Blog Archives
Heroes and Villains – Reviewing Recent Comics 6-28-2017
This time on Heroes and Villains, we’ll be looking at a variety of comics out this week and last, from a variety of genres. Meet me after the jump for my thoughts on Bankshot #1, Batman #25, Aquaman #25, Conan the Slayer #10, Robyn Hood: Tarot One-Shot, and WWE #6… be warned, there may be spoilers…
Holiday Gift Guide 2016: Comic Book Collections Part 1
We’re in the early days of the 2016 edition of Biff Bam Pop’s annual Gift Guide, and already we’ve seen so many cool choices for the pop culture lover in your life!
Today sees the first part of three columns dedicated to comic book compilations released throughout the year. This is stuff that your comic book loving friends and family (and you) need to be reading during the cold days and even colder nights of December, January and February.
This first column will focus on the more affordable offerings – trade paperbacks of great comic book series’ and one-offs. We’ll kick that up with the next two columns, taking a closer look at must-have hardcovers and giant-sized omnibus and absolute edition volumes.
You know, for those that you really, really love. And have a budget (or a strong enough gift bag) to shoulder it.
In every case, happy holidays… here begins the comic book gift of reading that you should be giving this season!
Their End Is Your Beginning In The Collected “The Omega Men: The End Is Here” On The Wednesday Run
Back in the early 1980s, when I first began reading comic books, I was immediately drawn to titles firmly based in the science fiction genre. Of course, that was right after the caped crusader, Batman, naturally.
Yep, comic books like Dredstar and Killraven and Star Trek were my monthly fancies. I even started picking up Epic Illustrated and Heavy Metal magazines. Somehow the comic book shops I frequented allowed those more mature titles to be purchased by a young-looking (but well-read and mature) kid.
One of the books I remember reading regularly and sharing and trading with like-minded pals was The Omega Men – a fantastic and exciting romp through DC Comics’ outer space universe, overflowing with wild characters, aliens and villainous despots. In 2015, as part of their short-lived DC You initiative, publisher DC Comics revived that series to critical acclaim, and more importantly, positive fan reaction.
In fact, fans saved the series from early termination.
Today sees the eagerly anticipated release of the entire series of The Omega Men: The End Is Here in a paperback compilation!
Get Born Again & Again & Again With Multiple REBIRTH #1’s On The Wednesday Run
Last week, DC Comics released DC Universe: Rebirth #1, a comic that made this very Wednesday Run column, which you can check it out right here. DC Universe: Rebirth #1 is a quadruple-sized revamp of the DC Universe, following the last four-plus years of “New 52” continuity.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, feel free to look it up on Wikipedia.
Suffice it to say, the fortunes (namely market share) for DC Comics have dwindled in comparison to Marvel Comics the last few years – and stories had taken a turn away from all the things that fans loved in DC Comics to begin with: legacy, love, and hope.
DC Universe: Rebirth #1 aimed to bring all of that back to the publishing company’s monthly comic books with a weekly roll-out of brand new first issues.
Today, the proof is in the pudding with a multitude of those issues finally being released! Follow me after the jump as the DC Universe gets re-birthed!
Instead of ending all of their monthly titles and re-starting them with brand new #1’s like they did with the launch of the “New 52”, DC Comics seems to have taken a page out of the Marvel Comics way of marketing: release new, fanfare series, in dribs and drabs. Calling it “Marvel NOW!”, this maneuver is generally a bit of a slow play and has been a great, albeit, well-used strategy for Marvel over the last few years. We’ll see how successful it is for DC Comics in the longer scheme of things.
That said, there are new stories and new status quos for some of DC biggest heroes in the offing. Follow me after the jump for today’s samplings for you to choose from!
Alpha Memories With THE OMEGA MEN #1 On The Wednesday Run
Ah, man! Remember the 1980’s? When comic books could be about…well, anything – and were? You remember: the ones that were really, really fun and good?
Maybe it’s just because I was (much) younger in those days, but the comics I was reading on the front step of my porch in the spring, trading with my friends through the summer, and then excitedly talking about with my grade school classmates in the fall were some of the best comics I ever read.
Remember Dreadstar? Jon Sable: Freelance? The New Mutants?
Remember The Omega Men?
Follow me after the jump, ‘cos those last guys should be the first thing you pick up from the comic book today!
A New Era For Comic Books And The DC Universe
“…a whole new era for the DC Universe…”
That’s what it’s being called, the upcoming summer changes to the comic book line that DC Comics is publishing, as well as the way they will go about creating them. And while that statement may turn out to be true, and while it’s great for comic book readers to get excited over the announcement, the truth is that readers have heard it all before.
One thing is for certain: The bold New52 initiative that DC Comics started almost four years ago, has gotten old and tired.
The only question that remains is: will the stories be any better with the upcoming comic book products?
