MisterX

If we look back, has there been another collectible hobby we can point to where prices rose so precipitously only to crash when the collector base disappears? Coins, although seemingly in a bifurcated market, look to be doing okay (although I'm just talking out of my hat, here). Stamps? Pulps? Did either of them ever have a precipitous rise, like the one the comic market is experiencing now? Sports cards have had so many ups and downs I have no clue which way that market is going. I know that antique furniture is experiencing a moment, with old, blue chip pieces losing value because generational tastes have changed dramatically.

Who's your favorite character?

Do you guys think FOMO is playing a part in rising prices?

I decided to make a swing-for-the-fences internet bid in this past Heritage auction for an unpublished BA cover of a D-list knock-off barbarian character whose own comic barely made it to twelve issues. What it had going for it was that Joe Kubert was the artist. And it was cool. I have a special OA fund, which I'd been saving money in for three years. Furthermore, I planned to payback what I'd need to borrow from my savings account by selling off a portion of my collectibles (not just comics), with a rough estimate of what I thought I'd be able to get for them. So, I had a plan, and I didn't think I was bidding on a piece I couldn't really afford. I based my top bid on research, what other non-SA, non-superhero, and non-Sgt. Rock/Tarzan covers Kubert had done sold for in the past. I realized I was in trouble when an earlier lot, the cover for Kamandi 43 by Ernie Chan and only a remote Kirby connection, sold for $7200 with BP. Kamandi! By Ernie Chan! I ended up as the underbidder for the unpublished Claw the Unconquered #14 cover, which ultimately sold for $8,700 with BP. Did I mention I live in a state that also collects sales tax? The thing is, I have a hard time believing that this is new money (crypto bros, whoever) driving up these prices. Why would they want some of this stuff? I have an easier time believing the old guard has more money and seems to be experiencing some sort of irrational exuberance. I apologize for how this post probably sounds. I'm just venting my frustrations because the OA hobby seems to be getting further and further out of my financial reach every year. I know there's a lot of good art out there for under $8700, but we all know collectors like to go for stuff they have an emotional, nostalgic response to, and I'll admit that what pushes my buttons is expensive. I just didn't realize how expensive it was going to become. Who pays $8100 with BP for a random Kirby Sandman page?!? So, yeah, First World problems, these things happen, Kubert is expensive, sour grapes, etc. At least my wife breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't win!

Ghosts 10,13 and 17 in HG with good centering. #10 is especially killing me with its black cover. My Love 17 and 18 (last two issue I need of my non-reprint run. The issues after that I'm much less interested in.) Star Wars 4 (I'll get around to it...) Weird Mystery Tales 2 in HG. Maybe some of the other covers. Continue slowly working on my Weird War Tales run. I have twenty-one books left to go. About half are in the early numbers, and the other half are mostly in the 50s-60s. I'm keeping my fingers crossed some better WWT copies will turn up than what's currently available on the web from various sites. I don't like to buy fillers if I can help it, and I almost never upgrade. I'm not sure there's any keys left I want to pay silly money for. There's a DC oddball first issue I'd like to get in HG, but the current prices don't make any sense! Oh, yeah, and catch up on my reading. So many books...

Sorry to hear about this. You should post this thread to Comics General. You'll get a lot more helpful information there. If you have a list of the books that were stolen, pictures, slab #s, that would be helpful.

For a good time google "Mike Tyson Smokes Toad Venom."

Somebody in QC is smoking toad venom.

Hey, when you finish Dangerous Grounds, post your thoughts! I remember the Satanic Panic very well.

I was wondering if Steranko was going to show up in this thread. A handful of other big SA guys who were still drawing covers in the Bronze Age have been conspicuously missing so far. Off the top of my head--Nick Cardy, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Joe Kubert...

Gah, this is hard. I've changed my mind like six times already!

I thought maybe My Love 14, but I think the label actually says, "Woodstock story."

I thought the Werewolf was going to be a new, modern character, introduced just recently, I think. Shouldn't folks be chasing that book instead?

Are we still on the hook to buy these if the seller's vanished and doesn't answer any PMs?

It's all about rushing out a lesser Kirby story to block a down-the-road greater Kirby story owned by a competitor. I think Marvel did this to upstage DC/Warner Bros. If Warner Bros. had their act together, they could've done a Darkseid/ New Gods/Mr. Miracle movie by now. Maybe it would have been exciting enough to help rejuvenate their struggling DC film universe. I understand Darkseid shows up in the Snyder cut, but that's too little, too late for the general public. Instead, Marvel debuted Thanos before Darkseid, and now the Eternals before the New Gods. So, if Warner Bros. ever does do another Darkseid appearance or New Gods movie, it'll feel like they're ripping off Marvel. It'll be stale.

I guess I think of him as Copper Age, although the BA years seem to keep creeping into the 80s.

I'm procrastinating today, so why not throw out a general discussion question on the boards? I can think of a few writers who had a significant impact on the medium (that is, writing comics), but which one, in your opinion, had the greatest? What does "impact" mean? You decide! Some contenders: Roy Thomas Gerry Conway Denny O'Neil Chris Claremont Steve Gerber A few dark horse candidates: Archie Goodwin (Although I think of him as an SA guy for some reason. Maybe because of the Warren magazines?) Jack Kirby Marv Wolfman Len Wein Some of my favorite BA writers aren't on the list, but I can't really see someone like Doug Moench, or Michael Fleischer exactly changing how comic book stories were told.

Check out mycomicshop.com. Go to How to Sell, record items, and enter the title of the omnibus. If they want it, you'll see a chart with the prices they offer in cash or store credit.

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Hey, @Nic8612 -- everything okay? Thread still valid?

I like to crack out my books, so I can read them and experience that nostalgia buzz from handling old comics. I've done so to all my slabs except one (a certain BA mega key...). The other day I dropped quite a bit (for me, I know it's all relative) on another BA key, and now I'm having second thoughts about cracking that one out. On top of that, I already have the graphic novel reprint, so, I can read the story at any time. Apparently I may have found the price point at which I won't free the book... How about you all? When does the book's value supercede your lizard brain desire to enjoy it out of the slab?

Sorry, AndyFish, I claimed Eerie 78 on 9/7.