Karen: Seeing Doug's Marvel calendar posts recently made me wish I had not gotten rid of my own Marvel calendars so many years ago. There were a lot of really nice illustrations in those calendars, one of a kind artworks that I'd love to have hanging up in my inner sanctum now. I've been getting the Asgard Press Marvel calendars the last couple of years, that have recreations of famous (and admittedly, not so famous) Marvel covers, and been using those to decorate my room, but there are some great pages I'd love to get my hands on, like the Starlin shot of the Surfer, Warlock, and Captain Marvel together. Or how about the 1975 page with the Avengers, Vision front and center?But today's Open Forum isn't about calendars. No, it's about those things you really wish you hadn't gotten rid of. I'm sure we all have dumped a lot of stuff from our childhoods I used to have a ton of Star Trek toys, models, etc. But I don't miss them so much. Same with my Planet of the Apes memorabilia. Occasionally, I'll think wistfully about them, but for the most part, I don't regret parting with them. The one thing I did hold on to, across all all the genres I love, is the books. But the one thing I find myself feeling a real regret over getting rid of is all those Marvel calendars. They didn't take up that much space, and they'd look great on the walls.
So let's hear it - what's the one thing you wish you'd held on to?
31 comments:
Excellent Subject, Karen.
(BTW, where is that Starlin pic from..? It's gorgeous..)
Thanks much to the internet community like Mego Museum and eBay, it's hard for me to come up with stuff I want and don't already have.
As for stuff I parted with, I sort of go through collecting certain lines every few years. First it was Captain Action stuff: I had a loose complete vintage (minty) Spiderman set (with custom made rubber webbed gloves..), should have kept that (that suit was SO wonderfully made). I also sold the few remaining Megos I originally had (yep, removable mask Batman and Robin..) to buy C/A. Later I had the vintage GI Joe stuff, would have liked to have kept that Irwin Panther Jet: If not used with my remain '60s pilot collection as supreme mobile aerodynamic firepower, it would have served as a great Mego Batplane or FF pogo plane in dioramas.
As for comics, sometimes I regret selling my original Spidey 129. I remember buying it, but frankly was never a big Punisher fan, it was just sittin' in my basement preserved nicely in VF condition, and someone offered a couple hundred for it since they were running down to a con and wanted it autographed. I figure it would give far more joy to him than just sitting in my basement for another 20yrs.
Luckily I've collected so much great Silver Age comics and items, I barely miss it. I had a few of the calendars Doug's been showing, I SO NEED to buy 'em again.
I can honestly say that I've kept pretty much everything I ever had. I've lost some due to poor storage and moving, but never intentionally threw anything out.
I did however cut up a few issues of comics though. Some kids art book showed me how to make "superhero" rings - essentially paper and scotch tape wrapped around a coin. It also involved cutting out a head image "of your favorite superhero" from a comic. So I took a pair of scissors to some Defenders issues...
I still have the remains in my collection. I also once drew all over an issue of Conan. I still have that one too. I'll look at them today and say, "Man, what a dumb thing to do.."
My entire original collection...
Yeah, Inkstained, I'm also slowly re-buying up the issues I cut the Value Stamps out of...
Still one of the WORST ideas Marvel ever had, almost as bad as the mercifully-brief 10speed bike and "THIS COMIC COULD BE WORTH..." cover banners.
Sometimes I wish I had everything from when I was a kid, for purely nostalgic reasons. Some things would be really cool to have on a shelf, like all of my 12" GI Joes; other things were more like curiosities, like the Marx Marvel Super-Heroes. Did anyone have these?
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$T2eC16FHJF8E9nnC6LTTBQOYgnYyP!~~60_3.JPG
Doug
All the oversize Treasury Editions. I still have a few like the Superman vs. Muhamed Ali, but all my Marvel ones disappeared.
World’s biggest hoarder. Have never chucked anything. There are a few sentimental comics which I loved but traded for the sake of my collection when I was a kid. Still sore over those. But basically have never disposed of anything, nor drawn on them, cut them out, cut out MVS etc. The idea of destroying/defacing comics then was probably even more abhorrent to me then than it is now (now, I can afford to replace them...in the 70’s I would wait months or years to get my hands on treasured issues).
Edo – my heart goes out to you.
Inkstained – you’re going over my knee, young man!
Richard
Doug, they were still selling 'em in the early 70s, I could have bought them all, but just had 4-5.
Always used 'em in storylines where the Mego's got turned into statues (Grey Gargoyle, anyone..?)
Looking at purchasing a red Iron Man and DD again. They were perfect.
I've gotten rid of a ton of stuff over the last few years, which include about 25 long-boxes of comics with issues dating back to 1962. (I just recently put my complete Spider-Man collection up for sale which filled 7 long-boxes). But besides that I have sold books like Fantastic Four #18 (first Super Skrull), original X-Men #10-16, Daredevil #2, Avengers #2 and #9, and I have also sold off all my Byrne X-Men and FFs, Miller Daredevils and etc. (all of which I have replaced with trade paperbacks). As well as hundreds of collectible action figures and toys.
I sometimes think about that stuff, but I try not to have regrets, because it's counterproductive to dwell on things you can't change and that kind of negativity only leads to unnecessary unhappiness.
I will however talk about the worst deal I ever made, which I can honestly say I regret, but I still don't dwell on it. Back around 1992 or 93 I had a huge collection of vintage Star Wars toys that I had had since I was a kid. The items consisted of 2 carrying cases overstuffed with action figures (I had them 2 to a slot), plus several of the original vehicles like an X-Wing Fighter, Millennium Falcon, Darth Vader's Tie-Fighter, a Snow Speeder and Bob Fett's ship "Slave 1", etc. and I sold them all to some guy for $100.00. At the time I was recently married, I was in art school, and I needed the money. A few years later when Phantom Menace came out, I could have easily gotten 10 times that amount for that collection, but like I said, it's useless to cry over spilt milk.
I personally choose to look at the positive side of getting rid of stuff. To tell the truth, for me, having a ton of boxes of comics was a bit a burden. Storing them and moving them and worrying about something happening to them, etc. Now, I have my collection pared down to 2 or 3 long boxes of just the stuff that I truly love to read (I kept my Wally Wood Daredevil's #6-8 & 10-11, I just couldn't give those up). I also have a bookshelf filled with trade paperback reprints of most of the comics that I sold off. So, now I feel I can enjoy my favorite hobby even more now that's it's been reduced to a more manageable size.
BTW, I do still have all my Marvel Calendars from the 70's, 80's and 90's.
Richard, thanks for the sympathies; however, William makes a good point about having tons of stuff. The way I live now, with both me and the little lady being bibliophiles, there wouldn't be room in our little house for everything I used to have. I'll say this, though: I really, really wish that along with everything else, I hadn't dumped those Marvel Fireside reprint books from the 1970s - Son of Origins, Super-hero Women, Bring on the Bad Guys, and, especially, Greatest Super-hero Battles. Those are really hard to find now at a reasonable price (read: cheap).
I got rid of a LOT of stuff over the last 10 years, partially because of the Missus and her quarterly 'purge binges'.., but I feel to have a successful life I'll ultimately rid myself of all collectable goods at some point.
Oh, I still have REALLY COOL stuff from the 60s/70s (still lovin' my '67 Marvelmania Inflatable Spidey pillow and MIB '73 Ideal Spiderman Playset), but I whittled away a LOT of stuff on eBay I'll never look at again, hence 'Why keep it?'..
It's all perspective. AND, the more stuff you can hide away safely/secure in boxes in the basement, the better you (AND the spouse) feel about keeping it.
Gave away 99% of my comics to some children... don't regret doing it, just wish I had the $ they're worth now. The kids enjoyed reading them so that's better than having them sit in plastic bags in some hoarder's basement.
I miss my MEGOs! I still remember that warm, sunny summer day my mom got me a Superman MEGO action figure from the store. My first MEGO! I ripped open the box and promptly put him in flying position. Then I did the only thing a 4-yr old little boy would do, I threw him as far as I could so he could fly ... and then of course he landed right smack in the middle of a mud-puddle.
Over the years I had several MEGOs but I have no idea what happened to them. I had Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and various Star Trek and POTApes.
I also miss my Evil Knievel motorcycle, Six-Million Dollar Man, and my GI JOE with Kung-Fu Grip.
Man, I miss those days. If I could go back I'd try to convince my much smaller self to keep them all mint in the box and never ever play with them so that they'll be worth a ton of money today.
Yeah .. good luck with that!
As a third generation hoarder, my only regret is giving away my Denys Fisher Cyborg and Muton toys (which you might know as Henshin Cyborg?)
These dolls- sorry, action figures!- were the ancestors of the Micronauts in a way.
I gave them to a kid from a one-parent family over twenty years ago- so he's possibly a parent himself now. I wish however I'd chosen something else since my own nephew, who came along much later, could have had them. (Yeah, like THAT would ever happen!)
I don't have too many regrets, and I do have a few bookshelves full of books that I rarely look at anymore. I think the internet has taken the place of re-reading things for the most part (that is a sad commentary on my current incarnation as Future Man).
Still...I loaned a friend my prized copy of the Illustrated Harlan Ellison when I was a teenager in the early 80's. Haven't seen it since. It had the 3-D graphics by Steranko. I wish that one was still on my shelf. Wonder if it's too late to file a police report?
James Chatterton
Great image by Starlin and Weiss!
I recently went through a ton of my old stuff--1/3 went in the garbage, 1/3 to Goodwill, and 1/3 kept. In the process I came across Superman #1, the oversize reprint from the '70s. Loved this comic and the original Superman as a kid, and it was a treat to finally see it again!
I don't regret selling my collection in '87, as I've replaced most of it with TPBs, which I find easier to read now. Evel Knieval and motorbike would be cool to still have.
Oh man, I can't choose just one! My Mego stuff (Spider-Mobile!), my Star Wars/G.I. Joe toys, my comics, my baseball/hockey cards...
Of course, I didn't actually throw any of those things away, my parents did...does that still count?
Mike W.
James- I still have a copy of that Ellison book; great stories and art. It's always nice to loan a book to a friend, but also good to get it back!
My great regret is selling a page of original art. The last page of Marvel Team up 69, I believe. A beautiful page by Byrne , with Spidey, the Livingonolith and Havok; it was signed by Byrne and Claremont when I bought the page at a convention (for 25 dollars at the time!!). That sure would look nice on the wall now...
Say, um, Redartz, you didn't happen to borrow that Ellison from a friend in California in the early 80's, did you?
I've still got the Illustrated Roger Zelazny (all Gray Morrow). It's nice, but I think I should've lent that one out instead. I still lend out books. Sure, you takes your chances, but it's worth it to pass the good stuff on.
James Chatterton
As I know I've stated before, my hazy college days had me sell my Avengers #1 VG-F, and X-men #1 VG, and signed by Jack Kirby! The King passed away within six months of my most stupid decision.
And at one point I sold my Avengers #53 with that great Avengers vs X-men cover, and the background was bright white, great condition for an older book, I'm surprised I let that one go, just a classic cover.
In hindsight, I should have sold my ASM #129 F, which is probably one of my most "valuable" comics I held onto. I probably could have got more for it back in the mid-90's. Oh well, another example of my stupidity.
Oh, and my bright idea to light a bunch of my Masters of the Universe guys on fire. And giving most of my Star Wars, GI Joes, MOTU, and Transformers to my little cousin. What a dummy.
starfoxxx
You're not alone, starfoxxx! My brother and I torched all our old 12" GI Joes, and blew up all our Monogram models. Not one of my brighter moments.Although it was vaguely surrealistic, watching Joe slowly drip and melt in the fireplace (my parents weren't amused)...
Hmmm my brother and I had a whole stack of original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby X-men comics when we were kids. Being kids, we threw out the whole lot after a while. Imagine the value of those comics now if we had kept them all these years!
- Mike 'nowadays I'm a hoarder' from Trinidad & Tobago.
A both easy, and SAD one for me! I had an FF collection (including a tattered copy of #1) with only about 20-25 gaps, (give or take) between 1-100, and from there on up, solid to #250 (a personal breaking off point) and, tragically, I was forced to sell them back in the 90's for financial reasons. TORTURE to even THINK ABOUT!!! ;-(
Part of my problem is that I haven't gotten rid of that much, but that said many many years ago I did sell off most all my DC comics from the Bronze Age as well as all my Warren magazines (save for the Spirit). I wish I had those Warrens around from time to time.
Rip Off
I really miss my Megos. I didn't have a ton, but I had about a dozen - mostly Marvel heroes , with an occasional DC and POTA.
But the item I wish had hung in to and may try to buy again is my Star Wars poster (the Hildebrande Bros style). That stayed on my wall for years and I have a perfect place for it now, 35 years later.
Great topic - I'm enjoying hearing about others' memories.
--Joseph
Hands-of-Fate-at-Work Dept:
Twice now, I've written a somewhat lengthy, detailed response here (no surprise, I imagine), most of which centers around a major, major trade I made w/ my boyhood pal, Bryan when I was about 14. . . and twice it's vanished as I've tried to post it.
Sooooooo I'm taking that as a sign that the particulars of that event (which in the long run proved to be much more beneficial to my collection) simply are not meant to be known to the public at large.
I will reveal, however, that what I surrendered from my collection was a stack of about 100 to 120 Harvey "Sad Sack" comics and their related titles. And I do have to admit that those comics tickled me no end when I was a kid.
HB
My complete (sans ish 96)Claremont/Cockrum/Byrne/Romita Jr./Smith X-Men collection and my Englehart/Rogers/Austin Detective Comics.
Needed money badly (between jobs). I'm thankful for the money (it helped a lot), but I miss my original-off-the-spinner rack faves.
In jr high I had an issue of Marvel's Star Wars #1 comic SIGNED PERSONALLY BY MARK HAMILL! He went to my junior high years prior to me but one day came to visit the librarian. I happened to be in there and summoned the courage to approach him and ask for his signature.
Weirdly, I have no idea what happened to it. I still nurture a fantasy that I still have it squirrelled away somewhere.
Hmmm, johnlindwall's memories of a lost Mark Hamill autograph reminded me of something similar. Although not directly comics related, in 1977 I managed to meet international soccer Pele (in Portland, Oregon of all places) and got his autograph and my picture taken with him. That autograph was in this little pocket-sized ruled notebook, which also contained autographs from Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia (any soccer enthusiast worth his/her salt will know who those two are), got misplaced a few years later and, I assume, thrown away. I think (I hope) that photo of me with Pele is still somewhere in a box of unsorted pictures in my parents' attack...
Ah, just an update, sold a few Mego kitbash items to grab a copy of the Marvel '75 calendar off eBay, asking price under $5.
While I certainly miss the 70s in comics, it's wonderfully convenient to have a laptop and eBay..
David, the Starlin pic is from the 1976 calendar.
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