Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Stuff that won't fit in the scanner today:

Feel mildly like crap right now, so we'll take a quick look at some stuff that I couldn't cram into the scanner. (Like the title said, I guess!)

First, I finished Devin Grayson's DC novel Inheritance last week: the main plot with Deathstroke is honestly a little thin, but the main draw is Nightwing, Arsenal, and Tempest's history and relationships with their mentors. It's also strongly tied into DC continuity (pre-52 reboot) which is both a pro and a con: man, Aquaman seems like such a dick he makes Green Arrow look like father (figure) of the year, and GA was genuinely horrible and neglectful. (In comparison, Batman is far stricter, but much more caring, but seemingly incapable of expressing any affection.) I didn't like it as much as Jeff Mariotte's Trail of Time, but I think you can pick Inheritance up on the cheap, and it's a worthwhile read. Let me know if Ollie seems like a really dirty old man, though...'cause he kinda does. Inheritance is mentioned on TV Tropes under 'Pandering to the Base', which could also apply to...

Next, we've got the 1992 Chris Claremont/Adam Hughes/Karl Story graphic novel Star Trek: Debt of Honor. I had this back in the day (never had the hardbound one, though...) and just got a cheap replacement at the Comic Book Shop's sale last Saturday. I love it, but you may need a venn diagram to see if it's for you. Like Adam Hughes art? OK. Like Claremont's stylistic tics? Kay...so far so good. Are you deeply into classic Star Trek? And I don't mean the easy shout-outs like the Doomsday Machine or Klingon commander Kor, I mean hardcore callbacks like Jaime Finney and the Farragut. (Both of those are pretty well explained in context, however.) Still, it's really, really pretty; and I don't think it's tough to find, either.

The twenty-sided dice are for my Oldest son, since we like to play Monopoly with them. You still have to use regular sixes for things like the utilities, or you could have a $4000 water bill...but it's fun to roll a 35 and count it out.

The Rorschach figure was another loose eBay purchase, $9.99 shipped from China. I'm not sure if he was a con-exclusive or for that Black Freighter subscription club coming up, but he's not bad. The coat does hinder a bit of the articulation, and the neck joint does seem as good as it could be, but as is so often the case, the price makes it.

The Fwoosh! turned me on to this one: Ross Stores got the latest DCUC two-packs--Azrael Batman/Battle Damaged Batman and Yellow Lantern Hal Jordan/Blue Lantern Kyle Rayner--$12.99 a set. A steal! "Battle Damaged" Batman isn't as beat up as I thought he'd be, with a slash across his chest, and a slight and perhaps unintentional ding on his chin. If you have Ross in your area, start digging now.

I got a pin from Toys for Tots a couple weeks back, which I thought was very nice of them! And you still have time to donate, and enter to win at Geeks for Tots! And Infinite Hollywood's Infinite Toys for Tots will match your donation with another! Go now if you haven't already!



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