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Weekend Retail Therapy: Sonic the Hedgehog Figures

Posted on March 29, 2021 by Walt

Over the weekend, while still unable to locate the Marvel Legends House of X Jean Grey, or any NECA TMNT, or any Retro GI Joe, or any Masters of the Universe Origins (other than He-Man and Skeletor)…I did find a complete wave of the McFarlane Toys Batman: Curse of the White Knight with the build-a-figure Bane…I had those in my cart, gritting my teeth at the $80 expense…but checking the price of something else, happened to scan one of those and balked at the $24.99 price…$5 more than the $19.99 I was planning. Considering BANE is the figure I especially wanted, I wasn’t gonna pay that extra $20, so I went back to put those back.

And noticed the Sonic the Hedgehog figures.

sonic_the_hedgehog_4inch_sonic_tails_knuckles

While thinking about ’em, I was telling myself if they had these three–all three of them–I’d get ’em; but I wasn’t going to get "just two."

I flipped through the figures on the pegs…they had Sonic. AND Tails. AND Knuckles!

So (and as you already surmised from the photo above and reading this post at all) I bought ’em.

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From the back of the packaging…I’m sure I’ve seen Super Shadow before, but I’m really not "familiar with" the character. The heyday of the property for me is the first 2 Sonic games, with a bit of the third. I had the first two, but only ever rented the third.

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Multi-lingual box-back. Basically same back for all three figures, but the text is specific to each character.

So a bit of the cross sell but I still think they should do "profile cards" like they did for a lot of ’80s and early-’90s figures. What can I say? I’m a sucker for that sorta thing!

Anyway…nothing overtly special about these, except partly hitting nostalgia (I believe Sonic is 30 this year?) and partly consolation prize not finding anything else I was really actually looking for.

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

Cleveland Comic Con 2019 – Sunday and #Spawnquest

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Walt

This one wasn’t entirely on my radar. But a combination of marking "Interested" on Facebook events, creators creating events for their presence at conventions, and actually PROPERLY-targeted ads on Facebook) meant that I was loosely aware that this one was happening.

Having been unable to locate Spawn #s 20-24 and 26-29, I figured the best way to get them for a decent price quickly was to give this convention a shot where I otherwise would have passed on it. I’m not 100% certain that I came out ahead in the deal as it was a $10 admission on top of what I paid for what I bought…but I suppose it works out for a "convenience tax" or "immediate gratification tax" or such. And tax, period.

Also, my social/anxiety/introversion issues can make conventions seem extremely counter-intuitive. Why would an introvert with anxiety choose to put one’s self into situations ripe for setting off said anxiety?

Still…this was a 2-day event (Saturday and Sunday) and I went in the afternoon on Sunday, so pretty sure I missed the bulk of the crowd(s).

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After quickly browsing one section and it not seeming that anyone had comics other than DC/Marvel stuff I was not at all interested in for the day or toys priced higher than I was planning to spend, I made my way to the 2nd main section. Browsing quickly, I determined that one dealer had a good chunk of "early-Spawn" including the ones I wanted. But the prices were higher than I really wanted to spend. So I made a mental note to come back after browsing the rest of the space.

I came across the New Dimension Comics‘ tables. They had a bunch of Sonic the Hedgehog digests–Sonic the Hedgehog Archives. For a whopping $1 apiece.

I already had several volumes from the series…but for $1 each, I decided I was ok with duplicates.

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I snagged 10 volumes in total, out of at least 25. While not ideal, these were originally $8 or so apiece when they were published, so I made out on the deal. To best of my knowledge, these all reprint issues of the Archie run of the title, that ran for over 200 issues.

But what about #Spawnquest?, you might wonder.

I did manage to find another dealer that had issues in the range I was looking for, each issue several dollars cheaper than the first dealer I’d found.

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So I snagged 20-22, 24, and 26 there.

A bit more browsing to wrap up, and I went back to the first dealer, where I picked up 23 and 27-29 to complete my Spawn 1-30 run.

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And on the second pass, I realized that one of the copies of #1 was $10, where I’d only seen $20; so for the novelty of it–AND for it being "only" the price of 2 throwaway/I-probably-couldn’t-care-less-in-general generic Marvel modern issues–I bought it. Which gives me a copy I have framed on the wall, one with a smallllll stack of "key" or "special" books, and this copy. I really like the cover, and I get more "joy" out of getting another copy (I believe I’ve now paid a grand total of $10.50 for actual Spawn #`1s!) than I’d get out of many other random issue-purchases.

I also bought #50 for $6. Which again–that’s no worse than a too-frequent $5.99 modern Marvel or DC issue. And only slightly more than the lowest-price Marvel or DC for an issue that’s a series I’m specifically interested in right now, and an issue that’s at least 20 years old!

Annnnd the way it worked out…for what I "saved" browsing further and finding the 2nd dealer with cheaper issues…that difference basically "paid for" the Spawn #1!

I think it would have been cheaper, though, if I’d "just" ordered these issues online. But not by MUCH…and I’d be waiting at least another week or week and a half for the shipping, plus having PAID for shipping. And I would not have had the "chance" of finding other stuff; and would not have found the Sonic digests.

So it was a bit of a gamble. But I’m happy for the immediate gratification of filling in the gap to know I have in my possession already #s 1-30. And #50 puts a nice boundary on the next stage of my #Spawnquest: I think I want to most focus on #s 31-49. Though if I find decent prices or bargain prices on other issues during the hunt, I’ll probably get those as well.

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Filed under: 2019 Non-Review posts, 2019 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Why Variants Have Me Dropping IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog on Principle

Posted on April 14, 2018 by Walt

I knew there was something kinda fishy going on with the first issue of IDW‘s Sonic the Hedgehog. But I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

I ended up at a second local shop in order to get the "A" cover of #1, despite thinking I had recognized the art of the cover I’d held in my hands, which was the "B" cover.

Then for #2, I was able to get the "A" cover with no problem, but again, the "B" (VARIANT) cover had seemed more familiar, and I wasn’t quite sure why, and didn’t think much about it.

sonic_a_covers_vs_advertised_covers

But then Saturday, something "clicked" and I realized what it might have been, so I opened to the back of both issues, finding the same double-page ad for the first four issues, and realized what was going on.

For the first issue, I’d specifically noticed the "Cover B" and put the issue back, despite a familiar-ish image, probably from seeing stuff about the series on Bleeding Cool or some other place online about the then-upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog #1.

For the second issue, I was able to get the cover marked as the "A" cover, and didn’t really think about it.

But the advertised covers–the double-page ad in the back of the issues, showcasing the first four weekly issues of the new series–show the "B" covers. The covers by the interior artist, which would be far more fitting as the PRIMARY, or "A" covers.

This severely bugs me, just on principle: part of the POINT of me consciously, specifically seeking out the "A" covers for any given series, IS THAT THE "A" COVER is the PRIMARY cover, the cover that is advertised, etc; and that it is the VARIANTS that come after, the B/C/D/E etc covers. And the VARIANT covers might be ALSO advertised…but generally "online" or places OTHER THAN the ads and "next issue" pages in the print edition; so if you only have the print edition to go on, there’s ONE cover image you’re looking for.

This flips that, and with NOTHING on the ad pages to indicate these are "B" covers–nor even that there are variant covers at all–I personally feel like it’s disingenuous at best. Worse still, I now feel like I have personally been "tricked" on this, AND I feel stuck with covers that ARE NOT THE ADVERTISED COVERS. I will NOT re-buy the two issues just to have the "correct" covers when I’ve already bought the other covers.

And on principle, I am DONE WITH THE SINGLE ISSUES. Just like that, cold turkey. On principle.

Maybe I’ll buy collected editions, but with IDW seemingly to RIGIDLY and PRIMARILY do 4-issue volumes–and with it being highly likely that the first volume collecting Sonic the Hedgehog will be only these first 4 weekly issues–at $17.99 or so, that’s way, Way, WAY too much for only 2 issues of (to me) "new content." And even if they do a smaller-trim volume (6"x9"?) in the $9.99-$12.99 range…that’s still too expensive for content I already have when they’ve already totally ticked me off on principle. (As opposed to me absolutely loving stuff and having a great experience with the whole thing and thus THEN being willing to simply "double dip")

So for mixing up "A" and "B" covers with what’s in print, what they "usually do," and what’s blatantly, actively advertised; for dealing in variants at all, this is a PRIME EXAMPLE of a publisher/series losing me due to variants.

Is it stupid, surfacey, petty, and "cutting off my nose to spite my face"? I’m sure many/MOST would go with THAT.

But to me, it’s stupid, surfacey, and petty of publishers to CONSTANTLY, for every single issue of every single series they ever publish, running with VARIANT covers.

And as said: when I feel like I’ve been tricked, when I feel like I’m stuck with the covers that I don’t want, and when this has resulted DESPITE my CONSCIOUS attention to detail in making sure I’ve gotten the "A" covers SPECIFICALLY…I’m far from feeling satisfied with my purchases.

And there are way too many comics out there at way too high a price for me to get everything that I’d like to, to get everything I have the slightest "interest" in, for me to be spending money on something where I’ve been manipulated or tricked, and am unhappy with what I own.

  • Is it "just a cover"? Then why does there have to be a variant?
  • Buy the cover you want? I specifically buy the "A" covers for consistency, because in recent memory, the "A" cover seems to always be the cover that is advertised. In this case, that’s flipped.
  • Change and buy the "B" cover going forward? Now that messes with my mental OCD, and consciously knowing subsequent such issues do not match/flow consistently.

I’m only one person. But I now have a negative feeling, a negative attitude toward this series; I’m jumping off 2 issues in and there’s plenty stacked against it on me picking up later volumes…and so I’m one less person to sing its praises (nostalgia or otherwise), and one more person with a negative experience.

And I am thus an example: YES, someone WILL actually, truly DROP A SERIES "just" because of the cover, "just" because of variants.

Because (like numbers) the cover does matter.

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Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | 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!

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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!

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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 April 4, 2018

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Walt

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

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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!

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

Sonic, Archie, and Mini Metal Figures

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Walt

I’m not sure how widespread the store is, but there are several instances of Ollie’s in northern Ohio. They’re a "closeouts" store with remaindered stock and whatnot that varies depending on when you’re actually there. For me, often the greatest finds are books, comics, and occasionally toys.

On a recent visit, I noticed a stack of graphic novels I’d seen before, and figured their stock had waned considerably since the last time I’d ben there.

Then I noticed a bunch of new "comics packs" for kids that looked interesting–a couple of them had volumes of Sonic Archives included.

After looking at a bunch, I found two packs that had stuff I wanted, and got them for $5 each–with 5 "comics" in each pack, that meant they were functionally $1 books.

ollies_bargains_sonic_and_archie_07012017

What most had my attention for actually purchasing was the $10 Archie books included, plus each pack had two of the Sonic books. (Each pack had a Garfield comic and a Sonic comic in addition, but are functionally throw-away for my interest).

Each of these Sonic Archives digests would have been $8 buying them new, and the Archie books $10 each. $10 got me all 6 books–a $52 "value."

I read a couple stories from the Archie Comics Super Special before I realized I’d started…so much for just flipping through! I guess the Archie/Valerie (of Josie and the Pussycats) romance was particularly interesting given Riverdale.

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And a Walmart I was in had these Nano Metalfigs for 97 cents (think Hotwheels pricing!) and I got a kick out of them. They had a couple different Batman figures but I didn’t care for the design, especially without companion Superman, Wonder Woman, etc. pieces.

The Spider-Man and Hulkbuster Iron Man are cool enough that I snagged them.

Then, since they had all 3 of the kids, got Harry, Ron, and Hermione from the Harry Potter group.

These would totally be at home in a $1 store, and I’d totally get more if there was more selection!

Then again, I don’t exactly "need" even more miniature figures/figurines to take up shelf space. But these would also likely be handy as boardgame piece substitutes and such, and I am a sucker for such miniatures…

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

A shelf o’ toys

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Walt

Been meaning to share this for awhile now. I finally acquired one of these Knape &Voght wall shelves, which meant more of my action figures ‘n such could come out of hiding/congregate upon it in the living room.

The thing pretty much speaks for itself…

Living Room Shelf #1 - June 11th, 2009

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »