Introduction and Editing by Jen Bateman
Welcome, friends, to the new MNCBA Newsletter!
We’ll be keeping you updated with the latest news about MNCBA activities, sharing upcoming events, and publishing original features by our volunteers about the Minnesota comic book community. Subscribe to receive these newsletters in your email, or go back and read the archives at any time on our website.
WHAT’S NEWS
MNCBA SpringCon 2025 planning is well underway with the first creator and vendor announcements being made last week. Submit your application if you have not done so yet, and watch your inbox for invoices or an email from us if you have! For those a little lost, you can find the applications under the “Events” menu on our website. Following MNCBA FallCon 2024, all of our applications were updated to user-friendly web forms. We have fully moved our volunteer management and communication to the POINT system, and we are building new email lists.
The MNCBA website has been expanded significantly over the winter, including the new archive. Please continue to check regularly as we add more content!
The MNCBA is excited to announce that Nick Kaufman, formerly of Crypticon, has joined our team to bring a cosplay contest to our SpringCon and FallCon shows! While details are still being determined, we are looking forward to working with Nick to create a cosplay contest that is welcoming and fun for everyone.
MNCBA SpringCon 2025 Flyer Featuring Artwork by Jesse Switters
Don’t miss our MNCBA SpringCon 2025 T-shirts available online, featuring artwork by Duluth, MN, artist Jesse Switters! While we are working hard to bring a merchandise booth to future shows, our T-shirts are exclusively online for now.
The MNCBA has accomplished so much in the past two years since relaunching the organization, and we are committed to continuously improving and expanding our efforts in the future. Thank you for choosing to share your time with us.
WHAT’S GOIN’ ON IN THE TWIN CITIES
On March 1st, Most Wanted Comics will be hosting a Meet & Greet from 10:00AM – 2:00PM featuring Doug Mahnke, Tom Nguyen, and Keith Champagne. Visit the Most Wanted Comics website for additional information.
Use this link to submit your news or event to us.
“TAKING CARE OF YOUR INVESTMENT” by Stephen Henninger
I want to talk a little about comics; not just reading them, collecting them, or God forbid, investing in them. I want to discuss protecting them. A good friend told me a long time ago, “Protect your investment.” Those words have always held true in this hobby, where what we collect is flimsy paper. The goal isn’t just to have a comic book, but to have and keep it in the best condition possible.
Today I will be sharing a few things with you that I have learned through trial, and unfortunately, error.
Always keep your comics in bags with boards, and don’t use regular tape to close them. I use removable price stickers. I also have seen some comics with the plastic flap folded into the back of the bag. However you choose to secure the flap down, remove anything adhesive completely from the bag before removing the comic from the bag. It happens to the best of us — that little piece of tape, or even a removable price tag, will catch the comic and take a piece of the comic with it.
Short Boxes at MNCBA FallCon 2023
Always keep your bagged and boarded comics in a comic book box. Like with comic book bags and boards, there are a lot of options. For the bulk of my collection, I use regular acid-free (Sliver Age size for Bronze, Silver, and Modern) plastic bags and boards, and regular comic boxes. When you get to more valuable books, you may want to invest in the additional protection offered by Mylar bags.
The primary factor to consider regarding boxes to consider is the size. Long boxes obviously hold more, but short boxes are lighter and easier to move around. I prefer short, boxes and my back is happier for it. Similar to Mylar bags, you may wish to consider archival boxes made from polypropylene or other materials.
That last thing to be mindful of when protecting your comics is reading and handling comics outside of the bag. PLEASE only read them over big table, free of food and drinks, and don’t put them back in the bag while walking around. Who knows where a dropped comic will land? Never mind hitting the floor and potentially damaging a corner! I had a friend who had a comic slip out of his hand while on his deck, and it slipped down in-between the boards and fell even further!
In summary, take care — because the odds are that you will damage a valuable book, not a quarter book.
“COME FIND COMICS IN THE STRANGEST CORNER OF MINNEAPOLIS: Odd Mart” by Sehee Snead
“Tired of your gum not coming with a free T-shirt?” is the dilemma I often ask myself. Luckily, my prayers were answered when a store opened in October 2023, providing a strange and weird delight for all who enter its den. Odd Mart, located at 2520 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, is a brick-and-mortar store for Glorp Gum where each piece of gum does, in fact, come with a free T-shirt. Along with featuring random locally crafted oddities, artwork, and toys, there is also a vintage room dedicated to hard-to-find indie books, comics, and zines.
Exterior of Odd Mart in Minneapolis. Photo by Sehee Snead.
The Atlanta-native CEO, Brad McGinty, states in a KARE11 news interview that, “I should have a better response, but it’s mostly the stuff I like in a store, and I figure that if I like this stuff other people would probably like it.” He later goes on to explain his love for black-and-white 80s and 90s comics. Since he grew up in a family that did not have a lot of money, McGinty states he was always able to get a lot of comics from the cheap quarter bins.
T-shirts for sale at Odd Mart in Minneapolis. Photo by Sehee Snead.
Come visit the Odd Mart for your next comic book fix, or to marvel at the weird and strange attractions. They also hold local market events in their backyard every Sunday from noon to 4:00 PM. Keep up to date on the latest events through their Instagram account @oddmartmn, and check out the MNCBA’s next newsletter for an interview with Odd Mart’s founder, Brad McGinty!
Books for sale at Odd Mart in Minneapolis. Photo by Sehee Snead.
Odd Mart
Where: 2520 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55405
When: Noon to 6:00 PM every day that isn’t Tuesday
https://glorpgum.com/
“A VOLUNTEER’S PERSPECTIVE” by Shawn Bramanti
It was very interesting to me, to be standing inside the first set of doors at the MNCBA, and see behind the curtain so to speak. When I first began to have any involvement with the organization it was the summer of 2023. I met the bosses at a show, but I was busy working so I couldn’t really start to connect.
I wanted to have my involvement increase, because of course I am interested in comic books, and the thought occurred to me that I might be able to figure out some way to make use of my knowledge of comic books. It has mostly worked out that way, but the road is never a straight one.
In my adult life I have gone to lots of conventions, shows, and various other places where comic book fans might consider themselves to be gathering. Until I met the folks with the MNCBA, I had no real hands-on opportunities to be involved myself. I had a life, and it involved working with my wife to raise our three kids. So when the opportunity arose to get more involved with my life-long passion for the comic book industry, I jumped at the opportunity; sort of.
The thing I like about shows and the community is they are both filled with genuinely nice people who are interested in much of the same stuff as me. The downside is the physical labor of the hobby, collecting, and the industry itself. If every break-out comic book industry success story involves starting out in indie books in today’s market, then good luck.
We try to hold the high points in the comic book industry as a beacon; to shed light on the future of this industry based on the past.
In the same way that printing created the ability to sell something marketable, comic books created an industry. The argument might now be that since generative AI is here, real art is over. So Not True!
Shawn Bramanti staffing admissions at MNCBA FallCon 2024. Photo by Buzz Meade.
Meeting people from all over the world who all have a common interest makes the community a great thing. That part of our shows has been the absolute best part; meeting these fantastic people who are putting their ideas and hopes out there for the world to see. Many we have never seen before because someone thought the idea up in their heads, or while collaborating with others in their community.
Every show has to be thought of as a barn raising event. Every community has to think of ways to help the community not just survive, but to grow and thrive.
In this modern world, the things we do and say have a bigger impact than we probably even realize. If you don’t get the chance to say those things, or have the opportunity to express those opinions, then we are strangling our future.
Comic books are fun. They engage our sense of wonderment, and that is like capturing lightning in a bottle. When those things click you get magic. Anyone in comics knows stories with this sort of magic, which is real and enthralling.
Who creates the swirling pot of ideas and thoughts that gel together into a successful comic book? Nowadays, really successful comic books can, and do, spawn movies, TV shows, and media that spin around our entire globe influencing others. Of course, some of the ideas get watered down once they reach a large enough audience, but the driving force is still there:
The idea that comic books, or photography, or any artistic endeavor helps the artist to grow into their adult selves. At the end of the day we are all growing into our adult selves. If we as adults can have some fun, that sounds like a win to me.
EDITOR’S NOTES AND KUDOS
In January, MNCBA President Jen Bateman (Hey, that’s me!) was accepted as a member of the National Cartoonists’ Society. We hope that this connection will help enhance the MNCBA’s relationship with the national comic book community.
Congratulations to MNCBA Vice President Stephen “Sparky” Henninger, who this year joined the Vulcan Krewe as Baron Hot Sparkus in the St. Paul Winter Carnival. The Krewe has again defeated the forces of winter for a flawless 139-0 record.
Congratulations to Jesse Switters, our MNCBA SpringCon 2025 flyer artist, for the successful launch of his first independent comic book, Smarg, created with writer Paul Hallgren and published by Snow Day Press. Both Jesse and Paul will be exhibiting at MNCBA SpringCon 2025 — come out and meet them!
Pat Gruber at MNCBA SpringCon 2024. Photo by Jen Bateman.
Finally, if you have not heard, please keep long-time volunteer Pat Gruber, his family, and his friends in your prayers and thoughts. Pat has been hospitalized in the ICU since 16 January, when he suffered a heart attack with multiple complications. His condition remains stable, but he has experienced some minor setbacks.
We are hopeful for Pat’s full recovery and a return to the hobby that he loves.
Until next time, see you in the funny pages!
