Binder with Ultraverse cards

This was a good find … $10 (plus $10 more for shipping) on eBay. Actually, let’s call it a great find.

Two things of note: First, this binder was full of complete sets of Ultraverse Series 1, Series 2 and Ultraverse Masterpieces sets. With all the chase cards! And some promo cards. And a signed, stamped card from Series 2. And second, I was able to score for another $10 a Spider-Man binder from 1995 that was also complete with all chase cards.

I have no idea how these slipped under the radar; my bids were set quite a bit higher but nobody else bid.

All of the cards are in great condition. I already had full sets anyway, but this is the first time I have seen the binder sell that low. And that was the main thing I wanted.

Usually these hit $50 or more, and you only see one every few months or so. As far as I know, the Series 2 cards were the only ones that had their own binder.

Nearly all of the Ultraverse cards are easy to find on eBay. You should never have to pay more than a few bucks for a set. You can also get an unopened box for a decent price. I’ve bought all three boxes separately for under $10 shipped.

But … there was some bad news. The inside of the binder was cracked and ripped on the corner. It looks fine from the outside but the inside looks kind of chewed on.

I guess I will have to keep my eyes open for another, but I’m still stoked to have this one in my collection.

Ultraverse Secrets …

OK, so this book took me a loooooooong time to find. I’ve actually never seen one for sale before last week, and I’ve been looking for years. Years. I know several other hard-core Ultraverse collectors, and all but one of them had never seen one, either.

But there it was on eBay for a $5 BIN. That’s a no-brainer.

It’s not a comic book (it’s about the height and width of a regular sheet of paper). I’m pretty sure it was just one of those promo booklets that used to be thrown in with the weekly shipments to comic shops around the country.

Back in the 1990s I had a friend who owned a shop and I would work for him one day a week in exchange for comics. Good for him, good for me. Each week the comics would arrive in several boxes and there were always promo booklets, posters and what-nots from all the big companies. I’m pretty sure that’s what this book is. It’s a bunch of pin-ups and text blocks hyping upcoming titles and storylines. I read through it; it’s interesting and makes me miss those days. Ah, well.

There were probably several thousand of these printed. Of those, I’d wager the vast majority were tossed in the trash. There might be some more in warehouses or garages, but it’s not really something that your average comic book collector is chasing. I’m not saying this is rare, but it is really freaking hard to find!

So what’s the big deal? I know for those of us over at Valiantfans.com who tried to put together an Ultraverse checklist a few years ago, one of our best early resources was this site by a guy named Big Tel. His site had scans and a little bit of info on all kinds of Malibu variants, and really helped us get the ball rolling. That site has since been taken down, but before that I didn’t even know things like gold holograms existed.

Anyway, one of the things on there was this book, The Ultraverse Secrets Marvel Doesn’t Want You to Know. None of us had ever seen it, and I’ve been hunting one down ever since. If it had not been on Big Tel’s site during the early days of mapping out the Ultraverse checklist, I don’t think I would have cared too much one way or the other. But now that I’ve put so much of an effort into finding one, it feels nice finally putting this in my collection.

I was going to scan in the pages but it’s too big to fit on my scanner. So I just took pictures; those are all down below.

  

  

Prime cover gallery

This is a big one, lots of Prime books in the Ultraverse. Let’s start with the first series’ main issues, including gold and silver holograms, an Ultra 5000 and an annual, along with variant covers for 4 and 13. There are also polybagged issues for 2 and 4, but I didn’t include the pics here. Just imagine the same book in a bag.

   

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

There was also a hardcover, trade paperback, Printer’s Proof and even a Wizard 1/2 issue:

     

Ashcans? We got ashcans.

     

And then you had the second series, with cover variants on the first couple of issues:

     

     

     

     

 

Also a couple of Marvel crossovers:

   

And finally a four-issue miniseries, Power of Prime.

     

All three pins

Why, yes, I am still alive, thank you.

Still collecting, too. I’ve just been very busy (who hasn’t?). But I scored some good stuff recently so I will try to get a few posts up.

These are all three Ultraverse pins (as far as I know) and I got them all in one lot for under $5 shipped. Now that’s my kind of deal. I already had one of the Rune pins, but the others are new for me.

Pretty high quality pins, too. I know of one other Ultraverse pin but I don’t really count it because it is just one of those cheap metal tabs that folds over.

Malibu Sunspots

I had always wondered what these things were. I had never actually seen one in person but I noticed a couple that were jammed in with some other things on an auction. So I bought a few books I didn’t really want just to see what was up.

 

They’re actually less interesting than I thought, although they are numbered. I’m not sure how many there were in total, but these are just pamphlets with a little bit of info about upcoming Ultraverse books. They’re not comic-sized, more like 8.5 x 11 (like a regular sheet of paper) and very thin.

I might buy some others if I see them very cheap but these were obviously just info sheets for dealers and were probably sent to comic shops all over the country.

Hardcase Motor City Comic Con

Getting so, so close now … I think the toughest book I have left on my checklist is the Firearm Ultra 5000. Especially since I just got this book for about $15 on eBay (more than I would usually spend, but what the heck?)

I was a little disappointed to crack it open and find out that there is no story, just black and white promo pages. Oh well …

10,000 blammos

Not that it’s a big deal, but this blog just had it’s 10,000th page view (our site at my office can get that many page views in a few minutes just by putting “Tim Tebow” in the headline). WordPress lets you see a lot of information about your visitors although it’s all just generalities. One of the cool features lets you see what people typed into search engines to reach your blog, and how many times that happened.

Here are the most popular searches for Ultraverse Flashback. There were a bunch of searches done once or twice, almost too many to list. Thanks for reading!

Search	Views
ultraverse	229
elven ultraverse	54
ultraverse checklist	31
ultraverse cheep	27
cheepultraverse	23
hardcase ultraverse	20
ultra force toys	20
prime ultraverse	19
freex ultraverse	18
solitaire 1 ultra 5000	18
juggernaut vs prime ultraverse	17
break thru ultra 5000	17
malibu comics ultraverse	16
marvel malibu ultraforce prime	15
ultraverse cards	15
ultraverse prime	14
freex & mantra	14
ultraverse flood relief	13
it all starts with a checklist « ultraverse flashback	13
ultra force action figures	13
ultraforce toys	13
ultraverse comics	12
ultraverse cd-romix	11
mantra ultraverse	11
ultraforce figures	11
ultraverse blog	11
elven #1 alternate ultraverse	10
ultraverse gold hologram	10
ultraverse action figures	10
foxfire marvel	10
freex	9
mantra comic	9
firearm movie	9
strange days	9
ultraverse black september infinity	9
necromantra	8
firearm ultraverse film	8
ultraverse prime sega	8
ultraforce characters picture	8
james hudnall solution image	8
firearm ultraverse	8
ultraverse mantra 5 variant	7
mantra ultra hologram cover	7
singed rune	7
ultraverse black september	7
foxfire ultraverse	7
mantra ultraverse phelps	6
cd-romix	6
ultraverse prime gold	6
prototype ultraforce	6
prime ultra	6
mannequin eliminator dc comics	6
ultraverse the night man price	6
mantra 5 variant	6
mantra ultraverse comics	6
mantra (malibu)	6
prime sega ashcan	5
prime ashcan	5
lord pumpkin	5
ultraforce prime	5
“countdown to ultraverse”	5
upc box things	5
looking for ultraforce 504	5
strange days film	5
phoenix comic malibu ultraverse	5
alternate ultraforce prime	5
ultraverse premiere side of freex #15	5
ultraforce toy	5
foxfire comics	5
ultraverse reading order	5
nightman vs. wolverine	5
ultraverse 1 cards	4
ultraforce elven	4
countdown to ultraverse	4
ultraforce action figures	4
nm-e ultraverse	4
microcosm sega cd	4
ultraverse premiere #0 ultra 5000 limited	4
sega cd universe prime	4
“ultraverse on the cheep”	4
blue steel nm ultraforce	4
“blue steel nm-e”	4
ultraverse firearm video duet actor	4
ultraverse variants	4
hardcase ultra force	4
ultraverse prime action figure	4
ultraforce logo	4
trade paperbacks	4
the ultraverse secrets marvel doesn’t want you to know	4
ultraverse the solution	4
james jude courtney	4
black september malibu checklist	4
black september checklist	4
ultraforce 504	4
ultraverse prime sega cd	4
35-minute firearm movie, on vhs	4
rune vs conan ultraverse	4
marvel ultraverse	4
ultraforce toy checklist	4
cdromix	4
sludge ultraverse prototype	4
ultraverse launch	4
dynamic forces certificate	4
why “black september” sucked ultraverse	4
ultra prime norm breyfogle	4
prime ultra force	4
ultra force figures	4
comic blog: ultraverse	4
ultraverse foxfire	4
mantra that kind of september ultraverse	3
foxfire (ultraverse)	3
malibu comics protectors	3
ultraverse ultraforce #0a comic	3
“ultraverse secrets marvel doesn’t want you to know”	3
ultraverse fan card	3
value of ultraverse firearm issue #12	3
prime comic 1 gold hologram	3
hologram printed cover	3
ultraverse comic check list	3
ultraverse comics checklist	3
“ultraverse” “sega cd”	3
ultraverse hard case holographic #1	3
prime ultraverse malibu comics	3
chris ulm	3
malibu comics sludge	3
ultraverse mantra holographic limited edition #1 value	3
ultraverse warstrike	3
prime malibu hulk	3
ultraverse hardcase #1 price	3
solution 5 variant	3
rune silver surfer cover	3
barry windsor smith rune	3
hardcase hero ashcan	3
ultraverse figures	3
foxfire marvel comics	3
ultraverse prime sega cd cover	3
malibu comics prime value	3
ralph fiennes	3
ultraverse binder	3
cheep ultraverse	3
prime trade paperback cover	3
hard case ultraverse comic book	3
+ultraverse +hardcase	3
ultra verse	3
ultraverse prototype	3
ultraverse trade paperback	3
debut cards	3
mantra ultraverse card	3
ultraverse firearm 0 with video	3
ultraverse comic	3
ultraverse toys	3
ultraverse break thru	3
nightman	3
are variant covers worth more than regular covers	3
lord pumpkin ultraverse	3
malibu ultraverse gold holographic covers	3
michael floyd action figure	3
ultraverse lord pumpkin	3
night man ultraverse	3
ultraverse secrets	3
hologram ultraverse comics	3
prototype ultra 5000	3
valiant forum ultraverse checklist	3
hologram covers	3
ultraverse origins	3
foxfire ultra gold	3
caratula ultraverse prime sega cd	3
firearm vhs alec swan	3
ultra force tv series characters toy	3
dead universe	3
rune #1 comic	3
ultraverse firearm 0 vhs movie	3
ultraverse elven 1	3

Short stack of signed cards

This was another one of those weird eBay auctions. Somebody was selling about 60 different cards from the Ultraverse Masterpieces set, and they were all signed by the artist (Dave Dorman).

 

 

They were broken into groups of 10, selling for a few bucks each. I put in bids on a couple, and that’s how I ended up with these.

Some dude probably brought the guy a huge stack of cards to sign at a convention. I’ve never met him but he must be pretty nice to sit there and sign them all. I get stuff signed every now and then at conventions but I couldn’t imagine bringing more than a few items.

Anyway, too bad he had to put in that kind of effort just for these cards to wind up on an auction site (nothing wrong with the seller doing that, it’s certainly his right).

Prime 4 in the polybag

One more book knocked off my checklist.

This was actually a pleasant surprise. I’ve been gathering up all my Ultraverse stuff and found this book mixed in with the rest. Didn’t even know I had it.

Now I am down to just a few left to finish off my checklist, and nothing too crazy apart from that “Ultraverse Secrets” book that is so hard to find.

There are two version of Prime 4, though … the other cover has Prototype. I’ve never seen one in the polybag but have been told they exist. So maybe that one will be pretty tough, too. Or maybe I have one stuck in a box somewhere … gotta get more organized!

Ghoul in action

I knew this was around here somewhere.

He was hard to find since he was in the coffin, which is a great accessory.