More Borders Woes Update (And It's Not a Happy One)

By now, most people have heard that the bookseller giant Borders is in some financial trouble.

And we've been hearing something similar for the past three or four years. Still, there are plenty of Borders stores all over the country, and the chance of one being within half an hour of wherever you're reading this from is pretty high.

For the most part, while it's less likely these days that Borders will carry a title that strays off the mainstream road, their stores have managed to remain fairly well-stocked these past few years, despite all of their troubles.

And, for various reasons, they were particularly well-stocked in the comic book/graphic novel department.

Well, all that's about to change, as Diamond Book Distributors--the major distribution game in the comics industry--has suspended shipments to Borders stores in light of the bookseller's decision to suspend payments to their vendors.

Can't really blame Diamond, can you?

Several publishers have also stopped selling their product to Borders, and news broke that the retail giant will close a Tennessee-based warehouse this summer, eliminating 310 jobs in the process.

Obviously, this is sad, bad news. It's bad for the folks at Borders, it's bad for the publishers, and it's bad for anyone who enjoys going to a bookstore and wandering.

Let's face it--when Borders moved in just over a decade ago, they (along with Barnes & Noble) essentially became the only game in town. The retail behemoths pushed small shops out of business as customers found the whole, coffee-shop-in-a-bookstore thing to be revelatory.

But now, when Borders needs to do the thing--you know, sell books--that those small shops did so well for all those years...they can't. And why is that? Because, by and large, Borders has always been more interested in having a nice coffee shop, or selling CDs and DVDs, or stocking a wide selection of paper products that no one buys.

Books were always secondary. They were the front.

And now, Borders needs to figure out--in the worst book selling climate in history--how to sell books. And from the looks of things, it seems like they'll need a miracle to get out of their current situation.

But Borders has been resilient, if nothing else. And they've managed to survive, despite the countless tolls of the their death-knell. Here's hoping they can keep surviving. Here's hoping they go to all of those book shop owners who were forced out of business a decade ago and ask them for advice.

Because, after all these years, it's about time Borders figures out just how in the heck to sell books.

Minesweeper and Paperboy in Real Life

I don't spend a lot of time doodling around the Internet in search of entertaining videos, but I'm a sucker for a good live-action adaptation of a video game. Ever wonder what Paperboy would be like in real life?



Another one of my favorites is a fake movie trailer for Minesweeper, but embedding has been "disabled by request," so you'll have to leave this blog for a minute or two to check it out. We'll miss you.

Store Spotlight: A Timeless Journey

Quite a while ago, on a blog very much like this one, I mentioned that it might be fun to do little spotlight post thingies on different comics, gaming, and all around cool, stores that Nathaniel and/or I have been to.

Of course, until this very moment, I forgot to follow through on that idea.

So, to rectify such an injustice, today I humbly (or as humbly as I can be, anyway) present the very first comics shop in our Store Spotlight Series.

And, before you ask, no, I'm not married to that name. So if you can come up with something better, please feel free to leave some names in the comments section, below. There'll be no prize if your idea gets chosen, other than the satisfaction that--

Actually, you know what?

There will be a prize. And, even though I have not at all talked this over with Nathaniel, if you leave a comment for a new name for this feature, and we decide to use it, we'll send you a prize.

It will probably be a pretty horrible prize, but hey. We don't exactly work on a Michael Bay budget here. Right. So. Back to the post...

Fittingly, this first store in the series is my own, personal LCS. So you know it's good. A Timeless Journey, in Stamford, CT, is the shop that I've haunted, off and on, for just about 15 years.

When I was a kid, and more into collecting baseball cards than anything else, I used to buy packs and boxes of cards at--as it's affectionately called by regulars--Timeless. (My brother still collects those sports cards, and Timeless remains his main venue for that.)

As I got older and...uh...progressed?...to comics, Timeless became my weekly store, and now, six-or-so years later, you can still find me there each and every Wednesday.

The store's owner is great and friendly and will actually help you if you have a question--something that many new customers fear will not be the case when venturing into a comics shop for the first time.

And the store's selection of comic books both old and new is certainly on the higher end of the spectrum. All mainstream books are ordered each week, and there is always a nice selection of independent titles. New books are located on their own wall, and are very easy to locate.

All back issue comics are discounted 30% when purchased in-store, and there are literally thousands to choose from. Timeless features a nice selection of "wall books"--the higher end comics that are kept...um...on the wall, and those are also 30% off, every day.

Additionally, I'm told that the store's gaming selection is quite impressive and expansive, with some hard to find items. What's more, every Friday night is tournament night at the store's new gaming tables.

All in all, it's my home away from home, and I look forward to stopping by every week. If you're ever in the area, drop in and say hello. And tell them Exfanding sent you. (Although no one will have any idea what you're talking about...)

Why The Green Hornet Might Sting Your Eyes

Well, The Green Hornet opens tonight, and it's the first movie I've wanted to see in the theater (as opposed to saving my money and waiting for the DVD to arrive at my local library) since...um...TRON: Legacy. Alright, new qualification: It's the first movie I've wanted to see in the theater since Inception that caught my eye simply because it looks good.

In an age of prequels, sequels, and remakes, it's refreshing to go to the movies to watch something with no ties to anything, except for the part where it's based on a comic book. Even so, I've never been exposed to The Green Hornet comics, so I'm coming at this from the perspective of a guy who's just out to see a fun movie.

The only problem? It's in 3-D.

For a movie like Avatar, with its BLUE ALIENS and STUNNING VISTAS, 3-D makes perfect sense--every second of the film is intended to be an eye-popping visual feast. You lose something if you don't watch THE GREATEST ADVENTURE OF ALL TIME in 3-D. The Green Hornet, though?

Or Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides?

Or The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader?

Or A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey?

Or Kung Fu Panda 2?

Or Mars Needs Moms?

It just occurred to me how much of this is Disney's fault. Still, I hear talk of 3-D televisions and the 3-D-capable evolution of the Nintendo DS, and I see no end to this 3-D craze. Which is baffling, considering how NO ONE likes 3-D.

Perhaps it's just the people I hang out with, but--without exception (except for this one friend)--the reaction is always the same: No matter how enthusiastic someone is about seeing a film, the instant they discover it's showing in 3-D, their excitement deflates, and there's often a pouty face or listless dejection that follows. I'm feeling the same way about The Green Hornet--I want to leave the house for a few hours, leave my wallet at the concession stand, and enjoy a movie that promises to be stupid amounts of fun, with nothing else for me to compare it against or expect it to be.

Plain. Old. Fun.

Yet it's in 3-D. My eyes begin to suffer about halfway through any 3-D film, and I ultimately shift the 3-D glasses around on my face until they're in an awkward position where the strain isn't so bad, but the very top of the screen is obscured by the frame of the glasses. Oh, and let's not forget the practical part--Disney (or whomever) is charging me $5 or $10 more for something I don't want at all, and probably won't enhance my viewing experience enough to make up for the extra hassle and expense.

Let me put this in another perspective: When I go out to a restaurant, I'm not forced to wear a tight helmet that makes my jaw ache as I chew (and have them charge me extra to wear it). I don't order take-out so I can eat restaurant food--which gets cold by the time I get home--without needing to deal with the aforementioned Meal Helmet.

As I said, there are movies such as Avatar, that truly need 3-D. Captain EO is a regular Meal Helmet convention--it simply doesn't work if you remove the key ingredient. It was fun enough to see the effects-heavy TRON: Legacy in 3-D, but as my girlfriend pointed out, the 3-D commercial before the film, which had water spraying all over the place, was the best part of the 3-D experience.

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but in a different context: Don't implement motion controls unless your video game absolutely requires them. Don't reboot a franchise unless there are no more stories to be told. Don't put your movie in 3-D unless you positively need to poke your audience in the eye.