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Free Comic Book Day Blood Drive
This Free Comic Book Day, come to Ultimate Comics and be your own hero. We’ll be hosting a blood drive with the amazing organization, the Blood Connection from 10 am – 3 pm at Ultimate Comics Cary (1301 Buck Jones Rd, Raleigh, NC 27606). A single blood donation can help to save up to 3 lives!
All donors will receive a $10 Ultimate Comics gift certificate and be entered to win an exclusive Lyle Pollard Thanos sketch cover!
Be a hero and donate blood! Sign up to donate here: https://donate.thebloodconnection.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/128419
Iron Heart #1-2 Review
Writer: Eve. L Ewing
Artist: Kevin Libranda and Luciano Vecchio
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Tony Stark…genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Riri Williams…. genius, college student, awkward nerd, concerned citizen.
After a run in Invincible Iron Man, Riri Williams gets a new suit and a new title; Ironheart. Though she is a superhero in her own right, Riri still struggles with feelings that she doesn’t belong. In her first bout, the villain Clash antagonizes her with deliberate mockery against her age calling her Barbie Dreamhouse Iron Man and suggesting that she is from the “JV squad”. Even in her community, she is constantly correcting people who reference her as Iron Chick and Little Iron. As the only undergraduate student at MIT with her own lab she is subject to the spontaneous and uninvited visits from the Dean as he brings in spectators, affirming that her space is not really her own. Unlike Tony, she doesn’t have a billionaire inheritance and the dean reminds her that her innovations have costs.
Writer Eve Ewing brings relatability to the character by giving a realistic sense to Riri’s introverted and geeky nature making references to her Star Trek cosplay and her love of hip hop music. From her internal musings to her conversations with an old friend from home, Riri feels like someone we could know (or perhaps someone we do know). And with her successes, we also get to see Riri stumble as she works through making updates, enhancements and repairs to her suit. She develops a self learning artificial intelligence to assist her on missions and, to her surprise, it manifests itself as a version of her childhood best friend who was shot and killed and with whose death Riri is still struggling.
Ironheart is a great read so far with two solid issues that would appeal to pre-teen to adult readers.
Modern Fantasty Trade Review
Writer: Rafer Roberts
Artist: Kristen Gudsnuk
Roll for entertainment and relatability. Modern Fantasy is set in the D&D-esque world where instead of traveling on fantastic adventures with your gang of chronic good (and bad) pals, life is just as ours is- crappy desk job, annoying coworkers, and lazy roommates. Sage, a human girl, works a mind-boggling desk job and dreams of the adventures bestowed in fantasy novel where she would decapitate goblins and win over her love interest Darquin, a struggling elvish actor trying to get away from the stereotypical elf roles. However, her real life is upturned when her roommate’s dark-elf thief boyfriend, Fentax, steals an amulet needed to preform a ritual to bring a destructive fire demon to their world, from a mobster. Sage must find herself a group of bad-ass warriors to kick ass and save the world… but makes do with her rag-tag group of semi-lovable friends and hopes they don’t die.
Modern Fantasy provided a new take on the fantasy world of titles like Rat Queens & Scales and Scoundrels, introducing new perspectives to the age-old tales of Dungeons and Dragons. I found Sage to be personally relatable with the crap she puts up with in her life and with her friends, and her companions being funny and realistic. Modern Fantasy not only had a fun story line with quirky characters, but also had real daily problems more than one of us probably face.
Batman #50 (SPOILERS)
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Mikel Janin and Other Special Guests
Colorist: June Chung
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC
Thanks to the New York Times, a reviewer spoiled the ending to one of the most anticipated
comic book issues of our time four days ahead of its release. The bleeping headline spoiled it!
Many fans, and Tom King, understandably expressed their anger on Twitter.
Alas though, here we are. The seminal issue of King’s Batman run is on stands today, with
many shops hosting special events to celebrate the much-anticipated wedding of Batman and
Catwoman. And since America’s finest news source already ruined the twist ending for
countless readers, I’ll also be diving deep into spoiler territory here. At least I have the decency
not to do so in the headline.
The wedding of the century didn’t happen.
After months of build-up and presenting the possibility that Batman might actually find
happiness once and for all, King crushed everyone’s hopes by having Cat leave him at the altar
(or in this case, the rooftop).
It was a sobering, gut-wrenching conclusion to one of the most fascinating storylines in the
character’s nearly 80-year history. Was it a bad move to destroy the hopes of many readers out
there? Maybe, but I would still argue that King, Mikel Janin and the long list of guest artists like
Mitch Gerads, Joëlle Jones, Tim Sale and even Frank Miller delivered a pretty remarkable comic
with this issue.
Coinciding with the more cerebral tone of King’s entire run, Batman #50 delivers plenty of great
emotional scenes, my favorite being when Bruce asks Alfred to be his witness at the wedding
and the two share a heartfelt father and son embrace. Likewise, King delivers some rather
poetic prose to coincide with splash pages by the various guest artists. There are just some
genuinely beautiful moments throughout this issue, which will move readers regardless of how
they feel about the ending.
Ultimately, it’s a very King ending. Part of me does wish he had committed to something so bold
and unconventional, but at the same time I am excited to see where the story will go from here.
The ending also paves the way for the new Joëlle Jones Catwoman series, which debuts today.
Perhaps the Bat will always be broken, as Bane puts it here. Yet if King’s run does go a hundred
issues as planned, then there are still plenty of possibilities and potential storylines.
If you’d like to continue this discussion, hit me up on Twitter at @kwschaef, and be sure to pick
up the Ultimate Comics Nick Derrington exclusive cover.
Crime Wave Hits Ultimate Comics!
Last night, June 10th, all three Ultimate Comics physical store locations in North Carolina were broken into and burglarized. Over $20,000 worth of comic books, toys and merchandise were stolen, glass display cases smashed, and the store’s windows were broken for entry.
Luckily, no one was hurt, and the stores themselves are boarded up, being cleaned, and will be open today. Obviously if you have any information on the situation please contact owner Alan Gill at: alan@nccomicon.com. All info will be considered confidential, but to anonymously report any information, please use the contact form at: https://www.ultimatecomics.com/contact/
So now, what? Now Ultimate Comics needs a little help from it’s friends. If you’re in the position to help we simply ask you to consider maybe picking up an extra book, trying a new title, or simply stopping in to show your support. If you can’t stop in or maybe live too far away, please consider pre-ordering our Batman #50 store exclusive by Nick Derington you can purchase here: https://www.ultimatecomics.com/batman-50-exclusive-covers/. This is a gorgeous collector’s item and great a way to help Ultimate Comics get back on our feet after this devastating hit.
And whether you’re a comic’s pro, news outlet, fellow store, or a fan like us, every re-tweet, share, or shout-out helps too! Let people know they can support Ultimate Comics by grabbing a copy of one of the year’s hottest comic books, stopping by or giving us a shout online!
And we would be remiss to say that even though this is a tragedy, one that we’re really only beginning to assess…how “comic book” is it that we were “struck by a crime wave?”
Thank you in advance, Ulti-friends!
More details and updates as soon as we have them, thank you for your ongoing support!
– Ultimate Comics Staff
Darkhawk #51
Writers: Chris Sims, Chad Bowers
Artist: Kev Walker
Colorist: Java Tartaglia
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel
As part of Marvel’s Legacy reboot, the company has put together a series of one-shots for its
more obscure, B-list characters. Silver Sable, Master of Kung Fu and now Darkhawk are all part
of this initiative. The idea is that if these books sell a fair amount and garner enough interest
among readers, Marvel will consider giving these characters ongoing titles. My hope is that
sales for Darkhawk #51 will skyrocket, as this title would make for a great cosmic superhero
series.
Chris Powell became Darkhawk years ago when he discovered an amulet in an old amusement
park. This event turned him into a being of immense power who used his gifts to fight crime.
Now however, it’s been a long time since Powell merged with his superhero alter-ego, and he
currently leads a more simple life as a cop. Yet when a tip leads him to the same amusement
park where he first discovered the gem, what he discovers there may just change his plans for
his future.
Writers Chris Sims and Chad Bowers do a great job introducing Darkhawk to readers who are
unfamiliar with the character, and also providing plenty of reasons for why this comic should be
an ongoing. As a one-shot it makes you want to dig deeper into the character’s mythos and hunt
down classic issues, but it also leaves plenty doors open for the story to continue.
Likewise, Kev Walker’s art is a delight, delivering the tone and aesthetic of a classic Saturday
morning superhero cartoon. I’ve only read a handful of Nova stories, but it has a similar feel to
that book stylistically. The colors are bright and engaging, providing the feel of a sweeping
space opera.
I’m really hoping enough people will like this book to want to see it continue, and regardless of
whether or not it does get greenlit as an ongoing it’s still a great collector’s item to have. Sims
and Bowers are regular guests at both NC Comicon shows, so get your copy of Darkhawk #51
now so you can get it signed at Oak City in March!
Doomsday Clock #1
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Publisher: DC Comics
It’s finally here. Ever since the mouth-dropping twist at the end of the Rebirth one-shot, DC fans
have been waiting to see how exactly Watchmen would merge with the main DC universe. The
answer will be explored throughout Doomsday Clock, which is a 12-issue series written by Geoff
Johns and drawn by Gary Frank.
The last major revelation was that Dr. Manhattan had tampered with the space-time continuum
and created the New 52 timeline. Doomsday Clock starts off in the Watchmen universe, taking
place about eight years after the events of the iconic Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons story. I’ll go
ahead and say that if you haven’t read Watchmen in a while, you may want to refresh yourself
before going into this book.
That said, this first issue offers a lot of potential for the series as a whole. Beyond being a love-
letter to the source material, it provides an interesting look at this world as it inches closer and
closer to annihilation. We see a character from the original story posing as Rorschach,
Ozymandias apparently seeking to redeem himself and Dr. Manhattan is still missing.
Meanwhile, all hell has broken loose across the globe.
The only tie to the main DC universe comes at the end of the issue, but we still have 11 more
issues to get the answers we’ve yearned for for the last year and a half. After the fairly
underwhelming crossover The Button earlier this year, this book is a worthy follow up to both
Rebirth and Watchmen. Geoff Johns returns to comics writing with a bang, and with art by the
amazing Gary Frank this is one of the biggest collector’s items of the year.
Goosebumps: Monsters at Midnight #1
Title: Goosebumps
Writer: Jeremy Lambert
Artist: Chris Fenoglio
Letterer: Christa Miesner
Publisher: IDW
Earlier this year, horror icon R.L. Stine made his first foray into comic book writing with Marvel’s revamp of Man-Thing. Though the book sold pretty terribly, this reviewer adored its B-movie flare and gorgeous visuals. I would even go so far as to say it was one of the most fun titles I’ve read all year, and you should definitely pick up the trade when you get a chance.
Now, IDW returns to Stine’s most iconic series, just in time for Halloween. Goosebumps: Monsters at Midnight brings together everyone’s favorite creatures and settings for an all-new adventure. Writer Jeremy Lambert and artist Chris Fenoglio capture the nostalgia of the classic Goosebumps books and tv show, while also delivering an easy jumping-on-point for readers who are new to this universe.
The story follows Mia and Ginny as they stay in their grandmother’s bizarre, mothballed house for the summer. As boredom quickly creeps in, the mischievous kids find themselves thrown into a world of terror when they stumble upon the town’s eery library.
It’s as straightforward a premise as can be, but that’s the beauty of Goosebumps. Stine’s universe revels in the corny, the creepy and the weirdly supernatural. What really makes this comic is Fenoglio’s wonderfully cartoonish style. All of the characters are ridiculously exaggerated, which coincides perfectly with the book’s tone; and it’s the kind of story kids and adults can both enjoy. When you feel like taking a break from binge-watching Stranger Things this weekend, pick this one up and come by any Ultimate Comics location this Saturday for our Halloween party!