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Sentinels of the Multiverse – My first post

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Walt

sentinels_stack_0402A few weeks ago while visiting with a couple friends out of state, we stopped by a comic & games shop, where I wound up buying a paperback, and both my friends bought new games.

One of those games was the base set of Sentinels of the Multiverse.

The game was fun–certainly appropriate for us, as it’s got an obvious and definite comic feel to it.

It’s a cooperative game–players each have a hero deck, taking the part of that hero character, and play against the villain and environment decks, which are “run” by the rules of the game and specifics on the cards. As such, there are numerous combinations of heroes and the villain(s) to be fought, in various environmental scenarios. (I’ll probably get into more detail in a later post).

Probably the most appealing–to me–aspect as far as the game itself goes is that it’s NOT a “collectible” game. You buy the base set, and that’s what you’re buying: the base SET. Not just a selection from a set, or a random assortment of cards from a set. The entire. Base. Set. Maybe you’re new to the game and haven’t “previewed” what’s included to “know” what’s in the set, but technically…you know what you get when you buy the set. Buying the base set, I got the same set of cards my friend did, and anyone else buying it gets the same. No blind booster or “starter deck” packaging models.

So when I decided to “buy into” the game for myself, I ordered the base set, and liked the idea of the “combo pack” re-presenting the first two expansions in one box. But that was just the start: I quickly ordered the remaining expansions, which arrived this week.

And I have the feeling I’m only beginning to scratch at the surface here…

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Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

75 Cents Very Well Spent

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Walt

This week is definitely one of THE best I’ve had in the way of 25-cent books!

I scored a copy of Dark Horse Comics Presents #8–the first appearance of X–as well as one of the four A Death in the Family Batman issues (#429).

And the REALLY special treat of the week–X-O Manowar (original series) #1 that the comic shop owner tucked in with my weekly pulls, and sold to me for 25 cents as it’s not in mint condition (“just” a ‘reading copy’).

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I also snagged a number of other 25-cent books…Predator/Magnus and Magnus/Nexus, a couple issues of Valiant’s Original Turok and Original Solar; the first seven issues of Robinson‘s Starman (#s 0-6), a couple bronze-age Lois Lane issues, and a handful of Detective Comics ones I’ve kept an eye out for.

And for a “mere” $4, I picked up the “RRP” variant of Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men #1…the greenish background with the whole TEAM shown, that has been a rather “iconic” image for the book, despite the STANDARD cover having been Wolverine’s claws. While I don’t much like buying recent back issues and certainly not for $1 above cover price…my logic on this is that it’s the cover I’d prefer, it’s the one I associate with the series, and $4 is the same as “just” any other Marvel these days, so might as well.

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X-Men Series 1 Revisited, Part 4

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Walt

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Jubilee was the first of the X-Men I was really introduced to–as the focal character for the audience in the 1990s cartoon. I was also introduced to Rogue in that same first episode, and Rogue at least has remained one of my favorite characters since.

I’ve more recently gotten to know more about several of these other characters–Captain Britain and Forge in particular. I’ve enjoyed Multiple Man and Quicksilver thanks to PAD‘s X-Factor.

In recent years, I’ve found that when I think about the age-old question of “what super-power would you want if you could have any power?” I have tended toward the idea of Multiple Man’s. That perhaps comes from the most recent (pre-All-New Marvel Now) X-Factor run…and moreso, the Madrox mini that immediately preceded it.

Boom Boom was used quite well in Nextwave several years back, and I can’t say I’ve ever cared much for Shatterstar…though the earliest memory I have of Shatterstar is the X-Force/Spider-Man crossover–one of my first-ever collected volumes..

This bunch of cards is fairly mediocre to me…nothing all that special and I didn’t learn anything new, really…

 

Click below to see the cards themselves.

Continue reading →

Filed under: 2014, The '90s Revisited, X-Men Series I Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

X-Men Series 1 Revisited, Part 3

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Walt

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It’s amazing the changes these characters have been through in the past 20 years. Outside of Kylun who at first glance I didn’t even recognize, I’m familiar with the others…and they’ve all been through plenty. Cable’s evolved from some mercenary to a full-realized character tied deeply into the history of the X-men universe and has been through a number of significant events–from X-Cutioner’s Song to Messiah Complex/Messiah War/Second Coming to the more recent Marvel Now Cable & X-Force stuff to the upcoming All-New Marvel Now X-Force series..

Archangel’s since gone back to Angel, to Dark Angel to whatever he is at present. Banshee co-led the school in Generation X and has since died and–for all I know–come back. Shadowcat has grown up big-time. Jean Grey’s died and actually stayed dead. Colossus has joined the Acolytes, then Excalibur, back to the X-Men, died, come back, been the host of Cyttorak, a part of the Phoenix Five, etc. Warpath’s been part of Wolverine’s X-Force, Polaris was “lost in space” with Havok and others after Rise & Fall of the Shi’Ar Empire and since come back…

While I don’t care for the aesthetics of the multi-colored X symbols on the cards, I think I’ve recognized that rather than being simply an amateurish inconsistency, these are actually color-coded by “team” or “group” with a gold X for the Gold Team X-men, etc.

Click below for the cards themselves..

Continue reading →

Filed under: 2014, The '90s Revisited, X-Men Series I Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

TMNT at 30

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Walt

While it’s just as likely that I’ve simply MISSED any such stuff already out there, it’s occurred to me that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Of course, half a decade ago at the 25th anniversary it was a huge deal for Mirage. Now just a handful of years into Viacom/Nickleodeon‘s tenure as the owners of the property, it may not seem a huge deal.

But to this fan of 25+ years…it is!tmntat30_02

I recall the 30th anniversary stuff for Spider-Man, X-Men, Avengers, etc. 35th Anniversary stuff, 40th, etc… but while those are significant milestones for THOSE characters…

The TMNT are a property created AFTER I was born. That I actually CAN reasonably fill in every last gap of the official comics and such, to have the entirety of the run (maybe not FIRST PRINTS, but I’m not concerned about which printing if I have the issue).

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So, while I’ve had plans in the past to do more specific TMNT coverage in this blog, I’d like to think I’ll get into the swing of things with more this year, outside of spotting TMNT Toys in the WIld (Squirrelanoids, Kirby Bat and Casey Joines, etc) and get to more coverage of the various comics and such…and my own “history” with the characters through the years.

As always, time will tell.

Filed under: 2014, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Turok: Multiple Incarnations

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Walt

I’ve been around for and consciously remember three premieres of new ongoing Turok series. The original (for me) was the Valiant launch from the mid-1990s; then the Dark Horse relaunch several years ago, and now the Dynamite relaunch from just last week.

While the issue has already had a sort of “iconic” look for me–it’s THE issue of Turok that I consciously notice in bargain bins all the time–I think it’s safe to say that Valiant‘s Turok #1 is officially iconic, given it’s the obvious source of the regular cover for the current #1. I didn’t make the connection originally, but knew there was SOMEthing “familiar” about the image, but when looking at them side-by-side, there’s no doubt.

I suppose if this were Bleeding Cool, that’d qualify as a “swipe file.”

turokdinosaurhuntervaliant001    turoksonofstone001

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Filed under: 2014, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

This Week’s Comics Haul (Week of 2/12)

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Walt

This was another large-ish week for me…

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My standing hold of “all $1 books” holds, and has now resulted in my actually owning a My Little Pony comic.

Letter 44 is on the chopping block for me…much as I enjoyed the first issue and the overall premise…I haven’t read the previous issue yet, and here’s the next, so…we’ll see.

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From the quarter-bin, I snagged a mere 4 issues this week. I believe I’m now just missing Hulk 2099 #1 to have a full set of the main 2099 #1s from the quarter bins. I snagged the Wolverine and the X-Men Annual cuz hey…25-cents for the digital code!

I’m all about seeing as many digital codes as I can NOT go to waste…and snagging issues like this then make future 99-cent Comixology sales that much more likely to hook me, as it’s that many fewer issues to buy, and at 25 cents rather than “even” 99 cents.

Filed under: 2014, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

TMNT Toys in the Wild – Kirby Bat and Casey Jones

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Walt

While at Target this week, came across a couple more of the new TMNT toys, though I opted to pass on purchasing them for the moment.

kirby_bat_front

The Kirby Bat is much uglier than I’d thought it’d be, and the profile on the back reveals that it’s actually April’s father…a twist I didn’t see coming and really do not care for. Chance are, as such, this will be another figure I do not end up purchasing at all.

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Casey Jones has a bit of a different look than I’d expected from the tiny image I’d seen previously…and I very nearly bought the figure on the spot. Ultimately I left it behind, though–I have yet to see any of the 2nd season episodes, and after my hunts last year for “elusive” figures like Leatherhead and the Mousers and Turtles in Training and their abundance now…no need to rush; these’ll be around awhile yet.

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I do have to reiterate that it’s great seeing such an assortment on the back of the cards…it really pulls the line together and emphasizes that it IS a line, and not just a bunch of arbitrary figures.

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Offhand, this leaves the Mutagen Man as one I want to see…and whatever that Rhazar is…figure that out, and I think I’m pretty much all set for a few months!

Filed under: 2014, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

X-Men Series 1 Revisited, Part 2

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Walt

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This is an interesting grouping of cards. I consciously learned the origin of Lockheed’s name, which is a bit tangential in a way that I can appreciate for such names.

Most of the information on these cards I was already aware of present-day, though it’s cool to learn that Storm’s greenhouse is actually a long-established thing–I just learned of it several weeks ago with a scene in Amazing X-Men #3 where Nightcrawler flashes back to a moment with Storm.

Cyclops’ costume shown on his card here is his most “iconic” to me–this was his current costume in the comics AND the cartoon when I first discovered the X-Men, and as it was maintained throughout most of the ’90s, it had plenty of time to grow on me, and was part of many key stories that stick out for me and were important parts of my growing up.

Gambit was still quite new at this point–and knowing what I know now his card is rather bland and boring here…but that’s with the character having existed less than 2 years, and it’s been over 20 years now SINCE the card was published.

As noted last week, this grouping of cards shows the lack of “awareness” of 9-pocket storage pages, as Lockheed’s car is “landscape” while all the others are “portrait” in layout.

Domino I was not all familiar with back in ’92/’93…but became a lot more aware of her in Cable’s own series in ’95/’96 after the Age of Apocalypse.

Click below to see the individual cards…

Continue reading →

Filed under: 2014, The '90s Revisited, X-Men Series I Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Archer & Armstrong: Archer #0 [Review]

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Walt

archerandarmstrongarcher000Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Pere Perez
Color Art: David Baron
Letters: Tom B. Long
Editor: Josh Johns
Executive Editor: Warren Simons
Published by: Valiant
Cover Price: $3.99

This issue was a welcome moment diving back into this title. Unfortunately, I’ve fallen a few months behind in my reading due to a misplaced issue, and have yet to ‘catch up’. Despite that, I didn’t mind jumping in here for the “origin” of Archer…and was kinda surprised at how much of an origin it proved to be!

I don’t know what I expected, exactly…but this origin perfectly fits what I know of the contemporary Valiant universe, and continues to show how things tie together even in titles that don’t normally mix. This issue introduces us to a young boy and his supposed benefactors, and follows what he goes through prior to being adopted by the Archers, and then the trials he faces leading us toward the status quo when we met him back in issue #1.

I greatly enjoyed the fact that this was functionally a one-shot issue. I don’t feel like I’m missing anything not having read recent issues, but I do feel like this has expanded my understanding of the character and his place in the Valiant universe. Though functionally a one-shot, the final scene and page set up the crossover between Archer & Armstrong and Bloodshot and H.A.R.D.Corps beginning next month…while obviously intentional, it doesn’t seem gratuitous, and leaves me looking forward to that.

The story and art in general for this issue are the usual quality I expect of the title, and nothing and no one looks particularly different or out of sorts to my eye. This was simply a solid issue with good story and art.

While not in a “the last issue I read said ‘To Be Continued!’ sense, just for its shedding light on Archer’s background, this is an eventual “must-read” for fans of the series. I doubt it’ll overly detract from one’s reading experience if this is skipped, but it’ll almost certainly be enhanced by this issue. I’d also venture that this issue makes a good bridgepoint or jumping-on point if one’s interested in checking things out with the title, except that half the ongoing title’s main cast is missing, the focus of this being only on Archer’s side.

I’m glad to have picked it up, and read it now rather than putting it off, as it does have me eager to get caught up on the book.

Filed under: 2012, 2014, Archer & Armstrong, Valiant | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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