Back from C2E2

Hey, gang.

So, I’m back from C2E2. Obviously, I didn’t post a lot about the show. Truth is that this year was just too fantastic of a show that words cannot and will not be able to convey what I need to say. I will say three things, however:

1.) Rob (@ThatRaver) and Crystal (@cvandiver68) are my heroes. Simply put, those two help make what I do and who I am so much easier and more fun.

2.) Kevin Smith. Wow. I always find his stuff hilarious, but this particular event was rather inspiring as well.

3.) Post-Con Depression is a real thing and it is hitting me worse than a ton of bricks right now. I don’t know how to explain it without sounding like a nut job, but trust me.

1,000 Comics in 2013: Update/Milestone #2

So, getting around to finally talking about C2E2. It’s not that it was a bad show. As a matter of fact, it was probably the best convention I’ve ever been too! But more on that later, now is time for my silly little 1,000 book challenge.

After clearing out my file at Comic Quest and the books I snagged at C2E2, I managed to cross the 200th book mark! Again, some books are a little older, simply because a.) I don’t clean out my files 100% of the time any more and b.) comic conventions are all about back issue deals!

Note: All books followed by “*” are books purchased at C2E2 2013 in Chicago.

107. Aquaman #18
108. Batman Incorporated #9
109. Batman: The Dark Knight #18
110. The Flash #18
111. Wolverine & The X-Men #27
112. Guardians of the Galaxy #1
113. Age of Ultron #3
114. East of West #1
115. Superior Spider-Man #6AU
116. Teen Titans #18
117. Young Avengers #3
118. Age of Ultron #4
119. Age of Ultron # 6
120. Batgirl #19
121. Batman #19
122. Batman and Robin #19
123. Batman: Li’l Gotham #1
124. Catwoman #19
125. Detective Comics #19
126. Jirni #1
127. Justice League #19
128. The New Ghostbusters #3
129. Nightwing #19
130. Saga #12
131. Star Wars #4
132. Suicide Squad #19
133. Superior Spider-Man #7
134. Superior Spider-Man #8
135. Red Hood and the Outlaws #19
136. Über #0 (Wrap cover)
137. World’s Finest #11
138. Alpha: Big Time #3
139. Aquaman #19
140. Avenging Spider-Man #19
141. Batman: The Dark Knight #19
142. Batman Incorporated #10
143. Batwoman #19
144. Constantine #1
145. Constantine #2
146. Cyborg 009 #1
147. Deadpool #7
148. Deadpool #8
149. East of West #2
150. The Flash #19
151. Green Lantern #19
152. Guardians of the Galaxy #2
153. Jonah Hex #19
154. Jupiter’s Legacy #1 (Noto cover)
155. Justice League of America’s Vibe #3
156. Nova #3
157. Image Firsts: Peter Panzerfaust #1
158. Revival #9
159. Superior Spider-Man #9
160. Teen Titans #19
161. Thanos Rising #1
162. Thanos Rising #2
163. World’s Finest #12
164. Young Avengers #4
165. Action Comics #19 C2E2 Variant*
166. Age of Ultron #6 C2E2 Variant*
167. Batman #17 C2E2 Variant*
168. Amazing Spider-Man #307*
169. Amazing Spider-Man #308*
170. Amazing Spider-Man #309*
171. Amazing Spider-Man #310*
172. Amazing Spider-Man #311*
173. Amazing Spider-Man #313*
174. Amazing Spider-Man #314*
175. Amazing Spider-Man #320*
176. Amazing Spider-Man #321*
177. Amazing Spider-Man #322*
178. Amazing Spider-Man #323*
179. Amazing Spider-Man #324*
180. Amazing Spider-Man #325*
181. Amazing Spider-Man #326*
182. Amazing Spider-Man #327*
183. Amazing Spider-Man #333*
184. Amazing Spider-Man #334*
185. Amazing Spider-Man #335*
186. Amazing Spider-Man #336*
187. Amazing Spider-Man #337*
188. Amazing Spider-Man #338*
189. Amazing Spider-Man #339*
190. Amazing Spider-Man #345*
191. Amazing Spider-Man #346*
192. Amazing Spider-Man #347*
193. Amazing Spider-Man #360*
194. Amazing Spider-Man #503*
195. Amazing Spider-Man #504*
196. Amazing Spider-Man #506*
197. Amazing Spider-Man #507*
198. Amazing Spider-Man #508*
199. Amazing Spider-Man #509*
200. Amazing Spider-Man #510*
201. Amazing Spider-Man #511*
202. Amazing Spider-Man #514*
203. Amazing Spider-Man #525*
204. Amazing Spider-Man #526*
205. Amazing Spider-Man #527*
206. Amazing Spider-Man #535*
207. Amazing Spider-Man #555*
208. Amazing Spider-Man #556*
209. Amazing Spider-Man #557*
210. Amazing Spider-Man #573*
211. Amazing Spider-Man #578*
212. Amazing Spider-Man #581*
213. Amazing Spider-Man #585*
214. Amazing Spider-Man #586*
215. Amazing Spider-Man #587*
216. Amazing Spider-Man #596*
217. Amazing Spider-Man #597*
218. Amazing Spider-Man #598*
219. Amazing Spider-Man #599*
220. Amazing Spider-Man #601 (J. Scott Campbell cover)*
221. Amazing Spider-Man #601*
222. Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot*
223. The Real Ghostbusters #27*
224. Slimer: The Big Comic Book*

So I’m finally up to the 200′s. It’s only May, so Month 5, and I’m not even half-way there. Heh…this is proving to be a much more difficult challenge than I’d originally given myself credit for. Still! There are at least three more conventions I’ll be attending, yard sales, flea markets and online purchasing! As long as I’m near the 1K marker, I’ll be happy.

A side note, however. In that pile of books, I did manage to snag one of my “Holy Grails”:

A Holy Grail, albeit a Modern Holy Grail!

Amazing Spider-Man #601 has been a title that has eluded my collection for some time now. It isn’t that it’s been a particularly hard title to find, no it’s all over the internet. It’s eluded my collection because I’ve refused to pay the extortion level prices via sites like eBay and comiccollectorlive.com. Thanks to my brother not giving up (while I had most certainly given up), he was able to find it at the 11th hour on Sunday at C2E2. The booth was having a 50% off sale so they had to take back as little as possible. Thanks to him not giving up, I was able to get both covers for half the cost of what the J. Scott Campbell Mary Jane cover sells for.

Moments like that are the reason I love this hobby so much. I’ve spent the better part of a year with that book being the only title holding me back from having the full #600-#700 run of the title. It has been laughing at me from my want/wish list. Now, it’s in my collection and that is one less modern book from the series I have to hunt for and can make room on the list for an older key issue. This is literally a living hobby.

Anyways, happy hunting!

The Golden Tickets have finally arrived!

This is exciting:

It really does finally feel as though I’m finally on the road to C2E2!

Road to C2E2 2013: The Journey Begins

So here we are. One month (well…32 days, anyways) until the biggest comic book and entertainment convention of the Midwest: C2E2, the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo! The one show that has been the tent pole event of my convention seasons for the last three years. Comics, movies, toys, gaming, cosplayers, a week away from the boring daily work space…pure Nerd Nirvana.

However peaceful that week is, though, the month leading up to it is always stressful. It shouldn’t be, of course, but it is! There is just so much to do. This year isn’t going to be any exception. Honestly, it’s probably going to be worse:

• Kevin Smith!!! The voice of a generation is performing one of his infamous “An Evening With Kevin Smith” shows on Saturday night.  I’ve got front row seats (well, technically 4 due to them issuing the tickets with the VIP tickets) and I can only hope he’ll be doing a signing. Though, he’s only going to be appearing Saturday so I can only imagine how long his line will be. It would be exciting to get my first edition copies of Chasing Dogma signed. And speaking of signing…
• CGC Submissions. They’ve already announced several creators (like the aforementioned Smith) that I would love to get some things signed and graded by: Alex Ross (appearing only on Saturday as well), Rick Remender, Brian Posehn, Chris Burnham and Jason David Frank to name a few. Add in that Remender and Humberto Ramos are doing private VIP signings, I can see myself wasting my entire vacation savings onto submitting books. Seriously, at $35 a pop, these are not cheap! The books I want to have Smith sign are a 4 issue mini and I’d want Posehn to sign his first 6 issue run of Deadpool. That’s $350 base before shipping and insurance costs.
  
• 1,000 Comics in 2013 Challenge. Anyone that has been following my blog lately knows about this challenge  I imposed a upon myself at the beginning of the year. Essentially, I’m attempting to add one thousand new comics to my collection. be his will be the first chance I’ll have to really knock out the bulk of this challenge in one weekend.   Not only because of the dozens of vendors present at the show but because of Chicago’s awesome comic shops. I visited one of the Graham Cracker Comic locations last year and it was pretty cool, so much so that I bought some things.
• Harley Quinn, my first and true love.  This last year saw my pride and joy collection take a bit of a back seat. I did pick up a couple pieces, like my CGC 9.8 Harley Quinn #1, but it didn’t really go anywhere. I plan on looking for a few key pieces I need to make my collection more complete. Some are some high ticket items, some are so minor that its funny I don’t already own it.

I digress, though. The point is that it is time to buckle down and start getting this ball running! It’s going to be a long month.

Happy hunting.

1,000 Comics in 2013: Update/Milestone #1

So, time for another update into my 1,000 Comics in 2013 challenge.  Favorite part of this update is that I finally crossed the 100 book marker with last week’s purchases. Some of the books are a couple weeks (if not more) older because I don’t tend to completely clean my file out every week anymore. I grab the books that get my attention the most and get the rest later.

77. Alpha: Big Time #2
78. Avenging Spider-Man #18
79. Hit-Girl #5
80. Nova #1
81. Scarlett #6
82. Wolverine & the X-Men #26
83. Batgirl #17
84. Batwoman #16
85. Batwoman #17
86. Young Romance #1
87. America’s Got Powers #5
88. Star Wars #1 (3rd printing, sadly)
89. Star Wars #2
90. Star Wars #3
91. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18
92. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #19
93. Batwoman #18
94. Catwoman #18
95. Deadpool #6
96. Justice League #18
97. Justice League of America #2
98. Justice League of America: Vibe #2
99. Nightwing #18
100. Nova #2
101. Red Hood and the Outlaws #18
102. Revival #8
103. Saga #11
104. Star Wars Legacy #1
105. Superior Spider-Man #6
106. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #20

When I initially compiled the list and realized that Nova #2 was the book to put me into the triple digits, I was a bit upset. Honestly, the first issue was a bit interesting, but it was no where near as entertaining to me as it’s sister book, Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1. However, after reading the second issue, it was amazing. I’m loving the art work and the story that is essentially throwing you into the midst of everything without so much as a moment to digest what previously happened. Hell, the first issue ends on a bit of a cliffhanger with a couple special guest appearances, only to have the second one open to one of the guest character blasting his (it’s?) gigantic guns.

Still, it’s a sigh of relief to finally be in the 100′s finally (albeit a poultry 106). The year started off a bit slowly, but it’s getting there. Plus, C2E2 is just around the corner, as is the season of yard sales and flea markets! I’ll hit my goal yet.

1,000 Comics in 2013 Challenge: Update

I haven’t updated this challenge in a while, mainly due to my sporadic buying habits lately. Anyways, the challenge is to add 1,000 new comics to my collection.

Here are the new additions:
20. Age of Ultron #1
21. Alpha: Big Time #1
22. Avenging Spider-Man #17
23. Deadpool #4
24. Deadpool #5
25. Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1
26. Superior Spider-Man #2
27. Superior Spider-Man #3
28. Superior Spider-Man #4
29. Superior Spider-Man #5
30. Wolverine & The X-Men #24
31. Wolverine & The X-Men #25
32. Young Avengers #1
33. Young Avengers #2
34. Happy #4
35. Legend of the Shadow Clan #1
36. The New Ghostbusters #1
37. The Revival #6
38. The Revival #7
39. Saga #10
40. Aquaman #16
41. Aquaman #17
42. Batman #17
43. Batman and Robin Annual #1
44. Batman and Robin #17
45. Batman: The Dark Knight #16
46. Batman: The Dark Knight #17
47. Batman: Incorporated #7
48. Batman: Incorporated #8
49. Catwoman #16
50. Catwoman #17
51. Detective Comics #17
52. Detective Comics #18
53. The Flash #16
54. The Flash #17
55. Green Lantern #16
56. Green Lantern #17
57. Green Lantern #18
58. Justice League #16
59. Justice League #17
60. Justice League of America #1
61. Nightwing #16
62. Nightwing #17
63. Red Hood and the Outlaws #16
64. Red Hood and the Outlaws #17
65. Suicide Squad #17
66. Teen Titans #16
67. Teen Titans #17
68. Vibe #1
69. World’s Finest #9
70. World’s Finest #10
71. Age of Ultron #2
72. Batgirl #18
73. Batman #18
74. Batman and Robin #18
75. The New Ghostbusters #2
76. Suicide Squad #18

Let’s try this again, shall we?

Back on December 10th I wrote this:

Alright, so this has been too appalling!  I’ve yet to update this site in months.

Starting today, I’m back full time to updating this site a minimum of 3 times a week.

It is now March 11th.  Not including the post you are currently reading, I’ve posted on here a grand total of…5 times!  That is a poor attempt at doing something that I really do thoroughly enjoy.  Comics, superheroes especially, are a major passion of mine.  It’s a passion that I want to share with the world and talk about every minute of every day.  Sadly, life has gotten in the way as we all know it is more than capable of doing.  Every day, I had a new topic I’d want to talk about.  It’d be something I’d wake up with on my mind or a thought that hits me while I’m at work.  Yet, by time I find the free time to steal away and let my fingers hit the key board, I find myself more interested in just relaxing.  Thus, this blog ends up suffering.

Over the last few months or so, I’ve been trying to realign myself with what makes me enjoy what it is that I do.  So much so that I am at Comic Quest more frequently and have even started playing Poke`mon again, both the video game and the TCG.  Between that and HeroClix, I feel like I’m in high school again sometimes.  Which is fine sometimes.

Regardless, though, I’m feeling better starting this up again.

So, until next time, happy hunting.