Randall Ries

7.5

Ah yes. That's what I read yesterday. Could not remember if it was last night or tonight. Which show date is it you are mentioned? I have all of them. I would like to hear it again.

I thought they are doing the "Dinner And A Movie" thing. Or was that last night? I am bummed as each and every band (Umphrey's, SCI and then WSP) has needed to cancel because of Omicron. I agree with the "why". And I suppose we were very fortunate to have had such a vigorous Phish summer tour. Each show was outstanding. I am ALSO personally fortunate in that I have a friend who got all the 4k satellite Phish summer tour and subbed in the 24/96 FLAC releases as audio. He is quite skilled at what he does and each show is a visual and aural masterpiece.

Well, then you have integrity. I'm right there with you. All my books are DC except for a long box I have with a smattering of What-If's and Spectacular Spiderman etc. And those aren't worth . Profit isn't or shouldn't be the only reason to collect books. I am a lot less interested in making money on books than I am keeping that priceless feeling of being a boy getting down with the adventures of my favorite characters. YOU are a fan and a collector. Not just someone who wants to make money and doesn't care about much else.

Yes. Thanks and I realize that. I was illustrating the differences in perception we have as collectors. The 1st appearance of Wolverine v the first full appearance of Wolverine and so forth. In my view at least, Swamp Thing #1 should be far more "valuable" than it is since it is the character we are all familiar with. I am eternally grateful to Alan Moore for addressing that fact and tying everything up so nicely. That Saga Of The Swamp Thing Moore run should have won a Pulitzer. It continually blew my head off with each subsequent issue and the last series I broke my leg for running to the Little Professor Book Shop to grab every month. Now, we are saddled with speculators who pay large sums of money for basically hired extra characters on a movie set. Jamming the average collector with unreasonable prices for characters who haven't been given a second glance for 45 years and now must suddenly be given credence. I suppose it doesn't matter. I LIKED the Captain Marvel character when I was a kid but didn't go out of my way to "collect 'em all", as they say. It just seems like collectors are scraping the bottom of the barrel to find new ways of making something primarily worthless valuable. It's probably just me, but as I say, I like the fact that the books have some value but resent the fact so many people have made it ALL about money and that's it. It's shallow, IMO.

This. I can't rant about the right or wrong of this because I don't know what an "Eros" is. Must be (Up to this point, anyway) a minor character. I don't have the funds or the foresight to try to guess who will be the next golden ticket. Furthermore, I don't have the energy or inclination to. It's a stock market game I have never been interested in or particularly good at. And I guess that's because - as I have said many times - money isn't my end game. Having a book I want IS. Maybe we can look at it from another perspective. When Bernie Wrightson died, suddenly HOS 92 went straight through the roof. Not because of a movie or tv show, but because the book has always held its own and has had a weird value by itself. A weird value? Yes. It was the 1st appearance of Swamp Thing. Weird in that no, not really. Not if we are to believe Alan Moore who suggested that Swamp Thing has always been a different being in a long line of elementals. So the Swamp Thing WE know has always been the one who made its first appearance in Swamp Thing #1. That's actually the book that should see soaring values. Yet HOS 92 holds the 1st appearance of an elemental who wasn't even CALLED "Swamp Thing". "Alec" was a prototype of sorts. HOS 92 is actually worth what people are trying to sell it for. Not because of tv or a movie or some goofball actor who doesn't know Swamp Thing from Linda Holland. UNFORTUNATELY for the average Joe Collector who actually knows something about the characters and the history of them and the series they collect, they WILL be shut out just by sheer capitalism alone. Like all the dopeys who were hoarding the toilet paper last year. A lot of us knew COVID was a bronchial issue and yet the dopeys were taking it all for themselves fearing....what? Digestive discomfort? Shutting out everyone else who knew better or had no real NEED to hoard it. Money will win and if you don't have it, it's gonna be a problem collecting for the love of the hobby. Thankfully, I have zero interest in Eros OR Captain Marvel. Or Narvel in general. It sucks for those of us who like what we like and have to be held hostage by other collectors greed. But it is what it is. Maybe at some point, the majority of us will turn their back on Marvel altogether if and when it finally wears out its welcome. But by all means. Keep collecting and fetishing over Marvel. I will be over here watching DC prices soften. Only drawback is I actually have a few DC books for sale and can't seem to sell them. Then again, I don't really WANT to.

It's also possible they will tell you to shut up and just keep tending to the chimps in the forums as well.

I saw that. I wouldn't have guessed based on the tantrums I read at the time.

Seemed to be. There was such vitriol about the movie that - when I eventually watched it - I kept my opinion to myself about it. But I didn't get what the problem was. I thought it was pretty solid except for Superman killing Zod. Seems like Zod could have just LOOKED at the remaining trapped people and burnt them to a crispy crunch. That hold "have to hold his head steady" seemed senseless. Or just put his hand over his eyes. Still, just a remote criticism. "Superman Returns" was a complete waste of time and people seemed to like that one more. Superman was basically a mute throughout the entire movie and there was no believable explanation why he left earth to begin with. What a suck-fest.

Was it not Smallville?

So right on. I don't despise all the movies to their core. There are good scenes and dialogue in all of them. I liked the "Batman Wears A Duster" scenes because it reminded me of Batman's #232 & #244 in which Batman and Ra's Al Ghul climbed the Himalayans together (232) and a shirtless Batman, doing his best Burt Reynolds, fighting Ra's in the desert (244). Batman was wearing cold weather gear over his costume which - as a kid - was...eh...cool. The fight in the desert was shirt and capeless because of the obvious heat. I never considered he would do that NOR had he been written like that very often. Usually, he wore the Bat suit wherever he found himself. And the stories like in the late Golden Age and early Silver Age which featured him in some pretty dumb outfits were contemptible. ALSO - believe it or not - I seemed to be in the minority when I admitted I LOVED The Man Of Steel. The battle scenes in Smallville were AWESOME.

I care. People who collect because they want the books for the books themselves care. I mean, I get it. There was always an element of monetary value that went along with the books. In middle school, we traded 2 or 3 to 1 for a given book another kid had simply because we DIDN'T have it. And bragging rights were everything back then. We generally collected because we loved the book or the characters. Now, it's ALL about money. Waiting for the next movie to come out and either succeed or bomb. All Star #8 spikes hard because WW 1984 is to be released. Then settles back to what it was worth before and a little less just to punish the owner of the All Star 8 just because. There must still be a core of collectors who collect because they love the hobby and money isn't the end all be all. If DC books became so devalued I could buy an HOS 92 in 9.4 for $30, I'd be elated. The blessing and the malediction of DC is simply that they painted themselves into a corner. They keep using the same 4 characters over and over again. When creating new characters from a different dimension, they didn't even bother renaming them. Now we have Marvel doing B grade characters like Iron Fist and Shang-Chi. They dare to step outside of the comfort zone. The blessing is the DC "values" either hold steady or sink a bit. Perhaps the "values" of DC comics are what they are actually worth, since no DC movie looks like it will rival a Marvel movie. I never valued comics in the same manner as many others, it seems. Too much money cheapens it for me. Makes it tacky. Just keep praying to whatever god you believe in that Marvel stays in the moviegoers good graces. When/if that becomes over, you are going to be in for a bit of a shock. People are fickle. Personally, I doubt that will happen in a catastrophic sense. And the general public isn't all of a sudden going to turn into intellectuals and start realizing comics are for hebetates.

Therein lies the problem. The suits. Always the suits. DKR, like Kingdom Come, is an Elseworld story. Pitch it that way. Put up your disclaimers at the beginning. "This COULD happen" etc. Then rock that . Yeah. Superman gets a deserved spanking. And Batman "dies" as well. Live a little. Trust the fans. The fans who go see the movie and don't get it will be the same fans that asked David Goyer how does Clark Kent fly back to Krypton at the end of Man of Steel. LOL!

Well, that is interesting. I actually didn't find Bat v Supe terrible. I sort of resented the use of DKR elements because now they won't be able to use them in a real DKR movie. If the story was followed panel by panel, square by square, DKR would blow doors off. I mean, they HAVE the story boards. Right there. Right there in front of them.

I am admittedly a misfit in the world of the meme. I'm surprised anyone reads books anymore with their teeny attention spans.

Right. I am too. I wasn't feeling it from the Bale movies either. Now, I admit I haven't watched ZS JL. It's sitting on my computer waiting for me to have a spare 3 hours.

I wonder if covers actually shrink a bit over time. Due to losing moisture in the paper. It is different stock than newsprint, I assume. Maybe that would give it a trimmed look.

They used some elements of DKR. As I recall, half the forums here hated the movie. And you know. It isn't the end of the world. OR IS IT? Soon as they announced Tim Burton as the director of the 1989 film, it was already over. Everyone was hoping that his "Frankenweenie" sensibilities would add some shadows and mystery. But no. Gotham once again became a giant playground. Ridiculous premise. Ridiculous plot. Ridiculous sets. Ah. Batman movie, rage inducing, PTSD causing Batman movie. Ra's Al Ghul - the runner up to wear the Joker top villain sash - played by Darkman. Oh. Ok. They nailed it the first time with the doppelganger guy. He would have made a good Ra's. But noooo. Oh! They FOOLED hapless moviegoer! Not the OBVIOUS guy who actually LOOKS like Ra's or is even close to his ethnicity! No! Ra's is really an IRISH guy who was nowhere near Ra's Al Ghul. Oh! Maybe Dwayne Johnson? As UBU? AWESOME! Oh. Nope. If they hired Warwick Davis or Billy Barty, it wouldn't have surprised me. Why not Zelda Rubinstein or Kenny Baker as Ubu? Why not? Jack Nicholson as The Joker. Pander. Jim Carrey as The Riddler. Pander. Tommy Lee ..... Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face. And CALLING him "Harvey Two-Face" in the movie. This is why Marvel bet the living Hell out of DC at the box office. And will continue to do so. My prediction is "The Batman" will be WAY over the top and then collapse into a "woke" fest as "The Cat" tries to reach Bruce. The trailers I have seen seem to make "The Batman" look like a complete, out of control, vengeful psycho. Remember when he was a detective? And a scientist? My guess is the suits at Warner Bros. reached into the mailbag and instead of discerning what the real fan wants will pull out of the mailbag and said "Ohhh. WE get it NOW. They want Batman to punch everybody out relentlessly. They want DARK and psycho!" We shall see. Maybe this will be the first good Batman movie. Ha. Ha.

No. I didn't. I haven't yet. Maybe you did. I watch every one of those and roll my eyes. I grew up weaned on the Adams/O'Neil Batman then got my rocks off when "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" was sprung on us. Instead of carrying on with the old, dark Batman of 1939, they sold out and pandered to the yuppies who grew up watching that horrible Adam West show which had established Batman as a goofus. And the kids, of course. The 1989 was was abysmal. I mean, just the inability for Bruce to be able to turn his head was a no-brainer. and that "I'm Batman" line cheesed me off hard. He wouldn't say that. "Who...who ARE you?" <Batman throws him off a bridge just for asking the obvious. Bad guy nearly drowns. Or back-hands Bad Guy over and over until Bad Guy sees Jesus> I was informed back then I needed to take a Stress-Tab and remember that kids needed to be able to go see it as well. I don't care and didn't care about that. Let the kids go into therapy over a GOOD Batman movie. And what are the kids supposed to do with the Pattison movie? "Maaaaaammmmaaaa! Bamman won't stop HITTING the Bad Guy!" "No, young Cabbage-Head. He isn't going to until Bad Guy is gooey. Eat your pop-corn." It's possible that movie set off my critical hemisphere in my brain. That movie really honked me off. The Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey one was horrible. The Bane one was awful. I WILL say (to try to be positive) that I enjoyed the villain performances except for the Jones and Carrey one but liked Shwarzeneggers Mr Freeze. And Pfeiffer's Catwoman. "Meow!"

I too have watched the trailer released the other day. I have prayed for years for these things: A baby brother A pony Boobs Starting my period A decent Batman movie that has ZERO elements of the 1960's TV show So far, I have only gotten boobs and PMS.

Plus her gramma is Roxie Roker, I believe?

I would go 4.5 because of the general fade but mostly because of the upper right FC.

So, you are chastising our imaginations and chortling at my "inability" to take "ownership" of the less than stellar covers in a group of Batman Adams covers that I said I am collecting that is identified in the very theme of this thread. "Comic Covers I Don't Want But Must Have". Then offer your own hypothesis as to how events could have unfolded? Welcome to the Amazing World Of DC Comics. Even the name of the company is redundant. Detective Comics Comics. I use Vera Wang when I write essays every chance I get. I like Vera Lynn - who promised "we would meet again some sunny day." and "Wang" because I am still an 11 year old boy at heart, although a deep breath away from 60 orbits around the sun. I wrote an essay once about if I HAD to come back from the dead or if not the dead, would I choose to be a mummy, a werewolf or Frankenstein? One of the (many) considerations of being a mummy would be I would live forever in sepia tone and when I approached the local constabulary, they would empty their .38's into my dry body, exploding in harmless puffs of dust AND in a fit of girlish panic, they would hurl their empty shootin' irons at me. Which would bounce off me harmlessly. Then I would shuffle over to them slowly while they waited - standing behind some saw horse to keep the public at bay - and I would wring the life out of them. Because. When I was young, fantasy filled my life and I? Love fantasy so much....

That cover sucks balls. It has ONE redeeming characteristic. Spiderman is in the exact position and situation as Jean Luc Picard was when Tolian Soran was firing at him from the scaffolding. As for Aunt May, I have hated her since I was a kid. I always wished she would slip and fall on the ice. Or zip her turkey neck into her parka. Or Peter's parka. Get it? "PETER'S PARKA?" Eh? EHHHH???? LOL! I was expected to believe her heart couldn't handle the shock of discovering Peter was her nephew....I mean....Peter was Spiderman and every third or fourth issue showed her getting thrown around or carried up the side of buildings by Green Goblin. And Parka continued to continue with that belief structure charade. I would buy a raw .5 of this issue and have my way with it, BLC. I would do the same with Batman 118. Dr. Tolian Soran