Randall J. Paske

I should have added that I did hear something about them going back to press after the initial run of comics sold out. I believe I heard that on one of the comics-focused YouTube shows. But I have no idea of how many printings they've done, or how to distinguish them all. Let's hope that all the subsequent printings (if there's more than just one reprint) have a date at the end of the indicia like mine does.

It came straight from Milk-Bone.

The mail carrier delivered my own copy of this comic since I last posted. It must be a second or subsequent printing, though it doesn't say so. (It does have a printing date at the end of the indicia, though, absent from the indicia provided earlier by @Steven L. Dasinger.) The "Milk & Bone" error got fixed, so now I think it's even less suitable to reproduce it in the CB title entry. Here's the indicia from my copy:

Yes, but can the Item Title field contain more than a single entry? In this case, Superman: A Friendship Unleashed is rightly there, but Milk-Bone Custom Comic is not. I don't know if all text in that field constitutes one piece of data or if it's more like a credits field that can contain multiple pieces of data. I'm all for the indicia taking primacy, but I'm not in favor of treating them as infallible. Occasionally they contain typos or mistakes that shouldn't be compounded by imitation. I understand that fixing a mistake in a title when adding it to the database might be seen as inaccurate, but there are other exceptions to exactly duplicating indicia--lots of annuals and specials, for example. But that's just my take.

Also: A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison was added as a new title beginning with "A" instead of "L".

Jeez, they're not helping. I know the CB editors like to go with the indicia, but sometimes even the indicia contains errors. And I'd call this an error, as the name of the product is clearly "Milk-Bone" and not "Milk & Bone."

It's called Superman: A Friendship Unleashed, though I'm not sure what it says in the indicia. If you search for that title on eBay, you'll get quite a few results. It came packaged with Milk-Bone dog biscuits.

Also, it looks like there was an effort to move poster books out of the Comics category and into the Books category. Makes sense, except that I can verify that the title 20 Nude Dancers 20 Year One Poster Book consists almost entirely of comics and should be returned to the Comics category. "Poster Book" is a bit of a misnomer in its case, referring mainly to the larger size of the pages. Most if not all of the contents originally saw print in Comics Buyer's Guide when it was in the newspaper format. They are single-page strips--comics--not poster images of the Hulk or whatever. Also, these two titles were added to the Comics category: The Roman Stars The Trust Book One- Silent Scream "The" should come at the end of those titles (Roman Stars, The).

Another new comic title was added for Fantastic Four 1234. The series already exists in the database as Fantastic Four: 1 2 3 4. The new title was apparently added because the collected version is being republished. There are already Bk entries under the existing title, and I am not sure how the new version will fit in--whether it's technically considered a new printing or a new edition, whether it's hardcover or paperback. But it doesn't make sense as a new title.

Also in Books: * The Art of Carla Cohen was added as a new title when Art of Carla Cohen, The already exists. * The Avenger: Roaring Heart Of The Crucible was added as a new title when Avenger, The: Roaring Heart of the Crucible already exists. * The Avenger: The Sun King was added as a new title when Avenger, The: The Sun King already exists. The three new duplicates are alphabetized by "The," as well, rather than by "Art" or "Avenger." And, under Comic Books: * American Honda Presents Supergirl was added as a new title, when the issue listed is already in the database as Supergirl (2nd Series) #DOT 1. It is not easy to find there, which is why I previously submitted American Honda Presents Supergirl as an item title for Supergirl (2nd Series) #DOT 1 and #DOT 2. My submission was apparently either rejected or overwritten. That another person has now added American Honda Presents Supergirl as an actual title proves my point, though--if these giveaway issues are to remain in the database as Supergirl (2nd Series) #DOT 1 and #DOT 2, as they have probably been designated for many years, then an item title of American Honda Presents Supergirl would help people find them and prevent further duplicate submissions. * Mercy Sparz: Sweet 16: Issue 0-1 was added as a new title. The construction of this title is very weird and doesn't look right, but I don't know anything about it. It's probably supposed to be Mercy Sparx, though, not Sparz. The database has quite a few other Mercy Sparx titles. * PS Artbooks Softee: Police Comics would probably be better listed as Police Comics (PS Artbooks). PS Artbooks reprints are listed several different ways in the database, though. It doesn't help that they are solicited using titles that aren't apparent from the actual books, and the books typically don't have new indicia to help settle debates. But I don't think of "PS Artbooks Softee" as part of the title, because many of their books are offered in multiple formats, "Softee" being only one of them. It's just their term for "softcover" or "paperback." Look at the title Cave Girl (PS Artbooks), for example: there's a "softee" (#1), a hardcover (#1/HC), and a slipcase edition (#1/DLX). Should they decide to publish hardcover or slipcase versions of the Police Comics series, it wouldn't make sense to put them under the PS Artbooks Softee title, even though they would essentially be the same books. Listing as Police Comics (PS Artbooks) sidesteps this problem.

One problem is that many times (more often than not?), second and subsequent printings of an issue have new covers that don't correspond to any of the first-printing variants. The first example from your list, Angel (Boom!) #1-2, has no corresponding cover art among the #1 first-printing variants. By that token, it's not really a second printing of any specific variant. Changing it to #1/A-2 would eliminate one problem--that #1-2 has no "regular" #1 to correspond to--but it would introduce another problem by implying that it's a new printing of #1/A, which it isn't. There's precedent for different printings having different covers, of course--plenty of numbered "regular" issues (#1) have different covers for later printings (#1-2, etc.). So it should be OK to have #1/A and #1/A-2 with different covers, per your suggestion. The Item Description field could help with this, too. But I do think the insertion of the variant letter introduces some ambiguity because of how ComicBase item numbers are constructed. As I see it, ComicBase lists variants and printings in its item numbers backwards. The ComicBase hierarchy goes Issue Number /Variant─Printing, implying that specific variants might go through multiple printings. In reality, the typical hierarchy is Issue Number─Printing/Variant. If ComicBase item numbers went 1-2/A, 1-2/B, etc., instead of 1/A-2, 1/B-2, etc., then they would line up more nicely in the grid, and we'd no longer have the implication that specific variants go through multiple printings. That is, now we have this as the default order in the grids: #1 #1-2 #1-3 #1/A #1/A-2 #1/A-3 #1/B #1/B-2 But this would make more sense to me: #1 #1/A #1/B #1-2 #1-2/A #1-2/B #1-3 #1-3/A It would be less of a jumble, the variants from each printing would be kept together, and it wouldn't imply that a specific variant is being reprinted. But I don't know if this is changeable, and of course I may only be making sense to myself. I do that sometimes.

Also: Dimensions Behind the Twilight Zone was added as a comic book. It belongs in the Books category. Superman: Kansas Sighting was added as a new comic book title. This is already in the database under the correct title, Superman: The Kansas Sighting.

New Yorker Book of Teacher Cartoons, The was added to the Books category, but it sounds like it would contain comics (even if they are mostly single-panel cartoons). Art of PONCHO Sampler, The was added to the Comic Books category, but it sounds like it contains illustrations and artwork rather than comics. Also, Poncho should not be in all caps. Art of Rudy Nebres, The was also added to the Comic Books category, but it sounds like an art book with illustrations rather than comics. Grimm Fairy Tales: 20th Anniversary Cover Gallery might not really have comics in it if it's just a cover gallery, but it was added to the Comic Books category. Harley Quinn: Wild a Heart: DD Compact Comics Edition should be Harley Quinn: Wild at Heart: DC Compact Comics Edition.

Also, the new book title Batman Minature Game Rulebook should say Miniature instead.

I wrestled with what to do there, within the limits of the available ComicBase variations and types. I didn't think of what you suggested, which sounds fine to me. I did think about having separate title entries for Clyde Fans, Clyde Fans Part 1, and Clyde Fans Book 1, but that seemed messier than what I ultimately submitted.