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Post by The Captain on Mar 18, 2021 19:27:21 GMT -5
Finally had two books on my pull list at my LCS, so went in and they had a bunch of the variant editions of Demon Days: X-Men, so I picked one up based on the reviews here.
Can't say anything that hasn't already been said. Story is fine and the Easter Eggs are clever, but that art! Simply gorgeous.
Can't wait for the next chapter in June.
10/10
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Post by The Captain on Mar 18, 2021 19:18:00 GMT -5
Just finished reading Alan Moore's entire Saga of the Swamp Thing run. It was exactly what should be thought of when people say "adult comic", not the T&A books of the 1990s or even things like the ultra-violent, swearing-filled books from folks like Garth Ennis (Preacher is brilliant, but it's also pretty rough throughout).
I didn't love all of it, especially toward the end of the run when Moore was stretched thin while he was also doing Watchmen and he veered very heavily into sci-fi rather than the gothic horror that he'd begun the series with. And in what happens less and less for me, I actually had a "holy crap" moment when turning a page and seeing what was on the other side, which was just awesome.
Not sure if I'm going to continue trying to get any more of the series (these were the TPBs, but if the rest isn't collected, I don't know how much energy and time I want to invest in trying to hunt down floppies at this point), but I certainly enjoyed this immensely.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 17, 2021 10:22:33 GMT -5
Well the discovery of X-Men #4 in my collection prompted me to start another wave of ebay auctions this afternoon. I expect two to sell for a nice chunk of change. The rest are more iffy, but these Wanda-related books are never going to be worth more than they are right now, so we'll see. www.ebay.com/sch/shaxper/m.html?item=193952195590&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562Really looking through my collection today, I realize I still have a ton of key books to sell that I'll wait on until the relevant films are released. Some very nice Black Panther, Black Widow/Taskmaster, Eternals, Moon Knight, and Master of Kung Fu stuff! And is Marvel going to get around to making a Deathlok show or movie?? Seems inevitable. I firmly believe we are in a new comic book bubble that will eventually burst, so I'm here to sell anything I can bear to part with while it's still hot! Problem with Deathlok is that he already appeared on-screen in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., played by J. August Richards. True, there are multiple iterations of Deathlok in the MU, so they could shift to a different one for a solo show or movie, but they already explained the origin of making one in what I suppose is currently a non-canon entity in the MCU (or at least one they don't want to acknowledge)
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Post by The Captain on Mar 8, 2021 13:02:30 GMT -5
No opinion. Never got into either of them, but I do agree with Slam that the Gamera movies are fantastic for MST3K and RT to cut up on.
If I HAD to choose, it would be Godzilla, for the simple fact he's not a FRICKIN' TURTLE.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 8, 2021 7:10:12 GMT -5
I really liked the series, especially as it was the first true MCU outing for Disney. The story was good, the acting was very good, and it gave me and my girls something to look forward to every Friday night. However: {Spoiler: Click to show}No Mephisto. No Nightmare. No Mordo. No Dr. Strange. No multiverse.
One would think that a big old witch battle would have drawn the attention of the Sorceror Supreme or the guy who is out hunting magic users.
They set up something for the next Captain Marvel movie with Monica and the Skrull, and they let White Vision loose on the world to who-knows-what end, but while the post-credits scene with Wanda immersing herself in the Darkhold was interesting, it offered ZERO hints at what is coming.
Minor quibbles, but quibbles nonetheless. ‘WandaVision’ Failed to Deliver Things That Were Never Promised to Me-M For me, it's more surprise than disappointment. They still did their usual world-building, just in a different direction. Again, it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the show, more left me wondering what The Plan is, which I suppose was their intent.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 7, 2021 18:53:49 GMT -5
After I moved several years ago to a new city, I kept my subscription at my LCS through their mail program. Basically, they would bag and board them for me and mail them to me, just charging me for the supplies and shipping on top of the price of books. They included their own flyers with upcoming books so I could update and add things to my pull list. I missed going to the store and the social aspect, but the actual buying of the books was a much better experience this way. They were in better condition because I didn’t have to worry about actually keeping up with the bagging and boarding. I think gains in terms of time spent and comic book collection quality more than pay for them selves. Sadly I had to cancel my son anyway about five years ago for financial reasons and lack of space. But this was definitely a great way to do it. Captain’s post about bagging in boarding reminded me how much time I spent in my life begging and boarding comics and how I like not doing it anymore. Silver lining! While I still do bag almost everything, I actually don't board any comics except all Silver Age or anything published after that worth more than $20. Actually need to go in and update my WCA run due to the Wandavision bumps. Probably won't hold the excessive value long-term, but even if they settle back down to the $20 range, it's still a hell of an uptick from the $1 that I am sure I bought all of those books for. As for bagging, the exceptions to my rule are all DC books that I buy from the $1 bin. They're for reading only, so if they don't come with a bag already, they're not getting one.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 7, 2021 17:42:32 GMT -5
I really liked the series, especially as it was the first true MCU outing for Disney. The story was good, the acting was very good, and it gave me and my girls something to look forward to every Friday night. However: {Spoiler: Click to show}No Mephisto. No Nightmare. No Mordo. No Dr. Strange. No multiverse.
One would think that a big old witch battle would have drawn the attention of the Sorceror Supreme or the guy who is out hunting magic users.
They set up something for the next Captain Marvel movie with Monica and the Skrull, and they let White Vision loose on the world to who-knows-what end, but while the post-credits scene with Wanda immersing herself in the Darkhold was interesting, it offered ZERO hints at what is coming.
Minor quibbles, but quibbles nonetheless.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 7, 2021 17:30:48 GMT -5
I was at my favorite local gaming shop yesterday digging through a box of "3 for $1" bulk Magic: The Gathering cards looking for things that have gone up in value that I could buy cheap and sell. One of the employees and one of his buddies were sorting through a big box that a card collection had come in when the friend says "hey, there's this big pile of cardboard here in the bottom. What should I do with it?", to which the employee replies "oh, just throw it out."
I picked my head up for a second, then said "hold up a second." Walked over and it was a stack of about 75-100 backing boards, which I told them. The employee looks in the box and says "oh, there's this bag of plastic bags in the box too." I responded "those are comic book bags, which go with the boards."
He asked if I wanted them, and when I asked "how much", he said "dude, I was literally going to throw them away. Just take them.".
So, I wound up with free comic book supplies yesterday, and I was running low on both. Sometimes, it IS possible to be in the right place at the right time.
There. I said it.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 7, 2021 12:00:19 GMT -5
Amber said "yes" this afternoon. Been a lot of stress in my life as of late, but knowing I've got her in my life for the longhaul is the most comforting idea ever. That's fantastic news, my friend! So glad you two found each other.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 5, 2021 11:01:51 GMT -5
Curious...has anyone here ever insured your comic books collection?
Wonder what a premium for that would be like if you valued it at $50k, 100k, 200k etc.
There, I got my agent excited.
I checked into it years ago, and I found that many insurance companies won't do comic books. Stamps and coins they'll do, but comics weren't an option. They said it was primarily due to the volatility of prices (which has only gotten worse) and that comics are usually more handled due to reading than those other two items, which tend to sit in albums, looked at but untouched.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 5, 2021 8:56:00 GMT -5
Batflunkie, those are great stories. I did a full series read of Thor three or four years ago, and while the Simonson run came close, the Lee/Kirby run is the pinnacle of Thor's existence at Marvel. As for my reading, I've just started re-reading Sandman for the first time in years. Only three issues in, and it hasn't lost ANYTHING since the last time. Truly a masterpiece of literature, let alone just comics.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 4, 2021 18:56:17 GMT -5
Wizard World bought the rights a few years back to the Pittsburgh Comicon, which had been held out in the suburbs at a smaller convention center (near my house, but that is beside the point) witj plenty of free parking and places to eat all around. The original show was comics-focused, and it's where I met folks like George Perez, Ron Frenz, Herb Trimpe, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jim Steranko, the folks who did the My Little Pony comic (for my girls), and many others. Once WW got their hands on it, they moved it to the convention center in the city. $15 per day to park, tripled the cost of a one-day ticket and three-day pass, and stopped inviting comic writers and artists (and they squeezed out 90% of the comic dealers) instead focusing on celebrities and the like. No restaurants nearby, and the closest ones were sit-down places, so you were almost forced to eat at the center concessions. Ruined it completely, then killed it after a couple of years since it didn't perform as well as they'd hoped. We had one smaller convention the past few years, but they canceled last year and probably will again this year. Really hoping it picks back up, because it was comic-focused as well as had a great row of artists who worked in all kinds of mediums. Pittsburgh Comicon and Steel City Con were my two favorite conventions within driving distance of my home. Steel City is still around, but it's not really the place to go for comics. I still mourn the loss of Pittsburgh Comicon, even though I'm pretty sure that's the one where the owner went to jail for murder. Edit: YupI haven't been to Steel City Con in years, not since they morphed from a kinda-comics convention to a show for washed-up celebrities like the guy who played "Third Ugnaught from the left" in The Empire Strikes Back and female wrestlers. The newest one in Pittsburgh is Three Rivers Con. It is run by Todd McDevitt, who owns a chain of six comic shops in the Pittsburgh and eastern Ohio area; the chain is New Dimension Comics. The last one they held, in 2019, was in an old department store (I think it was a Macy's) near one of their locations. Lots of floor space, so it didn't feel crowded at all. Big number of comics and related-memorabilia dealers, comic industry folks, and a large section where people were selling their comics-related artwork. They did a really nice job, and I'm hoping they are back next year, because both of my girls want to go to a show with me, which I would love to do before they lose interest.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 4, 2021 17:41:52 GMT -5
Seeing all those Arak books above....I've never read one Nor have I, and I have never read an issue of either Kamandi or Warlord as well.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 4, 2021 17:15:38 GMT -5
Wizard World bought the rights a few years back to the Pittsburgh Comicon, which had been held out in the suburbs at a smaller convention center (near my house, but that is beside the point) witj plenty of free parking and places to eat all around. The original show was comics-focused, and it's where I met folks like George Perez, Ron Frenz, Herb Trimpe, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jim Steranko, the folks who did the My Little Pony comic (for my girls), and many others. Once WW got their hands on it, they moved it to the convention center in the city. $15 per day to park, tripled the cost of a one-day ticket and three-day pass, and stopped inviting comic writers and artists (and they squeezed out 90% of the comic dealers) instead focusing on celebrities and the like. No restaurants nearby, and the closest ones were sit-down places, so you were almost forced to eat at the center concessions. Ruined it completely, then killed it after a couple of years since it didn't perform as well as they'd hoped. We had one smaller convention the past few years, but they canceled last year and probably will again this year. Really hoping it picks back up, because it was comic-focused as well as had a great row of artists who worked in all kinds of mediums.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 4, 2021 15:59:17 GMT -5
Prior to all of them getting killed in Thor:Ragnorok,, I would have said The Warriors Three. Could have been a light-hearted adventure series as they traveled Asgard and the other realms, eating (Volstagg) and seducing (Fandral) and...being grim (Hogun). They could still do a Tales of Asgard, much like the old Thor backup feature, telling stories about these characters that occurred in the past. Oh, that would be fun!
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