Shout Out: John

I'm totally stealing to this idea from the very "theft worthy" site It's a Dan's World, but I wanted to take a quick moment to welcome our newest follower- Mr. John Nieves! It appears as if John has a bit of "loser" in him, given the fact that he talks massive amounts of video games (and sometimes comics) over at his site called Ready Set, Game ! But Marc told me he's also a really responsible guy with a career and family, so maybe he's better off if he doesn't associate with the rest of us...

So once again, welcome John! and if you want to post stuff here as an author, just send me an e-mail with your Roll Call picture and I'll set it up so you can rant and rave for the world to see here at LOL. Until next time, Long Live the Legion!

Immortal Iron Fix

They say that one man's trash is another man's treasure, and I find this especially true in the realm of comic books. Books that I love may be another man's bird cage liner, or comics he salivates for every month may be so far off my radar that I wouldn't get them out of a quarter bin. But that's the beauty of our hobby- there's something for everybody.

I recently wrote a little blurb (ok, it was pretty much free advertising) about a 70% off sale over at the Things From Another World website. Though most of the comics were considered "nick and dent" copies, there was plenty of material I had been waiting to snatch up. On my first pass I bought up $100 worth of stuff. This is what I got:

TPBS:
Black Panther: The Client
Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther
Black Panther: Secret Invasion
Captain America: Road to Reborn HC
Eternals Manifest Destiny
Punisher: Dark Reign
Thor: Ages of Thunder HC
Red Sonja Vols 5 and 6
Conan Vol 0
Jonah Hex: Six Gun War
Immortal Iron Fist Vols 1 and 2

Issues
Conan the Cimmerian 0-21
Groo: Hell on Earth 1-4
Joe the Barbarian 5-6
Supergirl 49


Apparently there's something about discounted prices that makes me want to read violent, warrior based comics, but sometimes you just have to see some good old fasioned graphic violence, you know?

And if that wasn't enough, I went back and got more (blushes ashamedly). I figured I would never have another chance to get the Immortal Iron Fist this cheap again, so I went ahead and got volumes 3 and 4, as well as another Conan volume by Kurt Busiek, and Justice League Generation Lost 8-10.

It was actually pretty interesting timing to find out about the sale, because lately I have been thinking quite a bit about the Immortal Iron Fist series. If you've never read the original run by Fraction/Brubaker/Aja, you should look into it.

In the initial arc, Danny Rand, the current Iron Fist (as well as readers of the Marvel Universe at large) finds out that the "Iron Fist" moniker is actually a mantle that has been passed down over the ages. This opened up so much history and potential for a character that had been a kung fu joke for the previous decade before, only appearing in failed relaunches(the 1990's Heroes for Hire) or crummy "MC2" guest spots (Spider-Girl). Since the series release, Iron Fist has become a supporting character in Daredevil, a New Avenger, and a key player in the Shadowland series.

The reason I connect so heavily with the Iron Fist book is that it launched right around the time I got back into comics in a big way, and I've always felt like it was a serendipitous meeting. It was almost as if the world of Iron Fist being expanded was like my rediscovered love of comics- what had once been a faded joke had become something with potential for the future.

Wow, that's pretty nerdy... Anyway, my whole point today was that the books I got for cheap are by no means "classics", but I can't wait to devour them once they arrive. This makes me wonder, for those of you who got in on the giant sale, what did your shopping cart have in it?

Until Next Time, Long Live the Legion!

And P.S. , I caved and got my own internet connection, so hopefully I'll be around to manage the site a little quicker!