In the last month  a collection of approximately 12,000 comics was purchased with half in the 1940′s to 1960′s era! Every genre is represented, from Romance to War, and from Horror SF to Superhero.  There’s a great assortment of pre-superhero Marvel/Atlas including Amazing Adventures,  Journey into Mystery, Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish.  Obscure and esoteric publishers are here, including St. John, Lev Gleason, and Avon. There is a small group of EC’s, a bunch of DC and tons of Marvel Superhero titles.  A nice portion of these books are now graded, priced and at the store…..a small sampling are now being featured on eBay under seller name AMGIROUX, so check ‘em out in the store on on the internet.  The collection is so large that we do not have all of it processed. We are adding books to the store daily and will be for the weeks ahead.

A smattering of very key and critical Golden Age is included and you now see the likes of Superman #7, Detective #41, America’s Greatest #1 (very early Captain Marvel) on display at the store.

There are some modern Keys including Hulk #181, New Mutants #98, X-men #266 and Spider-man #300.

We have been posting pics of some of the great covers like Superman #7, Wonder Woman #52, Hulk #6, X-men #1 and more on our Facebook page so LIKE us on Facebook to see what we have! We keep adding more every day.

If you don’t live in Phoenix, not to worry, we do mail order. If you are going to be in Phoenix in late May for the upcoming Phoenix Comic Con we’ll be set up with lots of these goodies on hand.

Feel free to email us your want list and we’ll see what we’ve got!

Happy Collecting!

Of course there will be lots and lots of FREE Comics, free refreshments and free balloons for the kids.

Events include an autograph signing by two of DC Comics hottest creators, DC writer, Adam Beechen and DC Artist, Dustin Nguyen.  Adam and Dustin will be at All About from 11:30 am  to 1:30 pm  and 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm.  AABC will have plenty of comics available that Adam and Dustin have worked on. See below for more information on the works of Adam Beechen* and Dustin Nguyen*

Bring the kids between 1pm and 4pm and they can get their faces painted like a super-hero!  A Balloon twister will be on hand to entertain and hand out fun Twisted Balloons as well.

This years Charity Fundraiser is for Hospice of the Valley in memory of a good friend of Alan and Marsha’s that just lost her battle with cancer. Donations will be taken in any amount, but donations of $5.00 or more will get you 15% off your purchase. Help us raise money for Hospice of the Valley while enjoying a day of fun at All About Books and Comics.

* Adam Beechen

Currently writer of the New York Times Best-Selling DC Comic Batman Beyond, Adam Beechen has been one of the most sought-after writers of comics and animation of the last decade. He has also served as regular writer on such popular titles as Teen Titans, Robin, Batgirl, W.I.L.D.C.A.T.S., Justice League Unlimited, Countdown to Adventure, his creator-owned Killapalooza miniseries, and DC’s major “event” comic, Countdown to Final Crisis. In animation, Adam currently serves as Executive Producer for the Hub’s hit pre-school series, The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, and has worked as Story Editor on such series as The Pink Panther, Edgar and Ellen and Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi. Adam has also written multiple episodes for such acclaimed series as Ben Ten, Ben Ten: Alien Force, Teen Titans, Secret Saturdays, The Batman: The Brave and the Bold, The Batman (for which he received an Emmy nomination) Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, X-Men: Evolution, , Little Bill, Jackie Chan Adventures, Static Shock and Mucha Lucha, as well as the live-action kids’ series Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Out There, and The Famous Jett Jackson..

* Dustin Nguyen

Dustin Nguyen is an American comic artist whose body of work, for the past 10 years, includes flagship titles for both DC Comics and Wildstorm. His past projects include Wildcats v3.o, The Authority Revolution, Batman, Superman/Batman, Detective Comics, his creator owned project- Manifest Eternity, Batgirl, and Batman: Streets of Gotham. He is currently exclusive to DC Comics, writing as well as illustrating Justice League Beyond .  Aside from providing cover illustrations for the majority of his own books, his cover art can also be found on titles from Batman Beyond , Batgirl, Justice League: Generation Lost,  Supernatural and Friday the 13th, to numerous other DC/WS titles.

The Party starts at 6 pm with CAKE and Discounts! Get 25% off ALL Back Issue X-men and Avengers Comics (including consignment!) Get 10% off all other X-men and Avengers items, including T-shirts, Pint Glasses, Coffee Mugs, Statues and more.

At 8 pm the Avengers Vs. X-men #1 will go on sale, including ALL variants and incentives! We are officially an Avengers Team Store, but we will have ALL of the Variants including the X-men Team Store Variants.  Come in Tues.  night to be sure to get the exclusives, Avengers Team Store Variant, X-men Team Store Variant, Stegman Variant, Stegman Sketch Variant (one per store), Romita Jr. Variant and Blank Variant. These will be in limited supply so come in Tues.night if you don’t want to miss out.

This is Marvel’s biggest  launch of the year. They have brought together 8 of the best creators in the industry, Brian Bendis, Jason Aaron, Ed Brukbaker, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction, John Romita Jr, Olivier Coipel, and Adam Kubert. This story involves the entire Marvel Universe and will set the stage for a seismic shift in the Marvel Universe that will tie into all Marvel ongoing titles! AVX will ship twice a month from April through Sept.

Stay tuned for more info!

And SUPER Superman DEALS! All back issue Superman (and Superman family related, Action, Adventure, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Man of Steel etc) are 25% off. Buy $500.00 and get 50% off Superman related back issues (so it will only cost you $250.00).

Get a double punch on trade paperbacks and hardbacks that have Superman in them!  Get 10% off all other Superman items (t-shirts, hats, coffee cups, pint glasses, wallets, etc.) Come celebrate with us and get these Super Savings!

Maximum Discount on Consignment items is 25% off. Not valid with any other discounts, coupons or bucks.

I’m the kind of guy that checks out all kinds of comic-related internet websites and reads all the news. Through the week, if you follow our facebook you’ll see important comic news updated. This blog post (which I will post often) will be a quick review of the hits along with my traditionally snarky viewpoints.

The Main Events!

#1 Marvel rips creators rights to pieces

CBR links to the blog that has the court documentation and gives the basic details of this story.

This case has been around since 2007. Gary Friedrich is one of the people who created Ghost Rider and sued the company, along with toy makers and movie companies for not registering Ghost Rider as a copyrighted item after the character’s first appearance in Marvel Spotlight. In response over the years, Marvel countersued for Friedrich using Ghost Rider to make money at conventions or through prints.

Basically, the entire case will be settled as long as Friedrich pays Marvel $17,000 and stops selling product with Ghost Rider on it. You heard that right, the guy who helped CREATE the character, won’t be able to make any money whatsoever, and in fact owes Marvel for his freelance convention work.

While the bust on him as a creator isn’t that surprising (Jack Kirby is spinning so hard in his grave that you’d think he was a Boom Tube), the convention piece is absolutely terrifying. Artist’s Alley’s at conventions are probably the easiest source of extra income that all artists have. If they have to pay Marvel or DC every single time they draw a character that’s essentially a Huge chunk of income disappearing from freelance workers and moving onto Disney’s doorstep.

Not to mention that Friedrich doesn’t even really do comics that much anymore, so one of his main sources of income has been punted out the window.

I don’t see this affecting artists at conventions immediately, but it definitely tells creators that they better watch who they mouth off to, or else they may lose and lose hard.

I wonder if he just made all his prints into the new girl Ghost Rider then he could still sell them. If people bought them like they bought the comic he wouldn’t really make that much money… (BURN!)

#2 DC Annuals and the latest round of artists musical chairs.

Once again, you gotta search The Source to find all of this.

Well all right then. I thought I wouldn’t have to explain these long-winded team changes every week, apparently I was wrong. More new stuff from the DC 52 just keeps moving right along.

Let’s start with the easy stuff first! Annuals! DC has announced three (so far), and I’m sure there’s more on the horizon. First come Batman, featuring the first appearance of Mr. Freeze in the new DCU. That will be written by Scott Snyder with help from James Tynian IV and art by Jay Fabok. Second we’ll see Jeff Lemire drop an Animal Man book featuring Swamp Thing as the Red and the Green continue to battle the rot. That one gives you art from Timothy Green. Finally, the Teen Titans book by Scott Lobdell and Tom Defalco with art by Brett Booth sees a whole big tie-in with Titans, Superboy, The Ravagers and Legion Lost. Hoo boy that’s a lot of tying.

I appreciate that all of these titles use their series writers in some way, meaning they aren’t complete screw-off meaningless issues. I’d reserve judgment until they come about, because I barely know anything about the art teams attached to them.

On the rotating art side of things, Steve Pugh, who is known for drawing Animal Man back in the day, will be drawing Animal Man permanently after filling in for a couple issues. Travel Foreman leaves Animal Man to take over Birds of Prey, which is weird because seeing him draw a comic about a bunch of girls doesn’t seem right. Jesus Saiz leaves Birds of Prey to go to Resurrection Man which I still can’t believe hasn’t been cancelled yet, and Fernando Dagnino steps off Resurrection Man to move to Suicide Squad. Hoo boy that was a lot of moving.

I’ll reserve real judgment until the issue 9′s come out, especially because the only art we’ve seen is that sample drawing by Foreman. Overall, I have no complaints, seeing as how all of these people haven’t really had issues with any of their books, and changing things up will help keep it all fresh (look at that positive spin I just put down…)

Oh! They’re also making a Smallville Season 11 comic book, if that’s your thing.

#3 Zombies are clearly not the only things with teeth…

Well, the Hollywood Reporter has the first statement, then they continue with Kirkman’s reply. This one’s gunna get ugly folks…

So… Tony Moore says he was screwed out of a ton of profits and isn’t even allowed to see profit statements that have come from The Walking Dead. He goes on to claim that Robert Kirkman tricked him into signing contracts that garnered him less than he deserved. It’s lawsuit time people!

Kirkman replied, saying the lawsuit was ridiculous and pulling out copies of the first issues to show that it only labelled him as a creator. Oooh snap indeed.

Here’s the kicker, Moore and Kirkman are lifelong friends. These two guys grew up together and apparently it got so bad that it came to this. The zombie soap opera book now has a real soap opera theme in real life.

I see this a couple ways. Moore drew 6 issues of the series. While he did essentially create and design a ton of the characters that are still around (actually only Rick and his kid have made it all the way), he only did 6 issues of an almost 100-issue series. His name is right there in the credits (of course those credits had Frank Darabont in them, Oh well…) so he’s gotta be seeing some money from it.

And the long story short, Walking Dead hasn’t been that good of a TV show. Sure if I was Moore I’d want my money while the going was good, but I’d rather they pay me just not to yell about it. (Please don’t get me started on the bogus meandering that has been this season. Just don’t do it.)

Quick Hits! Other Important Stories from the Week:

Marvel dropped the Avengers trailer at the Super Bowl. They extended it online. Hoo boy.

Marvel also released preview pages of the Avengers vs X-men series to whet your appetite. Pick your sides folks! They also supplied pictures of many different covers.

The BBC has a discussion with Alan Moore about using the V for Vendetta mask at the Occupy protests. When it’s not comic-related, I always enjoy what Moore has to say.

You bored? Here’s some quick things to look at to entertain you:

This parody of the Avengers is the greatest thing my sister and I have ever seen. The rest of you probably have no idea what this is.

Batman Inc. is coming. Batman Inc. is coming. Batman Inc. is coming. COVER!

A possible Dr. Who/Star Trek crossover, because you demanded it! Didn’t you?

Statues statues everywhere. Finally licensed products that don’t look like the movie characters in Watchmen.

How do you not love Avengers Legos?

Power Girl loses her revealing cleavage window for her new series. Progressive!

And finally, Jean-Ralphio as Spider-Man. You’re welcome to the four people that get this.

And that’s the week! Did I miss anything? Feel free to yell at me in the store or in the comments!

“The” Dan Jacka

Adventure Time #1 Writer: Ryan North Artist: Shelli Paroline & Braden Lamb

This. Book. Is. Awesome. An evil “bag of holding” starts trying to defeat Finn and Jake and everyone in adventure time, so it’s up to them to save the day. That doesn’t exactly work, even when they combine together to make Jake into a suit that Finn wears. It’s absolutely crazy. There’s captions at the bottom that put the Defenders throwbacks to shame. There’s a back up story with a hilarious punchline about cinnamon-flavored armpit apple juice. I can’t come up with this stuff on my own. This is a sweet comic that’s perfect for fans of the show.

PunisherMax#22 Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Steve Dillon

Black Panther #529 Writer: David Liss Artists: Shawn Martinbrough & Jefte Palo

Two Marvel series wrap up this week and they both end fairly strong. PunisherMax knew it was coming to an end, so the epicness that has been this series wraps up exactly how it wants to. I couldn’t possibly be happier with how this series turned out, and it’s a bummer that most stories don’t reach the quality that this one gets to. Black Panther was forced into cancellation, so everything gets wrapped up into a neat little bow and closed up. It feels a little forced and a little rushed and the art is screwy at points, so it’s kinda unfortunate. I loved both of these series, and to see them end is very unfortunate for comics as a whole.

Conan the Barbarian #1 Writer: Brian Wood Artist: Becky Cloonan

Hmm. I want to like this a lot more than I do. It’s the Demo team, which was a solid book. It’s the Northlanders writer, doing stuff very similar. But overall it just didn’t quite click. I liked where it was going, and what was done, but overall, it felt like most other Conan stories I’ve read. It has a lot of potential to be going somewhere, and I feel like we’re going to have to wait until the third issue to know if this is really going to be any good. Don’t get me wrong; it’s very much OK, and Cloonan’s art is soooo pretty. But overall? Meh. FOR NOW!

Powers #8 Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Michael Avon Oeming

Hey, Powers is back! If you’ve never liked Bendis, then avoid Powers at all costs. But if you find yourself sick and tired of his Avengers stuff (pointing at self), Powers will remind you why you might actually like him sometimes. This is picking up right where we left off… what…six months ago?  I wish Powers would come out more often, but I don’t mind. I feel like with each issue taking more time, there’s less of a chance that Bendis can screw it up.

Thief of Thieves #1 Writers: Robert Kirkman & Nick Spencer Artist: Shawn Martinbrough

In the wake of recent Walking Dead news, Kirkman drops a new creator-owned series, and it’s interesting, but doesn’t feel complete. The tagline at the top talks about the life he left behind, and the cover goes into detail about his family, but that’s never addressed in the first issue. The cover tells you more about the main character than the entire comic does. What the comic gives you is a pretty solid story about a con-man art thief that decides he’s done. We meet a couple side characters, and learn about the main girl involved in the series. It’s solid stuff, but feels more like a zero issue than an actual #1.

Wolverine and the X-men #5 Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Nick Bradshaw

I’m not a huge Chris Bachalo fan, so the scrunched-face Art-Adams style of Bradshaw is a welcome change. This book has been surprisingly good for all of its issues. Aaron is continuing to show that he understand all the characters in the Marvel universe and how to give them a proper voice. It’s a little convoluted, in that a LOT of things are in motion, but that is really helped by Bradshaw’s art. It’s squish faced, but you can tell who everyone is and exactly what’s going on. It’s fun stuff, as long as you kinda let that weird cover that toes the line on being completely offensive. Good stuff.

Quick Hits!

Frankenstein #6 Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Alberto Ponticelli: Apocalypse Now meets Night of the Living Dead. Way way Rad.

Ninjettes #1 Writer: Al Ewing Artist: Eman Casallos: Why does this exist? It’s a spin-off of dead characters from a Garth Ennis series. I don’t get it.

Batwoman #6 Writers: J.H. Williams III W. Haden Blackman Artist: Amy Reeder: The art change is staggering, but this is still a solid book. I enjoy the hell out of it, and you should too.

Secret Avengers #22 Writer: Rick Remender Artist: Gabriel Hardman: Still questioning the quality of this title. We’ll see, but Remender is off to a good start.

Haunt #21 Writer: Joe Casey Artist: Nathan Fox: As long as Haunt is being awesome I’ll keep mentioning it. Haunt is still being awesome.

Hulk #5 Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: A whole lot of people: I see what the plot is trying to do, but the art is making me want to gouge my eyes out with a stick.

Lobster Johnson #2 Writer: Mike Mignola and John Arcudi Artist: Tonci Jonjic: Criminal meets the B.P.R.D. What’s not to like?

And that’s it! I’ll be back… eventually!

“The” Dan Jacka

All About is Celebrating with some Specials for Tues. Feb. 14th only.

Get 100 comics from the discount comic room and cover price racks for $48.00!

Get 100 Comic Bags for only $4.80!

Get $25.00 in ANY merchandise for $19.12!

The Main Events!

#1! Watchmen Prequels Everywhere

The original post is HERE but c’mon, how have you not heard about this now? DC has decided to take the dive and create a series of prequels based around what is perhaps their most famous actual literary work. Is that a gutsy play? Of course, but I believe that it’s been crafted about as perfectly as humanly possible.

Anyone working with the Watchmen characters is going to find that they’ve dived into a crapload of controversy. Plenty of people want it untouched (and I have friends texting me to prove that), plenty of people want Alan Moore’s approval, and plenty of people just don’t care.

But really, read the articles, look at those teams and tell me there isn’t ONE book there that you want to read. I alone can guarantee I’m getting the Darwyn Cooke Minutemen series, and the Azzarello-Jones Comedian series. In addition, I’m gunna take a look at Wein-Lee on Ozymandias and Cooke-Conner on Silk Spectre. There isn’t a single person out there who isn’t gunna drool over one of these books.

And these teams! Holy moly those are strong teams. I’m not a Straczynski fan at all, but I know for a fact that there’s a ton of you that will pick this up for his name alone. Joe Kubert is around inking his kid for a story. Adam Hughes is doing interiors. REPEAT: ADAM HUGHES IS DOING INTERIORS. The teams on these books are fantastic.

Alan Moore doesn’t approve. That’s new… Oh wait, no it’s not. He never wants to be involved like this, and he’s been talking about recycling ideas of his since about the time I’ve been reading comics. While he and Dave Gibbons did get screwed in their contracts, there’s plenty of us that are jonesing for more. I think this is a fantastic way to encourage new readers who’ve only read Watchmen to come back and try more.

#2! Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane Settle Their Dispute, We Think…

The Associated Press broke the news HERE, but I’ll try to put it simply. McFarlane used plenty of writers in the early days of Spawn. One of them was Neil Gaiman, who created the characters of Dark Ages Spawn, Tiffany and Domina. From there, McFarlane made his traditional action figures of all of these, and Gaiman flipped his lid.

Ironically, Image Comics was created to help creators get “freedom” over their creations, so this DECADE-long lawsuit didn’t really help them keep their image clean (Image’s image… hoo boy.)

Two things worth noting. This is technically the end, as the AP says more info about the ruling can’t be disclosed, but Gaiman’s attorney said McFarlane can’t appeal anymore. It sounds like everyone ended up happy, but McFarlane’s attorney was suspiciously absent from the article.

SECOND! Could this be the first step toward clarity about Miracleman? Alan Moore has backed off to go be angry about everything (that’s new), but McFarlane and Gaiman are still arguing over who actually has the rights to the 80s stories. Hopefully more info can come to light, and this will be the lighting of a candle that makes some of us who can’t afford a death issue the chance to read some of these “classic” issues.

#3! Shuffling Teams So Hard, You’d Think the New 52 was a card deck

Where to even begin on this one? Your best bet is to just go through the history on the DC blog HERE.

There’s a lot of shuffling going on at the New 52, and it started off so well. Paul Cornell is leaving Stormwatch, which is not new news. However, Peter Milligan (Hellblazer and Justice League Dark) is taking over those writing duties. He’s leaving Justice League Dark to Jeff Lemire (Animal Man, Sweet Tooth). Lemire is leaving Frankenstein, and indie creator Matt Kindt (Superspy, Revlover) is going to write his first ongoing mainstream series. That make sense? Cause it’s all good news. Changing teams is always unfortunate, but each of these is a solid takeover by a pro writer. I could not be happier.

On the “meh” side of things, Gregg Hurwitz (Penguin: Pride and Prejudice) is taking over the writing duties for Batman: The Dark Knight, and it’s not clear if David Finch is still co-writing. Also, Marcus To (Red Robin, Huntress) is going to be taking over the art on Batwing. I assume this is a problem with Ben Oliver not being able to maintain an ongoing, but that’s purely speculation. Also, after Dan Didio and Jerry Ordway finish their Challengers of the Unknown story for DC Universe Presents, Jerry Robinson (Starman) and Bernard Chang (who drew the Deadman story earlier in DCUP) will start a new story with a brand new character. It will be Vandal Savage’s daughter, but apparently not Scandal Savage.

And finally. Rob Liefeld. The teams have finally been announced for the three (My God, Three) books that he’s involved in. We already knew that Deathstroke was all his. He’s writing and drawing, so if you liked Hawk and Dove (cancelled) there ya go. He’s plotting Savage Hawkman, which will be scripted by Mark Poulton (no clue) and drawn by Joe Bennett (a lot of DC stuff). That one will go from the “meh” team of Daniel and Tan to the new meh team. However, the straw that breaks the camel’s back is Grifter. Scott Clark stays on as the artist, which is fine, but Scripting the book will be the one the only… Frank Tieri. I’ll wait for this to actually come out, but I think we all know how the Professor feels about Tieri (there’s not a link, but it’s not good). Liefeld getting his hands in everything is just unfortunate to say the least.

Every single one of these changes start at issue #9 which isn’t until May (which feels like forever away, but just you wait). It’s intriguing to see the shuffling, and I’m sure we’ll see more every month.

Quick Hits! Other Important Stories from the Week:

Mark Waid is ending both Irredeemable and Incorruptible. That’s a bummer, but it had an incredible run.

Archie might be having an interracial baby. Whoa! Progressive!

You bored? Here’s some quick things to look at to entertain you:

This girl is Zatanna. You’re welcome.

Mike Choi can still draw. Very pretty.

By the time this posts, The Avengers trailer will have aired, but it’s being hyped already. Enjoy!

There’s a new Ultimate Spider-Man thing set to happen. They’re trying to hype it, but it hasn’t become a big deal.

And that’s the Week in Review. This new feature is a work in progress, so feel free to leave some comments about anything you think might be important that I overlooked. Same time next week!

“The” Dan Jacka

There’s a slew of late 1950′s DC Western titles, including All-Star Western and Tomahawk. Marvel westerns are featured too with titles like Kid Colt, which always had that great Stan Lee/Jack Kirby flair. And one book I found with a pretty audacious name from the early 1950′s, “Western Killers!” Ya gotta love it! Harvey publishing is well represented here, with VF 8.0 copies of “Casper, the Friendly Ghost” Giants. Very tough to find books like this in high end shape.

The Science Fiction/Horror motif from the 1950′s/60′s is included here too. House of Mystery, Strange Adventures, and Mystery in Space are just some of the titles, many at very affordable prices too. Obscurities like Dell’s “Tales from the Tomb”, along with an ACG title I’ve NEVER seen filter in before, “Magic Agent” are here. I just had to read a few of these puppies before pricing them! This aforementioned title is a character that’s sort of a combination of James Bond and Marvel’s Dr. Strange. Goofy but yet cool stuff from the early 1960′s.

The last title that really stands out in my mind is the beautiful selection of DC’s early 1970′s war book, “Weird War Tales.” Always requested by in-store and web customers, but rarely found in the NM 9.4 shape we got them in, this title is just the gem of this 1,600 or so comic collection. There were TWO VF/NM copies of issue #1, and one of them has already been purchased, so don’t wait if you have any interest in this one.

Did I mention the assorted Golden Age (1940′s) books that were part of this collection? No? Then please come in and have a look-see at the display case that features them. Police Comics, Captain Marvel….even a hard-to-find early 1950′s horror EC!

It’s been nice “talking” with all of you again….and as the old Silver Age DC letter columns used to end, “We must be doing something-Write!” (As in respond to these missives you guys!)

Next up…a butt, er, boatload of Spawn collectibles we just, ahem, acquried!

Alan G