Great Reads for Less than $10.00!

You've all heard me hype the Vertigo and Image $9.99 Volume One Graphic Novels before, but I thought is was about time to start highlighting many of the great graphic novels that have been published by DC/Wildstorm/Vertigo and Image GN's that are $10.00 or less EACH, all the little undiscovered gems just waiting to be read and enjoyed that I haven't droned on and on about! In this troubled economy, who couldn't use a little comic book goodness for about what it costs to go see a movie at the local theatre?

Everyone who is everyone knows that Walking Dead Volume One, Chew Volume One, and Proof Volume One make the under $10 list, but did you know that these other cool Image graphic novels are also under $10 bucks a piece? I bet you didn't.

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40 OZ Collected, Puttin the Backbone Back, and Stupid Comics
all three by Jim Mahfood, published by Image and each stellar collection is under $10 bucks!

40 OZ, THE CONCEPT:
40oz Comics, for the first time in one handsome collection! Hot indy artist Jim Mahfood (Clerks, Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Grrl Scouts: Work Sucks) brings you this collection of his underground 40oz mini-comics. Previously, these four volumes have only been available at comic book shows and thru Jim's website, so lots of people have missed out on this stuff!

Stupid Comics, THE CONCEPT:
Fan-favorite JIM MAHFOOD (CLERKS, GRRL SCOUTS) offers a hilarious and satirical collection of his infamous Stupid Comics strips. Pulled from the weekly Phoenix New Times newspaper, these comics are universal in theme, lampooning government, war, pop culture, the entertainment industry, relationships, sex and technology. A must-have for comedy fans, political junkies, and anyone else slightly concerned with the world we live in.
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City of Silence
by Warren Ellis and Gary Erskine, published by Image, less than $10 bucks!

City of Silence, THE CONCEPT: The future is bad for you. In a place where everyone has the technology to create brand-new, weird sciences ten times a day, there are policemen who will hunt you down for having a bad idea. They are the Silencers. And the investigation of a dead kid with a silicon pentagram on his neck opens up a whole box of bad ideas upon a city that only survives through silence...

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Fire: Definitive Collection
with words and pictures by the indomitable Brian Michael Bendis, published by Image, less than $10 bucks!

YOUR GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WANT YOU TO READ THIS BOOK! Loosely based on events in the American intelligence community during the Reagan administration, FIRE tells the unique and powerful story of a young man's virgin journey through the complex world of international intelligence. This is a complete globe spanning thriller for fans of "Bond," pulp spy novels, and true world crime stories. This definitive presentation of Eisner Award-winner Brian Michael Bendis' first cinematic noir comic features re-mastered art, lettering, and a newly revised script. The design and format will match the Bendis line of definitive collections (Powers, Jinx, Torso, Goldfish)

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American Jesus Volume One, Chosen
words by Mark Millar, pictures by Peter Gross, published by Image for less than $10 bucks!

From the writer of WAR HEROES, KICK ASS and the Universal hit, WANTED! It's the next MARK MILLAR graphic novel set to become a feature film! AMERICAN JESUS, VOL. 1: CHOSEN follows a twelve-year-old boy who suddenly discovers he's the returned Jesus Christ. He can turn water into wine, make the crippled walk and perhaps even raise the dead. How will he deal with the destiny to lead the world in a conflict thousands of years in the making?

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Dynamo 5 Volume One
words by Jay Faerber, pictures by Asrar and Riley, published by Image for less than $10 bucks!

He was the world's greatest hero, but Captain Dynamo was not a faithful husband. Now he's dead and his family is trying to piece their lives together. As his enemies descend on his unprotected city, Captain Dynamo's widow rounds up his five illegitimate children, each of whom have inherited one of their father's super-powers. Can these total strangers come to terms with their powers, their father's legacy and each other as total chaos erupts?

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Elephantmen War Toys Volume One No Surrender
words by Richard Starkings, pictures by Moritat, published by Image for less than $10 bucks!

The story of the war to end all wars now in one volume! The prequel to Image's hit series, ELEPHANTMEN finds Africa and China at war. The battlefield: Europe, recently devastated by a lethal virus. Enter: MAPPO's soldiers, The Elephantmen. Even in the face of blistering resistance, it seems that nothing can stop MAPPO's advance across France to the North. But as Hip Flask comes face to face with the last vestiges of humanity in the frozen Scandinavian wastes, he discovers that only the dead see the end of warfare.

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Ronin Hood of the 47 Samurai
words by Jeff Amano, pictures by Rousseau and Faycher, and yes you guessed it, less than $10 bucks, published by Image.

The Free Comic Book Day sensation of 2005 is now in one complete graphic novel!

Masterless after his Lord falls prey to treachery, samurai Oishi of the 47 Ronin leads his faithful few to vengeance. The time has come to defend their honor and raise their swords one final time.

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Suburban Glamour Volume One
story and art by Jaimie Mckalvie, published by Image for less than $10 bucks baby!

Life's tough when you're a teenager-homework, boy trouble and meddling parents. So when Astrid Johnson has to deal with imaginary friends turned real, monster attacks and faerie magic as well-that's just not fair, is it? Collecting the critically acclaimed mini-series from the co-creator of PHONOGRAM.

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All of these fine graphic novels can be found at all four Chicagoland Amazing Fantasy locations. If you don't see what you are looking for, don't be afraid to ask for help. And if for some reason we are out of the book you are looking for, we will gladly order it for you!

Check my blog on monday for more great reads for under $10.00, when the focus will be DC/Wildstorm/Vertigo.

I love graphic novels under $10.00! Marvel, are you out there, are you listening? We want $10 trades! We want $10 trades! Everyone join me! Let's start an email campaign right now!

It's Called an iPad!

Big news day today. Not only do we have big announcements from Marvel and DC, but Apple finally unveils their fancy-dancy iPad. Read about it here or just about anywhere else because every other news source has their own take on it:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100127/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_apple

Here is the price break-down:

16GB 32GB 64GB

WiFi $499 $599 $699

WiFi+3G $629 $729 $829

Seems a little nutty, but the price will come down over time I'm sure. Is this tech really the be all end all that everyone in the industry has been lusting over since the first hints of it surfaced a few years back? I have no idea. I'm sure it's a lot of fun to use and looks very pretty, but it's still pretty damn expensive and you have the option to buy into the dataplan with AT&T. Great, just what everyone needs, another monthly bill to add to the monthly cell phone and monthly Internet charges, no matter if you have crappy DSL or groovy cable there is still a bill. So now we are talking THREE ways for money to fly out of your wallet for services only. I hate paying a monthly service fee for an intangible something-or-other. Now, don't get me wrong, if Apple decided for, whatever reason, to give me a FREE iPad with FREE Internet services for a year, I'm sure I would take advantage, I would enjoy the shit out of the iPad, but for now, I will sit back, relax, count my pennies and wait for the barrage of online articles about the iPad and how awesome it is. The media coverage alone will be entertaining I'm sure. For god's sake there has been a countdown on many comic book related news sites. Will comic art look good on this fancy color touch-screen? Hell yes, I'm sure it will, BUT it is worth the price of admission? I'm sure there are many folks out there that can purchase an iPad and call it an "office expense" for business purposes, especially if their job requires a lot of traveling. I'm absolutely certain those kind of people will find all kinds of use for the iPad, but don't those same folks already have cool high-end laptops? I know the touch screen and the thinness of the pad are alluring, but is it enough to warrant another tech purchase, or is just something for techheads to get excited about?



Late breaking news:
Also check out this link at Newsarma, with more info:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/Apple-iPad-Announcement.html

Marvel Announces "Heroic Age"

http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.10914.marvel~colon~_the_heroic_age

Check out the above link for info from Marvel about The NEW HEROIC AGE!!!

So, in theory Marvel is "getting back to the basics," whatever that means. I guess, in theory, we will see the end of big sweeping cross-over, universe-breaking EVENTS, and that can't happen soon enough imo.

Quesada says that this is NOT due to the Mouse in the House. I will believe him, this time, because both companies have been talking about getting back to a classic heroic age this year.

Could prove to be interesting.

DC Announces MORE Promo Rings!

The following information was sent to retailers from DC Comics:

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DC COMICS OFFERS PROMOTIONAL RINGS WITH THE FLASH #1 AND GREEN LANTERN #53

With THE FLASH #1 and GREEN LANTERN #53 soliciting in the February Previews as BRIGHTEST DAY tie-in issues, DC Comics offers promotional FLASH and GREEN LANTERN RINGS to qualifying retailers.

"This is a thank-you to our retailers and readers for their enthusiasm and support throughout BLACKEST NIGHT and the previous ring promotions," says Bob Wayne, DC's VP - Sales.

With a minimum combined purchase of 10 copies of THE FLASH #1 retailers may order FLASH PROMOTIONAL RINGS, ring orders may not exceed the combined number of copies of THE FLASH #1 . THE FLASH #1 and the FLASH PROMOTIONAL RINGS are scheduled to arrive in stores on April 14.

With a minimum combined purchase of 10 copies of GREEN LANTERN #53 retailers may order GREEN LANTERN PROMOTIONAL RINGS, ring orders may not exceed the combined number of copies of GREEN LANTERN #53. GREEN LANTERN #53 and the GREEN LANTERN PROMOTIONAL RINGS are scheduled to arrive in stores on April 21.

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The rings are pictured above. What does this mean for consumers you might ask? Easy, if you want either one of the rings, you must purchase the comic associated with the ring. There will be NO extras, unlike last time around for DC Promo Rings.

Some are speculating that this is DC's answer to Marvel's Deadpool Variant Stunt. If that is the case I say Well Played DC! This is a nice MATURE way to respond, something that Marvel can't seem to grasp. Of course, I'm biased because I'm a DC fangirl at heart. DC has lowered the quantity for retailers to qualify for the promo rings, unlike the last ring promotion that had some retailers complaining that the minimums were TOO high. I wasn't one of those retailers because, well we sell enough DC books that it wasn't a big deal, but I can understand if you were a small store that couldn't hit those minimums, I would definitely be bitching big time.

Something that seems a little unknown at this point, are the rings NEW versions of these rings? I have a call into my rep at DC, and as soon as he gets back to me about that I will post the answer here. If the above pictures are to be believed, it looks like the Flash Promo Ring IS slightly different. (DC gave away Flash rings not last year, but the year before, at various cons). The Green Lantern ring looks EXACTLY like the ring they gave away with Blackest Night #5. I certainly hope the Green Lantern ring is different, because what would be the point if it's the same?

I'll keep everyone posted as I hear more...

Must Read of the Week! Joe the Barbarian #1

From the original DC Solicitation:

JOE THE BARBARIAN #!

Written by Grant Morrison

Art by Sean Murphy

Cover by Sean Murphy

Having an overactive imagination can get a kid through a lot, but it doesn't change the facts: Joe's still the kid in school that can't fit in. He's the victim of bullies. His dad died overseas in the Iraq war. And then there's the Type 1 diabetes he has to live with.So is it insulin-deprived delirium or something much, much bigger that transports Joe to a land inhabited by all his toys - from ninja commandos to action robots to magical knights to star fleet captains? Is Joe really the savior of this wild fantasyland that's been held under siege by dark magic and evil forces? With the help of a samurai rodent, is he ready to take back besieged castles and win the freedom of an oppressed people? Or is he just an over imaginative boy who could die if he doesn't take his meds?White-hot writer Grant Morrison follows up his phenomenal BATMAN AND ROBIN with an epic adventure that's Home Alone by way of Lord of the Rings accompanied with to-die-for art by future superstar Sean Murphy (YEAR ONE: BATMAN/SCARECROW, HELLBLAZER).On sale January 20 o 1 of 8 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US o MATURE READERS Written by Grant Morrison, Art by Sean Murphy, Cover by Sean Murphy. Having an overactive imagination can get a kid through a lot, but it doesn't change the facts: Joe's still the kid in school that can't fit in. He's the victim of bullies. His dad died overseas in the Iraq war. And then there's the Type 1 diabetes he has to live with.So is it insulin-deprived delirium or something much, much bigger that transports Joe to a land inhabited by all his toys - from ninja commandos to action robots to magical knights to star fleet captains? Is Joe really the savior of this wild fantasyland that's been held under siege by dark magic and evil forces? With the help of a samurai rodent, is he ready to take back besieged castles and win the freedom of an oppressed people? Or is he just an over imaginative boy who could die if he doesn't take his meds?White-hot writer Grant Morrison follows up his phenomenal BATMAN AND ROBIN with an epic adventure that's Home Alone by way of Lord of the Rings accompanied with to-die-for art by future superstar Sean Murphy (YEAR ONE: BATMAN/SCARECROW, HELLBLAZER).

On sale January 20

1 of 8

32 pg, FC,

$2.99 US MATURE READERS

I have to say I truly enjoyed this book! Even though the solicitation reads $2.99 it is only ONE MEASLY DOLLAR! Get it before they reprint it at the original $2.99 price, which is what I'm betting they WILL do if they have to go back to press, or maybe they will make the reprint $1.99 like DC did previously with Unwritten #1. The basic concept of Joe the Barbarian, does have some similarity to indie-darling Stuff of Legend, but really it's only in the very loose sense. Joe's toys do come to life, sort of, in the insulin-deprived dreamland he finds himself, but this time we get to see Batman and other toys brought to life, since Vertigo is owned by DC Comics, which is pretty cool. I can't wait to read the rest of this mini-series. I'm sad that it's only 8 issues long, but I read somewhere that there is definitely a possibility for more stories to be told with other protagonists in other locales. Conceivably every house could have an inhabitant that could end up in another world. Joe's bedroom in his house is every child's dream bedroom. He lives in the attic , with high shelves of toys and cool stuff, the classic Sears brand twin size bed that is above a desk (you have to use a ladder to get to the bed, wasn't that every child's dream, lol), and you have to use a rope ladder to get to his room in the attic. How cool is that?

Morrison does not disappoint this time around, (Let's be honest here, does he ever disappoint? Not this fangirl, and all of you Final Crisis nay-sayers leave me alone, I liked FC!) and this is one of the first stories he has written that leaves me with a rather warm fuzzy feeling. Joe the Barbarian is a magical series with potential to become one of the years best graphic novels. Sean Murphy has blown me away with his beautiful artwork. Joe is the perfect vehicle to catapult Murphy to fame and fortune. Morrison and Murphy, the perfect combination for fantasy fans of all ages. This Vertigo mini doesn't seem to warrant the "mature readers" tag YET, but maybe it gets more bloody and dramatic as the series progresses. I could see the MR tag being used NOT for language and sexual situations this time around, but because it deals with such weighty mature issues, such as mortality. This series is bound to end in tragedy, but be that as it may, I can't wait for the enchanted journey to commence, whatever the ending may bring.

So there you go, I highly recommend you pick up JOE THE BARBARIAN #! for $1.00!
If you missed the title that I've mentioned over and over again it's JOE THE BARBARIAN.

New Spidey Director Announced!

The news we've all been waiting for!

http://io9.com/5452328/spider+man-has-his-new-director

Well, I'm excited. I saw 500 Days of Summer recently and thought it was pretty entertaining, even though the ending was rather Hollywood, but the rest of the movie was quite pleasing. I've been a big fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and he did not disappoint in that film. BTW, if you haven't seen Brick, do yourself a favor and rent it. Gordon-Levitt did an amazing job. It would be pretty cool if Webb (rather a coincidence on the name, don't you think?) brings him along as Pete. THAT would be a Parker I would cheer for, that's for sure. Interesting idea and rumors abound....

As long as Obama doesn't make an appearance in this script, I'll be happy! (Did you know that the long-awaited Obama/McCain RPG book released this week? Yeah, not stocking that baby.)

Hitler Is a DC Fanboy!

Yesterday, Marvel made a big hubbub by sending out the following press release to the world:

In an effort to provide assistance to comic retailers in 2010, Marvel is offering retailers an opportunity to turn unsold comics into an extremely rare Siege #3 Deadpool Variant!

Retailers – for every 50 stripped covers of the following comics sent to Marvel, you will qualify to receive one FREE Siege #3 Deadpool Variant. The 50 stripped covers can be any combination of the comics listed below and all submissions need to be received at the Marvel office at the address below by Tuesday 2/16/2010. Also included with the stripped covers must be your store contact information including Diamond Account # and email address.

Stripped Covers To Be Sent:

Adventure Comics #4

Booster Gold #26

Doom Patrol #4

Justice League Of America #39

Outsiders #24.

R.E.B.E.L.S #10

Address To Send Submission:
James NausedasMarvel Entertainment, LLC417 Fifth Avenue, 10th FloorNew York, NY 10016

Information To Be Included With Submission:Store NameStore AddressContact PersonEmail AddressPhone NumberDiamond Account #List of stripped covers being returned and their quantities.

All the directions above must be adhered to in order to receive the free Siege #3 Deadpool Variants and the submissions must be received by Tuesday 2/16/2010 in order to qualify.

Please note that this is not a Diamond-affiliated promotion and Diamond should not be contacted. Retailers will be contacted via email once Marvel receives the submissions. Retailer with further questions should contact helpme@marvel.com.

When this information first hit yesterday, I went out of my way not to comment on it, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, in these days of all information ever being available online all the time accessible by everyone is not something I approve of, and I have commented on this again and again. I guess I'm the only one that thinks this type of PR is not for consumption by the general public. Why do my customers need to know this information? They don't, and there are many instances where this kind of information gets distributed globally. Why should I care? And if Marvel did send out an email to retailers only, I'm sure there are many retailers out there that would immediately post this info for the world to see, on their Facebook pages, as a Tweet, or Blog about it. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see this PR go out to all the news sites etc., and I'm not, but it is frustrating to have all information about my business out there for the world to see. To be quite frank I can't understand why all fanboys and girls feel the need to know all of this type of thing, they don't own/operate a shop, etc. So anyway, this is one of the main reasons I did NOT comment on this before, but now there is this great "Hitler on the Marvel Variant News" Youtube video that I DO now feel the need to share because it's way too funny for words.

Go. Watch this and enjoy. Warning, this video is not intended for any underage viewers due to the language content.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8KbNag962A

Looking at offical PR (above) it seems like a pretty shitty move on Marvel's part to slap DC so hard and in such a public fashion. It has been pointed out on numerous comic news sites and comic message boards that DC has been dominating the online comic news of late, but really is that any reason to do this? If they REALLY wanted to help the retailers out, like they say they do in the PR, they would offer us returns on any number of crap Marvel books. Like Brian Hibbs pointed out, why not make the Captain America Reborn stuff returnable? We are all pretty much choking on those, and the Dark Reign shit too, again like Hibbs pointed out. But instead of doing something much more productive and helpful to the retailers, they offer to take about $200 (retail) worth of comics for ONE Siege #3 Deadpool variant. Really? Wow, thanks Marvel, that's just awesome! I suppose there are people out there willing to spend A LOT on this variant, but I would have to sell that one book for AT LEAST $100.00 or a little more to make it worth my while. I was a little shocked to see this PR yesterday, I have to admit. This is a new low for Marvel. Will I send a bunch of the ring books in for one of these ULTRA rare variants? Maybe, I haven't decided for sure yet, but why didn't Marvel offer this sort of deal for returns of their own damn books, that's what I want to know. I suppose if they did, Marvel couldn't have stolen DC's crazy announcement after announcement online thunder, but really was this necessary?

Hitler is mad and so am I. I may not be yelling and screaming as loudly as Hitler in the video, but I can understand his frustration. I just don't want this whole episode to escalate into any kind of pissing match between the Big Two. Why can't we all just get along? Silly question, I know, we are talking about comics here, and we are a medium traditionally steeped in rivalries, but still....

More One Measly Dollar Books coming!

Image has announced the $1.00 reprint month, starting March 31st, running through April 28th. Every week during the promotion they will reprint 2 Image #1's for just a BUCK! Following on the heels of DC's "After Watchmen...What's Next" promotion, along with Marvels #1 reprint month, Image is getting in on the game. How long before Dark Horse follows suit? I have no problem with this idea, not in the least. Who wouldn't spend a buck to try a new book that they've heard of but never read before? Too bad I've already read all of Image's offerings, but that shouldn't stop the rest of you! Here is the list of what they will be reprinting for ONE MEASLY DOLLAR:

Youngblood #1
(*groan* seriously folks? Do they HONESTLY think that IF someone is willing to spend a buck on this that it will somehow translate into graphic novel sales or Youngblood issue sales? Dear god, no. In fact, if someone picks this up as their only $1.00 try an Image book experiment, I'm betting they will NOT be back for more. I can't fault Image and Liefeld for trying, I suppose it's POSSIBLE although highly unlikely that someone will buy this issue, read it, and return for more Youngblood.)

Walking Dead #1
(Just in case, there is SOMEONE out there that HASN'T tried Walking Dead yet, lol. Just looking at my numbers and reorders for the floppies and the graphic novels, I would find that to be very surprising, but this choice was a no brainer on Image's part).

Spawn #1
(Hm... I guess they had to include this one, since Spawn and Savage Dragon are the only still ongoing books from the original Image founders that are being published by Image proper. At least this books LOOKS nice, you remember back when McFarlane would actually draw his own book? Wow those days seem like eons ago...)

Chew #1
(Another no brainer on Image's part. This book has been the runaway sleeper hit of the past year. For one measly dollar, we should be able to turn a lot of new folks onto this unique book.)

Savage Dragon #1
(Ok, ok, I know this one like Spawn #1 HAD to be reprinted, but I wonder if this $1 issue will translate into any subsequent sales of Savage Dragon comics or graphic novels. Fans of the Dragon are die-hard indeed, but how many new possible Dragon fans are there? Interesting, very interesting, to witness the after effects of this particular reprint.)

Age of Bronze #1
(Great choice Image! I'm VERY excited to see this first issue reprinted for One Measly Dollar! This is a great book, that more people need to read. Damn fine historical fiction that I certainly hopes translates into graphic novel sales.)

Witchblade #1
(Again, this book is by one of the founding Image partners, so it rather has to be reprinted with this promotion, even though Silvestri and all of his properties splintered off into Top Cow years ago. This book, despite my lack of enthusiasm, has some staying power. They managed to spin this book off into a TV show, a video game, a manga, and I think a movie might be in the works if I remember correctly. Just goes to show you that not every book is for everyone.)

Girls #1
(Interesting choice here Image. This was a mini-series from the Luna brothers, that was a rather entertaining read, but it is not a current on-going series from Image. The Luna brothers have made their home at Image, so it was a natural choice for Image to reprint ONE of their books. Maybe this will translate into some graphic novel sales.)

Invincible #1
(Another no-brainer here. This is Kirkman's other flagship book at Image, that continues to sell well, not as well as Walking Dead, but respectably well for a non-Big-Two superhero book. I expect this reprint to spawn (no pun intended) an upswing in Invincible back issues and graphic novels.)

Proof #1
(Another great call Image! This book doesn't sell very well as a monthly, but the graphic novels do rather well, and this affordable reprint may be just the ticket to rocket this fun comic into the big league. Recommended reading for any Hellboy fan imo.)

So ten FUN new reprints for ONE MEASLY DOLLAR, coming your way in April! Try a couple of these, and odds are good you will find something new that is worth getting excited about.

The Spectre Animated!

This is pretty cool, The Spectre will be animated in the new Justice League, Crisis on Two Earths, direct-to-dvd animated special, as a special animated short included with the full length movie. Check out the details, and a preview on the link from Newsarama here:

http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=32838

I'm pretty excited about this! I love The Spectre, from the Golden Age, down through the present, but I have to say Detective Corrigan has always been my favorites of the Spectres, and the only one that counts imo. They have also announced that they will be doing more of these little animated "shorts" in the future, the next one being, surprise surprise, Jonah Hex. I can't wait to see which other characters they choose to highlight this way in the future. Obviously they want to devote some time to these secondary characters, but DC knows that the odds of a Spectre full-length animated special would most likely sell significantly less than say... the Justice League or Wonder Woman. Who could be next? I would love to see them produce some animated specials based on Vertigo properties, wouldn't that be brilliant? I have serious doubts that we will EVER see the Sandman or Death movies, since they have been in Hollywood limbo for years with options all over the place, but nothing officially green lit. Or better yet, how about a direct-to-dvd Constantine movie? I would be all over that, and they wouldn't be limited by the budget because all of the effects would be animated, John could travel to hell and back again for a lot less than a full-length feature film. Damn, am I the only one that would kill to see a trippy animated Invisibles or animated Doom Patrol? Oh the possibilities are endless....

Spider-Man 4 to be Spider-Man 1!

Yes, I'm a day late reporting the Spider-Man movie reboot announcement, but I still have to run a busy comic book shop by day, so sometimes it's hard to find the time to blog. MTV has an amusing "Five Things We'll Miss about the Raimi Spidey Movies" here:

http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/01/12/five-things-well-miss-about-sam-raimi-tobey-maguires-spider-man-franchise/

So, good or bad? I think it's about time if you ask me. I was getting a little tired of Tobey Maguire as Peter, and don't even get me started about Kirsten Dunst as a drab not very model-like MJ. Tobey is getting a little old to pull it off anyway. Spidey 3 sealed the deal for me, time to move on, although I will miss ol' Bruce and his chin, making the Raimi-required cameo. I think the second Spider-Man film was my favorite of the trilogy, and the same can be said for the original 3 X-Men movies, number two was again my favorite, following in the tradition of Empire Strikes Back. There is something magical about Part 2 of a trilogy because all of the origin stuff can be skipped and we can get into the meat of the characters without all the necessary wrap-ups at the end of trilogy. Incidentally I think Two Towers is my favorite of the LOTR films because that battle is SO incredible.

It will be interesting to see who they cast as the new younger, high-school aged Peter Parker, Ultimate Spider-Man anyone? Some folks are crying for Bendis to take over the Spidey movie script chores, and maybe he could pull it off, but it does make me a little nervous. Keep in mind, Bendis is the man that managed to drag out Spidey's origin over SEVEN issues in Ultimate Spidey, whereas back in the day, Steve Ditko and Stan Lee did the same damn thing in ELEVEN PAGES. So if Bendis does get involved in the Spidey movies, we can expect to see the series dragged out to at least 6 movies instead of the usual magical trilogy.

Right now it's just a lot of speculation out there, no real news to report expect the actual announcement that the franchise is being rebooted. So there you go, your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will be your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Kid soon. Can't wait. Really. No really, you are mistaken if you note any sarcasm in this post whatsoever.

And So Brightest Day Rises!

DC has announced Brightest Day, the new storyline that will follow Blackest Night. Read the full story here at Newsarma:
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/Brightest-Day-Announcement-100111.html




Ok, show of hands, who DIDN'T see this coming? I'm a little shocked that the main series is going to be 26 bi-weekly issues, but I'm not surprised that DC is following the mega-successful Blackest Night with the flip side, Brightest Day.

More details as they become available.

2010 is here!

Lots has been happening since the new year began, and I'm a little behind in my posts. First up, David Finch has been announced as going exclusive with DC. Interesting little bit of news there, since he has been almost only producing Marvel-related books for the last few years. The above sketch is from his sketchbook, not for any particular Bat-book, so don't freak out just yet. This is very good move on DC's part if you ask me, fans really like Finch, so if he does a bunch of covers and/or interiors for any of the Bat-books, or any title for that matter, should help boost the sales for that book/books. Would it help if Finch suddenly starting drawing a less popular book such as R.E.B.E.L.S. ? Hm... maybe a little bit, for a little while, but it wouldn't help long term, I don't think so anyway.

Apple's ITablet/ISlate is coming as well as Microsoft's version, both will most likely be available later this year. Everyone is talking how these devices could spell doom for brick and mortar comic shops, and they may well kill us at some point, I think it will take a LONG time for that to happen. I don't imagine that either one of these items will be very affordable, at least not for a little while, and what with the economy being what it is these days, with many folks still out of work, these devices will sell, there is no doubt about it, but will everyone I know have one by the end of the year? Obviously not. Just another platform for viewing pretty pictures, just like laptops, cellphones/pda's, and other such devices. All very cool and exciting, but I wish people would just relax about these things already. Amazing Fantasy isn't going anywhere, we will continue to be here selling comics and graphic novels, for many years to come. Let's see how many people completely switch their comic buying habits to digital once these devices become affordable. I'm keenly interested to see how this will all play out, because this could also obviously affect the book market in a big way, much like Amazon's Kindle and B&N's version, whose name is escaping me at the moment. Hell, I didn't know B&N had their own version until yesterday, but it makes sense if I had just stopped to think about it for a moment. I don't really frequent B&N's website, for obvious reasons. (I have enough reading material temptations in stock at the shop, I don't need to look elsewhere for more). Any of you that read this blog, are you going to run out to buy one of these new fancy electronic tablet devices AS SOON AS they become available for consumption?

Oh before I forget, I need to thank everyone who came out to our New Year's Eve Eve parties! We all had loads of fun and by all accounts most attendees also had a good time. What a successful non-new-comic-book day Wednesday! The karaoke machine at the Frankfort store was too much fun, lol, I'm not sure I will ever truly recover after hearing some of our customers singing their favorite songs, but since everyone seemed to enjoy it, I'm sure we will do that again at some point. We are now back to our normal routine, all kinds of shiny new comics and graphic novels came in yesterday, so if you haven't been to your local A/F, be sure to swing by, to see what kind of cool stuff is waiting for you.

2010 looks to be the year of, you guessed it, MORE comic-based movies, who would have thought? Scott Pilgrim, Losers, Kick Ass, Jonah Hex, and Iron Man 2 just to name a few. I'm especially looking forward to Scott Pilgrim and Kick Ass. I'm sure you've all seen the Scott Pilgrim stills that are out there, and the various Kick Ass trailers that are online at this point, so I won't bother linking to those here. I head that Scott Pilgrim was coming to theatres March 19th, but there aren't any trailers yet, which makes me think that that is no longer the case. If anyone has further info, please feel free to share.

And I can't really talk about the beginning of 2010, without at least mentioning James Cameron's mega-hit 3D film, Avatar. I can only assume that most folks have seen it by this time, but if you haven't, I must say, stay away, unless you see it in 3D. There isn't much point, wasting your money and time, without seeing the amazing 3D effects. The story and dialogue is some of the worst that I've witnessed in a long time. I understand that he wanted to appeal to the lowest common denominator, but wow. The plot seems like a mosh-up between Disney's piece of garage Pocahontas and Dances With Wolves, which isn't much of a compliment. Did the film LOOK amazing? Hell yes, very pretty and colorful. It ran a bit long for my taste, I started to get antsy about 30 minutes before the end of the film. Nothing against long-running movies, as long as the run time is warranted, I'm cool with it. Avatar, not so much. I realize that I am in the minority here, but since everyone is talking about it, I figured I would chime in with my two cents for no particular reason.

2010 is shaping up to be a very interesting year in comics. Can't wait to see what the next big announcement will be, can you? I have my fingers crossed for that Marvel/Disney variant cover month, or better yet, that new Bendis-penned X-Disney book.