Issue #62 of my pride and joy, the Jack Kirby Collector, just shipped. It focuses on Kirby’s 1970s DC work, which is my favorite stuff he ever produced. Hop in a Boom Tube and check out the free preview HERE.

And editor Michael Eury’s Back Issue #70 is also shipping this week, with a focus on the Hulk in the Bronze Age. The cover is by the unlikely but awesome combo of Herb Trimpe and “Cerebus'” Gerhard. You can preview it HERE.

And hey, subscribers: we’ve been experimenting with new, more durable packaging for subscription copies, and I think we’ve hit on a winner. Let me know at twomorrow@aol.com if the new combination shrinkwrap/backing board/padded envelope does the trick for getting your mag there in one piece!

As the artist of DC’s New 52 Wonder Woman series, Cliff Chiang’s work really caught my eye, and his recent cover for the Comic-Con International program book convinced me that he needed to be the subject of our Modern Masters series. So I discussed it with editor Eric Nolen-Weathington, and he in turn worked with Chris Arrant to pen what I think is a fascinating book about this mega-talented artist, who started in comics as an assistant editor (!) before finding stardom drawing.

Modern Masters: Cliff Chiang will arrive in comic book stores and booksellers on February 5, 2014, and is available for pre-order now at our website. The 120-page trade paperback includes some great color work, and retails for $15.95, and a digital edition is also available from our website and new App Store app.

A free preview can be found at THIS LINK.

Or order at any comic book shop using Diamond Comic Distributors Order Code: OCT131328
and through major booksellers and Amazon.com with ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-050-2

If you’ve enjoyed Jared K. Burks’ regular column on minifigure customizing in BrickJournal magazine, and his first book for Lego® fans, you can learn more of his secrets in Minifigure Customization2: Why Live in the Box?

Jared’s new sequel takes an advanced look at the hobby, introducing more complex techniques to alter the lovable Lego® minifigure, and building on the techniques introduced in the first book. It features tutorials on virtual customization; designing decals and advanced decal application; custom part modification and creation, including 3-D printing; advanced painting techniques; lighting figures with LEDs or EL wire; tips on minifigure displays; and digital photography tips to capture your custom figures in the best light. Essential tools used to create custom figures are identified and updated, and it even includes a Gallery of custom minifigures from top customizers, where they share their favorite tips and tricks. Why live in the box? Populate your world with any alien, superhero, historical, action, horror, or science-fiction figure you can “Just Imagine!”

It’s NOW SHIPPING (at 15% off) at this link!

And through December 15, Jared’s original book, Minifigure Customization: Populate Your World!, is available at 40% during our current book sale. Here’s that link!

The new issue of ALTER EGO (#122, now shipping from TwoMorrows, and in stores next Wednesday), is a tribute to the late, great Comics Buyer’s Guide, offering CBG‘s founders and past contributors a chance to pay their respects to the long-running news/adzine.

When I heard CBG had been cancelled back in January, even though I hadn’t been a regular subscriber for many years, I felt a real painful twinge; not just because of its place as my main source of comics news as a kid, but because of the way it went out. Just one issue shy of #1700, Krause Publications cancelled it with no advance notice to its contributors, so they didn’t have a chance to produce a final issue.

So I got on the phone to Roy Thomas, with the idea of, “Why don’t WE do the ‘final” issue of CBG as a special Alter Ego tribute issue, and round up all the past and present contributors and columnists to give it a proper farewell?” Roy was hesitant at first, since his mag generally covers comics from the Golden Age up till about 1972, and after all, The Buyer’s Guide for Comic Fandom (or TBG as it was originally known) didn’t even start publication till 1971, and hit its heyday well after Roy’s self-imposed 1972 cutoff for AE coverage. But Alter Ego‘s so focused on paying respect to the roots of comics fandom, that it didn’t take much effort to persuade Roy that it made sense to be part of AE.

Roy rounded up almost all of the columnists I remember from my days reading TBG/CBG, including Mark Evanier, Tony Isabella, Peter David, Fred Hembeck, John Lustig, plus founder Alan Light and his second-in-command Murray Bishoff, as well as Maggie Thompson and Brent Frankenhoff, who were all delighted to have a chance to give it a proper send-off.

If you, like me, grew up ordering comics through ads in TBG, and getting your comics news in CBG, I guarantee you will love this issue. My thanks go out to everyone who was a part of it, and to all those great CBG contributors who made it such a great read for over 40 years.

To kick off the holiday season, TwoMorrows is extending its 40% OFF BOOK SALE for two extra weeks! And when you order the discounted print edition, you get the digital edition FREE where available. This includes:

• Our groundbreaking American Comic Book Chronicles history series

• The Modern Masters line of artist biographies

• Our acclaimed Companion books, on fan-favorite series and characters

• How-To books on comics creation

• LEGO titles, and more!

But these huge savings absolutely end in two weeks!

(Sale ends at midnight EST on December 15, 2013, and does not include magazines, subscriptions, digital editions, new releases, or upcoming items.)

NOTE: As expected, we are currently backlogged with sale orders placed over the Thanksgiving holiday, and are working overtime to get all the in-house orders mailed this week, before shipping any new orders that come in. If delivery before Christmas is critical to you, be sure to choose expedited shipping (Priority Mail or Priority Mail International) and place your order immediately.The longer you wait to order, the less likely you’ll receive it by December 24th—thanks for your understanding, and Happy Holidays from TwoMorrows!

Didja see the Auburn/Alabama game this weekend? Just the most amazing football game I’ve ever seen. My wife Pam and I are both Auburn graduates (Class of ’86), but even after living through the Bo Jackson and Cam Newton years, I’ve never seen anything like it.

My hat’s off to ‘Bama for another great year for their program, but after all the trash talk I’ve been hearing from friends who are Alabama fans the last few weeks, I’m SOOOO glad the Tiger pulled that one out (and in such spectacular last-second fashion). Can’t wait for the SEC Championship game, and whatever BCS bowl game Auburn’s headed for.

We just got in copies of COMIC BOOK CREATOR #3, featuring Neal Adams’ rather spirited rebuttal to the bashing his recent Batman: Odyssey series received in some circles. Whether you loved it or were left scratching your head over it, you don’t want to miss Neal’s response, wherein he explains how the new series ties back to his classic 1970s work. (Honestly, after reading the interview Jon B. Cooke conducted for this issue, I’ve got a much bettter appreciation and understanding of Batman: Odyssey myself.)

There’s other great features (and the wealth of amazing Adams artwork) in this issue too, so get it HERE!

In case you didn’t get the message from our friend here, Back Issue #69 celebrates the magazine’s 10th Anniversary by revisiting the 100th, 200th, 300th, 400th, and 500th issues of 1970s and ’80s comic book favorites.

It features articles and spotlights on Comics’ Anniversary issues including: Adventure Comics, Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Batman, Brave & Bold, Casper, Detective Comics, Flash, Green Lantern, Showcase, Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman, and others. An all-star line-up of interviews and art includes JIM APARO, MIKE W. BARR, STEVE ENGLEHART, KEITH POLLARD, MIKE SEKOWSKY, WALTER SIMONSON, JOE STATON, and MARV WOLFMAN. Plus, this issue closes out the Man of Steel’s 75th Anniversary with a guest editorial by LARRY TYE, author of the critically acclaimed book Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero. It sports a cover by DAN JURGENS and RAY McCARTHY featuring ten Bronze Age Justice Leaguers—one for each year of Back Issue. Back Issue is edited by former DC and Dark Horse Comics editor MICHAEL EURY, who’s put up with me as his publisher for a decade now (which should earn the poor guy some kind of medal).

You can order the issue HERE.

At TwoMorrows Publishing, we’ve just reached a major milestone:

Our 40,000th customer to order directly from us!

To celebrate that achievement in this season of thanks, we’re offering a whopping 40% OFF ALL IN-STOCK BOOKS now through December 1. This includes:

• Our groundbreaking American Comic Book Chronicles series

• The Modern Masters line of artist biographies

• Our acclaimed Companion books

• How-To books on comics creation

• LEGO titles, and more!

And when you order the discounted print edition, you get the digital edition free where available. But the sale is only good for 10 days (through December 1).

(This sale does not include magazines, subscriptions, digital editions, or upcoming items.)

NOTE: We predict a huge response to this sale, and expect the TwoMorrows shipping elves will be backlogged with holiday shipments by the end of the month. So order early; the longer you wait, the more likely you’ll see a delay in having your package shipped. If delivery before Christmas is critical to you, be sure to choose expedited shipping (Priority Mail or Priority Mail International), as we can’t guarantee it otherwise.

And thanks for being a part of our 20 years of success; we couldn’t have made it 20 years without you! I hope you and your loved ones enjoy a splendid holiday season and a prosperous New Year!

Adam McGovern has been chronicling Kirby-influenced work for The Jack Kirby Collector since 1997 — and making some of his own news with neo-pop collaborator Paolo Leandri in the Ignatz-nominated Dr. Id and an Alias the Spider story for Image Comics’ Next Issue Project. The team’s newest work (with color-artist Dom Regan of Paul Pope’s One Trick Rip-Off) is NIGHTWORLD, a superhorror romantic tragedy that will please any fans of Jack Kirby’s Demon and draws on B-masterpiece monster movies and multiple geek-culture genres for a wild ride of postmodern pulp pathos, action and unexpected humor! A publisher is expected soon, but payment in these days of indie do-it-yourself is the creators’ own job so a Kickstarter campaign is running through October 7 to finish funding the project. Click the screen above or this link (http://kck.st/17e4l62) to see how you can help NIGHTWORLD see the light of day!