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Cover Gallery: Age of Apocalypse Special Issues

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Walt

Amidst all the reviews and such, for me (at least) sometimes it’s just really fun to look at a bunch of comics’ covers together, whether it’s admiring a run of a series, or seeing a full story, or some other ‘theme’. Here are the covers to the special issues from the original Age of Apocalypse event in 1995 (and as a shameless plug, click on the cover and that should take you to my Age of Apocalypse Revisited coverage of the issue).

 

xmenalpha001 xmenomega001
xmenchronicles001 xmenchronicles002
xuniverse001 xuniverse002
ageofapocalypsethechosen001 xmenprime001

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The ’90s Revisited: Quasar #59

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Walt

quasar059Brothers in Arms

Writer: Ron Marz
Penciler: Andy Smith
Inker: Ralph Cabrera
Letterer: Diana Albers
Colorist: Paul Becton
Editor: Mike Rockwitz
Group Editor: Ralph Macchio
EIC: Tom DeFalco
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: June 1994
Cover Price: $1.25

This issue grabbed my attention for the Thanos reference on the cover. By the coloring of Thanos’ head/face in the background, I would not have recognized the character from any other random Marvel Cosmic character while simply flipping through issues in a 25c-bin, so seeing Thanos’ name is what caught me. Contextualize it further with rather ticked-off looking Starfox and Quasar, and there was little that would convince me to NOT buy the issue.

I’ve recently been building up my Thanos/Warlock/Infinity ______ library, which also contributed to this grabbing my attention. Despite the cover, this issue was really not what I expected…whatever it was that I WAS expecting.

We open with Quasar telling someone he’d be there soon…and then find the very IMPRESSED Quasar marveling at Titan. He’s there to meet up with Starfox–Eros–for a bit. After greetings and brief showing off, Eros asks Quasar to join him for an errand, that turns out to be an annual tradition. Despite whatever bitter blood between the two, Eros and his brother Thanos put aside their differences for one day a year to spend time as brothers. While Thanos extends their truce to include Quasar, our hero is none too happy to be in the presence of one of the biggest threats to the universe he’s ever known. As the brothers exchange gifts, a squad of alien authorities show up…Thanos’ gift was stolen, and they’ve arrived to take it back (dealing death as penalty for the theft). The trio fights back, and the authorities are eventually sent off, nudged a bit by Eros’ powers of suggestion. As Eros and Quasar leave, we see Thanos…still in posession of the stolen item.

Quasar looks a bit “off” to me somehow…which is particularly noticeable to me as I’m not OVERLY familiar with the character. I just know that he doesn’t look quite right to my eye throughout this issue. On the other hand, Starfox doesn’t look that bad. And Thanos looks pretty good to me. Everyone is recognizeable so there’s no harm there, and I never had to pause to figure out what was going on or wonder at confusion at something shown in a panel. 

Story-wise, this is rather throw-away and generic, with no real change to any of the characters, their status quo, no tie to some bigger event or story…and yet I really, truly quite enjoyed this.

As stated above, I’m not overly familiar with Quasar, but I know of the character and while I have no idea as of this typing where the character is at present in 2015, he’s perfectly standard in the Marvel Universe I recall from the 1990s.

This issue is functionally a standard-sized issue one-shot. There’s no note saying this is continued from anywhere else, and the final panel of the final page clearly states END (though we can wonder exactly what Thanos is up to in the grander scheme of things). And particularly for only costing me 25 cents…I’m very happy with this being a one-shot. I’ve got characters I’m familiar with, as well as one I’m particularly interested in at present (Thanos), no catch-up or follow-up to do based on this issue, and it was an enjoyable read that didn’t leave me scratching my head.

I’m aware of having read a fair bit of Ron Marz‘s work–on Green Lantern as well as (I believe) Silver Surfer, and other stuff through the years. I certainly prefer Jim Starlin‘s Thanos to most…but Marz‘s take on the character seems very Starlin-esque to me and does nothing to make me question this appearance of the character. I’m not consciously familiar offhand with the art team…but this is from the mid-90s and I associate the period with a huge body of creatives that never stood out to me at the time, and apparently never made a name for themselves or stuck around for me to be familiar with contemporary work.

This is from mid 1994, putting this after the three Infinity Events (Gauntlet/War/Crusade) yet ahead of the Onslaught, Heroes Reborn, and Heroes Return stuff. While if I thought hard enough i could probably find (an) example(s) otherwise, I largely have a several-year blind spot with Thanos that this falls into. 

If–like me–you just want to read a “random” Thanos appearance (and I don’t know that this is reprinted or collected anywhere) this is certainly a fun one-off. All the better if you’re a fan of Quasar and/or Starfox. Though I wouldn’t see this as anything much more than a bargain-bin book (worth little more than 25-50 cents) I definitely recommend this as something worth the time it takes to read, just for the fun of it.

Filed under: 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Cover Gallery: Legion Quest

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Walt

Amidst all the reviews and such, for me (at least) sometimes it’s just really fun to look at a bunch of comics’ covers together, whether it’s admiring a run of a series, or seeing a full story, or some other ‘theme’. Here are the covers to late 1994’s Legion Quest books that crossed the X-Men line at the time (and as a shameless plug, click on the cover and that should take you to my Age of Apocalypse Revisited coverage of the issue).

 

uncannyxmen319 xfactor109
uncannyxmen320 xmen040
uncannyxmen321 cable020
xmen041  

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

The ’80s Revisited: Swamp Thing #72

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Walt

90srevisited

swampthing072Gargles in the Rat Race Choir

Writer/Penciller: Rick Veitch
Inker: Alfredo Alcala
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Tatjana Wood
Editor: Karen Berger
Published by: DC Comics
Cover Date: May 1988
Cover Price: $1.25

Way back amidst my earliest memories of having comics in my life, there was a pack of comics that included Swamp Thing #72 and ROM [SpaceKnight] #51 along with something else I can’t recall (possibly an issue of Detective Comics). I was at a friend’s birthday party, and these packs of comics were the "party favors." I was not yet particularly aware of most characters out there, and had no idea what this Swamp Thing series was–as a series or the main character, even. I may have flipped through the issue, but I do not recall actually reading it; whether I did or not my 2015 reading yielded an appreciation and enjoyment I certainly would not have had at age 10 or so when I received the comic.

Flash forward nearly a quarter-century and I saw the issue in a quarter bin and the nostalgia and curiosity hit me. For a mere twenty-five cents, I would finally read this issue and gain the conscious experience of having done so…see if I remembered the story itself from when I was a kid or if it truly was just the cover I remembered.

To say this was worth that 25-cent piece would be an understatement: even as a totally isolated, context less single issue, I quite enjoyed this issue. I have a long way to go in terms of learning about the Swamp Thing, but I’ve come to know a heckuva lot more than I did as a kid, both in the basics of the character as well as his place in the wider DC Universe, then Vertigo continuity, back to DC Universe, and so on…as well as his history with John Constantine, the Hellblazer. And that latter certainly contributed to my enjoying this, as Constantine plays no small role in this issue.

The issue is fairly dense, shifting between Swamp Thing, Constantine, and other involved parties. Swamp Thing and Constantine essentially are working different angles of the same problem–some sort of sprout involved in the succession of elementals/agents of The Green is being corrupted for lack of a proper host/soul. Swampy consults with Abby, and then we follow someone named Alden–seeing his annoyance at home as he gets around and goes to the office…where a secret that’s been cultivated lays exposed by Constantine. While this threat is dealt with, Swamp Thing spawns elsewhere (utilizing a package of potato chips to do so). Despite his efforts and Constantine’s results, the situation on Earth is not getting better, and we see that The Green has set something into motion (which we’ll have to pick up later issues to see).

This looks and feels much like an early issue of Hellblazer, which I really like. Of course, that makes sense given the issue’s date–I’m pretty sure Hellblazer started in 1987/1988. I do recognize Veitch as a name, whose work I’ve seen previously–though off the top of my head as I type this, I can’t quite place where (probably other Swamp Thing and/or Hellblazer stuff). The page layouts are interesting, and I think some of that comes from this being both written AND drawn by Veitch, allowing that much more synergy with the story and art, with both influencing the other.

This was published with DC‘s NEW FORMAT label and marked as being For Mature Readers…this pre-dates the Vertigo imprint by several years. Though the issue obviously is not aimed at kids, it’s more the subject matter and themes and violence that would make it questionable for the younger crowd…I doubt I would simply hand it to a pre-teen but it seems appropriate enough for teens and up; the Mature Readers wouldn’t seem to have to mean "18+" in this case.

By itself, this was certainly very well worth my twenty-five cents, and it rekindles my interest and curiosity in Swamp Thing as well as my appreciation in the ties between Swamp Thing and Constantine the characters, as well as Swamp Thing and Hellblazer the comic series.

Filed under: 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Trying Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Walt

mdu_screenI’ve resisted Marvel‘s Digital Comics Unlimited for quite awhile, but as I’ve found myself getting sucked back into their products AND re-annoyed at their PRICING, this makes a bit of sense.

I also have to blame Mike and Shag (Views From the Longbox and The Fire and Water podcasts) for talking about it on a recent episode of VFtL, as well as a friend who informed me of a weekend sale on an annual subscription to the app.

I ended up deciding that the annual price was more than I could spend immediately, plus I still had some questions and curiosities about the thing, how it works, if I’d actually like it, etc, so I opted to go with a "monthly" subscription that I will either have to remember to cancel before it renews, or I’ll like this enough that I’ll let it go or upgrade TO one of those annual subscriptions.

mdu_library_grid_view  I found myself quite excited at the possibilities for this thing. Lots of stuff to read–either that I’ve wanted to re-read; will re-read because it’s available, or have yet to read because I haven’t gotten to it and/or the price for issues or collected volumes have been prohibitive.

Talking with a friend (as well as internally to myself) I’ve realized that a huge negative for me with Marvel has been their PRICING. When it comes to the characters themselves, I certainly have a great fondness, and so avoiding their stuff has been in reaction to the price and affordability to get stuff more than having any issue with the characters themselves. I’m going to be far more critical and demanding of something I’m paying $3.99 an issue for, for 20ish pages.

But with what seems so far to be available on Digital Comics Unlimited, this is gonna more than pay for itself in terms of what I’ll get to READ. And along with that, it’s DIGITAL, to boot, where I can download up to 12 issues’ content at a time to a device, so I can take it with me on the go even where I won’t have wifi access…meaning I can take this stuff to the gym or a fitness room and read on a tablet where I’m not fighting to get something to stay put or pages to turn when I want but not close when I don’t.

mdu_library_list_viewGranted, there’s a six-month "gap" between what’s "available" and whatever’s current this week in comic shops. But for the pricing, I will gladly, happily live with that.

I’ve had some "interest," for example, in reading the All-New X-Men / Guardians of the Galaxy crossover The Trial of Jean Grey. The collected edition’s price put me off–skinny little hardback of "only" 6 issues…$25. More expensive than the single issues (granted, it’s hardback).

a $10 subscription for one month means all I have to do is read 2 1/2 issues that would have cost me $3.99 in print, to "break even."

I want to read that Trial of Jean Grey story…and comparing against that $25 price point to do so…all I have to do is read that, and then anything else I (get to) read until September is pure "bonus" price-wise.

I can read the DnA run of Guardians of the Galaxy. I can read Infinity and Original Sin. I can go back and read all (or most) of the tie-ins for Marvel events of the past decade.  And beyond that, I can skip around, just browse stuff and read a random issue here or there. I can also delve further back to specific series and runs.

There’s a lotta gaps in early/mid 1990s stuff that I searched for, which is disappointing…but given I can find a lot of that stuff relatively cheaply in quarter bins and such, I’ll take that gladly with the tradeoff being I can READ a lot more of the more "modern" stuff.

And there’s the fact this is all digital, and it’s stuff I’ll "only" get to READ. I’m not buying anything to own; I’ll read, and move on, retaining the experience of HAVING READ the stuff, but no hassles with storage or tracking books down to buy, etc. I can read the stuff, it’s all in the SAME FORMAT (digital, to view on my phone or tablet screen) rather than varied print editions–oversized hardcovers, hardcovers, paperbacks, digests, etc.

mdu_computer

Seems a whole host of stuff put out by Dark Horse for Star Wars has passed to Marvel, and fitting that timeframe of being 6+ months old, that’s available on here…a huge wealth of Star Wars comics to poke through and read if it grabs my attention, continue to ignore if it doesn’t.

I’d once found one or two of the Star Wars Infinities series in a bargain bin…now I can read the third (and final?) series with no hassle. And where I wasn’t interested enough in Dark Horse‘s Star Wars to buy much…they certainly had high quality stuff, and available here, I may read it.

So in short…I’m excited for and look forward to diving in and getting the chance to just simply READ a bunch of stuff, enjoy it for the STORY and no issues with schedules, cover prices, pagecounts, ease of location of collected volumes, etc.

Outside of some spotty runs of ’90s stuff I’d love to get into, with the more modern stuff, I see getting a lot of "joy" back in Marvel reading.

I’ll surely post again somewhere down the road on the experience, and where this takes me.

Meanwhile…I’m about to embark on a week-long roadtrip with friends, which will certainly test the enjoyment of this app, as I intend this to be my primary source of (comics) reading material FOR the trip.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

The ’90s Revisited: Silver Surfer #45

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Walt

90srevisited

silversurfer045Thanos vs. Mephisto

Writer: Jim Starlin
Penciler: Ron Lim
Inker: Tom Christopher
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colorist: Tom Vincent
Cover: Ron Lim, Tom Christopher
Editor: Craig Anderson
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: January 1991
Cover Price: $1.00

This is an issue of Silver Surfer. That’s the series, the title, that’s the logo on the cover. But…the cover belongs to Thanos and Mephisto…there’s no attempt whatsoever to have the title character–the Surfer himself–worked into the cover image. There’s a square box that has no pretension of some callout or "burst" hyping something: it states simply The Boys are Back! and we see a stoic, confident Thanos "posed" for the image with a sorta creepy, up-to-no-good Mephisto putting an arm around him. This image alone evokes plenty of thoughts and depth…surface stuff and far deeper, should one wish to hyperanalyze.

The cover belongs to these two…as does the interior. The Surfer has fallen (in the previous issue, I’d assume…it’s been well over a decade since I last would have read this run) and he and the Destroyer (Drax) lay lifeless at Thanos’ feet–their souls having been sucked into the Soul Gem. Other than the opening full-page shot and barely a reference in a subsequent panel and then a small panel at the very end of the issue reminding us of their existence–we don’t see Surfer or the Destroyer in the rest of the issue. And while this is a Silver Surfer issue…that does not bother me in the slightest, particularly having bought this for a quarter, because of the cover…and TRULY getting exactly what I wanted, what I expected out of the issue: Thanos and Mephisto. That’s what the cover promised, and that’s what was delivered.

Thanos has assembled his Infinity Gauntlet, having completed his quest to gather the Infinity Stones. The two beings who sought to stop him–the Silver Surfer and Drax, the Destroyer–have been defeated. Mephisto takes this opportunity to step him, pledging himself to Thanos, master of all. Along with doing so, he goads Thanos on, suggesting the greatness he can yet attain, if he reaches out with his infinite power to touch every living/sentient mind in the Universe. Thanos does so, and Mephisto’s ulterior motive is revealed: to steal the Gauntlet for himself. Of course, it turns out that Thanos was prepared for this, and puts Mephisto in his place, wherein the two come to an agreement about How Things Will Be…and we again see the lifeless forms of Surfer and Drax as Thanos considers the notion of there remaining any who could possibly be a threat to his plans.

This issue falls right in the midst of all the lead-up to The Infinity Gauntlet (1991), though unfortunately it does not seem to be part of the Silver Surfer: The Rebirth of Thanos collected volume. (I’m actually not sure if this has been collected anywhere at the moment?) And the cover–basic though it is (a simple greenish turquoise background with the two characters and then the usual cover dress)–just hit the right nostalgia button for me.

Starlin‘s writing here is spot-on for me; I so associate him with this material–this run on Silver Surfer, all his stuff on Thanos heading into and then during the core Infinity Gauntlet and so on–that this is essentially a "perfect" comic. This is Thanos as I appreciate the character, like the character, and simply reading this issue leaves me anxious to re-read this whole run of the title. As Thanos’ creator, Starlin gets a "pass" from me: what he says goes, and if he’s writing Thanos, then to me…that IS Thanos.

Lim‘s art is absolutely fantastic and iconic in itself to me…as depicted in this issue, this simply IS Thanos. The costume, the shadowed eyes, the star-flare in the eyes, whatever details I notice just works for me and seems perfect.

I already "know" this period of the comics; I know stuff before, after, and am certain I’ve read this before, so reading this is a true revisiting for me; like taking a cherished, favorite book and spending a few minutes re-reading a short selection. That’s probably why despite this chunk of story being right in the middle of the lead-up to Infinity Gauntlet, I so thoroughly enjoyed it as a single issue.

This issue is well worth grabbing, particularly as a bargain-bin issue…and especially if it’s truly not reprinted anywhere as yet. It’s a great middle piece between what you’ll find in Silver Surfer: The Rebirth of Thanos tpb and the Infinity Gauntlet.

Filed under: 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

X-O Manowar #37 [Review]

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Walt

xomanowar037Dead Hand Part 4: Red Earth

Writer: Robert Venditti
Pencils: Diego Bernard
Inks: Ryan Winn w/Mark Pennington & Bit
Colors: Brian Reber
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Stephen Segovia & Brian Reber
Editor: Tom Brennan
Editor in Chief: Warren Simons
Published by: Valiant
Cover Date: June 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

While my feelings toward Valiant have taken a definite beating in the last few months, this issue reminded me why I’ll certainly be sticking with this SERIES even if I don’t stick with the entirety of Valiant‘s output.

We come to the conclusion of this Dead Hand arc, and we find things at a bit of a standoff. Authorities on Earth are quite alarmed at what might be coming, and seek to find out what they can of it. Meanwhile, as readers we see that Dead Hand has paused to consider how to proceed, taken aback by the sudden presence of a number of armors (that Aric has called to his side from throughout the galaxy) and then by their defense of life (Dead Hand having been programmed to eradicate the armors, all of whom were to be selfish things causing harm and destruction to life, not defending it). Of course, we get the predictable battle, with somewhat predictable results, then a bit of wrap up and an “out” to allow for future situations.

This issue truly felt like the end of an event series…yet it’s actually “only” the end of a single 4-issue story within the main X-O Manowar title, and there were no tie-ins, cross-overs, one-shots, etc. This was an organic follow-up to last year’s Armor Hunters, taking stuff set forth by that and exploring it further, adding to the X-O/Aric mythos, and serving as another off-earth “cosmic adventure” for our hero that makes SENSE. It also as an arc gave us some more characterization of and motivation to the Vine that will have long-lasting consequences in-continuity (say, like Marvel‘s Avengers‘ initial Kree-Skrull War).

A lot of my feelings come from the arc in general, and this issue lacks some of the core characterization and “moments.” We do have what I would consider a satisfactory conclusion to the arc, while leaving things open for later stuff to develop.

As the end of an arc, this is definitely for the continuing readers, and certainly not geared to be a jump-on point or a special singular issue (see the X-O Manowar 25th Anniversary Special for that or next month’s issue). If you’ve been following the title, it’s well worth getting this issue; any negative feelings I have come from external/”meta” stuff.

Venditti‘s writing continues to be strong, and with no less than 38 (37 plus the #0) issues CONSISTENTLY thus far to his name, has become the iconic writer of the character and book: with his name attached, it’s simple that the story works within its continuity and internal feel. The art is good as well, and I have no particular complaints with it.

In short, I enjoyed this issue far more than I expected to–both in and of itself as a single issue as well as the conclusion to a huge (but short) storyline.

Filed under: 2012, 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, Valiant, X-O Manowar | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Like a Kid Again: Jurassic World Dino-Toys

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Walt

I saw Jurassic World last week, somewhat on a whim–and absolutely loved it. While I would not put it above the original 1993 Jurassic Park, at the moment I’d place it in the #2 slot if I were ranking the movies in the franchise.

However–22 years later, being an adult, having a job and thus the money (sorta)…

This one certainly ranks #1 in terms of me getting the toys. I had a snap-together model of the T-Rex from the first film, as well as a Stegosaurus model…and that’s about it. I don’t consciously, currently recall getting any other merchandise that came out with the movie; and don’t recall any from the second or third films.

toys_jurassic_world_velociraptors_front

I wanted to get Velociraptor “Blue”, but could not find this version, period. I found a version, but it was the one that has the “battle damage” hole to show the bone and such, and I absolutely did not want that version…not while spending much money on it. And given the pricing-to-size ratio, I didn’t want to buy the $15 battery-operated growling/roaring one.

Target had this “exclusive” 4-pack, and I grudgingly decided to go ahead and get it despite really just wanting the one raptor.

toys_jurassic_world_velociraptors_back

This pack was on sale, so the per-unit pricing was good…and the more I thought on it, the more I considered how cool it’d be TO have the whole pack of raptors…and rather than having to pay more sometime in the next few weeks, I took advantage of the sale (I’d feared the store running out, but apparently they’re quite well stocked on these).

The only main drawback is that the raptors are not entirely in-scale with the two dinos I’d already acquired–the Indominus Rex and the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Both of those went straight to work and rule over the top of my cube’s overhead bins.

toys_jurassic_world_dinos_at_work

While these were a lot in a short span…I don’t think I’m really interested in any of the other toys I’ve seen, given my active dislike of the battle-damaged ones.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Secret Wars – Week of June 10, 2015

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Walt

Several weeks in and finally getting to some of the #2s for the Secret Wars tie-ins. I enjoyed the week’s reading overall, though none of the #2s particularly stood out or overly impressed me. As always, I’m not thrilled with the $3.99 price point, but these could have been worse for the price. We also had the Marvel Zombies #1, which I covered by itself.

Inferno #2

secretwars_inferno002I definitely picked this up because of the first issue, and was curious at where things would go. This issue manages to lose the “shiny newness” factor of the first and settles (for me) into a middle ground of “good” but “not terribly memorable in itself.” Even though I did read the issue, its content and the specific details of the issue mostly faded from conscious memory…outside of what happens to Nightcrawler. I’m quite sure I’d have enjoyed it more if I was familiar with the original Inferno story; but here, I’m simply experiencing the details of this iteration with a general knowledge of continuity after the original. While I’m not overly engaged at this point, the only real negative for me (story or art or overall) is a passive lack of engaged interest. Nothing actively puts me off or kills my willingness to continue with the series.

Secret Wars 2099 #2

secretwars_2099002I’m still not entirely sure what to think of this book, but as a Peter David one I really find myself wanting to like it. This issue gives us more background (and questions) on the Avengers 2099…particularly Captain America and her alter ego. We also re-meet the Hulk of 2099 and see him face off with the Avengers. I only loosely remember the existence of the Hulk 2099 title and character, with a lot more “awareness OF” than actual reading experience on the character. While we have Miguel heading Alchemax, this is sort of the first (familiar) 2099 character for me, grounding the new characters (Hercules simply seems to be “my” Hercules but traumatized). Taken alone as itself I don’t think I’d care nearly as much for this title; but as a 2099 combined with David‘s writing, I want to see where this goes, and look forward to the next issue.

Ultimate End #2

secretwars_ultimateend002Things start to make a lot more sense to me here and explain stuff I was unclear on with the first issue. For one thing, I assumed the first issue had some bit of flashback going on, or something preceding the start of Secret Wars itself; I get clarification here that what I’m actually seeing is heroes from two different worlds put together and trying to figure their situation out, but AS a part of Battleworld. We get some nice character interactions between the two Tony Starks, and other Spider-Man/Peter Parker and Ultimate Gwen and Aunt May. We also get a Green Hulk vs. Gray Hulk fight to cap off the issue. I’m also seeing that unlike my initial assessment, this is much like any of the other tie-ins to Secret Wars in that we have characters from the given setting(s) and get a story involving them, in the context of Battleworld.

Overall Thoughts on the week

I’ve definitely found myself significantly more interested in the #1s to “try” them than with the continuations of the series. I’ve already passed on Secret Wars Journal #2, and suspect that in the coming weeks/months I’ll “drop” other titles and possibly pass on even more. No matter how interested I may be or how “fun” the thing might look…I have a limited budget, and $3.99 upon $3.99 stack up REALLY fast, and whatever of these tie-ins I buy are ON TOP OF stuff I’m already getting, and are not going to supplant any of those. The “sticker shock” of Marvel‘s $3.99 books continues to be THE #1 detriment for me. I look forward to the next couple weeks, with less tie-ins that I’m after, and hope that what I *am* getting with balance out more across the weeks as the event goes on.

Filed under: 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, MARVEL, Secret Wars (Event) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

An Ad I Actually Really Like: Marvel Legends Hulkbuster BAF

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Walt

I’m usually annoyed with ads, or at best, just flat-out ignore them. But a recent Secret Wars (2015) issue had an ad on the back for a new Marvel Legends Build-A-Figure line. The actual figure to be built? A large Hulkbuster Iron Man.

marvel_legends_hulkbuster_ad_fullsize

Yeah…to me, that’s pretty darned cool. And as I’m already highly interested in (what I believe is to be available soon if it isn’t already) the Marvel Selects Hulkbuster…and have the one from the Iron Man 2 toy line (3.75″ scale) and the one from the newer Avengers: Age of Ultron  2.5″ scale…kinda my thing.

So…give me this ad more often instead of the other crap that I want to ignore or that just plain holds zero active interest for me.

This ad successfully made me aware of the line so I’ll be watching for it, shows me its BAF is awesome, and has me interested (at least in buying the BAF on ebay someday).

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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