Dexter85

and does the comic cube spin?? since it seems to be in a corner and has a CGC comic on each side...(square/cube). Looks pretty cool

It does't "spin" on it's own, but comes with four felt surface protectors on the bottom of the case so you can turn it easily without scratching whatever surface it's on. If you're like me, you like to switch up the covers you're displaying pretty regularly.

My Superman corner...

 

 

Is that wooden comic display cube home made or can you buy them ?

Available on eBay. Each one, I believe, is made to order complete with your choice of color finish. My experience with them was very positive and they were super friendly.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-made-in-USA-CGC-Frame-Statue-Display-Case-Custom-23-Comic-storage-/390434218185?hash=item5ae7b160c9:m:mY7R-XyjggOoKy8KKktYB_A

**Note: The one I have is about 4 years old and the display slots do not fit the current "new" CGC cases, and only fit the case type you see there. Not sure if they've made modifications in the past year, but it might be worth asking if that's what you plan to display. The new cases, however, fit perfectly inside the display case.

Is that an Alex Ross Painting??

 

Yessir. It's a giclee canvass print I had done & the image is from the original hardcover to Kingdom Come. Always loved Ross's work on this one, and was thrilled to get it done.

 

 

What do you mean you had done?

Sorry, should have clarified. The distributor who created the canvass print for me had dozens of Alex Ross giclee canvass prints on ebay. I messaged him privately and asked if by any chance he also had the original cover to Kingdom Come available to be canvassed. He confirmed he did have said image, we agreed on a price, and about a month or so later what you see there arrived.

Is that an Alex Ross Painting??

 

Yessir. It's a giclee canvass print I had done & the image is from the original hardcover to Kingdom Come. Always loved Ross's work on this one, and was thrilled to get it done.

 

Awesome !!

 

I ask because it looks great!

 

I just ordered one on his website: I believe it is JLA: Heroes and Villans.....basically it was the one that I could afford I'm looking forward to getting it but it hasn't shipped yet....

 

Can you pick any art or photo to have it done with Giclee to put on Canvas? and Who might I submit it to, so that I can find out prices...?

Thanks! I had this done a few years back through Tim Gardner, who is known to have one of the biggest Superman collections out there. He was actually on the show 'Toy Hunter' because of it. He used to have a HUGE Alex Ross canvass listing, but they were all taken down rather abruptly and I haven't seen any for a good while.

I'm just speculating, but I'm not sure what the legalities are of vendors using images like this, but perhaps that's why he stopped? I never asked so I'm not sure, but that's where I got this one.

Here's a little blurb on the guy...

http://www.supermansupersite.com/08211223.html

Is that an Alex Ross Painting??

Yessir. It's a giclee canvass print I had done & the image is from the original hardcover to Kingdom Come. Always loved Ross's work on this one, and was thrilled to get it done.

My Superman corner...

Bah - how did I forget Superman 78 Thanks for the assist

Superman 78 was so important, it was one of the first books that CGC ever slabbed.

 

 

 

 

Does anyone know if this particular copy - the CGC sample slabbed 9.8 was sold? and if so, where I may be able to track it down?

It's out there. This guy might be able to help...

http://www.myslabbedcomics.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=29134&GSub=1534

I, myself, am on the hunt for Adventures 498 CGC 9.8. First book of the Funeral For A Friend, not counting Justice League 70.

Has anyone seen an uptick in actual selling prices of MOS18 in CGC 9.8 or just listings with inflated asking prices?

2015

December average $143, with 51 sales

November average $95, with 9 sales

October average $99, with 12 sales

September average $94, with 11 sales

August average $97, with 16 sales

 

 

 

I sold 2 copies. 1 @ 149.99 and 1 @ 159.99. Each book sold within a half hour of listing them.

Awesome! Looks like MOS 18 9.8 is the book to have right now.

Not that there wasn't *some* focus paid...but there wasn't much, and it certainly wasn't anything like it is today.

 

That's why I challenge those who say "oh, yeah, we totally knew about the first (full) appearance of Doomsday, that was what everyone wanted!"

 

As part of the DOS story? Absolutely. As "the first appearance of Doomsday (full or not)"...? Not quite so much.

Fair enough...

I remember speculating on MOS #18 at the newsstand, so enough was known about the DOS story at the time it was out to know it was the "first Doomsday".

 

When did we (active collectors and retailers) learn that Superman #75 would be his death?

Was there any "leak" that told us "Doomsday is coming" meant that Superman would die?

What books were on newsstands when we found out?

 

Given the (unprecedented) jump in print run from MOS #18 to MOS #19, it seems easy to guess that everyone knew what was going on after the orders for MOS #18 were due and before the orders for MOS #19.

These adds were placed in various DC books leading up to the event, and I'm pretty sure this is about as specific as they got...

Edited to add: "This time the never-ending battle ends." I guess could be construed as meaning Superman's death.

 

Not a problem, but...your initial response was to challenge my contention that the work was a poorly conceived, poorly executed story, right?

 

You get no disagreement with me on your statements here. As I said, there's no problem with that. Personal taste is unassailable. If you liked it, you liked it, and it doesn't matter why. See my The Poseidon Adventure example.

 

There's a difference, substantially so, between saying "This work is not of any literary quality", and "you're a morone for liking it." If we learn to look at impersonal, legitimate critique dispassionately, we can have fantastic discussions on a broad range of topics, without anyone becoming upset in the process.

 

I think Star Blazers is one of the greatest pieces of Anime ever created. It doesn't bother me one bit if someone takes it apart critically, because there are legitimate critiques of it. And, if I'm a rational, reasonable adult, I will acknowledge and agree with legitimate critique, while allowing any sort of emotional response to cloud my judgment or cause me to internalize (that is, "take personally") any comments about it.

 

I'm not a bad person, or a stupid person, or an ignorant (uneducated) person, or a lame person, just because I happen to like something that might be poorly conceived and executed, and neither is anyone else.

 

And, if legitimate critique causes me to not have as much appreciation for a work that I previously loved, then that's not necessarily a bad thing, either. TPA is terrible. Just awful. But...no one can take away the awesome experience I had as an 8-9 year old, watching it in that perspective. I'll always have that, as long as I remember it. And the terribleness of TPA, or others agreeing with its terribleness, will never take that away.

 

By the way...if anyone is looking for superb Superman stories, there are three that I would recommend off the top of my head.

 

"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow", originally in Action #583 and Superman #423

 

Action Comics Annual #1

 

Superman Annual #11

 

Great post, and really articulates well the idea that, although a body of work might not be up to snuff on an artistic level, it can still be appreciated for it's cultural impact, not to mention your own personal enjoyment.

 

Speaking for myself, I'm a complete sucker for Dan Jurgens' and Brett Breeding's Superman art. To me, that 1991-1993 duo run will always been "my Superman". Bummer they went the way of the dinosaur on the art, though Dan kept writing through 1998.

 

Love "Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow"... I would also add Kingdom Come & All Star Superman to that list.

 

I'm still not sure whether or not I'm just not smart enough to get what the eff is going on in "For Tomorrow" but boy is it pretty to look at.

PS. The whole Death of Superman storyline was pretty bad, from a literary standpoint.

 

We have an antagonist who just "shows up", with no back story whatsoever, and in the course of 6 issues, manages to take down the most powerful superhero in the DCU (yes, let's not talk about Spectre, et al.) without any explanation at all. There was no setup, there were no plot elements introduced earlier, there was nothing at all that made us care one whit about "Doomsday", or why he/she/it would or should have A. the motive, B. the opportunity, C. the ability to take down Supes.

 

It was a stunt, a gimmick, and boy did it sell books.

 

But as a literary work, it is awful.

 

It really makes you appreciate the pacing and plotting of storylines like Dark Phoenix, which groundwork was laid beginning in 1976...and didn't culminate until 1980.

 

I imagine, to young teens, it was the thrill of a lifetime.

 

But, just like watching The Poseidon Adventure (1972) as an adult, it wasn't ever very good to begin with.

 

 

Oh yeah! Removing the goggles of childhood nostalgia and replacing them with viewers of an adult who's innocence is long gone, this statement rings true.

 

The Poseidon Adventure...

 

I'm going to go ahead and disagree with both of these points. As far as from a "literary point of view" I don't think the writers were going for anything as deep as, say, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing. I think they wanted to do something BIG with Superman, and the idea snowballed organically into The Death of Superman.

 

There is, of course, a spectrum, from great literary works (Watchmen) to pablum that's barely readable (say, Superboy comics from the late 50's.)

 

You don't necessarily need to be going for anything deep...but they weren't even going for logical, reasonable, or rational, either. Why Louise Simonson was involved, other than the paycheck, I don't know. But the story isn't just not good...it's terrible. It makes no sense, it isn't logically consistent, there's no continuity, there's no motive for any of the events that unfolded...it's not much better than a college freshman English Lit creative writing project.

 

You don't need to be Alan Moore's Swamp Thing...but Rob Liefeld's Youngblood isn't a goal to shoot for, either.

 

If you watch the documentary on the making of DOS, the writers were stone-walled by ABC's Lois & Clark, as they had next planned for the marriage of Lois & Clark to be the next big thing in the comics. However, they were told that because the TV show was going to cover this, they were not allowed to beat them to the punch. So, out their sheer frustration, one of them half-jokingly suggested "Let's just kill him." And to everyone's surprise, everyone kind of agreed that this might be an interesting approach. From there, they hammered out the details that turned into the entire Doomsday saga.

 

As far as being a "gimmick" to sell comics goes, if they wanted to simply move books, they could've just done a one off comic where Luthor, or whoever, shoots Superman with a Kryptonite bullet and slapped "The Death of Superman" on the cover, and in late 1992 that likely would have moved the book just as well. Instead, they spent the better part of a year telling the story with the 7 part Doomsday series kicking it off.

 

That doesn't make much sense. They started the story in MOS #18, with one-page teasers in the previous 4 weeks' books. Then, 5-6 weeks later, it was over. I was referring only to DOS, not anything else, especially not his "return" three months after FFAF. I don't know where the "better part of a year" factors into it, could you clarify?

 

I'm not sure how doing a "one off comic" shoots Superman with a Kryptonite bullet would have "simply moved books", or anywhere near as well. The stunt was extremely successful, no doubt about it, and there had to be *some* level of buildup.

 

Sure, they knew it was going to be huge. But, it didn't do as well as it did start to finish because it was a bad story. Not to mention, be as revered and collected over 20 years after the fact. It's easy to pick DOS because it did as well as it did.

 

Oh, no, that would be a grave, grave mistake to assume that something that does well must therefore not be bad. It is, in fact, a bad story, badly plotted, badly paced, badly written, and badly executed. It succeeded in spite of it's poor execution, not because of it.

 

There are endless examples of creative efforts that did well, despite the fact that they are terrible. After all, Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith (I had to look that one up, had no idea what it was called, that's how little of an impact it made on me) stand as prime examples of that.

 

There's nothing wrong with having enjoyed it as a kid/young teen. My review wasn't meant to be a condemnation of those who enjoyed it at a young age. However, there does come a time when we should recognize that bad art is bad art, no matter how great we thought it was at the time.

 

I don't know that you'll find many that will hold up DOS as an example of the best the artform had to offer at the time (Sandman, Sin City, Bone), or even good (Hellblazer, Unity), or even mediocre. But, you WILL find people who have reverence for the nostalgia of the event, and there's nothing wrong with that. It was certainly the biggest event to ever happen in comics, certainly before, and probably since.

 

If you disagree, by all means, please discuss specific plot points/elements, examples of quality plotting/pacing, or other elements of the DOS story that you believe make it "not drekky." I'm certainly, as always, willing to hear well-reasoned opposing arguments.

Don't get me wrong, there have certainly been (before and since) smarter Superman stories than DOS. Speaking solely about the 7 part Doomsday books, I look at it as an intentionally action packed & fast paced story ala Fury Road (though I'm sure there will be those who disagree) which climaxed with Superman going toe to toe with this mysterious, savage, monster until they fell, both seemingly dead. I look at it as a great snap-shot of Superman comics of that time, 1992. Hell, there are at least two Axl Rose references in the books.

I don't know if I'm able to dissect it to the point where I'd be able to champion the story itself as a literary success. But as an exciting Superman read, I think it succeeded with flying colors. Sure, as a 30 year old reader now, there are lines of dialogue that make me wince a bit, but like I said, I chalk that up to being 'of the era'. Same thing happens when I watch the older Superman & Batman flicks now.

To elaborate a bit, Sylvester Stallone recently stated in an interview that Rocky IV was different from the other films because it focused solely on the fight between Rocky & Drago, whereas the earlier films were more "story" driven. Film critics pretty much all skewered it. But fans loved it, making it the most financially successful film in the series, and the second most successful movie of 1985, behind only Back To The Future. Today, it's still a fan favorite and captures the spirit of Reagan's America perfectly, however flawed. The Death of Superman is essentially the Rocky IV of Superman comics. It just depends on whether you fall in with the critics or the fans. And you know what? Neither are "wrong" per say.

Hope that helps!

PS. The whole Death of Superman storyline was pretty bad, from a literary standpoint.

 

We have an antagonist who just "shows up", with no back story whatsoever, and in the course of 6 issues, manages to take down the most powerful superhero in the DCU (yes, let's not talk about Spectre, et al.) without any explanation at all. There was no setup, there were no plot elements introduced earlier, there was nothing at all that made us care one whit about "Doomsday", or why he/she/it would or should have A. the motive, B. the opportunity, C. the ability to take down Supes.

 

It was a stunt, a gimmick, and boy did it sell books.

 

But as a literary work, it is awful.

 

It really makes you appreciate the pacing and plotting of storylines like Dark Phoenix, which groundwork was laid beginning in 1976...and didn't culminate until 1980.

 

I imagine, to young teens, it was the thrill of a lifetime.

 

But, just like watching The Poseidon Adventure (1972) as an adult, it wasn't ever very good to begin with.

 

 

Oh yeah! Removing the goggles of childhood nostalgia and replacing them with viewers of an adult who's innocence is long gone, this statement rings true.

 

The Poseidon Adventure...

I'm going to go ahead and disagree with both of these points. As far as from a "literary point of view" I don't think the writers were going for anything as deep as, say, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing. I think they wanted to do something BIG with Superman, and the idea snowballed organically into The Death of Superman.

If you watch the documentary on the making of DOS, the writers were stone-walled by ABC's Lois & Clark, as they had next planned for the marriage of Lois & Clark to be the next big thing in the comics. However, they were told that because the TV show was going to cover this, they were not allowed to beat them to the punch. So, out their sheer frustration, one of them half-jokingly suggested "Let's just kill him." And to everyone's surprise, everyone kind of agreed that this might be an interesting approach. From there, they hammered out the details that turned into the entire Doomsday saga.

As far as being a "gimmick" to sell comics goes, if they wanted to simply move books, they could've just done a one off comic where Luthor, or whoever, shoots Superman with a Kryptonite bullet and slapped "The Death of Superman" on the cover, and in late 1992 that likely would have moved the book just as well. Instead, they spent the better part of a year telling the story with the 7 part Doomsday series kicking it off.

Sure, they knew it was going to be huge. But, it didn't do as well as it did start to finish because it was a bad story. Not to mention, be as revered and collected over 20 years after the fact. It's easy to pick DOS because it did as well as it did.

As cool as would be to have Doomsday on film for the first time, it would be nice if he actually did kill, or appear to kill, Superman. Otherwise he'd basically be neat looking throw-away character. The whole reason he's as renowned the way he is, is because he's the dude who "killed" Superman. Based on these set photos, the powers that be hopefully understand that.

 

Theres gotta be a better way of saying this

 

Haha, I did consider the wording, however sloppily.

As cool as would be to have Doomsday on film for the first time, it would be nice if he actually did kill, or appear to kill, Superman. Otherwise he'd basically be neat looking throw-away character. The whole reason he's as renowned the way he is, is because he's the dude who "killed" Superman. Based on these set photos, the powers that be hopefully understand that.

The end of Man of Steel was Superman deciding that he must sacrifice someone else to save others.

It's reasonable that the end of Batman v Superman could be Superman deciding that he must sacrifice himself to save others.

 

It would also give the Justice League something (legitimate) to be doing, since the world would be relying upon them in a "world without Superman".

There are some other neat little hints here and there from the sets. Ben Affleck was spotted filming at the Smallville Cemetery set. Also on call? Diane Lane (Martha Kent) and Any Adams (Lois). Perhaps a small little private funeral for the few who knew the truth?

Might also be an interesting twist to have Batman standing above Superman's grave and having and "aha!" moment, just like Clark did at the end of TDKR.

Just spitballing, but some cool things to consider...

On the other hand, if Superman dies in the movies...

Set photos from BvS showed mourners laying flowers at the site of the destroyed Superman statue that we've seen in the trailers. Hmm.....

Link?

 

http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_431,w_587/t_mp_quality/uniforms-statue-batman-v-superman-new-set-images-reveal-the-ending-png-87125.png

 

There are others, but they're just of various set workers placing the flowers around the destroyed statue.

 

Yup. That started coming out a few months back, and people were already assuming Death of Superman because of the shattered statue and flowers.

 

When I first saw these photos (over a year ago) I was shocked more sites weren't picking it up. I mean, it's a pretty massive & glaring spoiler if it means what it looks like it means.

 

...Just checked ebay. Average price is around $170.00 for a 9.8 of MOS 18, with A LOT of new listings. Looks like it's already seeing a nice little price spike.

 

Then there were these scenes caught by fans hanging around the set in July.

 

Man who's the main villain, we know lex is just one of the two.

Metropolis Vehicles Ruined On BATMAN v SUPERMAN Set

 

Like something big had walked across these vehicles.

As cool as would be to have Doomsday on film for the first time, it would be nice if he actually did kill, or appear to kill, Superman. Otherwise he'd basically be neat looking throw-away character. The whole reason he's as renowned the way he is, is because he's the dude who "killed" Superman. Based on these set photos, the powers that be hopefully understand that.

On the other hand, if Superman dies in the movies...

Set photos from BvS showed mourners laying flowers at the site of the destroyed Superman statue that we've seen in the trailers. Hmm.....

Link?

 

http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_431,w_587/t_mp_quality/uniforms-statue-batman-v-superman-new-set-images-reveal-the-ending-png-87125.png

 

There are others, but they're just of various set workers placing the flowers around the destroyed statue.

 

Yup. That started coming out a few months back, and people were already assuming Death of Superman because of the shattered statue and flowers.

 

When I first saw these photos (over a year ago) I was shocked more sites weren't picking it up. I mean, it's a pretty massive & glaring spoiler if it means what it looks like it means.

Interesting. If they make it all the way to a dead Superman in this movie, it would seem the book to watch might be Superman #75 Platinum.

There are plenty of Superman #75... but only 10,000 of the platinum.

That's at least a 1:100 in today's terms, if not 1:200 or 1:300.

I hope you're right, seeing how not long ago I invested in a 9.8 Superman 75 Platinum. DOS TPB Platinum might be another one to watch, if Superman does in fact bite the dust in this film. Only 4,500 of those suckers.

On the other hand, if Superman dies in the movies...

Set photos from BvS showed mourners laying flowers at the site of the destroyed Superman statue that we've seen in the trailers. Hmm.....

Link?

 

http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_431,w_587/t_mp_quality/uniforms-statue-batman-v-superman-new-set-images-reveal-the-ending-png-87125.png

 

There are others, but they're just of various set workers placing the flowers around the destroyed statue.

 

Yup. That started coming out a few months back, and people were already assuming Death of Superman because of the shattered statue and flowers.

When I first saw these photos (over a year ago) I was shocked more sites weren't picking it up. I mean, it's a pretty massive & glaring spoiler if it means what it looks like it means.

...Just checked ebay. Average price is around $170.00 for a 9.8 of MOS 18, with A LOT of new listings. Looks like it's already seeing a nice little price spike.

On the other hand, if Superman dies in the movies...

Set photos from BvS showed mourners laying flowers at the site of the destroyed Superman statue that we've seen in the trailers. Hmm.....

Link?

http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_431,w_587/t_mp_quality/uniforms-statue-batman-v-superman-new-set-images-reveal-the-ending-png-87125.png

There are others, but they're just of various set workers placing the flowers around the destroyed statue.

Sooo, without knowing the plot, if Superman doesn't actually die at the hands of Doomsday in the film, it sure looks like people *think* he's dead.

I know some will say the DOS story is premature, but I have no issue with it if it serves the Justice League storyline to incorporate the "return" yada yada yada.

I'm re reading it tonight in TPB form !

 

Ya know, people can say what they want about how it "ruined death" in comics, or whatever else they want to lob at it. But every time I flip through Death of Superman tpb, I'll be damned if I'm not reminded that it really was one of the most exciting storylines in comics every time.

 

I liked that as the story was getting closer to concluding the number of panels reduced issue by issue

 

I was working at an LCS part time, and the line stretched around the block for the black bag edition..... demand was so strong that the owner asked us not to purchase copies for ourselves. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

will the black bag go up in price? finally?

There are many remaining/existing copies of that book, much more than any key from any prior era.

It is hard to see how a price based on supply and demand will go up significantly when the supply is so high.

 

On the other hand, if Superman dies in the movies...

Set photos from BvS showed mourners laying flowers at the site of the destroyed Superman statue that we've seen in the trailers. Hmm.....

I'm re reading it tonight in TPB form !

Ya know, people can say what they want about how it "ruined death" in comics, or whatever else they want to lob at it. But every time I flip through Death of Superman tpb, I'll be damned if I'm not reminded that it really was one of the most exciting storylines in comics every time.

Great answer, thanks! Have 9.8 copies of the first & second prints of MOS 18, and have been curious about what a film debut would do for the character.

Dumb question: What, if anything, does Doomsday's confirmed inclusion in Batman v Superman mean for the value of these books?