I have a new comic store. And they just made me a loyal customer.
See, here’s the deal, I fell for the whole Countdown to Infinite Crisis hook like a hypnotized lemur. I put them all on my reserve file at my old comic book shop.
I checked back in a while later. I had issues 1 and 3 from one title. Only issue 2 from another. Only issue 3 from a third… it was pretty pathetic. So, I wandered into Hall of Heroes in Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey and ended up talking to the guy behind the counter. He helped me plug most of the holes in all four series… even going to the back room to find some. He pointed out some great titles I’d forgotten to look for (Like “The Defenders”) and was an all-around likeable comic-shop guy. 🙂
Before I knew it, I’d started a new reserve list there and left with plans to cancel my reserve at the old place.
Good enough, right?
Well, first a little backstory…
I’m still sore about the OMAC project series. Issue #3 leaves off and says you have to read three other titles to fill in the gap between OMAC #3 and OMAC #4. I hate that. And I didn’t read it until I already had OMAC #4 in my hands, saying, “Wha–? When did that ha–? What’s going on h–?!”
So I go in to pick up my reserves today, and I get the OMAC #5 and a bunch of other titles.
It’s not till I get home when I find a little something that they threw in for me: The issue of Wonder Woman that was one of the three you needed to read to understand the OMAC gap. A wonderful ish. An ish not in my reserve list, but one I wanted very much.
The guy behind the counter (a different guy) had asked me to check them over to make sure they were the ones I wanted — and I didn, kinda — but I kinda thought it was a formality.
Anyway… Whoever was thoughtful enough to throw that WW issue into my file won over a loyal customer for a long time… and a little plug. If they had a Web site, I’d link it. But suffice it to say, stop in to Hall of Heroes in the Cherry Hill mall. It’s a really swank store with books, T-shirts, figurines, Godzilla stuff… kind of a comic con in a can.
Catnip is miffed that she’s going to lose her commission due to Cassie Cruz’s new policy. To make matters worse, the superheroes seem to have had advance notice on a number of Evil Inc schemes. Evil Inc has a mole. But who…?
Transcript
Evil Inc – January 30, 2025
by Brad J. Guigar
Panel 1:
(Setting: The Evil Inc breakroom where several villains are gathered. Catnip, a blonde woman in a blue catsuit, stands with her hands on her hips. Miss Match, a red-haired woman in red and orange, is making coffee; Lightning Lady, a blonde in a blue costume; Desdemona, a red-skinned woman in a black and red outfit; Giant Tess, a woman in a green and orange suit; and Count Spurlock, a green-skinned man in a vest.)
Catnip: "Think about it! To be inside the building, Captain Heroic had to know about the Mime’s plans in advance!"
Lightning Lady: "That’s odd. When Dreadshade cracked the safe at Fairmount Bank, he got glitter-bombed!"
Count Spurlock: "I saw. The guy looked like he went down on Shirley Eaton.*"
Caption (bottom): "*You’ve got Google. Look it up."
Panel 2:
Catnip: "And don’t forget what happened when Dr. Patchwork heisted that shipment of arms…"
(Dr. Patchwork stands in front of a group of zombie henchmen with no arms. He opens a crate of weapons.)
Dr. Patchwork: "Damn it! These are just guns!"
Panel 3:
(Catnip raises a finger, looking serious.)
Catnip: "Face it. Someone is leaking information about our clients’ schemes to the superheroes."
Panel 4:
(A flashback scene shows Cassie Cruz, a brunette in glasses and a white blouse, packing up her office at the “Silver Agency,” a superhero placement agency that is now closed.)
Narration box: "And it’s been happening ever since 'Little Miss Silver Agency' took over."
Panel 5:
(Catnip clenches her fist, her expression determined.)
Catnip: "The answer is clear… WE NEED TO GET RID OF CASSIE CRUZ."
Oh... and this is Shirley Eaton.
