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?

A World of Arcane Tortures! (that you'll really enjoy!)

And Lo!
It shall come to pass that the Earth shall be engulfed in the heat of the Sun - until it become like unto a Living HELL!!!

I don't know where you are reading this from, but HERE, in the Northeast of the USA (NY & PA are where I share my time) it has been 90 degrees Fahrenheit for the past few days.
And it's been too hot to do much else but sit and watch my eyeballs melt.

In APRIL.

And it SNOWED a mere week or two beforehand (on my birthday, as it usually does).
So, don't try telling me that we aren't near some kind of mystical apocalypse.
I'm not buyin' it.

What I DO recommend buying (if you have yet to do so) is the new 3rd season - in DVD or Blu-Ray (or, for that matter, the first two seasons as well) of the VENTURE BROS animated series!
I received it for my birthday and have been diggin' the hell out of it!
(Of course, I HAVE to get Venture Bros stuff... due to my "6-Dimensions of Dr. Strange" fetish.)

You should get it too!
(product sales carousel presented for your shopping convenience)



The primary reason (well, aside from it being 1,000 kinds of awesome,) is that it has it's very own version of DOCTOR Stephen STRANGE; Master of the Mystic Arts, in the personage of DOCTOR Byron ORPHEUS; Master Necromancer. *

I could post pics and clips here all day, but I'll just toss up ONE (a montage of some the good Dr's earlier appearances) and a link to more of Orpheus' video goodness {HERE}.

Enjoy the clips, but if you DO wish to acquire any of the DVD's, CD's or swag, if you would make your purchase from my blog, I'd be most grateful.




*
In many interviews and commentary tracks, the creative team behind the show; Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, have stated emphatically, that Dr. Orpheus IS their version of Dr. Strange.
And once you've watched and heard Orpheus in action, you can't help but imagine that voice and mannerism for Strange.
Try it. You won't be able to help yourself.

CLEA LOVES SEX - 3rd Input: It's All About the Benjamin!

---

*WARNING*
This blog-post contains some mild sexual innuendo.

---

The third in a series of entries wherein we take a look at Clea's desire for ...er... physicality - (previous input in this series can be found at these links: 1st entry & 2nd entry).

---

This entry - is from Doctor Strange; Master of the Mystic Arts # 18, by Steve Englehart and Gene Colan.

---

As someone who spent most of her long (lifespan which, as a Faltinian-based dweller of the Dark Dimension is far longer than an Earth-616) life in a realm of semi-solid quasi-reality, under the strict yoke of a tyrannical demon-sorcerer, Clea had no contact with men. At least, seemingly not until she came to Earth to spend her days as the disciple and lover of Dr. Stephen Strange.

THEN, she couldn't get enough.

However, as we'll see in this installment, if Strange is too preoccupied to properly "attend" to his young lady-friend, she's more than capable of entertaining other... "options".

Perhaps, the most oft-broached incident was where, while on a journey throughout time, Dr. Strange and Clea met Benjamin Franklin; one of the "founding fathers" of these United States of America. *

So, while Strange is laying some history on Clea, he is also, unknowingly trumpeting the cause for a rival suitor.
Strange sparks Clea's interest in Ben, but it obviously doesn't take long for the silver-haired (and silver-tongued) elder statesman to fan that spark into a flame.

---

It doesn't help that Stephen, much like a businessman who spends too much time at work, away from a young bride, is always preoccupied by one thing or another.

Like, say... a giant sea-monster with the power of a time-traveling cosmic wizard?
Yeah. Little stuff like that.

---

So, it's not long before Clea grows tired of playing second-fiddle for Strange's attentions.

Most busy men understand this point, right? How many times have you had a conversation similar to this with your significant other?

Of course, it is only a hair's breadth away from her uttering these next few words:

"Do you love me?"
Trust me... there is only one way to answer that question; "Yes." If you put any other words after that, especially starting with "But...", you're just asking for trouble.

No matter WHAT it is that you might offer forth as a reason/excuse/explanation for your seeming lack of attention, your cabin will fall silent for the night as well.

---

Now, Benjamin Franklin was a wise, wily and womanizing man... with a keen eye and a honed sense to clue him into the best ways to approach ANY negotiations.
Just see how he's eyeing Clea. He knows that any rocking of the boat last night had nothing to do with Strange.
And besides... Doc would soon be occupied with other things. Other wet holes to fill, so to speak.

---

While Strange heads off to deal with the life-threatening danger, Benjamin offers Clea a little... old-world "hospitality".
Now, remember, while inside his cabin the scene is one of refined elegance, outside things are far less than idyllic. But that doesn't throw Ben off his game.
Nor does Clea seems ill affected, but that may be attributed to Ben's "bedside manner".

---

But what is Strange doing all this while?
Oh, not much...
Just battling a sorcerer/monster at the bottom of the sea. A sea that, now that the evil power has been defeated, the spell holding the wall of water at bay has been negated.

Rising to the surface, Strange has a little too much "water on the brain" to be able to perceive the obvious. At best, all he can think is a feeble "Huh?"... as Clea helps handle Ben's dinghy.

---------

* In a disappointing turn of editorial/new-writer edict, this entire awesome story arc by Steve Englehart (and edited by Archie Goodwin) was negated by new writer/editor Marv Wolfman with a clumsy retro-fit making the evil sorcerer Stygyro responsible for all the recent events "to cause Strange to doubt himself".

Dr. Strange; Master of the Mystic Arts # 19
Marv Wolfman / Alfredo Alcala

So, Ben Franklin never made it with Clea. It was Stygyro (either in disguise or an illusion) who wooed her.

OR, it truly WAS Ben Franklin on the ship, but everything that happened between he and Clea (perhaps on the ship or most definitely) in the issue afterward, was Stygyro.

Still, Clea didn't know that.


(I'm sure this will once again attract many google searchers who are searching for more... explicit content. These "Clea Loves Sex" posts tend to have higher hit-counts than many other entries. I've also noticed that it can affect the Amazon selections in my 2nd sales window on the sidebar. So, if you're reading this post and images of a sexual nature cause you some dismay, do not look at the 2nd Amazon sales box - below the longer 1st box, which is filled with safe comicy goodness.)

A visit to the Dimension of Dreams - or - I may need to seek counseling for this.

If "blogging about blogging is a sin" then "blogging about other bloggers is circle-of-hell worthy".
Factor in that the event which I am about to relate occurred in a dream, and we're on our way to a scenario of Virgil-guided proportions.

Yes. That's right. I've been thinking of the blog so much lately that I'm not only dreaming of my content, but also the other bloggers with whom I may share some common interest.

Trust me. I'm just as disturbed by that as you are.

I'll throw the basics of the dream here for amusement's sake, and perhaps to save on therapist fees.

---

I was supposedly meeting with Mike Sterling for some sort of comic's related reason.
Probably just a gathering to shoot the shit about comics (discussions of a more physical variety than the two virtual "conversations" I had posted here quite recently - seen [HERE] and [HERE]) .

It seems that we were meeting on Sterling's west coast turf, as it was more rural-suburbia than my old New York City (or Long Island) environs and less rural-"out-in-the-woods" of my own more recent PA habitat; the view out his dreamscape house's back door - beyond the neighbor's expansive yard, with their tan and gold long-haired setter pacing by the chain-link fence - showed mountainous regions on the horizon.

Mikester was expecting an additional party member to show up as well, someone we'd both never met, so while he was otherwise occupied getting refreshments (or something) he thought it would be funny if I answered the door, pretending to be him.

However, since neither of us had met the expected individual, not only would he not know that I wasn't Mike Sterling, but I wouldn't know if he was the guest Mike was expecting!

So, when I answered to the door and saw someone standing there, and I'm trying to figure out who he is... my own charade was being exposed as well.

However, it was (supposedly) Neilalien at the door, and he (- as would anyone who has read Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin long enough, and as such has seen a photo of his face-) knew that it wasn't Mikester answering the door, but somehow, instinctively - with eyes narrowed and a sidelong glance cast my way, as he took to the few steps on the front porch to enter the house - surmised my identity.

Now, as for Neilalien, I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting personally, and have no idea what he looks like, and so my mind gave him the appearance of a late 20-something to early 30's white guy, standing about 5 foot 9 inches tall, approximately 140 lbs with sandy brown hair, cut short and sorta spikey (but not too much so, nor styled as such via gel or any such "product". Just not long enough to lie down upon itself).
(I know... where the hell did my mind pull ANY of that from?!?
For all I know he's grey with giant eyes and spindly arms with a penchant for probes, but my mind gave him those aforementioned features. Just roll with it.)

What I hadn't known was, there were to be many others in attendance that day; I can only gather who were all fellow bloggers, commenters and comic's aficionados alike.

By that point, my sleeping mind just assigned random faceless features to the others.
Sometimes they'd have features and faces, other times not.
I had the feeling that they were supposed to be the many bloggers whose works I read on a consistent basis (see the blogroll on my sidebar for many of them), but no names were readily given.

All I know is by this point in the "party" I had sat back and took the position of "observer" and just watched the happenings. I'm not as "bona fide" a blogger as many of they may be, and I know that I felt as if I should stand back and defer to the experienced voices in the room - perhaps to learn a thing or two.
Someone had produced forth a portfolio collection of published comic pages, someone else a stack of comics from a backpack, and still another, hands waving furiously, described his treatise on the various subjects of his interest.

By the time that I was being addressed and asked to step forth, the sense of unreality had set in.
I'm well attuned with my subconscious enough to know that when an anomaly presents itself in the "reality" of the dream that my sleeping self recognizes it as such, and then, knowing full well that I am dreaming, does one of three things:

• Ignores it and just rolls with it (a rarity for me - I'd have to be REALLY tired to do so - which I was. I was utterly wiped out last night - or else the whole Neilalien thing would have been enough to raise the mental alarm right then and there).

• Changes and replays the events in numerous ways to seek the most satisfying course of events. (My very own "choose-your-own-adventures" book, so to speak.)
  

• Signals me to wake up.

This time around, I awoke - fully knowing what I had dremt, but slowly losing some of the specifics (except what I related here) as my dream self dissipated after it departed the dream dimension.

So, what's the point of all this?
I have NO idea.

It was just an interesting thing to share with you all.

I've been fully aware that I've strayed away from what I should be blogging about lately, my content as of late has been of a more personal nature (recollections of past histories, as well as some future content I'm gathering; based on comic artwork that I drew, long ago in the dim past of my pre-to-early teenage years, as well as some stuff from the past decade or so - ALL Dr. Strange-related imagery, of course) and as such my mind connected the blog, the content (if you note, all the things that were being discussed and shown in the dream-party are things that I'm working on for the blog) and the "audience" all in one.

I need to take a deep breath and continue writing my multi-part treatise on "the Search for, Nature and History of the Sorcerer Supreme". However, I know that it's exactly because I haven't finished that series that my mind has been plagued by thoughts of the blog - reaching even into my slumber.

This must have been the interweb equivalent of dreaming of standing naked in front of your class if you hadn't finished writing that report on world history, or something.

However, I promise - I will not share any naked dreams here.
I mean, I wouldn't want to give anyone else nightmares.



By the way, Mike Sterling and Neilalien both produce excellent blogs that I visit daily - as should you!