The Ability to Overcome Great Fear

by Comic Book Brian, posted in Personal

I am scared.  And excited.   Scared and excited.  It sounds a little confusing, but so is my life right now.  I am working on opening my own comic book store.  Many small businesses have come before, as will many come after, so I am no different than millions of others.  But this is a first for me and I am operating far outside of my comfort zone.

Now, it is not the what I am afraid of.  I am a big comic book fan and have been for years.  Naturally, there are bigger fans out there, but I know quite a bit about the world of comics.  It is the process of the how that is torturing me.  I have never done anything like this before.  I have found the steps I need to take and I am following the paths of those that have come before me.  I have asked for advice, opinions, input and help.  I have a wife that has supported and pushed me farther than I have been before.  But, at the end of the day, it’s all up to me.  And that’s where the fear kicks in.

The ability to overcome fear is the core of Green Lanterns power.  That, plus willpower is what gives a Green Lantern their strength.  I think, subconsciously, that is what drew me to the character.  When I was young, I thought it was cool that he could “make stuff” with his power ring.  But as I got older, I realized there was more to the mythology than just making cool stuff.

Perhaps this is a good place for a little Green Lantern background:

“Imagine if the ring on your finger was more than a piece of gaudy jewelry. Instead, it’s the universe’s most powerful weapon. It can create whatever you wish out of pure energy, its might limited only by your imagination and will. And with it comes exclusive membership to an exclusive intergalactic police force with alien officers spanning the cosmos.

 The only catch? Mastering that power and being a Green Lantern means facing your fears, and for headstrong Hal Jordan, that’s something he’s been avoiding his whole life.

When just a boy, Hal witnessed his greatest nightmare—his pilot father dying in a tragic plane crash. Nevertheless determined to follow in his footsteps, Hal repressed his fears, becoming a reckless, defiant test pilot. But when a dying alien crashes on Earth, the irresponsible Hal is chosen to be that alien’s successor in the Green Lantern Corps, a universe-wide peacekeeping force over 3,600 members strong.

And his life only gets wilder from there. Alien romances. Intergalactic wars. Power-hungry super-villains. Wielding a Green Lantern power ring—a weapon fueled by willpower—he can fly and create constructs made of pure energy, generating anything from massive green fists to emerald rifles that can snipe from a planet away. But while Hal tends to ignore his fears, he’ll learn the only way to truly master his ring’s power is by confronting and overcoming them.” (from DC Comics website)

So where does my fear come from?  Obviously not from piloting experimental airplanes, but maybe from the same area.  As a test pilot, Hal Jordan needs to know what to do at the exact right moment and make split second decisions or his life is in danger.  He must be alert, he must be focused and above all he must be present.

My fears stem from things such as:

  • is this the right location?
  • is my budget correct?
  • will I make my projections?
  • will anyone come?
  • what if I screw up on my books, taxes, etc?
  • what if I fail?

This last one preys on my mind a lot.  As the old saying goes, “he who never tries, never fails.”  And my consequences are not as sever as Green Lanterns.  The Earth won’t explode, nor will Sinestro take over the universe.  So what will happen?   Worse case, I wind up loosing a lot of capital and end up with more comic books then I could ever want.

No Sinestro war.

No Earth exploding.

So in all of this, I try to remain present.  And I must say it is hard.  I focus on what the business needs now, while still being mindful of the future.  I’m not spending my time fretting about what could, might or may never happen.  I try to have the confidence to do what needs to be done right now and not mindlessly worrying about the unknown.

I keep these things in mind and work on it everyday.  I am getting better at it.  I also try to remember that no hero’s journey is easy.  And whether it is a bright day or a black night, remember to stay present, positive and confident.

What in the heck is the “AR” in Avengers vs. X-Men?

by Comic Book Brian, posted in Comic Books, Marvel

For those not in the know, Marvel Comics just released their newest comic book crossover event: Avengers vs. X-Men.  In this limited series, Earths Mightest Heroes will do battle against the Children of the Atom.   Tonight I attended an Avengers vs. X-Men launch party at Comics FTW in Santa Rosa.  It was a great gathering of fanboys and fangirls showing their support for their favorite team, either The Avengers or X-Men. And I wore my Captain America mask….but that is a different story.

I raced home to crack open the pages of this blockbuster event.  Excited by the mega-huge writing staff and the art by the classic John Romita Jr., AvX (as those who are hip to the lingo) did not disappoint.  But, there was something strange on a few of the pages.  There was a strange box in the corner of some panels with the letters “AR.”

At first I thought it was some kind of misprint, that somehow, Marvel messed up royally and there were these phantom AR symbols on millions of copies of AvX and that someones head was gonna roll.  When I reached the last page, I found out I was wrong.  This symbol is for the new Marvel Augmented Reality App.  What this app does, when downloaded onto your Apple or Android device, is “enhances and changes the way you experience comics!”     What is actually does is take you beyond the comic panel.  When you hold your smart phone camera up to any panel with the symbol on it, it gives you a behind the scenes look at the making of the book.  And it’s different for each panel.  Most of them show you the rough sketches for that panel/page.  But there was one where it also had audio commentary by writer Brian Michael Bendis explaining the importance of that page to the story.  There was even a greeting from editor in chief Axel Alonso welcoming you to the AR experience.  I have to say, I found this pretty cool.  As a fan of commentary tracks on dvd’s, I found this experience very similar.  Now this isn’t something I want to see in every comic book, but I think it is something special for a big event such as this.

Makes me look forward to issue #2 in two weeks!

…and after all, you’re my Wonder Con

by Comic Book Brian, posted in Conventions

Today is the first day of Wonder Con and the unofficial start to convention season.  Brought to you by the same people who bring you Comic Con International in San Diego, Wonder Con is like the smaller brother of said convention.  In fact, I have heard it said that Wonder Con is what Comic Con was like 20 years ago, before it blew up into the mega event that it is.

Sadness hit me last year when I heard a rumor that Wonder Con was moving to Anaheim.  In the past, the “Home of the Mouse” has tried to court Comic Con to come north, but they ended up staying in San Diego.  The eagerness to have a comic book convention was still there and if you can’t have the big one, why not go for its younger sibling?  I had thought (read: hoped) that is would only be for one year, but after reading an interview with Comic-Con’s David Glanzer on comicsreporter.com I am not too optimistic.

When asked about the Moscone Center in San Francisco and convention space in general, Glanzer responded:

“Space is always very important. Not only exhibit space, but meeting space and hotel space. Anaheim offered several things that other centers didn’t. For one they had dates that were available and close to the calendar for typical WonderCon dates. They also had the exhibit space and meeting space and a hotel right across the plaza.”

And when asked about where Wonder Con will be next year:

“Well so much of it really rests on San Francisco. Currently it’s been challenging as we can’t secure dates with a longer lead time than six months. As any exhibitor knows, six months isn’t really convenient to planning your year. We hope to get dates with a longer lead time, and when that happens I think you’ll hear the announcement very quickly. So, basically, once we know, we’ll let everyone know.”

A con’s gotta do what a con’s gotta do.  In the end, Wonder Con will have to go where it makes the most financial sense.  I get that.  But I hope that San Francisco rallies and that Wonder Con comes back home…to stay.

You can read the entire interview with David Glanzer here.

 

Image Expo

by Comic Book Brian, posted in Conventions

With Wonder Con leaving for Anaheim, the bay area was left without a major comic book convention.  Sadness filled the land.  Until a shinning beacon of hope came from Berkeley pointing the way to the Oakland Convention Center: Image Comic Expo!

Image is an independent “comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by seven of Marvel Comics’ best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on to become the third largest comics publisher in the United States.”  As some people look at it, there are the “Big 2” Marvel and DC, and the rest.  And sadly, this is something that I forget from time to time.

Image Expo was this last weekend and I went on Sunday to check it out.  At first I was taken aback that there wasn’t hoards of rabid fans swarming the streets of Oakland.  And once I got into the convention floor, I had elbow room and could breath.  This was a little strange for me as I am used to the battle that is San Diego Comic Con.  But once I walked around I realized I had struck gold!  This was fantastic!  It felt like a convention should feel: fans, creators and retailers coming together to celebrate the world of comics.  No big movie booths, no massive video game stations, just comic books and their creators.  And I got to talk to the creators.  Not just “hey could you sign this” but have a conversation with them.  I mean I have never been to a con where Brian K. Vaughn (Y: The Last Man) didn’t have a mob around him, much less NO LINE!  Plus I got to chat with Rob Guillory (Chew), Jim Zub (Skullkickers) and, the man himself, Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead).

Robert Kirkman and I talk zombies!

All in all, it was a great time.  I hope that this is not the last Image Expo!

My Current Favorite Comic Book…

by Comic Book Brian, posted in Comic Books, Marvel

…is The Defenders!  I gotta say, I love the art by Terry Dodson and, of course, the writing of Matt Fraction.  It involves a team of second string Marvel characters that come together to fight a common enemy.  The team is: Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer, She-Hulk, Iron Fist and Namor.  Kinda random, but I think that is why it works so well.  Plus, I love Fractions dialogue.  Many people think he is stretched too thin and working on too many projects, but I think his stuff is still fresh.  It is only on issue #3, so I urge you to pick it up.

DC Comics New Identity

by Comic Book Brian, posted in Comic Books, DC

new logo

 

Yesterday, DC Entertainment unveiled its new brand identity and logo.  The new logo will be seen on comic books and graphic novels as well as other DC related websites and merchandise.  This is all part of DC’s radical revamping of the company.  If you remember, back in September, they relaunched their entire lineup of comic books.

The evolution of the DC logo

It was just a few years ago the “swoosh” logo replaced the “bullet” logo that had been around for years.  I’m rather partial to the “swoosh” logo (and let’s face it, it looks good before the movies, right?).  But, I understand why they did it.  This is a new era for comic books and comic book readers.  Things are changing, so for good, some not.  And a lot of people in the comic book world fear change.  DC comics is embracing it and showing that they mean business.

Another thing they are doing with the logo is personalizing it for different uses.  They have different color schemes for different uses or representing different characters.  That is kinda cool.

  Be on the lookout for these logos in March!

From The Longbox- Ads From The Past

by Comic Book Brian, posted in Comic Books
"Man Country"
"Man Country"

In days gone by, you could find all sorts of ads in the pages of comic books.  As I have been going through some back issues, I found this gem.  It was in “Nick Fury and his Agents of SHIELD” issue #5, Oct. 1973.  Don’t know if you can still send away for your free career kit, but it might be worth a try.  As it says “You only live once…make it a life of adventure!”