One Night In Austin, At The Dragon's Lair, With Marian Call & The Doubleclicks.

Recently, Jessica Mills (of Awkward Embraces fame and the upcoming web-series The N00b Chronicles) invited me to join her for a concert in Austin.  Of course I welcomed any excuse that would finally give me a chance to meet Jessica face-to-face after our conversations on-line.  Still, my day-trip away from Dallas would prove to be enjoyable for many reasons.

I'd been to The Dragon's Lair Comics And Fantasy in Austin before a few years ago, when Felicia Day was hosting a fan-meet.  I was surprised to see it named as the site of a concert, remembering that while it was a good size for a comic book and games shop it wasn't someplace I could see a band setting up.  A glance at the map also revealed that this store was in an area I wasn't familiar with.  I found out later that The Dragon's Lair had recently moved to a new location.  And what a location it is!


Me & The Doubleclicks, in the back gaming area of The Dragon's Lair.

If Valhalla had a comic book and games store, it might look something like the new Dragon's Lair.  Lain out in elegant wood paneling throughout, the entire store is evenly divided with a rough split along the Y-axis separating the comic books and games areas.  The various departments are laid out clearly and evenly, with separate check-out counters devoted towards card games and dice in addition to the main checkout counter at the front.  There's a number of displays in the middle of the store devoted toward certain specific interests that overlap both areas, like Doctor Who and Star Trek.  There's even a section devoted towards cosplay, selling make-up and licensed costume pieces like Star Trek uniforms! 

What surprised me most about the store besides its' opulence was how free they are in allowing you to sample their wares.  The store has a number of demo copies of various games available and plenty of table space for those who wish to try a game out - a welcome option for those of us who must put some serious thought into laying out dozens of dollars for the latest Fantasy Flight release!  There's also a graphic novel lending program, which made this librarian happy.  A shame I'd already read everything that was available for borrowing while I was killing time until the concert.   

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the store was its' three large gaming areas, including one private room.  It was the rearmost of these gaming areas that was cleared to make room for the evening's performers - singer Marian Call and a duo called The Doubleclicks.  The two teams performed for roughly half an hour each before a brief intermission and then another half-hour each of performing.


   

The Doubleclicks are made up of Aubrey and Angela - two sisters from Portland, Oregon.  Performing on both the cello and the guitar, their songs reminded me of The Moldy Peaches and the songs of Bruce McCulloch.  There's a lot of geeky references and absurdity, yes, but there's also an underlying sweetness to their work.  The one exception to this was a ballad of sorts mocking the idea of "fake geek girls", which brought a number of cheers from the audience.  The two also have a project where they're taking pictures of geek girls at their shows, holding up signs talking about the nerd cred they do not have to prove.  Samples from their albums, including their kid's album (there's that sweetness I was talking about) are available on their website and YouTube channel.

Photo of Marian Call by Brian Adams, http://baphotos.com.   

An Alaska native with a voice made for torch songs, Marian Call defies easy classification into a single musical genre.  Even ignoring her penchant for accompanying herself on the typewriter (one of the most underrated of percussion instruments), her songs could easily fall into several categories.  Be it jazz, folk, punk or funk, the only common theme to Call's work is her wry humor and her powerful pipes.

Her most popular pieces of the night were probably her songs inspired by the show Firefly (Austin is a Browncoat town), including It's Good to Have Jayne on Your Side and Vera Flew the Coop.  However, my personal favorite song of the evening was a number from her most recent album called Free Bird.  No relation to Skynrd, of course.  Reportedly based on every touchy-feely guy at a bar who won't take no for an answer, I can't help but think the tune would be a wonderful theme song for Black Canary.
 

Samples of Marian's work as well as direct digital downloads are available through her website.

     

All in all it was a damn fun evening.  Hopefully the next time I'm in Austin I'll have a bit more free cash to throw on the dragon's hoard.  And hopefully Marian Call and The Doubleclicks will perform a little closer to home someday so I can easily drag all my Dallas friends to see them.

Looking To The Stars - The "Friendly" Local Comic Shop

The New Year is firmly begun and I am finally free of the duties of the comic book shop. Not that the job was ever truly unpleasant (though some of the company was) but there comes a time in life when you need to change things and move on. For me, that time is well past. And while a part of me will miss being the friendly neighborhood comic guy, I'm looking forward to the opportunities before me as a professional librarian.

Considering all this has gotten me to thinking about something I've been hearing and reading a lot of people talking about lately; The Friendly Neighborhood Comic Shop. Or the Friendly Local Game Store. Or the Friendly General Hobbyist Emporium. Or whichever little name the hipsters are using as they wax philosophical upon the small shop for a niche market that is usually just barely scrapping by.

Most of those who write upon this subject tend to emphasize the Local part of this equation. They say that if you just buy everything off the Internet then you hurt the people down the street. Usually, this invokes images of the art teacher who loves comics or the ex-soldier who loved war games and how they took their savings in order to give something of their hobby to the next generation. You don't want them to starve in their old age, do you?

This is all well and good, except for one small problem. At what point does Local become more important than Friendly?

This distinction seems to be lost on many who proclaim the holiness of the Friendly Local Comic/Game Store/Shop. I expect to take some hits for the statement that follows. But having shopped at six different local comic/games shops in the decade I've been reading comics and playing RPGs and having worked for one for over three years, I feel I have some capacity to speak on this subject. So taking into account my experience, my advice to all of you is this...

There is no shame in supporting a Friendly On-line Comic Shop.

Consider this: most of the On-Line Comic Shops are, to someone, a Friendly Local Comic Shop. And isn't it better in the long run to support the people who, though a great distance away, do their best to make sure that you get what you want in good condition at a reasonable speed than to continue throwing money at the guy down the street who acts like it is a personal insult anytime you make him get off his butt to practice his own unique brand of "customer service"?

I'm lucky. I have a good shop in my city. Up until a few days ago, I helped run it. But a lot of us don't.

Some of us have to deal with salesmen who, dollar signs in their eyes, begin trying to fast-talk us into investing in some $100 board game when we just came in to get the new Superman book.

Some of us have to deal with people who haven't showered in three days, standing a foot away from you, blathering on and on about what's going on in the new X-Men book while trying to hand you things you should be reading, oblivious to the fact that you want to shop in peace.

Some of us have to deal clerks who look at us glassy-eyed as we ask what's going on in the Marvel Universe.

"Uh... I only read independent titles."

(This is just an example, incidentally. I personally read a lot of independent titles and know some comic stores where asking about Strangers In Paradise will get you nothing but blank stares from some guy in a Wolverine shirt)

And we're expected to put up with this? And for what? The feeling that somehow, we're striking a blow against Corporate America? The idea that we should support the little guy instead of big business?

Sorry. I'm not buying it. There are plenty of small companies with a website that can handle my business just as well on the rare occasions I can't get something at my local shop. It would do the rest of you good to remember that as well. Remember, if they keep getting your money, they aren't going to see any reason to change. So if the shop stinks (and I mean that in terms other than olfactory), just stop shopping there!

Tune in next week. Same Matt time. Same Matt website.

The Mount: Introduction and Bad Comic Shops

Hello and welcome to The Mount… a new monthly column where I get to talk, discuss, scream and just plain rant about things in the comics world in general or things in certain comics that I find just plain annoying. Why? Because you demanded it! Well, because I demanded it anyway….

For this first column, I'd like to talk about bad comic shops. Or more specifically, MY bad comic shop. I live in a city of 60,000 in Middle of Nowhere Texas. As such, I have no other places I can go to get the new Starman without driving over 120 miles, so I have to go to "Store A".

Store A has the four hallmarks of a traditional bad comic shop…

1.) They Order 75 copies of the New Flavor of the Month, while under-ordering the old

True Story: When Danger Girl first came out, my comic store decided not to order a copy of The Flash, Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Robin or any DC books that came out that week except JLA, so that they could afford to order more issues of what Wizard said was going to be "the biggest hit book ever". Naturally the clerks began trying to push the book on everyone who walked in the door… even the kids who just came in to buy baseball cards. It's like at McDonalds, where they ask if you want a "Nice Hot Apple Pie" TM, no matter what time of day it is or what you are ordering.

The same thing happened when Fathom first appeared and then later with Tomb Raider. Of course each of these books has gone on to become a huge hit. Tomb Raider in particular has gone on to be successful, but I credit the four big things the book had in its favor from the very beginning. A popular game series to build on and mass marketing… And the other two? Put it this way… I doubt that many people are buying it for Dan Jurgens' brilliant writing.

And even when there isn't a special new T&A comic coming out, they typically order only one issue each of some monthly books and specials. This leads into….

2.) Can't/Won't Get Subscriptions or Special Orders on a Steady Basis

This past month, "Shop A" didn't get even ONE copy of Detective Comics or Legend of the Dark Knight, both of which I have been subscribing to for over a year. I ordered a copy of The Sandman:World's End trade paperback 6 months ago… and it still hasn't show up. My Starman figure? I gave up on that after two months and got one on-line for a fraction of what they charged me. Speaking of Starman, that's a pretty good way to lead into…

3.) Outright Hostile Clerks

Don't get me wrong. I've clerked before and I do realize that there are days when you become convinced that you must have been a mass murderer in a past life and that having this job where you must deal with an endless line of fools is your punishment.

I realize that its not easy having to tell a group of kids for the seventeenth time that day that no, you do not have any new Pokemon cards, there will be no new Pokemon cards until next Wednesday and would they please stop having their moms drive them up to the store every hour to check thankyouverymuch?

That said, is it really that much trouble to ask you to have to get up from the computer where you are hunting for photomanipulated images of Agent Scully in a Jean Grey costume for one second so I could inquire about my subscriptions? Could you please not roll your eyes when I ask about special ordering a Morpheus action figure? And I don't expect you to smile or dance for me when I come in the door, but if you could please refrain from saying "You actually read this?" in a condescending, "What a loser" tone when you see the copy of Birds of Prey in my file, I would really appreciate it. After all, I somehow manage to refrain from commenting upon how your inability to get a date might be tied to your apparent belief that a 44-18-38 figure on a 5'8 woman is normal.

4.) The Quarter Bin is Larger Than The Archive Section

This may not be a bad sign per say. It is all-dependent, like many things, upon the contents and distribution. Here is a rough breakdown of the contents of "Store A's" quarter bin (about sixty short boxes).

--- 10% Old Issues of Gen-X
--- 12% Old Issues of Gen 13 Boot-Leg
--- 16% Old Issues of various Rob Liefield Projects
--- 32% The Last Six Issues of What was the Flavor-Of-The-Month about a year ago. (Wow! Fathom #1 for a buck!)
--- 10% Issues of Spider-Man: Year One
--- 17% Old Issues of various Rob Liefield Rip-Offs
--- 2% Stuff you'd consider buying as a cheap alternative to toilet paper.
--- 1% Actual Readable Comics.

NOTE: This study has a 1% Margin of Error

So what can we do about it? We the poor and downtrodden trapped in the middle of nowhere? Well, you might try the comic racks in the bookstores at the mall. Granted, Waldenbooks and B. Dalton aren't likely to carry some of the odder titles or anything outside of the big three (DC, Marvel and Image). However, if you're looking for your core heroes (IE: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern), odds are you can easily get them at a decent bookstore. Nation chain bookstores can also be a lot more reliable about special ordering Trade Paperbacks than small stores. Depending on your area, the store may in fact have a very large TP collection in their store. I was able to get The Sandman:The Wake from a Barnes and Noble in Dallas after "Store A" took four months to tell me my order got canceled somehow.

On-Line comics shops are also becoming popular. However, I can't speak about them, since all the ones I looked at were credit card only and I don't have one. You might want to consider that option if you can afford the shipping costs.

Or you can just complain to the manager about the rude clerks. Complain about poor service. Complain about poor stock. And then get a column in a magazine and complain some more and encourage a bunch of other people to complain with you!!

Or not.

Of course that's just my opinion. I might get sued if I say the rest.