Comic Shop Review - Zap! Comics, Orlando

When you enter Zap! comics in Orlando Florida a life-size Yoda statue greets you at the door, looking like he is ready to battle Count Dooku. Be careful not to get him angry.

Zap! is a very welcoming shop. Comic characters are penciled into the walls and it looks like you are inside a comic book. Walls are very DC Universe heavy, Batman, Superman and the Flash to name a few.

The store carry's  the regular run of current toy lines, including some high end figurines. They have all the latest titles and trade paper backs. The display of the new issues is one of the best I have seen. An entire wall is lines with black metal basket shelves and all the titles are lined up across. Could DC comics have more Batman titles right now.

Not to much in the way of back issues, a couple of boxes in the back of the store but mostly recent issues, no silver or Bronze Age stuff here.

I was impressed with a Deathstroke helmet they had for sale. I have never seen the piece before and am planning of doing more research to find out where I can get one at a reasonable price. It looked like the owners of the store defeated one of Slade Wilson's soldiers during the battle of Starling city and kept his helmet.  I need me of these.

Zap! Also has a nice selection of art prints showing characters as their alter egos and as the hero. Yet another item I have never seen before, if they had a Flash one I would have bought it. These really looked great. This is why I love visiting new comic shops you never know what you'll find that you didn't know existed.

Comic Shop Grade = B

We didn't buy anything on this hunt not because we didn't see anything we liked it was just most of the stuff was new or a little out of our price range. We did learn about some new things which is always good, always learning and improving our craft.

One of the best things about Zap! was its soda machine. It was a replica of the TARDIS, we are big Doctor Who fans. The sodas in the machine had a Doctor Who spin to them. This is the best looking soda machine I have ever seen, a truly unique idea.

Good luck on your hunt!
#jointhehunt

Not Even London Can Forget Stan Lee Funko Pop!

Last month we blogged about how we had forgotten to include Stan Lee in our list of Funko Pop Vinyl figures, it was titled How could we forget king of comics stan lee

Well there is going to be another exclusive Stan Lee Funko Pop Vinyl Figure, this one will be made available at London Film and Comic Con which takes place July 11-13. It will be Stan Lees last European appearance. So if you can fly to merry old England go get the Funko Stan Lee and ask him to sign it.

Good luck on your hunt. London England consider yourself warned!

#jointhehunt

San Diego Comic Con Exclusives - Walking Dead Edition

It has become one of the most popular comic books ever created, Walking Dead has taken the living and undead world by storm. Hit TV show, hit toy line, games and other things, so why wouldn't there be a bunch of Walking Dead exclusives at San Diego Comic Con. Read below to find out what there will be and where you'll need to go to get them.

Diamond Select Toys -  Booth #2607

Walking Dead "Days Gone By" Black and White Minimates 4-pack. Set included Rick, Glenn, Shane and a Zombie as they appeared in the first story arc of the comic series which has reached it's 125th issue. Each 2-inch figure is fully posable, set is limited to 2,000 pieces. This SDCC exclusive can be ordered at Entertainment Earth

Sky bound- Booth #2729

Walking Dead Ezekial figure from McFarlane Toys both in color and black & white with blood splatter. Will  be available for $25 each. Comes with trademark sword-cane

Walking Dead replica Lucille bat, oh yes it's Negan’s favorite lady, Lucille,immortalized in vinyl and designed by the team at October Toys. This vinyl mini replica bat is limited to 2500 pieces. Priced at only $40.

Minis Rick and Invincible 2-Pack. A limited edition double blind box set of Skybound Minis, featuring Rick from The Walking Dead and Invincible from the self titled series. The minis were designed by Scott Tolleson and will be limited to 5000 sets. With six possible colors for each figure, each box is a mystery.

Walking Dead PVC two-packs (Abraham, Andrea, and Jesus). The Walking Dead  PVC Miniatures has become a very popular line. These three limited edition sets are Abraham, Andrea and Jesus each packed with a gruesome zombie. Each set comes in 4 different colors (Grey, Grey with blood splatter, Purple and Glow in the Dark). Limited to 500 of each color for Purple and GID, 250 each for Grey and Grey with blood splatter. Designed by October Toys. Each set is priced at $10.

Walking Dead #129 SDCC exclusive cover, cover connects with Manifest Destiny #9. Each will be sold for $10.

So if your a Walking Dead fan you'll have a lot of Zombie hunting to do in San Diego. Get your katana ready.

Good Luck on Your Hunt!
#jointhehunt

Comic Shop Review - SuperVillian Comics, Cocoa Beach FL

Continuing our Florida hunt, yesterday we spent some time in SuperVillians Comics located in Coco Beach. It is a nice little comic shop, with a small selection of new comics, toys and high end statues. They also had a table of back issues sold at cover price and a wall of higher dollar back issues.

Toys included Pop! Vinyl figures, action figures and some high end figures. I especially like the black and white Batman statues that DC has been putting out recently.

Along with the high end statues SuperVillians also have life size replicas of the power batteries from the various Lantern corps.

We purchased some comics from the back issues bin, these comics were all cover price which was great because some were from the 1980's. we picked up The Uncanny X-Men #205 and 208 for .75 each. These issues are written by Chris Claremont. Great price for some older X-Men issues.

Also picked up a reprint of Justice League of America #217. This is the So Much Fun! Reprint from 1987, paid cover price $1.25. We did some research on this reprint and found out it is very rare. Read the details below.

The store is on the smaller side and their inventory isn't very large but there were some hidden gems.  Staff was very knowledgeable and extremely friendly, which always helps. SuperVillians also had a nice selection of Greg Horn art, who happens to be one o our favorite artists. We just meet him at Wizard World Philadelphia.

Store is worth a visit. Check them out on-line SuperVillians Comics

Things gathered on this Hunt = 3

Comic Shop Grade = B

The story of the So Much Fun! Justice League of America 217 reprint

2nd printing Justice League of America 217 with an altered cover. The cover image on the original Justice League of America 217 is made to look like it's jumping off the page at the reader. The So Much Fun! reprint does not have the same effects. Also, the image of the super-heroes is smaller than on the original cover. The UPC box is not on the reprint and, in its place, is a So Much Fun! box. The Justice League of America logo is also different, as the one on the reprint edition is the more current JLA logo that is found on the Justice League "Detroit" issues. There were only 5,000 copies of this and other So Much Fun! reprints, which were sold exclusively by distributor So Much Fun! to gift shops, such as card stores. These were packaged in bags of three. So Much Fun! randomly picked issues for reprinting. DC Comics had to do some production work on these, due to the changes on the covers, however, it is not known who changed the covers to reflect the newer additions. 

We have seen this issues priced at $70.00 so for cover price of $1.25 is what we consider finding a hidden treasure. Great addition to our collection.


As we always say, there are treasures out there waiting to be found.


Good Luck on Your Hunt.  
#jointhehunt

Animation Comic Game Hong Kong Fair Exclusives

It's bad enough that we have to try and hunt down exclusive items sold only at specific Comic Conventions located throughout the United States ( still looking for Blue Lantern Flash), now you are going to have to hunt down items from Hong Kong based Animation Comic Game Fair or ACGHK for short.

This year will be the 15th Annual and there will be some awesome exclusive comic book based figures for you to hunt down. These three high end figures are from Hot Toys. Each of the three are 1/6 scale figures.

Directly from the blockbuster movie Iron Man 3 come the Python Armor (Mark XX) figure. This is one of the suits you can see during the final battle of the movie.

Continuing this movie themed line, there will also be Joker Bank Robber version from Batman: Dark Knight. The figure comes with his shotgun, clown mask and a bag full of grenades.

Finally there will be a an Ancient Predator figure from Alien vs. Predator. It comes with a the various weapons used in the movie and a Xenomorph's (Alien) head on a stick.

ACGHK runs from July 25-29th so get your reservations, buy your tickets and get your butt to Hong Kong. This will be an international hunt.

If you are able to attend ACGHK you can pre-order these figures by going to Hot Toys or Clicking here.

You should also check out Hot Toys Online, they have many cool high end movie figures.

Good Luck on your Global hunt.

#jointhehunt

Comic Shop Review - Past, Present, Future Comics & Gaming

What we have here is a true comic shop! Past, Present, Future Comics and Gaming has back issues, old and new toys, heroclix, rare high end items and Funko Pop Vinyls. If it has been for sale in the comic book world it is here. A GREAT SHOP.
Located in Lauderhill, FL ( They also have stores in Davie and W. Palm Beach, FL)

They have a ton of back issues and they are arranged in alphabetical order. The boxes included Silver Age, Bronze Age and recent comics. A great selection and priced fairly. The even had some Silver Age Flash comics, we didn't have our list with us. Damn you list!


Get your Funko Pop Vinyl!, an entire wall dedicated to these whimsical figures, every type you could want. I need a Chuckie doll one, wait does it come to life at night to,stalk me and my family, I'll pass.

PPF also has some old toys, no Justice League Unlimited figures, but they did have old Toy Biz X-Men stuff. Haven't seen them on the shelfs for a long time, brought back some great toy store hunting memories.

Their selection of high end figures included many Bowen Figures is fantastic. Looking at so many of these figures together you can see how much work goes into the detail of each character. We do not own any of these yet, but I did see a 1960's Captain Marvel I might need to add to my collection

The high end items didn't stop with Bowen figures there were also scale models of Thor's hammer and helmet, Dr. Dooms mask and Red Hoods mask (awesome). My daughter was going crazy for the Thor helmet. She is a hunter in training.

One of the most Amazing aspects of PFF is the entrance, a life-size Incredible Hulk and Silver Surfer are standing on either side of the door to greet you. Shoplifters get smashed by the Hulk.

This is a shop you should consider taking a hunting trip to, worth the time and travel!

Things gathered on this hunt = 0 (saving for Thor Helmet)

Comic Shop Grade = A

Good luck on your hunt! Visit Past, Present, Future Comics and Gaming if you are in the area.
#jointhehunt

Comic Shop Review - Islander Comics, Melbourne FL

Located in the Merritt Square Mall on Merritt Island in Melbourne Florida, Islander comics is more of a gaming store then a comic shop.

Yes they had new comics but they had one table containing four boxes of dollar comics. Boxes were in no order . So not many back issues. We love back issue hunting.

Islander also has a selection of current toys, no old stuff here. They did have a grand collection of Funko Pop! Vinly figures, another one of our favorites. Unfortunately they didn't have any we have been hunting, curse you Blue Lantern Flash!
They also have the biggest collection of Eaglemoss figures I have ever seen at a comic shop. If you collect these and have been hunting for any, this is the place for you.

Much of the stores space is dedicated to gaming, they have tables set up for playing your favorites and also have gaming nights. Great for gamers not for hunters.
We collect comics and if you do to, this is not the place for you.

Things gathered on this hunt = 0

Comic Shop Grade = C


If your a gamer and would like to visit Islander Comic Shop start with a click.

Good luck on your hunt!
#jointhehunt