My Comic Blog

Wow! It's Been A While...

2009-06-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

I hadn't realized it had been so long since my last comic blog posting. I guess I've been feeling like collecting has lost its focus for me over the past couple of months. By losing focus, I mean that I've been buying lots of things I like but little of which has much in common with one another other than being something related to either Spider-Man, Batman, or X-Men. I've picked up some nice Golden Age books with early Batman and Superman appearances, a first print copy of TMNT #1, another X-Men #1 (along with a #2), as well as picking up some sketch cards and lining up some signatures for a few of my bigger books.

As I said, I'm thinking about putting together something of a sketchbook. Like any collector, I want to have something neat, something that will make other collectors' eyes perk up and say "That's different--I like it!" Most importantly of course will be that I like it ;-) I'm still in the embryotic states of determining what theme/s my book will focus on, but I was thinking about doing sketch cards and mounting them into the book with acid-free adhesive tape. I was thinking about trying to get two cards per artist where the cards themselves would somehow "interact" with one another. Here are two examples of what I picked up from up and coming artist, Anthony Fleec:

I'm kind of thinking I might try to theme the sketches around the theme of "pairings" where each sketch has another sketch that it plays off of. The two don't necessarily need to intersect as these two pairs do, but Batman and Joker as well as Spider-Man and Green Goblin are two such natural pairs that go hand in hand. Anyhow, this is just some of the ideas that I'm playing with for this new little project of mine.

Anyhow, that's the current game plan. I'm working on getting at least one if not two Stan Lee signatures for my BIG Marvel Silver Age keys, as well as a few other nice signatures for classic books of mine. When they're done, I'll see about posting some pics as it's always cool when more books get signed :)

Grail Hunting--The Collector's Curse

2008-12-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

I've come to learn some of the joys of collecting comics. It provides me with something to occupy my time and mind, as well as satisfying my inner OCD for organizing things into particular categories, etc. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, it gives me a chance to relive a bit of my youth where I grew up dreaming of super heroes. Despite all of the benefits of collecting, however, there is a drawback: the collector's curse.

Most collectors I know hunt for a particular type of item. For comic collectors, you'll find those who are either run collectors or key hunters--with some falling somewhere in between. The curse is that once you finally acquire that issue you've been hunting after for some time, your gaze immediately turns towards the next target. Of course, I'm still thoroughly stoked over owning a copy of Amazing Fantasy 15--still not sure it's completely sunk in even now. Still, the hunt is addicting and it's a real part of collecting. I've spoken to some really serious collectors (no, I don't think my AF 15 qualifies me as a really serious collector), and despite nabbing some of the biggest books out there, the desire to continue the hunt remains. This is the one thing I sometimes think about--what's more important: the object or the action?

What is it that drives our spending of hundreds or thousands of dollars a year in our little (or not so little) hobby? Are we more enamored with the comics themselves, or are we more interested simply in the exercise of hunting these pieces of ephemera down one by one? I ask myself this before every major purchase I make...or at least, I try to ask myself this. I am a key hunter in addition to being a run collector, and I pride myself on owning a pretty healthy number of milestone issues. But I have to ask myself why is it I want to own this particular milestone issue? Is this character important or interesting to me? Is there a movie or something else associated with this issue that I like? If I'm not able to find a reason for buying something, then I know I'm probably letting myself get caught up in the hunt.

The hunt is fun, but it can also be a bit of a curse causing us to lose our focus in what we collect. The only cure known to date, however, is to get out there and buy another comic. :-D

A Grail Achieved...

2008-11-18T20:28:00.000-08:00

Yeah. That IS a copy of Amazing Fantasy 15 in my hand. The very first appearance of Spider-Man--stronger in value than any stock out there to date. Sure, I bought it for investment purposes at some leve, but ultimately, this puppy was about adding the very creme de la creme to my collection. It's still surreal to think I now I own a copy.

Bringing Comics to the Classroom

2008-07-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

In addition to teaching full-time at a boarding school and coaching football & wrestling, next fall I will begin teaching a freshman composition course at a nearby community college. In addition to helping the students become better critical readers and writers, I'd like them to be able to better handle more than just traditional literature. SO, I thought incorporating a graphic novel into the reading list might work nicely--how well can the student learn to critically analyze the graphic components of the tpb in conjunction with the written portion of the story? Besides, I thought it'd be kind of fun to blend two things I enjoy.

I'm organizing the course around the theme of "Out of Innocence--The Journey Into Adulthood" ... or something along those lines. The first that came to mind was Spider-Man, not just because I'm a huge fan but also because it really fits this theme well. I also thought using the Ultimate Spider-Man line would be a little better in one respect since it's a little more modernized and the art might be a little more appealing to present-day students. Also... the Masterworks editions with the originals are pretty expensive and the USM would be a little cheaper for the students. However... I'm also thinking about picking some non-mainstream selections because they don't carry the same connotations that more mainstream titles have, i.e. "nerdy," "childish," etc. This underscores an additional benefit as it will force the students to expand their notions of 1. what is worthy of critical attention and 2. various mediums can be used to communicate effectively than the traditionally "stuffy" and "serious" works (which I still love).

After much deliberation I narrowed the field of contestants down to three books:

- Civil War The 7-part Mini Series
- The Watchmen
- Pride of Baghdad

It was a tough call, but I wanted to make sure that the book I choice fit within the course theme (Out of Innocence).

I thought the CW series would work well as it really forces people (in and out of the book) to confront the stereotypical view of super heroes. It also raises issues of government as being "big brother," "big oppressor," or something in between. Additionally, I liked the ability to force to students to draw parallels between current events and issues encountered in the text. However, I was concerned about the problems non-comic fans might encounter not having any sort of background knowledge of the Marvel Comics world, and frankly, I didn't want to spend any significant amount of time playing "catch up" on material that wasn't particularly important.

Watchmen worked well along the same lines PLUS it removed much of the problems with Civil War since Alan Moore essentially provides the reader with all of the information we need. Since this is a remedial course, however, I was a little concerned about being able to adequately cover this book within roughly 2 classes and still have them understand it. There's a reason this book landed on the Top 25 books of the last 25 years. If you haven't read it, get over your sophomoric notions of comics being for nerds and educate yourself on what they really can do.

This leaves me with my third choice: Pride of Baghdad--which I knew I would love having the opportunity to teach as soon as I read it. I also feel like this really fits well with the theme of the course as we see how the journey of the zoo pride leaves the area of protection into one of danger, departs from a sense of naivete and romanticism about the wild and encounters the harsh reality. The book doesn't require much background knowledge to access the material (aside from a BASIC understanding of what's been going on in the world the past few years), the artwork really accentuates the story nicely (great way to get them to see how art work helps tell a story), and I can also get them thinking critically about a work and draw those parallels to events outside the text. It will be really interesting to see how the students handle the discussion of the conclusion of the story. I think I should be able to bring a unique perspective to the discussion having walked and patrolled those streets. Again, if you haven't read this book, do yourself a favor and give it a read.

The Hunt Goes On...

2008-07-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

Probably for the past two plus months I've been on the hunt for a copy of the grail... the grail of grails--well, for comic collectors. More specifically, the grail for Spider-Man collectors: Amazing Fantasy 15.

Amazing Spider-Man #1 (which I acquired back in Feb of this year) is certainly a huge grail to attain for any Spider-Man fan. However, while it is the first issue of Spider-Man's monthly mag, it is not his first appearance. This honor falls upon AF 15. What's interesting about this particular issue is that it was a one shot deal which pretty much happened by accident in Stan Lee's attempt to fill out the final issue of the Amazing Adult Fantasy series before it's end. Due to an overwhelming fan response, however, our favorite webslinger was given a second shot at life in ASM #1. Interestingly enough, the cover itself was done, not by the interior artist Steve Ditko, but instead by Jack "The King" Kirby. This book is probably a runs a third place to finish only behind the greats such as Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics 27: the first Superman and Batman respectively. Sure, there are other books out there more expensive (i.e. Marvel Comics #1, etc), however, these are nowhere near as recognizable to the common public as these three.

And this is the book I have been hunting. Initially, I had made a few sales of comics and Warhammer models but it looked like my efforts weren't going to produce much in the way of an affordable copy. Further, my wife and I made the decision to begin trying to have a baby...which means one heck of an expense. However, a wonderful, part-time teaching opportunity presented itself over the summer which will provide a relatively significant boost to the household income. And my wife okayed my getting back into the hunt for a copy. After all, it helps to have some added motivation if I'll be picking up a second job. :)

So here's to hoping. It will be something else to be able to post a scan or pic of the grail once/if I manage to attain it. Til then, I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Herb Trimpe Sketch and Second Grail Acquired!

2008-05-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

My wife bought me a really, really cool birthday gift: a commissioned sketch from Herb Trimpe! Of course, I asked him to do a classic Wolverine and I couldn't have been more pleased with the end result. He also included a nice index card signed with a Hulk head sketch.

Additionally, I was fortunate enough to pickup a wonderful reading copy (about GD+) of Giant-Size X-Men #1. That's right: the first appearance of the NEW X-Men (Storm, Colosuss, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, etc)!

Anyhow, lot's going on in the woodworks but it's late so g'night for now! :-)

Childhood Hero Passes

2008-03-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

In elementary and middle school, I was something of a nerd. I still am, but then I was a bit of an uber-goober nerd. My weekend activity of choice was playing the nerd-tastic Dungeons & Dragons. Don't laugh--most guys played this during their early pre-girl obsession years. ;) Most of the video games off nowadays owe their existence to this game. And today, Gary Gygax (founder of the game) died.

69 years too young. Everyone please raise your +2 Dragonslayer Swords in respect.

Grail ACHIEVED!!!

2008-02-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

Here it is! Today, my Amazing Spider-Man #1 arrived. I have to admit that I was really, really happy to see come in today considering some of the mail that arrived with it. Unfortunately, my Ph.D. application to UConn was denied leaving me more than a little disappointed. So when the Postman came back with this, it was a nice pick-me-up.

My Question Made It to Joe Quesada

2008-02-03T18:29:00.000-08:00

I had a question for Joe Quesada (Marvel Comics EIC) re: the Amazing Spider-Man One More/ Brand New Day story lines.

Here's the link: http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=12835

Comic Card Signatures

2008-01-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

My father-in-law collects signatures. You name it and there is a very solid chance he'll have something. If it has to do with baseball, even more so. It's unbelievable really, especially considering he usually just writes to the people and they respond. In a way, I think I've sort of picked up an interest in this from him. As a result, I've got a couple of comics and pictures signed from artists, writers, and two actors (Sir Alec Guiness and James Earl Jones from Star Wars). And now I'm kind of thinking of getting a little more into signatures as I near the completion of my Amazing Spider-Man run.

When I was a kid, Marvel Comics started cranking out TONS of different collectible card sets with pictures of the various superheroes. As they progressed, some of the sets had some fantastic art. SO, I'm thinking it might be fun to buy a set and get the artists' signatures on the cards. When I'm done, I can package them up in a nice 3-ring binder and have a fun addition to my comic collection.

I like too because it gives my father-in-law and I something in common to talk about, and you can't put a price on that. I've been with my wife (including the dating years) for going on 8 years, and breaking the ice with her dad has taken some time. I'm happy to think our mutual interest in collecting (me comics, him signatures) has helped bridge the gap.

Artist Sketches

2008-01-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

Earlier, I listed a bunch of my comic collecting goals for 2008. Unlike many members on the CGC Forums (my usual haunt), I have a relatively small collection: 3 long boxes packed full of around 750 comic books. I am proud of my collection, however, as it is a tightly focused compilation of the heroes that interest me most namely Spider-Man, Batman, and the X-Men. Nearing the end of the run of Amazing Spider-Man comics, I find I'm looking to begin working on some of these other goals for the year, most notably artist sketches.

If you take a look at my Comic Art Fan (CAF) site, you'll see I've already started making some headway into this branch of the hobby- art including some statues. It's just fun, especially when you get an artist who has done work on comics that are forever sketched into your nerdy brain. There are a number of these artists for me, but one I have made two acquisitions on is Ron Frenz who did the art for ASM during the 1980s- right when I was growing up. His cover for ASM 252, the recreation of the Amazing Fantasy 15, is probably the most wellknown of his body of work. Having a nice signed print as well as a piece of published work by him is especially cool to the kid inside me.

If I am ever well-off, I want to get a Todd McFarlane Spider-Man sketch. Something nice and simple would be A-O-K, and hopefully even personalized. I know this will cost a bit if it ever happens, but this is the guy who took me from really liking comics to being obcessed with them as a kid. Appealing to my adult collector side, however, I want to try and get a John Romita Sr. sketch. Again, published OA from Jazzy John is simply out of my reach. I'll have to be a tenured college professor before that'll even come close to happening. But even a sketch of some sort would be nice... but these too will cost you well into the hundreds of dollars. As a compromise, I'm looking at getting a Herb Trimpe Classic Wolverine sketch. Besides, I have no X-Men OA at all and this would be the perfect way of meeting that goal. It's just fun to think of this as a way of coming into contact with these artists who created characters I loved and continue to love.

And it's a great way to make my office look even more cool (though not how my wife would phrase it ;) )

Myth of the Mac Man...

2008-01-12T07:22:00.000-08:00

I have no clue who, if anyone, reads my comic blog. On the CGC Forums as here, my name is Mac Man. I collect comic books. More specifically, I collect comics concerning Spider-Man, Batman, and the X-Men. Even more specifically, I collect books ranging from the 1960s-1990s. And while I happen to have some beautiful looking books from the 70s on up, many of my comics from the 70s and earlier are what we call "low grade" comics. This means to some that they are beat up and not in as good shape as others.

I call them well-loved.

So what is this Myth of the Mac Man? Over on the CGC forums, especially among the Spider-Man collectors, I have started to establish myself as a connesieur of low grade comic books. I've been known to turn down a comic for being too nice of condition. This has been prompted by financial constraints, but I think it is beginning to come across that I just don't like high grade Silver Age comic books. That they are objects of scorn to me. Is this true? Not entirely ;)

I'll never begrudge someone for paying a lot of money for high grade, investment quality comic. But I want to love my comic through reading them and drooling on them. Ok, not the second part, but you get the idea. I don't want to be concerned about watching $500 float out the window because I got a thumb print indentation on my comic from reading it. I love it when I can accidentally fold a corner and it doesn't do a thing to the value because it's allowed at that grade. Not that I really ever do this- it's just the principle of it.

So I love low grades. A nice GD- 1.8 will find a home in my longbox any day... providing it's a Spidey, Bats, or Mutant. ;)

Collecting Goals for 2008

2008-01-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

1. Repay my savings account for the ASM #1 I'll be buying. Good bye allowance!

2. Currently missing 22 ASMs from 1-100 (and I have 4 of these already lined up for purchase when I'm out from under #1). I'll probably take my time finishing this run off.

3. Currently missing 42 ASMs from 101-200, and 40 ASMs from 201-300 (also have 4 of these lined up as well). Being the runs with the most missing, I'll probably look to make some positive headway in this chunk of the run since many of these issues can be found in mid-grade for very little.

4. Continued progress on my BA X-Men 94-143 (including GS X-Men 1). Not entirely sure I'll finish it though. Currently 30 issues from that run, and I'd like to have this number down to about 10 by the year's end.

5. Continued progress on my CA X-Men 144-225 run (this is as far in the CA, minus a few minor keys, as I want to go). I'm missing about 30 issues in this run, but I'm in no rush on this set.

6. I'd like to start working on some cool Silver Surfer cover issues once I get my FF49. I'll probably be looking at this for a late summer project.

7. I've picked up some Spidey, CPT America, & Silver Surfer OA this year (two sketches and a published page- not bad for a start!). I'd like to be able to add a nice Batman piece of OA for this year. I've also been tooling around with the idea of getting an old school Wolverine sketch from Herb Trimpe. Someone else posted one on the forums earlier, and it really resonated with me. I'm also thinking of chasing some color guides. These are cheap ways to add some unique OA to the collection, but only at a fraction of the price.

8. Since I will be getting my own office in the house, I want to pick up some statuettes to liven it up a bit. I've got my Batman fix covered, but might look towards picking up something Spidey related towards the end of '08.

9. Acquire more signatures for my comics. The two I want most are Stan Lee and Neal Adams. IF Stan is available, I'll probably consider the John Romita Sr. signed-ASMs (39, 40, & 50) signed by Stan as well in addition to having my Blue Label ASM #1 exchanged for a Yellow Label Signature Series. For Neal Adams, I'd want my Batman 227 & 232 signed. I'd also like to get my ASM 252 signed by Ron Frenz, more Todd McFarlanes, Steranko, and Arthur Adams.

10. Last, but not least, update my entire comic book database to ensure all comics are accounted for, accurately graded, and OSPG values updated for 2008. This will be my big comic-related summer project.

Obviously, many of these goals are wallet-dependent. If I can knock out even half of these, 2008 will be a successful year in my book.

Grail of Grails Acheived

2007-12-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

More to follow....

Unreal that this will be mine in a few short months.

Passing a Benchmark... And Closing the Gap

2007-12-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon I passed two benchmarks for spending on my comic collection. I bought four comics totaling $500 and two of the books cost $225 each (Amazing Spider-Man #'s 2 & 4). The other two issues are actually going to be gifts from my wife for Christmas and my birthday which is right around the corner- Amazing Spider-Man #'s 7 & 22.

What's really amazing is that I am really only missing issues #17 & (of course) #1 for the first 50. While I haven't purchased #13 or #29, I have a friend who is selling them to me for a really good price once he finds upgrades for his collection. Past that, however, I only need another 15 or so comics before closing out the first 100 issues of Amazing Spider-Man.

I still have about 100 issues total before I finish my run of ASM 1-328 (when Todd McFarlane finished his time on the title). From where... who knows. But, let's take a look at the four beauties!

ASM 22 in GD 2.0

ASM 7 in GD- 1.8

ASM 4 in GD/VG 3.0

ASM 2 in GD+ 2.5

Picked up some new OA tonight...

2007-11-27T19:59:00.001-08:00

Well, I picked up some new Original Art tonight on the CGC Sales Forum. I think the Cap headshot will be part of my Christmas present from my wife and the Silver Surfer will be part of my birthday present in Feb. Anyhow, enjoy!

Went to the Plainville, CT Comic Show

2007-11-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

Despite telling myself I wouldn't buy anything, I decided to go to the local comic show. During the week off from school (No students, yay!) I've been cranking out page after page on my thesis in addition to reading tons of books. A break was definitely in order. I stopped and pulled $20 out of the ATM just in case there were some readers that would be of interest or in the event I found some BA/CA ASM issues to fill holes on the cheap. More importantly, I had a pen and piece of scrap paper to jot down phone numbers/email addresses for following up with people who had any big fish I'd be interested in.

I slept in and combined with doing chores, I didn't get there until 12:30pm. The show goes until 2pm so I had missed most of the raffles (*spoon*!), but the crowds were mainly gone. Definitely a plus when it came time for digging through the longboxes. The show is located in a VFW hall with around 30-40 dealers. Not huge, but enough selection to keep you busy for a little while. As I started to make my rounds, I saw the department head for the writing program at the community college where I taught last spring. He's not only into collecting, but also is a known comic historian in the area. Good guy to chat it up with. We talked about his semester on sabbatical, as well as some professional work he's doing in comics for the classroom- social issues, etc.

I moved around checking the racks first for the big fish, but didn't see any that really jumped out at me. Mind you, big fish that are in low grade- I only like to look if there's a possibility of my buying it. Consigned to hunting for fillers, I started diving into the boxes. One fella had a box with a BUNCH of early, early ASMs in it. They were stored in mylars but the tops of the mylar (and yes, the comics) were bent from being stored in the long box. And we're talking about some expensive books here, low grade or not. We talked about some grades, and I took down his email address on one particular ASM. The next show wouldn't be until January 2008, and I should be recovering from purchases made here on the boards to look at this particularly EARLY Spidey.

After digging around, I found a set of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars at 3/$1.00 (minus #8 which I already have), the last issue of MTU, and 2nd printings of TMNT 1 & 2 all for about $15 (mid to high grade). Nothing wild, but perfectly fine for study break reading material to be sure. And I always liked the MTU cover with two of my favorites on there (X-Men and Spidey).

So, it wasn't a convention but it's the closest I could manage at this point in time!

The Hit List

2007-11-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

I'm quickly approaching the completion of my Amazing Spider-Man collection. I can't begin to explain how much work this has been, and how thrilled am I to be moving forward like I have been. While there are plenty of fillers to get, these are the big dogs left to reel in:

1. 2nd appearance of Spidey, 1st JJJ, and the beginning of the best comic title to date!
2. 1st appearances of the Vulture and Tinkerer. I'm not as excited about this one as I never liked the flying geriatric.
4. 1st Sandman. I have to admit that I'm really looking forward to this one. AND I found a copy I might be able to buy!!!
7. 2nd Vulture. Again, not as excited about this issue, BUT it's cheaper than #2 AND I also have a copy lined up to buy.
13. 1st appearance of Mysterio. Probably one of the best Ditko covers out there... and yes. I DO have a copy lined up.
17. 2nd Green Goblin w/ an appearance by the Human Torch.
22. 1st Appearance of Princess Python. No one really important, but I need it to fill the run ;)
29. 2nd Scorpion and another great looking cover. Copy lined up for purchases too!-)

So really, of the 8 I'm missing, I've already got 2 that I'm definitely buying and another 4 lined up for possible purchases. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited!

Collecting Comics v. Hoarding Comics

2007-11-19T22:07:00.000-08:00

My brother Chris had, until the past year, the largest collection of comic books I had ever seen dating back to when we were kids. I would probably guess that he has.... about 2,000-3,000 comics stored in the attic of my mother's house. Since getting back into the comic scene, I'm probably around 650 packed into 3 long boxes leaving me far behind him in the numbers game.

Of course, size isn't everything right? ;) I'd like to think of my little collection when compared to his as precision hitting versus wild swinging. I'm not trying to build myself up by putting his collection down- not by a long shot. In many ways, his collection is almost entirely responsible for my wanting to build one- first as a child and again as an adult. But my brother is less concerned with the grade of the book as he is in simply owning it. Where I am more focused in my collecting habits, he is more inclined to grab a host of different books. I'm not advocating my method as better than his. It's just interesting to me how this these strange little funny books produce such different neurosis in their owners. :-D

But I wonder if it's just a phase? I should ask him about that sometime, if he went through a period of focusing in on only one or two titles and then just went for everything? He's got a couple of years headstart on me so... But hopefully for my wife's sake I won't experience the hoarding phase since she's already looking at my boxes like they take up a little more space than they ought to.

Here Goes...

2007-11-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

Most likely if you're reading this, you clicked on my link from my profile on the CGC Forums. Okay, well I've decided to make another attempt at blogging. I had one running for a number of years and frankly, it just dwindled. I might get it started again... who knows? But for now, this one will focus primarily on my hobby of comic collecting. Call it one more opportunity to wax poetic on my geek-fix. So here goes...

June 2006: One month left to my committment to the U.S. Army and I've been reintroduced to comic books by a friend. Later that evening, I spent around $10-$15 on eBay for a set of the Batman/Detective Comics Knightfall series.

November 2007: Thousands of dollars and some 650+ comics later, the collector bug has bitten, and I'm fully into the hobby. I thoroughly enjoy my Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and Lord of the Rings tabeltop models but they are very time consuming. Comic collecting is far more flexible in how the time is spent- though sometimes I do spend far more time scrounging around online than I ought to. How many others have gotten back into the hobby like this I wonder? Probably more than I'd imagine.

So... I'm probably going to begin mapping out some of my collecting goals. I've put together a nice website listing my wishlist, some useful links that I enjoy using, and I will slowly begin putting my entire collection online. Why? No idea- probably something to do while killing free time at work or as a break in between the writing of my Master's thesis.

Anyhow... nothing too exciting right now, but who knows? Maybe I'll have something of interest up here in the near future?