Comic Collecting (1 Viewer)

[jcroy]

The newsstands I bought comics from back in the day, were frequently run by big "ogre" or "troll" looking guys, typically smoking a cigar with a scowl on their faces.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

The newsstands I bought comics from back in the day, were frequently run by big "ogre" or "troll" looking guys, typically smoking a cigar with a scowl on their faces.

I started reading in '94 (which is now 25+ years ago), so I was part of the last generation where there were newsstands and comics readily available outside of comic shops.

But my "newsstands" were drug stores, grocery stores, and convenience stores. 7-11, Revco Drug Stores, Food Lion, I got a lot of my stuff from those places because they were accessible and you could always throw a couple comics in a grocery cart with no problem.

And yeah, most of 'em had been bent in some way. But condition didn't matter! That came later in the "collector" life cycle.

Now, I'm past collector and back to reader, so trades or old floppies hardbound are what I care about, and condition comes into play on a smaller level.

 

[jcroy]

Many of the LCS's in my town are now gaming gathering spots which also sell comics to mostly subscribers, rarely ordering much for the new release wall rack/shelves, but the pandemic totally put the kabosh on the gamers gathering these days, which killed the munchies sales of snacks and red bull and sodas that have buoyed these LCS's, so it's been rough these past couple of weeks so far for the LCS's.

This is a very good point. Even if Diamond/Alliance didn't go into lockdown no-new-product mode, the social distancing measures may very well kill off the local comic book stores I frequented over the years.

On and off over the past 15-20 years, I went to nearby comic shops to play weekly boardgames (and other games) with a semi-regular crowd. To support the local operations with using their floor space for such weekly games, I usually bought drinks and food they were selling at the canteen. My understanding is that these canteens were a significant cash source with a high margin markup, than the actual weekly new comic books they were selling.

 

[BobO'Link]

The LCS here also hosted games - almost every night. It's usually Hero Clix - but not MtG as they got burned hard by many of those players ripping off the store. Not that all were (they were not - the majority were good people) but there was a group that did regularly and the only way they got rid of them was to completely shut down Mtg sales/support. It didn't hurt the store at all. There are 2 or 3 other local stores that are almost exclusively MtG sales/support and I'm guessing they, too, have shut down community play - probably sales too (I rarely go to them as they often gouge on prices - what little MtG I purchase is all online).

 

[BobO'Link]

I started reading in '94 (which is now 25+ years ago), so I was part of the last generation where there were newsstands and comics readily available outside of comic shops.

But my "newsstands" were drug stores, grocery stores, and convenience stores. 7-11, Revco Drug Stores, Food Lion, I got a lot of my stuff from those places because they were accessible and you could always throw a couple comics in a grocery cart with no problem.

And yeah, most of 'em had been bent in some way. But condition didn't matter! That came later in the "collector" life cycle.

Now, I'm past collector and back to reader, so trades or old floppies hardbound are what I care about, and condition comes into play on a smaller level.

I started back reading when DC "killed" Superman in the early 90s. At first I hit all those "newsstand" locations looking for the issues and discovered "tie ins." After a few months of that I discovered the LCS from a small ad they put in the newspaper and life changed. No more running all over town as I could just tell them what I wanted and it'd be there. I've always been a reader - not collector. If something just happens to be worth something that's OK but it's not something I care about or track. My heirs can deal with that aspect if they want.

FWIW I still have every comic I purchased as a kid in the 60s (Superman, Superman's Girl Friend: Lois Lane, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, Supergirl, Batman, and random Archie/Donald Duck/etc. - about 2 long boxes full). I was very careful with my books and most are in pretty good condition.

 

[jcroy]

Now, I'm past collector and back to reader, so trades or old floppies hardbound are what I care about, and condition comes into play on a smaller level.

What completely pushed me away from the comic collecting hobby, was shortly after I encountered "crossover hell". This was the case for limited series like "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (DC) and "Secret Wars 2" (Marvel).

I got sick and tired of being a "compulsive completionist" where I was buying all the crossover issues from other series which tied into Crisis or SecretWars2.

(In contrast, "Secret Wars 1" was more of a self-contained 12-issue limited series on another "planet").

 

[BobO'Link]

What completely pushed me away from the comic collecting hobby, was shortly after I encountered "crossover hell". This was the case for limited series like "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (DC) and "Secret Wars 2" (Marvel).

I got sick and tired of being a "compulsive completionist" where I was buying all the crossover issues from other series which tied into Crisis or SecretWars2.

(In contrast, "Secret Wars 1" was more of a self-contained 12-issue limited series on another "planet").

That same thing was what got me out of DC/Marvel books. I now only purchase "independent" titles where most are a finite run to tell a story and *zero* crossovers. I also no longer feel like I'm reading the same stories over and over and over.

 

[TravisR]

That same thing was what got me out of DC/Marvel books. I now only purchase "independent" titles where most are a finite run to tell a story and *zero* crossovers. I also no longer feel like I'm reading the same stories over and over and over.

Yeah, I've just followed writers for a long time now and I rarely take a look at the times they do superhero stuff so it's mostly Image books for me. Also since I'm a huge Star Wars dork, I read all of those books.

 

[jcroy]

What completely flushed everything down the toilet for me in regard to Star Wars, was when Disney "hit the reset button" in 2014 and eliminated all the old canon of the expanded universe (such as the 1990s and 2000s era novels).

Since then, I can't bring myself to jump onto any of the comic book series in the Star Wars universe,

 

[jcroy]

I looked briefly into indie stuff back in the early 2010s. Unfortunately I was reading the really horribly produced stuff, which further soured my interest in buying any further comic books or graphic novels.

At the time I picked up stuff like Nemesis, Kick-Ass (Icon), World of Warcraft (Wildstorm), etc ... just to find out they were really horrible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_(Icon_Comics)


In a more a general sense, I suspected too much stuff adapted/licensed via video games and/or movies, ended up being total shit.

 

[jcroy]

Though with all that being said, I get the impression Mark Millar writes better movies than comic books. Stuff like Kick-Ass, Wanted and Kingsman.

Nemesis seems to have been in "development hell" for almost a decade.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millarworld

 

[The Drifter]

Great thread! As a kid who started collecting comics in the late '70's, my earliest memories were of going into drug stores & getting comics from the spinner racks.

Direct market comic stores started popping up in the early '80's. I grew up in the Baltimore, MD/Washington D.C. area (East Coast), and remember Geppi's Comics (which had several locations) & Heroes World.

Marvel comics I enjoyed collecting (or at least just reading) in the late '70's-late '80's included: Conan the Barbarian, the Spider-man titles (Amazing Spider-man, Peter Parker the Spectacular SM, Web of Spider-Man, sometimes Marvel Team-Up), Daredevil by Frank Miller, Incredible Hulk, Savage She-Hulk, Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Avengers, X-men, etc. And, I was an even bigger fan of Marvel's licensed titles like Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, and too many others to list

Also a fan of DC titles from that era as well, though I didn't collect them as much (as a kid with a limited income, I couldn't get everything I wanted) - thought I would read/page through some on store shelves. Some of my favorites from this era included: Sgt. Rock, Warlord, Batman w/art by Gene Colan, New Teen Titans by Perez & Wolfman, Swamp Thing, Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth, the New Gods by Jack Kirby (DC reprinted the series circa 1984-1985), Spanner's Galaxy & This Barren Earth mini-series, and too many others to list

I also remember going to large open-air flea markets on the weekends in the early-mid '80's, and being able to find back issues then for decent prices - especially cool was that most of these were of '70's comics.

Also got into some of the excellent black & white Marvel Magazines from the '70's/'80's - especially when I found some back issues at a comic store in the mid '80's. Specifically, I remember enjoying the Planet of the Apes mag. (with original stories not connected to the films/TV show), Rampaging Hulk, and the superb title Savage Sword of Conan. The art in these books was typically great, and the stories weren't restricted by the comics code of the day - so they could be more graphic/risque than the regular color comics

I actually attest that the best comics of all time came out in the '70's - '80's. But, I'm biased

 

[The Drifter]

The first time I quit comic collecting cold-turkey was circa late 1987 - I was in my late teens at the time, and was losing interest in both Marvel & DC due to other things taking up my time - LOL. I didn't start collecting comics again until early 1992, shortly after Dark Horse's excellent Star Wars series Dark Empire came out. This led me to collecting some other indy comics later on, notably the excellent post-apocalyptic Grendel: War Child maxi-series (since I was going back into comic stores on a semi-regular basis).

And, it was interesting how the comic book industry & comic stores had changed so much in those five short years (between '87 - '92). Gone was the sense of wonder that I had with the characters/stories.

Re: Marvel especially, gone were what I considered interesting stories/characters. Instead they re-stared Uncanny X-men & Spider-man with #1 issues, and to add insult to injury - produced foil/variant/hologram covers so they could "trick" fans into buying numerous copies of the same issue.

Instead of giving fans good stories & exceptional artwork (which is what we saw a lot of in the '80's), Marvel's '90's output was cookie-cutter crap just designed to rip off fans - and they failed miserably. No wonder they had a lot of financial problems at this time. I also recall a relative trying to sell me Marvel stock back around the mid-'90's. What a joke. As far as I'm concerned the paper that Marvel stock was printed on was only good for two things: toilet paper & lining kitty litter containers

What I do fondly remember re: Marvel in the '90's:

-The X-men & Spider-Man: The Animated Series cartoons on TV. Great shows, and far superior to any of the Marvel cartoons from the '80's.

- Collector cards. I got some of these, since I really liked the artwork for many of them.

I also never liked Image Comics. They were just artists that carried-over from Marvel & decided to put their company together, but their comics reminded me quite a bit of Marvel series at the time (and that's not a compliment). Plus, as far as I'm concerned their art was interchangeable as well.

Conversely, I did like the direction DC was going in the '90's. I actually felt the Death & Life of Superman and the Knightfall/Knightsquest/Knightsend storylines for Superman & Batman (respectively) were original & clever. Sure, these "creative decisions" were designed to sell comics & make money, but at least they had decent stories going for them; I liked how both storyline(s) exposed the vulnerabilities of these characters, and also had an epic scope/vibe. I didn't buy a lot of the individual floppies at the time, but I do remember reading the novelizations of both storylines.

And, I was extremely impressed by DC's Vertigo line in the '90's (though it started in the late '80's). Excellent & in many cases horrific/disturbing series here, especially Gaiman's Sandman, Hellblazer, Preacher, etc. I still attest that DC's '90's Vertigo produced some of the best comic books ever, period.

I suspect that the "death" of some of the neighborhood stores that sold comics may have at least begun in the '90's. I.e., the '90's was the first time I started seeing Trade Paperbacks in stores like Border's Books/Barnes & Noble, etc. I.e., at this point - you could buy these Trades at places other than your Local Comic Store (LCS).

 

[Patrick Sun]

My nearest LCS is having a firesale on TPBs/HCs, I guess to raise some cash during the pandemic. Basically anything under $25 MSRP is now $5, and $25 and over was half-price now. I took home a small stack of hardcovers...

 

[jcroy]

I stopped buying monthly DC and Marvel stuff, shortly after "Secret Wars 2".

At around that time period, other series I dropped was around Iron Man #200 and The Uncanny X-Men #200.

 

[jcroy]

And, it was interesting how the comic book industry & comic stores had changed so much in those five short years (between '87 - '92). Gone was the sense of wonder that I had with the characters/stories.

The event which first convinced me that something was really amiss, was when I saw several comic book shops which ordered several hundred copies of The Uncanny X-Men issue #200 when it was first published. Basically shops which had two or three (or more) longboxes of issue #200, where I saw the shop owner putting each copy into a plastic comic bag. (The was the issue which was about "the trial of Magneto").

Previously over a few years prior at that time, back issues of The Uncanny X-Men (from issues #94 to around #142 or so) were skyrocketing in price. I suspected the comic book shop owners were hoping that issue #200 would also skyrocket in price in the then-near future.

At around that same time period, I was learning the notion of "supply and demand" in a history class in school at the time. (The topic in school was about hyperinflation in 1920s Germany, where the instructor mentioned how supply and demand functioned).

A lightbulb went off in my then-young brain, where I realized that if The Uncanny X-Men issue #200 was so easy to order in huge massive quantities on the direct market, then it probably wouldn't be worth much of anything in the future. Fast forward to the present day, over the past two decades I've seen numerous copies of The Uncanny X-Men after issue #150 which are "littering" the bargain bins at the remaining local comic book shops.

 

[The Drifter]

Yes. Collectors/so-called investors (ha ha) who bought a lot the '90's Uncanny X-men/Spider-man re-booted comics & the Image comics from that era (which were supposedly going to be worth a lot of $ in the future) & tried to sell them in later years....not only couldn't sell them, but had problems giving them away to anyone, since no one wants them anymore - ha ha.

 

[BobO'Link]

People were counting on all those variant covers to be worth $$ later. But the publishers who did those over saturated the market by releasing dozens of such titles. Mostly titles that were "hot" because the publisher said they were. Some were pretty good but got caught up in cover mania and subsequently were ignored. I really dislike when a comic has variant covers because it still causes that feeding frenzy. I just get the one I like best (which seems to be the one that's most rare) if it's available. I don't buy for covers - I buy to read what's inside.

Related "Pet Peeve":
I absolutely hate when the cover isn't indicative of what's on the inside - both the art style and action. I want the interior artist to be the cover artist and vice versa. There's nothing worse than picking up a book with an attractive cover to look at for possible file inclusion to find the interior art is inferior or something you just don't like. If the cover matched the interior it'd save time.

 

[jcroy]

Related "Pet Peeve":
I absolutely hate when the cover isn't indicative of what's on the inside - both the art style and action. I want the interior artist to be the cover artist and vice versa. There's nothing worse than picking up a book with an attractive cover to look at for possible file inclusion to find the interior are is inferior or something you just don't like. If the cover matched the interior it'd save time.

The most egregious cases of this was in something else unrelated to comic books: atari 2600 games.

Many atari games had really nice artwork on the covers of the boxes they were sold in. Though when one plays the games, it was frequently just a dot or blob moving around on the screen. It looked nothing like the images on the box covers.

 

[TravisR]

People were counting on all those variant covers to be worth $$ later. But the publishers who did those over saturated the market by releasing dozens of such titles. Mostly titles that were "hot" because the publisher said they were. Some were pretty good but got caught up in cover mania and subsequently were ignored. I really dislike when a comic has variant covers because it still causes that feeding frenzy. I just get the one I like best (which seems to be the one that's most rare) if it's available. I don't buy for covers - I buy to read what's inside.

Once Star Wars went back to Marvel, I was shocked to find how many variant covers they were making. I Initially thought it was just Marvel cashing in on the early issues of Star Wars and one of the guys at my store said how Marvel still does a ton of variants and, even more surprising to me, they still sell. Personally, I just buy the main cover and if a variant really grabs me, I'll get it (it's happened once in 5 years with Marvel's Star Wars books).