Comics that are hard to find because of importance

[Bosco685]

A shop by me had gotten in the full run of Deadworld a few months back.

 

Now that would have been a nice pickup.

[kidcolt]

One of the shops I visit a couple times a year is cinched with back issues hidden out back. He hides all the good stuff from rare issues, hot 1st app, variant covers etc. If you do catch the owner on a good day (which is rare) and get him to bring some out he will charge about 5X the guide and then add what ever stupid fees he can. I am still amazed that this shop survives as the owner and all the staff are insufficiently_thoughtful_persons. However it has the best selection of inventory and you can find most anything you need there.

[seanfingh]

 

All three LCS' with whom I do business have EXTENSIVE back issue stock that is not onsite, or at least not accessible to the public. In an amazing coincidence, one of them actually has his comics in the same building that I keep my closed file cold storage.

[Designer Toast]

I've picked the shops here clean of anything decent - with the exception of the shadow knows' shop. There are a few shops out of town within an hour drive, so I occasionally hit them.

[shortstack comics]

Think about it, 3,000-4,000 long boxes of comics takes up a lot of space. If you've got that many, then you're most likely talking about a Mile High Comics store or Lone Star Comics. I haven't been to either of those chains of stores, and don't figure I'll ever make it in there for a visit to see the thousands of longboxes of comics I'm sure they have.

 

Just as an FYI, don't walk into one of the Lone Star Comics stores thinking you will get to look through back issues. In fact the only comic boxes you will find in a Lone Star Comics are the boxes for sale. They don't keep any comics in their store except for new and recent releases. All back issues are kept at their (what I'm going to call) corporate location and are only available through the website. They've actually installed computers that are dedicated to their website at a number of their stores that they direct customers to if asked for back issues.

[Rodey]

IF you ever hit up Empire Comics in Rochester, NY you can ask about their back issues. He has a ton. But you have to ask. Or Comic Book Heaven in Roch-cha-cha has some good back issues as well, just ask Rich Henn.

[500Club]

Think about it, 3,000-4,000 long boxes of comics takes up a lot of space. If you've got that many, then you're most likely talking about a Mile High Comics store or Lone Star Comics. I haven't been to either of those chains of stores, and don't figure I'll ever make it in there for a visit to see the thousands of longboxes of comics I'm sure they have.

 

If this was a response to my post, I'd actually said 3-4 hundred, not thousand. Even then, though, you are right, it takes a good size back room to have these books on hand. Most stores have off site storage. A couple LCS owners I know have them at home, along with annoyed wives.

[HouseofComics.Com]

Your posts in this thread are great. Yes, every store either has tons of books in storage or has developed a way to dump them. Every store in the country basically generates 12 to 100 long boxes of unsold new floppies every year. They have to go somewhere.

 

I do believe a lot of comic shops have storage units filled with comics.

 

Yes many comic stores have long boxes stacked in cold storage units, those ones that look like a small garage. I have been to some, they open the door and the stacked long whites go straight up about 8 foot. Solid cubes of comics. You quickly becomes overwhelmed as you start to pull boxes down to go through them. You try to create a new level of boxes that are easier to get down. Many of times I have crawled like Spider-Man on top of boxes, thinking the ones on the other side were better comics

 

It ends up being the same ratio of drek as the other level.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Your posts in this thread are great. Yes, every store either has tons of books in storage or has developed a way to dump them. Every store in the country basically generates 12 to 100 long boxes of unsold new floppies every year. They have to go somewhere.

 

They SHOULD go in the recycling bin.

 

Just sayin'....

[dupont2005]

I got the complete Deadworld run of vol. 1 and 2 along with the first issue of the Image run and about 40 other B&W indies (Concrete #1, Doomsday Squad #3, so on) for 8 cents per issue SHIPPED! Best eBay purchase I have ever made. Had multiples of the first three or four issues of Deadworld Vol. 1 in there.

[Topnotchman]

I got the complete Deadworld run of vol. 1 and 2 along with the first issue of the Image run and about 40 other B&W indies (Concrete #1, Doomsday Squad #3, so on) for 8 cents per issue SHIPPED! Best eBay purchase I have ever made. Had multiples of the first three or four issues of Deadworld Vol. 1 in there.

 

You are da Man

[Bosco685]

Just as an FYI, don't walk into one of the Lone Star Comics stores thinking you will get to look through back issues. In fact the only comic boxes you will find in a Lone Star Comics are the boxes for sale. They don't keep any comics in their store except for new and recent releases. All back issues are kept at their (what I'm going to call) corporate location and are only available through the website. They've actually installed computers that are dedicated to their website at a number of their stores that they direct customers to if asked for back issues.

I've wondered if buyers had better results that visit the Lone Star stores versus their online catalog. Thanks for clearing that up!

[nocutename]

A shop by me had gotten in the full run of Deadworld a few months back.

 

Now that would have been a nice pickup.

 

It would have but honestly when I post here to gleam any type of information, I get very little. So I missed out. By time I read the book the lot was gone. I believe you asked if one issue was of a certain grade.

[nocutename]

IF you ever hit up Empire Comics in Rochester, NY you can ask about their back issues. He has a ton. But you have to ask. Or Comic Book Heaven in Roch-cha-cha has some good back issues as well, just ask Rich Henn.

 

If I don't find what I am looking for I ask for it since found out that my LCS stores animated comics in the back room. I am trying to collect the full run of Harley Quinn just from LCS in my area. It has been a year long challenge and I am one issue short still. But one of the owners had to go in the basement to grab out a big chunk of what I was missing.

 

 

[Foolkiller]

Okay, this question was really asked to see what people on these forums thought about why these books are hard to find, to see the different opinions of collectors both new and old. I do appreciate everyone's responses and it has generated some good posts.

I've already asked the dealers where I shop, from as far south as South Carolina to as far north as Pennsylvania and nearly everywhere in between, and nearly every single dealer said the same thing: They would each love to have copies of these books, but no one ever brings them in. They don't appear in collections, as I've bought several, including a very extensive collection from a former San Diego dealer who sold me his own, cherry-picked collection, which didn't not include any of the issues I mentioned in the first post.

A shop owner near me said he'd love to have these books in stock and I did find a VG- copy of Saga of the Swamp Thing 21 in one store in Kentucky and when I tuend the guy down when he said it was $25 firm, another guy picked the book up and bought it. So, the store was looking for a copy of that particular issue all over again.

In ALL of the stores I frequent, there isn't a single one with even 100 boxes of comics. Think about it, 3,000-4,000 long boxes of comics takes up a lot of space. If you've got that many, then you're most likely talking about a Mile High Comics store or Lone Star Comics. I haven't been to either of those chains of stores, and don't figure I'll ever make it in there for a visit to see the thousands of longboxes of comics I'm sure they have.

The largest stock is one store in Kentucky that has a few hundred long boxes in an actual warehouse nearby. The owner has a very large store, but, with toys, t-shirts, games and comics, he has room for about 50-60 long boxes of back issues.

Stores that have 3,000-4,000 long boxes in addition to their store stock would have more than 1 million comics. That's a heck of a lot of comics and really unrealistic to think that most stores have that kind of backstock.

In Tennessee, a store with a very large stock hasn't had most of these issues in the 10 years I've been shopping there and the store is in a college town where the guy gets collections offered to him all the time.

My opinion on this is that as soon as these copies come available in stores, there are a lot of collectors waiting to snatch them up, just like the guy did with the Saga of the Swamp Thing 21.

I don't think it's reasonable to believe that no one wants these comics. Many of them have really great covers, great writers, great artists and great storylines that many fondly remember and want to put into their collections.

In one shop, I found a copy of Flash 323 in VG. The guy wanted, like, $15 for it and wouldn't come down. When I went back in and checked the Flash box, it was gone, sold to someone willing to pay $15 for a VG copy of a 1983 book that started off the long-running Trial of the Flash. Not to mention it's got a really great Flash vs. Flash cover.

As for last issues, I know there are a lot of last issue collectors out there. At my local shop, there are a lot of comic collectors who buy every last issue, which makes last issues of Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America and Avengers really hard to find. Plus, the print runs were considerably lower, too.

I can usually find Don Perlin Ghost Riders, but those Bob Budiansky Ghost Riders only show up in beat-but-complete shape.

Issue 73 has a really great cover and that may be why it's so tough to find.

I've been collecting comics for 32 years now. I've found most of the issues I want, but it took some looking, especially pre-internet-pre-eBay. I do buy a lot of books from eBay and I can find most of those books pretty cheap on eBay, but I still stand by my original statement that I rarely see them in actual stores.

 

Well, all I can say is that I've had no trouble finding any of the issues you've mentioned, all for less. For instance, the Swamp Things I have multiple 21s, and 20s, while slightly more difficult, are out there.

 

The Flashes, no problem. The last issues are tough, but I have a store in New Jersey which routinely gets them and offers them as well.

 

All of the books you mentioned above, are obtainable fairly easily in the NJ, PA, DE, MD, NY area. I've had zero problems getting any modern/copper book.

[Bosco685]

Well, all I can say is that I've had no trouble finding any of the issues you've mentioned, all for less. For instance, the Swamp Things I have multiple 21s, and 20s, while slightly more difficult, are out there.

 

The Flashes, no problem. The last issues are tough, but I have a store in New Jersey which routinely gets them and offers them as well.

 

All of the books you mentioned above, are obtainable fairly easily in the NJ, PA, DE, MD, NY area. I've had zero problems getting any modern/copper book.

Brian, I guess it depends on a searcher's supply resources.

 

I'm not sure the average collector has the experience of walking into most stores and finds these books readily available. Not that they are rare at all - they're not. They just get hoarded so heavily (e.g. For instance, the Swamp Things I have multiple 21s, and 20s ).

 

From your perspective, it may seem easier to find these books because your supply pool is broader than the average collector. But the typical collector may have a tougher time tracking these books down.

 

I believe that is where the OP was going with the topic. Not that they are rare - just their importance leads to a tougher time tracking them down. It just so happens part of the contributing factor is their importance leads to hoarding, reducing the amount of available copies.

[Jeffreykli]

Well, all I can say is that I've had no trouble finding any of the issues you've mentioned, all for less. For instance, the Swamp Things I have multiple 21s, and 20s, while slightly more difficult, are out there.

 

The Flashes, no problem. The last issues are tough, but I have a store in New Jersey which routinely gets them and offers them as well.

 

All of the books you mentioned above, are obtainable fairly easily in the NJ, PA, DE, MD, NY area. I've had zero problems getting any modern/copper book.

Brian, I guess it depends on a searcher's supply resources.

 

I'm not sure the average collector has the experience of walking into most stores and finds these books readily available. Not that they are rare at all - they're not. They just get hoarded so heavily (e.g. For instance, the Swamp Things I have multiple 21s, and 20s ).

 

From your perspective, it may seem easier to find these books because your supply pool is broader than the average collector. But the typical collector may have a tougher time tracking these books down.

 

I believe that is where the OP was going with the topic. Not that they are rare - just their importance leads to a tougher time tracking them down. It just so happens part of the contributing factor is their importance leads to hoarding, reducing the amount of available copies.

 

Yes, but the OP stated that he visits a lot of comic shops on the East Coast while travelling for work, and can't find these books. Given that fact, Brian is stating that his experience in the same region is the opposite. Not sure what to take away; I think a few of these are relatively difficult to locate, but if a comic store has decent backstock, I would think that these aren't that hard to find. Yes, people hoard (I just got back a 9.6 Swamp Thing #20 from CGC), so it might just be timing of the visits.

 

You never know when a collection has just come in, or when someone has just cleaned out the store. Also, depending on the collection, the store owner might put some of these books online to move quickly to recoup the cost of the collection.

[Bosco685]

Yes, but the OP stated that he visits a lot of comic shops on the East Coast while travelling for work, and can't find these books. Given that fact, Brian is stating that his experience in the same region is the opposite.

If all things were equal, I'd be in total agreement. But the answer is "it depends."

 

If the OP is hitting many of these Modern-only stores, where Brian has the long-term experience to hit just those stores he knows have a much broader inventory, the results are going to be different. And Brian definitely finds many amazing books from all the sales threads he has conducted. I've benefitted a few times from his finds.

 

It's also having the experience to know don't always count on the more popular stores to have what you need. Pretty much everyone else is hitting up the same store for these books because they are marketing their inventory more, probably have better inventory search features, and have a large database of customers with want lists on file.

[Jeffreykli]

All very true, but, at least to me, it's also the thrill of the hunt or unknown, so finding a comic store when you're at an unfamiliar location is always fun. Personally, I love going into comic stores to check out their backstock, but I also have the depth of knowledge of what to look for from GA to moderns. Sometimes the visit is only 5 minutes, other times it's as long as I can afford.

 

For me, the key is asking the owner or workers; so many stores keep their good stuff behind the counter or in a back room.

[Bosco685]

For me, the key is asking the owner or workers; so many stores keep their good stuff behind the counter or in a back room.

Agreed!

 

I love walking into those off-the-beaten-path comic stores, being directed to inventory that hasn't been touched in ages, and finding treasures I've wanted for the longest time, no matter their value.

 

It's a feeling of satisfaction. And sometimes, you really win out.