rjrjr

On 5/17/2017 at 9:58 PM, jcjames said:

So now he's "asking" CGC to tell their employees to do what HE wants.... not what CGC's paying customers want.

I see.

How in the world do you stop someone from watching you sign your name in a public setting???

"Hey, you have a CGC lanyard - close your eyes! Hey! I ORDER you to not look at me! STOP LOOKING!"

Wow, has he always bet a loose nut or something? I mean he's really coming off as quite loony now.

Basically he's angry that HE forgot to collect HIS money that HE charged for his signature from ONE fan, and so he goes after the entire company of the guy who was standing next to the fan that HE wasn't paying attention to. Isn't that kinda like asking the guy running the booth next to you to reimburse you for a wallbook that you forgot to charge a customer for?

I don't have any Starlin signatures, and I'm now CERTAIN I don't want any of his scribbly mess of a "signature".

 

How do some of the actors get away with charging someone for a picture of them?  I remember Lou Ferrigno being one of those actors.  I suspect they get the convention organizers to help police the situation.

On 5/15/2017 at 0:03 PM, kav said:

It really sucks there's an impetus to damage the highest grade books.  Future collectors will shake their head in dismay at all the writing on covers and glom on to the untouched 9.8s.

There are collectors now, myself included, who shake their head in dismay.  I won't ever understand why someone would want writing on a high grade comic book.  Have the artist sign a sketch and quit molesting the comic books!

On 5/14/2017 at 8:34 PM, Dark Prime 0 said:

um i stated what he loses, money from the cgc ss crowd since he's going to start charging for SS sigs..............he never mentioned not allowing cbcs to not wittness his sigs but not all collectors want raw or want to use cbcs

i won't do raw and personaly i have no problem useing cbcs but not all collectors are like that

How is Starlin losing money from the SS crowd exactly?  He wasn't charging before and now he is?  Seems like he is making more money this way. 

On 5/14/2017 at 7:39 AM, SteppinRazor said:

It would be nice if they did, but I don't think anyone should give something for free.  It's up to them whether to be generous or not.

+1

On 5/14/2017 at 6:55 AM, ComicConnoisseur said:

Creators should sign these comic books for free to show their appreciation to the fans who have supported them thru all the years. 

I never got why these comic artists/writers charged their loyal fans for an autograph. These creators should give back to the fans who still care about them to go see them by lining up in a line for hours.

 

 

These creators owe their fans nothing.  They already did their part by creating the books.

On 5/22/2017 at 0:56 PM, drbanner said:

I think you're missing the point here Bob, it's not the magnitude of the return...it's the % return that is the question. For you, $1,000 may not be the "scale of a true investment", but for someone making minimum wage, that represents over 3 weeks of labor.

Someone making minimum wage should not be spending the money on comic books IMHO unless they are still living at home with the parents.

On 5/27/2017 at 0:18 PM, Chaykin Stevens said:

None of Star-Lord's original Bronze Age stories were tied to Marvel Universe continuity.  Marvel Preview #4, published in 1976, was set in 1990.  Some characters from Star-Lord's second appearance in Marvel Preview #11 were shown with Lilandra in X-Men #125, but this was probably just an in-joke by John Byrne and Terry Austin, who drew both issues.

The first attempt to bring Star-Lord into the Marvel Universe was in Inhumans v4 #4 by Carlos Pacheco and Jose Ladronn, which suggested Star-Lord was a character in the future of the Marvel Universe.  Keith Giffen then contradicted this by writing Star-Lord as a supporting character in Thanos #8-12, set in the present.  Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are said to have considered the Bronze Age stories were canon, but their successor on Guardians of the Galaxy, Brian Michael Bendis, has little time for continuity and wrote a new and incompatible Star-Lord origin in GOTG #0.1.  Following this retcon, the Bronze Age stories are now considered to have happened in reality-791 not reality-616.

It is just a matter of time before another writer comes along and puts those stories back into "continuity".  Good information by the way.  The head holding was because of the Bendis.

Just curious, do readers consider the stories from the time Spider-man was married to Mary Jane Watson to Brand New Day as being out of continuity now?  That's got to be a tough one for collectors to reconcile. 

On 5/25/2017 at 6:51 PM, Why Comics Rule said:

Thanks for the insights everyone.  the blob, I liked your explanation about Rocket as a prototype in Marvel Preview #7, very interesting.  Unlike Rocket Raccoon, who only had the one appearance in Marvel Preview #7, it seems that Star Lord was well fleshed out in those Marvel Preview appearances so Marvel Spotlight #6 doesn't seem like a very key issue to me. 

If you read Marvel Preview #7 and Incredible Hulk #271, #271 reads more like a prototype.  That has to be one of the worst keys to reads ever.  it is up there with Star Wars #107.

If #271 was the Rocket's 1st appearance, there never would have been a 2nd appearance.

I wouldn't rule out the importance of Marvel Spotlight #6 though.  There are many, many collectors who do not regard non comic book pamphlets as the 1st appearance of any character.  Numerous examples include: Marvel Previews #7, Marvel Illustrated Version of the Empire Strikes Back, Savage Tales #1, Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #22, Mystery Comics Digest #5, etc.  Marvel Spotlight #6 will definitely get noticed eventually.  It is just a book that is fairly plentiful which I think holds it back at the moment.

This is what made the Overstreet Price Guide so cool pre-Internet.  They broke out 1st appearances (even for obscure characters) in the guide.  Just an observation, but it seems like so much incorrect information is being passed off as truth in this Internet Age.  Six pages in and we've already had 3 or 4 characters identified incorrectly.  I really don't mean this to sound harsh to those who didn't know because I think it is hard for new collectors to get correct information these days.

I wish I had a character to contribute (maybe Rima?) because there have been some good suggestions in this thread.

On 5/26/2017 at 11:58 AM, Jayman said:

Also even though it was Conan's 1st appearance in a comic book, it was not his first appearance, origin or an original character.

It's not even Conan's 1st appearance in comics:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_(comics)#La_reina_de_la_Costa_Negra

IMHO there are 3 big books of the Bronze Age, Incredible Hulk #181, Giant Sized X-Men #1, and House of Secrets #92.

Conan is on the same level as Punisher.  They are products of a particular era and their glory days are behind them, but still highly collectible.  Swamp Thing has a bright future IMHO and is on a different level entirely.

On 5/3/2016 at 3:43 PM, bababooey said:

Can't find a decent pic one of those right now but I did stumble across this one when looking.

 

I like this MJ cover, not even a variant, it's the cover of ASM 671 - the original art is posted in CAF.

I won't post that but I will repost below without all the cover clutter.

 

 

I'm a Ramos fan but this is one of those "WTF Ramos" issues where you open up and it to read it and the art doesn't come close to what's on the cover & even the cover has a wonky eye.

 

 

 

The average human is 7 1/2 heads tall.  Mary Jane above is 5 heads tall.  also, her torso is longer than her legs.  It is more than just the eyes that are off.

On 3/17/2017 at 1:05 PM, jcjames said:

Tickets.

And the costumes are not cheap.

29 minutes ago, chevalmeow said:

I use imgur.com.  Free and easy to use.

I'll 2nd this recommendation.  I've been using Imgur for my blog for about 2 months now and it is so much better than Photobucket.

ComicXposure has put up for sale on their online website their Darth Vader #1 exclusive:

http://shop.comicxposure.com/STAR-WARS-DARTH-VADER-1-FRANCESCO-MATTINA-EXCLUSIVE-DVFM1.htm

It has a very cool cover by Francesco Mattina.

3 hours ago, aerischan said:

Probably depends on the artist fee. Dell'Otto is likely very expensive so higher overhead hence risk-reward ratio if doing just 1 cover isn't worth it.

I posted a quote earlier from Hall of Comics, a retailer who has released some retailer exclusive variants and I think it might have been deleted (might have missed deleting a Voldie reference). That one mentioned $12-15K ballpark for a set.

They had a Super Sons #1 3-cover set (Frank Quitely) that was $59, iirc.

So, a store receives 6,000 comics and it cost them $12 - 15K which is $2 to $2.5 per book.  At $75 a set, they break even by selling only 200 sets which is 600 books or 1/10th of the product they purchased.

I'm not disputing some stores have a hard time selling out of these books depending on the artist.  I just don't understand how a store that is selling these for $75 or more is having a hard time "breaking even" at the ripoff price of $75 a set or $25 a book.

There are stores that make a profit at $10 a book for 3,000 copies.  Stores are not charities and not all of them are in this to just advertise.  For $12 - 15K there are much better ways to advertise.

Maybe one of you can show me using math how selling sets of 3 at $75 is barely break even.  Because I don't see it.

14 hours ago, TheRealVenom said:

Upwards of 15K

Thats just for stock paper, if you want something like a foil or high gloss it goes up from there. Plus you are locked in to printing a minimum print run of each cover. so say cover a is 3000 copies, b is 2000 and c is 1000

Its a ton of inventory to hold on to. If you can sell sets of a b and c together for say 75-100 then you have a decent shot at at least breaking even. Iv'e heard horror stories at some shops having over 2000 copies left after the hype died down on their book and they couldn't give them away at cover price.

Its why the book, artist and character mean so much when doing these exclusives.

This doesn't sound correct.  How are the stores that sell just 1 exclusive cover able to make a profit at $10 a book?

I'm having a hard time believing Marvel gives a store that buys 3,000 copies a better deal than a store that buys 6,000 copies.

Congratulations!  To see this through took some serious patience on your part.

8 hours ago, ygogolak said:

You've never heard of Ruth's Chris?

While there are some locations out west, it is mostly an east coast establishment.

I'm looking forward to this movie this summer more than any other movie.  The first two movies were the best movies during the summers they were released and this one is looking just as good.

On 5/16/2017 at 3:37 PM, World Devourer said:

With respect, the market proves you wrong.

Rarity does guarantee demand because it CREATES demand - be it an ASM #667 Dell 'Otto, Bloodshot #0 with Platinum printing error, Maxx 1/2 Blue Foil Edition or Uncle Scrooge #179 in CGC 9.6.

If it is anyway exclusive, someone will want it, and the prices reflect this. 

 

?

I can name a bunch of rare books nobody could care less about.

On 5/16/2017 at 2:24 PM, SquareChaos said:

The question always becomes, who doesn't already have one that actually wants one? That is what really drives the price in the long term... in the short term, in the initial surge of sales following such an announcement, I tend to assume that is driver by flippers buying up copies.

But maybe it isn't true that everyone - or some value of n representing everyone to such a sufficient state as to be near enough as makes little different - that wants one doesn't already have one.

These days movement in a book is driven not by people who WANT a book, but by people who WANT the prestige that goes with owning the book.  I've met many collectors in the past few years who only collect "keys" but couldn't tell you anything about the story.  And it doesn't seem to matter why the book is a "key", if someone else wants it, they want it too.  (I'm using quotes because some of these keys are really questionable.)  Those speculation websites are bibles to these people.

This is the main reason why "keys" are outrageously priced compared to other books.  I don't think many comic readers are buying pamphlets.  Industry practices (like ratio'd variants) have all but ensured those people who buy comics are not loyal readers, but collectors and speculators.

Back on topic, if a book becomes hot, you'd be surprised at how many people will WANT to buy it, regardless of how they feel about it before it is hot.

15 hours ago, Lazyboy said:

What difference does the method make? That article massively exaggerates the risk and effort involved in reading illegally obtained digital comic files.

Regardless of the numbers from any individual source, I doubt the overall numbers of people reading or books being read for free have changed much over the past few many years.

I don't. See above.

Not going to happen. Larger industries have had very limited success shutting down popular sites that hosted or linked to illegally shared content... only to immediately see multiple new sites pop up to take their places each time.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of digital comics, even if they're free.

I think the difference in the method is huge and a game changer.  Most people won't go out of their way to learn how to download the digital files and unpack them.  Apple products are successful in large part because they make it simple for people to do things digitally like listen to music, play videos, etc.  But a website where you can just read the comics using your browser?

I stumbled across these sites looking for some free online web comics to read.  Depending on the keywords entered, these sites come up at the top of the Google search.  And since they are not buried in the search results, that implies people are using these sites.

Also one of these sites has a reader count at the bottom.  At any given time, they show 2,000 to 2,500 individuals online.  I know these numbers can be fake or exaggerated, but if these numbers are accurate, that is a lot of people using this site.  And that site is just one of a handful that are offering brand new comics for free on the same day they are sold at retail.

I will agree that many, maybe most, comic collectors will not visit these sites over buying the comics.  Or they might visit but still buy the comic.  (Let's face it, the people who visit this forum are collectors, otherwise they wouldn't be here since this forums offers little in the way for people who just like reading comic books.)  But to dismiss this as a small problem I think is a mistake.  We hear all the time that comics are too expensive, people are turning to trades (trade sales are down even more than comics), or readers are just getting their content digitally because it is cheaper, takes up less room, etc.  If price is a factor in a person's decision on buying comics, these sites are an attractive alternative.

Let's say just 5,000 people use these sites instead of buying the comic.  When the top selling comics have a hard time moving 100,000 units, 5,000 people becomes significant.  And for indies which move much, much lower units, the potential loss in revenue is huge.

You are probably right.  We don't hear the publishers talking about piracy as the problem with falling sales.  But if you were a publisher, would you talk about the piracy problem?  I wouldn't, because it would just make more people aware of the alternative, especially those that are bemoaning the prices of current comics.  As you said, trying to shutdown these sites just results in more popping up, raising their awareness for people who don't have any qualms about using them versus paying for the content.

On 5/12/2017 at 4:18 PM, vaillant said:

There is none, obviously. Hence, my laughter emoticon. If he was saying "variants" meaning editions, this one qualifies.

Otherwise, as I said, you have to switch to Moderns to find proper variant covers of italian books.

Exactly. 

On 5/12/2017 at 1:21 PM, vaillant said:

If we can consider yellow instead of purple a "variant" so then… yes, the italian edition of ASM #238 is also a "variant"…

They printed both a purple and yellow version in Italy?  If they only published the yellow version, it is an Italian edition, not an Italian variant.

Comics are a subclass of books.  Editions is a very, very common term in the book world for describing these foreign comics.

On 5/12/2017 at 8:27 AM, Jeffro. said:

The term, variant, to describe comics is way overused and sometimes erroneously used these days

I agree with this.