F For Fake

Lance is a swell guy and a lot of fun to talk to!

I've slowly, over 20 years or so, managed to track down sigs from a large portion of the Aliens cast on my international one-sheet. Got Goldstein/Ross/Ralston way back in 2001 at DragonCon, Lance Henriksen a few years after that, Michael Biehn the year after that, and added Cynthia Scott and Carrie Henn three years or so ago. Still super sad about the passing of Bill Paxton, one of my all time favorite character actors. Of course, now Al Matthews has also passed, so the window to get all of the marines has closed. The only member of the Alien crew I was ever able to track down was Veronica Cartwright. And with Yaphet Kotto (RIP to the legend) passing a couple of weeks ago, there's just Sigourney and Tom Skerritt left. If I ever had an opportunity to get Sigourney's sig, I'd have her sign that Aliens one-sheet, and I also have a lovely promo poster from 1979 that is just a simple studio shot of her as Ripley, and it's a very nice photograph. That would look nice with a signature. But I don't think any big cons will be happening soon, at least not any that both she and I would be attending at the same time.

I'm not a fan of sigs on comics for the most part, but that would look pretty cool! If I ever had the chance to get her signature, I've got a couple of posters that are ready and waiting for her!

Re: Gargoyles, NECA announced on Twitter last night a new line of action figures, and posted pics of the Goliath. I know nothing about the property (never saw the cartoon or read the comics) but they definitely have an enduring fanbase.

Nice! I don't buy moderns either (well, I still have Love and Rockets on my pull list) but most of these should be in my box at the shop. I told them I'd take any of the incentives they qualified for. I seriously doubt they ordered more than 50, so I'll still have to hunt a few of these down. I'm really glad I didn't bite on pre-ordering the 1:500's on eBay at $400+ each. Last night one each of the 1:500's ended on ebay at just a bit over $200, which is more like what I'd like to spend. I didn't buy those as I have spent a ton on back issue the last two weeks and need to do some selling, but I don't think they're going to go nuts, which is comforting. I want them for the collection, but the covers don't do much for me.

...can you get your money back? Were you expecting there to be that much water damage?

One of the shops I go to got a set in yesterday, a set of three for $600. They showed the signature plaque, it's all a pretty snazzy product. I don't really do McFarlane or Spawn but that really is a nice temptation. I'd almost be tempted!

Wow, the packaging/presentation is as nice as the figure, very cool!

Yes, you’re absolutely correct! I actually got my #2 from him in a huge trade that involved the Aliens 2, an X-Men 1, my AF15, and a bundle of cash. I think at the time we valued the #2 at around $700, and that was when the #1 could still be had for less than that. I haven’t seen a #2 sell since the prices went crazy this year, but I have no idea what I’d value it at now. The #1 is selling for $3k+ so the #2, due to relative rarity SHOULD surpass that, but most people just want a “key 1st appearance” so I doubt it would go that high. But that book is tough tough tough. I’ve had my eye on that #2 4th as well, but just can’t justify the price for a reprint. Hopefully you can work something out so I’m not tempted to buy it! I missed the #1 fifth print at the same time you did, so if we don’t have it, I have no idea who does. It’s not in the registry, is it? I had the #1 set for a few years until you knocked me off the perch, but I don’t mind since I know you’re on a mission! When I got into CGC, the only set I HAD to have was the mini series in 9.8. Since I got that, I’m satisfied. I have raws of most of the other printings. I don’t have a #6 2nd, and have never seen it, so I am also curious about it. If it exists, it must be in very, very small numbers, because I’ve been looking for 25+ years.

The thing about Dylan (well, one of the things...many, many things) is that he's definitely old enough to "know better", but he's also young enough to make a change in his life. I'm sure this is falling on deaf ears, but I hope he'll see the mounting wall of complaints, bannings, ostracization, and say "Hey...maybe the way I treat people isn't so great!" It's never too late, and at his age, he is at an advantage. I made some mistakes when I was young, around 20-21. Big, dumb mistakes. Got caught making them. Had to live with consequences. And I'm SO glad I did, because now I'm in my 40's and I know that if I hadn't had that wake up call, I'd be in much worse shape today. It's too late to fix past mistakes, but it's never too late to make the change so you don't keep making those same mistakes. I'd say the bridges are burned around here, but it would serve him well down the road, and in all of his dealings in life, to finally do some self reflection and figure out why people react to him the way they do, in response to lies, threats, etc. Don't let the door hit you on the way outta here, but take this opportunity to reckon with yourself. One day you'll be happy that you did.

100%. Origins are always a letdown. One of the great things about Alien was that you felt like the characters had been dropped into a world much larger, and stranger, than they could have imagined. Not only did they encounter the alien itself, but they found it on a crashed derelict craft. Large parts of my childhood were spent thinking about how that ship got there, what the space jockey was, and what the hell was going on there. Of course, what they eventually showed us in Prometheus and Covenant (ugh) could never compare to those visions. The mystery is what makes it interesting. It's the same thing with modern horror movies. Did we need origin films for Michael Myers and Leatherface? Of course not. They were terrifying because we had no idea what their deal was. Why was this happening? Same with superheroes. Wolverine was much cooler before we found out whatever it was that "Origin" told us happened because I can't remember anymore because I already blocked it out of my memory blah blah blah

Took me many years to find my #1, which I got here on the boards, paid the princely sum of $350, and was happy to do so. At that time I think there were 5, maybe 6 or 7 in the census. #2 was the real bear. Took a few more years, because for the longest time, there were only 2 9.8's in the census. Finally two more popped up, and I got one as part of a huge trade deal. And again, I was happy to do so. And that was several years ago. #2 is still a ghost in 9.8, and those who hunt for it know how hard it is to find. And now that Marvel has kickstarted the Alien hype train, and #1 is a $3k plus book, you'd think many more copies would have been slabbed. But the census is still pitifully low. As for the OP's question, we have a few different threads here regarding Aliens, so I've stated this before, but if you pull my string, I'll talk about it: I was really dreading the Marvel takeover of the franchise, because the thing that has always separated Alien from the other major sci-fi franchises (Star Wars, Trek, whatever else) is that it has always been a hard R-rated series aimed at adults. The original film is steeped in sexuality and violence, and that has long been a hallmark of the series. That being said, they released Kenner and Bandai toys for the first film, and Aliens eventually lead to a Kenner action figure line directed at kids, so what do I know? But regardless of how the property was pimped out, the comics from DH maintained that adult feel, and also brought visions from a who's who of great horror comic artists. I have to assume we're getting a watered down pg-13 comic from Marvel's stable of interchangeable "talent". I hope I'm wrong, because I'd love to read some great new Alien comics. But, again, expectations are low.

Let's hope! DC has been so up in the air lately, who knows what we'll get. Definitely planning on getting the Batman NML Omni, Batman by Snyder/Capullo 2, and yes yes yes Absolute Kirby Fourth World V 2 finally announced! I think there's an extremely good chance those all see the light of day, as Batman and Kirby seem to sell well for them. There's also a reprint of the Fourth World Omni for those who prefer that format. I sold mine when I got the Absolute, but it's still a great book, obviously. I'll probably pick up the Justice League Dark Omni as well. That was one of my favorite of the 52 series, for sure.

Doing the Lord's work!

I'm loving this line. I've been preordering via BBTS, they take longer to get here, but the price is fair (usually $60 for the wave, and $21 for deluxe figures). I somehow managed to miss the order for Clamp Champ, now he's sold out and selling for dumb money. So now I have to watch the pegs. It's a cool line and I'm really impressed with the number of different characters they've already made and/or have in the pipeline, and $16 a pop is a bargain these days.

I dropped moderns a year or two ago, and haven't missed them. I've always preferred hardcover and trade collections anyway. Of course, the concern is that a higher price may drive so many readers away that the titles aren't published at all, which means no collections down the road, but hopefully the remaining hardcore readers and digital sales will add up to enough to keep the stories coming.

Yeah, I had no idea how tough they were getting to find, until I actually tried to find them! I guess I was spoiled by growing up with them being EVERYWHERE. But over the last few weeks I've hit every comic shop, book store, peddler mall, etc in town, and 1-40 just aren't there at all. Crazy times!

I'd say that's a good deal for sure! One of the shops I go to had one of those What if 10's, sold it for $300 within a day of putting it up. I knew the book was nuts, but had no idea HOW nuts.

Wow, look at the color on that! That's terrific.

Nice! Some collectors still aren't hip to the fact that there's some cool early Bruce Timm art/covers in several of the MotU mini comics, and they're not easy to find in grade.

Mentally, I've never been able to make the full switch to the number system from the good ol' letter grades. I still think GD, FN, VF, NM, and the gradations in between. For super high grade stuff I do make a distinction (and think I have a good eye for) the different in 9.8, 9.6, 9.4, but the mid grades are still letters to me. I usually do a cursory look at the book, then open it up and make sure everything is there and in place, then go back over the covers again. Then I give it a grade. If it's a book I'm selling, I'll usually knock a 1/2 grade off, just to keep it conservative. I'd rather a buyer be surprised that a book was nicer than expected, than have a return because I wasn't tight enough. If it's a book I'm keeping, I don't worry about grading it. It is what it is, I bought it because it looked good enough to me (And I'm a fan of low grade for the personal collection.) If it's a real "money" book ,I send it to the pros and get it slabbed, because I don't want to get into a financial disagreement with someone over something subjective as grading. While it's true that as a buyer I buy the book, not the label, the fact is that most folks (especially in today's insane market) are buying the number on the label, so if it's worth some money, its worth having graded.

I bought a small collection a couple of months ago that had some of the Anne Rice stuff in it, and initially thought "Huh, these used to be worth something!" Quickly found out that they weren't even worth selling now. Gave them to my wife, who after opening them said "Ewww, no." And I assume she tossed 'em. The Circle of Life!

And finally, some truly random $1 bin books. Yes, I got three copies of that Marvel Tales picture frame. I left three behind!

Next! I was never a huge WD guy, and I know the hotness took a big hit in the last year or two (though #1 is on fire again) but when I see these books in nice shape for $5-$10, when I know they used to be $20-$30, I just can find leave them. Plus, I really loved that run of red covers in the 40's. And the later issues were $3, which still seems like a good buy to me for issues under 100. This may be a bad buy, but I'm good with it.