An Amazing Addition To The Spider-Man Collection

With my must see movie of 2014 set to open here in the US next Friday, I thought I would show off my newest addition to my Spider-Man collection. I have actually been wanting these ever since I saw some preview pictures of them before the Blu Ray of the Amazing Spider-Man was released. I recently saw them on eBay for a price that was too good for me to pass up, so I bought them.

These PVC statues were sold as part of a box set with the Amazing Spider-Man 3D Blu Ray. I love when you pick up a Blu Ray and there is a little something extra in it. I saw the Superman statue that was included in the French release of Man Of Steel and I was hoping we would get something similar. I wanted this set, but when I saw the sticker price on the box set, I figured I could get the statues separately off eBay at some point and put the box back. It took me a while to get them at the price I was willing to pay, but it was well worth the wait as these are pretty cool.

The sculptor did a great job capturing the likeness of Spider-Man. He looks exactly how he did in the movie, right down to the silver in his shoes and the yellow in his eyes. I didn't get what they were going with when they went with this look, but after seeing the movie I understood it. It looks like they are going with a costume that is closer to how he looks in the comics in the new movie.

The Lizard also came out great. You can see a bit of Rhys Ifans in the face sculpt. You could also see the color and texture of the Lizard in this statue as well, which really helps this statue stand out. When I first saw the Lizard, I couldn't understand why he didn't have a snout like he did in the comics. But, if you look in his earlier incarnations, you can see that he barely had a snout and I think that's what the designers were going for here. Again, I really didn't have a problem with a snout-less Lizard since I loved Ifans performance as Dr. Connors/The Lizard.

I'm thrilled I finally was able to add these two pieces to my Spider-Man collection. They may be just PVC statues, but I am very pleased with how good they look and they will be displayed prominently in my collection.

With the new movie coming out, we should see a flood of Spider-Man related merchandise. I cannot wait to see what will be flooding the shelves in the stores. I know we will get action figures, POP figures, bobbleheads, statues, t shirts and other cool merchandise that will tempt me to dive into my pocket for my wallet. If it's anything like we got for the first movie, then I will be a happy Spidey fan.

Comic Book Marketplace Haul Part 3-Yes, More Spidey Books!

Now, I probably should have used a John Romita Spidey or a Todd McFarlane Spider-Man picture considering the 2 trade paperbacks I bought feature their work, but damn, I love Steve Ditko's Spider-Man so much that I had to use a pic of it for today's blog.

I had decided to concentrate on buying more trade paperbacks and graphic novels than picking up single issues. My reasoning for that was for because my comics always seem to get harmed in some way. You can imagine my anger when I discovered a leak in my apt during a recent rain storm and that leak spilled rain water all over my comic collection. Luckily, my Spider-Man and what few Batman books I had were away from the leak but the damage had been done. Now, whatever titles I read are usually in trade form. Going to the comic book marketplace, I wanted to keep an eye out for any trades that caught my attention. I found these two books and took them home with me.

I did say I loved Steve Ditko's Spider-Man. I have to tip my cap off to the man who co-created Spidey and drew him for 38 issues of Amazing Spider-Man and one issue of Amazing Fantasy, but to me, the greatest artist to ever work on the Amazing Spider-Man is John Romita. Romita drew so many great Spider-Man stories and some of them are in this book: John Romita Spider-Man Visionaries. Romita drew my very favorite Spider-Man story. The 2 part story, titles 'How Green Was My Goblin" and "Spidey Saves The Day!" has the Green Goblin finding out Spider-Man's true identity as well as revealing himself to be Norman Osborne. The Goblin's origin is also revealed and there is an epic battle at the end of the story. Another great Spider-Man story, "Spider-Man, No More", which would be part of the basis of Spider-Man 2 as well as others stories are included in this trade. As soon as I saw it and flipped through it, I knew it would be mine. the 4.00 price tag helped.

I also picked up one of the great stories in the Spider-Man mythos. Torment was written and drawn by Todd McFarlane in 1990 to kick off the new Spider-Man title. It's the story of Spider-Man hunting the Lizard as the Lizard has gone off on a killing spree. The first issue alone would sell 2.5 million copies, solidifying McFarlane's popularity. It's a story, surprisingly, I never had a chance to read in it's entirety. Now I will be able to. Then, I can sleep peacefully at night without muttering "Torment, Torment". Another four bucks bought back my soul.

I cannot wait to be able to open up these books and lose myself in the world of Spider-Man. I look forward to seeing Spider-Man battle the likes of The Green Goblin, Kingpin and The Rhino. Then, I can go into the sewers and watch Spidey battle the Lizard in one of the great Spider-Man stories of the 90's. For the next few months, I will be overloaded on Spidey stories. I can't think of a better way to spend my quiet evenings.