Dr. Solar's Prescription

[Dr. Solar]

I started collectin when I heard about this "Unity" thing that was coming up. i asked my comic shop to save me one of the free Unity 0's, and that I was planning to buy the whole thing.

Shortly thereafter, I started buying all the VALIANT books I could. Mind you, I had just turned 13. I got a Archer & Armstrong gold for sending in this photo:

I'm the guy on the left, with my best friend in middle school, Victor, helping me out.

This was the month after Unity ended as you can tell by the Solar 14, X-O 9, Archer & Armstrong 3, and Harbinger 10. I had already gotten Archer & Armstrong 0, Shadowman 3, Solar 1, 10, 11, and X-O Manowar 1 in my collection. Not a small feat on my 13 year old budget. I collected for a few more months, and realized that the post unity books didn't have the pull to me at the time as the earlier books. I completed a pre-unity run of Solar when I was still 13, but by the time I was 14 or so, comic books made way fro chicks, angst, and punk rock.

When I got back into comics when I was a junior in college, Valiant was one of the first things I revisited.

And now I'm hooked. Enjoy my continually growing collection.

[Dr. Solar]

My first hoarding love was Solar 2. I was hoarding it before I knew what hoarding was.



I hoard this book becausae it was the last pre-unity Solar issue that I got. I went to a comic convention at age 13, and bought this bok for $20. At the time, it was the most expensive book I had ever bought. When I find it for a few bucks now, I can't pass it up.

[Dr. Solar]

Sit down, relax for a minute.

This gallery used to be where some of my cooler slabbed books were. I had a Solar 10, Rai 3, and Archer & Armstrong 0 gold, all in 9.8 grade.

These are some mighty nice books, and highly desired by some collectors. I've also got a couple other issues of Solar, and some Magnus issues, in 9.8.

They look great. Absolutely great. Don't get me wrong.

I've bought a few slabs, and sent in a few more books to get graded myself. It was fun, and it was educational. I learned a bit about grading really high grade books. And, I also realized something.

I don't care much for slabbed books.

I prefer having a book in a nice mylar. It feels more accessable, and more real to me.

I like to be able to flip through my comics. I really enjoy reading an old comic from 40 years ago (or 15 years ago, in the case of Valiant).

Even moreso, I trust my grading. When I look at a book, I know what I think of it. I know what a NM/Mint book looks like to me. I know what a NM book looks like to me. I trust myself to know what condition my books are in.

I've got nothing against people that collect graded books. I know that it is a fun, compelling way to collect, but it isn't for me.

OK, back to the gallery!