HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We cannot wait for the new year! What can you expect from us? More awesome comics, crazy events, lots of ridiculous sales, superb customer service and simply a place to hang your hat and call us home for a few hours. Thank you guys for an awesome year and we hope to continue the trend and improve upon what we've accomplished so far.

Here are some things that you can already look forward to:
1) A price drop by DC Comics to $2.99 on all their books.
2) Fear Itself: Marvel's first GIANT event since Secret Invasion.
3) Don Knotts & Barry White Retirement Ceremony
4) Our first tailgate party of the year: Green Hornet!
5) Our first signing of the year this January! (More info to be released soon)



OUR TOP 5 PICKS FOR THIS WEEK:




DON KNOTTS & BARRY WHITE
RETIREMENT CEREMONY
(AND THE NEW $5 UNVEILING!)



Those of you who have been with us for awhile know that every year we change the person who adorns our $5 coupons that we give out. Well, for the first time ever we will be having a special ceremony to commemorate their service to Comic Book Jones by retiring our old friends Don Knotts and Barry White. As you see in many sports arenas, we'll be raising a banner to the rafters for each of them, retiring them from service forever. We will also be unveiling the celebrity to grace our brand new $5 bills for 2011. Attendees will have the honor of being the first to get our new $5 bills. The date for this is still in the works but it will be within the next couple of weeks so sit tight and keep your eyes open for updates!

GREEN HORNET TAILGATE PARTY

It's our first tailgate party of the new year! Join us on Thursday, January 13th as we celebrate the release of Green Hornet in theaters. Grab your ticket to the midnight showing and come down to the store starting at 9pm for some free refreshments and nice sale where everything in the store is between 10% - 70% off. Wow! We'll also be running specials on all Green Hornet comics (and there's a lot of them) so be sure not to miss it.

Holiday Hours!

Hey there! Here are our hours for this weekend:

New Year's Eve - 10am - 7pm
New Year's Day - CLOSED!

Normal store hours will resume on Sunday. Have a safe holiday weekend!

Happy New year Gallery

For this week's New Years Gallery I decided to show you all some books that I picked up during 2010. There are some SWEET keys here including a great copy of X-Men #137, the Death Of Phoenix and HG copies of Batman #232 and #234 (1st Ras Al Ghul and 1st SA appearance of Two Face). I also included a scan of Superman #138 and Detective #437 the first appearance of Manhunter!

As always you are more than welcome to send YOUR scans to sholmes202@gmail.com for inclusion in future galleries! We all want to see what YOU got!!!

That's 30!

Mitch

This Week's Gallery - Vintage Newsstands!

This week I thought I would eschew comic book covers in favor of some vintage photos of Newsstands from the 30's through the 50's. See if you can pick out the books!

Also notice that I used the word "eschew" in a sentence!

That's 30!

Mitch

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

Well here we are. Christmas 2010 is only days away and the end of another year is upon us. I certainly hope that it has been a healthy and productive year for all of you and your families.

I should also add that you are all on Santa’s NICE list simply for reading the ramblings that I have been tossing over the fence all year. Talk about HEROES! Sheesh!

It certainly has been a GREAT year for our hobby!

Batman is back!...and Xeroxed! In fact there promise to be SO many Batmen that you will need a score card to keep up!

DC has rolled back the price on their regular comics to $2.99 which is welcome news!

Daredevil certainly made a mess of Hell’s Kitchen and is off on sabbatical as we speak!

The X-Men are still so plentiful as to be…confusing…BUT entertaining!

Hell!...even ARCHIE is getting a lot of play in the media.

And NEAL ADAMS is BACK!!!!!!!!

Marvel has been teasing us with a bunch of one line …ummm…TEASERS for the coming story arcs among their major characters. Can this truly be THE DEATH OF SPIDERMAN? All I can say is if Superman, Batman, Captain America, Green Lantern, Spock, and Buffy can die (Buffy died TWICE by the way) than so can Spidey. Though rumor has it that it is the Ultimate Spidey’s demise that is in the offing. Stay tuned.

Superhero and comic related TV and film rocked again this year with Iron Man 2, Kick Ass and Jonah Hex on the big screen and Walking Dead (which has been picked up for a 13 episode season two in 2011), Smallville on TV. Not to mention Superman/Batman Apocalypse and Superman/Shazam on DVD! 2011 promises even more video goodness with Thor, Green Lantern and Captain America, Green Hornet and X-men: First Class all releasing in the months ahead! Personally I think the real plumb of 2011 COULD be the animated version of All Star Superman! The footage at NYCC looked GREAT. All Star Superman releases direct to video in February so watch for it!

The new MMORPG DC Universe Online is set to release in 2011 and the advance buzz is so positive that I may just have to subscribe myself!

2011 promises to be a banner year for comic fans, that’s for sure.

And now for some random thoughts:

For those of you who are DC and/or Marvel only readers only may I recommend giving Witchblade a try? I picked it up this year and was hooked from day one. In fact that entire universe is very interesting and there is a massive tie in among the major players called Artifacts happening right now. You won’t be disappointed!

Not that I am NOT a great fan of Jeanty’s art on Buffy Season Eight but let’s try drawing some actual FACES in more than half the panels! Having said that I am absolutely looking forward to the finale of “season eight” and the new “season NINE” books. You DID know Angel is leaving IDW for Dark Horse didn’t you?

I see where Batman is now “incorporated”. Can the public buy stock? Voting or non voting shares?

I have come to the conclusion that being a Green Lantern has to be the best superhero gig. Not only do these space cops have great powers, they have their own CLUB of other Green Lanterns! Plus I hear they get free donuts in five different space sectors.

How many titles does Wolverine appear in these days? The poor guy doesn’t have enough time to go to the bathroom!

You really CAN’T screw up more than Matt Murdock did in 2010 can you?

If you are interested in “fast” girls, you may want to check out Velocity! Tell ‘em Mitch sent you!
When in the name of Odin will I be able to pick up my Superman vs. Muhammad Ali Statue!!! …the word is SOON!

I never knew that Jim Kirk’s dad was the God Of Thunder. Cool.

Finally thanks to all the great people at CBJ, the creators of the comics that give me so much joy and to you, my fellow hobbyists for giving me people to share it with. Have a flagon of mead and a heaping bowl of GagH on me.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays and a pleasant Ragnarok to you all. I’ll see you all on the other side of New Years!

That’s 30!

Mitch

OFF WITH THE TOP OF MY HEAD!!

WHAT UP WORLD!
I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and those of you who made it down to the store for the three year anniversary had a good time. I know I did. I would like to thank all the creators for coming down and chilling with all of us and having a blast.
This week in comics was nuts, so many good comics to talk about I don't know where to start...


John Byrne's Next Men #1 (31)

Back in 1992, John Byrne "finished" his creator owned book Next Men but never actually finished it. This week he jumps back into the series and does an awesome job of recapping the story and continuing it. A quick recap of what the "Next Men" saw in their VR stations brings new readers up to speed as far as what's happened in the series up until this point and then BAM! you're right back into the thick of it, hungry for the next issue. I'm a huge John Byrne fan and I'm so happy to see him finally back on this book, let alone any book for that matter. I highly recommend this to anyone. If you've never read the series, you should pick up the beautiful hardcovers IDW put out. They're gigantic oversized "coffee table books" as Byrne quoted on his website.

5 out of 5!!



BLACK PANTHER THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR #513

In the wake of Shadowland and Doomwar both Matt Murdock and T'Challa are broken men without a cause who both need a chance at redemption. Matt ask T'Challa to watch over Hell's Kitchen while he heads off on his own quest. He accepts and has Foggy Nelson get him a fake name and identification. Now without any money or powers, T'Challa runs a restaurant in the heart of Hell's Kitchen to get an idea of the people he's protecting.
At the same time, with Shadowland and The Hand defeated there's a fight for control of Hell's Kitchen amongst criminals. Introducing, Vlad The Impaler, a Romanian gangster who was an unwilling participant in the Romanian super soldier program. He hid his powers from the government and now has the ability to charge up and item with kinetic energy..Gambit anyone?
Needless to say, he's now headhunting this new vigilante that's prowling Hell's Kitchen.
I'm glad to see The Black Panther as the new guardian of Hell's Kitchen considering the fact that he and Matt now share the same stories of being on top of everything just to watch it crumble in their faces due to poor decision making. It's nice to see someone link these two characters because I wasn't too happy with the end of either story arc and for them now to both be on a journey at redeeming themselves is just smart writing. I think everyone should check this book out because it's the beginning to a great new story and a new life for both of these characters.

5 out of 5


MASSIVE AWESOME #2

I reviewed issue one when it came out and I honestly didn't care for it. I thought Stephen Lindsay could have done a better job as far as a first issue was concerned BUT now that I've had the chance to read issue two, I officially get to eat my words. Issue two was super funny, over the top and just plain funny. Bacon and Pickle head to Ireland to find out who sent the killer robots after them last issue to find out that Bacon's former buddy, Shamus El Ganador, the worlds smartest, and most dangerous Scottish Luchador. After a quick and funny battle, Bacon comes to find out that Dr. Sexysauce is the one who's really after him.
I love these characters now. Pickle's ridiculous rambles and "conversations" with Bacon are just so silly that you can't help but laugh out loud and ask for me.
I gladly eat my words and can't wait for the next installment of this buddy-action comedy.

5 out of 5!


FUBAR!!

I reviewed this book a couple of months back but after this weekend I can't help myself but tell you about it again. 16 stories all based around World War 2 with a zombie twist. This book is nothing short of awesome. Between the artwork and the masterful storytelling, you need this book on your shelf. Jeff McComsey and company really turned this out like no other. Independently created and produced, it's already sold out at Diamond of the distributor level. I highly suggest you get a copy as soon as possible. I have a feeling this book is going to be going for some serious bucks in the near future.
Jeff McComsey, Stephen Lindsay, Steve Becker and Dominic Vivona were here at the store this past Friday doing a signing and hanging out for the 3 year anniversary and let me tell you it was probably one of my favorite signings. They not only brought their A-game as far as doing sketches but they also brought the FUBAR TENT! chock full of pins and Zombie Target Posters.
These dudes, love comics and hanging out. If you ever get the chance to catch them at a store signing or a convention, do yourself a favor and go check them out. Seriously cool guys and a ton of fun to just hang out and b.s with.
head over to their site and pick up some stuff and drop them a line!

http://www.zombiefubar.wordpress.com/

5 out of 5!!

A Christmas Gallery

This week's gallery is not from my collection,,,though I wish it WAS!

Just some nice Christmas themed scans for you to enjoy!

Don't forget that you can get YOUR comic image posted by sending it to sholmes202@gmail.com (that's me!)

Enjoy!

That's 30!

Mitch

ICONS ALL!!

Superhero comics Comic Books in the form that we recognize them are now some 72 years old if we make the 1938 debut of Action #1 as the jumping off point. In all that time and with all of the thousands of characters that have graced their pages, comics have produces exactly FIVE truly iconic characters. And only ONE character created in the last 50 years could be called iconic.

They are:

Superman

Batman

Wonder Woman

Captain America

And of course….

Spider-Man

Five in all those years. No more than that. I know that I a lot of you are already saying…What about Wolverine? Green Lantern? The Flash?

Nope…nope and NOPE.

Being popular, perhaps from time to time even more popular than the core five does not make them iconic.

Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali were both GREAT heavyweight champions and wildly popular, but only one is iconic (with all due respect and affection to Smokin’ Joe).

So what DOES make a character iconic?

First – The IMAGE of that character must be instantly recognizable to people who have never read a single comic book or seen a super-hero TV show. In other words the image (such as Superman’s shield) must be a part of the cultural vernacular. An example of this is the expression “Beam me up Scotty”. People who have never seen a single episode of Star Trek use this phrase all the time. It is part of the vernacular.

Second- In the case of a comic book superhero, the origin must be simple and essentially unchanging. Despite all the flourishes Spidey was bitten by a radioactive spider, cap was a 4F who took a super soldier serum, Wonder Woman was a gift from the Greek Gods to the Amazons etc. And like the IMAGE, the ORIGIN must be well known even among people who never read comics or see the shows.

Third – An Iconic character must be timeless. By that I mean that these characters must have the ability to be FRESH to a new generation of readers. Superman was originally a crusader against social injustice. During and after WWII he was reinvented as a figure of American dominance on the world stage. In the 60’s he became a symbol of the optimism of “New Frontier” and so on.

Which leads us to …

Fourth – Longevity. In order to be iconic, a character has to have been around long enough to cross several generations. In the case of a comic book superhero I would say that 40-50 years is necessary for this to be the case.

Given this definition of “Iconic” we see that only five characters fit the criteria.

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America and Spider-Man (No bloody A, B, C OR D!)

Of course that is just one man’s opinion. Who would YOU say should be added to the list? Should any of the above be demoted?

That’s 30!

Mitch

OFF WITH THE TOP OF MY HEAD!!

WHAT UP WORLD!!

Wow, what can I say, The Walking Dead huh..does anyone else who reads the comic feel completely cheated and really wish that the show stayed a lot closer to the comic instead of going off into la-la land?? Yeah, me too. I'm a huge fan of the book, to the point that I have a Walking Dead tat on my right hand, that's devotion. I had really high hopes for this show as well as serious concerns that the show wasn't going to live up to the name, not just the comic and it's history. After watching every episode every Sunday night faithfully, I sat down and re-watched the entire series from start to finish with the hopes that being such a huge fan and with the mind frame that it only shares the name of my favorite comic, that I might actually enjoy it as a zombie series and be able to look past the changes and new scenarios that were created for the series... Wrong!
I'm sorry but even as a television series, the show lacks that punch that the book delivers. The lack of fear of the unknown as well as the drama of surviving in a world without hope instead of constant action and reaction sequences makes the show lose all it's luster. I can sit here and bash the show for hours, I'm not going to impose my slighted view of the series on you. If you enjoyed it good for you, if not, then let's hope and pray that next season sticks closer to the book or gets a better writing staff, since they were all fired before this season ended.

Now with that said, I'd like to move on to reviewing some comics.





Generation Hope #1&2

I had really high hopes for this new X-series since the build up to it has been nothing short of awesome. Hope has grown not only in age but as a character, from a scared little girl lost in time to a serious soldier with a mission. The lead in issues of Uncanny X-Men were great, almost very similar to the same build up to one of my favorite books of the 90's; Generation X.
Now comes the series itself and I'm sad to say that I'm really not digging it. The team is out and about collecting the "Five Lights", five new mutants that need Hope to help them get that last push toward unlocking their latent mutant abilities. Thus far Hope has helped four out of the five and now the team is on their way to Tokyo to gather up the last mutant who has already hit mutant puberty. The big shock is this character is pretty much AKIRA!
I was caught off guard at first and I didn't know what to make of it but then with the second issue, I really came to the conclusion that I really am not digging this series so far and I think that Kieron Gillen must have recently read or watched AKIRA and thought "gee that would be a great mutant for my new book.."
The past two issues have been dealing with this one mutant, his destructive nature and his twisted insight into his artwork. At this point, I'm hoping that they either figure out that this kid isn't meant to become a member of the team and they stop him or help him get his "Akira powers" under control and move on, there is so much potential for this cast that sitting still, so to speak, for two issues instead of jumping in and grabbing a new member of the team or not, like the others, just seems silly and wasting time. I'm not looking for instant gratification, but I am looking for a quick progression into the team dynamic and moving along into what these teens mean to the mutant species as a whole and what their sudden arrival really means.
Overall thus far, I'm disappointed with this series and I hope with issue three, Kieron Gillen picks up the ball and runs for the goal. The characters are great and the possible scenario's are there, now it's just a matter of making it happen.

2 out of 5


I'm curious to know what you think of my reviews and rants..hit me up and let me know what you're thoughts on the books I talk about are.. hit me up or come catch me at the store hanging out sucking down coffee.
GoreJones@gmail.com

Weekly Collection Gallery! YOU can show off your stuff!!!

Face front ya Gold Brickin' Yahoos!

I thought I'd start something new here on the goold old Comicbook Jones Site. Each and every week I'm going to post five scans from my colelction just because I like to show off!

But! Here is where YOU come in! If you send me scans of YOUR favorite books I will bump my scans and show yours instead! Here are the rules:

1) Send your scans to sholmes202@gmail.com
2) They can be back issues or new comics. ANYTHING that you want to show off from YOUR collection!
3) If you give me your name or user ID I will include it with your scan!

It should be lots of fun.

THIS Week - Some scans from my Golden Age Archie collection with covers by the great Bob Montana!

Now get in there and SCAN you (aforementioned Gold Brickin' Yahoos!!!)

That's 30!

Mitch

December Events & Other News!

THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND!



Folks, this is the big one! Our anniversary celebration is the biggest event we have at the store every year and it's being extended to two full days! Come join us at the store for two full days of celebration of all things comics. We'll be having a ton of different creators at the store and they'll be accompanied by a 25% off everything sale. It all goes down on Friday, December 17th and Saturday, December 18th. After all the good stuff during store hours we'll be having a huge party starting at 9pm featuring food, drinks and some live music so make sure you come by and stick around. This event is for you, a celebration of all things comic related and a special thank you for your years of support, so come by and make it memorable with us.

TRON LEGACY TAILGATE PARTY

It's that time once again for one of our famous Tailgate Parties. They aren't held in the back of a car or truck in the freezing cold but rather in the warm cozy confines of your favorite comic shop. This time we'll be celebrating the midnight release of Tron Legacy and it's extra special because it's kicking off our Three Year Anniversary Weekend! Here's the deal: pick up your ticket for the midnight showing of Tron Legacy for Thursday, December 16th and then come down to the store starting at 9pm for some snacks, booze and our special sale where everything in the store is between 15% - 70% off. Yes, everything. See you there!

ALL FIRST ISSUES AND FIRST VOLUMES ARE NOW 20% OFF PERMANENTLY!

We are very pleased and excited to announce that from now on every first issue of any series (that is, every #1) will now be 20% off every day of the week! In addition to this, every Volume 1 of a paperback of hardcover will also be 20% off! Pretty great, ain't it? Use this new found opportunity to try something new.

HOLIDAY WRAPPING AND GIFT BAGS

This holiday season we will try and make your holiday shopping a little easier by offering in house gift wrapping for only $2 per item (or deeper discounts depending on the amount of items wrapped).

Also, if you have a big list of stuff that you need to get that we carry just drop the list off at the store (or e-mail it to us) and let us gather it all for you. We'll put it all together for you, wrap it if you want us to and give you a healthy discount depending on the amount of items on your list. If you're interested just come by the store, give us a call or shoot us an e-mail at comicbookjones@gmail.com and we'll be happy to get it all ready for you.