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.

MARCH PREVIEWS

Time to run down a quick list of stuff to look forward to arriving in March.

Dark Horse starts off strong with a new Serenity 3 issue mini-series. This one should sell even better than the last one with all the Whedon fans already hitting the store every month for their Buffy fix. Comic fans can look forward to the Adam Hughes covers.

Conan hits 50, and earns a much deserved break. After this special double-sized issue, there'll be a few months off before the Cimmerian returns in June.

The Hellboy Companion has been rescheduled to arrive in time for the 2nd Hellboy movie this May. This book is best described as the definitive guide to all things Hellboy and BPRD and, includes much artwork from the comics as well as new material by Mignola.

Hellboy and BPRD both ship their respective 8th volumes this month as well.

Over at DC, the Countdown kicks in to high gear as we approach the Final Crisis with all guns blazing. A great disaster seems unavoidable.

Speaking of great disasters, it seems DC is determined to get some use out of the Tangent characters that were created a few years back. I wouldn't mind if they were treated to the occasional summer team-up like the old days of the JLA-JSA x-overs, but a 12 issue maxi-series may be a bit much.

Probably the most anticipated comic sequel ever, is the DC New Frontier Special. Timed to arrive with the DVD animated movie of the original mini-series, this is a one-two punch too big to ignore. The movie will be coming in 2 formats with the single disc version running for about $19.99 and a double disc set including bonus material and 3 episodes of the Justice League animated series for $23.95.

The movie will most likely show up in big stores and video outlets the week before the comic shops get them, but if you pre-order either version from me, I will throw in the comic for $1.00.