About every 4 months or so, Greenville hosts a really tiny comic-con in a seedy hotel on the outskirts of town. This year, it happened to fall on the same day as the Borderlands sale!
Unfortunately, I was pretty much tapped out by the sale. My only acquisitions were an issue (174) of the first Doc Strange series. I also got an interesting item: the February 1948 issue of Amazing Stories! Its in really great shape for being 60 years old. I can't wait to dig into the Golden Age Sci-Fi action inside!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Acquisition Report: Borderlands Sale
Hey folks! Back again, and with tons of new content for you! We'll start off today with a report on the happenings this weekend. As I reported last year, my favorite gaming/comics shop, Borderlands Games and Comics, has a big blowout sale about this time every year.
As El Jacone, non-blogger Joe and I drove up to the store on Saturday morning, we saw the usual sea of nerdery waiting anxiously to get in. I swear, if a comet were to strike that parking lot at that moment, the nerd IQ in Greenville County would drop to almost nothing.
Before the doors opened, Stan, the owner, sent out his daughter in an attempt to use beauty to calm the nerdy beast. After imploring the crowd not to stomp her to death, she explained the rules, and quickly scuttled out of the way. IT WAS ON!!
I ran to the back, hoping to repeat last year's amazing RPG haul, but found nothing. Then, I ran to the frnt, hoping for cheap figures again. This time, I hit pay dirt, snagging a Legion of Superheoes Heroclix starter set for a measly $2.
Behold:
Not only does this set include Superboy, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy, and Timber Wolf, it includes a play mat, rules set, dice, and scenery!
My only other gaming purchases of the day were a single blister of Warhammer Lizardmen, and a copy of Axis and Allies D-Day, which I picked up for 20 bucks.
And now, for the comics. Again, we'll divide this up by fanboy category:
Firestorm: I snagged 22 and 34 of vol. 2 from the 3/$1 bins. There was probably more to be had, but I had reached the limits of my budget by that point. I also grabbed Justice League of America #179, where Firestorm joins the JLA!
Blue Devil: Issues 12, 15, and 18 of Blue's colo run. Almost done with this one!
Namor: Issue 2 of Namor's 80's miniseries
ROM: The Spaceknight made a good showing this year! I got issues 13, 44, 46, 47, 48, 51 and Annuals 1 and 2. Plus, I got Marvel Two-In-One #99, starring The Thing and ROM!
Moon Knight: A decent showing for good old Marc, with issues 25, 27, 28, and 32 of of his second series, plus issues 1 and 2 of the Fist of Khonshu mini.
Amethyst: Only 1 issue this time: #5 of the ongoing. I have nearly every Amethyst issue out there, so finishing off the list is getting tougher.
Justice League Europe: Annual 1 and issue 33. Another series that should be easy to find, but isn't.
What If?: Issue 43, 31, and 33 of vol 1, plus #32 of vol. 2. All interesting stories!
Aquaman: El Jacone gave me quite a few Aquaman comics back on Halloween, and I've continued the tradition by picking up few more. I got issue 62 of Aquaman's first series, plus Adventure comics #466, starring Aquaman.
Defenders: Giant Size Defenders #5. Yup, that's it!
AND INTRODUCING NEW FANBOY CATEGORY: Legion of Superheroes!
I've picked up a few random Legion issues here and there over the years, but this year the discount bins seemed stuffed with them, and I couldn't pass it up!
I got: issues 198, 299, and 264 of the orignal series. In fact, 198 was early enough that it was still branded "Superboy, starring The Legion of Superheroes." In addition, I got issues 33, 92-99, 101-104, and 106-117 of the reboot era Legion. I've read about 10 of those issues, and it sure does make for some great comic fun! All those issues, plus the Heroclix Legion.
And now, for the subject of this blog...Green Arrow!
Not too much this time,, unfortunately. I did find a few issues of Green Lantern, still badged as Green Lantern/Green Arrow, # 117 118, and 121. I also grabbed The Brave and the Bold #166, guest starring Green Arrow.
Random: Not much random stuff this year. I managed to focus pretty narrowly on my fanboy obsessions. I did pick up the first issue of The Soviet Super-Soldiers from El Jacone the night before. I also grabbed the 1st issue of Animal Man, by Grant Morrison. I also found 3 issues (6, 7, and 8) of Crisis on Infinite Earths, all in pretty good shape! That was my main surprise find of th morning.
Trades: Every year Borderlands puts out a nice selection of $5 trades. This year I grabbed DNAgents vol. 1, plus vol. 1 and 2 of Alan Moore's Tomorrow Stories. I'm really excited about that last one!
No toys or anything this time, unfortunately. However, our friend the Monitor from the Crisis of Infinite Earths line was STILL there, for the 3rd or 4th year running! I swear, if that thing is still there next year, I'm going to buy the poor guy out of pity.
As El Jacone, non-blogger Joe and I drove up to the store on Saturday morning, we saw the usual sea of nerdery waiting anxiously to get in. I swear, if a comet were to strike that parking lot at that moment, the nerd IQ in Greenville County would drop to almost nothing.
Before the doors opened, Stan, the owner, sent out his daughter in an attempt to use beauty to calm the nerdy beast. After imploring the crowd not to stomp her to death, she explained the rules, and quickly scuttled out of the way. IT WAS ON!!
I ran to the back, hoping to repeat last year's amazing RPG haul, but found nothing. Then, I ran to the frnt, hoping for cheap figures again. This time, I hit pay dirt, snagging a Legion of Superheoes Heroclix starter set for a measly $2.
Behold:
Not only does this set include Superboy, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy, and Timber Wolf, it includes a play mat, rules set, dice, and scenery!My only other gaming purchases of the day were a single blister of Warhammer Lizardmen, and a copy of Axis and Allies D-Day, which I picked up for 20 bucks.
And now, for the comics. Again, we'll divide this up by fanboy category:
Firestorm: I snagged 22 and 34 of vol. 2 from the 3/$1 bins. There was probably more to be had, but I had reached the limits of my budget by that point. I also grabbed Justice League of America #179, where Firestorm joins the JLA!
Blue Devil: Issues 12, 15, and 18 of Blue's colo run. Almost done with this one!
Namor: Issue 2 of Namor's 80's miniseries
ROM: The Spaceknight made a good showing this year! I got issues 13, 44, 46, 47, 48, 51 and Annuals 1 and 2. Plus, I got Marvel Two-In-One #99, starring The Thing and ROM!
Moon Knight: A decent showing for good old Marc, with issues 25, 27, 28, and 32 of of his second series, plus issues 1 and 2 of the Fist of Khonshu mini.
Amethyst: Only 1 issue this time: #5 of the ongoing. I have nearly every Amethyst issue out there, so finishing off the list is getting tougher.
Justice League Europe: Annual 1 and issue 33. Another series that should be easy to find, but isn't.
What If?: Issue 43, 31, and 33 of vol 1, plus #32 of vol. 2. All interesting stories!
Aquaman: El Jacone gave me quite a few Aquaman comics back on Halloween, and I've continued the tradition by picking up few more. I got issue 62 of Aquaman's first series, plus Adventure comics #466, starring Aquaman.
Defenders: Giant Size Defenders #5. Yup, that's it!
AND INTRODUCING NEW FANBOY CATEGORY: Legion of Superheroes!
I've picked up a few random Legion issues here and there over the years, but this year the discount bins seemed stuffed with them, and I couldn't pass it up!
I got: issues 198, 299, and 264 of the orignal series. In fact, 198 was early enough that it was still branded "Superboy, starring The Legion of Superheroes." In addition, I got issues 33, 92-99, 101-104, and 106-117 of the reboot era Legion. I've read about 10 of those issues, and it sure does make for some great comic fun! All those issues, plus the Heroclix Legion.
And now, for the subject of this blog...Green Arrow!
Not too much this time,, unfortunately. I did find a few issues of Green Lantern, still badged as Green Lantern/Green Arrow, # 117 118, and 121. I also grabbed The Brave and the Bold #166, guest starring Green Arrow.
Random: Not much random stuff this year. I managed to focus pretty narrowly on my fanboy obsessions. I did pick up the first issue of The Soviet Super-Soldiers from El Jacone the night before. I also grabbed the 1st issue of Animal Man, by Grant Morrison. I also found 3 issues (6, 7, and 8) of Crisis on Infinite Earths, all in pretty good shape! That was my main surprise find of th morning.
Trades: Every year Borderlands puts out a nice selection of $5 trades. This year I grabbed DNAgents vol. 1, plus vol. 1 and 2 of Alan Moore's Tomorrow Stories. I'm really excited about that last one!
No toys or anything this time, unfortunately. However, our friend the Monitor from the Crisis of Infinite Earths line was STILL there, for the 3rd or 4th year running! I swear, if that thing is still there next year, I'm going to buy the poor guy out of pity.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Time's Arrow: Justice League Calendar
A few days ago, new ARROWHEAD member Russel K Burbage contacted me and fofered an interesting proposition. He had managed to get a hold of two 2009 Justice League of America calendars, ironically enough only avaiable in the UK. As you'll see, this is quite possibly the greatest calendar ever created
First, the front cover:
As you can see, it features the full color artwork of the full membership of the Justice League of America, right up until the end of the satellite era. This is a famous bit of artwork. In fact, I have a t-shirt with this exact design. The artist isn't credited, but I'm sure one of our devoted readers will be able to tell me who's work it is.
The Big Three get 2 months of the year each, but that leaves 6 months for other characters, like Aquaman, Hawkman, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lantern, and best of all...GREEN ARROW!
GA gets the entire month of August to himself. As you can see, the month includes several pieces of art, including 2 JLA covers that feature the Emerald Archer prominently:
The calendar is incredible. Lush artwork everywhere, comic book covers, background images of individual panels...Green Arrow getting his own month. What's not to love?!
(Note: Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures. The calendar is too big for my scanner, and my camera is acting up.)
First, the front cover:
As you can see, it features the full color artwork of the full membership of the Justice League of America, right up until the end of the satellite era. This is a famous bit of artwork. In fact, I have a t-shirt with this exact design. The artist isn't credited, but I'm sure one of our devoted readers will be able to tell me who's work it is.The Big Three get 2 months of the year each, but that leaves 6 months for other characters, like Aquaman, Hawkman, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lantern, and best of all...GREEN ARROW!
GA gets the entire month of August to himself. As you can see, the month includes several pieces of art, including 2 JLA covers that feature the Emerald Archer prominently:
The calendar is incredible. Lush artwork everywhere, comic book covers, background images of individual panels...Green Arrow getting his own month. What's not to love?!(Note: Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures. The calendar is too big for my scanner, and my camera is acting up.)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Ollie Watch: 1/14/09
Hey folks! keep an eye out for everyone's favorite Emerald archer, who shows up in a couple different places this month:
Final Crisis #6: Black Canary and an Anti-Life controlled Green Arrow face off in the penultimate issue of Final Crisis! Also keep an eye out for Red Arrow in a cameo role.
Green Arrow/Black Canary #16: part of the Faces of Evil event, the sinister archer Meryln stalks the streets of Star City once again.
Final Crisis #6: Black Canary and an Anti-Life controlled Green Arrow face off in the penultimate issue of Final Crisis! Also keep an eye out for Red Arrow in a cameo role.
Green Arrow/Black Canary #16: part of the Faces of Evil event, the sinister archer Meryln stalks the streets of Star City once again.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Recommendation Arrow: Cheap Ass Trades
Hey folks, long time no see! Hopefully after the new year I'll have some fresh content for you, but for now I'll give you this: cheap trades. There's a new site that just opened called CheapAssTrades.com. Its run by a forum friend of mine from over at ComicGeekSpeak. The site will search out the absolute cheapest price on the internet for the trade you're looking for. For instance, if you're searching for a nice copy of Green Arrow vol.2: Sounds of Violence (featuring DftAC fav villain Onomatopoeia), you can buy it from Abebooks for $6.29.
They have separate sections that list all trades for $.01 (and you can actually get some good stuff for that price+shipping) and trades 95% off regular price. You even have the option to display the price per page, or set up a wishlist that allows you set an alert when the trade you want hits a certain price!
Make sure to check it out today!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Ollie Watch: Dec. 10th
Green Arrow/Black Canary #15: new issue of GA's continuing series. Check it out!
Final Crisis #5: Watch for an Arrow Family cameo in the latest issue of DC's major event!
Final Crisis #5: Watch for an Arrow Family cameo in the latest issue of DC's major event!
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