Impossible Collection? Seriously...

[namisgr]

So now we're critiquing others' methods of collecting? How you collect sucks, how I collect is cool, is that it?

 

I especially give kudos to the dude for not keeping his collection locked away in a safe deposit box, comics and even scans unseen by the community. And amassing the collection over a 16 year period would seem to suggest that even the 'how' of the guy's collection deserves more than a jealous dismissal as well.

[Gotham Kid]

He has 2 Action 1s. He should share.

[Mark 1]

Who cares if the guy has lots of money to buy the books? It's no different than someone who pays book to book each week...he had a dealer pick books for him and ultimately he decides to buy them or not.

 

I dont get the problem.

 

Nobody here has ever given a dealer a want list?

 

Ridiculous to post about someone's finances as if it has anything to do with their collection.

 

The guy loves comics and bought the best there is out there. Kudos for him. Everything else just wreaks of jealousy.

 

[Unca Ben]

The guy runs a large construction company and is a board member of a couple other companies. Sounds like he's fairly busy.

 

All the people I knew (of) who were chief executives of companies, from startups to established firms, worked hard and kept long hours.

From my observations I don't believe being wealthy is as easy as it seems.

 

I'm not talkin' about spoiled rich kids who skate through their lives and avoid responsibility, I'm talkin' about individuals who may have money (and lots of it) but work to protect and grow the family wealth.

 

This guy probably doesn't have the time to search through dealers, go to conventions, etc.

He's got a lot of other stuff on his plate.

 

[Hawkman]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/impossible-collection-billionaire-ayman-hariri-wants-share-his-rare-dc-comic-book-collection-you-1551293

 

I can think of 10 people who's collections blow this one out of the water.

 

Love the arrogance to name it the "Impossible Collection"

 

Thursday is the new Friday

 

 

The fact that out of 8 billion people, you can only think of about 10 who have a similar or better collection shows just how impossible this collection is. This is an impossible collection for all but a handful of people to collect. I'll never have two Action 1's, let alone 1. Neither will most people, hence the impossible tag. Its not arrogance, it's truth.

[comicdonna]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/impossible-collection-billionaire-ayman-hariri-wants-share-his-rare-dc-comic-book-collection-you-1551293

 

I can think of 10 people who's collections blow this one out of the water.

 

Love the arrogance to name it the "Impossible Collection"

 

Thursday is the new Friday

I can think of way more than 10 jealous people in this thread.

[Mark 1]

Yep me too

[budsbundy]

Yes, anyone who doesn't kneel down and give this guy a virtual nut hug is "jealous"

 

 

 

 

[originalisbest]

Here's the full article:

 

Metropolis Collectibles: Meet the Architects of the Impossible Collection

 

 

But who were the architects behind Hariri's Impossible Collection? Fresh off the premiere of the Impossible Collection, the co-owners of Manhattan based Metropolis Collectibles, the world’s largest dealership for vintage comic books, Stephen Fishler and Vincent Zurzolo sat down to talk about the challenges of making the impossible possible.

 

"We didn't start with the Impossible Collection as our goal. This was a collection of characters that Ayman liked. It was our job to find the pieces of the puzzle and put them together," states Vincent Zurzolo, Metropolis COO. "Being in the vintage comic market for over 40 years, there is one thing in particular I learned, and that is patience," offers Metropolis CEO, Stephen Fishler. "Slowly and methodically, we hand-picked each piece for the collection. Sometimes we waited years for the right piece to make itself available from a collector who was finally ready to pass the comic on to a new collection."

 

 

.

So he's been paying someone else to collect for him

 

Me, too. Indeed, everyone who buys their books from comic dealers rather than directly from the original owners does.

Come on, I think you know what I mean

 

I spent a great deal of time looking through one dealer after anothers stock, and ebay listings, carefully scrutinizing each book, and comparing it to what else is available

I have my personal preferences and things I like, all near mint books are not the same(not that my collection is near mint, ), I want to pick what I get, and take my time doing it, the thrill of the hunt and all that.

That's collecting to me

 

This guy just writes checks

 

 

You're not going to find an Action #1 in unrestored cgc 9.0 that way.

 

This guy built a collection by working with the dealership capable of helping him build one with the quality he wanted. While the approach is not what I personally enjoy most about collecting, I don't understand the dismissive attitude of some here toward the guy's remarkable collection.

 

, of course you could've. It was right there on eBay for anyone who cared to bid (and could afford to with prequalification.) When one is given "essentially" unlimited funds to pursue whatever they may be into collecting, it's writing checks. A lot of the "difficulty" has been removed.

[originalisbest]

Yes, anyone who doesn't kneel down and give this guy a virtual nut hug is "jealous"

 

 

 

 

, perfect -- couldn't have said it better. Easy there rich-worshipers, I'm sure I would do the same as this guy, maybe more, had I $$$$$ at my disposal. But I probably wouldn't consider what I'd achieved to be "impossible" -- or label it as such.

[Gotham Kid]

Yes, anyone who doesn't kneel down and give this guy a virtual nut hug is "jealous"

 

 

[namisgr]

, perfect -- couldn't have said it better. Easy there rich-worshipers, I'm sure I would do the same as this guy, maybe more, had I $$$$$ at my disposal. But I probably wouldn't consider what I'd achieved to be "impossible" -- or label it as such.

 

The dismissiveness of this guy's near 20 year commitment to his collection is strong in you.

 

The owner of the collection didn't label it as 'impossible', the writer of the linked article did. The writer was probably fed that term by the guys at Metropolis, always the salesmen.

[originalisbest]

, perfect -- couldn't have said it better. Easy there rich-worshipers, I'm sure I would do the same as this guy, maybe more, had I $$$$$ at my disposal. But I probably wouldn't consider what I'd achieved to be "impossible" -- or label it as such.

 

The dismissiveness of this guy's near 20 year commitment to his collection is strong in you.

 

The owner of the collection didn't label it as 'impossible', the writer of the linked article did. The writer was probably fed that term by the guys at Metropolis.

 

I "dismiss" nothing. I've been collecting um, I guess 31 years now. That in and of itself is nothing special; just a function of one's age. Facts are facts, if anyone had the $$$ to do so and the desire, it would not be hard to duplicate the collection in question, or one comparable to it. It seems very odd that some want to deny this so fervently, but I guess it IS almost Friday.

[namisgr]

, perfect -- couldn't have said it better. Easy there rich-worshipers, I'm sure I would do the same as this guy, maybe more, had I $$$$$ at my disposal. But I probably wouldn't consider what I'd achieved to be "impossible" -- or label it as such.

 

The dismissiveness of this guy's near 20 year commitment to his collection is strong in you.

 

The owner of the collection didn't label it as 'impossible', the writer of the linked article did. The writer was probably fed that term by the guys at Metropolis.

 

I "dismiss" nothing. I've been collecting um, I guess 31 years now. That in and of itself is nothing special; just a function of one's age. Facts are facts, if anyone had the $$$ to do so and the desire, it would not be hard to duplicate the collection in question, or one comparable to it.

 

How is any of that relevant to the commitment of the collector to this incredible collection, or to his willingness to make it available for viewing to those of us who'd enjoy seeing it?

 

'Degree of difficulty' is important in the world of competitive diving, but how is it a criterion for appreciating incredible collections? I can also marvel at Geppi's collection on display in his museum, and appreciate that he's made the material available for all to see and enjoy, without getting hung up on how rich the guy is to have built such an extraordinary and cool collection.

[clarkkentdds]

I wonder if Metro has contacted DA on this guy's behalf, as I'm sure the collector could offer DA a "life altering" amount of money... As some may recall DA is on record as stating he would never sell his collection unless a life altering amount of money was involved. Maybe not everything in life is for sale?

 

 

[originalisbest]

, perfect -- couldn't have said it better. Easy there rich-worshipers, I'm sure I would do the same as this guy, maybe more, had I $$$$$ at my disposal. But I probably wouldn't consider what I'd achieved to be "impossible" -- or label it as such.

 

The dismissiveness of this guy's near 20 year commitment to his collection is strong in you.

 

The owner of the collection didn't label it as 'impossible', the writer of the linked article did. The writer was probably fed that term by the guys at Metropolis.

 

I "dismiss" nothing. I've been collecting um, I guess 31 years now. That in and of itself is nothing special; just a function of one's age. Facts are facts, if anyone had the $$$ to do so and the desire, it would not be hard to duplicate the collection in question, or one comparable to it.

 

How is any of that relevant to the commitment of the collector to this incredible collection, or to his willingness to make it available for viewing to those of us who'd enjoy seeing it? Since when is 'degree of difficulty' a criterion in assessing incredible collections?

 

Everyone loves to admire a tremendous collection, indeed, but some sure get offended when someone else points out that assembling a world-class collection of anything becomes infinitely easier when one's backed by a world-class checkbook. As for degree of difficulty, I think that's absolutely a criterion in assessing what makes a collection incredible. Example, Gator's, and others' pursuit of Centaurs. No matter how much actual $$$ is thrown at that goal, some of the books just aren't out there in any appreciable quantity, and you might have to search high and low for years, acquiring them from someone who might not have appreciated their significance, and thus have no reason to make them available.

 

Back to this collector and his willingness to make it available for viewing, that's nice -- but no nicer than what many many other collectors on this board do with their own scans of their own collections.

[namisgr]

Back to this collector and his willingness to make it available for viewing, that's nice -- but no nicer than what many many other collectors on this board do with their own scans of their own collections.

 

I love posting scans of books I own as much as anyone (heck, I've even had board members over to look at them), but it seems a poor comparison with what the owner of the Impossible Collection is doing.

[Inhuman Fiend]

From the article:

 

"These comic books play a big role in my life aspirationally. Looking back and trying to understand where the affinity to these characters comes from – my father was the prime minister of Lebanon and he was assassinated 11 years ago," he said.

 

"I had come back home after having lived away from home for a long time due to my studies and university in George Town. When I went back home I found a wonderful depiction of my father as Superman, carrying the universities, schools and hospitals above the rubble of Lebanon. That was hanging in my room as a child but obviously I hadn't seen it in a long time.

 

"These characters represent to me all that is good in humanity, the choice of doing good with the power you have no matter what it may be, and so I have a very close emotional connection to them."

 

Very cool. Awesome collection, love what he is doing to make it available to the world. A collection any fan would love to see, and probably a guy that would be fun to meet.

[Sqeggs]

The only reason this guy's approach seems unusual is that we are not used to seeing it in comic collecting. What he is doing is what wealthy people have typically done to amass collections of rare books, coins, paintings, whatever.

 

Wealthy people in those collecting fields generally rely on dealers and agents to locate and buy items for them and to bid in auctions on their behalf. This approach has been used by wealthy collectors literally for centuries. The paintings, rare books, and so on that used to decorate the stately homes of England weren't amassed mainly by the Duke or Earl spending idle moments browsing through galleries and bookstores.

[Foley]

Anyone know what copy of Tec 27 he has? I wonder if he has the Allentown...

 

If I'm not mistaken, I think the Allentown Tec 27 is owned by the Dentist.