I must be cheap....

Its been a while since I have updated this space.

Truth to tell - there isnt much to update. Its been a while since I have added anything substantial and meaningful to the personal archive. Its been slim pickings at the moment.

I was able to find a decent All Star Western #10 (1st Appearance of Johna Hex) and a Volumes I, II & III of the hardbound Absolute Sandman. So that was nice.

However, in general - I'm downright discouraged about continuing to collect.

Prospects are low.
I cant find any decent, affordable material. I've come to grips with getting books in MUCH lower grade than I would normally accept and entertaining the notion of getting them restored to their former glory.

Case in point - I was watching an auction for Tales to Astonish 27 - Great cover. Had some brittle, loose pages in the interior. It went for over OVER $1200 bucks..

There was yet another auction for an Incredible Hulk 1. It was whole and intact but there was no color on the cover. It had some type of water/humidity damage that would require extensive work to press and re-rolor the cover. Still went for close to $900 dollars.
That is just freaking absurd!

Who the heck is buying these things? Are they leaving the country? What gives?
Arent we supposed to be in a recession? With the boomers getting older, I had hoped to run up on a collection at an estate sale or some such but that apparently is not in the cards either. I continue to pray for for that miracle yard sale or divorce fire sale.

Its time for that warehouse find of Keys to come out and price correct the market.
Things are way too high for the average individual to afford.

Is there a collectables mutual Fund? Its getting so that the ONLY way I'll ever own one of these keys it to purchase a "portion" of it thru some type of grouped mutual fund entity that invests in collectables and pays out on their resale.


I've seemingly hit the wall were the comics I want to add to my collection has eclipsed my ability to afford them.

What to do with a Modern Comic Collection?

The only reason to collect ANYTHING is because you enjoy it.

It could be Hummel figurines, guns, cars, coins, watches or finger and toenail clippings. To expect any of this stuff to fund your retirement or pay for your kids college education is a pipe dream. Sure certain "items" could do those things and if you are lucky enough to have or find a few great! But with RARE exception are any of these "money" items new modern items.

Buy the stuff you enjoy but don't expect it to be worth anything!
My take on Modern Comics  - anything produced since 1980.

I found a fellow collector on Craigslist wanting to get rid of his modern collection. Tired of them, sick family member, needs cash ..... who knows why he would sell them; could be any reason, really.

I sent him the following note..

Hi Fellow collector.
Saw your post on Craigslist. Looks like you have a lot of modern stuff. I'm really after Bronze and Silver age books. Doesn't seem like that was your area of focus for the collection. So I'm not the man to buy your stuff.

The reason I'm writing is because I know how hard it is to get rid of modern books. Everyone that wants them seemingly has them... OR they aren't willing to give much for them. A dealer would barely give 15 to 20 cents a book for the inventory and to have it eat up the floor space. Finding an individual that's wants them on Craigslist is a great option. However, in case that doesn't work out for you - here's an idea for your consideration that I have used in the past.

Depending on how you do your taxes; Give them to Goodwill. I know it sounds weird, but hear me out... I've donated comics and picked up  donation claim forms to give to my accountant and get value back that way. In the past, I've claimed full cover price, (since many books were bought at a discount from comic shops that is better than it sounds)+ bags + boards and boxes.

This can add up quickly.

It kind of bruises the soul to GIVE them away... but you could possibility come out OK depending on IF it makes sense for the way you do your taxes. And if you can wait and do NOT need the cash in hand immediately, picking up value thru the tax man - you could do worse.

Good Luck!

I had expected that to be the end of it.
Maybe its my generally poor presentation skills, but folks typically don't respond well to unsolicited advice, especially mine. Imagine my delight to the reply below...

Will,
Yes, most of my stuff is modern. I started collecting in the mid to late 80's. I have a fair amount of bronze age stuff in my Marvel comics. My Bronze Age stuff is mostly Uncanny X-Men, Daredevil, and some of the old horrorish titles like Tomb of Dracula, Ghost Rider, and Werewolf by Night.

That is an awesome suggestion!

In fact, that suggestion might be enough to save the portion of my collection that would really crush me to sell off. We've donated to Goodwill in the past and I was always surprised by how much credit is given for clothes, toys and such. There were times that I almost felt bad about taking that much of a tax write off for used stuff, but I didn't make the rules. If the IRS is fine with it, then I'm not one to argue.

I never thought of doing that with comics. I have boxes of stuff that I've picked up from other people that I picked up for pennies. Getting cover price for those in a tax write off would be much better than selling them even for a quarter a piece.

Thanks again for the suggestion. It is greatly appreciated.
"Name withheld"

So... The takeaway here is that it CAN make sense to give away certain low value items that would otherwise be hard to sell in the proper way. No collector wants to sell their hard work piecemeal and have their collection cherry-picked by strangers.  That's a painful process for not much money.

The donation option eases the pain of separation and increases turnaround time to unload them in one fell swoop. AND you may be throwing a kid a lifeline to encourage reading and overall interest in the comic hobby.

Enjoy what you collect!

Thoughts on Collection Intervention

So I finished up my half hour on the exercise bike and was too awake for bed. I decided to check out the new "Collection Intervention" show on SyFy-Lysis.

Elyse Luray is the host and quite frankly her cred from the History Detectives on PBS is why I decided to watch this show. That and she is easy on the eyes. Elyse welds those eyebrows the way Indiana Jones works a whip.

To be brutally honest, I was kinda leery of this show. I was afraid it would be a combination "Hoarders / Comicbook men" that would hit me squarely between the eyes and sting as I am a collector and accumulator of "Stuff" (Your stuff is crap; My crap is "Stuff"). If not done with some care and understanding, it could hit a little too close for comfort.

I have Silver and Bronze age comics, *some* Vintage Star Wars and Beatles items. But its not in every room of my home, or stuffed into a garage. I know what I have, where I got it, and have a good idea what I paid for it.

(I happen to have an actual car in my garage.)

The cute Pixie Star wars girl was out of control. It might be good for her to get professional counseling. At the auction when she was clearing stuff out... I couldn't help but wonder "What did you spend on that stuff?... are you breaking even or taking a bath on those items?.. It would be interesting know - THAT she was able to part with something wasn't quite enough for me.

Catnip-boy was.. well, just odd. I can imagine how much ridicule he endure as a youth collecting the "girl" stuff. That explains why he felt he had to hide it. However, hes another therapy candidate. he landed a cute girl, get her a cat-woman costume for the bedroom and call it a day, hes a winner in the game of life.

I have my collections. But I can walk in my house. I pay my bills. My wife kids aren't wanting for necessities. I guess that's why I'm not a candidate for the show. No "intervention" is really necessary.

I get how Elyse with her knowledge and network of contacts can help assess a collection and get folks to part with their treasures for a nicer than average price for television. That's good, its a start - but its only one part of a "true" intervention.

It would be nice to have the perspective of a normal collector, talk about proper storage materials and conditions. Feature some collectors with a balanced life to show that every collector isn't bat-guano crazy. It could set a bad stereotype if the other-side isn't shown.

I'll have to give it a couple of more episodes before I fully make my mind up on this show. Evey show deserves some time to find its "legs". In large part due to the Host, the show is handled with a certain sensitivity toward the "participants" - guests? - I'm not sure what to call them, exactly. I think it could go a bit further to really help these folks. They are seemingly out of balance and I'm not sure selling their stuff is the entire solution for them - or that could just be the "television" of it.

I call Jerry Springer "Genius TV" cuz I feel so much smarter than those SOB's on the show. Maybe that IS the point and is exactly what this show is supposed to do. To make average collectors feel better about what they do.

OK, I'm dropping Thor.

Before I explain why...

I remember waaaaay back when when Daredevil was written by Stan Lee and Gene Colan. One issue had a backup story of what a planning session between the two is like. Gene asked Stan to come up with the plot this time. Stan talks about what a genius he is for a few panels (to stall for time) then starts his plot idea.

Stan: OK, DD is stranded on top of the tallest mountain in Tibet.

Gene: How did he get up there?

Stan: You can figure that one out. Anyway, he gets in a fight with Baron Zemo...

Gene: But Zemo's dead! How do we bring him back to life?

Stan: Don't worry, you can figure that one out.

The rest of the story goes on like this, until the last panel when the men with white coats and butterfly nets came up behind them to take them away. After reading Thor lately, I'm convinced that story was true and not a parody.

How else to explain the way they rush disconnected ideas together, amass logical paradoxes, and spoo themselves out of continuity?

Thor sacrifices himself. He goes to the afterlife (not Valhalla) which is actually a kind of limbo where forgotten gods go to waste away for eternity. He becomes a kid and forgets who he is. The other gods tell him they can't leave because a big monster won't let them. Thor gets so emotional over this, he gets his memory back, and convinces the others to help him fight the big monster. They defeat the big monster and come back to life.

Meanwhile...

Somehow, when Thor died, everybody in Asgard forgot who he was. Everybody except for Karnilla and Ulik the troll. Ulik dresses up like Thor and takes his place. Even though everybody forgot who Thor was, there's supposed to be a Thunder god, so apparently any goob can dress up like a Thunder god and claim he's him.

While this diarrhea is spraying everywhere, Karnilla masquerades as one of the Fates. You know, the three Norns who CAN TELL THE FUTURE. Somehow, she could fake being one of them even though THEY CAN TELL THE FUTURE and would see her coming before she thought of doing it. Through this, she formulated plans to have Ulik take Thor's place, then does the villain laugh and kills the young maiden Fate. You know, the Fates who CAN TELL THE FUTURE and somehow didn't see this coming.

Why did she do this? So the trolls could sneak into Asgard and take it over while the Asgardians were too confused to figure out what was going on. Thor comes back just in time to save everybody. Karnilla then reveals she's one of the 3 Mothers who now rule Asgard. And, just so we the readers won't think the 3 Mothers are completely useless, one of them draws out her sword and defeats Karnilla in a couple of panels. Just like that.

Which of the three mothers did this? I forgot. It wasn't the one who always holds the baby, unless she handed the tyke off beforehand. It doesn't matter to Marvel anyway.

They cram all this into a four-issue story arc. MAYBE they could have pulled this off if they had stretched it out over a year and paced things slower. For instance, after Thor's gone, have a scene where Asgardians are defending the realm against some invading army that's pouring over their walls. There's several pages of battle, the invaders are winning, and the Asgardians are losing hope.

Right in the nick of time however, a familiar heroic silhouette with a winged helmet and a big hammer appears and saves the day. The Asgardians rejoice that the Thunder god saved them and he comes forth to claim his accolades, and the last panel of the story reveals that it's Ulik! Wait, the reader wonders, how did this happen? It's a great hook for the next issue, which the reader eagerly anticipates, right?

To quote John Belushi, "But NOOOOOO!" Instead of doing this, they cram it all together on one page, by saying the Asgardians now know the Thundergod as Tanarus instead of Thor. They show Tanarus striking a heroic pose, then continue on with life as usual. Absolutely no sense of mystery, intrigue or buildup. It's just a laundry list of events mashed together and printed in glorious color.

Seems like they're counting on the popularity of the movies to keep sales going and doing fuck-all for story development. Didn't they go bankrupt when they did something similar in the nineties? They thought everybody would just buy their crap because it was supposed to be popular. Doesn't always work. At least not with me any more.

Thoughts on Comic Book Men

I was never really "chomping at the bit" to see this show. I've seen "Pawn Stars" and "Storage Wars" and have been WAITING for those shows to show a nice cache of cool vintage comics. Hoping for those to appear.

******
Full disclosure:
I won a e-bay auction a few months back. Turns out the "Jay and Bob's Stash" was the seller. I won a nice lot of mid-grade Captain Americas issue range between 130 and 150. They gave me great service at a great price. Was very happy with the transaction. I'd deal with them again no sweat!
******

So why cant I get amped for a show about comics? I'm not sure.
After 2 episodes the show is still finding its legs but the characters fall a bit flat for me so far.

 Walt - is a hustler - he buys and sells, knows the material. Maybe its his accent but I expect him to pull out a pint at anytime. This guy would be the same if he were working a dock or running a fruit stand.

Mike - not sure what he adds just yet.. He seems intent to learn and is content to be along for the ride. I dont have a feel what hes about yet.

Ming - Seems to be the butt of a lot of jokes. He must be the newest fish in the fish tank while every body finds a pecking order.

Bryan - Is that gruff SOB that most comic shops seem to have. He feeds off the weak to fuel his self esteem. His main meal seems to be Chicken a al Ming.

Kevin - He shows up and MC's the table to facilitate discussions.. He missed the Bat-Mobile and the nutty folks that come in. There is a goofy scene with Hockey that was was odd. I'm not a hockey "guy" but other than that I could be Kevin Smith. Well a version of him without fame, wealth and talent. I've worn a beard for years (till recently), I'm funny, I still hang out with some of my old friends from HS and comics rule.. Tell me we aren't virtual twins with a straight face....

I've got the T-shirt..
I guess that's the crux of the biscuit for me. I could be on that show and not miss a beat. I have too much in common with those guys. A shared experience of comics, we've lived thru the same cultural events, of a similar age. I have a "there's a nothing new under the sun" outlook for this show after 2 mere episodes. They aren't taking me anywhere new. They aren't taking me on a journey of discovery. At least not yet....

If I were whispering into someones ear on how to add some juciy bits to the show:

1) Bring a comic creator to the round table, Stan the Man, Neal Adams or Shooter.

2) Feature an under-rated comic with some price increase potential Like this one! A pick of the week. Engage folks to find go into their local comic shop and buy something.

3) Try to engage younger readers and bring them in the store. Show other retailers how you do it. 

4) Talk about digital publishing and why it useless or advantageous.

5) Do something with free comic book day to bring in new readers. 

6) Encourage comics being given away for Halloween instead of candy.

7) Talk about CGC and what they have done for comics.

8) Discuss restored comics.

9) Give storage tips and discuss grading.

10) Talk about things publishers do that bug you or that you love.

Ultimately, I think this show is preaching to the converted at the moment. They have a GREAT slot after the Walking Dead and a platform to bring in new readers should they chose to use it that way.

Bottom line - I'd just like a little more from it.
Its a good show. Its on my DVR list. But I'm not convinced its of "Must-watch" status yet. Its early tho and I am hopeful.

Bronze Beauties

No, this post isnt about girls in bathing suits...
I almost wish it was, my blog might get some comments if I pandered and went all sensationalistic and stuff..

Here are some nice books I've picked up from my Man Rick!

Rick is a dude who usually has a booth at the local Flea Market in Raleigh. He does horse trading and swapping and generally has a real nice assortment of comics at reasonable prices.

Over the past 2 yrs or so I have bought a ton of stuff from him. I bought this  Journey into Mystery 95, and a Tomb of Dracula 10 (1st appearnce of Blade)

I've taken him some stuff to buy from me and he deal very fairly. He keeps the material moving and isnt looking to retire off of any one book. So you can ballpark what hes going to pay based off how he sells his stock. I applaud his approach.

War! Who doesn't love a good war book?

How can you NOT love some low number Luke Cages? If its good enough for Nick Cage its good enough for me.

An don't forget Monsters. I think Marvel was trying bring back the classic Universal monsters all by themselves for a while..

And then a hole filler for a "cant refuse it price"

Sometimes craigslist CAN work out

Yes I admit it.
I regularly check craigslist to see if I can find some type of deal to be had on comics. Someone clearing out Dear Old departed Grandmothers' attic...

Personally, I'm holding out hope for the scorned lover getting revenge for not getting a big enough ring for Valentines Day. Or the lady trying to finance a divorve or get payback somehow by partting out her significant others collection out of spite.

I always seem to miss these opportunities... I am ever hopeful, however..

Recently, I have found a few folks that have some trading inclanation.

Here are some recent Daredevils I have managed to run up on...10, 22, 29, 47, 61, 68, 71, 78, 81, 90, 98, 100, 112, 118, 131, 141, 142, 143, 144. Below are a few random pics..

I had to part with some Bronze age Superman/Action/Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsens to aquire them.

Not too shabby....
There is also another fellow I am attempting to make a large trade with on some other DD books.

Stay tuned.. I'll let you know how it goes.

Publishing oddities

Every once in a while, I'll run across a book with something I cant quite explain on it.. does anyone know what these little actually oddities mean or are indicative of?
This "bluing" of the back cover is ink. I'm not sure if was added at the Publisher level or Distribution level. 

Most typically the ink runs along the edge. (but that's kind of hard to depict in a scan) In this example we have some ink overage that splashes well in to the back cover. 

Luckily the front is unaffected.

This next book has an odd mark instead of a price, or at least it seems to be indicative of a price. Not being familiar with foreign concurrency, I don't understand the syntax of the "1/-" notation. 
My best guess is that this is for either Canada or the European market at large.. maybe Australian..

This is a bit of an odd mark. Perhaps it was sent to someone in Military Service as part of a subscription or picked up at the corner drugstore from their base. 

I am curious where such a book was intended to be (Geography wise) and can only guess how it left that county and made its way to the States.

Psst. that opaque blemish is tape on the Mylar bag. I was too lazy to remove it for the scan.

Now THIS little gem seems specific to the UK. 

You kind of have to wonder though.... shouldn't there be fewer books with this mark since? Wouldn't this make the book more rare? 

Probably so, but it doesn't seem to matter to US collectors. The cents copies currently rule.

Things I'm not proud of..

Have you ever done the right thing for the wrong reason? I suppose the end justifies the means, to a certain extent. But when I look at my collection and notice the holes, the books that are missing from it.. I cant help but wish I had done something a bit differently.

I must have been maybe 15 years old or.. close to THIRTY freaking years ago. I went to the local flea market with my best friend. We rode with his mom since we both were too young to have a license. This one vendor had a copy of Hulk 1 and DC showcase 22. 

I talked, weaseled, pleaded and practically begged him to sell me these books at a price I could afford. This is back when the Hulk 1 was going for about $600 according to Overstreet. Not sure what the 1st Silver Age Green Lantern was going for then (but I knew what it was and that I wanted it) but it was prolly in the same ballpark. He wanted $150 apiece. (I'd give him that all day long NOW..)

Well after my failed negotiation talks; he asks me to watch his booth so he can go to the restroom and get a cup of coffee. I said sure. I had ample opportunity to snatch and dash with those books. I wanted them oh so badly. I was more afraid of being caught, and having to face my friends mom and then ultimately MY folks. Fear kept me at bay. I suppose a little fear is a healthy thing. But man, I really wanted those books!

And while we are on the subject of theft and temptation as a youth..

I remember when a comic shop opened in my hometown. About the same time frame as the story above. They sold comics new and old along with Harlequin romances, assorted text books, coffee table books and vinyl records. Maybe not a true comic shop but close enough for me in those days. They were just opening up, hadn't been in business very long. Mere DAYS. I remember this dude had the owner by the curb trying to sell him a trunk-load of stuff.

I meandered into the store to look around Boxes of stuff. Still moving in and getting set up. Nothing was in order or had a permanent place to live. I noticed a short box. It had the first 30 or so Conan's. I knew it was out of my price range so I passed it over and continued milling around to get the lay of the land. Well this other dude had wandered in doing the same thing I was just looking around. I didn't see anything that struck my fancy that day and split.

So next time I see the owner hes pretty gruff. He moves his location finds some new business partners and he has things going great guns. Bully for them. I always got lousy service from them even tho I became a regular customer.

All I can figure is that other dude stole something and the owner thought I did it.

Crazy.

Get off my lawn

Did I wake up in a time warp?

I feel like Rip Van Winkle who has just woke up and just noticed that comics are priced thru the roof!!

I cant find any DEALS to be had to save my butt!

What I'm about to say will be very unpopular. If you have books to sell, or mind-numbing sums of money you don't want to admit tied up in your comics this is NOT going to make your day.

Someone needs to become Francisco d'Anconia and flatten out the comic values. I mean really... We are talking about paper. Not Gold not Silver;  50 to 60 year old pieces of paper. The destroyer needs to wreak havok on a market out of balance.

Gold is currently priced at $1721.51 per Oz. Silver is priced at $33.54 per Oz. There are more folks that have an interest in precious metals and real commodities than old news print.

Whats the avg weight of a comic? 

I weighed a few for a highly unscientific baseline just to satisfy my own morbid sense of curiosity

   Journey into Mystery #95               1.7 ozs

   Daredevil #156                             1.5 ozs

   Nick Fury Agent of Shield #10         1.7ozs

   Dazzler #1                                   1.5 ozs

       So we can average 1.6 ounces..

An ounce and a half of Gold is = 2582.27

An ounce and a half of Silver = 50.31

I have only a handful of comics that have a value approaching 1k or more

I have boatloads that are the equivalent of silver or significantly better

Housing, energy, manufacturing bubbles have burst. 

How do we deflate the comics market so I can buy some more? 

They cost too damn much!

Christmas 2011

I love my wife. I love my wife. I love my wife. I love my wife. I love my wife. I love my wife.

For 20 years she has asked me the same question  - and - I have given her the same answer.

        Her: "What do you want for Christmas?"

        Me:  "Comics." I want some GD comics under the friggen tree"

20 yrs we've had this lil dance. No comics under the tree. This year. I found me a bundle of "Unexpected" on ebay and gift wrapped them to myself. No keys, nothing special, just hole fillers.

Is that Bad?

Anyone else had to stoop to such measures for some Holiday Joy?

Blogs need love too..

Hi funny-book fans.

I apologize. To all of you. I've been a wee bit lax in posting regularly as of late. I'll try to fixy that right up. Between the holidays, Scout stuff with my boys, work and reading, reading, reading. I haven't been posting. 

Heck, I'm lucky the bills are being paid on time.

As such I havent had much time for scavenging funny books, swapping, wrighting or wronging.

Netflix, Netflix, Netflix... What am I going to do with you?

Let me confess something right here and now... I'm a Netflix addict. I stream when I work out... just about anytime I can, I DO. I love catching up on stuff I missed the 1st time around. Farscape, Firefly, Breaking Bad... TONS of stuff. Netflix has allowed me to be well-viewed.

I find it especially enticing when noise about Firefly being resurrected is mainstream here and here. (Great little show! Cant recommend it more highly.)

But Netflix pissed off a lot of people by jacking their rates for DVD's and streaming. (I do streaming only so I was unaffected but that fiasco.) But I did watch it unfold with a curious eye. Folks cried foul, Netflix launched a spin-off venture, only to fold it less than a month later. Content providers are letting Netflix deals expire and they have their delusions cast on launching their own streaming ventures/deals, envious of Netflix recent success.

The drive to produce their own content is a big gamble but one worth taking to retain viewers. If the stuff is GOOD they will gain viewers. But,to me this is like the cherry and whipped creme on the sundae. These are the last bits you add AFTER you build a tasty treat.

Really, the end-game for Netflix is this:
They need to reach deals with the NFL Network, NBA, NHL, MLB, NCAA and ESPN and carry streaming sports LIVE. They need to do this TODAY. 2 min delay, let those networks/groups show their nationally sold ads via the stream, give them a % per view, whatever it takes to get them on the bus. If this were in place I would cut my cable TO-Fucking-DAY.

Then what are all of those content providers (STARS, HBO, Showtime) who fancy their own distribution channel gonna do? They will practically be paying Netflix to give them bandwidth, begging to stay relevant.

I'm old school. Al Gore says he built the internet... we unless he posted the 1st dirty picture, he didn't give it the right fertilizer to grow. Porn built the internet. Nerds wanting to look at hi-res boobies made dial-up modems obsolete. (Smile if you know I'm right!)

Game set and match to Netflix.

IF they can pull off the double play of live streaming Sports AND Adult content. They would practically be a content distribution monopoly. And Stock-type people love to print money with a monopoly. Netflix previous missteps will be forgiven and forgotten.

C'mon Marvel, pick something and stick with it.

Back in the fast-paced 90's, Marvel developed a marketing strategy that nearly put them out of business. They relied on short-term flashiness, like crossovers and shiny covers with metallic ink to attract buyers, and wound up with a lot of product nobody wanted. Now they're doing it again.

Case in Point: there used to be a series called Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins, a spinoff from Avengers storylines concerning the dreaded return of the Elder god Chthon. Chthon wrote the Darkhold book himself, infusing the pages with all sorts of nasty evilness designed to corrupt and destroy mankind so that he could return to a nice homey apocalyptic world. He must not have used the right glue to bind the pages together, as they got lost and scattered. A mysterious demented dwarf came into possession of some of the pages, and started passing them around like candy to unsuspecting marks. They read the sinister scripture, thinking their dreams would come true, but of course they don't. They turn to soul-destroying shit.

Enter the Darkhold Redeemers. Victoria Montesi is the reluctant descendant of a long line of Darkhold guardians. She is given the task to recover the pages, and receives help from occult expert Louise Hastings, Interpol agent Sam Buchanan, and Mordred the Mystic. The series used similar formulas to the Friday the 13th and Warehouse 13 TV series, where occult investigators recover bad mojo that drives people insanely and murderously evil, and lock it safely away to never trouble mankind again. The occult was big at the time, as DC had Sandman, Swamp Thing and Hellblazer flying off the shelves.

So, how did Marvel screw it up? They made it crossover central, guest starring the Midnight Sons, Ghost Rider wannabes who rode demonic motorcycles with lots of skulls and sulfurous flames of hell spouting out of their exhaust pipes. Doctor Strange also crossed over, as well as Punisher and any other oh-so-hard-edged "dark" trope they could push down readers' throats.

As the Darkhold Redeemers were being overshadowed by these frequent guest stars, Marvel obviously decided the real stars of the series weren't enough of a sell. So, they killed off the dumpy professor, made Victoria a lesbian, and transformed Buchanan from a middle-aged pot bellied detective to a steroid muscle monster with BFGs. (Big Fucking Guns) Those short-term solutions didn't work of course, and the book died a quiet death.

Nowadays, it's Thor that's getting the constant redesigns. Again, Marvel thinks the way to sell the book is to introduce major Earth-shattering events during every story arc, totally scrap any continuity they've established, and bait potential new readers into buying flashy shiny crap.

To wit: Thor rebuilds Asgard. Asgard gets destroyed. It gets rebuilt. It gets destroyed again, and gets rebuilt, only this time it's now a multi-cultural commune overlooked by three goddesses.

Odin had been exiled to eternal battle with Surtur. Thor brings him back. Odin takes over Asgard, acting like Odin always does, bellowing "Never question me" at the Asgardians, and Thor gets pissed. Odin fights Galactus over a seed, then goes back into exile. Oh yes, Galactus lets Silver Surfer go and replaces him with a small-town preacher. Isn't that just so monumental and earth-shattering? I bet they kill off the new herald before New Year's.

Loki comes back as a woman when Thor rebuilds Asgard the first time. Then he becomes a man again. Then he becomes a child and is spun off into another series. He is barely given any time to establish an identity before the MONUMENTAL EARTH-SHATTERING MARVEL ROD changes everything.

Oh yes, Thor dies off-screen, Beta Ray Bill's cousin takes his place, and now Thor's a child trying to escape the afterlife.

Marvel can't be bothered with developing personalities. They'd rather change environments instead, because they can market it as monumental, rules-breaking, unconventional shit that nobody else dares to do. That drove them nearly bankrupt before, but apparently they haven't learned their lesson. As the Thing used to say, "What a revoltin' development!" Thing knows. Thing knows.

The best little Comicon you've never heard of Is the NC Comicon.

The stars have aligned and this past year has manged to be my year of conventions. For the 1st time I managed to go to the Heros Convention in Charlotte and had a great time. Bought a few things,no real noteworthy books, hole fillers for my Tomb of Dracula run. I met Neal Adams and had him sign my Green Lantern #76. Had a delightful experience there and hope to return.

(FWIW - Sheldon Drum, the guy that puts that on does a fab job and hes super to talk to. In fact he sold me my Minty X-men 94 for $60 back when this book guided for about $50. I still have it!!)

I was also devious enough to plan our Family Summer trip to Chicago to coincide with the BIG Comicon they have there every year. That was too big for my tastes. SO overwhelming, it almost leaves you numb afterward. THAT was too much. I'm a simple country boy; wall to wall people creeped me out. When it was time to leave, I was kinda glad. (more on that)

By far, the Best Con experience of 2011 was the NC Comicon. It was close enough to the center of my universe that I could drive to it and not have to stay overnight in a hotel. (MONDO appealing) And Cons seem to be somewhat regionally priced, so things were more inline with my budget. Being in the South, things just felt cheaper closer to home. (Another BIG plus)

Upon arrival  took a general walk around to get the "lay o the land". There was something here for everyone. 1st stop: Men's room. While washing my hands I struck up a conversation with a dude who drove his son 150 miles from SC to attend this event. He was tired and cranky but overall being a good sport about it for his kid. Good for them. Good for them for making the trip that's nice to see.

Games

What's that you don't like comics but like games? They had that. Check.

Artists Alley.

They had some notables there hawking their wares. But I'm an old school guy and this is the headliner and the guy I came to see. Howard Chaykin in the house..

Whats Shakin Chaykin?

While hard at work making sketches he had plenty of time to talk to fans and answer Questions. I asked him "When he watches "Mad Men" does he look at it and say: "Thats #$!!#@ American Century"! And he was like "You know, there's a story there...." he ALMOST wound up making an adaptation for the TV show.

He was good to talk to and graciously signed my Star Wars # 1 thru 4 and an Extra Star Wars #1 I had picked up for a very good friends birthday. My friend is into Star Wars more than comics. He recently showed me his Death Star play-set and Han Solo blaster from when he was a kid.

(Ladies this friend IS single for a nominal fee I can hook you up)

Signed I tell you..

Comics

They had more than you can stand. More than I could possibly describe. Golden, Silver Bronze and Modern. I picked up the following books here. I bought all of these from the fine folks at Tomorrows Treasures who made the trip down from NY to the show. I ran into them in Chicago and Charlotte and again here in Raleigh. I gave them a plug from the ChicagoCon. Richie and his wife are great folks to deal with. I couldn't recommend them more highly. You wont be sorry.

Unlike The Chicago Comicon, the NC Comicon did not rely on "Star Power" from Hollywood for a draw. The comics were front and center. The books are the main attraction and I found I liked that much better.

Costumes

There were folks in costume and that's a kick for the kids and the casual Con 'goer. But It strikes me as just a tad creepy. Even if a lady can pull off a Ms Marvel costume, I'm disinclined to take a picture. If she happens to be 17, I don't need a hassle from the sheriff over a misunderstanding.

Panels

This Con had several interesting ones. I wish I had time to check the History and the intro to comics and grading.

Way back machine

I ran into a dude as a vendor that I had done some comics trading close to 20 years ago.

We reconnected and he introduced me to a couple of guys at the show who were local and interested to trade and swap. Score!!

What I look for in a comic shop..

This entry was inspired by a recent post from: @TheNerdyBird

I have had some mixed results in finding a "Good" comic shop that has real satisfying staying power. Some of it is my own fault, I guess. I'm a bit of a flake.

I like a knowledgeable and friendly staff. I really dig being made to feel like my business matters. Being welcomed is an important feeling. 

I've been a regular customer in a shop where the clerk wouldn't have 3 words to say to me (a regular customer for YEARS) and was breaking his neck to talk to some other kid who just wandered in the shop. Like what I had to say didn't matter. Like he had me and didn't have to bother to try to keep me engaged and interested in trading with him. Very. Not. Cool. Left those guys and haven't looked back.

Then I moved around the country a bit; well, Southeast - and it seemed that when I would find a shop I liked, it would close or I would move again. Bad luck I reckon.

For that reason I had a hard time connecting with any shop. Afraid my business would be the Kiss Of Death and as soon as I let myself like them something would pull the rug out.

It took a while for me to get over this odd phobia. I found a place I could let myself like. They gave a nice discount on the new books. They were friendly personable and acted generally interested to have me around. The problem for me with them, was that I was into the OLD stuff. The new stuff was to read and have my finger on the pulse of what back issues might become the "hotness" dujour. To get any discount, price break or otherwise have some wiggle room to negotiate was completely out of the question unless the owner was there. Which didn't synch up with my schedule. Lost my mojo and willingness for dealing with them.

Then I found a new outfit. A bit of a further drive for me from the house but they offered a better discount level and someone was AROUND who could wheel and deal on the old stuff. I dint have to wait, rearrange my schedule or make a 2nd trip on a different day. Plus it was closer to work so I could drop in mid-week over lunch.

I liked this store MUCH better for a long while. They turned me on to new stuff I would not have otherwise tried. I bought tons of stuff from them OLD and new. The friction came when they found success and started opening other locations. They eventually designated a different store location in their Empire (further away from me) to be their "Back Issue" hub location.

I complained. Alot. I got mouthy. The owner finally had enough of it once I escalted it. I got tired of the lip service they they would "bring some stuff over soon". The owner told me that I didn't do enough business with them to be worth their hassle to continue to deal with and they booted me. Their right to do of course... but bad form.

At that time I was having a fair amount of success on ebay so it was no great loss. I culled my collection to only focus on the old stuff. All told, I feel better off and happier.

I do still have a serious Jones for back-issues that is unsatisfied. Ebay has gotten a little outrageous lately so I've cooled it on that front.


Moral of the story:
If you are a shop owner, have an accessible location (close proximity to me),  sell desirable Silver and Bronze Age material at a fair price, you cant help but have a customer for life.

Is that too much to ask? So far that would appear to be the case....

Hi Funny book fans.. Its been a while since my last post. Life gets busy and I haven't scored any major coup on books lately; despite my best efforts to the contrary. While MY search has come up empty.. at least I was able to enable a young kid getting started on his collection via my yard-sale.

The kid was out with his Dad doing yard sales. I had a buck-box. This kid started asking me all kinds of questions about mastheads, publications, numbering, and storage bags. It felt kinda cool being the expert and giving advice. He bought a hammered bronze age Flash 189 or thereabouts.

I hope we have added a new collector to our ranks!

Its been a while since I have done this; but I was considering going with some comics instead for candy for Halloween. Has anyone else done that? In years past when I had done this; the reaction is somewhat mixed. Just curious what results others have had.

I love finding deals.

There are several comic vendors that I enjoy doing business with and have referenced them from time to time in different blog posts.

This is a little different. I check this site a couple of times a week. I have found some outrageous deals on some surprising stuff. This site has led to some terrific finds. If you stop and think about it, who else has a never ending supply of stuff? It makes perfect sense for them to have their own ebay knockoff auction site.

I found a Lego Death Star here at a price I could live with. I found a "Paul is Dead" Beatles magazine from 1966. I found a few Star Wars 12' inch figures that I used to have as a kid and repurchased dirt cheap. I was able to score a Luke Skywalker in near perfect shape with all of his accessories. A C-3PO, a Stormtrooper and a Darth Vader.

I was able to find a few pottery things my wife had been looking for.

But I cant figure comics out on this site...
The strangest stuff sells. What I would consider complete and utter garbage goes for more than it should. The quality stuff that does come in and that should go for a lot does, but truthfully, I think you could find the same stuff at the the same price at a comic shop or convention for about the same costs... perhaps even a little less.

My guess is folks here really don't know comics all that well. A "Nam", "GI-Joe" or Transformer type title will command some cash. I once noticed an early Star wars set 1-4 (with the 35 cent covers, yup REPRINTS) go for close to a bill. 

If its a 12 or 15 cent cover price book then its going for close to guide value just on principle not taking into account grading type defects. I have seen an absolutely hammered FF #1 pass thru, handfuls of ASM 300 that appear decent enuff and almost priced low enough to tempt me but having 2 copies already, I leave that to someone else's delight. I have seen a a few golden age books come thru as well ... A very nice looking copy of Marvel Comics but it went for more than I wanted to spend.

The BEST deal on comics I have gotten from this site was a lot of New Teen Titans. It had a DC presents #26, 2 copies of #1, a copy of #2 (Terminator 1st app.) and #4 (always a hard one for me to find).

I wish you luck making sense of this.

Advertising in comics

It saddens me to think that Comics may be dying as an artform. I'm afraid that unless something changes they will go the way of the Beta-max and rotary phone.

I used to think that comics could be saved with better more focused advertising. It alwasy galled me that an automotive or bridal magazine cram packed STUFFED with ads to the point where there were 3 and 4 hundred pages... for 4 bucks. A comic is about the same price and you are lucky if you get 30 pages.

I found that annoying and thought that comic publishers were out of touch with their advertisers. That still may be true, but the future does not live here. 


I naively thought that "saving" comics would be found in modifying this dynamic. I thought cross promotions with other products that tapping into the comic buyers demographic would pay dividends. Premium issues, chase covers all that jazz to spur new interest by reaching folks outside of the box.

Engage in promotions - buy/test drive a car, get comic. Eat 4 cerals send in a 4 upc's and get a comic. That kind of thing....


None of that now matters.
Digital comics are that MUCH of a game changer. I realize that now. I posted on this a while back. 

Now for me, Digital comics has none of the appeal rooted in an ACTUAL comic in the physical world. I stare at a computer all day and LIKE to hold paper. I miss the smell of newsprint. I like playing with bags and boards. How can I sell or trade a pdf (or whatever format) of a comic?

I don't know what the hell to do with a digital comic once its read.
This is sad. BUT it beats comics disappearing!!

It doesn't seem long before the 32 page serial magazines are replaced by digital entirely and then the more superior examples the digital output find their way to a Trade Paper Back. 

I'm for comics sticking around... This seems to be the next phase just as shifting away from spinner racks and newsstands once happened.

Chee cah go

I recently went to the Chicago Comic Con.

I didn't post about this before now, because I don't need my door kicked in while I'm away. I'm just paranoid that way. I haven't posted about it since because I needed some time to put things in perspective.

I've never been to one of the MAJOR Cons before. Now, I can say I've been.

I didn't quite know what to expect. Saw TONS of folks. THIS line was just folks waiting to get in the main door.

Some in costume most not... Met 2 nice Asian women who came up from St Louis. Also found some loud obnoxious motor mouth in line behind me. At 1st he was funny. Then it became apparent he was a blowhard borderline bully and that unfortunately set my mentality in a negative way going in.

I hate people. Don't get me wrong I'm a friendly person. But I like to walk w/o tripping over folks and I don't like to wait. The lines were absolute mayhem and creeped me out a couple of times. Too many too close. A fire or earthquake would have defined the world tragic. 

Lots to see...

If you wanted it, thought you might like it, were curious about it, or hated it, it was there. Something for everyone.

Deals..

I didn't notice too many things that I'm actively hunting that were a "deal". 

This pic was taken from behind a glass case. The guy behind the case was in a suit. I wasn't the guy he needed to talk to about these books. He's looking for an "investor" not a collector.

I'm looking to buy this kind of stuff from the guy that stole it and needs gas money to get home.

Stuff I did buy.
I found one very nice fellow and bought a hand-full of things from him. 2 issues of Witching Hour (numbers 8 and 10) and 7 Tomb of Dracula issues that were random non-keys.  

Shameless plug for a future discount.
I found these guys at Chicago again: Tomorrows Treasures, I'd recommend them to anyone to do business with. They have a bit of a different approach. They have an incredible selection of prime desirable books. Their money books are fairly priced for what they are... I just wish I was the guy that could by them. My wallet is too small. As it is they have stacks and boxes of mid-grade random non-key bronze and silver books that go from 5-10 dollars. Great way to fill in holes. Unfortunately they didn't have anything I couldn't live w/o or was actively seeking THIS trip. Luck of the draw I guess.

If/when I am in a position to buy a money book, I'm going to make them my 1st call to see if they have it, can get it, and what they gotta get out of it.

This is my 3rd time running into TT at a convention. I bought a lot (at least for MY cheapskate ass) from them earlier this year in Charlotte. 

Chicago Con Summary.
I was glad I went. Would I go again?, prolly not. This was more of an event; a spectacle of celebrity. I too old to be impressed by that. I don't need it. I just want good books cheap. For that, I liked the Charlotte show better. Things were regionally priced. Meaning simply that the prices reflected what the Chicago market would bear. Its a bit higher than I would prefer overall. I need the Con across the street from a trailer park. I'm glad I did, now I have something to compare to, it was good for that.