I Read Comic Books: DC Comics

Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2013

Me, my art and comics

My ad for Free Comic Book Day

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2013, SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013, BSI COMICS, 3030 Severn Ave., Metairie, LA 70002

Saturday was a great day . . . FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is basically geek Christmas. If you don't know what happens you just show show up at a comic book store on the first Saturday in May and they give you some free comic books.

The last few years I have been one of the guest artist at different shops in my area and this year was really good for sales, it seemed like the customers were a lot more interested in the artist and writers than in the past and I think everyone did well.

So what did I get for free comic book day this year. Well as a guest artist I was able to get more books than the regular customers because I was there before the store opened and the folks handing out the comics said I could take whatever I wanted . . . I call that a perk and I like to have as many as I can get to check out the many different art styles from kids comics to adult comics. A lot of the comic books that I got this year were leftovers from last year that I missed out on . . . that's a win/win situation for me.

Free Comic Books

Here's my list (all 2013 unless noted):
World of Archie Digest #1
Ernest & Rebecca: The Haunted House Mini-Comic (2011)
Johnny Boo & Harold in Tricky Treaters Mini-Comic (2012)
Ghostbusters: Times Square Mini-Comic (2012)
Scouts! Prepare For Adversity: Drafted!/Strawberry Shortcake Mini-Comic (2012)
Cow Boy: Hallow's Mini-Comic (2012)
New Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes Mini-Comic (2012)

Free Comic Books

Zombie Kid Diaries: Grossery Games Mini-Comic (2012)
Spacehawk Mini-Comic (2012)
Snarked Mini-Comic (2012)
Bongo Comics Free-For-All! 2013
Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H./Avengers Assemble
Infinity #1
Judge Dredd Classics
Grimm #0
Top Shelf kids Club 2013
Molly Danger

Free Comic Books

World's of Aspen 2013
NFL Rush Zone
Atomic Robo/Brodie Troll
DC Nation Super Sampler
Bleeding Cool
Bluff & Tales from a Forgotten Planet
Mass Effect/R.I.P.D./ The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys
Valiant 2013
Valiant Masters
Ugly Doll Comics
The Walking Dead
Impact University Volume 2 (2006)
DC Nation Super Sampler (2012)
Superman Last Son of Krypton #1
Kaboom Summer Blast
Drink N Draw Society New Orleans FCBD 2013
Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell
Overstreet's Comic Book Marketplace
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures
The Strangers
The Steam Engines of Oz #1 (2012)
Spongebob Freestyle Funnies
Mega Man/Sonic The Hedgehog Worlds Collide: Prelude #0
The Smurfs
Star Wars/Avatar The Last Airbender
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Halloween Edition #1 (2012)
Sesame Street/Strawberry Shortcake

That's a pretty big haul . . . I plan on doing reviews of as many of them as I can.

Below are some sketch covers that I had for sale (didn't sell them) and a few pictures and sketches that I did for people at the event.

Thanks for reading,
Kevin P. Johnson

Copyright © 2013 Kevin P. Johnson

Hellcat Sketch Cover by Kevin P. Johnson 2013

The Thing Sketch Cover by Kevin P. Johnson 2013

Superman Sketch Cover by Kevin P. Johnson 2013

Venom Sketch Cover by Kevin P. Johnson 2013

Dazzler Sketch Cover by Kevin P. Johnson 2013

Young Comic Book Fans

Girl with Poison Ivy sketch

Lewis Aleman and Comic Book Fans

Me Sketch Cover by Tim Fletcher

Poison Ivy sketch by Kevin P. Johnson 2013

Outback sketch by Kevin P. Johnson 2013

Tattoo Kid

Red Hood

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Collection Oddities #2 - Say It Backwards Mr. Mxyzpltk button

I'm not sure how much of am oddity the "Say It Backwards Mr. Mxyzpltk" button is being that I have three or four of them but I got it as a free promo item several years ago and maybe they are a bit rare . . . maybe not. It is however one of my favorite buttons at any rate and I consider it one of the cooler things in my collection. I actually can only remember the character from the old Super Friends cartoon from the 1970's and I am not even sure if I've read any comics with him in them but I do know that this is a fun and cool character and it's a cool button for sure.

Thanks for reading,
Kevin P. Johnson

Copyright © 2013 Kevin P. Johnson

Friday, April 19, 2013

Teen Titans: Life And Death (Trade Paperback, DC Comics, 2006)

Teen Titans #5: Life and Death trade paperback cover

Teen Titans #5: Life and Death (Trade Paperback)
Published by DC Comics
Cover Price $14.99
Pages: 208
Collects: Teen Titans, Volume 3, #29-33, Annual #1, Robin #146-147, Infinite Crisis #5-6
Writers: Geoff Johns, Bill Willingham, Bill Williams and Marv Wolfman
Pencilers: Tony S. Daniel, Todd Nauck, Scott McDaniel, Ed Benes, Dale Eaglesham, Tom Grindberg, Elton Ramalho and Phil Jimenez

Well the good news is that I really enjoyed this trade paperback of Teen Titans, the bad news is I haven't read books two through four. I was at Media Underground Comics in Metairie, LA and I was thinking about picking up a Teen Titans trade since I liked the first one but I only saw book five when I looked through the shelves and normally I wouldn't buy trades out of order but I did and it was a good choice for me.

This trade covers a lot of different comics which does make it a bit confusing although it's all one story and it does fit together pretty well. Actually my only problem with the book is that they did not include any indication of what issues or title you are reading or who the creative teams were throughout the book. It's a little odd to me that they would include four issues of comics that fall outside the Teen Titans title but I think they needed to do so to complete the story being told here.

So what's it all about? The simple version is that Superboy from Earth-Prime is trying to get back home and he blames the Titans of Earth-Two and Conner Kent the resident Superboy for ruining things. This alternate Superboy aims to destroy Conner and the Teen Titans at any cost. Conner is beaten to the point of death and the Teen Titans have to find a cure for him that only Lex Luthor will have.

One of my favorite parts of the book happens at the beginning when Robin (Tim Drake) meets original Robin Jason Todd and they have a battle that leads Tim Drake on the path to becoming the leader of the Teen Titans. The book also has plenty of subplots that I found interesting and have solidified me as a fan of this team. Oddly enough the love story between Wonder Girl and Superboy stood out to me most because it seemed genuine and I think it had potential to be a nice long story for the characters but at the end of the book things seem to end up badly (trying not to spoil it). Tim Drake becoming the better Robin and better leader of the team also proved to be a nice turning point for the character.

I think the only character that I'm undecided on as to if I like them or not is Beastboy. He seems to be the comic relief and I'm good with that but I just don't know if I like him yet or not. Maybe once I read more about him I will be able to decide how I fell but at this point he's just kind of there and I don't really care too much for or against him. I think his power of changing into different kinds of animals isn't really my thing.

The book has a lot going on in it especially when the Infinite Crisis parts kick in adding more characters to the mix and I did find a few pages of it a bit confusing and had to read over it a time or two but that's just because I'm not familiar with DC's characters as much as those of Marvel Comics. There are a lot of fights between superheroes and super villains, monsters and robots and a solid background story to keep it interesting. I think this is a solid comic book series that really captures the essence of coming of age characters trying to become great heroes.

I definitely need to find books 2-4 and all the others in this series which I believe is a total of 18 trade paperbacks including the two Teen Titans/Outsiders books.

Thanks for reading,
Kevin P. Johnson

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Backing Boards #9: Batman: Li'L Gotham #1 (DC Comics, 2013)

Batman Li'L Gotham #1 Cover

Batman Li'L Gotham #1
Published by DC Comics
Cover Price $2.99
Writers: Dustin Nguyen & Derek Fridolfs
Art: Dustin Nguyen

Batman Li'L Gotham #1 was one of those "by chance" comics for me. I had never heard of it before I attended my Drink and Draw group at Media Underground Comics in Metairie, LA. I saw it on the new comics shelf and by the cover art alone I knew I was going to buy it.

The art by Dustin Nguyen is amazing I'm not sure if it is water colors or maybe Copic Markers but it is very nice and a welcomed change in the art style that most mainstream comics have these days. The comic is intended for kids but the art has a classic feel like it would be in the New Yorker or Saturday Evening Post.

Batman Li'L Gotham #1 Interior Art

The writing is strictly kid stuff but it is great fun. The stories are smart and full of humor taking Batman and Robin through silly Halloween and Thanksgiving adventures . . . that's the only thing that didn't make sense about this comic book, why release these holiday stories in April?

This comic book is a great starter comic for young children looking to get into comics . . . but equally as fun for adults looking to have a little light hearted fun in their reading . . . and the art is wonderful.

This comic was released online originally by DC.

Thanks for reading,
Kevin P. Johnson

Batman Li'L Gotham #1 Interior Art

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

N'AWLINS TOY SHOP - 2134 Airline Drive Kenner, LA

N'AWLINS TOY SHOP t-shirt

Mark Guillory owner

The Penguin

N'AWLINS TOY SHOP . . . never heard of it? Well it's been around 14 years and I tell you that this little hole in the wall is worth a visit if you are looking to find something you need, want to start a collection or just look at a lot of the toys that you had way back when.

The shop doesn't try to pretend it's an easy find either referring to itself as "The most well-hidden secret collectibles stash in the New Orleans Metro Area. Dealing in action figures, comic books, Hot Wheels, Barbie & more since 1998! When we said well-hidden, we meant it! Located on the second floor in the Jefferson Flea Market on Airline Drive, one block from Williams Blvd in Kenner"

The actual address is 2134 Airline Highway, Kenner Louisiana. But when you get in the building it's a maze of antiques and collectibles and you'll probably have to ask someone where the shop located on your first visit. The store is usually only open on weekends . . . mostly Saturdays . . . mostly 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, you'll want to join the Facebook page for openings updates at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nawlins-Toy-Shop/223352900534

Owner Mark Guillory is very knowledgeable about the toys he has in the shop as well as the toys you may have in your personal collection. His shop is tiny but there is a huge amount of product covering just about every inch of the place which includes toys hanging from the ceiling. If you want Star Wars, Hot Wheels, Marvel Comics toys, G.I. Joe, Transformers, DC Comics toys, Barbie, or some weird stuff that came out in the 1970's it just might be there waiting to go home with you.

The N'AWLINS TOY SHOP is definitely a hidden secret that is worth finding out about. Get over there and find some cool things . . . and buy me something.

I kind of went crazy with my cell phone camera . . . check out all the cool stuff below.

Thanks for reading,
Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2013 Kevin P. Johnson