This week Chris and Walt talk about the joys of collecting comics as they each pick two titles they are going to start to collect. Getting back to basics, collecting for the sake of collecting is the focus of this week’s show.
Please let us know what you thought of the show, leave comments in the comments field below.
What titles are you trying to finish off? What titles are you willing to start to collect?
It’s too bad getting back to basics didn’t mean buying comics to read.
I agree, Scott. My collection is completely unslabbed and nothing can beat the feel and texture of the pages and the smell of the ancient newsprint, when I’m re-reading the great stories that hooked me as a kid.
These, along with the various collected reprint volumes like the ones you showcase, are the true love and the respect of comics, to me, and not just some recent releases that can be slabbed and held for resale at a premium.
I can also acknowledge respect to those who prefer the latter but have more in common with those who love comics, unfettered by lesser than ideal condition and plastic slabs.
I think they mean “collecting” for the sake of “accumulating”. A confusing discussion none the less… “It’s not about speculating, but hey! These issues are worth $$… and they should be 8.0 or better?” Because 7.0 is not good enough? Okay… I’m game. My recommendations for “collecting” (wink, wink) are:
Legion of Superheroes, pre #250. Great stories, readily available in the dollar bins, familiar but a fantastical portrayal of the future.
Omega Men… aside from #3, very affordable and DC’s answer to the Guardians of the Galaxy.
What If… only 47 issues, dirt cheap with the exception of the over inflated #10. Variety of art and stories. The real multiverse before the multiverse was ever a thing… and lots of spec potential as the house of ideas appears to be… out of ideas, and is mining the multiverse for stories and excuses to explain away continuity errors.
Charlie, those old What Ifs remind me of those even older Imaginary Stories DC ran in the early to mid 60s.
They could do whatever they wanted to the Superman family of characters (even death), and never have to deal with reversing or altering the outcomes of the stories because ‘they may or may never happen.’
It was a fan-approved cop-out and we ate it up, because it made DC daring and exciting, knowing that ‘anything goes’ could happen in those stories. I loved them!
I never really cared for the “imaginary stories” at DC. It just seemed like they didn’t matter.
How about collecting the entire Tower comics run,,,,,,what? about 78 comics including the Tippy Teen stuff. Or all the Radio comics/Archie series with the Shadow (really bad ) or the Fly, Jaguar, etc. Even Atlas/Seaboard stuff from the 70s. Lots of niche opportunities. Not just Marvel and DC.
I think DC eventually created Elseworld, or was it Elsewhere line of books to tell their non-canon tales? All these stories are hit or miss depending on the creative team. But for the most part, i found them to be fun reads and good fodder for discussion growing up.
Books like Hulk #377 get credit for “professor” Hulk, but this book doesn’t really have any ties to the End Game movie other than the Hulk being smart. But if… What If #10 gets credit for Jane Foster as Thor, shouldn’t What If #2 get credit for smart Hulk? Likewise…
• Spidey did eventually joined the FF
• Elektra does live
• The Thing did continue to mutate at one point
• The Surfer did lose his power cosmic
• Conan did enter the 20th Centrury
• Pheonix did not die
And others that I’m forgetting. Consider that many new characters… such as Mile Morales and Spidey Gwen, and recent mashups are extensions of the What If concept. If the market was more efficient and consistent… this series would be, should be more in regard, but I think the light hearted, sometimes humorous tone of the series holds it back. However, the crazy ask for #10 more than makes up for the whole series, if you ask me:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/274776815352?hash=item3ff9f976f8:g:OYUAAOSwMvxgiSPo
Hey guys, if you really want a complete set of Vigilante, just give John B, ex-owner of Dragon Lady Comics a call- he probably still has at least 100 copies of each issue in storage ! Instant collection ! Since John does NOT have his finger on the pulse of the current market, he will gladly sell you a copy of every issue for about $20.00 each. Yep, you could instantly tell which books John had priced when you looked at the wall books at DL- they stood out like a sore thumb! Anyway, when you get to his warehouse/self-storage unit, make sure you also pick up a complete set of Omega Men for Charlie- you’ll make John’s day as i don’t think he has sold a single copy of any Omega Men issue for over a decade !!!
Good point Robin. In fact, I tend to follow creators more than the series. I’m still a Byrne fan and I have all his early works from Charlton Comics like Doomsday +1 and Space 1999. Remember David Lapham and his Stray Bullets? PC comics… Alien Worlds with awesome Joe Chido covers? Lots of stuff to like from Vertigo and indy publisher Drawn & Quarterly. Tough to resell on eBay… but some of the material is deeply artistic, and very under appreciated.
Actually, the more I think about it- I believe that two fully rounded, well seasoned collectors like Chris & Walt should not be wasting their time collecting easy to find stuff like Vigilante or Marvel Team up. I think you guys should get serious & go after one of those Dell Western runs that everyone seems to be snubbing lately. They’re cheap as hell, nobody wants ’em, but can be tricky to locate once you’ve decided to collect them because not many sellers can be bothered to list them online! How about tracking down a complete run of all 31 issues of Rex Allen ??? Some nice art by Jesse Marsh & Alex Toth & cheap, cheap, cheap ! Go to it, Tigers !!!
I love the Omega Men! Fabio as Primus and Lion-O as Tigorr for the Omega Men movie!
Charlie- I loved PC Comics & was very sad to see them go. I think I have most of their stuff in my basement, sometimes in duplicate ! This was stuff I actually read & loved. I also have Lapham’s Stray Bullets in my stash, but can you believe?- I still have not read it !!!
Hey all. The idea behind this was just to try and recapture some of the “old days” of collecting.
And yeah, it is collecting. I think when you collecting, there is some enjoyment as to just accumulate. This isn’t a scavenger hunt for some random title. These are books that we genuinely like. I still buy monthly titles to read. Older books I tend to collect.
Love those Chiodo covers or Dave Stevens. Alien Worlds anyone?
What are you guys going to hunt for?
Hi Chris- we’re just having fun. Fun is the name of the game.
The “old days” will not return, not under these market conditions. There needs to be a complete meltdown of the current marketplace in order for the “old days” to return. The old days means to me, going to a convention at the Ontario College of art back in 1984 & stuffing several shopping bags full of pre-code horror, war, space, crime & other assorted adventure titles [ including golden age ] for about $150.00-$200.00 total, about $2.00 per book !!! I did this over & over again throughout the 1980’s ! Those are the good old days !!! Yes, these days were exciting !!!
This is collecting & yes, there is enjoyment when you are able to score a book you have always wanted for a fair price. As I have said before, I will not pay more than guide for any book that I see listed on ebay. This means that I lose a TON of books as there are a lot of monkeys out there who love to pay eight times guide for low grade copies of Atlas war comics ! However, by being persistent & having some luck, i am able to score books every now and then for guide or less. I do not engage in random ‘scavenger hunts’, I do not waste time or money collecting runs that do not interest me & only collect stuff that I actually enjoy.
There are very few new books that I like to read. Most are junk, a waste of time & money.
You say that you read new monthly comics, but you collect older books. How does that work ? Don’t you read the older issues ??? Are you just accumulating them ???
PC Comics were fantastic & I believe I have them all. I actually read every issue & loved every one. The Tim Conrad Halloween story from Twisted Tales still shakes me up !!!
I do not collect any more, I dabble. By persistently dabbling & sticking to my guns [ not paying more than guide for anything ] I am still able to add decent books to my collection every now and then. The list of titles that I am after is too large to list here- it would melt your server ! Safe to say, most are from the fifties or late golden age. I am amused that every once in a while I can actually get some of this stuff for less than guide on ebay !
I mentioned Rex Allen because I actually like the Dell Westerns. I am happy that today’s ‘informed’ collectors think that westerns are dead & allow me to add some of these books to my stash at less than market value. I just scored Rex Allen #17 in Fine condition for $4.00 US from ebay & am thrilled to get it ! I won six Dell Westerns some time ago from Heritage for $20.00 [ including their $19.00 buyer’s fee- which means I paid $1.00 for all six !] & am happy to have them too! These books are not dead, it is today’s collectors who are dead.
Different strokes for different folks, kids. Excelsior !
Great ideas here, I really like the What If run, and the Rex Allen idea is scary good, the Tower set would be an epic hunt as well.
Don’t look to these guys for understanding Chris, they’re a vicious lot.
We think alike Chris as I was thinking about the Byrne She-Hulk run when you guys first started out! I also thought about another run I might like… Marvel’s The Invaders…1975-1979! It has that Golden Age tie in factor I like… but I only own the Giant Size Invaders 1… so it would be a challenge! There are a couple short Golden age runs of less known titles but I would never be able to live up to your quality criteria! As is I would still have yo buy online as I f doubt I could get any of the books locally! Fun challenge!
Oh… those Golden age runs… Sam Hill from Archie comics… a short 7-8 issue run I think and the other would be to complete my Durango Kid run and no they are not ALL 6.0 or greater… but you gotta throw the Golden Age guys a few points… sheesh!
Two wise and handsome men once did a podcast about getting the passion back into collecting…about 4 months ago I believe..
Anyway, the elder one made a point about collecting something abstract & strange and threw out the joke about ‘every Sasquatch appearance’…at the time I was collecting Byrnes Alpha Flight (and enjoying it) whilst collecting his X-Men run…the next thing you know there’s a couple of awesome hulks (annual 8 & 272/273) then there’s a Machine Man 18, then a few two-in-ones, then a Team Up annual…next thing you know I am the living embodiment of the joke.
So be wary about laughing at these two…the joke could be on you!!!
Speaking of runs… and your last podcast about skyrocketing values… my 6 issue display currently has the Strange Tales run of Brother Voodoo! After I put it up I looked up the current prices… whoowee! Oh and because its only a five issue run I put up Marvel Premier 1… first full Warlock … can’t call him a…. errrr…. Him anymore!
Anyone is welcome to start their own Heart Throbs run, at the end we can compare. Gerald, good call on the Him book.