As you can see, the city has blocked off a pretty decent chunk of Wrightsville Ave. near Kerr, making it harder to get to the store from College Road. The store is still open, though, and it's easy to access us from Floral Parkway. Just letting people know so they aren't discouraged by the city of Wilmington's sinister goals. Wrightsville should be completely open by the weekend, though.
More great Silver Age stuff added. Check some of this stuff out:
Marvel Preview Presents Magazine: #1, 2 (First Origin of Punisher), 4, 7, 16, 17, 19 (Kull), 20, 23, 24
Incredible Hulk: #112-117, 132-135, 141 (First Appearance Doc Samson), 142-156
Sub-Mariner: #1-6, 8-13, 22, 30, 38, 45-48
Strange Tales: #143-149, 160-168
Green Lantern: #11, 30, 32, 36, 39, 40 (Origin of Infinite Earths, 1st Solo Appearance of Golden Age Green Lantern in Silver Age, Origin of the Guardians), 41-44, 45 (2nd Appearance of Golden Age Green Lantern in the Silver Age), 46, 47, 59 (1st Appearance of Guy Gardner), 60
Showcase Presents: #53, 56, 59 (3rd Appearance of the Teen Titans), 62 (1st Appearance of the Inferior Five), 63 (Hulk Parody)
G.I. Combat: #90, 110-112
Our Army at War: #145, 146, 148, 154, 155
Our Fighting Forces: #68, 86, 87, 90, 91
Justice League of America: #10, 22-24, 28-38, 40-47, 59-62, 64, 76
Flash: #125, 140, 145, 146, 149, 151 (Engagement of Barry Allen and Iris West), 156-164, 175 (2nd Superman/Flash Race), #176-178
E.C. Classic Reprints (Titles Like Weird Science, Tales From the Crypt, Shock Suspense Stories, Haunt of Fear, Weird Fantasy, Crime Suspense, Vault of Horror and More): #1-12 (Multiples of many of these)
Thor: #151-181
Tales to Astonish (Sub-Mariner/Hulk): #94-99, 101
Fantastic Four: #62-96
Daredevil: #14, 16, 20-44, 46-50
X-Men: #25, 27, 31, 34, 36, 40, 41, 44, 46
DC 80-Page Giant: #1-15
We've got a fancy new front page now--featuring javascript instead of stupid css workarounds! We also have a page about the sort of services we provide, so I don't have to constantly reprint them in this newsletter. Feel free to check them out! You might learn something!
Note: The Date of the Final Starro tournament was incorrect on previous versions of the flyer, including the one we handed out and posted in the store. The event is actually scheduled for Saturday, October 20th. We apologize for any confusion.
Get a different "Slave of Starro" limited edition mini each week, and the winner gets a brick! Each Starro tournament is a sealed event where $18 entry gets you two DC HeroClix: Justice League booster packs from which you build your team. You can also use any of the Slave of Starro figures you've gotten in previous weeks as if you pulled them from your booster. The final week of the event, the winner gets the extremely limited extra-large Starro figure!
$75.00
I guess DC is finally taking a clue from Marvel and releasing fancy omnibus editions of some of their most popular stories and characters. Well, I'm not sure about all the plural parts in that previous sentence, but if this Death of Superman Omnibus is cool enough, I hope it's true. Although it clocks in at seventy-five bucks, it does have nearly seven-hundred and fifty pages, which makes the high price point fairly easy to swallow. If you want to read the Death of Superman, there's not going to be a better way to do it than this.
$34.99
The first Scion game was pretty awesome. There were a lot of cool ideas in it and the rules system seemed pretty elegant. However, it was the first part of a trilogy, promising that you character would eventually manage to achieve more power. That's where Scion: Demigod comes in. You can take your Scion (for those unaware, the Scions of the first game were children of gods from various mythic pantheons) up to untold power levels to fight off the titans and their horrific spawn.
L-XL: $18.99I want you to take an adventure of imagination with me. First, concentrate on that image to the right. Now, I want you to focus the sum totality of your psychic potential on it. Now, imagine that the image to your right is on a t-shirt. Congratulations, you've successfully visualized this product.
$19.99
So what do you do when you have an awesome cult hit like Marvel Zombies? If you're Marvel, then I guess you cross it over with Army of Darkness? While that might not have made any sense to me, it turns out to have been a great idea on the part of Marvel, because the series was actually really entertaining. Also, thanks to this and the transitive property, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate Power, and Black Panther, it turns out that Marvel Zombies are a shared part of the regular Marvel Universe, the Ultimate Marvel Universe, The Squadron Supreme Universe, and the Evil Dead Movies. CRISIS ON INFINITE CROSSOVERS, HERE WE GO.
It's a standard sealed event with a $25.00 entry fee, and the winner gets a Legend of Drizzt scenario pack including Drizzt, Wulfgar, and the White Dragon Icingdeath:
The Warmachine league is kicking into high gear! People are racking up mad points to get mad discounts! All you need to do is play, so come by the game room on Thursday or Sunday to get in a game.
Also, keep an eye out for an upcoming Hordes: Evolution Stampede tournament towards the end of October!
We pay in store credit. If you're interested, either call the store at 452-7828 or email us at fanboycomics@bellsouth.net. Or tell us that you're interested when you're at the store. The requirements are that you have a car, more or less.
What sort of awesome stuff does Fanboy Comics have on the Electronic Bay or "E-Bay," as the youth call it? Well, here's a sampling of the sort of stuff you might see on our store. Don't forget, if you buy any of this stuff, you can pick it up at the store and not pay shipping!
Charlie Chan 2-Book Lot
This auction contains the rare vintage Charlie Chan paperback 2 Book Lot by Earl Derr Biggers:
Overall, a book with high eye appeal. Don't miss out on this rare unique item.
Cinefantastique Magazine About Zardoz
This auction contains the movie magazine, Cinefantastique. Issue from
1974 that focuses on the 'horror of personality', focusing on such
movies as Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Hush...Hush, Games, and many
more. Also there are reviews for Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, Fantastic
Planet and several others. Also a longer review is dedicated to the
movie, Zardoz. This is a
perfect magazine for movie collectors and sci-fi horror fans.
Staple
bound, color cover, moderate wear on front and back cover and spine,
otherwise in nice condition with overall nice eye appeal.
Halo ActionClix
Release Date: September 19th
Boosters: $10.99 Each
Hunter Combat Pack: $24.99
D&D Minis: Legend of Drizzt Scenario Pack
Release Date: Semptember 21st
Price: $49.99 $40.00 If Pre-Ordered!
White Wolf September Releases
Mage: The Awakening - The Mysterium - $26.99
Exalted 2nd Edition: The Sidereals - $31.99
World of Darkness: Reliquary - $24.99
Magic: The Gathering - Lorwyn Expansion
Release Date: October 12th
Booster Box Price: $97.00 $90.00 If Pre-Ordered!
Fat Pack Price: $34.99 $29.99 If Pre-Ordered!
Tournament Packs and Theme Decks: $12.99
We need Dungeon Masters to help us run D&D Adventures at Dungeons and Dragons Game Day 2007 on Saturday, November 3rd. If you've got the DMing chops, shoot us an email at fanboycomics@bellsouth.net. There may be perks!
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
| ITEM | OLD DATE | NEW DATE |
| Star Wars 30th Anniv. Coll. Vol. 8 HC: Splinter/Mind’s Eye | 09/05/07 | 09/19/07 |
| Spider-Man/Red Sonja #2 | 09/09/07 | 09/19/07 |
| The Order #3 CWI | 09/19/07 | 09/26/07 |
| Immortal Iron Fist #9 | 09/19/07 | 09/26/07 |
| Red Prophet: Tales of Alvin Maker #11 | 09/19/07 | 10/03/07 |
| Magician Apprentice #10 | 09/19/07 | 10/03/07 |
| Anita Blake, VH: Guilty Pleasures #7 | 09/19/07 | 10/03/07 |
| Hedge Knight 2: Sworn Sword #4 | 09/19/07 | 10/03/07 |
| Green Arrow Year One #5 | 09/19/07 | 09/26/07 |
| Superman Confidential #6 | 09/19/07 | 09/26/07 |
| Thunderbolts #117 | 09/26/07 | 10/17/07 |
| Orson Scott Card’s Wyrms #6 | 09/26/07 | 10/03/07 |
| Loners #6 | 09/26/07 | 10/17/07 |
| Astonishing X-Men #23 | 09/26/07 | 10/10/07 |
| Jack of Fables #15 (MR) | 09/26/07 | 10/03/07 |
| Green Lantern Corps #16 | 09/26/07 | 10/03/07 |
| Green Arrow Year One #6 | 10/03/07 | 10/17/07 |
| Justice Society of America #10 Reg./Var. Eds. | 10/03/07 | 10/24/07 |
| Powers #26 (MR) | 10/03/07 | 09/26/07 |
| Thor #4 | 10/10/07 | 10/17/07 |
| Showcase Presents Metal Men Vol. 1 TP | 10/10/07 | 09/26/07 |
| Zombie Simon Garth #1 (MR) | 11/14/07 | 11/28/07 |
| Showcase Presents Teen Titans Vol. 2 TP | 12/12/07 | 10/31/07 |
"One More Day, Part 1"
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Joe Quesada
Inks: Danny Miki
Colorist: Richard Isanove
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $3.99
So this is the story thus far. Spider-man, aka Peter Parker, revealed to the world his true identity. After that, pretty much everything fell apart. He decided to join Captain America's side during the Civil War, he became a wanted fugitive, his wife was almost arrested, and Aunt May was shot by a sniper. Things tend to go from bad to worse for Peter. Without a job and wanted by the government, Parker has had to do some pretty bad things to keep Aunt May from getting the boot. Hospitals tend not to want to help people without the proper health insurance. But, no matter how bad it gets, Parker is willing to do whatever it takes to give Aunt May just one more day, even if it means going toe to toe with the Invincible Iron-Man.
Fiction works best when the main character is made to suffer as much as possible. The reason for this is that, as readers, we root for him and want to see him succeed. The thing with Spider-man is that he's constantly failing. One thing after another happens to him and we have to keep watching him bounce with it. He takes the hits, he takes the blows, and we do the best we can as his fans, hoping that he'll keep his head up and keep trying.
The thing about this current storyline, and most of the story lines written by J. Michael Stracynski, (JMS for short) is that Parker is always fighting something. There is constantly something he has to fight or battle through, and it is more than normal. How much pain can the brother go through? I think that's the question that JMS keeps posing. How many times can we knock Parker down until he breaks? Well, I think we might be witnessing that breakage very soon.
This is nothing new. Remember the Spider-Clone Saga? Well, right before that, Aunt May really did die, and Peter went through a dark period right before Ben Reilly introduced himself. Then Mary Jane became pregnant, the Green Goblin showed up and killed Ben Reilly, Mary lost her baby, and so on and so forth. Writers are constantly pushing Peter. The difference with JMS is that, before, Peter would deal with it and his spirit never broke. But Peter Parker isn't doing so good lately. And I'm not sure what the point of it is. We don't want this brooding, bummed out Spider-man. That's what Daredevil and Batman are for. Spider-man is that guy who keeps on trucking, no matter what. We need the old Spidey back. Soonish.
And this Aunt May dying thing? Hey, guess what? SHE'S DIED BEFORE! Oh, wait. That was a clone, wasn't it? Oh, then never mind. Come on. Give me a break. I firmly believe that the only reason they keep Aunt May around is so they can threaten to kill her off. Well, hey, Marvel, I hate to tell you, but no one cares. Nope. No one. Not anyone. Aunt May has been dying for over sixty years. Old people die. That's what they do. Either kill her off or don't. But quit teasing. It's getting old.
Joe Quesada's pencils are the real reason to buy this book. He is amazing. You would think he's lost his touch, but he hasn't. The guy is wonderful. Simply wonderful. He has to be one of the best penciliers around, hands down. Every page, every panel, every line is just a work of art and I would love to see him doing a regular book. I could praise him all day. Just beautiful work. And the amazing story telling of Quesada just shows how much JMS over-writes. None of the panels need any thought boxes or sound effects. The pages do all the work.
I'm eager to see how this story line ends, just for the artwork alone. But there are only two options. Aunt May dies or she doesn't. Flip a coin.
RATING: 4/5
Story and Art: Ben Templesmith
Publisher: IDW
Price: $3.99
The year is 1941. Hitler and his troops are slowly working their way into the upper-Northern part of Russia. At this section to the world, the sun is hitting everything but this place, making it dark for two months of the year. The Nazis are going from village to village, making it harder for Stalingrad to obtain supplies. Meanwhile, Russian troops with a British intelligence officer are heading towards these same villages, to see just how much progress the Nazis are making. And the villagers themselves are stocked in their homes, waiting at the winter and fearing the insanity of Stalin and the ruthlessness of the Third Reich. Meanwhile, under the snow, something stirs....
Nothing says good times like Nazis, Crazy Stalin and Vampires. Red Snow is pretty much just like the original 30 Days of Night story, except it is rooted in the past. That's it. Why is it that World War II makes everything better, though? Like, vampires are good, but add WWII and it is awesome! Does that work on everything? Ninjas are cool. But ninjas during WWII would be brilliant! Pirates are neat. But during WWII? I better shut up before some one steals my ideas. [Editor's Note: Too late, by about 40 years.]
30 Days of Night holds a lot of respect for comic book fans. It is a brilliant concept and it is posed to make a ton money with the movie adaptation. Red Snow is no different. The vampires might be bad, but the horrible things that Stalin did to his own people was way worse. And the Nazis are the greatest bad guys ever. You can't beat watching Nazis getting their heads pulled off by vampires. You almost don't know who to root for. And the story telling and art work of Templesmith is down right creepy. I don't get scared that easy. I usually do a good job externalizing things to make it seem less real for me, but this book has so much emotion to it, the characters do a lot without saying too much. When they are at risk, it really makes my back hairs stand up a bit, and the creepy visuals of a little girl walking through the snow, her mouth filled with razor sharp teeth just makes me uncomfortable. Try not to read this before bed time.
I sort of think that this idea is a little too easy. Of course Vampires during WWII would be cool. Of course Russian Vampires would be even cooler. So, it's not like Templesmith had to work all that hard to come up with an idea, but I'll withhold too much judgment until he's finished the series. This is a must grab, especially with the movie coming out very, very soon.
RATING: 5/5
Writer: Garth Ennis
Pencils and Lettering: Amanda Conner
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Colors: Paul Mounts
Publisher: Image
Price: $7.99
I usually do my comic reviews in public places, having a coffee or a beer or whatever. I couldn't do this with The Pro. I couldn't even pull it out for longer than a minute because I was worried people would see me reading the damn thing. A good question I always ask when I read a comic is, would I let my 12 year old nephew read it? Would I recommend this book to someone who never read a comic before? Would I show this to my mother? I couldn't say yes to any of those questions when it came to The Pro. It is, hands down, probably the most unique comic ever made in the history of comics. Whether that's good or bad? I think that's beside the point. I can't even write about The Pro here. Isn't this website for kids? Somebody's kids?
The story is pretty simple. Some alien dude called the "Viewer" decides to give a prostitute super-human abilities. And, to make some cash, she joins the League of Heroes, where she tries to fit in with the super-human community. The result is the perfect basis for pretty much every sex joke you could possibly imagine. I think that is the sole purpose of the book. Having a few sex jokes pop up every once in awhile in just isn't enough. The Pro is a vector for every comic book sex joke that everyone has ever wanted to tell.
Is it good? Well, its Garth Ennis, so it's not terrible. Ennis does an amazing job no matter what he writes, and there is never a moment where you think he's working too hard with The Pro. This book is pale in comparison to the stuff he pulled in Preacher (man, I miss that book). Ennis never goes too far, but it's not tasteful either. There is a scene where The Pro "does" something to the Superman character in the book, and the League gets a little mad about it. The Pro makes the point that the League could be doing far more than just keeping the status quo, and that her being a prostitute is a direct result of the world being crappy. That's a stretch. And, right after that, there are about fifteen sex jokes that seem way more important.
Ultimately, this book is about what you want. If you want to read a funny comic about a nasty looking lady of the night, this is for you. Don't take it seriously and don't read too much into it. And please, don't let your kids or little children read it. Or your grandmother. Or your aunt. Or pretty much anyone.
RATING: 3.5/5
On Thursday, I'm going on vacation to scenic Missouri. As sort of a pre-vacation vacation, I'm not going to write any Editor's Notes, even though I have more than enough time to.
Instead, why don't you enjoy Adventure Time?
