This summer, chances are you may find yourself with a bottle that needs opening. So why not do it in style? Diamond Select Toys has four new solid metal bottle openers coming out this summer — Galactus, Domo, the Punisher Logo and the Expendables Logo — and each has the potential to make you the coolest person on the beach. Check out the new packaging shots of all four, and pre-order at your local comic shop, or your favorite online retailer!

Collecting Marvel Minimates can be daunting — after all, they’re celebrating their tenth year in 2013, and releasing their 50th consecutive series of mini-figures. So where does a new collector start? Which are the “best” Marvel Minimates? Diamond Select Toys answered that last year with the first Best of Marvel Minimates assortment, which featured the best-ever versions of some of Marvel’s top heroes and villains. Now DST is bringing you more of the Best in Series 2!

This time, eight more of Marvel’s most famous heroes and villains get the ultimate Minimate treatment: Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Doom, Daredevil and Venom, the Punisher and Deadpool, and the Hulk and Loki! They’re the best versions of Marvel’s best characters, and each 2-inch mini-figure comes with additional parts and accessories — the Hulk can actually transform into Bruce Banner! This series will only be available at comic shops and specialty stores starting in Spring 2013, but Series 1 is available now, with Wolverine and Sabretooth, Captain America and Thor, Iron Man and the Thing, and Spider-Man and the Green Goblin.

Pick up Series 1 today, and pre-order Series 2 though your local comic shop or favorite online retailer!

The weekend is almost here and I’ll be spending it trying to catch up and get ahead on my comic book reading and drinking, lots of drinking.

Around the Blogs:

CBLDF – ComicsPRO Retailers Celebrate Banned Books Week! – We’ll be celebrating!

The Mary Sue – New York Artist Paints Portraits of Every Single Congresswoman -Pretty cool.

Comicvine – Mark Millar to consult on Fox’s Marvel movies -Hmmm, very interesting.

Around the Tubes Reviews:

CBR – American Vampire #31

Book Sake – The City of Ember

Talking Comics – The Goon #42

CBR – The Punisher #16

Talking Comics – Rachel Rising #11

Ely Standard – Ultimate Comics X-Men Vol 2: His Will Be Done

Talking Comics – X-Men Legacy #274

It’s a new week and Fan Expo brought some solid news. Anything folks are excited for?  Here’s some news you might have missed.

Around the Blogs:

Bleeding Cool – Morbius The Living Vampire #1 For January From Marvel… And More -I give it maybe 12 issues.

Bleeding Cool - DC Comics Announce Geoff Johns And David Finch’s Justice League Of America -Could be solid.

Los Angeles Times – Real-life masked crusaders fight crime their own way -I’m waiting for the first major mess up..

Bleeding Cool – Pete Woods Joins In The Liefeld Debate

Bleeding Cool – Now It’s Rob Liefeld Vs Scott Snyder – “Get Over Yourself You Pretentious Prick”

Bleeding Cool – Judd Winick Walks Off Batwing, Leaves DC Comics, For Now – Batwing was decent.

Bleeding Cool – Rob Liefeld Versus Tom Brevoort. Oh, It’s On.

Bleeding Cool – Walmart To Release Exclusive Avengers Season One Original Graphic Novel With DVD And Blu-Ray -Sigh….

Around the Tubes Reviews:

Read Comic Books – Adventure Time #7

CBR – America’s Got Powers #3

Read Comic Books – Deadhorse #4

CBR – Punisher #14

Bleeding Cool – Spike #1

Talking Comics – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #13

Read Comic Books – X-O Manowar #4

Do fans of the Punisher finally get the movie they deserve (and shouldn’t be that hard to do)? Thomas Jane has put together a fan film of the vigilante character. The actor originally portrayed the character in the 2004 movie and I think Jane was the best of the actors to play the character.

I wanted to make a fan film for a character I’ve always loved and believed in – a love letter to Frank Castle & his fans. It was an incredible experience with everyone on the project throwing in their time just for the fun of it. It’s been a blast to be a part of from start to finish — we hope the friends of Frank enjoy watching it as much as we did making it. — Thomas Jane

There was rumors that the Punisher: War Zone brand was coming back and it looks like all those This is War teasers Marvel released this week has to do with it.  We’ll find out the exact details Sunday, July 15^th  at the Amazing Spider-Man panel, 12:30PM PST, during Comic Con International 2012!

The weekend is here, yay!

Around the Blogs:

Kotaku – Here’s How You Bring Superman and Batman into World of Warcraft – Still won’t get me to play.

The Beat – Madefire (Read: Mamtor) Launches New Digital Graphic Novel Format With Dave Gibbons, Bill Sienkiewicz and Friends – I’ll have to check this out.

MTV Geek – JManga Drops Subscription Requirement, Allows Readers to Pay as They Go – Smart.

Around the Tubes Reviews:

The Herts Advertiser 24 – Kick-Ass 2

CBR – The Punisher #12

Talking Comics – This Week in The Avengers – 6/20/2012

Think Hero – Comic Book Reviews – “ink Hero” Avengers Vs. X-Men #6, Before Watchmen: Comedian #1, Saga #4, Creator Owned Heroes #1

Ok, time to kick this into overdrive and get totally caught up…..

The Avengers #25 – This was supposed to be a tie-in to Avengers Vs. X-Men, but really the connection is flimsy.  It has a lot of wrapping up of the previous story arc, which for people wanting to get into Marvel’s big event throws you off.  The characters are often off and the art is a bit of a let down.  Overall, I finished the comic and scratched my head.

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

Avengers Vs. X-Men #2 – The second chapter of Marvel’s big event is choppy and poorly written.  I just can’t describe the issue, but the narrative just has tons of issues.  It jumps around and just sets up a bunch of fights, that’s about it.  For such a huge event, it really doesn’t hold up to what it should be.

Story: 7 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7

Batman #8 – The beginning of the Batman event, The Night of the Owls first issue shows off how it’s supposed to be done.  Snyder’s writing is just fantastic.  A solid comic in every way.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Captain Atom #8 – I’m honestly shocked this series is still going and expect it to get chopped at some point.  The series really steps it up a notch as there’s now a bigger story arc involving the destruction of the world and preventing it.  The art is great, concepts interesting, people, you should be reading this!

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Fables #116 – So many story lines, so much to keep track of.  The series isn’t quite as solid as it once was, but it’s still pretty damn solid.  The concepts are great and I really have no idea what to expect next.

Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8

Green Lantern Corps. #8 – Guy gets promoted and the Alpha Corps steps up.  Overall a quieter story that I think is an improvement over the last few issues.  Not amazing, but intriguing.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

The Invincible Iron Man #515 – That was one hell of an issue.  Tony is being attacked from all sides and the Mandarin sure as hell looks like he’s got a solid plan.  There’s one shocker of a moment, one I wasn’t expecting and then a twist that I again wasn’t expecting.  So good.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Justice League #8 – Wow is the team filled with a bunch of dicks.  This is a team I just don’t like.  That being said, the Shazam back up story has a lot of potential actually giving us interesting characters and some emotion that doesn’t drive me away, but makes me want to find out more.

Story: 6.5 Art: 7.25 Overall: 6.75

New Mutants #41 – Wow did I not like this issue.  I don’t know much about Blink, is she always this irritating of a character?  It’s like an anime character I want to punch.  And the art is so off.  Not my cup of tea at all.

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

Nightwing #8 – The Night of Owls starts here for this series, though it say prelude.  It really jumps into the storyline.  There’s a great backstory that’s told giving a lot of history of the Owls and it’s ties to Dick Grayson.  I’m mix on the whole concept, but it feels like villains who can really challenge Batman and his family.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

The Punisher #10 – The second part of the Omega Drive story, the action and banter is so good.  This is how you do a solid crossover.  Each character has only added to the story and brought out the best in each other.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

The Shadow #1 – I’ve like some Shadow comics, this, not so much.  The story is choppy, some of it doesn’t make sense.  I struggled to get through the issue.  A shame, because I’ve really been digging Dynamite’s recent comics.

Story: 5 Art: 6 Overall: 5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Micro-Series: Leonardo – Leonardo meets the Foot Clan in the latest entry in this nice series of one shots that tie into the main series.  So fantastic.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Thunderbolts #173 – The team fights their past selves and a plan to get to the present is set out.  That ending, I wasn’t expecting that.  But still, not a fan of the time travel story.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Uncanny X-Force #24 – Deadpool, Logan and Kurt take on the Age of Apocalypse Iceman while the Otherworld storyline gets wrapped up.  The story is an absolute improvement over the last few issues, but the art is still off.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Venom #16 – Venom is tasked on a mission to transfer a prisoner which goes awry.  The issue is pretty solid and I definitely liked the ending.  I just wish the mystery of who the assassin was went on a bit longer.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

The Walking Dead #96 – Not a lot of action, but a very important moment as writer Robert Kirkman continues to drive the series in a whole new direction.  Some major changes are under way.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

Wolverine and the X-Men #9 – It’s a prelude to Avengers Vs. X-Men in an excellent issue that’s all set up.  You can tell the tough choices being made, there’s some fantastic back and forth and great art.  All of that dashed with a sense of humor.  So good.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

Wonder Woman #8 - Wonder Woman heads to Hades to free Zola.  The action is ok and take on Hades is interesting.  Overall, the story is just ok.  The series is definitely losing the steam it once had.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

X-Factor #234 – This is the beginning of a bigger story arc and with Jamie back, that’s the whole team.  The series has always been about the interaction of folks, and that’s top notch.  The art is a bit off and other than the lots of talking not a lot happens, but it’s really damn entertaining.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

X-Men #27 – The X-Men’s battle by the side of the vampires ends.  I yawn.  There’s lots of set up, but for all of the action it seems like it’s just a dangling story and not complete…. sigh.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

It was a new comic day yesterday… what’d everyone get?

Around the Blogs:

Spinoff Online – Fox Passes on The Punisher - It has had such a good record…

CBLDF – THE GUARDIAN Analyzes Tintin in the Congo Case – An interesting read.

Around the Tubes Reviews:

CBR – New Crusaders #1

CBR – Saga #3

Complex – Review: “Avengers Vs. X-Men” Continues To Bring Blockbuster Action To The Comic Book Page

Another week down.  Almost getting caught up on reviews.

the Avengers #24 – We now know Osborn’s powers and it’s a bit predictable as to how he’s beaten.  The story’s ending is ok, not quite the long term shake-up you’d expect from this type of story.  Overall, a solid story arc that doesn’t quite end the way you’d hope.  It feels rushed and a bit predictable.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Avengers Assemble #1 – A new Zodiac has formed, but other than the Hulk being in this comic, there’s not a whole lot that makes this series stand out from the other Avengers comics out there.  In fact the art is a bit off and story fairly unexciting.  Not sure this is a comic I want to assemble for.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Batgirl #7 – More of the Barbara Gordon pitty party as she seeks out the Black Canary to spar a bit, then she goes on a mission.  There’s parts where the art is great and other parts, not so much.  The story is just ok.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.5

Batman and Robin #7 – Batman vs. Nobody and the art is solid.  That ending though, I didn’t quite expect.  The comic was simple, but it kept me on my toes as to who would do what in the fight and how they’d deal with Nobody.  Interesting stuff…

Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75

Battle Scars #5 – Hmm, the secret is out and I saw yawn.  The series is an attempt to get the 616 universe more like the movies, which is a bit silly.  Overall, we’ll see what idiocy comes of this.

Story: 6.75 Art: 7 Overall: 6.75

Batwoman #7 – The story jumps around, and I’m not sure I know everything that’s going on.  The visuals aren’t quite as amazing as they used to be, but the series is still a solid read with some amazing artwork at times.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Captain America #9 – Steve is still depowered, Sharon makes a deal to save him and Falcon goes after Bravo, I wonder where the comic’s quality has gone.  Just not quite as fund as it used to be.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.25

Daken: Dark Wolverine #22 – Daken continues to lash out and spread terror as he dies.  He’s setting off bombs and generally just causing chaos.  I really hope there’s some long term plan with the character.  I’d hate to see him go to waste.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5

Fantastic Four #604 – And with that, the end of the battle with the Mad Celestials.  A lot is thrown out there in this issue and I’d imagine it’ll have a lot of repercussions for the Fantastic Four going forward.  It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.

Story: 7.75 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Green Lantern #7 – The series finally focuses on the Indigo Tribe which we know so little about. Looks pretty interesting so far.

Story: 8 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25

Journey Into Mystery #635 – Loki, Daimon and Leah continue to fight Nightmare.  Loki does the usual Loki thing and cuts a deal that’s clearly not what it is on the surface.  As usual, the comic is thick with material (aka words), but they’re weaved so well together.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Mega Man #11 – Mega Man takes on Air Man, Metal Man and Flash Man and then gets caught in Dr. Wily’s plan.  The ending is so cool.  I can’t recommend the series enough.  It’s fantastic for kids and parents alike, especially for fans of the video game series.

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25

The Punisher #9 – The prelude to the crossover with Spider-Man and Daredevil the issue is short and a quick read.  But… looks like Punisher has a new partner and that never seems to go well.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Resurrection Man #7 – On the run in Metropolis, Resurrection Man runs into another super being and gets another power.  He’s finally at the point where he’s going to look for his past and figure out who he is.  It’s a great mystery and one I want to see more of the answer to.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Saga #1 – Brian K. Vaughn’s new series deserves all of the hype.  It’s very familiar, but at the same time, beyond fantastic.  This’ll be a hot series for a long time coming and the usual excellence I expect from such a talented writer.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

Saucer Country #1 – A Governor must deal with her political future as she contemplates running for President of the United States.  Something is wrong though.  Is it something having to do with her ex-husband?  Is it something stranger like aliens?  And what does a college professor have to do with it all?  The first issue is absolutely amazing.  One of the best comics of the year and one of the best political comics in a long time.

Story: 10 Art: 8.75 Overall: 9.5

Scarlet Spider #3 – Kaine’s supporting cast is growing and looks like some decent baddies are coming to town.  I don’t want to ruin it, but the story is solid, interaction great and art is amazing.  I’ve never been a big Spider-Man fan, but this series has me hooked.  So fantastic, I kind of want to find out more about this character and his background.

Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75

Suicide Squad #7 – The search for Harley Quinn continues as a bunch of members of Task Force X storm a police station.  There’s some holy shit moments that show this series leaves it all out there and anything can happen.  The series is pretty decent and it’s draw is more the fact that everything is on the table and anyone can die.  I was not expecting quite a few moments in the story and thats a good thing.

Story: 7.5 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Superboy #7 – Superboy continues to show how much of an arrogant brat he is and gets his butt kicked.  The series is ok, but how it ties into Teen Titans is what keeps me coming back.  If I dropped one, I’d feel like I’d need to drop both, especially since there’s a lot of crossover occurring.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7

Thief of Thieves #2 – I think the second issue might have outdone the first with a look into Redmond/Conrad’s life.  There’s a lot of looking into his past and his ex-wife.  The comic is fantastic focusing on the characters instead of the action.  I can see why this is being turned into a television series, it’s that damn good.

Story: 9.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9.5

Ultimate Comics X-Men #9 – The news of mutant’s origins hits Camp Angel which doesn’t go over well.  All hell is about to break loose in this series as an oppressed people decide to stand up for themselves.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5

Wolverine & The X-Men #7 – So much action, so much humor, so much fun.  The series is a kinetic blast that’s all over the place.  There’s just so much to take in, this series is now the best “X” series going right now.  Just beyond fantastic.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5

X-Men: Legacy #263 – Exodus is defeated, lots of arguing goes on and something is hinted at.  The story is ok, but plays well as a piece of the bigger picture.  We’ll hopefully see what that is soon.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

X-23 #21 – I think this is it for the series.  In this final and quiet issue, Laura deals with her dual sides, the vicious killer and the human being she wants to be.  It’s an interesting ending, understated and quiet. A nice reflection of a character who hasn’t quite found the leading solo series position she deserves and a character that has a lot more depth than any fan is willing to give her credit for.

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8