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The Weekly Haul: Week of December 8, 2021

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Walt

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Yet another HUGE week! Ugh…and I think there are still a couple/several issues I was interested in that I’ve not found. Combine that with getting a couple of wrong covers and having to double up to get the proper cover, and I’m all the more frustrated with variants this week, too!

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I definitely go in waves, it seems…and lately, I’m on a huge Marvel wave. I’m "all-in" on the X-books, treating those like their own publisher…like a Valiant or such, except Valiant has been on my shi crap-list for more than half a decade now. So Inferno and Hellions and X-Men Legends have their "next issues" out this week. Final issue, sadly, for Hellions…but we’re winding down the Hickman-helmed stuff and heading into post-Hickman stuff, albeit hopefully a more graceful such shift than Morrison back in 2004!

I’ve also stuck around on Amazing Spider-Man out of curiosity, but ALSO to support the notion that I WILL ABSOLUTELY BUY A SERIES that (gasp! shock! horror!) has a creative team change and status quo change but KEEPS ITS ONGOING NUMBERS. And a few weeks back I let myself snag a couple issues of the Death of Dr. Strange and so had to grab the tie-ins and…here we are. I find it easier to justify the gradual, "payment plan"-like bit on getting an event a chapter or couple chapters at a time rather than a huge, expensive collected volume…and since I’ve NOT been using the likes of DCBS and won’t "just" pay full cover price for most collected volumes…singles it is!

And with the Death of Dr. Strange and the Darkhold "mini-events" on my pickups, I figured what the heck, I’ll give Devil’s Reign a shot. And I’ve been getting Fantastic Four stuff lately….and THEY have an event coming up, so….guess I’m very much a Marvel guy right now (while really ONLY buying Batman/Scooby-Doo from DC, and that solely on basis of "supporting" the $2.99 price point!) But maybe more on that with the weekly haul post for 12/15…

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New TMNT stuff. The Best of Shredder is–like the Best of April a few weeks back–sorely lacking in terms of including excellent character stuff from the TMNT Adventures series. In the case of Shredder, surely they could have used TMNT Adventures #25 or #36! This one reprints the colorized TMNT Color Classics #1, which reprints the original Mirage #1 from 1984…admittedly solid-ish as the first appearance of the character, but why not #10? Given there have been a number of reprints of that #1, seems like a wasted slot here!

GI Joe: A Real American Hero #288…sounds lately like IDW might be losing the Hasbro stuff (GI Joe and Transformers, anyway)…I sincerely, totally hope whoever takes ’em up keeps this series going, INCLUDING THE NUMBERING as well as keeping Larry Hama. I will probably avoid the GI Joe stuff on principle if they drop Hama and/or renumber to #1. Here’s hoping IDW at least gets to squeak along to an issue #300, so whoever gets the license next at least doesn’t get to screw that "honor" up.

Spawn and Walking Dead Deluxe have their "latest issues," as does Warhammer 40,000: Sisters of Battle. While technically a Marvel issue, this is not Marvel continuity so–like say, the Ender’s Game/Shadow stuff, I’m not lumping it in with general Marvel stuff.

And then just because the whole mini was available and I’m 90% certain I don’t have the issues (could be wrong, and then I’ll have wasted the $10 or so) so now I do.

I managed to force myself to skip several non-big-2 titles and skipped or missed a (couple?) #1s, but since I’m NOT a speculator, not a reseller, not a dealer, etc…and I’m literally not even actually reading most of what I’m buying lately (YET), I’m passing on that stuff in favor of the X and other Marvel stuff that at least maybe/sorta/kinda/slightly "matters" more and isn’t JUST something to be a 4-6 issue mini-series to get optioned for some streaming-exclusive and be the next big speculation/scalper deal.

Here’s hoping the week of the 15th is a littttttttttle  "smaller" than the last few huge weeks have been..!

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

Chris Claremont Signing

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Walt

Falling amidst my lengthy hiatus from blogging, back in August for Free Comic Book Day, Cleveland comic shop Carol and John’s was able to have Chris Claremont out for a meet & signing!

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Plenty of loads of other pieces online can fill you in on Claremont and his importance in a more formal way. But here’s my "story."

I was introduced to the X-Men in 1992. While specific dates and numbers may be slightly off–we’re talking nearly 30 years ago and plenty of life since then, after all–I remember a friend having me borrow an issue of The Uncanny X-Men from him. I don’t remember the story, I don’t remember all the characters…but I do remember his "quizzing" me on the characters after, and as I recall it right now, three of them were "Wolverine," "Bishop," and Storm. As this was likely earlier-’92, and Bishop wasn’t in that first October 1991 issue, this was PROBABLY Uncanny 285 or 286 or so. Move ahead a few months and there was some new cartoon debuting on Fox Kids. Along with watching the couple of episodes there (Night of the Sentinels), this same friend sat me down and we watched an older cartoon episode–Pryde of the X-Men.

…which gave me a bit of deja vu, even then. I recognized it! Turned out that I had seen that one before–some (presumably Saturday-morning) or such, it had been on and I caught it, there was never anything else, so I forgot it. But I clearly remembered that theme song proclaiming "X-Men! X-Men! …come-ing-your-way!"

ALSO in there among stuff, another friend was following the The X-Cutioner’s Song event–the polybagged-with-a-card crossover event in the various X-books. So I was aware of the titles, even though I wasn’t getting them myself. (also late-1992 saw The Death of Superman, Vengeance of Bane and Batman: Sword of Azrael, dabbling in speculation with Bloodshot #0, getting in "at the beginning" with the likes of The Batman Adventures #1, Spider-Man 2099 #s 1-3, Guy Gardner #1, early issues of Batman: Shadow of the Bat and so on. A friend was getting The Infinity War and had some other Marvels so again, I was aware of that side of things.

Probably thanks to Wizard magazine and other promotional stuff as well as friends being interested, plus the cartoon and such, 1993 saw me start getting X-Men comics myself…my first X-Men comic being Uncanny X-Men #300. I initially missed #s 301 and 302 (filling the gap in not long later) but managed to snag each issue from #303-onward. By then had also dabbled in other titles with the Fatal Attractions event (X-Factor #92, X-Force #25, then Uncanny 304 before some time later getting X-Men #25 and Wolverine #75 on the same night….that’s another story).

But by 1994, the X-Men were a "thing" for me, though it was NINETIES’ X-MEN that were my thing. Despite those issues of Uncanny, I’m pretty sure the first issue of X-Men "adjective-less" for me was #24–the Rogue/Gambit date issue. (If you know it, you definitely know the cover!). It wasn’t long after X-Cutioner’s Song, BUT it WAS a couple years removed from the Claremont era.

Fast forward a few more years, and I’d definitely learned OF Days of Future Past. I still have a kids’ chapter-book version of a "novelization" of the story…the only way I got to read the story for a time! Somewhere over the years I got that skinny 2-issue "prestige format" "collection" of Uncanny 141-142. Otherwise, I think my introduction to Claremont‘s stuff was his Sovereign Seven from DC, though I got into that for it being a #1 and a new team…I had no conscious connection of him to X-Men. Ditto later for his run on Fantastic Four in early 1999 or so.

Yet somewhere, somewhen over the years, I made the conscious connection. And came to recognize his run for what it was, and its grand import to comics, and the X-Men, and so on. And some of that probably runs up right to the last few years or so. I’m far more aware OF his work than familiar with it. I’ve yet to read the vaaaaast majority of his X-Men stuff, or really any of his New Mutants (I read the original graphic novel in college 20-ish years ago from the university’s library), or his X-Treme X-Men and such.

And while I hadn’t realized it until a couple years ago…he was in rarified air for me, on the "bucket list" of "people I’d want to have ‘met’" or such. Up there with Stan Lee (‘met’ in 2012), Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Jim Lawson, Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Dan Jurgens…

So a couple years ago–I don’t remember exactly when, but I think it was December 2019–when Carol & John’s announced that they’d have Claremont out for Free Comic Book Day 2021, I knew immediately that I’d "have to" be there. I knew by then that he doesn’t make many appearances, I had the impression he was rarely in the US at all (I’m probably highly wrong, there), but to have him at a signing at a store less than an hour’s drive from me…it was an exciting no-brainer!

But then 2020 happened. So the event was pushed off. I won’t get into assumptions/thoughts.

I was glad to hear earlier this year that it was "on" again and made plans to be there.

I didn’t know details or logistics. Floated plans, made tentative plans, but ultimately ended up there by myself.

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Claremont being who he is…I had to go beyond my usual "couple token issues" to get signed. Up until the evening before the event, I wasn’t absolute on what I wanted to get signed.

While I was happy in 2012 to pay the $40 for a photo op with Stan Lee, I’d otherwise never paid more than $5 for a signature…while I may budge on it some, overall I don’t like paying for signatures when it’s stuff for ME or for friends. I get why creators charge, but that’s where I typically fly by "live and let live." If they’re charging what I don’t want to pay, then their signature and meeting them obviously isn’t "worth it" to me for that.

I believe with this signing, the first signature was free, with subsequent ones being $10. Hearing stories of other creators charging upwards of $50+ per…that sounded absolutely fair to me!

I knew I wanted to get Uncanny #142 signed. I’d hunted for–and failed to find–an original #141, so went with a Marvel Legends reprint edition I’d managed to get. Not as good as the original, nor as good as a "facsimile edition" would be, but fit my purposes. I’d acquired #142, and as part of the 2-part Days of Future Past, that was a given…same reason I wanted 141. Then there was #266…Gambit’s first appearance. And while I was at it for Gambit, I’d also snagged Avengers Annual #10, so wanted to get that signed…first appearances of both Gambit and Rogue. But plenty of other stuff. I decided Uncanny X-Men #274–the Savage Land issue with Rogue and Magneto–was a "key" to me with some fair bit of sentimental value. And while I doubt I’ll ever get to, with the possibility of someday also meeting Jim Lee, decided on 1991’s X-Men #1.

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I ended up arriving right about 8:57am or so…noted the time because of some health stuff I was dealing with and having to be sensitive to the time. I believe "the event" was to "start" about 10 or 10:30 and had known going in that getting there early was gonna be important. Even that early, there was already a significant line…but nothing compared to what soon built up behind me!

One of the workers handed me a sign–I was the back of the line, and requested I hand the sign back as others showed. I had the sign for a few seconds before getting to pass it to another, and he to someone else, and no longer a concern to me. Wound up spending the ~3 hours in line with the guys that showed up behind me–Mike and Rob–also there solo. While I wasn’t overly talkative–as an introvert, the entire thing took a lot out of me–it was enjoyable, and interesting, and quite memorable. Just being surrounded by other people whose lives were impacted by the work of one man’s writing!

We got to the head of the line right about Noon…and it was sounding like Claremont was gonna be getting whisked off for a lunch break and such, and I was suspecting that was gonna happen after the family that was juuuuust ahead of us/me. That ended up not being the case, though. I think I’m thankful for that–but caveat being that I certainly hope it was NOT to Mr. Claremont’s detriment!

In the foyer, CNJ had a huge poster/mural up based on the cover of Uncanny X-Men #141, and I was able to get one of the guys to take a couple photos of me with it.claremont_signing_friends_books

Also got to get a photo with the man himself! While not a professional/portrait type thing (as with Mr. Lee in 2012) still a "key" photo of me, for me!

Back to the issues I was getting signed: I had my 6, but also had several issues for friends! As a fellow X fan and friend, while I’d been unsure of what issue to get, I ended up getting a copy of a facsimile edition of Uncanny X-Men #266 signed for Chris (find him at chrisisoninfiniteearths.com, @acecomics on twitter, etc.!). Also had acquired an ‘extra’ Avengers Annual #10, so got that signed for Bridgett (knowing Rogue to be just about her favorite character) and another facsimile Uncanny #266 for her husband Stephen (knowing Gambit to be one of his). (you can find them at Seraphim Entertainment, Bridget at Euphoria).

I had several other friends who were unable to make it…and I feel bad not having been able to get stuff signed for them. Had I known they weren’t gonna make it, would have made those arrangements!

That said…going in, I had sticky-notes on the issues with names, intending to get the signatures "personalized" (remember, I’m not in it for reselling and such!). However, came to realize Mr. Claremont was just doing straight signatures, so I let it be…MUCH more interested in hearing anecdotes and other such than trying to be annoying about requesting personalization if he didn’t seem concerned about it. I do remember that he commented on the Uncanny 266s, something about if anyone had any extras, he’d be glad to have ’em. (Which, coming after a tease from that site that bleeds coolness) seemed to be to confirm he’s got something going on with Gambit…

And…well…that was that. 3 hours in line, 9 books signed, and a memorable experience (for me) on the whole!

I defffffinitely preferred this to a convention…while I’d have been way happier with NO LINE…that’s just not gonna happen! But for spending 3 hours in line for a couple of minutes of time with the guest of honor…this whole thing sure beat spending a similar time/line/etc. at a convention with paid admission and skipping other events while in line.

This post is a good 4 months or so LATE, so I do apologize for that, as well as being SO all-over-the-place. Much of this has been stream-of-conscious writing…I’m not going back through to edit overall, and if I second-guess myself TOO much I’ll NEVER get this posted.

So feel free to chime in in comments, here on the blog itself, or on twitter if I’ve posted a link, or on facebook with the same. I’ll gladly follow up on some half-finished thought, clarify where I’m clear as mud, etc.

Otherwise…bringing this post to a close, for now!

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of December 1, 2021

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Walt

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Another week, another post, and…holy crap was this another ridiculously-huge week!

Let’s get into it…

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Three X-books. Trial of Magneto, Marauders, and New Mutants. All in one week.

Then the nearly-weekly Amazing Spider-Man, which despite a major shift in status quo, creative team, frequency, and even logo somehow managed to keep its "original numbering" for THIS volume. (Probably cuz someone at Marvel has their eye on the first #100 in YEARS!).

Speaking of "someone at Marvel," the Phoenix seems to have been "stolen" from the X-Realm…but I’m still getting this Phoenix Song Echo because of the Phoenix being an X-thing, even though I SHOULD–by rights–ignore it as an Avengers family title. But speaking of the big A…giant issue. And with some others of late…and getting much more back into Marvel in general as I’m increasingly disgusted with DC…well, I bit with the huge anniversary #50/#750.

I’ve got high "hopes" for The Marvels despite not having actually READ any of the issues yet. I tracked down the early issues "recently" so now it’s a "keep up and wait" game.

And somehow I got myself tangled up in Darkhold as well as The Death of Dr. Strange, so a couple tie-ins there.

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…and STILL another Marvel in Darkhawk, which I’m getting solely because of Kyle Higgins‘ name.

While I should just cut my losses, I still wound up grabbing the Hardware issue. Maybe I’ll just finish out these "season one" minis and let that be that. Of course, that assumes they even come out reliably with all the shenanigans with DC and Lunar and the whole printing/paper and supply chain crap at present.

New issue of Spawn. McFarlane publishes this title A DOLLAR CHEAPER than pretty much any other American comics publisher (outside of a couple of DC Scooby-Doo and maybe Looney Tunes and such titles). Not only that, but accompanying titles I believe are all $2.99. AND the Spawn titles all have these quality cardstock-y covers! I continue to vote with my dollar(s) buying these on principle for the price point!

IDW gives us a new issue of TMNT as well as some sort of one-shot behind-the-scenes Snake-Eyes: Deadgame thing. I’d gotten the mini in the Long Ago so grabbed this as well for completionary value.

New issue of Fire Power (I need to catch up on my reading). Snagged "the next issue" for The Magic Order 2, which means I have followed this second series an issue longer than the first. And while thinking of it like that, I’m kinda kicking myself for grabbing this issue. But being in a hurry on a lunch break…well, there ya go.

Also grabbed first issues for whatever King of Spies is (I think I grabbed this for Millar‘s name) and Maniacs of New York was snagged on strength of the publisher name. With my feelings against Boom and Valiant I’m glad to let Aftershock take their place…at least in MY buying. Even if I haven’t totally figured out what they’re all about, if they have a shared universe or if they’re just an Image "clone" or sorts.

This was a single-shop week; a one-shot purchase, with no collected volumes, no holiday spirit, nothing particularly special…but EIGHTEEN BOOKS..! That is absolutely NOT "sustainable" even for me, so I’ve GOT to figure out what I’m doing on that. Especially as I "try to support" some titles. I’m just one person, and weeks like this leave me (re) contemplating DCBS at least for some stuff. Current distribution/supply-chain woes being what they are, though, it’s hard to figure out which would be the better way to go.

December is a 5-Wednesday month…but one of those falls between Christmas and New Year which is traditionally an "off week." BUT as that STILL LEAVES the "normal" FOUR Wednesdays…this sure seemed like an awfully big one. C’est la vie I guess.

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

A (solo) Birthday Trip and Haul

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Walt

Getting older is a mixed thing. On one hand, I feel "old" and "older every year." On the other hand, I gotta count my blessings–especially that I still have both my parents, even at MY "old age" and grateful for THEIR continuing-to-increase old age.

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Without getting too deep into the "weeds" on stuff, I took a day off work and set out for some "distraction" to keep busy and not let myself "think" too much ABOUT another solo birthday and all that.

So I set off for Columbus, OH for the day. My plan was more or less a "mini version" of my "HPB Quest" from September 2019 where rather than trying to hit ALL of the HPBs I was aware of, I figured maybe I’d shoot for 3 and a comic shop or 2-3, a comic shop, and a couple Walmarts for some "toyhunting" or such.

BUT I’d also been thinking about trying to hit IKEA while I was down that way to hopefully score 2-3 Detolf display cases.

THEN I totally forgot to even plot out a route/note addresses and such, so I ultimately wound up picking the northernmost HPB and setting GPS for that one, planning to figure out the rest once I got there.

On the way, I actually had to go past Ikea Way, so plans changed a bit on the fly.

I went to the Half-Price Books and ended up scoring a few comics. More expensive than I wanted, but better pricing than I feel the HPBs in northeastern Ohio have.

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Found a handful of Uncanny X-Men 500s issues that the list I have in my phone indicated I was still missing. (although several seem really darned familiar so hopefully it’s just that I’ve seen them in the past and/or passed on them in the past due to price!

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And I could not pass up the Amazing Adventures issues.

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I decided to duck into the Walmart in the same plaza, and happened across a Raw10 figure I hadn’t even known would be out! "Hoof."

They also had some red "chase variant" of the character, but this thing’s too large for me to be bothering with odd-colored variants, "chase" or otherwise.

Since I was already really close to IKEA, I decided to go there next. And realized that it wasn’t as big as I’d imagined…yet soon found out it was more labyrinthine than I had.

And long story short, ultimately despite several COLORS existing, they only had ONE single Detolf letf in stock that I was able to buy…and I’d pretty much decided I was going to get at least 2, maybe 3, prior to discovering that last, lonely, single unit that remained. I couldn’t very well pass on it after so much time and such, so got it…but "only one" necessitates a return visit some other time…hopefully with "pre-ordering" a couple units ahead of time!

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So I’ve got my one…not sure if it’s gonna get put together today or not, but at least as of this typing, it’s still in its 2-box packaging to await assembly.

By this point I was a bit discouraged and decided I didn’t "have the heart" to run around to a bunch of HPBs. I remembered that a friend had recently posted about Big Fun Columbus where she’d gone with her kids, so I decided that I’d try that instead.

After a bit of an adventure trying to find and figure out parking (what ever happened to classic, MECHANICAL simple parking meters???) I was able to park and get into the store.

Where I found what I’ve been missing for close to 4 years since the Cleveland Big Fun closed in February 2018!

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One key purchase was this Cyber Samurai Mike. These came out "after my time" collecting the TMNT figures as a kid (though I have fond memories of the Archie comics 5-parter featuring these!) While a bit pricier than I’d prefer, the novelty of one of these now in my collection is well worth it…all the more when stacked against the novelty of a mere 6-10 new comics these days.

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I was going to get the Raph one but it was more expensive…AND had a tag on it that it was "incomplete." This one had no such note, and was $10 cheaper so I opted for this one. I don’t know that the other was missing much of note, but I do really dig this one! And bonus: it came with this "clip and collect" profile card! (already clipped and collected).

birtthdayhaul_marvel_legends_shikah_to_get_jeffWhen I’d first walked in, I found several "cheapo" loose figures that I was going to buy–some old Toy Biz X-related characters (I think I had a Gladiator and Weapon X at least). But I eventually decided to put those back, in favor of some other finds.

While looking (only intending TO LOOK) at the loose Marvel Legends figures, I noticed a little figure that really caught my eye. Did a double-tacke: nahhhh….couldn’t be! When the heck would they have made a Jeff the Land Shark figure?!?

But given the way they had the thing standing between another figure’s feet, I figured they probably came together, but asked anyway.

Sure enough, Jeff was not a "solo figure," and was part of a "package deal" including the character he was with.

Now, I’d had a price in mind, that I was willing to pay just for the little guy.

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And all the more as I had absolutely no clue who the character was that he came WITH, I was thrilled that the PAIR were a mere $10! (Which was cheaper than what I was prepared to pay for JUST Jeff!) Some post-trip internet sleuthing (aka "Googling") tells me the character is Shiklah, and was released in a wave of Marvel Legends back in 2020 or so. I remember seeing that wave in stores…I’m sure I even SAW this one, including Jeff! But that was BEFORE I was consciously aware OF Jeff or had any interest at all in the character.

The figure came with a small wire "doll stand," which also added value for me…even discarding Shiklah, that leaves me a figure stand and Jeff for less than what I would gladly have paid just for Jeff!

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There was an old card catalogue unit that–rather than cards–had a bunch of small figures and accessories. I spotted one drawer labeled "minimates" and decided to peek. Spotted what had to be–and indeed turned out to BE–Steel. Not a horrible price….but BONUS! That price INCLUDED a Cyborg Superman! So…not a bad purchase at all! And I added the bag to my basket.

birtthdayhaul_vintage_ish_aprilWhile still having the Cyber Samurai turtle on the brain, I found a bin of classic loose figures for $5/each. Not bad, but they were mostly early non-turtles figures that I already had…mostly from my own ORIGINAL childhood collection.

I did find a variant April O’Neil that I don’t think I had, so I grabbed that.

I also found two Triceratons and was all set to grab those, too, as army-builders…but then noticed they had no tail.

That explained the $5, I guess. And not caring to bother with online prices and hassles for "replacement" tails, I opted to pass on those.

The lack of "finds" here solidified my intent to get the Cyber Samurai Turtle, so this was when I decided to put back the other bagged/loose figures.

I was also going to get a Batman Beyond/Batman 2-pack but cool as it was, I only really wanted the Batman Beyond and otherwise find myself–overall–so sick and tired of BATMAN at this point with the dozen or so (seemingly!) Batman comics out every single week that it was not hard to talk myself out of getting it.

I’d also spotted some figurines that appealed to me…and while they ratcheted me way above what I wanted to spend for the day, I knew I’d be kicking myself if I "passed" on them.

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Rogue, and Gambit. Especially with both figurines being present, and these being older units…I figured it was not likely I’d come across them again, so might as well suck it up and buy ’em while I could.

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While I was willing to pay what I did for them–about 4-5 comics’ price each–there was an unexpected bonus!

They had the "books" that the figures came with! They were filed away, so I had a few minutes to continue looking around while the store employee went to pull those. Since I was willing to pay for just the figurines themselves (knowing that as "originals" they’d have come with the books) I was not about to turn down the books….and I really like these, too!

While I had those few extra minutes looking around…I found some old Wolverine and Wolverine and the X-Men figures from back in 2008 or so, when the first X-Men: Origins movie hit, and that animated series. I still have a bunch of those figures–loose–somewhere but I need to dig them out.

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Considering Marvel‘s (Hasbro‘s) 3.75" figures are about $10…seeing this 12-13-year-old figure still in packaging for $5, I decided I might as well snag it as well as part of my purchase, if only because I like the yellow on this a bit better than my (memory) of a 3.75" Wolverine I already have from around this time.

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So all in all….an expensive, frivolous, but fairly satisfying "haul" for my own birthday.

And between the drive to and from Columbus, between stores, and time IN stores…it was definitely a full day’s trip, which kept me busy/occupied and distracted for the day.

Not exactly what I’d had in mind or intended going into the day…but can’t really complain much with the outcome.

Especially as the haul rivals that of any convention, minus the admission cost and other convention frustrations.

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

The Weekly Haul: Week of November 24, 2021

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Walt

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Here we are again, this time with the most recent week’s haul! And…if you care, Dear Reader, this is Monday, after having a post just this past Friday! So…SLIGHTLY sorta kinda maybe partly possibly back to some semblance of a schedule…

Anyway, while I could have crammed this into the previous post, I figured it proved to be a HUGE week (THE most expensive new comics week I can even remember!), and so well worthy of being its own post. Plus, this jump-starts me a bit to try to get back to at least the weekly rhythm heading into the final few weeks of the year!

Week of November 24, 2021

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Starting off for this huge week…Marvel "dominates." X-Men and Wolverine have their "next issue" for X-books. Death of Doctor Strange continues with its third issue. Amazing Spider-Man continues with its latest issue; and we have the first issue of a new Hulk series. I’ve had issues with the writer of the previous series–Immortal Hulk–so avoided that. Couple weeks back, bought the new Venom #1 because I SAW it and crossed it (somehow) with this Hulk #1, knowing I was wanting to give the #1 a chance on a series I’d been avoiding. Oops.

Thanks to Marvel Unlimited and their Infinite Comics and loving the It’s Jeff piece, which has Kate Bishop in it, I got it on the brain to grab this Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #1. Not sure how it’ll compare…apparently (it turns out) this one’s NOT by Kelly Thompson, so…we’ll see.

Checking out this Black Panther series with a new writer; and I believe an early (but as yet still upcoming) issue is gonna have a big tie to the current X-books, so might as well build some context.

Saw the Darkhold: Blade #1 available again and snagged it. Oops…I already had the darned thing. Gonna have to start maybe keeping a checklist on my phone and mark/indicate getting issues or not, and checking that.

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Getting into NON-Marvel stuff, there’s the newest issues of Radiant Black, as well as TWO Spawn-universe issues in King Spawn and Gunslinger Spawn. Then we have a Local Comic Shop Day variant of Walking Dead Deluxe…the issue introducing the Governor! I couldn’t pass up the shiny silver foil…cheesey ’90s-style gimmick, and with there being so many variants on this series this time through anyway…why not? I’m giving Echolands a bit longer, along with Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters. I thought this one was a mini-series, so given I was trying to support a new book on concept, it being ongoing where I’ve yet to read any issues, it’s probably gonna wind up getting cut.

GI Joe: ARAH and Usagi Yojimbo issues. Current and classic…a good combo.

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Going off the beaten path, couple of Source Point Press books in Good Boy, Unborn, and Haunted High-Ons. (couple, three…whatever).

Snagged Friday on strength of Brubaker‘s name…turns out it’s a single chapter of a graphic novel. Ugh. I enjoyed the issue well enough and definitely interested in getting the full book…I’d probably actually be more annoyed if it was most other things, but helps that I actually read the thing right away and found out!

Had the first 3 issues of Masters of the Universe Revelation, and apparently had missed the 4th. Got stuck with this variant, but at least it’s *A* copy of #4. Duplicated the Last Ronin Design Archive, having ordered a copy to be CERTAIN to get it…wasn’t sure if it was included with my regular pulls. Could be worse.

Finally, snagged the Miskatonic: Even Death May Die as I’ve been grabbing these large "album-size" books from Aftershock…especially like that they’re one-shots! And the Geiger books collects 6 issues…for $9.99. A great price for the story…ESPECIALLY considering the single issues were $3.99/each, so $9.99 vs. $23.94. I’m a sucker and double-dipped…solely to try to continue to "support" the $9.99-volume-1 thing.

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Sarah-Cat kept photobombing as I got stuff situated to get photos for this post, so she gets to wear this week’s Comic Shop News and gives me plenty of justification to work that into this post, where I usually won’t include CSN unless it fits in my regular laying out of other comics for the week.

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A friend sent me an early birthday & Christmas present…the first couple volumes in Brubaker/Phillips‘ Reckless series. I think there’s one other one out, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for that one in the not-too-distant future, I think.

All in all…as said above, HUGE week. Even with a couple stragglers from previous weeks and a cheapo-TPB…these huge, expensive weeks are getting old fast…and while I obviously have gotten fairly liberal in giving random stuff a shot…I’ve not been READING stuff, and so it’s getting hard to justify at the prices…especially combined with OTHER STUFF in life I"m spending money on.

So Definitely gonna have to start looking at trimming back again, even though I’ve already nearly-completely excised DC from my purchasing!

It’s made all the more annoying/complicated/frustrating with all the recent delays and schedule-shuffling and such with paper shortages/supply-chain problems. Stuff clusters, and then I get monster weeks like this!

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The Monthly Haul: October 20 to November 17, 2021

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Walt

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Well, ONCE AGAIN, despite the best of intentions, I let a few more weeks slip by!

So, here we are again with me covering multiple weeks in one post. This time out, "only" FIVE weeks, though…a month. October 20 through November 17!

As with my last post catching up on 3 months, I’m just going to leave these as more of a "gallery" than anything else rather than trying to come up with random ‘vamping’ stuff to fill space/remember back across the weeks and all that.

Week of October 20, 2021

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Week of October 27, 2021

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Week of November 3, 2021

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Week of November 10, 2021

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Week of November 17, 2021

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And with that, we’re allllllmost caught up to "current."

And despite my last few times saying so….barring some catastrophic technology issue, should be covering the CURRENT/most recent week–11/24–in my very next post…on MONDAY!

And from there, will start dropping some posts that I’ve had percolating for months in my mind that are finally getting written…and we’ll see where the next 5-6 weeks take us as far as 2021 goes, before whatever 2022 brings…

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The Quarterly Haul: July 21 to October 13, 2021

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Walt

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Well…I VAGUELY recall thinking–way back in July–over THREE MONTHS AGO–that I’d be getting back to posting The Weekly Haul…well…WEEKLY!

But life–and WORK*–got busy and crazy and all that; had a health scare with the Chloe-cat; and then it was just simply overwhelming thinking about catching up. And with some especially busy weeks with work, and TRYING to actually READ (and CATCH UP TO CURRENT from 2019!) on X-Men stuff…I just haven’t really touched this blog.

Then there’s also that frankly…this is a vanity project. It’s in no way "monetized," and about 14 months ago I even started PAYING for a domain and to have WordPress NOT show ads, so not only am I not making money from this blog, it’s COSTING ME money just by its very EXISTENCE.

Whatever…my blog, my schedule, and it’s a benefit of doing my own thing that I’m not causing others issues with my (lack of) schedule and such.

ANYway…here we are, nearly the end of October. And while I’d actually figured I’d cut my losses and just pick back up with current…I never really stopped my weekly routine of at least taking PHOTOS for this blog, it’s just a matter of actually "processing" said photos and then WRITING and formatting actual blog posts using those photos.

So, this post is gonna be VERRRRRRRYYYYYY photo-heavy as I cover THIRTEEN weeks….from July 21st to October 13! However, I AM going to forego the issue-by-issue commentary and "list," and simply present the photos of the weeks’ hauls, divided up by week. And given the time-frame, some may be SLIGHTLY out of order, as these include purchases from both the weekly shop and another I don’t get to every week…I’ve managed to ID a release date by when certain issues came out (according to League of Comic Geeks) and have the photos roughly ordered within each "week."

These Weekly Haul posts are largely for myself, and while I think I managed to cover every week of 2019…2020 had a huge gap from The Shutdowns and such. And I couldn’t quite get myself to "let go" for this year, so…here we are. If you enjoy it, great…if not…well, hopefully I’ve got some other content you’ll enjoy.

On with the hauls!

Week of July 21, 2021

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Week of July 28, 2021

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Week of August 4, 2021

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Week of August 11, 2021  

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Week of August 18, 2021

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Week of August 25, 2021

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Week of September 1, 2021

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Week of September 8, 2021

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Week of September 15, 2021

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Week of September 22, 2021

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Week of September 29, 2021

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Week of October 6, 2021

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Week of October 13, 2021

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…and Famous Last Words…but hopefully I’m getting this blog back on track!

IF I get to it, then coming soon: "The" Chris Claremont signing, a HUGE haul of X-books from a Not-at-Comic-Con sale, loads of toys acquisitions, and…whatever else comes to mind to post.

As always…time shall tell!

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The Weekly Haul: Week of July 14, 2021

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Walt

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Annnnnnnnd we’re back to covering a single week’s haul in a single post!

This time out, looking at stuff from the week of July 14!

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Starting with the X-stuff, we’ve got three for the week: Way of X #4, Excalibur #22 (and officially a "senior book" over the adjective-less X-Men now), and X-Corp #3. Can’t say I’m thrilled at the prospect of this latter one…and definitely not a fan of the "whitespace" and "minimalistic" look to it. It also makes the title logo look all the more like a "fon" in a way that I am not keen on and why I initially was not thrilled with this style. The other two at least look interesting and the Excalibur cover makes it look like something actually happens in the issue.

Then we have Sinister War #1, kicking off this ‘event’ in Amazing Spider-Man at least (I think). The logo "font" draws from the ’90s Spider-style, and definitely prompts a bit of nostalgia for me. We also have the 4th issue of Carnage Black White & Blood. And then Aliens: Aftermath #1 which I’m not entirely sure if this is a mini-series or one-shot…but it certainly looks more interesting than the other Alien (singular) comics Marvel has published to date!

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We have a new issue of TMNT and yet again, I’m buying far more out of "habit" and such than anything else. I’ve bought the title monthly since #1 in 2011 nearly 10 years ago…but I don’t think there’s been as relatively DRY a stretch as 101-119 here otherwise. Even as "slow" and weird as I initially found the first few issues post-#50, stuff picked up again pretty quickly. We’re nearly 5 arcs into this "Mutant-Town" era and other than an Annual, what have we REALLY gotten to move the story forward from #100? Feels like next to nothing, to me, at least.

This Savage Hearts #1 caught me for its title logo. This is also a #1, so in-the-moment I figured why not? I’m not keen on the art on the cover…but the strength of the LOGO grabbed me. (Minimalistic-logo/trade-dress/design folks, it’s a comic book…the more stylized and bold and BIG the logo, the more it looks like a comic book and likely will grab my attention over blending into every OTHER minimalistic thing…!)

The Batman/Scooby-Doo Mysteries continues to get my $2.99 in support of the price point and lack of variant covers!

Mouse Guard is an interesting title–and size/format for its issues–and coming "back" after (I think years) too long, I was all about getting this issue. It (barely) gets a "pass" being Archaia–I realize the brand is owned by Boom but I believe it’s still its own thing overall, and the issue lacks a Boom LOGO so that gets this around my no-Boom-single-issues thing.

And the Vampiverse thing on Comic Shop News gives me mixed feelings…given the TONS of variant covers Dynamite does, it seems like they already have LOADS of Vampi titles; they probably publish more COVERS for one title than many smaller publishers publish titles!

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Next up is the second issue of Skybound X, which I’m hearing mixed things on and have yet to read myself, but kinda bought in on multiple fronts, though it’s sounding less "celebration" and more "extended ad the buyer pays for"…

Bunny Mask is an odd title for me, but I’d bought the first issue, saw this second one, and decided to get it. Plus the Aftershock brand is growing on me a bit. Helm Greycastle‘s 3rd issue puts this at or over halfway through the series, I believe/hope. The title puts me in mind of Masters of the Universe stuff, while knowing it’s not that. Some stuff I saw with solicitation for the series bugged me a bit, but I’ll ignore that for an ok-at-least story, and already have 2 issues, so might as well keep on (contradictory as that is to my lamenting mini-series finishing before I’ve read a #1 and might as well have waited for the collected volume).

GI Joe: A Real American Hero #284 puts us with a mere 16 issues to the big #300. And with getting stuff at multiple shops, the regular cover of TMNT (if I’m double-dipping, might as well get a different cover. I’m not buying multiples FOR the cover). Same with Batman/Scooby-Doo.

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And then just because it arrived and was handy when I was getting photos for the blog…I fiiiiiinally pulled the trigger on ordering this metallic Fugitoid figurine from Mirage (it’s a Playmates figure, some sort of thing not sold in regular stores, that I ordered from Mirage itself). I actually forgot that I’d ordered this (it was that much of a whimsical order) but now having it, I’m quite glad to have it.

This week definitely skewed a bit Marvel-heavy. That’s fairly "incidental" in terms of the X-books, though: I’m getting them for being X, not for being Marvel. The Black/White/Blood thing caught me with Wolverine so the Carnage mini I’ve treated as a bit of an extension; and Sinister War is a Spider-thing…and while I’ll probably suck it up with the inevitable $10 ginormous thing that’s likely to be the 75th issue of Amazing Spider-Man, I’m looking at winding back down on the title. Especially if they’re looking to sideline Peter Parker for awhile. I’m really not interested in a non-Peter ASM title right now.

I think the new Blue Beetle/Booster Gold book starts next week, which will get me back to general-ish DC…on strength of the title and creator (Dan Jurgens)’s involvement. For wanting such a title for so long, I can’t NOT support it, though my support is still going to be grudgingly given, just for it being DC at this point.

But that’s stuff for next week, methinks.

This is it for this coverage of a single week’s new comics…let’s see if I can get back to at least doing this much with the blog on a regular basis!

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The Weekly Haul: Weeks of 6/16, 6/23, 6/30, and 7/7, 2021

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Walt

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Once again, I’ve been lax in posting and so have another MONTH‘s worth of hauls to catch up on!

Week of June 16, 2021

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Planet-Size X-Men #1 is an issue I’d been curious about. Why call it that? Well, as spoilers that made their rounds ahead of time gave notice, the name was quite appropriate! Then New Mutants #19 continues the Hellfire Gala mini-event. Seems that X-Corp #2 does as well, but…I’m not hearing good stuff about the title and am in no rush to read it, though I’ll eventually get to it, I suppose.

Demon Days: Mariko is another Peach Momoko thing. About all I can say about it…but snagged it because it’s an X and I’d picked up the previous issue, so might as well get it new rather than have to hunt for it later.

Alien #4 is "already" the fourth issue and I haven’t read since issue #1. I don’t even really care as that first issue underwhelmed me, and I’m still a bit cranky at the license moving to Marvel from Dark Horse…seemingly ONLY for Marvel to reprint stuff and do variant covers!

While I was absolutely going to completely avoid the Milestone stuff from DC, the cover design was such that I "had to" snag Static: Season One #1 for nostalgia alone. This is the most I think a cover has looked like the classic Milestone since those classics. And since I’m not interested in main DC, I suppose I can check a couple of these out at least…at least the first issues.

Next, Seven Swords #1 is another Aftershock first issue. I don’t care for $4.99 prices but I’ll accept them more readily from a non-DC/non-Marvel publisher. I’m feeling like i"m noticing Aftershock more and more lately…maybe I’ll eventually go "all in" on them? Especially if they’re NOT dealing in oodles of variants.

Finally, Compass #1 is an Image #1 that I grabbed to "check out" if I ever actually get around to reading it. Bolstered an otherwise small-ish haul for the Wednesday.

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Picking up stuff later, got UltraMega #4 as a "next issue" for that series. Then ditto for Stillwater #8, Stray Dogs #5, The BeQuest #4, and Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters #4. By rights I should NOT be buying these, but I’m curious…and apparently I DO actually want to support new (or new-to-ME) stuff.

Walking Dead Deluxe #17 has us ALMOST to the end of the third arc in the title, but in color. I do want to catch up on reading these in color, but definitely appreciate the format and intend to continue "supporting" it.

While not quite TMNT level, I fairly closely associate Usagi Yojimbo  with the property, so continue to support the series through this 20th issue, though I couldn’t begin to recall where I left off reading. Another in the "I’ll catch up–EVENTUALLY!" category.

And then The Blue Flame #2, picked up as I’d bought the first issue at a random shop in early June while visiting a friend in Columbus and (again) decided a subsequent issue is worth the pickup for whenever I actually get around to reading so I don’t have "orphaned" first issues and ridiculous hunts for stuff just to read later.

Week of June 23, 2021

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Spawn’s Universe #1 is the precursor to multiple ongoing Spawn titles. And hey…I’m game. I’ve been buying the main title if only to support its $2.99 price point for over half a decade (60+ issues!) now…why not embrace the universe?

On the X front, this week brought more Hellfire Gala chapters in Way of X #4 and Wolverine #13 as well as the (non-Gala) new issue of X-Men Legends #4.

I really dug Spider-Man: Life Story, so am "grudgingly" giving another such series a chance with Fantastic Four: Life Story #2.

And for however long now, been getting Amazing Spider-Man, and as the current writer’s tenure is drawing to a close soon, I’ve decided I might as well ride this out to the "end" so the "next issue" in this case was #69.

Another "grudgingly" book for me is SWORD #6; but it’s an X-book, so it gets "grandfathered" in where I otherwise would leave it out.

And finally (for the week), TMNT #118 marks the 18th issue BEYOND the huge #100 issue. And I don’t really much care…if I hadn’t been getting every issue anyway since its debut in 2011 I’d have dropped this title for being boring, uninteresting, and…forgettable.

Week of June 30, 2021

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This week was an expensive one with few "units"!

The cheapest issue of the week being Spawn #319–my 63rd issue consecutively/ongoing for the title itself, plus whatever else filled some gaps.

Crossover #7 continues the series…I think I read through issue 3 so far, so I have some catching up to do.

Amazing Spider-Man: The Chameleon Conspiracy #1 is apparently ANOTHER one-shot to add/pad out stuff rather than just keeping it within the main series. With the current run apparently ending around #74 or 75, it reeks of drawing stuff out "manipulatively" for the numbers on the main title.

On the X side we have a final issue and a penultimate issue in X-Factor #10 and Cable #11. I believe this is the final issue of the former and was spoiled ahead of time for me; while the latter has one more issue to go if I recall correctly. Shame to lose the titles, but there’ll surely be more to fill their slots.

On the even more expensive side Green Arrow gets a one-shot commemorating 80 years with the Green Arrow 80th Anniversary special. I snagged the 1980s & 1990s covers for the nostalgia, despite the cost…though I’d actually intended to put the 1980s one back.

And finally for the week, we have Reign of X vol. 1 TPB picking up where X of Swords left off. Though I’m firmly getting the single issues, I’m double-dipping in support of the "anthology" format, believing strongly in it! This is really the way I feel most comics should go: collect 6 or however many titles for a month into a tpb and let me get that to "get everything" in book format without having to chase single issues!

Week of July 7, 2021

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The first New Comics Day of July brought us another X-Men #1. Not sure what "volume" we’re up to, but…it’s an X-book. Hellions #13 & Children of the Atom #5 round out the week on the X-side.

Fire Power #13 is another "latest issue" that I need to catch up with reading on.

Image Firsts: Spawn #1 was only $1, so picked up for the "nostalgia" and price. And it’s Spawn. Why the heck not?

Another book I’d bought a first issue and now keeping up with is Jenny Zero #3. Something kaiju-ish, so…yeah.

Back to "next issues," we have Amazing Spider-Man #70. Nothing much to say on it.

GI Joe: A Real American Hero Yearbook #2 is another reprint…but worthwhile for completion’s sake on the branding. And then I’d totally forgotten about Snake Eyes: Dead Game; and then suddenly we have #5! Apparently this one has all sorts of guest creators…c’est la vie.

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Other issues snagged are more I’m starting to associate with a certain "grouping" in my own mind.

Skybound X #1 kicks off a 5-week weekly series that…I gave in on hype. Also from Skybound, the next issue of Walking Dead Deluxe #18. I think the next issue introduces Michonne…so hopefully it’s not a pain to get. With this issue we’re at the end of the 3rd 6-issue cycle; and halfway to where I started buying the singles the first time around for the title!

Geiger #4 and Nocterra #5 are more "next issues"; while Ordinary Gods #1 got picked up for being an Image #1 to "try."

Finally… Werewolf by Night #32 Facsimile Edition as I still quite enjoy these editions, whatever the title. And I want to support them. I’d gladly "subscribe" to a "series" that was simply these facsimile/reprints of a series. Heck, do a parallel publishing program from Marvel of some old titles reprinting all issues as single issues and I’d probably pay for ’em!

READING-wise I’m at the start of X of Swords in the X-titles, having read from the #1s…and that reading has kept me from "new issues," adding to my "reading deficit." We’ll see what I actually catch up on and when, though.

But hey…this’s been another month’s worth of "new" comics’ hauls. With my boring "thoughts" in very brief to fill out the space showing these off.

At least they give ME record for MY future self of what issues I got, and roughly when they came out.

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Pulling Out the Past: Mechwarrior Dark Age ‘Mechs

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Walt

A little over a week ago, I hauled a bunch of stuff out of a storage closet in the basement to get at my old Mechwarrior: Dark Age miniatures.

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Based on the state of the plastic bins I had them in, I probably hadn’t had any of these OUT of the bins since 2006 at THE most recent.

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But with a recent re-interest in Battletech, I was eager to get these out and see what ‘Mechs I had beyond the Spider (Dragon’s Blood faction) and the Atlas. (These I absolutely specifically recalled as my favorite/most memorable!) I remember being at a panel at Origins in 2002(?) with a couple friends and getting to see prototypes of these, and it was the Atlas that most impressed me.

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Once the game actually came out, there were four of us in particular getting the game–the two friends I’d gone to the convention with, and another friend we’d made that school year; and it became "tradition" for us all to meet up on Fridays after we got out of class for the week and go to the game store for a booster (or more) and then back to the dorms to play.

I recall the four of us largely "claimed" a faction (mine was Dragon’s Blood) and we’d try to trade favorably to each other to beef up the respective factions, while also maintaining other faction(s).

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I had bins labeled for Dragon’s Blood, Spirit Cats, Bannson’s Raiders, and Misc. So with possibly-faulty memory, I must’ve had the Spirit Cats and Raiders as "secondary" factions. I do recall the Atlas was NOT "my" faction, but as a "unique" and the one that had most ‘sold’ me at all, was an absolute "keeper" for me!

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I also remember one weekend late my senior year coming across a stash of cash I’d tucked into a graphic novel and thought I’d lost…which put me in position to–along with the other guys–splurge big-time on boosters as we all bought about 10 boosters apiece!

Plenty of nostalgia there, combined with having bought the Beginner Box last year, and a few weeks ago hunting down a copy of the main A Game of Armored Combat box, as well as several of the current-edition "print-on-demand" editions of Battletech novels. I completed reading D.R.T. a few days ago…the first actual novel I think I managed to read/complete since sometime in 2019! (A shameful fact given how many books I used to read regularly…albeit less shameful in that at least I’m reading…if only comics!)

Battletech definitely seems to be a new "phase"/mini-obsession for me. And "recent mini-obsessions" is a topic I may cover specifically soon, detailing a bit more…though some may be repetitive of this post.

Time will tell, though!

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