Last week I was away from the blog on vacation (big thanks to Chris Arrant for helping out last week!) and I thought I'd share a couple of vacation pictures here on the blog. Before clicking away in horror, though, I should point out that they're actually comic-related.

My wife and I spent last week at Disney World; it wasn't our first trip, but it was the first time we've been there since Disney bought Marvel. And while you still have to go across town to Universal to ride the (ultra cool) Spider-Man ride, you can now get a pretty decent Marvel comic book fix at the Disney parks. As you can see in the picture above, Marvel costumes, toys, action figures and the like were readily available in the toy store in Downtown Disney. That same shop also had lots of comic books, trades and hardcovers for sale:

More impressive, though, was this wall of comics at Disney's Hollywood Studios (or MGM, as it used to be known and how I still refer to it when we're there):

It was located close to the front of the park, in the "villains" merchandise shop/bakery that's on the street that leads down to the Tower of Terror. As you can see, they have the monthly comics displayed up top, in plastic squares that let them show the cover prominently in front of a stack of comics. Trades and hardcovers were right beneath them. It was a very inviting display, and fit in well with the overall decor of the shop. I believe Universal has a similar display in the Marvel area of their Islands of Adventure park, or at least they did the last time we went there.

Disney also had a similar display at one of the Epcot stores, and a much smaller one (like maybe six or so comics) in our resort gift shop.

Marvel wasn't the only publisher represented, however; the shop located across from the Muppetvision 3-D attraction at Hollywood Studios had Roger Landridge's Muppet Show comic on sale:

I didn't see any of the other Pixar/Disney comics that BOOM! does, and while it's possible I just missed them, you'd think that a comic featuring The Incredibles or Toy Story would be pretty easy to find at Hollywood Studios, home of Pixar Avenue and the (also ultra cool) Toy Story Mania ride.

But in any event, it was nice to not only see the Marvel characters getting some play in the form of toys and T-shirts at the parks, which I half expected, but the comics getting some great exposure as well. Considering the number of people (and kids) walking through those shops on a daily basis, it's gotta be great exposure for them. And yeah, I did see many people stop at the display and actually read them, so hopefully they're serving as a gateway drug to new fans.

Now who wants to see my picture with Goofy? Anyone?