Here are my recommendations and comments for the November 2019 Preview Catalog, for #comics generally shipping in January of 2020. Each month, the #campuscomicscast goes through the catalog and makes suggestions on where you should spend your money. It would be great if you would subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app. Just search for Campus Comics Cast.
I would love to hear about any book I missed. Pay special attention this month as @arseniclullaby has one of his books in the catalog this month.
DC
2 – Wonder Woman hits issue 750 with an over-sized special issue.
3 – In time for the upcoming movie, a Black Label Birds of Prey story with a variant cover by J Scott Campbell.
4 – James Tynion IV takes over on Batman with issue 86.
6 – New Hill House title Daphne Byrne with art by Kelley Jones.
26 – Final issue of the Freedom Fighters 12 issue series. Look for the trade soon.
37 – Legion of Super-Heroes hit the shelves recently, so be sure to check it out.
71 – A few good DC Dollar Comics to choose from including Batman Adventures 12, first Harley Quinn, and Brave and the Bold 197 which gave us the wedding of Earth-2 Batman and Catwoman.
77 – Green Arrow Year One Deluxe Edition gave a lot of the story lines for the Arrow TV Series.
80 – Legion of Super-Heroes: The Road to Legion trade paperback. Bendis is bringing the Legion back to the DC Universe. Just don’t expect much LOSH in this story.
83 – Superman: The Man of Steel Omnibus by John Byrne. Includes my favorite origin for Superman, the 6-issue series by John Byrne among several other stories.
MARVEL
NOTE: According to the Marvel Catalog, several of the titles and variants did NOT make it onto the Previews order form. So be sure to check the catalog for what you need. Diamond and Previews should be contacting your local LCS with regular reminders.
4 – Thor gets a new first issue with writing duty by Donny Cates. I find Cates to be a bit silly sometimes. As much as they are ruining Thor in the MCU, I hope they do not continue this trend in the comics. The Aaron run on Thor was very strong, at least until close to the end.
8 – Al Ewing takes on the writing duties for Guardians of the Galaxy which also gets a new #1. Can Ewing bring his Immortal Hulk magic to this book?
13 – Iron Man 2020 gets a 6-issue series from Dan Slott and Christos Gage which crosses over into a few other titles, including a CLASSIFIED title in May and June of 2020.
17 & 18 – some really good True Believers dollar comics from Marvel including the Daredevil 131, first Bullseye, Moon Knight 1, and Daredevil 4, first Purple Man.
28 – Marvels X, a new 6 issue series in the Earth X universe from Alex Ross and Jim Kueger.
40 – Incredible Hulk 180 gets a Facsimile edition, and Marvel labels it as the first appearance of Wolverine. Will this affect the value of 181?
54 – Hawkeye gets a new four-issue series titled Freefall where the he goes up against Ronin.
57 – Immortal Hulk. If you are not reading this book, and you like marvel comics, you should be.
58 – Immortal Hulk: Great Power One-shot. Someone besides Al Ewing tries their hand at the Immortal Hulk, and it appears the Immortal Hulk powers up Spiderman.
62 – In case you missed it, Mark Waid is back on Dr. Strange.
64 – Garth Ennis has returned to the Punisher with a 6-issue series Punisher Soviet, with issue 3 solicited this month.
73 – Valkyrie: Jane Foster made it passed issue 7. I am really surprised.
101 – Marvel scales back their Star Wars titles and starts the main series with a new first issue. It feels like they should be revving up the Star Wars books with the final part of the first trilogy of trilogies hitting theaters in December.
119 – Immortal Hulk hardcover volume 2 covering issues 11 to 20 will hit the shelves in May of 2020. This is a series worth having on your bookshelf at home.
120 – Mark Waid’s History of the Marvel Universe trade is being solicited with a cover available for the direct market only.
147 – 149 – Several Black Widow trades are available, just in time for the movie.
PREVIEWS SIDE ONE
30 – Be sure to get your copy of Previews to check out all the books I don’t mention.
44 – The Clock, a 4-issue series from Matt Hawkins and Colleen Doran. I am not sure how well a medical mystery story will translate to comics, but Doran is an excellent artist, and this could be one of those stories that gets picked up for a TV series or movie.
?? – No Die this month from Image???
120 – Sonic the Hedgehog 25. I gave out comics at my home for Halloween again this year. Trick or Treaters could choose from Sonic, Pokemon, Miles Morales, Year of the Villain, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Sonic was the only title I ran out of. If you are an LCS and not carrying this title, you should be.
192 – Boom has a new Serenity Series, Firefly: The Outlaw Ma Reynolds, a 4-issue series written by Greg Pak.
250 – Doglas Paszkiewicz has his most recent graphic novel solicited here. Be sure and check it out. You can follow Douglas here on Steemitat @arseniclullaby!!
277 – Whisper Omnibus from writer Steven Grant. If you would like to learn more about Steven Grant, check out the Campus Comics Cast podcast interview with Mr. Grant back in episode 12.
302 – Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams hardcover for all the David Bowie fans out there.
342 – Dr. Who the Thirteenth Doctor: Season Two begins with the Weeping Angels.
417 – Captain America Worthy T-Shirt. Cap wielding Mjolnir!!!
PREVIEWS SIDE TWO
Nothing jumping out at me on Side Two this month.
BLANK COVERS
Blank Cover this month include: Guardians of the Galaxy 1 Red Sonja: Age of Chaos 1 Thor 1 Wonder Woman 750 Dr. Who 13th Doctor: Season Two 1 Red Agent: Island of Dr. Moreau Quantum and Wood 1 Star Wars 1 Horror Comics Sketch book, available in white, black, and red.
I have been playing around with comic pressing for a few months now. If you are not familiar with comic pressing, it is a process where you attempt to remove some of the minor defects of a comic book and improve its condition prior to resale or sending the book off to be graded. Many companies are offering a “clean and press” service as an option when you send in comics to have them graded. Many of your pressing companies are very tight-lipped about the process they use to clean and press. And, if you find an article online about the “clean and press” process, the “pros” will generally add a comment that the article has no idea what they are talking about and the process they are using will damage the book. Of course, they say this, and offer no additional insights into the pressing process.
I thought I would share some photos of a couple of comics I recently pressed. These two books are both low grade comics and really not worth the time, but I thought they would make great examples of what pressing can and cannot do to improve the grade of a comic. These comics were only pressed, and no cleaning was performed on the books. This process takes about two days for me to complete for each book. The goal of day one is to get as much of the spine roll out of the comic as possible. Day two is used to press the book as a whole. You could see some additional improvement to the comic if you press for a longer period of time, but additional gains are going to be minimal.
Book one is the Challengers of the Unknown issue 74. This book has numerous problems as you can see from the following images. The flaws include a spine roll and a hard crease down the upper left edge of the book. The comic does not lay flat, has tears around the staples. However, the cover is still attached at both staples and the centerfold is also attached at both staples. You can check the following images to get an idea of how the book looked prior to the press.
The biggest change to the book after the press was the significant improvement of the spine of the comic and getting it close to back to laying flat. I realize now I should have taken better pictures of the cover to show some of the creases that were not easily visible. So, in this example, what does pressing NOT fix. Any crease that breaks the color of the book will still be visible. Tears and missing pieces will also not be magically restored either. Pressing will also not remove aging of the paper.
The second book in this pressing example is Strange Tales issue 150. This book also has numerous problems including a 1/4″ spine roll, missing piece from the upper left corner of the cover, red ink stain on the price, red ink stain on the back cover, a missing centerfold page, along with many creases and fold.
After the press, the majority of the spine roll has been removed. Again, a press is not going to make missing pieces and pages magically again, but the overall presentation of the book has improved.
Another thing to keep in mind about comic pressing, especially when you are attempting to remove spine roll, you are putting the book under a certain amount of stress. There are cases were comics have been graded and the owner decided to resubmit through a service that cleans and presses prior to re-submission. There are cases where the comic came back from the second grade with a significantly lower grade, because damage occurred to the comic during the clean and press process. Damage can include tears to the cover and the cover become split or detached from the comic. So keep this in mind when submitting a higher value book for pressing.
Overall, I was please with the improvement I saw in these books, and I will continue to practice pressing books.
If you have experience with comic pressing, I would love to hear your comments, both positive and negative.
At Burg Comics Con 2019 we will once again be raising money for the Saline County 4Cs (Christian Community Compassion Center). Everyone who brings in a non-perishable food item or toiletry donation will receive 10 free comics. We will also be holding a silent auction to raise money for the 4Cs as well. If you are unable or forget to bring a donation, do not worry. Make a $1 cash donation the 4Cs and receive 10 free comics. There will be several 1000 comics to choose from. Over the past five years, Burg Comics has given away over 13500 comics to raise money for the 4Cs. And if helping a good cause is not enough, you will also get free comics just for showing up.
There will also be a silent charity auction for the Saline County 4Cs beginning at 10:00 AM and running until 4:30 PM. If you would like to donate an item to the charity auction, please contact me at admin@burgcomics.com. Some of the items currently in the silent auction include:
Wonder Woman print signed by Don Kramer
Amazing Spider-man comic signed by inker Scott Hanna
The costume contest is returning to Burg Comics Con 2019. Categories for the costume contest will be Boys (Ages 0 to 13), Girls (Ages 0 to 13), Best Overall Costume, Best Superhero Costume, and Best Overall Costume Runner-Up. Costume Contest Rules:
Any prop, item or activity that presents the possibility of damage to the entrants, their costumes, the audience, or the facility is prohibited.
Good taste must be used in the creation and presentation of costumes. Gore, violence, nudity, profanity and other objectionable elements are prohibited. Burg Comics Con is a family oriented event so please use common sense in the selection of your costume.
Failure to abide by any of the costume contest rules may result in disqualification from the contest and possible removal from the convention site.
Most genres of costumes are welcome for the contest. Preference in prizes will be given to handmade designs.
If you have any questions about costume contest rules, please contact Burg Comics at admin@burgcomics.com.
The winner of the Best Overall Costume category will receive a $75 gift certificate to spend at the convention. The winners of the Best Superhero Costume will receive a $50 gift certificate and Best Overall Costume Runner-Up will receive $25 convention gift certificates. The winner of the Boys and Girls category will each receive a $20 gift certificate to spend at the convention. We will also have a photographer specializing in cosplay on site for the convention!
Cosplay Event Schedule
03:15 PM – Burg Comics Con 2019 Costume Contest hosted/judged by Costumers for Christ and Marz Stardust Cosplay
