Caleb's Pick of the Week - Black Summer #5

When the first issue of Black Summer hit, I gave it a rave review. Now it’s up to its fifth issue (six, if you count the integral #0 story), and it’s still just as good. If you like superheroes, action or science fiction in your comics and you aren’t reading this book, you’re doing yourself a terrible disservice. Despite the superhero genre’s domination of the comic industry, and despite Marvel and DC’s domination of the superhero genre (291 of Diamond’s top 300 comics of 2007 w

ere theirs), the best superhero book out there is coming from neither company. The best superhero book on stands is Black Summer, and it’s coming at you from Avatar Press. Growling, with blood on its knuckles.

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FEBRUARY IS CUSTOMER APPRECIATION MONTH!

February is CUSTOMER APPRECIATION MONTH! What does that mean? That means that for the ENTIRE month of February, you will save 20% OFF ALL NEW COMIC BOOKS and BACK ISSUES! And that carries over to BOTH stores! No hoops to jump through or whatever crazy schtick to get the discount! It's a can't miss/win-win situation! And while you're at it, look for more "Nice Price" bargain items throughout the store (there will be a list coming for you to look at). We even have a column of Bargain Books and Bargain Comics that some of you may have seen already. Why are we doing this? Because February is the month of Love and we love our customers! We know times are rough, and we want you to know that we're on your side.

That starts THIS FRIDAY!!

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Vito's Personal Pan Pizza Pick of the Week - 1/30/08

In a week of returning characters or characters returning in new costumes or characters getting new directions...isn't it nice when a book just "stays the course?" Hence ACTION COMICS #861. Everything you expect from Geoff Johns is here (and for more Johns, check out GREEN LANTERN #27) and at the same time, everything you expect from Gary Frank is here too, and that's why this book is #1 on my stack this week...the art. Gary Frank is to Superman what Kevin Maguire was to the Justice League. His facial expressions are fantastic, and if you can't see Christopher Reeve in Frank's Superman, you're not looking close enough. And one of my biggest critiques on artists is they draw the same faces over and over again...not Gary Frank. Each member of the Legion is unique and as different as their powers. And man, I would never want to visit Colu! Sheesh!

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Vito's Personal Pan Pizza Pick of the Week - 1/23/08

For me, lately, it comes down to two writers; Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker. On any given week, you can predict what my Book of the Week will be by looking for either of their names. This week, even though CRIME BIBLE was good (better than just good), YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS was better.

What strikes me about YAP is the Patriot character and how he's in the middle of an important time in the history of the Marvel Universe, but also, how adept Brubaker is in finding the right voice for him. He's angry but hopeful, and instead of carrying a chip on his shoulder, he's looking for answers. Throw in the inevitable Winter Soldier appearance (I'm predicting today that Patriot is the new Cap's sidekick!) and you have a suitable alternate for the 2 weeks late CAPTAIN AMERICA #34.

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Caleb's Pick of the Week - Dan Dare #3

Whenever people come into the shop looking for a good old-fashioned science fiction yarn with spaceships and the works, it's actually very hard to find something new and exciting for them that fits the description. But now, as a retailer, I'm well-armed for the next such encounter by Ennis and Erskine's Dan Dare. Having never read one of the previous incarnations of the property, I'm still completely able to enjoy it, and readers who are familiar with previous incarnations seem to agree. This is a solid, thoroughly entertaining read: space battles, political intrigue, land battles, alien menaces, black holes, Britain and the good old days. If you missed the first couple issues, now's the time to catch up.



PS - I have just four additional words for this week's issue: Brendan McCarthy Variant Cover

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Vito's Personal Pan Pizza Pick of the Week - 1/16/08

To say why this book was my pick of the week is a little tough. Instead, I'll say why NEW X-MEN #46 wasn't.

If you remember, about a month ago, I picked NEW X-MEN #45 as my pick of the week and it was well deserved. But I feel like a lot of what I loved about that issue was contained in #46, but just...off. For example, I needed someone to explain who "Regan" was (Mystique calls out her name...it's Lady Mastermind). The action, which was again drawn by Humberto Ramos, was fast paced and exciting last issue; in this one, it was cluttered and might have moved the story too fast. There's a scene where Pixie (or is it Pyxie?) uses his/her powers (I'm new here, kids) and...what? Teleports the New X-Men? Teleports the field team? I'm not sure. And [SPOILER ALERT]Professor X tells Cable to go into the future with the baby.WHAT? When was that discussed? So, I chose ALL NEW BOOSTER GOLD #6, which was the end of the first story arc, "52 Pick Up," but undoubtedly the beginning of a new one. Well written, action packed and paced/choreographed well, this was what NEW X-MEN was a month ago, but not this week. It established the characters, established the status quo and even changed history. And reading it, you can't help but feel like this might not be the beginning of something great, but the beginning of something that will have really awful (in a good way) consequences. Even if you missed the last 5 issues, I have no doubt that you could pick up #6 and be right in the thick of it! Go for it! Do it! Grab that Booster!

Oh, and if you're cool, you'll pick this up too:

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Caleb's Pick of the Week - Doom Patrol Volume 6: Planet Love

This is the final volume of Grant Morrison's fabled run on the book, a run trapped somewhere between the churning meta-ideas of his Invisibles and the wide-screen heroics of his JLA, trapped and then heavily dosed with absurdity and crooked horror. The whole thing reads like a fever dream, but we've all have fevers before and this book makes more sense than we'd like to admit. So put down the latest event-leading-into-another-big-event-which-is-in-turn-merely-the-prelude-to-yet-another-event and the current completely-not-brand-new-throwback-to-the-Silver-Age and pick up something that's still forward-thinking and spine-tingling 15 years after it first came out.

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Yuri Manga Signing Wednesday 1/16/08

Wednesday Jan. 16th
JHU - Manhattan
6:30 PM

Join us at our Manhattan store as we welcome Erica Friedman, founder of the only 100% Yuri publisher, ALC Publishing.Joining Erica will be author JD Glass and artist Abby Denson, for a night of GLBT-themed comics, novels and manga, sponsored by Prism Comics.

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Caleb's Pick of the Week: Scalped #13

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Best book on stands.

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Vito's Personal Pan Pizza Pick of the Week - 1/9/08

First off, Happy New Year, readers! Glad to see you with us for 2008. Now to that beautiful piece of work up above.

A few years ago, I was sitting at a Will Eisner tribute panel at San Diego Comic Con (it was the first SDCC without Will) and on the dais sat Denis Kitchen, longtime Eisner publisher at Kitchen Sink and his agent, Jeph Loeb, writer of this week's THE HULK, Michael Uslan, the producer of the Batman films, and, inexplicably, Darwyn Cooke. As Denis, who was the moderator, began the panel, everyone told of their memories of Will or an anecdote that showed why Will did what Will did. But I couldn't understand why Darwyn was up there. Loeb was, at that time, announced as the screenwriter for The Spirit movie. And then the announcement...Darwyn would be doing a monthly Spirit comic. The room collectively gasped. "The guy who did NEW FRONTIER is doing THE SPIRIT!?!?" In a million years, no one could have imagined how good it would be...

Until he left the book.

Darwyn announced this year at San Diego that he would end his run at #12, this week's issue, because he felt that unless the team behind it (specifically, inker J. Bone and editor Scott Dunbier) were working with him, the quality would suffer and it wouldn't be fair to Will or us readers. So, he did a full year (and all were more or less on time!) and we got this week's gem, which was based on two of Will's original stories. The book focused on Sand Saref, a long time Spirit foe, and gives a few twists in her origin (as well as Denny's and even long time foe, The Octopus). This book...this ISSUE...should be held up in art classes, storytelling classes, writing classes...this book had everything. If you aspire to MAKE comics or films or just to tell your kids a good tale, this is the book to read.

Thanks Darwyn and J. Bone and everyone associated with these 12 issues. If there's any justice, there will be an absolute collection of it soon.

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JHU - Best of Citysearch NY 2008

Check it out! Your favorite comic book store was voted one of the Best Offbeat Stores in NYC!



What's the best part? YOU voted for us! Yep, Citysearch users not only voted us #2 in the Best Offbeat Stores...BUT THE BEST COMIC STORE! BOO-YA!

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Caleb's Pick of the Week: Umbrella Academy #4

Umbrella Academy is what comics are supposed to be: big shiny ideas captured at a madcap pace with the net of beautiful art and forced giggling and screaming into 22-page capsules for quick and easy download directly into readers' brains.

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