Look, Nexus was a grand book, the first 3 volumes of omnibi are on Comixology Unlimited so go read them, blah blah.

I'm here today to talk about something far more important--

COMICS IN STEREO!!

The third issue of Nexus' first run came with a free flexi-disc. Yup, an actual small floppy plastic vinyl record. Take a gander!


Look, they gave him his own theme song!! The rest of the "record" was just basically narrating the story.

Now, if DC can afford to foil covers for an entire month without raising prices, they can do flexi-discs for every comic, right?

Actually, I have no idea of the economics involved. And not that many people have vinyl turntables these days.

BUT--everyone has digital!! Marvel already gives away a free digital copy with all of their comics, and DC does with select (and seemingly random) comics. So the technology to print a sticker with a claim code beneath is already in use, and wouldn't present any more costs, right?

So here's the idea: come up with a theme song for every comic!! Give us the earworm that makes the hero and the book unforgettable!! Have a code so anyone can download the tune!!

And that's just the beginning. People love audiobooks, so go full audiobook on your comics. Have some of those expensive stars you've hired for your movies read 'em!! Since every comic is now nothing but narrative captions, you might as well literally narrate the things, right?

And kids these days are into the podcasts, right? Well, give 'em a podcast! Maybe not every issue...but why not? Writer commentary, artist remarks, editors explaining why they let Bendis keep using the word "baby" 7 times per issue...whatever!!!

And sure, it's all about corporate partnerships these days, so do it in coordination with Pandora or iTunes or Amazon or whomever. It's a win-win: already existing audio company picks of some of production/distribution costs but gets free advertising from every copy of every comic sold!! Reader peels off sticker, goes to website (and has to become a customer if they're not already!), punches in code, gets theme song/audiobook/podcast for download streaming.

Hell, they could even make a competition of it--which company can put out better theme songs? Which one is giving away better audio content? Get the millennials talking/arguing about it on social media!! Have them demanding the "Snyder cut" of songs!! Legitimate recording artists will clamor to do cover versions of the songs, or even do the initial recordings themselves. Soon, the landscape will resemble the 1970s. when every TV show had its theme song hit the Top 40!!

Yes, I just saved the comics industry. You're welcome.

Now go read Nexus.

By now, most of you know of my ridiculous fascination with faux rock bands that appear in comic books. There's no explainin' it, it's just there.

So imagine my delight when I stumble upon this in the quarter bin yesterday:

Mezz, you see, is from the Nexus comic book, and he's a resident of Ylum who started up a band, and they became mega-popular. And yes, Dark Horse published a one-off special featuring the band. Because that's how they rolled, dudes.

Just listen (and, as always, click on the pic to embiggen to perfect-lyric-enjoyin' size):


And in 2494, the were on a multi-planet stadium tour:

Unfortunately, their opening act, The Flaming Assholes, lived up to their names, and started a riot, and got the show cancelled...

To make up for it, Mezz did a concert in the park...

But it turns out a free concert was a violation of their contract. So greedy manager Vooper forced a sponsor on their tour, and said they'd have to perform the Lox Beer jingle every show:

Well, the band quit, but Vooper claimed to own their names (nice contract), and hired some band members who were less scrupulous:

But Mezz took it to court, the band won their names back, and gave an impromptu post-hearing concert:

Hells, yeah.

OK, so I'm weird...but I love this stuff...