EastEnd1

From what I've seen lately, ComicLink is not (in general) getting strong results. I'd imagine that if they were included in GPA, it would tend to take prices lower.

And last for this month, another X-Men... this one came polybagged with a CD to access the internet thru something called "MarvelOnline.Net", (not to be confused with the 800 pound gorilla (and soon to be minnow) of the day, America Online!)...

More Garth Ennis... plus Clint Eastwood homage cover and new small time publisher... equals collecting opportunity!  So three copies went on the Westfield order form.  Alas, another miss...

Now this is a GREAT Spawn cover... the dark character superimposed over a bright full moon!  It's even more eye-catching when you hold it in your hands...

Howard Chaykin first grabbed my attention in 1983 with the publication of "American Flagg" from First Comics, one of the early independents.  Before that, I remember some collectors deriding him for what they considered his lackluster artwork on Marvel's "Star Wars" adaptation.  But the Reagan era sci-fi political satire of American Flagg was so new and different, with stylized, almost "digitized" art that matched the jingoistic times... it was great!  And made me a Chaykin fan forever.  Hence, it was an easy call to pick up three copies of his new Vertigo series in 2001, "American Century"...  

Love the cover on this Green Arrow... definitely not your dad's Green Arrow...

One thing I was always keen on was the return of old long unseen characters brought back in new modern ways... in this case Enemy Ace.  This squarebound book also had the added enticement of Garth Ennis scripting...

Another one for the Batman fans...

It's the FINAL (and presumably harder to find) issue of Hitman!  Again, I was a big Garth Ennis fan and I'm not totally sure if I stayed with this series the whole way, but it's very possible with this last issue showing up.  I actually read it after opening the box just to see how things turned out for "Hitman" Tommy Monaghan... I won't give away the ending, but have to say it was perfect.  Farewell Tommy...

The next box up is from April 2001... the book on top is actually a pretty nice get... can you guess why?  [hint... the cover kind of gives it away]

On 4/19/2024 at 4:20 PM, Qalyar said:

I love the oddities that ended up in here! A lot of the smaller publisher or straight-up independent works aren't really valuable in the FMV sense. But sometimes they have great writing, or unique artwork, or they just represent the attempts -- sometimes successful, sometimes not -- for people to break into the industry. (...and yeah, okay, sometimes they're just forgettable; not every book's a winner in ANY age).

We're not all gonna collect all of that stuff. Hell, even I don't collect most of that stuff, and I collect some pretty deep drek at times. But I sure appreciate the stories that can be told about some of these books. I hope everyone does.

Agreed... as I got older, I enjoyed going through the indie section of the Westfield catalog each month moreso than the DC and Marvel, mostly for the reasons you outline.  I was very curious to see what new material was on the horizon and eager to try to pick the "hits".  There was certainly plenty of drek in that section, and I had way more misses than hits, but every once in a while a jewel would show up.  Hopefully I'll be able to post more of those as I open these boxes...

On 4/19/2024 at 11:09 AM, seanfingh said:

This thread is spectacular.  I had a six year hiatus from buying comics from the middle of '92 to the middle of '98.  These boxes are reminding me of how fun it was to be getting back into comics in mid '98 after the big crash, when the industry was just starting to dust itself off and focus on producing good materials and not bad girl chromium lenticular holocovers.  I am just loving it.

I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying the thread!  I remember thinking during that period after the nineties crash that it was a good time to be buying new comics as I figured the imploding circulation figures would lead to more scarcity and hopefully higher values for new comics.  So while I did pull back on a number of Marvel and DC titles when they killed and restarted their long-running titles, I didn't pull back on my comic spending overall... I just plowed the money into other things.  It's one reason why you see so much variety in what I've been posting.  

On 4/12/2024 at 11:32 PM, Qalyar said:

Interesting series, really. Originally, this wasn't a Barry Blair title at all. It started off (at Aircel) written by a guy named Gordon Derry, with art by Denis Beauvais (Aliens, Predator, and lots of D&D stuff). But those two guys had a fallout of some sort with Aircel and both left. The next few issues were written by now-famous fantasy author Charles de Lint and (in part) illustrated by Dale Keown (Pitt, Incredible Hulk, etc)!

But ultimately, Blair took over the title for the last several books in the original run, then rebooted it for the 2nd series with Aircel. In 1998, Sirius picked it up for four issues, again written and illustrated by Blair. Blair's art style is somewhat controversial, but he was undeniably a talented guy. That said, this wasn't his story or his world, and it sort of shows.

Derry and Beauvais eventually were able to put out an omnibus book reprinting the 13 issues they did for the original run, along with two issues that were never published (because they were replaced with de Lint's stuff).

Didn't realize the connection to Beauvais of Aliens and Predator fame.

On 4/12/2024 at 11:01 PM, Qalyar said:

This is the work of Werner Wejp-Olsen (also known as WOW), who was a long time fixture of Scandinavian comic strips. This was #1 of a three issue series where he attempted to introduce his most famous character to the US comic book market. It didn't really go any better than his earlier attempts in the US newspaper comic strips market. But he had a long career in Denmark. Not everything plays well to every audience, I suppose.

Here is a retrospective from one of his former US editors, written after his death in 2018.

Draculina was Hugh Gallagher's publishing house for horror magazines, smut, and a lot of stuff in between. He worked on the Tender Flesh film, so it's no surprise there's a comic of it, although he doesn't have good things to say about the comics industry! Draculina was a print publisher from ~1997 through 2001ish, but it's still around in a limited fashion for online material.

Here's an interview with Gallagher about the company's history. Fair warning, he's got some ... opinions.

A bunch of these were given out at SDCC, along with other promo distribution channels like this one. As a result, these aren't all that rare, but it's kind of a neat book. I assume there are Barry Windsor-Smith fans out there even if he did do Wildstorm Rising.

Astro City is underrated, and that cover is fantastic.

Thanks again for putting the "meat on the bones"... great background info on what at first blush might seem like "throw away" material to many.

I remember enjoying the Aircel books during the "Black and White" boom of the mid-1980s which, under the helm of Barry Blair, were a step above much of the other small publisher black and white drek common during that time.  Dragonring, Samurai and Elflord stand out for me.  Warlock 5 was a good one too.  Looks like the book attempted a bit of a comeback with Sirius in early 1998...

Thanks to the early access that Westfield gave me, I had pre-ordered two copies of the first Evil Ernie comic (and all the other issues in the original series) way back when.  Again, it was the horror angle that drew me.  I still have those stashed away somewhere in what should be pretty nice shape.  March 1998 saw this Evil Ernie comic...

Once again, horror always worked for me... nice cover on this Nosferatu comic...

On 4/12/2024 at 2:28 PM, TylerHam said:

Hi All

Been looking at some pre-code horror and after that intense rocket of price, it FEELS like its cooling a bit..

Is that just wishful thinking?  Seeing some beauties for sale at relatively reasonaly prices!

 

 

This is just my own anectodal observation, but unless it has an unremarkable cover, can't say that I've seen much cooling with PCH.  In fact, to my eye, the population of desirable PCH covers just seems to continue to expand, and along with it, the associated prices (though some may simply be stable).

On 4/12/2024 at 11:34 AM, buttock said:

Agreed.  But to the OP's point, they need to clarify what the exact defect is.  If there was a 2.0 and they gave the grader's notes of "poorly handled" that wouldn't be helpful.  

Maybe they can change the wording from "poorly pressed" to "excessively pressed".  "Pancaking" is still a defect in my mind and should be called out.  

I think a poorly pressed book can easily be a defect... just like any human introduced attempt to improve the book that goes awry.  To me, a pancaked unnatural looking comic (some of them are so crushed they look like slivers!) is a defect very much worthy of grade reduction and notation.  

One more for the Spawn fans...

I really enjoyed Kurt Busiek's Astro City comics... this one has yet another amazing Alex Ross cover.  Touching and poignant...

Fully six years BEFORE The Walking Dead came Stephen Blue's "Zombie World".  If only he'd have thought to approach AMC with the concept!

February 1998 also came with a neat freebie from Westfield... a Barry Windsor-Smith ashcan!  I think Dark Horse may have put something out with these characters...