Where do you get your new comics?

ZephyrWasHOT!! · Post by **ZephyrWasHOT!!** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 9:14 pm

whetteon wrote:So, um, do you read every copy of those 20 Harbinger #1's you have hoarded ZWH?

No...no, see, you're confusing 'buying something BECAUSE it BECAME a collectible'...and buying something because it's marketed AS a 'collectible'. And those two little quotation marks are exactly what I'm talking about. Do not make the mistake of assuming that just because something BECAME collectible that it was INTENDED to BE, and manufactured AS, a 'collectible'.

Harbinger #1 BECAME a collectible because (A) it was very, very good; (B) it was printed in such quantities that demand far outstripped supply. But Valiant didn't print it AS a 'collectible'. They printed it because they felt it was a story told in words and pictures that people would enjoy. I'm certain they HOPED it would BECOME a collectible....but collectibles are born, not made, so to speak.

Oh, sure, anyone can make something intended to be a 'collectible'....comic companies have been doing it for nearly 15 years now....but just because someone SAYS something is a 'collectible' doesn't make it so. Something either IS...or is NOT...a collectible based solely on it's intrinsic worth. It was that 'it was very, very good'...for WHATEVER REASON...that contributes the most to something BECOMING a collectible.

Anyone who tells you something is a 'collectible' before it's even been RELEASED is feeding you a line of bull...or selling something.

Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of 'issues' of the Franklin Mint should tell you that.

There's nothing wrong with desiring, owning, collecting things that have BECOME collectibles...especially in multiples.

There IS something inherently sad with treating ALL of them AS collectibles first and foremost, from day 1, rather than what they truly are: artistic entertainment.

And it's more than 40 at this point.

whetteon · Post by **whetteon** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 10:33 pm

Thanks for clearing that up for me...I think.

WalrusCyclone · Post by **WalrusCyclone** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 11:11 pm

Christopher Martin wrote:I don't think comics are too expensive, and I don't think of them only as entertainment like a movie or tv show. Comic collecting is a hobby. The model I compare it to is baseball cards. Those cost 2-5 dollars a pack and what does a baseball card do? Can you read it? no, you put it in a box or a holder just like a comic. With a comic you get an added bonus of a story. The entertainment value isn't just in the reading, but the collecting aspect. And to keep this on topic, I buy from Graham Crackers downtown and Lincoln Park locations, as well as Chicago Comics and ebay.

I live on the same block as the Lincoln Park Graham Crackers, it's a great store. It actually pulled me back into reading comics.

Master Dorque · Post by **Master Dorque** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 11:21 pm

I just can't help but feel ZWH likes to have his cake, and eat it too!

ZephyrWasHOT!! · Post by **ZephyrWasHOT!!** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 11:31 pm

Master Dorque wrote:I just can't help but feel ZWH likes to have his cake, and eat it too!

Nope.

Sorry if I'm not communicating the concept well enough so that anyone can understand it....I sometimes have that problem.

Here...think about it in these terms:

BRAND NEW comics being bought as 'collectibles', for 'investment potential', instead of being bought and enjoyed for what they are...

VS.

Comics that have an established following/fan base, have been out for 'some time', and which inspire people who don't have them to seek to acquire them.

There.

Easier?

depluto · Post by **depluto** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 12:42 am

If I had cake, I would eat it too. Why not?

I get what Zeph is saying. And comics being bought for "investment potential" is part of what brought Valiant down. Those million-plus copies of Turok 1 weren't all bought (or not bought) by readers or fans, that's for sure.

Whatever floats your boat, though. Imagine if they had only printed 500,000 of those. Baseball card shops would have had them in the window for $40 within a month. Ridiculous, but I bet it would have happened due to a perceived scarcity. And they'd still be a quarter or less today.

There was a pretty interesting note by Shooter inside, I think, Harbinger 1. He said something along the lines of "the book you hold in your hands will one day be as important as Avengers No. 1." I don't think he was talking about future financial value, but that the book would be a cornerstone of a future and thriving comic book universe.

I wish he had been right.

depluto · Post by **depluto** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 1:06 am

I don't blame those dudes as much as I do the "suits." Somebody got rich off that fiasco.

blazeknight · Post by **blazeknight** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 1:16 am

well, i think my comic shop has to be one of the best around....Talking Illustrations in new westminster BC. Weekly subscription service with 25.....thats 25% off NEW comics!. Every month when previews comes out i get a $10.00 gift certificate for back issues. If I pre pay for comics, every $100.00 I pre pay I get another $10.00 coupon. Discounts on statues and supplies to, 10% i think. To top it off, about 3-4 times a year he holds a huge sale, all back issue bin comics are $1.00, and there is good stuff in there. Just had one and I scored 6 X-O number 15 pinks, $1.00 each and picked up some of my missing valiants, but there are variant covers in there, key issues, full runs, even week old books are $1.00!
Terry at TI is top notch. When McFarlane Spider-man and Jim Lee X-Men came out, subscribers got both those series for FREE, up until about issue 25 of each. Im not sure any store can beat this guy