Randall J. Paske

I've been reading this title. There is indeed a back-up story by Dean Haspiel in the current version of the series. It is only one or two pages per issue. Like @Gregory Hecht, I'm not sure if it was present in the original publications. To prevent confusion, I think it would be best to keep the two runs as separate series, even if the main content is the same in both runs. Something similar is happening with the title Tragedy from Philbo. I just recently submitted the current run as a second series (it should make the next content update), because even if the content in this run is the same as the previous Kickstarter series (and I'm not sure it is), the publication dates, retail prices, and variant covers are different. Some variant covers from the first run are even used as variant covers for different issues in the current run.

In yesterday's livestream, which I didn't watch live, Pete reiterated the idea that DC no longer publishes regular covers and only publishes variant covers. This is, again, a misconception. If you only look at solicitation data, it sort of makes sense. As Pete says, the issue options are lettered (A, B. C, etc.) and nothing is designated as "Regular" or "Main." However: Most publishers and retailers now use "Cover A" synonymously to mean the regular or main cover. That's what DC is doing. It is now uncommon for any publisher to use "Cover A" to mean the first of the variants instead of the main/regular cover. If you go beyond solicitation data and check any published DC comic, you will find credits that say "Cover by…" and "Variant Covers by…". This, by implication, shows what DC considers to be the main/regular cover, with the rest being variants. DC's UPC boxes also use the phrases "Cover by…" and "Variant Cover by…" (and even "1:25 Variant Cover by…"). Clearly the one that says "Cover by…" is the main/regular cover. For most of their titles, DC now publishes one cover that costs $1 less than the cardstock variant covers. That cheaper cover is the main/regular cover. Of late, they've even been including the cheaper cover beneath the cardstock variant covers, further evidencing that it is the regular cover. The UPCs of the main/regular covers end in "11," while the variants end in "21," "31," etc. So, DC's solicited Cover A is the regular cover: its UPC ends in 11, it is the base cover underneath the more expensive variants, its UPC box says "Cover by…" rather than "Variant Cover by…," and the interior credits also say "Cover by" for that one and "Variant Cover by" for all the others. Solicitation data is not taken as gospel for credits (which are incomplete and can change), titles (which can differ from the actual indicia), cover images (which change), or proof of publication (sometimes items get canceled or rescheduled). Why then give so much privilege to how solicitations refer to covers? I mentioned this when I griped about the changes to the Item Title field, but I'll quickly repeat: it makes less sense to call the DC variants "Cover A," "Cover B," etc., than to label them "Regular Cover" and "Variant Cover." The published issues carry no reference to those letters, so when you hold an issue, you can't tell which letter it's supposed to be without a secondhand reference. That's fair enough if you want to consider the solicitation data as the official terminology, but I maintain that it's clearer in most cases to use the terminology from the published comics, just as with other data.

No offense, but I'm a bit puzzled--since you seem adept at tracking down relevant information for missing issues or titles, why do you not add them to the database yourself and submit them as additions/corrections? They've made it a relatively simple process within the program.

The strangeness in the Item Description field is because besides the "Cover A" and "Cover B" that were solicited (assuming they were labeled as such), there was also "Kickstarter Cover A," "Kickstarter Cover B," and so on (as seen on the Kickstarter campaign page). Confusing, perhaps, but the decision to insert the ComicBase item letter into the Item Description field has made it worse: you end up with weird, incorrect descriptions like "Kickstarter Cover C A by Ben Dunn," or if you remove the publisher's actual designated letter ("A"), you get a "Kickstarter Cover C by Ben Dunn" that contradicts the publisher's actual "Kickstarter Cover C" by Shigari. This is just one of several ways in which the wholesale insertion of the ComicBase item letter into the description field creates more problems, inaccuracies, and confusion than it attempts to resolve. But I have griped about this at length before, to no avail. I am not sure why the Lunar exclusive version of Kendra says "Cover A" on the cover. Despite that designation, it seems to be referred to as "Cover C" on most of the Internet, including what looks like solicitation info. The 00131 UPC would also tend to make it Cover C, as well (with 00111 being Cover A and 00121 being Cover B). It's probably just another example of a publisher muddying the waters.

I'm encountering the same problem and some similar ones that seem to indicate problems with the server or its connection.

Art of Geist sounds more like a collection of artwork than an actual comic. It may not belong in the Comic Books category. The title Gallery of Chills (Mike Wolfers…) is missing an apostrophe (Wolfer's). Also, the creator referred to it as a pin-up book in a Facebook post, so it probably does not belong in the Comic Books category. Joe Pekar Art Book is called a "32 page comic sized, art book" in the creator's webshop, so it probably does not belong in the Comic Books category. The newly-added Popeye and Transportation Careers was already in the database as Popeye (Educational Series) #E 4. Item titles for issues of that series would probably be a good idea, to help prevent such duplication. Red Sonja New Years Special 2025 is missing the apostrophe (Year's) found on all the non-virgin covers shown in the database. Shiver Suspenstories (2nd Series) should be camelCase, like ComicBase: Shiver SuspenStories (2nd Series). That would also match the first series, as well as the EC titles that inspired it. Zombie Tramp Vs. Hack Slash is missing the slash between "Hack" and "Slash" that all other Hack/Slash titles possess. Going back to last week's update, Faro’s Lounge American Safari Sketchbook sounds like another sketchbook/art book that may not belong in the Comic Books category. Also from last week: Long Pig & Azrael and Long Pig & Azrael One-Shot appear to be the same publication. And the Item Description field is still full of garbage data, but nobody else seems to care.

And in case anyone missed it, Red Hood (2nd Series) #2 and 3 will not be published, though the pre-release data is in the database.

Oops, that last bullet point should be two bullet points. (I had some formatting issues with this post.) Paul Auster’s the New York Trilogy: City of Glass, Ghosts, the Locked Room - This should be New York Trilogy, The: City of Glass, Ghosts, The Locked Room (Paul Auster’s…). Prince is in the Villainess’ Way! - Should have “,The” at the end (it's "The Prince," not just "Prince").

New book titles: Devil Princess , The(Light Novel) - Weird spacing. There’s an extra space after “Princess” and a missing space between “The” and “(Light Novel).” Percy Jackson and the Olympians the Sea of Monsters - There should likely be a colon after “Olympians,” with the following “The” capitalized. Spongebob Movie, The: Search for Squarepants: How to Be a Swashbuckler! - “SpongeBob” and “SquarePants” should be camel case, like ComicBase. New comic book titles: I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister Is a Tragic Heroine, But Somehow I Became Entangled With a Righteous Prince (Light Novel) - This should be under Books, not Comic Books. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Pink Ranger and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Pink Ranger Deluxe Edition - Are these really separate title entries, or two editions of the same title? New Recruit , The - There's an extra space after “Recruit.” Paul Auster’s the New York Trilogy: City of Glass, Ghosts, the Locked Room - This should be New York Trilogy, The: City of Glass, Ghosts, The Locked Room (Paul Auster’s…).Prince is in the Villainess’ Way! - Should have “,The” at the end (it's "The Prince," not just "Prince").

DC Finest: Super Friends: the Fury of the Super Foes should have a capital T for the first "The": DC Finest: Super Friends: The Fury of the Super Foes.

As I continue to add items to my database, I feel the need to reiterate my disappointment: the Item Description field has become an awful mess of garbage data that annoys me every time I use the program. It doesn't seem like there's been much effort, if any, to understand the problems created by this ill-conceived mass change (several already described here) or to clean them up. This, along with the inability to change long-standing but erroneous title information (the "installed user base" problem), is my new top frustration with ComicBase. I think I can use a custom field for a personal workaround, but I really hate to see so much bad info in the program and on Atomic Avenue.

The following four book titles were added: LEGO Dreamzzz World Builder LEGO Minecraft Games Book Lego Minifigure a Visual History Updated and Expanded LEGO Ninjago World Builder While the Lego Group (the owners of the brand) prefer the all-caps form of the name (LEGO), it is not an acronym and most editorial style guides would call for "Lego." I can see going either way with that, but for the sake of consistency, ComicBase should use one or the other, not both. The title Back Owner's Manual was added in the Comic Books category. This PDF version has a different front cover but the same publisher, and it is clearly not a comic, though it has illustrations. The title Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu (Novel) was added in the Comic Books category. Wouldn't that "(Novel)" designation place it under Books? And the same thing with these titles: Lout of Count’s Family (Novel) Reincarnated Into a Game As the Hero’s Friend: Running the Kingdom Behind the Scenes (Light Novel) Survival in Another World With My Mistress! (Light Novel) Villainess and the Demon Knight (Light Novel) Beetle Bailey was added as a new title in Comic Books. As multiple other existing entries could also lay claim to that title entry, shouldn't this newly-added one be Beetle Bailey (Tempo)? The title I would most expect to see as Beetle Bailey is listed, oddly, as Beetle Bailey (Vol. 1). The title Clive Barker’s Next Testament Complete Collection was added in the Comic Books category. Following the current ComicBase style, that should be Next Testament Complete Collection (Clive Barker's…). House of Slaughter Deluxe Edition Limited Edition Slipcased Edition -- yikes, what a title. Would this not fall under the main House of Slaughter title? Wouldn't Seven Secrets Deluxe Edition Slipcased Edition fall under the main Seven Secrets entry?

Sorry, I could have sworn I was looking at the August catalog, but apparently it was the July catalog where I saw them.

Hermes and FairSquare stand out for me. Also, Crusade and Devil's Due are not in the list above but are both in the August Philbo catalog and have both published some notable titles (not sure if they're exclusive to Philbo). Dren Publications also looks like it has some notable titles. Couldn't HC use Philbo's solicitation info without necessarily ordering everything? I know it's impossible to account for every comic published and distributed via other avenues (local publications, crowdfunded items, etc.), but ideally anything circulated through a distributor (even a smaller one) would make it into the database.

There's a new Books addition called Spongebob Squarepants 5-Minute Stories Collection. "SpongeBob" and "SquarePants" officially use camel case (capital letters in the middles of the compounded names), just like "ComicBase." There are already a bunch of variations among SpongeBob title entries in ComicBase, but maybe it could be done correctly for any new titles. Similarly, the new Comic Books title Mrballen Presents: Where Nightmares Live should be styled "MrBallen."