A quick trip to 84 Mart March 4th 2016

Right at 2 years ago one of my neighbors leased out what use to be a corner store about 3 miles from my house. His nickname is Sarge,because he was a Sargent in the USMC.He is an older retired gentleman. And he opened up 84 Mart. Which is a junk store.

I had just woken up. And needed to run to Dollar General to get something for lunch. When my father asked to to take this set of 6 wine glasses to the 84 Mart and give them to Sarge. Some friend of the family gave my parents a wine rack and then wine glasses,which have the New Orleans Saints logo painted on them.My mother doesn't drink at all. And while Dad does drink wine sometimes he has no need for wine glasses. So I took the box of glasses and headed out.

After grabbing something to make later on for lunch and a drink at Dollar General I pulled into 84 Mart's parking lot. It was a nice day,the sun was shinning but thanks to a nice breeze it wasn't hot. Sarge was sitting outside the store talking to some lady. I walked up and after him asking how my father's garden and orchard was going I handed him the wine glasses. Making sure to let him know they are free. "Looks like you got a bunch of stuff in since last time I was here. Gonna go look around." I turned on my mp3 player and listened to the newest episode of the CU Podcast while looking thru shelf after shelf of household nicknack's,glasses and assorted ceramic oddities.

There was nothing out front outside the store that caught my eye. So I walked into what use to be a 2 car garage. In which Sarge has packed right at 30 CRT TVs. of all sizes. Plus 4 or 5 older desktop computers.Once again seeing nothing I really wanted I went into the store.

Looked thru the toys and DVD/VHS/CD/video game sections. Nothing at all.So went to the big shelf he puts most of the books on. Normally he wants a buck for a hardback and 50 cents for a paperback.Last time I was in the store he had at least 30 of the hardcover Nancy Drew books from the late 60s to the late 70s.My lady is wanting to collect them so I planned on grabbing a few this trip. I looked thru every shelf and all the boxes around the shelving unit and there is no Nancy Drew books left. Oh well. Then at the bottom of a box packed with old Nat Geos and Playboy magazines I see a larger than normal hardcover with an almost totally black cover.I pull it out and now I have found the first thing I am gonna buy.

I am sure a bunch of yall reading this will remember those Time Life Book series. They had books on all kinds of stuff. And were advertised on TV all the time. IIRC you got the first book free then every month or 2 months got sent the next book in the series. My maternal Grandfather has the Time Life World War II and Western series. I can vaguely remember the commercials of the Time Life Books True Crime series. And with this one being about serial killers I had to grab it.

The books were usually not that thick. And had lots of big high quality pictures.The Time Life Books were nice looking but slightly overpriced coffee table books.So thinking this would be a buck I put it beside me in my buy pile.

Click on the picture to see a bigger version. But as this entry on Albert Fish shows the book is a combo of pictures and text. And to me reads and looks a bit like a slightly classier National Enquirer.

 Of course a book on serial killers has to have something on Ed Gein and The Boston Strangler.

The Son of Sam David Berkowitz on the left and the start of chapter 4 on the right. Each chapter is given a one word title.

I have so far only flipped thru this book twice since I got it a few days ago. I am actually reading a biography I bought when I went to 84 Mart last month.But once I finish that bio this is the next book I am reading.I might even check abebooks and see how much the other volumes in this Time Life Books True Crime series will run me.

And speaking of biographies....

 Yep got the Hardy Boyz WWE biography. You can kind of see that the dust jacket has a 2 inch tear on the upper left corner. I put some scotch tape on the backside of the dust jacket to try to prevent it from ripping anymore in that area.

That sticker on the upper left corner has the book costing right at 25 bucks.I am wondering if this book belonged to the same person who had the Adam "Edge" Copeland biography I got last time at 84 Mart.

 I find it kind of humorous that in this picture Matt Hardy looks a lot like Wesley George,and Jeff looks a bit like Wesley's twin brother Lesley. The Georges were a set of twins I went to school with for almost all 12 years.

 Remember when WWF/WWE had good tag teams? And you got some legit 4 star classics with the Hardyz vs the Dudleyz or Edge & Christian.

I am guessing this chapter covers when Matt and Jeff were feuding. It was a story line we all knew would happen one day. But when it finally did the results were kind of just average. Matt and Jeff didn't seem to be really into the story and stuff.

For $5 bucks or less I will buy pretty much any wrestling biography if I don't already own it. And finding one about one of my favorite modern tag teams was a nice bonus.

I was actually about to head outside and hand Sarge $2 for the 2 books then go home. When below the toy shelving unit I see what appeared to be a board game box. I squat down and pull it out and found.....

Yep they made a Turner Classic Movies Scene It? DVD game. Years ago I got the TV Scene It as a X-mas gift.Then back when Borders was going out of business my mother got me the Marvel Scene it in the "limited" tin. Which had like another dvd full of questions,more cards and best of all a few extra playing pieces.

Of course I opened it up and glanced to make sure all of the stuff or at least most of it was in there. From a quick glance it appeared to be complete. I even took the DVD out of the sleeve and check out the bottom of it closely for scratches. And there was none.

 On the left is the board.Which is folded up into the short game mode. I do enjoy that the Scene It? series has made the board so you can play either a short game,normally about 20 to 30 minutes tops.Or the long game which can take over an hour.On the right is the instructions.

                                      
 The upper left corner is a leaflet advertising TCM's monthly channel guide and magazine.I have read an issue or two and if you are into pre 1950s cinema it is worth the cost.The bottom left is a Scene it? product catalog.But the oddest thing is what is taking up the right side. It  is directions for the HBO Scene It? DVD game.

 Upper left is the die used in the game. Upper right is the box with all the questions.This appears to be missing a few cards. I am guessing this because my other two Scene It? games the card fill the box completely.This set of cards doesn't.Bottom left is the sleeve the DVD comes in. And lastly the bottom right has "The Biz" cards. I am sure this game is missing a bunch of these. No biggie most of the times I end up playing these games we just toss the DVD in and who ever answers the question first gets the points.

From left to right.Ruby Slippers from Wizard of Oz.Maltese Falcon from The Maltese Falcon.Rosebud from Citizen Kane.

My Marvel Scene It game came with 6 pawns.But that was a "limited" tin edition so might have had a few more than a normal Scene It game. My TV edition is currently buried in the back of my closet and I can't get to it. Still I am pretty sure the normal edition Scene It games comes with 4 or 5 pawns.

I didn't see a price on the box. I guessed Sarge would want 3 for it. So pulled a 5 out of my ancient beat to hell wallet,note to self get a new wallet soon,walked out the door and found Sarge still sitting out front talking to the lady. I asked him how much for the 2 books and the game."It's free.Y'all are always giving me stuff for free. You are the only one that comes and buys books and stuff." I tried to get him to take at least 2 bucks but he insisted it was free.

Overall not a bad trip. I got 2 books and a almost complete board game and it was free. Plus with the store being so close to my house I barely used any gas.

2016 Comic Challenge 121 Armorines Volume 2 #04

TITLE-Armorines Volume 2 #04
PUBLISHER-Acclaim Comics

Now while I was a fan of the early Valiant stuff,I had never read any of the stuff after Acclaim took over. Then I discovered the Valiant Fans website. And found out that this issue of Armorines Volume 2 had a tiny print run. And it is the rarest of the non-limited releases from Valiant/Acclaim. Well I had started trying to get a complete run of everything Valiant/Acclaim put out.

Skip ahead until 2010. I am at Coast Con and there is a dealer with cheap back issues. They were a buck each and the more you bought the cheaper it got. I am digging and get into a box that seems to be mostly Acclaim stuff. And what do I find but a almost perfect mint copy of Armorines volume 2 issue #04. Of course I bought it.

So why is this issue so rare? By the time I was solicited Acclaim was almost dead. With so few people reading their stuff the comic shops were either not ordering copies or only ordering 2 or 3 copies. Then factor in this issue shipped months late and you end up with a comic that the estimated print run is a bit over 3000 copies. Plus this issue has never been reprinted in a trade or hardcover.

Honestly the issue kind of sucks. I have only read this one issue of the second volume of Armorines. I did enjoy the first volume. The only reason I still have this issue,and this is after having a big amount of people offering to buy it off me,is because I am still trying to piece together a full run of Valiant/Acclaim. And I doubt I will ever see another copy for sale. And if I do it won't be for the extremely low price I paid for my copy.

Armorines Volume 2 #04 gets a Pass.

2016 Comic Challenge 120 American Splendor:TransAtlantic Comics #01

TITLE-American Splendor:TransAtlantic Comics #01
PUBLISHER-Dark Horse Comics


While I had known about the late Harvey Pekar and American Splendor,first discovering them when Harvey appeared on Late Night with David Letterman,for a few years I had never read an issue.In 98 I was going to a comic shop in Nederland TX. It was run by a family.The wife was an artist and had set up her art studio in the back of the shop. By the time this comic came out I had been going to the shop for a bit over a year,and the husband and wife both knew what types of comics I enjoy reading. So they had started on the weeks when my comic order didn't hit the limit I had set for myself,picking out 1 or 2 comics that they thought I would enjoy. "Read them and if you enjoy them please buy the next issue. If you don't like them bring them back and I will refund your money in store credit." So this American Splendor 1 shot was mixed in with the comics I had ordered.

This issue was written by Harvey Pekar.And the main story based on a letter he got from a fan in the UK. This fan suffers from Asperger's Syndrome. And wrote to Harvey explaining how Mr Pekars stories in the comics had helped him through some hard times.

While there is two other stories in the comic,it was this lead story that really touched me.Having quite a few friends that either have some form of autism or have kids with it,I could somewhat understand what the fan in the UK was trying to express to Harvey.

Sadly Harvey ended up dying right after my birthday in 2010. But thankfully because of the movie American Splendor,Harvey was better known that he had ever been. To me Harvey should be talked about whenever anyone mentions great American writers. And in comics history he will be remembered as the person that made autobiographical comics a huge thing.

American Splendor:TransAtlantic Comics #01 gets a buy.