Misc. Wednesday: February 4, 2009

First, the important stuff … HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGGIE! My daughter turns 23 years young today. Click on the picture of Maggie and Roxy below to see a picture of them together in 1994.

Two things I love (10 years later) Maggie & Roxy from 2004

Yep, my obsession with the National Football League got in the way of my fanaticism for comics, causing this modest blog to be delayed by a day or two. The last two years have featured incredibly exciting and competitive Super Bowls. Definitely a cause for celebration given how often the championship has turned into a lopsided affair. But now I’m back and Miscellaneous Monday has morphed into Miscellaneous Wednesday and if you deal with change as well as I do, you’ll probably find this a little disturbing, but I encourage you to soldier on.

The secret origin of Malibu Comics (part one)

As many of you are aware, I was the founding publisher of Malibu Comics. I was there for Day One and had every intention and desire to work there the rest of my life. Circumstances conspired against me (and mistakes were made) and now I write this fanatic blog.

THE WORLD MALIBU WAS BORN INTO

Malibu Comics was born during the black-and-white bust, the comic market downturn that followed the black-and-white boom. The beginning of the black-and-white boom is usually measured (people measure these things?) from the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 in May 1984. With an original print run of only 3,000 copies, TMNT #1 grabbed the attention and imagination of comic readers and collectors. One site I read, said the appeal to a wide range of existing comic fans was intentional: Teenage (Teen Titans), Mutant (X-men) and Ninja (Daredevil). Wikipedia claims that TMNT was a parody of Miller’s Ronin.

Milton Griepp, Capital City and nearly naked television

In the comics hey-day (at least for me) of the late 1980s/early 1990s there were a number of companies distributing comics. Distributing meant that these companies put out catalogs, collected orders from retailers and then shipped the new releases to the shops. As the industry grew, more and more focus was put on the “business” of the business. I’ve mentioned here before how these distributors started sponsoring get-togethers, bringing their customers and suppliers together.

Dave Scroggy, Brian Talbot, JOHN DAVIS, Bob Burden, Jeff Smith

One of the best … and always strangest … was the Capital City Trade Show in Madison, Wisconsin. Capital City Distribution was owned and operated by longtime comics professionals Milton Griepp and John Davis. They provided high quality service and had a well-deserved reputation for putting the interests of their customers first.