goldust40

That Future Comics 1 did well. Wasn't aware there was that much of a market for that book...

Sounds about right.

May do well in a year or two for that investment...

Noticeably more risque than the Crime Mysteries cover.

Take it.

Take

Jesse goes above and beyond! Excellent service, packaging, comms, everything. Buy with confidence!!

It's a plot that's not without its merits, although it has been done enough times before. I'd have to say that a lot of what makes a decent film is based on -script and how such a plot would be approached. There are a finite amount of plots out there, after all. Plus all genre, be it super-hero comics or movies, borrows extensively from more heavyweight or highbrow antecedents. Not everything depends on plot. I certainly agree though that TDK (by far the best super-hero or comic-based film for me) works because it successfully fuses super-heroism with crime noir. It's a hybrid film that does think outside the box. However the plot (madman holds a city to ransom through nefarious or terror-based schemes) is all too familiar. The thing is, Nolan knew how to transcend genre and bring something fresh to the table. Coogler, regardless of his grandiloquent statements about his project, does not. It's fairly lazy filmmaking, really.

If they were cloned would the clone still be a piece of history, or a clone of history?

I didn't want to delve into that area but the announcer at the press screening made that impossible, along with sections of the crowd laughing at anything the cast did (even when there was nothing on screen) not to mention cheering loudly when Martin Freeman got put down for being a "colonizer". Hilarious!! I'm not here to pontificate or even extol genre cinema, but that level of devotion is one of its pitfalls as well as its strengths. Add populism to the mix and it all gets a bit silly. And yes, that was understatement.

Speaking of 2009...

Saw BP at a press screening a while back in old London town, in front of a (very) partisan audience (well, some of them, anyway). There's hype, and then there's the hype surrounding this film. I've seen countless Marvel movie press videos where the director, screenwriter and main cast members discuss the finer nuances of the film that they are in, along with the subtext, relationships between characters, etc. And every single time all I can think of is that it's all hot air and spin - it's always a presentable genre film, often entertaining, with a handful of good lines that adheres to a strict and inflexible formula, because after all that is what audiences expect, and get. Why diverge from a winning recipe? And why let matters like art or actual cinema enter the equation? There's acting, and then there's Marvel acting. And there's not much to separate this movie from all the others. To claim that this is revolutionary, groundbreaking, or seminal is absurd. It's a competent movie at best, which outstayed its welcome for me due to its overblown self-importance. The acting was passable, but our leading man (Boseman is by far the best thing in the movie) is given little to do. If there is a theme or subtext it's not exactly subtle or allegorical. This is a genre movie and nothing more, with different costumes and setting. The rest is cookie cutter, with some elements of Greek tragedy thrown in. Oh yeah, some of the CGI was poor, but that doesn't bother me. I almost felt sorry for Martin Freeman for taking on his role as stooge. A half-decent movie at best, but also dispiriting. What (apart from the identity politics) is so special about this film?

PCH has had its ups and downs, although it's safe to say that it's experienced far more spikes than troughs. Just when you think it might've plateaued the genre goes through the roof again. I don't recall anyone here predicting its demise... Nice books btw.

I'll take both the My Friend Irmas.

Ditto!!

I'm trying to get the fun back, although my kids, despite being somewhat older, are not out of school yet.

Once upon a time I was a young 32 year old buying his first GA comics. Now I am preparing to turn......... 40 Whippersnapper! I'm 54 (going on 20).

Thanks mate. And yeah, continuity is of course important. I'm always impressed with the younger guys (and the odd girl!) who are into GA, SA, etc. as they would've had no real connection with those eras. Not to mention that they have learned far more than I did back in the day...

My comment was based on your point regarding the owners' reluctance to enhance or improve the site - I really meant that things are not too bad given this, for want of a better word, entropy. I would've said that back in the noughties this place was the hub of the hobby. No place better. And I'll always have a soft spot for silver age pence copies - they were all I could find as a collector back in the 70s and 80s!

No argument here. Over the years this place has been brilliant, which is something that isn't said often enough here. I haven't seen Arex here for some time, or Brian, even though I know he's still active. Nick has migrated to FB for the most part, and Scott B seems to have moved on... Getting that mojo back will be difficult but I will be making an effort to go to more shows this year - I didn't go to any in 2016, and only one last year - circumstances have made things difficult, but not impossible. In the meantime I will try and persuade some other oldies to return (you never know). Maybe there could be a stickied thread for us in CG?

I have missed your avatar.

Speaking as a very old git who has been on here for the last 14 years and counting... I've enjoyed this thread, and a lot of posts have pointed out some very worthwhile things here (a tip of the hat to Marwood in particular). But it's all a bit twas ever thus. I remember discussing the fragmentation of the boards and everyone becoming a dealer with fellow vet chromium years and years ago. We tend to rose tint the past, and claim that the old boards were better. But yeah, earlier on, from around 2003, when I joined, to 2011, there seemed to be more of a community feel to everything - every time i went to a U.S. show, there'd always be a boardie get together, and that certainly made me feel part of something. There were some great forum dinners at San Diego back then... But things do eventually get old, and although General is still the hub of the forum I don't come here like I used to, as for the most part I have seen it all before. I still check out some threads here but rarely post. You could call that fatigue, which it is. My interest in taking part has gone down for other reasons (I suffered a major personal tragedy in 2016 which was part of an ongoing situation since 2012 - something I have rarely if ever mentioned on this forum, or anywhere else, for that matter). Nevertheless, such threads are new for some, and need to be there - and yes, I obviously could do more. I'll always applaud a fledgling collector who comes on here and understands how much there is to learn about this fantastic burden, I mean hobby, and brings something to the table. I agree with Marwood - there are good points to the new look forum, which were presumably a necessity. But I still can't figure out how to find old threads, or PMs, or my favorite watched threads (where did they go??). Yes, I am aware of the search button in the top right corner. And yes, the moderation is often draconian to an absurd level. Granted, it means that it's much harder to troll here, but then that will inevitably lead to a blanding out in general. Back in the "wheels are in motion" days of Illuminati, Ian Levine, Supa, Dupcak's litany of i.d.s, JC, Red Hook, Deathlok etc. there was a cohesive buzz about the place, where people who didn't get along would still talk to each other (ish!), and General was the place to be for the latest throwdown. But those days are long gone, replaced by countless FB groups if you're after that sort of thing. I actually don't really miss much of that except for the cohesive element. A lot of forumites from back then have long disappeared - a few were banned, most just drifted away from the hobby altogether. I would hope that I haven't behaved exclusively to newbies, but at the same time, although I still read some new books, I'm not an advocate for them (I never ventured into the modern section much in any case). As for GA and SA, thankfully there's guys like Jimbo who are keen to talk about the content of books as well as the value. I still like this forum and will continue here as due to circumstances it's been a tonic, even if I only really infest the GA and WC sections these days (and yes, the marketplace). I don't think, given what people have correctly pointed out in this thread, that it can be much better than it is.

Steve, he is still around under evolving Ebay monikers, correct? I haven't seen hide nor hair of his auctions in years, and they're easy enough to spot. I think he plies his "trade" elsewhere these days, on other auction sites.

Take it!!

I think it’ll be unanimous...