Back Issue Binge
Thor Annual #9 (1981) - While Odin plays chess against Dormammu as representatives of Order and Chaos, Thor battles Umar in the Dark Dimension. Old school adventure by Chris Claremont, of all people. Really, I had no idea that he had written any Thor.
Thor Annual #11 (1983) - Though it says "Untold Tales in the Life of the Thunder God" on the cover it is mostly just more detailed accounts of things that had either been passingly mentioned or even shown before including the birth of Thor, the creation of Mjolnir, Thor's earning of Mjolnir, and Thor's exile as Don Blake. Still, it would be an excellent "Tales of Asgard" thing for anybody just getting to know Thor.
What If? volume 2 #40 - What if Storm had remained a thief? A fairly strong tale written by one of my favorite writers, Ann Nocenti. There are some plot holes but fewer ones than are evident in most What If? tales. Characterization is very on target, and should be since Ann edited the X-Men in the time period this tale is set.
What If? volume 2 #45 - What if Barbara Ketch had become Ghost Rider? It's difficult to know if the characterization is off or not considering how little of Barbara was seen before she was killed in the regular comics. The most interesting thing about this is that years later in Ghost Rider #-1 it was revealed that Barbara actually was the Ghost Rider before Danny, and that was the reason she was killed in the first issue of his series. Written by Ron Marz.
What If? volume 2 #60 - A What If X-Men Wedding Album. Somehow I missed this when it first came out, I typically got all of the X-Men related What If?s. This one came out at the same time as X-Men #30, the wedding of Scott and Jean, and explores three different alternate realities which was probably a mistake. Each tale had less and less room to be explored so each tale was progressively looser. Overall it was an OK early outing by current fan favorite scribe Kurt Busiek.
total spent: $7.00
I was sorely tempted by a signed hardcover collection of the first Dirty Pair mini-series, it's certainly a rarity as it is the only hardcover I am aware of being done by Eclipse comics and I don't see it listed in the Overstreet guide. But $35 (they were willing to go down to $30) is a little much for something I already have twice over: I have the initial mini-series itself as well as the 10th anniversary collection put out by Dark Horse Comics. Dammit all, though, I'm still tempted.