The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, February 25, 2010 - 3B
io gging from
the belly
Vault of Midnight opened in 1996 during the decline of the comic book industry.V
A2s comic book gs
From a one-room house on Ashley Street, Vault of Midnight
rose to become Ann Arbor's premiere comic venue.
4y
By Kavi Shekhar Pandey I Daily Film Editor so s O
Outside the cushion of the din-
ing halls lurks what is for some
the biggest downside of apart-
ment freedom - cooking. On
top of piles of
homework, a
spectacular
social life and
a dwindling
bank account,
food has to
find its way
from the fridge
to the stomach CHRISTINA
in an edible, ANGER
possibly even
tasty form.
Frozen entrees aside, when an
inspiration to cook hits, a good
cookbook is usually out of a poor
college student's reach. And when
everyone's go-to, Google, is faced
with the task of presenting a
recipe containing on-hand ingre-
dients, it will most likely lead to
a food blog, authored not by five-
star chefs but by real people and
maybe aLe Cordon Bleu dropout
or two.
Blogging is fun in general,
but the reason food blogging is
so contagious is its mass appeal.
Many blogs detail day-to-day
life (LiveJournal, anyone?). But
who really cares about the often
depressing song lyrics bloggers
post to summarize their feel-
ings? Food blogs are about food, .
and everyone eats. And as they
capture the interest of so many
readers, these blogs can widen
people's horizons to the daily
diets of people around the world
and introduce ideas like the
power of organic produce or the
raw food movement.
Food blogs can take a reader
from spicy Indian curry to home-
baked sweet potato fries to tips
on seasonal produce, all on a
single site. Don't sell these blogs
short. People do read them, and
they can grow more powerful
than our wildest imaginations.
And I'm not talking about the
power to help a student whip up
a pretty good risotto in under 30
minutes (take that, Rachael Ray).
The power behind the blog that
extends beyond the reaches of
the individual kitchen is being
noticed, and of course, Holly-
wood was the first to capitalize.
"Julie & Julia," starring
Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, is
based on one woman's food blog
journey: cooking 524 of Julia
Child's recipes in 365 days. What
began as a real food blog from
an anonymous amateur cook in
New York City became a book
and eventually a box-office hit.
Food blogs, and blogs in general,
have more influence than we
may think.
The culinary topics of blogs
are countless. There are specific
blogging communities out there
that pride themselves on good
food porn and are always look-
ing for the best food-gasm. Food
blogs are sopopular there's even
a website dedicated to helping
you comb through them all to get
to what you want. FoodBuzz is
a food blog doubling as a search
engine for the hunt of any con-
ceivable food topic. Aspiring blog-
gers must apply to be a part of the
website, and they receive a small
compensation for the small ad
they must place on the sidebar of
their pages.
These blogs are uniting food
lovers all over the world. As they
write, cook, take pictures and
comment on other blogs, the
cooks behind the blogs get to
know each other. While this has
some obvious perks, there are
also some worrisome perils.
What starts as a fun hobby has
the potential to be as unhealthy
as deep-fried Twinkies. Many
food blog authors admit to hav-
ing control issues with their
diets, and at times, posts are
monotonous and neurotic -
there's no need to post pictures
of a piece of bread or apple as
a snack. Some bloggers post
Calories, and many measure or
weigh everything they devour.
These restrictions can be masked
Nobody reads
cookbooks when
there's the Web.
under the broad label of "health-
conscious" but are often not
full-blown disorders. Of course,
many non-bloggers have control
issues with food, but in the glow
of the Internet, food blogs are
scrutinized and picky eaters are
exposed.
On top of being a place to proj-
ect and possibly worsen personal
issues with food, the blogs are
taking precedence over pub-
lished cookbooks. Betty Crocker
used to be the go-to gal for
dinner, but now, bloggers post
recipes from popular cookbooks
and request ones they'd like.
There isn't a need to buy the lat-
est recipe book because, chances
are, the instructions are featured
somewhere on the blogosphere,
most likely with some food porn.
While this isn't fair for cookbook
authors, popular, widely read
bloggers understand this and
See ANGER, Page 4B
Proudly perched among the fine dining and
fancy boutiques of Ann Arbor's Main Street is
Vault of Midnight, a store whose vibrant blue
exterior transfixes the gaze of any casual passer-
by. "Comic Books & Stuff" reads its wittily vague
subtitle, and a peek inside clarifies why "stuff" is
perhaps the only term that can sufficiently sum-
marize the store's impressive assortment of mer-
chandise. Aside from new comic books, Vault of
Midnight is packed wall to wall with graphic
novels, figurines, board games, T-shirts, stat-
ues, manga and an enormous six-foot Uglydoll
named Icebat.
Indeed, Vault of Midnight is a veritable para-
dise for Ann Arbor's aficionados of comic books
and other cool "stuff." The store offers almost
100 new comic issues each week and its entire
comic collection runs into the tens of thousands.
But behind the stacks of old back issues of "The
Goon" is an incredible success story of an inde-
pendent, locally owned business.
Vault of Midnight first opened in 1996 in a
one-room house on South Ashley.
"We were so small when we opened, it was
ludicrous. I opened with my entire collection
and a couple thousand bucks," said Curtis Sul-
livan, co-owner of Vault of Midnight, who was
just 21 when the store opened.
Most ludicrous of all was the prospect of
opening a comic book store in the late '90s in
a town where there were already three other
comic shops. And it was a time of monumental
decline in the comic book industry.
"Everyone was like, 'Holy shit! You're opening
a comic shop in1996?"' recalled Sullivan. "That's
when it went from 'Everyone buy five-million
copies (of a title)' to 'Everyone buy no copies.' "
In the early '90s, publishers flooded the mar-
ket with company-wide crossovers, holographic
covers and other schemes to milk avid comic
book readers of their last pennies. But the satu-
ration of the market led to a bubble burst and the
business plummeted - industry titan Marvel
Comics even declared bankruptcy in 1996.
Despite the obvious difficulties of entering
a dying market, Sullivan, along with his wife
Elizabeth DellaRocco and friend Steve Fodale,
decided to open the store. There was no grand,
elaborate business plan behind the decision.
Their motivations for opening a comic book
store were quite simple.
"We just really love comics," Sullivan said.
The origin of the store's name perfectly The store initially s
encapsulates its dark-horse roots.
"We took (Vault of Midnight) from old hor- of Midnight. "N
ror comics, the EC Comics. Vault of Horror and they had Superr
Crypt of Fear, House of Mystery ... they were the these demonic t
original independents," said Sullivan. "We're an cooler to a 12-y
independently based shop as far as the publish- cape."
ers go and the EC (Entertaining Comics) were Vault of Mid
kind of the renegade comic company of that era, market of inde
they were the underdogs." worked - it mar
"Initially we focused on independent the lowest point
comic books, stuff that wasn't Marvel or DC," store made enor
explained Sullivan. "(In other stores) we saw tions, moving up
more of Marvel and DC, so we thought we could years on Ashley
find our niche that way." Huron. After ano
The store's independent collection was a erty Street, nea
source of appeal for many customers. five years there.
"The other shops didn't do smaller books or - Ann Arbor's e
self-published books," said Christian Silbereis, Vault of Midnigh
an original patron and current employee of Vault
MAXOcLINS/Daily
old only independent tilesN
o one else had the crazy toys ...
man and Batman but not Spawn,
oysfrom hell. They looked way
ear-old than Superman with a
night's goal of filling a niche
pendent comic books certainly
=aged to prevail through one of
ts in the industry's history. The
ugh money at each of its loca-
o a little bit each time. After two
, it moved to a new location on
other two years, it moved to Lib-
r Afternoon Delight, spending
Now, stationed on Main Street
quivalent of Madison Avenue -
ht has made it to the top.
See VAULT, Page 4B
Helping kids, one mustache at a time
ByKRISTYN ACHO
DailyArts Writer
The allure of the mustache has
always been in a state of flux. From
the slick bristle
of the roaring Mustache-
'20s to the shag-
gy '70s 'stache, A-ThOn
facial hair has KicI(off
long been a sym-
bol of manhood. Starting March
But these days, 8 at8:26 p.m.
the mustache Ann Arbor
seems to have Brewing Company
been ostracized
by mainstream society.
So what would compel a group
of seemingly lucid, average non-
hipster gentlemen of the 21st cen-
tury to put down their razors and
commit this ironic fashion faux
pas?
Literacy, of course.
For 826michigan - a nonprofit
organization composed of eccen-
tric and creative volunteers who
seek to improve writing skills
in children throughout the Ann
Arbor and Ypsilanti area - don-
ning hair on the upper lip has been
deemed the perfect avenue for
promoting free literacy programs.
Participants in the Mus-
tache-A-Thon, an annual facial
hair-growing contest, include vol-
unteers from 826, University stu-
dents and other men from the Ann
Arbor community who admire
the organization's programs. All
these brave competitors find local
donors to sponsor their efforts.
Last year,30 men participated in
the contest, and 826 is anticipat-
ing more this year.
Starting March 8, a collection
of some of the 826 organization's
favorite fellows will begin their
five-week quest of growing a styl-
ish 'stache. Regardless of the 826
team's seemingly quirky and care-
free demeanor, they're completely
serious when it comes to all things
facial hair. And those considering
taking part in mustache mania bet-
ter be willing to make the cut - of
the beard, that is. -
"This is a mustache on the upper
lip only," explained 826 Executive
Director Amanda Uhle.
The concept is pretty ingenious.
Tyler Brubaker, an avid mustache
grower and 'U' alum, described the
experience: "I think I had a goa-
tee for a year or so in college, but
since then my upper lip has been
unadorned until last March ... the
mustache isn't necessarily a good
look for a lot of people."
The participants, who, like Bru-
baker, aren't typically mustache
wearers, are constantly bombarded
with quizzical looks 'and blatant
remarks about their ridiculous
furry facial features throughout the
five weeks. This gives the men the
opportunity to tell their friends, co-
workers and the occasional befud-
dled gawker that the mustache is
being grown for literacy and that
they should look into donating.
But that's not all participants
get for embracing the hirsute.
How about buds, bristles and
beers? Beginning with a kick-
off on March 8, fearless fuzz-
free men will meet at Ann Arbor
Brewing Company to have their
pictures taken by professional
photographers. During the course
of the event, mustache growers
will meet at the brewing company
every Monday promptly at 8:26
p.m. Each week, photos will be
taken and posted on the 826 blog
so readers can donate money in
the name of the most innovative,
classy or trashy mustaches.
And many growers can't help were taken in the 1970s, because
but have a little fun with it. I had this giant mustache," Bru-
"If you're really proficient at baker said. Also, "When you go
growing your mustache, you can out west with your mustache, the
get the handlebars or the curly sweating is an issue."
Qs," Brubaker said. Vanities and inhibitions aside,
many of this year's upcoming
'stache growers have already pon-
dered their hairy prospects.
Literacy fostered "My upper lip is so sparsely
haired that I don't have much
with handlebDar freedom to design, but.I've always
' a ebeen intrigued by the Salvador
Dali, wildly manicured handle-
bar" said first-time grower and
University law student Carlos
Sure, it's all fun and games - Torres.
until somebody vacations with There's more to 826michigan
their throwback'stache. than mustaches, though. 826
"Last year I went on vacation National is an organization found-
during the Mustache-A-Thon and ed in part by bestselling author
all of the pictures of me at the Dave Eggers. After becoming suc-
Grand Canyon looked like they See MUSTACHE-A-THON, Page 4B
Ioffvm
a 0 5
--I
Pe-ipe
COURTESY OF 826MICHI
Rich Retyi is excessive. The Mustache-A-Thon only considers the upper lip.
I