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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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Marvel: The All New All Different Universe or Life in ANADU by Shawn Warner

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Greetings True Believers and welcome to this special report on the state of the All New All Different Marvel Universe or as I lovingly refer to it, A.N.A.D.U. Things have definitely picked up speed story-wise as many of the debut titles are now into their second issues and already some of these titles are proving their worth while others performances have been lackluster at best. Normally two issues wouldn’t be my cut-off point for a slow starting series but in the era of the $3.99 cover price I have become a bit quicker when it comes to swinging that scythe and separating the chaff from the wheat. I am happy to report, however that the gems outnumber the duds significantly; having said that, let’s start with one of the brightest gems in Marvel’s A.N.A.D.U, Doctor Strange by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo. 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: 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 →

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REVIEW: Guardians Team-Up #1

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(Marvel Comics, 2015)

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Arthur Adams
Colors by Paul Mounts

Not only does this title team up two of Marvel’s most popular properties, The Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers, but it also boasts one of the greatest creative team ups in recent memory, that being the pairing of prolific scribe Brian Michael Bendis (aka BMB, aaka The BoMB) with the quasi-reclusive artistic genius, Arthur Adams.

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REVIEW: All New Hawkeye #1

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(Marvel Comics, 2015)

Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Ramon Perez

If there was a less enviable assignment in all of the comic book industry than following Matt Fraction, David Aja and Annie Wu’s stellar run on Hawkeye I am certainly not aware of its existence; fortunately for us however there arose from the swirling mists a bold duo who proved to be more than up for the task, the creative team of Jeff Lemire and Ramon Perez. Continue reading →

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Column: The State of the Marvel Universe

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By Shawn Warner

Greetings and salutations fellow True Believers, it’s that time once again when we gather to chart the course to Marvel’s massive Secret Wars, an event so monumental that neither the 616 or the Ultimate Universe will be left standing when all is said and done. This week the masterminds at the House of Ideas announced several more status quo shattering tie-ins and mini-series that you are sure to want to know about; that’s what I am here for, B&B’s own Agent M, to report all the goings on that will ultimately make up the All New Marvel Universe. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Avengers World #17

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(Marvel Comics, 2015)

Written by Frank Barbiere
Pencils and Inks by Marco Checchetto
Colors by Andres Mossa
Letters by Joe Caramanga

Although writer Frank Barbiere has set this issue in the present it is important to note that the timeline is somewhat fractured in that the narrative running through the series contains plot elements from both the past and the future. Confused yet? Continue reading →