GameStop Power Up Rewards Pro Program

 

Year ago, I was lured into becoming a member of the GameStop Power Up Rewards Pro program. For a yearly membership fee, I would get some great benefits that included the following:

At the time, this was worth it to me because I was picking up many of the exclusive Funko Pop's from GameStop. I would go in on a monthly basis to use the $5 per month pro reward to get Pops or action figures. During the length of my membership, I also got back into gaming so I bought a new XBox and started playing on a Nintendo Switch as well.

Another benefit that the membership included was I received points based on how much I spent, and those would accumulate over the course of a year. When I earned over 10k points, I could redeem those for additional benefits including money off for in-store purchases.

At the end of the year, I would often make a larger purchase and use these points to reduce the actual amount of out-of-pocket money I was using. It was a nice system. I was part of the program in a time when they provided membership cards. I would typically get an astonished remark from the customer service rep in more recent years as I believe they discontinued providing these card in lieu of just using your phone #.

It has recently come to my attention that some changes have been made to the program that now make it not worth the expense, IMHO. GameStop has completely phased out its reward points system for Pro members, which officially ended in 2026. While the $25 annual membership cost remains the same, you can no longer earn Pro Points on purchases, and all existing points have expired. Also, the $5 monthly coupon can only be used in-store through their app.

I had installed the app a few times on my phones over the years, and 98% of the time I could not get it to function properly. Because of this, I uninstalled it from my phone. Last month (June 2026), I was made aware of the change to the program and I needed to use the app to use my monthly coupon. I made another attempt recently (July 2026) at a different location thinking that perhaps the rep at the last store just didn't want to help me. I got the same response. When I complained to each of the reps that I was never able to get the app to work correctly on my phone, they both said the same thing: "Yeah, I know bro."

This is an unacceptable response to the problem! While I understand that there is probably nothing the local reps can do to fix the issue since it is now part of the corporate policy, I shouldn't have to be forced to try and get a stupid app to work on my phone just to utilize the benefits of the membership I have held and paid for for so many years.

Because of this change in their program, I will not be renewing my membership once it expires and I also urge any of my readers who still pay into this same program to do the same. I doubt that it will cause a large enough impact, but it's a start. The new lack of real benefits outweigh the cost of membership, IMHO.

I'm sure there are those of you who will continue to use this program because you make more purchases of gaming products that the small discount makes it worth your while. That's fair. I did notice that on my last purchase, I did not receive the typical discount on the figures I bought. Based on what I'm finding online, I should still have received 5% off those purchases.

Pride

I don't typically express my political opinions openly, and I definitely don't express my feeling on personal sexual preferences, but I will always support my friends who identify as part of a marginalized community.

This year, with all the major strife that has been going on in America, I felt the need to make a statement of some kind. That's why I am openly supporting those of the LGBTQ+ community alongside those who would identify as gamers.

I remember a time where being known as a gamer put you in a marginalized and outcast light. I grew up in the shadow of The Satanic Panic. I had a couple of friends in high school that questioned my reasons for choosing to associate myself with cults and evil. I always responded with the fact that gaming isn't evil, it's what you do in real life that makes that determination. Yes, there are devils and demons in Dungeons & Dragons, but they are primarily there as antagonists to be overcome by the players and not necessarily forces to be joined.

The parents of one of my high school girlfriends were so against my gaming that they had my GF ask me to quit playing D&D. I agreed to do that, but failed to inform them of the other games my group and I were playing at the time; Robotech and Rifts to name just 2. Since these weren't Dungeons & Dragons, I didn't break my promise. It also helped that I actually decided to foreswear D&D at that time because I firmly believed that the 2nd edition was nothing but a cash grab and would not support it.

Beyond that, I always felt like a square peg in a round hole when it came to my sexual feelings. While I always felt a strong attraction to females, I would occasionally find myself being attracted to males as well. For so many years, society would be the determining factor of keeping my personal preferences secretive. It wouldn't be until the mid-90's where I would (at least partially) break that character trait as I would enter into my first (and to date only) relationship with another male. It also helped that he was a part of a gamer organization that I was joining; The Camarilla.

There was no confusion about my feeling towards him. I loved him. The odd things was that he was also a drag queen. I'm not sure if that didn't play a big factor in my initial attraction towards him. While we continued to LARP, I would also support him by attending his drag shows and meet his fellow drag friends. None of them were gamers so our encounters were limited to the shows.

We spent the better part of about 4 years together. He would occasionally attend my family holiday gatherings and would also be invited to our birthday celebrations. I never told my family of our real relationship status. Looking back, I'm sure some of them knew but didn't care to say anything.

I don't remember a lot about our years together except for the fact that I was usually happy. I can't remember why our relationship eventually ended, but I did have a journal that I used to write in that helped to fill in some of those blanks... unfortunately, they didn't always paint a pretty picture of the relationship I once cherished. I have since decided to discard that journal in lieu of living with the good times still in my head. We both had relationships after we split up. I even got married and he helped my bride to be get ready for the ceremony.

Last September (2025), he passed away due to complications of his diabetes. When I hear the news, even though we had grown apart and lost touch, my heart sank and I felt an emptiness in my life. His name was Gene and I loved him.

Gene on the left. Me in the middle.

And that I the reason why I will be finally openly supporting my friends and fellow allies of the LGBTQ+ community. I'm sorry it took the passing of a wonderful soul to get me to this point.

Action Figures - My Story of Collecting

1974 - I was born.

1977 - Star Wars was released in theatres.

1980 - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was released in theatres.

Somewhere between 1977 and 1980 - I received my first action figures.

When I was growing up, I had a wonderful collection of action figures. It started with Star Wars but expanded to G.I. Joe as well. Those were the 2 main lines I collected as a kid. There were a few figures and toys from other lines that I remember including to my collection such as:

• Sectaurs
• GoBots
• Transformers
• MASK

I'm sure there were some others that I have forgotten, but my primary focus was on Star Wars and G.I. Joe. I even remember one Christmas where my parents surprised me with a homemade Hoth playset.

I wish I had any photos of my old G.I. Joe collection, but unfortunately there are none. And the above photo is the only one I have from my Star Wars collection. I am thankful to my parents for these wonderful gifts and fond memories.

When I was old enough, my father had me help him with his side hustle of lawn care on the weekends so I could earn money to buy my own action figures. That was back in the days of Kmart where they would always have a wide selection of the latest toys. There are so many times I wish that I could time travel to the 80's with the kind of money I have currently as an adult in order to buy more of what I was unable to afford as a child.

I still remember the last Star Wars toy my parents purchased for me before the original Kenner line stopped. It was the Tie Interceptor and it was on clearance for $3.99 at the local Payless. I remember this so well because I kept the original box.

As I came into adulthood, my desire for collecting declined. I started to focus my attention on collecting comic books, learning about computers and playing tabletop role-playing games. I still kept my childhood toys in the attic of my parent's house.

Unfortunately, there were times where I needed extra money and selling my childhood memories became a lucrative outlet to achieve that goal. I attended events as a vendor to sell off my childhood. Sometimes I sold things for a reasonable price... some times I got ripped off (in hindsight). The same thing would happen with my foray into playing and collecting Magic: The Gathering... but that tale is for another time.

Years passed as I stopped actively collecting action figures. Then, in the early 2000's... the desire would come back in the form of nostalgia and the release of new Star Wars action figures. It started with the Phantom Menace figures, I skipped Clone Wars, but went hard into the Revenge of the Sith. And, in 2007, Hasbro would begin to release the G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary line of action figures. This is where my obsession really started again.

In this phase of collecting, I was keenly aware of the potential value of the figures if they were unopened or mint on card. So that's how I kept them. Instead of opening and playing with them, I purchased the figures and kept them in my collection to hopefully gain in value. I hoped that I would never again have to resort to selling them, but unfortunately that is exactly what happened.

In 2007, I would leave my job unexpectedly for personal reasons. To help make ends meet until I acquired a new job, I felt compelled to sell some of my collection. Not only the action figures, but my books and comics as well. This would happen again in 2009. Soon thereafter, my wife and I divorced and I was on my own. After moving into my first (and to this date, only) apartment, I was introduced to Funko Pops, and this started a new obsession.

Unemployment struck me again in 2014 and it wouldn't be for another year and a half that I would get a new position that would transition into the position I have to this day. With this new permanent position, it also meant a steady source of income and a reason for me to get back into my old collecting habits again.

It didn't help that both Star Wars and G.I. Joe were bringing back figures that scratched the nostalgia itch in the form of vintage and retro carded figures. This would soon open the way to me beginning to collect the G.I. Joe Classified line of figures, even though I had not been a fan of the 1:12 scale of figures before. While I decided that was a line I could cross, I have always maintained that I would never collect vehicles or playsets. That line recent blurred that line with the announcement of Zanya and Dreadnok Chameleon.

Since the original Zartan was one of my favorite figures, and I have been actively collecting the Dreadnoks, I felt like I needed to add her to my collection. My pre-order has been placed and I'm looking forward to adding her to my collection.

All this to share a link to my current collection here. While I do use Legendsverse to track my collection, I have been using the iCollect Everything app for quite a while. This app has the ability to scan the barcode on figures to be able to add them to my collection. This is incredibly useful as well as the fact that it is already loaded with so many figures where Legendsverse is still growing.

Funko Pops - My Story of Collecting

In October 2010, my eldest sister gave me the start that would become an obsession for me in the form of Batman and Robin bobblehead figures.

That same year for Christmas, he gave me an entire set of Star Wars figures from the same company, Funko.

Lightsaber not part of the Christmas gift.

Something that my loyal readers may or may not have already deduced is that I have a bad habit of picking up things to collect. From comic books, action figures, trade paperbacks, tabletop role playing games, collectible card games and the like, I have an obsession with collecting... for better or for worse.

I would look all over town for new Pops for my collection. At one point, I obtained a credit card from Hot Topic just so that I would be able to get exclusive Pops easier (in my opinion at the time). To get an idea of how bad my obsession is, please feel free to take a look at my photo album on Facebook to see.

Initially, I tried to limit myself to specific types based on the things that I follow and collect. I was wanting to stay primarily with Star Wars, but that went off the rails real quickly.

Back before there were shared exclusives that could easily be purchased at local stores, you would actually have to go to specific events to obtain them. I remember going to Emerald City Comic Con one year with one of the goals to acquire the Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in Stormtrooper  Pops. They originally sold for $20 each, which I gladly paid.

ECCC Exclusives from 2011

While attending comic cons, I would occasionally bring Pops to have people sign them. My favorite was when I had "Weird Al" Yankovic sign the exclusive Pop I had of him in his costume for the Fat video.

As you can tell from the FB photo album, I still collect these... but have become very selective. When I originally started collecting, I was living by myself in a 1 bedroom apartment. I had room to display them... but soon I ran out of room to display them all and I began packing some away in storage bins to keep them safe. When I eventually moved in early 2016, I had room to store these totes in a garage. Unfortunately, after so many years of collecting, I had to make the decision to actually rent a storage space to keep my growing collection. The new storage also included my comic books and actions figures as well, but the bulk of what was being store seemed like they were Funko Pops.

From November 2018, before being moved into storage.

It didn't take too long before 2 things happened after moving my collection to storage:

1. The rent for the storage unit was raised to a level I felt was overpriced for the size of the unit I was renting. This unit was a 5' x 10' unit and the location was not the best place nor was it maintained very well... IMHO.
2. The collection was getting bigger than the space I had available.

Fortunately, I was able to find a larger storage unit for around the same price I was already paying, and it was not only much closer to my home, but also a brand new location that was established during Covid. Easier to get to and a better maintained site. The downside to this was that it now gives me an excuse to expand my collecting habits... and I have been going on more action figure hunts since moving to the new unit.

Over the years, I have thought about the reasons why I actually collect so much. When I was a child, I had collections of Star Wars and G.I. Joe action figures that I loved... so I don't feel it was for lack of having toys. My parents also supported my love of comic books by not only giving me subscriptions to some of my favorite titles, but also gave me the opportunities to work to earn money so I could continue to grow the collection. They also supported by growing interest in role playing games and gave me my first Advanced Dungeons & Dragons book for Christmas one year.

The same book that I received as a gift is still in my collection to this day.

When I worked at The Book Bin, I learned that books would not only keep a value, but it would increase over time for several. I knew this was true about comic books, and later realized the same about action figures. When I first got into collectible card games like Magic the Gathering, I knew the single cards had value, but I don't think I appreciated them as much as I had comic books because I sold my collections a few times at a considerable loss for what I put into them and based on the actual value of each of them at the time. I started collecting Magic the Gathering again when Wizards of the Coast announce they were doing a Dungeons & Dragons set. I am still collecting, but also continue to play.

All of that and I think I finally landed on a primary reason for my collection obsessions. They have value that can be harnessed in a time of need. There were a few times over the years where I was out of work and needed to find a way to get money. I was able to sell parts of my various collections to help with that. I have made some very poor financial decisions in my life, and I don't know that I will have enough money saved to be able to actually retire from working, so my collections have become a kind of safety net.

While I don't have any idea of how much money is invested in my comic book, role playing game, action figure or collectible card game collections, the Funko app gives me a glimpse into how much that collection is valued at based on the current market.

It should be noted that not all Pops in the collection have a value in the app for whatever reason.

Taking a Break

Ever since I have rebranded to The Nat 20, I have been inspired to create and produce content. From the visit numbers that I have been taking notice of lately, this has been a huge improvement. I'm thankful to be able to have this creative outlet and the fact that you all come to read what I have an opinion on.

Over the past few years, I have had some rough things happen in my life:

• 2021 - My Mother passed away.
• 2022 - My Father passed away.
• 2024 - My friend, LCS owner and huge supporter of my non-profit passed away.
• 2025 - My friend (who also shared a birthday with me) passed away.

After the owner of my LCS passed away, I made the hard decision to start the shutdown process on my non-profit. Without his support, I didn't have to level of access to new blank comic books and couldn't support the continuation on my personal finances alone. By the time this is published, the final series of auctions for Comic Book Covers 4 Cancer will have run and ended (hopefully successfully). By the end of 2025, I hope to step away from all the responsibilities and shutdown all the former #CBC4C social media accounts.

In August 2025, there were some changes made on how I work and this transition has taken a mental and emotional toll on me. We are still trying to get our feet grounded and (as of the time of writing) it has already been over 2 months time and there's still a lot of things that are broken. Things that used to work in our old system that are made difficult not because so many things that were easy then are difficult now or don't even have a fully fleshed-out process.

At the end of October (when I am writing this), I took some time away from work to try and get some rest and maybe come back in a better state of mind. I'm only one day 1 of my 4 day weekend, and I feel like I've been able to get some things that I have been putting off done, but I'm having trouble motivating myself to do anything that I feel would be fun and might actually help recharge my depleted batteries.

On top of all that, I have written reviews for most trades that I have. I need to not only read some more to be able to write about them, but I also need to replenish my stack of To Be Read trades.

As for writing about RPG's, I'm in a creative slump. I have been playing for 41 years now and there's so much I want to be able to express. What I really want to do is creative an archive similar to what B.J. Zanzibar's World of Darkness was. I have several ideas on books I want to write for both the classic World of Darkness, but also fantasy RPG's like Dungeons & Dragons... but I don't feel like I have enough time to devote to brining them to life.

With all that in mind, I'm going to be taking a break with posting on a weekly basis. I do have a couple of possible events that I hope to attend and provide my point of view on them, but they are not confirmed as of yet. When they are, I will make sure to post through all my social media sites. If I decide to get back to regular weekly publishing here, I will also make sure to post through my socials. If you don't know how to keep in contact with me, you can find a link to all my socials to the right of here.

I'm going to commit to at least get back to regular business by the beginning of 2026.

Thank you to everyone who has ever read even a single on of my posts here. I do this for myself, but I'm thankful that so many people seem to be getting something from what I have to say as well.

16 Years and still going

 

In November 2009, I started my first blog which was originally titled Zanziber's Point of View. This was originally going to be an outlet for my writing by reviews for trade paperbacks and graphic novels. In those days, I wasn't aware that I could schedule when my reviews were actually published, so there were days that I would post multiple reviews in a single day. I'm so happy when I finally learned to be able to schedule by reviews to publish on a weekly basis.

A few years later, I wanted an outlet for one of my other long time passions; role playing games. In 2012 I began RPG4EVR which was for all my gaming content. Originally, it was meant to be an outlet for my life in role playing, but slowly opened up to include reviews.

About a year later, my dog Zipper died and I published the #PrednisoneKills blog. I published this out of a place of loss and anger and I wanted to make sure that people would be made aware of the dangers of Prednisone and ignorant/negligent veterinarians. While I felt the need to create this content, I didn't feel the same level of passion as I did for my other blogs.

Over the years, I continued to feel burn-out from writing and I lost my creativity several times. I stopped maintaining a regular weekly schedule and would write and schedule reviews occasionally when the mood hit me and the time felt right. I would also add another level to my Point of View blog by writing about my experiences at comic con events such as Rose City Comic Con and Emerald City Comic Con.

At the end of 2023, I felt the need for some kind of change and that came in the form of combining my passion blogs under a single banner. This is when I brought them together under the banner of The Nat 20, and here we are today.

I've also expanded things including Magic the Gathering decklists and recommendations of YouTube channels. I'm keeping myself open for new possibilities. I'm looking forward to the next several years being incredible and I welcome everyone to stay tuned to see where we go.

Thank you for 16 years!

Recently I did something that I don't typically do... I took a look at the actual stats for my blog.

When I have submitted my applications for Rose City Comic Con, I have been using an old stat of around 1000 views per month. I was shocked and amazed to see what the actual stats are as of Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

Since the beginning of September, there have been over 4400 views, and over 11k in the month of August. I will certainly make sure to update this information on future press pass applications.

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog.

Thank you to everyone who shares this blog.

Thank you to all of you.

“Weird Al” Yankovic: Bigger & Weirder 2025 @ Edgefield - My Experiences

McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater

2126 SW Halsey St. 

Troutdale, OR, 97060

Thursday, August 14, 2025

I have been a "Weird Al" Fan for most of my life, and I even still have 2 of the original vinyl records from when I was a kid: "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D and Dare to be Stupid. I have been fortunate enough to have attended his concert at the Oregon State Fair back in 2008 and have been able to meet him twice when he's been a guest at Rose City Comic Con.

When he announced hi tour dates for 2025, I knew there was no way I was going to miss seeing him again. Unfortunate circumstances prevented me from seeing his past shows since 2008, but thankfully none of those obstacles were in my way this year.

We got there early enough to get a fair decent parking spot and was able to grab some dinner at the Power Station Pub before the concert. I'm a fan of the McMenamins locations and the various food options they provide and thankfully we got there before the major rush of people began. If you're visiting the Oregon or Washington, I highly recommend stopping by at least 1 of the locations. Most of them are historic and all of them provide an enjoyable atmosphere.

After dinner, we made our way to the line for the gate.. and it was already huge! We had to walk to the far end of the property over by the east field where they have additional parking setup for concerts. For a man who is in his 50's and "fluffy", this was not a very welcome part of the adventure. Fortunately, the line began to move quickly and fairly smoothly and we made it to our seats without issue.

My view of the stage. Section C - Row P

Puddles Pity Party was the opener for Al. I'll be honest, I have heard of Puddles before and seen photos, but I have never had the pleasure of listening to his work prior to this evenings event. What an incredible talent! I can now say that I am a fan and will be adding him to my list of performers I regularly listen to. Moist-O-Meter video

Then there was the main attraction; "Weird Al" himself. The concert was incredible as he and his band performed so many of his classic original songs along with so many of his wonderful parodies. For me, it was a performance of a lifetime and I will never forget it as long as I live.

Al came out into the audience during his performance of "One More Minute".

While the majority of the of the merch that was available was too small for a "fluffy" guy like myself, I did decide to pick up one thing that was suggested to me from a friend on Facebook. I got "Weird Al's" set of trading cards. Now, outside of CCG's like Magic the Gathering, I haven't collected regular trading cards for several years... but I had to have these for my collection.

While I had a great time listening and watching the whole concert, there were a couple of things that I didn't enjoy or appreciate about the experience. We paid $100.00 for our tickets to ensure a good place to watch the concert... which I feel like we had a good spot... and our ticket secured us a chair on the amphitheater lawn. As a "fluffy" guy who is now in my 50's, an actual chair to sit in was a necessity.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but what we got was not it. The chairs were hard and plastic and worst of all, they were zip-tied together. This means that there was no room between me and the persons to my left and right... and the concert was a sold out event. When I went to stretch my legs and visit the bathroom late in the event, there were so many people that were standing on the lawn to watch. Considering the length of the concert, I couldn't imagine standing for that long.

Going back to our seats, I feel that the price paid for each ticket would have afforded for a better quality of seats along with the idea of actually being able to be comfortable through the concert. I hope that someone with the staff from Edgefield finds these words and id able to take this complaint forward to those who may be able to make changes for future events.

While I don't go to concerts that often, the seating setup in the one thing that will keep me from going back for any further concerts... no mater how much I would like to go.

Life Goals

 

Ever since I turned 50 last year, I've been having dreams of what I could do if I didn't have to commit so much of my life working a 9 to 5 job in order to earn a living and make ends meet. 

There were many years that I dreamed about opening my own RPG/comic book shop. A place where people can not only come to purchase all things they need for their likes, but also provide a great place to be able to host games and community events. I'd love to be able to carry on the traditions of my former LCS Tony's Kingdom of Comics, but I've come to realize that I don't have the finances nor the business acumen to be able to start or run a business. Also, I've come to realize that opening a store like this would not be economically feasible or sustainable with so much product being made in digital formats now.

As of late, I've started dreaming of different endeavors that I could take on that may or may not actually turn out to be money-making but more of something I would enjoy doing and even be able to give something back to the community. Not nearly in the same way as Tony once did, but something nonetheless. 

For starters, I want to be able to actually commit myself to developing the various TTRPG ideas that I have had over the years like Salem By Night and Project Multiverse. I would also like to create a type of archive for homebrew TTRPG material. I have a ton of printed pages of old plot hooks, character sheets and other material I think other people would enjoy to read and possibly even use in their own adventures.

I recently thought it would be a great idea to open an account on World Anvil to begin the process of bringing these projects to light. I would like to also open it up for fellow creatives to help design the worlds I have trapped in my head.

There's also a part of me that would like to try and get back into the creative process of writing a comic book like I did when I was younger. Maybe even go so far as to actually write some of the crazy ideas I had for stories when I was in high school. I used to have a notebook I would write down ideas for stories. I still remember 1 or 2 of them that I think might actually be worth flushing-out into short stories. There was a time in my life that I thought I would become a published writer.

My biggest problems to accomplishing any of this are as follows:

• I feel like I don't have any time to devote to these projects because I have to spend so much of my time working. In other words, I've got bills to pay and need to make money in order to pay them.
• I have always been a procrastinator, and it has been very hard to overcome this problem. Even when I write for my blog, it is very sporadic and I typically write for only a few hours in the early mornings on the weekend because I'm awake, I don't have any serious disruptions and the mood strikes me.

At this point, I don't have enough money to be able to retire early, so I have occasionally taken to purchasing lottery tickets hoping that I'll win enough to be able to make this fantasy into a reality. I'm not investing into this theory as I only play $20 every few weeks. I know the odds are against me, but I only play the state lottery so at least my money is going to help local projects.

The reason for writing this is to get these feeling off my chest and out into the world. I feel that if you put something positive out into the world, there's a chance that it can actually become a reality. I would love it if by publishing this I could help to manifest a path towards achieving these dreams.

Declined for ECCC

Yesterday, I unfortunately got word that my application for a press pass at Emerald City Comic Con was declined.

While being rejected is disappointing, this week is actually becoming fairly packed with other obligations and I had forgotten that I was already planning on attending the Washington State Toy Show on that Saturday.

The Future of CBC4C

Since July 2013, I have been working to raise money for the American Cancer Society. My motives for this are well documented in the former incarnation of this blog (Zanziber's Point of View) and you can read my interview here. As of this writing, we have been able to raise and donate just over $18,500 to the ACS.

While I still have a desire to help, my motivation and resources have been dwindling the past few years.

• In 2021, my mother passed away. She was the initial reason for me even creating Comic Book Covers 4 Cancer. I'm thankful that she is no longer in any type of pain. This live threw several curve balls her way, and yet she managed. I'm very thankful that I was there before she passed so we can have time to talk before she passed.
• In 2022, my father joined my mother. After she died, his health took a rapid decline. The last time I saw him, he was non-verbal and didn't seemed to even recognize me. This hit me very hard and I still have a missing part of me that was never able to have the same type of last conversation that I did with my mother.
• In 2024, Tony Grove passed away. He was a my LCS owner, a wonderful supporter of CBC4C, and someone I would happily call a friend. Though I know he struggled through some physical issues, he always made sure to help with donating blank cover comic books on a regular basis. If it weren't for all of Tony's support through the years, I don't think CBC4C would have become as successful as it has been. His passing not only had a huge effect on me personally, but it also had a great impact on our local community as Tony was someone who would always help with local charities in need. Tony's passing had the unfortunate effect to CBC4C as we now don't have a steady source of new blank covers to provide to artists. 

Since Tony's passing, I have tried to get new blanks available, but I hit financial barriers as well as not knowing when new blanks will be available. On top of this, it seems as though interest in artists donating has also diminished. I can't blame them because the economy has been a rollercoaster for so long... and I am not that optimistic for upcoming few years.

Because of all of this, I have decided to make some big changes going forward for CBC4C:

• In 2025, we will no longer be having 4 series of auctions. Instead, I will run 2 auctions; May for Free Comic Book Day, and November. These auctions will be held on our Facebook page like the December 2024 auctions were.
• I'm planning on reaching-out to artists who will be attending specific local comic events to see if they would be willing to donate their artwork to help us. This has been successful in the past, although the past few years it has been difficult for some events because the announcements of artists are being made too soon before the events.
• Since we have a nominal collection of blanks, not only will I be asking artists to donate their art on them, but I will be working to liquidate them for extra $$ to be donated to the American Cancer Society.
• We also have a large collection of covers that didn't sell during their original series of auctions. I'm planning on adding a new Album on our FB page to include many of these available for sale with the $$ going to the American Cancer Society.
• After 2025, Comic Book Covers 4 Cancer will be closing.

I want to thank all the various artists who have helped to make CBC4C successful. Also, thank you to all our supporters who have helped us over the past 11+ years.

Tony Grove - Memorial

 

On the afternoon of May 16th, 2024, it was announced that LCS owner, and pillar of the community, Tony Grove had passed away.

Those that knew him were blessed by his loving and giving spirit. The events he ran at Tony's Kingdom of Comics always carried an aspect of charity to them. He would help fundraise for local charities, but would always ask for food donations to the local food bank. His passing will leave a hole in our hearts that may never fully heal.

Before his passing, Tony was working towards retirement and selling his shop. At the Free Comic Book Day even on May 4th, 2024, Tony introduced me to the potential new owner so that Tony's contributions to my non-profit (Comic Book Covers 4 Cancer) would be continued through the new ownership.

On Thursday, May 23rd, it was announced that the store was closing. There's no word as to if it will be reopened at the time of writing.

Tony will be missed by everyone that knew him, and would community will feel the loss of the store.

RIP Tony Grove

The Nat 20 - Welcome

 

Welcome one and all to The Nat 20; a culmination of my work over the past 14 years with both Zanziber's Point of View and RPG4EVR blogs. In late 2023, I decided to combine my love of comic books and role playing together in what you are about to see here. All of my reviews and articles that were part of these blogs are now apart of The Nat 20.

For those new readers to my blogs, let me introduce myself...

My name is John Rogers, but here I go by the handle of Zanziber. This is the name of an old RPG character from back when I was in high school.

Me & "Weird Al" Yankovic from Rose City Comic Con

My avatar of Zanziber

I've been writing these blogs since 2009 and it started as a creative outlet to occupy my free time. Since then, it has become much more than that. I've been honored to be welcomed as a member of the media/press at a handful of local events so that I can share my personal experiences with my readers.

I've been collecting comic books and role playing since 1984. Back then, Dungeons & Dragons was listed for ages 10+ and my older friend waited until I was 10 years old to introduce me to what would consume my life. I have since played a multitude of different TTRPG's and CCG's. (If you're unfamiliar with gaming shorthand abbreviations, please read this article where I work to explain them.)

While I will primarily focus on providing content directly related to comics and role playing games, there will occasionally be the time where I will post something from a different aspect of my life that I enjoy. This is to mean that I have been toying with the idea of writing about my love of professional wrestling (AEW specifically), but have not yet made the decision to commit to this quite yet.

The negative part of rebranding and making a big change to a single blog is that my part stats from my individual blogs aren't going to be captured. Here's what they were at the time of writing this (11/23/2023):

That nearly 400k views from Zanziber's Point of View

And nearly 100k views from RPG4EVR

Please consider following me on social media.

In 2013, I created the Comic Book Covers 4 Cancer non-profit to help raise $$ for the American Cancer Society. As of the writing of this (11/23/2023), we have raised and donated just over $18,500. If you would like to help keep #CBC4C alive, we could always use some financial assistance. Please consider donating here.

Update

As loyal followers of this blog know, I haven't posted any new reviews in quite some time. I have been left creatively drained ever since COVID started and have not felt the desire to write much of anything. This has affected me in other aspects of my life as well... but I digress.

My last post to this blog was about going to JoeFest in Augusta, GA in June; and (at the time of writing this) this is next weekend. I have never travelled so far for an event, and I am not only excited, but also a huge ball of anxiety.

Leading-up to JoeFest, I am starting to feel more motivated to get back into writing reviews, so I have made a promise to myself and now to all of you.

By the end of June, I will get back into the rhythm of posting reviews on a regular basis. I do this for myself, for all my followers and in hopes of continuing my ability to be able to go to events such as Rose City Comic Con and cover the event as part of the media/press.

I am motivated. I will be able to designate myself the time to actually put this promise to action. I also have an ever-growing supply of trades and graphic novels to read and review.

I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to get to this point. I know that the COVID situation has affected everyone in different ways. Thank you for staying with me and keep your eyes on this blog and feel free to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.