sfcityduck

As I said, Marvel has trend following and pandering in its DNA. It has had a lot of really bad ideas. Most of them had nothing to do with politics. A bad idea is a bad idea. It's not politics that make ideas bad.

You could not be more wrong. Politics is what has infused many of our greatest comics, television, and movies. This really is not subject to debate. Do I really need to say EC Comics, X-Men, Watchmen, Miller's Batman, etc.? At their height they are all explicitly political or political allegories. The original superhero Social Justice Warrior was Superman. Captain America was punching white supremacist antisemitism in the face before the U.S. formally entered WWII. EC was putting out anti-war comics in the shadow of WWII. I could go on and on and on. If you dig Ewoks, that's cool, but don't pretend a LOT of great comics have political content.

I completely agree with how bad this idea. But, it is bad because its dumb, not because it involves politics.

A really great example of a new storyline that earned knee jerk reactions by fans who can't handle new ideas. They were wrong.

The problem is not politics. It is that Marvel does not know how to freshen up its ideas. They are great at exploiting their successes (X-Men saturation being the best example). But, let's face it, Marvel's fundamental DNA was trend follower. They jump on every trend they can to make money. It is capitalism overcoming art at its worst. This looks like another bad example of that. Usually Marvel redeems itself by executing its trend following really well, often better than the trend they are following (e.g. Captain America > The Shield or FF > JLA). I give huge kudos to DC for the risks they've taken (publishing Superman and Miller's Batman and Watchmen, to name a few). Which is not to say Marvel has not put out some great product, they have.

Depends on whether you mean real ashcans produced in the GA as part of the legal and production process or the modern "ashcans" that were produced as manufactured limited edition collectables.

I think there are a lot of people who have been putting trust in supposedly fair and balanced media reports and supposedly very honest guy politicians that are now confronting a reality that is at odds with what they'd been told and believed. Those same media outlets and politicians are now telling folks the opposite of what they told them as recently as two weeks ago. Thus, folks are now being confronted with facts and admissions that undermine the story line they'd been told for years. That is a startling event. It is going to take some of those folks a while to get adjusted. I found the poster's comment a refreshing bit of honesty, not a comment that deserves ridicule or disrespect. Whether we like it or not, we're all in this together. Be nice.

The risks of venturing out to drop off a package are pretty minimal if you pre-pay. I'd keep up the listings. Income is income, and it is good to have a diversion. Also, I think those that can will want to buy during this time because it is a diversion for buyers also.

A lot of people are going to need some help as this goes on. Secretary Mnuchin of theTrump Administration has now taken the position that unless the Senate, which has been hiding out the past few days, gets on board with the Pelosi House's economic bill ASAP, the U.S. will be facing 20% unemployment.

Now is the time to remember the interests you enjoy. A happy attitude will keep you healthier. These boards are a great source of entertainment, diversion and camaraderie.

Thanks! Love the old catalogs! But, I need catalog 210 or before.

Yep. This is going to devastating to a lot of businesses. However, for lower paid workers who are losing jobs, Safeway in the SF Bay Area is seeking to employ 2,000. Nationwide, Amazon is now seeking to employ another 100,000. So all those low paid restaurant workers may have an option. The announcement is for three weeks in SF Bay Area. But, it could be longer based on the latest change of story from D.C.

I think it is safe. You have a couple of options: (1) Clean any product you buy that comes in plastic (shrink wrap and encapsulated) when you get it. (2) Don't open a package for a couple of days after you get it. Covid-19 only remains viable on a surface (paper or plastic) for a few days. A recent study says one day for carboard and three days for plastic or metal. My advice, wait five days f you are concerned before opening a package. Check this article out: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/14/811609026/the-new-coronavirus-can-live-on-surfaces-for-2-3-days-heres-how-to-clean-them And wash your hands after you do so.

I really don't view the collectors that tend to post on these boards and sell in the auctions as speculator/investors. Sure they like to make money on comics, but they then tend to reinvest in other comics. They are collectors. However, if you really are in it for the money, the smart move now would appear to be to sell comics to increase liquidity to buy stocks.

Thanks! I'm mainly interested in getting a sense of how the breadth and quality of his inventory in the mid-late 60s. And if it ballooned at any point therein.

Is anyone seeing any impacts on local comic stores? I just got an email from Midtown Comics that sure looks like they are trying to increase liquidity by selling inventory at near wholesale prices. I can see how this would a necessity if walk in business is drying up. I could also see how this might be very smart if the money is going straight into the stock market. Powell's Books in Portland has shut down to walk-ins, online only, that's not a choice for most book and comic stores.

Comics aren't a useful commodity. So really no comparison to precious metals or oil. Better analogy is fine art and other collectables.

If anyone has copies of Bill Thailing's catalogs for the mid/late 60s, I would really appreciate it you could shoot me some images or post them here. Please also post about your experiences if you bought any books from Thailing. Thanks.

Nike stores, Apple stores, other retailers voluntarily shutting down. A number of states now shutting down bars, cafes, etc. non-voluntarily.

To be clear, the story you are referring to was not about Dave Wigransky's mother but, I believe, concerned allegations related to a West Coast collector's wife.

I spend the vast bulk of my time on the GA Board. So that's what I was commenting on.

Identical comic racks were offered up in this auction and the last auction. Price for this auction was a 50% discount off of last auction. Same auction house, same rack. Mean anything? Who knows.

ToeMAYtoe vs. ToeMAHtoe Its a new virus. It's part of a well known family of viruses that have been identified for decades. This seems like an argument without a purpose as you are both, from your own perspectives, correct.

To the contrary, I think most folks find facts reassuring. It's when you tell them something is fake news one day, and the next are banning travel to Europe in response to that "fake news" that folks begin to get really really concerned. Folks appreciate it when problems are tackled frankly and transparently. As it is now, as I have said a number of times already, I do think there is a real risk that the economic fallout kills more than the disease. But, its too early for us to even begin to guess how many the disease will kill. So there is a value to being prudent. It would have been better if we were actively seeking as much info as possible by aggressive testing. You are acting as if you can predict the future. If it were that easy, I don't think we'd see our government changing directions like a pinball.