F For Fake

Man, can't wait to see it once it's all done, it sounds killer! I'm heading to a local Joe convention this weekend and have my want list ready. Mostly just need pieces and parts of stuff, maybe some loose vehicles, we'll see what I can dig up, but I am getting stoked!

I think you're right on about Ghost's sound, and that's why I love them. I usually describe them as Deep Purple meets Duran Duran meets the Devil.

I think I was part of that conversation! I always liked this line, though I don't own them anymore. Such a funky little collection of characters, the Phantom, Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, etc. Colorful cards too! Very cool!

Sweeeeeet. Should have never sold mine, but I sold it to a friend who completed it and cleaned it up, so I still get to visit it on occasion! It's crazy what small parts on this thing can run. Congrats, that's an all time great piece and the centerpiece of any Joe collection!

Also (since I'm derailing yr thread anyway) are you going to the Scream Factory panel tonight? Hoping for some big announcements, and not just more re-hashed steelbooks. Fingers crossed for Critters boxed set and Deadly Friend. I think the people waiting on a new Elm Street box are going to be waiting for a while, but I won't scoff if it happens. Would also love to see Candyman and Screamers, but am not getting my hopes up too high.

You are definitely too nice, but I totally understand your motivation in the early going. My thinking is that sellers here are already listing their stuff for free, as opposed to the 10% that they'd have to pay on eBay, CLink, etc. That 3% PP fee is just the simple cost of business, and you're STILL coming out ahead. So many cheapskates around here, it's nuts.

I'm not normally a foil guy, but the muted colors really work with this for some reason. I may have to dig one of these up.

Got mine on pre-order! Always love the thread, my friend!

And signed, nice! I never really dug the Verotik aesthetic, but I enjoyed the Dave books. Speaking of which, one day I need to finally replace my Black Angel.

The Maxx, Spawn and AH Tomb Raider books have been on my radar for years, but the Pitts were a surprise to me. Thanks boardies!

So now that everyone is mad and the story was a non-event, can I get all of those variants for $2 or $3 each? That's what I'm willing to pay. Let me know!

Poor Proty.

+1 There's no way of knowing how old the price sticker is (unless you're talking about a very recent comic) so I don't give it much thought either way.

Ha, yeah, she is what we might call "a handsome woman."

Every couple of years they'll run a sale big enough that it'll make their run-fillers a bit cheaper than MCS, so I'll put an order together. I'm talking primarily $1-$3 books here, stuff I couldn't find at my LCS that I needed to fill in some gaps. That was the case a few months ago, I think it was around tax time, their books were something like 50-70% off, and that made them worth buying, per my price comparisons against MCS and eBay sellers. I have no problem with MHC charging what they charge, I just don't buy anything until the prices get where I want them to be. So I'd say, in the last 10 years or so, I've bought from them three or four times. Also, whatever people think of Chuck and his pricing, I still have a lot of nostalgia tied up in those old mail order catalogs from the 80's, and have to give him credit for contributing a great deal to my young fandom.

Not singling you out, but wanted to use this as a jumping off point as I've seen this type of description a couple of times now: "New/bagged/boarded from Day 1" doesn't mean that a book is automatically 9.6/9.8. Tons of books arrive from Diamond in VF shape right out of the box. Buying a book fresh off the stand, or even right out of the case, doesn't mean that a book is automatically NM+ or better. Should those conditions improve your chances of owning a 9.6/9.8 book? Sure! But it's definitely no guarantee. So, someone buys a book "fresh off the stands", automatically bags and boards it, then doesn't look at it again until they send it away, it's entirely possible that they missed something when they initially purchased it, and it's been a VF book all along. Now, as for my personal experience with MCS, I've sold to them a few times, and generally found our grading came pretty close to agreeing. But then again, I don't really send them anything higher than a VF anyway, because I can sell a NM or better on my own. Selling to MCS is convenient for "dumping" a bunch of stock when I pick up a collection that I don't want to take the time to piece out. In the instances where our grading has disagreed, it wasn't worth fighting over, and entirely possible that I missed something on my side. But again, I wouldn't know about submitting the nosebleed grades to them, because those are books I'd keep and sell on my own. Just my two cents.

Not really loving the face on this one either, a little too square-jawed for my tastes. Wondering if they share a model/sculptor with the recent Poison Ivy PF? (Compare the bottom right pics of Emma and Ivy. Am I nuts?) Similar jawline. Not really feeling it.

I remember when my local KB Toys got in several shipments of POTF2 figures, clearancing them out at about $2 a pop. I bought several cases of them, because I figured with SW, they'd eventually pay off. And they did, more or less, but not to the extent I would have liked. (Really wish I'd held onto the Queen Amidala's cruisers, Falcons and AT-ATs I picked up in the same sale for about $20 a piece. My closet was crammed full of that stuff.)

It worked wonders for my ancient, yellowed X-Wing. I've seen very good results online for Stormy, but I believe with all of these peroxide treated toys, it's just a matter of time before the yellowing comes back. But if it buys me a couple of years of fun, it'll be worth it.

Yeah, I was already in high school when these came out, but I still had to have that Wolvie with the spring-loaded claws and twisting waist. It was a big deal at the time!

Yes, absolutely! I have a lot of love for Krull. In fact, I used to be in a band that had a couple of "secret" shows playing under the name Black Fortress.

Pretty sure that's the guy from "Corvette Summer". Didn't follow his career after that though.

Look, who cares about the damaged comics? This is what matters: The Last Jedi was good, though it drags a bit in the middle with the casino heist deal. But there are some gorgeous shots in this movie. It's beautiful. The Force Awakens is fine, a necessary resetting of the table following the disastrous prequels. Highly derivative of the first SW flick, but I enjoyed it, particularly the return to practical effects. Solo was completely unnecessary, but still fun. But they all pale in comparison to Rogue One, the best SW since Jedi. Loved it. Ok, carry on with the comic stuff.

Bad picture of some pick-ups from Knoxville Fan Expo this weekend. After waiting in line for Ron Perlman and Selma Blair for 3 hours +, I was beat (the place was sweltering) so I didn't even LOOK at comics. But a couple of toys caught my eye. This Rattler just needs a couple of missiles, the bullet-damage side panel, and the canopy for the turret gun. The plastic is still a nice dark blue. True, the canopy is a tough piece to track down on its own, but for $20 I still thought this was a solid buy. Also picked up a cheap, yellow-y but otherwise complete Stormshadow, gonna give him the peroxide treatment and see how he looks. Also, Selma Blair and I are dating now, and we're very happy, thank you. (Better to not mention that to my wife, who is standing just outside of this picture...)

Oh man, I LOVE this! I am a huge Arnold fan, and would love to pick up a set of these, but I never see them at local shows or shops, and I don't want to go the eBay route on them. Such a nice set, congrats!