Tag: Secret Wars

Comixology (at Amazon) Sales: “Marvels” with Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel; Secret Wars; DC on TV; Jeff Lemire at DH

In this week’s Comixology (at Amazon) sales, Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel get “Marvels” discounts… and Secret Wars, too.  DC drops prices on their TV properties. Plus, the Dark Horse work of Jeff Lemire.

Where did the New Releases and Sale pages go?

(Disclosure: If you buy something we link to on our site, we may earn a commission.)

In case you’re having troubles with the new UIX (a LOT of people have been):

We Will Control The Horizontal

The DC on TV Sale runs through Monday, 11/13.

There’s just a little bit of difference between how many DC characters had been on TV in 2000 vs. today. This would’ve been a lot smaller sale then.  A few things that caught our eye… no matter how limited the screen time.

Let’s point out some of the more unusual items, here:

Superman Adventures has a really odd pedigree. Yes, it’s the animated Superman from Batman/Superman/Justice League era of animation, but the writers? Paul Dini from the animated world. Scott McCloud… at this point, it should probably be pointed out to readers under 30 that before Understanding Comics, McCloud was the writer/artist of a much loved indie comic titled Zot!, an Astro Boy-influenced quasi-superhero adventure comic. It doesn’t get mentioned as much these days, but this was McCloud playing with Superman. This was followed by a young Mark Millar. Again, intended for all-ages, but Millar on Superman before he was a big name.

The Justice Society of America series on sale has something in it that flew under the radar at the time and is still under the radar. Alex Ross joins Johns & Eaglesham for a Kingdom Come prequel/sequel. DC never really gave it much push, but the Kingdom Come Superman shows up to battle Gog in the present. Look for the three volumes titled “Thy Kingdom Come.”

Batwoman by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III is the full Detective Comics run that preceded the solo series (which was after Rucka exited DC). Batwoman has had… drama… on TV and the big screen, but this initial foray from Rucka and Williams III is top shelf material.

Superman Adventures   Justice Society of America: Thy Kingdom Come   Batwoman

Marvel Movie Comics

The Marvel Captain Marvels Sale runs through Monday, 11/20.

Yes, there’s a moving coming out!

Yes, this is kind of a convoluted assortment of people with the same name, so give us a minute!

The first one, the Kree Captain Mar-Vell kinda gets short changed here:

The Kree/Skrull War is a classic Avengers tale, one of the first Events in a sense, and Mar-Vell figures prominently in it.

The Death of Captain Marvel is the end of the Jim Starlin era with the graphic novel of the same name and the battle with Nitro in the original series.

Then you had the Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel, sometimes called Photon. She was the next to take that name. This sale has two books with the same content, so we’ll pick Captain Marvel: Monica Rambeau. This is a collections of stories she features in.

Mar-Vell’s son, Genis, took up the name of Captain Marvel in the early aughts.

And then there’s Carol Danvers, the former/original Ms. Marvel who took up the name and is the current Captain. Also one of the most relaunched characters in all of Marveldom (which means they’re trying.)

The Carol Danvers Captain Marvel has been very writer-driven in the last decade.

Avengers: Kree/Skrull War   Captain Marvel   Captain Marvel

The Road to Palindromes

The Marvel Ms. Marvel Sale runs through Monday 11/20.

This would be Ms. Marvel as in Kamala Khan, not the current Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers. Is there a movie coming out? Hmm…  Let’s break this down by volume, since there have been relaunches.

  • Ms. Marvel ’14-15 – The original run with G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona as the primary artist
  • Ms. Marvel ’15-’19 – How silly is this relaunch? The collected edition number doesn’t even reset! It’s still Wilson and Alphona, although the artist rotate a bit as it goes on.
  • Magnificent Ms. Marvel ’91-’21 – Relaunched after Wilson’s departure, this is written by Saladin Ahmed with Minkyu Jung and Joey Vazquez as the lead artists
  • Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit – The most recent mini-series by Samira Ahmed and Andrés Genolet.

Recommendations? We thought Ms. Marvel was at its best early in the run, before it got too integrated into the Marvel universe, but that’s just us.  Definitely start with Wilson’s run, though.  It made quite the mainstream splash.

Ms. Marvel

But Is It REALLY a Secret?

The  Marvel Secret Wars sale runs through Monday, 12/4.

We all know which one this is really about, but let’s go through the other ones first.

The original Secret Wars by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck is a big ‘ole action comic.

Secret Wars II by Jim Shooter and Al Milgrom didn’t quite work. Except for Peter Parker having to explain “going to the bathroom” to The Beyonder. That was gold.

Beyond! by Dwayne McDuffie and Scott Kolins is an under-the-radar sequel where Spidey and a handful of others (unwillingly) return to Battleworld from the original series. Is it good? It’s McDuffie and Kolins, so you should already know the answer to that.

Secret War by Brian Bendis and Gabriele Dell’Otto has NOTHING to do with the above. Somebody had a cute idea with the name. It’s really about Nick Fury running a black op and fallout afterwards. If you like Bendis, you’ll like this.

Then there’s the Secret Wars (Event) that’s the endcap to the Jonathan Hickman Avengers run (and to an extent, his Fantastic Four run as well). When the timestream collapses… well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it? The main Secret Wars mini-series by Hickman and Esad Ribic is where you want to start with this and you can move on to the myriad of tie-in titles included in the sale if a character’s side-story catches your eye.

Secret Wars    Beyond!   Secret Wars

Le Mired in Discounts

The  Dark Horse 2023 Jeff Lemire Digital Sale runs through Monday, 11/27.

Why yes, Mr. Lemire has done more than just Black Hammer at Dark Horse… although he’s certainly done a lot of Black Hammer. Remember to keep an eye on prices with this one. Some of the time, $0.99 single issues will be cheaper than the collected edition.

What’s in this sale?

Black Hammer, naturally, with Dean Ormston. (Note: the Omnibus Editions are the better buy and the “regular” collected editions are a wash with single issues.) Then you’ve got your World of Black Hammer, Black Hammer / Justice League, and Black Hammer Reborn.

Then you’ve got Mazebook, which is Lemire wearing both writer and artist hats.

And, finally, Berserker Unbound with Mike Deodato, Jr. where an warrior from ancient times, hot on the trail of a wizard finds himself in the modern day. Urban fantasy ensues.

Black Hammer Omnibus   Mazebook   Berserker Unbound

Is that… print?!?

Finally, if you need some *gasp* print comics, we were passed a link to a “Get 3 For the Price of 2” sale. Most people would call that “Buy 2, Get 1 Free,” but it’s not the first thing we couldn’t explain. We’re not sure how long that link will be good for. On the left hand rail of the page, under “Departments,” click on “Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels.” There was a manga link there yesterday, but we’re not seeing it today, so what’s on sale might be fluid?

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Comixology (At Amazon) Sales: $0.99 / $1.99 Marvel Masterworks (Cheap)

In this week’s Comixology (at Amazon) sales, the Marvel holiday sales have arrived and by that, we mean the annual Marvel Masterworks sale.

Where did the New Releases and Sale pages go?

(Disclosure: If you buy something we link to on our site, we may earn commission.)

In case you’re having troubles with the new UIX (a LOT of people have been):

Our Favorite Sale of the Year

The Marvel Masterworks Sale runs through Monday, 1/2.

Yes, this is what we consider the finest sale of the year – the Marvel Masterworks Sale. This year, the first volume in a series is $0.99 and the rest in the series are $1.99. Masterworks are usually contain at least 10-12 issues and some of the later volumes can push 500 pages, so there are excellent values to be had. Volume one is, generally speaking, where the character’s appearances begin. These let you get a complete run of a character/title and the flagship titles are now getting into 80s material.

Also, if you want to read the Don McGregor (or Jack Kirby) Black Panther runs, this is when you get them: Volume 1 – $0.99; Volume 2 – $1.99; Volume 3 – $1.99

We’ll come back before the sale is over and highlight what we think the best buys are in the Masterworks catalog, but right now let’s talk about what’s new to the sale this year. We think this is what’s new – or newly on sale – since last December’s sale dropped. If you gorge on the sale each year, it’ll probably save you some time. That said, always remember to check these against your library!

What’s particularly interesting here? A few things. Reading down the list, Captain America has the entirely too short Roger Stern/John Byrne run. Daredevil  is from the Frank Miller run and this volume culminates in the death of Elektra. Doctor Strange has the under-rated Roger Stern/Paul Smith run. Fantastic Four is the middle of John Byrne’s run. Iron Man  is part of the first David Michelinie/Bob Layton run (with John Romita, Jr. pencils) and just after the “Demon in a Bottle” arc. Marvel Two-In-One is part of the under-rated Mark Gruenwald/Ralph Machio era with some Jerry Bingham, George Perez and Ron Wilson art. Arcs include “The Serpent Crown Affair” and a Starhawk/Moondragon/Adam Warlock 3-parter.

These Masterworks sales are always a grand time!

Daredevil Masterworks   Doctor Strange Masterworks   Marvel Two-In-One Masterworks

Is It Secret If Everyone Knows?

The Marvel Secret Wars Sale runs through Monday, 1/2.

So many tie-ins with the sale, but here’s the rule of thumb breakdown:

Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars is the original 12 part series by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck wherein The Beyonder does a bit of kidnapping and lots of fights ensue.  (And a symbiote turns up.)

Secret Wars by Jonathan Hick and Esad Ribic is the endcap to Hickman’s Fantastic Four and Avengers runs about what Douglas Adams might have called the world at the end of the universe.

Beyond! is your hidden gem here. We’d almost forgotten about it. A Dwayne McDuffie/Scott Kollins tales you might well call “What If… Dwayne McDuffie Wrote Secret Wars?”

Secret Wars  Secret Wars  Beyond!

Surf’s Up

The Marvel Silver Surfer Sale runs through Monday, 12/19.

This is a much smaller sale, focused a bit more on the more recent Surfer titles.

If you want old school Silver Surfer, there’s the Stan Lee / Moebius Parable, which was originally put out under the old Epic imprint. It also has the Enslavers OGN by Stan and Keith Pollard. You don’t get much more old school than Stan on one of his favorite characters.

The most impactful of the selections here is probably Silver Surfer: The Rebirth of Thanos by Jim Starlin and Ron Lim. This contains the Surfer arc where Starlin returns to the big bad of his 70s cosmic work and also Thanos Quest. This is the lead-in to Infinity Gauntlet and the beginning of a very fruitful collaboration between Starlin and Lim.

And for the longest running incarnation of the Surfer since that 80/90s run, there’s the Dan Slott/Mike Allred.  Technically, speaking this is the ’14-’15 series and the ’16-’17 series. Is it two volumes? Yes. Are we going to count it as one run for our purposes? Yes, again.

Silver Surfer: Parable   Rebirth of Thanos  Silver Surfer

And don’t forget the DC’s Greatest Hits Sale that’s running through Monday, it’s not *quite* as good as the Masterworks sale, but it’s close.

Expect the rest of the holiday floodgates to open on Tuesday.

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Comixology Sales: Batman, Magneto, Secret Wars and a Small Press Round Up

Highlights of this week’s Comixology Sales include Magneto and Secret Wars from Marvel, a Batman “spotlight” from DC and a Small Press Round Up.

(Disclosure: If you buy something we link to on our site, we may earn commission.)

Polarizing

The Marvel Magneto Sale runs through Sunday, 5/23.

For a good value, check out the X-Men Epic Collections (scroll down to collected editions or just look at the main sale link).  High page counts = low cost per issue.

If you want something off the beaten path, Cullen Bunn and Gabriel Hernandez Walta (pre-Vision) did an interesting and dark Magneto series in ’14-’15.

X-Men Epic Collection: The Sentinels Live   Magneto

But Is It REALLY a Secret?

The  Marvel Secret Wars sale runs through Thursday, 5/27.

This is the Secret Wars that’s the endcap to the Jonathan Hickman Avengers run (and to an extent, his Fantastic Four run as well). When the timestream collapses… well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it?

The main Secret Wars mini-series by Hickman and Esad Ribic is where you want to start with this and you can move on to the myriad of tie-in titles included in the sale if a character’s side-story catches your eye.

Secret Wars

I Shall Become… A Bat

DC’s Batman Spotlight Sale runs through Monday, 5/24.

Keep an eye on the discounts here. Plenty of books are only 40-46% off, which not Cheap.  More are 50%, which is so-so for DC.  A couple things at a better discount?

Batman: Death Mask by Yoshinori Natsume is a manga edition that’s 60% off.

Batman: Tales of the Demon is a collection of Ra’s al Ghul stories. The originals, plus a sequence from ’78-’80. Denny O’Neil is the scribe with Neal Adams and Don Newton dominating the art. This one is 74% off, though it’s starting from higher list price.

Batman Death Mask   Batman: Tales of the Demon

Indie Madness

The Small Press Starter Sale runs through Thursday, 5/27.

These are the first volumes of series put out by smaller publishers.  Highlights?

We do like AHOY Comics here at the Tower of Cheap. The Wrong Earth by Tom Peyer, Jamal Igle and Juan Castro is one of their best.  Think Adam West Batman and Dark Knight Batman switching places and being bewildered by each other’s world.

Watson & Holmes: A Study in Black by Karl Bollers, Rick Leonardi and Larry Stroman is a reimaging of Sherlock Holmes in contemporary Harlem. It’s also very good.

Going a little further off the beaten path, we hadn’t heard of the Shame series by Lovern Kindzierski and John Bolton. John Bolton remains a very underappreciated artist.

The Wrong Earth   Watson and Holmes   Shame

Still on Sale

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