The List-December 19, 2012

What a HUGE week for comics!!!! It's almost like 2 weeks combined into one, because almost NOTHING is shipping next week on the 26th(except the all ready spoiled Amazing Spider-Man #700). Anyway, here's just a FEW of the comics that I recommend picking up this week:

All New X-Men #4-I never imagined in a million years that this book would be as good as it has been.

Bionic Woman #6-THIS BOOK IS WAY BETTER THAN IT SHOULD BE!!!!

Avengers #2-A whole shit ton of people show up!!!! And it's awesome!!!

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #5-He-Man VERSUS Battle Cat!!!!!

Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow #20-THINGS ARE HEATING UP as the series is winding down!!

MacGyver: The Fugitive Gauntlet #3-I love this series so much!!!Buy it. Read it. Repeat. 

-There you have it!! Again, LOTS of great stuff to buy this week and isn't it a perfect time to buy a pile of comics and read them? A lot of you will be traveling, and that's the perfect time to read and not have to make awkward conversation with the weird person next to you! If you're in Chicago, I'll see you tomorrow at Challengers!!!

Dance Party Friday!!!

WOW!!! Let me catch me breath after a SUPER BUSY successful week, and apologize for the lack of blogging. OK, the lack of porn stars and comic news(I'm not kidding myself). But, today is Friday and it's the Christmas season, so how about a couple of awesome Christmas songs to get you into the mood for that party that you're going to this weekend or to sing along with while you're wrapping presents or decorating or whatever....

This first one's from my favorite Christmas movie of all time, Scrooged, with Bill Murray



Did you know they made more than one Home Alone movie? Hmmm. Learn something new everyday. Well, I guess they did, and it had a pretty fun Christmas song in it....



-Have a great weekend everybody!!!

Rock out with your candy canes out!!!

HOT GIRL WEDNESDAY! starring @SkylerHaze (no relation)

There's a LOT of words to describe the GORGEOUS Skyler Haze, but I think today, we'll let each of these pictures speak for themselves:

And here's a real LIVE look at Skyler(you know what I mean), right here:



Skyler is featured in the current issue of Southern Vixens Magazine. You can order your copy here:
You can follow Skyler on Twitter here
or check out her facebook page right here

THE LIST for December 5th!!!!!

It's a great week for comics!!....AGAIN!!!! Here's what I'm looking forward to this week(and you should be too)

Avengers #1: I can't tell you how excited I am for this book. A non Bendis Avengers A-List book? SIGN. ME. UP.

Amazing Spider-Man #699: SHIT IS ABOUT TO GET REAL!!!!!!!!! No spoilers from me, but this book is kicking SO much ass right now, it's not even funny.

All New X-Men #3: Never been an X-Men fan, but this book is BEYOND fun!!!

Detective Comics #15: A Death of the Family tie-in!!

The Lone Ranger #11: Tonto's in trouble and so is The Lone Ranger!!! One of the best books out there right now!!

GI Joe: A Real American Hero #185: ZARTAN!!!!!!!!!!

-Head out to your local comic book store, and if you're in Chicago, come down and see me at Challengers Comics + Conversation!!! See you on Wednesday!!

GEEKS FOR TOTS!!!!!

Let's be honest, if you're reading this you have some interest in either comic books or toys. And if you're like any collector, you might have some extra stuff laying around that's taking up space that you're really not using or playing with. Well, it's Christmastime and whether we like to face it or not, there's way too many kids out there who won't be having much of a Christmas this year due to tough economic times, or some other unfortunate circumstance.
-I'd like to direct your attention to a GREAT organization: GEEKS FOR TOTS!!!!! Not ONLY will you be making some kid's Christmas, but you could actually WIN an awesome prize while doing it! EVERYBODY WINS!!!! Mr. Paul Rudolph, one of the top brass over at GFT, was kind enough to send over the details on the promotion, so here they are:

Win Toys For Helping Tots with Geeks for Tots!
 Geeks for Tots is back once again to promote giving this holiday season. Geeks for Tots is a contest that encourages donations to the Toys for Tots.

There are far too many kids that won’t get gifts this holiday season and the Toys for Tots program is here to help. Toys for Tots takes new toys and distributes them to kids in need. To encourage donations to the Toys For Tots program, the Geeks For Tots contest is offering prizes to those who send in proof of donations to Toys for Tots.

The Prizes up for grabs are:

• Anakin Skywalker Force FX Lightsaber from Brian's Toys
• Gift cards to Backstage Toys
• Gift cards to Luke’s Toy Store
• Gift cards to Luke’s Toy Store
• Lots of figures from Fantastic Plastic Toys
• Gift cards from 80sTees.com
• Gift certificates from Nerd Rage Toys
• New and vintage figures from Pixel Dan
• 30^th Anniversary G.I. Joe Skytriker from Dinosaur Toy Vault

To participate in the contest, a contestant has to either send in a picture of them donating at a Toys For Tots drop off box or by forwarding copy of a receipt from an online cash donation to the Toys For Tots website.

More details like where to send the photos and receipts, please visit GeeksForTots.com (Link: http://www.geeksfortots.com)

About Geeks for Tots:

Geeks for Tots is a grassroots contest started with the simple goal of encouraging donations to Toys for Tots via a contest. This is the fourth year of the contest. Previously it was known as “Joes for Tots.”

http://www.geeksfortots

Follow them at Twitter.com/GeeksForTots
Email: GeeksForTots@gmail.com

-C'mon folks, let's get in the Christmas spirit and give these guys a hand!!!! And PLEASE help spread the word by tweeting, facebooking, myspacing, whatever pinterest is, and whatever else you can think of! 

THE RETURN-HOT. GIRL. WEDNESDAY.!!!!!!!

You've missed it, you've asked for it, so here it is, back by popular demand-HOT GIRL WEDNESDAY!!!! This week's hot girl is Canada's very own Jenny Poussin!!!! Jenny has appeared in countless magazines, movie, TV shows, catalogs and calendars. And her website is AWESOME and you should check it out!! Without further ado, here's your hot girl of the week.

 And here's a little clip of Jenny in action.



You're Welcome!!

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.....

dot dot dot

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)

The Watchmen Project

So, I'm a terrible comic book guy and I've never read Watchmen. Always meant to, but was always either too busy or felt like I had other important things to read(I mean, hey, Marvel released all those Spider-Man:Clone Sage trades!). So, yeah, just never got around to it. Then, on February 1st, DC Comics announced Before Watchmen, a series of prequel mini series, that had fans calling for DC executives heads. Obviously, have never read the original series, I really didn't have much of an opinion, and it was basically non-news to me. Didn't care one way or the other............
 Then I got to thinking. WHAT IF I read the Before Watchmen books and THEN read Watchmen? I mean, let's face it, how many times in your life do you get to do something like this? The opportunity doesn't come along very often, if ever. I had heard of Star Wars fans doing something like this with their kids. Not having them watch the original trilogy and taking them to see Episode 1, then 2, then 3, then showing them the original Star Wars trilogy. While I thought that THAT was a horrible idea, I couldn't help but wonder what that would be like. A lot of the big reveals in Empire and Jedi would be totally useless. Still, having NO feelings or ties to Watchmen, I thought that this might be something fun to try.
 When I told friends, customers, and everyone else about my intent, it was met with VERY strong opinions. Everything from "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" to "Look, just read the original, don't even bother with Before Watchmen." SO, me being me, of course I'm going to do what everyone told me NOT to do. Every week. I'll post my thoughts on whatever Watchmen title comes out, then, when they're finished, I'll read Watchmen and see what I think. After that, I'll be heading up to Madison to watch the movie on a big screen thanks to my friends Josh & John. All right, here goes nothing..........

Before Watchmen: Minuteman #1 I enjoyed this very much. It felt like I was reading a one of those DC comics that told a charming story of past age of heroes. And that's because it pretty much is. One thing kept bothering me, it reminded me of something, I just couldn't remember what. Halfway through the book I realized that it was thinking of. It reminded me of the 1991 Justice Society of America comic by Len Strezewski & Rick Burchett. Only with a little more bite. All right, a LOT more bite. I thought this was a really charming comic. Like almost everyone else, I LOVE Darwyn Cooke's art and they couldn't have picked a better artist for this book, in my opinion. I thought the narrative, which was nothing groundbreaking, was a nice change of pace, and Cooke moved the story along at a good pace. I guess if I have to put my finger on something that I didn't care for was that there were SO many characters introduced, I'm definitely going to have to go back and give this a second read right before the next issue comes out. Other than that, I found it very enjoyable. It wasn't anything at all on the heavy side, and I am genuinely looking forward to see where the story goes and what happens to these characters.

NEXT WEEK: SILK SPECTRE!!!!



PS: Yes, I realize that Alan Moore hates me.

Dance Party Friday!!!

Weekend's here and here's a couple songs to get you ready for it!

That's "Your Honor" to you!!

Look at that handsome face!!! Out today in comic shops everywhere is Ghostbusters #9 where I make a cameo appearance as the Mayor of Detroit!!! And look, I'm even shaking hands with Peter Venkman!!!! Can life BE anymore awesome?!?!?! Special thanks to the men who made this possible, and who make the book AWESOME every month-Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening and Tristan Jones.  You guys are awesome people, so here you go. You.......you've earned it.

Dance Party Friday!

Here's a couple of songs to get you ready for a beautiful(but REALLY HOT) weekend!

The older I get, the more I love the Rolling Stones. Is that weird? I don't care.

GI Joe:Retaliation: It's gonna be OK

Yesterday GI Joe fandom got a fly dropped in their soup when Paramount and Hasbro released a statement saying that GI Joe: Retaliation's release date was being changed from June 29th, 2012 to March 29Th, 2013. First off, yes, I'm disappointed, just like each and every one of you. BUT, those of you that know me, know that I'm the eternal optimist and the more I think about it, it might be for the better. Here's my wild conspiracy theory on WHY this happened.
-In a word, Battleship. Paramount was expecting BIG numbers for this movie based on the classic Hasbro board game, and well............it sunk. I think that Paramount got REALLY nervous after seeing how badly it performed and with GI Joe on the way, got cold feet and decided to do everything in their power to make sure that this didn't happen with GI Joe. After all, there's a TON of huge summer movies this year. Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises, ect. They claim that they moved the move back so that it can be converted into 3D, which does make sense. Movies released in both 2 & 3D make more money, that's a fact. Also, March is quickly becoming the new "secret month" for movies. There's not a lot of movies released in March, and as of late, those that ARE are pulling in pretty decent numbers. Hunger Games, Clash of the Titans, ect.
-Also, I think that after seeing the Battleship performed Paramount MIGHT have placed a call to Hasbro and told them that they have another year to build up the GI Joe brand. I'm guessing that sooner than later, we're going to see some GI Joe announcements regarding the toy line from Hasbro and also, IDW. I'm guessing Paramount wants a bigger built in audience for this movie, and I would agree. As of late, the GI Joe line has been floundering a bit. With the cancellation of GI Joe Renegades, it's hard for retailers to stock toys that don't have a movie or cartoon in the works.
-And just to put the "Jimmy spin" on this-WE NOW HAVE A WHOLE EXTRA YEAR TO GET EVEN MORE EXCITED FOR THIS MOVIE. Let's not forget, almost EVERYONE has been super impressed by the trailers and clips that we've seen. So, we have to wait a little bit longer. Yeah, I'm bummed to, but I have a feeling that everything's gonna be OK. I'm just worried about the toy line. C'mon Hasbro!!! Get some more awesome toys out to hold us over!!!
-Now, you know I wouldn't leave this on a down note, so here's a couple things that'll hopefully make you feel a little bit better today.
First, a special message to all my Joe brothers!


And, something nice to look at.

ARROW!!!!!!

Last night, the CW Network announced it's pick up for the fall 2012 schedule. Among them was an adaptation of DC's Green Arrow character, titled ARROW. Here's how The CW describes the show:


"After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he’s become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory. By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be – flanked by his devoted chauffeur/bodyguard, John Diggle – while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under cover of darkness. However, Laurel’s father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante operating in his city. Meanwhile, Oliver’s own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on – and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine."

-Wow. There's a lot going on there. But, if you want a series to run for 7 to 10 years, you can't just do the "here's the adventures of Green Arrow!" like so many series did in the past. I think I'm going to enjoy the soap opera aspect that this offers, and I REALLY hope it's not like every live action Superman television show in that you get 50 minutes of Clark Kent solving a mystery and then the last 10 minutes of Superman using his powers. That's what I DON'T want to see from Arrow. I have to admit, I'm not familiar with ANYONE in the cast, and I think that's to my advantage.

And as classic ME, I'm WAY super excited about this. I'm cautiously optimistic, because of the Smallville TV series. For the first 2 seasons I loved it, then hated it, and then I loved the last 2 seasons of the show. Green Arrow has always been one of my favorite heroes every since I saw him on the Super Friends and then again when I bought his Super Powers toy. Also in the series will Black Canary, so I'm guessing that in November, February and May during sweeps, we'll definitely be seeing lots of this:

And I am SO fine with that. Until the season premier in the fall, here's my favorite Green Arrow media that's been done so far. Enjoy!

I'm back.....

and I'm better than ever.

Dance Party Friday!

Getting back in the groove, here's two awesome videos that will get you excited for the weekend!!

-OK, sorry about that first video, the real one won't let me embed it. Lame. But, here's another fun one.

Happy Friday!!!!

DAMN!!!!

Well, it was only a matter of time before some of DC's New 52 titles got cancelled, but I really thought they'd try to publish all of them for at LEAST a year. No such luck as the ax is falling on six titles in April:

Men of War(fine by me)

Mister Terrific(never read it)

Static Shock(please put Scott McDaniel on something awesome)

Blackhawks(damn shame)

OMAC(it wasn't that bad)

& Hawk & Dove(NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!)

-I'm really dissapointed about Hawk & Dove, it got a bad rap right off the bat because Rob Liefeld's name was attached to it. It was a fun, nostalgic book that was really entertaining straight-forward super hero goodness. Well, at least we got 8 issues out of it. And I have to say I'm less than impressed by the six titles that are replacing it:

Batman Incorporated(Shouldn't have gone away in the first place!)

Earth 2(OK, this one I'm REALLY excited about!)

World's Finest(Huntess & Power Girl. I give it 6 issues)

Dial H(But, it's SPOOKY this time, it's GOT to work!)

GI Combat(You just cancelled 2 war books, so replacing it with another war book is a really smart move)

The Ravagers(Howard Mackie & Ian Churchill. I'm gonna put on my Hypercolor pants and play with my Tamagotchi)

-I shouldn't be this harsh, but those last 3 books seem really unnecessary. But, props to DC for taking some risks. Although I can't help but think-an Art Baltazar/Franco Captain Carrot book would be REALLY fun!