More Powerful
than a Locomotive —
Comic Club Meets This Thursday
Has it already been a month since we met to
discuss Torso?
Yep — and it's time to get together
again, to share our thoughts on two classic Superman stories:
-
Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man
of Tomorrow?
by Alan Moore, Kurt Schaffenberger, Curt Swan,
and George Pérez
-
Man of Steel
by John Byrne and Dick
Giordano
Was the reinvention of Superman necessary? Does the "new" Superman
speak to readers differently than the Silver Age version? Bring your
thoughts on these and other topics to our next meeting — this Thursday, March 4
at 7:30pm — where we'll compare and contrast both stories.
If you've never attended Comic Club, this is a great chance to meet
our members and learn all about the program. If you decide to join,
there's a $20 per year membership fee, which also entitles you to a year-round
20% discount on all graphic novels (not just the ones we read for Comic
Club).
March
Previews Files Now Available
The latest Previews files are
available for download right here on heroesanddragons.com. Our
subscribers (or anyone else, really) are welcome to download these
files and use them in compiling their monthly Previews order.
Available files include:
-
The
complete text of the March 2004 Previews catalog (for
items shipping to Heroes and Dragons in May)
-
The
complete text of the Previews Adults-Only Supplement (no
dirty pictures)
-
The
Marvel Comics Previews Catalog
-
A
complete list of cancellations, detailing which items from
previous issues of Previews are no longer scheduled to
ship to Heroes and Dragons
-
A list
of all the one-shots and first issues shipping in the month of
May
-
The
complete STAR System catalog, listing all previously offered
items that are available for re-order
Download
them all
here.
Once you have all the information you
need to be a savvy comics buyer, you can place your order for
May-shipping comic books, graphic novels, t-shirts, and novelties
right here at heroesanddragons.com.
Orders from this issue of
Previews are due Saturday, March 13.
On the
Go: Our 2004 Convention Schedule
We've posted the rough outline of our
convention schedule for 2004 — and it's ambitious. We're
hitting all the major conventions this year, so chances are good
you'll get to meet and greet the Dragon crew, even if you're not
local to our Columbia, South Carolina headquarters.
Click here to check out the biggies — and remember, this is only
a skeleton for our 2004 travel plans. We'll be hitting lots of
smaller regional shows in addition to these national events.
Pick of
the Week — Swamp Thing (Vol. 4) #1
By
New Comics Manager
Tug
Baker
Just looking at the numbers for this week,
it looks like a small week for comics — which is the perfect time to pick up a
new title that you might not have given a chance otherwise.
What’s the best and brightest of the bunch
this week? Why, it’s our old friend Alec Holland, the Swamp Thing! Or is it?
Swamp Thing
(Vol. 4) # 1 hits the shelves this week, and it looks like this may be the best
incarnation of the fan favorite muck monster since Mark Millar’s run on the book
(back before anyone knew who the heck Mark Millar was). Written by Andy Diggle (Losers)
and with art by Enrique Breccia (Batman: Gotham Knights and the recently
released Lovecraft hardcover), this new book spins out of last week’s issue of
Hellblazer, in which Alec Holland’s soul has been separated from the Swamp Thing. This means the Swamp Thing is likely to get out of
control again, and guess who comes to stop him? None other than Mr. John
Constantine. This kind of tight, intertwining storytelling is what has really
set DC above and beyond other publishers this year.
The story for the issue is quite good and
looks like it will be faithful to the older versions. There's enough focus
on Swamp Thing’s continuity to please old fans, but a quick recap of the back story keeps new
readers from becoming confused. The real “draw” (sorry, couldn’t resist) is the
beautifully dark art by Enrique Breccia. Like his father before him, Breccia
adds the depth and detail to horror art that gets lost more often than not. He’s
definitely cementing himself as a force to be reckoned with in the comic world
here.
Still don't think Swamp Thing is your
thing? No problem — I've got four other great picks for you at
heroesanddragons.com:
-
G.I. Joe Reborn # 1
-
Marvel Age: Spider-Man
# 1
-
Alpha Flight (Vol. 3)
# 1
-
Captain America and
Falcon # 1
Click here to read my mini-reviews of these four titles.
For Tug's complete review,
click
here.
Toys of the Week — Hellboy and Sammael
This week, we
welcome a new contributing columnist, The Toyman. If you'd
like to learn more about the Toyman,
click here.
By
The Toyman
As a big fan of Hellboy, I’ve been looking forward
to this toy line almost as much as I’ve been looking forward to the movie they
are based on. And they do not disappoint.
Mezco has grown into an impressive company. They
quickly put behind themselves the mess that was Underworld and focused their
energy on bigger and better things. The Dark Carnival and Gangsters lines both
look great, and the Hellboy toys look even better. We’ll begin this review with
the first two figures in a six-figure lineup: Hellboy and Sammael.
The detail is great, from the BPRD logo on
Hellboy's
coat to the cracked stone texture of the Right Hand of Doom. Hellboy’s face is
sculpted in his trademark grimace — if only he were chomping on a cigar! — and
if that’s not your style, there is also a variant headsculpt of a calmer Hellboy.
The soft plastic trenchcoat blends perfectly with the body. It was definitely
the superior option over cloth.
Two impressive toys from an even more impressive line. The rest of the line
includes Abe Sapien, Hellboy without his coat, Rasputin with Baby Hellboy (i.e.
"Hellboy Junior"), and
Kronen. Both Hellboys have variant head sculpts (calm and angry), and there are
Diamond exclusive versions of Abe and Hellboy. (Diamond's Hellboy is battle-damaged with full horns.)
As a companion piece, there is also an 18” Hellboy (and another exclusive version
of it at Tower Records). Expect a review those figures in part 2 of our look at
the Hellboy movie line.
Quick news bits:
The rumors that have been circulating about the end of Playmates' World of Simpsons
line appear to be true. The Playmates license to produce Simpsons merchandise
expires at the end of this year. Chances are that Series 16 will be the last
full series, but there may be a Treehouse of Horror 5 wave and possibly a few extra
exclusives. More on this as it develops.
Vote for Hasbro's Star Wars Fan Choice Figure #6
here.
All the choices will be repackaged figs, but it's a great chance to fill a hole in
your collection.
See you next week! Same toy time! Same toy
channel!
For the Toyman's complete review
(and more news nuggets),
click here.
Dollar
Deal Days Roll On ...
Our unbelievable four-for-a-dollar
deal is going strong all week!
By now, you've been bombarded with
e-mail about this exciting event, so I'll keep the hype to a
minimum. Just remember:
-
Our
entire 90,000-book dollar comic inventory is on sale for 25¢ per
comic.
-
You
can fill up an empty long box (provided by us) for only $50.
(That's about 300 comics at an average price of 17¢ per book!)
-
The
sale ends this Sunday, March 7.
This is no
crappy close-out inventory, folks — we're talking about the Monster
Stock of dollar back issues, which contains most comics published
after 1980 that guide for less than $10!
This is a
sale so good even the employees can't resist it. We've already
picked up runs of Justice League International, Legion of
Super-Heroes, Alpha Flight, X-Factor, and
Grimjack from these boxes. Who knows what you'll find in
there?
(Sshhh —
don't tell anyone, but we're blowing out these books to make room
for a brand-new stock that will be worked into the store soon.)
Coming
Events
Lord
of the Rings CCG League meets Tuesday, March 2 at 4:00pm.
Comic Club meets
Thursday, March 4 at 7:30pm.
Site to
See
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