JTLarsen

On 7/7/2021 at 12:57 AM, thunsicker said:

Just because data, or pictures, or articles are available for free on line doesn’t give one the right to repackage and sell them.

Actually, you do have the right to include publicly available data in a product you sell. One example: Newspapers.

57 minutes ago, The Green Ghost said:

It's an absolute ugly mess more worried about "inclusion" than trying to be a piece of art or sell the comic. They made sure to get in a gay couple, an interracial couple, and a fat goth girl for good measure in case anyone felt left out.

Sometimes critics say more about themselves than about the work they’re critiquing.

34 minutes ago, kav said:

Not addressing Ellis per se but all men, especially older men, should rein in their slobbering desire for females.  Some tact, pls.

Now do ageism.

12 hours ago, jick said:

My benchmark as the most influential book of the copper age is Dark Knight Returns. It introduced the mature storytelling for out superheroes, it introduced a new enduring character in Carie Kelly, and it introduced a while new comic format with the prestige book.

While DKR CG  9.8 was selling in the high $ 2000 's  just 2 months ago, the two most recent sales were $1625 then $1605. And it's still dropping.

The bubble has burst.

Without engaging on whether it’s most influential it definitely didn’t introduce mature storytelling for superheroes.

2 hours ago, jick said:

I would say Neal is the biggest "active" old-timer left since he still does commissions.  

Even if he was retired, I'd still rate him above Romita Sr. and Steranko because Neal's body of work and influence spans so many different publishers.

There would be no Dark Knight Returns if Neal did not modernize Batman.  There would be no Arrowverse if Neal did not save Green Arrow in his GL run.

And the original comic art portion of this forum would probably have never existed has Neal not championed artists' rights and the return of original art pages to them.

I say this with full admiration for Neal, and in no way meant to diminish the accomplishments and influence of the other two artists you mentioned.  They are titans of the comic industry too!

I looked into it, and this is factually correct.

1 hour ago, pickycollector said:

This and also the fact that some investment firms are beginning to take notice that collectibles can be a very good investment with strong returns. That is what scares me the most.

Wall Street ruins everything.

17 hours ago, Mercury Man said:

Yeah, that's a decent price for that 9.9.   

Talked about this before, but Superman went from being the most popular hero in the World in the 1930's-1950's, to maybe not even in the Top 10 today.  Changes in society, morals, likes, the darker-grittier Superheroes seem to have lapped him in popularity.    His Comics seem to follow that logic.   I still have him as my favorite DC character.  

 

https://72point.news/visit-anaheim-americas-favorite-superhero

12 hours ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

I've responded to Spiderman being more recognized worldwide than Superman.

You're taking about presence, which is a different matter.

And if you think that I am very young, then I happily accept your compliment.  

I think if Spider-Man were actually more recognized, people would be getting his name right.

1 hour ago, Randall Ries said:

Yes. I think #76 got up to $25-$30k in 9.6 for a few sales. Now we could get one for (only) $10k or less. I have always equated this book with HOS 92. They blow up in price more than value, then settle down and see incremental, reasonable growth.

I am grateful I was able to get put on to Neal Adams before I was even in my teens. His importance in the hobby cannot be overstated. I used to go through the annual OPG to look up Neal Adams c/a. He and the other important artists got special notation in the guide. IMO, he is the single most important artist in the hobby from the Bronze age forward. Alex Ross and Gabriele Del Otto are superb artists but they aren't Neal Adams level of important. Neal got Jerry and Joe PAID, you know?

I agree with most of this, but I think HOS 92 is a different kind of book, one that IS valued more these days: First appearance of an iconic character with multimedia fan base.

Raw

14 minutes ago, boomtown said:

I've always thought it was because we have a bunch more Canadian collectors on these boards (and others) pumping the Canadian price variants, than we do guys from the UK.

Maybe. That could explain it. So could the shared border. 

4 minutes ago, Kripsys99 said:

This is a fair point with regards to potential long-term value. And in keeping with what JTLarsen mentioned above, I do worry about how well GL #76 will age.

Yeah, I think the top-grade copies may no longer hit the highs of yore but I don’t see the rest of the range actually going down. 
 

I suspect it’ll hold steady with some slight steady growth and not enjoy the insane leaps we’re seeing elsewhere.

That said, I suspect it’ll also have its moments in the spotlight now and again. Our field hasn’t yet fully reckoned with the importance of Neal Adams, I think.

2 hours ago, Brock said:

If ever you needed proof that “the market” is insane, this is it. Why Canadian price variants command a premium but UK ones don’t is practically the textbook definition of market irrationality.

It’s not irrational. It’s just that rationality isn’t instant. For understandable reasons it’s taking people longer to recognize UK variants, that’s all. But it IS happening!

3 hours ago, Jeffro. said:

You make a lot of assumptions. If you want to call me smug go for it. I'm not sure how I'll get to sleep tonight knowing that an internet stranger thinks I'm smug. I'm a bit concerned about it. Maybe I'll need a sleeping pill.

But to actually answer you I like variants. I collect some variants. I don't pay a premium for them. That's just my decision. My reason for calling it silly is because I remember a time when the idea of paying a premium for a barcode vs an image on a copper comic cover was unheard of. Now it's all the rage apparently. I remember a time when DC comics with a Whitman logo were considered garbage reprints. Now, people will pay silly money for a Superman comic that has a " V " on the cover to denote a fifth print. That's truly bizarre. Remember when people only cared about 1st prints? I do. 

Virtually the entire premise of our hobby is “I remember a time when no one cared about X.” The fact that no one cared then is why it’s valuable now.

I’d say GL 76 is a VERY traditional key. The hobby used to be much more focused on the craft and the substance. GL 76 was a milestone in those senses PLUS in the industry’s history PLUS the first GLGA team up PLUS the first O’Neil/Adams GLGA PLUS as an award-winner PLUS as a creative influence PLUS various story elements that are still with us today.

That said, all of those things are (sadly) fading in importance as character-chasing fans flood in. Art, craft, history are less dominant and so I suspect GL 76 will actually gradually lose ground against other key books (most proximately GL 87).

Doesn’t mean we old-timers have to forget how important it is!

On 4/15/2021 at 11:34 PM, jimjum12 said:

If that were mine, I'd be done ... no more hunting for an upgrade. It 's also a key where the cover is worthy. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

... in today's market, that would take 2K or more to bag it. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

So what would Marvelman 25 be?

3 hours ago, Hey Kids, Comics! said:

One of these things in not like the other...

DCP 26 is the first appearance of a bunch of characters that are mainstays in the DCU. B&B54 is the first time a bunch of pre-existing characters get together with a spiffy new team name. I LOVE one of them. The other...not so much. 

They actually don’t even have the name or form a team in 54...

6 hours ago, Westy Steve said:

Bought this for my daughter's college fund.   This is an important book.  Of course, i know the book's story, but one ebayer cleverly advertises that it's the first multiverse in comics.  Don't know if that's true, but it did open up Earth 2 and completely change the story line.   And it reintroduces a golden age character, similar to Avengers 4 or Fantastic Four #4.  Seemed cheap.  Most importantly though, she's not a comic book reader, but she did obsess over the old Flash TV show, so she can relate to the book.

Pretty sure that’s true, at least in terms of a sustained, comic-universe multiverse...

Even before the pandemic boom we also saw a gradual influx of global collectors/investors. That could also be a part of this.

One thing I will say is it’s hilarious to see people advising others not to buy what isn’t currently on fire. Somewhere I got the crazy idea to buy when they’re not on fire...

On 3/24/2021 at 6:50 AM, 1950's war comics said:

it was a completely dishonest newsprint media that was the catalyst that brought down all other forms of print

Someone hasn’t heard of hedge funds.

On 3/22/2021 at 8:16 PM, 1950's war comics said:

our local newspaper is $2.50 an issue and it only has about 20 pages... i would never buy one or even read it for free because it is all lies ,.... but it seems that it was only 50 cents an issue 15 years ago ,... so the price has quintrupled since then

Would love to know what local newspaper is all lies.

This really isn’t hard. If we’re talking artistic merit it’s Moonshadow. Period.

Limit it to superheroes and it’s Elektra: Assassin. No question.

Everything else is YA.

On 2/7/2021 at 10:32 AM, Jeffro. said:

I know more of us have copies of this book.

Not yet...

9 hours ago, mattn792 said:

That helps, should have put it in the first post 

If I had to guess where all the money was coming from that has flowed into the collectible market since March, my first guess would be fraudulent PPP loans and fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.  But I can be a cynic when it comes to "free" government money programs.

If you were an actual cynic you’d focus on the rich people getting free government money rather than the rest of us.

14 hours ago, Sweet Lou 14 said:

I feel I'm the perfect guy to speak about this because today is my 50th birthday.  

Honestly I had no idea who Green Lantern even was growing up.  He was not in the Super Friends cartoon, which essentially made him a non-entity.  At least I could say I owned a pair of Aquaman underoos.

What I want to know is, why aren't people talking about the first appearance of the Apache Chief.