What did everyone pick up on the last day of June? I picked up only a few issues this week, but my favorite was (of course) SLEEPER.

For a book that was easily accessible to new readers, it certainly added plenty of character development. The interaction between Holden and Misery was spectacular. Their relationship is beautiful in its own way. And that ending....not a huge cliffhanger in the normal sense of the word, but it definately set the stage for what's to come.

There is a thread on newsarama about boycotting regular sized books over 3 dollars, and I'm going to try to follow it now that I bought the other 2 $3.50 books in the Capes trilogy by Robert Kirkman.

http://newsarama.com/forums/showthre...threadid=14394

Infact I found the Secret Orgins of superman put into my pull box, so I opted to put it back and I bought the Kirkman's Superpatriot series (1-4) for $4 instead. Also I picked up H-E-R-O #5.

The only new book I got was Utl FF #8. I want to get the trades of Sleeper before I start on Season 2. ALso Has anybody Read Hawaiian Dick? The author is going to be at my LCS this saturday, and I'm thinking about picking up the trade.

And finally I see that dcbservice.com has the Arrowsmith TPB onsale for $7.47! At this price there is no excuse not to get one of the finest miniseries that I've ever read.

Also:

http://newsarama.com/forums/showthre...threadid=14873

COMMON GROUNDS' SPECIAL OFFER
Press Release



Troy Hickman is proud to annouce that all six issues of his critically-acclaimed superhero series Common Grounds, published by Top Cow, are now available in one low-priced package.

"I'm overjoyed about this," Hickman states. "Folks have been reading and loving the stories, and that's so gratifying. I know, though, that a lot of people missed the boat a bit and have been unable to find copies. Now they can snap up the whole shebang, and at less than cover price. How cool is that?"

Common Grounds deals with a chain of coffee & donut shops whose customers are mainly superheroes and supervillains. Each issue consists of (at least) two stories, written by Hickman and drawn by a legendary list of illustrators, including Dan Jurgens, George Perez, Sam Kieth, Chris Bachalo, Carlos Pacheco, Mike Oeming, Angel Medina, and Ethan Van Sciver.

Word of mouth for the comic has been tremendous, with some of comicdom's biggest names singing its praises:

Tony Isabella - "Each of these stories is a small gem of great value. Almost every one of them is worthy of awards-consideration. The series as a whole demands, at the very least, awards-nomination. This is the best comic book to ever come out of Top Cow and one of the best to ever come out of Image Comics."

Alex Ross: - "surprisingly very clever stuff."

Guillermo del Toro (director, Hellboy) - "Revisionist Comics gains a heart. Endearing, moving and painfully human, Common Grounds is as uncommon as it gets. Enjoy."

Mark Waid: - "Very clever, very sharp, and surprisingly poignant. Common Grounds finds a new way to look at the familiar, and what writer Troy Hickman sees through that lens is pretty astounding."

Mark Millar - "Troy is dangerously good for a new guy"

Stan Lee - "The toughest thing in comics, or in any form of writing, is to come up with new approaches to old themes. It looks to me as if Troy Hickman has done just that. In Common Grounds Troy has managed to depict superheroes in an entertainingly unique way. I predict a bright writing future for the talented Mr. Hickman."

The Common Grounds package is available in the July Previews catalog for $14.99, and ships in September.

Ok, I keep reading about dcbservice.com. They have great prices on everything! But, I can't really tell if they do subscription services? I see that you can fill out an excel form on a monthly basis with your order and such, but what I'm looking at is like Midtowncomics: you have a list of titles they pull every month and the only time you need to do anything is when you want that changed. Do they do that?

Just a heads up - The Image Summer Special (FCBD edition) has an exclusive Invincible Story (from what I can tell). The new Rucka book (Everest) is previewed in the back of the Love Fights FCBD book. I picked up some of the others, but most weren't all that great.

This isn't really a Spider-Man 2 spoiler, but...
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Maybe this isn't as hidden as I think it might be, but did anyone notice that in the new Spidey movie, the landlord's name is Ditkovitch? I love that little homage to Steve Ditko.

Today's issue of BIRDS OF PREY, #69, is an excellent jumping on point for new readers. If you're interesed in this book, you should give it a try now. The new 6-part story is shipping bi-weekly and the story looks very promising.

Gail Simone has done an amazing job with the characters and with the action, so if you like super hero books with a solid amount of characterization (and a touch of cheesecake), read this book.

Is Benes doing all 6 bi-weekly issues, or will there be fill-ins?

I hate it when holidays push the schedule a day, it just weird to be picking up comics on a Thursday.

Benes is doing every other issue.

Issue #69 has art by Ron Adrian, Alex Lei and Rob Lea; and a cover by Mark Texeira.

Issue #70 has art by Ed Benes and Alex Lei; and cover by Greg Land.

Repeat for the rest of the 6 issues. I don't normally like alternating artists, but I'm hoping it's written into the story somehow.

What I picked up today:

New

Y-The Last man 24
Supreme Power 11
Common Grounds 4-6

$1 bin

My LCS set up a new big dollar bin loaded with some good stuff

14 issues of Wildcats 3.0

My Faith in Franke 1

Solar Man of Atom 10

He had a lot of pre unity valiants that I almost bought but the 14 issues was enough for me.

i am to the point that i am going to pretty much stop buying monthlies. mostly due to cost and space. i like the looks to trades and hc's better and the fact that they are just becoming so expensive. trades are much cheaper in the long run for me. oh yeah, disount comic book service is great.

I have to 2nd Birds of Prey. Its my favorite Superhero book, and is making me start to rethink the other Superhero books I read, as they are not doing much for me.

Today picked up:

Ultimate Spiderman #62--I am so far loving the "Carnage" storyline. The ending of this issue is definitely not to be missed with I hope this isn't some gimmick on Brian Bendis's part, but regardless it makes for a great story.

Y: The Last Man #24--yet another winner. What else can I say about this comic that hasn't been said? If you're not reading it, you should be.

Supreme Power #11--I think this may be the best title I'm reading right now. Consistently you have top notch writing and art, and you have absolutely no idea what's going to happen next.

after reading all of the Common Grounds Mini except for 3, I have to say that this series is excellent. If you haven't read this do so NOW! You don't even have to read them in order, as eatch issue contains a couple of short stories that aren't related. However don't read issue six, as they do a great job of loosely tying the stories together.

If you are a fan of silver and golden age superhero comics, then you will enjoy these, as Hickman pays homage to these comics in several stories. One really touching story involves a retired superhero and villian meeting after they have retired. One guy is homeless and the other guy has had a pretty successful life.

I could write more on how great this series but it is late sufice to say if you haven't read Common Grounds, then you are missing out on something special.

I picked up all 6 issues of Common Ground last weekend (during "Free Comic book" day) as I picked up a few fill issues during a local sale (up to 75% off on some issues, depending on age in the bins, denoted by color of price tag). I hope to finish Common Ground this weekend. I also picked up a Matrix TPB on a lark.

Does anyone know where the word "Graymalkin" comes from? Its the street the X-Men live on, and its bothering me, as I thought it was from mythology or Viking lore...but I can't seem to turn up much info on it.

Liquid,

Most likely you're familiar with the term "Grimalkin" from MACBETH, Act I, Scene I (the scene with the three witches). A Grimalkin is a gray cat that harbors a demon or evil spirit; it's a witch's familiar. The spelling difference probably explains why you had difficulty finding any info.

Thanks for the info

Also, is anyone going to the SDCC that would be willing to pick up the exclusive Street Fighter 2 pack for me and/or a She-Ra? I'm more than willing to throw in extra for the effort and for s/h, tho it has to be a reasonable amount

Y: The Last Man is currently my favorite comic. When Preacher ended, i was wondering if any comic could take it's place as the top Vertigo title. Granted, there's Hellblazer, but that's a freaking dynasty, not a comic book. Now in a few short years we have Y:TLM, The Losers, and Fables. They're all great titles that each have a totally different style to them yet share that same comic noir feeling.

I also ADORE H-E-R-O. The current storyline is incredibly dark and even SCARY! i've never been scared by a comic in my life, and this one actually scares the crap out of me!

Supreme Power is just like the original - it's a better commentary on the characters it's supposed to satire than it is a good work in and of itself.

Anybody know the release date of the final Cerebus phonebook collection (up to the final issue)? Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I thought it was supposed to be out by now.

? regarding Ultimate Spider-Man #60...

When did Ultimate Lizard show up before? I don't remember that in the regular book, unless I'm really glossing over something, and the book/summary all make it sound like there was a previous arc. Was that depicted in Ult Marvel Teamup?

This week's issue of FALLEN ANGEL is the best of the series. It's awesome. If you haven't read it, go out and buy it.

just read amazing spider-man 509. Wow... was that great, can't wait untill the next ish... Love the new artist. This looks to be an excellent storyline, I didn't care for the prevous one

Anybody?

I'm still waiting on the first "Fallen Angel" TPB to arrive. (Should be here any day now.) Can this issue be read without reading any previous issues, or is it part of a story arc?