Free Comic Book Day

For all of you who have not been to a Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) event, here is my 2 cents to help you plan your May 7th, 2011.

The first thing to know about FCBD is where to go. I assume you got a favorite local comic shop, but just in case you don't, go to http://comicshoplocator.com/ and find your local shops. You might want to plan to go to a couple shops if you have them in your area.

Next thing is to GO EARLY!!!! If you have a shop like ours, it gets packed! And not only huge lines, but they'll run out of the comics! It's best to go early.

This one is probably different for all shops, but many will limit how many you can have. Our local shops limit customers to 3 different comics... unless... Comix Connection (one of our local shops) does a food drive along with FCBD. For every canned food item a customer brings, that person gets an additional comic! That's an all around great deal! You probably want to check with your shop ahead of time so that you know how many you'll be getting. Of course, you can always go to another shop to get more too.

Something else to note. The free comics are broken into 2 tiers. Many of the smaller shops will not get both tiers since it's all about how many they order. So there is be a chance that you won't see all the comics at your local store.

Another awesome thing about FCBD is that many shops run great deals on everything else. You can pick up back issues and trades at great prices. Oh, and many times the shops will have artists in the store too. You can get some cool artwork (for a price) while you're getting your comics. Check out this page to see if your shop is listed http://www.freecomicbookday.com/signings.asp.

One more thing before I list my picks for FCBD. This is a kid friendly event, so many of the free comics are for kids. You'll probably see lots of parents there with their kid(s).

Ok, on to the comics. You should definitely check out http://www.freecomicbookday.com/comics.asp They list all of the freebies. Here are my personal picks for FCBD:

Amazing Spider-Man
Super Dinosaur (I'm a big Robert Kirkman fan!)
Dark Crystal / Mouse Guard (I'm also a big Dark Crystal fan - If you don't know it, go Netflix the movie)

Atomic Robo (Pick. Up. This. Book. - Super fun comic. Always a favorite)
Civil War Adventures (My father-in-law loves reading about the Civil War)
Intrepid EscapeGoat / Stuff of Legend (Since we did the Stuff of Legend episode, I'll be getting this one)

Here are my maybes:

Elric: The Balance Lost (Looks interesting - I'll have to take a peek at it)
Darkwing Duck (heard good things about this series)
Captain America / Thor (Probably doesn't tie-in to any continuity - We'll see...)
Bongo (The Simpson comics are always fun - I might pick it up)
I.C.E. (After reading the few preview pages, this is my last maybe...)

And I have to mention the Green Lantern book. It's a reprint from the Green Lantern: Rebirth series. The only reason I would read this is to get the overall concept to Flashpoint.

This is a great time to find new comics to read. Bill and I got into Atomic Robo because of FCBD.

To sum it all up:
1. Get your shop's lowdown ahead of time (amount of free issues, if they'll have them all, etc)
2. GO EARLY
3. Pick comics that look interesting, you never know what you may like

Selling Magic The Gathering Cards

What you'll see below is a modified version of what I put on ebay. The decks/piles of cards I'm selling are Black, Blue, Green, Red, and White. Email me at victor@exploringthemultiverse.com if you want to buy any.

Magic The Gathering - 5 Different Color Lots
Each pile contains a MINIMUM of 80 commons, 10 uncommons, and 3 rares. I say MINIMUM because I've added TONS of bonuses. Read more below about the Artifacts, Non-Basic Land, and Multi-Color cards.
Be sure to read the whole description so that you know how I organized all the cards. I am selling off my complete MTG collection so I have enough money for an upcoming Comic Book Convention. I've done my best to organize my entire collection so that you don't get screwed over with duplicates and other crap. It has taken me over 30 hours of sitting in my basement to organize the cards by Color, Set, and individual card. Seriously, I've spent hours organizing. I see too many ebay stores that are selling bulk cards in giant lots that tell you, "Since there are so many cards, there are bound to be duplicates." Well, they haven't put the time into it. This is how I organized the piles: First by color. Then by the Set the card belongs in. Then I went through each pile and gathered together the duplicates. When I made stacks of 100, I made sure to put a maximum of 2 duplicates per pile. The only way you'll get more than 2 of a particular card is if the same card is in another set. I tried my best to catch any duplicate cards that were in another set, but just in case there were any I missed, I put a couple more cards in each pile. My next step was to put in so many commons, uncommons, and rares. I've been playing since Revised Edition, so I've collected a big mix of cards (I stopped playing around the Time Spiral block, but dabbled just a little after that). Once I was done with each pile, I wrapped each stack with strips of paper. This secured each stack and made sure that I didn't mix them up.
Artifacts, Non-Basic Land, and Multi-Color cards
My original plan was to make separate auctions for these cards. I went through all the steps to separate and organize them. But after I was done, I decided to keep it simple. I decided to have only 5 auctions, 1 for each basic color. As of this moment, I have yet to organize my Blue cards, but I need to get these auctions rolling so I can get ready for this convention. I've made sure to set aside a certain amount of extras for the Blue Card auction. But anyways, I've decided to add to each "100 card" lot by throwing in these extra cards. So you will DEFINITELY get more than 100 cards! I'll do my best to put cards with corresponding colors (if a multi-color uses white, red, and black, I won't put it with green).
Rares and Pictured Cards
Obviously I can't list off every single card because each stack is different. I took a picture of some of the rares that are in each lot. Be sure to click each picture for a larger version. My friend told me that I could get more money if I sold the rares separate, but I don't have time to make all the different auctions. Plus, I want to be done with these cards. My wife already bitches at me for taking up all this space. Some rares are worth $1 and others go up to $20. Oh, and before I forget, most of these cards have been played. Some of them were kept in card sleeves, but most were played with. I actually played Magic in the past, I wasn't buying and selling to make money.
Click each picture to see the larger version!
The reason I put pictures of card boxes and sleeves, is because I'll be getting rid of them too! If you buy multiple piles of cards, I might throw in a box or some card sleeves. I'll have no use for them anymore. Depeding on how many cards you buy, the box size will be different. Of course, I only have so many boxes, so it's on a first come basis. You can see in the other picture that the piles are in 2 long rowed card boxes (i'm not sure what they're exactly called). Those will be going to 1 or 2 lucky buyers as well.
Shipping and all the "Small Print" Stuff
Here is my overall view on Shipping and Handling. I only charge what it costs to ship! I don't want to make money from the "Handling" part. You are paying for the cards and exact shipping. If you buy more than one pile of cards, I will MOST DEFINITELY combine shipping. The post office already screws us over with shipping costs, so I want to keep the cost as low as possible. If you DO NOT want me to send you the bonus boxes/sleeves because it might take the shipping cost up, please be sure to let me know!! I'd prefer to ship to U.S. only but if you really want to buy some cards and you're not in the U.S., message me. You'll have to cover all the shipping costs of course. I'll only take payments through Paypal. If you have any questions, be sure to contact me! I'll be sure to update the listing if I have to.

Green Lantern Trades - Reading Order

Green Lantern "Rebirth" TPB [0]
Green Lantern Corps "Recharge" TPB [0]
Green Lantern Corps: To Be a Lantern [0]
Green Lantern "No Fear" TPB [0]
Green Lantern: Revenge of the Green Lanterns TPB [0]
Green Lantern: Wanted: Hal Jordan TPB [0]
Green Lantern Corps: The Dark Side of Green TPB [0]
Green Lantern "The Sinestro Corps War" vol 1 TPB [0]
Green Lantern "The Sinestro Corps War" vol 2 TPB [0]
Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps TPB [0]
Green Lantern Corps: Ring Quest TPB [0]
Green Lantern: Secret Origin HC [0]
Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire TPB [0]
Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns HC [0]

What the Hell? A new blog post?

That's right kiddos! A new blog post! 

So, I finally got the chance to pick up my comics on a Wednesday.  I usually pick them up once a month and on a weekend.  Since I was in the area yesterday, I figured that I'd swing over to the LCS. Here are my thoughts on a Wednesday haul.

Part of me hated it and part of me loved it.  Why on Earth would I hate it? Money.  Or the lack of money.  So many new books staring me in the face saying "HEY! HEY! You can jump in on this issue!" All those damn Batman books trying to lure me in.  Batman almost had me too.  Good thing I thought of my wife or I would have spent more money than I should have.  Obviously the other part of me loved it because I got my typical books fresh off the stand.

If you're one of those common comic buyers, you may have no understanding of my feelings.  You're saying "Why wouldn't you buy your comics every Wednesday?" My answer:

Time / Dinner / Wife / Gas Prices / Money / Hungry  - In that order

It takes TIME to cook DINNER for my WIFE. And if I did pick up my comics every week, she would say "do you know what the GAS PRICES are these days?  do you have extra MONEY to pay for gas and your comics?  And I haven't eaten since 11:45am.  I'm HUNGRY."

I love Fallout