GeeksAreMyPeeps

It doesn't surprise me that there would be, even if the first print isn't a sellout. Because people will buy it, because it's another variant. And buy it in large numbers, probably, because of the value of the first Anti-Venom second print. It *may* help sales of the first print as well, if the existence of a second print leads people to believe that the first print is selling out *somewhere*, and therefore grabbing available copies is a good idea.

I haven't read any of the issues recently, but if the Red Goblin is characterized as being a humongous threat, then almost certainly he won't stick around, because you can't maintain that level of intensity indefinitely. More likely Marvel will look to other places where they can mash up villains to introduce a new character. More symbiotes blending with other villains, perhaps? It's my understanding that symbiotes convey a certain level of a healing factor to their hosts. It would be interesting (but probably hugely disappointing to the average reader) if that healing factor ended up curing Osborn's mental illness, to the point where he rebelled against the symbiote.

The DMG/Valiant news hasn't seemed to have affected demand for hard to find books: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Archer-amp-Armstrong-The-One-Percent-1-Gold-CGC-9-8-Valiant-rare-only-3-exist-/222903687030?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&autorefresh=true&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=pFTlRlcxxu2vX58kDOnf5BcxjT4%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

I hadn't heard about Astro City. Should be a good show, and lots of books with first appearances throughout all of the series and minis. While I'm a little skeptical about Valiant's creative future in the short term, I have to figure that if DMG can't put together something successful with them, they'll at least try to recoup some of the investment by selling the IP to someone that can.

The gold version of the first issue is about the only one

I was a huge fan of his art back when he was on ASM. It was drastically different from what we were seeing elsewhere in mainstream comics. But in retrospect a lot of it looks really goofy. One of the really simple things that he did that made his art stand out was using thick borders on some panels.

To be fair, "Do you want a drink?" is enough to drive me to drink.

never mind. That wasn't your post.

The three Rais in the bottom row are money books. (Especially the #0 and the Magnus flipbook.) If you're looking to sell, there should be some interest on the Facebook Valiant Buy/Sell group.

The Matte version might be mistaken for glossy if you don't have both to compare. (It's more of a "satin")

There was one month where all of my incentive variants were damaged. Like someone dropped my batch, then said "F it," and shipped them to me anyway. Since then I make a point to check the condition of the pricey books right away.

Retailer exclusives tend to not matter so much to collectors.

The issue I think is that while I don't see comics as a medium going away, I do think that comic *collecting* has an expiration date as a hobby.

(The latter only cost me a buck or so though, not $25)

Midtown Comics had a wall full of this book when it came out. I passed. far too much spec on this. But then, that was true for Carnage too I think. And X-Force 1

Is it real yet? Did I miss the realness?

Oh! Ha! I actually did the same thing with Marvel Comics Presents #27 (I think that's the issue); first Coldblood. And then I completely missed the rumor a few years ago, so I still have my stack.

No 9.8 yet, but a bunch of raws

Whenever I see a Web of Spider-man 19 in a dollar box, I grab it. In the early '90s I thought it was going to be a key, as vigilantes were all the rage then, and Web 19 is Solo's first appearance. Since Solo is mainly about anti-terrorism, I thought Marvel might make a push with him after 9/11, but that never happened. A series focusing on what terrorism is like in the Marvel Universe could be interesting.

I believe there was some already, a while back

I think you mean 134, but we were talking about the potential for 133

There are some Valiant books that fall into that category. But then, I still think they still have a lot to grow, especially once the movies come along. If the new owners don't go the route of pushing the books to change to match what they do in the movies, and the quality remains consistent, then I think that Valiant may find new readership amongst current Marvel and DC readers, if they produce a good movie.

It looks more like Aparo to me as well. The "quirk" is probably the curve of the cape. When I first started collecting comics in the late '80s, one of my first purchases was the first 7 issues of the Outsiders. That was my favorite title for a while, and when I found out there was an entire series with the team before that, it got me into buying back issues. Aparo's Batman will always be the definitive Batman for me. Loved his work.

The Valiant comics didn't have any barcodes until Birthquake, if I'm not mistaken. Then they added them for Direct Editions, and for the Newsstands, when they created those editions

Some Dan Slott completists out there?