Ares

I just kept crying until I got one

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/arts/television/sesame-street-big-bird.html
WOODSTOCK, Conn. — The friendly, bearded face of Caroll Spinney may not be one you recognize immediately. But if you have watched TV at any point in the past 50 years or so, you are almost certainly familiar with his work. Since 1969, he has played the parts of the gentle, inquisitive Big Birdand the lovably disgruntled Oscar the Grouch on “Sesame Street,” the long-running children’s program.
This Thursday, as he so often has, Spinney, 84, plans to travel to the studios in Astoria, Queens, where “Sesame Street” is produced, and record some voices for his colorful alter egos.
Then he will retire from the program: His roles will be passed on to new performers and his remarkable half-century run, in which he has embodied two of the most beloved characters on television, will come to an end.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit education organization that produces “Sesame Street,” did not have a precise figure for the number of episodes Spinney has appeared in, but a spokeswoman said the number was likely thousands of the more than 4,400 episodes that have been created.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/arts/television/sesame-street-big-bird.html
WOODSTOCK, Conn. — The friendly, bearded face of Caroll Spinney may not be one you recognize immediately. But if you have watched TV at any point in the past 50 years or so, you are almost certainly familiar with his work. Since 1969, he has played the parts of the gentle, inquisitive Big Birdand the lovably disgruntled Oscar the Grouch on “Sesame Street,” the long-running children’s program.
This Thursday, as he so often has, Spinney, 84, plans to travel to the studios in Astoria, Queens, where “Sesame Street” is produced, and record some voices for his colorful alter egos.
Then he will retire from the program: His roles will be passed on to new performers and his remarkable half-century run, in which he has embodied two of the most beloved characters on television, will come to an end.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit education organization that produces “Sesame Street,” did not have a precise figure for the number of episodes Spinney has appeared in, but a spokeswoman said the number was likely thousands of the more than 4,400 episodes that have been created.

https://screenrant.com/toys-r-us-reopening-bankruptcy/
It seems like not all hope is lost with regard to Toys "R" Us as the company may eventually restart operations in the United States after its controlling lenders decided to cancel the scheduled bankruptcy auction.
Last year, news broke out that the struggling retailer may be closing its doors to its loyal customers as it gears up to file for bankruptcy. Soon after, the move became official, and although the stores remained open during 2017's holiday shopping season, which is usually their busiest time of the year, the inevitable happened with over 735 stores all over the country shutting down one by one to the dismay of the brand's patrons. This also left 33,000 people without jobs. But in a shocking turn of events, it appears as if there's still a chance that Toys "R" Us may once again restart operations.
In the court documents acquired by WSJ, it's revealed that lenders have decided to cancel the upcoming bidding of properties. "Notwithstanding the receipt of Qualified Bids for certain of the Intellectual Property Assets, the Debtors have determined, in consultation with the Consultation Parties, to cancel the Intellectual Property Auction," the legal papers revealed. It turns out that the selling debtors "have determined that the Qualified Bids were not reasonably likely to yield a superior alternative to the Plan, including with respect to: (i) the probable economic recovery to creditors of the Selling Debtors’ estates; and (ii) the benefits to other direct and indirect stakeholders of maintaining the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us brands under a newly-established, independent U.S. business, including, without limitation, expected expansion of employment opportunities for workers and merchandising opportunities for toy and other vendors."
Back in June, it was reported that former CEO Jerry Storch was looking a way to breathe new life into Toys "R" US During the executive's time in the company, the business earned $1 billion in earnings (before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Sadly, Toys "R" Us was not able to maintain their financial performance after his departure in 2013. While the legal documents didn't divulge whether or not Storch has anything to do with this surprising development, he would be a great candidate to join the board in mapping out the retailer's comeback considering his history with the brand.
Toys "R" Us was as one of the three largest customers for toy producing companies like Mattel and Hasbro alongside Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp. Its shut down resulted in an $11 billion loss in the toy industry. While there's slim to none chance that this new ploy will kick-in just in time for this year's holiday shopping season, the fact that there might still be a chance that the storied toy retailer may once again open its doors is already a welcome development for its loyal customers.
 

https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-episode-ix-cast-announced
STAR WARS: EPISODE IX CAST ANNOUNCED
Star Wars: Episode IX will begin filming at London’s Pinewood Studios on August 1, 2018. J.J. Abrams returns to direct the final installment of the Skywalker saga. Abrams co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio.
Returning cast members include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast of Episode IX are Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant, who will be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian.
The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” says Abrams. “Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.

https://www.newsarama.com/40136-gem-closing-donating-collection-to-library-of-congress.html
Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi has made a multimillion dollar donation of more than 3,000 items from his personal comic book and pop culture collection to The Library of Congress.
Geppi’s gift encompasses comic books, photos, posters, original comic book and comic strip art, newspapers, pinback buttons, and other rare, vintage pop culture artifacts including the original Plane Crazy storyboards that document the creation of Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse.
Items are expected to go on display at the Library of Congress beginning this summer. The move represents a huge next chapter in one of Geppi’s long-held dreams.
 
For more than a decade, the material has been on display at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum (GEM) in Baltimore and includes Big Little Books, Beatles memorabilia, a collection of flicker rings popularizing comic book characters and political figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., R.F. Outcault’s The Yellow Kid printing blocks, and the No. 2 Brownie camera model F from Eastman Kodak Company.
With the acquisition of these items by the Library of Congress, GEM will close its doors in June. Its last day open to the public will be Sunday, June 3, 2018 from 10am to 6pm. Admission that day will be free of charge.
When Geppi’s Entertainment Museum opened in 2006, it was the natural next step in Geppi’s lifelong passion to share comic books and popular culture in general with the widest possible audience.
“I’ve been an evangelist for comics since I picked up my first issue of Batman at the age of five. Since then, I couldn’t help but share my excitement, first with my brother, then my family, and then my friends. I remember thinking ‘This stuff is great! I can’t wait to share it with so-and-so.’ After that, each step along the way has really preceded from those initial impulses,” Geppi said.
In GEM, Geppi achieved a previously unparalleled execution of his vision, but after more than a decade in its historic Camden Yards facility, it was apparent to him that to reach even more people with his message, he was going to need to go bigger. This led to a meeting with Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, who Geppi knew from her time heading up the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. From there, things moved relatively quickly.
“The Library of Congress is home to the nation’s largest collection of comic books, cartoon art and related ephemera and we celebrate this generous donation to the American people that greatly enhances our existing holdings,” said Hayden. “The appeal of comic books is universal, and we are thrilled that this new addition to the collections will make them even more accessible to people worldwide.”
The Library holds more than 140,000 issues of approximately 13,000 comic book titles, dating back to the 1930s. The collection includes many firsts and some of the most important comics in history, including the first comic book sold on newsstands, the first comics featuring Batman and other iconic characters, such as All Star Comics #8, the first appearance of Wonder Woman. The Library also holds a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, the origin and first appearance of Spider-Man, along with the original artwork that Steve Ditko created for the issue. According to The Library, The Geppi Collection expands and enriches this strong foundation and fills gaps in specific issues.
“I’ve been blessed to make my living from something I love for decades, and further blessed to be able to share these treasures with others. The idea of how many more people will get to see this material under the auspices of The Library of Congress invigorates my mind with a multitude of possibilities. I definitely have other plans for the future as well. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to stop collecting,” said Geppi.

https://www.newsarama.com/40136-gem-closing-donating-collection-to-library-of-congress.html
Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi has made a multimillion dollar donation of more than 3,000 items from his personal comic book and pop culture collection to The Library of Congress.
Geppi’s gift encompasses comic books, photos, posters, original comic book and comic strip art, newspapers, pinback buttons, and other rare, vintage pop culture artifacts including the original Plane Crazy storyboards that document the creation of Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse.
Items are expected to go on display at the Library of Congress beginning this summer. The move represents a huge next chapter in one of Geppi’s long-held dreams.
 
For more than a decade, the material has been on display at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum (GEM) in Baltimore and includes Big Little Books, Beatles memorabilia, a collection of flicker rings popularizing comic book characters and political figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., R.F. Outcault’s The Yellow Kid printing blocks, and the No. 2 Brownie camera model F from Eastman Kodak Company.
With the acquisition of these items by the Library of Congress, GEM will close its doors in June. Its last day open to the public will be Sunday, June 3, 2018 from 10am to 6pm. Admission that day will be free of charge.
When Geppi’s Entertainment Museum opened in 2006, it was the natural next step in Geppi’s lifelong passion to share comic books and popular culture in general with the widest possible audience.
“I’ve been an evangelist for comics since I picked up my first issue of Batman at the age of five. Since then, I couldn’t help but share my excitement, first with my brother, then my family, and then my friends. I remember thinking ‘This stuff is great! I can’t wait to share it with so-and-so.’ After that, each step along the way has really preceded from those initial impulses,” Geppi said.
In GEM, Geppi achieved a previously unparalleled execution of his vision, but after more than a decade in its historic Camden Yards facility, it was apparent to him that to reach even more people with his message, he was going to need to go bigger. This led to a meeting with Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, who Geppi knew from her time heading up the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. From there, things moved relatively quickly.
“The Library of Congress is home to the nation’s largest collection of comic books, cartoon art and related ephemera and we celebrate this generous donation to the American people that greatly enhances our existing holdings,” said Hayden. “The appeal of comic books is universal, and we are thrilled that this new addition to the collections will make them even more accessible to people worldwide.”
The Library holds more than 140,000 issues of approximately 13,000 comic book titles, dating back to the 1930s. The collection includes many firsts and some of the most important comics in history, including the first comic book sold on newsstands, the first comics featuring Batman and other iconic characters, such as All Star Comics #8, the first appearance of Wonder Woman. The Library also holds a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, the origin and first appearance of Spider-Man, along with the original artwork that Steve Ditko created for the issue. According to The Library, The Geppi Collection expands and enriches this strong foundation and fills gaps in specific issues.
“I’ve been blessed to make my living from something I love for decades, and further blessed to be able to share these treasures with others. The idea of how many more people will get to see this material under the auspices of The Library of Congress invigorates my mind with a multitude of possibilities. I definitely have other plans for the future as well. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to stop collecting,” said Geppi.

https://www.newsarama.com/40136-gem-closing-donating-collection-to-library-of-congress.html
Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi has made a multimillion dollar donation of more than 3,000 items from his personal comic book and pop culture collection to The Library of Congress.
Geppi’s gift encompasses comic books, photos, posters, original comic book and comic strip art, newspapers, pinback buttons, and other rare, vintage pop culture artifacts including the original Plane Crazy storyboards that document the creation of Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse.
Items are expected to go on display at the Library of Congress beginning this summer. The move represents a huge next chapter in one of Geppi’s long-held dreams.
 
For more than a decade, the material has been on display at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum (GEM) in Baltimore and includes Big Little Books, Beatles memorabilia, a collection of flicker rings popularizing comic book characters and political figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., R.F. Outcault’s The Yellow Kid printing blocks, and the No. 2 Brownie camera model F from Eastman Kodak Company.
With the acquisition of these items by the Library of Congress, GEM will close its doors in June. Its last day open to the public will be Sunday, June 3, 2018 from 10am to 6pm. Admission that day will be free of charge.
When Geppi’s Entertainment Museum opened in 2006, it was the natural next step in Geppi’s lifelong passion to share comic books and popular culture in general with the widest possible audience.
“I’ve been an evangelist for comics since I picked up my first issue of Batman at the age of five. Since then, I couldn’t help but share my excitement, first with my brother, then my family, and then my friends. I remember thinking ‘This stuff is great! I can’t wait to share it with so-and-so.’ After that, each step along the way has really preceded from those initial impulses,” Geppi said.
In GEM, Geppi achieved a previously unparalleled execution of his vision, but after more than a decade in its historic Camden Yards facility, it was apparent to him that to reach even more people with his message, he was going to need to go bigger. This led to a meeting with Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, who Geppi knew from her time heading up the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. From there, things moved relatively quickly.
“The Library of Congress is home to the nation’s largest collection of comic books, cartoon art and related ephemera and we celebrate this generous donation to the American people that greatly enhances our existing holdings,” said Hayden. “The appeal of comic books is universal, and we are thrilled that this new addition to the collections will make them even more accessible to people worldwide.”
The Library holds more than 140,000 issues of approximately 13,000 comic book titles, dating back to the 1930s. The collection includes many firsts and some of the most important comics in history, including the first comic book sold on newsstands, the first comics featuring Batman and other iconic characters, such as All Star Comics #8, the first appearance of Wonder Woman. The Library also holds a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, the origin and first appearance of Spider-Man, along with the original artwork that Steve Ditko created for the issue. According to The Library, The Geppi Collection expands and enriches this strong foundation and fills gaps in specific issues.
“I’ve been blessed to make my living from something I love for decades, and further blessed to be able to share these treasures with others. The idea of how many more people will get to see this material under the auspices of The Library of Congress invigorates my mind with a multitude of possibilities. I definitely have other plans for the future as well. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to stop collecting,” said Geppi.

OK...we’re far enough in the Avengers Infinity War run that I’m going to give my theory on what happened. Stop here if you don’t want the movie spoiled....
When Iron Man and Spider-Man was trying to grab the Gauntlet off Thanos and Mantis couldn’t put Thanos to sleep, Starlord acted like a complete jerk trying to interrogate Thanos about the whereabouts of Gamora. My take?
Starlord was trying to distract Thanos while Stark replaced one of the stones, probably the Reality Stone, with a fake one; generated by Stark’s new nanotechnology armor. Thanos bailed quickly when Strange too easily just gave up his stone and immediately got in a fight to get Vision’s stone. When he got what he thought was the last stone, Thor went ballistic on him before Thanos snapped his fingers and half the universe died. Thanos then immediately bailed out. Thanos never realized he still didn’t have all the stones when he did the deed and Dr Strange conjured up a massive spell, with the help of the Reality stone, to make it look like all the heroes died. Thanos was tricked and all those who “died” are probably sitting in one of Strange’s dimensions before he brings them back. That’s what I think happened...

Think of it.. most of the people dissolving have movies comming up..
Evans, Helmsorth, Downy want out and they all survived (Wink)

Found this  Punisher LTD series #1 & 5 in a collection I bought
Sending off to CGC today

Found this  Punisher LTD series #1 & 5 in a collection I bought
Sending off to CGC today

Found this  Punisher LTD series #1 & 5 in a collection I bought
Sending off to CGC today

took a long time to find the untouched photo

I wonder who at Kenner/Hasbro said.... don't bother with the cheque this year.

My father in Law heard of the Theft on the Radio.
He asked me if I heard if the situation and are comics really worth that much.
I said yes and yes.
He starts to ask me about my collection.
He no longer makes fun of me and what I collect.
Hope you get your stuff back ASAP
 

so if they Merge how do they handle the Quicksilvers death?

Looks like deal is done
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/sorry-deadpool-ryan-reynolds-x-mens-wolverine-avengers-unite-disneyfox-close-acquisition-deal-752102
X-Men's Wolverine and Avengers unite as Disney–Fox close acquisition deal
It is finally happening! Weeks after news broke out that Walt Disney Co. was in talks with Fox to acquire their entertainment segment, 20th Century Fox, it has been confirmed that the two studios have closed the deal and could likely make the acquisition announcement sometime next week.
According to a CNBC report, Disney and Fox have finalised Disney's purchase of numerous Fox assets, including 20th Century Fox movie studio. Which means Disney will officially own most of Marvel's cinematic characters namely the Avengers, X-Men and Deadpool, to name a few.
It was earlier reported that Disney was not the only studio Fox was in talks with regarding the acquisition. Bloomberg had recently reported that Fox was also in talks with Comcast, CNBC's parent company, but the studio was inclined to Disney.
"21st Century Fox Inc., the global film and TV company controlled by the Murdoch family, would prefer to sell some assets to Walt Disney Co. because it's a better strategic fit and presents fewer regulatory hurdles, people familiar with the matter said," Bloomberg reported.
The acquisition news comes as good news for superhero fans. Many Marvel fans had expressed their wish of watching the X-Men universe and the current Marvel Cinematic Universe come together for some amazing collaboration
It is said that Disney had the same wish as fans. According to Wall Street Journal, one of the factors driving Disney in the deal was to regain the film rights to all of the Marvel Comics character, including the X-Men and Fantastic Four.
However, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds might not be as happy as the fans. After news about the acquisition, the actor had expressed his concern over the R-rated content treatment if Deadpool comes under the Disney banner, which is inclined to PG-13.
He had tweeted in early November, "If this is true, I wonder how the fudge it would affect Deadpool?" We'll wait and see if Disney changes the hit formula adopted by the R-rated movie or let the cash roll in allowing Deadpool be as it is.
CNBC also reports that the estimated value of the deal is $60 billion. This doesn't include Fox's sports and news assets.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I did a few as well. mot much but I will take what I can get

Hell they could use her powers to merge them into MCU and starts Phase 2

Hell they could use her powers to merge them into MCU and starts Phase 2