Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Cover of the Week for 1-25-12

Happy New Comics Day! Well funny book readers, here we have another glorious day of comics, so of course that means I bring you another beautiful cover of the week. My pick for this week was an instant winner. I was tempted to not even bother looking through the rest of the covers. But of course, that would be nonsense. So take a look and let's discuss why 30 Days of Night #4 variant takes the crown this week.


Brought to you by Kieron Dwyer, this cover displays a very excited vampire with a bloody mouth hanging out in the snow. Well I'm sure he's not just hanging out, but nobody will know until it's read. But surely you'd like to know why I picked this variant, right? Of course you do. Just look at that face. You see that rage? Awesome I know. The eyes, the blood, and the teeth. It's just an amazing piece showing how vampires can really be. And no, that was not a shot at Twilight. I haven't much knowledge of this franchise other than the film starring Josh Hartnett. But with the release of this ongoing, I was enticed to research, but have yet to do so. That could change. But that's it for now fans.

Love it? Hate it? Let me know. Thanks for looking.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Current Pull-List (updated 12-28-11)

There was a quite a gap of time inbetween my pull-list updates. The late December date listed is when I actually updated it at my shop. The biggest changes are with DC Comics. You know, the New 52 and all. I'm already missing my two favorite DC titles Power Girl and Steph Brown Batgirl. This will give you an idea of my reading tastes. So take a look. The discussion continues after.

Marvel:
Amazing Spider-Man
Astonishing X-Men
Avengers
Avengers: X-Sanction
Avenging Spider-Man
Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive
Carnage, U.S.A.
Daredevil
Invincible Iron Man
Journey Into Mystery
Magneto: Not A Hero
Moon Knight
New Avengers
Secret Avengers
Uncanny X-Force
Uncanny X-Men
Wolverine & The X-Men
X-Men Legacy
X-Men

DC:
Batgirl
Batman
Batwing
Batwoman
Birds of Prey
Blue Beetle
Catwoman
Detective Comics
Gears Of War
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Huntress
I, Vampire
Justice League
Mister Terrific
Supergirl
Wonder Woman

Image:
The Activity (Previews pre-order)
Invincible
Shinku
Spawn
Walking Dead
Witchblade

IDW:
Cobra
Ghostbusters
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
Snake Eyes

Dark Horse:
The Immortal (Previews pre-order)
The Strain (Previews pre-order)

Dynamite:
Nowhere Man (Previews pre-order)

Included are the titles I pre-ordered after picking up the October issue of Previews. You will hear this often, but pre-order people. It's good for everybody. This along with updating your pull-list will keep you in the loop. I failed to do this on many occasions, which has resulted in the search of many books. IDW's Ghostbusters is the main example. Anyone can tell you how much I love Ghostbusters and I was excited for them to come back monthly. However, I got too busy and forgot to take steps to insure my copies and ended up having to back-issue hunt the first four issues.

I'm a bit behind in some titles, so those books are still piling up. A couple of those questionable titles are Journey Into Mystery and Invincible Iron Man. I've actually had Mr. Stark's adventures on the chopping block for a while but never made the cut. But I've been quite productive in catching up as of late.

For DC, Catwoman is likely to disappear. I'm just not feeling it so much. I've been giving it a few issues though. I'm actually liking Birds of Prey more than I thought I would. Batgirl and Wonder Woman are still on a trial basis. I've only been reading DC stuff for a few years, so I never had much exposure to Babs outside of the cartoon. I miss Stephanie Brown. Her Batgirl book was my favorite DC title pre-relaunch. I've gained a lot of respect for WW in recent years. That's about it for questionable titles from them.

Sadly, a few of these titles will be removed and not of my choice. Those being Black Panther and Mister Terrific. It sucks when Black-led titles get cancelled. It would seem Marvel just doesn't know what to do with Black Panther at times. And I was really digging Mister Terrific's solo adventures. I would have preferred another artist though. But I was enjoying his spotlight.

So there you have it funny book lovers, my official updated and slightly expensive, but fun, pull-list. Any comments are welcome. Thanks for looking.

Friday, January 20, 2012

My Top 5 Toys of 2011

Toys, toys, toys. Beyond the comics, I have a fondness for action figures and know many people who share that love. While most of my collection consists of comic characters, video games and anime characters are well represented.

2011 was a great year for toys. I purchased many action figures throughout the year and thought it would be cool to pick my top five of the year. This gave me a chance to look through pictures of my hauls from the previous year. That's not to say I don't do that anyway, because I do. It took me some time to look through everything because I wanted to make sure my initial list was made up of toys actually released in 2011.

From there, I had to narrow down my choices, which wasn’t as hard as I originally thought for a couple of reasons. One, there are a few figures who were standouts to me and were clear choices. And two, I’m only collecting about 3 current toylines including Marvel Universe, G.I. Joe, and Gears of War. But those are the only actual full ongoing toylines, it’ll be four when Marvel Legends hit shelves again. I’m not counting the figures connected to movies.

Getting that out of the way, let's get to the toys. Because that's why you're here, right? And to the toys we go.


#5. G.I. Joe 30th Anniversary Crimson Hiss Tank


I found this lovely vehicle at Toys R Us. I really dig this new design. I have three of them; one of each release. And yes, that includes the inexplicable brown one. I planned on painting that one black, but then I got my hands on the second release which was black. I still want to customize it, but have yet to decide on a design. Hasbro decided to release it a third time, in glorious red, or crimson as the box dictates. The actual color isn’t as glossy as the box would indicate, but it still looks good. I don't really care for the driver Cobra Crimson Horseman. I hate the mold they used, it's the same as the PoC wave 1 Firefly. The Firefly I didn't like then. But since I keep all my drivers and pilots anyway, he'll always have a home.


#4. G.I. Joe 30th Anniversary Vamp Mk.II


I know what you’re thinking. Two G.I. Joe vehicles? Really? Yes, really. I found this along with the Black Dragon VTOL at Wally World. This new Vamp design is my ideal Joe vehicle. And that model is a jeep/tank type vehicle fitting 4 or more figures. Because of this, it has actually become my favorite Joe vehicle. It has taken the spot of the A.W.E. Striker which has been number one for many years. I actually have two Vamps; both the PoC one and this 30th one. It joins the new Hiss and the A.W.E. Striker as the only vehicles of which I have multiple forms. I don't find the driver Steel Brigade Delta as cool as other people on the internet. But I definitely like him much better than the Cobra Crimson Horseman though.


#3. Gears of War 2 Skorge


I’ve been a gearhead since I played the first one and absolutely love the franchise. I’ve got the games, novels, comics, cog tags, a shirt, other apparel, and of course the toys. When NECA Toys announced Skorge, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on him. I had him set as my default Locust character in Gears 2. His mask or hat or whatever it was looked like dreads. I found him over the summer at TRU along with Kantus. The articulation is getting better on these figures. The first sets were pretty much statues. This deadly Locust comes with his dual-edged chainsaw staff.


#2. Marvel Masterworks SDCC Sentinel


If you don’t know, I’m a big X-Men fan. Always have been and always will be. As such, I’ve seen the Sentinels in action many times. I’ve had them in toy form before too. Hasbro produced these Sentinels in two colors. These classic colors were originally the SDCC 2011 exclusive. The other version, painted in silver and blue. 2011 marked my first trip to SDCC so I was already geeked out. But when I heard about the Sentinel, I knew I had to do what I could to get my hands on at least one. I won’t go into all the details, but anyone who’s been there knows the effort it takes to get some of Hasbro’s exclusives.

It came in a large box covered in art by Joe Quesada featuring six X-Men taking on the mechanical mutant killing terror. It even has lights and sounds. I originally planned to purchase two, but several factors came into play that made me stick to just the one. One of those was the size. I had trouble packing the one away; two would’ve been a struggle. I even carried it on the plane ride back. I wasn’t letting that Sentinel out of my sights for anything. I did receive several strange looks at the airport, but of course I didn’t care; I had my Sentinel. However, sometime after the convention, Hasbro Toy Shop got in some of the formerly SDCC exclusive items. I didn't spend any time deciding on whether to grab a second one and I’m glad. As I told a friend, I couldn’t have just one Sentinel.


#1. Marvel Universe Cyclops


These top two spots could’ve been switched around. That’s how close it was. But in the end, it had to go to Slim. Cyclops is one of my favorite comic book characters and I think he’s the best and most important X-Man ever. And despite all the unexplained pouches, I’m a huge fan of this costume. I actually picked up two, having gotten more into MOC figures. He’s got great articulation which includes the new rolling ankle joints. An awesome figure all around.

And just for fun, here are some more pix for you. I may have had a little fun with this. Not that much, but you know you thought of Night of the Sentinels with Cyclops and that Sentinel, didn't you? Yeah you did.






So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, my top five toys of 2011. There are a lot of toys coming out this year that I can't wait to get my hands on. Most of it will be Marvel stuff; Marvel Universe of course and the return of Marvel Legends. I wonder what SDCC exclusives Hasbro will have. What a year this will be indeed.

Feel free to comment. And thanks for looking.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Haul for the Week of 1-18-12

Having been gone for vacay, I knew I'd have a nice chunk of books waiting for me at the shop. What I did not expect was the stack I got. It was not small and definitely more than I expected for what I perceived to be a brief absence. Just looking at this week alone, there were more books than I remember seeing on the Diamond release list. I'm not complaining. Well maybe my bank account is, but whatever. Check out the haul below.




I have a lot of nice books here. My final pre-order from a couple months ago came in and that Dynamite Entertainment's Nowhere Man by Marc Guggenheim and Jeevan Kang. Can't wait to check that out. Mostly Marvel of course, including several X-books and Carnage, U.S.A. Some DC New 52. A few Image titles such as the amazing Shinku and The Activity. IDW's Ghostbusters and a few Yo Joe books. Lots of good reading ahead. I love it, I love it.


Along with the trip to my lcs, I hit up Target to see what they had toy-wise. They were slacking towards the end of 2011 and it became hit or miss with them, well without the hit. But today I found some goodies. Target had for me some of the recent Marvel Universe comic packs. The Daredevil/Bullseye and Quicksilver/Wonder Man packs. I have been anticipating the DD/BE pack since I saw it at SDCC 2011. What I was not anticipating was Target's increase in prices. The singles are $8.99 and the comic packs are $17.99 now. I might not open these guys for hope of finding them at Wally World. I won't hold out for long though, as I do want to open these guys.

Did you pick up any of these? What did you think of them? Like the toys? Let me know. Thanks for looking.

Cover of the Week for 1-18-12

Good day funny book readers. There were quite a few nice covers released this week, including some Venom variants. One of which, Uncanny X-Force #20 Variant by Paul Renaud, was actually the runner-up this week. So close it was that I was tempted to make it a tie. But alas, one had to win out. And that was Avengers #21. Check it out.


Why Avengers #21? Because one of my favorite ladies of comics and comic characters in general, Storm, graces the cover in her electrified glory. Daniel Acuna drew this beautiful piece. Storm looks amazing and you can just feel the energy flow from her. And in typical Avengers fashion, she is not alone. In the background, her fellow Avengers accompany her.

Like it? Hate it? Let me know. Thanks for looking.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Cover of the Week for 1-11-11

Hello funny book readers. I missed New Comic Day for several reasons, but here I am for Cover of the Week. This week I found a nice piece featuring one of my favorite mutants (surprise). There weren't that many covers that caught my eye this week. It happens. Here is Magneto: Not A Hero #3.


Brought to you by Clay & Seth Mann, this cover shows the titular character putting the foot down on his own helmet. What does this mean? I won't know until I read it. I've been a fan of Magnus for many years. One of my favorite villains or villain turned hero turned villain and turned hero again. Regardless of what you wanna call him, he still rocks.

Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Cover of the Week for 1-4-12

Happy New Year comic lovers. This new year will bring plenty of comic goodness to us all. Along with that, I will be hitting the internet hard to bring you even more comic awesomeness. It's fitting that for the first Cover of the Week for this new year that I present a choice which is a new series. Funny book lovers, take a look at the cover for Nowhere Man #1.


This cover is from the first issue in a new mini-series from Dynamite Entertainment. Credit for this nice piece goes to Jeevan Kang. I came across the solicitation for this series in an issue of Previews a few months back. It sounded good, so I added it to my list of pre-orders. I hadn't heard anything about it and thought it was delayed or cancelled when it wasn't amongst my other orders. That was until this week when I found in the releases. So hopefully, it will be sitting in my box waiting to be read.

Like it? Hate it? Let me know. Thanks for looking.