GO GET A STAR WARS COMIC!!!!!!

Almost 29 years ago, Marvel Comics published Star Wars #107, the final issue in their monthly Star Wars series. Today, Marvel releases Star Wars #1, the first issue in their all NEW on-going monthly series by Jason Aaron and artist John Cassaday, and I have to say, it's nice to have Star Wars "home" again. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVED a lot of the Dark Horse Star Wars comics. They kept the torch going when, honestly, nobody really cared about Star Wars. But, as a kid growing up in the late 70's and 80's, THIS is where Star Wars belonged. Not that the Star Wars characters interacted with Spider-Man or The Hulk or anything like that, but just seeing the Marvel logo on a Star Wars comic feels right to me.
-Unless you've been living under a rock for the last several months, you know that over a MILLION copies of Star Wars #1 have been ordered, many of them retailer exclusives and variant covers, so saying that you have more than just one cover to choose from is a GROSS understatement. Unfortunately, there's no ONE place to buy them all, so you're best bet would be to try ebay and see what comes up.
-2015 will be a big year for Star Wars, with the new movie opening in December (Is anyone in line yet?). but, I'm going to be doing the best that I can to include regular Star Wars comic reviews, right here! Yes, there's a million Star Wars websites out there, focusing on everything from the movies to the toys to the Legos to the novels...you get the idea. But, not to many include comics, and well, I love comics, so there you go. I will (hopefully) see you back here later today with my review of Star Wars #1!!!

This is NOT an actual cover....pervert.

Stuff you should buy...7/24/13

Hey! It's another week of new comics!! July is a 5 Wednesday month, and you can tell, because this week is a little light on releases. BUT, there's still good stuff to buy. Let's take a look....

Rocketeer/Spirit #1: A dream come true for fans of crossover comics. IDW & DC Comics team up to bring you this guaranteed awesome mini series! And, it's written by Mark Waid!!!

 Green Hornet #4: Speaking of Mark Waid, also out this week from Dynamite Entertainment is the next issue in this terrific series. If you haven't been reading it, it's not too late to catch up, and I suggest you do it!

Justice League Dark #22: Trinity War continues! I have to admit, but I've really been enjoying Trinity War, it's good, super hero fun!

Ghostbusters #6: I'm tired of telling you to buy this book. It's funny, entertaining, and the art is awesome. And who doesn't like The Ghostbusters? BUY IT!!!

The Flash #22: I am HOOKED on this Reverse Flash story line. It's great & I highly recommend it.

Danger Girl Trinity #4: The epic conclusion to this ridiculously fun mini series. I'm VERY glad that IDW is keeping new Danger Girl stories coming!!! Trinity has been my favorite of the recent ones so far, and I can't wait to see how it's resolved.

Aquaman #22: Death of a King rolls on!!! I've been loving this story too. Geoff Johns and art by Paul Pelietier!!! What's not to love??
-As always, I'll be at Challengers Comics + Conversation, which is now THE 2013 EISNER SPIRIT OF RETAIL AWARD WINNER!!!!! If you're in or near Chicago, come by and visit the BEST STORE IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!

What I thought of...Captain America #7

Captain America #7: Cap is in a pretty bad way. He's beyond exhausted, totally alone and having to take on Zola's army to try and get to his son. Add to that, he's got to fight about a TRILLION Zola genetic monsters and you get quite an action packed story.
The Good: There's a lot of good story here. As much as I like Cap when he's on Earth and being a hero, this off world adventure arc is a nice change of pace. The issue is packed with cliffhangers, with a last page one that you will NOT believe! Some great turns in this issue as well.
The Bad: Hmmmmm. Not really sure about the bad this time around. I'm sure there was something that I didn't like, but the good made me forget it.
The Verdict: Grab it! It's totally fun. And that's what you need in comics sometimes.

What I thought of.....GI Joe #1!!!!!!

This week, IDW Publishing launches a brand-new GI Joe title! Written by Fred Van Lente with art by Steve Kurth, this is a VERY different take on the GI Joe franchise, and I gotta tell you, it's pretty damn awesome!! Let's get to it!
THE GOOD: Um, just about EVERYTHING!! In the first page, we're introduced to the Joe's new commanding officer, someone that both us and the GI Joe team know pretty well, and the man that holds a soft spot in everyone's heart. One of the things that I loved about this book is that it's just 6 members of the GI Joe team responding to a Cobra threat, not 15 or 20 of them. And they're all classic Joes that we now and love. Another thing that impressed me is the changes that Van Lente made to the book. This is NOT the 1980/s GI Joe. Not by a long shot. It's really TODAYS GI Joe, and in that, Van Lente gives me something that I never knew I wanted, a GI Joe operating and living in the present. Yes, the previous series did take place in the present as well, but this is the team taking advantage of today's technology and resources. And Van Lente has taken away one of GI Joes weaknesses-their "secret identities". Everything is out in the open and we get to see how the general public responds and interacts with them. Another thing that Van Lente drops into the book is actual PATRIOTISM! That's right! No one is ashamed to be an American, which is really unique given today's political climate. Well played!!!
-This is also, a HUGE love letter to the GI Joe franchise. There's tons of in-jokes and references to a lot of other incarnations of GI Joe. Mr. Van Lente totally did his homework before writing this issue. On the art side, artist Steve Kurth is barely recognizable from his days drawing Devil's Due's GI Joe title. His talent has grown by leaps and bounds. He's got a great style for this book, he's hyper detailed, but it never looks messy or gets in the way of his storytelling. It's just great and totally fits the book.
THE BAD: Oh man, this is tough. I'm trying to really be objective, but I love this book so much. I guess my one complaint is that they didn't use my favorite Joes for this issue, hopefully Barbecue & Trip Wire will turn up pretty soon.
THE VERDICT: Are you kidding me? BUY THIS COMIC RIGHT NOW!!!! It's a real breathe of fresh air in the GI Joe universe. It's got literally everything you want in a GI Joe comic and more. MUCH MUCH more. I'm looking very forward to this brand new era of America's daring, highly trained special missions force.

Comics You Should Buy-2/13/13

Not a huge week this week, but there's some good stuff. Let's get to it!

Katana #1: From the pages of Birds of Prey and Justice League of America #1!!! Very interested in this take on one of my favorite Outsiders.

The Bionic Man vs The Bionic Woman #2: The first issue was PHENOMENOL!!!! Just wait until you see what happens next!

The Bionic Man #16: As long as we're on the subject of bionics......this book is always a great read.

Secret Avengers #1: This has my favorite line up of Avengers to date. And with Nick Spencer writing, I'm sure this is going to be really good!

Batman #17: Death of the Family concludes!!!! Snyder & Capullo's run has been amazing, and this issue is no exception. This issue is NOT TO BE MISSED!!!

NEXT WEEK:

KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

What I thought of....Fearless Defenders #1

This is a hard one to review. There's a lot of things that I liked, and a lot of things that I didn't like. So, I hope by the time I finish this review I'll be able to come to a conclusion on whether or not I can recommend it.
THE BAD: This whole book just kinda seems....unnecessary. I'll be honest, I haven't read much of Cullen Bunn's work before, but here the storytelling just seems a little weak. This Defenders team seems too thrown together, and, even by comic book standards very far-fetched on why these ladies would team up in the first place. There's a character twist that's thrown in that's meant to shock us, and it would shock us......if it was 1999.
THE GOOD: While I didn't really dig the story as a whole, I have to give credit where credit is due. Cullen Bunn sure knows how to write some AWESOME dialogue!!! I'd have to say, his characterization of Misty Knight is probably my favorite portrayal of her-EVER!!! Besides her, he does a great job writing the character of Valkyrie, keeping her true to her roots, and lets a great deal of humor come out of the character.
THE ART: Will Sliney saved this book for me. It's no secret, I've been a big fan of his for awhile. And him working on MacGyver didn't hurt, either. His art in this book is some of the best I've seen him do. Bunn does give him some great action scenes to draw and he provides a HUGE variety of things for Sliney to drawn. Everything from modern day tech to ancient skeleton viking warriors. And, it doesn't hurt that Sliney knows how to draw some pretty great looking ladies.

The Verdict: I'm gonna go with my gut on this one. I'm saying-BUY IT. While this first issue didn't blow me away, I have a feeling that it's going to get pretty entertaining in the issues to come. While the story was weak, the dialogue was strong and the art was fantastic.

I believe the children are our future

This past week, my friends, Patrick Brower and W. Dal Bush opened Chicago's first comic store for young readers. This was a labor of love and a long time coming. Let's face it, your "typical" comic store has a clientele of ALL ages, and it's time that someone focused on the younger crowd. A former employer of mine once told me "It doesn't matter what you put on the children's rack, kids will buy anything!!! They don't care!!" Boy, is THAT wrong. I've come to notice from all my years in comic retailing that kids DO care about what they buy. And now they have a place all there own. Ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, children of all ages-SIDEKICKS IS HERE!!



A lot of love and careful planning went into this store, which is located INSIDE Challengers Comics +  Conversation located at 1845 N Western Avenue in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood. The space was originally The Rogues Gallery, but has now been converted into a fantastic place where kids can come and know that they have their OWN comic book store. There's tiny little chairs where they can sit, read and check out what comics that they'd like to buy, and for any parents that are concerned, this-just like Challengers-is NOT your typical comic store. It's well lit, clean, organized and features a very friendly staff that is ready to answer any questions that might come up.
-For people that will miss The Rogues Gallery, fear not, while the month long art exhibits won't be going on anymore, Challengers will STILL HAVE ART SHOWS. They'll be one night only shows, but they have some great stuff planned for the future, so sign up for their newsletter to keep yourself in the know.
-I've said this a million times, and it's always dismissed, but I can't stress enough on how proud I am of my two "brothers" for what they've accomplished since opening Challengers. They've won countless awards, are MULTIPLE Eisner nominees and just plain all around great guys. This year they celebrate 5 years of being in business, with all signs pointing to them being awesome and providing Chicago with the BEST comic store experience for countless years to come. And hey, they were smart enough to bring on yours truly last year, so you KNOW they're doing something right!! ;)
-So, grab your kids, nieces and nephews, and anyone else and get over to Sidekicks and let them have some fun. They'll love it and they'll love you for bringing them there.

-I thought some of you might enjoy some "before & after" pictures of Sidekicks. These never before seen pics show the transformation from The Rogues Gallery to Sidekicks.
                                                                         BEFORE:

                                                                   After:

Welcome to the future!!!!!

....of 2013! Isn't all this technology awesome? I mean, you can watch TV on your TELEPHONE!!! Freaky, right?

-It's a new day, a new year, time to put the past behind you and look towards the future! What is exactly what this short little blurb is about. There's a bunch of stuff that I'm looking forward to this year, and the majority of things haven't even been announced yet! Here they are, in no random order:

GI Joe Relaunch!! In February, a brand new creative team take the reigns on IDW Publishing's GI Joe title. Not only that, but we get a new GI Joe: Special Missions book as well as a new volume of GI Joe: Cobra. But, the regular GI Joe title is what I'm looking forward to the most. Writer Fred Van Lente & artist Steve Kurth bring a WHOLE NEW take to America's Daring, Highly Trained Special Missions Force. YO JOE!!!

MOVIES!!! It's gonna an awesome year for movies. A Good Day to Die Hard, Iron Man 3, Thor 2, GI Joe: Retaliation, The Wolverine, The Hobbit 2, and about a dozen more that I'm forgetting. But, I'm thinking my AMC stubs card is going to get a work out this year. 

Wrestlemania! Don't know why, but I'm really looking forward to this years 'Mania. No idea what the card will be, but I know The Rock is wrestling, so I'll be watching!

The Lone Ranger!!! OK, this can technically fall into the "movie" catagory, but there's also toys, and comics and millions of other pieces of merchandise that I'll be buying. I've loved The Lone Ranger ever since I was a little kid, and I can't wait for all this stuff! YEE-HAW!!

I look forward to not looking like this anymore

Dinner! My goal for 2013 is to have dinner with all my friends that I didn't get to have dinner with in 2012.

Batman!!!!! Sometime this year(hopefully)Mattel will release a Adam West/Batman 60's TV Show line of action figures!!! YES!!!

July 12th-14th. Not telling, but it's gonna be AWESOME.

 ?????????? Hey, I'm not a fortune teller! I have no idea what's coming up in 2013. But, whatever it is, you can be SURE that I'll be excited about it! Have a great New Year everybody!!

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!!

The Future.........

A lot of people have been asking me what I've either BEEN up to or what I'm GOING to be up to. While I wish the answer was more exciting, I HAVE been busy. For the past few months, I've been helping out at Challengers Comics + Conversation. Run by 2 of my best friends, Patrick Brower & W. Dal Bush, I've been beyond lucky that they've asked me to come aboard and help them out on a weekly basis, and I can also be found there for the occasional event or random day when they need an extra hand. I am, was and ALWAYS WILL BE part of the comic "community" or "industry", if you will. What I love most about working at Challengers is there's no bullshit. No website that I'me forced to work on at the sacrifice of paying attention to customers in the store, no 8 other stores that I have to worry about calling or getting calls from at odd time. It's boiled down to what I love and what I do best:selling comic books to people that want to buy comic books. Plain and simple. Pure joy.
-I have also been working on JimmyPSHayes.com and in the next year, you'll see some big changes to that site, all of them good. I've got some great stuff lined up with the help of some great people, so bookmark that site, there's exciting stuff happening in regards to that.
-Also, I'm getting ready to go back to school in January of 2013 to become a personal fitness trainer. It's something I'm very passionate about and I've been thinking about doing for the past couple of years. I'm the odd duck who said that my future would always be in retail, but after my last job, I don't know that that applies anymore. All the bad-mouthing that retail jobs get? Well, it's pretty much all true. It's a thankless job that pays very little. While my heart will always belong to comic retail, and like I said, I will always be involved in that industry, I have no desire to work full time at a big box retail store. And physical fitness is something that I have come to have a real passion about. I'm a type 2 diabetic, and I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I have to go through every day. If I can help ANYONE get into better shape and lead a healthier lifestyle, I'll be tremendously happy. And yes, you see me joke on twitter and other places about eating whole cakes, pies, ect....but it's just that. A joke. I don't REALLY eat everything I say I do, if I did, I'd have died a long time ago.
-So, that's what's been up and that's what's coming up. Stuff, stuff, and more stuff. In the coming months, look for a bunch of fun things that will be happening, exclusive stuff available only right here(NO, I'm not going to be an online comic retailer. Never ever.)and plenty of events that will be happening. In the immediate future, look for an announcement in the next couple of weeks about a FANTASTIC Sta.....wait, that would be telling. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate each and everyone of you, and I think Doc Brown said it best when he said to Jennifer.....

NEW Masters of the Universe Comic!!!

At 2pm today, a BRAND NEW Masters of the Universe comic debuted on Comixology!!! This series, written by a bunch of different creators, is a companion piece to the upcoming Masters of the Universe DC Comics series debuting in comic shops July 4th.
-First off, I'm totally going into spoiler country, so look away if you don't want to know.

OK, you've been warned. This is TOTALLY an old fashioned MOTU mini comic for the new age. I LOVED it, but I'm more inclined to like it because I love the franchise so much. This issue tells the story of the Geoff Johns created Masters of the Universe character, Sir Laser Lot. It's a great comic that introduces and spotlights the character, just like the old mini comics that came with the toys did. The story leads off with 2 boys running away from a PACK of Bestmen. Then a mysterious figure(who we later find out is Sir Laser Lot) comes to their rescue. This "issue" is action PACKED just like the adventures that you had playing with the toys when you were a kid. The most shocking part of the whole comic to me was Skeletor & crew showing up at the end, looking VERY different that they have before. I'm OK with this. I like things shooken up every now and then and this is DEFINITELY not another rehash/update of the characters. You can tell something is different here. They reference King Grayskull quite a bit and they are going somewhat off the MOTUC bios, which everyone seems to hate(I have no problem with them myself). To sum it up, you should REALLY download this issue. It's only .99¢ and it's a great read. You can download is over at Comixology and read it there. If you like Masters of the Universe, you're going to have a good time with this. And, just because I'm in a good mood and you deserve it, here's a picture of a cute Teela(who does NOT appear in the comic)