San Jose Comic Festival

From ICv2:

SLG Publishing’s Dan Vado, a founder of the Alternative Press Expo (APE), is launching a new series of comics festivals focused on indy and small press comics and zines.  The San Jose Comics Festival has been planned as a series of single-day shows throughout the year that will commence on January 16th with a free event that will be held the SLG Publishing gallery/warehouse compound in downtown San Jose and will feature special guests, Jamaica Dyer (Weird Fishes), Rich Koslowski (3 Geeks), and Landry Walker (Tron, Little Gloomy).

Vado says that unlike APE, the San Jose Comics Fests will not concentrate on single type of comic or creator, “the Comics Festivals will be about people who do the work, regardless of what kind of comics they choose to produce.”

New Comics In Store 12-02-09

The complete list after the jump...

Podcasts

I've taken to listening to podcasts at the shop between customers over the last several months. Gets my mind engaged on those bleary Saturday mornings. Just discovered a new one: http://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/

Check it out, it's local and they cover two of the things I love: Comics and Video Games. (Mike)

CHRISTMAS SALE STARTS TODAY

Starting today we're having a sale on all Trade Paperbacks. You buy one TPB get the other TPB (of the same or lesser value) at half price! This applies to both in stock TPBs and any available special order TPBs.

The sale runs from today til 12/24/09.

MONDAY TELEMETRY For November 23rd, 2009

Welcome to another installment of Monday Telemetry, a weekly blog from The Launchpad that covers some of the more interesting releases or events that are coming to the store this week.


So, not enough time for a normal post this week so I thought I'd hit the high points and let you know about what's been going on lately at the shop:


ITEM! We changed our floorplan around last week to make more room for, well , everything. TPBs are all in one place and not so crowded, we've got another 4 feet of wall space dedicated to new comics, more room for back issues, and RPGs and Board Games each have their own bay. We're still putting on the final touches and will post some pics when everything is finished. 


ITEM! We will be closed for Thanksgiving (Happy Holidays everyone!) but will resume our normal schedule on Friday. Speaking of which we will be having a sale starting on Black Friday that will last until Christmas Eve. More details very soon or you can stop by the shop and pick up a very informative flyer. 


ITEM! Our annual Christmas party is nigh. 12-19 @ 7:00. Make a note of it!


So, we're getting usual "massive amount of stuff at the end of the month" this Wednesday. Why do they always do that anyway? Spread it out a little guys!


Releases of note: 

BLACKEST NIGHT #5 and Wave 2 of the action figures to go along with it!

DETECTIVE COMICS #859. Still the best looking book every month.

IMAGE UNITED #1. The band's back together.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #20. So what the heck is going to happen to Tony Stark now?

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS #4. If you've liked anything Millar has been doing this last year, you need to check out this book.

UNCANNY X-MEN #517. When purple lightning shoots out of his eyes, Magneto doesn't even flinch.

New Comics In Store 11-25-09

After the jump is the metric crapton of stuff coming in this week...

Latest Actor to join the Thor cast is Idris Elba

Idris Elba will portray Heimdall in the upcoming Thor film. Good actor, you may have seen him in 28 Weeks Later or the Ultraviolet TV Series. 

From IcV2: Elba joins a cast that includes Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), and Anthony Hopkins (Odin).  Ray Stevenson, Stuart Townsend, and Tadanobu Asano were recently announced as the Warriors Three.

MONDAY TELEMETRY For November 16th, 2009

Welcome to another installment of Monday Telemetry, a weekly blog from The Launchpad that covers some of the more interesting releases or events that are coming to the store in the coming week.

FLASH REBIRTH #5
Delayed from last week, issue five finally drops. 
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and covers by Ethan Van Sciver
The greatest threat to face the Flash Family in decades stands revealed! A new hero will step into an old speedster's boots! And Barry Allen will make the ultimate sacrifice: his life! Oh yeah, you read that right, but you'll never believe just what it means! They always say nothing will ever be the same, but trust us, this one will rewrite the history books!

KOOKABURRA K #1
So this is what Humberto Ramos has been up to. 
Written by CRISSE & HICKS
Adapted by AUBREY SITTERSON
Pencils & Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS
From beyond the farthest frontiers of any solar system explored by man, a destructive force is sweeping through the universe wiping Callystes, Dakoï, Lilith and Planet Earth from the stellar map. A rocket full of refugees hurtles through space with the letter "K" emblazoned on its side. On board the unlikely crew of seven children, several adults, an ancient wizard-knight and the ghost of a cyborg travel with a mysterious cargo that will alter their fates forever. 

PUNISHER #11
Oh, yeah did anyone mention Frank Castle had been taken out in his Dark Reign List one-shot?
Written by RICK REMENDER
Penciled by TONY MOORE
Cover by DAVE WILKINS
"FRANKEN-CASTLE" PART 1-In the belly of New York, skulking and forgotten creatures of the night uncover the remains of a man in a familiar outfit. Frank Castle is dead.  What exactly IS Frankencastle? Long time collaborators Rick Remender and Tony Moore (GHOST RIDER, Fear Agent, The Walking Dead) are reunited for what will be the greatest struggle in the afterlife of the Punisher.  Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster...

VICTORIAN UNDEAD #1
Got a chance to read an advance copy of this. Great first ish, but of course I'm a sucker for zombies.
Written by Ian Edginton
Art by Davide Fabbri
Cover by Tony Moore
"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." Those are the words of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, the world's first consulting detective, yet even he finds his skills tested to their limit as he and his erstwhile comrade Dr. John Watson are confronted with the most extraordinary case of their career - the dead are returning to life! Can a plague of Biblical proportions be far behind for Victorian London? And who - or what - is behind the resurrection of these ravenous revenants?
From renowned writer Ian Edginton (STORMWATCH: PHD) and acclaimed international artist Davide Fabbri (Star Wars) comes the first chapter in an incredible new 6-issue Sherlock Holmes adventure! Featuring a cover by original Walking Dead artist Tony Moore!

New Comics in Store 11-18-09

A list of new stuff coming in this week after the jump... (we're getting a bunch of restocks too, but those are listed).

Word Balloon podcast with Brain Azzarello

The early details on DC's First Wave line of pulp-inspired titles. 

MONDAY TELEMETRY For November 9th, 2009

 Welcome to another installment of Monday Telemetry, a weekly blog from The Launchpad that covers some of the more interesting releases or events that are coming to the store in the coming week.

BATMAN DOC SAVAGE SPECIAL #1
Doc Savage returns to DC Comics...and comes face-to-fist with the Batman! Superstar scribe Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS, JOKER) and the breathtaking art of Phil Noto combine to shine the first light on a shadowy new version of the DC Universe, where the thugs run rampant, corruption runs deep, and even heroes can't be trusted! Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze, hates what he's heard about the connections between a grisly murder and Gotham City's violent new vigilante. But the Batman can't abide do-gooders getting in his way...and his .45 just won't stay in its holster!

Be here for this vital prologue to an upcoming 6-issue miniseries by Azzarello and Rags Morales (IDENTITY CRISIS), which will pull back the curtain to reveal the full width and breadth of DC's new pulp-influenced universe. This special issue also features sketchbook material by Rags Morales that will show you just what you're in for! You might think you're ready - but you're very, very wrong...

GHOUL #1
When Los Angeles Detective Lieutenant Lloyd Klimpt finds himself in the middle of a Hollywood mystery that falls way outside the norm, he knows he's going to need a different kind of help than he's used to. He finds it in the bizarre form of The Ghoul, a monstrous investigator with a reputation for solving the world's weirdest crimes. Written and created by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), with art by industry legend Bernie Wrightson. Also included is an illustrated prose story by Niles. 

 LOCKE & KEY: CROWN OF SHADOWS #1
Prologue: "The Haunting of Keyhouse." Sam Lesser may be dead and gone, but Dodge still has uses for him, and in the first chill days of October, will make contact with him again. The dead know things the living may not, and Sam's restless spirit has had time to discover the thing Dodge wants to know most of all... where to find the key to the black door. The third storyline in the Eisner-nominated series begins here!

PUNISHERMAX #1
An all-new ongoing series from the acclaimed team of Jason Aaron (WOLVERINE: WEAPON X) and Steve Dillon (PUNISHER: WELCOME BACK FRANK), two guys who were born to tell the exploits of Marvel's most brutal vigilante.
Wilson Fisk is a bodyguard for mob boss Don Rigoletto, but he has his eyes on a much bigger prize, and he's gonna use Frank Castle to help him realize his dreams.  The biggest story in MAX history begins here, as we witness the birth of the greatest villain the Punisher has ever faced.

New Comics In Store 11-11-09

A list of new stuff and restocks after the jump.

Funny the things you find

Following some hyperlinks on wikipedia led me here. I vaguely remember Solson, but not this comic. (Mike)

It's all about Baron Karza

One of The Friends of The Launchpad is a micronaut/microman fanboy so I'm obligated to post a link to this.

Hasbro continues their steamrolling of Hollywood with the announcement that J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) is in negotiations to produce a film based on their Micronauts property. The Japanese science-fiction action figure line from Takara was brought to the States in the 1970's by Mego (with some items replicated for the collector's market in 2002 by Palisades), but has kept a pretty low profile since the line's cancellation in 1980.

I owned a Space Glider, Acroyear, Microtron, and a Hydro Copter just for the record... (Mike)

Scott Kurtz is my hero.

He just said, quite eloquently, what I too have thought about the idiotic counter-programming Wizard has been doing with their cons. (Mike)

MONDAY TELEMETRY For November 2nd, 2009

Welcome to another installment of Monday Telemetry, a weekly blog from The Launchpad that covers some of the more interesting releases or events that are coming to the store in the coming week.

 

  

ASSAULT ON NEW OLYMPUS

Hercules! Spider-Man! Ares! New Avengers! Wolverine! Mighty Avengers! The Agents of Atlas! If there's a bigger event this fall, we don't know what it could be! At long last, the Prince of Power takes the fight to his villainous stepmother Hera and the forces of the Olympus Group -- just as she unleashes the most terrifying threat the Marvel Universe has ever seen! But first Herc has to gather together a star-studded strike force from the ranks of the New and the Mighty Avengers! First on the list: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN! But why is Everyone's Friendly Neighborhood fighting against Hercules? Has he joined the side of the dark gods? It's webs and wisecracks versus Olympian power in this super-sized one-shot! (There will be major property damage, we guarantee.) Plus: The iHerc team proudly welcomes our new INCREDIBLE HERCULES on-going back-up feature... THE AGENTS OF ATLAS, written by fan favorite scribe Jeff Parker! When the forces of New Olympus target Venus, will Jimmy Woo lead his team into the fray for or against Hercules' forces?

 

BLACK WIDOW DEADLY ORIGIN #1

Before she steals the world's heart in Iron Man II, get caught in the wicked web of Marvel's sexiest and deadliest super-spy! She's been everything from a Russian espionage agent to a Champion to an Avenger, now a skeleton from Natalia Romanova's past is reaching out for those she's loved and lost...and the Black Widow has many victims to choose from! From the frozen streets of Moscow to the upper stratosphere, writer Paul Cornell (CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI3) and artists Tom Raney (DARK REIGN: HAWKEYE) and John Paul Leon (The Winter Men) deliver a globe-hopping, bone-breaking, high-tech thriller that reveals how Natalia's shadowy past threatens all she now holds dear. Guest-starring the Winter Soldier and Wolverine!

 

GREAT TEN #1
Part 1 of a 10-part miniseries! Join writer Tony Bedard (R.E.B.E.L.S.) and artist Scott McDaniel (NIGHTWING, GREEN ARROW) for an adventure exploring the extraordinary characters from the pages of 52 and CHECKMATE!
At the dawn of the Chinese Century, the 10 official "super-functionaries" of the People's Republic face their greatest challenge as the gods of Ancient China return to destroy communist rule! Will the most populous nation on Earth drag the rest of the world down with it? Do its heroes even want to save a government that treats them like pawns? Don't miss this tale that redraws the map of the DCU and fleshes out the most exciting and mysterious new characters from the mind of Grant Morrison! Featuring a gorgeous cover by rising artist Stanley "Artgerm" Lau (FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: DANCE).

LOBO HIGHWAY TO HELL #1
A Lobo story like nothing you've seen before! You can imagine that when you live life the way the Main Man lives life - loud, loose, and ludicrously violent - you might pick up an enemy or two along the way. An enemy like, say, oh I don't know, Satan himself. And Satan, my friends, does not play around. Hell's iron-fisted ruler has a serious mad-on for the last Czarnian, and he's gonna hit Lobo right in his blackened, scabrous heart. So Lobo's just gonna have to hit him harder. Repeatedly. In the FACE. But first, Lobo has to go to Hell...a little sooner than anticipated!
Metal icon Scott Ian of Anthrax makes his comics debut, joining forces with visionary creator Sam Kieth to bring you a Lobo story that's so over the top, you won't even remember what the top used to look like! Bleeding dolphins, demonic Chihuahuas, the world's worst cruise ship, exploding moons, severed heads, and still more sick fraggin' stuff all await you on the Highway to Hell - don't miss a single twisted page!

New Comics In Store 11-04-09

After the jump a list of all the cool stuff arriving Wednesday...