It is the happiest day of the week–WEDNESDAY! The day when new books hit the shelves and give us a variety of worlds to choose from to visit.
What is Top of the Stack? John gives a recount of the titles that came out today and the book he is most eagerly anticipating, the book that sits on…..Top of the Stack!
Before we get to that, though, we have some store news to handle. Be sure to read everything as we have some great events and changes coming up rapidly. So let’s get started….
APOLOGIES
First, I want to apologize for not doing one of these in quite a while. My wife and I were getting ready for this little guy, Avery Cooper Frazier….
I will do my best to make sure this feature returns to be a weekly occurrence, but I can’t make any promises.
SALE! SALE! SALE!
We know many of our customers are getting ready for their Labor Day weekend. Many of you will be going to the beach so we want to make sure you have some beach reading. Many of you will be hanging out with your friends so we want to make sure you have some fun games to break out.
From today August 29th through Monday September 3rd, we will have the following sale going on…..
30% off Graphic Novels/trade paperbacks
30% off back issues (non-slabbed books)
15% off board games
Let your friends know it’s time to stock up on some reading and games!
SUBSCRIPTIONS
And of course, don’t forget, by becoming a Brainstorm Comics and Gaming subscriber, you save every day! It’s absolutely free to become a subscriber–we just need your name, phone number and the books you want us to hold for you. The expectation is that you stop by at least once a month, but if you let us know of some special circumstances you have, we can work on that with you as well. So what does being a Brainstorm Comics and Gaming subscriber get you? These great benefits….
20% off new releases
20% off back issues (non-slabbed)
10% off graded books
10% off board games
We have our books out and ready on the wall every Wednesday at 10 am. See why the Brainstorm Comics and Gaming has won the Best of Frederick award for comic shops for 6 years in a row.
NEW LOGO?
Yes, we are going to have a new logo very soon and you guys are going to be a part of it! On Monday, we will post the many different logos that we are deciding from. Several artists have given us their interpretations of what it should be, so we are going to open it up to you guys and gals to vote. More details will be available on Monday. It will be a two week process, though. The first week we will narrow it down to the top 3, then have another vote the following week.
OCTOBER ART SHOW!
From October 1st through October 31st, we will be holding an art show at Brainstorm Comics and Gaming. But we need your help! We know our subscribers have some awesome artistic talents that they love to share with their fellow comic fans. The theme, since it will be during the Halloween season, is horror. Obviously, we want to maintain our family friendly environment, so keep that in mind for the pieces. If you like, you can also have your pieces for sale. Just contact Brainstorm Comics and Gaming at [email protected] if you are interested.
Also available for our artistic minded customers, we are looking for a few artists so that we can do another charity cover raffle. We raised over $400 for three charities during our Free Comic Book Day raffle. We are hoping to do ever better for our ComicFest one. So, if you’re interested in contributing a cover, get in contact with John at [email protected] We will provide the comics for you to do the art on.
THE WEBSITE!
With our new point of sales system firmly in place now, we’ve been able to create some cool new features we didn’t have available to us previously. The staff has been feverishly entering the inventory (we still have a little more to go, but we promise it will be fully completed soon) to make the Brainstorm Comics and Gaming shopping experience the best possible.
But there’s a bonus to this! If you go to our website http://brainstormcomics.com and click on the “shop” link near the top of the page, you will be able to see the categories of products we carry. Click on the category you’re most interested in and you’ll see the items we carry in our store. Then, to see if we currently have the item in stock, simply click on the item.
That’s right, you can now check to see if we have that must-have item you’ve been looking for! We have disabled the shopping function for right now until we get a process in place to deal with online orders.
We won’t be including single issue comics at this time with the exception of slabbed books and variant covers. Pictures will also be added over the course of the next month or so to make it more attractive. We do apologize for its lack of pictures right now.
Let us know what you think of this new feature, though!
Okay, I’ve thrown a lot of information at you guys and gals, so let’s get to the fun stuff! What will sit on Top of the Stack this week?
TOP OF THE STACK
I am changing the format a little bit with this post. It may become the regular layout or may just be a one-off. We will see. So first, I’m going to let you know what number ones are hitting the shelves today and why I am interested in them. After that, I’ll give a couple of books that may have slipped under your radar. And finally, we will reveal the Top of the Stack!
NUMBER ONES
NIGHTWING ANNUAL #1
I ready the solicit for this one and was immediately interested. Bludhaven has become a more advanced city in the DCU with a technological turn. Plus, it appears have a 1st appearance of a villain that sounds pretty interesting. I haven’t been keeping up with the monthly, so I need to go back and catch up. Here is the solicit that got me interested:
The smart city overhaul of Blüdhaven was just the beginning—a single battle in a larger cyberwar that Nightwing is only starting to understand. But now the story of the Dark Web organization begins to expand as Grayson travels to Gotham City and partners up with Vicki Vale. We live in an era of fake news, alternative facts, disinformation. The gatekeepers of truth can’t be trusted anymore, and sometimes elections, businesses and even lives are at stake. Nightwing faces off against the first of three lieutenants in the army of the Dark Web: Vire, the psychic embodiment of malware who can unearth your darkest secrets.
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE DEAD ENDS #1
Wolverine has been largely absent from the Marvel U for the last several years. Now the four mini-series leading up to his full return to action have concluded and the mystery surrounding his return is being resolved. While the build-up has been a little longer than most would have preferred, the most recognizable mutant is about to make his presence known. Plus, Charles Soule is writing it, so that’s a win in my book since I’m loving his Daredevil run.
SILENCER ANNUAL #1
First off, let me say, that cover is amazing. Kirkham did an amazing job on it. But a great cover isn’t the reason I’m interested in this book. Nope. Silencer visits Gotham City in this issue and runs across Batman. According to the solicit, Bruce and her have some history, so I’m looking forward to seeing how DC incorporates her deeper into its history.
DAREDEVIL ANNUAL #1
Marvel is getting crime writer Erica Schultz to tell a story from when Misty Knight and Daredevil first cross paths. In this time period, Misty is a police officer who puts the Man Without Fear at the scene of a crime. Charles Soule’s run on Daredevil has been awesome, so I’m reading everything with him in it. The character is back to the level when Bendis and Brubaker had back-to-back amazing runs. If you aren’t reading it, you’re missing out.
BEYONDERS #1
As we’ve covered in the past, I can’t resist conspiracy books or television shows. I just can’t. In this book, a young boy who is obsessed with the traditional tabloid fodder (crop circles, alien abductions, etc) discovers its all true. My hope is that this is something like X-Files meets Stranger Things. The publisher Aftershock has been putting out some very compelling titles, so I’m very interested. Here is the exact solicit for the book….
A young boy obsessed with crop circles and cryptography finds his boring life turned upside-down when he discovers that all of his conspiracy theories are true, sending him on the ultimate treasure hunt for an ancient secret spanning thousands of years. What is the connection between a lost mountaineer, an indecipherable manuscript, and the lost library of Alexandria? How is this connected to a one-eyed, flatulent Welsh Corgi and endless plates of corned beef sandwiches? Find out in…Beyonders!
From Paul Jenkins (ALTERS, Wolverine: Origin, Sentry) and Wesley St. Claire (FU JITSU, Teen Titans) comes the mystery series that HAD to be told at AFTERSHOCK!
HOUSE AMOK #1
This book is going to be intense and dark. If you were a fan of Kill or Be Killed, this book may be the one you’re looking for to fill the void. Ten year old Dylan Sandifer has a family that suffers from a mental condition called folie a deux. She’s starting to question their actions and stability. From reading the solicits, I think IDW has a winner with this one. Here is the solicit so you can get a sense as to why I’m enthusiastic about this one….
Ten-year-old fraternal twin Dylan Sandifer and her family have fallen down a rabbit hole full of secret implants, conspiracy theories, Mandela effects, extradimensional invaders, and organ thieves. As the attacks against them intensify, the Sandifers light out on a cross-country search for answers and salvation, blazing a bloody path of torture, arson and murder. Can young Dylan save her family from these delusions… or is this ornate conspiracy actually true?
“The Sandifers are experiencing a mental condition known as folie a deux, a shared madness that will drive them to kidnap and torture strangers, burn down secret safe houses, and do whatever it takes to stay alive.”
-Christopher Sebela, Eisner-nominated writer
It’s a summer vacation the Sandifers will never forget, evoking Natural Born Killers and The X-Files for fans of Paper Girls and Locke & Key.
LOONEY TUNES / DC CROSSOVERS
CATWOMAN/TWEETY & SYLVESTER #1
THE JOKER/DAFFY DUCK #1
LEX LUTHOR/PORKY PIG #1
HARLEY QUINN/GOSSAMER#1
DC revisits the crossovers between their DCU characters and the beloved Looney Tunes ones. Last year had the surprise hit of Batman/Elmer Fudd. I’m going to read all of these but the two that particularly stand out are the Catwoman/Tweety & Sylvester one-shot and The Joker/Daffy Duck one. Every once in a while, you just need some titles that aren’t bogged down in continuity or high stakes.
VENOM FIRST HOST #1
Marvel has been expanding the history of everyone’s favorite symbiote Venom over the course of the last couple months. Donny Cates has been exploring his ties to the deeper MU. Now, we see who Venom’s First Host was and how it will impact the symbiote and Eddie Brock. Due to what Cates has been doing on the main title, my interest in the character has been stoked to an all-time high. While this mini-series is not written by him, it looks like its going to follow in the same direction that Cates has established. Plus, more than likely a first appearance by a new character.
WEB OF VENOM VE’ NAM #1 –TOP OF THE STACK!
This mini-series is written by Cates! I think this one will appeal to both Venom and Punisher fans. Set in the Vietnam era, the US military has decided to employ a secret weapon the government found–an ancient ancestor of the Klyntar (Venom’s alien race for those unfamiliar). Between Doctor Strange, Thanos, and Venom, Donny Cates has yet to disappoint me with his Marvel work, so I’m looking forward to this one. It’s also why this one sits on TOP OF THE STACK!
FAVORITE COVERS OF THE WEEK
CATWOMAN / SYLVESTER & TWEETY
THE JOKER / DAFFY DUCK
Thank you for reading this overly long post this week. Let me know whether you prefer this format or the straight countdown to what is on Top of the Stack like before. Also, do you want me to include the solicits for each of the books, some of the books or none of the books? We want this feature to be helpful to you, so let us know.
Come in for the sale and save a few dollars. If we don’t see you, have a great and safe Labor Day!
