We're just a few days before Black Friday and the media no doubt will start shouting about "Cyber Monday", but I'd remind everyone that between them is "Small Business Saturday" and that's a great opportunity to...

Shout out your local comics shop!

Portland is home to MULTIPLE major comics publishers now, Dark Horse, Oni, and now even Image has moved here. Tons of creatives have followed and the comic shop scene is alive and vibrant after a few scary years.

Here's the breakdown for Portland and Vancouver:

I Like Comics - Vancouver - New issues, graphic novels, and a REALLY deep selection of vintage and keys. Also bagged sets of complete runs. You want an X-Men #1? Brave and the Bold 28? Go here.

Portland:

Cosmic Monkey - New Issues, graphic novels, decent selection of non-key back issues. Has 3 or 4 boxes of rare/collectible books under the front counter, but you have to know they're there and ask for access. Parking sucks because of the coffee shop next door. Currently my preffered shop.

Excalibur - Probably the best selection in town. New Issues, graphic novels, deep selection of non-key back issues. Rare/Key issues on the wall and under glass, not as rare or key as I Like Comics. Parking sucks because of the weed shop next door. Comics are all sealed, no browsing.

~~Cloud 9~~ Now Tastee Cat Comics - Not far from Excalibur. Smaller selection of, well, everything, but they come through in a pinch because nobody knows they're there. Parking should be just as bad as the others, and yet it never is for some weird reason. Somebody broke into them not long ago and stole a bunch of stuff, but they are recovering.

Future Dreams - Used to be my preferred shop then they lost their lease a few times and kept moving. Now they are in this weird basement space that's entirely too small for what they have. They need a professional organizational assistant. They might have what you want, you'll never find it there. :(

Floating World - Recently moved to Lloyd Center Mall. Use the roof-top parking close to the food court, then walk East inside about a block, past the Game Stop. Specializes in mostly indie and zines. Also publishes Indies and Zines. They have mainstream current issues and graphic novels, but that's like, not their jam, man.

Comics Adventure - Haven't really been there enough times to form an opinion yet. Selection is better than Cosmic Monkey, not quite as deep as Excalibur. Has some interesting rares and keys.

Books With Pictures - Heavy on Indie press, but not as heavy as Floating World. Mostly new issues and graphic novels, no real back issue selection. Bonus - heavy LGBTQ representation if that's your deal.

Acme Comicbooks - So get this... I've been living in Portland for 30 years and never heard of this shop. Popped up one day on a Google search and I thought I'd check it out. TINY store. No current issues, no graphic novels. Bunch of bronze age back issues. The whole time the owner is going off about how long he's been in business (weird, l've never heard of him), how he has the best selection in the Northwest (seriously, I personally have more books than this shop does), and how other shops are ripping me off. I will say he does have some interesting vintage non-comics stuff... but overall, it's like a stall at an antiques mall, no theme, no selection, just randomness. Worth it for a laugh maybe?

Fall Out Comics - Got their start in an honest to god bomb shelter. Moved to a better location. Same organizational problem as Future Dreams, but more open and accessible. No current issues that I saw, all back issues starting 2 to 5 years old and back from there. Probably an outlet for those "We buy comics!" road signs.

Rose City Comics - Small shop, limited back issues, mostly current issues and small selection of graphic novels. Parking is almost impossible due to the district they are in and proximity to Blue Star Donuts. BONUS - Blue Star Donuts!

Things From Another World - Multiple locations. Seems to focus more on merchandise these days than actual books. :( You want new issues? Fine, get ready to wade through a bunch of action figures and Funko Pops. Milwaukie store is the main HQ across from Dark Horse comics. Close to Comics Adventure.

Comic Cave PDX - It's pretty much the ideal neighborhood comic shop. Plethora of new issues, small selection of all ages, graphic novels, back issues. A few slabbed keys.

The one thing they do differently from everyone else is creator specific short boxes. Looking for Alan Moore? All in one box. Bonus: First box I saw was for P. Craig Russell and Michael Kaluta. It's a neat idea and appeals to my "alphabetical by author" bookstore training.

"The Helvetii, a Celtic tribe who battled Julius Caesar, gave their name to the Swiss territory. The Latin name for the country, Helvetia, still appears on Swiss stamps. The letters CH appearing on Swiss cars and in internet addresses stand for the Latin words Confoederatio Helvetica, meaning Swiss Confederation."

Stores in question:

Portland Galleria: 939 SW Morrison St.
Portland Powell: 3031 SE Powell Blvd.
Portland Hollywood: 4030 NE Halsey St.

So Galleria, the one by the Hollywood MAX stop, aaand... 30th and Powell? No idea there was even one there...

There's a chart that may not load on mobile, look for the "Click Here" link.

A little too much filler before you get to the ACTUAL data, so here's a copy/pasta:

"Here’s a look at active and recent federal cases against federal lawmakers and governors. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but it is what I could find going back to 2000 in CNN’s coverage and from other news outlets.

Ongoing federal cases against sitting federal lawmakers There is one against a Republican, Rep. George Santos of New York, and one against a Democrat, Menendez.

There is also a non-prosecution to mention. Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican, was informed this year by the DOJ that he would not be charged in a long-running sex trafficking probe.

Federal cases against recent members of Congress These are federal cases against current or former federal lawmakers. I was able to find nine targeting Republicans and eight targeting Democrats.

Former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican from Nebraska – Found guilty in 2022 of three felonies in a case that centered on campaign contributions.

Former Rep. TJ Cox, a Democrat from California – Still awaiting trial after his 2022 indictment, including for fraudulent campaign contributions.

Former Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California – Sentenced to 11 months in prison for misusing campaign funds, but later pardoned by Trump.

Former Rep. Chris Collins, a Republican from New York – Sentenced to 26 months in prison for insider trading, but later pardoned by Trump.

Former Rep. Corrine Brown, a Democrat from Florida – Served more than two years for setting up a false charity.

Former Rep. Steve Stockman, a Republican from Texas – Sentenced to 10 years in prison for multiple felonies including fraud and money laundering, but pardoned by Trump after serving part of his sentence.

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Democrat from New York – Sentenced to 21 months in prison for sexting with a minor.

Former Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Democrat from Pennsylvania – Sentenced to 10 years in prison for racketeering, fraud and money laundering.

Former Rep. Michael Grimm, a Republican from New York – Pleaded guilty and sentenced to eight months in prison for tax evasion. Attempted to run again for Congress.

Former Rep. Rick Renzi, a Republican from Arizona – Sentenced to three years for corruption. Pardoned by Trump after he served time.

Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey – Acquitted by a judge and other charges dismissed after a jury deadlocked in a bribery case.

Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a Democrat from Illinois – Sentenced to 30 months in prison for misusing campaign funds.

Former Sen. Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska – Conviction by jury for lying on ethics forms was later set aside over allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

Former Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat from Louisiana – Sentenced to 13 years for corruption and soliciting bribes. There was video of him taking $100,000 from an African official. Served multiple years in prison, but many of the charges were later vacated by a judge based on a US Supreme Court decision.

Former Rep. Bob Ney, a Republican from Ohio – Sentenced to 30 months after a guilty plea for corruption tied to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a Republican from California – Sentenced to eight years in prison after a guilty plea for bribery. Later pardoned by Trump.

Former Rep. James Traficant, a Democrat from Ohio – Sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption after defending himself during trial. Was later expelled from the House.

Other prosecutions to consider Two Republican governors and two Democratic governors have been convicted in federal courts in recent decades:

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, was convicted for bribery and corruption. But the US Supreme Court changed the rules in corruption and bribery cases when it threw out the case against McDonnell.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, was convicted for trying to sell his power to appoint a replacement to Barack Obama’s Senate seat. His sentence was later commuted by Trump.

Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, a Democrat, was convicted by a jury of bribery and corruption and was sentenced to more than six years in prison.

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, a Republican, was convicted on corruption charges after an FBI sting.

What’s not included here Local prosecutions – like the state or local cases against former Rep. Trey Radel, the Republican from Florida, for cocaine possession in Washington, DC, or former Sen. Larry Craig, the Republican from Idaho, for lewd behavior in the Minneapolis airport – don’t really fit here since they were not conducted by the Department of Justice.

Some notable recent DOJ prosecutions have focused on Democrats at the state level, like Andrew Gillum, the Democrat and former Tallahassee, Florida, mayor who ran for governor and lost to Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018. Gillum was recently acquitted of lying to the FBI.

Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, also a Democrat, was sentenced to three years in prison after she pleaded guilty to charges related to a scheme in which local nonprofit organizations bought her self-published children’s book."

Hit up the Sol system and check the planets...

They skip over Ceres in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but there on the outer edge...

Pluto is a planet again!

If you have a hard time remembering where the asteroid belt is, there is also a mnemnonic for that...

Mother Very Easily Made A Jam Sandwich Using No Peanuts.

Finally getting around to looking at the list, here are some notables. Sorry this is late, been sick this week. :(

Alligator Loki #1 - Digital series in physical print, fun "read" (barely any dialog like "It's Jeff!")

Coda #1 - Sequel to a 2018 high fantasy series of the same name.

Cull #2 - Kelly Thompson's new book. Good artwork!

Danger Street #9 - I'm really just buying this hoping that by #12 it will somehow make sense and be mindblowing.

From The World Of Minor Threats The Alternates #1 - Written by Patton Oswalt? May be worth a look.

Green Lantern #3 - Glad to see it back after that nighmare side trip.

Madness #2 - 2nd issue of Straczynski's new book. Creator of Babylon 5, had a super good run on Spider-Man.

Penguin Classics Marvel Collection - Penguin is doing super high quality collections of early Marvel, ensconcing them in the Western Canon. Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men are all out this month, joining the previous releases of Black Panther, Captain America, and Spider-Man. Paperback and hardcover editions.

Saint John #1 - Cheating here since this is a book about a Portland superhero and I live in Portland. :) Bonus variant cover by Matt Wagner. The Portland in this book hasn't existed for at least 10 years.

Superman Lost #6 - Still one of the better Supes books.

World’s Finest Teen Titans #3 - Kind of weird having 3 Titans books running at once, but I'll take it!

Fall of X
Astonishing Iceman #2
Children Of The Vault #2
X-Force #44

Since they kind of bury the details:

Saturday November 4th. 9 AM to 6 PM.

In and around the South Park Blocks and Portland Art Museum.

Author list here:

https://pdxbookfest.org/lineup/