Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: comic shop, Mark Millar, Mystery Retailer

Comic Book Retailers Say The Funniest Things: Glenn O'Leary Special

Comic book store owner Glenn O’Leary, who owns The Comic Book Palace comic shop in Haverhill, Massachusetts, went viral this week.

Comic book store owner Glenn O'Leary, who owns The Comic Book Palace comic shop in Haverhill, Massachusetts, joined the list of our Comic Book Retailers Say The Funniest Things articles. A clip from the The Comic Book Palace Reborn podcast went viral online, as Glenn opined that modern comic book writers don't love the characters as much as the old writers, and just want to put themselves in the stories. The viral clip went as follows:

"Most of these new writers don't have the love of comics that these older writers had. And all they care about is, how can I put myself into the book? But we don't care about what you would do if you were Iron Man. We don't care who you are, you're writing Tony Stark, you're not writing yourself in a book. If that's the case, write your own comic with you in it. No one would read it, because nobody cares. People grew up loving Peter Parker, loving Miles Morales, loving Captain America; we don't need you to put your input in it, just write Steve Rogers. Don't write, what would Steve Rogers be if I were Steve Rogers? That's not how it works, but that's how most of these new people write nowadays. That's why most of the stuff is shit. We don't care about what you would do, because we don't care about your life whatsoever. Just write a book, get paid for what you're supposed to be doing, and make it a good story. "

Which was a bit weird considering the comics being written today. Gerry Duggan is not writing Tony Stark as if he were Gerry Duggan; he has him secretly fighting against weapons of war as Iron Man while publicly using his broken man Tony Stark playboy reputation to help injustice against mutants. It's all about Stark, as he has been established over sixty years. J Michael Straczynski, the current writer of Captain America, writes Cap as someone who does the right thing, with or without powers, a stellar example of someone stepping up with whatever they have, a superhuman in his soul as well as in his fists, and better than most people living a life of compromise. He is writing Captain America, not JMS. Zeb Wells is writing Spider-Man as someone who the world has turned against and just can't get a break… okay, maybe he has a point there. And hey, it's his business; he is most definitely entitled to say what he likes about it, and maybe some people can learn from it.

But as the likes of John Byrne will tell you, the old-school writers didn't care about the characters; it was just a paycheque for them. It was only the fans-turned-writers who cared. But comic book creators and commentators had a lot more to say, however, and took to social media.

Gail Simone: This is a tiny clip of a much longer video. This gentleman has had his story thirty years. My hat is off to him and I have watched his videos and they're good fun.

Ramon Villalobos: comic writers take note! this salami breathed hog has some sage wisdom for all of you:

Comic Book Herald: Comic shops! Where owner's opinions can be as antiquated as their business model selling paper magazines!

Gabe Hernandez: I see a lot of Comic Pros jumping on this guy, but he's represents the Big 2's main distribution channel for Western Periodical Comics. Instead of knee-jerk defensive reactions, we should spend more time listening to the truth under the gruff.

Jamal Igle: He's gonna be real shocked about how all comics have been written and how writing in general works. His business is dying because he refuses to change with the times.

Erik Hodson: The creators trashing this poor guy deserve the unemployment line, may they live the remainder of their years depending on soup kitchens and begging. Scumbags.

Donny Cates: Don't you guys hate how when you go into a hardware store how the guy behind the counter always tells you how much hammers suck?

Ant Gramuglia: Okay, so this is a complicated topic. Do I feel some writers fail to keep their characters in-character? Yeah, of course. ….but to say "don't put your input into it" that's basically asking for bland content. It shows a general disregard for writers that I find disappointing.

Andy Diggle: He seems nice.

John Rap: OK. Were you against Frank Miller having his opinion on Batman? The editors and publishers hired these writers. Maybe try an independent comic book once in a while. So many angles this could be taken.

Taylor Talks Comics: "These new writers need to stop putting themselves into these stories" -Comics retailer "Remember it's all just a mirror we made to see ourselves." -Grant Morrison I'll side with the generational genius level writing talent. Thanks!

Billy Tucci: Nothing this man saying is false. You think the major publishers would see their business as well, a business. So who among you out there is already plotting his cancelation and business' distruction.

Ryan Higgins: I actually feel really, really bad for Glenn at Comic Book Palace. I wonder if he understands how many CG nutcases are going to contact him about carrying their shitty comics.

Bleeding Cool's Mystery Retailer had his own point to share. He writes for Bleeding Cool, "Obviously Glen is upset. He's frustrated and maybe feels a bit betrayed. I suspect there are other retailers that feel the same way. The video has gone viral and we have those that agree and those that don't. First I want to say whether you agree or disagree with him, making fun of his appearance is awful and wrong. The thing I realized is that Glen is actually describing what a small loud minority has been saying, writers that put out diversity stories are to blame. But he's not talking about the surfer from California that plays pickleball and writes comics. And that he's making Captain America in his image. This is all negativity based on general speculation. This is not helpful. Open up your books and examine the data. What titles and characters are we talking about? Which specific writers are doing this? Who are the editors? What were your annual sales for periodicals in 2022 compared to 2023? Which titles backed with actual order and sales numbers are they? How do they compare prior to these writers making said changes? Since these titles aren't selling, which ones have you stopped ordering? How many titles are affected by natural attrition and how many are not? I would encourage all retailers to gather the data.  You'll have a much stronger argument if you can show data and evidence."

"The insinuation that writers should write stories you want to read is not how creativity and art works. There are talented creators doing their best to put out amazing stories and they hope you enjoy and that they equate to sales. Again until we can see each store's individual data, there is no way to prove Glen's argument. What we need now is community and getting the facts. That way we can better make informed decisions. We have to identify all challenges and then come up with solutions together. That's how problem solving works. Otherwise you're just part of the problem."

But the whole situation was perfect for Mark Millar who is planning a return to DC Comics for 2025, after being exclusive for Netflix since 2017. And is doing his best to seed the path ahead, so rather than being viewed as an opportunist or profile rising, is instead seen as a selfless act to save the comic book industry. He wants to write Superman again but doesn't want to look like a sell-out for doing so. And it's true, a Superman comic book written by him will sell really well. But so would one by Grant Morrison, Donny Cates or  Jonathan Hickman.

So Millar did a podcast with Glenn, which helped back up Millar's usual talking points, as well as some rather dodgy statistics. And then took to his newsletter, saying, "As you may know, stores have had a really hard time these past few years, and retailers are really hurting, some legendary comic stores going out of business after even thirty years of riding out multiple recessions. The honest truth is that Marvel and DC have really slumped in the past few years and they're the tide that lifts all ships, most other comics suffering when footfall tumbles and nobody is in there buying their X-Men books." That's not the honest truth. A number of stores absolutely have gone through some very tough times for a multitude of reasons. But it seems that as many stores are expanding or opening, as are closing. Marvel and DC have remained resiliently stable over the past few years despite all manner of nonsense around. There are, however, changes. And as the Bestseller lists prove, plenty of folks still seem to be buying X-books.

"There's been an odd conspiracy of silence about this, any retailer speaking up shot down by a weird digital mob. The most recent guy trying to get a discussion going was the hugely successful Florida retailer Phil Boyle from the Coliseum of Comics chain. He estimated that there's maybe two years left in the direct market unless there's a change of tactics from the Big 2 and he's been slaughtered online for trying to talk about it." He's been contradicted by some retailers and confirmed by others. Our previous Comic Retailers Say The Funniest Things articles tallied a lot of that.

"But something really amazing happened a few days later when an East Coast retailer with thirty years experience behind him stepped into the fray. Glenn O'Leary from The Comics Palace was saying he just couldn't sell these books anymore and the onslaught against him, even some pros jumping in and ridiculing him personally, caused a backlash unlike anything I've ever seen. I talked to him a couple of nights ago and, as you might expect, he was just a nice, charming guy who loves comics. You can watch the link below and as you'll see from the numbers it's our most-watched video EVER in just two days, the channel running for around a year now." Which is because it was championed by folks, whose interests are in promoting that everything in comics is terrible, as a grift or a self-justification to sell their own comics directly to readers and bypassing comic stores along the way. With friends like these…

But it was Mike Meyers of Geek Brunch who seemed to have the wisest take on the problems bedevilling comics right now… "So many thoughts lately on how to save the comic industry. I am not your average consumer. As a matter of fact I have not met anyone yet that buys as much new comics a week as me. I have almost 100,000 comics and have been getting comics since I was 5. I have never stopped getting them and became a superfan somewhere in middle school as I would mow grass for neighbors and would have additional money also stuffed envelopes. Every decade has had incredible comics and still does. I don't see a decrease in quality and politics has been in comics, along with writers injecting themselves into stories as long as I can remember. I have even gone back to the Golden Age and it is incredible how much current events are in those books. I don't like when fans attack other fans or creators but truthfully believe everyone has a right to express one's opinion. I often read or watch things I totally disagree with and try to learn where they are coming from. I am recently finding I am cutting back on new purchases for the following reasons. My top reasons LCSs might be in trouble."

"1) 4.99 is just too much, so when publishers go to this, they start taking away from themselves and sometimes competition but more from themselves. 2) DC and Marvel seem to really want people to move to digital by offering their entire libraries 1 or 3 months after print. You can read the entire library this way. Or at least have a subscription and reduce your physical copies.3) As an ageing fan, it gets really hard to move comic boxes and sort them; 4) The speculators are leaving after COVID, which is causing a decrease in sales (Movies are flopping as well an there is less of a demand for recent hot books) 5) Too many variants, purchasing a variant takes away from buying something you are going to read. 6) I personally am feel like directing more money to back issues. 7) Too much competition for dollars and the younger generation rather spend money elsewhere, so the industry has an ageing audience. Not that anyone cares about my opinion but there is my two cents."

I think it was worth a lot more than that, Mike…

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!