NEW COMICS WEDNESDAY

Well Christmas has come and gone, I hope everyone got what they wanted. Things went well here and the Boxing Day sale was a lot better attended than I expected.

I just want to mention once again that NEW comics will arrive on Wednesday DEC. 31st as usual. Due to it being New Years Eve, I will be opening an hour early (10:00 a.m.)but closing at 6:00. And I'll be CLOSED on Thursday for New Years Day.

Here's a look at some of the books you'll see on the shelves.

Justice League is the second part of the story introducing the Milestone characters to the DC Universe. Green Lantern continues the story from the Rage of the Red Lanterns as they speed toward the Blackest Night. Justice Society wraps up the Kingdom story with some interior painted pages from Alex Ross.

Captain America #45 is actually a new issue despite the fact the cover looks so familiar.

I guess some genius thought it was clever to do this 3-parter with nearly identical covers to tie them together as an arc. NOT realizing how many people actually "judge a book by its cover". Despite the solid sales of this title since the death of cap story, my sales slipped on the second part. I'm assuming due to the fact that a few people mistakingly thought they'd already bought this one.

Final Crisis Secret Files will try to help people catch up to date on just what's been going on so far. It should be a typical Secret Files format with a couple short stories and the rest encyclopedia style pages featuring characters vital to the story.

Check the website or on-line store for a full list of what will be on the shelves at 10:00 Wednesday morning. And please resist posting comments and spoilers on the web as many fans across Canada and the States will not be getting their books until Friday.

9 Shopping Days Till Christmas

That's right, hard to believe but there are only 9 more shopping days until Christmas. After being closed today (Monday) as usual, I'll be open every day from Tuesday 16th right through to Wednesday the 24th. Aside from opening next Monday, I'll be adding an extra hour to open and closing times SOME days until the 25th, to give you all some extra time to stop in.
SUNDAY DEC. 21ST - 11:00-6:00
MONDAY DEC. 22ND - 12:00-6:00
TUESDAY DEC. 23RD - 10:00- 7:00
WEDNESDAY DEC. 24TH. - 10:00 - 5:00
CLOSED CHRISTMAS DAY
I'll also be closing early on Wednesday DEC. 31st for New Years Eve and I'll be
CLOSED on NEW YEARS DAY
The most important thing to remember(besides the whole goodwill to all men thing), is that
new comics will still arrive on WEDNESDAYS both holiday weeks.
Of course with the closing early both Wednesdays and being closed on the Thursdays for the holidays, its going to be kinda difficult for some of you to get your regular fix until at least Friday (if not later on the weekend). If there is any worry of you missing some of your regular titles, feel free to send me an e-mail, call, or use the links in the sidebar, to get to the on-line store, and send me a list of what you'd like me to put aside for you.
For the first time in a few years now, I will be open on Boxing Day.
The store opens at 10:00 and closes at 6:00 FRIDAY DEC. 26th, for a very simple sale. Everything in the store ( excluding "new" comics) will be 25% off.
No gimmicks ,and the only limit is NO comics or books from that weeks delivery.
The sale is one day only on FRIDAY DECEMBER 26th.

SPOILER WARNING - I'd like to add for everyone who does get a chance pick up their comics on the Wednesdays, not to go spoiling things for those who don't. Many customers ( including all those in the U.S.) won't get a chance to see "new" comics until Friday, so please be considerate, especially considering the time of year.
Thanks , and Happy Holidays to everyone.

SALE NEWS & HOLIDAY HOURS

Well its time to catch up on a few items all at once.
First of all, the backstock sale continues, lots of great stuff moving out at 50-75% off.
ALSO,
The RED TAG EVENT begins Saturday November the 15th, and I'm hauling a ton of stuff up from the basement and re-pricing some of the merchandise already on the main floor. Lots of toys are down to the $3.00 - $5.00 range, and you can get them for FREE with a purchase of $30-$50.00. In fact for every $10.00 you spend on anything in the store(including the backstock sale), you get a dollar towards RED TAG sale items. Some stuff like older Heroclix boosters will be FREE for a purchase as low as $20.00. If you don't see anything you like now, or would like to get something a little bigger, just hold on to your receipt and add your purchases up until you can get what you want. I'll be adding RED TAG stuff to the front and back sale tables right through till December 13th. Wait till you see some of the great DC Direct figures coming in next Wednesday, all under $10.00.
I also need to mention Holiday Hours. Basically the Holidays will not effect shipping this year, so yes that means new comics will arrive on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve.
I plan on closing at 5:00 on December 24th, Closed CHRISTMAS DAY and re-open on the 26th for the start of Boxing weekend sales. I'm not sure what the sale that weekend will be just yet but I'll try to make it a good one.
I'll be closing at 6:00 on December 31st, Closed NEW YEARS DAY, and re-open on Friday the 2nd to start off 2009.

U.S. EXCHANGE

Well the Canadian dollar recovered a fair amount this week, so comics arriving on Wednesday November 12th will only have a 10% exchange added.
Lets hope we'll see it hit at least 90 cents for a couple weeks in a row so I can go back to just using the U.S. cover prices.

Backstock Sale

Hard to believe Halloween is here and gone already. Hopefully you all came out of it without a stomach ache or adding a few cavities.

With the end of 2008 already in sight its time for me to appeal to all you bargain hunters to help me clean out the basement here and grab some deals for yourself.

Starting Saturday November 15th, and ending November 30th, all backstock more than 4 months old will be on sale for 50% off.

Thats all backstock in the center bins of the store, and does not include any books from the back bin or wall books.

To encourage your spending, purchase over $100.00 worth and the discount jumps to 60%..

$200.00 and up gets you a massive 75% discount off our already great backstock prices. (Taxes are charged before discount).

To add to this already fantastic deal, I'll be holding my annual customer appreciation event during this period.

SATURDAY and SUNDAY November 22nd and 23rd, for every $10.00 you spend on anything in the store(including backstock books) you earn a buck off any RED TAG items.

I'll be filling the bargain tables at the front and back of the store with all kinds of crazy sale priced books and goodies, which will be even cheaper when you add in the bonus bucks you earn from anything else you buy those days.

Just think of the potential savings.

Pick out $200.00 in backstock, and you pay only$50.00.

That $50.00 now earns you $5.00 off any RED TAG sale item in the store. That's a potential 85% off backstock.

You can see I'm serious here about moving this product, mainly because I have plans for some remodeling as the year ends that will give me more room for paperbacks and games.

So come on in and pick up some great bargains, save yourself a ton of cash and help me get the store ready for the reno so I can fill the store to capacity with even more of the stuff we all love.

U.S. EXCHANGE

I'm sure it comes as no news to anyone that the Canadian dollar has taken a huge hit the last few weeks. I hate to do it, but beginning with this weeks comics I'll be adding aprox. a 20% exchange to all "new" comics and paperbacks. That's all books on the far back rack where the new releases are set up every Wednesday. Regular issue comics priced at $2.99 U.S. will be $3.50 and $3.99 will come to $4.75.
Paperbacks and hardcovers will have their new prices stickered on.

HALLOWEEN

Its that time of year to think of what to feed the ghosts and goblins who come to your door, and as I say every year, "Rot their brains, not their teeth"
Come in to the store and pick up a batch of comics for the kids. There's a lot of different books to choose from to suit every age group and each bundle contains
10 comics for only $1.00.
Thats only 10 cents a piece, cheaper than chocolate or chips, and better for them.
These packs sell out quick each year so get in early and stock up.

Better Late Than Never

Yes, I know it seems like the posts on here are getting fewer and farther between. And yes, I could use the excuse that the FanExpo takes a lot out of me each year and my subsequent illness(just a bad cold, but I seem to take longer to recover each year), slowed me down quite a bit. The truth is I'm more of a face-to-face kind of guy, and sitting down "talking" to the computer keypad still feels a little awkward to me sometimes.
Anyway heres a round-up of what should have been several posts over the last 3 weeks.

The Fan Expo went great, saw a lot of new faces and a lot of friendly familair people too. I didn't get much of a chance to walk around it was so busy. I did make one pass through artist alley in hopes to see one of my favourite authors,Peter David, but all that I saw at the table behind his nametag was an empty bag of Doritos. I'm actually kind of surprised some fanboy didn't scoop it up to sell on E-Bay.
Despite better than expected business at the show, there was still a lot of stuff brought back to the store. The long table at the back of the store has about 8 boxes of buck books(70 cents each when you buy 10 or more). Currently they contain titles beginning with A thru G or so. The plan is to rotate thru these every few weeks so that you'll get to see "fresh" stock fairly often. I have some staff here (mostly Kellie and Soairse) working on another large collection I bought over a year ago, and hopefully they'll get mixed into the batch shortly. Many of these are good runs of late 70's early 80's stuff you don't normally see for a buck.
The table at the front of the bins is still covered in some great bargain paperbacks ( with even more added to the two comic bins directly behind the table). Some are overstock sale
items purchased especially to give you guys a deal, others are slow sellers recently culled from the paperbacks shelves, to make way for more of the new books that are arriving every week.
I swear, some weeks there seem to be more new paperback and hardcover collections released than regular pamphlet sized comics.
Speaking of swearing, Yes, I did receive copies of the most blogged about comic of the year(so far), All-Star Batman and Robin #10. The request of Diamond and DC was that retailers were to destroy the copies originally printed with the curse words somewhat visible. Its pretty obvious from the traffic on E-Bay that many stores did not do so, and admittedly, neither did I. I have however been waiting on them to see how other stores would handle the mess.

My solution is that when the newly printed copies arrive on Sept.24th, customers with a standing order for the title will recieve both copies (the "error" version and corrected version) in their pull( paying only for the one). Any remaining copies will be held back for a month until the fervor dies down, at which point I'll do some kind of draw for them. If anyone still thinks they need to see what the big deal was about ( or thinks this thing has any kind of collectible value) , check this site for info on when the draw will take place. Most likely it'll be part of the 21st annual customer appreciation event in mid-November.

Thats about it for now, except to mention that Comics & More is on Facebook too. It gets updated about as infrequently as this page does. Join the group and add your thoughts on the store, or share stories of past events and conventions you've attended. I'm planning on some kind of informal contest thing where each month a random "friend" of Comics & More will get some kind of prize. This could be a good way for me to move some of these variant comics that have started clogging up the back wall.

NEW COMICS WEDNESDAY

Yes, its another Wednesday when we will be getting our new comics a day earlier than the Americans.
Here's some of what we'll be reading, while they wait till Thursday.

Buffy and Fray battle an old enemy in the future, while Dawn horses around.
Also, the 5th volume of the Buffy Omnibus arrives .This one begins immediately after Season Three, after Sunnydale High has gone up in flames. Buffy is plagued by dreams of fellow Slayer Faith, who now lies in a comma. Jane Espenson, the celebrated writer from the Buffy TV show, writes the powerful Faith story Haunted. And as summer comes to an end, Buffy and Willow begin their first year of college in The Blood of Carthage, in a story written by acclaimed Buffy novelist Christopher Golden. Meanwhile Buffy embarks on a new romance with Riley Finn, and Willow and Oz's relationship comes to an end in Golden's Oz: Into the Wild. This volume also features work by Buffy Season Eight contributors Cliff Richards and Paul Lee and Brian Horton. * Collects Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Blood of Carthage, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Autumnal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Oz "Into the Wild," DHP 2000: Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Take Back the Night," DHP #150: Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Killing Time" ,352 pages,

Fable #75 finally arrives, a few weeks late, but worth the wait. This is the big wrap-up to the war of Fablelands storyline, and had many people worried it was the end of the series as well.
Its a double -sized issue that promises that nothing will ever be the same after this, and someone dies. Well when dealing with comics, death is never permanent, and even less so when talking about Fables.

Marvel starts its goofiest project yet, as Marvel Apes #1 ships. I'm not even sure how they came up with this one, monkeys have always been more of a D.C. thing. There must be at least a dozen regular simian characters running around the D.C. universe. Marvel has to take us to an alternate "monkey" universe to make this work. Still it looks like it could be fun, and is at least a stand-alone mini-series, despite the impression all the monkey variant covers shipping lately, might give you.

CONVENTION TIME

Wow I can't believe its time for the big summer show already. Fan Expo 2008 runs from Friday August 22nd-Sunday 24th.
In order to be ready for the show Friday,the store will be closing early on Thursday(around 5:30-6:00) and possibly an hour or two early on the Friday.
I'll be at the booth all weekend with my assorted helpers, while Kellie keeps things running here at the store.
Look for me at booth #328, check the floorplan to see where that is.
http://www.hobbystar.com/fanexpo2008/schedule/2008_floorplan.pdf
or just watch for the big red COMICS & MORE banner.
I'll have my usual sale items and specials, roughly 40 long boxes of great buck books and a pile of bargain paperbacks at $10.00 each. I'll also be clearing out some slow moving Manga for $5.00 a piece.

ESSENTIAL SALE

I've got about a ton of Marvel Essentials coming in next week, and I've decided to do a spur of the moment sale. About 2 dozen different Marvel Essential paperbacks will be on sale at $10.00 each, (reg. price $16.95) and as an added bonus, if you buy 2 or more, you can buy a copy of Essential Godzilla for only 21 cents.

Thats over 400 pages of pure monster mayhem for less than a quarter.

For a complete list of titles included in the sale, click here.

http://www.comicsnmore.ca/ShippingLists/sl_073008.php#essentials

New Comics Wednesday

As I said last week, new comics will arrive Wednesday as usual, with the Americans getting theirs a day later.
There's a lot of great fodder for potential spoilers here too.

Secret Invasion #4 is arriving, and I have to say again how much fun this book is. It's nice to read a comic that just delivers on its hype. All I was really expecting was page after page of heroes pounding on each other, and that's exactly what we get. This issues cover features some of the Young Avengers, despite last issue leaving us with Nick Fury's new team of mostly unknowns. The cover could just be to meant to give us some identifiable faces to focus on.

DC gives us Final Crisis Requiem. This is a one-shot look at the passing of the Martian Manhunter, who was dispatched all too quickly in the first issue of Final Crisis. The cover doesn't give us much to go with, but it's probably just DC's lame attempt to hide the actual cover image.

I need to say here how much I hate both company's (DC & Marvel) policy of either giving us no cover image or some form of
disguised cover to keep from revealing too much of the comics content. I kind of understand the idea of not spoiling some big last page surprise, but they don't seem to understand that it's easier for me to sell something if I can post an image that actually identifies what the final product will look like on the shelves. Besides is it any worse to have a cover spoil your surprise a month ahead of time, than as you walk up to the shelf and see it before you can buy it?

Anyway its hard enough to believe any comics character will stay dead for any length of time, but when dealing with a shape shifter, lets just say, even seeing the body is no proof.

WOW, it seems like Booster Gold just started a year ago, and yet here it is at issue #1,000,000 already. This is one of the neat things possible with a time travelling hero, tying him in to all kinds of classic (or cheesy) events from the past. In case anyone out there is confused, this is connected to the DC 1 million event from a few years back. The basic premise being something like "what would the DC line look like if all the titles reached 1,000,000 issues". Either the copy editor messed up, or Geoff Johns isn't as up on his DC history as He thinks, because the blurb reads "Meet the greatest time-traveling hero of the year 1,000,000 A.D. – PETER PLATINUM! Lost in time, Booster Gold is confronted by a hero a million times more self-involved than himself.
The problem is that Booster Gold shouldn't take a million years to reach issue 1,000,000 unless they cut the publishing schedule back to 1 per year. Unless of course the book is continually cancelled and restarted over the next 10,000 centuries. Then again, maybe they know something I don't.

Detective #846 arrives this week, and its the first part of a storyline leading up to issue #850, and featuring the return of Hush. This should be interesting as Dini has so far been writing Detective as a series of self contained issues. Its also the first Batman R.I.P. tie-in not written by Morrison. It should be fun to see just how this book connects with all the crazy weirdness thats been going on in the main Batman title the last few months.(Especially last issue). Love that cover. Seems like Batman and Catwoman might be getting a little closer during this story. Remember, if Batman R.I.P. ends with Bats retiring to marry Selina , you heard it from me first.

Not much for spoiler material here, I just like to mention how much I've been loving the Marvel Adventures line lately. Especially The Avengers. Wait a second !, this is Marvel Adventures Hulk #13. Well thats fine because the Hulk has been even more fun than the Avengers on occasion, depending on the writer.

WAIT A SECOND!! This says Peter David is writing this issue. Well damn I'm going to wish I'd ordered a lot more of these. I mean just look at that cover. To hell with Marvel Zombies, this is the age of Marvel Mummies.

Last but not least, I need to mention that Bone vol.8 will arrive this Wednesday as well. I know thats not a big deal for those of us who read this stuff years ago when it was first published in B&W. But if any of you have kids in grade school, trust me that they will totally freak out if you bring this home. Especially since most of their friends aren't expecting to see it until school starts again in September.

NEW COMICS WEDNESDAY

Just to let everyone know, new comics will arrive as usual on Wednesday for the next two weeks, despite the July 1st and 4th holidays. Again, some Americans are getting cranky that we lowly northerners will be reading and enjoying are funnybooks while they sit and wait for theirs.

I say "tough luck", we suffered through delays several times last year and even for stupid non-holidays like Presidents Day.

Comics & More will be closed as normal on Monday and on Tuesday for Canada Day(Yea, 2 days off).

Here's some of the stuff we'll be enjoying while the Americans sit and fume.

I have to say I haven't been overly excited with the new crop of all ages titles DC has been introducing lately, especially considering what they cancelled to make room. I was enjoying Teen Titans Go! and Justice League Unlimited was one of my favourite reads each month. In their place we got kiddie toy tie -ins the Superfriends, and the too cute to read,Tiny Titans.

I'm all for expanding the available reading material for the younger crowd, but the titles that were cancelled were true ALL-AGES books that were fun for kids and still had some appeal for the older crowd as well.

Here's hoping that the newest entry,Billy and the Power of Shazam fits the bill. The description for this first issue seems to connect it to the recent Jeff Smith Shazam series, which if it does will mean it will be the only Jonny DC series to feature internal continuity. Definitely a step in the right direction.

The art as well looks simple enough for kids to enjoy but not so childish as to scare off adult readers.

There's two Batman items this week, the first is the 3rd instalment of Batman R.I.P. which seems to be moving along well. Grant Morrison is definitely getting a better reception on this than his Final Crisis stuff.

This here is the Alex Ross cover. Looks like Bruce is really falling for his new girlfriend Jet.

But more importantly is another volume of classic cheese from the 60's. Perfectly timed I guess to fit in with the current Batman storyline. Now that's a cover guaranteed to make you want to grab the book of the stands and start reading.

Aside from Batman and Robins inevitable death you get about 500+ pages of true B&W genius all for less than the price of 6 new comics. I'm pretty sure most of Grant Morrison's best stuff is stories he's homaged(stolen) from the Showcase reprint line.

Astonishing X-Men lives on after Joss with new regular writer Warren Ellis. I guess Whedon was a tough act to follow, but Ellis has a pretty solid following (judging by sales on his Avatar stuff)

The big problem is that it looks like the Astonishing title will be tying into current X-Men continuity. I still think one of the biggest selling points of this series first 24 issues is that a reader could pick this book up and get his mutant fix without having to follow 6-8 other titles every month.

On the plus side, it might help if the new team can get the book out more than 6 times a year.

Speaking of late books, Squadron Supreme fell so far behind they just decided to cancel it and start over.

This volume 2 series appears to completely ignore the dangling plot and starts up the story from where Ultimate Power left off.

See it even has a Greg Land cover just so you know. Apparently Ultimate Nick Fury was left behind in the Supreme Universe, I can only assume he's been working on a Secret War or something.

Avengers/Invaders has been a great read so far. Check out the battle of Namor VS. Namor in issue #3. The best part is this stuff totally fits in with current Avengers post Civil War. Tony Stark has been getting all weepy- eyed at the thought of Cap being back. I doubt if this story will have any lasting impact in the end. As usual with time travel stories, everything will be reset to normal in the end, but it's a fun ride getting there.

One last book to mention is Jonah Hex. This title is consistently great with some fine artists gracing the covers over stories that are for the most part done-in-one.

This time around Jonah travels to the frozen north of Canada and must evade the mounties on his trail. I think it's safe to assume there'll be beavers and lumberjacks somewhere in there as well. Canadian Darwyn Cooke draws this one which is even more appropriate considering the holiday.

Enjoy your holiday and your comics, and please keep any spoilers to yourself. Those fiesty Americans have invaded other countries for less reason.

Anniversary Sale Wrap-up

I'd just like to thank everyone who came out for the 21st Anniversary Sale, and helped make it the biggest event I've ever held at the store. Despite the less than perfect weather, dozens of people snapped up over 1200 comics at only 21 cents a piece. Not to mention the hundreds of paperbacks and hardcovers that passed across the cash desk during the 8 hours of sale time. A lot of the folks who stopped in seemed totally stunned that they were indeed getting books, statues or toys, for only 21 cents. Most thanked me for the deal and offered their congratulations on the occasion.
I couldn't have done it,(this sale,or any of the events over the last 21 years) without the help of some great customers and friends like Kellie and Shawn,Danny,Glenn,Rob(Habib),Sean, Lee, and Chris. Some were there at the beginning and others came along more recently, but without them, the store would not have made it this long.
I hope you'll all be along for the next 21 years.

ANNIVERSARY SALE-the fine print

The Anniversary sale will have a few restrictions that should have been mentioned in the previous post. Card packs will be limited to 3 per person (thats 3 at full price + 3 for 21 cents each).
New comics and paperbacks from that weeks delivery will NOT be included in the sale. NO items held on reserve or placed on hold will be included in the sale.
A few wall books which are consignment items will be removed from the wall before sale day.
Thanks for your support and comments, and I hope to see a lot of you walking out with stacks of deals on SATURDAY JUNE 21st.

ANNIVERSARY SALE

I dropped a hint a few weeks back about an upcoming sale, and more than a few people have been asking me lately just what I had in mind. First of all I was a little worried about setting plans in motion after getting the notice from the city about upcoming sidewalk repairs. Turns out that the area in front of my store won't be affected, so plans are back on.


SATURDAY JUNE 21st will mark the 21 st anniversary of my opening the store. Basically to celebrate this I will be having the biggest sale of the stores history. Everything in the store will be available in this massive deal.


BUY ANY ITEM IN THE STORE, GET A 2ND ITEM OF LESSER PRICE FOR 21 CENTS.



That's right,
buy a pack of cards for $4.00, get another for 21cents.

Marvel cards, Pokemon, Chaotic, Yu-GI-OH, Magic, hockey,
ALL cards





Buy an action figure for $15.00, get another for 21 cents.

Marvel Legends, DC Direct, Manga
Hulk, Batman, Inu-Yasha,
ALL figures.








Buy a hardcover book for $50.00, get another for 21cents.

Archives, Essentials, Showcases, Manga, Digests
Walking Dead, Superman, X-Men, Naruto,
ALL books




BUY ANYTHING IN THE STORE AND GET A 2ND ONE FOR 21 CENTS.


The more you spend, the more you save.

If the weather is nice I'll also be putting some tables outside full of 21 cent comics, 21cent posters and lots of bargain toys and paperbacks.

Sunday the fun will continue with Heroclix demos featuring the new Batman easy start boosters, everyone who plays can get FREE figures or win a prize.

SATURDAY JUNE 21st 10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.

NEW COMICS WEDNESDAY

Yes, the new comics will be in store and on the shelves when I open at 11:00 this Wednesday, as usual.

Yes, this means most Canadians will be reading their comics a full day before American fans. This on a week full of high profile releases. As such, I implore everyone to exercise discretion when posting reviews and comments. Its not like the Americans have ever spoiled a story for us when they got them early.

For instance, Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men. The wrap issue to Joss Whedon and Cassaday's fantastic(yet terminally delayed) run on the only X title not to be mixed in with all the X-over confusion and event specials of the last 3 years. I'm sure the last page of this book will be blogged unto death by Thursday morning.

I just hope that a decent percentage of the readers stick around for the Warren Ellis run beginning in a couple months. Marvel really should have gotten ahead on this one and had issue #25 ready to ship a week or two after the special to minimize drop-off.

How about the first issue of Final Crisis. I know most fans are joking that they hope this really is the last Crisis, but all hype aside, this is one of the highest pre-order comics I've ever had at the store. Even starting the series with Hal on the cover has bumped sales a little because for some strange reason, Marvel fans like Green Lantern. I'd never been sure why, but to be honest I was never a big reader of his as a kid, and it wasn't until the recent releases of Archive, and now Showcase, editions that I've learned what a whiner Hal was back in the day. Many of his early stories are so riddled with angst filled thought ballons that you could almost imagine they were crafted by Stan Lee.

This series has Grant Morrison at the helm however, so you can expect almost anything to happen (and it probably will). Lets just hope it all makes sense in the end, not like Seven Soldiers.

Marvel 1985 gives us the premise of the Marvel heroes and villains exploding thru to the "real" Universe. The title could be significant as that was the year in which the tail end of Marvels memorable series Secret Wars debuted. I can only assume that with the type of cosmic powers that ran rampant through that epic series that dimension hopping would not be unthinkable.

The story deals primarily with the young boy featured on the cover being "Earth Prime's" last defense against super-powers suddenly appearing in a world totally unprepared for them.

The biggest news about this series however is the recent rumours that it somehow will connect with Mark Millar's current run on Fantastic-Four and his upcoming "Old Man Logan" arc of Wolverine.

The other major release this week is the first volume of the Starman Omnibus. Being a collection of material more than a decade old,there is no worries of spoilers with this item. But its still a fantastic product that is more than worth its price. Starman was one of those rare series that fit firmly in the DC universe but always felt more like a Vertigo title. Writer, James Robinson seemlessly fit disparate elements from decades of DC history into a seemless whole that was an enjoyable read from start to finish. I especially loved his development of a previous second string villain like the Shade, into a fully realized being with more personality than most title characters.

Robinson will be starting his run on Superman soon, and I'd like to stress that anyone who turns down this series because they've never liked Superman before, may be missing out on a real gem.

What did he say?

Sometimes I wonder if the writers pay any attention to what they have their characters saying.

I mean thats Kyle saying that. This is the guy who found his girlfriend packed into his fridge. He's just flown through a mess of body parts. And he makes a comment about packing it in the freezer. Yeesh!

FREE COMIC DAY Wrap-up

Well another Free Comic Day has come and gone, and I must say even with the less than perfect weather it was fairly steady traffic all day. Of course I completely forgot I had the camera ready behind the counter to grab shots as the day progressed. It wasn't until things quited down for a bit around 1:00 that I got snapping.

The majority of customers were parents with young ones who seemed thrilled at the prospect of getting something fun and readable into their kids hands. As usual I limited people to 3 comics each, mainly out of an effort to make sure the kids were really looking over the selections and thought about what they were taking.

No surprise that the most popular choices were Jughead and Sonic, but we also went through quite a few Owly,(a lot more pre-schoolers in the crowd this year). X-Men and Superman were nearly all gone by end of the day as well.

I spent the next few days trying to get the shop back in order, and sorting out leftover Free Comics into bundles for the various schools and libraries that put them to great use the rest of the year. The schools are especially happy to get giveaway items for their Fun Day events. Speaking of Fun Days, I will have a table or two at the Earl Haig event coming up Saturday May 24th and probably Wilkinson on the 31st. I'll be bringing more Free Comics (some from previous years) as well as lots of bargain books and maybe even some odds and ends(toys,games,etc.) that have been cluttering up my storage for too long.

Come out to these events and help support your local schools.

FREE COMIC DAY is here at last.

Yes its true, the big day is finally here. The store will open at 10:00 tomorrow and start giving comics away to everyone who wants some. As in the past I will be limiting customers to their choice of 3 comics. This will help insure that their will be plenty to last the day.

Unfortunately it looks like the weather isn't going to go along with the rest of my plans. I usually try to set up some tables outside full of bargain stuff, cheap comics, posters and such to make the day a little more special and still keep it less crowded in the store itself. The day looks to be quite wet and chilly however, so everything will be confined to the store.

There will still be lots of Free Comics for everyone to choose from, and even some in-store specials. For example I've got a box or two full of great kids digests, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and a lot of the D.C. cartoon network stuff( Scooby-doo, Titans Go! etc.) for $3.00 a piece(thats over 50% off ).

I'm hoping the skies will be clearer, and the air a little warmer for Sunday, so I can put some 50cent comics out front.

PLUS, keep your eyes on this site for news of the big 21st anniversary sale coming up on JUNE 21st. Everything in the store will be available for 21cents,(I'm kidding) or am I???

DC Universe #0

Rich Johnston of Lying In The Gutters, had this to say about DC Universe issue #0.

"SPECULATION CORNER ITEM! “DC Universe" #0 is the epilogue to "Countdown To Infinite Crisis" and the cliffhanger into "Final Crisis." Despite being one of the more high profile books, sporting a very low fifty cent cover price and coming a week before Free Comic Book Day, I understand it may have been underordered. Smart stores have got shed loads. Less-than-smart stores may have ordered it like a regular comic book. Where do you shop?
This will be the biggest selling comic of the year."

Thanks Rich, I guess that counts me as one of the smart stores because I have ordered, as you put it "shed loads". Then again I remember when you were pushing New Avengers #31(Elektra the Skrull) as the best investment of its month, and believe me there's plenty of them lying around stinking up comic shops everywhere.

I think its odd that the DC site still has the old promo version of the cover up on their site despite the actual image being revealed a few weeks back. Chances are they may ship this comic with 2 covers. If so, I know which one will sell first.

BUCK BOOKS

I've said it before and I'll keep on saying it. People love cheap comics. So I'm going to make the $1.00 comic table at the back of the store a semi-permanent fixture. In fact I"m planning on rotating the comics in the dollar bins on a more regular basis, and always adding new stuff for you bargain hunters. By the first week of May I should have a movie theme going. Basically a box or two of Iron Man and Hulk comics, with Batman titles joining in as his movie gets nearer.
I'm also hoping for nice weather on SATURDAY MAY 3rd, so that we can put tables of cheap comics and Heroclix outside where people can get at them easier.

Sidewalk Sale- SAT. APRIL 5th

Well it looks like Saturday is going to be a great day. 12c with no chance of rain means a nice chance to put the tables out front and sell off some cheap comics. I should be able to get 10-12 boxes of stuff out front around noon. Everything in the boxes will be 50 cents a piece, and a little less for larger purchases.
If the weather holds, I'll probably put the tables out on Sunday as well.

Comics & More on Youtube

I've heard about this song for a while now and finally got a chance to check it out. Its called T-Ode, and its the third track on Abdominals, Escape From The Pigeon Hole. The song is actually a pretty good testament to the diversity of Toronto. As a resident of the East End, his comic store of choice is yours truly and an image of the storefront appears about 2 minutes in.

Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaGDqVKR44Y

SECRET INVASION

SPOILER WARNING!!
ELEMENTS OF RECENT COMICS ARE INVOLVED.


Well the first issue of Marvels big Secret Invasion ships this Wednesday, but we already got a taste of whats to come from last weeks New Avengers #39. The main thing that's bothering me about this storyline(aside from the number of crossover issues involved) is the fact that there doesn't seem to be any rules. From the ad campaign we are asked the question of who do we trust. The implication is that some of the Marvel heroes we've been following for the last few years have secretly been Skrulls. However from the Ms. Marvel #25 story we find that some of the Skrulls are walking around as characters in the stories while the real articles are still in operation. Why ask us which characters are Skrulls and which aren't when obviously the writers are planning on having it both ways at the same time. Also, it was implied from earlier stories that this new breed of Skrull was built to take the place of individual heroes and mimic their powers. But the New Avengers #39 issue shows the one posing as Daredevil using multiple powers at the same time.
The backlash to the recent changes in the Amazing Spider-Man title resulted mainly from the fact that most readers hated the explanation that the Devil(Quesada) can do literally anything regardless of plot lines and development. And yet here Marvel is again giving us a story without any concrete rules. The story can go any way the writers(Bendis) want with the simple explanation that"They are all Skrulls and Skrulls can do anything".
Sounds like another case of lazy writing syndrome.

Superman is such a jerk

Krypto has come back into Superman's life, but is a much older, less stable animal than he was in Superboys time. Earlier in the story Superman had decided to take the poor beast into space and maroon him on some alien planet in the interests of human safety(not exactly the sentimental type is he). Luckily another solution popped up with only a few pages to spare.

So basically Superman has a cure for old age, but rather than share it with the world he only uses it on his pet for fear of his own safety. He's got about as good a grasp on irony as Alanis Morrisette. Superman's not just a jerk, but a coward as well.

HOLIDAY HOURS

Just a quick note that COMICS & MORE will be closed on both GOOD FRIDAY and EASTER SUNDAY.

DOLLAR SALE

Its time to move some more of the excess backstock that's piling up again. So next week I'll be holding a $1.00 backstock sale. 5-6 boxes of fairly recent stuff( the last year or so) will be bagged up and placed out on the bargain table at the back of the store. I'll probably do this about once a month from now thru summer, and on the nicer days, move some tables outside.(assuming it ever stops snowing).

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

To help dispel the February blahs just open up the Previews magazine and take a look at some of the stuff coming up in April.
Right at the front of the catalog is the list of comics to look forward to on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY on Saturday May 3rd. I can't tell you how excited I get every year at the sight of all those great books I can use to help bring new readers into the store(or entice lapsed readers to return). Make no mistake, this is a huge investment in time and money for me as I try to order enough material not just for FREE COMIC DAY itself but to hold sufficient quantity in stock to use for school and library donations all through the coming year. Any I have left by October get bundled up for Halloween goodie packs. But the cost is more than justified when I see that look on a little ones face as they get a comic in their hands and start into it before even leaving the store.

Archie Comics gives us 2 entries again this year and both are great all ages choices. The Jughead comic is a new story featuring a look at the Geppi Entertainment Museum. I'm not sure if this is Archie's way of sucking up to the boss or not (Steve Geppi owns Diamond Comics, the sole source of all North American comics). Still it sounds like the kind of place I would like to open if I had a million bucks to spend. Their 2nd pick is a reprint of the first Sonic comic which given that the book is quickly approaching the 200th issue mark is quite a piece of history and much older than the majority of its current readers. They are both good choices as anyone who likes what they see can easily find more of the same in the dozens of paperback collections available or the many years worth of older single issues.

Not so good a choice are the selections from DC Comics. Once again they deliver 2 books, both reprint material. The first is, All-Star Superman #1 by Grant Morrison, and while an excellent Silver-Age style comic that is still suitable for younger fans, there isn't really any way for a new reader to follow up on the rest of the story without shelling out $20.00 for the hardcover collection or trying to track down the single issues(probably more than $20.00 if you did).

A better, but annoying choice is the Tiny Titans. A fun all-ages version of the Titans characters many kids will be familair with(although very different in look from the Titans Go cartoon). The problem is their won't be much follow up material for this book either. The Titans Go digest books are a good read for the money but not quite the same as these characters. And I'd hate to see any parent pick up the regular Teen Titans for a little one thinking its all the same thing.

Marvel covers the bases with X-Men for the teens and Marvel Adventures for the kids. The X-men is a new story by Greg Land and Mike Carey that will most likely tie in with Marvels plans for the big X-Men #500 coming in July. The Marvel Adventures issue features Iron Man, Hulk and Spider-Man. With the Iron Man movie coming out the same weekend and the Hulk movie the following month this one is a natural, and with the regular release of the monthly comics for all 3 characters plus the kid sized digest collections, finding enough material for the most avid reader should be no problem.

Speaking of movies, there's no denying the Transformers was a big hit last summer and the new animated adventures should do well also. This comic may be a nice lead in to the cartoon, but whether it will interest kids in reading a monthly comic is another story.

The Bongo entry this year again features the Simpsons and Futurama, but apparently in a digest format this time. I like the idea of making the comic a smaller more portable size, but unless Bongo intends to start collecting material in this format, it may be confusing to customers looking for their next read.

The Disney entry is usually one of the most popular each year, but this time around they are going with one of the less familiar but fun characters Gyro Gearloose. At least Donald and the boys are included on the cover. I almost wish they'd stop doing Disney entries for Free Comic day as there is virtually no support issues available at all as the regular sized monthly comics and digest collections ended over a year ago. Even the square bound deluxe comics seem to be coming in less frequently. Still as I said, its all about that look on their face as they clutch their new possession and the ducks are universally accepted as good for kids.

For more FREE comics and stuff coming SATURDAY MAY 3rd check out the on-line store and keep your eyes on this site as I will be planning some specials to co-incide with the big day.

FEBRUARY SALES

Its that time of year again when the weather(especially this week) has people huddling in their houses instead of out wandering the streets looking for things to add to the clutter at home. Just remember that reading is the perfect thing to kill some time and keep your mind off the snow.
To that effect I am constantly adding to the pile of sale items on the back table at the store.
Marvel has been clearing inventory at incredible prices lately and some more great stuff will be arriving next week(Wednesday Feb.13th). For example Iron Fist vol. 1 hardcover for $10.00 is a great deal and a fantastic series that a lot of people missed out on when it first started.

Or how about Stokers Dracula hardcover by Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano. A beautiful book concluding the stories from Dracula Lives. A great item at regular price but for $3.00 you can pick up a couple for friends to enjoy.
I've also recently decided to get out of the D&D market. The gaming section on the shelves here has been shrinking steadily as I ordered less and less each year, but I really need that space for regular comic paperbacks that I know I can sell. All D&D books and modules etc. are now priced 50% off American cover price. With 4th edition starting soon now is the time for 3rd edition hardcore fans to buy up cheap any pieces they may have passed on first time around due to price.

MARCH PREVIEWS -continued

I can't believe I stopped last time before getting to the Starman Omnibus. Probably one of the finest comic series DC ever published is getting the deluxe hardcover treatment. Inside the new cover art by Tony Harris you will enjoy issues #0-16 with the rest following in the next 5 volumes. The series will be collected in its entirety including mini-series, one-shots and specials. Basically all Robinson's material on the Starman character and cast will be together in one set.

David Lapham returns to the monthly comic scene with a new Vertigo title, The Young Liars. Teen misfits on the run in a true action, adventure,suspense story with a mixture of guitars and guns. This looks to be the next big hit for Vertigo.

DC continues its new kids line with the addition of the Super Friends. In the same vein as the Tiny Titans coming in February, this is a bubble faced young readers title that should be popular with parents looking for something a little more safe to read with their little ones. All the most popular DC characters (and Aquaman) look likely to show up and the first issue features Amazo, so even the bad guys should be interesting.

IMAGE has been putting out some really original material lately, but I'm not sure if Dark Ivory qualifies. Joseph Michael Linsner (Dawn) brings us a mini-series about a teen goth who moves to the big city to pursue her dream of becoming a vampire. Will she succeed or just end up another statistic? At least the art will look nice.

Then again, original seems to be Jonathan Hickmans middle name. The creator of Nightly News and Pax Romana offers up something totally different with Transhuman. The story covers the discovery of superhuman genetic engineering in a mockumentary style.