F For Fake

Much like UXM Omni 1, ASM 1 is a perennial seller for Marvel. They tend to keep those two books out there. There are at least four printings I'm aware of on ASM 1, and there may be more I've forgotten about. The most recent wasn't very long ago. It tends to come back every 2-3 years. If you don't want to wait that long, there should be enough copies out there that you should almost definitely be able to find one at MSRP or below. Volume 2 is finally getting a reprint next year, so I'd have to think we'd see vol 1 again before too long. USM is an interesting case. No reprint so far, and we never got a Volume 2 either. And now that I think about it, New Avengers never got a second volume either. I'd wonder if there are sour grapes about Bendis leaving Marvel to go to DC, but they have issued an omni of the Miles Morales series recently, so I guess that blows that theory. My personal two cents (and not even worth that much) is that a reprint of ASM 1 is as close to a sure thing as you can get these days, and my gut tells me that we'll get USM again at some point; but if you find one at a good price (i.e. under MSRP) I'd wouldn't turn it down. Just don't pay through the nose for a copy.

Ha, I was just going to say, thanks for picking this up so they'll maybe announce an omni now ha It's definitely one I've been waiting on. I'd love to reread these, those are really sharp looking books!

The only monster from the orange set that I have is the Wolfman. I'd love to complete the set some day, but I worry about repops on these. Keep hoping I'll hit an original owner collection someday.

It looks really sharp. Mondo has a Silver Screen version exclusive to their site, I'm giving it some thought. I mostly stopped buying new stuff, but that is really snazzy. Reminds me of when Sideshow was doing all of that great Universal Monsters stuff. Had all of those 12" figures.

Full story on the SW books is in the Modern forum Dollar Books thread. Couldn't pass up this FOOM. They'd also just gotten in a bunch of Fireside books, but I passed for the time being, as the Silver Surfer had already sold. May go back for the Hulk and FF if they're still around.

From the lot I posted over in the Dollar Bin thread, all of these were newsies plus a couple more!

Not a dollar box exactly, but I think it counts. My LCS has a section in the back of the shop where they sell sets of comics. There are often good deals to be found here, if you're willing to buy a big run of books, as they often don't break out the "hot" issues, they just sell the run as a run. Stopped by the LCS today, while everyone was crying about Last Ronin being sold out, I made my way to the back. Found this set of Star Wars KotOR 18-44, for $39.99, plus 10% off. So it comes out to about $1.40 per book, or thereabouts. I haven't been keeping up with all of the SW goings on, but I knew that issues of this title have been popping lately, so I took a chance. Looks like I did well! Not only are some of the recent hotter issues like 25, 31, 34, 40 and 42 all present, but about half the run are newsstands! Yippee! Condition averages out to VFNM, there are a couiple of VF/VF+ books, and a few true NM, so all in all not too shabby.

Please don't make me contemplate my mortality like that!

This shop isn't open on Tuesdays, just Wed-Sun. So normally the DC books show up with everything else. They said that they'd been told that their DC order for this week was supposed to be here today, but now they're being told tomorrow. Some sort of USPS deal. I dunno. I'm glad I"m not a shopowner, ordering seems like a nightmare these days.

Must...not...buy...Star Wars...toys... Willpower...fading...

I'm willing to eat this to test the authenticity!

I needed to run by my lcs today to pick up some cash they owed me from some stuff I'd sold, so I figured I may as well get there at opening and take a crack at these books you guys are talking about. They opened at noon, there was a line of about 10 people! That's unusual for this store. Got in and everyone was peeved because Last Ronin was already sold out. I asked my guy and he said that normally they only have three people subbed to the Turtles books, but in the last week they'd had 10 people call to reserve one. So that ate up their shelf copies. They were going to try to order more, but weren't sure if they'd get them. Didn't bother me because I was only going to pick it up if it was handy, but several folks were disappointed. The thing is I know this is legit, this is not a store that holds back copies to sell at a markup. If you're a holds customer, you get what you order at cover price plus your discount. ANything that's left goes on the stands. It's fair, and I've always liked that about them. Batgirl 50 was also a bust as DC failed to get the books to them on time, they're hoping to get their DC's in tomorrow. The only DC that arrived on time was Three Jokers.

After I read your post, I went over to the MMW boards and read the IST/TOW thread. Wow. It's crazy that things have fallen apart like that. I guess I got lucky with my last shipment coming so quickly. I haven't placed an order since then because there hasn't been anything I needed. Yesterday I ordered the Absolute Swamp Thing books, I guess we'll see how it goes. So it seems like there are a couple of things going on, 1. IST isn't sufficiently staffed and 2. continued pandemic supply chain issues. Does that sum it up? The latter I understand, though I'd hoped it was improving, seeing as how the last couple of big release week books took longer to sell out than had been the case the last few months. But the former doesn't make any sense. Surely IST should have their staffing issues straightened out by now. And I guess a third factor is the whole DC Diamond/UCS/Penguin/etc distribution shake up. Very strange times. I agree, I don't like Amazon either, primarily due to the shipping. I'd say 75% of the books I've gotten from them have some sort of damage. But sometimes they're the only game in town, so I take my chances. I certainly hope you get an answer soon. That's simply unacceptable. I guess I'll see how things go with my order from yesterday. If IST doesn't rebound, I'm not sure what the answer is. I guess I'll be buying fewer books. My local shop offers a 25% discount on trades/hc's, so that may be the answer. Then again, if distribution is affecting the big retailers, they may not have any better luck getting the books either. Good luck and I hope you hear something soon, please let us know if you do!

Hmm, that's interesting. I was aware of grumblings and rumors about their sister site Tales of Wonder, who haven't updated in some time, but I hadn't heard anything new about IST. For instance, I ordered the LoSH Omni on that same day as you, and got in about a week later. My previous order had only taken a week as well. I considered this a great step forward as my orders over the spring and summer had taken a bout a month each time to get here, due to USPS slowdown. I'd hate to see IST go under, as they're the best bet for hardcovers and collections. No one else can approach their price anymore (Amazon doesn't even try, which is a shame, as they used to be pretty close) and their shipping is the absolute best, as far as safe packing is concerned. Today the new volume of Absolute Swamp Thing was released, along with a reprinting of Vol 1. IST's price? $58 per book. Amazon? $90 each. Next best price is Cheap Graphic Novels, at $70 for #2 and $60 for #1. CGN isn't bad, but IST is hard to beat. I've only used CGN a few times, and I've had good experiences, so that might be a good alternative for you and others. Their prices are solid and packing is good. But IST is my #1 choice. I don't sweat shipping delays as I'm in no hurry, as long as I know the books are coming. I hope they don't get dodgy in that regard. I'd be surprised if there was an issue fulfilling your order, though, because LoSH and Conan 4 weren't instant sellouts. They hung around for a few weeks. I think LoSH just sold out last week, actually. So they should have had the books in stock for you for sure. So that's all very odd. Bronze, Have you contacted them directly about the delayed shipment? I've had good luck reaching them by email.

This was true for a long time, but the recent announcements of Marvel's acquisition of the line, and reprints as well as new series coming, has really stoked the fires on this one. 9.6's are $250-$400 now, 9.4s are $200+. This is a good book to have in any shape at the moment! #1 9.8 is a $1-1.5k book these days. Insanity! Of course, the tough book in grade is #2. 9.8's are nearly impossible. As you'd know, since I got mine for you to complete my set a few years ago!

Well, as you know, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pay up for the good stuff. The way the market is these days, full price for keys seems reasonable to me, so whatever you paid for it, nice pick up. Looks like a very pretty copy!

Sweet! Love the date stamp, too! (One day before my b-day!)

Yup, 100%! I remember seeing the Dreadnok Assaul sets in the WIsh Book when I was a kid, and thinking they were ugly as sin! Why would I want those ugly- repaints when I could get a brand new vehicle??? Of course, now I'm prepared to pay through the nose to get one of those "ugly-" Dreadnok sets, if I can ever find one! And yeah, with comics, 2nd prints and higher were basically garbage. If it wasn't a first print, it wasn't worth having. Now I'm on the hunt for those books all over again? Who knew??

As always, @greggy knows whats up. Tons of sweet stuff, but I have to single this book out. This is one of my all time favorite covers, and I think it's a criminally underappreciated book. Took me a while to find a 9.8, but I did dig one up a few years ago, to go with my very small Giant Naked Space Babes set!

@comicginger1789 That's a great start! The great thing about collecting Dave is that you can still regularly find them in the dollar bins. Sure, there are a lot more folks hunting his work these days, but there are still a lot of clueless sellers who don't look through their 80's indie bulk books. Lots of gems out there waiting to be found. Have fun!

Probably too late to be of any help, but, current Louisvillian here! Indeed, here in town you're going to want The Great Escape. I'm up there a few times a week, still the best back issue shop in town. However since covid times, they've changed their schedule a bit, so they're only open Wed-Sun, 12-7. Comic Book World has a lot of back issues as well, I haven't been since quarantine hit so I'm not sure what their hours are. I actually bought my AF15 here a few years ago, so you never know what may come through the door. They also have a Cinci store which I think has a better back issue selection. Those are the two best bets, but there are more shops here. I haven't been to any of these since quarantine started, so I'm not sure of their operating hours, hopefully they're all still in business! But at one time you could also go to The Zone, Destination Comics, and Heroes Comics and Gaming. My experience is that The Zone and Destination are mostly focused on new books and merch (Funko Pops, stuff like that) and don't have a ton of back issue. Heroes Comics and Gaming is also game heavy BUT they used to have a really nice back issue selection, at least the last time I was there. It has been some time, though. A newer shop is Pop's Comics and Collectibles, which is a newer shop run buy a guy who was a flea market dealer for a very long time. I've bought a lot from him over the years. His new brick and mortar shop is heavy on the Funko Pops (hence the name) and toys, but he also usually has some cool back issues and random stuff. If that doesn't satisfy you, we also have two Book and Music Exchange locations that sell comics. The one on Preston highway has a lot more than the one on Bardstown Rd in the Highlands. Selection is spotty, but sometimes worth the dig.

Huh, who knew? I had that 92 Venom vs Spidey chase card. That xmas I got a sealed box of those cards, and I spent a fun chunk of the morning opening up the packs. This was the only chase card I got out of the box. I held onto it for a few years, but I'm sure I sold it for next to nothing eventually, as I no longer have any of those cards.

Cool! It's so funny to me, stuff like this and Mission Brazil, etc I remember seeing stacks of these as a kid, and I always passed on them because they were "just" repaints, and I always wanted a new character. I guess a lot of other kids passed on them too, which is why they're harder to find and pricey now! Of course now that I'm grown, I think they're cool!

I usually don't go out of my way to pick them up, but sometimes they can be a nice placeholder if the original accessory is super expensive (Firefly's walkie talkie, stuff like that.) Sometimes, if I like the color scheme, I'll display them. For instance, I have one Snow Cat in my display that is outfitted with the green missiles and grey skies from the vehicle accessory pack, to go along with my original Snow Cat. Makes for a cool variation for display. I also have Scrap Iron set up with both his original missile launcher and the red/blue one, one launcher in each hand, just because hey, why not? So, in conclusion, I don't seek them out (except for the Snow Cat accessory pack, I did specifically look for that one) but otherwise if I pick them up in lots or collections or whatever, I usually just put them with my other accessories, to be used if I ever have a need.

What a great idea! How thoughtful. I've not seen one, but will keep my eyes peeled!