Gatsby77

Thank you, sir!

Behold! ASM 129 for cheapskates. It's coverless but complete, a well-loved original owner copy with a small tear on page one and writing on the upper right-hand corner of that page. But I'll also include a pristine color photocopy of the cover (front, back and interiors). So you can own as close to a complete and well-presenting version of this book as possible at a fraction of the normal cost. GPA: 12-month average for a 0.5 is $145, and a 0.5 (incomplete) is listed as having sold in Dec. 2015 for $192. See photos below. $120 shipped in the U.S. or Canada.

Howdy folks, Short sales thread - one book. I've sold before on the boards to folks including Gator, Thirdgreenham, and KPR Comics. Prefer not to sell to those on the Probation list. Prefer payment by Paypal. Shipping to the U.S. or Canada is included; will ship internationally for exact postage.

This is good stuff.

Moot point now, but you missed one: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1116774_swept_away

The reason The Dark Knight stands out to me as the best superhero film done so far is that it -- and to a lesser extent The Dark Knight Rises -- wasn't primarily a superhero film. Rather, it's an above average crime thriller that *just happens* to have a superhero setting. Take out all the fantastical superhero elements, and it's still a compelling movie. Wonder Woman did this as well -- with its World War I setting. Take out the superhero elements, and 2/3rds of the --script could have been the blueprint for a period espionage war movie (a la Where Eagles Dare or Valkyrie). Logan worked because it's more about confronting fatherhood, old age and death as it is flying into a SNIKT-filled bezerker rage. Even Jessica Jones' primary strength was that it was essentially a dual character study about rape and PTSD/survivorship. Take away Jessica and Kilgrave's powers, and it still could have worked. Some non-superhero comic book films definitionally fit this bill because they were reality-based to begin with (think A History of Violence, Road to Perdition). For pure superhero films themselves, for me Spider-Man 2 is the shining counter-example to the above -- it's superhero through-and-through, while not being burdened by an origin story. The challenge I see for Hollywood going forward is to continue expanding the stories that are told with superheroes...stories that: aren't dependent on origins or power explorations alone don't constantly need epic save-the-world battles as their climax and (hopefully) an Iron Man film that somehow doesn't end with dudes in armor beating on each other But ultimately, the key may be Telling compelling stories that stand on their own and *just happen* to involve superheroes rather than relying purely on the whiz bang superhero powers to find an audience.

Mitch! I appreciate your post, but (clearly) disagree with the above. We are smack dab in the middle (perhaps even at the apex) of the comic book movie bubble -- equivalent to where Hollywood was in the late '90s with "disaster movies" (a la Independence Day, Volcano, Armageddon, Deep Rising). Once we have a few big-budget failures in a row, and audiences tire of superheroes we'll see far few fewer films greenlit and far fewer risks taken on lesser known characters. This could start in 5 years, or 10. But sometime in the next decade the pendulum will shift. And the (so far) 15 year-run that has fueled incredible gains in vintage superhero movie material will end. Sure, they'll still be occasional comic book films -- as there have been basically perpetually since 1978 -- but nothing like the 3-4 major release per year that we've seen lately. Decades from now, I believe film historians will regard comic book movies (somewhere between 2012 and 2016) as the equivalent of where westerns were in 1955-58. The western still lives on today, but at a rate of maybe one per year. The last good one I recall came last year -- with a modern take, as Hell or High Water.

Nearing the end of its run. It's hit the $2 theater here in DC.

Interesting article. Notable that it restates the presumption that, despite his denials, Ben Affleck will not ulltimately star in The Batman. And I actually believe Warners will try to land DiCaprio (or someone of his stature) for this. Their track record so far (Ledger, Leto) demonstrates their willingness to pick inspired but non-traditional choices. Even going with Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner for Man of Steel were moves I didn't see coming, and they each elevated that film.

I'm thinking each. I submitted to three different tracks on 7/10. `1) Modern slow track -- received last week. 2) Value -- received last week. 3) 3 books for prescreen and pressing. Still at CCS as of today, 9/01. Expecting an additional 50 days or so at CGC for grading once they are pressed.

Wow. That -script must have been _horrible_ if multiple directors opted out. Haven't seen "Housebound" but hiring a nearly-unknown indie film writer doesn't inspire confidence. Then again, it worked well for FF after Chronicle Personally, I'd just go to any screenwriter of a Blumhouse production -- like, pick up a solid horror alum from the Insidious or Sinister franchise...

Agreed. If you must, watch IF episodes 1 and 8 only. Save the other hours of your life.

Sad but true. And I'm old enough to remember when # 7 (polybagged Man-Bat cover) was a $10-$12 wall book.

This is trending on Twitter right now, with tons of folks praising Skrein for stepping away. It's made for the biggest news related to the film yet.

Yeah. I first saw Superman 3 when I was 7 years old and thought it was _amazing_. Try watching it again now. It's horrible. Not Superman IV horrible, but nearly unwatchable, despite featuring Richard Pryor.

This. The main reason I think Silver Age books will fall a bit when the first generation of collectors begin to retire in 10-12 years? There's no infrastructure in place to inspire a new generation of readers. Kids today aren't reading comics like they did in generations past. Homecoming made well over $300 million at the domestic box office, yet the top-selling Spider-Man book in July sold less than 68,000 copies -- and a few hundred copies less than The Walking Dead.

Interesting - the photo of the comics doesn't show one older than 20 years old. And yeah -- 99 percent of the comics from the last 40 years (1977-present) are basically worthless, either because they're not keys or they're in VF or worse shape. But about those baby boomers? Sure - my uncle is now in his mid-70s. Three years ago he asked me to sell his childhood comic book collection - about 400 original owner books from the early 1950s. I haven't sold them yet because they're generally not worth listing. 1) They're pre-Marvel 2) 98 percent non-superhero. 3) Average condition is 3.5 -- some as high as 5.0. Most are structurally 4.0 but might have issues of tanning or brittleness that make them 2.0s. So I'm now sitting on a closetful of Golden Age books that are worth no more than $10 each. Out of the 400, maybe 6 are worth $80 or more (solid 5.0 issues of Mad 24, 25, Tales to Astonish # 1, a few others). But meanwhile it's piles of books like the Lone Ranger, Little Lulu, Lassie, Our Army at War (pre Sgt. Rock). Honestly the most valuable ones are a few dozen sub- # 100 Archie comics. My other uncle (same family, a few years older) has a similiar collection, but it's just a few dozen books from the late-1940s. Mostly Wings and other war books. Literally the only superhero one in the bunch is a Blue Beetle. Just funny -- for non-collector baby boomers who may still have a random pile of original owner comics in their basement as they now look to retirement, we've passed the generation who was collecting in the late 30s/early 40s and are now looking at those who were kids in the late 1940s/early 1950s -- when superheroes were least popular and therefore least likely to be present. In another 10-12 years, we'll begin to see the retirements of those who grew up on early Marvel superheroes.

But that's exactly my point. Collectors don't have access to 90 percent of the books on eBay right now, because literally 90%+ aren't really for sale -- they're merely posted at fanciful prices. If a $100 book is over-priced, it doesn't matter if it's over-priced at $110 or $20,000 -- it still won't sell. So in effect, it's not really for sale. Once we hit another recession or folks are actually motivated to sell (by looming retirement or otherwise), I think we'll see a massive correction across the board.

I think that "glut of a worldwide online market" is overblown. eBay's comics section today is literally 90% overpriced BIN to 10% auctions. So, in effect, the market is being improperly propped up by the illusion of books that continue to sit at inflated prices or (logical conclusion) aren't really for sale (at market) at all. All it would take for a massive 50%+ downward price correction for 98 percent of the material out there is for every book on eBay to go to true auction. That's scary.

This. I think this will happen 8-10 years from now. New physical comic sales will continue to decline, Hollywood will be largely done with comic book movies that have led to a huge boom over the last 10 years, and the core Silver Age collectors (currently in their late 40s/early 50s) will begin to retire. That's when the supply glut will happen, along with a huge downward price adjustment.

Y'all see that the cover art for this sold via Heritage two weeks ago? $11k and some change.

Sadly no. My 9.0 came from a 2011 Comiclink auction of the complete Magnus run. My 8.5 was a raw "9.2/9.4" bought from Steve Ritter (World Wide Comics). My 8.0 is a former Voldermort 9.4 that came from boardie Cloud Cloddie via last spring's Comiclink auction. I'm a decent grader who has self-subbed maybe 10 issues of Gold Key Magnus. All three of these books looked like solid 9.2/9.4s, so I'm wondering if it's got a structural defect of some sort that tends to keep it out of NM. I say that as someone who has 15 of the 46 Magnus issues in CGC 9.8.

What? What is this "bright, humor-based, traditional superhero DCEU" of which you speak? Did you somehow miss Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman, and Suicide Squad?

Yeah. Smacks of desperation.

Excellent synopsis. But I think it under-rates III. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Felicity for the win. Brilliant film, but unfortunately released right after Cruise's Oprah couch-jumping. So Paramount head Sumner Redstone blames Cruise for costing it $100 million at the box office and fires Cruise from Paramount. So Cruise turns around and buys United Artists instead.