Wall-Crawler

I'm not ignoring the faults of the other Marvel films or that they may have stumbled but has any RECENT pure Marvel Studios film rated as poorly on RT or IMDB as BvS has? NO. I think the general consensus is that overall, this movie was a big disappointment. Why is that NOT ok to say? To borrow a phrase, Batman and Superman have been around a very long time, and are probably the most recognizable comic book characters in the world. there have been multiple movies, action figures, coloring books, posters, t-shirts, clocks, lamp shades and other merchandise with the Batman and Superman shield or image for decades. This movie should have been a HUGE slam dunk but had it not been for the established fandom and casual people who know who Batman and Superman are and the hype, this movie would have been a big failure. If GOG got these kind of reviews, it would not have pulled in the money BvS has. To be clear, I want DC/WB films to succeed. There is such an amazing list of characters to use and that I want to see onscreen but done well. They need to sort out their comic book movie division and their way moving forward.

Although Marvel has done an amazing job overall, talking as if they haven't stumbled (The Incredible Hulk, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The First Avenger) and had to learn from these experiences is putting on Marvel blinders. The Incredible Hulk definitely taught them a hard lesson where someone thought it was a great idea to have Ed Norton re-write the -script for the movie because he was a 'hardcore fan' of the character. How'd that turn out? Sorry, I did not mean to come across as a Marvel Zombie and that everything they have done has been amazing and yes, there were some mediocre movies and yeah, both Hulk and Thor 2 were disappointments for sure but nothing that was been so poorly reviewed as BvS, especially for a big "tent pole" movie that you are building your entire movie universe on. What was wrong with Captain America the First Avenger though? It had decent ratings did it not?

Ulik damnit! Where is Ulik?!?!

That can be said about most Spider-Man villains. Other than maybe Batman, who has a better rogue's gallery than Spider-Man? Literally everyone. Even more true if you are talking about characters that can be adapted for the big screen without coming off completely ridiculous. Oh please. Almost every character in comics, if you *really* think about it, is ridiculous. Let's not kid ourselves here. But to say Spidey's rogue gallery isn't one of the best in comics, well, we can agree to disagree.

Yet, BvS hasn't grossed anywhere near the take of Civil War. Who is seeing it? Uhhmmmm...Marvel has nothing to "fix" or "right" pretty much everything they have touched has been a solid money maker and they have even built solid franchises on "obscure" books like GOG. Civil War is doing just fine. DC can't even do a proper Batman/Superman movie. The only thing that 'saved' that movie was the anticipation of it and the title characters attached and the "kewl"big fight (which sucked IMO)...I think the drop off numbers show that. DC has an amazing character library...It is just frustrating as a fan of all comics to see DC/WB fumbling these opportunities.

But is it too late to right the ship? I mean, BvS kind of already "set the tone"?

That can be said about most Spider-Man villains. Other than maybe Batman, who has a better rogue's gallery than Spider-Man?

I have been hoping for Mysterio for awhile. They need time to rehabilitate Green Goblin but I think Dock Ock, Sandman and Venom could be rehabbed much more quickly. My Top 5 for Villains Who Have Not Yet Appeared on Screen: Mysterio Kraven Morbius Jackal, and for a more "street level" villain Tombstone or Mr. Negative The Spider-Slayers could be cool but not as the main baddie.

I just don't really want him to play Vulture...I see the Vulture as one of the least inspiring villains...I mean, he is Falcon-lite

I waited for this to come to Netflix. Glad I did not pay anything really to watch this travesty. At least we know why Thing was really mad...What happened to the Things thing?

What I picked up yesterday and is 100% mine...Triple post...Sorry

My latest acquisition..."Double post" from my journal entry but don't care

It has been a few months since I have posted anything here but for good reason I think. I picked up a big key from the ASM run that I would say is in my personal "Top 5" Spidey books that I have wanted for a long time now. My new addition:

I liked a lot about AoU but did not like the "city falling from the sky" will kill EVERYONE and the fact that, again, it was one main bad dude with an army of "cannon fodder"...I think they could have done something a bit more interesting for Ultron's "end game"... BvS just left me kind of "meh"...

Yes, it would be cool if they could FINALLY introduce Black Cat. I think Mysterio's powers would lend themselves well to the big screen and be something we have not seen before. Maybe even make 3D "worth it".

...I should have clarified that...Definitely NO leopard prints...A little revision/updating could go a long way...Perhaps he's a bounty hunter, he's hired by a more sinister villain in the background? I just would rather Kraven than Vulture...An old man in a chicken suit chasing a teenage boy not much better!

I hope this isn't true- I've been buying up all the villian first appearances in an attempt to beat the speculators. I'm still missing 2 and this might make it out of reach for a long time to come. I'd be surprised if it was the Vulture...I mean his power set is very similar to that of the Falcon really, only he is older and we have seen that on screen. I could see him as maybe a "bit" villain but not the main one. Personally, I'm hoping for Mysterio or Kraven. For my "out there" choice, Morbius and Mr. Negative - Could be a cool "Kingpin" style replacement.

Second last thing I will share...Local news story... They really only took bits and pieces of what I actually said...Oh well. Regardless, still good local exposure. http://www.nugget.ca/2016/04/18/keen-eye-is-key-for-young-collector PS - I am not the "young collector" mentioned in the article and I obviously sell books for more than $250....I said the most expensive book I had there was $250...

Nothing crazy, but glad to get it. The owner of the local record shop got in touch with me over FB. The record is in tip top shape too. I dig it.

Thank You for the kind words!

Vendors allowed in at 8 AM. I was set up and ready to go by 10 AM - When the doors opened. For the first hour and a half, I was worried. Nothing. A few curious looks but I think this was the "garage sale" crowd, you know, the hard core early risers. I don't think I had what they were looking for. Then some of the guys and friends who frequent the local comic shop started to show up. Then others later on in the afternoon who bought from me last October that I recognized and others who follow my FB page...New faces and youngsters who were with their parents. Casual buyers looking for something to read. A real mix which was nice. I was relieved. From about 11:30 AM until 3:30 PM I was pretty steady. Thank goodness my wife helps me. She is great with managing the cash (she has great retail experience and use to work for a local antique dealer, did estate sales, etc.) and writing and keeping receipts while I talk to customers and answer questions. I was happy to see the people I know of course, but I was more happy to see new faces. What really brought a smile to my face was to see young ones getting books...We are not talking a lot of $ here, but that is not the point. One boy was so excited to have his Batman book that his younger sister then HAD to get a book. Who knows, maybe future new readers? All in all, it was a successful day, but by the time the show closed at 4 PM and I packed up and unloaded everything, I was pretty tired. I have such an appreciation for the folks who do much bigger and longer and travel more for shows even more now than I did before.

Alrighty, no idea if anyone cares but here are some pics of my set up and stuff. Like most, I have been buying collections, books and other oddities whenever I can... I took a lot of advice I got last go around to heart and this winter I made a very big push to get "show ready"...That meant TONS of organizing, prepping...Basically spent A LOT of free time in winter doing this. As I will be doing more of these local shows, I also had a banner made up to (Vistaprint). I wanted to look "fun" but "professional". I ended up making a display board with my Dad two days before the show. He has carpentry skills. I do not. Anyway, before a quick summary of the day, here are a few pics of my set up and a view of the show from my booth later on in the afternoon after it started to thin out...

Thanks! Pretty much all ready to go. Just got to go to the bank, get my float and load up the vehicle later tonight.

Ok, so here is what I will be bringing and have priced and ready to go... Longboxes: Archie (figured this is an all purpose antique and collectibles show, might be some interest) Avengers and related titles Batman and related titles (2) Captain America Completed Sets - Assortment of "pre-packaged" completed mini series and maxi series (or even full series), story arcs, tpb's, etc (4) Daredevil DC titles (Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League) Fantastic Four Hulk Spider-Man and related titles (2) Superman and related titles X-Men and related titles (2) War Themed (again hoping that maybe a war collector finds something) Shortbox of assorted comics $10 and up Assortment of digests, magazines and treasuries. Binder of CGC books available. ...Working now on figuring out some sort of wall display...Again, it will not be an ideal set up but better than nothing, I think. On my kitchen table will be doing a mock "display area" to see how it looks.