Comic Book Candy

What makes it bearable for fans like myself who miss the International Comic Con year after year? Why the squeal-inducing announcements made by publishers of course! Press releases throughout the year by Marvel, DC, and increasingly, movie studios, are just business as usual; San Diego is where things get serious. Or seriously awesome. Often both! These are some of the noteworthy announcements thus far, with more to come: Batwoman is finally coming! I didn't want to get my hopes up until I saw some artwork, and now I can officially start getting excited. Technically this isn't a San Diego announcement as it was posted on DC's blog The Source a few days ago, but as they note, the timing is close enough.   The Walking Dead television series for AMC has a trailer! Though the footage has yet to hit the internet, (see below) the mere thought of seeing this in the near future is enough to send my heart aflutter. Even more exciting, Bear McCreary is doing the soundtrack ! ...

After many years leading a nomadic lifestyle, one thing I have come to appreciate is the unusually large selection of comic book stores here in the Dayton area. From the long running Funny Books in Vandalia, to Maverick's , the only comic book store that was open on New Year's Day of 2003, it has always been easy finding what one wants. As a teenager, most of my purchases were made at the infamous Bookery Fantasy , as well as Dragon's Lair , a store that unfortunately closed down after 30+ years because as rumor has it, the owners divorced. Since leaving Ohio for school (and to generally maintain my sanity), a lot of new blood has come into the area. Friendly staff and a "new school" feel to these young establishments make them must-see stops for locals and out of towners alike. 1. TAF Toys Action Figures Closed Monday Tues: 12 - 5 Wed: 12 - 7 Thurs:12 - 7 Fri: 12 - 7 Sat: 12 - 5 Closed Sunday 37 S. St. Clair Dayton, Ohio US (937)222-4517 tafstore[...

I hate to update the blog with sad news, and I'm sure many readers will have already heard by now, but Harvey Pekar , author of American Splendor , has passed away at age 70. The cause of death has yet to be determined. Since Harvey's body of work revolved so heavily around his own experiences, there is something particularly tragic about his death. How will Harvey's story end? We'll never again see where life takes him, or have the pleasure of reading stories with his unique, yet relate able perspective. For many fans, reading American Splendor was as close as they'll get to reading about themselves. His experiences and feelings were shared by many, regardless of age, background, or comic book preference. We've all hated our jobs, felt frustrated by the mind-boggling actions of strangers, or just felt like our purpose in life wasn't clear. Harvey felt all of those things, and even though his incites may have been a simple matter of expressing what he felt, ...

....a chance to see the comics industry through the distorted view of the mass media! Yay! As more cons garner coverage from traditional media outlets (IMDB has San Diego Comic Con coverage on their front page), opportunities for the the industry and fans to be seen in new ways are squandered, and con attendees are often presented in a not so pleasant light. Features lean towards the goofy and / or scantily clad, and creators are almost never showcased. Whether the spotlight is on fans, vendors, or special celebrity guests, the photographs are almost never flattering. Although fans relish the opportunity for their hard work to be seen by the masses, it's safe to say that most cos-players would rather have their costumes unseen than have it in the local newspaper, poorly photographed. Just look at this year's Philadelphia Comic Con coverage from this local Philly news website : For all we know, this (surprised) fan is dressed as The First Slayer. The vague caption and unnecessar...

My pulp novel / crime noir kick does not seem to be ending anytime soon. I stumbled across a first print hardcover of Darwyn Cooke's Parker: The Hunter this week at a local comic shop, and this was one impulse buy I could not resist. Cooke's graphic novel adaptation of the pulp novel classic was unsurprisingly fantastic, as pretty much everything I've heard / read about it guaranteed that it would be a good read. That being said, a review isn't necessary. The accolades and praise heaped upon this novel from the past year pretty well prove that if you haven't read it yet (like me) that's probably because you've had a hard time getting your hands on this oft-sold out graphic novel. I will give you the "reading rainbow" version of a review: Parker is a hardened professional thief who specializes in one time heists, and never takes on a setup with too many risks. When a job falls through, Parker goes against his gut instincts and joins an operation...

This is old news for those of you following the comics blogosphere, but individual comic books are now more commonly priced at $3.99 versus the $2.99 cover price we have grown accustomed to over the last several years. In other words, bummer . I'm feeling the pinch more than ever, and not just because of the economic downturn. Two things are putting my comic book budget under scrutiny: the first one being that as successful as I have been to convince my pals to read comics in trade paperback form, I still see the same expression cross their faces when I suggest they pick up an individual issue at cover price. It's a combination of "Are you for real?" and "Umm....Why?" That is, except when I hand them one of the increasingly popular $1 first issues. Everyone's doing it! I'm pretty sure Vertigo started the trend, and now every major publisher is jumping on board . I've even seen some stores setting up a $1 issue rack to entice readers, often cl...

  Someone forgot to tell Spidey FCBD is a family friendly event. Any devoted comic book nerd knows about Free Comic Book Day; it's like Christmas for readers. For those who are new to the world of comics, or just missed the many fliers your store probably had posted for months, FCBD is exactly what it sounds like. Every first Saturday in May, vendors (at their own expense) give away free comics. Not just any books, these are titles released exclusively for the event by publishers; they are often kid friendly and are always meant to entice newcomers. In addition to free books, stores often have sweet deals (50% trade paperbacks? yes please!), and as if that wasn't enough, some stores even offer the chance to meet celebs of nerdom! This was my first year as a true participant of FCBD as the past several years were spent behind the counter of a busy comic book store. Though that still allowed me to witness throngs of newbies getting their first taste of comic book goodness, this ...

In the relatively short lifespan of my blog, there has been one comic to which I’ve devoted the most entries. That comic has been Detective Comics featuring Batwoman . Upon discovering this book last year, I was truly inspired. This book reminded me of what comics are capable of accomplishing, particularly within the confines of a well-established super hero title. That a writer and artist could take an institution in its seventh decade and make it contemporary and engaging above other efforts is truly worth noting. I’ll tell you two reasons why I’m a little heartbroken by the news that Greg Rucka will be leaving DC comics, and thus the Batwoman character. One, he knows how to write strong women, and so very few writers have this ability. And two, despite the heaps of praise given to this book by myself and other rabid fans, it has yet to gain the amount of accolades it deserves. Maybe another year with this creative team working on a Batwoman title could have gained it a wider aud...

Writers covering the movie industry just love coming up with clever headlines like: “Kick-Ass? Not so much” “Kick-Ass opens can of weak sauce” “Box office fails to Kick-Ass” “Someone’s getting an ass-kick for Kick-Ass” “Kick-Ass fails to live up to hype, barely pummels” Okay I may have thrown in a few of those myself, but several are straight out of the headlines. It’s still a little early to deem this movie a failure, but coming in second barely squeaking into first place on opening weekend doesn’t fare well for the comic book adaptation, or fans of comic book films. If this were Vegas we’d all be taking bets on which comic book film adaptation fails big, resulting in the bubble burst of our current any-comic-gets-greenlit environment. So who’s going to be the Heaven’s Gate * of comic book movies? Here are just a few of the contenders! Iron-Man 2 Strengths: Sequel to hugely successful first film, original cast / creative team returns Weaknesses: So many tie-ins it makes you ...

It's been a banner week for fans of Brian Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim ! We got a release date for the sixth and (supposedly) final volume of the awesome graphic novel series. Expect it to hit shelves on July 20th, 2010! More details at Oni Press As if it wasn't enough to send fans into rabid anticipation for "Finest Hour," the first trailer for the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World film has also hit the internets! I was super nervous about this adaptation. The book has some very unique elements, ones that I feared the film creators might leave out, especially the Scott-imagines-his-life-as-a-videogame-aspect. But watching the trailer has quelled those fears, and also given me confidence in Michael Cera's ability to play more than one type of character (or at least a promise of the movie being so awesome it wouldn't bother me if he was still his awkward self). Enjoy the sneak peak below! (Sidenote: doesn't Chris Evans look dreaaaamy as evil ex boyfr...