Ben Kingsbury recaps the best comic books, creators, and comic trends of 2025 - The Short Box Podcast Ep. 482
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intro music plays
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And a one, two, three. Short Box Nation, hello again, welcome back and thanks for pressin' play today. If you're brand new, welcome to the show. My name is Badr and this is The Short Box Podcast, the comic book talk show that brings you the best conversations about your favorite comics with the people that put their blood, sweat, and tears into making them, or in today's case, selling them, uh championing them.
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Getting new readers on board. mean this man has done it all short box nation I'm recording this episode live from Gotham City Limit comic shop aka the best place in all of Florida And I'm sitting here with the man himself. Mr. Ben Kingsbury. What up Ben? How you doing? Hey, what's up? It's great to see you my friend. Oh, yeah. Sorry made you drop your phone. Yeah, we gotta do a proper handshake for sure You gotta take it to the limit today. Yes, this is awesome. We only get to do this We were talking about hopefully you do more next year. Yeah next year I think I think we got to ramp it up
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But we have done two recordings every year for the past two, three years. We'll do one in the middle for Free Comic Book Day and then our end of year episode. So that's why we're here today. This year went by quick, huh? Ain't that the truth? I was listening to our 2024 end of year episode. And deja vu. It's like almost the same setup. And I got a couple of new toys. I put my nice shirt on. I see it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Jonathan's got me on the Roosevelt's. And this one's Ben Grimm. I'll do anything with Ben. So it's the thing.
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I didn't even, I didn't even connect even notice that it was the S. I don't know why, but at first I was like, why do I get TMNT vibes from this? Yeah, yeah, well it kinda has that little shelfy, yeah, but no, it's the thing. We've also got, just in case if anyone doubted how amazing this shop is, we are flanked.
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in the background decorated with plenty of uh... your awards this year because you don't vote and we don't just win those things that's how it works they don't just give them to us literally people go online vote for us thank you let me see what we got we got the business hall of fame three consecutive years comic book store best of jacks and you had a best of florida award started that's our stats are third year in a row of that as well uh... so but we are going on our eighth year cell
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Why it's not eight years in a row is my fault. I'd be better. I promise in the future No, it's awesome. It's the best thing ever, but I didn't do it to win any awards We have a comic shop to have a cool place in Jackson Jacksonville is awesome. I love the city. I think it's growing and uh So it's nice to have a place especially during the holidays where a bunch of people come in town They don't live here and have income check it out because I know I go and visit and I know you visit other shops so um
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Yeah, all this stuff is just awesome and it just makes for a cool experience and we get to keep bringing it back to the people and keep growing. Ben, I've got to ask, since we're on the topic of Jax Comic Shops Awards, we are recording on Victory Monday. Yeah. Jax, the Jax for Jaguar just won their 12th win of the season. Yeah. You're a huge Jax fan. I think you're also a season ticket holder. We always talk about the games. I noticed personally, this could be all anecdotically, but
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I noticed that when the Jags are doing good, there's a certain energy in the city. People are a little nicer. People are willing to talk more, especially if it's about the Jags. Everyone's got something to say. Even non-football fans kind of very unifying. Yes. And people enjoy being proud of the place they live. We like being winners. Yeah. And one of the big things that we have in Jacksonville is the NFL team. In fact, they almost have those hotels built downtown.
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And then they've got the Hard Rock coming. And then I anticipate they did something to the landing there. I haven't been to it yet when they cut the ribbons over there and got that whole new security in an outdoor area. But it'd be great if they had like seafood restaurants. Like, why do I got to go to Ponte Vedra to get seafood? You know, I mean, I should be able to go like to a little place right over the river and.
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go down there and shop some so uh... and then it's exciting everybody talks about the jags it in my what not show like in our after the jaguar game i'd to see if i actually i i i know and then it was as i got out everybody's like a jag so that's fine and you know i'll tell you right now it doesn't really matter what any of the talking heads say whether it's positive or negative about the jaguars their lives to make the super bowl that they can play with everybody in a fc
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So I mean, if they turn the ball over and kind of bumble it around like they against the Colts, then we might have a hard time in the playoffs. But if we get like the team that is uh playing great, then we could beat anybody. And Trevor Lawrence looks like a young John Elway. It's kind of fun to watch him run around there. I love it. Do you notice that energy, that same energy we were talking about, about like the enthusiasm, that excitement, that hype? Do you notice that in the shop? Well, yeah, no. I mean, I noticed it about comics. Like we get that excited about things coming out.
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uh... yet but it's the same kind of energy it's the same kind of a fun uh... kind of like unity and uh... especially today uh... where uh... the media does a good job of like a kind of separating people occasionally now like sports and other things that unified jacksonville duvall make it you know i expect the game against the titans this weekend to be bonkers like a playoff game you know for sure so
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Whenever you hear people talk smack about Jacksonville, like, they're not afraid to go to Jacksonville. I just remember the last playoff game we had here. that was insane, man. was there Yeah, it was so much fun. And it was so loud. And I don't think anybody wants to come and play us in Jacksonville. Damn right, Ben. Talk that shit. All right. But you know what? You mentioned why we're here today. And that's to talk about the comic books from this year. I want to hear about what you've noticed trend-wise, industry-wise, working the shop. Like you said, you're going on your eighth year of owning the shop.
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So and all that but you're a very entertaining and insightful person to talk about in the year. Pressure's on. Let's do it. My first question and I actually I ended up even reaching out to some of the members of the short box Patronis. Alright the short box patrons. So I've got questions from them as well but the first question I want to ask you is um you know like I mentioned we've been doing this series of episodes for the past you know three going on four years. Last year when we talked about the best comics of 2024 you ranked 2024
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in terms of holistically and as an A plus for comics. That's in terms of variety, sales, creative team, just a broad overview. You said it was an A plus year for comic books. I'm curious right off the top, how does 2025 fare in comparison? Yeah, I know. It's tough because you give it A plus, then you're like, oh, well, you got to have it. But I mean, you actually look at numbers, it's better in a lot of ways. We'll get into it, but it's the year of the blind bag.
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um So comics have started to go down the path of like card collecting essentially where you can get those rare ones so that makes it a lot of fun. But some companies have done a great job at it. Some companies have just jumped on and it hasn't been as value driven. It's also been the year of the creator like own comics. So whether it's Tyler Kirkham doing his final boss or you know Tom Hardy having his own comic.
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or even the continuation of like say Berserker with Keanu Reeves, you start to see a lot of like people understanding that the lot of media that we consume actually comes from this world and a lot of stories so they can kind of get in at the ground level. I think creators, especially people, they see Rob Liefeld and some other people who have been able to make a career out of the characters they create and they want to try something themselves.
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AKA David Finch drawing the entire Skinbreaker series that Robert Kirkman is doing. You know, and that's in the hopes that I assume that over his long haul career now he can get paid residuals off of that. Something like Walking Dead people do, et cetera. Who would you say has done the best blind bag of the The first one that did it, Invincible Battle Beast. They were the best, you know, and a lot of times in life, the first one who does it is always the best. And then you get replicants and they do well, but that was by far the best.
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Best price, $399, unbelievable. And then just the best. They had future issues, cool chases, and Invincible was so hot. I'm right there, which I think uh Battle Beast did have the best blind bag. I think them being kind of first as well, uh know, establishes... Allowed them to do it, but they did it right. But I think what really set it off for me was, you know, it's like, wait, I can get issue two? For somebody, it was such a foreign concept.
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But it's like, yeah, that's kind of cool. really was hidden. You could get the old one with Spider-Man on it. Invincible was popular, so all the comics were selling for a lot. just in general, it is popular. So yeah, they did the best. They were the best blind bags. They were the best price point. And they got the biggest amount of em age range. You got a lot of teenagers buying them and involved. I had a lot of 19-year-old kids buying five, looking at them outside, coming back in.
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people trying to figure out which ones of the foil is by weighing them, know, like not actually weighing them, but just feeling them. So yeah, no, it was awesome. And Invincible has done that. Invincible, like the Absolute Universe and a couple others that we'll talk about, have brought a young readership into the game that has been the first time in my eight years where there's really a noticeable young crowd who comes and gets comics again. Very interesting, because I feel like that's always a talking point when people talk about the state of the industry and its longevity is that
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you it seems to be only catered to a certain demographic and older demographic you know your thirties and forties and you know we're leaving behind you know that the preteens the young adults you know the college students are not having you know they're not coming into comic shots but you're saying that due to the blind bag
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Yeah, and you're seeing people willing to start in spots. then the comic companies that have brought the best stories are profiting from it. It's not just the characters, but it is. So the Absolute Universe has brought so many young people in and just crushes. And it's so good. We can get in a little bit more of that in a second. then DC has done a great job of telling great, amazing stories. um
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that are all unified and easy to pick up. And Batman started over, so as soon as people were on Absolute Batman, then you had a lot of people. I mean, for the new Matt Fraction run that they got going on with Batman. ah DC's done that. And then you've got all your independent stuff, so if it's a great story, you can sell it to kids. They know what's going on. The Energon universe has a lot of hype. Obviously, it was before last year was one of our big things. It continues to just be very, very successful.
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I'm glad you said that because that was another note I had from our conversation last year is that you were heaping a lot of praise on like Ghost Machine, the Geigers, Redcoats, uh you know even the legacy and licensed comms like TMNT, GI Joe, Transformers, it seemed to be a huge talking point for us last year. How did those fare this year? So they're, well now we're so deep that we're finally getting all the crossovers. So the next issue at GI Joe,
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has the Transformers in it for the first time. And then Void Rivals, those characters that are these synthetic beings that we don't really know where their origin all the way, they have now, it's been introduced that they know about Energon. So they're connected to the Transformers. So you're starting to get like these layers that you never had before when it was just kind of excitement for new stuff. So those things are crushing. And then the Ghost Machine universe is amazing.
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And I couldn't highly recommend another one to go back and just start reading. Geiger's still one of my favorite stories, period. Top five comics that I can't wait when it comes out. read it instantaneously. Redcoat's already been optioned. And the last issue of Geiger, Redcoat just crossed over. So they're starting to kind of bring this huge holistic picture to the whole thing. Jason Fabak and Rook is back. And the artwork is as good as it gets. uh And Rook.
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And then there's that whole Hyde Street, the horror side to it. They just finished up a five-part series called Sisterhood. And if you want a great, amazing story that's horror-related and then actually has a good ending because it's hard to end comics and stories, Sisterhood, Hyde Street story, so good, five-part series. So those things have only gotten better, more deep, more complex. They're fantastic, and they're only going to grow.
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I know they said the Energon universe was going to get that animated series just like uh invincible style. So as soon as that happens, as soon as the normies see that stuff, they're going to be coming for it. It's a great time to buy and collect um those comics right now. All right, Ben, let me take it to another direction. You've hinted at and mentioned it a couple of times. And I feel like a lot of people are probably curious about this question too. But when we recorded last year, the Absolute Universe, believe, had just started. At least the Trinity.
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series had come out, Absolute Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. Going into this year, we saw the release of Absolute Martian Manhunter. I uh think earlier this month, there was an article put out about the success of the Absolute Universe and how many millions of copies like that entire series sold with Absolute Batman leading the charge. Is the hype real? How is that hype translated here? Would you say that the Absolute Universe has brought you, I mean, has it brought you a lot of new pull customers?
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100 % I mean it's a lot of new people in general absolutely a lot of people who weren't reading comics who now read other stuff that are interested in the universe they've never done it before you know the best thing ever is when someone comes in and says you know I've never bought a comic before alright this is a funny analogy comic book collectors were kind of like addicts right and so addicts convinced themselves that they could stop whenever they want and that they could sell it whenever they want
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So part of the justification in buying besides just reading is that it's fun to collect and might be valuable. So the Absolute Universe is kind of a perfect storm. Not only is it a great place to start uh buying new comics so if you're young and you've never been in it, you don't feel like you're missing out on 60 or 70 years of history, but on top of it, people don't sell their comics that much. So to go and try to find...
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The first couple issues, all of these, all of a sudden there was a value to it. Then people start sharing it on social media. It became a perfect storm. then ah the nature of it is that we ordered, what, 350 total copies of Absolute Batman, number one, when it came out. So across the country, its print run wasn't that large. Became very popular. Not a lot of people end up selling their comics.
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And so then when someone does, you see the price, then people talk about it on social media. Oh my god, you see that sold for $100 bucks. People come in and they want to look for the next golden ticket, essentially. So not on top of just like, hey, that's a new number one, let's pick it up. I know a lot of people are picking up Flash number one, and Marshmallow number one, and Green Lantern number one. Absolute. um
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to see if it's also something just to have. I went down to CGC two weeks ago, and I think I took 23 absolute Batman number ones down for people that they had brought in because it's selling so well online, everybody wants to jump in on it. But that stuff is definitely bringing young people. And then the realization, I think, of the market that all the stuff in the 70s, 80s was the best, bad-ass, most greatest stuff that's ever been created. And they're bringing it all back, and it's super popular.
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You know, just the fact that we sell more Thundercats than I sell a Black Panther, Intergalactic, or Planet She-Hulk, you know? Or like you've got Elvira back, and then you've got all of the Dynamite titles. And everything from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, they're bringing it all back. TMNT, Sonic, and He-Man. You know? I mean, it's crazy because it's popular and awesome. Yeah, IDW and Dynamite has uh a chokehold on nostalgia.
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yeah i mean everybody in the making great stuff so sure that's it are you mentioned golden ticket i want to jump around some of my notes and questions but um... uh... i think last month it was there's a record-breaking sale for the very first you know uh... for the very first superman number one one from nineteen thirty nine it sold at heritage auction i believe for like nine million i can remember that's with the buyers premium regardless is sold for you know millions of dollars made a world record
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uh... you know everyone was talking about it being the most expensive i think it's the most expensive comic book ever sold yet uh obviously you're not in your cell in a million dollars you know what in a single issue but just for fun of shits and giggles because then you have a lot of cool stuff in the shop you guys see gc graded comics you got amazing statues you've got like one of a thousand you know uh... variants was the most expensive thing you sold this year uh... the most expensive thing i sold was uh... of a very early copy
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of Amazing Spider-Man signed by Stanley. Yeah, that and then the first appearance of Galactus signed by Stanley too. I had a couple of CGC graded, really high grade old copies with Stanley's signature. And so those are probably the two most expensive things I've ever sold in here. But I will tell you, I'm glad you brought up that Superman comic, because I believe the universe is eventually going to lead me to some...
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addict somewhere. And I am going to find myself an action comics or a Superman or a Detective 27. Because I have an amazing fantasy 15 for Spider-Man, but it's in a 0.5 condition, like the lowest condition you can have it. It's still just so cool to have. Does it still have its cover? What? Yes. Yes. And so it's awesome. Exactly. It is awesome. And it actually has a whole trade dress on it, so you can see the whole thing. Such good artwork.
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Yeah, no, I hope the universe. I actually think over the next 20 years we're going to see more of these high end comics coming out. Because you're to have generations of people who, unfortunately, just nature-wise, are going to pass away. you're going to have find, they found that literally in an attic. You know what I mean? think, didn't Mile High Comics kind of get their start by finding a giant collection? I'm pretty sure. And they found some really old stuff. Kind of that's how they got going. So fingers crossed.
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If you have a collection to sell, hit up Ben at 904. Exactly, exactly. I'll do it. Let's do it. We're to go off the beaten path here. Because like I said, I reached out to the short box Patroni. said, hey, I'm interviewing Ben. Send in questions. There's a little contest involved with it. I'm actually going to give away one of the signed Aaron Bartling last boss covers to one of these lucky people. So I want to ask this first question from a short box Patroni. It goes by Henry Hernandez. Big shout out to Henry. He sent in a question.
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And he wants to know, said, yo, Merry Christmas to all the short box nation. My question would be a two-parter. How did Ben get into comics, and what was his first bot issue? I think it's a good question for this topic. That is a great question. ah well, mean, how I got into the comics is kind of a double-layer question. I got into comics when I was young because they were introduced to me at about six years old, and then Calvin and Hobbes and a bunch of.
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other things and then it naturally led me into comics and I've always loved artwork so I naturally got into that. What led me into starting a comic book shop was that I was collecting comics um as just a young adult and the shop that I went to was retiring and shutting down and I was kind of looking for something new to do and I think God told me this is my new path to start something fun and awesome and exciting and so that's how I got into actually owning a comic shop.
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What was the second half of the question? was the first comic that you ever bought? The first comic, well, okay. The first comic I ever got my parents gave me with G.I. Joe and Transformers, which coincidentally are two of my favorite things now at 46 years old.
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The first comic I remember ever buying myself, though, however, was Silver Surfer 50, volume 2. It was a little die cut. It was Thanos in the background and Silver Surfer coming out the front of the that's a great comic. Yeah, and I bought it off a newsstand with my own money from babysitting, so I still remember that. I actually have it. It's so beat up. It looks like I bent it in half and stuck it in a book bag at some point. You know what I mean? And that's kind of even cooler about it that I actually have it. But yeah, that's the first one I remember ever personally buying myself.
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i was legit and read a good question and we have was good because he didn't even tell me earlier so i'm glad i had that on the spot but another couple question i'm gonna ask but i've got a lot those okay i don't think i ever got to hear your your your great for this year like i said you gave it yes so i'm gonna say i'm gonna say it's in a minus uh... and the reason i'm gonna say that is it's great and awesome and record breaking sales uh... but the industry's got not like a little tiny bit expensive
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You know, they've gotten a little greedy with some of the variants. You know, and some of the comic book companies have reminded the everyday folk that they don't really... Some of them are amazing and reach out and really want to help us help them, essentially. And then sometimes you're reminded by some of the companies that they're going to make the decisions and you're going to have to try to deal with it, essentially.
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But for the most part, amazing, great, great, great. Probably a little twinge off of last year. It's just, $5.99 is a pretty standard price for a comic. And I love it. And I love the American dream, or the American kind of hobby that is American comics. We do exclusives. And I really try to keep them like, man, $7.99, $8.99, $9.99. That's, to me, value is the key.
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in the comic world now and so uh that's where we try to provide it. At least the stuff that's awesome and great stories you're good. Sometimes some of the other stuff like we talked about earlier, Marvel a little bit, you're like, man, is it worth my money to even buy this new Marvel story? You even try it out. So you mentioned like the industry and how expensive it has gotten. And it got me thinking that earlier this year, I think everyone was kind of wondering like, you know, if the news of tariffs and
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you potential price increases like where we get our paper for comics all this stuff i think that was top of mind earlier this year i think a lot of us have kind of forgot about some of that last year we also i believe we're talking about you know diamond had just filed for bankruptcy we were trying to figure out what how does that impact you you know i getting the books this year and i mean we we both knew that it was going to be a very slow lead you know a bunch of legal process involved i think they've
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still working on it. think that has moved towards like liquidation. think Diamond is actually now trying to get rid of a lot of things. guess all that to say, know, legal mumbo jumbo. How has, I guess, distribution been for you this year? Yeah, in general, it's pretty good. It's settled down to about two companies for distribution wise. got Lunar Distribution that does a lot of Image, DC, and some of those titles. And then you've got um
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Boom Studios, Marvel, IDW, all with Penguin Random House. I Penguin Random House recently bought Boom Studios. And I think they did that for a number of reasons. Get all the James Tiny and product. The Sums Killing the Children. And then Berserker as well from Keanu Reeves, because I know that all that stuff's going to blow up essentially in another multimedia forum. I guess is it better now with two main distributors versus just one? Yes. Yes.
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Sure, they're getting better and I do, I don't mind. It's basically like one though because they don't compete. So it's like you just basically deal with the company that you get. I think the main thing I think people struggle with in the comic world is understanding why they are priced as they are. Because some companies like, well, let's say Dynamite, uh great comics, but their foils are
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999, 1099 cover price. Then Image Comics can do one and it's 499. Transformers just did Void Rivals, brand new 25 matte foil, 499. Marvel will put 599 in the back of their foils, but then charge us, only give us a 16 % discount off the 599.
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So no comic shop can sell it for $5.99. You essentially have to just mark it up to what a normal price would be, which is anywhere between $8 $10. And it's making us look like we're trying to get three extra dollars from people when the back of the comic says $5.99. But that's just basically a lie to make them look like it's not as expensive. And so I think I'm fine with DC doing these cool ones like this. This is a $4.99 because it's thick.
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but the regular one's $3.99 and do a card stock that's nicer and generally good condition, I'll pay the extra dollar for it, that's fine. I think we're just confused, like why can Battle Beast do a $3.99 blind bag and then every DC one's $9.99 and if Dynamite does a blind bag, it's 15 for two comics and you're like, what, the comic's $5, two comics is $7.50, I don't even know, how do you think you're just doing math ain't Ben. I mean, like, so I feel like,
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I think we're all confused partly because we're like, man, why is everything a little bit more expensive? But like, what's the truth? Are you just trying to milk more money? Are you trying to make more? Which is your prerogative as a comic book company, like, how can we getting more consistent now is kind of those days are gone because there's so many comic companies like All A Bad Idea, they're fantastic. They're $5.99. They're old school newsprint. You know, they're great stories and they're thick.
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general books and they're totally worth the value and that stuff. So I think that kind of part of the comic industry is weird for people because they're looking at something and they're like, well, why is this already a $9 book? it's like, well, I mean, just costs of everything, you know? On the topic of that, I want to bring up another question I got from Patroni. That thing would fit here. This one comes from Ben O'Grady, and he actually emailed this one. And I love this question because it's a little more inside baseball.
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Ben O'Grady wants to know, what are some things you tried at the shop in 2025 that grew the business? Can you put any numbers to it such as we added X new line of products and it led to Y increase in revenue? Would love to get under the hood a bit. Also, what are some brand new things you want to try in 2026? Cheers and Happy New Year. shout to Ben. Yeah, that's a great question. one Ben to another I love Ben. Ben loves some Ben. I know he likes me too. You know what mean? Absolutely. So, well, this year.
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The big change for us in general was that I have the Batcave now. So an entire year of having a side unit to this place that I no longer have to jam up the interior of the shop. So it opens up the place for more retail in general. Before, if you'd come in here, I mean, when I was first getting started and we were doing this for years, there would just be boxes.
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of things lined up because I mean we already have next week, the week after this Wednesday's comics have already been delivered because of the new year, you know, and the scheduling. So it would just have to be in here. So that's been amazing for us in terms of like actually being able to do more sales in the shop. That's fantastic. And then, you know, I changed the entire POS system. And so these probably aren't the changes they were thinking that I was going to talk about, but these things made the biggest difference.
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The POS system now we have a portable one we can take anywhere which is a big deal Which I think for new real quick for free comic book day you guys were roaming around like and yeah trying to get another You know, I mean cuz no one wants to wait in line and so that kind of stuff definitely helps Then we have like actual real gift cards that are reloadable. You can mail them out, you know, you should give certificates
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But little things like that keep people coming back. They keep it in their wallet. It reminds them of coming in. And then we have that new loyalty program where it literally will text your phone like, hey, man, you got $5 at the limit. So that has been very, very successful for us in terms of just kind of growing the place and then making it feel like a little bit more professional and just connecting everything. So I've really enjoyed those two aspects. The number one product thing.
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that I've changed the most is that um action figures have really slowed down, not so down in popularity, but slowed down in production and or like the amount that you can kind of like cards, you kind of buy them and, and then they're gone. But, you know, eight years ago, probably by let's say, eight units of something, now we get three of them. So we've kind of shrunk that area just because they're more expensive.
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There's no, you talked about it, from where they come from and how they get produced, shipping costs and gasoline and everything else. They're kind of expensive. So it's a more niche group that continues to collect. They still do, but not quite as much. So we've really taken that part down. And then supplies, we have taken way up. You know, if you look across the top of the shop now with all the short boxes, for the whole month of December, we did a huge deal on them. uh
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uh... so that was you know but it's fun to be able to display it all but then have twenty five each box and not just have them on the ground you're getting kicked in roamed or trying to search through and find you can have it hidden you know that's that that that kind of stuff uh... just naturally it definitely helps instead of storage unit two miles away i know ben o'grady
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And he's going to love that question. It's not the sexiest. It's not like absolute Batman we're talking about. Yeah, yeah, like what did you do? But I will tell him one thing that I want to do, because he did ask about what I want to do in 2026. And honestly, it's to uh be more nationwide. I think that's my goal. We have really started selling a lot more online. You're taking the limit to the limit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, go to us at cons. Be involved in some other things. I know Jacksonville, the first Coast Con we did last year was awesome this year.
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It's going to be at the new Florida Fairgrounds. it is the most, it is a huge, absolutely gigantic location. And then they're teaming up with this company that brings all the indies. So there's going to be hundreds of creators there. We'll be there. We'll have a special art guest with us. It'll be fun. So we'll continue to grow Jacksonville. Con scene. And hopefully that becomes something that nationwide people come for every single year.
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But I'm to try to go to a few more and get the name out there. And then also just kind of really, we've been building our website, so it's changed recently. And we're going to continue to grow that and make it more user friendly. So 2026 is uh the year of the bend. World domination. Yeah, exactly. Like pinky in the brain, baby. All right. uh Let's actually go back to a sexy topic here. Back to that thought you had about Marvel. Because we're recording on December 28.
31:28
which is the Monday before the release of Ultimate Endgame, which I think it's safe to say it's one of Marvel's most anticipated events, something that they've been building up to for literally a year. I will admit that it does feel like a lot of the attention, the praise this year has gone to DC, what they've done with the Absolute line, their main line, some of their other events. In your opinion, how has...
31:52
Is this really the year for DC, or how has Marvel fared for you? It really is the year DC. It's the first time in my entire life that I can remember DC being more popular than Marvel. What is Marvel missing? Marvel is missing just the connectiveness of storytelling. So DC went all in. And remember when that was a kind of promo before they did all the absolute stuff? Starting over, the ultimate stuff for Marvel has been great.
32:21
But they're just missing great storytelling. And there's a lot of reasons for that. But in reality, DC stories are amazing. And they're great. You sent me a couple lists to look over before the show, the kind of listed people's top 10s or top 15 comics. And one of the surprises on there, I don't know if you noticed it, but I was so happy to see it because it is literally one of my favorite comics this year, is Cheetah and Cheshire Robbed the Justice League.
32:48
It is such a random title. It's on the third row right over there. I think we get the seventh final issue next week. But it has been so good. It's amazing read. It's very high quality. It's thoughtful and unique and has twists and turns in why you read a comic, right? Outsmart a lot of the Justice League members, which is always fun when the villains are great. A story is awesome. But it just shows.
33:17
how good DC is, because if you were going to say, oh yeah, DC's great, because look at Batman's numbers, and look at absolute Batman, and look at absolute Superman, and absolute Wonder Woman. But in reality, it's the Cheetah and Cheshires, it's the JSAs, it's the Justice League Reds, it's the Green Arrows, it's the New Gods that really make DC have such an awesome year. I mean, the only thing that I really was trying to think, I don't want to be negative, I hate being negative anyway.
33:45
And so there are a bunch of Marvel titles that came out. Daredevil, Charles Solt, Cold Day in Hell. So good. All the stuff that Marvel does crossover-wise with Predator and Alien is 100 % must read. And if you haven't read any of it, the final part of Predator Kills Marvel Universe literally comes out this Wednesday as we're recording now. um And it is so good. Captain America Alien has two issues out so far as we're recording.
34:12
so good. Spider-Man versus Predator came out this year yep, yep, yep. I mean, all of them. The Black Panther Predator, the Wolverine Predator, all those stories are worth it, but they all kind of tie into the Predator Kills the Marvel Universe, which is so good. So they've done a great job on that. And then I'll tell you what they did really good job on, which was really, really surprising. And I think people get um Marvel buyer remorse from buying some major crossover events that they normally do, the blood hunts, and et cetera, et cetera.
34:40
This year, the Age of Revelations stuff that they did in X-Men comics for two months was phenomenal. Like, what if X year is in the future, so it's not necessarily the future? An X-Gene bomb essentially goes off and morphs, kills, or changes everybody. So none of the characters are the same. Everybody's got new power sets.
35:03
There's this character, Revelation, who's basically controlling everybody. Wolverine is his winter soldier, kind of like killer that he controls mentally. But the entire series, all little three-part series, Laura Kinnis Sabretooth, Age of Revelation, and the finale comes out this coming Wednesday. But I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by that. And I've been.
35:24
Buying it and trying to sell it to people to let them know like hey this is a one of those just three months of throwaway comics a Marvel throw at you sometimes this one is definitely worth reading I think if they ever make an omnibus which they will love it or if you just want to collect the individual comics in your close We have all of them, but they're definitely all worth reading their day It was definitely a good job on Marvel's part, but the problem really Marvel stems with is
35:49
When Batman comes out or Absolute Superman, I can't wait. The last issue of Absolute Superman was so good, I can't wait to read it. And Amazing Spider-Man comes out and I'm like, nah. Hmm. You know what We're almost at 1,000. We're at death spiral. I mean, does Marvel hate us? Because why is Mary Jane Venom? And like, what happened to Eddie Brock? And I mean, you know, mean, it's just there's a lot of little things. It was like, what are the choices that we're making? Are they listening Remember when they did that whole thing? They could have made Luke Cage Venom.
36:18
badass that would have been he's big strong physical they made it gold which would have made sense with Luke Cage instead they made it a dying Mary Jane I'm like bro just kill everybody bro death spiral number one here we go yeah that's coming soon I mean I just wish Spidey really is the problem it's their number one thing in the whole world it shouldn't be so should be the best we just we were comparing our work I'm not trying to poo anybody
36:43
artwork is amazing no matter who does it it's all high quality but when you look at the inside absolute Superman or you look at the inside of Transformers and you look at the inside amazing Spider-Man you're like man come on. For sure and I think on that topic you know as much as we love to compare the two this year was uh was very special for the big two because it was the first time that they crossed over and I think 14 whatever I mean 14 God it was so great. Personally if you were to ask me about the Marvel DC crossover I did think that it did not
37:13
do them any favors having such similar names? Yeah, they blew it. But we didn't know. know, ahead of time, you're like, no, they switched in the thing, but it just confused everybody too much later when they came in. They're like, wait a minute, is this the one I Yeah, they should have changed it. How did those two crossovers perform for you? And I mean, was it a big deal for the shop and like some of the other Yeah, mean, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I love that stuff from the 90s. I was collecting and buying it in Darkclaw.
37:40
and all that you know i mean it's so good i still if i walk you know from at heroes con whatever it may be if i walk by a box has got all the amalgam comics on the flip through a lot of all of my no i'd i have multiples and i have all the time i think came out with the issue of it the most the most popular best-selling omnibus of all time okay and then the jim lee one other had dark on the cover
38:04
I sold my last two copies recently last month for $375 a piece on eBay. is worth $375. You mentioned uh people that come in, buy things. It's the joy of reading, but also a little bit like, oh, this might be worth something. Ben, sometimes I come in here and I'll buy a number one with the intention of selling. If you ask me how many comics I've sold in the last 10 years,
38:54
$3,500 to get all these books that I just had CGC witness to get graded, you know, and you give them 35 comics real quick, it adds up. And I think Vanessa, my girlfriend said something like, I would think this is crazy if you didn't own a store. And in my head, I'm like, bro, this is all mine. I was like, better start selling some of these, dude. I am crazy. What am I doing? I was like a crack addict in a free crack store at Megacon last year.
39:21
What I really like about you, and I think what separates you from other business owners I know, is that you understand that you have to spend money to make money, and you're not shy. And I mean, you've never put an emphasis on, you I mean, hell, you literally made a joke when I walked in about, hate money. Yeah, yeah, well, like, yeah, why'd you do that? Well, was like, well, I might as well spend the money when I can, yeah. But back to where I was asking, Marvel and DC Crossover.
39:45
overall how did it for so uh... a real well real well and i'll tell you that marvel i think performed slightly better i think it's because they came out for as they came out first and they can fuse them with the titles but no one knew that that was going to be a consequence of doing the title they're gonna have the same issue next year next year pc puts out superman spider-man first and then spider-man superman will come out and i anticipate you might have some of the same issues
40:11
What would be your solution to avoiding that confusion? Yeah, they should have just done uh two totally different titles. should have been ah from another story that you had in there, whether it was crypto, Jeff the shark. I would have titled it something else with two different. Because then if people came in and they saw Batman Deadpool, but they came in and they saw Joker uh versus Hulk,
40:37
essentially or whatever it was they would know it was a totally different thing I think that's probably what you need to do when they did the 90s stuff it was issue one two three and four and they just rotated back and forth which I don't know if that's any cleaner but but at least it was one two three and four true you know if they made this number two then at least people would have been like okay number two do you see what I mean they would have come in and been like oh I got number one I didn't get number two
41:02
So there was two ways. You could have it number two, literally, or you could have just changed the whole trade dress to be something completely different, but two recognizable names on there. I think it was a really fun idea. I don't see it going away now. I feel like the floodgates have opened, and I don't know if both companies are as protective about the crossover. No, I think they both like the sales numbers that it brought. The covers were amazing. Oh, yes. I'll say that um I have so many variants I don't need, because the cover is uh
41:31
Marvel did a slightly better job in that they had incentives. And incentive variants are cool because it's not just for money, but it makes it more limited. So there's a more limited cover. DC decided not to do any incentives. But I will say, I think I might like ah DC's overall selection of covers a little tiny bit more than I liked Marvel's overall selection. But I thought the best cover of them all was the Russell Dauterman, Deadpool homage, Infinity Gauntlet.
41:59
and that was from the dead pool batman and i was probably a thirty five forty dollar comic now uh... instantaneously and now was probably the best of them in my opinion although like i did twenty one to all that stuff so think mine is the daniel or johnson big bar and i thought d.c. stories were a little bit better agreed i had the same here you like big bar die you i always think it was just such a like
42:23
The thing. Yeah. I knew you Ben. knew you Ben. You know, since we're talking about creators, let me get into my next question. So we've kind of talked a little bit about the comic books that have made this year great. I want to talk about the creators that have made this year great. Which creator names on a cover, whether it's Daniel Warren Johnson, Russell Doberman, et cetera, act as a guaranteed sell for your customers right now? Like, what names do you feel like bring people in the shops?
42:48
regardless of you know if they're on marvel at the cnx that every single time well um... you'd definitely just named it daniel war johnson is super hot everything he does people really really like to control arc to collect we've got a couple people so this day who are this is one is always frank chow frank chow always still has a nice little uh... uh
43:10
Nice group of people that love it. I don't know if you see his funny covers that he does on his social media, but they're the best and the funniest thing ever. And they go for like $13,000 a piece. Wow. I didn't know that. Yeah, those blanks that he does with like the jokes, know, kind of the joking ones with crossovers. So that stuff is amazing. Obviously, when Tyler Kirkham does anything in our shop, he sells right away. Dan Mora has become the surprise hit of them all though this year.
43:40
Obviously, Hamanez is like, we'll get into it, is as good and as popular as it gets. But this year specifically, multiple other creators talked about how Dan Mora is kind of the sleeping, giant of the comic book world. And now a lot of his random variants he's done for DC, like there was one where it's a Batman Superman World's Finest where they're standing in a hot tub and Superman is heating up the hot tub with his little eye beam and it's Batman with his cow on and no shirt.
44:09
And it's like $135 comic on eBay. Yeah, Dan Mora stuff blows up. It blew up this year. So I think that's kind one of the ones that uh now, if he does like a comic, kind of people are like, well, I got to grab that Dan Mora in case it's worth something. And then um a lot of DC stuff, like the Absolute stuff, so the A covers. And it's Dragada in general. So if he's doing something. Ben, real quick on the topic of Nick Dragada, when I tell you his line in New York Comic Con,
44:39
every single day was like on there are many other people sell a covers like absolute batman i think he was signing a check i think i can imagine that at the end of the con he was probably absolutely exhausted but in the moment i think all he saw was dollar signs for every single i don't know and every cover he does that that that mister freeze first appearance the bane first appearance
45:03
the cow on the first pierced the joker first appearance all selling instantaneously no matter how many day can you could probably retire i tried to get a lot of absolute bad man six are fifteen uh... that just came out first pierced a joker uh... i tried to get more to make it last and it's still only lasted like three and a half days because then you know one of the weird things about comic book stores is in jacksonville we get a little spoiled as you walk into the limit and i got a stack of all this hot new stuff
45:31
And then, but a lot of people don't have a comic shop to go to or don't have one close to them and then they resort online and all of a sudden the $3.99 comic is $16, $20 online to buy it. And so I think some people come in here and also see that ability to make a little bit of money on that. But that's cool, that's awesome. That's just the residual effect of comics being popular and I love it. If you want to go through the work of selling your comics, sell your comics. As long as you come here and you're not taking advantage of anybody or trying to buy the whole stack.
46:00
be a scalper, we're totally cool with that. But yeah, I think Jurgada has crushed all the Absolute Batman covers. And I will tell you right now, not this Wednesday, but the following week, so that makes it the 7th, I believe, of January, Absolute Batman Arkham Special comes out. And this is insider information just for you short box listeners, nobody else. First appearance Absolute Deathstroke.
46:23
OK, you won't hear that anywhere else. That's our super secret. So if you watch this, you'll have the inside scoop. Make sure you pick up a copy of that. It's not even Christmas, but Merry Christmas, Yeah, we got to hook them up, right? Just a short box listeners. That's it. On the topic of we'll stick to talking about creators, creators are raising millions on Kickstarter and Bacchicit with their individual projects, raising money for.
46:50
uh... self title or self own projects art books i mean i've i took a look at my kickstarter account this year to see what books i have backed i mean i back the you know the art of daniel warren johnson the art of mike del mundo this one made that uh... the news uh... and that was the swap swat cats kickstarter which is only producing a single issue and managed to raise over seven hundred and thirty six thousand cn dollars it in saying how much money you know
47:19
folks like your Daniel Johnson's Michael Domundos like these projects are Alex Ross of that Kingdom Come. It wasn't this year. probably the year before, but he was raising. I mean, we're going to get that soon. think that's the craziest part about Kickstarter. I love supporting it because you can get you can get the art of Tyler Kirkham. That one's coming soon. Right. And I was going to buy it anyway. But I buy it like three years ahead of time. I spent so much money. I don't even know if I get everything that I bought.
47:44
Cause I mean, how many times do I go through my Kickstarter to make sure everything's been delivered? I, you know, it's a weird, weird game, the Kickstarter game. It is. And I'm happy that more creators are going that route, you know, direct consumer, you know, that it takes some of that risk out of it where it's like, Hey, I'm only producing what is backed, you know, do people want this? I am happy for these creators. I guess I'm, you know, talking to you and thinking about the shop, I guess, do these campaigns help you by building hype or do you, or do you think like they might, you know,
48:13
I won't say hurt is such a strong word, but bear with me. Or do they hurt the shop in the sense of they're kind of skimming potential customers or dollars? Like, I guess, does Kickstarter, is that even on your radar at No, I mean, honestly, most of the stuff that's on Kickstarter, they're not selling in the shop. And then when they do, years later.
48:34
They did Pop Kill. Let's use that one for example. Pop Kill has been one of the hit comics, mostly for covers, but another really cool underrated story this year. Jimmy Palmieri and those guys doing Pop Kill and I think probably one of their more popular comics of all time now with how many print runs, with the Will Jack covers and everything else they've done with Pop Kill. um But with that stuff in general, I would say, but overall, I think we're probably looking at like, um
49:04
I don't know, what do you think is the best way to describe it, essentially? I mean, I'd say that we're um looking at a weird genre of like printing a comic to be popular, but also just printing it multiple times to get covers, to get sales, to get that kind of thing promoted, you know? So I don't know, it's uh awkward, weird place to be in. And I guess I brought it up because I feel like it's only gotten more
49:33
popular among creators to go the Kickstarter route even like some publishers are using Kickstarter to like fund these books Which I always kind of find interesting because it's like so we're paying you to produce this I don't know it would be weird if Marvel and DC did it and then they started selling their comics first on there before they sold them here But in general, it's a gateway for people
49:58
Because I think the number one thing that people struggle with, we get a lot of people who like, hey, can we sell our comic there? We're local. We're indie. Can we sell our stuff there? And it's like, man, I would love to. But the reality is it's a bad investment for comic shop owners to put something up up front to try to sell something that isn't a known product.
50:21
And so I think Kickstarter gives people the ability, if they say, hey, you know what, I'm an entrepreneur, or I have this idea, and I think this is going to be awesome, Kickstarter gives them that opportunity to kind of sidestep having me to take the risk of it. It's like a good proof of concept. Right, right. And in that regard, and then like the pop kill thing, they become more valuable over time once it hits the regular market. So it is good in that regard. But like, you know, they're doing these art of books.
50:49
That stuff kind of stings a little bit to a comic shop in reality. I don't mind it at all. But you know, Tyler Kirkham's taking it into his own hands to kind of produce his own art book, whereas before they would have just produced the art book, put it out for distribution, it would have been on the comic shop owners. It probably does take a few people who would have bought the book from me and get them to buy it directly from them, but the reality is, on books.
51:14
I have to compete with online businesses that don't have any overhead, so we do 35 % off every book over $20 already. Books, the extra money you make off of hardcover books isn't the same as it used to be because of online and all of things, Kickstarter and then the online stores. It's a win-lose situation in only tiny regards, but for the most part, I think it's awesome these people get to create some awesome stuff, and I am a victim of buying it all.
51:44
Oh, trust me. The other thing about Kickstarter is it's always way more expensive than you want it to be. like, man. Every time. Well, then you back it, and then you get your Kickstarter survey, and then you own another $45 for shipping. You're like, bro, can I cancel it now? I'm having second thoughts. You should have included some just cost ahead of time and refunded me $10, like over. When you give me another bill five months later, I'm like, bro, I don't even want to do this anymore. This is a bad mistake. I had a beer. Yeah.
52:13
I ordered this at 1230 at night. wasn't really in my sensible. a related note, I can't help but in my direct eye line is a little Ignition Press little comic shop, whatever scene. ah They've got Stephanie Williams writing comics for them, Tim Seeley. I mean, the list goes on. They that Murder Podcast comic that came out. Arcadia, Voyeur. I can tell you all about all of them. ah It's amazing. uh
52:42
Two, actually, we'll give Ignition Press their, I didn't mean to cut you off, but they deserve their credit, because it's amazing and a bad idea, deserves their credit as already knew what I was going ask. Because they're both, in my opinion, the best publishers of the year. They win the awards for just simply creating the best adult stories to read. If you love to just read.
53:03
and um... you're in this to get better stories than the tv shows that are your options in every app you own then this is the one for ordained was amazing by bad idea survive was amazing by bad idea uh... you've got for your which is a very adult story but so good roots of madness so good arcadia i could easily see being incredibly popular anime uh... tim seale's no place
53:28
uh... so good yet every single ignition press they even do a fun little thing they print the number of the press comic on the back so you know you have copied one thousand seven hundred twenty nine or whatever and that's just cool to me too uh... but yeah and then like i said ordained it was my uh... probably my single favorite issue of comic that came out in december the first issue robert venditti i didn't even realize how much i love this guy he's doing safe now as well but he used to write some old green lantern
53:56
um and some old DC titles as well, involved in the John Wick movies. Man, you want to read some great brand new comics in initial press, and then the covers are great. They're affordable, they're hard card stock, it's great artwork. Don't they also print on like newspaper print too? Yeah, well, bad idea.
54:16
that your old school like you know but you're gonna get a thick sixty page comic for five ninety nine it's definitely worth it how they had to go that old school that's beautiful arcade is a bottom modern new comic but they didn't do it to still you that's if you're a distillery uh... employee or love distillery comics i love your stuff to on bank a i sell it for a living make it a normal comic size in you will crush all of life benefit from that mistake i think i actually brought that up to the founders of the distillery nearly
54:45
Yeah, we get that a lot. think they said they were working on it or something. Yeah, mean, listen, man, I totally get where it was coming from. There was a popular thing for it. It makes our artwork awesome. Make your hardcover that size. Last thing I got to say about Distillery, their stuff is awesome. They just need to make it regular size. We're going to play a drinking game every single time you mention that. Who wants a magazine? I'm an American. All right, you mentioned how Ordain has been one of your favorite comic stories of the year. I'm going to challenge you to mention another story or two.
55:12
because one of the question another question i got uh... this one comes from a risk of burton who i believe at one point though you know if the jackson maybe or shop here i have a semis of there we go to take it to the limit of force and to move back to indiana to take care of it you remember how about my customers am right with that and i think that's great awesome yeah exactly merciless is a proud of a trip of the show she sent in a question uh... she wrote actually question for the best comic shop owner there is that uh
55:40
What's most underrated story that came out this year? Do you have any recommendations for something I should have read but might have missed? Yeah, all right. So um I can't remember if she got on it, but Exquisite Corpses is amazing. It's a very adult read, but it was so good. Fantastic. I think we're on issue eight now of a 12-part series, so that's going to be really good.
56:09
Skinbreaker, Robert Kirkman and David Finch doing the entire interiors is absolutely phenomenal. I brought it up earlier, but the best horror comic, style comic in my opinion this year comes from the High Street Universe and that's Sisterhood. It was fantastic. The fifth issue just came out last week. I told you about Ordained. It is phenomenal. You can already see that they're talking about it being optioned as a movie with Colin Farrell and the Russo Brothers.
56:38
about this priest who takes the last rites of a mafia head of the mafia and then the mafia man doesn't die and wants to kill the priest because he knows all the secrets. It's got that nobody slash John Wick feel. So good. And then I'm glad you brought up Ignition Press because Arcadia from Ignition Press is with the we're only on issue one right now, but that's one of my favorite single just first issues of anything that has come out so far. I'm trying to think Blood and Thunder.
57:08
was really good image comics and i think that in dying i can't keep enough of those in here right now i love that for you know that yeah exactly so that one is is very very good uh... and then if is sad it's not under the radar but dcs ko stuff so good so fun and it's probably got into comics i want to see him fight so i love that and she loves green arrow if i'm not mistaken so i already know she's read green arrow all year but that's been phenomenal bro
57:37
Man, that was really impressive. I will say um I try and put the titles you mentioned in the show notes of these episodes and as you're spitballing rapid fire at that I'm like, I'm so many there's so yeah, we're just like this and this and that and this Marissa for that question doing the research for this episode I came across a phrase I was not familiar with Tell me if you ever heard this phrase fidgetle never heard of it
58:02
It's digital. All right, now I'm about to, though. All right, tell me what's Apparently, it's a mashup of physical and digital. I was trying to look up, are some of the popular trends this year in terms of comic book sales and just how shops are doing? And this phrase came up and this article I came across. And they were talking about how there's a rise in, obviously, there's a lot of different ways you could read comics online. The legit route, there's plenty of apps. There's a DC app, a Marvel app.
58:30
global comics, neon, itchy, you know, all these different apps and ways to read comic books digitally. But, so it's saying that there's this rise in digital comics and ways for people to read it. But some folks still, they'll read a digital version, but go into the shop and now they're buying the deluxe, hardcover, oversized, premium edition instead of buying the single issues. And I've noticed that a lot of our conversations center around the sales of the single issues, the floppies, et cetera.
58:58
So I bring this up to ask, I guess, you noticing? How are hardcovers and collected editions doing for you? Do you notice, I guess, that collector among your pool customers who's like, hey, I mainly read my stuff digital. And if I like it, I'm going come in and ask you to order the oversized $100 copy. Yeah. mean, think actually that's an awesome question because I see all I can name four people who read things digitally. And then if they like them, they come in and they buy it.
59:28
um Even individual copies, not just the hard covers and the collectibles, but the actual individual comics. Comic book creators have it a little bit different than their predecessors because before they could trick you with a cover, you know, and they used to do that to us all the time and they still do it to this day. You don't judge a book by its cover, but in a comic shop if you don't, you're a dummy.
59:51
You know, and so um they show you, used to trick you with the interiors of a comic by showing you great artwork on the outside, but now, pretty much because of social media and the ability, besides just legitimate ones, but also probably bootleg versions of online databases for comics, people can go and find them online and kind of judge it for themselves before they buy it. So it's a lot like you would go into like...
01:00:16
Best Buy but reverse. You like look at the TV at Best Buy and then you go home on home and you buy it because it's free shipping. You know, and so you get it's the opposite. They look at it online and if something convinces them that they want to own it, then they do come in for that and that is a hundred percent of market in a real thing. um And I think hardcover collectibles are um awesome just like comics are. It's a big thing if you come in here, I tell you all the time.
01:00:43
Obviously, we just talked about how I have to compete with online markets that don't have overhead, that give huge discounts on books. And so that stinks in a little bit as a just business owner perspective, you know I mean? But I have to do it if I want to sell it, because if you come in and you can just get on your phone while you're in my store and shop somewhere else, I have to compete with that or all those other things. But hardcovers are only printed once, like comics. And I say that all the time.
01:01:10
And I say, you know, get this. The absolute Batman hardcover is very collectible. It's absolute Wonder Woman and absolute Superman, same way, all sold out at the distribution level. So some hardcover books sell out instantaneously. We talked about the best selling omnibus of all time, the Jim Lee um crossover event from the 90s, the Amalgam crossover that had that whole series in it.
01:01:33
And not only was it the best selling distribution-wise, so they produced the most of the omnibus of all time, it still goes for $350 a piece online. I'm so glad mine is still wrapped in plastic. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Literally. But that's the funny thing about it, right? You would be like, oh, yeah, sweet, I could sell this tonight. And you could. And tomorrow, you could put it on eBay and sell for $350. But then you'd pay eBay their fee. And then you'd pay for the shipping or whatever it was for the supplies. And then you got your $270.
01:02:02
and then you pay your electricity bill and then you don't have any money and you're like, fuck I want my book back! You got such a good attitude about things that I feel like, you know, if you were to go on Twitter or even read, you know, like online and to hear some of the complaints from other comic shop owners, which I mean, I'm not saying that they're not warranted complaints or, you know, people like venting online, but you always seem to have a very good attitude about, you know, things like, like you were mentioning, like the competition with like other online stores and...
01:02:31
I don't know, you always feel like you've got a good solution or a good mindset. I guess is there anything that you worry about? What's your biggest fear when it comes to owning a comic shop that you don't quite have an answer yet? Yeah, well, know, all right, so it might not appear like it, but no matter what you do, especially if you own a business, is no um amount of, there's nothing you can do no matter how successful you are to alleviate some natural worry about
01:02:59
What if this doesn't happen? Or what if I don't get to this sales? Because naturally, when you own a business, there's only two ways to go. You either grow and you continue to grow, or you continue to decay and die. There's really only, you only go up or down, you know? So naturally, I have natural worries all the time, just natural cash flow. Because you're like, man, I want to do this, and I want to make that happen.
01:03:22
But I think it goes back to my personal mentality with how I pretty much deal with life in general. And that is um I just believe that um I think about that I've done it for 46 years and that every time I've had a serious problem in my life or anytime there's been a first world problem where I'm like, man, this really worries me. Am I going to be able to find a solution to get through this? I find it every single time. And I have an in core belief that um
01:03:51
What I'm doing is the right thing for me to do right now. So um although, yes, I have natural worries, and sometimes I don't sleep well in a specific night, first off, I think it's wholly irresponsible, and I despise it when business owners complain to their customers about their business. You know, I mean, first off, if you didn't want to take risk, then you shouldn't have been involved in taking risk. m And so but then to put it on customers,
01:04:20
to make them feel at all like ah they could be doing something better. Because that's what you're doing if you're complaining about your business to somebody or like, oh, man, wish that sales were better. oh I wish people would buy more of these. Or I wish I didn't have to sell that book at 35 % off. You're basically inherently making them feel like maybe they're not doing something. In fact, I actually don't like when people come in here and say,
01:04:47
I would never cheat on you. I'm like, cheat on me. Go to another comic shop. I don't give a shit. Like at all. Every shop has their own cool stuff. I mean, I appreciate you coming in. But literally, perspective is a hell of a drug. And almost exclusively, when I have a problem where I'm like, am I going to keep doing this? Do I want to keep doing this? I think if I didn't have that shop, what would I think? And I'm like, no, I would be very upset. And so every day is a blessing to do this.
01:05:15
I think perspective, like I said, really matters to be able to tell yourself that, hey, man, this is a first world problem you're having right now. And then regardless, I have the same problems that everybody has in every business all the time. I don't bring it to work, and I'm not bringing it into the shop, and I'm certainly not putting it on anybody's shoulders who's nice enough to drive up here and be a part of the place. So I think it all kind of folds into each other.
01:05:40
But yeah, man, I get normal stresses, you know? My girlfriend probably is like, you guys have no idea. know? Because yeah, yeah. She's going to send me the questions for you next Yeah, exactly. Let's get her in here. Now let's tell him the truth, What's he like at night? He's like, that motherfucker said he sent an email, but he didn't send shit. You know? mean, we take everything very personally because we want to do such a great job. And that's the coolest part. But yeah, I'm lucky and fortunate, man.
01:06:09
Great perspective. I think on that topic, uh speaking about being a business owners, the challenges and joys that come with it. The last email I got comes from a mutual friend, also a fellow business owner as well. It's Kyle Willis. Oh, nice. Yeah, I love Kyle. The best. uh Owner of Cowabunga Comics. He's been on the show. He's an artist himself. He's a great guy. Check him out. Kyle writes, Ben, what up, buddy? My crime fighting kick ass fellow store owner.
01:06:38
I'm curious, how do you manage to stay so high energy without literally making a Bane costume so you can infuse the caffeine into your bloodstream? Yeah. It goes on hold. Are you just that jacked up on Mountain Dew, or do you think it has something to do with the comics you consume? Here's my real question. I know you're probably going to say Final Boss is your favorite comic that came out this year, but what is your favorite indie book if you had to pick one you weren't literally drawn into? oh
01:07:08
That's a good joke. I like that. Short Box Nation, my favorite book this year for pure ridiculousness alone would have to be the audacious Captain Savoho by Marco Marcus and C. Michael Lanning. Only Dr. Flaw could drop this book and it seemed like any other day. It's a sexy adventure written by Scallywag. Need I say more? Big shout out to Kyle. So he's asking here. All cool. All right, I am going to do this, but I need to.
01:07:42
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. know, Mad Cave is based out of Miami. just found that out. they are Florida company. Yep, exactly. all right, so two, first off, I'm going to start with the independent. Then I'm going to answer your question about why I'm so jacked up all the time. OK, first answer, though, Kyle's the best. Let me tell you something. We talked about this briefly earlier, but the shop was robbed.
01:08:03
and then we were able to put this uh... pictures of the robbers out on social media and get multiple news articles written input on tv in jacksonville because poll customers who come here uh... one of them kyle willis loans cowbunga comics shared extensively put a bounty on the head of the gentleman yet because he's been robbed recently in comic shop owners uh... we're in this because we love comics and uh... it's easy to tell and he did so much to share
01:08:31
and a bring of those men to justice that partly because what kyle willis did those men walked in here in broad daylight returned everything in more than more than we even knew they'd say in the yeah we say and i always that kind of stand-up guy and you know uh... there's another uh... comic book shop in town uh... and i'm going to need a mom but i can promise you they were doing me any favors you know and and i i i paid me a head and i i i i have all the
01:09:00
All right, then the prop I got right here, shout out to Mad Cave, because a bad idea and um Ignition Press have been awesome. But Mad Cave has been writing some really amazing ones. There's one called Our Soot Stained Heart Number One. So the first issue that's come out, so good. Highly recommend, probably got 10 left after. It's tough in comic book world. On a Mad Cave Studio comic, you probably order 10 or 15 cover A's when they come out, because you can't.
01:09:28
risk more than that. And then I'll go mad scrambled to get 10 more. So I got more. Our Soot Stained Heart, Red Vector by Mad Cave Studios. Amazing. The fifth issue just came out. I really, really enjoy this one. And then ah let's see, there was one other title of a new brand, new number one that came out.
01:09:50
I try to tell them about it. But yeah, check out Red Vector and check out our Soot Stained Heart, both Brandon Nummers. Oh yeah, Dan Hauser, Dark Horse Comics. ah It is here. uh I got it. One more prop for the video listeners, viewers. These guys are awesome. This is fantastic. And I'll tell you why this is so good. This is Dan Hauser, Lazlo, Dan Lampum, Chris Anderson, Lee Lowridge. is second issue.
01:10:18
uh... we still have copy number one in here they've done two issues of american caper dark horse comics but it's so great because it literally the wife is or like a right wing uh... like insane online person the daughter is a left wing insane online person and the father is like just caught in this wyoming incredible like uh... uh... world of drugs murder espionage mystery it is absolutely fantastic dan hauser dark horse comics so good
01:10:48
And then, all right, the reason, yes, I wake up every single morning with a percolator and I take Bustelo coffee and I put that in there and it is espresso grinds it gets me going every single day. So yes, I am infused by caffeine. Every Puerto Rican and Spanish listening to that right now is hype that you said Cafe Bustelo. no, no, no, no. Most of time you see a commercial and the product you get is never as good as what you get on the commercial. Cafe Bustelo.
01:11:14
And then, is so good. I'm asking for a sponsorship here. Yeah, exactly. I mean, this is an easy one. Trust me, no one will sell your coffee better than me, or Bader for that matter. But then the other thing is, I love this. This is like my favorite thing ever. Someone actually wants to talk to me about American Caper and Red Vector and Save Now and Ordained. And that's kind of the fun part about the shop in general, is that you work all day, nobody gives a shit to talk about the one shot will of doom.
01:11:44
Or like, what happened in the age of Revelation? But then Jonathan and I see each other, and we're like, oh my god, you read Absolute Superman? Biggest nerds ever. But isn't that the best part of the hobby? I mean, you know, it used to be like why we traded baseball cards and stuff. Which ones did you get last night? And so um life is hard. Life, uh it can really beat you down. And so that's kind of the point of all of it on top of just having a hobby to collect. I think with that being said, I have one more question for you. um
01:12:11
You know, just thinking about a topical things that are going on this month. Um, especially, uh, even this, this week you brought up earlier, uh, how invincible earlier in the year of the battle beast blind bags, um, uh, et cetera in the show, we're bringing in a lot of folks, you know, your normies bringing in, Hey, I've watched the show. Want to check out the comic book. I there's a blind bag this week or I think last week, uh, they were releasing the,
01:12:36
Avengers Doomsday uh teaser trailers. There was a Captain America one, a Thor one, and I think we finally got the main one. Has that had, and we're on the topic of Marvel too, I guess has the news and the hype for Avengers Doomsday done anything in terms of bringing folks in to pick up more Marvel books? guess you would like to think that these movies and shows help bring Well, I'll tell you what, Supergirl.
01:13:01
trailer dropping has brought in a lot of people getting Supergirl, the Tom King story. So I bought a ton of hardcovers and a ton of trade paperbacks. And DC has done a great job of having those available because they were out of stock for a while um with the drop of the trailer. And we've gotten a ton of that. And I think that speaks to how James Gunn and DC was very smart to make their connected universes um where you're reading a story in Detective.
01:13:28
Well that Batman, that's the Batman that's happening in the Matt Fraction. You're not guessing when it's happening, so that's really cool. You're right. They do make it very idiot proof, like hey, if you like this movie, you will go read this. There's a downside, though, to um that. uh it's if you don't perform well in the other media, then it can have an opposite effect. In one of those places is Star Wars.
01:13:52
Star Wars is a great buy right now, not only just for all the awesome stories. The Kylo Ren story is badass. It's after all of this nonsense. It would have made a much better movie. But the relatively division of the more recent Star Wars movies has had an adverse effect on people wanting to buy Star Wars comics, even though they've never been better. It's Luke Skywalker with the green lightsaber. It's like everything you ever- such a bad taste- taste in people's mouth. so- um
01:14:20
Now what I'm noticing, this is just word of mouth, but this is the real legitimate word of mouth when most people bring up the new Doomsday stuff, they have fatigue because they believe that uh Marvel thinks they're so dumb that if they just bring Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. and these guys back, that we'll all just flood to the theater again. In reality, they made great movies. The Winter Soldier was badass.
01:14:47
The Avengers Infinity game, even though they were super complicated with all the characters, they just did such a great job with every movie leading up to it, storytelling-wise, that it was a crescendo effect and everybody had to go. And then you had natural word of mouth after the first Avengers Infinity, like, oh my god, they've never left really where they've lost since Empire Strikes Back. It does feel like a break in case, like they broke the glass because it's an emergency. Right. Hey, nostalgia is behind the glass. and so right now,
01:15:15
um It's which isn't a bad thing it actually drives down the hype for the movie which you would say oh That's a bad thing, but if they make an awesome movie Then the minority will go and word-of-mouth will spread and all the you guys were on the actually I want about it We'll go and see it immediately so Marvel has a great opportunity to bring that crowd back in But no one does a better job of tying the movies the animated stuff and the regular comics and drawing in people
01:15:43
than DC does right now because they've connected it all and made it similar stuff. Where you're like, oh, I want to read the Graham Morrison story about Superman because there's the movie. I want to read Supergirl tomorrow because I want to see this new style Supergirl. We're not afraid to go. Al Garza, one of my favorite modern artists now, he's awesome. Awesome guy. Shout out to him. He was talking about how back in the 90s, they hired him to do Supergirl.
01:16:07
But then there are a couple of his artwork came up where he had drawn Supergirl like smoking a cigarette with a beer in her hand, of like sitting in an expose way, weird way, in an alleyway. And they did not want that to be connected to their character now. And he's like, it's so weird 25 years later seeing like that's what they're going with, drunk Supergirl. Yeah, he's like, bro, they wouldn't even give me a job, guys. You ahead of your Yeah, he was literally 30 years ahead of his time. And I'm like, yeah, that's true. Really, just his social norms. And that's what they're doing. So Marvel.
01:16:36
has ruined all of their goodwill. cried wolf too much by trying to get people, like, they just stopped making great movies. They made good movies, but not great movies. And that has had an effect. And so now on the new doomsday, I think people are a little weary, a little beat down like, oh yeah, Robert Downey Jr., you guys think I'm dumb, I'm just going to go. But if they make a great movie, I'm dumb and I'll go. Yeah, I'll be among the dumbest. easy. Yeah, it's simple. So it really is just going to depend on them.
01:17:04
If they make a super, super complicated, out of control movie that clearly feels like it was just a money grab to make another one, then it'll... I agree. I think people will see right through it. And I guess, Ben, uh the last question I truly have for you is when you think about this year, when you think about the most popular comics for Gotham City, whether it be Most Sold or just critically acclaimed among the customers here, what...
01:17:32
Three, if you want to say five, if you want to go for five, go for five. What three five comics do you feel perfectly encapsulate or represent this year for Gotham City Limit? Oh, they make up what we are. Well, one of them is Exquisite Corpses. I have taken a big risk on it, not just because um I think it's awesome and it's a James Tiny product. And we obviously did two Andrew Robinson exclusives on the first two issues of it.
01:17:59
So I have my own long box of exquisite courses. There aren't many titles where I actually have like a long box of it, but I always recommend it. It's a great uh adult story and it's been fantastic. And then on top of it, they have a game connected to it. So you can get the Polybag version that has like the magic, this gathering style cards, but then there's a foil one in 10. So it makes it exciting. Jonathan and I are junkies.
01:18:25
And you know, we're getting 100 of these things. They're like, I have the magic touch, by the way, Jonathan does not. I find them so quick, Jonathan, never finds them. But anyway, back to my original. Yeah, Exquisite Corpse, amazing. Absolutely love that title. Really, really love it. Let's see, what else? uh Geiger, Rook, and Hyde Street. Geiger, Rook, Redcoat, Hyde Street, Make Up, the new. Also, multiple long boxes of that. um
01:18:54
And that stuff is so popular and ever gaining popularity. We have our exclusive hardcover, the first six issues, then the second hardcover of Geiger Vol. 2, the next six that came out. But that's what started it all. And then the Hyde Street's so good. The best horror, like, consistent horror comic out there. Hyde Street, amazing, Sisterhood, the little side story. So that, and then another one that really encapsulated what we do, you know, it's basically the big long boxes in here that have one single title in them.
01:19:22
and other ones are the absolute stuff and obviously absolute are all very popular ah whether it's Martian Manhunter or Wonder Woman or Superman I think Martian Manhunter is the biggest surprise from a like um character that you wouldn't expect to be super super popular but because of the way Dennis Camp has found a way
01:19:43
to really write the character and make it super unique and then have the colors of the art tied into Yeah, it doesn't hurt to have Javier Rodriguez absolutely. Right. Well, the artwork makes it like the story's awesome. But the artwork really is phenomenal for It matches it perfectly. And it makes it such a cool read to where you really study the art. But Absolute Superman is still my favorite of them all. The last issue that just came out, Absolute 14, was Ra's al Ghul, the Kryptonite sword versus Superman. And then it leads into in two weeks.
01:20:12
He gets his regular kind of normal suit, and it was just amazing. And Jason Aaron has absolutely crushed it. And then we were looking at Rafi Sandoval's art right before this show. And he is so underrated, so good. And so ah I would say that and then the Dynamite stuff. The only other thing that really encapsulates what this year was, besides Dynamite and all the old 80s titles of like ThunderCats and Space Ghost, which is crazy to think about.
01:20:39
that those titles outsell so many big name titles. I sell more Space Ghost than I sell Flash, or Green Arrow, or um Mr. Terrific, or um Thor, or Captain America. Space Ghost is doing numbers like that. Space Ghost and Thundercats.
01:21:06
I got 28 people on Green Lantern, I got 38 people on Space Ghost, you know, and that is, know, some old stuff like that. And then Mark Spears has really captured the blind bag, if you would ask me who did it second best, it's been Mark Spears because he realized that on top of making something cool and collectible like TMNT where you can get the high-end incentive, he made 74 collect covers.
01:21:30
So when you're opening those blind bags, not only can you get one in 600s, one in 1400s, super 14,000s, very limited ones, but you can also, if you're a collector, you don't mind opening 15 of them, because you've got 15 different covers and you know, there's a whole set of them and that makes it cool too. So um those, think, are the comics that kind of encapsulate what happened in here. Besides the fact that we did all the store exclusives this year that we crushed, Exquisite Corpses, Berserker,
01:21:59
read Sonia, ordained. I mean, we just keep going down the line. I was super fortunate with Final Boss and Tyler Kirkland to be drawn in that comic, so that was a dream come true. And you know, that's the beauty of Kickstarter. Tyler Rand, Final Boss number one, threw a crowdfunded source in 2020, and I took a risk at just making a cover and paying to be drawn in it.
01:22:23
for fun, know, just I never thought it would be an image comic. And then because we did that, when Image Comics bought it, I'm naturally drawn in it. And now I'm in every comic store. And you were on the news for it. That was really cool. Jacks, man. There we go. Actually, Ben, I lied to you. I have one last question. I would feel remiss if we didn't look to the future of comics and what 2026 has in store for fans like us. What are you most excited for when it comes to next year?
01:22:52
What are you looking forward to most in terms of comic books in 2026? I think what I'm most looking forward to is the continuation and in-depth storytelling that's coming from the Absolute Universe because that stuff's awesome. And just like I said, same thing with the Energon universe. I'm looking forward to now how it's funny how when you first read it and you get the information about characters from some of these stories about how
01:23:20
We think you understand it. And then 24 issues, 30 issues, 35 issues in. There's these layers of complexness and storytelling that you never originally saw from the beginning. So I love the mystery part of that. um I think that uh there is going to be a push for, uh I love mystery comics. I love do it yourself, solve it yourself, figure it out kind of ideas.
01:23:47
uh... with the ck o's doing with scoops a corpse is doing with uh... uh... the different rankings where they essentially have like a nc style like ncs uh... march madness style rankings where you get to pick who's gonna win be involved uh... like so i can see that becoming a thing that caplains mastermind is such a great comic for that i'd love reading a comic in not knowing what's about to happen so on these creator on comics and then
01:24:16
There's so much, what I'm really looking forward to is what I don't even know. Like, you know, I really don't know where Invincible's gonna go. But I bet it's gonna come back, one thing that I'm looking forward to 100 % is for the first time ever, ever, comic shops get to sell a PlayStation 5 game. So Invincible versus 3? Oh yeah, we get our, we sell it here.
01:24:41
for $60 with a copy of Invincible Reprint, or you can buy the Collector Bundle. So the same thing that you can get at GameStop. Sorry, GameStop. You've been encroaching on me all this time. know what I mean? Yeah. We get to sell from here. Pre-orders are live. It comes out in April. The day the video game comes out at GameStop, it's the same day it comes out here. that's all Robert Kirkman.
01:25:01
because uh... finally somebody understands that the popularity of all the stuff starts a complex stores in he decided the comic shop should be able to sell the video game to cuz that's where invincible really began and mean just think about that the crossover appeal between comic fan i mean the need reason that is not so many people and battle beasts not only was the blind bag but a lot of people came in for him we still have people that come in for young people battle beasts and invincible has
01:25:27
has created so much and it's only gonna get better. And then I'm interested to see what the boys do. um I think the iron is hot for them. They did a little Dear Becky thing, but I still think there's opportunity for that kind of genre. And then I'm curious as to where we're gonna go in comics. Power Rangers is ending. Boom Studios is ending Power Rangers, so that's no longer. But I've always said, don't do Power Rangers, do Voltron. If you did Voltron, we would crush.
01:25:55
Bro, mean we would do, you know what mean? So like right there I'm like hoping that maybe we'll make a transition because Power Rangers to me as a 46 year old is the poor man's Voltron. You know, that's always how it's been when I saw it on TV. I was like, fuck Voltron was better and that's why I didn't like it when I was 13. Yeah, I yeah, so. I like to think that there are some industry insiders that look forward to this episode strictly for all of the free game you give. On what they should be making, bro. We would crush Voltron because right now Tim Seely is writing a He-Man.
01:26:25
And people don't understand He-Man in Master's Universe, very, very popular. And it really comes from the villains in those universes. So if you have great villains, you have great heroes and great storytelling. So 2026 is going to bring stuff that I don't even know is possible. And I'm super excited about it.
01:26:47
and i know that uh... tb will continue to make terrible tb like love island to distract my girlfriend so i can read every night i got the fact that i'm sure you for that reason alone and i think with that being said then this has been a fantastic way to wrap up the year i can't buy every time i get a chance to talk to you get so i'd be go home and read this is short box of comics that i've been sitting on hopefully this is the time to get you started yeah i i don't i got one piece of advice for you
01:27:15
and anybody who buys comics and feels like, I'm so behind, just pick a spot and start reading. And then continuously, it's like working out. You know, don't want to do it, but get up and work out. And then I promise you two days later, get up and work out. And then all of a sudden, you're just working out all the time. Same thing with reading. Pick a spot, start reading. Maybe you'll go back and read it, but do what I do. I flew on an airplane this past time and took a giant omnibus with me.
01:27:40
sat right there as everybody is reading the college's power and through an old story that i never caught up on self if yes so read now read often it's good for you and uh... thank you for coming this is awesome is like my favorite time i never really get to just talk for two hours about my house so bad because i'm like i've been there we record after you close the shop and i was like uh... you know i'm done he's already had a full day at work
01:28:02
And then by the middle of it, I'm like, he's having a ball. It's my favorite thing ever. It's why I do it. People always ask, you know? And that's why I come up here. could hire people and just have them here instead. And I do it to give me something to do. I really do love it. uh thank you to everybody who comes to this place and everybody who supports the limit. We couldn't do it without you. Remember, if you're ripe, you're rotten. So always be a tough little green banana. And with that, I'm out.
01:28:27
I love it. Box Nation, is what I got for you. I've answered, Ben has answered every question I've had, questions the Patronis have had. If you've got a question for him that I didn't even think about, hit me up at theshortboxjacks at gmail.com. I hope you enjoyed this episode. And most importantly, I hope you have a great new year. So look, enjoy yourself, take care of yourself, do what Ben said, read, read your comics, read often. And I love you guys. Thank you so much for supporting the Short Box. And I'm sure...
01:28:54
2026 will be another great year for the podcast. Stay tuned for more of what we do here. Peace, y'all.
