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The Weekly Haul: Week of December 12, 2018

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Walt

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 curiosity—DC 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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Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 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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rise_of_the_tmnt_toys_don_profile

Michelangelo:

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rise_of_the_tmnt_toys_mike_profile

Splinter:

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rise_of_the_tmnt_toys_splinter_profile

April:

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rise_of_the_tmnt_toys_april_profile

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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rise_of_the_tmnt_toys_origamininja_profile

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 »

The Weekly Haul: Week of July 18, 2018

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Walt

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

Rise of ‘Rise of the TMNT’

Posted on February 3, 2018 by Walt

The other day, we "finally" got our first look at the character design for the new Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Rise of the TMNT) show coming this fall from Nickelodeon.

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To me, the best aspect is the logo.

As I posted the other day on Twitter, my first reaction is that these are atrocious:

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Seeing the "full/action" image and the individual images all over the place for a few days, I’ve grown used to these particular ones. But I stand by my original feeling of these being atrocious designs.

I’ve long held TMNT to be an "exception" to most of my usual personal "rules" (variants, what I’ll spend on them, accepting more "crap" regarding TMNT than I will most things, giving them a "pass" on stuff I won’t other properties, etc). At the same time, I hold the assumed "right" to be that much more critical–as a fan in my late-30s who has to some degree "been there" through most of the TMNT history–nearly 30 of their almost 34-year existence.

And whether it was certain of the "Specials" from the Archie comics, or the general Archie series compared to the ’80s cartoon compared to the original Mirage comics…then the Image series, the Mirage volume 4 series and Tales of the TMNT vol. 2, to the IDW series; the 2003 cartoon and the 2012 cartoon… I’m used to all sorts of differing visual interpretations of the characters. Some good, some bad, some wonky, some weird, some just…blah.

But as the "mainstream, main on-going publically-pushed" (’80s cartoon, 2003 cartoon, 2012 cartoon; all the films…even Next Mutation) designs go, I find these the worst.

Various designs in the comics tend to work short-term; even if I’m not thrilled with a style, often it hasn’t lasted all that long or been more than basically coming across "an alternative design." I’ve never had an actual distaste for a visual style like this. I’m not thrilled with the 2014/2016 film designs, but as live-action only-2-films takes, I’m ok with those…especially by comparison.

I also highly resent what my current understanding is–that "essentially," the 2012 series was ended to clear the path for Rise of the TMNT; that especially with the 2012 series only just having ended and this one having been announced prior to the end of the 2012 series, it is intended to REPLACE the 2012 series.

Previously, there were significant gaps of time between series. As such, I especially compare these to that, and may be more critical due to the feeling of this being the "replacement" rather than the "next iteration" of the property.

On the individual character designs:

rise_of_the_tmnt_splinterSplinter: he just looks like an angry little ugly rat to me; almost a caricature. While he has the ‘signature’ kimono and walking stick, and in context is recognizable, I get none of the fatherly/mentorly vibe from this design. He looks mean and more of a show-up-and-mess-someone-up character than father-figure/leader.

rise_of_the_tmnt_leoLeonardo:  partly the angle, but the character looks like some scrawny little thing, more like he’d be an "annoyance" than formidable. I also really dislike the sharp, angular design, especially for the legs/knees. While I don’t want my turtles to be balls, I also don’t want my turtles to be scissors with masks. I’m also not thrilled with the facial markings, though I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be facepaint or species markings. The latter I can live with, the former just seems stupid to me.

rise_of_the_tmnt_raphRaphael: The character is far bulkier than the other turtles, which sets him apart, sure; and while I’m not thrilled at the full head-covering vs. mask-strip around the eyes I don’t have any great problem with it, either. My main problem is the apparent change in weapon, from the sai to the nightstick. Especially as Mikey has "small sticks with strings" and Donnie has the "long stick." For whatever reason, offhand, it just reeks (to me) of something thinking simply "wouldn’t it look cool if…" and running with it.

rise_of_the_tmnt_donnieDonatello: This may be the "best" of the designs to me. The character doesn’t seem nearly as scrawny/angular as Leo, and while I get a bit of a 2014 movies vibe with the headgear, something to the face even just looks like a Donatello: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. It looks like he’s carrying some sort of scepter, which won’t thrill me; but it it’s more of a fancy stick, I guess I’m mostly ok on it.

rise_of_the_tmnt_mikeyMichelangelo: I don’t care for the prominent kneepads in the promo image, nor that he basically seems to have some kind of bladed ball attached to a stick…another "replacement" weapon; a factor I’m not keen on. The kneepads seem odd to me in a way I can’t quite place…like they’re more for skateboarding or such than the kneepads/wraps of previous versions of the turtles.

rise_of_the_tmnt_aprilApril: I’m not sure what to think here; I have a number of feelings on the matter. I sense some slight ties to some interpretations of the original comics; as all of this Rise design is so different anyway, no huge issue with the "race-bending." Moreso I feel like the pose for the promo image draws significantly from DC‘s Superhero Girls, as virtually every time I see her solo image, I’m put in mind of the Bumblebee character from that show/series, at a glance. I feel like she looks way too young; it’s one thing for April to be a high schooler or such, but not looking this young just seems rather "off."

As I’ve seen others comment–these may look better "in motion" and such; in action rather than these singular "still" images. And I will be interested to see how these translate to toys, the inevitable action figures. I’m probably more interested in the action figures than the show.

And of course, I’ll almost certainly check out the show itself at least to try…but it’s going to have to be pretty darned good right away from the first episode or two to "keep" me–it’s not gonna get much of a "grace period" from me to spend MONTHS to get several episodes to get a glimmer of what it "can actually be."

Whatever the case, I still have the original cartoon on DVD, 2003 on flashdrive (c’mon, Nickelodeon…release the 2003 series on DVD!!!), and the 2012 series on DVD, as well as all my comics and such already.

As some folks would say…I consider this whole matter to be:

(developing…)

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Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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