The End of an Era

Next month marks the end of a huge era for me. 

For the first time since December, 1985 I will not be picking up a monthly issue of the Uncanny X-Men.

This was my first issue of the Uncanny X-Men that I bought monthly.

I am sure most of you are thinking this is not a big deal but this certainly is a big deal for me. Imagine for second that you bought and read a comic (or something else) every month for the last 27 years. 

Now I am ending that streak and it is ALL Marvel's fault. Don't get me wrong, I still love and am interested in the X-Men franchise but I can no longer afford it.

Back in the day, when I first began to read comics there was only one X-title, Uncanny X-Men. But now there are five main X-Men books and at $4 a pop that can definitely add up. But then Marvel decided to be greedy and publish these X-Men books more than once a month.

Because of this obvious money-grab, I was forced to drop other titles that I was reading (and loved) so I could just keep up with the main X-Men books. I was hoping that this would not become a regular thing since Marvel was not consistent in these double-shipped books so I hung on for as long as I could.

Uncanny X-Men #4... ...my LAST issue

But then I had to drop the Avengers, then Captain America, then Secret Avengers, then the plain X-Men, then X-Men Legacy, then Astonishing X-Men, then Captain America and Bucky and now finally Uncanny X-Men. Not only am I done with the X-titles but it looks like I am done with Marvel completely. The new Avengers vs X-Men miniseries will be my swan song for Marvel.

I am not done with comics completely. There is still a ton of classic material that really interests me but my days of buying comics monthly seems to be over. The only book that I will continue to get monthly is an independent book called The Savage Dragon.

I'll have to blog about this comic sometime in the future. 

It is sad that after 27 years and 348 (344 issues of Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 and 4 issues of Uncanny X-Men Vol 2) straight issues that I have to quit something that I love so much.

I sent Marvel an e-mail about this issue back in July but received no reply. I just sent them another e-mail this morning informing them that I am dropping all the books because of this. If I get a response, I will blog about it here. 

Random Ramblings: Feeling Blue

Feeling Blue: I think that if the Jets pulled off a win yesterday I would be in a better mood. I take losses pretty hard. But I am feeling a little blue...

Feeling Blue Part II: Aside from the game, I had a pretty good day yesterday. Going to the funeral church did bum me out and cheer me up a bit. Our fantastic Bishop and his cute family are moving and he was released yesterday. I have known them since my family and I moved in. He was the first guy that came over to visit me. I served with him many times and I was very fortunate to teach his children in Primary. I am bummed that I will not have a chance to teach the rest of his kids.

Feeling Blue Part III: Two weekends ago was the Top of Utah marathon and I set a goal to run the 5K portion of the festivities. My knee and I never made it.

Feeling Green: On a happier note, my harvested some of our garden last week and we got some awesome looking green peppers. And a ton of them too! We are going to make a batch of Stuffed Peppers and freeze some to use for Philly Steak sandwiches.

Listening: To the first 5 Queen albums. I think I will review each album of these new remasters for the blog. Professional writers say that you should write what you know.

Feeling Giddy: I ordered the second set of Queen remasters and they are on their way. I sold some comic tradepaperbacks and I had some Amazon points to use so I only paid $10 for the set.

Thinking: I think it is time for me to make some life-altering decisions. I think it might be time for this old man to go back to school. The only problem is that I have no idea what to go back to school to learn. If you have any ideas, let me know. I do think that a career as a professional wrestler has passed me by.

Feeling Giddy Part II: That big fat X-Men hardcover that I got for free comes out in a few weeks!

Survey Says!

About a month ago I shared a way that you can take online surveys and get paid for them with the goal of getting  this book through Amazon absolutely free.

Claremont/Lee X-Men Omnibus Vol 1

Well, guess what?

I have now completed enough surveys to pre-order this baby! 

HUZZAH!

And it was way easy to get my Amazon code. All I had to do is click on a link and they immediately sent an Amazon gift code to my e-mail.

Now the hardest part will be waiting until October for my book to arrive. But until then I will work on some more surveys for my next purchase.

Claremont/Lee X-Men Omnibus Vol 2

Quite the surprise right? There are also two more Queen Remasters Box Sets coming out that I will try to get free as well. This has been totally worth it. If you want to know more, shoot me an e-mail mplatis28(at)hotmail.com and I will give you some info.

It's Not a Sales Pitch!

Don't you hate it when a close friend, family member or associate tells you that they have an exciting opportunity that you definitely should take advantage of?

Don't you hate it when a close friend, family member or associate tries to sell you something?

Yeah, I hate it too.

But I do have something cool to share with you. And it won't cost you a thing! 

Don't you hate it when that promise is thrown around? I know that usually means that something will cost me. It might be money but it also might mean my time.

As you already know, I absolutely love comic books. I just don't like having to pay full price for them and I have been fortunate through services like DCBS and Amazon, I rarely have to pay full price for any book.

Now there is a book that I definitely want to have.

It collects in an oversized hardcover (meaning it is larger than the average comic book) a full 40 issues of the Uncanny X-Men. I want this because the actual comic books that I own are getting a bit worn out and the paper is was printed on is starting to smudge and this book will have a much, much better print. The colors will be vibrant and the art will leap off the page. So I have to have it!

But if you look at the price tag...  ...yeah that is one expensive comic book! The regular price is $125 but the Amazon price is only $76.47.  

But that still costs quite the pretty penny. A lot of pennies actually. But I have found another way of cutting down that cost down to nothing. Seriously, NOTHING!

An associate of mine informed me that he recently preordered a Fantastic Four Omnibus (much like the one that I am craving) and he paid nothing because he fills out surveys and gets paid with Amazon giftcards. Well, I just had to ask him how he does it and he sent me an e-mail inviting me to take surveys like he does. I initially was a bit skeptical but I tried it anyway and boy am I glad I did.

I joined June 23rd and I took my first easy survey that day. And as of today I have earned $30.60 so far. And I can transform that into a $30.60 Amazon Gift Certificate. Now I have not actually got my Amazon Gift code yet, I am waiting to get the full amount of the cost of the hardcover but I cannot imagine it will be that difficult. All I know is that by the time October rolls around (when that gorgeous X-Men book comes out) I should have the whole thing paid for meaning I get it for FREE!

So if any of you are interested in getting an Amazon Gift Card (they also have other rewards as well) shoot me an e-mail at mplatis28 (AT) hotmail.com and I will refer you to their website.

Once I have got the giftcard and ordered the book, I will post my experience with it.

X-Geeking

Sorry folks. I am going to be talking about comic books here.

It is well known that I am a geek. Part of being a geek is also loving charts, databases and keeping track of things. The past few days I have been reworking an old Access database that keeps track of all my comics. I was curious to see how many comics I have sold and that led to forming another database and going through mycomicshop.com (where I do a lot of reselling) to see find all the comics that I have owned at one point. Hours and hours later I think I have a final number. Now this is not exact but it is pretty close and I as a geek, am satisfied.

The grand number? I have sold 3,070 comics.

Now that only begs the question. How many comics do I have? I am not sure how many I have (that is another geek project coming soon) but I know that it is 3,070 comics less than it used to be. My goal is to have a collection that is all exceptional. No crap, no stuff that I won't read in decades. Basically, no filler. Just all good stuff.

Speaking of comics. I just found out that Marvel is cancelling its longest running comic, the Uncanny X-Men. The last issue will be #544 but it will come back with a new #1. This is definitely a marketing ploy and I am not happy purely from a geek standpoint. My first issue of Uncanny X-men was #200 and I have bought each issue since. I have a copy (in comic book, hardcover, trade paperback) from issue #94. And now that grand run is finished. I think I must be getting old and grumpy.

And speaking of the X-Men. Kristy and I went and saw X-Men: First Class opening day. I was going to go at midnight but I just didn't think I could do it. So we went to the 2nd showing that Friday. I don't want to spoil the movie for those that have not seen it but I will say that it was awesome! I loved everything about it and it gives X2 (my all-time favorite comic book movie) a run for its money. This geek left the movie house completely satisfied. It was pure joy to see my favorite X-Man, Banshee, screaming and flying around.

Now I am geeked out and need a rest.

X-Geeks Unite!

I am so looking forward to a few comic book summer movies. I certainly cannot complain being a comic book geek since I have Thor, Captain America, Green Lantern and my most anticipated comic book movie, X-Men: First Class.



There are a few reasons why I am very excited for this X-Men movie. Now my favorite comic book movie is the 2nd X-Men movie in the franchise, X2. I liked the first one and the third one isn't so bad and Wolverine: Origins was absolutely horrible. So I am not sure what X-Men: First Class will be like, hopefully it will be better than Wolverine.

I do have faith in the director. He also directed another fantastic comic book adaptation in Kick Ass and making it his own. So I do think he can do the X-Men justice. I also love that is set in the past, back in the 60's around the Cuban Missile Crisis. Having the awesome Kevin Bacon in the film doesn't hurt either. But of course, I am stoked to have my all-time favorite X-Men, Banshee, in the film.

This summer cannot come fast enough!  I'll have to do a List-Mania sometime and list my favorite comic book movies.

List-Mania: 5 Comics that Wigged Me Out!

Day 335

I haven't done a List-Mania column for a long time, let alone a real geeky one too, and I thought that the time is right for another List-Mania devoted to comics. This time I am choosing comic books that are difficult for me to read and get through. These comics are ones that stay with me long after I read them. They are either creepy, or they really tug at the heart strings or they portray pain, sorrow and anguish. They are not shocking just to be shocking. These are real moments, moments that made me take pause. Basically they are Comics that Wigged Me Out!

In no particular order.

What If? #30 "What If The Fantastic Four's Second Child Had Lived?"

Marvel published a line of comics called "What If?" and they would take a storyline and choose a different route for it to take. Most of the time the stories would be tragic and this one was no doubt one of the few comics that creeped me out. Mr. Fantastic (the stretch guy) and his wife the Invisible Woman have one child, a boy named Franklin. He is a mutant and has the ability to have special dreams that foretell the future. The Invisible Woman gets pregnant again and she dies in childbirth. But this story shows what would happen if the baby survived. Franklin sees the future and sees that his sister is a monster and no one believes him. Eventually family members die and Franklin sees that his sister is the reason. So Franklin turns to the Fantastic Four's deadliest enemy, Dr. Doom for help.

Dr. Doom kills Mr. Fantastic and he dies but before he dies he sees his daughter as the monster that his own son described. Doom also dies facing the monster and Franklin manages to send it to the Negative Zone (long story... basically he sends his sister to another dimension).

The final words of the story, spoken by Franklin looking on all the destruction and death were haunting.

"At first you said it was a nightmare... ...a child's dream gone away. Probably from something I ate. The you chalked it up to jealousy... ...sibling rivalry... ...as old as Cain and Abel. But I was never jealous of her daddy.. ...I was afraid of her. And as I stand here amid the ruins of your lab... ...over your body... ...I take no solace in the fact that I was right and you were wrong. If only you'd listen to me things might have been different."

Vigilante #50
I was in the sixth grade when I first read this comic. Vigilante was my friend's brother's favorite comic. I read a few on and off but I had to get this final issue. And I was not prepared to what happened right at the end and it bugged me for days. The character (Adrian Chase) was a lawyer who became disenchanted with the law and took the law in his own hands as the costumed hero Vigilante. Unfortunately Adrian was a tortured soul who made grave mistakes and was often haunted by the decisions he made as Vigilante. And soon it was too much for him to take. He gets caught up in a situation where he mistakenly kills law enforcement agents and realizes he has gone too far.

I honestly didn't expect him to kill himself and I thought it took a lot of guts for the writer to make that call. I eventually picked up the entire series and you can see how Adrian slid down that slippery slope.

Generation Next #4
The Age of Apocalypse storyline was a bold move for Marvel. They cancelled all the very popular X-Men titles and replaced them with a whole new set of X-Men drastically different from what has happened before. Essentially, a huge reset button was pressed when Professor X's son travels back in time to kill Magneto (a play on if you would go back in time to kill Hitler) so mutants can live in peace with humans. Only his son accidentally kills his dad, Charles Xavier and (as usual) something horrible happens and changes everything. In this world mutants are in charge and one of the most evilest mutants, Apocalypse, is in charge and a small team of X-Men, led by Magneto is all that stands in the way of total mutant domination.

In this story, the X-Man Colossus and his wife Shadowcat train a set of young mutants to be the next generation of X-Men (hence the name) and Magneto assigns them a mission to find Colossus's sister whom he thought was dead. Things quickly get out of hand and the team find themselves in a situation and battle that they are unlikely to survive. But this is Colossus and Shadowcat we are talking about. Colossus is one of the most bravest and noblest heroes. But not in this universe. Colossus and Shadowcat succeed in their mission and rescue Colossus's sister and they get her out of the death and mayhem caused by the revolt. Shadowcat wants to go back to rescue their students but Colossus stops her. He volunteers because he does not want to lose his wife. So Colossus goes back to rescue them. He peers inside to see the massacre and hopeless battle and shuts the door.

He goes back to his sister and his wife and tells them there was nothing he could do. He left them to die because he was afraid. He was afraid of losing his sister again and his wife. All I remember is the look on the abandoned student's face when she watches Colossus shut the door on her. And the look on Shadowcat's face because I think she knew.

There were a lot of horrible and heroic moments peppered throughout this series but this one made the biggest impact. There was another one at the conclusion of the massive storyline and unfortunately it involved our good friend Colossus once again.

Colossus does not want to be without his sister Illyana and tries to involve himself in Magneto's plan to save the world. But he would screw it up (long story, trust me). Shadowcat has the mutant ability to become like a ghost and she counted that her husband would stop if she said so. So she doesn't use her powers and Colossus runs her over and tramples her to death. Another X-Man uses his powers to stop (kill) Colossus before he does any more damage. As he dies, he sees his younger sister and says, "Forgive me sister. I thought... I was the bravest of us all. And then I met you. I am so scared... please... give me courage and hold me while I..." And then he dies.

Will To Power #11
The story followed the descent of Titan from hero to villain. Titan was like Superman. Except he had a difficult childhood involving abuse from his father and trying to fit in. He was told throughout his life that he was never good enough. Slowly, as he made mistakes and tried to be a true Superman-like hero he became more distant and angry. Eventually he wanted to prove he was the best and tried to take down one of the most powerful beings on Earth just to prove a point.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. That is what I thought of when I saw the look on Titan's face here. There is no pity, there is no conscious thought here. This is pure rage and hate and Chris Warner (the artist) really captured that look here. One simple look from Titan was all it took. The pages before showed him easily dispatching the Army and destroying Las Vegas. None of those shows of power told the story like that the bottom panel.

Star Wars Annual #2
Yes! A Star Wars comic! It had Han on the cover so it had to be safe right? Set after the events in the Empire Strikes Back, Luke, C3-P0 and Lando are escaping from Stormtroopers when they find a gold statue of Han Solo. Han was one of my favorite characters so I had to have this comic. I remember flipping through the comic to find out what happened but I didn't get too far because I came across a panel that freaked me out and even to this day I cannot look at it. Go ahead and call me chicken but I didn't re-read this annual because I was too creeped out. Check out the panels below:  BRRRRRR!

 

Just looking at that gives me the creeps! I am sure that I could find more stories or pieces of art that stuck with me but these were the ones that came right to mind.

Confessions of a Comic Book Geek

Day 177

**WARNING**   **GEEKY POST**  **WARNING**

You know you have a comic collecting problem obession when you see a number and you can remember a certain comic book with the same number. And the number 177 is memorable for me.

Issue #177 is the first issue of the Uncanny X-Men that I own and I have every single issue from that issue on. I officially started to collect the Uncanny X-Men with #200 but I soon went back and bought back issues all the way down to #177. I do have a copy of every issue in some form whether it is in a trade paperback or hardcover collection all the way down to Uncanny X-Men #94.

I am sure that to some that doesn't sound impressive. But let's take a look at the current issue that just came out a few weeks ago.

That means I have 345 straight issues of the Uncanny X-Men. And yes, to answer your question about how geeky I am, I can probably tell you what is on the cover for each one.