Real Live Uglydoll

Today was shaping up to be a completely normal, entirely unexceptional day at Star Clipper. Dan and I straightened books, stocked sodas, and wondered why nothing exciting ever happens. Just then, something exciting did happen! Jeero the Ugly Doll walked in! Well, a young man named Ted Zorn came in, dressed as Jeero the Ugly Doll (in Secret Mission Ninja mode).

Isn't this the greatest costume? It was also pretty funny when Ted was paying for his purchase (two mini Ugly Dolls) and reached through his costume's face-hole to hand us the money. Truly a sight to behold.

Thanks for coming in, Ted! You made our day a lot more fun!

-Elizabeth

Zombies Part Deux

As many of you know I am huge fan of both the Walking Dead and Max Brooks series of zombie books. I was poking around on the net the other day and found out that Max Brooks had been on NPR last month talking about World War Z. What I found really interesting was that he was not there as the author of a serious satire, but as if the book were a true story. They even had people calling in asking serious questions about how to handle zombies, and what to do in case of another outbreak. Very good stuff.

But the thing that I really wanted you guys to know about is that WWZ got optioned for a movie. Apparently Brad Pitt's production company won a bidding war with Leo Dicaprio's production company. Pitt's company, Plan B, has already been involved with several films, including The Departed, Troy, and the 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Angelina Jolie is also scheduled to appear in a forthcoming Plan B production of Atlas Shrugged. That may not mean a lot to all of you, but I know that there are a few you going nuts right now. And if you are wondering, yes, she will be playing Dagny. Both movies are scheduled for a 2008 release at current.

Lastly, if you haven't already picked it up, I just want to remind you that we are running a special on WWZ. If you buy either Walking Dead Vol 5 or the Zombie Survival Guide, you can get 20% off on World War Z through the end of October, and we're having a Zombie costume contest on Halloween from 4-8!

Dan

The Damned

If you missed the signing on the 18th for the release of The Damned #1, you're not alone. I was at home, sick in bed. And by the time I made it in, we were down to only 2 copies. Why? Because its good. Well, probably not really, since it had just come out and nobody had read it yet. Maybe it was writer Cullen Bunn's charm and charisma or artist Brian Hurtt's good teeth. But regardless, the comic is good. The 40 page issue introduces us to a depression era "underworld" in which the mobsters are demons. But this isn't a wasted gimmick. The mix works quite naturally to create a convincing world of demonic families fighting over their city.

The lead character, Eddie, is a skinny, reluctant mobster with a curse. He doesn't stay dead. Which makes him an asset to Alphonse "Big Al" Aligheri, the cigar chomping devil in a pinstripe suit he answers to. Big Al's trying to seal a deal to put the lock down on the city once and for all, but his guy handling it's gone missing. So Eddie's called in to track him down. And if he can, he'll be free to die as he pleases. But of course, there's probably more going on than it seems. Like whats up with those maggots?

It's a nice noir setup, and Bunn works the hard-nosed dialogue well. Hurtt's also rocking it. I've heard his style be compared to Eisner, and you can see it here in his expressions and storytelling. The way he establishes settings and even his rainy city atmosphere feels similiar.

By the time this goes up, we should have restocked, so check it out next time you're in.

-Nick

Winna and Newww Cham pi onnn!

So new comics day rolls around again, and we have a new winner in Design Your Own Display contest! Jaryd Wolfsberger turned in a very nice list, with some my personal favorites on it actually. Not surprising since I convinced him to buy most of them over the past four years or so. Jaryd's list is kind of short, not a bad thing, and because of that, I am going to put up all of his comments for you to read. They're pretty funny, and I don't think I could have done a better job of it myself. I look forward to hearing from more of you guys in the future!

Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1: Coming Home
Forget the clones. Writer J. Michael Straczynski reminds us why we started reading comics in the first place.

Seaguy
Aspiring hero Seaguy pines after a chick with a beard, romps with a cigar smoking tuna, and goes to the moon to discover lost egyptian civilizations.

Promethea Vol. 1
Alan Moore continues to impress. I hear he's writing all of the America's Best Comics from a higher plain of existence... Don't miss out on this bit of enlightenment in paperback form.

The Filth
It will leave you dripping with warm, foul smelling goo... In a good way. Grant Morrison pens a near perfect tale of multiple personalities and multiple realities that will lead to multiple readings.

100 Bullets vol. 1
Brian Azzerello and Eduardo Risso give us more than just a gun and one-hundred rounds of untraceable ammunition in this criss-crossing, double-crossing extravaganza about revenge.

We3
Everybody loves puppies and kitties, especially the ones that have been experimented on and turned into war machines by shadowy government agencies. This title has hipness and heart.

Tom Strong vol 1
Alan Moore has loved comics since he was a child. Let him show you why.

7 Soldiers of Victory vol 1
Morrison spins seven separate super tales ripped straight from DC comics past.

Planetary vol 1
A must read for any fan of superhero comics. Warren Ellis spins everything you know in a way you'd never expect.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol 1
Duh.

Transmetropolitan vol 1
#$&% Hunter S. Thompson! Spider Jerusalem is twice the man and he has a bowel-disruptor!

Global Frequency vol 1
Ultra Violent. Ultra Cool. Ultra Ellis.

Animal Man vol 1
Animal man gets all vegetarian and then confronts his creator in this mind-bending tale.

New X-Men vol 1
The X-Men have never been cooler.

The Invisibles vol 1
Chaos magic and hip underground anarchists fight the man.

Comics Get Spooky

Are you looking for some comics to satisfy your Halloween-ish mood? Looking to get into the holiday spirit? Well, good, because ghoulish titles are being released left and right these days, just in time for October 31st.

There's Chip Zdarsky's Monster Cops, a gem of a book about Dracula, Wolfman, and Frankenstein fighting crime in the city of Metroville. The comic contains 4 small stories that were previously published at various times, one as far back as 2003. Basically, the three monsters come to wreak havoc on a town, but the police commissioner realizes they're just misunderstood and in need of guidance. This book is perfect if you're looking for something fun and campy.

The new series The Damned, by Cullen Bunn and with gorgeous illustration by Brian Hurtt (both local guys!!), features Big Al, a crime boss that's also a demon and Eddie, a main character cursed to return from the dead. It's set in the prohibition era-- except the demon mafias are racketeering souls. Really a well-executed book, and great visuals to boot.

And if you just can't get enough of the undead, Zombie may be right up your alley. A mini-series from Max, it retells (in sort of an alternate history) the origin of Simon Garth, from the old Marvel title Tales of the Zombie.

And don't forget to come by for the Star Clipper Halloween Costume Contest on Tuesday the 31st. Prizes go to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd best costumes, as well as Best Zombie. Come any time between 4-8 PM to be judged, and if you're in costume you'll get 20% off of eligible purchases!



-Elizabeth

The Return of the Son of Satan

Just in time for Halloween, Marvel has released two interesting new series about one of their most weird and wonderful characters ever, the Son of Satan.

First, in their ongoing Essential series they’ve collected Marvel Horror – Volume 1, retelling the origins of Daimon Hellstorm, better known as Satan’s begrudged son, and his foxy sister Satana. The collection's primary focus is on Son of Satan’s 1973 series, written in part by one-time St. Louis native Steve Gerber (most famous for Howard the Duck). With Gerber’s connection to St. Louis, he sets many of Son of Satan’s earliest adventures in the gateway to the west… or for this comic perhaps we should call it the gateway to HELL.

Specifically in issues 15-24 of Marvel Spotlight, you can find Son of Satan breaking up the satanic cult of nihilists as they worship in Forest Park, battling his sinister father atop the Arch, and, believe it or not, dining at Cyrano’s Coffee House. Who says nothing ever interesting happens in St. Louis?

The second Son of Satan release is issue one a five-part 2006 limited series re-titled Hellstorm, which is being published by Marvel’s mature readers branch Max Comics. The story has an interesting back-drop of taking place in a post-Katrina New Orleans and juxtaposes Son of Satan’s story with the retelling of the Egyptian legend of Isis and Osiris.

I recommend both of these for comic readers interested in one of the more obscure characters in the Marvel universe, or those of you just looking for a really good Halloween custom. All you really need to do is draw a pentagram on your chest.

-Jon

X3 DVD - Not So Bad.

I finally got around to seeing X-men 3 this past weekend and I actually really enjoyed it. I'd heard so much fuss over it from customers and fans that I was expected the worst, but i totally dug it. Oh, I should probably say this might have some spoilers, just in case I'm not the last person to see it. The main complaints I'd heard were that it was 'all over the place' and didn't follow the continuity of the comic. But, of course they didn't follow the comic, because no one could make any sense of it if they'd tried. As for it being all over the place, well...it had some good action. Lots of characters and powers. It was a hint of the movie I'd really like to see. The 'Marvel' movie...a huge camped out story of world spanning conflict full of costumed heroes. And its kinda nice when they've apparently decided to make it the last sequel and they start killing people off left and right. I wasn't expecting Xavier to go at all, but whiny cyclops had it coming.

All in all, it kinda feels like someone skimmed the x-men archives and hashed a bunch of bits together, but its good fun.

And speaking of an allout marvel brawl, the Marvel Ultimate Alliance video game just came out for all sorts of systems. If you're playing it on xbox live, hit me up at "Mecha Nickzilla"

-Nick

So I'm Not Going to Cop Out

Alright...I should work a little harder to write something today. But we can all blame this pathetic posting on Dan, Nick & Elizabeth (and maybe even Jon a little bit) for not getting their blogs in on time. Sheesh.

So I had this really great idea to blog, but by the time I got into the store this morning and did all the little chores I needed to do, I forgot all about it.

So instead let's talk Heroes. I wasn't so sure about this show after the first few episodes, but let's just say that the final minutes of last week's episode improved Heroes standing in my mind considerably. And then last night's episode was terrific. It was stand-out this season. Kinda like last week's Battlestar Galactica (Episode 3b for those of you who listen to the podcast).

I wonder what kind of insane power the kid is going to have...it should be good. And what about Nathan Petrelli flying around and breaking the sound barrier in his pajamas (without an airplane, people). Or Hiro showing up from the future and dropping a melon twist on Peter...if you aren't watching this show, you should be! Definitely on pace to replace LOST as my favorite non-BSG show.

Save the Cheerleader - Save the World.

-b

p.s. I finally remembered what I was going to blog about - check out Jason Green's excellent interview with Marjane Satrapi over at Playback's website!

No Blog Today...

Sorry, brain freeze. No blog today.

-b

The Marvel Way

You know I love to harp on Marvel as much as I can. It may be that I'm just a DC guy at heart, or it might just be me trying to get back at them for making me buy five copies of everything back in the early nineties. But once again, I have found something that Marvel is doing right for a change, and I think it's pretty noteworthy.

One of the biggest gripes among comic fans in general for years has been the fact that Wolverine is in twenty different books. Well, do you know how many he's in right now? Three! And two of them are his own titles, less even than Spider-man! This leaves him in only Astonishing X-Men, Wolverine, and Wolverine Origins. What about New Avengers, you ask? Well, he's not in it anymore. As a matter of fact we really don't who is on the Avengers anymore. Carol Danvers, aka Ms Marvel, keeps spouting off that she and Wonder Man are Avengers, but frankly, right now there's no one to stand up and say "No you're not." There is no New Avengers, and there won't be one until the Civil War is over, when there are apparently going to be two teams. Blue and Gold anyone? And no, Ultimate X-Men does not count, being another universe and all.

Anyway, getting back to the main thread of this blog, I really like that Marvel has, in this instance, taken a very reasonable suggestion from the fans, and toned down the exposure on one of their main properties. Each book tells a very different kind of story, and don't really step on each others toes. Astonishing covers his time with the X-Men, Wolverine is the hack and slash brawler stories, and Origins seems like a whole new type of Wolverine story, the smart covert ops type of stuff we only use to get bits and pieces of. I also like their bravery on the fact that in the new Wolverine Civil War arc, Marc Guggenheim breathed new life into the second most overused line in comics: "I'm the best there is at what I do..." Now this is usually followed up by some sort of b.s., but Guggenheim took it to it's most natural state by adding on this: "And what I do is kill people." F'ing A, man! 'Bout time.

-Dan

Designer Toys 101

Whether you're already a collector, an aspiring designer, or just want to know what the heck is up with all the designer vinyl toys that are popular right now, the new book I Am Plastic: The Designer Toy Explosion is definitely worth a look.

Edited by Paul Budnitz (the guy behind Kid Robot), it includes an informative introduction on the history of designer toys and their place in art and culture, and interviews with super freakin' sweet artists such as Dalek, Pete Fowler, Tado, and many more. The bulk of the book is photos of and information about hundreds and hundreds of amazing, unique toys.

If you don't already collect designer vinyl, this book will make you want to. No one can resist the appeal of these colorful, sometimes weird but always lovably unique characters. People often ask about our Smorkin' Labbits (by designer Kozik), "What do they do?" The answer to this question is this: they add a clever, quirky, and very cool piece of art to your life and your home.

-Elizabeth

World Series Savings

To celebrate the Cards making it to the World Series (and to tempt you away from the TV screen this week) we're running a special promotion.

Every game day during the World Series come into Star Clipper and buy four trade paperbacks of your choice and get a fifth trade free! The free trade will be the lowest priced of the 5 purchased, and no purchases will count towards your book club. Not combinable with any other offer... You know, the usual.

I'm only posting this on the blog - no special e-mail message, so consider this a reward to our faithful blog readers (I know there are about 90 of you) and please spread the word!

Go Cards!

-Ben

Meltdown

We get preview comics from time to time. Not the ones we put out at the counter, but small 10 page previews of books coming out several months from now. Usually I'll wait and tell you guys about them when they are coming out, but I wanted to get this one out early for two reasons. One, the preview of this book was just so damn good! Secondly, it will probably be much overlooked, and I want you to be able to get your order in early on it.

A lot of really good reviews have been coming out all over the net from some of the bigger websites like Newsarama and Ain't it Cool, so I know I am not the only one excited about it. The story follows Cal, a.k.a. The Flame, a kid born with the ability to control fire and heat. Cal, short for Caliente, is a superhero, but only because he really didn't know what else to do with his life. He doesn't act out of some notion of selflessness or compassion; he does it for the paycheck and a decent medical plan. While the book is supposed to trace his whole life, it's really about his final days.

Cal finds out that his power is killing him, he only has a few days, a week at the most, before he's dead. Now for most that would mean saying his final goodbyes and setting his affairs in order. And while he's doing that, he realizes that he has a lot more of unfinished business to attend to. Including taking care of a few super-villains along the way. There are some great moments in here, and one of the things that I really liked was how they switch back and forth from black to white backgrounds.

At first read it seemed to happen for flashbacks, but then I realized it had more to do with Cal's outlook. His state of mind. Also the art has a very progressive character to it as well. During the first fight scene it flashes back to him being born and his early childhood. The art changes from a very contemporary detailed look, to a clean minimalist style reminiscent of Invincible. Scenes set later in Cal's life are a blend between the two, with more detail, but not nearly as much as the ones set in the present. It's a subtle change between the flashback art, very nicely done, and to be honest, I didn't notice it till the third or fourth read. Anyway, I only read the 10 page preview and I loved it. Meltdown will be a two issue, 48 pg prestige format series coming out in December. I tossed in a preview page here for you, and if you want to see more either stop by the store and ask about it, or go to the website myspace.com/iamtheflare for a really cool trailer.

-Dan

P.S. Am I the only one who thought his costume looks a bit like Kyle Rayner's costume from a year or two ago?

The Comic Strip Version 2.0

For my first stab at the world of Star Clipper Blogging I pondered a long while about how I should differentiate myself from my fellow bloggers. Inevitably, I came to the conclusions that we are all working for the same goal with our blogs, that being to share or love and knowledge about comics. This, coupled with the stores mission to supply the most expansive variety of comics to the general public, and bam, I decided to share with you the best of web-comics.

First, to dispel the damaging myth, not all web-comics suck. In fact, some of the most important comic artists around are taking a leap into web-comics, like my main man Peter Bagge. What more, some of the best and most innovative new comic creators are starting their strips solely online, avoiding the hassles and limitation common of major comic syndicates.

If there is one major web-comic strip to start with, I suggest Achewood by Chris Onstad. The strip is a hilarious character and situational based comedy about a group of anthropomorphic animals. Onstad’s style is heavily based in continuity, so you might have to delve into the archives to really catch up, but I guarantee it is well worth the effort. I will even dare to make the statement that Achewood may end up being the Pogo of the 21st century.

Here is a list of 5 other good web-comics to get you started:
www.maakies.com
www.questionablecontent.net
www.dieselsweeties.com
www.qwantz.com
www.stuffsucks.com

So leave some comments and let me know what you think of these strips or inform me of some other good web-comic, and lets all celebrate how these strips kick Family Circus ass!

-Jon

Make Your Own Display at SC - Winner

We have our first winner for the Make Your Own Display Contest! One of our regular customers, Jared Rourke came through for us this week and turned in a fantastic list! I've listed the titles that he recommends below, along with some of his comments. You can find most of this on the display, and if you are interested in any that aren't here, speak to one of the employees for help finding them, they'll be more then happy to help!

Jared's Picks

American Elf by James Kochalka

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Black Hole by Charles Burns

Black Hole is a fantastic story with the heavy handed allegory and style of a '70's educational film or after-school special. Burns consistent black-and-white art create a fully realized world where STD's can't be kept secret, a problem for the over-sexed youngsters of suburbia.

La Perdida by Jessica Abel

Get a Life by Dupuy & Berberian

Demo by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan

De:Tales by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon

Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley

I almost went with Scott Pilgrim, because I'm filled with the SP-love, but I'll always have a soft spot for Lost at Sea. More emo than anything, Lost at Sea was O'Malley's first major work, and it's a wonderful story of love and travel and stupid friends who may not be as stupid as you think.

Will you Still Love Me if I Wet the Bed by Liz Prince

Channel Zero by Brian Wood

Brian Wood's first significant work still feels amazingly relevant today. Set in a near-future New York city, Channel Zero nailed a world where the government has clamped down on free speech, especially in broadcast, and where the national media is little more than a propaganda machine for the administration. Sound familiar?Gray Horses by Hope Larson

True Story Swear to God by Tom Beland

Little Star by Andi Watson

It was hard to pick just one Andi Watson book, but Little Star is an excellent example of his best work. Telling the a story of fatherhood, Watson doesn't shy away from telling the bad as well as the good. His character's doubts and fears of being a father, and jealousy over his daughter's connection with his wife are heartbreaking to read, but family portraits are rarely completely rosy.
Off Road by Sean Murphy

Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine

Remember, if you also want to win a $10 Gift Certificate, simply send your list of 15 recommended books and some comments to dan@starclipper.com

World War Hulk

Why does there always have to be a war? Marvel has revealed what their big cross-over event of Summer 2007 will be: World War Hulk.

Obviously, Hulk is not best pleased with the rest of the Marvel Universe right now, after the heroes of the Illuminati tricked him and exiled him into space. Who can Hulk trust? Not humans. Not even superhumans. So apparently when he finishes his business on planet Sakaar, Hulk will return to have his revenge.

Marvel is saying that this will not be a huge event like Civil War, with dozens of cross-over issues and seemingly everything in the universe falling to pieces, but it will be the Big Summer Thing next year, and it seems to be a bit more light-hearted in nature than Civil War. Joe Quesada promised Newsarama "lots and lots of punching and breaking of stuff". Woot!

I predict some of the characters who have made themselves less popular lately will get a good smashing. Iron Man? Hulk smash Iron Man. Reed Richards? Hulk smash Reed Richards. Awesome.

Go look at the trailer!

-Elizabeth

Wildstorm Redux

The new Wildstorm books launch this month (yes, I know Wetworks is on #2 - but they *mostly* launch this month). I am really looking forward to the new Authority series by Grant Morrison, along with the new WildCATS book. What I am confused about is whether or not these are continuations of the old books, or restarts? Is it Ultimates, or One Year Later? I read the new Wetworks, written by one of my favorites, Mike Carey, and the new Gen13, by Gail Simone, and the preview book WorldStorm. And now I am even more confused then ever! Wetworks seems to be a continuation of the old series, as best as I can tell having never really read more then an issue or two of it.

Gen13 is a complete restart, going back to the very beginning. In WorldStorm they preview the new StormWatch: PHD book, and that also appears to be continued from the old series, but not quite. They make mention of the character Fahrenheit, who longtime readers will remember being killed off by Aliens in WildCATS/Aliens, now in a coma with brain damage. The new Authority book has the same line up as the Ed Brubaker run, but the new Deathblow book is supposed to be a restart also. I don't care if they want to continue the old books or do a restart, I just wish it would be one or the other, not both.

-Dan

New and Brilliant Work from Dave McKean

Sometimes I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason I like Neil Gaiman so much has something to do with Dave McKean. His beautiful art graces the covers of Sandman, the pages of such stories as The Wolves in the Walls and Coraline, and their movie mirrormask seemed one continuous piece of McKean's strangely gorgeous art, which often defies definition and classification. He also has many works apart from Gaiman, including the well-loved if not always well-remembered Cages. If you're not familiar with his work, I suggest you remedy that as soon as possible.

This Wednesday we are getting two new books of McKean's work, The Particle Tarot Major Arcana (a hardcover collection of his illustrations for his own Particle Tarot), and Postcard from Vienna, a collection of black and white drawings inspired by the city of Vienna, and the artists who've worked there over the centuries.

Anyone who likes anything should at least be able to appreciate some of the beauty in what McKean does, which is take everyday objects and people and turns them into beautiful, sometimes frightening, and always surprising images that could be from dreams. Which, incidentally, is what makes his work so complimentary to Gaiman's.

To check some art from Dave McKean, try his official website and come by the shop on Wednesday to see it up close. Well, up close re-printed in a book. You know.

The image here is The Tower from Dave McKean's Particle Tarot.

-Elizabeth

Phantom 13

Here's a sneak peak of the upcoming 13th awesome issue of the Phantom featuring evil tigers. Has the Phantom's lovely jungle home turned against him? No, he's just in a drug induced nightmare. The art's provided by new artist, Carlos Magno. And the colors by my own bad self. Remember, its my first book. So go easy.

Its set to ship on Nov 29th so keep an eye out. Or better yet, preorder.

And one more reminder to sign the petition to get Phantom creator, Lee Falk a Star on our Walk of Fame.

-Nick

Gary Panter + Big Sale = Super Saturday

In case you didn't see it in our e-blast, punk art legend Gary Panter returns to St. Louis and Star Clipper today! Panter, an underground comics icon and fabled set designer of PEE WEE'S PLAYHOUSE will join St. Louis' own Todd Hignite (editor of COMIC ART magazine) to promote IN THE STUDIO HC. Now available at Star Clipper, IN THE STUDIO is a gorgeous, must-have acquisition for any lover of comic art. Gary Panter and Todd Hignite will be at Star Clipper from 2 to 4 PM today, October 14, for an informal reception and signing. Light refreshments will be served.

In conjunction with Gary Panter and Todd Hignite's visit on Saturday, October 14, Star Clipper will be having a sale!

Take up to 20% off comics, graphic novels, apparel, toys, novelties and more. Our 35% off gaming liquidation sale is still in effect, dungeon masters. Look for deeper discounts throughout the store Saturday only. This will be one of our better sales of the year, so come in while you can!

-Ben

Nightwing is Back!

I was not all that impressed by the last run of Nightwing. I have always been a big fan so I was going to continue reading the book for a while even though I wasn't really likeing it.

But now I don't have anything to worry about! Marv Wolfman (NEW TEEN TITANS) comes onboard this issue as the new regular writer, replacing Bruce Jones. I really don't know what Jones was thinking with the arc that he did. Jones was writing him as a self obsessed loser with no sense of direction. Not the type of thing you would expect after having spent a year traveling the world with Bruce and Tim. Maybe part of the reason was that it was hurried. I am sure by now you all know that Nightwing was supposed to die during Crisis, not Superboy, and I think that they meant to replace Dick Grayson with Jason Todd, the way they did back in the day. I think that is also why the Jason Todd story was never really wrapped up last year in Winick's Batman arc.

But now they were left with where to put Dick in this New DC world they created. No longer Robin, and with the realization that he was never going to be Batman, where did that leave the former teen wonder? In the time before the Crisis, Devin Grayson had written one of the best Nightwing stories in years - getting Dick to seemingly betray everything he ever knew and join the Dark Side. Only to reveal that it had all been part of his plan to get everyone, the capes and the villains, out of Bludhaven for good and leave it to the humans. It was the kind of stunt that even Batman wouldn't have been able to pull off. That's why the Society leveled the town in the first place, they wanted to make an example out of him and put him in his place, if not in the ground.

But they never really touched on this either in Crisis or in his own book. They had to realize that Dick would know he was responsible. That an entire city died because he had the audacity to take on the Society by himself. It was the kind of event that should have broken him, if not for good, then at least for a while. He jumped right into the Crisis, not even really stopping to think about what had happened. There was more introspection on Robin's part, and he had only lived in the city for a couple of months, as opposed the several years that Nightwing must have been there. I want to say they did part of an issue on his state of mind immediately following the blast, including a brief talk with Superman, but that was nowhere near enough really.

I did like the attitude that Winick gave him in the Outsiders book as part of OYL, much more akin to what he was doing before the crisis, trying to take the bad guys down first. And I hear that DC has big plans for him this year, including a leading part in the last quarter of 52, and a pivotal role in dealing with the new Monitors. So I am really looking forward to the new Wolfman arc as it is supposed to be the beginning of his new role in the world. And if you too felt let down by Jone's run, I really do recommend that you come by and pick up the new issue. Wolfman already has him started down the road to be one the leading stars of the new DC universe.

-Dan

Absolute Sandman Promotion

Sorry for the late post - blogger was down all morning. Sigh!

ANYWAY...

So we're seriously pushing the gorgeous new Absolute Sandman here at Star Clipper. So today or tomorrow (Thursday or Friday) if you come in and buy a copy of Absolute Sandman for regular price ($99.00) we will throw in the Sandman 10th Anniversary Statue (a $195 value). This is a seriously good promotion and we'll keep it going until either the time is up or until all the statues are gone.

So again - buy a $99.00 Absolute Sandman at regular price and get a free $195 Sandman statue today and tomorrow only! First come - first served, while supplies last, not combinable to any other offer and all that stuff!

Good luck!

-Ben

Make Your Display @ SC Part II

Time to announce the first winner of the "Make Your Display @ Star Clipper" contest!

And the winner is . . . no one!

I must admit to being a little surprised. I didn't think it would be this hard to give a free $10 Gift Certificate away. But not to worry, I will be keeping the contest open for another couple of weeks. But I just wanted to tell you, in case you thought the competition might be too stiff, that if anyone had sent a list in, they would have won by the prospect of being the only entry. I don't want to bore you with all the details, so I direct you to the original blog, and hope you're interested.

And this isn't about me trying to get you to do my work for me, I love doing the Best Comics display. I just thought this would be a great oppurtunity for you to get to know some of the other people that come in, what they like, and have a little piece of yourself here at the store. So I leave it up to you.


- A Slightly Disappointed Dan

Nic Cage Rides Again...!

The Ghost Rider trailer went up recently. Check it out.

The movie opens up Valentine's Day weekend, which, if you think about it, is completely appropriate. No, really! What could possibly be more romantic than watching Johnny Blaze (played by Nicholas Cage) fight for his soul and his true love, Roxanne, all the while whipping around a flaming chain and riding a motorcycle? Ok. Most things are more romantic than that. But come on, really, who doesn't love Ghost Rider?

Other stars of the film include Eva Mendes, Peter Fonda, and Wes Bentley. All kidding aside, it should be a fun time, if nothing else. And it's probably better than Cage's most recent film, The Wicker Man.

-Elizabeth

Vertigo Goodness

If you're looking to catch onto a new series that's unique, Vertigo seems to be churning out quality books that stand out from both the capes and the indies. We've raved enough about DMZ, but Exterminators and American Virgin are both off to good starts and showing a lot of potential. And they're both at the nice spot where you can pick up the first book, and if you like it you can still find the next issue on the shelf.

Exterminators, written by fresh talent Simon Oliver with art by Tony Moore,follows a new Bug Man on the first day of the job which leads to dead bodies and some sort of potential mutated bug conspiracy.

American Virgin has one of the strangest premises for an ongoing series that I've seen in a while. Its about a young Christian evangelical speaker/writer who talks to teens and tells them to "Save Yourself". God told him to save himself for his girlfriend, and without spoiling too much (*spoiler!*) his girlfriend gets beheaded in the first issue. I'm sticking around with it just because I don't have a clue where its going. And because Becky Cloonan's art is frakkin awesome. The trade comes out on the 25th, but the first issue has already been added to DC's free "First Issue Classics" on their website.

-Nick

The Crisis Continues

I was looking at the new Infinite Crisis HC yesterday, and I noticed a couple of interesting things. It appears that this is more of a Directors Cut then just a simple compilation. There are several pages, particularly in issue 7, that are new. I didn't have the chance to go through and do a page to page comparison with the original comics, mine are on loan to a friend, but one of the pages that stood out to me was during the fight in Metropolis, showing the fight between Batman and Deathstroke. Talk about continuity changes, these can't even leave things alone for six months! So a heads up to all you who already bought all the singles, apparently you didn't get the whole story. My hat's off to the guys at DC, they got me to buy this series twice. Tricky bastards.

-Dan

So Many Signings!

If you didn't come by the store Wednesday the 4th, you really missed out. We had artist Chris Samnee of Queen and Country and Capote in Kansas here signing books and handing out original sketches like they were candy. He drew yours truly a very adorable panda, and added a robot to Nick's collection. It was a lot of fun, he's a very nice and talented guy.


So now you're probably kicking yourself over missing it, but there are some more signings coming up soon. Brian Hurtt will be here for the launch of his new title, The Damned on October 18th. On October 14th, Gary Panter and Todd Hignite will be here (that's a Saturday, so no excuses). And then on November 4th, Pete Coogan, author of Superhero: the Secret Origin of a Genre, will be in the store.

Also, though we didn't have an event for it, Steven T. Seagle (author of American Virgin) came in the store the other day and signed several things, including copies of the book It's a Bird. He was in town on tour with the play he co-wrote, which was excellent, by the way.

So mark your calenders and come meet some great artists and writers! You know you want to!

-Elizabeth

Criminal

So a couple of years back I tried to tell every one about a fabulous new book called SLEEPER. Written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, right from the start I thought that it was going to be a huge hit. At the time I thought a book that good had the potential to give even X-Men a run for it's money. After four years here at Star Clipper, I now look back and see where I might have been mistaken. No matter how good a book might be, there are just some people who will not buy a non-super hero comic. There are other people who love comics, but would not buy a super hero book if their life depended on it. I don't know why that is, but it just is.

But now I have decided to try and appeal to all of you again. Brubaker and Phillips have again re-teamed to bring CRIMINAL to light. In the debut issue, we meet Leo, who can plan the perfect heist... but only if he can be convinced the job is safe enough. See, Leo is not a shoot-first think-later guy; Leo is a professional. But to some criminals, even professionals, the right payout is worth almost any risk. So when an old friend and a crooked cop approach with a plan to seize millions of dollars in contraband from an evidence transport van, Leo must make tough choices, knowing there’s nothing you can trust less in this world than a cop on the take.

CRIMIAL debuted Wednesday, October 4th.

-Dan

Calvin & Hobbes

Calvin and Hobbes is by far the best thing ever produced by mankind. There's a great fan site dedicated to it which features some cool rarities. Political cartoons by Watterson, fan art including a few spaceman spiff sculptures), and even merchandise. Yep. Did you know there was only one legitimate Calvin shirt ever made? Watterson took an unusually firm stance against such things, not wanting to sell out his beloved creation (uh...garfield).

We keep all the collected editions here in the store, including the just-added "Complete Calvin and Hobbes", the gorgeous hardcover archive of every strip. Check em out in our newly expanded super-fresh kids section.

-Nick

Silver Surfer to the Silver Screen

Because the first one was just so good, Marvel and Twentieth Century Fox are making another Fantastic Four film. Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer will be released summer 2007. Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis will be reprising the roles of Reed Richards, Sue and Johnny Storm, and The Thing (respectively), and Doug Jones will be stepping in as Silver Surfer.

Rumor has it that that wacky Doctor Doom will be back from Latveria in the sequal, to once again wreak havoc in the lives of the superheroes. Oh, and we can watch the heroes save us all from the planet-eating Galactus, and finally see Reed and Sue get hitched on the big screen.

This blog is dedicated to Jon, and his love of the Silver Surfer.

-Elizabeth

Y vs. G

Something terrible has happened. You probably don't know there's been a war going on at Star Clipper. And the bad guys just took the lead. See, for a long time now, the best selling book in the store had been the first volume of Y: The Last Man. A great book by one of the best writers in comics. Maybe the best premise for a book out there right now. (In the first issue, every male creature on earth dies...except Yorick...and his monkey.) Its kinda satisfying knowing that your best seller is something that you stand behind. But now its been overtaken by the Gangsta Rap Coloring Book...

Its clever. Funny idea. Good execution. Makes a great gift. But pure novelty. No substance. I just ask you to do your part. We're almost out of the Coloring Book - though we have a couple hundred more on order. Now's the chance. Pick it up. You already have the issues? Buy the trade. You have the trade? Hey, what better way to show you love somebody than with a Y: The Last Man Trade Paperback? For me. For integrity. For Ampersand. please. Buy Y.

-Nick

Make Your Display @ Star Clipper

As many of you know every couple of weeks I do a display called THE BEST BOOKS YOU HAVEN'T READ. These are usually either fairly unknown books by well known authors, series that I think aren't getting the recognition they deserve, or just a bunch of good books with common themes.

Well, I'm getting a little tired of coming up with new themes, and I'm looking for a little help...

What I could use from you is a list of fifteen books that you really like and a little something about why you like them. Do me a favor and skip the whole ten volumes of Ultimate Spider-Man and five other titles thing - it really needs to be 15 books from separate series to be any help.

If I use your list, not only will you get to see your books up on display and be the envy of all the other customers, but I'll throw in a $10 Gift Certificate. Sound good? Of course it does.

If you're interested in giving me a hand, you can just post your list here with a comment, drop your list off in the store or e-mail me at dan@starclipper.com. Be sure to include your e-mail address with your picks so I can contact you if I choose to use your list!

I'll keep this going for a couple of months and see if anyone is interested. Each new list I use will show up in a brand-spankin' new display on Wednesdays (new comic day). I'll pick a new list every Satuday night, so there's the cutoff. A new list will be picked every week until Ben makes me stop. And bear in mind, while you can just enter the same list every week, I would recommend you spice it up some!

Oh yeah, not that I'm expecting anyone to be jamming my in-box with lists, but I'll only use one a month from any given person... I think that's it, if you have any questions just hit me up.

-Dan

4 X 6

Since '99 Jeremy Adolphson's been collecting artwork from comic book creators on 4x6 postcards. He's up to 67 galleries on his website.

I've started my own themed collection of original sketches. I have 2. Before I'd thought of it, Ryan Ottley drew Invincible's "Robot" for me when he was here at the store. Then later I was thinking about getting a theme going and robots seemed like a good flexible one. Jeffrey Brown did the other one for me at the Chicago Wizard con. oh yeeah. And while I was there, Sucker Punch creator, Jason Robards told me there's a guy who goes to all the conventions and only gets sketches of this one particular old busted character I'd never heard of. The William Hung of comic characters. or maybe the Tito Jackson. Alas I don't remember who it was. Any guesses?

-Nick