I Don't Want Old Grails 2 2

[mackenzie999]

58 minutes ago, nonquixote said:

I don't read comics anymore. I started collecting in the 1970's, and loved the stories. Now though, panel by panel storytelling doesn't do anything for me. I still appreciate the cover art, the nostalgia factor, and the value of my books, but I'm no longer a comic reader, and prefer novels.

Same.

[Comics4All]

Hulk 181 has bad art, bad story????

Do you like the 90s books still or are you saying you don't like any comics from any age? 

 Folks, Sounds like Friday to me.....

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Comics4All

[Comics4All]

Also feel free to allow me to take your GA, SA & BA off your hands ....

[THE_BEYONDER]

14 minutes ago, Comics4All said:

Hulk 181 has bad art

 

I concur 

[Comics4All]

13 minutes ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

I concur 

TBH, I much preferred John Byrne's version of Wendigo, something about the nose looked off to me .....

[D2]

1 hour ago, Ryan. said:

This is actually WHY I enjoy collecting Golden Age books. They were published decades before I was born and thus have the ability to transport me to a past that I only understand anecdotally. I suffer under no delusions that most, or even any, of the GA books I chase have any real literary merit, and the art is often terrible, at least on the interior. However, looking at a LB Cole sci-fi cover gives me a sense of nostalgia for a time I did not exist in.

On the flip side, I also collect TMNT stuff, mostly because it connects me more directly to my own childhood when there was nothing more important in the world than what was happening on that afternoon's episode of the cartoon series. I still remember seeing the trailer for the TMNT movie for the first time and I have never been more excited about anything before or since than I was in that very moment. 

See I wish I had that. I don't... I enjoy and respect the zeitgeist of it. I can appreciate the era it was written in, and the creative force and the movement behind it all. I can read some of it, and get through it, but that surge or energy with reading 

I can't say that I completely void of nostalgia either. I still like Tim Burton's Batman movie, and have a hard time seeing that movie through anything than my own kid eyes of wonderment.

 

1 hour ago, iggykoopa said:

Include me in the "confused" group, please.

 

1 hour ago, mackenzie999 said:

If I were his editor I would cut it down to "doesn't like books."

 

I guess to clarify my point on my reading preferences, I have found myself gravitating towards very certain and very specific reads that I have a true respect and admiration for. The time it was written is irrelevant to me, but I find people generally gravitate towards a certain 'era' or reading. Where I have come to find that isn't the case for me. I was just trying to illustrate how, even through nostalgia, hasn't really given me that love for any particular book or series, or even author.

 

2 hours ago, F For Fake said:

People like what they like. You should collect what you like.

I was a copper kid (but not Copper Age Kid...that's an important distinction!) so my nostalgia is largely tied to the 80's and 90's. But I love Silver and Bronze keys because those were the books that I aspired to own as a kid. Those were "old", and "old" was cool. Of course, let's not consider the fact that there's a lot more time between the Copper Age and present day than there was between the Silver and Copper age. Ugh. I'm old. Today, they're that much older, and I love them not because they're great reads (they're usually not), but because of the historical value, the cover art, etc. I don't need to read Avengers 4 to love the book. Heck, Hulk 1-6 are TERRIBLE reads (sorry, fans!), but I LOVE those books, because who wouldn't love those ancient, weird Marvels with the awesome covers, there in the early days of the Marvel Universe? I've never owned a Hulk 1, but I've owned multiples of 2-6, and even though I hope i never have to read them again, I still LOVE those books. Silver Age DC's are legendarily corny, but I still love 'em. One reading will suffice for a lifetime, but owning the books and enjoying their place in comics history, that never goes away, for me.

The truth is, if you're looking for comic writing that stands up to the test of time...there isn't much to be found. Most Gold, Silver, Bronze, and yeah, even copper, books are fairly cheesy by current standards. And then 90's, ugh. Somehow even worse! But there are always exceptions. As a reader, I find most Golden Age hero books to be a real chore to get through. However, I do legitimately love Jack Cole's Plastic Man, Eisner's Spirit, and a few others. And most of the horror books are still a joy to read. And EC? Man, EC's are still dynamite!

Of course, today, it doesn't matter much what I think about the content. Grails are generally far beyond my grasp, and hell, bronze and copper keys are fast approaching that threshold as well. 

 

There are the exceptions! I think that's where my collecting needs stem from. I guess I just feel lost in the comic shuffle where all everyone ever talks about is that need to attain the holiest of holy grails and I don't understand the obsession, especially with those void of nostalgia for that specific book.

You did highlight a key point though I wonder too, if that impacted the direction that bothers me so much, the comics code. Horror pre code I hear is a great read! less corny even?

 

2 hours ago, seanfingh said:

This is how I always felt about Golden Age. I had no connection to it, other than Jules Pfeiffer's book.  Plus by the time I was actively collecting in the mid-80s they were way out of my league price wise.  I don't think you should feel sad or bad about not wanting older books. It should be about whatever makes you happy.  You will take some flack about collecting "drek" but it's all good. Everyone's books were drek at one time or another.

 

I think that's usually what causes it, the bombardment of drek collecting. What I have is wrong... meanwhile, it's really just the rereads that I'm lurking for. I'm glad I am not the only one though, minority sure, but felt singled out on collecting habits a bit.

[THE_BEYONDER]

14 minutes ago, Comics4All said:

TBH, I much preferred John Byrne's version of Wendigo, something about the nose looked off to me .....

Love X-men 140

[D2]

2 hours ago, Angel of Death said:

Good. More for everyone else.

How you haven't been banned yet is beyond me.

I didn't even realize you posted in this thread because I have you blocked. Unfortunately someone quoted your drivel.

 

If you want to participate in a genuine conversation, then by all means stay, but if all you can find yourself doing is trolling others, I recommend you leave.

[thehumantorch]

2 hours ago, nonquixote said:

I don't read comics anymore. I started collecting in the 1970's, and loved the stories. Now though, panel by panel storytelling doesn't do anything for me. I still appreciate the cover art, the nostalgia factor, and the value of my books, but I'm no longer a comic reader, and prefer novels.

Actually, you describe where I'm at in the hobby very well.  I don't have a pull list and haven't in about 5 years and I think the last comic I read was the Walking Dead run in omnibus form.  I'd much rather tuck into a great novel or non fiction book than a comic.  Meanwhile I still have a decent collection of older books and continue to add to it.

[Math Teacher]

I guess I'm the exact opposite. When I began collecting again, I looked for books that I had yearned for when I was younger. I remember seeing pictures of these books in the Overstreet Price Guide, and I just thought, "How cool would it be if I had one of those books?" I remember when I got my Showcase #22 from Ebay. I said to myself, "I have only seen pictures of this book, or I have seen this book up on the wall at cons. Now I own this book." I NEVER thought I would would own a Showcase #22. Since then, I now have all the Marvel SA keys except for TtA #44. I had previously owned FF #1, AF #15, SM #1, and DD #1. I have since added AV #1, IH #1, ToS #39, XM #1, JiM #83, TtA #27, and SFahHC #1. I have also gotten several DC SA keys, such as SC #22, BatB #28, and JLA #1. along with a complete run of BatB #1 - #24 (reader copies). I have now moved on to the upgrading stage of my collecting, although I am considering working on collecting Rex, the Wonder Dog. Plenty of people, including me, have FF #1 - #10. How many people do you know that have Rex, the Wonder Dog #1 - #46?

My wife and I have virtually no debt. As a retired teacher, I am drawing my IPERS pension, and I earn $2000+ each month as a substitute teacher. We have plenty of disposable income, although we spend way too much on our grandchildren. However, spoiling is in the job description for grandparents.

Now that I can afford it, I have been trying to get the books that I had always dreamed about owning.

Edited January 8, 2021 by Math Teacher

[thehumantorch]

3 hours ago, D2 said:

I'm sure this is going to stir up some buzz, as I understand there is a definitive line between old collectors, that focus on Golden and Silver Age books, and Modern Age readers/collectors.... let's leave the speculators out of this, if at all possible...

 

Because this is a topic I'm curious about, which is based on the essential collecting, not the speculation market. 

 

I say this ahead of time, because I know, from a 'collecting', 'financial' perspective, these books are going up in value...  BUT

 

I don't like old grails. I don't want them. I'm 40 and clearly, doing the math, did not grow up reading books from the 70s and earlier. I got into reading books in the 90s... and yes, books that I read back then hold a special place in my heart. I appreciate and understand nostalgia very well.

I guess my point is, specifically to, Hulk 181 let's say... I've read that issue, it's awful. The art is awful, the story is awful, the book is awful. I have absolutely zero interest in having it in my collection. Bragging rights, as it were, doesn't entice me as much as it does the price tag it demands just to own it. To say I own the '1st appearance of...' does not hold value to me anymore. That is my speculator talking.

 

From a reader and true collector point of view... I struggle with old books, because reading them now is very difficult. This holds true for almost all books I grew up with as well. I own zero books from my old reading days, the 90s. I've reread them. They are awful. Now this isn't true for all old books. I believe that DKR is still a masterpiece for instance. I still thoroughly enjoy reading Days of Future Past. I'm not saying all old books are garbage, but I have a hard time appreciating anything now that doesn't hold the test of time.

Just to be clear, I also think most new books are garbage too lol. Just leveling the playing field.

Anyway, am I really the only one that feels this way? It seems so... but I don't know... just curious really.

Much like music I think the comics that resonate with us are the comics we read in our teens or early 20s.

[Funnybooks]

As collectors, we've all been at both ends of the spectrum at one or more points along the way..it's a natural ebb and flow...you may find yourself back on the other side in the future

[kav]

I started collecting in the 60s and continued to the 80s.  I stopped dead in the 90s, picked it back up in 2000.
the end.

[Comics4All]

13 minutes ago, kav said:

I started collecting in the 60s and continued to the 80s.  I stopped dead in the 90s, picked it back up in 2000.
the end.

YOU CAN COLLECT WHAT YOU WANT!

[ectocooler]

I like Hulk 181 exactly for that reason. It was a filler comic of which its historical importance has far outweighed its quality. The first of something isn’t always the best. There are far better Wolverine stories out there, but they wouldn’t exist without a few guys trying to do something interesting in an otherwise mediocre gig.

[Jeffro.]

1 hour ago, Comics4All said:

Hulk 181 has bad art, bad story????

Not a big fan of Trimpe's art. 

[kav]

If you just collect 90s grails arent there only like 2 of them?

[Ken Aldred]

3 hours ago, engelhard said:

the 90's was not all bad

 

I agree.

Every decade, Golden Age onwards, has a small number of comics with outstanding story and art, and a lot of mediocre-to-terrible material. No decade’s immune to that limitation.

That’s still a subjective statement, and there are different perceptions of those qualities out there that you just have to accept exist, rather than keep fretting about it.  There isn’t going to be a universal consensus.  

Better to focus on and get the most out of your own interpretation.

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Ken Aldred

[valiantman]

2 hours ago, Math Teacher said:

I guess I'm the exact opposite. When I began collecting again, I looked for books that I had yearned for when I was younger. I remember seeing pictures of these books in the Overstreet Price Guide, and I just thought, "How cool would it be if I had one of those books?"

Same, but because I'm very close in age to the topic author, those books for me were Harbinger #1, Solar #10, Rai #3, X-O Manowar #1, and almost 20 years ago I registered on this board as "Valiantman". 

[Mercury Man]

We all have our likes/dislikes when it comes to collecting the funny books. 

I love Marvel, especially the Silver/Bronze Age.  I like buying key books that have some sort of 'fictional' significant appearance or event.  I like putting together runs from that era.  

If it is the 1990's for you, so be it.  Nobody should disparage you.  Plus you can do it for a lot cheaper than other era's.