Robert Downey Jr. on Sherlock and Iron Man 2

There's a pretty lengthy and informative interview of Robert Downey Jr. over at Rotten Tomatoes. Click this link to be redirected to their site.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Dark Horse Titles
First Publishing Titles
Marvel M to Z Titles
Teen Titans/Titans Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: DARKREIGNENDS

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

New comics value packs at Mycomicshop.com

I'm sure you remember the Value Pack section Mycomicshop.com started some time ago... YOu can find my original post about this topic by clicking here. Well, anyway, I was browsing through their website a couple of days ago and found out they'd put up some new "Pre-1981" value packs... I invite you all to go take a look by following the above link or by clicking the one at the bottom of the page.

This week's strip @ Comiccritics.com

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotion

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Avengers Titles
DC A to L Titles
Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery Titles
Viz Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: DECKTHEHALLS

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

This week's strip @ Comiccritics.com

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotion

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
All Marvel Titles
Hellboy Titles
Humor Titles
Wonder Woman Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: WRITERS

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

This week's strip @ Comiccritics.com

Lobo: Highway to Hell... Does it suck?

Timothy Callahan has posted a pretty negative review on the first of two issues of Lobo: Highway to Hell written by Scott Ian and drawn by Sam Kieth. Worth reading here as he only gave it half a star and it's the first time I've seen such a low review.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Bongo Titles
DC A to L Titles
Western Titles
X-Men Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: HEALINGFACTOR

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Scott Ian's interview on his latest Lobo project

Scott Ian, who is also Anthraxx guitarist, put his guitar down for a bit and worked on the last installment of Lobo entitled Highway to Hell. Found out how he went from hard speed death trash metal to comics in an interview I read at CBR... He's also sharing some opinions on who he thinks should play Lobo in the upcoming movie as well as some panels of the first issue that will be available on Nov. 4th (that's today!)

How good is Local? Reloaded

After completing the 12 issues, I’m still unsure how to answer that question… I was quite into it at the beginning but somehow got kind of “bored” and lost my enthusiasm as the story evolved… Basically, it’s Megan, a kind of weird girl who travels the country “just ‘cuz”. She completely sucks socially; her love life’s a mess, her family as well… And every issue, she meets even weirder people that make her go on travelling “just ‘cuz”.

The concept was pretty good, though, as one issue represents more or less a year, which means you get to see her evolving from teenage to adulthood, and one of the latest chapter makes you realize she’s changed quite a bit as she’s confronted to another girl who could have been her a few years back. Yup, that girl is a completely mess as well and she ends up stealing a lot of Megan’s stuff, including the jacket she was wearing at the beginning of the book.

I know what you’re going to say “But you said 1 issue = 1 year so how could someone steal the jacket she was wearing at 17? She must have been around 28 in that issue?? Would someone hold on an old jacket for 11 years?” and I understand your confusion… This is a bit contradictory with the fact that places that actually exist in real life have been used in the book, probably to make readers relate more to the story, make it more “palpable” so why make her keep a jacket for 11 years? So it can be stolen I guess…

All in all, it’s not a bad book, though, I just think I was really excited to read it and I had high expectation as it was “the best indie comic of 2008”, but it just fell a bit short and I feel slightly disappointed. Better luck next time, I guess…? I’m now reading V for Vendetta, what could possibly go wrong with Alan Moore, huh?

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotion

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Batman Titles
Dark Horse Titles
Justice League/Society Titles
Marvel M to Z Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: HALLOWEEN

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Cool Alan Moore's interview

I've just finished reading a pretty nice and also pretty lengthy Alan Moore's interview where I learnt he was about to publish a new underground magazine called Dodgem Logic this coming November. Interesting read, I suggest you click on the link and find out for yourself.

This week's strip @ Comiccritics.com

Marvel Giant-Size Gift Pack

Something new on Mycomicshhop.com's website, after having great value packs they're making some gift pack(s) available too. This particular Marvel Giant-Size Gift Pack is described as follows:

"This fantastic collection of Marvel's Giant-Size Titles made specifically for Target contains 6 giant sized All-Ages comics with material from over 20 comics for the price of 1. The titles featured in this pack are; Spider-Man (reprints material from Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #6,15,21-22), Spider-Man Classic Power & Responsibility (reprints material from Amazing Spider-Man #4,252, Spectacular Spider-Man #42, Fantasitc Four #218), Avengers Mischief (reprints material from Marvel Adventures Avengers #5-8), X-Men First Class New Beginnings (reprints material from X-Men First Class #1-4), Spider-Man Family (reprints material from Spider-Man Family #1-3) and Fantastic Four Cosmic Threats (reprints material from Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #12-15)."

I have not seen one for DC or anything else yet but I'll keep my eyes open... Get some while the promotion lasts, it's really a grab at USD6.98!

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Daredevil Titles
DC M to Z Titles
Disney Ducks & Mice Titles
Spider-Man Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: TEAMWORK

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

This week's strip @ Comiccritics.com

Invicible Iron Man #19 Preview + Iron Man 2 "behind the scenes" interview

First off, you should check this Invicible Iron Man 6 page preview over at CBR. That's issue #19 which seems to be the final issue of the "World's Most Wanted" story arc by Matt Fraction. I've heard a lot of god things about his work on Invicible Iron Man so you ought to check this out.

Next is a pretty nice video of a Canal+ interview with Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. It shows the new Iron Man 2 set and talk a bit about the story and the work they've been doing. Very interesting. The "reporter" speaks french at the beginning but don't be scared, it's only for the first minute or so.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Horror/Supernatural Titles
1980 to 1989 Titles
Marvel Ultimate Titles
Star Wars Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: INCREDIBLE

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Comiccritics.com teasing Robert Downey Jr. again

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
1990 to current Titles
Charlton Titles
Crime/Mystery Titles
Dell Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: VILLAINS

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

How good is Local?

I have been following Megan’s adventures for a few days now. I’ve been reading the book occasionally and am about 5 or 6 issues in right now, so it’s about half way through the whole run.

It’s a kind of “slice of life” book that takes us around the U.S. together with the main character. Each issue takes place in a different place, which I thought was a nice concept and has Megan has the main character, who appears to be a bit of a “funky” person as she somehow manages to always meet some weird people along the way and get herself in uncomfortable situations.

The whole book reads a bit like Demo, a previous Wood story, as each new issue has no link with the previous ones besides Megan. The art is really nice, and as mentioned in a previous post, the book itself is pretty awesome thanks to its oversized heavy-weight pages (almost Bristol-like) and the way the 12 issues are bond all together. It’s a thick thick hardcover book that reminds me of those old school bibles.

So while I’ve been enjoying discovering Megan and following her around in her trips and all, I can’t stop thinking of one thing… “Why?” I mean, so far she’s been going to different places in every issue but we still do not know the reason behind… I mean, in the first issue It was kind of obvious, but then why? I hope I get to find that out as I read on.

Statcounter features

I took a look at my statcounter over the week-end. I had not had time to look at it closely since I created my account, but there is one fun feature that allows users to know where people who access their blog reside.

Out of all the visitors I’ve had (not too many, up to know it’s around 50) some were from U.S., U.K., Russia, Brazil, Quebec, another one somewhere in Africa (forgot which country exactly) and some more… It’s funny but I had never thought it’d be seen by such a diverse group of people… I wish I had started using statcounter earlier, it’s fun to check those kind of statistics.

So anyway, just wanted to say hi to everyone, I hope you're enjoying what you're finding here!

Comiccritics.com and Iron Man

Funny strips from Comiccritics.com... I've been wanting to feature those here for a while, and those last ones about Iron Man are pretty fun so I thought I'd start with those. I invite you to visit Comiccritics.com to read more of their work, it can be really funny at times!

Steve Ditko: Spider-Man's Forgotten Father

I've just come across an interesting article about Steve Ditko over at examiner.com. I'm pretty sure most of you know who Steve Ditko is, but it's still an interesting piece worth reading even you're familiar with the guy. Click to read it.

Spider-man: Blue is a goner

I’ve turned the last page of the last issue a few days ago and will be on reading other things… This story was less than transcending to me, maybe because I started reading with very high expectations… Well, not as high as before reading Superman for all seasons but high nevertheless.

In the last book, we finally get to know the identity of that “shadow” that had been lurking around since the beginning of the book, trying to help other villains (and there’s been a plethora of them) finishing off Spider-man. It also gave birth to one of the most pathetic attempt at drawing that character; that drawing reminded me of Village People for some reason.

The character also makes a strange mistake and abducts Harry Osborn instead of Peter Parker, based on the only reason that he borrowed some of Parker’s aftershave… It didn’t really make sense to me; I think he should have been confused between the two of them as Parker must be, after all, wearing HIS OWN aftershave as well… Or didn’t he shave on that day?

So after a rather disappointing last 2 books, I’m back in my “Wood Mood” and picked up my Local hard cover. One of my friends bought it for me while he was in Malaysia as bookstores over there seem to be selling comic books together with other books in English. It was really nice of him to carry this massive book back for me in his already packed suitcase.
I had set it aside for a while as I had read a few books written by Wood and wanted to read something else. I unpacked it a couple of nights ago, and let me tell you the book itself feels great. The hardcover looks and feels nice when holding the book in my hands, they had the clever idea NOT to include a dust jacket (god I hate those). The pages are oversized compared to the traditional comic books which makes reading the story a more submerging experience. I also enjoyed the extra weight and thickness of those pages as it adds a “quality feel” when flipping through the book… And nothing beats that “paper and ink” smell when opening a brand new book!

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
1970's Comics
Classics Illustrated Titles
Marvel A to L Titles
Romance Comics

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: AVENGERS

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Some news from Hollywood

Variety is reporting Columbia Pictures is planning a second installment of Ghost Rider that would be written by David Goyer and starring Nicolas Cage (again...). For some reasons, sequels are generally worse than their first chapter, and the first Ghost Rider was really disappointing... Let's see if something better comes out of this.

A slightly better news from MTV News... Clive Owen has "heard from a very good source" that Sin City 2 may be put into production "some time next year". I kind of liked the first movie and I'm curious to know what the sequel will look like... It's supposedly going to be based on Sin City: A dame to kill for. Very exciting, and the second 300 movie is coming too!

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Archie Titles
Marvel Civil War Titles
DC A to L Titles
War Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: LITTLELULU

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Comics value packs at Mycomicshop.com!!!

I’ve noticed that when browsing Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions. They’ve recently added a Value Pack section to their website where you can order 2 pounds of comics for USD6.95. That’s great value!

How does that work? Well, you choose one of the available themes, let’s say the Iron Man value pack, and Mycomicshop.com sends you 2 pounds of Iron Man comics… The only thing is you don’t get to pick which comics you’ll actually get, so don’t expect to be lucky and receive the very first issue of Fantastic Four or anything, but if you’re just looking to get some reading materials that’s a great way to discover new characters (by new I mean a character you don’t already know).

I think this is great news for us… I have not tried it yet but am planning on ordering some just for fun and see what I actually get.

For more information, check out Mycomicshop.com’s value packs page… I’ll also add a permanent link in the bargains section.

You’ve got mail

I’ve had been in the impossibility of checking my email inbox in the last few days as I was busy dealing with other things, work and a sick son being among them. When coming in this morning, I fired up my web browser to find out I had received some sweet email from Mycomicshop.com:

"You had 1 referred order in the time period 05/28/09 to 09/10/09 with a combined total (excluding tax and shipping) of $130.16. Since mycomicshop.com Credit is your selected payment method, you earned 15% of that subtotal, which is $19.52. You previously had $7.68 in mycomicshop.com credit earned from the Affiliate Program. Your new total is $27.20. This credit is now available for you to use at mycomicshop.com."

So I thought I’d thank the person who used the promotional codes posted on this blog to purchase his/her books…

I also thought about other things… Like this is not the first referred order I got, maybe the 4th one… So I know like at least 4 persons came to read this blog, but what about others? Are there other people who just pass by and read what I put up online? Until now, I had no real way to know that, and I thought those were probably the only 4 persons that actually found my blog… I became interested in knowing the traffic I had here and decided to subscribe to Statcounter.

Statcounter is a free service that helps people like me keep track of how many visitors they get over time. I have been using it for 2 or 3 days now, and surprisingly, I was pleased to see that I’ve had 29 visitors so far… Not too bad, I was thinking it was gonna stay flat for most of the time.

Now I wonder why no one is actually leaving any comment… That would be nice to get some kind of feedback, even if that would be only about the blog’s design or something…

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Frank Miller Titles
Gold Key Titles
Marvel M to Z Titles
Superman Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: MANIMAL

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Still not sold

One statement in my last post was that I wasn’t really a Superman fan and that last book I read didn’t really made me want to become one… Well, I’m not much of a Spider-man fan either (not that I dislike him, I just didn’t really get into reading his stories) and once again, Spider-man: Blue fails at making me want to become one.

I’ve almost read the entire story (5 out of 6 issues) and honestly, I’m not really sold on that book… It seems Marvel tried the same concept they had over at DC when coming up with Superman for all seasons… Or maybe it was the other way around, whichever came first… So they hired the SAME TEAM who wrote that Superman’s summary, switched characters, and published a Spider-man summary.

Again, while it’s nice to not have to know anything about Spider-man’s universe or even comic books to be able to read and understand what is going on, it gets kind of frustrating to read “summaries”… It’s not particularly well done, and honestly, I don’t know why I feel that way, but it seems Tim Sale can’t draw a “punching” Spider-man… He’s there, facing the villain, and he throws a punch at him, but what should be more “dynamic” has a very static aspect and can’t really feel the impact… Does Spidey hit like a girl? Couple that with a so-so story and you get that book.
So while I still have to finish it, I still think it’s not really worth your money… I mean 5 out of 6 are “meh” so save some cash and some time and get a real book like Kraven’s last hunt if you’re looking for some Spider-man action. I think I should have stayed in my “Wood mood”, maybe I’ll pick up Local next as I’ve heard many good things about that one.

More news (or rumors?) on that Lobo movie

Superherohype.com just published an article stating that actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan "has his sights set on Lobo".

For those who don't really know who he is, he's the one who was impersonating The Comedian in Watchmen and he was pretty convincing... Could he be a good Lobo? Maybe...

I also tumbled on a Keith Giffen interview over at CBR. Have a look to know what take Giffen has on everything that's happening around Lobo right now.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Action/Adventure Titles
Conan Titles
Dell Titles
Marvel A to L Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: DISNEY

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

And winter it was…

I finally found time to finish reading Superman for all seasons this week-end. At first, I quite enjoyed reading it as it was telling the story of Clark Kent before he actually became Superman or even moved to Metropolis. I got to know about Lana Lang who was his High School sweet heart and one of the first persons he told his secret (after his foster parents)… It also made me realize that Lois Lane was not his first romance (yeah I’ve never watched Smallville on TV or else I’d probably know that I guess…)

So one of the best things is that you do not need to know anything about Superman, or to have even heard of him before, to actually read the book and understand the story. It is addressed to anyone, fans and non fans included. I, myself, am not really a Superman fan, not because I dislike him but more because I never really got attracted by that character for some reason… But that was fine and I still could read the entire book without having a big question mark over my head after each panel.

On the flip side, the book didn’t make me want to become a Superman fan… The story was OK but didn’t really carry anything spectacular in it… It was just a basic “coming of age” story with all the expected stages: growing up, leaving home, get hurt, go back home to lick your wounds, realize something and leave home again (but stronger)… So yeah, not a bad story, it just doesn’t qualify as “sensational”… Also the art was just OK, I really hated those parts in the city… Too ugly.

So there you go, while it’s still a book I partially enjoyed reading I did not become a Superman diehard fan and was a bit disappointed by Jeph Loeb and Time Sale for once… Just to let you know, my first thought after finishing the book was “luckily I only paid 6 bucks for it…” I probably would have been pretty pissed if I had paid retail price (around USD15). I am now starting Spiderman: Blue which is another Loeb/Sale cooperation and hope it’ll be slightly (if not a lot) better.

A Lobo movie?

According to this article on CRB, Guy Ritchie, who's not only known for marrying (and divorcing) Madonna but also for his movies Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells, will be directing a movie based on Lobo in 2010. I've been waiting for this for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time, I really hope they don't f*ck it up.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Avengers Titles
Dark Horse Titles
DC M to Z Titles
Fantasy/ Sword & Sorcery Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: ICKYTWERP

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Watchmen, the movie

When I heard the big boys over at Hollywood were planning on making a movie based on the Watchmen comic book by Alan Moore, I couldn’t help but thinking how tough it would be to move that story from book to screen and still have something that was coherent… After the movie came out, I read some reviews and some viewers comments on how much the movie sucked compared to the book and so on…

Last night, I’ve finally watched the DVD and was not expecting much from it… I was pleased with the first few fighting scenes and pretty much with the overall movie itself. The cast was good; it was probably made with the book in mind as I found most actors resembled the characters they were incarnating with the exception of Adrian Veidt. I just thought the actor (Matthew Goode) wasn’t looking alike his character at all…

Regarding the story, lots of things were left off which means some secondary characters that had been more present in the book barely appear on screen… But the movie is already lasting something close to three hours so some skimming was obviously necessary… Then again, when the movie was announced I thought it’d be a trilogy. In that way they could have included all the side stories, maybe even raise some funds to keep the real ending of the story!!!

Yes, you read it well, the ending differs from the book… Which is a pity as it was my favorite part and actually made the book what it was. But apart from that, I found the movie was well conceived and pretty entertaining… I’m happy I watched it at home, though, as my wife kept on asking me to explain what was going on… Imagine me explaining it to her in the theater, without being able to pause the movie! And she’s the kind who asks the ending prematurely as well (if she knows you know) which would not be nice to those who paid their tickets and would be sitting next to us.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
DC 1980's Titles
Archie Titles
Captain America Titles
Marvel M to Z Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: OLDMANLOGAN

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

About those "grab bag" posts

About a month ago, I started writing "grab bag" posts similar to this one. Unfortunately, I found out I do not find "updated" good deals very often, which means it's not worth posting about it on a weekly basis... So instead of posting, I'll put up a list on my blog's front page that I'll update everytime I deem necessary. It will be more efficient that way.

Summer and Fall

In my first post about Superman for all seasons I was tentatively guessing the remaining 3 issues’ titles, and I was right for at least the second and third one (haven’t got to the fourth one yet)… So spring is followed by summer and fall… What a surprise!

It basically starts when we left off after the first issue. Clark starts his job at the Daily Planet and his new life as Superman as well. He’s a very lonely guy, though, and he realizes he’s not at home anywhere anymore as Metropolitans see him as a farmer boy from Smallville but he can’t seem to “understand” people in Smallville anymore… It’s kind of an “in between” situation that anyone who’s left “home” has probably struggled with before. It’s a different side of Superman, he’s a super being and all but still has Average Joe’s problems, feelings, dilemmas…

In the third chapter, the story is told from Lois Lane’s point of view while the narrator’s spot is picked up by Lex Luthor in the fourth. I still enjoy the story, although I couldn’t help but notice Tim Sale was probably in his “cubic” period when he drew those books… Maybe I didn’t notice in the first issue as most of it took place in Smallville and there weren’t many skyscrapers around, but he sure took his ruler out his pencil case right now… Remember how your art teacher taught you how to draw perspective in secondary school? Tim remembers, that’s for sure… And he’s applying the technique by the book… Maybe that’s intended but it’s far from mesmerizing to me…

No more yellow mask on the shelves

It is, yet again, the end of an Iron Fist series… It’s funny how it seems to get cancelled all the time. So this month, August 2009, you are able to get the 27th and last issue. It’s a good and a bad thing, actually. It’s bad because his adventures are coming to an end (or he’s taking a break) and it’s good because I’ll finally be able to start buying the TPBs and know there actually is an end to the story.

It’s also good as this series was only planned to last for 6 issues, but Marvel probably got surprised by the rise in popularity and decided to have it run longer… It surely has something to do with Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker working on the title. The first issue came out with an USD2.99 price tag; you can now find it at USD18.00… Good return!

Fraction and Brubaker did not actually work on the 27 issues, and lot of people dropped the series when they left. But I’ve read many who regretted it and hopped in again as the series was still good after the new team took over. Seems to me like a good sign, I’ll probably buy the collected issues once the last TPB comes out.

Morning read

I woke up a bit late this morning, a bit too late to have my morning gaming session like I usually do. So instead logging on to my favourite game, I picked up a book from my comics collection… I was not sure what to read exactly, I was on a lengthy Brian Wood diet and thought maybe I should give somebody else a shot (although I still have to start Local).

My hand finally found its way to one of many Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s collaboration I had yet to read: Superman for all seasons

While at first I found the art a bit simplistic, I quickly found back Sale’s style and attention to all the little details he likes to put in his backgrounds. It’s very different than what he did on all the Batman books I read so far, but somehow similar in some ways…

So far the story is OK. It starts in Smallville just when Clark Kent is about to graduate. I’ve only read the first chapter (Spring) and am about to start the second one (Summer)… As it’s a 4 part story, I could bet the 3rd and 4th chapters will be Autumn (or maybe Fall) and Winter. Now I kind of know why the title is Superman for all seasons.

I think the first chapter starts of the book pretty nicely, I like the way Clark’s father is the narrator of the story and also seeing Clark evolving from a teenage kid to Superman, actually discovering more and more of his powers and realizing he should use them for the good of mankind. I know this “Epiphany” thing is such a cliché to some, but it works on me… I know I’m an easy prey and vultures will feast on my flesh, alright…

Only one thing bothered me in this issue… At some point, some kid is chasing a kitty on the edge of a building (you know, those edges that look like they’re actual sidewalks that go around a building?)… All kids do that right? Anyway, so the kid is chasing the kitty and he suddenly trips or something and starts falling off the building. Of course, Superman flies in, saves the kid from certain death, and takes him down to safety… back on the building’s edge!!! Come on, Superman, that’s a big “no-no” to you on the safety side…

Tough decision…

As you have read yesterday in my post, I really enjoyed Brian Cronin’s Cool Comic Book Moment yesterday. Coincidently, Mycomicshop.com is having promotions on Thor titles… Should I shell out USD100 and get the entire Walt Simonson’s run? Is it really worth biting the bullet? Leave comments to let me know what you think.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
DC A to L Titles
Thor Titles
Valiant Titles
X-Men Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: THOR

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Brian Cronin

Does that name sound familiar to you? Probably not, just like it was the case for me some months ago… I think I may have linked to a couple of his posts (or should I say articles?) in the past but maybe without referencing to him directly… I think I also had a link to the “Comics Should Be Good” (CSBG) section over at Comic Book Resources, but it probably got wiped out when I accidentally messed up my blog’s template…

I keep a CSBG Feed in Outlook so I’m able to keep track with what is going on at his website and read religiously each and every update; it’s really quality stuff you’ll find there, not only from Brian Cronin but also from other contributors who occasionally share a slice of their lives as well.

This morning, when checking my subscribed feeds, I read through the CSBG section and found Brian’s daily post in his “A Year of Cool Comic Book Moments” series. He was featuring some panels from Walt Simonson’s The Mighty Thor #362, and while I usually enjoy reading this section, this morning was a bit different than usual. Those panels really vibrate, there’s something about them I cannot explain that really touched me inside and brought a sense of respect for that character. I found it so strong it just made me want to order Thor titles right away (I’ve never read Thor before…)

At the end of his posts, Brian always mentions what he thinks being “THE” moment in those panels… I know the year isn’t over yet and there are still 136 “Cool Comic Book Moments” but out of all the ones that have been published so far, I think that particular one gets the crown.

Still in a Wood Mood

One more down, some more to go… After finishing Demo’s last story, I decided to start reading Fight for tomorrow which happens to be yet another Brian Wood’s story. It’s funny, I thought I’d be growing tired of Brian Wood’s work after reading his 4 other books but I am not… It must be because of 2 things, the first one is they’re usually quite different stories that don’t give me a “Déjà vu” feeling when reading them, and the second one must be because he’s just a good writer/artist.

I have not purchased Fight for tomorrow in a trader paperback format but bought all the single issues. Honestly, the story isn’t super original, but the way it’s written kept me wanting to read more after finishing every issue. I also liked the way it’s set in the Asian community of New York. I don’t live there and do not know if they have those small Buddhist temples like in the one in the book but it felt quite believable.

The art was nice as well, the fighting scenes were fun to read, I enjoyed the way they were sketched, the smudgy edges after receiving or giving punches added something to them… Only one thing, I somehow got some trouble recognizing the main character sometimes… His face just kept changing appearances and I’m not sure it was because of the bashing he’s getting all along that story…

Anyway, all in all, this book is not going to change the way you think about comic books, but it was entertaining enough to have me read it in one go and still enjoyed it even I was left with a “yeah I saw that coming from far away” feeling. Still pretty good, just not revolutionary, which is actually nice sometimes.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
1950's comics
Justice League/Society Titles
Marvel A to L Titles
Promotional Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: VOLTRON

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Am I still reading?

The answer is yes, only it is at a very slow pace… As a matter of fact, I joined a new guild in WoW and have been enjoying partying with them a lot. We do all kinds of stuff; even more since patch 3.2 went live… We burst through heroics again to get all those emblems of conquest, we’re farming Trial of the Champion in both normal and heroic modes to get some sweet new gear… Tons of fun…

So yeah, I’ve been pretty busy in my virtual world but am still reading some comics and I found the perfect book that fits nicely for these busy gaming times. After finishing Kraven’s Last Hunt, I picked up Brian Wood’s Demo from my shelf and am pretty happy I did. Demo consists in a collection of 12 stories that have nothing to do with each other, and as they’re not related at all, it enables to you read one issue at a time without worrying about how long will pass before you manage to read the next one… So after each story, you can decide to read the next one right after or just let the book sit there for a week, which, I admit, I’ve been doing… So anyway, if you’re being caught up with life recently, this book is for you. You’ll be able to stay in touch with the world of comics without having to spend too much time (in one chunk that is) to do so.

I think Brian Wood must have had loads of fun working on that book as he got to play around with different stories that touch a plethora of topics which I, by now, know he likes bringing up in his books, from war to relationships or discrimination, family, jobs… Different aspects of society are being depicted and you should get touched by AT LEAST one of those stories and the fact that they begin and end in a single issue makes the message they carry even stronger in my opinion.

This is probably one of the books you MUST own, so drop everything you’re doing and order your copy now!

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Charlton Titles
Crime/Mystery Titles
DC Titles
Hulk Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: EUREKA

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Grab bag post of this week

Sometimes, I happen to notice some low prices on some books on different websites... I'm not sure they're ALWAYS good, but at the price they're listed, they're at least worth a look... So I'll be posting some of the bargains I come across from time to time. Just do some research before buying as I'm not garanteeing they're even worth that low price...Here's what I found today:

Marvel Visionaries Stan Lee HC:
336 pages of different works from Stan Lee in collaboration with artists like Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby such as Hulk, X-Men, Spider-Man and more...Down from USD29.99 to USD8.20.

X-Men's Uncanny TPB 2-Pack:
Still on from last week, 2 X-Men trades (X-Men: Phoenix Warsong and X-Men: The New Age Volume 1 "The End of History!") sold together for only USD9.99.

Eternals Hardcover:
Also from last week's post, the hard cover collection of Eternals #1 to #7 (complete 3rd series) for only USD8.20... It's roughly 72% off the cover price...

Frank Miller's Complete Sin City Library:
Amazon is still having their Sin City grab bag. Fetch all 7 trades for less than USD80.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Gold Key Titles
Image Titles
Marvel Titles
Western Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: MOONWALK

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Grab bag

Sometimes, I happen to notice some low prices on some books on different websites... I'm not sure they're ALWAYS good, but at the price they're listed, they're at least worth a look... So I'll be posting some fo the bargains I come across from time to time. Just do some research before buying as I'm not garanteeing they're even worth that low price...Here's what I found today:

X-Men's Uncanny TPB 2-Pack:
2 X-Men trades (X-Men: Phoenix Warsong and X-Men: The New Age Volume 1 "The End of History!") sold together for only USD9.99.

Eternals Hardcover:
The hard cover collection of Eternals #1 to #7 (complete 3rd series) for only USD8.20... It's roughly 72% off the cover price...

Frank Miller's Complete Sin City Library:
Amazon is having a Sin City grab bag once more. Fetch all 7 trades for less than USD80.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Conan Titles
DC M to Z Titles
Harvey Titles
Spider-Man Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: POTTER

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Changed my mind

In my last post I mentioned I would go on reading some of Wood’s work, but when I went back to my shelves to make my choice, I somehow got more attracted in picking up Kraven’s Last Hunt that I had sitting (or are books standing?) there for a while.

I’ve got like 2 Spider-man stories in my humble collection, so you can’t really call me a Spidey fan… I haven’t read Spider-man: Blue yet, and it’s been collecting dust for about as long as the book I’m mentioning now…

DeMatteis did an amazing job writing the story. I’ve read the trade paperback and there’s a small introduction of the book by DeMatteis who explains how he got to write it, how it all came together and so on… And it took a WHILE so I’m pretty happy for him the result was that good (he kept pushing the same story from publisher to publisher for a few years…). The art was also amazing, especially considering it was drawn during the mid 80’s… Way to go Mike Zeck! But they sometimes re-edit the books when collecting all the issues into a single format, so keep in mind I read the trade.

So you guessed it, I really had a good time reading it, the story was amazing, the art was amazing, so I’m probably a Spider-man fan now, right? Well, not really… Although this is a Spider-man book, I felt the story was more about Kraven himself, and he really is amazing in my opinion. So basically, after reading Kraven’s Last Hunt, I feel more like reading about Kraven.

Basically, you have to own that book, especially if you get it for as good as a deal as I got: only USD4.32! Oh, I’d also like to make you note that was because I bought a copy that was graded “Very Good” at Mycomicshop.com… It was the first time (I usually buy NM) so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the book was almost as good as brand new… Only a tiny little tear at the top of the dust jacket was noticeable, but apart from that nothing was wrong with the book. I’ll shop there again!

For questions about comic books grading, you can refer to my previous post about this topic.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
DC A to L Titles
Horror/Supernatural Titles
Marvel Ultimate Titles
Slice of life/Urban angst Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: UP

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Batman Titles
Marvel A to L Titles
Romance Titles
War Comics

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: STEVEROGERS

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

About those 2 characters…

Yes, I was actually right. As I was mentioning in my previous post, Wood was introducing 2 characters at the end of Channel Zero and they were Mustafa and Special, some of the main characters in different books which are Couscous Express and The Couriers. I’ve actually read the former over the week-end and it’s pretty interesting to see how Brian Wood makes them evolve… I have not purchased The Couriers yet, but reading the first story made we want to buy the 3 volumes…

Back to Couscous Express, I really recommend it to someone who wants to read something fresh, something new. The art is pretty nice, but what really grabbed my attention here was the story. It’s simple, but yet very compelling and also very different compared to other books… Good stuff, I won’t say much more, just go buy it!

I was in a “Wood Mood” when flipping Couscous Express’s last page so I went on reading Supermarket from the same writer. The story, once again, was great and the art really matched it to perfection… The atmosphere of the book felt amazingly close to when watching some Tarantino movie, though… I suspect Wood must have watched Kill Bill a lot beforehand… Or maybe Tarantino read Supermarket a dozen times when working on Kill Bill?? Who knows… I still recommend picking it up… Those books are by far some of my best purchases so far…

As a matter of fact, I am still in a "Wood Mood" and it so happens that I acquired a Local hard cover from a nice friend who did not mind bringing it back to me all the way from Kuala Lumpur... So that's probably going to be my next read.

Still seeing life in black and white…

Why? Mainly because I’m reading Brian Wood’s books. I’ve just finished reading Channel Zero and am quite happy with my purchase… It’s different than any other comic book I’ve read lately, maybe because it’s a bit closer to “real life”… Things like those described in his story could actually happen, and are happening in some form or another in countries like France or China who are recently implementing ways to control the way their people uses the internet, which contents they download and monitor what they store or install in their personal computers.

Back to the book itself… You’ll be able to follow Jennie 2.5 in her struggle to wake up the American people from their lethargy as they just became a consuming population who’s willing to believe anything that the now state controlled media says. There are also a couple of issues focusing on another character who actually became a “cleaner”… His job is to cleanse the street from its scum; the only thing being almost anyone is scum right now. You litter? I shoot you. You smoke? I shoot you. You spit your chewing-gum? I shoot you. You stink? I shoot you… I wonder if Wood was basing his inspiration on Singapore… ^^

Towards the end of the book, Wood introduces 2 characters that I think are in Couscous Express and The couriers. Maybe the stories are tied up in some way? I’ll write about it after reading them.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Dark Horse Titles
DC M to Z Titles
First Publishing Titles
X-Men Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: SUMMER

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
1980's Titles
Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery Titles
Marvel M to Z Titles
Viz Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: TOLKIEN

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Just wanted to share

Brian Cronin recently featured Sean Gordon Murphy in his Comics Should Be Good column. I have been quite impressed by Murphy's new project... You can check it in Brian's related post, just scroll down to the end until you reach the last few panels...

As I understand, this is still a work in progress but it looks really promising. I'll try to update you once it comes out... And still from this blog, I've learnt about a nice comic called Arrowsmith. I can't get to find the link back to it, just google it and you'll find something... :)

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
Archie Titles
Avengers Titles
DC A to L Titles
Image Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: NORMANDY

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Marathon read

I’ve done it; I’ve finally gone through the 7 Sin City trade paperbacks… This is quite a big chunk of a read, and the collection occupies quite a bit of real-estate on my shelves.

I remember picking them up from Amazon.com… They had like a “grab bag” promotion at the time which allowed me to get the complete story for less than USD90 shipped (and that’s a good deal considering I live half-way around the world). I was saving big on shipping; that was basically the main reason why I ordered it.

“What do you mean?” is my friend Pedro asking… What I mean is I know everybody says it’s an awesome story, I know it’s Frank Miller, I know they made a movie out of it BUT it’s black and white… Now this would have been OK if it was a re-re-re-reprint of some uber-long series that had started a long time ago (a bit like Essential Wolverine) but I always preferred comics that were in colours. So what I really mean is the decision making criteria was the attractive price tag.

For the exact same reason (and maybe also because it is quite bulky and would request some commitment to read the whole story in an acceptable time), the books just sat there for a while before I decided reading them… And it really is an awesome read. Frank Miller really deserves his reputation and he can surely draw a woman’s body… Or actually, maybe not, they’re never that perfect… So let’s say he can surely perfectly draw a man’s idea of a woman’s body.

Anyway, if you’re like me and are kind of hesitating when it comes to black and white comics, don’t pass up on Sin City, it’s a beautifully drawn and very well written story that’s intensified by the fact it is black and white… It may even convert you to only read black and white comics!

Aren't you a bit old for this?

A few weeks ago, a British/Spanish friend of mine came over to my house for lunch. One of the many topics discussed was what we were doing during our spare time, and when I mentioned I liked reading comics among other things, his immediate reply was:

“Comics? Don’t you think you’re a bit old for that? Most people stop around 12 years old…”

This is such a typical answer (that I get quite often) that I shouldn’t even care anymore… But I do. In the past, I usually went on naming titles of comics that have been used in the movie business such as 300 or Sin City as the common mortals they are usually don’t know they were comics to begin with… I would then go on telling them that the word “comics” doesn’t necessarily equals to “super heroes in tights” and that there are many other genres out there (that’s usually when I throw in some of Brian Wood’s work)

Well I am happy to say that I’ve finally found a book that will make everyone agree that a comic book reader can be someone else than 10 years old little Timmy from Kickapoo, Missouri. Batman: Arkham Asylum has become my weapon of choice when it comes to fighting heretics who stopped reading comics as they “grew up”. This book is pretty disturbing and I believe would make anyone feel uncomfortable while reading it… The art conveys that discomfort feeling very well, and if it has such an effect on adults, why would we give it to read to some pre-pubic almost teenager kid?

Back to the book itself…It is really good, the art is amazing, mixing oil painting, photographs, pencil scribbles, but what I really loved was that even the whole book is super depressing, it ends on a high note that gave me a laughter… Really smart way to end the story in my opinion.

Batman and Robin #1

A lot of readers were disappointed by the whole Final Crisis / Batman R.I.P thing… If you’re part of that crowd, you probably know that Grant Morrison is now back writing Batman and the 1st issue of Batman and Robin is now out. You’ve probably picked it up already, though, but for those of you who haven’t, you can read that positive review and check out Frank Quitely’s nice artwork before committing to buying it.

Mycomicshop.com weekly promotions

This week's promotion over at Mycomicshop.com are:

5% off pre-1981 issues

10% off modern-era issues in the following groups:
DC M to Z Titles
Eclipse Titles
Marvel from 1990 to today Titles
Science Fiction Titles

How can you get access to the discounted prices? Easy, just click on one of the above links and enter my preferred customer password for this week: LEMAY

Disclosure:
As I am part of their affiliate program, clicking on one of the above links will help me out raising some credits for my future purchases... Mycomicshop.com will credit 15% of your first order (yes, your first order only, not the following ones) on my account. As a way to thank you, I offer the weekly password so you can enjoy a 10% rebate... So we both win something in the end! Thanks for you support!

Doing some good...

On April 6, 2009, a fire destroyed most of Len Wein's home. His son and himself were there when this incident happened, they both made it out of there unharmed, but unfortunately, most of Lein's comic books were burnt together with his house.

As he's brought a lot to the comic book universe, fans are getting together to try to restore his collection by collecting some of the books he had worked on (and you may own). Check this page for more information, I'll put a banner somewhere on the page as well (if I manage to do so)
You can also have a look at his blog if you'd like to know more about him.

I do not own any of his work (at least I don't think so) but am planning on purchasing some and ship it there directly. I've checked out some of the books and they're really not that expensive. We may be able to return a big part of his collection to him if we all unite and perform one act of kindness.

Thanks in advance for helping

Come on guys...

Have you ever gone through a several courses meal only to get to the dessert? You just sit there eating your food, but all you’re really expecting is that nice Tiramisu coming at the end… It happens also when watching movies or reading books… You just glide along with the story, which is good enough to keep you interested but is nothing comparable to the final moments that make you go "Oh sh!t… Never saw it coming!"

I’ve experienced that at several occasions… I think the very first time must have been when watching the end of Pulp Fiction, when I finally got to put all the small bits together, and always will think Tarantino was brilliant…

I’ve also experienced that feeling when reading Watchmen and a couple of Batman stories as well, and to tell the truth, I was expecting the same thing when reading the 10th and last Y the last man’s trade paperback. While it sure was entertaining, I kind of was left hanging there revelation-wise… I thought I was going to get that big one that explained everything that happened in the previous 49 issues I had read but I did not. I thought there was going to be something that would have thrown me off balance and go “Those guys really played me all along!” but instead I got more of a “So they DID leave that unexplained…”. It’s like several parties claim they made it happen, but in the end, it’s still left up to you to decide… So yeah, I still do not know why all the men on Earth got wiped… *sigh*