Doug says, "Check out some of my Stuff!" Part 6

Greetings again, Keepers of the Flame! Today's partial tour of Doug's hidden treasure trove features a look at the library displays as well as some cool posters!

The Shelves:

My custom shelving system, of which I've shown glimpses over the past five parts of our tour, is 12 cubicles and one top shelf that runs the width of the system. It was designed so that I could compartmentalize my collection of action figures and reprint/reference books. It's been a great asset to be able to do this, but as I continue to buy those wonderful tomes that catch my eye -- you know, "someday I'll curl up and read this!" -- the space is becoming more and more limited. It won't be too long before I have to rethink the displays.

First up today is the Batman shelf. I didn't pull back completely, as I wanted you to hopefully be able to see some of the titles on the book spines. You'll find Les Daniels' fine Batman: The Complete History, the 3-volume Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams, John Byrne's Batman 3-D, Mark Cotta Vaz's Tales of the Dark Knight: Batman's First Fifty Years, Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns in softcover and hardcover, and more. In front of the library are the Alex Ross-sculpted Justice action figures of Batman and Batgirl. Oh, how I wish I'd have bought his Joker figure at the time! You might also notice the buttons I referred to in Part 1 of this series. To the left you can see various Bat-collectibles, most of them tied into either the movie franchise of Batman: The Animated Series. These are just a small representation of the collection I've amassed over the years -- much of it given to me as gifts. You can see soap dispensers, Band-Aids, and a rotary sucker holder!

Directly to the left of the Batman shelf are two displays of DC's youthful heroes -- the Teen Titans and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Since the Legion display is a little larger (and since I like that book more than the Titans -- although I do like the Titans quite a bit), I chose to focus on that half. It's much simpler than the Batman shelf, with only six action figures (all DC Direct) and a complete 12-volume set of The Legion Archives -- when, oh when, will they get around to making volume 13?!? The Superboy and Supergirl are from the box set that came with Krypto and Streaky -- they are in accessory-limbo in the closet. Mordru was an early DC Direct-offering, and the three founders were issued in the same series. I just wish Saturn Girl could stand on her own! That has always been a complaint of mine about DC Direct and their female action figures. You might wonder why I don't have any of the other Legion boys who were issued off and on over several years. Simple -- they just didn't appeal to me. Not the characters -- no way! But the sculpts were so cookie-cutter, so generic. I really like, despite limited articulation, the founders. But what came after was just so bland. The other two books in the photo are TwoMorrows' The Legion Companion by Glen Cadigan, and Legion of Super-Heroes: 1050 Years of the Future tpb.

Posters:

Around the room you'll find some of the original comic art I showed off in Part 4, as well as several framed posters. I'll show three here -- two promotional pieces that I was lucky enough to have autographed by Alex Ross at various comic conventions/shows in the Chicagoland area, and one of the black light posters that was published by the Third Eye company back in the 1970's. If memory serves, I won this by pitching pennies or some such thing at a carnival in my hometown. I also have the Jack Kirby-illustrated Medusa poster, but it's in storage for the time being.

The Overstreet Fan #14 poster was just a giveaway at Wizardworld Chicago one year and I picked it up. While in line to greet Alex Ross he offered to sign it for me; I felt guilty, as I'd already asked him to sign two books. But that's Alex Ross -- if you've ever met him, then you know he is one of the most down-to-earth and gracious people you'd ever want to meet. Just a true gentleman. I believe I've had the privilege at least four times to have greeted and chatted with him.

The Marvels #2 promo poster was also a giveaway, but at a smaller show near O'Hare airport. As you might guess, it was out at the same time Marvels #1 was hitting the shelves. This would have been back in the early 1990's -- for Alex Ross, the long hair and full beard days! He's a much better-looking fellow these days, all clean-cut. For both of these posters I've included larger images of the autographs.

That wraps it up for this time 'round. Before I cut out, I thought I'd invite you back for the next installment, when we'll look at some premiums from Kraft foods, as well as some beanies from the Warner Bros. Studio Stores.