join these two nerdy pursuits into one obsessively geeky waste of time and energy.
Nicknamed Champion the Wonder Robot, the device has so far helped Mr Corney find 200 old coins, including three silver six pence pieces and a Second World War military medical badge. It has yet to help him find a date or anything resembling the respect of his high school rugby chums.
Looks a little like the Hijinx mascot, doesn't he? The boar, I mean...
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spell czech
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
- Author unknown
Sun, 27 May 2007
store closed Monday, May 28th for Memorial Day
In addition,comics will ship on Thursday May 31st instead of Wednesday. Have a happy and safe memorial day. I'll be punching out Hitler.
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Friday May 18th is ride your bike to Hijinx day!
To help celebrate I'm declaring May 18th to also be Ride Your Bike To Hijinx Day. Just ride your bike (or any other human powered conveyance) to the store any time on Friday and get double book club credit on any graphic novel purchase!
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Fri, 11 May 2007
The world of Bookhunter is one in which the retrieval of missing library books often requires deadly force and sharp detective skills. Jason Shiga goes totally over the top with this mix of action movies and bibliophilic delight.
Agent Bay must recover a priceless volume stolen from the Oakland Public Library but ends up enthralled in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a mysterious villain.
If you enjoyed Shiga's previous works like Fleep and Double Happiness as much as I did, you'll be in for a pleasant surprise with Bookhunter as it's his goofiest work yet. Highly recommended and in stock now at Hijinx!
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some graphic novels I'd like to see in print
Despite the explosion of backlist material being reprinted in trade paperback, there are some notable absences. Some of these have been presented in TPB format, but for some reason they are not available, despite the fact that I really want them to be. I also think I could sell a ton of any one of these books if there was a ready supply available. Oh well, here we go:
Miracleman (originally titled Marvelman) is Alan Moore's missing masterpiece. Only available in individual comic book form due to right's issues too long and convoluted to get into here, this is some of Alan Moore's darkest superheroic fiction. Not to mention that he was followed on the book by a fellow named Neal Gaiman that some of you may have heard of.
Bill Willingham's Elementals was a comic ahead of it's time. It was really the first ongoing mature readers superhero comic, predating books like Authority and Stormwatch by a decade. Willingham created a team of mystically powered beings who were all deeply flawed human beings to begin with. This is one worth raiding the convention bins for.
There have been promises of a GN reprinting the original Gumby Summer and Winter Fun Specials that Comico put out in the eighties. With Bob "Flaming Carrot" Burden and Steve "Sam & Max" Purcell writing with top-notch art by Art Adams, these may be my all-time favorite comic books. Perfect for all ages, but the older you are, the funnier it gets.
I'm not sure why Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman isn't still available as a trade, but one can only hope that's temporary. The book is a comedic masterpiece and deserves to be read by many more people.
Speaking of comedy Sam & Max are pure comedic dynamite. While they went on to star in the lucrative world of video games, the freelance police have let their comic adventures lapse out of print. Consequently this hilarious GN fetches almost $150 on Amazon.com.
The Tick was popular enough to get not only a saturday morning cartoon show made, but also a live action TV show as well! Why is it then that his orignal (and I say funniest) medium of comics is forgotten. I can get a DVD box set of the watered down sitcom version but not the orignal comics. That's a crying shame!
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Thu, 10 May 2007
If you're a Disney fan you may want to bid in this auction for an Australian issue military poster promoting the use of prophylactics. Just because he doesn't wear pants doesn't mean the Donald is a dummy.
Mon, 07 May 2007
think global, shop local
For those of you loyal Hijinx customers who support the store despite the plethora of online options, you're doing more good than you think. Check out this article from the Publishers Weekly website.
It explains how supporting your local bookseller does more than just put money in their store, it supports the whole local business ecosystem as well as contributing to the local sales tax base.
Thank you for your support! You're helping to build a better tomorrow.
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Fri, 04 May 2007
Cap returns, we wish he was still dead
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Sun, 22 Apr 2007
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Wed, 04 Apr 2007
25 and loving it
I'm very pleased to celebrate 5 years of self-employment and 25 years of continuous comic sales in Willow Glen. Hijinx opened when I was 6 years old and I didn't even know about it until I was at least 10 and was allowed to ride my bike outside of my immediate neighborhood.
Until that point I was picking up comics at the Li'l Professor bookstore's magazine section and reading a lot of comic strips in the newspaper or in paperback collections. My elementary school closed down after my 1st grade year and we were all transferred from Kirk Elementary to Booksin. This was much closer to old Willow Glen and it was only a matter of time before somebody told me a bout a shop called Mike's Coliseum that sold nothing but comics and baseball cards. A year or so later and I was working there for comics at the age of eleven years old.
This was something pretty new in the early eighties. Comics were just beginning to emerge from the newsstands into their own market place, what we today call the Direct Market. This meant that comics weren't returnable but they were available more reliably and at a better discount. This meant whoever was buying them had to know a lot about them in order to not get stuck with a ton of unsellable product.
But back then, comics were about 60 cents each, so having a few left over to bag and board to sell later at a premium was the order of the day. By having back issues available, retailers could increase their profit margins by having comics after they were out of print and unavailable. This business model is still probably the predominant one in the direct market today, but there is a new model emerging that many new shops employ.
The new model is that of a specialty bookstore focusing on the medium of comics. Instead of collecting old single issues, we concentrate on Trade Paperback collections, also known as graphic novels. This is the major part of the business that didn't exist when this store opened. To an industry focused on collectibles, graphic novel is just another term for a reprint, which is usually not considered as collectible, or "valuable".
That notion is pretty absurd, since there's nothing more valuable to a comics reader than a good story. The better a comic is, the more widely available it should be in order to share that story with as many readers as possible. That's how any other great entertainment industry medium works (apart from performance arts like theater and opera) and that's where the comics industry is headed.
Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with collecting comics or coins or commemorative plates or anything else. The difference is that comics are meant to be read first and possibly collected later. Make sure that you're reading and enjoying what you buy and you can't go wrong.
Thank you all for making my first 5 and the store's first 25 as great as they've been. I owe it all to you!
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Mon, 26 Mar 2007[/topics/arts/comics] permanent link
Fri, 16 Mar 2007
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Mon, 12 Mar 2007
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Fri, 09 Mar 2007
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Thu, 08 Mar 2007I saw this on Mark Evanier's page and it's too weird not to share:
Frank Miller's 300 now in stock
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Wed, 28 Feb 2007I'll be hosting my second annual Wondercon retailer panel at Moscone center in San Francisco this weekend. If you have any interest in the comics industry and what it takes to be a modern comics retailer, come on up and check us out. Here's the official description from the Wondercon program:
11:30-12:30 Comic Retailer Roundtable - Join moderator Dan Shahin (Hijinx Comics) and fellow comic retailers Joe Ferrara (Atlantis Fantasyworld), Joe Field (Flying Colors), Brian Hibbs (Comix Experience) and Ryan Higgins (Comics Conspiracy), for an up to the minute look into the realities of modern comic book retailing. Special focus will be placed on recent industry changes and how retailers are adapting and planning for the future. Room 228
See you there!
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Mon, 19 Feb 2007Rob Liefeld is here to ramble incoherently about it:
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Sat, 17 Feb 2007
wheel of food
The Wheel of Food is perfect for indecisive people. Just enter your zipcode and you'll get a cool interface for randomly picking one.
I love prestidigitation, particularly the close up kind that skilled practitioners can do right in front of you. Thanks to the modern day miracle of YouTube you can check out lots of cool coin and card tricks, and I'm always on the lookout for fresh variations based on mastery of the basic moves. Kind of like the following:
In our never-ending efforts to improve our website, Hijinx Comics is proud to announce our new weekly RSS feed of new comics! Now you can have up to the minute info on all of the new comics and trade paperbacks shipping every week. Enjoy!
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Tue, 30 Jan 2007
My oldest friend Joey McCloud (of the clan McCloud) just sent me a link to his new blog which may just be the best blog ever: I Love Nacho Cheese. It's fun and informative, as long as you want to know about nachos. Seriously.
Mon, 29 Jan 2007Reading Scott Adams' Dilbert Blog is quickly becoming one of my favorite ways to waste time. His most recent post is about mild superpowers. Mine is the ability to tell everything about a person based on their comic preferences. For instance, if you like Dilbert, clearly you're clearly more of a verbal person than a visual one. If you like Cathy, you need to seek help immediately.
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Fri, 19 Jan 2007
I'm back from my first pure vacation in quite some time, and boy, did I ever need one! Since my good friend Steve was headed to Vegas for a little gambling, I decided to drive down and meet him and join in on the fun. Since my brother Jack lives in Vegas I could do it all on the cheap and get some much needed R&R. I loaded up my Ipod shuffle with tunes by Ray Charles, Tom Waits and Beck, and hit the road on Wednesday morning, thus breaking my Cal Ripken like streak of new comics days.
The trip down was smooth as silk, with my trusty Subaru performing like the champ she is. I made it into time just to slide into the 3:00 no limit Texas Hold 'em tournament at the Golden Nugget down on the old strip. It was my first ever real tourney against strangers, but I managed to make the final table and finish in 8th place out of 38, so I was hungry for more action.
Unfortunately, the next day was a disaster as I lost 3 straight tournaments to bad beats. In back to back tourneys I was all in against a weak player with pocket kings, once against pocket 10s and once against ace king, and both times the other player caught their miracle cards on the flop, trouncing hours of careful play and patience with the help of Dame Fortune. I came home to my brother's house a broken man. I hated Las Vegas, I hated poker, but most of all I hated myself for getting cracked like that by terrible players.
Somehow I still managed to make it to one more tournament the next day, but was ground down into nothing with bad cards. By the time I had a somewhat playable hand (queen ten), I was all in against the big blind who called me with jack nine. Once again I was the favorite going into the flop, but once again fate smiled her cruel grimace in my direction and my opponent caught a jack. I was beaten again with the best cards, but this time I knew I had a secret weapon in case I lost: I was going to see Prince at 3121 that night!
Yes, I knew that no matter how low I might have felt, I was going to see a huge star give a great show in a very small venue. Just before the curtain opened I commented to my friends that the only time I had seen such a big name at such a small club was when I saw Maceo Parker perform at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco years ago, and it was one of the best musical performances I'd ever experienced. Suddenly the curtain opens, and behind Prince on a catwalk is none other than Maceo Parker himself, rounding out Prince's all-star band with his fantastic sax!
The show was pure dynamite, with Prince strutting around the entire club, giving face time to all of his fans. He then started pulling audience members up on stage to sing and dance, very much like Maceo's shows. The entire performance was so much fun I practically forgot about my gambling shenanigans and ended up crashing at Steve's luxurious digs in scenic Lake Las Vegas.
The next day we hit up the Pinball Hall of Fame over by UNLV. Not only was it the biggest selection of well-maintained tables I'd ever seen, they were all classics and one dollar got three plays on some of my favorite machines. I played Banzai Run for hours, bringing me back to my misspent youth at the Lil Grocer's arcade across from the Rosicrucian Museum. There was even a little comic shop in the same shopping center and I got to meet the owner who was one of those interesting Nevada characters you meet.
All in all I had a great time and I can't wait for my next trip when I'm determined to see some world-class comedy and/or magic acts, as well as getting my revenge at the poker tables!
Tue, 09 Jan 2007
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Mon, 01 Jan 2007
Top 100 Graphic Novels sold at Hijinx in 2006
V for Vendetta Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 2 SERENITY TP Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Volume 4 STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL 5 TP HOUSE OF M TP Y THE LAST MAN VOL 7 PAPER DOLLS TP Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 3 Owly Volume 3: Flying Lessons Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1: Gifted Astonishing X-Men Vol. 2: Dangerous Y THE LAST MAN VOL 8 KIMONO DRAGONS TP Watchmen PRIDE OF BAGHDAD HC Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 1 Owly Volume 1: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer CAPTAIN AMERICA WINTER SOLDIER VOL 1 TP NARUTO VOL 9 TP Bumperboy Loses His Marbles FABLES VOL 7 ARABIAN NIGHTS AND DAYS TP FABLES 1001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL HC STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL 6 TP Scooter Girl The Ronin Y The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned Naruto, Vol. 6 Death Note, Vol. 1 MARVEL AGE SPIDER-MAN DOCTOR OCTOPUS OUT OF REACH DIGEST TP SUPERMAN ADVENTURES VOL 3 LAST SON OF KRYPTON LEX LUTHOR MAN OF STEEL TP The Walking Dead Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye SUPERMAN ADVENTURES VOL 4 THE MAN OF STEEL FABLES VOL 6 HOMELANDS TP 300 HC MARVEL AGE SPIDER-MAN VOL 1 DIGEST TP SUPERMAN BATMAN VOL 1 PUBLIC ENEMIES TP KINGDOM HEARTS VOL 1 GN Samurai Death Note, Vol. 3 HALO GRAPHIC NOVEL HC EX MACHINA VOL 3 FACT V FICTION TP Naruto, Vol. 7 PENNY ARCADE VOL 1 ATTACK OF THE BACON ROBOTS TP MARVEL AGE SPIDER-MAN VOL 3 DIGEST TP Death Note, Vol. 2 Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOL 15 SILVER SABLE TP NEW AVENGERS VOL 1 BREAKOUT TP SUPERMAN SACRIFICE TP Teen Titans Go!: Bring It On! - Volume 3 Sin City, Book 2 A Dame to Kill For Runaways Vol. 1: Pride and Joy Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Gra Usagi Yojimbo, Book 3: The Wanderer's Road Naruto Vol. 1 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 5CROSSOVER TP Naruto, Vol. 5 ULTIMATES VOL 2 HOMELAND SECURITY TP MARVEL AGE SPIDER-MAN VOL 4 GOBLIN STRIKES DIGEST TP Out From Boneville HELLBOY VOL 6 STRANGE PLACES TP The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire Runaways Vol. 4: True Believers CARL BARKS GREATEST DUCKTALESSTORIES VOL 1 TP ULTIMATES VOL 1 TP The Ultimates 2 Vol. 1: Gods And Monsters Fables Vol. 5: The Mean Seasons ULTIMATE GALACTUS BOOK 3 EXTINCTION TP ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOL 16 DEADPOOL TP Naruto, Vol. 4 ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 13 MAGNETIC NORTH TP RUNAWAYS VOL 2 TEENAGE WASTELAND DIGEST TP Ex Machina: Tag Days Like This B.P.R.D.: The Dead STAR WARS GENERAL GRIEVOUS TP The Zombie Survival Guide : Complete Protection from the Liv RUNAWAYS VOL 5 ESCAPE TO NEW YORK DIGEST TP FUN HOME GN Fray The Walking Dead Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars Naruto, Vol. 3 Naruto, Vol. 2 W.I.T.C.H. Graphic Novel: The Power of Friendship - Book #1 TOP 10 THE FORTY NINERS SC Batman: The Long Halloween Cinderella DEATH NOTE VOL 4 TP WALKING DEAD VOL 5 BEST DEFENSE TP NARUTO VOL 10 TP Y The Last Man Vol. 3: One Small Step Naruto vol 8 NARUTO VOL 11 TP Y The Last Man Vol. 6: Girl on Girl DEATH NOTE VOL 5 TP CHICKEN LITTLE CINEMANGA GN Ultimate Galactus vol 2 ultimate secret The OMAC Project essential godzilla SANDMAN VOL 3 DREAM COUNTRY
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