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5 Good Reasons Against Opening a Comic Book Store

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 8, 2007
Post category:Personal Pop Culture
Post comments:5 Comments

1) "Bookshops' latest sad plot twist" THIS is the paradox of modern bookselling. Even in an entertainment-saturated age, people still buy books. But the casual reader has many other places to get bestsellers and topical books, from warehouse stores to the mall. Meanwhile, book nuts -- the ones who simply must buy several volumes a week -- are lured online. Few businesses can survive that lose customers from both ends of the spectrum. In 1995, anyone seeking a book that was the least bit uncommon had to have a store special order it from the publisher. If it was out…

On the Shelves: 2/7/07

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 6, 2007
Post category:Media Personal Pop Culture
Post comments:0 Comments

Reading is fundamental. Don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 2/7/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

PICK OF THE WEEK

The American WayBOOM! STUDIOS
Cthulhu Tales Rising One Shot, $6.99
Tag Cursed #1 (Of 5), $3.99

I’m not a Cthulu fan, but Boom!’s previous effort seems to have worked for those who are, and it’s nice to see them sticking with the anthology format. *** The first Tag mini-series ended rather abruptly but set up an interesting enough premise that I’ll probably check out the sequel if I don’t gag on the too-steep $3.99 cover price.

DC COMICS
American Way TPB, $19.99
Batman Year One Deluxe SC, $14.99
Detective Comics #828, $2.99
Helmet Of Fate Sargon The Sorcerer #1, $2.99
Jonah Hex #16, $2.99
Shazam The Monster Society Of Evil #1 (Of 4), $5.99

American Way narrowly missed making my Best of 2006 list, but it was an excellent read and one of the most underrated titles of the year. Hopefully more people check it out in TPB form. *** I’m up to the 5th volume of Jeff Smith’s colorized Bone series from Scholastic and am completely and utterly hooked. As a result, I’m curious to check out his take on the Big Red Cheese.

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Americas Elite #20, $3.50

When did the cover price go up?!?! [checks…] Ah, as of this issue, the conclusion of two-issue transitional arc. Not cool! $3 is my tipping point for comics, when I think a little bit harder about whether or not I really need to buy a particular title. I’ve been enjoying this latest version of G.I. Joe, but with a new creative team coming onboard, a price increase is like a “Jump-off Point” neon sign.

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On The Shelves: 1/31/07

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 30, 2007
Post category:Media Pop Culture
Post comments:0 Comments

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 1/31/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEK Why Are You Doing This?DC COMICS Batman And The Mad Monk #6 (Of 6), $3.50 Blue Beetle #11, $2.99 Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #7…

Free Comic Book Day 2007

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 25, 2007
Post category:Media Pop Culture
Post comments:0 Comments

This year's Free Comic Book Day is on Saturday, May 5 -- the same weekend Spider-Man 3 opens -- and the list of comics that will be available is pretty impressive. My initial thoughts on some of them:Archie Comics (Gold): Archie Comics Little Archie 2007 Archie Comics (Silver): Sonic the Hedgehog 2007My son loves Sonic, so I'll definitely grab one for him. I'm guessing Little Archies is something new?DC Comics (Gold): Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century 2007 DC Comics (Silver): Justice League of America # 0 2007Smart selection on the Gold title as all-ages accessibility should be…

On The Shelves: 1/24/07

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 23, 2007
Post category:Media Personal Pop Culture
Post comments:0 Comments

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 1/24/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEKCover image to come... Fallen Angel #12ARCHAIA STUDIOS PRESS Mouse Guard #6 (Of 6), $3.50 Good news: Mouse Guard is a great read, and one of my…

On The Shelves: 1/17/07

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 16, 2007
Post category:Media Pop Culture Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 1/17/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEK Batman: Year One HundredAMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS) Tron #3, $3.50 As a casual fan who was intrigued by the first issue -- which came out…

Review: Robotika

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 15, 2007
Post category:Pop Culture Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

Robotika
By Alex Sheikman and Joel Chua (Archaia Studios Press, 2006; $19.95)

It’s rare for a mini-series whose first issue turned me off the way Robotika‘s did gets a second chance, but thanks to Alex Sheikman‘s commitment to his work — emailing me to clarify something from the first issue that I didn’t like get, and sending me the second issue that I would have otherwise passed on — it got one and I am pleased it did. I previously described it, somewhat snarkily, as “a sci-fi cyber-samurai yarn conceived by an artsy SoHo hipster,” and a “visually impressive if somewhat convoluted story that edges up to the border of pretentiousness while nudging you with a friendly elbow and raised eyebrow.”

In retrospect — with the benefit of both hindsight and a second, more thorough reading — I’d say that Robotika stands alongside Archaia Studios Press’ Artesia and Mouse Guard as some of the best work published in 2006, better than 99% of what’s on the shelves any given Wednesday.

“Robotika comes during a time when almost everything has such a staid formula to it. But it’s anything but formula.

What it is is totally damn brilliant.”

Those are Ted McKeever’s words of praise from the Hardcover edition’s Fore Word, and I quote them here because I think he nails what makes this a special piece of sequential art.

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