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.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Artist Sketches
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 ;) )
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 ;) )
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Myth of the Mac Man...
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. ;)
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. ;)
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Collecting Goals for 2008
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.
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.
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