F For Fake

When I was in middle school, I traded a couple of comics to another kid for a small nudie mag. I hid it inside of my copy of UXM 137, between the comic and the backer board, assuming no one would ever find it that way. And...they didn't! I got away with it! Take that, Mom and Dad! Now I'm grown and can look at all of the boobs I want!

Now that is cool! Some of those Viz books are really tough. I'm more of a Lum guy myself (hence the tattoo) but I love all of Rumiko Takahashi's stuff. I have all of the Lum/Urusei Yatsura stuff, but can't recall ever running across a Ranma 1!

I've always assumed that the drive to collect is associated with a misfiring of a genetic instinct to hunt and gather. Since we are no longer forced to hunt and kill and store food longterm, our minds need somewhere to release that genetic imperative. Therefore, we mentally ascribe value to certain objects, whether due to nostalgia or what have you, and then feel the need to accumulate and protect them, as a resource.

Love this series, and these covers. I remember back when I was putting this run together, #4 was the hard one to find, and copies were selling for $30-$40. I don't know if it's still that expensive, but I still don't see them very often.

Was on my way to do the same thing, thanks for beating me to it!

Same. I was talking to the manager at my LCS a couple of weeks back and they loved it, and wish they could get away from Diamond altogether.

You're 100% correct. Sometimes you have to do a cost analysis to see which route is the cheapest, if you don't have a preference on format. I've always found the world of custom binding fascinating. There's a whole subforum on custom binding over at the mmw boards, and I love looking at the work people have had done. It's certainly come a long way! Bound volumes used to be fairly straightforward and plain, but these days folks can do custom wraps, custom dustjackets, and some of the designs are far better than what shows up in the "real" version later! I've debated getting some series bound, but for the most part, most of the things I really care about have eventually made their way to publication. With the Legion 5YL omnibus coming out, I realize now that anything is possible, so I'm more patient than ever. But I do love seeing custom sets from collections! Very cool!

Garage sale pickups from this morning. I've visited this guy and his son several times, they get good stuff at real good prices. They're holding onto the Thor 2 & 10 to send to CGC, but I got a good price on the rest. Super stoked about the Milk and Cheese 1 first print, it's really nice. (Scans over in the this week in your collection thread.)

Well, thanks to you I've now learned what "astroturfing" means, and I will be able to use it in every day conversation. So that's something! Still not sure what E4 is, but it sounds like this was a bad thing, and not good!

Oh, for sure. I just found it amusing that I was reading this thread this morning, then went out and a clerk started chatting about it. I don't keep up with the news but I guess this story has made a splash!

Today I went to Hobby Lobby to get something framed for my mom's birthday (her State Fair blue ribbons in a shadow-box, thanks for asking!) and while I was there, the frame guy was making small talk. When he got to the glass, I mentioned that I was familiar with the museum glass, because that's what I use when I get my comic art framed. So then he says "Oh man, I just saw today that they're selling the art with the first appearance of the Punisher, it's going to be like $2 million!" So, what I'm saying is that if the story has penetrated the small talk of Hobby Lobby framers, the word is definitely out there!

Was just scrolling down to make sure someone posted this so I didn't have to.

Ectokid? ECTOKID?? Oh geez, don't tell me i have to start digging up those Barker-verse books. What's next, Marvel UK?? Bah!

HOLY CATS, that's a pile of plastic! BTW I've checked out those black light Pops online, and oh yeah, I have to have those. So I thank you, but my wallet and wife aren't too happy with you right now.

Wow, I had no idea about the existance of the Black Light pops. I don't keep up with this stuff. But I DO have a black light area in the man cave, so I am going to have to track some of these down!

I visited a HPB last week, and it was very slim pickins'. The bins were at about 2/3 capacity, as opposed to usually being stuffed in the past. However, I stopped at a 2nd and Charles about a month ago, and they were packed, and I walked out with a giant stack of stuff. Can't beat that buy 5 get 5 free sale when they've gotten some new stuff in. So, I guess the answer is...maybe, or possibly maybe not? I'm sure it's going to differ location by location. I am curious to see if they'll get more stuff in stock as we approach the holidays, and folks who are hitting hard times due to the current economic situation end up selling off their collections on the cheap. We'll see. Even a year ago, when things were "normal", the pickings at these shops still paled in comparison to the same places 10 years ago, when it truly was a honey hole. The average collector hadn't caught on at that point, at least not around here. These days there's a lot more competition for those gems. I know one guy that I sell to who is hitting up the HPBs nearly every day. I just don't have the time to play that game.

It's totally worth it for the price. I usually subscribe for about one month per year, blow through all of the stuff I'm interested in, cancel, then let it build up again to the next year, rinse and repeat. I'm not concerned with being up to date, I was usually a "wait for the trade" reader anyhow, so it's a model that works for me. I love collecting and reading my hardcovers, but I have to admit reading on my iPad (and now on my Surface Pro) is the best way to read. I can enlarge the pages when my eyesight gets shoddy, the colors really pop, and it's super lightweight compared to all of those books. Plus I don't have to fret over potentially damaging a physical book with fingerprints, tears, etc.

There are three or four "bigger" estate sale companies in the area that seem to get most of the business. I monitor their facebook pages and craigslist listings. I honestly never know what to expect in regards to turnout. I've shown up at 4am only to find i was second in line. I've shown up 10 minutes before opening only to find two or three people there. It seems like a lot of these local sales are primarily attended by flea market and peddlers mall sellers looking for stock. If a sale is specifically marketed as having comics and toys, I'll see a lot of the flea market guys and dealers there, and bets are off as far as how early they might show up. But a sale like the one yesterday, where they were pushing the furniture, and comics were just a couple of pics near the end of the listing, the turnout seemed about right. I was #2 at 7am, but when I came back at 9, I think there were only 15 people in line. It also seems like both listings and attendance are down this season compared to past years. I can only assume this is due to COVID. Most of the spring yard/garage sale season was canceled as we were in the middle of quarantine, so gatherings like that were specifically forbidden. The rules have relaxed a bit now, but I think a lot of people are playing it safe and staying away. Can't say I blame them. I do masks, gloves, sanitizer, and I keep my distance, and even then I think "Should I be in this stranger's house right now? Am I going to die for this copy of Spider-Man 2099?"

Yes, I saw comics on the listing, that’s what caught my attention. I’ve been to several sales conducted by this company in the past, and usually do well by them. The listing primarily showed furniture, but there were two pics of comics, one of which was a scattered stack of worthless 90’s X-Men, and the other pic showed two boxes, in which I could see some Archies poking out. I figured I’d take a chance. You never know what might be lurking in those boxes. Due to my general lack of excitement, I was pretty lax this time around, arriving at 7am for the sale which opened at 9, instead of getting up crazy early. And I’m glad! I actually arrived at 6:45, found the house, but there was no one around at all. I drove around the block and when I came back one car was pulling in at the same time as me, a much older lady. Her husband helped her out of her car, so I let her lead the way. Another guy showed up behind me. About 7:15 the estate folks showed up, and handed out numbers, so i was able to go home, have breakfast, and come back and jump back into my spot when it opened at 9. I’ve arrived at 4am before for a 9am sale where I knew what I wanted and was determined to get it. Other sales I’ve shown up right before opening because I really didn’t care much about what I might miss. With this one I was right in the middle. I didn’t have any reason to expect that there’d be anything great at the sale, BUT, WHAT IF THERE WAS??? So two hours early seemed like a good compromise. From past dealings with these folks I was pretty sure they’d give out placeholder cards so I wouldn’t have to stand around the whole time. It all worked out satisfactorily for me. I didn’t find much, but I also knew that I didn’t miss much. Sometimes that feels just as good! Ha

I don’t keep up much with gaming, but my understanding is that the Game Cube games are more difficult to emulate than the other old Nintendo games, so there’s still a pretty good market for GC discs. I don’t claim to understand it, I’m an old man!

Tried my luck at an estate sale this am. Second in line, first one to the comics, but there wasn't much there. Picked all of these up for a buck each. Not much to get excited about, but the western picture frames will be nice place holders until I upgrade them! I was stoked about the Captain Atom 83, managed to not look at the logo until I got to the car. Oh well, for a buck I won't complain too much. I've certainly spent more for less in the past. The morning wasn't a total loss, though. I picked up a stack of Game Cube and PC games for two bucks each. There are several that should sell in the $10-$20 range, and a couple that should hit $30-$40. I got 18 games for less than $40, so I'll do well. Game Cube games always seem to sell for me (with the obvious exceptions like sports games.) Fun morning!

Great colors on that one!

Nice pick-up, even at cover price! It sells in the $150-$200 range, and demand seems to be going up as new volumes come out. Congrats!

I don't have the limited signed book, but I have all three of the regular hc's, and I love them. That was back when you didn't get a stack of Batman hardcovers released every month, it was really kind of a big deal! I still dig the funky oversize trim on these. The dustjackets are prone to wear, though.