It is time for the best covers from the week that was. A quick reminder: only comics that I personally have purchased qualify for this piece. If a title contains more than one cover, only the one I own is taken into consideration. Now without further ado:
Third Place
Ame-Comi Girls #1 Featuring Wonder Woman
I’m a huge fan of Amanda Conner’s art and this cover does not disappoint. The look of determination on her face, the way her hair flows upwards almost like it is living flames, that pose reflecting that this is a Wonder Woman that means business, coupled with the beautiful backdrop makes this a winner.
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Second Place
Halloween Eve #1
Though this is only a one-shot, Amy Reeder make the most of it delivering this memorable cover. My favourite part of the cover is how she uses the mirror to blend the reflection of the customer’s costume seamlessly onto the main character. Take a look: the seamstress tape measure bleeds into the pigtails and the dress flows onto her pants perfectly. Also love the Ghostbuster inspired earings.
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First Place
Batman & Robin #13
And here is the cover of the week and what a striking and ominous cover it is. The characters are perfectly framed with the eclipse in the background and them standing on a perch of skulls was a nice touch. Taking that classic pose of Batman and Robin and making them into these hauntingly eerie skeletons tells the reader that issue is going to have grave consequences for our heroes in regards to a life and death event. It compels you to open the book up and like I always say…that is what truly makes a good cover. Patrick Gleason, I award you the first place crown this week. Congratulations!
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So those are my favourites. Two covers awarded to DC and one to Image right after the week before where Marvel swept the category across the board. What’s your personal Top 3 Covers? Comment below!
The Speech Bubble 
Today I had a long and intriguing conversation with a comic blogger. I’ll make a copy and paste of the most interesting parts:
Blogger: “Who do you think is going to get the axe in the Dead in the Family arc?”
Me: “Each character involved in the Death of the Family story arc has a best seller series dedicated to him/her, so I don’t think someone will get discarded. If so, Harley Quinn and Red Robin are the easiest targets, because Nightwing can’t exist without Dick Grayson, Catwoman can’t exist without Selina Kyle, while Suicide Squad can survive even if it loses a member, as the Teen Titans could go on without Tim, even if he’s their leader. My only concern is that Nightwing won’t be hurt too much: he’s one of the greatest comic book characters ever, DC must handle him with care. Anyway, after decades as a reader, I learned not to worry about deaths in comics, because the 99 % of them are temporary.”
Blogger: “I agree completely with what you’ve said. But as we’ve all come to expect, deaths are either quite temporary or the shoes become filled by another character. And then of course there are series’ like Marvel: The End, where virtually every character dies, and expectedly so.
I’ve checked out a few message boards since I’ve been out of reading the Batman universe consistently for some time, and the popular consensus is that DC has it out for Alfred. What do you think?”
Me: “I didn’t think that Alfred could be the one. He’s so much behind the scenes that you don’t even take him into account, when you think about a radical change concerning the Batman world.
Anyway, he’s an easy target as well, for the same reason of the other 2 characters I put on the chopping block, but I still believe that Harley Quinn and Red Robin are more probable victims. Their fan base is less solid and large than Alfred’s one, so their death would be accepted by readers more easily.
Alfred could die only if DC wanted to raise interest around Batman – but it’s already the most sold comic book of the entire U.S., so why should they do that? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”: I think that DC perfectly knows this proverb.
Why are you so sure that a Batman related character is going to die? Because of the title of the story arc?”
Blogger: “I’m actually not sure about a character being killed off in the arc. I’ve mostly been reading the message boards that readers have been posting to, discussing how they feel the arc is lining up for a few major ends. I’m not sure if this was the exact discussion I originally found, but there’s lots of boards like this one: http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?432681-POLL-Who-Will-Not-Survive-The-Joker-s-Wrath-in-quot-Death-of-the-Family-quot”
What do you think about it?
I believe Alfred is safe. Same with Red Robin, Nightwing, Damian, Batgirl, and Gordon. The one character that I think might die and has the greatest chance of dying is Jason Todd. I could see the Red Hood and the Outlaw series changing into something else entirely. I actually don’t want to see anyone bite the bullet and I can’t believe I’m actually including Jason in that. Pre-DCnU I could care less for him, but I’ve seen him in a new light and am starting to warm up to him.
I still believe that, if someone dies, Harley Quinn and Red Robin are the most probable victims. And Tim is at first place, because, as a commentor or that forum wrote, “he’s the only character whose just divorced enough from the cast for it to somehow not count as a real death.”
Any departure would make me feel sad, but I admit that the Batman family has become too wide.
At the beginning, the story was simple: there was Batman and his sidekick Robin. Then Nightwing raised: it was a great move, and most of all it was a justified move, since he was covering a Gotham zone Batman couldn’t care enough of (Bludhaven).
Then a lot of other vigilantes (and sidekicks) came after Dick, but, as far as I know, DC never told us WHY they were necessary for Batman and for Gotham. Unlike Nightwing, they just peeped out without a reason. In some cases it was a good thing (for example, I’m not a regular Batwoman reader, but I couldn’t imagine Gotham without her now), but generally speaking I would have appreciated their introduction more, if it had been justified somehow. Thank you for your reply! : )
It’s called “Death of the Family” and Joker really has no reason to kill Harley (she’s not holding Batman back in his mind).
Tim is a possibility especially after they ruined his origin in the DCnU. His defining characteristic was he figured out Batman was Bruce Wayne but the New 52 took that away from him. Tim was justified to become Robin in the original DC because after Jason’s death, he took notice of a drastic and almost psychotic change in Batman’s behavior and became convinced that Batman needed a Robin to maintain his sanity. At least that’s what he thought and at the time he was right.
Exactly like Spawn, Tim Drake’s solo series is another one I own from the 1st to the last issue. I wasn’t much fond of the character, but that series was great. Then I have:
– the complete Batman Confidential
– the complete Blue Beetle with Jaime Reyes in the leading role
– the complete The Boys
– the complete Daredevil by Ann Nocenti
– the complete Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis
– the complete Daredevil by Ed Brubaker
– the complete Daredevil by Frank Miller
– the complete Demon by Garth Ennis
– the complete Gotham Central
– the complete Green Arrow by Kevin Smith
– the complete Hitman
– the complete Human Target by Peter Milligan
– the complete Justice League International by Giffen & De Matteis
– the complete Lobo (+ every single issue Lobo appeared in)
– the complete Major Bummer
– the complete Nightwing (from 1995, not from 2011)
– the complete Power Man and Iron Fist
– the complete Punisher by Garth Ennis
– the complete Punisher by Jason Aaron
– the complete Teen Titans by Geoff Johns
– the complete X – Statix
– the complete Young Justice
And I’m sure I’m forgetting something. Of course this collection is very variegated: some of them are in the italian version, some others are in the U.S. edition; some of them are 1st prints, some others are reprints and omnibus, and so on.
You are probably thinking: “Wwayne must be rich or broke.” I am neither. In my long experience as a convention habitué, I learned how to get many comics with a little expense. For example, I got the complete pre – New 52 Blue Beetle at 25 €, the complete Green Arrow by Kevin Smith at 35 €, the complete Hitman at 75 €, and so on. As you can see, I proudly remember my biggest bargains. : )
Comics you listed that I have the full runs for also:
Batman Confidential
Blue Beetle with Jaime Reyes in the leading role
Teen Titans by Geoff Johns (though the majority is TPB)
Also those are some killer deals that you scored!
Thank you! : )
I’ll share some of my “convention tricks” with you. Maybe you already know everything, but otherwise you’ll thank me.
First trick: You must go to conventions on the last day. The reason is simple: in the previous days the seller doesn’t make much discounts, because he thinks “Tomorrow I may sell it at a full price.” On the last day, he starts being afraid of coming back home with lots of comics and very little money, so he will be much more willing to make discounts. Yes, of course going on the last day is a risky choice, because someone could have bought what you are looking for in the previous days, but generally speaking it’s a profitable choice.
Second trick: When the seller tells you the price, NEVER accept straightaway. Even if the price is ridiculously low, you must make a sad face, that conveys the message “I would like to buy it, but the price is too high.” When the seller sees that face, sometimes he shrugs his shoulders and turns his back on you, sometimes he makes a discount. If he makes a discount, close the deal. If he doesn’t, check whether the other sellers have what you want at a lower price: if they have, buy it; if they haven’t, close the deal with the hateful seller who doesn’t make discounts.
Third trick: Ask a credit card payment. Sellers prefer cash, so, 9 times out of 10, they will tell you they don’t accept credit cards. When they tell you so, you must say “Then I’m afraid I can’t close the deal”: 9 times out of 10, the seller will be so sad about seeing his money fly away that he will tell you “Well, if you pay cash I could lower the price again.” If he doesn’t say so, close the deal anyway: “grab all lose all”, the proverb says.
Thanks for the tips. I’ve only been to one convention in my life and I was at a total loss/overwhelmed. Next year when they do it again (FanExpo Vancouver) I’ll be more prepared and hope to utilize these tricks.