Bonthan

@Spawnfreak Humbly, they’re all mine. I’ve passed on some I wished I hadn’t have and there’s still some that I haven’t seen come to market yet. I had almost given up on that Cap annual.

First comic I ever owned was GI Joe 21. I remember the day well, an 8 yo kid in 1983 doesn’t easily forget anything with Snake Eyes on the cover.

I like clubs! @jjonahjameson11 gets to be the president though!  The original art is sick. How does one even source where to buy that? 

Bcw makes thick bags for annuals and square bound. A “bcw thick bags” search will show results.

On 2/21/2019 at 9:40 AM, Schmakt said:

Was this store eventually near Biltmore Mall?

Was there a previous location?

There were 2 main stores in Asheville when I started buying in the early 90's... I'm pretty sure Super Giant and DW was my first real shop too, but for some reason I'm thinking Super Giant was the name of the other store off of, like, Montford Ave or something.

One of the 2 was on a pretty steep hill, I seem to remember for some reason. (Or maybe I'm completely thinking of another city!)

EDIT: Pastimes was the other shop at the time!  Looks like it's still around but in a new location...

My first purchases of comics came off the spinner rack at Ideal Drugstore on Haywood Rd in Asheville. I still have them, they’re in my Ideal Drugstore box. I bought comics for a couple of years from them. However, the first actual shop devoted to comics I ever walked in was Super Giant when it was on Merrimon, Pastimes was at the bottom of the hill. The days of when the con was at the mall in Hickory. My buddies mom drove him and I to DW’s, mine wouldn’t because she refused to make a left turn on the road. I sold a decent stack of golden age Sheena that came from a relative to Dennis for 20 bucks. I turned around and bought bags, boards, and a short box, as this was the first time I had ever seen these items before. He was a grumbly kind of guy and I remember him saying, “if somebody walks in here and says he’s been missing these books from his attic, then I’m gonna come find you”. As an 12 year old he scared the out of me. After that location he moved to Brevard Rd, the same road as the now defunct Biltmore Square Mall. You cannot talk about the good old days of comics in Asheville without DW’s name coming up by the second sentence.

That’s right, I traded a stack of golden age comics for supplies.....get on my level please.

You get your return when they go out of business.

4 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I agree with RMA's assessment and yours, shame about origin issue's though  I rather enjoyed looking for those! Not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed getting origin issue's signed much more that 1st appearances; after reading of course  

Yeah, as a young collector in the mid/late 80’s when I was still saving lunch money for books I would 100% pick an origin story when I was financially forced. It was like being in some secret society that no one else knew about.

I agree, it is sad to see my favorite stories and characters languish in back issue bins. However, the consumption of the story has always been the driving element behind collectibility, unless you were just buying off the top ten list. We had to collect single issues in the past because that was the only way to find out what happened if we missed one. People paid higher amounts for books because it was a key to the storyline they missed, like an origin story or if they missed the first few issues of a new character. Today I can put the entire life of a character on one shelf of a  bookcase, buy a high grade slab of the first app or whatever cover I like, get a matching statue for it, and present my fandom in a very tasteful way in a glass cabinet. If I’m a high roller then I can get some original art to hang on the wall. I now have an exclusive, high value collection that’s easy to get out from under if want. I don’t need a U-haul to enjoy Green Lantern anymore, the entire corps can fit in the back seat of my car.

People are buying trades nowadays. My lcs is stocks $10k+ in tpb’s. Times are changing. All I have to do to read the entire Infinity Gauntlet story arc right now is to maximize my Marvel Unlimited tab and have at it. The story is alive, it’s just being digested in a different way.

I always think Kiss when I see that cover

23 hours ago, jcronin said:

Just curious. Why are the newsstand GI Joe #21s listed for such high prices when the early 80s had no shortage of newsstand issues? 

You’re correct, not the hardest book to find in newsstand. 9.8’s that get listed on eBay are around 1 out of 3 for a newsstand.

I like the 8.5 Canadian in auction right now. 

9 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

A Canadian Price Edition, with a Mark Jeweler's Insert  

Very nice. Not a jeweler, but here’s my Canadian DD. I love me some flag covers.

On 10/25/2019 at 8:40 PM, Martin Sinescu said:

I couldn't believe how tough this one was to find....

That’s sick

Here ya go http://www.geminicomicsupply.com/

I have yet to receive a damaged book in one of the gemini mailers. I don't know why more people don't use them. They are very efficient for the seller and buyer.

Found these 2 today and thought, "Dang, i never see these". Odd to log in here and see them listed.

Hello to all on the forums,

My handle is Bonthan. I enjoy long walks in the park, picnics on the beach, a good book on a rainy day, and digging through long boxes for hours on end. Smokers please not apply.

I collect for solid runs w/good creative teams, cool covers, and that rush of being the first in finding that gem no one else knew about.

I've found my search for info on books always nets a search result of ebay, some sort of wiki, and collectors-society.....so here we are. Lately, I have become fairly adept at flipping books between ebay and the 5 lcs's in my immediate area. Much of that success is to be attributed to the knowledge I have found here and i just wanted to say thanks guys and gals!