F For Fake

I enjoyed Secret Wars, as well as Hickman's Avengers run. Looking forward to digging into his X-Men stuff! Otherwise I think the last Marvel series I read was Vision, which I also enjoyed a great deal.

I'm happy they're reprinting it! I had the first edition, sold it when it went out of print and prices went nuts. Always regretted it. So I'll be jumping on this. If they'd reprint the Captain Britain Omni, I'd be all set!

Kids love comics and comic book characters, but they don't buy comics. They're just too expensive vs what they get out of it. Why pay $4 for a 20 page comic they'll read in 20 minutes, when they'd could get an app on their phone that they'll play for hours for 99 cents? My niece is 12 and she gets excited about comics. She loves Archie and Justice League Unlimited. For her birthday she asked for comics including "scary" comics, so I got her a few of the DC Showcase trades (big black and white phone book sized reprint collections) including two Wonder Woman, and one House of Secrets. She was thrilled! So then I got her a gift certificate for the LCS, so she could pick some stuff out. She got some 50 cent Archie comics, splurged $4 on an "old" Archie comic for her "collection", a mood ring, and a couple of buttons. Aside from the "collectible" Archie book, she picked up a Man Thing tpb that was clearance priced for $3 because A. It looked scary and B. It was a lot of pages for $3 vs what a new comic cost, so she'd get more out of it. Content wise there seems to be a lot of cool stuff out there these days for kids, especially with the sorts of DC books that are aimed at the Scholastic Book Fair crowd. So, I think the content is there, but the price remains the hurdle for most kids. This is where cheap digital comics may be the answer, if there is one. Kids have an appetite for this stuff, we just have to get it into their hands.

Honestly, they can be a chore to read. The appeal to me is to have entire storylines collected in one place in a format that won't degrade the way trades do. (It used to drive me crazy when paperbacks got stress lines on the spines!) The important thing is to open them up slowly (there are a couple of good tutorials on YouTube about the best way to loosen up the binding the first time you crack open an Omni) and support the spine when you read. It's probably easiest to read them seated at a table or with a book stand, but who wants to read at a table? I usually read them on the couch with a couple of pillows in my lap to support the book. Some aren't so bad. The omnis that clock in around 1400+ pages can be hard on the wrists for sure!

I've got several of the artist/gallery edition books, and this one is a personal favorite. As a collector of both Alien and Simonson, it's pure heaven. The Dark Horse art/gallery book of Miller and Simonson's Robocop vs Terminator is also very nice.

And then there's this, a bittersweet addition. I really enjoy the Floyd Gottfredson Mickey Mouse strips, but had let the collection fall to the wayside as staying on top of the Barks and Rosa Duck sets had been my priority. A while back I realized I'd procrastinated too long, as this set had gone out of print, and was suddenly commanding dumb prices. We all know Amazon's third party prices are generally ridiculous, and this was no exception, as asking prices for this set reached $600-900. I'd take that to mean that at auction the set would probably sell for closer to $150-$200, which was still more than I wanted to pay. So, a year or two ago, i set up an eBay alert, and began the waiting game. I was too slow on the trigger when a set popped up with a BIN of about $38, it sold before I even knew it had been listed! I was pretty bummed about that. But then a couple of weeks ago a seller listed this one for $40 BIN, so I jumped fast as lightning! I'm assuming the seller used the $38 sale as a guidepost, as they otherwise seemed to sell estate sale items, clothes, junk, etc. No other comics stuff. So that sale that I missed still paid off! I was stoked that I was finally getting this set, and at a steal. But karma is real, so when the book finally arrived, I was crestfallen to find that the seller hadn't even put it in a box! They'd just wrapped it up in brown craft paper and sent it off as is! Oof. eBay gonna eBay, I guess. I was scared of what I'd find once I removed the paper, but luckily it's not TOO bad. I'm not thrilled about the bumps it received to the corners, but for $40, considering the rarity, I wasn't about the tempt the gods by complaining. And besides, it still looks pretty sharp on the shelf!

How did we let this thread fall to page four? We must return it to front page glory! My latest pick-ups. Pile on the left courtesy of the B2G1 free sale at Target last week, getting caught up on some volumes I'd been sleeping on. Gail Simone Omni was an Amazon pick-up as I realized stock had dried up at the usual places, figured I'd better jump on it before it disappears! (Though with Simone's popularity, I could see them sending this to reprint soon. Wish we'd get a Secret Six Omni.)

I bought the Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious, but eventually sold then as we'd never get Steve or Paul (and def not Glen Matlock!) Also they were "retired" and selling for a boatload of cash, so off they went. And for me that's one big difference. If I own a Pop that is suddenly worth $$$, I have no problem selling them off. Comics, that's a tougher decision.

Yeah, I understand the thinking behind the "tactical armor" approach to Batman in the movies, but it's not much fun to look at, you know? Comics are visual. Movies are visual. Why can't we have a Batman that just kinda looks cool, and not worry about whether or not it makes sense? I know the Burton/Keaton Batsuit catches flack because, you know, he can't even turn his head. But from a design perspective, it's much cooler and more fun to look at than whatever Bale was wearing in the Nolan flicks. Same with the X-Men. When I was a kid doodling around after reading X-Men comics, I drew the awesome Wolvie costume with the big dumb ears, because it was cool! The leather and zippers of the X-flicks wouldn't have inspired much in that same kid.

To address @kav's original question, in regard to superhero books from the Big Two (I realize that's a lot of qualification, but I think that's specifically what he's talking about) I think we see more recycled concepts, mash-up characters and reboots simply because work for hire creators don't want to make new characters for these companies when they'll have no financial stake in their eventual translation into movies, tv, games etc. So, we see the same characters and storylines endlessly regurgitated in increasingly absurd scenarios. (Big name creators with special/exclusive deals would potentially be exempt from this, of course.) Why give them your best new character/concept when you can make your name "creating" the latest Deadpool/Gwen Stacy/Venom hybrid, and then take your clout and audience with you to a creator owned title? I can't say that's definitely the case, but it makes sense to me. I don't keep up with modern superheroes much (aside from paying my usual Batman tax) so I could be wrong, of course. I'm often wrong. Reliably so! As a side note, I think continuity is one of the worst things that ever happened to modern superhero comics. They're fantasies. Why needlessly hamper them with rules about how they all have to fit together? Also, I'm against practical costumes in spandex books that are supposed to be more "believable" in the real world, for the same reason. Also, get off my lawn! And also, how come Batman doesn't dance anymore?

I have no interest in professionally restored books, but a few marker dots that a dumb kid threw onto a cover 50 years ago doesn't bother me, and in my mind shouldn't even really count as "restoration." I realize that's what the "amateur" tag is for, but that's still painting with a very wide brush. Removing CT is a whole 'nother can of worms. If someone does a really crappy resto job on a book in order to make it look better, and fails completely, I guess I can understand why someone would want to remove it, if it would improve appearance. But deciding to scrape off a few dots of marker in order to get a blue label makes the book even uglier than if they'd just left it, IMO. Regardless, whatever the degree and origin of the restoration (or "restoration") it absolutely should be disclosed, but I personally don't get bent outta shape if it's a book I want. To each their own, as always!

Well...they're ALL imaginary stories, really.

I have a few, they're pretty cute. Jaws, Crow and Tom Servo from MST3k, a handful of others. What I like about the line is the sheer breadth of the licenses they acquire. It's cool to have so many movies, comics, tv shows, pop singers, etc represented in the same style. We haven't seen that sort of cross pollination of source material in a single toy line since the Mego days. They're fun, and fun is fun. But I'd never pay more than retail for one, and I think that's the rub. Some of these things sell for hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, which seems INSANE to me personally. But perhaps those collectors feel that paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for deteriorating paper pamphlets featuring stories that are readily available digitally or in cheap collected editions to be an insane hobby as well. There's no right or wrong way to spend your disposable income. Funkos, comics, etc none of them are necessary, so do what you like. Just don't spend more than you can afford to lose if the market falls out from beneath them tomorrow.

Regarding the relative lack of traffics on the boards: We lost a chunk of boardies with the migration. A lot of folks signed off and never bothered to sign back on. That was the first huge cull. In addition to that, there has been a culture shift on the boards over the years. It used to be fairly heavy with gatekeepers who would chase thin-skinned newbs away. This was the price of admission to one of the greatest repositories of comic book knowledge on the internet. If you stuck it out, you could learn SO MUCH. The general consensus seemed to be that it was best to spend a little time reading the room, learning the culture of the boards, before you started running your mouth. I myself lurked for a year or more before I even bothered registering and beginning to contribute (what little that I have. I've been here 11 years and still count myself as a newb.) Over time, there has been an influx of new posters who had no compunction about coming in hot and flooding the board with posts. There seemed to be a feeling that our little world of dedicated and lifelong collectors and experts was being invaded by the types of folks who frequent Facebook groups.This shift seemed to have chased a few of the older folks away. Personally, it didn't bother me, because if I don't care for someone, it's easy enough to ignore them. I don't even use the block feature. Just scroll on past, it's easy enough to do. Life is too short to fret over conversations with strangers on a comic book forum. The boards are very different from what they used to be. I'm not saying it's good or bad. I personally don't really care. For me it's a place to kill time during the work week, chat with some buds, share some cool stuff, and look at some cool stuff. And, I can see both sides. It definitely used to be much stuffier and it was easy to be discouraged by the old heads who didn't want to hear from new folks. On the other hand, I do sometimes roll my eyes by the newer folks who can't be bothered to do even a basic search before they start posting countless threads about topics that we beat to death several years ago. But, again, I'm not going to complain about it, because at the end of the day, who cares? It's a message board, the stakes are very low. There's no right or wrong way to engage. But there are several reasons why traffic has slowed down, and I don't think it really has anything to do with the relative health of the hobby. These little communities pop up, thrive, and then die out. It's how it tends to go. I can't count how many forums I used to participate in that eventually faded to nothing. It's entropy. The CGC boards have trucked along longer than most, and I'm glad. Lots of great folks still kicking it here, and still lots of cool stuff to share.

Thanks for sharing, by all means I'm happy to listen. Glad you're still abiding, dude!

This is where I'm at with it. CGC likely won't do a thing, but they need to KNOW that this stuff is happening.

That's interesting, and I had been wondering if it would end up being the case. Sideshow is notable because for years they've created their own products based on DC licenses, but in recent months (maybe longer) they've also started carrying straight up DC Direct/Collectibles products. So you can buy the SST Batman statues right alongside DC's own Batman statues. I thought it was odd, but perhaps this has been in the works for a while.

Agreed, just because it may be technically legal doesn't mean it's not creepy. Bringing age of consent laws into this sort of discussion...dude, no. It's gross. Maybe you can get away with trying to date a child in a court of law, but that doesn't make you any less of a scumbag. There are several stories floating around about the guy. Maybe they're not true, but I'd tend to believe the women, simply because there is no benefit to them for lying about it. The stories add up and paint a picture of a pattern. Or maybe a bunch of women who don't know each other all got together to form a secret campaign to :checks notes: bring down a comic book creator that most people within the comic book community aren't even familiar with. Sure. :cough:

Be seeing you!

Same. Is...is this a prank? Is this the part where I start to talk about parrot covers like I know what I'm talking about and then @Bookery is like "Ha, gotcha, no one cares about parrot covers!"

Do you know if the seller was the original submitter? I'd start there. If so, THEIR complaint is with CGC, and YOUR complaint is with the seller. Not that the seller knew or did anything wrong, but that's where I'd start, at least. If that gets no traction, contact CGC. They might surprise you. Then again, they may not. Cruddy situation all around, and I'm sorry for the hassle you're going through. It's very frustrating to know that you're out money just because someone else didn't do their job. But don't give up!

And one day, one of us will be right!

In 25 years we'll all be long dead thanks to disease/warfare/take your pick. Meanwhile, in basements across the world, comic books will begin to curl up and turn brown inside of their CGC cases because it turns out, after all this time, that pressing actually IS bad for comics! Only none of us will be there to see it! Oh, the irony!

Wow, that's great! I refuse to pay big money for this book because I believe in my heart that I'll find one in the wild one day. THEY HAVE TO BE OUT THERE! And these posts give me hope. Congrats bud!

That's great! It's a classic figure regardless, but I love the mailaways. Most Joes are fairly common and were produced in large numbers, but collecting sealed mailaways adds a difficulty wrinkle that makes it more challenging and fun to collect.