Just One More Ingredient....

I'm not a fan of those small, hard pretzels. Too hard, and terribly bland. But, for the first time, I just tried a chocolate covered pretzel from Munchkin No. 1's pretzel snack pack.

Daaaaaaammmmmmnnnnn, Was that good! One little addition to an otherwise bleh snack made all the difference!

I just finished his entire snack pack. I better go get another one before he notices it missing....

Superugh!

What's up with the "reimaginings" and "redesigns" of iconic DC characters and their costumes? First Wonder Woman, then Batman, and now Superman. If you're wondering what it looks like, just do a pic search on "Earth One Superman" and you'll see early Supes in a hoodie.

I'm all for changes to a look here and there, but an entire wardrobe change, which in my opinion, isn't all that great? The news reports are attributing this "new look" to the "Twilight Effect", but as much I'd like to agree, I gotta say this effect goes back to the reimagining of BSG. It was done so well, everyone seems to be apeing it.

I'm so glad "Earth One" will be just a graphic novel, and won't (hope!) have to see that "costume" replace the iconic costumes. They're iconic for a reason, folks.

Keep it casual!

My New Website!

Well, I went and finally did it: I reserved my own domain name, http://www.aetherus.net/! I've actually been thinking about creating my own website for some time now, but the lack of motivation and time just prevented me from doing it this past year. But in early October, I made the decision: "If I don't reserve a site now, I'll never get around to doing it!".

After looking through several web hosting sites, I settled with HostGator.com. I opted for the "Baby Croc" plan, which looks to be just enough for what I need.

At the moment, there isn't much to my site; just a link to this blog. It may take a while for me to flesh it out, considering that I haven't done anything web design related in almost a decade! I'm still catching up with all things beyond basic HTML, and I have about as much artistic web design skills as a brick.

As far as to what I plan to do with the site? Well, I always wanted to do things such as showcase items from my various collections, set up a collector forum, and wax poetic about my various hobbies. Who knows how far I'll get? All I know for now is that I'll work on it here and there (certainly a lot of it will be testing and fixing bugs!), and hopefully I'll enjoy the process of creating and developing it. So, on to this new journey!

Until then, keep it casual! :)

R.I.P. Mr. Bosley...

I just saw the Yahoo! newsblurb on the passing of Tom Bosley, AKA Mr. Arthur Cunningham of Happy Days. What a downer to end the day on.

Rest in peace, Mr. Bosley. I hope you are now living even happier days.You were a great second dad.... :(

Quote Of The Moment

While playing around with my sidebars, I added a little widget where I can place some of my favorite quotes. I thought it would be neat to also wax poetic about the quote whenever I updated it. I've already updated it once, so we'll just start from here. Here's today's quote:


"Well, you sure killed the hell outta that fella today."
- William Munny, "Unforgiven"

Although many regard the "Hell of a thing, killin' a man..." line from William Munny to be the better, more famous quote, and in truth it kinda is. But there's something about the quote I chose that really stands out.

We have a quiet, somber scene between two men; One a seasoned killer in William Munny, the other a self proclaimed one in the Schofield Kid. Over the course of the conversation, the Schofield Kid finally admits to having never killed anyone that he claimed he did. Of course, everyone (including the audience) knew this early on in the movie, and the Kid (and the audience) discovers that the real, actual act of killing a person is not as glamorous as told in stories (or in movies), but a disgusting, gut-wrenching thing to do.

William's "killed the hell outta that fella" line just suddenly comes out of left field during the middle of the Schofield Kid's monologue, it make's Munny's line so outragously funny and also provides a break of tension and depression to the Kid's admission of the reality to the act of murder. A very well placed line, and a great set up for another great line.

Until then, keep it casual!

I'm Such A "Basterd"!

I finally saw "Inglourious Basterds" last night. Why has it taken me this long to finally watch it? The opening scene and tavern scene were killer! (sorry for the bad pun) Damn, I love Tarantino's dialogue scenes.

I feel even more of a "basterd" for not watching it sooner...

Seeing Double! Triple! A Lot!

Yup, that's seven of the Marvel Universe Multiple Man action figure sets I found at a single Walmart store! I was about to pick up the entire lot, but a cooler head prevailed, and I put back three... ;) ;) ;)

Back In Tyria!

Well, I'm back to playing Guild Wars. Unlike other MMOs I've played, Guild Wars is a game I'm always eager to get back into when I haven't been gaming for a while. There's something about the artwork, music, and gameplay that's so unique and refreshing, that it never feels like "work" or a "chore" when playing it.

When it comes to the current crop of MMORPGs out there, I honestly believe GW has the best artwork and graphics going. It's neither "toony" nor "realistic", but "artistic". Even after five years online, I'm still sucked in by its beauty. From the deserts, jungles, urban sprawls, mountain ranges, blasted landscapes, deep undergound mines, and more, it really is concept art come to form.

Jeremy Soule is one kick-ass game composer. It's amazing how much work that guy has produced over the years. I first noticed this guy's music back from Total Annihiliation in the 90s, and I have been a follower ever since. In GW you're not only exposed to the standard, "stylized" western themes, but asian and middle-eastern themes as well. It's just so fucking good, that it's worthy to be purchased and listened to outside of the game (via his DirectSong site, BTW).

One thing I like about ArenaNet is the way they approach gameplay. They like thinking outside the convential norms of MMORPG gameplay. Skills? Not your standard MMORPG skill tree heircharchy for GW, that's for sure! There's even a whole meta following just on skill usage! Pets? OK, I consider the heroes in GW as pets, and ArenaNet put a new style to playing them. Grinding? When I play GW, I never consider the game a grind. It plays so well and fun, I really don't burn out as soon as other MMOs I've played.

OK, alright, you may be saying that I'm just gushing about this game. Well, shit, I am. After five years, it's still a great game! This is coming from a player who's never had a set of Obsidian Armor, LOL!

Now that Guild Wars 2 is coming soon, how do I feel about the sequel? I don't know. I love the continued use of concept art come to "life", not so sure about the shared universe (I kinda liked the instanced environements), and I still don't know what the gameplay is like (I'll have to find out more from the YouTube vids I see out there). But I place my trust with ArenaNet in coming up with a worthy sequel, and I look forward to entering and playing in the next era of Tyria.

Keep it casual!

Just Playing Around...

I'm just goofing around with the sidebar, rearranging and trying out the gadgets. Nothing of import. Move along, move along...

Holy Smokes!

So, it's my "on week" with my "Casual Peek" YouTube videos, and I was editing some of my vids late last night. I was going in and out of the computer room, watching some TV (some cool show on the History Channel on snipers) while monitoring the processing of one of my vids. When I returned to the computer room during a commercial break, I noticed my PC was turned off. "Well, that's odd," I thought. I pressed the power button on the PC, and a quick series of loud "snap, crackle, and pops" started emanating from the back of the PC, followed by that "electronic burning" smell, and a small waft of smoke.

Now, I don't mean to brag, but I know my way around a PC (I have built most all of my PCs, and haven't owned a store retail PC since 1989), and I knew exactly what had happened. My poor power supply had "gone belly up", "kicked the bucket", "deep sixed", "bought the farm", "flatlined", "given up the ghost", "bit the dust", "was 86ed", "checked out", "went kaput", or just simply died. Even though it was just the power supply, there was still an initial fear that went through me, considering the power supply is connected to many components and may possibly have "shorted" or "fried" components such as the motherboard, memory, CPU, video card, CD/DVD, or (most importantly to me!) the hard drives.

When I built my PC, I was actually building a second PC at the same time (to rip a Contact quote, "Why build one when you can have two at twice the price?") to be the "family" computer. It wasn't as powerful as mine, but it still had the same computer case (with the same power supply). So in my fear of wondering what else I may have lost, I began a power supply "transplant operation", using the second PC as the donor. It didn't take long to perform the operation, only the time between two commercial breaks, LOL!

So it was time to push the power button. Would I hear the familiar sounds of the fans start to spin? Would I get a sequence of beeps indicating a fried board, CPU, video, or memory? Would I receive a message indicating no bootable partition? Would I get any response at all?

Well, everything turned out fine. The components were OK, no corrupted OS, even the video that was processing was fine (it must have completed before the power loss). The only casualty is the now powerless family PC. It had donated its component to a worthy cause! Now I'll just have to find a replacement power supply before I start to hear it from the munchkins, LOL!

Keep it casual!

Bizarro Summer Weather

We've had a pretty mild summer season this year in the Sacramento region with many days in the 80's, which has been very nice. But in just the last couple of days, we have had the two hottest days of the year, with temperatures at 105+ degrees! Even weirder? Forecasters are predicting temperatures in the 70s(!) for this weekend...

"By The Power Of My Casual Interests!"

Bummed that I won't be able to watch any of the Transformers: Animated episodes until my DVD comes in, I trolled the interwebs, poking here and there. Through my wanderings, I happened to find a toy website having a sale on some Masters Of The Universe Classics figures for $25 each. Neato!

I actually had no real interest in MOTU (the animated series or the toylines) when it first came out in the 80s, and never really followed it when it came out in the 2000s. It wasn't until recently that I started noticing how well the recent MOTUC line of figures were turning out. I seriously considered purchasing the Count Marzo figure when it was released last month, but had passed. I have since regretted not getting it after seeing some vids of the fig on YouTube. So when the SDCC sets of Mo-Larr vs. Skeletor and Orko & Prince Adam were available at the beginning of this month, I took the chance and bought them. I have yet to free them from the packaging, but these guys are so friggin' sweet! (I may not free the Mo-Larr set; it's just so damn nice!)

My interest in TFA has now been (temporarily) shifted to MOTUC. I've been on the hunt for MOTUC, and with the find of decent-priced figs through the website I found this past weekend (sorry I won't name the website until I get the figs I ordered), I don't think I can no longer ignore the MOTU mythos. I'm really going to have to brush up on the lore, because outstide of He-Man and Skeletor and the occasional clips I've seen over the decades, I really know nothing about MOTU! Now I'll have to hunt for the DVDs of these shows too!

But all is not well with MOTUC. But I'll get to that a little later. Until then, keep it casual!

Transformers: Animated on DVD - Acts of Frustration!

Some of you may already know this, but I've been recently bitten by the Transformers: Animated bug. If you've seen some of my recent YouTube Goody Haul videos (take a peek at my channel if you haven't), you'll also know that I got a whole slew of the TFA figs.

I actually don't know much, if anything, on TFA. All I know at this point is that they look very cool, much better than any of the previous TFs I've seen so far (sorry if you've just heard the thousand screams of TF enthusiats out there!). I actually resorted to watching a few episodes of the show here and there on YouTube, just to get some semblance of the characters and storyline (also partly doing some research of what neat figs to get!). I thought the show was pretty neat enough to warrant purchasing the shows on DVD.

That's where my frustration with TFA begins. First off, the series was cancelled after three seasons, with only two seasons on DVD produced, and no announced plans for the third. The final season was shown over a year ago! What gives? Now, I'll have to resort going back to YouTube to watching the final season. Bummer...

OK, now on to the two seasons that were released. Yeah, I said, "were". Apparently, they're no longer in current production, so I just can't go to Target or Walmart and pick them up. And after doing some searching on Amazon, the season sets are going for $30-40 each! Frick! There's now way I'm paying that much for the sets!

So, I resort to some local shopping at the new and used music/video stores. Fortunately, the local shop here, (Dimple Records), has both season sets! Woot! Buuut, they're not located in the store where I was at, but at another store in another town. Grrrr. Dimple does offer to ship the sets to the store here, but it'll take a couple of weeks. Ok, I'll wait.....

Only a couple days later, I get a call from Dimple. They're here! Faster than I expected, that's always nice! I go over there the next day and purchase the used sets for only $15 and $17 each (much nicer than paying $80 total!). At least that's one good thing that's happened so far.

Last night, I sit down in bed, finally ready to begin watching TFA. I stick the disc in the player, and begin to watch the initial adventures. Something's not right. It just feels like I'm already in the middle of the story. I know the basics of these guys, but I'm just not properly introduced. OK, maybe I stuck in the wrong disc. Nope, Disc 1 of Season 1. So, I go to a wiki page to look up the episode titles for Season 1, and what do I find?

For whatever crappy reason, the first three episodes of the series, "Transform And Roll Out!" were not included in the Season 1 discs, but was sold as a separate set! WHAT THE FUCK?!? After doing more research, "Transform And Roll Out" was originally sold on a separate set, as a sort of preview of the coming season set a month later. OK that's fine. But why exclude those first episodes from the season set?!? Did some executive bozo think they were saving money becauseeveryone buying the season set had previously purchased the "preview" disc? Did they not think about people (like me!) who were not even aware of this "preview" set?

Oh, fuck it. I call Dimple, since I'm guessing this "Transform And Roll Out" DVD is probably no longer in production as well, and I'm not bothering to try spending any more time at the stores looking for it. Well, guess what? NONE of the Dimple stores have it! Arrrrgh! They do recommend looking for it on Amazon, which I was hesitant to do since I was afraid to know how marked up in price it might have been. It turns out, not by much (whew!).

Alright. I purchase the DVD through Amazon (and a cheap Leader Class Bulkhead fig I found too, in order to get the free shipping (yeah, I'm a cheapskate)), but it's still going to take a couple of weeks to get here. Uuuugh. I really want to start watching this show! I guess I could resort to watching bits and pieces of what I can find of "Transform And Rollout" on YouTube while waiting for the disc.

Damn, this is frustrating. At least the toys are cool...

Goody Haul Report: A Smaller One This Time

After my last haul, I didn't think my next one would compare to the previous one in sheer size! Take a peek at what I was able to find in the past week:



It is indeed a smaller goody haul, but still a nice one, especially with the store exclusives! Hey, didn't I say I was gonna stop with the hauls for a while? I guess not... LOL! Until next time, keep it casual!

Goody Haul Report: My Willpower Is Weeeeak...

I thought I had my fill of goodies after my "San Diego Comic-Con Envy" trips, but I guess not. It seems that I just couldn't stop picking up such nice goodies. I had so many, that didn't think I could type it all in a single Goody Haul Report (My fingers would have bled!). Instead, I decided to just shoot a video of it. Thankfully, YouTube gave us non-partners a 5 minute extension to our videos! So, take a peek at all of the neat goodies I found in the past week:



Yeah, that's a lot of crap. Nice crap. Cool crap. OK, too much crap. I think I'll stop with the goody hauls for while. I hope. I think. Maybe. We'll see...

Goody Haul Report: San Diego Comic-Con Envy

As some of you may know, the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con was just this past weekend. I was not able to go this year, and I had a serious case of envy for the folks in the action figure and comic community who were able to go. To satisfy my envy, I decided to hit up the stores in and around my area to see if I could find any neat stuff. Let's just say, that I have a MASSIVE goody report for it! Instead of having to type out a huge report, I created several videos:











Told ya it was huge! Hopefully this haul will last for a while. I don't think my wallet can take much more! Until next time, keep it casual!

Goody Haul Report: In-Betweeners

Alright, this report is what I call one of my "In-Betweeners", a smaller goody haul in-between some larger ones. I'm starting to get really interested into the Transfomers Animated figures, and I'm itching to place some big orders of these guys online (there are some older and newer sets on great sales at TRU and Hasbro), but I have to hold off for a little bit, so I got some small goodies before then. OK, here are the goodies:

Transformers Generations Drift: When I first saw some pics of this guy online, I knew I had to have it. I kept searching, but couldn't find it. I finally found it at TRU yesterday and instantly scooped it up. I have a whole bunch of other figs I need to open and shoot video of before this one, but I just couldn't put this off and instantly opened him up when I got home. This guy is the shit! Love this guy. $12.

Transformers Hunt For The Decepticons Battle Blade Bumblebee: Yeah, there's tons of Bees already out there (I already have three), but after seeing some vids of this guy on YouTube, I had to get one. I really wanted a Bee with the face plate, and this has one that slides up and down. Cool! $12.

Marvel Universe Iron Man: This is the Series 2 Extremis Iron Man. He seems to shelf warm around here, but TRU had a buy 2 for $10 deal going for Iron Man 2, Marvel Universe, Star Wars, and G.I. Joe figs. So I picked this guy up (the best out of all the bad paint apps). $5.

Star Wars Clone Wars Captain Rex: The other half of the TRU deal, this is the newer set that includes the game parts. This set is actually for Munchkin No. 2, who wants more to play the game. $5.

Marvel Legends Hand Ninja vs. Dum Dum Dugan 2-Pack: I always meant to pick this set up, but for whatever reason, I either forget (it must be age), or I end up finding something else interesting. And after having MrMADGUS (yo, MAAAAD!) prompting me to get them, I made sure not to forget getting this one. Now I want more to army build with, LOL! $20.

That's it for now. My next report will most likely contain some TF Animated, LOL! Keep it casual!

Yet Another Banner To Take On The Hulk

OK, I may be a day or two late, but I just read that Ed Norton will not be reprising his role as Dr. Banner in any of the future Marvel films. Apparantly the creative scuffle that went on during the Incredible Hulk film soured the movie execs enough to look for someone else (It's been hinted they will make a replacement announcement during Comic-Con). What do I think about it?

Although I liked the Incredible Hulk movie, as well as Ed Norton's role in it, I say good choice, Marvel. I remember reading about Ed Norton's creative involvement in the making of the movie, which is cool. But when Norton wasn't given the credit he thought he deserved, he pretty much skipped out on promoting the movie when it was being released, which is not cool. To me, it looked as though Norton wasn't seeing the bigger picture: Laying the potential groundwork of creating an actual comic universe on film, which would've meant more films (and money!). Instead of trying to gain the glory up front, he should've sucked it in, taken one for the team, bit the bullet, whatever.

So I say, Norton threw his chance away. Downey Jr., Johansson, Jackson, Evans, and Hemsworth are stars who are "playing their part", and will be rewarded for it in the long run. Norton's a great actor, but a short-sighted one, and I won't miss seeing him when Banner next shows up on film.

Goody Haul Report: Tiny Pick-ups

Hey folks, this is just a small Goody Haul Report this time around. After the goodiness of both my last haul and my online orders (You can see the unboxings of my online pick-ups at my YouTube channel here), I've taken a small breather so I can catch up to the shooting of videos of my goodies, not to mention a break for my wallet! OK here's the goodies:

Spider-Man Fiercest Foes Power Charge Rhino: When I first heard about this line, I pretty much dismissed it, due to the what I heard about the poor articulation compared to Marvel Universe figures. I even saw and passed on the Rhino a few times. But then I saw the YouTube videos of the Rhino from both lunacy05 and HOOLIGANISM1982, which quickly changed my mind on the Rhino where I now had to get him. But damn, this guy just disappeared, nowhere to be found! But I finally found one at a K-Mart during my lunch break. Sweet! $8.

Iron Man 2 Titanium Man: At the same K-Mart, the 4" Iron Man 2 figures were on sale. I did a quick peek through the pegs, looking for the $5 coupon sticker to indicate wave 2 figs, and found a few! They had the classic IM (passed for now), Guardsman with bad paint (Boo! passed on these), and a couple of Titanium Man figs. Cool! $7.

Iron Man 2 Hall Of Armor Collection Mark IV: I latched onto the IM2 line pretty early (it was nice to find them a month early!), but interest dropped soon after (just too many other nice toys to pick up!). But I've had a resurgence of interest in all things Iron Man, and decided to try and find the Target Exclusive, Hall Of Armor Mark IV fig. I heard these were different than the single carded figs (paint was more accurate to the movie), not to mention the cool ARC reactor light-up stand. But after a few sightings at various Targets, I just couldn't find one that looked good. The majority of them had wonky leg bends, and bad paint. I did find one with good legs and meh paint, so I picked that one up. $13.

Iron Man Mark II: It seems TRU found a new batch of 6" IM figs from the first movie. I missed most of these when they first came out (I did pick up an Iron Monger back then), and now is my chance to catch up. Lots of folks in the YouTube community don't seem to like these much, but I think they're fine. I want to go back and get more. $11.

Iron Man 2 Concept Series 3-Pack: This is a nice set of 3 IM2 concept armors. I later found out that they are repaints of the first IM concept armors, but I don't care much, since they are still pretty neat (and I don't have any of the first concept armors). $24 (on sale from $30).

Transformers ROTF Brawn: I don't collect too many TF figs, but I was able to find this one on clearance. I hope to find a Lockdown on clearance too. $7.

Amazing Spider-Man Series Hobgoblin: I saved the best one for last. I was on my way home from work, and decided to drop by a Rite-Aid to get some ice cream. Going through the toy aisle, I found this figure stuck on the pegs! A very cool figure set which has been hanging on pegs for at least three or four years! He cost a bit more than original retail, but definitely cheaper than the current secondary market value! A definite treasure find, and an instant pick-up! $13.

Ok, that's it for now! Keep it casual!

Oooh, Shinies!

I was at a Big Lots this past weekend, paying for some backup batteries for my camera, when the lady at the register starts slamming a roll of pennies onto the edge of the counter (I never understood the slamming technique of opening a roll of coins. Isn't the roll just made of paper?). She hands me my change, and along with the dime and nickel was some shiny new pennies. I didn't take notice of them until I got home to unload my change into my coin shoebox, but the pennies are different!

I'm not into numismatics (an uncle tried to get me into it once, but comics stuck more), so I was totally unaware they had redeisned the penny. Apparently, there were four special pennies minted last year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, and the penny I have in my possession began regular minting this year. I guess the old Lincoln Memorial penny has joined the "Wheatstalks" as a retired one-center. Nice knowing ye, Lincoln Memorial!

Goody Haul Report: Playing Catchup

OK, it's been almost a month since my last Goody Haul Report (Not including my special DCUC Wave 5 acquisition!), and I've got quite a large amount of goodies since then, so I've gathered my notes, and let's not waste any more time (I'll do it by store):

Big Lots

I like going through the closeout stores, 'cause I always end up finding some interesting things (and usually for cheap).
- Marvel Legends X3 Juggernaut: After getting the She-Hulk, I decided to go back and get Juggs. Unfortunately, he was no longer there. I had to nose around several more Big Lots before finding him. $7.
- Guitar Hero action figures: While looking for Juggs, I ran into the 5" Guitar Hero figures. I didn't even know these guys existed (and they looked interesting), so I decided to try one out with Axel Steel. They are pretty cool! I went back and got the rest; Lars Umlaut, Johnny Napalm, and God Of Rock. $3 each.

World's Best Comics

The last time I was here (Free Comic Book Day), I was able to find some Marvel Legends for really nice prices!
- Marvel Legends Series VI Wolverine: When looking for Wolvie figs, my first priority is always the brown suit version. I grew up with that version and the yellow never really stuck for me. This one was on sale for $20.

Empire Comics Vault

I found some nice action figures the last time I was here, so I decided to check it out again.
- Marvel Legends Spider-Woman: This one is the standard version from the MODOK series. Very nice sculpt from what I can see in the package. It doesn't look like she needs to eat a burger. $12.
- Marvel Legends Wasp: Another standard version from the MODOK series (I'm slowly on my way to getting this BAF!). Nothing too special about this other than being cheap. $10.

Toys R Us

I've found out that you can find the best stuff right when it opens. I usually get there during my lunch break an hour or so after opening, and I'll occasionally find a goody that a scalper may have left behind (or missed!).
- Iron Man Movie 6" Mark III: It looks like TRU refound a stock of 6" figs from the the first movie. I picked up this one since I missed it the last time. I may go back and get the Mark II (no signs of the Mark I). $11.
- DC Universe Classics Copperhead: It appears TRU has moved on from Wave 11, and Wave 12 is now hitting the shelves. $15.
- DC Universe Classics Desaad: This one is not necessary to complete the Darkseid C&C, but this just looks too cool to pass on. $15.
- Lex Luthor & Skeletor 2-pack: I'm not really into MOTU, and I just got this set for the Luthor. The Supergirl/Luthor 2-pack had already sold out online before I actively started looking for it (I should have nabbed it online when available, but Wave 5 had sucked out my goody budget!), and I didn't expect to find the Supergirl/Luthor set anymore, so I picked this up instead. I'm going to return it, however, because of the next entry. $30.
- Supergirl & Lex Luthor 2-pack: And on the next day at another TRU, yup, I found the Supergirl/Luthor set. But I bought this for a friend since they were looking for it as well as me already having the Skeletor/Luthor set. Buuuut, on a trip to another TRU that same day, I found a second Supergirl/Luthor set. Yipee! The Skeletor/Luthor is on its way back. $30.
- Cyborg Superman & Mongul 2-pack: At the same TRU where I found the second Supergirl/Luthor set, I also found this set. I don't have the original releases of these guys, so this was a natural pick up for me. $30.

Walmart

Like the Toys R Us, I went to several Walmarts to find the following items:
- Iron Man 2 Movie 6" War Machine: Interesting story on this one. I've been hunting for these for a while, but always see empty pegs. This time the pegs weren't even there! Damn! I may have missed it completely. I moved on to look for some Monster Jam trucks for my son, and on an corner cap in the TOY CAR section was a small set of Iron Man 2 6" figs! All of the Mark VIs had bad paint jobs, so that sucked. but on the bottom pegs were two War Machines! I grabbed both, one for me, and another for a friend. $13.
- Iron Man 2 Movie 6" Mark VIs: At another Walmart, and again, in the non-action figure aisle (keep your eyes open when looking for these, folks!), were the Iron Man 2 6" figs! The paint on the Mark VIs were not much better, so I grabbed two of the best they had. $13.
- DC Universe Classics Beast Boy: At the first Walmart, I found a small clearance section in the board game section. Among the clearance items were DCUC Wave 10 figs. Amongst the countless Power Girls, I was able to find one Beast Boy! Woohoo! $8.
- DC Universe Classics Robotman: Don't know much about the Doom Patrol, but I might as well pick up Robotman for cheap. $8.
- DC Universe Classics Forager: Picked him up for my Oddball League. He'll be my first "hero" (or at least he died as one!) in the group. $8.
- Marvel Universe Black Widow: The couple of times I saw this figure, she looked horrible. I think it was the hair. But this one I picked up looks much better (did Hasbro revise her?). $8.

Target

Again, lots of visits to numerous Targets over the past month:
- DC Universe Classics Eclipso: With Target's recent sale of DCUC, I've been able to complete Wave 12 (woohoo! Darkseid!). And Target has finally come out of the DCUC Stone Age and stocked Wave 12 (I guess they skipped Wave 11 entirely). Eclipso will be another addition to the Oddball League's ranks. $11.
- DC Universe Iron: Another Wave 12 find at Target. Is this the first DCUC Metal Men fig? I can't remember.... $11.
- Batter-Up SpongeBob: Yeah! New SpongeBob plushes! This plush is baseball themed. He even has a fielder's glove! $6.
- The Masked Sponge: Cool, SpongeBob in another superhero get-up! $6.
- Halo 3 figures: I don't play Halo, but I've been eyeing these figs for a while, and finally bit. Or make that bite. Chomp. Devour. I'll just list all that I got in this one entry: Halo 2 Master Chief, Brute Captain in VISR mode, Spartan Soldier Mark V, Oni Operative Dare (helmeted), Spartan Soldier Mark IV, and Ripa 'Moramee Arbiter. Whew! I'm still a Gearhead, but these Halo figs are cool. I can collect both series! $11 each.

Gamestop

With the Halo fig collecting in high gear, I checked out Gamestop for the exclusive fig.
- Halo 3 Oni Operative Dare: This is the exclusive, basically the same as the regular Dare, but with a different head (unhelmeted). $11.
- Halo 3 Ripa 'Moramee Arbiter: I think I'll be army building this guy. He's all kinds of cool. $11.

Okee dokes, that's it! This must've been my longest Goody Haul Report yet! That's what I get when holding off for a month! Until then, keep it casual!

DCUC Wave 5 Is Mine!!!!!

This morning was M-Day for me: Mattel's release day of DC Universe Classics Wave 5 at their online store at Mattycollector.com. Having never had the opportunity to see and buy the Walmart exclusive wave of figures when they were first released, I've been anticipating the day Mattel would rerelease these guys. And hearing the horror stories of five-minute sellouts of sets during Mattel's release days had me worried. But the drama is over, I was able to place an order (although I got a server error when I pressed the Submit button!), and my set will soon be mine.

The only thing that kinda worries me is that the sales numbers of this DCUC wave may determine whether Mattel will release more sets through their site in the future. It's been at least eight hours now, and Wave 5 hasn't sold out yet. Is it too early to worry? What sellout time period is considered successful to Matty for DCUC? Hmmmm...

The Karate Kid: Hollywood Cashing In On A Name

Ever since I heard that Hollywood was going to remake the movie "The Karate Kid", I let out a befuddled groan, knowing that they were just going to be cashing in on an 80s classic. I pretty much dismissed myself of this new version of the film, and have not followed up on anything regarding its production.

Just today, I read a news blurb that the new "The Karate Kid" was the No. 1 movie this weekend, and is the "new surprise of the summer". Interested by this news and quote, I decided to look up some info on this movie. After some research online, I am more confident than before that this is a Hollywood cash-in.

Why the fucking hell is this new movie not called "The Kung Fu Kid"?!?!? The damn story in this "remake" involves a single mom taking her kid to BEIJING, because of the work (like the first movie). The kid is picked on (as in the original), runs into an elderly maintenance man (again the same) who is CHINESE, and teaches the kid KUNG-FU. The kid eventually enters a KUNG-FU tournament, where I'm guessing (I dunno, I haven't seen it) he wins the tournament and the girl (No Elizabeth Shue, grrr). Where the shit is the damn "karate" anywhere in this new version of the movie? Oh, right, IN THE FUCKING TITLE!

Cha-ching!

Returning To The Lands Of Norrath

I guess it's an inevitability, but I've returned to playing EverQuest II. After about a seven month break, I've come back to the lands of Norrath with a refreshed sense of adventure. I am by no means a hardcore player (c'mon, you should know by now of my casual nature!), but I've played this game on and off since EQII's release back in 2004(?), after having moved on from the original grindfest of EQI.

It seems there's been some changes since I last played. Freeport's in disarray, a new expansion, a new good aligned starting city, and some new Marketplace mounts. It's nice to know that SOE is continuing to support the game after 5+ years in the MMO market, not to mention having to follow in the shadow of a certain leading MMO during those years.

As soon as I returned, I set a couple of objectives for myself which I had just fell short of acccomplishing when I took my last break:

Veroth: My main, the Barbarian 'zerker from D'Lere, needed to get over the 40's hump into level 50. When I last played him, he was in his mid 40's and had just moved on from smashing orc skulls in Zek, and contemplated a move of residence from Freeport to the desert city of Maj'Dul. Veroth was halfway through 49 before I had stoppped playing, so getting him to 50 was my main goal. With the double XP meter accumulating during the break, I was able to easily accomplish this goal. Now I'm just working towards faction building in order to get a residency permit. Of course, being the 'zerker for hire, he'll court the Order Of The Blade for the permit.

Verminiculos: My main alt, The Ratonga shadowknight with aspirations of serving on the side of good, had just exiled himself from the clutches of Freeport. My objective for the diminutive rat with a heart of steel is to gain the favor of Qeynos. But this first entails having to perform menial, mundane, and booooring tasks such as smashing rocks! I guess this is to prove my worth, but, shit, is it mind-numbing! Oh well, all for the glory of Qeynos!

It's actually pretty fun getting back into the game after a break. Everything's new again, and I guess I'll see how far I'll get with these two characters with this go-around of the game.

Goody Haul Report: The Comics

Sorry for the delay, I just haven't gotten around to sorting out my comic haul from the Memorial Day weekend. EverQuest II sucked me back in with the little spare time I had, LOL! Ok, here's what I purchased:

Batman And The Outsiders (original): 25, 27-30
Booster Gold (original): 8, 11-20
Booster Gold (current): 7, 8, 11-15
Nightwing: 3-5, 7, 9, 12, 13
Justice Society Of America (current): 10-13, 16, 27-29, 31, 32
Uncanny X-Men (original): 196, 197

I'd say that was a nice small haul of comics at only $0.50 each! Most of the books I got (especially the older ones) I already own a copy of, but with these dupes I plan to have them bound.

On another note, For some reason I forgot to list a couple of figs from my previous haul report. I dunno why they slipped my mind, but here they are:

Star Trek Khan Noonian Singh: Yup, that two dimensional genius from the Eugenics Wars is now mine in figure form, in his Ceti Alpha V gear. Very nice at a discounted price of just under $10.

MU Colossus: I saw some of the new MU figs at the comic shop, but had to pass on most of them (Jugs was just too badly scratched to pick up). I did pick up a Colossus however, to replace my "battle damaged" Showdown version. $7 with the discount.

OK, that's it for now. Keep it casual!

Goody Haul Report: Figs, Figs, Figs

I had a nice goody haul this past holiday weekend, most of them purchased from a clearance sale at A-1 Comics. Here's the details:

ML Weapon X: This was nice find at only $6! The packaging has a little bit of crushing, but I don't really care since I'm no longer a sealed collecter and the contents look good.

GOW Cyclops: I've been on the hunt for Gears of War locust drones, and they had a couple at the shop. I got this guy for just over $10.

GOW Grappler: Another Gears fig to fill out the villain ranks. This one was also just $10.

GOW Grenadier Elite: Yet another Gears drone, but this one is outfitted differently than the above two. $10 for this one too.

DCUC Superboy: I didn't expect to see any DCUC figs left on the shelves by the time I got to the store, but there were quite a few! I got this guy for $12.

DCUC Mary Batson: When I saw pics of Mary Marvel, I was not quite a fan of this fig (the face just looked "off"). But when I finally saw this in person, I found it actually to be alright. I got the red costumed version for $12 (there was no white costume here).

DCUC Blue Beetle III: I already had an online order on my way, but I picked this up for a friend for $12, but later found out he's ordering the entire wave. I'll hold onto this, maybe for a future trade.

DCUC Spectre: They didn't have a glow in the dark version, but that won't stop me in picking up the standard version. $12.

Well, those were the figs I got from A-1 Comics. I bought a whole bunch of comics for $0.50 each, but I'll detail those in a separate post.

I got other goodies over the weekend as well, and here they are:

GOW General Raam: This TRU exclusive is a rerelease of the one which came in the 2-pack, but I never got it, so I'm happy to pick him up for $13.

DCUC Cheetah: I just seem to live in an area where the retailers are stuck in the refresh waves of DCUC, but at a Walmart near the comic shop (which is at least a 45 minute drive from home), this side of town seems to always have the newest stuff. I was able to find a Cheetah here, the variant one at that! $15.

G.I. Joe ROC Duke in Reactive Armor: With the flood of ROC figs, this one seemed to be a bit harder to find for me, but I was finally able to find one at a Target for the clearanced price of $3.

Pirates Of The Cursed Seas PocketModel Value Pack: I've been a fan of the Pocketmodel Pirates of the Cursed Seas styrene ship game ever since its first release of Spanish Main (before they were renamed to Pocketmodels), and Target is finally releasing the value packs of these cards (they've been doing the Star Wars Pocketmodels value packs for a while now). I got a packaged set of 6 (or is it 8?) packs for $5. I'll be picking up as many as I can find...

ML She-Hulk: I've been seeing the Blob series fig at a Big Lots for quite some time, and I finally bit and got it for $7.

Another start of the month with a pack full of goodies! I'll post my second part of my goody haul of comics as soon as I get to organising my stack of books.

My Lost Series Rewatch Is Back On Track

Back before the start of Lost's final season, I was on schedule with my Lost Series Rewatch. I had all of the episodes on DVD from S1 to S5 lined up so that the S5 finale would be watched just prior to the S6 premiere. I got as far as "Jughead", just a week's worth of episode watching, before I was distracted with a thing called YouTube.

Since being "derailed", I have DVR'ed every S6 Lost special and episode, and have not seen a single one. I've tried to avoid any kind of episode detail or spoiler (which has been a major feat to accomplish!), and now the series finale (it's weird saying "series finale" instead of "season finale") is upon us in just a couple of days (ZombieSat, stay away!).

Knowing that this event is coming ever closer, I've put off a chunk of my time on YouTube (I recorded a larger than normal bunch of vids in advance, hehe), and reignited my Lost Series rewatch a couple of days ago. I definitely didn't start from S1 (Although, I always love watching "Walkabout", the BEST episode ever!), that would be a bit too much (I will do entire series rerewatch when the S6 DVD comes out!). I just started where I left off, and I'm currently on "Whatever Happened, Happened". Damn, I forgot how good this show is!

Even with my rewatch back on track, I'm doubting there's any way for me to catch up and be able to watch the finale live. To do that, I'll have to watch 24 episodes in 3 days. I'll give it a shot, so here's hoping I'll be watching the event with you all!

Goody Haul Report: Taking A Chance Online

I'm always a bit uncomfortable making action figure purchases online, especially from a site I've never been to, because I don't have the ability to look over the figure before buying it. But last week I was on Puzzle Zoo, and they had quite a few figs at some really nice prices. I hemmed and hawwed for a bit, but decided to try them out. I planned to get a few of the really inexpensive stuff first, just in case I get burned.

Well, my purchases came in yesterday (delivery came in only a few days, not including the weekend), and I'm impressed so far. Here are the figs I got:

ML Baron Zemo: This one was on sale for only $7. It's part of the Mojo Build A Figure series, which is nice since I really like the Longshot universe from the original miniseries back in the 80's.

ML Beta Ray Bill: I was really looking forward to this figure, and saw one at a LCS on Free Comic Book Day for $19, but just couldn't pull the trigger. I'm glad I didn't, since the one at Puzzle Zoo was on sale for only $8!

SOTA SF Guile: I'm continuing my hunt for SOTA Street Fighter figs, and there are quite few on Puzzle Zoo. Lots of variants, but I'm really looking for the base versions first. They had a base Guile for only $10.

SOTA SF Birdie: I honestly don't even remember from what series of SF this guy is in, but at only $6, I'm not really going to complain. This fig has a nice switchblade comb!

I liked my experience with Puzzle Zoo so far, and plan to make more purchases, but I still haven't decided if I should make a more expensive buy. I'll probably stick to stuff below $12 for now.

I also found a couple more goodies at a Big Lots earlier this week, and they happen to coincide with my revived interest in LOTR. These finds aren't figs, but are two books:

The Lord Of The Rings Complete Visual Companion: This is a nice book of photos of all the stuff from the LOTR film trilogy. It's basically a photgraphic tour of the film universe (also with brief descriiptions), covering all the main characters, races, geography, and storyline. Pretty nice at $5.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Making Of The Movie Trilogy: Much like the previous book, but this hardcover goes behind the camera lens and covers the production of the trilogy. Very interesting reading and nice photos. This book also cost only $5.

Nice Goodies this time around. Until next time, keep it casual!

What A Depressing Start To The Weekend....

It's a Friday night, and I'm chowing down on some tacos, and cruising the Yahoo! news blurbs. Then it hits me. "Heroes officially cancelled". Daaaaammmmmn. Well this sucks.

So I hit the 9th Wonders boards to catch up on the sad news. Yup, all the expected excuses: too expensive, low viewership (although I'm willing to bet they don't count the DVR and online viewers), meandering story (I have to give them that). All is not hopefully bad, since NBC is considering a wrap-up special or movie to "reward" the fans. Uhhh, gee thanks.

While reading the rants and cryfests on the boards, someone had posted that Flashforward got the nix too. Whaaa?!? I can understand one of my favorite shows being cancelled (you could see it on the Heroes' wall...), but two?!? Fuuuuuck.... My weekend is now in the shitter.

So I go over to the ABC.com discussion boards to see what's up (or should I say six feet under?). Yup, ranters and cryfester here too. Although it's not really official (we have to wait until the 17th for that), it doesn't look good.

I can't fucking believe this. All of my favorite shows are ending. Lost, 24, Heroes, Flashforward. Even Law & Order (I haven't watched this in a while though).

Well my tacos are sitting in my tummy now, and I feel an upset stomach coming on. Damn you, NBC and ABC. Well, at least Fringe is still going. Or is it....

Maybe They Should Rethink Their Faction Name?!?

I abhor the act of taking the life of another, a practice which should remain in fiction, and I try to not make light of any situation where it occurs, but I couldn't help myself chuckle when I read a news blurb from the Yahoo! website.

Earlier today, an anti-goverment security chief in Thailand was killed from a possible sniper shot to the head. The news blurb that made me chuckle?

Aide: Thai Red Shirt security chief shot in head

No joke. The name of their anti-government group is indeed named "The Red Shirts"! And the one who was killed really was their security chief. Uhhhh, maybe these folks should watch a little more TOS Trek and have their group renamed?

UPDATE: The latest news is that the renegade general is currently in a coma, and is expected to survive. Let's hope he escapes the fates which Captain Kirk's security officers had suffered on the show....

Goody Haul Report: The Calm After The Storm

There's not much to report this time around, but with the sheer size of the last haul, I didn't expect the next few hauls to be that big. Here's what I've gotten since the last goody run:

DCUIH Powergirl: I found this fig at a Factory 2 U (the closeout store of closeout stores, hehe) for only $0.50! She's OK (the other Powergirls not much so).

DCUIH Star Sapphire: Another F2U find for $0.50. The face on this fig looks very flat, but oh well, it less than a dollar.

Indiana Jones: Cairo Henchman and Marion Ravenwood 2-Pack: A third figure set found at F2U, but this one cost $1, but if you break it down, it's still $0.50 a figure!

Superman: Doomsday DVD: I found this for only $5 at a DD Discounts. I never saw this direct to video movie, so it'll be an interesting watch.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Shipwreck: A neat find at DD Discounts for only $4.

Well, that's it for this haul. Until next time, keep it casual!

ZombieSat May Ruin My Lost Finale!

OK, you may or may not heard of ZombieSat, the out-of-control Galaxy 15 communications satellite which has deviated from its programmed orbit in space due to a solar flare. Because of its shifted orbit, ZombieSat (which is still functioning) can steal or interrupt signals from other communication satellites within its new orbital range!

The latest news is that ZombieSat is on track to interrupt the communications signal of a satellite which processes the digital signals from a cable TV company. Officials won't name the cable TV company or which areas of the world will be affected, but they have estimated the date on which ZombieSat may "eat the brains" of the other satellite: MAY 23rd. Yup, that's right, the same day (Sunday) of Lost's series finale!!!! Oh, the horror!

Ok, ok, the world won't end if the Lost finale broadcast happens to be affected (although there may be rioting in the streets...). IF the finale does get interrupted, there's always the ability to watch it on ABC.com. Heck, I watched the entirety of S4 online when I got into the show late! Don't panic yet!

Lost Finale Has Been Extended!

I just read on Yahoo! that the Lost Finale has been extended by half an hour! According to the site, the airing will extended beyond the 11pm hour, so set your recorders to compensate! I have my DVR set to record by show title (with 5 minutes extra slotted before and after the show) instead of by date/time, so hopefully my cable company will have the updated end time. I'll be checking just in case...

It was weird reading this news, because being the Lost fanatic that I am, I have NOT seen a single episode of the final season! Yup, not a single one! Please, let me explain before you come to my door with torches and pitchforks!

I was on track with my Lost series rewatch back in January. I even had the episodes lined up and timed to the Season 6 premiere! But then I was distracted with the return of my action figure itch and my new interest in YouTube videos. Alas, my Lost rewatch schedule was eventually screwed! One week later, the premiere had passed by, then another. Finally, I decided to just keep my DVR recordings until the last episode aired.

I've been also "covering" my eyes and ears to any Lost related news to prevent from being spoiled, which hasn't been easy, with friends and family who are also Lost fans. Just today, Munchkin No. 1, who has an Entertainment Weekly subscription from Grandpa, showed me an issue with Locke on the cover! Noooooo! I think she was teasing me... It was also a pain to read the Yahoo! new snippet, covering my monitor with my hands to slowly read line by line without having to reveal details! Arrrrgh!

Anyways, make sure your recorders are at the ready when the big night arrives! I'm sure it will be an event in the making!

Goody Haul Report Part 3: The Rest Of The Stuff

OK, I went through all of the neat stuff from Free Comic Book Day, now it's on to the rest of the goodies I was able to find:

On Friday, I was able to go to Toys R Us to do a little checking. I found out they were having a "Buy One Get the Other 50% Off Sale" on a few toy lines, such as Star Wars, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and other lines. I saw nothing of interest in the Joes or TFs (still looking for an Arcee for a friend, but no luck). I did find some Star Wars stuff which had interested me however.

- Hoth Patrol Battle Pack: I think this is from an older series (30th Anniversary), because this was discounted to $12.98. I still thought it was cool because of the tauntan, wampa, and Luke.
- Legacy Collection Luke Skywalker: This is the figure where Luke turns himself in to Darth Vader on Endor. I saw this figure on YouTube before, and I always wanted to get him for the interchangeable tunic plate and scale (well, he is supposed to be a little too short to be a stormtrooper!).
- Jacen Solo: I don't know much about the Star Wars EU, but I read this line was just coming out, and this was a figure to look out for, so I got him when I saw him.
- Jaina Solo: To see one of the twins was nice, to see the other twin at the same time was nicer! I picked her up too.

In addition to the BOGO50%, Star Wars single carded figs were also reduced to $4.99. Even better, it appeared that the 50% off price on the second SW purchase was based off of the original price. I also had a $5 Rewards coupon, so in a sense, I got the Solo twins for only $1.07 each! Neat!

Well, that's it for my Goody Haul. It certainly was enough, and will probably last me for the next month or two! Until then, keep it casual!

Goody Haul Report Part 2: The Action Figures

Yeah, it wasn't Free Action Figure Day (although it would have been nice!), but on Free Comic Book Day, I was able to score a few figs at good deals. Also, in-between trips to the LCS, I was able to drop by the Targets, Walmarts, and Toys R Us stores along the way to check out what was available. Here's my Free Comic Book Day action figure haul:

Target
- DCUC Green Parademon: I found a second parademon to add to the (tiny) ranks of my Apokoliptic(?) army. This one cost the normal(eek!) $15.
- Public Enemies Superman (wave 1): I was worried I would not be able to find this guy, since Target seems to be clearing out the PE line now in my area. He was clearanced down to around $9.
- Public Enemies Icicle: Not really interested in this one, except for the Brimstone leg. $9.
- Public Enemies Silver Banshee: Another fig purchased for the CnC part, although it is nice to get this and Icicle to fill my villain ranks. $9.
- DCUC Green Lantern: I found this WGSH version at another Target. I foresaw no chance of picking up the wave 3 version any time soon (at a cheap price!), so I had to pick this one up. $15.

Toys R Us
- DCUC Steppenwolf (Super Powers): I came back to pick up this guy after my wave 11 find almost a month ago. No Kirby version, but the SP version was still here. I have to admit, this SP version looks waaaaay better in person than what I've seen in the pics. $15.

Walmart
I didn't pick up anything at Walmart, but I did see a beat up box of one of the DCUC exclusive 2-packs, the Aquaman and Black (Blue?) Manta. The repaint on these guys just didn't look good (at least to me). Aquaman had this pasty tan going on (almost matching his hair color!), and was decked out in a gold tunic with verrry glossy, christmas green leggings. Black Manta wasn't black, but a flat, purpleish blue. Sorry, I just had to pass on this, really disappointing.

World's Best Comics And Toys
- Marvel Legends Bullseye (Variant): As far as I could tell, the action figures weren't discounted for Free Comic Book Day (the fill-in guy couldn't tell me), but the figs I bought here were reduced in price. This one was marked down to $7.
- Marvel Legends Professor X: This guy looks like he's wearing lipstick, but for $7, I'm not gonna complain too much, especially when I never expected to get one step closer to actually building Galactus (only half way now).
- Marvel Legends Scarlet Witch: What's up with action figure designers and female figures? SW looks like she needs to eat a burger, something, anything! Meh, still a steal for only $5.

A-1 Comics
- DCUC Kid Flash: I can finally complete my Atom Smasher! I've been hesitant to pick up KF mainly because of the two right forearms and the higher price he goes for now. But since he was discounted 20% for Free Comic Book Day (and I need that AS arm!), I picked him up. $13.

Empire's Comics
- Marvel Legends Longshot: I remember Lucky Mullet-Head from the great Art Adams mini-series, and at a 35% discount, picked him up cheap! $7.
- DCUC Green Arrow: Since he came with only a stand for wave 9, I didn't really care if I picked up the wave 9 or WGSH version. They had the WGSH here, so I picked him up. $13.
- SOTA Street Fighter Gen: With the lack of news from NECA on SFIV, I decided to stick to just collecting SOTA SF figs instead. I saw this purple-clad Gen at a great price (compared to what I've seen online!). $9.
- DCUC Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond): This is another fig where I didn't expect much hope in getting the original version, so I picked up the WGSH version. $11.

Okee Dokes, that's it for the figs I got on Free Comic Book Day, but I'm still not done with my Goody Haul Report (Yup, there's more!). Stay tuned for Part 3...

Goody Haul Report: Free Comic Book Day and a Huuuuge Haul!

Alright, the previous Goody Haul Report was a bit small, and I think it may have been the calm before the storm. Maybe the reason I didn't get so much was because, in the back of my mind, I knew Free Comic Book Day was coming. Besides the free comics, most LCS also have discounts on their stuff they want to sell to you!

Today, I went to the following three(four) comic shops:

A-1 Comics (two locations)

World's Best Comics and Toys

Empire's Comics

One shop (I won't name which) only let me pick two free books, another had no more books to give, and the third (they deserve mentioning), Empire's Comics, let me pick one copy of each free book I wanted (cool beans!). Not only that, EC also included other books for free that were not a part of the Free Comic Book Day package (probably their excess inventory)! Here's my Free Comic Book Day haul:

Archie's Summer Splash #1 - Free Comic Book Day
Continuum #1
Countdown Special: The Flash #1
DC Kids - Free Comic Book Day
Doctor Solar/Magnus - Free Comic Book Day
Fantastic 4 #563
Green Lantern Corps #35
Mouse Guard/Fraggle Rock - Free Comic Book Day
Freakshow #1
G.I. Joe (IDW) #155.5 - Free Comic Book Day
Iron Man/Nova - Free Comic Book Day
Secret Invasion: Requiem #1
Shrek/The Penguins Of Madagascar - Free Comic Book Day
Sonic The Hedgehog - Free Comic Book Day
Toy Story - Free Comic Book Day
Ultimates 2 #13
War Of The Supermen #0 - Free Comic Book Day
Wednesday Comics #1
Astonishing X-Men #10
Yow! - Free Comic Book Day

Whew! Those were just the free comics! Like I said earlier, the LCS also discounted the stuff in their store. New issues were 20% off (A-1 and Empire's) and back issues were either 50% off (A-1 and World's) or 75% off (Empire's again! Too cool!). This discount meant that alot of the new and back issues I bought (to fill holes in my collection) were less than a dollar! Here's my paid comic book haul:

Batman And The Outsiders (original): 24, 26
Booster Gold (original): 6, 7
Booster Gold (current): 2-6, 27-31
Guardians Of The Galaxy: 1-6, 11
JSA All-Stars (current): 4
Justice Society Of America (current): 9, 17-22, 24-26, 33, 36, 38 (25 and below were all the Ross covers)
Justice Society Of America Annual: 1
Nightwing: 2
Outsiders (current): 29
X-Factor (original): 4, 8, 9, 11-16
X-Force (current): 26
X-Men: Second Coming: 1
Uncanny X-Men (original): 198, 207

I guess I'll end it here for now, and let you know about my action figure haul (yeah, I have more to my Goody Haul Report!) on my next post. Until then, keep it casual!

Goody Haul Report: Small Finds This Time

I didn't get many goodies this time around. Since my last report, I've gotten two items. I guess that's nice, since it gives my wallet a break.

Repulsor Power Iron Man: This is a neat little kids meal toy I got from Burger King. It's pretty much a static figure of Iron Man (I believe Mark VI), whose only feature is an adjustable light-up feature in his torso. His arms do move around though.

WWE Triple H: I know practically nothing about professional(?) wrestling, and my knowledge of the sport(??) goes back to Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant from the '80s. A couple of days ago I received my Toys R Us Rewards coupons in the mail, and one of the coupons was a 40% off discount on certain WWE figures (there were four assortment codes listed). I went to TRU yesterday, and took a peek at the wrestling/fighting aisle. I normally don't go down that aisle, and was drowned by the countless figs of wrestlers and fighters I didn't recognize. I picked up Triple H, the only wrestler I had vaguely seen or heard of (I forget what series he's from, there were too many to remember). I guess I lucked out, since this fig was on sale for $6.99, and with my 40% Rewards coupon, I only paid about $4.50 for the fig. Woohoo!

Until next time, keep it casual!

C'mon, Target! Promote Your Stuff Better!

During my lunch breaks from work, I like to hit the mass retailer stores in the area to check out the latest (or pegwarming) stuff in the toy aisles. Today, I was at a Target headed towards the action figure section, when I passed an endcap and I had this odd feeling where something just wasn't right (spider-sense, maybe?). I actually took a few steps back towards the endcap to discover this:

Did you see it? Yup, those are Public Enemies figs mixed in there with an entire endcap devoted to gaming and collectible cards! At first I thought it was either a clearance shelf, or someone had changed their mind about buying a PE fig and just dropped the fig off, but as I inspected the figs and shelf more, I found out the Target employees purposefully put these figs there! Just take a look at the shelf tag:

Now we in the action figure community have pretty much all agreed that Target has done a crappy job in promoting the Public Enemies line (their own exclusive line at that!), not to mention the lack of wave 2 distribution. But sticking PE figs with a bunch of Pokemon and MTG cards won't help sell these guys better! Or is it marketing genius? Nahhhhhh!

Goody Haul Report: Fortune Favors the Bol- Err.. Lucky!

Not much with this week's Goody Haul Report, but it's a nice one!

Target's exclusive Public Enemies 6-inch line is a set of figures I always thought was interesting; in-scale with DC Universe Classics (well almost), and unique enough with the Ed McGuinness sculpts. But with it's virtually non-existent showing of wave 2 figs, I was hesitant to be spending more money on another incomplete line. So I made a promise to myself, "I won't start collecting the Public Enemies line until I can find either the Major Force or Black Lightning figures". Hey, I set a conditional promise I thought I couldn't satisfy, so I'd save some money in the process. Well, guess what?

I was at a not-so-local Target during lunch yesterday, and to my shock, I found a Black Lightning fig sitting on the shelf! Even bigger shocker? a Major Force fig right next to it! Without hesitation, I scooped these guys up! The metallic Supes was there too, but I'm more interested in the wave 1 Superman. No Bats however.

OK, the condition has been met, and a promise is a promise. So now I'm on the the road to getting more Public Enemies figs...

My 100th YouTube Video...

Being the casual person that I am, I never thought I'd be reaching my 100th posted video on YouTube. I've got 81 vids up there now, with about seven or eight already shot and ready to upload, so I'm just about ten shy of reaching my 100th video. Woohoo!

Some may think reaching a certain number of subscribers is a better milestone than the number of video uploads that one posts. Sure, it's nice to have tons of people watching your videos, but I never got into the YouTube thing for the subscriber counts.

I actually got into YouTube when I was looking for a review of certain action figure (I had gotten back into action figure collecting), and after seeing a few people reviewing their personal collections, I thought it was a pretty neat thing to do. So, I gave it a shot as well. I liked it well enough that I continued to do more. If people like my vids, then cool. If they don't, then I'm OK with it too, since there is certainly alot more on YouTube they can enjoy for themselves.

Anyways, I've been debating on whether I should make a special video for my 100th or not. I don't know what it would be just yet if I did, but the thought has been nagging at me as I get closer and closer. Don't expect something spectacular when or if it arrives, just have some fun! I certainly am.

Flashforward: Is He OK?

Alright, last night I just caught up with the recent episodes of Flashforward, and it's pretty good so far; exciting, suspensful, and mysterious. But there's one thing nagging at me: Is Seth McFarlane's character OK? Is he still alive? Will he be able to continue playing his WOW clone RPG on his computer? Mark mentioned six fellow agents were "shot" (he didn't say "killed"), so is he OK?

24: Setting Up For An Epic Final Hour!

I currently record five TV shows through my DVR, and with my haphazard schedule, I haven't gotten around to watching most of the episodes yet, and I'm beginning to run out of space! To clear up some room (I can't afford missing a recording of Lost!), I decided to devote some time to catching up on 24.

I heard about the cancellation of 24. It sucks. I think S6 was the death knell (atrocious season!), but I thought S7's better story (and away from LA!) would have revived interest in the show, but I guess not. And it doesn't help that the first half of S8 just plodded along. But man, the last three hours were kick-ass! (No, that's wasn't a plug of today's movie!).

Two consecutive silent clocks? (RIP, Renee and Hassan) Chloe in charge of CTU? (This'll be funny) Lick-lipping Logan returning? (I'm cautious about this one) Finally some motivation for Jack to start taking names again? (YES!) And they're cancelling this show?!? At least it's looking like 24 will end on a thrill. I can't wait to watch these final hours, and Jack, bring that hacksaw when you next meet with Dana...

The Achilles' Heel Of Figs: The Heel!

Of all the joints to be loosy goosy, the ankles have to be the worst and most annoying. While free standing, these joints support the entire figure (unless the fig is either upside down or supported elsewhere), and if the ankle joints are wobbly, then expect the figure to be constantly either on the flat of its back or faceplanted on the ground.

Last night, I opened up my DC Universe Classics green Parademon, and I noticed his weak ankles, but it didn't seem that bad. He stood alright when I recorded my Casual Peek Into video on him, and he posed well when I took pics of him for the video. But this morning I discovered the Apokoliptic(?) grunt had fallen off the shelf and was prone on the floor. Arrrgh! I hate loose ankles! Since propping him back up, he's fallen over three more times. At least he hasn't fallen back to knock over any figs behind him!

When I used to frequent the Xevoz forums, I read a tip to tighten up a Xevoz's loose ball joints by applying some clear nail polish into the sockets. I've never actually done this to any of my Xevoz figs since all of their joints are still nice and tight. But I'm considering doing this to the Parademon. The only problem right now is that I don't have any nail polish, and if you haven't seen the nail polish aisle at your local Walmart or Target, it's going to be like looking for that rare fig amongst the pegs of commons and peg warmers! Wish me luck....

Goody Haul Report: Shopping On The Interwebs

After the NECA finds of Akuma and Lt. Kim, I decided to look online for what I could find on the cheap. Besides NECA, I was also looking for any Star Trek figs after my cool finds at WonderCon.

All I can say is that you have to look deep and hard to find a good buy. Too many places have figs for way too much, especially the Gears Of War line (which I should've expected). I did find one place, Urban Collector, which had some pretty neat finds. Urban specializes in pop culture collectibles, where action figures are only a part. One order came in at the end last week, and the other arrived only several days ago. Everything was packed alright and weren'y damaged, so I'd recommend this site for future ordering (which reminds me that I need to post some feedback for them!). Here's some of my goody hauls through Urban Collector:

Captain Picard with Captain's Chair: This was a very nice find for only $10! This set has been discounted throughout the interwebs, but I've only seen it this cheap at Urban. This set looks really cool, so I don't know why he's so cheap (but I haven't opened him up yet). Maybe he's just been overproduced.

The Spirit: Based off the movie, I thought this looked nice when I saw it at TRU (although I do wish he came in the Eisner blue). I was considering ordering him through TRU online (they had him on clearance for about $7), but Urban was selling him for only $5.

Chun-Li: After my Akuma find that week, I started to look for more of the NECA Street Fighter IV figs. Urban had the newer figs as well as the wave 2 figs, so I ordered Thunder Thighs for $12. But this was before I found out NECA has no current plans to go beyond the alternate costumes (Nooooo!), so this may be my last NECA SFIV fig. I may have to look to the SOTA figs, especially for the Sagat that I want.

Marcus Fenix: Urban had this guy for only $7 so I took a bite. This is the Version 2 of Fenix, which at the time I didn't know was prone to limb breakage. He looks OK in the package, so I guess I have to be extra careful. If he breaks (I hear it's common in the arm), I've seen a vid on YouTube for a fix where I can try to apply it if needed.

As far as other goody hauls this week, it's been very light. The only figure I bought through a physical store was a DC Universe Classics Black Canary I found at a Target today. One step closer towards Chemo, yeah!

Until next time, keep it casual!

Another Goody Haul Already?

Yeah, I know I posted a goody haul just yesterday, but the action figure gods were smiling upon me today, so I couldn't wait to share this.

Just last week at WonderCon, I was on the lookout for action figures, specifically superhero ones, to fill holes in my collection. But I guess going to a comic convention looking for great deals on comic figures is not the way to go. Figs I was looking for were simply overpriced by at least $10 over retail, some by $20! I went home with some good deals on figs, but all of them were non-superhero.

Today, while on my lunch break, I visited another of the TRUs I frequent, and they happened to restock the DC Universe Classics pegs! This was the first sign the action figure gods had smiled upon me.

Of course, the usual suspects were there; Captain Colds, Booster Golds, and a Blue Beetle (I really don't know why Beetle would peg warm, but he was there). But accompanying the peg warmers today was a set of DCUC Wave 11s! Every figure from that wave (minus a Deadman variant) was in front of me, begging to be bought at retail, where almost a week ago they were being sold for $20 - $30 at WonderCon. This was the second sign the action figure gods had smiled upon me.

With retail distribution being severely lacking, I couldn't just pick up a figure here or there, but I didn't go into TRU prepared to buy an entire a wave of figures (The action gods had only smiled upon me, they weren't downright joyous). So I only picked up the figs I needed to complete my Kilowog Collect And Connect, which was still alot since I only had one wave 11 fig at this point. I left The Question and the two Steppenwolves (I really didn't want to) to keep the peg warmers company.

It was kind of weird (and bulky) holding five figure sets in my hands while in line at the checkout (I've never purchased this many DCUC at one time). I wonder if the checkout person thought I was some sort of scalper? I didn't really care at this point, since all I was thinking of was that "Kilowog will soon be mine!"

So that's my Goody Haul for today. I've got five new DCUC figures and the parts needed for Kilowog, so expect to see Casual Peeks Into these guys and gal in the next week or so (I'm going to try and spread them out). Oh happy day! :)

Goody Haul Report

If you've seen my WonderCon 2010 video on my YouTube channel, you know that I purchased several action figures (none of them from the superhero genre). I thought it would be neat if I started a regular schedule of posts here to a least tell you of my goody hauls, and to at least give you a preview of what may be coming soon to my Casual Peek Into videos. So here goes.

Street Fighter IV Akuma: I found this guy at TRU after looking at SFIV figures at WonderCon. TRU is now selling the alternate costumed versions of the characters, and I lucked out in finding Akuma in his original costume.

Gears of War Lt. Minh Young Kim: While at the TRU I also picked up this TRU exclusive. I've read this figure has improved articulation over the version that came in the 2-pack.

Marvel Universe Storm and Nightcrawler: I actually found two of these Secret Wars Comic Packs at another TRU! I got one for myself and one for a friend of mine.

Incredible Hulk Series Bi-Beast and Ironclad: Normally the figs from the Incredible Hulk line are based from the Ed Norton movie, but the two I found are from the video game based off the movie. I found both of these guys for only $5 each at a Tuesday Morning while on my lunch break(it was on a Tuesday, but not in the morning).

Infinite Heroes Joker: At the same Tuesday Morning I found the IH Joker for only $2! I already have one of these, but I want to keep my first one in the package.

Well, that's it for now. I'll try to post more in the future (if I get more goodies that is).

NECA, I Love You and I Hate You

I was at WonderCon this weekend, and while browsing through the various vendors, I noticed Street Fighter IV figures for sale. I remembered seeing a few of these at Toys R Us in the past, but never gave them more than a passing glance. As I looked at these figures in detail, I was bitten by the interest bug. I passed on the figs at WonderCon, knowing that I could probably find them at TRU for much cheaper.

After the Saturday at WonderCon, I went to several TRUs to look for these figures. Apparently, I had passed on the SFIV figs for too long, since TRU is already selling the alternate costumed figures, and the original costumed figures have mostly been sold for a while now. I was able to find an Akuma however, and picked him up (expect to see a review of him on my YouTube channel sometime this week!).

For whatever reason, I didn't notice that these Street Fighter IV figures are being produced by NECA (I really should have noticed). As soon as I found out, I let out a cheer and groan at the same time.

I Love You: NECA has always produced amazingly detailed figures. Detail on a figure has never been the main selling point for me in buying an action figure, but I have to admit it really does add that certain "pop" to a figure. NECA are really good at capturing the likeness of the characters they build the figure around, whether it be from a movie, video game, or other media. And it's not just the likeness, but it's in the "little" details on the figures that NECA adds that other companies would easily pass on sculpting or painting. NECA, I love you for that.

I Hate You: Yeah, I know that getting all those detailed bits on a figure while selling them at a similar pricepoint to figures from the big guys is tough, but could you at least finish a line of figures, NECA? NECA has been known to produce a wave or two of a figure line, and then just stop. SFIV seems to be no exception. While doing some research on when a Sagat would be coming, I found out that beyond the alternate costumed figures, NECA has nothing planned for SFIV. Well, there goes my chances of snagging a Sagat figure. NECA, I hate you for that.

At least there's another good thing going at the moment for you and me, NECA: Gears of War. I've bitten by that figure line too, and they are selling well enough for NECA to announce production of at least a sixth wave by the end of this year. NECA, I love you for that.

Don't Cross The Ninja With The Crossbow

My next Casual Peek is Into the G.I. Joe Sigma 6 Storm Shadow action figure set. This particular set is from the Soldier Class of Sigma 6 sets, and contains the ninja with a flora of weapons accessories, espcially the Shouri Crossbow, which I think is one of the best accessories to come with a figure. Take a peek at the Storm Shadow set.

Yataaaaa!

The master of Time and Space, Hiro Nakamura always has to carefully step through the various timelines he goes through so as to not muck things up (which he does do occasionally!). He's a cool character on Heroes, sort of the nerd in all of us. Today, I take a Casual Peek at the Hiro Nakamura action figure from Mezco. Have a peek:

Peeking at One-Eye

With the end of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine action figure line, stores have begun clearancing out the figures. I was able to find a Cyke figure at Target, reduced down to 50% off. See what I think of the fig.

Razorclaw Rips Onto The Scene

Take a Casual Peek Into the Razorclaw, the second of my peeks into the Xevoz line. This one is a Meta-Beast battling figure kit, and like all Xevoz kits, comes with a ton of accessories and a cool alternate head.

First Sigma 6 Figure Review: Snake Eyes

Oops, I forgot to post an entry here for my Casual Peek Into the first of my Sigma 6 action figures, the Commando Class of Snake Eyes from Wave 1. Here's the video, and sorry for the delay!

Is It Worth It? That's The Question...

I've posted a quick Casual Peek Into the DC Universe Infinite Heroes version of The Question action figure. I got it for a pretty good price, only $1.99 at a Factory 2 U closeout store in my area. In fact, they had loads of other Infinite Heroes figs there as well. Take a peek at how The Question fares:

Star Trek Nero Action Figure: Hit or Miss?

I'm as big a fan of Star Trek as anyone, and when the 2009 movie came out, I was ecstatic. But when it came to the action figures based on the movie, I was a bit leery. The likenesses of the figures were nowhere near the actors, and the quality just seemed to be subpar overall. But I did find several of the figures on clearance at Walmart for only $0.50 each. I took the chance and purchased them. Take a peek at how I felt about the Nero figure after I opened it up.

The Battle Scorch Is Battle Ready

I take a Casual Peek Into another of the Mag Warriors magnetic action figures, this time the red-colored Battle Scorch. This Mag Warrior wields a mean looking axe, and is definitely geared towards offense.

Silver Centurion Inspired

As seen in the movie trailers for the upcoming Iron Man 2 movie, this armor looks to be pretty cool when Stark puts it on. With the silver and red colors, it is definitely a homage to the Silver Centurion armor Iron Man wore in the comics during the 1980s. Take a Casual Peek Into my look at the Iron Man Mark V action figure:

Are You Ever Gonna Go Get Caitlin?

Sorry, I know it was a Writer's Strike thing, but for such an empathic character, it seemed Peter Petrelli just casually dropped Caitlin like a rock in the ocean after he returned from the future in season two. Anyways, the Heroes' Peter Petrelli action figure is up next for my Casual Peek. Take a peek into the Emo with Empathic Mimicry:

Extray Crispy, Please

Today's Casual Peek is a look at the G.I. Joe team's resident flamethrower, Charbroil. This is a really neat figure, especially with all of the tanks he carries. I even missed the "emergency" tank on his vest!

Infinite Heroes Hush Action Figure

My first look at a DC Universe Infinite Heroes figure, this Casual Peek Into video is on the figure of Hush:

Another Find From The Closet

I discovered another treasure from my house cleaning, and this time, it proved to be a nice discovery. I found a Christmas present from my Bro-In-Law from ten years ago! It's Spawn figure from the Dark Ages Line, Spawn The Black Heart. Take a peek at the 2-part video of this gruesome guy (Sorry, I couldn't fit it in the YouTube 10-minute time limit):

Sigma 6: The Cousin Oliver of the G.I. Joe Line?

So, is the G.I. Joe Sigma 6 line that "jumps the shark" for Joe toys? Many Joe fans seem to think so, but I certainly don't. While I didn't start collecting Sigma 6 until the end of its production run, I still found them quite interesting and cool, and was purchasing them in hauls (since the stores were clearancing them at great deals).

While making my Casual Peek Into videos for the newer G.I. The Rise Of Cobra figures (which are nice BTW), I got the inkling to go back to my Sigma 6 figs. Many of them I never opened, and I now wish to free them from their incarceration.

Before I start making videos of the Sigma 6 figs, I created a brief Casual Peek Into G.I. Joe Sigma 6, to at least go over the line in general, it's history, and it's style. Take a peek:

Another Zoids Found From Spring Cleaning

I found three Zoids kits in my closet while doing spring cleaning, and this A Casual Peek Into video is of the second kit, the Gatordus, a dinosaur type Zoid. Take a peek:

Another Spring Cleaning Find

Here's another discovery from my spring cleaning, this time it's a Samurai Jack figure with armor. Take A Casual Peek Into this neat little figure.

Big Barda Isn't That Big....

I was kind of disappointed when I got the DC Universe Classics Big Barda out of the package; she really isn't that big. From what I've seen in the comics, she was a big lady. Not fat, but more like She-Hulk. Anyways, take a Casual Peek Into my review of Big Barda.

Arms Dealing With Style

I've always liked Destro as a character. I don't know of him from the '80s figures or animated show, but I know of the character from the Sigma 6 action figure line. He just seems to ooze a certain style, and I bet he's an arms dealer with panache. Here's my Casual Peek Into the Destro figure, this one from the Rise Of Cobra line.

Hidden Treasures from Spring Cleaning

Doing some early spring cleaning, and I found a treasure that I forgot I had! These are the Zoids kits, action figure models you assembled, and had lots of moving parts. They originally came out in the '80s, and made a comback in the early 2000s. I take a Casual Peek Into one of the smaller Zoids, the Maccurtis:

War Machine Causes So Much Destructive Fun!

It's a bit late at night, but I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to post this Casual Peek Into the Iron Man 2 Movie Series War Machine figure set. I had so much fun posing this guy, I forgot to edit and post the video until later. Take a peek at this great armored figure loaded to bear!