Come out to our Magic: The Gathering Game Day on July 14th. There'll be a whole bunch of stuff going on. Pre-Registration for the sealed event begins at 11:00 AM, and the first 8 players to register get to participate in the Mini-Master Flight. What's that, you may ask? Why, it's this:
The First 8 Players who register each receive a single 10th Edition booster and hree of each basic land. Players shuffle all cards together. Next, players are randomly paired up against their first opponents. After the first round ends, the losers are out. THe four winners each receive one new booster and shuffle recycled land into new booster. Players are randomly paired up again for Round Two. Repeat the process until there is a single winner. First place wins 10 boosters, second place wins 5 boosters. If that's not a good enough reason to register early, I don' know what is.
The sealed event itself will be $20 entry and each player will get 5 booster packs. First prize wil be a booster box, second prize will be 18 packs, third prize will be 12 packs, and fourth prize will be 6 packs. We will also have special exclusive prize support from Wizards of the Coast, including:
That's a lot of prize support for not that much entry, so be sure to take advantage! Also, be sure to participate in the scavenger hunt, details of which are available at WotC's website. Judging will be held from 4-5 PM, and you must be present to win.
Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: The First Death #1
Well, it looks like the first series of Anita Blake comics was a success, because now they're releasing a new two-part series. In fact, this two-part series has been written exclusively as a comic! That's right, this isn't just a rehash of some dusty old novel. No, it's a fresh and vibrant look at how the protagonist manages to look more masculine than every male character in the comic. That's not a judgment call, it's merely an observation.
The Deadpool/Great Lakes Initiative Summer Spectacular
Here is all you should need to convince you to buy this book:
Green Lantern #21
Who the heck knows what's going to happen in this book? I mean, when the Sinestro Corps special had a last page like it did, you've got to figure that there's not anything that Geoff Johns won't do. For all I know, he'll kill Hal Jordan and Hal will have to get the Spectre to team up with him from beyond the grave or something! Right now, this whole Sinestro Corps art has the two best elements for a great setup: 1) You start to think that anything could happen and 2) You have no idea how the heroes can win against these odds. This story will live and die on how well it folows through with the first thing and how cleverly he resolves the other. I have faith in Geoff Johns, though. Let's hope it's not misplaced.
New Avengers #32
Well, the end of the previous issue was quite a shocker, but where do things go from here? If I know Brian Michael Bendis, they'll go straight to a bunch of people sitting around and talking a lot. Unfortunately, Bendis can be so good at dialogue, that's not even a good reason to get mad at him. I mean, check out this preview at Newsarama. Whatever you think of the whole Skrull thing, you have to admit that is some tense, well-written dialogue, and it certainly has me on the edge of my seat more than any plain old comic book fight. We'll see where the whole "Who can you trust?" theme goes, but for right now it's a damn entertaining ride.
Each player pays $2 entry, with a card from our singles selection as a prize! Tournaments begin at 4:00 PM and last throughout the Summer!
Warmachine is on the rise here at Fanboy, which I think is awesome. As I've previously said, I love the game, and now we've got a good core group of players and representation of each Warmachine faction, so we've decided to run a Summer Rampage league that starts Wednesday, June 11th! More information about the Summer Rampage league is in the latest issue of No Quarter, the semi-monthly magazine Privateer Press publishes about their Miniatures game, but here's a bit of a summary:
All in all, it works pretty much like a normal league, but there are special rules centered around Warmachine vs. Hordes games. You don't have to play Warmachine vs. Hordes, but when you do, you can pull off crazy finishing moves when your warjack takes out a warbeast, or vice versa. For example, a warjack that kills a warbeast can hold up its body and use it as a meat shield, while a warbeast that kills a warjack can rip out its cortex and crush it to send painful feedback to its controlling warcaster. There are also Rampages, powerful effects that a warjack or warbeast can trigger by meeting certain conditions. The full kit hasn't arrived yet, but you can get your player card and finishing move and rampage cards in the latest No Quarter. We also have some extra player cards if you don't want to splurge for the No Quarter. Whichever way you decide to go, sign up now, because this league only lasts five weeks!
If you're looking for a good day to find some players for league games, then you'll definitely want to come by Fanboy on either Sunday or Thursday evenings, which are our scheduled days for Warmachine. Of course, you can play any day during the week, but those days you'll be guaranteed to find a player.
We have picked up a ton of great back issues. Check this out:
GREETINGS TO ALL MORTALS WHO BEHOLD THIS RECORD, IT BEING THE TRANSCRIBED WORDS OF MYSELF, TÝR--HE WHO SACRIFICED HIS OWN ARM TO ENSURE THE BINDING OF THE WOLF FENRISULFR WITH GLEIPNIR--[Editor's Note: I cut some of the rambling here. If you're insterested, you can always check out Týr's Livejournal.]
I HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY MY FRIEND WHO EDITS THIS NEWSLETTER THAT MY DAY [Editor's Note: Tuesday] HAS BEEN DEVOTED TO SPECIALS AT THE FANBOY COMIC SHOP
HE EXPLAINS TO ME THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT SPECIALS EACH WEEK, ONE ON THE FANBOY COMICS BACK ISSUES, ONE ON A GAMING PRODUCT, AND ONE ON A PIECE OF MERCHANDISE, PERHAPS EVEN MORE
SUCH GLORY IS TRULY DESERVING OF A MANLY EMBRACE
YET BEYOND THIS THERE ARE FRESH BOXES OF COMICS TAKEN OUT OF STORAGE, AND ALL OF THEM ARE A SINGLE DOLLAR
THIS IS TRULY GREAT AND SHOULD BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF
LET US ALL HUG TO COMMEMORATE THE OCCASION
ALSO FRIENDS OF FANBOY COMICS ON MYSPACE ARE BESTOWED WITH A SNEAK PEEK OF THE SPECIALS
I AM NOT A FRIEND OF FANBOY COMICS ON MYSPACE, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND--AS ALL TRUE WARRIORS DO--THAT FRIENDS ARE NOT MADE THROUGH INTERNET CONTRIVANCE
RATHER, FRIENDSHIP IS AN INTERPERSONAL CONTRACT SIGNED WITH A HUG
Watchtower: $30.00Dangit, Games Workshop, you now have a way to take my money when I'm playing other miniatures games! These pieces of terrain look too good to not use with my new miniatures love, Warmachine. Of course, that's when they're assembled and painted by somebody not incompetent. I can dream, right? Or, I could pay somebody else to paint them. Which makes me even more poor. DAMN
S-XL: $17.99There's no better way for you to declare your allegiance to a fictional group of robots than with these shirts! I guess maybe you could register or something, but then the government will know where you live. Anyway, if you're at all familiar with the Autobot and Decepticon logos, you could probably imagine what these shirts look like even without the picture right next to this. I WILL LEAVE THE BUYING CHOICES UP TO YOU.
$19.99
NEXTWAVE IS THE BEST OF COMICS! IT IS NUMBER ONE KING COMIC BOOK WITH TWO FISTS AND PLENTY OF JE NE SAIS HIYAAA! IF YOU NO BUY NEXTWAVE IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO FACE THE HOUR HAND SADLY. INTERESTING OCCURRENCES ARE PART OF THE MAGIC PLAN!
BOOYAH, COLONEL AMAZING! FIGHTING THE FORCE OF POWER!
$3.99 Per BoosterWell, it's been 14 years since Magic: The Gathering first came out and did whatever the heck it was, and maybe 10 years since I quit playing Magic because I had no money and my green deck relied on the strategy of using Walls of Ice to not die until I could bring out a Scaled Wurm or Craw Wurm. Veteran Magic players understand that this deck was not only terrible, but also, in fact, evidence in court that I was legally retarded. Anyway, here's the newest set. If you care about Magic, you probably know a lot more about this set than me. Have fun buying it when it comes out this week!
These are the people who won door prizes:
Dave DiMuro won the
Fantastic Four Trade Paperback Collection
Jon Messina won the
Silver Surfer T-Shirt and The Marvel HeroClix Starter
Owen Alphin won the
Silver Surfer Omnibus
Matthew Curri won the
Player's Handbook
David Vassalotti won the
Battle For Macragge Box Set
Jason Musick (?) won the
Battle For Skull Pass Box Set
Here's a rundown of the main stuff we buy:
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. Seriously, write some reviews. We'll hook you up with free review copies of comics. How cool is that?
As usual, a great many comic books have been pushed back to a later date. This news is so shocking that we are now developing a weekly section where we announce comic delays, so you can better know when your favorite books are coming out. Or when the next delay announcement will be, whatever. We'll also include other schedule announcements, like different products coming back in stock, second printings, and the like. But this is the comic industry, and we all know which type of announcment we will see the most.
Changed Release Dates
| OLD DATE | NEW DATE | |
| PIRATES OF CONEY ISLAND #6 (OF 8) | 05/23/07 | 07/25/07 |
| SAM & TWITCH BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS COLLECTION VOL 2 TP | 07/11/07 | 07/25/07 |
| STAR WARS KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #18 (C: 1-0-0) | 07/18/07 | 07/25/07 |
| CLASSIC PEANUTS CHARACTER #8 WOODSTOCK (C: 1-1-3) | 07/18/07 | 07/25/07 |
| FEAR AGENT LAST GOODBYE #2 | 07/18/07 | 07/25/07 |
| HELLBLAZER #234 (MR) | 07/18/07 | 07/25/07 |
| NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #4 (OF 5) | 07/18/07 | 08/01/07 |
| JACK KIRBYS GALACTIC BOUNTY HUNTERS #6 | 07/18/07 | 07/25/07 |
| IMMORTAL IRON FIST #7 | 07/18/07 | 07/25/07 |
| ONSLAUGHT REBORN #4 (OF 5) | 07/18/07 | 07/25/07 |
| OFFICIAL TAROT MARVEL UNIVERSE | 07/18/07 | 07/25/07 |
| HALO UPRISING #1 (OF 4) (MR) | 07/18/07 | 07/25/07 |
| CRIMINAL #8 (MR) | 07/25/07 | 08/08/07 |
| STAR WARS KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #19 (C: 1-0-0) | 07/25/07 | 08/15/07 |
| CROSSING MIDNIGHT #9 (MR) | 08/01/07 | 07/25/07 |
| BATMAN BATMAN AND SON HC | 08/08/07 | 08/15/07 |
| POWERS VOL 10 COSMIC TP (MR) | 08/09/07 | 08/08/07 |
| ASTONISHING X-MEN #22 | 08/15/07 | 08/22/07 |
| CRIMINAL #9 (MR) | 08/22/07 | 09/12/07 |
| GOON #20 | 09/19/07 | 10/17/07 |
| DUST #1 (OF 2) (MR) | 12/31/19 | 07/25/07 |
| WALKING DEAD #39 (MR) | 12/31/19 | 07/25/07 |
| SPAWN #170 | 12/31/19 | 07/25/07 |
| INVINCIBLE #44 | 12/31/19 | 07/25/07 |
| GUTSVILLE #2 (OF 6) (MR) | 12/31/19 | 07/25/07 |
It is a common knowledge that the Superman character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1932. A fact that DC Comics usually keeps hidden is that Superman is almost a direct copy of an earlier comic book character. In 1874 Polish immagrant Mieczyslaw Wojciechowski was working as a leather worker outside New York City when he started telling his coworkers strange tales about animals he saw in his dreams. After a few months of his stories, he was fired from his job and forced to move underneath a bridge in the countryside. Wojciechowski got a job writing for a local newspaper, where he sometimes drew pictures which they would publish. These became so popular with the townsfolk that he started to draw full comic strips for the paper, which soon came to dominate the publication.
His most notable creation was known as Supreme-Goat, the Goat Master. The goat was featured in almost all of the 10,000 strips he was able to create during his lifetime, and was a widely known figure to various New York Socialites of the time period. Supreme-Goat had the incredible powers of flight and super-strength, as well as the ability to produce rays of heat from his eyes. In some stories the power to produce eye-rays was replaced with the ability to control animals with his eyes. During the 1880's Supreme-Goat ate several scientists and developed the power of human speech.
The main nemesis for Supreme-Goat was a character known as Doktor Murder. Doktor was portrayed as a time traveler from the year 2372, but due to a malfunction in his time machine he was forced to assume the form of a talking bear in the present. He used his genius schemes to try and overthrow the United States government on several occasions, always stopped at the last moment by Supreme-Goat. Doktor Murder is always drawn wearing a cape to differentiate him from the other numerous bears that would appear in the strip, but it was always implied that the cape was not really there and no one else could see it. This character was later re imagined to be Brainiac.
Do not fall for any misconceptions spread by DC.
Writer: J. Michael Straczynksi
Pencils: Olivier Coipel
Inks: Mark Morales
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99
The Marvel Universe has to have the lowest death rate of any universe anywhere. People just don't stay dead. No one. Ever. Bucky's back. Jean Grey is supposedly dead, but she'll be back and kill another planet soon enough. Psylocke wasn't dead very long. Colossus has returned from the grave, all shiny and new. And yeah, Captain America got shot to death, but, come on! Does anyone really believe he won't be coming back? That's what people do in the Marvel Universe. They come back from the dead.
And, low and behold, Thor is back and ready to rumble. And this guy didn't die an ordinary death. He fought the biggest battle in the history of battles. Ragnarok! The battle to end all things! Ragnarok has always loomed over Thor because it was suppose to be the last great battle that destroyed the entire universe, or something. It did end Asgard, while the rest of us were asleep in our beds. And it was to suppose to kill Thor, but did it? No! Why? Cause this is the Marvel Universe! And no one stays dead! Captain America is going to come back! As a woman! A black woman!
Sorry.
The first issue of Thor has Donald Blake-that's right-back from the dead. Once Asgard was done and all the gods dead, Donald Blake came back into existence. Alive and back on Earth, he isn't content. He knows the world needs Thor, and it does. With Tony Stark going crazy and the Hulk pissed beyond reason, there is no better time to have a long-haired dude with a hammer to save the day. Donald Blake returns to "the Abyss" to retrieve Thor, who has been there since he died, but Thor isn't sure he wants to come back. Asgard is dead. All his friends are dead. Ragnarok is over. Aren't things supposed to end? But what will happen if Thor doesn't come back?
I'm not the biggest Straczynski fan, but I like the stuff he's doing with the Silver Surfer and I like his writing in Thor. He does vague and strange well. Instead of pumping the book with a lot of reasons or logic, Straczynski just has Donald Blake and Thor talking in a misty realm that could be anywhere and no where. Straczynski knows that Thor won't be the first person to come back from the dead and won't be the last. There is some comfort in that, the idea that the writer doesn't think we're stupid. We just want Thor back. The how is a side note.
Straczynski paints a strange picture of Donald Blake, however. Like he does with Peter Parker in Amazing Spider-man, I don't really trust Blake. Peter Parker is very angry under Stracynski's pen and Donald Blake is sort of creepy. The guy is alive. Why would he want to be tied to a god? Again? You would think that he would live the rest of his life in piece. There is something very creepy about Donald Blake wanting the power of Thor. I remember something from when I was a kid. My grandfather told me this. Never trust anyone who wants power. I'm not sure if it is planned or what, but I'm interested to see more.
The art is "meh". It'll do. Its not the best, but it is functional and dynamic. Thor's a big dude with a hammer. It's hard to mess that up.
The last Thor series started with Thor being stuck as a mortal after another mortal was killed during a fight he was in. It was dramatic and engaging, and changed Thor's status quo. This is shifting back to the beginnings of his career, and it is typical of what Marvel is doing with all their characters: Put them back to where they were, cause where they were was good. I'm not certain if Thor is right for this formula. The stories that spun out of him having the power of Odin and Ragnarok were amazing and spectacular. Fans loved the series, even when it ended, because it was the Thor they always wanted. Sometimes, what works isn't always the way to go.
RATING: 4/5
Writer: Stuart Moore
Pencils: Tyler Kirkham
Inks: Sal Regla
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99
Are you serious?
Who thought this was a good idea? Hey, lets put the Avengers pre-Civil war together with the Transformers pre-movie. I sort of like seeing Captain America alive and well though. I got sort of teary. But seeing the Transformers old-school again made me depressed. They look so uncool! How did I think they were awesome when I was a kid? I must have fell in love with the concept of big robots turning into cars. And Megatron? The physics behind a giant robot changing into a tiny handgun with a scope is beyond me. They really are "more than meets the eye". I'm sorry. I had to do it. [Editor's Note: This is true. Jarvis is contractually obligated to put terrible puns in his reviews so I can mock him for it.]
Alright. So Doctor Doom has, once again, started a big bag of problems. He's started bombing his neighbor, Symkaria, the place the Silver Sable chills at. The Avengers have been assigned to go in and figure out what Doom's problem is, besides his ugly face and his mother issues. So the Avengers go in and Captain America tells Wolverine to shut up and Wolverine gets pissed and pops his claws, cause Wolverine has to pop his claws every other panel. It's, like, the law. And then Luke Cage is big and black and says something that big, black people say. And Megatron scans them all and sees that Spider-man has irradiated blood. So they zap him and then a car grabs him as he's falling and drives off. Then the rest of the Avengers show up. Then the Autobots realize that there is some mind-control crap going on, making the humans want to kill each other. And when the Autobots show up, Captain America yells, "Avengers Attack" and then they are gonna fight next issue. Assuming you are stupid enough to buy next issue.
The book isn't really bad. It is just completely unneeded and silly. I don't get, still, why comics have these crossovers. Like, aren't comics confusing enough? [Editor's Note: Talking like a valley girl is not in Jarvis's contract.] Raise your hand if you really, really want to see the Transformers and the Avengers in the same room together. No one wants it. No one needs it. Some stuff is cool on its own. It doesn't need something around to try and make it cooler. Like ice cream. You don't put video games in your ice cream. They just don't mix well.
But, damn me, this book has got me curious. Why does Megatron want Spider-man? What is special about his blood? I have a bad feeling that it will result in a "Spider-former." Like, Spider-man will transform into a flying spider or something. Oh, God. I think they probably will do that. I can't bear the thought. [Editor's Note: I guess you missed the short-lived Megamorphs miniseries, huh?]
If you HAVE to read every comic with the word "Transformers" on the cover, and if you HAVE to read all the Avengers stuff, and if someone gives you three dollars, then you can buy this book. Other wise, skip it and go see the movie, which is a billion times better and doesn't have Wolverine popping his claws all over the place. What's his deal, anyway?
RATING: 3/5
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: John Cassaday
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99
Captain America is dead. I don't like it. The longer he isn't in a book or on a cover, the less I like it. I think that means a lot. Besides Spider-man, there isn't another Marvel character whose absence actually feels like something is gone. Something is missing. Even when Captain America left the Avengers, you felt like he should be there, but you didn't care because you knew he'd be back. He's Captain America. He is the guy who always has a plan, who always knows what's going on, and is always ready for anything. And he's gone.
Of course, Marvel is juicing this just a little bit. Some of the Fallen Son stories have been alright or ok, but this one is the best of them all. Fallen Son: Iron Man shows Cap's actual funeral and the Falcon speech that has been hinted at in other comics. Falcon probably makes one of the best comic book speeches I've read in a while, and will make him that much of a bigger and broader character than he already is. It feels like a funeral, too. I kept thinking, when I was reading this, of Superman's funeral. That was a joke. There was a stupid, silly fight that broke out and it was more of a lame cameo for the Justice League than it was giving respect to the Man of Steel. I think that it wasn't taken seriously because everyone knew, one way or the other, that Superman wasn't dead. He was going to show back up. But, even though Marvel is notorious about bringing people back from the grave, this feels different. It doesn't feel like Captain America is coming back, and after the last few panels of Fallen Son: Iron Man, I'm not sure if he could come back. Well, yeah, I can make some scenarios up, but Cap's death has been taken very seriously. More seriously than I thought it would be.
Jeph Loeb deserves some of the credit, but the real praise goes to John Cassaday. No one else could pen this comic. He makes every page seem sober and epic in its own special way. And all the one pagers and two page splashes are so powerful that you are forced to look at them over and over. John Cassaday is truly one of the best and finest artists in the field right now. There is no limit to his potential or where his talents will take him. I see him doing a Kingdom Come type story very soon that will solidify him as the best artist we have right now. Hands down.
If I say anymore, I'll give way some of the good moments of this book. I doubt that there could be another, more dignifying way to say good bye to one of the truly great heroes. Part of me hopes Captain America stays dead. Bringing him back too soon would make some of the stories being told seem less than they are.
RATING: 5/5
Sorry. Maybe a week I don't spend way too much time making a fake livejournal page for a norse god, I'll have editor's notes.
