I got a text from Amazon over the weekend that my book was on the vehicle to be delivered. Unfortunately, they decided to leave it at the apartment office, so I had to wait until Monday morning to pick it up.
This is the second copy of this AvX hardcover Amazon‘s sent me–the first arrived with the bottom corners dented in (damaged) presumably during shipping. Given the pricing of this book, I wasn’t about to accept damaged product for something new.
This copy has some minor stuff to it, but frankly, I’m not gonna worry about it. Where the prior instance was more than I’d accept, this one’s no worse than grabbing a copy off the shelf at a comic shop–I don’t need some “9.8” grade book…I just don’t want something obviously damaged (at least not new when I didn’t administer the damage through my own use).
I wasn’t expecting Spaceman for another week or two at least–just got an email a little over a week ago about this and it said 4-6 weeks, so I figured 2-3 weeks more likely.
But here it is–it was also left at the apartment office with my AvX book.
I don’t remember truly “noticing” Spaceman when it was being put out in single-issue format from Vertigo.
But it was one of the books being offered as a “giveaway” or whatever at Goodreads, and I’ve been trying to put my name in the hat for all the DC giveaways, figuring what the heck…not losing anything but a few moments of my time doing so, and with stuff like the New 52 hardcovers and whatnot, “any win” would be a bonus.
So one book that I honestly didn’t even have any interest in, and I wound up “winning” it–but looking at the back cover, reading the basic premise and flipping through it (and realizing it’s Vertigo!) I’m looking forward to actually reading this. And as said…didn’t cost ME anything but a few moments to put my name in.
Cost THEM almost $10 to ship it to me…sorta wonder why they didn’t use a media mail option, but I won’t complain.
Just over a year ago, I posted a comparison of three 18/19-issue collected volumes with questionable pricing.
This AvX volume can join that set with the same question: why not price stuff on a standard? If a standard-trim paperback with 18-19 issues has a cover price of $40, why is one hardback with 18-19 issues $65 and another with 19-20 issues $75?
AvX is practically an “omnibus” itself–it has the entire 12-issue event series, the #0-issue/prologue, the “Versus” all-fight issues and even the previously digital-only “infinity” comics that were interspersed…then again, I guess this would have to contain AvX Consequences to be an Omnibus.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: amazon, Avx, comic pricing, comics, MARVEL, Spaceman, Vertigo | 1 Comment »
Writer: Jeph Loeb
I’d forgotten this issue’s story. I guess it had to be somewhere, but my memories of these early issues jump from the turtles meeting April and dealing with Stockman and the Mousers right into what is probably going to be in #4. Yet, we get some pretty important stuff going on here as the turtles find Splinter missing (possibly killed by the Mousers), and actually turn to April for help. We also get the obvious inspiration for “the Turtle Van” (but less commercial). And the issue ends with the introduction of characters that inspired one of the primary characters in the classic cartoon series. The story itself is pretty basic…nothing all that deep, but still enjoyable enough in itself. I really like the art here as it’s just “classic” for me (biased though I must admit I am). The color added blends very well with the original black and white, such that it’s hard to believe this wasn’t a color series to begin with. (7/10)
Beyond the first issue of the TMNT Color Classics, I wasn’t sure how IDW was going to go about reprinting these issues, and sorta feared the Micro-Series issues would be merged in with the numbering, resulting in TMNT Color Classics being its own numbering that wouldn’t correspond with the issue being reprinted. However, this issue simply reprints the Raphael issue as itself, and I love that. The issue’s story is pretty basic and cliche, lacking much of the depth that we eventually get with the characters. Casey’s introduction here doesn’t work so well for me, but every character has to start somewhere. There’s also some clunky dialogue with Raph that just doesn’t seem to fit ANY version of the character I think of. The art’s classic Eastman & Laird (duh) and looks quite good in this new colored format. (7/10)
This issue is largely focused on Namor, as he lays waste to Wakanda, and the Avengers dogpile him, ultimately learning some useful information about the Phoenix Force and its interaction with multiple hosts. Storywise, this was one of my least-favorite issues–but then, that’s largely because Namor’s one of my least-favorite of the Phoenix Five (coming in just behind Illyana). It’s also increasingly difficult to take the scope of this story serious in the face of ongoing stories in other books seeming to have nothing to do with what’s unfolding in AvX, and that even some of the actual tie-in books are barely pulling a “red skies” level of involvement. The art’s a mixed bag for me, with some of the pages looking good and others just looking horrendous to me. (4/10)
Nine issues in and there’s just enough of a “completist” in me to grin ‘n bear it: I started following this series, and now I want to finish it, just on principle of finishing it–though I dropped all the tie-ins cold-turkey due to frustration at Marvel continuing its cycle of not even letting one event finish before announcing the next, and the spoiling of the end of this series, and Marvel Now… This issue’s another beat-down issue, with the Avengers piling on Colossonaut and Magik, with Spider-Man taking the worst beating of the bunch this time. The art continues to be mixed, with some panels looking excellent while others look generic and a bit rushed by comparison. This is the three-quarters mark of the series, and I’m quite ready to get to the end. (5/10)
Cyclops has shown up to take Hope away from the Avengers, though she makes it clear she does not wish to go with him. Fighting breaks out, and Hope even gets to ride a dragon, before turning her powers on Cyclops with an unintended effect. After the previous issue, the Phoenix Force is all the more concentrated in Cyclops, which makes Hope’s effect all the more meaningful. With the ending of this issue actually pulling me back into stuff and looking forward with interest to seeing how this story’s going to conclude. (6.5/10)
Comic Reviews by Walt 