Mail Call For 11.9.23

An odd mix of things in this latest Mail Call. Some gap-filling, some impulse buys, a variant, and a little bit of odd nostalgia.

First up, the odd nostalgia. I’m not sure what it was, but something made me think about this pair of oddball annuals, and because they were lost to the ages, I decided to reacquire them.

Of course, one of the reasons I enter every comic I own into a database is so that I can keep track of what I have. That only works, however, if you actually, you know, check.

Turns out that only one of these was lost to the ages, so now I have two copies of #6.

Oh well; I can just consider them variants, as now I have the Direct edition and the Newsstand edition. Or I can just admit that I screwed up and deal with it.

Up next is something that I kept forgetting about even though I was very interested in reading it. (Paul Levitz! Writing for Marvel! Also, Alan Davis!)

Missed it when it was new, forgot to look for it after it was collected, then was reminded and ordered it.

Preordered this variant a long time ago, but apparently it wasn’t released at the same time as the regular issue. Or at least the seller didn’t have it then. But I have it now.

I was late to the party with collecting Artifact, Artist, and Artisan Editions, so there are lot out there that I missed when they were released. They’re pricey when they’re new, and even pricier when they aren’t. So when I learned of this softcover, lower-priced edition, I went for it. I’d still prefer the full-sized hardcover – though not enough to pay the prices I’ve seen – but this will do nicely.

And finally, the gap-filling.

There will, of course, be more things arriving in the mail, but that’s it for this round.

Born and raised in the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Jon Maki developed an enduring love for comics at an early age.