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The Weekly Haul – Week of November 7, 2018

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Walt

Last week wound up being a decent-sized week, both for new comics as well as Half-Price Books having a coupon sale with 40% and 50% off coupons!

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First off, the new issues of Batman and Nightwing that have become top-of-the-stack reads fo rme.

Then there’s the newly-relaunched Green Lantern title with a "The" added onto the beginning, and a new, boring, plain-looking logo as The Green Lantern #1. While I had figured it’d be a curiosity, I had not expected it to be sold out less than an hour into the afternoon–arriving earlier than usual lately and it was already sold out! (Much thanks to Sean for selling me a copy that he’d had aside for himself!).

Adventures of the Super Sons is quickly solidifying as something I’ll try to read after the fact, but knowing I’ll want the singles, it’s less aggravating to just get them as they come out than try to hunt them down later.

The newest issue of The Walking Dead presents Outpost Zero as a "flip book," and I honestly bought this for the Outpost Zero segment more than anything else (and then the Walking Dead side is just a face and no actual Walking Dead logo/titling!).

I feel like Leviathan #3 is running a bit late, but i"m not certain. I’m still undecided on following this long-term, but figure with each issue as long as it doesn’t put me off too much, I’m not opposed to continuing–AND I really like the logo/title design!

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I have yet to check out the new Netflix series for Sabrina, but as usual I’m up for a $1.00 reprint, this one The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, part of the Archie horror line that seems to have more or less stalled out.

A Kickstarter that I’d backed awhile ago for a Munchkin Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finally came in, and one of the "bonus" items was a reprint of the original Mirage edition of TMNT #1!

And then at a Walmart looking for other stuff, I happened to notice this latest "holiday" 100-page Giant, so snagged it, keeping myself up to date on those issues.

And finally, the newest issue of DC Nation as well as the newest Comic Shop News!

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Half-Price Books occasionally does coupon sales via email, where they send coupons every day for a week or so, with a progressively higher discount percentage, beginning at 20% then going to 30%, 40%, and then ending on 50%.

I went to an HPB further away than my "usual" area, and while I’d intended to get a game, I happened to spot Ultimate Spider-Man volume 8 in the locked case, and as the one volume I was still missing, found an employee and was able to get a look at the book itself.

It was priced significantly above cover price, but still well under what I’ve seen it sold for online…and with the 40% off coupon, that brought it down to cover price, so I jumped on it!

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…and that now gives me a complete run of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up (Ultimate Spidey) and Ultimate Spider-Man itself, vols. 1-12 and the Death of Spider-Man Omnibus…this is the entirety of the original Ultimate Spider-Man series, including annuals and a mini-series/tie-in or few!

I didn’t get this post ready over the weekend, nor finished on a lunch break–and between starting this and actually posting…news hit the world that Stan Lee has passed away.

Morbid though it is, when it came to "tribute art" or such, the image I first thought of–and words to offer on his passing that came to mind–are from the cover of that omnibus.

I’ll surely have more to say later…as will likely everyone else whose lives have been touched by comics!

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Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Weekly Haul: Weeks of October 24 & 31, 2018 and Halloween Comicfest

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Walt

It’s amazing how life gets busy at certain times…and how that can be exacerbated by having the computer one has been primarily using for years suddenly decide to freeze up and then refuse to ever boot up Windows again.

Combined with a couple other things going on, and rather than separate posts, let’s cover "The Weekly Haul" stuff from the past couple weeks AND Halloween Comicfest!

Week of October 24, 2018

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Last week had the foiled edition of Action Comics #1004…and I finally pulled 1001, 1002, and 1003 together and caught up on reading! I have to reiterate how much I’ve liked this low-key "stunt month" that DC did this year, where the foiling did not add to the regular price–$3.99 books stayed $3.99, so it’s purely cosmetic. And as a "stunt month," it’s not like it was all over the place. And the best part is that the fancy covers are the main, primary cover and NOT some variant!

Extra dose of TMNT with the second Macro-Series issue, this one focusing on Michelangelo; and the sixth issue of TMNT: Urban Legends, reprinting the 6th issue of the old Image series!

Then the newest issues of Aliens: Dust to Dust, of Flash, and Die!Die!Die!…where I have some collating and catch-up reading to do!

Week of October 31, 2018

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This week is a "fifth week," and so definitely a bit smaller. DC‘s second issue of Heroes in Crisis hit, apparently a week "late." I was not 100% on picking this up, but especially with being a small week, and I’m now leaning toward "grudgingly" picking it up, if only for morbid curiosity…but perhaps just as much so that I can read it for myself and evaluate it for myself. If I don’t like it, at least I’ll get that for myself. I don’t like it so far, but it feels like it’s got some weird sort of potential. I’m also willing to "support" it with it not having umpteen branded official tie-in chapters (so far), unlike the marvelous competition.

I’m digging the main Batman title of late, having jumped back into current reading with The Gift and the run-up to #50; loved the Freeze story, and just keeping up. As a fifth week, figured what the heck? Been ages since a Secret Files [& Origins] issue, so curiosity (and the foil cover) won me over. Plus…it’s Batman.

And I’m definitely enjoying the True Believers What If..? issues–most of them, I have not read before, so they’re particularly fun for only $1.00, where so many of the True Believers issues are reprints of stuff I do already have and/or have read. This What if…Legion had Killed Magneto? draws from the original Age of Apocalypse stuff from 1995. (And I’d meant to ‘cover’ the issue several years ago when I covered the entirety of that original Age of Apocalypse saga, but never quite got around to it then.)

Finally, snagged some Hordes minis to go with others I’ve bought…I have a good-size selection of these now to assemble, prime, and paint, which could be a way to pass a few weeks coming up or in 2019.

Halloween Comicfest 2018

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While it seemed there were more officially-branded Halloween COmicfest issues than ever this year, many were "mini-comics" or "ashcan-sized," and at least from the covers and being backed up on plenty of other reading and considering last year’s issues and maybe prior years…I opted just to snag these. I wasn’t sure what to make of the Adventures of Aspen Mascots but it looked fun; definitely up for the Hellblazer reprint (especially while DC otherwise doesn’t seem to know what it wants to do with the character) for the 30th anniversary. And the completist in me didn’t want to pass on the Rise of the TMNT mini-comic, though I’m not fond of the tv show from the premiere episode.

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As a far, Far, FAR superior value to me than contemporary Marvel #1 issues, for the same price, I snagged both of these issues of the older Captain America series from the 1960s. My grandfather (who helped get me into comics 30 years ago) had at least one of these issues, though I can’t remember which (and pretty sure he didn’t have the other, as I always mixed up the cover images in my memory). So there’s sentimental value in getting these copies if only for that.

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Going through $1 bins, I ended up opting only to get the Tales of the Marvels issues. There’s just not much in the way of Marvel stuff that I find worthwhile outside of 25-50 cent bins…but especially at the moment due to personal stuff going on.

The Gobbledygook issue will go into my TMNT collection; it was a nice find for 33% off, which put it cheaper than any modern Marvel issue.

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I snagged about $4-$5 worth of 25-cent bin comics. These Battlebooks ones stood out to me immediately for the tradedress…I love the way the white/red of the main logo pops and the characters on top of the crisp black background. These are a bit of nostalgia for me–I remember when these first came out! I think I’d originally gotten the Citizen V one, and can’t remember what the other one I picked up was.

These were a sort of game, where (with rules as described on a couple of inserts included in the issue) two players would have the characters "fight" and the results were determined by grids of statistics on the various pages.

They were more interesting than they sound, but are definitely at best value for 25 cents for the artwork. Still, fun finds!

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I have fond memories of the Slingers title. I have yet to actually read the various Spider-Man issues where Peter Parker took on the four alternate guises (Ricochet, Prodigy, Dusk, and Hornet). But when this series premiered, I went with the Ricochet edition, and followed the series to its conclusion (12 issues and a Wizard #0 issue, if I recall correctly).

As I recall, these were variant issues–the beginning and ending are the same in all four issues, but there’s a several (8? 12? 16? I honestly don’t recall as of this typing) page sequence in each issue that is character-specific, where the Slingers split up, so the Ricochet issue follows him when the four split, while in place of those pages, the Dusk issue follows that character instead.

I absolutely would not want this being done with modern comics at modern prices, since it would be vastly over-used very quickly. But now nearly 20 years in the past and available in 25-cent bins, I find this a fun sorta thing–especially getting all 4 issues for only $1.

And that’s it for October. Here’s hoping November’s a good month! Hard to believe we’re nearing the end of 2018 already…but then, lately it’s hard to believe it’s 2018 when sometimes I feel like I still so clearly remember stuff from 1999, or 1998…that I was self-aware even 25+ years ago (and that all these years later, here I am still into comics as much or more than ever before!)

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

The Weekly Haul: Week of October 17, 2018

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Walt

This ended up being an interesting week for me for new comics!

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New issue of Batman, of course. I snagged Nightwing #50 last weekend, knowing #51 was coming out. I love the foiling on the cover, too! New issue of TMNT; new issue of Mr. & Mrs. X (I really need to find the wedding issue and 1-3 to catch up on actual READING!). I ended up getting Green Lanterns #57 as (I believe) the final issue of that series, thanks to a spoiler of the Cyborg Superman being in it (which, along with the cover, got my curiosity up for dealing with continuity TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD!). Another ending, Simpsons Comics‘ final issue (#245). This might be my first issue purchased of the actual series…perhaps sorta morbid to jump on for the final issue, but c’est la vie! Finally, based mainly on the foiling and partly on tying in to Heroes in Crisis (Maybe 80/20 split for me), picked up Green Arrow #45 from a whenever it came out–last week, or a couple weeks ago.

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Over the weekend, wound up swinging by Half-Price Books due to an errand involving going right by the exit. Came across Superman & Batman: Generations and Superman & Batman: Generations II paperbacks. While I know I have at least a few of the single issues for both, I’m not sure where, offhand. And since they were there in front of me, and I don’t remember the last time I even saw these in-person (and they’re fairly old–predating the 2005 DC logo switch!) so I opted to get them so I wouldn’t kick myself over passing them up later! (However, I did pass on several volumes of The Flash Chronicles, that were priced at or ABOVE cover price due to being "out of print"–I haaaate that HPB does NOT separate such volumes out from their general half-price mission/collection! But that’s a topic for other posts…)

I also found out that the reason the newest Marvel digest from Archie wasn’t/hasn’t been out is that the digest series has apparently been flat-out cancelled. As a consumer (rather than businessperson), that sucks, and is a major, conscious negative for me toward both publishers (regardless of my "understanding" from the business standpoint…if it wasn’t selling, it wasn’t selling). It’s something I liked and was buying, and with it cancelled, that’s one less thing I’m getting from either of them!

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

TMNT Toys in the Wild: Rise of the TMNT 1st Wave

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Walt

I already posted about the Raphael figure I bought over the weekend, with the new Rise of the TMNT toy line starting to make its appearance.

I came across a display of the entire first wave of basic figures, and got photos of them "in the wild" (actually at a Walmart). Including the not-in-the-wild Raphael, here are my photos of the figures "on the card" as well as their "profile" from the back of the card, a la the old "clip-and-collect" profiles from the ’80s line.

Raphael:

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rise_of_the_tmnt_toys_raph_profile

Leonardo:

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rise_of_the_tmnt_toys_leo_profile

Donatello:

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Michelangelo:

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rise_of_the_tmnt_toys_mike_profile

Splinter:

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April:

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Meat Sweats:

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rise_of_the_tmnt_toys_meatsweats_profile

Baron Draxum:

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rise_of_the_tmnt_toys_barondraxum_profile

Origami Ninja:

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Until seeing the figures for myself, I hadn’t realized the Origami Ninja had a foot slapped on its face…which does somewhat "qualify" it as a Foot Ninja…so against prior expectations, I may (eventually, perhaps) try to get several.

And Baron Draxum seems rather obviously a stand-in for Shredder, so there’s a good chance I may (again, eventually, perhaps) try to get one.

I’d figured Meat Sweats would be "worth it" for bulk alone…but I think I’ve pretty much decided that if I want a large pig muant…I’d rather go with a 30+ year old classic in Bebop.

Time will definitely tell. And I suppose I’ll be curious as to what other figures will make their ways out for this line.

I remember the 2012 line rolling out by early August 2012, and 3-4 more figures by Christmas. Given we’re at early October for these, I think I’d be sorta surprised to see a second wave in 2018, though not too surprised if another makes it out in early 2019.

I have issues with the extremely-limited nature and high prices on the Neca figures…and I think it would be absolutely fantastic if Playmates were to produce a line of figures based on the IDW comics…ideally in the style of Mateus Santolouco. The four turtles, Splinter, April, Casey, Shredder, Krang, (human) Baxter Stockman (with mousers), maybe a multipack of named Utrom characters; the Neutrinos, the Mutanimals…Bludgeon, Koya, Bebop, Rocksteady…Alopex, Agent Bishop, The Pantheon…

To borrow a phrasing style…I’d buy the heck outta those, at under-$10/figure!

But that wishlist and topic is surely a topic for some other post.

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

New Rise of the TMNT Figures are Out

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Walt

For the first time in over six years…there’s a new "main" line of TMNT toys out.

BEING that it is the Ninja Turtles–my core "exception" on stuff in comics–that bleeds a bit into the toys.

I’m not a fan of Rise of the TMNT. I was NEVER the best at "keeping up" with the 2012 animated series–nor ANY animated series, PERIOD, in the last 15 years or so, no matter how much I love the series itself. But I’ve always HATED the "optics" of Rise–namely, that the 2012 series was flat-out cancelled TO MAKE WAY FOR this new series. Whether that was actually the case or not, I don’t know–but it’s certainly how I FEEL on the thing.

I watched the first episode some time back now, it was "free"–and while it wasn’t as "bad" as I’d expected (perhaps my view has softened since I watched it), I did not like it, and I really do not like a number of elements from it, particularly the character designs.

But somewhere along the way, I got it into my head that when the new toys came out, I’d probably "at least" try getting Raphael. "Traditionally" Leonardo was always my favorite of the turtles, and the one I’d claim as a kid and growing up. But over the last 10-15 years, I’ve found a newer preference for Raphael.

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So I did indeed go ahead and get Raphael, finding the figure available this weekend at a local-ish Walmart.

And on the surface, the figure itself doesn’t look totally horrid or such…this one, at least, actually more or less looks like a decent TMNT figure, albeit the character does not come with the sais that have been associated with this character for 34 years. But the "new/different weapons" thing is a whole other matter I’m not getting much into right now.

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The back of the figure is more or less what I would expect, if slightly more basic-looking. The bulk of the back is the "profile" of the character. It makes sense of course, for that to dominate…it just seems almost "too" dominant to me. With a new series, new toy line, I’d somewhat expect the part showing the figures available in this first wave to be a bit bigger, to better emphasize and show off THAT there are other figures!

Even so, I’m not enamored with most of these other figures as shown. Leonardo is dominated by the giant sword and seems scrawny; as does Donatello with a more proportionate staff weapon; and Michelangelo also seems rather scrawny for a Ninja Turtle.

I’ll be curious about Splinter as he looks rather small, but could be interesting.

This is the first "main" TMNT toy line that I’m aware of that has NOT included a Shredder in its premiere wave. On one hand, that’s a bit refreshing; on the other–and in context of these toys–I find it rather lame.

The butcher character might be interesting for size…it looks like a nice, bulky character that’ll at least be worth its price for that bulk; where the ninja doesn’t look like it’ll even stand on its own.

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As a TMNT guy, as a collector…not having a Shredder and not having any Foot ninjas does this line a real disservice. I’m not invested in any of the villains…and with neither Shredder nor Foot, there’s not even the notion of having a new version to "match up with" the previous versions.

I’m reluctant on the other turtles, but have NOT ruled out the idea with myself that I’ll get the other turtles and Splinter to at least have the "set."

I appreciate the idea of having new characters and NOT merely regurgitating the past. That said…I’m NOT invested in the new show. I’m not invested in the particular new characters. I may get the other three turtles and Splinter–at least eventually–but I don’t really see getting much into this iteration of the toy line.

I could wind up eating those words, though.

Time will tell.

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Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

IDW TMNT Collection (September 2018)

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Walt

For the first time in nearly half a decade, I’ve finally pulled together the entirety of my TMNT collection (since IDW started publishing them).

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The collection doesn’t fit into a single shortbox, so I have it split between the two…and they’re not tightly-packed, so there’s room for probably another year or so’s worth in the first box, and plenty of room in the second for some adjusting to avoid over-tight packing.

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The first box (on the left) has the main series and one-shots/annuals/etc. and TMNT Universe, plus the Heroes and Villains iterations of the Micro-Series (and I’ll likely file the upcoming Macro-Series issues here as well).

The second box includes the various other mini-series, as well as the New Animated Adventures and Amazing Adventures ongoings that were based on the 2012 Nickelodeon animated series.

To the best of my knowledge–as of this post (end of September 2018), this is a full run of every "single issue" from IDW for the main/new TMNT material. (This excludes the digest-sized episode adaptation things, and the Color Classics reprints that I have in a longbox of pre-IDW TMNT stuff).

These are all "just" the "A" covers–I have a handful of variant covers that I’ve wound up with over the years (TMNT are a grudging "exception" to my rule on variants, where I’ll bend slightly on the matter). A collection including all the variants would probably be 3, 4, even 5 times this size, and absolutely beyond the scope of my own interest…which is the story side. The OCD "collector" side that I indulge is in having 1 of each issue, period.

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

The Weekly Haul – Week of September 5, 2018

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Walt

I managed to keep this week reasonably small-ish, though definitely could have been a bit smaller still!

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With the Image TMNT series hard to find, this current run from IDW reprinting that series–and in color–is a HUGE treat! I’ve been aware OF the series and its events, but this is the first I’m getting to actually read them for myself. It’s a very interesting thing–I don’t know that I would LIKE the series in and of itself, but as the historical, finite thing that it is, I’m quite enjoying it.

Batman #54 is a one-off issue, and quite enjoyable in and of itself.

I enjoyed Leviathan #1 enough that I was curious for #2…whether I get this one read and what I’m thinking of it will determine if I continue with single issues.

I need to pull together all my single issues of Deathstroke for this vs. Batman story to actually read…definitely should have just waited for a collected volume at this point.

I’m inclined to wait for a collected volume on Adventures of the Super Sons as I’m ridiculously behind on the ongoing series let alone this new one…but I’d kick myself later having to play "catch up" if I don’t "keep up" with the singles.

And this True Believers issue of Marvel Knights Daredevil has a PARTICULAR bit of nostalgia for me: this was THE issue that got me INTO Daredevil. I’d been aware of the character–and past runs, such as Frank Miller‘s, and the then-more-recent Man Without Fear mini-series. But buying the new Marvel Knights premiere issue in August/September 1998 was the first time I’d bought Daredevil consciously/intentionally as a new/current issue!

Bonus in getting this edition essentially off the same rack (at Comic Heaven in Willoughby, OH!) that I got the original back in ’98.

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The newest issue of DC Nation is out. I do NOT like the old trick of emphasizing a character death…and I’m NOT gonna be happy if they kill off Tim Drake (again) or Kyle Rayner (again?). Seems lately that DC is pushing to follow Marvel, and senselessly killing off characters for "shock value" or such is one of those things that I’ve FELT has been MORE overdone by Marvel than DC.

And we have this week’s edition of Comic Shop News, and some sort of CBLDF publication Read Banned Comics.

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The other day, I’d stopped into Half-Price Books to take advantage of a 20%-off-your-entire-purchase sale. I couldn’t remember if I already had it, but for being cheaper than a Marvel #1 issue, snagged JLA: Crisis of Conscience. And then despite the RIDICULOUSLY HIGH price FOR THE Half-Price Books STORE CHAIN, bought this duplicate/extra/convenience copy of Secret Origins featuring Batman and The Mud Pack.

Then while shopping at Ollie’s (a bargain outlet), found this hardcover "archive" or "omnibus" of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Comic Book. Given this was at Ollie‘s and long past the publisher seeing any real value off its sale, I bought it–plus, it’s all or primarily reprinting old Marvel content from the 1990s…so I do not feel I’ve violated my personal avoidance of Boom! Studios stuff.

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I also snagged five Dragonlance novels and an extra/reading copy of Magic the Gathering: Invasion. Flat price plus the sale discount and each of these was significantly cheaper than any non-True Believers-edition Marvel comic.

Sadly, it turned out that I already had the Draconian Measures paperback…oops! But I’d rather pay less-than-$4 for a duplicate in such good condition than pass on it and find out I did NOT have it, and not be able to easily find it in good condition again without a major hunt.

I had the hardbacks already for the Margaret Weis Amber and ____ series but not these paperbacks.

All in all, a good week for comics, and books, if a bit expensive. But as usual…could have been a lot more expensive at full price on the HPB stuff!

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

The Weekly Haul Catch-Up and Bargain Bins Haul: Weeks of August 8, 15, and 22

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Walt

Life’s been a roller-coaster lately with stuff going on in my personal life. Things are looking up–though my world’s been rocked, and actually doing anything for this blog has been about the last thing on my mind!

Playing catch-up on the "weekly haul" from the last several weeks, though…

Week of August 22, 2018

The newest week has been a decent size–not tiny, not huge!

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The second issue of Bendis‘ Action Comics; the third post-Flash War issue of The Flash; and the second issue of Mr. & Mrs. X.

Then there’s the second issue of the "surprise" series Die!Die!Die!. I’m not sure if I’ll keep up with this series, but it made its impact on me with the first issue, such that I wanted to get this second issue!

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I also finally remembered to order the newest issue of Collectors. With stuff going on in personal life last year I managed to miss the third issue, and this En Fuego issue.

So it was well worthwhile–"optimizing" shipping cost–to order the latest (#4) as well as the other issues!

These collect the strips from the webcomic series, and I love having a physical edition to go through without having to only view them online!

Week of August 15, 2018

Last week was also fairly regular.

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I quite enjoyed the Mr. Freeze arc in Batman following the events of #50. And I’m loving the TMNT: Urban Legends series, reprinting the Image TMNT series from the late-1990s.

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I probably should not have bothered with Medieval Spawn/Witchblade as here the series is complete and I’ve not actually read the first issue.

We’re 8 issues in on this Marvel digest series. I’d enjoy different reprints rather than a lot of what’s been getting put in these, but c’est la vie.

And I’ve decided to wait til the Bebop & Rocksteady mini has all 5 issues to read them in one go–I gave up the IDW paperbacks for the TMNT stuff years ago in favor of the hardcovers.

Week of August 08, 2018

And two weeks ago a mixed sort of week with a couple of the regulars, plus a couple one-offs.

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The second issue of the newest iteration of Superman, and I love that the "new" run of Supergirl picks up on the Rebirth numbering…that is truly the way it needs to be done!

I opted to "try" The Sandman Universe. I’m not interested in adding a bunch of new series to my purchasing, and while the issue wasn’t bad, it didn’t blow me away. I loved the main The Sandman series when I read it back in 2001/2002 and all…but it’s not something I see enjoying month to month…especially at $3.99 an issue multiple times each month (multiple titles). Especially with DC‘s recent "history" with imprints (Young Animal in particular).

I’ve been back to keeping up with The Flash and decided to "try" the 50th issue of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps; though at this point that’s a bit of a regret.

Bargain Bin Haul

It’s been awhile since much of a true bargain-bin "haul," but I found a lot of fun stuff last week…CLEARLY re-emphasizing again just what a ’90s guy I am!

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These were primarily "newsstand" editions with the newsstand bar codes. I did not realize there was a NON-shiny edition of WildC.A.T.s, so that’s a neat little novelty.

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Snagged a bunch of Malibu #1s.

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And a handful of Now Comics issues, and the random Jesus issue.

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These were some "random" issues of no particular theme. I forgot that I have a small run of early Spawn issues relatively "handy," so the #3 is superfluous. I’m passively interested in the mpi editions of The Man of Steel issues for the novelty…I had acquired the One Night in Gotham City issue with the audiocassette wayyyy back–my first exposure to the "modern" relationship between Superman and Batman.

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These Dracula issues caught my eye…I wasn’t sure what they were, but seems they reprint some early appearances of the Marvel version of the character.

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For the heckuvit, snagged a bunch of "shiny" covers! Paid less for these in total than any single one of the issues cost two decades ago!

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These were a combo of shiny issues, the Spider-Man hologram, some "extra color" covers, and die-cut/etc.

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The Mitefall is a prestige-format issue, Force Works is bagged with some inserts including an animation cell, and the Zen issues of thicker covers with foiling for the logo.

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The Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor issues are absolute relics–back when Marvel would actually acknowledge a new run/etc, rather than renumbering for the sake of renumbering. The rest of these caught my attention as fun acquisitions for "only" 25 cents–duplicate and otherwise.

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I was surprised to find New Warriors #1…but I guess the title’s just not as relevant as it once might have been. I’m still working on my "runs" of the 2099 titles–the original series, not the "modern" iteration(s) of Spider-Man.

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Just some more #1s…

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Some non-Marvel/non-DC #1s.

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A bunch of DC #1s…probably most notable to me is the Teen Titans issue as I am not sure if I’ve ever had a copy of this issue; and given how long the Starman series ran, it’s cool to find #1 like this.

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And finally, even more #1s and specials from DC.

I’m constantly re-amazed at what I can occasionally find in bargain-bins…and the sheer quantity of issues I can stack up for 25 cents…I can buy over 100 25-cent issues for the price of FOUR Marvel #1s present-day!

And these 25-cent issues include various thicker covers, double/triple-size issues, cover enhancements/gimmicks, etc…and these over-100-issues-for-25-cents-each are largely themselves priced such that the entire stack cost less than cover price of maybe 10 of these issues–some of the issues nearly 30 years old!

This is also withOUT attending a convention that I refuse to deal with given lack of communication last year, and "digs" they and their representatives have taken at me online for voicing my concerns over the communication issue last year and how in impacted my attempt to attend the convention.

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Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of May 23, 2018 #NCBD

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Walt

This week proved to be a rather small week comic-wise, which allowed for me to make a purchase I’d eyed last week but held off on financially.

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First off, IDW is reprinting the original Image run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles under the subtitle Urban Legends. This is a sort of “forgotten volume” a la Devil’s Due‘s GI Joe series, itself having been reprinted some years back under the Disavowed subtitle. Per usual, the TMNT are an exception to my usual rules for pretty much anything/everything comics–I will “double-dip” at least on this first issue, eventually going with both the A and the B covers–the B covers apparently being the “original” cover images. Since the rest of the Color Classics had the “original” cover image, if nothing else, it might simply be my exception by way of me actually going for the B covers where the rest of the time I try to go exclusively with the A cover.

From what I can tell, this week’s Detective Comics caps the Rebirth run on the title, and I think the title passes to (a) new creative team(s) with the next issue and going forward. As such this might be my last issue until #1000 as I’m so far behind reading anyway that I’d just as soon wait for collected volumes until then, but already had enough of this run to want to keep going, and having assumed the creative team was going to be on the book longer.

And we finally have the start of The Flash War, which I “should have” passed on, but figured I’d get even though I’m far behind on reading Flash stuff, and actually had finally “let the title go” when this story was hyped a bit but didn’t actually materialize! Now it’s here, but I might wait for the collected edition for anything past this issue.

I picked up the Executive Assistant Iris Primer and the new #1 on being 25 cents and writer Blake Northcott‘s name, respectively. I don’t remember if I knew she would be writing this, and certainly didn’t remember or recognize that it was going to be out this week… a well-timed post on Twitter Tuesday (or maybe Wednesday morning–I can’t actually remember and it’s not important enough to go look it up) put it on my radar. AND since the “A” cover was available, rather than a B or any OTHER cover.

And though I’d seen it last week, I passed on Myth Adventures One. But having the week to consider, and this week being a smaller week, for the price of  2 1/2 standard-price comics, I got this graphic novel edition–33ish years old–collecting the first four issues (and in color!) of Myth Adventures. (And as I said regarding my purchase of the single issue #10 back in March, I must blame fellow blogger Michael Carlyle, writer of The Crapbox of Son of Cthulu firstly for “inspiration” to get that issue, and then his recommendation of the series that helped prompt this purchase). I also like that its size should be a nice match to the original TMNT color editions.

Finally, this week’s CSN and a checklist for the issues leading to/including the Bat-Wedding and Catwoman #1 this summer.

All in all, I feel like this is one of the highest-quality weeks for me in awhile; with most of the issues being stuff I can/will dive right into reading. First issues/primers/start of stuff, and even the Detective Comics issue I’ll probably read despite not being current with reading the series…like losing track of a tv show but watching the finale to at least have that experience rather than trying to avoid spoilers or being spoiled without context of the episode/issue itself.

I believe next week (finally!) kicks off the new Man of Steel weekly, and I’ve yet to decide if I’m going “all in” on the Bat-Wedding stuff or if I’m just sticking with the core Batman title, as I know the tie-ins will be a collected edition in several months.

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

Avengers Hot Wheels and Shelf Displays Update

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Walt

This comes a couple weeks later than intended, but that’s just how things are!

At a Walmart, I’d come across another bin of Hot Wheels cars. Much as with several previous Marvel waves, I was able to find the entire numbered series, and given the small price point each (all 8 for less than the price of two Marvel comics), I went ahead and bought them.

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These were numbered 1 through 7 of 7…and then the Infinity Gauntlet car was unnumbered. Of course, had I only bought one, I definitely would have gone with that. Only two, and I’d’ve gone with that and #4; three I’d have gone with that and #s 4 & 5.

As usual, these are kinda neat, spotlighting the Avengers through history. As I was primarily into them for Heroes Reborn and Heroes Return, #s 4 & 5 are my favorite here because of the cards!

And with this as a bit of a filler post–new content weekdays–here’s an update to the toy shelves/displays!

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On top is the bulk of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers collection.

Then the TMNT (’80s/’90s) villains; then TMNT (’80s/’90s) "good guys" (non-turtles).

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On the other side, the Power Rangers extend on over at the top, joining an AT-AT and Fin Fang Foom.

Below that’s the Superman shelf.

And finally, the newest shelf, with the Doomsdays and then mostly ’90s-ish miscellaneous figures.

I’d intended to do a similar display for my Marvel Legends, but they won’t fit, doing the three-tier, so I’m going to have to figure out something else!

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Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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