Lost in collecting- Om's Journal by oldmilwaukee6er 1 1

[oldmilwaukee6er]

Back in the saddle

 

The lady and I have been off work the week between Christmas and New Year’s, hosting her parents who were in from Montana. It was a nice visit, Type 2 fun- not so much fun while you are doing it, but growing fonder with the passage of time. It was a blessing in disguise as it allowed us to skip my family’s usual customs and stay home! We were home on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning for the first time in decades. It was remarkable in retrospect. I received a small reimbursement check from work prior to the holidays and was able to shop on time and deliver presents to my niece and nephews on Christmas Eve morning. What a joy watching the kids open presents! I think because of these two things, I was in a good mood all week.

 

We went to the public museum, the museum by the lady’s work, the public market (twice), Rogue One (twice), and Assassin’s Creed. We worked through our closets, donated clothing, and started projects now unfinished. We graded, though the lady has by far the bigger load (I have one small night class). We stayed home on NYE, ate magic pizza toppings, watched Fantasia and stayed up to watch 2017 explode on the horizon.

 

I bought some Spawn and Usagi Yojimbo comic books as a Christmas treat. I priced a few online stores and ended up shopping at Gmart (Chicago) and Mile High (Denver) with one of their HOLIDAY! promotional codes.

 

Now that I am getting to the end of my run collecting, I am getting impatient. Therefore, I treated myself to a little shopping spree online and bundled to get free shipping.

 

 

A few books were upgrades, so I purchased multiple copies on some books to make certain I got the book in grade and was done. I was not able to complete both runs, however, and I even found two additional missing Spawn books while organizing this past weekend (ugh). As of this writing, I need…

3 Usagi books (Vol1 16 37; Vol2 2)

2 Space Usagi books (Mirage 1 2)

A few one-shots

8 Spawn books (150 156 183^ 216 217 218 221 222)

 

 

In the calm of the New Year I was able to open up with pages of notes on strategies, goals, and objectives for 2017. This is an important rhetorical part of the journal for me- the ability to log and reflect upon my collecting goals. Generally, I am using the framework discussed earlier in the journal- that STRATEGY informs GOALS / OBJECTIVES that determine PROJECTS that consist of ACTIVITIES.

 

I will post about my goals in more detail in the coming days.

 

 

In the meantime, I will end this journal entry with some additional Spawn visuals…

 

This image illustrates estimated Spawn presales in North America from November 2014 to present. The graph on the right treats #250 (milestone issue) and the two one-shots, e.g. Spawn Resurrection #1 and Spawn Kills Everyone #1, as outliers in an attempt to establish a trend. Source: Comichron

 

 

This image illustrates how Spawn has remained a bargain through the life of the series relative to industry standards. Source: Comichron & Comic Vine

 

[oldmilwaukee6er]

dorkus said:

. . . Spawn visuals…

 

 

Closing in on a NM run and you begin to notice things like the above sale from Dec.

(And not too many rare issues in this bunch & condition was range-graded at VFNM with "some VF- and some 9.8s.")

 

Edited March 27, 2017 by oldmilwaukee6er

[oldmilwaukee6er]

What are the important Modern Star Wars books?

 

This is by no means definitive. However, I have enjoyed many of the new Star Wars titles from Marvel, as well as Episode 7 and Rogue One in the theaters. While it was improbable for me to collect and/or read all of the titles, I tried to focus on the new characters insomuch as they might influence future theatrical releases. Therefore, I read (most of) Star Wars through issue #24 digitally, read SW: Shattered Empire 1-4, collected but did not read SW: Poe Dameron 1-9, and read/collected SW: Force Awakens 1.

 

FEEL FREE TO ADD, COMMENT, OR CORRECT, as I did not collect or read- SW: Darth Vader (now regret, mainly due to Aphra), or ANY of the SW Chewbacca, Princess Leia, Kanan, or Lando books.

 

So what are the first appearances some cool new characters?

 

Poe Dameron #1 (4/6/16; JUN2016)

1st appearance of Poe Dameron and BB8 in comics

Also the 1st appearance of Black Squadron members, including Karé Kun, L’ulo, and Temmin “Snap” Wexley

 

 

Star Wars: Force Awakens #1 (6/22/16; AUG2016)

1st appearance of Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren in comics

 

 

Star Wars: Darth Vader #3

1st appearance of Dr. Aphra in comics

1st appearance of Triple-Zero (000) and BT-1 in comics (appear on cover)? Comic Vine credits #13 as the first appearance and there is a variant cover that features both of them. They also feature in SW 13-14 during the Vader Down crossover event.

 

Cool Aphra covers include Darth Vader 3 (Larocca variant; shown), 8, 10, and 25 (variant). Also, she now has her own series, e.g. Dr. Aphra 1 (action figure variant).

 

 

Star Wars #4

1st appearance of Sana Starros (aka Sana “Solo”). Comic Vine credits #4 as her first appearance, and states that she appears in issues 4-6, but her first named and fully visible appearance is #6.

 

 

Star Wars: Darth Vader #2 #1

1st appearance of Black Krrsantan

Cool Black Krrsantan covers include SW 14, SW 20, and SW: Dr. Aphra 1 (action figure variant).

 

 

Poe Dameron #2

1st Terex (aka Agent Terex; Stormtrooper TK-603)

1st identified as TK-603 in #8

 

 

One interesting observation that complicates this posting is that Comic Vine identifies Mad Magazine #538 (2/24/16; APR2016) as the first appearance of some characters, e.g. BB8, however it is unlikely that SW comic book fans will accept this as a true first appearance since it did not occur in the Marvel Comics canon.

Edited January 6, 2017 by oldmilwaukee6er

[oldmilwaukee6er]

Kicking off the year right- the Edge’s annual New Year sale!

 

 

Last week was a cold and slightly shorter work week, owing to the New Year. I typically have not been able to get to the LCS on Wednesday, as I am teaching a night course, and this week was no exception. FRI nights has been my time to stop by the LCS, pick up my new comics, and chat with the manager. On FRI the lady and I both stopped to pick up the only pull- a copy of Jem and the Holograms #22. Waiting for me was the new deluxe Deadpool mask with speech bubbles (below), including my favorite “Check out the chump in the Deadpool tee.”

 

This SUN was the local comic chain’s annual back issue sale extravaganza ( FLYER ). $2 admission includes a drawing for $1000 shopping trip, access to the basement back issues and vault (pre-1975 comics), and a grab-bag as you exit. The 25% off everything sale typically runs 2-6PM, but subscription customers can gain access at noon, as well as earn an extra 5% off by bringing in a coupon from our Christmas card (30% total). For every $100 you spend, you get one extra drawing for the $1000 shopping spree raffle.

 

Last year was my first real attempt at the sale and in the past I wrote… “All told, the sale was bittersweet. I got shut out of underground comix. Again. I left another $40 of good Usagi Yojimbos lying and probably left other good books too (Spawn, Mahfoods). But that just makes me want to try again. It was a great spectacle to move a lot of backstock at near-retail prices, a smart bookkeeper's sale. The fans really ate it up. And I suppose if ALL I ever pick out that basement is 23 Usagis, well then I should just call myself lucky and walk away.”

 

This year, I was skipping underground comix and planning for a budget of approximately $150. My working theory was that because the Green Bay Packers were playing at 3:30PM, then the sale would be front-end loaded and may die down at the start of the game. So I left the house at the start of the game and headed to the sale. Two disadvantages to arriving toward the end of the sale are that if it was still busy, it may limit my access and books may sell before my arrival (a chance I am usually willing to take, as the books I seek are usually pretty specialized).

 

The lady opted to sit this one out entirely, she accompanied me last year and waited in the Arsenal bar nearby. This year, because of the football crowds, she wasn’t really into the whole scene. She enjoys football, but prefers to root AGAINST the Packers in the comfort of her own space.

 

Well, the plan worked perfectly… I found a parking spot nearby that allowed me to leave my winter coat behind while I picked. I made a specific want list to pick from, one of my new resolutions, and I brought my favorite comic picking bag. I arrived just a smidge before 4pm and paid my $2 entrance fee. The store was moderately full, with approximately 12 people milling about on the main floor. My LCS manager was there greeting people as they walked in and handing out the raffle tickets. Upon arrival, I took a turn on the top floor to get the lay of the trade paperback (TPB) situation and see what was in stock. In particular, the lady is enjoying The Wicked + The Divine (Gillen) 2-4+ and I am looking at Lazarus (Rucka) 2+. She is also looking for three volumes of X-Men Essentials. After a quick turn (looking good for Wicked + Divine, bad for X-Men), I slipped down to the basement to get to work (all prices quoted include the discount).

 

The first thing I noticed was that it was A LOT slower than I anticipated. I only bumped into two people, there was no line to check out (last year’s was 30+ minute), and I saw at least three staffers ready to help.

 

So, I started digging through the independents section and began with 3+ long boxes of Spawn. Short version- I had no luck. Moreover, it is apparent to me that the average LCS with back issues will not have very much Spawn past 150 beyond 200 and 220. With several online comic retailers also out of the issues I am seeking, finishing my Spawn 1-current run may well take the whole of 2017. That said, I am content with that fact and beyond my Christmas Spawn back issue splurge, I will not panic-buy to complete Spawn. Good things come to those who wait will be my mantra for Spawn. And boy will I take joy in finding the last 8 NM issues I need in the wild.

 

From Spawn, I moved through Usagi. I had great luck with Usagi in 2016 and I was able to picked a VF+ copy of Usagi Yojimbo #2 (Mirage; Vol2) and this lovely copy of Critters #1 ($10.50) this year.

Critters #1 is the 4th appearance of the Ronin rabbit following his run in Albedo Comics and the 1st appearance of Gennosuke (aka Gen the Bounty Hunter). A CGC 9.0 sold for over $30 this month, while a CGC 9.8 is parked on the ‘Bay at $210 shipped with 4 watchers.

 

 

I immediately added UY#2 back to want list as an upgrade, but Critters #1 now means I have ALL Usagi appearances in Critters in NM (#1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 38, & 50).

 

I also picked up this NM copy of Kurt Busiek’s Astro City Vol1 #1 1st print ($8.40). Late in 2016 I picked NM copies of #2, 3 & 4 from Burnham Bowl for $2 each and so the set looks out of place without a nice copy of #1.

 

 

Finally, I picked up the last 2 issues of Piranha Press’ Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children #29 and #30 ($10 for pair) in VFNM. The lady has been collecting this obscure title since the early 1990s. BSFUC developed a cult following in the comic book/graphic novel community, even though BSFUC were neither really comic books nor graphic novels. The series is not even one continuous, serialized story, which makes it tough to collect. She now needs only #27.

 

After putting together my modern stack, I went into the Vault to ask after early X-Men. I waited a little for the traffic to die down and set to work looking through a long-box with periodic X-Men beginning with #8. Typically, the BIG BOSS uses a combination of Overstreet and Comic Realm to price books, rounding down slightly and arguing that the real discount is taken off upstairs at the register. I selected three books and waited while another customer had a large stack of Modern Harley Quinn books priced. The guy in front of me spent $590 on Batman Adventures, early appearances of Deadpool (X-Force 2), and more. Add that to his other $400+ stack. Another guy was waiting to price about 6 small stacks of mostly DC books. When it was my turn the BIG BOSS took my three X-books and priced them right at guide for VG.

On the whole I was pleased to buy 3 books for close to the price of two. I paid $108.50 total and these are precisely the type of book I am targeting, a rock solid VG+ to VG- that presents well with decent color pop / eye appeal, not too much Marvel chipping, and clean or matted staples with no rust- the type of book that can be read and handled without fear of damage.

 

After the X-Men, I waited to have my Moderns priced downstairs before plucking The Wicked + The Divine TPB #2 and #3 off the upstairs shelf, checking out, and pulling my grab-bag (misc. comics ). All in one hour!

 

With a slightly larger budget and more focused want list I was able to check off several want list items, make small progress on my Usagi Yojimbo run, and add 3 more X-Men to my #1 – 19 run. I even scored two HTF comics and TPBs for the lady. While I feel I am still making mistakes and accumulating too much… This was a great way to kick off the collecting year!

 

NEXT UP- Collecting goals for 2017.

 

[TheLadySpeaks]

I promise you we haven't forgotten about this blog, but things are just busy. New articles are percolating, never fear!

[oldmilwaukee6er]

Why setting goals is important to collecting

 

Tis the time of the year to start formalizing my collecting goals. I started this sometime ago, but threw away my detailed notes before capturing them digitally.

 

Cracknell (2016) starts his article on the topic with the following quote:

“I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions. Change can be made on any day at any moment. But when it comes to collecting, a new calendar year is a good time to set goals.”

 

I like the sentiment above. And throughout my 1.5 years journaling, the term “goals” has been mentioned herein over 50 times. Each year I work to set specific and measurable goals for my collecting, and each year I feel more focused and happy. Cracknell (2016) writes “Goals give us focus. Focus gives purpose. To me, these are key to being a happy collector.”

 

Therefore I need to do a better job of reflecting and focusing on what I like most about the hobby, as the key is to collect what you enjoy most (“Tips for,” n.d.). While some people like to take a casual approach to collecting, gathering whatever appeals to them, other collectors like to define their collections by certain categorical distinctions (“Tips for,” n.d.). Simply put, a lack of goal-oriented focus leads to frustration.

 

Orlando (2016) offers the following 10 tips for building a collection:

1. Select a collecting theme and stick to it

2. Buy authenticated / graded collectibles

3. Ask questions and educate yourself

4. Find and buy from a reputable seller

5. Consider display or storage issues

6. Avoid becoming a bargain hunter

7. Buy the finest quality you can afford

8. Manage your emotions but don’t be afraid to pull the trigger

9. Value expertise over origin

10. Keep collecting fun

 

 

Orlando (2016) notes that your theme or strategy takes precedence over everything else on this list and that it will help you stay focused. This year, I am breaking down my goals based on the following themes:

**Underground comix

**Silver Age comics

**Modern speculation comics

**Modern reader comics

 

 

I have been guilty of many MANY impulses throughout the life of this journal and this is the year to stop the insanity and stay focused. In reflecting on my yearly progress, I still continue to buy comic books on impulse- either in $1 bins or off the LCS rack. Like Cracknell (2016), this results in a stack of stuff I am not attached to and do not know what to do with. It also leads to doubles or other mistakes in collecting and those costs add up.

 

Orlando (2016) is correct in pointing out that “even if you have virtually endless financial resources at your disposal, you can't own everything. It is always better to start with reasonable collecting goals and then branch out from there.” Collectors are often tempted to buy things that do not fit the theme of their collection. As Orlando (2016) notes, when you appreciate great items, it's hard to resist the opportunity to buy something when the opportunity presents itself. However, fall prey to too many impulse purchases and one ends up with a collection that is shattershot. Applying impulse control to my collecting means that I may have to cut back in certain subgenres or limit purchases to save for more expensive comics.

 

Taylor (2008) writes

“Don't hesitate to buy a coin in a grade lower than you hope for or strive to acquire. One must consider that the average collectible coin is constantly appreciating; although not always at a steady or consistent rate. The Laws of Supply and Demand always have a hand in the value or worth of any coin. Having an investment in a coin is preferable to no investment. . . . Stepping up, or improving your coin's grade, in a graduated process, is far more pleasing because it adds more activity, allows completion of sets (albeit temporary for the actual grade desired), the cost is less or spread out, and makes for continuous progress. The fewer numbers of coins available in the next higher grade, the costs of each upgrade being higher, and putting a higher value on your time, makes the approach of buying only the "goal coin" undesirable. Doing so will degrade your progress, enjoyment and appreciation.”

 

 

As I continue to write and think about my collecting goals… I keep writing the following phrase (after Rinker or Welch)- WORTH is momentary phenomenon. A sale at a particular point in time determines WORTH. Only a change in circumstances alters VALUE. Taylor (2008) notes that collectors should not be “overly concerned about either getting a bargain, or paying book value or more. The value and worth of your collection will not be greatly affected by either.” This is because the time spent getting a bargain price is the single most commonly wasted activity. Your time, not spent in spent in positive thoughts and endeavors is wasted (Taylor, 2008).

 

Similarly, Orlando (2016) echoes that while there is nothing wrong with bargain hunting, HOWEVER “when a collector's entire focus revolves around finding a good deal, it can lead that collector right into a trap. That trap is usually filled with items of poor quality and suspect authenticity.” When you become hyper-focused on bargain hunting, it is easy to overlook the obvious and ignore the red flags that could help you steer clear of the item (Orlando, 2016).

 

Taylor (2008), in discussing coin collecting strategies, argues that higher grades collectors often require longer term goals, a greater amount of money, more patience, and higher levels of frustration. Many hygraders, including myself, find the extra challenge of collecting more rewarding. “It is not our opinion of the grade that matters, it is what will bring us the greatest return on our investment of time and money” (Taylor, 2008).

 

Another frustration with my currently collecting habits is that I am having storage issues. In the past 2+ years collecting Moderns and 1.5 years journaling, I have accumulated comics at the fastest pace in more than a decade. Simply put, I have learned the hard way that I am in an accumulation phase. This issues seems like it is easy to avoid, yet it affects many many collectors. Orlando (2016) writes “it all comes down to your intent as a collector, whether you want to display your collection proudly in your den or tuck most of your items away in a safe deposit box.”

 

 

References

Cracknell, R. (2016). Are you setting any collecting goals for 2016? You should. Retrieved from http://www.beckett.com/news/are-you-setting-any-collecting-goals-for-2016-you-should/.

Orlando, J. (2016). Ten tips for building a collection. Retrieved from http://www.psacard.com/articles/articleview/6315/ten-tips-building-collection

Taylor, R.L. (2008). Basic coin collecting strategy. Retrieved from http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/106355/hobbies/basic_coin_collecting_strategy.html

Tips for defining you coin collecting goals. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/coin_collecting_tips-2/

 

[oldmilwaukee6er]

I promise you we haven't forgotten about this blog, but things are just busy. New articles are percolating, never fear!

 

Tis true sadly, but I often say that winter is a good time to be busy. We have been pouring ourselves into work. I have a new boss (2 weeks now), and that no doubt mixes things up. Last week when I hit the local comic store (LCS) I was pressed for time and after being ignored for 10min in the small store I left and met the lady for dinner. This new comic WED it was all titles for the lady and one for my niece. Nothing for me. No comic picking to speak of.

 

Last week I also completed the night course I was teaching and closed out final grades. The past two weekends have been full of playoff football, as we are surrounded by Packers fans.

 

The next few weeks we celebrate our birthdays, himself and then herself. The lady's birthday culminates with a short trip to Venice by way of Paris- a gift we have been building and saving toward for sometime. About two weeks ago we locked in some excursions, e.g. Catacombs tickets, Orsay Museum tour, opera tickets Teatro La Fenice, and Vivaldi's Four Seasons near St. Mark's Church.

[oldmilwaukee6er]

Found these schweet Modok, Attuma & Super Adaptoid stickers today as part of a $3 Avengers set from Family Dollar. These are going in a bag and board.

 

[oldmilwaukee6er]

This weekend I celebrated a birthday, with nothing particularly special planned. I woke early SAT with thoughts of work and decided to indulge in a little road trip / travel. Just an urge to hop in the car and be in another place by sundown. A bit of the wanderlust, and no small part my father. I looked for spots within 4 hours and decided on Escanaba in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Neither the lady nor I had been, and I suppose a very minor bucket list item to visit the Yooper.

 

I could not wait to wake up the lady with my plan and see if the lil homebody was a gamer and sure enough she WAS after only minor cajoling. I having been up since 330am. I slept some then and we mobilized by 1030am, which is not bad for us. I booked a little 2-star no-tell-motel in Escanaba and we arrived without issue having taken the more scenic route 35. We had a beer at Hereford & Hop and then dinner at the fancy steakhouse before sleeping 8 hard, road weary hours.

 

I intended to disconnect, to whisk myself away from media, and ground us for the time to come. Winter is an easy time to work, pick up extra tasks, assignments, and lectures / speaking engagements. It means less time spent in walking, which is also a more grounding activity. We have upcoming travel, a set academic schedule, work goals, and it is a time for fiscal responsibility in our household.

 

So the freedom of the open road, a bit of adventure and some reflection. We stopped at a small town Walmart and feasted off cheap imported goods. Get em while they last. As symbolized by this Nirvana t-shirt design that has become a $5 clearance rack staple.

 

 

 

I bought $3 worth of Avengers Assemble stickers some of which now cover a comic box lid. I saved one sheet that featured more obscure characters- Modok, Attuma & Super Adaptoid (from the Cabal). We planned our next few months, broad-brushed, and agreed to reconvene this week on the topic of more serious fiscal panthering. I bought a whole French silk pie from Perkins, a throwback to our time in Billings MT together. And still we drove, burning a tank and a half of “go juice” until there was only the windshield and silence.

 

[oldmilwaukee6er]

New Collecting Goals for 2017

 

As I look forward to my second year of journaling about collecting, it is clear to me that I have lost focus of (what I thought was) my primary goal- Amazing Spider-Man #1. In retrospect it is funny, as part of why my collecting eye had shifted was because of the prices that high-grade underground comix were starting to fetch. Essentially, I was priced-out of underground comix, so why did I think a rapidly inflating Silver Age book was the answer?

 

When I first starting journaling, a GD2.0 ASM was about 2k. Now I find 1.8s priced at 3.2k. I overpaid for my X-Men #1 at 1.7k raw and with a 3.5 CGC blue label the book could fetch 2.2k+. As I have written before, I get a little fearful in bull markets, even though the potential returns are retrospectively obvious. Moderns were cheaper, and for a time, more fun. I now realize that ASM1 is more symbolic of my desire to return balance and diversity to my growing, somewhat genre-specific collection.

 

Therefore, I will work toward the following:

1. Collect with the following two statements in mind: a) Overpay for the best and underpay for everything else. Neither let a cheap price tag influence, nor an expensive tag discourage. b) Worth is a momentary phenomenon; a change in circumstances alerts value.

 

2. Stop viewing Modern comics as investments. Read every Modern I bring home. If I am not reading it, cancel it. Diligently manage my pull-box to avoid duplicates or LCS add-ons. Continue to leverage digital comics- as a hygrader, I have learned that I enjoy reading digital comics as opposed to minty floppies. Leverage trade paperbacks for series I am curious about but not into collecting (TPBs also have more residual value if I need to dump books at Half Price).

 

“As a general rule, the new comic that you buy from a dealer for $X (cover price) immediately drops in wholesale value to about 10 cents, the minute you leave the shop. That happens because most comics dealers don't handle broad lines of back issues, and simply don't want anything back from the past few years. To induce them to buy back your relatively new comics, you're going to have to accept a price that will allow them to put them in their 3/$1 bins. That price is usually about a dime. Clearly, if you are taking a 96% drop in value the minute you buy an item, it can't be classified as an investment.” ~Mile High Chuck Rosanzki

 

3. Re-read MH Chuck’s “Tales from the Database”. Personally, I find it a fascinating read and one I will be revisiting in early 2017.

 

4. Freak Brothers 12 13 1st prints in NM+ or better. It is becoming obvious to me and at least two other collectors that these books are really HTF in high grade. I can see why these books may have been overlooked in the boom/bust of the 1990s (#12 in 1992 & #13 in 1997). I rearranged my eBay searches to help.

 

5. Patiently Finish Spawn run- 156 168^ 169 183^ 216 218 221 222 223 230 and patiently plug away at Usagi Yojimbo. Another quote from MH Chuck “With fewer than a dozen comics titles currently having print runs over 100,000 copies, and approximately only another 30 titles with print runs over 50,000 copies, comics genuinely have become collector's items once again. Given that most retailers are ordering to sell out within 10-14 days, plus the dramatic reduction in the newsstand market, finding a recent back issue has become a near impossibility.” No doubt! I’m done chasing Spawn so that when I do find them, it will be all the sweeter.

 

6. X-Men in VGish 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 17 18 19. Of all the goals, this one has been the MOST fun. I am buying reader copies at prices I can afford and enjoying them. While I do not expect to complete this run in 2017, to the extent I can further it at my present pace I will be happy.

 

7. Fantastic Four 49 50 in CGC 6.5 or better. These, along with the X-Men, will likely be the books I target at larger comic cons. I look forward to the hunt and to having a complete Galactus Trilogy.

 

8. Seriously re-think the Registry. For my collection, the Registry is likely a mug's game. While it was fun to fantasize I could put together the best run of Zap Comix, the reality is that there are collectors already amassing comparable collections, and who have better copies of #1 or #0. And I set out to accomplish my original goal- which was to put together the best set I could afford. Also, with underground comix, the Registry places too many points on high grade REPRINTS, e.g. a CGC 6.5 #2 “Heads first miscut” 1st print with thick cover stock earns a mere 60pts whereas a #2 2nd print in CGC 9.6 is a whopping 500pts (this book is common). If the points are ‘at all’ supposed to equate to scarcity or value, then this is just one example among many of how upside down the Registry is for u-comix. This year I will look to transition from the Registry to MySlabbedComics and add my non-CGC books.

 

9. STOP stressing about selling. I have to let go of my guilt for not selling, or not selling well. I enjoy my hobby. Generally speaking it gives me great joy. And even though I put a fair amount of money into the hobby, from time to time, I have made to great sales. In 2016, I also set up at a small con for the first time in a while and sold two batches of stuff to Half Price Books.

 

 

X-Men group shot

 

Edited March 27, 2017 by oldmilwaukee6er
Holy giant quotes, Batman!

[oldmilwaukee6er]

1st post on the new boards! Kudos to the lady for most of the text. And thanks for letting me have first stab in the new format. I'll add a little here and there Ahh yassssss. The new Mighty Con Milwaukee aka the Milwaukee Comic Con, now located at State Fair park with paid parking. Could this be the death of Mighty Con or the start or something bigger for the wee small Serb-Hall-Con-that-could? As much as our finances would have loved to see us skip this show, our curiosity got the better of us and we headed over at 1:30PM. The lady budgeted us $140, with $6 parking and $5 entry we had $62 to pick each. ~Om. 

The Lady Speaks. . .A Mostly Mighty Con? (A TLS & Om joint)
As advertised, Mighty Con Milwaukee shook it up a bit by changing venues and attempting to establish some new protocols for its ever-growing comic con.  The move from Serb Hall to the Fairgrounds was at the heart of it, a great choice.  There was definitely more room on the floor for vendors and patrons.  They were able to add what appeared to be a stage area for the cosplay contests and possibly even panels.  We arrived later in the day, about 2pm, so much of that fanfare had moved on which did leave about a quarter of the room devoid of life save for the bank of video games on the far wall.  The designated concessions area was small and yet there was always a spot to take a load off and they offered soda, food, and adult bevvies.  Prices were high.  $7.00 for two 20oz bottles of soda is a bit steep, even for a seasoned veteran of cons such as myself.   I'm going to go into the negatives first and then wrap up with the positives, of which there were many.

Check out the line at 1:45PM! We despaired a little at this, truthfully. I started asking where people had heard about the show (?) to pass the time. ~Om

Now for some of the less-than-stellar observations.
The Fairground is host to a number of simultaneous events and without adequate signage, it's not easy to figure out where you enter, where you pay, and then where you actually park.  It worked out for us because we were late arrivals and parking was easy to be had close to the actual con's building.  I can't say that would have been the case two hours earlier, though.  And when you're paying $6 for parking, you kind of want to know that you have a designated lot area.  This is especially true if you're cosplaying and need to stage stuff.  So parking needs to be better worked out and I think more signs directing you to the con itself would go a long way.

As I said, we arrived shortly before 2pm.  We ended up waiting in line outside for about 15 minutes.  Part of this move, as advertised time and time again by Mighty Con, was to alleviate this very issue.  The bottleneck seemed to be the free comics they give away when you pay your entry fee.  I suggest dropping that whole mess.  $5 entry is perfectly fine, you don't need to sweeten the pot with free comics that cause people to stop and literally flip through every comic looking for that golden retirement fund.  Also, only one guy was taking money, ticking off attendance, and stamping hands.  That could be streamlined.   The guy did say that there had been approximately 1500 people through the door so it seems attendance was brisk.

That being said, standing in line offered us the chance to see what sorts of merchandise was leaving the con.  In summation, not much.  About 1 in 6 people had stuff when they were leaving and maybe 25% of those were people who had bought comics.  It seemed like a lot of small exchanges--stickers, posters, toys.  OM checked with the people waiting with us to see how they had heard about the con and the general consensus was that it was all sort of second hand information.  No one was familiar with Mighty Con or even what a con was, they were just checking it out.  I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, it was just an observation that carried into the con itself.  Most of the people I encountered had never been to a con before, had no idea what Mighty Con was about, and were just checking it out because they'd heard about it at another event or through word-of-mouth.  Due to the general newness of the patrons and the event it made traversing the con irritating for the first half hour or so as people would walk three or four abreast down the aisles and all stop at the same time to look at the same thing without any awareness of what was going on around them.  Eventually, however, that calmed down and it was easy to move about. I did comment how it felt like they were coming to stare at the freaks.   ~Om

I was bummed that some of the vendors I looked forward to at other Mighty Cons weren't set up at this one.  I don't know if table price, time of year, location or what was the reason for that.  It could have a lot to do with the fact that AnimeMKE is next weekend and that's a pretty popular event.  So there wasn't a ton of variety present and there were more than a few vendors who looked like they dumped out their kids' closets hoping to sell some stuff.  (As a matter of fact I heard one guy explaining that that was exactly what he did.  His kid's in college and left behind a bunch of toys and the father was hoping to sell them off.  To his son's credit, the toys were in excellent shape and he was doing brisk business).   There was a bit of a garage sale vibe once you got away from the original artists and the comic book vendors, especially when it came to the toy vendors.

When I was talking to vendors, most claimed they were having "okay" days.  There were a ton of kids present and they seemed to only be interested in Pokemon.  Nothing else was of much interest to them, not Harry Potter, not Transformers, not super heroes.  It was all Pokemon.  So for the vendors who didn't have a ton of Poke stock, they weren't doing as much business as they had hoped for.  There were probably six or seven tables of Pop Funko! (I resisted this time) but they all had basically the same characters and the prices were all over the place.  Some characters were $8 at one table and $15 at the next.  There were only three jewelry vendors and they were having a tough go of it, too.  The jewelry was very well made and the prices reflected this.  On the whole, the comic vendors were doing great. I heard two 'best shows', a few 'good shows,' one 'not as good as projected; and another one that did not do well. Some of the more 'flea market vendors' had 1-2 boxes to look through and I even saw a young lady selling her original owner CGC SS 8.5 NM98 signed by Liefeld (1st Deadpool). The organizer was quite happy and was noted as saying that 'if you cannot do well with this many people, then you may need to re-evaluate your product.' The show drew some dealers from the Illinois show and so their boxes were fresh picking for me. I picked some good books and fell down the Star Wars Dr. Aphra rabbithole. Scans to follow. ~Om

There wasn’t a ton of variety with the vendors.  Only one vendor had t-shirts where a few others had a handful of random shirts for sale.  There was one guy doing etched pint glasses and shot glasses that was kind of cool.  One steampunk vendor (mass marketed stuff, not hand crafted).  There was one mass market Asian/Anime vendor.  Several PopFunko vendors; a lot of original artists; a few original author; three jewelry vendors; a booth of homemade bags/purses; a couple of places selling Poke related towels and blankets; four or five Star Wars booths; one decal/sticker vendor; a tarot card reader (she was awesome); a few gothic booths selling candles/mini coffins/taxidermy-esque stuff; and two Lego mini booths.  NO TRADE PAPER BACK SELLERS!  I think the comic book side of things was more diverse.

One last negative which is in no way Mighty Con’s fault, but still very frustrating.  There were a ton of families with small children.  This means the usual stroller congestion and small ones running around with reckless abandon.  But what I saw yesterday at Mighty Con went to a whole new level of bad behavior.  There’s a guy, Plushzilla, whose plushise I love.  I watched a kid pick one up and wipe his snotty nose down the front of it while the mother stood there.  She laughed at her kids’ antics.  The vendor chuckled and offered to give her a discount if she’d buy what was now a biohazard.  The mother got affronted and said she wasn’t going to spend money on that.  And she flounced.  So the poor vendor had to pull the merchandise, probably to destroy it.  Similar antics were repeated with kids walking off with jewelry, knocking over stuff, diving under tables, and just generally acting horrible.  I’m going to chalk that up to the influx of con virgins who maybe don’t get what the etiquette is, but it was disappointing and annoying.  <-------Doesn't like kids. ~Om, who already knows this. 

The positives.
Ample room.  There is room to grow and I hope they can drum up more new and exciting vendors to attract a wider array of patrons.

The concession area was nice and well placed.  Good bathrooms.  Good wifi signal.  Mighty Con is beginning to feel more and more like Wizard Lite, which isn’t bad.  Let Wizard focus on celebrity and let Mighty Con continue to develop relationships with collectors, fans, and cosplayers.

My haul (I went into this con determined to spend money without a shopping agenda).
I bought a purse, a plushie, a stainless steel/anodized aluminum necklace, a handmade ceramic/bead butterfly necklace, an East Side Star Wars print, a new Assassin’s Creed shirt (Assassin’s Mead), and an M&M R2 plushie.  Oh, and I had a session with the tarot reader. 

General Trends
Not much cosplay in general, but again we were late arrivals.  There was on awesome Barf from Spaceballs that arrived later in the day.  <-- Easily THE BEST costume I saw all day ~Om  Sexy Harley has totally become shorthand for cosplay.  It takes no effort anymore and is pretty ubiquitous.  

Star Wars is popular, but it’s somewhat fading.  According to one vendor “The oddness of Rogue One and the huge gap before Episode VIII is hurting things.  And Fisher’s death is old news so even that’s not carrying much right now.”

Kids want Pokemon and only Pokemon.

Well... I wanted Spawn. I went with my Spawn list and I hoped for extra and new dealers (which I got) and a good selection of Spawn (which I did not get). I saw three books on my want list, and none met my condition requirement of NM+. Two were NM-... a #222 for $15 and a #150 Jim Lee for $40. One (another #150 Jim Lee) was double signed and $50. Too much for me. I cannot even imagine spending $40 for my last Spawn issue, whatever one that might be (likely #156). But anyways, I dressed up in my Spawn t-shirt. I wore my Spawn bracer. I was not coming home without a high grade Spawn book ($1) ~Om 

Stupid stupid Spawn. I need 8 issues from 150 - 222. "The dark years; oh those are good years; wow, tough years." Dealers know just as well as I do the Problem with Spawn just as well as I do. The efficiencies of the modern direct market means that Modern books with distribution < 20,000 copies become genuine collectibles on the secondary market. ~Om

Finally, I fell down the rabbit hole that is Dr. Aphra. I just love this book, the 1st appearance of three very interesting characters, Aphra, BT1, and Triple-Zero. All appear on the cover. I was happy to pay $22 combined for the copies of Darth Vader #3 and cover (no tax) for everything else. 

2nd appearance of Dr. Aphra (#4)

Could not pass up these white covers with all 4 cool new characters- Aphra, the killer droids & Black Krrsantan. I am working on a Dr. Aphra checklist now. 

 

 

 

Finally, I picked two Space Usagi books ($5ea) and some early 1990s Venom books for 50-cent. All in all it was a great, hard-fought  pick!

 

 

Edited February 12, 2017 by oldmilwaukee6er
Formatting

[TheLadySpeaks]

The Lady Speaks. . .Assassins’ Creed Universe Reboot

Ubisoft isn't planning on releasing a new Assassin's Creed  game (code name: Empire) until 2018.  I know people are holding out hope for it late in 2017, probably in the well-established AAA game drop time of late November, but there are signs that the new campaign which will be set in Egypt will not see shelves this year. Den of Geek 

At the end of the year, Titan was running four AC titles: AC, AC: Templars, AC: Awakening, and AC: Locus.  I wasn’t interested in Awakening since it’s manga but our LCS decided I needed them so I do have the first 5 issues.  At some point, I may read them.  In January Titan ended Templars and the flagship title to roll them into AC: Uprising which dropped in Februrary.

Currently the titles in the AC universe are AC: Uprising, AC: Reflections, and AC: Awakening.  Locus was always going to be a 4 issue arc and Reflections is also only a 4 issue arc.  I think they combined Templars and AC in attempt to save the flagging AC title.  Of the three I read, AC was by far the weakest. 

AC: Uprising is 2 issues in and so far it’s chaotic.  Issue one opens with the main character from the old AC, Charlotte de la Cruz attempting to steal intel from an abandoned Templar location in Hong Kong.  The intel is related to the Phoenix Project.  When she gets to the office she finds that Assassins are killing Assassins.  She barely survives the encounter.  Some tricked out Assassin’s in body armor chase her and her tech guy, Guernica.  Then the story jumps to the rest of de la Cruz’s gang in London led by Dutchman Arend Schut-Cunningham.  Admittedly, I didn’t read the last half of the original AC series, so I don’t know how many of these guys are new to the series.

But wait!  We’re not done.  The last bit of the issue is the Black Cross getting new high tech gear and going to the Hong Kong site to investigate.  He talks about rumors of skirmishes amongst the Assassins and that it might be possible the Assassins have turned on one another (although he’s not buying it).  He notices there’s not enough blood as the wounds were cauterized by superheated Assassin’s blade. . .Abstergo Tech.  This might mean the Assassin’s and the Templars are working together.  Black Cross vows to find the underlying cause of the mystery.  Additionally, some lost tech is picked up by two other groups?

And that’s just the first issue.  Pacing has always been a problem with this series as has the need to jump around from story to story.  In the original series the storylines were de la Cruz’s in the animus.  In this series, it looks like we’re going to have multiple groups we will follow.

Issue 2 starts at Abstergo and things are not well.  Then it jumps to the Black Cross in Quebec visiting the Abstergo retreat.  Things do not go well when he accuses the Templars of possibly being spies.  They try to remind him he works for them, he reminds them he works for the Grand Masters and then he leaves in a whirling fog that also somehow carves his mark into the stone floors.  Neat.  Then we’re with de la Cruz getting drunk with her new tech support, My’shell.  They have a philosophical discussion about what it means to be an Assassin, de la Cruz retells the Circular Ruins by Borges and then we’re back to the Templars for a few pages discussing using some found goggles to figure out what’s going on.  And then we’re back to the other Assassins who are now in Germany questioning a guy about why and how Abstergo are able to train Assassins when they couldn’t do much in the past.  He blabs about the Black Cross who shows up, the guy tangles with Black Cross and admits he’s neither Assassin nor Templar.  And then he tries to blow up Black Cross with an Abstergo Tec Classified Endgame Grenade 0.25 Kilotonne.  The issue ends with Black Cross falling into water.  He’s not that easy to kill.

So I know it’s only two issues in, but like the predecessors, the Black Cross is far more interesting than anyone else in the comic.  De la Cruz and pals are still lacking in any real personality and have fallen into the emo hero motif.  There’s not much fun in what they do.

AC: Reflections is a 4 issue mini series commemorating the 10^th anniversary of the franchise.  Let that sink in.  Assassin’s Creed is only 10 years old and has spawned 9 games in the main series, 2 additional games, 8 mobile/handheld games, 7 comic book titles, 1 movie (which I’ll discuss later) and numerous serialized books.  That’s somewhat impressive. 

Anyway, Reflections tells four stories focused on Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Ratonhnhaké:ton (Connor) and Edward Kenway but the lens is through the eyes of modern day Templar, agent Juhani Otso Berg.  This one has only dropped one issue so far.

Issue One covers my favorite Assassin, Ezio.  The issue opens with a dying Leonardo da Vinci who is visited by his old friend, Ezio.  Best exchange in the comic:

da Vinci "Death? Is that you?"
"It's Ezio."
"Same thing."

Ezio regales him with various tales, including how he was saved from death by the woman who would eventually end up the model for the Mona Lisa.  The issue is full of Ezio’s wit and dashing exploits up to and including flirting with married women.  What the Templar takes from it is that Assassins, like Templars value loyalty, love, and compassion.  Somehow they didn't know that for all the millennia they've been fighting?   And this knowledge is valuable to use against the Assassins because love makes you weak, even though the Templar just said love was also important to them.  Okay, I guess.  I think there’s a lot more to take away from Ezio than just that.

The art isn't the strongest in this issue.  It's very cartoony, almost Disney-like.

I’ll be curious what the other 3 issues reveal since both Connor and Edward also had love as a major motivation.  The former was the loss of his mother and the latter the loss of a woman. 

Assassin’s Creed: The Movie  I realize this movie didn’t do well at all at either the box office or with the critics.  According to Box Office Mojo, AC had a budget of $125 million and only made $54.7 million domestically with an additional $182.3 million internationally.  This qualifies it as a financial flop.  Rotten Tomatoes has it rated at a dismal 17%.  Definitely a flop.

 AC made a classic mistake that video game movies make, it was planning on being a trilogy.  Such a move has to be handled just so.  You can’t alienate your core base, but you also want to bring in new viewers.  Unfortunately, AC didn’t do a great job of balancing the two audiences.  It’s not a terrible move, by any stretch, but it wasn’t as compelling as it could have been.

As such, the first entry was heavy on back story, world building, and character development and light on action.  AC fans don’t want to slog through a ton of back story set in the real world.  I think the first 15 minutes followed Cal as a child.  Now, I realize this is a huge debate in the AC community as some players love the modern world components while others, such as myself, can’t stand being out of the Animus/Helix and want to be in the historical story.  There was too much real world for me.  For those not familiar with the game, I don’t think the movie did a good job introducing the key concepts of the Helix and the ideas of genetic memories.  It was sort of muddled in the prison breakout story line. 

I did like that they introduced a new Assassin as opposed to trying to bring to life one of the existing Assassins.  That was a smart move.  I want to see a second movie, to see where it goes.  I don’t think that’s going to happen, though.  Like World of Warcraft (another movie designed to be a trilogy and tried to do too much) this one is probably dead on the vine. 

The casting was fine.  Was Michael Fassbender the best choice?  I don’t know.  He wasn’t particularly charismatic as either Cal Lynch or Aguilar.  I realize not every Assassin is going to be Edward, Jacob, or Ezio but he really didn’t win you over.  I would have liked to see him enjoying himself in the role and that never happened. Marion Cotillard was okay.  Her motivations were chaotic and inconsistent.  Jeremy Irons is Jeremy Irons.  You know what you’re going to get. 

Here’s the thing, though.  The CGI sequences were fun.  For me the movie was worth it to see the Leaps of Faith and the battle scenes.  There were moments where it felt like the video game and I appreciated those moments. 

In summation, Assassin’s Creed was a decent origin flick with a lot of potential going forward.

ETA: Apparently UbiSoft isn't abandoning the multimedia aspect of its franchise.  Rumor has it that not only is there a sequel to the movie in the works but UbiSoft is also developing a television series. Many fans are hoping the television series is handled by Netflix. The movie will star Michael Williams (Omar from The Wire) instead of Fassbender. 

Edited March 26, 2017 by TheLadySpeaks
New Information

[TheLadySpeaks]

The Lady Speaks. . .Comicverse Comic Convention and Toy Show

It wasn’t quite dueling comic cons, but it was close.  Mighty Con was set up in Madison on Sunday, March 19^th and here in Milwaukee Comicverse hosted one of its events.  Comicverse recently re-opened the Turning Page on Milwaukee’s East Side after the original owner passed a few months ago.  The re-opening of the Turning Page could be a great thing for those of us on the East Side since right now we’re serviced solely by The Collector’s Edge and that hasn’t always been the most consistent experience.

Apparently Comicverse has been putting on comic shows in Milwaukee for at least a few years (my research showed a few dates in 2016) but I’ve never crossed paths with it before.  According to information for a January 2017 show the normal Comicverse Comic Convention site was at an American Legion Post in Milwaukee but with Mighty Con moving to the Fairgrounds this allowed Comicverse to set up at the Serb Hall.  Entry was only $2 and with no artists, cosplayers, quasi-celebs advertised, it seemed like it would be worth checking out.  We arrived around 2pm (Liverpool vs Man City detained us) with a picking budget of $40 each.  The show opened at 10:30 and went until 4 so we figured we’d be hitting it at a light crowd time.  We were right.

In essence, this is a Burnham Bowl show with a strict focus on comics and toys although some posters snuck in, I noticed.  Many of the dealers are the same as Burnham but the space is larger so it’s easier to go through back issue boxes.  There were a few unfamiliar dealers.  One I spoke to who specialized in bundled comics (which I think is genius) and horror comics came from two hours away.  He said “Milwaukee loves their horror comics.” 

Normally I skip back issue boxes because people are gumming up the works.  Also, I hate digging through boxes that aren’t alphabetized.  I mean, I did this time because there was space, but I find that super annoying.  This is a great show for $.50 and $1.00 books but not so great for graphic novels (basically everyone wanted at least $10 for a graphic novel and some omnibuses were as high as $45).  I managed to find some Grendel’s off my wish list. 

I was sad to note that Assassin’s Creed is already making its way into the bargain boxes and I was surprised to see so many of DC’s Rebirth #1’s in the bargain boxes.  OM explained it was due to over ordering to get the variant cover and I understand that, but it’s still a little sad to see so many brand new books selling for $.50.

We were done in about an hour which might be a record for us.  I spent a grand total of $4.  Not only was the show smallish but the bowling alley was closed so we couldn’t sit and regroup like we like to.  On top of that, Serb Hall has removed their vending machines so even buying a soda to sip on was out of the question.  With no lounging area to repack and go through lists before round 2, there wasn’t much incentive to hang around.  So we bugged and hit up McBob’s for the best Rueben in town.

I recently read an article about Cleveland’s con scene.  The gist of the article is that Wizard World’s pomp and circumstance combined with celebrity worship is driving a new comic scene in which the focus is on comics and only comics.  The article also highlighted that artists and writers are excluded from Wizard World in favor of celebrities so the writers and artists are also looking for new shows.  Basically smaller shows are popping up to give comic collectors, artists, and writers a venue in which they can concentrate on their collecting without having to navigate cosplayers, celebrity autograph hounds, and crowds.  And also not have to pay outrageous ticket prices to get into the con.

I normally think of Milwaukee being oversaturated with comic cons but maybe I’ve been looking at it from the wrong perspective.  Maybe having Burnham, Mighty Con, and Comicverse all in the same city is a good thing for collectors and people who want to go to a con without having to pay $35 a day to do it.  Mighty Con definitely brings in artists and writers while also hosting a variety of vendors ranging from jewelry to comics to glassware and so forth.  Mighty Con’s crowds get larger with every show.  Burnham is every other month and has mostly comics and toys but because of its frequency and low table cost, you see a fair amount of variety.  Unfortunately, Burnham’s small venue size makes competition for back issues pretty fierce.  However, Burnham beats all the competition for having one of the best cheap burgers in town.  Comicverse is an even more stripped down version of Burnham and could easily be advertised as a pop-up comic book store. 

Wizard World isn’t coming back to Madison until September which means Wizard World Chicago will be the next major show I attend.  We’d batted around the idea of E2C2 but the timing is just too difficult with my teaching schedule.  Until then I’ll amuse myself with Milwaukee’s smaller cons.  There’s 3 Burnham Bowls before Wizard World.  Comicverse has another show scheduled for June 18th at Serb Hall while Mighty Con has one the following week at State Fair Park.   That's five warmup shows before the big dance in Chicago.

 

[oldmilwaukee6er]

I have been itching for a good comic purchase and having recently completed a Dr. Aphra want list, I pulled the trigger and bought the following 8 issues from eBay, along with Dr. Aphra #1 (not pictured) for $25 shipped.

 

2nd print. Normally I would not buy the reprints, but I was happy to add NM copies of the 2nd and 3rd print to my short box

 

 

3rd print

 

Halloween give-away.
My LCS did not have this. Again, not one I would have sought out, but happy to add a NM copy to my collection.
 

 

#8

Not a fan of this Larocca cover (Aphra’s expression, namely), but I want to collect Dr. Aphra covers before her solo series and I especially want covers that feature her alongside Triple-Zero and Bee-tee.

 

#10 (hint of an origin story in this one). 
I was also able to pick up reader copies of #8 and #10 for $1 at the Comicverse show.

 

 

#21

 I like this cover… two droids walk into a bar. Aphra trying to stop Triple-Zero and Bee-tee from murdering people is sometimes a funny trope in the comics.
 

 

#22

Not an Aphra cover; my eBay seller was mistaken, but no matter b/c while this one is not on my want list, it does have Aphra inside. Instead, this cover features Tulon Voidgazer a female human genius engineered and trained by Doctor Cylo to replace the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader as Darth Sidious' enforcer (from the Wookiepedia).

 

 

#25 action figure

In looking through all the covers at once, I am drawn to how differently Aphra is portrayed. Sometimes more good girl art (GGA), sometimes more ethnic, and here she looks totally different!  
 

 

Edited March 27, 2017 by oldmilwaukee6er
Photos

[oldmilwaukee6er]

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. It happens like that from time to time. Spring quarter is in full swing and the lady is locked up in teaching, scholarship and service. I am perpetually dissatisfied with my work life and actively on the job market. I have had a few nibbles, took two extra online courses to give me an outlet (and a safety line) and generally redraft my resignation letter on a weekly basis.

So, we did like normal, rational humans and ran off to Europe during the lady’s Spring Break! Three nights in Paris, followed by 3 nights in Venice and a final nightcap in Paris before flying back into Chicago and into the thick of it. Finally, last week took me away from the house every single night through SAT, whether for immediate family (twice), my LEED study group, bar trivia with the boys, rock show (Galactic w/ Hip Abduction), or a roller-skating birthday party. Toward the change that was and is, we also started in on some good old-fashioned “financial panthering” (aka planning; after The Simpson’s). Basically, finishing taxes, putting the finances back into control, and setting new budgetary goals.

 

 

 

But not before running to the glorious Lost World of Wonders on a SUN to see if I can grab any Star Wars comics off my want list! As well as two new short boxes (1 for each) and some more Silver Age bags and boards.

 

Poe Dameron #1 ($5.50; 1^st Poe & BB-8 in comics)

 

 

 

Star Wars #4 – 6 (1^st Sana Starros)

Sana appears masked and with dialog in #4, masked in #5, and named at the end of #6. Let the fanboys duke this one out, ‘cause I got ‘em all ($4.00-4.50 each).

 

 

 

 

Dr. Aphra #3 variant ($7)

While it does not have the fair lady on the cover, I like the characters and the cool Triple-Zero and Bee-tee cover. This variant never hit my LCS.

 

 

 

Dr. Aphra #5 ($4)

While I no longer subscribe to Aphra, I have decided to grab the title off the shelf from time to time.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 27, 2017 by oldmilwaukee6er

[TheLadySpeaks]

The Lady Speaks. . .Setting Up at Burnham Bowl

On a lark (at least as far as I was concerned) OM and I decided to set up at Burnham on Sunday, April 2.  OM was able to secure two tables which meant we had ample room not only to display our wares but to sit.  I didn't contribute much to the goods, just a set of Alan Moore's Lost Girls, a few leather bound journals, and a few bundles of comics.  Comic bundles of modern comics happened to be the bulk of what we brought.  We had everything from Tokyo Ghost to Jem to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol 2 to some random bundles of Star Wars titles.  OM also brought along two short boxes of oddities.  One thing OM likes to do is make magnets so we had a ton of those.  Normally the magnets are good for half the table, but on Sunday they weren't selling well although they garnered more than their fair share of looks.  The rest of the merchandise consisted of the top half of a spinner rack with a really nice litho, a Voodoo game from the makers of Cooties, some iron-on t-shirt transfers, a Superhog lunch box with thermos and sandwich container, a case full of Nintendo NES games, and probably some things I'm missing. 

As with any good show, we pretty much made our table by the time the show opened to the public.  The other sellers were in buying moods and we were able to capitalize.  Oddly for us, neither of us really made the rounds in earnest.  I actually never went farther than the table across from us and that was only to buy a $1 Venom PopFunko key chain.  I don't even like Venom, but the key chain was (allow me to get girly here) super cute.  Our only other expenditures were on a pitcher of soda, two cheeseburgers (no fries), and a celebratory adult bevie at the end of the show.  In the end, we made a decent profit for a bi-mon bowling alley con.

The crowd was interesting.  Toys are the big attraction for the first hour or two.  It's a lot of families with kids and the focus is toys, toys, toys.  Around 1 or so the comic guys show up, but they're really only interested in either $.50 boxes or Silver Age titles.  There wasn't as much interest in the modern books as I would have expected.  After having attended this show for the past 6 or so years, you get to know the regulars but seeing them from the other side of the table is quite the experience.  Some of those guys easily drop $300-400 dollars on toys and comics.  You can tell they save up for it.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of attendees were people I see there at every Burnham show.  There wasn't much in the way of "new blood."  This brings up some interesting questions.

As I've posted about before there is a concern that Milwaukee has reached comic con saturation.  I heard people rumbling about it a little bit on Sunday.  At the one end of the spectrum we have Mighty Con, or Wizard World light. 

And I mean super light, although it seems like it's expanding more into entertainment.  A Mighty Con show offers a huge variety of vendors that aren't limited to comics and toys.  Mighty Con also has a vibrant cosplay community and has been incorporating more gaming aspects, too.  ETA: For the June show, they've added Chris Claremont as a guest.

At the other end of the spectrum we have the "Alan Shows," stripped down motel shows with a limited number of vendors and a focus that is primarily on comics.  We don't attend many Alan shows.  I bet it's been close to two years since the last one.  In the past we've had some success with those shows.  I'm pretty sure I completed my Sandman run at an Alan show.

Between Mighty Con and Alan, we have Comicverse and Burnham. 

Burnham is the elder statesmen of the con scene.  I'm not even sure how long it's been running, but decades isn't an exaggeration.  Because it's an institution there are many people committed to keeping Burnham alive.  It's reliable.  You know exactly when it's going to be held and where it's going to be held.  The dealers do vary given any number of factors (time of the year, weather, what other cons are happening, etc) but fall into early winter tends to offer the greatest diversity of goods.  Burnham is cheap for dealers to set up and there is the added amenity of a bowling alley with a full bar and kitchen.  Unfortunately, if you are a regular a Burnham you learn quickly who restocks their goods and who doesn't which means if you have a specific want list you can be aced out for long stretches.   Lastly, Burnham doesn't advertise.  They have flyers at each show for the next show but that's it.  There is no online presence, no television advertising, nothing.  It would be easy to dismiss the lack of advertising as a shortcoming, but I wonder if it's not intentional to keep the crowds small. 

Comicverse is relatively new.  I've only been to one.  Like Burnham the focus is on comics and toys.  It appeared from the one show I attended that they are very much devoted to keeping that narrow focus.  Comicverse had a ton of back issues and ample space for rifling through the boxes.  Since I hadn't attended one at the American Legion Hall, I don't know if that's always been the case.  The drawback for Comicverse that I saw was that Serb Hall's bowling alley was closed and there were no vending machines so if you didn't bring a bevie with you, you were out of luck.  Most of the core vendors at Comicverse are from Burnham. 

The question is: Is Mighty Con affecting the other cons in the area?  It's hard to say.  Mighty Con is only getting bigger with every iteration and the expansion into other areas of pop culture definitely seems to bode well for it.  Would the people who go to Mighty Con attend Burnham if they knew about Burnham?  Comicverse will be the key to that answer I suspect.  They are aggressive with their advertising so it will be interesting to see if their June 18th show brings in more crowds.  But it will be a real test of con fortitude.  Burnham is June 4, Comicverse is June 18, and Mighty Con is June 24.  That's three cons in one month.  Who will come out on top? 

 

Edited April 6, 2017 by TheLadySpeaks
Added pictures

[oldmilwaukee6er]

RE: Burnham Bowl

I slipped a disc in my low back on load-in.

OUCH. Needless to say that kinda hampered my picking and I was content to work the booth and stretch out my back. The cheeseburger was bowling alley fresh! 

The show was fun (grossed $160+, netted me $95 after the lady's cut)- it gave us motivation to get all our grading done on SAT, so we could enjoy each other's company all day SUN. We had a lovely dinner together afterwards. 

Another dealer brought me a WHOLE long box of underground comix to organize, price and grade within 2 weeks; All the underground comix that came out of the old Turning Page basement.

Because I have had work, professional development and fun (read: bar trivia) commitments all this week, I have not been able to start the project, but I am looking forward to it this weekend.

I get to keep track of my time, get paid a little, and possibly even a nice book or two. What fun! 

 

[Brother J]

On 4/6/2017 at 0:46 PM, oldmilwaukee6er said:

 

Another dealer brought me a WHOLE long box of underground comix to organize, price and grade within 2 weeks; All the underground comix that came out of the old Turning Page basement.

Because I have had work, professional development and fun (read: bar trivia) commitments all this week, I have not been able to start the project, but I am looking forward to it this weekend.

I get to keep track of my time, get paid a little, and possibly even a nice book or two. What fun! 

 

Wow, nice stuff, I always imagined there were some undergrounds hiding somewhere in the mess that was the Turning Page. I also used to go there attempting to find Pre-Unity Valiant, but I never found any of those, either. It sounds like everything decent was hiding in the basement.

[Brother J]

BTW, just read Grendel #1-40 and War Child #1-10. Fantastic stuff. I've had them in my collection for a long time, but bumped them up in my reading pile with the multiple mentions of the series in your journal here.

[oldmilwaukee6er]

Hobos ain't got no bosses

 

Soundtrack:

 

 

I have been working too much lately, doubling down with training, side jobs, bar trivia, volunteering that has stretched my days from 530am to 1000pm with precious downtime with the lady. 

Therefore, as spring blossoms and my wanderlust and perpetual dissatisfaction with work life sets in, ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN jumped out at me. I enjoyed the read; the dialog is snappy with the right amount of Southern indulgence (a few fave’s were “that was my vittles money” or “hobos ain’t got no bosses, stiff, that’s half the damn point”), the Scott-Morse-like pencils / inks coupled with the grungy colors work well for a RATED M / MATURE book that tracks two hobos- mysterious Jackson and greenhorn Paloma- to Kentucky by way of Hell for unfinished business. Veteran hobo Jackson carries a small “Captain Jack Sparrow-like” compass that points the way to the mythical Rock Candy Mountain, the nirvana that is more than just a song. Along the way, Jackson and Pomona tangle with the hobo mafia while the “Literal Devil” pursues them from behind. Oh and hobo fights. Lots of hobo fights.

 

The book includes this short essay on the history of the song. It immediately caught my eye. Each issue takes a portion of the song and exposes on it. #2 is “The bulldogs all have rubber teeth” and #3 “Beside the crystal fountain.”

 

Finally, it had a preview of Jim Mahfood’s latest modern comix series (Grrl Scouts)! 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2017 by oldmilwaukee6er