How collectible dealers are killing the hobby.

Ok, this post can go anywhere really. Comic books, baseball cards, coins... simply insert here ________. I love going to a show or new hobby store to check out what I can find. The sheer awesomeness of a newly discovered store always excites me. When I walk in I like to absorb everything, the cards in the showcases, comic books hanging on walls, nicely antiqued tobacco tins in a curio...

Then the owner opens his mouth and everything falls apart. Its like having a dream about hitting the lotto jackpot and waking up only to find yourself on the cold ground. Really, why does store owners and collectible dealers act the way they do? They always blame the customers, not enough, too cheap, doesn't buy anything... the list goes on. But as a they say in psychology, you cannot see your own flaws, it takes others to point out your flaws. So the next time you (no not really you but a store owner) opens his mouth to complain, look in the mirror first.

Through my collecting years I believe I have seen it all. From the too friendly I wan't to kiss your butt so you will spend money to the I hate everybody so I'm going to treat you like garbage dealers in the hobby, I say this, shut your mouth and let the customer enjoy themselves in your store or booth.

I have seen owners toss comics halfway across the store simply because they want to. What makes you think we the customers want to see that? Those are the comics we may buy someday. I have seen owners be so pessimistic they pre-judge if a customer is going to spend money in their store. I have also seen owners charge absurd prices or don't give a damn about their customer's orders and neglect to give them what they want. In case these store owners don't realize, they need customers to hang around so they can stay in business.

These are the things I believe that makes any business work. Be kind, say hello, ask if they need help and thats it. Don't ask how much money the customer is carrying. Don't ask if the customer has a job, and lastly don't ignore your customers and talk to them only to check their bags. To all the store owner and staffs that do any of these things I just listed, I will say this to you. Close up your shop and stay the hell out of the hobby because you're giving the ________ collectible hobby a bad rap.

New York Comic Con, my first experience.

Today I wen to my first comic book con. One of the largest ones thats held annually in New York. It boasts tons of comics, video games, toys, artists and their artworks. But perhaps the most memorable moment was the fact that owner of Atlas Entertainment, Jason Goodman invited me to the con. Once I went into the center I was bombarded with all kinds of displays. Girls dressed in costumes, loud video games, a dance show, girls dressed in costumes... oh wait I said that already. :)

I spent the whole day looking at... comics. (what did you think I was going to say, lol) There were tons of comics from modern to copper to bronze, silver and golden age. There were many dealer names that I had seen on ebay there. There were tons of statues, toys, original artwork and of course the artists corner which had tons of artists.

I tried to control my spending... seriously I did... try. After walking around and looking at almost everything I decided to spend some money. $160 one day on comics, food and transportation. Normally I would say thats quite a bit but at a comic book convention? thats pretty good. I left the show feeling happy but tired. Been on your feet for six hours straight was a little tiring. But all in all I would say that if you have never attended a comic con you should go to at least one just for the experience

Buying old expensive comics, are they worth it?

So I've been a big time back issue buyer ever since I got back into comic book collecting. When I first got back in I decided to only focus on back issues. I bought tons of Silver, Bronze and Copper age comics, many of them for quite a bit too.

Whenever I looked at the comics the first thing I looked at was the corners. Are they sharp, dirty or frayed? And then the spine of the book. I would count the creases one, two, three is fine, four is too many. And finally the last thing I looked at was the price. I would ask myself "can I justify spending ten dollars on a comic" and most of the time the answer is yes. I would take it home change the bag and board so it would look nice and clean. Then I would stick it inside a box never to be touched again.

Now before you think I'm crazy let me explain. I'm a collector... so I'm only partially crazy, I mean comics were meant to be read right? But I started thinking, each time I opened that comic that is worth fifty dollars I take the chance of damaging it and decreasing the value. Weeks passed into months into a year and I kept doing this same thing over and over again. The other day I looked at my comic book collection and noticed that when it came to my back issues I have only read about ten percent of them. These are comics I have spent a good amount of money on, and here they were just sitting inside a white box looking pretty. Ok technically I can't see them but you know...

So from time to time I look on eBay to see how much my comics are selling for and noticed a very nice trend. The finished price seemed to be pretty strong. Comics I paid fifty dollars for are either selling at the same price or about twenty dollars higher. I have yet to sell a single book but I do get a warm fuzzy feeling (no not that kind!)every time I see a comic book of mine sell at a decent price.

I have recently started buying modern comics to read and am enjoying them. I still take care of them just in case they are worth money but the feeling of cracking open a comic to read makes me happy. But what about those old comics I have? They're still in those white boxes hiding in the corner of my closet. Some are worth more now than the day I bought them and some are still the same price.

So are old expensive comics worth buying? Well heres the answer and you may not like it. If you're a collector, yes. But if you're the kind of guy that buys a comic just to read then the answer is, no.

Are DC Reboot comics reaching new heights in violence?

Ok, so DC comics is coming out with new comics. They are supposed to be revamped and redone with better story, art and they're supposed to be a reset so they can clean up. I see they have tons of new titles coming out, some new and some old. And while I haven't read all of them I certainly have read quite a bit.

It seems that DC is trying too hard with the reset. I'm not saying that the books are not done well but at times it seems a little over the top. The blood splatters, barely naked girls, Starfire becoming a slut... I mean come on. Whats next? Superman dying again?

I like how the comics are coming out with new art and the writing is more up-to-date. But out of all the comics I've read it seems there are always people dying. Not superheroes but innocent civilians that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's not like we've never seen people die in comics its just over the top in the new DC comics.

In some comics police officers are getting killed, special agents are hanging out in strip clubs and so on. Sometimes I wonder if the Comic Code is still in effect. I know that things change and that we live in the modern era now. But do we really have to feel like washing our hands after reading a comic book? Maybe DC should start publishing UG Comix from now on.

The DC comic reboot

So its kinda late since the DC reboot happened a few months back and the hype was well over with now. But when they announced the reboot plan I thought to myself "what do I care?" Well, when I saw the new DC comics sitting at my lcs (local comic shop) I decided to pick it up and check it out. Guess what...?

I am pleasantly surprised. The first book I read was Batgirl #1, my first thought was yay Barbara Gordon is back and my 2nd thought was oooh nice art. The book was very well written, and after I was done I started on my 2nd comic, Detective Comics #1. And to my surprise I enjoyed it as well. Again I liked the art and the writing was pretty good. By now I was thinking about trying for more comics.

It has been a month and all the DC reboot comics have been launched. Funny how a few months ago I thought "what do I care" to "I can't wait for the #2's". I now own about 15 of the comics and am buying them monthly. Now here's the real kicker, I used to be a strictly Marvel buyer. Now I find myself buying more DC than Marvel. Now don't get me wrong I still buy Marvel comics but strictly the back issues.

The sentimental value of a comic book

So we all have our favorite comics that we hold dear and close. Some of these may be because they are valuable money wise or because of sentimental reasons. The one comic I hold close to me... (not in that way) is Avengers Annual #10, the first appearance of Rogue of X-Men.

I still remember as a child I read this comic to death. This was the one character that lead me to reading Avengers. Before then it was X-Men and only X-Men comics I read. Then one day my mother got mad at me and tore up the book. I looked at it and gave it a proper burial in the trash. It has been many years since I thought back to what comics I had wanted to regain from my youth. I knew this was one comic I had to get back, so without further adieu here it is...

Its been upgraded from it's previous tattered form and I'm really happy about it.

Another CGCed SS comic

Well I've done it again. The search for these Signature Series comics are not easy. Especially if you're picky about who signs them. This one has more of a busy cover and so the signatures seems a bit lost in them. But come on. how can you pass on a cover like this?

The cover itself is a wraparound piece. The art is not childish like some covers. Nor is it too adult oriented like some others. It's just got stuff everywhere, with that been said I'm really glad that at least one artist signed the cover in silver ink. The other two signatures are kinda lost and are harder to find. Nevertheless it's still a great comic one that I really enjoy having.