This Week in Comics – November 5th

Next Week's Arrivals!

I'm sure most of you will wind up visiting our Comics Arriving Soon page on our site at gamersgambit.com, but I thought as a little change for the blog going forward would be spotlighting a few things to keep an eye out for next week! First off is All New Captain America #1; Marvel has really been on an All New kick for their titles this week and Cap is joining in.  This will be "Falc-Cap's" first official ongoing series and y'all know my feelings on Cap.  The other things I'd like to point out to everyone are the DC Bombshell art prints.  The variants a few months ago were fairly popular and the artwork was gorgeous.  They are well worth hanging up in your home!

Who Will Get the 3rd Entry in the Universal Avengers?

I've been reporting on Universal's attempt at revitalizing their classic monsters in a Marvel Cinematic Universe style for a couple of months now, and we have the first two members of the team already.  The first is Dracula from Dracula Untold and following that in June of 2016 The Mummy reboot will bring us another member of the team.  The question now is who will be next?  We've got Frankenstein, The Wolfman, Bride of Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Invisible Man and Phantom of the Opera waiting in the wings for their reboots.  Seeing as how The Wolfman got a somewhat recent reboot 4 years ago, I doubt he'll be next, and the Frankenstein movie starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe is coming out soon, so we can narrow it down a bit more.  Presumably the Bride won't show up until they've established the monster himself; that leaves us with the Creature, Invisible Man, and the Phantom.  My bet would be on the Creature from the Black Lagoon, mainly because the reboot for him has been in production for years, but I can easily see the other two showing up in 2017 as well.  The Invisible Man and Phantom of the Opera can easily serve as the more "human" members of the Universal Monsters, and thus allow for an easier entry point when they finally team up in the relatively near future.  We'll see when the time gets closer!  I'd love to hear your thoughts as well!  Here's an Ain't It Cool News article for more.

Stay Classy Denizens!
Zach

Zach "Erik" Burruby
Comics Manager
Dragon's Den

This Week in Comics – October 29th

Marvel’s Phase 3 Unleashed!

     So yesterday in L.A. Marvel Studios revealed their scheduled movies for the next 5 years, commonly referred to as Phase 3.  Some films like Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 aren't huge surprises, but a few are surprising and/or about-dang-time titles.  After rumors of the 3rd Avengers movie being themed around the Civil War comic storyline we've learned that it’s actually Captain America who gets the Civil War treatment and Avengers 3 & 4 (yes it’s getting split) will follow the Infinity War story.

The other exciting movie slated for the future is Captain Marvel featuring the Carol Danvers version of the character.  In the about-dang-time part of this news story was that Black Panther has been slated for November 3rd, 2017 and has Chadwick Boseman cast as the titular character.  Here’s the link for everything for phase 3!

By the Vishanti!

     Spinning off of the above entry, we more or less may have a definitive casting for the Master of the Mystic Arts, a.k.a. Doctor Strange.  It appears that Star Trek: Into Darkness and The Hobbit villain Benedict Cumberbatch is in final talks to take up the role of Sorcerer Supreme.  Based on the couple of episodes of Sherlock that I've seen, he can easily pull of the aloofness of the good doctor.  Hopefully we will get to see him in the costume soon! View the news here.

Stay Classy Denizens!
Zach

Zach "Erik" Burruby
Comics Manager
Dragon's Den

This Week in Comics – October 22nd

There’s a Juggernaut Heading for Arrow

Mockingbird

Vinnie Jones is probably best known for his Juggernaut role in the X-Men movie that actually doesn’t exist thanks to Days of Future Past.  You may ask yourself why I’m bringing up this giant of a character actor.  You may also be asking yourself how you got here, but I digress.  Anyway Vinnie Jones will be appearing as a DC Character known as Danny “Brick” Brickwell, who has invulnerable skin, in the CW’s Arrow.  For whatever reason the show runners are going to have it that he isn’t powered, but instead is said to be invulnerable because he survived being shot several times.  I’ve loved Vinnie Jones in everything he’s been in, so I can’t wait to see this one! View the announcement here.

When There’s Trouble You Call DW!

In January we will be lucky enough to see a collection of Boom! Entertainment’s full run Dark Wing Duck in comic form from publishing company Joe Books.  This was one of my favorites of the Disney revival books from Boom! I’m surprised that Marvel didn’t take up doing collections for this.  To be titled Disney’s Darkwing Duck: Definitely Dangerous Edition, just remember to look out for this one in January! Read the solicitation here.

Stay Classy Denizens!
Zach


Zach "Erik" Burruby
Comics Manager
Dragon's Den

This Week in Comics – October 15th

Hot Off the Presses!

     There is so much that came out of New York Comic Con this past weekend that it’s nigh impossible to get all of it in one weekly entry. So I will be putting one or two of the stories into the next few blog entries. The first I’d like to bring up is the epic cross over story of Archie Meets Predator! The story sounds a lot like Final Destination with Archie and the Predator thrown in. Basically, from what I’ve managed to hear, is Jughead wins a trip to Costa Rica and Predator begins taking out the Riverdale crew. This will be the most ridiculous story involving Archie since his crossover with the Punisher. More details to be announced for release dates and the like for this one! In similar ridiculousness news Jem and the Holograms will be receiving their own comic as well. Read the Archie news here.

To Quote Scarlet Witch…

     …“No More Mutants!” At least for a little while with Marvel anyway. Hot off the heels of the cancellation of Fantastic Four we've gotten some pseudo-news involving the X-Men, or at least mutants in general. All we know so far is that in January 2015 we will be seeing some sort of X-Men related event centered around Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. As far as further details go there isn't much more other than the Witch and Quicksilver are involved. We’ll have to wait a month or two for more info and see exactly what the No More Mutants event does to the Marvel Universe! View the teaser here.

Stay Classy Denizens!
Zach


Zach "Erik" Burruby
Comics Manager
Dragon's Den

Rebeckah’s List of Awesome

Hail and well met, Readers!

Don't forget, there's more to comics than DC and Marvel, and when you think 'Indie' there's more to it than Dark Horse and Vertigo. IDW gives us the best of integrating pop culture into the graphic novel/comic format with fantastic crossovers like Star Trek and The Planet of the Apes (It's a thing you can read, honest! Check it out in December) or--better yet--the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles combining forces with the Ghostbusters for the most epic team-up ever (also readable beginning now, October)! And it's not just your favorite TV Shows (X-Files, anyone?) or games like ye olde D&D Tyranny of Dragons tie-in at the end of October with Legends of Baldur’s Gate #1. Shadow Show (slated for Mid-November) is a compilation of short stories by a host of phenomenal writers including--but not limited to--Neil Gaiman and Harlan Ellison. All in honor of the late science fiction master, Ray Bradbury. So if you're a fan of classic sci-fi or the thought provoking (sometimes bizarre) tales in The Sandman, check it out.

December, meanwhile, gives us the Debut of Image’s They’re Not Like Us. With the Nowhere Man team (Eric Stephenson and Jordie Bellaire) linking up with artist Simon Gane, you can bet this is going to be a title worth waiting for. So far the solicitation gives us just a hint as to what to expect from the plot- For as long as anyone can remember, the younger generation is always toted as selfish, arrogant, reckless but now they’re changing. As the tagline goes: “They look the same, but they act different, think different, and have abilities we can only dream of.” I’ve always been a fan of unique takes on the superhero genre (aka Black Market--Selling the blood of superheroes for a profit!) so this is a must read on my list.

Also a must: Tooth and Claw #1 from Image (early November). At first glance it might seem like The Island of Doctor Moreau meets Game of Thrones but what awaits in its pages is an experience beyond the fantastic. Society is crumbling, the summoning of an ancient hero is a disastrous failure. Prepare to be launched into the rich, complex story of T & C where animal people thrive, heroes fight gods and explore the outer limits of their world and nothing is censored from readers who dare to partake. This comic comes with a Mature rating and writer Kurt Busiek intends to take advantage.

Boom! Studios gives us Eternal #1 in December. Total Recall lovers (yes, that movie with Schwarzenegger) don’t let this one get away because when death is all in the past, you’ll want to see what that means for the future. In early November, Boom’s also giving us the first release of Capture Creatures! This one’s for you, Pokemon fans. When a mass of strange, colorful creatures arrive on earth, two teenagers must find a way to figure out where they came from, why they’re here and how to protect them. It’s super colorful, super fun and definitely liable to give you a cuteness overload.

Finally, readers, I’ll let you go with one last recommendation and the tagline: “And the meek shall inherit the earth.” Do you like squirrels? Do you really like squirrels? If you’re not planning on reading Squarriors--Kickstarter funded and published by Devil’s Due Entertainment--you’re missing a beautiful, violent, post-human apocalyptic, rodent vs. rodent free-for-all. Just in time for the holidays (Mid-December), Squarriors is ripping into the comic scene with a riveting tale of rivaling clans of the furry and the furious.

Happy reading!

Rebeckah

Comics Coordinator
Gamer's Gambit
Danbury, CT

This Week in Comics – October 8th

A Fantastic Cancellation

Fantastic Four #1 by Ross

     After months of speculation in regards to the future of Marvel’s flagship family, the Fantastic Four, we learn that yet again their series is getting cancelled. The last few years have not been friendly to the First Family of the House of Ideas, going through cancellations, roster changes galore and a few deaths and returns. I’m sure most of us are thinking that it has something to do with the movie rights to the FF and unfortunately we may just be right.  In 2015, The Fantastic Four will be cancelled again on issue #642 with a triple sized issue! View the article here.

Iron Man 4 is a Go?

     This isn’t exactly a confirmation from Robert “I-actually-am-Tony-Stark” Downey Jr., but he did make an off handed remark during a Reddit AMA about donning the armor again if Mel Gibson were to direct. That could make for a hell of an Iron Man movie. Seeing as how the cinematic version of Tony has successfully run his course in terms of story in the three films, it’s a bit questionable as to what they would use for Iron Man 4 in terms of story. As far as villains go, most are the usual steal Stark tech armor and use it for their own terms, and seeing as how they used that basic frame work for the first two (Iron Monger & Whiplash) and basically used his big arch-nemesis (The Mandarin), they could have quite the interesting choice of villain. I personally hope they go with MODOK, especially with their introduction of AIM in Iron Man 3. Read the interview here.

Stay Classy Denizens!
Zach


Zach "Erik" Burruby
Comics Manager
Dragon's Den

This Week in Comics – October 1st

Gotham Academy #1

  Welcome to the first Weekly Comics Blog Entry, as opposed to the e-mail you've all become accustomed to!  This will be the general format with some slight changes in the near future!

  As I stated in last week’s e-mail it’s a pretty big week for Marvel. Thor #1 with the new female wielder of the enchanted hammer Mjolnir making her first official appearance is released today. The other huge change from Marvel is Captain America #25 with Sam Wilson donning the shield and red, white & blue.  Of course, we’ve got Bucky taking up Nick Fury’s role as intergalactic/pan-dimensional super spy in Bucky Barnes: Winter Soldier #1 and the continuation of the Spider-verse story-line in Edge of the Spider-verse #3 with B-Movie Man Spider!

  On the DC front we've got Gotham Academy #1, a new series that imagines a CW style high school drama set in Gotham City.  We also have the start of DC’s Monsters of the Month variant theme for October with Grayson #3, Detective Comics #35, Action Comics #35, and Green Lantern #35.  Granted it’s not as big a month for DC, but we are just coming off of September which tends to be the biggest month for DC.

That’s about it for the inaugural Weekly Blog Entry, mainly because of the pre-Comic Con news drought, so until next time…

Stay Classy Denizens!

Zach

Zach "Erik" Burruby

Comics Manager

Dragon's Den

Characters Wanted!

Wednesday, August 27 at 6 PM is another chance for you to create your character and pick a faction for the new D&D Encounters featuring the fifth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons rules. For the Tyranny of Dragons storyline, you get a neat folder featuring the faction insignia to keep your character creation sheet in and which contains what you need to know about the faction you select.

There are five factions to choose from: The Emerald Enclave, The Lord's Alliance, The Harpers, The Order of the Gauntlet, and last but not least, The Zhentarim. You will further your faction's aims within the Forgotten Realms setting while adventuring with your group. In return you'll gain renown and ranks within your faction that will further benefit you.

Be warned. The five-headed dragon known as Tiamat is a most lethal adversary among a host of villains plotting their own malevolent agendas. Dragons, demonic fiends, and undead all strive toward their own evil aims. You and other adventurers throughout the Realms must join forces to contain these threats and ultimately to face Tiamat, destroy the Cult of the Dragon, and prevent the rise of a new dragon empire.

You don't need to have ever played Dungeons & Dragons or a role playing game to join D&D Encounters. The first weekly campaign is scheduled for 6 PM Wednesday, September 3. You have until then to come into our store and create a truly memorable character for what will be a truly exciting adventure. Join a motley crew of 3 to 6 players in action-packed play experiences that is sure to delight you. Get more details on this D&D Encounters at the Wizards website by clicking here (link may open a new window).

Weekly Comics Update - July 9, 2014

A Couple of Marvel Villains Return to the Mini-Series Scene!

The upcoming Marvel event called AXIS, involving a group of villains and claiming to throw the Marvel Universe for a loop, will have at least 2 spin-offs centered on members of the central villain team. Those two villains are Carnage and Hobgoblin. Carnage has been quite the mini-series darling as of recently and Hobgoblin hasn't had anything recently. It seems that the Spider-Rogues are starting to gain the public love that their enemy has had since his inception. Here's the article in regards to said mini-series.

Could Guillermo Del Toro Be Returning to the Mountains of Madness?

Back in 2011 reports were abound that Hellboy and Pacific Rim director Guillermo Del Toro was mounting his multi-million dollar R-Rated adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness. Unfortunately Universal cancelled the production due to fear of the film failing because it was set to be rated R and horror movies with said rating don't preform well. Recently, Del Toro has come out and said that he's currently working on a PG-13 version of the film. He said that he could easily tone down the gore without changing much else of the film. I'm a huge Lovecraft fan and Del Toro is a perfect director to adapt this story to film. Here's the article.

Apparently Falcons Are More Patriotic Than Eagles!

So Marvel more or less said that Sam "The Falcon" Wilson is becoming the new Captain America with their teaser image for Time Runs Out. They've now definitively said that Sam is picking up the shield with Steve sans Super Soldier Serum. If there were anyone in the Marvel universe to done the suit outside of Steve or Bucky, Sam is it. In continuity I believe he's been a crime-fighting partner to Steve longer than Bucky was, and I'm fairly certain that in printing history, he and Cap have been teamed up longer than Steve and Bucky were. Here's the article about the replacement.

Stay Classy Denizens!

Zach "Erik" Burruby
Comics Manager
Dragon's Den

Subscribe to get Comics Update earlier on Wednesdays via email by clicking here!

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Don't Mess With These Beauties!

So DC Entertainment has revealed cover art for 15 of its DC Collectibles Bombshells Variants, each created by Ant Lucia. They're either in-store now or coming out in June or July. Inspired by classic 1940s aircraft pin-up artwork, these variant covers feature both DC's finest lady heroes and notorious female villains. We've got one word for this collection: Sweet!

Call or visit our store to reserve your copies for any of these Bombshells Variant Editions--the specific issues are listed below the pics.

If you've fallen even further in love with these powerhouse beauties, check out select Bombshell Beauties as statues and on t-shirts!

Toy Fair 2014 Part 2

As promised, here is some more information about Toy Fair 2014.  Some in this post I think I'll talk a little about Funko and :

Funko:

They have some many fantastic new releases coming out including A Game of Thrones, Galactic Guardians, The Walking Dead, and Magic the Gathering.  With new bobble heads, blind pull boxes, action figures, and vinyl figures; I'm sure there is something to appeal to everyone. To give you a few quick looks, check out the pictures below to see some of the upcoming products.

Galactic Guardians

Magic Action figures (back lite so hard to see)

Magic Vinyl Figures

Magic Vinyl Figures (Close up on Jace)

Konami:

From the makers of Yu-Gi-Oh, there will be some amazing new releases this year.  They only had product out on display through June, but they mentioned a few other great products.  

So we will see a new Gold series this year, Gold Premium.  This set will include cards from Premium series that were released in Japan, but not in the US.  They will also be reprinting a bunch of the best cards from previous Gold series releases.  The are also making the playable god cards... but doing them in an all new gold rarity!

Another release will be the Dragons of Legends.  Konami has been asked over the years and now they are doing it, "Where are all the cards from the TV show?  How come we never get the cards they use in the show."  Well now you can!  Dragons of Legends will be a set of cards not released in card form (but have been on the show).  

One last little teaser... Light Sworn structure deck!  Wait... did I really post that just now???  YES I DID!  There are not a lot of details about this yet, but what I heard was that there are to many great Light Sworn cards to fit in one structure deck, so they will have a booster in each one (similar to V for Victory).Once we learn more, I will share.

I hope this helps everyone out.  Enjoy and read on!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Toy Fair 2014 Part 1

So we went to Toy Fair this weekend and saw some amazing new games and gift items.  There are so many different items that we may not be able to post them all in one blog post... we may need more!  So here are some interesting things we got from several different vendors:

Wizkids Games:

A great classic pose for Wolverine (Days of Future Past). The next wave of Star Trek Attack Wing and Deep Space 9. The new Dice Master game was also great. It is starting with Avengers vs X-men, but they already have more ideas coming.

Here is a picture of the NEXT wave of Attack Wing ships for Star Trek.  These aren't the ships due out next week, but the ones coming out in the next wave.  

Here is a picture of the complete Deep Space 9 prize for the Dominion War month 6 event.  The card under the station can be flipped over so you can field DS9 as Federation or Independent.  

I got to see the back area of their booth, but no photos allowed. They had unpainted 3D prints I of the dragons for the D&D Attack Wing... WOW! These dragons are in flight and are massive. They had 6 dragons on display and even unpainted were recognizable as Red, Blue, Black, Green, Bronze, and one other. This version of Attack Wing will also have ground troops, but they didn't have any to show off yet. 

Fantasy Flight Games:


Fantasy Flight Games had all the Star Wars X-wing miniatures out. The big ships ships look amazing... but not coming soon. Imperial Aces will be coming out the end of February or beginning of March. The Rebel Transport about 2 months later and the Blockade Runner about 2 months after that. They also had prototypes of the next wave of Ships, all from extended universe.








They also had a board game adaptation of The Witcher and a fast-paced card game for A Game of Thrones.

As we get in all these great games we will have them for sale in all three stores.  We will also be running events for many of these games, so check out our calendars for more information about events.  Click on the store name that is closest to you to see our calendar of events per store.

Dragon's Den Poughkeepsie

Gamer's Gambit CT

Gamer's Gambit NJ



Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Wizkids Miniatures - What is coming out soon!

There are so many new miniatures coming out from Wizkids this year.  They have Marvel, DC, and Yu-Gi-Oh Heroclixs, Star Trek Attack Wing, and the brand new Dungeons & Dragons miniature line.  So what does that mean???

Heroclix

February: Yu-Gi-Oh Series 1
March: Marvel, Captain America, The Winter Soldier
April: Marvel, X-men - Days of Future Past
May: Marvel, Deadpool
June: DC, War of the Light - Begins
August: Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy

Star Trek Attack Wing

April: Federation USS Voyager, Bioship Alpha, Nistrim Raider, Borg Sphere 4270
June: Borg Tactical Cube, Bajoran Interceptor Five, Vulcan D'kyr
July: Borg Soong, Federation USS Enterprise (Refit), Dominion Battle Cruiser
August: Borg Scout Cube, Federation Enterprise, Vulcan Ni'Var
September: Borg Queen Vessel Prime, Federation USS Enterprise-E, Independent Val Jean
October: Defiant Mirror Universe, Klingon Chang's Bird of Prey, Romulan Scimitar

Dungeons & Dragons

So we will be getting new D&D miniatures.  So far the few they have shown look great.  They will be debuting the set with the release of the new D&D Next this summer.  They are also releasing a D&D version of Attack Wing!  The starter box will include 3 different colored dragons, cards (riders, upgrades, etc), and templates and rules.  Click on the Dungeons & Dragons link to read more from Wizkids about this release.

Oh, but maybe you are looking for something with less minis and more dice?  Then you might want to check out Avengers vs X-men Dice Masters.  A new dice building game where you collect and assemble a team of character dice.  This game will be releasing in March, so come and check it out.

Curious when we play?  Check out our calendars:

Dragon's Den
Gamer's Gambit NJ
Gamer's Gambit CT

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Star Wars X-Wing Future Wave

So I know many of you are hoping and expectantly waiting on the Imperial Aces, Rebel Transport, and Tantive IV... BUT, they now have listed the newest ships that are coming down from Fantasy Flight Games! Don't worry, I know that the Imperial Aces is now coming soon, so don't lose the excitement for 2 NEW TIE Interceptors.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time discussing what you can read on their website, but here are their names.

Z-95 Headhunter (Rebel)

TIE Defender (Imperial)

E-Wing (Rebel)

TIE Phantom (Imperial)

If you want to do to check out all that Fantasy Flight has to say about the new release click on their name and scroll down.

Looking for a place to play???  Check out our calendars below (Just click on the store name to see more):

Dragon's Den Poughkeepsie

Gamer's Gambit CT

Gamer's Gambit NJ


Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Future Card Buddyfight

So... have you taken a look at Future Card Buddyfight by Bushiroad?

They have now released 2 different trial decks in English; Dominant Dragons - The Chief has Arrived! and Savage Steel - Strength is Power!!.  Each of these decks contains 52 cards, life counter, rule book, and playmat.

The first round of boosters will be released on Friday, January 31st; Dragon Chief!

If you are looking for the Trail Decks, then check out our web store by clicking here.

If you would like to see when we are running events, check out our calendar.

So do you want to give a new game a try?  Then come on in and grab a demo of Future Card Buddyfight... and grab a free demo deck (while supplies last).

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Pokemon TCG XY Kalos Starter Set

So I meant to write about this awhile ago... but sometimes time gets in the way.  I do still want to share this as many people who are into Pokemon are taken a look at what you get in these starters.

So the first thing to know is that you get a foil of all three evolutions for Chespin, Froakie, and Fennekin. The other big thing to know is that each one of these starters comes with 24 energy cards... BUT 12 of the energy is different from what you might expect.

• Froakie comes with 12 water energy and 12 metal energy
• Fennekin comes with 12 fire energy and 12 dark energy
• Chespin comes with 12 grass energy and 12 fairy energy 

WHAT.... You mean I can get the brand new FAIRY energy before the rest of XY comes out??? 

YES YOU CAN!

So if you want to get a good look at the beginning of the XY run in Pokemon, then you need to come out pick one up while we have them in stock! Or, you can click on this link to our web store and order one directly!

Sean "striderlotr" Banks

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

Worlds Collide Concludes With a Twist!

*This Article May Contain Spoilers*

It is I, the mighty Q-Scourge, the almost teen blogger! I’m back with more on Worlds Collide. For those of you who didn’t know, Worlds Collide is the HUGE twelve-issue crossover event between Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man comic books. It features writing from Ian Flynn and illustrations by the legendary Tracy Yardley. I compliment both men for their outstanding work on this. The writing gives a sense of adventure and confidence for both Sonic and Mega Man. However, it also highlights Eggman and Wily’s remarkable intelligence. The illustrations really highlight the action, while also being humorous.

from Sonic the Hedgehog #251

Last time I wrote about this, we were three issues into the twelve-part epic. Now, the last one just came out. This story arc has been great, and I’m really excited for the aftermath. For a quick recap: over the past nine issues, Mega Man and Sonic traveled into the Skull Egg Zone (the Zone made by Eggman and Wily), rescued all of Sonic’s friends (they were all roboticized), found Shadow (he teleported away), called Duo (a space cop robot), rescued Dr. Light (he built Mega Man), fought Bass and Metal Sonic, and broke into Eggman and Wily’s flying fortress, the Wily Egg. Meanwhile, their allies are making their final stand against Wily and Eggman’s robotic armies outside of the fortress. I won’t say what happens at the very end of the last issue, because I don’t want to give EVERYTHING away. Let just say that it’s a twist that had me freaking out! Unfortunately, the plotlines I thought were going to be resolved don’t look like they are going to be resolved in the final issues of this arc. Why hasn’t Mecha Sally made an appearance yet? And why is Ra Moon still active? They don’t tell you. Anyway, I enjoyed all the appearances by characters from both series like Shadow, Blaze, Duo, and the Robot Masters. Overall, the story is deep and interesting, and I am curious with how the two comic series will be affected by it going forward.

This is one of the best crossovers in recent memory, and I’m really impressed with the writing and artwork. In conclusion, you should check this out RIGHT NOW. I mean NOW. What are you sitting in front of your computer for? Go! It’s so awesome! I’m thinking this story arc will likely make its way to a graphic novel soon enough if you want to wait to get that. When you get back, make sure to check for my next blog post, coming soon! That one won’t be about Worlds Collide, I promise.

Q-Scourge

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

Worlds Collide

*This article may contain spoilers*

Hey people who read comics and stuff! This blog doesn’t post often (not my fault), but now it will post significantly more, thanks to me! I’m not the usual person who posts stuff—I’m new. I’m only 12 years old, but I love comic books and video games. In the past, I gave interviews on my review of Pokémon videogames for the DS; you may have read them.

But enough about me, let’s jump right in to the topic of this post: Worlds Collide, a twelve-part, action-packed crossover event between Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man comic books! The first three issues (Mega Man #24, Sonic Universe #51, and STH #248) have already arrived and there are more on the way! Now, if anyone has read a crossover before, you know the drill: villains team up, heroes fight, heroes team up, defeat villains together. So far, that’s what’s happening in this crossover. Eggman and Wily have teamed up via Chaos Emerald and tricked Sonic and Mega Man into fighting. Also, Sonic’s friends have been roboticized, so he won’t be getting any help in fighting Mega Man or the Doctors. So that’s the basic plot, now let me tell you about the characters from each franchise that will be appearing. Everybody that’s anybody will be in this story arc, so longtime readers of Mega Man or Sonic will recognize a lot of characters. Some of my favorites from STH are Shadow, Scourge, Silver, and Metal Sonic. I also look forward to seeing MM characters like Bass, the Robot Masters, and Proto Man.

Now, you’re probably wondering: why is this kid so enthusiastic? Well, I’m a longtime reader of both series, and I’m interested in seeing Sonic and Mega Man fight. I want to see how Mega Man deals with Sonic’s extreme speed and agility, and how Sonic deals with Mega Man being a tireless robot with an arm cannon. Also, Sonic calls MM a “blue boy” and MM calls Sonic a “pincushion,” so there is fun banter in this so far. Well, “blue boy” isn’t that impressive, especially for Sonic, but I’m betting we’ll see some improvement with Archie Comics writer, Ian Flynn, in future issues. I’m also surprised at Eggman and Wily’s perfect teamwork. You would think that they would disagree a bit, but no, only on minor things.

This story arc spans five months and encompasses 3 comic titles. Here is the Worlds Collide release schedule:
April
Mega Man #24
Sonic Universe #51

from Sonic the Hedgehog #248

May
Sonic the Hedgehog #248
Mega Man #25
Sonic Universe #52

June
Sonic the Hedgehog #249
Mega Man #26
Sonic Universe #53

July
Sonic the Hedgehog #250
Mega Man #27
Sonic Universe #54

August
Sonic the Hedgehog #251

So yeah, Worlds Collide is a HUGE event. There will also be a flip book comic that is a prelude to this epic given out at Free Comic Book Day! Look for it at your friendly local comic shops, a.k.a. Dragon's Den and Gamer's Gambit, on Saturday, May 4! While you’re there, if you haven’t already done it, make sure to subscribe to all three titles (SU, STH, and MM) to get all the awesomeness! I’ll be back with another post on this before the last issue comes out so stay tuned. This is your new blogger, signing off!

Q-Scourge

International Table Top Day 2013

We were very excited to be a part of International Table Top Day this year, which was its first year.  We ran a bunch of different demo games and offered sales on all the games we demoed. The following pictures were from the event.  If you could not make the event this year, then you should check out Table Top Day on our site and on other social media sites to see everything you missed out on.  We are hoping to have the chance to continue to be a part of this fun filled day.

If you would like to see the other photos, then click and dear more below!  We also ran several other demo games including Dixit, Kanzume Goddess, Zombie Dice, Cthulhu Dice  and Munchkin!

2012 Magic Player of the Year

So we got in our player of the year awards for Magic 2012.  Time to show them off... which the players who won them.

Don't forget to click on the "Read More" to see all the great pictures!

MTG Sealed and You: The Basics

Hey everybody! If you are reading this, pat yourself on the back –stumbling through the labyrinth of the internet, feet weary and sore, you have found Dragon’s Den blog for all things Magic: The Gathering. My name is Lyon, and if you’ve played much Magic at the Den, chances are you’ve spotted me. Today, we’ll be discussing the ins and outs of Sealed. Since Sealed is the primary format of a prerelease (and prereleases are super duper fun), knowing this format is essential to participating in one of the best casual tournament settings Magic has to offer. We’re going to discuss the basics: what Sealed is and how you can best tailor your deck to not only have a blast at the prerelease, but also hopefully take home some additional packs while you’re at it!

At its core, Sealed is a very basic concept: you are given 6 packs. You open these packs and make a 40 card magic deck (lands are provided, so don’t worry about that). That’s it. Like many things in gaming, the nuances of it are what can give it more depth, and knowing those nuances is the difference between staring down handfuls of unorganized cards and preparing your weapon of destruction for the tournament.

The upcoming Dragon’s Maze prerelease is going to function a little differently, but it’s not cause for alarm. In fact, it should be pretty fun! When you sign up, you will only receive 4 regular packs of Dragon’s Maze instead of the usual 6. The other 2 packs will be 1 pack of a guild of your choosing (any of the 10 bicolor combinations in Magic), and 1 pack of a guild allied with the one you chose. These packs will have cards only belonging to those guilds in them, so it’s important to pick guilds that have colors you think you might want to use.

Okay, so that’s the easy stuff. The most challenging part of Sealed for many players is what to do once you’ve opened all of your packs. Let’s cover some sound advice and also discuss what to avoid! Note that there are no 100% foolproof formulas for victory. If there were, the game wouldn’t be fun at all! The following advice is merely to better your chances of having a fine-tuned deck that will play in a way that (hopefully) won’t make you pull your hair out in frustration and curse your “bad luck”.

• First thing first: lay out your cards in a way that is organized and makes sense to you. Just like writing an essay, having an “outline” for your deck can be really helpful. Some useful ways to organize your cards are by color, by casting cost, and by usefulness. Before you begin building, it’s important to see how many actually playable cards you have in any color (or combinations of colors). You’d be surprised how much you might “see” about your cards and options simply from doing this!

• Make sure that you know have an idea for the ‘proper’ amount of cards vs. lands. While this may vary depending on the player or card selection, there are a few general guidelines for your spells / lands ratio for Sealed (and Draft) decks. First, no matter how tempted you are to go over, you should try your hardest to keep your deck to 40 cards. Statistically, it will give you the best chance to draw the cards you want. Second, my base rule is 23 cards / 17 lands for an average deck. If you have mostly cards with very low mana costs (and few, if any, cards with higher mana costs), 24/16 is your best bet. Similarly, if your deck has a lot of high mana cards and not a lot of “mana ramp”, 22 /18 should be fine. Deviating too far from these ratios may result in too many games of either drawing too few or too many lands. You don’t need me to tell you why this is frustrating!

• Make sure your deck has a ‘plan’, but also that the plan is good. While a little bit of everything is a good thing, your deck should really fit one a few archetypes, or things you want your deck to be doing. This decision should have less to do with what you “want” to do when you build decks ‘normally’ and more to do with what your packs are telling you. Did you open up a lot of fast, aggressive creatures? Aggro might be your plan. Did you open up a lot of counterspells, creature removal, and a few larger creatures that can finish up a game? Control is probably the way to go. What do both of these things have in common? You are evaluating your deck based on ALL of the cards, not just a few (or one that you really like). It is better to have a deck full of cards that all work together than a deck with one or two REALLY good cards and a bunch of . . . “meh” to support them.

• Don’t feel like you have to use the guild you chose a pack from. If you chose Rakdos (red and black) as your guild for the prerelease, but the rest of your packs had very few playable red and black cards, that color combination might not be right for your deck. Instead, look to see which colors have the quality and quantity you will need to succeed.

• You don’t have to include every rare you open! While it can be tempting to fall back on a formula like rarity = power level, it’s more important to play with cards that can functionally win a game of magic. For example, in a Gatecrash Sealed tournament I would include  a Disciple of the Old Ways (common) over an Unexpected Results (rare) almost every time. One is an aggressive creature that beats many others in combat, while the other is a sorcery that will not function better than simply drawing a card that affects the game directly.

• Don’t include cards in your deck simply because they are “on-color”. Even if your deck has a lot of powerful cards in any given color, don’t put in bad (underpowered or very little use) cards to fill in those last 2-3 slots you need to make your deck 40 cards. If you have enough good cards in a 3rd (or sometimes 4th) color, it is often better to “splash” (put in lands to support) for that color for 4-6ish strong cards. In Dragon’s Maze and other sets where you will have access to lands which tap for more than 1 color, this is particularly powerful if you have the special lands (like guildgates and the rare shocklands) to support it.

There’s certainly a lot more to say about both deck-building and playing in Sealed (and other formats), but these core basics can take you a long way. Future articles will talk about other formats, more specific strategies for formats, and Magic theory. Most importantly, future articles can discuss whatever you want to know more about, so please leave comments, feedback, and suggestions! I hope to see everyone at the Dragon’s Maze prerelease, ready to kick some butt and have a great time. Remember, the most important rule of Magic is to have fun 

See you next time (but not really because I can’t see you through the computer – I’ll have to trust you’ll be there),

Lyon, Golgari Lich Lord

FCBD Sales

...oh, you want to know about the sales we're having?

We thought so:

* BACK ISSUES

- Buy any bagged and/or bagged-and-boarded comics priced $2.99 or less, get any comic $2.99 or less free

OR

- Fill a small box full of $0.99 bagged and/or bagged-and-boarded comics for $29.99 (small box included in the price).

Yes, you read that right. For $29.99, fill a small box of $0.99 comics!

* GRAPHIC NOVELS

- We're putting out over 100 GN's on clearance. Each of these specially marked titles will be BUY 1, GET 1 FREE!

AND

- Buy any regularly-priced, get a free #1 comic! Which #1's are we giving away? Guess you'll have to come in and find out.

* STATUES

- We're going to be marking down many of our high-end collectibles.

* TOYS

- We'll be marking down a lot of these, too!

....and then.

 The first 30 people through the door will each get a coupon for ONE FREE GRAPHIC NOVEL from the Clearance box.

Yeah ,that's right. Be one of the first people to come through, and you get a free GN (worth $19.99 or less)

Phew.

It's going to be a crazy day. Click here for more on the activities and guest artists appearing at the event!

Free Comic Book Day!

Saturday, May 4th!

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), running game demos and having a great time.

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.

Aphrodite IX #1
Atomic Robo & Friends
Avengers Assemble Hulk Agents of Smash #1
Bleeding Cool Magazine
Bongo Free-For-All
Buck Rogers
DC Nation Super Sampler #1
DH Mass Effect Killjoys Ripd
Dh Star Wars Captain Midnight Avatar
Disney Fairies
Dragon Ball & Rurouni Kenshin Restoration
Marvel Infinity
Judge Dredd Classics
Sonic The Hedgehog Mega Man Flipbook
Spongebob Comics Freestyle Funnies
Steam Engines of Oz
Superman Special Edition
The Smurfs
TMNT New Animated Adventures
Valiant Masters Showcase Ed
Walking Dead Special (MR)
World of Archie Digest

... 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.

* FRANCO from TINY TITANS!

Local creator FRANCO will be in-store, doing free sketches and signing copies of TINY TITANS and SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES. 

Stop by on Saturday, May 4th!