Wednesday, April 30, 2014

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY at ALL STAR COMICS MELBOURNE DAY DETAILS 2014


The crowning jewel of our calendar is almost here. On Saturday May 3rd it's FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2014 and we thought we'd give you a few more details on the plans for the day to help make it as fun and enjoyable day out as possible while giving you an idea of what to expect.



OPENING HOURS:
In FCBD’s gone by we try to make a focus on the kids and introducing younger readers into the world of comics. However  we’ve found that the hectic nature of the day wasn't always perfectly suited to younger fans and for some can be overwhelming. So to help with this we’ll be continuing our:

FAMILY ONLY FIRST HOUR: 9AM-10AM
The idea is families with kids under 12, will get the chance to get in early while the store is still somewhat more relaxed. Hopefully this we will make younger fans more comfortable, while parents can also grab some free books for themselves without needing to wait in line for ages. This also gives us the chance to get out from behind the counter and take a few more photos with folks if they are after them!

REGULAR TRADING HOURS: 10AM-5PM
After the Family Only First Hour, the store will be open for regular trading to the general public 10am-5pm.
At this time we will have representatives downstairs to let a limited amount of people into the store at once as a way to control the crowds so it makes for an easier browsing experience. This might create a bit more of a line outside the store but we feel that with Artists Alley outside this year and more efficient in store service of both the free comics and regular purchases. We hope you won’t be waiting too long.

FREE COMIC BOOK STOCK AND STORE LAYOUT:
Again in an attempt to make the day run a little smoother we thought we’d continue with the all ages and mature reads table at the front of the store, while hosting the KIDS ONLY SELECTION at a second table positioned at the back of the store (next to the glass cabinets).

The idea here is to make it as easy as possible for people that might be coming in especially with kids and aren’t wanting to wait around in line for too long.

The KIDS ONLY SELECTION will have the following on titles on offer:




The All Star Kids Only Showbag (limit of one per family with kids under 12) which contains these 20 TITLES! Also as a special bonus, this year the Kid Only Showbags will contain a FREE comic poster!





Other Kids Picks titles available are:


Since we only have a limited number of the showbags, it will only be available to families that come in on the day with kids under 12 with a limit of one showbag per family. Both kids and adults can choose a couple of titles from the second list of Kids Picks as well.


The all ages and mature selection will have these titles to choose from:

2000 AD SPECIAL 

The selection is awesome! Also as an added bonus this year thanks to the generous folks at Marvel, the first 100 people that pick up the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY comic will also get a FREE mini Guardians Of The Galaxy movie poster!!!

NUMBER OF BOOKS YOU CAN PICK:
Stock levels permitting, we hope to give everyone at least the choice of 6 to 7 titles.

We strongly recommend that you have an idea of what titles you want to pick up on the day. Click the links, see what you like and write a list. Doing this we can help cut down your time in line and give you more time to look around the store and get a sketch from one of the artists we will be hosting on the day.

ALL STAR FREE COMIC BOOK DAY ARTIST ALLEY:
Speaking of, this year the All Star Free Comic Book Day Artist Alley will for the first time be outside the store, you can find out more information on who will be with us HERE. The artists this year will be at 1000 Pound Bend Cafe located at 361 Little Lonsdale Street from 10am to 5pm. In the spirit of the day, please try and collect only one or two sketches per attendee, especially during the busy periods. If you have any questions on the day we will have a number of store representatives at 1000 Pound Bend Cafe to answer any questions you have.

STORE REPRESENTATIVES:
Store representatives will be recognisable on the day as anyone sporting one of these lanyards and they will be able to help you with any questions you may have.


FREE COMIC BOOK DAY ALL STAR COSTUME CONTEST :
Anyone wishing to enter the costume competition will first need to head to the Artist Alley at 1000 Pound Bend Cafe located at 361 Little Lonsdale Street then seek out our photographer and get your photo taken. Please find further details of the contest HERE.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the store, please be aware that there will likely be some lining up outside at certain points of the day either while waiting to get into the store or waiting for a sketch. Please keep in mind that this is Melbourne and cover is limited so we recommend unbrellas just in case, we'll keep our fingers crossed for sunshine. If there are any customers who have special needs, please contact the store before hand and we will do our best to accommodate you as best we can.

Most important of all, HAVE AN AWESOME FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!!



THE ASC CREW

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

ALL STAR COMICS MELBOURNE'S FREE COMIC BOOK DAY COMIC SELECTION!



Costumes! Artists! And then there was comics...hundreds and thousands of FREE COMICS!!!

Here is a run down for store opening times and how the FREE COMICS will be handed out. Have a look over the details and check out the links through to the comics.
PLEASE NOTE: 
Judging from FCBD in the past, there most likely will be lines. Possibly a line to first get into the store, then a line once you are in the store for the comics. The day has only gotten more bigger and bigger and we will be doing our best to get you to your FREE COMICS as quickly as possible. One ways you can help is by making a list of the titles you might want to check out and hopefully it will help keep lines moving quickly on the day. Please be mindful that there could be a wait but rest assure there will be something for everyone!

FAMILY ONLY FIRST HOUR: 9AM-10AM
The idea is families with kids under 12, will get the chance to get in early while the store is still somewhat more relaxed. Hopefully this we will make younger fans more comfortable, while parents can also grab some free books for themselves without needing to wait in line for ages. This also gives us the chance to get out from behind the counter and take a few more photos with folks if they are after them!

REGULAR TRADING HOURS: 10AM-5PM
After the Family Only First Hour, the store will be open for regular trading to the general public 10am-5pm.
At this time we will have representatives downstairs to let a limited amount of people into the store at once as a way to control the crowds so it makes for an easier browsing experience. This might create a bit more of a line outside the store but we feel that with Artists Alley outside this year and more efficient in store service of both the free comics and regular purchases. We hope you won’t be waiting too long.

FREE COMIC BOOK STOCK AND STORE LAYOUT:
Again in an attempt to make the day run a little smoother we thought we’d continue with the all ages and mature reads table at the front of the store, while hosting the KIDS ONLY SELECTION at a second table positioned at the back of the store (next to the glass cabinets).

The idea here is to make it as easy as possible for people that might be coming in especially with kids and aren’t wanting to wait around in line for too long.

The KIDS ONLY SELECTION will have the following on titles on offer:




The All Star Kids Only Showbag (limit of one per family with kids under 12) which contains these 20 TITLES! Also as a special bonus, this year the Kid Only Showbags will contain a FREE comic poster!





Other Kids Picks titles available are:


Since we only have a limited number of the showbags, it will only be available to families that come in on the day with kids under 12 with a limit of one showbag per family. Both kids and adults can choose a couple of titles from the second list of Kids Picks as well.


The all ages and mature selection will have these titles to choose from:

2000 AD SPECIAL 

The selection is awesome! Also as an added bonus this year thanks to the generous folks at Marvel, the first 100 people that pick up the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY comic will also get a FREE mini Guardians Of The Galaxy movie poster!!!




NUMBER OF BOOKS YOU CAN PICK:
Stock levels permitting, we hope to give everyone at least the choice of 6 to 7 titles.

We strongly recommend that you have an idea of what titles you want to pick up on the day. Click the links, see what you like and write a list. Doing this we can help cut down your time in line and give you more time to look around the store and get a sketch from one of the artists we will be hosting on the day.

If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask us here or look for a marked staff member on the day but most of all have a great and wonderful FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!


THE ALL STAR CREW!

Monday, April 28, 2014

New Comics For Wednesday 30th April


FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!!...#ALLSTARFCBD is almost here but despite just how excited you might be, you'll just have to make do with this week's new releases for now. ;)

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 does it get any bigger than this?! DC 52 Wally West enters the scene in FLASH ANNUAL #3. The first of Vertigo's new seasonal anthology series is out with VERTIGO QUARTERLY #1 CYAN. Matt Kindt writing Star Wars?! Sign us up for STAR WARS REBEL HEIST #1. Jason Aaron goes a little Break Bad meets Grand Tarino in SOUTHERN BASTARDS #1. More Kindt but this time with Clayton Crain in RAI #1. Exciting new trade of all age action with ATOMIC ROBO TP VOL 08 SAVAGE SWORD OF DR DINOSAUR. Softcover time for Morrison fans with FLEX MENTALLO MAN OF MUSCLE MYSTERY TP. The long awaited new printing of Rafael Grampá's MESMO DELIVERY 2ND EDITION HC. The stunning western supernatural tale from Kelly Sue and Emma Rios PRETTY DEADLY TP VOL 01 hits. More Hickman intrigue in SECRET TP VOL 01 NEVER GET CAUGHT.

So plenty really to keep you busy until the main event on Saturday! If there is anything you need stashed let us know below and of course keep an eye on here for FCBD updates throughout the week. :D

MARVEL
ALL NEW X-MEN #26
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 ANMN
AVENGERS #28
AVENGERS AI #12
AVENGERS WORLD #5
DISNEY KINGDOMS SEEKERS OF WEIRD #4 (OF 5)
HULK #2 ANMN
NEW AVENGERS #17 ANMN
ORIGIN II #5 (OF 5)
SILVER SURFER #2 ANMN
UNCANNY AVENGERS ANNUAL #1
WHAT IF AGE OF ULTRON #5 (OF 5)
WOLVERINE #5
X-FORCE #4

DC COMICS
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #12
BATGIRL ANNUAL #2
BATMAN 66 #10
BATMAN BEYOND UNIVERSE #9
BATMAN ETERNAL #4
BATWOMAN ANNUAL #1
FLASH ANNUAL #3
FOREVER EVIL AFTERMATH BATMAN VS BANE #1
GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS ANNUAL #2
HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #12
INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US YEAR TWO #4
SCRIBBLENAUTS UNMASKED CRISIS OF IMAGINATION #4

VERTIGO
VERTIGO QUARTERLY #1 CYAN

BOOM
HACKTIVIST #4
LOKI RAGNAROK & ROLL #3 (OF 4)
RUSH CLOCKWORK ANGELS #2

DARK HORSE
BLACKOUT #2 (OF 4)
FURIOUS #4 (OF 5)
KING CONAN CONQUEROR #3 (OF 6)
PARIAH #3 (OF 8)
SERENITY LEAVES ON THE WIND #4 (OF 6)
STAR WARS REBEL HEIST #1 (OF 4)
VANDROID #3 (OF 5)

DYNAMITE
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #10
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SIX #1 (OF 5)

IDW
GHOSTBUSTERS #15
JUDGE DREDD MEGA CITY TWO #4 (OF 5)
MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #18
TMNT NEW ANIMATED ADVENTURES #10
TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE #28 DAWN O/T AUTOBOTS
V-WARS #1
X-FILES SEASON 10 #11

IMAGE
BLACK SCIENCE #6
CHEW #41
DEADLY CLASS #4
DREAM POLICE #1
EGOS #4
SOUTHERN BASTARDS #1
TEN GRAND #9
UMBRAL #6

MISC
ATOMIC ROBO KNIGHTS O/T GOLDEN CIRCLE #1 (OF 5)
RACHEL RISING #25
RAI #1
SHADOWMAN END TIMES #1 (OF 3)
UBER #12

MAGAZINES
FANGORIA #332
HEAVY METAL #268
MARVEL PREVIEWS MAY 2014
PREVIEWS #308 MAY 2014

TRADES
ABSOLUTION TP VOL 02 RUBICON
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN TP VOL 01
ALABASTER GRIMMER TALES HC
ALL NEW X-MEN PREM HC VOL 04 ALL DIFFERENT
ATOMIC ROBO TP VOL 08 SAVAGE SWORD OF DR DINOSAUR
BATMAN SUPERMAN HC VOL 01 CROSS WORLD (N52)
BOXER TRUE STORY OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR HARRY HAFT
BUDDY BUYS A DUMP GN
CBLDF PRESENTS LIBERTY HC
DARKLIGHT HC
DEADPOOL BY DANIEL WAY COMPLETE COLL TP VOL 03
ELEPHANTMEN 2260 TP BOOK 01
FLEX MENTALLO MAN OF MUSCLE MYSTERY TP
HEDGE KNIGHT JET CITY ED TP VOL 02 SWORN SWORD
IRON MAN TP VOL 02 SECRET ORIGIN OF TONY STARK BOOK 01
JEFFREY BROWN KIDS ARE WEIRD OBSERVATIONS FROM PAR
JERICHO TP SEASON 4
JUDGE DREDD CLASSICS HC VOL 01 APOCALYPSE WAR
KING CONAN TP VOL 03 HOUR O/T DRAGON
LEGENDS OF ZITA THE SPACEGIRL GN
LONE RANGER TP VOL 07 BACK EAST
LOVE BUNGLERS HC
MARVEL ZOMBIES TP COMPLETE COLLECTION VOL 02
MESMO DELIVERY 2ND EDITION HC
MMW CAPTAIN AMERICA TP VOL 03
PLUME TP
POWERPUFF GIRLS TP VOL 01
PRETTY DEADLY TP VOL 01
QUEEN SONJA TP VOL 06 HEAVY IS THE CROWN
REGULAR SHOW TP VOL 01
SAMURAI JACK CLASSICS TP VOL 02
SECRET TP VOL 01 NEVER GET CAUGHT
SIDEKICK TP VOL 01
SKYBREAKER TP
STAR WARS DARK TIMES TP VOL 07 SPARK REMAINS
SUICIDE SQUAD TP VOL 04 DISCIPLINE AND PUNISH (N52)
SUPERMAN BATMAN TP VOL 01
VAMPIRELLA TP VOL 05 MOTHERS SONS & HOLY GHOST
WALT DISNEY UNCLE SCROOGE HC (NEW PTG) VOL 01 POOR
WARLORD OF MARS DEJAH THORIS TP VOL 05
WOLVERINE AND X-MEN BY JASON AARON TP VOL 08
X TP VOL 02 DOGS OF WAR
X-MEN TP VOL 02 MUERTAS

BACK IN STOCK
DEADPOOL VS CARNAGE #2 (OF 4)
JUSTICE LEAGUE #29 (EVIL)
MS MARVEL #1 3RD PTG

Sunday, April 27, 2014

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY ALL STAR COSTUME CONTEST 2014


FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is only around the corner and you know what that means! Saturday May 3rd has us celebrate our fourth FCBD and the other great tradition of our  FREE COMIC BOOK DAY ALL STAR COSTUME CONTEST! This year photos for the contest will be taken at our ARTIST ALLEY venue at 1000 Pound Bend Cafe located at 361 Little Lonsdale Street.


It's a true thrill for us to see the effort people make dressing up for the day, so our idea is to hold a little comp to reward the hard work on display! Now due to the overwhelming amount of costumed heroes on the day, we've decided to add a Kids Contest as well!


The rules are simple and the same as last year:
-Anyone in costume can enter. Anyone over 12 will be entered in our main contest, anyone under 12 will be included in our KIDS Contest.
-All you need to do is find our in-house photographer, who this year will be taking the costume contest photos at the ARTIST ALLEY location at 1000 Pound Bend Cafe located at 361 Little Lonsdale Street.

MUHAMMAD I, Resident Photographer

-Just strike your best costumed pose and then tag yourself in your photo once we get the pictures up on our facebook page.
-Once you are tagged the public can vote for you along with your friends and family.
-The people with the five highest counts of "likes" at the end of the week after we post the photos up will be our finalists, then a panel of All Star Staff will pick the 3 best costumes!
-This year we'll have a $150 All Star Gift Voucher for 1st place, $100 All Star Gift Voucher for 2nd and $50 All Star Gift Voucher for 3rd.
-The KIDS contest will have a $50 All Star Gift Voucher for 1st place, $30 All Star Gift Voucher for 2nd place and a $25 All Star Gift Voucher for 3rd place.


Of course we are totally buzzed to see what you guys have planned and can't wait to see you bring some costumed comic justice to the streets of Melbourne! MAY THE BEST COSTUME WIN!

The ALL STAR CREW

Monday, April 21, 2014

New Comics For Wednesday 23rd of April


Despite nursing a chocolate hangover from the weekend, with excellent new local superhero book to read from the MELBOURNE SUPER HERO LAUNCH we hosted on Saturday, along with the good vibes from our GOOD FRIDAY APPEAL Skottie Young Raffle, we are feeling surprisingly upbeat!

Anyway, it's only two weeks until FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, so we better get cracking on our plans! While you wait to see what we have instore for the big day, take a look over this week's new comics list.

ELEKTRA #1 ANMN looks like it will be making assassinations beautiful. ORIGINAL SIN #0 starts off Marvel next event and asks the question, "Who shot the Watcher?" JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #0 brings a little Lemire and McKone adventure in SPACE...and Canada? Another double hit of GL with GREEN LANTERN HC VOL 04 DARK DAYS and GREEN LANTERN TP VOL 03 THE END. SECRET ORIGINS #1 spills the beans of some of your favourite DCU characters. Almost too much pulp for one book with ROCKETEER SPIRIT PULP FRICTION HC. And OH YEAH, it's DUFFMAN ADVENTURES #1.

MARVEL
ALL NEW INVADERS #4
AVENGERS UNDERCOVER #3 ANMN
DAREDEVIL #2 ANMN
DEXTER DOWN UNDER #3 (OF 5)
ELEKTRA #1 ANMN
FANTASTIC FOUR #3 ANMN
GEORGE ROMEROS EMPIRE OF DEAD ACT ONE #4 (OF 5)
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #14
IRON PATRIOT #2 ANMN
MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #25 SYU
ORIGINAL SIN #0
POWERS BUREAU #9
SAVAGE WOLVERINE #17
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM UP #12
THUNDERBOLTS #25
UNCANNY AVENGERS #19 ANMN
WHAT IF AGE OF ULTRON #4 (OF 5)

DC COMICS
ALL STAR WESTERN #30
AQUAMAN #30
BATMAN ETERNAL #3
BATMAN SUPERMAN #9
CATWOMAN #30
FLASH #30
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #30 (EVIL)
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #0 (EVIL)
LARFLEEZE #10
RED LANTERNS #30
SECRET ORIGINS #1
SUPERMAN #30 (DOOMED)
TEEN TITANS #30 (NOTE PRICE)
TEEN TITANS GO #3

VERTIGO
DEAD BOY DETECTIVES #5

BOOM
ADVENTURE TIME #27
BRAVEST WARRIORS #19
EVIL EMPIRE #2
HACKTIVIST #4
HEROBEAR AND KID SAVING TIME #1 (OF 5)
MIDAS FLESH #5 (OF 8)

DARK HORSE
BTVS SEASON 10 #2
CONAN THE AVENGER #1
ELTINGVILLE CLUB #1 (OF 2)
HALO ESCALATION #5
MASS EFFECT FOUNDATION #10
MASSIVE #22
MIND MGMT #21
STAR WARS LEGACY II #14 (C: 1-0-0)
TOMB RAIDER #3
WITCHER #2 (OF 5)

DYNAMITE
ASH & THE ARMY OF DARKNESS #6
GAME OF THRONES #20
LADY RAWHIDE #5 (OF 5)
ROBOTECH VOLTRON #3 (OF 5)

IDW
24 #1
7TH SWORD #1
CITY THE MIND IN THE MACHINE #3
DANGER GIRL MAYDAY #1 (OF 4)
POWERPUFF GIRLS #8
ROGUE TROOPER #3
STAR TREK ONGOING #32
TMNT ONGOING #33
TRANSFORMERS R.I.D #28 DAWN O/T AUTOBOTS

IMAGE
DEAD BODY ROAD #5 (OF 6)
FIVE GHOSTS #11
FUSE #3
GHOSTED #9
LAZARUS #8
MANHATTAN PROJECTS #20
MICE TEMPLAR IV LEGEND #9
PROTECTORS INC #6
SAVIORS #4
SHELTERED #8
SHOTGUN WEDDING #4 (OF 4)
SKULLKICKERS #26
SOVEREIGN #2
THIEF OF THIEVES #20
UNDERTOW #3
WALKING DEAD #126
ZERO #7

MISC
BUNKER #3
CROSSED ANNUAL 2014
CROSSED BADLANDS #52
DUFFMAN ADVENTURES #1
ETERNAL WARRIOR #8
HARBINGER #22
JACK HAMMER #3 (OF 4)
LETTER 44 #6
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #259
UBER #11

MAGAZINES
BLEEDING COOL MAGAZINE #9

TRADES
BOOKS OF MAGIC TP NEW ED
BRILLIANT PREM HC VOL 01
DEADMAN TP VOL 05
DISTANT SOIL TP VOL 02 THE ASCENDANT
GANTZ TP VOL 31
GHOST TOWN TP
GREEN LANTERN HC VOL 04 DARK DAYS (N52)
GREEN LANTERN TP VOL 03 THE END (N52)
MAGIC THE GATHERING TP VOL 04 THEROS
OVER EASY HC
PLANET OF THE APES CATACLYSM TP VOL 03
RO BUSTERS DISASTER SQUAD OF DISTINCTION TP
ROCKETEER SPIRIT PULP FRICTION HC
SAVAGE WOLVERINE TP VOL 01 KILL ISLAND
SECRET AVENGERS TP VOL 03 HOW TO MAIM MOCKINGBIRD
STAR WARS OMNIBUS KNIGHTS O/T OLD REPUBLIC TP VOL 03
STEED & MRS PEEL TP VOL 03
THOR BY WALTER SIMONSON TP VOL 05
TMNT ADVENTURES TP VOL 07
X-FILES SEASON 10 HC VOL 02
X-MEN LEGACY TP VOL 04 FOR WE ARE MANY

BACK IN STOCK
BATMAN ETERNAL #1
BATMAN ETERNAL #2
BLACK WIDOW #1 ANMN
BLACK WIDOW #2 2ND PTG NOTO VAR ANMN
BLACK WIDOW #3 2ND PTG NOTO VAR ANMN
CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 (OF 6) 2ND PTG
LUMBERJANES #1 (OF 8)
MS MARVEL #2 2ND PTG
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #200