Lazyboy

On 9/8/2023 at 6:38 PM, WolverineX said:

How rare is the newsstand?

Not very. Certainly not even close to what some people claim.

On 9/8/2023 at 4:37 PM, Corona smith said:

Graded newsstand copies of Batman #1 New 52 $8500 and New X-Men #128 sold for crazy ridiculous amounts recently. So crazy they’re suspect. I mean I just bought my CBCS 9.8 NXM128 a week before the CGC graded copy sold for over $1100. 
 

 

On 9/7/2023 at 9:17 PM, MatterEaterLad said:

Less than on full generation of fandom ago, low-end boxing Nielsen numbers routinely quadrupled the number of viewers today.

 

That's not what I asked. I was wondering if broadcast boxing viewership was falling at the same rate as comic sales, before PPV and the rise of the direct market.

On 9/6/2023 at 10:55 PM, MatterEaterLad said:

I think the direct market distribution model, in the long run, was a horrible idea for the hobby. It's similar to how the PPV model was financially great for boxing in the short term, but longterm it's been catastrophic. Without free boxing on broadcast television, the sport has been unable to create a new generation of fans. Without wide distribution of comics, print runs are a fraction of what they used to be, even with the success of the MCU. 

Were the viewing numbers for the free boxing broadcasts dropping continuously, for years? Because the comparison makes no sense otherwise.

Comics didn't abandon the newsstand system (until recently), retailers and distributors dropped comics because they were too cheap. The comic industry might not even exist today if not for the direct market, certainly not as we know it.

On 9/6/2023 at 9:06 AM, Masakari Prime said:

1) Why did they tell Image/TMP the rest of the books had been destroyed?

Did they? If they did, who offered that information, who received it, and what did they specifically say?

On 9/6/2023 at 9:06 AM, Masakari Prime said:

2) Why does no one, from NR, Image, or TMP seem to know how many copies were printed (ie the exact production run)?

Who says they don't? Somebody knows, it's just a matter of who/how many people. They aren't obligated to release that information.

On 9/6/2023 at 9:06 AM, Masakari Prime said:

4) TMP is aware of the market, at least their current Editor in Chief is. Even putting aside "caring" about the collectors and the market, how do you not track and control books made under partnership? It's your books and your valuable IP we're talking about here.

Was there a partnership and agreement about the copies of this variant or was it simply a commissioned variant like so many others, with the copies being owned by NetherRealm?

On 9/5/2023 at 12:06 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

If Carney's AI can "identify a collectible from among millions of possibilities in a near-instant", is it too much of a stretch to imagine it could be trained to identify cover flaws on moderns? 

As long as we're still getting complaints like this, I would have to say it's a huge stretch. Unless it's the damn humans that are messing up after the AI does its job perfectly.

I'm sure Mike can see how much of this thread is even tangentially comics-related and who is trolling him.

As related to the alleged topic and as already mentioned by others, the example provided is awful and there's no threat to anybody with talent right now.

On 9/3/2023 at 7:25 PM, VintageComics said:

What does this have to do with this discussion?

Nothing and this is just a thinly-veiled attempt to bring a Water Cooler topic to Comics General for... some reason?

On 9/4/2023 at 3:20 PM, newshane said:

Is this even legal? 

Sounds very sketchy. 

What could possibly be illegal about any of that?

On 9/3/2023 at 12:38 PM, Socrates73 said:

I sent in my ASM 316 1989 to CGC for grading, graders notes claim “foxing” to cover. I have been collecting for years and have several thousand comics, I have never seen fixing on a comic from that time. I personally think the grade and notes are for a comic not the one submitted. I now have to CPR…. So frustrating. 

I've seen foxing on comics from that era and later.

Also, ASM 316 is not Venom's first cover appearance, but it could be called the first Venom cover.

On 8/30/2023 at 8:54 PM, MAR1979 said:

does OPG have relevance anymore other than as a dated reference guide for those over 50.

No.

On 8/31/2023 at 6:22 PM, fastballspecial said:

So who is lying here about the print run? Company?

What did they say about it?

On 8/31/2023 at 6:22 PM, fastballspecial said:

Spec Sites?

Absolutely not! That would never happen.

On 8/31/2023 at 6:22 PM, fastballspecial said:

Reddit? 

On 8/28/2023 at 1:11 PM, PEPE633 said:

you have to see all the facts

Yes, with the most relevant being that those are garbage. Ridiculous manufactured collectibles, not comics.

On 8/28/2023 at 2:31 PM, FlyingDonut said:

Stuff is everywhere and I know more about said stuff than 99.99% of stores in the world. I know what the FMV value of it is, and I know what my profit margin and spread requirements are. If a store is selling something far below FMV, that's not my problem, that's theirs. I will happily buy it and make my profit margin and spread thank you very much. Don't rip off an uniformed seller. A store is not an uniformed seller.

Good point. They're usually very casual, never matching.

Most sets do not sell for a premium over the combined individual issues. I'm pretty sure this particular example is not one of the exceptions.

On 8/27/2023 at 2:06 PM, The Lions Den said:

I've seen stains that were virtually invisible to the eye unless the light reflected on them just right.

 It depends on the type of stain, the type of paper, and what's printed on the paper.

On 8/27/2023 at 10:24 AM, ComicsGalore said:

Was their an issue of errors or mis-cuts that went out?

Perfection in comic production wasn't even a dream, let alone reality. It has improved over time, but X-Men 1 was decades ago.

On 8/27/2023 at 10:24 AM, ComicsGalore said:

If these are trimmed why wouldn't it be on the label??

If they're trimmed, it wouldn't be on the label because CGC is far from perfect at identifying trimming. But they're probably not trimmed.

On 8/23/2023 at 5:59 PM, sfcityduck said:

On 11/28/2009 at 8:45 AM, Zonker said:

And maybe the origin of the Bronze Age terminology was just an attempt by some dealers to move their 1970s books-- I can't really remember when I first started hearing the term, and in what context.

 

Spot on!  I first heard the term in the late 70s and early 80s and it was developed not to move 70s books but to make the 60s books more desirable. The selling point of the term was that it distinguished the much desired and loved books of the later 1950s and 1960s from the drek that was coming out in the 1970s. Creating a segregated "Silver Age" allowed dealers to keep the books of the 1950s and 1960s from being tainted by associations with or comparisons to the books of the 70s. The SA books were being presented as in a different (higher) class as a collectible than the stuff that came later. My own view is that Bronze Age was a meaningless term when invented, with no real point of demarcation that folks agreed upon or could provide a convincing case for.  And the subsequent creation of the copper and modern ages just offers more support for that view.  The whole ages thing is pretty useless at this point. The only starting points that make an ounce of comic history sense are Action 1 and Showcase 4 -- and even then everyone argues about the ending points. Angles on the head of a pin.

The Bronze Age was shorter than the length of time it took you to respond to this post.

I'm a bit confused. Are you asking who has the most guest stars in their titles or if there's anyone who gets more help than Batman does from Oracle, Robin, Nightwing, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, etc. or something else entirely?

On 8/21/2023 at 1:36 PM, Dinohin22 said:

I take all photos of books before I send them .

Finally, a smart person with a complaint!

On 8/21/2023 at 1:36 PM, Dinohin22 said:

Well, I might have to retract my earlier statement. What the hell is that?

On 8/20/2023 at 10:09 AM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

CPV?

He means Canadian Newsstand editions.

On 8/20/2023 at 2:36 PM, kmfbaloo said:

I read that thread. My real question is:

With older comics, if there is no UPC code on them- is there other ways to differentiate versions? Is there only 1 version of those? Meaning there is no "newsstand" or "direct" versions?

The direct market began in the early 1970s, but comics still had only one version until the mid-late 1970s. The defacement of comics by barcodes began in the mid-70s.

On 8/17/2023 at 2:00 PM, danlewski said:

Is this something that CGC just won't do?

Yes.

On 8/17/2023 at 2:00 PM, danlewski said:

Has anyone else had the error noted on their label???

No.

On 8/17/2023 at 2:00 PM, danlewski said:

How can I get them to add it?

Good luck.

CGC's notes for the issue can be found in the Census entry for the issue here.

By the way, CGC does not take kindly to images of their competitor's products being posted on here. You might want to edit your post and remove it.

On 8/16/2023 at 6:13 PM, thehumantorch said:

Actually, they probably would

Does @Artboy99 look that good in the suit?