kaculler

There is an existing thread, though it hasn't seen much activity recently. I don't think a new thread harms anything. I got into Harvey comics (Richie Rich specifically) in 1977 thanks to my older brother who had been collecting them for several years already. One of our local comic shops had long boxes full of Richies and lots of other stuff as well. They'd call us whenever they got a new batch of back issues in so we could come up and try to fill holes in our collection. I didn't really get as interested in the other Harvey characters until a few years later. I wish that I had pursued them more then, though I was pretty young and didn't have as much money to spend as in later years.

Tom Kalb's got an eBay store with about 10,000 items listed. https://www.ebay.com/str/tomkalbmasterofcomics

How did it go? Did you make it to any shops?

Blondie changed publishers between issues 15 and 16, but there was no break in publication. The title started in 1947 Felix the Cat changed publishers twice during that span, but had no break in publication. The title started in 1948 Jughead - the first issue came out in 1949 before your deadline.

It had been a while since I last crossed a Four Color issue off of my list, but this one arrived today. 97 to go for Series II, though I have another issue en route.

If you have time to make a trip about an hour north to the Dayton area, Bookery Fantasy is a pretty good store and I think that there are other shops in that area, though it's been a few years since I was in that part of Ohio.

I think that a lot of bookstores and libraries get their books from Ingram, Baker & Taylor, or some other distributor. I've had an account with Simon and Schuster for about 20 years and they ship product straight to my house. During the pandemic, though, their warehouses were closed for a period of time and they were using Ingram to ship product. I opened my account when I was working at a comic book store (that also carried science fiction books), but I've continued to get stuff for myself since the store closed. This is pretty small scale compared to your average bookstore, but they have generally been pretty decent with the packaging of material. In the few instances that there have been damages, I've been able to contact my personal sales rep. and she's had replacements sent out. I don't know how well that would work on a larger scale if there are a larger number of damages. If PRH does complete the purchase of S&S, they'll likely merge operations to an extent to save money, but there should still be a considerable sales force to deal with various comic stores that do want to deal directly with them.

PRH is also in the process of trying to purchase Simon and Schuster which would make them even larger and have them distributing trades for Boom and Oni as well as manga for Viz if the sale goes through.

I picked up 40 issues from Series II and 6 issues from Series I in 2020. I think that a couple of those were in person transactions back in February before the pandemic hit here. I have already picked up 6 issues from Series II in 2021 to bring the total that I need down to 99 Series II issues and 19 Series I issues. I'm not looking to upgrade any issues so thankfully don't have to worry about that. I haven't completed any hundred series either, though #694, 1016, and 1164 are the only issues I need in those particular hundred series. My longest unbroken run then is from 1017-1163, a run of 147 issues. If I can get a copy of 1164, the unbroken run will extend from 1017-1252 or 236 issues. I need 2 in the 300s, 3 in the 400s, 2 in the 700s, 3 in the 800s, 2 in the 900s, and 2 in the 1200s. One of the issues that I need in the 900s is the Smokey the Bear that you got from Harley. The other is a Leave it to Beaver issue (999). My goal for 2021 is to get down to needing 50 issues for Series II and 15 issues for Series I. That's a bit ambitious for Series II, but we'll see what happens.

These two arrived in the mail today. I am down to needing exactly 100 issues from Series II now.

Very cool. I'd love to get a copy of this one in nice shape, but the only copy that I keep seeing is way overpriced.

I'm currently re-reading Raft by Stephen Baxter. I first read it when it came out, but never read the rest of the books in the Xeelee series. I plan to change that this year. I'm also reading Magdeburg Noir by David Carrico, a collection of three stories set in the 1632/Ring of Fire series.

Two more arrived today

I usually place my order around the middle of the month. I email them with a list of shortages whenever there are any. They used to reply pretty quickly, but now it is often a week or two before they get back to me. The reason is almost always that Diamond shorted them.

I've been having problems with books being shorted for the past couple of years. They are usually Dark Horse hardcovers and trade paperbacks. Many of these are eventually filled after a delay of 2-3 months or more. I've had to pick up a Phantom Dailies book and an EC Archives book elsewhere. Another EC book wasn't filled and I haven't found a decently priced copy yet. They also cancelled a Dragon Age hardcover. There were also a few of this year's FCBD comics that they didn't get in and a few other books with small print runs over the past few years. I currently have 7 Dark Horse books from the last few months that I'm waiting on from them. Some of their shipments have gone out a week or so later than they should have, but I attribute that to them being understaffed and it doesn't really bother me. This started before the pandemic. I've generally been satisfied with their service, except for the shortages that sometimes crop up. If Diamond is shorting them, then I guess it really isn't their fault. If it is something else, then I wonder what the issue is.

Two more arrived today.

Cool book. That's one of 105 issues I still need in Four Color Series II. I'm hoping to get one next year.

I received another order in the mail today which will probably be my last golden age for the year. Four steps closer to finishing off Our Gang. Now I just need #3-9 and 13.

It was a decent year for me in terms of crossing a few titles off of my want list and knocking off a number of issues here and there. If shows had been an option this year, it probably would have been a very good year. This was the last one that I purchased, though I have others on my watch list so it may not be the last one for the year:

I just finished Funnybooks by Michael Barrier. It covers Western Printing's comic book publishing from the 1930s to the 1960s with a heavy emphasis on Walt Kelly, Carl Barks, and John Stanley. Their relationship with Dell, the transition to Gold Key, and other artists, writers, and executives are discussed as well. It was an interesting book. I'm currently reading No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished by Rachel Aaron, the third book in the Heartstrikers series. I'm also reading 1636: The Atlantic Encounter by Eric Flint and Walter H. Hunt. When I'm done with that, I'll only have one book left until I'm caught up with the 40+ main series in the 1632/Ring of Fire universe that I started back in June.

Heroes is still there at 186 Dundas Street. I visited it back in February before the pandemic hit along with a few other London comic shops.

2021 Goals 1) Get caught up on reading my massive backlog 2) Thin out the collection a bit by selling a few titles 3) Reduce my Four Color Series II want list to below 50 (It'll be just over 100 at the end of 2020) 4) Finish off a dozen or so titles on my want list (there are a bunch where I only need 5 issues or fewer)