F For Fake

What's funny is that I used to have all of my Overstreet hardcovers on the shelf like that, and always thought they looked cool together. But, not even a month ago, I decided to sell them, because many of them I literally had not touched in 5-10 years. What were the chances I'd ever have a reason to open them up again? I figured I could use the extra shelf space, and wouldn't miss them. And I hadn't...until I saw @Dave2739's pics, and now I'm feeling that twinge of regret! ACK!

RHPS was huge to me as a teenager. I liked going to the midnight shows, but more importantly I loved the show. I loved the movie, I loved the stage productions, I had all of the soundtracks, I was in the fan club, etc. Huge formative experience for me. I haven't kept up much with merchandise as I've gotten old, but I thought these things were pretty adorable when I saw them, so I scooped them up. But once I saw I could get some quick cash, off they went! Magenta hasn't sold yet, and Riff will probably be a tough sale as I somehow managed to lose the box on that one. Oh well. I enjoyed them while I had them, now they can go to a new home. We're all just leasing this stuff anyway, we don't get to take it with us. And there's always something new to buy!

RIP Joltin' Joe! The true legends are almost all gone now. A great artist in his own right, as well as Kirby's best inker. Seemed like a really great guy.

Awesome collection! The books are so pretty lined up like that. A lot of love (and time and money!) in that room! I sold all of my Archives once they started putting out the omnis, except for Plastic Man. Still eagerly awaiting the day when they give us a Plas Omni so I can sell those off too. But looking at your pic, they're so nice on the shelf, I'm wondering if I should have just kept them. They're a lot easier to read too!

There's a lot going on in this thread, so let's just make sure that the important takeaway is underlined: ABBA RULES. @Get Marwood & I you're on thin ice, buster!

I bought a few of the Rocky Horror pops when I saw them a few years ago, I paid $10 or whatever each. I thought they were cute. Put them up on my Blu Ray shelf and didn't think much about them. Yesterday I was moving them to dust, and I thought "Huh, wonder if these are worth anything now?" After a quick eBay check, I listed them, and already made $100 on these two. I don't want to be left holding the hot potato when the market eventually crashes, but in the meantime as long as I don't spend more than retail, I think they're cute, I pick one up here or there if it appeals to me, and usually I can sell them at a profit down the road once I decide I'd rather have the cash than another knick-knack.

I'm a big Allred fan since the early Madman days, so I was stoked to see his style at Marvel. His linework is so clean and deceptively "simple" looking. Admittedly I haven't kept up in recent years, I understand his Silver Surfer run is supposed to be good as well, I need to track it down.

The Boys was 2006 or thereabouts, I believe. X-Force definitely hit first!

Oh, it's up now at IST, just hit yesterday. They still have the Brereton direct market variant too. Not bad at all, only $43, probably going to order it today myself!

Oh and thanks for the heads up @Dave2739 , appreciate it!

I admire your discipline! For me, I just can't let myself wait to order them, because these days print runs are so low that they tend to sell out quickly. Plus with IST offering 50% many new releases in the first week (and additional 2% for their loyalty discount) you're usually never going to find a better price on these things than when they first hit. So, I tend to let them accumulate and some have to wait months (or even years!) before I read them. The upside to that is sometimes they sell out and skyrocket in price before I read them, so I have a chance to decide if I'd rather have the book of the $$$ ha

Wow, after your post I went and looked around, and it looks like it came and sold out in minutes at IST and the other usual sources. Dang! Looks like the only option is to pay nearly retail price for it at Amazon when it hits next week. That stinks. It's crazy how inconsistent distribution has been in the post-COVID world. Several volumes have come and gone in a flash, yet there are others that continue to be easy to find. The problem seems to just be with Marvel, as most DC releases from the last couple of months continue to be easy to find. Oh well, I guess $90 is better than $200-$300 it could hit once it sells out, better place my Amazon preorder!

That's a great run! Still hard to believe that Marvel published that at the time, it was a pretty big break with the aesthetic of the X-universe those days. Huge Allred fan for a long time, and that series shows him at his peak. Terrific stuff, glad you're enjoying it!

Continuing my revisit of the various DC events, I just finished up 52 (I took a break after Infinite Crisis to read a few non-picture books) and was delighted to find that I enjoyed it just as much, if not more, as I did when I read it as it was being originally released. The best comparison for this series is with great episodic television featuring a huge cast of characters and numerous storylines. Do they all come together seamlessly? Not really, but the individual threads are tied up in a satisfying way. Written by Morrison, Johns, Rucka and Waid, it's fun to try to identify the voice of the individual writers, but it's nearly impossible as they blend together so well. As it was a weekly series with several artists, you might expect it to be visually jarring, but Giffen doing breakdowns for the entire series allows the whole thing to read smoothly. The fact that they managed to pull this off so well is nothing short of a miracle (further proven by how poor the weekly series that followed in 52's wake turned out. Countdown, Trinity, ugh. Whole lotta suck there.) It helps that the series stars some of my absolute favorite characters, second and third stringers like Booster Gold, Question, Animal Man in particular. But anyone who has an interest in the DC Universe should enjoy this endlessly imaginative series which touches on so many elements of the DCU, from cosmic adventure, to magical crime mystery, to mad scientists, to good old fashioned spandex beat downs. Lots to love here. This should bring my total to around 293. Blackest Night is up next!

When I was a kid, I got an allowance of about $2 a week, but I also saved aluminum cans. I'd collect them from our house, my grandmother, picked up around the neighborhood, etc. After I had a sizable chunk, I'd convince my Dad to take me to the recycling center (not hard to convince him, Dad was and is a softie) and then take me to the comic shop. I'd usually have about $7 or $8, not much, but enough. With that money I'd try to stretch it as far as I could, which usually meant buying one new direct market book off the stands for $1.50 or $1.75, then I'd still have enough to buy a pack of trading cards, and then pick out a stack of goodies from the 25, 35 and 50 cent bins. I'd come home with a stack of stuff for very little money. Not sure how far that same $7 would stretch these days.

Oh, that would all be very handy! The big Avengers by Hickman Omnibuses (2 volumes collecting the complete Avengers and New Avengers runs, in the correct reading order) are currently out of print and pricey, but with Hickman being such a star for Marvel, I can only imagine they'll reprint sooner rather than later. They're handsome volumes.

Yes, that's a great reprint program, and a great idea for kids too. I'd forgotten all about those. A shop with a spinner rack full of those $1 reprints of simple, colorful stories would be appealing to kiddos, I'd think. Comics were 75 cents when I started buying, then $1. So I'd think $1 would be a great entry point for kids.

I don't really keep up with modern Marvels, but as far as I could tell, The Vision fit in with Marvel continuity. But like I said earlier, it doesn't really matter to me, as I think continuity strangles creativity.

That makes sense. Did you have any trouble following it? I feel like I would have needed a flow chart, a map and a compass had it not all been collected in those two big volumes.

Yup, this is why I think DC's move into the book market with the young readers format books will be huge for them.

The Vision was a 12 issue miniseries by Tom King, came out a couple of years ago. An offbeat examination of The Vision as he attempts to (literally) construct a "normal" life in the suburbs with a family that he creates himself. Offbeat and odd, it's kind of a suburban superhero drama with touches of dark comedy and horror.

Hey @Ken Aldred one more thing since I've already highjacked Kav's thread; when you read the Avengers/New Avengers/Secret Wars story, did your read it as it was coming out, or in collected form? When I read it, it was over the course of a couple of weeks during a summer vacation at the lake when it rained the whole time so there wasn't much else to do. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I remember thinking at the time that if I'd had to read it over the course of months/years, I may have given up on it. I really wonder how it worked for folks in periodical form. There's a lot to digest, and I have the attention span of a gnat. I'm not sure I would have gotten nearly as much out of it had I not been able to absorb it all so quickly.

Yeah, I'd originally read Secret War without having read the Avengers stuff. Last summer I ran across the Avengers by Hickman Omnis cheap at a second hand store, and tore through them! Also read the companion TPB and then reread SW, and got a lot more out of it! The scope/scale of his story was immense. A very satisfying read. Indeed, Vision is one of the rare books that met and exceeded the hype. Great stuff.

Hey, I appreciate the offer! But I'm content to wait for the day they reprint it. I'm not in any hurry, which is good, since they aren't either apparently!

I have my original Miller DD, Companion and Elektra Omnis. Couldn't bring myself to let them go, they look gorgeous together. Those and Simonson's Thor were the only ones I never sold/rebought. Those are all part of,the permanent library. Marvel does tend to reprint these things, it's just that sometimes they take 10+ years to do it! So glad they're reprinting so many X-Men omnis this fall.