What you should buy.....2/27/2013

This week's on the lighter side, but there's still plenty of great stuff to read. Including the much anticipated and HUGELY spoiled Batman & Robin #8. So far, I've managed to actually STAY spoiler-free on the issue, but I'm sure it'll be on CNN or USA Today tomorrow morning. Oh well, let's get to it!!

Guardians of the Galaxy 0.1: Brand new relaunch from Brian Michael Bendis & Steve McNiven. Based upon how awesome Nova was, I'm really looking forward to this. Big, cosmic stuff!!

Answer #2: I LOVED the first issue of this series!!! It's smart, funny, with lots of adventure and super heroing. BUY IT!!!

The Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror #1: A Rocketeer MINI SERIES!!!! I love The Rocketeer and it's really nice to get a longer story with this series than just 2 to 3 page stories. And, it doesn't hurt that it's awesome!!

Masks #4: AWESOME!!!! AWESOME!!! AWESOME!!!

MacGyver: The Fugitive Gauntlet #5: Sadly, the last issue of the series. But, it's a REALLY good issue. Here's hoping for more MacGyver in the future!!

-There you go! Enjoy all of these fine books, and if you're in Chicago, you better come on over to Challengers Comics + Conversation and say hi! See you on Wendesday!!

Comics You Should Buy-1/30/13

Wow! ANOTHER awesome week of comics! When will these big weeks stop? Personally, I'm hoping never, cause they're awesome. Yeah, it's hard on the wallet, but it's just so much FUN!!! Let's get right to it:

Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist #9: It's no secret that this is one of my favorite series. It's got everything to please both a hard-core Flash Gordon fan like myself, and someone who's never heard of Flash Gordon before. GRAB IT!!

Bad Medicine Volume 1: This is a FANTASTIC mystery series that will leave you guessing right up until the end. Then, you'll want to read it again, just because it's that awesome. Featuring art by THE Christopher Mitten.

MacGyver: The Fugitive Gauntlet #4: Mac is being hunted by bounty hunters, he's be the victim of a traitor, he's in a race around the world, and things don't look good. CLASSIC MACGYVER!!!

Superior Spider-Man #2: If you've ever had ANY interest in Spider-Man-GET THIS!!!

The Savage Hawkman #16: Word on the street is that this series is cancelled. But, more on that on Thursday. For now, pick up this savage comic.

He-Man & The Masters of the Universe #6: I'm very nervous that He-Man's going to be OK. And that he can keep Eternia safe from Skeletor.

He-Man & The Masters of the Universe: The Origin of He-Man #1: NEVER before told!!...except in the shitty 2002 series. But here, get the TRUE origin of He-Man!!! This is MUST READ BOOK OF THE WEEK FOR ME!!
-You KNOW if you're in Chicago, I'll see you at Challengers. If you're not...well, you should be. Life's too short to shop at shitty comic stores. See you on Wednesday!!

Next Week: It. All. Ends.

2012! That year that was.......

....ok-ish. First off, I HATE HATE HATE year end review shit. Seriously. Why? Because I have the patented Hayes memory. I can't remember anything. Yes, I know my wedding date. Yes, I know dates of important events in my life. I remember stuff that's important to me and a lot of stuff that isn't. But, when pressed, I always come up WAY short on lists. So, this isn't so much a list, as much as it is a "I DO remember that this happened this year" type of thing. And I'm gonna TRY and come up with 12, but, well, we'll see what happens.

Skyfall: OH MY GOD SKYFALL!!!! I am a huge Bond fan, but I never thought that a James Bond movie would be as perfect as this. Never. It's got everything. All the classic hallmarks of a Bond film cranked up to 11. What surprised me most, was that this was an ENDING to the origin of James Bond. And I didn't even know I was watching it until the very last few minutes. Easily, my favorite movie of 2012.

REVIVAL: OK, I'll admit it. I'm the guy that hates Image Comics. SUPER hates them. I hate them so much, I'm totally indifferent to them. Except for one other comic that will come up later. So, what in the hell would make me even look at this book? First, it was the creators, Mike Norton and Tim Seeley. Then, I found out that it takes place in a town about 45 minutes north from where I grew up. You know what I found out? NOT ALL IMAGE COMICS SUCK!!! I absolutely LOVE this comic!! I'm not gonna go into a long diatribe about why here, but trust me when I tell you-it's fucking AWESOME!!! If you get the chance, seriously, read it-you're going to love it. Art is great, story is great, just an all around solid, comic. THE best ongoing title released this year, hands down.

THE AVENGERS: What can I say about this movie? Everyone, includiing me, LOVED IT! And, with good reason. I'm not a Joss Whedon fan, but this was GREAT!! Perfect amount of action, dead-on, true to the character dialogue, what more could you ask for? Nick Fury was a LITTLE too much of an asshole for my taste, but that was really the only complain that I had. And, it's a VERY minor one. Best summer movie, by far!

FRIENDS: In 2012 I found out who my TRUE friends were....and it was a giant kick in the ass. People that I THOUGHT were my friends, turned out not to be. Sad, but true. And, they made me appreciate my REAL friends even more. And for that, I am very grateful and blessed.

ERNIE CHAN: Sadly, we lost Ernie Chan this year. From Batman to Conan to Captain Carrot, he was one of my favorites. Both him and his work will be missed.

SCARLET SPIDER: Chris Yost and that A-Hole Ryan Stegman brought an all new Scarlet Spider to life!! And he's AWESOME!!!! The book is still going strong, but sadly, with out artist Stegman who has moved on to a great gig on the upcoming Superior Spider-Man!

GI JOE RETALIATION: Earlier this year, I and other GI Joe fans had the rug pulled out from under us when Paramount and Hasbro announced just WEEKS before it's release date that GI Joe: Retaliation was being pulled for 3-D conversion and that we'd have to wait almost an entire YEAR to see it. Well, that year is about 90 days from being up and I'm still excited about seeing it, but that was the day that all of us GI Joe fans collectively flipped out shit for 1 day.

CALL ME MAYBE: No comment.

DISNEY BUYS LUCASFILM: In what came as a HUGE shock to most people, The Walt Disney Company aquired Lucasfilm AND announced that Star Wars: Episode 7 would be out in theaters in less than 3 years. A great day for all Star Wars fans, true. With Disney owning Marvel, Lucasfilm as well as it's OWN treasure trove of characters, this is the year that Disney pretty much took over as the top studio in Hollywood.

MACGYVER: THE COMIC BOOK: In October, Image Comics released MacGyver: The Fugitive Gauntlet #1. Written by series creator Lee David Zlotoff & Tony Lee and illustrated by Will Sliney, this book is AWESOME!!!!

SIX MILLION DOLLAR EVERYTHING!!!!: This year, Entertainment Earth released a TON of Six Million Dollar Man merchandise!!! Figures, coffee mugs, t-shirts, all this and more on the way. That, combined with Dynamite Entertainment's excellent comic book series made this year pretty damn Bionic!!! Still, part of me wishes for a 3&3/4 inch scale set of action figures. But, I'm not complaining. :)

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!! This year on March 2nd, after 2 long years spent on the Legally Prohibited from Selling Comics in a Store Tour, I was honored to join the team at Challengers Comics + Conversation in Chicago, IL. Run by two long time friends, it has been nothing but a pleasure spending the past 9 months as a Challenger. Thanks to them for the opportunity.

Bonus: I can't believe I came up with 12, let alone a 13th, item. Wow. I guess my memory isn't nearly as bad as I thought! Also, huge thanks to google. This one may be the most important one. This was the year, that I decided to go back to school to get a degree in Personal Fitness Training. It's something that I've been passionate about for awhile, and I decided that this was something that I could do to HELP people become better. As of today, it's not looking good for me to make the January classes for a number of reasons, but here's hoping I will. If not, then I will FINALLY start school in April. Here's hoping!!!

THE LIST for 11/28/12

I don't know about you, but here's what I'm excited for this week:

All New X-Men #2! I LOVE this take on X-Men! Bendis is great on this title and Stuart Immonan's art is AMAZING!!!

Superman Family Adventures #7: There is NO comic out right now that is as PURE FUN as this book.

Masks #1: ALL your favorite pulp heroes join forces! The Shadow! The Spider! The Green Hornet! Zorro!

The Savage Hawkman #14: Hawkman & Green Arrow!!! Together again for the first time!!!...in the New 52 at least.

Arrow #1: Speaking of Green Arrow. I love this show, I'll give the comic a read.

Cobra #19: Featuring those lovable Ruskies-THE OKTOBER GUARD!!

Aquaman #14: OCEAN! MASTER!

and finally.....MacGyver: The Fugitive Gauntlet #2: It's MacGyver!!!!!
-It's actually a HUGE week for comics, so get down to your local retailer and check out all the new books. If your in Chicago, you KNOW where to go!!! See you guys & gals at Challengers tomorrow!!