GeeksAreMyPeeps

Again, I'm not suggesting that Venom was insanely hot out of the gate. That's someone else's claim. I'm giving evidence as to the lack of appearances compared to other hot characters at the time. (The fact that Venom is a villain rather than a hero or anti-hero probably has something to do with it too; you can't have him defeated every month in multiple books if you want the character to seem like a threat.) I *do* remember as a reader than when he showed up, it seemed like a big deal to my teenage mind

Her's what I find interesting about the appearances you're calling out: Quasar: Part of a line-wide crossover. While editors might be protective of characters in their family of books, you were right that they're not going to have complete control when it comes to something like this. Does Micheline's comment that Salicrup was protective mean that he NEVER EVER let others use the character? Obviously not, because there are a few other appearances. But I see no reason to doubt that there were requests from others to use the character. Also, note that while he's one of four villains in the book, he gets a special callout on the cover. That suggests that they already anticipated that Venom would sell. Avengers Annual: "appearance" is in a recap of Acts of Vengeance, and he's one of dozens of characters in the recap. Doesn't really count as an appearance, I would say. His inclusion here is due to his inclusion above. What If?: One-time alternate timeline stories is different from an in-continuity appearance. Also, while he's not central to the story, he's featured on the cover. That suggests that they already anticipated that Venom would sell. Deathtrap: The Vault: Written by the new Spidey-editor as Salicrup was close to the end of his run. Note that Venom is the most prominent character on the cover. That suggests that they already anticipated that Venom would sell. Your speculation about what happened is speculation. I would say that the take of those who actually created the books holds more weight.

A few things: • The drop in sales could be fallout from McFarlane no longer being on the title. That takes a few issues to have an effect, and his last issue was 328. • Claremont, as a writer, would have had less control than an editor • While I don't disagree that a lot of direction comes from outside the Creative department, I don't think that kicked into high gear until a few years into the '90s, when every character that had an ongoing suddenly had a family of titles (Thunderstrike, War Machine, an explosion of X-books, etc.) • Since McFarlane's art was certainly a very visible reason for the popularity of Spider-man, management may not have been as acutely aware of a demand for more Venom. I doubt management is reading letters from readers. Read the link I posted. I'd say that Micheline's version of events is a much better indication of what happened than our speculation as to what we think happened inside the Marvel offices

https://www.comiccrusaders.com/comics-icon-david-michelinie-talks-about-the-early-development-of-one-of-spider-mans-greatest-villains/

I'm not taking a position one way or another in the conclusion to this argument, but the number of Venom's appearances is not necessarily a good indicator of his popularity in the period. I read an interview with David Michelinie that there was a call to use Venom more, but Salicrup (ASM editor at the time) wanted to save him for special occasions. Salicrup was also the editor on the Adjectiveless Spider-man while McFarlane was on it, except for McFarlane's last issue, which was an X-Force crossover, so that might explain why he was never used in those early issues. Salicrup left Marvel in late 1991/early 1992 to go be the editor in chief of Topps, so that might explain the explosion of Venom around that time.

If you're only spending a dime a book, is it that much of a problem that you can't transfer them? Anyone, it's on a drive and limited to 500, so you could always sell the drive if you find that you don't like them or don't plan to re-read. There are enough Valiant collectors that you might possibly be able to re-sell at a premium. I imagine these will sell out.

I was thinking "…on crack"

Meh. Detective 1026 should be the important issue, except that the run isn't continuous.

That was one strong HOT TODDY you had on Monday if it's still having an effect on Thursday.

The assumption is that you were truthful when you said: • "My former boss" • "would not hire someone unless they knew someone at the company"

Is his sidekick Cowpoke?

I fully expect HOT TODDY to become a meme on these boards.

You seem to have an awful lot of rage for people that get jobs at a place because they know someone, for someone who has benefitted from that very thing.

*could've

I would love to hear an Esperanto version of Desperado; Desperanto.

Whatever differences you see, any of those things with enough staying power eventually become part of the common language.

Maybe the regional distribution wasn't even, but the overall numbers are equal?

All words were non-words at one point, and then people started using them as words, and they became words. It's not as cringy as "moist" is to some, though.

"Unobtainium" is a term that precedes Avatar, so use of that would be acknowledging the term, rather than coining it.

It would appear so. Just noticed the tally on the front, 591 books comes to slightly over a dime each

If you like to read digitally, this was just announced. Less than $1 per trade: http://www.gitcorp.com/valiantcdcbc.html

Rare Sketch Edition

For any book around the time of Newsstand/Direct parity and after, I'd say Newsstands would get a slight premium. Granted there are far less run collectors than there used to be, but they do exist still. For someone who wants one of everything in a certain condition, high grade Newsstands are going to be tougher. Not a huge premium for non-keys, but supply and demands suggests at least a slight premium

If you have to go looking for it, I'd say the complaint isn't particularly widespread.

Okay, but I was wondering whether they would agree to allow you to include your own archival materials, if you requested. (But I found an old thread suggesting they would remove yours and use their own)