vaillant

Quotation marks…

It probably sounds goofier to a native english ear, but the point is he set out to lay down an "epic for our times", which – at the time – were the early 1970s. There is a stark contrast between many of the "larger than life" leading characters, and the common people, and also the young ones, counterculture, etc. If you consider how the four titles are dialogued, they are dialogued differently. The Forever People is probably the title where he put less care in: the characters represent various instances of the counterculture (especially flower children and planetary utopias), but at the same time they are New Genesis people. The talk may be goofy, but Kirby was not the best at dialogues too – they offer an interesting "reflection" from the viewpoint of an experienced person of Kirby’s age over that time. I am just supposing you were referring mostly to the Forever People – I have not read most of these in a while (say, 20 years or so… ).

There’s nothing goofy about the Fourth World: it’s just a "not entirely accomplished" experiment. Given it was experimental in nature, you have titles – and even single stories – of varying quality. New Gods is pretty much top notch, mostly from A to Z (or from #1 to #11 ), Mister Miracle is consistent, but less original, Jimmy Olsen the more "mainstream" (but positively weird), with the Forever People being the most discontinuous. What makes it fascinating as a whole is that is a work based on the characters, rather than on the stories, and the "irresolvable" struggle between Orion and his evil father.

If you mean the New Gods, "good" is a pretty much reductive way to put it…

ASM #299 is pretty similar to Hulk #181, as it represents a "final panels surprise entry"…

It is even more awesome when cats manage to return home with some kind of "special" orientation sense, and sometimes a lot of time after their "disappearance". Love the pictures, thanks Hep! (thumbs u

No, it's not the comment, it's more about being herded into position. That’s what is weird, as you say he said it perentorily and in an aggressive way. He has problems, not you, so don’t be angry at him!

Huh? Why did you feel this to be "manipulative and abusive"? It’s rude, and more than understandable, but there is also to say that he probably did not realize at all the discomfort brought to you by crowds et al. I can’t stand crowds either, mostly depending on how much confusion and noise there is, however, but I would not define his perentory and rude comment as "abusive", just bad. :shrug:

When he came to Italy in 1994 he was virtually unreachable, as he had a sort of "bodyguard ring" around him from the staff of the italian publisher. I had prepared questions to interview him, but interviewing him was out of the question… I was annoyed by that, but it was their decision, not Stan's.

That is natural – in these situations we might have easily idealized the person, and so if we realize he has flaws, or behaves in a disappointing way, we feel disappointed. I consider myself quite blessed, as the few artists I have met and interviewed because I cared a lot for their work, not only were up to the image I had of them, but they even exceeded it in some way. True, each one has his small faults, but that is totally different than "being a jerk"… As far as american comics go, I did not have the opportunity to get truly acquainted with them, but witnessed the presence at italian conventions of John Romita Sr., John Buscema, Jim Steranko, Joe Orlando and others, and they all behaved very nicely and much agreeable with people asking for signatures. I have a book signed with a dedication by Steranko (a friend of mine went to queue for me, as we had a booth selling comics) and a small sketch of Joe Orlando, to which we asked for fun to draw a Mickey Mouse. He was a bit puzzled and thought we were having fun of him and he made a strange "Bat-mouse"…

Maru is great…

More room for misunderstanding: even if two years here on the boards have allowed me to grasp better both your current collecting market and also a bit of culture, you would never be able to gather money when in need by selling comics in Italy… The market here can have high-priced things, but collecting is inconsistent: you do not have the assurance of reliable grading, a pricing guide, etc. Even if guides exist, the precision in the US market collecting (which I like) does not apply, although we have other benefits. Books I collected when I was 16 (I am 45 now): It is also different in terms of perception: as readers, we have had an unique reading experience as most of the Bronze and the Marvel Silver age have been published almost "in stereo" thanks to reprints and recollected comics, so one was able to read through almost twenty years of history… as a kid!

Huh? What happens in "Eat, Pray, Love"? Summarized. @blob: So you are a dealer? I have understood your posts, I just loathe how Marvel has basically discarded its own specificity and quality, so I speak as a reader, considering how much the Marvel age had been important for me, and how poor they have become. Probably the misinterpretation lies here: I would not care about high prices if they weren’t related to these movies hype: I have little money but I always saved for comics, and started to collect 1930s comics when I was 16, in the mid-1980s.

What are you talking about – chill out (as you americans would say ) – I was speaking in general. I do care about the content, and so far this speculation has done nothing good for raising awareness of the inherent qualitative value of the Marvel age as a whole. How old are you by the way, since you seem to read everything in a personal fashion? When did you start to read these stories and why?

Dont be shy…

That’s him! The Pursuer!

By buying the Doug Moench and George Pérez 1975 series you get well acquainted with them, and then you can get backwords when the spec bubbles will be blown and all cools down. That series was what turned me onto them. I thought it was epic as a young 10 year old (or whatever) boy. The struggle between Black Bolt and Maximus was really moving for a 10 year old! And a treat awaits me, as I have not read it in full as a kid. My first issue was the one where that cocroach is turned into a "follower" or whatever it was… somewhat creepy too!

"Mostly unknown, strange characters"…

By buying the Doug Moench and George Pérez 1975 series you get well acquainted with them, and then you can get backwords when the spec bubbles will be blown and all cools down.

Just keep hanging around and we might change things… Not that I have that much GA to offer… on the contrary I have a lot of 1990s drek!

No speculator cares for the content and I should care about them? If I am "forced" to care about speculation to complete my collection, I think collecting comics has become a pretty much unhealthy practice. I am just glad I got most of what I cared about in the past 20 years. (thumbs u

The best videos are those featuring him trying to get into boxes of various sizes… it is also nice to see the videos in chronological sequence as he was almost a kitten when she picked him.

Mary? I don’t recall how the cat’s young mistress is called… maybe you mean Maru himself? You have long hours of enjoyment ahead – just be careful: Maru is not only unique, but addictive as well!

Here’s an italian Sea Monkeys ad for Hepcat…

Love your ST110, Jimmers! I suppose you already know Maru: