Monthly Archive for May, 2011

The Week of May 30th

Published on May 30, 2011 in Comics and Reviews-comics. 0 Comments

The Post/E-mail this week will be a little shorter than usual as it is being worked on in a car on the way back from Wisconsin.  I can say I was happy to find expected to ship lists and THAT is why it is out/up Monday and not Tuesday.  No delay on the weekly and…

 

No delay on comics this week…

Comic book delivery is NOT delayed this week.  They will be here on Wednesday and out on the shelf by 11:00.

The lack of an expected delay is due to the new shipping process Diamond put into effect in January.  Books are packed Wednesday the week before and shipped late Thursday or early Friday, not Monday, so the federal holidays cause less impact on our industry as they once did.

 

Flashpoint Stuff…

The first of the mini-series are shipping this week.  Shipping is Batman Knight of Vengeance, Abin Sur Green Lantern, Secret Seven and World of Flashpoint.  Each of these minis ships with a corresponding button of the character or team’s logo.  They are pretty nice buttons actually.

This is how they will work.  IF you buy the book, you get the button for free.  You want a button on its own, they are fifty cents each.

We are also getting Flash Rings too.  I believe they are the same ones they made available to us when Flash #1 shipped.  They are not being given away, however.   We will be making these available for two dollars each.

 

Holy Terror #1…

It is here, The Holy Terror.  Created by Des Moines and Cup native Jason Caskey and artist extraordinaire Phil Hester.  This book has it all; Pro-Wrestling, demon possession, Aztec sacrifice and the souls that hang in the balance.

The story is of an evil wrestling mask and the new guy looking for a new gimmick who gets his big shot with it.  However, are the new found cheers worth his soul?

Those of you around nine years ago will remember The Holy Terror.  This is and always has been Jason’s baby and finally it is going to get finished.

There have been a lot of wrestling comic books written over the years, most using WWE characters.  Most to all have sucked.  If you like wrestling, this is the book for you.  If you like old school, B or C grade drive in fare or exploitation era films; this is the book for you.

I’m not just recommending this because Jason is a friend of mine.  I really loved this when it came out originally and love it again re-reading it now.  Phil is such a damn good comic artist and frankly can do no wrong in my eyes.  Do yourself a favor and support local comics.

 

Two books you WILL be buying soon…

I’m going to start now, in telling you the next BIG book to buy.  This will be the first of several “encouragements” you’ll be getting to read better comics this summer.

First is The Goon, expected to ship in a few weeks on June 29th.  Issue #34 is a jumping on point for new readers and will contain The Goon beating the sh!t out of sparkling vampires.

I can’t even start to tell you how great this and every other book Eric Powell writes is.  Powell comes from self publishing and I think understands what is needed in modern comics a hell of a lot more than the executives of two giant conglomerates, whose non comic execs have pushed comics to the back burners, do.

In an interview with Dark Horse senior editor Scott Allie, the best editor in comic books, talked about what you can expect from Powell in the next couple months:

Eric Powell rides back into town this June on a diesel-coughing Harley Fat Boy with a three-foot-eight stripper sitting high on the hog while an electric mariachi band plays Thin Lizzy from the back of a burning flatbed truck!
The Goon—returning to a bimonthly schedule after a failed search for POWs in the Dong Phou Vieng jungle—is known for a heady mix of humor and horror, but Powell is not above fighting for what he believes. And despite all the laughs, Powell is a serious horror geek, like myself. So be sure to catch the triumphant return of Goon and his sidekick Franky, as they take on the greatest threat to the horror genre since Fredric Wertham … It is a bloodstained free-for-all, a solid win for Team Knife to the Eye, and beyond that I am not allowed to say no more.

Listen to me for once and please do yourself a favor and pick up some Goon.  I promise you will enjoy it.

 

The next book I want you to buy when it comes out is Rachel Rising.  This is the next major release from Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise, Echo), who describes it as a light horror thriller.  As much as I am excited for new Goon, new Powell, I am more excited for this new Terry Moore book.

Echo, the self published black and white indy sci-fi book, which has been coming out over the last three years, wraps with, I’m sure, a bang sometime this month.  Moore has made all the trades readily available and the sixth (final) will be out at the end of June or in early July.  I can not recommend this book enough.  It might be one of the finest representations of the medium of comics I can give a new reader or an old disgruntled one.  If you feel you have lost your way in the world of comics, need something new, Terry Moore, comic genius is here for you.

I found this interview with him on http://geekeryonline.com/media-popgeek/spotlight-on-terry-moore-part-4-rachel-rising/.  In it they discuss what can be expected with the new series and what will make it so good.

 

We are ordering fairly heavy on both the Goon and Rachel Rising and encouraging everyone who is a fan of well crafted humor (The Goon) or character driven graphic storytelling (Rachel Rising) to pick up both.  We will be guaranteeing them as well.  If you don’t like ‘em, return ‘em and we will give you store credit for something else.  However, you do bring them back and get Kyle or Matt you can expect a mocking.

 

Previews are in this week…

Also, I want to point out Previews are in this Wednesday too.  Last month was one of the best ever in getting pre-orders for books in the catalogue.  I can’t even begin to say how much easier it is to do the monthly order when I get pre-orders.  I have less “Urgh, how many of those special hard covers should I order?” and more “hmmm, I guess this will be popular, I’ll order a couple extra for the shelf.”

 

The Week of May 23rd

Published on May 23, 2011 in Comics, Reviews-comics, Shop Crap and Wrestling. 0 Comments

Stupid Computer, week two…

In case you didn’t find the e-mail/post from last week, I am dealing with the loss of my hard drive.  We are into week two.  I hope I didn’t have too many screw ups connected with last week’s order.  Please, just let me know if something needs to be fixed and I’ll get it done.

 

Not sure yet, how I’m going to do the e-mail part of this.  Thinking of switching to g-mail as outlook has been a nightmare every couple of years when I have a computer issue.  Just haven’t made that decision yet. Nonetheless, if you are in the shop, please re-sign up for the e-mail and it will get to you one way or another.

 

Memorial Day…

It is my understanding that because of the new ”ship on Tuesdays, sell on Wednesdays” Diamond standard of shipping, we will NOT see a delay on Wednesday, June 1st.  I will have to get the books Wednesday morning AND sort them that morning.  So, don’t expect things to be done and out when we open, maybe 11:00am is best guess.

Also, we WILL be open on Memorial Day, Monday May 30th.  Hours will be 8:00am to 2:00pm.  However, if no one is in from 12 to 1, Ronnie James has full authority to close the doors and go home.  Just saying.

 

3XWrestling this Friday…

There is another fantastic event being put on by 3XWresting this Friday at their new location, All Play.  I went last month and the crowd was good, the wrestling – as always – exemplary and the location much bigger.  Not to say the old Social Club location was bad – the bar was certainly better – but there is a little more room in the ball room at All Play.

There are still a few things to work out, lighting isn’t perfect, but when you are only paying $12 for a full evening of entertainment, you are really getting your monies worth.  Add in that it is pretty family friendly as well… I love these guys, their organization and the product they put on.

All that said, tickets are still available in pre-sale form at the shop.  $12 for adults and $6 for kids.  Hope to see you there.

Just some of the great matches you’ll see:

  • Sir Bradley Charles will take on 3XW Champ Brain Ash
  • Mike Sydal takes on 3XW Pure Wrestling Champ Unbreakable Zach Thompson (check out his Death of Zach tights.  They are great.)
  • And the Gauntlet for the Gold over the top tournament.  Hell of a good Royal Rumble style event for an eventual title shot!

 

Crossed Shipping Note…

All you crazy, messed up, sick little puppies that love Crossed, especially the ones who like David Lapham’s runs, Listen up.  NO, Put down… put DOWN the drill…. Yes, AND the road kill you found.  Okay, good.  Now that I have your attention…

There is a special 3D prestige issue shipping this week.  However, it is only the soft cover edition.  The Hard Covers are shipping at a later date, maybe next week.  If you want a Hard Cover, please let us know and we will hold one when they come in.

Additional note… I talked to my Avatar Rep a while back and he did inform me that Garth Ennis is returning to the series and launching an ongoing Crossed book.  He didn’t have much more than that or couldn’t tell me more, either way it will take place this fall.

You may now continue with whatever it was you were doing in your crawl space.

 

DC Flashpoint News…

Don’t know if you caught this, but… Oh, Brother!!  Well, I’ll let you be the judge of what you think.  DC has announced that on August 31st, there will be only one DC book released that week, Flashpoint issue 5.  Bleeding Cool.com was where I read that and, on top of it, there was – as always – speculation as to WHAT this could mean with a slew of titles ending storylines in August.

Now, Rich of BC is never one to leap off the tallest building, NO SIR!!  Wait, yes, Rich likes to take several long strides at great heights.  So, his theories are, just that, theories and speculation, but remember what I said when I reviewed the first issue last week… this is Age of Apocalypse for DC and already DC has said it will have lasting impact on the future of the DC U.

But hey, I’m sending you to the source for the low down.  Remember, I am but the messenger.  Don’t go all 300 on me and kick my butt into a big black hole.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/05/17/dc-looking-to-relaunch-everything-in-september/

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/04/06/after-flashpoint-every-number-will-change-in-a-flash/

All I can say is… I’m not so happy about any of these rumors if they are true.  Let us just hope they have not followed the Marvel monkey again.

 

Mentioning Flashpoint…

Next week is the start of the Flashpoint mini-series (Flashpoint #2 as well as Abin Sur, Batman, Secret Seven and World of Flashpoint) shipping.

We are getting buttons that go with each the mini-series first issue.  This is DC’s attempt at doing something similar to the rings that helped sell the Blackest Night tie-in books a year and a half ago.

We are ordering conservative on the mini-series as, Marvel tie-ins to large crossovers have not sold well over the last few years.  We do not want to be holding the bag on ordering too many of these.

As an incentive for you, if you buy the book, you get the button.  If you want the button, they will be available for 50 cents each.

We got in a set of them and they are on display on the counter right now.  They are not cheap flimsy con-freebies.  These are nice, well made buttons.  So, though DC is releasing too many mini-series, in this retailer’s opinion, they are showing a commitment to helping with their promo materials.

 

Let’s get to the reviews…

Rocketeer Adventures #1

The mini-series based on the Dave Stevens creation is one hell of a good comic book.  Without a doubt the best art of the week in issue one.  Among the bevy of creators in it include; John Cassaday, Mike Mignola, Mike Allred, Mike Kaluta, Alex Ross, Dave Stewart and Kurt Busiek.

You may have seen the movie and not read the original Stevens’ comics.  If so, don’t feel bad.  The originals have not been so easy to find.  Stevens created the comic decades ago and IDW has made a concerted effort to bring the Rocketeer back.  They have a collected edition of the originals available and it is great stuff!

This series is just fans of the character coming on to do stories based on him.  Done somewhat anthology style, it is just good comics surrounding a very cool character.  This book gets my highest recommendation.

 

Gates of Gotham #1 (of five)

This is a mini-series detailing Gotham City’s secret history co-written by Scott Snyder.  It was lucky enough to come out on the same week as Batman and Batman and Robin, two books that were, in my opinion, not strong.  If you were feeling let down by Tony Daniels or Judd Winick’s less than stellar outings, you should give Gates a try.

In issue one we find someone destroying one of the bridges of Gotham City.  There is something connected to the past of the major histories of the major families of Gotham.  Already we have seen a slew of Bat-villains and a few bat-heroes from the past.

What I liked the most was the book’s emphasis on bat-history.  In the first issue No Man’s Land is mentioned.  So many new Bat-stories throw out anything that didn’t happen in the last few years of continuity.  It is nice to see that the few of us left that remember Batman from ten to fifteen years ago haven’t been completely forgotten.  If you collected and enjoyed the No Man’s Land story or love the idea of continuity this is a Bat-book for you.

 

Uncanny X-Force #10

It has been mentioned several times how good this X-book is and I want to reiterate that.  Rick Remender has done such a great job with this book.  He has taken a hodge podge of violent X-characters and made a great team book out of them.

The latest storyline has Angel and Arch-angel battling for control of Warren Worthington’s mind.  This has been a building plot since issue one, now coming to a head (get it?) in this new arc (I’m on a roll.)  Remender has done this with a lot of old X-Villains.  Again, characters you haven’t seen in some time and real treat for those of us who used to love the X-books.  Next issue the X-Force crew is headed to the Age of Apocalypse, more old school x-loving.  It is the simple things that keep me happy.

After recommending New Mutants last week, and re-recommending X-Force this week… Urghh, can’t believe I’m enjoying so much X.  I feel…. Either young or dirty, either is unsettling.

 

Alpha Flight Point One

I had had a review of the new Alpha Flight comic written up and chastising you all for not buying this book.  However, Sunday morning I had three people come in and buy it and a fourth say how much they enjoyed it.

So… I scrapped that review.  I love you guys.

I am a big fan of this team.  The John Byrne area stuff is some great comics (wordy, but great.)  I have been very unhappy with what Marvel has done with them over the last few years.  With them being shunted into obscurity or downright mockery to Brian Bendis killing them in a throw away story OFF PANEL… it has been a bad decade plus for Canada’s premiere super team.

The Point One issue is all set up for the upcoming maxi-series (now eight, up from seven, issues.)  Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak set up each character and their most basic characterization in this, but have said that they have plans to expand in the maxi-series.  They have also said that they are taking all of Byrne’s story telling as gospel.  It is nice to see a creator has at least read past stories and (in this case) enjoyed them and want to continue with them as continuity.

No, the comic does not deal with how one of them has a health concern and goes to a doctor and doesn’t have to pay for it.  No, the story does not deal with the acceptance of all people and lack of racism in Canadian society.  No, the comic does not have the characters sit around and just talk with all action happening off panel (see current issue of Avengers.)  It just has a good comic introduction to a good classic team.

What can you expect from the maxi-series? Same writers and Dale Eaglesham moving in on art.  You will see a government turning on Alpha Flight and the book having some sort-of tie-in with Fear Itself.  You might also see the return of Puck, as he has been shown in promo art, but mostly you should have a good action oriented, continuity driven superhero book and I can’t wait.

 

ARGH!! The Week of May 16th

Published on May 16, 2011 in Reviews-comics and Shop Crap. 1 Comment

Stupid Computers…

We’ve been having some troubles this week.  A hard drive that holds most of the shop’s files, sheets, info, just about most of the important stuff we use each week, crapped out.  I wish I could say it was something great like… it was sacrificed to stop Skynet from destroying most of humanity or gave it’s digital life stopping people from listening to terrible music, i.e. Billy Joel, but I can’t.  It went out with a whimper.  Stupid Computer.

Good News, Bad News situation… A lot of stuff was lost.  However, we were lucky to have backed up a good deal of files three weeks ago.  After a lot of work reentering the past three weeks of ads, drops and changes from as many of the paper files we could get our hands on, we think we have most of the changes that were made.  We think.

But we don’t have them all.  We know that.  So, we are asking for your understanding.  If something isn’t right, we’ll fix it.  Just roll with us for a couple weeks, please.

Thanks.

 

Stupid Computers, part 2…

One of the things included in the crash was the contacts list.

You may be reading this on Facebook or our website, but you are not reading it from your in-box.  Obviously, there are issues this week and the fact there is anything at all is a miracle.  I feel like John Connor.

From this mess, we are going to change how the weekly e-mail is sent out and restart the contact list from scratch.  It is possible; we may even be changing the shop’s main e-mail.

So, there is a sign-up sheet on the counter if you want this sent to you each week.  Sign up, legibly!

 

New Comic Illuminati…

There is a new, quick, Comic Illuminati up at www.youtube.com and itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-comic-illuminati/id373216671.  It contains 40% less rambling.  In this one Matt the Merciless talks Fear Itself and (SHOCK!!) doesn’t hate it.

 

Send a Smurf to the premier of the movie…

A member of the Cup family needs help winning a Smurfy contest.

So, there is a Smurf movie coming out (no, really there is) and a local friend/fanatic has made it all the way to the finals of the Face of the Fan Smurf contest and needs your help winning the trip to the premier.  Here is the link www.faceofthefan.com/thesmurfs It’s very easy to vote.  Just click on Katie’s face and you are golden or blue or whatever.  You can vote once a day, so, if you can, please do so every day.

 

Quick Reviews…

This Weekly is going to be a short one.  I don’t really want to be on this damn computer anymore.

Here are a couple quick shout outs for some great books that shipped last week and one giant cross over thing.

 

Flashpoint #1…

Here it is, the biggest thing from DC this year!  It all changes the stuff that wasn’t changed before the changing….. sorry, I’ve just not been excited for this book.  I’m still not.  That being said, I’ve heard a lot of people say how much they liked this first issue.  Me, meh…

It is, plain and simple, Age of Apocalypse for DC, just not stopping the characters books that are being affected.  (DC – Why would we do that?  You will buy both.  You are dumb comic reader!  Ha, Ha, Ha!!)

More and more, DC has been saying this will have lasting effects on the DC universe, so, maybe it will be as important as they’ve been trying to convince us it is.

The art is fan-freak-n-tastic though!  Andy Kubert has been and always will be one of my favorites and the book is worth buying JUST for that.

I’m not giving a damn thing away in this review.  It takes place on current DC earth (you would know this if you read Flash) but when Barry wakes up, everything is different.  If you like superhero stuff, if you like Geoff Johns’s writing, if you like alternate takes on characters, you will like it.

The first issue is just that, a first issue and needs a hell of a big build from here.

We’ll have to see where it goes.  Maybe I’m just jaded.  Maybe I’m just bitter because the main character is a Flash that is not Wally West.  OH, found our reason.

 

Hellboy, Being Human One Shot…

What?  You thought I wouldn’t mention this one?  I always mention a Hellboy book, they are always good and this one has Richard Corben art!!

Great, creepy and interesting story… same old, same old perfection.  Rumor has it, there might be a mini-series with Hellboy and Roger coming and with Corben art, but it is just rumor right now.

If you are not reading Hellboy, I ask, why are you bothering to read comics at all?

 

CHEW #27…

These guys, Layman and Guillory, continue to amaze me with their funny and intriguing storytelling.  The book NEVER has a bad issue.  This is THE best Image book being published.

In this issue, we jump ahead nine issues to the second issue of the story arc Space Cakes.  No, really!  It is an issue with Tony’s Sister Toni.  As she says in the issue, “No, your intrepid comics retailer bravely traversed the space-time continuum and plucked this very issue from the timestream of far-flung April 2012.  They brought it back to you, living your primitive life in the ancient year of 2011.”

You’re welcome.  I went, at great personal risk to the far future for this book… for you.  I can’t say much about what the future is like (WHAT, you haven’t seen Back to the Future recently?)  I can tell it is great though!  Vancouver has returned Lord Stanley’s Cup to Canada.  Fox News no longer makes stupid comments about comics, comic movies or black Asgardians.  Comics are only written by intelligent and knowledgeable creators.  Terry Moore has been declared the commissioner of all comics and all his decisions, in the best interests of the industry, are final.  And in superhero comics, Alpha Flight is the most popular comic ever – Issue point one comes out this week, get it while you can!!  Oh, our President and Congress decided to work together and we all have health care, free education and both human and workers rights for everyone!  And Chew is soon to be the hottest TV show on cable!

Back to the present… Chew is one of those books that will be hitting it really big with-in the next year.  It has been picked up to become a TV series and if it is done right, it will be the next Walking Dead, just better.  If you want to be the A-hole that said, “I’ve been reading Chew for awhile now” when everyone else is asking what the hell this great new thing is, just start buying it now.  You’ll do it in a year, I know, I’ve seen the future, so, change your future for the better now.  (and yes, it does feel good to be that A-hole.)

 

New Mutants #25…

WOW!! This was really good.  Gah, I hate saying that.  I haven’t read a lot of New Mutants in my life.  I just haven’t been able to get into these kids (What!?!  I’m a Legion of Super Heroes fan, I can’t break my loyalties easily.)

BUT WOW!!  Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning will get me to read anything and they did with the New Mutants and I’m hooked.  Just a good, fun, Superhero book.  There is something nice about reading a book you know the characters, but don’t really know all the continuity that has been going on.

D and A are known for their great characterization and a group like the New Mutants was made for them.  I also have to say I like Leandro Fernandez’s art.  It works on superhero stuff.

I’m on board as long as this crew is in charge of the good ship Mutie.

The Week of May 9th

Published on May 8, 2011 in Comics, Events and Reviews-comics. 0 Comments

Free Comic Book Day 2011…

Friday night was our Free Comic Book Day Pre-party and Saturday was the actual FCBD.  I am very happy to say that both days were huge successes this year.  There are a lot of people to thank and a few recaps to get to, so, let’s get to it.

First, I want to thank all of you who came out on Friday for doing just that.  I was not there for the start of the event and as I was driving across the city, the only thing I could think of was an empty shop and a disappointed Phil Hester.  It was not the case.  I was very surprised at just how many people showed up.  We never dwindled either and there were people keeping our four artists busy ALL NIGHT.  Thank you.

Second, I want to thank a few specific people for donating to our art auction.  Tia, Jen, Kathy and several artists donated some great stuff to benefit Animal Lifeline.  It was you though, that bid.  We will end up generating $350 for the no kill animal shelter here on the south side.  I worked so well, I hope to do this bigger and better next year.

Thank You, Phil, Tyler, Adam and Brook… You guys were the real stars of the night and the ones who actually worked that night.  I saw some of the pieces you guys were churning out and they were great.  Again, thank you very much.  Now, all of you… go buy their stuff.  You need to know what they are working on, just ask.

I also wanted to thank Jeremy at Mayhem.  It was his idea to team up to distribute books to Libraries this year.  In the past, the two of us picked a couple and that was it.  This year, in some kind of mighty Marvel fashion, we had a full on team up, and got books to every single library in the entire Des Moines metro area.  I got a call from one of the directors down at the Des Moines Central Library and was told she was getting e-mails thanking us for all the books.  I hope they were able to get them to as many people as possible.  This is the part of Free Comic Book Day that I like the most, getting books to people, especially kids, that wouldn’t or don’t normally read comics.

I really thought we had a great two days.  I also hope you enjoyed some of the offerings.  My personal favorite was the Baltimore story from Dark Horse.  That book is so great and if you haven’t read the original series, it is coming in a hardcover soon.

We do have select extras left and a few Green Lantern Heroclix (I found them Saturday night, oops), so, if you weren’t able to get in, when you stop to get your books this week, there should be a few left for you.

 

S.E.R.F….

Curt and Kyle have asked me to give a shout out to a couple of struggling musicians.  They are very, very good friends with the members of S.E.R.F. a great local band that, when I heard the first track of their new recording, I wasn’t 100% sure I wasn’t hearing some kind of new recording from Nirvana.  Honestly, I was surprised at how good they sounded, especially after Curt cranked it up on the receiver and blasted it in the shop.  It’s really good.

CD’s will be in soon enough, but if you want to see these future stars they are going to be in the Des Moines Battle of the Bands at House of Bricks on May 22nd, too.  Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased at Cup o’ K.  I recommend you get them soon though.

Want to hear some beforehand though, head over to their Facebook page.

 

Colbert declares Superman a Threat…

Last week I went off over Fox News’s ridiculously asinine response to a story in Superman #900.  (This “press” has caused the book to go to a second printing, which we will have in at the end of the month.  If you want one, let us know and we can hold a copy for you.)

This week, Steven Colbert added Superman to his Threat Down.  (It is REALLY Funny!  You can find it here.)

 

One Quick Review…

IZombie #13 by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred

I am going to again mention how much I love this book and the characters that are in it.  If you aren’t reading it, or are looking for something new (and very different) this is it.  Great characters, FAN-FREAK’n-TASTIC art, strangeness and an odd as hell back-up story too.  Did I mention the main character is a non-shambling Zombie and her best friends are a ghost and a were-terrier?  Did I also mention this is easily Mike Allred’s best work in years?  What about the fact that with Unwritten and Sweet Tooth, this is in Vertigo’s stable of great on-going original series (no chance these characters will be stolen by regular DC either.)

Issue 13 is the start of a new storyline and promises to have a little more action than previous have had – you knew a book called Izombie would have more than one eventually.  We are probably going to see more character development too.   This and Usagi Yojimbo (but you knew that already) were, in my opinion, the two best books out last week.

 

And one more awesome thing…

Ronnie found a little something, something done by Tyler for the site the-Gutters.com.  Angry Birds of Prey.  Pretty awesome.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

Published on May 2, 2011 in Comics and Ronnie's Reviews. 2 Comments

Free Comic Book Day is nearly here.

 

PRE-PARTY on FRIDAY…

This year’s event is going to be so big we’ve decided it needed two days!

We are having a pre-party and signing on Friday night from 9:00pm to 12:30am.  The event is happening after regular hours and is designed to be a fun, very light atmosphere to hang out, draw, celebrate and BS about comics.  Also have a beer or two, yep that is right, FREE BEER!

At midnight, all the Free Comic Book Day Books will be laid out and you are welcome to take some home.  Thoughts behind this are that adults can come to the party the night before, leaving Saturday morning for the kids.  Kids are still welcome on Friday night and adults can still come on Saturday, but I think you get my idea.

Art and Comic Book Auction to benefit Animal Life Line…

We’ll have some amazing stuff that has been donated to us for a silent auction that will start on Friday late afternoon.  Among the items is original signed art by Doug Mahnke, Mike Grell and Art Baltzar.  Some signed comic related objects and a bunch of rare, variant and special comic books, art prints and… stuff.  The auction will be silent, so, bidding will be done on paper with increases of a certain amount on each.  It will go through 5:00 on Saturday afternoon, so, if you REALLY want something, you might want to stop back in then when I will stop all bids and make calls to the winners.  I can tell you, there are pieces in this auction I will be bidding on myself.  I dare you to out do me for a good cause.

Comic and Coffee Deals Too…

We will have a number of specials and deals on Friday night.  I’m not telling you what they are, you have to show up to get them, but they will be coffee and comic both.

Our special guests at the art fight are:

Phil Hester – currently writing Wonder Woman, Darkness, Green Hornet AND he’s drawing Godzilla.  This is all stuff coming out regularly each month!!  Also, he and friend Jason Caskey are working on finishing the fantastic Holy Terror, which will be out later this summer.

Tyler Walpole – currently doing covers on the main Dungeons and Dragons comic from IDW and working on a bunch of non comic mainstream related projects including the rumored second issue of Stronghold.

Ron Wagner – everyone knows Ron.  He has worked on Batman, Ghost Rider, GI Joe, Conan and, my personal favorite, The Nam among a plethora of others.  Ron’s latest work is due out next week in GI Joe: Real American Hero #166.

Adam Van Wyk – You may not recognize the name, but you’ve seen his contributions to the “comic” related medium.  Adam is one of the premier story board artists in the country.  His work has been in several dozen DC animated features and series including Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: New Frontier, Justice league: Crisis on Two Earths, Superboy and the Legion and many, many more

Brook Turner - Brook, not a regular active artist has serious talent, featured in Last year’s Golly (written by Phil Hester.)  The collection of the first arc is due out in trade this month.

I also hope to have a bunch of other local artists and writers too.  Tom Selgrade, Job Yemen and Carter Allen are all going to try and join the fight too.

 

Saturday Morning, Bright and Early

We open at 7:00am.  There are no guarantees on the books.  If there is something you really want, please, get here early.  In years past, there has been some grouchiness after the books have come and gone.  Please… These are free to you.  Think about that before you take what you don’t want or push a kid out of the way.

The books are not free to us, however.  We do have to pay for these.  Yes, they are drastically discounted, but when you order thousands of anything, the price does add up.  Over the years, I’ve gotten better at guessing what and how much to order, but I’m still not perfect (Oh, I can hear my wife after that sentence.)  Though we are telling you not to be Larafleze, the Orange Lantern, I am also saying… Hey, It’ll be Saturday morning, get a cup o’ joe too.  Coffee is good for you and we do sell it too.

 

The Community Side of Things

We are also combining forces with Mayhem this year to get as many comics to libraries and hospitals as possible.  In years past, we have each sort-of taken parts of the Des Moines metro area, but not all of it.  This year, we are blanketing the city.  I really hope this is the beginning of a good relationship and think it is.  We hope to work together in the future to perhaps bring artists and/or writers to the area as well as work on other community events.

 

So, what is coming out that day

There are two “levels” of Free Comic Book Day Sponsorship.

Gold Sponsors

Ape Entertainment

KUNG FU PANDA/RICHIE RICH FLIP BOOK

 

Archaia Entertainment

DARK CRYSTAL/MOUSE GUARD FLIP BOOK

 

Archie Comics

BETTY & VERONICA

 

BOOM! Studios

DARKWING DUCK/RESCUE RANGERS FLIP BOOK

 

Dark Horse Comics

AVATAR: LAST AIRBENDER/STAR WARS: CLONE WARS FLIP BOOK

 

DC Comics

GREEN LANTERN #30 and a PREVIEW of FLASHPOINT

 

Image Comics

SUPER DINOSAUR

 

IDW Publishing

LOCKE & KEY

 

Marvel Comics

SPIDER-MAN

(I think this is original material previewing upcoming story arcs in Amazing Spider-man.)

 

Papercutz

GERONIMO STILTON & THE SMURFS FLIP BOOK

 

Silver Sponsors

Bluewater Productions

The Misadventures of Adam West

The Man. The Myth. The Amulet?! Legendary star of the small and silver screen, Adam West, has his career youth-enized in this hip-whimsical, trans-dimensional epic of an adventure!

 

Bongo Comics

Take the plunge into a treasure trove of Bongo comics with a brand-new, exclusive, one day, one-shot collection of stories featuring The Simpsons and Futurama.

 

Boom! Studios

Elric: The Balance Lost

Meet the Pale Prince in an epic FCBD edition that heralds the new ongoing Elric series! Featuring a crisis across multiple worlds that will involve Michael Moorcock’s other famous fantasy franchise characters: Corum of the Scarlet Robe and Dorian Hawkmoon!

 

Dark Horse Comics

Baltimore/Criminal Macabre Flip-Book

Dark Horse pairs up two series with heroes who battle the mysterious evils of the world. Featuring Baltimore in war-torn Europe, circa 1920s, and Cal MacDonald of Criminal Macabre, in modern day Los Angeles, both FCBD stories are excellent entry points to these fantastically horrific and compelling comic series!

 

DC Comics

Young Justice/Batman: The Brave & The Bold Super Sampler

This super sampler is the perfect place to check out two sensational series from the DC Kids line, Young Justice and Batman: The Brave & The Bold, based on the popular animated series seen on Cartoon Network. It includes two exciting, all-new stories that readers of all ages will enjoy!

 

Fantagraphics Books

Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse

Today, everyone knows Mickey Mouse as the cheerful ambassador of all things Disney. But back in the 1930s, Mickey gained fame as a rough-and-tumble, two-fisted epic hero — an adventurous scrapper matching wits with mobsters, kidnappers, spies, and even (gulp!) city slickers! And Mickey’s greatest feats of derring-do took place in his daily comic strip, written and drawn by one of the greatest cartoonists of the 20th century, Floyd Gottfredson!

 

History Graphics Press

Civil War Adventure

Two-fisted, historically-accurate stories of the war that divided America, as written by industry vet, Chuck Dixon! Bloody Bill Anderson’s reign of terror in Missouri traps a reluctant soldier in the battle of his life in: “I Rode With The Devil”! Bloodstained axes, moonshine, murder, and revenge in the South Carolina swamps leads to a gun-runners’s worst fear: “Gator Bait”! Plus: A Battlefield amputation fact page!

 

Liquid Comics

The Silver Scorpion

Created by disabled students from America and Syria, experience the origin of a new disabled superhero, Silver Scorpion. “The comic book will help to establish trust and understanding between cultures, to empower young people with disabilities.”—President Bill Clinton, at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative.

 

Marvel Comics

Thor & Captain America: The Mighty Avengers

A time-twisting tale of Camelot-craziness! When mischievous Loki’s machinations throw Thor and a WW II-era Steve Rogers into King Arthur’s court, it’s an adventure neither noble Avenger will ever forget!

 

New England Comics

The Tick FCBD

An all-new comic featuring a 7-page introductory story by the awesome creative team of the popular ongoing Tick New Series, Benito Cereno and Les McClaine! Plus: An original full-color preview from this year’s blockbuster project, The Tick’s Giant Circus Maximus, the all-new and updated official “encyclopedia” of The Tick Universe!

 

Rebellion/2000 AD

2000 AD

2000 AD is Britain’s cult sci-fi weekly comic which has been at the cutting edge of contemporary pop culture since 1977. It’s imaginative, hard-hitting stories and eye-popping art which have made this multi-award-winning sci-fi anthology essential reading- and now you can get a free copy!

 

Red 5 Comics

Atomic Robo and Friends FCBD 2011 Edition

When Atomic Robo agrees to guest-judge the national science fair, it draws a lot of attention… including the evil Helsingard! When the explosions fly, Robo forgets the most important rule of all — never work with children! Plus: Previews of the 2011 adventures of Red 5’s continuing favorites and all-new faces!

 

Top Shelf Productions

Top Shelf Kids’ Club

This FCBD edition presents three adventures from their established all-ages series: Owly by Andy Runton, Johnny Boo by James Kochalka, and Korgi by Christian Slade. It also features three all-new stories from brand new all-ages series coming in 2011: Okie Dokie Donuts by Chris Eliopoulos, Pirate Penguin vs. Ninja Chicken by Ray Friesen, and Upside Down by Jess Smart Smiley! Perfect for everyone in the family!

 

Viper Comics

Inspector Gadget

Go-Go-Gadget-Adventure! Inspector Gadget, Penny and Brain are back… but so is M.A.D.! On what should be a peaceful vacation aboard the Orient Express, Gadget must locate Professor Sagan-Heisenberg and escort him safely back to MetroCity.

 

Zenescope Entertainment

Discovery Channel’s Top 10 Deadliest Sharks/ANIMAL PLANET’s Prehistoric Predators

Sharks, Dinosaurs and Dangerous Animals! Catch a preview of Discovery Channel’s and Animal Planet’s first ever line of Graphic Novels, based on some of their most popular programming including Shark Week.

 

Wizkids/NECA

DC Heroclix: Green Lantern Figure

Get ready for the Green Lantern movie with this Free Comic Book Day exclusive HeroClix miniature of the classic DC Comics space hero!

 

Need more info or want to see pictures/previews of any of these books, go to www.freecomicbookday.com and you can get it all and then some.

(I am not going to get into the politics of this event, if you ask on Friday and I’ve had a few beers, I will certainly tell you my thoughts.  I will say this, I’ve already started an e-mail to Diamond in my head.  You are more than willing to help contribute if you would like.)

 

 

The rest of last week’s post:

Ronnie’s Quick Reviews:

Xombi #2 John Rozum/Fraizer Irving

This issue picks directly up where the last one left off, giving you no time to breath.

The scene is now set and the story pushes forward rapidly.  Last issue was used as an atlas, none of that here.  We get nothing but awesome sci-fi action, weird nuns, and the Rustling Husk, quite possibly the creepiest thing I have read this side of Mignola.

Then there is the art.  Frazier Irving may be one of the most interesting artists working in popular comics right now.  His pages are always exploding with color and texture.  Each scene appears to have a color that relates to the character’s emotions.  And no, this has nothing to do with rainbow rings.  I am just loving this stuff.  Some of it doesn’t sit right with me, which I think was the point.  More please.

I am pretty interested to see where this is going to go.  It may be the weirdest book on the DC roster, but it also seems to have some of the most promise.

4.5 Stars.

Turok Son of Stone #2 Jim Shooter/Endurado Francisco

We finally see the second issue to the current reboot of this very old character.  7 months late by my count.

This issue introduces the idea that many people from many different eras of time have become trapped in this prehistoric land.  Some have been here longer than others and have created mini civilizations here.

This issue’s plot advancement relies a little too heavily on coincidence, even for a comic book.  However, it does maintain a steady pace, and introduces a lot of characters and surprises.

Francisco’s pencils are excellent throughout, he shows a well rounded talent at drawing not only dinosaurs and plains style Indians, but laser toting future folk and Apocalypto-ish South American tribes.  Extra props to Raymond Swanland for the absolutely awesome covers.

In the end, Shooter is setting up the possibility of a fun ride with lots of players… BUT the series is gonna need a steady schedule to maintain momentum.  Maybe an OGN would have been a better idea?

3 Stars.

This was an unusually good comic week for me.  Most of my current favorites came out and delivered.  I don’t need to remind you again how damn good Scalped and Detective Comics are right now since you are already reading them.

What, you’re not?  Come on, drop a Deadpool book and try them.  ’Tective started a new arc this issue and Scalped is claiming the upcoming #50 will be a jumping on point.  Do it!  The fate of the literate public depends on you!

Also, American Vampire is offering you the chance to jump on the only good vampire story in years, and Batman Inc. is slowly revealing to us why Grant Morison’s name is on the cover and why that is a very good thing indeed.

Hope y’all had a Happy May Day and thought about the significance of the Haymarket affair and the now assumed gains that were fought and bleed for by the labor movement.  There are those who would like nothing more than to take those advances away from you and put them in their wallets.  For some crazed reason they are actually gaining political traction lately.  Our grandparents would be ashamed of us.

 

Action Comics #900, and the “Evil” of Superman…

A major moment in comic book history was reached last week.  Issue number 900 of Action Comics came out.  The longest running monthly comic book; 1938, the first of its kind and still running strong.  We sold really well on that issue and have been adding readers throughout the Paul Cornell run centered around Lex Luthor, which has been a very enjoyable read.

However, not all see the issue as a good thing.  Fox news ran an opinion piece (of $h!t) about one of the side stories in issue 900.  The comic story centers around the idea of the changing ideologies of Superman over the years and how he is and has been for many years a character recognized for certain values World Wide, not just here in America.  This Fox writer, who quite obviously did not even read the comic, missed the point of the story, the comic and the significance of the event – the first ever (I know it is debatable) superhero who is still around, still relevant and still important.

Superman has been many things in his existence.  He has been the focal point of very silly superhero stories, he has been a leader, a follower, a fighter and a scientist.  He has been and done many things… IN HIS COMICS over 900 issues.

What happened that would draw the ire of the far right?  In this story (written by Batman Begins and Batman Dark Knight script writer David Goyer), Superman says he will renounce his American citizenship and become a citizen of the world through the UN after his peaceful actions are questioned by the US Government.  (Superman is an American?  Does he pay taxes? Does he have a voter registration card or a birth certificate?  Think about these things and the argument surrounding the storywriter makes even less sense.)

Superman had landed in Tehran to stand between protesters and police.  The story, was short, but made a great point… Superman belongs to everyone and stands for so much more than just truth and justice and so very, very much more than the antiquated “American way.”

One last thing and I’ll post the links and you can make up your own mind… This piece of crap that was written by a close minded fool made his point of failure early on.  He says he remembers Superman on TV.  Never once talks about comics, never once talks about enjoying comic books, especially Superman comics.  He doesn’t talk about getting a superhero book as kid, one that now you read and looks so very unbelievable and unrealistic and so great.  He never talks about being a down and depressed teenager and how silly super-heroics can lift up your spirits  like nothing else.

No, he talks about his remembrance of a TV show.

He never talks about the point and importance of a comic reaching 900 issues, he wanted to talk about something he saw in a medium who’s story was inspired by something else, inspired by a superior product, something that far surpassed in number episodes or issues, something that has now done something no other monthly comic has ever done.

My rant and my irritation is not limited to Action Comics #900.  Remember, this summer, when you go to see one of a slew of films INSPIRED by comics.  Remember the medium that gave you that experience and why it is SO very much better.

Paul Cornell is quoted on Twitter by Bleeding Cool.com as saying: I joyfully await the day when comics fans would prefer to talk about the story rather than the controversy

Links:

Idiot from Fox propaganda: www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/04/29/hijacked-superman-turned-loving-anti-american/#content

For some intelligent thought surrounding a stupid issue, head over to Bleedingcool.com