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The Weekly Haul – Week of January 28, 2015

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Walt

This was another appallingly huge week. THREE Valiants. TWO Ninja Turtles. The second-to-last Fire and Stone (Predator #4) of that mega-story.

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Along with these, the usual three DC Weeklies, as well as Turok and a "random" $1 issue.

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I also snagged a handful of 25-cent bin issues as well.

I’m really getting tired of the clustering…after months withOUT any TMNT Color Classics, we suddenly got two issues in as many weeks; and this is the second week of multiple TMNT comics. FIVE in two weeks…an I’ll hazard a guess that now there’ll be 2-3 weeks with NOTHING TMNT-related in single-issue format.

And of course…the Aric’s Butt issue of X-O Manowar that I’m actually surprisingly sour on…it was this or his knee and foot…where the cover wouldn’t be bad if it was a wraparound or gatefold…or the "interlocking" images were subsequent issues instead of VARIANTS of the SAME issue.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Not-so-Half-Price and Original Unity Saga TPBs

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Walt

I recently visited a Half-Price Books outside my usual stomping grounds to find a significantly better graphic novels collection than I’m used to at the two that ARE in my usual stomping grounds.

BUT my recent and ongoing complaint of their playing "collectibles dealer" over "used books at half price" store stands.

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I was originally quite thrilled to find one of the Superman Chronicles volumes I’m missing. However, the $14.99-cover-price book was marked at $19.99 with a note on it "Out of Print." I don’t know if it actually IS–I’d swear my copy of vol. 1 sports DC’s NEW logo while my copies of later volumes carry the old–but it’s a USED book, not pristine condition or such, so bad enough it’s not half OFF, but far worse that they added a quarter of the cover price to the final asking price!

I was lucky enough to find the Cable hardcover I’ve been looking for (for at least a couple years now)…LONG out of print, but apparently someone MISSED that, because IT was actually half-off cover-price.

And I found the four-volume Unity Saga series of paperbacks from the original Valiant. These were "full price" (actually about 4 cents above cover price), but given what it is and that I *have* seen these going for much more online when I’ve looked in the past, I couldn’t quite bring myself to pass up the set.

As paperbacks go, I think I might have all the volumes the original Valiant published. And these were worthwhile as I can’t see them getting reprinted due to rights issues with Solar in particular.

Unfortunately I didn’t find any of the books I specifically was looking for–X-Men vs. Apocalypse vol. 1: The Twelve, X-Men: The New Age of Apocalypse, or the more recent Age of Apocalypse that spun out of Uncanny X-Force.

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

MORE Valiant Variant Annoyance!

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Walt

I complained several weeks ago about discovering that my copy of X-O Manowar #31 was only one-HALF of an image…no wrap-around cover, no gatefold. I’d have to buy TWO COPIES of the SAME ISSUE if I wanted to actually have the entire cover image.

Now I find out the same thing’s happening with #32 as well!

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And I don’t even like the image all that much from this perspective.

Aric’s butt, or what looks like it could be Giant-Man’s foot from The Ultimates coming down on an armored figure.

If you have a four-issue arc…put the halves on subsequent issues. If you have a 3-issue arc, do a wrap-around cover or a gatefold, or AT LEAST provide some sort of pull-out poster or something.

if it’s just a cover, why do it?

And for those who would say to me that it’s no big deal, if I don’t like it I don’t have to buy the variants/multiple-copies-of-the-same-issue, I say: if it’s no big deal, then the publishers should QUIT DOING IT!

I’ve already "accepted" variants as a "Thing" but darn it…I’m sick and tired of even "just" sticking to my "standard, most basic" or "A" cover or such winding up with only half an image.

Seems there was a 5-part interlocking series of variants for X-O Manowar #0…FIVE. BUT I can overlook that as those were a variant image entirely, and didn’t impact me with my standing order of "A-cover or most basic non-variant" for my pull list. I bought one single copy of that issue, got the image that had been used in advertising/previews for the issue, the standard image I’d come to associate the issue prior to its release.

With these 2-part interlocking covers where they ARE the standard covers…I don’t have that choice. OR I have to seek out a rarer variant just to have a single image for the cover…and the image may or may not be all that relevant to the issue in question.

Much as I’ve stayed "loyal" to Valiant, maintained a blanket "everything single-issue Valiant puts out" for my pull list…this is frustrating and annoying enough to have me asking myself what it would look like if I dropped Valiant entirely.

Or shifted to collected volumes only. After all, those (TYPICALLY!) have only one cover, and there’s the chance the variants might be included as bonus pages/backmatter there, and let me avoid the "issue" of variants with the singles.

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

The Weekly Haul – Week of January 21st, 2015

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Walt

This proved to be a rather ridiculously huge week with quite a bit of TMNT “clustering.”

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Two Valiant books…priced the same, but The Valiant has a cardstock cover and is what they’re calling “Prestige Format” (what I expected to be squarebound like Superman: Speeding Bullets).

And THREE TMNT books. Counting the TMNT/Ghostbusters mini, I don’t get why these couldn’t be spaced out–about ONE per week.

I’m hoping that this “Color Classics vol. 3” is 15 issues…this first issue reprints the original TMNT #48, so I’m hoping #2 is 49 and #3 kicks off City at War.

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The rest of the pile…the DC Weeklies, latest Bleeding Cool, and Magnus Robot Fighter. ElfQuest is a $1 reprint. And the DC Essential catalog for 2015.

I also snagged 18 quarter-bin issues…may or may not detail those later.

Filed under: 2015 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Black Vortex Checklist

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Walt

An ancient artifact.
An unknown power.
The fate of billions.

February 2015
The Black Vortex Alpha #1
Guardians of the Galaxy #24
Legendary Star-Lord #9
All-New X-Men #38

March 2015
All-New X-Men #39
Guardians Team-Up #3
Guardians of the Galaxy #25
Nova #28
Legendary Star-Lord #10

April 2015
Cyclops #12
Captain Marvel #14
Legendary Star-Lord #11
The Black Vortex Omega #1

source: Promotional Bookmark (pictured below)

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Filed under: 2015 posts, Checklists, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Lazy Monday

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Walt

Tonight’s a lazy evening in a way. A peek behind the blog: I have nothing prepared, don’t feel like “showing off” anything, nor getting all that in-depth on any topics (despite many thoughts throughout the day, comics-related and otherwise).

I went in to work early, stayed late, and then met a friend at the local gym after. So, after a busy weekend…I’m beat.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ve likely noticed the Age of Apocalypse posts 2-3 times each week lately. I’ve intended to re-read the entirety of the Age of Apocalypse for several years now, but never got to it. When I seriously thought of “pulling the trigger” on a regular feature as I re-read it for this blog, I thought of all my other “series” that I’ve started and not completed (X-Men Series I cards, anyone?) and wondered at this one.

I’m glad to report that of the over 40 issues (including prelude stuff) I have only 4-5 left to read, and posts are ready through the end of March. If I drop off the face of the earth, there will still be new content up at this blog for another 2 1/2 months…just not the (week)daily I’ve kept the last few months.

While I’ve been enjoying reading and functionally documenting each issue upon reading it, revisiting the Age of Apocalypse leaves me eager to get caught up on some other reading, and perhaps more efficiently. Which means more time reading, a lot less time writing.

Time will tell how or if that particularly affects this blog.

For now…back to non-blogginess for the night.

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

The Weekly Hauls: Weeks of 1/7 & 1/14

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Walt

Been a couple weeks since I’ve posted one of these.

LAST week, had two huge issues in the Valiant Greatest Hits #2 and the Legends of the Dark Knight Super-Spectacular #5. Of course, as is standard nowadays, the three DC weeklies…and picked up Wolverines #1 to check it out…but it’s a $3.99 weekly, which I’m just not willing to pay. And the third issue of the new Eternal Warrior mini.

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THIS week, I decided to try the new Mortal Kombat X premiere, snagged the final issue of the AVP: Fire and Stone mini…and Marvel‘s new Star Wars #1 (I posted a review the other day).

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There’s also the three DC weeklies, the latest Astro City…and 3 Valiants in one week.

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It’s been a really heavy couple weeks…and it’s rather disconcerting–yet again–to realize how far behind I am on reading the weeklies…despite keeping up with the purchasing (so I don’t have to catch up later and hassle with the hunt).

I am looking forward to their being done, and getting that $9/week back in-pocket for other stuff…of course, I might just be trading those for a couple of HUGE September-like months with DC‘s big event this spring.

Filed under: 2015 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul – Week of December 31st, 2014

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Walt

Final comic shops visit for 2014…

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Despite being a really "small" week for DC…since I’ve been getting the weeklies, I didn’t notice a "break" in things at all. Image had a $1 issue, and Valiant actually had one issue out.

I also took advantage of an after-Christmas 20% off sale for a couple more Walking Dead volumes, working on getting caught up there.

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It’s been a number of years since I’d gotten a new Walking Dead "standard" TPB. (I started with this format, and am too far in/committed to switch to any of the other formats). My last was vol. 13, and 22 is the newest. I’d "gone back to" the single issues for a couple years or so; dabbled in digital for a couple years, and outright passed on the series entirely since All Out War ended (thanks to my continued personal boycott of comixology since they did away with in-app purchasing for iOS).

But it’s been bothering me, to look at my bookshelves and see that gap, to be missing nearly HALF of the series, so I’ve been working on "catching up" on the 9 or so volumes I’d not yet picked up. I snagged 3 volumes from Half-Price Books; I’d picked up vol. 22 as an all-new read at the start of Comic Heaven‘s 20% off sale; and then vols. 20-21 this week. I intend to finish up with 14-15 and 17 via eBay or otherwise online to get ’em for around half-ish off.

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

Superman Unchained

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Walt

superman_unchained_02In early 2013 or so, I recall a bit of personal excitement that had me ready to jump back into the Superman books…the prospect of a quasi “return” to there being several familiar titles each month. Superman and Action Comics were (and are, and remain) two “staples” of the New 52, and aren’t likely to disappear regardless of creative team turnover. There was the digital-first Adventures of Superman, and the pending Scott Snyder-takes-on-Superman fourth title, rumored at the time to be “Man of Steel” or such with the new movie on the immediate horizon.

The Snyder book wound up being Superman Unchained, and quickly soured me. I remember a fair bit of hubbub over the price point on the title–the first issue was $4.99, apparently super-priced due to the inclusion of a pull-out “poster” that would actually tie to the story. I got the issue, and was VERY disappointed with the so-called poster, as it was just some stupid, giant-sized “panel” of Superman crashing through a satellite. Nothing that couldn’t have simply been done as a “regular” double-page spread or such. It by no means needed a poster or pull-out or whatever, and was nothing “worth” putting on a wall or framing for the wall.

That the title was a $3.99 book–to my knowledge–combined with the frustration over the vastly over-hyped pull-out soured me. Add to it the slew of expensive variant covers and I didn’t even bother to pick up #2, accepting my loss on the first issue and moving on.

Flash ahead to present, and this “new series” had turned into a “limited series,” ran late, lost steam, etc. and generally fell off my radar.

But there’s a collected volume, a deluxe oversized hardcover…collecting the ENTIRE SERIES, the entire story into a single, nice-looking volume.

superman_unchained_01And while this would EASILY be a $50-$60 book (if not $75 just for the sheer heckuvit) from Marvel…from DC, Superman Unchained is a WHOPPING $29.99 cover price as an oversized hardcover. 9 issues, content from a Director’s Cut of #1, PLUS a cover gallery of all those too-many-to-count variants of the first six or so issues (presumably before the title ran late and lost steam and all that). 9 issues at $3.99 apiece would be $36ish. $37 for that first issue being an extra $1. Add another $4 for the Director’s Cut (I think it was actually $4.99 if not MORE, though) and we certainly hit the $40 mark. Heck, even at a mere $2.99/issue…9 issues and the director’s cut puts us squarely at $30 MINIMUM.

This book–oversized, hardcover, no ads, no wait between issues, no screwy over-hyped poster gimmick, everything in one volume–is $30.

I have yet to read the story itself…but it’s Snyder. It’s SUPERMAN. It’s A STORY, it’s significantly longer than the Earth One OGNs that I’m willing to buy despite the $20+ cover price. So it’s safe to say that yes…I’m happy with my purchase. The volume is seems a good value. I can’t imagine I’ll dislike the story enough to “ruin” having bought the book. Having followed Doomed earlier this year, I didn’t notice anything in that that was truly impacted by this story; nor have I seen anything else I’m consciously aware of that ties back to this.

So I get an epic-length self-contained Superman story and even if it sucks, it’s done in one at this point and I’m not going to be led into buying other titles or having to track anything down. Money well spent, and an impressive volume for the shelf. 

That I enjoyed paging through the cover gallery as much as I did almost warrants the purchase by itself.

This is truly an example of why I–by FAR–prefer the collected edition format to the single issues.

I don’t have to track down all the variants to get to ENJOY them, their very existence, seeing them with the logo/trade dress. Below, see (on the right-hand side) the “Superman Reborn” series of variants, reuniting classic ’90s Superman creators with the post-Death of Superman-era characters.

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Above: Covers from Superman Unchained #1…

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Above: Covers from Superman Unchained #2…

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Above: Covers from Superman Unchained #3…

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Above: Covers from Superman Unchained #4…

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Above: Covers from Superman Unchained #5…

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Above: Covers from Superman Unchained #6.

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

Yet More December Acquisitions: The Complete Onslaught Epic

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Walt

Thanks to a Black Friday sale (online), I was able to get vols. 0, 1, 2, and 3 of The Complete Onslaught Epic for well under the price of two volumes. I paid full price for vol. 4 at a local shop, as it was not available, and seemed (based on searches online) to be out of print and people asking WAYYYY above cover price.

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This set adds to my Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic as well as the Heroes Reborn and Heroes Return sets. I suppose next up–if I can find ’em cheap (say, $20 or less per volume) and be able to get the entire set in one go–is Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga.

Of course, I have a bunch of other volumes also on my “wish list” and I might actually use that as a topic of a later post before the year is out.

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

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