Redartz: Good day, everyone, and thanks for joining us for another Adventure in Comics. Most of us have, or had, goals in the course of our comic collecting careers. Some folks desire to complete a series from beginning to end. Some wish to acquire all the works from a favorite artist or writer. Others have one particular book, a 'holy grail' if you will, the possession of which would serve as the pinnacle of their collection.
Today, we will talk about those goals, whether or not we achieved them, and how it felt to do so. As is the custom, I will go first, detailing for you my collecting aspirations.
Most of you know by now that my favorite character is Spider-Man. From the beginning of my
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| My unfulfilled goal. |
Of course, some years later the comic bug infected me again, and I started buying new issues and back issues once again. Which brings us to the present: what is my current goal? No longer a completist, I basically buy things that look interesting to me. One goal I do have, though: to re-acquire most of the original comics I had as a young child first discovering the wonders of comics. That period, from 1967 to about 1971, was years before I formally collected comics. Back then I just got cool books off the drug store spinner racks (as long as my parents approved of the contents). This goal is much more realistic, and cheaper, than shooting for ASM #1. Indeed, I've picked up quite a few of those old books already, many pretty cheap. Yes, there were many Marvels, which I have most of, but also many DC's (especially Superman, whose back issues remain to be fairly inexpensive). Also Gold Key, Archie and digests, which can often be had dirt cheap. The biggest challenge is actually remembering all the specific issues: easy for Marvel and DC, not so simple for the others. But, it's fun. And that's what it's all about, isn't it? Here are a few of those early books I've regained. Each has a special place in my memory...
So that's my story. One goal unfulfilled, but a new goal ongoing and achievable. How about you? Did you succeed in getting your comic heart's desire? If not, how close did you get? Do you have new, different goals as an 'adult'? Give us all the details of your Adventures in Comics...
26 comments:
That's a wonderful goal to have Redartz. Nothing beats nostalgia...nothing!
As for trying to remember those early issues, I've had success using Mike's Amazing World of Comics. Using the newsstand tab, just about every comic publisher is listed. It's the covers that seem to click. No matter how many decades it's been since I've seen them, when I see a familiar cover that I owned it triggers a different kind of feeling within me.
As for my goal. My favorite artist while collecting was John Byrne. His style influenced my own art at a young age. I stopped collecting by 1980 , but when I seen some of his commissioned art a couple of years ago I decided to get up to date on his work.
That's when I found out he was one the most prolific creators ever! Wow, what a ride it's been the last couple of years from early Charlton stuff to the more recent Star Trek work. Made easier by TPB's but half are in comic form.
I'm not a completist either anymore so I won't be going after single cover work and stuff like that just stories he's written or drawn.
And hey I got a commission from him too!
Sorry, military duty kept me away for just over a week.. As for milestones, I never thought I'd own an Avengers 4.., but was able get a 5.5 reasonably priced. I've gotten a few dozen other gems since I remarried.., but it's off to my day-job now to catch up. :)
Blessings everyone.
I remember as a kid buying so many Invaders comics that the idea of collecting an entire series for the first time seemed like a real possibility. It didn't happen until very much later, but it was still a milestone. I've been collecting first appearances of female characters, and in some cases, every appearance, in bronze age comics for a while now and while the first appearances of Zatanna, Enchantress (both Marvel and DC) and Clea rate high, there's one first appearance of a character I bought about a year ago which really puts a smile on my face.
Dolphin.
DC Showcase #79 from 1968. Probably the most unusual and, I think, greatest cover that series ever had. I looked for it for years not wanting to buy it on ebay or through a big store, but to really put the work in at small shows, shops and asking folks I knew. I finally found one in terrific NM condition for a very good price. I was ecstatic to have completed a years long quest. The effort and the time are what still makes that a milestone for me.
It's about the covers for me. Love WW 2 and have generally and very patiently focused on that at cheap prices for decent condition. Unfortunately market is much more active past two years, too many bidders!
Hi, gang --
As I long ago (three years now!) documented, I sold all of my comics, original art, some trades, and some action figures, etc. via eBay. You can read the dirty details here if you missed out when it was happening: https://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2014/07/you-got-to-know-when-to-hold-em.html
With some of the proceeds from the sale I've bought collected editions of many of the books I sold, as well as trades/hardcovers of series I knew as a kid but that had long ago escaped my grasp in one way or another - think Secret Society of Super-Villains, Super-Villain Team-Up, Champions, Nova, and so on.
But to get to Redartz's initial topic, I chased a complete run of my favorite series, the Avengers, for the better part of 10 years. Counting the books I had as a child (c. 1973-1980), I started adding to my collection by leaps and bounds once I discovered comic book stores in 1985. I found that Silver Age Avengers in decent shape could be had for $3-4, and even nice copies of books like #57 could be mail-ordered for $25. I'm sure I spent way more than I should simply by pursuing these books. After all, I was married in summer of 1988 and we had our first child in the autumn of 1991; and I was addicted to back issues. I finally completed the run (and kept it going through volumes II and III) with purchases of #4 and #1 in the mid-90s (now with son the second in the fold). I was able to get a VG copy of #4 for $150 and purchased a G copy of #1 for $195. The combined selling revenue from those two books was $1430, so I guess I did OK.
I was afflicted with completionism, which was quite evident in the number of books I had to sell in large lots at a tremendous loss on cover price. I stuck with so many books past their utility to me, but couldn't quit them. I really have no explanation other than that drive to have a set (whatever that means). But that was really only for books moving forward; I honestly didn't chase back issues of any other book besides Avengers.
So now I buy what I like. As my former partner Karen remarked long ago, this is the Golden Age of Reprints, and if it's not available now it soon will be. Edo and I have lamented that the Niciez/Maguire Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty prestige series has never been reprinted. Well lo and behold if a trade is not advance solicited on Amazon. I hung onto those four issues, as it's a series I enjoy going back to. I'm glad others will have the opportunity to partake of it. And more and more of the B&W Marvel magazines are finding new audiences -- the first Planet of the Apes hardcover ships from the current license holder, BOOM! Studios, at the end of the month. Can't wait!
Doug
Great topic, and one I plan to cover (eventually) on my own blog. I even have a term I've coined for it, "Selective Completism." :P
Basically, save for a particular short arcs I am hunting, this is what most of my comic searches are like today. For example, I am nearly complete with my hunt for a run of X-Men starting with when I first got into them (in 5th grade) til when I lost interest (1988 - 11th grade). I am three issues short - but part of the issue (no pun intended) is I have a rule of never paying more than $5 (including shipping) for any individual issue of a comic book.
The series I was consciously working towards completing back in the day was ROM - and I finally succeeded with the help of a quarter bin back in 1997. I then moved on to getting all of his appearances (and the appearances of his foes the Dire Wraiths) in all other Marvel comics, and I finally completed that around 2013.
Rather than work towards complete series of things I know are too rare or expensive, I go for things that have meaning for me OR that I think will make interesting subjects of inquiry. So I got a complete run of Micronauts (which I am currently reading and love), Power Pack (but focusing only on Simonson and Bagdanove's part of the run) and Dazzler.
Other series I am working on are Power Man & Iron Fist and Master of Kung-Fu. And, looking towards getting all the appearances of the various iterations of Marvel's first Puerto Rican superhero, White Tiger.
Sometimes I choose other means of deciding what the range of what I am looking for will be. For example, I own all appearances of Brother Voodoo, but only through the late 80s.
I was never too picky about getting complete runs; I don't mind reading reprints, TPBs, or digital editions, as long as I get the story. And buying off the rack as a kid meant I was always going to have some gaps in my collection. Now that I'm doing year-by-year reviews on my blog, I'm filling in some gaps, but I'll probably never have a complete collection of any title.
So basically I'm doing like you ... reading stuff that interests me and ignoring the rest.
Doug, your news about that Capt. America trade made me rush over to Amazon, only to have my excitement extinguished by that $30+ price tag. I see it will also collect that Captain America "newspaper strip" series that I'm also curious about, but still - a bit spendy for me. (I'd hang on to those original issues if I were you.)
As to the topic at hand, I can't really say I ever had any specific collecting goals, like getting the entire run of a specific series or every or most appearances by a specific character. I was always a reader first, so back in the day, I remember wanting a lot of back issues of, say, X-men from GS #1 onward, just because I wanted to read the stories. The golden age of reprints we have now kind of takes care of a lot of those problems, as it's pretty easy to find most of this stuff at (usually) reasonable cost.
Nowadays, I find that I more often want specific editions of certain paperback SF or fantasy books - the ones from the 1960s through 1980s, because of the cover art. Usually I've been able to find cheap copies of the ones I've wanted online.
Edo -
I'd never heard of that Cap newspaper strip series. Here's some info: http://www.instocktrades.com/TP/Marvel/CAPTAIN-AMERICA-1940S-NEWSPAPER-STRIP-TP/SEP100722
Doug
I'm a child of the 80s but have always collected backwards so my collections go back in to the 60s. I'm a character collector. That's where my passion goes. I've done my two passion projects within the scope of my budget. I've got a complete collection of every Legion of Superheroes except for Adventure Comics 247. All the silver age stuff where maybe they appeared on a page or a panel, if they were in there I own it. Plus everything else. The digests. The treasuries. The Amazing World of D.C. comics. I'm Complete up to Batman '66 meets The Legion Of Superheroes. That's been my passion project since I was 11 and bought my first Baxter issue.
My other hunt has been Avengers. But there it's just a run through all the main path Avengers titles. No way to do all the character appearances. I'm complete except for a 1 and a 4 there. I consider myself done. If I see a reasonable price on one of them I'll buy it but I'm done hunting Avengers.
These days I'm filling runs and working backwards on a few titles. Green Lantern, Thor, Fantastic Four and Justice League of America. That's my silver age hunt.
I've got a complete FF run back to Issue 30 at this point. A few scattered issues before that but FF under 30 are too expensive unless I get lucky.
My Thor collection is almost complete, I'm missing a few random Bronze Age issues. And I've started going back to Journey into Mysteries. I've got maybe 25 random issues out of all the author appearances but that book is insane to try to find affordable copies of.
Justice League I have a complete run starting with issue 21. With a gain a scattering of issues before. jLA in the teens can still be found at a reasonable price. Single digits and the 3 Brave and The Bold issues are impossible.
Green Lanterns my newest series to hunt. Added when it was getting harder to find affordable copies of the other stuff. I'm probably 50 issues away from a complete run there.
All of these have been long term projects though. I enjoy the hunt. But I've also had the advantage of continuing reading the monthlies of these books since the 80s. And never selling off. So I only have to hunt silver and early bronze :)
But I also do weird stuff. One point I decided to collect all D.C. 100 Page Super Spectaculars and 80 Page Giants. Never finished that one. But I'm darn close. Finding good spines there will be the death of me.
And I'm collecting every title that came out the month I was born. That's a back burner collection. But I still have my list.
i still read monthly. A lot. Comics are my one vice and I have an understanding wife who lets me take up way too much room in the house. So I'll keep going. 35 years I've been a monthly pull customer somewhere, I don't see this changing.
Alan -
You have a couple of goals I've long thought about: the comics sold in your birthday month and the extra large DCs. I think that's really cool!
And how many longboxes do you have?? 😵
Doug
Doug, thanks for the link; I didn't know there was already a trade collecting it. It's odd then that it's being collected again together with the Nicieza/Maguire series - I kind of wish they would just do a little slim book collecting those 4 issues, which would then be cheaper...
Osvaldo, your mission to collect all of the White Tiger appearances reminds me that there's still some stuff that hasn't been encompassed by this golden age of reprints: I've long wanted some kind of book (tpb or HC) that includes every one of the White Tiger's appearances from the '70s through the early '80s, including the b&w features from Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (and even his appearance in Spidey Super Stories). That, and a book collecting all of the Man Wolf appearances from that same period.
This is a loaded question��
I'll start filling Long box 155 with my monthly
Pulls when they arrive this week. But there are also around 10 magazine boxes. Half dozen digest/manga boxes and maybe 8 or 9 long boxes worth of trades.
I have a REALLY understanding wife and a large basement.
155 long boxes. Oh My Sweet Fancy Moses.
There are entire comic book shops that don't have that much back-issue inventory! (Especially true lately, in fact. Back issues have disappeared out of the last three shops I've dropped into. . . )
Still-- if you have an organized, well-supported storage system down there, Alan, more power to ya-!
I was ALWAYS more of a hole-filler over the course of long runs, and would eventually start working my way earlier and earlier as time/money allowed. I think I mentioned recently-- Incredible Hulk #115 and #172 were long-standing Grails for me, and I was so delighted once I finally filled them. Same with Avengers #64 (GREAT issue in my favorite run). X-Men #100. Werewolf by Night #1. Hulk #225 somehow never arrived via my years-long subscription. . . and it was years before I managed to replace it myself (great cover).
But the desire has somehow left me. I don't know-- the love for my collection is still there, I can tell. But pursuing it further has dropped precipitously far down the ol' life-priority list. Since for me, the joy in the hobby has always been the reading of the comics as opposed to simply the having of the comics, it does cross my mind: how much of my remaining lifespan would I have to give over to reading all of these issues even one more time? And I suppose any intense pastime or collecting-hobby eventually warrants that kind of re-examination. Perhaps this is why I don't seem to enjoy video games as much as I used to as well?
Oo-- unintentionally got a bit heavy there-- so sorry teammates!
Carry on-- don't mind the curmudgeon-attack!
HB
Since I was around 15 I had the lofty goal of obtaining a complete run of Amazing Spider-Man, but I thought it would pretty much be impossible. However, I found a few Ditko issues at some local comic shops and the bug was planted. The first Ditko issue I ever acquired was Amazing Spider-Man #17 which I actually found in a long box at my local comic shop. It was surprised because it was in pretty good condition (with just a small tear in the cover) and it was priced at $4.75! I asked the owner if it was a reprint and he said "No, that's an original." So I snapped it up. Over the next few years I kept on buying back issues of ASM whenever and wherever I could find them (and afford them). I got a nice copy of ASM #10 for $8.00 at my first comic convention.
Then when I around 20 years old (in 1985), my LCS got in a good copy of ASM #1. The cover had some wear and tear, but it was complete and pretty clean. And they were only asking $120.00 for it. So, my parents actually got it for me for Christmas. (Best Christmas ever!) Then a couple of years later the same store got in a really nice restored copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, and they wanted a mere $600.00 for it, so I put it on layaway and paid it off over the next couple of weeks. I was in the Coast Guard at the time and didn't have a lot of bills so I was able to pay the balance pretty quickly.
After that, it was just a matter of time before I was able to fill in the gaps of my collection, and by 1989 I had a complete run of Amazing Spider-Man and I kept it going until around 2012 (when I finally gave up on new comics altogether). By that time I had also amassed complete runs of every other Spider-Man title as well, including Peter Parter The Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up, and etc..
Unfortunately I had to sell my entire collection back in 2013 in order to come up with a down payment for a house. I didn't get as much as I was hoping for, but it was enough to get me and my wife into our house. So, Spidey came through for me in the end.
I actually made a video and posted it on YouTube of some of the highlights of my collection. I made the video in a hotel room in Virginia on my way to New York City to drop off my collection at an auction house. I posted the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVfdCbFMj8Q
I remember that video, William. It truly made me a sad man.
Doug
Edo, I noticed yesterday for the first time when I went to pick up my monthly books (and my first visit in a long time where I did not also pick up back issues ordered online at the same time - something that saves me on shipping) that here were big Deadly Hands of Kung-Fun omnibuses, but I don't know if they include the White Tiger stuff - plus, like the two Kirby FF ones I have, they are very expensive.
Thanks for sharing that video, William. I hope you still have access to all the stories in digital versions or some other collection, at least!
Alan-I bow to 155 boxes! Also I profoundly appreciate your collecting DCs. I too loved the original LSH run but I hadn't the courage to pursue a run, stopping with a mere 25 issues.
I watched that video as well. Represents us all.
Humanbelly. Your tale sounds like mine. Grew up in late 70s early 80s and hoarded as many Marvel DC as I could. Stopped during late 80s and returned in early 90s when I discovered ebay and buying sets and runs of series til children came along in 99. Must have 2-3000 stored away in sealed rubbermaid bins. True what you say of not being able to re read any of these in this lifetime. Tend to read PDFs now and free library collections. 2 sons who have zero interest in the collection. Had an offer to sell years ago and did not do it but may do so in a few years to finance renovations.
Love reading about everyone's collecting.
Excellent comments and stories, everyone! Deepest thanks to each of you for sharing, participating, educating and entertaining.
Killraven- Byrne is a fine choice to focus a collection on. And you have a commission- very, very cool.
david_b- glad to have you back! And that Avengers 4 is quite a trophy.
Selenarch- Dolphin! Great to hear some love for the character. That Showcase cover was a beauty. Oh, did you know she was one of many cameos to appear in Showcase 100?
Osvaldo- "Selective Completism"; love your term! Incidentally, I admire your 5 dollar limit to comic purchases. Best of luck with your searches. It's rather surprising how much you can actually find out there for a decent price. Many of my books came from flea market and yard sale bargain boxes, and sometimes you can do pretty well.
Alan- 155 long boxes. Wow. I can't imagine. Very impressive indeed. So have you read each one? I'd love to see your comics room (warehouse?)!
HB- enjoyed your bit of introspective analysis! Yes, I think the collecting process shifts and changes. Like you, reading is a top priority. The 'having' varies. I keep pulling and selling from my collection, but also picking up books here and there. The net effect is a gradual reduction, I suppose.
William- your story hits me at the heartstrings. Kudos to your former collection, to your diligence and comics love! And I hope the many reprint formats available take some of the sting away.
Charlie- yes, it seems we here tend to lean towards Marvel ( can't help it, my favorite too), but there is much love for DC (and everyone else). These days I probably buy more DC back issues than Marvel (Legion, Superman, Enemy Ace, Sugar and Spike).
Mtl Vouts- thanks for commenting! Your story is shared by many of us. Do you have a nephew (or neice) who might be interested in the hobby? Or if you go with selling, I'd recommend ebay. Doug can give you much expertise in that. I've had success there.
I'm a little behind on my monthly pull reading but in one form or another I've read probably 153 boxes worth of them in one form or another. A lot of the silver age stuff I'd read in other forms before I owned them. But I buy to collect and most importantly read.
One of these days I'll probably post pictures of how everything is stored online. But it's impossible to get it all in one pic. It's organized though. Thank God for databases. I use comicbase (www.comicbase.com) for cataloging everything and most importantly noting which box everything is in. First found comicbase at San Diego Con in 1999 and have been using them for 18 years since. Love them. Highly recommended if you need a pre-made database program for comics.
Thanks guys for all the nice comments. I actually still find it difficult to watch that video myself.
And yes, reprints via trade paperback collections and digital formats help to soften the blow considerably.
I've always considered myself a reader first, and a collector second. So, digital comics and collected reprints are almost as good as having the originals. And in some ways it's better, because I'm not afraid to take out a TPB and actually read it, instead of just admiring it through a mylar comic bag. LOL
The availability of digital comics, both legitimate as well as bootleg, is invaluable. The history of the medium, a click away.
I've enjoyed everyone's comments today. Always a pleasure to engage with like-minded citizens who share this passion.
Doug
155 long boxes...????? Oh My Word, Holy Blessed Mother of the Teen-Aged Jesus...
The most I had about 20yrs ago was six long boxes..., now I'm down to 8-9 short boxes, but have collected more vintage Silver Age ASM, DD, Avengers and even DC's Lois Lane and Superboy than I ever imagined.
(The later-mentioned DC issues had MANY great Neal Adams covers, most of which can be beautifully collected for mere pennies on the dollar...).
Mere, I tell you.
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