What's In The Box - May 2011

As you may already know if you have gone back to the start of this blog I order my monthly comic books from Discount Comic Book Service (DCBS) in order to get the discout that I need to be able to get most of the comics I want within my budget. I do try to support local comic shops (LCS) as much as I can by buying trades and when I want to try out a new series.

Now when I get my comics its usually a month or more after they have been out so I can never have the hot new issue when everyone else does and sometimes I'll go buy important series from my LCS because waiting for some comic books just isn't fun and worth the extra few dollars to get them as they come out Civil War, Fear Itself, Final Crisis to name a few of the titles I did this for. 

I think this section of the blog will replace the "Pull List" I've done so that I can put a picture of what I got in and if anyone wants to discuss what I got we can go from there and I always enjoy seing pictures of what other people added to teir collections.

So this is what's In the Box recieved in May 2011:

The Amazing Spider-Man #658-659, Annual #38

Justice Society of America #50

Usagi Yojimbo #136

X-Factor #218

Justice League of America #56

Brightest Day #23-24

The Avengers #12

Captain America #617

The New Avengers #11

The Mighty Thor #1

Journey Into Mystery #622

X-Men Legacy #247

Secret Avengers #12

Uncanny X-Men #535-536

Batman #709

19 comics this month I usually average about 22 - 25 but I think a few series ended the month I made this order. I hope that this was mildly interesting and that you'll check in for my next review.

Thanks for reading,

Kevin P. Johnson

Copyright © 2010 Kevin P. Johnson

My Current DCBS Order July 2008

These are the comics I have on order with DCBS for the month of July 2008, feel free to discuss what you are excited about. This order includes two back issues that I didn't order in the last two months.

Action Comics #869
Amazing Spider-Man #570
Amazing Spider-Man #571
Amazing Spider-Man #572
Captain America #42
Detective Comics #848
Femme Noir: Dark City Diaries #4 (of 4)
Final Crisis #4 (of 7)
Green Arrow and Black Canary #12
Hulk #6
Justice League of America #25
Justice Society of America #10
Mighty Avengers #18
Moon Knight #22
Ms. Marvel #31
Ms. Marvel Annual #1
New Avengers #45
Patsy Walker: Hellcat #1 (of 6)
Patsy Walker: Hellcat #2 (of 6)
Patsy Walker: Hellcat #3 (of 6)
Secret Invasion #6 (of 6)
Terry Moore's Echo #6
Thor #11
Uncanny X-Men #502
Usagi Yojimbo #114
Wonder Woman #24
X-Factor #35
X-Men Legacy #216

Breakdown:
Marvel - 18
DC - 7
Ape Entertainment - 1
Abstract Studio - 1
Dark Horse Comics - 1


Marvel dominates this month holding number 1 spot overall and pulling away quickly. DC is still falling away from the top.

Breakdown as of July 2008:
Marvel Comics - 229
DC Comics - 214
Dark Horse - 5
Ape Entertainment - 4
Abstract Studio - 4
Archaia Studios Press - 3
Boom! Studios - 1
Evil Twin Comics - 1
Super Real Graphics - 1

Marvel Comics now leads with 49.6% of the comics ordered and DC Comics drops to 46.3% all other indie's move up to 4.1%.

- Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

My Current DCBS Order for May 2008

These are the comics I have on order with DCBS for the month of May 2008, feel free to discuss what you are excited about.

ACTION COMICS #867
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #564
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #565
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #566
BATMAN #679
CAPTAIN AMERICA #40
DETECTIVE COMICS #846
FEMME NOIR DARK CITY DIARIES #2 (OF 4)
FINAL CRISIS #3 (OF 7)
GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY #10
HULK #5
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #23
MIGHTY AVENGERS #16
MOON KNIGHT #20
MS MARVEL #29
NEW AVENGERS #43
SECRET INVASION #4
SKRULLS ONE-SHOT
SPIDER-MAN BRAND NEW DAY EXTRA
TERRY MOORES ECHO #5
THOR #10
UNCANNY X-MEN #500
USAGI YOJIMBO #113
WONDER WOMAN #22
X-FACTOR #33
X-MEN LEGACY #214

Breakdown:
Marvel - 16
DC - 7
Ape Entertainment - 1
Abstract Studio - 1
Dark Horse Comics - 1

Marvel has a huge edge this month and it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon.

I'll also be keeping track of DCBS order totals as if April 2008 was the first order I have made maybe I will go back and figure out the real totals later on to see my ordering tendencies.

Breakdown as of April 2008:
Marvel - 28
DC - 15
Ape Entertainment - 2
Abstract Studio - 1
Archaia Studios Press - 1
Dark Horse Comics - 1

- Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson

300 by Frank Miller (Hardcover)

This image is copyright © 2006 Frank Miller in association with Dark Horse Comics and is used as a Fair Use Review image only. Image will be removed upon request of Frank Miller or Dark Horse Comics.

300
Frank Miller: Story and Art
Lynn Varley: Colors
Cover Price: $30.00
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

300 is the story of three hundred Spartans sworn to defend Sparta against the threat of the massive army of Persia lead by Xerxes the self proclaimed God king. Xerxes goal is to expand his kingdom beyond the borders of Greece and forcing the inhabitants to serve under him as their God and king.

The artwork and colors are beautiful and brutal at the same time. Battle scenes are filled with chaos and a style that only Frank Miller could bring to a comic. The hardcover edition of this book is oversized and worth every inch if you are looking to buy a copy of this book.

300 Spartans set out to stop an army so large that it shakes the earth under its feet, 300 Spartans who move and fight as one entity, 300 Spartans for all of Greece.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. I've wanted to read it for several years and the hype did not ruin it for me. I had already seen the movie (the day it came out) and for once I find that the movie actually made this book even better. The scenes of the movie are directly from Frank Miller's artwork as was done in Sin City but the movie added even more to the story that alloewed for more understanding of what was going on back in Sparta.

I highly recommend this book and the movie as a special after reading treat.

- Kevin P. Johnson

Copyright © 2008 Kevin P. Johnson