It's about damn time.  And not only in the sense that this book was originally announced for March of last year, but also in the sense that why the heck was there not a roleplaying game for Warhammer 40K?  Seriously!  It's one of the most unique and rich science fiction settings out there, but for some reason Games Workshop never thought to make a roleplaying game of it.  Instead, they kept farming out their grim Tolkienesque fantasy setting, when what we really want is to shoot things with a bolter.  Now we can.  Pretend to do that, I mean.  At least, for now.

I bet you're one of those people who didn't read Annihilation when it came out.  And now you're probably one of those people who isn't reading Annihilation: Conquest!  What the heck is wrong with you?  Annihilation was awesome, and Annihilation: Conquest is nearly as good.  At the very least, you should read Annihilation: Conquest for Rocket Raccoon and Groot, the most lovable talking animal/talking plant comedy duo ever!  Seriously, though, Annihilation: Conquest is awesome and this hardcover provides the perfect starting point by collecting two of the four awesome miniseries that led up to Annihilation Conquest, Star-Lord and Quasar.  Star-Lord is amazing if only because of Rocket Raccoon and Groot.  Of course, it's amazing on levels beyond that, but it should be all you need.  Quasar is good because it's well-written and action-packed, and--on a purely exploitative level--a lot of the pages without fighting have two pretty girls kissing.

Seriously, though, it's actually good beyond my incredibly shallow enjoyment of talking raccoons and lesbians.  Seriously!

For years, Goomi has been unleashing his own vision of Cthulhu upon the world, in his comic "The Unspeakable Vault (of Doom)!" Now his unique take on the Elder Gods comes to Munchkin, in the form of Munchkin Cthulhu 3 - The Unspeakable Vault.

This 56-card expansion brings Great Cthulhoo, Dagoon, Narly, and Tindaloo into the pun-filled world of Munchkin. Feed your friends to Cthulhoo, grow Footicles, and use your Inhuman Moan to defeat the Teeny Weeny Mi-Goo.

What darkness lurks in the Vault?

• More Madness! Fear books (logical enough, given the number of tomes that can eat your face), ichor, even phobias themselves!
• More Monsters! Face Goomi's versions of the Mythos gods and creatures . . . Ygo, 'Zathoth, Nightgaunts, Ghouls, Deepoines, and many more!
• More Things That Put The Hurt On Monsters! Wield the Roman Candle, the giant Hypodermic Needle, and the . . . Can Opener? Sure, why not? After all, this is Munchkin!

The Unspeakable Vault - more "yum yum" for your Munchkin Cthulhu game.

Spider-Man is embarking on a Brand New Day, and here's a poster that is somehow involved with it!  I guess!  There's a bunch of webs, which is pretty standard for Spider-Man, but then there's a weird face or something in the background and also Spider-Man's head is kind of long, but it's still a poster!

Enjoy!

Playboy #1 Featuring Marilyn Monroe

This is the real deal! This is not a reprint. This has two staples, and not three staples like the reprint has. Also the black square is 3/8" down from the edge. This is a first print premiere issue #1 December 1953 of Playboy. Full color Marilyn Monroe nude pictorial. 1st appearance of Mr. Playboy Rabbit Bachelor plus tons of other firsts.

This issue's staples are missing and there is moderate to heavy rust migration where the staples once were. Also heavy staple tears confined to staple area. The rest of the spine has some light to very moderate wear.

The front cover has some very light soiling along spine edge. There is also some minor to very moderate corner and edge wear. Also present is a small letter M written in light pencil on cover face next to title. There is also a small half inch whole at base at spine that penetrates through the entire issue. The back cover is much the same as the front.

The interior pages are white to off white with small tears and rust staining where the staples once were. Most of the pages have light to moderate edge wear. There are a few with heavier damage (see pictures).

The Monroe centerfold and a few near by pages are detached but present. There is some moderate edge wear (see picture) Several of the pages have moderate to heavy creasing along the top right corner. All pages are present, paper quality and color is high and not brittle at all. Inks and colors are bright.

Overall I would grade this magazine using the Comic Grading Scale at (FR+) or better. If you have any grading or other questions please contact us through My Messages. Please check out the picture below. Winner must pay insurance and shipping conformation. Don't miss out on this opportunity to own piece of American history.

We've got some new dollar boxes out!  You can check them out!  We've also added a bunch of back issues to our regular back issue boxes, but nothing we felt like writing down.  So look around!

Moon Knight (1980's Series): #1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9-12, 14-23, 25-35, 37, Special #1, 2, 3
Teen Titans (Silver Age): #5, 30

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
X-Men HC: Endangered Species	01/23/08	01/30/08
Halo: Uprising #3 (MR)	01/30/08	02/06/08
Demons of Mercy #2 Free Copy (MR)	01/30/08	02/06/08
MMW Uncanny X-Men HC Vol. 06 Reg./Var. Eds.	01/30/08	02/13/08
Captain Marvel #3	01/30/08	02/13/08
Thor Visionaries Walt Simonson TP Vol. 05	01/30/08	02/06/08
Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin #5	01/30/08	02/06/08
Justice Society of America #12 Reg./Var. Ed.	01/30/08	02/06/08
American Virgin #23 (MR)	01/30/08	02/06/08
Ultimate Human #2	02/06/08	02/20/08
Infinite Crisis TP	02/06/08	02/27/08
Hulk #2 Reg./Djurdjevic Var.	02/06/08	02/20/08
Action Comics Annual #11 Reg./Var.Eds.	02/13/08	03/12/08
Fables #70 (MR)	02/13/08	02/27/08
Thunderbolts #119	02/13/08	03/05/08
Countdown to Mystery #6	02/20/08	02/27/08
Giant Size Astonishing X-Men #1	02/27/08	04/09/08
Captain Marvel #4 SII	02/27/08	03/12/08
Powers HC Vol. 02 Def. Coll. (RES) (MR)	02/27/08	03/26/08
Avengers: Initiative #10	02/27/08	03/12/08
Ms. Marvel #25 SII	03/05/08	03/26/08
Punisher War Journal #17	03/12/08	03/05/08
Ghost Rider #21	03/12/08	03/19/08
Thunderbolts #120	03/26/08	04/23/08
Avengers: Initiative #11	03/26/08	04/16/08
Thor by JMS Prem. HC Vol. 01	03/26/08	04/16/08
Adam Strange Archives HC Vol. 03	03/26/08	04/30/08
Captain Marvel #5	03/26/08	04/09/08
Ultimates 3 #4	04/09/08	04/30/08
Dark Tower: Long Road Home #1 Jae Lee Sketch Var.	N/A	03/05/08

Recently, our homey little newsletter got a letter from Alex Sheikman, who worked on Robotika: For a Few Rubles More. I don't know exactly what Alex did on this book, so I'll say he was the President. Anyway, in this letter, Alex Sheikman, President of Robotika: For a Few Rubles more, said the following:

Hi Bryan,

My name is Alex Sheikman and I am the writer/artist on Robotika:FAFRM. I got a link to your review from someone on the ASP forum and got to read your thoughts on the book.

Of course I am sorry that you did not enjoy the book and I laughed when I read your "Matrix...oh, wait Matrix Reloaded" line. I loved Matrix, but was totally turned off by Reloaded.

You bring-up an interesting question about sequels and how they need to dove tail into the original series. I did struggle a lot with how much I should review/re-cap. In the end I tried to make the second arc accessible to new readers, but definitely it would be a much richer experience if you were familiar with the first mini...truth be told, if I was a better writer I probably be able to do both at the same time :)

Also thank you for the kind words about the artwork. I think every issue has been getting better (art and story). I just finished #3 and am now starting on #4, which I think will be the best of all the 8 issues.

Hope you will give #2 a try :)

Best,
Alex-

Well, first off Alex, I'd like to thank you for your feedback. Not a day goes by that I don't send Geoff Johns or Jeph Loeb a copy of one of Jarvis's reviews with a subject line of "FREE MONEY FROM YOUR FRIEND REPLY NOW" and yet they never reply, not even when I mention ci@lis or add L@@K to the end of the message.

Second, I'd like to ask you if you've ever talked to anybody on the internet. Sure, maybe Jarvis's review was more or less positive, and you addressed his criticisms in a reasonable manner, but that's no way to talk to anyone. Your goal when you talk to someone on the internet is to make sure that, by the end of the conversation, neither of you regards the other as a human being. Calling Jarvis "Bryan" was a good start, although that was really my fault since I just realized the "archives" link goes to a page labeled BRYAN SANDALA'S REVIEW CORNER. So, I've decided to play editor to your letter and maybe, one day, you too can be like John Byrne! Except with more drawing skill.

You're familiar with an editor right? As opposed to, say, Geoff Johns! (DEAR GEOFF JOHNS I WANT TO TALK TO YOU AND I THINK YOU'RE HANDSOME PLEASE REPLY) Anyway, let's run down a some of your phraseology and see how it could spice up the conversation and make you a mortal e-enemy!

My name is Alex Sheikman and I am the writer/artist on Robotika:FAFRM. I got a link to your review from someone on the ASP forum and got to read your thoughts on the book.

This is a fairly common mistake. You're explaining the whole context for the conversation in a reasonable way. You don't want to waste that many words on something as useless as an explanation of what you're talking about. Why not try something a little more pithy? For example, you could have said something like this: "YOU SUCK."

That really "catches the eye"! Also, I know Jarvis, and there's nothing he responds to better than constant angry beratement. Assume that all people are like Jarvis. I know I do.

Of course I am sorry that you did not enjoy the book and I laughed when I read your "Matrix...oh, wait Matrix Reloaded" line. I loved Matrix, but was totally turned off by Reloaded.

Whenever writing an internet message to someone, be it an e-mail, forum post, or readme.txt, you need to avoid what professionals call "empathy words" like "love," "laugh," or "sorry." Instead, try using key "rage words" like "hate," "fume," or "blind with murderous, fuming, hatred."

You bring-up an interesting question about sequels and how they need to dove tail into the original series. I did struggle a lot with how much I should review/re-cap. In the end I tried to make the second arc accessible to new readers, but definitely it would be a much richer experience if you were familiar with the first mini...truth be told, if I was a better writer I probably be able to do both at the same time :)

Here you're making the mistake of admitting fault in any way. In any internet conversation or physical combat, if your opponent finds a weakness, they will exploit it. Admitting you have any room for improvement in any aspect of your life is like starting a knife fight by saying, "Hey, could you stay on my right side? I really favor it, and if you were to move a little to my left I would aaaaaarrrgggghhhhhh--" You trailed off there because you got stabbed while you were talking. So, also, less talking in general.

Also thank you for the kind words about the artwork. I think every issue has been getting better (art and story). I just finished #3 and am now starting on #4, which I think will be the best of all the 8 issues.

What are you doing? "Thank you"? "I think"? These words convey doubt--and any doubt at all reveals weakness to your enemy. If you were in any way unsure of your opinion, you wouldn't be saying it, would you? You know what we call people who change their opinions about things in America? Terrorists. Or, even worse, liberals.

Hope you will give #2 a try :)

Again, you use the "empathy words." You shouldn't "hope" Jarvis does anything for you. In fact, Jarvis should be dead to you, otherwise you wouldn't be writing an email to him. You should make it clear that the instant his opinion slightly differed from yours, he became worthless. You have more than enough fans and you don't need him at all. And what if you don't actually have any fans? That's fine, because your work is operating at a higher level and won't be appreciated until after your death and they invent a hat that can make people smart enough to understand it.

Best,
Alex-

Until there's a special font you can use to make text sound really sarcastic when you read it in your head, I'd stay away from signing your name with that. In fact, I'd stay away from signing your name at all. It's best not to let your enemy know who they're dealing with. In fact, I'm pretty sure Sun Tzu said something about it. He was a smart guy. Have you considered ending all your correspondences with, I don't know..."YOU SUCK"?

So, how would I have phrased this letter? Glad you asked! Here's what a little bit of work can do to take an ordinary correspondence and turn it into an exhausting battle of wills:

Hi Bryan,

YOU SUCK

Of course I am blind with murderous, fuming hatred that you did not enjoy the book and I fumed when I read your "Matrix...oh, wait Matrix Reloaded" line. I hated Matrix, almost as much as I hated you.

Did I mention that YOU SUCK

Oh, I'm glad you could at least see how awesome my art is. Every issue has been getting better (art and story). I just finished #3 and am now starting on #4, which I know will be the best of all comic books.

Don't read #2, me and my fans agree you aren't worth the book's time. :)

YOU SUCK

P.S. - We should start a letter-writing campaign to try to get Geoff Johns to have lunch with that editor dude. They would be great friends I think.

NEXT WEEK: Pictures of Geoff Johns with captions about what his beard feels like!