STATUES 4-SALE! An IDOL PURSUITS - 6-Dimensions of Dr. Strange entry

Hey folks...
Long time, no blog!

Truthfully, I've had many the urge to type on about some recent Dr. Strange related stuff (not that I've had any time to actually READ any comics, mind you - but I do have a "to read" list piling up on loan by a friend).
Problem is... I've really no MEANS to blog unless I'm on these clunky tower machines deep in the recesses of the basement.

I'm working on getting them upgraded, but I surely miss the ease of my laptop.
Being able to blog at 2 am on a whim was a wonderful thing. I miss that.

Anyhoo... I just thought I'd toss a little "Progress Report" on some of the awesome eBay stuff that my helping Elf is putting up for sale / auction tonight on the eBay.

There WERE to be a huge wave of items:

- the first 10 Marvel Masterworks hardcovers - almost ALL 1st Editions from the late 1980's
as well as
- The ENTIRE set of the original Marvel Index series of trade magazine paperbacks
(some of those are rarer than a hen's tooth)

But as far as I have heard, those are still being processed (lots of pics and intricate desciptions are slowing down the works).

I'll give pics of those items at the very END of this post, since it doesn't seem like they'll be ready to go up for sale / auction this week.

What IS ready to go are statues of..

DOCTOR DOOM
(click to make LATVERIAN in size)



and

THE WATCHER
(click images to play intersteller voyeur)



These are two of my favorite pieces of "non-Doctor Strange" 6-Dimensions statuary.

My reasoning for having them in the first place is...
well, in the case of DOCTOR DOOM, I'm a big fan of the character and have nearly as much DR DOOM stuff as anything else in my collection.

I mean it. DOOM is freakin' AWESOME.

He's always been a favorite character (not even just as a villain), because he has the most multifaceted abilities, and beneath it all is a fragile man-child who would do anything to save his mother's soul from hell.
His entire history can be traced back to that one defining pursuit.
And as a by-product, he's always had the occult as a backdrop in his story and list of abilities.

To that end, he had battled Mephisto for decades, each All Hallow's Eve - to see if he could best the lord of hell for the freedom of his mother's soul. Always losing. Yet still striving forth.

He then managed to get Doctor Strange to help him win her freedom (in the most awesome DR. STRANGE / DR. DOOM - TRIUMPH and TORMENT graphic novel).

Doom is so fabulous, yet so defective.
How can you not love that?
He's sort of a darker side of the same coin as DR. STRANGE...
arrogant, superior, smug, at the zenith of his field - THEN... due to his own failings, he is cast down to the lowest ebbs of his very self and must climb back up to reach a higher plateau of greatness.

Strange achieved this through sacrifice, self-effacement and REDEMPTION.
Doom achieved this through domination, self-aggrandizement and REVENGE.

The fact that Doom and Strange have had only a few close interactions (team-up/ battles) over the years is astonishing. These two cats should always be going at it.
(Although, sadly, due to the fact that Strange usually is perceived as being waaaaay out of Doom's league magically, writers have usually had Doom trick Strange or catch him unawares in some blind-attack, in order to get Strange out of the way. I call bullshit on that, but hey... whatcha gonna do?)

I had purchased this Dr. Doom statue because of my overall fondness for the character, and frankly, will hate to see it go.
But go it must.

A few words on the item:
First off... It's freakin' HUGE.
A giant statue. Standing over 14 inches tall (yet it seems to tower far above that)!
Sculpted by Randy Bowen, it would make the perfect centerpiece to any comic fans collection!

It's in PERFECT condition, with a box that is also EXCELLENT!
From a smoke-free home, and only kept on display (for a short time) in a sealed glass display case.

-----

The WATCHER is a bust by BOWEN Studios and is so obviously based on the artwork of John Byrne (from his run on the Fantastic Four in the mid 1980's).

The Watcher is another VERY COOL character.
SURE, he makes no sense because of all the times he has broken the "Prime Directive" of the Watcher's code or whatever.
The dude just likes humans, and doesn't want us to get eaten by space critters.
Can't fault him for that.

My reason for having this bust is one of those things that just points out how nuts I am/was about this collection of mine.

For any of you out there who are familiar with the Marvel "alternative universe" take titled; "1602", in it, the DR. STRANGE analog has a very poignant meeting with UATU, the Watcher.
So, when I bought my 1602 Dr. Strange statues (both versions; regular and limited edition, natch) I felt that having a WATCHER statue to look over them would make sense.
So... that's how and why this big, bald beautiful bust came into my Sanctum Sanctorum Collection.

---------

As for those Index' and Masterworks volumes... these will have to lead off the NEXT wave (and I do hope that it's a veritable tsunami of stuff - LOTS of TPB's and whatnot) for NEXT week.
But, here are the pics:

- the first 10 Marvel Masterworks hardcovers - almost ALL 1st Editions from the late 1980's
These are the original printings, not the recent reprints.


- The ENTIRE set of the original Marvel Index series of trade magazine paperbacks.
These things are awesome.

Chock full of every tidbit of information about every single issue and character to appear
(up to the publishing date).
Some of the information in these is fascinating and they are VERY thorough.

Well... I'd better run now.
Much to do.

I'd imagine that the statues should be listed by some time tonight (Sunday May 31st, 2009).

Thanks for stopping by.
I'm looking to get an actual Doctor Strange related BLOG-POST in the works soon.
It's a bit difficult, however, what with the job searching and financial wrangling going on.

Wish me luck.

~P~

By the Hoary Hosts of the High-Speed Modem!

Hello once again, my friends.

This is just an update to let you know that while my helpers are working on getting my stuff up on the eBay, it's taking a bit longer than we had expected.

I used to blog (rather quickly, I might add, and mostly late at night) via the Macbook Pro laptop computer than I was given by my ex-employer.
It was a thing of beauty.

However, now that the machine has been lost to me (taken back by the job), I am left with a few very outdated tower machines (and a horrid Dell laptop that needs to be taken out into the field and given the "Office Space" copy machine treatment).

So, long story short... it's taking a little longer than expected to get things up and running.

However, I'd imagine that the first wave of items will be ready to go soon, and then it should be a constant stream of stuff.

I'm having them release to the masses some NON-Sanctum swag in the first few waves.
(y'know... just in case a miracle happens)

This is still primo stuff.
Lots of vintage swag, old out-of-print TPB's, hardcovers, games, toys, posters, statues, action figures, apparel, pinbacks and buttons, entire runs of comics (anything from SANDMAN, HELLBLAZER, STARMAN, MAGE, An unbroken run of X-MEN from # 95 all the way to the mid-late 1990's. And every other title known to geeks worldwide). Marvels, DC's, independents, oddities and rarities.
Silver age goodies. Bronze Age too. Modern titles and variants as well.

And it's not just comic stuff either.
I've got the original VERTIGO TAROT - in VG/NM condition, old TSR game modules and hardcover guides.

All stuff that I was supposed to have used as starter stock for a comic shoppe that we had wanted to open many years ago (hence the name; "Sanctum Sanctorum Comix").

THEN, when (and if I need to put) the Doctor Strange and my personal Sanctum Sanctorum Comix collection up for grabs... well... look out!

I have things in there that I had so fervently wished to share with the world via this blog.
Rarities, one-of-a-kinds, impossible-to-find stuff and some fairly common but still super-cool goodies - I get excited just thinking about it all.
I might be able to still blog about the stuff as it's going up for sale, but the orderly manner in which I was carefully crafting here (prior to all of this) may have to be sacrificed.

That's bothering me almost as much as the thought of having to unload it all.

As for me... I need to update my resume and continue looking for gainful employment.
If anyone out there knows of a place where a very creative, dedicated and detail oriented artist/ illustrator/ designer/ storyboard artist (and sometimes writer & voice-over guy) with extensive Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator (as well as other software and traditional hand-drawing) experience (as well as being web-savvy and a heck of a nice guy) can get a telecommuting gig (I'll be picking up the new laptop soon enough) - OR a good in-house position anywhere from Eastern PA to NYC... just send a note via the email addy on the sidebar.

Sadly, I have found it to be all too true:
It's sometimes not WHAT you know... but WHO you know.
And I know you people are some of the greatest I've "met" in years.

Thanks everyone.
Watch this space for more updates.

And EVENTUALLY, I'd like to get back to actual BLOGGING here.
(wouldn't THAT be nice?)

If ever I needed a hero... NOW would be the time.

Hello again, dear visitors to the Sanctum.

My most humble apologies for the long delay between posts, but, as you may have found by reading my most "recent" post [HERE], I have been downsized by my employer and there is a serious possibility that my wife and I (and our feline "children") could lose our house and potentially be homeless before long... unless I can get a good position (not too likely these days- especially since A) I'm primarily an illustrator - and those gigs are few and far between - and - B) I was telecommuting from my home studio/office for the past 3 and a half years) or can manage to sell off the (near)-entirety of my collection and other swag that we've got around here.

Since unemployment laws state that I could lose my benefits (which haven't even kicked in yet) if I even lift a finger to perform anything even remotely resembling "work" (whether it pays or not), I will have to let my wife (and possibly my brother) take care of all the sales aspects to this endeavor.

As for me, I need to search for actual work (most likely in a non-art-related field) and will be attempting to blog about the items that are going up on the eBay auction block.

Don't look for reviews of comics or any of my usual nifty history-lessons and such here for awhile.
It's been hard enough just trying to sleep without having Nightmare shocking me awake at 2am every night - in a cold sweat and paralyzed in the grip of fear - due to the reality of the situation.
I haven't read (nor can I really afford) any comics since the layoff happened.

It may be a few more days until anything goes up for auction.
This unemployment situation caught me completely flatfooted and we need some time to organize.

However, I will TRY to give blog-posts, giving details about the stuff that will be available.
And yes... there's a chance my Sanctum Sanctorum Comix collection - in it's entirety - may become a part of the sales parade.

Perhaps that is why I have it all --- so that my heroes may save us and our home from destruction.

All the best to you.

~P~

DOWN... but not OUT

Things may be a bit slow here at the SANCTUM for awhile.
As of April 30th, 2009, I have become the latest casualty in the "economic downturn" of America.

Having been "downsized" from my position as "the" Illustrator for a New York company, which I enjoyed for the past 6 years and 8 months, I will be spending a little time getting my particulars in order, and as such, will not be blogging as frequently as I once had.
At least not for a little while.

I have to contact the various agencies about unemployment compensation, credit counseling (or at least asking what our options are to be) and find out what I am to do about the mortgage (a modest one, since my wife and I were very realistic and reserved when we determined our price range for our home over 4 years ago - no McMansion here - unlike those who got in way over their heads and thus STARTED this whole economic shit-storm).

All heady stuff, which does not leave too much room for flights of fancy of fictional characters.
At least not any who are not of my own creation.

To make matters worse... the human resource bastards insisted that I return the laptop that they gave me a few years ago.
I REALLY grew attached to that thing.
I had hoped to have that as a part of my compensation (what little I was offered).

Sadly, even though it is now outdated a bit, it was a lot more powerful, faster and more up-to-date than my old tower computers.
I'm actually using it one last time to post this notice, because I TRIED to do so from one of my old towers, but the dinosaur was too s-l-o-w... so as soon as the UPS guy arrives to collect this from me, I'll be stuck with those ancient behemoths.
I'll have to address that situation as well.

Fret not, however.

I WILL RETURN, and will be posting stuff here before too long.
Just give me a few days to iron out the big wrinkles of my life.

Then, I'll be back.
Don't be surprised if you see Ads here though.

I don't want to do that, but might have to.

And... for anyone who might feel inclined, I'll toss a little pity tip jar on the sidebar for PayPal donations to the cause.
Consider it a "Good Karma Generator".

As for me, I also need to get back to some old personal creative projects that I had let go by the wayside for lo' the past decade or two while "workin' for 'the man' ".
Time to show the world MY creations.

Perhaps, one day, a fan will devote a blog to my work.
How cool would that be?