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The City on the Edge of Forever #1
Scott Tipton - 2014
Ellison originally intended!
Transformers
Bob Budiansky - 1985
The Autobots are reformatted by the Ark to resemble cars and trucks; the Decepticons take the form of jets, weapons or in the case of Soundwave, a cassette deck with tapes.The Decepticons wreak havoc, steal energy and build a fortress. The Autobots, seen here as very weak underdogs, unsuited for war, fight valiantly to stop their foes.Ultimately, it's the humans that the Autobots befriend that save the day. Buster Witwicky's dad, captured by the Decepticons to formulate a fuel for them, secretly poisons his captors.In the final battle, five Autobots take on the entire Decepticon army. On the cusp of defeat, the tainted fuel concocted by Mr. Witwicky kicks in and the Decepticons fall.The Autobots don't even have time to celebrate, however, as the 4-part mini-series ends with Shockwave making an appearance, blowing the remaining Autobots to pieces. This cliffhanger led directly into the monthly Marvel run, which began 3 months after the miniseries ended. (Issue #4 had a cover date of Mar. 1985; issue #5 had a date of June.)Starting with issue 5, The Transformers had more drastic changes. Before reaching its 30th issue, both Optimus Prime and Megatron had been killed off to make way for newer characters.Starting in issue 35 (cover-dated December, 1987), the events became less Earth-centric, as the Transformers repaired their spacecraft and were able to revisit their homeworld Cybertron and other planets. This aspect was particularly prominent in the Matrix Quest sub-plot.In issue 75 (cover-dated February, 1991), the Autobots and Decepticons had united under one banner after Autobot commander Optimus Prime surrendered to Scorponok, in order to end their civil war. United, they finally faced their ancient nemesis: Unicron. The Transformers won, but with heavy losses, including the deaths of Scorponok and Optimus Prime (again). Peace between the two Transformers factions was shortlived after Unicron's death. Bludgeon, the new Decepticon leader, tried to strand the Autobots on Cybertron, which was apparently destroying itself. His plan failed and the final confrontation between the two factions played out, with the Autobots lead again by Grimlock. Optimus Prime is united with Hi-Q (his Powermaster) and given life by The Last Autobot. He returns to battle to save the Autobots and then exiles the Decepticons forever (until Transformers: Generation 2). After the battle with Unicron, the comic ran for only five issues before being cancelled. The final issue had the mini series banner above the title; "#80 IN A FOUR ISSUE LIMITED SERIES".Most of the issues of Transformers Marvel US were written by two writers. Although the first four issues were written by Jim Salicrup, editor Bob Budiansky was the one who contributed the most to the story, writing the character bios and backgrounds for the Transformers, even giving names to some of them. After the mini-series became an ongoing comic, Budiansky was promoted to constant writer. Except for issue #16 (Plight of the Bumblebee, written by Len Kaminski), issue #43 (The big broadcast of 2006, a Transformers cartoon episode adaptation by Ralph Macchio) and the two-part story Man of Iron (imported from Transformers Marvel UK), Bob wrote all the Transformers comics until issue #55.Most famous story arcs and issues are Warrior's school featuring the introduction of the Dinobots and the first clash between Autobot medic Ratchet and Megatron; Prime Time! when Optimus Prime is finally freed from captivity and battles current Decepticon commander Shockwave; Smelting Pool and The Bridge to Nowhere brought the story back to Cybertron where only a handful of Autobots fight an underground war against Straxus's Decepticons, also introducing Blaster, Budiansky's most-used character who was radically different from his cartoon and Marvel UK version. Afterdeath and Gone but not forgotten saw the deaths (for a while, anyway) of Optimus Prime and Megatron, after which Grimlock took control of the Autobot forces in King of the Hill. Starting at issue #28, Blaster and Goldbug (a rebuilt Bumblebee) defected from the Autobots due to Grimlock tyrannical leadership, which ended with Grimlock and Blaster having a duel in Totaled. The next issue, People Power saw the return of Optimus Prime, as a Powermaster. The "Underbase saga" began in issue #47 and ended in issue #50, Dark Star, where Starscream, absorbing the power of the Underbase, kills most of the active Transformers of the time. (Budiansky admitted in an interview that Hasbro was forcing him to introduce new characters so quickly, he had to do an epic to "make room" for them.) Budiansky's last 5 stories were very mediocre, he himself said that he lost the interest in Transformers, and asked Hasbro to hand over the comics to a new writer.From issue #56, the by then well-known writer of Transformers Marvel UK, Simon Furman took over the reins, having been asked by Marvel US. Furman used the characterisation he used at Marvel UK for the Transformers, and introduced many characters to the US comic who have already appeared in the UK comic. He wrote all the issues until the comic's cancellation at issue #80.Furmnan's most famous story arcs include Back from the Dead, the return of Megatron who kidnaps Ratchet to help him in his revenge against both Autobots and Decepticons; Primal Scream! which introduced Primus and re-told the origin of the Transformer race to the US readers too; the "Matrix Quest" which features the Autobots sending numerous teams to locate the Matrix that was lost when Optimus "died" and his body was shot into space; and the Unicron story arc from #67 to #75, featuring the Transformers' ultimate battle against the Chaos Bringer.Sadly the comic was cancelled shortly after issue #75, so Furman had to "wrap up" the ending. According to some interviews with him, he planned to feature the Neo-Knights and the "demons" inhabiting Cybertron's underground more in the never-written issues
Silver Surfer, Vol. 1: New Dawn
Dan Slott - 2014
Bigger than you could ever imagine. And the Silver Surfer, lone sentinel of the skyways, is about to discover that the best way to see it...is with someone else. Meet Dawn Greenwood, the Earth girl who's challenged the Surfer to go beyond the boundaries of the known universe - into the strange, the new, and the utterly fantastic! Who is the Never Queen? How is the universe's future tied into her very existence? And why is she trying to destroy the Surfer? And when the Surfer tries to return Dawn home, he gets swept into a strange battle against Shuma-Gorath alongside Dr. Strange, the Hulk and more! The problem is, to stop Shuma-Gorath, Dawn will have to pay the price...with her life.COLLECTING: SILVER SURFER 1-5, ALL-NEW MARVEL NOW! POINT ONE
Veronica's Passport
Dan Parent - 2009
The jet-setting darling of all debutantes has glammed her way to stardom with her romantic and often perilous tales around the globe! Now, for the first time, Archie Comics is proud to bring to their loyal readers the stories of Veronica's travels as she meets alluring men, fights crime, and experiences the diversity of world culture from Africa to Asia, South America to Europe, and everywhere in-between!
G.I. Joe: Classics #1
Larry Hama - 2008
Adele Burkhart, a controversial scientist privy to pivotal secrets that could spell doom for America! It's up to G.I. Joe to infiltrate Cobra's island base and rescue Dr. Burkhart before it is too late. Will they make it in time or will Cobra succeed? Find out in the issue that started it all!
The Adventures of Charlie Smithers
C.W. Lovatt - 2012
Make way for Charlie Smithers.The time is the nineteenth century. The place, the Serengeti Plain, where one Charlie Smithers – faithful manservant to the arrogant bone-head, Lord Brampton (with five lines in Debrett, and a hopeless shot to boot) – becomes separated from his master during an unfortunate episode with an angry rhinoceros, thereby launching Charlie on an odyssey into Deepest Darkest Africa, and subsequently into the arms of the beautiful Loiyan…and that’s where the trouble really begins.Maasai warriors, xenophobic locals, or evil Arab slavers, the two forbidden lovers encounter everything that the unforgiving jungle can throw at them."A truly engaging read that will keep anyone’s attention from the hilarious beginning until the last word. I highly recommend this 5 star novel." ~ Chapters & Chats
Nuts
Gahan Wilson - 1979
This new hardcover edition reprints every single “Nuts” story from the Lampoon (rescuing over two dozen pages from oblivion) and reinstitutes the color in the “Christmas” and “Halloween” episodes, and for that matter the 3-D in the 3-D episode (“I wish to God I’d never seen all this space.”)If you don’t remember what it was like being a child, this book will bring it all back… for good or for ill!
Spider-Man: Deadly Foes of Spider-Man
Danny Fingeroth - 2011
Octopus! The Vulture! Stegron! Swarm! Hydro-Man! The Rhino! The Kingpin! The Answer! And more! And guest-starring Spidey, natch!
Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too
Jomny Sun - 2017
Always feeling apart, even among his species, Jomny feels at home for the first time among the earthlings he meets. There is a bear tired of other creatures running in fear, an egg struggling to decide what to hatch into, a turtle hiding itself by learning camouflage, a puppy struggling to express its true feelings, and many more.The characters are unique and inventive—bees think long and hard about what love means, birds try to eat the sun, nothingness questions its own existence, a ghost comes to terms with dying, and an introverted hedgehog slowly lets Jomny see its artistic insecurities. At the same time, Jomny’s curious presence allows these characters to open up to him in ways they were never able to before, revealing the power of somebody who is just there to listen.Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too is also the story behind the widely-shared and typo-filled @jonnysun twitter account. Since the beginning, Sun intentionally tweeted from an outsider’s perspective, creating a truly distinct voice. Now, that outsider has taken shape in the character of Jomny, who observes Earth with the same intelligent, empathetic, and charmingly naïve voice that won over his fans on social media. New fans will find it organic, and old fans will delight at seeing the clever words that made them fans in the first place.Through this story of a lost, lonely and confused Alien finding friendship, acceptance, and love among the animals and plants of Earth, we will all learn how to be a little more human. And for all the earth-bound creatures here on this planet, we will all learn how sometimes, it takes an outsider to help us see ourselves for who we truly are.
Tales Around the Jack O'Lantern III: A Mary O'Reilly Short Story
Terri Reid - 2016
Join the O'Reilly family once again as they meet around the Jack O'Lantern on Halloween night and share ghost stories that will make you shiver and have you looking over your shoulder to see if there is "a little something extra" wandering through your home tonight.
Fruits Basket, Vol. 1
Natsuki Takaya - 1999
Now her ordinary high school life is turned upside down as she's introduced to the Sohma's world of magical curses and family secrets.
I Hope You Find Me: The Love Poems of craigslist's Missed Connections
Alan Feuer - 2017
The poems compiled inside this often hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking volume are reprinted verbatim from the Missed Connections section of craigslist, with only line and stanza breaks added.-Knock Knock books: fun gifts for internet friends, IRL friends, or missed connections-Paperback; 4 x 6 inches; 136 pages-Written by Alan Feuer and published by Knock Knock
Spider-Gwen Collection, Vol. 2
Jason Latour - 2018
Gwen Stacy has lost her spider-powers! Which makes this a very bad time to fi nd herself in Frank Castle's crosshairs! So when the Mary Janes head to a haunted house, will Gwen be along for the fun, or will she be one of the ghosts? Thanksgiving should be a happy time with friends and family - unless crime lord Matt Murdock and his ninjas crash the party! Is it time for Gwen to put a stop to the Kingpin of Crime - or does Matt have a thing or two to teach her? Plus, the Mary Janes get loud and Gwen spends some time with her ever-expanding social circle - including Captain America! She-Hulk?! Her BPFF (best pig friend forever) Spider-Ham! And her new body-swapping bud, the All-New Wolverine! COLLECTING: SPIDER-GWEN (2015B) 7-15, SPIDER-GWEN ANNUAL 1, ALL-NEW WOLVERINE ANNUAL 1
Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 4
Fujita - 2020
It’s a relationship of convenience at first, but could it become something more? This manga comedy is now a hit streaming anime!Extra-long book includes 2 Japanese volumes!SUMMER ROMANCE FOR NERDSNarumi and Hirotaka’s relationship is going swimmingly, so now the two have a new problem: the rumor mill. The couple is going to have to rely on Hirotaka’s reputation as an undateable gamer to quash the gossip, because it’s shaping up to be a busy summer. There’s a double date with Hanako and Taro at a festival, Narumi’s first try at cosplaying, and even that otaku classic: a hot springs episode. Meanwhile, when Naoya’s incredible misunderstanding about his new friend Ko comes to a head, will their friendship survive?