kevhtx

2 hours ago, Kon_Jelly said:

I spent too much money on this, but damn do I love this cover:

 

It's the best cover he has done in years. Hope he continues this sort of creativity.

1 hour ago, RonS2112 said:

In short, the whole MCU == greater prices for source material is a new phenomenon, and I'm not completely willing to bet that it will last in the long run.

Collecting in general has changed though over these past 30 years. Not just comics. For plentiful books, you may be right, but the core superheroes and villains are pretty safe bets. First appearances and keys. I think pretty cover art books and many moderns may fall into the fads category with a few exceptions. Thus, why this thread is popular for flipping.

The business has definitely changed, but what the MCU (DC to a certain extent as well) has done is create many, many new fans. So, as certain first appearances and keys hibernate in many collector's PCs, they will mostly rise over time (with maybe some slight dips along the way).

Since Hollywood figured out the cash cow of these worlds and characters, they will continue to find ways to get these successful characters into movies, TV and other consumer media/products. Some may go dormant for brief periods, but you can be sure they will always reappear at some point.

26 minutes ago, Avi said:

I just cant wrap my head around why a character appearance in a movie/tv show all of a sudden makes it a hot book?

Shouldnt the first appearance stand on its own and be why the book is hot?

Did the first appearance of iron man or capt america or spiderman get such rabid attention? and have they maintained any price gains?

File these under "things that dont keep me up at night"

Millions of people going and seeing a great/successful movie (or watching a TV show) adds focus to the character, adds the perception that the character's value is going up and adds new fans who are just now experiencing the character and want to connect to it somehow by spending money. Black Panther is probably one of the best recent examples.

JC 

10 minutes ago, fuggit said:

I can't believe people are still buying these.

Is it really hard to believe that some people actually like some of the covers? I don't buy all of his sets. Just the ones I like for my own PC. This set has multiple covers that I like.

1 minute ago, Kon_Jelly said:

I'm really hoping that because this is the rarest it isn't crazy expensive. Also hoping that I can get a print of this at some point.

Just lowest print run of his set I am sure. Being rare and rarest of his high print run sets is debatable. 

Personally, I do like this set. I haven't been buying his sets much recently. But, I like this one and will buy one. I bet it sells out fast.

Just now, ADAMANTIUM said:

I meant for cgc express drop off of a 10 book value sub...

Just depends on how many reps they have. I think they learned from a couple years ago and sent more last year, but Im not sure. I would avoid going to CGC during/right after a big comic artist signing. Im not sure if they will be walking people to CGC or having them fill out forms in whatever room they are in. The year I went to Jim Lee, they walked us up to the CGC booth so that made lines long.

Just now, Crops068 said:

Depending on time, I am looking at Zeck, McGuiness, and maybe Rubenstein (don't see much about him anywhere other than he is a "Special Guest") for signatures.  I want to let my son see as much as possible on Saturday as well.  Then I have JL at 4pm, I am sure the line for that will start well before 4 though.  Zeck is a must, he is currently one of my only sigs on one of my oldest comics (SW #8).  Met him last year at a MUCH smaller con, great guy and he interacted with my kid a whole lot through the day we were there.  So much my son is looking forward to getting another signed print and seeing if Zeck remembers him.

Another thing I need to do is stop and talk to the CGC crew.  Good reminder!

You shouldn't have any trouble in lines for the non-headliner artists (headliners like Jim Lee, Jeph Loeb and so on). Usually artist alley is a walk and possibly only wait for a couple people at most to get a sig. Generally, its walk up and no one is in line. 

5 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Hoping to drop off with CGC on Friday at 2pm, did the online registration, @kevhtx will the line be super long already?

 Hopefully that won't take up too much of my time  

Not really going after sigs this year too much, @Crops068 I vote the original #608, or just get a blue label  lot's of fun to be had!  

The line for what? Jim Lee's public signing? If so, then yes, Im sure it will fill up fast and early.

For CGC lines, it will depend how many people they sent. Year before last I think, it was a mess. Long lines at CGC.

2 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Someone else should chime in too, but I'm pretty sure that they do reserve for each day but each day might sell out, if that makes sense....

Like they may have a certain amount allocated one day and sell out, the next day the same  

So, Ive gone the past three years and bought comics each year. I've never run into a time when they didn't have some that I wanted (even that Dell'Otto virgin ASM variant that was popular). BUT, if you wait until the end of the day, you might end up rummaging through crappy, dinged books. People go through them and pick out the best ones. I suggest getting there early that morning and being one of the people who rummages through to find the best copies.

Sometimes you can ask them if they have more to choose from, but I remember doing that at the DC booth (can't remember if the FXD shops allow that). I did run into one seller one time that told me they would not pull more copies out of the boxes until the ones on the table were sold (which is honestly a ludicrous concept that lost them a sale since all the ones on their table was damaged).

Since some of these are foils, it is even more important. If they are bagged, you cannot necessarily see the spine, but you can get a good look and tell if its gonna be in decent shape.

51 minutes ago, Kevin Boyd said:

Debuting at Fan Expo Dallas $30 at the Fan Expo Store while supplies last: Batman 608 RRP Cover Foil Variant.

Such a great cover. These will be popular. I just sold my signed RRP that I got Jim to sign at Fan Expo Dallas year before last. Hated to do it, but made a great profit. Getting one of these signed will be nice to have.

1 minute ago, Mapleleafvann said:

I don't know if he so much as picked the wrong book....he just didn't pick the one that made the most high dollar sales (so far).  

Puzzling conversation though.  Other than one of the great DC B covers that clearly outsells the A cover, almost every recent hot book (I mean contents hot), the A cover is the winner.  I'm not talking about ratio variants even, just A and B covers.  God Country, TT12, Naomi, Thanos 13, Spider-Gwen 24, etc, etc, etc.  Why is everyone so puzzled by this, when this is clearly an established trend.  

I think you're right. I do wonder if we had a first appearance with the character on the B cover and not A cover, if it would sell better than A? Cant think of an example of that.

Also, ability to grade is somewhat taken into account. For example, I think the TT12 A cover is much harder to get in 9.8 than B cover. Of my B covers, almost all came back 9.8. I only got a few 9.8 of TT12 A. The others were 9.6 and 9.4's.

20 minutes ago, Nico Esq said:

Same thing with Teen Titans 12 (1st Batman Who Laughs) ... I anticipated that the B cover was going to be the "it" book, but it sells for 1/2 what the A cover sells for.  I think this demonstrates to some degree who is buying these books at these prices and their level of experience.  I get that the A cover of Naomi is the better artwork and that the A cover of the TT book depicts the BWL, but historically we've seen shorter print run variants see prices that far exceeded A covers regardless of the factors that these two books have going for them.  It's an interesting phenomenon and certainly something that keeps the hobby exciting for me.  I kind of like it when I don't see a trend coming.  It reminds me that I'm always a student of the comic game.  

 

Do we know the print run on the B cover of TT12? I remember when it came out, everyone was buying that one up. I bought a bunch of A covers since BMWL was actually on it.

6 minutes ago, BishopT said:

As well with Thanos #13 (Cosmic Ghost Rider)... I got the 1:10 variant and it sells for half of what the regular cover does.

In that books defense, the Albuquerque variant is the one to have. it's a variant and doesn't have Cosmic Ghost Rider on it. 

12 minutes ago, SSkufan said:

Thanks @Kevin Boyd I guess I should have checked the website before I asked.  It kind of sucks that we have to preorder a ticket for his autograph beforehand  - oh well.

$30 for 2 autographs ($60 for CGC) is not too bad considering standing in line for a long time to possibly get an autograph that's not prepaid. At least this gets you 2 for sure. Also, you can use debit/credit versus some creators only taking cash. I've gone before to the lines for some big creators and they are absolutely huge.

Geez, why are not all opinions accepted here. If people have to put up with the "He is gonna win an Oscar and its the greatest Joker ever." based on the trailer, then people also need to accept that some people aren't into it without getting their panties in a wad.

The trailer was mediocre to some of us. I have no problems with people liking it and wanting to see it, I am just waiting for more on it and probably reviews. It very well could turn out to be a great movie. The jury is still out.

I do agree that trying to make him a sympathetic character is a bit of a stretch. The Dark Knight, he was not. He was like he is supposed to be from the comics. A bad- villain.

1 minute ago, fantastic_four said:

Well that's quite a change for one of the most iconic villains of the last century, but sure, maybe they do that for most of the film then he becomes a villain at the very end.  So why not show him being that anti-hero in the trailer?  I can't tell what the heck they're doing except showing him as a loon.  I've seen dozens of movies about lunatics, and this one in the teaser didn't stand out from those.  The only reason I'm even still paying attention after the trailer is because it's the Joker.

Yeah, he is the obvious protagonist in this (hell its named after him), so he must have a character arc for the movie to work. But, it would be nice to see a different take on it than the simple beaten down guy who becomes a villain to get back at the world. Hopefully, there is more to the story than that. Basically, if its a character study, I hope it is something fresh and new. That surprises us all. Otherwise, it's an arc we have seen time and time again.

2 minutes ago, marmat said:

Apparently Phoenix will pull a historic performance on this one.

Is it apparent? Even if they handed out Best Actor for a Teaser, I don't think he would win. There's just not enough to know yet. We have no idea if the movie will be good much less his performance in it. 

I think it IS apparent that Ledger's performance is the standard. Yes, you might not like it, but the general acceptance in the comic community is that it was wonderful. I think his death cemented the Oscar, but I think he still would have won against the other roles nominated. Thats my opinion though. I know there's no way to know that.

I hope this movie will be good (and his performance). There just hasn't been much yet to judge it as a whole.

4 minutes ago, fantastic_four said:

He was nominated but didn't win.  Reese Witherspoon won best actress though.

Ah, got it. I couldn't remember. I knew somebody won for that.

12 hours ago, Red84 said:

Can’t wait. Maybe this is Phoenix’s Oscar role?

I thought he already won for that Johnny Cash movie? Cant remember.

This looks ok. Not stoked yet. I usually have high expectations and wait for reviews (audience weighs more to me than critics). If the Heath Ledger Joker didn't exist this might make me more excited. But, Ill be judging all Joker roles by that until there is a better one.

I wish we could go to comic book movies being comic book movies and not superheroes/villains in the real world. For example, I would love to see a Golden Age version of Superman and Batman movies. Then, combine them for a Justice League movie. 

Superman, 1930's/1940's, origin story Kapra-esque for his origin story then a Max Fleischer style live action for after he becomes Superman, goes to the Metropolis/Daily Planet.

Batman, 1930's/1940's film noir, Detective/Maltese Falcon type movie. More detective work with cool realistic gadgets. 

Maybe Batman investigates an American Nazi group smuggling Kryptonite to Germany for WW2. Then, Justice League or a Batman/Superman movie about WW2.

I don't know. I think comic book movies need a jolt. I know this would probably only appeal to comic book nerds though, but who knows.

It's really hard to compare the two. Joker is THE comic book villain for one of, if not the biggest comic book hero. Venom, while great, isn't even the top Spider-man villain (for many people).

Joker has had a past in the movies with multiple great performances. Venom has not had any. So, it is much easier to see Joker having his own movie.

In the end though, it all comes down to the quality of storytelling. Is the movie good or not.

Just now, jason4 said:

I don’t get the hate for jsc...or how his art is somehow “not as good as he used to be”

i feel like people have this perception because he does a lot of variant covers? They’re not as valuable because they’re not as rare as his older ones but that doesn’t make the art any less “good”

this cover is creative and well done imo. 

There were a lot of covers in a row where he would just have a chick in the middle of the cover with hardly any background. Sometimes, the exact or similar poses. Lately (past year or so?) he has been creating better covers imo. The background are more detailed, more characters on the covers (male characters even), and differing poses.