RockMyAmadeus

That's a REALLLLY good question, and hard to pin down, because so many LCSs didn't keep meticulous records, and the vast majority have come and gone. I would be willing to bet, since the explosion of the LCS coincided with the rise of the Direct market, I would guess that most stores opened on the Direct market model throughout the 70s. But that's just a guess. Folks like Bud Plant and Geppi would know for sure. A lot of people erroneously believe that the Direct market didn't exist until 1979, and they point to the company-wide notations of Marvel comics, beginning with June cover dates, of Direct market versions. That isn't remotely true: the DM had been in operation since 73-74. It just took Marvel (and then DC) a while to figure out that some retailers were gaming the system; buying copies at the Direct market discount, and returning them as newsstands for higher credit. So, were most LCSs still part of the Curtis (newsstand) distribution system in the early 80s...? Probably not, but I don't doubt that some maintained both types of accounts.

CGC and the popularity of books with cool covers. So, wait...cool books™...?

Spidey #346! (347? One of the two!)

It's not forbidden, it's just laughable and hypocritical for someone who claims to be a scholar to use Wikipedia as a legit reference. Especially if that reference is the only one on the Web that supports your position. Which, of course, is total nonsense. Wikipedia is a weak source...it's not "no source." But, as with all things involving "Stu", decency, integrity, honor...these words have no meaning to him. He can say anything he wants, because he operates entirely outside the rules of this board, and no one can stop him. Rules? He doesn't give two squats about your rules. The only reason he's stopped Doxing the hell out of me is because even he realized he crossed a serious legal line. I do wish CGC would get serious about keeping banned members banned, rather than this endless revolving door of new accounts. And all of this...all of it...because "Stu" hates the way others choose to collect, and thinks creators should charge a huge surcharge for Sig Series, because you're scum if you want to SS your books. That's the sum of it. That's pretty pathetic.

...just curious.

And remember...ASM #300 was NOT a "hot book" when it came out, despite the hindsight history rewriting of some. Buyers were jusssst starting to notice McFarlane's art at the time. It must be remembered that, when ASM #300 came out, there were only a grand total of 4 comics that showed what McFarlane was capable of, artwise: Detective #578 and Hulk #340-342. All the other books McFarlane did were inked by others, and it shows. Most of the time, his pencils were buried. This is especially obvious in #298 and #299. So, when #300 came out, buyers said..."heeyyyy...this McFarlane guy's art is really GOOD!" And then the rest came out. Even still, though, #301 was a rush job, inked again by McLeod, #302 and #303 look good, #304 was buried by Rubinstein, #305 was inked by a bunch of guys, and it wasn't until #306 that McFarlane finally hit his stride, and by #309-310, you start to see the really polished art that he was capable of, and would turn in for much of the rest of the run. And NOBODY was talking about Venom. People enjoyed the story, but there wasn't a clamoring for the character...that wouldn't happen for several more years. So, yes, #300 no doubt sold better than most issues, but was not a sellout, and still subject to returns like any other book. It did a slow burn for the rest of 1988, picked up speed in 1989, and then went nutso, like the rest of the run, by the spring of 1990. The anticipation for Spiderman #1 was palpable. All you saw dealers and buyers talking about was McFarlane's "adjectiveless Spiderman title." Of course, when it came out with the special bagged versions, everyone lost their collective minds. The reports were 1.75 million copies, but I think Marvel could easily have sold 3 million, if they had printed that many. 1989 was the year of the Bat...but 1990...as I think Alan of All About Books and Comics said in an Update once...was the year of the Spider. And, of course, ASM McFarlane back issues went nutso, with #298 and #300 jacked up to $30 each in the #12 OPG Update...a crazy price at the time. And that was pretty much where they stayed until ASM #361...THEN, it was all about Carnage, but Venom too, because it was all tied together...then a year later, ASM #375 came out, with that gold foil webbed cover....and then Lethal Protector #1...and it was over. Venom was king. #300 was a $65-$100 book by then, and it left the other McFarlane ASMs in the dust. It never looked back, either.

Yes. A few folks have been talking about it for many, many years, but there's an entrenched belief that there's no difference between the two. And, for the most part, they're right. However, the early Direct market versions (what people used to call "Whitman" versions, but which were probably not exclusive to Whitman as far as Marvel was concerned) are rather rarer than their newsstand counterparts, and by the late 90s, the opposite was true. CBCS totally half-arsed it by only designating newsstands from 1977 to 2000, which, while useful for the books published from 1995-2000, utterly fails to address the true scarcity of books from 2000-2011/2013 (Marvel's last newsstand copies), 2017 (DC's) and present, some of which are prohibitively rare (see: ASM #694.) The may as well have not done it at all. Some day, it'll be addressed.

Sorry to hear about this. That Batman #47 is a beauty.

On the McSpidey note, I made a serious effort at the splash page for Tec #578 on HA a couple of weeks ago. It is the first page (at least published) that McFarlane ever inked his own pencils, and the whole issue is a delight. It was in the shadow of that fantastic Spidey #312 page, so I was reallllly hoping to get it for a decent price. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be. I had to content myself with the Sam Kieth MCP page instead. I talked to Mignola about the Batman #426 cover at SDCC. He laughed when he saw the auction estimate of $20k+. He said that he would have sold a cover like that for $300. It, of course, sold for substantially more than $20k. Sigh. By the way....did anyone notice that the Spidey #300 cover sold in June on HA through their "make owner an offer" function for $250k?

That's some hot newb on newb action right there...

That one is quite aggressively priced, even though one sold in Jan for that price. Grade for grade, that sale is probably the highest price paid for any DOS issue, barring the #75 Plat. (In other words, a 9.6 and 9.8 should be exponentially more valuable, but these are so rare, they tend to behave like GA books, rather than Copper or Modern.)

I've opened quite a few 20-packs bricks and so have some friends of mine in the name of research. In general, they contain comic books with the same cover date. Every once in awhile there would be some in the pack from the prior or following month. That's been my experience, too.

That makes no sense whatsoever, but ok.

You know no one's going to do that, right...? Fun idea, though!

Did you ever notice that the bomb blasts in the lower left hand corner look a bit like the British flag...?

JLA #40 is one of the most poignant, heartbreaking comics I have ever read.

To be fair, it was 1990, and I was 18. And I was in love, love, love with Giffen and DeMatteis' Justice League. I've since obtained multiple copies of both that I'm quite pleased with... I could go on and on and on and on about Giffen and DeMatteis' Justice League. One of the greatest runs in the history of comics. The best work Giffen has ever done, and he did LOSH for crying out loud! DeMatteis, it's hard to top Karven's Last Hunt, but....that run. You've got Maguire in his absolute prime, "One punch!", Lobo, Adam Hughes' first series, the "death" of Mister Miracle...it's all just magic. Just magic. Exactly how comics should be.

I really liked the short period in 1970-1971 when DC had the character specific logos. But the Superman Comics logo was only used on two books: Justice League #3 variant, and Firestorm #61 variant. So, it's extra special to me. I'm such an idiot, I traded a Fine Silver Surfer #1 (value approx: $75) for a Justice League #3 test variant (value approx: $75.) Oops. I still have that copy, though, and treasure it.

It's one of the hardest of the later printings: Action #686 2, AOS #499 3, MOS #20 2. Which one is the rarest? Who knows, but it's a tossup between those three. Maybe MOS #20 2 It's the only 9.8 so far. It wasn't saved in any significant numbers (meaning, a rush of 9.8s will not happen [omg, presenting my "opinion" as fact!!]) There will be a trickle of other 9.8s over the years, but only a trickle. Man of Steel #18 5th is the most common of the "rare" copies, and it STILL only has 24 copies on the census, despite me selling the first one 5 years ago for $300. All things considered...$500 is a more than fair price for something like this, IF it really means something to you. Personally, i would like to buy it, but I think I can squeeze a 9.8 out of one of the two I have. Maybe. We'll see. But a complete 9.8 set of all printings? That would be something special. This set is already special. This, the DCUs, the Knightfall set....these are fascinating, interesting books, with a fascinating, interesting story. The idea that these sat, unloved and unwanted, the mainest of mainstream titles, scorned and neglected as "reprints, ewww!" for DECADES...meaning they ended up behaving like Golden Age books, which were discarded without care, rather than being carefully bagged and boarded and preserved...right under the nose of collected fandom...fascinates me to no end. It's not a gigantic set...only, what, 25 different books, including all printings?...and its back story just makes it such a thrill. Hell, I've almost convinced myself. Like I said: the likelihood of others popping up is low. The sting of price fades; the bitterness of frustration never ends. So...that's my take on it, for whatever that's worth to you. I think these are awesome. I love that the 90s produced, in the massive ocean of garbage, these tiny little gems all over the place...the Maxx ashcans, the 2nd print newsstands, the DOS/Knightfall reprints, the rare indies...love, love, love them.

Now THAT is presenting your opinion as fact. Good job!

Is that your favorite? That logo up there is my favorite of all.

Agree to disagree.