ttfitz

Happy to do so... what's the format it should adhere to? Can't say for the entire period that was mentioned, but the last 3 or 4 years I've taken part the thread title was "1000 books in 20xx"

Previous total of 52, time for the February update.... Murder Inc Jagger Rose #1-6 Third series from Brian Michael Bendis of an alternate universe where the Mob takes over the country. Decent read, a bunch of twists are turns along the way - who said there was honor among thieves? Descender #17-32 Finishing up this series from last month, looking forward to reading the sequel series, whose name escapes me at the moment. House of Slaughter #16-20 Book of Slaughter Book of Butcher Something is Killing the Children #31-35 Thought I'd group these all together, as they are part of the same overall story. House of Slaughter was okay for this storyline - better than some, worse than others. Book of Slaughter/Book of Butcher gave some pretty good background on the whole Order of St George, which was good, while leaving some questions ("to be continued" it says) which will keep me guessing. and Something is Killing the Children FINALLY finished off the storyline! Man, that was annoying. But a very good one, too. Invincible #91-102 What can I say that hasn't been said before? Very, very good as always. Gun Honey Heat Seeker #1-4 Bought this thinking it was more Gun Honey stuff, but ended up being "from the world of" type story. Still a fun read, a little more twisty than the previous ones, which I enjoyed. And I see a new series being solicited this month! Star Trek: Year 5 #20-25 Finally circled back around and finished off this series. Had a little trouble remembering what was going on from before since it's been a little while, but still a decent finish to the "Five year mission." The Madness #1-6 A recent series from the three letter man himself, J. Michael Straczynski aka JMS aka Joe. Good story, but what do you expect, it's Joe! Joe Fixit #1-5 No, not that Joe. Never been much of a Hulk fan, but it's Peter David, so I gave it a whorl. Not bad, not bad at all. Black Summer #0-7 It's Warren Ellis, so it's a little bit dark, a little bit twisted, and as usual, a lot good. Didn't care for the art at times, it was very ... busy I guess is the right word. Had trouble telling what was going on at times. But still worth the read. If I've done the math right, I'm up to 127 for the year. Still behind schedule...

I feel you, brotha. Perhaps we can convince @rlextherobot to change the title to match?

If you enjoy time travel stories, I would recommend Papergirls, by Brian K. Vaughn. Really, really good, and I think he did an excellent job of tying up all the loose ends.

Read this one last year when I was on a JMS tear, and I would agree, didn't really seem much Watchmen-esque at all. A good read, though.

Not in the least - I am just pointing out that each slabbed comic is unique, and thus not a matter of "mass production." Some principles of mass production are most certainly used, but that alone doesn't make it mass production - I mean, you kinda undercut your own argument in your prior paragraphs: You can't tell me that Lamborghini's don't involve some "principles of mass production." Let's say you have a 3.0 Amazing Fantasy #15 that you send in to CGC for grading. Will you be happy if they send you back just any 3.0 Amazing Fantasy #15, or would you insist on getting back your 3.0 copy? If the products aren't largely interchangeable, they aren't mass production. And, once again, the actual physical slab is only a portion of what you are paying for, it is the service of providing a grade; the slab is just a means to an end.

Sure, but "standardized products" isn't.

[all emphasis mine] "Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines." - Wikipedia "Mass production is the manufacturing of large quantities of standardized products, often using assembly lines or automation technology. Mass production facilitates the efficient production of a large number of similar products." Investopedia "Mass production, application of the principles of specialization, division of labour, and standardization of parts to the manufacture of goods. Such manufacturing processes attain high rates of output at low unit cost, with lower costs expected as volume rises. Mass production methods are based on two general principles: (1) the division and specialization of human labour and (2) the use of tools, machinery, and other equipment, usually automated, in the production of standard, interchangeable parts and products." Britannica "mass production noun: production of goods in considerable quantities usually by machinery" Merriam-Webster When they start putting out slabs without certification numbers then maybe they fit the definition of "mass production." Otherwise it's not even close.

Well, indirectly it probably is.

Just read the TPB collection with this issue, and I liked how it was done as a reversed perspective on Issue #1.

Somewhere around here I've got a copy of Youngblood #1 with all the word balloons whited out. At the time it came out, I was active on Compuserve's Comics and Animation Forum, and someone opined that most of us could write a better version of that book. I thought that was a fine idea, and thought I'd give it a try. Pretty sure I lost interest in the idea before I got past erasing his words.

Rob's response: Funny, I thought of that exact thing while watching the video with his "5 things different" defense.

Well, no, I simply meant that both Cable and Deadpool had writers that were also involved in their introduction. The link you provided even said the same in regards to Deadpool, "Deadpool was created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza in the early 90s, while Deathstroke has been around since 1980. When Liefeld sent his co-creator his first designs of Deadpool, Nicieza replied “This is Deathstroke from the Teen Titans.”" In the case of Cable, the writer was Louise Simonson.

I don't know why you are complaining, you made out like a bandit!

Co-created.

I wouldn't argue with that as the reality of the situation, just whether it is a good thing. I think it's a rather terrible thing, but I'm not their target audience (I've never submitted anything, and only buy a slabbed book when it meets my own standards and is at the price I'd pay for a raw), so they probably don't really care about the perspective of a person like me. Well, I guess I would argue a bit with the bolded part - some portion of their service is sold by the value of the book being graded, right? Which I always thought held the potential for abuse there, as it is in their best interest to give a high grade as they can then charge more.

Not sure I understand your question - are you asking what it is if it is not mass production? Don't know that there is really a term that is the opposite of "mass production". But first of all, "mass production" is, pretty much by definition, involved with a product. But CGC isn't (wholly) in the business of providing a product - they provide a service, which results in a product. And those products are not interchangeable - even if you look at the closest thing to a "mass production" product that they generate, a 9.8 graded modern book, people would not be satisfied if they received just any 9.8 graded copy of the book they sent in, they would want their copy back (discounting the cases where they might receive a book that they felt was "better" than their copy). So whatever the term might be for "a service that produces an individually distinct product", that's what it is. And that is where the standards as to what is acceptable level of care comes, not from that of a mass produced item.

I lived on Patrick Henry for little over a year right out of college before I got married and moved to Woodbridge. Hole in the Wall was just up the road from me, very convenient for getting my weekly "sub" order.

At the time I visited, I couldn't afford any kind of "better" comics, so it's just as well, haha.

Oh man, it closed? I used to shop there all the time. Victory was my main shop, but I’d hit up Hole in the Wall regularly as well. Yeah, it had been a while since I had been by there, and this thread made me wonder about it, a google search shows the couple who had owned the store since 1979 decided it was time to retire and closed it, in 2019, I think the article said. I would guess you are talking about the place on Mount Vernon, Exotic Planterium and Card & Comic Collectorama. I LOVED that place - any time I would start reading a title that I hadn't before and wanted to pick up back issues, I'd head over there, Dennis always seemed to have at least a year's worth of recent back issues in his box for cover price. Sadly, Dennis passed away in 2018. For anyone who would like to get a look, I found a Youtube video:

I don't know if I ever shopped at Joe's Comics in Manassas, I moved to the area in 1985 (Seven Corners in Falls Church) or 1986 (Woodbridge). If that's the same place that was on Burke Centre Parkway in the late 80s and 90s, I used to stop there on occasion when I took back roads home. As for Marie's (assume that's what you mean when you said "Maria") in Fredericksburg, I didn't get down that way very often, so I think I only shopped there a couple times. It was an interesting place, the prototypical "hole in the wall" (when I lived in Seven Corners I got my comics from the literal Hole In The Wall Books in Falls Church, that apparently closed a few years back) comic store, with stuff piled all over the place.

Well........ You don't have to spend an hour on each book to disqualify it from "mass production." And over 10 million units - assuming that's right - over the course of 23 years isn't very "mass production" either.

I think a place whose business consists of receiving, individually grading, encapsulating, and shipping expensive collectibles being viewed - or acting - as "mass production" is problematic. But maybe that's just me.

Oh, I agree, but I've seen too many responses in threads like this one or similar where people say, "This is outrageous! I just hope my next 100 book submission goes better" to think much is going to happen. Just look at the "Where in the world was the Quality Control at CGC" thread - over 300 pages running over a decade, and yet...

I think you have your answer right here in this thread, a page higher: