JuliusSeizure

Be nice for me, since I don't have one yet. (Maybe I should contact this guy.)

...Another really hateful cover right there, too. Very much so, and begged comparison with the superior 139 and 171, too.

219 was the issue where I said, "I can't take it anymore!" I was actively collecting the pre-150 back issues and the contrast just got to be too much. At 219 was where I gave up on the magic ever coming back.

But they aren't "damaged" in any sense of the word that means anything, if they are in a 9.6 or 9.8 holder. Right?

I got a nice set of BA readers in the mail from Marc today, packaged as though they were high grade SA keys. Great seller, would buy from again.

'Not bad' ? I'd say it was a great price for all these hard to find books. You did well. Congrats. Yeah, no kidding, that's like $15-$16 per book. Insane price if they're as nice as they look. Congratulations and enjoy them.

I read The Road to Disunion circa 1998 and am waiting to swap for the new volume and start back from Volume 1 ... How's Volume 1 upon re-reading? I'm about halfway through it and it's starting to get to be more narrative-based, which means it's really picking up. The first 200 or so pages talk about how differently people thought in different parts of the South, how a radical minority (large slaveowners) kept (and expanded) its foothold, and how attitudes towards slavery in the South grew from apologetic to militant. It kind of gets you into the antebellum zeitgeist, for want of a better word. When I first read these chapters, they were a revelation to me. I had read a lot about the Civil War and never completely understood what made the South 'tick'. Why were they so willing to fight to protect a cruel economic system that so many of them knew was immoral? Why did poor non-slaveowning Southerners fight so hard for so long? Why did so many sensible people follow radical secessionists? The Road to Disunion (Vol 1) really helped me get into the South's collective head a lot better, to understand how trapped they were by a backward economy, and the claustrophobia that came from the ever-present threat of violent revolt. They were just permeated with this class of inscrutable people that they knew they had wronged (and were continuing to) and lived in fear of in a way that they never dared talk about. Then they started to hear people around the country talking openly about the great wrong of slavery and how something should eventually be done about it, etc., etc., never knowing how much was getting to the ears of the people living in their house, preparing their food, cleaning their weapons...and eventually they get to the point where they start screaming "For God's sake shut up already!" But the abolitionists have history on their side and they won't shut up, and the tension just builds and builds. Having read it once and absorbed the lessons, the first third of the book isn't quite as fresh on a second reading, though the prose is very good. Once it gets into the narrative and the personalities, it holds up a little better. I'm excited to finish and start the second volume.

I am a minor legend at work for having finished Cryptonomicon. I have so little time to read non-technical stuff, but I'm slowly re-reading Vol. 1 of "The Road to Disunion" by William Freehling. I waited over 10 years for Vol. 2 to come out and got it for this past Christmas, so I'm re-reading the first.

I bought a few Star Comics for my little sisters (roughly 7 and 4 y/o at the time) to try when they first came out - unfortunately they didn't catch on. I'll try again to create collectors with the next generation!

Kudos to nochips for some Action fillers I needed. Perfect transaction.

Yep. I just bought the first 10 issues of Dreadstar for 50 cents each.

Wow, a club I can join! I don't have scans or a photobucket account, though...

I just think it's awesome that you share a hobby (and such a great relationship) with your dad. I have a 2-year-old girl and pray we will always be so close; I would love to collect comics with her.

Mschmidt is just saying that it's conceivable someone out there had a good experience with ComicSupply and decided to throw that out there...he's not defending them for ripping customers off.

The kid in the upper right picture is a young David Sarnoff, who grew up to be the president of RCA and a very influential mover in the development of radio and television. One of the most talented executives of the early 20th century.

No better nor worse than the average story. The advantage (from my POV) is that FH had a lot of recurring long-running characters so that the characters were quite well established which helped maintain a level of quality in the story. Sure, it led to repetition but it's better than the inanity of Timely's stories. Overall the stories are more repetitive & less "innovative / inventive" than National's stories but still fun for what they are. In the end, I rank them a step up from most other second-tier publishers thanks to the art. I agree! I'll add that if you're not collecting a Fiction House title (yet) it can be very addicting. The prices are generally pretty reasonable on them too compared to "hero" books. Thanks, guys, I appreciate the responses. I'm currently not actively collecting due to other priorities, but when I'm back in the game (soon hopefully!), maybe I'll pick up a couple cheap and see what I think. Cheers!

I understand about the great covers, but how are the stories in the Fiction House books (relative to other GA)? Fun or just campy? I had never heard of the publisher or any of the titles before I joined these boards, and I'm just curious about it. Thanks.

Thanks a lot!

He did, but if you blinked you missed it. He took it off Imperial Guardsman Fang in #107, kept it for the continuation of the story in #108, then switched back when they got back to Earth in #109. The IF story must take place between #108 and #109.

Kudos to 143ksk for a motley bunch of mid-high grade SA/BA Marvels and DCs. Packed as though they were GA keys, and thanks for the extra, too! Excellent transaction, thanks!

Definite completist here. While a 9.6 Silver Age book is a beautiful sight to behold, there's something just as captivating to me in rows and rows of the same title where the numbers just keep adding by 1 -- and lots more good reading besides. I'm not such a completist that I need to have every single issue of a title, otherwise, like Chromium, I'd never pick up an Action or Detective. (Of course, I have it in the back of my mind that I *will* own full runs of those titles someday...the odds are beyond astronomical, but as pipe dreams go, it's a pretty harmless one to cherish.) I'm happy with long unbroken strings, especially of titles that stretch back into the GA. Can I tell you, completism is a disease all its own? I sympathize with collectors who spend years hunting that one rare gem in the grade they've set as a goal...but we completists have it just as 'rough', because there's *always* another series to start. In my case, I consider that your collective fault, as three things have happened since I joined these boards: 1. I've gotten lots more keyed up about comic collecting in general - bound to happen when you're part of a community of interests, not thinking that no one else cares. 2. I've gotten a better appreciation for the pure aesthetics of nice copies - can't afford to be an HG snob, but I've started to look out more for, say, VG/F copies with nice colors than I used to. 3. I've been introduced to titles and genres I never thought I would care about. Reading the SA and BA war comics threads here, for example, really makes me want to try a title or two...and if I like it I won't be able to stop. I'm *so* far away in terms of numbers for series I've started to appreciate (Strange Adventures, for instance), and in terms of affordability for others (FF and X-Men, now that I'm back to 1964 or so in both cases). And forget about all those pre-hero (and a few other) B&Bs I still need to collect that whole series! #1-200, such a nice round set, isn't it? And it was the title that started my collection... Every now and then, you just realize that it's a long way up that mountain and the snow keeps piling on top. That's why you just take it an issue at a time, a deal here, a bargain there, and every few years, look back on what you've done. And what a use for good old-fashioned (cockeyed?) optimism....one day I'll start my software company, rake in the IPO cash, and look out Ian Levine!

I read this thread with great interest because I find human longevity, and the completely different eras that a human life can span, fascinating. To think that Mr. Flessel was drawing classic comic book covers, on the ground floor of the medium, while FDR was president and Lou Gehrig was hitting homers for the Yankees. And to still be drawing....wow. Why hasn't DC commissioned him to do a new cover for a modern issue of Detective? How cool would that be?

Kudos to ft88 for a nice mid-grade OO B&B #33. It even smells like an OO book, hard to describe but you know what I mean. Belated kudos also to qualitycomix for an X-Men #28 that was nicer than I expected.

I think you're not far off the mark. Back in the 50s/60s, comics were considered kids' entertainment - what a concept! - and the expectation was that the core audience would 'roll over' every 3 years or so. So there were a number of stories/plots that seemed to occur again and again on about 3-year intervals. I *think* one example is the "Superboy's Big Brother" story in Superboy #89 that introduced Mon-El. IIRC, there was a very, very similar story published a while earlier.