Thursday, March 13, 2008

THE END

Back about 2003, shortly after I became comics manager, I (with help from my pals Scott and Matt) initiated a stupid little social experiment that eventually become the Heroes and Dragons Comic Club. Now, roughly five years later, it looks like the HDCC's coming to an end.

I guess I sort of self-imposed myself (?) as the HDCC's chairman when it first started, and ended up officiating for most of it's existence. That sounds more formal than I'd like, but mostly chairing meant pushing the club in the store, keeping track of membership, deciding on a book each month, making sure it was available and that it was ordered in time for the meetings. The HDCC was a powerhouse that first year, and really did well. We averaged something like 15+ members a meeting. The first little misstep came, I think, when I took another job and left the store. After that, it got harder and harder to stay on track. But Tug and Chris were both great at stepping in and helping pick up the slack, and the HDCC would've gone under long ago if not for the two of them. Thanks, fellas.

Oh, and sometimes chairing meant getting special guests to phone-in and discuss their work, which, if I'm being completely honest, was probably my favorite part of Comic Club. I was lucky enough to get some one-on-one time (sorry... too much VH1) with most of our guests in the days and weeks leading up to the meeting, and let me tell you... if you thought I geeked out during the club, you should've heard me on the phone with Steve Englehart at home. We're lucky the guy even took our call after that.

Of course, keeping members interested was always the toughest thing. During our last meeting, I noticed that Chris, Scott, Trey, and me were really the only guys left from the first group. Weird. It's strange to think how many folks have come and gone. The Dacks. Terry. Kiyana. Fuckin' Mike Autry. Yeah, weird... and just... damn.

I intended to write more, but...

It's been a good ride, and I mean this -- if someone wants to pick up the torch, PLEASE be my guest. I'd love to see what somebody else did with it. But for me, it's been five years of first Thursdays, several of which should've really been spent with my beautiful wife... to stay with it any longer, I'd just be doing it out of habit and not out of love.

So goodnight, Comic Club, and all you HDCCers. Thanks for talking comics with me.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

PRIDE OF BAGHDAD FOR FEBRUARY

We take a little break from superheroics this month, as the HDCC turns its eyes, not only toward the anthropomorphic, but also the international as we discuss PRIDE OF BAGHDAD by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon, published by Vertigo/DC comics.

Baghdad first came out as an original hardcover a little over a year ago, and I dodged it on the shelves then, opting to wait for the softcover. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about reading this one since it'll be the first time for me -- something that I don't get outta comic club very often.
We'll be meeting at the Villa at 7:30PM on February 7th to rap about the cats. If you've got questions or need directions, call (803)731-4376 or (803)731-9049 and we'll get you taken care of.
Look forward to seeing you all.
GRRRWWWWLLLLLLL!