East of West: A Roundabout Review

The long if it:

I must admit it has been a while since I picked up an Image book. I recently have tried Non-Humans, but only in a digital format. And although I picked up a copy of Walking Dead #100 chromium cover variant, it was strictly to have it signed, graded, and sold. I accomplished this. The last books I believe I actually picked up from Image were Spawn, around the 180's and they were for my son.

I walked around my LCS in center city Philadelphia picking up my usual books when the bland looking western cover "East of West" series caught my eye. With my Age of Ultron, Aquaman, and a few other Marvel titles waiting to be purchased I skimmed through this last minute impulse buy. It was enough to spend my $3.50. 

A short walk later and I was in a crowded El with the raunchiest smelling commuter. Thankfully when he asked if this was the Broad Street Line, I happily said no. He exited and I had room to begin reading my weekly haul. I started with my unexpected pick up "East of West".

A lot of books are read so quickly now substituting images for words that I wonder if substance has been replaced with something a bit more processed. Comic books are a medium that should entertain, especially with an average of $4 a book. For years I have always read what I thought would be the best book last, after reading this I realized this book should have been anything but first. In fact when I get through the other handful of books I purchased, I think I'll read this one again? 

The short if it:

Did you miss out on the Walking Dead #1? I'm not saying that this book will reach the financial status Robert Kirkman's undead walkers have achieved but with as strong as this number one was, I look forward to getting a Chromium edition of issue #100 as well as the journey getting there.

Thanks for Reading

My Experiment with Pressing

Last year I went to the Baltimore Comic Con. I brought a few comic books with me for Matt Nelson formerly of Classics Incorporated and currently with Classics collectible services (CCS), a subdivision of Certified Guaranty Company (CGC). Was the talks if a transition even in place now. Was this a way for CGC to now add a purple restored label to pressed comic books or a way to start a new color label on this currently considered non-restorative technique.

I met Matt Nelson through Steven Ritter when they were partnered with WorldWide Comics. I have already been asking questions about this technique to improve upon a comic books condition, and yes it is also possible to decrease the condition. After questioning him the one day I decided to put my money where my mouth was. Was pressing the be all improvement on a books visual desirability or is it categorized incorrectly away from dreaded purple label of death.

I brought 14 books for him to look at, fourteen books to see if they could be improved with a pressing before passing them into CGC. As with algebra I needed a given, I needed an X. Out of the fourteen, some were raw, some were graded, others were regarded and dropped, while still others were regarded and stayed stationary. The books will be listed as follows. I will omit page color since it is irrelevant to the ordering procedure.

The first book I'll start with is the Walking Dead Chromium Edition. He told me there was no reason to give him thus book, it was easily a 9.8. This was turned over to Desert Winds at the NYCC For Robert Kirkman's autograph. It was just returned as a SS 9.6. Was Matt's estimation off? Did Desert Winds somehow damage the book? Will I write about this in further detail?

The other books were:

X-Men #42 grade: 7.0 screen :7.5
X-Men #52 grade: 9.0 screen: N/A
X-Men #142 grade: 9.2 screen: N/A

X-Men/Alpha Flight #2
Grade: 9.4 SS screen: 9.8 SS

X-Infernus #3
grade: 9.4 SS screen: N/A

Amazing Spider-Man #129
Grade: 9.4 SS screen: 9.6 SS

New Mutants Annual #4
Grade: 8.5 screen: 9.6

New Mutants Summer Special #1
Grade: 9.0 screen: N/A

New Mutants #58
Grade: 9.6 SS screen: N/A

Daredevil #48
Grade: RAW screen: 8.0

X-Men #132
Grade: RAW screen: 9.4

X-Men #101
Grade: RAW screen: 6.5
And finally

X-Men #99
Grade: RAW screen: 9.0

Right off the bat I want to say I like the honesty that Matt showed. On these particular books above, any books marked under screen as N/A were turned down because he felt a press wouldn't do well, even asking if he was sure, especially on the New Mutants #58, he looked it over again. He told me once again he didn't think a press would work and put them in the do not press pile.

Out of 14 books shown he took only eight. The six he omitted were taken home. My understanding a bit better. Everyone already knows what happened to my Amazing Spider-Man #129 but what about the next seven? Was it wirth it? Was he right? Was he wrong?

Thanks for Reading

Tnerb

Marvel's Season One: A Roundabout Review

The Long of it.

This week an added book was waiting for me at Fat Jack's Comic Crypt. Among my normal weekly haul a single hardcover copy of Avengers Season One beckoned for me to take it home. This is the eighth $25 hardcover I picked up. But how was it? How was Marvels first idea before Marvel Now competed against DC's 52. And how does it stack up?

Each Season One has an original story and a backup story from the 616 universe. At first glance it looks like you're getting something extra, you're not its just filler, or the garnish you get ordering from a nice restaurant, it looks nice on the plate but has no substance. The extra stories are too new and feel like a gimmick to get me to jump on the title, this is against their policy, after all they started off with new number ones thinking I would be too confused to start in the middle with a large number and yet they give me an extra issue that doesn't make sense without the rest if the story.

All in all the season ones are an interesting new perspective. Some I enjoyed while others I lumbered through, this latest one written by the great Peter David. At the end I see how they illustrated the solidifying of the Avengers but I don't see why. The characters I have known became two dimensional again. I normally like to read a comic book in one sitting, this took three.  I wanted to be entertained, to be brought back to a time of comic book innocence and this left me feeling left out.

I will buy the next one and the one after that mostly because I like the format and I like to complete what I stated. Don’t get me wrong, for the novice reader it is a good start, but for someone who loves the 616 universe I feel somewhat like I was given an ice cream cone of an ice cream flavor I don’t like on a really hot day. It looks good, but when you get down to it, slightly unsatisfying. I hope the next one is better.

The Short of it

Buy the original in digital if you have too, at least then you will see how they evolved as they were meant to, one issue at a time.

Thanks for Reading

My Weekly Haul: A Roundabout Review

My Weekly Haul: A Roundabout Review.

Every week I go to the comic book shop. This week was no exception even after attending my first Convention of the year in Seattle, ECCC. At this con I met Fiona Staples. I heard about her comic book Saga but passed on it month after month. Even after looking at the book on my best friend’s kitchen table, I still passed. It wasn't until I had her autograph my first autograph book that I decided to pick one up, and that is what I did when I got my new releases for the week. It might not be a first edition, but it was enough to make me decide to get the trade, I encourage you to do the same.

The other books are heavily Marvel. I didn't get any DC books, and only one Valiant title, which introduced the first appearance of Doctor Mirage, albeit much different from her 90’s counterpart. Valiant is constantly growing and I am happy that I am collecting every book. However I am beginning to fear their mass explosion might implode only for the fact that Hard C.O.R.P.s is coming out and that is what I remember the beginning of the end of Valiant, for me anyway. Valiant, if you are reading this, please keep a tight controlled universe.

Then there is Marvel, my favorite Universe to play in. After choosing to read Superior Spider-Man, Avengers, and even Daredevil (a title I tend to leave for last), it was the “Age of Ultron” that had me anticipating the next big Marvel event, that doesn't seem to be hyped that way. When Secret wars came out I only knew what came out when it was on the stands. As I got older I figured out about Marvel Age, DC Currents, and Comic Shop News. These were my treasure maps, even overriding the great Previews magazine. My favorite though happens to be Comixology and that is how I found out about this new Story line by none other than Brian Michael Bendis.

I picked up two issues, because to be honest I want to see if I can send these books into CGC for grading. Can I pick a 9.8, or only a 9.6 and will my LCS Fat Jack’s tell me to step away from the shelves. Age of Ultron starts…

SPOILERS AHEAD

Age of Ultron Starts in an already desolate world, The Island of Manhattan seems to be a cesspool of poverty, grime, and corruption. In other words, only the evil and the strong survive.  The first panel shows New York behind a decapitated Statue of Liberty and a mammoth ship towering above.  The first words aren't even until the middle of page six giving an unnerving feeling that those that aren't quite are dead.  In the very beginning Hawkeye is tracking someone, and his aim is unnerving. I wonder what Dr. Fredric Wertham would have thought about it. And the building he enters is trafficking M.G.H. The girl wants nothing to do but sleep but here benefactors have something else on their mind.  Luckily for her, so does Clint, and he disposes of the jackals. This is where I question the book, and my only sense of fallacy on the writer’s part. If the girl only wanted to sleep, and wanted nothing to do with the hoodlums that were peddling their drugs, not to mentions the favors they wanted, why does she pick up a gun and threaten Hawkeye?

At this point the house is on alert, and they feel that it is Thor arriving, they might not understand the threat and subtlety of Hawkeye is just as a reason to be wary as the hammer of Thor. I didn’t expect Hammerhead but the Owl was foreshadowed by the use of the Mutant Growth Hormone. The incendiary panel on page 12 is colored so well that I applaud Paul Mounts, that’s not to say that Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary didn't do their part as well. The following page is where you see the prize Hawkeye has been seeking. Spider-man is tied to a chair, and more than wondering why is he tied to a chair, because his proportionate strength should free him, but is it Otto or Peter?

As “Owlsey” and Hammerhead get the drop on our heroes, all hell breaks loose, Ultron has arrived. These next few pages are blurry, more from the effects of the artwork than too much to drink. The book slows at this point allowing us to try to decipher what happened. Why did the story come to fruition in the middle rather than the beginning, and why is Hank Pym absent from the rest of the survivors? Even Tony Stark’s Tron like costume screams where’s his armor? I like how recently Hawkeye has been becoming a major player, one who is willing to speak his mind and go after the bad guy with wild abandon, and even question the man in charge. On the last page you find the one person who you never thought would look like he just gave up.

Although I spent a nice amount at the ECCC, mostly on grading, I am glad I had enough money to buy my books this week around. As far as traded go, please check out Saga, but as far as first issues go and a new release, get Ultron before Ultron gets you…that was so cheesy I had to use it.

Thanks for reading.

PS, try the AP features on this issue... and tell me if this next cover doesn't make you salivate?

Emerald City Comic Con: A Roundabout Review

My first ECCC

The Long if It.

I've heard on the past that CGC hasn't sold too well, this same person who frequents this event annually mentioned there were more graded books on display this year then the last three years combined. This defers widely with the east coast because there is an abundant amount of graded books at booth after booth.

There were also artists and writers plentiful in the masses. Gerry Conway being the main reason I decided I wanted to cover this event. The was also the legendary Neil Adams who I decided to purchase a book from with a character sketch (Pre-sketched) applied with a sticker and then personalized. I think I spent too much and wonder how strong that glue really is. I think I would have been more comfortable just buying the book with a personalization. Of course maybe twenty years from now I can say I met Neil Adams. Of course I can also say I met Gerry Conway,Rachel and Terry Dodson, Matt fraction, David Finch, Brad Guigar ,Skottie Young,Randy Stradley, Fiona Staples, Richard and Wendy Pini , Mike Dringenberg, Tim Vigil, Brian Pulido, David Finch, Chris Claremont and many others I didn't get to see, yes each of the above artists I have either had something signed by or a friend did, if not more.

Then there were the movie/television stars that filled a full floor if their own. Patrick Stewart, Wil Wheaton, Walter Koenig, among a slew of others I don't follow too well. At other conventions it always seems one part of a convention overrides another. This location, this convention, this time seemed perfect . Yes the floor was crowded and at times it felt like standing still was all you were going to do, but even at those times there was something else to look at.

I saw Darth Maul play the bagpipes on stilts. I watched Darth Vader ride on a unicycle in a kilt. There was Lego's galore from Star Trek to Star Wars and everything in between. This convention had a little bit if everything and was worth traveling over 3000 miles for it. As much as I went to experience a west coast con and compete it with an east coast con, it was CGC that I loved the most.

The ECCC was everything it was hyped to be and more. My line was much shorter than everyone else's, but with a friend in line I stood with him after retrieving my pass. After all how can I experience the convention without being a fan and going through what they do. Seattle wasn't as rainy as I expected which was good because for one city block we were escorted outside. I wonder what they would have had us do if it was raining. The good thing is if that's the only negative thing I could see how are they going to improve next year.

The short of it

ECCC wasn't just an event, it was the event that all others have to follow. Make sure to attend in 2014

Thanks for Reading