Rusty staples and sunken treasure! by Hibou

[Hibou]

Getting a chance to sit down once again after a pretty busy weekend.

 

Just wanted to share some observations that I made over the past couple of days. To start, as we all know, Saturday was FCBD and I was fortunate enough to get a few issues despite having to work and getting to my LCBS after 4pm.

 

I was able to get the Secret Wars issue along with a couple of others but the one that left the most lasting impression on me was the DC issue of 'Divergence'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it was what I read in the preface that sort of set the stage for a lot of these random thoughts that I've had about this hobby to somewhat crystallize.

 

This is what was written in that preface for those of you that didn't get a copy...

 

 

 

 

"Expect the Unexpected

 

We here at DC pride ourselves on celebrating the past while reinventing the present and propelling our characters and our shared mythology boldly into the future. For the next generation of readers and beyond, we realize that we need to continually strive to preserve what makes our characters so iconic while never being too precious of the mythology for fear of chaining down our characters.

 

In line with this editorial directive, we are excited to showcase- in this Free Comic Book Day comic- three major changes in our most iconic characters, which will debut in their own monthly comic books in June. These aren't preview stories, or reprinted tales or even the first eight pages of the comics... no, these are the new, complete one-off stories designed to show fans all the exciting changes we have in store for the DC Universe this summer.

 

In Batman, the fan favorite, best-selling team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo unveil the newest hero to don the cowl as Gotham falls under the watch of an all-new, dare we say, all-different Dark Knight in a story that will redefine the status quo and the Batman mythos for future generations of readers.

 

In Superman, we welcome aboard award-winning, critically acclaimed write Gene Luen Yang as he and legendary artist John Romita Jr. take Superman in a bold new direction in which everything we take for granted about the Man of Steel is shaken to its core- when he is betrayed by the one he trusts the most.

 

Finally, in Justice League, written by superstar writer Geoff Johns and with art by DC's newest penciling sensation Jason Fabok, we see dark forces maneuver as sides are drawn for the Darkseid Anti-Monitor War- a war that threatens to tear the cosmos itself apart.

 

But this is just the start. In June, we will be launching 24 new #1 issues alongside our best-selling 25 core titles. We are creating the most ambitious and wildest lineup of DC Comics in our 80-year history as we celebrate diversity- diversity not just in character, but in creator, in voice, tonality and storytelling. Look for new series showcasing such wonderfully different characters and concepts as Bat-Mite, Prez, the Omega Men and We Are Robin! Expect the unexpected as we usher in a new age for the Justice League of America written and drawn by the incredible Bryan Hitch and the return of the prodigal sons writer Garth Ennis and artist John McCrea on Section Eight!

 

As the legions of comics fans grow exponentially with every passing year, we here at DC want to make sure we have something for everyone and that DC truly represents, in every way possible, the world that surrounds us.

 

Best, Dan and Jim"

 

 

 

 

And so, right after reading this, I turned the page to see a simple graphic with a close-up of the Bat symbol.

 

And this text follows...

 

 

 

 

"You see it and you know just what it means.

 

It means he's coming.

 

It appears in the sky and immediately you can sense it, sense him on his way.

 

You can hear the rumble of the car. See the growing shadow...

 

...You're smiling without knowing it. A tingling in your hands.

 

You feel his approach like a song inside you, dark and joyful, swelling, the same notes over and over, like a drumbeat getting faster.

 

Na, Na, Na-Na, Na-Na-Na-Na..."

 

 

 

Then I turned the page to see this image...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow!

 

And with that, I took a pause for a moment and thought about all that I had just read.

 

We know in the comic world that nothing stays away forever. I mean the Batman that we knew will be back, right?

 

Well...

 

What if he's not?

 

What if what was revealed in the rest of that Divergence issue stays and becomes a part of the Batman history?

 

What then?

 

And that's where everything sort of clicked into place for me.

 

Everything that I've been writing about for the past few months in terms of this renewed inspiration and excitement for this hobby sort of coalesced with the reading of those few lines.

 

And it's ok...

 

I guess I started down this path while viewing all those 'haul videos'. Some of the ones that I viewed seemed to focus around the monetary properties of the books but many others just seemed to exude this genuine enthusiasm for the hobby and the medium. I think that's what kick started my own enthusiasm. So many crazy things seemed to be happening in the comic book market and you had those of what I call, 'the old guard' (and I would include myself in there), saying that it resembles the 90's and the bubble is surely about to burst.

 

But what if it doesn't?

 

What if it's not a bubble... and what if it's truly organic?

 

That's the train of thought that I'm starting to lean into. Pop-culture seems to fuel itself and we've sat here and witnessed these comic characters that we love, silently (or maybe not so silently) weave their way into the many other facets of our culture that so many of us enjoy.

 

From television to the big screen... from general topics to lyrics in pop songs. When you have characters like Ghost Rider and Spider-Man making an appearance in rap songs along with the endless references to superhero characters on shows such as The Big Bang Theory, it's become obvious to me that comics have solidified themselves as a permeating thread that passes through our culture and I really don't think it's ever going anywhere.

 

And for that, people like Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, H.G. Peter, Joe Simon, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many more are to be fully credited for laying this imprint in our culture.

 

And whether it was simply a construct as an escape to aid children coming out of the depression era or for propaganda purposes, it lasted and continued to evolve.

 

And evolution is where I think we are now.

 

I don't think this is a bubble that we're in. I think we're at the dawn of a new age. We can look back in history at the Golden Age and the Silver Age... the Bronze Age and the Copper Age. Some think we're in the Modern Age but I beg to differ... I say we're possibly at a new Golden Age.

 

Comics have changed and that's because times have changed.

 

I remember fighting against digital coloring of comics thinking that that really wasn't a purist form of coloring. You used Dr. Martins dyes and that was the end of the discussion.

 

I was being stubborn and old and that was what I was thinking 20 years ago.

 

And now?

 

Comics not only have moved from digital coloring... they've moved into digital form... period.

 

Yet, they're still popular as ever.

 

Free Comic Book Day sort of set a spotlight on that for me.

 

But before I get to that, I have to mention some other thoughts that I've had in relation to the many changes occurring at DC and Marvel.

 

I'll use Spider-Man as my focal point.

 

Miles Morales.

 

He's not Spider-Man... he's black.

 

And Hispanic.

 

He's not Spider-Man. Peter Parker is Spider-Man and he looks just like me.

 

End of story...

 

Well, not so fast.

 

You see, I had to step out of my own paradigm to see this and to realize that this has happened before in this industry. What was the reaction back then and what was the reasoning behind those changes?

 

Why did Barry Allen become the Flash? What happened to Jay Garrick?

 

I'm sure those fans that were still interested in the Flash character in 1955 couldn't conceive of anyone else other than Jay Garrick with his helmet and I'm sure the same could be said for Alan Scott.

 

"Who the hell is this Hal Jordan?"

 

"What are these new costumes for and where are my heroes?"

 

And that's the point.

 

As we grow and slip away, a new generation takes our places and those individuals want their heroes just as much as we wanted ours. And so Miles Morales just may be Spider-Man... sharing the same comic universe as Peter Parker. Just as the GA heroes did with the SA heroes. It has to be a fluid mythology in order for it to survive and with me just writing that, I start to wonder about the historical accuracy of mythologies in general.

 

If they become stale and outdated, they fall and fade away.

 

Do we want our hobby to disappear or do we want it to grow and attract a whole new generation of fans that will love these heroes as much as we did and do? I think that question has already been answered... that's why we're pouring thousands of dollars into these books as a commodity.

 

Today I went to a small local convention and overheard a discussion between a dealer who was about my age and a younger fan who was in probably in his early 20's and in Med school.

 

He was looking at buying a nice copy of Green Lantern 76 with a price tag of about $600-$750. He said he didn't have the money now but he hoped to someday and in his words, when that day comes, he wants to buy himself "something really nice".

 

Ten to one he'll do just that and maybe he'll buy your book!

 

And that's how all of these changes directly affect us.

 

This hobby has to expand, it has to grow and it has to accept new ideas even if they seem so outlandish right now.

 

"Energizer bunny Batman"... perhaps.

 

We'll see where that goes.

 

 

...

 

 

 

And so, back to this weekend.

 

I went to two local comic book stores and I heard the same story... FCBD was a smash and for the most part, they both ran out of their allotment of 800 copies!

 

While I was in the store browsing, people were still coming in regularly to try and get their free books.

 

They all left disappointed.

 

I heard stories of lines before the doors opened and I live in what I feel is a comic book depressed community. I say that even though there are numerous stores around the city so maybe that opinion of mine isn't really accurate afterall... maybe that's just a residual thought of mine from 30 plus years ago. Anyways...

 

Then to top that off, like I mentioned, there was a small convention in town that I attended today. The crowd was impressive for such a small show... I only spent $25 but I was able to pick up some nice reading material.

 

This is what I was able to pick up.

 

 

 

 

Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the tables but I was able to talk with one of our local artists here, Joe Orsak, for a bit.

 

It was a very nice talk and I hope to talk to him some more in a couple of weeks where he'll be at another small con in Fishkill, NY.

 

Hopefully the family will want to take a road trip with me on that Sunday.

 

I bought a small sketch card from him but would like to get more.

 

Right after I bought this, he shared a funny story with me about meeting The Doctor at a rest-stop on the NYS Thruway. He said he even took a picture. I was confused as to why Matt Smith was on the Thruway, not to mention in Upstate New York, but then he told me that there was a nearby convention and this individual was dressed up pretty convincingly as Eleven.

 

He told me this story while wearing a 'Warhol-ish' Tardis shirt so I thought that was pretty cool!

 

And this is the card that I bought today...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it's now waaaay past what I thought would be my bedtime...

 

Goodnight.

 

 

 

[Hibou]

Comics, Comics, Comics everywhere!

 

... and don't forget to keep checking those local comic book shops!

 

 

 

I know I left a post hanging where I was going to tie in that Shadow #6 book that I was writing about but I'm going to postpone that for a little bit as I try to collect a few more books.

 

Anyways, I had a pretty nice couple of weeks as I got back my submissions from my 4 coupons and to say that I was very pleased would simply be an understatement.

 

Before I get to that, I thought I could talk a little about the value in frequenting your LCBS often... you never know what you may find on that one day that you decide to browse around for 15 minutes.

 

Such was the case this afternoon as I finished up with work a bit early and rushed over to one of the nearby comic book shops. Actually, I did that right after I made a quick stop to pick up a couple of ounces of Silver bullion. I just get the feeling that this is a good time to add a little bit if it's in your budget.

 

Anyways, after greeting the shop owner, I was informed that he had just acquired a small collection of GA and SA books and that he hadn't really gone through them yet. So after being invited to take a look through the books, I pulled out a couple but there was one in particular that I was really excited about.

 

 

 

For just about $30 I left with these two books...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... and as you can guess, it was that Dell The Creature #1 (1963- 1st print) book that I was thrilled at getting.

 

I've seen it before but the prices were a little off on the copies that I had been looking at. This one was just right... most likely I won't be sending this one in to be graded but I thought it was a great read!

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

 

Now before I get more into the underwater theme that this entry is following, I do want to jump back to my last post where I was talking about the DC Divergence book.

 

I was curious if others where sharing the same thoughts about what I was feeling DC was up to and in doing so, I found this video on YouTube and thought it was very informative... it's worth noting that this 20 minute video was uploaded 3 months ago but I think it provides some good insight into what might be occurring at DC now, which is a product of last year's DC Multiversity event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really liked the overview of that Multiversity guidebook so while I was at my LCBS, I picked up a copy for myself to look over.

 

I must've missed it last year but I'm not surprised.

 

It's pretty interesting.

 

I was looking a little more into it and came across this article about Grant Morrison and last year's project.

 

http://www.cnet.com/news/real-world-science-at-the-heart-of-morrisons-multiversity/

 

 

 

It looks like the next chapter in DC's history will be very interesting to say the least!

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

And now back to where I thought this post originally was going.

 

Like I mentioned above, checking your LCBS from time to time to see what new books they might've received can be a very good idea but so is taking a road trip out to a new nearby town and seeing what they might have in terms of comic shops.

 

I believe it might've been around the last week in January or the first week in February of this year when the family and I took a spur of the moment road trip just about an hour to the west of here.

 

Along the way, we had made a couple of stops and one of those stops was to this 'antique mall'. We probably spent about two hours there going through all the treasures but my daughter and I were able to find a few booths with many comics.

 

Searching these boxes and bins only turned up a small handful of promising books but nothing to really write about. At one point while searching through these books, I turned to my daughter and told her how cool it would be to find a book "that was worth lots and lots of money but cost very little!"...

 

 

... well that didn't happen.

 

I believe I only bought about $15 worth of books and it was just a random assortment.

 

Anyways, after this stop, we went into the nearby town where I knew there was a comic shop but hadn't been there in years. After going through a couple of other shops, I decided to just give that comic shop a quick run through.

 

I found a few nice books for a cheap amount and as I was cashing out at the register, the store owner and I got into a conversation about older books versus modern books. We were both about the same age and so the conversation was pretty much in mutual agreement as we both expressed amazment at the prices some of the modern books are fetching against key older issues.

 

So, it was at this point that he directed me to his 'filing cabinet'... he said to me, "there are some better books in there."

 

So with some genuine excitement, I opened up the cabinet drawers and saw a lot of key SA books all priced accordingly to what I would expect them to be priced at today.

 

I took a couple of books out but then I saw this next book and couldn't believe it. I had been looking for this book since I decided to relax my underwater theme restraints but I didn't want to spend a lot even though I saw that window closing quickly!

 

I pulled the book out from the drawer and brought it right up the owner at the cash register. I asked all the questions... "is this complete... any restoration?".

 

And then I asked if he could take the book out so I could look through it.

 

I believe it only took 3 seconds for me to decide that this was the real deal and purchased the book.

 

It was marked with a big orange sticker that stated...

 

"1st appearance of Black Manta - $40.00"

 

I walked out to the car where my daughter was waiting with my wife. Once I was inside, I turned to my daughter and asked if she remembered me saying that I wished that I could've found a book worth lots of money for very little.

 

After she said yes, I informed her that I thought that it had just happened.

 

Value is relative when it comes to collectibles but this is a book that I'll be hanging onto for some time!

 

It's just the prefect copy for me and with a very cool date stamp on the BC to boot.

 

 

 

 

Aquaman 35...

 

... and the first Black Manta!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And just for fun, prior to sending this in to get graded, I put it up in the PGM section of the board and these were some of the guesses...

 

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=8574912&fpart=1

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

This is exactly what makes this hobby so much fun... the thrill of the hunt!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hibou]

Just a quick update on this Memorial Day weekend...

 

I have so many things to talk about with a lot of accompanying books, but for tonight, I just thought I'd keep it short.

 

This DC Convergence thing has taken me in all sorts of directions... I'm looking and thinking of things that are so bewildering. That's a topic for another day and hopefully soon enough, as it sort of ties into a nice book that I picked up this week from a well known boardie.

 

Again... I'll get to that soon.

 

For tonight, I thought I could just mention a small set of books (readers) that I picked up in relation to the current DC Convergence story line.

 

Within the past couple of weeks, a boardie had a sale of a lot of good raw books and these were the 4 that I picked up. I'm starting to get into this world that Kirby created for DC as some of those elements are being referenced in the current Convergence story line.

 

I was able to pick up these copies at a nice price from a sales thread here...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just read New Gods 1 and noticed that the prologue features a really nice Darkseid piece and this issue also features the 1st appearances of Orion, Lightray, Metron, High-Father and Kalibak. As DC goes further into the future while taking elements from the past and especially with Kirby's involvement with the creation of those elements, I can see these books starting to command a little bit of attention.

 

New Gods 1 was a pretty nice read.

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

About the only other thing that I wanted to make a note of is that I decided to repurchase yet another book that I sold last summer.

 

I had known about this book for a little bit now and was trying to decide if I really wanted it back.

 

Well...

 

It's not a Super-Hero underwater cover, but to me, it's something else!

 

It's a Matt Baker cover and I couldn't stand not having a Baker book in my collection especially knowing how much I liked this book from the onset.

 

And so I went to my LCBS and got this one back!

 

Nightmare 13 with the gorgeous Matt Baker cover!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure what comes next... like I said, I have so much to talk about but I have a feeling that the next book that comes up will be (once again) about time.

 

For a couple of weeks these chords have played over and over in my head and it's about 'time' that I address it.

 

And with that...

 

This is 'Where We're Going'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hibou]

You have an hour.

 

Time.

 

"You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today

And then one day you find ten years have got behind you..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think this next entry will be written in parts over the next couple of days.

 

Part I...

 

You have an hour.

 

 

Not that long ago, I wrote in this journal about the 'timeless' nature of the Moon but recently, I've called into question that notion.

 

Not that long ago, I wrote how I felt that it was the same moon that followed our lives throughout the ages... and now I wonder. Does she indeed change faces and change personalities.... change masks as often as one would change an article of clothing?

 

Well, before I get too far off the tracks at the beginning of this, I did ask if you had an hour and then I hope you have some more Miraclo.

 

Like myself, Rex Tyler was born in Syracuse, NY.

 

Okay... maybe I took some liberties with that but I certainly consider this area that I live in as 'Upstate' as you can get.

 

Anyways.

 

It wasn't that long ago that I made a decision to sell a book that I had considered an 'Underwater Cover Mini-Grail' and I do find myself thinking about that one from time to time (Adventure Comics 41). Since I sold that book, I had been wanting to find a book within that series to fill that gap and wouldn't you know it... I get a PM.

 

She seems to do this to me quite often and the PM's usually go like this:

"Hi, I've got this book that I know you'll love and now you have to buy it."

Well, maybe it's not exactly like that but if you're a member of these boards... you know what I mean.

 

And such was the case about a month or so ago when I got the PM from Sharon (Skypinkblu). She had a moon book for me and guess what? Oh, it just happened to be an early copy of Adventure Comics!

 

I didn't have to think too long about this one.

 

That's right... I had to take it and thankfully, she was kind enough to give me some time to come up with the funds. Seriously, that's what I absolutely love about this place... the trust and flexibility in working out deals.

 

As a matter of fact, I had another similar deal just a few weeks ago as well!

 

And so, with some time to get the funds together to purchase this book from Sharon, I was thrilled to add this one to my moon theme collection.

 

I already alluded to the fact that this might be an Hourman book and indeed it is... with a cover drawn by his co-creator, Bernard Bailey!

 

I've mentioned many times before that the circular motif was one that was adopted quite often in the 40's and in this classic cover from October of 1940... well, I don't think you can get a bigger circle or a bigger moon which seems to be the case on this book!

 

It may be a bit rough around the edges but a classic nonetheless...

 

Adventure Comics 55.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cover just screams 1940's to me... from the composition to the color palette.

 

And it's interesting to note that the composition lends itself to an hour glass which is where Part II will start off.

To be continued...

 

 

[etanick]

finally caught up on your journal. Fun read as usual and what a steal on 1st Black Manta (thumbs u

[Hibou]

Part II...

 

The Sands of Time.

 

 

I left off stating that I saw an hourglass within the composition of the Adventure Comics 55 and this is loosely what I was seeing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The character of Hourman is an interesting one...

 

Created by Bernard Bailey and Ken Fitch in 1940, Hourman was a little unique in the fact that he was addicted, mainly to this pill, by the name of Miraclo.

 

Once taken, he would gain these superhuman abilities for an hour at a time.

 

 

 

 

Illustration by Tom Fleming... a graduate of Syracuse University. Check out his other AMAZING illustrations of the members of the JSA!

 

http://www.flemart.com/#!comic-book/c19m5

 

 

 

 

Apparently the original Hourman, Rex Tyler was killed off during Zero-Hour but brought back to life by the 3rd Hourman who is an android that travels through different time streams.

 

Rex Tyler was the 1st Hourman, his son Rick Tyler was the 2nd Hourman and the 3rd (future) Hourman is an android sometimes called Matthew Tyler.

 

This is where it gets a little strange and I hope I get this right.

 

Rex Tyler was killed during Zero-Hour. Prior to that, during Crisis on Infinite Earths, Rick took some Miraclo and eventually became Hourman as well but his abilities were altered a bit from the time traveling android Hourman who placed Rex in another dimension so Rick could visit with Rex.

 

(I love those types of time jumping stories and it's no wonder that I enjoy Doctor Who so much!)

 

 

The three generations of Hourman:

 

 

JSA 65 cover by J.H. Williams III

 

Short synopsis from comicvine.com

"Part 1 of the 2-part "Out of Time!" Since the JSA's battle against Black Adam, Rick Tyler has been lost in time. Rex Tyler, the original Hourman, must journey into the timestream itself in search of his only son. But the rescue mission may not go as planned!"

 

 

I believe Rex Tyler is currently part of what is or was the DC continuity but I can't say for sure... it appears that much is about to change or has changed.

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

And so, it was this copy of Adventure Comics 55 that sort of encouraged me to continue down this path of thoughts that I've been having as it pertains to the (seemingly) timeless nature of the moon and of time-streams in general.

 

Looking back through these pages, it seems to have been a common theme for me recently.

 

So to question that which I thought I answered months ago and to channel a certain song from Sting...

 

Is it the same moon?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time.

 

What is an hour anyways when you really think about it.

 

I mentioned a few posts ago about how I was really into the directions that both Marvel and DC seem to be going in... more on the side of DC but that's just been my preference for a while.

 

And as I continue to delve deeper into this DC Convergence story line (as well as the Marvel Secret Wars), I've come to a certain understanding which wasn't really made apparent to me prior to these events and that is...

 

This guy.

 

This guy has really had a profound effect on me and through all these years of collecting and reading comics, but I just had no idea.

 

Until now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Morrison, what the hell did you do to me?!

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued in Part III...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hibou]

finally caught up on your journal. Fun read as usual and what a steal on 1st Black Manta (thumbs u

 

Thanks for reading Nick... enjoying your videos as well and they're providing a ton of fuel for thought!

[Hibou]

Part III...

 

Convergence.

 

"Do you spell that with an E or an A?!"

 

 

I just finished up reading the Convergence mini series and I'm left a little disappointed but also feel a bit of renewal in my desire to go back and read a couple more story lines that I've forgotten about, ignored or didn't know about those events. When I say disappointed, I only mean that it didn't go in the direction I thought it was going to go in but led to something else which, in itself, is pretty exciting.

 

If you'd like to read a short synopsis of the Convergence finale, Bleeding Cool has a good one here:

 

 

 

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/05/27/smashing-convergence-darkseid-war-and-multiversity-together-on-earth-2-spoilers/

 

 

 

I think the first series that I'll go back to is the Justice League of America and try to get a hold of some of those old JLA / JSA Earth 2 story lines. I have a couple of issues but I think JLA 21 and 22 are now back on my radar... another set of books that I've had over the years but sold.

 

Anyways, I think in the end, the Convergence series allows for a nice stepping stone of sorts into whatever direction this new DC decides to go in with future story arcs.

 

But behind this Convergence story line lies fabulous worlds that are being formed and embellished as part of Grant Morrison's Multiversity line of books.

 

Just this past week, The Pax Americana Director's Cut was released with a nice map of The Multiversity (which is already showing up on eBay). PaxAmericana is Morrison's treatment of the Charlton / Watchmen characters.

 

Within that directors cut is the -script for the first 3 pages and quite a revealing look into the mind of Morrison.

 

Again, here's the map...

 

 

 

 

 

The above image was taken from here:

 

http://www.newsarama.com/21741-grant-morrison-on-multiversity-it-s-going-to-f-people-up.html

 

 

This quote (regarding the map) pretty much sums it up:

 

"Perhaps the most important thing to note the graphic depiction of the Multiverse is that DC Group Editor Eddie Berganza said he'll be using Morrison's map to guide the storytelling directions of other creators in the future.

 

So this isn't just a one-time thing."

 

 

So, this Grant Morrison fellow... I guess I had no idea how influential of a writer he has been in relation to my relation to comics.

 

Again, I have to go back in my own time line a bit to start this story...

 

In this journal, I mentioned many past friends and I told the story of how I got into Daredevil from my friendship with a classmate, Ben... I alluded to some of the other aspects of that friendship and here is a page from my yearbook that he drew to illustrate just what that was.

 

 

 

 

This was from 1987 and between the years of '86-'87, I was heavily into animal rights and exploring vegetarianism. I can't quite remember how those interests evolved except for the fact that I always loved animals in general and perhaps it was an organic development or maybe something that was given to me to read... regardless, these were interests of mine that I was pretty passionate about back then.

 

I know this stage in my life must've been difficult for my parents as my family were heavy meat eaters while I was growing up. My mom was (and still is) a fantastic cook and even though we were about as middle class as you could get back then in the 70's, 80's and beyond, my mom made sure that we all ate like... well... royalty.

 

From Filet Mignon, to Delmonico (whatever that actually is) to Sirloin and more. And then of course there was game, such as duck and then lamb and all sorts of chicken creations... like I said, we didn't have a lot of money but my mom made it seem like we did!

 

So as I was going through this phase of mine, well... I didn't really know what I was doing and I saw that there were animal ingredients in just about everything and so I just pretty much stopped eating.

 

I think I survived on peanut butter and jelly for quite a while.

 

Like I said, I didn't really know what I was getting myself into but my parents supported me and certainly did what they could to accommodate this new direction of mine.

 

After high school, I sort of drifted away from this and found my way back into eating whatever I wanted. This was also around the time that girls started to enter my life and it just seemed easier being "normal".

 

But then, around 1992, as I started to get back into comics after meeting who would become my wife, I started to pick up the comic series Animal Man. I'm thinking it was the Brian Bolland covers that drew me in but the storyline that started me off on this series was Flesh and Blood by Jamie Delano and Steve Pugh. After this one issue, I was hooked and IMMEDIATELY and went back and sought out all the back issues... starting with Grant Morrison and Chaz Truog's Animal Man #1.

 

And once I read those issues... WOW!

 

I was blown away as all these thoughts that I had running in my head from a few years earlier while in high school were all right there in these issues and when I saw when they were written... starting in 1988, I was even more taken back.

 

It was all right there and had been all along.

 

This title became one of my favorites through the early 90's and I especially loved the early Morrison issues culminating in the ground breaking issue #26 "Deus Ex Machina" which I felt drew the readers into a world that had never been seen before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morrison inserted himself into this reality as he would refer to it... another universe entered through the two dimensional pages of the comic. I thought that was brilliant. I stayed with the title long after that and actually collected the entire run which was something that I had never done before. Not with Swamp Thing, Sandman or any other title.

 

A few years ago, I tried to sell my entire run of Animal Man that I had assembled. It didn't sell and I'm glad it didn't as it remains my last piece of my past that I have a strong and personal connection with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the time that I had graduated high school to the early 90's, I had drifted away from my animal rights and vegetarianism interests but it really was those initial Grant Morrison Animal Man books (along with the later Jamie Delano issues) that stayed in my mind... like some omnipresent enitiy.

 

In 1994, as I have written about earlier, I made a career change and decided that the fastest way to make a financial jump would be to learn a new trade and that's when I decided that I would be a truck driver.

 

I loved travel, driving and the sense of each day bringing something different to the mix.

 

I went to a driving school for 4 months, graduated and immediately got a job with a company that took me out west. After the initial 'in-house' training, it was time to actually hit the road with a driver-trainer and our first trip was out to Texas. And that's where I saw things that were new to me and it sure affected me.

 

I can't recall exactly where it was in Texas, but as I was driving down the road, off to my left, I saw a field full of cows and steer. As far as I could see, it was just heads and heads of these animals. I must've uttered the words 'Wow' because the next thing that I heard was my driver-trainer telling me that what I was looking at was owned by McDonald's. Now I had no idea if this was true or not but it was the first time that I had ever seen anything like that with my own eyes and it left an impression upon me.

 

That was the start.

 

Maybe it was the next week, but we were heading into Colorado from California via Las Vegas to Utah. It was in the afternoon and I was now in the passenger seat as my hours of driving was up for that day... we were climbing a big hill as we made our way into Denver.

 

I was simply looking out my window at all the beautiful sites to be seen throughout that state.

 

We moved to the left to pass another 'semi' that was making its way up the mountain as well.

 

At this time, we were moving pretty slow so it took some time to pass this vehicle on our right. Well, that vehicle happened to be a cattle hauler and with those types of trailers, you can see into the cargo area through the slats and vents.

 

And so, for some time as we made our way up, while passing this truck, I was there staring eye to eye with this cow that was positioned just so.

 

And then?

 

The artistic side of my mind took over and I started to study it's features.

 

How would I draw this creature?

 

How would I choose the right lines and shapes... how would I draw the eye?

 

Then I saw it.

 

Something so stupid and so obvious but I never thought about it.

"The cow has eyelashes", I said to myself.

 

"Eyelashes... like me."

"To filter dirt from your eyes so not to irritate them and to act as receptacles or 'whisker's' to let your eye know when something is getting too close to harming it."

 

But yet, I knew where this cow was going and it affected me deeply.

 

I thought of Darwinism for the rest of the trip and I thought about how in the wild, all (carnivorous) animals (for the most part) eat one another.

 

It's about survival, right?

 

But despite all of this... something didn't seem right.

 

And so shortly after this experience, with the scene of the cattle farm and those Animal Man issues fresh in my head, I decided that I wouldn't eat red meat anymore.

 

This was 1994 and for the past 21 years... despite some occasional mocking and friendly teasing... I've kept on that decision.

 

After that 1994 experience in Colorado with the cow, I also tried giving up everything once again, as I had tried to do in high school but this time I thought I could be smarter about it. And so, for some time, I tried the Vegan thing again. I think I did that for about a year or maybe two but I slowly veered away from that back into Vegetarianism and then away from that as well. I slowly reintroduced Dairy, Fish and ultimately Poultry back into my diet and that's where I am today.

 

It's not perfect but it's what I feel I can do now and I'm ok with it.

 

I just don't eat meat.

 

Pretty simple...

 

Throughout my life, I've tried to do the best that I can and that's about all that I can do... and of course I know that I can always do better.

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

 

So it's sort of ironic that things that I discover in comics sort of follow me or I follow the comics somehow and in some cases, unknowingly.

 

And this brings me back to Grant Morrison once again.

 

But this time it's not about Animal Man... it's about this question of reality that he seems to be fixated on. I'm sure it's just coincidence, but I find it amusing that at the time that I find myself questioning time and reality in general, I find that Morrison has been doing that himself for quite a while and I didn't really pay attention. It's sort of like when I first discovered his Animal Man books... they were there all along.

 

So.

 

Time...

 

These Multiversity books that Morrison has crafted, give a wonderful glimpse into the many different worlds in which the DC Universes exist in.

 

It's a brilliant concept and like I said at the onset of this post... it has me intrigued enough to go back to find those early JLA / JSA Earth 2 stories and go from there.

 

I've also purchased the TPB of Grant Morrison's Flex Mentallo as I know for a fact there's a lot that I need to know that can come from that work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So recently I've been thinking a lot of all the various theories of reality... from String to the Mulitiverse to 'M' Theory.

 

 

Does 'M' stand for Membrane or Morrison...

 

 

Here's a page from the Mulitverstiy Guidebook which I found interesting as I had read that shortly after watching the following video:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And in this video (which is almost 2 hours long), you can jump to the 24:00 mark to the 30:00 mark for an introduction to the Multiverse by Physicist Brian Greene and a musical representation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously though, through the thoughts of the moon and through the hourglass... I'm questioning all that I thought I was comfortable with and a lot of that has come from this 'convergence' of events in my life such like the one that Grant Morrison has delivered through his realities of storytelling.

And then this happens...

I know you all don't need an introduction to YouTube, but as my daughter puts it...

 

"I'm in class looking up information for a project and the next thing I know, I'm learning how to talk to a Giraffe."

 

Yeah.

 

Anyways... this was not what I was looking for but since it pulls in time and distortions... well, what a way to close out a Saturday night.

 

Is that spelled with an E or an A?

 

Since my daughter was born, my wife and I would take her to different places around her birthday... from Quebec, Canada to Rochester, NY.

 

And so, around 2008, my daughter would've been 6... we all took a day trip to the Strong Museum in Rochester, NY.

 

Look, they have comic book stuff!

 

http://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/comic-book-heroes

 

But it wasn't that which played with my senses on that day nearly 7 years ago.

 

It was something else.

 

This...

 

http://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/berenstain-bears

 

When I first saw this exhibit, something physical seemed to grasp me.

 

I was upset!

 

Again, this was 2008.

 

Upset at how this prestigeous museum could get something so simple so wrong! As a matter of fact, I was so upset at seeing this that I went to get my wife to show her.

 

I said... "Look, they spelled it wrong!"

 

She didn't know what I was complaining about and simply said that it was "The Bears" named after their creators.

 

At that time, I blew it off thinking that I must've been crazy.

 

I mean, I worked in a bookstore for sometime... and in the children's department as I thought that it would be challenging to keep up on all the new and old books... so I would've bet a million dollars that these bears that I was seeing were the Berenstein Bears.

 

Well, not so.

 

Like I said, you all know how YouTube works... I'm looking up Grant Morrison Multiversity... then I'm watching videos on 'M' Theory and then...

 

I find this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course this might be a little (or very) odd, but you can hear the exasperation in this person's voice.

 

This isn't the only YT video but it seems to hit on what a lot of others have keyed on to.

 

So yes, I'm depressed in knowing that I've been part of the masses who misinterpreted the spelling of these Bears.

 

Damn you Grant Morrison!

 

And Mr. Morrison... what the heck is this exactly, by the way?! From what I've been reading and watching lately, I think you have some idea!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodnight.

 

 

 

[Hibou]

No crazy time travel stuff today... just a short update.

 

I almost attended a comic convention yesterday but decided against it.

 

There was one in Albany, NY and I was going back and forth on that but then on Saturday I decided against going out there on Sunday. So instead, I went to my local flea market and did pretty well.

 

For just under $50, I found all of this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite pickup was the Whitman King Kong treasury. I had that one back in the 70's and it was one of my favorite reads as a child. I think I read that one more than any other of my treasuries. The cover is by George Wilson and the interior art is nicely done by Alberto Giolitti.

 

Here's a 2 page interior picture...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I should mention that I found yet another book that I sold last summer... I've figured out that I really do have a thing for these green / blue covers.

 

This one certainly fits back into the superhero underwater theme and I just had to have this back.

The Black Cat wrapped up by an octopus with Captain Freedom diving down to the rescue!

 

 

 

 

[Point Five]

Then I should mention that I found yet another book that I sold last summer... I've figured out that I really do have a thing for these green / blue covers.

 

This one certainly fits back into the superhero underwater theme and I just had to have this back.

The Black Cat wrapped up by an octopus with Captain Freedom diving down to the rescue!

 

 

[etanick]

I attended my very first convention back in the early 80's in Albany NY (thumbs u

[Hibou]

I went to one out there a few years ago and had a great time so I'm sure it was worth it... I just wasn't into the 3 hour drive to get there this past weekend.

 

I did find out that there will be a small show here in Syracuse in July so I'm shooting for that. It seems like the local collectors and dealers have been making an effort to bring more of these smaller shows to this area lately, which is very encouraging!

 

http://www.saltcitycollectacon.com/

[Hibou]

Two more books return to my underwater collection...

 

 

One of the two, I was intending on upgrading and did. The other was a book that I thought might turn out just as nice as the copy that I sold last year but fell a little short.

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

 

I really, really liked the cover to Wonder Woman 83 and the copy that I sold last year was a 4.0 as shown back here.

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7429861&fpart=9

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think it was just a few weeks after I sold that copy when Ed (edowens71) put up his raw copy for sale. It didn't take me long to decide that his copy would indeed be a nice upgrade and so I made sure to grab that one.

 

It took me a while to send it in to CGC but I did so just last month or so using 1 of my free coupon submissions and was very pleased at the results!

 

 

 

And now this one isn't going anywhere... (for quite some time!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2016 update: Sold

 

The second book was from yet another regretful sale.

 

I just recently got back my Plastic Man 36 but the first book that I had second thoughts on was the Plastic Man 48 with the 'Killer Crossbones' cover.

 

That book was mentioned here:

 

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7429861&fpart=16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was around the time of last year's NY Comic Con when I was thinking about that one.

 

As I mentioned before, I didn't get to attend last year but my friend Rob did. Before he went, I gave him a little bit of money to get something from Ramona Fradon but sadly she wasn't there. When Rob got back from the NYCC, we planned to meet up for lunch and he was telling me about a cool book that he saw for sale there at the convention... it was a raw copy of that Plastic Man 48!

 

He said he almost picked it up for me but didn't. When I told him that I was thinking about that exact book and wishing I hadn't sold it, he informed me of the dealer that was selling it. Luckily, it was World Wide Comics and I had dealt with them in the past so I thought that maybe there was a chance that the book was listed on their website as well. I was hoping that it didn't sell.

 

While we were eating, I looked it up online and sure enough it was there... a really nice copy that was listed as a FN+ (6.5) and a Circle 8 pedigree as well!

 

Rob had already told me about the date stamp on the book, knowing that I had a thing for those.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So right there at Tim Horton's, I ordered the book off of the website and got a confirmation a day or so later that it was on it's way.

 

Again, I sat on this one as well but then submitted it along with that Wonder Woman 83.

 

It came back a couple of grades less than advertised but I'm happy with it nonetheless. I mentioned on the submission form that it was a Circle 8 copy but I didn't get any documentation with the book nor was the book marked with the grease pencil circled '8'... consequently, CGC didn't mark the pedigree on the label.

 

Still, I'm glad to have this one back and paired up with issue 36 once again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[etanick]

fantastic acquisitions! too bad CGC didn't give the Pedigree designation to that Plastic Man book. That cover is great.

[Hibou]

That does it, CGC...

 

 

You're on notice!

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

Or maybe it's just a reflection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know, there's this other comic book grading company out there.

 

They have 4 letters in their name and they have a lot in common with you !

 

Now before I get this post pulled... let me explain what happened here.

 

It was pretty much 2 years to this day when I decided to sell a couple of books of mine which was a very tough decision for me to do. One of the two books was a copy of Detective Comics 69 with that awesome Jerry Robinson, Joker cover.

 

 

 

(Former Copy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is exactly what I wrote when I decided to sell that book here on the boards...

 

 

 

 

Sad to see them go but I've decided to go all in and tighten my collecting focus even more.

 

Thanks for the comments!

What's your focus?

 

 

Golden Age underwater covers...

 

I can't tell you how that developed but I absolutely love a lot of those. There's enough there to chase after and I'd like to upgrade a few that I have.

 

I just missed out on the Cookeville Tec 70 but I guess the timing was not right anyhow.

 

 

 

 

Little did I know back then that I would eventually be equally attracted to these Moon books and I'm thinking that selling the book that I did, the day before that 'Tec 69, had a lot to do with it.

 

The day before, I sold a copy of Action Comics 26.

 

I loved that book.

 

Maybe it was the cover by Wayne Boring of the gritty image of 1940's Superman, streaking across a full and bright moon with two gangsters under wraps... maybe the nostalgic depiction of the smoke taking a walk across the rooftops... maybe the blue and yellow 'S' shield on Superman's cape.

 

Whatever it was, I didn't want to let that book go, but I was so determined to throw it all in to this new focus and direction that I wanted to take with my collection.

 

The actual copy that I sold was pretty unique... well in terms of the damage to the book that is.

 

I had never seen anything like it before but it appeared that Silverfish got a hold of the book and ate the white top portion of the 'N' in 'Action Comics' as well as the left edge of the back cover.

 

I'm thinking that Silverfish didn't care too much for printers ink.

 

Anyways, here are those pictures of that book...

 

 

(Former Copy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, fast forward to last year when I decided to split this collection in two and add the moon theme... well, there was one book that instantly came to mind and that was Action Comics 26.

 

I kept thinking to myself that I really should've hung on to that book because it had a lot of eye appeal but the grade was low which made it affordable. I really didn't think that I would be able to find another copy like that... a low grade with high appeal.

 

I even contacted the person whom I sold it to and asked that if they ever decided to sell that book, I would be very interested in repurchasing it.

 

That individual was happy with the copy and wanted to hang on to it... I was happy to hear that.

 

But I knew that it was now going to take a while to find a replacement.

 

I would check the web pages from time to time to see if any affordable copies were for sale but I wasn't having much luck. Then one day... just last month, actually... I followed a link that was posted here on the boards which was advertising this seller's books on eBay.

 

When I saw the book and the price, I got pretty excited about it but there was just one thing...

 

The book was graded by CBCS.

 

Well, I wasn't going to let that deter me and so I contacted the seller, AnkurJ here on the boards. He graciously gave me a few weeks to pay for the book after a small down payment. Three weeks later, I had the book in hand and it looked absolutely gorgeous!

 

It was graded as a 4.5 but when I started to really inspect the book through the slab... well, I started to wonder if the book was over graded.

 

 

 

 

I saw what looked to be around a 1" spine split on the top and about the same length split on the bottom. I saw that the top staple was popped... and then on the back, I saw what looked to be a snag of some sorts.

 

In terms of overall eye appeal, like I mentioned above, it was beautiful to me and certainly surpassed the CGC 3.0 copy that I sold 2 years earlier!

 

And so this is where I started to get some ideas.

 

 

 

I always wanted to see the interior to that book...

 

And it does have an ad for Batman #1...

 

 

I loved the idea of getting a picture of that.

 

 

 

Well here it is...

 

 

Action Comics 26

 

CBCS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought about it for a day and then I decided just what I had to do to satisfy my curiosities about this book. I would have to crack it open and resubmit it, as is, to CGC.

 

But first... I would grab all my interior pictures!

 

 

 

 

I have to admit, the slabs that CBCS uses, seem to be a lot harder to crack open than the CGC slabs but I was disappointed to see that they didn't use any microchamber paper anywhere in the book.

 

I mean, it's only a 75 year old comic book...

 

Anyways, I got the book freed and carefully inspected the interior... spine splits, popped staple and all. Once I made my evaluation on that, it was time to just enjoy the book for a bit and take those pictures!

 

Here are some interior shots...

 

 

 

Inside the cover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top staple.

 

 

 

 

 

Bottom staple.

 

 

 

 

 

Superman ads.

 

 

 

 

 

These next two pages, illustrate what I love about the early Superman books... his incredible feats balanced with the absurd. Superman can heft a safe with ease, bend steel and rip out windows but feels two older scientists might be too much to handle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought this was interesting at the end of the story...

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally...

 

The ad for Batman 1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I decided to pack the book and ship it out to CGC to see what they would say. Looking over the book, I didn't think that the book was that over graded by CBCS... I could sort of see where they were on this one but I felt that the book was more in line with a grade of a 4.0 (VG).

 

I was going to send in another book that I had been wanting to get graded (a nice Wonder Woman book) but instead I decided to do something different. I would forgo the second submision and instead, I would see what happens under CGC's 'Express' submission tier.

 

"Five business days?"

 

Yeah right.

 

 

...

 

 

 

I sent the book out on a Monday.

 

On Wednesday of that same week, I got a confirmation that it was received at CGC.

 

On Thursday, it was 'Verified'

 

On Friday, it was 'Scheduled for grading'.

 

On Tuesday, it was 'Graded'

 

On Wednesday, it was 'Shipped'.

 

...

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

I was thoroughly impressed!

 

Just like they said, 5 days and the then the book arrived via registered mail the following Monday!

 

CGC... you're on notice!

 

You did an awesome job!

 

The book came back just as I thought it would and I'm very pleased with it.

 

It's right where I feel it should be and here are the notes on it:

 

 

 

Bottom Spine Spine Split

Front Cover Finger Bends

Left Top Back Cover Multiple Scratch

Left Top Back Cover Small Lite Stain

Spine Stress Lines

Top Spine Spine Split

Top Staple Cover Detached

 

 

 

And here is it now...

 

 

 

 

Action Comics 26

 

CGC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, the big 'grail' Action Comics book for me is Action 23.

 

I'm not sure if I'll ever have a copy of that one... right now the closest thing I have to that book is a t-shirt with that cover on it!

 

Until that time, this Action 26 makes a nice centerpiece to my moon themed collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Point Five]

Me jealous. I'd love to own an Action #26... always been struck by that cover... and I doubt I'll find one that presents that well.

 

Great pickup! (thumbs u

 

 

[Hibou]

Thanks Jon!

 

I think you have a book I've been thinking about as well...

 

Seriously though, I believe we both look for similar things in lower grade books so I'm sure you'll find one too.

 

I know there's still a nice 3.0 out there!

[Point Five]

(thumbs u

 

I think you have a book I've been thinking about as well...

Give me a hint?

 

 

[Hibou]

Sawfish...

[Point Five]

Oh, that ol' thing.