• January 2026
    S M T W T F S
     123
    45678910
    11121314151617
    18192021222324
    25262728293031

  • On Facebook

    On Facebook

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Comic Blog Elite

    Comic Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory

The Weekly Haul: Week of May 2, 2018

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Walt

The week of May 2nd was an interesting one for comics for me. Not that big a week in itself, but the week did provide a couple of "firsts" for me!

weeklyhaul_05022018a

This week had the release of DC Nation #0, kicking off 3 events. A Batman one, a Superman one, and a Justice League. I was also able to get a store-exclusive edition that I’ve been looking forward to…I’m a sucker for art like this featuring the shop-cat, Winston. I also snagged the Superman cover with an excellent shirt-rip, as it was "only" $3. I virtually never buy such variants, let alone one marked with such a high ratio…but while something 12 times the cover price is usually prohibitive for me…$3 was not prohibitive.

Then there’s the Action Comics Special, which gave Dan Jurgens a final issue to wrap stuff up before Bendis takes over the franchise. The new issue of Batman has the second issue of this Booster Gold arc. And the second chapter of the Batman vs. Deathstroke story in Deathstroke.

I wasn’t sure if I was gonna continue with GI Joe: A Real American Hero, but like the look of this Special Missions arc focusing on solo characters. Being able to get the "A" cover was also a good thing.

The final issue of this Rogue & Gambit series I think finishes off my Marvel buying in terms of new issues for awhile. I passed on Avengers due to the renumbering, and am so sick and tired of renumbering that I just have near-zero interest in Marvel, period, at this point.

An exception to that is the True Believers $1 issues.

action_1000_poster

I think the highlight of the week for me, though, is the Action Comics #1000 poster–in one giant sheet, it shows all 1000 standard/regular/"A"/basic covers from #1 to #1000. I promptly framed this, and mounted it to the door down to my comic space. The poster represents history of the "super-hero," of the longest-running comic book series, and Superman. It’s also extra-appropriate leading into a comic space, even though 1,000 comics are but a fraction of what I own.

It’s also excellent to be able to look at this thing up close, and visually track all these years, from my first issue at #651 to the latest in #1000. Recognizing covers from this event or that event; from when I was a kid, to a teenager; high school; college; grad school, beyond.

And I got this from Comic Heaven, the comic shop I have the most history with, period–going back to 1993 or so!

weeklyhaul_05022018b

Along with the Winston edition of DC Nation, snagged the four-issue Heroes Reborn: The Return from 50-cent bins. Though I own the series already, these are a convenience copy for reading. No clue when I’ll get my main collection organized, so this means that at least for a time, I know where these four issues are, so I have more chance of actually getting to them than if I had to dig through umpteen longboxes to find my existing copies.

And hey…for half the price of a cheap new Marvel issue, I get this complete 4-issue mini-series/event! Really can’t beat that, these days! And this series represented the start of my first real foray into attempting to follow a large chunk of Marvel, albeit 21 or so years ago!

weeklyhaul_05022018_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of April 25, 2018

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Walt

This is an odd week. For one thing…it’s Marvel-heavy, which almost never happens–not for new issues, anyway. Secondly, I managed to initially flat-out forget to grab (or otherwise missed) a couple issues I’d specifically intended to get!

weeklyhaul_04252018a

I believe this week’s issue of The Mighty Thor is the final issue…well, for a few weeks, as we’re already getting another Thor #1 soon! Thinking it looks a bit standalone, and though I detest the $4.99 price point, it IS 12 more pages for “only” an extra $1 (compared to the 20-page $3.99 Marvel issues) I grabbed my second Thanos Annual #1 of the last several years. What can I say? It would feel odd not to snag the issue, given the movie that premieres this week!

Of the various True Believers issues…I have to say that the Infinity Gauntlet #1 and now this Infinity War #1 are easily a couple of the best values given the size. And of course, I greatly enjoy that they retain their original logo and (mostly) original cover. After all…these are rather “iconic” covers, from some ancient time when variants were rare, and specific comics were actually recognizable BY their covers.

The newest issue of The Terrifics is here, as is the final issue of the Demon: Hell is Earth mini (which is one less title to be picking up, slightly easing the monthly outspend).

And of course, the newest issue of Previews…which at this point is just an odd catalog, with separate publications for Marvel and DC and whatever else is contained.

weeklyhaul_04252018b

Somehow I missed Detective Comics for the week, as well as the start of the newest Aliens mini-series: Dust to Dust (and just before Alien Day 2018, to boot!).

I also realized I’d either missed, or skipped, the newest issue of Batman: Creature of the Night. I feel like this issue was really late, and suspect the next of being the same…such that this has really lost some of its momentum for me.

C’est la vie!

Once again, here it is the day before the next New Comic Book Day. But then, I’m also getting used to a “schedule” of having Ultraverse Revisited posts on Monday/Wednesday/Friday…so the other couple posts of the week are balancing differently than once upon a time.

Also some other stuff coming up that I should be sharing in the near future!

Meanwhile…tomorrow is another Wednesday for new comics, and this upcoming Saturday is Free Comic Book Day at participating local comic shops!

weeklyhaul_04252018_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of April 18, 2018

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Walt

With my Ultraverse Revisited project in full swing, and throwing up a review for Action Comics #1000 last week, here it is nearly another New Comic Book Day and I’m just now getting to last week’s haul!

weeklyhaul_04182018a

Because of the intentional delay/coordination for Action Comics 1000 to release for the actual 80th anniversary of Superman, we actually have two Superman books this week. I believe this is the final issue of this iteration of Superman itself, and we now have to wait for DC Nation and Man of Steel before the titles start back up in July.

I’m way behind on reading Batman but was able to enjoy this issue quite well. It’s the first chapter of a story involving Booster Gold. And I’ll just say that Batman on the cover stating that Booster Gold must die? He’s got a darned good reason, though Booster seems a bit out of character to me for developments over the past 10-11 years or so that I’ve read/internalized.

We also have the final issues of Super Sons and Deadman, as well as the latest issue of Mister Miracle…all three of which I have got to get caught up on reading!

weeklyhaul_04182018b

Big TMNT week for me, with Batman/TMNT II, TMNT Universe, and TMNT #81.

And then several more of the True Believers reprints…basically the only way I’m intending to buy much in the way of “new Marvel” for awhile/at all. And I actually regret the Infinity Incoming, as that reprints an issue I regret buying in its original form! However, the Rebirth of Thanos reprints an EXCELLENT, nostalgic issue of Jim Starlin‘s Silver Surfer and I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading it this way. I’m also not overly keen on Thanos Rising, but enjoyed that digitally so this gives me a print edition now.

I’m hoping the new comics for April 25 aren’t too plentiful or expensive…but we’ll see how that works out!

weeklyhaul_04182018_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of April 11, 2018

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Walt

Thankfully, this proved to be another small-ish week for new comics!

weeklyhaul_04112018a

We have a new issue of TMNT, starting a new arc. I might be slightly “off” but it seems like IDW managed to FINALLY realize it is possible to do comics in longer-than-4-issue-arcs! Meanwhile, we have the 2nd issue of the new Sonic the Hedgehog…I remain skeptical of a WEEKLY $3.99 title. However, for a launch, I’m all for a quick succession of 4 issues–it gets more material out quicker, and gives a full (larger) arc in a shorter time, and while the “cost” to me is the same, without looking to the hassle that weekly titles are to comic shops, it gives me a chance to have several issues to decide if I want to continue with the series…without the question being dragged out for months.

We also have the new issue of Oblivion Song (I reviewed the first issue here) which I’ve pretty much lost interest in and haven’t experienced any “hype” for its SECOND issue (yet again where “only” the first issue/premiere of a series is pushed and then left to sink or float on its own while the “next big thing” is actively over-pushed).

Then we have what I think is the “final” issue of Supergirl (well, this current iteration anyway. Given the hit tv show, I can’t imagine there not being some sort of comic series going for it). And of couse, far behind as I am in the reading, the latest issue (again? Already?) of Detective Comics.

Finally, a True Believers reprint of The Infinity Gauntlet #1. From 1991…a 27-year-old comic that back then was “just comics” doing some gratuitous cosmic crossover and now is a multi-billion-dollar basis of movies. Though I’ve gotten copies of this issue from 25 and 50-cent bins in the (“distant”) past…this is certainly the cheapest way I’ll acquire any new copies. And on shinier, cleaner paper, possibly with “cleaned-up” colors/restorations…and certainly the (print copy) “convenience” of the issue, without digging through all my unsorted longboxes. Plus…it looks like this 2018 edition reprints the ENTIRE ISSUE. The 2015 edition (around Secret Wars) did not–as I recall–give the entire issue.

Next week will have the issue that–in nearly 30 years of being into comics–I’ve waited the longest for; having looked forward to it for some 23+ months: Action Comics #1,000.

And really, in a way I’ve been looking forward to it for over 350 months…since my first issue of the title as a new comic, waaaaaaay back with #651!

weeklyhaul_04112018_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of April 4, 2018

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Walt

Well, this proved to be a small week for new comics!

weeklyhaul_04042018a

New issues each of Superman and Batman; sadly, I believe this run of Superman is being cut off in another issue or two, not EVEN making it to #50; and who knows on Batman?

While I’m highly annoyed at the early-release at a convention, and at the constant variant covers…I decided to check out the first issue of IDW‘s Sonic the Hedgehog series. I passed over 20 years ago on the Archie-published premiere, so here I am with a likely-near-"worthless" one now. But hey…nostalgia. (Sonic the Hedgehog was the first videogame I ever "beat" with no cheat codes or "Game Genie" and so on!)

Then we have the second-to-last issue of the Rogue & Gambit mini…I’m pretty sure as "regular" "full price" issues go, that leaves me with only 2 more "planned" Marvel issues (#5 of this series, and the final issue/epilogue of Mighty Thor since I already have the 6 chapters I do, might as well finish out the last issue before Yet. Another. Renumbering). And while I was aware of a Kickstarter thing, I’m verrrrry glad to see Demi-God get a regular, actual, real release…and I’m happy to support it this way, having access to the "A" cover vs. a variant, and it actually having regular distribution and not being limited just to some Kickstarter thing!

And finally, the first of another wave of True Believers issues, this time featuring Thanos…because hey, there’s a movie coming out in just a few short weeks! I do definitely prefer when these True Believers issues are basically a straight up "reprint" of a particular issue–a True Believers Edition–rather than being made out to be a whole other thing–Thanos: The First is a reprint of Iron Man #55–the first appearance of Thanos (and another short/early story from an issue of Logan’s Run). I’d much rather a True Believers Iron Man #55. For a less-iconic singular issue like the Thanos vs. the Avengers I’m ok with it as it’s not the same sort of "key" issue like a first appearance, "death," or "return."

Overall, a nice small-ish week that didn’t leave me with "sticker shock" or such!

weeklyhaul_04042018_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of March 28, 2018

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Walt

This was another interesting week for new comics. Small-ish, but some high prices making it feel like a slightly bigger week. And I totally forgot to look for a certain back-issue that I’d missed last week, so I may be back out this weekend hunting.

weeklyhaul_03282018a

We have the $4.99 conclusion to Metal; the $4.99 next issue of Doomsday Clock (that I’m about ready to jump off and just wait for the eventual collected edition); and the $4.99 250th issue of GI Joe: A Real American Hero (the numbering goes back to the original Marvel-published #1 from the early 1980s!).

On the idea that I’ll catch up on reading TMNT before I make it back to the shop with the pull-list, snagged the "B" cover since IF I’m gonna have two copies of the issue, might as well get a different image. PLUS the TMNT stuff is my core "exception" where I’ll let a LOT more go than I will with any other property. The second issue of The Terrifics; the new Detective Comics (which is no longer going to sync necessarily with Action Comics the way it has for most of the past 22 or so months).

The latest issue of The Demon: Hell is Earth; and then the booklets that go along with the latest issue of Previews.

weeklyhaul_03282018b

And there’s the issue of Previews itself, along with image+; these kinda just are what they are.

Next week starts the April books; and also puts us into the month in which we should be getting Action Comics #1,000. While by regular scheduling that should have been this week, it’s being "held" for 3 weeks so its release coincides with the 80th anniversary of Superman. And based on the understanding that it’s otherwise done…I’m pretty much ok with it for said anniversary status.

weeklyhaul_03282018_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of March 21, 2018

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Walt

Well, this ended up being a fairly large week, including a bit from past weeks!

weeklyhaul_03212018a

Superman and Batman #43s; newest Super Sons, and the penultimate Deadman!

weeklyhaul_03212018b

A “month”‘s worth of TMNT in the main title, Universe, and the third Batman crossover.

The latest Spawn (and I’m still NOT digging this logo…). I thought the “death” story in Mighty Thor was a 6-parter, but this is “to be concluded” with the next issue. Ugh.

And several Alterna comics…this is the route I’d like to see all comics take: cheapo-ish but far-more-affordable single-issues, and save the fancy paper and such for the “archival” volumes (aka “graphic novels” aka “collected editions” aka “tpbs” aka “hardcovers” etc).

weeklyhaul_03212018c

Venom reprints via True Believers editions. I’d doubled up on a couple of these earlier. There’s also a Greatest Hits issue from IDW for D&D. I’m all for $1 issues, even if they’re reprinting “25-cent books” and such…gets them wider availability, as not everyone has the regular access to bargain bins that I’ve found myself with a number of times.

weeklyhaul_03212018d

Speaking of bargains…snagged Micronauts #1 for $3. Absolutely an excellent price considering what it is, and for the price of a DC issue, CHEAPER THAN even a crummy new Marvel issue!

And the latest issue of the Riverdale digest. At this point, this might be the longest I’ve kept up with any single digest series from Archie!

We’ll see what next week holds…hopefully not too much!

weeklyhaul_03212018_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of March 14, 2018

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Walt

This week proved to be another relatively small week (thankfully!). It even allowed for a “priced” back issue.

weeklyhaul_03142018a

This week sees Action Comics #999 (no, that’s not a typo!) We now have something like six weeks until #1,000 hits end of April. Then the newest issue of Detective Comics, and a freebie in The World of Krypton. This issue is “sponsored by” SyFy trying to drum up support for their new tv series Krypton; the issue reprints the first issue of the Byrne mini-series of this name.

I enjoyed Sideways #1 enough to pick up the second issue…I’m cautiously interested. Then we have the newest issue of Mister Miracle, and the final issue of Ragman (billed as 12 and 6 issue series, respectively!)

The newest issue of DuckTales from IDW, based on the new animated series. IDW is gonna be SOL on me–I’m not putting this on a pull list–I haven’t been reading, haven’t kept up with the actual animated series, but don’t want to catch up and then be missing issues or have to hunt them later. BUT…as soon as an “A” cover is NOT available or I accidentally buy a non-standard/”A” cover, I’m done on principle!

I’m amused by these Venom True Believers issues; even though I do have Lethal Protector #1 (and handy, even, too!), I’ll be interested in comparing the two versions.

Finally, as a “priced” back issue, picked up Action Comics #40 from the New 52 run (aka #944 or so). That leaves me with just a handful of issues to look for as early as this weekend if I make it to a local “convention.”

Here’s hoping next week is a small one, as well!

weeklyhaul_03142018_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of March 7, 2018

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Walt

This week ended up being a relatively small, simple week for me as far as new comics go.

weeklyhaul_03072018a

New Superman issue, new Batman issue, 10th issue of Bane: Conquest (of 12). I nearly missed noticing Rogue & Gambit. I gave in on “hype” for trying Kirman‘s new title Oblivion Song. Having quite enjoyed the animated series in the ’90s, I’ve been getting The Tick‘s new series.

And seems we’ve got a new wave of True Believers issues this month for Spider-Man and Venom. I snagged the re-purposed reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #300, billed here as Venom vs. Spider-Man. I was pleasantly surprised at the thickness of the issue, especially for “only” $1! (and for better or worse, this is probably the ONLY way that I’m gonna own a single-issue edition of Amazing Spider-Man #300!)

Fresh Start: No More Marvel

I did notice that X-Men: Red #2 was out…after so-so feelings from the first issue, I was considering getting #2 and giving the series a chance. The same goes for Avengers: No Surrender. After pointedly getting the issues for 6ish weeks running, I stopped cold-turkey. I am so incredibly sick and tired of Marvel‘s absolute unwillingness to stick with ANYTHING for more than a few months. In this case, they announced yet another mass renumbering to start in May, with a new Avengers #1, and Venom is renumbering, and a bunch of other titles. Rogue & Gambit is a 5-issue mini-series to my knowledge, and I’m treating it as its own thing, being a definite fan of the characters…and a definite “sentimental value” to it. And I’m willing to buy reprints like the 300, because it IS a reprint, is an issue I do not own, it’s an issue I have not read, and it’s “only” $1! Best of all, these reprints do not themselves have variant covers on release (and as reprints themselves I do not consider them variants, given the True Believers banner).

I feel like I should have totally, completely stuck to my guns regarding Marvel, but opted to sorta “buy into” a little bit with Legacy and had some now-obviously highly-misplaced “faith” that they MIGHT ACTUALLY “stick with” the “legacy numbering” even if they did other stunts and such.

However interesting stuff may look, however appealing, I’m trying to force myself to just be DONE with them. No Infinity Countdown, no Hunt for Wolverine, no X-Men: Red, no Avengers: No Surrender, no Astonshing X-Men. No Fresh Start for me. I’ll finish out Rogue & Gambit, I’ll perhaps snag reprint editions in True Believers, but as far as new/current stuff with Marvel…I intend to be done!

weeklyhaul_03072018_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of February 28, 2018

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Walt

This week’s another moderate-sized week…certainly not tiny, but not as big as some. Of course, part of that came from leaving several titles that I’ve bought out of habit but I’m so ridiculously far behind on actually reading that the issues–if I opt to catch up–will probably be bargain-bin-fodder by the time I’d get around to where I’d be ready to read them anyway.

weeklyhaul_02282018a

Action Comics #998 means we’re a mere TWO ISSUES from the big #1000! I’ve been looking forward to The Terrifics for awhile, and glad to see it finally make it out. I think one thing I like about it over the likes of Silencer and Damage is that it actually uses characters I’ve read before, albeit in a new way…WHILE introducing other stuff. Then there’s Detective Comics #975, another title approaching #1000. THen the latest issue of the 6-issue Demon: Hell Is Earth mini. The latest TMNT issue–#79, chapter 4 of Invasion of the Triceratons. And a 25-cent Primer issue from Aspen. 25 cents, of course I’m gonna snag it!

weeklyhaul_02282018b

Then there’s GI Joe: A Real American Hero #s 248 and 249…the “A” covers. I’d snagged #s 246 & 247 a couple weeks back on a whim, so finding an actual “A” cover in stock (as opposed to a “B” or “RI” cover!) for #248, got that AND the latest new issue in #249…just ahead of the big #250 issue!

And while the cover alone would have caught me anyway, knowing ahead of time from a TwoMorrows Facebook post last night that the new Back Issue deals with editors, I was interested in it for content and so went in actually looking for the issue.

weeklyhaul_02282018c

And then there’s the new issue of Previews, which partly showcases on its cover the reason I’ve once more dropped Marvel–they can’t even make it 6 months from real-world-release to announcing the NEXT “Big Thing” or “relaunch” or renumbering-but-it’s-not-a-reboot or whatever. (Whether it’s an actual EVENT series or “just” an initiative…it seems like they are entirely incapable of real-world-time having one thing actually finish before announcing/rolling out the hype-machine on the next thing!)

That said, it’s a new big catalog of comics coming up, and a sort of time capsule for down the road.

And that, for now, is that…the weekly haul to close out February 2018!

weeklyhaul_02282018_blogtrailer

Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »