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Column: How I Survived Baltimore Comicon 2016

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By Shawn Warner

     The count down before Comic Con is always a super anxious time for me, I begin checking my email for updates more frequently, checking the ever-growing list of guests for my favorite creators and deciding which of the many, varied and enlightening panels I will be covering for the site. This is just business as usual, not only for covering the event but, enjoying all the aspects of the show as a fan and collector. Of course I am talking about shopping! Filling in those runs, finding those elusive issues waiting there, hidden within the depths of the dollar boxes and perusing the walls of key issues and first appearances that tower above the milling masses of cosplayers and collectors like monuments erected to the Comic Book Gods with names like Kirby, Claremont, Adams and Ditko, Steranko, Infantino and Lee. Continue reading →

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Column: FCBD in Baltimore with Shawn Warner & Friends

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    This is one of the biggest deals in comic books; it’s a day that was designed to reach readers who might otherwise never consider entering a local comic book establishment because in their minds these are dark dungeon-like basement dwellings populated by single white males most sporting some fashion of facial hair and wearing t shirts featuring their favorite super-heroes while debating which is the superior Star Trek, original or Next Generation, in Klingon of course. Continue reading →

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Column: State of the Marvel U. The Deadpool Edition

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By Shawn Warner

With the release of the much clamored for Deadpool movie just days away Marvel has been whetting our collective appetites for all things Deadpool for quite some time now. There has been a deluge of mini-series, one-shots, on-goings, variant covers and team-ups all featuring the Merc with the Mouth hitting the racks consistently since well before the idea of a Deadpool movie was ever considered even the most remote possibility; now that it is a reality, Marvel has ramped up the frequency of seeing Deadpool in multiple books on the weekly basis by tenfold. Continue reading →

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Column: State of the Marvel Universe

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    2015: The All-New All-Different Year in Marvel Comics

      2015 saw the end of the ambitious Marvel Now wave of titles and the beginning of the even more ambitious All-New All-Different Marvel Universe. The result of the universe shattering Secret Wars, this new and different Marvel Universe has something for everyone but is far from universally accepted, especially by longtime Marvel readers, in fact many of them feel as though they have lost characters integral to the foundation of any universe bold enough to be called Marvel. Continue reading →

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B&B Special Report: Baltimore Comic Con 2015

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Okay it has been almost a week since Comic Con took over downtown Baltimore and all us who braved the entire three-day extravaganza have had time to reflect and recover.  This year was perhaps the biggest event yet; certainly there was an increased Hollywood presence as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Arrow cast members attracted droves of fans seeking autographs, photos and a brush with celebrity. Continue reading →

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Review: A-Force #1

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(Marvel Comics 2015)

Written by Marguerite Bennett and G. Willow Wilson

Art by Jorge Molina and Laura Martin

A-Force #1 is easily one of the most high profile books to come out of the Secret Wars event if for no other reason than to quiet the lingering criticisms that Marvel is not female friendly enough in terms of publishing titles with female led teams or lead female characters. Continue reading →

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Review: Convergence #4

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(DC Comics 2015)

Written by Jeff King

Art by Jason Paz and Stephen Segovia

I honestly thought the last issue of Convergence was the strongest chapter so far in the main story; it was far less dependent upon set-up and superfluous exposition, the pace was more energetic and the action sequences were exciting and dynamic, so things are looking up right? Wrong. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Convergence #1

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(DC Comics, 2015)

Written by Jeff King and Scott Lobdell
Art by Carlo Pagulayan
Colors by Peter Steigwald and Jason Starr

“Captivity turns to Competition” or so Telos promises in issue #1 of DC’s huge Convergence event. Coming just one week after the set-up laden zero issue, the first chapter of the event begins in very much the same manner, with a slow methodical pace and lots of necessary exposition and back story. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Howard the Duck #1

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(Marvel Comics, 2015)

Written by Chip Zdarsky
Art by Joe Quinones

Admittedly Howard the Duck #1 was not a book I was even sure I was going to pick up; right up to the very second I was at the counter purchasing my usual absurd amount of NCBD offerings this week I could hear that still small voice in the back of my head urging me to give this feathery foul tempered fowl a fair chance. Continue reading →