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A Wave of GI Joe

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Walt

I actually (finally) completed the first wave of the Walmart-exclusive(?) "retro" GI Joe line!

I’m a total sucker for these, as I never really got "into" the brand as a kid. I consider my "official" intro to be September 2001 when (thanks to my friend Lonnie) I checked out the first issue of Devil’s Due‘s GI Joe comic series. I lapsed pretty quickly–initially–but wound up getting back into the series a couple years later, thanks in large part to Lonnie‘s purchase of Master & Apprentice #1 which I should have "picked up on" as I knew he already had it. As we walked outta the comic shop, he pulled it out of his bag and handed it to me.

I then followed the new (from Devil’s Due) stuff for years, and was definitely keen on the IDW continuation (by Larry Hama himself!) of the Marvel series–including original numbering.

I’ve long been much more interested in the story–and the idea of the story–than the toys; particularly given the relative lack of toys for me as an "adult collector" while wielding "adult money."

I bowed out on the GI Joe Classified line due to frustrations with Target-exclusives, price point, and all the crap around that.

These Walmart-exclusive figures have actually been attainable! AND they’re 1/3 cheaper than the larger figures, and hit more of a nostalgia button for me.

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Now, before anyone jumps on me for it–the Cobra Commander figure is–I believe–from a 25th anniversary line of retro-style figures; I bought it last summer because it was there and looked cool and, as it turns out, was a mere $2 more than these brand-new figures.

I believe there’s already a second wave of these, but it’s taken me months just to track these down–and I’ve had to "settle" for damaged packaging, both from the store and their online shipping, just to get these at all.

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I’m not overly impressed with the A.W.E. Striker…but I am with the H.I.S.S. Tank! I’m usually not really one for "vehicles" anymore, especially with lack of space to display ’em properly (a large part of so many toys remaining packaged lately is that I flat-out lack the open space/surface area to display stuff). But the retro packaging absolutely "sold" me on the tank. The Striker is more for the "completionist" in me.

It seems a shame that Playmates doesn’t have a "retro" TMNT line out right now. They’ve been putting out some limited box sets of the oldest base figures, but I’d be all over a bunch of the post-original-first-wave of TMNT same as I’m all over all these GI Joe figures…and vehicles. Let alone the Masters of the Universe line! (Which will, itself, be another post sometime).

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

NECA TMNT: Movie Splinter/Shredder and Cartoon Triceratons

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Walt

I was (pleasantly!) shocked last Friday browsing a local Walmart.

In the 7-8 MONTHS that the chain has exxxxxxxclusivvvvvvvely had NECA TMNT movie figures, I’ve never so much as seen a single figure.

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Buuuuuut finally came across a lone two-pack: Shredder and Splinter!

So, snagged it on principle. It would be great to find one of the Foot packs, but who knows. It’d be EVEN BETTER to just simply be able to order the figures in general withOUT being limited to a SINGLE WEEK that happens ONLY ONE TIME EVER. To have a product that is simply produced, in reasonable numbers to meet demand, and last over time. Especially for generic/army-building.

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Then, over the weekend–Saturday–with rumours and a couple of Facebook sightings shared during the week, ventured out to Target about 40 minutes away and lucked across Zarax and Zork…which (with last summer‘s Slash and Leatherhead "pre-order") brings me current except for the April vs. Foot Soldier box.

I wouldn’t mind getting a couple of the generic Triceraton grunt…but while that’d be cool for mini-army-building, when I’d gotten the original Playmates Triceraton in the ’80s prior to reading the comics, I’d thought the character’s NAME was simply "Triceraton" and it wasn’t until the 2003 cartoon’s toyline got to having Trieratons that I snagged multiples. And given the nature of NECA‘s line…yeah.

While I’m (7+ months later) finally getting close to "current" with the line and while NECA DOES seem to have handled the Krang’s Android Body and Baxter and Splinter release farrrrrrrr better than any prevous release…I do NOT yet "trust" them.

I suppose THAT could come depending on how they handle the upcoming Rat King and Vernon and Frogs and Ace Duck and such.

In the meantime, though…I continue to willfully NOT buy any OTHER NECA products as long as I am missing any previously-released TMNT boxes–which for now, is that April vs. Foot Soldier one.

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Due to the extreme hassle of finding ANY of the boxes in general, even when I WOULD find one, I’ve NOT opened any of the figures, as I’m loathe to display them on a shelf with the looming notion of being done with the line. I’ve "grudgingly" built up a stack of the things over the last 14 or so months, though.

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

Lanard Aliens Collection 2021

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Walt

It was right about a year ago–1/28/2020–that I happened across Lanard‘s Alien Collection figures for their 2020 output. They had a 12" Queen, 3 Xenomorph packs, a Xeno + power loader, and a vehicle. But that was then.

[I’ve titled this post with Aliens plural. The named branding on the boxes is singular, but I go interchangeably with the plural for the general historical branding that came out of the films and such. The Alien vs Aliens semantics as a sweeping/universal brand is–to me–a subject for some other post another time.]

I never really had use for nor cared about the human characters in the Alien playsets last year. I bought them FOR the Xenomorph figures. And in a world where a similarly-scaled figure is routinely $13 or more, $10 for a Xeno, a human, AND accessories…I was always more than happy to pay $10.

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Now we get significantly larger Alien figures–7" or so–with accessories–and we’re STILL at the $10 price point!

This also certainly beats the $26-$30+ for NECA Aliens figures. (All the more given that–at present–I’m personally refusing to buy any NECA product EXCEPT what TMNT I can actually find until I have "completed" my set of the basic TMNT releases.)

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Having fun Aliens with good sculpts from Lanard absolutely scratches the "Aliens itch" for me and at a price point I’m much happier with!

Plus at the lower price point and basic sculpting…there’s a lot more room for me to do some decent "army-building" and "customizing."

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Thoughhhhh thus far the extent of my customizing is essentially "aim black spray-paint at a figure." I spray-painted several dupes last year including a Queen and have been pretty satisfied with the end result.

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That said…I’ve also appreciated the brighter colors in large part for the nostalgia of the old Kenner figures. Said nostalgia also led to me purchasing a couple of the vintage figures last year to add to my shelf of Xenos.

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Unfortunately, I’ve more or less run out of space on the Aliens shelves…especially with the inclusion of Predators in the mix.

Though I should be able to squeeze these 7" figures in without TOO much trouble offhand.

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Fitting multiple additional Queens in are a whole different matter–given their bulk…and their tails!

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This new deluxe Queen being red works on MULTIPLE levels!

Firstly, it’s a new color to differentiate from last year’s purple Queen. Secondly it’s another brightly-colored figure like the rest of this line. And thirdly, it works given the ALIENS: GENOCIDE comics & novel history with the Red Aliens developing and fighting with the typical Aliens.

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I’m not particularly impressed with the sound effects of the figure and don’t really get the "light up" purpose. But considering the price point is EXACTLY THE SAME as the no-electronic version, and I’m basically just DISPLAYING the things, it doesn’t bother me! I’d much rather "have to" ignore sound effects that are manually-activated than having to "ignore" something visually-displeasing.

While the Queen alien is basically a slightly-enhanced re-issue of the purple; and these other 3 are essentially just scaled-up versions of the smaller ones from last year: I’m quite happy with them, and look forward to getting a few more.

I’m also VERY happy with them seeming like they’ll be quite plentiful/available in general DESPITE being Walmart-exxxxxxxclusive. Until the 2020 stuff was clearanced out, I feel like throughout the year I rarely–if ever–saw the Lanard Alien Collection pegs bare. Which is QUITE the opposite of other lines such as the Retro GI Joe where I think I’ve only 3 times seen ANY figures whatsoever present.

Even better than just these Alien figures is that Lanard ALSO has Predator figures! (Which I’ll likely be covering next!)

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

The Weekly Haul Catch-Up: July 10 to August 14, 2019

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Walt

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Once again, it’s been a few weeks since posting! Maybe soon I’ll get back into a regular rhythm of things with at least 1 less distraction (11 seasons of The Big Bang Theory) behind me!

Week of July 10, 2019

All the way back to early July 2019 to start this re-catchup journey!

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A very heavy-DC week, with the only Marvel stuff being reprints of old material.

Week of July 17, 2019

Another standard-ish week…

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Another replica edition and a reprint from Marvel. I opted to get Vampirella #1 on being written by Priest; the cover’s rather off-putting compared to the other stuff, and has long been one of the reasons I’ve NOT bought the title.

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Somehow the image from Comic Shop News of Vampirella with Red Sonja seems more…"normal"…-ish?

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Runners had finally come in from a Kickstarter!

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Snagged some Dreadstar from bargain bins for a great price! And far superior pricing to a Kickstarter earlier this year that I bailed on.

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Legend of the Shaders is a Kickstarter I’d been looking forward to, and was glad to get! "The Harp Twins" also do some great harp music covers of popular songs…some of my recent favorite instrumentals!

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More bargain bin books. Where was TwoMorrows Publishing when I was writing papers in college and needed citable "sources"?!?

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A batch of the Walmart DC Giants. 

Week of July 24, 2019

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A surprisingly Marvel-heavy week. I decided to throw in with the Hickman X-Men reboot to give stuff a shot. Marvels Epilogue was expensive for what it is, but goes with the Annotated series. And another X-Men replica edition adds to my collection of such things.

Behind on reading and not one bit impressed with the Year of the Villain stuff. DC just did a similar thing a year or two before the New 52, to say nothing of Underworld Unleashed back in the ’90s. I’d rather pick up ’90s comics than pay $5 an issue for modern stuff.

And then just on the offchance that I’d get around to "finally" getting/reading the original White Knight, figured pick up the new one so I wouldn’t have to "hunt" later.

And I couldn’t pass up at least a first issue of another Archie vs. Predator as the concept is just so ludicrous! Or at least, it WAS before Riverdale and the line’s reboot and whatnot. I think the original series is FINALLY available in paperback, nearly 3 years AFTER a hardcover was out.

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Another $2 newsstand copy of Superman #75.

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I finally got my Munchkin collection re-organized. At one point I thought I wanted to condense to a couple of their "monster box" things, but realized I’d rather just have the games obvious as to what they are, and NOT have to lug most of a collection around just to be able to play any given version.

Quite a shelf, though.

Week of July 31, 2019

Another X-Men week…

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And another couple newsstand Superman #75s. Because I could.

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And I’m iffy on the whole Dawn of X but time will tell.

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I finally "pulled the trigger" on the Armageddon 2001 saga and ordered the issues.

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We’ll see when/if I ever get around to actually reading the thing, but at least this way I can add the story to a "complete events" box I have with Eclipso: The Darkness Within, Bloodlines, and Zero Hour: Crisis in Time.

Week of August 7, 2019

And now into August…the current month at least!

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I opted to take a chance on Absolute Carnage #1. I was then glad I did when I read on Bleeding Cool that if one redeemed the digital code before 8/20, they’d get a "director’s cut" edition of the issue with some more extras including a variant covers gallery.

However, when I went to redeem my code, I found that my copy of the issue had no code whatsoever–apparently a misprint (the sticker didn’t get added to the issue). While Marvel Support provided me a code via Twitter, it only gave me a "basic edition," and when I pursued it, was told that that’s all that came with the issue.

So a digital-only director’s-cut edition for $2 MORE than PRINT is out there, and I feel severely shorted, with frustration toward Bleeding Cool AND Marvel on the matter such that I’m all the MORE determined to NOT buy into this event beyond having already WASTED $8.

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I came across new TMNT toys at a Target and found that I really like the stylized look, especially compared to my overall distaste for the Rise of the TMNT look.

I opted to buy Raphael as my "modern favorite" of the turtles (my "classic favorite" had been Leonardo as a kid).

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The back of the box…

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My mistake, though, was in thinking I’d be happy with JUST the one turtle. I wound up spending an afternoon visiting several Targets to locate the other 3 turtles.

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Leonardo.

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Donatello.

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Michelangelo.

Week of August 14, 2019

And finally, catching up to this past week…

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Another replica edition in X-Factor #87. Mostly I’d consider it a 25-cent book, but I’d still rather pay $3.99 for it than most of what Marvel is putting out presently. AND show that I support these reprints MORE than I do the bulk of their current output!

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The "final" batch of Walmart issues…at least as exclusives. Apparently there could be another 1 or two of the Superman one, but otherwise these are all "rebooting" AGAIN, and rather than the entire package being exclusively Walmart-only, apparently there will be Walmart-only COVERS as well as the retail giant getting a couple weeks to a month’s head-start on comic shops. But rather than 4 or 6 titles, suddenly DC is leaping to 10 or 12 with an eye on 20ish. Which seems a bit of overkill to me, and has me thinking I might throw in the towel on these.

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Here’s what 14 months of the things look like together on a shelf, though. Way too much reading yet to do anyway…plenty for a "rainy day" or such!

And this catches me up to current…I think I’ve actually thus far managed to document every week’s haul of 2019 so far. ‘Bout the only thing I’ve managed to keep up with, it seems.

Of course, as this post goes live, tomorrow–August 21–sees another new week of comics.

As I fall further behind in my reading, and that compounds itself.

The hobby becomes more "chore" week over week.

C’est la vie.

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Filed under: 2019 Non-Review posts, 2019 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of April 17, 2019

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Walt

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Another mixed sort of week! Not huge, not tiny!

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This week has the new Batman issue…I’m pretty sure that makes 2 weeks and 2 issues! Perhaps the title is back on schedule?

Spider-Man: Life Story #2 puts us 1/3 through this series. The first issue was set during the ’60s…this one’s the ’70s and we find Peter in his early 30s.

Naomi #4 is suddenly some big huge Big Deal (stupidly so, it seems). Thankfully, Comic Heaven had no problem with letting me get my single copy for cover price (having already bought 1-3…I’m solely interested as the SERIES, not stupid speculation!)

Then GI Joe: A Real American Hero #261 and Silent Option #4.

And of course, the weekly Comic Shop News.

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The latest round of Walmart 100-page giant issues all hit. I can honestly say that the novelty is wearing REALLY THIN at this point…part of the "fun" is 1. getting the ALL and 2. having them spaced out across the month so they’re not some big, bulky, HEAVY purchase. $30 in one go is not so fun!

Add to that, there’s been NO SIGN at over half a dozen Walmarts across 6+ weeks of the Detective Comics #1000 100-Page Giant. And like Valiant…if I can’t get "ALL OF THEM," then suddenly there’s farrrrr less incentive to even keep up with these. While I might suck it up for the next couple months–get to the #12s for the Batman and Superman ones–if I’m not able to locate the Detective one for cover price, I mayyyy be done.

Time will tell!

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Filed under: 2019 Non-Review posts, 2019 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Weeks of March 13 & 20, 2019

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Walt

Personal life once more got in the way of even a simple, weekly haul post…so here’s a double-up from the last couple weeks! As such this also includes some Walmart, Half-Price Books, and Mac’s Backs books!

Week of March 13, 2019

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New Superman, Supergirl, and Wonder Twins.

I decided to try the new Transformers series. If IDW is rebooting the continuity and such and starting wholly fresh…fine, I’ll check stuff out. I’m not interested in following a ton of spin-offs and tie-ins or gigantic shared-universe stuff. But a contained universe, starting small, and seeing how much/if it grabs me…that I’m open for.

$4.99 for 100 pages of The Maxx is certainly worthwhile on principle…I’m more than happy to support such huge issues at great price points!

And speaking of…$7.99 for Annotated Marvels is still a great price and quite worthwhile to ME for my own nostalgia with the series. To get the cardstock covers, the reprint of the original issue (which I want to say–someone can correct me if I’m wrong–were $5.99 25 years ago) and the annotations for "only" $8 new is perfectly ok by me!

Then we (finally!) got the SECOND issue of the IDW Spider-Man series…I’d begun to think I’d flat-out MISSED this (and maybe the 3rd issue as well)! Not sure why it’d be so long since the previous issue, but it’s definitely something that if I miss an issue, that’d be that–I’m not gonna go way outta my way to hunt it down, but I’ll support it for several issues to check out and treat as its own relatively self-contained thing (I hope!)

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Then there were the release of the new issues of the six Walmart-exclusive (apparently only exclusive for a bit longer) 100-page Giants. I definitely dig the Superman cover most of all…the "iconic" Flash/Superman racing thing is quite nostalgic for me, going back to a 1989 issue of Adventures of Superman and its cover (which I eventually learned was itself an homage to a silver-age issue).

Though these are out, apparently there’s a "surprise" Detective Comics #1000 100-Page Giant due, but I’ve yet to find that one…and these six issues pictured above have probably been THE most spotty I’ve seen for the issues since last summer in availability–like the vendor cleared out all the previous stock and is only sparingly stocking these.

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Along with the Walmart comics, Half-Price Books had another one of their week-long sales via coupons, with Monday & Tuesday 20%-off-one-item coupons, Wednesday & Thursday 30%, Friday & Saturday 40%, and Sunday 50%-off coupons. I went to HPB on the Friday and snagged these Dragonlance novels.

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On the Saturday, I was in the area and visited a used-books store called Mac’s Backs, and scored a couple of Highlander novels I was missing, as well as 3 of the early Myth books by Robert Asprin.

I also visited another HPB location and wound up getting a pack of Justice League: New Frontier figures with a comic…alas, I neglected to get a photo of it, so perhaps that’ll be another post later.

Week of March 20, 2019

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Batman, Nightwing, and Naomi hit this week. The Batman issue is probably THE most disappointing issue I’ve read in ages–VIRTUALLY a "silent" issue that can be flipped through in moments and summed up as "Batman chases someone, and the identity might be a surprise." It includes a scene that references the Batman/Elmer Fudd issue from a couple years ago if you know what you’re looking at…but that’s hardly worth $3.99 on its own!

TMNT has its 92nd issue–we’re a "mere" 8 issues away from the first-ever TMNT #100 at this point! The new issue of Criminal is out. And I was juuuuust curious enough about Spider-Man: Life Story to get it…and it’s by far THE single best Marvel comic I’ve read in ages! A lotta personal stuff to it with personal nostalgia and such, but even so…I’d highly recommend it despite the $4.99 price!

I gave in on some "hype" over the Immortal Hulk issue and decided to check it out…it’s #15, and it’s the first Hulk comic I’ve bought as a new issue in YEARS and it wasn’t actually all that bad. It has be curious about the series, and maybe I’ll check it out via Marvel Unlimited…and maybe I’ll get the next issue. We’ll see.

Finally, the IDW iteration of Avengers has its 3rd issue–now an issue ahead of Spider-Man despite starting after that one.

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And since I was getting a splash of Marvel and didn’t hate the Captain Marvel movie, snagged the preview thing of CM stuff. And the usual Comic Shop News stuff with a spring 2019 preview I may or may not actually page through.

Depending on what personal life holds, I’ll hopefully "catch up" and actually get stuff posted for several other recent acquisitions in the toys-arena…as well as some new shelving arrangements.

And though I’ve been saying it for years now, perhaps this spring I’ll actually, finally get around to a full showing-off of my "comic cave." Though the space has come to resemble a cramped comics/dvds/games/toys store.

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Filed under: 2019 Non-Review posts, 2019 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of February 13, 2019

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Walt

This week proved to be rather huge for new comics…at least for me, by my own standards! One might even say it was a Giant-Size week!

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Double dose Batman this week with Detective Comics and the Flash crossover. We also have the debut issue of Wonder Twins, which I opted to check out as I’m pretty much giving this whole Wonder Comics thing a chance.

Then there’s the newest issue of Superman as well as the newest Supergirl. And TMNT is into the "final countdown" to issue #100, as #91 hits!

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Marvel actually got me on MULTIPLE issues this week! The usual with Mr. & Mrs. X #8. I "gave in" on Savage Sword of Conan #1…though I’ve no conscious intention of getting #2 and onward. There’s a nostalgia factor here, and I’m willing to "sample" the thing and get the #1 because it IS Conan, and I want to at least have "tried" one issue if I’m gonna be down on Marvel with it. If I’ve never bought so much as one issue, where do I have any authenticity to criticize?

I didn’t even know about Marvels Annotated until the last second. I’m a sucker for this sorta thing…and as a "key" series from my youth, I’m more than willing to "double-dip" with getting this series again, with notes from the creators. Given the story AND visual quality–and this issue has both the original first issue AND the later-published #0 issue–along with the notes, it feels to me like an EXCELLENT (by Marvel standards) value!

Criminal is back and I realize I have yet to read #1. Though I have all the TPBs (I believe) of the series thus far, with this new iteration, I figured I’d give it a few issues as single issues to see if/how it grabs me, AND see what any collected volume may look like, if it’ll be in line with the others, and so on.

And Alien 3 (the William Gibson adaptation) comes to a close. Unless Tristan Jones is doing further covers of the newest Aliens mini, I’m pretty much done with the property as single issues and will opt for the collected volumes.

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And then DC and/or the vendor that handles these at Walmart opted to drop ALL SIX of their MONTHLY 100-Page Comic Giant issues in the SAME WEEK. Even though these are a solid value at only $5 apiece for their size (these’d be $10 through Diamond to regular comic shops)…SIX of them at $5/each still stacks up to a whopping $30!

A mere 8 months into the "experiment" and we already have TWO re-titled/re-numbered books with the Teen Titans book switching to the Titans title, presumably to capitalize on the DC Universe app/service show but other than the logo on the front and a #1 instead of #8, I believe it’s otherwise exactly what we’ve BEEN getting. The same thing with Justice League being retitled to Wonder Woman.

Then we have the new additions of The Flash and Swamp Thing, after "experiment" issues in a Swamp Thing issue last October and a holiday special in December.

Of the original four, only Superman and Batman continue on with their title and numbering.

I’ve a bit of mental "sticker shock" as I look all these over and tally up the costs–seven $5 issues, an $8 issue, and everything else $3.99. At least the Walmart issues don’t have six out every week; and the Conan and Alien3 issues are one-offs at this point. I’m only getting a couple issues of The Flash for this particular crossover with Batman. I jumped back onto Detective Comics for the run-up to #1000, but have yet to decide if or how far beyond #1000 I’m going to go. At the least, I am NOT impressed with the "Decades Variants" and so expect to simply get a single copy of the regular cover edition and let that be that. (Where last year, I got the standard cover, decades variants AND a couple other retailer covers for Action Comics‘ 1000th issue).

Though I’ve been "mid-life crisis-ing" with some purchasing recently…that cannot and will not extend to comics, at least NOT long-term. Huge weeks like this remind me just what a poor value comics truly are, and will push me to all the more drastic decisions regarding what I’ll buy regularly.

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Filed under: 2019 Non-Review posts, 2019 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul: Weeks of January 16 & 23, 2019

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Walt

Looks like these Weekly Haul posts are becoming more of a biweekly thing than weekly, despite best of intentions otherwise. And broken record as I feel on saying that.

Here are the previous couple of weeks’ worth of new comics…with another new week now just a couple days away!

Week of January 16, 2019

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Detective Comics is really ramping up toward the 1,000th issue! I was amazed at how quickly the first two chapters of this story read, and this one itself seemed a pretty fast read. Loving the art, but the story makes it seem like it’s going to be so much better as a singular "graphic novel" in collected form.

Superman finally–about nine months in–gives us the story of the "missing" time and we now have a mid to late teens Superboy in Jon…which really is not my cup of tea. Perhaps it’ll be undone by the end of this current arc, but I doubt it…we’ll see where it goes, though!

Then we have Supergirl and the TMNT issue of IDW‘s series of 20/20 special issues celebrating the publisher’s 20th anniversary. This TMNT 20/20 jumps forward 20 years, and proved a too-quick read with too little space to really do any justice to the story…and there’s loads of potential here!

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The DC Walmart-exclusive 100-page giants seem to have thrown the 2-every-2-weeks schedule out the window, and are landing all-4-at-once again…right about the 4 week mark since the #6s! And it turns out that #7 is the final issue for both the Justice League of America and Teen Titans iterations…they’re being replaced with Wonder Woman and Titans respectively, starting with new #1s while adding Swamp Thing and Flash to the lineup (apparently Batman and Superman get to continue with their existing numbering.

Week of January 23, 2019

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The most recent week of new comics brings us a non-Black-Label issue with Batman and Constantine; I need to catch up on reading this title, and really look forward to reading this issue! I snagged the second issue of Geoff Johns‘ Shazam! title, even though it’s several weeks late. I have yet to read the first issue, and as my usual trap seems to be…I get a subsequent issue so when/if I finally get to reading one issue, I’m not "stuck" having to "hunt down" another issue.

I lucked out and the local Target had the DC Primal Age exclusive issue. I had a rude surprise in thinking it was going to be like the Walmart issues at $5, but this one was $10! Still, that’s in line with DC‘s own non-Walmart such issues, so…c’est la vie. At least it’s DC and not Marvel…

TMNT hits its 90th issue; and we get the third issue of GI Joe: A Real American Hero – Silent Option. And for the heckuvit, I opted to try the IDW 20/20 issue of Jem and the Holograms. It’s a one-shot, and given my own age, I figure it might be interesting to read about the characters 20 years older than "usual," as it puts them into my own real, current age range.

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Despite swearing off of the latest Uncanny X-Men iteration due to pricing, frequency, and event-orientation (with Age of X-Man and such) I couldn’t quite bring myself to pass up this Annual given the focus on–and return of–Cyclops. And I was firmly set on NO MORE DARK HORSE Aliens minis due to variants and the like…but when I recognized Tristan Jones‘ art on this variant…I gave in and got it, since it IS #1, so at least it’s not just another variant-on-any-old-issue-nothing-special. Maybe I’ll suck it up and buy the rest of the mini…especially or at least if he’s got variants on the whole thing.

I snagged this free Isola Prologue issue cuz hey…"free." And we have the weekly Comic Shop News, this one focusing on Age of X-Man: Alpha…something playing on nostalgia (1995’s X-Men: Alpha). If Marvel does some sort of omnibus for the event, has a single-volume of Uncanny X-Men 1-10 and such and I can get then for a decent price…I might snag ’em. Otherwise I’ll wait for conventions later in the year and see if the singles can be had for half price for standard covers…if reviews and word of mouth bear ’em out as worthwhile.

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I’m not actually sure anymore what IDW‘s schedule is for print and digital releases as it almost seems like they’re releasing stuff early digitally with print coming the following week. And I’m not sure how I feel about Spawn Kills Everyone 2 being $3.99 an issue for a 4-issue mini-series…but I threw in with Spawn several years ago, and have decided to at least "stick it out" through the 300th issue. And that includes this mini, given the original special a year or two ago, whenever it was.

All in all, not a huge haul for new comics for the couple weeks…though some other stuff I bought more than made up for the comics spending. Buuuut I’ll get into those as the week progresses!

And as usual…here’s to hoping the new week of new comics is small-ish…

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

The Weekly Haul – Week of November 7, 2018

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Walt

Last week wound up being a decent-sized week, both for new comics as well as Half-Price Books having a coupon sale with 40% and 50% off coupons!

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First off, the new issues of Batman and Nightwing that have become top-of-the-stack reads fo rme.

Then there’s the newly-relaunched Green Lantern title with a "The" added onto the beginning, and a new, boring, plain-looking logo as The Green Lantern #1. While I had figured it’d be a curiosity, I had not expected it to be sold out less than an hour into the afternoon–arriving earlier than usual lately and it was already sold out! (Much thanks to Sean for selling me a copy that he’d had aside for himself!).

Adventures of the Super Sons is quickly solidifying as something I’ll try to read after the fact, but knowing I’ll want the singles, it’s less aggravating to just get them as they come out than try to hunt them down later.

The newest issue of The Walking Dead presents Outpost Zero as a "flip book," and I honestly bought this for the Outpost Zero segment more than anything else (and then the Walking Dead side is just a face and no actual Walking Dead logo/titling!).

I feel like Leviathan #3 is running a bit late, but i"m not certain. I’m still undecided on following this long-term, but figure with each issue as long as it doesn’t put me off too much, I’m not opposed to continuing–AND I really like the logo/title design!

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I have yet to check out the new Netflix series for Sabrina, but as usual I’m up for a $1.00 reprint, this one The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, part of the Archie horror line that seems to have more or less stalled out.

A Kickstarter that I’d backed awhile ago for a Munchkin Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finally came in, and one of the "bonus" items was a reprint of the original Mirage edition of TMNT #1!

And then at a Walmart looking for other stuff, I happened to notice this latest "holiday" 100-page Giant, so snagged it, keeping myself up to date on those issues.

And finally, the newest issue of DC Nation as well as the newest Comic Shop News!

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Half-Price Books occasionally does coupon sales via email, where they send coupons every day for a week or so, with a progressively higher discount percentage, beginning at 20% then going to 30%, 40%, and then ending on 50%.

I went to an HPB further away than my "usual" area, and while I’d intended to get a game, I happened to spot Ultimate Spider-Man volume 8 in the locked case, and as the one volume I was still missing, found an employee and was able to get a look at the book itself.

It was priced significantly above cover price, but still well under what I’ve seen it sold for online…and with the 40% off coupon, that brought it down to cover price, so I jumped on it!

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…and that now gives me a complete run of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up (Ultimate Spidey) and Ultimate Spider-Man itself, vols. 1-12 and the Death of Spider-Man Omnibus…this is the entirety of the original Ultimate Spider-Man series, including annuals and a mini-series/tie-in or few!

I didn’t get this post ready over the weekend, nor finished on a lunch break–and between starting this and actually posting…news hit the world that Stan Lee has passed away.

Morbid though it is, when it came to "tribute art" or such, the image I first thought of–and words to offer on his passing that came to mind–are from the cover of that omnibus.

I’ll surely have more to say later…as will likely everyone else whose lives have been touched by comics!

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Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Weekly Haul: Week of October 10, 2018

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Walt

The past week ended up being a large-ish week, without being huge nor tiny (I know, great phrasing, isn’t it?).

Anyway…let’s dive in!

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The new Superman, Supergirl, and Flash issues are part of the annual "stunt month" stuff that DC often does. This year–foil-ized covers at no additional cover price (that I’m aware of). I’m buying titles anyway, already grudgingly paying $3.99…but hey…SHINY!

The Cursed Comics Cavalcade is an 80-page squarebound issue for $9.99. The Swamp Thing Halloween Horror issue is a 100-page squarebound issue for $4.99…but you have to go to Walmart to get it. All told, though…180 pages for $14.98 is NOT bad these days when a skinny 120-page volume might be $17.99!

Adding to the horror theme, the Constantine: City of Demons – The Movie came out. I haven’t gotten around to watching yet, but I believe it’s basically a series of "shorts" that were available on the CW‘s web site last year, but now stitched together as a feature-length thing. I’m not sure how well it may or may not match up to Justice League Dark from last year, but what little I’ve seen of it, the visuals seem like they’d fit in. And best of all, Matt Ryan reprises the voice for John Constantine!

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Over the weekend, Saturday October 13th was designated Walking Dead Day to observe 15 years since the original The Walking Dead #1 back in 2003. There was a "free" issue with several short stories focusing on specific characters; a $2.99 reprint of #1 with a new cover (that I figured hey, I really wanna support the price point), and a number of blind-bagged issues…reprints of various "key" issues throughout the series (particularly front-heavy to the first 100 issues).

I opted to snag #100, figuring that’d be my easiest point of comparison of new to original editions. I almost ended up "leaving it in the bag," though, figuring "ignorance is bliss."

From what I understand, each blind-bagged issue has 4 covers:

  • Color with trade dress
  • Color "virgin" (no trade dress)
  • Black and White with trade dress
  • Black and White "virgin" (no trade dress)

I opted, ultimately, to open mine, dreading any but the color with trade dress. Surprisingly enough (for a 1:4 chance), that’s the one I got, which makes me feel a lot better about the purchase. However, something to the cover just doesn’t sit right with me/makes me squeamish, so for filing purposes, I slid it back into the black bag.

Also snagged a Batman Day reprint of Batman: White Knight #1, since it was there and I was there.

Finally, I’d forgotten to look for Nightwing #50 on Wednesday after passing on it the previous week, but snagged the last copy on Saturday. I’d not been keen on the $4.99 price and such, but after reading the latest issue of Batman decided I was curious about how stuff was being handled on the Nightwing side of things, and decided it was worth getting, if only to follow for another issue or two and see how long-term stuff will be.

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Filed under: 2018 Non-Review Posts, 2018 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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