Brock

On 8/7/2023 at 10:57 PM, FlyingDonut said:

Sir, we speak American here.

You could always get a Canadian to translate…

Both - living like it’s 1979!

On 8/4/2023 at 9:54 AM, jjonahjameson11 said:

Brock, I recall PPTSS #27 (1st Miller DD) always being more expensive than surrounding issues, likewise #85 (Early Hobgoblin appearance/1st time he obtains superhuman powers).  Also, PPTSS #90 (1st Spidey black costume in this title) has seen a significant bump over the past 5 years or so.

Overall, PPTSS is a decent read with solid, if somewhat unspectacular artwork, but I wouldn't consider it a substitute for ASM, no matter how pricey the parent title becomes.

To other posters thinking that the title is undervalued, it most likely is.  But us old timers have been saying that for decades yet prices are still where they are today.  Let's face it, PPTSS #1 is a 47 year old book, the start of a long running popular title, and it lists for under $100 in Overstreet today.

RE: 1st Cloak and Dagger, they were hot for a micro-second, had subsequent appearances in a relatively short time in PPTSS (never in ASM, and only once in MTU (an annual where they co-starred with other heroes)), and landed their own short-lived ongoing series.  Oh, I almost forgot they co-starred briefly in the re-launched Strange Tales (split book with Dr. Strange).  Made a few appearances in New Mutants (Sienkiewicz run) and that's about it, I think.  

+1

I think the DD/Miller issues broke out before PPSM 64, but the Hobgoblin issue a few years after.

There was some buzz for PPSM in the fan press at the time for being a more experimental book, especially when it came to logo and cover design, but it was definitely not in ASM's league.

I would say it’s about a 9.2.

Allow an old guy to chime in… 

This is a legacy thing. The issue was actually quite hot back in the 1980s, when Cloak and Dagger were “in” for 5 minutes. They even got a miniseries from Marvel back when this was an unusual thing. At the time, prices jumped and the books were “broken out” from surrounding issues in terms of pricing.

Prices have not increased that much since those days, but neither have prices for other issues of PPSM, so the bump remains obvious. Ironically, one exception to this is PPSM 81 and 82, originally increased in price as the 3rd storyline/appearance for Cloak and Dagger, but now much more sought out as early(ish) appearances of the Punisher.

A bit of bin diving today to resurrect this thread...

I got kicked out of a United Nations summit once, and detained by Brazilian police. Does that count?

Probably not as good a story as the Linsner one, though…

I went with my family (wife and teenage kids) to see Barbie yesterday. It was good. Really good.

I laughed a bunch, I teared up once, and I thought the pacing and structure of the movie - especially with its subtle and counterintuitive climax - were genuinely creative.

As with most art, you can read it how you want, and (if I can say this as a non-American) there's plenty for both sides of the culture wars to embrace and to reject, meaning that how people respond to this one is really a reflection whether they're glass half full or half empty people, and has nothing to do with politics.

For me, the movie was an unsurprising celebration of nostalgia, a modestly surprising celebration of cheesy movie music, and a completely surprising celebration of motherhood.

Last week, I was invited by one of the producers to a private screening of the movie Cabrini, which is coming out next March, and directed by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, the director of Sound of Freedom. Ironically, to me both Cabrini and Barbie shared a well-crafted theme about the empowerment of women, not by virtue of tearing men down, but by the ability to envision and create a better world.

On 7/19/2023 at 1:19 PM, lordbyroncomics said:

The best and remaining "comic shop vibe" left in Manhattan at least is JHU Comics, formerly Jim Hanley's Universe- while I'm glad Forbidden Planet and Midtown apparently thrive, you're not going to find back issues and such there. At least there's a degree of that at JHU. I miss the days of when it was across from the Empire State Building and you'd find Golden Age Larry there. I dropped in a few months ago and guys were at the desk talking about Bill Mantlo's HULK run which warmed my heart considerably. The guy who owned St Marks Comics still does conventions; I see him set up at Big Apple every year.

http://jhucomicbooks.com/

+1

I was in Manhattan for work last week... Midtown was a waste of time, but this JHU was OK. Nothing spectacular, but it at least has some interesting stuff.

On 7/23/2023 at 5:03 PM, OtherEric said:

I’m guessing a large part is because the Transformers never really went away, while the Micronauts did.

I think that's the key... Transformers have been in pretty much continuous use since the early 1980s, while the Micronauts are dead IP. It pains me to say it, because I love the Micronauts.

On 7/23/2023 at 7:20 PM, Cat said:

So as you can see characterisation played a very strong part in it, along with the inherent coolness of the toys. Kids love race cars, jets, tanks, robots, guns and missiles, and with a Transformer you got some kind of vehicle PLUS a cool looking robot who you knew his story or you could read about it on his bio on the back of the box, which even gave his stats, and of course he came with guns and missiles. A very enticing combination for a child.

Micronauts had nothing like that to offer. There's simply no comparison.

This sounds to me like you grew up on Transformers, and are wearing your rose-coloured glasses... After all, we all do here, from time to time. I grew up as a huge Micronauts fan... characterisation played a very strong part in it, along with the inherent coolness of the toys. Kids love race cars, jets, tanks, robots, guns and missiles, and with Micronauts you got some kind of vehicle PLUS cool looking robot or alien who you knew his story or you could read about it on his bio on the back of the box, which even gave his stats, and of course he came with guns and missiles. A very enticing combination for a child.

Transformers had nothing like that to offer. There's simply no comparison. 

As a child of the 70s, I knew all about Biotron or Microtron's back stories. Clunky things like Optimus Prime had little interest for me in my teens... to each their own, of course.

Micronauts was a reasonably big toy hit for a short period, leveraging a gap for science fiction toys in the marketplace in the wake of Star Wars. It helped that they were essentially the same scale as the Kenner Star Wars toys.

I still have all my childhood Micronauts sets, and the genius thing about the line was that it was essentially action figures meet Lego. Every car, every spaceship, every battle droid could be disassembled and combined with any part from the rest of the line. After that, a robot that only transform into a single thing seemed like a bit of a letdown...

On 7/23/2023 at 9:01 PM, OtherEric said:

There are a lot of people who like the entire comic run for the Mantlo stories

A couple of years ago, I re-read a letter column somewhere (maybe Avengers?) that said of all the books that marvel was publishing at the time, Perez's Avengers and Mantlo's Micronauts got the most mail.

The first 12 issues were (pardon the pun) golden, and I think the first 30 or so issues still stand up reasonably well.

It's often a surprise for those that weren't collecting at the time, but that first year, Marvel's Micronauts series was a juggernaut, both in terms of sales and in terms of critical reaction.

@OtherEric is right to suggest that without the Micronauts toy line, there would likely be no Transformers toys. But I think you could also say that without the Micronauts comic and its success, there would never have been ROM, Transfomers or GI Joe comics, either.

On 7/24/2023 at 6:10 PM, MAR1979 said:

If Only DC Digests had the cachet of DC 100 pagers... Many have the same scarcity in high grade but none of the demand.  

Patience, grasshopper.

On 7/21/2023 at 11:07 PM, mattn792 said:

This article would’ve been prescient 18 months ago

Including the imaginary Con attendee who suddenly yells “Marvel’s Big Bad is just Bad and Sad…”?

I lost several points of IQ just reading that article.

Ironically, I actually bought a copy of this on Tuesday of this week. I'll admit that I am not a hardcore Spawn fan. I had never actually heard of it before, but I do feel that early Spawn rarities still have a lot of room for growth. If I were in your shoes, I would hold onto the book.

I am just finishing up Stephen King's Fairy Tale... it is workmanlike, but unspectacular.

On 7/14/2023 at 5:29 AM, Corona smith said:

Mr Terrific was cast not the Spectre. 

 Mr. Terrific’s first appearance is in Spectre.

Some sites are suggesting July 19.

They always make them available to Advisors at SDCC.

On 7/12/2023 at 6:52 PM, Lazyboy said:

Any similarity seems very superficial and, very likely, coincidental.

As Chesterton said, coincidences are spiritual puns.

It made me think of Bond, but the only thing I could find was this:

On 7/3/2023 at 11:26 PM, onlyweaknesskryptonite said:

Having this with the name "Jojo Pohlkamp" has got to command a premium...

On 7/12/2023 at 10:11 AM, MisterX said:

An even more tattered copy sold for $196 USD a few weeks ago.

Batman 324 WHITMAN VARIANT Aparo cover Novick art Selena Kyle 1980 DC Comic | eBay

Yet in December, I picked one up on eBay for less than $60... it's pictured earlier in this thread.

I would note that all three came from Canada.

On 7/11/2023 at 10:44 AM, Cman429 said:

Unless someone buys up thousands and deposits them in a landfill I’d advise OP to do what he wants with his book and not worry about “value”

Now THERE's a fun project for us boardies... 

On 7/11/2023 at 1:37 PM, bellrules said:

It’s a ghost. I’ve been coming across a lot of the rare Whitman DC books in the past month and zero Batman 324s. (Pics to come)

You are a rare Whitman magnet.