F For Fake

And finally, this is one of my most treasured objects. When I started going to conventions back in 97, I started bringing this DC Comics Sixty Years book to shows, and would track down anyone I could find who had ever worked for DC. If they had artwork or if their name was specifically mentioned in the book, I tried to have them sign one of those pages. If not, I tried to have them sign the page of a character they are associated with. And sometimes I was lazy and just had them sign the front page, which has accumulated several doodles. So many great memories in this book. Worthless to anyone who isn't me, but one of my most prized possessions. Instantly transports me to those specific shows and meeting those folks. Some great memories, some not so great memories. There are a lot of sigs in there, here are some highlights.

I thought these sigs were really cool, it was neat to get all three of these guys at once, and the covers are so cool with the use of negative space.

Some random favorite creators

Next up, there was a time when I was trying to get sigs on mostly white covers, because I thought they'd look cool.

Thanks for the great topic, @Robot Man . I'd been wondering for a while where there might be a good place to share some favorite signatures, and you gave me a home to do so! Most of the books I have signed would be of no value to anyone other than myself. For instance, there was a time when I was on a tear, tracking down Legion artists and writers. Here are a few I got over the years. Books that a lot of people wouldn't pay a buck for, but priceless to me!

Picked up another long time want last week, finally arrived yesterday! I had this on my alerts for a few years, but they popped up very rarely, maybe once or twice a year, and usually $200-$300 range. I was determined to find one cheaper. Suddenly, I'm not sure if there's been a warehouse find or what, but there have been at least five or six offered up over the last couple of months. So, I finally snagged one at a price I can live with. This combines my love of Alien along with my love of Halloween, in a distinctly Ben Cooper fashion. The smell of those old vinyl smocks, and the feel of the brittle plastic masks, boy it takes me right back. Their interpretation of the then little seen Alien is inspired in its wackiness. Really love the image.

I've always been a wheeler dealer, since I was a kid going to the flea market with my Dad. I sell so I can buy, I buy so I can sell. The circle of collecting life. My issue is with the scorched earth scalpers who try to gobble every copy of ever hot new book up, when they don't care about the medium at all. That's sad, because it's not truly growing or sustaining the hobby. It's short term growth only. We have to plant seeds that lead to new collectors. Grabbing everything for short term top dollar will get some fast money in your pocket, but if new buyers can never find (or afford) the things they're looking for, they're going to get turned off and leave the hobby.

My wife was obsessed with that show. If I even wandered through the room while she was watching it, I'd get the need to step out for a smoke!

I had one of those Crypt Keepers for years, kept him with my Halloween decorations. I think I finally sold him a few years ago, probably should have kept it. Very cool!

Man, Buzz going full Columbo over here. Good detective work! As for GSP, I agree, I know a lot of non-US boardies/ebayers hated it, and hey, I get it. But as a seller who is doing this as a hobby, and wants to make it as hassle free as possible, GSP was the only way to fly. In 25+ years of selling, I'd say that 90% or more of the "problem" shipments I had were outside of the US. It's just the way it was. I can empathize that non-US buyers don't like the artificially inflated rates, but it's just no contest for me. My stuff sells regardless, and if someone outside of the US wants to buy something from me, I just have to get it to Erlanger KY, and never have to think about it again. Done. For what it's worth, whenever I sell here on the boards, I am always more than happy to ship anywhere in the world. The boards have historically done a remarkable job of weeding out the losers, unlike eBay.

yeah, that's where I'm at. I actually think the sketch is kinda neat, but it would have been just as neat on a facsimile/reprint, 2nd print, 3rd print, FCBD printing...i mean, really, anything other than a 9.8 first. Makes me sad. Oh well, there's probably a buyer out there somewhere, and I hope they love it!

Ok, now I'm caught up on THIS thread. The moderation action thread took me a couple of weeks, this one took a couple of days. Not too bad. At any rate, I have the following very important thoughts: 1. I like everybody, and I like getting along with everybody, and I don't like it when people fight, because I am a peacemaker and people pleaser. You know what, this is more about me than the boards, so I'll save it for the therapist. 2. Upon further reflection, there have maybe been two or three people on here over the last 12 years that I wasn't terribly fond of, but who cares? No need to mention it to them then, or now, or ever, really. Log off, step outside, breathe in, have a smoke. Life continues ever onward without anyone ever needing to know about the poison in our heads! 3. You/I/we really have to stop smoking. It's going to kill us. What are we, stupid? 4. I am relieved that she isn't saying so much these days. I find her constant verbal pronouncements to be tiresome. 5. Are emojis the new "bread and circuses"? Will they appease the boardie masses? For me: yes. Yes they will. I like that rocket ship! 6. Looking forward to trying out @Bird's famous Boiled Egg Stuffing. Remember, kids: It's called Bird's Famous Boiled Egg Stuffing because that's what he likes. To eat. With his mouth. Bird likes it.

I can't tell if it's getting bigger, or he's getting smaller.

Steranko is what I'd typically refer as "a character", for sure. The tan, the hair, the teeth, the constant patter, he's an old school showman. Everyone should meet him at least once!

These are great, and I love the tradition! My mom also gets a hallmark ornament for me (and my wife) every year. I’m curious what this year’s wilL be? That’s a cool Boba!

Knocked a couple more off of my Aliens list, as I continue to repurchase stuff I used to own. I originally bought a set of these at SDCC in 1998. Japan only variants of the Alien Warrior from the Kenner Resurrection series. The green is Ltd to 5000, and the clear 2000. I’ve had an alert up for a while, they don’t come up often. There’s a green version for $180 or so that I’ve had in my cart for a few months, but I thought a better deal would come along. Last week this set of both came up with a starting bid of $50, and I won with the only bid. I now have two clears, so I’ll probably sell this one. The thing is, over the years, the clears have mostly started yellowing. Both of mine have yellowed a bit. I’ve heard rumor of a “clear brown” version, but I’ve never seen it, so I wonder if people are mistaking the yellowed clear variant for a “brown” version. Oh well.

Great stuff as always. Love Gung Ho Dress Blues. I remember seeing him on the back of the card and wanting one so bad, and then one day finding him at WalMart. He seemed too “fancy” to join my battles, but I loved posing him on the shelf.

What a beauty!

I'm not into yellow labels at all, but I do have several signatures on raw books that I got strictly for sentimental value over the years, a memento of meeting someone that I admired. So, I don't really have a dog in the signature series hunt, but it seems INSANE to me that CGC keeps announcing these events when they are already drowning in submissions. I understand that a lot of folks like yellow labels, and I understand that CGC likes money. And I guess the signing events were one way to get some money into the hands of some creators, and CGC, during the time when live shows were mostly cancelled. But to just keep piling on new submissions when they already have such an unwieldy backlog, it seems positively unhinged, at least to me.

So much so, I thought I might actually be a player on that beat to hell Fantastic Four 1. Turns out I wasn't, but $5k+ still seems like a great deal on a FF1, even if it's brittle, detached, hole-punched, etc.

BPRD truly is epic scale comics storytelling. You're absolutely right.

This is where I'm at. I was never really a slab buyer. I mostly collect raw, and every couple of years I'd send in a stack of raws to get graded. I've given up on that now, and am just buying slabs straight up. Just not worth the wait right now, or the worry of what the books will look like when they get home.

Beautiful! When we bought our house about 10 years ago, I found a guy who makes cases like these, on his is more vertical whereas yours is horizontal. Gave some serious thought to putting together the set. You make me wish I had. Brilliant!

Now Matt Wagner, THERE'S an underrated artist. Tremendous storyteller, and his art just gets better and better. Grendel is a top three title for me, but his work on Batman, Sandman MT, etc are all top drawer.

I'd argue that Mike is probably more well-known than one might initially think. His work has been tremendously influential in pop art. Heck, even Disney animated an entire movie in his style, eventually bringing him onboard to teach the animators how to draw like him! (Atlantis - not a great movie, but a great LOOKING movie). Between animation and comic art and work he's done for magazines, movie packaging, etc, his stuff is out there. He's definitely more of an "artist's artist" than, for instance, Jim Lee, but he's also much more well known than a REAL "artist's artist" like, say, Kevin Nowlan. I mean, they made three Hellboy movies, plus animated series, specials etc They weren't blockbusters, but they're out in the publich consciousness, for sure. And that brings Mike's art along with it. I think Hellboy are some of the best "pure comics" ever made. A perfect synthesis of creator and creation. Deceptively simple storytelling, great characters, and an overall tremendous character arc. I love me some Hellboy comix. Mike is the best. I've been a dedicated fan and collector for 25+ years. Gotten to meet him a few times. Lots of stuff signed. This is the only original I have, but it's all mine! Bought it from him at DragonCon several years ago. Wish I'd had more money at the time, could have gotten some really nice published pieces for a song compared to what they'd sell for now. Oh well. Happy with this one for the time being.