ttfitz

Fair enough. I just thought I'd give you the benefit of the doubt and that you weren't acting like a jerk for no reason.

If I had to guess, I'd say @bluehorseshoe has confused you with @Stefan_W which is where his condescension started. You mentioned looking something up on PACER - which he laughed about - which had been part of his response to Stefan. Given this post: It seems clear he hasn't kept things straight since "your first post about this stuff" came largely in response to his strange picture of the dismissal. Although I could be wrong, that's just what it looked like to me.

First post of the year for this challenge. I've decided to post publicly my personal challenge for the year this time around - 1500 comics read in 2024. I figure with the 5 week "100 Back Issue a Week" challenge I do at my LCS made 1000 not as difficult to reach, and frankly, with as many comics as I buy a year reading 1000 ain't gonna get me anywhere. Had that as my silent goal last year, and didn't make it. So, I've said it, 1500 for the year. Let's see how it goes: Ms Tree Vol 5 (18-31) Been enjoying these reprint collections of the title from back in the day. Max Allan Collins does the hard-boiled detective book quite well, and if you are a Mike Hammer fan, this is a book you should check out. Fray 1-8 Joss Whedon gives us the tale of the Slayer in the future. Pretty good book, kinda sad that the character didn't get used very much after this miniseries. Worth a read if you are a Buffy fan - available on Hoopla Digital if your library subscribes. Minor Threats 1-4 The Alternates 1-4 A couple series from actor/comic Patton Oswalt, a fun and enjoyable read. Van Helsing Sword of Heaven 1-6 I don't really read any of the Zenoscope titles, but this was written by Chuck Dixon, who I enjoyed quite a bit back in the 80s or 90s. So I wasn't really familiar with the character (beyond the whole Van Helsing legacy), and while this was okay, I expected better from Chuck. Descender 1-16 My daughter and I read this together, at her suggestion - can't remember exactly where she got it from, maybe one of her friends suggested it. But since I've been a fan of writer Jeff Lemire's Black Hammer series, I figured it was worth a shot. And it was, lots of good stuff here and we're both looking forward to reading more. So, if I did my math correctly, that puts me at 52 for the year. In the hole already....

I know I read this title when it first came out, but not sure whether I continued until the end, I'm going to need to check that out and maybe read/reread soon. I see it started in 1994, which makes it eligible for my "Anniversary" reading list this year.

I need to see if my daughter wants to start on this. We read Saga during the pandemic, loved it, then Paper Girls, loved it, and then Y - which I enjoyed but she didn't finish. At each stage after Saga we talked about which BKV book to read next, and somehow we never settled on Ex Machina. But I've heard good things.

I've told this story here at least twice before, perhaps more - but my kids have to hear my stories over and over again, why should I treat y'all any better? When I was growing up (late 60s- early 70s), Virginia had what was known as "Blue laws", under which most stores had to be closed on Sundays. We lived about 45 miles from the Tennessee state line, and TN didn't have such a law. At that 45 mile mark down Interstate 81 was the twin city of Bristol - where the state line ran right down the main street, aptly named State Street. On one side of the street it was Bristol, VA, on the other side it was Bristol, TN. And on Sunday, half the street was closed while the other half was open. So, on many occasions when I was young, we would go to Bristol after church on Sunday to shop. This particular story takes place on a Sunday approaching Christmas, and we were shopping on the TN side of the street when I saw this Superman comic on the rack. And what a cover it was to 5½ year old Timmy - burning letters floating over a prone Superman, with the obligatory question that so many comics of the times would display - "WHY do these initials mean DEATH for the Man of Steel?" Oh, man, I just had to have this comic. My mother reminded me that it was almost Christmas, we were supposed to be shopping for other people, and it wasn't a good idea to buy things for yourself. But I just HAD to have it - I was willing, in fact, to spend my own money for this book. I wouldn't give up, so she let me buy it. So, comes Christmas day, and I'm opening my stocking, and what did I find there? You guessed it, a copy of Superman #204 with the fiery "LL" on the cover! So, boys and girls, like all good stories (I hope) involving little kids, this one has a moral - When it's Christmas time, don't buy anything for yourself, you never know what Santa might bring you! Don't know what happened with one my copies of this book - probably traded it for something else over the years - but here's the one that remains in my collection. Beat but complete, as they say, and never to be replaced:

I accepted an offer that was made thru eBay (see above message) on January 3, and the sale was cancelled on Jan 9 due to non-payment.

Thought I'd pass this along to folks here - if you get an offer that expires in 24 hours, that means it was made thru eBay, otherwise it's 48 hours. I tell you this so I won't be the only one who is annoyed at getting a best offer from eBay with the knowledge that they could have bought the book from the MCS website and BOTH of us got "our price".

Somebody should start a poll to see how many people know what it is.

As well he should, since you can't get Tabs anymore.

When I read this part I thought about that old joke - At the age of 65 my grandma started walking 5 miles a day – she's 92 now. We have no idea where she is!

About this time last year, after straining my back again shoveling snow, I bought a SnowJoe. It is still sitting, in the box unused as we haven't had any snow since. My wife agreed it would be foolish to use it on the half-inch or so that we got yesterday evening. She was proven right when it has all melted off this morning. Two year warranty on the thing.

I have been putting my books two per bag, back to back with a board between. Being a "run" collector, if I'm missing a book I will leave a place for it, otherwise 2-per bag for the most part.

Are those Newton Rings on the right side? Damnit!

Saw this before, but I was doing so much replying in last year's thread that I skipped by - when you say "11 novels" are you talking comic novels or "regular" novels?

They have a LinkedIn account and everything, so they must be legit!

Thought about reading this during my Legion Anniversary reading, but wasn't sure whether it would work without having read Final Crisis or the DC universe in general around that time period. You have any thoughts on the matter?

I didn't pick this title up, but all those Linsner covers came damn close to getting me to.

This really was great, wasn't it? Very fun, despite how it ends up.

Oooo, I forgot all about this title when I was looking for JMS reads. Although searching my purchase files show me ordering issues 1,2,3 and 5...... (ooops)

One of the best. Hard to find a bad Busiek book, to be truthful.

Been a while since my last update. Here's how I finished out the year: Invincible 85-90 Continuing to enjoy this title that I've been reading with my daughter. ASM 290-292 Web of Spider-Man 29-30 With these issues, I believe I caught up to the point I started regularly following the Spider-Man titles back in the 1980s. Superman earth One 1-3 J. Michael Straczynski's take on the Superman story, some good stuff, as is usual with JMS. Legion of Super-Heroes 284-296, Ann 1,3 With Keith Giffen's death and all the tributes mentioning it, I decided to reread The Great Darkness Saga. Some great stuff there, he will be missed. Ms Tree Vol 3 (issue 9) Ms Tree Vol 4 : Deadline (10-17) Picked back up with this title since Vol 5 has now been released. Max Allan Collins does some great work with this detective title, highly recommended if you go for that sort of thing. Order and Outrage 1-4 Jim Starlin's latest cosmic epic gets off to a good start. Looking forward to seeing where this goes. Danger Street 1-12 Bring back a number of obscure characters (and some not so obscure), mix in a little story, and some snappy dialogue, and you get a decent series. Maskerade 5-8 Kevin Smith managed to píss me off with the first "4 part series" by not providing even a little bit of an ending; decided to give him 4 more issues to take care of things, and he did a decent job of it. Plot Holes 1-5 Clever premise with a good execution (not always the case) made for an enjoyable series. I'd read more of this crew and the setup, if it came out. Dark Knights of Steel 1-12 DKoS Tales from the Three Kingdoms Back in the day this would have been called an Elseworlds, bring some familiar faces into a different situation and see what happens. Pretty good job with this one, although I'm kinda mad that I didn't figure out what was going on sooner (figured out the basics, but not the particulars until way later than I should). Recommended for the DC Comics fan. So, looks like my final tally is .... 1033 issues for the year. So as far as the thread goes, that makes it But for my personal goal of 1500 this year, a little bit See you in next year's thread!

In the case of your first two examples (Barbalien and Shapesmith), I believe the answer is found in your third example. That is to say, the first two are takeoffs/homages to the third, so of course they shape-shift.

What ever would have prompted you to expect less than what this gives you???

Water Cooler ban.