New Comic Bookstores!

I went to a new comic book store today. I thought I read about another one in the area but then never came across it and it only shows up on google if I put in something about cards and games which is strange. It's also closer than the other crap one. I've been planning on going to Pittsburgh Comics in McMurray, PA. Saturday and I am still doing that but was curious about this new place.

I was able to get two of the five issues that I wanted to pick up today, Wonder Woman #10 and Doom Patrol #3 as well as ODY-C #10. Kind of disappointed by their selection and how they didn't have any Black, Glitterbomb, or Chimera Brigade. I hope to get these at Pittsburgh Comics Saturday. I might also go to another comic shop in Pittsburgh since I will be that close anyways.

With the new shop I found, it wasn't bad but the selection was just okay and they didn't seem to have any dollar bins. It was also one of those comic shops that is small and cluttered kind of, that I've read so much about with how a lot of comic shops are but it wasn't bad really. It had a lot of good reviews that made me feel more comfortable with checking it out. It also did just seem kind of cozier in a way and is really the size of a comic shop that is not going out of business in a year or two like the one that I am not going to anymore. The person running it seemed nice but I still feel awkward about going to a new comic shop and not sure what to expect really. I think I will stop there on Wednesday's to pick up what I can find and the stuff I can't get, I'll get on Saturday's at Pittsburgh Comics.

I am still super excited about going to Pittsburgh Comics Saturday. I am already fantasizing about how I will be going there on Saturdays after my drum lesson and maybe going into Pittsburgh at times too to have fun there. I also love the idea of picking up a bunch of comics and stopping at a coffee shop somewhere and drinking a bunch of coffee and reading comics. We don't even really have any coffee shops around here too which is weird. I also love that Pittsburgh Comics has a podcast and they have a show all about new releases and things called Comics Now. Looks like it might be a cable access show which would be too awesome to live in that area and to be able to watch it but you can also check it out online.

Doom Patrol #2 Review

Doom Patrol #2

Publisher: Young Animal/DC

Writer: Gerard Way

Artist: Nick Derington 

Rating: 10 

I am really enjoying the way Doom Patrol is rolling along. This second issue is better than the first. I like how the first issue was a bunch of fragments about some of the characters involved with this new group and this second issue continues with that and includes a few others. Larry Trainor gets into some weird situation with some street toughs. I also like the Niles Caulder scene, another random, quirky scene kind of out of nowhere. He is in another situation by himself, kind of and it's just funny how kooky his situation seems to be. Casey seems to be the one that is very involved with getting everyone together. Being an ambulance driver and coming across a few of the characters in their own messed up ways and in this issue we find out that Danny is communicating with her through the dispatch system. Some villainous robot-looking things come for Cliff. Cliff and Trainor meet again. There is a scene that shows Trainor turning into Negative Man. Casey and her coworker get in trouble for having the ambulance on their day off in which Danny has them going around the city. Flex Mentallo, Man of Muscle Mystery shows up. And it ends with Casey going to what appears to be a very happy place. I love how this comic is just all over the place. It's such a jumbled mess of goodness.

I am only a little familiar with some of the characters in previous series' so I am not sure which characters are recurring like Cliff, Trainor, Danny, and Niles but the others might be new?

The artwork with this is also really good. All kinds of colors kind of popping out all over the pages and I really like how the characters are drawn. Kind of an 80's, early 90's cartoonish feel to them. Nick Derington is a really good artist. I should really check out more of their other work if there is any.

I can't wait for the third issue, with how some of the group met one another in this issue, the next one should finally, hopefully get them all together and from there we will see what kind of crazy things they get into.

Doom Patrol #1 Review

I had been waiting for two months for the new Doom Patrol series to start and really like this first issue. The first thing is that I love the cover. There were so many other variants including one from Brian Chippendale of the band Lightning Bolt but I had to get the normal cover. 

I wasn't setting my expectations too high and when I first read it, it was kind of a letdown at first. I've read random issues of DP in the past, some of Morrison's run, and some more recent and like Morrison's craziness with it but this didn't grab me at first. Some of the dialogue seemed spotty, I still can't get over the “I just blew up your roommate, do you need a new roommate?” “Yes, I do need a roommate.” That seems like just very bad one dimensional dialogue to me. Even Squirrel Girl which I like a lot would not have such silly, hollow dialogue.

A day or two later I read more about DP's back story, things about Danny and other characters. And it seems with each new series there are different characters for the most part but it helped with having more of an understanding of this group. Then I read Azzarello's #1 from a few years back and it wasn't as good as this series with how it was all over the place. I reread this issue again and did like it a lot more. Some people have complained about how it's all over the place and it is but this is the first issue about a group of people and one's in which we don't even know who is part of the group yet. And I like the way it was all over the place and showing snippets of where some of the characters are at.

Another thing I didn't care for was how there are entire worlds inside something like a gyro. It's been done to death. At the end of even the first Men In Black movie where at the end, it's as if we are just inside a marble inside some aliens board game or the world inside the jewelry of a pet, among other stories. It is believable and I do like how things can be connected in all kinds of ways which is the point and it's not bad but a little overdone.

Overall I do like the randomness of this issue, some of the characters are definitely interesting and I definitely want to see more of where this is going. The funny dialogue and randomness is probably fitting for Doom Patrol and hopefully this becomes something really great and isn't just another series of DP that gets axed within a couple years. I also liked the artwork by Nick Derington, there is a cleanness and colorfulness about it in a way that I like a lot.

There is also a video on youtube where someone breaks down the scenes of this issue which might be of interest to some.

More Comics This Week

This has been a good week for comics. Wednesday I went to the lcs to pick up some new comics, saw that they had like ten new long boxes in the dollar bin section which was awesome. I like that I am stalking this place enough that I can tell when they get new stuff in the dollar bin section. They had some Dark Horse Presents comics too which I'm glad I am able to finally see what those are like. New issues of them sell for $5 which is a bit too much and older issues sell for $8 which is ridiculous. $5 or more comics will be the one's that I will just wait for when they of course make it to the dollar bin.

What I got Wednesday:

New Issues:
Black Hammer #3 which was another excellent issue of Black Hammer. This is by far my favorite comic to be following.
B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth #145
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1954: Black Sun #1 (of 2)

Dollar Bin:
Baltimore: The Play 
Deadly Class #3
Deadly Class #5
Deadly Class #6
Dark Horse Presents #5
Dark Horse Presents #31
Dark Horse Presents #36 

Saturday Dollar Bin Comics:
God is Dead #8 Finally get to see what this comic is like.
B.P.R.D. Killing Ground #5
Doom Patrol #52 92'
Frankenstein Underground #2
Frankenstein Underground #3
Stray Bullets #2  
Stray Bullets #41
From Hell: Vol. 3

Comics this week

I haven't had a chance to update about the stuff I got Wednesday or Saturday. I have gotten the least amount of single issue comics this week than ever so far. Although I have picked up two really good trades.

This week I got:

The new Doom Patrol #1 which at first I wasn't sure about but it's definitely growing on me and then some.

Wonder Woman #6. The last of Frank Cho's variants for Wonder Woman and this issue was okay but not great. It's definitely continuing with the story of Wonder Woman leaving the island for the first time and I am sure it will be more interesting.

I also got a trade of Watchmen and just started reading it yesterday. I like it so far. I also finally got Alan Moore's Writing For Comics which is interesting as well.

Then yesterday I was at the lcs for so long, going through all the new issues, dollar bins, trades, back to the new issues, then trades, debating on whether to get Vol. 1 of Morrison's Doom Patrol or Lemire's Sweet Tooth Vol. 1 hardcover. I was wanting the Doom Patrol but for some reason Vol. 1 starts at like issue #13 for some reason, only covers fifteen issues, and is pretty expensive considering I can find probably every issue in the dollar bins. I finally decided on the Sweet Tooth and it's only Vol. 1 of 6 which is a bit disappointing considering the price. I am at a crossroads about trades. I am just getting into them and like them in some ways but some are crazy expensive for how little is in them. I am really enjoying Sweet Tooth though and happy that I did pick it up.

Saturday Comics Day

Saturdays are the best day to spend with comics and being obsessed with them, lol. I went to the comic book store today, and they, New Dimension Comics has a new podcast episode up if you want to listen to it at http://ndcomics.com/podcast/ They talk about the newest comics that they are into and about the Suicide Squad movie. At the store, it was Free Graphic Novel day so I was able to pick one from the table. It was odd, really late in the day and there were still a lot of free books on the table. It's sad that more people are not going to this comic book store because it's so great. I got Incorruptible Vol. 2 by Mark Waid and Horacio Domingues.

And I got some good comics I think today.

New-ish Issues:
Tomboy #4. I've been wanting to check out this comic and finally did today.
Plutona #5. I am really getting into Jeff Lemire's work and wanted to see what this comic is about.

Dollar Bins:
Mildly Microwaved Pre-Pubescent Kung-Fu Gophers #1 The title is just hilarious and is probably a funny, loopy comic. Hopefully there is more than just one issue of this if it's good.

Doom Patrol #1 2001
Smax #4 I liked the few comics I read of Top Ten and curious about this since it's about one of the characters from that getting their own comic.
Moon Knight #1 2011
Moon Knight #2 2011
The Dreaming #54 The cover of this made me want to check it out. Creepy mouth eyes!
Promethea #15
Promethea #16

I am listening to Fatman on Batman #36 tonight where Kevin Smith is talking to Jim Lee and it is so good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_YGfp2oid8

I am also loving the book Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. Everyone should read this book, even if you are not into comic books it is so freaking intriguing and makes you look at a lot of things different. 

Wednesday Comics

Today was another good comics day. With new comics I got Kill or Be Killed #1, Battlestar Galactica #1, and Tank Girl - Two Girls One Tank #3.

From the dollar bin:
B.P.R.D. - The Black Flame #4
B.P.R.D. - The Black Flame #5
B.P.R.D. - The Black Flame #6 
B.P.R.D. - The Black Goddess #1
B.P.R.D. - War on Frogs #1
Doom Patrol #65  93'
Doom Patrol #66  93'
Doom Patrol #67  93'
Doom Patrol #2  94'
Wonder Woman - Convergence #2

Saturday Comics Day/Not at Comic Con Day

I just got back from the Not at Comic Con thing at New Dimensions and it was definitely a good comic book day. You couldn't really tell that it was an event really since there were not that many people other than a few kids at a table learning to draw comics. I spent way more money than I was planning on spending but I am definitely happy with what I got. I also got some bags and backing boards. And I definitely took advantage of the dollar bins being $0.50 only today.

I also set up a pull list and asked about the Once Our Land #1 order from the other day and they looked it up and it is coming in from another New Dimensions location which is too good. I also got a bunch more new issues of things that I didn't pick up Wednesday. I am still in the beginning stages of collecting comics and exploring a lot to find what I like particularly but this is probably my last day of spending too much money all at once like this. Last night I read the couple of Saga issues that I got Wednesday, #33 & #36 and wasn't  really impressed with them. #33 was probably not the first issue to check out the series perhaps. One thing that I really like with this store and with living in this area though is that with the newest issues, they still have #1's and other issues going back months because not many people are interested it seems


What I got today:
Bitch Planet #6
Bitch Planet #7
Faith #1
Henchgirl #4
Ms. Marvel #3
The Spire #6
Satellite Falling #1
Satellite Falling #2

Dollar/$.050 bin finds today:
Dead Enders #3
The Maxx #3
Millenium #1  
Naughty Bits #37
Naughty Bits #38
She-Hulk #2  89'
The Woods #5
The Woods #6
Top 10 #2
Top 10 #3
Top 10 #4
Wonder Woman #16  88'
Wonder Woman #20  88'
Wonder Woman #24  88'
Wonder Woman #39  90'
Wonder Woman #46  90'
Wonder Woman #47  90'
Wonder Woman #51  91'
Wonder Woman #53  91'
Wonder Woman #58  91'
Wonder Woman #95  95'
Wonder Woman #161  00'
Wonder Woman: the New 52 #5
Wonder Woman: the New 52 #6
Wonder Woman: the New 52 #7
Wonder Woman: the New 52 #11
Wonder Woman: the New 52 #12
Wonder Woman: the New 52 #13
Wonder Woman: the New 52 #14

My pull list:
Bitch Planet
Black Hammer
Doom Patrol
Once Our Land #2
Satellite Falling
Wonder Woman: Rebirth
the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

Not At Comic Con Day

My local comic bookstore New Dimensions Comics in St. Clairsville, OH. is having a Not At Con Day event Saturday, July 23rd. It's something fun they are doing for people who can't go to Comic Con. They are going to have some quasi-local artists there like Kelci Crawford who does the artwork for the webcomic Validation. She is also doing a how-to-draw comics workshop for kids.

You can also get a 10% discount if you wear a cape of any sort. There will be some free stuff from Valiant Comics, IDW, and Zenoscope. The best part is dollar comics will be 50 cents! I can't remember the last time something awesome was being sold for only fifty cents. And I really like my local comic bookstore New Dimensions Comics. It's a nice laid back place, no rude employees, tons of comics with good finds in the dollar bins, and they seem female friendly which is nice.There are a few other branches of New Dimensions Comics around the Pittsburgh area that I should probably check out soon too.

I am probably a little too excited for this event, I've been looking forward to it for a couple weeks and hoping to get some good stuff. Last week I got too much stuff and right when I was checking out realized that I should have just waited another week for my awesome Wonder Woman dollar bin finds but I was so happy to come across so many in one box. With tomorrow, I am hoping to get more Wonder Woman comics, find some more Bitch Planet's, pick up a few Doom Patrol's, Ms. Marvel, look through the comics that came out this week and see if there is anything that I missed, and starting a pull list possibly.

I'm not sure if anyone in the area will see this but if you do, you should go to this event though. Here is the facebook event page. https://www.facebook.com/events/1562025807433026/

I wonder if there are any other comic bookstores doing something fun for those not going to Comic Con?

Wednesday Comics.

I just got home from the comic book store. I was most looking forward to Once Our Land #1 but they didn't have it that store but I think a different location has a copy so they are going to get me a copy which is awesome. I forgot to mention if they could get #2 as well when it comes out but I think they said something about it but I am not one hundred percent certain. And I was just looking up the issue just now and there are copies of it going for $25-$50 already on Ebay which seems absurd. I was hoping to pick up a Doom Patrol issue or two but the boxes they had them in were so tight that I didn't even want to try getting into it. I have been wanting to check out Halo Jones so I am happy to get one of those to check out.


What I got today:
Halo Jones #5
Saga #33
Saga #36
Black Hammer #1
Bitch Planet #8
Wonder Woman Rebirth #1
Wonder Woman Rebirth #2