We’d all heard murmurings of a Watchmen prequel, but it wasn’t until the last 24 hours that DC announced anything official on the subject. The miniseries and one-shot epilogue under the “Before Watchmen” title will be released over the course of 35 weeks, as of summer 2012. Now, I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but I’m very torn about this. On one hand, I absolutely adore the Watchmen, and on the other hand, I don’t feel like it can be the Watchmen without Alan Moore.

This is the thing, those are exactly the same concerns that I had about the new DC52 Swamp Thing, in which I was proven wrong in my skepticism (I just read issue 6 and it’s really good – if you’re not pulling it, you should be). I love Alan Moore’s writing and characters and all that stuff, which leaves me feeling very sentimental, but it would also be really neat to see someone else’s spin on them. Especially Silk Spectre, who, being the girly that I am, is most definitely my personal favorite. In an interview, J. Michael Straczynski explain that it’s similar to Moore’s use of Alice (Alice in Wonderland) or Wendy (Peter Pan) for his own creations – they’d be sticking to Moore’s characters but adding a little at the same time.

I do believe it’s going to be something worth checking out, it could go either way really. DC has been on a roll over the last little while and I see no reason why this should be any different – Before Watchmen has some fantastic names behind it, fantastic artwork (as I can see from what’s been released), and of course, the best of characters. Whether Alan Moore backs it or not (he never does) shouldn’t matter when you have those foundations. I believe that they can use his bases to make something new and wonderful.

Add it to your pull lists when the time comes! You know you want to!

Oh, and on a quick side note; I know I’m a little late on the game, but the iPad/iPhone/iPod Batman: Arkham City Lockdown game is a whole bundle of amusement. Reviews report lags, but I haven’t had a single one, so rest assured and try it for yourselves!

You know what’s more awesome than comics? Nothing. But what comes to a close second? Movies, and even better superhero movies! That’s what we’re going to talk about today, the comic book movies you should know about and be excited for hitting us in the good ol’ 2012! The list may seem short, but these are what I consider to be the top 3 most anticipated superhero/comic book movies. But fret not, because at the end I’ll list the rest. Never say I don’t take care of the readers!

The Avengers – May 4th

This could easily be the most anticipated comic book movie ever. Never has there been such a concerted effort to get one movie done and planned to a tee. This is the culmination of 5 movies worth of preparation and teasing. It’s been carefully configured and planned out and this is the year we finally get to see it. This movie has a lot at stake, Marvel has pretty much thrown in all their chips, betting on this hand of cards. But everything about it right now is exciting as all hell. I mean the sheer excitement for the trailer was palpable, and as we near the release date, you can bet that there will be Avengers mania! This movie has been given everything it needs, a set of stellar actors who’ve shown in each of their movies that they understand these characters, Joss “King of the Nerds” Whedon as the freaking director, and one hell of a marketing campaign. I’m sure we’ve all got our fingers crossed that it’s worth the wait.

Amazing Spider-man – July 3rd

This movie can be described with one word: Redemption. This is Sony’s one shot to get it right again, and if you’ve seen Spider-man 3, you know they’ve got a lot to make up for. But will it do anything different for us? It is another origin story, as though everyone and their dog didn’t know how Spider-man got his powers. However, it is the introduction of Curt Connors/The Lizard to the realm of movies and that could add something of interest to the movie. Not to mention, it’s a completely different cast from the first set of movies. So while Tobey Maguire is off starring in The Great Gatsby (which I’m actually insanely excited about), Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, and Doctor Who once, huh.) will be playing everyone’s favorite nerd/superhero alongside Emma Stone (Superbad! and friggin’ Zombieland) as Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans (He was actually Xenophillius Lovegood in Harry Potter and Nicky’s oldest brother in Little Nicky, because that was my favorite Adam Sandler movie) as The Lizard. It’s got a lot of promise, despite what I may or may not think about the new costume. And hey, if it’s really awful, then maybe Marvel will be able to get the license back from Sony and we’ll see him woven into the Marvel Movieverse! Total win/win!

The Dark Knight Rises – July 20th

Oh man, talk about saving the best for the last! As you should all know by now, Batman is my favorite character of ever. Like seriously, I have a tattoo of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy with “Bat Nerd” written on a banner. My fandom goes over the upper limit on this one. Christopher Nolan has taken a broken and dying franchise of films, and made us forget what the name Schumacher means to the Batverse (Well, almost). Batman Begins continues to be one of my favorite movies of all time, The Dark Knight was critically praised and applauded by nearly everyone (I say nearly because there was probably one or two grouches who refused to comply with “mainstream” attitudes towards the movie) and just like the last two movies I’ve mentioned in this article, The Dark Knight Rises has a lot riding on it. Not many films have amazing sequels, and even fewer have amazing threequels (pardon the term, but it seemed right, I apologize). And the last time we saw Bane as a villain was in one of those aforementioned Joel Schumacher movies, not a terribly good sign. Well that’s where you’re wrong! Look at what Nolan has done with the last two movies and the images and characterizations we’re hearing regarding Bane, and even Catwoman. It sounds like it’ll fit perfectly into the universe he’s helped form. I have the highest hopes for this film as do many others, and  you can expect to see me on the midnight opening for this movie.

Those are the movies I’m sure we’re all waiting to see with baited breath and Avengers/Spider-man/batman shirts waiting to be worn on release day. But what if you don’t care about these movies? What if there’s something other comics related movies that you want to see? Well I’ve got them! There’s G.I Joe: Retaliation, Ghost Rider and The Hobbit! There’s also loads more than is speculated to come out this year (most notably Dark Tower, the Stephen King series, although it has no attached release date yet). Oh it will be a glorious year in comics and movies. Oh yes it will!

Until next time comic fans, I’m gonna go polish off my copies of Batman Begins and Dark Knight, and lock myself in a closet with a laptop until The Dark Knight Rises comes out! Happy reading!

But what about the percentage of readers who aren’t “Wednesday Warriors” and prefer to wait for the collected editions? Well, the wait is almost over, as they will begin rolling out this spring!

Check out the full list of release dates for Hadcovers and Softercovers, and which Issues are in each!

Coming in May 2012:

JUSTICE LEAGUE VOLUME 1: ORIGIN HC
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Jim Lee and Scott Williams
Collects: JUSTICE LEAGUE #1-6
$24.99 US, 176 pg

ANIMAL MAN VOLUME 1: THE HUNT TP
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artists: Travel Foreman, Jeff Huet and John Paul Leon
Collects: ANIMAL MAN #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

BATMAN VOLUME 1: THE COURT OF OWLS HC
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artists: Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion
Collects: BATMAN #1-7
$24.99 US, 176 pg

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL VOLUME 1: THE SIGNAL MASTERS TP
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Aaron Lopresti, Matt Ryan and Marco Castiello
Collects: JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

GREEN LANTERN VOL. 1: SINESTRO HC
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Collects: GREEN LANTERN #1-6
$24.99 US, 160 pg

CATWOMAN VOLUME 1: THE GAME TP
Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Guillem March
Collects: CATWOMAN #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

STORMWATCH VOLUME 1: THE DARK SIDE TP
Writer: Paul Cornell
Artists: Miguel Sepulveda and Al Barrionuevo
Collects: STORMWATCH #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

GREEN ARROW VOLUME 1: THE MIDAS TOUCH TP
Writers: J.T. Krul, Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens
Artists: Dan Jurgens, George Pérez, Ignacio Calero and Ray McCarthy
Collects: GREEN ARROW #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

WONDER WOMAN VOLUME 1: BLOOD HC
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artists: Cliff Chiang and Tony Akins
Collects: WONDER WOMAN #1-6
$24.99 US, 160 pg

Coming in June 2012:

BATMAN, DETECTIVE COMICS VOLUME 1: FACES OF DEATH HC
Writer: Tony S. Daniel
Artists: Tony S. Daniel, Ryan Winn and Sandu Florea
Collects: DETECTIVE COMICS #1-7
$24.99 US, 176 pg

RED LANTERNS VOLUME 1: BLOOD AND RAGE TP
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artists: Ed Benes, Rob Hunter and Diego Bernard
Collects: RED LANTERNS #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

BATWOMAN VOL. 1: HYDROLOGY HC
Writers: J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman
Artist: J.H. Williams III and Amy Reeder
Collects: BATWOMAN #0-5
$22.99 US, 144 pg

MISTER TERRIFIC VOL. 1: MIND GAMES TP
Writer: Eric Wallace
Artists: Giancarlo Gugliotta, Wayne Faucher, Scott Clark, Dave Beaty and Oliver Nome
Collects: MISTER TERRIFIC #1-8
$16.99 US, 192 pg

FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE VOLUME 1: WAR OF THE MONSTERS TP
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Alberto Ponticelli
Collects: FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

STATIC SHOCK VOL. 1: SUPERCHARGED TP
Writer: Scott McDaniel and John Rozum
Artists: Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens
Collects: STATIC SHOCK #1-8
$16.99 US, 192 pg

LEGION OF SUPERHEROES VOLUME 1: HOSTILE WORLD TP
Writer: Paul Levitz
Artists: Francis Portela, Walter Simonson and Dan Green
Collects: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

Coming in July 2012:

BATMAN AND ROBIN VOLUME 1: BORN TO KILL HC
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artists: Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray
Collects: BATMAN AND ROBIN #1-8
$22.99 US, 192 pg

SUICIDE SQUAD VOLUME 1: KICKED IN THE TEETH TP
Writer: Adam Glass
Artists: Federico Dallocchio, Tom Raney and Clayton Henry
Collects: SUICIDE SQUAD #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

BATGIRL VOLUME 1: THE DARKEST REFLECTION HC
Writer: Gail Simone
Artists: Ardian Syaf and Vicente Sifuentes
Collects: BATGIRL #1-6
$22.99 US, 144 pg

DEMON KNIGHTS VOLUME 1: SEVEN AGAINST THE DARK TP
Writer: Paul Cornell
Artists: Diogenes Neves, Oclair Albert and Mike Choi
Collects: DEMON KNIGHTS #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

BATWING VOLUME 1: THE LOST KINGDOM TP
Writer: Judd Winick
Artists: Ben Oliver and ChrisCross
Collects: BATWING #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

MEN OF WAR VOL. 1: UNEASY COMPANY TP
Writers: Ivan Brandon, Jonathan Vankin, B. Clay Moore, Matt Kindt and John Arcudi
Artists: Tom Derenick, Phil Winslade, Paul McCaffrey, Patrick Scherbeger, Dan Green and Richard Corben
Collects: MEN OF WAR #1-8
$19.99 US, 256 pg

GRIFTER VOLUME 1: MOST WANTED TP
Writer: Nathan Edmondson
Artists: Cafu, Jason Gorder, Scott Clark and Dave Beaty
Collects: GRIFTER #1-8
$16.99 US, 192 pg

Coming in August 2012:

SUPERMAN: ACTION COMICS VOLUME 1: SUPERMAN AND THE MEN OF STEEL HC
Writers: Grant Morrison, Sholly Fisch
Artists: Rags Morales, Rick Bryant, Brent Anderson, Gene Ha, Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang
Collects: ACTION COMICS #1-8
$24.99 US, 200 pg

SUPERBOY VOLUME 1: INCUBATION TP
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artists: R.B. Silva and Rob Lean
Collects: SUPERBOY #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

DEATHSTROKE VOLUME 1: LEGACY TP
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Artists: Joe Bennett and Art Thibert
Collects: DEATHSTROKE #1-8
$16.99 US, 192 pg

O.M.A.C. VOL. 1: OMACTIVATE! TP
Writers: Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen
Artists: Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish
Collects: O.M.A.C. #1-8
$16.99 US, 192 pg

HAWK AND DOVE VOL. 1: FIRST STRIKES TP
Writers: Sterling Gates and Rob Liefeld
Artist: Rob Liefeld
Collects: HAWK AND DOVE #1-8
$16.99 US, 192 pg

SWAMP THING VOLUME 1: RAISE THEM BONES TP
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artists: Yanick Paquette, Victor Ibanez and Marco Rudy
Collects: SWAMP THING #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

RESURRECTION MAN VOLUME 1: DEAD AGAIN TP
Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artists: Fernando Dagnino and Fernando Blanco
Collects: RESURRECTION MAN #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

Coming in September 2012:

AQUAMAN VOLUME 1: THE TRENCH HC
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Ivan Reis and Joe Prado
Collects: AQUAMAN #1-6
$22.99 US, 144 pg

TEEN TITANS VOLUME 1: IT’S OUR RIGHT TO FIGHT TP
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artists: Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund
Collects: TEEN TITANS #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

BIRDS OF PREY VOLUME 1: TROUBLE IN MIND TP
Writer: Duane Swierczynski
Artists: Jesus Saiz and Javier Pina
Collects: BIRDS OF PREY #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN VOLUME 1: GOD PARTICLE TP
Writers: Gail Simone and Ethan Van Sciver
Artist: Yildiray Cinar and Norm Rapmund
Collects: THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

GREEN LANTERN CORPS VOLUME 1: FEARSOME HC
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artists: Fernando Pasarin, Scott Hanna and Geraldo Borges
Collects: GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1-7
$22.99 US, 160 pg

LEGION LOST VOLUME 1: RUN FROM TOMORROW TP
Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Artist: Pete Woods
Collects: LEGION LOST #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

VOODOO VOLUME 1: WHAT LIES BENEATH TP
Writers: Ron Marz and Josh Williamson
Artists: Sami Basri and Hendry Prasetya
Collects: VOODOO #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

Coming in October 2012:

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT VOL. 1: KNIGHT TERRORS HC
Writer: Paul Jenkins and David Finch
Artists: David Finch and Richard Friend
Collects: BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #1-9
$24.99 US, 208 pg

I, VAMPIRE VOLUME 1: TAINTED LOVE TP
Writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
Collects: I, VAMPIRE #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK VOL. 1: IN THE DARK TP
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Collects: JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

NIGHTWING VOLUME 1: TRAPS AND TRAPEZES TP
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Artists: Eddy Barrows, J.P. Mayer, Paulo Siqueria and Trevor McCarthy
Collects: NIGHTWING #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS VOLUME 1: THE RING BEARER HC
Writer: Tony Bedard
Artists: Tyler Kirkham, Harvey Talibao and Batt
Collects: GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #1-7
$22.99 US, 160 pg

SUPERGIRL VOL. 1: THE LAST DAUGHTER OF KRYPTON TP
Writer: Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Artist: Mahmud Asrar
Collects: SUPERGIRL #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN VOLUME 1: DARKNESS RISING TP
Writer: Tony S. Daniel and James Bonny
Artist: Philip Tan
Collects: THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #1-8
$14.99 US, 192 pg

ALL-STAR WESTERN VOLUME 1: GUNS AND GOTHAM TP
Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti
Artists: Moritat, Jordi Bernet and Phil Winslade
Collects: ALL-STAR WESTERN #1-6
$16.99 US, 192 pg

Coming in November 2012:

THE FLASH VOLUME 1: MOVE FORWARD HC
Writers: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato
Artist: Francis Manapul
Collects: THE FLASH #1-8
$22.99 US, 192 pg

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS VOLUME 1: REDemption TP
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Kenneth Rocafort
Collects: RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

SUPERMAN VOLUME 1: WHAT PRICE TOMORROW? HC
Writer: George Perez
Artists: George Perez, Jesus Merino, Nicola Scott and Trevor Scott
Collects: SUPERMAN #1-6
$22.99 US, 144 pg

BLUE BEETLE VOLUME 1: METAMORPHOSIS TP
Writer: Tony Bedard
Artists: Ig Guara and J.P. Mayer
Collects: BLUE BEETLE #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg

BLACKHAWKS VOLUME 1: THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD TP
Writer: Mike Costa
Artists: Ken Lashley, Graham Nolan, Norm Rapmund, Cafu and Bit
Collects: BLACKHAWKS #1-8
$16.99 US, 192 pg

CAPTAIN ATOM VOLUME 1: EVOLUTION TP
Writer: J.T. Krul
Artist: Freddie Williams II
Collects: CAPTAIN ATOM #1-7
$14.99 US, 160 pg

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS VOLUME 1 featuring DEADMAN & CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN TP
Writers: Paul Jenkins, Dan DiDio and Jerry Ordway
Artists: Bernard Chang and Jerry Ordway
Collects: DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #1-8
$16.99 US, 192 pg

If you have any love for Batman whatsoever I implore you to grab this while it’s marked down from its original 5.99 price point. It plays a lot like the famed Infinity Blade (another iOS great) and serves as a prequel to Batman: Arkham City. Did I mention that it’s by the same developers who made the most recent Mortal Kombat?

The inmates of Arkham have escaped -again- and it’s up to Batman to put them in their place. How? By going around and beating the snot out of them, one by one, of course. With every battle you’ll gain XP to upgrade your gadgets and combat abilities. You can even play dress-up with Batman with extra costumes. Running around punching dudes just isn’t the same unless you can look fabulous at the same time.

So, not only does the game  look fantastic, but the boss battles in this game are some of the best I’ve seen from any mobile game. I won’t give away just how they play out, but they’re something special.

If you still can’t get enough of the world of Batman: Arkham City, feel free to drop by our East or West locations for the Arkham City graphic novel. It’ll help fill in even more of the story leading up towards the events of the hit console title while being an awesome Batman adventure in it’s own right.

For a similar story you can even pick-up the Batman: No Man’s Land trade paperback. After an earthquake has caused an evacuation of Gotham’s citizens all of the villains and gangs lay claim to the abandoned city. Batman works with Commissioner Gordon to reclaim the city after Bruce Wayne attempted (and failed) to not have the city cut off. Already seems a lot like the plot for Arkham City, no?

Back to the gaming front, did you know that there are even more fantastic comic-book themed/superhero mobile games out there? Here are some you should definitely be checking out:

1. Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem (iPhone/iTouch, iPad, Android) Positively one of the best Spider-Man games that currently exists. A unique story and classic villains combine with the design of the Ultimate universe to create an action/brawler that I could not put down until the very end.
2. ZDAY Survival Simulator (iOS, Universal) Wonder how you’d fare in a zombie universe not so unlike that of The Walking Dead? Try your hand at a zombie survival game that resembles the old-school “choose your own adventure” books of the 90s.
3. Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (iOS, Universal) In the essence of the “runner” style of games, control Captain America as he charges through the Red Skulls fortress to rescue his captured comrades.
4. Thor: Son of Asgard (iOS, Universal) Control Thor in an original story and protect Asgard from an invasion. For a game in the style of Hero of Sparta (which itself is a God of War clone), it provides a solid hammer-bashing experience on the go.
5. Superman (iPhone/iTouch, iPad) Fly around the city as the Man of Steel and combat threats as they’re thrown at you. With an original story and action aplenty, Superman fans are sure to get their fill.

Hopefully I’ve given you some worthy material to play through during your comic breaks. Sometimes it just seems like they don’t come out often enough. And, as always, be sure to stop by the 4th Wall for comics featuring all these characters and more!

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!

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.

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

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.)

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!

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