Comics will be worthless in 1 year

[awe4one]

NAME: Jim

 

FIRST COMIC I REMEMBER READING: FF #105 or Detective #412 or Captain Venture #1 - Mom bought a stack for me before a trip to the Keys.

 

FIRST COMIC I BOUGHT (I Think?): FF #134 - Collected comics as a kid from then until about 1977 or so when my step-mother said it was time to quit and I sold my collection to a store dealer for $7.00. Included an Adventure Comics #247 and a full run of SHIELD. Was a Marvel Zombie but loved the Legion by Grell!

 

RETURN FROM THE DARK SIDE: Started collecting again in 1987 after joining the USAF. Still primarily a Marvel Zombie for back issues but I'm digging some late 60s/early 70s DC Horror and anything Adams.

 

CURRENT OCCUPATION: Intelligence Analyst in the go 'ole US Air Force. Taken me around the world to include every continent except Antarctica.

 

HONORARY HOME: Miami, Florida

 

CURRENT HOME: Stuttgart, Germany

 

CURRENT MARITAL STATUS: Married w/ a 10 year old boy that I can't for the life of me get to like comics (my wife either).

 

OTHER INTERESTS: Love American College and Pro Football (go 'Canes and 'Fins), "Real" Football, College Basketball, Reading, PS2, Movies, Most all music (including those '80s bands Supa likes). Hate: Hockey (I grew up in FL), boy bands, country music, people ignorant of the current world news.

 

I guess that about covers it......

 

 

Jim

 

 

[hogations]

Cool bio Joanna! I feel for ya on the carpal tunnel on your right hand. I'm going through that right now where both my wrist are in a constant state of discomfort (right wrist much more than left). I always thought carpal tunnel was some mythical affliction until it hit me! I've been doing a lot of wrist/arm curls which have helped but I don't think it's ever going to be the same again due to the amount of time I spend in front of a computer

[CosmicBob]

Here's me:

 

I'm 42 and have been collecting comics for 30 years, almost exclusively Superman and Superboy titles. I stopped collecting new comics a couple of years ago because I lost interest in many of the new titles. I still am trying to complete my run of Superboys from 1 on. Plus I want to get Action from 250 on and Superman from 150 on. Not easy or cheap to do. But I'm trying to get rid of the bulk of my collection, mostly from the 80s and 90s.

 

As I mentioned before (to that crabby guy, who's name escapes me) I have a PhD in Physics but I do programming as my job, since no one gets paid squat for Physics.

 

I've been married for 13 years and we just had a kid last year. He was born six weeks premature, but seems to be doing pretty good now. We also have two dogs, a Jack Russell Terrier and a Borzoi. The Borzoi is a Certified Therapy Dog, but we haven't had too much time lately to go out doing therapy work.

 

I also like to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And listen to the Grateful Dead, but not at the same time.

[chromium]

Nirvana chocolates are actually fresh-made chocolates, they are made here in my hometown in Belgium the old fashioned way (lots of humans, few machines) and flown 3-4X a week to Logan airport.

 

Our site also sells more well-known and established brands, but they are more expensive. Nirvana is our house-brand and are the same chocolates you can buy in the Belgian 'confiseries' or chocolate delicatessen stores...

 

And thanks for the 30 lbs is nothing quote mudbuddha,but most people say that the age of 35-40 is the period when men start expanding in all the wrong places...so I still have a year to go

 

Most people seem to think, I get a lot of free chocolate...well not really.

When I visit the bakers and artisans that make our chocolate here in Belgium, I do get samples of stuff they made the same day, sometimes I get a box,mostly there is a tray on the table during meetings.

All the chocolate that my company sells is in the US and I'm in Belgium... but I must confess that all my colleagues that work on your side of the pond are getting heavier and heavier

[OldGuy]

Ok, here goes.

 

I've been married 9 years and have a 13 year old step daughter that I've raised form the age of 3. She's great! She enjoys reading comics and watching comic related movies with me. My wife is my best friend and just about the only adult I can spend long periods of time with and not start to hate. She's not into comics, but she thinks it's cool that I am and that my daughter and I go to conventions and stuff together.

 

We live on 10.5 acres at the end (road ends, power lines end, phone ends, etc...) of a dirt road 18 miles South of Santa Fe. We have 5 dogs. 3 miniature schnauzers, a German Shepherd and a Red Healer. The big dogs run free on the property and sleep inside on cold nights, the little dogs stay in all the time (we don't want to feed the coyotes, mountain lions or bobcats).

 

I'm a Network & Computer Systems Admin for the State of NM Department of Health. It's the first job I've ever had (2 years now) where I get paid for what I know more then for what I actually do. I'm doing my job well then I don't really have much to do unless something just breaks (that happens less often then people think).

 

I stole my first comic book when I was 10 years old and 5 years later I was working at the store that I stole the first comic from. About a year after I started working there the owner told me that she knew I stole comics from her before I started working there. I asked her why she hired me and she said, "So you would start paying for them." We are still good friends to this day and I still buy my comics from her store.

 

There's a lot more I could say, but that should give you a good idea of who I am.

[Kevin Boyd]

Hello, my name is Kevin Boyd and I am an alcoh... of wait, wrong board.

 

I'm currently 33 years old, and a Canadian, well, a Torontonian. I am the middle child - I have two brothers. I have never been married, no kids either, but I do spoil my older brother's children rotten.

 

I've lived in Canada for most of my sheltered life. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in History (Canadian and US politics) with minors in English and Art History from the University of Toronto (class of '93). For the last 12 years I've worked on various medical research projects in a variety of different capacities, and I am currently the Project Coordinator on two related Familial Cancer Genetics studies. It's a career that sort of evolved, but was never intended.

 

I began reading comics when I was very young and I've always had an affinity towards books and reading. I taught myself to read by using comics, taking the letters that I had learned from school and tv and sounding out the words. For quite some time, I've been told, no one could figure out what the hell I was saying because I learned words by reading them phonetically and interpreting the pictures to get the meanings! So I would use these new words in conversation. I was about three years old.

 

I have a newspaper clipping my parents kept from December 1977 (a pivitol year because Star Wars changed everything) in which my grade school class was asked what they wanted for Christmas. Most of the kids were asking for the usual stuff, action figures, toys, barbies, even world peace... but the writer seemed to find it particularly interesting that this one 8-year old was asking for a copy of Amazing Fantasy 15 from 1962 because it was the first Spider-Man comic ever made. Although I have nearly every Spidey appearance I still don't have that book!

 

As long as I remember I have collected and read NEW comics. I inherited my brother's small collection and went from there. After nearly 30 years of collecting I now have a personal collection of approximately 25,000 comics, 2000 related magazines, 500 trade paperbacks, and about 100 hardcovers. Not to mention boxes of related material and about 50 original art pieces plus numerous related books on comics and artists. I also have about 30 full-size statues and about 40 mini-busts.

 

Unlike most people I have never taken a break from collecting NEW comics and I have rarely missed a visit to a comic shop on new release day since I discovered the existance of comic shops in 1980. As a result, about 90% of my collection is post-1970 (bronze and modern). I started out as a Marvel zombie, but I love all comics so I pretty much have bought what interested me since I was a teenager, so I have a pretty diverse collection of books. My main collecting focus has been Spider-Man.

 

A frustrated artist and writer, I even tried my hand at creating my own comics with the Black Light Comics line of stapled photocopies created by myself and some friends in High School and sold at local conventions between 1986 and 1990. We had six titles, two were mine, and I participated in a third anthology title which was a group effort.

 

Since 1991 I have regularly sold comics at Toronto-area conventions ONLY. As my collecting interests have changed, so has my focus and I currently have an inventory of about 1/2 of my collection that I bring to sell at shows. So 1/2 a table in 1991 has expanded to four tables in 2002. In 2001, I decided to start selling selected items from my collection on e-bay to make some additional $$. In late 2001 I agreed to sell artwork on e-bay for a friend of mine who has been collecting art for the last decade.

 

For the last three years I have been helping Paradise Comics at shows throughout North America and it's helped to give me a wider perspective on the hobby. I've always been interested in the state of the industry, and I've contributed to a few online forums. In 1997 I started posting messages on the "Kingdom Come" message boards that evolved into (Jonah Weiland's) Comic Book Resources. For a while I moderated the Comic News and Spider-Man message boards on that site. Lately I've been trying to find some way to make my hobby a career and I'm in the midst of helping to organize a convention for the spring of next year in Toronto.

 

Almost as strong as my love of comics is my interest in film. I used to collect videos, but when I bought my DVD player in December 1999 I instantly fell in love with the format and sold my video collection to begin anew with DVDs. I currently have a DVD collection of over 600 films on DVD. E-bay is a great outlet for cleaning house, so to speak, and filtering out the films that I don't want anymore or I know are being upgraded.

 

So that's it. Instead of what my peers have, nicer cars, houses, mortgages, wives and children, I have.... a lot of stuff.

 

Kev

[supapimp]

so how long you've been drinking alcohol? 600 DVD's?! i can't even imagine having 200 DVD's that i would buy let alone 600!

[Kevin Boyd]

I'm drunk everytime I buy one (hic).

 

I spent the weekend going thru my DVD collection as I decided I had too many and I should pare it down. I found that I there are about 400 that I didn't want to part with! 200 that I was still interested in keeping and about 30 that I decided to sell.

 

Collecting movies is like collecting comics for me... by director, by actor, by genre, by actress fixation....

 

Kev

[Guest]

No doubt. I'm with you on movies, although I never collected them until I got a DVD player (which was only a year ago). I could come up with a list of 600 to own in about an hour. dozens and dozens of the films in the Criterion Collection, for example...

[Kevin Boyd]

LOVE Criterion. HATE the cost.

 

If I could only have ten DVDs, then Criterion's editions of The Third Man, Grand Illusion and Seven Samurai would be there!

 

Kevin

 

 

[CosmicBob]

I've got the Criterion Laser Disc of Dr. Strangelove. If the DVD is out and is like that, then it's one of the best available. An awesome movie.

[Guest]

Most of the time I get them on ebay (where they can be had for up to half off) and I also pick them up whenever I see them for sale used. Seven Samurai is one of my ten as well, by the way.

[Kevin Boyd]

I think Warner Brothers got their hands on that one and released it as part of the Kubrick collection set.

 

Nice disc, but not many extras.

 

A lot of studios who let Criterion release laser discs decided to take back control of the release for DVD so a lot of great lfeatures that Criterion put out on LD will never be released on DVD. Studios like to do everything in-house to save on costs.

 

Kev

[Crowzilla]

So this is where the Bio thread was moved to...

 

My bio was actually written in an old issue of Comic Book Marketplace (I think it was #11), but here's the summary in a nutshell.

 

Born/raised in Florida. Love comics, posters and toys, have had at least one copy of every book on the Overstreet top 20 list except for Whiz #1 (which I don't consider a key). Still do comics, but have most of what I want, so I'm collecting a lot of posters now.

 

Published a price guide on Godzilla toys/collectibles and am working on a movie poster book.

 

Sean

 

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

This is a combination of responses, I would like to thank all of you that have shared about yourselves, and that I've enjoyed the reading.

 

Murph0 - From reading your bio, I would say you are a fortunate son (ever listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival?) What is the UNI chapter, and what do you do as a graduate advisor? I spent about 2 years as a part-time student at a local collage but I never joined a fraternity. I have heard some crazy stories about fraternity iniation (and the advantages of being in a fraternity), did you have to do anything to get in the fraternity? If you don't mind my askin', do you like going to school, I mean are you going for yourself or your parents? Don't get upset, I know how demanding that some parents can be, and I'm just curious because I went to college for myself (quite a few years after graduating from high school), and I did not mind having to study that much, in fact I enjoyed studying for the most part. I definity share your enthusiasm for Spider-Man comics, and I too would like for people of all races to see eachother as just that...people, we are all part of the human race, and uniquely different even from within the same race.

 

P.S. the names of your cats, reminds me of a certain Burt Reynolds movie

 

Supapimp - Yeah, I stopped collecting in 1993 for the most part, and just started again this year and thanks to eBay. My dad was a bartender (among other things) many years ago. On more than one ocassion he has told me about a drunk customer that demanded drinks after he had closed, the guy even pulled out a knife, but my dad ended up causing the guy to turn around and walk out without a drink. My dad loved Baseball years ago (before all the strike B.S.), and his favorite team has always been the Cincinnati Reds, and his favorite player is Pete Rose hands down. Pete belongs in the hall of fame

 

P.S. Love the end of your bio about unauthorized use

 

Rickdogg - Wow 10 siblings! Brady Bunch? LMAO Are you the youngest, oldest, somewhere in the middle? What are you majoring in? Do you have a minor? Congratulations on your sucessful eBay status Never been single for more than a few months, damn you (just kidding, I am a little jealous though)

 

Mister_Comics - I think almost everyone can identify with stage fright. I have been told that most people would rather do just about anything than give a speech before an audience. I took a speech class in college, and it really helped me out, the professor could not have done a better job. I gained confidence in my ability to speak before an audience because of that course. Then again being well prepared, having the speech written (at least a general outline) tends to help a little too Although Superman is my favorite DC character, Batman is a close second, I need to build up my Batman and Dective Comic collection, currently my Batman collection mainly consists of Shadow of the Bat 1-94, and Legends of the Dark Knight 1-134+. I have the first Batman Archive edition, and the recent Batman in the 60's and 70's TPB's.

 

P.S. What do you do for a living? Write?

 

FlyingDonut - "It ain't me, it aint't me, I anin't no millionares son" Oh, sorry wrong response to wrong person Anyway, what does your job as a proposal manager entail? Flying Donut Trading Company? What do you trade? Stock?

 

 

Keithdagen - I'm Sorry to hear about your misfortune with women Some people might think that it is better to have never loved than to loose a love, but I disagree, I think it is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all. I hate to admit this, and I"m somewhat embarrased (and sad) to say it, but I have never been in a serious relationship with a woman, and what is even more sad is that I don't look like an ogre, and I'm one of those nice guys that have been passed up on more than one ocassion. Anway, what does your job as a Ledger Manager entail? Bro I have always had an interest in just about anything Star Wars related including Star Wars video games (I need to check out Jedi Knight II). Hey your into rock and you go to church, so I've got to ask this, have you listened to a Christian rock band led by Bob Hartman entitled "PETRA"? I have all of their albums (15 of them not including the Praise albums) up to the 1998 God Fixation release, my two favorites are More Power To Ya, and Not of This World, I highly recommend em'.

 

Whew, that is all I can type tonight, I'll try and respond to others in another post. I really have enjoyed this thread, it's much better than the contests

[murph0]

I have many a great tale from college while living in the fraternity. Yes, they do haze..not it's not as bad as some people would think. Nothing grotesque.. I can however share that some fraternities do some real bad stuff..a house once got in trouble for making their pledges lick the ring of a urinal, others make their pledges sleep in potato sacks during Hell Week. As a graduate advisor, I help the exec council of this chapter to continously improve on numbers and money and just quality of living. The grades are already where we want them to be, just below the All-Men's avg and right at the Greek All-men avg. I am still going to school b/c I really have nothing to do. There's a lot of stuff I could do for the family business but I'd really rather do something else.. There's a decent chance that I may use some money I have piled up and start my own bank..don't know for sure yet.

 

Brian

[keithdagen]

and what is even more sad is that I don't look like an ogre, and I'm one of those nice guys that have been passed up on more than one ocassion.

 

I won't bore you with how many times I've been shot down over the last 2 years.

 

Anway, what does your job as a Ledger Manager entail?

 

I have two employees, one who bills out all miscellaneous revenues, and the other reconciles our bank balances and handles state filings for sales tax and municapal court receipts. Personally, I am in charge of policy in these areas, and am ultimately responsible for any JV that gets booked to the ledger. Currently (and why my posting is going to slow), we are undergoing our year-end audit, and I am responsible for the preparation of our financial statements, which is about a 80 page document, give or take.

 

Bro I have always had an interest in just about anything Star Wars related including Star Wars video games (I need to check out Jedi Knight II).

 

Played pretty much all through the Phantom Menace and X-Wing Alliance on PC -- PO's because I can't get out of the Death Star on Alliance. Have a Nintendo 64, and can't unlock the bonus missions on Battle For Naboo

 

Hey your into rock and you go to church, so I've got to ask this, have you listened to a Christian rock band led by Bob Hartman entitled "PETRA"? I have all of their albums (15 of them not including the Praise albums) up to the 1998 God Fixation release, my two favorites are More Power To Ya, and Not of This World, I highly recommend em'.

 

My faith sticks to acapella music, so I used to listen to Acappella And Acapella Vocal Band, but they kind of splintered and I became rebellious. I like stuff like Lifehouse and Creed, who deny they're Christian but you can hear the influence. Humorously, POD, who claims faith, cussed as much as Ozzy at Ozzfest. So never really got into the other acts, although I have friends who like Petra and the other harder Christian bands.

 

If you like alternative, try this group, Naveed. It's a group of my friends who play Christian alternative and are starting to get gigs at the local nightclubs in Dallas.

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

I won't bore you with how many times I've been shot down over the last 2 years.

 

I could count the number of times I've been shot down over the last two years on 1 hand. NONE Why? I've never been good at formally asking women out on dates because I get shy when I'm around a female that I'm attracted to, and you would be surprised at how many discouraging things can go through a person's mind in just an instant. It seems like a curse sometimes, but I know that it has probably prevented me from entering dead end relationships on more than once occasion in the past.

 

I am responsible for the preparation of our financial statements, which is about a 80 page document, give or take.

 

80 pages and I thought a 12-14 page college paper was a bit much

 

Played pretty much all through the Phantom Menace and X-Wing Alliance on PC

 

I have X-Wing Alliance, and I need to play it because I've had it for about a year without playing it! I know it's one of the better space simulations available for the PC, I just need about a month with NO internet...I think the internet can be a serious additction, like bidding on an eBay auction with only 30 seconds left in the auction, wondering if someone is going to try and do the same thing.

 

My faith sticks to acapella music, so I used to listen to Acappella And Acapella Vocal Band, but they kind of splintered and I became rebellious.

 

So this is a reason NOT to give PETRA a try? Do you put God in a box, and only open the box after you have put your guitar away? I know that may sound a bit harsh, but it makes absoultey no sense to me. Rock is merely a style of music, like Rap, Country, Pop, alternative, and Acappella. One could just as easily make vulgar acappella "vocal music". Based on "my faith sticks to acapella music" It sounds to me like you either belong to the Church of LDS or the Chuch Of Christ a denomianional branch off of LDS.

 

I like stuff like Lifehouse and Creed, who deny they're Christian but you can hear the influence. Humorously, POD, who claims faith, cussed as much as Ozzy at Ozzfest.

 

I'm sorry but if they "cussed as much as Ozzy" then POD cannot even be compared with PETRA. That might however explain POD's mainstream acceptance. Have you ever read the lyrics that PETRA sings? Obviously not because you will NOT find a single cuss word on any of their 15+ albums. Let me end this with the words of a song entitle "Creed" from their Beyond Belief album. The song is based on the Apostle's Creed, and it starts out in Acappella style, the electric guitars come in with " He descended".

 

Creed by PETRA

Words and music by Bob Hartman

Based on the Apostle's Creed

 

I believe in God the Father - maker of heaven and earth

And in Jesus Christ His only Son

I believe in the virgin birth

I believe in the Man of Sorrows bruised for iniquities

I believe in the Lamb who was crucified and hung between two thieves

 

I believe in the resurrection on the third and glorious day

And I believe in the empty tomb and the stone that the angel rolled away

He descended and set the captives free

And now He sits at God's right hand and prepares a place for me

 

CHORUS:

This is my creed - the witness I have heard

The faith that has endured

This truth is assured

Through the darkest ages past

Though persecuted, it will last

And I will hold steadfast to this creed

 

I believe He sent His Spirit to comfort and to reveal

To lead us into truth and light, to baptize and to seal

I believe that He will come back the way He went away

And receive us all unto Himself, but no man knows the day

 

Chorus

 

I believe He is the Judge of all men, small and great

The resurrected souls of men receive from Him their fate

Some to death and some to life, some to their reward

Some to sing eternal praise forever to our Lord

 

Chorus

 

 

Just a bit different from Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" wouldn't you say?

[COI]

" could count the number of times I've been shot down over the last two years on 1 hand. NONE Why? I've never been good at formally asking women out on dates because I get shy when I'm around a female that I'm attracted to, and you would be surprised at how many discouraging things can go through a person's mind in just an instant. It seems like a curse sometimes, but I know that it has probably prevented me from entering dead end relationships on more than once occasion in the past."

 

I think just about any guy can sympathize. I don't care how smooth a guy is, or how many girls he's had, it's never easy talking to a total stranger that you're attracted to. But it does get easier the more you do it. Speaking from experience, the one thing Women will always respond well to is confidence. No pick up lines or any other bulls#$t like that. I've found that some of the most attractive and intelligent girls are single because most guys are too intimidated to aproach them. And the guys that do usually spout some that repels them. Therefor, many of these girls will be impressed by a guy who can walk straight up to them and speak to them intelligently. And since you say you aren't an ogre, you've already won half the battle. Keep in mind that however nervous you are, the girl is human too and it's very likely she is nervous as well, and probably more so. The more nervous you appear, the more nervous you're going to make her. Putting her at ease will knock down a lot of walls.

 

Another thing: The grass always appears greener on the other side. I have girls come up to me, but it's always for the most shallow reasons. I've been told I have some resemblence to Vin Diesel, and this is all they talk about. I realize some of you might be rolling your eyes, but this can be a problem when someone refers to you as "that Vin Diesel guy" instead of your name. You're then made to feel like you're in some actor's shadow, almost as if I'm trying to look like him.

 

Bottom line: don't be so timid! Practice making conversation with strangers like waitress', bank tellers, etc... to build up confidence.

 

Seriously, I've done a little private investigation, and I've picked up a few techniques for making people feel at ease. If you want to talk more about this, email me.

 

All else fails, shove a sock in your pants

 

 

 

[Joanna]

Here's a secret, guys: with most women, looks only count for a very small portion of attraction. It's only an intitial, first impression thing. The real attraction is in personality. Is he smart? Is he funny? (really important to have a sense of humor. You don't have to be a stand-up comic, but cleverness and an ability to laugh helps a great deal.) Is he warm, considerate, energetic; does he have a future, ambition (you don't have to be rich, just going somewhere, wherever that is. It can be big or small, but there has to be a passion for something).

 

Granted there are all kinds of women, just as there all kinds of men. So some women are only looking at surfaces. I'm not sure why someone would pick that type, but maybe a surface is all some guys have to offer (I've met a few. Couldn't wait to say buh-bye).

 

Each man is different, each woman is different. MoS, don't look at the woman as a source of rejection before you ever open your mouth. Think of her as a potentional friend. Non-threatening. Just another buddy. Then talk to her like she's someone you like being around. I'd be willing to bet that will get a very nice response. It's also possible she's thinking the same positive things about you that you are about her.

 

And always rememer, it's selection, not rejection. If she does say no, you wouldn't want her anyway. You want someone who's selected you.

 

-- Joanna