Do we want the prices (values) to excalate?

[homerwannabee]

Homerwanabee's point that GA scarcity is due to comics not being worth much is indisputable.

 

Jeus H Christ, you two should fire up his $8 scanner and start a think tank.

 

You can always tell when you are losing an argument...

 

Yeah, I'm losing a mental war to you and the $8 scanner guy/Mr Invincible.

 

The homer guy's some kind of joker/mental incompetent from way back, and I wouldn't exactly be pleased about jumping into his shallow end of the gene pool.

I did not want to post again. But why are you trying to make this personal. Is name calling really an effective argument tool? Good job with the against the person argument. I think he is right. Whenever you lose an argument you resort to name calling. My guess is you will probably either write a dismissive post or a name calling post in response to this. You really are not that good of an arguer if you can't keep it civil. No debate team would ever encourage name calling as an effective debate tactic.

[Detroit MIke]

I'd prefer the prices to go a little lower and the dollar to get a little stronger.

[JohnT]

This statement is inaccurate. Comic books have been "collected" as we know "collecting" since the beginning of the hobby. Organized fandom as we know it today sprang up in the late 50s/early 60s. There were comic conventions AND price guides of some sort in the early 60s (and probably earlier).

 

I agree, and I know the EC collectors were "organized" in the sense that they were creating chapters of The EC Fan-Addicts in the early 1950's. Also, many people were asking the EC editors where to buy back issues, since they had already asked to buy them directly from EC, and the editors couldn't help them.

 

And don't forget about Pop Hollinger!

 

But no conventions, media coverage, etc., and most importantly no public perception that old comic books could be sold to someone for good money.

 

 

[FlyingDonut]

This statement is inaccurate. Comic books have been "collected" as we know "collecting" since the beginning of the hobby. Organized fandom as we know it today sprang up in the late 50s/early 60s. There were comic conventions AND price guides of some sort in the early 60s (and probably earlier).

 

I agree, and I know the EC collectors were "organized" in the sense that they were creating chapters of The EC Fan-Addicts in the early 1950's. Also, many people were asking the EC editors where to buy back issues, since they had already asked to buy them directly from EC, and the editors couldn't help them.

 

And don't forget about Pop Hollinger!

 

But no conventions, media coverage, etc., and most importantly no public perception that old comic books could be sold to someone for good money.

 

 

There were conventions, and people were paying for a premium for old books as least as early as 1960 - that's the earliest fanzine I have. I'm sure there are earlier ones out there - Xeno?

[joe_collector]

No debate team would ever encourage name calling as an effective debate tactic.

 

, if this were an actual debate, your "team" would have been gone a long time ago, but as you obviously have no historical knowledge of comics or world events, have no idea of time, can't even define "attrition", think that comic collecting started in the 60's, and believe that the only reason people have ever collected *anything* is due to its high valuation, then it's "name calling time".

[Scrooge]

There were conventions, and people were paying for a premium for old books as least as early as 1960 - that's the earliest fanzine I have. I'm sure there are earlier ones out there - Xeno?

 

A/E: 1961 and Xero: 1960.

[conditionfreak]

I can not speak for why anyone else collected comics. I can only say why I did in the early 60's.

 

Because I liked them. They were my hero's. I never gave a second thought to a fortune down the road. I did realize that some of the other kids would trade me things for certain issues and that a back issue cost more. But a fortune later, never occurred to me. I collected mostly all of the Marvel characters except Dr. Strange. Never interested me then. DC seemed a little too hokey, but still okay. Flash with his speed was the coolest of all, as all kids like to think that they can out run everyone else. Peter Parker seemed like me but had that other side where he could do great things. I liked to imagine that someday, I too would have great super powers and be able to get the bad guys. I wanted the powers of Flash much more than the others, except Superman. He could do it all. A couple of years down the road and I started looking for the covers that had those girls on them. I remember having a crush on Medusa later. She is the only one I can remember right now that I had a "crush" on as a kid. I matured late obviously.

 

Hey, I was only a kid.

 

Now that I have those powers I used to dream about, I am more inclined to make some money with them (it's called a joke).

 

I probably would have tried something like Peter Parker did when he got his powers and attempted to make money in the wrestling ring. I don't remember what years they were but I used to have a favorite wrestler called "Flying Fred Curry". He was cool and I likened him to DareDevil in his style of wrestling. Of course, back then wrestling was legit and not fixed as it is today

 

There are many reasons why comic books were collected and destroyed. There is no list of correct answers. Many were destroyed simply because the kid grew up and lost interest. Many were destroyed by little brothers and sisters. Many many were destroyed by mothers when their sons went off to war or college. Some were collected because of the artwork but ALL were purchased to read. Except maybe the Edgar Church collection. Maybe that is why it is the best overall collection around. No reading as I understand it. hmmmm........The greatest collection of Golden Age comics ever, and all because they were not read. Could it be?

[joe_collector]

There are many reasons why comic books were collected and destroyed. There is no list of correct answers. Many were destroyed simply because the kid grew up and lost interest. Many were destroyed by little brothers and sisters. Many many were destroyed by mothers when their sons went off to war or college.

 

I totally agree, but that's common through all eras.

 

I have a friend at work who told me about his mother tossing out his comic collection, including a set of New X-Men comics, when he went away to University - even then worth thousands of dollars. And look at that FF #1 that a forum member found in the garbage - regardless of "value" old comics are still be thrown away today.

 

But what I, and some others are trying to get across, was that the 40's and 50's had significant "outside events" that had a serious effect on lowering the number of comics, and that simply didn't occur in the 60's, 70's or 80's.

 

 

[conditionfreak]

No question that you are correct. There were things that occurred in society in the 40's and 50's that have never duplicated since. These things directly affected comic books in particular and paper items in general. When you think about all that occurred, it is actually pretty amazing that the books are available in the conditions available today.

 

Speaking of collecting things. Any computer collectors out there?

 

I have an original Commodore 64 system, all new in the box with all the attachments and trimmings. Never used. A long time ago, I figured that computers would be collectable and put this set away.

 

I have so much "spoon" lying around, it ain't funny. Yet, my house is not clutterred too much. I have put in a lot of work, putting things in their proper places, to keep the wife happy. Sometime I will post a pic of my comic book room (which isn't finished yet) and my rec room, which has a superhero theme, and a pool table of course My wife has the family room decorated in a jungle theme. My rec room is down an open flight of stairs from the family room and I lined the walls of that stairway with the framed posters of the covers of "Wolverine, Origin" series. It makes a very nice transition from jungle theme to superhero theme.

 

I have hanging in my family room, four pictures of lions and tigers, done by an artist named Guillaume Azoulay. He is an unusual artist that uses connecting seperate lines to form his pictures. It is hard to explain, but he draws separate lines that form to make the object. Not like drawing the outline first and filling in the details. Sometime look him up on the web and see what I am talking about. It is a very unusual way of drawing and it looks wonderful. I will look something up on the web and post a link here so that you can see what the heck I am talking about.

[conditionfreak]

Hope this helps to understand his style of artwork. The first one shows it better. He does not draw the outline, but rather draws seperate flowing lines, which he intersects to form the cat. He is most famous for his horses and I do not have any of those yet.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Le-Lion-By-G-Azoulay-on-Canvas-Museum-Edition_W0QQitemZ260245174583QQihZ016QQcategoryZ360QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Agilite-Le-Leopard-Serigraph-by-Guillaume-Azoulay_W0QQitemZ250172232907QQihZ015QQcategoryZ360QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

[JohnT]

This statement is inaccurate. Comic books have been "collected" as we know "collecting" since the beginning of the hobby. Organized fandom as we know it today sprang up in the late 50s/early 60s. There were comic conventions AND price guides of some sort in the early 60s (and probably earlier).

 

I agree, and I know the EC collectors were "organized" in the sense that they were creating chapters of The EC Fan-Addicts in the early 1950's. Also, many people were asking the EC editors where to buy back issues, since they had already asked to buy them directly from EC, and the editors couldn't help them.

 

And don't forget about Pop Hollinger!

 

But no conventions, media coverage, etc., and most importantly no public perception that old comic books could be sold to someone for good money.

 

 

There were conventions, and people were paying for a premium for old books as least as early as 1960 - that's the earliest fanzine I have. I'm sure there are earlier ones out there - Xeno?

 

But the debate is about the GA, right?

 

It would be interesting to learn more about the origins of the hobby. Somebody mentioned the EC fans, and I know just from reading some of those issues and letter pages that there was a "community" out there following and collecting those issues at the time.

 

It's interesting--but not surprising--that there were some fanzines that pre-date the Marvel Age.

[General Zod]

Homerwanabee's point that GA scarcity is due to comics not being worth much is indisputable.

 

Jeus H Christ, you two should fire up his $8 scanner and start a think tank.

 

You can always tell when you are losing an argument...

 

Yeah, I'm losing a mental war to you and the $8 scanner guy/Mr Invincible.

 

The homer guy's some kind of joker/mental incompetent from way back, and I wouldn't exactly be pleased about jumping into his shallow end of the gene pool.

 

Just because you don't agree with somebody's opinion and can't coherently bring them to total agreement of yours doesn't mean you have to make a personal attack on his intelligence. It could be argued the insults you throw around are a resort used by those who lack intelligence.

 

You have some valid things to say from time to time, but man, your delivery system sometimes is just reeks of pure brute tactics. There is grace and dignity to be learned from taking the time to understand where the other side comes from instead of acting indignant and snobby.

[JohnT]

Homerwanabee's point that GA scarcity is due to comics not being worth much is indisputable.

 

Jeus H Christ, you two should fire up his $8 scanner and start a think tank.

 

You can always tell when you are losing an argument...

 

Yeah, I'm losing a mental war to you and the $8 scanner guy/Mr Invincible.

 

The homer guy's some kind of joker/mental incompetent from way back, and I wouldn't exactly be pleased about jumping into his shallow end of the gene pool.

 

What is this, high school?

 

I should only hang with the cool kids!

[whisp]

I was reading the thread concerning the SDCC and saw a comment from CDForever, that we DO NOT want the prices on comic books to escalate and it got me reflecting.

 

Do we?

 

The simple answer is yes, if we have the book/s already in our possession. No, if we don't have it/them yet.

 

However, I would like to hear what others think. Does a true collector want the prices/values to escalate, or is that just for the full time dealers, part time dealers (isn't that what we all are) and speculators to desire?

 

Me? I have to stick with my original thoughts on the matter. I want them to excalate if I have the book/s already..............But then again. I would be tickled to death if Action #1, Tec #27 and a few other goodies dropped down about half from what they are now. I might actually be able to get a seond mortgage and buy one of them in a 3.0

 

I think that comic collecting is divided into two tiers. Those that buy to resell and those that buy to collect and read. While everyone is happy when a value of an item they own goes up I am the type that won't sell it because I bought it in the first place because I enjoy it. I think it is people like me that buy books and hold onto them that probably affects the market a bit and make certain books go up in value. I have a friend that constantly tells me to sell my wwbn 32 9.0 because he feels that with all the hype going on now it is the time to sell it and that it will eventually go back down and that I could buy an other one maybe even a higher grade. This may be true but I still won't sell it.

 

I do agree that overtime some books should keep going up in value but I am talking key books such as first appearances of main characters and such but some of the stuff I see with non keys and modern books that have huge printing amounts are out of whack. Market seems to agree a bit with this since I see moderns all the time that are 20 bucks in first week and like a month later 3.99 again. Those books should not go up in value.

 

Hope what I typed is clear I had a few drinks .

[whisp]

No question that you are correct. There were things that occurred in society in the 40's and 50's that have never duplicated since. These things directly affected comic books in particular and paper items in general. When you think about all that occurred, it is actually pretty amazing that the books are available in the conditions available today.

 

Speaking of collecting things. Any computer collectors out there?

 

I have an original Commodore 64 system, all new in the box with all the attachments and trimmings. Never used. A long time ago, I figured that computers would be collectable and put this set away.

 

 

I am always impressed when I see a book with the grade of 9.6 with white pages from like 1947 and such.

 

And funny about the C64. I just threw mine out after years of holding onto it. Took me alot of energy to get it to the dumpster . I did keep all my games though .

[PLOD-migration]

This statement is inaccurate. Comic books have been "collected" as we know "collecting" since the beginning of the hobby. Organized fandom as we know it today sprang up in the late 50s/early 60s. There were comic conventions AND price guides of some sort in the early 60s (and probably earlier).

 

I agree, and I know the EC collectors were "organized" in the sense that they were creating chapters of The EC Fan-Addicts in the early 1950's. Also, many people were asking the EC editors where to buy back issues, since they had already asked to buy them directly from EC, and the editors couldn't help them.

 

And don't forget about Pop Hollinger!

 

But no conventions, media coverage, etc., and most importantly no public perception that old comic books could be sold to someone for good money.

 

It would be interesting to learn more about the origins of the hobby. Somebody mentioned the EC fans, and I know just from reading some of those issues and letter pages that there was a "community" out there following and collecting those issues at the time.

 

"Pop Hollinger ran a used comic book store in Concordia, Kansas from the late 1930s until 1971. Pop bought and sold old comic books thruout the Golden Age and Silver Age. Pop was there when ACTION COMICS #1, DETECTIVE COMICS #27, SUPERMAN #1, BATMAN #1 and all the other classic Golden Age books hit the stands.

 

Pop published a comic book catalogue in 1942. His ads for it stated: "Old or used comic books are worth money. We pay from 1c to $1.00 each for certain old comics....Be among the first in your community to collect old comics." In this same ad, Pop claimed to "carry a large assortment of every comic book published." He offered a "free hospital reading service for any patient in any hospital in U.S.A.""

 

http://members.cox.net/buster44/3/popstory.txt

 

[conditionfreak]

Wow Plod. I have heard of Hollinger but didn't know that info. Talk about ahead of the curve. Can you imagine if he believe that, he just might have secreted some select books somewhere for his grandkids. But then again. If he was still in business in 1971, he probably sold everything in a going out of business sale. Someone should contact his heirs and see what he might have left them in a trunk in the attic or safe deposit box.

[joe_collector]

It could be argued the insults you throw around are a resort used by those who lack intelligence.

 

Certainly not in my case, and it's more a situation where I don't have the patience to slowly walk people through the basics.

 

I'd be a terrible teacher, since I grasp things so quickly, part of me doesn't understand why others cannot do the same thing. So while I do understand the "learning curve" is a longer for other people, it still irritates the out of me sometimes.

[JohnT]

It could be argued the insults you throw around are a resort used by those who lack intelligence.

 

Certainly not in my case, and it's more a situation where I don't have the patience to slowly walk people through the basics.

 

I'd be a terrible teacher, since I grasp things so quickly, part of me doesn't understand why others cannot do the same thing. So while I do understand the "learning curve" is a longer for other people, it still irritates the out of me sometimes.

 

[conditionfreak]

It could be argued the insults you throw around are a resort used by those who lack intelligence.

 

Certainly not in my case, and it's more a situation where I don't have the patience to slowly walk people through the basics.

 

I'd be a terrible teacher, since I grasp things so quickly, part of me doesn't understand why others cannot do the same thing. So while I do understand the "learning curve" is a longer for other people, it still irritates the out of me sometimes.