Welcome to Taking a Shelfie! A brand new monthly series where we will suggest books, games and toys that we believe should be on your shelf. There will be themes, events and even suggestions from our followers.
February was the start of 2016’s superhero films. Deadpool brought us one of the most wall-breaking movies of the current generation and we are itching for more. March is another power-packed month bringing both Marvel’s Daredevil Season 2 to Netflix and DC Comic’s Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. So this inaugural issue of Taking a Shelfie is dedicated to all the fun coming to the small and big screens.
Batman: A Death in the Family
Jason Todd’s attitude has caused the near death of himself and Batman on several occasions and has forced Batman’s hand. Robin has been benched. During his time off of the beat, Jason finds out his mother, Catherine Todd, may not have been his birth parent and forces him on a long, politically themed journey to the other side of the world. After locating his birth mother, Jason finds himself caught in a very twisted trap by none-other than The Joker. Learning of his birth mother’s connection to the Clown Prince of Crime, Jason is brutally beaten with a crow bar before he and his mother are left to die in a warehouse explosion. Though, Batman tries desperately to save them, both die. Jason’s death is almost too much for Batman causing his mental stability to teeter along the moral line.
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Batman: A Death in the Family has been long recognized as one of the pivotal emotional experiences of Bruce Wayne’s life. Many fans even compare it to the emotional turmoil Bruce felt after the death of his own parents. Using this as a base line, the upcoming Batman vs. Superman film has made references to the 1-900-fan-voted storyline as a driving feature in Bat-fleck’s feelings of justice. Even showing him looking longingly at Jason’s battered armor, forever enshrined in the Batcave. The New York Times bestselling series, Batman: A Death in the Family by Jim Starlin (The Infinity Gauntlet) and artist Jim Aparo (Batman and The Outsiders) is a must own. It is available for $24.99 at your local comic’s retailer. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters on Friday, March 25th. (Pre-sale tickets are now available.)
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
With the shot-point-blank death of his father, Jack, a prizing winning boxer who was killed after refusing to take a dive in the ring in accordance to a crime boss, and the constant chastisement throughout school, Matt Murdock’s life was drastically altered after a radioactive chemical spill causes permanent blindness. Though his eyesight is lost, his other senses are enhanced to extraordinary levels. Learning to hone his abilities, Matt makes it his life’s mission to uphold the law. And to make Hell’s Kitchen a better place. But when a new crime Kingpin comes to town, he realizes his entire world may be even darker than he had ever expected.
See where it all began. The origin story from comics heavy hitters Frank Miller (The Dark Knight) and John Romita Jr. (Kick Ass), Daredevil: Man Without Fear is a must read for new Daredevil fans. The story that was adapted for television and made one of the most niche characters into one of the most fan-interested characters of the modern day. A character that was stripped down to a joke in Hollywood into the focal point of one of the most critically acclaimed series of 2015. Volume 1 (issues #1 – 5) is available for $19.99 at your local comic book store. Netflix’s Daredevil Season 2 arrives in full on March 18th.
Descender
The planet Niyrata, the home of the technologically advanced United Galactic Council (UGC), has come under attack. Giant automatons, later given the name Harvesters, have come to destroy everything, but why is a mystery. For as quickly as they came, they vanished. Leaving the galaxy reeling in terror of when their next attack may come. The UGC now looks to Doctor Jin Quon, the father of modern robotics, for support. Yet he fades to know nothing of the destructive A.I. goliaths. Even when evidence is found linking the Harvesters to his greatest, most human-like robots ever invented, The Tim-companion-series. Ten years after the Harvester attacks, a final Tim robot has been located and it is up to Quon and a few UGC agents to retrieve the robot and find the key to the Harvester threat.
It was January 30th, 2015. Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth) and Dustin Nguyen’s (Li’l Gotham) Descender will not arrive on store shelves for just over a month still but the announcement that Sony Entertainment has already signed on the series to be adapted into a film is big news. Lemire and Nguyen’s space opera is now 10 issues in, with #11 hitting shelves Wednesday, March 9th, and is an independent comic fan-favorite. As most Image Comic’s first volumes, Descender trade paperback volume 1 is only $9.99 at your local comic’s retailer. And volume 2 is available now for pre-order with a May 4th release date.
DC Comic’s Deck Building Card Games
As part of the world’s strongest superhero team, it is the Justice League’s job to keep the world safe from villainy. Beginning with a only small hand of minor maneuvers and characters, with Cryptozoic’s fast paced (game time ranging from about 30 – 45 minutes) deck building game, you must build a team to help defeat evil. By the end of the game whoever has the most victory points is the winner. With theme expansions such as Crisis and the CW’s Arrow, the game can be played with as few as 2 players and up to 8. (Base game play is for 2 – 5.) There are also additional standalone expansions such as Forever Evil, where you take up game play as the Villains featuring characters such as those Harley Quinn and Lex Luthor, based on the Justice League (New 52) crossover-event.
DC Comic’s Deck Building Game (base) is available for $40 at your local gaming store with expansions as cheap as only $10 – $20.
Captain America: Civil War Funko POPs
After their explosive domination at this year’s Toy Fair in New York city earlier this year, there is no doubt Funko is ruling the current toy market. And, just released on March 1st, Captain America: Civil War POP Vinyl figurines are here. Featuring for the first time characters like Black Panther and Crossbones, this release is one of the most anticipated since… Well, since Avengers: Age of Ultron. With exclusives from shops like Hot Topic, Walgreens, GameStop and Barnes and Noble, the POP hunting is on. Make sure to stop by your local toy hot spot and grab your Civil War POPs today. Prices may vary.
Captain America: Civil War hits theaters Friday, May 6th.
From Daredevil to Superman, from Batman to Captain America, 2016 will host some of the most exciting super powered heroes and villains to ever hit the big (or little) screens. And there is some amazing product out to feed the cinematic fever.
As a special addition to these first few posts, we will be spotlighting some of the Monkey Fighting Robots staff’s personal shelfies. This month, I am going to show off one of my own, personal, shelves!
As a comic book store manager, I read a lot. Most books can only be read when possible, but some are so great that they get read over and over again. Books like Sunstone, Maus, Descender and Bitch Planet are always at arm’s reach. Along with my favorite plush such as my slowly growing Itty Bitty collection from Hallmark toys. Do not worry if you beginning seeing a Bat-pattern in some of my pictures, since a large majority of my collection include Batman, Joker and Harley Quinn statuary and collectibles. Many of which you may see in future Taking a Shelfie posts.
Do you have a Shelfie you would like to show off? Post a picture of your favorite shelf on Twitter or Instagram with #MFRShelfies and we may spotlight you and your collection in a future post.
