Infrequent comments on the state of the Industry, things we
like and want you to know more about or just nonsense that you shouldn't be
wasting your valuable time reading.
Here is where you'll find all that plus
links to old articles as well....
Go see the DARK KNIGHT RISES
for free!
Want to take that crazy hot girl out to see the Dark Knight Rises but you
have no money because you spent it all on comics? We feel your pain.
Visit all 3 Graham Crackers Comics Chicago locations this Thursday, get some
free stuff at each store then end the trip with a FREE PASS FOR 2 to see The
Dark Knight Rises....
Graham Crackers Comics Race
for Reading 2012!
Hey Gang! It’s that time
again! The Race For Reading is on again for 2012. After their successful
mission of visiting all 9 of the Graham Crackers Comics locations in one
day, Doc and his crew are back again this year! But this time they are
playing for bigger stakes and we’re changing the rules on them!
We're using this years event to help raise money for the
HERO INITIATIVE as well as
donate some great Trade Paperbacks to the library...
Ladies Night @ Graham Crackers
Comics
FIRST WEDNESDAY of each month!
Is our very first LADIES NIGHT at Graham Crackers Comics and we're
pretty darn excited about it!
In what will hopefully become a regular tradition, we're
hosting a special night for LADIES ONLY!
What it is: A women-only comic night! Two hours of giveaways,
prizes, signings and a welcoming atmosphere for both the well-versed nerdy
girls and those who've yet to pick up a graphic novel. Come chat about
comics, movies, music, whatever! Better yet, bring a friend! Never been to a
comic shop? Now's your chance.
Jo Dery, Chicago comic creator, will
be joining us with copies of her books and mini-comics, free signing and
discussing her creative process!
Cupcakes, treats, prizes, deals, trivia - one incentive after another!
Come one, come all - and leave the boys at home!
DC Comics the Morning After
Okay so we've seen 3/4 of the new 52 books now, and I enjoyed this past
weeks selection of 13 new #1's more so than any other week and while there
was quite a bit to rave about (loved how Supergirl tied in to the other
titles - nicely done, thrilled to see the return of editors notes in the
books*See Detective Comics #1 to see what Gordon is talking about), and I'm
hoping they'll cover more of the problems I'd written about in the past
HERE. It's looking hopeful that they will.
The one change that seems to stand out the most from this
re-launch (to me) is the sheer amount of OVER THE TOP violence and sex we...
Photos from San Diego Comicon
2011
As we do
every year, we are once again at the SAN DIEGO COMICON - attending the
largest comic convention in the United States. And while we do go
there to sell older comics we also attend to pick up SPECIAL ORDER request
for our customers, restock our website and stores, stand in long painful
lines to TRY and get exclusive figures customers have requested. Plus
we try and visit as many vendors to pick up exclusive comic books and items
for the shops.
We snapped a few photos yesterday (Wednesday July 20th) to
give you an idea of what the show is shaping up to look like as well as show
you some pictures of some neat products and items on display. Take a
look...
It's DC's NEW 52, Coming Right
at you!
I wrote up a little bit about DC's NEW 52 relaunch a few
hours before going to the DC meeting. The meeting was great,
informative, and encouraging. I'm still supportive of the idea, I
think the timing is right and the intentions are all good, whether the
product will be any good, none of us knows yet -
but it's not like this is
anything new for DC, we've seen this before...
Graham Crackers Comics Race
for Reading!
Four insane individuals
think that they can not only accomplish the impossible task of visiting all
9 Graham Crackers Comics location - but they think they can do it all in 1
day.
We'll be posting their progress live via twitter @gccomics
and the race to accomplish this impossible task will end at our WHEATON
location. Be on hand to greet them as they return Friday May 27th and
get a $10 gift card just for showing your support!
Bob Bolling & Little Archie
Comics
Probably
the best comics creator that you've
never heard of!
This week IDW released a gorgeous
book on the history of Archie
Comics and
mini-spotlights on some of
the
best Archie creators ~ including one of my
all time favorites Bob Bollling -
creator
writer, artist best known for his work on
Little Archie...
c2e2 2011 recap
Here's a quick
recap looking back at this years show for those of you that couldn't make it:
Reed Exhibitions puts together a FIRST CLASS comic
convention! The show not only looked great, but was run smoothly. Plus they
added FREE shuttle bus service from the city to the show (as well as directly
from our store to the show). Hard to beat that convenience!...
the NEW AVENGERS 100 Project
Come visit C2E2 on March
18th-20th and check out a special AVENGERS ORIGINAL COMIC ART exhibition
sponsored by Hero Initiative, Graham Crackers Comics and MARVEL Comics...
Win all 9 Garth Ennis' Jennifer
Blood #1 covers!
(updated: contest over)
It just came out (Wednesday Feb.
16th), pick up a copy, read it, love it and then write up a REVIEW as to why
someone else should try this great new series from DYNAMITE Entertainment!
If we pick your review to run in next weeks newsletter you'll get all 9 copies
of issue #1...
Comics 101
Graham Crackers Comics has been open for
almost 29 years now and it never ceases to frustrate me to no end to see certain
publishers make the same mistakes, over and over again - regardless of regime
changes, and their supposed swearing these practices off..
Your mission, should you choose to accept it...
This years mission is to visit
all 9 Graham Crackers Comics locations, and should you choose to accept this
mission - your payment will be handsome indeed! A $25 gift card for you to
blow on anything at any of our nine locations!
In our newest print
Newsletter (available at any of the nine stores) - you'll find a special
passport on page 3. Take that newsletter with you to all of the Graham
Crackers Comics shops and get them duly stamped - return your finished passport
and receive a $25 gift card for completing said mission...
Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2010
At the
end of each year all of the Graham Crackers Comics managers vote on what they
felt the best graphic novels of the year were. All 9 stores votes are
compiled - a final list is put together and placed in our PRINT Newsletter that
we give out the beginning of each year -
this year we've posted them on our website to share with you! Each
choice has a review as well, just click on it to read why it made the cut!
Unfortunately ever year there
seems to be one more Graphic Novel that comes out right after we've compiled our
votes - and this year it was Superman Secret Origin. A graphic novel so
fantastic that it would have easily grabbed #1 if my vote had any more sway than
anyone elses. Geoff Johns & Gary Frank are my current dream team.
Hope they do some more work together soon!
PAPER vs PIXEL
or the
top 10 reasons Printed Comics are better than Virtual Comics
by John Robinson PAPER vs PIXEL –
It’s what WIZARD called their new 2 page article on the coming of virtual comics
(see Wizard #232). I figured I’d be reading something along the lines of
what I’d written a few months ago
here, (pros and cons of each platform). Nope, it was as one sided as
could possibly be, basically saying here’s the 10 reasons why Digital Comics are
better than printed ones.
So I’ve got a counter point for you Wizard.
Top 10
Reasons Printed Comics are better than digital comics.
1.
Experience the book as it was intended.
Comics were designed to be read in the format they’re
printed. They weren’t designed to be read on a 3 inch
by 4 inch screen one panel at a time. It’s like
watching a movie on your spoon. Technology will
probably get us to that point some day while we can do this
while eating our cereal, but is it a better experience?
Clearly not. A lot of time and effort gets put into
laying out a book and a page (or 2 page spread) – you don’t
have to let your digital reader decide how it should be
viewed, that should be up to the creator and yourself.
24 Hour Comic Day
2010 results
A fantastic turn out, plus a good time had by all participants! Look and
see why you should participate in 2011's FREE 24 Hour Comic Day Challenge -
creating your own 24 page comics within 24 hours at Graham Crackers Comics!
Our city location in Edgewater and our suburb location
in Plainfield participated. Check out the photos
we took and the comics that were created by some of the attendees by clicking on
the READ MORE button...
Virtual Comics vs Real Comics
What are the pros and cons of each?
by John Robinson
Since DC Comics just announced this
week that they'll be dipping their toes in the world of VIRTUAL COMIC BOOKS,
I thought I'd finally chime in on the subject.
DC's announcing this
wasn't much of a surprise, anytime MARVEL decides to try something out, all you
have to do is wait 3 to 6 months to watch DC following suit. Not
necessarily because they think MARVEL has such a great idea, it seems more so,
to simply stay competitive with their #1 rival. Marvel raises their
prices, DC follows right behind, MARVEL starts to buy up comic publishers, DC
joins in the game. These 2 have been fighting over MARKET SHARE for
over 40 years now, so as I mentioned, no big surprise there.
24 Hour Comic Day
2009 results
In case you don't know, 24 HOUR COMIC
DAY is a yearly National Event that challenges future comic creators to create a
24 page comic within 24 hours. We host the events at our stores, it's FREE, and
everyone is welcome to attend.
As an artist, one of your greatest obstacles is finding the motivation to just
sit down and get the thing done. Now you'll be hanging out in your favorite
comic store with like minded individuals helping motivate you and keep you going
for 24 hours straight!
Our city location in Edgewater and our suburb location
in Plainfield both participated. Check out the photos
we took and the scans of some of the comics that were created by some attendees
by clicking on the READ MORE button...
________________
Join our COMIC CLUB Pull & Hold Subscription Service and start saving money off your
new comics IMMEDIATELY!
-------------
Ask at any of our stores for more information on how to join!
-------------
Don't forget we also have an ON-LINE CLUB!
Information is available by clicking "Subscriptions" on the left hand side! Click on the BUTTON to get a printable version of our Club Sign-Up
sheet (for in-store only)
FIRST WEDNESDAY of each month!
Okay so we've seen 3/4 of the new 52 books now, and I enjoyed this past
weeks selection of 13 new #1's more so than any other week and while there
was quite a bit to rave about (loved how Supergirl tied in to the other
titles - nicely done, thrilled to see the return of editors notes in the
books*See Detective Comics #1 to see what Gordon is talking about), and I'm
hoping they'll cover more of the problems I'd written about in the past
HERE. It's looking hopeful that they will. 
Probably
the best comics creator that you've
