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The Weekly Haul – Week of May 25th, 2016

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Walt

This is it–the week I’ve been looking forward to for awhile, at least a couple months!

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While I was disappointed to learn that–as I’d expected–Superman: Lois and Clark was NOT going to be some long-running ongoing series…the title’s got a darned good reason to not be continuing, as its purpose is basically ceded to the main titles.

And we have the final chapter of The Final Days of Superman in the final issue of the New 52 iteration OF the Superman title. This is the eighth chapter, that I want to say I’ve followed weekly now since at least the second chapter–I don’t recall if I had to wait a week to get the 2nd or if both were already out or not when I “gave in” on the Superman #50s.

Most importantly, though, we have DC Universe: Rebirth #1, a supposedly-80-page issue for $2.99. (What they neglect to advertise is that those pages include house ads for titles that begin showing up next week or so…there are only 68 STORY pages of actual content. Though I’ll certainly be drowned out in the general internet hubbub, I’ll touch on the three issues (primarily Rebirth) with tomorrow’s post.

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The second issue of the new Aliens series is out (I guess it HAS been a month already!), as well as the 25th issue of Letter 44, which though I’m way behind in reading I’ve been following since the bargain-priced $1 premiere issue grabbed my attention a couple years ago. IDW gets in on the action of self-promoting the top __ books everyone should buy from _____ (insert publisher. In this case, IDW!)

And doing what I hate, and giving me possibly my first big regret to the “standing TMNT order” for the pull list, IDW put out not only two issues of the TMNT line the same week instead of spacing them out, but two issues of the SAME TITLE, one being a totally ridiculous $5.99 ($6! What kid’s gonna drop $6 on this cartoon-based comic with some arbitrary sports star?!?) For TMNT Amazing Adventures, that makes this a $10 week!

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I swung by the other shop I sometimes get to, and ended up hitting the $1 bins…scoring several issues of Spawn that I don’t think I have…though the cover to #16 gives me serious déjà vu (making me think it’s 1. an image used on the cover of Wizard back in the day, 2. an issue I already have, and/or 3. an iconic image that stuck in my mind over the years from an ad [probably in Wizard if so!]). As I’m settling in with current issues and actually getting to enjoy them a bit and seeing more potential on the series, I’m increasingly interested in back issues, and kinda curious at how hard it would be for me to put together a run of the title.

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I also scored a couple other issues, as well as some “ephemera” (I love that word, perfectly describes a lotta the random crap I saved over the years. “Legitimizes” it and all that!).

The original first issue of the first mini-series of Savage Dragon, as well as a one-shot (or at least, just one issue here) continuing the Solar, Man of the Atom property back in the Acclaim days.

Ephemera-wise, there’s a promotional 75-cent Incredible Hulk ashcan; a Spawn comic originally packaged with one of the earlier action figures from McFarlane…and a Now Comics news-zine thing of some sort that piqued my curiosity enough to snag for 25 cents (though with Real Life going on right now, I haven’t a clue when I’ll get around to digging into it).

No collected volumes this week, no pending orders, etc… I’m burning out a bit from the stream of recent-ish purchases…and looking at a month of a crapload of DC titles.

That the DC books are gonna be $2.99 is SUCH a huge refresher, given the wealth of $3.99 stuff out there. Even stuff double-shipped that winds up costing $5.98/mo would be 40 content pages and is two issues rather than 2/3 of that for a single issue.

Surely much more discussion on that angle of topics soon.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Superman/Wonder Woman #29 [Review]

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Walt

supermanwonderwoman0029The Final Days of Superman part 7: Fire Line

Story and Words: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Colors: Alejandro Sanchez
Letters: Rob Leigh
Cover: Karl Kerschl
Assistant Editor: Andrew Marino
Group Editor: Eddie Berganza
Published by: DC Comics
Cover Date: July 2016
Cover Price: $3.99

This is it–the penultimate chapter of The Final Days of Superman, and of the New 52 Superman’s story, period, it would seem, at least as he’s been given to readers since September 2011.

We have Solar Flare Superman facing New 52 Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Meanwhile, Convergence/pre-Flashpoint Superman gets his wife and son to the fortress he’s kept secret from them, and he and his Lois have a ‘discussion’ over the matter. While Batman gets New 52 Lois away from Solar Flare, New 52 Superman and New 52 Wonder Woman do a number on Solar Flare Superman, before the Flare entity gains the upper hand. Learning of the ongoing battle, Supergirl leaves the DEO only partially-powered to join the fray, and we leave off with New 52 Superman in the clutches of Solar Flare.

Which is all a slightly obtuse, quasi-intentional way of expanding on the fact that not much of anything really HAPPENS here, except some pieces are moved around the board, marking time for the concluding chapter yet to come as we head into Rebirth itself as well next week…and to emphasize the fact that we have three different Supermen in play in this issue alone, as well as two Loises who don’t even meet.

Story-wise, this isn’t BAD at all–that’s not what I’m saying. But we basically have a big fight scene punctuated by accounting for several “subplots” (as much as such things actually exist in 2016 DC comics). Being well aware of this being chapter 7 of 8, and of what’s about to happen, and expecting it to unfold in the final chapter of this story and spill into the big Rebirth issue next week, I can’t truly fault the writing for not being able to DO much in this issue except move pieces around the board.

Visually I’m not enamored…while everyone’s quite recognizable, the linework just makes everyone look a bit “off” to me…and that is something firmly accentuated with the addition of color effects, to say nothing of just not caring for–or being used to–a Superman in any sort of armor, whatever its backstory/reason/necessity (or lack thereof). I also don’t care for the layouts…though they vary page to page, many pages seem to have too-big panels with too few words…and whether that’s art expanding to fill a lack of script or a script allowing an expansion of art, I’m not sure…but it makes $3.99 feel that much more expensive for the quick read this issue is as a whole (particularly compared against comics read this week from 1996, 20 years ago, purchased for 20 cents each!).

Finally, the cover isn’t all that appealing…I’ve not gone back to check out later printings of earlier chapters, though I saw a couple in passing and this one seems to fit those. The cover copy “Burning Love!” seems ill-placed as well, and the entire image is a bit misleading as Supergirl is not involved in the core action of this issue.

All in all…this issue is for those following the entirety of The Final Days of Superman, or completing a run of this particular title. If you’re just looking for the apparent death of the New 52 Superman, that should be next week; and if you’re not already following stuff, this chapter does not give enough to justify itself in and of itself for anyone to try to “jump in” just for this particular issue as any sort of “random” purchase.

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, DC, New 52, The, Superman/Wonder Woman | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul – Week of May 18, 2016

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Walt

For being a really small week with only one pull-list book and going in planning on one off-the-shelf book…this turned into a huge week of new-to-me comics!

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Been following–and quite enjoying–the Final Days of Superman story, if only for the fact of it being a multi-part story spanning four titles with a new chapter coming out each week, wherein I’m following the story itself and not so concerned about what title any given chapter falls in. Then there’s also Spawn, added to my pulls to support the high-numbering that’s been maintained through an age of renumbering/reboots/etc, as well as holding to the $2.99 price point amidst a sea of $3.99+ books. And I have yet to talk myself out of Power Man and Iron Fist, which I’ve thus far been enjoying overall.

And I’m definitely a fan of some of the Wizard specials…the Zero Hour book wound up costing me a whopping 20 cents this week!

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For $1 each–or all four of these for the price of a single Marvel–snagged these classic “digest” editions. No real rhyme or reason, just that they were there, lotta Batman on the cover, and they’re those classic digest editions!

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Getting into the bargain bins–freshly stocked, and I thought 25-cents-each (but turned out for the shop’s 29th-Anniversary-Sale, discounted to 20-cents-each), got a couple “shiny” dupes for the heckuvit. Then there’s The Longbow Hunters…I thought I was grabbing “all 3” issues but got home and realized that in my haste to delve into the fresh treasures of the expanded bargain bins, I only wound up with two distinct issues and a dupe-on-the-spot. Win some, lose some, I guess!

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First seven issues of The Power of Shazam!–dupes, all, but I recall several of my prior editions having some sticky residue or such, so worst-case, I have some dupes to choose between when I get to the sorting phase with my collection and that initial-pass to weed out dupes.

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Several one-off gems: a silver edition of The Strangers #1 as well as the mail-away The Solution #0. “Limited,” “hot” books around 1993/1994…25 cents here today! I’m kinda kicking myself for not snagging the bunch, but there were a number of The Brave and the Bold issues. My personal focus being Superman, though, I restrained myself from picking more up just because they were there. They weren’t in great condition, but for the novelty, I grabbed #150…thicker anniversary issue, and something just seemed really familiar to me–triggering nostalgia–with the cover. And then, even though it’s a bit wrinkly–probably water-damaged–DC Comics Presents #85, the “infamous” Swamp Thing issue I’ve been wanting to read or re-read or otherwise have…but couldn’t remember if another copy is truly hiding amidst my longboxes or not. For 25 cents (or as it turned out, 20 cents) absolutely a great purchase.

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Quasi-spoiling the find, I was unable to locate the fourth/final issue, but along with Underworld Unleashed #s 1-3, scored three special tie-in issues that I don’t think I’d ever consciously known existed…or sure didn’t remember, anyway.

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And then totally throwing my budget for the week out the window, nearly 50 issues of Wonder Woman. #s 89-136, and Annual #4. I’m truly curious now to “discover” what I actually own of this series…I have a bunch of early issues from a lot Dad bought for me years ago, and think I recall getting another run of issues somewhere in the 60-80 range, now this. Definitely a good way toward having the entire run, and at the very least, this purchase in itself gives me a four-year run of the title!

All in all…bought 75 or so comics, when I went in planning on 2. SOMEDAY I’ll get around to reading everything…

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The ’90s Revisited: Superman #112

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Walt

superman0112Superman’s Ex-Girlfriend Lois Lane

Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Ron Frenz and Joe Rubinstein
Lettering: John Costanza
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Color Separations: Digital Chameleon
Editors: Mike McAvennie and KC Carlson
Published by: DC Comics
Cover Date: June 1996
Cover Price: $1.95

This issue originally came out during a year or so that I’d stepped away from (Superman) comics. For whatever reason(s) I recall basically leaving off with the end of The Trial of Superman, checking in briefly for the Wedding Album issue, and then returning for the start of the "Electric Costume" stuff. So I’d actually missed this whole half-year/however-long "arc" where Clark and Lois had broken up.

And I guess that’s the thing for this issue: it kicks off the "breakup" arc, and the cover caught me this time about the way it did fifteen or so years ago when I originally filled that gap in my runs on the Superman titles.

Superman deals with an attempted prison break, and then he flies Lois to Mt. Fuji for some alone time to talk about where they’re headed. Unlike the previous time they did this, there is not a happy resolution, as Superman is pulled away to save lives, and Lois’ "point" is essentially proven–that Superman is "on call" more than even a doctor or fire/policeman, and "belongs" to the world more than he ever can to one individual.

The issue’s art is good overall, though the "tease" from the cover constrasts sharply with the bulk of the issue’s art. Reading this issue out of context and as a one-off thing, I’m not overly thrilled with the art compared to plenty of other instances I’ve loved art on a Superman book. However, that’s personal taste in general and not reflective of the quality of the art. This brings back plenty of memory for me of this period in the Super-titles, when they were basically a weekly book with a rotating creative team. There’s no "previously…" page, but as a weekly ongoing thing, there wasn’t really much need for one…I suspect one would have been reading ALL the Super-titles or none; as one of the former, I can’t imagine being able to stick with any single Superman title without the others.

Story-wise, this is a Jurgens issue, and by his name alone I’m pre-disposed to like this, given I tend to really enjoy any/all stuff he did with Superman (and to a degree, still does). This issue certainly is not a chunk of story totally in a vacuum for me–I am very much aware of (roughly) where this is situated in stuff–shortly after The Trial of Superman–and recalling the months-long arc of Superman and Lois "separated" and such, so I don’t have that sense of "what the heck was just happening???" heading into the issue, nor do I have any sense of "what comes next?". That we get some pages of Superman/Clark and Lois talking about things, a sense of what both are feeling, and (Clark especially) going through, this is a heartbreaking kinda story if one appreciates the characters and continuity from the mid/late 1990s.

The cover is what grabbed me for this particular purchase, and the memories it evoked–both with having part of the original image from Superman #59, as well as the first time I’d read this particular issue.

All in all, this was very much worth the 25 cents I paid, for the convenience of an immediate re-reading. As with too many comics I presently own, this was a "convenience purchase," as I already own the issue at least once if not twice over, and would just prefer at the moment to pay the 25 cents over digging through umpteen boxes to try to find it and pull it. (Plus, doing that is something different than grabbing a "random" ’90s issue out of a quarter bin.

I’d love to do a full, large-scale reread of ’90s Superman issues…but for now, I’ll content myself with sticking to occasional quarter-bin finds like this.

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Captain America Hot Wheels, Books on the Shelf, and Priest’s Black Panther

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Walt

I’m not a cars guy. Not “into” them, I don’t care about horsepower, the type of engine, special tires, speed, etc. They’re utilitarian, mine gets me from point A to point B (mostly, work) and the fanciest thing is that I have a license plate with the Superman S-shield printed right on it.

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So last Friday when I was wandering through a Walmart half hoping to find the Pop! Vinyl Black Panther (which they apparently did not stock or were sold out of) I did happen across several bins of Hot Wheels cars…and the Captain America #100 and Captain America & Bucky ones caught my attention.

I noticed they were numbered, indicating there were 8 cars total in the “set.” Me being me, the OCD kicked in and I “had to” see firstly if they had all 8 to begin with, secondly what they all looked like, and thirdly after completing a set in my cart, for the price, I failed to talk myself out of them. In an age where Target charges $13+ for a 3.75″ figure in minimal packaging and $20.59 for 6″ figures I remember getting for $5.99-$7.99 12 years ago…I was enthralled at the notion of buying a full set of 8 toys for less than $1 apiece (sure, 3 cents under, but still!).

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Also over the weekend I was able to get the new editions of the Death of Superman volumes shelved, officially “replacing” the original editions in the “main” shelf. As original editions and several of my earliest collected volumes from when such things were overall quite rare to exist, they’ll always have a place in my collection.

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And where I’ve been meaning to since last summer when I first checked out the Marvel Unlimited thing, I finally dove into Priest‘s Black Panther run again, reading the first 9 issues over the weekend (and more since saving the cover images, and by the time this post goes live, I’ll be even further into the run).

For ME, Priest‘s Black Panther is THE definitive take on the character, and the first 50 or so issues are the definitive run and a definite favorite piece of my entire collection of single issues, if only for the nostalgia of the covers. It’s rather scary to realize that it’s been nearly 18 years since this run originally began, and it ended about 13 years ago!

captain_america_hot_wheels_bStill…it’s great to have a film (Captain America: Civil War) inspire me to want to read something like this, spurring me into action…rather than leave me cold on something and end any particular enthusiasm toward “related material” the way a certain other film this year did.

While I really highly enjoyed the film and plan to see it again while it’s in theaters (something even Avengers: Age of Ultron failed to do last year), I do not know if I’ll get around to covering it here the way I did the aforementioned “certain other film this year.”

Seeing the new Cap film was a fun experience, the film itself was very good, and I really appreciated the way it ended with the story progressed, pieces set for Events Still To Come and yet it provided a sort of resolution that left me more satisfied than not with things.

And a re-increased interest in Captain America. Even while it also made me feel rather old, having realized that Chris Evans, Scarlet Johansson, and Elizabeth Olsen are all younger than me (to say nothing of a handful of other key Marvel Cinematic Universe actor/actresses.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

New Death of Superman Editions

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Walt

death_of_superman_new_editions_03Back in late 1992, possibly early 1993–VERY shortly after Superman #75 was published–a collected volume was rushed out, collecting the six Superman issues and the Justice League issue that made up the Doomsday! (now simply The Death of Superman) arc.

I have always considered it something that was rushed because on the back where they gave a cover gallery, several of the issues were obviously-marked (Roman Numerals) later printings…whoever had been tasked with designing the back cover did not even themselves have access (or care) to all first-print editions (and I say this assuming there were no digital images floating around back then to simply access and use).

And over 1993 we then got the Funeral for a Friend story collected as World Without a Superman, and then eventually a massive (even by contemporary standards!) The Return of Superman (my copy, bought at the time, was a whopping $14.95 or so..!).

Over the years, those volumes have remained in-print…with the only major difference that I have noticed being that the Death of Superman volume eventually was switched to the iconic Superman #75 cover image of the tattered cape amidst the wreckage of Doomsday’s rampage.

The volumes originated in a time where any such collected volume was a real rarity/novelty, and it was only the particularly “special” or truly “sold-out” major storylines that would get collected into a single-volume edition…and each was largely its own thing, existing as an isolated item. “Simple” as the spines were back then, my original editions, at least, look ok together, but do not match many “surrounding” volumes on the bookshelves…and other than “knowing” the three volumes belong together, there’s no real indicator of them, nor the order to read them in. I take such knowledge totally for granted, but especially in this day and age of constant deaths and resurrections and timey-wimey stuff and multiverses and pre-Flashpoints and New 52s…’nuff said.

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We now get five volumes–each more manageable than the Death and Return of Superman Omnibus, and admittedly higher prices…but also more content in the volumes–for example, the Death of Superman volume now contains the Newstime magazine that was published during all this; the Funeral for a Friend volume has the Legacy of Superman and the Supergirl/Team Luthor special; while what was formerly the single-volume The Return of Superman has been split in two–with the addition of the four ongoing titles’ Bloodlines annuals (each issue starring one of the Four Supermen) as well as the entirety of issues that had only had several pages reprinted.

And while it does not fit the “set” or “series” quite the same way, we have the inclusion of the Doomsday volume, giving us the Doomsday: Year One annual as well as the complete Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey along with Superman: The Doomsday Wars.

I believe podcaster and fellow blogger Michael Bailey said it on Facebook (and I wholeheartedly agree!) that probably a better fit for this volume would have been the early-2000s mini-series Superman: Day of Doom in place of The Doomsday Wars.

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Still, all in all, I love the new trade dress–the black bar with red logo/title text contrasts nicely with the images, and really make them look like part of the same series of books.

While I kinda question the wisdom of numbering the volumes (wondering if a 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 on the spine would put someone off from buying an isolated volume), I absolutely love that with the full set, part of the spines makes up a black box with the iconic (extremely so to me!) “bleeding S” that denotes the death of the Man of Steel.

This set gives me at least my 5th edition of the Death of Superman volume, and I have many of the issues in this set multiple times over. Yet, given what the saga means to me, on learning of these new editions’ existence and the inclusion of the specials and particularly the annuals…I was immediately interested. That the spines do what they do put me over the fence.

However, I did wait until these were available from InStockTrades, as I certainly was not going to buy all 5 at once at anything remotely approaching cover price, and even this was a hefty one-time amount to lay out. For saving 45%, though, I’m extremely pleased with the purchase, and having these volumes!

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, QUASI-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The Weekly Haul: Week of May 04, 2016

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Walt

Outside of several pretty hefty recent book purchases, actual comics made for a big week this week…and probably my widest, most “diverse” (publisher-wise) such haul in ages!

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In my main/regular/new issues, I have five publishers represented. I was not going to buy the Thunerbolts issue…while I’d greatly enjoyed the late-1990s/early-2000s and somewhat tried again with the series with Marvel Now, I’d trailed off. Something about this cover, though, just REALLY triggers the nostalgia factor for me. While I’d prefer the title be at the top of the cover, for the image they went with, it works…sadly, I am certain this “main” cover is hardly the only cover…thus it lacks the iconic status of the original 1997 Thunderbolts book.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, Thunderbolts (2016) #1 is only $3.99! I have been so extremely put-off by Marvel‘s high prices and the seeming stream of $4.99+ #1s that I’ve written ’em off as too expensive for my interest. I’d far prefer $2.99, but at this point I’ll “support” $3.99 OVER $4.99 for #1 issues, regardless of size (standard or extra…short me on size and the complaint’s renewed!)

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I’d picked up the first two issues of X-Men ’92 recently to “check them out,” having bought the series last year with the Secret Wars stuff…seeing the third issue, I decided to take a chance and buy this one so I’m “caught up” for the reading. I’d been quite surprised that the first couple issues were “only” $3.99 apiece…that #1 was not $4.99 was a major selling point for me!

A $1 issue from IDW, and a catalog of Marvel collected volumes round out the “normal” stuff for the week.

Which brings us to issues of timing, with their release falling on May 04.

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Star Wars Day seems to have become an official Thing, May 4th each year. As in “May the Fourth be with you.” So rather than stagger them across the entire month…Marvel threw us ten $1 reprints of #1 issues. For the price, I’m cool with them; they were pulled for me as part of my “$1 and under promo-priced stuff” part of my pull-list. In addition, I snagged an extra copy of several issues to give to coworkers.

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Given the relative (I believe) “recency” of several of the issues, I’m quite glad I waited. As is, I’m a bit miffed at these now-$1 copies of the $4.99 Star Wars #1 and Darth Vader #1 from last year…ditto on the Vader Down issue. Still, these give me a first-issue jumping-in point to help determine if I want to buy the trades…

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I also hit the quarter-bins, where I snagged several random-ish issues. The Wolverine issue brings back definite memories from when it was originally released, so I grabbed that on the nostalgia alone. I snagged the Captain Marvel because it was #1, did not have the other issues in the bin, and I wanted an ‘even number” of books. Turns out the Generation X/Gen13 books are variants of the same issue. I’m disgusted on principle but can’t be too upset…they’re wraparound covers, and I’m only out 50 cents for a double-length story.

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I totally forgot several weeks ago to follow up on an offer on the Guy Gardner issues–the store owner was planning on clearing them out “soon.” While I think I “missed out on” several early issues in the run, these issues are mostly what I recall being present at the time, so it all worked out in the end. I’m pretty sure somewhere in the Abyss that is my collection of longboxes I have the first 20+ issues–at least the bulk of the run before the book became Warrior…so I mostly passed on those for now, as I’m hoping to get the entirety of my comics collection sorted sooner than not…and I’m trying to exercise a bit of restraint in this regard (though adding 30 25-cent issues ($7.50) to an already cringe-inducingly large week on top of other expenditures may not be the most intelligent thing to do.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul – Week of April 27, 2016

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Walt

This seems to be a small week overall. I’d thought I had more stuff on my pulls than I actually had waiting for me.

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I’ve been looking forward to Aliens: Defiance for ages now; and I’m following the current Superman story as we head toward Rebirth, and wasn’t about to pass up the new Darkwing Duck (especially with no personal conflict–I have yet to have any problem with this publisher, while I’d’ve been quite conflicted if it was again a Boom product).

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Taking up some of the “slack” I did a final raid of the Essentials bargain bins. I got these four volumes for the price of a whopping TWO new Marvel single issues.

I honestly would’ve snagged a bunch of other volumes, but they were “later” numbered volumes in series that would be financially prohibitive to try to track down amidst everything else…to say nothing of simple shelf-space which has come to be a definite premium on the whole.

Then there’s the online stuff…where my doubt and stubbornness paid off in placing an order today that I’ll likely post about next week when it arrives. Along with the Age of Apocalypse Omnibus, it takes care of the “splurging” part of my tax return for the year, I think.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul – Week of April 20, 2016 (Bargain Bins)

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Walt

Along with my ‘regular’ purchases, stopped off at the other local comic shop, looking primarily for the Superman/Wonder Woman issue I was now missing in the current storyline…or so I thought. (Turns out the missing chapter is an issue of Batman/Superman, which would have been a really useful bit of information to have consciously had!

Not finding what I was there for, I hit the bargain bins and found a bunch of 25-cent comics of interest.

I also found another Ultraforce figure that I don’t believe I’d found before: Topaz.

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Best thing is the figure was only $2…a real “no brainer” for me for sure!

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I came across a bunch of Showcase issues. Here are the handful of Showcase ’93 and the couple Showcase ’96 I found. The Two-Face one–a chapter of Batman: Knightfall–is a duplicate, but one worth having, if only for filing purposes.

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And the gem of the bunch, the back half of Showcase ’94…making it relatively easy to mentally track…I just need to find issues 1-5!

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Most of Strangers 1-16. A bunch of those early issues are apparently ‘variants’ in that they have the UPC/barcode on the covers instead of “nothing” or a non-barcode that many “direct market” books had from this time period. Normally I’m not one for variants, but finding a near-complete run of a bunch of issues make it well worthwhile, especially for the price of one single contemporary Marvel issue.

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Turok, Sovereign Seven, and The Man of Steel were lone #1 issues…but what the hey? I’m half interested in how many copies of Turok I can amass; and the others never hurt to have extras. The “ashcans” were cool finds–I have ’em all somewhere, but they’re rather rare (in my experience) due to their size…either not being filed with comics that are then sold, or “hiding” because they’re smaller and thus passed over…at least in bargain bins.

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I know I have at least a couple of these Justice League America issues, but while pulling them I’d hoped there would be more, and then figured until I get my collection actually sorted again, not gonna hurt too much to have a larger isolated ‘run’ for now.

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I found myself working toward an ‘even number’ for my mental math of my stack, so grabbed a couple random-ish issues. One of the store workers was sorting through a small box of comics and tossed some more “recent” releases on the quarter bins…functionally giving me first crack at ’em, so I snagged the bottom row above.

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Whether I get around to them sooner than later or not, I always enjoy finding Superman comics from before the Death of Superman, and then several of the others are just ones I like, particularly for the iconic covers from an age when such things could stand uniquely and not be lost in an overwhelming sea of variants.

The older issue of Action Comics where Clark tells Lois he’s Superman is a first print…I recall there being at least two printings, so it’s cool to snag an extra copy of a first print like this.

Not that I’m unaware of it or anything, but I’m such a sucker for the ’90s, and continue to enjoy these finds much more than most new comics.

And while I recognize that I’m rather “spoiled” right now with relatively easy access to a number of shops with 25 and 50 cent bins and various bargain-bins…it’s still apalling to consider that I can buy 64 such comics like this…for the same price a mere FOUR new Marvel comics of 20 pages each. 80 pages of story, or 64 entire issues? Not hard to see the better value when one enjoys the bargain-bin finds.

I just wish I had so much more time to actually dig in and read and re-read stuff more frequently.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Weekly Haul – Week of April 20, 2016 (new stuff)

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Walt

This week ended up being a huge week for new comics stuff…far bigger than I’d had any intention or inkling before mid-day.

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DC‘s obviously getting back into my good graces (or at least attention) based on this week’s stuff. A JLA book for my $1-or-under/promo-priced pulls; Legends of Tomorrow since I enjoyed the first issue enough; Superman: Lois and Clark (seems to be prelude to stuff on a much larger scale than I’d imagined when the title started). Action Comics because I’m OCD and am interested in seeing what DOES actually happen with the New 52 Superman as well as sincerely wanting to ‘support’ an outwardly-indicated (aka “triangle numbering”) system of continuity in Super-books. And then Power Man and Iron Fist cuz ok, I’m a sucker.

Of course, I need to figure out and then track down whatever would be “triangle number” #2, as I have 1 and this is 3…where the heck is 2?!?

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Scored the two Essentials volumes from a $3 box…figuered hey, 25% cheaper than a single issue of a new Marvel comic…you betcha! I believe the X-Men one is all-new to me. The Classic X-Men is a replacement copy so I’ll have 2 of 3 volumes in the same trade dress instead of 3 volumes and 3 different trade dress styles.

And for the price of any of the recent DC #50s (or the Barnes & Noble/BaM! standard price of most issues) got a second print of Dark Knight Returns #2 (Dark Knight Triumphant)!

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And finally (of new stuff), the book I’ve been waiting for since last August finally came out (in a new/second printing), but now being ‘current’ and NOT “out of print” it was discounted significantly through instocktrades and thus “affordable” in a way that cover price–for me–is not.

I’d ordered this last week and it arrived today, neatly coinciding with New Comic Day.

Second print? Looks fine to me! Looks like it’ll match the Companion volume? That’s what I wanted. Saved nearly $60 off cover price? I’m great with that!

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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