I cannot buy anything else than GA! 1 1

[Coverdeath]

I'm currently into a situation where I cannot buy anymore moderns books... and even BA and SA. For about 3 months now I throw out all my money on GA books only and I cannot stop, there is something weird, GA are like drug, I just became addicted to them 

Is there someone who had this kind of focus and turnaround of mindset?

I'm interested in every era of the comic books but I just think I justify much more easily to spend money on books when I feel that the opportunity to own them is really low. But I'm a bit feared that in 2 years I come to realize that I don't buy anything else that GA... wait a minute... why would it be bad? 

Edited August 31 by Coverdeath

[Tony S]

Collecting what you like is never a bad choice. You get the joy of ownership.  If you find yourself drawn to GA books go for it. I'm personally more a silver and bronze age collector. But I own some GA.  Rounds out the collection and really - no GA then no Silver! 

[AJD]

I was the same for many years. GA did it for me where other eras didn't. Buying what you like most is hard to go wrong with.

[whomerjay]

On 8/31/2024 at 4:07 AM, Coverdeath said:

I'm currently into a situation where I cannot buy anymore moderns books... and even BA and SA. For about 3 months now I throw out all my money on GA books only and I cannot stop, there is something weird, GA are like drug, I just became addicted to them 

Is there someone who had this kind of focus and turnaround of mindset?

I'm interested in every era of the comic books but I just think I justify much more easily to spend money on books when I feel that the opportunity to own them is really low. But I'm a bit feared that in 2 years I come to realize that I don't buy anything else that GA... wait a minute... why would it be bad? 

What I don’t understand is why everyone doesn’t evolve like this.

[Coverdeath]

On 8/31/2024 at 1:22 PM, whomerjay said:

What I don’t understand is why everyone doesn’t evolve like this.

Do I have to remember you that it were no South Park during the GA?

[Ken Aldred]

It's a great thing about comics.  You can switch onto one publisher or Age or genre, whatever, become obsessed and excited about it to the exclusion of most everything else for a while, burn out on the material, and then find another focus to get obsessed and enthralled by, or remain engaged with certain aspects lifelong. It's a very dynamic and varied preoccupation.  The level of enthusiasm comics can induce in us can be interpreted by others as an addiction, but there's nothing particularly wrong with you experiencing intense joy from your current focus, and an intervention isn't necessary.

 

[Robot Man]

I have been a GA addict ever since I found my first ones as a kid. There was always something so cool about “10 centers” especially those big fat wartime issues. Even though I have comics from era, my heart belongs in the GA and the bulk of my collection. 

[Dr. Balls]

I sold off all my MA, BA and SA about 10 years ago, and when I got back into comics a few years back, I went Full Pickle on Golden Age. The art, the format, the look and feel - all very addictive. I started with Pre Code Horror, but eventually I went into some of the early superhero stuff, and then into Captain American and the DC trinity. Collecting GA was probably the most fun because it's always a hunt to find things as much of the things you want are not readily available.

[ThothAmon]

GA is definitely my focus as well but there are still plenty of cool things from every era to collect. The way I see it modern classics are still classics. 
 

[Robot Man]

On 8/31/2024 at 8:51 AM, Dr. Balls said:

I sold off all my MA, BA and SA about 10 years ago, and when I got back into comics a few years back, I went Full Pickle on Golden Age. The art, the format, the look and feel - all very addictive. I started with Pre Code Horror, but eventually I went into some of the early superhero stuff, and then into Captain American and the DC trinity. Collecting GA was probably the most fun because it's always a hunt to find things as much of the things you want are not readily available.

Yeah, with GA especially the scarce and unusual stuff, it’s all about luck and the “thrill of the hunt”

Way more fun than looking for one of the 1.000’s of copies of ASM #300…

[KingOfRulers]

I love GA books, but primarily the covers. So many great covers out there from so many genres, from Schomburg and Raboy superhero books, to Barks ducks, Lou Fine sci-fi, and LB Cole craziness. And much more. There's a lot to love. The downside is that once you flip past the cover, the quality tends to be low, in most (but not all) cases.

While there are certainly some fantastic artists from the era that did interior work, most commonly the interior artwork is terrible. The writing is usually just as bad. For me the best era overall was the Bronze Age. In my opinion, that had the best combination of art and writing.

[Robot Man]

On 8/31/2024 at 2:12 PM, KingOfRulers said:

I love GA books, but primarily the covers. So many great covers out there from so many genres, from Schomburg and Raboy superhero books, to Barks ducks, Lou Fine sci-fi, and LB Cole craziness. And much more. There's a lot to love. The downside is that once you flip past the cover, the quality tends to be low, in most (but not all) cases.

While there are certainly some fantastic artists from the era that did interior work, most commonly the interior artwork is terrible. The writing is usually just as bad. For me the best era overall was the Bronze Age. In my opinion, that had the best combination of art and writing.

This comment sounds based on the current trend of slabbed books by where all you get are covers.

Yeah, there is a lot of swill inside GA covers just like any era. But when you crack that slab there is often a myriad of incredible work inside. Stuff like ECs, Barks Ducks and Eisner Spirit come to mind right away. Stuff that is classic and fun to peruse and read.

My “GA” is probably the dawn of Marvel. I quickly discovered the GA and was hooked on the diversity. Although I enjoy all periods, the GA had something other than just superheroes that dominate SA/BA.

There is no wrong answer…

[KingOfRulers]

On 9/1/2024 at 11:56 AM, Robot Man said:

This comment sounds based on the current trend of slabbed books by where all you get are covers.

Yeah, there is a lot of swill inside GA covers just like any era. But when you crack that slab there is often a myriad of incredible work inside. Stuff like ECs, Barks Ducks and Eisner Spirit come to mind right away. Stuff that is classic and fun to peruse and read.

My “GA” is probably the dawn of Marvel. I quickly discovered the GA and was hooked on the diversity. Although I enjoy all periods, the GA had something other than just superheroes that dominate SA/BA.

There is no wrong answer…

I know there are great interior works. I specifically mentioned Barks duck as being among them. There are masterful exceptions. But nonetheless there are far more terrible interiors for GA books than great or even mediocre interiors. At least in my opinion.

I never claimed there was a wrong answer. 

[shadroch]

I find most GA stories weak and unenjoyable. I love many covers and collected them only for the covers. Everyone has different tastes; perhaps mine simply isn't as developed as some others.

[AndyFish]

I've been hooked on buying Golden Age Comics since I saw my first one at 15.  Lately I have picked up a few super high grade 9.6 or better Bronze Age books that were important to me as a kid, but for me it's Gold all the way.

[paqart]

On 8/31/2024 at 5:12 PM, KingOfRulers said:

I love GA books, but primarily the covers. So many great covers out there from so many genres, from Schomburg and Raboy superhero books, to Barks ducks, Lou Fine sci-fi, and LB Cole craziness. And much more. There's a lot to love. The downside is that once you flip past the cover, the quality tends to be low, in most (but not all) cases.

While there are certainly some fantastic artists from the era that did interior work, most commonly the interior artwork is terrible. The writing is usually just as bad. For me the best era overall was the Bronze Age. In my opinion, that had the best combination of art and writing.

This is my all time favorite cover.

[paqart]

On 9/1/2024 at 1:23 PM, shadroch said:

I find most GA stories weak and unenjoyable. I love many covers and collected them only for the covers. Everyone has different tastes; perhaps mine simply isn't as developed as some others.

The best stories, in my opinion, are: Barks ducks (#1), Eisner Spirits (#2), ECs by Kurtzman (#3). For gags, there are some good GA Archie and Little Lulu comics.

Edited September 3 by paqart

[KingOfRulers]

On 9/2/2024 at 9:53 PM, paqart said:

The best stories, in my opinion, are: Barks ducks (#1), Eisner Spirits (#2), ECs by Kurtzman (#3). For gags, there are some good GA Archie and Little Lulu comics.

As far as stories go, that's where EC's horror titles excelled. I think they were more story driven than art driven. I'd say they were short stories with some accompanying illustrations, rather than how I normally think of comic books as generally being a 50/50 balance between art and story.

[1950's war comics]

the first comic i bought off the spinner rack with my own money was Spider-Man #102, i loved buying comics every week with my paper route money back then but even then i longed and dreamed about GA issues , a buddy of mine back then had an older brother who had some GA issues that he let me look at , Batman, Superman, and some war comics !! and they put everything i had to shame, now, thanks to eBay i can get all the back issues i want and that i can afford

[Ken Aldred]

On 9/3/2024 at 4:05 AM, 1950's war comics said:

the first comic i bought off the spinner rack with my own money was Spider-Man #102, i loved buying comics every week with my paper route money back then but even then i longed and dreamed about GA issues , a buddy of mine back then had an older brother who had some GA issues that he let me look at , Batman, Superman, and some war comics !! and they put everything i had to shame, now, thanks to eBay i can get all the back issues i want and that i can afford

Quite similar to me.  In the north of England as a kid, I had no idea about how to get hold of comics other than new Marvels and DCs on the newsstand, and, other than a few randomly-reprinted stories in 100 page comics, knew absolutely nothing about the details of Golden Age books until I got hold of an Overstreet a few years later. Some colour cover reproductions in there, but it was those small black-and-white images at the top of the guide pages and the details about the contents which fascinated me, and, at some distance, felt aspirational, and, sadly, completely unaffordable and unobtainable.  There did seem to be something special about them, especially the simple but very appealing, attractive logo designs on the early DCs: those I really liked.  I particularly obsessed about More Fun Comics featuring The Spectre and Dr Fate, and the Simon and Kirby books, but, later, settled into being a lifelong EC and Eisner Spirit fan. Even though my attention’s all over the place as far as reading material goes, that at least has remained an indelible constant.