Thursday, October 29, 2009

Cleaning out the attic that is my brain!


Some random thoughts!


· Beasts Of Burden #2 was GREAT! Buy copies for the whole family! Can Dark Horse PLEASE make this an ongoing series? How about a Beasts Of Burden/Buffy The Vampire Slayer crossover??!!! I smell an Eisner in THAT!


· Superman Secret origins is shaping up to be a terrific series! Issue #2 featured Superboy (the REAL one) and the original Legion Of Super Heroes! It was a particular pleasure to see Phantom Girl and Triplicate Girl who were always just supporting players! And you HAVE to love what they did with Lightning Lad! They actually gave him a personality! Kudos to Geoff Johns for taking the best of the Silver Age and bringing it into the modern era!


· I am a great admirer of the Overstreet price Guide and the job they do each and every year in compiling what I consider to be THE great Comic Book Reference book. The book is an invaluable reference for every major (and minor) mainstream title published, since…well forever. While you won’t find a reference to Cherry Poptart within it’s pages, the guide does identify each and every issue, along with KEYS of just about any comic you are likely to collect. In addition the book always contains some of the very best articles on the history of comics that you can find anywhere. This year’s edition had some great articles on the history of DC’s Batman! It’s value as a PRICE GUIDE , however is not what it once was. It is rare to find any reseller asking full guide price for their back issues and online venues like Ebay give you the opportunity to purchase back issues at WELL below guide price. The good people at Overstreet should really start to take online sources when they determine the prices for back issues.


· I am not a big “variant cover” guy. They almost never hold any value over the long haul but those IDW Virgin Covers they do for Angel are really great looking! Dark Horse also does a great job on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer covers! My advice is to collect variant covers because you like the art!


· Am I the only one who thinks that Wolverine is in too many books?


· DC has done a great job of turning Gotham City into a fully realized universe that is NOT dependant on Batman for great stories. Check out Streets Of Gotham, Batgirl, Gotham City Sirens, etc to see what I am talking about!


· Marvel’s next big event, “Siege” is coming in December and it looks like it is going to be the perfect bookend for the events that started in the Marvel Universe way back with Civil War. Get ready for some serious action!


· What ever happened to The Merry Marvel Marching Society?


· Star Trek, the hit summer blockbuster, is being released to DVD and Bluray on November 17th. RUN, don’t walk to get it! BUT another gem is coming out that week for us Trekkers! The great Star Trek spoof/homage Galaxy Quest is ALSO being released on BluRay. Now THAT is a must have!


· While I am thinking about Star Trek, who would ever have guessed that in 2009 the Trek franchise would be more vital, creative and just plain FUN than the Star Wars franchise. Note to George Lucas : Take a lesson from the Star trek and Battlestar teams. Great movies are NOT just long commercials for merchandising tie ins.


· Could “Fringe” get ANY better? AND with Leonard Nimoy back on TV, all is right with the world!


· Only two months until 24 is back! When last we saw Jack Bauer he was suffering from a fatal disease, which did not keep him from saving the free world yet again!


· All you PS3 owners make note that Sony has partnered with Netflix to stream nearly 12,000 movies and TV shows free of charge from your game system, directly to your TV. All you need is a Netflix subscription. This has been available on the Xbox 360 for about a year, BUT you have to buy an Xbox Live Gold membership to enjoy it. The PS3 version will not require any additional fees. How else are you gonna watch the first five seasons of Kojak for free??!!


· The PS3/Xbox game Batman: Arkham Asylum CRIES out for a sequel!


· Has anyone noticed that Norman Osborne is a serious looney tune? Hey there Mr. Psychopathic Former Goblin Iron Patriot Man Who Hires Bullseye to Be a Superhero Man! This Bud’s for you!


· Who would have ever believed that Tony Stark would be far more compelling as a drooling idiot than he ever was as a genius?


· Speaking of drooling idiots (nice segue!) if I have to read ONE MORE Final Crisis tie-in they are going to have to fit me for a rubber Fortress of Solitude! DC…ENOUGH. Stop the insanity and show some mercy! Final Crisis…we get it…move on!


· And while you’re at it, DC, Bruce Wayne has been gone long enough.


· The Disney acquisition of Marvel is now several months old and the world has NOT come to an end. You can come off the ledge now!


· IMHO the proliferation of Hard Covered and Trade paperback collections of classic comics and mini -series over the last several years has been a great thing for the hobby. On the one hand you can go back and read early issues of Fantastic Four and Spiderman without risking damage to your originals AND you can actually SAVE money by waiting for more recent series to be collected! There is no downside here. I especially like the “Absolute” Editions of series like New Frontier (DC). BUT the best bang for your buck HAS to be the Omnibus series from Marvel. You get 50 or more comics collected in a great package for around $100! Not bad at all! Of course I won’t rest until I see the Absolute Adventures of Jerry Lewis and the Not Brand Echh! Omnibus!


· After all these years “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” remains the best thing about Halloween.


· I have to say that one of the highlights of my week is bagging and boarding my new comics on Wednesday night!


· And finally remember the famous words of Voluminous Volstagg who when Odin threw him in the dungeon cried out “Throw me another maiden my lord!”

Keep those cards and letters coming everyone, and I want to thank the little old lady from Pasadena who knitted me a fully functional Batmobile!

Next…back to my 1950’s Sci-Fi movie retrospectives.

And THAT’S 30!

Mitch

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