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The Weekly Haul – Week of September 14, 2016

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Walt

Another manageably small week for me, and of primarily (or just) DC stuff.

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I made three exceptions in buying stuff coming to me later this month via DCBS bundles… Three issues that I wanted immediate gratification, to read right away, no waiting.

As usual, Action Comics and Detective Comics were top-notch…”proving” to me they genuinely are back to being the “flagship titles” of their families, and the publisher.

I was rather curious about Superwoman, and while interested in the story and such, it didn’t feel quite up to the moment for me, so I’ll likely be a bit more patient next month and just wait on it.

While I’m digging Detective, I figure I might give it one more issue like this and see if the fate of Tim Drake is an ongoing subplot* or not…and if it isn’t a heavy thing, I’ll wait–THE reason I was making this book an exception was Tim Drake, and if he’s not going to be used as a prominent character in the ongoing story, then I can definitely wait a bit on reading the story.

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On Saturday, for the (third?) annual Batman Day I swung through a shop I was passing and browsed a bit and ultimately settled on Dark Knight, Dark City–a volume I’d apparently forgotten about but presumably had known about. It’s another of these nice, thick volumes DC has been putting out that is truly a solid value at full cover price but which is even moreso at a discount.

20% off for Batman Day and a FREE (to me!) Batman (2016) #1. New/variant cover, but as a freebie and special event, in this case, a variant, the existence of the variant is honestly quite acceptable to me. The only rub is, this is a free copy of a full issue that was just released commercially for full cover price about three months ago. Of course, with the biweekly shipping, Batman already has six issues out and a new arc beginning in a couple more days, so anyone pursuing the story for immediacy is not in a position of having an issue of the “current” story handed away free after having just paid for it.

Over at the Facebook Page (you do know I have a Facebook Page, right?) I’ve also just shared a couple links that Bleeding Cool posted; pieces on Clone Conspiracy and another on what impact the Civil War II “tag” has had on crossover/tie-in books.

The Clone Conspiracy piece is basically some coverage of a statement writer Dan Slott put out there urging retailers to order more copies of the upcoming premiere issue, and urging consumers to contact their shops now to ensure they have a copy on hold.

Apparently the mini-series/”core event” will be the CORE Spidey book, so the actual ongoing (excuse me, seasons) of the “regular books” are just along for the ride, telling tie-in stories (the difference here vs. Civil War II is that Clone Conspiracy seems to be a “smaller event” contained to the Spidey family of books rather than crossing the entire universe). However, I fully expect Marvel to have “leaked” or otherwise provided the/any major spoiler information to a news source that will “go live” with it at least two days ahead of the issue’s actual release, thus negating any reason to “have to” get it or ability to enjoy being surprised by a Marvel comic.

The Civil War II piece looks at the impact or lack thereof on several titles tying into the universe-spanning event. Me? I’ve “dropped” the only two titles that I had been giving a chance, from Marvel. I didn’t even wait for the actual tie-in issues of Power Man and Iron Fist or Thunderbolts to come out to skip…once I was certain I’d seen an issue of each as having a tie-in, I dropped ’em cold turkey.

Why waste $4 an issue for additional issues when I already know I’m not going to be going beyond the first handful of issues anyway, thanks to the tie-in?

Of course, I personally do not matter, not really: factor in variants and my purchase is absolutely not required…there’s someone else who’s glad to buy an extra copy or few that more than makes up for me.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Latest Aliens and Predators Shelf Configuration – September 12, 2016

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Walt

aliens_shelf_sept12a

aliens_shelf_sept12bWe’re into September, which means a couple of new Aliens related books due out.

I believe this week will see the release of The Complete Aliens Omnibus volume two, collecting two of the Dark Horse novels after the initial trilogy.

And the end of the month will see the release of Alien vs. Predator: Armageddon (Book 3 of a "crossover trilogy" called The Rage War by Tim Lebbon.

We also have the current Dark Horse Comics series Aliens: Defiance in progress, as well as a new Judge Dredd/Aliens/Predator series with an upcoming Aliens: Life and Death (though after 2014’s Aliens/Predator/AvP/Prometheus event and subsequent one-volume collection, I’m just waiting for the one-volume collection this time around, most likely).

There was also a recent collection of general DC Comics/Dark Horse Aliens stuff put out, and more recently a volume of DC Comics/Dark Horse Superman stuff (of primary interest to me, the Superman/Aliens and Superman/Aliens 2 material) published.

Along with the various books and comics, there’s the new Aliens Queen 6" Funko Pop figure that just came out (at least according to a months-old Amazon pre-order that just arrived). While I’ve had the "regular" Alien, this Queen is one of the larger oversized figures… and I quite like it, all things considered.

A couple weeks ago, I found one of the mid-2000s Dark Horse Press Predator novels at a used book shop*. Rather crummy condition, but at half cover price and to have it, I won’t complain much for the moment.

(* not Half-Price Books. I figure it could be missing the cover and they’d mark it up to at least $50 just because it’s out of print and not necessarily due to any great demand beyond myself…)

I believe there are only 3 or so Predator novels I’m missing, now to have all of those; certainly still missing a bunch of comic/collected volumes, but I’ve found the novels a lot more satisfying for both Aliens and Predator, and certainly more "history" with the novels.

And as seen in the photos above, also some cool toys for them–primarily Funko product, with a couple Minimates creatures and a Neca figure thrown in for my kinda bookshelves…

aliens_shelf_sept12c

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul – Week of September 7th, 2016

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Walt

This was a much better haul this week, with a visit to the usual comic shop, and only a passing visit to the closer-by one.

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Though they’re doomed to be duplicates with the Rebirth bundle from DCBS, snagged Superman and Supergirl. Also Darkwing Duck and Aliens: Defiance, from previous weeks’ pulls.

Then I did end up hitting the bargain bins.

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A quick glance at the bargain bins told me there was nothing really of interest, but I flipped through anyway, once I spotted a bin that I hadn’t seen at first. In this one, for 80% off, I found the Marvels: 10th Anniversary Edition, and quickly did the math in my head. Yep. For $10, on a $50.00 book that I have honestly wanted since I first learned of its existence some twelve years ago, this was a no-brainer. The book sports a little bit of wear–or at least, the dust jacket does. But it’s more than acceptable given the price!

Then the Wolverine hardcover was a freebie for buying something from the 80% off bin! At the closer-by shop, after seeing it for several weeks, I "gave in" and snagged the Heralds volume. Oversized hardcover, contains 4 issues (I think), at the price of one single regular-sized Marvel comic? Considering I couldn’t find it showing in my ‘inventory’ on my phone, opted to go for it.

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There were a lot of "new" ’90s books in the quarter-bins, and I snagged a few, though they were still collectively cheaper than two current Marvel books!

The Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 I recall as–at one time–being listed in Wizard as a $40 book. 25 cents today! It wasn’t til I got the thing home that I noticed a scribble on the cover…could be an autograph, though there’s no certificate or anything for its authenticity. Still, for only 25 cents, I’m quite happy. I actually had forgotten that the cover folds out…and this on a roughly standard-priced single-cover "iconic image" issue. Today these would be 3 different covers, all for this first issue: the center image as the "main" cover, the left panel as the "original Azrael" cover, and of course, the actual "Batman" cover for the right.

And there’s just something–to me–appealing with a handful of the Marvel #1s that Marverick and Mutant X are a part of.

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I’m quite interested in assembling the entire 18-issue run of Eclipso, and have been for years. Ideally from 25-cent bins, as I could probably just go online and get it relatively easily as $1+ single issues. Snagged the Prodigy variant because of the art, and nostalgia (Slingers was a cool concept, to me!). The Sovereign Seven Plus issue is one I may or may not have already, but not a bad one to snag. And the Doom Force caught my eye initially as a #1, then for curiosity with the "Suggested for Mature Readers" note. And the cover just looks like a ’90s book..! So why not?

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I’ve been working on an extra set of Mantra, and this Giant-Size issue comlements that nicely. The Superman issue is one of my favorite cover images, one I’d love to have a poster of! Nomad #1 for the sake of hey! Nomad #1! And though I had a copy from several years ago, I think this copy of Parallax: Emerald Night is in better condition and so will be a ‘replacement copy’ as well as a ‘convenience copy’ to have my "core series" set of The Final Night unified for now.

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I’m a sucker for old Wizard issues, especially as they are a relative rarity at all in bargain bins, and I have a shelf full of all my old issues and then some. The Image themed Wizard Special Edition is a new one for me. And this copy of #12 is in far better condition than the copy I had previously, thus serves as an excellent replacement copy for the rather beat-up copy I’d had. The Mage issue/collected edition was an oddity that caught my attention…it’s a Book One yet has a #9 on the cover…I still don’t have the issues all straight for this series. But for only 25 cents, I added it to the stack!

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These six issues were relatively random. Several for nostalgia, others for probably filling-in-of-holes in runs. All of these would likely be $2+ at Half-Price Books, with the Batman issue probably getting priced at $5-$10, based on recent patterns of pricing. All six for 25 cents each at the actual comic shop that knows the value of these sorts of issues.

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And finally, several Marvel Annuals…I may eventually see if I can assemble a set of all of the ____ and ____ ’98 annuals. For now, two new (I think) ones, plus the ’96 X-Force and Cable. I would have passed on the Gen13/Generation X and Generation X/Gen13 issues had both not been present. I found one in the back of one box, the other in the front of an adjacent box, and decided to grab them. Some weird synergy to them, and hopefully an interesting read eventually!

All in all, considering the stack of older stuff, the hardcovers, AND the new issues, this was an excellent haul…though one that certainly could have been a lot more expensive.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Back to Old Gaming Stuff (With a Little New)

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Walt

Over the holiday weekend, I had a chance to dig out some dice, pull my old Players Handbook for Dungeons & Dragons off its shelf, and for the first time in 13-15 years, play D&D.

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I’d bought this volume when it was brand-new, back whenever that was (early 2000s!), and shortly after also bought the Dungeon Master’s Guide…though I never really got around to being able to use them. (It would be several more years before I snagged the Monster Manual after 3.5 had hit and it was "on sale" as an outdated edition.)

I was unable to actually find my old dicebag (having recently moved, and it being so long since I’d had need of the thing, I haven’t a clue where it’s wound up!)…so I scrounged up another bag from some USB multi-piece set, and managed to pull together a small assortment of dice from several different gaming bins (Heroclix, Shadowrun: Duels, D&D Miniatures). But then, not satisfied with that, I hit a comic/game shop and snagged a cheap set of 7 dice and then a number of random misc. dice to beef up my now-current collection.

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In rummaging through everything looking for the old dice, I found two large card boxes that proved to hold a number of stand-out Magic: the Gathering cards I remember.

Above: two "dual lands" from the Revised Edition. I’d at one point had a third, but I’d traded that to someone for a couple other cards I was more interested in. That was before these become such incredibly expensive cards. I obviously stuck them into card protectors, and for the moment, they can stay there.

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A couple more "fun" cards–the hydras! The Balduvian Hydra is from the Ice Age expansion, while the Rock Hydra is from the Revised Edition, I believe. I quite enjoyed using both, being a fan of the token-creatures and stuff, and just the rarity and air about ’em (the Ice Age card being the "new" or "poor man’s" Rock Hydra).

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Similar to the Balduvian Hydra, the Polar Kraken was–to me–a neat creature that seemed like a new version of an older one–and fun to use as one of the largest (if not THE largest) creatures in the game at the time, the Leviathan. I believe I traded or bought the two Leviathan cards from the The Dark set, and "inherited" the Fourth Edition one from a friend when he got out of the game.

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And then there’s my favorite subset of cards from the game: the Elder Dragons! (The Nicol Bolas pictured here is out of its case for the group photo…it was in the case in a photo shared several weeks ago.)

Chromium was by far my favorite of the five, if only for the art and concept, but probably also for its inclusion in some of the early comics. Nicol Bolas has come to be a favorite as well thanks to use of the character in the books (Time Spiral in particular) and for getting a toy made!

While probably not at all powerful nowadays, some 65 sets and 12,000+ cards later, considering I got into the game in early 1995 or so (the game had not yet been out for 2 years!), these were great at the time, and truly the stuff of legends.

Though they’re obviously not comic books, I may start "showing off" some of my old favorites as I come across them, sorting through all these old cards that I hadn’t realized were not in with what I’d thought was my entire collection (oops!).

Time will tell, though!

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Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

#HPBHaul or #HPBFail? Not All OOP are Equal

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Walt

While not actually a comic or graphic novel, I was looking for a copy of a D&D volume, and basically the only one the HPB I was at had was the (3.0, I believe) Players Handbook II. For $35. Because (gasp! shock! awe!) it’s out of print.

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$34.95 cover price, but hey, let’s add 4 cents and call it a day. But I did notice more than other times–there’s a date on the sticker…06-06-16. So I believe this means the book has sat there unsold for three months at that price. Makes me wonder if I could "make an offer" on it–would they rather move the book, or let it sit there as a potential sale?

And as I’ve mentioned before: they have a whole separate section for rare/out of print/"collectable" volumes. I REALLY wish they would NOT shelve full-price/OOP-priced stuff with "everything else"!

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Huntress volume. Half-Price Books wants $24.99 for it. Not half price.

Heck, this one’s not even full price.

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Seemingly JUST because it is "out of print," they’ve tacked on an additional 25% to the cover price. And with the date on the sticker, the thing’s been there nearly three months. This is at LEAST the SECOND time it’s caught MY eye before I (re)realized the price.

TWO times at least that I would have bought this–at $10. But it’s not something I’m willing to pay $19.99 for…and sure as heck not willing to pay a marked-up price for it just because it’s out of print!

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Particularly maddening on the pricing is finding this volume.

Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage. This looked like an "original edition," from the early/mid-1990s (when collected volumes at all were a relatively rare thing!). Sure, the book is pretty beat-up: white edges, bends/folds in the covers, torn spine, etc. But it’s an original edition! (or close enough to it–there have been at least 2 editions AFTER this one that I am personally aware of!) But since when does damage matter to HPB if it’s out of print?!?

I mean, honestly…I am really, truly curious: why is this one priced so cheaply for being vintage and long out of print (and I’m pretty sure even any newer edition is now also OUT OF PRINT) while other out of print stuff is marked up?

Where’s the consistency?!?

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I actually bought the All*Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder volume. It was at a different HPB, but was half off the cover price. Yet even this one is confounding–this is an out of print edition, I don’t even think the collection has an in-print edition right now.

9 issues’ content for $10 and it includes the infamous Batcave fold-out? For something that–if only for the notion that Miller considers it as canonical with Dark Knight Returns–I do want to read.

And where I’ve mentioned their having a full-priced Age of Apocalypse Omnibus listed as "out of print," I did finally ask about it–whether it was "the 2012 edition or the 2016 edition." It is the 2012 (original) edition, that at one point DID go out of print. But as there’s a new 2016 edition, and omnibii are expensive enough as it is, with an in-print newer printing, I can’t imagine many would care that much about an older printing if they just want the book itself. I’m not aware of any visually-distinctive differences.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Flashing Back Friday: Super-Powers Robin Classic

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Walt

The other day, once I realized that comics weren’t in the cards for me (so to speak), I browsed the rest of the comic shop I was in, seeking something to "justify" my otherwise wasted trip.

Even the bargain tables didn’t really have anything of particular appeal for the price points and condition (I finally saw a Dragons of Autumn Twilight hardcover I would’ve been all over for the price, had the interior not been noticeably separated from the cover!).

Then I spotted something in a box under the table, and with one price crossed out, I picked it up to examine a bit more closely.

Some sort of "ArtFX+" statue(ette) of Robin.

robin_classic_artfx_statue_01_front

Apparently normally $30, but the $29.99 was crossed out with a $10 sticker. Given my disappointment regarding comics and the significant discount (coupled with Robin [albeit Tim Drake] being one of my favorite characters) this seemed like an excellent object for its price…and I certainly dug the packaging, having had several of the original Super Powers action figures back in the day.

The front of the box is made up to look like a vintage figure’s front, with the figure in a bubble on a cardboard sheet.

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Then the side of the box is made to look like the package is a stack of three of the figure…

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…both sides of the box. The "figure"’s pose is a bit awkward (more on that below). But it’s definitely a nifty element to the packaging…including the "distressed box" look adding to the sense of age to this, like it’s a figure or figures "found" somewhere and actually some vintage object.

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The back continues the effect with typical elements of toy-card design–the line logo, the specific figure logo, other figures available, bar code, other info and warnings, something about this specific figure…

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Being #1 a Superman guy, I’d love to track down that figure. And of course, now having Robin, the Batman would be great. And I’m a developing Flash fan…and a lapsed Green Lantern fan…

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This being the Robin figure, we get the sketchy image encouraging this figure’s display along with the other "revealed" figures…

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And here we have the description of what’s actually in the box, and what this whole thing actually IS.

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The "statue"/figure had its lower 3/4 in a loose plastic baggie, and the whole thing was in this packaging to keep it centered within the box and avoid basic crushing; the hole allows an un-altered view of the figure itself with no distortion from plastic between you and it…also the ability to touch the cape and confirm that it is indeed fabric and not just some semi-rigid plastic.

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And here’s the unwrapped figure/statue standing on the box. As to its detailing to look like a vintage action figure, even though I consciously knew this was a "statue," I still tried to move the arms or legs! It just has that look to it!

There’s also that pose it is in…not as apparent in the above photo, but it’s posed in such a way as to look like Robin is attempting to show off the front of his shorts–legs and back/shoulders back, shorts thrust forward.

More than a little "awkward," to say the least.

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Still, as an "inaction" figure, the pose seems solid, and the thing is easily stood on a flat surface without any real worry of it tipping over to knock anything else over.

This Robin may be Dick Grayson (where pretty much all my other Robin figures are Tim Drake), but it fits nicely in the display case…and as a nice bit of contrast to the Tims.

For $10, absolutely "worth" it. Right now where I’m at in life, I would be hard-pressed to justify a $30 thing to just stick on a shelf, but the $10 works moreso, and is a nice addition to my collection.

And perhaps before too terribly long, I’ll have a new job where I can "fly my geek flag" with Robins at work, again…

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Back Issues – September 1st, 2016

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Walt

After yesterday’s grousing over not being able to get the cover I wanted (the standard/basic/regular/NON-variant) of TMNT Universe #1 at either of the comic shops I went to*, I pulled up Diamond‘s web interface of a comic shop locator thing and found one I didn’t even previously know existed, that was relatively close by.

(* since being laid off, my usual shop is over an hour’s drive away instead of the 8 minutes one-way from the office, and so I’m having to adjust…)

And so, early afternoon, I set off to find this shop, having confirmed their continued existence via Facebook and saw by a photo they’d posted that they did indeed (at least initially) have the issue.

They had it (more on that later/in another post), but as a “new to me” shop, that meant a new selection of back issues to peruse.

I found that they had a number of issues of note that I’ve looked for elsewhere with no luck…as well as a similarly disappointment in holes in their collection. Still, that’s comics for ya, and these “holes” were more ’80s, with a surprising presence of ’90s stuff (though no Ultraverse issues, unfortunately).

However, I was quite put off by the absolute lack of any sort of price sticker.

Which suggested ok, they’re subject to whimsy of the owner/staff or at least price guide valuations…something I loathe when browsing back-issues! Still, in further browsing I spotted the new (recently-released here in 2016) Overstreet guide for sale, and taking a couple minutes, I paged through and looked up several of the issues, and decided that even at “full Guide value” I was willing to pay the prices, and knowing the “guide value” I would not feel bad passing on them if asked for more. Plus, they’re having a 20%-off sale for the weekend with the holiday.

back_issues_worldsfinest323_donatelloleatherhead1and2

I was VERY pleasantly surprised when the owner didn’t even look around for where he’d left the guide. Just looked at the issues, quoted me $2/ea, applied the 20% discount, and rang me up.

That alone means I will make a point of going back (hopefully sooner than not) to snag some other issues I saw of interest…as well as look for stuff I forgot, like Spawn and DC Comics Presents.

Just under $6 for World’s Finest #323 (final issue) as well as Donatello and Leatherhead #s 1-2 is excellent pricing! Certainly above cover price, but considering one issue’s 30 years old and the other two are probably 20, I’m happy with the price.

I was expecting the three to run me about $14.

While I “get” collector-pricing and such, and supply-and-demand…as someone collecting for completion with virtually zero expectation of reselling anything of significance, I don’t need stuff to be pristine “Mint” or “Near-Mint” condition, nor do I have any real interest in anything “slabbed,” such that I’m happy with a 25-cent cover’s-off, pages brittle and whole thing beat-up issue for the sake of having it than something that’d fetch $100-$200+ in solid positive condition. These issues more than exceeded that, and while I don’t even know what they’d be “graded” at even in general, for me they fit “reading copy” and are not “bad” so I’m good with ’em.

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From behind the scenes: Ziggy photo-bombing my blog-post-prepping.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Where is the NON-Variant?!? TMNT Universe #1 Frustration

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Walt

Welcome to The Weekly Haul Disappointment post for this week.

Yeah, there’s a bit of annoyance there, and disappointment, and frustration, and as I type this, I’m more “resigned” to things than the lit-up pissed-off that I was a couple hours ago.

See, ever since it was announced, I’ve been looking forward to the new TMNT Universe series from IDW. I’ve been loving the regular ongoing series (well, the past year or so post-Shredder hasn’t been nearly as interesting to me, but that’s another topic for another time) and I was jazzed at the prospect of a second ongoing title! (Presumably there’ll still be room for the occasional parallel-running mini-series in addition to the ongoings, but two ongoings allow for a lot more development without having to keep track of a bunch of “side” mini-series to begin with).

Reading last week’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #61 and seeing the house ad for the series made me think first that I had flat-out missed the issue somehow, and then think it was late. (Of course, then I realized there was a fifth Wednesday for the month of August this year, and so it would still hit for “August 2016” and thus be “on time” for all the more I recalled any specific date).

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So, with it being a fifth-week situation, and no new DC books due out for Rebirth (thus, no new Superman or Action Comics issue), there was one single, solitary issue I was particularly interested in for the week. TMNT Universe #1.

tmnt_universe_0001_regSo despite recent discouragements and frustrations in life, and a particularly bad start to the day, I eventually set off for a comic shop intending to pick up this TMNT issue I’ve been looking forward to.

I was honestly sort of afraid it might sell out, given it might be under-ordered as being “just” another TMNT book, and yet I believe the cover artist (if not interiors) is the same as the Batman/TMNT mini, and it wouldn’t surprise me for that alone to impact sales of this (frustratingly enough).

So when I walked into the shop, I went straight to the “new comics” rack, skipped over the first half of stuff and found the “T” section, and spotted the logo/title and physically picked up a copy…as I began to realize something was wrong.

I was, of course, expecting the cover above. The cover whose image had been advertised as being the cover. The cover whose image I’d come to associate with looking forward to the issue. The cover…to TMNT Universe #1.

tmnt_universe_0001_subInstead, I had a Kevin Eastman-style cover, which even though it’s a really freakin’ cool-looking image, is not the solicited image. It’s NOT the cover I have been looking forward to, expecting, and is not the standard cover. The one that actually, truly belongs to the issue.

This would be an absolutely fantastic poster.

I would love this as a poster, in fact.

But it’s a generic, stock-ish image of classic Mirage Studios TMNT, something that makes me think of the recent-ish TMNT Ultimate Edition hardcovers, or like something reprinting the original, classic TMNT #1, or a posterbook of Eastman covers, or something that actually is not this new, in-continuity parallel ongoing series to be a companion to the main Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title. This image does not reflect current goings-on in the series, and thus is not “relevant” for the ongoing stuff. It simply suggests a typical Turtles vs. Shredder and Foot.

After some honest debate and waffling on the matter, and despite the admittedly cool cover (which would have been perfectly fine had it been advertised as THE cover), I put the thing back, and didn’t buy it there. They had at least 15-20 copies of this cover, but none of the standard/regular cover.

tmnt_universe_0001_riI went to another shop I haven’t been to in awhile that was close-by, figuring ok, they would have the correct standard/basic/non-variant cover.

Unfortunately, on walking in and locating their “new comics this week” I was again greeted with a bunch of issues sporting that same cover–cool, but not the standard, basic, most non-variant cover.

I actually picked up their entire stack to gently flip through in the vain hope of at least one copy sporting the main cover.

No luck on that front, though I did find a copy of the “RI” cover (Retailer Incentive). Looking for the image online, I believe this one was indicated as the 1:10 ratioed variant, and since I did not see a price on the front, I turned it over to check the barcode box on the back, but alas! No price.

And I was in no mood whatsoever by then to even take a chance at being further pissed-off by asking the price and being told some outrageously jacked-up number (even $10) so I neatly put the stack back, and left.

I was angry enough to post an angry tweet on the matter.

It’s just a comic. It’s just a cover.

And frankly, simply buying the standard, basic, advertised cover for a brand-new issue, out today, with plenty of copies of the issue in-stock and available for cover-price should never be such an amazingly frustrating experience!

It’s not fun. It’s not cute. It’s not some “bonus” or such, it’s not “nostalgic” or a “nod to the past.”

It’s the sort of thing that–were it basically anything else other than TMNT, I’d be done with the series, and possibly even done with the publisher, just on principle. But as I’ve been on record in the past saying, TMNT is my exception, the thing that (so far) I’ll “give a pass” on and such.

But this is really trying whatever patience I have, and is a concrete reminder of just how freaking ridiculous stuff is getting in the world of contemporary comics and their publishing.

tmnt_universe_0001_correct_cover

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Showing Off a Shelf: Dragonlance Hardcovers and Gaming

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Walt

A couple weeks ago, I showed off a shelf of a few of my Magic: the Gathering books; here, now, are my Dragonlance  hardcovers.

dragonlance_shelves_with_mage_knight

Along with the books themselves, I have the Fifth Age game and several of its supplements.

These hardcovers are virtually all by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, or one or the other. I also have a number of graphic novels–several from the ’80s or early ’90s, and most from when Devil’s Due had the license in the earlier/mid 2000s.

Above the books are four dragons from the short-lived Mage Knight game, and then sharing the shelves are several giants and vehicles also from the Mage Knight game. While these are not associated with Dragonlance, in being from a game with a fantasy type setting, they fit well enough on these shelves for me at least for the moment.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Dissecting a Dollar-Store Comic: Freex #1

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Walt

I usually don’t pay much attention to comics in the "dollar stores" and such. Usually they’re just quarter-bin fodder, random stuff I’ve no interest in, or already have–and certainly not worth $1 or more…particularly when I’d be more interested in buying several at once. (Or often packages are more than $1, but contain several issues of which–at best–I only know what 2 of them are).

Today, I was at a Dollar Tree, and without looking for them, had one catch my eye…very obviously Freex #1, from back in July 1993.

dollar_store_comic_01

As a novelty thing, and not loading up with a bunch of other random stuff that would add up to a hefty price tag to get out of the store, I was all the more willing to buy this. Hey, just one single dollar, one single issue…and of course, this is half the price of what it would be at Half-Price Books… and there’s something enjoyable about coming across an issue like this completely unplanned and un-expected.

I was also just slightly curious about the "bonus" collector trading card pack and cards.

dollar_store_comic_05

Looking on the back of the pack, I saw the contents list, and my curiosity was piqued at the "How to Collect Comic Book Collectors Guide." I was pretty sure I’ve had/seen this in the past…if not this exact "brand," then certainly something similar. But for today’s mood…it was a curiosity and selling point for me…and definitely an "added value" to dropping a whole entire dollar on a vintage comic book I have at least half a dozen times over.

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I could tell despite all the stuff on the front of the package (basically just a sealed polybag) what this issue was–Freex #1, from the second month of Ultraverse launches! Adding (sentimental) "value" was seeing that the issue was itself still in original polybag with the Ultraverse Premiere #0 coupon…in this case, a "wild coupon" for the mail-away issue. The original trading card is also there.

While I’ve seen this #1 issue numerous times in bargain/used-comics bins, I’d guess that it’s at most a 50% find-rate with the bag, coupon, and card included. I have plenty of sentimental value attached to this, as I "nearly missed out" on the mail-away issue: I was able to use one of these "wild coupon" to make up for the one I was unable to obtain from an issue of Wizard Magazine (having collected all the others).

dollar_store_comic_04

I’m not at all impressed with the included trading cards. Some sort of Elvis card, which has no appeal to me–enjoy his music, but no interest in trading cards featuring the guy (or even musical artists in general). Some sort of "puzzle card" from this WWII Trading Cards set…worthless because I have no other cards, and it’s maybe only 1/9th of a single photo, meant to be assembled as a full set. I also have some personal "issue" with something like war being glorified in trading card format (or just commercialized, if not necessarily glorified).

I do remember VR Troopers (vaguely), but I’m far, far more a Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers guy, so not even enough interest to bother opening the pack for now. Far as I’m concerned, miscellaneous ephemera to be tossed aside for now…maybe it’ll wind up in the trash, maybe it’ll wind up in someone else’s hands… or perhaps it’ll just languish amidst other such ephemera in my possession.

dollar_store_comic_03

This How to Collect Comics thing is slightly larger than an actual comic, but smaller dimensionally than a magazine. The entire unit is newsprint, so nothing at all fancy nor particularly high quality. It’s very reminiscent of the old American Entertainment and Entertainment This Month catalogs, except I’d peg it as a far lesser quality than those…perhaps the nostalgia and sentimentality I hold regarding AE/ETM (one of the catalogs being a large part of my getting back into comics and being able to get "back issues" prior to discovering "comic shops").

I’m not too keen on stuff trying to offer "instruction" on collecting comics…and don’t much care for even these packs in the sense of trying to (continue to?) push the notion of any/all comics, by default, simply for existing being some sort of valuable item. Even as a sales tactic like this pack was, in a dollar store. I mean, if they’re willing to sell it such that I–as the end user, the customer–am "only" paying $1, then (to me) it’s highly obvious that the issue is not worth anything more than that dollar. At most.

I like these for the sense that some kid might get to access a random such comic without having a comic store, without having to "go digital," and being some random thing a parent may buy–after all, it’s "only $1" and all that.

dollar_store_comic_06

It’s certainly odd to me to consider that anyone would "need" some kind of guide like this, but then, I have 28 or so years’ experience to completely, thoroughly take stuff for granted, these elements of a comic cover. (Then again, I suppose at times whoever is sorting single issues at Half-Price Books could perhaps benefit at better understanding of subtitles and elements of comic titles/layouts).

dollar_store_comic_07

This is just some totally-filler, cheesey page. I almost hate to say it, but really…it’s just sad. Maybe it’s slightly humorous (at least, say, for a kid) it doesn’t hit me that way as a guy in his mid-30s.

All in all, for re-acquiring the issue, and having something to focus my attention and time on for as long as it took to take these photos, get them loaded for the post, write this post, and so on…it certainly made this well worth the $1 I spent.

This does have me rather interested in seeking out more dollar stores to check for this sort of pack and see if I can find any fun gems…as it was, I saw numerous copies of an issue of The Maxx, as well as Secret Weapons #1 from classic Valiant, and a couple Image issues from the early days…probably WildC.A.T.s or Youngblood though I couldn’t easily tell at a glance if the Youngblood was #1 or not.

Several years ago, I’d bought a pack of several comics like this simply because of a Batman poster…there’s a Superman one that exists that I’d love to find.

Despite this singular purchase being worth $1 to me on content and time spent involved with it, that is not a "natural default" for these, and many comics found this way I personally would consider to absolutely be quarter-bin fodder, and far from worth $1. But if one doesn’t have a comic shop nearby or access to back issues, and especially if there manages to be an issue or "bonus item" included of appeal to the individual…it’s absolutely worthwhile!

dollar_store_comic_00

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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