Wednesday, February 29, 2012

2010 Trends International Justice League Wonder Woman Stickers



Thanks to Shag! Art by Ed Benes, and WW logo much appreciated. Check out other stickers at the following blogs...

Monday, February 27, 2012

Superman Annual #11 (1985)

Since we'll be having a blog crossover during Superman's birthday on Wednesday, here's an early present...



The Arctic Circle, February 29th: Wonder Woman said "Beat you" when Batman and Robin arrived. "If I ever develop a Bat-Plane that responds to thought-control, I'll take you up on a rematch. It's good to see you again, Diana. You're looking great." Batman introduced her to Jason Todd, whom she gave a peck on the cheek. "You look so much like Dick that I forgot for a moment... Nice to meet you. Welcome to an interesting career. Anyway, he's left the door open for us. Let's get inside before you two freeze." Robin, with irony, pointed out that Wonder Woman wasn't exactly dressed for the weather. With a smirk as they headed for the Fortress of Solitude, Batman said "Think clean thoughts, chum."

Wonder Woman complained about the increasingly steep slope up to the entrance. "I wish someone would tell him that not everyone can fly." Diana refused to reveal her gift in earshot of super-hearing, while Batman figured no one else would have gotten Superman a unique breed of flower for his birthday. Robin said, "Maybe it's not too late to change it for something else. Did you get a receipt?"



Superman was standing stiff and blank-eyed, faintly breathing, a bizarre plant attached to his chest. "Bruce, this thing feels funny. I think it might have some magic in it..." It had grown through Superman's costume and into his person, the plant's thorny tendrils securely wrapped about his torso, neck and arms. It appeared Superman had opened a gift box, and found a trap inside. Diana said, "Listen, it has to be alien in origin. I know that a lot of alien cultures send him gifts..." It likely arrived through some teleportation channel, possibly from a benevolent party unaware that it could do harm. A voice bellowed from behind the trio, "How remarkable. You animals really are almost intelligent, aren't you? That's exactly what happened... except for one or two minor details."

Mongul strode past the heroes to eye his handiwork, wearing a pair of massive gauntlets. "Firstly, I knew precisely what it would do to him. Secondly, it was not intended as a token of gratitude... Do you like it? It's called a 'Black Mercy.' ...It's something between a plant and an intelligent fungus. It attaches itself to its victims in a form of symbiosis, feeding from their bio-aura... It reads them like a book, and feeds them a logical simulation of the happy ending they desire. Of course, its victims could shrug it off... They just don't want to." Kal-El was seeing his potential existence on Krypton, had the planet survived, and he had remained on it throughout his life. However, rather than his heart's desire, Kal-El's false life was tormented.



Meanwhile, Mongul declared himself boss of the Earth, and told Batman "I know, for example, that your society makes distinctions on a basis of gender and age. Perhaps, then, you could advise me... which of you would it be polite to kill first?" After a silent pause while he removed his gauntlets, Mongul urged, "Well?" Wonder Woman leapt up to punch him in the jaw, but did more damage to her hand. "Hmm... Thank you. I think that's answered my question."

Following some off panel brawling, Mongul knocked the Amazing Amazon through a wall to the Hall of Weapons. "Well, you're certainly lasting longer than I anticipated. You're a female, I think. You wouldn't be the Kryptonian's mate, by any chance?" Just a good friend, and now one arming herself. "Oh, dear. Is that a Neural Impacter? Do they still make those? I'd advise you to try the Plasm Disrupter. It's smaller. More of a female's weapon." Mongul grinned as Wonder Woman's attack proved ineffectual, then shoved the side of her face against a wall.



Outside, Batman focused on the Black Mercy. "Because whatever's going on through there is way out of our league." While Superman was coming to terms with his dream world, and saying goodbye to the son he never had, Batman noted his real tears and the loosening grip of the plant. Robin wished to use Mongul's discarded gauntlets, but Batman insisted on ripping the Black Mercy free while the opportunity presented itself. The plant released Superman, but latched onto the Caped Crusader, whose parents were imagined to be alive. While Robin fretted, Superman was revived. "Who... did this... to me?" Jason Todd replied, "I... I don't know. A big yellow guy. He's through there hurting Wonder Woman now... Superman? Are you okay? You look sorta, uh..." Todd may have been thinking of an impolite way to say "peeved," as a scowling Kryptonian howled for the first time in the story the name "MONGUL"



The jaundiced giant was holding a limp, bruised and bleeding Amazon by the hair, pulling his arm back to deliver another punch, when a "voice like Armageddon" reached him. Mongul let loose of the unconscious princess to reach for his armor's weapon systems, but was struck by 400mph wind before the Kryptonian flew into his backside. The battle that followed was no holds barred and highly destructive. "Eyes spit out suns. Muscles shift like continental plates, roiling under a hide of jaundiced leather... Their enmity can only be measured in the skipping heartbeats of distant seismographs. Both indestructible, each damages the other. Both irresistible, each finds himself thwarted... surrender is not a possibility."

Meanwhile, Robin used the discarded gauntlets to remove and contain the Black Mercy as he tried to pursue the pair across multiple floors. Finally, Mongul was preparing to deliver the deathblow to a fallen Kryptonian, but Robin called out from a hole in the floor above. "Uh, excuse me... but I think this is yours. Almost intelligent, huh?" The latest Boy Wonder dropped the Black Mercy onto Mongul's chest, and the merciless menace dreamed of murder. First Robin, then Superman, then great swaths of the universe fall before Mongul. "He is content."



Mongul was propped up against a wall, lost absolutely in the dreams of the Black Mercy. Batman's chest needed bandaging, as he recalled his own fantasy experience as the husband of Kathy Kane and father of a teenage girl. Her own wounds dressed, Diana admitted "I'm a little envious. It must be wonderful to find out just what your heart's desire really is... Kal? Now that we've broken the ice at your birthday party, can I give you this? It's an exact duplicate of the bottle city of Kandor, to replace the real one, which was enlarged. The Paradise Island gem-smiths made it. You need x-ray vision and microscopic vision to really appreciate it..." With extraordinary speed, Superman flew off to hide his other replica of the bottle city of Kandor before Diana saw it. The two kissed, and Kal asked why they didn't do it more often. "I don't know. Too predictable?" Kal agreed, then accepted Bruce's trampled flower...

"For The Man Who Has Everything..." was by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

Friday, February 24, 2012

1966 Wonder Woman "The Return of Brunhilde" Audio Play

Taken from the Sythetic Plastics Company's Wonder Woman 45RPM record is this dumb loungey theme song and a "Power Records" style story (sans comic book and any other semblance of comparable quality.) Is it terrible? Yes it is. In what way? It stars an imbecilic Steve Trevor pitted against the worst Nazi accents you may ever hear, and "Diane" Prince doesn't even get mentioned until nearly four minutes into the 7¼ minute story. It takes another minute for Prince to become much of an active participant, and Wonder Woman herself doesn't show until around the six minute mark. Both sides were offered the same year on the Tifton LP Songs and Stories About the Justice League of America, and Power Records repackaged it with swank Neal Adams artwork in 1975.





Thanks to Shag for inspirado!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Huntress #4 (March, 2012)



Helena hopped into a bikini, borrowed a speedboat, and flirted with one of Moretti's bodyguards for no discernible reason. Those two reporters fed Helena more information. Both parties commented on bruises from Helena's combat last issue, but the artist and colorist didn't actually offer anything visible.

That night, Ibn Hassan demeaned some more women, which made the eavesdropping Huntress gag. Some police spotted her outside his room and opened fire. She fired a crossbow and started swinging across the city like friggin' Spider-Woman.

The Chairman's plans to find amnesty in Italy progressed.

Helena had another lunch with the reporters. Massive credit to the artist for not swiping himself from every other time everything that has happened in this issue so far happened in the first three issues.



Helena saw a cat. That night, on a boat, Huntress took a catnap. It really isn't cute anymore. Huntress drugged most of the crew with hypodermic needles, but goons still answered when an alarm went off. One guy managed to slice Huntress in the side with a knife. Still, the bad guys got their asses kicked. Moretti was then left to the "mercy" of the women he'd exploited. As dawn broke, the reporters picked up Huntress in the speed boat, while a splashing sound was heard that would appear to indicate Moretti was tied up and thrown overboard.

"Crossbow at the Crossroads: Part Four" was copied and pasted by Paul Levitz, with the artistic talents of Marcus To and John Dell wasted drawing the same stuff over and over.

New 52's Day

Saturday, February 18, 2012

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by George Pérez

Click To Enlarge


Spanning the generations, side "A" stars Brightest Day Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Aquaman, Superman, the Flash (Barry Allen) and Wonder Woman (blessedly non-JMS.) The Bruce Wayne Batman is to the left, composite with the Dick Grayson one to the right. Side "B" features Donna Troy, Jade, Jesse Quick, and Supergirl. All smiles!

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.


ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Sensational Comics for May, 2012



Sensational Links:

Wonder Woman
EARTH TWO #1
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art by NICOLA SCOTT and TREVOR SCOTT
Cover by GREG CAPULLO
1:25 Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale MAY 2 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.

• First issue of an ongoing series from writer JAMES ROBINSON and artist NICOLA SCOTT!
• Who are the heroes of EARTH 2 – and what befell them?
• Starring ALAN SCOTT, JAY GARRICK and many others!
• You may think you know Earth 2…but this is DC Comics – The New 52, where anything can happen!
• Don’t miss the extra-sized debut issue!
The DC Trinity in armor! Wonder Woman wielding a sword! Parademons! How is this appreciably different from NuEarth-One? Bah!

WONDER WOMAN #9
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO and CLIFF CHIANG
Art and cover by CLIFF CHIANG
1:25 B&W Variant cover by CLIFF CHIANG
On sale MAY 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format.

• WONDER WOMAN continues to battle through HADES in hopes of rescuing the only friend she has left.
• What is APOLLO trying to convince ARES of? Whatever it is, you can bet it’s bad news for Wonder Woman!
I almost ordered the hardcover collection last month, but just couldn't get excited enough about it.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #9
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
Backup story art by GARY FRANK
1:25 Variant cover by CARLOS D’ANDA
1:200 B&W Variant cover by JIM LEE
On sale MAY 16 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.

• “THE VILLAIN’S JOURNEY” begins here! Part one of a story introducing an all-new major nemesis for the Justice League by GEOFF JOHNS and JIM LEE!
• In part three of the SHAZAM! backup story, Billy Batson attempts to get used to his new life, new school and new family as Sivana unleashes an ancient evil imprisoned long ago.

This issue is also offered as a special combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
I have to admit that's a pretty nifty take on Starro. It's faithful but modern

INFINITY INC.: THE GENERATIONS SAGA VOL. 2 HC
Written by ROY THOMAS and DANN THOMAS
Art by JERRY ORDWAY, TODD McFARLANE and others
Cover by JERRY ORDWAY
On sale JULY 18 • 384 pg, FC, $39.99 US
• The mysterious Stream of Ruthlessness forces INFINITY INC. to battle the JSA – while the Ultra-Humanite waits to destroy the winning team!
• Collecting INFINITY INC. #5-18 and INFINITY INC. ANNUAL #1.
Wow, versions of Wonder Woman and the Huntress that have ceased to exist (at least) twice over.

JUSTICE TP
Written by JIM KRUEGER and ALEX ROSS
Art by ALEX ROSS and DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Cover by ALEX ROSS
On sale JUNE 13 • 384 pg, FC, $29.99 US
• The Legion of Doom — led by LEX LUTHOR and BRAINIAC — band together to save the world after a shared vision of the Earth’s demise.
• Collecting the best-selling 12-issue series!
The complete *yawn* epic in a single *sigh* volume.

WONDER WOMAN ARCHIVES VOL. 7 HC
Written by WILLIAM MOULTON MARSTON, ROBERT KANIGHER and JOYCE MURCHISON
Art and cover by HARRY G. PETER
ADVANCE SOLICIT • On sale OCTOBER 24 • 224 pg, FC, $59.99 US
• Stories from 1946 pit WONDER WOMAN against Dr. Psycho, King Pluto and German spy Paula von Gunther!
• Collects WONDER WOMAN #16-18 and stories from SENSATION COMICS #50-57!
Uh-oh. Looks like we're progressing from the "Charles Moulton" to the Kanigher era. One of these is far less than the other.

Wonder Girl (Donna Troy)
TINY TITANS: GROWING UP TINY TP
Written by ART BALTAZAR and FRANCO
Art and cover by ART BALTAZAR
On sale JUNE 13 • 128 pg, FC, $12.99 US
• A new volume of the Eisner Award-winning series, including lots o’ Crocs, a super-speedster race, young Bizarros in love and the Crossing Patrol Boys of Doom!
• Collects TINY TITANS #39-44!

Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark)
TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL and TOM DeFALCO
Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
On sale MAY 2 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• “THE CULLING” begins here!
• It’s the TEEN TITANS vs. THE LEGION LOST one mile beneath the Antarctic in the chamber of horrors known as the Crucible!
• Continued in this month’s SUPERBOY #9, LEGION LOST #9 and TEEN TITANS #9!

SUPERBOY #9
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art by R.B. SILVA and ROB LEAN
Cover by IAN CHURCHILL
On sale MAY 9 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• “THE CULLING” continues here from this month’s TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1 and leading into LEGION LOST #9!
• SUPERBOY vs. ROSE WILSON – round two!
• The shocking debut of the all-new WARBLADE!

LEGION LOST #9
Written by TOM DeFALCO
Art and cover by PETE WOODS
On sale MAY 9 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• “THE CULLING” continues from this month’s SUPERBOY #9!
• Even the combined powers of LEGION LOST and the TEEN TITANS won’t be enough to stop DARK HARVEST and his minions from committing mass murder!
• Continues in this month’s TEEN TITANS #9.

TEEN TITANS #9
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art by IG GUARA and J.P. MAYER
Cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
1:25 B&W Variant cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format.
On sale MAY 23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• “THE CULLING” finale!
• THE TEEN TITANS and THE LEGION LOST duke it out with N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and the madman known as Harvest to stop the slaughter of innocent children.
• This issue leads directly into this month’s RAVAGERS #1!
• Continued from TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1 SUPERBOY #9 and LEGION LOST #9!

Friday, February 10, 2012

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Charlie Adlard

Click To Expand & Enlarge


Given the hubbub over Tony Moore suing Robert Kirkman for some of that sweet Walking Dead money (smart on his part to wait until AMC was firmly entrenched and the matter worth pursing,) I thought it might be a good day to spotlight the artist of nearly a hundred issues of that book, Charlie Adlard.

It really isn't a surprise that Adlard is enough of a Batman guy to place the rest of the team under his wing, but it is a nice surprise to see his JLA all in full figure and looking solid in color. I'm so, so glad Adlard didn't do any hacky Zombie JLA crap like one might expect from Arthur Suydam or Sean Phillips (or not...)

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.


ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Flash: Rebirth #2 (July, 2009)



Barry Allen had turned up alive after nearly a quarter century of comics had passed him by while trapped in the Speed Force. Unbeknownst to him, a plan was established amongst his friends and family for just such an occurrence. For instance, his former superior at the Central City crime lab, Captain Desmond Frye, was notified by Iris Allen that her husband was back from his stint in a "witness protection program" and ready to return to duty. How was that possible? "Wonder Woman used her government connections to account for your absence over the last several years... The Justice League assumed you'd want to pick up where you left off." It would have been simple to allow Batman to be the one waving that magic wand, as he'd done to create the Diana Prince identity at the Department of Metahuman Affairs that established those "government connections," but it was nice that the Amazing Amazon got credit for the solid instead.

"Dead Run" was by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

1995 DC Comics Wonder Woman Book "Dump"

Click To Enlarge


This is a post I've been meaning to do for a while now. When I was a retailer at my first shop, I promoted the William Messner-Loebs/Mike Deodato Jr. run pretty hard. "Bad Girls" were in fashion, so sales of the book were climbing steadily. Unfortunately, both creators jumped ship to work on Marvel Comics' The Mighty Thor, and John Byrne took over the book. While I wasn't thrilled with the change, DC Comics provided me with a swell bunch of promotional materials, so I made use of them. The most interesting was this Wonder Woman Counter Dump, a one piece cardboard unit made to display comics directly on a counter top (preferably near the register for maximum POP appeal.)



When left completely flat, the piece is about the length of two comic books, so Diamond Comic Distributors must have shipped them in outer boxes (meaning the meter-ish long boxes that hold two more boxes of two stacks each for a total of four stacks of comics.) I must have folded mine in half for storage, since the Wonder Woman symbol is pulled loose at the perforation (and pretty banged up in the scan as a result.) The backdrop is a metropolitan skyline, but whenever I recall this piece, it's as a dystopian cityscape. John Byrne had decided to move Wonder Woman from Boston to a fictional stand-in for San Francisco called Gateway City, hence the bridge. However, he drew the city as something of a Metropolis/Gotham hybrid with towering skyscrapers and Roman centurion statues that stops dead at the water. My memories then perceive the city as falling apart like the Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes, because of the inorganic divide, muddy coloring, and the erratic, asymmetrical, crude buildings that look like they've been chewed on.



The back of the dump is solid maroon, featuring the stands retailers were meant to pop out to support the dump.

The front section was a shot of Wonder Woman flying against a better colored and rendered set of buildings (note another centurion.) Byrne's following had been thinning in the Image period, so (and I can't imagine such an egotist admitting it) he was clearly experimenting with a busier style reminiscent of Todd McFarlane. While not as pleasing to the eye as his prime material, it was a lot more interesting than the hacked out work he would start churning out for Marvel later in the decade (pioneered in the second half of his three year run on Wonder Woman.) Is it just me, or does she kind of look like Anna Paquin*?

Click To Enlarge


Diana is wearing a short-lived, simplified version of her costume with extended bracelets and two large stars on her briefs. If you look a bit below her feet, you can see the fold line where the figure was meant to protrude from the backing to hold at best a half dozen comics for display. Despite my criticisms of Byrne, this was a nifty piece, so I never had the heart to punch out the white spaces around Diana and fully assemble it. Besides, this dump was made from cardboard thinner than a backing board, so it would have been torn to shreds within a few weeks. Instead, I folded it face-out and put it inside a sturdy Wizard Magazine dump through about #104. Sales spiked with Byrne's early issues. I probably lost some "Bad Girl" subscribes, but I picked up mainstream super-hero ones, so in the end things evened out. I figure the promotional materials helped a lot!

*An unlikely model, as she was only about 13 at the time. Ugh, I'm old.