Category: Uncategorized

A huge THANK YOU to everyone that made this yet another aWeSoMe Free Comic Book Day! It was an incredible day and we blew through a huge amount of free comics. We gave away so many books that we’re going to increase our orders for next year by at least 25%!

As I was uploading the pictures it hit me why we not only host Free Comic Book Day, but also why we opened the shop nearly 5 years ago:  Seeing all the smiling faces and having a place where people feel comfortable to be who they are is what it’s all about.

Thanks again, we’re proud to be your local comic book store.

Despicable Deadpool hits #300! A couple of Star Wars villain books come out, Thrawn & Darth Vader.

The big book of the week is VeNoM #1! This book is already sold out on the distributor level, so make sure to get your copy this Wednesday!

Avengers #1, Tag & Bink #1, Hunt for Wolverine Weapon Lost #1, the continuation of Infinity Countdown !?!? Crazy-good Marvel week! If you want to get into something really cool, check out Hickman & Weaver’s S.H.I.E.L.D. #5. This book is phenomenal and will float under the radar because it started in 2010 and is FINALLY being finished (it’s a 6-issue limited series).

It used amaze me when I would hear about a recent comic book movie being described as not good, or actually hearing someone say, ‘it stinks!’ I know it’s an age thing (rapidly approaching 50), I grew up watching Bill Bixby’s and Lou Ferrigno’s The Hulk. There’s definitely something to be said for the anachronistic feel when you go back and watch some of the 70’s and 80’s ‘superhero’ shows/movies, but they were slow moving and the graphics ‘stunk’. For me, Blade with Wesley Snipes was the first time I really thought, ‘wow, now this is a good comic book movie.’ Blade came out in 1998, fast forward 20 years and we’re about to witness a 10-year Marvel Cinematic Universe plan reach its climax. If I compare what I grew up with against even a current ‘flop’, like Suicide Squad, it’s no contest. The current ‘flop’ is still visually stunning and far surpasses Lee Majors running in slow motion.

Considering everything, maybe some of these current movies DO stink. Perhaps comparing movies to what I grew up with is just an old-timers problem. I suppose it’s important to compare the current super-hero movies to other current super-hero movies and not the under-funded, graphically challenged shows/movies of the 80’s and 90’s. I will go into movies with a more discerning eye, which I will do this Friday as I’ll finally get so see Thanos do what he is meant to do, kill and destroy.

Fresh off the success of our Gideon Falls #1 store variant, we are offering another exclusive store variant with cover art by Khoi Pham! We’re lucky to have Khoi’s artwork on Rick Remender & Bengal’s new book, Death or Glory #1! This book is sure to be a hit with the above-mentioned creative team. Our store cover will be limited to only 500 copies AND Khoi will be signing copies in the shop on 5/5 (which also happens to be Free Comic Book Day)! Sure to be a crazy event.

Story line: Meet Glory, raised off the grid in a convoy amid truckers-the last men and women fighting for true freedom on the American open road. Now, in order to pay for her beloved dying Father’s surgery, Glory has three days to pull off four dangerous cross-country heists with mob killers, crooked cops, and a psycho ex-husband all out to bring her in or die trying.

Logan (the ‘continuity’ Logan?) is FINALLY back, but in what capacity? He first re-appeared in Legacy #1 and had possession of the space infinity gem. Fast forward a couple months to Infinity Countdown Prime #1 and we witness Logan interact with Ultron bots and Loki. The only new information from this interaction is, um, nothing. We learn it’s, in fact, the ‘real’ Logan and that he intends on keeping the space gem even though Loki warns him if he’s not careful the whole universe could be re-written again? No, we certainly don’t want that… or do we?

We’ve had a soft reboot and that leaves fans wondering what is going on with the Marvel universe. The one thing I do look forward to is Charles Soule’s handling of the return of Wolverine. Charles was responsible for the Death of Wolverine and it was handled really well. It was a 4-issue limited series with incredible art by Steve McNiven. This time around, Charles and David Marquez are delivering a over-sized, 1-shot issue followed by four, 4-issue limited series (see the matrix below). This all leads up to something ‘classified’. I’ll probably check out Weapon lost (written by Charles Soule) and Adamantium Agenda (Tom ‘All-New Wolverine’ Taylor & R.B. Silva) because of the writers and characters involved, but plan on skipping the other two titles. I do hope they make it so you DON’T have to read all four titles to understand what is going on with the story line. Marvel normally does a good job making them independent enough, but that doesn’t stop the completest from feeling the need to read every ancillary book in a story arc.

Stay tuned!

Podcast #1:  Inaugural Podcast! Khoi & Jason review a couple DC books.

• Deathstroke #30 (4/4 release)
• Green Lantern #?
• The Curse of Brimstone #1 (4/4 release)

The Green Lantern book was mislabeled as #40, but it’s definitely not issue #40. We’ll keep you posted on its release and issue number. Enjoy!

Did you read Black Mask’s The Dregs, written by Thompson & Nadler? It was a great read with cool art and featured a socially minded theme of homelessness. Come Into Me is another installment by the same creative team and this time they’re dealing with shared consciousness.  What’s it like to really understand someone? That can be answered if you are transferred into someone else’s consciousness, seeing what they see and feeling what they feel. It’s a heady read with some interesting social commentary.

Infidel #1 by Pichetshote & Campbell is a horror story that delves into what Pichetshote describes as “contemporary fears that we are having right now.” Based in current day New York City, this features a diverse cast of ethnic characters that add a complexity not found in most horror comics and/or movies. Being a fan of the horror genre, I’m excited to check it this out Wednesday.

Have you been reading Thanos and/or Doctor Strange? If not, please put them on your pull list. If you don’t like them at least you can sell some issues for double, triple or quadruple cover price within a week! Writer Donny Cates burst on the scene with God Country from Image. Yes, he did other books before that, but God Country (6-issue limited series), with art by Geoff Shaw, really got him notoriety from mainstream readers. He followed God Country up with Redneck (another Image production), which is an ongoing series featuring a southern vampire family living in harmony with day walkers. The harmony doesn’t last long and all sorts of crazy vampire shenanigans break loose. (Both God Country and Redneck trades are available in the store!)

A few months ago Marvel has a shake up (loses some writers like Jeff Lemire and Brian Bendis) and brings in some fresh, new talent. With Image and other indie labels being like a farm team for Marvel and DC, Matthew Rosenberg (We Can Never Go Home and 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank fame) and Donny Cates make their way to the Mighty Marvel team. Cates takes over writing duties on Thanos (issue #13) and Doctor Strange (#380). IMMEDIATELY, he breaths life into these titles, taking over when Marvel launches their Legacy line.

Fan don’t jump on the Cates books right away partly because they don’t know who Cates is and because numerous reboots by Marvel have created skepticism among comic readers. Within a couple issues, fans figure out who this guy is due to social media buzz and start to scour stores for back issues of Doctor Strange, but mainly Thanos. The first issues of his runs are easy enough to find because the shiny, Marvel lenticular covers were printed in large quantities, but trying to find the non-lenticular covers can be harder. Trying to find Thanos #14 for under $20 is starting to be a tough chore as this introduces the Cosmic Ghost Rider! This new, well kinda-new, character has become so popular that he’s getting his own series. Two issues later, Thanos #16 reveals another new character, the Fallen One, which was already selling for $10 the day it was released!

It’s not just dropping new characters in his stories that makes his books fun, it’s that Cates has woven them into his stories in a way that makes sense. His pacing of Thanos and Doctor Strange is fast and moves the story along at an even clip. After reading one of his books I don’t feel like nothing happened or that he just created a filler issue. Sure, it’s still early in the game, but he’s keeping the momentum going and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. He just started another limited series, Doctor Strange Damnation and already has me hooked. We do still have copies of Doctor Strange Damnation, so if you missed the boat on the other issues, definitely jump in now!

We have two superstars to feature today.

Tom Whalen: This is the full variant cover art for Gideon Falls #1 by Tom Whalen (check out strongstuff.net to see more of Tom’s awesome art)! Gideon Falls is written by Jeff Lemire with art by Andrea Sorrentino! These two collaborated on Green Arrow and since that time both have been the best in the business. Jeff has done great work on Black Hammer, Old Man Logan and the recent Terrifics! Andrea Sorrentino has killed it on variants covers for Marvel and art duties on Old Man Logan!

Please visit us on 3/10 to get a copy of Gideon Falls #1 Tom Whalen Variant Cover for $11.99! Tom will be in-store signing copies from 11am-2pm!

Warren Chester has killed it on our website! In addition to keeping power to the tri-state area, he has revamped our dying website! I’d love to take credit for our website looking somewhat palatable, but it’s really Warren that has made it happen. In addition to all the above, he’s an incredible husband and father of two fabulous girls (!

A huge thanks to both of these gentleman for supporting our store, you both rock!