The first Saturday in May is the official day for comic books. What is so great about this day is that comic books are given away for free. For the past seven years, participating stores have been giving out free comics; but only on this one Saturday a year. The purpose behind this day is to promote comics to kids. To keep the industry alive, we need the newest generations getting hooked on comics. Kids as young as two and three years old become interested in comics, even though they can’t read, because they are familiar with the action hero figures. More than likely, most kids have a superman or batman action figure and they can relate to the comics from looking at the pictures.

The comics given out are special issues. They are printed especially for Free Comic Book Day. They are printed differently than normal comics, and they don’t have a barcode on them. Also, most of the comic books handed out have Free Comic Book Day printed somewhere on the cover. At one store participating in the event, they have more than ten different comics to choose from that will be given out for free. This is made possible because each major comic publisher produces a free edition comic. For a comic book enthusiast, this once a year even is like Christmas for them. As many as twelve million comic books will be given out on Saturday.

William Shatner, one of the most memorable Star Trek actors, is taking part in the event. He has plans to announce the release of his own comic book series. He will be doing a comic book signing at a store in Los Angeles where they will be giving out free comics. William Shatner partnered with Bluewater Productions to create a 32 page comic to be given away for free in support of Free Comic Book Day. His series of science fiction comics is called Tek War, and the free comic given out is a prologue to the issue. Hugh Jackman, leading actor in the X-men series, is also promoting Free Comic Book Day. He is starring in the new release X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He believes that comics have the power to get kids to read. They are playing a large part in fighting illiteracy in our country.

Without comic book retailers, this world wide event wouldn’t be possible. They pay anywhere from 12 to 50 cents for each free edition comic book, and give them out to free for anyone who walks through their store.

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We have read them, throughout the years and have followed them like a cult following and even now as they create more films with our favorite characters we can’t help but buy the DVD. Marvel comic books have been around for a long time and have entertained us as kids and still do for most people as adults too. Who can even forget the famous words of the Hulk “smash em” or “Hulk Smash” which usually where the only words he spoke and of course “my spider senses are tingling” which was what Peter Parker, who is basically Spiderman would say when he felt trouble was on the way.

Over the years the way the comics were changed and infact they can now be downloaded from internet or read online, which now takes comic books even further than they could get before, and they are now reaching people who had never heard of Daredevil or Electra nor read about them.

The Marvel Comic Books have through the years changed with different artist taking over the helm of drawing the character according to the original only with their design, making also the theme of the comic books change. The new ones have even changed the outfits with Wolverine’s tight yellow spandex suit being replaced with leather black and blue. The story has also changed with the times and the presidents that have come and gone as well as the disasters that have happened.

Even with all the changes that has gone on all over the world we still see fit too look for a comic store so as to see what is new in the life of Spidey, X men, Fantastic Four and many other characters that have been portrayed in the Marvel Comic Books.

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Roger Langridge’s celebrated run on THE MUPPET SHOW comic book begins a new, zany arc! Scooter discovers old documents which reveal that a cache of treasure is hidden somewhere within the theater…and when Rizzo the Rat overhears this, the news spreads like wildfire! Meanwhile, Animal’s acting very strangely—he’s now refined and well-mannered! All your favorites are back as THE MUPPET SHOW COMIC BOOK continues!… More >>

The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson

The Supernatural fan base is undeniably strong, and they serve as a good market for publishing companies who would like to release material on the Supernatural series. In fact, WildStorm released Supernatural: Origins comic book last year, and it was a fair success. This year, fans will again delight in another release, as Supernatural: Rising Son is coming soon. The new comic book is a six-issue miniseries that will tell another tale about the Winchester brothers. To be released on April 23, the series will follow a 7-year-old Sam and 11-year-old Dean as they travel with their father, John.

Writer Peter Johnson, who is also a co-executive producer on the TV show explained that this series focuses more on John and his dysfunctional family.

“We’re really going to explore the differences between Sam and Dean in this one,” Johnson added. “Dean is becoming aware of what his dad’s up to and we’ll see him training and hunting a little bit, while John will start to key in on something different about Sam.”

Despite being another Supernatural project, show creator Eric Kripke, who contributed hugely to the Origins project, was not present in any way in Rising Son, mostly due to the writers’ strike. Although the strike does not include comic book writers, Kripke saw the thin line between writing for the TV series and writing a comic book based on the series, and thus opted to not be part of it this time.

Johnson added that this action packed series includes familiar faces, creepier monsters, fighter chicks and a villain that may be part of the show itself. This will be one hell of a comic book for Supernatural fans to look out for, and just to add to the excitement, there is a third comic book in its conception stage. As for now, let’s await the release of Supernatural, Rising Son, on April 23.

For more resources about Supernatural or for the full story of New Supernatural Comic Book Series Starting in April please review http://www.buddytv.com

It is a rather strange and exciting time for the comic book movies genre. With last year’s superhero films The Dark Knight, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, audiences were treated to feature films that took the core elements of the superheroes that have filled comics for decades and turned them into successful movie properties. The genre as a whole has reached something of an impasse now, mostly down to The Dark Knight, but also down to this year’s WATCHMEN adaptation. Audiences aren’t just there for effects, and the studios have been taking note. The comic book films we are now seeing released are amongst the most serious, most respectful and most powerful the genre has ever produced.

With The Dark Knight, long-held perceptions of the superhero genre have shifted somewhat. Now, movie audiences are starting to see the same grit and level of drama that comics audiences have known of for years. Iron Man is an ideal example of the genre being captured perfectly on film. Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of the billionaire Tony Stark was pitch perfect, giving us a hero with much more than just two dimensions.

Some may argue that the superhero film came of age back with the first X-men film, and they would be right to a certain extent, but it does seem that the genre is starting to be taken more seriously by critics as a viable source of intelligent entertainment as well as simple blockbuster fodder. What critics need to remember is that these characters have had decades to become the fully realized people that appear on screen. These characters come supplied with a ready-made background and motivations, making it much easier for filmmakers to bring a vibrant portrayal to the screen.

WATCHMEN is seen as the Citizen Kane of comic books, and to many fans of the printed page, it is the Holy Grail. Film versions have been talked about for many years now, but it finally fell upon the shoulders of Zack ‘300′ Snyder to bring Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s massively influential 12-issue series to a new audience. Fans old and new are curious as to the film will match the depth and scope of the book itself.

That’s the thing though- films have been a huge boon to the comics industry, helping it survive as tastes in entertainment have continued to change. With superheroes, there will always be an audience, but that audience has changed. The comic book movie is no longer just the domain of elitist geeks (not that it ever really was), but now something that everyone can take an interest in. With new Spider-man, Batman and X-Men movies on the way, as well as many more properties announced and in development, the future of the genre really can’t go anywhere but up, up and away.

Hollywood film makers are looking for inspiration for their box office hits from comic books. It has become a recent trend to recreate the action found on the pages of a comic book onto a theatre screen. We all love the onomatopoeias that bring the action to life as we read through our favorite <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”comic/”>http://www.mycomicshop.com”>comic books</a>. POW, THUMP, AARGH, KA-BOOM! However, the excitement is moved up a notch as you sit in a theatre with surround sound and a huge movie screen watching the bad guy suffer from an explosion and hearing the loud banging from the explosion.

In 2009, there are eight movies to be released that are about characters from comics such as Wolverine, Dragonball, Transformers, and Astro Boy just to name a few. In the past three years or so, some more recognizable movies were made about comic book heroes such as Spiderman, Batman, Superman, and who could forget Heath Ledger’s appearance as a villain in The Dark Knight. Comic book movies are some of the highest grossing films in Hollywood. The Dark Knight is the highest grossing film coming in at over one billion dollars, $1,001,921,825 to be exact. This movie was comparable, profit wise, to Titanic, The Lord of the Rings, and Pirates of the Caribbean. The second biggest gross opening day was when Spiderman 3 was released. Opening day for the film acquired close to $60 million. The total gross profit was $890,871,626. Even looking back as far as twelve years ago, Men in Black was released in 1997 and made $589,390,539.

Not only do comic book movies make a lot of money, they can positively affect, change, or launch an actor’s career into stardom. Heath Ledger was incredible in the Dark Knight as the Joker character. He had what producers call the chill factor, where you get goose bumps from watching him act, and won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild award, and a Bafta. Critics have been known to say that this role was career defining for him. Will Smith was proven to be a force in the film industry after his role in Men in Black. He became a leading man in Hollywood and starred in other box office hits such as Independence Day. He also starred in another comic book movie, Hancock. Robert Downey Jr’s career was brought back to life after he starred as Tony Stark in Ironman.

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So, You Wanna Be A Comic Book Artist?: How To Break Into Comics! The Ultimate Guide For Kids

Michelle Obama. A wife, mother, sister, friend, First Lady, and last but not least a superhero. First Lady Michelle Obama is the newest superhero, or should we say superwoman, in a new series of comic books called the Female Force series. President of Bluewater Productions, Darren Davis, came up with the idea. The comic book series features strong, influential, political women that have helped change the world in a positive manner. Other superhero women featured in the series are Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Senator Hillary Clinton, Princess Diana, and Caroline Kennedy; just to name a few.

First Lady Michelle Obama’s twenty-five page comic features her life story. The story starts with her life in Chicago and living on the south side, it also describes her college career at Princeton, and goes on to describe her life during the campaign trail. There are aspects of Michelle Obama’s life that most of the public does not know about, but will be revealed in the comic book. For example, there is a link between Barney the Dinosaur and the First Lady.

Senator Hillary Clinton’s comic was a thirty-two page issue. It featured her story as a feminist as well as working towards her nomination for president. Neal Bailey wrote this issue and said that she is an underrated historical figure of our time. He was quoted saying this on the Bluewater Production’s website. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s comic is also a thirty two page issue. It highlights a biography of her life starting from the time she was the president of the Parent Teacher Association. It also tells about her nomination as John McCain’s running mate for their bid as president and vice presidential candidates. Her comic was written with two potential endings; one with her one and the second with her loss for entering the White House.

The comic books have certainly become a hit and have sold out of the first and second printed copies. A third printing of Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Sarah Palin’s copies are planned so that interested parties can purchase and read about the women’s stories. Not only are these comic books entertaining, they are educational and controversial. The new series Female Force teaches the readers about independent women’s lives, and can also inspire a new generation to become an iconic role model. Girls and women that have helped shape modern history can be displayed in through a tasteful comic book series that represents them in a positive light.

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