Yeah, my buddy did that for the whole "Knightfall" story. He spent months hitting every flea market and small shop in a fifty-mile radius, missing like two issues. The day he found that final copy of Batman 497, he just stood in the aisle grinning like an idiot. He said reading that beat-up issue, with the old Toy Biz ads and everything, felt way more real than his paperback collection ever could.

Good point, but you don't need to load the strut. Just jacking it up to take the weight off the wheel lets you check the whole tire and bead evenly.

That battery pack snag is a real headache. Saw a guy on a job rig a small carabiner to his D-ring and clip it there, kept it off his waist. Another trick is using that flat webbing pouch some vests come with and safety-pinning it under your arm, out of the way. Makes a big difference when you're squeezing through a tight hatch.