Friday, October 28, 2011

A Halloween Treat In Three Parts!

You might not be aware of it, but it's almost Halloween!  And to celebrate, we at The Vault of Startling Monster Horror Tales of Terror podcast are celebrating in a big way with THREEE (that extra "E" is for "EXTRA!") episodes this month!

The first regularly scheduled episode for October covers the visceral and gruesome bloodsucker opus John Carptenter's Vampires.  In an era of shiny, beautiful vampires, this movie is a breath of fresh air, so to speak.

The second episode features one of my favorite films of all time, the classic, legendary horror-comedy classic Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein!  Seeing this film as a little kid shaped my love of the Universal Monsters as well as Bud and Lou, and it was a blast to talk about it on the show.

And finally, the third episode is the second installment of our annual Horror Stories show!  It's a trio of original short horror stories for your spooky enjoyment!

Hopefully these podcasts will get you in the mood for the season!  Enjoy!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

What Looks Good?

The chill is in the air, and it's almost time for Halloween... so you know what means... time for CANDY and COMICS!

Aquaman #2 -- The Trench is here to feed on us!  But Aquaman will face any and all comers!

Blackhawks #2 -- The team is compromised by a nanocyte attack -- can they recover and discover the threat of Mother Machine?

DC Comics Presents Jack Kirby Omnibus Sampler #1 -- A mini collection of Jack Kirby mystery/monster stories?  How am I NOT buying this?

Flash #2 -- What has Barry Allen's friend gotten mixed up in?  And can the Flash get to the bottom of it?

Savage Hawkman #2 -- Hawkman vs Morphicius!  It's on!

Spaceman #1 -- I dug the preview of this series in the Strange Adventures anthology, so for a buck I will check out this out.  From the people who brought you 100 Bullets no less!

Charmed #15 -- Will Cole keep his bargain to find the reincarnated Prue?  Or does he have his own agenda?  What do you think?  (Also: Why is this marked for Mature Readers?)

So, what looks good to YOU?

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The 3rd Dimension: October 2011 Roundup Mk.2!

Alright toy fans, here's a quick rundown of two more figures I have picked up in the "recent" past!

Iron Man 2 Titanium Man -- I said in a previous one of these rundowns that after I found the Iron Man 2 Crimson Dynamo, I was eager to get ahold of his fellow Soviet armored compatriot (comrade?) Titanium Man.  I only saw him one time so you had better believe I snapped him up.  His bio describes his as Boris Bullski, but the armor looks a bit more like the suit the Gremlin wore, so I am just taking this as a new suit for Bullski (who is the T-Man I always liked anyway) and going from there. I like the height, and his big, tready feet help his poseability.  The green and silver color scheme looks suitably menacing as well.  His helmet is my favorite feature.  It evokes the Silver Age faceplate but looks very modern at the same time.  All in all this one of my favorites from the line and he and the Dynamo stand side by side ready to fight in the name of their Motherland.  Interestingly, there is a "Legends" scale version of this T-Man armor as well, but I have held off on it for the time being because of the price.  But I am sure I will give in soon enough.  (There is also a Legends Dynamo which I have never seen, but it looks like the Shatalov armor as opposed to the Bukharin  armor like the smaller toy.)  His blast accessory is actually not bad, featuring a sort of "power punch" as opposed to the typical repulsor style beam.

Iron Man 2 Guardsman -- This one was a nice find because I picked it up right while I was reading Essential Iron Man v.4, which features all of the Kevin O'Brien Guardsman stories!  This figure really captures the classic two-tone Guardsman look.  Both shades of green pop and look really nice together.  The main issue I have is the buck, which is not an "armored" look but a muscled one.  If you look at it, Guardsman seems very overly muscled for a guy in armor.  It's not a huge deal but it defintely takes something away from the figure.  Still, I am willing to forgive that just because it otherwise is a very nice representation of the classic Iron foe.  (I won't mention the yellow blaster piece, alright?)  Makes for a good addition to the lineup of baddies.

More adventures in the 3rd Dimension to come!  

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

What Looks Good?

There's been an awful lot of rain on Wednesday lately.  This week is no different.  But again, I don't buy my comics at the LCS anymore so I guess I need to stop complaining.

DC Universe Presents #2 -- Deadman wants some answers and he is going to get them!

Tiny Titans #45 -- The more things change at DC, the more (some) things stay the same.

Wonder Woman #2 -- It's Diana versus the gods and no one is safe!

GI Joe: A Real American Hero #171 -- Everything is coming off the rails for Cobra Commander!  And what's the deal with Sneak Peek?

Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths #5 -- The city smashing conclusion!

Invincible Iron Man #509 -- Will this finally end the Fear Itself tie-in?  We can only hope!

So, what looks good to YOU?

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The 3rd Dimension: October 2011 Roundup!

Once more I'm dipping into the well of toys which I have bought over the last few months and reviewing them for your enjoyment!  This time out we have a trio of (wait for it) Iron Man toys!

Iron Man 2 Iron Man Mk.1 -- Up first we have the first!  No, seriously, this is the Comic Series Mk.1 armor, based on the armor which debuted in Tales of Suspense #39. This is the first item I have based on this armor, although I do have the Bowen statue of the gold armor.  Anyway, for such a simple design this is actually a very nice toy.  The articulation is good and his wide feet (with some molded ridges on the soles) help him stand up in some nice poses.  I even managed to get a TOS #39 cover pose out of him!  He is equipped with an energy blast, which really isn't accurate, but it's easily ignored.  One of the interesting aspects of this figure is the "marring" of the paint job.  There's plenty of scuffs and scorches and rust on the armor, and it really helps sell it as a clunky piece of machinery Tony Stark built to escape captivity.  Very happy with this one.

Iron Man 2 Silver Centurion -- We jump ahead about 20 years now with the Silver Centurion armor, which debuted in Iron Man #200, battling the Iron Monger.  Like the armor in the comics, this figure is bulkier than the normal "slim" Iron Man buck.  The sculpt is a reasonably close depiction of the armor from the comics; the colors too are really nice.  I have this one posed next to my Toy Biz Silver Centurion (that is, "Hologram Armor") and the two of them look great together.  This is a much improved version of this armor than the earlier one from the Marvel Universe line, which was built off of the Extremis figure and looked pretty weird.  His blast accessory is, as usual, pretty unremarkable.  This fan favorite armor is very well translated to the 3rd Dimension.

Marvel Universe Modular Iron Man -- Alright, first off, this one is seriously misnamed.  The Modular Armor was the armor which debuted in Iron Man #300, made famous by its depiction in the Marvel Action Hour cartoon and the Toy Biz Iron Man line.  This armor represents the modern Iron Man armor as seen in the pages of Invincible Iron Man by Matt Fraction and Sal LaRocca.  Now, as a depiction of that armor, this is a pretty good version.  It lacks some of what has come to be known as "control surfaces" which we see in the comics, but the colors and repulsor outputs look very close.  The helmet as well is also very sharp, with the frown reproduced straight from the page.  This figure is a more slim than the Silver Centurion, has good articulation and poses well.  His accessory is the same sort of repulsor blast which these toys come with, and are summarily tossed into a bin with all of the others once I get them open.  I don't know how long this armor design will last but it's nice to get a toy version of it.

More to come!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Composite Spy vs Spy?!

Who doesn't like Spy vs Spy?  No one, that's how!  From DC's The Source:

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Spy vs. Spy, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee joins the ranks of other artists who've each made their mark on the iconic spy design (in toy form)...

This wacky and bizarre Composite Spy vs Spy made me smile this morning for sure!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

What Looks Good?

It's raining here today, but El Jacone has the cure for the rainy day blues.

My Greatest Adventure #1 -- The continuing adventures of Tanga and Garbageman, plus Robotman to boot!

The Shade #1 -- Looks pretty interesting, after reading this interview with Robinson I might check this one out.

Legion of Monsters #1 -- Okay, this looks quirky and monster-y enough for me to check it out.

glamourpuss #21 -- A month with glamourpuss is like a... I can't finish that sentence.

So, what looks good to YOU?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

And there came a day, a day unlike any other...

...when Earth's Mightiest Heroes found themselves united against a common threat...

The first Avengers trailer is now online!  You can catch it over at Newsarama.

Looks like the epic we are all expecting.  I still have little to no faith whatsoever in Joss Whedon but here's hoping!

Monday, October 10, 2011

The Crusaders Heading Back Home

From Newsarama: the Red Circle heroes are heading back to Archie Comics.

I am alternately pleased and disappointed by this news.  As readers of this blog certainly know, I was a big fan of the DC Red Circle imprint, so to see those characters disappear is disheartening.  Of course, with the New 52 relaunch, it was more than likely that the Crusaders were never going to be a factor anyway.  So at least the characters get to have their own space to run around in.  The digital initiative is interesting, and if the price is low enough it might be worth checking out.  

I will definitely be keeping an eye on this as it develops...

(Wow, two posts about Archie one day... go figure!)

You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best!

As reported on Newsarama, Archie Comics is publishing Archie Meets KISS!

Sounds like a fun mash-up!  To me, both the Archies and the KISS personas are classic characters who never go out of fashion.  If this one is successful, then I will begin campaigning for Jughead Meets Alice Cooper!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Unbridled Capitalism: Mr. K's for October

I made a trip to Mr. K's Used Books in Greenville yesterday looking for something non-comics related, but you know me: I love a good deal.  So when I saw these books I couldn't leave them.

100 Bullets -- This title never gets much mention here on The Bunker, mostly because I have exclusively bought it in collected format.  I picked up Volume 1 (First Shot, Last Call) a number of years ago at Midtown Comics, and then religiously bought the series through Volume 5.  I lost track of the series when I moved but now I have been on the lookout for the rest of it in cheap form so that I can read the whole thing.  Yesterday went a long way to completing my collection, as I picked up Volumes 6-9 and 13, which is the last one.  Throw in Volume 11 which I picked up a few months back and I am down to two collections to finish up the run -- Volumes 10 and 12.  Get ready for some gunplay!

Excalibur -- Now this one you folks should be more aware of.  I've actually got everything I am looking for as far as the Excalibur regular series, but I did pick up the prestige format Weird War 3 yesterday, which I had not seen previously.  So hopefully we can get a return of Not Blog Ex on this site in the near future.

Remember folks, good deals are out there if you keep your eyes peeled and your wallet at the ready!