This is the end. The final issue of Creator-Owned Heroes. A noble experiment by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Steve Niles that I have had the pleasure of reading for the past 8 months, and the honor of reviewing for a few of those months. This book has been a lot of things. It is a magazine that combines original comic stories, experiments in storytelling, art, and design, and introspective interviews with independent comic book creators. It has served as an inspiration to indie comic creators like myself, and it has served as an example that great ideas don't always make it in today's industry.

Last time, we talked about how important it is to pre-order your comics. Today, I'll be showing you how to pre-order your comics. There are essentially two ways to go about ordering your books: pull lists and the Diamond order form. We'll be talking about both, but focusing a lot more on the second.

In the past year, several creators, editors, and various comics journalists have discussed the importance of pre-ordering. Due to the increased discussion of this process, I thought it would be fitting to make pre-ordering the focus for my 2013 blog.

For those of you who don't know the inner workings of the comic book industry, allow me to explain the process. Pre-ordering is when comic readers fill out an order form or create a pull list at their local comic shop instead of just buying comics when they visit the store. A lot of stores base their comics orders off of their regulars' orders and then add on some extra copies. The pre-order process is incredibly important to the comic industry, as it is the sole basis of industry sales number and statistics.

Where is Jake Ellis? is the sequel to Nathan Edmondson’s awesome comic series, Who is Jake Ellis? Let’s get right down to it; this is an awesome spy thriller with a little sci-fi twist. If you like movies like the Bourne series, then you’ll like Jake Ellis. Edmondson’s writing is sharp, he never wastes a panel or a text bubble, and he never weighs you down with needless exposition. The story is always moving, and the action is always intense. I also can’t forget to mention the awesome art by Tonci Zonjic; he really delivers some amazing work on this series, bringing Edmondson’s action to life.

What if I told you that you could be reading one of the best comic series ever written right now? That it is only 8 issues in, and that the company has made the first collection of 6 issues available for $10 in a trade paperback? What if I told you that you could go to a comic shop right now, and pick up a work of art by one of our century’s greatest writers and illustrated by a young woman whose artistic career will soon be legendary. What if I told you to go read Saga, a book that will be on every 'best of the year' list, will take home tons of awards, and should be on everyone’s bookshelf? Well, that is exactly what I am about to tell you.

The comic book event of the summer is nigh!  Before Watchmen, the much-anticipated prequel series to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, will consist of seven limited series and an epilogue one-shot.  Stay tuned, as the Fanboy Comics crew will be reviewing each title as it is released. Hurm. 

Thirteen pages of this issue are really good. The rest is not. For the middle thirteen pages, Darwyn Cooke does exactly what I have wanted to see this entire series. He shows us a never-before-seen Minutemen adventure that has no ties to the Watchmen source material. We get to see the Minutemen fighting a villain, being heroes, and saving the day despite all their personal flaws and failings. Then, we get to see the terrible fallout of their actions, and watch the Minutemen learn a hard lesson about heroism. It is wonderful.

Kickstarter is quickly becoming one of the best ways for independent comic creators to fund their projects. Creators with really amazing, quirky stories that a big publisher might not take a chance on can find an audience and raise the funds they need to make their dreams come true. I recently had the chance to sit down with one of these comic creators, Andres Salazar, to learn more about his upcoming comic, Pariah, MO. Here’s what he had to say about the project. Learn more about Pariah, MO, by visiting the Kickstarter page.

All Crime Comics is the latest beautiful comic from Art of Fiction. As the stunning cover by Bruce Timm suggests, this is a gritty noir book done in the style of old-school crime comics. The interesting twist to this story is that, instead of following a gritty hero like a cop or detective, this book is all about criminals. The story follows Dodger, his hired muscle Marko, and a ragtag group of criminals as they embark on a major heist to get back something that was stolen from them.

Eisner Award winner Jud Meyers talks with Fanboy Comics' Jason Enright about his new comic boutique, Blastoff Comics, what he's doing differently as a retailer, and why he is excited about bringing a specialty shop to the NoHo Arts District!

Saga is the incredible, new comic from Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples that follows the story of Marko and Alana, two lovers from different worlds that are at war with each other. Marko and Alana have a very big problem that comes in a very tiny package. You see, they just had a baby, and it is a very special little kid, because their races aren’t supposed to be able to procreate together, and now both of their home worlds want their kid and will go to any length to get it. That’s the lowdown on the story, but Saga is so much more than that.