Category Columns

Who Killed Selina Kyle?

My second favorite Batman story is probably a lot less known. When I returned to the wonderful world of comics after my 10 year hiatus, I found that a lot of my favorite Silver Age artists were gone or not producing nearly as much work any more. One of my favorite discoveries after my return was a series called Gotham Central. Which introduced me to one Michael Lark. Now I loved this series! I found Larks approach refreshing yet somewhat familiar. His ability to tell a story within the story drew me to his work as both an artist and a comics fan. His ability to make a very "talky" story interesting , even if it was two people having a conversation most of the time , reminded me of Gene Colan. Not in style at all but in substance.
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Big B Comics Niagara Grand Opening

My fellow Simcoe County Avenger, Dee, and I were invited to the store for the Grand Opening. We were happy to attend, especially when it's a chance to get out and have fun in Cosplay. Dee went as Valkyrie which was modified to be Thor (perhaps a possibility of what will happen in the comics) and I went as Thor and Captain America. It was fun with us both being "Thor" at the same time. It did piqué the interest of some people who stopped to see us, and we took the opportunity talking to people about the change with Thor.
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Here comes…Daredevil!

One of my go to comic characters from the 60’s was Daredevil. He was easier than most comic characters for me to relate to. No real super powers, Matt Murdock had acquired enhanced sensory powers when he lost his sight in an accident while trying to save someone when he was just a kid. He didn’t let his loss of sight slow him down and the youngster grew up to be a successful lawyer and the longstanding crime fighting hero Daredevil. My initial comic reading of this character took place in the issue’s #20 thru #53 time period. Our arc and run feature today take’s place right in the middle of this run and we also take a quick jump over to the Fantastic 4 to complete our story. Let’s take a look at this run, broken into four story arcs.
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Hidden Gems

This train of thought got me wondering about those books that have no real financial value at all. That is you could probably find them in quarter bins or bargain basement section of your local comic book shop. These comic books probably wouldn't ever be worth anything, but they have one redeeming value; they are great stories. They are these amazing little gems that for whatever reason will never be a big book or sought after by any collector except for the absolute completionist, but man are they great stories. Here are 3 of my favourite hidden gems.
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The moment that almost ended the Batman! Not a hoax!

Where’s MY parade? Where’s MY party? Where’s MY 75th anniversary? Sheesh! None of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for me! But you don’t see any 3-d holographic wrap-around foil covers with MY mug on them! You don’t see any $699 maquette statue with HARLEY QUINN rubbing her tatas on me! How about a little slice of the 75th anniversary for me? YOU GUYS OWE ME!!!
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I am Starlord!

Every time there is a new release of a comic book movie, I help out Big B Comics in Barrie at our local theatre with a table. We have a display set up helping promote the store, and we give away comics and prizes before each screening. The last couple times Dee (Stephanie) and I dress up in cosplay and have fun with the crowds. Seven days before the movie's release we decided we would try to come up with a Guardian's themed costume. Time would be tight, but we scrambled to find the materials it would take to put it all together.
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Black and White and Bronze

When Marvel stepped into the B&W magazine business in the early '70s it was a bold experiment. There were a few fits and starts along the way with well over two years between Savage Tales number 1 and 2. But by the time The Savage Sword of Conan came about the market seemed to get a lot of the distribution problems and scheduling pretty well done right.
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News From Comic Con

Well, another year and another San Diego Comic Con has come and gone. With it brought a deluge of announcements on new projects, movies, tv shows, video games, and comic books. Some of the announcements were pretty obvious, and others caught me by surprise. Here, in no particular order, are the things that I was excited to hear about.
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Con Bravo 2014 – Saturday

On Saturday I attended Con Bravo. It is a show I haven't been to before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Con Bravo is the "Festival Celebrating Everything Geek" and the focus of the show is "indie media, gaming, and cosplay". Unfortunately I do not follow the indie scene, so I was at a loss when it came to the special guests and panels that were featured at the show. But the convention goers were going nuts for the guests. There were long lines waiting to interact with the celebrities. Which is the real focus when it comes to the celebrities at Con Bravo - the personal interaction with the convention goers.
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RONIN (revisited), Part One

In 1986, at the height of the 80's comic boom, DC comics published Watchmen and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (DKR). If you were to ask any comic fan which books are considered to be the “best” the medium has to offer, these two titles would top most lists, even today. Terms like “best” or “great” are blanket expressions of course. They are meant to communicate affection but in reality are kind of meaningless. There are so many genres, tastes and interests that any meaningful response should be more specific. As well, comics have such a long history..., to continually reference the same books over and over and over again, I feel does a disservice to all the other “great” stories out there. But, I do find it very curious how amongst all the great stories, amongst all the many fickle tastes… how is it that these two stories are universally appreciated?
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