BC Refugees Blog

In early 2010, both DC and Marvel took their companies in new directions, choosing to commemorate those occasions with powerful new storylines.  For DC, it was Brightest Day , fundamentally tied to the stories Geoff Johns had been telling in  Green Lantern and  Blackest Night; for Marvel, it was  The Heroic Age , celebrating the end of the dark era begun with Avengers: Disassembled , concluded in Siege .  Both directions have their merits, and both launched new titles. I haven't had much time or inclination to post on this blog lately, but I felt a need to take the time today.  Two of these titles are just phenomenal, and absolutely worth a look.  I think that DC and Marvel are really publishing some fascinating material, with original stories and engaging characters. Hawkeye and Mockingbird , by Jim McCann, David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez, is, by far, my new favorite title from either company.  McCann and Lopez had the opportunity to play with these characters last year in the  Dar...

I'm still working on my big "Siege" roundup, but in the meantime please enjoy Michael Cho's wonderful painted cover to the upcoming  Adventures of Superboy  hardcover (featuring stories from the 1940's). You can also see Cho's preliminary sketches on  his blog .

There are lots of remembrances of Harvey Pekar on the usual comic sites, but you may have missed  this one from chef, author and travel show host Anthony Bourdain . Pekar was on the Cleveland episode of Bourdain's show a few years back -- unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available for free online, but it is on Amazon on Demand  for $1.99 if you're interested  -- and Bourdain is a great writer and a decent guy, despite his reputation (watch his hour from Beirut  during the 2006 war if you doubt me), whose piece is worth reading. Edited to add: Tom Spurgeon's comprehensive list of c ommentary and reaction around the Internet  to Pekar's passing is  here .

  I was not prepared for _ _ _ _ _ _  this interview.  (More on that later) . . . . . . . . . .                ARCHIE is an American institution, right up there with mom, apple pie, baseball, and small towns.   Awareness through the decades?  Absolutely !  Everybody on the street is familiar in one way or another with Archie, Betty & Veronica, Jughead, Riverdale High , etc.           Despite the availability of everything Archie throughout my formative years, I never sought out the books,  cartoon shows, or pop music unless it was handed to me or just happened to provide background noise from the television or radio.   I didn’t dislike Archie & Co.  I just wasn’t interested.  Super-hero fare was much more appealing to me.  I also considered the Archie comics to be formulaic, following a car...

Tickets On Sale, Hotel Discounts Available for the 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con! Check out the extensive guest list - -  if you see you favorite writers and/or artists there, keep reading and make your plans to attend! Baltimore, Maryland - July 8, 2010 - Tickets for the Baltimore Comic-Con, to be held on August 28 and August 29, 2010 at the Baltimore Convention Center, are now on sale!            To do so on-line, please follow http://www.ticketmaster.com/Baltimore-Convention-Center-tickets-Baltimore/venue/172201 to purchase your Two-Day, Saturday, or Sunday passes.  Tickets can also be purchased in person at Cards, Comics & Collectibles of Reisterstown, MD (100A Chartley Drive, Reisterstown, MD  21136), or at any show or convention at which Cards, Comics & Collectibles is exhibiting.          "We've been getting a lot of questions about when tickets would be ...

                    This Sunday, Fourth of July (2010 version),  will find me in Newark, Delaware at the Flea Market/Collectibles Show in the parking lot of Captain Blue Hen Comics at 204 E. Main Street. Technorati Tags: Captain Blue Hen events always draw a good crowd. Pictured = FCBD 2010.           I’ll have lots of comics priced from 25 cents to one dollar,including some current issues. I’ve also put together some sets and story arcs to sell complete at bargain prices.  There should also be some miscellaneous games, DVDs, books, etc. at garage sale prices.           There won’t be quite as many comics and collectible  vendors as last year since the neighbor Whole Foods Market is also holding their monthly Farmers Market on the same day.  It just means a bigger crowd, and t...

Of course I couldn't resist sharing this new (to me, anyway) Hellcat art that David Lafuente posted  on his blog  to mark the occasion of the collected "Patsy Walker: Hellcat" trade was chosen for the  Toronto Public Library Word Out! 2010 reading list . Congratulations to Mr. Lafuente and Kathryn Immonen! (Her current Marvel weekly mini-series "Heralds" is terrific, by the way.)

Gail Simone  sings the praises of "Birds of Prey" artist Ed Benes .

from a recent press release RADICAL PUBLISHING AND FULL CLIP PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCE IMPRINT DEAL           July 01, 2010, Los Angeles , CA – Radical Publishing and Full Clip Productions are proud to announce that they have entered into an imprint deal. Under this agreement, Full Clip Productions, the company headed by actor Sam Worthington and his partners Michael Schwarz and John Schwarz , will develop intellectual property to be produced under the Radical banner. Worthington and John Schwarz will star in the film adaptations of select projects.           The first project in development under the imprint is Damaged , created by John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz, and written by Eisner Award winner David Lapham ( Stray Bullets ), the story centers on two brothers committed to justice in different ways – one inside the law, one violently beyond it. Now, with the end of their careers appr...