tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77339522543975873152024-02-08T03:35:04.910-08:00Command ComicsCommander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-16344394304411513792011-09-16T07:59:00.000-07:002011-09-16T08:47:01.574-07:00Quick Guide to Listing on eBay (Sept 2011)My cousin asked for some information about listing on eBay. I just wrote up the following for him and thought that someone else out there may also find it useful. Of course, I'd love any feedback - not just to this entry but also to eBay listing, selling, buying, etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Listing an auction:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">General thoughts.</span> I do a large volume of sales so I tend to make my listings generic and then put the specific information in the title and with the picture/s of course. Then, when I list the next item I can choose "list a similar item" and all of my previous information is already saved. When I do a round of listing, then a few days later list more, I can either choose an active listing or a completed listing and select "sell a similar item" from that as well. That way I rarely have to re-enter all the following crap every time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Auction vs fixed price.</span> I generally like to list at a "fixed price" and then allow bidders to make an offer. I'm surprised at how many people simply buy out-right rather than make an offer first and try to save a buck or two. Oh well, works out for me. Auctions work better for very rare, very popular, or unique (custom) items. There's little to go on to form an idea of a good price for those items as they vary so wildly or there's no comparison available. With my fixed price listings, I can easily search completed items of the thing I'm selling, sort by Highest first, then use a dollar amount usually just under the highest completed auction. That's typically a good starting point for haggling. Haggling is a fine art and I'll let you figure out how do it so that it works for you, but if I have time I'll make some notes about it later on.<br /><br />__________________<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The listing itself:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pick a category.</span> You can pick an additional category, for an additional charge, but I never have. People that want what I'm selling know how to put an adequete search together.<br />If I'm listing something simple and popular - ie GI Joe, well it's not a problem to pick the right category. If I'm selling something not quite as popular, I'll search completed auctions for the same or similar item and see what they were listed under.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Title.</span> We now have some extra characters available so we can be a little wordy, but I still find it best to clearly state the name/title of the item and the line it comes from in addition to keywords someone searching for it might use. Additionally, I put the item name itself in CAPS to draw attention.<br />Good: "GI Joe Pursuit of Cobra ROCK VIPER moc POC 25th"<br />Bad: "rock viper carded"<br />I don't recall a time that I've used a subtitle - same as additional category.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Condition.</span> People actually use this, but I'm old-school and expect all information I need in the description. Anyway, I ran into some problems and learned - only use New if it is literally new in a box or on a card. Whenever in doubt, just put used as a default.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">UPC.</span> only use this if you're selling media - CDs, DVDs, books, etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Item Specifics.</span> I don't use this. Some customers might, but with the number of auctions I list I'm not taking the time to change this setting for every listing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pictures.</span> I typically post only one picture (free) for the vast majority of my items. I'll post a second picture (0.15) if I'm posting a custom or special item. Generally, for me, that first picture is a very bare-bones picture. It shows the item with all accessories, cardback, box, whatever that it will come with. I usually through in a ruler or tape measure so that idiots don't constantly ask me how fucking tall it is! (sorry, I used to get that question all the damn time). Anyway - the second picture shows the item in comparison to other, similar items. So if I'm selling a custom GI Joe, I'll put him in an action pose with normal figures so the buyer can get a feel of how it will look in their displays. NOTE: it's very important to state in the auction description what is included/not included. Even with that I've had idiots buy a custom thinking they were getting the five figures AND the custom figure in the first picture. Still happens once in a while. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Item description.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">This is an example from one of mine:</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">This auction is for the DC Direct figure shown here. The figure is in good, non-played with condition.<br /><br />This figure is fits in with other DC Direct 6 inch figures as well as Mattel's DC Superhero Classics and DC Universe Classics figures.<br /><br />Shipping for this auction is $8.00. I will combine shipping - please wait for invoice.<br /><br />NOTE: I will take a dollar off of shipping if you don't want the card shipped, just let me know after purchase and I'll send out an updated invoice.<br /><br />Payment is due in 3 days of auction's end. Note: in accordance with new eBay rules I can only accept Paypal for payment. Only US bidders please - no international bids. If you have any questions, please ask and be sure to check out my other auctions for more action figures!<br /></span>________________________<br />I occasionally get people asking if they can pay with cashier's checks or money orders because it's not actually against the rules to accept them, but it messes with my business process so I don't. You can if you're cool with that, but it takes more time and opens you up to potential fraud.<br />I do a general one- or two-line description of the batch of figures I'm listing. I imagine you'll want to be more descript with your stuff. It's up to you. Certainly with a custom you'll want to describe it quite a bit.<br />Listing the shipping charge is redundant, but I like to do it anyway. Mention that you'll combine shipping and so on.<br />In this batch I had loose figures that I saved the cardbacks for and was including it by default. If the buyer didn't want it I'd charge less shipping because it is easier and often slightly cheaper to ship without the cardback.<br />According to eBay you can file a "non-paying bidder alert" 4 days after payment hasn't been received. Do this as soon as you can. If the deadbeat hasn't paid right away, this MIGHT get them to make good sooner. I don't accept non-US bidders because frankly it's a huge pain in the ass to get international shipping done right and estimated correctly. I get flak for this, but it's my business and I try to make it as easy to run as possible. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Listing Designer.</span> I ignore that flashy stuff, but if you want to play with it, I don't think it hurts your listings... much.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"Choose how you'd like to sell your item"</span><br />This is where you select auction vs fixed price and time periods. I'm a power-seller and top-rated seller so I get a few discounts in different ways. You'll have to find a good mix of settings and starting prices that meet your comfort level and yet still are profitable. <br />Like I said I do about 80% fixed price and allow best offers. I don't typically put in automatic thresholds for accepting/denying. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Duration.</span> Go for as long as possible. for fixed, do 30 days, auctions, do 7 if you can. I think that auctions ending on a weekend do better than those on a week day so you can do 5 or 7 based on when you list so that the end falls on a weekend. for the fixed it doesn't matter when it ends because people can just buy it any time. I think there's an extra fee for 10 days so I don't do that. I just list it 3 days later. I'll occasionally use a scheduled start time but mostly just as a place-holder for an auction. If I have time to write up an auction on Friday, I'll put in a scheduled start time of late sunday, then when I have a moment Sunday morning or Saturday afternoon or whatever, I edit the "pending" auction for an immediate start and don't get charged the scheduling fee. It's a little trick to save an auction for later and not pay for it. At least I think this still works.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Payment.</span> I accept paypal only. You click the box and put in your paypal email address. I don't currently use the "immediate payment required" for the buy it now, but with all the deadbeat bidders/buyers I've been thinking about it. I'm not sure the best way to go about combined shipping discounts then, but oh well - it's in-development for me for now.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Shipping details.</span> This is where you set up the shipping rates. If you can give a sure-fire weight then you can use this to estimate exact shipping fees. I like to just put a flat shipping rate out there. Sometimes I pay more, some less, but it usually works out in the end. Be sure to put a handling time in. I put two days, but I'm experienced and know I have all the materials I could possibly need to ship an item readily at hand. I suggest you put down 4 days probably until you get the hang of it. Oh, you can put in rules for shipping discounts, but I always do that manually. It might help get a little more business if I did it automatically as the customers can see exactly what will happen, but my customers seem happy enough without it.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />International shipping</span>. I put "none" and recommend you do too, at least at first until you get the hang of the whole process.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Buyer requirements. </span> I put the most restrictive stuff on there as possible as far as buyers with unpaid item strikes, negative feedback, and countries that I don't ship to.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Return Policy. </span> Put what you're comfortable with in here. Be aware that people are awfully creative with returns though. I sold a mint comic, guy returned another comic of lesser condition in its place but I couldn't prove it and had to refund the original amount. I don't refund the original shipping charge unless it's my mistake and I don't pay for return shipping.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Additional Checkout instructions.</span> This gets sent with the invoice so I put in the whole "Payment is due within three days of auction's end." and Paypal only stuff.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-39835637169983842042011-08-19T14:21:00.000-07:002011-08-19T14:29:08.400-07:00Changing My WaysWith DC's company-wide reboot/relaunch/re-whateva, I'm taking the opportunity to change my comic collecting habits. I have a couple of thousand comics that I haven't read - many of which I know will be good - and yet I keep buying new ones at full price that I don't know if they're good or bad.
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<br />Normally I spend about $125/monthly on my comics from mycomicshop.com. I get a discount that more than covers the shipping cost. However, I'm dropping my purchases down to a total of about $70 this month, projected down to $60 next month, and possibly even lower after that. Therefore I've stopped my subscription service and instead started a pull-list at my local comic shop (Westfields).
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<br />Having a pull-list at my local comic shop is a good thing for me for a couple of reasons. One is that I know the guy running it and I'm happy to give him whatever business I still have. Two is that I can pick up my books whenever without having to wait for them to ship out. Three is that I will no longer have dinged corners from questionable shipping. Four is that I will again be able to browse over all the current comics in case something jumps out at me. For the majority of my comic-buying career I've bought my comics on a regular schedule, in person, at a local store. I'm looking forward to going to back to that.
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<br />Also, just for the record I'm going from 19 DC titles in August to 1 DC title - Batwoman. Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-72362941878024372782011-06-03T10:07:00.000-07:002011-06-03T12:18:39.446-07:00DC meets Heroes Reborn... KindaI completely understand DC feel the need to make a drastic move to boost sales - they've been trailing behind Marvel for several years now - but a company-wide reboot?<br /><br />There are plenty of websites reporting on the recent developments at DC Comics - just do a google search if you don't know what I'm talking about.<br /><br />Not that huge of a deal if they want to restart all (or most) of their series with brand new #1 issues - they can always make events out of legacy numbering - but that's not the extent of it. DC are actually going to reboot (scratch that, re-configure?) much of their continuity. This just smacks of Heroes Reborn or the Ultimate Universe done poorly. While it is not known how much of the DC Universe history is slated to change, it is known that much of it will along with the characters, costumes, origins, and settings of many if not most of the characters. <br /><br />What does this mean for Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash? Doubtless the heavy-hitters will mostly be the same - albeit younger, hipper, or more-modernized. It's the b-list and c-list characters that I'm more concerned about. What's going to happen to Black Canary, The Secret Six, The Question (Renee Montoya), Misfit, Damien Wayne, and that ilk? I suppose they could bring back Vic Sage - but it's not likely as he's a male and white (at least in appearance) and DC has said they want a more diverse cast. Nothing wrong with a diverse cast and if they aren't going to put talent behind Vic Sage he's not going to be any more popular than he was before they killed him off. <br /><br />Another change I'm worried about is making Barbara Gordan Batgirl again. I love Stephanie Brown as Batgirl - her series with Wendy is fantastic and fun. I'd hate to see that go away. Though considering the current powers-that-be had a bit of a hand in bringing Stephanie Brown to the role - I gotta hope she's not going away entirely.<br /><br />Supposedly the Green Lanterns and related Corps aren't slated for too much change as that franchise has been doing very well recently. I just hate to see that it appears the DC Comics comicdom is apparently chasing down the DC Comics moviedom. That seems backward. Ultimately it's a move that's designed to bring in new readers - I like that - I just don't see that this is going to drive folks into comic shops that don't already go into comic shops. Maybe I've just become the angry comic book guy. I do spend a lot of time in my basement so I guess that's evidence that maybe I'm out of touch with the rest of the world. At least it's not my parents' house.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-30937938809076463992010-08-24T13:45:00.000-07:002010-08-26T12:22:15.416-07:00MC2/Spider-Girl (reading order)In 1998 Tom DeFalco conceived of the "MC2" or Marvel Comics 2 Universe (982) as a possible alternate future of the mainstream Marvel Universe (616) set in the present day as if the superheroes of the 616 had aged and whatnot. Essentially this was a proto-Ultimate continuity. <br />While I have not yet read many issues I've managed to score nearly all of them in my years of haunting comic cons, bargain bins, used book stores, and the like. Here is what I've been able to put together for reading order on these titles based again solely on release date. I'll get into the wisdom of buying hundreds of comics for series that I have not yet sampled from and may not actually enjoy reading once I do get them. I'm not paying you all for psycho-analysis after all. <br /><br />What If (Vol 2) #105 - 1st Appearance of Spider-Girl, MC2<br />Spider-Girl #0<br />Spider-Girl #1/2<br /><br />Concurrent?<br />Spider-Girl #1-12<br />A-Next #1-12 Oct 1998 - Sep 1999<br />J2 #1-12 Oct 1998 - Sep 1999<br /><br />Spider-Girl Annual #1 1999<br /><br />Concurrent?<br />Wild Thing #0 1999<br />Spider-Girl #13-17<br />Wild Thing #1-5 Oct 1999<br />Fantastic Five (Vol 1) #1-5 Oct 1999<br /><br />Spider-Girl #18-21<br /><br />Concurrent?<br />Spider-Girl #22-24<br />The Buzz #1-3 Jul 2000<br /><br />Spider-Girl #25<br /><br />Concurrent?<br />Spider-Girl #26-28<br />DarkDevil #1-3 Nov 2000<br /><br />Spider-Girl #29-84<br /><br />Concurrent?<br />Spider-Girl #85-89<br />Last Hero Standing #1–5 (June 2005)<br /><br />Spider-Girl #90-97<br /><br />Concurrent?<br />Spider-Girl #98-100<br />Last Planet Standing #1–5 (July 2006)<br /><br />Amazing Spider-Girl #0<br /><br />Concurrent?<br />Amazing Spider-Girl #1–4<br />Avengers Next #1–5 (November 2006 – January 2007)<br /><br />Amazing Spider-Girl #5–7<br /><br />Concurrent?<br />Amazing Spider-Girl #8-10 <br />Fantastic Five (volume 2) #1–5 (July 2007 – September 2007)<br /><br />Amazing Spider-Girl #11-17 <br /><br />Concurrent?<br />Amazing Spider-Girl #18-22<br />American Dream #1–5 (May 2008 – July 2008)<br /><br />Amazing Spider-Girl #23-30<br />Amazing Spider-Girl #1–30 (October 2006 – March 2009)<br /><br />Spectacular Spider-Girl #1–4 (Jul 2010 – Oct 2010)<br /><br />Web Spider-Man (back-up features) #1-7<br /><br />Forth-coming:<br /><br />Spider-Girl: The End #1-6<br /><br />I guess that's all I got for now. I'll probably update some as I read through the issues, until then if any of you have suggestions, I'll take them.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-64398906765746297012010-08-24T10:53:00.000-07:002010-08-24T11:13:04.998-07:00Preacher (reading order)One of the series that I'm looking forward to collecting is the Preacher series. I've heard it can be a bit... off-color, and therefore a bit interesting. As it is, I have not read a single issue that follows - this chronology is based solely on release date.<br /><br />Preacher #1-19<br />Preacher Special: Saint of Killers #1-4 Aug-Nov 1996<br />Preacher #20<br />Preacher Special: The Story of You Know Who One-shot Dec 1996<br />Preacher #21-28<br />Preacher Special: The Good Old Days One-shot Aug 1997<br />Preacher #29-34<br />Preacher Special: Cassidy Blood and Whiskey One-shot Feb 1998<br />Preacher #35<br />Preacher Special: One Man's War One-shot Mar 1998<br />Preacher #36-58<br />Preacher Special: Tall in the Saddle One-shot Feb 2000<br />Preacher #59-66Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-89726082020958739922010-08-24T07:00:00.000-07:002010-08-24T11:12:31.877-07:00Planetary (reading order)I just recently purchased these and haven't read through them yet, but here is the prospective reading order based solely on release dates. If there are changes that I discover as I read through them, I'll edit them. Otherwise, as always, if you see things that need to be added, changed, removed - let me know!<br /><br />Gen 13 (Vol 2, 1995, Image) #33 - Preview story<br />Planetary #1-11<br />Planetary/The Authority: Ruling the World One-shot<br />Planetary #12-15<br />Planetary/JLA: Terra Occulta One-shot<br />Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth One-shot<br />Planetary #16-27Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-41629194942598915022009-08-13T08:01:00.000-07:002009-08-13T08:19:48.004-07:00Justice Society of America - Thy Kingdom Come (reading order)Justice Society of America (3rd volume) #9 - 1st New Earth appearance of Kingdom Come Earth-22 Superman<br />Justice Society of America #10-15, Thy Kingdom Come Parts 1-6<br />Justice Society of America #16-17, One World Under Gog Parts 1-2<br />Justice Society of America Annual #1, One World Under Gog Part 3<br />Justice Society of America #18-20, One World Under Gog Parts 4-6<br />JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman One-Shot, One World Under Gog Part 7<br />JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog One-Shot, One World Under Gog Part 8<br />JSA Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom One-Shot, One World Under Gog Part 9<br />Justice Society of America #21-22, One World Under Gog Parts 10-11<br /><br /><br />I enjoyed this series quite a bit, I found it to be a fitting companion series to Waid/Ross's Kingdom Come. You can probably pick up these issues fairly cheaply if you don't already have them.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-41638957661742853712009-07-13T12:01:00.000-07:002009-07-13T13:04:18.174-07:00Blackest Night - Green Lantern<span style="font-style:italic;"> In brightest day, in blackest night,<br /> No evil shall escape my sight<br /> Let those who worship evil's might,<br /> Beware my power... Green Lantern's light! </span><br /><br />I have to admit that I'm totally suckered in to the Blackest Night event. I've been a Green Lantern fan for a long time so this is really catering directly to my interests.<br /><br />I've been making Green Lantern and related custom figures for a while and this event really opens the doors for a whole lot more. The required reading for this event is already astronomical if you want to get the back story, without even considering the actual "prelude" and "event" books themselves. Here's a partial list of the books that are branded as taking part in or leading up to this event.<br /><br />Here are the branded "Prelude" issues:<br /><br />Blackest Night #0 (Free Comic Book Day issue)<br />Green Lantern #39-42 - "Agent Orange"<br />Green Lantern Corps #33-38 - "Emeral Eclipse"<br /><br />Blackest Night (not yet released):<br /><br />Blackest Night #1-8<br />Green Lantern #43-47<br />Green Lantern Corps #38-41<br />The Titans #15<br />Blackest Night: Tales Of The Corps #1-3<br />Blackest Night: Batman #1-3<br />Blackest Night: Superman #1-3<br />Blackest Night: Titans #1-3<br />Blackest Night: Wonder Woman<br /><br /><br />As things progress for this event I'll try to work up a reading order. That's it for now.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-86966203185434372009-06-18T09:23:00.000-07:002009-08-13T08:00:56.721-07:00Ultimatum (reading order)This appears to be the best way to read through this series... if you decide to read them that is!<br /><br />Ultimatum #1<br />Ultimate Spider-Man #130<br />Ultimate X-Men #98<br />Ultimate Fantastic Four #58<br />Ultimatum #2<br />Ultimate Spider-Man #131<br />Ultimate Fantastic Four #59<br />Ultimate X-Men #99<br />Ultimatum #3<br />Ultimate Fantastic Four #60<br />Ultimate X-Men #100<br />Ultimate Spider-Man #132<br />Ultimatum #4<br />Ultimate Spider-Man #133<br />Ultimatum #5<br />Ultimatum Requiem - Spider-Man #1-2, X-men, and Fantastic Four (can be read in any order)<br /><br />After reading all these issues I have to say that while there are a few interesting points for the new Ultimate Comics to start from, largely this was a pretty poor event/story. It seems as though Marvel gave the creative talent the directive to kill off a bunch of characters and make it graphic and disturbing. I understand the need to re-vamp or re-start the Ultimate Universe as it has been going down-hill for a while, but this event is overly graphic and was handled with little care for these characters.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-53646638281517283242009-06-10T08:51:00.000-07:002009-06-10T13:28:35.131-07:00Marvel Zombies (reading order)The Ultimate Universe began in 2000 with the start of Ultimate Spider-Man. The title proved to be wildly popular and spawned an entire universe. One thing that Marvel said they would never do is crossover the Ultimate Universe with the mainstream, or 616, Marvel Universe. Marvel dropped plenty of hints about a story-arc in the Ultimate Fantastic Four series. Turns out it was not quite what people thought. This was the birth of the Marvel Zombies Universe, Earth-2149.<br /><br />Reading order for the Marvel Zombies universe, in chronological order:<br /><br />Marvel Zombies Dead Days (events concurrent with the MZvAOD 0-2)<br />Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness #0-5<br />Ultimate Fantastic Four #21 - 23<br />Marvel Zombies vol 1 #1-5<br />Ultimate Fantastic Four #30 - 32<br />Black Panther vol 3 #28-30<br />Marvel Zombies vol 2 #1-5<br />Marvel Zombies vol 3 #1-4<br />Marvel Zombies vol 4 #1-4<br /><br />Other, related comics:<br />Marvel Zombies Book of Angels, Demons, and Monstrosities<br />Marvel Spotlight Marvel Zombies<br />Exiles #85-86<br />Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham<br /><br /><br />Publication Order:<br /><br />Ultimate Fantastic Four #21 - 23 (Sep/2005 to Nov/2005)<br />Marvel Zombies vol 1 #1-5 (Feb/2006 to Jun/2006)<br />Ultimate Fantastic Four #30 - 32 (Jul/2006 to Oct/2006)<br />Exiles #85-86 (Oct/2006 to Nov/2006)<br />Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham (Mar/2007)<br />Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness #0-5 (May/2007 to Aug/2007)<br />Marvel Zombies Dead Days (Jul/2007)<br />Black Panther vol 3 #28-30 (JUL/2007 to Oct/2007)<br />Marvel Zombies Book of Angels, Demons, and Monstrosities (Sep/2007)<br />Marvel Spotlight Marvel Zombies (Oct/2007)<br />Marvel Zombies vol 2 #1-5 (Dec/2007 to Apr/2008)<br />Marvel Zombies vol 3 #1-4 (Dec/2008 to Mar/2009)<br />Marvel Zombies vol 4 #1-4 (Jun/2009 to [current])<br /><br />As always - if you have any corrections, additions, or subtractions - let me know!Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-20257537667685135592009-05-28T09:53:00.000-07:002009-06-01T09:30:31.242-07:00Spider-Man's Brand New Day!I read a lot of comics and I have been reading them for a long time. One group of titles I never really got into - the Spider-Man titles. I like the character just fine, but I always had trouble getting into stories or books that featured just him. I think the trouble lies in the fact that I couldn't identify with him. For one thing - Mary Jane. Sure I've got a super-hot wife, but I worked hard for her affections - she didn't just fall into my lap. Also, she's not taking any more modeling gigs.<br /><br />The other thing is this guy has so many opportunities to make his life easier and he never takes them. People want to give him money, or support, and he just turns it down or gives it way. Here's a guy that's going out into the world, putting his life on the line constantly, and he lets himself go hungry! <br /><br />All that aside, when Marvel announced their whole "Brand New Day" thing for Spider-man and the gang I figured I'd give the title a shot. It's really great and I'm enjoying it tremendously. Peter Parker is on his own, trying to make a life for himself while dealing with all the hardships that come with being Spider-Man. The new characters are interesting - I very interested to see how they play out.<br /><br />Brand New Day directly follows the events of One More Day, published in these issues:<br />(Part 1) The Amazing Spider-Man #544<br />(Part 2) Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #23<br />(Part 3) Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #40<br />(Part 4) The Amazing Spider-Man #545<br /><br />Brand New Day starts off in Amazing Spider-Man (now shipping thrice-monthly-ish) and continues in the Annual and a few "Extra" issues. Of course, "Brand New Day" ends after only a few issues, though the events that drive the new continuity are felt through these issues.<br /><br />Amazing Spider-Man #546-566<br />Amazing Spider-Man Extra #1<br />Amazing Spider-Man #567-574<br />Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (2008)<br />Amazing Spider-Man #575-583<br />Amazing Spider-Man Extra #2<br />Amazing Spider-Man #584-588<br />Amazing Spider-Man Extra #3<br />Amazing Spider-Man #589-Current<br /><br />The main thing here is that I want to support the project. Marvel has taken three monthly titles and combined them into one thrice-monthly title with a rotating creative team - but with the same overall narrative! This is a practice that I'd love to see for Superman, Batman, Avengers, X-Men, and more! If Marvel makes money off this experiment, perhaps they'll try it with other books too.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-72583967761242723572009-05-27T12:45:00.000-07:002009-08-28T11:16:18.565-07:00Superman - New Krypton (reading order)I haven't really been a follower of the Superman titles for a while, but these issues sparked my interest. Fortunately, DC for the most part has been numbering these issues that have come out since the New Krypton special.<br /><br />Lead-in to New Krypton:<br /><br />Superman - #677 to #680<br />Supergirl - #34<br />Action Comics - #866 to #870<br />Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special #1<br /><br />New Krypton:<br /><br />Part 1 - Superman: New Krypton Special<br />Part 2 - Superman #681<br /><br />Part 3 - Adventure Comics Special Featuring the Guardian<br />Part 4 - Action Comics #871<br />Part 5 - Supergirl #35<br />Part 6 - Superman #682<br /><br />Part 7 - Action Comics #872<br />Part 8 - Supergirl #36<br />Part 9 - Superman #683<br /><br />Part 10 - Action Comics #873<br />Part 11 - Supergirl #37 (no cover-number)<br />Part 12 - Superman #684<br /><br />Part 13 - Action Comics #874<br />Part 14 - Supergirl #38<br />Part 15 - Superman #685 (no cover-number)<br /><br />Part 16 - Superman: World of New Krypton #1<br />Part 17 - Action Comics #875<br />Part 18 - Supergirl #39<br />Part 19 - Superman #686<br /><br />Part 20 - Superman: World of New Krypton #2<br />Part 21 - Action Comics #876<br />Part 22 - Supergirl #40<br />Part 23 - Superman #687<br /><br />Part 24 - Superman: World of New Krypton #3<br />Part 25 - Action Comics #877<br />Part 26 - Supergirl #41<br />Part 27 - Superman #688<br /><br />Part 28 - Superman: World of New Krypton #4<br />Part 29 - Action Comics #878<br />Part 30 - Supergirl #42<br />Part 31 - Superman #689<br /><br />Part 32 - Superman: World of New Krypton #5<br />Part 33 - Action Comics #879<br />Part 34 - Supergirl #43<br />Part 35 - Superman #690<br /><br />Looks like the number is restarting for the Codename: Patriot issues.<br /><br />Part "S" - Superman Annual #14 (2009)<br />Part 0 - Superman 2009 Secret Files<br />Part 1 - Superman: World of New Krypton #6<br />Part 2 - Action Comics #880<br />Part 3 - Supergirl #44<br />Part 4 - Superman #691<br /><br />I'm not sure if Adventure Comics fits in with these titles at all - I have it, but haven't read it yet. I'll update later.<br /><br />[on-going]<br /><br />As always - if you have any additions or corrections, please send them my way.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-61217560556227232532009-05-27T11:06:00.000-07:002009-05-27T18:44:36.693-07:00Batman - Battle for the Cowl (reading order)Hopefully this reading order is going to be easier and far-less convoluted than No Man's Land.<br /><br />Here we go - ordering by release date:<br /><br />Gotham Gazette: Batman Dead? - 3/04/2009<br />Batman: Battle for the Cowl #1 - 3/11/2009<br />Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #1 - 3/18/2009<br />Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon - 3/25/2009<br />Oracle: The Cure #1 - 3/25/2009<br />Batman: Battle for the Cowl #2 - 4/08/2009<br />Battle for the Cowl: Man-Bat - 4/1/2009<br />Oracle: The Cure #2 - 4/15/2009<br />Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #2 - 4/22/2009<br />Battle for the Cowl: Arkham Asylum - 4/22/2009<br />Battle for the Cowl: The Underground - 4/29/2009<br />Battle for the Cowl: The Network - 5/06/2009<br />Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #3 - 5/13/2009<br />Oracle: The Cure #3 - 5/13/2009<br />Secret Six #9 - 5/13/2009<br />Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3 - 5/20/2009<br />Gotham Gazette: Batman Alive? - 5/28/2009<br /><br />I didn't actually grab the Azrael issues yet so I can't really speak to the entire order, but mostly this seems to be the ideal way to read through them. Mostly it seems that publishers haven't gotten better at releasing things in the order in which they should be read, but there have been a few mistakes from time to time.<br /><br />If anyone has any additions or corrections to this list, please let me know.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-6599048490512843172009-05-14T07:10:00.000-07:002009-05-27T18:44:53.142-07:00Fringe Steals from Ex Machina!WARING: SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST SEASON FINALE OF <span style="font-weight:bold;">FRINGE</span> AND THE COMIC SERIES <span style="font-weight:bold;">EX MACHINA</span> FOLLOW!!!!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I just got done watching the first season of Fringe. While I have to say that I enjoyed it, I also have to admit that I'm left with a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Brian K Vaughan has been writing a fantastic comic series from Wildstorm/DC called Ex Machina. It's about a superhero in a world very much like our own. Mitchel Hundred went by the name of the "Great Machine" when he was out saving the world. Perhaps his greatest achievement as a hero was stopping the second airplane from striking the second World Trade Center tower in New York City on 9/11.<br /><br />There is a mystery surrounding the origin of Hundred's powers - even to him. In one of the issues there's a visitor from another dimension that meets with Hundred and tells him that he's crossed over from another reality in advance of a invading army that aims to take over not just the world - but ALL the worlds. <br /><br />Cut over to Fringe - the early episodes were very much in the vein of X-Files with a mystery of the week and a slow build-up to the overall story. Suffice it to say a large component of the story involves travel between worlds and various factions battling against one another. The final shot of the finale pulls away from two characters talking in an office. As the shot widens and travels further from the window you see that both towers are still standing and it is implied on a newspaper front page that it was the White House that got destroyed in this reality. ["Obamas set to move into new White House"]<br /><br />Of course it's not a blatant rip-off, certainly nothing that BKV could go after JJ Abrams for stealing, but it definitely takes some key points.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733952254397587315.post-75168477240665659402009-05-14T07:08:00.001-07:002009-05-27T18:45:00.213-07:00Batman - No Man's Land (reading order)No Man's Land was a massive cross-over from 1999 and took place in several DC Comics titles. The central titles used in the cross-over were Batman, Detective Comics, Shadow of the Bat, and Legends of the Dark Knight.<br /><br />Recently I decided I wanted to pick up these issues and give them a read. I figured since it was the starting point for two of my favorite DC characters - Harley Quinn and Cassandra Cain - and apparently was a big deal that I'd give it a shot. I found a great deal on the issues in one lot on eBay and went for it.<br /><br />When I got them I started flipping through the first couple and I noticed that there's really no way to tell from the issues which order you should read them in. I spent some time looking on-line and I found two slightly different guides for the reading order. I tried to combine the two, which essentially worked pretty well. As I read through them though I found a number of problems and decided to update the list.<br /><br />I didn't always remember all the changes I thought of making so there are still some problems with it. Additionally, the editors missed a few things and frankly I just don't think some things can be resolved with the continuity. However, these are usually minor details and don't really adversely affect the reading experience. If you actually use my list to read your issues, please let me know of any thoughts or changes you want to see.<br /><br />Thanks!<br /><br />Batman - No Man's Land Reading Order:<br /><br />THE ROAD TO NO MAN'S LAND:<br />Azrael 47-50 - A Man of Wealth & Taste / Scratching the Surface / Gotham City Must Die! / Resurrection<br />Batman 560 - Mr. Wayne Goes to Washington (Part One)<br />Detective Comics 727 - Fight or Flight (Part One)<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 80 - Waxman and the Clown (Part One)<br />Batman 561 - Mr. Wayne Goes to Washington (Part Two)<br />Detective Comics 728 - Fight or Flight (Part Two)<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 81 - Waxman and the Clown (Part Two)<br />Batman 562 - Mr. Wayne Goes to Washington (Part Three)<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 82 - Waxman and the Clown (Part Three)<br />Detective Comics 729 - Fight or Flight (Part Three)<br /><br />NO MAN'S LAND:<br />Batman: No Man's Land 0 - Ground Zero (contains some slight spoilers)<br />Batman: No Man's Land 1 - No Law and a New Order (Part One)<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 83 - No Law and a New Order (Part Two)<br />Batman 563 - No Law and a New Order (Part Three)<br />Detective Comics 730 - No Law and a New Order (Part Four)<br />Azrael 51 - Miracle Run<br />Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 116 - Fear of Faith (Part One)<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 84 - Fear of Faith (Part Two)<br />Batman 564 - Fear of Faith (Part Three)<br />Detective Comics 731 - Fear of Faith (Part Four)<br />Azrael 52 - Devil Down Below<br />Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 117 - Bread and Circuses (Part One)<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 85 - Bread and Circuses (Part Two)<br />Batman Chronicles 16 - Two Down / The Comforts of Home / Harold<br />Batman 565 - Mosaic (Part One)<br />Detective Comics 732 - Mosaic (Part Two)<br />Azrael 53 - Jellybean Deathtrap<br />Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 118 - Balance<br />Batman 566 - The Visitor<br />Detective Comics 733 - Shades of Grey<br />Azrael 54-55 - Step into the Light / Misery Dance<br />Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 119 - Claim Jumping (Part One)<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 87 - Claim Jumping (Part Two)<br />Batman 567 - Mark of Cain (Part One)<br />Detective Comics 734 - Mark of Cain (Part Two)<br />Young Justice No Man's Land Special 1 - Road Trip<br />Robin 67 - Way Dark<br />Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 120 - Assembly<br />Azrael 56-57 - The Night Foretold! / Scratched Out!<br />Nightwing 35-37 - Escape to Blackgate / Direction / A Slight Detour<br />Batman Chronicles 17 - Little Bat Lost / Turn On, Tune In, Freak Out / Identity Crisis<br />JLA 32 - Inside Job<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 88 - Fruit of the Earth (Part One)<br />Batman 568 - Fruit of the Earth (Part Two)<br />Detective Comics 735 - Fruit of the Earth (Part Three)<br />Catwoman 72-74 - A Funny Thing Happened On the Way Back To Gotham ... / Ms. Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 121 - Powerplay<br />Batman: Harley Quinn One-shot<br />Robin 68-70 - War Beneath the Streets<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 89 - The King<br />Batman Chronicles 18 Spiritual Currency<br />Batman 569 - I Cover the Waterfront<br />Detective Comics 736 - Homecoming<br />Azrael 58 - Ghosts<br />Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 122 - Low Road to Golden Mountain (Part One)<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 90 - Low Road to Golden Mountain (Part Two)<br />Batman 570 - The Code (Part One)<br />Detective Comics 737 - The Code (Part Two)<br />Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 123 - Underground Railroad (Part One)<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 91 - Underground Railroad (Part Two)<br />Batman 571 - Goin' Downtown (Part One)<br />Detective Comics 738 - Goin' Downtown (Part Two)<br />Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 124 - Captain of Industry<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 92 - Stormy Weather<br />Secret Files and Origins: No Mans Land<br />Nightwing 38 - Ballistic Romance 1<br />Robin 71- The Lizard King<br />Nightwing 39 - Ballistic Romance 2<br />Robin 72 - Last Stand on Grand Avenue<br />Batman 572 - Jurisprudence (Part One)<br />Detective Comics 739 - Jurisprudence (Part Two)<br />Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 125 - Falling Back<br />Catwoman 75 - The Rules<br />Azrael 59 - Pilgrim's Return<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 93 - Assembly Redux<br />Robin 73 - The World Around the Corner (Robin leaves NML?)*<br />Azrael 60 - Evacuation<br />Catwoman 76-77 - Strange Bedfellows / Payback<br />Batman 573 - Shellgame (Part One)<br />Detective Comics 740 - Shellgame (Part Two)<br />Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 126 - Endgame (Part One)<br />Batman 574 - Endgame (Part Two)<br />Detective Comics 741 - Endgame (Part Three)<br />Azrael 61 - Presents of Mind<br />Batman: Shadow of the Bat 94 - Days of Auld Lang Syne<br /><br />*I think there was a snafu on the part of the editors regarding this issue of Robin. Tim Drake is rescued from Gotham by Helicopter, but somehow Robin is still in Gotham. The only time it's addressed that he had to come back to Gotham is in the very last issue, Shadow 94. There are all kinds of continuity problems with that one so it's best just to let it be.Commander Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08347954346230957461noreply@blogger.com1