Well the big news from DC Comics as of late has been the rebooting of many of their titles, re-numbering them back to #1, changing costumes, updating, and generally cleaning house. Even their flagship character Superman, The Man of Steel, is not safe in this new endeavor. You can see Superman #1 here, with Superman missing his unmistakable red underwear.

I can understand DC's reasoning behind this move, they are undoubtedly trying to bring new readers into the fold by making their comics more accessible with a lower numbering and updating their costumes and characters to have a more modern feel. I understand this, but don't necessarily like it.

I know that if you compare the classic, Golden Age Superman with that of today, you will find changes. There character has changed through the years, that is for sure. One silver lining here is that this latest change is much less drastic than the electric blue and red Superman of before and is much more in line with the character, but I personally get frustrated with some of these changes that seem to be made just to shake things up.

For me, none of these new changes are good enough reasons for me to pick up the comic. I think I'm a bit to skeptical of the flashy #1 on the cover that it is more than a marketing ploy. It could be the old guard in me that doesn't like change, or it might also be my love of continuity. What do you think? Is this reboot a marketing gimmick or a breath of fresh air?

Image Copyright DC Comics

I love thrift stores. There is something about hunting through junk to find true treasures on the cheap that gets my blood pumping. Like the items in the picture here. While I was perusing my local Goodwill for new books to update my classroom library, I came across some fantastic finds. A large assortment of Captain Underpants was first up, then a very nice looking copy of BabyMouse: Burns Rubber, which I hear is illustrator Matt Holm's favorite book of the series for the Star Wars references. Also tucked in there is Whales on Stilts, although it is not a comic book, it is a fantastic young adult read that is very funny and cleverly written.

Places like thrift stores are very hit or miss when it comes to good comics. You have to be looking regularly and be willing to sort through the unwanted material. Another problem is that you never know what kind of condition they might be in as the sorters at these kinds of places may not be kind. The payoff, of course, is in finding something that is cool and may even have worth. The items above will never be worth lots of money, but they will provide hours and hours of reading enjoyment for some young kids learning to read. That's definitely worth the time and money in finding them.

Find some other places to get cheap or free comic books as well.

Image Copyright Aaron Albert

Valiant recently reported that they are on the move again, this time with ex-Marvel CEO Peter Cuneo as Chairman. Peter and his brother Gavin have formed Cuneo and Company LLC and has given Valiant a "capital infusion" that appears to have them taking a large part in the development of the company. Peter Cuneo spent ten years at Marvel Entertainment that ended when Disney acquired the company for four billion dollars.

From the press release:

"We have been planning the reintroduction of the Valiant titles for some time and I'm excited to announce our scheduled launch for 2012," said Director Dinesh Shamdasani. "Cutting-edge characters and stories were the core tenants of the original Valiant and are the core tenants of the new Valiant."

"Valiant owns and controls a universe of some of the most recognizable characters in the comic world," added Peter Cuneo. "To this day, despite interruptions in its history, Valiant has retained an extremely passionate fan base.  We are keenly focused on bringing the original Valiant Universe back for these fans as well as introducing these powerful characters and stories to new readers."

So the second big announcement from this is that Valiant is going to relaunch next year. I wonder if it is too little too late for Valiant. They were pretty big back in the day but  I worry that too much time has gone by for them to be relevant. I would imagine that they will need some named talent to help bring readers along in the beginning.  What do you think? Are you excited by a new Valiant line of comics or do you think the ship has sailed for this one?

Image Copyright Valiant

Stan Lee made an appearance on the Hulu.com daily pop-culture show, "The Morning After." He talks with co-host Brian Kimmet about X-Men: First Class and his part in it. It's a quick interview and you should just fast forward to the 4:35 mark and get to the good stuff.

From the press release:

"In this exclusive interview, Stan describes himself as ³un-gettable² and tells us what to expect (and surprisingly what not to expect) from the mutant prequel in theaters this weekend. The comic book hero also shows that he has game as he imparts expert advice on women to The Morning After host Brian Kimmet."

It's an okay interview, more commercial than anything, but it is cool to see Stan Lee still kicking and pushing the Marvel goodness onto us all. Take a loot at The Morning After interview and see for yourself.