Sometimes, Awesome Comes In Small Packages

Alex Ross is one of my all time favorite artists. I'm sure I am not the only one who says that. Alex Ross's work is amazing. I have loved his work on such classics such as Justice League Justice, Marvels and Kingdom Come. Plus, I love his takes on Battle Of The Planets, Batman, Superman, Captain America and of course, Spider-Man.

Alex Ross is one of my top 5 favorite Spider-Man artists. I have always wanted to own a piece of Alex Ross Spider-Man art, but at the prices his work commands, I doubt I will be able to own one, unless I go for a lithograph at some point. Marvel has yet to make a Alex Ross inspired Spider-Man figure, so I'm shut out there as well.

A few years ago, Marvel and Dynamic Forces released a life sized Spider-Man bust. It is the coolest thing I may have ever seen. The bust captures Ross's work perfectly and I wanted one. Still do in fact. The lowest I have seen this bust go for is $400.00 and I don't have that kind of cheddar lying around right now. But, there was the next best thing and I got it off eBay for a steal.

Lucky for me, a mini version of the bust was released and it now has a proud place in my Spider-Man collection. When I received the package and opened it, I was blown away by how cool this thing really is, despite the smaller size. Through the cellophane on the front of the package, you can see Spidey staring right back at you.

On either side of the box you get the same Alex Ross drawing of Spider-Man, without my flashes glare.

On the back of the box, you get a picture of the bust plus a write up about the statue. I'm actually not too crazy about the Spider-Man lettering they chose for this. Being that this was inspired by John Romita Sr's art, couldn't they have used the classic Amazing Spider-Man lettering? Maybe I'm nitpicking just a bit, but the new, modern Spider-Man lettering seems out of place on the packaging.

Here's the bust out of the package and what else can I say but this bust is awesome. It measures about 4 3/4" tall and is limited to 5,000 pieces. The statue was sculpted by Mike Hill. I'm not a statue collector, so I am unfamiliar with Hill's work, but he did a fantastic job on this piece. The bust looks like it jumped out of an Alex Ross piece. I love the eyes on it. It's not painted white like a lot of other Spider-Man busts and statues, but has that mirror like lens. Makes me wonder why the producer's of the 1970's TV series couldn't have done something similar.

Here's both profiles of the statue. I love how it looks like a mask. You can see the wrinkles on the neck and Peter's ears, nose and chin underneath the mask. Hill's attention to detail makes this bust even better than I could have dreamed.

Here's the back of the bust. It always freaks me out how the bust just ends into nothing like what you see where. Creepy.

An here is the certificate of authenticity that came with the bust. Mine is numbered 2059. I wonder if that is an actual John Romita Sr signature. I am leaning towards not, but it's still cool to have.

This actually might be my favorite Spider-Man piece in my Spidey collection. Owning this piece may actually get me to start picking up more statues and busts if I can find them at decent prices like at what I found this one for. I still want the full sized version and I will own one at some point. But for now, I am more than content to own this awesome bust and I'm really in no rush to grab the full sized version. It's funny how you can get attached to something so small, yet so awesome.

Amazing Superman Collection Makes Me Want Batman Figures

The other day, I was on YouTube, looking at videos of other collectors and their collections. As of late, I have been in a very "Superman" mood and was watching videos of Superman collections. I stumbled across a collector called stewmurray47. He is a Superman collector from England, I think. This guy has one amazing Superman collection. If you have the time, check out some of his videos. Here is the one that shows off his collection. It's about an hour, but I promise you, it is worth the time to view this fantastic collection.

Seeing that video in it's entirety, made me think about my collection, specifically, my Batman collection and all the stuff I would like to pick up and add to the collection. Statues, batmobiles, playsets are some of the things I have looked into adding, but for this blog, I am going to keep it to just action figures as they are what I have been looking at on eBay the most...and drooling over.

And because I am pretty lazy, I will list the 5 figures I really want to add to my collection in the near future. I will only list figures that have been previously been released and are affordable to my wallet. As much as I would give my soul for a  Hot Toys Michael Keaton Batman figure, I will be quite happy with the NECA figure I have on pre-order.

1-DC Direct New 52 Batman

Of all the New 52 DC Titles, hands down, Batman is the best book to read. Some people may say Green Lantern or Justice League would be, but I just happen to love reading the Batman titles. I was afraid that when DC planned this reboot that I would really dislike the direction they were going. I was wrong.Well, at least when it comes to Batman. Loved The Court Of Owls and Death In The Family stories and I eagerly await to read what happens next in the Batman world.

Some people had a problem with the new costumes, but I really didn't. Batman wearing shorts or not wearing shorts in his new outfit doesn't really matter to me. I really like the sculpt on this figure and  look forward to adding it to my collection at some point soon.

2-DC Direct 13" 1:6 Batman

This is one of the more higher end figures on my list, but it is so cool. I have seen this figure in stores when it was released, but the $79.99 price tag always had me backing away from it slowly. Had I known that Hot Toys would be even more expensive and that the price tag for this figure would grow, I would have gladly grabbed it at $80.00. This is what Famous Covers should have been.

Let me piggyback this figure with the one above since they are both 1:6 Batman figures

I think I want this one a little more because this is my favorite incarnation of The Batman. It's the one I grew up with in the 70's and 80's and the version I favor the most.

3-DC Direct Justice Batman

Alex Ross is one of my favorite artists and when I found out DC Direct was releasing a figure based on the graphic novel "Justice", which Ross illustrated, I knew I had to get it for the collection. A few years later, I still don't have it. In my defense, I can never find it and when I do, the price is pretty high. I will add this figure to my collection at some point soon.

4-DC Direct Super Friends Batman

As a kid, The Super Friends was my favorite cartoon and I never missed an episode when it aired on Saturday mornings on ABC. As an adult, I pick up the DVDs when I find them and enjoy a piece of my childhood. This was another of those "I have to have it" figures when I saw it, yet I still have not picked it up. But, I do have more than one option as this figure came solo, in a 2 pack with Scarecrow and in a four figure Batman box set. I have seen the box set and will fork over the 40.00 when I see it again.

5-DC Direct Batman/Superman Public Enemies Batman

I have always been a fan of Ed McGuinness and I absolutely love this figure based on the graphic novel. The sculpt looks exactly like the way McGuinness drew Batman. I enjoyed the graphic novel, so this figure is also a must for my collection. I should take time this weekend and see if the animated movie is on Netflix this weekend and check it out.

Now that I listed the 5 (o.k., 6) figures I want to add to my Batman collection, it's time to start looking for them before all you guys grab them before I can get my dirty mitts on them. I know I probably won't have a collection as big as the Superman collection stewmurray47 has, but I plan to have fun trying and these 5 figures will be the ones I start with.

5 Graphic Novels I Want To Read in 2012

Ok, I admit it. I'm behind on a lot of comic reading. I had taken a few years off from comics to concentrate on my Yankees collection. I have cards, autographs, bobbleheads, jerseys and a lot more in my collection. I'm at a point now where I want to catch up on all my favorite super heroes and lose myself in stories about heroes I never read before.


Recently, I was able to read graphic novels that I missed out on Like Secret Wars, Flashpoint, Identity Crisis, Killing Joke, Spiderman: Blue, I even revisted my childhood by reading Superman vs Spider-Man all over again.


I really enjoyed those books and it got me thinking about what other stories I'm missing out on. So, I did some snooping around as only I can. I found a whole bunch of books I want to read, but for the sake of this blog (and holding your intrest, dear reader), I've narrowed my choices to 5 must read graphic novels. Forgive me, if I barely know anything about these books. I'm sure most of you have read them and I feel less of a geek for not having read them.


Green Lantern: Brightest Day


I know absolutely nothing about this story. I have read Green Lantern: Rebirth and really enjoyed it. I also just watched Green Lantern on HBO on Demand and while I enjoyed it, I felt it could have been better. But it did light a spark in me to want to read more Green Lantern stories. I figured I'd start with the book I have been hearing so much about.


Green Lantern: Blackest Night


How can I read Brightest Day and not read Blackest Night? Again, I know nothing about this story, but I have seen some really cool figures from this graphic novel. My question to anyone of you readers who have read these, which graphic novel is the one to read first?


Crisis On Infinate Earths


Of all the graphic novels on this list, not having read this story in it's entirity shames me the most. I was reading comics regularly when this came out back in 1985. I even bought the issue where Supergirl was killed. I never got around to reading the full story. This is the one I am dying to read.


Green Arrow: Quiver


Now, I have never, ever read a Green Arrow story, nor have I ever wanted to. I never thought he was a character I'd be intrested in. But once I read Identity Crisis, I got to see what Green Arrow was all about and he intregued me. I ran across this graphic novel and it was written by one of my favorite writer/directors, Kevin Smith. I'm sold.


Marvels


I'm a huge Alex Ross Fan. I love his artwork.I also have Justice on my list of must reads. Each time I run across this book in some of my favorite comic shops, I always flip through it, admiring the artwork in this book. Now, its time for me to read the story Kurt Busiek wrote for this book.


I have vowed that 2012 would be the year I catch up on some much needed reading. The warm weather is coming up and there is nothing I love more than sitting out in a park with a good book. I have 5 books that I will be looking to put on my Kindle Fire and lose myself in some great comics.