Expanding my Buffy Collection

Most of the titles I collect are based on the character(s) -- Daredevil, Elektra, Green Arrow... Others are based on the artists or creators, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer is just a great, fun... thing. While I love The Slayer, it's not just her that makes Buffy so great -- Buffy the Vampire Slayer was its own thing, and it transcended both its movie and TV origins.

Many of the characters I follow are rather dark and gritty, so Buffy is a nice change of pace from the vengeful vigilantes and anti-heroes I usually collect, and has a range of toys, games, comics, and other stuff to collect. That's actually one of the reasons I've chosen to focus more on Buffy memorabilia. It has nothing to do with nostalgia, just a love for the show and characters, and something to do to pass the time.

Most recently, I picked up a copy of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG Core Rulebook from Eden Studios. It's a copiously-illustrated hardback that looks pretty exciting. Collecting the OOP series will be expensive, but doable, and nothing I need immediately.

I also discovered a cache of TPB outside of the ongoing Dark Horse series for a fair price. In fact, most of the Buffy stuff I've come across is relatively affordable and available -- another reason I decided to invest more in it. I do not expect the majority of these items to appreciate significantly in value any time soon (or possibly ever, as most of them are common), but they'll make a nice "humblebrag" conversation piece, and fun to acquire.

I'm actually looking to upgrade a lot of my collections, so I may have some auctions to promote eventually.

© The Weirding, 2016

WotC Files Suit Against 'False Promoter'

Wizards of the Coast, a division of Hasbro which took over TSR and its properties some years back and also makes the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game (CCG), has filed a federal suit against four defendants from Alabama, alleging they reported events at non-existent venues in order to receive promotional materials which they then sold online through e-Bay. WotC claims to have purchased some of the cards from the "promoters" through the auction site.

WotC says the defendants conspired to create hundreds of false players, events, and venues with the express purposes of receiving promotional and premium cards under false pretenses. The defendants are thought to have garnered somewhere between $3-10 profit per card. The suit calls for an immediate "cease and desist" of the selling of M:TG cards online, and asks for reparations in excess of $100,000 (including legal costs and fees)!

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

American Idol Trading Cards

FremantleMedia and Upper Deck are launching a line of trading cards based on the popular reality TV show, American Idol. The cards will feature images of contestants (both past and present), as well as the judges and Ryan Seacrest.

The series has 138 cards. Six special cards, autographed by American Idol winners, will be randomly included in the 5-card packs. "Regular" cards include past winners and popular finalists, along with rejects.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Scrye Foresees Own Ending

The April 2009 issue will be the last for collectible card-gaming (CCG) magazine, Scrye. Rising printing costs, and diminished subscriber and advertising bases were cited as the reasons. Founded in 1993, Scrye was considered the authority on the CCG hobby and industry, providing current prices for cards of such games as Magic. In recent years, Scrye added collectibles miniatures games to its subjects. I am honestly surprised it lasted 15 years; that's honestly about 10 years longer than I would have predicted at the onset.

Analysts note Scrye's folding puts the exclamation point on CCG's sentence, but add the recession is hitting the magazine industry in general quite hard.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Islam Denounces Barbie, Pokemon

Spokesmen for Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia recently reiterated the 10-year old ban on Barbie dolls.

According to the Committee, Barbie was based on an actual woman who was of Jewish descent. In actuality, the Barbie doll was based on a short-lived German doll named Lilli which was based on a sequential art comic strip that ran as filler for the German tabloid, Bild-Zeitung. Lilli's exploits were often political or sexual in nature and aimed primarily at adults. When the doll was fashioned, it held three patents and was largely considered inappropriate for children. Mattel bought the rights and patents to the doll in 1964 and production ceased; the name of the new doll was Barbie, and was aimed at children.

While the actual model (if there even was one) for either doll is unknown, Lilli was popular enough to spawn a motion picture, in which she was portrayed by a Danish actress. As the story goes, the woman who "invented" Barbie actually used Lilli as the model from which she worked, so no actual living model (excepting Ann Smyrner, who appeared as Lilli in the 1958 film) ever existed.

The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia also denounced the popular Pokemon trading card game (CCG: Collectible Card Games) as a Jewish conspiracy to introduce children to gambling and other vices.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

More Titans CCG

So I'm back at the Dollar General yesterday and had already checked out, but I was waiting to get my money back on a can opener I had brought back, when across the aisle, I noticed another waxpack completely full of Teen Titans CCG!

Since the guy was slower than a rickshaw with square wheels, I was able to get to them and have them all added on before I got completely checked-out. They are all still sealed though, so I'm not opening any of them right now. I have no idea how the game is played, but I know they are selling a second series of them even as we speak. Now I have two boxes full of a game no one's ever heard of or knows how to play. And why not? I've got entire bookshelves of them!

But even if someone does know how to play it, I have two entire wax boxes full of them, so you have no chance of winning. That's probably why no one around here plays. Cowards.

Post-Tour of GenCon 2007

Check out my Pictures from the Con HERE

We begin by wandering into Anaheim Convention
Center - Hall D around 9 am, having already eaten
breakfast at the Mecca of fast food: *Sonic.
Everyone seems drawn to the exhibit hall even
though it doesn't open until 10am -just like every
year. Lines and crowds were formed into the hall's
2 entrances.

DING! 10 AM- Half the people who pile in immediately
veer to the Booth/Station for Wizards of the Coast.
This year however Most people got in line to get
raffle tickets instead of hopping on the Demos-for-Swag
train. The Raffle Tickets allowed the winners (only 40) a
chance to buy a starter and a booster for the newest Star Wars
game that releases 11/24/2006. Star Wars Starship Battles.
Ok, so let's face it. Getting a new game 2 weeks before it
actually releases is great. SO GREAT that I found one guy
who went to GenCon who won the chance to buy the minis
and is now selling them on EBAY!
-
I was the first person on Saturday to Demo Starship Battles
and I won against my hubby. It's actually a great game.
I have seen a guy already get a Milennium Falcon.
The worst thing I demo'd at Wizards was Dreamblade.
Reviews later...All in all Wizards sported some of the best swag.

Worst Swag: World of Warcraft Trading card game -
You had to complete 5 of 8 quests and your reward
for hunting down junk was a booster of the game.
I heard that other swag was given but i didn't see it.
Again Reviews later...
Scary - World of Warcraft RPG people!!! Run Away.
They are taking over the real world now.
 
I also took a spin on the Paint and Take Table.
It's where you go and pick out a free Figurine and paint it.
There are helpers if you need it and then you get to keep
the mini. I had a blast there. Met some awesome people
& had some great conversation.

During this time hubby was doing the Halo Tournament

Coolest News for me: White Wolf Publishing who puts
out World of Darkness games has added Promethean
It is completely interchangeable into the vamp/were
worlds. The best thing though is that:
CHANGELING LIVES! That's right folks they finally
re-designed the Changeling system and origin. The
new Changeling will be interchangeable like all of the
World of Darkness games and debuting at GenCon
Indy 2007!!!

Another Fave RPG - Shadowrun has come out with
Version 4.0 - It's been a long time since a new one
has and it seems that the systems for character
creation has finally been smoothed out some. Deckers
are no longer useless in a group who travels and
I totally look forward to the possible Deal they might
have in the works with HeroLab.... It's possible the
Character generator will take on Shadowrun.
I hope so it would rock.

Picked up at the Con:
Cheapass cardgames - Totally Renamed Spy Game
Cheapass Cardgames - Light Speed
Hero Lab and Army Builder
Pirates VS Ninjas Gear
VooDoo Babies!!!!

Teen Titans CCG

So I was in Dollar General today, shopping for some food and some Christmas stuff. This is not the first Christmas I've been on my own (alone, I mean), but it is the first one that I plan to really celebrate on my own - I mean go the whole way: the tree, the decorations, the food, the candy. I may even force myself to sleepwalk and put out my own presents so I can be shocked and think Santa came. I'll let you know how that goes...

ANYhoo, this one has two registers and it's nearly always packed, but they almost never open more than one register at a time. Everybody talks about it. More than once, I've been in there when there's a line halfway to the back of the store and someone's at the other register, but won't open it. Why? I don't know! But I digress.

I'm pulling things out of my basket and trying to set them wherever they can find purchase, because the checkout counter is exactly like 8" wide and Pippi Longstocking there has all her arts and crafts shit scattered across the whole thing - Scotch tape, some whistle thingy, a snack, a drink - I wanted to "accidentally" knock her crap into the floor, and go, "Think maybe you could do your job at work and your hobby at home?" but... you know - Christmas spirit and shit. So, I get as much as I can get up there and I'm waiting for her to clear some of it off and I'm standing there with toilet paper under one arm and a 2-liter Pepsi in the other, and I look up to give the mile-long line behind me a, "Sorry, not my fault" shrug-and-smile, when I see a box with a picture of Robin, the Boy Wonder, on it.

She gets some of it done and I set the stuff in my arms down and take a closer look: it's a Teen Titans collectible card game! I had no idea! So I pulled one of them out and asked her to price it and she says, "$1.00." I said, "Can I get them all and the box, too?" She looked a little shocked, but said sure. Before she'd checked me out, I had other folks scouring the store, looking in the back stock - the whole nine.

I got three starter packs and the display box. I have no idea what they're worth, how it's played, when it was released, or by whom. But I got them - every, last one of them.

BOOYA!