TomServo69
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Gone but not Forgotten
Nothing ever changes........
Posts: 5,467
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Post by TomServo69 on Jan 15, 2009 21:27:48 GMT -5
I decided to start a new thread devoted solely to us comic book readers and collectors as I myself am quite the avid collector. I figure since we have a whole thread devoted to comic book movies, well, we need a comic book thread. So, use this thread to discuss what you're reading now, what you think about it, what some of your favorite all-time books/storylines are, what some of your favorite character appearances are in particular (not characters though! Make a thread for a particular character if you want) etc. etc. etc. Well, I'll start off! Right now I'm reading the whole Final Crisis deal that DC has going on and all the tie-in's included with such. Very well written in comparison to the substandard (in my opinion) Crisis On Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis storylines. Also, the Batman R.I.P. storyline that's wrapping up right now is very good and has lots of twists and turns that keep the reader intrigued the whole way. In all reality, I'm really starting to turn into more of a DC fan than a Marvel fan which is surprising considering I grew up an adamant Marvel fan, but, in light of some of the recent Marvel storyline choices (Secret Invasion, Brand New Day) I am flocking to the DC stories as they seem to be having a deeper impact on the landscape of their respective comic universe than the Marvel storylines. As far as some collectibles I've picked up recently, well, I just got these in the mail today. An awesome copy of Batman #23 with a black cover featuring the Joker prominently. If any of you collect any older books then you know how hard it is to find mostly black covers in good shape due to the poor quality of paper used back during this time which, this particular issue is from June-July 1944, right in the middle of WWII. Secondly, this issue, Detective Comics #68, the first ever cover appearance of the now well-known Batman villain Two-Face, and his second appearance overall. One interesting thing about the three Golden Age appearances of Two-Face (Detective #66, this issue and Detective #80) are that Two-Face's real name wasn't Harvey Dent then, it was Harvey Kent and was changed when the real Two-Face reemerged in the Silver Age in Batman #234 to the more widely known Harvey Dent. This issue is from October 1942. See, you learned something by reading this Well, that's all for now. I'm looking forward to discussing some of you guys comic interests with you and answering any questions you guys may have about anything comic related as I consider myself somewhat of a comic guru. Also, if anyone is looking for any comics in particular, seeing as how I purchase things like I just showed above, I have a lot of contacts in the comic selling world and can get great deals on almost anything, so, if there's something you've wanted for a while but cringed at the prices around, let me know and I'm sure I can find you a deal on it. Til next time, thanks for visiting Servo's Comic Corner! Servo
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Post by Mighty Jack on Jan 16, 2009 0:52:35 GMT -5
I've started reading them again and have been going through Trade paperbacks like they are going out of style.
I used to be a die hard Marvel boy but they have really lost me lately. They just aren't very enjoyable, the Civil War was depressing and I had the same reaction as Hiro in Heroes (Hulk is red? Captain America is Dead? What's going in here!) - I've been reading She Hulk and I like what Peter David's done there so far.
I have been digging on DC (despite this nonsense with Batman, I guess he's retiring or something - BAH!) -
The new Blue Beetle has been a ton o' fun and I love what Geoff John's has done with Green Lantern (bringing back Hal Jordan). Will Pfeifer's run on Catwoman was great (too bad they canceled it).
I just started reading Ex Machina and that's been outstanding. And I checked out Alan Moore's Supreme tpb at the library based on CHs recommendation and have enjoyed what I've read so far.
Collectors stuff I don't do anymore. I just wanna read 'em so the collected editions fit my bill. I'm also not very happy with all these events. They really disrupt the flow of your regular comic books. Marvel just piles on one after the other. DC is doing this with their Superman titles, you can't just read one anymore, if you want to follow the story you're forced to read everything in the Superman/Supergirl line.
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Post by Weirdo Writer on Jan 16, 2009 1:10:52 GMT -5
Wow, great finds!
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Post by Don Quixote on Jan 16, 2009 10:10:07 GMT -5
Those are really cool finds, TS! Is that a Dick Sprang-era Joker I see there? Awesome.
Sadly, the only non-current comics I have (I'm reading Ambush Bug and Booster Gold at the moment) are from the mid-to-late eighties and into the mid nineties (All bought during my halcyon days of youth). I understand that there is nothing impressive about them, at least, this is what I'm told.
I used to have the Jean Grey/Cyclops Wedding Album, but for the life of me, I cannot find it.
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Post by The Mad Plumber on Jan 16, 2009 13:17:02 GMT -5
Nerds! You're all nerds!!!
Actually, back in the 1990s is when my friends turned me onto X-Men. I had one friend who lived by the river and his room was cluttered with insane amounts of Wizard magazines and various comic books; his favorite seemed to be The Tick. Anyway, he lent me the first comic I ever read, The Uncanny X-Men #297, and it has since been my favorite issue ever.
After I gave him back his issue, I purchased my own X-Men comics; I believe The Uncanny X-Men #300 and #302 were the first ones I ever bought. However, it was kind of hard to buy comics when I believe I didn't have a source of money and that venues of purchase were scarce to none. Nevertheless, I'd buy an issue here or there, plus I was in the vicinity of a comic book shop when I spent a summer in Florida.
My initial collection, however, was doomed. I did not know the fundamentals of comic book care, so they fell apart. One book I purchased in Florida, The Uncanny X-Men #272, was never returned after I lent it to a classmate ... and he better hope he never crosses my path again, the stinkin' thief. Ultimately, whatever was left found its way to the garbage.
Many years later, after I watched X-Men at the dollar theater, I got interested in comics again. I checked out what became of them and it was a source of comfort to see that Scott Lobdell was still writing for it. So, I purchased subscriptions to X-Men, The Uncanny X-Men, Cable, and Wolverine.
Then, I get the bad news. I read in some article that all of the X-Men books are to be retooled with new writers and costumes. So, then I find I've just subscribed to a bunch of comics books that I didn't quite bargain for. I don't like the art and I don't like the direction the stories were taking. So, that pretty much killed my comic book hobby the second time.
With the collection I got now, I've managed to get back several of the issues that were from my original collection, plus a few extra, including The Uncanny X-Men #266 (I have to admit that I'm a nut for Gambit). I'd use to buy these packages from Toys 'R Us that had a random assortment of X-Men comics. Also, I'd find random comics being sold for a dollar at second-hand stores, so I'd get them for the hell of it. There's a part of me that feels that I don't want my collection anymore, especially since comic book fragility is a bit of an annoyance. I more or less wanted the nostalgia of being able to echo back to my favorite era of the book.
In 1997, my mother bought me a magazine of some sort while I was at the hospital because it had Star Wars on the front cover. Reading it, I was largely shocked at how much I didn't know of comic books and how mature they've become. For example, Lady Death featured a chalk-white, voluptuous, sinister woman clothed in the smallest bikinis ever made and set in a macabre environment; by the cover alone, you'd think that the book was all about sex. Later, I would learn of the works of my favorite artist Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri and his gruesome and explicit series Druuna. I also purchased some Ranma ½ mangas so I could have some references for a gift art I did ... and I can assure you I'm NOT an otaku.
So, I don't read comics these days, but being mildly active in art forums (and with every blasted movie studio making a movie featuring every comic book ever made), I'm kept mildly abreast of what's out there.
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Post by Mod City on Jan 16, 2009 14:21:48 GMT -5
I really enjoyed comics when I was younger, but I pretty much stopped reading after I went to college (which also happened to be right about the time of the early 1990s market crash). I just didn't have the time, money or really the inclination to bother with them, but I never threw any of my copies away and almost all of them are properly bagged.
I first got into comics with The New Mutants and the cover art of Bill Sienkiewicz. I continued to follow that book closely and even tried to continue on with X-Force, but it just wasn't the same (I did like Liefeld's run on both TNM and XF, though). The death of Warlock in The Extinction Agenda and Beyonder killing the whole team in Secret Wars II were major events for me, and still pack an emotional punch on the rare occasions I pull them out.
I read quite a bit around the time of the rise of McFarlane's Spider Man and Jim Lee's Uncanny X-Men. But I also read The Punisher (and War Journal), Ghost Rider (the art of Mark Texeira was so well suited to GR), Strange Tales (Cloak & Dagger stories), Doctor Strange and others. I picked up random copies of other books I didn't read on a regular basis and ended up with some cool collector's items, including some issues with early cover work by McFarlane on Incredible Hulk and some early pencils by Lee on Alpha Flight. I also received a wonderful gift from my mom one Christmas in the form of an Amazing Spider Man #129 that she had found in a comic book shop. It's certainly not mint, but it means a great deal to me. My brother also got me a huge lot of Punisher and X-Men comics he found on eBay for Christmas one year. The lot also included a copy of Wolverine #1 (Frank Miller art).
Obviously, I was a big Marvel reader, but I also read some Dark Horse (Aliens, Terminator, etc.) and Image when it first started its run (Spawn primarily). Never enjoyed DC nearly as much, but I did find some Superman stories in the 80s pretty interesting.
OK, that's a big enough nerd-out for a while. I'm gonna have to take a look at the old collection one of these evenings.
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TomServo69
Moderator Emeritus
Gone but not Forgotten
Nothing ever changes........
Posts: 5,467
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Post by TomServo69 on Jan 16, 2009 20:08:23 GMT -5
Those are really cool finds, TS! Is that a Dick Sprang-era Joker I see there? Awesome. Why yes, that is a Dick Sprang Joker. Note to those not familiar with the way most Golden Age issues were written: most Golden Age issues had 3 or 4 stories, the main of which being sometimes related to the cover, sometimes just containing the villain on the cover. As with this issue, the Joker story, written by the superb Bill Finger, has nothing to do with chess, but it's instead called The Upside Down Crimes and involves the Joker stealing things, well, upside down, culminating in a Lionel Richie inspiring sword fight between Mr. J and Bats at the end of the story. For those who have never read a Golden Age comic, I highly suggest picking up some DC Archive collections. They make Batman ones, Detective Comics ones, Superman ones, etc. etc. Ever since I bought my first Golden Age comic, I've sworn that the format of 3 or 4 stories in one issue is the best. And, the best thing about it, there were very few ads in these issues and they only cost 10 frickin' cents! Today's comics run $2.99 to $3.99 and are halfway full of ads. So, check out some Golden Age reads today! You won't be disappointed! Servo
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TomServo69
Moderator Emeritus
Gone but not Forgotten
Nothing ever changes........
Posts: 5,467
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Post by TomServo69 on Jan 17, 2009 3:37:07 GMT -5
You know, I don't like to correct people, but, well, I can show you better than I can tell you.............................. That's the classic Batman villain Mr. Freeze. K? With me so far? That's the kinda classic Flash villain Captain Cold. Still with me? Both cold weather villains, but, look completely different. Any fool could distinguish between the two, especially if they took the time to build a custom figure of one of the right? cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220346174847&fromMakeTrack=true"sigh" guess I was wrong. AND WHY IS THERE A FRICKIN' POLAR BEAR THERE?!?!?!?!? ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!! "head explodes"
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Post by The Mad Plumber on Jan 17, 2009 4:05:24 GMT -5
Well, Tom, if you read the eBay listing, the user wrote "MR FREEZE HENCHMAN". I didn't read the comics to tell you say anything about the comic book Mr. Freeze, but I remember the Bruce Timm Animated Series episode that introduced Freeze. In that episode, he was accompanied by several henchman wearing heavy parkas like your second villain there. I think the user made up his own little Lego figurine to resemble one of those guys. I'm just amazed that the guy's trying to start the bid at nine dollars. Good luck! Apparently he must know something about eBay that my mother hasn't figured out yet.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Jan 17, 2009 4:20:54 GMT -5
Can I correct the correction? It's actually a hench-"woman" - note the child bearing hips. (he's got it both ways, Henchman in header, Henchwoman in description - lol)
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TomServo69
Moderator Emeritus
Gone but not Forgotten
Nothing ever changes........
Posts: 5,467
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Post by TomServo69 on Jan 17, 2009 4:30:37 GMT -5
Well, how about that. I swear to ya, it just said Mr. Freeze. I actually wrote the seller about it before I posted this on here, so, it must have got changed, but, before I posted this, it just said Mr. Freeze.
Either way, I'm right damnit. It's frickin' Captain Cold. I don't care how many animated eps just happened to have Mr. Freeze henchwomen who just happened to look like Captain Cold! Were they riding polar bears?!?!?!?!?! I THINK NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT'S CAPTAIN COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "head explodes"
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Post by Mighty Jack on Jan 17, 2009 4:36:57 GMT -5
ummm, well, um... yes they actually did hang with Polar Bears (sorry, sorry - flinches as TS69's head explodes again) Um, 2 of them had names, Notchka and Shaka... "BOOM!" Edit: This was the only screencap I could find
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TomServo69
Moderator Emeritus
Gone but not Forgotten
Nothing ever changes........
Posts: 5,467
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Post by TomServo69 on Jan 17, 2009 4:47:17 GMT -5
You know what? I'm about to watch every Mr. Freeze ep of the animated series since I have them on DVD and find these polar bear wielding Mr. Freeze henchwomen. Sorry if I have a hard time believing that this guy actually made a custom LEGO figure, in that much detail, of an obscure animated series henchwoman rather than inadvertently create a great Captain Cold likeness thinking that he was making Mr. Freeze.
Just a little too farfetched when you think about it. But, nevertheless, I'm going on a video hunt for these henchwomen, so, I'll be away for a few hours. I'll check in after every ep just to see if anyone has found a clip that shows the now mythical female Capt...... Mr. Freeze henchwoman.
Servo
EDIT: yeah, I remember the two polar bears from Subzero, but, I just don't for the life of me remember any Captain Cold facsimile henchpeople. I mean, come on, the thing is so detailed, it's got Captain Cold's glasses/visor!!!!
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TomServo69
Moderator Emeritus
Gone but not Forgotten
Nothing ever changes........
Posts: 5,467
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Post by TomServo69 on Jan 17, 2009 4:54:18 GMT -5
Well, nevermind. There are two chicks with Mr. Freeze in Subzero that look sorta like that. But, I still say the guy thought he was making Captain Cold. So, yeah, I was wrong once. Rub it in. It doesn't happen very often. I'm going to bed to cry with my Red Hood action figure clutched in my hand. Servo
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TomServo69
Moderator Emeritus
Gone but not Forgotten
Nothing ever changes........
Posts: 5,467
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Post by TomServo69 on Jan 17, 2009 5:12:59 GMT -5
Oh, I just checked my messages and, well, it at least shows that I had SOME validity in thinking he got it wrong..................
HI , THANKS FOR THE INFO. IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE LABELED AS A MR FREEZE HENCHWOMAN. I TOO AM A FLASH FAN AS WELL AS CAPTAIN COLD, BUT IN THE BATMAN CARTOON SUB ZERO MOVIE , FREEZE HAD TWO HENCH WOMEN WITH THE BLUE COATS, TINTED GLASSES AND WHITE AROUND THE HOODS WHO HAD 2 POLAR BEARS WITH THEM AS THEY BATTLED AGAINST BATMAN, ROBIN AND BATGIRL. YOU HAVE INSPIRED ME TO MAKE A CAPTAIN COLD FIGURE THOUGH WITH THE WHIT CUFFS AND WHITE BOOTS SINCE WE HAVE ALREADY MADE MIRROR MASTER, PROFESSOR ZOOM AND CAPTAIN BOOMERANG IN THE PAST. AND FOR POINTING OUT THAT MISTAKE IF YOU SHOULD EVER WANT TO REQUEST A CUSTOM BE MADE I WILL MAKE IT AND GIVE YOU IT FOR BELOW REGULAR SELLING COST. THANKS AGAIN, MARK
So, I guess if anything, I can now ask the dude to make me a "Hush" storyline Jason Todd LEGO-man and get it for cheap. ;D
Servo
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