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Thursday, November 24, 2022

BLACK FRIDAY COMC PICKUPS - PART 10: ONI

 LAST CARD OF MY BLACK FRIDAY COMC BLASTER*. I HOPE ALL OF YOU OUT THERE WHO SPENT A LOT ON MONEY ON A HUGE PILE OF CARDS DURING THE SALE HAVE ACTUALLY GOTTEN YOUR CARDS BY NOW**. A LOT OF THE THINGS I WAS HUNTING FOR ON MY SPENDING SPREE WAS STUFF I WANTED BUT NEVER HAD, OR EVER EVEN FOUND BEFORE WHILE LOOKING FOR CARDS. THIS LAST CARD IS EXACTLY THAT. SOMETHING I HAD NEVER FOUND AT A CARD SHOW OR SHOP, THAT I WOULDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS EVEN IF I HAD, AND I STILL KNOW NOTHING ABOUT

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS AND I'M NOT GOING TO ACT LIKE I DO


I FIRST HEARD ABOUT MENKO CARDS MAYBE 15-20 YEARS AGO AND I WAS ALL 'HEY COOL, JAPANESE BASEBALL CARDS' BUT THAT'S NOT EXACTLY RIGHT AND I STILL DON'T KNOW JACK ABOUT THEM. THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE MAKES THEM SOUND LIKE THE GRANDFATHER OF POGS. BUT ALL I KNOW IS THEY ARE COOL AS HELL AND I WANTED ONE SO I SEARCHED FOR MENKO AND SET THE PAGE FOR 'LOWEST PRICE FIRST' AND FOUND A LOT OF NIFTY CARDS. NO BASEBALL IN THE CHEAPSKATE CARDS BUT LOTS OF COOL NON SPORTS STUFF. PICTURES FROM ANIME, SOME WRESTLING, KAIJU FILMS AND A LOT OF GENERAL ILLUSTRATIONS INCLUDING LOTS OF SAMURAI. THERE'S EVEN SOME SUPER MARIO BROTHERS MENKO FROM THE 80S BUT THOSE ARE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE  BASEBALL PLAYERS. THE SAMURAI ONES LOOKED COOL AND WERE CHEAP AND I SELECTED THIS ONE FOR TWO REASONS: BEAUTIFULLY MISCUT AND THE ONI IN THE BACKGROUND

ONI IS ANOTHER JAPANESE TERM I AM SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR WITH BUT DON'T REALLY KNOW WELL ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT IT WITH ANY SORT OF AUTHORITY. AS I UNDERSTAND IT THEY ARE SORT OF A DEMON OGRE THAT WILL KICK YOUR ASS AND GOBBLE YOU UP IF YOU MESS WITH THEM. THERE SEEM TO BE A LOT OF DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF ONI IN JAPANESE MEDIA AND THEY SHOW UP IN A LOT OF ANIME AND VIDEOGAMES. THIS INCLUDES ONE OF MY FAVORITE ANIME, URUSEI YATSURA, WHICH TURNS THE ONI INTO AN INVADING RACE OF SPACE ALIENS. THERE WERE ALSO URUSEI YATSURA MENKO ON COMC WHICH WERE VERY TEMPTING BUT ALSO SPENDY. I MIGHT HAVE PULLED THE TRIGGER FOR A MENKO OF LUM BUT ALAS, THE CHEAPEST ONE WAS OF HER LITTLE BROTHER. I'M HAPPY WITH MY CHOICE, I LOVE MONSTERS AND THIS MENACING ONI IS UNIQUE IN MY COLLECTION


THE BACKS ON MENKO ARE JUST AS FASCINATING AS THE FRONT. I REALLY DIG THE LO-FI DESIGN AND HOW THERE ARE MULTIPLE DIFFERENT GAME ASPECTS ON THE CARD. THIS SET HAS A ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS GAME ON IT AND DIFFERENT NUMBER VALUES ON THE BOTTOM THAT I'M SURE CAN BE USED FOR SOMETHING. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE TEXT SAYS OR EVEN HOW TO LOOK IT UP BUT I'D GET A TATTOO OF IT, WHAT'S THE WORST IT COULD SAY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH MY FIRST MENKO

THAT'S IT FOR BLACK FRIDAY 2020, TEN CARDS I'M QUITE HAPPY WITH. SPOILERS: MY TREASURE FROM BLACK FRIDAY 2021 IS EVEN BETTER AND I HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR 2022. ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS AND PLEASE DON'T STEAL MY CARDS WHEN YOU'RE DOING YOUR BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING

*FOR 2020. 2021 IS COMING SOON AND I MIGHT BE BUYING 2022'S POSTS LIKE, RIGHT NOW

**SHIPPING TIMES HAVE GOTTEN BETTER SINCE 2020 BUT THIS STATEMENT STILL STANDS

1 comment:

Fuji said...

I've collected a handful of vintage Japanese trading cards... and I'm in tthe same boat as you. Don't really know what they are... and I'm not gonna act like I do. I've done a similar amount of research, but have accepted that I'll never be an expert on these cards. That being said... I still have a deep appreciation for them. Very cool pickup.