Past Stats Are Present Stats and Tomorrows Stats...is Kang Involved?

 I know, you all panicked thinking that I had stopped posting for good. But I'm back. 

What do you mean "Haven't you been posting?"???  

It is slowly getting to that point I will admit. I was just checking with people whose books I review and they tell me the sales do peak after reviews. Which is odd because my books get thousands of views and not one has sold since February. So the point of my posting to make sales for others but not myself seems dumb. 

I checked stats and see that the 2011 David Gordon interview (which has NEVER left the top 5 since) managed to get back up to number one after pushing my top 2 Chinese language posts out of their place. 

您好 has had over 98.4k views while 中国漫画 - 张曼华，出版商 only got 19.4k and  my Chinese language Avengers post 我会推荐什么漫画书？ - 更新 got 17k views Dave's interview has had a total of 48.3k views but the second all time highest number of views was the Green Skies one page advert from 2013 with 92.5k...still not sold a copy of the book though so work that one out (and you see why CBO is getting close to being mothballed). 

 
 

The top 8 posts appear to the right on this blog.  

 
 

And if you think its all read and forget -that Kingsman post was from 2014 and people still check it out. At one time Casterman, the French BD publishing house, used to send books (a LOT of books) to review and those are appearing in today's top 10 CBO list today. John Short's Jungle Princess is back up into the top 10 again as are Cinebook and Hexagon oh, and of course Joachim Witt's RÜBEZAHL video (it had to be).  

 
 

The one thing that surprises me is that posts from 2011 onward keep popping into the top 10 viewed and last week two appeared and I could not even remember what they were about!! 

 
 

All of this since 1997 has been free of charge to promote comics -and there are a couple of reviews coming up. Its been pushed past the unsustainable point because I also (I hate to disappoint you) need to eat and pay bills and doing a lot of work for nothing and having been read by over 8 million people -no donations, no sponsors the frustration kicks in. 

 
 

Enjoy it while it lasts -and buying books helps support the aged comicker (thats me)! 

JOACHIM WITT/ RÜBEZAHL

NEW COMIC BOOKS RELEASING JUNE 22ND 2022 MARVEL COMICS & DC COMICS PREVI...

Avengers #56 The Saga of Jane

JANE FOSTER TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT! She once famously wielded Mjolnir as Thor, Goddess of Thunder. Today, she guards the worlds of the living and the dead as the winged Valkyrie. Now, those two versions of the same mighty hero somehow find themselves face-to-face, in a desperate bid to save the soul of Jane Foster.

And here we go again. Since this new volume started we have had the "one million years ago" saga where the Avengers did not appear. And every so often we get an issue or two where...the Avengers do not appear. Guess what? the Avengers do not appear in this one either.

We had interesting stories develop with inconsistencies such as Gorilla Man pounding Tony Stark to the point that there were huge blood spurts everywhere...but Stark recovered enough next issue and his beating was not referred to...or how he recovered. Hey, new Black Panther movie -Black Panther seems to have his own title called The Avengers. She Hulk gets TV series announced and guess who features solo or more heavily in the title formerly known as The Avengers?

We know have a new Thor movie featuring Jane Foster as...Lady Thor or whatever and here we have an entire solo story. A one off (I hope) in the title formerly known as The Avengers.

At times the writing seems inconsistent at best. It's almost as though there is no editor involved...oh. Tom Brevoort so no editor involved as Tom specialises in trying on silly little hats that he thinks makes him look hip and cool rather than a clown.

As for the writing...in the old days (up until Marvel's fall in quality in the mid 1990s when continuity and writing really hit rock bottom) an editor would read -READ- the scripts to insure continuity and not just sit back and look in a mirror and say "I'm hip! I'm cool!"- the scripts would have plots presented by the writer and anything "off" would be spotted and corrected.

I think that what we are seeing is Jason Aaron's burst of creative writing flicker down to a dying ember. there are sudden glimmers of hope with a good story that then seems to be tossed aside for something...far, far less.

What made The Avengers such a success? It was a title where there was a group of heroes -it broke the mould by having ex-villains join and reform. It dealt with the Cold War and it dealt with issues such as racism, social deprivation BUT always delivered a good, solid story that was part of continuity.  Now its just "throw it all around who cares -the movies and TV make the money!"

Continuity and good solid story telling has been thrown aside ever since Avengers Assemble became a success. Hawkeye's appearance had to change to fit in and...it became a mess. The Avengers was a good solid read and fun -the art in the current series has been okay so far with the odd major bump- and it beat Justice League of America because of that hands down.  Having said that, after the 6th (?) reboot of Justice League I dropped following the book completely.

The comics are the comics NOT the movies and those going to the movies do not give a wet damn over the comic and never read them.

To me this is one long drawn out and slow death of a title that deserves more.

Tom Brevoort's resignation would help.

NEW COMIC BOOKS RELEASING JUNE 15TH 2022 MARVEL COMICS & DC COMICS PREVI...

Deviant Art

 Just checked and the link on this blog for my Deviant Art page IS still working. May have been an internet problem turning up a blank page

https://www.deviantart.com/terrywerry/gallery

Mr Dilworth...

 あなたはまだ生きていますか？

Face Book Stats Are Apparently Crap!

I always thought that the Black Tower Comics and Books Face Book pages was not getting many views. Every day I saw between 62 -103 views.

Apparently those stats are pure bunny currants.

I was mentioning these stats to someone and got the response "You aren't going by the Face Book Insights are you?" Before I even answered that I was feeling incredibly embarrassed. "Yes, why?" I asked.

Apparently the FB stats are not real ones. "If you pay FB for their services you'll find that suddenly your stats increase" I was told. "No one takes the stats seriously." I was told.

"Bunny currants!" I thought. How can they not be accurate so I did what every idiot should do from the start. I typed in "Are FB Insights accurate?" And.....

"Facebook Analytics Is NOT Accurate. So They Have To Improve. Else Kiss Bye Bye! As the social media platform grows and the industry changes over time, the details of Facebook analytics has come under heavy scrutiny."

That was from 2019 and apparently they have gotten worse.

I followed the guide I was sent and before deleting it (because I miss-read something) I found that my FB page was getting a LOT of views each day.

For that reason I will be updating the page in the week to come if my failing eye sight and hands allow!

Social media my arse

Black Tower Comics and Books Face Book

am actually reconsidering re-opening the Face Book Black Tower Comics and Books page or, rather, updating it more.

With various changes in the law and internet user protection I now have the reassurance that anyone maliciously reporting the page or anything on it will be identified along with their ISP details.

A victory that was a long time in coming since most of my other internet pages and social media have that protection.

https://www.facebook.com/Black-Tower-Comics-Books-136656043030326

Black Tower Gold -All The Links You Will Need!

So how do you get hold of copies of Black Tower Gold with Golden Age British comic strip reprints cleaned up for 2022 readers?

Glad you asked.

Here are all the links.

Why are you still here? Go buy and make me rich (like that'll happen!)

A4

B&W

94 pages

Price: £8.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/black-tower-british-gold-collection-1/paperback/product-12183527.html

For the first time in 60 years some of the lost gems of the British Golden Age of Comics are reprinted!

Scanned and cleaned to the best standard possible -see The Phantom Raider, Ace Hart, Secrets Of The Super Sargasso Sea, Phantom Maid, Electrogirl, Skybolt Kid, Wonder Boy, Dene Vernon, Professor Atom and many, many others!

Its fun and action all the way -The British Golden Age shines through!

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A4
Paperback
B&W
68 pp

Price: £8.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/black-tower-british-gold-collection-2/paperback/product-12183569.html

The second collection of British 1940s comic strips featuring Maxwell The Mighty, Slicksure, Iron Boy,Alfie, Ace Hart and more.

Featuring the work of Golden Age Greats Alf Farningham and Harry Banger.

Specifically designed to feature more humour than the previous volume this should be a treat for all comic collectors.

Reprinting the full content of The Meteor and The Rocket Comics from 1948.

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A4
Paperback
B&W
68 pages

Price: £8.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/black-tower-british-gold-collection-3/paperback/product-12183586.html

This is the third volume in Black Tower Comics’ collection of Golden Age British comic strips that have not seen print for 50-60 years!

Included in this volume is a bumper crop of Ace Hart:The Atom Man strips and an article on the character.

A complete 1949 comic in Smugglers Creek; Denis Gifford’s Search For The Secret City and science fiction legend Bryan Berry’s rendition of Kid Carter -Teenage Tec! A must for all comic collectors and historians.

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A4
Paperback
B&W
86 pages

Price: £8.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/uk-gold-collection-4/paperback/product-12184087.html

The fourth volume of this series features some great finds of the lost era of British comics:

Ace Hart The Atom Man, Captain Comet -Space Ranger, TNT Tom, Clive Lynn -Space Reporter, Superstooge, "The White Gorilla", Atomic Tuffy, Cast Iron Chris, Sigord.....

and many others!

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A4

Paperback

B&W

68pp

Price: £8.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/black-tower-gold-5back-from-the-dead/paperback/product-12184231.html

William McCail’s 1940 classic is reprinted for the first time in 80 years.

If you are into British Golden Age comics or early comics in general this is for you.

Robert Lovett rises from the dead and finds he has some startling powers: deaths follow, as does a Scotland Yard detective determined to track down the mysterious killer!

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A4
Paperback
B&W
35 pages

Price: £5.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/black-tower-gold-6/paperback/product-16249586.html

Yes! Now at issue 6 and bringing you more lost strips of the British Golden Age of Comics.There's a collection of strips featuring non other than TNT Tom and one of the weirdest UKGA characters -the Iron Boy.

Ever heard of Ingy Roob? Or his pet "Stretchy"? You will have if you read this issue.How about Dennis M. Readers Cat Girl?

Two other UK comics are reprinted in full, both from 1946 and the only issues ever published:Lucky Dice and The Fudge.

Black Tower -keeping UK comics history alive!

And if you want all of the above in one huge volume then....

A4
Paperback
B&W
405 pages

Price: £25.00 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-ultimate-british-comics-gold-collection/paperback/product-22041282.html

Combining volumes 1-6 (still available as individual issues but that works out far more expensive) of the BT Golden Age British Comics Collections (minus adverts) this is the ultimate for any Golden Age collector or historian or just plain comic lover.

Features....Ace HartTNT TomElectrogirl Wonderman The Phantom RaiderCaptain Comet Acro MaidPhantom MaidDene VernonThe Iron BoyThe Boy FishProfessor AtomThe TornadoPowermanWonder BoySlicksureMasterman Dane JerrusAlfieTiny TodMaxwell The Mighty Back From The DeadZeno At The Earth's CoreColonel MastiffAlly SloperSuper InjunSuper Porker  (oo-er, no, Madam, ooh),Tiger ManKing Of The CloudsCaptain Comet 

and MANY others!

Plus text features defining The Ages OF British Comics (Platignum, Gold, Silver), the artist William A. Ward and more.

If you knew nothing about British comics of the Platinum, Golden and Silver Ages then once you buy and read this book you'll be a goddam omic intellectual dinosaur! Yipes!

All in that beautiful Iron Warrior cover exclusively drawn for Black Tower by that meta-gargantuoso talented Ben R. Dilworth!

I sold my family to be able to get this book out! Help me buy them back by purchasing your very own 

whizz-o copy today!

Cinebook Ltd: THE BLUECOATS 15 - BULL RUN

 

Authors: Lambil & Cauvin

Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: January 2022

£7.99 Incl VAT

ISBN: 9781800440616

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/the-bluecoats-15-bull-run-p-4468.html

A new recruit makes the mistake of asking Blutch to tell him about the infamous battle of Bull Run … in public! The hostility of the other Union soldiers is immediate, yet Blutch eventually explains the reason for it. That battle, the first major one of the war, which had seemed to the North like such an inevitable victory that masses of civilians had gone to watch it as spectators, ended in a complete rout. And Blutch and Chesterfield were there …

Now this is a series I can get behind with no problem and it's already up to volume (or album) 15! For what at first looks cartoony art the amount of detail takes it beyond that from weapons to the action scenes and touches of humour it's wonderful.

The series does not pull any punches when it comes to the effects of war but it is NOT in your face ugly. Fun and action as well as some history. I always used to think, when I read "The Blue Bellies" in German that this was more a kids book but it is adult readable and I have never had a problem recommending it to anyone!

Cinebook Ltd: THE FORTUNE OF THE WINCZLAVS 1: VANKO, 1848

 

Author: Jean Van Hamme & Philippe Berthet

Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 56 colour pages
Publication: March 2022

£8.99 Incl VAT

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/the-fortune-of-the-winczlavs-1-vanko-1848-p-4475.html

 

1848. In Ottoman-occupied Montenegro, young doctor Vanko Winczlav is one of the leaders of a popular uprising. Betrayed, wanted by the authorities, he flees the Balkans for the United States in the company of a Bulgarian refugee, Veska, whom he marries to allow her to enter New York legally. So begins the history of a family closely entwined with that of a still new country going through many transformations.

I am going to continue to be a miserable sod. This is a good story by Van Hamme (which goes without saying since I've not failed to like his work so far) and the art is.. okay. Nothing that wrong with it so story and art work well together. It's a good enough book by most standards (certainly better than some Marvel and DC stuff I've seen).

However, it is nothing new to me. I grew up on the classic movie Westerns like The Big Valley, How The West Was Won and I could list others. There was nothing new in this for me -no angle that could hook me in. Once you get to a certain age you see things that were great "back in the day" (meaning a looong time ago) get used and become bland. And I emphasise that this is down to me and my comics ennui.  The story and art are solid so to someone into Western style comics or a newcomer to comics this is going to be another Van Hamme winner.

Things may pick up with volume 2 and volume 1 is usually the book establishing the characters and setting up the base for the upcoming books (like TV series and their first episodes). Don't get put off by me -if you know Van Hamme's work you know it's good.

NEW COMIC BOOKS RELEASING JUNE 8TH 2022 MARVEL COMICS & DC COMICS PREVIE...