F For Fake

Nice! I love yellow covers, and the colors on yours sure are nice. Definitely got mine beat!

Condolences to his family, and indeed, it's a huge loss to the community. Even his sales threads were full of history and knowledge. I'll miss reading his thoughtful words. R.I.P.

I've owned several copies of this book over the years. I ran into this copy at my LCS yesterday, figured it was time to own it again. Not a perfect copy, but good enough for my purposes. God, always loved that cover.

Stopped in at my LCS yesterday for the first time in a month or two. Only went in to get some boxes, but you know how that goes... Picked up a few fun books: First up, the hard to find 5th print of MOS 18. Super nice, flat, bright. Aside from the binder tears, this is a real beauty. Next up, one of my all time favorites. I haven't owned a copy for a couple of years, the price was right on this one. I also picked up a stack of Deathstroke back issues (Zeck covers!), some Batman 52, and other random things. But this was my favorite, picked up for less than the original MSRP of $13.75! It may not seem like anything special, but the copy of 492 on top is the hard to find 3rd print, which is very hard to find in grade. I was considering popping this open to see if the book had a shot at 9.6 or better, but I think it may be cooler to keep it in the package. For one, you don't see these packs often. And in addition to that, I am REALLY digging the Halloween-y vibe of the orange and purple layout with black bats! Any thoughts on whether I should pop it or not?

I picked these up at Cincycomicon last weekend, just took me a while to get over here and post (the nerve of my employers expecting me to WORK for my paycheck!) I've met Evan Dorkin a couple of times, the first being DragonCon back in '97, and then again at SDCC in '98. He's a super nice guy and I'm a long time fan of his stuff. I'd gotten some sketches and commissions in the past, but never had a published page by him. Planned on setting that right at CCC this year, and am happy with my pickups. Advance apologies for the dim pics. First off, everyone needs a Milk & Cheese page! I'd love to get a one-page some day, but in the meantime I was happy with the number of gags on this one. My actual favorite Dorkin series was his long-running "Dork". I always loved the "Fun" strip pages. you can't beat the gag density. WARNING, not for the easily offended/humorless: Finally, I don't normally do sketches or commissions anymore, as my tastes moved primarily to published pages. But Chris Burnham was knocking out $40 5-minute sketches, so I couldn't pass it up. Really dig this Damian he did for me. That's all for now!

Prices just keep going up and up. I remember being a young man thinking that $100 for some of the early Bowen pieces (Madman, Grendel) was crazy. Then Bowen FS statues went up to around $150. Then $200. Then Sideshow started doing Premium Format figures. $250...$300...$400. Now some of them are $600 or more. Don't see it stopping anytime soon. As long as people keep buying, they'll keep raising the prices. Even DC mini-statues, which you used to be able to pre-order for about $35-$40 through sites like DCBS are now more like $75-$80 pre-order, $99-$125 MSRP. And it's not just statues, it's all collectibles. When I started buying Hot Toys, with the original Aliens Colonial Marines, I think SST sold them for about $80 each. Seemed like an insane amount of money for a doll at the time. Now the very cheapest, accessory-lite HT figures start around $180-$200. I haven't been completely priced out of the hobby yet, but I definitely have to be choosier these days.

8 months later and still waiting. I pre-ordered the Batman PF July of 2012, and got it February 2014. In that time, it was delayed 8 times or so. Nature of the beast. Sideshow and delays go hand in hand, but this time around I REALLY hope the continual delays on DD mean that they're actually doing some quality control for a change. If he shows up a year late and still has paint and breakage issues, I won't be happy (nor will I be surprised.)

Yesssss! The Stargazers were the first AH books I owned, I remember seeing them on Mile High's newsletter and thinking to myself, who is this artist?? I was hooked ever since.. I love all of AH's older books, Maze Agency, Death hawk, JLA etc... Nice to see Im not the only one!!! RIght there with ya bud! JLI was where I first got into AH, but I loved the Maze Agency books as well. I'm surprised that the Stargrazers books don't get more love. They're really beautiful examples of Adam's early style, beautifully illustrated cheesecake sci-fi stuff. Love 'em.

Hit up a 50 cent sale today. These have been pretty great in the past. Nothing really amazing today, but some solid books at 50 cents a pop. First of all, some nice Stars. Aside from the Mad Balls, these are in nice shape. It's weird, when j was a kid, Stars = Suck. But now I think is fun to try to put this run together on the cheap. Next up, some early AH! I love the Stargrazers covers, I buy these whenever I see them in the wild. Some Linsner and Mignola goodness. Some random decent books. I think Gen 13 is about due for a resurgence, so I always buy the original mini (and other sexy JSC covers from the run) whenever I find them for less than a buck. Not pictured are huge chunks of Giffen run of 80's LoSH (my favorite), a big run of Bolland Batman GK covers, some Ellis Thunderbolts, and other assorted junk. Again, nothing mindblowing, but I enjoy the hunt!

Awesome! I love his stuff. I think he's very underrated as a cartoonist. I bought a Myron the Living Voodoo Doll piece from him at SDCC way back in '98, and got a Milk and Cheese sketch in '97. I'm hoping to buy a published piece from him, maybe at Cinci Comic Con. Would love to get a cover like this!

Yeah, no doubt. They are also artists getting to work unfettered by licencors, which is rare in this hobby. With companies like Disney to contend with, you're getting business people imposing on artists, and you're never going to get the best stuff under those circumstances. If space wasn't an issue and I didn't have to limit myself, I would be buying a few of these for sure. They're stunning. +1 I was going to say the same thing myself: you can really see the artists flying their freak flag without any licensing interference.

They've done well selling original creations in the past. If the quality is there, people will buy them. Lots of people were on board and ready to commit to the entire line when they debuted at last year's SDCC, but the pieces are taking forever to come out. Still, if future releases come out like the prototypes, people will get back on board. Yup, they look really nice. I've been debating picking up the Queen of the Dead piece for awhile now, but I only have so much display space and cash. Waiting to see if she maybe gets cheaper during Spooktacular.

Mike's site is still my favorite toy review site on the net. He's the best.

A lot of people were very unhappy with the paint job on the first one (I liked it). But this new one is awesome. What was the big complaint with the first one? And was it a problem through the entire run, or just some specific statues? They didn't like the skin tone. I think all of them. Right, that's what I read as well. Even with that issue, heck maybe even BECAUSE of that issue, I'm really surprised that they're returning to that well so soon. At any rate, these all look amazing, but it's SDCC, so of course they do. What comes out of the factory may be another issue entirely. Unless it's an exclusive I just have to have (which isn't often anymore) I pretty much take a wait and see approach on SST's PF's anymore. (Except for the Daredevil which I went ahead and ordered blind, for which I'm being rewarded with multiple delays. Gotta love Sideshow!) The main problem isn't that the piece is bad as-is, just that it differs from the proto significantly in terms of how her skin was colored. Lots of of people still like it, and it was a good seller for Sideshow. The reason the issue was blown up was because, like this Red Sonja, the last one was the star of SDCC 2013 and the hype/expectations were sky high. Take all that out of the equation, and the piece as-is is still a very nice premium format. Agreed 100%, I think it's still a very nice piece. And I also understand why folks might have been disappointed in comparison with the proto pics (I vividly remember seeing the RS pics at the same time as the Hellboy PF pics, and just about crapping my pants). It was a drool-worthy proto. But for a mass-produced piece, I think the finished product is still very nice. I'll end up buying this one as well, I was just surprised to see them go back to RS so soon.

A lot of people were very unhappy with the paint job on the first one (I liked it). But this new one is awesome. What was the big complaint with the first one? And was it a problem through the entire run, or just some specific statues? They didn't like the skin tone. I think all of them. Right, that's what I read as well. Even with that issue, heck maybe even BECAUSE of that issue, I'm really surprised that they're returning to that well so soon. At any rate, these all look amazing, but it's SDCC, so of course they do. What comes out of the factory may be another issue entirely. Unless it's an exclusive I just have to have (which isn't often anymore) I pretty much take a wait and see approach on SST's PF's anymore. Except for the Daredevil which I went ahead and ordered blind, for which I'm being rewarded with multiple delays. Gotta love Sideshow!) Of course you did.

A lot of people were very unhappy with the paint job on the first one (I liked it). But this new one is awesome. What was the big complaint with the first one? And was it a problem through the entire run, or just some specific statues? They didn't like the skin tone. I think all of them. Right, that's what I read as well. Even with that issue, heck maybe even BECAUSE of that issue, I'm really surprised that they're returning to that well so soon. At any rate, these all look amazing, but it's SDCC, so of course they do. What comes out of the factory may be another issue entirely. Unless it's an exclusive I just have to have (which isn't often anymore) I pretty much take a wait and see approach on SST's PF's anymore. (Except for the Daredevil which I went ahead and ordered blind, for which I'm being rewarded with multiple delays. Gotta love Sideshow!)

So SST is making another Red Sonja even though they just released an amazing PF last year and it's still in stock? Looks like a beautiful piece, but I wouldn't have thought there was that much demand for the character.

one word-- spectacular thx , colors really do pop on this one. Yes, it's the...colors...that are popping.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome to the GA club! Looking forward to expanding my membership, despite the protests of my wife and wallet!

I had actually stopped going to the flea market altogether for many years because there weren't many books, except for drek. I happened to be in the area for the Memorial Day market, and was surprised by the number of dealers, so I put it back on my calendar. This weekend was mostly like what I remembered, only two or three dealers with anything worth buying, and only this one guy with the GA. He mostly had bronze and copper keys, with a smattering of SA, and a handful of GA books. He has a couple more GL's I'm thinking about, but they're a little nicer, and therefore pricier.

Ha! The judges would have also accepted "If I found that Penny, I'd pick her up." or possibly something involving 'heads or tails' I think Revat wins.

Ha! The judges would have also accepted "If I found that Penny, I'd pick her up."

Posted these over in CG, but thought they might get more love here. Picked them all up from one dealer at the flea market. This one is super clean, and the colors are so great in hand. This one has a detached cover, but since it was about the same price as a coverless copy, and it still looks nice in a bag, I couldn't pass it up. And this one, beat but complete! I've only dabbled in GA in the past, but lately find myself having dangerous thoughts of selling everything off and putting it all back into GA! As a young man I just assumed that the books would be out of my range, but I've realized that there are nicely presenting low/mid copies available in my budget. Dangerous stuff! But I really love the size, the paper, and the colors. Thanks for looking! FFF

Returned yesterday to the flea market where I bought the GL8. The same dealer had picked up a few more books in a trade. Couldn't resist these two. Obvious issues aside, this book is gorgeous. Super clean and the reds are so deep. Loving this book. This one is a heartbreaker, as it is a single staple book, therefore the piece missing at the spine has rendered the cover completely detached. Still, the book is complete, pages supple, and with that Simon and Kirby cover, I couldn't pass it up. My lesser finds are in the Flea Market thread. Thanks for looking! FFF