JMPunk's Comic Book Blogs

I am not a collector who really concerns myself with the value of my collection. I have come to terms with the fact that high end books are out of my budget, and not a reality. However, I cannot ignore the price increases in several Image titles. Maybe picking up a few new Image #1 and hording them can lead me to getting books I otherwise would deem unobtainable. 

Everyone knows the value in The Walking Dead books, and I think we can all agree the main reason for this spike is due to the cult like following of the AMC television show. But who can really say they saw a modern title like this reach the price’s the #1 issue has fetched? The Walking Dead also has another 7 issues that fetch around $100 or more per issue. 

Collectors who chase investments need do not stop just at The Walking Dead. The second current big title from Image may be Chew. It was released in June of 2009 and 1st print copies of its #1 are currently fetching over $300 for non-graded copies. Yes this spike could also be due to the fact Showtime has picked it up for its own TV series, which I personally have not seen. 

I have been back reading and collecting comic books for about three months now. I have enjoyed reading older titles from my past, as well as new titles from today. There was something missing for me though and I could not quit put my finger on it. I had started a Gambit collection and it is fun, but I felt like something was still missing. Then one day I stopped reading, stopped searching and looking at the computer screen. I gave some real thought to it. That is when I finally was able to put my finger on it. I was not reading Spawn, but now the comic world is on issue 225, with 226 scheduled for release just around the corner. I thought to myself how do I handle this?

So I began researching the basics of the book, after all it has been over a decade since I have even glanced at any Spawn issue. The first thing I notice is there sure is a lot of Spawn titles and spin-offs. A little too much for my budget to tackle at one time. So I elected to start where it began with the original Spawn title. Now, it is time to decide where to start. Do I pick up with the current arch? Whoa, did I read that correctly Al Simmons died? Who is this Jim Downing character? When does Al die and Jim begin as Spawn? I call for a quick time out. Got to think this through again. After some time and figuring out what issue Al dies and Jim takes over. I decide the best way for me to do this is to just start at the beginning, back to the basics.

The first thing I do is start searching eBay because believe it or not with all the thousands of copies of Spawn issue 1 out there I did not have one. All I have at this time is issue 4 and 59. While searching eBay and some other online stores. I begin a discussion with a member here at Comic Book Realm in the chat room. Next thing I know and one pay pal deal later, I have Issues 1-17 and a few others on their way, plus a CGC 9.8 copy of Number 1. Thank you decepticon!!! The next thing I do is pull a trigger with another member here for 7 more issues of Spawn. Thank you LOngBOx!! Follow that up with orders from Midtown and Fearless Readers Online, and suddenly I have Issues 1-42 and a good stack of others headed my way.

It is 2:15pm EST and I am awaiting the arrival of the Big Brown Truck. Out for delivery today is a 60 count DC/Marvel/Indie grab bag from Midtown. I am eager and yet scared of its arrival. About a month ago I ordered the 80 count Indie grab bag, and to say it fell short to what I was expecting is a major understatement. On that bag I was thinking or well hoping that I would receive a lot of Image, Dark Horse, IDW, Dynamite, and even Boom among others. Now I know with any grab bag it is a shoot on what you will receive. However, if I was to list everything I got I think I would send fear chills down your spine with the contents of that bag. I know a lot of other people would ask. “Then why try it again?” Well the primary reason for ordering this second bag is my 6 year old son. On Christmas day the two of us sat in front of the computer and spent our Christmas money at Midtown. And he thought we should get a grab bag to see what we would get. And how do you tell a 6 year old who’s interested in comics that it is a waste of $20?  So for now we wait………

It is now 3:04 pm, and the Big Brown Truck just dropped our package off. I am going to sort this this bag as I write this blog, I will then close it with a list of everything.

The top of the bag looks to be the Marvel section with Astonishing X-Men #51 being the first book I see. I instantly notice some large books in this stack and pull them out to see what they are. They are Marvel Superstars Magazines #1 (Thor) #3 (X-Men) and #4 (Captain America). Better than the Mad and Cracked magazines I got from the indie bag in condition as well as title, but I don’t like magazines in my comic grab bags. Now back to the stack, sorting through and we have Avenging Spider-Man #1, a variant of Captain America #4, variant of New Avengers #11 and #12, #1 and #2 of a Spider-Man mini-series I am not sure exactly what one but I’ll look into it before I make the final list. 

In this installment of L.O.A.C. I want to talk about pin pointing a specific collecting direction. Not that everyone needs one. I know some people like to buy whatever is new and buy several different titles each and every week. While others enjoy the chase of hunting down specific titles, and you even have another group that just enjoy reading and these people seem to buy a lot of digital and or trades. 

For me I’m the kind of person who likes to focus a collection in certain areas. Recently, I have been reading a lot of newer books trying to find my niche. After a lot of reading and researching I decided to narrow down my collecting or well buying. 

The first collection I decided to start is a Gambit character collection. After using several resources to build a checklist of all his appearances. I have elected to just focus on his titled books for now. Figure once I amass all or most of these I can decide if I want to track down all of his appearances and covers. Sure if I find one in a dollar box somewhere I’ll most likely pick it up. For me the one non-Gambit titled books I want today is Uncanny X-Men 266. The reason for Gambit for me was a no brainer, I really enjoy the Cajun life style and as a guy who has sat at several poker tables over my life it was a simple choice. 

As promised, this week I’ll discuss the changes I have seen upon my return to the comic book world. 

First off I feel I have to mention The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman and company. The hype of this book which I believe is largely due to the success of the AMC program. Is something I cannot believe anyone saw in 2003 when the book was released. The selling point is insane, currently sitting at $800 here on The Comic Book Realm. It even has 7 other issues currently at $100 or more not including a handful of variant covers. Who ever thought we’d see a modern title doing so well? Believe me, when I say I sure wish I had been around in 2003. I have been an avid zombie guy since I can remember. I would most likely of had a few #1’s and sold them already. 

Speaking of variants, I think this is the biggest change I have noticed. Yes, when I left comics in the mid-to-late 90’s there was the occasional variant cover. However, now I do not think it possible for a publisher to have a weekly release without a serious number of variants available, especially with number ones! I am not sure exactly how I feel about this, it has its up and downs. I think the biggest down is to the younger generation getting involved. Especially with DC and Marvel relaunching the titles they have in the past 2 years. How many 8 to 14 year old kids can afford a copy of Iron Man #1f, Incentive Joe Quesada Sketch Cover 1:150, and I believe there are kids and adults alike who would love to be a completionist of this series but will not be able to pick up a copy of this book. And I also believe if these kinds of holes continue in a young collector’s collection it could discourage them in the long run and see them leave the hobby. At the same time though, I do not believe comics are aimed at kids anymore. I believe they are aimed at adults especially seeing the sexual situations that occur in almost every major title today. I personally proof read every title I let my 6 year old read, just to make sure I do not have to explain something that I should not have to for at least a few more years. 

I have had a collector's mentality before I even knew what that meant. As a little kid buying and playing with toys such as Star Wars and G.I. Joe. I always had a list of the ones I didnt have, if I saw something in the store that was not on my list I added it on the spot. Not being able to recall a exact date on this I would guess I started collecting things around 1983-84 at the ripe old age of 6 or 7 years old. 

Around 1986 I started playing, learning and following baseball. During that year I found Topps baseball cards, I have bought cards in the past but something really clicked here. In 1987 my Grandma took me into my first hobby store. It was called Earth Prime Comics, located on the square in the small city over from where I lived. Still today I can recall walking in and seeing the sky blue walls with white border and comics gallore along the walls. However, I was in there for the baseball cards. The shop had one decent size display case and a small shelf behind the counter. I dont rember what cards I got that day. Seems like I bought some 80's issue Pete Rose cards. I do rember buying my first issue of Beckett Baseball Price Guide, it had Mike Schmidt on the cover and small picture of his 1987 Donruss card. From that day untill somewhere around 1995 I was known as a walking price guide, I studied this thing from 3-4 hours every day. I knew the sport card market so well that as a Freshman in high school I started working at a local card shop. I even had the permission to buy any singles I felt the shop could make a profit on. Later I introduced the shop to NASCAR die cast and things where pretty booming for that little shop. However around my Junior year I quit mostly because I wanted a car and I would spend all or most of my money in the shop. 

Up untill around 1991-92, I had collected baseball, basketball, football cards, the old starting line up figures and diffrent aspects of NASCAR collectibles. However, around my Freshman-Sophmore year a old friend moved back into town. This man had some talent now, simply a amazing artist. After hanging out with him for several months he took to a local comic shop. It wasnt Earth Prime that store saddly closed by now. Once I was inside, I was hooked on something new. Sure as a little kid my uncle gave me 2-3 milk crates full of his old comics and Id buy one every now and again at the local drug store. But bag and board? Long Box? Wizard? What these things are worth money. When I first started I bought nothing but Spider-Man issues mostly Amazing and once picked up issue #300 for $15. Then this new company launched called Image lead by 7 of the best artists in the world of comics. I was sold, buyin and reading Spawn, Savage Dragon and later on Pitt, Maxx and others. Plus bought almost every new #1 to come out by them.