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Showing posts from May, 2014

Coming In June: First State Comic Con 2014 !

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HARBINGER #23: Death comes quickly

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Editor’s Notes: NO spoilers here, unless you are reading my writings about Harbinger for the very first time.  If you have been following this book, then you are already aware of what is about to happen and you probably pre-ordered a copy through your favorite local comics store.  If you’ve been reading my tribute reviews of the entire series as it draws to a close - - and haven’t been persuaded to check it out for yourself - - then get down to your comics store asap and pick up Harbinger Issue #22 and Issue #23 (just released today) before they sell out as I suspect they will.  This is a series conclusion that everyone with any interest in a genuine dramatic event (no hoax) will want to read. HARBINGER #23 (Valiant Entertainment, May 2014) Written by: Joshua Dysart. Art by: Clayton Henry and Khari Evans. Color Art by: Brian Reber. Letters by: Dave Sharpe. Covers by Mico Suayan, Khari Evans, and Zach Montoya.           Death is a subject that is often taken lightly in comics, part

JOHN CASSADAY comes to the 2014 Baltimore Comic-Con

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from the April 19, 2014 official press release . . . . . . . BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - The Baltimore Comic-Con returns to the Inner Harbor's Baltimore Convention Center for its premiere inaugural three-day event September 5-7, 2014. We are extremely pleased to announce, courtesy of Dynamite Entertainment, the return of superstar artist John Cassaday to the Baltimore Comic-Con in 2014. Cassaday, who started his career at the small press Caliber Comics in 1995, began working for Dark Horse Comics in the following year providing art on Ghost, and then Desperadoes . He went on to work for "The Big Two", with prolific stints on DC's Planetary and Marvel's Astonishing X-Men, X-Men, Captain America, and Uncanny Avengers , and has recently done work on Dynamite Entertainment's Doc Savage . Cassaday has both been nominated and won numerous prestigious industry awards including Eisner, Eagle, and, for his work on Astonishing X-Men , a Spike TV Scream Award. His r

Bob’s Burgers animated series becomes a comic book

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from the official press release . . . . . . . May 16th, 2014, Mt. Laurel, NJ:   Dynamite Entertainment is proud to announce that Fox's hit Animated Series - Bob's Burgers: The Comic Book series , will be coming to comic stores everywhere this upcoming August, and the series will be written, drawn, and overseen by the writers, animators, and producers of the TV Series.   Now you can read about the Belcher family (parents Bob and Linda, and their children Tina, Gene and Louise) in brand-new in-canon stories, appearing exclusively in this comic book series. Bob's Burgers is an animated sitcom that airs on Fox television with other hits such as The Simpsons and Family Guy .           The very first issue of the Bob's Burgers comic book includes hilarious installments of: "Louise's Unsolved Mysteries," "Tina's Erotic Friend Fiction," "A Gene Belcher Original Musical," "Letters Written by Linda" and "Bob's Burge

TERMINAL HERO by Peter Milligan to debut at Dynamite

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EDITOR’S NOTE:  Peter Milligan is one of the most original creators in comics, with a generous list of books to his credit.  Anytime he gets to create from scratch and write his own story is something that deserves notice. With a generous buyback policy for comic shops and an attractive list price,  this certainly looks worthwhile. Great Jae Lee cover art.  And Piotr Kowalski is a great artist to assign to the interiors . . . . . . from the official press release . . . . . . . . . . May 16th, 2014, Mt. Laurel, NJ:   Dynamite is proud to present the second book in a series of creator driven comics, featuring all new characters from the industry's best and brightest.   TERMINAL HERO is written by the acclaimed author Peter Milligan, working with us for the first time, and accompanied by the incredible art of Piotr Kowalski.  Single issues in this line will be priced at $2.99 MSRP, allowing fans the opportunity to affordably try all of the new series.  And to help retailers stock

HARBINGER WARS: Month Two - What Happens In Vegas, . . . .

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          Everything heats up in Round Two of the Harbinger Wars as all trails lead through the torrid Nevada desert towards the general direction of smoldering Las Vegas.  While there is still a good amount of panel space devoted to scene setting and exposition, as a group this second round of books is faster paced and contains a lot more action .  I’ll try to cover the main story points for unfamiliar readers here (attempting to avoid spoilers) while also identifying what makes it noteworthy . . . . . . .                    HARBINGER WARS #2  (Valiant Entertainment, May 2013)  Written by: Joshua Dysart.  Story by: Joshua Dysart & Duane Swierczynski.  Art by: Clayton Henry with Pere Perez.  Color Art by: Brian Reber.  Letters by: Dave Lanphear             In the same way that HARBINGER WARS #1 pulled us immediately into the action via flashback, Issue #2 continues the same way with the ongoing interrogation of Project Rising Spirit (P.R.S)  acting director Morris Kozol by fed

More images from Free Comic Book Day 2014

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Things were happening at CAPTAIN BLUE HEN COMICS in Newark, DE on May 03, 2014!     A character from some video game – I was too intimidated to ask more. It’s great to see the kids dress up for the big day. Poison Ivy and Catwoman a.k.a. teammates from DIAMOND STATE ROLLER GIRLS, the Newark women’s roller derby team.  All of a sudden, cats and plants are two of my favorite things!            Above left:  Even Darth Vader has to wait in line for his free comics on FCBD. Above right:  “Drat!  My shoe is untied!” Bobb Fett to Stormtrooper: “Hey, do you mind checking to see if I zipped up?  My helmet won’t let me bend my head down far enough to check that.  Thanks!”            Photo left:  Hyper Harley Quin.  Photo right: Shadowman, I presume?                   Photo left:  Lobo confronts.   Photo right:  Lobo’s back!            Mystique and Nightcrawler.  The above four are members of www.formaldressoptional.org , who sponsor a weekly Saturday midnight showing of The

If You Don’t Read This, You Don’t Know Jack

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TPB:  Battlin' Jack Murdock Writer: Zeb Wells Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico Price:  $12.99 Battlin’ Jack Murdock isn’t a book I would normally pick up.  Books retelling a hero’s origin always seem to make one of two mistakes.  The first is playing the origin too true to character and failing to make a compelling case for picking it up.  The second is trying to rewrite an origin to make the story something new but then annoying the fans of the original origin who are the book’s target audience in the first place.   The reason I did pick up this trade in particular has to do with Zeb Wells writing it.  He first came onto my radar with the amazing Carnage USA mini last year but he’s written a lot before that including various Spider-man titles, Anti-Venom and the amazing Necrosha event in X-force.  Carmine Di Giandomenico is someone I hadn’t heard of before (I’m sure I’d remember stuttering through that name on the cast if I had) but he’s mostly worked for Marvel’s It

Please vote today in the RONDO AWARDS

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    Shame on me for forgetting about this!   The Rondo Hatton awards are fan-voted and recognize significant work or achievement in the year 2013.  Since 2002, the Rondos have been fandom’s only classic horror awards -  decided by fans, for fan.  Ballots are by e-mail only. Voting ends at midnight tonight - - Sunday May 04, 2014. Go to this site for all the details . . . . . . .   http://rondoaward.com/rondoaward.com/blog/?p=32

From The Other Side = FREE COMIC BOOK DAY support

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              ( Photo left, the line at 10 a.m.)                          (Photo right, inside at 12 noon) EDITOR’S NOTE:  I’m sure there are some comic books stores out there that simply put out some of the offered books on Free Comic Book Day (FCBD)  and don’t do anything else.   It’s another business day as usual, except for some increased traffic in the stores as regular and new customers turn up to score some free comics.   Thankfully, those stores are in the minority.   Most comics stores in the immediate PA-DE-MD area do something extra on FCBD - - -  from the minimum of having at least one guest artist to sign and sketch to the maximum elaborate extravaganza that takes place each year at CAPTAIN BLUE HEN COMICS in Newark, Delaware.  As the traffic in their store started to taper off somewhat around 4:30 p.m., I heard someone state an unofficial head-count of 1,200+ customers through the doors.  That’s an incredible turn-out!                               As you might imagin