Featuring...

• Presidential comics...

• Natural disasters...

• And the little-known ComicBase feature that could help make you (almost) as wealthy as Scrooge McDuck!

(Plus special ComicBase savings exclusively for newsletter readers!)

It's our big Spring Spectacular newsletter, covering everything from the politicians which seem to be appearing everywhere in the world of comics, to advice on how to make sure your ComicBase (if not your comics!) survives a flood, fire, or other natural disaster. On the brighter side, we also talk about a little-known feature of ComicBase Atlas which has helped ComicBase users haul in some very big bucks when selling their high-end collections, and wrap the whole thing up with a special newsletter-only promo which can save you money when you buy or upgrade your copy of ComicBase.

 

When Politicians Attack!

by Carolyn Bickford

With all the amazing, galaxy-changing events that regularly happen in the comic book universe, it’s more than a little surprising that the thing that’s made the most waves of late is a cameo appearance by a mere mortal—and a politician at that. Without a doubt, the comic pricing story of recent months has been Amazing Spider-Man #583, wherein Barack Obama crosses paths with Spidey and a minor bit of comic history was made. Fans went into a frenzy to grab the variant issue featuring Obama giving Spidey the thumbs up, and the issue quickly sold through numerous printings. Today, a first printing will set you back some $80 (although prices on the issue are incredibly volatile.)

It’s certainly not the first time pop-culture-focused comic books have inserted a real-life political figure into their fictional world, especially since the appearances seem to strike the fancy of both comic book fans and post-modernist collectors. Back before our politicians started interacting with comic book heroes, it wasn’t unusual for them to be covered biographically, as, for instance, Dell did with John F. Kennedy #1 ($30) and Barry M. Goldwater #1 (from $5)

Those wishing to track down the first comic book appearance of the new president should look to Idea + Design Works' Presidential Material #1 ($4 for later printings), which is also available in a flip book format featuring John McCain. Presidential Material focuses on the presidential campaign. They're also releasing a follow-up, Road to the White House #1 ($3.99 list) as he takes office and faces the challenges of the presidency.

Enter the Dragon

For whatever reasons, it seems the last decade has seen real-life politicians increasingly appearing in four-color form. Surprisingly, Eric Larsen’s The Savage Dragon, from Image Comics, turned into one of the most political comic books of late, as the Savage Dragon took on then-president George W. Bush in the 2004 election in issue #119 ($2.95)--and nervously awaited the election results with both the Republican incumbent and the Democrat challenger, John Kerry, in issue #120 ($2.95).
By 2008, Savage Dragon preferred to endorse one of the presidential candidates instead of running himself, and he chose Barack Obama in #137 ($2.99), and shared in the celebration when his candidate won in #145 ($3.50). As strange as it may be to see our president fist-bumping a giant green dragon, presidential encounters with super-heroes are, almost by definition, rather surreal.

A Face in the Crowd

In years past, it was far more usual for presidents and other politicians to appear obliquely, or in cameo roles. Former presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were in the audience on the cover in All New Collector’s Edition #26 ($26), though we never found out who these venerable boxing fans were rooting for.

A few years earlier, in 1972, aliens were completely confused by Richard Nixon in From Beyond the Unknown #17 ($10). The purpose of including the politicians was usually either to poke gentle fun, or to give the stories in question a sense of reality by including prominent figures of the day into the story. Making the politician himself into the story was virtually unheard of.

Political Super-Heroes?(!)

And then, there are the comic book creators who go all out, and not only have the president appear in their comics, but make him a super-hero, er, of sorts. Devil’s Due Publishing will soon be releasing Barack the Barbarian: Quest for the Treasure of the Stimuli #1 ($3.50), its tongue-in-cheek mashup of our president and Conan the Barbarian But if the taste level is questionable there, it's probably not all that different from an earlier 3-issue series, Reagan’s Raiders ($2/issue) published in 1987, which turned then-president Ronald Reagan into a Rambo-esque hero who, on one cover, looks surprisingly like a currently popular Alex Ross design.

My personal favorite, though, is when the comic book heroes become presidents in their own fantastic world. The Savage Dragon was disappointed he lost the 2004 election, but Lex Luthor won in 2000, or at least he did in Superman: Lex Luthor #1 ($3.50).

And in 1981, What If…? (Vol. 1) #26 speculated how the world would be different if Captain America had won the presidential election. I can tell you one thing: we wouldn’t have had the pleasure of seeing Reagan’s Raiders. But clearly, comic book collectors love seeing their politicians in comics, and so they’ll continue to appear there to entertain us now and in the future.

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Atomic Avenue Passes 1,000,000 Comics For Sale!

We've been inching ever closer to it for a while now, but when the folks at Second Genesis posted their huge inventory to Atomic Avenue this past week, we rocketed past the big "Million Comics for Sale" mark on Atomic Avenue with over 50,000 comics to spare!

The site's been newly redesigned as well to make it easier than ever, and sales on the system have been setting new records despite the recession. Best of all, we're now within shouting distance of displacing our esteemed competition over at eBay as the online marketplace with the biggest, most varied selection of comics in the whole entire world! Head on over to atomicavenue.com to see what you've been missing (and finally locate those comics you've been searching for all these years!)

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Lightning Crashes

Saving Your ComicBase from the Worst Case Scenario(s)

“You'll never believe it! I just took another call from a customer whose computer was slagged by a lightning strike!” Peter told me, as he walked sadly into my office. “Please,” he pleaded, “you’ve gotta put something in the newsletter to remind folks to back up their database...and not just on their computer!"

Pete hates those calls—all the tech support folks do. Whether the disaster that annihilates your data is something as simple as a drive that suddenly decided that today was a good day to die, or a roommate who turned into the Incredible Hulk and threw your computer out of your high-rise apartment, it always comes without warning. We can help you re-install (and if needed, replace) ComicBase itself, but if you don’t have a back up, the time you spent logging in your collection is gone for good.

Granted, backing up seems boring, but once you’ve set ComicBase to do it, it only takes a few minutes a month to keep your data safe. And if disaster strikes, you can pat yourself on the back for having done it instead of grimly repeating weeks or months of work rentering your collection.

To begin with, go to your Setup menu's Preferences item and be sure ComicBase is set up to save a backup each time you exit. By default, this will save into your standard ComicBase folder. If you’ve got more than one drive, it's a good idea to change this to save your backup on the second drive. This way, if the drive with ComicBase gives up the ghost, at least your data will survive.

By the way, did you know your second drive doesn’t have to be in your computer? You can backup your most recent work on ComicBase to a USB flash drive, or to your iPod: once you have them mounted on your computer, your computer thinks of them as just another storage device, and for this, they’ll do just fine.

Whether or not you’re storing your backup on a separate drive, you’ll want to take a moment about once each month to copy that backup file onto something that's not your computer, such as a CD or DVD and keep it in a safe place, like your office or in a fireproof safe. It may seem excessive, but when every piece of electronic gear in the house gets slagged by that lightning strike, or when a former spouse jealous of the time you spent with your comics decides to get payback by stealing your entire computer (true story!) you'll be happy you did.

If you ever find yourself with a smoldering computer and no other backup, it’s likely that your only other alternative to having to re-enter all your collection is turning in the remains of your hard drive to a data recovery service like Drive Savers (800-440-1904) and hoping they might be able to resurrect your data in their clean room. But that costs thousands, and a backup only costs you a few minutes and a spare CD once a month.

So please, set up that backup now, while you’re thinking about, and you’ll have no worries (at least about your ComicBase data) when all else goes horribly wrong.

 

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Free Heritage Auctions Collection Evaluations for ComicBase Atlas Users

Tucked under the Internet menu in ComicBase Atlas is an option you may not have noticed, but which can potentially make you quite a bit of cash if you’ve got a truly special collection. It’s called “Request Collection Evaluation” and it allows any ComicBase Atlas user to get a free evaluation from Heritage Auction Galleries—the world’s largest Collectibles Auctioneer—of their collection’s potential at auction.

Make no mistake: Heritage is the Big Leagues, and they aren’t going likely to be interested in your pile of Dazzler #1s. But if you’ve got comics that go well beyond the commonplace, Heritage can help you get the best possible auction price for them in a way that nobody else can. They’re good folks as well, and we’re proud that they’ve been able to help several of our customers realize some very considerable sums at auction. If you think you’ve got a collection that they might be interested in, please don’t hesitate to use the new “Request Collection Evaluation” feature in ComicBase Atlas and find out for yourself!