|
|
Post by MRPs_Missives on Nov 8, 2024 3:51:01 GMT -5
So I mentioned Top Shelf Friday was winding down, but last week was the absolute nadir for participation for this thread, so rather than limping on until the end of the year, and with the holiday season upon us and Cei-U's 12 Days of Classic Christmas on the horizon, I decided this will be the swan song. So one last time it is, Top Shelf Friday time! So show us a comic (or comic-related or comic-tangential item) that you own that you believe should be on the Top Shelf. It can be because you think the comic is important or valuable, because it's a sentimental favorite or one of your favorite stories, because it's signed and holds great memories for you, just has a really cool cover or strikes your fancy or is just plain cool-whatever the reason show us that comic. Any pic of that comic will do, but bonus points if you can show us the actual copy you own. This week's pick, after recently getting the facsimile edition of Hawkman #4, I'm going with one of Zee's early appearances I own a copy of, her 3rd appearance in Green Lantern #42...  So let's see what everyone's got one last time!* -M *If someone else wants to carry on with this thread, please feel free to do so. |
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Nov 8, 2024 10:55:17 GMT -5
it breaks my heart that this thread is being suspended. I love looking at actual pictures of comics in people's collections. It doesn't help that one of the few participants ( Rags) has left the forum for good.  |
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 8, 2024 12:35:47 GMT -5
Yeah, also sorry to see this feature go, but yeah, it did seem that general interest has been dwindling. So here's my final entry, another tpb, that I acquired for a surprisingly cheap price on eBay at some point in the late '00s, Captain America: War & Remembrance.  Collecting the all-too-brief run of writer Roger Stern and artists John Byrne and Josef Rubinstein on that title. These are my all-time favorite Captain America stories and I love having them all together in this lovely book.
My previous picks (click below to prove you're human): {Spoiler: Click to show}
01/03/2024: Blackmark (1970s b&w pocketbook)
08/03/2024: Archie’s Superhero Comics Digest #2
15/03/2024: Donald Duck & the Golden Helmet (Whitman, 1978)
22/03/2024: Star Wars #38
28/03/2024: Showcase #100
05/04/2024: Chandler: Red Tide
12/04/2024: Alien, the Illustrated Story
19/04/2024: Amazing Spider-man Annual #10
26/04/2024: Marvel Premiere #32
03/05/2024: Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #9
10/05/2024: JLA #200
17/05/2024: Giant-Size Power Man #1
24/05/2024: Batman Annual #8
31/05/2024: Marvel 2-in-1 #51
07/06/2024: Superman #400
14/06/2024: Marvel Team-up #79
21/06/2024: Detective Comics #500
28/06/2024: Avengers #1&1/2
05/07/2024: Batman Special #1 (1984)
12/07/2024: Ismet #1 (Canis Publications, 1981)
19/07/2024: Detective Comics Annual #4
26/07/2024: X-men Annual #3
02/08/2024: Amazing Spider-man Annual #13
08/08/2024: Avengers Annual #9
16/08/2024: Amazing Spider-man Annual #14
23/08/2024: Avengers Annual #13
30/08/2024: Dr. Strange Annual #1
06/09/2024: Incredible Hulk Annual #7
13/09/2024: Thor Annual #13
20/09/2024: Hulk Annual #14
27/09/2024: Hulk Annual #15
04/10/2024: Ironwolf
11/10/2024: Marvel Premiere #56
18/10/2024: Project Pegasus Saga
25/10/2024: Marvels Snapshots: Submariner
01/11/2024: Manhunter Special Edition |
|
|
|
Post by MRPs_Missives on Nov 8, 2024 13:16:10 GMT -5
it breaks my heart that this thread is being suspended. I love looking at actual pictures of comics in people's collections. It doesn't help that one of the few participants ( Rags) has left the forum for good. I enjoyed seeing the books too, but we were only getting 3-4 books a week if that, and each week the participation was less and less. And with the holidays coming people will be busier too, so I expect even less participation. Part of it I think is that a lot of the core membership here no longer does physical comics having moved on form their collections or gone digital (or trades). There are a handful that are still active collectors or still have their collections, but many of them have not participated in this thread, and like any thread here, when its new there is a surge of participation, but then the drop off starts and thread entropy sets in. And I think we just reached a point where there was only 3-4 people engaging with the thread, so it was time to let it go fallow and maybe try something different down the road. And as always, it frustrates me that more people show up to complain about comics than celebrate the things about comics they love. Comics aren't perfect, but there are things to love about them, but it's harder and harder to see that in places where comic fans gather. -M |
|
|
|
Post by DubipR on Nov 8, 2024 13:16:20 GMT -5
Hopefully we'll get a Season 2 of TSF but I understand. To cap off the finale, I'm going to share some artwork. This is an inbetween page from Belgium artist Denis Bodart from his book Green Manor. Its a fun Victorian murder mystery anthology. I love pages like this when they're out in the open for sale. To see the full process is wonderful. Partial layouts, some inks and full panels done.  |
|
|
|
Post by tonebone on Nov 8, 2024 13:37:07 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Nov 8, 2024 13:45:14 GMT -5
My final entry is Marvel Super-heroes #21
 This is one of the first books in my Marvel and Avengers education. The reason it resonates a little more for me is that I received it back in the 70's from a friend of my older brother. He was about 3 years older than me and years later we became close friends . When I went to college, his college was close to mine in NYC near Central park. We went through a lot together in our growing up. Fast forward to the late 80's and we drifted away from each other. I always suspected that his then girlfriend and future wife didn't care for me. I was also married at the time , but we saw less of each other until years later when I discovered that he got married to her and I wasn't invited. There was a time when I would have been his best man. Last year he passed away suddenly. I heard about it from my younger brother who had contact with him as a client. He was a lawyer. I post this book because it broke my heart that he passed and we never quite got to talk things over. I was never mad at him, I just figured you have people in your life for seasons. Anyway Julio , Rest in peace. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2024 17:26:36 GMT -5
This is a Jim Steranko career retrospective I picked up back in 2002, wonderful book. It was a limited printing with slipcase, and he also signed each copy.   |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2024 23:00:00 GMT -5
My final entry is Marvel Super-heroes #21
This is one of the first books in my Marvel and Avengers education. The reason it resonates a little more for me is that I received it back in the 70's from a friend of my older brother. He was about 3 years older than me and years later we became close friends . When I went to college, his college was close to mine in NYC near Central park. We went through a lot together in our growing up. Fast forward to the late 80's and we drifted away from each other. I always suspected that his then girlfriend and future wife didn't care for me. I was also married at the time , but we saw less of each other until years later when I discovered that he got married to her and I wasn't invited. There was a time when I would have been his best man. Last year he passed away suddenly. I heard about it from my younger brother who had contact with him as a client. He was a lawyer. I post this book because it broke my heart that he passed and we never quite got to talk things over. I was never mad at him, I just figured you have people in your life for seasons. Anyway Julio , Rest in peace. I’m not using the “like” system anymore, but just wanted to say that was a really touching story Icctrombone. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2024 23:05:56 GMT -5
And as always, it frustrates me that more people show up to complain about comics than celebrate the things about comics they love. Comics aren't perfect, but there are things to love about them, but it's harder and harder to see that in places where comic fans gather. -M I agree and empathize. FWIW, I thought this was one of the best thread ideas and I’m not always active on this board, but when I am I’ve really enjoyed them and tried to participate. |
|
|
|
Post by MRPs_Missives on Nov 9, 2024 0:51:54 GMT -5
Icctrombone DubipR @supercat EdoBosnar tonebone Since there seems to be some sentiment in favor of a positive showcase for comics in our collections to celebrate them, I will look at evolving Top Shelf Friday into something different. Soliciting opinions here-is a weekly thread the right way to go about it, or would a standing thread that people can post to whenever they want to and keeps all the posts accessible for people to see be better? The thought just struck me that if we took away the "Top Shelf" moniker that could be a barrier for some as they think an entry has to live up to some level of perceived quality, we might get participation, and if it were just a standing thread, people might not feel they missed the window to post and be able to add entries whenever they came to the boards, not on a specific day. I also like the stories people tell about their choices, so I was thinking it could be a kind of show and tell vibe we go for, still keeping the focus on people showing off books from their actual collections, but maybe expanding it a bit so people feel more comfortable posting comic adjacent stuff as well-prints...trades, original art, posters, toys, whatever...without needing to feel apologetic for straying from actual comics, just post those things that bring you joy and that you want to celebrate. No need for it to be Top Shelf, things you enjoy and want to celebrate and possibly share a story about. I don't know, just musing on the responses today and looking for ways to try to bring a little positivity to light where I can. I just don't want to undercut some of the other threads (which mostly focus on new acquisitions but still celebrate things) that are out there and encroach on their space so to speak. So what do y'all think? -M
|
|
|
|
Post by jtrw2024 on Nov 9, 2024 6:25:12 GMT -5
Icctrombone DubipR @supercat EdoBosnar tonebone Since there seems to be some sentiment in favor of a positive showcase for comics in our collections to celebrate them, I will look at evolving Top Shelf Friday into something different. Soliciting opinions here-is a weekly thread the right way to go about it, or would a standing thread that people can post to whenever they want to and keeps all the posts accessible for people to see be better? The thought just struck me that if we took away the "Top Shelf" moniker that could be a barrier for some as they think an entry has to live up to some level of perceived quality, we might get participation, and if it were just a standing thread, people might not feel they missed the window to post and be able to add entries whenever they came to the boards, not on a specific day. I also like the stories people tell about their choices, so I was thinking it could be a kind of show and tell vibe we go for, still keeping the focus on people showing off books from their actual collections, but maybe expanding it a bit so people feel more comfortable posting comic adjacent stuff as well-prints...trades, original art, posters, toys, whatever...without needing to feel apologetic for straying from actual comics, just post those things that bring you joy and that you want to celebrate. No need for it to be Top Shelf, things you enjoy and want to celebrate and possibly share a story about. I don't know, just musing on the responses today and looking for ways to try to bring a little positivity to light where I can. I just don't want to undercut some of the other threads (which mostly focus on new acquisitions but still celebrate things) that are out there and encroach on their space so to speak. So what do y'all think? -M I've always enjoyed reading this thread, but never had the opportunity to post my own "Top shelf" picks. My usual schedule doesn't always allow me free time on specific days of the week, and whenever I've thought about getting something ready in advance I usually get distracted by something else. I think retaining the "Top Shelf" moniker shouldn't be a problem, especially as it would reference the legacy of the thread. Rather than a weekly Friday thread, I'd like to see it as a regular continuous thread similar to some of the others (eg "What Classic Comic Have You Read", etc). That might be the best way for our members to post their picks at their own regular or semi-regular pace, whenever it's convenient, instead of always having it show up on Friday, then die down within a day or two. Even though they wouldn't all fit on one shelf, I could probably write something about every comic in my collection I had from before I was 25 (at which point I started buying a lot more stuff, and very quickly ran out of shelf space  ). I always enjoy writing those types of posts discussing memories of my favourite comics and reading similar posts from other readers. |
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 9, 2024 6:51:10 GMT -5
(...) So what do y'all think? -M Yeah, I'd like to see it go on, too - and maybe having it be a single thread is a good idea. However, I'm kind of partial to the 'top shelf' moniker and kind of hope that it could be retained. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2024 6:54:06 GMT -5
Icctrombone DubipR @supercat EdoBosnar tonebone Since there seems to be some sentiment in favor of a positive showcase for comics in our collections to celebrate them, I will look at evolving Top Shelf Friday into something different. Soliciting opinions here-is a weekly thread the right way to go about it, or would a standing thread that people can post to whenever they want to and keeps all the posts accessible for people to see be better? The thought just struck me that if we took away the "Top Shelf" moniker that could be a barrier for some as they think an entry has to live up to some level of perceived quality, we might get participation, and if it were just a standing thread, people might not feel they missed the window to post and be able to add entries whenever they came to the boards, not on a specific day. I also like the stories people tell about their choices, so I was thinking it could be a kind of show and tell vibe we go for, still keeping the focus on people showing off books from their actual collections, but maybe expanding it a bit so people feel more comfortable posting comic adjacent stuff as well-prints...trades, original art, posters, toys, whatever...without needing to feel apologetic for straying from actual comics, just post those things that bring you joy and that you want to celebrate. No need for it to be Top Shelf, things you enjoy and want to celebrate and possibly share a story about. I don't know, just musing on the responses today and looking for ways to try to bring a little positivity to light where I can. I just don't want to undercut some of the other threads (which mostly focus on new acquisitions but still celebrate things) that are out there and encroach on their space so to speak. So what do y'all think? -M I love the idea of keeping it going in some form, I see positives either way with keeping a weekly event (makes me really think about the one item I'm going to pick, plus I could talk forever about stuff I love from my collection and with a running thread I feel like I could end up "spamming" it a bit at times), but an ongoing thread may also make it easier as well for some folks to "catch up when they can" either posting a selection or responding to others. I think it could work either way and glad to participate in either form, so whichever way you and group want to go is cool by me. As you said earlier, some folks may not have as much in terms of physical collectibles these days with a switch to digital reading, but having a broad definition of comic book related may help (I mean, even say a cool comic book t-shirt would be neat to see). I also think seeing tangible examples of comic book related stuff is a joy, it's where almost all of us (if not all) came out of at one point in our lives, and yeah, just a great opportunity to share that positivity you mention. No angry opinions or whatnot, just a cool positive exchange of the stuff that brings us together in the first place. |
|
|
|
Post by driver1980 on Nov 9, 2024 8:27:57 GMT -5
My final entry, you just can’t trust an evil (or possibly amoral) sentient computer:   |
|
). I always enjoy writing those types of posts discussing memories of my favourite comics and reading similar posts from other readers.