Free Comic Book Day 2019

May 04, 2019 was more than a celebration of Star Wars as it was also the annual event - Free Comic Book Day. Like the past few years, I took the family up to Nikelspot Comics in Fort Mill, SC to see my local comic shop crew and to pick up some free books and hopefully some good deals as well.

There was rain in the forecast for Saturday so we hit the shop early, hoping to beat the rain and the crowds. I'm glad I did because some of the free books already seemed to be low in number. This year the shop allowed us to pick 7 titles each. I had forgot that I already had the Marvel titles on their way in my monthly DCBS order, however I'm sure I can find someone to gift the ones I picked up. I was glad to see there were books from some of the smaller publishers as I wasn't sure if those would get ordered. There were so many books for the shop owners to order and since they aren't free to the shops, I didn't exactly know what I was going to find. Thankfully I was able to walk away happy with these 7 books:

I honestly don't know much about Animosity Tales, but that's what FCBD is all about! I read the synopsis of the issue the day before the event and it sounded pretty cool so I was glad to see this book offered on Saturday.

I've been a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer since the original movie, but more so the Sarah Michelle Gellar led television show. When season 7 ended on television, season 8 was turned into a Dark Horse comic. I followed it for awhile before I dropped out of buying new comics for several years as my wife and I began our family. Now that Buffy is back in the pages of a new comic, here I am being drawn back in. When it comes to Firefly, I can say I've never watched the show.

I don't know much about Lady Mechanika, but I picked up last year's FCBD book and enjoyed it so I figured why not get this year's too? Joe Benitiz art is beautiful and if I had room in the comic budget this may be a book that I'd pick up on a regular basis.

Thanks to the Key Collector comics app, I was clued into Antarctic Press' superhero title, Punchline, some months ago. The first issue shot up in price on the secondary market almost instantaneously making it hard for the average comic reader to acquire/read. This FCBD version reprints the first issue and hopefully wet's the readers appetite for more...which is coming in the version of a TPB soon.

I was a little undecided if I wanted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Spawn but you can see which direction I went. I believe this is a reprint of the very first issue. I know the title is closing in on 300 issues so this was a nice flash back. Had I been willing to look past Marvel comics when I was in high school I might have read and enjoyed Spawn, but as it is I've never read an issue. I was tempted when Angela made her way over to Marvel, but I do plan on sitting down w/ this issue soon. After all, even if I don't care for the story I can gaze at the beautiful Todd McFarlane art!

This Year of the Villain by DC Comics wasn't part of FCBD, but the fine folks at Niklespot were handing it out (to at least the adults) with their free books. I only read one DC book (Wonder Woman) so I'm not sure how much I'll get out of this, but I do appreciate the kind gesture regardless.

I'm still behind on reading my current books that I almost don't want to even crack this cover because I don't want it to spoil anything for me!

Same goes for this issue of Spider-Man. I know it's the start of a wild ride featuring Venom and Carnage and I can't wait to see what happens.

The shop also put out some new dollar (long) boxes and since it was FCBD the books were buy one get one free. I absolutely love digging through cheap boxes so while I was digging through the boxes looking for some deals, my wife took my daughters inside the store so they could get their name on the sketch list. Bernie Cooke was at the shop once again providing free head pencil sketches. Since we were pretty early both my girls were able to get on his list and have one of their favorite heroines sketched. I was a little surprised to see that they both chose a Marvel character (even though that warms my heart) since both of them really like a lot of the DC female characters thanks to Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls. However on this day they made their daddy proud.

My youngest daughter, Winnie (7) chose Squirrel Girl. We both were surprised to see that Bernie also added her companion, Tip Toe on her shoulder!

My oldest daughter, Olivia (9) chose Spider-Gwen. Not too surprising since she takes her Marvel Rising doll of Spider-Gwen with her everywhere.

As I mentioned, I was digging through long boxes outside while the girls were shopping inside the shop and here are the books I left with:

I was surprised to see Avengers #260 in the box, but glad none the less. This book has picked up some steam with Avengers Endgame. For those of you that may not know, this issue is the first cover appearance of Nebula and contains her origin story.

I picked up the Avengers West Coast issue for the Bloodties crossover story. I had forgotten that this series ended right after this issue too, making it a little tougher to find (at least in cheap-o boxes).

After I found these 3 issues of Captain America I could've called it day and left happy. Neither book I'd say is in Near Mint condition, but they were good enough for me. #252 does show some discoloration to the white background, but then again it is from 1980 so I expect it to show some age.

Keeping with the Marvel heroes I found a stray issue of both Daredevil and Iron Man. I was particularly happy to find this issue of Iron Man because the Armor Wars II storyline is what got me reading Iron Man. That and the gorgeous John Romita Jr. art!

My CLZ Comics app told me I was looking or these two issues of Incredible Hulk. After I pulled them from the box I realized I had them on my want list because of their brief tie-in tothe Infinity Gauntlet storyline.

I'm still plugging away on completing Morbius' first run and with these three issues I'm getting ever closer to completing the series. Poor Santa.

 

I wasn't looking for this issue of Spirits of Vengeance, but how could I pass it up with a cover like this? Plus, it has Venom so it was an easy choice.

The Tomb of Dracula was another one of those older books that I didn't expect to find, but was happy to pick up. I believe this is only the 3rd issue of this title that I have in my collection.

This issue of Marvel Comics Presents was purchased not for the Wolverine story (even though I'm sure it's at least decent), but for the 4th story contained in the issue featuring a Thanos story.

Punisher filled a small hole. Not a title I actively seek out, but will pick up when I find issues that are in good shape that are also cheap.

I've mentioned before of my affection towards some of the Star Comics series so I quickly snatched up this issue of Silverhawks. 

Wonder Man was purchased solely for the continuation of the Operation: Galactic Storm story and nothing else!

Of course no dig through the dollar boxes is complete without some Spider-Man, right? Found one lone issue of Amazing the collection needed and surprisingly an issue of Spectacular I needed. This issue (98) is also the first appearance of the villian, the Spot.

 

The original clone story got me reading Spider-Man so I love all of the spin-off series such as the 2nd volume of Scarlet Spider. I wasn't reading comics when this series was new, but have actively picking up issues here and there.

The last book I found was this What If one shot that looked to be right up my ally. I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to diving in.

I've had a little bit of a X-Men itch lately and have been picking up select stories from the 90's, such as the Phalanx Covenant. I picked up a few parts to this story back in March at a local show so this issue leaves me with one issue I believe.

I was surprised that I didn't have any issues of Hulk 2099 before now. I'm working on building the entire 2099 catalog before I sit down and read them all in chronological order. This issue of Ravage 2099 is the last issue and can be really hard to find at times.

 

I remember hearing something about Timestorm 2009-2099, but I've never seen these issues before nor have I read them. Since I'm working on a 2099 collection I thought I'd go ahead and grab these too.

The last item I grabbed (and more of an impulse buy) was this Toy Biz Marvel's Most Wanted Spat & Grovel. I remember this small series of figures when they were new and how sought after they were...well more so Blink than X-Man or Spat & Grovel. I grabbed this for $3 because I was curious more than anything. You can expect a full review of this toy on the blog at some point in the near future.

Overall Free Comic Book Day was a success for me and my family. My wife got some comics for her classroom (she's an elementary school teacher), my girls got their free books and a sketch and I too walked away with a nice little stack of books. Thanks again to the great staff at Nikelspot Comics for participating in the annual event. Until next year...

Transformers: Adventure - Jeffrey Prime

I think it's fair to say that both the toy series and the animated television show follow up to Transformers Prime took the series in a different direction. Transformers Robots in Disguise (known as Transformers: Adventure in Japan) blazed it's own path with a more cartoony, light hearted approach. While I admit it took awhile for the animated show to appeal to me, I was intrigued by the toys from day one. While it was a departure from the what was then considered the norm, I liked the idea of the Decepticons having animal characteristics and traits. I like different and different doesn't always have to be bad. I was happy to see Hasbro trying something different, like they did with Animated years earlier. It didn't appeal to everyone, but that rarely happens anyhow. Just take G1 vs. Beast Wars or G1 vs. "Bayformers"...you get the picture. Rarely do Transformers fans ever agree on anything.

For the longest time Takara (now Takara Tomy) gave their line of Transformers that extra special detail that made their figures stand out against what pretty much everyone else in the world got. For this reason I and may others would import these figures at a premium versus buying the Hasbro versions at local retail. I ended up importing a good chunk of the Adventures series for this very reason, but even if you didn't care for the changes Takara Tomy made or had the income to import them there would occasionally be that one exclusive that would make (some) people open their wallets. For the longest time it was the black repaint of Convoy/Optimus Prime, but with the Adventures line Takara Tomy teamed up with the retail giant, Toys 'R Us for not only one release, but two different releases of a "new" character, affectionately known as Jeffrey Prime.

Jeffrey Prime as you can see is a take off the Toys 'R Us mascot, Jeffrey the giraffe. Takara Tomy used the deluxe class Optimus Prime mold as the base and gave him the "TRU treatment". He was also given a very cool translucent orange Energon axe weapon. Like with all Japanese Transformers, he was given the designate # TAV-EX noting his exclusivity. Jeffrey Prime was released later in the Adventures series, which you can tell by the Prime of Micron subtitle. Unfortunately I've never been able to find a translation of his profile as pictured on the back of the blister card.

At first I wasn't thrilled with this mold as Optimus Prime. I loved the legends class version of the mold, but the deluxe class took a while before I came to appreciate what it had to offer. Most of my opinion is based on the alt mode, but the robot mode itself is pretty good. 

Like with most modern Transformers the articulation is very good. All the limbs are connected with ball and socket joints, giving him fluid movement. By the time Jeffrey Prime was released this mold had already been used several times by both Hasbro and Takara Tomy, however I didn't notice and mold degradation.

The color scheme used is obviously Toys 'R Us colors, mixed in with yellow for Jeffrey the giraffe. They did a great job on the legs and feet giving it the look of a giraffe. What I didn't notice at first however are his orange spots are actually little stars. My only gripe with this mode is the inclusion of stickers on this red and green shoulders. It would have been nice if those designs could have been tampographed to the actual toy. Stickers are so 80s/90s!

The only accessory packaged with Jeffrey Prime is this large translucent orange Energon axe. This axe was included with several different versions of Optimus Prime and even the Adventure exclusive Nemesis Prime, however those versions didn't include the extension handle to make the axe longer. I like the look personally of the longer axe and I'm glad this extra piece was included.

Previously I mentioned having some issues with the alternate mode of this toy and I think you may be able to see why. The vehicle is missing the rear portion of the cab and exposes the hips of the robot. I can almost see an inch worm when I look at this vehicle from the side! Angled the toy does look a little better, but it's still not one of my favorite toys of Prime.

Here in this mode the stickers used on his shoulders are exposed as well. Thankfully they don't encounter any friction with other pieces of plastic during the transformation so the stickers should hold up for a long time...or at least that's what I'm hoping. I was a little surprised there weren't more paint apps on this toys, especially to the areas of the alt mode like the front bumper, headlights or even the wheels. I think those small changes would have really popped and helped the overall look of the alt mode.

Released around the same time in the Adventure line was an EZ Collection version of Jeffrey Prime, simply known as Toys 'R Us Prime. Outside of the differences in the mold used, there are plenty of similarities between the two toys. The one glaring difference however is the color of the cab. While the deluxe version retained the red of Optimus Prime, the legends version keeps the yellow/orange color throughout. Personally I'll take either version as they both look cool in my book.

In robot mode both toys share more of the same look overall, though there are still some minor paint differences that can be seen. The legends version is missing the white paint on the forearms and some yellow trim to the head. The other changes are based on the mold differences between the two toys.

Overall Jeffrey Prime is a fun toy (both versions) and one that I was glad I decided to import. Prices to this day still aren't too bad, with current listings online hovering in the $35-40 range. I'd say it's for completionists or die hard Toys 'R Us fans only however. Looking back at these photos that I took some time ago is a little bittersweet since TRU stores closed in the US, however it also serves as a good reminder of what once was and evokes plenty of childhood memories.

KO Korner: Toy Galaxy Transformable Robot "Sunstorm"

Knock off G1 Transformers are nothing new, however sometimes they can be hard to find. I'm guessing with the US' laws and such is why we don't see as many of these toys in the US, however people living in other countries seem to find a wealth of KOs. For this reason alone I love to follow certain people on Instagram because of the crazy toys they post. I've always found KO toys of the Transformers I grew up with to be oddly fascinating. My collection of KO TFs is small as not every one I acquire meets my requirements. Today's specimen is one of those that didn't quite make the cut.

From what appears to be a Canadian toy company, Toy Galaxy, we have their line Transformable Robot. There is no individual name of the toy, but come on...this is the G1 character Sunstorm. I believe I picked this up off of eBay some time ago for right around $10. The blister card was cheap and flimsy and I have expected the blister bubble to be falling off the cardboard backer. I also just assumed it would be G1 size since the toy appeared to be based off the original G1 seeker mold.

As you can see in the first picture, "Sunstorm" is just a bit smaller than an original G1 seeker. Plastic quality is sub-par as expected. There wasn't a sticker sheet included as all of the stickers were pre-applied. What's odd is the stickers that were applied to the wings should be applied to the legs/thighs of the robot.

Transformation is the same as the original mold, albeit pieces don't always stay in place as they should.

The accessories are near replications of the originals, just smaller. The launchers are not spring loaded, but I wasn't expecting that they would be.

While this was an interesting piece to play around with, I decided that since it was smaller than the original mold that it didn't quite fit into my G1 KO collection so off it went to my eBay store. Not surprisingly, someone else snatched it up pretty quickly. Since then I've seen this one and other colored versions for sale in the range of $10-20. I'm sure there are some collectors that love these and had it been 1:1 with the original mold then I perhaps would've kept it.

New Comic Wednesday - The Late Edition

April is the beginning of my business' busy season so I apologize for getting this post out so late, but I was excited to share some of this week's books...and a few stragglers.

I was pumped back in the day when the now defunct Dreamwave Productions got the rights to produce new Transformers comics. While my relationship w/ the old Marvel series was sparse, these new TF comics came at the right time. I loved the art and while the stories left a lot to be desired at times, I kept buying. Eventually when the license ended up with IDW I gave it a try...but after a year or so I just didn't care for the direction my beloved 'bots were going.

I really haven't followed anything IDW did with Transformers. The only "new" book I red was last year's Free Comic Book Day issue of Unicron...something or other...and I don't even remember what went on in that book. When I heard that the franchise was going to get a reboot I thought now may be the time to give IDW another chance. While I still haven't gotten around to reading the first issue, I picked up the 2nd issue thinking I'd enjoy it. Well I haven't read this one either...but I'll be on the road this upcoming week traveling for work and I always take a comic book board box with me full of my backlog so I will be getting caught up.

I've been giving non-Marvel titles a look here and there and The Girl in the Bay has been a fun ride. I really enjoyed the first issue and immediately couldn't wait for the 2nd issue to come out to advance the story. If you've haven't heard of the book - it's basically a murder mystery w/ a sci-fi twist. Very fun ride, highly recommended.

I loved Linda Carter as Wonder Woman when I was a little boy, but that was the extent of my "relationship" with the character. I try not to be one of those type of guys that buys a book for it's cover, but dang it if Jenny Frison didn't put out some awesome art. That alone got me hooked on the current WW title. Even those issue 66 wasn't done by Jenny, it's still a beautiful cover none the less. The story they've been telling isn't half bad either...

I recently picked up an old Crypt of Shadows book at a local show and loved it. I vaguely remember seeing this new #1 solicited in Previews, but I didn't order it. Well it was sitting on the front of the shelf as I was leaving the store the other day and caught my eye. I've already dropped this book in my box to read this week while I'm on the road...looks great based on the cover.

I don't know how I missed the 3rd issue of the current Daredevil series so I was glad there were still a few issues on the shelf.

While I really enjoyed Miles' previous series, I haven't been able to get into his current book. I've decided it'll be dropped after this current story line wraps up. Same goes for Champions. I just don't have much of a connection to the characters and from what I've read, this version of Champions may not be around much longer anyhow.

Finally after months and months of teasing, the giant War of the Realms miniseries is finally here. There were a bajillion variant covers and the shop I stopped at the other day just happened to have one of several of the different variants. I don't usually buy the same comic more than once so trying to decide which cover to buy was tough. There were a lot of great art - Oliver Coipel's Lady Sif and Ryan Otley's Spider-Man cover to mention just a few, but I ultimately decided to go with the Frank Cho variant. Simply stunning. Now I just hope this story is a good as Marvel has been hyping it to be. We'll see...

Transformers Alt-Modes: Optimus Prime

I've been collecting Transformers since their debut in 1984. I've seen a lot of different product come and go over the years, but nothing quite like Transformers Alt-Modes. I'm finding it difficult to describe what these are and why someone thought these were worth the plastic used to make them.

Alt-Modes come packaged in blind box like cardboard boxes and were packaged in a tray for retail stores. The first wave featured 8 different characters, but these aren't blind packaged like you may think. On the back of the box was a small hole that if you were patient enough, you could line the toy inside up with the hole to get an idea of which character was inside. The first time I bought one of these I thought I had Optimus Prime, but ended up with the Decepticon Thundercracker instead. It wasn't foolproof, but at least you had some sort of idea and weren't going in blind.

So what are the Alt-Mode toys? Well it's a giant head with either an Autobot or Decepticon emblem on the top. When you fold up the emblem (as shown) and pull it up, a spring loaded transformation of sorts happens and it switches from a chibi vehicle to a small robot body. It's an odd novelty, I'll give you that. They retailed for way too much ($6 or $7?) and they didn't sell well because eventually they would wind up in close out stores like Five Below and Ollie's.

I have two of these in my collection - Optimus Prime and Thundercracker. If I didn't collect those two characters I'm not sure I would've even kept these things. If you like odd toys then these may be right up your ally, but otherwise you may want to stay far, far away from these!

Re-Dedication

Over the last few years the activity on this blog has taken a back seat to many things, but life in general. As a result I've noticed my readership drop off tremendously and I get it. Only one or two new posts per month doesn't give people the content that can be found on other social media type outlets. While I may never recover to the point where this blog once was, I've decided to re-dedicate myself (as much as I can) to producing more new content for this blog, more frequently.

Much of what I've been working on behind the scenes isn't new necessarily, but it'll be new to the blog. I've still got TONS of pictures that I took of Transformers and other various toys that I just sat on. I've been digging these out, cleaning them up and will start posting some new reviews/articles very soon. I'm not going for quantity over quality, but I do want to pump out more than I've been doing.

Of course there will be some hiccups along the way. Work, life, other hobbies, but this is something that I enjoy doing and I even like looking back on my own stuff I've posted in the past. If you're one of the few readers that have stuck around and still check the blog every once in awhile, thank you. If you're new to the blog, thank you.

Look for new posts of older toys and some new stuff sprinkled in as I look to get this blog kick started once again.

P.S. - This is NOT an April's Fools joke either!