Bully's Fantastic Christmas, Part 5

If you're starting with Part 5, there's four fantastic chapters you've missed: Catch up here with the chapter index!

Part 5: Fantastic Find

Each and every time he stepped through the door Bully considered that there was no place he'd rather be on the island of Manhattan than shopping at Jim Hanley's Universe. The store was busy on Christmas Eve, but not busier than a Wednesday New Comics Day later afternoon, and Bully drew a breath of relief at being on familiar, friendly territory after the hectic streets outside.

He practically ran in excitement up and down the long aisles stocked with colorful comics, following his usual A-Z path tracking the titles alphabetically from The All-New Atom to Zombies vs. Robots—up and down, spinning with excitement, checking the "NEW THIS WEEK!" shelf-talkers to make certain there was nothing he had missed this past New Comics Day, or whether there was something he'd read about on Mister Church or Mister Sterling or Miss Tegan's blogs that he hadn't picked up but desperately wanted to read now.

The toy aisle was a specially exciting attraction this close to Christmas morning, and Bully sighed in longing at DC Direct and Marvel Legends figures of nearly just about character he loved and dearly wanted a plastic representation of. It was long past time, he decided, since he'd dumped all his action figures out on the living room rug, Marvel and DC and Image and whatever, and had Crisis on Bajillion Earths in and around the coffee table-slash-Darkseid and Dr. Doom's Fortress, constructing elaborate and death-defying scenarios of cliffhanging thrills all the way until bedtime, even after Marshall had wandered away with Wonder Woman to have a tea party. Such a massive universal crossover would definitely be improved by that foot tall Sentinel figure, he decided. I wonder if it's too late to send Santa another email?

As he did each week, he checked the t-shirt selection, seeing if maybe this week would be the time that Hanley's finally, finally got in stock an XXXXXXS Spider-Man or Daredevil insignia t-shirt that was just his size. No luck yet, but hope sprung eternal.

He sighed and looked up. Outside the big store windows, the shadow of the Empire State Building was falling across 33rd Street. It was getting later. Time, he regarded sadly, to brave the streets back to Macy's. Unless...

Unless...

Everybody likes comic books. Bully mused, sucking on his hoof in deep thought. Why don't I get everyone comic books for Christmas?

It was quite the best idea he'd had in a long time, and it made a logical sense to focus his Christmas presents into one-stop shopping. That was it! He'd be foolish not to buy everyone comics for Christmas! Why, Blackie would sure enjoy Newsboy Legion, and an issue of Simpsons Comics for John would certainly be appreciated, and why not a nice western comic for Ox...Marshall, hmmm, that was trickier. He well knew that girls liked comics too, but wasn't certain what book his kid sister might appreciate. Not one of those gloomy goth comic books, not Ms. Marvel, not even some manga. Hmmm, maybe Green Lantern...sure, why not? Miss Ragnell sure seemed to like that one. Perfect!

Bully practically giggled to himself in delight at his completely excellent idea. Comics for Christmas? Why, he'd be the most popular gift-giver around the Christmas tree tomorrow. And the very best part...he would be able to read them all, too! "Whee!" he declared aloud, and a couple customers glanced around in surprise at the high-pitched exclamation with no apparent source.

He thumped his hoof in impatience to get to his shopping task and whirled about, but the sight that met his little black button eyes almost instantly drove out any thoughts of excitement and pride to replace them with amazement and wonder.

He was standing in the back issue aisle. But his eyes were not caught by the multiple Spider-Men or Hulks or Force Workses but by something altogether unexpected and different. There, directly across the aisle, sitting unfiled on top of an open shortbox, exactly at eye-level to a little stuffed bull, were a trio of bagged comic books, three early-seventies Marvels tossed in a casual spread to show off each of their bright, brilliant covers. Bully blinked and stepped closer, standing on tip-hooves to look at the covers. He'd never seen this Marvel title before, never even heard of it: Marvel's Greatest Comics? Even Bully was familiar with the usual ol' Bullpen hyperbole and he internally scoffed to himself how great can they be if I've never even heard of this series before?. He picked up the comic in the middle and regarded it carefully. It had Galactus on it.



There were handwritten stickers on each of the comics with pricing and a small notation. Bully peered at the one he held and read the label:

REPRINTS FANTASTIC FOUR #49

In the next aisle over, Hanley's clerk Larry the Golden Age Guy looked up from his restocking task. It was the second time he'd heard a high-pitched excited squeak echoing through the store in the past few minutes. He hoped the store didn't have mice.

How's that for a cliffhanger, true believer? Join us on Monday for Part 6!

Bully's Fantastic Christmas, Part 4

If you're starting with Part 4, you've already missed some of the Christmasy candy-cane-flavored fun: Catch up here with the chapter index!

Part 4: A Slight Detour

The city streets were even more hectic and crowded in Manhattan than they were in Brooklyn. Bully emerged from the subway, pushed and pressured in multiple directions at once. He let out a sharp squeak as boots and shoes clattered around him, and he ducked and weaved his way through the maze of shoppers, peering up at the flashing neon lights shining from shop after shop across the darkening of the late afternoon.

He looked up and spied right above him the familiar sight from his newspaper clipping, a store towering above him and billboarded boldly: THE WORLD'S LARGEST STORE. Funny, it didn't look as big as he'd pictured, but there it was. "Macy's!" he exclaimed aloud in excitement. "Macy's...Macy's!"

"It's only a model," corrected a passer-by, barely glancing down, and sure enough, as Bully blinked and rubbed his button eyes he could see it was no more than a window decoration, just a scale model of the World's Most Famous Store, surrounded by pretty mannequins perched on pedestals around it, and Bully craned his neck backwards until he nearly fell over staring at them. Most of the manikins were in skimpy underwear, and gosh, that was skimpier than most. Bully tilted his head back further and read the sign above the window: VICTORIA'S SE...but that was all he read before he covered his eyes and ran on a little quicker, a bright blush showing from underneath his white fur. He certainly didn't need to see that, he reflected, allowing himself only a little quick glimpse back at the pretty redhead one who seemed to be smiling at him.

He had come up on the wrong side of the street, up the wrong subway staircase, he knew that now. Bully could see Macy's just across Herald Square, but with the sea of people and cars and taxis and pedi-cabs it might have been a mile away. Even through the throng of pre-Christmas activity it was quite the most amazing view. Bully did not think he had every seen anything as wonderful and as magical as Macy's. The store towered above the Square, more impressive than any building he had ever been in, and, to a little stuffed bull, even smaller buildings are pretty darn impressive. Flashing holiday lights in long elaborate strands outlined the shape of an illuminated Christmas tree the size of the Jolly Green Giant, and every window was brilliantly spotlighted from within with fancy tableaux and dioramas that Bully could only imagine were salutes to famous Macys through the ages: Macy Gray, William H. Macy, Bill Macy (who was not the same person, Marshall had once passionately explained in great detail, more detail than anyone in the apartment needed or wanted to know). Bully rocked in excitement from hoof to hoof: so near, so far! He turned and pushed his way through the crowd, pressing against foot traffic, moving down the sidewalk.

The air was crisp and cold and smelt of roasted chestnuts. Bully eyed a "Nuts to You!" vendor carefully, sizing up his desire for delicious sweet candied peanuts or cashews in crinkly little wax bags, but with a shake of his head and a short sigh, he turned from the aromas and kept going. Shopping first, he decided firmly. Nuts later.

The stores along Broadway were dressed up in cheerful holiday decorations, and the crowd was busy and bustling, like something out of one of the old Warner brothers Hollywood musicals Blackie liked to watch on TV. Windows were bright and shiny, with flashing lights and tinsel strung from corner to corner. Carols played loudly but did not drown out the buzz of people talking and laughing and complaining and shouting. It felt like Christmas, and Bully thought he was only a moment or two away from Mister Bob Hope stepping out of the crowd and singing "Silver Bells" to him.

But Macy's wasn't getting any closer. In fact, it seemed to be somewhere behind him. Bully paused to catch his breath and to peer up at the street sign, wishing he'd thought to bring his opera glasses with him—that sign was immediately above him and a long way up, but Bully was fairly certain it said 33 STREET. He stood for a moment thoughtfully sucking his hoof and trying to remember, musing aloud: "Miracle on 33rd Street." No, that didn't sound right. "Miracle on 32nd Street?" Definitely the wrong direction. "Miracle on 34th Street?" Ah, yes, that was it. "And the original too, not the remake," Bully announced aloud, just in case anyone was eavesdropping and was in doubt about his taste in motion pictures. He needed to be on 34th Street to get to Macy's, not 33rd Street.

Except...

He peered down 33rd Street towards Fifth Avenue in the distance. On the left-hand side of the street the Empire State Building towered above, ape-free for at least one more night. But on the right-hand side, nearly three-quarters, oh, maybe even seven-eighths of the way down, Bully's eyes focused on a familiar shop, one of his favorite stores in all of Manhattan, the home of many a happy afternoon and many a shiny dime spent...

Jim Hanley's Universe. Quite possibly one of the best comic book stores in the city. Bully squeaked in recognition of the recognizable landmark. And it was so very close, too...

He turned and trotted down 33rd Street towards Hanley's. Macy's could wait...for a while at least.

Tomorrow, Part 5: Fantastic Find.

Index Sticky: Bully's Fantastic Christmas

Part 1: Making Lists, Checking Twice
Part 2: Avoiding Mister Victor
Part 3: "You can never be too careful."
Part 4: A Slight Detour
Part 5: Fantastic Find
Part 6: Last-Minute Purchases
Part 7: True Bulliever
Part 8: Pigs Will Fly
Part 9: Faster, Piggypig! Run! Run!"
Part 10: These Little Piggies Went Bea, Dee, Vee, All the Way Home
Part 11: It's in every one of us to be wise
Part 12: I heard the bulls on Christmas Day