September 2015 Comics Update

Greetings Comic Fans!  It has been a while since one of our blogposts.  Well, we have so much incredible comic news that we decided to let you all know about the crazy good Fall we have coming up for comics and comic related stuff.  So, Up, Up and Away…

Star Wars

You know the movie is coming out December 18, and we will be doing some really cool stuff for that, but more on that a little later. We hope you are all reading the Star Wars comics because, if not, you are missing great writing, awesome art, and some key plot points that are being revealed. No true Star Wars fan should miss these, but the most important book, Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens Shattered Empire, is releasing September 9, 2015. This book starts filling in the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens movies.

If that is not enough, everybody’s favorite Wookie is also getting his own series as well. Chewbacca #1 hits stands in October. While we have plenty of copies coming in, reserve yours to make sure some jawa doesn’t beat you to it. To make life easy, here’s a list of all the Star Wars titles as links to their comiXology page:

Star Wars	Darth Vader
Lando	Princess Leia
Kanan - The Last Padawan	Chewbacca
Journey Star Wars: The Force Awakens Shattered Empire

What’s Red, Blue and White?

Captain America White #1 of course! Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale are back at it again with their insightful look at the early days of our favorite red, white and blue avenger. As with their earlier books, Daredevil Yellow, Hulk Gray, Spider-Man Blue, this talented team takes a close look at the hero’s early days, long before they were the legend they later become. Cap White #1 will be here September 16 with my personal favorite cover being the Skottie Young variant. Order now--it’s what Uncle Sam would do!

What’s Red and Gold?

Yup, Invincible Iron Man #1 is coming out too. You know Tony can never let Cap upstage him, so Shellhead  gets a new series starting  October 7, 2015. It promises to be Marvelous and world changing, but when is Stark anything less than grandiose at the extreme? There is a launch party for this book (Gee, Iron Man miss a chance to party?) with exclusive variants and lithos plus more. We’ll send out invites as soon as Tony gets done picking a caterer, so prep your tux and watch the email box for details.

As long as we’re on Marvel…

Secret Wars ain’t over yet folks, but Marvel is already announced their new list of #1s. Some old favorites are back (still here maybe) and there are some new titles, of course. To help launch the titles, Marvel is doing a series of variants based on famous and infamous Hip-Hop record covers (those round things made of black vinyl before CDs--Invincible Iron Man #1 Hip Hop variant cover is seen here). As usual with Marvel, figuring out how many we’ll be getting is harder than finding a good FF movie, but we’ll get it figured out. We are also planning a special deal for the new Marvel #1s but still have a few details to pound out on that. Stay tuned, True Believers.

Now this Bombshell…

DC Bombshell Covers are coming in fast and furious and surprise, my favorite is Sinestro!  We still have plenty in stock so get ‘em while they last, sailor.

Ever wonder what Bruce Wayne and Elmer Fudd have in common? No, we didn’t either, other than a mansion and a yacht, until now. Well, we can add appearing on DC Comic covers to the list! Suffern’ Succotash, Warner Bros Cartoon characters are the latest round of DC Comics variants. Well, they are both owned by Warner Brothers, so it is not a huge surprise that these two iconic animated brands should one day meet. My current favorite is either Yosemite Sam vs Deathstroke, or Superman and SuperBugs, or Wonder Woman and ‘What’s Opera Doc’ Elmer Fudd. Check them out and reserve your copies early.

The Dark Knight Returns... Again

They say Third Time’s the Charm and we certainly hope so for this Batman issue! The original The Dark Knight Returns may be one of the best storylines ever created and, in our opinion, helped launch the comics revival of the late 80s. While the second installment was not as well regarded, we can have high hopes that the upcoming installment, titled Dark Knight III: The Master Race and landing in stores November, will be up to the standard of the first series.

Frank Miller will be joined by Brian Azzarello on the writing side, and the book will be drawn by Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson. There will be a ton of variants and even some sort of slip case option, plus many other cool aspects to this new classic. Stay tuned, same Bat Channel, same Bat newspost.

On the Red Carpet

OK, this may be one of the best seasons for TV shows based on comics EVER! So for my fellow comic fans, here is a list of this Fall’s TV Shows and their premier dates. Don't forget to tune in, and we'll be seeing you Wednesdays!

Live Action:
Arrow, The CW, Wednesday, October 7 at 8 PM
Flash, The CW, Tuesday, October 6 at 8 PM
Gotham, Fox, Monday, September 21 at 8 PM
Supergirl, CBS, Monday, October 26 at 8:30 PM
Heroes Reborn, NBC, Tuesday, September 24 at 8 PM
IZombie, The CW, Tuesday, October 6 at 9 PM
Walking Dead, AMC, Sunday October 11 at 9 PM
Fear the Walking Dead, AMC, Sunday, August 23 at 9 PM
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC, Tuesday, September 29 at 9 PM
Marvel’s Agent Carter, No Info yet, 1st quarter 2016 most likely
Legends of Tomorrow, No Info yet, 1st quarter 2016 most likely

Animated:
Avengers Assemble (Stay Tuned for Details)
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Disney XD, Saturday, September 26 at 9:30 PM
Ultimate Spider-Man (Stay Tuned for Details)

Welcome 2014 from the Dragon's Den

It has been a while since I last posted here.  Sorry for the delay and I hope you all had a really good 2013.  Happy New Years and welcome 2014!

What BIG accomplishments happened in 2013??

• We open the Gamers Gambit CT in Danbury CT
• HUGE events with a Regional for Yu-Gi-Oh, PTQs for Magic, and one of the biggest KMCs for Kaijudo in the country!

So what do we have to look forward to in 2014???

• Magic Release: Born of the Gods, Journey to Nyx, Core Set 2015
• Yu-Gi-Oh Release: Legacy of the Valiant, Premium Gold, Dragons of Legend
• Kaijudo Release: Booster Brawl, The 5 Mystics
• Pokemon Release: Fairy Type Pokemon with X and Y releases
• Video Game Release: Titan Fall for X-Box 1 just to name a game
• The release of Dungeons and Dragons Next (or 5th edition if you like to think that way) 
• Free Comic Box Day: 5/3/2014
• Halloween Comicfest: 10/25/2014
• Star Trek Attack Wing: Wave 3

So we have a lot planned for 2014!  If you are playing a card game, board game, or miniatures game you should check out our calendar... or maybe check out the calendar for the store closest to you:

Dragon's Den: Poughkeepsie, NY 

Gamers Gambit CT: Dandury CT

Gamers Gambit NJ: Saddlebrook, NJ

If you are looking for a gift or item for yourself, try our website.  We have many different items for sale right from our site: http://www.gamersgambit.com/

So with a warm welcome to the new year, I look forward to seeing everyone at the Poughkeepsie location, where I work.  

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Look, up in the sky…

It’s a bird!

It’s a plane!

No, it’s Superman!

75 Years ago, a small comics publisher named DC released Action Comics #1 featuring, among other stories, the first appearance of Superman, that strange visitor from the planet Krypton with powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men.  Disguised as Clark Kent, a mild mannered reporter for….Well you all know the story.

Yes, Superman is 75 years old and while he doesn't look a day over 35, he has become a worldwide icon and the first true “super” hero to exist.  Love him, hate him or just not sure which way to go, he is the original and in my opinion, still the best Superhero there is.  I know all the arguments about him:  he is too powerful, he has too many abilities, no one would ever be that “good” or “noble” if they had all that power, Batman can always beat him, and his costume, really, red underwear on the outside and a cape?  Don’t get me wrong, I love Spidey and Lynda Carter will always be the perfect Wonder Woman, and The Avengers movie is the best superhero movie yet filmed, but Superman is still, to me, THE Superhero.

DC seems to agree as they are turning June 12-14, 2013 into a Superman tribute.  We have the new Man of Steel movie landing in theaters on June 14, and I think it is fair to say that it is the movie that I hear the most buzz about.  I am so mad that I’ll be at a conference during the premier that even now I am plotting as to how soon I can see the movie and if I will wait to see it with my sons or just go and see it and then take them so I can see it twice!  I know, tough choices.  However, on Wednesday, June 12, 2013, Superman Unchained #1 will be available at your friendly neighborhood comic shop.  You will, of course, stop by the Dragon’s Den and Gamer’s Gambit to get your copy, but you have several options to consider.

Written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Jim Lee and Scott Williams, Superman Unchained is DC’s love letter to the comic BOOK fans of Superman.  Besides the talented main creative team, DC has lined up a host of other top notch artists to provide variant covers highlighting Superman throughout his 75 year career.  These covers are iconic images from the different ages of comic books.  They are a great collection of Superman images from the Golden Age, the Modern age, new 52 and many more.  I've included them below so you can see just how fantastic they are.  Some, like Bruce Tim’s 1930s cover is a younger artist creating a period piece of Superman, while Neal Adams is a Bronze Age icon who was actually drawing Superman during that time.  All of them are a fitting tribute to Superman in the many decades he has graced the covers of a comic book.

Superman Unchained #1 variant copies are available for preorder here!

I hope you will take the time to stop by and pick up a copy of Superman’s Birthday Present to you.  Forget what you think you know about the character and take some time to meet the first and still the best Superhero!  And if you need some recommendations about other Superman stories to read, look for me around the stores.  I’ll be the guy wearing one of my many Superman T-Shirts lurking near the 4 foot Superman S shield on our wall…

David

Free Comic Book Day 2012

Saturday.

May 5th.

Every year, all the comic publishers print up special comics for comic stores to give out on the first Saturday in May. This year, The Dragon's Den is proud to be giving away comics, hosting local creators, doing mega-sales (soon to be announced) and raising money for charity.

From 10 am, until whenever we run out of comics, we're going to have THOUSANDS of free comics available for you. Want to know what titles we've got coming?

I thought you would.

Adventure Time/Peanuts Flipbook
Bongo Free-for-all/Spongebob Freestyle
Buffy/The Guild Flipbook
DC Comics The New 52 #1 Special Edition
Judge Dredd
Mega Man
Mouse Guard/Labyrinth & More HC
Sonic The Hedgehog
Spider-man Season One
Star Wars/Serenity Flipbook
The Smurfs
Transformers #80.5
Yo Gabba Gabba

and much, much more!

People are welcome to grab 4 books but we do ask that if you want to take more than 4 that you make a $5 donation to our charity fundraiser!

In addition to all these comics we'll be giving away, we've also got several local creators coming in to do signings, show off their wares, and promote their awesome creator-owned product.

* Ryan from ZombiePETZ!

Zombie Yoda! Isn't he adorable??

Local artist RYAN BROWNE will be in the store drawing free mini-head "zombified" head sketches for customers, from 10-4. Every year, Ryan and the ZombiePETZ crew travel to different conventions and are FLOODED with commissions and requests to draw you, and people just like you, as zombies. Normally, Ryan and his folks charge for these hand-drawn beauties, but on FCBD, Ryan will be doing mini-head sketches YOU AS A ZOMBIE... for free. He'll also have some of his great t-shirts and other merchandise available for sale.


* Jon with JADED!

Hudson Valley creator JON SANTANA will be in-store, showing off his new super-hero comic JADED. JADED takes a look at 4 heroes in a unique format: Each issue features 2 stores, drawn in 2 different art styles. One story and style details the early life of the happy and successful hero; The other tells the story of tragedy and aftermath. How do heroes truly deal with catastrophe?

Find out on May 5th!

* The 501st Legion Returns!

I love making that face in the background - Scott.

Returning for a 2nd year, we're pleased to announce that we'll have a Stormtrooper from the 501st Legion VADER'S FIST, doing pictures for charity, and wandering up and down the mall, terrorizi- I mean, WELCOMING, customers to the store.

In addition to our Friendly Neighborhood Stormtrooper, we'll also have a Luke Skywalker look-alike here, too!

* Zach and Greg from LONEWOLF & ZERO

Also returning for a 2nd year are Zach and Greg with their monster hunter/super-hero comic LONEWOLF & ZERO. Zach and Greg will be premiering the 2nd issue of their dark and gritty comic, after running out of all their copies last year. This duo works together, by balancing each other's writing and artistic needs and desires. Their love of the paranormal and superheros shows in every page they create.


Want to know what sales we'll be having? Check back here on the blog on Monday, April May 30th. In addition to Free Comic Book Day, there's also the new Magic set being released. Every year, it's a crazy weekend. Come in and join the fun!

PRIMER: Walking Dead

As a result of the incredible finale of Season  2 of The Walking Dead, we've seen a huge influx of customers (both new and old) streaming in to read the comics. Given that TWD is available in numerous formats, I thought a brief explanation of how they all work was in order.

--

The Single Issues

Walking Dead is up to issue #95, and every almost single issue is sold out. The first several issues all go for $300+ each on the after market. Issue #19, the first appearance of You-Know-Who, just sold for over $1,000 by itself! Crazy, huh? So, anyone looking to get just the issues is in for a long haul.

The most popular format for reading TWD is the softcovers.

--

The Softcover Volumes

Each softcover reprints 6 issues. Volume 1 is issues #1-6, Volume 2 is issues 7-12, Volume 3 is 13-18, etc, etc. With the exception of Volume 1, every volume is $14.99

Volume 1 is set at the low, introductory price of $9.99

The softcovers make it easy to pick up one or two books at time. You can walk in, grab the next couple in the series, take them home, devour them (buh da bum) and then come back for more at your leisure.

15 Softcover volumes have been released to-date, covering 90 issues.

--

The Hardcover Volumes

Whereas the softcover reprints 6 issues each, the hardcovers reprint 12 issues each  Oversized, and hardbound, each volume costs $34.99

Only 7 Hardcovers have been released so far, covering 84 issues total.

--

The Omnibus Hardcovers

Check out these badboys: Only of these over-sized hardcovers (with a slipcase) have been printed so far. Each one contains 24 issues, and is priced at $100.

--

The Compendium

48 Issues, $75. In terms of price-point, the Walking Dead Compendium is the best value you can get for a dollar, but it is A Big Big Book.

Only 1 Compendium has been released so far.

--

I would expect to see another of each of the Hardcovers and another Compendium released within 12 months time. The softcovers come out like clockwork, every 6 months or so. The next softcover, Volume 16, arrives in June.

-Scott.

This Week in Comics

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. New 52 Wave Two The Second Wave of DC's New 52 starts in May. Take a peek now. Don' forget: Pre-ordering is the best way to guarantee you get your comics! Pre-orders for product shipping in May are due by Tuesday, March 20th EARTH TWO #1 by James Robinson and Nicola Scott The multiverse returns! James Robinson, who wrote the classic JSA story THE GOLDEN AGE, gets his hands on Earth-2, home of Jay Garrick, Alan Scott and (possibly) other Justice Society characters. Not a lot of information out there about this one, yet, but I imagine we'll hear more soon. Given all the changes made to the "main" Earth of The New 52, it's hard to say what'll have changed on Earth Two. We'll find out in May. Comixology Link ®, ™ and © 2012 DC Comics. All rights reserved. GI COMBAT #1 by JT Krul, Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and more. This looks like a MUCH stronger attempt at a war book than either Blackhawks or Men at War.  Smart move on DC's part, using one of their "old" war titles to give this genre another chance. I have to tell you, I'm curious to see what Palmiotti and Gray do with the UNKNOWN SOLDIER. I think this is going to do much better than either of the aforementioned titles did last fall. Comixology Link ®, ™ and © 2012 DC Comics. All rights reserved. BATMAN, INC #1 by Grant Morrisson and Chris Burnham The end of Morrisson's Batman run is nigh; With the identity of Leviathan now revelaled, the last act of this years-long story kicks into gear. I don't know how long this book will go for, but it's Grant doing his thing. The Batman graphic novels are our best sellers, and besides the classic Bat-books (YEAR ONE, LONG HALLOWEEN, DKR), the Grant Morrisson volumes are our fastest movers. If you read BATMAN, INC before the New 52, this is merely a continuation of that series and the one-shot BATMAN: LEVIATHAN that came out a month or two back. Time to jump back into the madness, Morrison is back. Comixology Link ®, ™ and © 2012 DC Comics. All rights reserved. WORLD'S FINEST #1 by Paul Levitz, George Perez & others Huntress and Power Girl are stuck on our Earth, and want to go home. This is an interesting idea: re-using one of DC's better-known titles (and catchphrases) and assigning it to two female characters. The Huntress mini-series has done extraordinarily well here, but the pre-New 52 (ugh, hate typing that) Power Girl was a very poor seller. Given how much grief DC got last summer at San Diego about the lack of female characters and creators involved in the re-launch, I'm glad to see that they've honored two popular characters with their own book. WORLD'S FINEST looks like it's going to detail the adventures of two super-heroes trying to get back home. Levitz' writing on Huntress has been spot-on. I think this is going to be great. Comixology Link ®, ™ and © 2012 DC Comics. All rights reserved. DIAL H by China Mievelle and Mateus Santolouco It gives you power, but want to destroy the world. A device powerful enough to help you become a hero, but power always come at a price. Best selling novelist China Mievelle jumps into The New 52 with a dark story, told in the vein of ANIMAL MAN and SWAMP THING. This book looks like it'll be playing on the edges of the DCU, while telling great stories. Should be fun. Comixology Link. ®, ™ and © 2012 DC Comics. All rights reserved. RAVAGERS #1 by Howard Mackie and Ian Churchill. GEN 13 Return- Wait, no I think I got that wrong. Sorry folks, I saw Caitlin Fairchild busting out of her clothes on the cover, and had a "I want all 13 covers" flashback. (Points to anyone who knows what that one means.) Spinning out of SUPERBOY and "The Culling" storyline, Fairchild and a mix of new and old heroes are on the run, while trying to work together. It's like Teen Titans, but with a twist or three. Glad to see some more of my Wildstorm characters making a return. Comixology Link ®, ™ and © 2012 DC Comics. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2012 Dragon's Den, All rights reserved. Here is one of those emails we promised you when you signed up as part of the Denizen Discount Program when you were shopping at Dragon's Den. Our mailing address is: Dragon's Den 2600 South Road Poughkeepsie Plaza Poughkeepsie, New York 12601 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

This Week in Comics - Valiant, Star Trek, Night of the Owls & More!

I tried to picture clusters of information as they moved through the computer. Weekly Comics Update I got a phone call...  ... from the folks at Valiant Comics. I can't tell you much about the newly-resurrected company (I've been sworn to secrecy), but I'm pretty impressed with the people working behind-the-scenes. That said, the conversation was pretty frank: Dark Horse's attempted ressurection of the line wasn't very successful here, mostly because of lateness. Fortunately, Valiant has made timliness a priority, and has a good plan for success. There'll be more announcements about Valiant over the next couple weeks, but you can read a little more about their first offer here. The new 52 Second Wave... ... will be up on Comixology within the next 7-10 days. I'll have more about this next week. Night of The Owls... ...is coming. Going to be a great storyline, playing with all of Scott Snyder's creations. For those of you not reading it, All-Star Western is doing a great job of tying into the back-story of Gotham. Great, great book, you should take a peek if you haven't already. (Special thanks to Loyal Reservist James P. for the reminder!) It's been a couple weeks since... ...I mentioned SAGA, the new series by Brian K.  Vaughan. It's "Star Wars meets Game of Thrones". Have I quoted that yet? Probably. Anyways... you need to buy it. Go look here. I loved the Abrams remake.. ... of Star Trek. True, there was a little too much lens flare going on, but the casting was spot on, great script, great special effects, and a great story. Thumbs up all around. When IDW announced that they were publishing an ongoing that would tie in to the movies, I rolled my eyes a bit. "Sounsds like a cash grab to me", I muttered. However, when the book shipped, I was suprirsed to find out that the writers from the movie were involved in the story, and that they had come up with a twist. Each story is only a couple issues long and is a modern retelling of TOS episodes, featuring the new cast. That was intriguing enough to get me to try out the first couple issues, and it's really good! Color me surprised (and a bit wrong), but this is a great Star Trek book, for anyone who liked the old series, the new movies, or anything in-between. I'm a DS9 man when it comes to the tv shows, but this is definitely winning me over fast. I've marked the first issue down by 50%, so if you want a copy, I'll throw one in your folder. Highly recommended. Next week's books.. ... are here. Be good. S. Scott McGovern Comics Manager Dragon's Den CONNECT WITH US Friend us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Read our blog Forward this to a Friend CONTACT US Dragon's Den 2600 South Road Poughkeepsie Plaza Poughkeepsie, New York 12601 Add us to your address book 845-471-1401 comicsdragonsden@gmail.com SHARE THIS REMINDERS + Next weeks comics are posted! + Don't forget to update your list at Comixology! + We're not going to Guam, are we?  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | read our blog | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2012 Dragon's Den, All rights reserved. Here is one of those emails we promised you when you signed up as part of the Denizen Discount Program when you were shopping at Dragon's Den. Our mailing address is: Dragon's Den 2600 South Road Poughkeepsie Plaza Poughkeepsie, New York 12601 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences | view email in browser

Unpacking the Dragon's Den

So many people who do not live local have asked us what the store looks like and what type of product we carry. So not wanting to keep everyone in the dark, here is an unpacking of the Dragon's Den!

As you walk down the hall of the Poughkeepsie Plaza, we are located at the end of the hallway at the North end of the plaza. 

When you look into the store, you will find many great items located on our island.  You are also presented with a choice, left or right...

If you walk straight in and look in the front two cases you will find some interesting items, including bumper stickers and ...

and CANDY! Notice that most of the candy is branded!

So I decided to turn to the right and make my way along the comic book wall.  We have a nice lite display for the comic books, all sorted alphabetically from left to right with tabs behind all the new books.At the end of the rows of comic books, there is a lite display with all the comic glasses, banks, and pop fun figures.  We carry Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, and more.  If you are looking for comic books, then you might want to browse our wall.

Opposite the comic wall, and inside the island you find all the collectible card games (CCG) and sports cards.  This is where all the boosters, starters, and singles for the different CCGs.  This is also where you will find the card sleeves, deck boxes, and play mats.  With games like Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, and World of Warcraft we have plenty of CCGs for the players to enjoy.

Rounding the corner by the BCW spinning rack which houses top loaders, penny sleeves, and binders, you see the gaming area. We can set the area up in multiple configurations for card games, miniature games, or role playing games.  Across the back wall of the gaming area is a wall of board games and card games as well as Yoda above one of our demo video game systems.

Right in the corner of the gaming area is our role playing games (RPG) section, which usually has a table set up for RPG games. We keep our boosters of miniatures, RPG books (New and Used), and maps.  We carry many different RPG titles like D&D, Pathfinder, Legend of the Five Rings, Eclipse Phase, and so much more!

At the back of the island, facing into the gaming area you find our miniature paints, dice, CCG binders, some play mats, and darts.  Oh, yes DARTS!  So many people play in leagues in the area, but there are so few places to find flights, shafts, tips, and other dart accessories.

The wall opposite the comics and around the other side of the island you find miniatures and video games.  Starting at the back of the store, you run into the miniature section of the wall.  We carry game companies such as Games Workshop (Warhammer and Warhammer 40K), Privateer Press (Warmachine and Hordes), Spartan Miniatures (Uncharted Seas, Dystopian Wars, and Firestorm Armada), and some other titles like Battletech, Malifaux, and Infinity.

As you move down the wall, you will see all the video games, and video game systems.  We carry new games as well as retro.  Looking for Nintendo (Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Gamecube, and Wii), X-box, X-Box 360, PlayStation (1, 2, and 3), Sega (Master System, Genesis, CD, Saturn, and Dreamcast), or even Atari... we've got it!  We also have a tech in the store who can fix most problems with current and older systems.  In the island across from the wall we keep the hand held games.  These range from the original Nintendo Gameboy to the 3DS.  We also have PSPs, Sega Game Gears, and even a Nomad!

Right next to the register we have some more snacks.  Here we keep some of the really cool imports from Japan and Ireland!  Drinks, candies, chips, and cookies! We also have energy drinks in this case, as well as in the mini fridge right behind the counter if you want one cold.

So now you have had the grand tour.  I did not have space to put in all the pictures of the store or all the cases, but I wanted to leave some mystery or intrigue so that you are enticed into stopping by and checking us out.  And if you are curious, we run events on those tables every night of the week, and you should check out our calendar for more information.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks