jtguy (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} jtguy) wrote,@ 2009-02-24 11:25:00 |
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Me, Comics, and Collecting
I've been into comics since I was young. Growing up, my favorite books were Daredevil and the Ninja Turtles (stop laughing at me!). I also red the Maxx in middle/high school, which looking back was a bit dark. I remember the big comics collecting bubble that grew and exploded in the early '90s. The good thing about that bubble is that now, if you know what to look for, you can pick up some good comics for less than the original cover price at collector's shops. My advice is to stay away from ebay unless you want to get screwed--you'll end up paying as much as the books if not more in shipping.
A good article about comic book speculation and the boom/bust of the early 90's can be found here: http://www.tcj.com/journalista/zarch2002
So I guess you can call me a comic collector in some ways (pannepictographists is the technical term according to wikipedia). I don't have a huge collection, just a few boxes of titles I've enjoyed reading over the years. Nowadays I only splurge on comics if I want a story line by a particular writer (like frank miller's early work, alan moore, etc) or for gay or HIV themes (North star, the first out gay superhero in the major titles, the green arrow with Speedy who is HIV+, etc). The past couple of years I've gotten into Green Lantern b/c I liked the socially conscious stories written by Judd Winick (Pedro Zamora's roomate on Real World San Francisco). That title has had some great writers over the decades; last fall I picked up cheapie reprints of the now-famous Green Arrow/Green Lantern series with progressive social themes (Neil/Adams).
Because I have a very particular taste I don't end up having to spend obscene amounts of money cuz most titles I look for fall into "bronze age" or "modern" categories--late '90's through the 80's-- or the 80's black and white glut. Most retailers are happy to get rid of these titles, that will sell at $1 or less typically. The exception to that for me has been Alan Moore's Swamp thing titles which can run about $3-15 a book, due to the current hype about him since his V for Vendetta hollywood splash.
I've been into comics since I was young. Growing up, my favorite books were Daredevil and the Ninja Turtles (stop laughing at me!). I also red the Maxx in middle/high school, which looking back was a bit dark. I remember the big comics collecting bubble that grew and exploded in the early '90s. The good thing about that bubble is that now, if you know what to look for, you can pick up some good comics for less than the original cover price at collector's shops. My advice is to stay away from ebay unless you want to get screwed--you'll end up paying as much as the books if not more in shipping.
A good article about comic book speculation and the boom/bust of the early 90's can be found here: http://www.tcj.com/journalista/zarch2002
So I guess you can call me a comic collector in some ways (pannepictographists is the technical term according to wikipedia). I don't have a huge collection, just a few boxes of titles I've enjoyed reading over the years. Nowadays I only splurge on comics if I want a story line by a particular writer (like frank miller's early work, alan moore, etc) or for gay or HIV themes (North star, the first out gay superhero in the major titles, the green arrow with Speedy who is HIV+, etc). The past couple of years I've gotten into Green Lantern b/c I liked the socially conscious stories written by Judd Winick (Pedro Zamora's roomate on Real World San Francisco). That title has had some great writers over the decades; last fall I picked up cheapie reprints of the now-famous Green Arrow/Green Lantern series with progressive social themes (Neil/Adams).
Because I have a very particular taste I don't end up having to spend obscene amounts of money cuz most titles I look for fall into "bronze age" or "modern" categories--late '90's through the 80's-- or the 80's black and white glut. Most retailers are happy to get rid of these titles, that will sell at $1 or less typically. The exception to that for me has been Alan Moore's Swamp thing titles which can run about $3-15 a book, due to the current hype about him since his V for Vendetta hollywood splash.
