“Come on, I don’t belong up here, fighting monsters and supervillians. I just help the little guy”

January 27th, 2012 by Marc
Posted in Events, News, Writing on The Wall

Hey comic fans!

Its about that time of year that studios start shopping around for the next big thing for the fall. You’re probably asking yourselves “But Marc, you handsome devil, what does this have to do with comics?” and to that I respond “Thank you for the compliment, but damn you are impatient!” Well folks, it seems like superheroes are making the rounds for television once again, and this time we’ve lucked out.

The CW has signed the order on a pilot for a new series called Arrow. This new series will be starring Green Arrow, but perhaps not the Arrow you’re familiar with. Over at Spinoff Online, there have been some stirrings. Details regarding this new pilot reveal that the general elements of the show will be similar to the source material but not entirely the same. I’ve spotted a few myself, for one thing I’m not entirely sure that Oliver’s mom would still be around once he’s come back from his island life, nor do I remember a sister! However,I’m not saying that these new elements will do anything to hurt the show at all! I’m personally just glad that the description of Green Arrow/Oliver Queen seems to do justice to the character. Sounds much better than the more Tony Stark-like GA we’ve been given by the New 52 (I went with the first three issues but I just couldn’t stay with it, he was no longer the man I once knew *stare longly out the window*).

All in all these series shows a lot of promise and I’m personally excited. The team working on it seems fairly solid (the screenwriters having worked on Green Lantern and the director having done the pilot for Smallville and having worked on Game of Thrones!). Granted like any comic book fan I’ve got some things that I’ll need to see and wait for before getting too excited A goatee, a decent looking costume, and at least one punching glove arrow (used either seriously or as a gag!). But only the future will tell, as its to soon to even tell if the pilot will see the light of day (ala Wonder Woman from NBC).

Until next time comic fans, happy reading!

Comment

Darkness Ascends on the 4th Wall East

January 27th, 2012 by Jean-Sebastien
Posted in Events, News, Recommendations

Ok, so I got your attention I hope, with the title.

So time to dismantle the lie, there is no real darkness ascending onto our store BUT it kind of is ascending on our partner store, Gamers’ Vault, on Queen Marry. They are  hosting a special event this weekend (Both Saturday and Sunday). Gamers’ will be having a Pre-Release of a Magic the Gathering Expansion called Dark Ascension.

Registration starts at 10 AM on both Saturday and Sunday and the main event starts at 11 AM. They will be hosting multiple types of games, including sealed and two headed giant.

Come have some gaming fun then swing by our store for some reading material.

Cheers and have a good weekend.

Js signing of from the 4th Wall East on Queen Marry.

1 Comment

Something a little new!

January 21st, 2012 by Bee
Posted in Recommendations, Uncategorized

Hi guys!

As I believe most of you know, or at least a lot of you know, there’s a new Fables spin-off coming out in March. If you’re anything like myself, and absolutely loved Fables and have read all the spin-off, you’re probably just as excited as me.

For those of you who haven’t read Fables (you should go out and get a copy, trust me, it’s worth it), I’ll let you in on the secret, so that you can happily continue reading this post. Essentially, Fables is a story of fairy tale Characters that find themselves exiled into our world after being forced out of the Homelands by “The Adversary”. Fables puts a lovable twist on all the Characters and stories that we grew up with, giving them all multiple dimensions, complex personalities and a story we can relate to in sorts. The other thing about this series that I feel that anyone and everyone can and will love is the artwork. The cover art is always amazing too. I love it.

Fairest, the latest spin-off, focuses on a story of who is the fairest in the land. As Bill Willingham explained in an interview recently, it’s very easy to be the fairest in the land when the whole story revolves around you, but in a story that includes all the other fairy tale characters, its a little trickier. I think this a fantastic concept, we all know that its easy to be a big fish in a little pond, after all.

What I also look forward to is that it wont just be the big names (Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, ect) that get to star in this series -or at least judging from the cover they won’t be. In the same interview, Willingham confirmed that on the cover there are more than just our run of the mill gorgeous princess types, but also names like Ali Baba and Nurse Spratt. You have no idea how excited about this that I am! Being your average, not-a-gorgeous-princess type, I absolutely love that its not going to all be focused on the models out there. That being said, as happy as I am that it’s not all princesses, I am excited to see the princesses have their own story arcs – no matter how girlie that is.

I know in all I haven’t really said very much in all this, but it’s hard to tell you about something that is yet to come out. I’m looking forward to it to say the least and ive added it to my personal pull list. I feel that if you’ve enjoyed any of the Fables/Fables spin-offs, you really ought to check it out too! I’ll review it once it has come out (Due to release in March), but it still should be on all your pull-lists!

Fairest #1 - Wrap Around Cover Art

As always,
All my love, and make sure to come by the shop where myself or one of my fabulous coworkers are always more than happy to help you find the perfect book!

Bee

Comment

LICD on the go!

January 21st, 2012 by Justin
Posted in News

Life as a student is tough. There are always papers to write, group meetings to deal with, etc, etc; and what does it all get you? No time to read comics! It’s a crying shame, honestly. Worry not, my friends! Now there’s a way to get the goodness/moral ambiguity of Least I Could Do while on the go or in-between study sessions!

Available for free on iOS, the app for Least I Could Do lets you read the ten newest comics in the series. For a 99 cent in-app purchase you can even access the entire LICD archive! All past comics are organized by story arcs, so even if you don’t know where you left off jumping back in is as easy as ever. You can also stay up to date with the latest news concerning LICD directly from within the app. There’s only an iPhone/iTouch version currently available, but the app will work properly on iPads as well, albeit a little stretched.

Lest we not forget that The Gutters is also available for your reading pleasure on the App Store! Also free, The Gutters app allows you to flip through all current and archived comics at your leisure. The Gutters may be a little less mobile due to the app being iPad only but it is definitely gorgeous on that 9.7 inch display.

When homework slows down and you finally have some time to relax, why not pick up the physical collections from your favorite series? Both Least I Could Do and The Gutters volumes are available in store here at The 4th Wall for your reading pleasure.

Personally, I love getting up to date with my webcomics in-between study sessions or while on the bus, but who says you can’t have the best of both worlds? With the LICD and The Gutters apps keeping you up to date, and the physical volumes to truly relax with, there’s no stopping you!

(For any bugs/issues please contact ios@blindferret.com.)

Comment

While Marvel teases, DC reveals it all!

January 20th, 2012 by Marc
Posted in Comics 101, Musings, News, Writing on The Wall

Isn’t it like the world of comics to take something that most people would disregard or just put aside, and shove at the forefront and argue all about it! If you aren’t sure what I’m referring to, I’m talking of course about the DC Comics logo debacle. Yes, after only a handful of years, the DC “swoosh” logo (winner for most unimaginative logo name) is being retired and replaced with what I can only think to call the “flip book cartoon” logo. The logo literally resembles someone flipping a page. Anyways before we dive in, a little context!

As this was covered in The Watchtower Podcast (by the almighty leader of our band of comic rebels Jeff Moss and Donnie “Questy” Coulter) this week, you should check it out there! But lemme just summarize it. DC screwed up with their copyrights and they’ve had to pay DC Shoes a ton of cash to use their logo. Hence, they decided they no longer wanted to do this and thus they created a new logo. There, context!

Have you ever seen anything more boring?

Alright so how does this new logo fair? Well, considering the initial logo, holy crap was it boring. Simple grey and white, incredibly corporate and literally nothing exciting about it. Well not long after, DC revealed their logo in it’s entirety, and by god they really thought this through!

Color makes a difference, surprisingly.

Now this is DC’s official logo. This is what you’ll be seeing on the books, the trade and the hardcovers. This oddly makes a significant difference to me. The colour and the way it will likely be colour coded with each separate issue isn’t entirely different from the variations we’ve had on the “swoosh” logo recently. The little peel back part is obviously versatile and lends itself well to being changed. DC, in their official release of this logo, put out this image but they also gave a picture of what it will actually look like on our beloved books.

I'd love to meet the guy who thinks we'll be at #708 by May of this year

Obviously, it’ll take some getting used to. We will gripe and we will moan, but in the end it will be the most inconspicuous change on the cover. Besides it looks great, just sitting there in the corner. It’s subtle and small in a way that we will never be bothered by it.

I think what’s most exciting about this logo however is the images that came out before DC’s official release. These fantastic logos that DC is referring to as their “secret identity” logos.

Oh god so good

This is awesome. I mean, look at them! The concept alone is brilliant. Beneath the surface is something amazing, something fantastical, something surreal and different. It is an image that summarizes comics! Beneath the cover of these books is something awesome and fascinating and interesting. It’s even the basis of most of the superhero books DC puts out! This is a real and interesting way to take a previously boring logo and turning it into something incredible. I’d like to see more of this logo in use.

Whatever your opinions on the logo, we can all agree that DC has clearly thought this through. They’ve been able to justify it and it does look pretty good sitting in the corner of the books. At the end of it all, I’m sure we’ll get used to it and then get mad again when they change it again! That’s it from me, comic fans! Maybe I’ll see you at our Avengers vs. X-Men Party? I bet I will *wink wink nudge nudge*

Later!

Comment

Avengers Vs X-Men: Which Side Are You On?

January 19th, 2012 by moss
Posted in Artistic Society, Comics 101, Events, News, Notes, Recommendations, Sales

The biggest fight of the year is almost here, and The 4th Wall wants to recognize it in style with the biggest party of the year!

The 4th Wall is planning an Avengers vs. X-Men Launch Party on Tuesday, April 3 from 8:00 pm-10:00pm to make sure you can get your hands on Issue #1 as soon as possible! Plus, some special goodies:

• Avengers vs. X-Men #1 Avengers Store Allegiance Party Variants!
• Free Store Allegiance Avengers vs. X-Men Party Lithographs !
• Free Store Allegiance Buttons, Coasters and Mini-Posters!

Plus oh, so much more!

To participate, retailers must choose whether their store will be an X-Men or an Avenger store by February 5, 2012. So, we turn to you: Avengers or X-Men? Which side are you on?

Vote for your choice via the “Have Your Say” poll at the top of the page and you can decide the theme of this X-travaganza!

Yeah, I said that.

Voting closes Feb 5th, 2012 so vote early, and often!!

-Moss

3 Comments

Issue fives and my thoughts!

January 19th, 2012 by Bee
Posted in Musings, News, Review

Hi guys!

It’s been a while since I last posted anything, and I apologize for that, but I have caught up on a couple of titles and I’m here to tell you all about them!

First off, I’ve caught up on Batman. The first thing I have to say about this weeks issue (#5) is that it’s kind of trippy, but in the best way way possible. Not giving anything away, but the page layouts are some of the coolest that I’ve seen in comics. Although at first the layout confused me a little, once I realized what it was doing, it really put me into Batman’s mind frame at that moment in time. For those of you that have been following, you’re all fully aware of how Batman’s absence is effecting Gotham, but its something relatively new to see him so vulnerable. I’ve always seen Batman as this tough, nothing-can-get-to-me, character, so seeing him so childlike in his bewilderment is very off in my books. I know a large part of this is because I’m looking at him stumble around, “not listening”, but in my mind I have Christian Bales voice for everything he says, but it still just doesn’t feel right. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, despite how tempting it is, but I can say that I’m looking forward to having my tough Batman back.

Next up on my list of titles that I’ve caught up on this week is Supergirl. Now you all know that I like Supergirl for a list of reasons, from her being a young woman like myself, to her slightly angsty, independent attitude. The best thing about this weeks issue has to be her stubbornness, I’m not sure what’s so appealing about it, but I love it. I love that she’s determined enough to follow through to wherever the sunstone is leading her, even though we all know it wont be good news. Although I’m finding the story a little slow in patches, I find that Kara’s character makes up for it entirely. We all know that sweet girl who thinks she’s totally independent and can handle all her stuff, but when we see her upset, it’s a little like watching a friend cry. You just feel for them. As for Reign, who we really meet in this issue, I don’t like her. I’m not saying I don’t like her because she isn’t cute and blonde, but because you know she has no good intentions at all. The worst part is that she’s not sure why she’s so mean either. As always, I’m going to keep following and see if the story speeds up enough for my liking.

As always, I am in love with Wonder Woman. I can’t help it. The thing I’m really loving about the new 52 Wonder Woman is how not tacky she is. Tacky can be good in some situations, don’t get me wrong, but I love how Diana is just a down to earth, responsible, very pretty, woman…Amazon…both. The other fantastic thing about this series is the interaction with the Gods, I absolutely love that they’re not all perfect human like creatures. Wonder Woman is simply satisfying all my needs as a comic book reader, it has a fantastic story that it’s following, the art work is amazing – I especially like all the different angles that are used for some panels, its light enough to understand everything on the first read, but written in a way that leaves you waiting for more. I have to say it, by far my favorite title right now. You really all ought to read it, its worth it.

I shall leave you with that for the time being, I shall make a point of posting more often, and I shall let you know all my thoughts on the latest comics!
Much love, and feel free to come by the shop – I can help you find whatever you’d like!

Bee

Comment

Off the beaten path

January 19th, 2012 by Jean-Sebastien
Posted in Recommendations, Writing on The Wall

Howdy,

So lets talk about something any 80’s child must  pick up this week.

The book I want to talk about, is a couple of weeks old. I’ve been tweeting and posting about it on-line for some time now. It’s a Jim Henson Classic brought from the silver screen to book format.  I’m talking about Volume 1 of The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths published by Archaia.

Before you guys say “Hey! I’ve seen the movie already!” I need to tell you, this is a brand new story line that ties into the movie mythology. Artist  Brian Froud participated in the creation of this amazing book bringing back the super nostalgia. For those who don’t know him, he was the artist who inspired both 80’s Classics Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.

So what’s the story about?  Well, it’s a prequel to the cult classic movie and it focuses on the weird and pretty cool character of Aughra, if you’ve seen the movie, she’s the witch type character that talks and acts a bit like Yoda. As you will find out by reading this book, Aughra was a very important persona for the  history of Thra.

If you are a fan of Jim Henson, this book is a must and to add to the good news, there will be two other volumes in the near future who will focus on other “Historic” figures of the Dark Crystal Universe.

Dark Crystal Creation Myths

I’m Js, signing off from the 4th Wall EAST.

Cheers and enjoy the book ;)


Comment

Mystery Solved Gang!

January 4th, 2012 by Marc
Posted in Comics 101, Events, News, Writing on The Wall

Comics fans, a mystery has plagued our industry since September of 2011. A mystery so earth-shattering, so mind bending, that comic fans…briefly shrugged and continued on their merry way?

With the debut of the new 52, a character started to appear. She was in every single first issue of the new 52. In fact, she existed prior to these appearances at the end of Flashpoint, explaining to The Flash what was going on around him exactly (e.g the merging of Vertigo, Wildstorm and DC Comics). The appearance and possible explanations behind this woman can be found all over the internet. Sites like Comics Alliance, Comic Book Resources, and Bleeding Cool have supplied their theories. It was even covered by The Gutters (by none other than Ryan Sohmer and by our very own loveable Jeff Moss!).

So you’re probably asking yourself why I’m discussing this at all. Hell, she hasn’t been seen since the #1 issues of the new 52 and presumably everyone forgot. Why are you so behind on news Marc?!?!

Firstly, please stop shouting. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Secondly, the reason I’ve brought her up again, my verbally abusive reader, is because she now has a name.

And that’s all DC wants to say for now. There’s two things I could say about this. The first being “Way to be slow on that one guys”. I’m sure many of you, much like my pretend angry reader, think that this is pointless and kind of slow on DC’s part. I mean, no one cared once we hit month #2 of the new 52.

The second thing I could say is, I care! There are two reasons I care and they are admittedly kind of dumb reasons but I’m sticking by them! Reason #1 is the same reason anyone else cared initially: I’m a huge nerd. We all like when there’s a little challenge or something that only we can catch. There’s a thrill to the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? aspect of looking for the “woman in pink”. Reason #2 is that I really like a mystery no matter how small. I’m like Batman in that way. (I’ll get Batman put on my name tag, just you wait!). The whole not knowing who she is, theorizing about her identity and role in the overall DC Universe is like piecing a giant puzzle. It’s exciting, to a degree.

So, what lies in the future of the DCU with this Pandora character? Some say it’s going to be the lead into the first big crossover event. Some even believe it might have just been DC’s fail-safe, a way to bring back the old continuity if the New 52 happened to fail (which it clearly didn’t). All this to say, who knows what this means. Apparently DC does and they aren’t telling! I guess we’ll just have to wait and see for more information right from the source.

Later guys!

EDIT: Nostradamnit, I can tell the future! Obscure reference to SmodCast aside, it looks like our good friends over at the Gutters posted another comic on this very topic, not long after I wrote this very blog post! You can find that here! So if you’ve read my take and you’re curious on what Moss or Sohmer have to say on the subject, head on over there!

1 Comment

New Year, Same Good Ol’ Shop!

January 2nd, 2012 by Marc
Posted in Events, New Arrivals, News, Notes, Writing on The Wall

Hey comic fans!

I trust you all had a pleasant holiday season? Well now that we’ve all broken our New Years’ Resolutions on the first day (Damn you Double Pizza! The aroma of your meat lover’s pizza was too much to overcome!) and had a great time to relax and enjoy ourselves, let’s talk about what’s coming up in this brand new year!

Now “End of the World” aside, it’s going to be an exciting year in the world of comics. Marvel’s biggest event of the new year will be Avengers vs. X-Men! Something is going to pit these two mega-teams against each other and it’s going to take over the Marvel universe  in a 12-issue monthly series! No one’s really sure what will cause the event but there are some theories based on Marvel Teasers. It’s going to have something to do with Avengers X-Sanction for sure, as well as involvement by Scarlett Witch and Hope, the mutant messiah. And of course, the Phoenix (anyone who’s read Uncanny X-Men #3 knows what I’m talking about!). What’s got me interested in this book is the incredible team of writers! Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Jason Aaron, Jonathan Hickman, and Ed Brubaker. Not to mention the artists, Adam Kubert, Olivier Coipel and the always great John Romita Jr. This is Marvel’s best of the best on this book so it’s sure to be exciting so look for this here in April when it starts!

As always, DC’s new 52 is continuing this year, with promises of much more interconnected story lines as well as something for the more patient of us. While I have made a significant shift from collecting graphic novels to collecting single issues because of the new 52, not everyone has gone for this route. Well good news! The first batch of hardcover graphic novels from the new 52 will be arriving this year! Starting in May, DC New 52 hardcovers will be released covering the initial story lines of the reboot. This is great for those of us who missed the first couple of issues and decided to wait for them to be collected in a sturdier form!

Obviously this new year means a bunch of new comic releases and exciting events. As always, both of the shops will be here to help you get the books you want and venture into the waters of the new year with a smile on your face rather than a scowl of confusion! Happy New Years to all of you from all of us at the 4th Wall and may 2012 treat you well!

Comment
« Previous Page