Comic Features

Morning Glories: Best New Series or Biggest Fraud?

Where do I begin with Morning Glories? The first issue sold out, the second printing sold out, the third printing sold out, the second issue sold out, the second printing for the second issue sold out, the third issue sold out and probably the fourth as well. Then there’s the comparison of “Morning Glories” and “Bad Kids Go To Hell.” So the question is, is there any validity to the claims? Well I can say yes and no.

“Bad Kids Go To Hell” is basically Breakfast Club and Scream mixed with a twist of supernatural. Five high school students at a private school are serving out a Saturday detention when they begin dying one by one, leaving the only kid that isn’t super rich alive to figure out the mystery happening at the school and the Native American burial site it sits upon.

Top 10 Objects In Comics

Here are some of the coolest objects in comics! No matter how odd, no matter how cool, and how unused it might be I’ve got information on what objects are the greatest in comics!

10. Kryptonite

Kryptonite first appeared in Superman #61 on December of 1949. It was introduced when Superman decided to go take a trip to his (now dead) home planet, Krypton. The world soon found out that Krypton could weaken or even kill Superman; The Prankster was the first human being to encounter Superman with Kryptonite. This is one of the most common DC Comics object; that has had 335 appearances. Lex Luthor found out the hard way that it could give him cancer. However, lets save this story for another day?

Holiday’s and Superheroes

Since it’s the Thanksgiving season, I’ve got a very special treat for this specific holiday. As we all know Thanksgiving is when we get to spend time with are friends and family, and be thankful for what has happened to us at this specific point in time. However, what about the Superheroes? They have special skills, abilities, and responsibilities that govern them to spend their time fighting the good fight against evil instead of spending time with family. So do heroes get holiday seasons off to just kick back, relax and spend time with their fellow heroes and family?

The Man Named Deadman!

With Boston Brand being the main star of Brightest Day, have you ever wanted to know more about this ghost of a hero named Deadman? Well now’s your chance to get to know the acrobatic hero who has helped more people in his life as a ghost, than alive!

Deadman was created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Carmine Infantino in mid October of 1967. The character first appeared in the 205^th issue of Strange Adventures. Boston Brand operated under the acrobatic name, the sensational Deadman, while as a human working at Haley’s Circus. Before the events of Crisis On Infinite Earth’s, Boston Brand wasn’t a jerk like he is portrayed in modern times. When Boston was killed by a man named The Hook, his final words were “… Gee from up here the guy with a hook for a hand actually looks like he has a gun”! And with those final words, Boston Brand was killed. The only reason Boston Brand became Deadman is because, a being named Rama-Kushna wanted Boston to get his justice against the man who had murdered him.

Comic Book Terminology – Part 3

Welcome once again to the third and final edition of Comic Book Terminology! If you need a refresher be sure to read the first two articles here and here. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover so let’s get started.

CGC – This stands for Certified Guaranty Company. It’s a business that rates the comics, coins and other collectables and places a number rating on it based on a scale of ten (kind of like our review system). They  judge a comic on basically what condition it’s in and that can make it worth more or sometimes less. They then place it in a hard casing that shows its rating. Let’s say you have Walking Dead #2 but it’s a bit beat up, you send it to CGC and they send it back with a rating of a 5.8. That means it’s still okay but it’s not that great and there’s probably better out there. Well now you try to sell it but no one wants a 5.8 they want an 8 or higher. That’s the gamble of CGC is that what might sell regardless without a rating might not sell as well with a rating. Usually this is the case with older books but then lower numbers are more acceptable for a book that’s been around 70 years. Most commonly you’ll hear people throw around the numbers saying, “It’s a Batman 700 cgc 9.6” meaning it’s in good shape but there’s probably a 9.8 out there. 10.0’s and 9.9’s are rare in the CGC world. Regardless of number the cost of getting something CGC’d always raises the price tag on the issue above that of a non-CGC’d issue.

Batman, The Dark Knight Of The World

With all six-issues of Return Of Bruce Wayne completed. Grant Morrison has revealed the story of Bruce coming back from five time lines, and finally arriving in modern times. Now since this event is over do you know what got Bruce Wayne to this point? Well now is your chance to get the inside news on Bruce; going from Dark Knight Of Gotham City, to Dark Knight of the World!

All of this started in Grant Morrison’ s Batman R.I.P., Batman #676. When Bruce was about to battle the insane criminal Dr. Hurt, he was going to destroy Bruce’s entire legacy that he has created over the years. When you think of Dr. Hurt you think of two things: 1) Dr. Hurt has an insane criminal mind like Batman’s other greatest opponent, the Joker. Dr. Hurt will go to great lengths to corrupt Batman and make him fall into madness. However, the Dark Knight has been training his mind for years to never cross the line. 2) Hurt is almost the dark reflection of Batman. While he constantly tries to convince Bruce that he is Thomas Wayne back from the dead, he can also be Bruce’s dark reflection in a cracked mirror.

What Ever Happened to Image Comics?

Back in the day Image used to give companies Marvel and DC a run for their money. It was now the Big Three, not the Big Two. But over the last decade, the Image fandom has fallen largely and they no longer stand out like they used to. Whatever happened to Image?

Brief History

In the early 1990s, several freelance illustrators that were doing popular work for Marvel Comics grew annoyed with the company’s policies and practices. A main complaint was that they were only being paid standard rates, with low royalties with their heavily merchandised artwork and new characters. Upon approaching the Marvel President, Terry Stewart, they asked for more but he refused to meet their demands.

Character Affinity : Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn is a character that, as an average reader, usually knows nothing about, but she has a lot of dedicated followers that love her zany personality and actions. A lot of people still don’t know who Harley Quinn is, but her history is collected here to get you familiar with the beloved cupid of crime.

Harley Quinn is one of those rare characters that was first on television before making the jump to comics. She first appeared in Batman: the Animated Series. The writers, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, were originally only going to put her in one episode entitled “Joker’s Favor.” They had no idea that Harley Quinn would become such a hit with fans. She was a huge success and they continued to use her in the series as Joker’s sidekick. It was not too long after that when she appeared in the comic book world. She first appeared in “The Batman Adventures #12” published in 1993 teaming up with her now long-time friend Poison Ivy in a battle against Batgirl.

Five Batman Stories Relevant in the Modern Era

If you’re one of the many comic fans reading and waiting for Bruce Wayne’s return to the DC universe, then you may have noticed that there’s a lot of Bat-business going on in the DCU. So what better way to celebrate Bruce’s return then to look at five story lines that are relevant in this modern age of the Batman. The P.A.C. (Player Affinity Comics) team sat down and picked out some of our favorite Bat story lines to share with our readers.

Batman : R.I.P.

A six-issue story line that started in Batman #676 on April 23, 2008, Batman is on one of his greatest cases. Superstar writer Grant Morrison and artist Tony Daniel, make the unforgettable story of Batman’s epic battle against Dr. Hurt and the Black Hand. Tony Daniel’s artwork for this story line is different from his modern Batman. If you’ve been reading some of Tony Daniel’s stories of Batman and have seen his artwork you can really tell the difference. This battle against the Black Hand is the defining point that makes Batman the character he is today. Readers whom like Grant’s style of writing and originality will personally enjoy this story about Batman’s last (but not final) case. This issue concludes in Batman #681, and has many story lines attached to plot.

Comic Book Terminology – Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of Comic Book Terminology, you’re guide to understanding the world of comics without having to put in the time at the comic shop asking questions and waiting to be belittled. Today we’ll dig into the art side of terms and how the art really effects the value of an issue. As per the usual, leave a comment adding anything we may have missed. It’s been a while, so let’s get started!

Photo Reference – As you may have guessed this is an art term. It means that the artist has used a photo to draw what you see on the page. It can be anything from a park bench to a city landscape to something even more specific like a person performing an action or a landmark specific to a town/city. Photo reference is still very controversial in comics, some believe that it’s just tracing and that the artist shouldn’t be given credit while others feel that it’s acceptable to help meet monthly deadlines and is still valid work. You can choose for yourself as there are a lot of takes on this argument to be found on the interweb.