F For Fake

Well worth hanging onto! Beautiful Bolton work. And the way every "first appearance' is popping off these days, I'd think the first appearance of Ash in a comic should count for something, considering how Evil Dead is a cottage industry of movies/shows/toys etc. these days.

Great set, great books. This is one of those that tends to either be on a wall, or in a dollar bin. I paid $50 or so for a set about 20 years ago, and since them I've seen them priced much higher. I've also fished several copies out of dollar bins. I'm currently without a set, though. Better fix that soon!

That makes sense to me. I generally keep movies sealed until I'm ready to watch them. There have been many times that they've gone OOP before I watched them, and prices jumped, so it made for an easy decision to sell. So I get it. I used to do the same with hardcover comics, but we had so many quality control and printing issues over the last few years, these days I open them up as soon as I get them, to check for defects.

eBay pickup. Had an alert set up for a minute now, glad I finally landed one at a good price.

Got blown out on several things, but got some saucy consolation prizes. I really wanted the Legionnaires book, which is one of my favorites in the run (I have a copy signed by AH and Karl Story 20+ years ago) which has the double distinction of being a Hughes 9.8 AND a DC Logo variant. I also have been looking for this naughty Red Sonja cover for a while in 9.8, so I went after it as well. The Gen 13 is a cheap one for my registry set, the JLA a cheap 2nd print, and the Fog City a decent copy of a book I've liked for a long time (tastefully censored here with my superior graphic design skills!) So, I was mercifully outbid on the bigger books, which is just fine by me right now. Holidays, black friday, some random long time wants popping up on eBay and MCS, etc it's an expensive month.

Beauties! And yes, General Hawk is an all time fave, great card art and a simple, classic design. Funny that I just mentioned him! And I agree, Freefall is one of the cooler later figures, as he had a fairly practical design/uniform. I was looking at a MOC example a couple of months ago, thought about picking him up, but I don't do much MOC anymore for Joes. I need to get a nice loose one, though!

Hey Oak, good to see ya bud! Haven't picked up much new gear lately. I sold off a looper pedal that I never used and put the money towards a Tech 21 VT Bass pedal, which I used at a gig the first time this weekend. It's an "always on" pedal, gives everything a nice growl. I'm digging it. Otherwise not much to report, we'll see if Santa brings anything cool this year!

That’s a really cool figure. I don’t do Marvel Legends anymore, or MCU, but simply from a design standpoint, it’s very cool. I’ve seen several folks on the various Joe groups talk about using this one for a General Hawk custom. Could be cool!

I get it! I only have a handful of Pops. I wouldn’t put much money into them, but every once in a while I find one that’s too cute to ignore. I resisted Classified until just a few months ago, but they finally broke my resolve with the recent figures. I’ve been playing catch-up, and luckily haven’t had to pay above retail for any of them so far. Yesterday Major Bludd randomly popped back in stock at Target, so I was able to complete the Cobra Island set. If I decide to complete the set I’ll eventually have to pay up for Arctic Storm Shadow, Supreme Snake CC, Regal CC, and Deluxe Snake Eyes. But I am patient and will wait for a deal.

I am blessed with many friends, but of the ones I see regularly, zero are comic fans/collectors. I have ONE friend who is also a toy collector, so we go to Joe shows and toy cons and stuff together, but as for comics, I'm 100% on my own. I'm DROWNING in musicians, however. If it was a new bass or pedal or whatever, sure, plenty of folks with whom I could talk about that stuff. But comics, nada. So, that's why I like to come on here and share stuff, because none of my friends care about my comic pick-ups. The boards provide a vital form of self expressions! (i.e. hey look at this pile of worthless I found!)

Cool! I didn't realize that was already OOP and getting pricey. It's crazy, they print so many books these days, in such small runs, it's impossible to stay on top of everything, and gems like this sneak through and disappear before I even realize they were there at all!

Beautiful stuff, Patrick, particularly the Joes. Undertow is a great one. Poor Barracuda, can't even sit up straight, I guess you'd have to display him floating in a cup of water! Love the command rings too. I completed my set last year, now I just need to get the little insert/promo piece and a ring box, and I'll be all set. Nothing vintage picked up lately, but I'm making some inroads on my Classified set. Since I came to them late (or rather eventually let myself talk myself into collecting the line) I have some catching up to do. I was going to pass on the Snake Eyes movie figures, but with a Target Spend $100 get $25 sale, plus Red Card discount, I was able to get the set, shipped, for about $15 a pop, so I guess that's not too bad. Those numbers on the boxes, they drive me mad. It's the sort of thing that used to make me a Criterion Collection completist. If you add spine numbers, the compulsion to complete the series is undeniable! I like the Pimp Daddy Destro, particularly the gold foil treatment on the box. Got him for about $20 with a gift card via Best Buy. I'm trying to knock out these less exciting figures on the cheap. I'm not a huge Funko guy, but these are pretty cute. Got the Beach Head con exclusive via Target, and the BATS con exclusive at Walmart. Which begs the questions: just how exclusive ARE these "con exclusive" figures? Not at all, it would seem!

Those posters are great! I had the World of Wood, and it was in storage with a bunch of other posters at my folks place, as I was in an apartment at the time and didn't have much space. They got water in the basement pretty much all of that stuff was ruined. Biggest loss was a HUGE X-men display piece from Pizza Hut, with Sienkiewicz art, just enormous. A buddy who was delivering pizzas at the time got it for me. I've not seen another one since. I think the only one of the those Dave posters I've currently got actually is the DNAgents one, and it's safely resting in a tube in a place where it will never get wet!

For sure, those books are leading the charge. I'm surprised what DNAgents is doing these days as well. I still occasionally find Dave books in the dollar bins, but there are a lot more people hunting for them than there used to be.

Ah, that does the heart good. Terrific pickup. The 3-D Zone Space Vixens is getting pricier and pricier these days. Share them down in the Dave thread in Copper if you haven't already!

IST has been adding a lot of good stuff to their Deals of the Week section over the last three weeks or so. A bunch of recent-ish Omnis in the under $50 range. Also, free shipping on orders over $50, and you get a 2% loyalty discount that expires after 7 days, so if you plan on buying more than $50, I'd always recommend placing your first order, then getting your 2% off and placing your other order. Every bit helps! Recent additions with best-ever prices (as far as I can tell include: ASM Vol 5 (it's the Medina cover, but still, that's a good price) $56 https://www.instocktrades.com/products/mar210680/amazing-spider-man-omnibus-hc-vol-05-medina-cvr Power Pack Omni 2 (Brigman cover) $43.75 https://www.instocktrades.com/products/dec200646/power-pack-classic-omnibus-hc-vol-02-brigman-dm-var What If Vol 1 (Buscema cvr) $40 https://www.instocktrades.com/products/feb210671/what-if-original-marvel-series-omnibus-hc-vol-01-buscema-dm What If Vol 1 (Kirby cvr) $50 https://www.instocktrades.com/products/feb210672/what-if-original-marvel-series-omnibus-hc-vol-01-kirby-dm-va X-Factor by Peter David Vol 1 (Stroman cvr) $40 https://www.instocktrades.com/products/feb210677/x-factor-by-peter-david-omnibus-hc-vol-01-stroman-cvr KaZar the Savage Anderson Cover $43.75 https://www.instocktrades.com/products/nov200604/ka-zar-savage-omnibus-hc-anderson-action-dm-var Untold Tales of Spider-Man New Printing $35 https://www.instocktrades.com/products/nov200611/untold-tales-spider-man-omnibus-hc-olliffe-first-issue-cvr-new-ptg New Warriors Vol 1 ($43.75) https://www.instocktrades.com/products/aug200733/new-warriors-classic-omnibus-hc-vol-01-young-cvr-new-ptg There are more, but those are some standouts. Golden Age Captain America, Dazzler MMW for $30, etc. Several of these have been up for a couple of weeks, and they have been adding more every week. https://www.instocktrades.com/ EDIT: A couple more at tremendous 65% off prices, not in the "deal of the week" section. It's worth combing the site to see what you can find, as you're not gonna beat these: New Mutants Omni 1 Sienkiewicz cover $43.75 https://www.instocktrades.com/products/jun200670/new-mutants-omnibus-hc-vol-01-sienkiewicz-cover Who's Who in the DC Universe $52.75 https://www.instocktrades.com/products/dec207109/whos-who-omnibus-vol-01-hc

Ok, I'm a lying liar. We took one last trip for the year down to the lake, and I brought a stack of stuff I'd been meaning to read. So, I may as well update my total. Still not gonna hit 1000, but I'll go down swinging. This stack included: Blue and Gold 3, Human Target 1 - I don't buy many new books (pretty much Love and Rockets and Aliens stuff, these days) but my JLI fandom means I can't pass these up. The Blue and Gold series is...not good. I will stick it out, but it's pretty standard stuff, which is a shame, as I love these characters SOOOO much. Human Target, on the other hand, was great. The art is lovely, and I'm hooked on the premise. Looking forward to the rest, although I really hope they're not going to do another hatchet job on my beloved JLI. Seems like whenever they need to destroy some sort of legacy that people will care about, they turn to JLI. Killing off Ted in Infinite Crisis, doing whatever the hell it was they did with Booster etc in Heroes in Crisis, etc. Just leave my guys alone! Reign of X 1 & 2 - I'm running behind on these (vols 3 through 5 are on their way) but still digging it altogether. As has been the case with the entire House of X relaunch, some titles are more interesting than others, but I am still loving this monthly digest version. I wish they'd do this for so many titles. Detective vols 3, 4, 5 by Tomasi, and Batman 4 by Tynion: I am still just not getting much out of the modern Bat books. I will trudge along, as I've not missed an issue since I was a kid. I've read 'em all since I was in middle school. But these most recent runs just aren't very inspired, to my eyes. I am sick to death of the Joker and anything related to the Joker or Harley or clowns. And the books are just so grim and dour. I thought Morrison did a good job of mixing the dark stuff with the sillier aspect of Bats, and to be honest ,that was the last time I really loved the main Batman books. the Snyder run was fine, the King run was fine, and this stuff is fine, I guess. But not much fun. (Also, for reasons I can only assume are Covid related, the entire Tomasi run has been released in HC's, except for Vol 3 Cold Vengeance, which was only released as a trade. That drives me a little nuts, but I realize that's a personal failing.) Marvel Masterworks Tomb of Dracula Vol 1 - I haven't read these since I bought the omnis when they were first released, and then stupidly sold. But I'm onboard for the MMW line. And to be honest, the masterworks are a much nicer reading experience. As much as I enjoy the "all in one" aspect of the omnibus, and how imposing they are on a bookshelf, the masterworks are so nicely sewn and printed, and so much easier on the wrists. Beautiful reproduction here. As for the content, Gene Colan looks as beautiful as ever. The book gets off to a shaky start (never been a Roy Thomas fan) but once Marv Wolfman shows up, things start cooking. Looking forward to the rest of these. They will hopefully be done reprinting the run sometime before I die. Hellboy in Hell - my revisitation of the Hellboy comics in the form of the hc Library editions is now complete. Now THESE are comics. I love this series so much, now I just want to read them all again. And the library editions are THE way to read them. Just a beautiful presentation of the material. Heavy paper, perfect binding, delicious oversize trim. My only complaint is the fabric covers, which attract hair like nobody's bizness (see the pic) but all in all, I can't complain too much. So that makes my total for the weekend: 64. Now, since I last posted, I'm sure I read other stuff, but the only ones I can remember for sure are the JLI Omnibus 1 (40 issues), and a couple of Barks Duck books, which I usually place at about 10 issues per book, so call that 20. So, altogether, my total is at 497. I'm sure I've ready more than that, but at this point I'm not splitting hairs. Just glad to be sharing some cool books with you folks!

I missed out on these when they first went up for sale. I hemmed and hawed over the listing and then by the time I made up my mind, they'd sold out. I kept the listing save in my Target cart, and checked it every week, just in case. Last night, seemingly at random, three of my local Targets suddenly had these back in stock! So, I pick one up, and since it was a qualifying toy purchase, I also got a free $5 gift card which I'll be using on the B2G1 movie/book sale later this week! I will admit that the reason I initially balked, and still had some reservation, is that this guy is pretty tiny for a "Deluxe" figure. However, once I got him home, I was so glad I picked him up. I've been wanting a Cybertronian Bee since the first time I saw the first episode of the cartoon when I was 7. Love this design. And though they don't serve any purpose, I'm also so glad they threw in the energy conductor rods. Any little nods like that to the cartoon as just pure toy nirvana to me. So, I don't know if there's $23 worth of plastic here, but there's definitely $23 worth of nostalgia. Also, I'm officially at the age where I have to go to Youtube to watch tutorials on how to transform these things. I'm too thickheaded for the paper instructions, apparently. I'll be curious if they keep making this "eco-friendly packaging" (i.e. no plastic at all) as it leaves the figure wide open, seems like he'd be pretty easy to snatch. Hasbro really has my number these days with the Studio 86 stuff based on the movies, and pieces like this. I don't care much about modern TF stories, but if you give me a toy I wanted when I was 7, I'm gonna buy it!

Always love the pics, and hope all is well with the family!

Always want to see!

Yeah, chances were good I would get a game for Xmas or my birthday, but they were strictly a "big present" deal. Othewise i was down at the Kroger renting "Nintendo tapes", as we called them back then!

Wow, that was pretty forward thinking for a kid at that age, to keep one sealed. I know that I didn't get many games as a kid, so if I got one, I sure wasn't going to use up that slot on a sealed copy of something I already had! Hopefully he's still got it, and is laughing all the way to the bank. I often wonder about the sealed games on the secondhand market these days, how they survived that long. I always assumed that the majority were old store stock, dead stock etc. But stories like yours proves that there were folks out there collecting them for the sake of collecting!

The NES version is still fairly expensive. For instance, I can get a sealed decent copy of the Genesis version for about $200. Meanwhile, the NES version sealed will run closer to $1k. There was a graded NES copy on CLink a couple of weeks ago, I was pretty confident in my bid. It sold for over $2k, I wasn't even close!

Alien 3 was on Genesis, Game Gear, and NES for sure. Update:forgot it was on SNES as well. It was one of those games they launched on pretty much every platform, expecting success tied into the franchise. I don't think anyone was prepared for how dour and dark the actual movie was going to be, meaning game sales probably weren't nearly what they expected.

"See? Look! I'm playing with it! It's worth it! Let me keep it, please!" yeah, that's part of the problem. They are lovely art objects, but they're just not very...useful. Like, I loved OWNING that Aliens game, but after you've beaten it a couple of times, you'd never want to play it again. And Pac-Man is a game with a lot of playability, but I am still terrible at it ha It gets a good workout whenever we have a Xmas or Halloween party or something. Kids still find those huge machines fascinating.