F For Fake

Yes, totally agreed, that descent was swift and steep! Aside from his usual verbal tics, you wouldn't have thought it was the same writer. The worst crime: it was deathly dull.

Yeah. I don't really BLAME Gambit, it just seemed like he showed up around the same time that the overall quality was dipping, from a story perspective. Of course, Jim Lee was about to hit big and the book would never be more popular, but as big as those books were, I just wasn't connecting with them anymore from a story/character stand point. I dutifully bought all of the covers of X-Men 1 (and still buy them whenever I find them for 50 cents or less, an exercise in nostalgia to be certain) but I think I stopped buying that book after the second issue as well. Hopped back on for AoA, then hopped off again shortly thereafter. Hopped back on for Claremont's second run, which was, ugh, unfortunate. Then hopped back off...then on again for Morrison.

Complete sets of that run will sell. Not for a ton, but considering that most of the books can be picked up for a buck or less, sets can be easy to assemble and are equally easy to move. Or I should say, there WERE. I haven't run across the books as much in the last year or two. Word is out, I believe.

@natey123 framed? That behemoth? Yes, absolutely, I gotta see that! Mine has pin holes, but is in decent shape. Framing would seem prohibitively expensive. Would love to see what you've done!

Was just listening to a podcast on the way in to work that mentioned these things. Sense memory is so weird. I haven't had one of those in 35 years or more, and yet I can "taste" that juice at this moment, clear as day.

I'm not much of a Punisher fan, but I do love that ASM 129 cover. Gotta love yellow covers! As for the character, there can be no overstating just how popular and omnipresent he was in the mid/late 80's and early 90's. And he has endured. Two feature films, two seasons of television, it all adds up to enduring cultural presence. But the big win is the logo/icon. It's bigger than the character, and will outlive the comics by a far margin, I'd say. That thing is slapped on shirts, hats, cars, etc I see if more often than I see the Superman logo these days. Sign o' the times? Perhaps.

1. Superman - Aside from the Moore stories and Morrison's All Star, I can't think of any Superman stories I've ever enjoyed. Just a dull character, which is odd, considering that it all comes from him, more or less. 2. Gambit - The X-Men were everything to me as a kid. Gambit's appearance signaled the turning point for me. By the time Bishop showed up, I was done. (Until AoA got me back on board.) 3. Venom - Ugh. Venom is suck.

! @srezvan congrats on the score! I've been looking for one of those green Marvel boxes for a while. if you decide to turn it loose, hit me up!

Very cool! In that same collection I picked up last year I had some pieces from this fig (the arms) but the car itself was missing. I always liked this one!

That's great that you had a hookup on the guns! i had two of these last year, neither had the guns, only one had the head. Ended up selling both because it was cheaper and easier to just buy a complete one rather than try to find the pieces on the cheap.

I'll be curious to see if Disney actually follows through since they took on the property, or if they'll shelve it for a while.

Ha, yeah, I guess it worked for Kenner in the 90's, but I'm surprised someone is taking another stab at it. Do kids want Aliens??? I guess we'll see!

Posted these over in CG, but thought some of you DH Aliens fans might dig them too. Lanard is doing a totally bizarre new line of kids Aliens toys, exclusive to WalMart, and I had to have em all. Germane to this conversation, the packaging has some Dark Horse Aliens comic art on it, wonder if they paid licensing for it?

So I know I've said that I'm done with new toys and just want to focus on vintage, but I'm also a weak-willed hypocrite, so here we go. To begin, I don't know why these exist. There is no current media tie-in, Aliens haven't been popular for a while. But for some reason, Lanard (they who gave us "The Corps" among other cheap, chunky toy lines) have a new Aliens toy line exclusive to WalMart, and they are BONKERS. I hated the Kenner Aliens toys as a kid/teen, because all I wanted (and I wanted it bad) was a line of realistic toys based on Aliens, Alien, the Colonial Marines,etc. The Kenner line, with its dumb animal hybrids and bright colors, turned me off. Hated em. But now, as an older man, my heart has softened,I guess, because I has to have every one of these bizarre neon abominations! The APC is SO CUTE! And look at the Power Loader, and the gun turrets, and fhe variety of neon aliens! WHY DO THESE EXIST? Will kids warm up to a 30+ year old IP with no current cultural cachet? Will old men like me warm to these were kiddified versions of their R-Rated action fantasies? I don't have the answers, but here they are, and if they keep making them, I'll keep buying them . And they're cheap! $10 for the playsets, $15 for the vehicle sets, and $20 for that enormous Queen!

Awesome! Love it! I love Mego, but I sold all of mine last year. I had to re-focus my collecting, and I wasn't as invested in Mego as I am other lines, so I cut them loose. But man are those ever cool!

Thanks for sharing Jimmers, it was right up my alley! I put it on and it made me want to run around the room! But instead I put that energy into setting up my pedal board Andrew restringing my bass. It has that relentless punk rhythm but the sequenced drums give it an almost industrial edge. I dug it! Thanks to you and RIP to your friend. I'm gonna PM ya and take the love fest off thread, before the cops come out!

Indeed, it can take MANY years between re-printings of Omni's, and many have never been reprinted at all. Eternals Omni is a pricey one, though smart money is on it being reprinted when the movie hits. X-Men Inferno and Fall of the Mutants are up there X-men 1 & 2 and Uncanny 2 are all pricey. UXM Omni 1 has been reprinted several times and is usually in print. I wouldn't pay much for XM 1 & 2 because it should only be a matter of time before they're back in print. Hickman FF very pricey, and his Avengers Omnis are getting there too Captain Britain - never reprinted Immortal Iron Fist - never reprinted And many, many, many more. Variant covers on OOP volumes are also an additional premium.

Glad to see the Dude is still abiding! Keep doing what you have to do and keep kicking, we're all pulling for your full and speedy recovery!

Ha, was just going to say I'd much rather see the drag pics than hear one more GD word about pottery!

Ha, yeah, I'm not sure Red is his color. I personally can't wear yellow. We all have our cross to bear.

Oh, and Sarah Dyer! Probably most well known as being a co-writer on several of Evan Dorkin's projects (i.e. "The House of Fun") she's also a great cartoonist in her own right. I really miss the "Action Girl" anthology series she headed up in the 90's, it was great stuff.

Indeed. There plenty of GOOD reasons to make fun of Chuck. Gender fluidity isn't one of them.

I guess you'd have to define "sick", and explain what there is to be ashamed of?

Good on Chuck for living his truth. And if he wants to use the only pulpit he has to preach his message, he's the only one who will be harmed or benefit from it, as he either drives customers away, or picks up new ones, so who cares? He feels like he can use his voice, so let him. People will tune in or out, it's up to them. So on this front, I applaud him for living his life his way and not being afraid to do so. All that being said, I reserve the right to continue mocking his hilarious prices.

Ramona Fradon needs lots of love too!