No Longer Trading

Howdy blogger buds! This is just a note to let everyone know that I am not currently trading cards. I've made a note on my profile at TCDB stating as much. Right now, I intend to hang onto my collection. I may however sell my trading stock. Saving money and reducing material possessions is needed for Zip and I. We are okay, and are working to stay that way. I may find an oddball thing to write about every Now and Zen, and I will keep checking out your blog updates. Peace!

I hate posts without a pic, how about a video to close this post? Enjoy!

Dungeon Crawl Treasures

    One Wednesday afternoon, I had walked to our local comic book store, Graham Crackers on Broadway. They have tons (maybe literally) of comics in their basement. There are boxes after boxes after boxes, and all of the comics down there are priced at 50c. I thought that was fabulous, and after a couple hours of going through the boxes of comics, I took my finds up to the register to pay. To my delight I was told that three of my choices were free. Free! Every Wednesday folks can get 3 free comic books from the 50c boxes in the basement. So while the weather has been congenial, I have been walking to Graham Crackers every Wednesday to buy some comics. Below, are some of the treasures I have found in the Dungeon of Fifty Cents.

    DC now has Hanna-Barbera rights. Who knew? Not I. I love Hanna-Barbera toons, Scooby Doo, Hair Bear Bunch, Valley of the Dinosaurs, Jonny Quest etc... Good times for the child that I was, er uh... that I still am. Now I am searching for all the rest of these DC dressed H-B stories. Wow, did DC toughen these characters! Jaded grunge reigns supreme!

    I really like Paulo Parente's Dust, dieselpunk and babe creations. I had a brand new Dust Tactics game with bonus mini sets. It was a beauty of a game!  Dust Tactics was just one of the many things I had to leave behind. So imagine how excited I was to find this Dust Wars comic book in a 50c box. I am so lucky!

Lantern City was a new discovery, and I am enjoying this story. 

 

Cemetery Blues is an odd ball book. It was a fun read, although I'm not certain that I will come across any other books from this series.  

Ignition City is also a new read for me. It's (so far) not as engaging as Lantern City, but I really dug Ellis' Freak Angels and Captain Swing stories, so I will pursue further IC issues.  

Steam Man = Steampunk Horror. I have 2 of the 5.  

 

    This is my fifth or sixth issue of the Steampunk series. A lot of folks have tried cashing in on the steampunk wave. A good many steampunk stories are hollow and fall flat. This Bachalo series is actually very good.

    Along with the Steampunk comic above, the below publications are some of what I picked up just yesterday. I found only 3 different copies of Comic Book Marketplace, and picked them all up. There are some solid interviews and interesting write-ups in these.

 

   Finally. 

   

This. 

    I read Fearless Dawn on Kindle and liked the series so much (this particular issue is a one-shot), that I looked online for hard copies. This was a while back, and when I found them for sale online they were pushing ten bucks a piece, so I dropped my search. I like the story, but what drew me towards this publication in the first place was the title, Fearless Dawn. It's a bit of a mantra for me. I mentioned above that I left many things behind when I left my former situation. I didn't leave casually. I quite literally had to sneak to get away. Yeah, it was that bad. It took a lot of guts for me to leave, and being Fearless Dawn is part of the self improvements I am always working on now. I found this copy in yesterday's dungeon crawl, and today is the two year anniversary of my escape to freedom and love. I AM so very LUCKY!
 

p.s.-  
 

 

Have a GREAT DAY!

Kevin Sends Some Hits

    It's been weeks since I've posted anything here at Now and Zen. While I was kicking back and enjoying the summer weather, Kevin Martens of the Trading Bases group sent a box of Cubs cards to me. Nearly every card he sent was a hit to my want list, and there were a few never seen before sets for me to pursue further. Here are some of my favorites from Kevin's Cubs box.

Allen & Ginter, always a favorite series.

Fleer Tradition and Topps Heritage, are also favorites. I like the retro feel and thicker card stock. 

Although, I already had a couple White Sox cards from this Leaf set, these are my first Cubs. I'm pretty sure that there are secret anti-gravity devices hidden at 2nd bases throughout MLB ballparks.  

1996 Fleer, this is the first card I've ever touched from this set.  This is an unusual finish for a trading cards, especially in an era of gloss and metal foil production. I like it, and have added the rest of the team to my want list.

1997 Fleer Ultra. I can't think of an Ultra set that I don't like!  

 A new to me Leaf set. Cool. Missing Cubs from this set are also now being pursued. 

Topps Gallery, Whaaaaat?! This is a super recent set and I'd never heard of it. I love finding new sets that I did not know existed. These are nice. 

 

    Bowman Heritage. Very nice cards. I have very few Bowman cards in my collection.  I don't normally pursue or hang on to Bowman cards because good gravy, the identification of Bowman sets via card numbers is a nightmare I'd rather not bother with, so I've simplified what Bowman I collect. So far, I hang to Bowman's Platinum and Heritage cards. All other Bowman card numbers are secret launch codes. -Maybe they activate the anti-gravity devices at MLB's 2nd bases, I don't know, but I don't want to risk the consequences.  

Never even heard of Circa cards. These two cards from the 1997 set, look as though their fronts are backs. Way to shuffle the deck Circa! 

Diamond Kings Lester Aurora insert card. I'm glad this guy is a Cub. 

A few odds and ends. Topps Fire cards are weird. Apparently, Baez can make any lame design look uber cool. Fact. 

I don't think I realized Stadium Club cards were still being produced. Lucky us! Lucky me! 

2017 Topps Chrome. Yeah, I like Topps Chrome. It's a lot like Donruss Optics, which I also like.  

My first Finest cards. They even have the protective coating still in place. Cool.  

 

    Lots of Cubs treasures were enclosed in that box. Thank you Kevin. You made my day and buffed up my collection!