SeniorSurfer

I didn't mean your opening remarks or general intention in starting the post, rather this particular point which had been mentioned by JollyComics and PointFive seemed to have merit.

I think the points mentioned have merit: It is a holiday weekend and many have family obligations, the right thread does have to come along to have legs (so far no crazy "acetate gate"-like SNAFUs), board sellers may be holding on to their product a bit longer as the market has cooled and no one wants to sell at a loss and of course, there is the social media/multiple outlet factor. Addressing that last one for a moment, I'd say that though there are many more ways for comic fans to buy and express themselves, boardies here strike me as a more reasoned, older group than maybe the new multiple-cover-variant-one-minute-IG-read crowd. Not that we're so set in our ways or isolated that our interactions don't overlap into other forms of social media, but maybe for a lessening number of us this is our preferred platform. And it's not because we're all just old (well I am anyway) but I do liken it to a compressed version of our comic history. Fans have had a Golden Age (mail), a Silver Age (fanzines), a Copper Age (boards) and a Modern Age (IG and even FB). A multitude of ways to express one's self, with each age seemingly active for a decreasing amount of time before the next new thing appears to "catch-on" it seems. ("Catch-on"... what a hep cat I am! 23-skiddo!).

Major contributor to those "water stains, cover ripples, rusted staples" notes CGC finds so prevalent in the SA books.

Pretty general info and very one-sided towards the buyer (better "thumbs up" ratings that way). As others have pointed out, he doesn't take into account the legwork a dealer has to do to get the book, the immediate out-of-pocket expense that he's invested in that book (and hundreds of others), con fees, possible hotel/travel expenses, etc. There's also having to listen to buyers tear down your wares for a better price as, strangely enough, customers might not be too friendly either and look to beat down the prices as much as possible. And I'm a buyer, not a dealer. I've only been to small/medium cons and it's great to see some HTF books in hand. I'll try to put a few together, make an offer and hope for the best, but I'm not going to whine about it if it's not accepted. Everyone has their costs so I'll move on. If it is accepted then great. Maybe there's an ensuing chat about what I collect and if he can be on the lookout for certain books, but I've never thought there's anything else to it and whether he can give me a better price just because I say hello to him all the time or there's any other close ties ("C'mon Fred, give me a break here... I'm sleeping with your sister!").

Some really astounding point have been raised here - all worthy of reflection and self-examination. To your question though: How do you balance your own pursuits of nostalgic bliss and collecting goals vs. an appreciation for living and enjoying in the present moment? The answer is in the question. Balance. Bradbury (and others before and after him) note that "too much of anything isn't good for anyone." If you have the good fortune to have had a great, memorable childhood then there's nothing wrong about looking upon it with fondness whenever. Maybe you'll be reminded by the snatch of an old song heard in a TV commercial, maybe the whiff of some newsprint... these can happen anytime and are not compartmentalized like daily responsibilities (though they can be if you decide to, say, dedicate a couple of hours on Saturday morning to read some old FF stories just because you set that time aside). These moments just need the opposing balance on the scale of the here-and-now obligations that allow Life to continue: Family, work, household chores, parties, vacations, bureaucratic paperwork (taxes, insurance) and more are all things that demand moments of your time. Tempering daily life with pleasant thoughts from the past can bring some relief, elation and even an involuntary smile. In a "Mad Men" episode Don Draper first defines nostalgia, then describes the as-yet unnamed Kodak product that he has been contracted to promote via an ad campaign: "It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, forwards, takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the wheel. It’s called the carousel. It lets us travel the way a child travels. Round and around, and back home again, to a place where we know we are loved." SOBERING SIDE NOTE TANGENTIALLY RELATED TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTION: So you can stop reading here to not get dosed with reality. It's been my experience that every generation's young believe their youthful world - again assuming an enjoyable childhood - was the best of times with the best of everything. For example, we've all heard some say these new immersive virtual reality games are the greatest, while in the same room you'll have some guys say they don't hold a candle to Diablo II. Meanwhile other folks in that room are firm board game enthusiasts, while leaning thoughtfully in the corner are some old guys that say those others are all indoor weaklings and going out to play stickball was where the adventure lay. Music, movies, cars... insert any changeable memory. None of it is wrong and differences of opinion will always continue. I do however recall a Peter David piece where he addresses these same issues you may remember fondly (relating to comic books) and notes - and I'm paraphrasing here - that GA and SA generations look back fondly upon these stories but their memories play tricks with them since a re-read of the issues as an adult may leave you cringing. They just might not be good as you remember, to say nothing about being plausible. I guess a level of cynicism and reasoning can manifest over time and that the general consensus is that someone being bombarded with gamma rays most certainly would meet with death, but I choose to think everyone on these boards knows what would really be the outcome.

I dunno... I did a search in this forum and couldn't find a post on it even though it's old news (over 12 hours) by internet standards, so for those that haven't seen it yet, here ya go:

One thing? This seems open to several things he could possibly do.

Same. I've gotten in the habit of checking the notes because 1) I can now since they're free and 2) I'll miss something in an online picture whether of my own oversight or because you'd really have to have the book in hand. I've missed a chip(s) on a white cover that blends in with the splash page more often than not, but I've also been given warning with descriptions of rusted staples, interior cover tanning or dried glue on the spine. I would prefer to read these and find them more helpful than notes of omission on higher modern books explaining why a 9.6 didn't make it to 9.8 (like "hey, this cover centering just wasn't good enough"). Probably, no doubt, because I'd be ecstatic to get a 9.6 on a SA or GA and wouldn't care what the reasoning was (heck a 7.5 is sometimes cause for celebration).

When I was a kid I might not have known the differences between one writer and another as art was always more noticeable. After I saw the ASM style change to those clean lines and adult-looking characters (no chance of mistaking Peter for a high school student), I always pictured him with that same, definitive look that would never age and thought it should be the standard from there on, no matter who was drawing ASM. A really sincere appreciation for the many, many years of enjoyment provided by your timeless work Mr. Romita. R.I.P. and condolences to the family.

I was trying to get into the club with that 8.5 W on CC last night but they raised the price of admission so the bouncer ushered me out. If one of you picked it up (or that ungodly 9.4) and has a 7.5/8.0 OW-W or better undercopy to sell, LMK and I might still be able to walk in the front instead of jimmying the back door.

If you go just a decade before in the 70s, grades weren't even used to price the books - just their age, numbering and relative scarcity for a seller to obtain. You knew Avengers #1 was going to be more than #7, and it was probably going to be harder to find, but prices were fairly stable across back-issue sellers no matter what the condition. Human nature and logic being what it is, I'd hazard a guess that they might keep some of the "nicer looking" books and sell their lesser duplicates, but it was not unusual to see Avengers #1 for $15.00 and DD #1 for #12.00 and not know the condition you were going to get (at least with the mail-in guys like Bell or Rogofsky). Same thing applied with the other issues, with generic prices (seemingly) arbitrarily assigned in bulk, like 6-10 at $3.00 each, etc. My original Avengers #1 arrived in about vg/vg+ condition and my DD #1 was in FN/FN+ at first fast glance of the front, but tape on the spine indicated a different, later-issue back cover had been added. Still, these were really exceptions as the bulk of all of those early SA were very sharp FN and better - at least in my experience. As the 70s progressed the advent of OPG (with its specific grade categories and pricing) and conventions (and much later the solely dedicated LCS) helped to structure the ground rules for future sales.

Ah, con romances... reminds me of some of the panels from CBG's "Last Kiss" where John Lustig would use old romance books and change the dialogue appropriately:

I'm more a slow-moving type and could never find a con connection in the time allotted. Anyway it probably would have gone similar to the Brady sketch in SNL where he shows how easy it is to make a connection, then a schlub tries a similar tactic without success. (Me: "Hi there! Hey, do you collect that title?" Her: "Security!!").

We've read this in lots of different sources - amazing that now it's so normal to say that a movie with a BO take of "only" 500 or 600M is seen as a failure (Ant Man seems to have tapped out at 475M) - but I wonder if it can't be due to other things rather than superhero movie fatigue. Sure Disney oversaturation or the mishandling of the material (bad writing, bad casting, excessive CGI to substitute for story, etc.) can be blamed, but what about something simpler? Like an audience disinterest/unfamiliarity in the character? Though I haven't bought a new book in ages, I've been collecting since the 60s and have a pretty good idea of the major (and most minor) Marvel/DC superhero characters since that time. In the movies I'd say that sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle, resonating with audiences by introducing such 2nd-tier characters as GotG or Deadpool or even TMNT. But I'd also say that more often than not, when you start dipping too deeply into the well (trying to avoid saying "scraping the bottom of the barrel"), there's an audience disconnect because of unfamiliarity and they'll just shrug their shoulders. I posit that the average movie-goer might just be attracted to and spend (an ever-increasing ticket price for) the films where hero name recognition plays a part. I know this might seem like a bold statement to the powers-that-be but... not every superhero character makes for a good read or is interesting. I know as a collector that you just can't buy every single book or have an interest to do so. I religiously collected about 8-12 titles at a time and spot issues of other books that had interesting covers or formats (like the B&W magazines or GN). So I wonder if there would be this BO slowdown if they would now stick to staggering recognizable audience favorites across time. Less films but more character awareness, like the Bond franchise which has survived for more than 60 years. Would there be a slowdown if ASM is released every two years, with intervening years taken up by the (now) more familiar Cap or Iron Man or Hulk or FF or X-Men solo film? In the context of this thread, core character book prices would probably stabilize, maybe even show a steady increase and periodically spike as the movie approaches a release date. Successful core books for Marvel and DC should make for successful general movie interest - when limited and higher standards are exercised in their production. That's probably not what corporate wants to hear though. Marvel is attempting to weave another multi-film story to culminate in an Endgame-like blaze of glory but I just don't think they're going to hold that interest with the likes of Shang Chi or The Thunderbolts as story elements. For that matter, I don't see a DC hero movie renaissance by trotting out Booster Gold or Blue Beetle or The Authority either. Maybe when that seemingly endless money supply starts to dwindle they'll be more judicious in future projects.

Those are great! Getting to meet all of those guys and handing them a (slowly decreasing) blank page to do their thing. I do wish Martin Nodell had a little more time though as it took me a minute to figure out what he had drawn. Almost looked like a... well, it seemed.... kind of like a...

Though I'm pretty shy, I would have loved to meet Stan, Jack, Frazetta and Eisner but living in South Florida and not having any major conventions for the time they were more active attendees, I never got the chance. I would have been dependent on parents for travel to cons that were further away and that wasn't exactly their idea of a great vacation. I did get to meet two of my favorites: I met and spoke with Neal Adams several times and each time he was extremely friendly, relaxed and conversing with everyone at length. The first time I met him was many years ago while he was at his booth with only 2-3 fans around, holding court on his future projects, space theory, etc. I circled around several times until I got the nerve to slink closer, at which time he included me in his conversational eye contact and I became more relaxed. This was before slabs or witnesses, and I eventually screwed up enough courage to ask him to sign my copy of GL/GA #82, which he did on the bottom margin of the first interior page. Many years later when I was selling my collection I forgot it had been signed and sold it along with all the other books. If any of you guys have a copy, probably around a 6.0-7.0 with that sig location in black ink, this could be its provenance. I met Steranko more recently (couple of years pre-COVID). He was nattily attired in a grey suit and turtleneck - just as I pictured he would be, so I had upped my own con attire for the occasion. There was a formal line of about 7-9 people to see him, which quickly changed into a half-circle around his table as he started an impromptu 15-20 minute class on his thought process in the composition of one of his prints: The B&W Noir where Chandler discovers the body of a nude woman murder victim. I say class and not speech or dissertation because he went through every portion of that print and engaged his fans by asking questions about each object, each angle, to see if they were understanding how it all tied together, giving them insight on its conception and his thought process as it was composed. It was really fascinating and I wouldn't have missed it for anything. You even got an additional observation on his sense of how he wanted his fans to remember their encounter: At the end (and even during his comments) some people tried to take photographs, but he stopped them, noting by way of patient explanation (paraphrasing) that they should just listen, immerse themselves in the here-and-now, enjoy the moment without being concerned about keeping any physical record and keep the memory instead. Reminded me a bit of the sense that people on vacation just continually snap pictures, all-the-while missing the surroundings that extend beyond the camera/cell phone boundaries (the "big picture," if you will). At any rate, it resonated with me and I do vividly remember the encounter, as well as having a greater appreciation whenever I see that painting.

I liken them to eBay, another juggernaut that has basically cornered the market in collectible online sales due to its longevity (outlasting all other competitors), world-wide reach and extensive customer base (though Amazon has made hay with retail, I refer here only to the collectibles market). As here, everyone similarly protests when prices are raised only to continue using them. Something additional that would do the trick, and is likely tied to your original list of three: If collectors and dealers could see consistently bettered or at least equal sales prices of books graded by said competitor.