Sorry about the break I went out of town for a week and last week I hurt my leg but I’m on the mend now and I’m back.

Here is your spoiler warning for everyone who reads these articles.

To start off this week I have one of my guilty pleasure books. Charmed #18 is a book based off of the long running TV series. This book is great for any fan of the show it picked up a little after the show. They are really being true to the characters and letting them grow as mothers and wives. This book has recently gotten really good because of the inclusion of Cole and the fact that Prue has been reincarnated. In the last issue the sisters found Prue so it will be amazing to fallout from the sisters meeting again. There is only supposed to be a Power of Three. What will happen now with the Power of Four?

So from talking to our customers at the South County location one of the favorite books from the new 52 has been Animal Man. This week Animal Man #6 is coming out and I don’t know about you guys but I can’t wait. While for me sometimes the art during “normal” scenes has left me wanting the story makes up for it ten times over. It’s great to see how his family really interacts and is a part of this book. I’m hoping that the crossover event with Swamp thing will soon come to be. In both books they are fighting the Rot and it will be great to see how the Red and Green can join together to overcome it. The storylines kind of remind me of how Green Lantern brought about the Light Spectrum of Corps in Blackest night and that is one of my favorite stories of all time (So I know why I enjoy this). We left off in both books with the Rot gaining power so I want to see how the Red in Animal can try and fight them off.

From Marvel this week I’m excited for Avengers X-Sanction #3. The return of Cable has been a great one for me. I like that this book is taking place in one day with Cable trying to take out the Avengers before they can do something to Hope. This along with Children’s Crusade are what I think will be the Cornerstones of Marvels big event this summer Avengers vs. X-Men. At the end of the last book the other Avengers found where cable was holding some of them and maybe we will find out more about the future through this next issue. This approaching event is starting to feel to me like it could change a lot about the Marvel Universe and shape where that company is going in the upcoming years.

The last book I’m excited for is a new series. Magic the Gathering has a huge following and it just makes sense to have a book out to help market it more. I just discovered my love of magic last year at our Friday night Magic event we have every week. Since then I’ve always been curious about some backstory to the cards. I really have no idea what this book is about but they have me wanting to know more because of the content. I know we have a lot of magic fans as customers so if you didn’t know about this book, now you do.

Happy Reading,

Josh Soto

(South County Fantasy Shop Clerk)

So the second week of the month is probably my favorite. It has a lot of great titles that are scheduled to come out. This week I will be talking about Batgirl #5, Brilliant #2, House of Night #3, and Wolverine and the X-men #4.

(Again before I start I will be talking about past issues and if you aren’t caught up I don’t want to spoil anything for you.)

So if you have ever been into the store you know of my love of all things Batgirl and with Batgirl #5 coming out this week my excitement doesn’t stop. The last issue saw the defeat of Barbara’s first villain Mirror and her first Christmas with her new roommate. The biggest shock was in the last panel when Barbara’s mother showed up at her front door. I’m really interested to see what role Barbara’s mother will play. She is a character that we don’t know much about and with the relaunch everything we do know might be wrong. Simone’s writing has been really amazing with very subtle hints to how Barbara was healed from being shot. According to Previews it looks like issue #6 will be the side of the story that we will find out exactly what happened. This issue will be the first interaction between Babs and Bruce. We saw how badly it went between Dick and Barbara so let’s hope for a better outcome for the Dark Night and Batgirl.

Now we have a book that I was scared wouldn’t come out again. Bendis & Bagley’s Brilliant #2 is a book that I’m going to hope was worth the wait. The dynamic duo came up with one of the most interesting what if’s I think I’ve ever read. What if college students invented super-powers? This statement just opens up a can of worms of questions. What would they do with them (which from the beginning of the book it looks like someone is up to no good)? How did they do it? What will the consequences be? This book is just any comic book fan’s dream. It gives us the chance to hope that maybe someday we can become the super powered heroes we read about every week. This book is full of endless possibilities and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

Next is a comic based off one of my favorite vampire books. The House of Night book series is co-written by the mother and daughter team of P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. Thankfully the two of them have brought their magic into writing this comic book miniseries and this week it’s time for House of Night #3. It seems that the miniseries takes place during or after the first book of the series. We see our heroine Zoey trying to become a great leader and having to use stories from the past to learn lessons to help her in the present. The series seems to be going through different the 5 elements (Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Spirit) that the Vampires find as sacred. By the look of the cover I think this week will be about water. I really enjoy seeing books and TV show’s I like turned into comic books. The stories are fun and touching and I really recommend if you enjoy vampire stories this is a must on your pull list.

The last book I want to talk about this week is Wolverine and the X-men #4. Last month we saw the conclusion of the new Hellfire clubs attack on the Jean Grey School. This book is so much fun to read. It is very interesting but lighthearted as well. With the introduction of Sabretooth on the final page it will be cool to see Wolverine have to protect his students from his longtime rival. With the first miniseries (Wolverine and the X-men Alpha and Omega) coming out last week I want to see if that is influencing the main book or not. Kid Omega’s help is something that will be nice to see if it can develop into him becoming an actual part of the school. This book is probably the strongest X title out right now. So if you ever wanted to jump into the X-men world this book would be a great start. Well that’s all for this week folks.

Other great books coming out are: Batwoman #5, Green Lantern #5, Magneto not a hero #3 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #5.

Now let’s hope I get to talk about Morning Glories soon.

Josh

I’ve decided that I want to contribute an article each week to our website.

Every week I look over the shipping next week list (which you can get if you get on our Email list) and I decide which books I’m most excited for so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts with our lovely customers.

(Fair warning I will reference previous issues of these comics so If you don’t want things to be spoiled for you, you might not want to read this.)

The first book I want to talk about is Angel and Faith #5 from Dark Horse. Being a Child of the 90’s I grew up loving Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So I have been reading both BTVS Season 9 and Angel and Faith and I have to say I think Angel and Faith is the better book so far. With the Murder of Giles in BTVS Season 8 this book deals with the after effect of this on Angel (who murdered him) and Faith (who grew so close to Giles he left her everything he had). The last issue was very action packed starting off with a fight with vengeful vampires and full of mystery with Angel seemingly turning into Giles. I’m excited to see where this next issue takes us. Faith has always been my favorite slayer because she seems more relatable and human than Buffy. She does her best to do what she thinks is right and I always want to root for her.

This week from DC I can’t wait to pick up Aquaman #4. Now for people who haven’t been reading the series this might come as a surprise to you but I believe Geoff Johns has completely made Aquaman an amazing superhero. Since his work on Blackest Night I’ve been really interested in Aquaman but not just because Johns knows how to write him but because of a character that in my option is a breakout star from Blackest Night. Mera is a strong and loving woman who supports her husband and makes him a better hero. She is also really able to hold her own in a fight. The series so far is dealing with the mysterious monsters that are attacking humanity from someplace in the ocean. This last issue ending with Aquaman and Mera discovering where the creatures were from “The Trench” and so like superheroes do they jumped down into the ocean and are swimming to discover what in the world is going on. The story is interesting, funny, and smart it keeps me wanting more every month. It’s going to be great to see where John’s takes this story and I’m excited to see exactly what this Trench is.

IDW has always impressed me with the variety of books that they put out. This week Star Trek #4 is the book I want to sit and read the moment I see it. Since this comic is based off of J.J Abrams movie it’s are really great supplement material to help us fans who want more but hate waiting for a sequel. I love how the books have very short story arcs. The first two issues were one and the next two are another. It’s a lot more episodic than a regular comic book. I get a whole story in just two months instead of the normal five to six. I think this is the most fulfilling book I’m reading right now because of how quickly they finish storylines.

The last book I want to talk about is Avengers Children’s Crusade #8. I just recently read the other issues of this book and all I could think was why the heck did it take me so long do so. First off it’s amazing, second it deals with such a huge event that affected the whole marvel universe (M day), and third it’s going to be one of the main lead up books to the X-Men verses Avengers even. It makes me sad that Allan Heinberg is so busy because I want him to write this all the time. He just knows how to write a teenage team as teenagers but not annoying. The last issue Dr. Doom, Wiccan and the Scarlet Witch were trying to give all of the depowered mutants their powers back and because of Patriots attempt of stopping them Doom has been given all of Wanda’s powers and is dressed all in white, healed and calling himself Victor. This book will have such a huge influence on the Marvel Universe after it is finished each issue is just never a waste of anything and it’s so great to have a book like that.

Other books I’m looking forward to this week are Flash #4, Green Lantern New Guardians #4, Teen Titans #4, Ulimate X-Men, X-Men Legacy, and Uncanny X-men. If you guys want to hear why come visit me at the South County Store and I’d love to talk to you about what books excite you as well. If you can’t see me all of our clerks are great resources to talk to. I hope you liked my article and have a Happy New Year everyone.

Happy Reading,

Josh Soto

(South County Fantasy Shop Clerk)

In the 13 and older Category:

1st Place: Spider-Man & Black Cat

2nd Place: Deadpool

In the Under 12 Category:

1st Place: The Wizard of Oz Triplets

2nd Place: Red Robin

To vote in the Costume Contest check out the participants in the following slideshows and then submit your vote HERE:

13 and Older Category:

12 and Younger Category:

Jason Aaron has the helm of the new book on the block. Wolverine & The X-Men is a really and truly great book. Honestly. It's amazing. It's everything that I think a new reader fresh off having read ... Well ... Pretty much anything is going to want. The best part is that the book is welcoming the characters in as much as it is welcoming the readers. For people who have been looking for an in-road into the world of the X-Men or mutantkind as a whole you have bever had a better opportunity.

I'm deadly serious.

This might be Marvel's best #1 of the year.

And the art is downright amazing. Chris Bachalo has long been one of my very favorite artists. Mostly from his work on Generation X and later on Steampunk. For many people his work has often proved to be too chaotic for consumption and while that is, in many ways, one of the things I love most about his work he seems to be showing the kind of restraint that is characteristic of his work as of late. Click This Image ... Seriously ... NowPerhaps it is that he has adapted as an artist, perhaps it is that he is coloring his own work lately, perhaps it is that the inking team that he works with has become more familiar with his style and has better adapted to inking his work ... I don't know. All I can say is that people who may not have been fans in the past would do themselves a favor by checking out what he is doing currently as it is not only thrilling to fans of his as it is detractors.

In short. This is a seriously good book. 

Get on it.

And, once again, if you come into the stores dressed in costume you can enter the costume contest (with a 13 and older category and a 12 and under category) AND get $5 in FREE back issues! That's 20 comics at the Saint Charles store! 20 FREE COMICS! Just for showing up in costume (The Fantasy Shop Employees hold the right to determine what is, and isn't a costume). 

The thing about Schism, the big X-Men event for this year, is that it feels like they've finally understood that big scary bad guys are certainly big and are often scary ... but what makes an X-Men event exciting is when the stitches between the closely knit band of genetic freaks starts to fray because of interpersonal issues. For example the thing that made Inferno cool wasn't that Demons found a way to establish a beachhead on Earth and cause all kinds of chaos, it was that it was all spurned by a jilted Madelyne Pryor after she learned that Scott and Jean had reunited. 

When I learned that Jason Aaron was going to be writing Schism and that it would serve as the culmination of the last several years of storylines involving, basically, the forced unity of all of Earth's mutants in order to survive after having their numbers devestated by the M-Day event, I was thrilled. Aaron was the right kind of cat to pen a story that dealt with more than just a big scary bad guy. He clearly saw that there was the potential for a growing divide between two of the most prominent mutants in the world, Cyclops and Wolverine ... and for once it wasn't over a woman.

For years readers and critics have correlated the philosophy of Professor Xavier with that of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the philosophy of Magneto with that of Malcolm X. As time has gone on and writers have seen fit those two have gone from being the forefront of mutant conflict and have transitioned to being elder statesmen of a sort. Since that transition Scott Summers has become the leader of Mutant kind. Either standing against the actions of evil mutants against society, or against the actions of humans against the whole of mutant kind. 

Gone are the days of hoping for equal civil rights for Mutantkind, now they strive for survival. So also gone is the position of Civil Rights Leader, Scott Summers has been forced to become more of a Battlefield General/Political Tactician. Gone are the days when being a mutant meant being part of a growing population the world over. Gone are the days when convincing humankind that mutantkind could live beside it in peace. Once M-Day occurred humankind saw an opportunity, to finally rid itself of the now miniscule mutant population, because stomping out a culture when it is on the rise is difficult, but when it is on the decline it's very easy to make it a scapegoat. And it always seems that when someone wants to make a point about safety in America or elsewhere in the world that the Mutants are used as a catalyst for their agenda. 

The events of Schism have been no different, as we have seen the head of the newly revitalized Hellfire Club, Kade Kilgore, the son of a recently deceased defense magnate (recently deceased because Kade found him to be of no use), wants the world to understand the value of his company and to forward his own agenda by proving the uselessness of the currently available stock of Sentinels that were in various states of disrepair the world over. His position at the head of the table of the newly rejuvenated Hellfire Club is dependent upon his being able to prove to the world that the defense technology available from Kilgore Arms is better than the antiquated Sentinel Tech that Bolivar Trask built so many years ago.

Meanwhile what he has managed to do is drive a wedge into an ever weakening relationship between Wolverine and Cyclops. And that is what Schism is about. The growing divide between the philosophical standpoints and tactical approaches between two old friends who have never been good friends. About the splintering of a dwindling population between two ideologies. About proving that the world of mutantkind is no longer about believing in Charles Xavier or Magneto ... but that there is another axis to worry about beyond "acceptance by humankind". It's no longer about establish peaceful relations or go to war ... it's about survival ... and last I checked most people, nerds included, understand that splitting the party is probably not the best way to ensure survival ... but we'll see how it goes.