Define999

I'm sure everyone will agree that we definitely look forward to seeing those pics. Don't feel bad, from the sound of it I was in pretty much the same state (in terms of collecting) as you once upon a time. With very few exceptions I've pretty much purged my collection of US material and have turned to strictly foreign editions. As far as FCC attending Indiana Comic Con... I think it's safe to say that Matt (Define999) and I will be perfectly happy with the results. It's not like we're selling anything so recouping expenses isn't a concern, we just want to raise the awareness about this niche of ours. IIRC the projected attendance is around 10,000 people for the weekend. Even if we're only able to get 1% of those people to take s serious look at what we're doing I know I'll consider it a success. Dude... welcome to the boards! (thumbs u Your story of sickness and weakness in the face of this niche is rare yes, but becoming more and more common. All of us that pursue this style of collecting are finding more and more adherents in our virtual travels and we often wonder how many lurkers take solace in finding their way to this thread. Again welcome and like Tim said we cant wait to check out your collection. Why collect if you cannot share with like minded peeps? Also, thanks for checking out FCC magazine! (thumbs u Your comment about LGBT at the Repub convention made me laugh at loud bro! Tim and I are just gonna be stoked to be there and have a presence. We are not selling anything but awareness so with that in mind we are going to have a successful show no matter what.

Nice little set there...... (thumbs u

My, quality vampi like usual bro!

These books drip with novel interest... the Hebrew and Arabic foreigns are super cool with their right heavy spines. Nice...... (thumbs u

These local prints are very hard to find. The super heroes were printed circa 1980-81. Harveys probably a few years prior. Finding collectors from that era is nearly an impossible task, antique/ used book shops are your best bet but since most shop owners are aware of the collectibility of these sometimes they'd ask for an arm or a leg. I asked a fellow collector who was an exhibitor at a recent toy convention and he implied the same. I sometimes find them cheap at flea markets but being out of print for over 30 years, it happens very rarely. You could always ask Define999 and LSComics if they'd sell you any. Dekada_collectibles (Philippine-based) of ebay always has some for sale. That's the reason I proudly display my finds here even if they're pretty beat-up. Define and LSC, I found some G.I. Joe (Atlas, circa 1995) and Archies (Alemars), would these be an easy sell? I know I collected Archies before but... Heck yea hard to find! My opinion is that the Filipino bookstore foreigns are some of the most rare and desirable foreigns for those that know this niche well. They are super cool..... Any of the Joe collectors if they are into the foreign ones will be interested in the joes. The Archies might be a harder sell but I think if you wait you might be able to find a buyer.....

Im not sure... its confusing as hell...... I created a post at the Greek forums so lets see what they say?

Could be a 2nd printing? Could the rabbit hole of Greek kabanas Hellas foreigns go deeper than any of us might have thought?

Well here is what is on the Greek forum database! I put the larger scans on the bottom! So the database has the Greek 129 as 17 which is actually not what we have mainly seen right? My Greek 129 is an 18 number with mismatched insides? But, what the databse says is 18 is numbered 17! so WTF! Also, Tim is right Tony... if a collector was trying to match up proper story with proper cover the one you have that says 17 would still stay 18.... unless its a marker type correction? Are you sure its pre-printed Tony? The plot thickens..... If its ok with you Tony I am going to pose this question with your image and mine at the Greek forum... can I use your image? Tony you have seen mostly 18's numbering right? Liams is what? Who else do we know has the Greek 129?

I see a Vampi limelight in this guys future......

Nice! i had seen that Hebrew supes a while back..... sure is pretty Tony, and combined with the thai version makes for quite a unique little foreign set....

The images on the Foreign Set page were put together by our good friend Matt. He and I talked about it a bit the other day and I may end up (eventually) changing those over to the individual pic format as well. It will make it easier to add/remove books as they're acquired/sold/traded. Maybe with enough he could be convinced to do the same so as to not be so stubborn about not trading books he already has pictured on his site. Nope, sure wont... my system not only plays an integral part of cataloguing my collection visually.... but if every book I had was possibly up for trade or sale my head would explode... im a hoarder at heart and my system keeps me sane guys....

Porc keeping it real my man!

Nice man! Love those super rare Filipino white buffalos!

I had seen the two various covers before, my conclusion was that the image that I had seen with the 18 was someone messing with the actual image...wow..this is very very neat to see....awesome really, awesome This is mind blowing for a 129 set collector! Because I have access to the Greek database on spideys and I am not sure if it represents this discrepancy? WTF man..... Im going to go check and see if they have 2 129's and if not whats taking the place of the 17? Did they really play that fast and loose with the numbering and covers? WTF

Very nice, love the idea of representing the different countries also..... be cool to take a map and add some kind of identifying marker to each country in the world you own a foreign book from. I have thought about doing this before but haven't quite figured out how it should be done. Im curious Tony, how long did this take to acquire all these books? Of the bunch which one do you think is the rarest? Again, great foreign accomplishment!!!! (thumbs u

Probably wasn’t the best time to buy a Avengers key with movie hype and all… but I have always wanted a 57 and darnit I just broke down and bought a VF-ish one since it was a pretty good deal. Now it can live with its Mexican brother in the deep dark recesses of my fortress….

Wow. It moved. Beautiful book with beautiful ladies... good score! (thumbs u

So I just spent about an hour of my life going thru multiple posts about what Tony AKA solarcadet did recently in the marketplace. Being as it seems this is a very public trial the least I owe Tony before he is hanged is my opinion and history of his character. Let me first start out by saying that I have known Tony far longer than anyone here…. I consider him a friend and a valuable member of the small foreign variant community. In fact I am the guy that introduced him to these forums if my memory serves me correct. I cannot speak for others and his dealings with them… but I can speak for his dealings with me, and those dealings speak just as much to his morals, ideals, and character for the good he has done just like the grievances and recent failings speak to the bad. Tony has always helped me source books, buy books, and help me with my personal endeavors like FCC magazine and others never expecting or asking for anything. In fact I know he has helped many boardies here find foreign books they seek and he has made some sales thru private PM that from my understanding worked out quite well for the buyer. Hado being one of many I believe….. Tony has also sent me free books for nothing, absolutely nothing! Books I needed for my foreign Spawn set literally just showing up in the mail without any warning at all. I also know he has done this for others….. That doesn’t sound like scammer behavior to me, quoting something someone said earlier that also doesn’t sound like piece of “spoon” actions. But again this is past behavior and strictly relating to my dealings with him and examples of a few others that I know have dealt with him privately. As far as my post… im not somebodys wife… Im not going to make excuses for Tony. He f’ed up and in the purely democratic world of public opinion that is a forum about comic books he will reap what he sowed. But, I think I can explain my opinion of what I think might have happened with his first MKTPlace posting. In the world of the CGC marketplace and many others there are clearly defined rules and standards to how you go about selling, and like someone said earlier this is to build trust. In the selling world I know Tony plays in mostly… the shadowy foreign contact and foreign marketplace world trust can be hard to come by and guidelines are not as clearly defined. No pun intended on my name… They just aren’t…. For example In building foreign contacts often you must use any positive leverage you can to make things worth it to contacts or foreign sellers to help you. Finders fees, and all sorts of stuff sometimes has to be done…. Often the private Paypal gifting of money option is used to help build rapport with contacts and sellers. To the morality of weather paypal gets its cut of its money in a transaction can be argued either way but for me that argument is very often secondary to building contacts and goodwill amongst my foreign contacts. In fact, many times you have to convince contacts just to open paypal accounts so you can do business with them. And, in this game the lack of protection the gift option provides just comes with the territory. For instance even if a book isn’t whats described necessarily, graded properly, or shipped late or whatever…… many times it is still in your best interest to maintain a relationship with a contact. Im not returning a book half way around the world because of a rough deal. What if in the future that sole contact has a book I need and it’s the only buying opportunity to come in years? Better to not burn bridges even when they are rickety….. I have even had to buy contacts old 45 records and had them shipped to them in Mexico because they refused to use western union or paypal. Do you think that was a pleasant transaction? No, did I feel a little taken advantage of? Yes… but I needed the book so I did what I had to do in the wild west of the foreign Mkt comic sourcing…… The world of American comics purchasing and selling sort of lives under an umbrella of clearly defined rules and laws many of which are a luxury you don’t have in the foreign MKTplace. Basically what I am saying is I think Tony took some of that “wild west” foreign type mentality that he is used to into the MKT place here and in his error did not care to read any of the rules and foundations for selling that he needed to. Very noobish mistake…. And though im not excusing his behavior I think some of what I said above might have had some play into the whats and the whys…… he messed up in both his public posting and in his private dealings with the buyer…. It saddens me he did this….. I, like everyone else here am very disappointed he didn’t honor his initial agreement and honestly I have noticed Tony not acting like his normal self lately. I haven’t been a very good friend…. And I have noticed his responses on this forum both in private PM’s and public threads seeming to be reactionary, abrupt and non-caring. I had been meaning to contact Tony to inquire about whats up for awhile but haven’t done so for my own selfish reasons…… This flippant non-caring attitude also confuses me because it doesn’t sound like the usual positive Tony I know? In a nutshell I don’t think their are excuses for his behaviors here but I do think their might be other factors and reasons that are not necessarily nefarious. To the matter of the lie about his father’s death… I personally do not believe Tony is lying about his father fighting cancer at the moment or his father being in the military. Since I started talking to Tony, even before he joined this forum we would discuss how both our fathers served in Vietnam. If he did lie about his fathers service then he has been lying to me this whole time with no reason to do so and he has more serious problems going on then “scamming” or “delaying” buyers or whatever…. But alas, I do find lying about his fathers death just as messed up as everyone else and plan on asking him personally WTF he was thinking! Also, concerning LSComics question asking for clarity on some of the foreigns comments….. I do not think he was being out of line at all requesting clarification. Being that Tony is one of the most outspoken members of the small little sub-community here that collects foreigns, like it or not he is one very public face of our little sub-community. It becomes very easy to stigmatize an entire minority within the larger majority when the sub-group is small enough, has fewer voices, and can be lumped in with one persons actions. I have always felt, like it or not that the larger CGC community doesn’t quite care for the crazy foreign guys for whatever reason. Not that I see a direct attack on us necessarily but do sometimes catch little indirect digs….. I feel like many in the majority put up with us but maybe quite possibly also relish when things like this happen so as to discount what we do or who we are. Maybe im wrong, and seeing things through some biased filter but this is how I feel at the moment. And further more… im not even necessarily saying that the earlier posters meant anything negative/alienating when saying things like “international contacts” or “foreign variants”. But, these are buzzwords associated with the niche and the foreign collecting sub-community at large. So do be wary because what can be considered jokes at solarcadet’s expense could also be viewed as underhanded jabs in the foreign guys direction when considered in the context of a public face of a small minority within a larger majority. Just sayin…. @Slym I voted no, not because I am a shill but because of personal beliefs. Also, growing up I was taught that even when our friends or family do dumb or wrong things we stick by them and attempt to give them the benefit of the doubt. Even if it means taking licks which has happened to me in the past both metaphorically and physically. Will I be deemed guilty by association? Judged, or possibly be called out as an enabler by the forums at large? Let the pieces fall where they may for I know my integrity is whole and those that know me can speak to this. I do not need a forum or others to dictate that to me…. Redemption for Solarcadet? Possible…. Like I said I don’t think long term nefarious-ness was involved in Tonys decision making process. He f’ed up for sure, but I do think bad snap judgment calls and questionable anger related issues were partially to blame. Redemption is a tough word and at this point I think has a lot to do with respect… and im not sure where Tony’s respect levels lie with this place anymore because of some of his reactions to this whole thing. I do think I know where the forums respect levels seem to lie in Tonys direction though. Respect is a 2 way street and must be moving in both directions in order for redemption to be possible….. My hope is he can take a break from all of this and come to a place where he can return and make amends on both the forums and his terms. I do think an apology is in order and it appeared like he did try to make things right. Could he possibly build back the forums trust? At this level of poo storm though it may not be possible…… Tony may have burned his bridges with this place forever and on some level that could be the justifiably organic result. Like a ceramic plate that is dropped and shatters on the floor sometimes there are just too many pieces to attempt to glue them back together. Whatever happens…. even though I don’t always agree with Solarcadet’s actions I consider Tony a close friend. And, for his sake hope this can blow over and he can get back to the foreign niche I know he and I both love. Tony has done a lot of good for a lot of collectors around here… my hope is some of that be considered in his very public trial. I will not be discussing or posting about this publicly any further… Any further communication or statements by me concerning my views on this matter can be found out via PM or we can discuss it in person at the Indy con coming up in March. I am way to busy to give this matter more energy as I am on deadline for issue 2 of FCC magazine which drops in a couple days. Thanks for hearing me out…..

Yes please list the issue numbers and scans if you can... (thumbs u

Holy smokes sir! Your voice is needed in this thread for sure! No not FIlipino..... just a crazy American who is very very sick with the foreign bug... Vaillant this quote right here is my belief why these books are so darn hard to find even in the Philippines themselves.... This seems to be a prevailing theme amongst many collectors over there.... it just seems like their was an attitude that the bookstore books were barely worth the cheap paper they were printed on... And lets be clear... I am not judging you or any foreign collector.... I can understand this Archer... many countries all over the world had this same exact attitude about their own countries indigenous output. It is something you see over and over again. Its one of the reasons foreign collecting is so difficult. But who backs down from a challenge.... certainly not I! And with new awareness and spotlights being directed at foreign books I think the time is ripe for a newfound appreciation for books just like these. My friends and I are doing our part for sure! FCC magazine was created by us just for this purpose..... Eventually a Filipino article needs to be written for the FCC magazine. Please check it out.... I might have found my Filipino author? http://foreigncomiccollector.webs.com/ I would love to own this book sir! I sent you a PM. Let me know what you are thinking price wise if you haven't already gotten your PM blown up by other interested parties..... remember though.... your book might like to live with one of the larger SW1 foreign set collections around.....

I care about grade but when it comes to foreigns its not paramount.... if I cared about grade I wouldn't have much of a foreign collection..... Thank you so much for adding your voice to this topic! (thumbs u

I think the answer is the Alamar is rarer... This bookstore had as far as I understand.... less bookstores, less places of business.... and it makes sense to conclude the print runs were smaller. Their ad obviously does not agree. My uncle did say Alemar's (note the spelling, Define) was more popular than NB before. That means NB had fewer than 12 branches once upon a time. I just don't know when the latter overtook the former. As a kid they seemed to have the same number of customers. I frequented Rizal Avenue (about a 10 minute ride from our home; commuting here is very easy, even for a kid) and their respective stores were about 15 stores apart from each other. Alemar's had since closed shop with their other branches following suit years later. That store is empty for probably over 15 years now. No other store bothered to rent it out. I wonder why. Side note: Goodwill had two branches along that street. I rarely went there because I don't remember seeing any comic there. Besides, they were further down the road. Both branches are long gone. Goodwill goes by the name of Bridges these days. With all those bookstores there, Rizal Avenue was a highly commercial area. Those days are gone. In the Philippine Variant thread I did say that I bought only Archie reprints from Alemar's. I don't remember them having superhero reprints at all! If they were that rare back then (or simply not well-displayed), they are much more so now! Imagine my surprise when I got the SW 1 to find that it wasn't by NB! When I found it at a flea market about 3 weeks ago, I knew I found a treasure. I did leave behind a Blondie and a Beetle Bailey. Plus 2 others I don't remember. Definitely not superheroes or I would've bought them. When I returned, they were no longer there. I simply coundn't find the seller. Was it a mistake passing them up? They might show up on ebay! Define, impressive foreign SW 1 collection! Are they all NM? Are any recent printings or did all of them come out soon after the original did? Or do you even bother to know? If decide I want money instead, would you want mine? This is not a rhetorical question If all those are NM, this should stick out like a sore thumb. Can't find the link to the NB edition in this thread. Maybe I saw it in the Philippine variants thread. Apparently AB and NB versions look identical: no issue number, no cover price and no UPC. Was it an online store? Or some sort of gallery? If it were a store, how much did they get? Licensing must have been real cheap then. Imagine the bookstores juggling them. Or maybe they were non-exclusive and some titles were printed simultaneously by the 2 (3?). -Historian Arthur To answer the most pressing question.... YES! If you want money I can do that, if you want trade maybe I have something you might be interested in... Yes their ad does state that.... wow how interesting.... Also interesting how few Alemar books seem to exist in comparison to NB's? Why would that be..... PM sent! (thumbs u

This book also reinforces the idea that their could be multiple FIlipino foreigns put out by different book stores? This proves the validity of this belief. Very very cool...... Are you in the Philippines or the states?

Wow! Just wow! I concur with RJRJR! WOW!!!!!!! Personally I believe the Alamar is rarer.... smaller store fronts, fewer bookstores than NB... and some peoples belief the Alamar stuff might have been unlicensed.... Stunning book, thanks soooo much for sharing and also welcome to the boards! (thumbs u

Define999, that is a terrific collection you have there. I'll be PMing you shortly. (thumbs u Thanks! (thumbs u My collection has grown a bit since I first posted this set..... Im still looking to get the UK foreign, and now both Filipino foreigns.....