RockMyAmadeus

For the record, I think what Byrne, Perez, and Miller were doing in the late 70's/early 80's was absolutely mind blowing, and set the stage for the A. Adams, the Sienkewicz', and even the McFarlanes to come along later. If you're a fan of art for art's sake, it was truly an amazing time period in the artform.

While I totally agree that Alan Moore was in no way influenced by Frank Miller in any case (and yes, this is an absolute statement!), I think you're underestimating Miller's work in his initial Daredevil run. The writing, in terms of plot and subject matter was definitely more than standard superhero fare (though I'll grant you, the dialogues still weren't nothing to write home about) and the overall storytelling (pacing, layouts, composition) were miles ahead of anything being done in mainstream comics at that time. I won't argue that Miller was a great innovator (he was basically "borrowing" elements from the works of Steranko and -mostly- Eisner, while applying a Kurtzmanic sense of timing in the way the story flowed through the panels), but he did stuff that were definitely "different" compared to the average Marvel and DC comic book. And even though the sales of Daredevil took a while to increase, once they did, the title became a mega hit, surpassing even the X-men for a little while IIRC. Wellll......hmmm. Ok, I come from this from the perspective of reading these as an adult, and after I read books like Sandman, Watchmen, AM's Swamp Thing, Animal Man, etc. I also grew up reading no comics whatsoever, but actual books. I cut my teeth on the Oz series (highly recommended) and had read LOTR by the time I was 13. I had also read Dune by that point, and was a fond reader of James Herriot. I even read Clive Cussler. So that's where I come from as a reader. Most of the comics up until the mid-80's I wouldn't have tolerated in any way, because they were so radically inferior to the best novels that had been published. I read the original Miller DD run after all of this, and....it's ok. I don't think it's great, and it suffers from the same problem that Dark Phoenix Saga suffers from: the dialogue is so painful at times, it's difficult to read. (as an aside, I also think that Dark Phoenix is wildly overrated...while a stellar run THEMATICALLY, and well plotted [Claremont's strength to that point] there are moments of sheer groan inducing dialogue worthy of the absolute worst Telenovellas. Most of the rabid fans I meet of Dark Phoenix are men who read the story as children/young adults, and really had nothing better with which to compare.) Miller fixed this problem by DKR, but there's still painful and awkward dialogue even in Ronin. Ok, I'll grant that it was better than almost everything out there at the time (aside from X-Men and New Teen Titans), being the best of "pretty low brow" isn't saying much. Artistically, absolutely beautiful, no question. Brilliant, groundbreaking, innovative, some of the best material published. As a writer...? , not so much.

Sorry I was talking in my Hillybill speak, I ment to say I won that auction with Heritage, (well my brother did) and I got my 428 9.8 for less than 175 bucks, with a 9.6 426 to boot. That's great! That's a very, very good price for this book.

Sorry man....the dates just don't line up. Miller's writing wasn't "that amazing" on his DD run...at least until Born Again.... Which, of course, is the greatest DD story ever told.

Um. How can Frank Miller have opened the doors for Alan Moore, when Alan Moore was writing comics long before Frank Miller? Sure, Moore's first US comic came out in late 1983, while Miller's first written book came out in late 1980, but Miller worked for Marvel, Moore for DC, and Miller's writing wasn't recognized as anything amazing (aside from killing off Elektra) until at the earliest, Ronin (1983) and at latest, Dark Knight Returns (1986...to which I am leaning.) As well, DD remained bi-monthly for several months after Miller took over. What was particularly "new style" about DD #168-191? It's typical superhero fare, with the introduction of Ninja as major story element. And Moore coming to DC was almost exclusively the result of efforts by editors Karen Berger and Len Wein. I really don't think Miller influenced Moore or his career in any possible way.

......? Can someone provide a Hick to English translation of this post for me...? I KID, I KID! But seriously, say that again in English.

A Batman #428 CGC 9.8 sold on ebay just this week for $255. I was sooooooo tempted to buy it. I sold two last year for $661 and $550. There are 19 universals on the census. I doubt that, unless more show up, you'll be able to get another one for that price. I imagine most of them have gone into the hands of collectors by now.

Oh, and on the note of "profit sharing when you get a good deal"... It is the seller's responsibility to the buyer to provide NO LESS than what was described. It is the seller's responsibility to HIMSELF to provide no MORE than what was described. If sellers give away 9.8 potential books as "raw NM"...that's the choice they've made, and the buyer owes them nothing. If, however, the seller is selling 8.0 potential books as "raw NM"...he's wrong and shold be held responsible. I gave away, in 1999, what would probably become a 9.4 Amazing Spiderman #94. Selling price? $15. Oops.

Good thing I didn't waste the time going down to Newport...what this guy should do is simply partially refund everyone's payment an amount the BUYER thinks is fair, Shipping long boxes back and forth is a spendy and fruitless endeavor, unless the seller pays for it. Hold his feet to the fire.

Alan Moore was writing comics before Frank Miller.

I am not taking sides. However, you need to understand that Paypal denied the claim because they automatically deny any and all "Significantly Not As Described" claims (as opposed to "Item Not Received" claims) when items are not purchased through eBay. That's the way they do it and they state it up front. They do not even CONSIDER the merits of the case...any not as described case...that didn't go through eBay. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to assume that Paypal "sided with the seller" and the buyer is "wrong" or "lost" an adjudication. That is not the case. Hope that helps.

It's been pretty well documented since its inception. In fact, if i remember correctly, it was NTT that really firmed up Marv's choice of George to pencil....and that (NTT) was being worked on during 1980/81. No need to lie, and would easily be found out if he was.

Fantastic!

Cool! Now it's what, $300?

Nice! How much were you selling them for? (this is not an offer, I'm just curious.)

Kite Fun Books were from 1953 to about 1998, each was distributed in the spring of each year at schools to promote kite safety. Don't fly your kite around our power lines. You know, I KNOW I had some of those as a kid, because I lived in PG&E territory... I wonder wheer they went.....

yeah...Marv Wolfman had been planning Crisis for quite some time. It was definitely not "DC's answer" to Secret Wars. (thumbs u

That's the tricky part. And that's why pressing GA books scare the living @%#$&* out of me. They're like a box of chocolates... They melt when left out in the sun...?

The singer Janet Jackson? No, the colorist Janet Jackson. You mean the pigmentedly gifted Janet Jackson, gotta be PC these days. Hehehe...JJ worked for Marvel Comics in the 80's, then moved to Valiant in the very early 90's. She's a great person, and lots of fun to hang out with. She once shared a studio with Bill Willingham of Fables fame. They (Texas Comics) put out one comic: Justice Machine Annual #1.

The singer Janet Jackson? No, the colorist Janet Jackson.

Thank you for your many posts in this thread. They have been thoroughly enjoyable, and totally lacking in insult. Thank you!

She was the colorist, and she created the explosion behind the characters on the cover.

I would say the start of the copper age is GI JOE#1 in 1982. brought many new non-comic collectors into the market. issue 1 and 2 both went for over 20 dollars right off the bat. my second choice would be NEW TEEN TITANS #1 as it made DC respectable again and thus opened the door for Swamp Thing #20/21, without NEW TEEN TITANS #1 success who is to say DC would have took a chance with Alan Moore? Because Swamp Thing was a low selling title, already slated for cancellation. There was no "chance" to take. NTT #1 is Bronze Age. It came out a scant two months after X-Men #137. GI Joes were not immediate hits, which is why the early issues were so very hard to find for quite some time. GI Joe started to pick up steam right after the TV series debuted in Sept 1983 as a 5 part mini, a year and a half after GI Joe #1 hit the stands in March of 1982. maybe the bronze age ended with X-men #137(death of Phoenix) and copper age begins two months later with NEW TEEN TITANS #1 ? No. NTT in and of itself was nowhere near important enough to usher in a whole age. Besides...1970-1980 is too short a time period for "an age." If we're going to get "Ageist", we have to remember that they are delineated by a radical shift in the industry. In 1938, it was the intro of the Superhero. In 1956, it was the RE-Intro of the Superhero. In 1970, it was the greatly expanded publication of "socially relevant", "sword & sorcery", and NON-superhero comics. (and if people want to argue "Golden Age was only 1938-1945, I'll argue with them that it lasted until 1955, and that the "Atom Age" has little to support it.)

So, you started collecting in late 1983? (thumbs u

Signed at NYCC, first in an eventual series that will encompass #436-442. One of only TWO signed in 9.8. Simonson is my hero. Both signed by Perez. Also both signed by Perez. By far, some of the awesomest books I own. Came from my own collection, #2 from a pool of SEVEN copies I had. #1 is the one and only Sig Series in this grade. And, the piéce du resistance... All signed by Jim Shooter & Janet Jackson. Yes, those are all Harby 1s, and yes they are all Sig Series 9.8s. (As always, sorry for the crappy pics. )