Risk Legacy Game 3

So we played out game number 3 for Risk Legacy recently, and it was very interesting.  We had several people who have now played in all 3 games now, and a new winner this week.  Here is a list of who played game 3:

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks
Stasi "Dengirl" King
Dave Steltenkamp
Amanda Cowen
Alex Sherman

Well no one was elliminated this game, but we did get a new winner, Alex! He made some crazy alliance with Amanda and then turned on her to win the game.  So for winning Alex chose to name the continent of "North America"... and went with Amurka.  As we had everyone else hold on, we got to claim victory items as well.  Amanda named a minor city: Mootown, Dave claimed a minor city: Byzanta, Stasi claimed a minor city King's Kourt, and I founded a minor city St. Banksville. 

The map now has 7 minor cities, 1 major city, 3 mercenary scars, 3 ammo shortage scars, and 2 bunkers.  We have also named 2 continents, so the game is progressing very nicely and it is turning into a world for the Drgaon's Den!

If you want to read some more about the game, below is a review and a quick bit about the games we have played so far.  We will be continuing the game until we name the board, so we have 12 more games to go.  Stop in and maybe be a part of the history of this world.

Game Review
Game 1
Game 2

After the next game we will take some pictures of the board and post them as well, but if you want we have the game out for everyone to see.  Hope that everyone who is interested in Risk Legacy has some fun reading these posts and if you want get a copy, stop in and pick one up! 

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Plans for Yu-Gi-Oh at the Den for 2012

Well 2011 is almost over and it has been a fantastic year! I have been so pleased with the number of players and the level of play I've seen develop at the Dragon's Den over the past year. We have seen many of our players head off to big events and do very well. Well now it is time to try and step it up, and offer some new incentives to our players.

Hang on to your hats as this might be a long post from me, but I think you will like what you read! Read on and help us get excited for Yu-Gi-Oh in the new year here at the Dragon's Den!

Player of the Year at the Dragon's Den

We are going to start a program to name a player of the year here at the Dragon's Den. We will be keeping track of points earned during matches played in the store.   We will be taking the top 8 players of each event per week and adding them into the list. We will be using the points that you earn during the game: 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a lose. The total from the event will be added to the total from previous events.

We will begin this on January 1st, so the Tuesday Night Yu-Gi-Oh event on January 3rd will be the first chance to earn points. We will be ending the points on December 16th and we will award the Player of the Year at the Dragon's Den after Yu-Gi-Oh on Sunday 23rd. If players are curious as to how they stand in the running, then you might want to read about the Leader Board next.

Leader Board

Every week we'll be posting a Leader Board in the store for the Player of the Year. This board will contain as many players as we can fit on the form, but I'm hoping for at least 20 names. It will list the ranking, name, number of points earned, and number of events played in. We will attempt to update and post the Leader Board weekly on Wednesday or Thursday.

Events, Events, Events

On top of all the regular events that we run, which includes Tuesday night events and Sunday events, we are in the process of getting some Regional events to be run at the store.  We are also thinking of running some other interesting events, but that will be announced later.

I'm very hopeful that adding in these cool add-ons will help bring in players and keep all other players excited to play weekly. Ohhhhhh.... I did not mention what you will get if you are the player of the year. That was intentional, you will have to play, come in, follow us, or read the blog for more information!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Plans for Magic at the Dragon's Den for 2012

Well 2011 is almost over and it has been a fantastic year!  I have been so pleased with the number of players and the level of play I've seen develop at the Dragon's Den over the past year.  We have seen many of our players head off to big events and do very well.  Well now it is time to try and step it up, and offer some new incentives to our players. 

Hang on to your hats as this might be a long post from me, but I think you will like what you read! Read on and help us get excited for Magic in the new year here at the Dragon's Den!

Player of the Year at the Dragon's Den

We are going to start a program to name several players of the year here at the Dragon's Den.  We will be keeping track of points earned during matches played in the store.   The points will be broken down by Competitive Standard, FREE Standard, Legacy, and Limited.  We will be taking the top 8 players of each event per week and adding them into the list.  We will be using the points that you earn during the game: 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a lose.  The total from the event will be added to the total from previous events. 

We will begin this on January 1st, so the Monday Night Magic event on January 2nd will be the first chance to earn points.  We will be ending the points on December 14th and we will award the Players of the Year at the Dragon's Den after Magic on Friday 21st.  If players are curious as to how they stand in the running, then you might want to read about the Leader Board next. 

Leader Board

Every week will be posting a Leader Board in the store for the 4 different Player of the Year categories.  These boards will contain as many players as we can fit on the form, but I'm hoping for at least 20 names.  It will list the ranking, name, number of points earned, and number of events played in.  We will attempt to update and post the Leader Board weekly on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

Events, Events, Events

We are planning so many great events for the year.  We will have GPTs as they become available.  We will also be run PTQs as soon as Wizards approves a location between NYC and Albany.  We are running the maximum number of Prerelease and Launch Party events for every new release.  We have now begun looking at running Star City Games invitational events as well.  We will continue to run FNM events, Drafts, Sealeds, Standard, and so much more.

We are also planning a special deal.  If you play in the 3:00pm FNM Standard event and win, you will get a FREE entry into the Competitive $5.00 FNM Standard at 6:00pm.  This is a special weekly deal to help get more players playing Competitive!

I'm very hopeful that adding in these cool add-ons will help bring in players and keep all other players excited to play weekly.  Ohhhhhh.... I did not mention what you will get if you are the player of the year.  That was intentional, you will have to play, come in, follow us, or read the blog for more information!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Risk Legacy Game 2

Well this weekend we ran game number 2 for Risk Legacy and it was amazing.  We had a few return players and a few new players so it changed the dynamics of the game some.  The bigger change was the addition of a Major city and 2 minor cities to the map. 

Here is who played this second game:

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks
Stan Tyler
Dave Steltenkamp
Matt Popow
Kenny

I ended up going first, which was interesting as I won last game and got a Missile token instead of a Star.  This puts the first play who wins a game at a slight disadvantage for victory conditions, but it does give you a chance to modify a die roll to a "6." 

Well to save space and not write about every little detail, I won again!  As I started in "Africa" again, I decided to give it a name.  "Africa" is now to be called Maximus in our game!  Dave and Stan both held on. Dave chose to name another minor city and Stan added a resource sticker to Peru, making it a 3 resource!  The other 2 players were eliminated which allowed us to open another pack of hidden cards.  The two players who were eliminated got to add a new "Comeback" power to their faction.  So when we play again 2 factions have 2 powers on them!  We did get to open another pack of cards as I have now won and signed the board twice.  This new pack gives us Mission and Event cards!

Well I don't want to spoil to much information.  If you want to see more information you can check out our Box Opening and our Game 1 blog! Also stop in and see the board.  If you are looking for a copy of the game, stop in also.  We have multiple copies and would be happy to sell them for the holidays.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks  

Risk Legacy Game Number 1

So last night be sat down and played our first game of Risk Legacy.  It was really different and fantastic at the same time.  So we had 5 players and we began the game with only one person who had played this version before... and only once at that.  Let me break down some of the points so that you might get an idea of some of the differences in this version then to regular Risk.  As Stasi  wrote a product review and had some great pictures, I'm going to write this more from the play side... but add in some pictures too!

First we took a look at the factions, picked the one and wrote our names on the back.  The factions give the play a specific bonus (or a choice of two possible ones at the beginning) that can affect the game.  We were also each given a single Star Token, and a Scar card that can be used once to alter the board... PERMANENTLY! So I ended up with Khan Industry and the Scar card "Bunker."  Matter of fact, I was the only one who played a Scar card in this first game.

Play started out with a bunch of territory expansion, and only a little combat.  But by the fourth round several HQs had changed hands, and mine was under attack, which prompted the bunker Scar card!  I was able to pull off a quick surge and capture a second HQ and purchase a Star giving me 4 Stars at the end of the turn, which oddly enough was the end of the round as well.  As I was the first to gain the 4 necessary Stars, I ended the game.  Now, when we start next, I get a Missile Token rather than a starting Star!

The coolest part of the game is what happens at the end.  Not only do you have some permanent changes to the board with Scar cards, BUT you also get to change the board at the end of the game.  The winner gets several choices; name a continent, name a major city are two.  I chose to name a major city.  If you held on and were not eliminated (which was everyone else) you have other options. For example, you can add a resource to a card for a province you control or name a minor city.  We had 2 players  name minor cities and 2 add a resource to a card.  All of these change how the game will be played next time.

I'm so excited to play again!  I'm hoping to play with the same group and see if we can give some of the new players a little more time to grasp the tactics.  Here is who we had play the first game:

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks
Alex Sherman
Dave Steltenkamp
Amanda Cowen
Stasi "Dengirl" King

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Holiday Goodies Now At Dragon's Den!

As the holidays get closer, we of the Dragon's Den have gotten numerous requests to show exactly which food items we have in stock that make good presents or stocking stuffers.   So, here's our recomendations for great holiday snacks that will make everyone smile!First off, we have a huge amount of European and Japanese candies for sale...if you need to know exactly what is in each one, simply scroll all the way to the bottom of the post, where the items are listed alphabetically.


Our Smarties, Milkybar Buttons and Fruit Pastilles are in tubes, the Revels and Maltesers are in like-sized boxes. Each of these candies are the perfect size for stockings, or for a smaller Channukah gift.

For the older family members, we have Edinburgh All-Butter Shortbreads, and the very sought-after Oatfield Emerald Caramels. Both are very chewy and rich, wonderful for more discerning palates.

Of course, we know there are other options for the chocolate lovers. We not only have the Milkybar white chocolate Advent Calendars, but Cadbury Coins and the assorted chocolate Cadbury Roses!

And what would a real Christmas be without the Christmas Cracker?  We have two different brands, the Santa & Snowmen for youngsters, and Luxury Crackers for the older children (or anyone!).

If the person on your list enjoys Japanese snacks more than European ones, we've got you covered there too. Not only do we carry various types of Pocky flavors...

We also have the very popular Hi-Chew in 4 or more flavors. We also carry Calpico & Ramune sodas.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the powerful 4-8 hour novelty energy drinks made by gamers, for gamers. Have a World of Warcraft or D&D player who needs a small gift? Grab them a Mana or Health Potion. Know someone who's easier to find on Facebook than the real world? Get them a Facedrink. Just have that impossible to shop for person who loves novelty?  We have your answer; Get them a Love or Luck potion!

Want something else for the holidays? We carry a LOT more snacks than what is pictured here. Need Mario, Sonic, Gears of War, Star Trek or Ghostbusters candies? We have them.  Need Cadbury Creme eggs, Ribena Blackcurrent juice, Tru Blood soda or Green Apple Tango? We've got that too.  Want to see everything we have?  Stop on by, and pick up some delicious foods!

-Stasi "Dengirl" King

PICTURED ITEMS
-Fruit Pastilles = small round sweets that have a jelly-like consistency due to the gelatin they are made from, and are covered with sugar. They contain fruit juice and have no artificial colours or flavours, and come in five flavours: strawberry, blackcurrent, lemon, orange and lime.
NOT VEGETARIAN, CONTAINS PORK GELATIN.

-Smarties = are a color-varied sugar-coated chocolate, very similar to M&Ms in America.  The chocolate is a richer variety than what is typically found in the USA, and has 8 colors rather than 5.

-Milkybar = a white chocolate created by Nestle, it has a creamier texture than most US chocolates.

-Revels = chocolate coated candy with orange creme, raisin, toffee, or coffee creme centers.

-Maltesers =  are a ball of malted honeycomb center, surrounded by milk chocolate.

-Royal Edinburgh Shortbread = made into smaller 'fingers' of shortbread, this classic treat uses the original recipe that has won 9 awards. Made with real butter, they are a step above store-quality.

-Oatfield Emeralds = Much chewier than other caramels, these have an almost toffee-like texture. They are rich and chocolatey with a light coconut taste mixed in.

-Cadbury Roses = a selection of individually wrapped Cadbury's chocolates. Flavors are; Tangy Orange Creme, Brazilian Darkness, Dairy Milk, Caramel Velvet, Golden Barrel, Hazel Whirl, Strawberry Dream, Country Fudge and Hazel in Caramel. Each is in an easily distinguishable foil of various corresponding colors.
-Cadbury Coins = a small package of silver and gold foil covered discs of Cadbury's milk chocolate.

-Christmas Crackers = two different kinds are available at our store. Though each has a small 'cap' inside to make the distinctive "cracker" sound, the Santa & Snowmen Crackers 10 Pack has a joke, stickers and .  The Luxury Crackers 12 Pack has a joke, a paper crown, and a small toy or prize.

-Pocky = long, thin shortbread-like cookies covered in chocolate, strawberry, caramel, mint chocolate, almonds or dried strawberry pieces. Extremely popular among anime groups!

-Morinaga Hi-Chew = small 'bricks' of incredibly chewy fruit-flavored candies, they are a favored sweet in Asian countries. Flavors include Strawberry, Green Apple, Melon and Peach.
NOT VEGETARIAN, CONTAINS PORK GELATIN.

-Novelty Energy Drinks = all made by Harcos Labs, these 50ml drinks provide numerous vitamins (including gratuitous amounts of B6 and B12) to give you 6-8 hours of pure energy. Some caffiene, but no sugar so you won't 'crash' later. The Mana Potion has a tangy citrus flavor, Health is apple/cinnamon, Love has a sweet strawberry taste and Luck is a tart green apple.  Facedrink is the newest of the bunch, and has a hard-to-place tropical/fruit flavor.

As always, please pay attention to your own dietary needs or restrictions when enjoying the snacks we carry here at Dragon's Den!

This week in comics: Bendis, Rob Liefeld, Being Awesome & More

Some days I come home, and find that the comic book industry has released little news of note. And then there are days like Tuesday.

* Brian Michael Bendis will leave the Avengers books next year. I cannot tell a lie: I love many of Bendis' early works. Fortune & Glory was great, Ultimate Spider-man (especially the first arc) was stunning and Sam & Twitch was much, MUCH better than any Sam & Twitch comic had a right to be. Plus, I had a letter published in the letter pages. Why? Because I'm awesome, that's why.

But his Avengers run... uhhh. Not my thing. Too much talkey, not enough 'splodey. Plus, it doesn't feel like an Avengers book, it feels like Marvel's Greatest Heroes Team-Up. I'm a traditionalist, what can I say. I think Spidey isn't a team player and Wolverine going off and killing people in Uncanny X-Force makes it hard to figure out how he can actually be on The Avengers and not get, y'know, arrested. And look, I can see how some people like looking at Spider-Woman, but come on... I can only take so much Jessica Jones. I mean, Jessica Drew. Wait, wasn't Jessica Jones based on Jessica Drew? So how are they both in the b-

Never mind.

I will give Bendis credit for one thing, though: Luke Cage is not a C-lister anymore. He made Cage a player. It is one of the few successful pushes for a minority character at Marvel in the last ten years.

So, Bendis is leaving. Someone else will be taking over. It's a change that's overdue, and I'm happy to see it happen. Given the downward spiral that have been the store's Avengers sales for the last 6 months, I don't think I'm in the minority on this one.

* ONCE UPON A TIME on NBC is by some of the LOST writers. Confession: I'm a huge LOST fan. HUUUGE. That said, I'm also a FABLES fan. It looked to a lot of people that NBC had ripped off the great Vertigo comic. So, what did Bill Williamson, creator of Fables do? He did an interview at CBR, telling people to lay off. What a guy.

Go. Read.

* I've been bad. I shouldn't talk about it, 'cause if I give away my secrets, you won't come to the blog and read my posts. Which is funny, because I write two entries a month, if I'm lucky.

I've been a bad comic manager. There's this comic that came out a month back, and I've been making people read it. Not buying it, but reading it. In the store. And it's... well, it's not your average comic. It's part sci-fi, part parody, part love story and part world-breaker. Reading this comic, will warp your mind. It will change the way you see things. It will alter your perception of reality.

Most importantly (and really, this is the main point), you'll put the book down, ask me "Why... why?" and then put your head in your hands and sob while I laugh hysterically at you. Amanda will laugh too, if she's around. She's like my little padawan of sadism. I'm so proud of her.

So, by all means, please go read OUR LOVE IS REAL.

(Just so there's no confusion, this is not a book for anyone under the age of 18. Oh, and I love it.)

* I like the idea that The Den is a place to get away from politics, religion, the real world, and other hot topic issues. We're an escape from the real world. At least, that's the way I like to think of it. I know, it's a crazy idea and I'm nuts for bringing it up, but that's the kinda guy I am: Nuts. Awesome. And slightly sadistic, in case you couldn't tell from the previous item.

Where was I? Oh yeah. Politics. So, as some of you might know, a couple people here and there have been getting together for sleepovers in a couple cities across the planet. And by "couple", I mean "thousands" and by "sleepovers", I mean "Occupy". See what I did there? I was sarcastic and you didn't see it coming. I told you I was awesome.

So, there's an Occupy Comics book coming out. It's not something that will be offered by our distributor, but the talent included in the project is stellar. It's one of those fancy-shmancy Kickstarter things.  Go take a look, and maybe pledge a couple dollars towards putting it together.

* This indy project caught my eye. I have no idea who any of these creators are, and who is publishing it, but I want:

Death Sentence

* In the ongoing debate about the role that digital comics plays in the comic industry, there's been a lot of conversation about "digital day-and-date", and whether digital comics will end up putting comic book stores out of business. I'm not going to lie, I get a little concerned sometimes that ten years from now, everything will be electronic and noone will come in to yell at me that they didn't get their Deadpool comic that week. I don't think comic/games/popculture stores are going to disappear, but I think there's some darwinism at play here: The stores that make themselves a destination for the customer, will get the tall green dollars. Those that don't, won't.

But then there's the creator side. What's it like to be a comic creator, watching the industry grudgingly move towards digital day-and-date? How does that tie into sales over the last few years?

Brian Wood, writer of DMZ, Northlanders, and the soon-to-be-published Wolverine mini-series, writes on his Tumblr about some of these topics, in lieu of the brou-haha that erupted around Dark Horse's digital day and date policy over the weekend. and a couple loud-mouthed retailers, about Dark Horse's digital day-and-date policy. Wood is always very honest about his work and his career, without taking shots at others. This is a great read for anyone who enjoys hearing about the "other" side of comics, as well for any future creators out there.

Highly recommended. Make with the clicky.

* And last but not least... Rob Liefeld. I don't know that there's a more polarizing figure in comics. Is he crazy? Is he a genius? By all accounts, he's the nicest guy you'll ever meet, and loves comics. I mean _loves_ comics. A buddy of mine had him in for a signing at his west coast store, and swore to me that Liefeld was the best salesman he'd ever had; The guy was pointing people towards great books left and right, many of which didn't have Liefeld's name on them.

But the internet loves to hate, and every time an article or interview pops up online, the comments section goes wild with "he can't draw feet" or "That pose looked awesome in 1995" or other low-quality snark. All that said, he's gotten 4 issues of The Infinite and 4 issues of Hawk & Dove out on time in the last 4 months. Any other Image founders even coming close to that?

So, in the spirit of fairness, I invite you to read this longish blog posting on Liefeld's site, where he talks about his work in the 90's, the time off he took around the turn of the century, and what it was like, several years later, to go online and find out that he had become one of the most hated artists in all of comics. It's fascinating and more than a little honest, to see inside the head of one of comics' most intriguing figures.

Reading that makes me want to fly him out for a signing. I wonder how many people would show up?

"How to beat the Haters" by Rob Liefeld

Quarriors! Rise of the Demons Review

So I'm a little behind on reviewing some new expansions and games, but when I saw this one came in I had to crack it open and check it out.  I was so excited to see Quarriors when I was at Gen Con that I had to pick it up then.  I had heard that there was going to be an expansion before the holidays, but I had not had a chance to grab it. 

Opening the small black and green box reveals a small rules insert.  The rules add-on to the game are fairly simple and are about half a sheet of paper.  Below that there are new dice and new cards.  There are 20 new dice and 19 new cards.  The new dice come in three different varieties, including a Corrupted Quiddity (10 dice), Demonic Overlord (5 dice), and Corruption Spell (5 dice).  The cards offer some fantastic new variants to old favorite creatures as well as some new to this set cards.  The old favorites from the original game are all "Corrupted" versions and use the original dice.  For the original monsters there 10 cards, and for the new Demonic Overlord there are 4 different cards.  The Corruption spell also has 4 different levels.  The most interesting card is the Corrupted Quiddity.   It is the first die to give you the chance to get a 0 for Quiddity on the roll... so you can roll and get nothing!

Well I'm looking forward to sitting down and playing this expansion with my play test group, as they are always up for a game! They loved the original and a chance to play with some new spells and monsters will get them excited to play again!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Risk Legacy Review

Risk. A war-waging strategy board game that many have played, but few have conquered. Available in variant formats such as Godstorm, 2210 AD, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and even Transformers, each new generation of war gamer has a reason to play it.
The common idea, of course,  being to defeat your opponent and put away the game until next time you want to re-demolish the world. But have you ever wondered what it would be like if your bombs actually changed the landscape? If the economy ever failed beyond repair? Or if the radioactivity ever drastically changed the population of that country?

Wonder no longer, fellow-Risk players, for Risk Legacy has finally released!

Upon first opening the box, we see that there are 4 sealed decks of cards taped to the interior lid, along with a shrink-wrapped game board. These particular decks aren't to be opened until the game's prerequisites are fulfilled. This can range from when all 9 minor cities are founded to when the world capital is built. 

But wait, what's that paper glued to the board say?

Wow! Hasbro certainly went all out with this one.  It's almost as though they want the players to know they may have to take responsibility for their actions later on...

 Underneath the board we find the rules manual, a sheet of sticker decals, Red Star Tokens, Orange Missile Tokens, the Sideboard, and the double-sided Faction Cards.

 Under all those is are the plastic pieces that will be used to represent the various troops. As in other Risks, there are 1-Troop, 3-Troop and HQ pieces, all colored for the faction they are part of.  The dice are also similar to other Risk titles, as the 3 Black Dice are used for attacking and the 2 Red Dice are used for defense rolls.  The cards consists of Resources, Territories, Coins, Powers and Scars (which permanently alter aspects of various Territories).


Before reading on, this is a MAJOR SPOILER! Read on only if you want to learn more!


The following pictures show which card types are in each of the 4 sealed decks, in order of how you should open them.

Of course, the board itself is fairly standard, and should be easily recognizable to Risk players everywhere. It is divided into 42 Territories, which are grouped into 6 standard Continents. The 15 lines on the left are for the winners names.

Lastly, there are now Mutants and Aliens that players must contend (or collaborate!) with.

 

Won't spoil anything else for now, but I'll certainly reccommend getting a copy of this new board game from our friends at Hasbro. At only $59.99, it's a great holiday present for the Risk/War gamer in your life, or a fantastic way to spend a snowed-in day. Come by and pick one up, or simply ask to see our opened store copy!

Stasi "Dengirl" King

New Paltz Gaming Convention "NPC" 2011

This past weekend was the New Paltz Gaming Convention known as NPC! For the third year in a row we have had a table and have worked with the students that organize and run the event.  We have done more then just have a table though, we have also helped run a few events.  This year we ran a Magic Casual (10 players) event, an Innistrad Draft (14 players), and a Yu-Gi-Oh constructed (10 players) event.  After talking to the students that run the Convention, the attendance was up about 25% over last year and was the largest number of individuals to attend. 

They had many cool events including some fantastic video game tournaments, mock combat with "bofer" weapons, anime viewings, and so much more!

And here are some of the players for the Magic event we ran at NPC.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Black Friday at the Dragon's Den

We at the Dragon's Den want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving in advance and to let everyone know about the incredible Black Friday sales we will have on Friday November 25th.  We will be opening at 8:00am so that you can  come in and get some great deals while you are running to all the other stores.  What??? You don't know about our sales yet??? Then read on and hopefully you will find something great to stop in and pick up.

Valid 8 am to 12 pm

 All Hot Wheels 4 for $1

Energy Drinks & PEZ Buy 1, Get 1 FREE

All Action Figures Marked “Special” -3 for $10

Video Game Accessories-50% Off (Excludes New PS3/Wii/360)     

All Cartridge Games Buy1, Get 1 FREE

All Disc Games Buy 2, Get 1 FREE

Heroclix-Buy 1 Brick, Get a Starter FREE!

40% Off Any Miniatures Basic Rulebook or Starter Set

Board Games Marked “Special” 75% Off

Buy a Core Board Game, Get Expansion 50% Off

All RPG Books Buy 2, Get 1 FREE

All Manga-75% Off

Star Wars Action Figures 3 for $10

All Star Wars Boxed Sets 50% Off

All MTG and Yu-Gi-Oh! Singles-Buy 1, Get 1 FREE

Sports Card Singles Buy 2, Get 1 FREE

Any L5R Card Game Products-75% Off

         MTG 2012 2-Player Starter Set-50% Off 

          MTG New Phyrexia Starter Decks-50% Off

Yu-gi-oh! XYZ/Generation Force SE/Hidden Arsenal SE-50% Off

           

        All Day Sales

 All Action Figures Buy 1, Get 1 FREE

All Graphic Novels Buy 1, Get 1 FREE

All Statues 35% Off

All DC New 52 2^nd, 3^rd, or 4^th Printings-$1 Each

Additional sales may be announced all day long, so follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more details.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks 

Looking Ahead: January & February

Previews came out last week, chock-full of new comic-y goodness that will be arriving in 2012. I popped open the large tome and found some cool reprints, new comics, and dollar books that I think a lot of you will dig. I've add Comixology links for our loyal Reservists, too.

Enjoy.

"But my feeling is what Gotham really does is challenge you in these ways that shake you to the core." - Scott Snyder, from an interview at CBR.

* If you've been enjoying the new Batman series by Scott Snyder or All-Star Western featuring Jonah Hex in late 19th century Gotham, then BATMAN GATES OF GOTHAM is a must-have.

Gates of Gotham sets the stage for the history of Gotham and the Five Families. It details some of the back-story and relationships between the Waynes, the Cobblepots and the rest of the Gotham families. This trade paperback collects the entire mini-series at a reasonable price and is a GREAT Batman story. Highly recommended.

Kudos to DC for releasing it first as a trade paperback instead of a hardcover.

Comixology link and more information can be found here.

* WASTELAND is a post-apocalyptic series that teases a dark future with lots of question. While the book itself has been solid, it's struggled with coming out on time over the last 18 months. The creative team and publisher recently put out a press release that addressed the issues with candor, and announced that issue #33 is going to be $1. A new jumping-on point for a series tabbed to go 60 issues, #33 might not be the best place to start, but for a dollar, it's a good gamble. Vertigo and Dark Horse fans, this will be a book you might enjoy. I've been reading the series for years, and it's distinctly different than anything else on the market.

It's a dollar! Give it a shot!

Read an interview with the writer, Antony Johnston at CBR.

Comixology link and more information can be found here.

* It feels like Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips has been creating great crime/noir fiction since the dawn of time, so I'm stoked to see that they're doing a new ongoing series entitled FATALE. The difference between this and his other crime work, is that this comic will have a supernatural bent. If you like Criminal, Sin City, The Usual Suspects, 100 Bullets or any crime noir movie/book/tv show EVER, then you're going to enjoy this series. Two of comics' best creators, who've worked with each other for a long time, doing their best work? This is going to be a great book.

A video clip from Brubaker plus several finished pages can be seen here.

Comixology link and more information can be found here.

* Ridiculously long title aside, WOLVERINE AND X-MEN: ALPHA AND OMEGA looks very cool. Quentin Quire and Wolverine square off in this mini-series written by Brian Wood. Brian hasn't done much superhero or work-for-hire books in awhile, but coming off of his DMZ and Northlander runs at Vertigo, he's doing this mini-series and he's working on Conan at Dark Horse next year. I think this will be one of the better mini's to come from Marvel in quite some time. Given that Kid Omega (Quire) played a huge role in Schism, I think this series is going great. Wood has a different sensibility than a lot of the guys at Marvel, and I think it'll show.

Comixology link and more information can be found here.

Don't die Optimus, I.. I... I think I love you.

* IDW relaunches the Transformers books with two new ongoings: TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE and TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

Look, this is a series about alien robots who transform into cars and guns. Do I really need to sell this? :)

Comixology link and more information for More Than Meets The Eye and for Robots In Disguise.:

* A couple months ago, a Kickstarter project was started to raise funds for an entirely female-created comic project called WOMANTHOLOGY. The fundraising was a HUGE success, and here is the result: THREE HUNDRED PAGES of female-created comics. The price tag is high - $50 - but proceeds from this book will be going to charity.

This will be a great book to give in time for Valentine's Day. Hint hint, gentlemen.

Comixology link and more information can be found here.

I liked her better with the mohawk.

* SNARK ATTACK: AVENGERS #21

Storm joins the Avengers! What, Maggot and Stacy X weren't available? I mean, haven't most of the X-Men and FF already become Avengers already? Sheesh.

Come on, Marvel. This the best you can do?

I'm not giving you the Comixology link. I'm sorry, I just can't.