We have a fun slate in this edition of Comics Disassembled, as this look at ten things I liked or didn’t like from the week of comics is led by a real delight, with this column getting a chance to highlight some good news in the world of comics retail.

Let’s get to it.

Big Bang, Becoming…a Bigger Bang?

This is a quick one for a first topic, but there was no other place I could start this week’s edition. My pal John Hendrick from Dublin’s Big Bang Comics is one of the best retailers in the business, with that store being a real gem in the world of comic shops ever since it opened. It was always a lovely looking store, one that’s well-curated and merchandised in a way we rarely see. But as the shop grew, it seemed likely that it might someday need more space. It has it now, as Big Bang Comics reopened this past Saturday in its new, nearby, and monstrously large location that hasn’t even necessarily embraced its full, two-story space quite yet.

You can see it all in this Instagram post from the shop, but I’ve gotten a tour of it in the form of a video walkthrough from Hendrick and it’s just gorgeous and sprawling. I love it so. It even has a life-sized Han Solo frozen in carbonite on its wall, which is a great nod in the direction of Star Wars super fan Hendrick. It’s an evolutionary step for Big Bang, and I’m so thrilled for the team there. More than that, it reflects how well at least this one shop is doing in this moment, as they’d be unable to take this leap without a stable and successful market behind them.

I wish the team at Big Bang Comics nothing but the best, and I can’t wait to visit the shop. Oh, and if you end up in the area, make sure to swing by and say hello. It’s quite the place.

Gabriel Hardman, Going Black Label

One of the things I like about DC Black Label as a concept is it gives cool creators a chance to deliver a much more unfiltered take on the stories they’d want to tell for the publisher. Free of continuity and a bit more open to outside the box approaches, Black Label’s been a cool thing, and it continues to be that with its latest announcement. That’s Batman/Green Arrow/The Question: Arcadia, a mouthful of a title with a much simpler roster of creative talents, as it’s written and drawn by Gabriel Hardman with colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr. and and letters by Simon Bowland. It’s the type of story we rarely seegetfrom the Big Two but I’m always happy to see, as it finds Hardman telling the tale of this trio of detectives looking into a floating city called Arcadia that’s inspired by “the socially conscious thrillers of the 1980s.” I like it!

Mostly, I just like that it’s allowing Hardman to do his thing in the way he sees fit in a big book that emphasizes his talents. I’ve always wished the Big Two gave more shots to writer/artists, even though I know the reasons why they’d be used infrequently. It’s hard for one person to write and draw an ongoing series that’s in continuity. But what about a four-issue miniseries that operates in its own space? Well, that’s what Black Label offers, and I can’t wait to see what Hardman cooks up for us here.