Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Sept 2, 2016 0:01:28 GMT -5
So here's some more pics, in smaller chunks to give a sampling of what's there... So what all is there? -The Spell of Conan-a paperback collecting a best of sampler of Amra articles by the likes of Fritz Leiber, Poul Anderson, Lin Carter, L.Spreague de Camp and others -The Burroughs Bulletin #36-an ERB zine, this one features a collection of Tarzan strips of Tarzan in Pellucidar by Burne Hogaerth and Dan Barry plus other articles -Eclipse: The Magazine #1 (featurinmg material by Englehart, Starlin, Rogers, Russell and others) -Savage Word of Criminal (Brubaker magazine edition of Criminal Special -Star Raider OGN from DC by Elliot S. Maggin and Jose Garcia Lopez -Marvel Super Special #21 (Conan the Barbarian movie adaptation) -Doc Savage magazine #3, 5, 7 -Marvel Preview #24 (Paradox; Gulacy cover) -Robert E. Howard's Worms of the Earth from Wandering Star and Cross Plains Comics (Bran Mak Morn tale adapted by Roy Thomas, Barry Smith and Tim Conrad, cover by Mark Schulz-this was the single most expensive book I picked up at a whopping $8) -Nexus Magazine #2 -Masters of Terror #1 (featurng Howard, Lovecraft, Sturgeon adaptations by the likes of Brunner, BarrySMith and others). -Frank Frazetta Illustrated #1 & 2 -Power Records Set PR 11 The Incredible Hulk at Bay -Marvel Graphic Novel: Conan the Barbarian: The Horn of Azoth by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Mike Docherty & Tony DeZuniga -Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #15, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25 and 27 -Savage Sword of Conan #24, 34, 39, 46, 55, 56, 68, 74, 76, 88, 97, 102, 109, 113, 116, 117, 139, 154, 208 -Tarzan # 218, 225, 230, 233, 242, 244, 252 -Kamandi #13, 28, 36, 37, 41 -Demon #16 -Red Sonja (Marvel; 70s series) 9, 11, 12, 14, 15 -Jonny Quest Classics (Comico) 1, 2 -Jonny Quest (Comico) #3, 4, 10, 21 and the following Atlas/Seaboard books... -Scorpion #3 -Tiger-Man #2, 3 -Savage Combat Tales #1 -Phoenix #1 -Morlock 2001 #1, 3 -Weird Suspense #2 breakdown of the book's cost-11 @ 50 cents each, 21 @$ 1 each, 16 @ $2 each, 12 @ $3 each, 2 @ $4 each, 2 @ $5 each, 1 @$8, and a handful at odd price points like $1.99 or $1.05 etc. so most were on the cheap reading copies. Only 2 were over $5 each-the Bran Mak Morn GN and the issue of Savage Sword of Criminal which had an msrp of $5.99. There was also a pile of goblins, pirates, dragon creatures, frog monsters, goats, pigs, villagers, and other rpg minis, and a Rainbow Dash magnet my wife wanted top round out the haul...all of which came out of the stuff I traded in or birthday money my wife got for her birthday yesterday (all of the comics and the bulk of the minis were from the trade, but there was an overrun on the minis covered by b-day money, so pretty much the whole haul was $0 out of pocket of our money. -M That Incredible Hulk book & record was probably my favorite one. I wonder how much I would enjoy it today? Back then, it seemed like something special.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Aug 26, 2016 0:00:31 GMT -5
And yes, comic strips were similar to comic books. But the continuity strip had its day and has largely disappeared, replaced by the gag-a-day strip that has little to no continuity. And as I recall, soap operas have pretty well disappeared from the airwaves as well. How true, how true, how prior serialisation story telling formats have lost their popularity and faded away. Forgot to mention the movie serials, many running up to 16 weekly chapters. And they too have long ago disappeared. And here are the super hero comic books, still trying to hold on to their readership using that device. And the general public walked away from comics decades ago. But the hard core fans swear by them, putting it up on a pedestal. Wondering why they don't sell more at a ridiculous high price for 10-15 minutes of partial never ending repetitious story. I certainly don't see intelligent design with this I don't put the old storytelling on a pedestal. It was fun while it lasted. It's a shame that people who started reading comics after the first couple of resets will never get to experience a storyline much longer than a year or so. Eventually the number 1's won't fool anybody that they're starting fresh. The next crop of old time readers (if there are any) will have 15 different number 1's of their favorite titles, and the newcomers will tell them how stupid it is to start over every year, pretending it's new and fresh.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Aug 25, 2016 22:36:32 GMT -5
Regardless of your feelings today about whether or not the illusion of one long story is a good thing, it's the very reason some of the long-time readers became hooked. Of course, we hardly had any resources for back issues, so the "important" ones had a reverence to them that doesn't exist anymore. If I want to read Amazing Fantasy 15 today, I can find it in a matter of seconds, where before the internet, I would have had to wait for a reprint or find a copy at the Flea Market or one of the sellers that advertised in the comics themselves. Even with those sellers, I remember ordering a catalog, which arrived in about a month, and then selecting the books I wanted (along with backups in case a book was out of stock). After mailing a check, the comics would arrive about a month later, and I always ended up with the backup books instead of the ones I really wanted. Everybody didn't already know the story then like they do now, so the back issues were integral for the entire story. Newer readers just don't understand how lucky they are to have all that material just a click away in most cases, and maybe they just don't appreciate past stories like we did. Anyway, what I mean to say is that the "One Ongoing Story" method was a brilliant idea when the publishers began to realize that some adults followed certain books, and that was one way to keep them coming back. It made comics a unique form of entertainment, too, due to the longevity of the illusion. Other than making a sliding timeline, though, the original characters would have to die or retire sometime, which I guess is why the industry is at such a crossroads right now. Hope my gibberish makes sense to somebody. There's a point in there somewhere.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Apr 27, 2016 2:07:41 GMT -5
You did good buying the Essential Captain America trades. I wouldn't mind buying a couple off of amazon or at a comic shop but I'm still focusing on the original uncanny x men and the Wolverine volume 2 1990s stuff at the moment Thanks. I have a complete run of Captain America in floppies, but my daughter is a big fan of Cap as well so this is a way to keep her hands out of my collection. I'm closing in on a complete run beginning with Cap 100. I probably need less than a dozen. I have no intention of collecting the Golden Age material, but I haven't decided whether or not to collect Tales Of Suspense. Do you own those issues too?
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Apr 6, 2016 22:10:44 GMT -5
We have 2nd & Charles here, which I think is similar to Half Price Books. They have mostly $1 books out where anybody can look through them, a display case with overpriced valuable ones, and then some behind the checkout counter that might be valuable, or they think they are. I usually find plenty of $1 books for my collection that are nothing special, but books I need. But I've found a few books that never should have been there for $1 within the last year. These were all in VF or better condition, too: Uncanny X-Men 109 & 137, Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 #36, and Alpha Flight Vol 2 #17. None of those are super expensive books, but any of them sell for a lot more than that. Most of the time I don't find anything special, but it's happened enough that I don't hesitate asking anywhere that might have comics if they do.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Mar 21, 2016 19:46:04 GMT -5
I still keep the polybag after I open it, and store in on opposite side of the backing board. I don't really think there is a purpose in keeping it, but it makes me feel like I haven't thrown away part of the book. Not so much with plain clear ones, but the ones like DC has been doing lately for Harley Quinn's Little Black Book. It's more of a keepsake than anything.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Mar 3, 2016 21:35:06 GMT -5
And just in case this isn't blatantly obvious.. The reason Ditko/Kirby et. al didn't challenge Stan's (highly questionable*) version of events in interviews and books like <i>Origins of Marvel Comics</i> is that they felt it might brand them as troublemakers and endanger their livelihood. Stan, of course, was working from a much greater position of power. His editorial position (gained from nepotistic family connections, at that!) wasn't in any danger, so he could spout off whatever he felt like at the moment, and his job was secure. The old time freelancers had watched the industry boom and bust cycles and might not have recognized their own value. * Highly questionable, but at least AFTER the book in the original post was created, Stan's reputation for ignoring and downplaying his artists does seem somewhat exaggerated. He might not have granted Kirby and Ditko's creative primacy on the Fantastic Four and Doctor Strange etc. (which has been basically proven as a stone cold fact) but he rarely (never?) left them out of the creative equation totally. In the aforementioned Origins of Marvel Comics (ferinstance) he does say that he talked the FF concept over with Kirby.... but doesn't mention how much of it was "borrowed" from Challengers of the Unknown. Surely back then the work culture was the same as now, in that once a person got out on their own, they quickly realized that everybody is looking out for themselves, especially the ones who had a family to support. It's not a game with rules anymore; it's survival for the present while trying to prove your worth as a continued employee. Kirby was supposed to be the best, and probably could have worked out special terms for himself even back then, but he just wilted instead. It's a personality type, I know, but extremely timid people can put themselves out there if it's important enough to them. If they don't, they get flattened.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Mar 3, 2016 21:15:47 GMT -5
Hearing people tear down Stan Lee because he promoted himself leads me to wonder why creators like Kirby and Ditko didn't do the same for themselves. If Stan truly didn't do shit, what kind of men were they to never dispute anything he said until years later. They both always sound like resentful, jealous kids, because the guy who actually had some balls made sure he got his. It never was Stan's responsibility to prop up those guys. That was their own choice. Crybaby pussies who couldn't fight their own battles. I nominate this as the "Most Like CBR" post of the year. Actually, a large segment of the posters at CBR drag Stan through the mud too. I just see it differently and I do speak up after it gets piled on, while Kirby is made out to be some type of meek saint that Stan trampled over. Since Kirby's dead, nobody would dare start any negative rumors. But he took cheap shots at Stan that he can never recant, whether they are the truth or only part. And people just take these rumors at face value because it's easy to feel sorry for somebody who let opportunities just slip away. I know it's easy to mock me since I don't fall in line with everybody on this subject, but that's how I feel.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Mar 3, 2016 19:26:46 GMT -5
Hearing people tear down Stan Lee because he promoted himself leads me to wonder why creators like Kirby and Ditko didn't do the same for themselves. If Stan truly didn't do shit, what kind of men were they to never dispute anything he said until years later. They both always sound like resentful, jealous kids, because the guy who actually had some balls made sure he got his. It never was Stan's responsibility to prop up those guys. That was their own choice. Crybaby pussies who couldn't fight their own battles.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Feb 25, 2016 4:59:24 GMT -5
So, I've started on the comics that I recently got from mycomicshop.com and first up was some Bronze Age issues of Amazing Spider-Man. I read through a handful of 1977/1978 issues by Len Wein and Ross Andru, involving the mysterious return of the Green Goblin. I really love Andru's tenure on the book -- after Ditko and Romita Sr. he might very well be my favourite Spider-Man artist. Wein's run on the book is often overlooked, but it really isn't bad at all. I also read the two-part "Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut" story in ASM #229 and #230 for the first time. Wow! What a great comic story! I love it when you've heard that something is a real classic for years and then, when you finally get round to reading/watching/listening to it, it doesn't disappoint at all. What an awesome couple of issues! Great writing by Roger Stern and John Romita Jr's artwork is absolutely superb. I'm pretty familiar with the latter-half of Stern's run because those were the issues of ASM that I grew up reading, but I definitely need to check out more of the early part, if these two issues are anything to go by. The Juggernaut story is one that's every bit as good as it's reputation. I had a huge smile for the entire 2 issues as Spidey tried every way imaginable to stop him, and only proved a minor nuisance. Juggy didn't even get mad until Spidey hit him with a tanker full of fuel, and he still wasn't hurt. Wish Romita Jr would've perfected his original art style instead of the block people he changed to.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Feb 6, 2016 2:16:17 GMT -5
The only thing I don't love about grading is that there are certain things that bother me more than others and these affect my own "grade" but they may be just fine for someone else. Example. I just got ASM #28 and it has some decent creasing and cover wear. There are also two hole punched holes randomly on just the back cover near the edge of the book (not through any other part of the book). This might really bother someone (or CGC) but not me. The comic is complete, readable and I love it! However, I also have a few Spidey books that I sold because the centerfold was detaching. Now, on a really collectible to find book, I may overlook that but for me a popped staple on the cover or centerfold is annoying. As stated I do have a very high grade ASM #82 where the top staple is detached but because the rest of the book is just so sharp, I can live with it. But in general, I am disappointed by this as a defect more than I am over a few creases, folds or even a name written on the cover's edge. I'm mostly happy to get a comic with good eye appeal at a discount over paying a premium for a very high graded one. I don't mind a few stress lines on the spine or a few finger dents. A small tear or bend on the back doesn't bother me if the price is right. I would prefer to have NM copies of everything, but that's unrealistic and would make collecting more of a chore than fun (for me). There is a cutoff of what I will accept, though. Whenever I've gone the ultra-cheap route just to fill a hole, I've always gone back and bought a nicer one. Putting my keys in nice and shiny mylar bags with 2 boards also makes the comics appear nicer than they are, and more likely for me to be satisfied with.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Feb 1, 2016 16:00:15 GMT -5
mrp already mentíoned the difference between the comics we buy and the original pages, which would form the single original pîece of art. The comics are just copies printed in limited numbers. The original's status as art îsn't affected by what people choose to do with the copies offered for sale to the public. The market decîdes what the copies are "worth", not a person or committee. And I don't see why that's such a problem for some. Different things make people happy, and isn't that the reason we're involved in this hobby anyway? To do somethīng for ourselves the way we want to?
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Jan 16, 2016 22:38:37 GMT -5
Yeah, Kristoff fighting Doom was a ongoing plot in FF during the time. From time to time, I have traded comics with some of the members of this forum. Crimebuster, mrp and dupont2000 have sent me stuff and I have sent them books back. It makes sense , if we all have books that we can part with. There's a classic comics exchange thread where you can list books you are wanting to find a new home for if you want to participate. It's usually done on a pay it forward or trade basis, not selling though. Someone gives you some stuff, you give some to them or to someone else, etc. but it is not the boards responsibility in any way if something happens (books get lost or whatever). People list classics and newer stuff, usually reading copies of stuff. Some people post want lists too. It is irregular though, people post when they have stuff to get rid of. Sometimes people handle it through PMs too, if they know someone is interested in something and they have an extra copy to send or whatever. I know I plan on doing another purge here in a month or so and will have some stuff to list when I finally get around to it. It's a nice little community thing, we share the things we don't want any more with those who will get some enjoyment out of it. -M I'm going to purge if I have the time. If everybody in this thread who says they are, actually follow through, there should be some books for everybody. I'll try my best to get a list in by the end of January. If anybody wants to be notified, pm me.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Jan 2, 2016 13:27:38 GMT -5
I'm going to have a pretty good year if I can do everything I want to: 1)In 2013, I had to unload most of my best books due to financial woes I couldn't solve, and it depleted some complete runs that I've been putting back together. I need Avengers 4 to complete the series, Incredible Hulk 102 & 180-182, Amazing Spider-Man 3-6, 8-12, 15-18, 21-24, 26, 27, 29, 35, 40, 44, 45, 47,62, 70, 73, 75, 80, 84, 85, 87, 89, 91, 92, 94, 95, 98, 101, & 129 and Uncanny X-Men 97, 99, 100, 102, 104, 105, 108, 110-112. Getting those books will finally get those collections complete again and hopefully allow me to put that awful time behind me. 2)Finish Thor from 125 up and fill in a few holes in Journey Into Mystery 84-124. 3)Finish Fantastic Four from 9 up and get one or two out of issues 2-8. 4)Finish Captain America from 100 up. Only need a few high-dollar ones and 20 or 30 common books. 5)Buy one of the following: Amazing Fantasy 15, Fantastic Four 1, Journey Into Mystery 83. I'll get one of those sometime this year. I'm just waiting until I find the right ones.
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Pat T
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Post by Pat T on Dec 17, 2015 7:14:37 GMT -5
You've really gotten into this, haven't you? I'm glad you're enjoying it. I love it when my boxes of comics show up in the mail. It's like Christmas used to be when I'm tearing the boxes open to get to them. Btw, you have another package on the way now. It left yesterday. I do! I just do not have as much time to read as I would like right now with the holiday season here. I will have more reading time here, though, this afternoon, as I got done with work early today. And thank you, Pat! You are best! <3 I know you'll enjoy them. I'm embarrased to admit that I've fallen so far behind with new comics and also a continuous stream of back issues coming in, that it causes me stress to think about. My solution is to not think about it while continuing to dig a deeper hole every week. I figure one day I'll jump back in, but for now, I'm just enjoying the collecting aspect. I'm thankful that I get into that, because this has been going on awhile, and now it's gotten in my head. If I ever get over it, I've already probably got enough to read for the rest of my life. It's really frustrating, though.
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