A while back I became Facebook Friends with Jim Main...  

Who I knew had published some periodicals.  I wasn't aware of how many until he sent a package to me of just a few of them to read and possibly review here.  Currently there are 48 publications that he has published that are listed for sale in his online store!

The one I wanted to review here first was a zine on The Man Of Bronze.  Here are the items that this issue covers per Jim's listing:

Gorgeous full color covers by Tim Faurote and Alvaro Fernandois, articles by Tom Barnett(on Ham Brooks), Julian Puga V (on The Secrets of the U-Boats), Dennis Kininger (his on-going reviews of the Bantam reprints of the Doc Savage novels). Plus more regular features (Cover to Cover, and our letters section) and more great illustrations by Tim Faurote, John Lambert, Christian Diaz and Virginia Mills-Barfield!

OK, I'll take it from there...

I would have to agree with Jim that the covers are both very well illustrated!  The front cover by Tim Faurote is a natural one to use to get casual readers to look at it closer.

Upon doing so I found that this zine is doing what good zines should do.  That is, have a message from the Editor / Publisher, a table of contents, a letters page, text essays, and photos.  All that is here in this zine!

Of course the letters page will feature letters about previous issues, (which I have not seen).  So reading those could or should draw you in as a reader to possibly order the issue(s) the letter(s) talk about.

One of the essays was by Tom Barnett, who did a good job on explaining "Building A Literary Character: Ham Brooks".

The next feature focused on 'The Brand of The Werewolf' which intriqued me because it showed the covers of the Doc Savage comic books that were published by Marvel Comics, and that there was a history of The Werewolf that went back to the pulps that I wasn't aware of!  I had also missed the Bantam paperback in 1965 that reprinted that tale also.

Speaking about the Bantam Books... the next article was a revealing one by Dennis Kininger who reviewed several books from that series. Also an enjoyable and informative article in a 'review' format style.

There was also a 'Comic Book Review' by Dennis.  Which I liked seeing because it reviewed Marvel Two-In-One #21.  Being a Big Fan of The Thing from the Fantastic Four, I enjoyed reading about it in this zine, even though the reviewer didn't think much of the storyline in the comic book issue...!

The last article was by Julian Puga V, who wrote on 'The Secriet of the U-Boats'.  A good historical essay that kept my interest.

I would have to say in summary, that this issue of 'Zine Of Bronze' was a well edited magzine!   Even though I am NOT a big fan of Doc Savage, it was well crafted for even me, a casual Doc Savage reader, to enjoy.  Matter of fact, of all the items that Jim sent me, it was the first publication that I read, and have now reviewed... it is THAT Good!

Details on this issue as follows:

Cost of this issue is: $3.50 plus 1.50 shipping.
$5.00 per issue postpaid in the USA.  Personal checks only, with checks made out to Jim Main.  Jim's web site to order is at:   http://mainenterprises.ecrater.com/

Unfortunately we don't have back issues of Jim's Zine in our own online store at this time... However, Please check out our other new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store that our blogs are based on! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films!  

This year's Comic Con International: San Diego had several comics that showcased variations of covers with the Comic Con Logo or a Comic Con Banner across the front cover...  

The above comic book "Iron Man Golden Avenger" #1 didn't show a Comic Con Logo or Banner, but instead had a 'Marvel Book Market Variant' box placed on it instead of the 'Secret Invasion' Box that was shown on the regular printed copy that most sellers have listed.

I am only bringing it to my Blog readers' attention, because one - it is a variant cover that is currently listed from $19.95 to $24.95 at eBay, and two - it is a really well written "done-in-one" issue, which unfortunately isn't seen too often in comics on the market as most are continued stories...

Plus it is a good intro to the Iron Man character, no matter which 'Universe' this story belongs in.   As you can see by the photo at the top right of this blog post, I immersed myself in the Iron Man Universe by taking a 'tour' of Stark Industries while at the Con, which is where a few copies of this special issue were distributed. 

Oh, and the photo at the bottom right of this same blog post shows Tina also with the different suits of armor.  She just loved the Iron Man 1 Film!  As could be seen from her blog post review of the film as seen here:  (A Woman's POV of the Iron Man Film).

Credits to this 'one shot' comic book issue are:

Writers: Fred Van Lente, Margot Blankier

Penciler: Juan Santacruz

Inker: Juan Santacruz

Colourist: Chris Sotomayor

Letterer: Dave Sharpe

Editors: Mark Paniccia, Nathan Cosby

SPOILER WARNING: If You DON'T Want to know the story printed in this special issue, then don't read the following italicized paragraphs, just skip to the next section afterwards:

Synopsis for "Employee of the Month": Stark International holds its first "Employee of the Month" celebration and the recipient of this month's award is Pepper Potts. Pepper's young assistant Callee however, is disheartened with Tony Stark's obvious affection towards Pepper and conspires to one-up her accomplishments.

To this end, she kidnaps Pepper and holds her captive in her bedroom at her mother's house. She then hires four known mercenaries, Blacklash, Jolt, Plantman and Spymaster, and arranges a faux attack against Tony Stark. Her intention is to swing in at the last moment using a modified taser device and save Tony Stark thus earning herself the coveted "Employee of the Month" award. Her plan backfires when the villains realize that they've been tricked and a super-powered battle ensues at Stark International. Tony Stark manages to summon one of his remote suits of armor to fight against the villains.

Meanwhile, Pepper manages to escape from Callee's mother's house and rushes back to Stark International. She affects some quick repairs to Tony's remote armor and the villains are apprehended. Callee, her scheme exposed, is also taken into police custody.

Again, I found this story to be pretty darn good, and it is a "done-in-one" story.  Which is just fine since the comic is a 'one-shot' comic.  What got me though to pick it up in the first place was the gorgeous cover!  Plus, I'm an Iron Man fan since the early Tales of Suspense issues with ol' Shellhead in them, so was pleased to see some villains I recognized: Plantman and Whiplash!

Also,  if You haven't picked up this Special Variant Cover Issue, we do have it listed in our online store for a LOT LESS than what the other sellers have it listed for.  (Click here to see our listings for this special issue.)  

While You are looking at the above special variant issue in our store's aisle... Please check out our other new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store that our blogs are based on! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films!  

The above photos show both the promotional comic book and the posters that were distributed at the recent Comic Con International: San Diego.  

Tina and I attended many programs at the Con that we have not yet blogged about...  However this one is still timely, as the AMC Mini-Series on TV doesn't start until November of this year!

The reason I am mentioning the above is because I enjoyed the original series "Secret Agent (Danger Man in the UK)" on TV and then have wondered for a long time just what the supposed 'follow up' TV show "The Prisoner" was all about, even after watching it!

So when I saw the promo comic book being distributed, I just had to pick up a few to read later.   Now that I have read the promo comic book, which is just 8 pages in length, including front and back cover, I wanted to mention my thoughts on it...

Well, this is one Mini-Series that I'm going to watch on TV! 

Not just because it has Ian McKellen (who was great as Magneto in the X-Men films), but because the comic book teaser and the film trailer teaser both look good!  Don't say I didn't bring this to Your attention early!

Here the promotional statements from AMC: 

In November, AMC will present The Prisoner miniseries, a reinterpretation of the British 1960s cult hit series starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan.

The Premise : A man, known as "Six," finds himself inexplicably trapped in "The Village" with no memory of how he arrived. As he explores his environment, he discovers that his fellow inhabitants are identified by number instead of name, have no memory of any prior existence, and are under constant surveillance. Not knowing whom to trust, Six is driven by the need to discover the truth behind The Village, the reason for his being there, and most importantly -- how he can escape.

Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ , The Thin Red Line) will play the role of "Number Six" and two-time Oscar Winner, Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, The Da Vinci Code) will co-star as "Number Two."

The Prisoner miniseries is a co-production of AMC and ITV Productions; the deal was brokered by Granada International, which holds international distribution rights. Bill Gallagher (Conviction, Clocking Off, Lark Rise To Candleford) serves as writer and executive producer, along with Michele Buck, Damien Timmer, Rebecca Keane, and AMC's Charlie Collier, Christina Wayne and Vlad Wolynetz. It is produced by Trevor Hopkins (Dracula, Poirot).

Please Note:  We have a few copies of the promotional comic book listed in our online eBay Featured Store for sale.  Just click this link to see the current listed copies!

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films that are theme related!  

The above illustration has been used on a Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) issue, and also on what appears to be a couple of other variations...  

Including a Promo Issue that I recently picked up during the 2009 Comic Con International: San Diego convention at the DC Comics Booth.

I'll be upfront and state right away that I haven't read Green Lantern comics for a while, ever since the Hal Jordan situation many years ago, but won't go into that storyline arc here.

I'm just going to mention that for a promo issue that this comic book is a great teaser intro for the current event that is happening at DC Comics.

The story by Geoff Johns, writer, with Ivan Reis as penciller, and Ocair Albert & Rob Hunter as inkers, piqued my interest.

Enough that I'm taking the time to blog about this promo issue here today.  The twelve page intro was well written and may have motivated me to take a look at the next issues in the event series.

I say may, because after the teaser and a letter from Geoff Johns, who brought back Hal Jordan four years ago in his rightful role as Green Lantern, there were additional pages added.

Those additional pages were info pages on:  Green Lantern Corps, Red Lantern Corps, Agent Orange, Sinestro Corps, Blue Lantern Corps, Indigo Tribe, Star Sapphires, and Black Lantern Corps... which reminded why I have picked up and dropped several DC Universe titles over the years. 

Just too much continuity, (baggage in other words!), for me.  I remember back when I first started reading comics (back in the mid to late 1950's), that I liked what we now call done-in-one stories.  Plus when I started to actually start collecting comics, I found that it was easier to buy Marvel Comics in the early 1960's that were just starting off with number one issues for the most part.  Titles like Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man, etc.  The 'split books' like Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, Strange Tales, etc., were a lot harder to collect from issue #1 up, because they had been published longer, and there weren't any comic book stores back then! However, to have a 'complete' Iron Man run, I only needed to have Tales Of Suspense from issue #39 on, so there were some qualifiers even then...

So, yeah, I may pick up more of this 'Blackest Night' event titles, especially since there is a 'Checklist' on the last page of what titles there are...(there appear to be 25 issues in the series), but I'm wary of being pulled back into any 'universe' that has such a large number of characters that belong to other 'Lantern Corps'!

And that makes me wonder... If I, a long time reader and collector, am wary of this... how reader friendly could it be for a new reader just now being exposed to this 'universe'?  This could be a major reason for the smaller number of sales for most titles in all 'universes' anymore compared to just a decade ago...

Anyways,  I enjoyed this intro to the event, with Hal Jordan and Barry Allen as the Green Lantern and the Flash respectively.  I just may pick up the issues in this special event as a story arc to read...

Also,  if You haven't seen the promo issue as of yet, it and the FCBD version are both listed in our online store for sale.  Please check out our new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our own online eBay Featured Store that our blogs are based on! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films!