Merch 2: Vaulted.

When Karli and I were planning our stop at Funko headquarters in Everett as part of our recent trip to Seattle, it occurred to me that it was the perfect opportunity to get the matching Lone Wanderer to go with the Fallout: Power Armor figure that Karli had given me as a Christmas gift. 

Sadly, a little research on the Funko web site revealed that both figures had been  Vaulted*, which means that they are no longer in production.

My first thought at this piece of information was: Oh well, at least I've got one of them - and the cooler looking one! 

My second thought was: Damn...obviously I should have left my gift in its packaging to preserve its MOC (Mint On Card) value.  What have I done? **  

My third thought was to shrug and get on with my life.  After all, we're talking about polystyrene toys here, it's hardly the end of the world (no pun intended) to find out that they're not being manufactured any more.

Aha, never say never.  I still don't know if she had advance knowledge or not, but Karli almost demanded that we pay a visit to Golden Age Collectables, an excellent comic book and collectable shop with a comprehensive selection which is located at Pike Place Market.***  As we wandered about the store, we stumbled across the Lone Wanderer figure in their inventory - how could I not buy it?

Both the Lone Wanderer and the Power Armor stand up well to a close inspection:  they're quite detailed, accurately modelled and well articulated.  However, I had the same problem with both of the figures.  As I've already noted, it is not easy to get them to hold onto their supplied firearms.

So now I'm the proud owner of both Funko Fallout figures - and yes, they're both out of their packaging, my sincere apologies to my heirs for ruining their inheritance.  If you're very upset, feel free to drive to Seattle and buy your own - they still had four or five of the figures left in stock at Golden Age. 

  - Sid

* This is unintentionally funny - the Fallout franchise is based around characters who have survived the nuclear holocaust in an alternate history United States by sheltering in underground shelters - called Vaults.

** Seriously, though, that's no fun.  As The Big Bang Theory's Penny said about her virginity, it's a lot more fun to take it out and play with it.

*** There's a sister store on Granville Street in Vancouver.

A brief digression regarding The Lord of the Rings.

As I mentioned in my Book Report posting, I'm currently procrastinating on my New Year's resolution to read more paper books, thanks to a digital copy of The Lord of The Rings. But, in my defense, it's just so good.

I'm a bit in awe of how well written this story actually is.  I've been a frequent visitor to the lands and kingdoms of Middle Earth over time - I've worn out a couple of sets of the books since my first purchase in the 70s - but for a variety of reasons, I haven't read Tolkien's masterpiece for several years. There's a bit of favourite fatigue for even the best books, I'm so familiar with the content by now, and so on and so on.  All that being said, returning to the books after a rest has let me see the story with fresh eyes, and as I said, I'm a bit in awe.

Yes, it's very old school - but let's say classic instead.  There isn't a wasted word, the tone and style are perfect, the descriptions are evocative and realistic, the dialogue is simple and elegant, the story flows smoothly and seamlessly from paragraph to paragraph and chapter to chapter, the tale itself is epic and gripping - it's just beautifully put together.

I admit that it's not for everyone, but if you think of yourself as a reader for the sake of the quality of the words on the page, for the pure craft of writing, you owe it to yourself to take a look at The Lord of The Rings.

- Sid

Merch 1: “I did it thirty-five minutes ago.”

“Dan, I'm not a Republic serial villain. Do you seriously think I'd explain my master-stroke if there remained the slightest chance of you affecting its outcome? I did it thirty-five minutes ago.”

Ozymandias, Watchmen

Because I often refer to previous material when I'm creating new content for the blog, I spend a certain amount of time going back through old postings so that I can link to the content.  I also sometimes just re-read postings to see if there's anything I want to change, or just to check for typos.  I was paging back through the content at the end of last month when I stopped for a thoughtful moment at a slightly melancholy posting entitled, Or Vanilla Coke and Barbecue Lays which featured a photo of a rainy day mental health getaway for the jaded geek.

I'll put the photo here as a more convenient reference:

The observant reader will have noted the diverse nature of my rainy day reading material.  I'm on page six of the first issue of Watchmen from September of 1986, with the balance of the 12 issue run to the left underneath a copy of Marvel's What If from the 80s, and the first issue of Ghost Rider 2099, part of Marvel's abortive 2099 series from 1994.  Just above them is DC's beautiful four issue Kingdom Come miniseries, hand painted by Alex Ross, and beside that a mixed bag of comics capped with a Marshal Law one-off from Epic and and an issue of Vector's Annoying Post Brothers by Matt Howarth (Vector is better known for their publication of Chester Brown's legendary alternative comic Yummy Fur).

However, there's a lie in that description. Issue 7 of Watchmen isn't in that stack of comics - about 12 years ago it fell prey to a large hairball that my cat Nigel coughed up when I wasn't looking, and by the time I realized what was happening, the cover was ruined.

At one point, when my friend Chris had asked to borrow the series, I was forced to confess the gap in my collection.  He later told me that he had considered buying me the missing comic as a birthday gift, but wasn't sure if it would be cheaper to just buy me the collected story in graphic novel format.

Hmmm, I thought, looking at the picture. I wonder how much would it actually would cost me to replace that comic?

Purely out of curiousity, I hopped over to eBay.ca and did a search for Watchmen comics.  Ta dah - Issue 7, Very Good condition, a very reasonable seven bucks US, no bids, closing in 35 minutes. I shrugged and placed a bid for seven dollars - my philosophy with eBay is that either you're going to get it or you're not, getting into a bidding war just drives the price up for everyone. (I confess that there have been one or two times when I've violated this simple approach.)*

Thirty-five minutes later, boom, done, I had won the auction with my single bid, and pending the arrival of my purchase, my Watchmen set was once again complete.

"Pending the arrival"...aha, there's the rub, as Shakespeare puts it.  I had a bit of concern about the safety of my purchase as it traversed the postal system of two countries.  Our local postie has the bad habit of jamming things into our mailbox whether they fit or not, and it would be an unfortunate ending to this story to receive a damaged replacement for a damaged original. Shipping was ten bucks US (or about $12.50 CAD), and I really didn't know what that would buy me in terms of protecting my investment.

When the package arrived this week, it turned out that my concerns were completely unnecessary.  Revolutionaries**, let me tell you:  if you are looking for the well-packaged shipment of a comic book, Comic Warehouse on eBay is your seller of choice.

It came in a two inch deep box (the FRAGILE sticker is a nice touch):

 

With bubble wrap:

 

In a cardboard sandwich:

 

In a plastic bag with a cardboard backer:

 

Now, admittedly, that last one is standard collectable comic packaging, but still.

 

And, after all that, the comic was exactly as described:  Very Good condition - in fact, in better condition than one or two of the other comics in the set - and my twelve-issue run is once more complete.

Fortunately, Jaq the Cat isn't much of a jumper or climber, so I'm unlikely to have to replace my purchase due to cat hygiene issues, he just won't be able to get at it.

Unless, of course, I leave it on the floor - while I drink tea and read comic books.

  - Sid

* This parenthetical comment required me to go back to the blog and search for previous postings, as above.

** Thereby deliberately choosing a cute name for my blog readership, such as it is.