NoMan

I have no problem with my wife being jailed for calling me a horse. This is an actual quote from my wife when I told her what was said here: "You read such dumb sh*t on the internet." Come to think of it, the "internet" told me Iraq was not safe.

I'm too tired to look at the link. I just go places and learn first hand. It's just how I am. If you've ever been to Dubai, what you state seems kinda silly.

I don't/didn't see what you speak of. Dubai is amazing.

You're speaking of Dubai?

I've had my life threatened taking street photos in Los Angeles USA. Hang around 5th and Main in downtown LA long enough and..... We did that tall building. It was ok. Taller building being built there now.

No, I don't really carry a camera or take photos with phone while traveling. I'm too busy in the moment and carrying a camera anywhere (I've got a Leica M3 and M6 - did I mention I collect Leica Cameras, also) puts you in danger and suspicion on many, many levels. Pictures at a comic con is fine, pointing a camera (or even having a camera) at the Iranian boarder in Northern Iraq will get you shot or grabbed by Iran's "Boarder Rapid Response" team. See the book, A Sliver of Light. I was at same boarder town those guys were at and it was explained to me to be very, very careful and to follow all directions given to me by driver.

They are saying to not hold hands nor put arms around one another. Often in Kurdish and Arabic culture no one knows you're dating or falling in love or even know one another until a marriage is announced.

Don't really know the answer to that one. Sorry. I was asking so many questions to our driver and our interpreter I began trying to limit it.

Interesting. Having to wash before going inside a convention, like at the entrance to every mosque has a wash area (for feet) before entering. Did you know that every mosque in Iraq has bathrooms for public use (squatty potty only)? Although women must be accompanied by men.

Just got back to US from travels in Iraq. (Kurdistan area so basically Northern Iraq although not Mosul nor Kirkuk as ISIS, known as DASH in Arabic, is problematic there). I'd be more than happy to discuss my travels here if anyone might be interested. Never made it to the one and only comic store in Iraq in the city of Erbil, cause, well, I was in Erbil and it's a pretty damn cool place and there was way too much to see. But.... Wife and friends and I stayed over in Dubai (we have both visted Dubai before) on way back and she slept why I explored the old section of Dubai looking for an Arabic version of a Seiko dive watch (I also collect Seiko dive watches). On the way back to hotel I noticed The MIddle East Comic Con going on at Dubai's World Trade Center expo area so I swung in. It was a monumental waste of about 40$, but hey, I can give a accurate report now. It was pretty big, not SDCC crowds but I'd say a couple thousand people on a Saturday at noon. Signs everywhere saying NO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION ALLOWED! Anyways, in reality, it was what was is to come here at cons, I think: No back issues anywhere. I really made a point to find back issue sellers. The dude from Shazam was there (Zack whatever) and folks were losing their minds. I searched and search and finally found 3 tiny booths selling back issues. The guy I talked to most wore a suit with super heros on it. If he's a member here and reads this I'm the guy from LA and enjoyed speaking with you. He had some CGC books. I believe there was a DNK #1 9.6 for about $380.00. He had a CBCS HOS #92 for $1,400.00 and a GSX #1 raw he graded at 8.0 for about 4 grand. He called the convention "absolute rubbish" and said there was probably about 7 people in the thousands there that could speak of why Avengers #4 would be collectable. (He had one). He said the "Emirates Boys" (Local folk) would come with fists full of money and not know what was what (back issue wise) and would walk away when an explanation was given, bored. He rolled his eyes over the "star appearance" of Shazam Zack as "nobody knew or cared who he was yesterday." There was one other seller there known as Speedy Comics who had a shop somewhere in Dubai if I remember correctly. I would have bought a book or two from him but my luggage was so full of Kurdish rugs and what not I wasn't about to buy a collectable book book and carry it 17 hours on a flight home. So I made my way to Speedy Comics booth which I'd say was small to medium in size. They had some books (CGC and raw, not many mind you). I was also too lazy to constantly do a Dirham (Arab Emirate currency) to a US dollar conversion on my phone to see what stuff cost. It was my understanding that Speedy Comics had paid for Bob Layton to be at their booth. And he was, sitting with someone not selling anything nor any signs of interest that he was there. He had OA and there was a signing fee but again I was too lazy to see what it cost in US dollars. As I stood there looking at his stuff I could hear him say to the man sitting next to him, "I don't understand why everyone hates all things Muslim." (You mean Islamic?) I wandered off and wondered how tough it was to cosplay (plenty of that there) whilst wearing a burka but the ladies did! Princess Lea over a burka, She-Hulk over a burka and lastly NO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION ALLOWED! I never did find any cool Seiko Arabic issued dive watches. Your humble reporter signing off, (sarcasm approaching!) glad to be back in the safety of the good old USA where everyone has an automatic gun, not just bands of unruly thugs. EDIT: before trouble starts: Dubai is a very international city. Not all women there are (orthodox) muslim. Duh! Also the safety of USA vs other parts of the world is just a personal observation as US citizen who has traveled extensively. Robert Pelton Young, author of The World's Most Dangerous places agrees. Of course it's just an opinion.

Reminds me a sign I saw at an antique mall years ago; "We sell valuable one-of-a-kind incredibly high dollar antiques. However, we buy junk."

Well thanks for the info. ! Im gonna pick up some Carnage books and sell in a couple of months. Don’t try to beat me on eBay. Not gonna happen.

I'm an old timer. Really stop reading comics around 1988 cause they started to suck. "Carnage" is a Spiderman bad guy and there's a movie and it's gonna be $?

Besides outing the guy (from what I've read, he admitted to ripping comics off and re-selling them. Legal question: does this mean one has to keep using the word "alleged?"), what a drag from every angle this is.

I still say this is the coolest thread around here.

I was watching an old Pink Panther movie with Peter Sellers early the other morning and started reading up on him. You know he had a heart attack snorten' poppers? Return of the Pink Panther, I believe. Laughed my as* off as a kid. It may have been the first fake documentary I'd ever seen.

Again, I know. This board is gonna make me start snorten' poppers again....

Oh, I know. Accepted it years ago.

they're both devils.

I'm not gonna get into personal squabble's around here. I was serious.

What did you publish RMA? If it was an area of comics I was interested in, I'd trust you to be knowledgable and pick it up.

My first reaction to 1950's post was thinking, "Well, now's the perfect time to start stealing from the shop again." Just my humor is all. I'm sure 1950's learned his/her lesson.

No, I was thinking about that prior to the last 4 posts in this thread. Perhaps venturing into the Comic Movie thread for the first times and witnessing the endless arguing about what a film has "grossed" and what that "means" has something to do with it.

Do the boards seem extra contentious lately? Seems to me they are.

Emma Peel!