Last week, my LCS Ultimate Comics Raleigh announced that it will be closing its doors soon. It's not all bad news, as the management from that store will be opening a new one right down the street (and I get to document the entire build on the channel!). But it does mean that soon, the store that got me into comics, hosted me at four Free Comic Book Days, and has been a weekly stop for me since 2019 will be gone forever. It's the latest in a long series of transitions for me and this hobby in...
16 days ago • 2 min read
Skybound finally announced their new G.I. Joe series due out in November, and I'm pretty excited about it. It's irrational, since I admittedly haven't read any of the miniseries leading up to it. But 2024 has been the year of nostalgia, and I'm not tired yet. Tom Reilly's Cover for G.I. Joe #1, out November 13th. Fun fact, I used to intern for Grammy winning music producer 9th Wonder. He was a big G.I. Joe guy. When assembling his internet street team, the Jamla Army, he named them each after...
27 days ago • 1 min read
As you know, I've been making cuts to my Pull List every week in the month of June. Each week, it's gotten harder, and I think that's a testament to the quality of the product being released. Simply put, I think this is the best periodical comics have been since I started buying them in July 2019. Five years later, my eye is sharper, my palate is broader, but my wallet is far less disciplined. Thankfully, I swore off credit cards years ago, or I might be in serious trouble. This week, DC is...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
The Lower Level of Charlotte Convention Center, packed wall-to-wall with Comic Writers, Artists and Vendors. This past weekend, I attended HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC; for the third year in a row. It's always a great convention, but this year was my favorite yet. And since you're signed up for this newsletter, I'm giving you my cliff notes recap before the YouTube video hits. My goal was to make it to Charlotte by noon on Friday, so I could walk the floor and orient myself before attending my...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
I should probably just name this newsletter "This Month in Comics", but I paid too much for the domain. I'm back from my annual beach vacation with the family. I spent time in the pool, saw Wild Horses on the beach, and even read some of my backlog! Now I'm refreshed and ready to put all my energy into preparing for Heroes Con 2024. Simply put, Heroes Con is the best comics convention I've ever been to. It was also my first, but with each outing I take, it still rings true. I doubt this...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
First off, my apologies. I got sick a few weeks ago, and somehow completely forgot about this newsletter. The last time we spoke, I was gearing up for Free Comic Book Day; and I'm pleased to say it was a success! Not only did I get to play Comic Store Clerk for a day, but the content of the books was actually really good this year. Jeremy Adams and Will Conrad's Flash Gordon is my runaway favorite, but I'm also really excited about The Ultimates as previewed by Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri. If...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Shopping holidays. We all love them, right? Valentine's Day, Black Friday, Mother's Day... Days set aside on the calendar specifically to throw money at the people and things we love. My favorite is the first Saturday in May, which since 2001 has been known in comic circles as Free Comic Book Day! Comic Publishers, Retailers and Distributors get together each year to select a group of titles designed to represent a wide variety of what's available in the overall comic market, and offer...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Does your to-be-read pile ever feel like a never-ending abyss you've fallen into? Are you embarrassed when a long-delayed issue 2 comes out, and you still haven't read issue 1? Have you ever misplaced an entire week of single issues you purchased? Me either. Okay... I'm lying. But you knew that already. The good news is I made a significant dent in my to-read pile this weekend, and an interview-free week means I should be 100% caught up by this Friday, for the first time in a while. There's a...
3 months ago • 2 min read
This was a sad week in comics. There's just no way around that statement, and I'm still in a somber mood over it all. We lost artist Mark D. Bright, whose work with Dwayne McDuffie on Icon opened me up to the Milestone Comics universe. But there's another tragedy rightfully taking over the headlines. Cartoonist Ed Piskor passed away Monday morning, marking a tragic end to an unfortunate scandal that had been brewing for the previous week. I mentioned the sobering nature of the allegations...
4 months ago • 2 min read
