Cat

I didn't know him that well, but we got on just fine. He seemed like a great guy. My condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time. 

Man, these boards're really starting to rack up a body count.

Luckily the letterer was here for the save. 

On 6/6/2024 at 2:51 PM, OtherEric said:

An actual comic I just got in.  But I'm wondering how it hasn't become a meme already, or if it has how I missed it:

 

So you're saying Thorcoin is falling? 

Man I always buy at the wrong time. 

At last count I was at 818, and that was about a month ago. Here's my update, truncated for space. The Moon Knight Omnibus by Huston, Benson, and thingie (sorry I've forgotten the 3rd writer's name) was great stuff, really loved it. A lot of gore, just in case you care about that. Not specific stuff, but more general blood and limbs flying, that kind of thing. 

I also went for Absolute Doomsday Clock, also a decent enough read. I wasn't disappointed. I just wish it hadn't taken so long to produce so it could have had more impact on the DCU. 

I reread Fantastic Four Full Circle, just as good the second time around, and still looking fabulous. Ross really went all out on that one. 

Plenty of single issues, like Transformers, Energon Universe, Duke, Dutch, Dawnrunner, Jay Garrick Flash, Thundercats, and COBRA Commander. 

All in all, it's enough to put me up to 910 books read so far this year. I've still lost pace, but I'm slowly getting there, a bit more each day. 

Take care everyone! 

Who wants to tell me what this book's title is? Yes, that's meant to be a legible logo. 

On 5/31/2024 at 10:13 AM, 1950's war comics said:

the first appearance of Don Rickles doesn't get any respect...

That's because it's DREK. 

On 6/1/2024 at 7:13 AM, JBrown said:

Wait, you have that page? The Original art???

No, I wish. It was going around the net for a day or two, then it disappeared. I had no idea what it was from though. I'd simply saved a copy of it. 

Bleeding Cool states its been confirmed to Rich that both the DC/Marvel omnibuses are a 1 time print deal. There'll never be a second printing. 

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/one-printing-dc-marvel-crossover-omnibuses/

For anyone interested in Compendiums of the original ARAH Larry Hama GIJOE run, the Kickstarter for them is now live! 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/skyboundent/gi-joe-a-real-american-hero-compendium-set

On 5/28/2024 at 10:56 AM, F For Fake said:

Sure thing bud! I went to a Target this weekend, but I think the only new McFarlane figure I saw that I'd not previously seen was hook-hand Aquaman, I think he's from this wave right? I don't get out to actual brick and mortar stores much, but I'll for sure keep an eye open!

Thanks, mate. And yep, he's from that wave. 

On 5/26/2024 at 1:46 AM, Off Panel said:

Thank you — I’m always open to fact-checking. (And didn’t know the Thomas Mason book was a thing…)

Yeah it was released for the 20th anniversary of X-Men #1, back in 2011. IIRC not a lot of people bought into it because they were unhappy with the price, which was something like $7.99US. I was one of the fools who purchased a copy, I was curious to see how the pages would look with modern colouring. I'll just say the colouring was not to my liking, and really changed the vibe of the pages, IMO. Totally didn't work for me. But that's just my opinion. 

On 5/17/2024 at 3:38 AM, Off Panel said:

You may be right, although when I think of sellers trolling for suckers, I usually think of listings like this:

 

 

Ohmigod! An X-Men #1 in 9.8! I've heard of that book -- it's a GRAIL!

Funnily enough, this ISN'T that book. This is a more recent release, recoloured by Thomas Mason. Apparently it's a case of low availability, high demand, as I THINK copies are selling for a hundred or two. At least they were last I checked, but that was some years ago. Certainly nowhere near what this fool is asking, but far more than a regular X-Men #1. 

You call yourselves comic fans and you can't even recognise a simple X-Men #1? 

Could I ask a favour please, of my American friends? While you're out and about, could you please check the toy aisle, for the following 2 figures for me: McFarlane JLA Wave Superman Red. 

JLA Wave Mosaic Variant (officially known as Platinum Editions, this goes for Supes too) John Stewart. Please note the costume, the regular version is just in the standard Lantern uniform, the Platinum Edition is in his Mosaic costume. 

If you can only find one, that'd be greatly appreciated, thank you. One is better than none. Please note NO INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING IS NECESSARY. You only have to ship to another US address of a good friend of mine. 

I thank any and every one of you who can help me obtain these figures. 

Thank you. 

@Chip Cataldo @F For Fake

Variant cover for Action Comics #1068. I guess it'll appeal to the 5 year old reader segment. 

On 5/19/2024 at 9:03 PM, Bosco685 said:

 

Bah. Too far away. 

On 5/17/2024 at 5:48 AM, piper said:

I enjoyed the finale!  Season 2 will cover comic book ground that I never read.  I stopped reading around UXM 175.  How was the whole Apocalypse storyline received by comic readers?

Which one? The one with 

Why not talk about the actual current Jeremy Adams run, which has been pretty good so far. I hope we find out his 

Anyone else been reading the Jeremy Adams run? 

On 5/7/2024 at 8:02 AM, JBrown said:

The Energon Universe Free Comic Book Day issue was a great tease of the things to come! Is Void Rivals going to be TF centric in the near future? Kind of seems that way. Also, what of that Baroness reveal? And of course some 'Con sure is angry!

Also that body count sure is rising...

Yeah, I've had that Brawn page for months now, it still didn't make it hit any softer in the final product. 

On 5/16/2024 at 12:02 PM, Semicentennial said:

Lot of drek in there, but lots of potential winners.  The Batman v. Predator and DC v. Marvel books will probably never get reprinted.  Same thing with the DC Stan Lee books.  So huge opportunity for investment books.   Vladimir on the cover of that Star Trek book looks like a sleeper waiting to take off.   You know how those German covers do so well for Golden Age books.  Can't miss here.  

Offer the seller a low ball offer of $5k and see if they counter.   If they accept then it's a big win for you since that $40k savings can probably buy you bags and boards for half those books. 

DC VS Marvel is getting an omnibus in August. 

On 5/13/2024 at 7:18 AM, ttfitz said:

Looks like I quit in the neighborhood of issue 364. I can't remember exactly what drove me away, given the over 30 years since, but I can't imagine the Lyja/Alicia thing really helped.

As for trying it, as I said I did eventually buy them, but given the (well over) 10,000 unread comics I've got around here, it seems unlikely I'd pick up something I disliked enough to actually break up a run like that.

And, hey, I readily admit that I might be in a minority - guy has a lot of books in his bibliography, so somebody must like his writing. No shortage of people with bad taste, amirite? 

No, and that's fair, I freely admit my taste may not be to your liking, or that of a lot of people there. 

The issues you read are absolutely the drek of the run. It does improve after that, having some genuinely solid moments after they kill Reed and let Susan shine as leader of the team. That's the best material of the run until finally the last 2 issues are by a different team and part of the Onslaught crossover, ending that volume of Fantastic Four (for the first time anyway.) 

If you're after some hassle free DeFalco, check out his Comic Creators On... series. There's 3, X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four, and they're solely interviews by DeFalco with the legendary creators behind the respective titles. Well worth it, if you weren't already aware of them. 

On 5/12/2024 at 1:58 PM, ttfitz said:

Last update the total was 127. Looks like this is a 2-month update, March and April (and a little May...)

Bullet Points 1-5
My latest read from J. Michael Straczynski aka JMS aka Joe. Probably my least favorite of his work that I've read recently. A decent premise - Make one little change, and the whole world can change. The change in this case was moving an assassins bullet (hence the name) back 1 day, so that Dr. Abraham Erskine (along with a solder by the name of Ben Parker) is killed by a German spy before the Super Solder serum is used on Steve Rogers, and thus no Captain America. A cascade of effects come from this one event, leading to some interesting twists. Felt like it tried a bit too hard to bring a bunch of "Oh yeah, that's neat" moments. An overdone What If? tale, as it was. 

Invincible 103-144
What can I say that hasn't been said before? Very, very good as always. And as with all good things, it eventually comes to an end. In this case, a pretty good end for an excellent series. Robert Kirkman is probably more well known as the creator of The Walking Dead, but Invincible grabbed me much more that his better known book.

Wesley Dodds Sandman 1-6
One of DC Comics look at some of the Golden Age JSA characters, I really enjoyed this one. Having recently read the Sandman Mystery Theatre series, I thought this felt in line with that series and the portrayal there. Worth a look if you are a JSA fan.

The Ribbon Queen 1-8
A bit of horror from the G-Man, Garth Ennis. An interesting series with a twist or two along the line. Like a lot of Ennis' work, it can be hard to see the lines, and tell who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. Or if there even are "good guys" and "bad guys."

Black Hammer: The End 1-6
A reasonable tie-up to the Black Hammer world, although if you think Jeff Lemire is really holding to The End like with Invincible, I've got a Farm to sell you.

Superman Year One 1-3
Frank Miller with (yet another) telling of the beginning of Superman's life on Earth. Frankly (heh), it was kind "meh" for me. It's no Batman: Year One, that's for sure.

Robyn Hood The Curse 1-6
Chuck Dixon being a favorite of mine from back-in-the-day, thought I'd give this one a try when I saw it listed on Hoopla. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, but at least worth reading. Enjoyed it more than the Van Helsing mini of his I read earlier this year.

Killer Tales by Timothy Truman
Ran across this in a dollar box at a recent convention I went to, and I was sold when I saw Tim Truman in big letters on the cover:

One of his first works (but not first released) in the comic book industry. Worth it if for nothing else but the quirky Truman art.

Quick Stops 2 1-4
More from the world of author Kevin Smith's Clerks. Enjoyed this more than the first series, which I thought required a great deal of Clerk's fanboy knowledge in order to follow along. This had connections, but you could have enjoyed this one without the slightest bit of familiarity with the movies.

Norse Mythology II 1-6
Second series of Neil Gaiman's telling of the old Norse myths. As with everything Gaiman, very well written with a fun take on characters many Marvel fans might think they know.

Kirby Genesis 0-8
More collaboration between writer Kurt Busiek and artist Alex Ross - with an assist (via characters developed) from the legend himself, Jack Kirby. Lots of Kirby creations - and when I say lots, I mean 3 or 4 (or 5, I lost track) whole teams of characters. Busiek did his best, but for this reader, way too much Kirby wacky characters, which made it hard to follow. Still worth it for the fans of any of the three, I'd say, just don't expect the best of any of them.

MSH Secret Wars Battleworld 1-4
A supposed tale set between two panels of the 80s Secret Wars that gave us the Spider-Man black costume. Written by Tom DeFalco, I was reminded about why, after a nearly complete run of close to 400 straight issues of Fantastic Four, this completist collector stopped buying the title* due to how much I hated what DeFalco was doing. This wasn't as bad, but fairly blah - when the supposed surprise twist was something I saw at least 2 issues before (which is saying a lot in a 4 issue series) you can't really give it high praise.

So assuming I didn't lose track, that adds up to 100 issues, bringing the yearly total to 227.

 

*And yes, in case you are wondering, I did go back 30 or more years later and pick up the missing issues from the dollar boxes. Completist collector, remember? 

You've got some good choice of books there, but I have to step in and stand up for DeFalco and Ryan's Fantastic Four run. That was MY FF as a kid, so I have no ability to view it objectively, but let me try: *ahem* it' constantly keeps you on your toes with bigger, more bombastic storylines, yet also allots a decent amount of pagespace for family downtime and shenanigans. Whether you liked the end product or not, it's clear DeFalco was writing his hardest, desperate to make FF work in the Image era, a hopeless task. The pencils by Paul Ryan while not what you'd call exciting, are always en pointe, never rushed, never a bad panel, always of a high quality. A true penciller's penciller, I think someone once said of him. Together they fought against the impossible, being seen as your parent's comic, not cool like all these new Image and X-Men guys, and together they actually raised sales at some times, a rather minor miracle. 

Parts of the run haven't aged that great, but for the most part I can read 90% of it happily today, a pretty good percentage considering the vintage, creators, and competition. 

Might it be time to try an issue or two again and see if your views have changed over time? You never know...