Comic Shopping, a Bit of Retail Therapy for that Post Election Hangover...

in GEEKZ3 years ago

Despite my best efforts to behave, my willpower crumbled today and I engaged in a bit of “retail therapy.” Thankfully today was a normally scheduled day off from work for me. This allowed me to stay up until 4 A.M. obsessively watching election coverage, sleep fitfully on the sofa, generally feel like shit, and then recover a bit here in the evening hours!

Over the past couple months my finances have taken a bit of a beating leading me to the conclusion that I really needed to cut back on my comic book addiction. That rational decision doesn’t seem to be sticking. Posts by folks like @sagesigma don’t help as I see his recent comic acquisitions and get jealous! So as the sun began to set at an ungodly early hour (thanks a lot daylight savings time!) I ventured out for a bite of dinner and a swing by my local comic shop. It was actually pretty bustling as I arrived at a time when a lot of folks are probably on their way home from work, and Wednesday is “New Comic Book Day,” the day of the week when shops get new releases from publishers and avid fans flock there to scoop them up.

So here’s a little rundown of today’s purchases for fellow geeks and enthusiasts. If you spot something that intrigues you please feel free to ask for more details. Likewise, if you spot something you’ve also read or enjoyed, drop a mention in the comments, I’d love to hear about it!


6F75C057F3CE42548652CF31D01600E8.jpeg


The Previews catalog isn’t the most expensive item up front… but it probably is in the long run! It details everything product that shops will be receiving in two months time and I’m already thumbing through it planning my preorders. Yep. My fiscally responsible willpower seems to have crumbled completely! But hey, we all need a little joy in life, so I’ll try not to beat myself up too bad. (And I’ll keep posting on Hive to try and recoup some of my expenses!)

I grabbed the last issue of the highly hyped Three Jokers series. I have all three now and enjoyed the first, although the second still sits on my “to read” pile.

Likewise for The Dreaming: Waking Hours, a comic book set in the Sandman universe. I’ve picked up lots of the recent stories in this particular niche imprint as I really enjoy the Sandman mythos, but I’m quite behind on reading them!

New Mutants I’ve been a fan of since I first started collecting in 1987, so it’s an easy purchase and the current series iteration has actually been quite well done.

Excalibur is another X-Men related book that I enjoy the fantasy flavor of and love the artwork by Marcus To.

Guardians of the Galaxy I’ve been a longtime fan of as well, and while I’m behind on reading this latest series, I’m a huge fan of Marcio Takara’s art and Al Ewing’s writing (from Immortal Hulk) so I’m quite eager to get caught up.


94C234B1C18D4B4CBA88CCFD143552AD.jpeg


I’ve enjoyed the first couple issues of Dryad and like to support the more independent comics as much as possible.

I’ve picked up a few issues of Money Shot but haven’t started reading yet. I first discovered it through the online educational content of the series’ colorist, K. Michael Russell. I’m picking it up to further study his work and the premise just seems rather delightful. The tagline? “Their Mission: Seek out new worlds. Discover new life, and fck it.”* My understanding is that it’s about a team of interstellar scientists who had to turn to making porn to fund their research. I’m intrigued. I’ll have to give this a read soon and then see about tracking down a collection of the early issues I’m missing if I find it enjoyable!

Some books like Origins can catch my eye off of appealing artwork and color palettes alone.

Grabbed the second issue of Norse Mythology although I haven’t read the first yet… I did read the book! Being a fan of Gaiman’s writing, Russell’s artwork (different Russell! This is P. Craig, not K. Michael!) and cover artist David Mack makes this another easy purchase though.

Inkblot is a delightful new comic about an interdimensional cat. I actually had a whole post written about issue #1 which was lost to me in the ether of cloud storage unfortunately. Perhaps I’ll rewrite it to some extent and share soon. Needless to say I grabbed issue #3 today.

And finally, Crossover is a new series that looks intriguing. I also picked up a blank cover variant. I have tons of sketch covers that I intend to someday work on drawing for online sales and convention inventory, so this will go on that pile!

Okay! I’m off now to read a bit! I’d love to share some more about the series and stories I enjoy most and the first step is reading them! As I’ve pondered the direction of my content on Hive, I’ve come to the realization that I am most definitely not a comic book “reviewer” or “critic.” I’m rarely critical of anything that I read, finding something enjoyable, interesting or educational in almost any material. I think that comes from being a creator myself. However I would love to casually share more of what I enjoy most, as I love promoting the work of others and finding likeminded enthusiasts to engage with as well.

Sort:  

Some interesting stuff there. I keep hearing about Sandman, but haven't read any yet. I have read the Norse Mythology book though and the comic could add a dimension to that. Those myths were the original superhero stories.

Will you ever catch up with your reading?

!BEER

The only scenario I ever envision getting me caught up on my reading pile is some form of extended lockdown or convalescence! In either trying circumstances the extra reading time would be a bright spot. Perhaps nuclear war like in that old Twilight Zone classic...

EABC9B1B24CF4B628F646887A505A285.gif

I guess I should really get Three Jokers already.

I'll let ya know once I get through #2 & #3! I've heard mixed responses. Fabok's art is solid so I can enjoy just that. Feels like he's trying to put his best Brian Bolland vibe on it...

Sometimes I order a stack of some old comics I want to read from the library, but having the book safe on the shelf definitely beat that. My wife and I have filled 3 coupon albums from the shop Fantask... one of the oldest still existing comic shops in the world (hope they survive Corona... wait, I have to get down there!)

This was a good little write up! We enjoyed your thoughts about the comics you went out and bought as well! Some good picks!

Soooo! Here's an idea for you... We might not be in the business of selling anything current... But if your into reading/collecting back issues... We are in the middle of launching a comic store on EBay AND the Hive Blockchain!

Our goal is to price our comics (listed here on Hive) in Hive or HBD! Just a thought... But that might help save your wallet which has been taking some punishment as of late! Anyways! Just an idea we are working on and thought you might like it! 😄
-AgentFingers

Thanks for stopping by & making me aware of your shop launch! Followed for sure and I can definitely see myself considering some purchases in the future!

That's awesome and we are glad to hear of it Bryan! Thank you for following along with the shop and yes! Stay posted as we roll out our listings! :D

p.s. We couldn't help noticing that you have done some work in the comic book arena as an artist! Congratulations! Not many people can say they have the discipline and talent to do something like this! Where can we go to check out more of your work? 🖐

______________〽️_____🕴_____🚶🐪🐫🐪___〽️______________

Hey thanks! I'm on limited hours of sleep here as you...it's been a week and a half. I have some of these that I'm hoping to read yet this week; I'll definitely chime in sooner rather than later on them. I too need to get back to writing about the stuff I like - did you read the Department of Truth yet? Some interesting ideas going on in #1

I didn't pick up Department of Truth, it didn't really catch my eye I guess. Tonight I just read Crossover and the first issue of Stillwater from a prior batch of acquisitions. Very much enjoyed them both, particularly Crossover.

Oh yes..I do like Stillwater too, and can't wait to see where they take that one. So many good books out there right now, and as you said, tough on the wallet.


Hey @bryan-imhoff, here is a little bit of BEER from @steevc for you. Enjoy it!

Learn how to earn FREE BEER each day by staking your BEER.

Congratulations @bryan-imhoff! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

You distributed more than 40000 upvotes. Your next target is to reach 41000 upvotes.

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Do not miss the last post from @hivebuzz:

HiveFest⁵ badges available in the HiveBuzz shop
The new HiveFest⁵ Attendee badge is waiting for you