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A Wave of GI Joe

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Walt

I actually (finally) completed the first wave of the Walmart-exclusive(?) "retro" GI Joe line!

I’m a total sucker for these, as I never really got "into" the brand as a kid. I consider my "official" intro to be September 2001 when (thanks to my friend Lonnie) I checked out the first issue of Devil’s Due‘s GI Joe comic series. I lapsed pretty quickly–initially–but wound up getting back into the series a couple years later, thanks in large part to Lonnie‘s purchase of Master & Apprentice #1 which I should have "picked up on" as I knew he already had it. As we walked outta the comic shop, he pulled it out of his bag and handed it to me.

I then followed the new (from Devil’s Due) stuff for years, and was definitely keen on the IDW continuation (by Larry Hama himself!) of the Marvel series–including original numbering.

I’ve long been much more interested in the story–and the idea of the story–than the toys; particularly given the relative lack of toys for me as an "adult collector" while wielding "adult money."

I bowed out on the GI Joe Classified line due to frustrations with Target-exclusives, price point, and all the crap around that.

These Walmart-exclusive figures have actually been attainable! AND they’re 1/3 cheaper than the larger figures, and hit more of a nostalgia button for me.

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Now, before anyone jumps on me for it–the Cobra Commander figure is–I believe–from a 25th anniversary line of retro-style figures; I bought it last summer because it was there and looked cool and, as it turns out, was a mere $2 more than these brand-new figures.

I believe there’s already a second wave of these, but it’s taken me months just to track these down–and I’ve had to "settle" for damaged packaging, both from the store and their online shipping, just to get these at all.

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I’m not overly impressed with the A.W.E. Striker…but I am with the H.I.S.S. Tank! I’m usually not really one for "vehicles" anymore, especially with lack of space to display ’em properly (a large part of so many toys remaining packaged lately is that I flat-out lack the open space/surface area to display stuff). But the retro packaging absolutely "sold" me on the tank. The Striker is more for the "completionist" in me.

It seems a shame that Playmates doesn’t have a "retro" TMNT line out right now. They’ve been putting out some limited box sets of the oldest base figures, but I’d be all over a bunch of the post-original-first-wave of TMNT same as I’m all over all these GI Joe figures…and vehicles. Let alone the Masters of the Universe line! (Which will, itself, be another post sometime).

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of February 24, 2021

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Walt

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Well…

This wound up being a huge week! So huge that I passed on a book I’d been considering–the Spawn Compendium. As-is I spent significantly more than I’d planned, for NOT having any collected volumes in the mix!

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New issue of Spawn–#315–putting us deeper into the 300+ territory. And if I’m recalling correctly, starting with #256…this puts me 60 issues (or 5 years, half-a-decade, more than 1/6 of the entire existence of the book) deep myself!

Crossover #4 puts us into the back-half of the mini-series (at least, I assume it’s a 6-issue mini-series as most such Image books seem to be?!?).

Amazing Spider-Man #60 marks 7 issues I’ve been along for the ride. This should be the 3rd chapter of this particular arc…and it was a combination of the cover in solicitation or preview somewhere and an issue being in my pulls recently that I decided to at least go through to this issue to check things out. Though I’m already more than tired of the Kindred character and tone and not entirely sure what I’m reading in terms of issue-to-issue stuff.

Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar #5 marks the conclusion of this mini-series, I believe. I hope. I’d snagged the first issue to try; then the 2nd-3rd when I realized two more were out in case I liked the first issue enough…and then #4 and now 5 to complete the series/story. Still have to read the issues. And probably need to stay OUT of such minis…depending on if/how Marvel and/or Games Workshop decide to (allow) stuff like this to be collected.

A couple of X-books this week in Wolverine #10, and X-Men #18. These get to be added to "the stack" for eventual reading once I catch up one way or the other–from the #2s in the first wave of Dawn of X or scooting forward from the X of Swords crossover.

Usagi Yojimbo: The Wanderer’s Road #4 marks 4 issues into the next arc of the classic iteration of the character, colorized here.

Kaiju Score benefits from a friend’s recommendation–this is now the 4th issue I’ve bought, with #s 1-3 still in the to-be-read pile. And I’m guessing this will be a 5-6-issue mini-series.

And then–while I’ve no real intention of sticking with DC into its new initiative (Infinite Frontier, is it? I’m blanking at the moment of typing and don’t feel like Googling it)–I’d picked up several of the other giant-size specials out of Death Metal so figured why not get this Generations Forged? Having bought those others, and DC being what it’s been of late, not keen on their collected volumes nor in double-dipping for already-graphic-novel-ish squarebound/title-on-the-spine issues…and my OCD would demand this eventually anyway. Plus…Dan Jurgens was a name I saw with it, so…yeah.

Whew…nine issues!

…What?

Nope, we’re not done yet!

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Stray Dogs #1 appealed to me (apparently) in browsing new comics for the week on League of Comic Geeks, so I’d clicked to have it appear in the "checklist" that gets emailed to me every Tuesday/Wednesday. And since the issue was available with the actual/main/"A"/standard/NON-variant cover…I snagged it. To add to the ever-growing pile of stuff yet-to-be-read and all that. Something I read about it, though made it sound different and interesting, and something I’d enjoy, so time will tell!

Nuclear Family #1 simply caught my attention sitting there, and the cover showing apparently an entire family…well, I’ll check it out. Not keen on the $4.99 price point, but already spending $4.99+ on other issues and it already being a huge week, I figured what’s another few dollars? And it’s at least for a comic from a publisher that’s perhaps a bit more warranted to have $4.99 issues–cardstock-ish covers, and NOT owned by Disney nor AT&T. So another issue that I have to shrug at, toss on the pile, and who knows.

And that wraps up another week’s haul. Well, I also bought another "art box" of the Jim Lee X-Men (1991) #1 art. (A shortbox featuring the cover of the deluxe edition). Whether I’ll add it in with shuffling my ’90s X-stuff, or more likely use it to house my Dawn of X to present X-stuff…I dig it. Perhaps I’ll look into an actual Dawn of X or see if there was a House of X/Powers of X such box.

Here’s hoping next week isn’t nearly as huge!

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Resumption of X: Purchase #3

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Walt

While I shared this in my "Weekly Haul" post for February 10th, I realized it deffffinitely fit this series and should be called out as its own thing! Especially with utilizing a number of comic shops to track down as many of these issues as I can as "recent back issues" or roughly-cover-price back issues!

At Comic Heaven, I was able to snag 7 recent back issues–Marauders, Excalibur, and Hellions issues–as well as a couple of "priced back issues" bagged and boarded in the official back issue bins for about 25 cents above cover price (which to me covers the bag-and-board!)

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Though apparently I did overlap on Marauders #17…oops! I guess that could be worse, and I’m not too concerned in the grand scheme…especially considering how much I’m spending lately to try to catch up on 16-18 months’ worth of an entire family of modern titles in very short order!

While I can largely go with publication order for the first six issues of the initial wave of titles, I’m honestly not quite sure what issues of which series take place after or during X of Swords–with stuff like (I believe) New Mutants having only a single issue in the mix, while other titles may’ve had 3 or more issues in the crossover.

I suppose I’ll get that figured out eventually…part of me is eager to dive into post-X of Swords reading while part of me wants to fly through/catch up TO the event from the beginning before going forward.

If nothing else, I imagine i’ll at least be following Chris Sheehan and the issue order he takes for his X-Lapsed podcast covering every. single. issue. of Dawn of X (and then some!).

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Resumption of X: Purchase #2

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Walt

In tandem with an order placed with Midtown Comics, I placed an order with Lonestar Comics (mycomicshop.com) for a number of other Dawn of X/Reign of X issues.

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Three issues of Wolverine, including the first! And six issues of Excalibur…though I didn’t realize the one issue was a 2nd print. Sort of annoyed with myself but could be worse I guess. Also some double-dipping where i’d been "forced" to buy variants or 2nd print for X of Swords issues just to get ’em at all.

I get particularly annoyed with variants and covers that don’t look like their marketing and such…and not at all keen on "settling" for 2nd or later prints, especially when the firsts should be around overall!

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Five issues of Marauders, and four of X-Men. I don’t think I’d realized any of the actual X-Men issues had tied in with the Empyre thing…I thought it was an Empyre: X-Men mini-series separately. Or maybe there was that as well as these. I dunno…I’ll figure it out eventually!

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Finally, the first seven issues of X-Factor. Definitely a big chunk, but very cool to be able to get the whole series thus far. (At least, I think it’s the entire series thus far!)

I definitely like the logo on this one as well. It keeps the Dawn of X style but is a definite callback to the classic original series.

25 issues and another expensive chunk down…but issues being at cover price or under was again a definite advantage here!

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

X-Men Legends #1 [Review]

Posted on February 22, 2021 by Walt

xmen_legends_001The Burning Blood Part One: Shattered Crystal, Scattered Dreams

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Penciler: Brett Booth
Inker: Adelso Corona
Colorist: Guru-EFX
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Assistant Editor: Lauren Amaro
Editor: Mark Basso
X-Men Senior Editor: Jordan D. White
Cover Date: April 2021
Cover Price: $4.99

Possibly my earliest conscious memories of X-Men comics are the X-Cutioner’s Song event/crossover issues polybagged with a trading card…because a friend was collecting that crossover. It didn’t mean anything to me at the time, personally…though I wasn’t too far behind getting in thanks to the then-new XTAS, and Fatal Attractions event/crossover. There’s still the nostalgia for me for those ranges of issues as such. Two of the earliest issues I can remember owning for myself are Uncanny X-Men #300, and X-Men #24. I do NOT remember "Adam X" nor much of anything about a "third Summers brother" at the time despite whatever issues I was reading…anything I DID know or think surely came from trading cards and/or Wizard Magazine. When Brubaker got to tackle the definitive answer to the question of that brother in 2005’s Deadly Genesis it also didn’t mean too terribly much to me for not being all that invested in there being or who was "the third Summers brother."

Anyway…X-Men Legends #1:

We open on Erik the Red directing his minions–the Crystal Claws–to attack Providence Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska. After much destruction and death, they find the people they’re after: Philip and Deborah Summers. The scene then shifts to find Cyclops and Havok–Scott and Alex Summers–back to back opposing a different wave of these Crystal Claw folks. Once victorious, they seek out Xavier for answers, given his relationship with a certain Shi’Ar. Before they get any, the brothers are called to Alaska where they learn of their grandparents’ kidnapping and ransom. The scene changes again to some flashbacky stuff of the childhood of a character calling himself Adam. He’s meditating in a field and when confronted, gets to show off his abilities with throwing weapons by killing a snake. Cable shows up and talks before giving Adam’s location to the Summers Brothers. While Adam deals with more memories, he finds himself set upon by Hepzibah and Raza of the Starjammers. Their fight is interrupted by Cyclops and Havok, and Adam fights them as well. When the three find themselves at a questionable stalemate, a ship decloaks to reveal Corsair–father of Cyclops and Havok. While he notes the confusion on their faces, Corsair reveals that he knows more than they do, and fires his weapon at them. To Be Continued…

There’s something refreshing and yet challenging about this issue. It’s refreshing to have an issue that has so much packed into it…rather than the decompressed, semi-cinematic, un-captioned, un-narrated, dialogue-less nature of too many modern comics. It’s refreshing to have a first issue start out right into action, rather than being all setup for the next five issues or so, as a mere 1/6th of a singular story. It’s refreshing to have editor’s notes and footnotes. And it’s darned refreshing to this fan of ’90s comics and ’90s X-Men to see Cyclops, Havok, and Xavier in their early-’90s look, not to mention an adult/older Cable, and various other touches that feel very reminiscent of the ’90s. It’s a bit challenging, however, coming 26-27 years after the comics it’s meant to fit around, and though familiar with the general time-frame, I’m not steeped enough in conscious memory of 1994 continuity, "Adam X," and the finer details of that. I don’t feel like I knew Erik the Red prior to Uncanny X-Men #350 in 1998 or so, and I’ve never been a huge fan of the Shi’Ar and such. I’ve also been conditioned especially over the past 20+ years to the decompressed format of modern comics, so found it a bit jarring to have so much going on in this single issue, jumping all over the place. For a new-in-2021-comic, it feels very out of place and a bit choppy/clunky.

The art team manages to capture a ’90s feel in addition to simply depicting the consistency of a ’90s-era "house style" of the characters’ costumes and such. It’s by no means a perfect fit, as it is still a comic actually published in 2021 with seemingly contemporary art, carrying with it a modern aesthetic I can’t quite put to words. The visuals are clearly intended to evoke the colorful, dynamic, over-the-top-ish frenetic action that I, at least, tend to associate by reputation with ’90s comics. This isn’t Jim Lee art by any means, but I liked it and found it rather enjoyable, particularly in the moment as I read this issue. At the minimum, the visual style helps the issue to show us this is a ’90s-era-style story, rather than just telling us the fact.

Nicieza‘s name was a huge selling point for me–he was one of the main X-writers when I first got into the X-Men in 1993 or so. Getting a new story from him that’s meant to fit right into existing continuity and that is not further-ballooning out modern elements was extremely appealing to me. I mentioned earlier that this issue felt very out of place and choppy/clunky. That’s in the context of being a comic published in 2021, based on modern 2021 comics tropes, generalities, and conditioning over much of the past several decades to the fairly strict, rigid decompression of every 6 issues being a single story, rather than having multiple core stories and numerous plot threads woven across 6 issues. The Summers brothers’ interactions; the quick shift to Xavier for information, the convenience of plot elements falling into place within pages…it worked for me.

If this was a modern issue, I’d expect a multi-page sequence of a mysterious ship approaching a planet that turns out to be Earth followed by multiple pages of attack and double-page spread(s) of the devastation left behind and a cliffhanger of two people with the surname SUMMERS being found. Instead, that’s just several pages’ prologue. In that regard, this issue could pretty easily–by modern standards–be broken out into 3-4 issues. At 30 pages of story in a $4.99 comic…it (grudgingly) actually seems worth its price compared to most same-length/same-priced comics.

This felt like a much longer read than I expected, and I enjoyed the details and captions and such…it’s not that the reader is spoon-fed, but the reader gets to read a story–they don’t have to participate, they don’t have to nitpick and think-deeply and pick stuff apart from subtle visual clues that lack any sort of dialogue or caption reference for key parts of the story…and the only "homework" the reader would need to do–if so chosen–is follow the editor’s notes to check back to X-Men #39 (immediately prior to Legion Quest and the Age of Apocalypse) and a Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell, I presume) issue. There are no "infopages" nor "infographics" interrupting the flow of the story, and really what you see is what you get.

This is by no means a perfect issue, and it is $4.99. But it’s an issue that I was looking forward to for awhile, based primarily on the concept and the cover; and that $4.99 gets you 30 pages of story rather than merely 20ish for $3.99; an extra 50% of story for only an extra 25% of price. The cover sports the "classic" bold, blocky 3-D-ish X-MEN logo certainly associated with the ’90s comics (and then some!) with "Legends" and "#1" worked into it…much the way the ’90s Superman comics fit "Action Comics" and "The Man of Steel" in against "Superman." The cover image of the main/standard/non-variant cover (pictured above) strongly evokes the ’90s to me and lent itself strongly to my sense of nostalgia and thus interest in checking this out…as a series, and certainly as a first issue.

Given that this is a story by a prior writer, meant to fit into a point of continuity nearly half the property’s existence in the past, this certainly won’t be for "everyone," nor will it appeal to everyone. It absolutely appeals to someone like me that grew up with the ’90s X-Men and looks fondly upon that period of the property. While likely a curiosity to readers brought in by Hickman‘s House of X Powers of X, Dawn of X/Reign of X/X of Swords and such…this is absolutely non-essential to what I understand of the current books, and more a chance for older, lapsed readers to get something new. Or for newer readers to get a taste of something out of the past that is actually new.

I’m certainly not keen on a comic’s being $4.99, but I definitely feel I got my money’s worth out of this issue and am really looking forward to #2 and beyond. Honestly, a telling point should be that I so thoroughly enjoyed this issue that it prompted this review at all, marking my first review of a "current issue" in maybe a year or more!

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Filed under: 2021 posts, 2021 Reviews, MARVEL, Marvel Universe, X-Men Legends | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of February 17, 2021

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Walt

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Another week, another haul…

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The Last Ronin #2 finally came out. I’m not sure anymore off the top of my head how long this series is. 3 issues? 5? 6? But it’s been nearly 4 months since the first issue shipped–that one came out October 28th! So this thing’s not monthly, not bi-monthly…it’s not even quarterly. Seems more Doomsday Clock in schedule.

I’ve been looking forward to X-Men Legends for a fair bit; very cool to actually have it out now! I definitely like the idea of having an X-title like this that brings back older/classic creators to tell new stories set in various prior points of continuity!

This latest Iron Fist mini-series is by Larry Hama which was the selling point for me on the first issue. I enjoyed it well enough, so here’s issue #2!

Where I’d basically given up on King‘s Batman/Catwoman series after it being a no-show for most of 2020 (where I believe it was originally expected for late-2019!) it was the cover of this third issue that I think re-“sold” me on the series. I do look forward to getting this read and see how things are shaping up…though we’ll also see if I hold the patience for its story being all over the place without much in the way of transitions.

The Walking Dead Deluxe continues to be an enjoyable series, and I’m continuing to be glad to get the series in this format and re-read stuff. 9 issues already? Seems like it just started. But I’m definitely not complaining for now!

Then Marauders #18 and Cable #8 are the week’s new X-issues. I’ve read the latter 2/3rds of X of Swords but haven’t pressed further yet…I’m torn between flying on ahead of it and THEN backtracking, or continue playing catch-up from the beginning of Dawn of X first.

Speaking OF Dawn of X, vol. 13 is here, and it looks like the books are nearing their end: solicitation suggests that volume 16 will be the lead-in to X of Swords, and I’m somewhat assuming that will get an omnibus or otherwise standalone volume(s). Then again, maybe vols. 17-20 will BE X of Swords? I’m definitely double-dipping because as I’ve said pretty much all along: I really want to support this “anthology” format, and as much as I grouse about other stuff, this is something I can proactively “put my money where my mouth is” or whatever saying rather than simply “not buying” something.

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While I was getting photos for this post, Sarah-cat decided to waltz in seeking attention. Here she is with several X issues (that will actually get their own post eventually).

Next week’s gonna be another big week…though with a couple minis concluding at least.

We’ll see how stuff goes.

Also of personal note for myself…with this post–Friday, February 19–it’s been 4 weeks of 5-days/week posts, plus a 4-day week before that. I can’t remember the last time I managed such a run on this blog, nor how long this’ll keep up with personal stuff. (Something I keep saying time and again).

Here’s to the end of another week and hopefully a good weekend to come all around!

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Resumption of X: Purchase #1

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Walt

A couple weeks back, I took the plunge and bought a bunch of X-issues from the X of Swords crossover. I suppose for this post series, that’d make it the "Resumption of X: Purchase #0".

I ended up deciding to start looking at exactly how hard it would really be to dive in and "catch up" on the single issues for the current iterations of the X-titles; the Dawn of X or Reign of X or whatever.

Just out of curiosity as to just HOW MANY printings there’d been for the first issues of the initial series and recalling numerous reprints with House of X/Powers of X and such…I found that several of the first print, regular cover issues were available for slightly under cover price at Midtown Comics…so I decided to put in an order.

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I’d already had X-Men #1…after the two HoXPoX minis, I bought the single issue before throwing in the towel over pricing and info pages and all that…as well as stuff being so drastically different from "my" X-titles.

Here are four more of the #1s from that initial wave of books–X-Force #1, New Mutants #1, Excalibur #1, and Fallen Angels #1.

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Of the "first wave" of #1s that I recently (re)read via Marvel Unlimited, by far my favorite was Marauders #1. I’d already pretty much decided that I was at least interested in tracking down that first issue in print and possibly the rest of the series for the heckuvit.

Here are seven issues of the series–more than a third of its run so far–which put me closer than any of the other titles to a full run to present.

11 issues…while cover price or slightly under, definitely showed me that this "Resumption of X" or catching up won’t be cheap. But seeking "retail therapy" lately this has been a good focus. And while I’m NOT much of a "thrill of the hunt" kinda guy, there’s a bit of excitement at diving fully into a line of comics and being able to "score" first issues and such at cover price rather than inflated prices and hunting for any but excess variants.

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, Resumption of X | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Rogue Two

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Walt

Ok, ok…so that post title is a little off. Rogue One, Rogue Two…whatever.

Wholllllle different Rogue.

I (finally!) got around to getting my retro-style Marvel Legends Rogue out of her packaging. AND I had a spare stand, so I’m able to have her in flight/levitating rather than just standing pretty or such.

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Not the greatest of backgrounds, but had the photo from sharing with a friend. There’s a stereo speaker back there, as well as the Lightning Collection Red Ranger helmet and White Ranger helmet. And bonus points if you recognize the poster!

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I’d also recently received the Iron Studios Rogue Art Scale 1/10 statue. Apparently I had pre-ordered this all the way back in 2019, and it finally arrived.

Particularly compared to the Legends figure, this one seems a bit subdued color-wise, and a lot more "detailed," where the Legends figure is brighter and more comic/cartoon-based.

This statue is definitely not a figure–and cost at least 6 times what the Legends figure did–and is impressive in its own right. I believe this one is part of a numerous-character set that along with a $1200+ Sentinel can make up a huge diorama.

Unfortunately (but fortunately for my wallet!) I wouldn’t begin to have room to properly display such a full set, so I’ve stuck with Rogue here. Though I suppose a Wolverine and Cyclops wouldn’t be out of the question; nor Gambit. Except for the price. (Though I’d rather pay the price for a Cyclops statue in this line than a similar or greater price just because the Legends figure is "out of print"!)

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

My First Larry Elmore Dragonlance Prints

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Walt

To say that Larry Elmore is my favorite Dragonlance artist would probably be an understatement. To say that he is THE definitive such artist would be muuuuuch more accurate.

At least to me.

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Way back in 1995, I was at a used books store with Mom. We were visiting my grandparents, and it was a shop that Grandpa frequented…and that I remember Mom liking to visit when we were there.

I’d then-recently been introduced to Magic: The Gathering and Netrunner through other guys in my Boy Scouts Troop. I was also aware of D&D, I think. And I came across a Greyhawk book–I believe it was a vol. 2, by Rose Estes (amazing that I remember that name after all these years, especially for a book I did NOT get!). [OK, apparently it was a #3, as 1 & 2 were written by Gygax. And it was Greyhawk Adventures.]

Near, or next to the Greyhawk book(s) were a couple other books, for something called "Dragonlance." Where the other did not have a volume 1 present, these had books 1 & 2. And whatever other context…I got to leave that store with two new books, set in some fantasy setting that perhaps I thought would "impress" the other guys, or give me more "insight" or even let me introduce them to something…who knows.

The books were Dragons of Autumn Twilight and Dragons of Winter Night.

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Autumn Twilight began my journeys through Krynn, and over 25 years later still holds a key spot in my heart/nostalgia. It introduced me to Tanis Half-Elvin, Flint Fireforge, Sturm Brightblade, Goldmoon, Riverwind, Tasselhoff Burrfoot, Caramon and Raistlin Majere…Kitiara, Tika, Laurana, and so on.

This group of friends that came back together after five years apart. At 14, that was more than a third of my lifetime, and I barely had any conscious reference point for it. (Now as of this typing, 5 years goes back to early-2016, and I’m farrrr more consciously aware of the block of time 5 years is, as well as how it’s both a long time and yet also not all that long, especially when it comes to bonds of friendship).

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I went pretty much right from Autumn Twilight into Winter Night as I recall. But I did not have Spring Dawning right away. So for a chunk of time, I only experienced 2/3rds of the original, core story.

Of course, it wasn’t that long til I was able to read it; along with the Legends trilogy (the first three making up the Chronicles trilogy). And using Christmas money from my grandmother, I got a "collector’s edition" volume that collected all 3 of the Legends books into a single book, with another iconic, favorite piece of art.

And somewhere in those "early days" of my Dragonlance experience, one of the guys from scouts shared some images with me that he had. I recognized some of them then–from these books, as well as from various cards in the TSR ccg Spellfire. But one in particular stood out to me: with zero prep and a single glance, with no captions or anything, I immediately recognized exactly who the character was, and full context of the scene…the very moment it represented. A rather iconic scene from Winter Night with Laurana, Sturm, and Kitiara.

Which is all just scratching the surface of my thoughts and memories.

But the art from those book covers? Larry Elmore.

That image that conveyed that specific moment from the book, that fit description and imagination in the same way I later heard tell of why scenes in The Lord of the Rings were done as they were?

Also Larry Elmore.

And for years now, I’ve been aware of the artist’s website and that one could order prints of some of these key pieces of art. Hardly like owning "original art," but still a way to own large versions without book/publisher trade dress and such…and certainly suitable for framing and hanging. "Actual art," not just some generic poster or some such.

But after procrastinating and never quite pulling the trigger…earlier this year I decided to go for it. Wasn’t about to order all the prints I’d want, but had realized that was part of my issue…so much of my favorite Dragonlance art is his…and since I couldn’t order it all at once, I ended up not ordering any.

And while the Test of the Twins is absolutely another I’d love to have, I’d decided I was going to be able to get two prints for present.

So it went back to the very beginning for me.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight and Dragons of Winter Night.

The prints themselves are a bit "lighter" than I expected, "brighter" in a way and not as "dark" as I had in my mind’s eye…but that’s likely largely due to having a white border rather than the dark red fading into black, or dark blue into black. Also a fact of being larger, and being mass "prints" that may or may not be directly from the original art in a way the 1980s’ editions of the novels were.

The prints are something like 18" by 19 3/4" and it does not seem that any standard frame sizes include those exact dimensions nor even slightly larger for 18"x20". While on the one hand, I shouldn’t be concerned with frame price for what I paid for these two prints–even "on sale"–I knew I was not intending to go the "custom frame" route nor looking for anything big or expensive at present, period.

Then after seeing a photo someone posted in a Facebook group I’m in showing one of these prints in a larger frame, I realized it wouldn’t look as "off" as I’d thought…and snagged these poster frames and got my prints framed.

Next step is to actually get them hung or mounted…though I also have a couple of TMNT posters to pick up from a friend and get framed that will also need a home, so we’ll see where stuff winds up!

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

TSR Comic Spark: Dragonlance Arrivals!

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Walt

2021 seems to be a year for Dragonlance, and generally stuff that originated with TSR, for me. A few weeks back, I posted about my "TSR Comics Spark 2021," coming across some old promo comics. I ended up finding a copy of the one I was missing, which arrived and I noted in my "Weekly Haul: Week of January 27, 2021" post. I’d also ordered a bunch of Forgotten Realms and Spelljammer issues, that I shared in my "TSR Comic Spark: Forgotten Realms and Spelljammer Arrivals!" post.

And of course, there’s been the announcement of new Dragonlance from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman for later this year, which remains to be seen.

But meanwhile…I was able to order a bunch of Dragonlance issues, which arrived…last week? The week before?

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Of course, these were a bit more scattered than my Forgotten Realms order. Dragonlance #s 1-2, 5, 7-9.

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Issues 10-16.

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20-22 & 25.

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Issues 31-34.

So that leaves me wanting issues 3, 4, 6, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30.

Over a third of the series. But this makes for a good start!

I’ll also need to find my Devil’s Due-published issues…but those are a totally different animal, as they adapted novels and weren’t original/additional content themselves.

I often focus on singular "grails" lately and neglect that there are certain series I’m actively interested in filling in. This goes into that bucket of wants, along with various 2099 series and whatnot.

Everything in its time, though. And perhaps an upcoming convention of sorts.

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

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