Crazy Run up on price than crash and burn. And I mean BURN! 3 3

[comix4fun]

I remember convention dealing in the late 80's and early 90's.

I had found a guy with 25 copies of ASM 149 ranging from VF- to NM/M. I knew from Previews and Retailer meetings that Marvel had a big push centered around the Clone coming. So I was seeking out that run in ASM, and especially 149, for months before the news hit. They cost me $10-12 a piece, which was a premium at the time, but I was stockpiling.

Then late summer/early fall 1994 the word was out and everyone wanted issue #149. "It's gonna be the next #129!!!" was the cry of fans. 

I remember doing one show late that year when I finally decided it was time to sell them. It was a small one day show in the Chicago burbs. I put out the lowest condition copy first at 9 am..I think at $90. That sold in 2 minutes and I would pull out the next lowest copy, working my way up in condition and price, throughout the day. No copy lasted longer than 10 minutes on the wall. 

By the time 4 pm rolled around I had 3 copies left (A NM, NM/MT, and a VF that was misfiled and I had skipped over). The NM was now on the wall for $450. A guy hemmed and hawed and tried to negotiate for a discount, but when another guy wanted to see it if he passed the first guy just bought it at full asking.  I decided I wanted to keep the NM/MT so I put the VF on the wall. I priced it at $295 and the guy with the booth next to me (nothing high end, looked like a collector clearing stuff out) walked over and said "How about everything my booth for that #149 on the wall...oh and $100 bucks". I said I wasn't interested in taking his whole booth and paying him $100. Then he clarified and said he wanted to give me his whole booth and give ME the $100 for that copy. 

It was nothing great, 100-150 issue runs of unread modern Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, X-men, ASM, and some indies. 8 long boxes total, 25 assorted non-sport card sets and 30-40 carded action figures. He said his girlfriend wanted the stuff gone, but he could get away with one or two nice comics....so he wanted to dump everything on me for the one copy of ASM 149. So I took it. I sold the runs in lots and the sports cards and toys over the coming year for probably $500 total, just to blow everything out. 

A year later I don't think I could have gotten $50 for one of those #149's. CGC grading changed everything and the book had a resurgence, but it was dead as disco by 1996. 

It was the wild west back then....like Magnus Robot Fighter #12 (First Valiant Turok)....I was getting $150 for NM copies without any resistance and I sold dozens of them...that's a book that dropped below $10, maybe below $5 when everything came crashing down. 

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by comix4fun

[comix4fun]

1 minute ago, grayzr said:

It's just not a show for non fans like walking dead was. I say was because walking dead is going into the toilet as well. Almost feels like someone on the TV team is trying to sabotage the show because it literally can't get any worse.

[1Cool]

2 hours ago, The Resurrection said:

Marvel Two in One #52 was going crazy for awhile, selling raws for $30-45.00 and 9.8's over $200 and now is back to being a $5-10.00 book

Saw a few in the $2 boxes last weekend and passed on it.  Thor 344 was also everywhere for $2 and people were passing.   A couple guys sifting thru books beside me actually commented about Thor 344 and how far it fell and so quickly.

[Old Fashion PB and J]

46 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

Saw a few in the $2 boxes last weekend and passed on it.  Thor 344 was also everywhere for $2 and people were passing.   A couple guys sifting thru books beside me actually commented about Thor 344 and how far it fell and so quickly.

 Another good one!

[joeypost]

On 5/24/2018 at 12:19 PM, marmat said:

The Sixth Gun 1

This one fell like a rock...while copies were in the process of being graded. Never forget some of the frantic emails I got for customers to see if CGC would allow their copies to be pulled and be spared the cost of grading. 

[ygogolak]

1 hour ago, grayzr said:

It's just not a show for non fans like walking dead was. I say was because walking dead is going into the toilet as well. Almost feels like someone on the TV team is trying to sabotage the show because it literally can't get any worse.

Ha, I actually had a friend who didn't know if was a comic book show ask me if I had seen it because they liked it. I think it would be good if it was just written as a new concept.

[Ken Aldred]

First series Gen 13 # 1

[F For Fake]

7 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

Ha, I actually had a friend who didn't know if was a comic book show ask me if I had seen it because they liked it. I think it would be good if it was just written as a new concept.

The Missus and I enjoy Preacher. She knows zero about the comics, and it's been so long since I read them, I don't remember a lot about them, so we just enjoy it for what it is. The leads are appealing and enjoyable, and it's a fun, weird, violent little show. So many people seem hung up on the fact that it apparently doesn't resemble the comics very closely. Who cares? The comic is the comic, the show is the show.

[Ken Aldred]

Just now, F For Fake said:

The Missus and I enjoy Preacher. She knows zero about the comics, and it's been so long since I read them, I don't remember a lot about them, so we just enjoy it for what it is. The leads are appealing and enjoyable, and it's a fun, weird, violent little show. So many people seem hung up on the fact that it apparently doesn't resemble the comics very closely. Who cares? The comic is the comic, the show is the show.

It was entertaining enough. Not exactly a huge fan of Garth Ennis, and so I wasn't too bothered by the omission of some of his excesses by the show.

[F For Fake]

Just now, Ken Aldred said:

First series Gen 13 # 1

Yes, absolutely! I remember buying that one off of the wall when I was working at the LCS for about $60. As recently as a year or so ago, I was fishing them out of dollar bins, and have amassed a decent stack of them. (It helps that I also have a great affinity for that initial run). The book seems to be creeping back up a bit these days (seems to be a steady seller around $10 raw NM) but nothing at all like the insanity of those days. 

[ygogolak]

5 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

The Missus and I enjoy Preacher. She knows zero about the comics, and it's been so long since I read them, I don't remember a lot about them, so we just enjoy it for what it is. The leads are appealing and enjoyable, and it's a fun, weird, violent little show. So many people seem hung up on the fact that it apparently doesn't resemble the comics very closely. Who cares? The comic is the comic, the show is the show.

3 minutes ago, Ken Aldred said:

It was entertaining enough. Not exactly a huge fan of Garth Ennis, and so I wasn't too bothered by the omission of some of his excesses by the show.

The only thing that resembled the comic in the first season of the show were the three main characters. The story was not really part of the comics. I think a lot of the comic people were also upset of casting the main female, Tulip, who is Ethiopian instead of the White blond in the comics.

Preacher is a Modern classic series. Similar to Rick having both hands in TWD, but the story in the comics and TV show are almost identical in TWD.

 

[Ken Aldred]

1 minute ago, ygogolak said:

The only thing that resembled the comic in the first season of the show were the three main characters. The story was not really part of the comics. I think a lot of the comic people were also upset of casting the main female, Tulip, who is Ethiopian instead of the White blond in the comics.

Preacher is a Modern classic series. Similar to Rick having both hands in TWD, but the story in the comics and TV show are almost identical in TWD.

 

I was being a bit diplomatic. I really, really don't like Garth Ennis' writing.

[F For Fake]

1 minute ago, ygogolak said:

The only thing that resembled the comic in the first season of the show were the three main characters. The story was not really part of the comics. I think a lot of the comic people were also upset of casting the main female, Tulip, who is Ethiopian instead of the White blond in the comics.

Preacher is a Modern classic series. Similar to Rick having both hands in TWD, but the story in the comics and TV show are almost identical in TWD.

 

I read Preacher as it was coming out, and really loved it at the time, but have never returned to it (too many new things to read.) But it makes sense that the hardcore fans may be turned off by the tone and the unrelated story of the first season. It's pretty different, from what I recall. But I still enjoy it, and am looking forward to watching the new season. I'm assuming most of the comic fans probably checked out a while back, but the previews look more like what I remember of the books. Maybe too little too late to woo the comic fans back?

[ygogolak]

Just now, Ken Aldred said:

I was being a bit diplomatic. I really, really don't like Garth Ennis' writing.

Ha, just because of how graphic it is?

[F For Fake]

Just now, Ken Aldred said:

I was being a bit diplomatic. I really, really don't like Garth Ennis' writing.

Tell us how you really feel, Ken. Let it out!

[F For Fake]

5 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

The only thing that resembled the comic in the first season of the show were the three main characters. The story was not really part of the comics. I think a lot of the comic people were also upset of casting the main female, Tulip, who is Ethiopian instead of the White blond in the comics.

Preacher is a Modern classic series. Similar to Rick having both hands in TWD, but the story in the comics and TV show are almost identical in TWD.

 

Also a factor in my enjoyment: Ruth Negga is super cute.

[F For Fake]

2 minutes ago, Ken Aldred said:

I was being a bit diplomatic. I really, really don't like Garth Ennis' writing.

Ennis is hit or miss with me. I adored his Hellblazer run, and have good memories of Preacher. Didn't care for the Punisher stuff, or a lot of the random war books.

[ygogolak]

2 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

Also a factor in my enjoyment: Ruth Negga is super cute.

A cute badass, what's not to like?

[F For Fake]

3 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

A cute badass, what's not to like?

Agreed 100%.

[Ken Aldred]

15 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

Tell us how you really feel, Ken. Let it out!

I find the frequent graphic scenes and general attitude a bit too sadistic. I've never been one for sniggering at someone else's misfortune, and I feel there's a lot of that in Ennis's work generally. When I've had a discussion about this in a comic shop, a common explanation is that the excesses are justifiable within the context of the story, but I just don't get it. 

Edited May 25, 2018 by Ken Aldred