The World’s Gone Mad: Wonder Woman Banned From School

Time for a small dose of outrage. Rules are generally useful and there to help a community. It’s the interpretation of those rules that usually causes problems.

Take this interesting set of images and associated comment from a parent’s friend:

Letter a friend of mine’s daughter received from school today. Her Wonder Woman lunchbox features a violent super hero that does not comply with the school’s dress code.

mMaOlHO - Imgur

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mGpP09i - Imgur

Assuming the letter is legit (you just never know), then someone needs a solid dose of reality checking about what is violent imagery and what isn’t.

What’s your take?

[Original source of images]

Wollongong Comic Shop: Make It A Reality

11081192_953155068037564_4675264625952223626_nFor those living in the Illawarra region of NSW, you may be interested that there’s a crowd funding campaign underway. Berkeley resident Shane Mason is opening a comic chop, The Comic Cafe, in the Wollongong Central on the 16th May to coincide with the Comic Gong extravaganza the same day.

The shop is definitely opening, but there’s a crowd-funding campaign underway to ensure it has a wide range of stock when it does. Am I excited? Damn straight I am. There’s nothing better than hearing a comic store is opening, let alone in the neighbourhood. Plus I’m already preparing my CV for the Sunday Jeff position 😉

Have a read of the story over at The Illawarra Mercury or go direct to Shane’s crowd funding page right here. The team also have a Facebook page where you can get updates.

Review: Darth Vader #1 and #2

Darth_Vader__2015___2___Comics___Marvel_comMarvel had lots to live up to when they took over the reins from Dark Horse in telling Star Wars stories in comics. The first two issues of Darth Vader prove they’ve achieved that aim.

Darth Vader is everything you’d expect plus some. Vader’s personal agendas, combined with a Empire struggling to regain its feet after the loss of the (first) Death Star make for a great story. Kieron Gillen’s writing is strong and like Jason Aaron’s work on the flagship Star Wars title, replicates the atmosphere of the original movies beautifully. Salvador Larroca’s art is top notch as well, with some great full page Darth Vader art to stop and savor. The scene in Jabba’s palace with the full audience is alone worth the price of admission.

It’s been way too long since I’ve been truly excited about Marvel titles, but Darth Vader (and Star Wars) are definitely in that category at the moment.

Why are you not reading this?

Here’s How To Decorate A Comic Filing Cabinet

Ok here’s how to decorate a comic filing cabinet. Over at the Comic Book Collecting Facebook group, group member Jeff Sehn has posted a brilliant DIY project he did with some old coverless comics and a filing cabinet:

Snowed in today, so project time. A file cabinet I bought for $2.00 and a stack of comics with no covers and missing pages. What I got was a super cool comic storage- took several hours, but turned out great. Wanted to share with my comic friends..

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Jeff – I think you should go into business with these!

Tales of Suspense 61: The Death of Tony Stark

Grab-of-the-week
Grab of the Week is a regular column where we feature an old comic we’ve picked up ourselves or you’ve sent us your own example.

If you’d like to have your old issue featured, just send us the pic via our website, Facebook page or Twitter account.

Tales-of-suspense-61

Tales of Suspense 61 was the January 1965 issue and it has it all. A Jack Kirby cover, Stan Lee story and Don Heck pencils. The story is called ‘The Death of Tony Stark’ and it follows that Iron Man is front and centre, with Pepper Potts playing a key role alongside Happy Hogan as well. Then there’s Captain America.

If you own or have read this issue, post your thoughts in comments!

Fantastic Four Trailer: Watch It Here

Like a lot of people I’m not trying to get my hopes up too much about the new Fantastic Four movie being released in August. That said, the trailer just released does give me some hope that it’s going to be a decent version and definitely a step up from previous attempts to capture the team:

What do you think?

Image Goes Mail Order

12_Issue_Subscriptions_–_Image_DirectWell here’s a bit of news I didn’t expect. Image Comics have gotten themselves into the direct subscription and mail order business big-time, offering dozen of titles with multi-title discounts of up to 35%.

However don’t get excited at this stage if you live anywhere but the USA – they only ship to continental US although they’re inviting feedback from the rest of us to gauge interest in expanding the service.

On the face of it I like what I see. Hell, those of you with cash to throw around can even subscribe to all titles on offer for subscription as a bundle. So currently, for US $1117.99 (usually $1719.36 if the 35% discount isn’t applied) you can get all 42 titles on offer for 12-months.

Price-wise, if you’re subscribing to multiple titles I can see it being cost-efficient, although that assumes everything you want to subscribe to you’ll love for at least 12 months. For those who like to sample titles off a shelf or who like to change their pull lists every month or two will find this offering less appealing.

CBR have some exclusive details as well on the announcement, so go have a read.

Over to you: is this a service you’re likely to take up if it’s ever offered in your country / location?

Headspace To Be Released In Print

COMICS-INDUSTRY-NEWS

 

IDW’s press release immediately below. For those interested, here’s our review of the Headspace series to date.

CAN YOU HIDE A SECRET… IN SOMEONE’S MIND?
‘Headspace,’ Originally Appearing Digitally From Monkeybrain Inc., Is Making Its Way Into Reader’s Hands, (And Their Heads) This April!

San Diego, CA (January 13th, 2015) – The thrilling and complex tale of a town that discovers their own terrible reality becomes even more frightening when the Sheriff of Carpenter Cove discovers whose mind he and his neighbors now reside in. “Headspace is a comic made by true craftsmen at the top of their game and the result is one hell of a trip,” says Paul Allor (G.I. JoeTMNT)  “Great characters, amazing art, and a central mystery that I actually care about. I have no idea where it’s going, but I’m in for the ride

From breakout creators Ryan K. Lindsay (CMKY) and Eric Zawadzki (Last Born), Headspace delivers twists and turns that will make any fan of suspense squirm!

“Headspace is a personal tale Eric and I started kicking around over two years ago,” said series writer Ryan K. Lindsay, “It’s been an honor to have it digitally distributed by Monkeybrain Comics, and to be able to bring in amazing talent like Sebastian Piriz, Marissa Louise, Chris Peterson, Chris Kosek, and Dan Hill in various guises has been a collaborative blast. Having the collection now through IDW is so, so cool and I feel the emotional core of the book is strong enough to shine through the Philip K. Dick insanity in a John Carpenterflick tone we were going for. This tale of a sheriff fighting his way out of a killer’s mind is full of high concept right next to the emotional lows.”

Look for the collection in stores this April, and remember you can get any of the acclaimed Monkeybrain titles in print from IDW at your local comic shop.

New Avengers: Age of Ultron Trailer – Watch It Here

The latest trailer is out and it provides the usual minimal pieces of new footage to keep up drooling. Love the Hulk stuff at the end:

Give us your thoughts below!

50-Word Review: Deadly Class #9

DeadlyClass_09-1This title’s been personal for Rick Remender and from reading the letters pages it’s personal for many others as well.

Issue #9 continues the dark and very violent story that never lets its grip loosen. Craig and Loughridge’s art remains brilliant. Still a must read in my books.

9/10