Regular post

It's May 1 2011 , Sunday night 8:46pm PT , President Obama just finished his announcement of the death of Bin Laden.

My raw initial thoughts? ... man , very surreal. There's a part of me that shakes my head at those blood thirsty revenge mongers whom are celebrating like Ewoks. There's part of me that's happy this is over with.. the biggest man hunt in modern times. Two of the biggest figure heads in the Middle East have been killed in the last 5 years.

It's easy to just label any enemy of the United States as evil and the bad guy , but sometimes there's more to it than just a war.

Vancouver Comic Book Store Review: The Connection

Connection Games & Comics (2 locations)

8136 Cambie St.

Vancouver, BC V6P 3J5

 

2945Renfrew St.

Vancouver, BC V5M 3K5

 

though they specialize in RPG games , they are also a comic book store too.

   The Comic book shop I went to before was over priced. Comic Land , nice guys but they're way overpriced for people with bigger pull lists. They charged a ridiculous Cdn sur charge.. on top of that taxed fully so a 3.99 comic cost 4.93. Now if you subscribe to 10 comics.. you get a wopping 10% discount which isnt gauranteed to all the time , you have to remind them. So that 4.93 comic cost 4.43

    This dissatisfaction lead me to migrate to another neighbourhood comic book store , Connection Games and Comics. 

The good: Cheaper. Simply put if you pull 10 comics or more.. you get %20 off the cover price. Thats right... a $3.99 comic cost =3.61. savings of 82 cents per comic. NOw those whom only subscribe to 1 or 2 titles.. you might not care. For those who pull 10+ titles.. it adds up over a year. Bags and boards included too.. they charge  25C  at Comic Land on top of their price(Might even be more? ). But do the math for a year , if you're pulling in 20+ titles... over $200 a year savings. Think how many more comics you can buy?

The whatever: They use a online service for subscribers , Comixology. It may not be for everyone but its worth checking out to see if you do like this method of comic book pulling. The negative about this is you cant pre-pay online.. also its not very accurate in pulling titles for you. I have to tell them what i want if its a indie title otherwise it doesnt get automatically sent.

The Bad: They dont bring in a vast general week to week stock. If you want some eclectic indie titles , you have to ask for them to be ordered yourself as previously mentioned. So it takes some research on your behalf to find out what titles are coming up.



My Bad: Im not into RPG games so I cant rave or rant for their RPG services but they hold weekly tournaments and have a large stock of supplies. Worth checking out if you're into table top , paper and dice  RPGs. 

The Cool: the staff is really laid back , polite , and helpful.. dependent on whom you ask they are very knowledgeable to their own specialties. 

They have one of the best bargain bins for both trades and sets. Fantastic deals.


Constructive Criticism: Add to what I suggested before... add more variety to their weekly pulls but thats not really a big deal. 


The Bottomline: If you know what you want in comics , this is the best place in terms of pricing on floppies. The trades are sold at US prices , but the discounts dont count against trades. Discounts follows as : 3-5 comics=10% , 6-9=15% , 10+ =20%

closing this blog or moving it.. same shit

Im using my Tumblir more now and I started to review comics for a group of horror enthusiasts

Tumblir
http://gordylocke.tumblr.com/

Horror Happy Hour
http://hhhcomicreviews.blogspot.com/

plus Im switching over to collecting trades than floppies. Though Im still going to pull Chew and a maybe a couple other titles. Ill mostly be reading and collecting trades.

Comic Book Movie Review: RED

Retired. Extremely. Dangerous. by Warren Ellis

     now the comic was somewhat mediocre , heavily over hyped or overrated depending on how you look at it. The movie though , its another story...

     The Movie is vastly different from the comics in plot , characters , tone , style. everything.... thank god. The movie in short was fun , feel good action fun , its Bruce Willis for fuck sakes right?

The Plot: The comic was straight and simple.. new head of CIA thinks Frank Moses knows too much despite being retired and ordered him terminatd.. Moses tracks down the new head of CIA to seek revenge. The movie however has a few more angles to it...
1) the operator in the comics is now Moses love interest and has a crush on her and pursues her as a secondary plot.
2) the hit on Moses is mysterious , its multi-layered which Moses has to slowly unravel which serves as the main plot.
3) Moses is accompanied by three associates ( the RED prequel comics introduces all 4 characters backgrounds).. many more characters in the movie version which is a good thing. They are all likeable.

 Frank and Sarah played by Mary Louise Parker whom was channelling every cliched innocent lovable damsel turned sidekick.

     The young idiot crowd complained the casting was too old and couldnt relate to anybody and probably thought EW to all the sexual ineundos made by the cast. Fucking morons. This would indeed be a great action flick for the older crowd ,and see some old farts kick some ass again.

        To say the movie went light on intensity is an understatement. The comics , the original and prequels held no prisoners nor mercy and really punched you in the face as a reader. The movie was a little predictable and formulaic once you realized that... its not as bad ass as the comics. If you never read the comics , you really think Moses is a great guy , he's actually suppose to be as ruthless and heartless and they tried to tell you in the movie but it wasnt convincing in the movies. 

     The villians are ok , could've been done better , didnt really get a hate on for anybody. For one as Moses unraveled the plot the villian became a moving target.. literally and figuratively.


     BUY IT /RENT IT/PIRATE IT/FUCK IT...

Rent. Pirate if you can , I dont think an official DVD/Blu Ray matters much , there's not that much CGI fx to really need Blu Ray. Its similar to the comic in that its not a must see but wouldnt be horrible at all if you did see it.

Weekend Trade: The Walking Dead vol.1 "Days Gone By"

    I decided Im going to re-read the Walking Dead as I watch the new AMC series. Episode 1 was basically 2/5th of volume 1 and episode 2 was essentially the next 1/5th of volume.1 , they're really milking this out which is a good thing caz I want to the show to catch up too quick.

    I ended up just reading through Volume 1 entirely . It still a fantastic read and sets up one of the best comic series going.

    There's a few things I completely forgot about , I forgot about the scene where Glenn keeps puking from rubbing a dead hand all over himself. I also forgot about a couple characters , one is Donna , Allen's wife , I knew she was there but I forgot what her character looked like , what she was like overall. The second is Jim , I completely forgot about Jim the mechanic , the guy whom escaped Atlanta at the expense of his entire family being consumed. Yet I remembered his farewell quite vividly once I saw him.

   The other thing is looking back and seeing everybody's first appearance , and how they were back then.. Rick Grimes of course but Glenn and Andrea in particular. Look at Andrea and then fast forward to Volume 13 ... its mind blowing. 

    The volume jumps right into the appocalypse and the action , with his journey into Atlanta , escape from Atlanta with the help of a new friends Glenn , and then finding his wife and son at the camp. There were plenty of ups and downs , and Robert Kirkman sets the tone of the entire series in this first volume. He has a way of settling down the book into a relaxed mindset then BAM! just when the camp looked like it was settling in and thngs were going to get safe... and boring .. ZOMBIE ATTACK. The first victim was quite surprising and tragic , this is was the first FUCK NOOOOO scene caz somebody had to finish the job on the first victim or they'll turn. It was only a couple panels but you felt the impact linger right til the end of the volume with some amazing panel work on the grieving by Tony Moore.

New Comic Book Day : 11/3/10

Im cutting back on my floppies ( its what the kids are calling comic books these days) and focusing on Trades. The only draw back in trades is they're usually 2-3 months behind the comic book run so you have to avoid spoiler talks. I've been currently doing it with The Walking Dead so its not that bad. I do plan on pulling a few titles still. Benefits are too overwhelming to buy trades instread..cheaper , easier to re-read and store .. thats all.

I plan on keeping for on going:
Chew ..100% Ill be pulling this til the end.
Hack Slash ..I would like to but I can see myself just waiting for the trades.
I Zombie .. I plan on pulling to #10 at the least.. dependant on the direction of the series.
Mindfield .. I want to pull at least 2 more issues maybe 3.
Sixth Gun.. just learned this is an on going series now. Im still contemplating this one.. I might just buy the trades on this one.

Then Im finishing up some mini series (where Im at now/total in series)
Whispers in the Walls (3/6)
Turf (3/5)
Neonomicon (2/4)
Mystery Society (4/5)

------------------
maybes.. when the mini series run out I might subscribe back to these titles caz I enjoy them lots.
Morning Glories .. 2-3 more issues.
Black Widow .. 3 more issues.








Today's Pull

1. I Zombie #7(vertigo) by C. Roberson , art: M. Allred                                                                           

   This was probaly the best of the series thus far. The overall production and direction was very good , it had good pacing and the stories moved along nicely.

   The plot: Bodies have been stolen from the morgue therefore there havent been many burials which means Gewyn hasnt been eating and she's starting to zombiefy caz if she doesnt eat one brain a month she will lose her conscienceness and become a souless , mindless zombie.

    The agents are still hunting the vampire girls whom they think they have trapped but find the tables have been turned.

   There's a few things going but its all finally starting to pick up in pace and we're starting to see some real payoffs from the first 6 issues. Just when I thought I might drop the title , it ends with a real good cliffhanger and now I wanna see what happens.


2. Mystery Society #4(idw) by Steve Niles , art; Fiona Staples                                                               

       This was a good issue , Fiona Staple's art alone is worth the look. Its such a crisp looking comic. For me I found the main story line a little contrive and dry to be honest , Im really digging the secondary plot with Secret Skull and Verne the robot. The quest for Edgar Allen Poe's skull was intriguing , exciting , funny , .. it was compelling in general. Overall in general I still like the concept of this comic , this looks like its going to be a series of shorts via Locke and Key.


Whats Next for my Graphic Novel/comic Blog? Ill be reviewing Trades and collected hardcovers mainly. Of course floppies still just wont be as many as before. and of course comic related movies and shows.

Weekend Trade: Halloween recommendations

 Here are some recommended trades for halloween. These arent about halloween per say but they are suited for halloween themed reading material. For yourself or if you expecting some friends over and want to reading material to fit the occasion , I highly recommend these graphic novels/comics.

The Walking Dead (rated: mature) , the tv show starts on Halloween , and if by some chance you like the show or the idea of a zombie world soap opera then this is definitely your graphic novel . Its entirely in black and white  , its 12-13 volumes in  so you'll have tons to catch up on. Its on going so there is no ending to this piece of hot zombie ass of comic lore.

Trade paper backs are like $12 each on Amazon.ca
The Hard Covers are $21 each , they collect 2 trades each.
The Deluxe Compendium collects the first 8 volumes for $40 on amazon .. THIS IS THE BEST BUY. $5 per volume. Plus you get bonus stuff in these collected editions.


Hack Slash. (rated: teens)A high school girl whom's mom was a crazy slasher killer decides to dedicate her life to fighting and beating down these serial slashers via Jason , Freddy Kruger , Michael Meyers... not them in particular but those kind of killers. Did i mention she's a bi-sexual scantily dressed teen with a sweet body? Its all so taboo. Of course they're making a movie of this so get on board now!

Hack Slash Ominibus volumes 1 , 2 (3 is due in nov)
TPB volumes 1-8
My First Maniac and Murder Messiah comics


Dead of Night: Man-Thing. (rated:teen) I picked this up for $4 out of the bargain bin , its a re-telling of Man-Things' origin. Its such a throw back to vintage sci-fi and horror from the 50s , its amazing. I would recommend any kind of classic collection from vintage titles such as Man-Thing , Vampirella , Tales of the Crypt , Dracula , Sherlock Holmes , Solomon Kane , ...etc. This old stuff still holds its own and its great nostalgia. I would guess this is definitely for older readers caz Im not sure how young readers would react to this. Its just cheezy geeky shits and giggles..

Dead of Night TPB - I bought mine for $4 at Golden Age's bargain bin.
Essential Man-Thing , superb value its $14 for 600 pages , you get the original origin story and first few runs of Man-Thing.


Vertigo Resurrected#1: Shoot : (rated : mature). Since this just came out its probably easiest to find on store shelves. Its a mixed collection of stories varying from horror , sci-fi , political ,..etc In the end its a hell of a read and its perfect for a Halloween read for anybody whom has likes cool shit. 

$8 at comic shops. I dont know if book stores will carry this though its the same size as a small trade paperback.

Something for the family and kids

The Stuff of Legend. (rated: family) I cant say enough about this series , except I wish I "Weird Science" it so I can copulate it. They must've took brain steroids to have their imagination level this high. Here's a quick run down : In 1944 a boy gets kidnapped by the BoogeyMan into his realm "the Dark" , the boys' toys rally together and decide they must rescue him from the dark. The characters are outstanding , the landscape is mind blowing , the art is crazy good ,the story is crackhead addicting. This is a new series , I think there's a plan 3 set volume , they're currently in the middle of volume 2. so there's still lots to go. This is a hidden gem. 

collected trade is $13 , 11 on amazon. Beautiful book.