Category Whosoever Holds This Hammer

1989 In Comics: Happy 25th Anniversary!

1989 is one of those years that doesn't seem like it was that long ago. The late seventies or early eighties, sure, and anything pre Star Wars definitely. But 1989 can't be that long ago right? It isn't like someone who was born that year could now legally rent a car or anything. Time, as they say, does fly and before we know it a quarter of a century has passed since we were asked if we had ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight. But 1989 wasn't only the year that introduced us to Prince's Bat-Dance, for there were a lot of other comic book milestones that year. Here are a few of the key books and events that made headlines.
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Marvel Now, Continuity, and What If?

However, the more I think about Marvel Now the more I feel that success (or lack thereof) is mostly owed to these unique interpretations. When I talk with fans at conventions or comic book shops they either love or hate what is going on in Marvel Now. And I think that is primarily due to the fact that the concepts behind Marvel Now are all or nothing; you either love them or or hate them because they are What If? stories.
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Marvel Trading Cards

The early 1990s were all about lenticular covers, bagged promos, and rampant speculation. But they were also about trading cards. Upper Deck reigned supreme and we finally said goodbye to buying cards with super hard chewing gum. Traditionally we had purchased sports cards, but Marvel Comics had given us another option by issuing a series of collectible cards featuring their spandex clad characters.
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How Much For Everything?

But isn't that implicitly what Marvel and DC state by having a shared universe for their stories? If all their stories are great and if they all have the same heroes who live in the same world then wouldn't I want to buy every book they produce? I decided to get out the Previews Guide and a calculator to answer this rhetorical question. I used the January 2014 Previews as a proxy for the entire year on the assumption that some months will have fewer books and some months will have more but overall it will probably average out. I didn't include books not in the shared universe and I didn't include collected editions.
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Best of 2013

With another year coming to a close, I turn my eye to that most time-honoured of traditions: the best-of list. 2013 was a banner year for comics and here are the things that I liked the most.
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Lego Marvel Superheroes

It might seem like I have been playing a lot of video games lately, but mostly that is due to the release schedule of the video game industry. The majority of big titles hit the shelves during the fourth quarter to maximize profitability via the Christmas shopping season. After I had saved Gotham City in Batman: Arkham Origins I barely had time recharge my controller before diving into Lego Marvel Superheroes. A tough job, I know, but somebody has to do it.
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Getting Back Into The Game

But, as luck would have it, I am more familiar with Men of Steel than muscle-bound posteriors so I find my family and friends asking me what I thought of the latest Thor movie (loved it), or whether or not I bought Superman stamps (of course). There is one other question that actually comes up quite often: how do I get back into comics?
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Batman: Arkham Origins

The first two entries in the Batman: Arkham series of video games (Arkham Asylum, 2009 and Arkham City, 2011) are fantastic games and some of the best that this generation of video games had to offer. The combat was tight, the voice acting superb, and the gameplay perfectly suited for the Darknight Detective. So when development for a prequel was shifted from Rocksteady Studios to Warner Bros. Interactive’s Montreal studios they had some big shoes to fill.
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Man of Steel

There is no superhero, not even Batman, that is much of a worldwide cultural icon as Superman. Everyone knows who he is, what clothes he wears, and what powers he has. Everyone knows who his girlfriend is, who his best…

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