The Absolute Hardest to Find 2000's Books

[Jeffreykli]

I dunno if that counts if the issues themselves are not so hard to find...how can one know if that's the sketch you got distributed or you picked up at a show from the artist? (or did a limited # of copies have the blank page for a sketch?)

From what I have read, the last two issues only came in a signed, sketched, and numbered format. Unless I read wrong that is. And I haven't really found any late issue TMNT comics for sale on eBay while I was looking. I don't know if I have a single issue from that series yet.

 

My understanding is that the print run on these two issues were limited to 1,000 copies, since they were moving the comic to an online only format. Cover price was $9.95, and they were individually signed and sketched. Pretty tough to find, since you had to be a hardcore subscriber/collector to even know about them.

[seanfingh]

 

But yet you did.

[socktopi]

Just because something is at a price you won't pay doesn't mean it's "rare." If it's for sale right now on eBay, regardless of price, then, by definition, it's not rare.

 

Having once received a degree in economics for some reason, I just can't let that statement stand there.

 

A book like ALBEDO #2 is both RARE and available for purchase at a high price any time you want to cough up the money. It's precisely because it's known to be so valuable that many copies have been found and brought to market. By your account, the fact that people found and tried to resell some copies for $1000+ proves it "isn't rare" when in fact it proves quite the opposite: It is one of the hardest to find books of it's time period. That's how markets work: High prices serve as a catalyst to bring more supply to market.

 

By your metric Action Comics #1 is the "least difficult to find" golden age book. And Picasso paintings are demonstrably "not rare" because they come up for auction all the time while your grandmother's watercolors can't be purchased anywhere.

 

A book that has minuscule supply and no demand is way less interesting to me than a book with low supply and medium to high demand.

 

Seanfingh is right that this thread will be boring as hell if it's just a list of things Chaos! printed 25 variant copies of, or some zine I made at kinkos that no one ever wanted.

[seanfingh]

 

Socktopi, prepare to have that post dissected like a fetal pig in HS biology class. Now this thread is going to have some action!!

[hulksmashdave]

Socktopi, prepare to have that post dissected like a fetal pig in HS biology class. Now this thread is going to have some action!!

 

+1, but it was a ridiculously good point.

[mschmidt]

Socktopi, prepare to have that post dissected like a fetal pig in HS biology class. Now this thread is going to have some action!!

 

+1, but it was a ridiculously good point.

 

There's a difference between something being "rare" and something being "hard-to-find", though - if a book has multiple copies available on eBay at any given time, calling it hard-to-find would be a misnomer.

[fastballspecial]

Just because something is at a price you won't pay doesn't mean it's "rare." If it's for sale right now on eBay, regardless of price, then, by definition, it's not rare.

 

Having once received a degree in economics for some reason, I just can't let that statement stand there.

 

A book like ALBEDO #2 is both RARE and available for purchase at a high price any time you want to cough up the money. It's precisely because it's known to be so valuable that many copies have been found and brought to market. By your account, the fact that people found and tried to resell some copies for $1000+ proves it "isn't rare" when in fact it proves quite the opposite: It is one of the hardest to find books of it's time period. That's how markets work: High prices serve as a catalyst to bring more supply to market.

 

By your metric Action Comics #1 is the "least difficult to find" golden age book. And Picasso paintings are demonstrably "not rare" because they come up for auction all the time while your grandmother's watercolors can't be purchased anywhere.

 

A book that has minuscule supply and no demand is way less interesting to me than a book with low supply and medium to high demand.

 

Seanfingh is right that this thread will be boring as hell if it's just a list of things Chaos! printed 25 variant copies of, or some zine I made at kinkos that no one ever wanted.

 

well said

[the blob]

I dunno if that counts if the issues themselves are not so hard to find...how can one know if that's the sketch you got distributed or you picked up at a show from the artist? (or did a limited # of copies have the blank page for a sketch?)

From what I have read, the last two issues only came in a signed, sketched, and numbered format. Unless I read wrong that is. And I haven't really found any late issue TMNT comics for sale on eBay while I was looking. I don't know if I have a single issue from that series yet.

 

My understanding is that the print run on these two issues were limited to 1,000 copies, since they were moving the comic to an online only format. Cover price was $9.95, and they were individually signed and sketched. Pretty tough to find, since you had to be a hardcore subscriber/collector to even know about them.

 

hmm, well, 1,000 copies is somewhat low and i guess big fans of the series are sitting on their's so not much in the way of ebay i suppose. ok, it counts.

 

 

[Jeffreykli]

Some of the hardest to find books are actually Hardcover Versions of TPBs; for example, I know it was printed in 1990, but Usagi Yojimbo Volume 4 was the first Fantagraphics trade paperback, available only in a HC. The print run was 1500, and Stan did full body sketches in each version (signed as well). I haven't seen one for sale in years, although it was the highest print run of any HC version.

 

The later volumes all came out in a limited signed/numbered HC version as well as a softcover.

 

Similarly, the Marvel Masterpieces Variant covers are usually limited to 500 or less. If someone years later wanted to put together a set, they'd have a hard time.

[JohnnyDeLicious]

Later Usagi HC's are mostly limited to around 300. And a few Masterworks variants are under 400. (I believe 350 is the lowest.) Grendel/Batman HC is VERY limited, I believe to 300 as well. Definitely a rare Batbook.

[dupont2005]

I dunno if that counts if the issues themselves are not so hard to find...how can one know if that's the sketch you got distributed or you picked up at a show from the artist? (or did a limited # of copies have the blank page for a sketch?)

From what I have read, the last two issues only came in a signed, sketched, and numbered format. Unless I read wrong that is. And I haven't really found any late issue TMNT comics for sale on eBay while I was looking. I don't know if I have a single issue from that series yet.

 

My understanding is that the print run on these two issues were limited to 1,000 copies, since they were moving the comic to an online only format. Cover price was $9.95, and they were individually signed and sketched. Pretty tough to find, since you had to be a hardcore subscriber/collector to even know about them.

About a year ago I saw the pair for sale for $50. I didn't have the cash though. Hopefully when I do have the cash they are not more expensive

[dupont2005]

This thread seems...familiar....

 

Anyhoo, any of the Vampirella Blues, limited to 100, would qualify. Also, the Lady Death Blues, also limited to 100. There are now several Lady Death premiums limited to 50.

 

And we can't forget the dearth of Jay & Co. Museum Editions, nearly all of which were made in the 2000's, and limited to 5-50 copies each, generally.

 

I hope this thread isn't filled with the inane nonsense that has filled the 90's thread, with stuff that people "can't find" at their local LCS, but which have 5-20 copies on eBay at any given time...people, the internet changed the rules. Surely you're all aware of that, right? Just because something is at a price you won't pay doesn't mean it's "rare." If it's for sale right now on eBay, regardless of price, then, by definition, it's not rare, with the exceptions that make the rule.

 

(thumbs u

Deathmate Gold

[gaz2810i]

Might as well list them all Dan. The Avengers, X-men, Hulk, and isnt there anyone cant remember. I have only found the X-men issue in years of looking.

 

Avengers 77 newsstand:

 

 

Avengers 77 newsstand error:

 

 

Daredevil 41 newsstand:

 

 

Incredible Hulk 55 newsstand:

 

 

X-Men 423 newsstand:

 

 

X-Men 423 newsstand error:

 

 

Of these books, the FF 60 is by far the hardest to find, as nobody knew Marvel was doing it until after it happened.

 

kind of wierd to read a thread, and see your books pictured

 

you could have at least linked the gallery, Dan

 

Lastly, in my experience, the X-men 423 error is the most elusive. This may be due to the fact that it very hard to spot on online listings without close inspection, but I know others besides myself that have been searching for a long time and have only seen two show up on ebay in the last five years or so. (both hidden)

 

I check for the X-men book at every store I visit and on every site I check and have never seen one

[RockMyAmadeus]

Then you can have this thread drop to the 20th page after you've had your dryass boring recitation of the most artificially created low print books of the decade.

 

Threads shouldn't have points. They should foster discourse and fun. A nice derail every once in a while is great, too.

 

Puh-leaze.

 

I would be a colossal hypocrite if I thought that threads couldn't and shouldn't be de-railed.

 

But it's not about de-railing. It's about wussy butt posts that make the lamest attempt at being on-topic, but which have little to nothing to do with what's actually being discussed. It's like your little sister coming along and wanting to play GI Joe with you and your friends, and can her Barbie be one of them...?

 

You're like the mom who says "you be nice and let your sister play with you and your friends!"

 

(thumbs u

 

As Schmidty said, a book that has 20 copies on eBay for sale right now need not apply.

[welcomebackpotter]

Crossgen pre-production file copies.

 

 

Were these the retailer preview #1s that came out before the regular #1s?

I think I have a few.

 

Pat

No, these are pre-production prototypes. They are twice as thick as the regular edition. Very few produced and given to CrossGen employees involved with making the comic.

 

Is the thickness the only way to tell the difference between the prototype and the regular version?

[Boozad]

Is the tickness the only way to tell

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

Just because something is at a price you won't pay doesn't mean it's "rare." If it's for sale right now on eBay, regardless of price, then, by definition, it's not rare.

 

Having once received a degree in economics for some reason, I just can't let that statement stand there.

 

A book like ALBEDO #2 is both RARE and available for purchase at a high price any time you want to cough up the money. It's precisely because it's known to be so valuable that many copies have been found and brought to market. By your account, the fact that people found and tried to resell some copies for $1000+ proves it "isn't rare" when in fact it proves quite the opposite: It is one of the hardest to find books of it's time period. That's how markets work: High prices serve as a catalyst to bring more supply to market.

 

Yes, and you've completely forgotten the REST of that formula: High prices serve as a catalyst to bring more supply to market, until the available supply is exhausted. Then, price becomes irrelevant if it doesn't make more examples appear.

 

Albedo #2 isn't a rare book. At a 2,000 copy print run, the vast majority of which have survived, it's not even close to "rare."

 

You're completely missing the point. The thread (at least insofar as it's a copy of the 70's, 80's, and 90's threads) is about books that cannot be found regardless of offering price.

 

By your metric Action Comics #1 is the "least difficult to find" golden age book.

 

That, of course, isn't anything even remotely resembling what I said, but the essence is still true: compared to books like, oh, Suspense Comics #3, Action #1 is downright common. Setting aside price, Action #1 isn't even in the Top 100 for "rarest Golden Age comic book."

 

And Picasso paintings are demonstrably "not rare" because they come up for auction all the time while your grandmother's watercolors can't be purchased anywhere.

 

Really...? You're trying to compare unique pieces of art with mass produced art? Really...? The analogy completely and utterly fails. Let's confine the discussion to items that have a status greater than "unique."

 

A book that has minuscule supply and no demand is way less interesting to me than a book with low supply and medium to high demand.

 

That's great. But that's not what this thread is about. This thread has a very specific purpose: to discover and discuss the hardest to find books of the past decade. Demand is irrelevant in this thread.

 

Seanfingh is right that this thread will be boring as hell if it's just a list of things Chaos! printed 25 variant copies of, or some zine I made at kinkos that no one ever wanted.

 

And yet, oddly enough, the 80's thread, which was designed in exactly the same way, was a spectacular success, and the 70's to a lesser degree.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Socktopi, prepare to have that post dissected like a fetal pig in HS biology class. Now this thread is going to have some action!!

 

I am nothing if not consistent.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

Socktopi, prepare to have that post dissected like a fetal pig in HS biology class. Now this thread is going to have some action!!

 

+1, but it was a ridiculously good point.

 

It was a terrible point, stated poorly, as dissected above.

 

But hey. To each his own.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Just because something is at a price you won't pay doesn't mean it's "rare." If it's for sale right now on eBay, regardless of price, then, by definition, it's not rare.

 

Having once received a degree in economics for some reason, I just can't let that statement stand there.

 

A book like ALBEDO #2 is both RARE and available for purchase at a high price any time you want to cough up the money. It's precisely because it's known to be so valuable that many copies have been found and brought to market. By your account, the fact that people found and tried to resell some copies for $1000+ proves it "isn't rare" when in fact it proves quite the opposite: It is one of the hardest to find books of it's time period. That's how markets work: High prices serve as a catalyst to bring more supply to market.

 

By your metric Action Comics #1 is the "least difficult to find" golden age book. And Picasso paintings are demonstrably "not rare" because they come up for auction all the time while your grandmother's watercolors can't be purchased anywhere.

 

A book that has minuscule supply and no demand is way less interesting to me than a book with low supply and medium to high demand.

 

Seanfingh is right that this thread will be boring as hell if it's just a list of things Chaos! printed 25 variant copies of, or some zine I made at kinkos that no one ever wanted.

 

well said

 

 

You too...? Really...?