New Marvel and Indie Comics Releasing Wednesday, January 13th!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #57
(W) Nick Spencer (A/CA) Mark Bagley
• Spider-Man continues to pick up the pieces and try to put his life together.
• But many of the gathering storms are swirling more and more violently…
• We want to tell you more but it WOULD SPOIL SO MUCH OF LAST REMAINS!!!
Rated T+
CHRIS CLAREMONT ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1
(W) Chris Claremont (A) Brett Booth, Bill Sienkiewicz, More (CA) Salvador Larroca
Celebrate Chris Claremont’s enormous impact on your favorite Marvel comics of the past five decades with an all-new story! Dani Moonstar is drafted for a mission across time and space for an incredible psychic showdown against the Shadow King-joining forces with characters created and defined by the pen of Chris Claremont!
Rated T+
CIMMERIAN FROST GIANTS DAUGHTER #2
(W) Robert E. Howard, Robin Recht (A) Robin Recht (CA) Miguel Mercado
Robert E. Howard’s Conan is brought to life UNCENSORED! Discover the true Conan, unrestrained, violent, and sexual. Read the story as he intended!
The enchanting, red-haired beauty of Atali, the frost-giant’s daughter, has awoken Conan’s lust. As she repeatedly taunts him, he doggedly chases her for miles across the snow-covered territory, looking to capture her. Mocking him with each step, Atali attempts to lure the Cimmerian into an ambush. But she will soon find he is not so easy to be fooled…or conquered.
HAHA #1
(W) W. Maxwell Price (A/CA) Vanesa R. Del Rey
ICE CREAM MAN writer W. MAXWELL PRINCE brings his signature style of one-shot storytelling to the world of clowns-and he’s invited SOME OF THE COMIC INDUSTRY’S BEST ARTISTS to join him for the ride.
HAHA is a genre-jumping, throat-lumping look at the sad, scary, hilarious life of those who get paid to play the fool-but these ain’t your typical jokers.
With issues drawn by VANESA DEL REY (REDLANDS), GABRIEL WALTA (Vision), ROGER LANGRIDGE (Thor), and more, HAHA peeks under the big top, over the rainbow, and even inside a balloon to tell a wide-ranging slew of stories about “funny” men and women, proving that some things are so sad you just have to laugh.
HOME SICK PILOTS #2
(W) Dan Watters (A/CA) Caspar Wijngaard
The Old James House has lost its ghosts. With her new powers, it’s up to Ami to bring them back…whether they want to come home or not. Even when they’re really big ghosts wrapped in metal, with lots of sharp edges and things.
IMMORTAL HULK #42
(W) Al Ewing (A) Joe Bennett, Adam Gorham, Rachael Stott (CA) Alex Ross
• At the year’s end, costs are counted – by Jackie McGee, Eugene Judd…and Samuel Sterns.
• All the Leader’s plans have finally come together in what may be his greatest triumph. But is that enough…
• …or will the ONE BELOW ALL claim his due?
Rated T+
KING IN BLACK GWENOM VS CARNAGE #1 (OF 3)
(W) Seanan McGurie (A) Flaviano (CA) Ken Lashley
GWEN STACY ENTERS THE FRAY AGAINST THE KING IN BLACK!
Bonded to a synthetic symbiote from another reality, GHOST-SPIDER, aka Gwen Stacy of Earth-65, is unique among the webslingers of the multiverse!
But when KNULL descends on her adopted home, his gravity well of dark psychic energy will reap unforeseen consequences not only on Gwen, but on her symbiotic suit as well!
KING IN BLACK THUNDERBOLTS #1 (OF 3)
(W) Matthew Rosenberg (A) Juan Ferreyra (CA) Kyle Hotz
KINGPIN’S KILLERS VERSUS AN ARMY OF UNKILLABLE DRAGONS!
An army of evil space dragons have come to attack Earth and are starting with New York. MAYOR FISK has a plan for that. Assembling a group of killers, mercenaries, and just generally pretty horrible people like TASKMASTER, RHINO, STAR, MR. FEAR, and BATROC THE LEAPER, Mayor Fisk tasks them with saving the city or die trying…or die right then and there. The fate of the entire world may rest in the hands of the absolute worst people in the Marvel Universe. What could go wrong?
Rated T+
MARAUDERS #17
(W) Gerry Duggan (A) Matteo Lolli (CA) Russell Dauterman
REMATCH!
Storm versus Calisto. This time, it’s personal.
Rated T+
MIGHTY MORPHIN #3
(W) Ryan Parrott (A) Marco Renna (CA) In-Hyuk Lee
* Two New Series. Two New Teams. The UNLIMITED POWER ERA continues with a shocking betrayal by a member of the Mighty Morphin team…
* …but WHY?
* With the Mighty Morphin team in disarray, Lord Zedd makes his deadliest attack yet – and no one is ready for what he’s got planned!
ORIGINS #3 (OF 6)
(W) Clay Chapman (A/CA) Jakub Rebelka
* Chloe and David have discovered a lost city, populated by the robot servants of long dead humanity.
* But now that they’ve encountered their first human being in over a century, will they help Chloe and David – or become their enemies?
RED SONJA THE SUPERPOWERS #1
(W) Dan Abnett (A) Jonathan Lau (CA) Lucio Parrillo
FIRST STUNNING ISSUE! The She-Devil With A Sword has battled barbarians, scuffled with sorcerers, and mananged magical creatures of all sizes. But when a collective of superheroes from THE PROJECT enter her world, will Sonja know how to adjust to their foreign ways, before they all kill each other?
Sword-and-sandal meets glittering superhero sci-fi, courtesy of superstar DAN ABNETT (Legion Of Superheroes) and JONATHAN LAU (Red Sonja)!
…and be sure to pick up Sonja’s sister series, VAMPIRELLA: THE DARK POWERS also on sale this month!
SPACE BASTARDS #1
(W) Joe Aubrey, Eric Peterson (A) Darick Robertson
Acclaimed artist Darick Robertson (The Boys, HAPPY!) joins writers Eric Peterson and Joe Aubrey as they unleash the galaxy’s most vicious and depraved…parcel couriers?
Poor David S. Proton. A meek, unemployed accountant desperate for money, he joins the Intergalactic Postal Service, paired with Manny Corns, a.k.a. “The Manicorn,” a sardonic brute who thrives on the competition provided by the IPS. But delivery is mercenary for these intergalactic dispatchers-payment goes solely to whoever fulfills the delivery, making every run a comically violent free-for-all between the most ruthless degenerates in the cosmos. Stand back, Lobo! Make way, Han Solo — here come the Space Bastards!
STAR WARS DARTH VADER #9
(W) Greg Pak (A) Raffaele Ienco (CA) Aaron Kuder
THE ASSASSIN RETURNS!
• In his search for vengeance in the depths of MUSTAFAR, DARTH VADER has seized the mysterious key to the EMPEROR’S greatest secret.
• But the key itself needs a key – which only the deadly assassin OCHI OF BESTOON seems to have. Vader and Ochi are in for the fight of their lives with the fate of the Emperor in the balance – but how much of this is all PALPATINE’S plan?
• And what happens when the SITH LORD and the SITH ASSASSIN start to figure that plan out?
SWORD #2 KIB
(W) Al Ewing (A) Valerio Schiti (CA) Russell Dauterman
WHAT IS PROTOCOL V?
The S.W.O.R.D. station is thrown in at the deep end of a planetary crisis as Krakoa battles the KING IN BLACK! While a cross-division team take on latex dragons from outer space, Abigail Brand prepares a deniable operation all her own. What is PROTOCOL V – and can the Earth survive it?
Rated T+
THAT TEXAS BLOOD TP VOL 01
(W) Chris Condon (A/CA) Jacob Phillips
ADVANCE SOLICIT
Sheriff Joe Bob Coates questions his effectiveness as the aging lawman of Ambrose County, Texas as chaos descends following an explosive highway confrontation and the mysterious death of local rogue Travis Terrill. Michael Lark (LAZARUS, Daredevil) calls the series “The best damn comic I’ve read in years.”
Collects THAT TEXAS BLOOD #1-6
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Pop 45! Moment #9: WINNING THE EISNER AWARD![]()
The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award.![]()
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In 1996, the most prestigious award that was available in the comic book business was "The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award", named for the comic book writer, artist, and genius, Will Eisner. I wanted this award!![]()
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Ken Carson tackled this big project for That's Entertainment. He got right to work and within a short time he got us nominated for "The Eisner." That was the easy part! Now we had to convince the panel of judges that we deserved to win this. We were required to submit documentation about our physical location and the quality of our store image, our inventory, our support of small and innovative publishers, our community activity, our customer service policies, and much more!![]()
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Ken needed to include some "visual aids" with the package for the judges to consider so he began to collect some of the old photographs and articles from local newspapers. He also came up with the idea to enlist the help of two of our loyal customers to produce a short videotape movie about the store. Memo Salazar and Aaron Banyai were both talented filmmakers and they had a clever sense of humor. I had been involved in minor parts of two previous film projects of Memo's; one was a very funny look at a local county fair and the other was a low-budget, full-length movie in which I portrayed the owner of a comic bookstore (what a stretch!). My "big" scene was filmed in our Fitchburg store one night after we closed and although the finished scene was only about four minutes long, it took almost an hour to film. Although I was snubbed by the Academy of Motion Pictures (and didn't even get an Oscar nomination!), it was still fun to be part of the movie-making process.![]()
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Memo offered his creative gifts to make a short video about our store. He filmed the store building, the displays of new comics, back issues, and collectibles. He interviewed customers who were willing to give testimonials about our service and vast inventory. He filmed some of our employees as they described their function in the That's Entertainment hierarchy. I was filmed describing our decades of experience in the comic book hobby and business and our commitment to expanding the community awareness of both the comic book industry and our stores. Memo used a clever technique to try to convey the huge size of our store to the viewers. He placed himself on a wheeled cart and filmed while Aaron moved the cart up the aisles so the whole length of our retail space was apparent. When Memo finished editing the film, Ken packaged up the videotape, all the pictures, testimonial letters, and documentation needed for the panel of judges. We didn't win.![]()
After our narrow "defeat" in 1996, we were honored by being nominated again in 1997, and with a little additional information, we won The Will Eisner Spirit Of Comics Retailing Award at Comic-Con International: San Diego '97. A few weeks later I received the beautiful statue and the award certificate in the mail. Our business was now recognized internationally for its passion and dedication to our customers and comic books!![]()
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#thatsentertainment #pop45 #pop45countdown
Have you checked out the comics in our comics display case lately? We filled it with lots of gems, including Marvel Comics Mystery No.49, graded 4.5, $4,999.99. We also have a San Diego ComicCon exclusive comic from 1993, featuring the first appearance of Hellboy, graded 9.6, $364.99. Stop in to scope out these books and many others!
Pop 45 Countdown: Moment #10![]()
America’s Longest Running Amateur Comic Book ![]()
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Way back in 1965, when I was a young ten-year-old kid, I created a comic book superhero called Insect Man. Rex Mason (secretly Insect Man!) fought crime in crudely-drawn comic book adventures that I shared with my classmates. These small comic books were popular with the other kids and a few of us even played “superheroes” and “villains” during our recess time! I wrote and drew the Insect Man comic books for quite a few years but as life got busier I stopped producing new adventures of Insect Man. Then I opened our comic book and collectible store. ![]()
One of my customers, Peter Fries, asked if I’d be interested in resuming publication of the comic book series. He had created a new super-hero team called “The Defensors” and he wanted to feature them in the new Insect Man comic books. Peter wrote and drew a three-issue storyline and we began publishing Insect Man again. We had these issues offset printed in black and white and we sold quite a lot of them in our store. Some of my other customers began to write and draw stories too. Dan Courtney and Chris Coleman created a few issues about a new super-hero named “Silverlion.” I enjoyed publishing these stories but these issues didn’t feature my character of Insect Man. Another customer, Larry Young, wrote and drew a story that would feature the exciting return of Insect Man! He designed a new costume and this issue was an instant hit! We sold out of every copy we printed! Larry didn’t have time to do any more issues but David M. Lynch stepped up and began writing the new Insect Man comics.![]()
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Over the next few years, we had many other people draw the Insect Man comics including Ken Carson, William Byrd, Gary Henderson, Holly Hunt, and more! The local newspapers wrote articles about “Worcester’s Own Super-Hero!” and sales increased on our Insect Man comics. Eventually, since Insect Man had become our official store mascot, we decided to commemorate his 25th anniversary by publishing a real, full-size comic book that was distributed all over the country! We had a full-color front cover by popular artist, Rick Vietch, and a great back cover by Kevin Eastman, the co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! ![]()
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Twenty-five years later we published the Insect Man 50th Anniversary Edition. It has a full-color front cover by the legendary artist, Gene Colan (artist of Marvel Comics Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Sub-Mariner, and more!) and a back cover by Andy Fish (artist of Dark Horse Comics Blackwood, Archie’s Sabrina, and many more!) We’ve produced over 115 different issues of Insect Man comics over the past fifty years!![]()
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To find out more about my life in comics, visit my blog at:![]()
mylifewithcomicbooks.blogspot.com/.../my-life-with...![]()
#thatsentertainmentpop45countdown #comics #comicshopnews #thatsentertainment #insectman #worcesterma
Join us for our upcoming Magic the Gathering Pre-release, Tarkir: Dragonstorm!![]()
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#TarkirDragonstorm #mtgcommunity #magicthegathering #tarkir #mtgprerelease #worcestermahobby #GameStores #thatsentertainment
Pop 45 Countdown ![]()
Moment #11: Chandler Lives!![]()
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Around 2007, Ken and our marketer Evan felt we needed a bold and distinctive LOGO as part of branding our burgeoning “Pop-Culture Emporium.” Now I always considered the name “That’s Entertainment” displayed in the Broadway typeface to be our logo; I also felt that my own superhero, Insect Man, could continue to be used as a mascot/logo—it was a cool image our COMIC fans had come to associate with "The Friendly COMIC Shop" (for many years, Insect Man as drawn by Willie Blyberg was featured on our store bags). But the guys wanted something that would more fully represent the entire DIVERSIFIED, one-stop pop-culture and entertainment store we had become.![]()
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They sat down and brainstormed with a designer we know named Ken Racicot, who really helped them develop and refine their ideas. Before too long they had a rough concept and design figured out, and they turned to another old friend of the store, artist Derek Ring, to “bring it all home.” I’ve mentioned Derek before as the creator of a comic called “Monster.” By this time, Derek’s art and design career had really taken off, his distinctive work was everywhere, and he was in HIGH demand! We knew we were incredibly fortunate to connect with an artist of his caliber!![]()
Derek presented us with many interesting variations of the basic idea of a retro-looking Robot surrounded by an explosion of pop-culture! Emailing back and forth with him, Evan and Ken made a bunch of choices and suggested some revisions and additions to the preliminary designs. A few of these different “directions” are shown in the image below! You’ll see that some of the decisions to be made about the overall “look” of the logo were dramatic, and others were more subtle-- including even what his "smile" would look like! ![]()
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The FINAL version of the That’s Entertainment Robot logo as we know it today arrived by email one morning. Ken recalls clicking on the image file attachment and spontaneously saying “WOW!” out loud as it filled the screen in full color! Derek had done an amazing job, beyond all expectations! We had our logo, and we still use it all the time!![]()
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A few years later, we decided we needed a proper NAME for the Robot. We even ran a Robot coloring contest and asked for suggestions. None of the ideas seemed on target (Roboty McRobotface??). Finally, we turned back to our ROOTS for the name he has today, the name of the street That's Entertainment started on in 1980: CHANDLER! And now you know... the REST of the story!![]()
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To find out more about my life in comics, visit my blog at:![]()
mylifewithcomicbooks.blogspot.com/.../my-life-with...![]()
#thatsentertainmentpop45countdown #comics #comicshopnews #thatsentertainment #robots #chandler
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Call now to sign up to play one or more board games at our Free Board Game Demo this Saturday, Nov. 5th! Each table will have a teacher who will show you how to play! 508-755-4207. Lots of spots still open! #boardgames #tabletopfun pic.twitter.com/FA4s…
