RIP MIke (MIke's amazing world) 2 2

[bronze_rules]

A moment for the creator of one of the best visual comic book resources hands down (and free to boot). This is one of my most frequently visited sites (practically daily). Thank you, Mike.

Mike's Amazing World of Comics (mikesamazingworld.com)

Edited November 28, 2023 by bronze_rules

[Dave2739]

On 11/28/2023 at 5:51 AM, bronze_rules said:

A moment for the creator of one of the best visual comic book resources hands down (and free to boot). This is one of my most frequently visited sites (practically daily). Thank you, Mike.

Mike's Amazing World of Comics (mikesamazingworld.com)

Sad to read the news. I've used that website as a valuable resource for many years and still do.

[Get Marwood & I]

Oh, what rotten news. What a year this has been.

I do like the positivity of the farewell message. It's nice to know that the site, which was indeed AMAZING, will remain for those of us that have found it an invaluable resource down the years, but also for the newcomers whose comic inquisitiveness leads them one day to find it.

Mike, wherever you are in Comic heaven, I salute you.

You gave the hobby this wonderful site.

RIP

[Ken Aldred]

A superb resource.

I’ve mentioned a few times on here that I find the Newsstand section of the website absolutely fascinating, as a research tool and also just picking a month at random even, as a means of looking back on comics history and personal nostalgia.

Very sorry to hear this.

Edited November 28, 2023 by Ken Aldred

[KCOComics]

Very sad - I never knew or interacted with Mike, but for those of us who marry GA books,  his site was invaluable.  

His collecting bio is also on the site.  I haven't read it in a few years,  but remember really enjoying his story. 

Condolences to his loved ones. He was a tremendous asset to this little hobby of ours. 

 

[mr_highgrade]

RIP Mike. 

[Paul © ® ⚽️💙™]

A sad day for comic book lovers. Mike and his site were a part of the very fabric of the hobby. He deserves all the plaudits. I haven't used it in a while but it's always stayed in my bookmarks, and for several years it was an invaluable resource for me, and it helped me in many ways for the good.

Thank you Mike for all your hard work and for contribution to this wonderful hobby.

Rest in Peace. 

[Roo_Phillip]

RIP to the creator of the best comic resource ever.  Among many other things, I couldn't have figured out what all my "birthday comics" were without Mike's site.  So glad the site will continue.  "Endless"--love that

[seanfingh]

Spent so much time on that site. 

Safe journeys to the hereafter Mike.

[Malacoda]

That's absolutely tragic.  I imagine everyone remembers the first time they log onto Mike's.  Like Dorothy stepping into Technicolor, it's the site you dream exists somewhere, and suddenly there it is.  

The terrible thing is, I don't think he made it to 50. It has said on the site for ages that he's semi retired, which makes you think he was older, but whatever took him must have been something dreadful.  I think he was younger than most of the people using his site.  I hope he knows how much his tribe will mourn him.  

[ThreeSeas]

I had never known of that website. It looks like a wonderful resource to use.  RIP Mike and thank you for your contribution to our hobby

[bc]

RIP Mike and prayers to the family.

Used his website an uncountable number of times over the years - invaluable info for this hobby. 

Endless.

-bc

[thehumantorch]

So sorry to hear of his passing.  RIP

[Dick Pontoon]

That website is one of our greatest comic resources.

What a shame. R.I.P. Mike, and thanks for all your work.

 

[MAR1979]

I've used Mike's site for 20 years.  Sad Sad news. Far, far too young. RIP Buddy

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by MAR1979

[sd2416]

Never knew about this site.  Perusing it and its now in my favs.  I hate that I had to find out about it this way.  The talent, dedication, knowledge, effort to help others that exists on this board never ceases to amaze me.  
RIP

[Chip Cataldo]

One of the best comic websites ever. May Mike rest in peace.

[ComicLink Rick]

I've used Mike's invaluable reference site hundreds of times to assist with my work for ComicLink over the years. It's also been an invaluable resource to assist with building my own collection. He made a huge contribution to the hobby and I'm grateful that it is going to stay up.

Rick 

[Professor K]

Oh no. My feelings first go to him, his family and friends. Honestly though that was one heck of a website, I used the cover gallery as reference for covers from certain artists. 

[themagicrobot]

RIP Mike. I first visited his site in the 1990s and his must have been one of the very first sites with A to Z INFO compared to the randomness of early blogs and the like that featured comics. It seems he may well have been as young as 49 which makes his passing all the sadder. And from a young age, unusually, he appears to have been fascinated by Golden Age comics, particularly DCs and set out to collect ALL DCs. He only needed another 1647 to achieve that goal. He did own every DC comic published between 1959 and 2010. A feat in itself. 

I like this article of his http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/main/index.php?page=fanboy&articleid=34

Where he explains something that puzzled me at the time:-

This 3-month gap lasted well into the 1980s when the direct market began to take over the distribution of comics. Because of the delays between printing and distribution in the standard newsstand system vs. the faster turnaround time for distribution in the direct market, direct market retailers got their books 2-3 weeks before they showed up on the newsstand.

For example a book like Superman #12 cover dated Dec 1987, was scheduled for newsstand distribution in September (9/8/87). A direct market retailer however was able to get the book quicker, so it went on sale in late August. This meant as much as a 4-month gap between release date and cover date in the direct market.

In the direct market, retailers generally don't use the cover dates to determine when to remove books from the stands. Therefore having a 4-month gap must have seemed pretty ridiculous. In 1988, DC chose to implement a way to close that gap. 1988 actually has 14 different cover dates instead of 12. After the DEC cover dated books (released in August), DC used WINTER then HOLIDAY for the next two cover months. (Only about half the books actually printed the Winter or Holiday on the cover. Some were just left blank with no month.) DC then resumed with JAN 1989 cover dates released in November. Thus the 2-month gap that existed from 1940-1973 was re-established. DC maintains this 2-month gap between cover date and on sale date to this day.