F For Fake

At the time I was looking, I was really more of a comprehensive Batman collector than a straight comic collector, and in particular, Batman the Animated Series. I had all of the Kenner toys, I had a bunch of prints and animation cels and plates and all of that stuff from the WB store, etc. I felt (and still feel) that Batman the Animated Series was the single best distillation of the character and his world, so I had to have everything attached to it. Back then I wasn't buying multiples of anything, or speculating at all, I just wanted one for my collection. I probably wouldn't have bought more than one even if I'd been looking at a box full of them. I'm sure I walked past many, many deals back then, just because I wasn't wired to hunt for books unless I "needed" one for the collection. Of course, that all changed! And you know, I was probably happier back then ha

When it comes to comic creators who are/were household names, it's a very short list. I'm not a fan of glory-hog Stan, but there's no question that he is/was the only true household name in comic-dom, if you're talking superhero books. If you include strips like Peanuts, I suppose Charles Schulz would be up there as well, as far as name recognition. I'd say R. Crumb is a household name with a certain generation as well. However, even with this perhaps overly generous appraisal, Schulz was an introvert, and Crumb a misanthrope. Also, Schulz is dead, and Crumb is wherever. France? If you want a guy who loved promoting comics who is also recognized by the random man on the street who never read a comic, Stan Lee is really the only answer. So, that's the argument for visibility. There aren't many choices. When it comes to ambassadorship, I'd agree that Kevin Smith is probably the next most visible parade leader for comics, which makes me sad, though not as sad as watching his movies makes me. Not a fan. That being said, I do believe that Kevin Smith stands on his own, for what its worth. His movies, his comics, they're his work. Jim Lee, hugely influential artist, still a superstar within the field, but no one outside of a comic shop has any idea who the guy is. For good or ill, I think Stan took the job with him. He had many well-documented flaws, but he loved slinging the hyperbole, and blowing the Marvel trumpet. He was uniquely suited to the job, a true once in a lifetime character.

Even when it was cheap, it wasn't easy to find, at least for me. I collected all of the Bat books in the 90's and 00's, and for whatever reason, could never find a BA 12. I eventually found one at a local shop and was PO'd that I had to pay $6 for it! The nerve! $6 when all of the other books in that run were $1 at best! oh well, I had to have it to complete the set. I ended up selling it when I sold the entire run a few years later, during what I call The Dark Times. Years later, when I was back to collecting, and once the book really started heating up, I decided I needed to secure a 9.8 before the prices REALLY went crazy. Hemmed and hawed over it, but eventually gave in and paid $350 for a 9.8. Thought I'd lost my mind, but then felt really good a year or so later when I sold it for $1100. Looking at the prices NOW, I can see that I've been an insufficiently_thoughtful_person several times over. Oh well, it happens quite a bit, and I was happy with the money at the time.

Indeed, if they've already cleaned up the files for the trades, there's a good chance we'll get an omni at some point. That seems to be Marvel's method: clean up for a Masterworks or an Epic trade, then eventually compile them all into an omnibus. If we're getting Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe in an omnibus, What If seems like a shoo-in. Personally, I love What if. When I was a grade school kid, I was staying the weekend with my best friend, and his dad took us to the comic shop. That was the first time I'd ever been to a comic shop, and it BLEW MY MIND. My buddy bought a copy of What if V1 #29 (What if the Avengers Defeated Everybody?) and I was fascinated with it. Eventually got him to trade it to me after he read it, and I still have it, one of the few original childhood comics I still own. Later I started reading What if v2 when it was being published. I was once again at the same friend's house, and he had What if V2 #6 (What if the X-Men Lost Inferno). I've told that story a few times here, but the short version is I had to have my own copy, so I talked my folks into stopping by the convenience store on the way home so I could grab one. I read it over and over, and for the first time wrote a letter, which they published a couple of issues later. Since then I've gotten that issue signed by Ron Lim (another one of the few original childhood comics in my collection) and finally secured my grail, an original page from the book. WHAT IF RULES! Anyway, I love both volumes, and hope we get a HC one day. If not, I may have to break down and buy those trades. So many great stories, and so much superhero carnage!

I bought a collection a couple of years ago, maybe 2, maybe 3, can't recall. Nearly 40 longs, and it was ALL drek, pretty much. There were some random books in the mix that sold for a decent price (multiple copies of early Mike Allred books like Grafik Muzik, Graphique Musique, Creatures from the Id, etc) but most of it was 90's Image, along with Malibu, Teknoverse, and the other stuff you really can't give away. There was a chunk of adult books, mostly Eros, that mostly paid for the whole collection, as well as Cherry and stuff like that, which always sells. But the overwhelming majority was worthless. However, it's my hobby, so I enjoyed working the collection. I was able to sell lots of runs for decent cash (even stuff like Youngblood, Team Youngblood, Bloodstrike, etc will sell in complete runs) but I'd say about half the the collection was truly valueless. Still, I was able to sell all of those (about 19 boxes or so) very quickly on Craigslist. The guy knew what was in it, but he still wanted them. Who knows why? He came and got them out of my garage, and I was pleased, and he paid cash. People really will buy almost anything, if priced right. So, yeah, absolutely not something a lot of folks would enjoy, but at the end of the day I really DID like digging through those boxes, assembling the runs, etc and I made my money back plus a nice profit. But now, only a couple of years later, I wouldn't do it again. My enthusiasm for carting that many longs around has pretty much disappeared. I still love box digging, but I don't need the whole store in my garage. Those days are done for me, I think.

Wouldn't trust the source any farther than I can throw 'em (and the writing made my eyes bleed), but on a gut level the "facts" do sound right, and indeed, many have seen this coming for some time now. The pandemic may have been the final straw. I don't buy new DC's (or much of any news books, really) so I don't have a horse in that race, but I'd be heartbroken to see the collected editions division go. Certainly someone will pick up these licenses, and I could see IDW or someone like that picking up the collections license. But more importantly, as we discussed in another thread recently, I don't know how comic shops survive the shutdown of the #2 publisher of new floppies. The weekly buyer is still the life blood that drives most of these shops. I'd imagine the fallout will be huge unless something is immediately put into place, but how quickly could that happen? It's definitely a strange/scary/interesting time to be a fan of the material.

Lots of goodies, but that Throg poster is epic!

I definitely wouldn't say "hot" from a financial standpoint. To my knowledge, none of them, really. But as far as a cultural appreciation, it's definitely increasing. People are no longer ashamed of those dire 90's days, and they're talking about it, which is cool. But as far as "heat", there's not much outside of the usual suspects like the super rare MAXX ashcans, newsstands editions, etc. I do see interest in some of those gold variants, at least more than I've seen in 20 years or so. And even super high print run books like Spawn 1 and Gen 13 1 do well in 9.8, especially relative to just how many NM copies are still floating around out there. Personally, I've had good luck selling Image sets. Not amazing money, but when you can get them for 5 cents a book, and sell sets for $50-$75, it's not bad. Probably more work than a lot of folks want to go through, though.

Holy cats, that’s a screaming good deal! Well, however it’s served, it’s a great run of stories for sure. Big fan of the movies as well!

Love it! I was planning on collecting that series, got off track, and then fell too far behind. Have considered picking them up again, I believe they also released a larger set of reprints didn't they? These tiny, chunky collections are really cool, but my eyes would probably be happier with me if I read a larger version.

Revival is great! Had a lot of speculation heat early on, once that died out, folks seemed to forget about it. But I really loved it!

I know I've posted these in this thread before, but considering that the thread is 10 years old, I'm not going to go digging. This was the single toughest item for me to find. Slide Cards were short lived, never seemed to catch on. Most casual Dave fans aren't aware that he did this card, and most card people (if such a thing exists) who might have this card likely don't know who Dave is. eBay searches brought nothing, for many, many years. Several years ago I bought the signed slipcased edition of Brush With Passion from Dave's estate, and they included some bonuses, including this card! I was excited to get this stupid card as I was to get that book! They also threw in this neat xmas card from 1977 that Dave had done. Or it's a xerox of same. Anyone could mass produce these, but it's a neat curio to have. SO, yeah, once you start searching, you'll find there's so much more out there!

And once you start finding things, you'll KEEP finding things, it never ends!

Once upon a time this was doable on a relatively modest income. These days, I don't see how anyone would start from scratch and get them all, even in rough shape, unless they had a substantial income. There are at least a couple of boardies who have them all, that I know of, but they started quite some time back. Prices are prohibitively high right now. I'm not sure I'd be buying keys at all these days, as I don't see how the prices can stay where they're currently at. That being said, I could be totally wrong, and today's "insane" prices may prove a bargain in the long run. But as more folks age out, retire, die off, etc, we'll see more collections coming up for sale, and fewer buyers wanting them. I'd say if you just want to read 'em, get a Marvel Unlimited subscription and go town. Next cheapest would be Marvel Masterworks and Omnibus collections, but even some of those are out of print and can cost hundreds of dollars. If money was no object, knock out the keys in the condition you can afford, and then pick up the run books in bulk. Moderns, I wouldn't sweat too much. Aside from the random book that pops and gets hot, and can cost a few hundred bucks, most moderns can be picked up for pennies on the dollar in bargain bins, or at shops or conventions. Regardless, have fun!

This is the list I used for years, when I was still chasing the stuff. I may have crossed off a couple of things I already had, so if you see anything obvious missing, that's why. This helped me with the harder to find stuff. Doesn't include anything published after his death, like those Jetpack variants and such, as I don't care about that stuff. Dave Stevens -1983 San Diego Comic-Con Progress Report No. 2 (May 1983) c -Alien Worlds #2 (May 1983) c s -Alien Worlds #4 (September 1983) c s(i) -Amazing Heroes #145 Preview Special (July 1988) c a i sk -Amazing Heroes #37 (December 1983) c a i sk Ph -Back Issues (1983) c -Bettie Page Comics #1 (March 1996) c s(i) a -Bettie Page: Queen of the Nile #1 (December 1999) c -Bettie Page: Queen of the Nile #2 (February 2000) c -Bettie Page: Queen of the Nile #3 (April 2000) c -Black Angel (September 1996) c -Comic Book Artists #15 (November 2001) c i -Comic Journal #117, The (September 1987) c a i sk -Comic Shop News #207 (June 1991) c -Comico Attractions #6 (1987) c -Comico Christmas Special (December 1988) c -Comix Kiss Comix 12 (October 1993) c -Comix Kiss Comix 6 (April 1993) c -Comix Kiss Comix 9 (July 1993) c -Cult Movies #11 (1994) c Ph -Cult Movies #12 (1994) c -Cult Movies #13 (1995) c a i Ph -Cult Movies #14 (1995) c -Cult Movies #15 (1995) c a i Ph -Cult Movies #8 (1993) c -Cult Movies #9 (1993) c -Dark Horse Insider #23 (1991) c a -Dark Horse Presents #100-1 (August 1995) c -Destiny Science Fiction #2 (Spring 1975) c -Elvira's House of Mystery #11 (January 1987) c -Girl Crazy #1 (May 1996) c -Glamour International #7 (October 1986) c a(2-6) -Grendel #4 (January 1987) c(i) -Iger Comics Kingdom, The (1985) c a(83) -Jonny Quest #3 (August 1986) c -Jonny Quest #4 (September 1986) s(i:8, 25) a -Jonny Quest #5 (October 1986) c -Last of the Viking Heroes #5A (June 1988) c(i) -Madman Comics #4 (October 1994) c -Movie Star News #1: Betty Page the Queen of Curves (1990) c -Mysticogryfil #2 (May 1975) c a(2, 8, 27) -Neo Satanikatales (December 2001) c -Nudie-Cutie Volume 50 - Special Edition (1995) c -Orbit #1 (1990) c -Pacific Northwest Comic Con II Programme (May 1990) c a -Pacific Presents "The Rocketeer" #1 (October 1982) c s Ph -Poster #1: Seduction (1986) (22" x 34") a -Poster #3: Mr. Monster (1986) (22" x 34") a -Poster #4: World of Wood 2 (1986) (22" x 34") a -Poster #5: Crossfire & Rainbow (1987) (22" x 34") a -Poster #6: World of Wood 1 (1987) (22" x 34") a -Poster #7: Return of Valkyrie (1987) (22" x 34") a -Poster #8: Crossfire & Marilyn (1987) (22" x 34") a -Pure Images #1 (1986) c -Rocketeer Adventure Magazine #1, The (July 1988) c s -Rocketeer Adventure Magazine #2, The (July 1989) c s -Rocketeer Adventure Magazine #3, The (January 1995) c s -Rocketeer Special Edition #1 (November 1984) c s -Rocketeer Volume II: Cliff's "New York Adventure", The (September 1996) c s -Seduction of the Innocent Non-3D #1 (October 1985) c -Shadow and Doc Savage #1 (of 2), The (July 1995) c -Shadow and Doc Savage #2 (of 2), The (August 1995) c SOMETHING WEIRD VIDEO -Space Thing (1992) c -Time Machine - Sail with Pirates (August 1984) c pb novel -Up'n Coming! #5/6 (April/May 1991) c -Vampirella: A Scarlet Thirst (1993) c -Vampirella: Transcending Time & Space (1992) c -Vamps & Vixens, The Seductive Art of Dave Stevens (1998) c a -Vanguard Illustrated #2 (January 1984) c a -Venus Domina #1 (July 1996) c -Venus Domina Candlemass Eve Special (February 1997) c -Verotik Illustrated #2 (December 1997) c -Weird Tales Vol. 49, No. 1 (Fall 1984) a

I used to have a checklist including posters, magazines, etc. I'll see if I kept a copy of it somewhere.

Sure, I've got a stack of them picked up out of bins over the years. I've been collecting Dave since the 80's, used to collect AH as well. But I've hit my threshold on how many of these I need to own. ha

I'll defer to you guys on the credits of who did what. My take has always been that it doesn't look enough like either of them to be of much interest to AH or Dave collectors individually, and isn't enough of a blend to make it interesting. Also doesn't help that I have zero interest in the title and know nothing about the character.

I think the primary complaint about the DV8 cover is: Adam Hughes + Dave Stevens, where are the boobs???

This is another I never loved. Pencils by Adam Hughes and inks by Dave Stevens, you'd think it would be a match made in heaven! But the end result is kinda meh. This is another one I tend to pass on, I've got plenty.

This is one that I never loved, either the rendering or the subject matter. Pics from MCS as I didn't feel like digging through my boxes to find my copies. I usually buy any Dave book I find in the wild, but I stopped after three or four copies of this one.

When I see "unread original owner" collections for sale, my gut instinct is to assume VFNM at best. Even purchased new off of the racks, comics have to pass through so many hands, from the printer to the distributor to the shipper to the store to the rack, most books never had a shot at NM or better. And add to that the storage condition possibilities. Not enough info to draw a firm conclusion, but as a thought exercise, yeah, VFNM 9.0 at best, and I'd expect worse.

What's interesting is that even the drekkiest drek, like ugly Image books, still have a pretty vocal following, and it seems to be growing. For example, Michel Fiffe, who produces Copra (a terrific book) has been a vocal supporter on social media of comics that have been crapped on for years. Sure, he likes "cool" and "acceptable" stuff like 80's Suicide Squad, Keith Giffen, Walt Simonson etc But he's also an unabashed and apparently totally non-ironic fan of 90's Image books like Bloodstrike. The generation that grew up on this stuff is coming into its own, and they aren't ashamed of their influences. I continue to see "bad" 90's original cart prices creep ever upward. If I'd been smart, I'd have bought more of it when it was dirt cheap. The Drek is having its day, folks!

No, not chicken little. I can't 100% join the Comics Are Doomed club, but they have some pretty strong arguments. I think at the end of the day it comes down to how much these behemoth corporations value comic shops. The weekly comic reader is the lifeblood of the comic shop. Take that away, and I'm not sure how many of these places could stay afloat based simply on the sales of collected editions, toys, card games, etc. Some certainly would, but the vast majority would close up shop pretty quickly. True, comic sales are miniscule in the eyes of these corporations, so you could argue that they wouldn't miss the revenue generated by comic sales. BUT, and I think it's a big but, comic shops aren't just delivery vehicles for comics. They are also the lifeline that gets new fans hooked, and keeps old fans coming back, to these properties. The overwhelming majority of the consumers of comic-based movies, tv shows, video games etc have never set foot in a comic shop, and that likely won't change, BUT that fandom and fanaticism has to start somewhere. The local comic shop is the little tugboat pulling the whole industry along. Do Disney and ATT/Warner/Whatever realize that? Do they care? That's the real question. I think a lot of red flags went up when DC severed ties with Diamond. It looked like it could be the test balloon for prioritizing collections and digital and YA books over monthlies. Is that true? So far, we don't know. But it'll be interesting to see play out.

A shelf full of collected editions looks cooler than a bunch of white boxes, IMO. I love my comics, and I have many I'll never let go of, and there are still several individual issues I plan on pursuing. But the largest part of my collecting budget goes to collected editions. I believe I shared my "origin story" recently, but I was pulled in by the smell of the leather binding, the crisp white pages, and the hardcovers, way back when I was around 12 or so. And design of these things has gotten so creative in the may years since. Who could have foreseen the Omnibus, the Absolute, or the Artist Edition? So many cool formats within this little section of the hobby. I think for a long time, many comic collectors were turned off by collected editions because of the misconception that they held no value. They were seen as being for "readers", as opposed to "collectors". For good or ill, a big part of comic collecting mentality has always been related to the idea that they're "worth something". People are starting to realize that collected editions are susceptible to the same market whims as the floppies, so now you see more collectors, scalpers, flippers, etc, to go along with the readers. I'm a bit of both. Definitely a reader, but also a collector and sometimes a seller. It hits all of the sweet spots of my comic affliction! Collected editions certainly make more sense to me, from a money perspective. New comics cost, what, $4 a pop these days? If I'm willing to wait a few months, I can get a nice hardcover collection of the story for 40% off the cover price, in a more enduring format. I'd rather read the stories all in one sitting anyway.