FFB

Same here. If I get a Buzzy 34 or 70, he can have it for cost, plus a nominal $4,000 shipping and handling fee. Never let it be said that I would not bend over backward to help a fellow collector!

That is a sweet looking case, especially given the contents of it (comics and statues). I have several of the Bowen full size, mini, and bust statues in my office. I love them. You are right about Diamond's quality of statues being nowhere near Bowen's. His are just beautiful. His statues look like actual pieces of art, whereas the Diamond statues look more like expensive toys. Crappy webcam pic of that re-posted below...they're display cases from a statuary store with three lights built into the top of each cabinet. Both are glass on all sides and each shelf level is glass; they're exactly my height at around 6'2" and they're light enough to pick up and move by myself if I take the shelves out, although they're so large and therefore unwieldy that it's easier to move them with two people. You can find them on the web for about $1000 or so, although I got mine for about $350 apiece because the store had downsized from a warehouse-type building to a smaller shop in the mall. Only thing I collect besides comics is full-size statues (why do people keep cutting the arms and legs off of superheroes with those stupid BUSTS?!??! ). I don't really "collect" them in the sense that there's any kind of completionism to the ones I buy; if they look cool, I buy them. I'm so glad Bowen regained the Marvel license!!! Diamond was really squandering it compared to what Bowen is able to produce.

They say that 80% of what makes a great wine is what happens in the vineyard. Eastern Washington has perhaps the most perfect climate in the world for growing Bordeaux varietals such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cab franc. They are at the same latitude as Bordeaux so the extra sunlight in the summer time growing season helps ripen the fruit, while the cool nights (down into the 50s during the summer) help the fruit to rest and lead to wonderful acid balance. Because the entire wine region is in the rain shadow of the Cascade mountain range, the average annual rainfall is about 6-8 inches (unlike Seattle, which has a maritime climate that would be disastrous for grape growing). On top of the climate, Eastern Washington also has two other things going for it -- soil with good drainage (important for keeping grapes from becoming waterlogged -- you want grapes that are small and intensely flavored) and access to an excellent irrigation network, which exists because eastern Washington has been agricultural for so long and because of the proximity to the Columbia River. One other important aspect of Washington's vineyards is the relative absense of the phylloxera louse that ravaged France and destroyed almost all of its vineyards in the 1800s. (All of the vineyards of Bordeaux are planted on American rootstock, because the American rootstock is more resistant to phylloxera). There are a few theories about why the insect isn't widespread in Washington, and the prevailing theory is that the louse doesn't like Washington's sandy, loamy soils because they are well-drained. (It is just an added benefit that the well-draining soils also happen to be the ideal conditions for growing premium wine grapes.) In any event, some people think that grapes grown on their own rootstock can achieve higher quality than those planted on grafted rootstock. Whether this is true or not, I am not really sure. As far as the use of French oak barrels, that is commonplace in Washington and everywhere else where wine is made. Although there is some debate over whether French oak or American oak is better, the fact is that most super-premium cabernet sauvignon is aged in the highest quality new French oak barrels (which run about $900 each). There are a few top cabernets aged in American oak, but French is the far more popular choice. For other varietals, however, such as syrah/shiraz or Zinfandel, American oak is the more popular choice because the flavors imparted to the wine marry better with those particular varietals. Its remarkable that a winery out of Washington is able to deliver a cabernet sauvignon as well, if not better, than a Bordeaux winery. I imagine that it comes from a combination of cross-polinating knowledge and resources, and experimenting with recipes. I also have a feeling that its quite the exact science, and have heard that winerys like Quilceda Creek actually import wood from places like Bordeaux for their barrels, so as to achieve the flavour and aroma of an authentic French caberenet sauvignon.

Yes, a lot of thought, actually. I have a few friends who have their own vineyards and wineries, so I think it's just a matter of time. I have another friend who buys juice and/or grapes from producers with excess and makes his own wine from that. Both are good options, though the latter requires less start up capital. AMAZING!! Have you ever given any thought to owning your own winery/vineyard someday?

I guess I consider anyone who keeps more wine than he can drink in a year to be a collector, whether he wants to be or not. Perhaps "accumulator" could be another term for it. Anyway, I have been having a lot of fun trying the stuff coming out of Germany, especially because of the last two great vintages. I haven't paid much attention to the Italians except when a friend brings them over, because I've been trying to keep a bit of a focus to my buying. If you like Bordeaux, then you owe it to yourself to get some Quilceda Creek. Or at the very least, get on their mailing list, which you can sign up for at www.quilcedacreek.com. Pierre Rovani (who reviews Washington wines for Robert Parker's Wine Advocate) suggested a little over a year ago that Quilceda Creek might be the best producer of cabernet sauvignon in the world over the last decade. Whether you ultimately agree with him or not, you won't be sorry you got some. I don't really think of myself as a "collector", but I have a decent cellar. At present time it's mostly Bordeaux but I've got representation from all over- the Rhone (Chateaufeuf du Pape and Cote Rotie), German Rieslings, Italians (Barbaresco, Barolo,) Aussie Shiraz, etc. I also collect first edition books, movie posters, and art (comic and otherwise.)

I collect wine in addition to comics. I have about 350 bottles at present. My focus tends to be on California and Washington cabs and Bordeaux-style blends from those regions, but I also dabble a bit in wines from Bordeaux, northern and southern Rhone, and Australian Shiraz. California had a phenomenal string of great vintages in the 1990s (with the uneven quality of the 1998 vintage being the only exception during the decade), and the 2001 cabernet sauvignon vintage (which is the current release for most of the major wineries) is also a classic. Washington has had an unbroken streak of amazing vintages going back to 1996, when they had a severe frost that destroyed much of the vineyard plantings. My favorite producer is a little-known winery in Washington called Quilceda Creek that produces amazing cabernet sauvignon and some merlot. In California, I tend to like most of the major cabernet producers, although in the last few years I have become a big fan of the Spring Mountain District, with wineries such as Pride Mountain Vineyards, Barnett, Paloma, and Sherwin being high on my list.

Congrats to the both of you, Ian and Vincent, for resolving this. Congrats to Ian for being one (very rare) book closer to completion of one of the all-time great collections. Congrats to Vincent for helping a desperate collector get one book closer to his dream (which I am sure he does a lot, in his position). I won't go so far as to say that either of you has restored my faith in humanity, but it's good for the hobby that, at the end of the day, a comic book fan was able to get the book he wanted and the dealer was able to get the price he wanted and make the customer happy. That's what it's supposed to be all about. Every one of these words is true. Vincent has agreed to sell it to me for the price I offered Joe Conzolo. He has risen in my opinion to a level that now makes me feel guilty for criticising him. I have promised to offer no more criticism of Metropolis on these boards. And the fact that he could indeed have sold it to someone else for more money means that I will not allow myself any ill feelings towards them after this. The price is more than I originally offered, but a price I can live with. But I never offered ten times guide. Nearly six times guide yes, but not ten. And yes I believe if I hadn't posted up my list so publicly then no-one would have cared about this book. But posting that list earned the chance to get help from people like Metarog and Timely and Allan Chao and Greggy and lots of others who have caused me to now only need 26 DCs hopefully. So I say a public and sincere thankyou to Vincent for selling me the Double Action 2 when he could have refused. I shut my mouth yesterday the second he said that if I said anything else I'd lose the chance of obtaining that copy, and I'm glad I did. Hopefully Vincent's actions will cast him in a good light with everyone. Thankyou.

Ian: Talk to a lawyer about the tort called "intentional interference with prospective economic advantage" or "intentional interference with contractual relations." You want proof Here it is. on 4/2/04 1:07 am, Joe Conzolo at jcrx2@comcast.net wrote: > I agreed to sell the double action to vincent today and i didnt call you > because there wasnt a point. The money you offered was very fair but as i > mentioned to you it wasnt all about $$. What you couldnt provide was a long > term business relationship that i think i have started with vincent. > I hope you understand my decision. It was nothing personal and it certainly > wasnt about the $$ like it would have been with most other dealers. > Keep in mind that if things dont work out with metroplis there might a 8th > or 9th or 100th copy of this book that surfaces one day. Before i obtained > my copy there were 6 copies that existed. > If not then you still have one of the premiere dc collections in the world > and should be happy for what you have. There are many folks who financially > can never get close to what you have for a collection.