Discussing the minutiae of comic book collecting.
Discussing the minutiae of comic book collecting.
X-Men #49, Marvel Comics, October 1968 An X-Men fan recently told me something I didn’t even realize. He noted that only one X-Men book has ever been featured on the Undervalued Spotlight (#88). This is obviously neglect on my part…
Generally speaking, people come to comics by way of art, but stay for the stories. Art is immediate, stirring and personal. Many artists have their beginnings or have been influenced by comics in some way, but not all artists pursue…
52 weeks. 52 different writers. 2 trade paperbacks or hardcovers a week. Each week I’ll take a look at a different writer and read two different collected editions from within that person’s repertoire to help in the examination of their…
At last we’ve come to the nitty gritty of retailing: cost. Three basic and fundamental costs associated with a comic shop: retail space, employees, inventory. Any retail store will require all three to keep the doors open and the lights…
We’re back in the late 70’s and Black Friday is almost upon us. Christmas is just around the corner. Time to get out and shop for toys for all those good little girls and boys. I wonder just how many…
A continued look at pre-internet publisher’s comics solicitations, this time Marvel Spotlight November 1993. This is the only one I have so I don’t know if it was a one-off or short run. Looks to promote Marvels with a few…
Selkirk, a God-fearing crewman aboard the space freighter Nova Maru, is forced at gunpoint to abandon ship with his captain. They crash-land on a small planet, but it is soon apparent that they have not entirely escaped the Nova Maru’s…
52 weeks. 52 different writers. 2 trade paperbacks or hardcovers a week. Each week I’ll take a look at a different writer and read two different collected editions from within that person’s repertoire to help in the examination of their…
Hi folks, welcome to ARCHIE G’s. I’m your waiter, Raoul. Here at ARCHIE G’s, we don’t think you can make a dependable Pull List decision based on the first serving of a comic. Publishers throw everything they’ve got at a…
Comic auctions continue to be a hot commodity and Hake’s recently completed their Auction #216, from which we’ll look at Original Art & Related. Hake’s is a smaller player in the original comic art field, mostly covering illustration, animation and…
Here’s an exceptional Marvel freebie from 1989: All About Collecting Comic Books. It’s a nice look at what Marvel thought comic readers needed to know about collecting back issues.
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #6, Marvel Comics, March 1964 The Spotlight is a forum to express views and opinions on comics, on their values and their collectability. Inspiration for my picks range from random stabs of nostalgia to…
In my last write up, I wrote about being more strategic with your purchases and not letting sentiment dictate your investment decisions. One of the things I discussed was understanding the value of a book. Buying a $100 book over…
52 weeks. 52 different writers. 2 trade paperbacks or hardcovers a week. Each week I’ll take a look at a different writer and read two different collected editions from within that person’s repertoire to help in the examination of their…
Hi folks, welcome to ARCHIE G’s. I’m your waiter, Raoul. Here at ARCHIE G’s, we don’t think you can make a dependable Pull List decision based on the first serving of a comic. Publishers throw everything they’ve got at a…
ComicLink recently wrapped up their October 2015 Focused Auction. This is the lower end auction that complements their larger Featured Auctions. Original Art in the Focused Auction is a grab bag of items ComicLink feels are worth less than $500…