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When Seeking One Issue Goes Awry

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Walt

Another "bonus" weekend post!

Last weekend, I snagged a bunch of comics from bargain bins, including these four Superman issues, the Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite! story.

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Unfortunately, I’d managed to totally forget that there was a Starman tie-in issue.

Annoying, sure, but hey, not like that series was all that popular in the long run (though it ran at least 43 issues, if not more), totally overshadowed by the James Robinson run that followed post-Zero Hour. Surely it would be a simple matter–with four shops relatively nearby–to locate this one, single issue.

Boy, was I wrong! None of the four shops I made it to this week (including back to the usual, where I thought for sure the issue would be in the bargain bins and I had just missed it) had the thing in any bins, bargain or otherwise.

On a whim, I stopped off at a Half-Price Books, figuring I was already willing to "pay back-issue prices" for the thing, so I could grudgingly pay a higher HPB price since I’d exhausted other simple-ish in-person means of acquiring the thing. (*Still bugs the crap outta me that HPB assigns arbitrary high prices to more issues than not lately! They bill themselves as a USED books store, based on the notion of everything they carry being HALF OFF the printed/published cover price!)

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Somewhat shockingly enough, they had the issue!

…priced at $3. For a beaten-up condition, newsstand edition (UPC instead of generic box). But as usual and as I would factor for any comic shop back issue…the price is the same or less than what I’d pay for a new off-the-shelf, released-just-this-week comic, so hardly worth "complaining" about: the thing is, after all, over 25 years old, and most comic shops don’t seem to have MUCH stock going back before the early 2000s or so, it seems!

Of course, my "quest" for this one particular issue wound up with me making some extra purchases I had not planned on, but for time spent and even visiting other shops, felt like I should buy something rather than walk out empty-handed.

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Being much more meticulous about going through the bargain bins this weekend…I found waaaaaaayyyyyy more than I intended to.

Quite the difference between 36-year-old me and 11-year-old me: 36-year-old me can buy a stack of comics like this. 11-year-old me had a 3-year collection that in its entirety at the time was 1/3 smaller than this particular stack.

Also, those Justice League Action Mighty Minis being…well…miniature…certainly makes the stack look even more impressive.

I wanted 1 specific issue.

There are 122 reasons I would’ve spent less if I’d just tried HPB first…

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

New Arrivals: Cap and X-Men

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Walt

"Bonus" weekend post!

These two books just arrived today!

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Back in December 2014, I’d thought I’d "completed" the set of Brubaker Captain America Omnibii with The Trial of Captain America. Of course, turned out I was wrong.

However, over the years, I lost track of and/or just flat-out missed the thing’s release, until several weeks ago when I saw someone post about it in a Facebook group.

So, I believe, if I haven’t missed anything else…NOW I have a "complete set" of Brubaker omnibus volumes for Captain America (I’ll likely "show off the shelf" in the near future).

Additionally, the X-Men: Bishop’s Crossing volume is one that I’d thought I’d missed out on entirely, having known OF the hardcover, but not seeing any listing for it online (except massively over-priced third-party stuff) with the newer paperback edition just releasing recently.

However, doing a last-second search "just in case," it was available, so I’d added it to my order.

Of course, I’d never touch volumes like these without a massive online discount. I absolutely want to support local comic shops, and continue to buy what I’d "usually" buy from ’em (my DC bundles from DCBS are in addition to my "usual"). Marvel volumes are–almost entirely–far too expensive for me to justify ever paying "full cover price" for.

Also continues to be amazing (to me) that virtually everything I do have interest in from Marvel (content-wise) tends to be OVER 10 years old, and in many cases, over 15 years old! Brubaker‘s Cap stuff seems to be a primary exception.

While I was able to squeeze the Captain America volume onto the shelf, that was partly due to it "replacing" (and going beyond) two other books I’d had already from bargain purchases and partly to my apparently having left a little bit of extra space for something like this.

Unfortunately, I am out of space for X-Men volumes, and have to wait til I can get a couple more bookcases and do some rearranging to properly integrate X-Men stuff from the last few months.

But that’s something for another post sometime.

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Black and White Mini Turtles

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Walt

The other day, I picked up a 4-pack of Mini Mates TMNT figures. While I already owned the Leonardo and Raphael Mega Bloks figures styled after the original Mirage comics, getting all four in this new format prompted me to seek out Donatello and Michelangelo in the Mega Bloks format to complete that set.

Which now gives me a set of all four turtles in both formats, very similarly sized, but quite different visually.

black_and_white_tmnt_megabloks_minimates

Despite the recent mega-haul comics-wise, I see 2017 possibly being the year I delve much more concertedly into completing specific "runs" or "sub-collections" much like this. In 2016, I "silently" (I have yet to really cover it in this blog) completed my "reading copy" of the Ultraverse, and it’d be quite cool to "complete" my Mirage run of TMNT (though I content myself with later printings, I still want one of each Mirage-published issue!)

Who knows…I might even (also) expand my TMNT Mega Bloks collection beyond what I’ve already bought–there’s a Second Time Around set to go with the black and white Turtles, as well as a Party Wagon set for the classic cartoon series. I’ve no illusion of coughing up $250 + tax for the Technodrome set, though that one makes the others seem very cheap by comparison!

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul – Week of January 18th, 2017

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Walt

I think this was just about the simplest, most "basic" week of comics I’ve had in months!

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Just four issues, plain ‘n simple. Granted, that Kamandi Challenge is a monster of an issue…but it’s basically a small collected volume; and much like other similarly-sized issues, it’s squarebound WITH spine text, so skinny as it is compared to, say, Batman: Knightfall or such, it’ll go on the shelf. Somehow I’ve gotten it into my head that all 12 issues of the Kamandi Challenge itself will be this size, and sorta hoping so!

Of course, the latest Superman issue; and I look forward to reading The Ray‘s Rebirth issue.

I gave in on Curse Words for the hype AND actually being able to get the cover with the image I’ve come to associate with the first issue. The FAMILIAR image that’s been used with pretty much anything that’s stood out to me since the series was announced…and I think including the announcement. I do not like the price, at $3.99…but figured I’d try it anyway.

This week? No back issues, no bargain bins, no new collected volumes (if we don’t count the Kamandi issue as one). I do have a major InStockTrades purchase on its way, but that’ll either be its own post, or feed into another post, later.

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The First Mega-Haul of 2017

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Walt

This past weekend saw my first "mega-haul" of the year, with a combination of Half-Price Books and a trip to the main comic shop, with freshly-stocked bargain-bins!

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At HPB, I snagged the long-outta-print trade-paperback-sized paperback edition of Batman: Knightfall. This is the Barnes and Noble "exclusive," which makes it all the more "rare" with ALSO being "out of print"…yet the thing was priced at a mere $8…HARDLY a "collectible" price for a book in such great condition all these years later! So much for consistency, I guess…their loss, my gain!

I also snagged the Alien: The Illustrated Story because it’s…well, Aliens. I’m a sucker for this stuff, and while I am thinking there’s a more deluxe/hardcover type edition of this available, for the price and being in-hand, I didn’t want to pass this up.

And finally, since I (thankfully) had "inventory" photos of my phone, I was able to determine that I did NOT yet own Dark Victory (It’s Long Halloween and Haunted Knight that I already owned)…and since I’ve intended to complete the "trilogy" for ages now, I figured I’d get that marked off the list.

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At the comic shop, there was a shortbox of TPBs marked 80% off. I was flat-out astonished to find this Superman: Eradication! volume…honestly did a double-take, and checked my ‘inventory’ to make sure I wasn’t crossing this with something else. But sure enough…this truly is the book I’ve been wanting for ages now, and unable to find for a reasonable price anywhere–in person OR online. And then just because it’s Dan Jurgens, Booster Gold, and at 80% off, the price of a single-issue of a current Rebirth DC comic, I also snagged the JLI vol. 1 paperback.

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I also got the latest issue of Spawn (pull list!), which I think puts me at about a full year of having the title on my pull list…a feat the title has never before done!

The TMNT issue I actually picked up at Toys R Us…it was some sort of Mega Bloks promotional issue that I’d been unaware of. Disgustingly, even this has a variant cover (I only saw this "regular" cover available, happily–I’d’ve been highly annoyed to ONLY be ABLE to get the VARIANT). Ridiculously-priced for what it is…but something about it struck me as something that would gnaw away at me if I did not get it, knowing it existed and I could get it FOR the same "cover price" as any other TMNT issue from IDW.

And then we get into the 25-cent bin haul, after the cut…

Continue reading →

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Unexpected TMNT

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Walt

Over the weekend, I’d stopped in at a Books A Million with a  friend. While there, I spotted a TMNT Mini Mates pack that I’ve somewhat had an eye on for probably a year or so (quite awhile, anyway). This time, though, it had a 50%-off sticker on it!

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While the full price was way more than I wanted to spend–even on something supposedly Comic Con exclusive–at half price, it’s FAR more reasonable.

Add to that the fact that I had a $10 card on me, and a BAM membership, and I walked out for 56 cents out of pocket!

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Of course, my OCD has kicked in a bit, and any savings is going to be offset by the fact that I now want to match this set with the Toys R Us exclusive TMNT Mega Bloks black-and-white figures.

I did stop in at a Toys R Us looking for those, and while I didn’t find what I was looking for, I was quite surprised to discover that there were a LOT more TMNT stuff from Mega Bloks than I’d been aware of, primarily gauging stuff by Walmart and Target (both of whom seem to be clearancing out the entire line, what little they’d actually carried!).

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While I’ve typically NOT been a huge fan of the classic cartoon version of Baxter Stockman–for a number of reasons–something to the mini figure grabbed my attention, and hit the right bit of nostalgia for me; so I went ahead and bought this; not so much for any accessories but just for the character itself.

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Apparently Mega Bloks also did the van (the "Party Wagon") as well as a $250 Technodrome; I never even realized these were out there!

Sadly, it seems like perhaps the line is dying, with "everyone" clearancing out the earlier sets from the beginning of 2016 and some of the summer Movie stuff. I don’t know if it’s to make room for more new stuff, or if Mega Bloks has "lost" the license already, or what.

My hope is that they’re just clearing way for some new, awesome stuff for 2017, though!

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Chloe the cat was not impressed with Baxter-Fly. However, when I tried to remove him from her presence, she tried to bite me. Lil’ Miss Attitude… (but I adore this kitty!)

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The Weekly Haul – Week of January 11th, 2017

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Walt

This week–for the "main haul"–certainly proved to be extremely small in its way.

At the first shop, I snagged…Action Comics. The 50%-off TPB bargain bins–from which I’d anticipated getting a couple more volumes if they were still there–were completely gone. Period. So I wound up sticking with just the single issue…

…such that this week, I paid with cash out of pocket, because it didn’t seem worth using the debit card for a single DC issue.

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Given how much I’d mentally budgeted, and how little that one issue was, I had no problem going to the second shop.

Which had two issues I wanted that the first did not: God Country and the Vixen issue. And since even those added together were still rather low…

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I snagged 3 more of the figurines I was interested in, rather than "risk" their being gone by the weekend.

Bizarro actually has the "Bizarro #1" placard but that had come off in the bag, and I neglected to realize until after I was done with blog-photos.

I’d forgotten about this old Batgirl costume…it SORTA justifies the current Bat-emblem that I don’t like on Batman’s costume at present.

Unfortunately…in looking for a couple things online, I discovered there’s a Tim Drake Robin figurine from this line that I’m very interested in now…sadly, it costs more than these three were combined!

And a $40 statue I’d been interested in is apparently going for over $200 at the moment.

Such is life.

Such is stuff.

And hey…these figurines will be seen a lot more than any Marvel single-issue #1s, proving to be the far superior value there!

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

New Year, New Toys…ish.

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Walt

Facebook marketing works, when done correctly. Like, say, having a Page, that I’ve Liked, and putting content out (particularly of stuff I might be interested in buying), and mentioning prices that aren’t otherwise visible.

Plus, I’m a sucker for photos that essentially allow me to browse a store’s stock at my leisure without being there.

So when I saw a post in my newsfeed from a local shop on Saturday, since I saw it via the app on my phone, I was able to view the photo, and ZOOM IN to look at stuff!

facebook_marketing_works_jan8th

While none of the slightly larger statues/busts really appealed to me (especially for the prices, even being on sale!) the DC figurines caught my attention, and I saw several that appealed to me. So I figured ok, I had to dig my car out from under two days of snow anyway, might as well reward myself for the effort with a brief trip to the shop (plus parking at a couple of Pokestops to restart streaks in Pokemon Go).

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While they’d not grabbed my attention in the photo, on looking at them in person, the JLA pewter figures looked pretty cool…particularly the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern. Though it’s cool as-is…the thought’s dawned on me that it could be primed and painted…which could be an interesting project sometime!

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The figurine that most grabbed my attention from the initial Facebook photo, though, was Booster Gold! And since he was still there, I got him! I was pleasantly surprised at the weight of these…being so used to action figures and such, pewter/lead/metal figurines are a relatively new thing for me, in terms of DC/comic/super-hero figurines like this!

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I saw/recognized Supergirl in the photo, and seeing that that figurine was still there, I decided to get it as well…though I neglected to pay it much attention (said attention had been grabbed by Booster Gold!).

And getting it home, I realize I’m not very happy with it…the character is not really a version I like, and projecting the weirdness (to me) of a young/mid-teen girl being made to look "sexy" and I’m an adult male more than twice the character’s supposed age!

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I realized that what really got me was the cape–I love the gold trim, as well as the yellow S on the back! So this is the view that I like for the character, and I think it was reflected enough in the display case that it’s what had most grabbed my attention.

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So I start out the new year with metal figurines…a bit more "upscale" than 3.75" action figures or "adult collector" figures, basically miniature statues. They are static–no re-posing them to interact with other figures or such. But for the price, at least, quite appealing, and I could easily see getting several more…assuming they’re still there after a new paycheck!

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

The Weekly Haul – Week of January 4th, 2017

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Walt

Despite hitting two comic shops today, it proved to be a relatively small week…particularly for adding the second shop-stop into the mix!

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Picked up the week’s new Superman issue; got the first issue of the Captain Atom mini-series (Added bonus: ONLY $2.99 and it’s a mini-series! Seems all the other minis DC has been doing have been the old $3.99…which is why I’ve not been buying those!)

Had to go to the second shop for the Justice League of America: The Atom – Rebirth. Not sure if the first was sold out, or shorted, or what. And then from the 50%-off/bargain bins at the first, snagged The Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection vol. 1. Cheaper than 5 single-issue Marvel contemporary stuff. Also re-accentuating the appeal (to me, at least) of Marvel stuff pre–Avengers: Disassembled, and particularly the nice, thick books that actually feel significant…not the VASTLY over-priced, over-skinny flimsy things with 4-6 issues’ content!

At the second shop, I also scored four Walking Dead Mini-Mates 2-packs…for 99 cents apiece! Can’t beat that pricing!

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Final Haul of 2016

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Walt

New Year’s Eve, I made a quick trip to the old comic shop to pick up a few things. I also stopped at a Books-A-Million to snag something for a friend, and wound up getting a couple things for myself while I was there. These are the highlights–minus thirty-three 20-cent issues.

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Lotta Aliens stuff. Well, and Predator. And the mashing together of the properties. In short, awesomeness. I’m loving these new Titan volumes collecting the classic Dark Horse Novels books. Even though I have the originals, I’ve been getting these for the completeness. I’ve been realizing the last year-plus that Aliens (and related) properties are much like TMNT for me in being willing to "double-dip" (or more) on stuff.

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With a 20%-off-everything-but-brand-new-comics sale going on, I snagged the Munchkin mini-expansion Dragons (to go with Dragon’s Trike that I got several weeks ago)…and got the Super Powers Superman figure/"statue" to go with the Robin one I got several months ago (though now I definitely want Batman. And Flash. And perhaps even Green Lantern…)

And Friday I’d revisited the closer comic shop for several volumes:

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At half-off and fitting in with recent Clone Saga and Ben Reilly volumes plus CHapter One and The Original Clone Saga that I’d had from 2015 or early 2016, I decided that I wanted them…especially having seen them. So I decided that if they still had all three volumes, I’d get ’em; all-or-nothing.

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And now the Spidey portion of my collection is starting to look like something not completely pitiful. Of course, I believe I have four more volumes to track down for the Clone Saga Epic, and decide how much I’m willing to pay on the Ben Reilly volumes 5 & 6 (even cover price seems way too expensive!) (especially having gotten 1-4 for $8/ea!)

Hopefully this week will be a relatively small week, though!

Finally, the clear bonus to going back to the shop on Friday was getting to see Winston!

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(He was still sleepy when I took this photo). He put up with my attention, though, which (as always) made the trip worth it for that alone!

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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