RockMyAmadeus

Nerd joke. NERD JOKE!!! Betcha 93% of the people reading this don't get that. Yes, I am a snob. (Hey, the codes have been fixed!)

The answer, as always, to bad speech is not attacking the person, but making better speech. People can make up their own minds about a person; no one needs anyone's "help" to come to a conclusion about someone, and what makes anyone on a message board qualified to determine who someone else is or is not...? As Res said, the answer is to ignore those who say things we don't like, in a manner we don't like. If what they say has no value, eventually everyone will ignore them, and you will be proved right. If what they say has value to others, then they can interact with them to their hearts' content, and we have peace. If someone says something with which you disagree, state your disagreement, dispassionately, and stick to that. Making it personal, going after the person instead of the topic, makes you...not the person you go after...the loser. This is not a defense of "jaydogrules" in any way. I find it unbelievable to a degree that is inexpressible to watch him be so gargantuously contentious with so many, year after year after year, and yet, nothing at all has ever happened to him in terms of discipline. But the answer to contention isn't more contention: it's sober, rational, dispassionate response, and, barring that, avoidance.

It's dead! It's all dead! (apologies to Newt.)

You can't fight "bullying" (quotes used on purpose, because what goes on on the internet between adults who voluntarily interact with one another IS NOT "bullying", and vastly dilutes and diminishes those in life who are actually being bullied), by becoming what you claim to be fighting. Since you brought it up, let's talk about it: you're curt. Some would say dismissive. You called Oakman a "preachy SOB" simply for suggesting you ought to take at least a smidgen of responsibility in this transaction. Oakman is a relatively mild-mannered dude, who can be a bit abrasive sometimes, but "preachy SOB" doesn't remotely describe him. (ME on the other hand...spot on!) But disagreeing with someone is not "bullying" them. Challenging someone is not "bullying" them. Far, far too much provocation goes on by people looking to cause trouble. And I agree, there is an incredibly, immensely lopsided philosophy and practice when it comes to dealing with these issues. Provocateurs and instigators are (almost) completely ignored, but those defending themselves are labeled the provocateurs. Trust me, I get it. And absolutely, provocateurs and instigators SHOULD be challenged, at all turns...with reason and logic. But becoming cynical and reacting to everyone, or at least many, as if they're all doing the same thing, doesn't do anyone any good, and robs both you and the board of the good you have to contribute. Again, I get it. There are a handful of very, very bad actors, who get free range on this board, and that shouldn't be. But not everyone is, and this board is not anywhere near as bad as its painted. You want junior high time? Try Voldy's board. If people...all of us, including me....would be slower to be offended, and quicker to listen, we'd all have a much better time of it. That's true everywhere in life But I respect the fact that you didn't go silent, and instead decided to address this head-on. For whatever any of that is worth to you, which may be nothing, and that's ok.

You can't quit me.

If true, then this thread, which meandered for a couple of days and is now at 4 pages, will likely be at 20 pages by midnight PDT.

The plot. It has thickened.

On many of the Direct editions that have no box, you can see the shadow of the box in the artwork. I imagine it was a compromise, because the artist didn't want it covered up. Suicide Squad #1 (1987) for example.

Wait, for real...? Red_Hood is "Dad&Son"...? Really....?

Man, that place has the mentality of a high school locker room. That's correct: just because a comic has a UPC doesn't guarantee it's a newsstand edition (prior to the switchover to every issue having a UPC in 1994.) That said, though, there are only a few instances like this...the AFs, the Foolkillers, maybe a couple of others (Doctor Strange #28 and others, for example.) Wanna hear something even MORE ridiculous...? (That's a rhetorical question; I'm going to tell you anyways. ) Doctor Strange #28 ONLY has a UPC. Ghost Rider was sold on the newsstands, but Doctor Strange was not. HOWEVER...Doctor Strange & Ghost Rider Special #1, which is DS #28 with a different cover and indicia, has BOTH a UPC AND a Direct version. Figure THAT one out!

There is, in my mind, a slight issue of ownership for the buyer and the situation. Like, maybe the seller is 95%...or even 98%...responsible, while the buyer has a smidge of responsibility, as it smelled a little funny to him. As Kellyn says, you gotta go with your gut.

The people who know, if they're still alive, aren't telling, or have forgotten. Alpha Flight WAS NOT being distributed to newsstands at this time. In fact, the four part story running from #97-100 was simultaneously printed as AF Special #1-4 specifically FOR newsstand distribution (like Doctor Strange #28, which became Doctor Strange & Ghost Rider Special #1.) Also in fact...the issues with UPC codes DO NOT have corresponding "Direct" versions. I remember getting AF #88, brand new at the store, with a UPC code and thinking..."why is there a newsstand edition here?"

Gorilla Grodd! Rick Veitch was an ok writer, but nothing compared to Moore's stories.

I'll pay that. I'll take as many copies as anyone will sell me.

Alpha Flight went Direct only with issue #52, and changed format from newsprint to Baxter with issue #61..

Think about this: "jaydogrules" has never, ever gotten a strike for "contentious posting." Ever.

It was well over a decade ago, so no. Like I said, what was most puzzling is that communication just completely ceased. I figured something catastrophic had happened and moved on. Besides, I completely lack the ability to express myself...like at all...in the moment. The last time I tried calling a store, I ended up speaking to a "Beth Abbott" at Lonestar, and that didn't turn out so well.

Hey, man, everyone's gotta make their cut, right...? Except you. You're not allowed to make anything. That would make you a "greedy flipper." But everyone else...? It's just their jobs, man. Albert Moy is a glutton.

Liefeld's signature had just about zero value for most of the 90s and all of the 00s, so it's unlikely someone would forge his signature AND produce a very specific COA to go with it. And, it looks just fine. By the way...interesting verbiage about "witnessed" on the COA.

It would be funny to find out that EVERY person bidding against each other at Lange's in the early 00s is posting in this thread.

But I never got an explanation, or even an indication that they even knew about the issue. Everything just...stopped. So I go back later to bid, and...blocked. It makes absolutely zero sense whatsoever, especially have been, at that point, a steady eBay customer of theirs for half a decade or more.

Such a charmer, you are. Are you free Friday night...? I hope you like daffodils. Oh, and make sure to wear that thing that I like....

It's funny....they auctioned off long boxes of Starlin Warlocks and the like...all their "NM-" books ended up being 9.6 and 9.8. And they sold for $3-$5, UNLESS they were graded "NM/M", and then a certain Canadian from Vancouver would bid them up to $30-$50. I bought maybe 20-30 copies of every Starlin Warlock they had. They must have paid 10 cents each for them. I wish I'd been muccccch more aggressive.

I did several thousand dollars worth of business with Lange's from the late 90s to the mid 00s. They are a good reason why I have the collection I have. But something happened around 2005-2006. I bought a long box from him, and it never showed up. I got no response from them, and had to file a dispute. This was in the era of Delivery Confirmation, and it's hard to lose a long box. Anyways, I got my money back, and they blocked me. After years and years and years of good, solid, happy business. It was most bizarre. To this day, I wonder if someone died, or there was some other crisis.