F For Fake

Yup, that's supposed to be Jack. Evanier wrote a pretty interesting post about the history of that quote from the King. https://www.newsfromme.com/2017/12/21/quotable-kirby/

Patiently awaiting stories of the folks in the pics above being framed for crimes they claimed they didn't commit!

Also, for the most part, no union, no benefits, no retirement, etc. Lifelong comics employment is a dicey game.

As has been said, aside from a few folks who managed to get in at the right time, create a hot property, or work their way up the ladder, there's really not a lot of money in comics, or any reason to do it other than a passion for it. Most of the pros are skilled in various graphic media, and will make substantially more money in animation/storyboards, video games, etc. Kirby probably made more money in his august years at Ruby-Spears than he did in comics.

Also, I know this theory has been floated around here many times before, but it feels like the CGC Effect, i.e. slabbing of moderns, has nurtured a cover-driven market. A pretty pin-up looks pretty nice in a plastic case. I get it, I just don't care for the books personally.

That's...creepy?

Those must be particularly sturdy cardstock covers, because I've picked up several sets of these over the last couple of years and have never found one less than NM.

That's really cool, groups like that are hard to keep together. Good work!

That is such a beauty, and definitely something that not every collector is going to have. Clean it up by all means, but I wouldn't touch up any of the paint or anything. The roughness is what gives it that vintage charm. Spectacular pick up.

This is the plan right here, do this!

That shop has been my shop since I was about 9 years old. I even worked there briefly when I was 19/20. I'm 42 and still go there, and to this day they still sell the variants and hot books at cover price. They're the good guys, for sure.

What I recall is that there was at least SOME pre-release hype, because my LCS was taking pre-orders specifically for this book, and this book only, for non-"holds" customers, at least a few weeks in advance of release. I didn't have a "holds" folder at the shop back then, I was in high school and didn't even have real job. But I did make it in to the shop every few weeks with money picked up from chores and recycling cans, stuff like that, and at least a few weeks before it came out, I went to my LCS and they were taking Supes 75 pre-orders, so I ordered one each of the bagged and non-bagged versions. On the day of release, I went to the shop, and it was a madhouse. When I picked up my order, there was an extra copy of the bagged version in my order. I told them I had only ordered one copy, and they said I didn't HAVE to buy it, but considering that they were sold out other than pre-orders and demand was already crazy, they recommended I take it if I wanted it. And at cover price, too! So I bought all three of my books, took them home, opened one up, wore the armband to school the next day. I think I eventually traded my extra copy for nice copies of Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn and regular series #1. I think all three books, the Supes #75 included, are $1 bin fodder these days. Oh well, it was fun at the time.

I've pulled at least two of those Punisher 100's out of 50 cent bins here within the last 5 years or so. Pretty sure I threw one into a cheap sales thread here on the boards a couple of years ago as well. I recall at the time that I was surprised by how hard it was to sell the thing, considering I'd never seen them around. Can't imagine I got more than $10 out of it, if that. As always, my timing is impeccable.

There's a whole thread about this cover over in the modern forum. Personally, I think that there's something jacked up with the anatomy, or the size of the head, or SOMETHING. It just isn't reading correctly to my eyes. Which is one problem with "realistic" covers: when they're close but not quite there, you get the uncanny valley effect. The end result: it's gross. As to the OP's original question, no, I don't really care for "realistic" covers, however you want to parse that. I tend to like iconographic comic storytellers like Kirby. When comic art tends towards the more illustrative, ala Neal Adams and "The Studio" artists of the 70's, it loses my interest. Alex Ross paints beautiful portraits, but his storytelling has very little energy to it. Simplifying images makes it easier to imbue them with kinetic energy and motion. Scott McCloud has written extensively about this in his Understanding Comics works. He's much smarter than I am, so I'd recommend searching those volumes out, as they explain my point much better than I am accomplishing here. My point is: "realistic" comics are dull comics. If we're strictly talking about the covers, that doesn't matter so much, I suppose, because a cover is a static image and not a story, at least not usually. But the classic covers alluded to above did a great job of grabbing the eye and creating interest in the story. I don't see how these can possibly be separated. They're comic BOOKS. They're meant to be read, or at least they were, once upon a time. As for Artgerm specifically, no, I don't care for his stuff. For one thing, it doesn't look all that "realistic" to me. It definitely has an cartoony slant to it. But his covers all look the same to my eyes, pretty much. Skilled artist, but just not my bag.

This, 100% Comic book covers look like mini-posters these days. They do practically nothing to sell the story inside. I'm assuming this is a symptom of the encapsulation age of comics collecting. As for the artwork itself, most of it leaves me cold. So much of it is (or at least appears to be) digitally created, or at least computer assisted. Does nothing for me.

Feels like EVERYTHING has gone up, or at least all of the keys have. Market is bonkers these days. Can't decide if I should jump further in, or jump right off.

Still pisses me off. I liked that story quite a bit, but they did poor Sue (and Ralph) dirty.

Decent mid grade copy from the LCS.

That image would look nice on an embossed steelbook. If they go that way (Best Buy exclusive, probably) I'd pick it up.

This one is a warning specifically for those of you who sell/buy toys, specifically vintage Transformers. But others may find it useful as well. I listed a little under 100 vintage Transformers auctions about three weeks ago. Once they ended, nearly everyone had paid within the first 48 hours, which is how things tend to go. I had two cancellations immediately after the auctions, which are frustrating, but seem to be happening more often these days on eBay. At any rate, one buyer had won 9 lots for me, totaling right around $200. After two days and no contact or payment, I sent another invoice. After three, I sent a politely worded message indicating that after four days an Unpaid Item case would be opened, so could they please let me know when they planned on paying. I am generally pretty easy to work with, and can be a softy on this stuff, as long as the person communicates with me. I can wait a few days as long as I know the money is coming. Radio silence. So, after the fourth day, I open an unpaid item case, which I thought was for the entire lot, but apparently was only for one of the items (D'oh! This is on me.) After four more days (the time you have to allow a buyer to respond to an unpaid item case) I still had no payment and no communication. Checking the buyer's feedback, they are continuing to purchase items, as the feedback grows and grows. I'm prepared to close the case, when I finally, at long last (and about two hours before the unpaid item case is set to close), get a message apologizing, and asking that I giver her until Friday to pay for everything. This is Monday. I really don't want to wait four more days to get paid, but I also don't want to run the auctions again, because lots like these tend to do better when you have a bunch of stuff selling all at once. 99 auctions draws attention. 9 on their own, not so much. So, I wait until Friday. Still no payment. Finally, on Friday, I get another request asking that I wait until Sunday, when they get paid. They are only $20 short. I tell her that payment must be received by the next day, Saturday. No response. On Saturday, I close the case, only to find that I had apparently only selected the first item in the case. So, I go ahead and initiate the remaining 8 unpaid item cases, and as expected, there is no further communication or payment. So, this week, at long last, I was able to close the remaining 8 strikes on their account. Is that enough to close them down? I'm not sure. She seems to be selling Transformers parts herself now, of course. ale_5241 is the buyer.

It's also worth pointing out that the earlier Hellboy films weren't exactly blockbusters. They were both modest successes in comparison to their budgets, but I don't think that the world was really clamoring for a new Hellboy flick. Even if Del Toro, Perlmen and Co were onboard, I think it would probably underwhelm at the box office. Subtract those elements, add a more restrictive "R" rating, and then, apparently, deliver a poor product (I haven't seen it yet, basing this off of general reaction and reviews) and you've got a recipe for exactly the kind of disappointing business it is doing. I don't think it would matter much what time of year you released it.

I wonder what the production run was on this set? I'd have to imagine it was relatively small compared to other DC Direct sets, as this was, I believe, the third release of these sculpts, albeit with a new deco. I know I passed on the set at the time because I'd already bought the original wave of Dark Knight figures, as well as the 4-pack reissue. I couldn't justify buying the figures a third time, even with the new paint job, and I was a pretty devoted DCD collector at the time.

Yeah, this is the only comic site I go to daily. Most of the comic blogs are stuffed with regurgitated press releases, and grammatically challenged opinion pieces. I'd rather just come here. At least you guys are funny!

Sounds like a party, I'm in!

All good here since yesterday, thanks!