Comics

Black Friday – Top Cow Style!

While you’re still feeling the comatose effects of tryptophan this weekend, Top Cow Productions, Inc. would like to invite you to participate in the Top Cow Store Thanksgiving Weekend Sale from the comforts of your own home. Following Thanksgiving, on Friday, November 26 through Sunday, November 28, the entire Top Cow Store will be on sale.

On Friday, November 26 only, the entire Top Cow Store, including comic issues, comic packs, exclusives, trade paperbacks, hardcovers, lithographs and posters, will be 60% off. For the remainder of Thanksgiving weekend on November 27-28, the entire Top Cow Store will be 40% off. For fans following Artifacts who want to dabble in the Top Cow Universe or new readers who want a sampling of Top Cow titles, this weekend is the perfect way to build your collection as well as introduce your friends and family to Top Cow with some affordable stocking stuffers.

Skullkickers Third Issue, Second Print

I finally had the chance to sit down and read the first two issues of Skullkickers over the weekend and I have to say… it was okay. It didn’t grab me and struck me as someone trying really hard to capture the essence of all their favorite nerd references and cram them into a story regardless of how it fit. Other’s seem to be taken by it and the sales certainly help it’s case. Although I believe Image’s new marketing strategy has played a huge part in the sales of this book.

The main characters of SKULLKICKERS can’t be put down, and readers can’t put the book down either — the third issue of the riotous action-comedy series has already sold out at the distribution level!

Batman: The Return – Review

Before Batman Incorporated officially starts; this issue will send it off! As Bruce has beaten time and death, he will begin a career against crime that goes worldwide! Batman Incorporated will train different men and women to become protectors of different areas in the world. So with Bruce the mastermind or the ultimate Batman, he will be monitoring every Batman or officer that upholds his rules. Amazing artist David Finch joins writer Grant Morrison in Batman’s preliminary steps before the Batman Inc story line.

Road Home Ra’s Al Ghul – Review

The Road Home ends in this issue! As Ra’s Al Ghul decides to get the assassination job done himself Vicki Vale might just die! While Vicki knows the identities of members of Bruce’s family, she is willing to release this news to the public. Ra’s would be doing Bruce a big favor. However, because he’s a hero Bruce will have to battle Ra’s Al Ghul and defeat him so that Vicki may live. This is the final destination in the long road that Bruce Wayne has paved; the next events will be even greater! Written by Fabian Nicieza artwork by Scott McDaniel and inks by Andy Owens.

Marvel: Point One

There are ½ issues and -1 issues, and now Marvel has added issues with a point! Beginning in February 2011, Marvel will be releasing issues marked with a “.1” from their various ongoing titles. These issues will contain full stories with the workings of future storylines thrown in as well. This will be a great way to bring in new fans who are looking for a good jumping on point to a new series and are having trouble finding one. Every one of these issues will be $2.99, better pricing during our bad economy. Even better, once a “.1” issue is released, another issue from the same series will be released within the same month (which happens to pocket even more of your money)! These new issues are a great asset for newbies to the Marvel Universe. Check your local comic shop in the following months for these various titles:

FEBRUARY 2011

Amazing Spider-man #654.1

Invincible Iron Man #500.1

Wolverine #5.1

Comic Book Terminology – Part 3

Welcome once again to the third and final edition of Comic Book Terminology! If you need a refresher be sure to read the first two articles here and here. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover so let’s get started.

CGC – This stands for Certified Guaranty Company. It’s a business that rates the comics, coins and other collectables and places a number rating on it based on a scale of ten (kind of like our review system). They  judge a comic on basically what condition it’s in and that can make it worth more or sometimes less. They then place it in a hard casing that shows its rating. Let’s say you have Walking Dead #2 but it’s a bit beat up, you send it to CGC and they send it back with a rating of a 5.8. That means it’s still okay but it’s not that great and there’s probably better out there. Well now you try to sell it but no one wants a 5.8 they want an 8 or higher. That’s the gamble of CGC is that what might sell regardless without a rating might not sell as well with a rating. Usually this is the case with older books but then lower numbers are more acceptable for a book that’s been around 70 years. Most commonly you’ll hear people throw around the numbers saying, “It’s a Batman 700 cgc 9.6” meaning it’s in good shape but there’s probably a 9.8 out there. 10.0’s and 9.9’s are rare in the CGC world. Regardless of number the cost of getting something CGC’d always raises the price tag on the issue above that of a non-CGC’d issue.

Final Starborn Cover Revealed

Hot on the heels of STAN LEE’S SOLDIER ZERO #2 release and less than a week before the much-anticpated debut of STAN LEE’S THE TRAVELER #1, BOOM! Studios reveals the ultimate variant no collector can do with out, the 1-in-300 STAN LEE’S STARBORN #1 variant signed by Stan Lee! Written by iZOMBIE and New York Times bestselling author Chris Roberson and drawn by SPIDER-MAN’s Khary Randolph comes STAN LEE’S STARBORN aiming to expand the universe this December. Don’t forget to order your copy at your local comic shop today!