Hey, Folks!
I’m really rushing this morning to get this EDitorial completed because I have SO much to get done today! I mean, besides my normal duties of getting the Shipping List and Subscription Form up and running-no mean feat in and of itself-I also have to get cracking on my first draft September orders which are due to be turned in next Thursday. The inventory spreadsheet needs to get updated and, of course, I have to do the most important job…taking care of my beloved customers! To add to the excitement, Steve is taking the day off so I will be handling it all solo!
On top of all of that I am soooo tired! Hillman and I went to go see Rob Zombie’s latest exploitation magnum opus, “3 From Hell”, last night. I was excited to catch this picture as I really enjoyed “The Devil’s Rejects”. So imagine my surprise and delight to find out that last night’s special Fathom Events spectacle was a DOUBLE FEATURE…first showing “The Devil’s Rejects” and then plunging right into the raw horror and violence of “3 From Hell”. “3 From Hell” was a glorious evocation of the exploitation films from my youth and seeing at paired with the film it is a sequel of was amazing. I really got the feel of what it must have been like to go to the seedy theaters of the 70’s to experience the outer limits of human excess. The only downside was the 4 hour running time and how late the film let out…lol. I guess at my age I’m not really prepared to sit in a dark theater for that long and then get to bed so late.
Before I go any further, I wanted to inform you of some last minute POP vinyl figure solicitations. The POP Heroes Batman 80th Batmite First Appearance 1959 Vinyl Figure and the POP Heroes Batman 80th Red Son Batman 2003 Vinyl Figure are both on FOC this week which leaves me scant time to properly gather any preorders, but I wanted to put them out there anyway. I will be carrying limited quantities of these cool POP figures on the shelf, but if you know you want one then let me know by the end of the weekend and I can guarantee that we will have one for you!
It was a great week for comics if I do say so myself. Tom King’s Batman had been rather floundering for a few issues, but has picked up tremendously during the current “City of Bane” story line. This week’s issue #79 concluded a two-part interlude story giving us a glimpse of how Catwoman has pulled Batman back together for a combined assault against Bane and his reign over Gotham. Apparently it involved a lot of sexy bikini shots and about a gallon of ginger ale, but both characters are back to fighting shape and ready to take on Bane for a Gotham City cage match. This issue also featured, albeit briefly, the Batman villain Magpie, a character I remember fondly from my youth and one we don’t see very often. Great art by Clay Mann makes this a solid issue and if you’ve been avoiding Batman it is certainly a good time to jump back on board.
Jonathon Hickman’s House of X continues to intrigue me. Hickman has been doing his usual level best on this quasi-reimagination of the X-Universe, throwing out his big science fiction ideas while gently folding and combining them with X-mythology. The recent two-issue story of the X-Men staging a somewhat disastrous assault on a Sentinel manufacturing base was startling and the solution to the problem of dead mutants was inspired. It is the kind of idea that makes you wonder why no one ever thought of it before now. The use of Sinister and Apocalypse, two X-Villains that have been overused to the point of nauseum, is inspired and I can’t wait to see what this status quo change will lead to in the upcoming regular X-series, as well as to the franchise as a whole. The shape of Hickman’s run is slowly revealing itself and I can’t wait for him to start putting the pieces together.
No one is more surprised than I at how much I am enjoying the new Vampirella series from Dynamite. Christopher Priest, one of my all-time favorite comic writers, has applied his deft touch to Vampy and has crafted an incredibly entertaining book. My problem with Vampy has always been a matter of not being able to follow the plot. She’s one of those iconic characters who gets completely changed with each new creative team. (Kind of like Venom, but even more confusing…lol) You know what I’m talking about. She’s one of those characters where every new creative team trumpets that EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW WAS A LIE and then proceeds to give their own take on the origin, history, etc. It makes my head hurt trying to connect the dots. Priest has deftly side stepped this particular trope and instead has given us three issues of Vampirella on the extremely sardonic psychiatrist’s couch as she tries to work out in her head just exactly who she is and what she stands for. I love the psychiatrist and wish he got a book of his own (Therapist to the Super Heroes!) The art is pretty good and there is the expected amount of demon and vampire slaying that comes with a Vampy story, but it’s the conversations that really make this one of the most entertaining reads on the stands today. Also, Priest’s psychiatric scenes are waaaaay more enteraining than Tom King’s recent super therapy work in Heroes in Crisis.
My favorite book on the rack this week manages to tick all the boxes on why I love comics. Superman #15 has the conclusion to the excellent, if a bit long running, story line featuring the entire Superman family out in space investigating and seeking justice for the destruction of Krypton. It also reintroduces the Legion of Super-Heroes, heroes of the 31st century and one of my all-time favorite super groups. This comic is teeming with great moments of drama and humor and instead of giving us more grim and sad tales (yes, I’m looking at you, Batman) we instead get hope and a display of super heroics that I find have been curiously lacking as of late. All of the scenes, from the Legion dealing with the inexact nature of time travel to Superboy wrestling with what to do with the Legion’s invite to Superman accepting the judgement against his father for his crime are all terrific and handled with Bendis’ typical skilled touch. Superman’s discussion with Adam Strange was particularly good. If you haven’t been reading Superman since Bendis joined the team then I implore you to check it out now. It is truly an excellent comic.
I will be out of the office on Saturday this week as Hill and I are making the journey to the Michigan Renaissance Festival up in Holly, MI. Hill mentioned wanting to check it out and Monarch Avenger Nichole Smith was looking for friends to join her, so now we are heading back to the 16th century for a few hours. Steve, of course, will be here to hold down the fort and I will be back on Sunday to answer any questions or concerns that might pop up while I am away from the store. I’ll make sure I get a pic of myself on the Iron Throne to show off next week…lol.
Have a great weekend and I will talks at ya again next week!
Eddie