Hi Comic Shop Friends! I’m finishing up this week’s newsletter from home (Feeling unwell, but it’s nothing contagious!) so the only book I was able to read early was the EC Shiver SuspenStories one-shot. That means publisher synopsis filling in the rest, and me falling more behind with reading new books!

First thing, there are still some delays with small press titles shipping from Diamond, but we did get a couple week’s worth in last Friday, so Previews are in the shop, and those titles are in your files. Again, we thank you for your patience with this, and hopefully we’ll have more updates from them soon.

Onto the fun stuff!

There’s still time to pick up a black cover and create your interpretation of a homage to a classic comic book cover! Submissions are due back at the shop by 5pm on Sunday, December 15th, and we’ll have them displayed in the foyer December 18th through the 21st.

We’ll have the bags set up for the basket raffle on the 18th, so you can start putting your raffle tickets in! Every single dollar donated goes directly to the Cleveland Food Bank to help our local community! Help us beat last year’s record of $6296, which created 18,888 meals! This brought our lifetime total to 159,496 meals! This is all thanks to those of you who buy raffle tickets and those of you who submit art!

Our Holiday Party will be Saturday December 21st from 8pm to 11pm! We’ll draw the raffle winners around 10:30pm, and you do not need to be present to win. But it is fun to have a beverage and watch our ticket pulling shenanigans!

We brewed a beer just for the event, and we’ll have other refreshments available as well!

As in years past, you can take 50% off one item during the party! Grab an omnibus, or two! It’s the perfect time to pick up a gift!

And just announced! As a special holiday treat just for you Carol & John’s shoppers, we’ll have 50% off back issues during the art show, December 18th through the 21st! Shop small, shop local!

The shop will be closed on Christmas Day, and since that is a Wednesday, new comic day has moved to Thursday the 26th for all companies.

MARVEL COMICS

Wolverine takes the fight to those who stand as enemies of mutantkind! Laura Kinney was bred to be the ultimate assassin as X-23. She’s long left that life behind, but as she encounters mutants being forced to use their powers against their will, Wolverine takes it upon herself to right these wrongs – no matter who stands in her way! Erica Schultz and artist Giada Belviso bring Wolverine on her first mission abroad in the From the Ashes era, as Laura takes the fight to mutant oppressors wherever they may hide!

This is one I was looking forward to reading, because if you know one thing about me, you know I love horror. Which doesn’t apply here, but if you know two things about me, you know I also love animals!

How many PetPools does it take to collect a comic? Find out in this oversized, fan-favorite, once-in-a-lifetime, Tony Award-winning, DOGgone, CATastrophic, MOUSE…somethingorother comic book, collecting EVERY SINGLE INSTALLMENT EVER of the Dogpool, Catpool, Mousepool and Dogpool Team-Up infinity comics. What’s that? You want more?! Well, it’s your lucky day, because we’ve also thrown in a brand-new, never-before-seen PetPool holiday instant classic that we created just for this printing. Why? Because you $@&%ing deserve it. RATED PARENTAL ADVISORY.

The clock is ticking down to The Maker’s arrival! Deniz Camp flips the narrative on Ultimates and takes us inside the Maker’s Council! The heroes of the Ultimate Universe aren’t the only ones who have been preparing for the return of the Maker, and the clock is ticking down… This unique one-shot sets the stage for the second year of the Ultimate line and includes the debut of the Ultimate versions of two major Marvel characters!

From writer Christos Gage and artist Eric Gapstur, this series is the prequel to the all-new animated series, with Peter Parker still finding his footing on his journey to becoming the Spider-Man we all know and love! In this book, you can take the very first steps along with him as he discovers his powers, decides to become a hero, and even picks out his name and costume! Now Peter’s gotta survive an entire Freshman year as a newbie crime-fighting vigilante… and if you think you know how this story goes, you are in for a surprise!

DC COMICS

Set during the early years of Batman’s career, Batman: Dark Patterns delves into four mysterious cases as he attempts to cement his place as Gotham City’s protector while the city itself fights back against him. This is the Dark Knight Detective at his most stripped-down core, a man relying on his wits, his skills, and little else as he tackles some of the most twisted mysteries Gotham City and its protector have ever encountered. Case 01: We Are Wounded. A series of sickeningly gruesome murders has sent shock waves through Gotham. Are these the random works of a serial killer, or is there something more sinister at play? Batman attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery before any more victims are claimed. Written by Dan Watters, with art by Hayden Sherman.

The amazing story of how Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief Lois Lane got superpowers and became Superwoman is finally told! What does it mean for the matriarch of the Super family to fly alongside her family and friends? And how long will these powers last? And who wants these powers for themselves?! Guest starring the Atom, Mister Terrific, Supergirl, and Silver Banshee! From writer Joshua Williamson and artist Edwin Galmon.

SMALL PRESS COMICS

Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum gave the shop a shout-out in this new promo video for their new Minor Threats tie-in series, The Brood! Issue #1 is out this week, and we’ve stocked up on the first two Minor Threats trades, and the Alternates mini-series trade! I’ve been a fan of Patton for years, and now’s my chance to tell you to listen to his bit about Death Bed, the bed that eats people. And then go watch the 1977 film. It’s one of my favorite “bad” horror movies, and it’s well worth it to watch a bed-eat fried chicken.

We must have made it onto Santa’s nice list, because we got three great holiday one-shots last week, and this week we have two more holiday horror specials! Thanks, Santa!

Have a Creepy Christmas with the Creep! Two ho-ho-horrifying holiday set stories! A New Year’s Eve party gets fiendish in Tini Howard, Blake Howard, and Stevan Subic’s shorts that will have you crying for your mummy in the new year! Then, beloved comedian Terry Reno revisits a holiday classic, from the team of Rob Williams and Pye Parr, that quickly takes a shocking turn before a live studio audience!

The only book I got to read on Sunday when I started writing the newsletter, and it’s the one I was looking forward to most, and it did not disappoint!

“Slay bells ring! Ain’t it sickening?” EC Comics and Oni have gifted us with Shiver SuspenStories! Those chills you feel aren’t just from the cold… they’re from the five new yuletide tales of terror! First, a mother warns her children about the horrible evil thing that will be breaking into their home on Christmas Eve in the wraparound “Checking it Twice” by Hunter Gorinson and Valeria Burzo. Second, “The Last Ornament” is left on the tree in an elderly woman’s home as her grown children visit in this magical tale from Jason Aaron and Kano. Third, there’s a Christmas “Ghost in the Machine” in Ben H. Winters and Peter Krause’s time-traveling take on A Christmas Carol as a scientist is visited by three versions of himself. Fourth, Jay Stephens and David Lapham’s “Red As Any Blood” begins with a woman stealing a silver bell from a mall. And then things go from bad, to very bad, to even worse! Fifth, a wonderful twist on the gift of the Magi story in George Northy and Caitlin Yarsky’s “Curse of the Magi.”

But wait, what’s that hiding in the bottom of that stocking? It’s a remastered (back to it’s original 1950s color palate) winter classic from the EC vaults! Two of a Kind by Johnny Craig!