vaillant

That‘s sweet!

I thought the reasons was different… BTW, aren’t they still doing it. I just picked a Ms. Marvel #1 and the cover date is ahead of time (don’t recall precisely how much).

So you tell me there are still newsstand editions in the USA? I did not know, I thought they were all direct by now. If so, they must be pretty scarce with contemporary comics.

And without the tanning… even your NM copy has tanning. The wartime Lev Gleasons appear to be tougher than the earlier ones (i.e. Daredevil #5 and #6 are tougher than #1 and #2, despite the fact #1 is collected and thus costly).

I seem to recall that when I started collecting in english (late 1980s-early 1990s) Marvel was set to produce a USA spanish language version of the most popular comics (X-Force and McFarlane Spider-Man back then, sigh!) but I never saw them.

I like the fact it says "you can’t make gold out of copper"! What "pissed me off" (like americans would say) is that the seller pictured the paper as being a lot more white (and the staples looked well attached), while cover paper is delicate, and it‘s a bit brittle around the spine, which is the defect I loathe most, as you are afraid to browse it (even if the internal PQ is pretty good and supple).

The back cover:

As an update, I finally have a #4, but the cover is about to get detached. I think I will de-staple it to scan the "On to Berlin" game and then have the spine fixed and the book re-stapled.

But here there is also the inherent value of the book. As much as it is related to the times, and to each generation’s sensibility and tastes, there is also an objective element. An X-Force #1 will never have the value of a Fantastic Four #1.

I think there is an additional observation to be made. In the earlier stages, newsstand versions were common, while in the final stages it was the opposite (with newstand versions being less and less copies in terms of print run). So it may help to keep this into account. Personally, since when I started collecting, I always avoided newsstand versions because I did not like the UPC, and always favored "Whitman" versions (not knowing they were called like that) because I liked the "diamond" shape better. Right now, for example, I like Mark Jewelery books but not because they are "scarcer", rather because the book is less delicate to handle, and they add a fascinating cultural element knowing they were distributed in determinate areas in USA (the military bases, etc.) Ultimately, it’s not mere "scarcity" that makes the book more interesting, at least to me – although I admit I love rarity, but mostly I love it if it’s absolute rarity (i.e. italian books from 1943-44-45, which are very scarce in terms of actual copies in existence).

Sure thing – I was very tempted on some Dr. Strange you picked from him! (thumbs u

I’m to lazy to scan mine – hey, I don’t even recall where I have all my copper Spideys… What I recall is that I bought all the back issues by Michelinie/McFarlane after starting to buy it with issue #306. Michelinie did a good work on Spidey – not at the same level of his late bronze Avengers stories, but nonetheless outstangding. And I have to say Venom (as originally conceived, not how they made him degenerate) was quite a remarkable character, almost at the same level of classic earlier Spidey villains.

I just received my second purchase from Andy in two years – and I have to admit I soundly regret he does not sell here more often. Books (some SA FF and Avengers) were graded more than accurately, all bagged in Mylite2 bags with backing boards, and greatly priced. Thank you again! (thumbs u

Just got a batch of bronze age Thor books from Andrew: pretty much accurate in grading, and very good prices. Thanks again! (thumbs u

Got Tim’s reply via PM. Thanks! (thumbs u

Why do you say that, Tim? Slym mentioned CAHokie, how can this be directed to solarcadet? And trolling about what? Slym is not an annoying person.

I think it’s a post done by mistake, CAHokie is another board member.

It looks almost entirely faded in the Magenta ink areas, and in the Yellow ones to a good degree (the Cyan areas are unaffected because Cyan is the darkest color after Black, and the one that resists more direct sunlight). It might have been that the Magenta was a little weaker to begin with, but it does not look at all like a printing error. I don’t know how much to downgrade for fading – personally I don’t like it, but we should see how CGC and Overstreet handle the defect.

That’s a really great idea you have had, Henro! Were you able to read the japanese Hulk story? How long is that (episodes?). @wdb: If you have problems in making purchases from eBay.fr I can eventually grab the book(s) for you. I don’t know french, but I usually manage to communicate decently.-

I was seriously thinking about it as well, as I am missing it too… glad it went to a good home! (thumbs u

Sorry about my ignorance, but you mean "Koike san"? – as Koike, the author of Lone Wolf & Cub and Crying Freeman? (I see now he wrote some japanese Hulk stories: wonder how they were conceived).

Very nice, here’s the cover of the italian edition: I see a new italian edition is coming… very glad since I don’t have it…

You are right, of course. As you try to focus on the quality of the work, evaluation questions arise. But that is good. I have refrained from making specific examples, but there are a few which are clearly defined, which could be made. "Variant" is a generic, vague term which does not define anything, and it did not exist as applied to comics, until recently. If you want, I can make an example with Disney comics (as referred to Walt Disney’s vision/poetics at large), but I don’t want to derail the thread. It’s not a question of "putting labels", rather to be critical in order to understand better what are the qualities of a product.

Agreed. (thumbs u

More than localizations for me it’s interesting to see when a product which has universal values (e.g. Walt Disney’s production) happens to find a good terrain outside its native country, and is carried on by further generations of artists. Localizazions (if I understand the term correctly) are interesting to some degree, but more than often they end up being something of their own, not much related to the original work (I am thinking of the japanese ones).