Popular Post BA773 Posted April 2 Popular Post Share Posted April 2 As demanded by: @thehumantorch , a little article about how things are going about comics in my country. Here comics is a really little nich, most of the interested people are more focused on a charachter rather than comics on overall, i observed a sort of tendency to batmania, confirmed by my sales data, since i started i sold few stuff to make profits to buy more ( i buy only what i like so i bought again everything which i sold) and 90% of the books were Batman related, to put into perspective, its only based on 8 transactions. However a great part of the announce that i see online are also about Batman, but above all in most of the case its some translated edition, originals are just unfindable and about that i m going to speak of another point: The comic shops: there's like at best 3 or 4 place to buy original comics in this country and i will be honest: they are motherf*ckers, sorry... To explain it, my collection is now to 1.2k books, and im under an average price of 3 per books (shipping is include!), which is for me an ammount that im totally agree to paid for a comics. Im principally collecting modern however i own several great keys books, how is it possible? Since the beginning my goal was to complete runs so by the purchase of great lots the value was splited, and i will never have so much than i got now if i had bought them individually... So now come back to these comic shop They re offering an interesting selection of random books, mostly Marvel and DC from the 90s or more recent for mmmh... i would say approximately 8 or 10 dollars an issue, and the worst is that you can easily see by the scan that the books arent even in a decent condition... for the keys its going worst... they re priced as CGC high grade slab... so calling it a "scam" is not too much, and by evidence the books are rooting in the boxes for years... the principal target are the tourists who have no idea about comics and just want to bring back a memory, i will say that its look like as the policy of "Mile high Comics" in the USA. So the great parts of the comics transactions is made between the collectors themselves. To conclude, yes as i said comics are really uncommon, and the people intersted by this universe are rather collecting related stuff, like figures or accessories... few are readings, mostly translated editions, and original floppies are definitely the smaller part and Manga and Franco-Belgian are the principal graphic novels who sell well here. However, im really happy to have now 3 true friends who are into it and with who i can share my passion, several times when i ordered some stuff for me i d asked to them if they wanted to buy some comics and this way they have saved on shipping, the best moment is when i met them with their new comics and we unbox the stuff togheter, i can see the joy in their eyes! Here a pics of probably the best books i ordered for a friend, as a great fan of the Teen Titans, following their adventures into the TV Show when i was young, i hope to also buy it for myself a day. Thanks to everyone who will take the time to read this sh*t and see you soon for new adventures!!! JR Artifiction, bc, Turnando and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Aldred Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 (edited) On 4/2/2024 at 9:13 AM, BA773 said: However, im really happy to have now 3 true friends who are into it and with who i can share my passion, So, by my standards, in a country not known for obsession with comics, and paraphrasing what you said in your post, that’s actually quite a good situation. Back in the 70s, in England, I only knew one other person in the area who was just as hyped up as I was about the medium. And, there were many of us around, despite the cult-like, underground disconnection. Edited April 2 by Ken Aldred BA773 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spracknetch23 Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Interesting to hear a take from a Swiss native. I visited the German part of Switzerland in 2019 and noticed there was very little comic (and pop culture in general) prevalence there compared to the US. I visited a comic shop (in Winterthur, maybe). There seemed to be a large presence of Disney ducks, Marsupilami and Schlumpfe, with some superhero sprinkled in. I don't remember seeing many back issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumantorch Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Thanks @BA773 I'm a collector of foreign SA comics, think Spanish Fantastic Four from the early 160s. What do you have locally for books published for your market? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 On 4/2/2024 at 5:14 PM, spracknetch23 said: Interesting to hear a take from a Swiss native. I visited the German part of Switzerland in 2019 and noticed there was very little comic (and pop culture in general) prevalence there compared to the US. I visited a comic shop (in Winterthur, maybe). There seemed to be a large presence of Disney ducks, Marsupilami and Schlumpfe, with some superhero sprinkled in. I don't remember seeing many back issues. And notice that the German part is most involved! Probably because the French part are pretty bad in english... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 On 4/2/2024 at 6:28 PM, thehumantorch said: Thanks @BA773 I'm a collector of foreign SA comics, think Spanish Fantastic Four from the early 160s. What do you have locally for books published for your market? Unfortunately im the probably the greatest radical of the country, i cannot even think to buy a tpb or omnibus, and dont speak to me about translated stuff Yes i know that i have a problem... So i cannot give you my personal opinion on it... except that im a great novel reader so i often go to the library to buy books and when i go i just take a look on the graphic novels part just to see what is offered, and honnestly this part of the library is submerged by the Manga, but also a good quantity of Franco-Belgian. For the US translated comics well... the space dedicated to it is probably smaller than the personal librabry that some people have in their home these translated edition are mostly some trades of 6 to 8 issues of the recent comic books, there s an editor named Urban Comics who made a good job for DC translation, Marvel are principally managed by Panini and their work are pretty bad, ridiculous translation, books which are often out of stock and some people use it to sell them for stupid price and weak people buy them then we all know that they will be reprint... and nobody care to get the first print of a tpb especially a TRANSLATED tpb... so these price drop are stupid, like some omnibus value in US... Translated comics in floppy form were totally stopped many years ago for the french editions, dont know if german have survived... thehumantorch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 To tell more about the Panini translation on Marvel... we can even speak of a scandal, the early spiderman were translated using dissapeared terms and useless vulgarity, some sentance were even incomprehensible like if the translation was made by Google, which totally discredited the charachter and discouraged many readers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turnando Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Thank you for the post @BA773. I have always enjoyed your posts. I didn't know you were Swiss. You are a good ambassador for your country! I have run into a fair number of Swiss expats in Latin America and I'm pretty sure I ended up angry each time. Only last month I had sworn to myself I'd never talk to another Swiss expat after one of them ruined my seat at the bar. I was perfectly happy, sitting with a stray dog at the bar, and they came into the bar, fresh off the plane, and wanted to talk to an American about their admiration of Putin. Your love of comics has helped me see the error of my ways. I will give the next Swiss-in-the-jungle a fair chance. I'll tell them I know a Swiss dude who likes Batman and maybe that will help steer them towards a friendly conversation instead of a bar fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted April 3 Author Share Posted April 3 On 4/3/2024 at 1:02 AM, Turnando said: Thank you for the post @BA773. I have always enjoyed your posts. I didn't know you were Swiss. You are a good ambassador for your country! I have run into a fair number of Swiss expats in Latin America and I'm pretty sure I ended up angry each time. Only last month I had sworn to myself I'd never talk to another Swiss expat after one of them ruined my seat at the bar. I was perfectly happy, sitting with a stray dog at the bar, and they came into the bar, fresh off the plane, and wanted to talk to an American about their admiration of Putin. Your love of comics has helped me see the error of my ways. I will give the next Swiss-in-the-jungle a fair chance. I'll tell them I know a Swiss dude who likes Batman and maybe that will help steer them towards a friendly conversation instead of a bar fight. My love of the comics dont necessary make me a nice guy... like anyone here. I have no opinion on any race personally, insufficiently_thoughtful_person are all around the world... I don't want to ruin the atmosphere but for me the greatest problem above all is probably, as sad as it is to admit... the human... Maybe is why i always had so much love for Martian Manhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted April 11 Author Share Posted April 11 (edited) An usual announce on a Swiss website... the guy put them on auction for 65 dollars starting bid or buy it now for 90 dollars, we re talking about a lot of 6 freaking 90s flash issues... i mean i almost got the complet run including most of the keys books + a great ammount on international shipping fees and im still under 3 per books... in US all that stuff is findable in every dollar bins... But finally its honnest considering that the postage is ONLY 25... (In Switzerland the shipping cost for a package under 22lbs is 12 dollars) Edited April 11 by BA773 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Aldred Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 On 4/11/2024 at 8:23 AM, BA773 said: An usual announce on a Swiss website... the guy put them on auction for 65 dollars starting bid or buy it now for 90 dollars, we re talking about a lot of 6 freaking 90s flash issues... i mean i almost got the complet run including most of the keys books + a great ammount on international shipping fees and im still under 3 per books... in US all that stuff is findable in every dollar bins... But finally its honnest considering that the postage is ONLY 25... (In Switzerland the shipping cost for a package under 22lbs is 12 dollars) One part of the classic 'Return of Barry Allen' storyline, top left, which isn't much use alone, and the rest are decent reads but really gap fillers until Waid kicks into top gear again with the Impulse storyline. Dollar bin fillers. BA773 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 (edited) On 4/3/2024 at 1:02 AM, Turnando said: Thank you for the post @BA773. I have always enjoyed your posts. I didn't know you were Swiss. You are a good ambassador for your country! I have run into a fair number of Swiss expats in Latin America and I'm pretty sure I ended up angry each time. Only last month I had sworn to myself I'd never talk to another Swiss expat after one of them ruined my seat at the bar. I was perfectly happy, sitting with a stray dog at the bar, and they came into the bar, fresh off the plane, and wanted to talk to an American about their admiration of Putin. Your love of comics has helped me see the error of my ways. I will give the next Swiss-in-the-jungle a fair chance. I'll tell them I know a Swiss dude who likes Batman and maybe that will help steer them towards a friendly conversation instead of a bar fight. As i see by your words on my topic about the Ebay mess, you quickly changed your mind on me as i said pastly on this topic, my love of comics doesnt necessary means that im a nice guy... and it seems that you discovered it by yourself ... Edited May 2 by BA773 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tec-Tac-Toe Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 You like DC. That is good enough for me. Dave2739 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tec-Tac-Toe Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 On 4/2/2024 at 7:02 PM, Turnando said: Thank you for the post @BA773. I have always enjoyed your posts. I didn't know you were Swiss. You are a good ambassador for your country! I have run into a fair number of Swiss expats in Latin America and I'm pretty sure I ended up angry each time. Only last month I had sworn to myself I'd never talk to another Swiss expat after one of them ruined my seat at the bar. I was perfectly happy, sitting with a stray dog at the bar, and they came into the bar, fresh off the plane, and wanted to talk to an American about their admiration of Putin. Your love of comics has helped me see the error of my ways. I will give the next Swiss-in-the-jungle a fair chance. I'll tell them I know a Swiss dude who likes Batman and maybe that will help steer them towards a friendly conversation instead of a bar fight. Dave2739 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave2739 Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 On 5/2/2024 at 11:41 AM, BA773 said: As i see by your words on my topic about the Ebay mess, you quickly changed your mind on me as i said pastly on this topic, my love of comics doesnt necessary means that im a nice guy... and it seems that you discovered it by yourself ... For what it's worth, I like your enthusiasm for comics and for DC. And I'm fond of the era of books that you collect since those are the books I was reading new as they were coming out. It's fun reading about you discovering them now, and I think it's important to have younger guys like you interested in our hobby. BA773 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 (edited) On 5/2/2024 at 7:37 PM, Dave2739 said: For what it's worth, I like your enthusiasm for comics and for DC. And I'm fond of the era of books that you collect since those are the books I was reading new as they were coming out. It's fun reading about you discovering them now, and I think it's important to have younger guys like you interested in our hobby. Im refering of this posted on the other thread, here are the words of @Turnando: "It's a Swiss thing. I think the OP is a good dude and cannot help being Swiss. I live surrounded by Swiss (and especially German) expats in Central America. They are ALL like that. Without exception. I have met 50 of them personally and I swear to god there are no exceptions." Edited May 2 by BA773 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...