Marvel The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Covers by Chris Sprouse

One of my favorite things, when I visit my local comic shop, is finding something I don't expect.  A couple weeks ago, I stopped in to get my pull list and took a look around at what was new.  That is when my eyes fell upon this unexpected comic book with Yoda on the cover!  Upon further exploration, this book is a collection of The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary covers by Chris Sprouse.  Flipping through the book, there is a collection of cover art that follows a chronological order of The Empire Strikes Back.  Wow, this was an easy choice to add to my stack of comics.  What a surprise!  

When I got home, I pulled out this issue from the collection of books I purchased and flipped through the cover images.  I have included a few of my favorite images below in this post.  At the back of the book is an interview with Eisner Award-winning illustrator, Chris Sprouse by Jess Harrold.  The interview covers topics such as how were the drawn moments chosen, who was Sprouse's favorite character to draw, among other subjects.  What really caught my eye is the interview includes a number of original sketches Sprouse used to develop the covers.  I always enjoy seeing the evolution of an artist's works, because for years as a child or even a teen, I thought those artists just drew that final art in one sitting.  It never dreamed to me that there is a process of multiple sketches that lead to the final art that appears on a cover.  If nothing else, it brings much more appreciation to the work that goes into each cover and page of a comic book. 

If you have the opportunity to pick up this issue for yourself, I highly recommend it.  It is well worth the price tag to have a special edition of an award-winning artist's work in a collection.    

"Han and Leia" Star Wars (2020) #6

"The Emperor" Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) #5

"The Deal" Star Wars (2020) #10

"Full of Surprises" Star Wars: Darth Vader #10

Bad Batch Check-in Episodes 1-3

I have been impressed with the Bad Batch in Episodes 1-3, but episode 3 left me feeling a little empty.  While I would agree that there are several important moments, I feel like I am looking for a purpose for the Clone Force 99.  They picked up Omega and want to bring Crosshair back but how and what's next? 

It is becoming clear that while Omega is young and just learning to be confident in herself away from the comforts of Kamino, she is quite capable and special.  She chases after the Ordo Moon Dragon to acquire the capacitor after Hunter loses consciousness when his respirator falls off.  She uses her tracking (maybe an enhanced ability?) and her smarts to find and evade/distract the moon dragon.  She even uses what she learns from the Nexu encounter in episode 2 and finds a non-lethal escape.  I look forward to seeing what other skills/abilities Omega demonstrates going forward.  

The Crosshair storyline has the strongest focus at this point.  We meet a new Imperial leader, Admiral Rampart, as Tarkin continues to deal with the Clones and introduces Project War-Mantle.  Tarkin sends Crosshair, as leader, with a crew of Imperial soldiers handpicked by Rampart himself, to confront Saw Gerrera on Onderon.  Crosshair's crew easily ambushes the insurgent camp to discover that Saw Gerrera is not there.  Instead of leaving or taking political prisoners, Crosshair orders the crew to kill everyone in the camp.  The Imperial soldier who had been challenging Crosshair's longevity in the Empire as a Clone, challenges the Crosshair's order.  Crosshair sticks to the "Good soldiers follow orders" mantra and executes the trooper in front of everyone.  In shock, the other soldiers follow the order given by Crosshair and murder all in the camp, even the innocent people. This solidifies Crosshair as a force to be feared.  His strict adherence to the orders from Tarkin is a result of the boosted inhibitor chip in his head.  It sets up a difficult task for the Bad Batch going forward; it isn't going to be easy to bring Crosshair back.  Will Tech, Echo, and maybe even Omega be able to find a way to disable Crosshair's chip?  How much damage will/can Crosshair cause before that happens?  

As for the Bad Batch themselves, I am struggling to see the purpose at this point.  Where are they heading?  Maybe it is okay to not know right now; it is only episode 3.  They are learning a new dynamic without Crosshair and the addition of a new member in Omega.  As discussed, she joins Hunter on a mission while Tech and Echo get the ship back together.  Wrecker, who is nursing a headach or head injury suffered in the crash, shows his soft side for children by creating a room for Omega.  They are definitely warming up to Omega, but where is this group headed?

There is a lot left in this season of Bad Batch.  There are characters who need to continue to develop, and there is a team that needs to continue to rebuild. In reflection, I am okay without knowing the full purpose at this point.  I am okay with a slow build to the story as we continue to learn who the members of Clone Force 99 really are.  Stay tuned, I'm sure the story will start to take off soon.  

What I'm Reading in Marvel Unlimited

Heads up true believers, if you have been thinking about trying out Marvel Unlimited, you can receive your first year of Marvel Unlimted for $60!!  That is a great value for an incredible collection of over 28,000 titles available and new titles are added each week.  I am not sponsored by Marvel Unlimited, by the way, I just really like the service!  

Anyway, we are halfway through the month of May and I wanted to share what I am reading in Marvel Unlimited.  

The month is wrapping up a couple mini-series that I have thoroughly enjoyed and, if the martial arts or werewolves are your thing, these are must-reads.  Issue #5 of Shang-Chi was released on MU the week of May 3.  I was enthralled by this character and story written by Gene Yuen Lang, and you can catch my early thoughts on the series here.  Can't get enough Shang-Chi and need more to get you ready for the film coming out this summer?  Check out The Legend of Shang-Chi by Alyssa Wong that released on May 10.

The other series that wrapped up May 3 that may have flown under the radar was Werewolves by Night which was a four-issue mini-series by Taboo & B. Earl and art by Scot Eaton.  From the summary of issue 1 on Marvel Unlimited, "A new Werewolf by Nigh is prowling the Southwest, but all is not as it seems!  A young man, a family curse, and an unholy experiment prove a dangerous combination for a small town in Arizona.  All young Jake wants is to protect his people, but who will protect him from the monster within?"  This was a very cool series to read and experience, especially if you like the wolf that comes out at night.  

Some other titles I am reading are:

Avengers: Mech Strike

Black Cat

The Union

Doctor Doom

Wolverine: Black and White

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters 

Star Wars: Darth Vader  

Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon

Ghost Rider: Return of Vengence

Eternals

And the X of Swords series

Free Comic Book Day Marvel update

Marvel recently released their Free Comic Book Day covers.  That's right, Marvel will have two titles available on Free Comic Book Day. Marvel is bringing the muscle on these covers, literally, check them out! One story features the Avengers and the Hulk and on the other The Amazing Spider-man and Venom.  

According to the Free Comic Book Day website, Marvel is bringing top talent for these one-shot stories that comic fans can get for free as Jason Aaron and Chip Zdarsky are crafting these stories.  Marvel Stormbreaker Iban Coello and Greg Smallwood are doing the art for these issues. 

Free Comic Book Day is on August 14 this year, so mark your calendar for these fantastic Marvel books in addition to 48 other titles that will be available.  Check out what I am looking forward in this previous post.  

Let me know what you are looking forward to or share some Free Comic Day memories of events you have attended or FCBD books you have collected in the past.  Leave the comment here or tag me on Twitter  @draftline 

A Fun Trading Card Activity

I recently read a short article published online by Becket that gave me some ideas and fun ways to display a baseball card collection.  It would work with any card collection.  In essence, take a set of baseball cards, film cards, game cards, and choose your favorite nine cards from a set.  The criteria could be nine players from the same team, nine favorite signature cards, nine cards with your favorite art.  It could be anything that strikes you at the moment.

Choosing the nine cards is the fun of this activity!  It gives you a chance to review the collection in more detail.  In some cases, it lets you revisit a set that you haven't looked at in a long time.  Once you've got your nine cards chosen, then grab a clear, 9-pocket sheet for cards.  Arrange your cards how you want in the 9-pocket sheet then use that to display your cards!  You could display them in a frame to look at on a shelf or on the wall of an office, or you could collect sheets in a binder that you keep out for frequent viewing.  Instead of having the entire 2-inch thick set binder, this creates a binder of multiple sets in a small, easy-to-view binder of your favorite cards.  

I really like that in order to create set sheets of favorite cards, you need to really dig through sets of cards.  Pull those binders or card boxes out of the basement storage area, and look at those cards that you love so much!  What good are they doing hiding in the basement or crawl space or closet?  Sure, they are out of the way and protected, but didn't we buy them because they are fun to look at?  I also like when I get tired of looking at the nine I chose, I can revisit the set and switch them out for another nine and continue to enjoy my sets of cards.

I don't know about all of you, but I have cards all over the place that I never get to look at because they are carefully put away in boxes and carefully placed on shelves off the floor in my basement storage area. Why do I do that?  Yes, they are nice and organized and safe, but I never get to look at them.  I have Star Wars cards, Topps Baseball and Football, Pokemon cards, Magic the Gathering cards.  My kids have Hello Kitty and My Little Pony and Pokemon cards.  With this activity, we spent 20 minutes recently filling some sheets to enjoy.  That is all it took.  A few minutes to locate the boxes and 15 minutes to flip through a few stacks of cards that we hadn't seen in a few years.  It was fun and we shared some memories and stories about where we bought them and how hard we tried to fill sets.

Anyway, I am happy that I came across this post from Becket with this fun activity.  It gave new life to those old cards and brought my family together with a quick and fun activity.  Enjoy!

Free Comic Book Day

Usually, the first Saturday in May is a day that we can go to the local comic shop and pick up a whole bunch of new comics for free!  The first Saturday in May is generally Free Comic Book Day where we, as readers, get to take home some really cool, new comic book previews, and comic book publishers get to highlight some of their titles that are coming out.  

The pandemic has changed so much of our lives including pushing back Free Comic Book Day.  This year FCD has been moved to August 14.  While that is a real bummer, it appears to be worth the wait.  It is the 20th anniversary of Free Comic Book Day and they have 50 free comic books to offer that day.  For a full list of the free comics to be offered that day, check out the Free Comic Book Day website right here.  

Otherwise, here are some books in which I'm really looking forward to reading: 

Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures by IDW

Star Wars: The High Republic The Edge of Balance/Guardian of the Whills by VIZ Media

Investi Gators: Ants in Our Pants Sneak Peak! by First Second Books

 

Lady Mechanika by Image Comics

Overstreet Guide to Collecting Comics 2021 by Gemstone Media

It's a bit of a wait, but the positive here is that Free Comic Book Day is still happening.  It is a great day to read some fun stuff, discover new characters, new writers and new artistst.  It is always a good day around here.  I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends at the Local Comic Shop on August 14!  

May the Fourth Be With You!

Happy May the Fourth Be with You!!  What a fun day to celebrate our fandom of Star Wars!  This year there are so many things to celebrate, but the 70-minute release of the new animated show, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, on Disney+ may be the most notable.  

There are so many ways to celebrate.  Starwars.com offers five ways to celebrate Star Wars Day.  It has become a tradition for me and my family that we celebrate by wearing Star Wars t-shirts on this day.  In fact, I invite everyone at the school I work at to wear Star Wars shirts or other Star Wars apparel.  It is not unusual for roughly 100 kids and staff to wear Star Wars apparel!  In other years, I walk around the lunch room with a microphone and ask students Star Wars trivia and I give away random Star Wars prizes. Since the pandemic has kept us from having lunch at school this year, it will be a tradition I will continue next year.

This year our foods classes will whip up some fun Star Wars food with May the Fourth recipes (Chewy Cookies and Lightsaber Pretzels) they found in the April/May edition of the Taste of Home magazine.  

This day gives all of us a positive, fun day to celebrate our fandom and to share it with the world.  What are some fun ways that you enjoy this day?  How do you share it with others?  Comment here or share on Twitter and tag me @draftline  Enjoy the day and May the Fourth be with You!