Saturday, April 26, 2014

Jeff Lemire in the house

Well there was quite a crowd waiting to greet Mr.Lemire when he arrived this morning, and if I'd remembered to charge my camera I could prove it with a photo.
Best of all there were more than a few people who had never experienced Jeff's work before, so we got to turn them on to a whole new world of graphic fiction.
Of course the main reason you're reading this right now is to find out who won the amazing J.L.U. #0 sketch covers Jeff produced just for the todays event.

THE WINNING NUMBERS ARE:

07,  15,  22,  38, AND 47

and I'll probably play those numbers on a Lotto 6/49 ticket when I head home.


So, congratulations to , Brad, Niko,Court, Shawn and Naomi

Come by and collect your prize anytime. Just remember, it's first come, first choice. But all the covers look great so I'm sure you'll all be happy with your prizes.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

NEW Comics April 30th

Busy week as publishers try to fill up the shelves for Free Comic Day.

Amazing Spider-Man #1, Peter Parker is back in his own body, and Marvel has a pile of variant covers to prove it. 2 standard covers at regular price( if you can call $5.99 a regular price) and a couple pricier variants. The DCD Summit edition is limited to 6,000 copies and has a cool Lego cover.
The Batwoman Annual finally finishes the Batwoman/Batman conflict from the main book a few months back.
The Flash Annual #3 continues from this weeks issue, and looks like it will introduce the new 52 version of Wally West. Could this be the first of the 5 Years Later tie-ins?
More Cartoon Network fun as Dexters Laboratory starts a mini-series.
Forever Evil won't really end until issue #7 shows up in late May, but Batman will get to see whats left of Gotham as the first issue of Batman VS Bane arrives.
Proving 2 Jasons are better than 1, Aaron and Latour deliver Southern Bastards. A killer crime series set in the deep south.
Vertigo Quarterly CYAN, is the first of 4 anthology comics using a colour as a unifying theme. A great list of talent on these books as writers and artists come together to show us how cool BLUE can be.
Just in time for Free Comic Day, Image delivers a great batch of BUCK books. Some of the best stuff on the shelves today are from Image, and this is your chance to jump in on stuff like East of West, Rat Queens, Sex Criminals and more for only a dollar. Many of these titles have a first volume collection available already or arriving soon. Try 'em out, or get a friend hooked.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

NEW COMICS APRIL 23rd

Fairly big week with some great new comics.
Fans of Haden Blackman ( Batwoman) will want to pick up the new Elektra series, with art by Mike Del Mundo, it looks like it'll be a fast seller.
Conan relaunches as Fred Van Lente takes over writing the Cimmerians adventures.
Another Simpson Special arrives, this time spotlighting Duffman. Bongo may be running short on major characters to highlight. Call me when they get around to a Hank Scorpio one-shot.
Secret Origins is something that should have started right after the New 52 launched. The first issue features 3 stories, Superman, Supergirl, and Dick Grayson. I'm wondering if the 3rd story will give any hints of whats to come in the future for Nightwing.
Marvel starts off the spring crossover season with Original Sin #0. The Watcher will die and his secrets revealed. As usual, the main story will be fairly interesting, while the side stories and crossovers will just confuse us. Although with writers like Jason Aaron, Mark Waid and Kieron Gillen, we should have some good reading in them.


Of course all of these are overshadowed by the release of Justice League (Canada )United #0. We have yet to see the full extant of the damage done by the Crime Syndicate as Forever Evil #7 is still a month away. But Justice League America is no more, and whats left of the team head north to regroup. Jeff Lemire has put together an interesting group of heroes, including 2 he has written to great success, Green Arrow and Animal Man. This is also the introduction of a new Canadian female hero Equinox. CBC did a nice piece recently on Jeff and his work to develop a native character without resorting to stereotype.
AS A REMINDER....COMICS & MORE WILL BE HOSTING JEFF LEMIRE IN-STORE
SATURDAY APRIL 26TH FROM 12 NOON- 3 P.M.

Due to media attention on this comic, it may sell out in the Toronto area fairly quickly. Be sure to reserve a copy by e-mail or through our on-line store and come by Saturday to get it signed. I have a limited number of Blank cover versions available for sketches. Limit of 1 to person with pre-orders to current customers being filled first.
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Monday, April 14, 2014

Jeff Lemire Signing

The talented writer/artist Jeff Lemire will be doing his  only signing for JUSTICE LEAGUE CANADA/UNITED in the Toronto area at COMICS & MORE on SATURDAY, APRIL 26 between 12-3 pm!

The first issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED, featuring a new Canadian version of The Justice League and the first appearance of the brand-new teenaged, CREE SUPERHERO, EQUINOX (as seen on CBC), will arrive in comic book stores WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23. Jeff will be signing at Comics & More at DANFORTH and LINSMORE (just steps from the Greenwood Subway Station) that SATURDAY at noon!

This will be the only Toronto-area signing for the comic. He will be signing and giving away 5 limited edition blank variant covers with sketches of Justice League characters !

Copies of many of Jeff's other books will be for sale, but stock is limited. I will also have original art form Trillium, Animal Man and Sweet Tooth available.

For more info about JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED and EQUINOX click here


Batman Eternal

Batman Eternal is the first new weekly series from DC in quite a while. It's another addition to the Bat-Book family, and it's going to be featuring a huge showcase of talent over the weeks. This first issue is written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion, and drawn by Jason Fabok.

The first issue of Batman Eternal feels like any other Batman title, but not in a bad way. It does seem more Gotham-centric, focusing on the GCPD for a bit of the book and introducing a new lieutenant to the force. The new 52 version of Jason Bard, who may be familiar to Batgirl readers, and possibly a new love interest for the current version of Babs.
 The book really picks up in the last 5 pages or so, and sets up the rest of the arc very well.

This is a pretty good alternative for readers who aren't enjoying Zero Year. Lots of readers online seem to be wanting a Snyder written Batman title that doesn't take place in the past, and Batman Eternal seems like an excellent alternative. That may change in the future when new writers take over, but that's also the beauty of a weekly series like this. You'll get the chance to read Batman stories from many different creative teams without having to pick up a slew of Batman titles. It should also make it easy to jump into arcs as the weeks go by.

The weekly format is something DC is heavily invested in as a 2nd weekly title begins in May. You can pick up  DC Futures End #0 for FREE on Saturday May 3rd.



Thursday, April 10, 2014

NEW COMICS APRIL 16th

Well a moderate week for the middle of a 5 Wednesday month. A lot less first issues to mention this time.
Green Lanterns arch-enemy Sinestro, finally lands his own title. He cant be happy that Larfleeze solo'd before he did.
The new Ultimate Universe adds another title as Ultimate FF debuts, with a huge roster change. Iron Man, Machine Man and Falcon join Sue Storm as the Future Foundation sets to cleaning up the mess left in Galactus' wake.
Solar man of the Atom joins the Dynamite versions of the Valiant characters.
Hulk relaunches with a #1 as it continues from the last page of the Indestructible Hulk #20.
Superior Spider-Man #31 wraps up the Doc Ock version of the character and sets up the all new Amazing Spider-Man #1 coming in a couple weeks. There are a pile of different variant covers,but at $6.00 a pop, fans will probably have to just pick their favourite.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

VARIANT COVERS

One of my pet peeves is the variant cover schemes Marvel and DC use to bump sales. The requirements have gotten so high lately that most stores never get to see any of them, I usually get 2-3 of  a few each month.
However, DC has decided to make the variant covers to their titles open quantity for June. Meaning I can order as many as I think I can sell...and I do think they'll sell. The variant theme that month is Bombshells. Basically they are drawn to look like the pin-ups that were common during the war.  And they are a gorgeous batch of covers by the talented Ant Lucia who has a line of figures coming from DC Collectibles based on his artwork.
If you are interested in getting the variant version of your regular titles in June( or maybe buying an extra copy) let me know in store or check them off at the on-line store. I'm sure these will sell quick off the shelves once people see them.




Monday, April 7, 2014

Better late than never

Inhuman #1

Marvel's latest universe-wide title is a couple months late, but it picks up right where Infinity left off. The destruction of Attilan has released Terrigen mists across the world, and a good percentage of the population is transforming into Inhumans. Some with amazing powers, and others with nothing more than physical deformities or useless additions.

An Inhuman warrior named Lash has taken to the streets, abducting fresh inhuman cocoons and purging the world of any freshly hatched Inhumans who aren't of value. Lash seems to be amassing an army of sorts, and his opponent looks to be the Inhuman queen Medusa. This Inhuman book seems to focus on both sides, and more importantly how they'll build their armies for the inevitable battle yet to come.

It's also a great way for Marvel to build new heroes and villains. Over the course of the series, you can be sure that Marvel will create and test the waters with some new characters, some who may even eventually see their own individual books, or at least be added to some of the team books in the Marvel Universe. Wouldn't be surprised if they ended up in Marvel movies years from now. It almost seems like a new brand of characters is being started with Inhumans #1.

Inhuman #1 isn't to be confused with 'Inhumanity', which was a two issue series that lead into this book. Marvel could have chosen less confusing titles, which may be a problem with the upcoming event Original Sin. Keep an eye out for the 'sister series' Original Sins which will focus on smaller stories within the event.

With Inhuman #1, we get a good look at how Infinity has affected the Marvel Universe, and it serves as a nice peek at what's to come. A good choice for those who want to keep up to date with the current state of the Marvel U.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

IMAGE FIRSTS

Every year for Free Comic Book Day, Image likes to re-release the first issue of some of their biggest titles for the low price of $1.00.
Its a smart idea to capitalize on the influx of potential new readers that flock to stores on FCBD.
This year, the  10 comics they have done are some of the best comics I've read in years. And they cover a wide range of genres, blending science-fiction, horror and fantasy, that are really under represented on the shelves.

Even if you already own these books, pick up a couple and hand them out to friends. Its a great low cost way to help spread the word of this great new era in mature comics reading.Check out the on-line store for more info
http://store.comicsnmore.ca

Thursday, April 3, 2014

NEW COMICS APRIL 9th

Hey its an ALL New Marvel week, as Doop gets his own mini-series and the Ultimate Universe launches again.
I guess Marvel figured 5 issues of Doop would satisfy the fans of the little green blob.
The ALL-New Ultimates lives up to its name as we get a completely new roster for the team, including Cloak and Dagger, Spidergirl and Kitty Pryde.
Daredevil #1 sold well, proving $4.00 isnt too much for a comic as long as its a good one. But this month its issue  Daredevil #1.50 which is meant to be a 50th anniversary issue that I guess fits between #1 and #2?
Iron Fist returns to a solo comic( why not All New Iron Fist?). And Nightcrawler 'ports to his own title after his return in Amazing X-Men.
Shutter #1 starts the story of a globe spanning adventurer in a world familiar with demons and supernatural creatures.
Lumberjanes is a comic about 5 girls at summer camp encountering yetis and other odd beasts. Described as a blend of Buffy and Gravity Falls. Looks like a fun all-ages comic by a group of very talented women.
DC gets back into the weekly comics game in a BIG way with Batman Eternal #1. The teasers for this series so far hint at the return of Steph Brown( the Spoiler), Catwoman turns on Batman and it looks like Jim Gordon is arrested in the wake of a major subway train accident.

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