Recommendation Arrow: Cheap Ass Trades

Hey folks, long time no see! Hopefully after the new year I'll have some fresh content for you, but for now I'll give you this: cheap trades. There's a new site that just opened called CheapAssTrades.com. Its run by a forum friend of mine from over at ComicGeekSpeak. The site will search out the absolute cheapest price on the internet for the trade you're looking for. For instance, if you're searching for a nice copy of Green Arrow vol.2: Sounds of Violence (featuring DftAC fav villain Onomatopoeia), you can buy it from Abebooks for $6.29.

They have separate sections that list all trades for $.01 (and you can actually get some good stuff for that price+shipping) and trades 95% off regular price. You even have the option to display the price per page, or set up a wishlist that allows you set an alert when the trade you want hits a certain price!

Make sure to check it out today!

Recommendation Arrow: Elongated Man

A few weeks ago, while digging through quarter bins at a local shop, I found all four issues of an Elongated Man mini I never knew existed! I've always had a soft spot for the Dibneys, so I decided to pick it up!

Man, am I glad I did! The plot is goofy, as one would expect in a book starring Elongated Man. Ralph and Sue are on vacation, trying to get away from the superhero lifestyle and just relax. Unfortunately, Ralph is unable to control his showboating, and ends up causing a scene nearly everywhere they go.

At a diplomatic function in France, the Dibneys meet up with Bito Wladon, ruler of the small European country of Modora. The name sounds familiar to Ralph, but he can't quite place it. Sue, of course, is thoroughly charmed. After Sue and Ralph retire to bed, they get in a knock-down, drag out fight about Ralph's total inability to take anything seriously.

Distraught, Sue runs to the arms of Wladon, who kindly invites them to tour his country...

The story gets goofier after that, including European themed villains like Escargot, Calamari, and the Wurst Gang (a group of super-villains dressed as various sausages) from France, Italy, and Germany respectively.

If you like fun, entertaining comics, make sure to check this one out!

Recommendation Arrow: Prez

Recommendation Arrow: Prez

So last night, I was sitting in my recliner, casting around for something to do, when my nerdy little eyes caught of a glimpse of one of the books I picked at up Heroescon last month, the first issue of Prez.

So, lacking anything better to do, I read it...

Holy crap folks, Prez is the weirdest, most out there comic I've read in a long time. The basic premise is that with 18 year olds gaining the vote in an age where they made up a large chunk of the population, a great many teenagers would be elected to Congress (in this world, the law lowered the age limit on office holders as well).

Looking for a dupe to retain his power, uber-corrupt political hack Boss Smiley (literally, a guy with a smiley-face head) recruits young Prez Rickard to run for senate.

Prez, an 18 year old from Steadyton (where there are hundreds of clocks, none of which agree) lives with his mother and sister, and enjoys racing his hotrod "Lolipop" and fixing things. One day, tiring of nothing getting done in town because no one knows what time it is, Prez fixes every clock in town. This garners him a certain amount of fame, fame which Boss Smiley is determined to use.

Boss Smiley, ever the entrepreneur, wants to demolish the last stand of unspoiled forest in the country to build s superhighway to Steadyton. He's also planning to demolish the local dam, both to clear the forest and to reap the profits when his construction company "happens" to get the contracts to rebuild the dam and any other buildings destroyed in the flood.

During the "blow stuff up" ceremony, Prez and the crew is attacked by a young Native American and his menagerie of forest creatures (and elephants, and gorillas, and giraffes, for some reason). The creatures demolish the construction equipment, then retreat. prez follows them, and has a long conversation with the young brave about Boss Smiley and his rampant courruption. He also learns to communicate with animals and some sort of animal kung fu, while he's at it.

Now determined to bring Boss Smiley down, Prez and Eagle Free break into Boss Smiley's offices and steal documents proving his corruption (why Boss Smiley keeps paperwork on his bribes and racketeering is anybody's guess). Now famous and beloved, Prez wins the next presidential election in a landslide (on a flower power ticket, no less). he then appoints Eagle Free head of the FBI, his mother as Vice President, and his sister as his personal secretary...

And all that happened in the first issue! Unfortunately, that was only one of 4, but that just makes it easier to collect! Seriously folks, you have to check this out, its totally nuts!

Recommendation Arrow: Strikeforce: Morituri

(Recommendation Arrow is an occasional feature we run here at the Arrowcave, where I will recommend older, more obscure series that I enjoy)

It is 2069, and Earth is in trouble. The human race has been conquered by the Horde, a race of interstellar scavengers who steal resources, slaves and technology from their victims, doing little if any work besides the conquering itself. Even their ships and weapons were stolen from other species. In fact, they have to keep moving from system to system because they have no idea how to maintain the technology they steal.

Fortunately (sort of) for Earth, the Horde do not conquer the humans in the traditional sense. Instead, they destroy Earth's military might, then conduct sporadic raids for supplies and slaves. This leaves most areas of Earth functional and able to operate normally.

Unfortunately, none of Earth's weapons have proven a match for the Horde. In desperation, the Padeia, Earth's ruling body, turns to a scientist named Dr. Tuolema and his Morituri Process. The experimental Morituri Process grants superhuman powers to those who undergo it, granting humanity a chance to strike back at the Horde.

Again, unfortunately, the Process is not without drawbacks. Only a small percentage of the population is compatible with the process, and only those between the ages of 18-21 have much chance of surviving. Secondly, and most disturbingly, the process has a 100% fatality rate, hence the name (Morituri, roughly translated from Latin: "About to Die"). Approximately one year after undergoing the process, the subject will reject the treatment and explode. Yes, explode.

Despite the obvious drawbacks, the terror and destruction inflicted by the Horde on the human race means that there is no shortage of volunteers. The comic itself follows the adventures of the second batch of recruits to the program (the first having died in a blaze of glory while killing the Horde commander of Earth). Don't get used to these guys, though. The volatile nature of the Process means the cast turnover is quite high. In fact, one of the point of view characters dies in the fourth issue. This might seem like a drawback for fans used to years and years of the same character, but the book makes you feel for these characters, who accepted certain death in exchange for a chance to save humanity.

The series ran for 31 issues, from '86 to '89. There was a follow up miniseries a couple years later called Electric Undertow.

As far as I know, these issues have never been collected anywhere, but they make for an excellent read, and can be found in discount bins everywhere.

Recommendation Arrow: Amethyst

No Ollie watch today, guys. Instead, I've decided on a new feature that I'll run occasionally, where I'll recommend books that I've picked up and really liked.

The first installment is a bit unusual. If people remember Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld at all, they remember a pretty princess story aimed at a young female audience. Admittedly, that's what the creative team was going for, but what they ended up with is an epic tale that anyone can enjoy.

The plot revolves are Amy Winston, a normal 13 year old girl who gets an amethyst gem for her birthday. Little does she know that this gem is the harbinger of serious change in her life. You see, Amy is not from Earth. She is secretly a native of Gemworld, a land of magic ruled by royal houses based on Earthly birthstones.

Amy's real parents, Lord and Lady Amethyst, were murdered by the devilish Lord Opal 20 years before. As the rightful rulers of Gemworld, they were the last obstacle in his plans for conquest. Luckily a family retainer, Citrina, managed to smuggle the infant Amy away from danger and to the safety of her adoptive parents
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It is only 13 years later that Amy learns the truth and travels to Gemworld to take up her destiny as the rightful heir to the throne and the last hope of a conquered world.

Now, "little girl finds out she's secretly a magic fairy princess" sounds like a plot straight out of the latest Barbie straight-to-video piece of crap, but the story is much deeper than that. Although Amy ages to about 20 every time she enters Gemworld, she's still just a kid. She has a lot to learn and gets into some serious situations before she masters her magical birthright. Her supporting cast is also well fleshed out, and the Gemworld itself is world building at its finest.

The story continues as Amy and her allies try to rally support against Opal and occasionally looks in on her Earthly family, who love her deeply despite her not being their natural child.

All in all, there's a seriously entertaining, epic story going on here. If you come across these issues in a discount bin (I did) please pick them up. You won't be sorry!


Note: Amy's story is continued in a short lived ongoing follow-up to the original maxi-series. The original creative team left after the first 9 issues. The title really went down hill after that, so my recommendation stops there as well.

(Plus, you get amazing covers like the one above by George Perez)


Blog Admin: I went back to the old template. As Rick said, the site needs a little green!