What I did on my summer vacation: Jeff’s content free post for 7/30.

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Posted by: admin on July 30, 2008

Categories: Retailing/Industry

San Diego Comic-Con was ineffably strange for me, to the point where I’ve got little choice but to throw my hands in the air and admit this is just a post mentioning I was there, I made it back alive, and, oh yeah, I strung a few stories for io9 while I was at it. (Dammit, thought I had six stories. Whoops.) It was definitely a “sing for your supper” kind of gig, and working with Graeme, Annalee, Charlie (and Meredith!) was great fun, but wow. Eating, breathing, sleeping your job? Even if your job is writing about geek stuff? I dunno. I was lucky in that I just covered the overflow for the first two days–everyone else was running…  Read More…

Arriving 7/30/2008

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Posted by: admin on July 29, 2008

Categories: Shipping Lists

Looks like the called the week because of the con… I can’t remember such a small shipping week in a while… 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS ADVENTURES OF SINBAD #2 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EXTRA ARCHIE DIGEST #246 BATMAN DEATH MASK #4 (OF 4) BEYOND WONDERLAND #1 (OF 6) (O/A) BLACK PANTHER #39 SI BLACK SUMMER #7 WRAP CVR BLUE BEETLE #29 CALIBER #4 (OF 5) A CVR ROYO CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #47 CATWOMAN #81 COMIC BOOK COMICS #2 DC SPECIAL CYBORG #3 (OF 5) DEADWORLD FROZEN OVER #3 (OF 4) DUMMYS GUIDE TO DANGER LOST AT SEA #4 (OF 4) DYNAMO 5 #15 FANTASTIC FOUR TRUE STORY #1 (OF 4) FRANK FRAZETTAS CREATURES #1 GHOST WHISPERER #5 GREEN LANTERN #33 GRIMM FAIRY…  Read More…

Here’s a few manga I liked (or sort of liked).

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Posted by: Joe McCulloch on

Categories: Reviews

Although you should keep in mind that I’m the kind of guy who thinks the best publishing news of the whole San Diego con is that Pluto — Naoki Urasawa’s Ultimate Astro Boy!! — will be coming to US shelves in February 2009. Granted, it’s still an ongoing series in Japan (a somewhat irregular one to boot), and only up to Vol. 6 as of this week, so it’s likely to hit a production wall around Spring 2010… but still, PLUTO!! And 20th Century Boys at the same time! But here’s some back-to-front funnies you can buy right now. Real Vol. 1: Oh is it? This one’s gonna need some context. The writer/artist of this thing is Takehiko Inoue, who…  Read More…

Retail Intelligence: The impact of the WATCHMEN trailer

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on July 25, 2008

Categories: Retailing/Industry

Just popping in for a quick Retail Intelligence note: the trailer for WATCHMEN, which debuted something like a week ago, in front of THE DARK KNIGHT (and, wow, was that a terrific film), has done something that I’ve never ever seen. It is selling comic books. Lots of them. Well, or it would have, had I had any in stock! Last Tuesday I had what would normally be a month’s worth of WATCHMEN in stock (and if you remember back to last week’s post, WATCHMEN was my #2 best selling TP in the last 12 months, so we’re talking about a real number of copies). Every single copy sold out by mid-Saturday morning. The calls have been coming in by…  Read More…

Savage San Diego: A Quick List of Who’s Where & When

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on July 24, 2008

Categories: Site News

I don’t know which one of the thousands of exhibitors brought the ray that speeds up time, but they’ve got it cranked to eleven down here in San Diego: I had enough time to walk one-tenth of the giant exhibition floor last night, said hi to no more than three or four people (but they were awesome people, I assure you) before joining the nerd diaspora and staggering through the streets of San Diego in search of a place to rest my feet and a liquid that cost less than a dollar an ounce. So I’m posting this early Thursday morning instead of Wednesday, and I apologize for that. Nonetheless, if you’re immune to the effects of the Speed-Up-Ray and…  Read More…

Jog Liked the Mekon: Dan Dare still doesn’t know it on 7/24

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Posted by: Joe McCulloch on

Categories: Reviews

Dan Dare #7 (of 7) Good lord, who’d have figured Garth Ennis could be so… traditional? This is the last issue (FOR NOW) of Ennis’ and artist Gary Erskine’s revival of the beloved Frank Hampson creation, an extra-thick pamphlet with 44 pages of story and a $5.99 price tag. And it’s exactly what you’ve come to expect, if you’ve been following the story thus far: vast clashes between warships on the sea of stars, gallant adventure in hostile territory, several noble struggles against impossible odds, and plenty of dialogue balloons pertaining to the spirit of England, its cooling embers, suffocated beneath the ash of avarice and indifference, slowly, heroically reddening to life once more under the stalwart breath of Daniel…  Read More…

Douglas’s tips for Comic-Con ’08

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Posted by: admin on July 23, 2008

Categories: Retailing/Industry

For the next few days, I’ll be strapped into my carriage of the log-flume that is Comic-Con. When I’m not moderating panels (see below), I’ll be wandering all over the show floor. But if you asked me to show you “the good stuff,” here’s what I would probably take you to first, and what I would probably advise you to flip through. (And by “here” I mean under the cut.) 1335 – Dumbrella: Scott McCloud is signing the excellent Zot! anthology there Friday at 3–at the same time as the Lynda Barry spotlight panel. Aaugh. Dumbrella’s also got Zot! T-shirts; if I didn’t already own, like, 800 T-shirts, I’d buy one, and I might anyway. 1514/1515 – Comic Relief: I…  Read More…

Arriving 7/23/2008

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on July 21, 2008

Categories: Shipping Lists

Lots of things for a week when lots of people are away down to San Diego… 2000 AD #1593 2000 AD #1594 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #85 (A) AMBUSH BUG YEAR NONE #1 (OF 6)ANGEL REVELATIONS #3 (OF 5)ARCHIE #587AVENGERS INITIATIVE #15 SIBATMAN GOTHAM AFTER MIDNITE #3 (OF 12)BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ORIGINS #8BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #186BETTY & VERONICA SPECTACULAR #84BLACK PANTHER #38BLOOD BOWL #2 (OF 5) KILLER CONTRACT CVR ABOY WHO MADE SILENCE #5 BRAVE AND THE BOLD #15BROKEN TRINITY #1 SEJIC CVR ACAPTAIN ACTION FIRST MISSION LAST DAY ONE SHOT DAN DARE #7 (OF 7) (NOTE PRICE)DAREDEVIL #109DEAD SPACE #5 (OF 6)DMZ #33 ELEPHANTMEN #13EXTERMINATORS #30 FALLEN ANGEL IDW #28 FUTURAMA COMICS #38GLAMOURPUSS #2GRAVEL #3 WRAP CVR GREEN…  Read More…

The POS Follies: The Return, Part 11

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on July 18, 2008

Categories: Retailing/Industry

The new TILTING AT WINDMILLS is up right here. [If you hit the link below for the label "POS", you'll get the whole series, too] We’re very nearly a year later on installing the POS system, and several conclusions about it are in the new TILTING. We’ve been spending the last 2 (and probably next three) days going through each “Hasn’t sold in a year” title to set it’s Minimum Point (the place where it triggers a reorder) down to zero — it’s a pretty laborious task on 1400 items, but there you go. I’ve made a couple of suggestions on how to make it better to Mark & Ben & AJ at MOBY, and we’re trading mails back and…  Read More…

Jog seems much more himself on 7/17: Yes. Quite.

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Posted by: Joe McCulloch on July 17, 2008

Categories: Reviews

Omega: The Unknown #10 (of 10) This is as good a superhero comic as any I’ve read this year. It’s an EXCELLENT ending to a VERY GOOD series, throwing all of its might behind Farel Dalrymple’s drawings and Paul Hornschemeier’s colors, with a few callbacks to the (still-uncredited) guest art of Gary Panter. There’s exactly eight words of dialogue in this whole issue, but every story beat is clear as a bell. Each page seems dipped in some distilled essence of all the melancholy, eccentricity and droll humor dealt heretofore by writer Jonathan Lethem (“with” Karl Rusnak, as always); little is concluded (yep, it’s one of those endings, True Believer), but all is evoked, climactically. Still, I’d strongly recommend you…  Read More…

Arriving 7/16/2008

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on July 14, 2008

Categories: Shipping Lists

Smallish week AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #566BATGIRL #1 (OF 6)BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #9BIRDS OF PREY #120BOMB QUEEN V #3 (OF 6) BROTHERS IN ARMS #2BUDDHA STORY OF ENLIGHTENMENT #4CAPTAIN AMERICA #40CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK #27CASEY BLUE BEYOND TOMORROW #3 (OF 6)CHARLATAN BALL #2CHECKMATE #28CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #1 DC WILDSTORM DREAMWAR #4 (OF 6)DREAMLAND CHRONICLES IDW #1FINAL CRISIS ROGUES REVENGE #1 (OF 3)FLASH #242FOOLKILLER WHITE ANGELS #1 (OF 5) FORGOTTEN REALMS THE LEGACY #3 (OF 3) ATKINS CVR AFRANK FRAZETTAS SWAMP DEMON (ONE SHOT)GHOST RIDER #25GODLAND #24HELLBLAZER #246 HELM #1 (OF 4)INCREDIBLE HERCULES #119 SIIRON MAN DIRECTOR OF SHIELD #31JOKERS ASYLUM POISON IVY #1MARVEL 1985 #3 (OF 6)MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #26MARVEL ILLUSTRATED ILIAD #8 (OF 8)MICE TEMPLAR #5MIGHTY AVENGERS #16 SIMOON KNIGHT…  Read More…

The Shops Got It On 7/10: Jog’s late post

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Posted by: Joe McCulloch on July 12, 2008

Categories: Reviews

The Goddess of War Vol. 1 (of 4?) This is an impressive new project from Lauren R. Weinstein and PictureBox, the 32-page debut of a continuing series (or possibly a four-issue miniseries, if you believe Diamond); you’ll know pretty quickly if your local shop happened to stock it this week, since I can’t imagine a 14.5″ x 10″ comic is that easy to miss, even if someone tries to hide it. And at $12.95 you’ll be paying for that extra room, though I can assure you that content is packed right in – if anything, I occasionally felt overwhelmed. Weinstein should be pretty well known to constant alternative comics readers; she’s had two strip collections out, 2003′s Inside Vineyland (from…  Read More…

Abhay is Reviewing Secret Invasion #4, Learning about Cuba, and Having Some Food

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on

Categories: Reviews

1: WHERIN RECENT EVENTS ARE NOTED. When I was a kid, a big company crossover came out called Secret Wars. There was a lot of fighting and Colossus cheated on his pre-teen girlfriend. It was fun. But then it was followed by a crossover called Secret Wars 2, which wasn’t so good. Bummer. But you know: big world kept on turning. Jump ahead 23 years: DC puts out the first issue of a crossover called Final Crisis. And it’s not a very entertaining comic book. The result? Heads will roll! Jobs will be lost! Say hello to the unemployment line! Say goodbye to your daughter’s virginity! Light the torches! Frankenstein must die! Blow pot-smoke at your parrot! Maybe it’ll get…  Read More…

It’s Not All About Cash (Hell No): Diana Aborts-Retries-Fails, 11/7

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Posted by: admin on July 11, 2008

Categories: Reviews

Every now and then, I go back to books I’ve dropped and re-evaluate them. It’s my way of trying to keep an open mind, because as a critic (especially a comics critic) it’s way too easy to go from this: To this: So with that in mind, I found myself picking up the latest issue of a series I’d stopped reading over a year ago. The nice thing about Marvel comics in general is the handy recap page that kicks off every issue of practically every series. Case in point: I hadn’t even been remotely interested in the events of NEW EXILES since I dropped the book, but even though we’re eight issues into the reboot, the plot was totally…  Read More…

Arriving 7/10/08

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on July 7, 2008

Categories: Shipping Lists

PLEASE REMEMBER: because of the 4th of July holiday, comics are delayed in the US by 24 hours — they are not shipping until THURSDAY. 100 BULLETS #93 2000 AD #1591 2000 AD #1592 ACTION COMICS #867AGE OF BRONZE #27 AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #22AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #565ARCHIE & FRIENDS #121ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #190ARMY OF DARKNESS XENA WHY NOT #4 (OF 4)BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #19BATMAN STRIKES #47BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ORIGINS #7BERLIN #16 BOOSTER GOLD #1000000BPRD THE WARNING #1 (OF 5)CAPTAIN AMERICA WHITE #0CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI 13 #3 SICHUCK #2 (OF 6)COLA MADNES TP DEAD SHE SAID #2DETECTIVE COMICS #846 RIPDEVI WITCHBLADE #1 LAND CVR DRAFTED #9ETERNALS #2FINAL CRISIS REQUIEM #1GAMEKEEPER SERIES 2 #5 GENEXT #3 (OF 5)GODDESS OF WAR #1 (OF 4) (RES) GOON…  Read More…

The Trouble with Charm

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on July 6, 2008

Categories: Reviews

I have to admit that I’m getting a little tired of continuity and universes and everything that those entail. More and more I crave “done in one” comics, or comics that are self-contained within themselves (even if multiple issues), or comics that are “fun”. The basic problem? These kinds of comics typically don’t sell very well. Here’s three comics I read this week that I liked great deal. You should buy copies and support them! PATSY WALKER, HELLCAT #1: Patsy Walker, as some few of you might know was originally Marvel’s (Timely’s) answer to ARCHIE (kinda — same demographics at least), and it ran from 1945 to 1965, gosh. Here’s a link to a cover gallery. I don’t think she…  Read More…

Abhay Wrote Some Capsule Reviews While Waiting for the Final Episode of Doctor Who of the Year to Show Up on the Internet; Oh God, My Life is Pathetic

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on July 5, 2008

Categories: Reviews

I hope the Cybermen show up again. Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it: Tor #1: I enjoy Joe Kubert’s war comics but I don’t think I’m the audience for his barbarian comics. I’d particularly enjoyed the Sgt. Rock comic that Kubert did with Brian Azzarello a few years ago, but I can’t seem to find a barbarian comic that’s the right fit for me. What I found interesting about this comic: There are only 10 panels in the comic which are silent. The overwhelming majority of panels contain insulting narration which explain in obtuse detail what Kubert’s drawn. I haven’t seen issue #2, but there isn’t a panel in issue #1 that…  Read More…

Not as good as finding the lost Metropolis footage, but within launching distance: Jog’s Beautiful Hell of 7/2

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Posted by: Joe McCulloch on July 3, 2008

Categories: Reviews

Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1 (of 3) This is the second Hellboy miniseries teaming of creator/writer Mike Mignola and artist Richard Corben, and it might wind up better than the first (2006′s Hellboy: Makoma, or, A Tale Told by a Mummy in the New York City Explorers’ Club on August 16, 1993) – that’s something, coming from me. I think what really got to me about this issue is how it seems especially tuned to Corben’s strengths; ragged, scraggly-looking people abound, branches jut above an environment coated in leaves, grass and dirt, and much of the horror comes from bodies twisting and cracking into odd, exaggerated forms. It’s seemingly tailor-made for Corben’s idiosyncratic approach to humans and nature, everything always…  Read More…

The agile ones with legal means: Douglas flips through periodicals from 7/2

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Posted by: admin on

Categories: Reviews

Actually what I thought was the funniest thing about the 85 (!) responses to my last post here was that nobody had anything to say about the Art Spiegelman book! BATMAN #678: So there’s this concept, the “Magical Negro”–this essay by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu is a pretty solid overview of it. Essentially, it’s a plot device in the form of a character of color (in a story that’s mostly about white characters) who is at some kind of severe personal disadvantage, has a mystical connection to the earth or magic powers of some kind, helps the white protagonist accomplish a goal or achieve a new perspective, and then dies or disappears. It’s one of the soggiest clichés in fiction, and this…  Read More…

Arriving 7/2/2008

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on July 1, 2008

Categories: Shipping Lists

This week is to “indy” comics as last week was to “mainstream” Marvel comics, sheesh! 2000 AD #1589 2000 AD #1590 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #84 (A) ALL NEW ATOM #25AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #564AMERICAN DREAM #5 (OF 5)AMERICAN SPLENDOR SEASON TWO #4 (OF 4) ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #10ARMY OF DARKNESS #10 LONG ROAD HOMEASTONISHING X-MEN #25 MDASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #7AVENGERS INVADERS #3 (OF 12)BATMAN #678 RIPBETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #162BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #1BLUE BEETLE #28BOYS #20 BRIT #7BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #16CABLE #5 DWSDARK TOWER END WORLD ALMANACDARK TOWER LONG ROAD HOME #5 (OF 5)DC SPECIAL RAVEN #5 (OF 5)DOCTOR WHO #5DOCTOR WHO CLASSICS #8DUMMYS GUIDE TO DANGER LOST AT SEA #3 (OF 4) DYNAMO…  Read More…