click on this to make this bigger!

Wanna see/enjoy/purchase/take home some awesome art by some hilarious local dudes?! Of course you do! Come out next Friday February 3rd at 7pm (that’s about whhttp://bravenewworldscomics.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpen they should be here) and learn just like us what the heck Hammy Sparkle is even about. It’ll be worth it…and heck buy something. These guys need some comic purchasing money!

Here’s the facebook event.

Lookit! It's Q!

To be honest Rob and I are freaking out about this.  John de Lancie is freakin’ Q for crying out loud! I mean seriously the Borg, Q, Holodeck and Lore episodes were the best ones on Next Gen! We both remember looking for John de Lancie’s name in the opening credits for any sort of hint of it being a badass episode (just like I did/still do with William B. Davis in the opening credits of X-Files). So when we were asked if we were willing to host a signing for Q himself while he was in Philadelphia we had to say YES!

Here’s the deal everyone!:Mr. de Lancie will be stopping by our Old City location on Saturday January 21st at 3pm (we’re not sure how long he’ll be here) signing autographs, for a fee of $25. I’m sure he’ll also be glad to answer all your unanswered/burning Multiplicity questions or maybe regale us with tales of time on the set with acting legends such as Patrick Stewart and LeVar Burton. This really is a huge honor, as well as huge surprise, for the crew here at BNW so be sure to take advantage of this (maybe make it a party a la Q himself)!

JOHN DE LANCIE

SATURDAY JANUARY 21st

3PM

OLD CITY

BE THERE!

The Sonic Generation Art Show  will be our featured art show for the month of December in our Old City gallery! This collection of super sweet art pays tribute to the 20th Anniversary of everyone’s favorite red shoe wearing, fox friend having, little animals captured and imprisoned in robots saving, evil doctor beating, loop-the-loop running, (chili dog loving)  blue speedy hedgehog: Sonic.  Artists from around the world have been sending in submissions so this is going to be one of our biggest and best shows to date! Be sure to get yourself down to Old City!

Sonic Generation Grand Opening (Official Show Site)

Friday December 2nd*

6-10pm

Old City

PS- This show could help you with your holiday shopping!

*(show up for the month of December)

I’m going to start this off by saying I’ve never been to a BIG convention before. This was my first. I’ve had good/mediocre times at the Philly Con (in it’s PRIME I’d borderline say great times) but as we all know that Con has transmogrified from being a Comic Convention into a C and D List Entertainment Convention. If I wanna meet WWE Super Star Virgil next year I know he’ll be coming to Philly.

As it seems with most of the Cons I got to, no matter what the size, I spend all of my time in Artist Alley. I like to talk to artists in a one on one manner, if they have the time. I tend not to swing by the big booths (they’re really crowded a lot of the time), I’m not gonna spend money at shops (let’s face it I spend all my time in a comic shop) and while I’d love to sit in on a panel to hear the news “first”, I’m not looking to spend time waiting in line or sitting cramped in a room full of people (every panel I’ve ever been to I’ve been sitting near the smelly guy or the annoying guy who has something to say about every talking point…and before you accuse me of being the smelly guy  I assure you the one time I have no idea how a human could smell like that). I’m getting ahead of myself though.

I had a great time! I arrived in NYC just before 11pm on Saturday night. My plan was to find my friend Sarah who lives in NY and meet up w/ her and have her show me a good time. She knows some comics people, as she used to write for Newsarama and her one good friend was an Editor on the Bat-books until recently, so I knew we’d end up somewhere cool. Little did I really know that I’d end up at the iFanboy/Marvel Comics Party. I’m pretty sure that Rob was a little fed up with my texts from about midnight to 2am. Spending those hours sitting around a table drinking beers and shooting the shit with (Uncanny X-Men/Journey Into Mystery scribe) Kieron Gillen and his wife Chrissy (who’s really awesomely hilarious btw), Jamie McKelvie (Phonogram and X-Men Season One artist) and Lauren Sankovitch (editor extraordinaire of Journey Into Mystery) made for an oddly awesome end to my day. Mix in the fact that I shook hands with Garth Ennis, actually physically bumped into John Romita Jr (I think), saw Dave Finch (what’s a DC guy doing there?), had to say excuse me and sorry to Jason Aaron (Scalped and Wolverine and the X-men) as I squeezed through the crowd carrying drinks (free ones btw…thanks iFanboy/Marvel) and at one point mid conversation looked up from my seat to see that Matt Fraction was standing next to me (me: “Hey man.” Matt Fraction: “Hi, how’re you doing?”). It was an awesome end to a crazy day that started in Philly at 10:30am and I hadn’t even been to the Con yet.

You may or may not know this but NYC is huge. I knew this but my brain + beers had to recalibrate this fact. The next day, my only day at the Con, it took a while to get from Brooklyn to Midtown. Between trains being out and having to take shuttle buses (why the F was that thing so damn warm?!), certain trains only being express and being sure to stop in and check on the status of Occupy Wall Street (which I’m glad I did) I got to the Con with plenty of time to see and do what I wanted to do.

Sarah needed to make contact with Ryan Kelly (artist of Local and both New York 4 and New York 5) to sure up dinner plans for that evening, after the con but before I took the bus home. As we were doing this my phone died. I had plans of taking tons of pictures, sending tons of tweets and meeting up with people but alas all hopes of doing that died. I mean when I walked by Fred Armisen on my way to the bathroom I’d have loved to have snagged a pic with him. But I couldn’t. When I talked to Becky Cloonan (swoon) for 15 min I would’ve loved to ask her for a pic with her (that shit woulda been my avatar/icon/profile pic for every form of digital communication I have). Finding BNW’s own Chris Beaumont’s CubeeCraft booth may have been easier had my phone worked (except he was right behind Becky Cloonan so I found him way easy). Also maybe just knowing what time it was could have helped me figure out what was going on around me.

Phone troubles be damned…I had a great time. That being said I’m not sure if Cons are for me. Unless there’s just a con out there where I get to meet and talk to awesome artists. I can do without all the videogame booths causing blockages in the aisles. I can do without all the cosplayers stopping every other second to pose for 5 guys with digital slr cameras, who need to get real low angle shots for some reason, when I’m trying to walk around. Who brings a stroller to a comic con!? Maybe if I had had more than one day there I would be signing a different tune. And maybe if I had a trillion more dollars in my pocket so that I could pay all the badass artists for commissions and art books that I couldn’t afford and had to, sadly, leave behind. I also wonder how tiring/stressful this whole weekend has to be for the creators…and did any of them get Monday off?!

Also I think I’ll probably go again…if the opportunity arises in the future.

What has originally started as a bit of a drunken-ish idea between ourselves and the local artist crews from around the city will now be taking shape and becoming a reality! Thanks to some last min planning, awesome people and an all around psyched attitude we are going to do our first ever LIVE DRAW MEGA JAM!

As of right now it’s being called (well at least in my mind): 3 Sheets to the Wind: The 1st Ever Live Mega Jam presented by BNW, PCS and the Philly Comix Jam with very special guests South Philly’s Own South Fellini!!!

Here’s how I originally posed the idea to the artists:

What I am sorta envisioning here is that we hang some very large sheets of paper on the wall (either in long roll form or in larger personal size for each person who comes out) and you just draw! Crazy go nuts! Maybe some people could play Exquisite Corpse or something of that ilk. Maybe you spend a few hours making up a sweet comic strip. Maybe you go with a Fall motif. Maybe you just try to see how many times you can draw me n Rob high-5-ing in all sorts of cool action poses! Maybe you take requests. I wanna say anything goes within reason (except I’m gonna have to say no crude nudie things or other inappropriate schtuff like that).  Use whatever medium you want (again within reason…don’t do an oil painting or use spray paint) in the creation.

Sounds pretty sweet right!? So why not come on down to Old City and check out awesome artists creating live in a very fun atmosphere! This will be the first time we’ve attempted a live drawing jam type show so let’s make this thing huge! I even hear that Tony Trov, of South Fellini, will be spinning some sweet tunes! This whole thing is probably gonna be the best thing goin’ anywhere this First Friday!

LIVE DRAW MEGA JAM feat EVERYONE AWESOME!

First Friday October 7th 2011

6-9pm

BNW OLD CITY

With the Earthquake on Tuesday and all the hype about this little girl named Irene who’s coming to visit weekend you may have missed a few things that are going on at BNW (specifically Old City). Time to play catch up!

•Have you been to Old City and seen what Spidey is sporting this week!? Yea! That’s

Look! It's Spidey rockin' the new BNW Gear!

correct. Spider-man is now wearing the brand spanking newly redesigned BNW Official Shirt! Which you can get your hands on now in all sizes for just $14.99(2XL $17.99)!!!

•We had a whole post about all the sweet new merch go up the other day (OVER HERE) but since I’m sucha nice guy I’ll post the info again right in this very post! Here ya go:

•This Tuesday night in Old City Rob and I will be up to no good for a while and then be up to lots of good as we see you Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1 at Midnight! Information for that is OVER HERE . Also there’s a Facebook event for this OVER HERE. So be sure to stay out late and bring your friends and get in on the ground floor for all of the changes coming to the DC Universe. For those of you who don’t understand what I mean by that or why this is a big deal and may need more information on that last sentence CLICK HERE  and also CLICK HERE

•The First Friday Show in Old City this coming September 2nd is being presented by the Philly Comix Jam. There’s info about it OVER HERE  and then go to the Facebook Event and say you’re attending…that’s OVER HERE. Be sure to come out to this because James Kochalka will actually be here! And then on Saturday he will be performing music (not at BNW but go to that too!!!!)

Have you ever found yourself standing outside BNW Old City late on a Tuesday night (maybe after visiting your favorite watering hole) wishing we were open and that you could get your hands on “Tomorrow’s Comics Today!”?…well you wont have to wish for that Next Week!

Swing by BNW Old City on Tuesday August 30th and at 12:01am  (aka Midnight on August 31st) we will be letting you get your grubby mitts on the end of Flashpoint  and the beginning of Justice League!* Be the first kid on the innernette to have read Flashpoint #5 and see how/if Barry can fix the mess that Zoom has made! At the same time be there for the rebirth of all things DC as Geoff Johns and Jim Lee give us Justice League #1!!!

We, Rob & myself, are look forward to seeing all of you there (and then back again later on Wednesday for the rest of the new books) and be sure to keep your eyes glued to the BNW Facebook and Twitter for further updates as we get close to this Midnight Release!

(Remember kids this is only going to be happening in Old City so please please please don’t be sitting outside the BNW Willow Grove at midnight that night wondering where the heck Eric, Lane, Rich and Dave are ’cause they’ll be at home in bed sleeping and the only thing open there will be the Wawa next door…)

*The rest of the new books for that day will go on sale when we open our doors at 11am Wednesday August 31st.

Rob's fave by Kochalka: Fancy Froglin's Sexy Forest

When Box Brown, of the Philly Comix Jam, proposed that their September First Friday Show be a Kochalka Tribute Showand that he may possibly make an appearance, and we had to keep it hush hush until details were ironed out, there was nothing we at BNW Old City could do but say “YES!” (then bite our tongues /keep from getting too liquored up as to not spill the beans)… Soooooo here I go as I spill those beans now!

Come celebrate the release of James Kochalka’s new book FUNGUS being published by Retrofit Comics! Friday night at Brave New Worlds: Philly Comix Jam Presents: A James Kochalka Inspired Art Show and Signing! (the facebook event page is HERE)

Be sure to clear your schedule, gather up all your copies of Fancy Froglin, American Elf, Dragon Puncher, Johnny Boo, Super F*ckers and Monkey vs Robot and get yourself down to BNW Old City on September 2nd from 6-9pm for a fantastic time!

The man, the myth and the legend that is Jamar.

You may know our old friend and local comics artist extraordinaire Jamar Nicholas from stuff like his webcomic Detective Boogaloo or from the simple fact that he’s an all around awesome guy to know and talk to with about art and comics. You may know, we hope because we’ve carried it, or may not know, shame on you in that case, that he published a graphic adaptation of the memoir by Geoffrey Canada, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Harlem Children’s Zone, called Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence.

Jamar will be in our Old City shop this Wednesday August 10th from 5pm-??? (?’s let you know the party is gonna be a good one…but most likely he’ll be there til we close at 8pm) signing copies of his book, doing sketches and as I cannot say enough being one of the genuinely nicest guys in comics.

So maybe this Wed plan your comics purchasing excursion around meeting Jamar and pick up a copy of his book otherwise he’ll be forced to deal with Rob and myself pitching him ideas that he will never ever want to draw in a million years (Gene Dewolfe a crazy man who believes he’s a werewolf but isn’t!…gold right?! Also don’t take that cause it’s mine!)…Why would he do a book like that when he’s got a KICKSTARTER going for his newest creation- Leon: the Protector of the Playground.

We hope that you can make it!:

Jamar Nicholas

Wednesday August 10th

5pm

Old City Lobby

If you have the issue in your collection (err i mean stack of comics on your nightstand/desk/toilet area[?] that you are meaning/promising to “clean up” or put in a bag and board and then fully catalog and index in a long box) go grab it…you’ll need it handy in the next 20 min or so while your brain is curious. In that issue, you’ll remember, our heroes were confronted by a chart of historic events, a timeline if you will, that showed them the events that were to come and helped them solve their problem.

It also gave us, the readers, a look into what Marvel had in store for us in the past, well now that I think about it, the past year! When the issue first came out I spent a Friday morning reading the chart and scrying the future out of it as best I could. If you missed that CLICK HERE

Let’s see how I did and take a look at it again. First here’s the Timeline:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Looks like I was unaware of Spidey joining the FF when I wrote:

•SPIDER ON THE HORIZON- There’s a dashed line going down with that written in a circle at the end of it. Whatever that means.

I still don’t know what Throwbacks means…maybe it’s Thunderbolts related?:

•THROWBACKS- up above that is the word Throwbacks. Who the heck knows what that means?! I sure don’t.

I seemed to have totally missed the meaning of Who Is Worthy (we all know that’s all Fear Itself stuff now) but I still don’t know ’bout this 9.9.9 business:

•FIVE LIGHTS- at the end of the Second Coming we saw those 5 lights signifying new mutants. This seems like it will be a big deal especially with the Generation Hope series coming just around the corner. Also on either side of that line and circled are “Who is worthy?” and “9.9.9″…

Maybe I’ve just known Black Bolt was going to return in the pages of FF:

•RETURN OF THE KING- I am guessing that this has nothing to do with LoTR but who knows. Is this reference to Black Panther, Thanos being badass or maybe Black Bolt.

Though I may have failed at the Blackest Night joke (cause seriously how many of you read these posts anyway) but could this have something to do with Fear Itself? Or could someone be taking a dirt nap soon?…:

•NIGHT FALLS- All the people who have died come back to life with the power of these mysterious black rings and try to kill all of Earth’s heroes…oh wait

Uh oh…does this mean things could get messy in the pages of Avengers: Childrens Crusade?:

•IRON LAD (RE)TURNS?- Does this mean the Young Avenger will come back or will turn on his team?

Will it be Doom that helps figure out how to stop all of those renegade Reeds in FF?:

•ALL HOPE LIES IN DOOM!- Valeria says this to Dr. Doom in the latest issue of the FF. What the heck is gonna happen here?! I can’t wait for Doom to do something Doom-ey. “Doom. Always Doom.”

Jason Aaron did say that Schism is going to be like the X-Men’s Civil War:

•SCHIZM!- This one is underlined. So there’s gonna be some sorta split? Like two sides that don’t agree…like some sorta civil war…hmm

Here’s that pesky Childrens Crusade again:

•WHERE IS WANDA?- At the end of an upward dashed line is a question about the Scarlett Witch. We haven’t seen her since basically the end of the House of M story…well we did see her when Clint Barton went to kill her for killing him but then just slept with her. Anyways she was hiding in the Alps.

In S.H.I.E.L.D., Uncanny X-Force, FF and Mighty Thor the word SEED has been thrown around a lot recently…I wonder what the deal with SEEDS could be?:

•GALACTUS SEED- Well there is a Galactus buried in the Earth. See Fantastic Four.

These next ones are X-Men related. We are getting the new X-Men series X-Men First to Last which is about yesterday’s X-Men but told today and Hope may still have some Phoenix stuff left to tell:

•YESTERDAYS X-MEN- Why is this written so far in the future? Does it not having a line attaching it to the larger timeline mean it doesn’t necessarily belong there? Does Beast get un-blue?

•BORN TO BURN- very faintly towards the top of the final dashed line it says born to burn. Phoenix? Is Hope really the Phoenix?

As we can see we still don’t have all of the answers to what’s written on this thing but we have some…and have found some more questions. Though I think it’s pretty darn sweet that these guys have done their job,come up with a plan and stuck with it over the last 10 months and still counting, and it’s worked. Way to go Marvel writers and editors! Also still being unsure of some of this stuff still gives me hope to more surprises yet to occur.

Think I’ve misread something or have missed something altogether leave a comment. Together we could probably figure this whole thing out.