F For Fake

Interstellar is great. Nolan makes old fashioned popcorn movies, in that they are, in essence, dumb genre films, but with A-list production values and real craft. Interstellar is a visual treat for sure. I want a TARS action figure.

Yeah. I'm still sticking with my decision to give it a pass.

It's real and it's great. Every issue of this series is a gem.

I still can't believe that they made a Jonah Hex movie, and that it was apparently so bad that I could never even make myself watch it. Same with Green Lantern. I would have KILLED for those when I was a kid. As an adult, can't even bother to spend the 90 minutes.

Did he see the part where he PUNCHES THROUGH THE GUY'S FACE? I mean, what more could you want? It's the Citizen Kane of face-punching movies.

Way ahead of you there, pal!

Then again, if I recall, you actually enjoyed Man of Steel and BvS, so "morose slog" must be your thing.

I don't recall being hired in the first place. You owe me severance!

I love ya @ComicConnoisseur but I can't get behind Origins:Wolverine. I thought it was pretty terrible. I did love The Wolverine (up to the point where they felt the need to upend an exciting action adventure flick by tacking on a giant silver CGI robot) and Logan, though. For me, a master ranking of the X-Universe flicks would be Top of the Heap: X2 Days of Future Past Logan The Wolverine First Class Deadpool Then the middle: X3 Last Stand - yeah, I'm the guy that actually liked this movie. I thought it was dumb fun, and at that point, the first of the flicks where they let the characters really cut loose with their powers Apocalypse - yeah, me again. This movie is stupid, but it's colorful and fun. These movies don't all have to be a morose slog. Deadpool 2 - nothing wrong with this, but I'm already getting tired of DP/Reynold's shtick. And then bringing up the rear: X-Men - this movie gets most of its cred simply because it didn't totally suck at a time when superhero movies could only suck. It has not aged well at all. Origins: Wolverine Dark Phoenix

Also, that looks like some sort of foxing or staining on the lower back cover, so I have no idea how it would be a 9.6 in the first place, except, you know, PGX. Edit: I see they refer to this as "minor dust shadow". Not sure how minor it is, or how that would be allowed on a 9.6. I'll let the savvier boardies correct me if I'm wrong to think CGC would hammer that in grading.

CGC won't verify the signature, so it will come back as a Green "Qualified" label. Or you may be able to talk to them and see if they'll treat the sig as a defect and give it a Blue "Universal" label, with the grade taking a hit due to the "writing on cover". As it's a PGX book, I would be very concerned about undisclosed restoration, so, uh, proceed with lots of caution.

It's true, everyone and their mother is pressing books these days, and it's scary. I was talking to a guy that I used to buy from, when one day he told me about his pressing process. I'm not a pressing pro myself, but I've learned enough over the years to know I don't have the patience to do it correctly, and he FOR SURE isn't doing it correctly. Needless to say, I'm not buying from him anymore. Everyone on FB is suddenly a professional book presser, because they saw a Youtube video and bought a t-shirt press. It's the wild west out there these days.

The big one when I was a kid was "Gorilla At Large". The local convenience stores had the glasses. I was so excited. When the actual movie finally came on, it was so bad I don't think I even finished it.

That's interesting about the glasses, thanks @mschmidt! I bought a Cherry 11 last year (which I sold on the boards, i believe) and it came with the banana-scented scratch n sniff glasses, which I've never seen before.

I've found that Adams is pretty nice as long as you're giving him money and kissing his butt. Beyond that, he can be a little grumpy. I usually steer clear of his table so his people don't yell at me to buy prints I don't want. We've discussed it in other threads, but John Byrne was also a spoon . Carmine Infantino was incredibly grumpy. Peter David couldn't be bothered to speak, much like Byrne. Busiek was kind of a spoon but maybe that was just a bad day for him, as I've heard nice things about him as well. Azzarello seemed a little too cool for the room, but maybe that was just me. Nicest creators I've met over the years would definitely include George Perez, Sergio Aragones, and Dave Cockrum at the top of the list, all super nice folks. But then again, MOST of the comic people I've met have been super nice. Sienkiewicz was super nice (though I've heard stories from other folks); Steranko is always a hoot; Bendis was a super generous and talkative guy especially back in the pre-Marvel days when you could hang out at his table with no crowds; Wrightson was a gem, just a quiet and sweet guy; Mignola is not particulary effusive but he's very polite and accommodating; Los Bros Hernandez were very nice; Chris Ware was incredibly nice and self deprecating, as you might expect from his work; Archer Prewitt is delightful; all of the old Gaijin Studios guys were a lot of fun (Hughes, Stelfreeze, Hamner, Story, etc); Darwyn Cooke I've heard could be cranky but he was an absolute pleasure when I met him; Phil Noto is super cool; JSC has always been nice; Evan Dorkin was very kind and patient with me when I was a teen writing fan letters and continues to be super nice and engaging; Art Adams is a cool guy; Capullo is a super cool guy; Giffen lived up to expectations; Dan DeCarlo was a sweetheart; and on and on and on! So, by and large, my fan experiences have been very positive in the comics community. And on the occasions when the folks aren't particularly nice, I don't take it personally. Who knows what they're going through on any given day? Except John Byrne. He can eat it. After 20+ years of convention going, I've met nearly all of the comics folks I really care about. Simonson is still on my bucket list, and I'll probably weep when I meet him, because damn I love that guy.

There are several Omnis that sell in the $300-$500 range. Particularly the variant covers of out of print volumes. X-Men Omni 1, Lee/Claremont X-men volumes, Eternals, Miller Wolverine, Hickman FF, and on and on. Of course, the problem with collecting them is if you pay out big money for an OOP Omni, you never know when Marvel may choose to go back to press. I sold my Howard the Duck Omni when it went out of print and started selling for $250+. Then they went back to press. You can still find copies for $40. The Bendis DD volumes were selling at nice prices, and just last week they announced a reprint. To be fair, sometimes it is a LOOOONG gap between printings, like 10+ years. And in many cases, there is no reprint at all (Captain Britain, Immortal Iron Fist, Ghost Rider by Aaron, etc). The moral: they can be a nice investment, but I wouldn't buy OOP volumes at OOP prices.

Complaining about complaining is the new complaining.

Saw it this weekend with the missus. We were both underwhelmed, to say the least. I can't say it's a terribly made film; I think its greatest crime is that it's completely inessential, and totally unremarkable. It has no reason to exist. No one wanted this. No one needed this. Having rewatched most of the X-flicks with the wife over the past few weeks, I was struck by just how much I hated the character arc of J-Law's Mystique. And I don't blame her performance, which is serviceable given the character as written. I think she did what she was asked to do. But Mystique shouldn't be the leader of the X-Men, ferchrissakes. Had Lawrence's star power not exploded after The Hunger Games, I doubt we would have seen this trajectory for the character. Meanwhile, having just watched X2 again Friday night, it really underlined how perfect Rebecca Romijn's incarnation of the character was. She's mean, sexy, and dangerous, an important utility player, but not the focus of the story. Also, while I think Fassbender has been the best thing about the post First Class flicks, McKellan really nails Magneto's smug superiority. Magneto and Mystique are the best thing about the earlier pictures. If you went back in time and told 12 year old me that I/he'd live to see not one, but TWO cinematic adaptations of "The Dark Phoenix Saga", I doubt I/he'd believe you. If you then told him that they'd also both suck, I/he'd probably kick you in the balls, but appreciate your honesty, I guess.

I'd love to hear more about that! One time I brought a copy of Penthouse Comix to Cully Hamner to sign, who exclaimed "Aw, man, you brought my PORN comics!" I'd like to think the exasperated tone was for humorous effect. At least that's what I tell myself. It was funny, regardless.

And this is probably the biggest reason why I never got into the BWS run. It just doesn't LOOK like Conan, to me. I realize this is heresy and I'll accept whatever punishment the boards see fit.

And on the flipside, as a buyer, I expect the item to arrive safely and as described. When requesting a refund for a damaged item, the key is, I think, trying to be understanding and polite when pointing out the issues with the seller. Often, if an item is damaged, it may not really be the seller's fault. They may have done their due diligence in packing, but, hey, things happen. It's important to not go off all guns blazing and assume that the seller is a jerk or an insufficiently_thoughtful_person, or worse, someone trying to defraud you. A couple of months ago I got a good deal on a couple of hard to find X-men posters that I'd been waiting a long time to track down. I was very excited to get them. Seller was very communicative and pleasant. Suddenly there was a delay in the posters arriving, the status wasn't updating on the USPS site. This is usually not a good sign. Finally, the posters arrived, and sure enough, the box (he used a long thin box instead of a tube) was bent directly in half. I took pictures of everything before I even opened the package up and afterwards, and sent them to the seller. He was dismayed, obviously. But in the end, he sent me a full refund and told me to keep the posters. It sucked for him to be out the money and merch, and I felt for him as a seller myself. But at the same time, I wasn't going to pay for this stuff that had been destroyed. I think the key to having the return go smoothly was that I approached him with empathy. It does wonders, kids. Don't be a jerk and assume everyone is trying to rip you off, and more often than not, everyone will act like a grown-up and things will be worked out correctly.

As has been stated ,yes, there's a current resale market for collected editions. Print runs on collections these days are razor thin. Once a volume goes out of print, prices can go up dramatically.

I use Brodart sleeves for the dustjackets on the bigger omnibuses, magazine toploaders/bags/board for the large Marvel Gn's, and that's about it. Otherwise I keep the books on shelves in a smoke, pet and sun free part of the house, and keep them dusted, and they seem to be doing fine.

It truly sucks when a both the seller and the buyer are honest folks doing their best to be fair, but something crappy happens in the process. There was nothing for you to feel personally responsible for, and you felt bad because you're a good guy, but you were absolutely in the right to ask for the full refund or everything coming your way. I have been selling on eBay for 20+ years. The lesson I learned long ago was that it is the seller's responsibility to make sure that the item arrives to the buyer exactly as described. I do everything I can do in packing the item to make sure it arrives safely, but if USPS screws up or there's an act of God or whatever, even if it's not my fault, I'm still on the hook for it. Luckily I've only had a handful of items damaged/destroyed over the years, and in most of the cases I had the forethought to cover them with USPS insurance, and they paid up. It's always a hassle and a pain in the neck, but it's the only way to handle things. As the buyer, you have the right to expect the item to arrive as described and not be on the hook for any sort of cost if that isn't the case. If an item is damaged in transit, or if I missed something in grading, I will take the return, no problem. And even if I stand by the grade but the buyer doesn't agree, I will still generally take the return, because I want the buyer to be happy. But this has limits, and I don't take returns based on buyer's remorse. While it is true that eBay sides with the buyer 90% of the time, I have also had eBay side with me on "item not as described" cases. It has only happened a couple of times, and no, I don't have examples on hand, but it's still true.