October 09 Previews: What you need!

The new Previews issue came out today, one of the few joys I have left, is flipping through this baby on the last Wednesday of the month. It's been rather annoying over the last few years, the major companies have been highlighting more and more of their solicitations on the various comics news sites. I try not to "ruin" my fun by looking at that info early, call me old fashioned, but I feel like a little kid flipping through every new issue of Previews. Remember, way way back when Sears would publish their yearly Christmas Wishbook Catalog? I feel like that whenever Previews comes out. Kids these days are spoiled, they look at their favorite websites daily to preview all of the toys and games they are going to want way way before they are available at the store. Sometimes I think there is just TOO much information readily available online, but that's another bitch for another day. So what got me excited in this newest issue of Previews Magazine?

From Dark Horse: Martians Go Home #1 by my good friend Martin Powell with art by Mike Manley. (Martin has done a lot of work for us at Moonstone as well as plenty of projects by other publishers. ) This is an adaptation of the classic 1950's sci-fi novel of the same name. It looks like this is going to be the first in the line of old school sci-fi novel comic book adaptions. Looks like it will be a lot of fun!

From DC Entertainment:

Blackest Night: Flash #1 written by Geoff Johns and art by Scott Kolins

1 of 3 issues. Should be GREAT! I've actually enjoyed both the Batman and Superman Blackest Night mini-series and since Geoff is writing this one himself it should be very good.

Blackest Night: JSA #1 written by one of my all time favorite writers James Robinson!

Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1 written by Greg Rucka with art by one of favorite female artist Nicola Scott. This will definitely be one to read! Wonder Woman will be changing forever (supposedly) after the events in Blackest Night. Will she be the ultimate White Lantern? Will she be the Rainbow Lantern? We don't know, we will have to wait to find out! The reason I'm speculating here is because in the Blackest Night wave 3 action figures there is a Wonder Woman figure but they only show the outline of her figure, because they don't want to spoil the surprise. Much speculation on this one.

Daytripper #1, new Vertigo mini series by Gabriel Ga and Fabio Moon. This is going to be hot.

Hellblazer: Pandemonium HC. Just in time for John Constantine's 25th Anniversary. Original Hellblazer writer, Jamie Delano returns for an all new graphi novel. Can't wait! Delano is my favorite of the Hellblazer writers.

From Image: Tank Girl Dark Nuggets One Shot! By original creator Alan Martin! I'm super excited that Alan has come back to Tank Girl! Tank Girl is one of my favorite characters from back in the day.

From Marvel: Mini Marvels Ultimate Collection! In honor of Mike S. I had to mention this because we all know how much he LOVES Mini-Marvels. This collects the first collection that is now OUT OF PRINT, mostly thanks to Mike and his passion for this book, and the second collection together in ONE handy dandy volume! Yay, fun!

From Albatross: Chimichanga #1 by Eric Powell! Powell returns to his roots, the company that launched The Goon has allowed him to return for all new craziness! This is Powell's first all new creator owned work since The Goon. Appropriate for all ages.

From Bob Burden Studios: Mysterymen Adventures vol 1! 10th anniversary edition. Reprints the original four issue color mini-series that inspired the Universal movie starring Ben Stiller, Janeane Garfolor and William H. Macy.

From Boom: Incorruptible #1 by Mark Waid. It's the flip-side of Irredeemable!

From IDW: Angel #28. Apparently Bill Willingham is taking full advantage of his expired exclusive DC contract. IDW is his company of choice at the moment. He also has that cool new graphic novel coming out later in 2010 at IDW called Storyteller with art by Gene Ha. Back to Angel, it will be interesting to see what Bill comes up with to make this book interesting again.

From Moonstone:

Lady Action One-shot, written by fan favorite Tony Lee! This should be thoroughly entertaining. The man behind the ongoing Doctor Who comic at IDW and the forthcoming graphic novel adaption of the NY Times Best-selling Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Can't wait to read this one! (I'm not the editor on this Moonstone book, so I have to wait to read it, just like the rest of you!

Phantom Double Shot#1 KGB Noir by Mr. Phantom himself, Mike Bullock, with a cover by Mr. Marvel Noir Dennis Calero. This is another must read! The Ghost Who Walks, black and white noir style! The back-up feature is Moonstone's newest pulp hero Death Angel.

There is even MORE cool stuff in this month's Previews! Be sure to pick up your copy soon!

The Phantom: Generations, you SHOULD be reading this book!

I haven't talked about The Phantom yet at length on this blog, and I must rectify that RIGHT NOW! The Phantom is a great character that Moonstone has been publishing ALL NEW licensed stories in both comics and prose form since 2001. Currently we have two ongoing Phantom books: Generations and Ghost Who Walks. I'm going to take a little bit of time to talk about Generations because I think it's one of the coolest ideas in comics ever, and I think there are a lot of folks out there that haven't tried it because they didn't know what it was all about. All of the phans are very aware of what Phantom group editor Mike Bullock has been up to, but this is for the rest of you! Generations is a color book that comes out about once or month or so. Here's the concept: each issue focuses on one generation of the Phantom character in chronological order, meaning issue one is about the very first Phantom, Generation 1, issue two is about the 2nd Generation Phantom, etc. The whole idea behind the character of the Phantom is that the mantel of the "Phantom" is passed from father to son, the current Phantom being Generation 21, hence the moniker "The Ghost Who Walks" because the average folks think he is immortal. Each issue is written by a unique writer and artist team. Issue #1 is about the 1st Generation Phantom written by Ben Raab with art by Pat Quinn. Issue #2 is about the 2nd Generation Phantom written by Tom Defalco with art by Don Hudson. Issue #3 is about the 3rd Generation Phantom written by Mel Odom with art by Michael Stibling. Issue #4 if about the 4th Generation Phantom written by Will Murray with art by Shawn Van Briesen. Issue #5 is about the 5th Generation Phanom written by Martin Gately with art by Enrique Alcatena. The first five issues are available RIGHT NOW at your local Amazing Fantasy location, or any other LCS. If you live outside of the Chicagoland area and your LCS does not carry this book, you can order them, along with all other Moonstone books direct from our website: http://www.moonstonebooks.com/. We ship worldwide!

I have to tell everyone about this series because to be quite frank I can't believe it hasn't been done before! For over 70 years almost all The Phantom stories that have been published have been about the current generation Phantom, 21. Occasionally various tales have been told about some of the older generation Phantoms, but some have not been touched upon at all. Thanks to Phantom group editor and writer of the ongoing Phantom: Ghost Who Walks series, Mike Bullock along with Phantom-lore consultant Ed Rhodes, these all new tales of the various generations of the Phantom are being published! Some of these Generations of Phantoms have never had their tales told! This is all very exciting stuff for the phans and the non-phans alike. This series is the perfect jumping on point for the Phantom because each issue is self-contained, no large commitment is necessary.

These issues are also unique because they aren't told in a traditional comic book format, rather they are written very much like journal entries, and as the phans know, every generation of Phantom keeps a journal of his exploits called "The Chronicle." These stories told in The Phantom: Generations are rather meaty, so you get a lot of bang for you buck. Each issue is a comic novella, using the journal format, has text accompanied by full page illustration on each facing page. It looks very cool and is very fun to read. Oh, and I can't forget all of the covers are by two of the best Phantom artists on the planet working together: Doug Klauba with Ruben Procopio.

Pick these issues up, you'll be glad you did. Here is the list of the creative teams working on the upcoming issues:

Issue #6: Steve Hockensmith and Scott Brooks

Issue #7: Danny Fingeroth and Gordon Purcell

Issue #8: Mike Bullock and Zeu

Issue #9: Mike Barron and Alex Saviuk

Quite the impressive list of talent! You wouldn't believe how many creators are phans of the Phantom! Many people remember reading the Lee Falk newspaper strips that ran in the sunday papers for years.

The Colonel Reviews Spider-Woman #1

The Colonel returns with another Marvel recommendation (surprise surprise)!

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Spider-Woman was captured by the Skrulls and her face was used as the leader of an invasion of Earth. Feeling depressed that everyone hates her for something she didn’t do, Spider-Woman is hired by SWORD, an off-shoot of SHIELD that deals with aliens. She’s hired to hunt down any Skrulls still on Earth, a handy way to work off her aggressions.

Written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Alex Maleev, this first issue has all the information you need to get started: Spider-Woman’s recent history and her new status quo. It moves along quickly and gets to the point, and leaves you with a cliffhanger to come back next month. The art is FANTASTIC. Maleev uses color in compelling and interesting ways, and he gets the mood across with a seemingly effortless technique. Both his action and conversation scenes are informative and readable without getting confusing. This is a well put together comic.

Not only do you get all of that, but this issue is 28 pages! And extra Maleev art is always nice. So get in on the ground floor and enjoy the art!

-Daron “the Colonel” Jensen

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My thanks to the Colonel for giving poor old Marvel some love on my blog!

Holy crap, where does the time go?

Sorry I haven't' posted any comic-related articles as of late. So much stuff going on it's CRAZY. As far as the shop goes, I did finalize an Art Baltazar signing at the Frankfort shop on Saturday November 7th from 12pm-3pm. It's going to be a special KIDS DAY at the Frankfort store. Not only will Art (fan-favorite artist on TINY TITANS and BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM) be on hand to sign books, he will be doing FREE quick sketches the entire time he's at the shop! Plus, free face-painting for the kids of all ages, so you can proudly display a Superman symbol or Batman symbol on your cheek for the rest of the day. How cool is that? There will also be a coloring contest for kids, featuring artwork by Art Baltazar. AND, if your kids come to the shop dressed as their favorite superhero, not only will I post their smiling mugs on my blog, and the store's facebook page, but you will receive a special coupon good for your NEXT visit to Amazing Fantasy. And if that's not enough, I will have special pricing on all kids comics and kids graphic novels during the signing. Lots of fun will be had. Come on out all kids-at-heart and bring your nieces, nephews, your own kids, or borrow one from a friend! It will be a total blast! More details as the event draws closer.

On a fun female power note, Amanda Conner is the first woman to make Wizard's Top Ten Hot Artists list! http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/09/26/amanda-conner-first-woman-comics-artist-to-make-wizards-top-ten-hot-artistsbrea/ Congrats to Amanda, her work on the Supergirl strip in Wednesday comics has really made me quite the fan. It's rather sad that this is a news worthy piece of news, but such is the reality of the comic book industry. We've come a long way baby, but we've got a long way to go. More and more women are becoming part of and fans of the industry every day. Yay girls! Yay comics! Yay girls AND comics together! Every year more and more girls and women come into my shop to browse and buy comics and comic-related merchandise. It's pretty damn cool. I remember way way back in the day when I started at Amazing Fantasy, c. 1991, weeks would go by where wouldn't see another female in the store, but thankfully those days are behind us. I also remember going to comic book sales conferences, again c. 1991, and being the ONLY female retailer. Again, thankfully, those days are behind us. I would love to see the Eisner's dominated by nothing but women, for once, that would be cool. More and more women do get nominated every year, but it would be pretty damn awesome to see a whole list of chicks, it would do my heart good.

I promise next week to get back to a more regular posting schedule.

Windy City Con 09 Report

Want to see a few more pics of the Windy City Con 09?

Go here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=110104&id=91058162397&ref=mf

Well Windy City 09 is over, and I'm now a very tired girl. It was a great success! Our thanks to Chris Neseman from the podcast Around Comics for making this such a great little event. He is the perfect person to run a show: he's efficient, thoughtful, accessible, tireless, and genuinely excited about the medium. Check out his podcasts here: http://www.aroundcomics.com/

I don't know what the final tally was, but last year attendance was around 1500, my guess is maybe 2000-2200 this year? Anyway, the Windy City show is the only con that Amazing Fantasy attends as an exhibitor, and we really enjoy it. The focus on WCC is the creators which is what comics are all about, if it wasn't for the talented writers and artists out there we wouldn't be able to enjoy this medium that we all love so much. The Windy Show attracted quite the roster of top notch talent, check out the full list here: http://www.windycitycomicon.com/ It was great to say hello to such icons of the industry such as the almost impossible to reach Tony Moore. At the big shows his booth is always overwhelmed, but here he had a steady stream of fans, but nothing out of hand. The charming Geof Darrow was also on hand at the show with his lovely daughter, they even shopped at the A/F booth! And many of the local comic creator types were on hand: Doug Klauba, Mike Norton, Tim Seeley, Don Kramer, Mike Babinski, Gene Ha, Tony Akins, Bill Reinhold, Chris Mitten, Skottie Young, Rafael Nieves, and many many more. Since the main focus of the show is creators, there are only a small number of dealers and publishers on hand. So if your main goal of attending a comic show is for stellar silver and golden age comics, you will walk away disappointed, but if you want bargains on recent comics/trades than this is a great show for you! Many of the dealers brought 25 comics, dollar books, 5 dollar trades, 40-50% off various gn's and more! A/F had a great selection of DC Archives at 40% off, what a deal! We also had other great bargains, like our trademark storypacks and more. As you can tell from the pictures, the A/F booth had a wonderful display with all the various Lantern symbol shirts available for sale. The ones that didn't sell will be available at the Frankfort A/F. We have many of the designs pictured from sizes M-XXXL. The XXXL are hard to come by, so get those babies before they are gone, normally the manufacturer, Graphitti Designs does not offer the XXXL through Diamond, so A/F has not been able to carry them before we decided to go direct with Graphitti. A/F also had a wonderful assortment of cuddly Ugly Dolls available for purchase which always goes over well with the little tykes at the show. I've been called a savior repeatedly for carrying these cuddly critters at the show. A new feature at the show this year was the food available on the patio of The Center, on the floor with the con, a great little added bonus! Chris Neseman brought in a wonderful caterer who made food fresh to order, like grilled burgers and dogs. Windy City even provided FREE lunch for the creators on hand, always a nice perk for the hardworking artists and writers at a con. I personally did not try the much discussed burgers and dogs (everyone was raving!) but I did partake in the yummy baked goods! They baked cookies, brownies, and muffins fresh that morning and brought them in for sale, amazing stuff. Quality chocolate treats is always a surefire way to put a smile on my face! Mmmmm... Ok, typing about these yummy snacks makes me want something chocolate!

Back to the comic book talk!

My opinion on the show: TOP RATE! Amazing Fantasy will definitely be back next year with all kinds of fun merchandise for the fans to peruse and perhaps purchase. I'm thinking we might expand to two booths next year, so we can make room for even more GREAT comics and comic-book related goods! And our thanks to many of regular customers that came out to the show, not only did they have a great time getting cool sketches and chatting with the creators, they were sure to stop by the A/F booth to show their support! And they all were nice enough to purchase quite a few things from us at the show, how cool is that! Amazing Fantasy has the best customers in the whole of the comic book buying world! Really, we just love you guys and girls. Thanks to everyone who made this show so much fun!

Must Read of the Week!

Beasts of Burden #1 by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson

Originally Beasts of Burden was a short story in the yearly Dark Horse series of Halloween graphic novel anthologies: The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings, The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft, The Dark Horse Book of the Dead, and The Dark Horse Book of Monsters. Dorkin and Thompson won an Eisner for "best short story" too. Loved the original, and the new #1 is just as fun and engaging as I remember the original being. I would recommend this for all ages. Thompson's beautiful watercolors are always enthralling for adults and kids alike, and Beasts of Burden spotlights Dorkin's keen eye for dialogue that you may not pick up on when reading his classic Milk and Cheese strips. A+ all the way. I am SO glad they were able to bring us this all new 4 issue fully painted mini-series.

Here is the description of the book taken from Previews Magazine:

When supernatural occurrences sweep the community of Burden Hill, it's up to a heroic gang of cats and dogs to keep residents safe from harm. A bizarre disturbance leads these four-legged neighbors on a wild-goose chase into the depths of the nearby forest, where loyalties are tested and lives come to an abrupt end. Adventure, mystery, horror and humor thrive on every page of Beasts of Burden-a comic-book series that will capture readers' hearts and haunt their dreams.

So, you can see why I recommend it so! It's about a gutsy gang of cats and dogs that end up being paranormal investigators of the first order. Animal lovers take note, you WILL want to read this book, and pass it on to others! A perfect tale for the Halloween season just around the corner.

I give this one four out of jack-o-lanterns! Thanks Evan and Jill for making a comic that has this jaded comic book gal as excited as a little girl. I want my Beasts of Burden t-shirts NOW please! Come to think of it, why don't we see more t-shirts and hoodies showcasing Jill's beautiful artwork? Seems like a natural marketing idea imo. (yeah, yeah, they haven't even hinted at anything like that, but a gal can dream....) Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Beasts of Burden #1 when you head into your local A/F this week, this book will make you smile in spite of yourself.

JSA vs. Kobra Signing Wrap-up

The JSA vs. Kobra signing with Gene Ha, Don Kramer, and Mike Babinski was a great success!

Want to see more pictures, go to our Facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=107686&id=91058162397

Our thanks to all three creators that made time in their busy schedules to come out to the Frankfort Amazing Fantasy to sign, sketch, and chat with our customers. Gene, Don, and Mike were so nice and personable with the fans, it was a real treat to have the three of them at the shop. And both Gene Ha and Don Kramer were kind enough to do free head sketches for our customers as well as sign whatever books the fans wanted. And I have to thank our customers too, old and new, for being patient waiting for their turn to get a sketch. It really turned out to be a fun time. There was no pushing and shoving, no problems whatsoever. Days like this make me happy to be a comic retailer. These kinds of signings are the perfect example of what makes a comic shop unique from other retail outlets. There is a certain familiarity in the air of a comic shop because everyone there knows that they are surrounded by other like-minded customers, all fans of the medium, maybe they favor different titles or creators, but every one in a comic shop knows that they are free to talk comics with everyone in attendance: employees, fellow customers and even creators.

We here in the Chicago area are very lucky to have so many great comic book creators in the vicinity, which means we have an abundance of local creators available for conventions and in-store appearances. We've been very lucky to host signings for a few of them over the last couple of years: Doug Klauba, Len Kody, Dan Dougherty, Jill Thompson, Brian Azzarello, Tony Akins, Tim Seeley, Emily Stone, Chris Burnham, Mike Norton, Chris Mitten, Skottie Young, and of course the fine fellows from this most recent signing - Don Kramer, Gene Ha, and Mike Babinski. Amazing Fantasy Frankfort is rather far out in the suburbs, but every single one of these creators made the effort to come out to see the fans, even though Frankfort isn't exactly what I would call "convenient" for any of these folks.

Next weekend Amazing Fantasy will be making our annual convention appearance at Windy City Comicon in the lovely city of Chicago. Check out the fab guest list here http://www.windycitycomicon.com/. This is the second fantastic year for Windy City Comicon, and we here at Amazing Fantasy are pleased as punch to be part of it! Hope to see you all there! Two of our recent guests are featured guests of the show and will be there, Don Kramer, and the guest of honor himself, Gene Ha. That's right, Amazing Fantasy was cool enough to host the very guest of honor for the show at the shop, to give our customers a chance to chat with Gene one on one before the mob scene at the show.

DC announces DC Entertainment and new role for Levitz

The official press release from DC: (I know it seems long, but it is very informative, if you like, skip to the end for my commentary)

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Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI) has created DC Entertainment Inc., a new company founded to fully realize the power and value of the DC Comics brand and characters across all media and platforms, to be run by Diane Nelson, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, and Alan Horn, President & COO, Warner Bros.

DC Entertainment, a separate division of WBEI, will be charged with strategically integrating the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply into Warner Bros. Entertainment and all its content and distribution businesses. DC Entertainment, which will work with each of the Warner Bros. divisions, will also tap into the tremendous expertise the Studio has in building and sustaining franchises and prioritize DC properties as key titles and growth drivers across all of the Studio, including feature films, television, interactive entertainment, direct-to-consumer platforms and consumer products. The DC Comics publishing business will remain the cornerstone of DC Entertainment, releasing approximately 90 comic books through its various imprints and 30 graphic novels a month and continuing to build on its creative leadership in the comic book industry.

In her new role, Nelson will report to Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, in order to best capitalize on DC Entertainment’s theatrical development and production activities and their importance to drive its overall business with each of the divisions of Warner Bros.
Nelson will bring her expertise and more than 20 years’ experience in creative brand management, strategic marketing and content development and production to ensuring DC Entertainment’s dual mission of marshalling Warner Bros.’ resources to maximize the potential of the DC brand while remaining respectful of and collaborative with creators, talent, fans and source material. Additionally, Nelson will continue to oversee the franchise management of the Harry Potter property, which she has done since 2000, and also continue to represent the Studio’s interests with the author of the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling. Nelson will segue from her post as President, Warner Premiere but maintain oversight responsibilities of that division. (An executive succession plan for Warner Premiere will be announced shortly.)
Paul Levitz, who has served as President & Publisher of DC Comics since 2002, will segue from that role to return to his roots as a writer for DC and become a contributing editor and overall consultant to DCE. This transition will take place as expeditiously as possible without disrupting DC’s business operations.

In his new role, Levitz will be called upon for his deep knowledge and more than three-decade history with DC Comics, both as a comic creator and an executive. Besides serving as a writer on a number of DC Comics titles, he will be a contributing editor and consultant to DC Entertainment on projects in various media. Additionally, he will consult as needed on the transition and integration of the DC Comics organization into DC Entertainment and will utilize his unique experience, knowledge and relationships with the comics industry’s creative community to help achieve DC Entertainment’s goal of maximizing the value of DC properties. Further, Levitz will advise DC Entertainment on creative and rights-holder relationships, in particular regarding the legacy relationships that have been a part of DC Comics for decades.
Widely recognized and respected for his support of writers, artists and creators in the comics industry, Levitz is best known creatively for his work with DC Comics, having written most of the classic DC characters, including Batman, Wonder Woman and the Superman newspaper strip. At Comicon International in 2008, Levitz was awarded the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award as part of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the only industry executive ever so honored.

“DC Comics and its super hero characters are truly touchstones of popular culture, and the formation of DC Entertainment is a major step in our company’s efforts to realize the full potential of this incredible wellspring of creative properties,” said Meyer. “Diane knows our studio as a creative executive, a marketer and a senior manager, and this varied background will help her effectively and creatively integrate the DC brand and properties across all our businesses. We’re also thrilled that Paul will remain involved with DC and we’ll be able to tap his expertise to help us reach our goals for this new business.”

“It’s no secret that DC has myriad rich and untapped possibilities from its deep library of iconic and lesser-known characters,” said Horn. “While we’ve had great success in films and television, the formation of DC Entertainment will help us to bring more DC properties across additional platforms to fans around the world, while maintaining brand integrity and authenticity. Diane is a terrific choice to lead DC Entertainment, and with Paul in his new role as a valued consultant and contributing editor, both our company and comic fans win.”

“Based on the great success we’ve had working with DC Comics to create some of the most popular and successful super hero films of all time, I’ve long believed that there was much more we could do across all of Warner Bros.’ businesses with this great body of characters and stories,” said Robinov. “The prioritization of DC and the creation of DC Entertainment is a great opportunity that reaches far beyond the film group. There are endless creative possibilities to build upon the many significant successes already achieved by my colleagues Kevin Tsujihara and the Home Entertainment Group in the videogame, home video and direct-to-platform arenas and Bruce Rosenblum and the Television Group in live-action, animated and digital series. Collectively, we have the ability to grow a body of properties highlighting the iconic characters and the diversity of the creative output of DC Comics.”

“The founding of DC Entertainment fully recognizes our desire to provide both the DC properties and fans the type of content that is only possible through a concerted cross-company, multi-platform effort,” said Nelson. “DC Entertainment will help us to formally take the great working relationships between DC Comics and various Warner Bros. businesses to the next level in order to maximize every opportunity to bring DC’s unrivalled collection of titles and characters to life.”
“After so many roles at DC, it’s exciting to look forward to focusing on my writing and being able to remain a part of the company I love as it grows into its next stage,” said Levitz. “It’s a new golden age for comics and DC’s great characters, and I hope my new position will allow me to contribute to that magic time.”

DC Comics will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2010 (NEW FUN COMICS #1, the first DC comic, began publishing in 1935), at which time more explicit details regarding DC Entertainment’s corporate and management structure, film and content release slate, creative roster and business objectives will be unveiled at a multi-faceted anniversary celebration and press conference in the first quarter of the year.

Current DC properties in development and/or production at Warner Bros. Entertainment include:

– “Human Target” is being produced by Warner Bros. Television for a mid-season debut on Fox.
– “Midnight Mass” is in series development at Warner Bros. Television for consideration for the 2010-11 season.
– “Jonah Hex,” Warner Bros. Pictures’ supernatural Western starring Josh Brolin, Megan Fox and John Malkovich, recently wrapped production in Louisiana.
– “The Losers,” Dark Castle/Warner Bros. Pictures’ action-adventure drama starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans, began principal photography mid-July in Puerto Rico.
– “The Green Lantern,” Warner Bros. Pictures’ next big superhero tentpole release, recently cast Ryan Reynolds as the titular character. The film has a projected second quarter 2011 release date.
– “Lobo,” based on the DC Comics anti-hero, has Guy Ritchie attached as a director; Joel Silver, Akiva Goldsman and Andrew Rona are producing for Silver Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures.
– Warner Premiere’s direct-to-platform DVD animated release of “Green Lantern: First Flight” debuted July 28.
– Warner Bros. Animation currently produces “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” which airs on Cartoon Network.
– Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released “Batman: Arkham Asylum” on August 25, a dark, action packed videogame adventure for Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation3 computer entertainment system and Games for Windows.

Prior to being named President, DC Entertainment, Nelson most recently served as President, Warner Premiere since its founding in 2006. Warner Premiere is a Studio-based production company which develops and produces high-quality, direct-to-DVD and short-form digital content, including the highly successful line of DC Universe animated DVD titles, and also pioneered the development of the motion comics category. Under Nelson’s leadership, Warner Premiere functions as a full-service production entity with its own resources and release schedule, furthering the Studio’s mandate of being a destination for both established and up-and-coming talent to create stand-alone properties as well as experiment in new media.
Before that, Nelson served as Executive Vice President, Global Brand Management, Warner Bros. Entertainment, with the primary responsibility of working cross-divisionally and throughout Time Warner to maximize and optimize all the various windows and outlets available to the Studio’s signature franchises, brands and event properties on a global basis. In this post, Nelson’s primary focus was the management of the Harry Potter brand, which she has overseen since the brand’s launch at the Studio in 1999. These efforts have helped drive the success of the brand to become the most successful film franchise of all time, as well as a respected consumer property that has generated billions of dollars for the Studio.

At Global Brand Management, Nelson and her team of more than 15 employees worked in all media and platforms to support a number of other key franchise properties, including “The Matrix Reloaded,” “The Matrix Revolutions,” “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” “Happy Feet,” “Polar Express” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” among others.
Prior to overseeing Global Brand Management, Nelson had served as Executive Vice President, Domestic Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures. Nelson rose quickly through the ranks, having also served as Senior Vice President, Domestic Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures and prior to that, Senior Vice President, Family Entertainment, Warner Bros. Corporate Worldwide Marketing and Planning. She was also Vice President, Worldwide Corporate Promotions, a post to which she was promoted in March 1998, after joining the Studio in September 1996 as Director of Worldwide Corporate Promotions.

Nelson came to the Studio from Walt Disney Records, where she served as Director of National Promotions. She is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications.

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Wow that's some good and exciting news for DC! It's about time they have a company whose sole purpose is to promote the DC brand characters, for too long now Marvel has been winning that game and now with the Disney buy, Marvel is really poised to dominate. By forming this new company, DC can now take on Marvel in a much bigger way, as far as media goes, such as cartoons, movies, video games, tv shows, direct to dvd releases etc. I'm also excited to see Paul Levitz getting back to his roots: writing for the DCU. Between Paul and Geoff Johns, most of the DC titles, should in theory, be great reads that reflect and build upon past stories. The other exciting thing to note in this press release is that DC Comics will be celebrating their 75th Anniversary next year, that's big news. I was wondering why DC had skipped celebrating Superman and Batman's anniversary, and this is why, they are going to celebrate the DCU as a whole. I can't wait to see what kind of events they have lined up to help celebrate 75 years of DC comic book goodness in 2010. I'm sure we will see some kind of DC sponsored celebration at comics stores across the county. Marvel's 70th anniversary party was a huge success, the fans and the retailers had a good time. I expect DC's anniversary party to be the same.

Also, after reading this press release, I am excited to see that maybe, just maybe Warner Brothers is ready to devote more resources to developing the DCU characters into various media. I want more DC movies NOW please. And I mean high quality ones too! This will be exciting! And how about more frequent direct to dvd releases? I've really enjoyed all of DC's direct to dvd animation specials. Of course, I don't want to see the quality go down and the quantity go up, I want to see the quality stay the same and QUANTITY go up! More please!

So many crazy things going on in the comics industry at present, it makes me quite dizzy just thinking about it!

This Weekend at Amazing Fantasy!

Don't have wild and exciting plans for this weekend? Let Amazing Fantasy help you out! We've got two KILLER events planned for this Saturday and Sunday, don't miss out!

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Amazing Fantasy Books and Comics
Announces

JSA vs. Kobra
THE ENTIRE ART TEAM SIGNING! At the Frankfort locations!

Saturday September 12 from 12 noon-3pm

20523 S. La Grange Rd.
Note: Next to the Alsip Nursery, in the Vineyards plaza behind the Dunkin Donuts
Frankfort IL 60423 (815)-469-5092

Featuring the ENTIRE art team for DC's best-selling mini-series JSA Vs. Kobra:

Cover Artist Extraordinaire: Gene Ha (Top Ten)

Fan Favorite Penciller: Don Kramer (Batman, Detective)

New Inking Talent: Michael Babinski (Farscape)

Colorist of the First Order: Art Lyon (G.I. JOE)

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to meet the ENTIRE art team on one of DC’s best-selling mini-series!

All four of these super talented folks will be on hand to sign books, sketch, and chat. Come on in and ask every single person involved in the art production on this book all the burning questions about comics you’ve been dying to ask the pros!

We are SO excited about this very cool signing! Be sure to come on out to say hello. Hope to see all of you there! You will kick yourself if you miss this!

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One more event going on this weekend at the Amazing Fantasy in Lockport! It's there turn to have a Sidewalk Sale! (Frankfort and Tinley had theirs earlier in the summer, just fyi).

Saturday September 12 10am-6pm and Sunday 10am-4pm at

1128 S. State St. Lockport IL 815-834-1658

3 blocks south of 159th st in the Submarine City plaza

Join us and all of the participating stores in historic downtown Lockport!

This sidewalk sale is part of Civil War days, so come in period costume and get a special in-store discount, or come in Marvel Civil War costume for the same deal. That's right, come dressed up as a shot Captain America or as the prick-ish Tony Stark and you might be rewarded, or you might just be pointed and laughed at, hard to say which.

But seriously, rock bottom prices on select merchandise outside! Submarine City will be on hand with hot dogs and sandwiches!
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I think that should keep everyone busy and off the streets! Two more quality productions from your friends at Amazing Fantasy, purveyors of fine escapist adventure since 1978! Over 30 years of comic book related fun in the south and southwest suburbs!

The Colonel Reviews Incredible Hulk #601

The Colonel has been VERY busy on secret Shield business, but he's back and has a review for us of Incredible Hulk #601, because god knows I can't bring myself to read anything Hulk at the moment, I'm in a state of Hulk-overload. But you know The Colonel, he loves the Hulk of course, because Hulk is a Marvel character after all, so here is his review:

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What’s scarier than when Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk? When Bruce Banner CAN’T turn into the Hulk, that’s what.

That’s the hook of the new Incredible Hulk series: now that Bruce Banner is no longer the Hulk thanks to the events of incredible Hulk #600, the man who invented the Gamma Bomb, one of the smartest men in the world, actually has time to think because he’s not distracted by turning into the Hulk every five minutes or trying to find a way to end his curse. And now that he does have time to think, the other Marvel heroes are worried about what he may do next.

The issue opens with Bruce retrieving the Hulk’s sword and recruiting his son Skarr, so that Bruce can train the son of Hulk to fight, in case he does become the Hulk again. He’s planning ahead to have a way to take down the Hulk, because he’s been cured before and it never sticks. It’s a nicely paced issue setting up how Bruce relates to the rest of the Marvel Universe, and how they see Bruce. There’s also a few nice surprises for old fans, and some good revelations for those who don’t regularly follow the Hulk. It’s a great jumping on point, and there’s even a recap page for those that do start here. Written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Ariel Olivetti, who’s art is a mix of hyper-realism and caricature.

Also starting this issue is a back-up strip featuring the Savage She-Hulk from an alternate future, who also happens to be a child of Hulk. She came to the Marvel Universe recently in her own Savage She-Hulk four-issue miniseries and this co-feature picks up subplots from that book. Written by Fred Van Lente and illustrated by Michael Ryan, this first issue sets up her status as an agent of ARMOR (formerly SHIELD’s alternate reality division) and quickly starts the action rolling.

To there you go, two ongoing features for $3.99, both of which are taking interesting setups in new directions. Check it out!

-Daron “The Colonel” Jensen

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As always, my thanks to The Colonel for his insightful Marvel Comics reviews, but hey don't forget, last week I did indeed review a Marvel comic, and quite favorably at that: Marvel Tales #1. Just goes to show you every once in a great while the House of Ideas actually has a few, ideas that is.

Tamara Drewe, the movie!!!!!

Oh joy of joys! May the saints be praised! We can stop talking about the "dreaded" Disney/Marvel amalgam to celebrate a deal to film one of my favorite comic book properties! Tamara Drewe by my absolute favorite cartoonist on the planet: Posy Simmonds. For those of you that have wandered into the Frankfort Amazing Fantasy location and asked me "hey, what's good to read?" you've probably already heard about Posy Simmonds and her two WONDERFUL books: the aforementioned Tamara Drewe and an old favorite of mine, Gemma Bovary. My thanks to Rich Johnston over at Bleeding Cool for reporting on this. Yes, there was another big comic book movie announcement in the last few days (Lobo, directed by Guy Richie), but who the hell cares when we have TAMARA DREWE coming to a theatre near you! The creator, Posy Simmonds, a British cartoonist hasn't had as much exposure in the States as I would like, but maybe this movie will put firmly on the radar here, FINALLY. I can only hope. This movie will be made by Stephen Frears (The Queen), starring Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace), Dominic Cooper and Tamsin Grieg. Personally, I don't think it's a coincidence that the lead is going to be played by a gal named Gemma. It must be fate. Everything is connected, I'm convinced of this, well maybe I'm just reading into it needlessly, but it sounds very cool indeed. In Tamara Drew, Posy Simmonds uses Thomas Hardy's Far from the Maddening Crowd as inspiration. Her previous graphic novel, Gemma Bovary, is a tale inspired by Flaubert's Madam Bovary. The brilliant Tamara Drewe was originally serialized in the British Gurdian newspaper. What I truly love about Posy Simmonds is her use of subtle color, and her combination of text with traditional comic book panels. The combined effect is a wonder to behold. Posy has managed to do new and different things with a medium that at times seems tired and out of date. She is a master storyteller, not only are the stories themselves compelling, but her storytelling skills are leaps and bounds better than the average comic artist. She is a master of the form, much like the late Will Eisner. I am SO excited that this top-notch graphic novel is going to be made into a feature film! I wonder if it will be filmed with a limited or muted color palet, much like the book, I guess we will just have to wait until it hits the States to see what they've done with it.

One More Must Read of the Week!

It's a banner week lads and lasses! First Sweet Tooth from Vertigo and now Strange Tales #1 from Marvel, or should I say Disney, anyway, two great books! I already posted a review of Sweet Tooth, but I really need to discuss the utterly fun Strange Tales #1 from Marvel. too. Yep, that's right, I'm writing a glowing review of a Marvel book!

Strange Tales is a three issue mini-series of little strips by some of the biggest names in indy comics. Yeah! Issue one has quite the assortment, and well worth the $4.99 price tag. I know that sounds steep, but looking at the quality of the creators and the page count, it's not that bad. 48 pages with NO ads!

Stand-outs for me: the She Hulk mini-story by John Leavitt and Molly Crabapple, the Spider-man and MJ story by Junko Mizuno, the Spider-man story by Jason, the Hulk story by James Kochalka, and the two one-page strips by The Perry Bible Fellowship. All 12 mini-stories or strips are very entertaining, but those are my favorites. The She-Hulk story is, I think, my absolute fav out of this issue, for "The Yellow Wallpaper" reference alone! The Mizuno strip is great because MJ looks damn sexy drawn by Junko and Spidey looks so damn cute. I would love to see some kind of Mizuno/Marvel merchandising to come out of this, but I think I'm kidding myself here. I already have Tokidoki and Marvel collaborating, what more could I want? The Kolchalka stip is hilarious, of course, what else could we expect from the man that brought us "Super F@#$ers"? I love Kolchalka most for his "Peanut Butter and Jeremy" comics, but Kolchalka drawing the Hulk is magical! Wouldn't it be great if Disney had a brilliant idea to have Kolchalka write and illustrate a series of Marvel kids books? Again, I know I'm dreaming, but anything can happen with this new Marvel/Disney dynamic!

Another wonderful thing Marvel did with this issue (that is not a typo, Marvel did something GOOD!): a bio sheet at the end of the issue. So if you like the Jason strip, for example, you can find out what else he did etc. Nicely done! I was worried that they weren't going to include this kind of info for the fans that may not be familiar with all or some of these top notch creators. Other creators included in this first issue: Paul Pope, Peter Bagge, Nick Bertozzi, Nicholas Gurewitch, Michael Kupperman, Johnny Ryan and Dash Shaw.

LOVED it!

Now if only I could have this kind of reaction after I read every Marvel comic...

Must Read of the Week!

Sweet Tooth #1 from Vertigo hits this Wednesday at your LCS, be sure to pick one up! First of all it's ONLY $1.00, that's right ONE MEASLY dollar! And it's by Jeff Lemire, the indy darling that produced the massive Essex County Trilogy, now available in one affordable edition btw. Essex County blew me away with it's simplicity and poignancy. Now Sweet Tooth is poised to become the NEXT GREAT book. Loved it, can't say it enough. Amazing. Brilliant. I have hopes that Vertigo will take on more projects like this, the kind that don't fit the normal Vertigo mold. Now, don't misunderstand me, I adore the Vertigo mold, most of the time that is what has kept me excited about this medium, but it's nice to see them venture into all new territory. This is the first Jeff Lemire book to be in FULL COLOR, and it's wonderful to behold. And I think this is the first Vertigo book to be produced by a single writer/artist, this baby is all Jeff Lemire's, with the exception of the colors and letters of course.

This is how Jeff Lemire describes his new monthly series: " Sweet Tooth follows Gus, a little boy born with deer-like antlers left to survive in an American landscape decimated a decade earlier by a still mysterious pandemic. Even more remarkable is that Gus is part of a rare new breed of human/animal hybrid children who have emerged in its wake, all apparently immune to the infection." Yeah, definitely something new and different going on here and I couldn't be more excited.

I have no idea what to expect from the subsequent issues, but I will be counting the days for issue #2. Gus is so cute and so compelling as a character, that the reader has no choice but to cheer for him as he tries to make it in the new world he stumbles into. Gus, as a child has only had contact with one other person, his father, and his father leaves him, leaving him alone, scared, and hunted by bad folks that want to capture this hybrid child. I can only imagine we will meet other hybrid children as the series progresses.

I encourage you to join Gus on his quest to "The Preserve", a mythical sanctuary for hybrid children. I'm sure it will be one long, dark, twisted path, and I can't wait to join Jeff Lemire and Gus on this journey.

Thank you Vertigo and Karen Berger! Sweet Tooth #1, try it for a buck! Unlike anything else coming out on a monthly basis, I think you will be pleasantly surprised and intrigued.