Welcome back to another installment of “What Do You REALLY Know About Comics?”
It’s been a while since our last interview. I apologize, but making comics and having kids has put a big dent into my available time to transcribe these interviews and get them to you. I have a ton in the bank and really want to make them a more regularly scheduled series. I’m hoping to have that figured out by the end of the year.
“What Do You REALLY Know About Comics?” is a comic interview series that gives non-comic readers a chance to try some of the best that comics have to offer in an attempt to change any preconceived notions they may have about what the wonderful world of comics actually are.
Enough blabbing, let’s get on with the interview.
Today’s interview is with Jon. Jon is 29 years old and works in real estate. Let’s find out exactly what Jon REALLY knows about comics.
Joe Mulvey: I really appreciate you taking the time to do this.
Jon: No problem. It’s just reading right?
Joe Mulvey: Yeah. Well, for now. The physical comes later.
Jon: Okay, that part I’ll probably call in sick for.
Joe Mulvey: Understood. Okay, so this is for a series of interviews I do called “What Do You REALLY Know About Comics?”. So that’s exactly what I want to ask you: what do you know about comics?
Jon: The books themselves, I don’t remember reading much as a kid. But I watched a lot of the cartoons. Hulk and Spider-Man on Saturday mornings. ThunderCats, He-Man, all that stuff. Loved them when I was little.
Joe Mulvey: Okay, so when you even hear the word “Comics”, you think about cartoons?
Jon: Yeah. Cartoons, or I guess the books, maybe. Movies now, right? All the Spider-Man and Batman ones.
Joe Mulvey: Okay. Do you know anyone that’s currently reading any comics?
Jon: Nah. I mean, I don’t think so. I have younger nephews but they’re all about video games and iPad games.
Joe Mulvey: Safe to say you associate comics as something for possibly a younger audience?
Jon: A bit, yeah. I’m sure they’re fun and entertaining. I play video games and that used to be just a kids thing.
Joe Mulvey: Don’t want you to feel like you have to pose your answers any certain way at all, you’re not going to offend me. Just–
Jon: Yeah, no, I’m not. I just mean, obviously you must like them or read them, enough to do these type of interviews. I don’t want to be insensitive to something you or anyone who’d read your interviews obviously likes. But, I just don’t know anyone that I can think of that reads them.
Joe Mulvey: Ha! Okay, that’s fine. I love comics. And I’m hoping when we’re done with this, you might like them more than you do right now.
Jon: I’ll try anything once. And it’s hard to keep reading about all the bad crap happening in the world every day. Give me something fun to read for once, Joe.
Joe Mulvey: I will, trust me. What kind of things do you normally read?
Jon: I’m a little bit of a political junkie. Only started when I started selling real estate. You get into reading up on local stuff, neighborhood officials, local city and state guys. Then it just grew from there. So now I read–
Joe Mulvey: Mostly online or in print?
Jon: Print mostly. Well no, thats a lie. Some of both, but I guess with my phone and iPad. More online. I read the Post and Daily News, Huff Post, Drudge. Politico, Wall Street Journal.
Joe Mulvey: Do you read any fiction at all? Besides the Post.
Jon: HA! The Post is awful. I know. I always wonder why I read it. Uh, fiction stuff, not really. More just sports and politics.
Joe Mulvey: Okay, don’t think I’m signing you up for a dating site, I’m not, but I need to know a little more about you so I can custom tailer a reading list of comics for you to hopefully enjoy. So tell me what other interests or hobbies do you have?
Jon: Sports. I love basketball, baseball, hockey, football. All the big ones.
Joe Mulvey: What teams?
Jon: Nets, Mets, Devils and Jets.
Continued belowJoe Mulvey: You, my friend, know all about pain, don’t you?
Jon: HA! Oh yeah. Never ending. You watch sports at all?
Joe Mulvey: Rangers, Yankees and Jets. Not a basketball guy.
Jon: You know some pain yourself.
Joe Mulvey: I do. I definitely do. Okay, so you said you played video games? What games?
Jon: First person shooters mostly. Some Madden. Nothing crazy, I probably have about ten games max. And that’s with the last few years of Madden.
Joe Mulvey: Okay. Any favorite TV shows or movies?
Jon: Breakfast Club is probably my favorite movie of all time. Se7en. Godfather. Old School. Something About Mary. All good ones. I liked the last few Batman movies. I loved Friday Night Lights. I still watch The Walking Dead. The Strain.
Joe Mulvey: You know “the Walking Dead” is a comic, right?
Jon: I know it’s a book. They say it on the show.
Joe Mulvey: They say based on the graphic novel or something like that, but graphic novel is just another name for a comic.
Jon: Huh. Okay, cool. Well I’m a huge fan of that show. I dress up as a zombie every year for halloween because of that show.
Joe Mulvey: Friendly cosplay, I love it. Okay, I think I have a good enough gauge to give you some books that you’d hopefully like. What I’ll do is give you some books to check out. Once you’ve read them and feel like talking about them, email or text me and we’ll set up the follow up. I’m looking forward to it.
Jon: Cool.
Jon’s reading list consisted of “Nailbiter” #1-2 from Image Comics,”Letter 44″ #1-2 from Oni Press, “Deadly Class” #1-2 from Image Comics, “MPH” #1-2 from Image Comics, “Batman: Court of Owls” from DC Comics, “Manhattan Projects” v1 from Image Comics, and “The Walking Dead” v1 from Image Comics.
It’s been 22 days, but Jon’s back and ready to tell us what he REALLY thinks about comics.
Joe Mulvey: Okay, so whats the verdict? What did you think?
Jon: First off, I’m just going to say this, in case I’m breaking any rules, I know you have a system but I chose not to read “The Walking Dead.” Let me explain why before you say anything. I watch the show and don’t know anything and I don’t want to spoil that. I want the show to be a surprise.
Joe Mulvey: YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW DARE– I’m just kidding, that’s totally fine. But to let you know, that “Walking Dead” volume, the show’s already passed it, story wise. Some things are different, the show definitely goes its own way, but there’s nothing that would’ve ruined the show for you.
Jon: I didn’t want to take the chance.
Joe Mulvey: I hear ya. Not a problem. Okay, so what did you think?
Jon: I think I have some questions.
Joe Mulvey: Lemme hear’em.
Jon: Okay, so these… what you gave me were comics, yes? Not graphic novels, just comics?
Joe Mulvey: Right. What I gave you was comics. Well, some comics and some graphic novels. Anything that was labeled a Volume was a “Graphic Novel”. The floppies or things that said #1 or #2 on the cover were issues. Issues are twenty to twenty two pages versus the trades that are maybe a hundred or so. Without confusing you too much, a graphic novel is when you collect a bunch of comics and print them together in a hardcover or softcover edition, like that Batman book I gave you was originally sold in issues which got collected into that larger edition.
Jon: Okay then, and make fun of me if you’d like, why not just make that? Can I always just buy that?
Joe Mulvey: You mean just get the bigger book, the graphic novel?
Jon: Yeah. Exactly. I loved the books. Once I got into the pattern of reading it, some books, like the Batman one, I found a little hard to follow at a few points. Stuff seems to jump around, but I got it and it worked out. They were really good. But that “Nailbiter” book or “MPH”, or the issue ones were annoying. I’m finding out about a kid taking drugs to runs like the Flash and then it ends. And the price is $2.99 or $3.99 on the cover. Why not just charge me the twenty bucks and give me the whole story?
Continued belowJoe Mulvey: Well thats just the serialized format. Like TV, each episode comes out and then you wait for the next one. It’s meant to hopefully grow a following like that.
Jon: But a TV show is waiting for me at home, these books I’d have to go get each week or month they came out. So a TV show is every week in my house and then I’d have to wait for these books at a book store or street corner?
Joe Mulvey: Not a street corner anymore, unless hookers start selling comics, which wouldn’t be a bad thing–
Jon: I mean like a newspaper kiosk or something.
Joe Mulvey: No, I know what you mean. Comics are sold in comic shops mainly. The trades and a few issues can be found in bigger book stores. Again, trades being a term for the graphic novels.
Jon: So, comic book stores are by themselves, or you mean like a section in a book store?
Joe Mulvey: Wow, thats an eye opening comment. Yeah, they’re their own stores. You’re a local guy in Queens right?
Jon: Rego Park.
Joe Mulvey: Okay, well, I’m not familiar with that area’s comic shops but I know in Forrest Hills on Metropolitan Avenue is Royal Collectibles, which is a GREAT shop for comics. Fairly close. I remember Austin Street had one or two, not sure if they’re still around. There’s a website you can type your address into and find the local shop near you. I think it’s actually called Comic Shop Locator.
Jon: So it’s a collectible type store? Like a hobby shop?
Joe Mulvey: Most comic shops sell a bunch of stuff relating to comics, sports or wrestling. Toys, cards, shirts, artwork, statues, etc.
Jon: So if I walked into one and went to the N section, I could grab all the rest of “Nailbiter”?
Joe Mulvey: Kind of, yeah. It doesn’t work like a library in most places but stores do have bins, long boxes with past issues in them. It should have a trade out soon, which collects the first 5 issues. Then, if you’d want to read from #6 or so on, you’d need to tell the shop owner to pre-order the book for you.
Jon: Pre-order? Like with an album on iTunes?
Joe Mulvey: Yeah, but the comics need the pre-ordering more than music does, I’d think. Maybe not.
Jon: What if I just went back in a few months and wanted to grab whatever ones are out by then?
Joe Mulvey: You certainly could, IF they had them in stock. They might not have ordered enough of whatever book you’d want so then it would be sold out.
Jon: So how could… Well, whats the best way to get the books when they come out?
Joe Mulvey: If you want the physical book in your hand, go to a local shop you like, or try one of the online shop services. I’ll give you a list and make a pull list.
Jon: A pull list?
Joe Mulvey: Yeah.
Jon: Weird name.
Joe Mulvey: It’s not a porn thing, I promise. It’s just a list you give the retailer so they know what you want them to order and put aside.
Jon: Okay, I’d assume there’s a fee.
Joe Mulvey: No, it’s free. In most shops I believe. Some charge a fee to have a membership which gets you a discounted price on stuff you buy but I wouldn’t worry about that just yet. The shop owner or workers just put aside your books. You pick them up however you choose to. Once a week, twice a month, whatever.
Jon: How often do books comes out? Monthly you said.
Joe Mulvey: Most do, some a little more, some faster. Some can be weekly.
Jon: And what if I just want the trades? I looked on Amazon and put some of “the Manhattan Projects” books in my cart. I didn’t want to buy them until I spoke with you first.
Joe Mulvey: How great is that book?
Jon: It’s absolutely crazy. Not the Oppenheimer I’ve ever heard of.
Joe Mulvey: It gets even crazier. Okay, cool. Amazon works, and there’s also a digital option with companies like ComiXology. Which allows you to buy the books and read them on your phone/computer/tablet with an app. I was going to suggest some to you but I actually ran outta gift cards to give you.
Continued belowJon: Maybe I’ll check that out. Is it a lot different?
Joe Mulvey: Holding a book in your hand and reading it online is definitely two different experiences but the story is the same. Just formatted for a computer or tablet. Whatever you’re reading on. Let me just ask you, we’ve gone off about the way to get comics which, I get, can be a little confusing.
Jon: Yeah, feels like a lotta work to do just to buy a book, ya know?
Joe Mulvey: I do. Trust me, the system has flaws. I think, as a fan and reader, you just want the product bad enough so you put up with the system the way it is. But there’s gotta be a better way to go about it.
Jon: Yeah.
Joe Mulvey: Okay, can we just talk about the books themselves, what you liked or didn’t? This kind of material definitely wasn’t what you were thinking when you and I spoke about comics a month ago, was it?
Jon: NO! Not at all. This stuff was much broader and way better than, I guess, how I initially felt. I mean, Batman was Batman, but even that was such a good story. I never knew Batman had a brother!
Joe Mulvey: Batman has always been a interesting character but what the guys on that book, writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, have done with it is definitely a whole next level. That trade collects, I think, 10 or 12 issues and they’re still on the book and it’s up to issue 32 or 33. See, thats why you’d want to go to a shop. If you liked that “Batman”, you can go get the rest of their stuff, their past stuff. The artist Greg Capullo did a book called “Spawn” and “Creech”. You can seek out the creators past or upcoming works and really find some great stuff.
Jon: That’s cool. First I want to buy all of “MPH”, loved that and the serial killer town one–
Joe Mulvey: “MPH” is from a writer called Mark Millar, those Kick-Ass movies are based on his comic book. Have you checked that out at all?
Jon: I’ve seen it on TV. Haven’t watched it yet.
Joe Mulvey: He’s a guy who’s got a lot of work out there for you to check out. One of the names I’d definitely suggest for you to check out if you start reading more. And “Nailbiter” is one of my favorite books on the stands. I actually have a drawing in issue #4.
Jon: So you draw this stuff too?
Joe Mulvey: Yeah. My first book was called “SCAM”, it came out from a great company called ComixTribe.
Jon: Why didn’t you give me that?
Joe Mulvey: Not right off the bat. I’m proud of my stuff but there’s better stuff out there to hook you with. I’ll give you a copy later. Okay, so anything else about the books?
Jon: The book with the letter from the past president–
Joe Mulvey: “Letter 44” from Charles Soule, he’s the writer. Great book, also.
Jon: That book made me so pissed I didn’t have more issues. I need to see what happens in that.
Joe Mulvey: We can make that happen, Jon. I’m happy to walk you through how to get the books. I’m just glad you liked them. I love seeing new people have their eyes opened to what comics really are.
Jon: Definitely not what I thought before. I was thinking all Spider-Man, Batman and Robin stuff. Which feels uninteresting to me on some level. But even the Batman book you gave me was awesome, so maybe I’m wrong there too.
Joe Mulvey: Only one way to find out, right? Go into a shop and go crazy. I’d suggest a shop at first so you can flip through the books yourself.
Jon: Yeah, I can’t lie: I’m going to be a guy that buys the bigger books. I’d rather the complete story. Those last a while at least. I was reading the issues in minutes then you’re left hanging. Plus I saw each book is three or four bucks. I’d rather pay ten or twenty and get the whole story.
Joe Mulvey: No problem with that. Read them however you want to but just read them.
Jon: Just not “The Walking Dead”.
Joe Mulvey: I’m telling you the books are different from the show. You should go back and at least read Volume One. The real way Laurie dies is from a zombie three way.
Continued belowJon: Is that right?
Joe Mulvey: See? You’re missing out. Thanks for doing this, Jon. Glad it wasn’t a bad experience.
Jon: It was awesome, thank you.
Okay, so there you have it, another convert. The business of actually getting comics into people’s hands is really an issue that needs addressing. The system is definitely a hard thing for non-readers to get. If you have any ideas, let’s talk about it in the comment thread below.
As always I highly recommend all of the books used in this interview, and I hope reading this gives a few of you the idea to put a comic into the hand of someone who might not have previously given comics a chance. Comics are at the highest quality they’ve ever been, so let’s try to get more people into them.
And as always, I really appreciate you reading “What Do You REALLY Know About Comics?”
If you’d like to talk in person and you’re at New York Comic Con in the upcoming week. Please stop by the ComixTribe tables in the small press section, table #’s 1172-1271. Ya can’t miss us. We’ll be there all four days so please stop by, say hello and check out some great comics.
Additionally, we’ll be having a live art event in Maspeth, Queens the night before the con. It’s October 8th at Gibbon’s Home (54-12 69th St., Maspeth, NY 11378), starting at 8PM and featuring myself, Tyler James, Joe Eisma, John Lees and others.
Feel free to contact me:
@JoeMulv on twitter
JoeMulveyArt.com
JoeMulveyInc@me.com
Until next time, thanks for reading.
