Randall J. Paske

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.

OK, I just submitted updates for Clyde Fans. The publication history is even more tangled than I realized, so I had to make some changes and additions. I changed Palookaville CS 1 (actually titled Clyde Fans, Part 1) to Clyde Fans 1. Palookaville CS 2, it turns out, was never published (there is no book titled Clyde Fans, Part 2). I changed Palookaville Bk 2/HC (actually titled Clyde Fans, Book 1) to Clyde Fans Bk 1/HC. There was at least one further printing of this edition, and possibly more. I added Clyde Fans Bk 1/HC-2 for the second printing, but more may need to be added if found in the future. (History repeated itself, and there is no book titled Clyde Fans, Book 2.) In 2019, the complete story (more than what was in Book 1, which was itself more than what was in Part 1) was printed in one hardcover volume simply titled Clyde Fans. I didn't find this in ComicBase. I added it as Clyde Fans Bk 1/A. In 2021, the 2019 hardcover was given a paperback edition. I didn't find this in ComicBase. I added it as Clyde Fans Bk 1/B. The solicited 2025 edition is, as far as I can tell, a new printing of the 2021 paperback. I changed it from Clyde Fans 1 to Clyde Fans Bk 1/B-2. It does not seem that the hardcover is getting a new printing. If these changes are accepted, then Palookaville CS 1 and Bk 2/HC need to be removed to prevent duplication. CS 2 needs to be removed no matter what, having never actually been published.

The 2/20 update also adds a new edition of Clyde Fans by Seth under that title. Previous editions of Clyde Fans are listed, correctly or incorrectly, under Palookaville as Bk 2/HC, CS 1, and CS 2, because the material was originally serialized in issues of that title. For consistency, either those earlier versions of Clyde Fans should be moved to the new title, or the new edition should go under Palookaville with the others. For now, I've submitted item titles for the books listed under Palookaville, because they aren't really labeled as Palookaville and it's not obvious that they would be listed there.

The following new titles were added in the Comic Books category, but they probably belong in the Books category instead: Farscape: Script Book Naughty Faeries Stripper Book NFSA WSPT Artbook Scream Queens Sketchbook Still Ill Calendar

You mean they should not be added, right?

Some more clean-up for the 1/17/2025 content update: The newly-added title Beetle Bailey: Strategic Withdrawl has a spelling error and should instead be listed as Beetle Bailey: Strategic Withdrawal. The new title Big Nate Attack of the Cheez Funk Breath! needs a colon after "Nate" to make it Big Nate: Attack of the Cheez Funk Breath!. The new title Foothold: Rigsby W.I. should not have periods in the postal abbreviation for Wisconsin. Also, this is apparently going to be the first of a series of Rigsby WI graphic novels, with Foothold only being the title of Volume 1 (see the cover image). So the series title should be Rigsby WI. Going by the cover image, the new title Magnificent McCoys should be Magnificent McCoys, The. The new title Monster High Bull's Eye needs a colon after "High" to make it Monster High: Bull's Eye. The newly-added title Spitball A CCAD Comics Anthology needs a colon after "Spitball" to make it Spitball: A CCAD Comics Anthology. The title Thun’Da, King of the Congo (Magazine Enterprises) was added, but this series already exists in the database under its parent title A-1 Comics, so this newly-added title is a duplication. See A-1 Comics #47, 56, 73, 78, 83, and 86. This is confusing, but I believe cases like this are why the Item Title field was added. The new title What Would Blueys Mum Do is missing the apostrophe in Bluey's, and it is a picture storybook rather than a comic book, so it belongs in the Books category.

Listing #666-675 under the 3rd series instead of the 7th series (or even an 8th series) makes to sense to me, either, but I do know that the publisher is starting over with #1 yet again beginning in March, necessitating the title currently labeled as the 8th series in CB. Dynamite does not usually include dates on their covers or in their indicia.

I added that one. New York Comic Con is the unfortunately generic title in the indicia for an ashcan-sized comic from Virgin Comics that includes the first several pages of their then-new series Dock Walloper and Dan Dare. This info is in the Notes field of the entry I submitted.

Even better. I wasn't sure it was the CB standard, though.

I usually wait to hop on to one of @Gregory Hecht's posts, but he hasn't done one for the 1/09/2025 content update yet, so I guess I'll start: The book title The Marvel Art of David Finch was added. This should follow the usual format of Marvel Art of David Finch, The. The comic book title All in Saga was added. When "in" is used as a preposition in a title, it should not be capitalized. But here, I believe "in" is being used as an adverb, and as such it should be capitalized in a title. So it should be All In Saga. The title Avengers: Assemble TPB was added to the Comic Books category. Should this book be instead listed under one of the existing Avengers: Assemble series? The title DC X Sonic the Hedgehog was added. I confess that I find the relatively recent convention of using "X" instead of "&" or "/" a bit annoying, but I wonder if it's meant to be "X" (uppercase) or "x" (lowercase) or "×" (multiplication symbol). I don't know if there's even a way to tell. In the new title Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe III, the word "the" should not be capitalized. The title Drumming Up an Appetite With Vinnie Paul was added to the Comic Books category, but it appears to be a cookbook, not a comic book. In the new title Free For All, the word "for" should not be capitalized. In the new title Heroes Of Echo Company, the word "of" should not be capitalized. The new title Presents (Jim Henson’s…) should be Presents (Jim Henson…)--no possessive. The title Romero’s Axa Classics was added. I only see this elsewhere as Axa Classics. But if Romero's is part of the title, then the ComicBase convention would be Axa Classics (Romero's…) . The new title Smurfs, The: Who’s Is That Smurf? should be Smurfs, The: Who Is That Smurf? . The magazine title Hero Special Edition Vol 3 was added. From what I can tell, this should instead be listed as Hero Illustrated (Volume 3). I'm basing this on the model of Hero Illustrated (Volume 2) and its existing entry.

"Mr. Garcin" is the pseudonym of Pascal Garcin. Opinions may differ on whether the database should have him as Pascal Garcin (my preference) or "Mr. Garcin," but "M.R. Garcin" would definitely be wrong.

As stated earlier, I have a physical copy of the earlier "comic." Its title in the indicia is just as I entered it in ComicBase: Oldguy. Superhero I could not find an image that exactly matched the cover of my copy. The one I submitted is very close, but it includes a colon where the real thing has none. I will provide a correct image in a couple of weeks after I scan the cover of my copy. Changing the binding type to "Staple" is fine. It makes me think of a single staple up in the corner, though, instead of the "floppy comic" format. Maybe a new binding type with a more accurate description is needed for items like this. I do not have the later 2019 publication. It would certainly help if the publisher were consistent.

I added that one. I found the cover image on the Internet, but on the actual publication there is no punctuation on the cover. The image may have been a preliminary cover; I submitted it as a placeholder until I can make a scan of my own copy, because I couldn't find an image that matched mine exactly. The title I entered is how it's shown in the indicia, weird as it is. I'd prefer the colon, but that's not what they ended up using. As to whether it is a book or magazine, it's one of those items that looks like a floppy comic but doesn't contain any comics. There's only one issue, so it's not a periodical. It also doesn't have articles of the kind that most magazines consist of. It has poems with accompanying text. To me, the contents and the one-time publication suggested it should be listed in the Books category. (Poetry magazines didn't cross my mind at the time.) Then I had to select a binding type, and "single issue magazine" seemed to be the closest available option to describe the binding. Why there is a "single-issue magazine" binding type in the Books category, I cannot say. But it is there, and it was the best descriptor I saw, so I used it. I'm not sure how to classify these odd cases sometimes. It's fine with me if the binding type is changed or if it's moved to the Magazines category, even though that doesn't seem right to me. But please trust me on the title. I'd take a picture of the indicia for proof, but I'm hundreds of miles away from my copy right now. And I'm a couple of weeks away from submitting a true cover scan.

Yes, I've noticed some of those "Walt Disney's" titles before. But there are more than I realized. I assumed, without looking too closely, that those titles were grandfathered in with those titles. I would personally have a hard time with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories rendered as Comics and Stories (Walt Disney's...). I'm so used to the full title that it would seem very wrong if it followed the usual ComicBase standard, consistent or not. But I would think they'd want new titles to follow the standard.

The new title Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse and the Amazing Lost Ocean doesn't adhere to the usual standard that would make it Mickey Mouse and the Amazing Lost Ocean (Walt Disney's...), either. There are also some titles that contain capitalized articles (Conan The Barbarian: The Original Comics Omnibus is one of them), but nobody seems to care about that.

As another user, I don't know anything about your submissions, of course. But I would note that sometimes a content update will erase information I've submitted, only for it to show up in the next content update. This happens when I am submitting close to the cut-off for the new content update, or when there is a backlog of submitted info that the editors are trying to work through. You're probably already aware of this occasional lag, but I thought it might be worth a mention. I agree that the Notes field can be irksome when it gets cluttered with junk. Often there are multiple versions of the same comment with some minor change or correction applied; sometimes there is info that is flat-out wrong that is difficult to get removed. My idea of pertinent information to put in that field sometimes differs wildly from the ideas of other users. My understanding is that this field clutter is part of the reason the Item Description field was added, so info could be controlled by the editorial team and not get all gunked up. I'm not sure what the answer is for the Notes field (though perhaps the program could add others' notes after our own notes instead of before them); I just do my best to ignore the clutter.

Fair enough--I know you defer to the indicia these days. But there are around 35 other titles using "Hack/Slash" in their names, "Hack/Slash" is the official name of the property, and "Hack/Slash" is what's on the cover of this new series. So I would regard the lack of a forward slash in the indicia to be an oversight on the part of the publishers. Indicia are not always correct.

Also, the new title Hack Slash: Body Bags is missing the forward slash that appears in all the other Hack/Slash titles.

This week's update also added Batman: The Animated Series Official Coloring Book to the Comic Books category. This item likely belongs under Books instead.