This is because of Memorial Day. Here is a google image search result for "Memorial Day," in case you are unclear about the purpose of the holiday:
That doesn't mean you shouldn't stop by the store on Wednesday, though! We'll be having some awesome specials going on just for those of you who want to come by the store anyway. And you should, because these specials are awesome. If I haven't mentioned that.
I would type all the details out, but this image is a lot easier to use:
We'll have even more details in the coming weeks! Because that is how we roll! You can also get information at www.freerpgday.com!
It's been a while since our last Dollar Box Sale. Well, that is about to change. Here is a flyer that explains everything:
New Avengers: Illuminati #3
Hey, remember this book? If you do, it's probably only because of that reprint of issues #1 and 2 (ON SALE NOW AT YOUR LOCAL FANBOY COMICS) that came out a few weeks ago. Anyway, the secret paranoid rewrite of the history of the Marvel Universe continues as the Earth's Mightiest Freemasons face off agains the Beyonder! How do they fight a person who can control reality with his mind? Spoiler: They pretty much act like a bunch of jerks to him.
The Boys #7
Not even cancellation could stop The Boys. In fact, one might say it's liberated them to be even more vulgar and over-the-top, which is pretty insane considering that this is one of the most vulgar and over-the-top books in Garth Ennis' bibliography--a bibliography that contains Preacher, I might add. Be sure to pick up the trade, as well, since it has unedited versions of the first six issues! That's right, there's stuff that was edited out of those first six issues. Insane.
Silver Surfer: Requiem #1
Hey, have you heard about the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie coming out? Well, it just so happens that Marvel planned a big Silver Surfer miniseries that's coming out this summer! What are the odds? About one, actually. It's called marketing, people. Hey, though, it's written by J. Michael Straczynski, who I'm starting to think is often overlooked when people list the best writers in the business. I mean, heck, even I overlook him. And here he is, writing a story that could be the Silver Surfer's last. If you like the Silver Surfer, or even if you don't, I have a hunch that this one's worth picking up.
KISS 4K #1
A mysterious and beautiful figure reveals to each KISS member that they carry the world-protecting warrior spirits of the 4K. But have they learned this incredible secret too late? Get in on the ground floor of this sprawling, epic adventure as realities crash and the Demon, the Starchild, the King of All Beasts and the Celestial open up an all-new KISS universe!
How can you not want to read this book? Sure, it doesn't have blood from the members of KISS mixed into the ink, but I hear that the staples are all made from an alloy of steel and their melted-down walkers! Ha ha! This is just one of many jokes that will get me badly injured by the various fans of KISS! They'll probably beat me to death with their canes! And they are old! Ha ha ha!
It's easy to learn to play games! Just stop by Fanboy Comics on Tuesday or Friday from 5:00 to 9:00 PM and find Atwood "The Rib" Boyd, our newly hired Game Counselor! He'll be available to teach you any game you want, or just to play games! That's right, we've got someone on staff whos job is to play games! As a fellow employee who has to spend hours photoshopping together obscure video game magazine references, I can confindently say that I'm not bitter at all. Oh, wait, I was mistaken, I'm incredibly bitter. That's not really a change from the status quo, though, since I am pretty much a barely contained fountain of rage.
The Rib will also be around to help people paint and build their armies, and he'll have a ton of free stuff to give away to people who show up for demos. You can also sign up in our game directory, a way for people to connect with gamers they don't even know yet!
The Rib also runs board game demos on Board Game Night, every Monday. Here's a flyer about that:
Oh, and here's what we're playing:
June 4th - Killer Bunnies
June 11th - Settlers of Catan
June 18th - Zombies!
June 25th - Devil Bunny Needs a Ham
It would seem that my favorite miniatures game is finally catching on in the area, and thankfully Fanboy Comics is going to be supporting it! Every Thursday Night from 6-10:30 PM we'll be hosting free play for Warmachine, and every new player who shows up this month gets two free movie tickets! That's radical, to steal a line from the year 1993! Warmachine is an awesome game with awesome models and awesome rules, so you should definitely play it. Heck, we can even help you learn to play the game. I've got some extra minis. It's a ton of fun.
Seriously, folks, we're having a tournament this coming Sunday where you can win this awesome Great Cthulhu figure for HorrorClix. Check out how awesome this thing is:
All it takes is $20, and you even get three boosters--normally about $25 anyway. So, the worst you can do is save money! The best you can do, of course, is to land the killing blow on Cthulhu and take home that awesome miniature.
World of Warcraft TCG Players: Get ready to raid the Molten Core this friday! Bring your best deck and team up with the other players to get the Loot™! There will also be prizes for the best performers!
...of adventure and fantasy! Oh, and zombies. That's what Thomas Devine wants to bring you this June, when he runs his "Dungeons and Zombies" roleplaying campaign, using Eden Studios' All Flesh Must Be Eaten roleplaying game. Players are encouraged to pick up the All Flesh Must Be Eaten Core Book and the Dungeons and Zombies Supplement, (both of which we can order her at Fanboy Comics if they aren't in stock) but it's not required. There will be pre-made characters available for new players, but if you're familiar with All Flesh Must Be Eaten, you're welcome to make your own character. The allowed classes are Survivor, Inspired, Adept Heroes, and Talented Heroes.
The game begins on Thursday, June 14th, and continues every Thursday afterwards.
Will you be our friend? We would like that. Friends are great! Especially when, by being our friend, you can get a weekly bulletin that gives you a sneak peek of that week's Tuesday Specials! That's right! Friends in need are friends indeed I guess or something.
Current Mood: Non Sequitur 
$7.99 per boosterWhat's more frightening and terrifying than a circus? Lots of things, but thanks to Todd McFarlane and the abysmal video game Kiss: Psycho Circus - The Nightmare Child, everyone thinks that circuses are supposed to be scary. Sure, clowns are kind of weird and creepy, but I don't know if we can go so far to say that circuses are some sort of psychotic common nightmare in society. My amateurish Jungian psychology aside, this HorrorClix set does a pretty good job of making circuses really creepy. At least, the creepy ones.
Maybe there was an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark about clowns that made everyone scared of circuses. Or maybe it's because I dress up like a clown and kidnap children. Who knows?
$19.99
Thirteen issues for twenty dollars. Thirteen issues for TWENTY DOLLARS. That is madness, even for a book that retailed at $2.50 an issue. Not only that, but it is awesome. If you didn't read 52, now's your chance to change that. I'd go so far to say that it was the best weekly comic to come out last year. Yeah, I know. Not a great joke. Well, what if I said it was one of the best comics, period, to come out last year? That's a bit more ambitious and much less sarcastic. It's also true. Seriously, read it.
$14.99
Apparently, there was stuff that they had to edit out of The Boys. That's right. They had to edit content out of a book in which a teenaged superhero gets killed and then a...there's, uh, a thing with a hamster. Apparently, there's worse stuff that they took out of the book. Insane. So, even if you already have the first six issues of The Boys, this trade is worth it just to see exactly how far Garth Ennis had to go to get something censored from the book. Apparently, Dynamite comics has no compunctions about vulgarity, unless you consider how disgusting their penchant for variant covers is.
$24.99
Oadenol's Codex is the guide to the practical application of sorcerous knowledge in the Second Age. From the creation of artifacts to the raising of manses, and from the subtle workings of thaumaturgy to the various naturally occurring miracles of Creation, this third of Exalted's Books of Sorcery offers aspiring geomancers, sorcerer-engineers, thaumaturges and preternaturalists the tools they need to ply their arcane trades.
That's pretty intersting, isn't it? I think it is!
Sorry, I really like Exalted, it's just hard to quantify why things are cool outside of dinosaurs that urinate heroin.
What?
$34.95
I quit playing World of Warcraft before I was level 60, so I never participated in a Molten Core raid. However, my friends who were playing did, and here's what they told me: nothing. You know why? Because they were too busy raiding the Molten Core. Well, now you can raid the Molten Core in the card game, with several players allying together to take on one opponent who takes the role of Ragnaros, perhaps the most unimaginatively named boss in the history of video games. (Excepting, of course, "Big Boss" from the Metal Gear games.)
$34.99
Honestly, I don't think this series got nearly enough attention. It was actually pretty danged interesting and pretty danged well-written. Not a surprise, given that Warren Ellis wrote it, but it never really seemed to get any acclaim. Also, it never really seemed to get mentioned again in any of the other Ultimate titles, which probably didn't help. It's awesome, though, and certainly does a great job of re-imagining some classic Marvel characters like Vision, Captain Marvel, the Silver Surfer, and--of course--Galactus. Not to mention that the, uh...Ultimate Ultimate Nullifier is incredibly cool. It's a great trilogy, with each title standing on its own merits, and there's no better way to pick up a long series like this than one of Marvel's oversized hardcovers. Fourteen issues for thirty-five bucks is a steal on a series this good.
If you produce a comic, or have some art you'd like to submit, or have written a review or anything else that you'd like to see in the newsletter, we're totally cool with that! Just email editor@fanboycomics.biz, and we'll put your submission in the newsletter if it's appropriate! Heck, you can even send in plain old comments about the newsletter, the store, or one of our events and we might publish them! We're really accommodating, it would seem.
Here are just a few of the many great items we have available on E-bay! We start new auctions every Monday at 6:00 PM that last through Saturday at 6:00 PM. Local customers can bid and pick up their purchase at the store to save on shipping! We also add new items to our E-bay Store every Wednesday and Thursday. We currently have over 1000 items, including pulps, vintage paperbacks, handbills, comics, and more!
This auction contains the vintage soft cover book Takeoff! by Randall Garret and edited and illustrated by Polly and Kelly Freas. This rare book was published in 1979 by Starblaze editions. It's in (VG+) condition or better with very lite edge and corner wear. Very nice interior!
This book is a parody of science fiction and sends its apologies to H.P. Lovecraft, Asimov, E.R. Burroughs, L. Sprague de Camp, Poul Anderson, and many others.
Don't miss out on this very rare book!!
This auction contains the vintage paperback The Space Magicians edited by Alden H. Norton and Sam Moskowitz. This rare book was published by Pyramid Books (T2393) in 1971. It's in (VG) condition with lite edge and corner wear. Very nice interior!
Contents include:
Here's a rundown of the main stuff we buy:
Because they are Mystery Bags! Also, she is a girl and therefore probably likes to buy things that are on sale! Well, you could consider these Mystery Bags to be a continuous ongoing sale on a random selection of comics! Definitely be sure to check out these mystery bags, which contain 20 random comics for $5.00!
Whatever Nancy Drew's catchphrase was, you can insert it here!
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Steve Epting
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99
In a lot of ways, I find it very odd how Marvel handled Captain America's death. On the one hand, I can see why they would want to save it for his own title, to spread the love sliding off of Civil War. In the other hand, Civil War ended so anti-climatically that killing off Captain America seems like the obvious choice, the decision they could have made. But whatever. Fans can spend the rest of their little lives re-writing epic story lines. Besides, it's not what happens in these epic story lines that matters. It's the repercussions that follow a tragedy.
Captain America #26 follows up on the death of Cap in a logical fashion. Sharon Stone, Falcon and the revamped Bucky all grieve in their own ways. Sharon feels guilt for her actions, and resigns from S.H.I.E.L.D. Falcon is torn between wanting to be at Cap's funeral and choosing the side of registration, and his allegiance to the Secret Avengers. And the "Winter Solider" is just pissed off and looking for vengeance from the most logically person to be blamed for all this mess. The result? Well...
I've talked about my feelings concerning Civil War with everyone who will listen. I love it. I love the whole damn thing. I like Iron Man being a character whom you love and hate. I like all the heroes not being on the same page when it comes to crime fighting. I like obscure characters like Luke Cage and Black Panther and even the Young Avengers having their time in the lime-light. And I really dig the bigger story of a government over-involved in its citizen's affairs. I even have a conspiracy theory, the villain responsible for it all. But I won't give that away here. You might say you thought of it first.
What I don't like are the books that aren't carrying their weight like they should. Amazing Spider-man is a disappointment every time I pick it up. The Illuminati is pure genius when it decides to come out. And the New Avengers book is almost boring. What is Wolverine doing on that team anyway? Regardless, Captain America is a great read, but I'm not locked into it yet. With the Red Skull looming in the background, and the whole super-hero society in upheaval, it's almost like Ed Brubaker is tossing us bones, trying to see where we want to go. Do we want the new Captain America to be black? Do we want Bucky to take over the role? Do we want Sharon to do it? We don't know and it feels like Brubaker doesn't know either. It feels problematic to me. A good comic has its plans thought out twenty steps ahead. Captain America reads like they are making it up as they go, which gives Caps death a little less meaning. I'll keep grabbing the book to see where they are going and in the hopes that something bigger is in the works, besides just moaning. Remember when Superman died? He came back in like a year and everything was back to normal. I really hope that doesn't happen with Captain America. I hope he's dead and I hope he stays dead so the Marvel Universe can keep going down the wonderful path that Civil War started it on.
RATING: 4/5
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Art and letters: Frazer Irving
Publisher: Image
Price: $2.99
About ten years ago I wrote a little fanzine called The Future Phatness. In it, I wrote about all sort of things that, when I look back on it now, made absolutely no sense what so ever. One thing I did concern myself with often was the gross, the filthy, the just plain nasty. I'm not really sure why I did that. Maybe when you are younger, you want to embrace the disgusting parts of the world, so you can develop some sort of second-skin to it. Like, the more you hurt and the more you see really bad stuff, the more you can deal with it in your life. I'm not really sure. What I do know is that I can't deal with it much anymore. It doesn't take a lot to make me grossed out. Call me what you want, Gutsville scared me.
There is a reason for the horror. Gutsville's premise is that a group of settlers took a wrong turn somewhere and landed in a place "of weed and waste, of wood pulp and resin." Imagine the folks during the Salem witch trails, but not as forgiving. Most religions are based around either guilt or fear and the citizens of Gutsville are concerned with both, thinking they are unworthy of the sun and the happy stuff. They call their era the Jonahtimes, and if you know anything about the Bible, then a time tied to Jonah can not be a good thing. Throw in an execution, a serial killer, a rat-catching job and some voo-doo weirdness and you have a book that is almost non-understandable and completely confusing.
Frazer Irving's art work does a great job keeping up with Simon Spurrier's gross ideas. Every page looks disturbing and disgusting. You feel completely uncomfortable when you read it, which is a good thing. A fine piece of fiction keeps the reader off balance and on edge, so that there is a curiosity to the story. You want to keep reading so you have that satisfaction at the end. The thing is, I'm not sure if the story makes enough sense to keep a reader reading. For starters, Spurrier tries to mimic that old-English dialogue throughout the book. But you mainly are re-reading the text because you don't understand it. And the premise is so particular and so fine-tuned, that only people who know the genre can follow the story. Rats? Is he catching them because there is overpopulation, or because people eat them? And why isn't there any sunlight? And why isn't anyone concerned about a serial killer? And what is that on the last page? Am I seeing things, or is that a Russian submarine? And why is that in the book, and why are they trying to catch it with nets? Maybe I'm just old, but a book being weird just to be weird pisses me off. But, judging from the artwork alone, I can see someone becoming a fan. Just be prepared to read this over and over again. Then shoot me an email and clue a brother in, huh?
RATING: 3/5
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Penciler: James Cordeiro
Inker: Scott Koblish
Colorist: Martegod Gracia
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99
I've secretly always kind of liked the Marvel Adventures line. It's simple narratives and goofball humor made them appealing to (as the cover suggests) people of all ages, instead of just children. However, I think the flagship MA titles (Spider-Man and Fantastic Four) worked so well in part because the characters were already lighthearted enough to make an easy translation to an "All Ages" book. Needless to say, I was kind of curious as to how well they would adapt an arrogant, manipulative, egomaniacal alcoholic into a lighthearted character.
Given that all Marvel Adventures book are one-shot stories, it's hard to make the case that an issue is lacking plot development, but the pace here is set so high that it generally makes everything seem absurd. It starts with Tony at some sort of gadget convention. He's speaking in front of a large auditorium of adoring fans, and basically spends four pages doing what Tony does best, namely act like a pretentious ass. During his speech, an elderly activist starts protesting, claiming that Stark is selling his technology to terrorists. Tony gets angry and leaves to fly his new plane around the world, but is kidnapped while doing so. When he wakes up he discovers that (in what might be the plot twist of the year) his kidnappers are none other than A.I.M. (like you really care what it stands for) the group he had been blindly selling technology to. AIM then forces Tony to develop weapons for them along side the same angry protester who showed up at the convention, Yinsen (who was also kidnapped). By working together they manage to escape by building giant armor suits without AIM ever noticing. Now I could say that that may be the most shameless deus ex machina I've even seen, but after all, this is a kid's book, and most kids don't even know what that means, so what's the point? After they blow up the AIM base with what I can only assume is some ancient Chinese magic. Then Yinsen dies, just to be a jerk, but not before teaching Tony a valuable lesson.
I'd have to say that the art was easily my favorite part of this book. James Cordeiro apparently thought that a distinctive "anime look" would suit Iron Man best. I don't know why he would think that, but seeing Tony Stark wearing a headband and having that trademark "hair that is apparently so dense and/or greasy that it forms inseparable streaks" is actually strangely satisfying.
This wasn't a very good book. As far as Marvel Adventures go, I think they should have just stuck with FF and Spider-Man. Iron Man is too serious and too complex a character to try to make a Marvel Adventures title for (at least in my opinion). Although, I should definitely make a point to say that while I found this comic to be bad, it was actually a "good" bad comic. The sheer absurdity and chaotic nature of the plot, along with the cheesy dialogue actually made this book funny in that "Oh my god, I can't believe I'm reading this" kind of way. -Reviewer Tristan Hoagland should have known that we all already know A.I.M. stands for Advanced Idea Mechanics. It was foolish of him to assume otherwise.
RATING: 2.5/5
Five days of music, movies, indie comics, art, and more music; boy am I tired. For WE Fest this year, Fanboy did an in-store event where we had several different self-published comic creators attend and give away free samples of their work.
We also had a huge indie back issue sale and a live performance by WE Fest band Second Dan.
Thanks to all who came out. We will see you next year!
My WE Fest Top 5 Bands
#1 - Chris Cubeta and the Liars Club
#2 - Second Dan
MySpace
#3 - Olivia Mancini and the Housemates
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#4 - Filthybird
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#5 - The Sammies
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Takeoff!
The Space Magicians
