Comic Books to Go

It looks like I'll be buying comic books for the first time in...is it 5 or 6 years? Good grief, that's a long hiatus. Hopefully being a bit more picky will help keep me under control. Whenever I try to get every last bat-book, I end up with a pile of comics at the dealer that I can't afford. Yes, I know that's a horrible thing; I'm confessing here. Of course, that's not going to happen now, what with Batman having about 40 or 50 related monthly series these days. I think I'll be better off picking and choosing and just getting a few I like here and there. I stopped by Mindgames here in Florence and Kim Lawson was extremely helpful. I also picked up a Crimson Mist Batman action figure (which I believe wraps up the Christmas presents I received [ha! wraps up! I didn't even do that on purpose]). The figure is just plain cool - based on the series of Elseworld comics (Red Rain, Bloodstorm, Crimson Mist) where Batman meets Dracula, gets bit and ends up as a vampire himself. The Elseworlds series are some of my favorite - I love the re-imagining of old characters and stories. Some highlights:

• Kingdom Come (an alternate future and acclaimed 4-part mini series starring and guest-starring nearly all of the DC Universe),
• Batman: Speeding Bullets (in which Kal-El is found by Thomas and Martha Wayne; not John and Martha Kent),
• Catwoman Annual #1, 1994 (a fantasy world where Batman is a knight and Catwoman a shapeshifting, well, Cat-woman - this was my introduction to Elseworlds),
• Detective Comics Annual #7, 1994 (Batman is the pirate, Leatherwing),
• and the first Elseworlds story: Gotham by Gaslight (Batman meets Jack the Ripper in 19th Century Gotham).

The Batman action figure for Kingdom Come falls under Chester's Law. I didn't pick them up when they were $14.99, and now they're going for around $50 on eBay.