Coast City Comicon: Wet Paint Project

This is Chris Dingwell's painting that he did as apart of the Wet Paint Project at Coast City Comicon. A lot of very talented artists completing works of art, right in front of you. It's awesome and we were really glad to have these guys.

Coast City Comicon Photos!

Mike Lavoie took some photos (like the one above) of the cosplayers on Saturday. Check out that gallery here.


Also, Emma Frost (pictured next to Coast City's own Scott, as Aquaman) offered up her gallery for viewing. You can check it out here.

We'll post more photos as people offer them up to us.

Simpsons Figures!

We bought a ton of Simpsons figures today! Check them out!

Testing Atari Games

New video games, whether they are old or new, is always a time of great rejoicing here. It's also a time of great cleaning and testing. We can't just let these games go out on the shelves without verifying they work or cleaning the copious amounts of dirt and grime off of them. We have to hold them, feed them, clean them, teach them the ways of the world, and then let them run free on the shelves when they're ready. I assure you, it's a very emotional process.

It's not all sunshine and candy though. It's not all unicorns and kittens wearing funny hats, no sir! Sometimes, testing a game can drive you to the brink of insanity. It can be like starring into the subconscious of Gary Busey, full of wild animals singing Motley Crue songs while gnawing at piles of rotten meat. It's a real test of a man's worth, that's for sure.

Superman, for the Atari 2600, really stood out as a game that can break the will of a civilization. It's seizure inducing characters and level screens made my eyes hurt. Its lack of instruction and intuitiveness left me foaming at the mouth. It made no sense. It sounds like a Daft Punk B-Side and looks like a child's first foray into the world of computer animation. When looking for an example, it was no surprise to me that the video showcasing this game had the word "unplayable" in it. Here, take a look.



The word "unplayable" implies that there is a way to play the game. Whereas I feel that there is no way to play it. There can't be, it's just a mess of shapes and sounds. A world of noise and color that you navigate this helpless sprite through. It's damnation. This is not a game in the classic sense. This is an insanity simulator.

While I do enjoy cleaning and testing the majority of games that come into our shop, it sometimes causes me mental harm. In this case, Superman for the Atari 2600 has scarred me for the rest of my life. There will come a day when I am old and withered, sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair, with a vacant look in my eye. If you look closely, you'll see scenes from this game running their hellish course in my eye, in my soul.

For the sake of you having confidence in purchasing used video games here, it was worth it. Goodnight everyone.

Free Comic Book Day!!

Here are some photos from this years Free Comic Book Day. The photos were taken by the talented David Zwickerhill, of Zwickerhill Photography. zwickerhillphotography.com

HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST!

How would you like to wear your Halloween costume and win a $25 gift card in the process? All you have to do is send a picture of yourself in your costume and send it to chad@coastcitycomics.net. We'll pick the best costume on October 29th! We will be displaying our favorite costumes on the blog.

PLEASE NOTE: It does not have to be a superhero costume! We will accept costumes of all shapes and sizes!

REMEMBER!
send to chad@coastcitycomics.net

Joe the Barbarian

Hey guys! My girlfriend was reading Joe the Barbarian and noticed something during this splash page.

If you look closely at the mausoleum, you may notice that the flag for the state of Maine is flying above it. Not only that, but it has the city of Portland inscribed on the sides of the structure. If you need a closer look, I blew up that section.

Why is this important? Well the shop is located in Portland, Maine guys! Having lived here for the past ten years, it's always exciting to see the city used in one of my favorite mediums.

I emailed artist Sean Murphy, to see if this was an artistic decision or if Grant Morrison specifically chose Portland as the setting. Hopefully I'll hear back from him, so I can give you guys an answer.

** UPDATE **
Sean Murphy was cool enough to write back to me. As it turns out, it was artistic license. He wrote a blog about it on his deviant art page explaining it more, if you're interested in reading about it.
http://seangordonmurphy.deviantart.com/

Store Photos!

Hey guys, I thought it would be fun to show you what the inside of the store looks like. It seems like we're changing up the look of the store every month!

This is our trades section! The other side has just as many books.

Ugly Dolls love Jay-Z! Who knew?!

This a Clark Kent skeleton statue I picked up in Las Vegas.


An awesome Winter Soldier/Captain America statue.

This is our used trades section. Lots of great stuff in there.

Our back issue bins

We told him that he needed to stop singing rap music and upsell stuff instead.

This is our new release wall. Every Wednesday, new comics will appear here like magic!

This is our current holiday display

The last photo is of Riley from the Monster Emporium. Riley diligently tests every video game that is for sale at that store. He is a real American hero.

That's it for now guys! I hope you enjoyed this candid look into the store. If you like what you see then I encourage you to stop in and say hello. As always, feel free to email me at chad@coastcitycomics.net with any questions, comments or death threats you may have.

Until next time,
-Action Chad