archer

LSC, did you get that CA shipped by itself or as part of a lot? It was from a US seller, I assume? Strange that you bought it considering it's neither by Adams nor Wrightson. Skynet, you mean you had that all the time? That's still historically significant considering it was the first issue from DC. At least they continued the old numbering. Here are 2 more reprints of reprints Something from the next batch should interest you, LSC. Marvel Triple Action 28 Marvel Triple Action 29

Don't know what possessed me to refer to House of Secrets as House of Mystery. LSC, it is mine. Give me time to think if I'd sell it. National Bookstore reprints of Marvel reprints! Kid Colt 205 Marvel Adventure 4 Marvel Adventure 5

National Bookstore reprints of Marvel reprints! Kid Colt 205 Marvel Adventure 4 Marvel Adventure 5

Here're a couple more frpm National Bookstore, from DC this time. Including the somewhat better copy of the PS 40. How come no one's putting more scans here? No one else is posting either. *sigh* Green Lantern/Green Arrow 89 House of Mystery 107 Justice Inc. 1 Phantom Stranger 40

Whatever do you mean by that? I guess roach/mouse chew does leave that kind of impression. You can't bother to ask me to find them in high grade because of the reasons I cited on the Philippine variant thread. Here's a couple more from National Bookstore, from DC this time. Green Lantern/Green Arrow 89 House of Mystery 107 Justice Inc. 1 Phantom Stranger 40

Reviving this thread with these: *gasp* Huey, Dewey & Louie 41 Richie Rich Funtime #nn (24054)

Huey, Dewey & Louie 41 Richie Rich Funtime #nn (24054)

Is Detective 575 (renumbered as 1) the one representing my country? I don't recall that one coming out. Was it published by Atlas? Why did you decide on 30? Is there no 31st country to represent? A nice collection in any case.

Conan started from Weird Tales magazine. Tarzan started out as a novel. Oookay...those came from Wiki. I just knew these 2 didn't start from comics.

All in Color for a Dime by Richard A. Lupoff and Don Thompson (1971) Started it about 2 months ago and haven't finished it yet. I read it only when I'm waiting in line and such. Very interesting though.

When Neil Gaiman first visited my country in 2005, he signed for 3 days! Guess how many days I went to see him? Too bad CGC didn't have a witness to give fans who had comics signed some certification. That was why I had doubts whether to get Sandman 1 signed. I did anyway, including the 2nd copy which had a torn spine. The other comics I had signed were less notable but all Sandman-related. He went back 2 more times but his sponsor during all 3 visits, the book shop Fullybooked, required purchase of his book during the last 2 visits unlike the first time when no purchase was required at all. That was why I didn't bother during the latter signings. I created a page about that occasion. He really impressed me with his intelligence. If anyone wants to read why I thought so, here's the link: http://tremulous.tripod.com/gaiman.html

Here are more information regarding the bookstores and their respective editions. I'll be quoting some excerpts from the pm between Define and me. Re: Alemar's Bookstore On the other hand (ad from SW1 back page) This means at some earlier point, National had less than 12 branches and was thus less popular. Just because Alemar's had more customers/stores doesn't mean they've invested a lot on the reprints. You could be right about the printer printing unlicensed extras for Alemar's. That would explain why their products seem identical. But then NB could sue for unfair competition. They are paying for license after all. Bootlegs or not, Alemar's was a big and established name adding to their product's desirability (i.e. to a previous generation of collectors ). And due to their apparent greater scarcity than nb's, they should be more valuable should 2 versions exist. Imagine: national could resume printing these while alemars obviously can't. I'm not saying this to jack up my sw 1's value. As I remember, Funstuff is a licensing agency. If I'm correct, this only proves that Alemar's reprints are indeed legit. The lack of indication of printing permit could be a simple omission as they deemed it unnecessary. Like maybe Alemar's didn't want the printer to advertise itself. :shrug: Re: National Bookstore I don't really remember how long I've been going to National by myself when I finally noticed the locally-printed US comics but back in 1980 or 1981 I found in Alemar's and National bookstores that printed their own versions. Alemar's Book Store reprinted Archies which cost 1.75 pesos while their less distinguished rival National Book Store reprinted super heroes by Marvel and DC mostly from 1975-76. I don't know how long they were on the shelves but the original stamped price was 1.75 pesos yet they sold them for 1 peso only. So maybe they've been on the shelves for a while to justify the mark down. Or maybe they were new but National decided to sell them at a lower price. Re: Goodwill Bookstore I've noticed a pattern: they're all from 1972! NB also covered that year (or that period). I've also noticed that during those years NB's back cover ad has a building while the 1975-76 (or so) had the boring text-only list of their "children's classics." An exception could be Batman 252 above, from 1972 but with the recent back cover ad. So it moct probably belonged to the latter batch. I did say in the SW1 thread that I never saw any comic at the Goodwill branches I frequented so it is their editions I know least about. So GW probably sold out their stocks by ther time I collected their rivals' reprints but didn't find them profitable so didn't continue the venture. But for National it was a success so they continued it with Alemar's filling the vacuum with GW's withdrawal. I did find GW reprints much later but not from their own stores. I continued to avoid them because of the usual local reprint stigma. What do you think? This could greatly narrow down the list of which titles and issues all those bookstores printed. Or am I jumping to conclusions?

I'm Arthur from the Philippines. I started collecting local comics when I was 7 or 8. Funny Komiks was my favorite in grade school Back in 1980 or 1981 I found locally-printed US comics in popular bookstores that printed their own versions. Alemar's Book Store reprinted Archies while their less distinguished rival National Book Store reprinted super heroes by Marvel and DC mostly from 1975-76. My early favorites among them were Avengers and Daredevil. In 1983 I started to collect the originals. I've collected X-Men the longest but quit. Don't know if I'd resume. Mostly an artist-driven collector, I enjoy the works of Frank Miller, Art Adams, Jim Lee, Jae Lee, Carlos Pacheco and most recently, Frank Cho. My favorite character is Rogue. The price to collect is getting prohibitive but I do buy when I find them cheap.

Already posted these on the bronze thread's philippine variants. I just found this thread. I'd post more as I edit the other pics. Star Wars 1 Philippine/Alemar's edition Batman 252-National Bookstore edition

many countries all over the world had this same exact attitude about their own countries indigenous output The prevailing attitude was (and still is?): Imported is superior. Whereas local is inferior. I bought the original Daredevil 131 with an extra staple I think. I also had the NB reprint bought earlier. Guess which I took with me when we moved? The mentality rubbed off on me! Quite honored but my English is a bit crude. Besides, I'm no authority on the subject. I think my current collection is 15 or less. Your collection is already impressive. But I have a used book/mag dealer/friend who got me the 2 Phantom Strangers, Batman 252 and Richie Rich Funtime Comics (nn) so my collection might grow again. So do I get paid...with peanuts? Or just earn the distinction of being a non-professional author? I did sign up. I'm the 9th member. What a large club There are more posters in this thread than those who eventually signed up there. It definitely would look good with more international cousins surrounding it. You mean there is a larger set?! Haiyan hit the central part of the country (Visayas), I'm in the northern part (Luzon). Don't know anyone in particular in that part of the country. I have a co-worker whose grandmother's house's roof was blown off by the typhoon back in Iloilo. Someone did ask in the bronze heating up thread (being my first post) if I was safe. Might sound insensitive but...has the local printings' population just been reduced by a third?

And so I just had to backread again (15 pages, no biggie). I just had to give my insight because I was a first-hand collector. You went that far! Too funny! Most of the employees might not have been born yet when these came out! They might have some data somewhere...they certainly won't go as far as to dig them up for you, assuming they even know where the pertinent records are. Even if they were only recently printed, I don't think they would know either. I probably can accomodate you for a night or two on the couch. Then you're on your own. How do you propose to find these? Knock on every door you see? Haven't tried this! Always wondered how some ended up in the States. Local collectors migrating there, and taking a few of these babies with them. Then LCS's buying up their collections when they quit. Highly doubtful. When the price variants became widely-known, most of these must've been sifted thru. If subtler price differences are sought, blank prices and blank UPCs are just too obvious to ignore. I had #8 before, and #1, I think. I believe I got the #1 from a real newsstand! I know I got 2 issues of that title and distinctly remember the scarecrow cover. They're gone now so I can't prove to you their existence. Add these to the (unverifiable) checklist. There are maybe four or five books at the most that we've seen more than a single copy. They are proving to be rare beyond belief. Just based on the climate conditions and lack of storage supplies I'm willing to bet there are quite a few that were printed of which not a single copy remains in existence. I certainly hope not! The PS 40 above is my 2nd copy. I think I've lost my original copy but I think it's here somewhere so that when my source presented the new copy to me, I correctly said that it had Black orchid in it by Filipino artist Rico Rival. I won't remember that far back if I lost my original copy along with the rest of my original collection. I must have seen it more recently to remember that much about the issue. GL/GA 89 I think I still have, betting it's GWB (LSC has it among his collection). It was a part of trade maybe 15 years ago. (Hello, Simon Tan!) I think it had thread instead of staples holding the book together, crazy as it sounds. Or maybe both. I think it was square-bound with the cover detached. I did say I have 2 copies of X-Men 99...somewhere. Being the #1 bookstore at the time, I don't think they'd risk their reputation by doing bootlegs. But look where this apparent integrity led them.

I'm from the Philippines. How do I make the location appear? I understand you collect foreign reprints with a special fondness for Philippine reprints. Are you by any chance a Filipino? More info about the bookstores: Alemar's had closed shop about 10 or more years ago. The reprints I bought from them were only Archies at 1.75 pesos, just like National's price. Though they were stamped as P1.75, I actually bought National reprints at 1 peso each. I don't think Alemar's followed suit price-wise but kept buying their Archies anyway (you could see which publisher I actually I preferred then.) Goodwill now goes by the name of Bridges. There's one in Glorietta, Makati. I don't know if they still have other branches because the ones that I used to go to have closed. In any case, these reprints are almost impossible to find these days. Your best bet are fellow collectors, if they bothered to keep their copies --because I never did. I think I left them behind when we moved. Probably thinking they being reprints on low quality paper, they were worthless. I did buy continuous runs of Avengers (#140+) and Daredevil (#130+) of about 7 issues each. But I did keep X-Men 96-99 ( I'm sure I have a double of 99) because it was the title I continued to collect when I eventually bought the originals of the latter issues. Note that I didn't get X-Men from National itself but from fellow collectors much later so I failed to get #100-101. So among the keys that National reprinted are Daredevil 131 (first Bullseye) and X-Men 101 (first Phoenix). The ones I bought before were from 1975-76 but I did just receive a Phantom Stranger 18 (1972). I don't they printed Hulk 180/181 (1974). They also stopped reprinting by 1977 so there's no Iron Fist 14. Alemar's is another story because prior to getting SW 1 recently, I don't recall them producing superhero comics. There must have been so few on display that I've failed to notice them altogether. I'll picture the X-Men, plus the Batman movie adaptation (1989; cardboard cover with slick paper for 20 pesos, I think; Garcia-Lopez's inks made the unknown penciller standout. I'm not that familiar with Steve Erwin. But I digress...)---if I can find them. I found a Kid Colt 202 here. Covers and first page are detached. Front cover has another large piece of paper stuck to it. Not a pretty sight. PS's chewed out front cover and lack of a back cover is bad enough. Also a B&W Richie Rich. Anyone wants to see them? Here are 2 in the meantime. Btw, I think I can still get Amazing Spiderman 300 (Atlas reprint) but think it was covered in bookcover plastic yet already worn out. Plus low quality newsprint and in B/W so I passed it on even though I haven't seen it in a decade or so. But I saw it the first and last time was July. Buy or pass? I remember Solarcadet saying in another thread that there's such one in CGC's census. But when I clicked the link it said thast I needed to be a (paying?) member or something to see it. Batman 252-NB Phantom Stranger 40-NB

I think the answer is the Alamar is rarer... This bookstore had as far as I understand.... less bookstores, less places of business.... and it makes sense to conclude the print runs were smaller. Their ad obviously does not agree. My uncle did say Alemar's (note the spelling, Define) was more popular than NB before. That means NB had fewer than 12 branches once upon a time. I just don't know when the latter overtook the former. As a kid they seemed to have the same number of customers. I frequented Rizal Avenue (about a 10 minute ride from our home; commuting here is very easy, even for a kid) and their respective stores were about 15 stores apart from each other. Alemar's had since closed shop with their other branches following suit years later. That store is empty for probably over 15 years now. No other store bothered to rent it out. I wonder why. Side note: Goodwill had two branches along that street. I rarely went there because I don't remember seeing any comic there. Besides, they were further down the road. Both branches are long gone. Goodwill goes by the name of Bridges these days. With all those bookstores there, Rizal Avenue was a highly commercial area. Those days are gone. In the Philippine Variant thread I did say that I bought only Archie reprints from Alemar's. I don't remember them having superhero reprints at all! If they were that rare back then (or simply not well-displayed), they are much more so now! Imagine my surprise when I got the SW 1 to find that it wasn't by NB! When I found it at a flea market about 3 weeks ago, I knew I found a treasure. I did leave behind a Blondie and a Beetle Bailey. Plus 2 others I don't remember. Definitely not superheroes or I would've bought them. When I returned, they were no longer there. I simply coundn't find the seller. Was it a mistake passing them up? They might show up on ebay! Define, impressive foreign SW 1 collection! Are they all NM? Are any recent printings or did all of them come out soon after the original did? Or do you even bother to know? If decide I want money instead, would you want mine? This is not a rhetorical question If all those are NM, this should stick out like a sore thumb. Can't find the link to the NB edition in this thread. Maybe I saw it in the Philippine variants thread. Apparently AB and NB versions look identical: no issue number, no cover price and no UPC. Was it an online store? Or some sort of gallery? If it were a store, how much did they get? Licensing must have been real cheap then. Imagine the bookstores juggling them. Or maybe they were non-exclusive and some titles were printed simultaneously by the 2 (3?). -Historian Arthur

Star Wars 1 Philippine/Alemar's edition. Wonder which is rarer: this or the National Bookstore version which was shown in a link some pages back.

Been reading the bronze/copper/modern comics that are heating up threads for almost a year now and hardly explored the other threads. So when I googled about the possible value of the Philippine reprint of the comic below, I stumbled upon this thread. I didn't know that National also produced their own version of this. Star Wars 1 Philippine/Alemar's edition. Wonder which is rarer: this or the National Bookstore version.

Ultimate Spider-man was my first exposure to Bendis' work. This led me to read his Daredevil and Alias, excellent reads but not quite at par with the USM. However, I was disappointed by his New Avengers and event titles like House of M and Secret Invasion.

News gets around fast huh? The country seems to be disaster-prone lately. I'm in Manila and quite far from the disaster-ravaged areas. Don't know anyone from those places but I've a co-worker whose family's house's roof was torn off by the typhoon back in Iloilo. Thanks for the welcome, guys.

There were other books with the insert during the same month if I recall correctly. Perhaps, but none with the Joker on the cover This is one the "older" batman books I own. I bought it some 2 decades back because of Garcia-Lopez's art. He doesn't seem to get enough love from fans. I don't really care for He-man. Btw, I'm from the Philippines and have been lurking since January or so. In fact, it's the only comic-related forum I read regularly. It's soooo informative. I felt it's a good time as any to post for the very first time.