NEW COMICS WEDNESDAY- JULY 15th

Well it looks like DC has the first big hit of 2009 with Wednesday comics. Despite placing a huge order(about double Dark X-Men numbers), I was totally sold out here by about 4:00 on Wednesday. A quick re-order has confirmed that more copies are on the way(probably on the 22nd) so if you missed out don't worry, you'll just have to hold on to an issue #2,#3 until you can read them all together.

Speaking of which, due to the nature of a weekly comic shipping schedule, it could well be issue 3or4 before stores are adequately supplied with Wednesday Comics. If you picked up the #1 and want to make sure to get the second issue on the 15th, put in an order with the store before Tuesday at 6:00. An on-line order gets filled faster but even an e-mail or phone call is better than just hoping there'll still be some on the shelf when you get here.

Wednesday Comics #1 sold even faster than Green Lantern #43, which is a direct lead in to the Blackest Night #1 arriving this week. This event looks to be story of the summer with even the tie-in comics being pre-ordered heavily. Just which heroes and villains will rise from the dead to fight on the side of the Black Lanterns? G.L. #43 gave us some hints as Black Hand runs down a mental list of the fallen from recent stories. P.S. don't forget to ask for your free Black Lantern ring with issue #1.

A couple more of the buck issue specials arrive on the 15th, the Batman #608 is the first issue of the excellent Hush storyline by Jim Lee and Jeff Loeb. If you haven't read the two volume set, it is a great read as well as beautifully illustrated.

Of more note is the Fables #1 Special. More than just the first issue of the amazing fantasy series, this reprint will include sample work from the Peter and Max hardcover coming in October. This book is a new Fables story done in hardcover as an illustrated novel (not a graphic novel). Its a little different from your standard comic stuff, but looks to be a fantastic story. Orders will be a lot lower on this than regular Fables comics, so anyone interested should grab a copy of this preview and let me know if its something you want to pre-order.

Peter Davids Fallen Angel series restarts after a short break with a special guest star. Illyria, from Joss Whedon's Angel series arrives in Bette Noir, but for a team-up, or a knock-down fight?

I also want to mention 2 great collections arriving. Preacher, Garth Ennis' irreverent story of a backwoods preacher who gains the "word of God", is given the deluxe hardcover treatment. Dark humour at its finest, this one isn't for everyone, but it is certainly one of my all-time favourites.

If you haven't given Madame Xanadu a try yet, do yourself a favour and pick up the first paperback. It's not only an amazing deal with a whopping 10 issues for under $17.00, but it is a great introduction to a classic character that has been a part of the DC universe for over 2 decades (mostly behind the scenes). Matt Wagner blends fantasy, history and mystery beautifully, and gives us a look at how this enchanting mystic has influenced the DC universe from its earliest days. All this and the Phantom Stranger (another DC mystery staple) too.

Check out the on-line store for these and the other great books coming next week.
http://shop.comicsnmore.ca/online/index.php?cPath=379&osCsid=a4522bb92dc2bc19f19482c51414959e

NEW COMICS - WEDNESDAY JULY 8TH

Back to Wednesday delivery this week, with a lot smaller delivery, but still some choice books.
The big book of the week,(and it is big, 4 times the size of a standard comic), is the newest entry in DC's weekly comics. Aptly named Wednesday comics, it's meant as an homage to the old tabloid sized newspaper comics strips that used to come with your paper every Sunday.
Each issue unfolds to a massive 14"x20", with each of the 16 pages featuring a different strip by an all-star line-up of talent.
Where else will you ever get the likes of Kyle Baker, Walt Simonson,Brian Azzarello,Amanda Conner, and Neil Gaiman, along with dozens more, all in 1 comic.
The Superman image on the cover is practically screaming, BUY THIS COMIC!!!
DC also gives us 2 more great buck books this week as they reprint All-Star Superman #1 and Tom Strong #1. Both are great choices, and most of you will already have them, but pick up a few and pass them on to friends or co-workers. It'll be the best couple bucks you ever spent.

The Dark Reign X-Men story continues as we get to see Normans "evil" version of the mutant team. I've really been impressed with the whole Dark Reign thing so far. It's mostly been the complete opposite of the traditional Marvel mega-event. You know the type where its basically 6-7 issues of heroes fighting heroes in senseless battles that amount to nothing in the end.
But the dark Reign stuff has been a little more character oriented so far as we see the logic behind the villians and the lengths they'll go to in an effort to screw each other over.


100 Bullets vol. 13 finally arrives, and completes the epic 100 issue run of one of Vertigos finest series. And I get some shelf copies of The Nobody to sell. After replacing the advance copies Jeff generously volunteered for the signing last Thursday, I should have a half dozen or so on the racks.
Almost forgot to mention Green Lantern #43, the opening chapter of the Blackest Night event. The first of the Black Lanterns is "born".

Great week all around, check out the rest or reserve your copies at,
http://shop.comicsnmore.ca/online/index.php?cPath=378&osCsid=a797606e5d5042dcc22ed09092a6d322

NEW COMICS - THURSDAY JULY 2nd

Due to the holiday Wednesday, new comics will not arrive until Thursday this week. Along with the excellent new Vertigo hrdcvr THE NOBODY, by the talented Jeff Lemire, here's some other
stuff to look forward to.

The Batman Reborn launch has been a huge success with every one of the first issues selling out almost instantly. The first was the Batman and Robin series by Morrison and Quitely, and issue 2 ships this week. I'm still a little worried about how well the non-Morrison issues will sell, but there's still a month(or more) before we have to worry.

Speaking of Reborn, Captain America Reborn #1 arrives Thursday as well. To be honest the whole Quesada news release thing fell pretty flat, but there could be some unexpected sales to the general public because of it.

Mostly I still expect it to sell out with all the regular Cap buyers picking it up, with a few curious lapsed readers and anniversary issue collectors to snap up whats left.

Deadpool gets a 2nd regular comic starting this week, with the unwieldy title of Deadpool Merc with a Mouth. Well technically there's 2 mouths involved, as Deadpool gets his hands on the severed head of his zombie counterpart.

I know he has a movie coming out next year, and his regular series is selling great, but Marvel really has to learn that spinning off characters into multiple titles just results in lower sales all around.

A while back, DC comics came up with the idea of re-releasing the first issue of popular long running titles for a dollar. A nice cheap way of introducing people to some of the great books they've put out over the years, with an eye to leading into paperback sales.

At the same time, the Vertigo division of DC has been starting off new mature titles with dollar issues to encourage you to try out new stuff.

A great idea that I support enthusiastically, it really paid off with Unwritten #1, as I sold roughly 10 times my normal numbers for a Vertigo first issue.

The only problem is when schedules run together and we end up getting 3 of these specials all in the same shipment. Not really a big problem, because as I said, they are only $1.00 each. It would just be a lot easier for me to promote them to full advantage if they would show up a week or so apart.

Greek Street #1 boasts a modern retelling of classic Greek tales full of murder, incest, oracles, Kings and Gods. Peter Milligan excells at this kind of thing and its about time he came back with a new Vertigo title. I just wish the previews they ran in the comics recently gave us a better look at the actual story rather than just bio type stuff on the characters.

The 2 reprints are Y-the Last Man and Green Lantern Rebirth. The latter is obvious as the Green Lantern Blackest Night event starts off this month, and the Y #1 is probably meant to promote the deluxe hardcover collections.

To see what else is coming, check the on-line store

http://shop.comicsnmore.ca/online/index.php?cPath=21

and don't forget that artist/writer Jeff Lemire will be in-store from 4-6 on Thursday to personally sign copies of his book. This is an advance signing as regular shipping of the book won't be for another week, and copies are limited. If you haven't already spoken to me about reserving a copy, phone or e-mail me quick. The on-line store orders at this point are set for July 8th delivery.

The Nobody

The Nobody arrives next week. Jeff Lemire, artist and writer, will be in store Thursday July 2ND from 4-6 p.m. to personally autograph your copies.

ANSWERS AND CLARIFICATIONS

I've had some questions come up the last week that I felt needed some formal answers.
Yes Comics & More will be closed on Wednesday July 1st. New comics will not be in until Thursday that week. This is,if I recall properly,the only time a holiday has disrupted shipping in over a year.
I will be opening at 10:00 a.m. next Saturday for the anniversary sale. Only if the weather looks nice, will the 10 cent comics be put outside.
The buy 1 get 1 for 22 cents part of the sale includes all paperbacks and hardcovers on the shelves. Some books may be restocked through the day, depending on my stock levels.
NO! Comics on the wall will not be sold for 22 cents!!!. They are however 22% off,excluding a few consignment pieces that will be taken down prior to the sale.( Amazing Spider-Man #1 for example)
If anyone has any other questions, regarding the sale, store hours, or any other topic, leave a comment, and I'll answer quick as I can.

NEW COMICS WEDNESDAY- JUNE 24th

Well its one of those weeks again when Marvel decides to ship every book possible on the same day. Part of it is trying to clear up their schedules before a major holiday, but part of it is just sheer stupidity. How do they expect less noteworthy titles like Dark Reign Lethal Legion to sell on the same week when 12 X-Men titles and 5 Avengers books are shipping? And 1 of those books is the first part of the high profile Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men crossover event. Considering the limited space I have for racking new issues every Wednesday, a lot of smaller press titles like the IDW and Dynamite books may not even get put out. It's going to be hard enough to find room for stuff like the latest Freddy/Jason/Ash crossover or the relaunch of Predator or even the next volume of Jill Thompsons excellent Magic Trixie series.

Despite the massive Marvel output, the 2 books I'm most looking forward to, are Detective #854, and Gotham City Sirens #1. Both are part of the new Batman relaunches with Detective featuring the debut of the long-awaited Batwoman by Greg Rucka. First announced way back during her appearances in 52, Kathy Kane finally gets the spotlight, and some gorgeous artwork by JH Williams III makes it worth the wait. Throw in a back-up story of the new Question(also by Rucka) and you get a winning combo that will sell quickly even at the $4.00 price(at least DC gives an extra 10 pages for the buck hike).

Gotham City Sirens is another delayed title, as Paul Dini set up the story more than a year ago during Countdown (probably the only readable part of that series). The femme fatales Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are joined by Catwoman. The solicit basically says the girls have a new agenda all their own. Not sure what it means, but I assume Dini has something good in mind.

All told, maybe its a good thing I'm holding my 22nd anniversary sale next week. Considering the massive pile of comics awaiting some of you, getting a 22% discount could help you pick up a few more than you normally would, and even take a chance on some of the new titles coming in.

CAP #600

Well I have to say I am really unimpressed with the huge news announcement Marvel had set up for this morning. Basically Captain America will be back from the dead( or from the sounds of it, was never actually dead).

Not exactly the huge media event Joe Q was hyping. I can't really see anyone outside the regular comic readership running for the store to snap up a copy.


Most likely they just needed to get some advance press laid for upcoming news for the Captain America movie.


I do think it will be a good read, as I can't see it being something Brubaker didn't have planned in advance. But I've been enjoying the regular series so much since Steve's "death" and felt there was still a lot of potential stories for Bucky Cap. Then again, with the Reborn series running 5 issues, supposedly all drawn by Hitch, we might not see the Steve Cap back in his own title until next July.

(Is it just me, or is that an ugly cover)

Did any fans out there feel the need to rush out and pick up a copy today? Did you do it for the hype of the story, or just to be able to brag you got it before your friends?