Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 312

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 312
Release Date: February 1989

Highlights

• Todd McFarlane hid one spider on the cover, can you find it?
• First appearance of Eddie
• Harry Osborn has once again become the Green Goblin, and he's out for vengeance against Hobgoblin for endangering his family
• This time, Harry doesn't want to be the Goblin, but he knows that it's the only way he can protect his family
• Reference is made to Web Of Spider-Man 47
• At their apartment, Mary Jane and Peter want to Aunt May's together, but neither swallows their pride enough to say it
• Mary Jane heads to her photo shoot, and Peter to the Bugle
• Norman (the Green Goblin) arrives at his Manhattan office to find the place covered in ice, but knowing Hobgoblin couldn't possible have done this
• Inside, an angry Hobgoblin shouts that Norman lied to him about the formula being there
• The entire city is in utter chaos, including the Daily Bugle where the presses are printing pornography, and override controls aren't responding
• This is all a result of the demons running amuck in the Inferno crossover story
• After getting shouted at by Jameson, Peter heads to ESU, only to be told only staff are being admitted
• Back at Osborn's office, the two Goblin's fight, but Harry admits to himself that he's frightened by what he's gotten himself into
• At Empire State University, though he thinks that he can control his transformation, the Lizard suddenly takes control of doctor Curt Connors
• Upon returning home, the door man gives Peter a note from Liz, informing him that Harry is missing, and worried he's gone after Hobgoblin
• Meanwhile, at her photo shoot, Mary Jane's serpent jewelry comes to life, causing a panic
• Spider-Man intervenes in the fight between the Goblins, but Harry yells at him to let him handle it, and protect his family
• Spider-Man suggests he go stay with his friend Peter, but Harry tells him no, leading Spidey to conclude that at least he doesn't remember his secret identity
• Spider-Man follows Hobgoblin and Green Goblin out into the city, but gets knocked into a water tower
• Green Goblin manages to get the drop on Hobgoblin, nailing him with his entire satchel full of pumpkin bombs, causing him to crash his glider
• Green Goblin tells Hobgoblin that the formula was destroyed, and if it hadn't been, he'd have used it himself to kill Hobgoblin
• He then gives him a final warning to never come near his family again
• Hobgoblin retreats after one final attack
• Spider-Man tells Green Goblin the city could use another hero, but he declines, stating he has a family to take care of
• The story ends with a cliffhanger of Lizard emerging from Curt Connor's office
• Did you find the hidden spider? It's hidden in the smoke below Spider-Man's raised left hand

• Felix the Cat is sitting in Norman Osborn's attic, seen on the very first splash page of the issue

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Retro Spins: Martha And The Muffins - Metro Music

I was on Youtube one day, sifting through the plethora of 80's related music videos, hoping to find something new, but not really expecting it. Then this came on.

What the heck was a Marth And The Muffins? I'd never heard of it. The song was kind of catchy. Nothing amazing from the decade, but definitely something I could see myself playing again. Then the hunt began. Whoo, that was a downer. Not only are their six albums of the decade incredibly rare on CD, but man are they expensive. The average cost was about $70.00 per disc, with one album almost peaking at $200.00.

That was a heck of a lot of money for a band I'd never heard of. so why did I keep coming back to them, pondering the prospect of buying them? I think it all came down to uniqueness and rarity. Something to add to the trove that wasn't common in your average music collection.

Well, unfortunately, average seems to be the takeaway with their 1980 debut, Metro Music. Things kick off with Echo Beach, which sets the bar a bit high, perhaps too high for Martha and her Muffins. What follows is decent punk, dance, and new wave music, but sadly, no hits to really drive it home.

That stated, I did dig the Sinking Land. The instrumentation laid down on that one is so different from the rest of the album, and overall, it's just a cool tune. It gave me hope that across their remaining albums that there were more hidden gems to be uncovered.

Stylistically, it reminds me of older material from The Police, as well as Bow Wow Wow, XTC, and The Waitresses. Metro Music was a decent starting point into new territory, and I'm definitely down with hearing more. I just hope that the value starts to show itself because as of now, the cost outweighs that in spades.

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 47
Release Date: February 1989

Highlights

• The story picks up with Spider-Man catching up to Hobgoblin later that night, who's returned to Harry Osborn's plant
• Reference is made to The Spectacular Spider-Man 146, and the Inferno crossover story arc
• Though fighting, Hobgoblin informs him he had nothing to do with the destruction of the plant earlier that day
• A creature comes up from the ground, grabbing Spider-Man, who makes short order of it
• In the interim, Hobgoblin makes a hasty retreat
• Spider-Man ponders why all these strange events as of late are not altering his spider senses
• Glory Grant is once again out and about with Eduardo Lobo, the man who bumped into her at the Bugle
• Ben Urich is in the same place with Joy Mercado, and when he see's Glory with Eduardo, he attempts to tell Joy who the man is, but this is interrupted by the escalator coming to life, and causing a ruckuss
• Eduardo grabs Glory, and with ease leaps from the top floor of the mall to the lower level, telling her something bad is going down
• Peter and Mary Jane, take cousin Kristy, and stay the weekend at Aunt May's house
• While there, they pawn Kristy off on May, who is over the moon about the idea, and even says it's been a long time since she's had a child in the house, which doesn't sit well with Kristy who seems unhappy with being ditched
• As Peter and Mary Jane leave later that morning, Kristy makes a comment to herself that one day Peter will be hers
• Peter stops by Harry Osborn's house, and perched on the roof, unseen, is Hobgoblin
• Liz is outside, and tells Peter she's worried about her husband, who's been in the attic all day
• Peter makes his way to the attic, and is not warmly welcomed
• As Harry yells at him to go away, his family screaming outside pushes him into action
• Outside, Hobgoblin is attacking
• Hobgoblin demand's Norman Osborn's formula from Harry
• Spider-Man intervenes, but the battle ends with Hobgoblin spraying him in the face with tear gas
• Harry bluffs, telling Hobgoblin the formula is in the safe in his office, causing the villain to depart with a warning that he'll be back if it's a lie
• Ben Urich bursts into J. Jonah Jameson's office to inform him of fires breaking out everywhere, and demons running rampant around the city
• Jameson tells him when he was younger that the bomb was the impending doomsday when he was younger, and he used to practice writing articles based on the end of the world, referring to it as "very funny"
• After leaving his family with the neighbors, Harry returns to the attic, determined that his father would have done something to protect his family, and continuing his search finally finds what he's looking for, the costume and accessories of the Green Goblin

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Retro Spins: Difford & Tilbrook - Difford & Tilbrook

One more Squeeze related album before we move on to other things. When the group initially broke up in 1982, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook decided to continue writing together, and eventually released their one and only album under the name Difford & Tilbrook in 1984.

Despite being released by the duo, since the two were the main songwriters for the band, their "solo" effort has often been regarded as a Squeeze album. In fact, remastered tracks have been included on the band's compilation albums, Piccadilly Collection and Excess Moderation, both released in 1996.

Unfortunately, it continues the trend of Squeeze, wherein the album really doesn't make many waves in the sea of 80's music. While it produced three singles, only one, Love's Crashing Waves, would be a minor hit, peaking at fifty-seven in the UK. It does, however, introduce us to bassist, Keith Wilkinson, who would join Squeeze when formally reform in 1985.

With the opening track, Action Speaks Louder, my mind immediately went to the territory of Queen's Hot Space. It's that kind of system shock, in terms of abrupt musical style change. It even sounds like it belongs in an 80's dance club.

Things then shift without warning to a string and bass disco type sound for Love Comes Crashing Down. So far, this album felt like it was going to be all over the place, unfocused, and incohesive. Ironically, the first two tracks also weren't bad. They just didn't really fit together.

Depending on your view, for better or worse, the disco sounds continued. For me, it worked out just fine. I am, after all, a fan of ABBA, Kool & The Gang, and Bee-Gees. Despite this, I soon found myself only mildly paying attention. At this point, the whole aspect of Squeeze had run its course with me. It was growing monotonous, and my brain needed something else. It didn't help that when I did tune in mentally, things were mediocre at best. I did notice though that at some point in all of this, things did shift back to a more new wave and pop sound.

About the only other standout among the ten tracks was Picking Up The Pieces, but with that noted, I can't honestly say I'd ever find myself stating, "I need to hear that again." In fact, that's pretty much how I feel about the whole album. As I sit here and reflect on that statement, I ponder I would be happier if I actually learned to let go, and purged my CD collection down to the albums I would actually play again. It will probably never happen, but I image if I did that my collection would deflate to two or three shelves, versus the seven it's currently at.

I digress though.

As noted above, Difford and Tilbrook eventually reformed Squeeze, and from their, the history of the band has remained ongoing, albeit with another brief breakup in 1999. If you want to read all about that, please dive into the last series of posts for my listening session of their entire 80's discography. Until then, I'm off to find my next Retro Spin adventure.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution. 

Comics Corner: The Spectacular Spider-Man 146

   

Title: The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 146
Release Date: January 1989

Highlights

• As Spider-Man swings home, happy with his day, he's suddenly attached by a robotic monster air vent, and worse, his spidey sense doesn't warn him
• He makes short order of it, but finds no clues as to who was behind the attack
• Mary Jane and her cousin, Kristy, walk home with groceries, and we learn from Kristy thinking to herself that her parents don't actually know she's there
• As the two enter the Bedford Towers building, a lamp post above seemingly comes to life
• A still recovering Joe Robertson returns home from a walk, letting his wife know he managed to make it around the block
• Joe and his wife still disagree with him pleading guilty as an accessory to Tombstone's murders
• Harry Osborne is once again woken up by nightmares
• His wife convinces him that moving back to the old Osborne house wasn't a good idea, and Harry agrees to move back to Jersey over the weekend
• Meanwhile, outside, Hobgoblin once again watches the house
• Cousin Kristy sneaks into the bathroom while Peter is showering, and gives him a towel
• Mary Jane tells her not to flirt with her man
• Harry calls Peter and asks him to meet him at his chemical plant in Manhattan
• Peter immediately worries if the Green Goblin has something to do with it
• Ben Urich is on the scene of a crime where twenty local mob lieutenants have been murdered
• There's blood spelling out a threat to Kingpin on one of the tables
• The Arrangers arrives, but plays dumb, saying that the location is merely one of Wilson Fisk's assets, and he has no knowledge of what happened
• At the Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson goes ballistic over a headline on the front page about poltergeists
• Eduardo Lobo bumps into Glory Grant, and to apologize, takes her to lunch, swooning her every step of the way
• At the chemical plant, Peter tells Harry to sell his dad's old house, and move back to Jersey, but just as he says this, his spider senses kick in
• The pipes around the plant come to life, and start attacking, but just as they do, Peter's spidey senses stop working
• A quick change to Spider-Man, and our hero is thrust into the job of saving his friend's life
• As he does, he ponders if the timing of Harry's nightmares, and the sudden inanimate objects coming to life are somehow connected
• As the plant burns, Harry gets angry, telling Peter it's all he had left of his dad, and rebuilding it would mean it would never be the same again
• Spider-Man catches a glimpse of Hobgoblin flying away from the scene
• That night, Harry awakens again from a nightmare, but this time when he goes to the bathroom to get a drink of water, the face of Green Goblin stares at him in the mirror, telling him the he, Harry, belongs to him

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Retro Spins: Squeeze - Frank

  

When I was deciding if I was going to focus in on Squeeze and grab their remaining albums for my collection, I came across the song, If It's Love. This instantly cemented that decision, with me stating to myself, "I really like the vocals of Glenn Tilbrook."

Frank serves as the last release from Squeeze for the decade, and unfortunately, it would fail to produce any successful singles for the band. This, for me, is particularly disappointing based on how much I dug the above noted tune. However, in retrospect, there's no doubt that the landscape of music was changing by 1989. Hair metal had come and gone, and in its wake was the evolving grunge scene. The world had seemingly moved on from pop rock, at the time, myself included.

Things started out great with If Its Love, and provided additional standouts such asPeyton Place, Rose I Said, and (This Could Be) The Last Time. However, it was around the latter, that I suddenly found myself uninterested. The remaining tracks to come simply weren't resonating, and I actually found myself saying by track eleven (of twelve), "Isn't this thing done yet?"

While Squeeze still had a solid layer of instrumentation across all the songs on Frank, it did feel like a more straightforward rock and roll album versus the new wave and pop sounds that filled the majority of their 80's discography. I suppose I don't fault the band for evolving with the times, but on the same hand, when you listen to albums back to back, these shifts can feel out of place. I suppose had I listened to it in 1989, it would have felt like a more natural transition.

Ironically, the album ends with the track, Is It Too Late, which picks things up a bit with its New Orleans vintage club sound. While I initially wasn't paying that much attention, it was the lyrics, "(Is it too late) To kick me in the teeth? (Is it too late) Knock them down my throat? (Is it too late?)" that my mind jolted back with a, "Wait, what'd he just say?"

Despite this sudden new investment, the album ended after the song faded, leaving me to sit here thinking, "Eh, it was just okay." Based on its reception at the time of it original release, I don't appear to be alone in this mindset.

The end result of Franks lackluster response would be A&E dropping Squeeze, the band which they had supported since their 1978 debut, and across eight studio albums. Undeterred, Squeeze made a deal with I.R.S. to release the live album, A Round And A Bout, while also adding new keyboardist, Matt Irving.

By this time, the television career of Jool Holland was booming, and he opted to leave the band to pursue not only that, but a solo career. It would be his second departure from the band, and he would not be immediately replaced.

Still undeterred, the band signed with Reprise, and released 1991's Play. Unfortunately, this would prove to be another failure, and ironically, A&E would sign them again, releasing 1993's Some Fantastic Place, and 1995's Ridiculous. Despite both albums making the top fifty in the UK, Squeeze would continue to experience difficulties with major labels, and depart in 1997 to release albums independently.

During this entire period, lineup changes would continue to occur. This included Gilson Lavis being fired in 1992 after relapsing into alcoholism, and Keith Wilkinson, who departed after 1995's Some Fantastic Place for undocumented reasons. With that said, it was surprising to see that Paul Carrack would make a brief return to the band, his first since singing the lead on Tempted back in 1982 for East Side Story. However, his return would be very brief.

Squeeze would break up again in 1999, with both Tilbrook and Difford going on to solo careers. An attempt at reuniting Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Wilkinson and Lavis seemed to start positively in 2004 when spearheaded by the VH1 series, Bands Reunited. Unfortunately, it ultimately didn't happen, Holland would state he was too busy, Lavis would only express mild interest, and Tilbrook completely decided against it.

In 2007 it was announced by Difford and Tilbrook that they were going to reform Squeeze. While they'd release four albums between 2010 and 2026 the two would be the only reoccurring classic lineup members. With an ever rotating lineup, the band continues to actively tour, and who knows, maybe they have some more studio album in them that will come down the pike.

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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 311

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 311
Release Date: January 1989

Highlights

• McFarlane's hidden four spiders on this issue's cover, can you find them all?
• First appearance of "Peanuts" Mulroney
• Spider-Man swings over the New York library, and sees the lion statues outside have come to life
• He makes short order of them, but starts to feel nausea coming over him, and quickly sings away
• No sooner than he's on his way, Spider-Man comes across "Peanuts" Mulroney robbing a couple, and makes short work of him too
• As soon as that's done, the building he's attached to feels like it's moving, and a façade shaped giant bursts from it
• Though Spidey destroys it by chucking a car at it, it's not before the creature smashes and kills the man who Spider-Man just saved
• Peter returns home, and confides in his wife what just happened, stating he doesn't know how to deal with someone dying because of him (see oddities)
• The next day at school, Peter runs into Doctor Connors, and says the two should work together, but as he leaves, Connors admits to himself that he's been feeling strange as of late
• That evening, Peter and Mary Jane go to a sponsored party for a client who's hired her
• While there, a man enters, and causes a scene, but instinctively, Peter jumps in and stops him
• Seeing this Mary Jane gives him the pep talk he needs to keep going as Spider-Man
• Spider-Man returns to the alley and retrieves his camera, and while there, he starts to put things together
• There's no wreckage, no sign of a fight, and no fog like the other evening
• Spider-Man tracks down "Peanuts" Mulroney, and convinces him rather quickly to tell him where he can find the man who paid him
• Spider-Man gets led to Mysterio
• Spider-Man is quick to deduce that Mysterio is drawing power from the building to provide energy to his props and robots
• Spidey destroy the main source, causing Mysterio's suit to automatically compensate for the sudden drop in power, overloading it with energy
• In an epilogue ending, Harry Osborne wakes up from a nightmare about Green Goblin, and when he goes to check on his son, it cuts to the outside of his house where Hobgoblin is grinning ear to ear
• Did you find the hidden spiders?
• One is located on Mysterio's gauntlet on the left, and the other three on the gauntlet on the right

• There are two hidden Felix the Cats in this issue
• One is being held by a sleeping child, and the other hidden in the mist of Mysterio

Low Points

• The battle with Mysterio is short, and warps up with no real satisfactory ending beyond him being back in custody
• Though it's not hindered by it (yet), this is the first Spider-Man issue sandwiched in yet another Marvel crossover event called, Inferno, which spreads across thirty-nine issues of varying titles

Oddities

• Peter says he doesn't know how to go on with someone dying, and him being responsible for it, um...Gwen Stacy, Captain Stacy, Ben Parker? Any of these names ring a bell with Spidey?

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Big Lick NOVA 2026: Part III - Convention Book, Commissions, And Other Purchases

Today wraps up my posts on Big Lick NOVA 2026. Admittedly, I've had to condense these down to just three posts, when I initially wanted to stretch this out to six or more. Ultimately, I had to go this route because when planning these posts out in correlation with my series of Christmas catalogs, which have been going live each Monday since January, well, I didn't leave myself enough room to extend these posts out. No worries. Though it's come at the cost of a preemptive post which shows the convention itself, along with the cosplayers there, I did manage to sneak a select few photos into last week's post.

As I wrapped up my day at Big Lick NOVA, I did so by first stopping at two additional artist tables. The first was Matt Slay.

Matt's someone who has been at pretty much every convention I've been to, but I never stop by to see him. Mainly because I don't own anything he's ever worked on. I started by having him sign my convention book and then grabbing a few prints from him.

What I will say is that Mr. Slay is a very friendly guy. He's appreciative of the fans of his work, so much so that he won't charge for his signature on books. For prints, he charges just $10.00, and if you want a commission from him, he only charges $40.00.

Next up was Laura Martin. Much like Matt, I didn't have any books she'd worked on to get signed. I'm also sorry to say that initially I almost didn't have her sign my convention book. It was only while waiting for Alex Saviuk to finish something that I asked. Much like Matt, she doesn't charge for her autograph.

I did hook up both of them, including several others in artist alley with a pack of Masters of the Universe gummies. When I gave a pack to Mr. Saviuk, he asked, "These aren't the kind of gummies that make you feel good, are they?" To which I said, "Well, I cried into them for an hour, but they were ultimately just sugar", to which Mrs. Martin laughed.

So, what about the old convention book? While it's been around the block, it actually didn't get taken to last year's Big Lick NOVA. Mainly because there was nobody at that convention that I was looking to get a signature on it from.

At the show, I added Mike DeCarlo, Patrick Olliffe, Matt Slay, and Laura Martin. However, because I've added so many signatures to it since I first brought it to a show, I thought it would be a good idea, mainly for myself, to have a reference in one place for everyone who's signed it. So, please bear with me, and even enjoy the below.

Art Suydam at Big Lick NOVA 2023

Jim Shooter at Big Lick NOVA 2023

Mark Waid at Big Lick NOVA 2023

Michael Golden at Big Lick NOVA 2023

Renee Witterstaetter at Big Lick NOVA 2023

Rick Leonardi at Big Lick NOVA 2023

Ron Marz at Big Lick NOVA 2023

Al Milgrom at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Alex Saviuk at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Bob Hall at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Bob McLeod at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Bob Wiacek at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Brian Michael Bendis at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Chris Claremont at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Howard Chaykin at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Jim Starlin at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Jon Bogdanove at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

José Luis García-López at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Judy Bogdanove at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Keith Williams at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Klaus Janson at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Loise Simonson at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Walt Simonson at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Art Adams at Awesome Con 2024

Jeph Loeb at Awesome Con 2024

Jim Salicrup at Awesome Con 2024

Joe Rubinstein at Awesome Con 2024

Guy Dorian Sr. at Big Lick NOVA 2024

Brett Breeding at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Scott Hanna at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Bart Sears at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Mike Grell at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Richard Case at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Ron Garney at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Patrick Olliffe at Big Lick NOVA 2026

Matt Slay at Big Lick NOVA 2026

Howard Mackie at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Jae Lee at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Pop Mhan at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Terry Kavanagh at Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Mark Bagley at Awesome Con 2024

Christopher Priest (AKA Jim Owsley) at Big Lick NOVA 2024

Guy Dorian Jr. at Big Lick NOVA 2024

John Beatty at Big Lick NOVA 2024

Dan Jurgens at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Tom Bervort at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Billy Tucci at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Charles Vess at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Cully Hamner at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Denys Cowan at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

John Workman at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Josh Baylock at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Marc Hemper at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Ron Wilson at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Todd Dezago at Baltimore Comic Con 2025

Mike DeCarlo at Big Lick NOVA 2026

Lauren Martin at Big Lick NOVA 2026

Man, that could have been a post unto itself. Maybe it should have been.

After getting my convention book squared away, and making some other transactions (see below), I was off to walk the convention floor for some books I was after. Those included a second copy of Spider-Man number one, platinum edition, and Spider Noir issue one. Additionally, I went on the hunt for the Batman Returns and 1989 Toy Biz Joker from the McFarlane DC line. I struck out on everything. Nobody had a thing I was looking for. But I was determined to find something.

Comic wise, I picked up a couple Batman trades. The first was Batman: Ten Nights of the Beast. I actually got two copies of that, along with Batman: The Blue, The Grey, and the Bat. The seller gave them all to me for twenty bucks. The first I picked up because Mike DeCarlo was at the show, and I saw it as another signing opportunity. I ended up giving one of the copies to Russell, who was hanging out at Keith William's table after I got it signed. The second, I used to have back when I was a teenager.

Next up was Green Lantern Green Arrow issue 100. This was not a book on my list. Rather, after consistently striking out, I returned to Alex Saviuk's table and asked him what his first comic he ever worked on was. If you're a keen detective, you guessed it. This one. This issue is well loved but was in a series of bins marked three for $10.00.

Naturally, I was going to find a Spider-Man issue one to add to my ever-expanding collection. Though I wished it was the platinum edition. I got this one for $20.00, which is a bit more than I would normally pay for this book. However, people at the show seemed to be on whacky pills. I saw multiple variations of this book there, and people had donkey prices on them. In specific, one seller who had four different versions offered to sell them to me for $50.00 to $90.00 each. Get real!

I also added a few more McFarlane related books to my collection.

The first is Marvel Tales 235. It's nothing more than a reprint of Marvel Team-Up Annual 1, but the schtick is that it has a McFarlane cover. It's an important one to X-Men collectors because it's also the first time that he drew the characters for publication.

The middle book is an older Image Comics title, Darling Escapes. It appears to be from 1998, and came in two cover variants, the first being McFarlanes, and the second being Art Adams.

Lastly, I picked up a reprint of The Amazing Spider-Man issue 300. The schtick with this one is that it's printed in that retro 3D style with the blue and red inks and even includes a pair of unique glasses. I didn't need this book per se but picked it up from Joe of Pop-Up Comics after several failed, and at that point, comical attempts with him to find five different books.

This was a book that someone handed my girl from his table when she was taking photos. She mentioned she was getting them for my blog, and he gave it to her for free. I believe it was his that he worked on, but I honestly never got the chance to figure out all the details.

I wasn't necessarily looking to expand on my Marvel G.I. Joe collection, but these five were part of the bins labeled three for $10.00, and the only thing I could think of on a whim to add to the pile.

These two (below) were books I remember having as a kid, so it was cool to get these.

I did manage to find a couple figures to pick up.

I've actually come across the multi-signed Spider-Man figure before. In fact, it's what inspired me to get one, and get it signed. I got mine signed over a series of shows, with the most recent being Brett Breeding at Baltimore Comic Con 2025.

The one I bought at the show already included the signatures of Jim Shooter, Brett Breeding, and John Beatty, which my original also had. However, as an added bonus, it has the signatures of Michael Zeck, and Ron Frenz, who I've not had the opportunity to meet. I also added Rick Leonardi and Joe Rubinstein to it since they were at Big Lick NOVA 2026.

I also picked up a sweet Mega Man figure. It's one I'd looked at in the past, but never got around to adding to my video game figure collection.

Despite his minimal size, you can get him in quite a few poses. I mean, maybe. As you can see, I didn't really get all that creative with him. He also comes with multiple hands, and an additional head.

As noted above, I also picked up some prints from Matt Slay. He had so many different characters to choose from, and frankly, I'm sure I missed others I would have rather had. That's because as he sold out of a stack, he pulled out different things from a massive box.

Since he frequents shows, it shouldn't be a problem to get more at a later date. But candidly, while I framed these, I don't have them up on the wall. Space is really getting limited in that department.

Now we get into the gold. I'm talking the one-of-a-kind stuff. The expensive stuff, to put it bluntly. Since I couldn't find the books I was looking for, I reserved myself to do something that I wanted to do anyway but didn't know if I'd have the funds.

As I mentioned in my first post, the artist's tables were relatively empty. Which means all of them were available to do commissions, and happy to do so. I took full advantage of the opportunity to finally add new pieces to my Peter Parker: Decisions series.

One of the people I knew I wanted a commission from, and even mentioned it in the first post, was Mike DeCarlo. As I stated in that, he's known for his work on several cartoon classics. One of these is The Simpsons. Though it's not Peter Parker, I asked him to draw me Homer Simpson in this scenario. It turned out great!

Mike DeCarlo

I also really wanted to ask Alex Saviuk for a commission. Of all the ones I got, his was actually finished last, and well worth the wait.

Alex Saviuk

A pipe dream I was living in prior to the show was also adding one from Joe Rubinstein to the mix. I thought, "There's no way you're going to pull the above off, let alone adding that one too." Well, dreams do come true.

Joe Rubinstein

Finding out that Matt Slay only charged $40.00 for a commission, which with respect to everyone else, was far less expensive, I went ahead and got him in on the game as well.

I did feel bad for Mr. Slay because as I was picking up the commissions from those around him, he said, "I should have inked mine." I said that it was unfortunately too late, as it's already on its way home. That's because I had handed my heavy bag and drawings I had obtained to my girl, who was exhausted at that point, and wanted to head out. I didn't want to carry all of that around with me, so she took it home with her.

It coincided with George of G.I. Jigsaw texting me that he was coming to the show. So, I ask him if he could give me a ride home if she left, which he kindly agreed to do. He had bags of stuff in his hands when we left, so I'm sure he'll post something about the contents on his blog, if he hasn't already.

Matt Slay

Lastly, I went all in and got one from Patrick Olliffe as well.

Patrick Olliffe

While they didn't fit on my printer to really scan them in well, as you can see below, they look great on the wall.

As I said in a prior post about the convention, this was my favorite I've ever attended. There were so many special memories attached to this one. Not only did I get a lot of great books signed, but I also got a lot of personalization out of it. You know what else though? I got to take my time and actually walk the showroom floor. That's something I often miss out on while jumping from line to line, essentially spending the day standing and waiting.

But guess what? It doesn't end there. Go all the way back to the first post in this series. Remember that watercolor painting Mike DeCarlo was holding up? Well, there's a reason he was.

While standing at his table as he signed my books, I started perusing through his portfolio. When I flipped the page to his cover collage of A Death In The Family, my jaw hit the ground. It was beautiful! When I told him as such, he said, "It could be yours."

Well, it is indeed.

It turns out that Mike posted this painting on his Facebook page just before the show, and while some people were expressing interest, I guess nobody pulled the trigger. Lucky me!

My day started by getting in line at 7:00 AM for doors that opened for early access attendees at 10:00 AM. I ended up staying at the show until 4:30 PM, which is when the final commission was completed. However, just prior to getting that last piece, I stopped at the table of Codakhrome Comic Shop.

Run by brothers JD Sutphin and Adam Sutphin, Codakhrome makes fantastic pieces of 3D artwork using actual comics. While I'm not sure which brother I ended up meeting on Saturday at the show, I did ask if he could make one for me based on McFarlane's Spider-Man number 1. To which he said he not only could, but that he'd have it by the next day. He texted me right around noon to inform me it was done, and confirm if I still wanted it, which I absolutely did.

When I got to the show, he said he'd actually been asked by multiple people if the piece was for sale. He did an absolutely amazing job on it, and I can see why people were inquiring.

I was hoping that along with these photos I could have included some shots my girl got from walking the convention. However, when I went through all of them, though she was thorough, she didn't get any. Despite this, please do check them out at the link above. The samples on their site of previous work are amazing, and who knows, maybe you want to commission a piece.

I hung it over my Spider-Man comic collection. It seemed the most appropriate space for it, and frankly, one of the few walls spaces left.

But with all of that, that truly does wrap up my annual visit to Big Lick NOVA. It was a blast! This one created so many memories that I'm sure I will cherish for a long time.

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