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Drawing Blood #6

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Walt

drawingblood_0006_with_KS_questionChapter 6

Writer: David Avallone
Artists: Ben Bishop, Kevin Eastman, Troy Little
Letterer: Tony Esposito
Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado
Published by: Image Comics

So…Drawing Blood #6 is out.

This issue is the SECOND issue of the 4-issue "Drawing Blood vol. 2" that was funded by Kickstarter backers more than FIVE YEARS AGO.

In the 5+ years SINCE they raised over $121,000 dollars for what amounts to Drawing Blood #s 5-8, the creators have collectively posted a grand total of 15-16 Updates–several closer together, most with half-a-year-or-more gaps. By and large, they have stoutly refused to communicate with Kickstarter backers, preferring to post things to OTHER social media, expecting anyone who "cares" about the Kickstarter to BE on other social media.

And for years they’ve been making and continuing to break promises, and it’s been over 14 months since they even vaguely hinted at any sort of timeline. It’s always “soon,” but how many YEARS until “soon” becomes “scammed”?

Just going back THREE YEARS, below are some of the creators’ words from Kickstarter updates, with my ‘responses’ interspersed in blue. You’ll find the original comments from the creators on Kickstarter in the ‘Updates’ section of the project’s page corresponding to the ‘Update’ for each respective date.

David Avallone, July 21, 2021

[Shared video call between Avallone, Eastman, Bishop, saying loads of stuff that over 3 years later still hasn’t happened…and couldn’t even be bothered to summarize or write something for Kickstarter backers. Additionally, it was a short video, so no one spent much time to provide information/updates…it was like a 10-minute conference call on the go. ]

Ben Bishop, February 19, 2022 (7 months later…)

As I always mention – the very best place to see the latest on DRAWING BLOOD is our Instagram […] and our Facebook page […] – As wells as our individual Instagram accounts […] – – Whereas a single image and caption doesn’t always make for a meaty enough KS update,  I’m always posting bits and pieces of the process all the time over on IG, and also pretty decent at replying to comments. So, definitely give those accounts a follow if you want to stay more in the loop as we wrap this baby up.

It’s taking forever – we know. But we’re so close, and so confident that it’ll be worth the wait. Thanks for hanging in there.

And yet none of those pages linked to are Kickstarter itself…where backers backed this, and expect to be able to at LEAST get “monthly” “updates.” Sure, a single image/caption here or there may not warrant a whole Update and can add further TO the actual updates…abdicating Kickstarter and forcing people to go to other social media in the hopes of MAYBE finding something relevant to this particular project?

Ben Bishop, November 9, 2022 (9 months later…)

We’ve been getting lots of bumps and nudges, or pokes, whatever you want to call them – for another DRAWING BLOOD Kickstarter update, so I wanted to drop in quickly this morning and type something up for all of you patiently waiting on DRAWING BLOOD VOL.2.

Yeah, that only took NINE MONTHS of “bumps/nudges/pokes/whatever” for an Update. Even if not posted as a full-on Update, it’s actually, genuinely POSSIBLE for creators to hop on and post COMMENTS and/or REPLY TO comments without having to put together huge/long/fancy Updates.

There’s not a whole lot to update you all about – and no one likes a lame update – but I can at least come by and let you know we’re all still alive, and still working on the book. Nothing has changed. We’re still all bouncing between various jobs or conventions or everyday human stuff like doctors appointments, funerals, DMV lines, and whatever else somehow sucks the time away each day.

No one likes lame updates, sure…but at least an update IS an update. It’s the few minutes of a creator’s time amidst everything else—it should be part of those “whatever else somehow sucks the time away each day” to have even one creator out of 3+ take five minutes in ONE MONTH to post something. Creators bouncing between jobs taken in lieu of what money was already collected for (Last Ronin over Drawing Blood v. 2) is a bit shady. Everyone else has stuff going on, do they not deserve to know where their money’s going and that the creators haven’t just left them high and dry?

David Avallone, July 20, 2023 (Over 9 months later, start of SDCC 2023 just ahead of panels involving this creative team)

I hoped the overlap in the fandom would satisfy most of you that you were getting something amazing, even if it wasn’t DBV2 yet.

Some of you… weren’t satisfied and weren’t patient.

What *I* myself primarily saw and experienced in the months leading up to this Update was people requesting informatioin, updates, SOME SORT OF COMMUNICATION from someone involved in the project…but it was months of abject SILENCE.

[…]

He should have 8 inked within a month… and then we’re finally done, and ready to send it to you.

As of September 24, 2024…this statement is 14 months old. Speaks for itself.

[…]

Which leads us to the big announcement. You are the first to officially hear it, before we talk about it later today at San Diego Comic Con (and I hope some of you are in the room when we do.)

This seems to be the entire reason anyone even bothered to post an update…so that no one could stand up in a panel and ask FOR an update or ask why they haven’t communicated in 9 months…

It was pretty thrilling to get this email, even knowing the contract had been signed.
Eric Stephenson of Image loves DRAWING BLOOD, and we have signed a contract with him to publish the series, and the RAGDOLLS comics that supplement it.

And this was the first backers had anything official on this. Never even any information about them considering publishing through Image, having already published 1-4 as single issues through Kevin Eastman’s studio!

[…]

Within a week or so, we’ll announce when the first issue will drop from Image.  In keeping with industry practice, that means the first issue will be in comics shops about four months later. This will be DRAWING BLOOD #1, which you’ve all read, of course, but then we will go straight through for 12 months, with Volume Two commencing about four months in, and Volume Three four months after that.

14 months later and they still have not communicated when issues would or have drop(ped) from Image.

Never anything specific about timelines or intentions such as “We should know by December if we’ll be able to deliver by February” or some such.

[…]

rest assured: Kickstarter supporters of Volume Two will get their copy of the Volume Two trade a very long time before those issues hit stores for public consumption.

Absolute LIE. Now with #6, this is HALF OF volume 2 that is in stores, and Kickstarter supporters have NOTHING tangible. Even a PDF of #5 shared at the end of the day the day it was in shops was half-assed at best; more later.

[…]

You’ll get it first. And you’ll get some extras we’re throwing in, to thank you for your patience. We’ll make sure that you, the core fans of DRAWING BLOOD hear about everything first, and see everything first.

Again, LIES. There has been NO FURTHER communication, promotion, information, announcement(s) etc in the over 14 months since this was posted.

Kevin Eastman, May 18, 2024 (10 months later)

A LONG OVERDUE letter to all the generous fans that supported the second Drawing Blood Kickstarter campaign in 2019 – my sincere apologies.

Long overdue indeed…I had figured Eastman had essentially merely lent his NAME to the project. Finally, some responsibility being assumed, and this thing can get underway…
…right?

[…]

It is appalling quite honestly that I have not been up here to speak with you before, my name is on the campaign, much like the first one

EXACTLY like the first one

[…]

There is no one to blame except me and there are no excuses I could offer or would accept if I were you.

Ok, we’re getting toward platitudes, especially looking back more than 4 months with nothing tangible since.

[…]

I will say only this, five years to complete a project like the one you funded is disgusting – especially when it has my name on it, even more so. I can sincerely tell you on every level, over that time, the money you contributed to help create and fund this project has only been spent on this project – the funds to complete and deliver the remaining items (original art and related, already complete items, have long since be sent to the supporters) are right where they are supposed to be, and will be used to do so in the coming months.

Potentially ok, but these months later in September, methinks he doth protest too much, so to speak.

[…]

We will be sending out a backer survey shortly, we are nearing completion of all the final elements of the funded Kickstarter campaign

Nothing concrete. No specific dates. And 4+ months later, no backer survey (pretty sure one might have been sent out YEARS AGO, but I haven’t even dug back that far if my emails even DO go back that far). No word on what “nearing completion” means, or what “final elements” REMAIN.

[…]

Again, and you’ll hear it MANY, MANY more times from me in coming months – my apologies –

more generic-sounding apologies and words from something that doesn’t seem like it should have taken more than a half hour to write…averaging (at a half hour) 3 minutes per month of silence since July 2023?

Kevin Eastman, July 9, 2024 (over 7 weeks later)

By the end of next week, we’ll have the final digital PDF of issue #5 to send to you all, and if all goes as planned, we’ll have issues #6, and #7, and #8 off to you about every two weeks thereafter – so you get to see, at least in digital form, in the short term, everything you helped us bring to life – and the hard copies are coming soon.

2 months shy of the 5-year-mark from this project being funded, virtually a YEAR after being told backers would have DBv2 long before others, and it was reduced to a digital file. That many people don’t even care about or have trouble attempting to read—it is NOT a Guided View thing or any ‘smart’ digital comic, and at least for myself, viewing PDFs on a widescreen laptop is NOT conducive to a good reading experience for comics and their crazy panel layouts/structures modern artists seem to always be using.

[…]

I’ll also make sure we send around Troy’s final 40 page “RRRR Adventures” again as well – as I know some of you have gotten it and some missed it, and I want to make sure you all get to enjoy it – it’s truly beautiful.

I have seen NOTHING of this being sent around again…maybe there were private messages and/or private emails, but certainly nothing posted to the Kickstarter project page itself for general access by backers.

[…]

Looking further down the road, we’re all self-funding the final four issues of the series, issues #9, #10, #11, and #12 (which we couldn’t be doing if you hadn’t helped us with the first eight) and we are going to make sure you get digital copies of all those as our “thanks” for helping us throughout the dreadfully long process to date.

Probably because there’d be no way to do a Kickstarter again with the abysmal track record of the current project remaining UNfulfilled 5 years later and plenty of comments and concerns from people seeking updates that extremely rarely materialize.

And being published through IMAGE…aren’t ALL such comics—be it The Walking Dead, Drawing Blood, Saga, whatever—thus self-funded?!?

[…]

Okay – back to work for me – wanted to touch base with you all – and stay tuned for the backer survey details and more updates and surprises from us all in the very near future.

Ok, July 9…very near future…great.

(NOTHING on those as of September 24!)

Kevin Eastman, August 28, 2024 (another over-7-weeks later)

I know you are all feeling (very appropriately) upset about putting down your hard-earned cash to support our second Drawing Blood Kickstarter and are feeling ripped off – I apologize – it was not my intent, nor any the parties involved in this project to rip anyone off.  I couldn’t be more sincere here – and I assure you the money you have invested has been spent ONLY on the Drawing Blood project, period, and is actively making its final steps to completion.

August 28, 4pm, virtually end-of-the-day…after #5 was in stores all day for anyone, backer or otherwise.

Not sure I’d seen any further comments or such about how the money was spent, so again, methinks someone doth protest too much.

[…]

Personally, if my Uncle Quentin (one of the OG crowd funders in my history) did not loan us the $1300 to print TMNT issue #1 it would not have happened. Thanks to him it did, and thanks to many of you, our 2017 KS for Drawing Blood Volume One never would have happened, and additionally for so many more of you, the 2019 KS for Volume Two would never have happened either – I am very grateful for your support.

$1300 is a far cry from nearly $122,000 (OVER A HUNDRED *THOUSAND* dollars) that then has left backers waiting HALF A DECADE. If that $1300 loan happened in 1983 (TMNT #1 hit in 1984), 5 years later would have been…1988. Think about THAT.

[…]

Below, you have a link to issue #5, and in the next two weeks you can expect another update from me and the digital version of issue #6. 

And after all that time, and it’s just a simple link to a basic PDF file. Presumably such a file had to have existed prior, for proofing and approval and such during the printing process.

And a simple, basic LINK to a simple, basic FILE couldn’t even be provided to backers until the END of the day, basically an AFTERTHOUGHT?!?

[…]

And here we are, 8pm September 24, with issue #6 arriving in stores in a few hours (likely already there, just not for sale til Wednesday), and…

STILL.

NOTHING.

NOT. A. Freaking. Peep.

No PDF for #6. No backer survey. No timelines for expected schedules and such.

It’s not even like they’ve delayed #5 or #6 after #4, an understandable “break” between arcs/volumes, etc. SURELY they could have voluntarily INSERTED a brief hiatus in order to fulfill the Kickstarter, and see that backers got their books prior to them being released to the general public.

But here we are, halfway through vol. 2, and a whole lotta NOTHING.

drawingblood_0006_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2024 Non-Review Posts, 2024 Posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of December 15, 2021

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Walt

weekly_haul_header

Heyyyy…finally a less-than-18-books-in-one-week week!

Extremely Marvel, heavy, though…but that’s come to be a new-ish "normal" for me as well.

weeklyhaul_20211215a

X-Force #26 and Excalibur #26 mark what I believe are the final issues for both series, as well as the totality of Krakoan X-content for this week.

Hulk #2 gives me a second issue of the title…something that has my attention PRIMARILY for it NOT being the writer of the Immortal Hulk series. I’m already well on my way to being better off waiting for collected volumes, but c’est la vie, I guess.

Amazing Spider-Man #81 is another "just the next issue" for me; while Miles Morales: Spider-Man #33 is an issue I didn’t even realize was gonna be tying in to the Beyond stuff currently in the main Amazing title. Since I thankfully was made aware of it before visiting the comic shop I was able to grab it!

Demon Days: Rising Storm #1 is one I should have passed on, but I THINK I have all the other Demon Days issues so far, so until I figure out what I’m doing (or not) with them, better to "keep up" than have to "catch up" later, I suppose.

Marvel Voices Comunidades #1 came out some other week recently, but I’m just grabbing it this week…and that’s to follow along with/keep along with Chris Sheehan‘s X-Lapsed podcast and as close to "complete-Krakoan-X as I can get.

TMNT #124 is apparently a Christmas issue; I’ve been starting to reconsider on this title…deffffffinitely "just" getting it at this point outta HABIT as opposed to any actual enjoyment of the title. I can’t even think what the last issue was that I read, and marks at least a couple years since I’d last REALLY enjoyed the title and been excited for it–back with the run up to and actuality of #100.

King Spawn #5 is another "latest" issue…interesting and cool having a "family" of Spawn books…though kinda scary already being at a 5th issue here and I haven’t read any yet.

weeklyhaul_20211215b

I’ve been enjoying these "binge book" comics of which Super Sleepy #1 is the latest: about $5 for a nice thick issue seems a great value and plenty worth "supporting"!

And having backed it on Kickstarter, my copy of the Silverline Christmas Special arrived this week along with its companion SIlverline Signature Series book (modeled after the old Malibu Signature Series).

So only 10 books–really–for the week; the Silverline issues don’t "count" as they weren’t comic shop purchases of stuff newly out this week. Baically a week only HALF the size of the previous couple…so hopefully I’m getting stuff wrangled back down a bit.

Intentionally skipped a couple issues I’d have otherwise bought; missed at least one or two issues that I’ll likely seek in the near-future; and….time will tell!

Even though this is the third New Comic Book Day of the month, there are still TWO MORE yet for the month…and the YEAR.

2021 is nearly done, and 2022 technically will be the third year involved in all this pandemic stuff and ramifications. This time rather than "hiatus" stuff it’s delays and shortages as well as newer/changing distribution stuff.

Not sure if I’ll try to do a post on those topics or not, but we’ll see.

For now…here’s hoping for another small-ish week for the 22nd!

weeklyhaul_20211215_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Spawn…from Kickstarter!

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Walt

So…last year, Todd McFarlane ran a Kickstarter project to do an updated version of the original Spawn figure from the 1990s.

It sounded cool, and I jumped in on it.

And then I waited…

And waited.

And operating on the understanding that it would arrive when it arrives, I was good with stuff.

spawn_kickstarter_box1

Last week, my figure finally arrived. And I’d actually forgotten about there being something in the campaign itself about collector-friendly packaging. This is quite the complex, specialized/"white-glove" packaging, though…VERY high-end for the price of this thing!

spawn_kickstarter_box2

In fact, this reminds me of an Apple product…where the packaging is a big part of the thing itself.

Take the slipcover off, and you have the box. And there’s a pretty ribbon to allow you to open the box without damaging it…

spawn_kickstarter_certificates

Then there’s a sheet with a checklist comparing this new 2020 edition of the figure with the original edition from 1994…and a certificate of authenticity.

spawn_kickstarter_figure_in_box

Remove those and a foam sheet and you reveal the figure itself, nicely packed within its foam enclosure!

spawn_kickstarter_kickstarter_bonus_accessories

There are some extra accessories in the foam tray..I believe these are "stretch goal" pieces due to the campaign raising about 30 times what McFarlane had aimed for.

spawn_kickstarter_packaging

And here, finally, is the actual figure, as it would typically appear if it were a store-bought item, with none of the fancy boxing, packing, and so on…just closed into plastic and all that.

spawn_kickstarter_comic_front

As with the original figure(s), this comes with a comic, albeit with a new cover, I believe. It reprints Spawn #1…but as a director’s cut. Definitely a cool artifact in and of itself!

spawn_kickstarter_comic_back

The back of the comic shows off the original back cover of the comic that had come with that first figure. However, I noticed a typo…"This is the original add." Sigh. That should be "ad," one "d" as it’s not something that was ADDed to something. It was an ADvertisement.

Whatever. One word, BACK cover, the level of detail and prettiness to the appearance…the words aren’t exactly the important thing here..right?

It’s the…shall we say…IMAGE that counts?

spawn_kickstarter_comic_compared

Here’s the new comic side-by-side with an original–the Medieval Spawn, though. Just to show the trade-dress and such.

spawn_kickstarter_out_of_package

And here’s the figure out of all the plastic and on its display base…on the fancy box.

spawn_kickstarter_up_close

And a closer-up pic of the figure itself without the extra.

I reallllllly like this. Much better coloring and detail, and actual metal for the chains…I’m quite happy with this, especially for the price!

It was well worthwhile, and I’m verrrrrrrry glad I did not pass on this!

spawn_kickstarter_with_original

And then for good measure, here’s the new figure side-by-side with the original!

(Well, the body is my original…while the chains and cape, I believe, were from a loose copy I bought several years back).

I lack a pre-set display location for this…but it’s one that defffffinitely needs to be displayed.

And thanks to all that fancy packaging…this COULD be re-packaged either for storage or sale.

However, unless I explicitly have some other post saying otherwise…this guy’s "NFS/NFT!"

spawn_kickstarter_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Bought it For the Cover: A Sound of Thunder’s Parallel Eternity

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Walt

This is a sort of dual-themed post. But I realized that it truly fits under the banner of Bought it For the Cover as it was definitely the art for the Rai cover that got my attention back in 2019! (Despite my aversion to modern Valiant).

Bought it For the Cover Archive:

So about a year after originally expected (thanks to the obvious of 2020), A Sound of Thunder‘s 10th anniversary album Parallel Eternity has finally arrived…along with various Kickstarter goodies.

sound_of_thunder_parallel_eternity_goodies_unboxed

First, I was impressed with the packaging. I’ve gotten used to crummy packaging with Kickstarter stuff lately. This bundle came with a nice black envelope covering with the a small sticker of the band’s logo (of the circle/X looking part in the middle-right above). It also had stickers stating FRAGILE HANDLE WITH CARE on top and bottom (or front/back…skinny package).

Getting that open revealed the box at the top of the photo above, which nicely protected its contents as well as being an attractive piece itself!

This bundle came with the Parallel Eternity booklet signed by the band; and the Rai (2019) #1 issue. Then there’s some sort of vinyl record (square?!? Huh…interesting!).

Some sort of CD with the same Rai art…possibly a game. But I think it’s a single of a Rai track (ditto the vinyl record). A sticker with the band’s name and that X thing; and a signed postcard.

And ostensibly the main thing…the two-disc CD album Parallel Eternity.

sound_of_thunder_parallel_eternity_rai_number_one

Given this Rai issue was a bonus thing, I feel it gets around my not buying Valiant single issues and such. And given how late it is getting here, hardly seems a factor to me in terms of contributing to their numbers. As an exclusive from the band, the quantity was the quantity whether I got one or not.

And it did what they presumably intended in grabbing my attention.

I actually had wound up buying several of their other tracks digitally and they’ve been part of a regular rotation in playlists for me.

And I "discovered" them and their work, those tracks…and backed the album…because of the cover art of the Rai issue getting my attention.

No plans for further Rai but I do think I’ll be enjoying this album and continue enjoying A Sound of Thunder‘s work going forward.

sound_of_thunder_parallel_eternity_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, Bought it For the Cover, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Looking Forward to a Possible Documentary Feature Film about Batman: The Animated Series

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Walt

Yesterday, I shared a link and posted the following to Facebook. This is simply me supporting a project I’d love to see happen. I myself am backing the project, and this post is totally me, Walt–unsponsored, un-requested/etc. The only thing I receive from this is the satisfaction of doing what little I can from my little corner of the internet here to shine some attention on a worthy project!

Did you discover Batman thanks to the ’90s animated series? Do you fondly recall the early to mid-’90s with shows like Batman and X-Men? Have you enjoyed their successors–Superman, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited… even the modern live action films?

Is Kevin Conroy the voice of "your" Batman? Mark Hamill the voice of "your" Joker?

So much came from this brilliant series–its animation, its writing, its voice talent. And the folks behind the series are mostly still around–they’re still alive and many still active in the industry…and able to be involved in a project like this. Information, anecdotes, recollections…they’re not just names and written quotes in history texts or bland wiki entries somewhere online.

Phil’s got a documentary lined up to cover this show, with interviews from many involved firsthand on having brought a key vision of Batman to the screen with influence lasting to this very day.

I’m not generally one to "push" crowdfunding ventures but this one that I’m certainly personally behind. Phil does awesome work, and this would be an awesome one to see able to be made.

If you’d consider checking it out–don’t just take my wording for it…visit the Kickstarter page (link is in the comments), see it in Phil’s own words, and think about "backing" this, even if only for a few dollars. Toss in $3-4–about the cost of a cup of coffee on the go(???)–and you’ll be part of this documentary happening. And you’ll probably spend more time watching it than that cup of coffee would have lasted.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/livestockproductions/stay-tooned-presents-btas/

If you opt to click the link above (or click the image below), it’ll take you to Kickstarter and you can click around within the campaign page for the project.

As of my grabbing the screenshot, there are 78 backers and $7,066 raised of a $10,000 "goal."

batman_documentary_KS_page_shot

The way Kickstarter works is, you "pledge" whatever amount, and then at the END of the campaign–funds are collected…assuming, of course, the campaign met its goal. It’s an all-or-nothing situation: either it’s funded, or it’s not. You are NOT charged immediately–you’re only charged at the end and then only if the campaign met its goal.

But you have to actually pledge in order for that to happen.

I’d love to see this come to fruition. That’s why I’m posting about it…I don’t think I’ve ever posted something like this, supporting/endorsing a Kickstarter thing, if that helps show I’m not just blowing smoke on the matter.

If you’re reading this…I’d recommend checking out the campaign, and if you’re interested and able, back it.

If you want to check out Phil’s other work, his site is at https://retailsunshine.com/.

And for another documentary he self-produced recently, you can find Sparking Sunshine on his YouTube channel.

And with that…I’m shutting up for now.

I have several other posts planned for this week, but "real life" is already rearing its head, so whether I make it through another week of "(week)daily" posts or not remains to be seen.

batman_documentary_KS_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Life During Quarantine: Non-Traditional Hauls

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Walt

Coming up on two months since I’ve been to a comic store. During the shutdowns, I’ve wound up with some "non-traditional" hauls.

Some Kickstarter stuff’s come in–pledged for as far back as a year or more. Some new "Walmart comics" that I was able to order via their site. And an excellent order from Mirage Studios for a run of Usagi Yojimbo that I’ve really never seen (never looked that hard though) anywhere.

And as stuff stacked up, I figured I’m not doing other worthwhile content, so might as well do a "Haul post" and highlight these.

At least for my own personal documentation!

weeklyhaul_2020ks04a

Odd Tales from the Curio Shop. Tales From Nocturnia.

weeklyhaul_2020ks04b

I’ve increasingly been a fan of TwoMorrows‘ stuff. Where was all this when I was in school and could have used these as reference citations for papers?!? I’d be interested in the complete American Comic Book Chronicles series…but it’s a bit pricy (textbook-like) and not all volumes are in-print. I backed a Kickstarter for this new printing of the 1980s volume. It also prompted me to acquire the 1990s volume last summer. I also backed their anniversary volume The World of Twomorrows. Why not?

weeklyhaul_2020ks04c

I was drawn to the Deborah Daring by the art. Unfortunately, I was blindsided by shipping. With all the ‘upgrades’ during the campaign, shipping became a very expensive nightmare to the US from Canada. I was initially ready to write the thing off, but some of that "heat" "in the moment" dealing with the shipping has worn off, so we’ll see if/when I get around to actually reading the thing!

Then we have the Haunted High-Ons: The Darkness Rises hardcover, collecting the 6-issue mini-series! This one was a no-brainer for me, enjoying Manning‘s work and all!

weeklyhaul_2020ks04d

I’d backed Everglade Angels on strength of Northcott‘s name; having Lobdell on it as well is quite a bonus. Yet another thing that I need to get around to actually reading…but sure is pretty to have thus far!

One of my profs from college introduced me (via Facebook) to Phil Machi some years back; and we’ve been facebook friends now for however many years. I’ve known of his work and enjoyed seeing all he posts about it…but somehow had never gotten around to purchasing anything.

So I put an order in for Silver Lining, one of his Retail Sunshine volumes…and have quite enjoyed it! Just in the first several pages, I was chuckling at the humor…though I’ve not had any extensive work in retail, I’ve had just enough to begin to have a hint of what it can be like…and I’ve read enough Reddit stories to have a feel as well. But to get stuff in strip format like this makes it all the more entertaining and engaging!

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AND Phil threw in this sketch for me as well…totally made my day getting the package and seeing this!

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The collected volume of the 6-issue Hope series came…and I still can’t help but think it should have more of the pink/purpleish tone of the first issue, which is rather iconic to me. That said, this blue cover is enough of a change to draw the eye, and I do like it, and hope to really dig in soon having the whole story in one place and not scattered!

Then For Goodness Sake volume one which is a full K. Lynn Smith piece; another to get into!

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While I’m not keen on exclusive-to-a-single-retailer things… a new line of comics has hit Walmart. Norah’s Saga particularly caught my attention, being another of Blake Northcott‘s projects; but I snagged all four issues to give them a try…though I had to order them online, as the Walmart I’ve been frequenting did not have them out (despite their app saying they had them in stock).

I’m more willing to give stuff like this a shot at $5/issue for the novelty than I am a mainstream publisher; though not on a continuous basis.

I’ve wound up getting quite a bit of stuff directly from Mirage Publishing over the years–back issues, a couple posters, and whatnot.

They may not be pristine "Near-Mint" or such…but that’s great! While I’m not gonna willingly damage my own comics, and don’t necessarily want anything beat to heck and back…I’m VERY MUCH a "reader copy" kinda guy…generally more interested in having the issue than I am with having it "graded" or "gradable" at high grades.

So everything I’ve gotten from Mirage has been excellent for me!

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All the more with a semi-recent order of the Mirage Usagi Yojimbo run.

The site listed issues 4-16 as available. Figuring that’d leave me with just a couple issues (2-3) to hunt down in the wild (pretty sure I’d seen #1 somewhere in going through boxes the last couple years) I pulled the trigger and ordered them.

A few weeks later when my package arrived, I was greeted with a VERY pleasant surprise: #s 1-3 included! So a complete run of the Mirage iteration of the series!

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I emailed to make sure it wasn’t a mistake–and was confirmed to be intentional!

So it was a huge thank-you then…and now publicly! Thank you, Mirage, for being most excellent!

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Filed under: 2020 Non-Review Posts, 2020 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of November 13, 2019

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Walt

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This past week felt like the sort of balance I REALLY prefer to have with new comics. Though I may be "missing out" on other stuff…it’s still a bit more than I may have "time" for…especially with other distractions that I’ll get into down below!

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Though it’s another $6 book, Dark Multiverse: Blackest Night (the 3rd in a series of these specials) is sorta worth it…I’m willing to let it slide by for being a squarebound thing AND coming out alongside a $1 reprint of the original Blackest Night #1. Plus, having enjoyed plenty of Elseworlds stuff back in the day…if DC isn’t going to bring that imprint back, I can handle stuff like this. I’m still a bit wary and suspicious that this is leadup to some major event for the sake of a major event–and I’ve little intention of "buying back in" on such a thing with the way the new status quo is shaping up (and with Superman revealing his identity for the 2nd time in half a decade).

The Catwoman issue I bought because of having read that it offers her side to "the Wedding stuff," and I’m interested enough in that. And the "fancy cover" for the SAME PRICE AS USUAL is a very positive factor!

GI Joe: A Real American Hero is a title I’m still woefully behind on reading, but am still very supportive of, if only for its high numbering! I have a large amount of the original run and have the notion of filling in earlier issues in this run to eventually have the whole series. But time will tell.

I believe this 6th issue of the IDW run of Usagi Yojimbo is the 30th anniversary issue. I’m pretty sure I saw something on Facebook from Stan Sakai about that.

And then the The Tomb of Dracula facsimile edition is another I got on simple principle OF being a facsimile edition. I’ve lost track of the number of these…I’m not sure if they’re quite "weekly," but I’m certainly appreciating their frequency. I’d probably be quite happy if Marvel (and DC!) simply did a "series" that itself was simply these reprint editions–where one could "subscribe" TO the "line" without hassle to the comic shops.

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Having already had the first 5 of the 6 issues of Event Leviathan, I decided to finish that out. I’m continuing to be discouraged by the issue apparently "ending" with the "launch" of another event/series already. But at the same time, that also backs up my notion of it being time to back away from a lotta this stuff.

I’m not entirely sure what this Marvels X thing is that headlines the previews thing…but it seems like they missed the 25th anniversary of the original series. As a contained thing I might be interested, but time will tell.

And finally, Comic Shop News, spotlighting Superman revealing his identity to other heroes…and the reason I finally pulled the trigger on dropping Superman and Action Comics.

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On a more positive side…a Kickstarter project I backed recently came in! The second issue of Cat & Mouse by Roland Mann & Co. with the revived Silverline. As a Kickstarter thing, I’m more forgiving of variants and such, especially the Kickstarter Exclusive Edition covers–because the CONTENT is still available to anyone, even if the special cover isn’t. As a sucker for nostalgia, I’m cool with the Retro edition. There’s even some difference to the coloring, it looked like–which I appreciate! Finally, the "graphite edition" is not JUST a "sketch cover" (which I dislike as variants). This is a whole different edition of the issue, where the interior is also like this–so the cover is NOT some "inferior" thing, it’s actually a perfect match to its interior! And it gives a different look at the contents of the issue that I find rather cool as a novelty like this.

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The new Pokemon game came out last Friday. I broke with "tradition" of getting the "red" versions to get Sword…largely because of knowing a friend had pre-ordered Shield and I wanted to know I had a trading buddy. Then I realized that when I’d bought in on the Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon re-issue of the previous game, I’d also gone "blue" so…c’est la vie.

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I also snagged this nifty felt banner (the flip-side is a map of this new games new "region" in the Pokemon world) as well as the plush starter critter, Scorbunny. I’d gotten the plush of Litten 3 years ago with Pokemon Sun, so it just seemed fitting to make that a tradition of getting the plushie of the critter I’d start the game with!

I also then promptly blew away the weekend with first being up Friday night into the wee hours of Saturday, then spending the majority of the day Saturday and again into wee hours, and a decent chunk of time Sunday playing. As of this typing Monday evening, I’ve left off having acquired 5 of the 8 "gym badges" in the game. I also "bred" a couple Farfetch’d and Scorbunnies for trade, but pulled myself away from that side of the game for the time being. Mindless stuff with that almost 3 years ago is what led to my binging the entirety of How I Met Your Mother into 2017!

Heading fast toward "the holidays," I don’t know how long it’ll take me to "finish" the play-through of the "main game," but I’ve already sunk more time into this game than any other game since the original Pokemon Sun, in such a short span of time. I’ve probably got a way to go yet to match Breath of the Wild, but that was spaced across weeks before I lost interest. I certainly feel like I’ve already more than gotten my money’s worth out of this game compared to every other game I’ve bought other than Breath of the Wild.

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Filed under: 2019 Non-Review posts, 2019 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »