UNBE-F*CKIN-LIEVABLE!

Just read this headline over on the Beat:

Breaking: Big Apple to go head to head with New York Comic-Con next year

And people said Wizard's scheduling of the Anaheim Comic Con on the same weekend as Reed's C2E2 next April was just coincidence. Ha! Suckers.

For shame, Shame-us. For shame.

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON... 2008?

Okay. I didn't go to San Diego this year for the big Comic-Con International. So I'll just reflect on the big news from last year, which was the big explosion of geekdom fever over the Watchmen movie. Anyone remember that? Watchmen bags, Watchmen shirts, Watchmen trades... even Archie the Owlship.

So in honor of last year's frenzy, I give you two silly parodies. The first one I've seen before (the brilliant concept of creating Watchmen for the Saturday Morning Cartoon crowd). The other I haven't seen before (but who am I to let a dick joke go by). It's dong-tacular!

Enjoy!

PS/ Big thanks to Weston D for reminding me about the first and bringing the second to my attention.

MARVEL'S GOT SOME GIANT BALLS DON'T THEY?

According to the newest Marvel solicits for books shipping in February 2009, Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk issues #1 and 2 will be given an all-new printing in anticipation of the continuation and (I assume) completion of that series.

In other words, they want buyers to double dip and repurchase two issues of a series that should have wrapped up in 2006.

Marvel - you got some balls.

It falls under collusion, but retailers should send Marvel a wake up call and place not one single order for the new printings of issues 1 and 2. Nada! You want to stop being treated like low-man on the totem pole in this ongoing game of late-shipping books, classified solicitations and delays? Stand up and make yourselves be heard and so 'Thanks, but no thanks' to that Bridge to Nowhere. Obviously, no one was worried about making money on the series back when it fell of the boat, especially since Lindelof is swimming in Lost money, and surely Marvel is treating Yu to a nice chunk of their Secret Invasion profits. So why give Marvel anymore money for a series that is working its way to being almost three years late? They didn't want it back in 2006, why give it to them now?

And if someone actually did buy the original issues back in 2006, you should bring in those original issues to a local comic shop that is selling the new printings and ask if you can swap yours for the new ones.

In fact, Marvel should put out a press release stating exactly that: 'True Believers! Anyone who already has the older issues should be able to swap it out for the new ones. Excelsior!' Because you know Marvel is going to give it a new cover or new design dress just to make it more appealing.

I don't know what could be anymore smug than this move. The only other thing I can think of is delaying an issue of a major series while also delaying over fifteen other titles connected to that event and only telling retailers a day before said issue was supposed to ship. Surely Marvel is much more civil than that and would never want to start a war with their retailers.

Oh wait...

WASSUP 2008!

This is too funny not to share. Reconnecting with an old friend, a little gathering of high-school friends tomorrow, and now this video - it's like nostalgia weekend over here.

A LITTLE HISTORY ON WATCHMEN?

You know how Watchmen 1-12 is selling like gangbusters on Ebay right now? Everyone screaming: Near Mint! Rare! First printings!

Okay folks - come on. They're not that rare. Before the trailer hit you could sell your run for $12 if you were lucky. And I could be wrong on this, but other than the first issue, there have never been second prints of any of the issues. Technically, there wasn't a reprint of the first issue either - just one of those DC Millennium editions from 2000 or so when they were reprinting classic issues in their line. So putting in bold FIRST PRINT is stupid and misleading. Because that's all there ever was!

So if you didn't know that, and that's important to you, just know that first printing is all you can actually get anyway.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

(And nothing irks me more than an auction going for over $300 plus and the seller, apparently a comic store that is selling multiple runs, listing in the description: Alan Moore writer and art by Steve Dillon! Way to go moron.)

JIMSMASH DOES THE WORK...

...so you don't have to.

It's your WTF? moment of the week.

(And yes, I do see the irony of me copying and pasting someone else's work in order to spotlight a blogger who is copying and pasting someone else's work to showcase someone in the industry who is copying and pasting someone else's work. ha!)

THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING!

PressRelease@rama has preview images for Final Crisis #3 and already it's starting a shitstorm concerning JG Jones' artwork.

"It looks rushed! I knew he couldn't do a monthly comic! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha"

"It's clearly not even JG at all, it's obviously Carlos Pacheco!"

"Marvel wins again! Even though Civil War #7 and World War Hulk #5 were sloppy messes, at least it was the same artist!"

Sheesh.

It makes me really happy that this kind of hawk-watching wasn't around during the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. What am I talking about?

Let's have a look.

Crisis 1 & 2:
Penciller: Perez
Inker: Giordano
Colorist: Tollin

Crisis 3:
Inkers: Giordano and DeCarlo

Crisis 4:
Layouts: Perez
Finishes and inks: Decarlo

Crisis 5:
Pencils: Perez
Inks: Ordway

Crisis 6:
Colorist: Ziuko

Crisis 7:
Inks: Ordway and Giordano

Crisis 8:
Inks: Ordway
Colors: Tollin

Crisis 11:
Colors: Gafford

Crisis 12:
Colors: Ziuko

Can you imagine 12 months of that kind of backlash because of that amount of creator shuffle? Because let's be honest, Crisis didn't hit its stride artistically until Ordway came on to the team. Perez would've had his nervous breakdown even earlier than he did in his career had these kinds of comments been tossed around so authoritatively.

You know why we didn't care? Because the story and the concept and the execution and the EXCITEMENT was overflowing.

Get a grip, people! Get out of the nitpicking, stop echoing talking points presented by competing editors and publishers, read it yourselves and enjoy it or don't enjoy it.

If you're going to base a comic on 4 preview pages on a computer screen you're in this for the wrong reasons.

JUNE IS BUSTIN' OUT ALL OVER!

Please. Just watch this. I cried when I watched it. It's that funny.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=6226225

WTF?

Does Wizard really need to do another special movie spectacular issue for the year? The content in the regular issues is already mostly about movies more and more each month. Maybe they should do a special Comic Book spectacular instead.

Yeesh.