vaillant

I am missing #4 as well, and #12. And #1?

And yes, I was just taking F For Fake's statement as a starting point, not replying what he was saying to Jaydogrules

Allred is somewhat brilliant, aside from taste. I just did not find him 100% fit with a Marvel comic, but now they allow so many artists that are bad, not just a question of taste.

I suppose you were replying to natevegas, because I said I appreciate it. And I believe my criticism is balanced.

You mean Liefeld? But if so, it’s not a cover.

Actually Allreed attains pleasant results when he wants… I loved this well thought homage to an old Fantastic Four cover (and the cover is absolutely about the story inside, not like many of these "variants"… ). He has improved a lot since he started drawing Marvels. Problem is when he lets his "unsettled" psychedelic underground fancy free… and I just believe Silver Surfer takes a certain degree of skill to be drawn properly… :shrug:

I would take Ramos over JRJR anyday. JRJR had great potential. His Daredevil inked by Al Williamson is a little masterpiece. He just got lazy, and schematized his style to a "default". Ramos may be "nice" in some poses, but he does not have a clue on how the human body is made, or works. My vote goes to this one, but I am sure there are worse examples…

Face it Tiger, you just like the money…

I like variant covers, when they allow you to pick a better cover than the "default" one which in some cases is so-so or ugly… I just want rarity to be "natural rarity" rather than artificial rarity determinated by low print runs…

Yes, often the color alone is not an indicator of the degradation of the paper, that’s why I asked (otherwise it would not have received a VF-/CGC 7.5, I believe). In my limited experience, however, it has happened to me with Silver Age books and so when I see books with a browning spine area, I am scared to buy raw books or I inquire to see if the staples are holding well… Aside from the spine color, your copy looks pretty! (thumbs u

Out of curiosity Mike, aside from the CROW pages (not a big deal), how was the paper around the spine? I am scared when it gets darker, as in some cases it also gets brittle, but in others not, as it’s just a dust shadow, or yellowing, and not a drastic degradation of paper quality…

Now you sound like a broken record.

Do not conjure him, please.

Yes, it seems it is definitely the best rule to use. And of course it‘s up to the parties seriousness and integrity, but again, it would be with different rules as well. P.S. Your colored text is often hard to quote…

I need a raise.

Compared to the original cover, that is pretty badly drawn, quite a poor homage. And I am not "emotionally involved": I do not read DCs… couldnt disagree more, but hey, thats art for ya right? Clever concept with better light+shadow renderings on #58 Sketchier? yes, but sometimes less is more.. The central character, joker in this instance, sticks out more than deathstroke in #1, mainly due to the color scheme. I prefer this to the Mike Zeck cover, and I am a HUGE Zeck fan I mostly meant the styles have little to do with each other (and when you do such kind of homages they have to adhere to the original), although I still believe that the Deathstroke cover is drawn a lot better. That Joker also, regardless if one likes this caricatural approach, has a big head, it makes it hardly recognizable for a casual reader which is not familiar with the original cover. But again, this is an "inside homage"… not for readers, I guess.

Personally there is little difference between everything I collect: a book (essays, not only novels), a magazine, a comic book holds value to me for its content, historical and personal value. So I can’t answer your question, as I am willing to pay for whatever I recognize as valuable, and comics collecting (or collecting per se) has always seemed a bit "suffocative" to me… :shrug: I am obviously not speaking of american comics or american collecting alone, rather on a thorough world wide level.

Plus the cover paper is so White…

Thank you! The #48 is a solid FN+ – I would have never imagined to buy such a nice copy for a book I am not basically inclined to spend on, but in the end it happened and I am glad to have a copy I can handle without the fear of damaging it…

Compared to the original cover, that is pretty badly drawn, quite a poor homage. And I am not "emotionally involved": I do not read DCs…

A pair of recent upgrades, thanks to october (#48) and crassus (#61)…

Yes but… enough is enough!

Great! @1forChrist: Did you manage to get one?

Re: the NDS inserts – keys or not keys, I love them…

Good move with your daughter: Ms. Marvel is surely a good improvement over current Archies, I guess. BTW, the repetition about Warlock just comes natural: it takes a good deal of blindness to affirm otherwise. :shrug: No one says Thor #165 isn’t a "cool cover", but again, a comic is not its cover, as much as we may love covers. There are also excellent issues (even keys) with bad, bad covers.