The Less Blob

yeah, but there are definitely stages to these things. folks here thought it was insane when WD #1 hit $100 or so, I think that was around the time of the show. I guess that's one example, although it had been growing for a bit. It definitely wasn't popped at $1500-2000+ when the show aired, that took a bit to happen. But then again, how many things had the staying power of WD? Cult following for a decade. If you had bought hulk 181 at the x-men 1 hype price i think you did pretty well even compared to the market for other keys.

I dunno about long term, but this was going on well before the pandemic bubble. Probably starting around 2012 I was making $100-200 a week just running around shops buying stuff off the rack that had gotten hot, hunting cheap-o boxes and what not primarily based on books that had some sort of rumor going on. It was a good 8-10 years of "what dollar box book will be $20 tomorrow." I paid for most of a family vacation to Europe in 2013 with Image #1s and buying any Walking Dead issue under 100 I could get my hands on for $1-3 when shops weren't even thinking issue 58 or whatever would be worth anything.

I never understood variants where the variant cover was not as good as the regular cover. I see a lot of variants done by pretty average artists, and I don't want to be judgy, there's a lot of people who get the work done, etc. and visually tell a good story. The WD interior art was nothing special an artistic perspective, but it worked. But yeah, something like the LSH 23 supergirl cover, I get. Iconic, gorgeous, etc.

How much does Hughes charge for the SS?

Wow, but I want a back cover scan!

I think I might have owned that before it was slabbed. Sold it around 2005/2006? Unless that chip is in lots of them. If it is the same book, shockingly that is the grade Metropolis gave it when I bought it a few years earlier.

Wow, I cannot believe nobody has posted since June. I thought this place was full of aspiring artists, not just 9.8 chasers? Anyway, I painted a bit while incapacitated with my achilles near the beach, here are few. The second one was painted the long way, but I kind of like it this way with the figure sort of laying down.

Well, by the time of ASM 361, newsstands were dying out anyway. The others are mid 80s books and yeah, by then there was definitely a lot more spec. My old LCS ordered 1000 copies of Thor 339 and 500 of 338. True, I don't think the shops were ready on 337. I just think late 70s newsstands are a different story.

right, it isn't a kubert book, so I don't think he would have signed it anyway, one of the thousands he probably owned

I get it, I think the complete nosebleed seats we got to see The Cure were like $120 a pop. I'd love to see Suicidal Tendencies in October, those tickets are only $55 after fees, but in NYC they are playing in what might wind up being a 3,000 person capacity mosh pit and I am in my 50s and recovering from an achilles tear, I don't think I can do it. Suddenly in my old age, when I am least able to handle the discomfort, I want to see live music before these guys die.

I don't know what the current show is. It is pretty big, but I don't think it is anywhere near the hollywood event that SDCC is. But honestly, when we went about 6 or 7 years ago I took a lot of my son's friends because I had a lot of passes and there was a TON of free stuff. My son took home about $200 worth of free books he was actually interested in, they were giving away Minecraft and all sorts of fantasy books. There was a BIG publisher contingent there. On another day he took home about $200 worth of legos and toys. Not to mention all the free comics and what not I grabbed. So, from a "free stuff" perspective it might have once been worth the price of admission. I don't think I have gone since 2018, so I have no idea what it is like now.

I think this is referring to his personal comic collection. I guess he accumulated a lot of comics over the years he did not draw. If you worked at Marvel or DC you could basically take home every book they published every month.

Not long ago at NYCC it was like $30-35 a day and there was a free kids day. Now it is $73 a day, but I guess NYCC is not the spectacle that SDCC is. At $73 it hardly seems worth it for buying comics (which is why I have always gone for free). I sort of regret not going to SDCC a few years back when my friend at a studio offered (but he wasn't offering to fly me out, just VIP passes and sleeping on the couch at his hotel suite), but financially, at the time I could not justify the airfare and other expenses. He doesn't have that position anymore, so that will probably never happen again.

Doesn't the venue and staffing the venue cost a tremendous amount? Both SD and NYCC are in high wage spots.

definitely regrets about nearly every key I have ever sold. NYX 3 for $7.99 anybody? $10 each for 3 copies of Ultimate Fallout 4 (1st print) -- pretty sure that was here? And realizing there were another 10 more in the 25 cent box I bought them from but did not realize what it was. Won't even think bout the SA keys I sold pre 2005. Blowing out copies of Saga 1 for $10-20 (mostly here) when they were worth $100-150 a month later. Thankfully I try not to remember what I did not buy.

It is more about "extra" copies dealers (and file customers) tucked away for future spec (or to immediately sell at some multiple of cover), but let's be honest, there were a lot of titles where that did not happen, but some titles where it definitely did, and particular issues for sure.

and once you eliminate the human element I think the industry is dead, folks stop reading and buying it, the few that are left doing that now (ok, i shouldn't say that, the number of people reading digital copies of some of this stuff might be huge)

Doesn't the current state of digital art allow someone with C- physical illustrating skills to create something that looks professional even without an AI boost? I guess AI may make it all quicker if used properly and may save a lot of time on more mundane stuff like backgrounds.

cosmic. hanley's had prices.

well, I bought it in like 2000, things may have changed

It has a good looking back, but 5.5 seems a better bet. I bought a B&B 28 from Metropolis that looked like that they graded as a 5.5, I ultimately sold it (way too soon, of course) and listed it as a 5.0 to be on the safe side.

same thing happened to me in a post where I described people I knew waking up to find their tires slashed. whatever, i'm not here to fight about politic**s, i think i am pretty middle of the road, usually

Yeah, I worry about that more than old people selling them off. April 2022 my office opened up after 2+ years of work at home. One of the guys who had just been hired, 30-32 was a budding comic collector. At his salary I was a bit surprised as he just had a kid and were living in NYC. Thing is, he had never read comics, wasn't interested in the characters, just went by covers and was looking for an investment. Some of those people learn to love the medium and the hobby, but I think a lot are in and out once the market goes down or whatever and the comics they paid $100 for they told their wife was worth $200 is now worth $50. Like the job (which he quit after about 60 days..incredible), I doubt he is still into comics. Of course, do I read my comics nowadays? Rarely. Frankly, the Marvel and DC plot lines are too confusing. I was able to read self contained stuff like Goon and Chew. But I did grow up reading them a lot, read the new ones at least when I got back into comics in 1993, watch the movies/shows/cartoons and read a lot of marvel wiki. So here I am 30 years later after I got back into comics in 1993 after about a 7 year break for high school and college.

Wow, a lot of great stuff, I need to get out there, wish i wasn't broke (and wish I could walk or drive....)

can you believe the site censored "w*ke" up to??