Doktor

On 1/8/2024 at 11:33 PM, Dreamsleep said:

The cheeze it’s really complete this room!

Man’s gotta have a snack while organizing comics! 

CLZ. Been using it for about 8-10 years now & it’s just simple. It’s generally crowdsourced for a lot of the info. They don’t make the determination on what a key book is when it’s coming out because they wait for the users to do that. They do have a staff that “updates” their database based on info from the crowdsourced data tho.
 

And it’s pretty simple for adding indie, small-press, or even self-published stuff. And pretty easy to add your own custom scans of your books instead of the stock scan image.
 

Plus, the cloud sync, ability to restore the collection on a new device, and ability to sync over multiple devices easily is pretty rad. I use the iOS & the MacOS versions. 
 

If you have a CovrPrice account, you can sync that to the CLZ to update “values” as well.

I'm reaching out to the board community for some help. This is a probably a REALLY dumb question but I've been failing miserably at finding this place again. I've been hunting up and down google maps to find this place again and I figured I'd take a stab at asking here because I cannot remember the name of this joint:

This summer, I was driving through upstate new york. I was with the girlfriend and we were doing a bunch of antique shopping and comic shopping. We had started just hitting almost any antique shop we could find between Utica/Rome area and coming back west on I-90 before going down to Erie. We would get off the interstate periodically and hit a few antique shops and comic shops before continuing on. I don't recall when exactly we found this place but I'm really trying to find my way back.  

We happened across this little antique shop in a small 4-6 shop strip mall. There was a smoke/glass shop on the opposite end of the strip of 4-6 stores. They had like a small outdoor tent area with antiques as well. Inside the antique shop were a bunch of rooms with a few dozen different vendors set up kinda. It was somewhere between an antique mall and a consignment shop. There were a few little sections/tables throughout this place that had comics. Mostly dollar books. Some 90's stuff. Some modern variants. It looked like they were from different vendors too. I couldn't quite figure out exactly how the place worked and I didn't buy anything at this place. But it seemed like whatever you bought, you took it up to the front of the store and they would ring you out at a central cash register. 

I also recall that there was a side room that had a little bit of vintage toys as well. But this place was still like 80% antiques and furniture and vintage stuff.

I'm trying to make it back there because they had this antique thing i wanted but couldn't fit it in the car during that trip. And now I've completely forgotten where this place is. 

Can anyone help a brother out? I know this probably isn't super helpful. But I figured I would reach out to you fine folks because all of us nerds have found a billion of these little antique mall/micro-vendor comic sources over the years and someone else might have a clue what the name of this place was and where it is.

Thanks in advance,

Dok 

On 1/26/2020 at 11:40 AM, tv horror said:

That idea brought your space up to 1000% I would add more if you have the comics to fill the drawers. it looks so much more professional   

Yeah. I have a built-in on the other side of the vanity/desk to the right on the photo that's opposite this one (closet side on the inside as well with an existing drawer section along the side wills). So I'm going to do the same on the inside cabinet on that side. Since there's already drawers in the outer cabinets but can't fit comics, I use them for comic supplies, trading cards, statue boxes, shipping supplies, etc. Taking them out to do the same as this part would be a huge undertaking that I really don't feel like doing. I definitely have the books to fill the drawers. And it will let me remove one of the smaller filing cabinets in the process. If money wasn't an object, I'd probably convert all of it & try to get rid of most of the filing cabinets, but for the time being, I'll settle for the equivalent of 8 legal filing cabinet drawers. 

53 minutes ago, bronze johnny said:

A true comic book collector isn't always obsessed with the better or best copy, just a copy that they love and fits into the mosaic of their collecting endeavors." - john 

P.S. Great copy and congratulations!

I loved this copy the minute I saw it. It presents great. There’s a little damage in the top corner on the spine where there’s part of the book missing but I don’t care. I love looking at it. 

1 minute ago, Jimmy Linguini said:

Sell em while they're hot. 165 copies are about to be shipped out and at least half of those people are going to flip them.

That's the Lim variant that's getting more copies released. The standard pre-AP version just has the regular cover minus the AP masthead. From what Brian has said on his patreon & twitter, he's only offering up the Lim variant. He hasn't mentioned anything about releasing more copies of the standard version tho.

Rags #1 pre-AP version still hot. I'm selling another copy (lowest grade of the ones I had with a clear CBC on the spine) and it's at $360 with 3 days left to go. That's also the highest price so far other than the Lim variant.

On 10/27/2018 at 11:49 AM, ygogolak said:

Yes, they will. It may not be in their system though.

So best to maybe contact them before submission? 

Stupid question, but does anyone know if CGC grades self-pub books? I have 2 more copies of Rags pre-AP & 1 is a 9.8 candidate (I also have a copy of the Patreon variant #1 that I don't want to sell but still might after seeing the prices on a raw one). I don't know their policy when it comes to grading stuff when there's a self-pub version that's identical to a later-released small-press published version. 

I know Rags got mentioned a few pages back when it first came out & sold out from AP, but I had a feeling that once the market realized there was a pre-Antarctic version (2 actually), those would spike even higher than the $30-50 the AP Rags #1 copies were going for.

So far, a handful of pre-AP copies have sold. $166, $285, $297, $277 and now $242.

Rags 1 pre-Anatarctic Press self-published version

There's also the Patreon Variant (the 1st is for sale now) that's still rising with another day left and is already at $255 make that $530 with 18 hours left. 

I think it's really really good so far. Loved the first issue.

So this might be a really dumb question, but does anyone know the order ratios on the upcoming JSC variants (regular A & B, Virgin A & B) for this X-Classified #1 that's coming? It's a diamond orderable & I'm really debating whether I want to pre-order any of them but I haven't been able to find the order ratios. Or if it's a threshold or whatever.  

I would be very reluctant to store any comics in plastic boxes. Especially any plastic boxes that seal & don't "breathe" simply because of the off-gassing risk.

36 minutes ago, CKinTO said:

I agree with some of your points (eg. how a character should be intro'd properly), though I think this part is incorrect. I didn't following WMD story line when it came out, but after the fact, what I read online was that most people who read it enjoyed it, and it was that popularity that made Weapon H get his own book (to be written by Greg Pak the same writer), I never saw anywhere that the solo title was always planned from the start?

Also, again I haven't read it myself yet (though I did buy it on Comixology during the big sale 2 weeks ago), the articles / reviews I saw was that it was actually well-written and interesting, hence the reason it got its own solo title. Obviously I don't disagree that you found it boring (we all like what we like), I just don't feel that you can necessarily generalize that to "most people", when it seemed like that wasn't the case.

You may be correct, however that's an awful fast turnaround to launch a solo after only an appearance or maybe 2. From August (1st appearance) to March (1st solo issue) is basically right on the border of "determine if it's a popular enough new character to decide to do a solo or just a flash in the pan, get a proposal for story direction, hire creators, get a few issues written/drawn/inked/lettered/colored, and then released". Even books that were assigned back in July aren't hitting the shelf for another month or 3 (Spencer on ASM, Coates on Cap, etc). so I'm very inclined to believe that the decision was essentially made before the 1st appearance that it was going to get a solo series. But maybe giving themselves enough lead time so that if the character flops, they can still scrap it before it gets too far along. I very much doubt it was in any way organic. They planned to do it & because they didn't get any significant dislike for the character, they forged ahead.

That being said, the WoMD story was alright in itself. I guess what I'm saying is that this was a character that didn't get me curious enough to care to want more. And of those comic buying friends that also checked it out, they had the same response. I guess we'll see if it lasts past 6-8 issues. Or if the novelty wears off as fast as I expect. Because design aside (which I admit is cool), they need to really improve the character from what we got in WoMD & Weapon X. Because he had a personality as interesting as a beige wall.

18 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

Interesting you mention Mosaic. That was a completely new character that completely flopped. From what I have heard it was a poor design.

You take two classic characters who have no need for each other's mutations and put them together it's a hit.

Perfect example of what readers gravitate towards.

Mosaic was a editorially created character that existed for no reason except for diversity points (black inhuman when the vast majority were white) & was instantly given his own book before he even appeared in a single issue & had a chance to connect with an audience. And because his intro was so bland (so as to not step on the toes of whatever was going to be done in the solo series), nobody cared enough about the character to follow him to a solo series. (Not to mention that there was already this exact power-set character from the NYX series except a mutant that they could have used if they really wanted to) If they wanted Mosaic to succeed, either intro him in his own solo book or make his intro interesting enough & with enough personality & character to get fans to think "oh, I'm curious what this guy's motivation is? How does he cope with [insert flaw in powers or character]?" or something else. But "he can jump into bodies" was all we got. That's a power set. Not a character.

This was the exact same thing. A character that already had a solo-series planned before he ever appeared & even tho his solo was going to be written by the same writer that intro'd him, his intro was so boring that most people didn't care to want to know more. There wasn't a single panel of his WoMD crossover & Weapon X issues that got me even mildly interested in knowing more about him. Do something to compel me to want to know more. Concept alone can pique interest, but once you've released the concept into the wild, the execution of it matters far more than the concept itself.

To your point tho that gluing 2 popular characters together is appealing to readers?; Yes, to a degree. But when there's already a glut of carbon copies of each of them running around simultaneously, the novelty wore off before the character was introduced. There's like 9 Wolverines already & a half dozen Hulks. The last thing anyone is screaming for right now is a boring copy of both of them amalgamated together. The only "more wolverine" and "more hulk" anyone is asking for is the real Logan & the real Bruce. If this was a universe with 1-2 Wolverines and a Hulk & a She-Hulk only, then maybe people would be into this. But doing it in 2017/2018? It's just throwing another carbon copy on top of a stack of them.

And it also didn't bother to explain where all the Adamantium that covers his bones goes & why his bones aren't sticking out everywhere when he's in human form. He can't "grow" adamantium over his bones & his Hulking ability doesn't affect foreign elements inside the body.

On 3/22/2018 at 11:13 AM, ygogolak said:

Miles Morales WAS in an alternate universe. It made a lot of sense at the time to reintroduce 50 year old characters into current life and society.

This character, from what I understand, was made in a lab. So, if you have a problem with this, I would say also with X-23 then?

My only complaint about this character is that it's entirely unnecessary & bland. I read the intro of the character & subsequent issues with him in Weapon X & nothing about it struck me with an urge to know more. Nothing about his story was compelling at all. I didn't care about his personality (or lackthereof) or really see any future for it. It seemed like a throw-away character. Mosaic redux. 

So far the GoFundMe that is assisting him has broken $10k (haven't checked in a few hours tho. It added at least 4k overnight) but apparently there's not a way to DIRECTLY assist Bill & his family. It's a GoFundMe that is being done essentially thru his church I believe? But it's the primary way that he's receiving assistance. I donated a bit to it last night.

3 minutes ago, Mr.Mcknowitall said:

Thank you. I was hoping it was adjustable and hardware accessory was available for adding shelving. I then would have asked you for info on the manufacturer, because I have been looking for something like this and the height especially for a while.

Someone MIGHT make an attachment that allows for adjustment of the shelves. I know that it would be possible. But I don't know if anyone DOES make an adjustment kit. But as it stands, the only options are using a shelf, not using a shelf, or doing some welding.

No. There's space for 3 shelves (plus the bottom. 4 total "display" levels) and they rest on the soldered metal bars that go front-to-back across the side as support. You can elect to NOT place a shelf (I did that with the middle shelf so that Emma could fit there) but you can't adjust it to a different level. It's either don't use the shelf or use the shelves exactly as designed. I guess that you could theoretically cut the weld & raise the bar it to a different height by tac-welding it there, but I wouldn't recommend that unless you really know your way around a welder & doing metal work.

I just decided to get a cabinet for the non-PVC statues yesterday & then consolidated them all into this cabinet. I don't have a big collection but I like what I have. I sorta keep them all segregated tho. General bigger PVC on the bookshelf in the living room. Cheap ArtFX+ stuff in the nerd room on top of the comic filing cabinets. And now the porcelain/ceramic ones in this glass cabinet.

6 hours ago, jreezy said:

How can you tell based on those pics? I must have bad eyes  

 

 

 

 

Good eyes? Or I don't know. I was looking at it on my laptop & not my phone, maybe that helped? I'm not sure.  I just noticed that there was a faint but present shadow of a crease just below the top corner on the spine & maybe the discoloration is shadow from the side of the top loader, but there's definitely a tiny bit of discoloration on the top few inches of the spine in addition to that crease.