The rule used to be, the first print is hot, and the second print is not. And for the most part that held, Todd McFarlane Spider-Man #1 notwithstanding. After all, who wants a dirty smelly fourth print of a comic when you can have a shiny, bright, significant first print?

Except at some point, someone did realise that subsequent prints are generally going to be rarer than the first print. This is why there are some remarkable prices being asked for the New 52 Batman #1 and Detective Comics #1 third, fourth and fifth prints. We?re starting to see the same happen to Saga as well...

With the news that Angela was to join the Marvel Universe, including appearances in Age of Ultron and Guardians of the Galaxy, Spawn #9 has massively heated up. Selling in the dollar bins due to everyone having copies at one point, with a print run higher than Walking Dead #100, nevertheless this comic is by Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane with a Jim Lee poster, and features Angela?s first appearance.

There?s nothing a vintage comic collector likes better than to see an obscure old comic given new importance by a film or tv show. It?s all well and good when something like the first appearance of Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #39 gains greater appreciation through three hit Iron Man films and the character?s star turn in The Avengers movie, but collectors have been seeking out that comic for decades.

It?s another thing when something relatively obscure comes out of nowhere to gain the same sort of spotlight. In the last issue of Bleeding Cool Magazine, we mentioned Tales to Astonish #13, the first appearance of Groot, and that?s exactly the kind of rise to fame we?re talking about here. Pre-hero Marvel monster books are cool, but before last summer, absolutely no one predicted that Groot would be one of the stars of a major Marvel/Disney film release.

That doesn?t mean we don?t try to predict such climbs to stardom. Guessing what the next big thing will be is a large part of the fun (and potentially part of the profit) of collecting.

If you are reading this magazine, you must love comics. And one of the things about this hobby that makes it unique and fulfilling is the sense of excitement each new month brings. It is akin to the start of a new baseball or football season, when it doesn?t matter how bad your favorite team was last year, because the new season is a time of optimism and infinite possibilities. Comics are like that, in that each month brings new and exciting prospects for books to come. And no matter how cynical, jaded, or flippant you want to be on the forums or with your pals, when that new Previews Catalog shows up in your shop, it?s just a little bit like Christmas. These are a few of the upcoming May and June shipping books that I can?t wait to unwrap under the pull list tree?

On the surface, BubbleGun looks a lot like its namesake - a colorful fun romping adventure that is sorta like bubblegum, a great distraction that provides a sugary splash on the taste buds. The vibrant colors, anime influenced art style, and cybersexy characters should be familiar to DC / Ame-Comi Girls fans. Mike Bowden?s pencils pick up where he left off with the unique stylized art of World of Warcraft mixed with something similar to Pop Mhan?s kinetic work on Spyboy. But Mark Roslan?s story of BubbleGun is something altogether different. The story centers around two sisters ? Molli and Devyn, who make up half of a team of cyber mercenary thieves. Together with their teammates, Roman and Kyo, they plan and execute cyber tech heists, liberating the technology for paying gigs and sometimes just for themselves. The team is equipped with some fancy cybernetic weapons and suits, which set the stage for the series and give us some pretty entertaining visuals. The two sisters are strong female heroes cut from the Buffy Summers or Veronica Mars cloth ? tough, flippant, and sexy women that set a great standard. In case you haven?t noticed, this isn?t your usual run of the mill sci-fi snatch and grab tale. These cyber thieves may be the best around but even they aren?t prepared for what they stumble into during an anything but routine job. When they discover a mysterious package with contents that threaten to destroy them from within and send them hurtling into a world of espionage with the highest of stakes.

Everyone dreams big in comics. But IDW has taken the dream and turned it into an unprecedented success story, going from fledgling upstart to dominating publishing powerhouse. And they?ve done it with an impressive mix of licensed titles and original tales that have shown incredible insight into projects comic readers are craving. You know their faces from the Previews pages, but just who are the guys and gals behind the scenes that are targeting licenses like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Godzilla, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and My Little Pony? How are they getting guys like Joe Hill, James O?Barr, Ashley Wood, R.A. Salvatore, Kevin Eastman, and John Byrne on new projects every month? And can they look into their crystal ball to tell us what the next big IDW books will be in 2013? We talked with Chris Ryall, the man driving the editorial steamroller and Editor-in-Chief of IDW, for an exclusive look at his favorite projects, creators, and what fans can look forward to this summer!

?Most of us know Chris Ryall as an international man of mystery, but for those who haven?t met you, how would you describe yourself and your role at IDW?

I?m IDW?s Chief Creative Officer and Editor-in-Chief. In simplest terms, that means I oversee the publishing here, but then it all breaks down into a variety of different duties ? dealing with publishing plans and developing new projects and pursuing new licenses and working with creators and the editors to develop specific approaches for our books and doing interviews and all these other things. Which is why it?s easiest to look at it in its simplest terms. Especially since things like figuring out our publishing schedule and which projects to pursue and all-of-that end aren?t done solely by any one person. We?re very much a cohesive team here, so I work with Ted Adams, IDWs co-founder/CEO, our COO Greg Goldstein, Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier and the whole editorial team on all of this.

How do you even approach a task like remaking Sam Rami?s innovative 1981 horror classic, The Evil Dead? There are so many reasons not to do it and no matter how good the movie is, there will be fans that will pan it. From ?You can?t have Evil Dead without Bruce Campbell? to ?No remake is better than the original? to a thousand other similar sentiments, you?ll hear comments that run the gamut against a remake of classic horror films.Personally, I have a simple two-part rule on remakes ? Bring me something new to the table and keep me entertained. As long as you can do those two things, chances are I?ll at least be happy with the money I spent to see it in the theater. So on opening night (it?s Evil Dead ? you have to see it at night), I went to the local theater and plunked down my cash to see the remake. Surrounded by high school students who apparently didn?t realize it was a remake and with my traditional giant tub of popcorn and cask of soda, I settled in for what I hoped was an entertaining bit of unsettling horror. As the film began, I remembered the first time I saw Evil Dead II as a teen and hoped that just maybe, this movie would live up to the high standards set by past experiences.

Some people believe that censorship can only come from the government, laws, police and civil servants, oppressing those with a voice who have something to say. And that censorship can never come from the private sector, after all employees are free to leave that employ and practise their freedom of speech elsewhere. It?s a popular view, especially in America, but it?s wrong.

Technically if nothing else, the dictionary definition makes no special case for censorship being the action of a state. But there?s a deeper subtext to this ? the belief that censorship is wrong, is against the US Constitutional guarantees of free speech, but as it?s commonly practiced by business and the free market, and as they are by definition ?good,? then whatever they are doing can?t be censorship. Because censorship is ?bad.?The thing is, censorship isn?t by its definition good or bad, and can be practised by anyone. Indeed we do it to ourselves, we self-censor all the time.

But here are some prime examples of censorship in the comics industry. Whether it?s good or bad, well, that?s totally up to you to decide.

Music and comics have long been intertwined with artists of both fields being influenced by work crossing over the boundaries of the two mediums. From the early horror works of Alice Cooper and Kiss to current comics by Tom Morello and Gerard Way, the two fields mix like artistic peanut butter and chocolate. And when a creative haven like BOOM! offers one of music?s most talented singers and lyricists a chance to delve into comics, you end up with an innovative title that pairs beautiful illustration with a uniquely powerful voice. Say Anything front man, Max Bemis, steps from behind the microphone to the local comic shop with Polarity, a manic depressive trip through the mind of a bipolar artist with latent superpowers. And if the draw of Bemis? distinctive lyrics are not enough to lure you to this project, each issue comes with a free download of an original song available only with the comics. This is music to read the comics to in a way we haven?t seen before. In a day and age where big publishers charge $3.99 for scant and thin editorial, Polarity offers the best of both worlds in one exciting package.

Bleeding Cool Magazine had an opportunity to talk with Max Bemis about comics, music, and the mayhem of a life in the spotlight.

They?re baaaack. Polar opposites. Childhood best friends. Symbiotic costumed crime fighters. That?s Quantum and Woody! Valiant has proven that they can breathe new life into their brand of comics and end up with a project that is more vibrant than ever. They?ve revived X-O Manowar, Bloodshoot, Harbinger, and Archer and Armstrong by bringing innovative creative teams in to reinvent the classic books for today?s audiences. This month they gave James Asmus (writer Thief of Thieves, Gambit) and Tom Fowler (artist Venom, Hulk: Season One) a chance to reinvigorate the original oddballs of comics, Quantum and Woody. And the result is more Valiant magic.

What if Batman and Robin hated each other? What if the villain of a series used his powers to watch Wheel of Fortune? And what if there was a goat? That was the premise behind Quantum and Woody: one of the defining titles of Acclaim Comics in the 90s.

Dark Horse Comics has emerged as the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher. Since 1986, the company has produced a wide range of ongoing and limited series, both original and franchise-based, including horror, comedy, science fiction and other genres. This May, Dark Horse will unveil three new offerings?one a returning favorite, as well as two original titles?each deconstructing the superhero motif.

X Marks the SpotReturning to shelves is the popular series X. Published under the company?s Comics? Greatest World imprint, the original X showcased an unhinged, burn-scarred vigilante who clashed with law enforcement and the criminal world in the fictional, politically corrupt city of Arcadia. The title character debuted in 1993, in Dark Horse Comics #8-10, written by Jeremy Prosser and illustrated by N. Steven Harris, and then starred in an ongoing series from writer Steven Grant and several artists, including P. Craig Russell, Ron Wagner, Doug Mahnke and Tim Bradstreet.

Somehow, Joss Whedon managed to plan, adapt, rehearse, shoot and edit an entire second film while he was working on The Avengers. Some of that was keeping the project smaller, some of it was keeping it in the family, and some of it was in taking on a project that was already in fit shape - and you don?t get much fitter than a screenplay by Shakespeare.

The result is Much Ado About Nothing, Whedon style, Shakespeare staged as one long, drunken party scene. Filmed in Whedon?s own house with many regular members of his recurring troupe, the only thing to give away that this isn?t a Joss original is the rather florid, rhythmic patter - and even then, only just.

I sat down with Whedon to talk about this new film, his work on the upcoming SHIELD show, and what?s next for his home-made movie studio-ette, Bellweather Pictures. Here?s what he had to tell me.

Last autumn, I flew half way around the globe to visit the set of The Wolverine. And while I was definitely the most excited by the Koalas and the most jet-lagged, I wasn?t the only one a long way from home.

While much of the film was shot at Fox?s Sydney sound stages and on location around the city, this new movie takes place almost entirely in Japan. And those rain-slicked, neon streets are not the natural habitat for Logan. He doesn?t exactly blend in at the ancient temples.

There is something about the samurai code that suits him though, and as the film goes on, we?ll see just how the Wolverine is a Ronin, a masterless samurai.

Everyone is afraid of something. Whether it is the IRS, clowns, zombies, or IRS clown zombies, there is something picked up from life [usually childhood] that sticks with you in the dark recesses of your mind. Some fans seek out that dark place and indulge in actively taunting it with horror novels, comics, or movies which illicit those uneasy feelings. Others try to hold the darkness at bay by avoiding anything that could bring those frightening memories to the surface. But very few have taken that fear and found a way to actively combat it, while giving millions of others a weapon to keep the fears in check. Max Brooks has done just that. His novels, the Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z have entertained and equipped zombie fans and survivalists with the tools needed to battle the undead in any emergency. And many consider his zombie fighting guidelines to be essential preparation for the eventual rise of the undead. Bleeding Cool Magazine had an opportunity to talk with Max and obtain the secrets behind his fascination with the shambling dead and uncover the surprises behind his new zombies vs. vampires comic series, Extinction Parade.

I?m still excited that The Muppets will be back in our cinemas next March with The Muppets... Again!

This time around, Kermit is the star - which is just how I like it, thanks. The lead humans are Ricky Gervais, as Dominic, a sidekick to the master criminal - and Kermit lookalike - Constantine, Tina Fey as the lovestruck Gulag guard Nadya and Ty Burrell as an Interpol agent investigating a series of bold jewel thefts across Europe.

The film is still in production now, and we?re probably months away from a trailer, but there?s already been a lot of interesting little bits and pieces hidden in this first image from the film...

Most people would be interested to hear what Mike Carey and Simon Spurrier, two fantastic talents in the comics field, have to say about their new projects in general. But when you find out that the books in particular are about a gun totin? gorilla and a world of super-powered criminals, you simply can?t ask for anything more. Bleeding Cool Magazine caught up with the creators and found out a little more about Six-Gun Gorilla, Suicide Risk, and which BOOM! artists ?give good gorilla.?

MC Tell me a little about the book you?re doing for BOOM. Is it a new departure for you?

SS This is going to be a slightly curious experience, I think. You have the dubious pleasure of being my first ever interviewee, but I wasn?t even quick enough to get in the first question. Not a great start, Si, not a great start. Okay... the story?s called Six-Gun Gorilla. And yeah, it?s a pretty enormous departure.The way I?ve taken to describing it (which doesn?t do it justice - you know how it is with these daft little summary things) is that it?s mostly a Western, partly a sci-fi, but not a sci-fi Western. Which is basically even more confusing than if I hadn?t opened my mouth at all.