• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Albedo #1 & #2 Club
5 5

439 posts in this topic

47 minutes ago, dem1138 said:

Blasphemy!  Yes, as crazy as the market was at the time, the early prints of #0 primarily and #1 secondarily were "hot" but #2 was always desirable as well and just as hard to find.  #3 was where the issues became much more common.  But Usagi was an instant hit and that led to Critters #1 and his own series.  I remember finding a #2 and being far more excited than seeing an early print of #0.

hahaha, curiously, I see no mention of Albedo #2 in the posted image above you?  Maybe they didn't realize #2 was the really hot book ;)

Edited by heartened
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, heartened said:

hahaha, curiously, I see no mention of Albedo #2 in the posted image above you?  Maybe they didn't realize #2 was the really hot book ;)

It took the hobby a little while to catch on but for all of us kids who were psyched about TMNT, Usagi was the best "copy cat" anthropomorphic "ninja" to follow them so we all were instant fans who wanted Albedo #2.  In fact, I'd say the older collectors who were writing these newsletters didn't really "get it" right away and so their attention was on Albedo #0 and #1 due to rarity, which was therefore more expensive, but again made no sense to us because no one cared about the animals in those books!  If you looked at a CVM or CBG six months later, Usagi's appeal was much more apparent.

Edited by dem1138
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, dem1138 said:

It took the hobby a little while to catch on but for all of us kids who were psyched about TMNT, Usagi was the best "copy cat" anthropomorphic "ninja" to follow them so we all were instant fans who wanted Albedo #2.  In fact, I'd say the older collectors who were writing these newsletters didn't really "get it" right away and so their attention was on Albedo #0 and #1 due to rarity, which was therefore more expensive, but again made no sense to us because no one cared about the animals in those books!  If you looked at a CVM or CBG six months later, Usagi's appeal was much more apparent.

Totally agree.  Was just giving you a hard time.  It is interesting that after all these years, really only TMNT and Albedo have stood the test of time and grown in popularity.  Grendel still around but the different incarnations over time (figuratively and literally) always hurt the characterization and resultant fanbase.  The Crow, I suppose, has lasted but more due to the movie.  Cerebus, is unfortunately out of sight out of mind.  Concrete and Tick were great, but also declined as the stories disappeared. No denying this was such a creative time period though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, heartened said:

Totally agree.  Was just giving you a hard time.  It is interesting that after all these years, really only TMNT and Albedo have stood the test of time and grown in popularity.  Grendel still around but the different incarnations over time (figuratively and literally) always hurt the characterization and resultant fanbase.  The Crow, I suppose, has lasted but more due to the movie.  Cerebus, is unfortunately out of sight out of mind.  Concrete and Tick were great, but also declined as the stories disappeared. No denying this was such a creative time period though.

Remembering back to 1986/87, we had dealers in the DC area charging $200 for Albedo #2 back then.  At the time, there wasn't a lot of recognition of the different printings of #0 and #1 (except for the "Yellow" #0 which was selling for $800 if you could find one).  At the time, I think #0's were selling between $35-50 for 3rd and 2nd printings.  1st printings you didn't see very often, but imagine they were going for $125-150.  #1's were going for $60-100 from what I remember.  So, even back then, people were valuing the #2 a bit more, but occasionally you'd find them in boxes for cheaper as the price guides weren't keeping up with the market.  

#3's were plentiful as the print run on those jumped to 10,000 with that issue (from 2,000 on issues #2).  American Comics (the mail order company) had bought out the inventory of those.  At one point, I remember they were blowing them out for $.20/copy because they had so many.  Crazy to see the prices on them today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, comiconxion said:

Remembering back to 1986/87, we had dealers in the DC area charging $200 for Albedo #2 back then.  At the time, there wasn't a lot of recognition of the different printings of #0 and #1 (except for the "Yellow" #0 which was selling for $800 if you could find one).  At the time, I think #0's were selling between $35-50 for 3rd and 2nd printings.  1st printings you didn't see very often, but imagine they were going for $125-150.  #1's were going for $60-100 from what I remember.  So, even back then, people were valuing the #2 a bit more, but occasionally you'd find them in boxes for cheaper as the price guides weren't keeping up with the market.  

#3's were plentiful as the print run on those jumped to 10,000 with that issue (from 2,000 on issues #2).  American Comics (the mail order company) had bought out the inventory of those.  At one point, I remember they were blowing them out for $.20/copy because they had so many.  Crazy to see the prices on them today.

Ah... American Comics!

The closest store I had growing up was over an hour away, so I did a lot of orders through them. I loved getting those orders and still have a couple boxes kicking around here almost 30 years later. :)

I certainly didn't know anything about b&w indies back then. It was all McFarlane, Lee, Larson, Marvel, and Image until I finally got my license...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/14/2021 at 9:22 AM, comiconxion said:

Remembering back to 1986/87, we had dealers in the DC area charging $200 for Albedo #2 back then.  At the time, there wasn't a lot of recognition of the different printings of #0 and #1 (except for the "Yellow" #0 which was selling for $800 if you could find one).  At the time, I think #0's were selling between $35-50 for 3rd and 2nd printings.  1st printings you didn't see very often, but imagine they were going for $125-150.  #1's were going for $60-100 from what I remember.  So, even back then, people were valuing the #2 a bit more, but occasionally you'd find them in boxes for cheaper as the price guides weren't keeping up with the market.  

#3's were plentiful as the print run on those jumped to 10,000 with that issue (from 2,000 on issues #2).  American Comics (the mail order company) had bought out the inventory of those.  At one point, I remember they were blowing them out for $.20/copy because they had so many.  Crazy to see the prices on them today.

Its funny to think back on how regional finding books was.  I was in suburban Philly and I bought the first Albedo #2 I ever saw at a show and Im not sure I recall seeing one again for quite some time.  There were a fair amount of cons in Philly back then, especially considering what a fringe hobby comic book collecting was in the mid-80s.  But I always imagined NYC was the mecca where if you lived in that city, no matter what book you were looking for, you were going to find a copy without much of a struggle.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, dem1138 said:

Its funny to think back on how regional finding books was.  I was in suburban Philly and I bought the first Albedo #2 I ever saw at a show and Im not sure I recall seeing one again for quite some time.  There were a fair amount of cons in Philly back then, especially considering what a fringe hobby comic book collecting was in the mid-80s.  But I always imagined NYC was the mecca where if you lived in that city, no matter what book you were looking for, you were going to find a copy without much of a struggle.  

Was Stan based on the West Coast back then too? Where was T&I based?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Schmakt said:

Was Stan based on the West Coast back then too? Where was T&I based?

I believe T&I was Seattle based.  I used to see a lot more copies of Albedo on the West Coast when I travelled, but I remember finding a copy of #1 (2nd print) in a comic shop in Columbus, OH for $35 back in the 80's or early 90's. So, they made it all over the place. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, comiconxion said:

I believe T&I was Seattle based.  I used to see a lot more copies of Albedo on the West Coast when I travelled, but I remember finding a copy of #1 (2nd print) in a comic shop in Columbus, OH for $35 back in the 80's or early 90's. So, they made it all over the place. 

Chuck, its funny but I never thought about it until now how where the publisher was likely affected how common the books were in that area.  I grew up near Comico (and regretfully never visited for literally no good reason) and Primer #2 and the 3 issues of Grendel were fairly common at shows in the area and I never even considered why that was until now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, dem1138 said:

Chuck, its funny but I never thought about it until now how where the publisher was likely affected how common the books were in that area.  I grew up near Comico (and regretfully never visited for literally no good reason) and Primer #2 and the 3 issues of Grendel were fairly common at shows in the area and I never even considered why that was until now.

New York shows definitely had it all.  I saw all those books back then but alas I didn't have much money.  I was able to get the Grendel issues and Primer 2, but not Albedo 2 for a while.  I had copies of TMNT 2 and up but could never snag a first (or even second) print TMNT 1.  I had only the smaller sized 3rd print.  Another really hot book back then was the DKR signed and limited number hardcover.  Haven't seen that for sale in a long time, but it was super-cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, heartened said:

New York shows definitely had it all.  I saw all those books back then but alas I didn't have much money.  I was able to get the Grendel issues and Primer 2, but not Albedo 2 for a while.  I had copies of TMNT 2 and up but could never snag a first (or even second) print TMNT 1.  I had only the smaller sized 3rd print.  Another really hot book back then was the DKR signed and limited number hardcover.  Haven't seen that for sale in a long time, but it was super-cool.

Well this brings up another memory from this bygone era which is that regional shows meant regional pricing.  I remember the sentiment that if you were buying books in NYC you were paying NYC (ie top) prices.  There were comic shops in rougher areas of Philly that priced books accordingly because their demographic wasn't going to pay full retail.  You could find some pretty incredible deals in those stores.  Obviously this was way before eBay, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I loved the regional pricing; in the late 80s, I attended college in western Massachusetts, buying a lot of McFarlane or Liefeld books for $1, then taking them back to Los Angeles during vacations to trade towards Silver, Bronze, or Copper books.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
5 5