Memorializing a Deceased Comic Book Collection

 

Doug: Today I'm excited to share the fruits of an idea I got when I was only several weeks into selling my comics collection. As I was scanning and scanning (and scanning some more), it struck me that it was sort of cool that even though the books would be leaving my possession, I'd always have high quality images of my books. If any of you have ever used the various online photograph merchants, you also know there are some neat products out there that you can adorn with the photos of your choice. I've used Shutterfly several times to make gifts such as calendars, travel mugs, etc. So it seemed a natural fit to do something with my comics. The end product is a 49-page 8"x11" hardcover book (featuring almost 100 of my cover scans) that is simply wonderful. Enjoy the images... I have!

 

  

Would You Rather...? Fill-ins

Doug: So I lied. I think in our inaugural post last Tuesday, I made a comment that we'd be doing this again next week. And we will... But darned if I didn't get into a lengthy exchange on Twitter last night that was just too good not to bring over here for further discussion.

If you follow us on Twitter (@bronzeagebabies), you know I regularly tweet not only publicity for the day's post but also art samples from the classic art teams we often discuss. Well, in readying a Spinner Rack post for upcoming publication I came across the comic you see pictured below. I thought it would make for a fun tweet, so I copy/pasted the cover into a tweet that said, "Raise your hand if your enjoyment of the "Serpent Crown" series was crushed by this 2-parter of Dreaded Deadline Doom". One of our regular readers, Horace Austin, replied shortly with the tweet, "Raises hand". And off we went, into a conversation among five comics fans. As those things do, we twisted and turned through several topics. But the gem of the conversation was a link provided by @CubReporterK (K31th Callbeck) that jumped us over to the message boards hosted by Tales of Wonder.com's Marvel Masterworks Resource Page (linked at the top of this page). I'd encourage you at some point this weekend to check out that thread, because it's a lot of fun.

But, you recall that you have obligations here, right? Of course you do. Here's our discussion prompt --

Would you rather have waited for a delayed comic, or been given a fill-in issue?

Chasing Your Own Favorite Title

Doug: With the finality of Mark Ginocchio's "Chase" to own every issue of Amazing Spider-Man, coupled with my own recent sell-off of around 90% of my complete runs of Avengers volumes 1 and 3 (gave vol. 2 away two years ago -- if you read it, you know why!), it got me to thinking -- if you would or could collect a complete run of any comic book series, which one would it be? And I'm not talking about doing it through trades, DVD-ROMs, etc. Nope -- physically own the paper comics as they saw the light of day on newsstands and spinner racks.

Doug: I chose the Avengers as my own "chase" back in the late 1980s simply because it has always been my favorite title. Sure, I've had other books that I've loved -- Amazing Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and Marvel Team-Up leap immediately to mind -- but there's not a book that I've just really treasured as I have the adventures of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. And I'm sure you feel the same way about whatever your personal favorite is. So assuming you're in a financial position to make such a pledge to yourself, fully understanding that waiting and sacrificing along the way will be part of the deal, what's your complete run fantasy - large or small?

Comic Book Economics

Karen: I came across this statement from Chuck Rozanski, the president/owner of Mile High Comics, stating that this years' San Diego Comic Con will be his last, as it is no longer a profitable enterprise for him (he claims he will have lost $10,000 at the con). He blames publishers for offering limited edition items, claiming it diverts money fans might otherwise have spent on his comics. I find this to be a rather dubious claim. I think there are plenty of other reasons for his situation (like the fact the Mile High's books always seem to be priced higher than everyone else's). But his statement brought up a number of thoughts and given that we've been discussing comic book economics here lately, what with Doug's selling of his collection, I'd like to throw out some discussion starters for the group to chew on:

1) Has the era of the comic investor all but disappeared? By that, I mean the fan who buys books intending to hold on to them and sell them later, hopefully for a profit. We already have seen that most modern era books are not increasing in value. What about Silver and Bronze books? Has the prevalence of TPBs and hardbacks made the comics themselves less desirable?

2) The San Diego Comic Con has become the premiere pop culture event. But that's just it -it's no longer a comic book convention; I would wager most of the attendees are not comics fans but fans of the related genre films and TV shows. This makes one wonder: are the comics now really just IP (intellectual property) for other media to draw upon?

3) Rozanski complains that publishers offering "exclusives" stole business from him. But could it be that he needs to rethink his business model? Does it make sense at a convention like SDCC to have a 7-booth display? I also find it both ironic and insulting that Rozanski refers to the "greed and avarice of comics fans" -you mean the same people you have been selling to for years? While I feel for most of the comic dealers who try to compete at SDCC, I felt that Rozanski's column was questionable at best, self-serving at worst.