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Comics that are hard to find because of importance

Started by Scott Goodman,

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Scott Goodman

Scott Goodman

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I frequent a lot of comic book shops as I travel around the East Coast for work. I always try to look for certain issues because I'd like to upgrade mine. But, as many comic shops as I find myself visiting, there are certain issues I never seem to find. These are some of the KEY issues (not necessarily first appearances) that I have always had trouble locating like:

Flash 323 and 324 -- the death of Reverse Flash

Captain America 319 and 320 -- The Scourge issues of Captain America

Captain America 300 -- anniversary issue

Iron Man 169 and 170 -- Jim Rhodes takes over as IM

Justice League of America 185 -- Darkseid Rising

Defenders 112-114 -- the Squadron Supreme three-parter

Amazing Spider-Man 248 -- The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man

New Mutants 18-21 -- the Demon Bear saga

Fantastic Four 243, 246-247, 258 -- all Byrne issues

Jonah Hex 90 and 91

Ghost Rider 73

Saga of the Swamp Thing 20 and 21 -- Alan Moore begins (I have NEVER found a copy of 20 in any store -- ever)

DC Comics Presents 47 and 52 -- first Masters of the Universe and first Ambush Bug

Doom Patrol 17-19 -- especially 18, the last Kupperberg issue before Grant Morrison took over

Superman 20-22 -- Byrne issues, Doom Patrol cameo, first return of Supergirl and Superman kills Phantom Zone villains

And, from the 1970s:

Flash 275 -- the death of Iris Allen

Justice League of America 139 and 168 -- Neal Adams cover and major battle with Secret Society of Super-Villains

 

I'm sure there are many more that I actively look for in shops and never find. Does anyone else have trouble finding certain issues?

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rjpb

rjpb

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My impression of most comic shops I've visited, is that if they even have much copper inventory in halfway decent shape, it's been picked clean of any keys major or minor, as well as last issues and sleeper books that have been priced at all rationally. While there are exceptions, I'd imagine that conventions and ebay are a better reflection of what is actually available - but I could be wrong as I don't actively seek much in the way of copper back issues.

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Bosco685

Bosco685

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Saga of the Swamp Thing 20 and 21 -- Alan Moore begins (I have NEVER found a copy of 20 in any store -- ever)

Depending on when you started collecting, I'm not surprised if it was the past few years. These two have been hoarded for a long time by many.

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Foolkiller

Foolkiller

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I frequent a lot of comic book shops as I travel around the East Coast for work. I always try to look for certain issues because I'd like to upgrade mine. But, as many comic shops as I find myself visiting, there are certain issues I never seem to find. These are some of the KEY issues (not necessarily first appearances) that I have always had trouble locating like:

Flash 323 and 324 -- the death of Reverse Flash

Captain America 319 and 320 -- The Scourge issues of Captain America

Captain America 300 -- anniversary issue

Iron Man 169 and 170 -- Jim Rhodes takes over as IM

Justice League of America 185 -- Darkseid Rising

Defenders 112-114 -- the Squadron Supreme three-parter

Amazing Spider-Man 248 -- The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man

New Mutants 18-21 -- the Demon Bear saga

Fantastic Four 243, 246-247, 258 -- all Byrne issues

Jonah Hex 90 and 91

Ghost Rider 73

Saga of the Swamp Thing 20 and 21 -- Alan Moore begins (I have NEVER found a copy of 20 in any store -- ever)

DC Comics Presents 47 and 52 -- first Masters of the Universe and first Ambush Bug

Doom Patrol 17-19 -- especially 18, the last Kupperberg issue before Grant Morrison took over

Superman 20-22 -- Byrne issues, Doom Patrol cameo, first return of Supergirl and Superman kills Phantom Zone villains

And, from the 1970s:

Flash 275 -- the death of Iris Allen

Justice League of America 139 and 168 -- Neal Adams cover and major battle with Secret Society of Super-Villains

 

I'm sure there are many more that I actively look for in shops and never find. Does anyone else have trouble finding certain issues?

 

You're looking in the wrong shops. While a few are difficult to find (last issues especially) most of those on the list are all in the LCSs I frequent. I've bought them all in NM multiple times over -- the only exception being the DC Comics Presents 47, which I think is legitimately tough. In fact, most of those are in the .50 cent and dollar bins at many LCSs.

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Scott Goodman

Scott Goodman

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I'm well aware of eBay and I buy from there frequently. I just like looking through long boxes at stores a lot better. I rarely find any of these at any shop. I travel all up and down the east coast for work and I have never found some of these in any long boxes, no matter how extensive the store's back issue bins are.

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Bosco685

Bosco685

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I'm well aware of eBay and I buy from there frequently. I just like looking through long boxes at stores a lot better. I rarely find any of these at any shop. I travel all up and down the east coast for work and I have never found some of these in any long boxes, no matter how extensive the store's back issue bins are.

They're not.

 

Stores wish they had multiple NM copies of Saga of the Swamp Thing 20-21 sitting in long boxes, ready for mass sale. Although not rare at all, they are constantly in demand and hoarded.

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dupont2005

dupont2005

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I have found it impossible to find a single non-super hero Copper comic in any comic shop anywhere ever since I started collecting again. No TMNT vol. 1, no Fantagraphics Usagi, no Deadworld, Love And Rockets, Elflord, Elfquest, No Eclipse, NOW, not even any Silverwolf comics :sorry:

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500Club

500Club

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I have found it impossible to find a single non-super hero Copper comic in any comic shop anywhere ever since I started collecting again. No TMNT vol. 1, no Fantagraphics Usagi, no Deadworld, Love And Rockets, Elflord, Elfquest, No Eclipse, NOW, not even any Silverwolf comics :sorry:

 

Those books you likely need to ask the store. Many shops have several hundred longboxes of inventory not in the bins.

 

TMNT may be a tall order regardless...

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Scott Goodman

Scott Goodman

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I have found it impossible to find a single non-super hero Copper comic in any comic shop anywhere ever since I started collecting again. No TMNT vol. 1, no Fantagraphics Usagi, no Deadworld, Love And Rockets, Elflord, Elfquest, No Eclipse, NOW, not even any Silverwolf comics :sorry:

 

Those books you likely need to ask the store. Many shops have several hundred longboxes of inventory not in the bins.

 

TMNT may be a tall order regardless...

 

I have been in a lot of shops, but have never found one with "several hundred longboxes of inventory not in the bins." I wish I could find a shop with a back issue selection that deep. I'm sure I'd find some of those books in those several hundred long boxes.

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Scott Goodman

Scott Goodman

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I also have very little trouble finding a lot of TMNT back issues. I recently went into a shop and found the TMNT Collected Book 1 for cover price and I got several early issues for about 50 cents each in VF-NM+. Some of those I am thinking about getting graded. And that's the honest truth. I had no idea TMNT issues were rare at most shops.

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Bosco685

Bosco685

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I have found it impossible to find a single non-super hero Copper comic in any comic shop anywhere ever since I started collecting again. No TMNT vol. 1, no Fantagraphics Usagi, no Deadworld, Love And Rockets, Elflord, Elfquest, No Eclipse, NOW, not even any Silverwolf comics :sorry:

:gossip: They're being hoarded by buyers who came in years before you, and probably hit the store up for more copies any chance they can get afterwards.

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dupont2005

dupont2005

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I have found it impossible to find a single non-super hero Copper comic in any comic shop anywhere ever since I started collecting again. No TMNT vol. 1, no Fantagraphics Usagi, no Deadworld, Love And Rockets, Elflord, Elfquest, No Eclipse, NOW, not even any Silverwolf comics :sorry:

 

Those books you likely need to ask the store. Many shops have several hundred longboxes of inventory not in the bins.

 

TMNT may be a tall order regardless...

 

I have been in a lot of shops, but have never found one with "several hundred longboxes of inventory not in the bins." I wish I could find a shop with a back issue selection that deep. I'm sure I'd find some of those books in those several hundred long boxes.

My old LCS way back when I was a kid had a back room stuffed to the rafters. At that time though the 25 cent bin was full of everything I loved. When I started collecting again I went to that shop and asked where the hell all the indies were. They were trying to sell me some current trades and I mentioned Eclipse, the guy at the store had never heard of it lol They didn't have a single thing printed before 2000 that wasn't Marvel. That place closed down and now I go to two other stores. One also has nothing but currents and Marvels, the other one might be a treasure trove but it's like he bought out a warehouse of comics and dumped them in the store with no bags or boards and in no order whatsoever. Nothing organized by title, nothing organized by publisher, date, decade, genre, anything. And no longboxes. Everything is stored in a way that makes it impossible to look through. It's the worst store I have ever been in, but I did find some cheap TMNT in there one day. I go in there whenever I'm in town and just see what's kind of on top of the piles to see if I'm interested.
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dupont2005

dupont2005

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I have found it impossible to find a single non-super hero Copper comic in any comic shop anywhere ever since I started collecting again. No TMNT vol. 1, no Fantagraphics Usagi, no Deadworld, Love And Rockets, Elflord, Elfquest, No Eclipse, NOW, not even any Silverwolf comics :sorry:

:gossip: They're being hoarded by buyers who came in years before you, and probably hit the store up for more copies any chance they can get afterwards.

:o

I still get the stuff for between 20 cents and a dollar each through eBay or here when I'm in the market to buy :)

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porcupine48

porcupine48

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Posted
I have found it impossible to find a single non-super hero Copper comic in any comic shop anywhere ever since I started collecting again. No TMNT vol. 1, no Fantagraphics Usagi, no Deadworld, Love And Rockets, Elflord, Elfquest, No Eclipse, NOW, not even any Silverwolf comics :sorry:

:gossip: They're being hoarded by buyers who came in years before you, and probably hit the store up for more copies any chance they can get afterwards.

friggin hoarders...

063-1.jpg

my pantry! lol

286.jpg

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porcupine48

porcupine48

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I have found it impossible to find a single non-super hero Copper comic in any comic shop anywhere ever since I started collecting again. No TMNT vol. 1, no Fantagraphics Usagi, no Deadworld, Love And Rockets, Elflord, Elfquest, No Eclipse, NOW, not even any Silverwolf comics :sorry:

 

Those books you likely need to ask the store. Many shops have several hundred longboxes of inventory not in the bins.

 

TMNT may be a tall order regardless...

 

I have been in a lot of shops, but have never found one with "several hundred longboxes of inventory not in the bins." I wish I could find a shop with a back issue selection that deep. I'm sure I'd find some of those books in those several hundred long boxes.

My old LCS way back when I was a kid had a back room stuffed to the rafters. At that time though the 25 cent bin was full of everything I loved. When I started collecting again I went to that shop and asked where the hell all the indies were. They were trying to sell me some current trades and I mentioned Eclipse, the guy at the store had never heard of it lol They didn't have a single thing printed before 2000 that wasn't Marvel. That place closed down and now I go to two other stores. One also has nothing but currents and Marvels, the other one might be a treasure trove but it's like he bought out a warehouse of comics and dumped them in the store with no bags or boards and in no order whatsoever. Nothing organized by title, nothing organized by publisher, date, decade, genre, anything. And no longboxes. Everything is stored in a way that makes it impossible to look through. It's the worst store I have ever been in, but I did find some cheap TMNT in there one day. I go in there whenever I'm in town and just see what's kind of on top of the piles to see if I'm interested.

Wow,that is a dream afternoon for me!!

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500Club

500Club

Posted
Posted
I have found it impossible to find a single non-super hero Copper comic in any comic shop anywhere ever since I started collecting again. No TMNT vol. 1, no Fantagraphics Usagi, no Deadworld, Love And Rockets, Elflord, Elfquest, No Eclipse, NOW, not even any Silverwolf comics :sorry:

 

Those books you likely need to ask the store. Many shops have several hundred longboxes of inventory not in the bins.

 

TMNT may be a tall order regardless...

 

I have been in a lot of shops, but have never found one with "several hundred longboxes of inventory not in the bins." I wish I could find a shop with a back issue selection that deep. I'm sure I'd find some of those books in those several hundred long boxes.

 

You've asked? I was in two different of our LCS's last weekend with 3-400 longs as warehouse/backroom inventory. It's there.

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

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I have found it impossible to find a single non-super hero Copper comic in any comic shop anywhere ever since I started collecting again. No TMNT vol. 1, no Fantagraphics Usagi, no Deadworld, Love And Rockets, Elflord, Elfquest, No Eclipse, NOW, not even any Silverwolf comics :sorry:

 

That's because Copper books are now in the No Man's Land of comics retailing...

 

Allow me to explain: when I first started seriously collecting, in 1990, most of the shops in the SF Bay Area had lots and lots of 1980's back issues. They had them because they had been gathering them as new books, and then placing them in the back issue bins over the time period. As well, collectors have generally tended to have a "10 year limit" in terms of pursuing recent back issue runs they didn't have.

 

They also had Silver Age books because anything Silver at that time was selling for ridiculous amounts of money, regardless of what it was. A VF Sea Devils #25? EASY sell at $10. $10 in 1990 dollars was quite a bit, especially for a book that was $1 or less not 3 years earlier.

 

What they did NOT have was Bronze books, because at that point, they had already been sold as "back stock", but were much too cheap to take up valuable floor space, because no one wanted them.

 

Now, the same thing has happened for 80's and 90's books. Most stores in existence now were NOT around in the 80's, and those who were have mostly closed, so they don't have original stock from the era. They're not worth the floor space, and "new back issue" buyers are only buying 2000's books, for the most part. But there sure are a lot of big money Bronze books on store walls.

 

Interestingly enough, Silver is a lot harder to find on average than it was then, too.

 

And you'd have to have a really special store to stock Golden Age in any reasonable numbers.

 

Of course, these are generalizations, and exceptions apply, and eBay and the internet have changed a lot of these dynamics, too. But it's fairly accurate.

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