Some Rad T-Shirts for Cheap!

If you're an XXL t-shirt size, you may want to check this out. Trent has cleaned out his closet thanks to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (seriously, check this book out - LIFE CHANGING), so you can now jump-in on some of his great T Shirts that he's only worn a few times. See the full list and pictures on our eBay page.

10 Geeked-Out T-Shirts starting at 99¢ plus Shipping

Comic Shop Word of the Day: ONE SHOT

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One Shot

[wʌn ʃɑt]

noun

• A comic book whose story does not tie-in to a different issue.
• A comic with a story that starts and ends in the same issue.
• A "one-and-done" story.
• Many annual comic books are one shots.

"I like Sensational Comics Wonder Woman because each issue is a one shot."

"All these multi-title events get too expensive; I want a plain old one shot."

Comic Shop Word of the Day: KIRBY KRACKLE

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Kirby Krackle

aka Kriby Dots

[ˈkɜrbi ˈkrækəl]

noun

• Created by comic book creator Jack Kirby
• An artistic technique using a field of black, pseudo-fractal images used to represent negative space around unspecified kinds of energy
• Used in illustrations of explosions, smoke, the blasts from ray guns, energy, and "cosmic" and space phenomena

"I love that artists still use Kirby Krackle."

"Kirby Krackle takes more time, but looks so much better than cross hatching."

Further Reading:

Evolution of Kirby Krackle via The Jack Kirby Museum

Comic Book Orders Due 7-27-15 | Complete List

These are the comics and graphic novels from Diamond Comic Distributors that will be available soon and have final order cutoff of July 27, 2015. If you want to secure a guaranteed issue, contact Death Ray Comics before June 27. But remember, you can still order these products even after the final order cutoff date, there is just no guarantee that it will be available.

Publisher Name	Item No	Item	On The Rack	Price
ARCHIE COMIC	JUN150947	ARCHIE #2 CHAYKIN VAR CVR	8/19/2015	3.99
ARCHIE COMIC	JUN150951	ARCHIE #2 CHRISSIE ZULLO VAR CVR	8/19/2015	3.99
ARCHIE COMIC	JUN150948	ARCHIE #2 ERICA HENDERSON VAR CVR	8/19/2015	3.99
ARCHIE COMIC	JUN150946	ARCHIE #2 FIONA STAPLES REG CVR	8/19/2015	3.99
ARCHIE COMIC	JUN150950	ARCHIE #2 PAOLO RIVERA VAR CVR	8/19/2015	3.99
ARCHIE COMIC	JUN150949	ARCHIE #2 PAUL RENAUD VAR CVR	8/19/2015	3.99
ARCHIE COMIC	JUN150963	MEGA MAN #52 EPIC CONNECTING POSTER PT 12 VAR CVR	8/19/2015	3.99
ARCHIE COMIC	JUN150962	MEGA MAN #52 REILLY BROWN VAR CVR	8/19/2015	3.99
ARCHIE COMIC	JUN150961	MEGA MAN #52 T REX REG CVR	8/19/2015	3.99
ARCHIE COMIC	JUN150959	WORLD OF ARCHIE COMICS DOUBLE DIGEST #52	8/19/2015	4.99
BOOM ENTERTAINM	JUN151154	ADVENTURE TIME FIONNA & CAKE CARD WARS #2 (OF 6)	8/19/2015	3.99

Comic Shop Word of the Day: ANNUAL

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Annual

[ˈænjuəl]

noun
adjective: describing type of comic book

• An issue of an ongoing title that is printed in addition to the regular monthly issue of said title
• It is an issue usually published once a year
• These issues traditionally have more pages (and cost more) than the regular title issues
• Often these issues are stand-alone stories that can be read as (see) One-and-Done
• Annuals often feature different writers/authors than those of the regular ongoing title

"Any annual written by Christos Gage is one worth reading over and over."

"The Batman Annual #3 was alright, but I like Greg Capullo's Batman the best."

Comic Shop Word of the Day: DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS

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Diamond Comic Distributors

[ˈdaɪmənd ˈkɑmɪk dɪˈstrɪbjətɜrz]
noun
synonym: Diamond, DCD, the worst 

• The only comic book wholesale distributor
• All products distributed via DCD are nonrefundable
• The #1 reason new, local comic shops don't survive past three years
• Defined by the DCD website:
• Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. was established in 1982 to provide comic book specialty retailers with wholesale, non-returnable comic books, graphic novels and related pop-culture merchandise.
• After more than 30 years of service, Diamond has become the world's largest distributor of English-language comics and related merchandise at the nexus of comics and pop-culture.

"I know you pre-ordered that comic book, but Diamond screwed up and over-sold the amount that they actually had, and we won't be able to get it now."

"Our comic book shop is still waiting for a refund for products that we paid for ($800 worth) but never received eight months ago."

Website's highlighting the poor customer service of this mega-corporation:

• Diamond Damage Disasters
• Sub Reddit /r/diamondsucks

A-Force Survives Battleworld as an All-New All-Different Title

Created during the "Secret Wars" event, "A-Force" is one of the titles that will be continuing on after the universe-changing event has passed. However, it will be minus one of the writers at the helm of title. G. Willow Wilson of "Ms. Marvel" fame will take over as sole writer for the title while Marguret Bennet will be writing other titles.

Putting the rubber to the road -- or rather the pencil to the paper -- is "Storm" artist Victor Ibanez. So it can be assumed that these superheroes will be extremely easy on the eyes.

The roster for this all-female Avenging team includes She-Hulk, Captain Marvel, Dazzler, Nico and more. Wilson has also stated that a rotating guest cast will be something readers can look forward to as the series develops.

Cover by Victor Ibanez

Cocreator Sana Amanat realizes that taking on an all-female team is a large responsibility, especially as readers, now more than ever, are reading with a feminist perspective. She told Glamour magazine:

The industry's whole audience has changed. We have more female readers and minority readers, and they expect our characters to reflect them. The amount of female-driven titles we've launched that aren't being cancelled, that's a phenomenon in itself. "A-Force," "Ms. Marvel," "Spider-Gwen"—we couldn't have done these things seven or eight years ago. The dialogue of female representation is so hot right now, not just in comics but in general. And that makes us more responsible in how we depict our characters.

Marvel has yet to release a final order date for "A-Force," but it is listed as a fall All-New All-Different release.

Storm #1 Cover by Victor Ibanez

The following pages are from Storm #4 featuring the aftermath of the Death of Wolverine. Notice how Marvel censored the finished page to have Wolverine (bottom left of page) sans a smoking a cigar.

Censored Page from Storm #4 by Victor Ibanez

Original page, posted on Victor Ibanez's blogger page.

TeeFury's Prank Girl and Prank Guy Just $11

Check out these TANK GIRL inspired takes on Gotham City's king and queen of chaos: Harley Quinn and The Joker!

TeeFury: Limited Edition, $11 shirts available for 24 hours only on TeeFury.com!

Prank Girl

Prank Guy

Comic Shop Word of the Day: THE BIG TWO

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The Big Two

[ðə bɪg tu]
noun

• Marvel and DC - the two largest comic book publishers
• Publishers are often divided into "The Big Two" and all the rest
• Marvel is a subsidiary of Disney
• DC is a subsidiary of Warner Bros.

"Do you remember when The Big Two teamed up and made the Amalgam Universe?"
"I tend to read mostly comics from The Big Two, but sometimes I'll pick up an Image or Dark Horse book."

Marvel's website, the landing page for all cross-platform media.

DC's Website; an upfront guide to all their new comics.

Comic Shop Word of the Day: VARIANT

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Variant

[vɛriənt]

noun

• Single issue of a comic book featuring a different cover than that of the regular issue
• Often available in limited quantities (see incentive cover)
• Due to market demand, variant issues often sell for more-than MSRP prices

"I want to get all of the STAR WARS action-figure variants."
"Skottie Young is my favorite variant artist."

Just a handful of the many variants available from Death Ray Comics.

Comic Shop Word of the Day: MANGA

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Manga

[ˈmæŋgə]
noun 

• Japanese word for comic book
• Asian-style trade paperbacks/graphic novels (TPB, GN)
• Usually smaller than American & European graphic novels; often digest size
• Printed in black and white or gray scale

"Do you have ATTACK ON TITAN?" - "Yes it's in the manga section."

"Manga just gives you more bang for your buck than American comics."

40% of all books and magazines sold in Japan are manga. (Photo by Fabien licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Comic Shop Word of the Day: BACK ISSUE

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Back Issue

[bæk ˈɪʃu]
noun 

(back-issue: adj)

• An older (not current) single-issue of a comic book series.
• Value and collectability of a 'back issue' depends on market (though usually priced at less-than
  retail).
• These are the comics that fill the many long boxes in your local comic shop.

"Do you have any back issues of 90's Wolverine?"
"I could thumb through back-issue bins all day!"

Comic conventions can be a great place to browse back issues. Photo via DRC Instagram

Comic Shop Word of the Day: COLLECTED EDITION

Collected Edition

Subscribe to the Word of the Day (with your own set frequency) here.

[kəlɛktəd ədɪʃən]
noun

• A bound book (see Graphic Novel, Trade Paperback) of multiple comic book issues, collected into a single volume.
• Most of the large comic publisher's graphic novels and trade paperbacks are, in fact, collected editions.

"Has Matt Fraction's HAWKEYE been released as a collected edition yet?"

"I'm waiting until Ms. Marvel is released as a collected edition; I like binge-reading comic arcs."

Just a few of the Marvel Collected Editions available from Death Ray Comics.

45 Titles Announced in All-New All-Different Marvel Relaunch

Starting in October, the Marvel Universe will never be the same... again. The following are the titles that will be newly created or renumbering as part of ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT MARVEL.

TITLE	WRITER	ARTIST
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN	BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS	DAVID MARQUEZ
A-FORCE	G. WILLOW WILSON	VICTOR IBANEZ
ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS	MARK WAID	ADAM KUBERT
UNCANNY AVENGERS	GERRY DUGGAN	RYAN STEGMAN
NEW AVENGERS	AL EWING	GERARDO SANDOVAL
ULTIMATES	AL EWING	KENNETH ROCAFORT
DOCTOR STRANGE	JASON AARON	CHRIS BACHALO
CAPTAIN MARVEL	TARA BUTTERS & MICHELE FAZEKAS	KRIS ANKA
SAM WILSON, CAPTAIN AMERICA	NICK SPENCER	DANIEL ACUNA
TOTALLY AWESOME HULK	GREG PACK	FRANK CHO
THE MIGHTY THOR	JASON AARON	RUSSEL DAUTERMAN
SCARLET WITCH	JAMES ROBINSON	KEVIN WADA
MS MARVEL	G. WILLOW WILSON	TAKESHI MIYAZAWA & ADRIAN ALPHONA
ILUMINATI	JOSH WILLIAMSON	SHAWN CRYSTAL
ALL-NEW HAWKEYE	JEFF LEMIRE	RAMON PEREZ
ASTONISHING ANT-MAN	NICK SPENCER	RAMON ROSANAS
THE VISION	TOM KIN	GABRIEL H. WALTA
CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS	AL EWING	PACO MEDINA
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN	DAN SLOTT	GIUSEPPE CAMUCOLI
CARNAGE	GERRY CONWAY	MIKE PERKINS
SPIDER-WOMAN	DENNIS HOPELESS	JAVIER RODRIGUEZ
SPIDER-MAN	BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS	SARA PICHELLI
SPIDER-GWEN	JASON LATOUR	ROBBI RODRIGUEZ
SILK	ROBBI THOMPSON	STACEY LEE
SPIDER-MAN 2099	PETER DAVID	WILL SLINEY
WEB WARRIORS	MIKE COSTA	DAVID BALDEON
DAREDEVIL	CHARLES SOULE	RON GARNEY
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY	BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS	VALERIO SCHITI
DRAX	CM PUNK & CULLEN BUNN	ED McGUINNESS
HOWARD THE DUCK	CHIP ZDARSKY	JOE QUINONES
NOVA	SEAN RYAN	CORY SMITH
STAR-LORD	SAM HUMPHRIES	JAVIER GARRON
VENOM: SPACEKNIGHT	ROBBIE THOMPSON	ARIEL OLIVETTI
HALLOWING COMMANDOS OF S.H.I.E.L.D	FRANK BARBIERE	BRENT SCHOONOVER
AGENS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.	MARC GUGGENHEIM	MAKE NORTON
UNCANNY INHUMANS	CHARLES SOULE	STEVE MCNIVEN
KARNAK	WARREN ELLIS	GERARDO ZAFFINO
ANGLEA: QUEEN OF HEL	MARGUERITE BENNETT	KIM JACINTO & STEPHANIE HANS
SQUADRON SUPREME	JAMES ROBINSON	LEONARD KIRK
EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN	JEFF LEMIRE	HUMBERTO RAMOS
UNCANNY X-MEN	CULLEN BUNN	GREG LAND
ALL-NEW X-MEN	DENNIS HOPELESS	MARK BAGLEY
OLD MAN LOGAN	JEFF LEMIRE	ANDREA SORRENTINO
ALL-NEW WOLVERINE	TOM TAYLOR	DAVID LOPEZ
DEADPOOL	GERRY DUGGAN	MIKE HAWTHORNE