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The Weekly Haul – Week of June 7th, 2017

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Walt

Despite hopes for a "small" week, found this to be a fairly large week, particularly with a couple of high-priced issues I hadn’t consciously planned on, particularly for the prices!

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Of course, the weekly Superman issue. Then, because it was there, snagged the Superman & Bugs Bunny issue/volume. $8 and I believe it reprints a 4-issue mini-series…so functionally $2/issue for a full story in one go? You betcha! And of course, Captain Atom and Predator with new issues this week.

I went ahead and snagged the Batman issue rather than waiting for my DCBS bundle shipment, having had stuff spoiled a bit thanks to Bleeding Cool, and figuring I’d want to read this sooner than later for myself instead of just going on second-hand information.

And I hadn’t known anything about the Steve Trevor issue–I actually thought it was some new series or mini-series, so didn’t want anything to do with it. Plus, I simply never cared for the character, period, til seeing the new Wonder Woman movie this past Friday. And with it being a one-shot and NOT jacked up to $4.99+, I opted to give it a shot. Though the presence of an alternate cover–such that I had no idea which cover was the variant and which was the "regular" nearly drove me to put it back and pass on it entirely.

I did pass entirely on Magnus #1 because there was a B cover and a C cover, but no A cover, and I hadn’t realized it was out this week to request it be pulled as I did a couple of the other issues! (Publishers: you LOSE people like me by conditioning me to "accept" variant covers’ existence, but then messing me up when I at least attempt to stick to the "A"/non-variant/regular/advertised cover and ALL that remains are variants withOUT even the "original"/actual/real cover!)

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With The Batman/TMNT Adventures wrapped, the "cartoon" TMNT series TMNT Amazing Adventures is back with (presumably) a mini-series…perhaps in lieu of an ongoing as stuff on the "2012 series" starts to wrap up with the final season (I believe) presently airing and all that. And I’m definitely on a Spawn kick at present…barring price increase or my getting hosed over a variant or such, I’m mostly intending to dig in and stick through #300 at least.

I didn’t even realize it til I got it home, but this issue of Reborn was $5.99! I think had I realized that, I might’ve passed on the issue for now. I’m not certain that I have all 5 previous issues–I might be missing an issue–but having "most" of the issues, I simply figured hey, next/new/final issue, why not? Though I’ll grant it a LITTLE more leeway than I would Marvel at this point, as they’ve totally "abused" the extra-priced issues. And I’ll gladly take an extra $2 for presumably twice the content, or at least an extra 50% of content, especially if it means holding to the established number of issues, even if they had to expand the page count (again looking at Marvel primarily for tacking extra issues on at the end of event series).

I also noticed that Batman: Dark Knight III finally had its "final" issue out, which itself is a DC book that added an extra issue (as I recall, it was supposed to have been an 8-issue series, not 9).

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Then, for good measure, apparently, as I approached the register, I saw three stacks of books. Curiosity got me and I looked at the price stickers: $1.00! So for the price of 1 DC Rebirth issue, snagged two hardcovers and a paperback collected volume. No idea, for example, if the Zombie Christmas Carol is a Marvel Zombies thing, or just a zombie theme applied to the classic Dickens tale (thinking the latter), and I know I don’t have the other two, so at least they’d be "something" to read someday.

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It’s been a fantastic year of movies already, and some of them are starting to come out for home release. Logan a couple weeks ago, and now the live-action Beauty and the Beast.

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And just because I had it in my ‘camera roll’ as I was transferring stuff for this post…a photo of my 43 or so Supermen at the moment. Once/whenever I get new bookcases assembled and stuff re-arranged, I’m pretty sure these guys are gonna have to split up–it’s getting harder to add new ones, and I’m not too keen on the statue straddling two bookcases, nor of "hiding" it amidst dozens of alternate counterparts.

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

The Weekend Haul – Weekend of June 2-4 2017

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Walt

While everyone else is covering Wonder Woman‘s opening weekend (I saw the film and thought it was fantastic, far more enjoyable and such than Man of Steel or Batman v Superman, and above Suicide Squad) I’m gonna continue on for now. Maybe I’ll write up lengthier, more in-depth thoughts, maybe not.

Prior to seeing the film, I made it to Kenmore to pick up my pulls, and after earlier in the day seeing a staff photo with the statues in the background (and still annoyed that someone bought the Robin statue I had intended to buy a week or two before I went to buy it) I opted to splurge big-time (for me) on this Superman statue.

superman_icons_statue_00

This is my first statue, at least as I’d consider stuff to be statues. I suppose the Super Powers Robin and Super Powers Superman that I have might be considered some sort of statue, but I don’t count ’em as such.

The box for this Icon Heroes Superman says "collectible statue paperweight" and I don’t quite get where "paperweight" comes in, but whatever. This is larger than any other Superman I’ve yet got, heavier, and has a base, and is very much a statue in my book!

superman_icons_statue_01

Though the face is a bit generic, and the "S" seems to be more New 52 to me offhand than not, it works (and the costume is more the classic–including the trunks!). I like the pose, and the "movement" of the cape…that it’s not just "flat" hanging off him.

superman_icons_statue_02

The "detail" of the yellow S on the back of the cape doesn’t seem to be a sticker, but does not seem to be "painted" on…probably some sort of transfer. No bother, though–it looks good to me!

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Comics-wise, had Letter 44, Highlander: The American Dream, and TMNT Universe on my pulls, and couldn’t remember if I’d had Aliens: Dead Orbit but managed to grab that from the shelf. And seeing this other Spawn cover (an updated take on the classic, original #1 issue cover), I bought it to pair with one of my copies of the original first issue for my wall. I’m treating it functionally like buying a small print, and not as a variant cover; regardless of nitpicking on words, though–it’s going to be displayed and not just simply be filed into some box o’ variants or such.

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I also snagged the Wonder Woman Day issues–a reprint of the first issue of the Rebirth run, and a chapter of SuperHero Girls: Summer Olympus. (Then on Saturday, I also snagged the cardboard tiara and bracers for a friend’s daughter from Comic Heaven along with an extra copy of the comics to go with ’em.)

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I spent a whopping $1 from the 25-cent bins on a couple older comics–The Flash and Brave and the Bold, then a ’90s Justice League Quarterly and the newsstand edition of Batman #500.

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Attending the Lake Effect Comic Con on Sunday, I completed my (now-vintage) original set of TMNT: City at War for the same price as some Marvel contemporary #1 issues. And got the X-Men Forever 2 volumes as a 3/$10 deal.

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I also snagged this Marvel Treasury Edition of Superman and Spider-Man for a whopping $5.

This is a bit of a "novelty" for me–I believe the only other "treasury" type issues I have are far more recent–a reprint of GI Joe #1 a friend gave me, and an IDW edition of TMNT #50.

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I got this Batman at a Barnes and Noble, and a Wolverine I had ordered arrived.

While at the Lake Effect Comic Con, I found a dealer than had a large selection of these Pop! figures…but they all seemed to be marked up quite high–far above anything I was willing to pay. I feel "vindicated" (so to speak) on having ordered this Wolverine, and I bought the Batman in a foolish sort of passive-spite, being able to get it at a "regular" price.

Overall, an extremely expensive weekend, particularly with some other stuff I’d ordered (and forgot about).

Here’s hoping this week’s new comics are another very light load!

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

History of the TMNT in Action Figures: Leonardo Box Set

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Walt

I first saw this box set quite awhile back–probably late 2015, if not late 2014. It was interesting enough..and fairly appealing to me, as "traditionally" Leonardo was always my favorite of the four turtles (though over the years I’ve come to appreciate Raphael and it’s a toss-up on which of the two I’d claim as my favorite at any given moment).

So a box set with 8 of 9 major iterations over the years? Pretty nifty…but the price always seemed so ridiculously high for "just" a display piece like this…and then in it BEING a "display piece," something that would "just" sit around.

history_of_tmnt_feat_leonardo_front

But I found it on "clearance" at Toys R Us, and the price was a lot more reasonable, pulling it down to "tempting" and getting me to "think about it." After stewing on it for a couple weeks, I went into a TRU store figuring I’d go ahead and buy one if they actually still had it (and for the clearance pricing).

history_of_tmnt_feat_leonardo_back

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the store I was in had two of these left…but moreso, they had TMNT stuff 20% off…which included this (20% off the clearance price!).

So for what amounted to roughly $4.60 per figure, I went ahead and bought this. While the only "new" to me figures are the Movie Star Leonardo, the Next Mutation Leonardo, and the Fast Forward Leonardo, at contemporary new-in-box figures’ pricing, this was still worthwhile; and the "extra" copies of the other figures just made for an even better value!

If you want to see more detail about the contents of the figures and what this looks like out of the box, there’s a great video on YouTube with all of that covered.

What I’ll show off below is the back of the box, the actual "history" or "timeline" provided.

history_of_tmnt_feat_leonardo_1984

While this one is billed as the 1984 version, this figure is actually just from the last several years–a wave of "variant" turtles with the sculpts based on the original comics’ style. Years earlier, NECA had done a series in this style as well (2010 or so, perhaps–before the Mirage sale of the property to Viacom/Nikelodeon or the current animated series.

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I had the original 1988 figure in its 1990-ish iteration; I also have the more recent re-release via the TMNT Classics line.

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I’m very disappointed that this figure doesn’t come with the belt…it looks "naked" without it. (Isn’t it amazing how complete or "clothed" the characters look with JUST a belt?!?). Based on that YouTube review, I do know without unboxing this set that the figure is not the flexible, rubbery material, so I’m a little less disappointed, as I definitely want to get the rest of these "Movie Star" TMNT (I already have Donatello).

history_of_tmnt_feat_leonardo_1997

I don’t consciously remember seeing any of these at the moment, though I’d be surprised if I hadn’t–but by the time these would’ve been in stores, I was heavy into comics over getting TMNT figures; and I was never particularly enamored with the Next Mutation as it was. Like the reviewer in the video, I agree at it seeming odd to have this "art" image instead of a still from the show…but I’m guessing perhaps this is at least "card art" from the line?

history_of_tmnt_feat_leonardo_2003

I still have my original 2003 Leonardo that I bought that January day in 2003, shortly before the premiere of the new series. I’d either actually seen or was hunting them down, and found the turtles while with a friend, and I believe I at least got all four turtles in one purchase, though I don’t recall on the other characters.

history_of_tmnt_feat_leonardo_2005

I’d trailed off a bit by the time the show went to Fast Forward, and as such had no real context for any of the newer characters, and with occasional/rare exceptions have never much cared for a bunch of "variants" on a character within the same line…and I probably considered Fast Forward to just be a "wave," probably like the current Tales of the TMNT branding/re-issues going on with the present line.

history_of_tmnt_feat_leonardo_2012

Of course I have the 2012 one–I’ve got more of the "current" line than I care to admit, though I’ve passed on plenty of characters and spent way too much time/effort hunting down other characters. I even bought a newer iteration of this "basic" figure to have on my desk at work at my last job.

history_of_tmnt_feat_leonardo_2014

I also had the 2014 movie Leo, and I think also Raphael, though I’m not sure where he’s gotten to at present. I was not particularly thrilled with the 2014 film…though I found the 2016 one to be surprisingly entertaining, especially by comparison, though I "missed" its theatrical run.

Based on info from that video review of this set, I was reminded of the missing 2007 film version of Leonardo…and that’s one that I’d actually like to get. I suspect, though, that with the destruction of the mold or such, that’ll be harder to come by than any of the other versions, thanks to the COLLECTOR-for-MONEY mindset on stuff (as I’ve been perfectly happy with various reissues of classic figures and don’t care if I get an actual VINTAGE "Party Wagon" or the more recent "print run," whichever is cheaper for roughly the same (good) condition!

I have a hard time justifying $15+ for a single figure, and even $9 makes me stop and "think hard" about it. But if you’re interested in this and can find it, seems at present that Toys R Us has whatever limited stock remains in stores of this set for a little over $40, which is quite worthwhile if the interest is there for you! (and still cheaper than most single "statues," so this is worthwhile at this price even if only as a static display piece!)

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

The Rocksteady Three – TMNT Toys

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Walt

Last year, I showed off all 3 versions of Bebop in action figure format. Now it’s time to show off Rocksteady the same way!

rocksteady_80s

Here’s the original figure, from the 1980s line. This is a genuine, vintage Rocksteady…though unfortunately, I’ve been unable to locate my original original figure, so this is one I was able to get for a very reasonable price online not too long ago.

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Then we have the newer version, as seen in the current animated series. I find this one to be a lot more angular and "rough" compared to the softer/"rounder" original. Like Bebop, this version of Rocksteady is Rocksteady in nickname, not the actual character–at least originally, prior to being dubbed "Rocksteady."

rocksteady_2016movie

And here’s the 2016 movie version, TMNT: Out of the Shadows. Like the movie Bebop, this one looks like some sort of biker or such, certainly a bruiser, and not at all like anyone I’d want to meet randomly…anywhere. Perhaps simply for having been a (CGI) character in a live-action movie, this version seems the most "believable" or "realistic" of the three, though each certainly has its place!

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And here are all three versions side-by-side.

It’s rather interesting to me to consider that I’ve been around long enough, that I’ve been into TMNT long enough that there’ve been three entirely separate toy lines, such that I’ve found all three versions (originally) "on the pegs" at stores.

I’m not sure which version of these I’d prefer if I had to choose one…perhaps for nostalgia’s sake, I’d have to go with the original, even though I’m not a huge fan of the character, exactly.

Again as with Bebop, I’d much prefer to see a version based on the contemporary IDW comics series,where I feel like the characters have been handled the best of all the iterations.

I’m probably dreamin’, though!

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

New Toys: Foot Cruiser, Supermen, and Munchkin

Posted on May 12, 2017 by Walt

Last weekend, I finally pulled the trigger on buying a Foot Cruiser I’d seen at a local vintage toys store.

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This is–from what I understand and recall–one of the earlier vehicle toys for the TMNT toy line in the ’80s. Story-wise, I believe this is supposed to be a flying car–one that Shredder got ahold of that was left behind by the Neutrinos.

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I found that I really liked the coloring of it, and got it into my head that I did actually want it, though I’ve typically held to "just" getting the "van" vehicle for the TMNT lines as the "iconic" vehicle, never having cared to drop the kinda money required for a Technodrome toy.

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And of course, it goes quite well with a couple of Foot soldiers riding about, wouldn’t you say?

Along the way, I’d come across this Superman pack, containing a figure from five different toy lines; though the Justice League Unlimited figure is a "repaint"–I believe the line had ended well before the onset of the New 52 and the trunks-less costume.

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With the addition of these figures to a shelf full of Supermen already, I may need to expand to a second shelf or otherwise spread stuff out a bit more…or pack ’em tighter together!

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It also helped–in deciding to purchase this–that it was on clearance, making the figures individually MUCH better priced than most of them ever were as individuals! I’ve got my eye on a TMNT pack like this with a bunch of Leonardo figures, but that will certainly have to wait til after some other paycheck, assuming it’s even still available by the time I’d opt to go looking for it!

Finally, over the last few months, I’ve added to my Munchkin collection, with Munchkin X-Men as a surprise discovery on Amazon a week or two back.

new_munchkin_games

While they’re admittedly more "open space" than not, I found that I’ve really liked the "Munchkin Deluxe" editions with the square boxes, giving them more of a board game look than just a card game. And with the Guest Artist Editions also getting the same box treatmen, I’ve snagged a couple on sale. The Munchkin Legends I came across (surprisingly!) for 50% off as a sale price at Kenmore on Free Comic Book Day, and didn’t care to talk myself out of it, since I’d already been "interested" and resigned to the likelihood of having to pay "full price" minimum for it.

I’ve learned that the Star Wars collectible card/dice game from Fantasy Flight Games is "back in stock," and even saw some boosters last weekend. I was VERY interested in it back in late February/early March…but with the original set now being in-stock ALONGSIDE an EXPANSION set, with both in very limited quantities…combined with other comics, books/graphic novels, games, etc. that I’m also interested in–I’m just not gonna chase the game. Granted, the company vastly underestimated what demand would be and it was highly under-produced…but stuff I’ve read about the limited quantities of the base set and price-gouging I’ve seen on the secondary market…I’m gonna stick with finite, "fixed" games.

Like Munchkin.

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

The Weekly Haul – Week of May 10th, 2017

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Walt

This was a pretty "simple" week, compared to the last several, with only two things I’d consciously planned on getting.

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The new Superman issue of the week, in Action Comics…and the final (late?) chapter of the Batman/TMNT Adventures mini. Then I also decided to check out The Lazarus Contract, and after it’s been how many months, snagged what I believe is the final chapter of A.D. After Death. And I had not realized it at the time when I ordered it, but Rise of the Dungeon Master turned out to be essentially a graphic novel format!

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I happened to peek at the bargain bins at Comic Heaven and found a number of New 52-era paperbacks on sale. For the same price as general Marvel #1s, I snagged these four collected volumes (each with at LEAST 4 issues’ content apiece!). I may be annoyed if DC does an omnibus of this series, but probably not too much–I have most of the rest of the "Constantine Library" in paperback (a couple volumes of The Hellblazer from DC You to track down, and decide if (probably, grudgingly yes) I want to count Justice League Dark and hunt those down, outside of the main long-running Hellblazer series from Vertigo).

Sadly, due to a delay, The Button did not conclude this week, but I believe that’s out next week…and now there’s this Titans/Teen Titans/Deathstroke crossover…following Superman Reborni and The Button, DC is managing quite a string of stories to really have me looking forward to the weekly comic shop runs for at least one, if not more titles…

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

The Weekly Haul – Week of May 3rd, 2017

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Walt

This ended up being a "decent’ week of new comics–not horrendously expensive, but not all that small or cheap, either! But a bit of a spread on stuff I’ve been looking forward to, stuff I continue with, and some new stuff. Though it would have included Youngblood #1…except–thanks to all the variant covers–the "advertised" cover on the Image website was NOT available. Since I couldn’t get the advertised (and thus assumed to be "standard" or "basic" or "CVR A" or "regular") I did not buy the issue at all…and they lose any chance of my buying into nostalgia and trying any further issues. For screwing around with variants, they lose me entirely.

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This week sees part 3 of the Batman/Flash crossover The Button. A new Superman issue. Though I don’t plan to follow all 12 issues offhand, curious about the Bane: Conquest series, and the cover having a familiar-ish font for the logo and iconic look in itself as an image. New Captain Atom…and a couple new Ninja Turtles!

I am ESPECIALLY happy to see the return of the "classic" ’80s TMNT logo on the Funko Universe issue. E, after even the "classic" toys line adopted a "corrupted" form to make it look more like the newer branding!

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Having just last weekend "caught up" on the Life and Death mega-arc through the AvP properties, I’m rather keen for more all around, so definitely welcome this new Predator series.

I missed the Kamandi Challenge issue last week. And as to Swordquest….twenty-five cents. Not about to pass up that one…all the more with my nostalgia-factor kicked into high gear lately on stuff after listening to the unabridged audiobook of Ready Player One (and presently being "on the hunt" for War Games to watch for myself!).

No bargain/back-issues this Wednesday, no collected volumes.

We’ll see what’s waiting at week’s end…and Free Comic Book Day…and of course, the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie premieres tonight/Friday.

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Newer Books I’d Been Looking Forward To

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Walt

While a lot of books and such that I get are relatively spur-of-the-moment, there are certain volumes that I’ll know exist(ed) or learn will be coming out sometime in the future that I’ll particularly look forward to. Several of these converged into just a couple days last week, though several more days were involved in terms of spacing of orders placed.

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Awhile back, Bleeding Cool and their “glitch watch” had a piece up about a number of volumes heavily discounted on Amazon, including 50% off the then-upcoming Batman: Knightfall Omnibus vol. 1. With their “pre-order price guarantee,” I figured I’d jump on it for this one, as the price (for me) then had nowhere to go but down, and at a starting point of 50% off, anything else would be icing on the cake. Of course, I seemed to have gotten in at the lowest price, and though a week after comic shops, my card was charged and the book came, so it’s now a part of my collection.

Though it’s got some slight dings/dents…with stuff going on in “real life” right now, I do NOT have the “heart” to fight Amazon over the condition of the thing! Especially as it’s the sort of stuff that I’d honestly “expect” or “accept” buying such a volume in a comic shop or certainly at a used-books shop.

Plus, I’m hoping that this will truly be a definitive edition, and sturdier than the thick paperbacks I’ve been afraid to use for re-reading for fear of killing the spines.

aliens_original_series_and_bug_hunt

Then, in the Aliens side of things, I hadn’t expected either of these volumes out until the 26th of April–“Aliens Day,” (LV-426). However, I realized that the hardcover of Aliens: The Original Comics Series Nightmare Asylum and Earth War was already out/available; so I ordered that through InStockTrades. A few days later, checking up on the exact release date and price for the anthology volum Aliens: Bug Hunt, I learned that it, too, was already available on Amazon.

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Along with the Aliens original series, I also ordered The TMNT 100 Project. At the same time that I was checking on the Bug Hunt volume, I saw that Amazon had TMNT: The IDW Collection V2 back in stock and for as steep a discount as I could expect from InStockTrades…though the latter did NOT have it in stock, so I placed the order through Amazon.

Despite some 5 days’ difference in placing these two orders, all four volumes arrived on Friday.

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The Knightfall volume doesn’t actually have room on the shelf at the immediate moment. I’m hesitant to ditch the paperbacks entirely until the 2nd Omnibus is out this summer…and my entire collection has grown enough in areas over the past year-plus that I need to do a mix of weeding and adding a couple additional bookcases to hold stuff and spread things out so it’s not all crammed together.

aliens_on_the_shelf

It’s sort of amazing to think that the two “Original Comics” Aliens hardcovers’ content is crammed into the Aliens Omnibus vol. 1…but the size difference is also amazing, and far preferable in the larger format. That said, until or unless all the other stuff would get reprinted in this format, I’ll settle for the larger “library” with some doubling-up of actual content with the different editions.

I’m also looking forward to/hoping for another volume like The Complete Fire and Stone volume for the concludes-this-week Life and Death mega-arc from the past year or so.

tmnt_idw_on_the_shelf

I believe that, at last, I’m actually up-to-date/current with IDW‘s releases on the TMNT Adventures volumes as well as the TMNT: The IDW Collection volumes. The IDW Collection volumes–as only 4 volumes–surpass where I’d left off with getting the paperbacks of the ongoing series, the Micro-Series, and the various other mini-series they’d done. And these hardcovers are far superior as they reprint stuff in more of a story-order, where one does NOT have to switch back and forth between multiple volumes to get the proper experience of developments in continuity.

This is the point I’d looked forward to getting to a year and a half or two years ago or whenever it was they started these editions–stopping me in my tracks on the paperbacks.

I suppose I’d also like to note that apparently the TMNT: The IDW Collection V2 had managed to either go outright out of PRINT or at least out of stock… whatever the case, it was enough for third-party Amazon sellers to jack the pricing up to ridiculously astronomical prices. Several weeks ago, I saw something from Diamond with the volume on a list of “Back in Print” stuff, so simply waited for it to show up at a reasonable price again.

This reprinting/re-availability of a “middle volume” is something that it seems like Marvel in particular does NOT do: if something from them goes out of print, it STAYS out of print, at least until they do a whole new trade dress/presentation of something…which then means that even if the story is available again, the volume no longer “fits” into a series on a shelf.

This is one of the primary reasons I’ve NOT continued with the Cable & Deadpool paperbacks, nor gotten into the Deadpool Classic books: I’d love to get them, but I simply DO NOT TRUST Marvel to keep/have them in print long enough for me to actually get the entire series…and I absolutely do not want to get 6 or 7 or even 9 or 11 volumes in, just to suddenly have the final few only available to me for quadruple-or-more the cover price (when cover price itself is far more expensive than I’ve any interest in for the books)…or worse, have a random volume here and there out of print where I can’t even GET more than 3-4 volumes in a “run”.

But I suppose that gets into stuff for another post sometime.

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

More Vintage TMNT Figures: Ace Duck and Fugitoid

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Walt

I’d actually pretty much forgotten about a local vintage toy shop, Retroland Toys. In definite need of distraction from stuff going on ‘in real life’, I ended up stopping in last Friday–I think it’d been at least a year, if not a couple years since the last time I’d stopped in.

Given my recent-ish hunting down of vintage TMNT toys, I was curious as to what their stock and prices were like, particularly in comparison to Big Fun in Cleveland Heights.

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They had a decent assortment of the older TMNT figures; nothing that particularly surprised me, but I was rather excited to note they have a Foot Cruiser and a couple of really good-condition Man Ray/Ray Fillet figures…making me think I do want to get a “replacement” even though I’m not gonna flat-out get rid of my original of the figure.

They also had a number of variant turtles–sports turtles, military turtles, surfer turtles, and I found a couple of rocker turtles. (There were a bunch of figures and vehicles in a display case, and then a bin of individual figures bagged with accessories in a bin next to the case).

And for what I was half-expecting…VERY GOOD prices! A couple had prices a little bit out there, but for the most part they all seemed to be $10 or a little under, with the vehicles in the $20 range. Basically, the prices are perfectly on par with buying any new contemporary figure/vehicle, if not cheaper.

I ended up deciding to get Ace Duck and Fugitoid, with Ace Duck having been fairly tops in my mind as the next reasonable figure to be able to get.

I also “randomly” remembered over the weekend that I used to have the “Wacky Action” Shredder figure, so I’ve added that to my list…and I’ve added Ray Fillet.

Overall, for figures that seem relatively common-ish that may not be terribly hard to track down, I think I’m pretty much left with Ray Fillet, Splinter, Tattoo, and the Foot Cruiser. Hothead, Wacky Action Shredder, the Robotic Foot Soldier, the 5″ Krang/Android Body, and the “Toon” Shredder & Neutrinos I don’t think I’ve actually seen in person since seeing them on pegs over 20 years ago when they were new and I passed on them at the time.

I also suspect the Party Wagon will be a bit hard to find intact. My own is a “shell” with the top missing, numerous accessories missing, and so on…and mine’s in pretty darned good condition compared to several I’ve seen online. I don’t care about most accessories for it, but want the main outer part to look whole and not be missing anything obvious.

From these, I suspect it’ll be down the rabbit hole on tracking down other figures or “coming across them” “in the wild”–Star Trek TMNT and Cave Turtle TMNT and whatnot…perhaps a replacement or replacement parts for the Turtle Blimp.

My primary checklist thus currently stands as the following:

Replacements

  • Ace Duck
  • Baxter Stockman
  • Fugitoid
  • Rocksteady
  • Triceraton
  • Splinter
  • Ray Fillet
  • Wacky Action Shredder
  • Party Wagon (vehicle)

New (to me)

  • General Traag
  • Rat King
  • Leatherhead
  • Usagi Yojimbo
  • Dirtbag
  • Tattoo
  • Wyrm
  • April II
  • Merdude
  • Hothead
  • Krang’s Android Body (regular figure size)
  • Robotic Foot Soldier(s)
  • Toon Shreder
  • Dask (Neutrino)
  • Kala (Neutrino)
  • Zak (Neutrino) (if radically different from the ‘non-Toon’ version)
  • Movie Star Leo
  • Movie Star Mike
  • Movie Star Raph
  • Foot Cruiser (vehicle)

more_vintage_tmnt_fugitoid_ace_duck_blogtrailer

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

New TMNT Toys: Super Shredder, Crimson Leader, and Muckman

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Walt

I finally tracked down the new Tales of the TMNT: Super Shredder figure. After seeing the wave back in early January (and stupidly "passing" on any of the characters) I then found myself highly interested in at least Super Shredder himself…said interest ramped up once I finally got the DVD and got to SEE some of the episodes with the character!

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Here’s the figure, still on the card. I intend to get him off it, but that hasn’t quite happened just yet.

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Here’s the back of the card. We see simply Super Shredder, and the four turtles variants. While they’re not horrible by any means, they’re "just" variants, and not particularly interesting to me, nor nostalgia-inducing or eye-catching, etc.

I was initially actually partly turned off BY the back of the card for this wave–I’ve long disliked the "generic" cards, far preferring the individualized ones, where you know simply by the card itself what figure it came with, and details are tailored TO the specific character!

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This time around, after checking numerous Walmarts, Toys R Us, and Target stores, when I found the figures actually in stock again, I was surprised by a couple of figures I’d had zero expectation of seeing.

Crimson Leader is one of them.

Didn’t remember seeing Tiger Claw quite like this (maybe I fell asleep or didn’t get as far into the DVD as I’d thought) so had zero expectation of a figure; didn’t know that I didn’t know and all that.

I nearly passed on it…but on the off-chance that I’d change my mind, I opted to buy it, to prevent an extremely expensive-through-buying-other-stuff-by-being-in-stores-I-otherwise-wouldn’t-be-in campaign later hunting for this later.

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The biggest surprise to me was finding Muckman!

I’d have sworn I saw something about the figure at least a year back, maybe 2-ish, that a prototype had been created but the figure was then cancelled (to my definite disappointment).

When I saw the figure on the box of a new version of one of the vehicles for this line, I thought it was an old one, and had gotten past QC or some such since the figure had been cancelled

So finding this in-person, seeing it almost simultaneously with Super Shredder, I grabbed it off the peg, added it to my cart, and couldn’t wait to get out of the store with it to get it home and opened.

muckman2012_back

Here’s the back of Muckman’s card. Doing away with the Dimension X wave and such, we have some figures both new, recent, and old.

A couple versions of each turtle–the "Spyline" TMNT and the "Super Ninja" TMNT. We have the "regular" non-serpent Karai, a couple of "Ninja Action" turtles, and three of the Mutanimals.

On the "bad guys" side, we have Super Shredder and Crimson Leader…despite this figure obviously having a different sort of card back than the Super Shredder-specific figures.

Recent-ish figures like Armaggon and Robug are here, as well as mid-time figures like the mutant Shredders, Bebop, Rocksteady, and the Robotic Foot Soldier. I’m not sure if I’m glad to se Stockman-Fly hanging around…though I’m rather surprised at seeing Dogpound BACK in the mix…especially with ALSO having Rahzar in this same mix.

C’est la vie, I guess..!

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Muckman’s profile bit…

muckman2012_figure

…And the figure already out of his packaging/off the card!

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A slightly larger view of the figures on the card back for the good guys…

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…and the bad.

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And finally, the "classic" Muckman side-by-side with "new" Muckman.

I’m rather disappointed with the new one NOT having the manhole-cover foot…I know I’d seen an image of a "prototype" WITH it; it wasn’t til I had this figure out of its package that I realized the difference.

Annoying as some stuff is with over-reverence of the ’80s animated series…when there ARE good nods back with the TOYS I tend to quite appreciate it…it’s a small detail that would have REALLY made this a great figure in the nostalgic sense.

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

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