Remembering November 18th, 1992

[Bosco685]

Superman 74 had a 3rd Printing

Superman 75 had a 4th Printing

Superman 76 had a 2nd Printing

Superman 77 had a 3rd Printing

 

MOS 17 had a 2nd Printing

MOS 18 had a 5th Printing

MOS 19 had a 2nd Printing

 

Action Comics 684 had a 3rd Printing

Action Comics 685 had a 3rd Printing

Action Comics 686 had a 2nd Printing

 

Adventures of Superman 496 had a 2nd Printing

Adventures of Superman 497 had a 3rd Printing

Adventures of Superman 498 had a 3rd Printing

Don't forget Justice League America #69. That had four printings.

 

Wow, those were wild days!

[RockMyAmadeus]

MOS 18 had a 5th Printing

That was the second hottest book of the run, and kind of is even now.

 

Wasn't there a book some sellers were claiming Doomsday made his 1st appearance in, but it turned out later to be a totally different character?

 

 

Yes.

[KEY ISSUES Comics]

I ended up trading my extra copies a week later for some Silver Age Avengers and a X-men #22. So it was a great event for me.

Smart man (or woman)!!!

[Gatsby77]

I enjoyed Superman 75 (the story). It was an epic take on a mysterious new villain who took his sweet time getting to (and laying waste) to Metropolis, taking out the entire Justice League before beating Superman to death. I guess my only complaint was it was a totally new villain who took him down rather than say...Luthor.

 

Fun, and the height of a good time in the in the comic industry for me and my friends. Speculation was easy, fun, and saturday walks to the LCS were an easy way to kill time in high school.

[fastballspecial]

McFarlane's spidey doesnt even come close the frenzy of Death of Superman. Even Batman breaking his back was 2nd and it was a distant 2nd.

 

Unless you are my age or older I can really impress upon you the media frenzy created. Take Superman fans for what say 50 years and tell them Superman is croaking. Then actually create a fury up to this issue and a demand that was outstanding for earlier issues. Everyone wanted to read it.

[ARiche503]

Sorry to dig up an old topic. I know a lot of people have a lot of hate for this storyline since it was just a publicity stunt but I was 12 years old when this came out. I hadn't picked up an actual comic book other than something from the Archie series in my short life. It was the death of superman that got me into comics period. I loved the storyline as well as the knightfall storyline. It was taking heroes that were invincible to me and then suddenly made them mortal and breakable. It was interesting from a young kid from the 80's perspective but then again, kids were allowed to be kids back then.

 

I just want to stand up and say I was a fan of it all. I look back to those times as the best in my life. The storylines today seem like they're becoming more complicated and it's extremely hard it feels like to take some time off and come back to old titles you were once used to. Too many new characters, too many new crappy artists, and too much inflation for just a simple comic.

[FlyingDonut]

[the blob]

Just a thought. (And keep in mind that I'm just a foreigner who always gets his new comics 10-15 days after they're released in the States, so it's entirely possible I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

 

Is there any chance that the book was released in news stands on Wednesday and in comic stores on Friday?

 

No. Back then (I do not know if this is true any longer), newsstand copies showed up 2-3 weeks after the direct copies did. I have no idea why this was so, but it sure helped me score big on Superman #50s. I remember buying all they had at a Pak n' Save in Dublin, CA round about Christmas, 1990.

 

Wow.

 

20 years.

 

I thought it might. Because it makes more sense this way.

 

Actually, it's even worse here! Newsstands get the books almost two months after they arrive in comic stores (which is already a couple of weeks behind the US). I had a nice newsstand ride when Wolverine #166 was out (remember the "origin panel"). Got more than 50 copies which I ended up selling for ridiculous profit before that bubble burst.

 

I still got a couple left, I think.

 

Just curious, did you sell those within Greece? Europe (via ebay?)? Or worldwide on ebay?

[OV]

Now check this link out for....wait for it.....Reign of Doomsday! Coming soon to a Superman comic near you.

 

 

www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=30641

[sakaridis]

Just a thought. (And keep in mind that I'm just a foreigner who always gets his new comics 10-15 days after they're released in the States, so it's entirely possible I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

 

Is there any chance that the book was released in news stands on Wednesday and in comic stores on Friday?

 

No. Back then (I do not know if this is true any longer), newsstand copies showed up 2-3 weeks after the direct copies did. I have no idea why this was so, but it sure helped me score big on Superman #50s. I remember buying all they had at a Pak n' Save in Dublin, CA round about Christmas, 1990.

 

Wow.

 

20 years.

 

I thought it might. Because it makes more sense this way.

 

Actually, it's even worse here! Newsstands get the books almost two months after they arrive in comic stores (which is already a couple of weeks behind the US). I had a nice newsstand ride when Wolverine #166 was out (remember the "origin panel"). Got more than 50 copies which I ended up selling for ridiculous profit before that bubble burst.

 

I still got a couple left, I think.

 

Just curious, did you sell those within Greece? Europe (via ebay?)? Or worldwide on ebay?

Most of them I sold here in Greece. I kinda cornered the market on those, if you will

 

Some (about 10 or so) were sold on eBay through a friend's account (mostly to European customers), and another 10 or so I traded to mycomicshop for store credit (they were paying about 18-20 dollars per copy).

 

I actually have only two left. I thought I had more

[mrwoogieman]

Sorry to dig up an old topic. I know a lot of people have a lot of hate for this storyline since it was just a publicity stunt but I was 12 years old when this came out. I hadn't picked up an actual comic book other than something from the Archie series in my short life. It was the death of superman that got me into comics period. I loved the storyline as well as the knightfall storyline. It was taking heroes that were invincible to me and then suddenly made them mortal and breakable. It was interesting from a young kid from the 80's perspective but then again, kids were allowed to be kids back then.

 

I just want to stand up and say I was a fan of it all. I look back to those times as the best in my life. The storylines today seem like they're becoming more complicated and it's extremely hard it feels like to take some time off and come back to old titles you were once used to. Too many new characters, too many new crappy artists, and too much inflation for just a simple comic.

 

No need to apologize for your interest in the Death of Superman storyline. Everyone's collecting interest is equally valid. (thumbs u

[Bosco685]

No need to apologize for your interest in the Death of Superman storyline. Everyone's collecting interest is equally valid. (thumbs u

 

Exactly!

 

And I think the storyline - ignorning the marketing gimmick behind it - was very well done. When Doomsday's origin was revealed later on, I thought it was quite interesting.

[Batty Scrooge]

Sorry to dig up an old topic. I know a lot of people have a lot of hate for this storyline since it was just a publicity stunt but I was 12 years old when this came out. I hadn't picked up an actual comic book other than something from the Archie series in my short life. It was the death of superman that got me into comics period. I loved the storyline as well as the knightfall storyline. It was taking heroes that were invincible to me and then suddenly made them mortal and breakable. It was interesting from a young kid from the 80's perspective but then again, kids were allowed to be kids back then.

 

I just want to stand up and say I was a fan of it all. I look back to those times as the best in my life. The storylines today seem like they're becoming more complicated and it's extremely hard it feels like to take some time off and come back to old titles you were once used to. Too many new characters, too many new crappy artists, and too much inflation for just a simple comic.

 

No need to apologize for your interest in the Death of Superman storyline. Everyone's collecting interest is equally valid. (thumbs u

 

Just think, in 20 years one of your kids is going to say the same thing about the FF #587 storyline

[joe_collector]

I was out of comics so it didn't bother me at all!

 

I was too, but I still came back to the LCS to buy one, and the guy told me it would cost $25. One look at the store owner, who I was friends with, and I got it for cover.

 

I think that is when I really knew this whole thing was going to get extremely ugly. I always realized it would implode, bubbles always do, but I could see the upcoming blood on the floor that day.

[joe_collector]

Just think, in 20 years one of your kids is going to say the same thing about the FF #587 storyline

 

[whetteon]

I recall being stuck at school when the issue hit the stands and I knew a friend who's mom waited in the lines to get him a copy. The problem was that he wasn't even into comics! I offered to buy it from him because it was obvious that the book was long gone by the time I made it to the store on the weekend but he wouldn't sale.

 

Unfortunately I rode the comic crash until 1995-96 when I went to college and got less interested. However, I started picking up books again sometime in 1998-1999 and was fortunate to take advantage of a few comic stores closing in CA at the time to get prime comics for butt cheap prices!

 

It wasn't until 2007 that I finally got my Superman 75 copy for crying out loud.

[chainnball]

This book was released on Nov 20, 1992. Comics were released on FRIDAY, not WEDNESDAY, until the distributor wars of the mid 90's.

 

(thumbs u

 

You know, we've already had this discussion, and I put images up from newspapers dated November 18 that talk about the book being released that day. I love you man, but you're wrong here.

 

Exactly! The book was released on November 18th (Wednesday).

 

An excerpt from an article written on how this comic attracted collectors outside of the hobby.

 

November 18, 1992. The day Superman #75 was finally released. Over the course of the next few days' people who had never even dreamt of walking into a comic store were standing in line waiting to buy their copy. On Friday November 20 eighty people were standing outside of Cap's Comic Cavalcade in Allentown, Pennsylvania before the store opened. Dan Walter, owner of Cap's had ordered more than three thousand copies of the comic, which was about 100 times the normal amount he usually ordered. Fans who didn't normally collect the book scrambled for a copy. It was a genuine media event and what seemed like the whole world was getting involved, even Saturday Night Live, which put on a skit featuring the funeral of Superman.

 

Even watching the Superman: Doomsday DVD special feature "The World Was Watching," Ryan Liebowitz (GM, Golden Apple Comics) and Ron Hill (Director of Operations, Jim Hanley's Universe) talk about what the experience was like for retailers on November 18th, 1992, and how Jim Hanley's alone sold out 10,000 copies the first day, and people were lined up outside the stores like never before.

 

(thumbs u

I was in that line!

 

[Gatsby77]

For me, the beginning of the end of the comic book bubble was a bit earlier, when I walked into my comic book shop the week the first Image comic was released and the sign said:

 

"Youngblood # 1--Limit 5 per customer."

 

And it still became an $8 book within weeks.

[Green]

By the time superman died , chromium foil covers had fried my retinas so i never saw the all black cover.

[joe_collector]

For me, the beginning of the end of the comic book bubble was a bit earlier, when I walked into my comic book shop the week the first Image comic was released and the sign said:

 

"Youngblood # 1--Limit 5 per customer."

 

And it still became an $8 book within weeks.

 

The beginning of the bubble was definitely Spider-man #1 in 1990, but the Death of Superman really stood out to me because many LCS owners were charging customers premium prices the first day the book hit the shelves.

 

I was quoted $25 when I went in, and although I got it for cover, lots of other people were paying the toll - that represented the apex of mass speculation and greed, and it was all downhill from there.