Hi Comic Shop Friends! The boys are back in town! John, Ben, and Kevin have returned from the annual comic retailer convention, ComicsPro, and they’ve brought news and exclusives!

We’ll have a bunch of promo comics and such out for sale on Wednesday, and stop in during Late Nite Comics on the 26th to talk to them about their weekend!

ComicsPro is an event where shops can meet with creators, publishers, and distributors about upcoming releases and voice our concerns and questions about the industry. But it’s also about connecting with other comic shop owners and employees, learning, and sharing ideas. Pictured here with John are, Joe Ferrera (owner of Atlantis Fantasyworld, the comic shop from the Lost Boys), Timmy Heague (owner of Arsenal Comics and Games, the future face of the industry) and Joe Field (owner of Flying Colors Comics and Founder of Free Comic Book Day.)

Here’s our staff with Joe Field, Joe and Trisha from Atlantis Fantasyworld, and Timmy! It’s always a fun, but exhausting, time attending ComicsPro, but it gets us hyped for new stuff and reinvigorates us for the rest of the year.

Come in and check out some of the new stuff they’ve brought back, and ask us about what we’re looking forward to!

This Thursday! Late Nite Comics! 8pm to midnight! Dollar books galore! Buy 100 or more and they’re only 50 cents each! 50% off back issues! Pick a valentine to get free dollar comics! 20% of sales at Late Nite will be donated to Zoe’s efforts to raise funds and awareness for Blood Cancer United!

Zoe is raising money for Blood Cancer United! She’ll be shaving her head on March 6th to raise awareness of the work that Blood Cancer United does. They have a mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma while improving the quality of life for patients and their families. The organization aims to enable patients to gain more than one million years of life by 2040 through research, education and advocacy.

We are taking cash donations in the shop, you can donate online here: https://pages.lls.org/svoy/noh/svoynoh26/zdudas , and you can donate by shopping during Late Nite Comics.

Thank you again to all of you who have donated so far!

MARVEL COMICS

The Punisher is back in an all-new ongoing series from Benjamin Percy and Jose Luis Soares! Following the Punisher: Red Band series, Frank Castle’s memory is damaged, having pulled an implant out of his brain. He doesn’t know why the dark places of New York call to him, but he feels most at home there. Castle is moving through the city on instinct, stopping criminals, until his body betrays him. He’s a man searching for answers, and he’s a man who is putting himself back together. But there is someone else who has put themselves back together, and has his sights set on becoming the new crime kingpin of New York, and he’s taking out the Punisher first!

Some of the world’s fiercest fighters have gathered for an underground martial arts tournament organized and attended by the wealthiest people on the planet. No, it’s not Mortal Kombat. It’s Predator Bloodshed! Written by Jordan Morris, with art by Ruairi Coleman and Roland Boschi, a group of elite fighters think they just have to fight each other for a shot at a huge payout, but no one expected a Predator to crash the fights! Choose your fighter and place your bets! My money’s on the Yautja! It’s Predator and it’s bloody, what more do you need?

The Spider-Man and Venom crossover starts here! A new super-powered serial killer is on the loose, following a pattern only they understand, and Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, and Eddie Brock are about to be pulled into the Death Spiral. Eddie and Carnage’s pact that only killers would die (See the great Eddie Brock: Carnage series!), may be coming to an end as Carnage finds someone who would be a stronger host. Peter’s back from space and is procrastinating on getting in touch with his family and friends, but a message from Eddie finally gets through. Mary Jane’s ex, Paul, and Dylan Brock get a visit from Eddie, and Venom believes this is a good thing, but MJ isn’t so sure. Carnage knows their secrets, and he’s sharing them. This won’t end well for anyone, especially those along the spiral leading to Peter, Eddie, and Mary Jane. Continuing in Amazing Spider-Man and Venom through April! Written by Joe Kelly, Al Ewing, and Charles Soule, with art by Jesus Saiz.

DC COMICS

Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips introduce a new noir icon in their new Vertigo title! Ezra Cain is a private eye whose business is exposing secrets, but he’ll learn that some mysteries are better off staying buried as he takes on a new job. Cain’s former life as an archaeology student makes him the perfect person to track down an artifact that has disappeared from the Museum of Natural History, the anvil of Greek god Hephaestus that was discovered by his former teacher. The power of the anvil could be used to bend nations to one’s will. Myth and science fiction invade Cain’s reality of investigation, as a shadowy organization called the Brutal Dark appears in New York City, with resources that defy human logic. This is a period piece set in 1941 that mixes the action of Indiana Jones, with the gumshoe mystery of pulp detective novels, and puts Ezra in a position to be the only thing standing between the Brutal Dark and their plot to overthrow America! This is my favorite of the new Vertigo titles so far!

The one-shot spinoff from the New History of the DC Universe celebrates Black History Month, and finds Beacon learning that history is never quite set in stone! When his only shot at saving his present is to jump into the timestream and learn from the past, he uncovers an untold moment in DC History, where a murder leads to an all-out battle between the Dakota City heroes and the U.S. government! Presented in three acts, with a prelude and epilogue, featuring writers Joseph P. Illige, Stephanie Williams, Morgan Hampton, and Nikolas Draper-Ivey, and artists Valentine De Landro, Carlo Pagulayan, Stephen Segovia, Fico Ossio, and Edwin Galmon. As Dakota City becomes a battlefield, the heroes may fall in the past, but the stage is set for their return in the present!

The Agency performs an alien autopsy! Peeling back the layers of the Green Martian reveals mystery, metaphor, and more. As John searches for the missing Martian, he has to deal with a new “partner”, Despair. His world and life are crumbling around him, can John hold it together long enough to find the Green Martian? Even with the Agency getting closer and closer? Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez move closer to the end of their arc, and who knows how things will turn out?

Cale has sent her team after Diana, and she must now face off with Zatanna, Giganta, Dr. Poison, Cheetah, and Queen Ara! It’s the biggest, and I mean biggest, fight we’ve seen from Absolute Wonder Woman yet! With a new first appearance in the Absolute Universe, and it’s someone that even Diana’s magic is no match for. Another excellent issue from Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman.

SMALL PRESS COMICS

Tyler Boss and Martin Simmonds present the newest Universal Monsters series, which is perfect for Phantom of the Opera fans, both new and old! After a violent crime opens a show at the Paris Opera House, it becomes Christine Daae’s turn in the spotlight. The show must go on, but does she have the talent and ambition to succeed? The mysterious voice whispering in the darkness believes in her. Is it the Opera Ghost? She’ll soon learn that no one, not the childhood friend who is investigating the crime, nor the seemingly helpful voice, is what they seem. What is her connection to the truth, and to the Phantom of the Opera? I’ve not been much of a fan of the Phantom, but with Boss mentioning Brian DePalma’s best film, and one of my personal favorite films, the Phantom of the Paradise, in his comments at the end, I’m in.

Based on a never-published outline by creator Dave Stevens, the Rocketeer returns in a new mini-series written by John Layman, with art by Jacob Edgar! Cliff Secord is recruited to lead a search and rescue mission to find Amelia Earhart. She’s been missing for a year, so Cliff is rightfully hesitant to sign on, but with a government agent’s promise they’ll continue to turn a blind eye to his rocket pack, and the knowledge that the island they’re searching is the same one Betty is traveling to with her new beau, he agrees. Winning back his girlfriend while uncovering the secret of the century’s greatest mystery is going to be one heck of an adventure! Especially with Popeye and Tintin joining in! A delightful start that’s going to lead into more surprises!