Yesterday was sludging along as a perfectly normal Monday until around 3:39 pm (a little earlier for SuperFiancee; that's when her emergency email hit my Google account, though). From there, it turned into a rapidly accelerating emotional avalanche. We all came through it more or less intact... and that's all I'm going to say about that at the moment, for various reasons.
I will note, however, that SuperFiancee continues to astonish me with just how fabulous a parent she actually is... especially given how thoroughly her 17 year partner in parenting continues to astound us all with his contrasting and entirely disparate displays of parental acumen. She's carried a gigantic load entirely by herself for a very long time, and she's done it with enormous facility, competence, and success. Any of you who have enjoyed the company of the SuperKids -- it's all thanks to SuperFiancee, AKA, SuperMom. All props to her.
SuperFiancee/SuperMom also called in late at work just so she could drive me to work this morning, letting me get a crucial extra hour and a half of sleep (we didn't get back in from the Nexus of the Crisis until 1:30 a.m. last night). Had she not been that considerate, I'd be considerably worse off today than I am. Once again, I am the luckiest man in the known universe, to have this woman, and these kids, in my life. I honest to God do not know what I did to merit this -- in fact, short of saving the entire universe from malevolent evil, there's little I could have done to earn such spectacular good fortune. I'm just going to try to continue to appreciate it, and, you know, do my inadequate best to deserve it.
Back into the world of sweet, sweet trivia that eases the pain -- Mike Norton has new stuff up at both his blogs today. Over at Miraclo Miles, there's a link to an interesting overview of Gail Simone's career. It's mentioned in passing that apparently Gail cares little for Brian Michael Bendis, which would endear her to me even if I didn't already dig on her writing. I guess she's also made a minor career as an internet columnist mocking many, many male writers who badly need to be mocked, like Frank Miller and Warren Ellis. I also gather she's been writing BIRDS OF PREY for four years now, which makes me sad at all the back issues (or graphic collections, anyway) I need to go out and buy. I certainly don't need to buy her old DEADPOOL issues, though, so that's a relief.
Over at Turn This Bus Around, Mike has some very interesting political material. I'm still the only commenter he's got over there, so come on, folks... help me out a little, okay?
WizKids resolutely won't give me shit that's new on Supernova, although I noted on Sunday that they seem to have modified the Team Alliances icons grid to allow them to put in a bunch of new ones -- so I'm hoping that will comprise at least part of the next update, hopefully due tomorrow. The aforementioned Mike Norton will continue to duck out on all details, but I'm a greedy pig for this stuff and they can't throw it at me fast enough. Of course, I'm still nowhere near getting all the SINISTER I want, so being this obsessed with SUPERNOVA is kind of dumb. But it seems in every way other than character choice, it's a better set.
On the SINISTER front, I picked up three boosters on Sunday while SuperFiancee and I were out runnin' about (and oh, how long ago that seems now). In addition to all the usual suspects, I picked up a few new things -- namely, a Vet Madrox, a HYDRA technician (the first of the new HYDRA generics I'd gotten my hands on) and a Purple Man Unique. The power gamers will continue to sneer at the Purple Man, since the Ultimates Professor X still remains the Mind Controller of choice for that ilk, on the basis of points vs. effect -- but I kinda like having ol' Kilgraves for my DD villains set. Still looking for that Stilt-Man, though. And about a bazillion other Vets and Uniques from SINISTER. (I suppose I should probably sit down and put together an actual list of what I am still looking for from SINISTER... yeah, I guess that wouldn't hurt anything at all.)
So, let's see --
Arkon U
Bullseye V
Black Bolt U
Daredevil V
Deathlok V
Electro V
Falcon V
Hydra generics, R, V
INDOMITABLE feat
Jack O'Lantern V
KNOCKDOWN feat
MACH-1, 3, 4 (r, e, v)
PUMMEL feat
Radioactive Man V
Rhino V
Scarlet Spider U
Shadowcat V
Spider-Man U
Spider-Man E, V
Stilt-Man U
Interestingly, I'm noticing that the Avengers TA gets a big boost with this expansion in terms of the Perplex power. Prior to this, you pretty much had to put the Beast into an Avengers team to get any Perplex at all, and then you got one lousy click of it, and the Beast doesn't even have a single version with the Avengers TA, anyway. However, SINISTER gives us several Bendis Avengers who have Perplex -- Jessica Jones, Spider-Man, at least one more. To which I can only say, yeah, I find the entire Bendis run on AVENGERS completely fucking perplexing, too.
Further updates, maybe, as I get the time and think of inane crap to add on here.
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So this Boy Scout, couldn't have been older than eleven, is holding up this kinda chubby looking Scotch Pine. It was.... ehhhh... okay...
Not fit company (for man nor beast) today, but I'm obligated to note a couple things...
ReplyDelete1) Not that driving you to work a little later than you'd normally catch the bus wasn't a contributing factor to me calling in late to work, but...I needed the extra sleep myself today, too.
2) You are entirely sweet and WAY to flattering for anyone to take seriously. But, I adore you for it anyway.
3) Anyone who considers it 'lucky' and 'an honor' to go through all the crap you continually have to go through...well...you are one in a million and I'm the lucky one who found you.
I love you! Thanks, for the bazillionth time, for being there for me.
Everyone there has to be swaying on his or her feet today, so I hope you can all take it easy as soon as possible this evening.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the continued plugs.
Wizkids is trying to make too many different things happen at once, and it's showing. I believe they're making some headway, but it's almost comical the way some things are and aren't being handled.
Last week it appeared as if they were starting into a brisk pace for unveiling the set, but then it stopped cold with no new previews slipped in at or near the start of this week. With a new MechWarrior release hitting tomorrow and them still feeling the pinch of the layoffs from a few months back, it might be quiet as far as any new business is concerning on Heroclix until Friday's sneak peek(s).
Then again, the timing for when items were appearing in the gallery (based on the time stamp for comments on the boards) these past few times suggests someone doing this during very "off" hours, so who knows? What their official plan is for the pace of unveiling is anyone's guess after the past few sets. Supernova's supposed to hit the streets seven weeks from tomorrow.
Before that, thirty two days from now (Oct. 28th) will be the pre-releases, where all of the dials and cards will be seen at scattered events, and there's always a press from gamers to have as complete a set of details ahead of time for that so they can come up with ideal pairings.
Sometime earlier in them month than that will see the release of Inquest with its pictorial overview and shots of the opening slots of all the vets and uniques.
How much info Wizkids wants to pump out ahead of or during this... only they know. Most of us are anxious for the set, while others claim they need to see more before deciding whether or not/how much to buy, but from the noises some of those people make my impression is they won't be ready to make a decision until they not only know the complete contents of the set down to the smallest detail but will also require a print-out of what they'll pull in the brick they buy. So, there's no helping some people.
Meanwhile, the Jekyll & Hyde that is I simultaneously wants all the information and is running away from it. The simple truth is that I want the clix, cards and pogs in my hands now... and that's not going to happen.
If I manage to hold out -- all the way to the point of not even attending the pre-release -- the truly painful day will be November 15th itself. The set will be out on the street, but my brick won't be picked up (by someone else) until that evening, so I won't see it until the following day. And, if things run true to course for the past four sets, I'll have my case the day after that.
But... that's all in November. I should try to enjoy the tail end of September first.
Good pulls on the recent Sinister buys. This is the first set where though a variety of circumstances I haven't bought a single loose booster. That really is a first for me.
Tracking down a copy of the map for Sinister is something I should try to do. I haven't been out to a venue event since Collateral Damage was the freshest set.
Looking at your Sinister list I can see why you're still considering picking up a case. Many of the pieces are one (maybe 2 in some instances) per case, and you'd also get the 3R/3E/2V sets of SHIELD and Hydra generics.
I haven't seen case prices fall for that set yet, but I imagine that's coming. Armor Wars cases can be had for less than $170 + shipping, and Fantastic Forces for $109 = S&H, so hopefully that marks a trend.
Uh... I don't know what happened there. Well, I know what happened at the end, but not how.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I think I've got that fixed.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's got it.
ReplyDeleteBaby,
I'm not flattering you, I'm just calling it as I see it. And I am a very lucky man. Whether I'm one in a million or not, well, you're a little biased. A few of my exes read this thing every once in a while, maybe you should ask them for corroboration. ;) (Of course, that doesn't work in reverse; YOUR ex is an idiot.) ::grin::
I love you, too. Hang in there. We'll get through this.
Mike,
Thanks for the kind wishes. Is there a SINISTER map? what does it look like? I'm looking forward to the SUPERNOVA map... sounds cool.
Yeah, my SINISTER want list is so extensive, and word of how bad the distribution is from booster to booster, or inside a brick (rumors I can verify from own individual booster buying experience), that it seems like a case is the best answer. Ebay has cases for rather less than the stores, so I may go that way... whenever we get some spare cash, which won't be soon.
Still, it's nice to have a set out there that I still need stuff from, and I can still buy boosters and see something new. I just wish it was easier to do; the distribution of this set really DOES suck. Vets are as scarce as goddam plutonium around here.
The Sinister map is one, I believe, that I've only heard/read descriptions of. I believe it's an indoor map (or at least mostly so) with a Vault-like appearance. (You know, the prison for supervillains & various monsters.) If I can find that they put a full-size scan of it somewhere on their site I can print it out, but casual looking's gotten me nowhere.
ReplyDeleteThe production levels/relationships for all recent sets (and since it's been working out so well at the case level, I suspect they'll keep it that way) makes those upper level vets and experienced pieces scarcer than uniques. You might get two Black Bolts in a case, but I can all but guarantee you'll only get one vet DD.
I am going buggy waiting for a case of SOMEthing to open. I've found myself eyeing those roughly $60 cases (including shipping) of Infinity Challenge, a set I need nothing from other than, what... the poster?
>>The Sinister map is one, I believe, that I've only heard/read descriptions of. I believe it's an indoor map (or at least mostly so) with a Vault-like appearance. (You know, the prison for supervillains & various monsters.) If I can find that they put a full-size scan of it somewhere on their site I can print it out, but casual looking's gotten me nowhere.
ReplyDeleteIs it a full size map, or one of these annoying 2/3s size deals?
>>The production levels/relationships for all recent sets (and since it's been working out so well at the case level, I suspect they'll keep it that way) makes those upper level vets and experienced pieces scarcer than uniques. You might get two Black Bolts in a case, but I can all but guarantee you'll only get one vet DD.
It's aggravating as shit, though, if you're trying to buy boosters separately, or by the brick, either of which you would think WK would want to encourage, over case buying. With their most recent attempt to encourage people to pay effectively 2 to 3 times as much as a case price for brick going tits up (they've announced that you don't need a brick coupon to buy the collector's sets at a discount any more), you'd really think they'd want to make it more rewarding for people to buy the product other than on a case level. Maybe I'm crazy. But buying SINISTER boosters has been extremely frustrating.
>>I am going buggy waiting for a case of SOMEthing to open. I've found myself eyeing those roughly $60 cases (including shipping) of Infinity Challenge, a set I need nothing from other than, what... the poster?
Yeah, I hear you. Now, if WK would just put one of their factories to work reissuing CLOBBERIN' TIME so we could get a few cheap cases of that...
I miss opening a case myself. Haven't been able to afford the luxury since I moved up here... I don't think I've ordered a case since, what, LEGACY? Still hoping to do so with SINISTER... in fact, unless WK changes the distribution, more and more it's looking like a necessity to get the figs I want.