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Robins Update

It’s been awhile, but I have a new Robin in the collection. It’s actually been several weeks now, but…whatever.

I don’t even remember now how I came across it, but I was able to order it from Amazon (and it actually came in decent shape!)

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I’m not all that familiar with this costume, or even if it’s "canon." The shape of the "R" tells me this is Damian, though, so not AS much preference on my part. I prefer the Tim Drake Robin…but have found that for me, to SOME degree…"Robin is Robin," regardless of WHICH Robin it is.

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So this new Funko Pop vinyl joins a dusty display-top that is dominated by Robins, while sharing with some excess Supermen.

In their own way, these Robins are themselves "excess," not really fitting well with stuff inside the display case.

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I’m keener to have the smaller figures and figurines and minis and such in a display case so they’re better ‘contained’ should any fall over or such and start a domino-effect or such.

But as of this typing, as of this post, this is the updated Robin collection (with a glimpse of some Supermen and some other miniatures and figurines).

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The Weekly Haul: Week of January 13, 2021

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Look at this! The third week in a row covering a week’s worth of new issues to stay current! Also the second post on this blog in as many days…with at least one more lined up before the week is done. The world will surely be back into 2020 territory at this rate!

So…another small-ish week, with some double-dip and a random purchase.

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Foremost (for me) for the week is the Captain America facsimile edition. If Marvel would actually do these as a weekly thing–some ’80s or ’90s (or earlier) facsimile edition every single week, I’d absolutely be on board with that, on principle!

Amazing Spider-Man #57 continues the fallout from Last Remains, which I got into thanks to the (non-variant!!!) cover of Amazing Spider-Man #54. I’m pretty sure this is the third issue of this title in as many weeks, and the fourth in five weeks or so. I’m not onboard for a weekly series, and even biweekly for a Marvel title is not much in the cards for me.

I couldn’t pass up the Chris Claremont Anniversary Special…it’s Claremont. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as much X as I had expected/hoped…though I really didn’t even know what TO expect at all. Still, could do a lot worse, especially for a random one-shot. And having become aware of some other "anniversary" issues coming up, I may have to settle myself in to buy some of ’em, if they have any sort of decent homages back to ’90s stuff that appeals to me…as opposed to all the modern stuff that I just don’t seem to care much for.

I picked up DC Future State: Robin Eternal #1 because it’s Robin…but I’m really NOT digging this whole Future State thing. I might have gone all-in to immerse myself in it/have this finite "event" story…but it lost me first for no bundles from DCBS (their Rebirth bundles had me all-in for over a year on at least purchasing those issues) for the event. Then there’s the variance in pricing, with at least $3.99 AND $4.99 AND $7.99 issues…maybe more prices. Also the variance in mini-series’ lengths. Some are 2 issues, some are 4…not sure if there are any one-shots/specials in addition.So last week I bought Swamp Thing and The Next Batman; this week Robin Eternal and while I’ll likely finish Swamp Thing and this, I’ve chosen to opt out of Future State otherwise, and by extension, Infinite Frontier or whatever the next "initiative" is for DC. Going through the motions otherwise.

X-Force #14 is an issue I bought due to the cover getting my attention; isolated, random purchase otherwise.

Finally, the second volume of Fire Power is out. $16.99 for the contents of 6 $3.99 comics. I’m double-dipping…I’ve been getting the single issues, but want the collected volume to go with the prelude OGN/vol. 1. And as I’m increasingly averse to Marvel and DC, I’m looking for other stuff to follow and keep with and have largely settled on Fire Power and Walking Dead Deluxe as a couple of such titles…double-dipping or otherwise.

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And this week’s Comic Shop News on its own, though it’d usually be in the main image. My photo "stage" was different this week and I couldn’t get it in the main image as a single shot. The BeQuest looks interesting…I might actually check it out. Looks like it’s from Aftershock, so it’s "eligible" where I won’t touch Boom! Studios‘ stuff, even these 5 years later after their stunt with the ratioed covers for MMPR. (Petty as it is, I actually looked to make sure the title was not Boom! here–I would have foregone the CSN cover if it was).

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Thanks to a post in the NEOTACC group on Facebook, I was made aware of the Skeletor/Panthor set from Mega Construx being in-stock at the local Walmart 5 minutes away. And waiting on a ridiculously-lengthy installation/update to Windows 10 on my work computer (thanks, Microsoft, for forcing me to work late that night to make up the time you stole!) I was able to make the 20-minue run so as to avoid complete loss of patience with my work computer…and acquire a very cool set!

I also–in looking for Skeletor/Panthor–came across the Raphael single figure, which goes with the Donatello I already have. I think I saw someone’s post recently that indicated Michelangelo and Leonardo had already been out, so I may be SOL on those, but then again, I could probably use extra weapons from other duplicates and get dupes of these more recent ones. Or just say screw it and go with what I have…will still look cool on the shelf!

And snagged the GI Joe set of metal mini-figs cuz why not? It’s the ONLY non-vehicle GI Joe thing that’s ever actually in-stock at Walmart. Maybe if they MOVED they’d get something different in, or realize they actually need more of the "retro" figures that are never in-stock.

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And then for the heckuvit, I bought the TMNT movie Casey Jones Pop vinyl that I came across at a different Walmart over the weekend. Here he is next to the older cartoon-based Casey that came out a couple years ago.

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The Weekly Haul: Week of December 12, 2018

This past week was a rather large week, especially as single issues go. Maybe not huge, but large.

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Supergirl hits its 25th issue, which is an extra-sized $4.99 issue. Considering the series had apparently been cancelled for several months but came back with the existing numbering has been a huge selling point for me…and I’m willing to turn a “blind eye” to a $4.99 #25 much more than I am a #1! Though I’ve skipped several months’ worth of Detective Comics, I’ve opted to get back in for the run-up to #1,000. We’ll see what I think on that after I get around to actually reading #994, though!. While it seems most often that DC saves up its annuals for a 5th week, we get the Batman Annual this week, and it is another $4.99 issue. Again, I’m willing to accept that as this IS an annual, a special issue, and not intended as the premiere issue for a new series!

Then there’s the second issue of the Alien3 adaptation from William Gibson; I haven’t read the first issue yet, and actually need to figure out where it wound up. I probably “ought” to just wait for a collected volume at the rate I’m going, but then, I’m also preferring oversized stuff to skinny-as-heck paperbacks that fit in a comic bag and board that my regular comics fit in. I need to consolidate my Mr. and Mrs. X issues and read…but as a fan of Rogue and Gambit, and of Rogue and Gambit, it’s one Marvel series I’ll actually support. And at least conceptually, their being married is a welcome change, to me! And no particular interest for me in an Archie-published Archie special…buuuuuut it’s “only” $2.99 compared to virtually everything ELSE Archie publishes these days being $3.99 with umpteen variant covers. So I definitely wanted to support the $2.99 price point!

I’d jumped onto Spawn several years ago for the same reason: supporting something with a $2.99 price point! I suppose I ought to check on the price of the main title…and while I’d assumed this Spawn Kills Everyone was $2.99, it’s actually $3.99…and the first issue of a 4-issue mini-series, apparently. Still…I’m ok with it, given virtually everything else is $3.99, so not like it’s standing out, and “at least it’s not a Marvel.”

And as always, the TMNT stuff has long been my “exception” on stuff…including pricing. $7.99 for each of these “prestige format”/squarebound Macro-Series issues doesn’t really phase me. The more good, in-continuity quality TMNT content from IDW, the better!

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And speaking of TMNT…oh, here’s Chloe! Sarah photobombed last time…apaprently it’s Chloe’s turn! She did not care that I was taking photos for this blog…she saw me there, and insisted on some attention!

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So, speaking of TMNT…I don’t even know what to make of this Rise of the TMNT cover. And despite virtually everything else published by IDW having at LEAST one variant, I don’t believe these have had variants. I don’t really care about this series…but have to admit to the “habit” aspect, and knowing that it’s still actually TMNT content, and I’d kick myself if I had to “hunt down” “missing” issues later, so I’ll just get ’em as they come out and be done.

Finally…after however many weeks/months, we get the second issue of Batman: Damned. [ok, it’s been 12 weeks since #1 came out.] 12 weeks…3 months. I don’t remember the original schedule, but I think this is at least a MONTH late, maybe 6+ weeks. I got the first issue out of curiosityDC Black Label, a new Azzarello/Bermejo piece involving the Joker; the magazine-sized format…and if it wasn’t for all the stupid online “HYPE” I never would have even noticed a certain anatomical portrayal graphically present. Having the first issue and not hating it, I got the second issue; and as I believe it’s to be a 3-issue thing, I’m quite likely to also get the third/final issue as well.


Along with these issues, I also during the week snagged the Thanos Mighty Mugg figure from Hasbro. I’ve previously passed on all of these due to how small these are compared to the original line as well as not caring for the “gimmick” of the multiple faces. But hey…this is Thanos, so I went ahead and got it.

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And speaking of Thanos…thanks to an online sale from Hot Topic, I was able to get a significant discount on the Thanos-on-his-throne Pop vinyl…with FREE shipping by having it delivered to the local Hot Topic at the mall. Unexpectedly for me, Hot Topic also had a sale going of buy-1-get-1-50%-off for everything in the store includingPops. I happened across the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers White Tigerzord, which I would have bought “anyway” just for what it IS. That the store had the Grindelwald-and-Thestral already marked down 50%, and eligible for the further discount, it made for quite the “steal.”

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Aaaaaand that’s about enough for this week.

Two more New Comic Days for 2018…that means this was the 50th. And the final will be “interesting,” falling as it does the day right after Christmas…I’m not even sure what (if anything) will really be out that week or if it’ll warrant its own trip to the comics shop(s).

Time will tell…and we’ll see what the week of the 19th holds!

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The Weekly Haul: Week of July 18, 2018

This was a small week comics-wise!

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New Batman, first issue of Archie Meets Batman ’66, a #0-issue for Rise of the TMNT, and the second issue of The Magic Order. I either haven’t read #1 yet despite buying it, or have totally forgotten it already, but went ahead and picked up #2 to be sure to have it. Whether I’d go on to a 3rd issue remains to be seen!


I ended up splurging on some new DuckTales stuff this week:

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I was VERRRRRRRY glad to find that Launchpad is available as a single-figure card, and NOT exclusive to the Suncatcher (plane) playset, and got him, as well as Flintheart Glomgold.

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Larger view of Launchpad…

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Larger view of Glomgold…

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I also went ahead and bought the Target-exclusive 10-inch Scrooge McDuck Pop vinyl (From Funko. Not being much of a statues guy, this one struck me as "statuesque" and though it’s not my favorite interpretation of Scrooge, I like it for what it is.

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The cats didn’t know what to make of Scrooge, though, and both came over to check him out before I could even get him outta the box!

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Sarah took off after determining that he wasn’t food, treat, nor comics to lay on. Chloe settled in to ask how she might obtain the same sort of financial success as Scrooge…

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Fantasticon and B&N Haul from March 10, 2018

Over the weekend, I attended a local-ish convention–Fantasticon, in Toledo/Ohio. I went with several friends, stuff was good, and got a few things, and then more at a Barnes & Noble we went to after dinner.

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Probably the main thing for going was that Dirk Manning was going to be there. Always great to see him…probably the best creator I’ve interacted with over the years in terms of enthusiasm, approachability, and all that.

And having just debuted it in the last couple weeks or so, I was able to get a couple copies of Hope #1 by him and K. Lynn Smith (one for me, one for a friend). Busy rest of the weekend so haven’t read it yet, but I hope to have a review up in the near future!

Then there was a randomish back-issue-bin-dive where I came across a still-sealed black-bag-edition of Superman #75–the Death of Superman issue. (Yeah, that issue!). It was marked $3, and cost $3, and is the first copy of this edition that I’ve bought in over 25 years. The bag’s a bit wrinkly and some color damage to it like it had stuck to something or something had stuck to it…but darnit, for $3, the stuff inside is more than worth it, and I very definitely intend to open this thing…perhaps that will also be a near-future-ish post!

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Outside of (re) meeting Dirk and getting that issue of Hope, my "back issue comics goal" was several issues of New 52-era Action Comics…which wound up being a miserable failure. Ditto for issues of the Marz/Banks early-Kyle-era Green Lantern run.

However, I did find a run of Green Lantern: Mosaic…that when combined with the issues I got a couple weeks ago, give me a complete run of the 18-issue series, right here, right where I know where all eighteen issues are right this moment together.

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To some degree, this is a small culmination of 23+ years, having been aware of this series from a friend getting issues from #1 back in 1992. I wasn’t immediately interested myself until later in the run or shortly after. Though I’ve often seen #1 or a handful of issues, I’ve never in all this time (until now) managed to come across or assemble a complete run. From these last several weeks, I now definitely have at least 3 copies of #1, if not more…and certainly several duplicates…but at least I have a single, full run now in one place and I am comfortable not having any further inclination to buy more copies of any of the issues!

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For less than the price of two modern Marvel comics, snagged this Emerald Twilight Parallax figure from the Kenner Total Justice line. This was basically half the cost of a contemporary 3.75" figure, cheaper than basically any "basic" figure, period, these days, and 1/3 the cost of a DC Multiverse "full-size" figure. I’ll need to get this outta the packaging before I change my mind…he’s gonna look quite good against a backdrop of my Green Lantern shelf!

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I’d long since resigned myself to never getting the Thanos "mini-figure" from Lego as I was not spending the money for the set that he came with, and I wasn’t even gonna begin considering "online prices" for a single figure, as any reasonable price would be obliterated by factoring in shipping. But finding this large mini-fig for the price of only 2 modern Marvel comics was a no-brainer for me…especially as I’m keen on Thanos at present, anyway!

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At a Barnes & Noble, found these three Funko Dorbz figures of the TMNT in a $2 bin on clearance. Quite disappointed not to have found all 4…but these were the ones that were present, and my friend even did an extra dig-through to make sure I hadn’t overlooked it!

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And then, partly because they were half-off so I could get both for the price of one, I got Sam I Am and his friend cuz…why not? I’d considered getting them a couple other times, and found them individually other times without the other; and figured I’d wind up kicking myself if I passed on these.

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Turned out that these were also only $2 apiece. Since they’re usually $6+ each, and I didn’t have any of the DC and am still missing several of the TMNT, 8 boxes worked out to be like buy-3-get-5-free (but slightly cheaper).

Of course, me being me, my first choice would be wanting Superman, and then ideally blue-and-grey Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter. For the TMNT I was most interested in Bebop, Casey Jones, or Splinter.

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I wound up with three specific ones I was interested in most, and glad to at least have gotten a Batman to go with Superman and Wonder Woman. April O’Neil is a duplicate from the TMNT wave; and I’m not thrilled with Power Girl, and would have a number of the other minis ahead of Black Manta and Harley Quinn. But for the cost, it was well worthwhile (though also means I probably won’t buy any more as I now have extremely-high odds of getting a duplicate!).

All in all, including admission and the Barnes & Noble stuff, I spent about $8 more than what it would have cost me just to get in the door into Wizard World Cleveland had I gone to that the weekend before.

So…not bad at all!

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Patience Paid Off: Casey Jones Pop Vinyl

I’d seen the Pop vinyl figure of Casey Jones, based on the classic animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character back in January…but didn’t think much of it at the time. Or moreso, I had other stuff I was buying and didn’t justify the cost…plus, I’d decided I was not keeping up with the figures, so while sorta cool, I wasn’t that interested in the figure.

I regretted that decision pretty shortly after…but never enough to chance "online pricing" and such.

So over the weekend, while visiting a friend out of state, I decided that if we went to the store where they’d had the figure, and any were still in stock…this time I would buy it!

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Needless to say given the photo above…the figure was indeed in stock, and I did buy it.

And cool as this one is…I’m now pretty eager to track down the rest of the TMNT Pop figures, though I do not care for the likelihood of high and/or secondary pricing on them.

That said…I’m not even going to try hunting any down for at least a couple weeks, because I have recently blown way, way outta my "budget" and need to stick much more to real-life "essentials."

I’ll probably show off more of the budget-busters later this week, as well as my joining the Super-Blog Team-Up for the first time!


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New Pop Vinyl ’90s X-Characters

I’ve recently gone against my better judgment and bought a couple of Marvel characters in their Pop! vinyl format.

I phrase it this way, because I loathe the bobble-head format. I means that otherwise-solid, otherwise-sturdy, otherwise-quality figures are rendered EXTREMELY fragile and breakable in a way that is NOT repairable with simply a bit of glue or such. And since they’re gonna be "just on display" and not "played with" the way an action figure would…I do NOT get the "appeal" or "reasoning" from Funko TO do the figures this way–it actually killed my interest in the line for awhile and has (and continues) to leave be extremely DISINTERESTED in their Marvel range of characters.

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But there’s a certain nostalgia factor for me that overrode that. First, in coming across Archangel after a friend had shown her figure off some weeks back.

Then over the weekend, I came across Cable in this classic ’90s getup and realized he’d look really cool "with" Archangel. Of course, now the added frustration of ’90s Cyclops and ’90s Xavier being long "out of print" and far too ridiculously-priced to try to acquire, along with an even-MORE-ridiculously-priced Wolverine.

But at least I have these two!

They add "character" to my X-shelf for now, and will likely remain such a presence for awhile!

Continue reading

New Robins of Spring

I’ve added some new Robins to my collection this year…and most recently, my first-ever “new in package” Eaglemoss figurine!

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I’ve been contemplating ordering this one for awhile, but held off awhile. I finally pulled the trigger and ordered it, actually expecting it to be “loose,” though hopefully well-packed. I was pleasantly-surprised to get it still in its package, which afforded me a little more context on these figures than I’d seen so far.

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For one thing, definitely cool to see more, including a number of ones I do not have. I’d gotten the Penguin and Ra’s Al Ghul, but the rest of these are new (to me). Definitely VERY interested in the Superman one, as well as Green Arrow and this version of Batgirl!

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Along with the Eaglemoss figurine, other recent additions include the Batman: The Animated Series Robin from Funko, though this one’s one of my Tim Drake exceptions, as I’ve found myself increasingly interested in figures and such of all the Robins, not just Tim.

Then there’s the Imaginext version of Tim’s Robin, as well as the Imaginext version of Red Robin. And finally, the elusive Mighty Minis version of Red Robin.

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These join a few of my other Robins, as well as the other Eaglemoss figurines and other Mighty Minis and such. Not in this particular photo are a 12″ Robin from the Batman Unlimited “Titan Heroes” line, a Robin bust bank, a huge version of that Dorbz Robin, and at least one shot glass.

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This is the booklet that came with the Eaglemoss figure…while this is not my favorite version of the costume, it is Tim Drake, and I want to say he was in it for several years before going to the Red Robin thing for a couple years, before the New 52 stuff.

I do look forward to actually reading through this booklet, though I wonder at its take on the character, and what I’ll learn from it or if it’ll seem “off” to me, considering I’ve largely followed the character (off and on) since 1989. (Just think: in 2 more years, Tim Drake will have been around for 30 years! More than 1/3 the entire existence of the Batman comics!)

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Weekend Acquisitions – Fabrikations and Books

Over the weekend, I finally picked up the two Fabrikations figures I’ve been seeing around but hadn’t actually pulled the trigger on buying. As I’m realizing I have less and less interest in the "standard size" Pops, and do not care for the bobblehead nature of the Marvel and Star Wars Pops, these NOT being bobbleheads combined with their larger size make them all the more appealing.

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I also finally got I Was the Cat, which I’ve been "interested in" since last August. Found the Bone "tribute edition" hardcover at a Half-Price Books; Amulet at Barnes & Noble, and the Batman comic at a different Half-Price Books.

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Quite an expensive "haul," but definitely some cool stuff. I was fairly certain I already have this one issue of the four-part Death in the Family story, but this one is in better condition…and I honestly couldn’t remember 100% if it was the first issue or this one that I already had. For $4 (the price of a contemporary single-issue), I figured it was worth buying.

Thankfully, the weekend trip that resulted in finding all this stuff is a rare happening!

Giving In: I Bought the Thanos Pop Vinyl

I don’t think I even knew about the Thanos Pop vinyl previously; I happened across it in mid-March in a Hot Topic when I was walking at a local mall.

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I was unwilling to pay the $18.99 or $19.99 or whatever the price was. In December 2014 I’d found one of these "oversized" Pop figures of Nicol Bolas (Magic: The Gathering) for about $16, which didn’t seem too bad for what it was. But I was not willing to pay a full $19/$20 for one of these.

Finding this one for about the price of Nicol Bolas and not finding other stuff I was interested in while visiting a comic shop, I decided to just get this before it became a way-expensive hunt later or I paid more including shipping buying online than just buying it and having it in-hand for the instant gratification.

This joins my 1990s Silver Surfer animated series Thanos, my Marvel 3.75" Thanos, and my Marvel Select Thanos…leaving me offhand still seeking the blind box "mystery mini" Thanos and the Mighty Muggs Thanos that was out some years back.

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