"The End" Week Addendum: I see dead comics, apparently...

This is only the second time I've done "The End" week specifically to look at last issues, but over the years and through that ever-popular happenstance I've hit a few other ones prior.
Lawdog #10
Morbius #32
Warlord #10 (The Bruce Jones series.)
Marc Spector: Moon Knight #60
Badger #70
La Cosa Nostroid IX (I may still do a longer post on that one someday.)
Avengers #402
Captain America #50
Star Trek: Early Voyages #17
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy #19
El Diablo #16 and Green Goblin #13, a double whammy!
Silver Surfer #18 (The Surfer's first last issue.)

Bloody hell, while some of those aren't full-on writeups, I think I've read more last issues than first issues for this blog. And I'm scratching the surface. Reckon I could do a week of Unknown Soldier, Doom Patrol, and Moon Knight alone. (Not counting limiteds, I know I have two last issues for each of those books! And they've had more!)

Of course, you may realize by now that comic book numbering is, at best, completely arbitrary. And some books are always going to sell about the same amount of copies, whether the number on the cover is #1, #97, #337, or #-π. Just a crapshoot on multiple levels; but that's to be expected around here.
Read more!

It's all in fun, Mattel, love you!

New Bastards of the Universe at Articulated Discussion! This week, get acquainted with the Evil Bastards of the Universe, and their evil, if somewhat familiar-seeming plan.

All together, four of the Evil Bastards are from yard sales, and three of those only recently. Ever since I started the BotU strips, I've been shaking the yard sales down harder than usual, since I've somehow convinced myself I'm going to find Castle Greyskull at one, or at least another possible Bastard.

Speaking of which, over at Lemonjuice McGee's Hobotastic Toy Reviews, is having their first hobotastic contest! You could win a veritable ton of figures, including a very special Trap-Jaw and original art! And all you have do to is...well, head over and see! I have to look up the statute of limitations before I say anything...
Read more!

New One-Shots over at Articulated Discussion! Another Iron Man, just in time for...well, Free Comic Book Day, I guess. It's rainy here, but I'll take the kids out for that later, and the Comic Book Shop has members of the 501st Legion again this year! Apparently, I don't have any recent pictures that aren't with a Tusken Raider...get out and get some books, and keep 'em dry!
Read more!

More over at Articulated Discussion!

Over at Articulated Discussion, I've got another One-Shots up! Also, earlier this week, I was moaning about not having a character I want made, and another short one! Check them out!

Usually, if I have something there, I'd like to have a corresponding bit here, but I've been sickish, so the funny is all over there, hopefully...
Read more!

Have some links! They're almost like content!

Presently, I'm looking down the barrel of; or perhaps by now square hip-deep in, what is going to be a long, drawn-out, and possibly 24-style day. Hopefully without torture, but no promises. So, of course today is also the first real snow of the year...grr.

So, let's have some links! The Comic Book Shop had another one of their great progressive sales on Saturday; which I sadly wasn't able to fully enjoy, since the Youngest threw up in the store. (He warned me that he was "Sick," but I thought he was just sick of waiting for me...) Apologies to them, their customers, and their cleaners...

Still, I did get out with at least one great book, for cheaper than dirt: a copy of the Jonah Hex Spectacular Fall 1978. (Oddly, the very night before I bought that, I had a dream that I was Bat Lash. Sure, I looked sharp, but then I had to kill fifty men in a shootout, using nothing but little Derringers, guns the size of my toenail clippers. Mind you, I could conceivably kill someone with those, and it would be unpleasant for all involved, but we're getting off-topic.) Anyway, Dwayne at Matching Dragoons already did a helluva write-up on that ish and the unfortunate demise of Jonah Hex, so check that out. (I maintain, if you saw his most recent appearance on the Brave and the Bold cartoon, I was hoping Hex's corpse would end up in the Batcave...)

In the meantime, have you donated to Toys for Tots this year yet? I won a ton of great stuff last year from Paul at Toy Bender, and this year they're doing the same at Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation! Check the link and you might even be able to win a 6" Unmasked Dark Knight Batman! I haven't entered yet (and should recuse myself for having won last year...) since I was hoping the Comic Book Shop would have the 501st Legion dressed as Star Wars characters, like they did last year, but they are closing that location. Which means there's a sale there, if you're in the Spokane Valley area, which is unfortunate in and of itself...

Anyway. New strip tomorrow, and wish me luck for today!
Read more!

Regardless of feeling neither holly nor jolly right about now, I didn't have a lot of Christmas scans set for this year; especially since, um, I'd done all the good ones I had already. Well, "good ones" may not apply to all of them: there was our first, and probably only, look at DC's Genesis crossover. That was a bit of a stinker, but then we've got a very Badger Christmas and the crank-fueled Yuletide antics of Klaus!

I also have no proof that Steve Purcell has ever done anything that wasn't completely great, continuing with a nightmarish Christmas Eve visitor in Toybox! Santa also straight represents, in one of my favorite Christmas stories ever, that's also one of my favorite Spider-Man stories ever.

Finally, a personal favorite that's also a helpful reminder for you late Christmas shoppers: don't let this happen to you:


There, if that doesn't knock the Christmas carols out of your head for five minutes, I'm not sure what will... Read more!

Even if you're not a plastic hording toymonger action figure collector (which kinda begs the question why you're here...) Toys for Tots is a great charity, and one that I always make sure I have something for every year. But this Christmas, besides that warm feeling of giving, or a cynical excuse for you to buy that pegwarming DCUC Penguin figure in the hopes of Toys R Us finally restocking Wave 4; now you have a couple more unexpected, and awesome, reasons to give: over at Toy Bender, Paul's got a great contest going, so you can win prizes for helping kids. That last link is to an update with more prizes, and Cobra Commander...um, commanding you, I guess...so now you have no excuse.

What's that? You need more of a reason? You've got some nerve, buddy...but, if you live in my neck of the woods, or what the heck, gas is cheaper again; The Comic Book Shop's new Valley location (Spokane Valley, not any other, possibly more renown valley...) is having a little visit from the 501st Legion Saturday December 6, from 3 to 6 PM! Blazes with Santa, bring a toy for donation and tell Lord Vader what you want for Christmas! (I'm asking not to be strangled, the greatest gift of all...)

Of course, Paul's pulling for you to give G.I. Joe figures, and the 501st would probably prefer a Star Wars toy or two, and I'll probably donate some inexplicable third thing. Hopefully some pictures this weekend, but local or no, be sure to give! Read more!

A brief housekeeping notice: I recently switched shifts at my job, which means I'm getting up at four in the morning now. It's nice to be able to take care of things in the afternoon (everything I needed to do was closed when I got off work before) and still have some daylight; but this means there'll probably be at least one night a week when I fall asleep at three in the afternoon.

Hopefully not Tuesday, though, since I usually enjoy watching Fringe. Based on the promos, tonight's episode also happens to feature a traditional staple of comic book/sci-fi cliches, The Suit That Lets You Walk Through Walls (Until It Doesn't). We all know that old saw; that supposedly even in solid matter, like a brick wall, there's still more space between the individual atoms than not, and if you could line your own atoms and the walls just right or vibrate through or whatever, you could walk right through. Which inevitably leads to someone getting imbedded in a wall. Guaranteed. And spookily, I had a digest with exactly that story next to me at work: a Gold Key the Twilight Zone comic! Click to enlarge, "The Perfect Criminal," from Mystery Comics Digest/The Twilight Zone #12. No credits given, reprinted 1973. (I think I bought this at a used bookstore around 1984 or so, and it was held together by tape even then!)





Hmm. I have a feeling that wasn't the first time that old professor "let" some small-time criminal test one of his inventions for him. Now I wanna watch old Twilight Zone episodes, since it feels like decades since I've seen any, but I might be thinking of the pinball game...let's check some links, then: over at Michael Crawford's Review of the Week he recently had a custom 12-inch Rod Serling figure, which almost certainly would've helped some of the likeness work in this digest. And at Polite Dissent, Scott not only usually has writeups for the new Fringe episodes (including how strong or weak the science and/or medicine was), but you can also check out this year's Comic Book Advent Calendar, your Weekend Moment of Psychic Nosebleed Zen, and follow the House challenge, which I am personally losing the hell out of. Read more!

"The Meme should be, 'how many frigging links can I cram in one post?'"

The Fortress Keeper tagged me the other day from the Fortress of Fortitude with a meme from A Trout in the Milk: What’s YOUR favourite blogpost of all time? ("Favourite"? Pillock must be quite literate, or a Brit...)

Good question. And like a lot of questions, ask me now and you'll get one answer, ask me next week and you'll get something else. And where to even start? The classics like Seanbaby? Bloggers that may not be on full time any more, but are hardly forgotten like Ye Olde Comick Booke Blogge, Random Panels, or Gone and Forgotten? (The first two links aren't to the homepages, but to personal favorites, and the first one is especially well written.)

Fortunately, "favorite" is completely subjective.

And I read a lot of blogs: I have a job where if no one's bothering me, I can read your entire archive in a good afternoon. So there's the danger of forgetting someone...still, I do remember the blog posts that inspired me to start blogging. For instance, a classic from Bully at Comics Oughta Be Fun! that answered a long running question for me. Go check it out here, I'll wait.

I asked that in the comment section of a prior post, somehow assuming that heavy (so to speak) theological questions like that one were the baliwick of a little stuffed bull. And damn right they are!

Thanks, Bully! (Bully also tackles the serious issues every so often, and I don't mean comics. Check here if you haven't already.)

Shoot, and now I'm supposed to tag some people: how about Comics All Too Real, Bob Mitchell in the 21st Century, Brainfreeze, Siskoid of Siskoid's Blog of Geekery, and The Hurting. There's a couple of other blogs I didn't tag since I think they might've been tagged already; but I'm curious to see what these guys think. Huh. Suppose I should tell them they're tagged or something...
Read more!