Weekend Comic Chat - Post San Diego Comic-Con News and Such!

This year's San Diego Comic-Con was a week ago and amongst all the reports of new comics to come from Marvel and DC and of course tons of movie and television news, I caught a glimpse of this image and was thrilled to read that Alan Moore's next installment of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century will indeed see comic shop racks early next year! Top Shelf Productions backed it up with a slide of the art of this page.

It's not a lot to go on so far with just this one page, but I'm excited nonetheless! I'm thrilled just to check a glimpse of new material featuring the League. If you want to read more about this next installment, check out the Top Shelf Productions listing.

I think the other announcement I am most pleased with was word of a Rocketeer Anthology series that will see today's biggest talents giving us their take on Dave Stevens' classic character in all new original stories. According to IDW editor Scott Dunbier, those big talents "will include Mike Allred, Kurt Busiek, John Cassaday, Darwyn Cooke, Michael Golden, Gene Ha, Michael Kaluta, Garry Leach, Bruce Timm, Bill Willingham, and more. Mike Allred is writing and drawing his, Kurt Busiek is writing a story for Michael Kaluta, John Cassaday and Darwyn Cooke are both writing and drawing their stories," Dunbier said. "There will be some pin-ups by Geoff Darrow, Art Adams, Jeff Campbell, Mike Mignola, a bunch of different guys."

What news out of San Diego this year seemed most exciting to you? Anyone attend the show and want to share their adventures? Feel free to comment and let us know!

Before he was Kato...

...Bruce Lee had to audition! Give this a view. It's Bruce Lee's original screen test for the Green Hornet television show. I found it rather fascinating and completely entertaining!

Happy Belated Birthday Bugs!

Bugs Bunny turned 70 years old this week! He shares his birthday with the relentless hunter of "wabbits", Elmer Fudd. While prototypes of their characters made appearances in earlier cartoons, the Merry Melody short, "A Wild Hare", directed by Tex Avery and released on July 27, 1940, is considered the first appearance of both Elmer and Bugs in their fully developed forms. This short holds the distinction of being the first cartoon where Mel Blanc voiced Bugs and asked that timeless question "What's up, Doc?", and Blanc's recognizable version of the voice of Bugs is still the standard we know today.

So Happy Birthday, Bugs! And you too Elmer! Enjoy the cartoon!



That's all, folks!

I am OUT of here

Later skaters! Karen and I are dragging Max and Leni to Florida for a couple of weeks to pester the oldsters, starting tomorrow. Jared and Joe and their minions have the reigns of the blog, as I don't know what kind of access I'll have for the duration so BE NICE. I'll probably pop in here and there... but for now... ROAD TRIP!

Manager Jared's Weekly Matchup Poll Playoffs #9

We have the goddess Wonder Woman, with all her strength and wisdom! We have the bouncing, wise cracking, web spewing Spider-Man! Will Spider-Man jump circles around Wonder Woman OR will Wonder Woman lasso Spider-Man and make him tell the truth, that he cannot defeat the female fury?

Only you can decide.

Wonder Woman's Abilities: Superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, stamina, and durability. Flight (only after 1960)Superior hand-to-hand and weapons combat skills, animal empathy,regeneration, resistance to magic, ability to discern truth, access to magical weaponry.

Spider-Man's Abilities: Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and durability. Accelerated healing factor, ability to cling to most surfaces. Able to shoot extremely strong and durable spider-web strings from wrists. Precognitive spider sense. Genius-Level Intellect.

Online Surveys & Market Research

Don't forget to tell us why you voted the way you did in the comments section! Its easy, free, and commitment free!

(Descriptions of characters powers retrieved from Wikipedia.)

Scott Pilgrim Back in Stock!

YES! It's true! Both stores have SCOTT PILGRIM Volume 6 on our stores shelves! If you reserved a copy last week, it is here for you now! Read, rejoice, and be happy!

That is all!

There has to be a great story behind TWO TAVERNS, PA

A list of unusual Pennsylvania town names:

Admire, Advance, Alaska, Asylum, Atlas, Barking, Beartown, Beersville, Big Beaver, Bird in Hand, Blue Goose, Bonus, Boot Jack, Breakneck, Bully Hill, Burning Bush, Burnt Cabins, Burnt Mills, Butztown, Caketown, Calif, Coon Hunter, Corner Store, Coseytown, Coupon, Cracker Jack,, Crucible, Curfew, Cyclone, Defiance, Delaware, Desire, Dice, Dime, Distant, Dog Town, Dogtown, Donation, Economy, Effort, Egypt, Eighty Four, Elephant, Energy, Experiment, Fairchance, Fairplay, Fallentimber, Fearnot, Fertility, Foot of Ten, Forty Fort, Forward, Frisbie, Frogtown, Frugality, Germany, Glen Campbell, Good Intent, Goodtown, Gravity, Gringo, Hazard, Hearts Content, Henry Clay, Hicksville, Hooker, Hop Bottom, Hungry Hollow, Husband, Ice Mine, Idaho, India, Iowa, Japan, Jerkwater, Jim Thorpe, Jugtown, Justus, Korn Krest, Limerick, Little Hope, Live Easy, Loyalsock, Loyalsockville, Mars, Mexico, Moon, Moosehead, Moscow, Mount Misery, Mustard, Nanty Glo, Nebraska, Needmore, Neversink, Normalville, Norway, Number Thirty-Seven, Ohiopyle, Oklahoma, Ono, Option, Oregon, Owls Nest, Owltown, Pancake, Panic, Peach Bottom, Pennypack, Peru, Picture Rocks, Pigs Ear, Pillow, Pilltown, Pithole City, Pocahontas, Poorman Side, Porkey, Possum Hollow, Promised Land, Purdytown, Puzzletown, Red Hot, Reduction, Rolling Stone, Rough and Ready, Scalp Level, Scotland, Seven Stars, Slippery Rock, Snufftown, Stalker, Stiltz, Stoner, Stoopville, Swamproot, Sweden, Tallyho, Telescope, Texas, Tingley, Torpedo, Transfer, Turkey City, Turkey Run, Turkeyfoot, Turkeytown, Turnip Hole, Turtlepoint, Two Lick, Two Taverns, Unicorn, Uno, Virginville, Walkchalk, Wapwallopen, Wawa, Whiskerville, Wildcat, Wyoming, Yellow Hammer, PA.


Found HERE at the Internet Accuracy website. What a hoot. How many of these towns have YOU been to?

AAAAAHHH!

WALKING DEAD PREVIEW TRAILER:



AAAAAAHHH!

DrawerBoxes™ return!

Comix Connection has recently received a small shipment of the fabulous DrawerBoxes™!

Get 'em while they're hot!

I WANT ONE OF THESE PLEASE

Cool beans.

YES WE HAVE SCOTT PILGRIM VOLUME 6

NO, SCRATCH THAT, WE'VE SOLD OUT, MORE IN BY FRIDAY AND MORE ON THE WAY AFTER THAT. RESERVE YOUR COPY TODAY!

It's coming!

Saturday and Sunday, August 28-29

The amazing guest list:

Mike and Laura Allred, Sergio Aragones, Ivan Brandon, Tom Brevoort, Jim Calafiore, Eric Canete, Bernard Chang, Howard Chaykin, Sean Chen, Cliff Chiang, Frank Cho, Mike Choi, Steve Conley, Amanda Conner, Shane Davis, Dan DiDio, Al Feldstein, Ramona Fradon, Francesco Francavilla, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Ron Garney, Sterling Gates, Bryan J.L. Glass, Mike Gold, Michael Golden, Cully Hamner, Gabriel Hardman, Dean Haspiel, Marc Hempel, Jonathan Hickman, Greg Horn, Adam Hughes, Jamal Igle, Georges Jeanty, Van Jensen, Geoff Johns, J.G. Jones, Denis Kitchen, Barry Kitson, Rich Koslowski, Michael Lark, Greg LaRocque, Erik Larsen, Norman Lee, Jay Leisten, Steve Lieber, Joe Linsner, Luna Brothers, David Mack, Clay Mann, Laura Martin, Ron Marz, Todd McFarlane, Mark McKenna, Mike McKone, Bob McLeod, Pop Mhan, Terry Moore, Mark Morales, Chris Moreno, Sean Murphy, Steve Niles, Phil Noto, Denny O’Neil, Ryan Ottley, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jeff Parker, Andrew Pepoy, Lauren Perry, David Petersen, Brandon Peterson, Chris Pitzer and Adhouse Books, Paul Pope, Eric Powell, Brian Pulido, Jack Purcell, Mike Raicht, Tom Raney, Chris Roberson, James Robinson, Budd Root, Don Rosa, Craig Rousseau, Stephane Roux, Jim Rugg, Tim Sale courtesy of Hero Initiative, Stuart Sayger, Bob Schreck and IDW, Louise and Walter Simonson, Jim Shooter, Allison Sohn, Andy Smith, John K. Snyder III, Jim Starlin, Brian Stelfreeze, Paul D. Storrie, Karl Story, Billy Tan, Ben Templesmith sponsored by Laughing Ogre Comics, Mark Texeira, Bob Tinnell, Herb Trimpe, Timothy Truman, Billy Tucci, Dexter Vines, Neil Vokes, Doug Wagner, Matt Wagner, Mark Waid and Boom! Studios, Mark Wheatley, Ron Wilson, Marv Wolfman, John Workman, Bernie Wrightson, Kelly Yates, Chrissie Zullo …and more to come!


PLEASE NOTE: I am very sad to report that Comix Connection will NOT have a booth at this year's Baltimore Comic-Con due to schedule conflicts in August. We've been set up at all ten previous Baltimore shows and this makes us very sad. Mark Nathan runs the best convention in the country... if you like comic books, you really should attend. It's easy to get to via Light Rail and Baltimore is a great city! GO!

CRABS! Comic books! Need I say more?

While the kids are away...

... we finally get to do some sprucing up around the house.

My kids are with their aunts in Chincoteague, VA for an entire week so Karen and I are tackling about fourteen projects we've been putting off since we moved in to this house six years ago.

So I got nothing. Later.

This is how it ends, not with a bang but with a whimper™

It's come to this:



Link

That's right, an artist has trademarked the "Anarchy" symbol. This supremely monumental irony will cause the universe to collapse upon itself in a singularity of ridiculosity. It's been fun, y'all!

A milestone of sorts

We just hit over ONE MILLION PAGE VIEWS on this weblog.

CLICK HERE to see our stats. Thanks everybody for coming here and checking our site out over the years. We post something every single day and have done that since October 13th, 2005. Just thought you'd like to know!

WOOT!

Read more about the awesome upcoming WALKING DEAD TV show HERE!

PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO A SHIPPING DELAY (EAST COAST), WALKING DEAD VOLUME 12 trade paperback will not ship on July 21st as originally noted, but will now ship on WEDNESDAY, JULY 28TH! NO LIE!

Don't forget

OK, now that you've sampled the first issue of Brian Keene's THE LAST ZOMBIE #1, what are you waiting for? SIGN UP FOR THE SERIES ALREADY. Let your friendly neighborhood Comix Connection Counter Monkey know that you want subsequent issues and we will drop each new one into your Pull/Hold box as they arrive! Simple!

Sheesh.

This is the kind of stuff that cracks me up

Once a month I work on the Diamond Comics Distributors orders for both stores. It's a time-consuming process and I need to pay strict attention so that I don't miss something cool or order fourteen hundred copies of ARCHIE #678 or whatever. I tend to spend a weekend on the monthly orders and try to at least skim over every single solicitation. There are close to 2000 items in an average order form and my diligent reading of this month's catalog yielded me this:



Now look closer:


TOO FUNNY! I can only assume that was a note by one of the copy writer/editors of PREVIEWS to to remind himself to come up with some snappy patter or "riff" on the product in question. I assume he never got around to coming up with something for this item, and his shorthand note went through the various stages unseen and and ended up as the actual printed copy for this item.

After three days of staring at this computer screen, this makes me laugh.

That is all.

(PS: THANKS to all of you who get their PREVIEWS orders in to us by the Due Date which is printed in PREVIEWS and appears on our sidebar every month. Believe it or not, if I add things in after the due date, we get charged and extra 3%, so your punctuality is greatly appreciated and doesn't cost me extra. THANKS!)

Manager Jared's Weekly Matchup Poll Playoffs #8

Nightcrawler's Abilities: Teleportation, enhanced night vision, superhuman acrobat/gymnast, Prehensile tail, Ability to stick to walls, Blending into shadows,
Skilled in martial arts, hand to hand combat and fencing training.

Green Arrow's Abilities: Superb archer and athlete; skilled martial artist and swordsman.

Online Surveys & Market Research

Don't forget to tell us why you voted the way you did in the comments section! Its easy, free, and commitment free!

(Descriptions of characters powers retrieved from Wikipedia.)

A Sad Day

Cleveland comic book legend Harvey Pekar, dead at age 70.

Harvey Pekar, the creator of the first real true-to-life non-adventures-of-an-average-guy-comics has passed away today. He was 70.


I first ran across Harvey's stuff at a head/record shop in York back in the '70s that sold (amongst other things) Underground! Comics! After picking up all the FABULOUS FURRY FREAK BROTHERS comics and ZAPs, I found a title called AMERICAN SPLENDOR, a comic written by a Veteran's Administration file clerk from Cleveland, Ohio. The writer, Harvey Pekar, told stories of the trials and tribulations of a mundane existence, but in a way that made them extremely compelling. The stories were bare-bones honest observations of the day-to-day existence of people like you and me. A number of the old "underground" artists illustrated his stories - notably Robert Crumb, whose work I continue to devour to this day. Many people know Harvey Pekar from his appearances on The David Letterman Show and from the movie based on his life and work AMERICAN SPLENDOR, or even from his award-winning graphic novel OUR CANCER YEAR (a harrowing account of Harvey's years-long treatment for cancer), but I will always think of Harvey as that guy that did those comics about... nothing... that actually meant something. Many writers have followed his example with less than stellar results. Harvey's stories came from the pit of his stomach and from the bottom of his heart.


My condolences to Joyce Brabner and all of those who loved Harvey. He was a true American original, a comic legend, and he will be missed. I guess I'll dig out my incomplete run of AMERICAN SPLENDOR and re-read them. I know I won't be disappointed. Thanks for telling your story.

R.I.P. Harvey Pekar.

X-MEN PARTY WEEKEND PRIZE WINNERS!

OK folks, here's the list of winners of the cool rare X-MEN #1 Variant cover comics:

COMIX CONNECTION - YORK

X-MEN #1 Blank Cover winners:
Katie Payne
Sue Marquet
Jason Mckenzie
Andy Totten
and Richard Rigney

X-MEN #1 Coipel Variant winners:
Victor Chavez
Zach Wilt
and John Fitzgerald

X-MEN #1 Djurdjevic Variant winners:
Keith Baker
and Dustin Breneman



COMIX CONNECTION - MECHANICSBURG

X-MEN #1 Blank Cover winners:
Pat Ullmen
Edward Gundrum
Matthew Caylor
Michele Mixell
Nick Bramer

X-MEN #1 Copiel Variant winners:
Bill Phoenix
Jeremy Leonhard
Liz Kapp

X-MEN #1 Djurdjevic Variant winners:
Carol Nelson
Clifford Beam

X-MEN #1 John Romita JR Cover Winner:
Edward Blust II

Thanks for playing everyone! You'll be contacted by phone or the prizes will be dropped in your pull-hold box!

THE LAST ZOMBIE PrizeDrawing Winners!

Here is the list of luck Prize Winners from yesterday's THE LAST ZOMBIE Release Party at Comix Connection - York! You will be contacted by phone or just ask one of the Counter Monkeys to help you out!

Darren Wildason - 10 Marvel Variant Comics

Nikki Graybeal - Pointy Max Uglydoll

Jamie - Kids summer pack-o-fun

Rod Grim - a T-shirt of your choice

Mike Lombard - Regular Free Comic Book Day Totebag

Mike Stevens - Deluxe Free Comic Book Day Totebag

Lori Shaffner - Watchmen Hardcover Collected Edition

Matt Blazi - Star Wars DH100 Variant Comic

Susan Scofield - Gambit Classics Collected Edition

Dan Marquette - $5 Gift Certificate

Greg Hall - $5 Gift Certificate

Heather Derr - $5 Gift Certificate

Joe Maynard - $5 Gift Certificate

Mike Antonio - $5 Gift Certificate

Thanks for all the canned food donations everyone! The York Rescue Mission and those less fortunate will be very grateful!

Well that was all kinds of fun!

It's not a party without cake!

Thanks to everyone who came out to yesterday's LAST ZOMBIE Release Party featuring special guests Brian Keene and Mike Hawthorne! A fun time was had by all! Comic books were autographed, bargains were found, cans of food were donated to the York Rescue Mission... all in all a great day! THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO DONATED! Very cool. There's a lot of food that will go to those who need it the most. Thanks!

Here's a couple of pictures from the event:

Manager Jared shows off his mad weighing skilz.

Jim contemplates celebrity and art.

An early look at Mike Hawthorne's CONAN!

"The Person Who Donates The Most Food By Weight Gets A Sketch By Mike Hawthorne Of Them As A Zombie" winner, Diane Marquette.

Look at all that food you guys donated to the York rescue Mission! WAY TO GO!

For the full set of pictures, GO HERE to our Facebook page to view!

Thanks Brian, thanks Mike, thanks Counter Monkeys, and thank you all for making the event a great success!

TODAY!

TODAY AT COMIX CONNECTION - YORK:

Meet zombie expert Brian Keene from 12NOON to 4PM!

Meet CONAN artist Mike Hawthorne from 2PM to 4PM!

BRING US CANNED FOOD DONATIONS FOR THE YORK RESCUE MISSION! FOR EVERY FOOD ITEM YOU DONATE, YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE ENTRY INTO THE FABULOUS PRIZE DRAWING! THE MORE FOOD ITEMS YOU DONATE, THE MORE CHANCES YOU HAVE OF WINNING A PRIZE!

ALL COMICS IN THE BACK ISSUE BINS are ONE DOLLAR EACH all day!

ALL THE OLDER COMICS ON THE BACK WALL are 25% OFF all day!

Read all about it here on York Weekend!

See you there!

Meet horror novelist BRIAN KEENE

Meet acclaimed horror novelist Brian Keene tomorrow, Saturday July 10th from 12NOON until 4PM at Comix Connection - York in the West Manchester Mall!

Come on out to the store to chat with Brian and snag a copy of his latest comic release THE LAST ZOMBIE #1 from Antarctic Press which he will gleefully autograph! Meet the spooky brain behind such classics of modern horror as THE RISING, TERMINAL, CITY OF THE DEAD, THE CONQUEROR WORMS, GHOUL and more! It would also be a perfect time to pick up a copy of Marvel's DEAD OF NIGHT: DEVIL SLAYER collection featuring the (fleeting) first-time guest appearance of BILL WAHL in the Marvel Universe! See just how twisted Brian Keene can be as he destroys me in the first chapter (paving the way for... ZOMBIE BILL WAHL?)

ALSO:

WE WILL BE GATHERING CANNED FOOD DONATIONS FOR THE YORK RESCUE MISSION! FOR EVERY FOOD ITEM YOU DONATE, YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE ENTRY INTO THE PRIZE DRAWING! THE MORE FOOD YOU DONATE, THE MORE CHANCES YOU HAVE OF WINNING A PRIZE!

SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY CONAN ARTIST MIKE HAWTHORNE, who will provide a special prize to the person who brings in the most food donation by weight! Please note that Mike will be arriving around 2PM!

THERE IS ALSO A HUGE day-long sale:

ALL COMICS IN THE BACK ISSUE BINS are ONE DOLLAR EACH all day!

ALL THE OLDER COMICS ON THE BACK WALL are 25% OFF all day!

SEE YOU SATURDAY!

X-MEN PARTY DAY and weekend SALE!

That's right! The eagerly-awaited X-MEN PARTY is TODAY! Celebrate the release of Marvel's new X-MEN #1 with the gang at both Comix Connection locations!

Come on in and sample:

1) FREE DOUGHNUT HOLES while supplies last!
2) ALL TRADE PAPERBACKS and GRAPHIC NOVELS that have to do with the X-MEN are 25% OFF until Sunday, July 11th at 5PM!
3) Enter the Prize Drawing to win tons of cool stuff including Gift Certificates and Rare Variant Cover Comics!
4) Ask for your FREE CODE NAME! Tell them BIRTHMARKFACE® sent you!



CLICK HERE for your awesome X-MEN RELATIONSHIP MAP!

See you at the stores!

Brian Keene's THE LAST ZOMBIE RELEASE PARTY update!

As you know, Comix Connection - York will be hosting a release party for horror novelist Brian Keene this Saturday from 12NOON until 4PM when you can have Brian sign copies of his newly-released comic THE LAST ZOMBIE #1! Here's what we have lined up:

ALL COMICS IN THE BACK ISSUE BINS are ONE DOLLAR EACH ALL DAY from 10AM until 9PM!

ALL THE OLDER COMICS ON THE BACK WALL are 25% OFF ALL DAY FROM 10AM until 9PM!

WE WILL BE GATHERING CANNED FOOD DONATIONS FOR THE YORK RESCUE MISSION! FOR EVERY FOOD ITEM YOU DONATE, YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE ENTRY INTO THE PRIZE DRAWING! THE MORE FOOD YOU DONATE, THE MORE CHANCES YOU HAVE OF WINNING A PRIZE! CONAN ARTIST MIKE HAWTHORNE WILL BE DONATING A SKETCH TO THE PERSON WHO BRINGS IN THE MOST FOOD BY WEIGHT!

UPDATE:
PLEASE NOTE: ARTIST MIKE HAWTHORNE WILL NOT BE ARRIVING UNTIL 2:00PM, so plan accordingly. Sorry about that, everyone!

Check out Brian Keene's novels including THE RISING, TERMINAL, CITY OF THE DEAD, THE CONQUEROR WORMS, GHOUL and more! It would also be a perfect time to pick up a copy of Marvel's DEAD OF NIGHT: DEVIL SLAYER, which collects the four-issue mini-series, featuring Comix Connection's own BILL WAHL (it doesn't end well!)

Come on out and meet Brian Keene and Mike, grab some cool stuff and get it autographed and find some back issue bargains!

(PLEASE NOTE! THIS EVENT AND SALE IS ONLY HAPPENING AT COMIX CONNECTION - YORK!)

IT'S COME TO THIS!

We're finally BACK TO THE FUTURE!

***UPDATE: Sadly, it's a HOAX!***

Manager Jared's Weekly Matchup Poll Playoffs #7

WOLVERINE'S ABILITIES: Regenerative healing factor, superhuman senses, strength, agility, stamina, reflexes and longevity. Adamantium-laced skeletal structure.
Retractable adamantium-laced bone claws. Expert martial artist.

POWER GIRL'S ABILITIES: Super strength, speed & stamina, multiple extra sensory and vision powers, invulnerability, flight.

GO!

Online Surveys & Market Research

Don't forget to tell us why you voted the way you did in the comments section! Its easy, free, and commitment free!

(Descriptions of characters powers retrieved from Wikipedia.)

Just a reminder

1) New comics and stuff will ship one day late this week on THURSDAY!



2) THURSDAY is the X-MEN PARTY! To celebrate the release of Marvel's X-MEN #1, all X-MEN trade paperbacks and graphic novels are 25% OFF until 5PM Sunday! Free doughnut holes on Thursday while they last! Drawings for Variant Cover Comics! You may be assigned a Code Name!


3) Release Party for Brian Keene's THE LAST ZOMBIE #1 is THIS SATURDAY at Comix Connection - York! Meet horror novelist Brian Keene and Conan artist Mike Hawthorne! THERE IS ALSO A HUGE day-long sale: ALL COMICS IN THE BACK ISSUE BINS are ONE DOLLAR EACH and all the older books on the back wall are 25% OFF all day! PLUS: We are gathering canned food donations for the York rescue Mission... the person who donates the most food by weight gets an original sketch by Mike Hawthorne of them AS A ZOMBIE! Plus, for every can donated, you will receive an entry into our prize drawing, so bring it on!

It's gonna be a fun week!

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

(How come when I Google "Independence Day" all I see are pictures of Will Smith? Has it really come to this? Hollywood bubblegum blockbusters are bigger than celebrating the best government the world has ever seen? Yeesh.)

A few tidbits on celebrating the Fourth of July, from Wikipedia:

* In 1777, thirteen gunshots were fired, once at morning and again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern American would find quite familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships were decked with red, white, and blue bunting
* In 1778, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute. Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France
* In 1779, July 4 fell on a Sunday. The holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5
* In 1781, the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration
* In 1783, Moravians in Salem, North Carolina, held a celebration of July 4 with a challenging music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter. This work was titled "The Psalm of Joy"
* In 1791 the first recorded use of the name "Independence Day" occurred
* In 1820 the first Fourth of July celebration was held in Eastport, Maine which remains the largest in the state
* In 1870, the U.S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.
* In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday

HERE'S a great link I found detailing the Declaration of Independence, including the physical document's early travels (emphasis added):

Assuming that the Declaration moved with the Congress, it would have been back in Philadelphia from March to September 1777. On September 27, it would have moved to Lancaster, PA, for 1 day only. From September 30, 1777, through June 1778, the Declaration would have been kept in the courthouse at York, PA. From July 1778 to June 1783, it would have had a long stay back in Philadelphia. In 1783, it would have been at Princeton, NJ, from June to November, and then, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the Declaration would have been moved to Annapolis, MD, where it stayed until October 1784. For the months of November and December 1784, it would have been at Trenton, NJ. Then in 1785, when Congress met in New York, the Declaration was housed in the old New York City Hall, where it probably remained until 1790 (although when Pierre L'Enfant was remodeling the building for the convening of the First Federal Congress, it might have been temporarily removed).

An interesting read on this, our most hallowed patriotic anniversary.

Now what shall I do with all these dangerous fireworks I have?

I am this much closer

To my promised flying car. CLICK HERE for the full story! You all missed my birthday, but if you start saving now you can get me this for Christmas. Thanks!

So what do you think?

What do you think of Wonder Woman's newly-redesigned costume by artist Jim Lee? Tell us how you really feel in the comments!

Personally, I like this one, incorporating more classical elements:



Click here to read about it.

And it's nice to see Fox News being fairly unbalanced in their slant -er- take on the issue. (Memo to FOX: There aren't actually any Reds under your bed.)

NEXT WEEK'S COMICS

NEXT WEEK'S COMIC SHIPMENT WILL BE DELAYED ONE DAY DUE TO THE HOLIDAY AND WILL SHIP ON THURSDAY this week! Just so you know. You can still come in, just don't expect this week's new stuff until Thursday. LIKE:

COMIX CONNECTION IS hosting an X-MEN PARTY on Thursday at both stores to celebrate the release of Marvel Comics' new X-MEN #1!

There will be:

1) PRIZE DRAWINGS FOR VARIANT COVER COMICS!

2) FREE ASSORTED FLAVOR DOUGHNUT HOLES!

3) ALL X-MEN COLLECTED EDITIONS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS WILL BE A WHOPPING 25% OFF FROM 10AM THURSDAY JULY 8TH THROUGH SUNDAY JULY 11TH AT 5PM! If it has to do with the X-MEN and it has a squarebound spine, it's 25% OFF!

4) YOU MAY POSSIBLY BE GIVEN SPECIAL X-MEN "CODENAMES" FOR THE DURATION OF THE SALE! SEE STINKBOMB® AND UNICORN® FOR MORE DETAILS!

AND LIKE:

And don't forget, Comix Connection - York will be helping Brian Keene celebrate the release of his new comic book THE LAST ZOMBIE #1 from Antarctic Press. The release party is NEXT SATURDAY July 10th at Comix Connection - York from NOON until 4PM in the West Manchester Mall! CLICK HERE for more details!