Saturday, May 30, 2009

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~

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I still have my Dr. Doom Statue; but I think I ended up throwing away all my Marvel indexes because of a thing called the Internet.

~P~ said...

Well, YEAH!
The Interwebs have made MANY an item "obsolete" from a purely reference point of view.

However, there are still collectors out thre who just love to hold these things and see the artwork that might be exclusive to them or read the editorial pieces.

And that's just these Index' I'm referring to now.
Not even getting into the MANY other aspects of the history and culture of comics.

Many a day I'd just love to while away the hours knee deep in old reference magazines and whatnot... just soaking in the nostalgia and history of it all.

That's the difference between many collectors/ historians and those who are "only" readers.
(not that there's ANYTHING wrong with "just" reading. No one ever said that obsession HAD to be a part of this hobby. But the collector's mind-set does loom large at times.)


As for the DOOM statue... it IS an awesome piece. Isn't it?

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