25 Things That You Might Not Know About Me

Me and my Logo

This is one of those “25 things” things where you’re supposed to do all kinds of viral stuff with it, but I just can’t do it because that stuff makes me want to wash myself with a wire brush, I originally posted it on my Facebook page, but now by putting it on my blog it will get sent out to the dozens of people who follow me on Twitter and the 100 people on Facebook who visit me, not to mention the literally tens of people who visit my blog.

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The Secret Lives of Computer Stores

Since I moved to London, I’ve been searching for a good computer shop.  Oh sure there’s tons of computer stores here, but most of them have a middling selection, tiny little cramped shops, and really crappy staff.  I’ve gotten a lot out of Mega Computer, they’re good guys, have a great website (which is always up to date with their stock), and they built my most recent Media Center when my motherboard got fried.  Still sometimes I like to wander around a store and see what they’ve got.
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Too much of a good thing

Yes, his name is really Al

According to a report on Newsarama.com citing various sources, “Diamond will be ending the print edition of its Previews Adult Supplement catalog (which lists all adult comics and products offered to retailers from various publishers), and, due to economic conditions, is raising the purchase order minimum from $1500 to $2500.”

As a retailer and even just as a comics fan, I have this to say.
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With comics, don't get caught in the hype

Amazing Spider-Man #583

Amazing Spider-Man #583 was released this week to a ton of hype, with people apparently lined up for an hour or more at some stores.  At All New Comics we carried enough copies for customers and no more.

Why?  Well, for starters we’re Canadian, and Obama isn’t our president.

Secondly, to be honest, we missed it.  This wasn’t in the original solicitations for the comic, it was the third item in a supplemental solicitation email which was I usually totally ignore.  If it wasn’t a slow news day that day, it probably would have got passed over anyway.

Third, and most important, the whole frenzy around this comic, and others such as the error printings of All Star Batman and Robin, Action Comics, and the whole variant cover phenomenon in general would be immoral of me as an advocate of comics to participate in.
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Most Anticipated Movies of 2009

Dr Manhattan from Watchmen

I love movies, that’s one of the main reasons I went into TV and Film production.  The sad reality though was that making movies is really kind of glorified construction work, and I don’t have the patience for that stuff.  I love the pre and post work of movie making, but hate the chewy middle where you have to cut your teeth to make it anywhere.

2008 was a really good year for movies as you can see from my Movies Year in Review post, but already 2009 is shaping up to be even better with a few can’t miss blockbusters in the pipe, and a bunch of “maybe’s” and “possible big surprises” out there.  Plus we don’t even see the post Cannes, Sundance and Toronto Film Fest potentials on the horizon yet.
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The best movies of 2008

The best movies of 2008

(Updated to include The Wrestler and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) – Continuing my Best of 2008 series, we have the Best Movies of 2008.  It was a really good year for movies this year with some of my favourites not even truly being 2008 films.  Gone Baby Gone, Juno, and No Country for Old Men all technically were released in 2007 even though we didn’t see them here in London until 2008.

In the end though there can only be one absolute favourite, and for me this year it was pretty much a no-brianer.  The film was a tour de force, worked on several differnt levels, and totally brought a genre forward.  It was…
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Movie Review The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Char and I were able to get out to a movie this evening (thanks to the stellar babysitting services of my Mom and Dad), and we caught The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which I’ve been wanting to see since the first trailers were released nearly a year ago.  David Fincher is a great director, and even his films that don’t totally engross me (such as the Jodi Foster vehicle “Panic Room”) still have moments in them.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button however is epic in scope, gorgeous in execution, and tells a haunting and memorable story.
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New Years Resolutions – The 2009 Edition

New Years Resolutions for 2009

It’s that time of the year, where I check in on where I was, and see where I’m going. Last year I had five main goals. It looks like I’m going to have the same number again this year, though a couple of them are holdovers from 2008. I’m impressed with the progress of these bad boys though, there’s one that I did completely, and all five recieved some significant attention in 2008.
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The best comics of 2008

Best Comics of 2008

Over the holidays I sent off a Holiday Wish List to Sequential the Canadian Comix News and Culture blog, and while it’s a good list, it’s by no means comprehensive.

I didn’t think that 2008 was a spectacular year for comics.  There was some good stuff, but there wasn’t a whole lot of great stuff.  I think I summed up my experience with 2008 in my list:

2008 was an okay year for comics, not spectacular, not horrible, but just “okay”.

There wasn’t a great moment that made me really excited about the next issue. There wasn’t an event that I just couldn’t miss.

2008 was a great year for me. All New Comics continued to grow (growing about 100% year over year), but it came at a price. We are gaining customers because stores in smaller towns are shutting down. We also had to raise prices due to the massive drop in the dollar, and we’re struggling not to raise shipping prices (although that may not be a big deal if gas prices continue to stay where they are).

We’ve already seen effects of the recession with several customers cutting back significantly, and a couple having to cancel due to layoffs. I think this will continue to be the case, and it will be up to the publishers to create compelling entertainment which readers simply can’t live without.

With that said, there was some stuff I really enjoyed such as:
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