Graffic Traffic
by Ryk McIntyre
illustration by Greg Prindeville
Ryk’s Random Synaptical Firings
SuperHero Universe, a comic book store located at 43 Winter Street, 2nd floor, closed its doors forever on July 31, 1995. As General Manager and main employee of the store for its 4-1/2 years, I recommend the following two stores in its stead:
Comicopia (Kendall Square and Watertown Square): Good presentation, great selection, accurate personal attention to subscriber accounts and an eerie ability to order the things you want and get them to you. Hello, Matt and VJ!
Million Year Picnic (Harvard Square): The area’s oldest and best store. Has one of everything, is stacked to the gills with odd, bizarre, foreign and alternative comics. Great subscription service and ambiance that is vibrantly laid back. Christ, these guys call Frank Miller and Neil Gaiman by their first names!
A couple of books I would also like to recommend:
Ersatz Peach (Aeon Press): Takes on Donna Barr’s great Desert Peach comic by many and sundry other artists. Some hits, some misses. In particular, the Matt Howarth “Post Bros. meet Peach & Udo” story is just great. A hoot. No kidding.
Thor (Marvel): Don’t laugh at me! Sure this book has sucked like tar since Walt Simonson left in (what was it?) 1987. But a new storyline by Warren Ellis (who I’ve mentioned in previous columns) and art by Mike Deodato (Wonderwoman), and a whole fresh, godlike start to a new storyline involving Ygdrassil, the world tree… Ah, remember when most Marvel books were this good? Hmm, now that you mention it, neither do I.
Top Ten Reasons Why I Have No Real Column This Month
10) The Bats! Oh, Christ, the Bats!!
9) A nun from Catholic school finally caught up with me and one corporal punishment later I have to learn to write left-handed.
8) Lost sleep over never seeing the end of Free Willy. Did he escape or what?
7) Did this column in Windows ’95.
6) Found out Windows ’95 was a computer program, not a sketchpad.
5) I mourn the loss of Frank Zappa (no kidding, I really do…).
4) Somerville: Don’t Drink The Water.
3) Baby spit and water-based ink: Bad mix.
2) New house has ghosts, old house has old roommates. Can’t decide which is better.
& the #1 reason I have no column:
1) Scott trusts me and likes me whereas he should just beat me like the dog I am.
