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smithdatura

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Posts posted by smithdatura

  1. Vox review wasn't pretty. And Alex is a big comics fan:

     

    http://www.vox.com/2016/3/23/11291550/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-review

     

    Excerpt:

     

    The pathology of Batman and Superman fighting always leads back to a man named Frank Miller and his iconic comic book The Dark Knight Returns (1986). Miller, bending the comic book rules of time and space, makes Batman an older man living in dystopian Gotham City. Superman, meanwhile, is the obedient muscle of the government. Miller uses this backdrop to contrast their very different ideologies of justice and goodness, and in turn to spur their fistfight.

     

    Though Miller's DKR isn't the only comic book story that pits the two heroes against each other (it's not even official canon), it boasts their most iconic fight. And it sets up the very real idea that two good men, perhaps the very best men, can have massively different views of what a good world looks like.

     

    Snyder himself has spoken about how much DKR influenced Batman v Superman.

     

    "I was talking to Frank about it: Dark Knight Returns was such a big influence on me, that I wanted to honor him through imagery in the movie," he told Comic Book Resources in 2015. "You could still make Dark Knight Returns into a movie, if you want. The visual elements, there are some that I homage, but I don't think the movie [is an adaptation]."

     

    Snyder wasn't lying. The story he's created is much different. Batman v Superman takes place a year and a half after Man of Steel. Superman (Henry Cavill) is a hero, but despite his meticulous side part, perfect teeth, and poreless skin, people are starting to realize that a god-like being could be a liability when it comes to foreign policy, sovereignty, and due process. Bruce Wayne, who has seen firsthand the devastation that Superman can cause, is one of those people.

     

    The reason Wayne wants to fight Superman is that Superman caused too much damage to Metropolis, and Wayne thinks a fight will make Superman and the world more cognizant of his capabilities. Or maybe it's because Wayne is still sad over his parents' deaths and experiencing some sort of hyper-PTSD. Or, wait — is it because Wayne thinks everyone is too into authoritarianism to see how insane it is to trust Superman? Perhaps it's because Wayne is jealous of Superman. Or maybe he simply can't see past Lex Luthor's (Jesse Eisenberg) tricks and an ongoing media narrative that Superman is dangerous.

     

    This is where you wish Snyder had stuck to Miller's simple blueprint: that these two men just don't see justice the same way. None of Wayne's reasons for war are made clear enough, but they're all sort of there, flaccid and dying from a lack of sunlight and oxygen. There's a great Batman v Superman film to be made about how we mythologize our heroes and why our trust in them depends on how human we think our enemy is, but whatever Snyder created here is not it.

  2. Picking an actress with a noticeable scar (our heroine is supposed to be invulnerable, plus it's an easily identified facial feature)?

     

    -slym

     

    100% agree with this! For some reason it bothers me far more than it should. I get the explanation that it could be a childhood scar, and yet it still seems a bit odd.

  3. Did some puttering around some tag sales and flea markets this weekend and scored the following...

     

    AB0E4AE8-6FA7-4937-8178-FB83EE170C06_zpsntvxrptg.jpg

     

    The bags are new old stock from 1994 with tags still attached. The Hulks were $1 apiece; unfortunately the 340 was the roughest of the bunch (around a 5.0), but the others were 9.0s or better.

     

    64ADA52D-4D70-4341-A0E4-FD2BA2E0D2F6_zpswevcqzuu.jpg

     

    The Bond game was in simply stunning, hardly-played condition with all pieces and the original scorecards intact. The card game was from 1978 and well-loved, but also complete... and fun to play with art on the cards from greats like Buscema and Kirby.

  4. Tough crowd here.

     

    Not sure what people were expecting, but AMC producers were clear from the start this is a companion series to TWD and not a spinoff (also in part due to the ongoing legal battles they have with show creator Frank Darabont), and that things were purposely going to be set at a different pace. As such, I went into it taking it at face value and thought it did a good job both with the opening and the closing sequences, then sprinkling in moments of dread throughout - the glimpse of a strange figure in the park, the bent over principal in his office in an increasingly-empty high school, the sequence on the highway, etc.

     

    Character reactions to situations were largely spot-on, what with their inherent disbelief in what they were seeing and incomprehension about the attacks being captured on camera... yet a very rapid ramping-up of societal unease and mounting panic as the videos are shared at a clip you would expect in the real world. That the episode is largely shot from Nick's point of view was a neat device, too, in that as the viewer you know what he experienced off the top was real, yet for his family and even his own fragile sanity, there is incredible doubt about what is happening vs. what is simply a product of his drug addiction.

     

    Overall a pretty big thumbs-up for me. Looking forward to the remaining five episodes of season 1 and the full-blown 13 episode order of season 2.

  5. So I can sincerely say I feel privileged to have bought from Karpar, and eagerly await his next sales thread. How many sellers can you say that about?

     

    He graded his books fairly, sold them for amazing prices, and packed them like they were a live ostrich egg being sent overseas - truly fantastic across the board. Certainly deal with him in the fullest of confidence!

  6. I was trying to find pricing on the promotional drug issues in Overstreet but didn't have any luck...

     

    The Keebler drug issue is in the promotional section at the beginning, I don't recognize the orange one.

     

    https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=229981

     

    Orange is the IBM version.

     

    Thanks for the info. Looks like based on market value, I essentially paid full retail or more for those promotional drug issues... lol

  7. I hit a few random tag sales and antique shops over the weekend. Nothing earth-shattering in terms of finds, but some neat comic stuff at good prices.

     

    First, I found these at a tag sale for $8 total. I've never read Preacher before and don't know too much about the title, but recognize from these boards that it has some fans. Two of the books reprint issues 1-17, the third a bunch of miniseries and one-shots, I believe. Crumb is Crumb, of course:

     

    4827C1B1-55B1-48B0-95A6-EE9B4C367770_zps0bpkgakg.jpg

     

    Then, I found these at a vintage shop all bagged up and selling for $1 apiece, except for the NM 1 which was $4. Average grade is probably 9.4. I was trying to find pricing on the promotional drug issues in Overstreet but didn't have any luck...

     

    1A22851D-4E21-4B74-AAF2-D70E665D78B9_zpsew2jlcf8.jpg

     

    Last, I came across these at a used book store amid a couple stacks of seriously random stuff. The Marvels are all first prints and are in beautiful shape - I've never read the series and had actually been looking at buying the TPB because Alex Ross is just so good. The X-Men is close to NM. Total on these was $14.

     

    Marvels_zpstelnnzqv.jpg

     

    Fun books for the price!

  8. I'm realizing that I enjoy my memories of Attitude-Era WWF Dwayne Johnson and recent appearances from SNL host Johnson and public persona/general all-around good-guy interviewee Johnson more than most of Johnson's movies since Walking Tall and The Rundown. I'm talking movies in which he's the lead - obviously the ensemble casts in the past three Fast and Furious films have been a lot of fun, and he was interesting in Pain and Gain as a supporting character to Marky Mark.

     

    I get that he wants to play to the masses, but these PG-13 vehicles (just like today's WWE product vs. that from before they became a public company) take a lot of the teeth and edge out of his performances. He's at his best when he's free to have some bite to what he does, which is why HBO's Ballers looks promising.

     

    That said, the original BTILC was PG-13, so I guess the tone will probably be similar, though like other posters have said, it seems like a remake is kind of pointless if it's not going to reinvent/improve on the source material (which seems doubtful).

  9. Haven't posted in a while, but now that summer's here I have a bit more time, which fortuitously coincides with the rise of yard/garage sale opportunities here in the Northeast.

     

    Here are my few finds from this morning. The cookbook is in really nice shape (and a first edition) the movies may be OOP and are in my wheelhouse (love Umberto Lenzi) and the Tales book is a bit of a beater but from 1964 and features B&W reprints of the EC comic with an original cover by Frazetta (name on the tombstone).

     

    6DA21B20-904A-41A8-B98A-0B5E197ED730_zpslnjcoln7.jpg

  10.  

    Here is a stroll through the Junkdrawer. May 15th was my 4 yr Anniversary.

    You are Jack Knight.

     

    I want to have a store like yours, someday. That's my goal.

     

    Simply AWESOME, Chris. Congrats!

     

    I had the pleasure of visiting Chris' shop a couple years ago with my wife and it was well worth the drive. Found some great kids' games for our daughter, some oddball trinkets for the house, and a sweet copy of Dazzler No. 1 I seem to recall getting for next to nothing. lol

     

    We're actually hoping to make it back this summer at some point - Junkdrawer's cache of stuff is awesome! (thumbs u

  11. I hear the Bar-B-Barn rib joint on Guy Steet isn't as good as it used to be. Is this true?

    Since the quality of Ben's Deli declined and ultimately closed, we usually go to Reuben's for lunch, they make a mean Montreal smoked meat sandwich.

    Any other great food joints?

     

     

    Bar-B-Barn still harbors nostalgic appeal to some, but the sad truth is that it's a time capsule of a bygone era serving fairly ordinary fare that is currently being outdone by a lot of other original BBQ joints around town.

     

    If you have a car to get around a bit, hit Black Strap BBQ in Verdun. Amazing. The same owners just opened a hole-in-the-wall "BBQ burrito" joint called Tejano on Courcelles in St-Henri where the burritos are made with the trimmings off their larger cuts of meat at Black Strap - think BBQ brisket with cumin and ancho and good seasonings like that. Just up the street from Tejano is a bakery called Leche Desserts that has phenomenal cakes and gourmet, mind-blowing donuts. Maple with bacon is one of the more "ordinary" offerings there.

     

    Le Boucan Smokehouse on Notre-Dame, a bit closer to the downtown core, is also solid, as are a bunch of other restaurants in the Griffintown district on Notre-Dame, including the culinary gem (and Anthony Bourdain/David Chang favorite) Joe Beef and its sister restaurants Liverpool House and Le Vin Papillon - reserve in advance for any of those three. That whole strip of Notre-Dame is pretty cool to walk, actually. Lots of antique shops and it ends at the Atwater Market, which has all kinds of cool things to eat.

     

    And of course, if you're a fan of Chuck Hughes from his Food Network appearances, you'll want to check out either of his two spots, Garde-Manger or the seafood-centric Le Bremner.

     

    I can vouch for any and all of the above - you should eat well at any of those spots!

  12. Had the pleasure of meeting Jeff in person after he responded to a post of mine in the WTB forum. Definitely a standup guy who came through with some nice books at a good price for me; I look forward to dealing with him again and seeing him at some local 'cons! (thumbs u

  13. I've now had the pleasure of both buying from and selling to Ed and it's been an equal pleasure at both ends of the transaction. He's simply a first-rate guy who treats the hobby with a respect and appreciation that's truly inspiring.

  14. Thought this looked just so good. The stark aesthetic of the desert and the various armor/weaponry/modded vehicles were amazing. Love Tom Hardy and I'm not sure if Charlize Theron can not be sexy given you're chopping off her hair and covering her in dirt here and she still is amazing.

     

    Don't care if this is a complete rehash, I'm in.

  15. That book is not a 3.0-3.5 from the fc scan. At least not per the industry standard (CGC). Perhaps you are the one who needs to brush up on your grading.

     

    Wow, okay. What department do you work for at CGC?

     

     

    If the back cover is approximately equivalent, could be a 5 on a good day I'd say. I have a CGC 5.5 that doesn't look noticeably better.

     

    I guess the level of grading has sadly gone south if that's the case (although I guess if you're the one getting a book graded, that's a good thing)... This other listing for a CGC 3.5 Spidey looks pretty equivalent to the JLA 18, though like you say who knows what's going on with the back cover, in both cases.

     

    CGC 3.5 Spidey