Drom's Blog

February 5th 2010

Whew!  We are beginning to wind down a series of decent sized events here at Drom's and now to share what happened with those of you who couldn't make it.  For January 24th, we were invited to hold a Magic Grand Prix Trial to award the winner of the event a 3 round bye at Grand Prix Oakland!  The turnout of 22 entrants was decent, especially considering not many of our locals play much extended.  I totally forgot who made top 8, so I'll have to update this weekend with names and decklists.  Here are some pics though:

We had 3 judges playing out of 22 people!

The event went pretty smoothly, and we got to see some faces we haven't seen in a while.  Sean Cantanese was our head judge and did a fantastic job all day!  Toward the end of the day we ended up with a side event:

Backwards Street Fighter IV vs Ricky!  I think Ricky may have eventually won a match, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, I'll be back to update this with results and decklists.  Consider this a placeholder.

On to January 30th and 31st!  This was time for the Worldwake Pre-release!  Saturday had 49 entries with Riki Hayashi judging!  Before I say anything else, let me just share this with all of you.  Remember Christian?  The guy who beat LSV at the Zendikar Pre-release for the extra draft set?  Here he is again:

It's shiny by the way.  Yeah, he's THAT good at this game!

Sunday, we had 26 players and Bryce Kaff was our judge for the day.  Overall, both days were a success and I hope everybody had fun.

Two side notes:  First, Woodstocks Pizza has been allowing us to run our excessively large events in their building, and I ask that especially on those days we do our best to support them by ordering some food or maybe even just a drink from them.

Second, Thada Adel, Acquisitor is a silly silly legendary creature for Elder Dragon Highlander.

Ok, there isn't much to talk about for the Pre-releases because we were so busy nothing stands out in my mind.  It took me a little while to ponder the set list, but now that I'm familiar with Worldwake, I really like it.  I hope it brings the balance to Standard it has needed for months.  Until next time!

Jenkins Mitchell

January 18th 2010

Yesterday we had our biggest Street Fighter IV tournament ever, with 37 entrants!  We had players show up ranging from Reno, Nevada to the Bay Area!  Mike from iplaywinner.com provided the live stream for the event, and it is still viewable here:

part 1 http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/4054643

part 2 http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/4057383

part 3 http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/4059935

Please be aware there is profane language in these videos and get parents permission if you are under the age of 18 before watching the videos.

First, I'd like to thank everybody who helped to setup, bring equipment or whatever other help was provided I'm not thinking of at the moment.  Without the volunteers, fighting game events would not occur.

What was at stake here?  Street Fighter is about pride and having a good time.  So I hope everybody had fun, but there were some decent prizes as well.  First, the top three players received Drom's Comics dustwashers!  If you don't know what that is, it's ok as it's an obscure part for an arcade stick.

                                   Prizes!                                                                     Pre-event setup.

Also, first place got 70% of the prize portion from the entry money, second place got 20% and third place got 10%.  Lastly, the first place finisher at a Drom's SFIV event always has to take a picture with The Belt.

Eric Choi took it down this time!

Eric Choi, from Davis won, and Ryan "Filipino Champ" took second, with Hiro taking third.  Eric played with Rufus all day, while Filipino Champ used Dhalsim & Seth and Hiro played the best Blanka I've seen.  There was also a lot of talk about Sicx, who played Ken to take fourth place.

Hiro, Ryan "Filipino Champ" and Eric Choi.

Overall, it was a great event and we'll be doing another one in late February or early March.  Thanks to everybody who attended!

Wes Side Stories

Thursday December 3^rd 2009

So, down to the wire now and this fits right into the holiday/finals schedule. Only three books left and today we go over them all.  I had fun doing this but I think I want to refine it for next time.  It doesn’t matter though since this is entirely based on my own opinion, and everyone knows about opinions. I had fun doing it, though I didn’t receive any feedback which is kind of a bummer. Maybe next time.

Sitting at #3 on my list is a book by a raving lunatic/genius that is just as irritating as he is fun. Of Course I am speaking of Warren Ellis. He has the courage to ask questions most wouldn’t, makes them interesting enough to continue reading  through his stories and keeps them coming, albeit late half the time.  His most recent exploration takes us into the future. We already know that Russia, the United States and Britain have experimented on humans trying to find either perfection or, at the least, a functional human weapon. Experiments in drug inducement, psychic manipulation, mind control and more have been done since the 50’s according to most documentation, but it is rumored to have been done since the 1920’s. The underlying question is where can it lead and what would happen if it were accomplished. What if we were able to create a Man of Ultimate potential, a super man? What if we could achieve the next best thing to God in man, a Super God?

SuperGod takes us into the not too distant future on the other side of the world. It begin after some type of apocalypse has already occurred and is taking us on a journey of the recollection of events as told by a former Military man over the phone with a mystery individual who has yet to be revealed. The world’s industrialized nations have succeeded in creating these types of beings, each bigger and better than the last, finally culminating in India where they have created a Krishna like being who has acted like a newborn God and went on a rampage to “protect and preserve” India to ensure it reached it’s ultimate potential. The only problem with this is that this being decided that the majority of India’s population was hindering it’s growth to this point and this is where it all begins. A man-made God gone awry, killing it’s own creators and a huge portion of the population because in it’s eyes we are the pests that need exterminating for the betterment of Culture, Society and Evolution.  Fine until it decides that India also needs protection from those countries and peoples who live near it’s borders and beyond. That’s where the apocalypse begins. Other nations now have to respond to this God gone mad. The super powers must now battle not only against this God, but for human survival in general. It is an interesting end-world scenario that really makes you think and it’s a fun exploration. Sure it’s is Ellis and it gets crazy, gets delusional, and is probably as warped a view of the future as you can get, but it’s worth every penny of the $2.99 cover price.  Hard not to place it higher on my list, but it settles in comfortably at #3. If you missed it, order it, read it and enjoy it.

The next book on my list is one that is ongoing, albeit a darker version with a shoddy replacement, but it makes the list for  a story arc that was exciting, well executed and just damn hard to top by any means. Of course I am referring to Wolverine, now Dark Wolverine, but more specifically I am referring to the Old Man Logan storyline. This was as fun as it was decisive, as sobering as it was humorous, as much fun as a barrel of monkeys mixed with powers as it was… well, you get the point. Take Logan into his distant future about fifty years. Have him deal with something so monumental that he becomes gun-shy.. well, claw-shy and watch as he struggles with the past and what must be done to make it right. Old Man Logan sits near the top of the list at #2 for it's ingenuity, it's classic action feel and it's gripping storytelling.

In the past, our present, the villains finally wise up and work together as a team. They have decided how to divide up the world but they have to eliminate their foes first. After teaming up power against power, group against group, the one they cannot kill (Logan) they must remove from the picture, but how. How about you make him do something so terrible, against the people he cares for most, that he becomes a recluse and begins to tow the line like all the other base humans around. How about you have Mysterio finally do something that makes sense and use his powers to not merley confuse ro disorient but truly do a mind-job on someone. It's up to him to take care of Logan. He confuses Logan’s senses, forces him to believe the X-Men are villains who are trying to kill his friends, send him into a berserker rage and murder them all. Yeah, that would do it. 50 years later, a broken down husk of a man who used to kill for a living sees Hawkeye enter the picture. He needs Wolverine's help, not Logan's. He needs Wolverine to take him across this extremely divided and dangerous country controlled by the descendents of the same villains who did this to him. Logan vows to never use his claws or even fight after evrything he did, but becomes forced to do so once his family is slaughtered and now wants revenge again, determining that he will not stop until the one responsible pays.

It’s a long action filled journey into a broken Marvel Universe that leads to the most shocking conclusion I’ve seen in a long time from any comic company. It’s more than worth the cost of the Hardcover we have in stock and is responsible for garnering more excitement in the community than any other story Marvel has done since Civil War began.  Check out what Wolverine’s future looks like with Old Man Logan placing #2 on my list.

And now it is time for the grand finale but what could possibly be number one? We visited the wild, the crazy, the scientific and the altered psyches of heroes and villains alike, so just what could outdo some of these amazing books, well, at least for Wes?

Are you ready?  

No really, are you ready for it?

Think about it.

Can you hear me now?

Here it is, Wes’ #1 favorite book of the year to date. My #1 book, well, for now at least, has got to be Criminal.  It is original, always fresh and always fun. If you miss out on an issue or don’t like a particular character, well, skip it and join up again for the next arc when the focus shifts to a new character. Getting tired of the super heroes? This is your book. Like crime and suspense that is well articulated and gritty without being overbearing or arrogant? This is your book. Like anything that Ed Brubaker has ever touched? This is your book.  Much like my life, it has several aspects. Peel a layer and turn the page and you just might find that everything you thought about it was wrong, and that alone makes it interesting for me.

I love superheroes, I grew up with them, however I did grow and so did my mind. Once in a while you need a bit of fantastic realism with personality to keep your mind active and this does that in spades. The current arc ‘Sinner’ focuses on the character Tracy who, if you read it before, served 18 months in a military prison and finds on his release that his brother has been killed while he was inside. He goes AWOL (yes, once you serve your time, depending on the infraction, you still owe the military some service) and tries to discover what happened to him and why. He robs a couple of goons carrying an exorbitant amount of cash, winds up getting close to the people who did the deed and ends up working for the boss of bosses in Center City, Hyde. After this, he ends up on the wrong side of the mob and is stuck between the military investigators still searching for their AWOL soldier and figuring out why mob goons are getting killed everywhere, and why he is soon to join them. It’s action packed, dramatic, suspenseful and worth every penny.

Brubaker and Phillips have come back around to issue more of their award winning flash and pizzazz and do it in a style that is unique in an industry filled with wash, rinse and repeat storytelling.  I know this is one that the readers of comics and novels alike will agree on for a long time to come.  It fulfills the desire every mind has to not just be told a story, but to almost become a part of it, to be able to think and try to figure it out as it goes and still be surprised with the outcome. It is one of the few books that, once picked up, keeps you longing for more as soon as you’re finished.

Criminal: The Sinners is the #1 book on the shelves without a doubt. Try it and I bet you never stop.

Thanks for dropping by… More Wes Side Stories to come so keep an eye out.

Contact Droms by using the contact tab above this post or Wes by sending an email to:

Wes@dromscomics.com

Thanks again and good luck on your finals for those in our student community and enjoy your holiday season, whatever you celebrate.

Wes Side Stories

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Alright, on to numbers 6, 5 & 4. 

Why three, why are we jumping along three titles? Well, we aren't really since all three titles share two things in common: 1) They all share similar characters who have undergone severe changes and 2) the fans are split in an almost 50/50 divide on whether they love it or hate it. The only real differences are in the creative teams and the directions which those teams have decided to travel with them. The titles contain characters that have been killed and reborn, replaced others, been newly introduced and grown up into their own. Have you guessed what books I'm speaking of yet? No? Too ambiguous huh? Alright then, it's Red Robin at #6, Batman & Robin at number 5 and Batman in his solo title at number 4. 

Red Robin is by far the worst of the three, but still on my top ten list for where is might go. Placing at #6, it's been an interesting read so far. Tim Drake, Much Like Dick Grayson before him, is growing up in the DC Universe and becoming his own man. The only problems with this are that A) His mind is much keener than Grayson's (after all, the only reason he became Robin in the first place is that he was the only one to have figured out who Batman was at the time, on his own, and at the tender of age of 15 no less) and B) he doesn't believe what everyone is telling him. He still thinks Bruce Wayne is alive and kicking, body in the grave or not, and he sets out on his jaunt around the world to prove it.  Along the way he discovers he is being followed by an all too familiar organization, The League of Assassins and it just happens that they don’t want him dead, in Fact Rha’s Al Ghul believes the same thing Tim does, that Bruce is in fact alive and kicking and Rha’s wants to help Tim prove it for his reasons. Only problem with that is that now Tim has to work with one of his enemies and the League has it’s own problems, a spy within who s stealing their targets and Tim gets stuck helping the league to find the spy, help them retain their integrity and still try to do the right thing.  Sounds strange but it’s original and makes it a very interesting read. I place it at number six for those reasons. It’s new, it’s different and that makes it fun for me.

At Number 5 we have Batman & Robin. Now this was a book many looked forward to, myself included. You had the superstar creative team of Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison who work extremely well together bring you their take on the new Dynamic Duo of Dick Grayson/ Batman and Damian Wayne/Bastard son of Bruce Wayne/Robin. The two of them are taken on a rollercoaster provided by Morrison meeting new villains like Mr. Pig and the Flamingo and fighting old friends/ new foes, Jason Todd/ Red Hood whose fight for justice ends with a certain finality that Batman just doesn’t agree with. Now, this is a fun read, it’s a long strange trip into pseudo madness and you can tell that Morrison is trying to take this Batman in a new direction for the next generation of Batfans. 

I would place this book higher but there are a few bugs. One, Quitely left after issue three making it a short lived run for the fanboys. The new artist, Philip Tan, while competent is not good enough. He’s trying to impersonate Quitely’s style which doesn’t fit him well. It’s similar but just not good enough. He either needs to find his own style and make the title his own, or find someone who is able to do so. Second big problem for me is the direction Morrison is taking it in. Not only does he seem to be making it as strange as possible for strangeness sake, he also seems to be retooling characters created by others for his own purpose (ie: the Flamingo is seeming to a lot like Smith’s Onomotapoeia from Green Arrow, minus the sounds) and it just doesn’t seem to go anywhere, kind of like a bad Tarantino film. Add to all of this that orison writes Damians character much like they did with the early Jason Todd/Robin only meaner and more impulsive…  Well, let’s put it this way, we fans voted to have Joker kill him off back then, and you see how that sits with the majority. It’s fun, but has no real substance so far and that is why I place it at #5 instead of number one as much as I love Morrison.

At Number 4 is the Batman book I love the most. Batman, the self-titled story is the new Batman the way it should be done. He uses his detectives mind and backs it up with necessary force, but it’s not Bruce, It’s Dick, and that adds a lot more to the story than it takes away. Grayson’s story has always been one of growth and it was always known that one day the young orphan taken in by Bruce would become the man in the cowl. This book represents that man while staying true to what batman represents. It is written well, drawn well and the plots are proving to be well planned and sustainable. Should prove to be a fun title for a long time to come.

So there you have it, what do you think is next. Email me at : wes@dromscomics.com.

Remember we still have the contest going where we will pick one letter a week to post up. If you happen to be the creator of that letter you will win a prize.

Wes Side Stories

Thursday. October 29th, 2009

Okay, A small glitch... well.. more like a bit of life getting in the way of free time, followed by a cold or some other random thing and you now see what I mean by a late coming read.  It's annoying and frustrating when you expect something and it does not appear. So now we agree.  Anyway.. this week I am changing the schedule... Wes Side Stories will now appear on Thursdays, not Tuesdays. So now you know and now we go right on to #8 and # 7 on my Top Ten books.

At #8 we have a book filled with hope, inspiration, great art, a bit of a dark side and a lot of explanations. I am referring to Flash: Rebirth. Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver bring back Barry Allen and it's a very mixed reaction among the fanbase in doing so.  The Flash, Barry Allen, has been the untouchable hero who gave his life for the truest of reasons, to save all of reality. Who else ever gave up so much to accomplish such a feat in DC or any other universe? The answer: No one has. Although there have been many reality altering conflicts, many threats to every known universe in comics, and many deaths throughout the superhero community, noone has ever actually given their life to save whichever universe it was in such a clearly definable and undeniable fashion. Running beyond even his limits, he literally burned his body away in the attempt to foil the Anti-Monitor's plan of utter annihilation. Or did he?

As it turns out, no, he just became the Speed Force. And this is why this book becomes #8 on my top ten list.

First to grab the untouchable holy grail... to take the reigns of a character who truly did serve a purpose and gave us a meaningful and inspirational story and turn that story, that turn of events into something else annoys me. Is it neat to see the return of one of my childhood faves to current continuity, yes, but not at the cost of a great story from the past.

Second, it always frustrates me whenever they create a story with a character that causes confusion or requires an understanding of quantum physics as well as just about every theory known on time travel. Barry becomes the speed force, gives himself, and every other speedster, the power of that force, and now returns causing many different types of trouble for all of those who get too close to him. In addition to this, not only was he himself the speedforce, but apparently it was his arch-foe, the new Reverse Flash, who caused this by killing him in the past just before those powers ignited within him initially just to show him his true potential.  Confused yet? Sure you are. But it's still a very worthy story, wonderfully drawn and well executed for all the confusion contained within.  These creators love this character and, to be honest, noone else could handle it better save for Mark Waid who has, perhaps, the most loved storylines in Flash history.

For all of it's confusion, it brings a lot to the table, an understanding of how the speed force works, how the Black Flash came to be and what his true purpose is, and does it in perfect style with all the Flash and Pizazz you'd expect from a great story if you don't mind the pun.  If you haven't read it, do so, and soon.

On to #7. 

I mentioned Mark Waid earlier which is why I am pairing these up today. Some look at him and say "hey, he's the one who made Flash fun, or he's the guy who brought the giddy to the JLA... this is all true. He has been one of the more fun creators out there, especially when paired with guys like Mike Weiringo (may he rest in peace). But let's not forget what else he has done... Kingdom Come for one... He's proven that when unrestrained he can be a very dark, intelligent and hyperimaginative spirit on a par with the likes of Gaiman and Moore. And he proves it again with Irredeemable.

You might have heard of this story and grabbed it at the get go, others are just hearing about it now or have seen reviews and thought of picking it up. For the former I say Congrats, you picked up one of the best reads of the decade in this story of a Superman-esque character who finally snaps after being chided and ridicued by those he has done nothing but save day after day. For the latter of the bunch, well, good luck trying to find the early issues, I can't get them. I've tried. It's a shame that somethign so well written and so wonderfully executed becomes unavailable so quickly and continues to be so. Sure they made it available in a mini-trade collecting the first four issues, but now even that is sold out.  It's one of the most original stories I have read in a long while and very worthy of a continued read if you can get your hands on it. I will be grabbing any issues I can find to fill in the gaps for those who I know want it, and of course, when it becomes available, I will grab as many copies of the trade as possible to get you late bloomers on track. for this reason and this reason alone it is number seven on my top ten when it very well could have been number one were it more readily available to the public.

With all that being said, keep your eyes on his next project which is the exact opposite. We see what hapens when Superman goes crazy and it's not good at all for humanity, so what happens when his counterpart, one of the most powerful villains in the world suddenly decides he's had enough and turns to the good side?  Mark Waids brings us, Incorruptible.  Speak up if you want it fo if Irredeemable is any indicator, this book too will sell out fast and be nigh impossible to get ahold of later on. 

Alright, there you have it, so what do you think my #6 is going to be?   Tune in next week Thursday for that answer.

And hey... I want hear what you have to think about this. Is this a column you are enjoying or not?  Do you tend to agree or disagree with these picks?  Is it worth your time in visiting this page?  Let us know. I am going to begin choosing one email a week and if it is yours you will get a special prize.  SO email us: droms@live.com and use the subject line: Wes Side Stories.

No more than one prize per customer per month.  I don't want one guy emailing every week and getting the thing, but I do want to hear from you guys.

Good luck and have fun.

Now what was # 6... Oh yeah... it's the story of a dream....   Oh, just wait and see.

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

A Quick Note for Students:

Tuesday, October 20th 2009

Cardboardstuffs - Some Cardboardstuffs News and Updates

Drom’s is growing!  We’d like to thank all of our fantastic customers for everything you do for us and with us.  Because our Magic events have gotten larger over time, my WPN (Wizards Play Network) Organizer status has been raised so I get to order more of the limited products such as From the Vault boxes and Duel Decks next time around.  This doesn’t mean I can order more of the old stuff, but to maybe help you get excited about the next one, there is a rumor that From the Vault: Relics has been copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast.  I’m told that it will most likely be released at Dragoncon in September 2010.

With From the Vault: Exiled, I was only able to get 11 sets, all of which sold as preorders at retail.  A couple of people who care about the well-being of Drom’s have expressed frustration that we sold them for so cheap, and some others who didn’t even get a chance to buy one told us they respected our decision to sell them at MSRP.  This is a difference in philosophy, and we understand both sides.  If we had raised the price, we still would have been supplying a rare item to our customers and been able to cover more of our bills without struggling.  The stance we took was to sell them at MSRP as a courtesy to our customers just because you guys are so awesome.  We figure if we keep you guys happy then you will keep us in business.  There will be a Sliver deck coming out this month, and it will be one of those limited to 11 boxes.  I don’t know if the preorders are sold out, but feel free to check with us in the store if you are interested in buying one.

In Yugioh news: Mark just called me this morning to let me know that Konami FINALLY called him back and allowed him to set up the Drom’s account so we can be sanctioned as soon as we figure out their system and we have two pre-release kits ordered and on their way!  That’s not as long a paragraph as the Magic guys got, but I feel that a pre-release is probably more important than being able to buy more of something that we could already get anyway.  I would like to mention that we really appreciate you guys coming out on Sundays to play in the events.  Keep telling your friends and we’ll do our best to help the scene continue to grow!

That’s it for now.

Thanks for reading!

Jenkins Mitchell

Tuesday, October 13th 2009

Wes Side Stories

Hey there comic boys and gals, lovely weather eh?  So what's better than the planet and it's nice little renovation plan of wind, rain and all around beauty or ugliness depending on your view?  Comics!   Hello...  this is a comic shop.

Anyway, let's get down to business shall we. 

This week we are at #9 on the hit list, and that is not a bad place to be by a long shot. This week we have a bit of sci-fi tossed into a mystery filled with drama, action and an albino with a leather-clad brunette. What am I talking about?  PLANETARY #27.  This issue is just the culmination of what could very be Warren Ellis' greatest work to date. He and John Cassaday (line art) brought this team into the mainstream with very little buzz, and proved to the world that you don't need a cape or tights to be superheroes. These creators brought us all the talent they could muster to create one of the best stories I have ever read.  Now, after a long wait of approximately three years, their story has finished and with a bang.

They took us on a journey through the ages, through alternate histories, through different fantasies and theories. They gave us great stories about a woman with a radioactive half-life, a vision of what would happen if creatures like Superman or others like them would actually visit this planet, of super secret sects and top secret agencies that truly govern the world and not the so-called leaders of the Earth's governments.  Questions answered and mysteries solved including the greatest mystery of all- Who was the 4th Man?

Under normal circumstances I would say that the indestructible Jakarta Wagner, the mysterious albino who knows much more than he is telling Elijah Snow and the Drummer who can access any type of information by literally communicating with the world would rate an easy #1 on any list, but not today. No today this amazing story with even more amazing and consistent art rates a lowly #9 on my top ten list.  Why.

One reason and one reason alone: Delays.

Warren Ellis, while being a near genius in his writings, has always had one major problem that people just can’t forget… he can’t finish a story on time. Sure it’s worth the wait and is always satisfying upon completion, but the wait is a killer. Long stories, like Planetary was, start off on schedule, then a small delay of a  month or two between issues, then a few months, then years. It’s tough to keep up without being forced to pick up all the old issues and re-reading the entire thing just to know what is going on in the story at times, especially when it’s a three year wait for the final issue after everything that has happened.

But it was worth the wait. Well plotted, wonderfully drawn, and just fun no matter what your tastes in comics… Planetary is the Book of the Ages. If you have the old issues grab the final one, if you don’t, pick it up anyway and then buy the trades… It will be well worth your time.

So, there you have it, #9 on my list.  Can you guess what us at #8?   Drop us a line and tell us what you think -   Droms@live.com

Tuesday, October 6th 2009

Wes side stories

So, here we are again with Wes at the keys. This time it is not because I have something witty or exciting to say, at least not for you card players out there… No, this time is strictly for the comic geeks and freaks, the needy and the nerdy, the collectors and the tossers… yeah, you get the point.

I had spoken with Jinx about writing a weekly column for the website, wasn’t sure if it was going to be a rant or a rave, personal or about the industry, but I wanted to do one. Something to keep you little buggers occupied from time to time.  After all, somebody has to do something to let you guys in on our little secrets don’t they?

No, not really.  So what should we do?  Jinx approached me again this morning about it and we spoke a bit. We shared our thoughts in brief but both knew something needed to be done, so what did we decide?

Well, for starters we should have something more than just a list of items shipping this week or a schedule of events. While those things are pleasant, they don’t really draw much interest beyond a cursory glance do they? No.  So, how about we write about something more interesting and readily available to all of us for all of our own individual geeky fetishes. 

For me, all my love in this industry lies in the comic department. So where do I go from there?  I introduced myself already so I suppose it’s time to speak about the books themselves. So many to choose from.

Let’s begin with a countdown of my favorite books.  I will list them in order and write about each one in a different Blog.   We’ll begin with #10 on my list and work our way up to number one.

Take all of the heroes you know and love, kill a few, spread some love, hate, hope and fear around, mix in a bit of greed and a lot of will and what do you have?  Blackest Night, that’s what.

Holy crap… Did Wes just say that Blackest Night was #10 on his list of faves???  What in the heck is wrong with him?  He loves Green Lantern!  

Well..  I do love the character, but that isn’t enough to place it on a pedestal is it? In fact, there are several reasons why it is on my top ten but not on my #1 spot. Let’s go into the negatives first.

What’s Wrong

1.  It is not now, and can never be, a kid friendly story. Comics have grown up with those of us who read them in our youth, and while that is great, it leaves a gap for those new fledgling readers out there who cannot know the joy of great books due solely to their adult content. Kids shouldn’t see things like decapitated, undead, zombie-like heroes supposedly returning from their graves to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world of heroes.  I love the book, I love the way it’s progressing I just don’t like how core characters in both Marvel and DC are too mature for the young readers to enjoy any longer.

2.  Anyone get that feeling of déjà vu when you see some of the new characters and how they interact with the rest of the DC Universe?  Kind of leaves that feeling of disgust you felt in your guts when you were introduced to Jar Jar Binks and then found he survived for the sequels isn’t it?   Saint Walker and the Lanterns of Blue Hope suck and have proven to be utterly and completely useless without the aid of another Group of lanterns, preferably Green.  They are lame, ill-used and too non-descript to be fun.  It’s almost as if you want to just skip right past it for fear of the thought they will utter “Yousa no Nice” to one of  the other lantern corps before they run away to return another day.

3. Blackest Night Superman.  Don’t get me wrong, the art is well done, the story moves at a decent pace, but it is by far the worst of all the Blackest Night segments. This is Superman for crying out loud, not plastic man or some other third tier character. He’s the one who started it all off in 1939 and the best he gets is a second-rate story that really makes no sense that seems to be heading the direction of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village. The only real difference is that this time it’s a superheros mother and not a blind girl in a “village” of rich cry-babies trying to save the day.

4. Perhaps the second largest problem next to the adult oriented styling is the lack of information available to those who might be picking up a Green Lantern or DCU title for the very first time. If there was a bit more background or introduction I feel it would have placed much higher on the list but without it I find myself, and I’m sure many other comic shops having to explain who Guy Gardner is, or why the Guardians are the way they are or any number of other things we G.L. fans tend to take for granted. 

Other than these four things, I find it to be a great and fun read. It’s exciting and progressive and opens up a new future for an almost overlooked line of characters. I love it. So what are they doing right in this title?

What’s Right

1. Perhaps the best overall story since Crisis on Infinite Earths.  Not the slow-witted re-hash that just occurred, we’re talking the real deal. Heroes Galore, a story that has been over 40 years in the making that finally explains the darker half of Green Lantern’s oath. It’s got action, suspense and flows like the water in a raging river. It’s filled with fun, hints on what’s coming and paces itself better than any story I have read in about a decade. Every hero in the DCU is being affected by these events and it’s impact promises to be one of such immense proportions you just have to wonder where it all will lead to for all your favorite DC characters.

2. The timing is perfect. Just when DC needed a big boost after the economic slump, this story got people hyped and kept them coming back issue after issue wanting more. While Marvel let’s the villains take over, DC begins to show what makes a hero a hero, pitting them against the one thing they never thought they’d have to deal with, their deceased friends and families, and doing it in such an ingenious way that it’s destined to be recalled years from now as one of the best stories of all time.

3. The re-introduction of old characters redefined for the modern era. Black hand was a chump with a wand that sucked lantern rings dry and now he’s a conduit of untapped powers and exciting. What can Superman, Batman or any other character do to stop these things from happening, and how will they deal with the newly discovered leader of it all- Nekron?  Nekron, the one guy the DCU had to try to stop with ALL of it’s heroes back in the days of Tales of the Green Lantern Corps in 1981.  Back then, Nekron was so powerful it took every one of the Lanterns to stop him, and still they had to have help from others in the DCU including the spirits of the recently deceased Lanterns. He was a powerful foe that they just didn’t know how to utilize back then in the days of fun and glam but now is a perfect fit for any comic. More powerful than ever before, with an army of his own, one who gets more powerful with every hero who falls… what can anyone do to stop this returned menace?

So, there you have it.  Number  #10 on my faves. If it wasn’t so violent, was more friendly to those just picking up a DC book or even just a Green Lantern book for the first time it would have easily placed much higher on my list, but these tow faults, more than anything reduce it to number ten on this comic fan’s list.

Can you guess what number nine on my list is?  I bet not. Go ahead and try. If you have a rant, or a rave about this article drop us a line and let us know via email .

See you next time.

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

I'm back!

Turnover is more or less over, and 20 apartments have been painted, cleaned, repaired and... I dunno, whatever else was done.  With that out of the way, we are currently trying to get things back in order, especially our stock.  We ran out of and ran low on a lot of stuff, but over the next few weeks the shelves should be getting a little fatter than they have been, and if they don't that's good because that means we are selling more than normal.  We are currently gearing up for the school year, planning some advertising, getting more shirts in stock and gauging how much Zendikar we need to order.

Now that I'm back, I'm in the mood to recruit new customers and to get our current ones involved in some Drom's style mischief.  I've no idea what that means, but I'll get it sorted out soon I'm sure.  Until then, we have some new Magic events scheduled and the comics page has been updated with what is shipping this week.

Regarding cardboard-type products (and related), Dragonshields will not be available for us to purchase until October, but we have Ultra-pro's on the way.  If you are a Yugioh fan, you might be happy to hear that we'll be carrying more Yugioh products beginning October/November in our attempts at improving the Yugioh scene here at Drom's.

When I sat down to write this, I had all kinds of things to talk about.  Now though, I'm tired and this carrot cake is calling to me so I figure it's now time to stop for now.

Jenkins

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

A little of me and a bit of Droms news too.

I remember the days when there weren't any hobby shops, when you had to visit your local drug store or your ice cream parlour for your favorite comic magazine. If you couldn't find one that sold them you had to place yourself at the mercy of the postal service and pray you received an undamaged comic through the mail.  I also remember the days of sitting at home with a Tandy Pong system and hoping that just once you'd be able to defeat the unending speed increase of a small white square flashing across the screen.  Yup, back when KISS first became popular for wearing gaudy make-up and Billy Joel still hadn't married Christy Brinkley, before the Space shuttle and before Reaganomics. Way back then, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, that's how we rolled.

Over time, I saw the first Video Arcade where I spent countless hours and quarters trying to beat the games people call lame now. I also saw the first comic shop open. These were the glory days for me.

If you haven't guessed by now you're reading my first blog post here on Dromscomics.com. My name is Wes and it's nice to know you love comics or games enough to have visited this site, if not our store. Sit down for  a bit and learn why I am here at Drom's, why I am involved in comics in the first place and why I want you to visit us here.

For me, it all began back in 1976. I lived near an Ice Cream parlour in a rural town in Michigan. I would run by this store each day in my daily travels and one day saw this great looking comic book in the window. It was Green Lantern #76 (for those of you who know your stuff, the issue was over four years old at the time I saw it). It was faded and read through with creased spine and the whole nine yards, but I loved it. I would walk by, stop and stare at Green Lantern trying to charge up and speaking his oath while the Green Arrow was shooting an arrow at GL's power lantern screaming "Never again!". 

It was just cool to me. It was different than the others in that window and really drew me in. I suppose it was a mix of being my favorite color and having the words "All New" never hurt, but it was also the artwork. It was better than anything else I could see from the window. So, here I am, looking at it every single day. One day, the owner comes out and asks me if I wanted it. I told him I didn't have any money and he said that maybe we could work something out. He asked me to sweep his porch off and, when I finished, he gave that book to me. I grabbed it in my hand, rolled it up and ran home with the biggest grin I had ever had on my face. I plopped my little butt down in the living room and read through it as fast as I could, explaining to my mother what had happened. It's still my favorite memory to this date. That one book taught me everything. It taught me how to love to read, it taught me that you had to work if you want anything in this life, and it taught me how to enjoy my life. As time went on, I expanded my reading but Green Lantern always was and still remains my favorite character.  But these were the glory days of comics with Dennis O'Neal and Neil Adams. Never has it been better and I'm still thankful I was able to begin with them. Might have gone in a totally direction had it not been for this truly 'dynamic duo'.  As time went on I saw the video arcade boom and my first real comic shop and haven't looked back since.

I wish there were more guys like the owner of that ice cream parlour. It's partly the reason I am the way I am now. I try to have just the right mix of zany and sincere, knowledge and wackiness to make it as fun as possible and be as informative as possible and to try to help people when I can. It's all because of that one person these many years ago. Here I am 33 years later and helping out my friends at Drom's C&C.  This shop is quickly becoming the kind of shop I always hoped to see.

When we first opened this shop we spoke of things we wanted to have happen here. We spoke about ways we wanted to be different from most others and continue to strive to do these things. We've grown and continue to do so now and we have all of you to thank for it. We have a good mix of comics, card games and video games to keep everyone happy. I am not an expert in the cards or the games, but I help when I can and get help when I can't. That's what I love about our customers and my friends Jenkins and Mark. All of you make this an enjoyable experience for me for however long it last for me. My time here will end one day, not sure when, but when it does I will take the memories I have here with me when I do. It's been wonderful.

 
Truly. As I sit here writing this I just finished reading another letter, a postcard actually, that reminds me that everything we do does make an impact on those we interact with. It was a thank you message from one of our Patrons who just visited Hawai'i and appreciated a graphic novel I recommended for him to read on his journey there and back, Madame Xanadu. Things like this I will take with me one day.

I do worry though about the future of the industry in general. In this cyber age I often wonder just how much longer the printed form has left. The average prediction is about 15 years. I think this is a slightly gloomy view and think we will get a few more years out of it than that, but it's close. You see it everywhere. Guys like me are quickly becoming the dinosaurs in this market and the younger generation is more interested in what the newest video game is or what the hottest Youtube video happens to be. With this trend comics are beginning to experiment with online formats and they have been received well so far.

I hope it doesn't end, but it will one day. But for now, we still have Drom's and we still have to thank all of you for that. In a time that is usually very difficult for college communities like Davis, we have continued to grow. Sales are up and over half our regular customers are out of town. While some continue to show a decline in sales, ours continue to rise. Just shows that we are doing the things we should. We aren't perfect yet, we have a lot of room for growth, but with time and feedback from you, our faithful, we are getting there fast. 

Right now we have 14 people playing a Streetfighter Tourney, Friday we had 24 people playing Magic and our New release comics wall is growing so fast we moved it to a new area to accommodate it. Yes, Drom's is growing. We're making an impact here in our community too. We just worked a deal with one local school for future fundraising, donated to the Davis Police Association to help with their juvenile mentoring program, are having another fundraiser to help the local homeless, the local Library just used some of our gift certificates for a special day (thanks Deidre) and the college community is in touch with us for other promotions. We are working with Woodstock's, Village Bakery, Starbucks, and a few others to try and get promotions up and running to benefit everyone. We are advertising and getting great word of mouth from customers and friends alike. It's a great time and we are surrounded by a great community of people and businesses. We thank each and every one of you for all you have done. And we thank you for allowing us to be a part of what you do.

We're getting ready to move our Yugioh events to a different day since almost all of them are travelling from other communities to come here. We are holding even more magic events than ever before and we are preparing a frequent buyer program. In other words, we are doing what we can to help you save and have as much fun as possible while doing it.

I guess it's just a good time to be around things like this for me. I look forward to the remaining time I have here and the people who will be sharing it with us here at Droms. Thanks gang.

Friday August 7th, 2009

An M:10 Update, the Future of Magic at Drom's and Comic Guys!

After calling distributors and Wizards of the Coast all week, I've finally gotten a straight answer about the second shipment of Magic: 2010:  It will ship at the middle or end of the week of 8-20-09.  What does that mean for us?  That means the budget of M:10 boxes we set aside to keep FNM running was going to be off if it wasn't for the fact that you (our customers) love us so much that you guys do us favor after favor.  We were able to get some Spanish boxes of M:10 and offered to trade them straight across if somebody could bring us some English boxes.  Brian Six (our "Mine's worth more than yours" award winner) was all about getting foreign stuff so he went on a hunt and now we have some more shiny M:10 to keep FNM alive through the week of the 20th.  We are currently very very low on sellable product, but Riki says he might be able to come up with some boxes to lend us to get us through as well.  (Go team!)  We do have a significant amount of M:10 pre-ordered at this point, but the distributors are being restricted on how much they can order, which might trickle down to us being shorted... again.  Our gameplan is to order as much as we can from as many different sources as we can to be sure we have enough, but we are limited by our bank account, of course.  We may be able to lower the pack and draft set prices back to normal after this next shipment, but we most likely won't be able to sell boxes at a regular box price since everything is so limited.  Not that we don't want to sell the stuff, but we don't want one guy with a bunch of money to come in and horde the stuff, only to resell it on eBay at a profit while our regulars can't even get any (M:10...).  Okay, enough on that.

This morning I got an email from The DCI updating me on my WPN status (that's fancy talk for tournament organizer status).  I didn't really pay too close attention to it since it usually just tells me if I have late events or something along those lines.  What I found on on the phone later from our WPN coordinator was that as of that email, I've been upgraded to the next level of TO, which means this:  I can now hold two pre-releases per event (so we'll have a pre-release on Saturday and Sunday from now on); I can sanction Magic Game-Day and the store is able to get more of the limited release products like "From the Vault: Exiled" and the Sliver decks, BUT not this time around.  When Wizards did the allocation numbers for Exiled, Slivers and Planechase, they were going with my old status.  For all of the limited stuff after those, we'll be able to get twice the number of boxes, which means we can hook up twice the number of you guys!

For you comic guys:  The site is now being updated every Sunday or Monday on the Comics page with
exactly what has been shipped for the upcoming comic shipment.  That means if you have been dying to find out if Archie finally settles with Betty or Veronica, you can just check that page to see if it was shipped this week or not!  We (and by "we" I mean "Wes") are also trying out a few different inventory programs that monitor how much of what books we sell so we can make more accurate comic orders in the future.  Also, with school coming back in a month or so, sales should climb, which is good for all of us because that will mean we should be able to order more books and maybe a wider variety of comics too.  Finally, we'd like some feedback on which trades you would like to see in the shop on a regular basis, so throw us an email at the Contact Us page so we can keep relevant things stocked.

Until next time, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!

Jenkins

Friday July 24th, 2009

Magic: 2010 Sales and a Joe Cocker song (A Little Help From My Friends)

To call the sales of the new Magic: 2010 Core Set a success would be an understatement.  Drom's Comics & Cards sold 9 cases in three days.  That's a lot of Magic cards!  In the past 5 days we've over-paid, begged, traded, stole and done dark dealings with the Devil to keep the stuff in stock.  Ok, we didn't steal or deal with the fellow downstairs, but we honestly did the rest to get booster boxes in stock.  Wizards of the Coast is out of M:10 boosters.  All of our distributors are out of M:10 boosters.  We currently have a deal we are trying to work out with some of the Nor-Cal judges to get some in stock though, so don't worry.  Wizards claims they will begin shipping a second print-run of M:10 around August 14th, and then the craziness should go back to normal.  Until then, I apologize for the slightly more expensive boosters, but it is necessary and will end as soon as we stop having to pay so much through our sources.

Now for the person who is kind/bored enough to actually read this thing, we'd love it if you took the time to leave a comment/rating on our daviswiki page and our Yelp.com page.  A lot of people find us through the internet and when given the choice between Drom's and the other store in town, it would help us grow faster if people were given good reasons to try us first.  (Get the Joe Cocker reference now?)

Also, we'd like to hear your most memorable or favorite moment at the shop, so get on over to our Contact Us page and let us know.  We'll post a few of them on the blog to share with everybody.

For you comic guys who are waiting for Wes to grace this blog with his wisdom, please feel free to bring it up to him.  If you do though, be sure to ask him how the toy sales are doing.  =)

Thanks for reading!

-Jenkins

Monday July 13th, 2009

Magic: 2010 Prerelease and Our Increasing Numbers

Another crazy weekend.  Yesterday we had our Magic: 2010 prerelease.  Yes on a Sunday.  We are a small store so we figured a lot of people would be going to the larger events to get as much trading in as possible, so maybe we would draw in some extra people by having our event on an off day, you know, to maybe reach our Wizards imposed 36 player cap.  We'd been doing this in the past and it's been working pretty well.  At 12:55 we reached our cap, with more people walking through the door every minute and other people already driving to the store.  Anybody who has ever been to a smaller Magic tournament knows they never start on time because players are always late.  We kind of freaked out because last time we reached our cap this early we ended up turning away 20-30 people, many of whom I don't think I've seen back since.  Wizards didn't really want us to do more than 36 but we ended up breaking that rule in favor of turning away business.  Besides, the more players we had the more prizes we could give out, right?  By the time everything was settled, we had 45 registered players, with one person leaving due to the lack our lack of space and organization.  By around 1:30 or 2:00, we got everything figured out and Wes and Riki each saved the day in their own ways.  Wes got us more space (and free soda) at Woodstock's Pizza, just a couple of doors down from us, and Riki had three boxes of the new stuff he was willing to lend us.  Riki watched over the Woodstock's tables and the other 34 players stayed in the store.

This is what 45 deck builders looks like... you know, just in case you were wondering.

In the end, it all worked out.  45 players built decks, played some games, got some promos and prereleased Magic cards and had some fun.  At the end of round 5, we ended the tournament and one of our newer guys, Hugo took it down at 5-0.  He got his 20 Magic: 2010 boosters and got out of Dodge.  Afterwards there was a 17 player side draft that lasted until about 2:30 am for the true fiends.

I'll be on the phone with Wizards later this week to discuss our numbers, so maybe next time we can be ready for more people.  It seems we might need to work out a deal with Woodstocks for every prerelease, as our numbers are only growing.  45 players in Davis during the Summer seems pretty serious.

In the coming days and weeks we'll be blogging about the new Magic rules, Evo 2009, the upcoming EDH events and customers' most memorable Drom's moments.

-Jenkins

Sunday July 5th, 2009

One Year and Two Days

We are all recovering from the Drom's Comics & Cards one year anniversary celebration we held on Friday.  It was a lot of fun, and despite having 35 Friday Night Magic (FNM) players in addition to their friends and other customers, everbody seemed to have had a good time.  That's an accomplishment that should be credited to everybody in attendance.  We started FNM even later than I had planned (and I had planned on starting at Blake's usual 6 PM arrivial time), but we started seating at around 6:15 with only a few people getting antsy.  With so many people (our average FNM is probably about 25), it took a few minutes to get all the chairs and tables together, but we got there.

Once everybody was seated it was time to start the first annual Drom's Comics & Cards Customer Appreciation Awards (Drommies).  That whole affair went something like this:

"I would like to say a few things before we start drafting tonight."

The room gets a bit more quiet.

"Drom's has now been in business for one year and two days!"

Everybody cheered and lost their minds for a few seconds, and it felt good.  To have such support through something that takes so much time and effort for no financial reward so far is fantastic.  That's what makes it worth it to us.

"You guys are the reason we are still here and we wanted to show you guys our appreciation for your support over the past year, so we came up with these awards for you.  Please understand that my initial idea was for them to be genuine and nice, but as we thought about more and more people it began to turn into a roast.  We had even more awards thought up, but there weren't appropriate so we had to can 'em.  So we are going to start with, 'The best swirly award (aka the worst dare award)' which goes to..."  It was a bit difficult to make the whole room hear me through the laughter and nobody was keeping a straight face at this point, but once it quited down enough I announced the winner.  "Dylan!"  More laughter.  "Do you want to keep your award or do you want it posted on the wall for the year?"  On the wall it goes.  The whole award "Ceremony" went a lot like this, with Wes taking over at the half-way point.  This was probably the most fun part of the night.  

Here is a full list of winners:

The Best Sportsman Award:  Norm

The "No Longer Collin" Award:  Collin

The New Collin Award:  Harris

The Epic Match-Up Award:  John Wang & John Wu

The Scrub of the year Award:  Luis Scott-Vargas

The “Biggest ego” Award:  Chris “The Gathering” Gathers

The Common Box King Award:  Pedro

The Hardcore Trading Award:  Stephen

The Sugar-Daddy Award:  Sterling

The Bail Bondsman Award:  Riki Hayashi

The Biggest Jerk of the Year Award:  The Guy in the Obama Mask

The Most Improved EDH Player Award:  Marty

The Youngest Player to Beat Wes at Street Fighter IV Award:  Santi

The Biggest Spike Award:  Eirik

The Biggest Timmy Award:  Paul G.

The Best Swirly Award (Worst Dare Award):  Dylan

The “It’s Called Elder Dragon Highlander!” Award:  Gaurav

The Best Street Fighter IV Trainer Award:  Brian Urbano

The Most Consistently Late to Events Award:  Blake

The I Love Red And Blue Tights Award: Paul Clark

The Craziest Eyes of the Year award: Sam

The “I’ve got the flier” award: Stuart

The “Mine’s Worth More Than Yours” Award: Brian Six

The “Oh Heck, Give Me a Box” Award: Will

The “Street Fighter Master” Award: Tanaka

The Biggest Draft Fiend Award: Alvin

The Least Regular Regular Award: Fernando Torres

The “It’s Broke? I Can fix This!” Award: Muga Jack

The “Most Tramatized by Wes” Award: Mike P.

The "How Hard’s Your Job?” Award:  Wes

The I don’t know ask Mark Award: Jinx

The I don’t know ask Jinx Award: Mark

Yes, it was THAT fun.

Once the awards were all done, we handed out the draft sets and got to work.  Luis Scott-Vargas suggested that we offer a pack to anybody who beats him that night, so we offered a draft set to the first person to beat him.  Somebody did end up beating him, and the picture we got out of it was definitely worth the draft set:

Christian posing with his hard-earned draft set.

For the rest of the night, it was a lot of business as usual, with a lot of smack-talk, mana-screw, Street Fighter IV matches and X-Men vs Street Fighter grudge matches.  After hours there was more to talk about, but I'll save that for next time.

-Jenkins

Stephen hamming it up.