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c/comic-book-fans

13

sarah_patel25•1h ago

Finally fixed my comic box problem after years of bent corners

I was at my local shop in Portland last week and watched a dude slide a short box into his trunk sideways and crush a corner. That reminded me how I lost a $300 Amazing Spider-Man run back in 2017 because my boxes were just stacked loose. I grabbed some 2x4s and built a simple frame that keeps the boxes upright and snug, cost me maybe 12 bucks total. Has anyone else rigged up a storage setup that actually protects your books or am I overthinking this?

19

nora110•1d ago

TIL a 'complete collection' on eBay isn't always complete

I got into buying old runs of X-Men from the 90s last month and found a listing for issues 1 through 100 of a series for $120. The pictures looked fine, seller had good feedback, so I pulled the trigger. When the package showed up, turns out issues 1 through 15 were missing and he just threw in some random issues from later years to pad it. Now I'm stuck trying to piece together those missing ones one by one. Has anyone else fallen for a listing that wasn't what it claimed?

20

jennifer_jenkins•1d ago

Just realized that old comic shop guy was right about bagging my pulls...

A few years back, this clerk at a shop in Austin told me to stop using those cheap poly bags for my weekly pulls. He said they'd yellow my books after a year or two. I figured he was just upselling the mylar ones for a dollar fifty each. Well I dug out my 2021 run of something last night and the edges are all brown and brittle... I should have listened to him back then. Has anyone else had a shop employee give you advice that turned out to be totally on the money?

14

theagibson•1d ago

Tried a $40 variant cover drop and nobody showed up to the shop

I woke up early last Saturday to snag that new limited variant cover at my local shop in Portland. The owner hyped it up for weeks, said it would be a madhouse like the old days. I got there at 9 AM sharp and I was literally the only person waiting outside. The guy working the counter looked bored and said they only sold 3 copies by noon. I learned that variant covers aren't what they used to be, at least for newer series. Now I'm wondering if anyone else has seen the hype die down for these special editions.

25

nora_park•3d ago

Finally found a comic shop that gets it...

Drove out to Third Eye Comics in Annapolis last Saturday and the owner actually asked what I was reading before trying to sell me anything. Has anyone else found a store that lets you just browse without the hard sell?

6

ellis.susan•3d ago

The debate over graded vs raw comics at my first big con in Portland

I was at the Portland Comic Con back in 2019 and saw two guys almost get into a fistfight over whether grading comics is ruining the hobby or saving it. One side says a 9.8 slab takes all the fun out of reading and flipping through issues. The other side says grading protects your investment and keeps books from getting wrecked in a box. I started collecting around 2015 and always went raw until I dropped $40 on a key issue that had a spine split I missed. Now I'm stuck in the middle and keep going back and forth. Which side do you fall on and why?

14

reesel50•3d ago

I dropped $150 on a limited variant cover of issue #1 and it's already worth $12.

Bought it from a shop in Portland because the cover art looked cool, and now I'm just staring at it wondering if I should frame it or just use it as a coaster - has anyone else gotten burned on a variant that seemed like a sure thing?

3

phoenix_grant34•19d ago

Unpopular opinion: the best comic book fans are the ones who can admit when a run went bad

I was at a con in Portland last Saturday and overheard this guy in a 90s X-Men shirt telling his friend that Grant Morrison's New X-Men lost him after the first 12 issues, and it hit me that being a real fan means calling out the bad stuff too, not just hyping the classics, has anyone else noticed how rare that honesty is at shows?

1

lunag30•21d ago

Wanted to be 'that guy' at cons with a huge pull list, been buying random #1s for 3 years

I finally realized I was just grabbing everything with a cool cover and never actually reading them. My buddy asked what my favorite run from the last 6 months was, and I drew a total blank. Anyone else waste money on hype books they never crack open?

6

sarah_patel25•21d ago

Can we talk about that guy who graded his own comics and ruined them?

I saw a dude at a convention last Saturday try to sell a slabbed book he did himself with a hair straightener and a ziploc bag. It had wrinkles inside the case and the grade was like a 2.0 max. Why do people think they can skip paying a pro and still get good money out of it?

1

milacraig•22d ago

Hot take: letting a 12 year old pick my pull list actually worked out

I let my nephew pick five random issues at the shop last Saturday and ended up with a surprisingly good mix. Has anyone else tried handing over control to a kid just to see what happens?

6

bennett.jana•23d ago

That guy at the LCS told me Mark Millar was the worst writer ever

Last month a dude at my shop in Cleveland swore I was wasting money on Kick-Ass, said his stuff was all shock with no story. I read it anyway and honestly hated it, the violence felt empty and the characters were flat. Has anyone else had a recommendation from a random comic shop customer that just totally missed the mark?

25

taylor.sean•24d ago

Vent: Blew $150 on a signed comic from the 90s and it was fake

I bought a signed copy of X-Men #1 from a seller on Facebook marketplace last month. Paid $150 cash thinking I got a steal. I took it to my local shop for grading and the owner spotted the fake signature right away. He showed me how the ink bled wrong and the certificate didn't match any real records. Anyone else get burned on fake autographs from online sellers?

7

nancycooper•25d ago

That time a kid at the comic shop called me out on my pull list

I was standing at the counter last Saturday picking up my usual stack and this kid maybe 12 years old asked why I only grab the same three titles every month. He said "you're missing all the good stuff" and handed me a random indie book I'd never heard of... now I'm questioning my whole reading habit. Anyone else have a random stranger shake up their routine?

11

ivanross•25d ago

I finally figured out how long it takes to get through a long-run comic series

I decided to read the entire run of Cerebus from start to finish because I heard it was a masterpiece. It took me over 14 months and I had to read about 6,000 pages across all 300 issues. Has anyone else tried something like this and ended up way past your original time estimate?

18

the_amy•26d ago

Finally finished my first full Batman run from start to end after 7 months

I was at a used book store in Portland last weekend and found the final issue I needed to complete the 1980s Miller run. Been hunting for issue #404 for over a year and it was sitting in a random dollar bin. The guy behind the counter even gave me a 10 percent discount when I showed him my full collection pics. Anyone else have a single issue that took forever to track down?

14

ray_miller84•27d ago

Got schooled by a guy at my local shop about bagging comics

I used to just toss my new pulls into a plastic grocery bag and call it good. Then last Saturday at Cosmic Collectibles in Austin this older collector saw me doing it and nearly had a heart attack. He handed me a proper comic bag and board combo and showed me how to tape the flap without wrecking the cover. Does anyone else still see people treating their books like trash at the register?

4

the_sam•28d ago

That dude at my LCS dropped a truth bomb about variant covers

I was digging through the dollar bin at Cosmic Comics on Main Street last Saturday and this older collector just started talking my ear off. He said 'variant covers are just fancy wallpaper if you never read the story inside.' Hit me hard because I've got like 30 variants bagged up at home that I've barely glanced at the actual issues. Anyone else ever feel like they're collecting cardboard instead of comics?

11

daniel_martin•28d ago

That one day a guy in a toastmaster costume gatecrashed our comic club meetup and nobody knew what to do

Last Tuesday at the downtown library, some dude in a full toastmaster suit walked into our weekly comic discussion group and started arguing that Silver Age Spider-Man was overrated because the panels were too busy. I had to play referee for 20 minutes before the librarian kicked him out, and half our regulars still haven't come back since. Has anyone else had random cosplayers show up and derail a conversation like that?

25

miles_garcia•1mo ago

Walked into my LCS after a 4 year break and barely recognized the crowd

I stopped going to Cosmic Comics in Denver around 2019 when it felt like mostly greybeards debating which Iron Man run was better. Came back last week for a variant cover and half the shop was kids and families grabbing manga and indie trades. Did something shift that fast or was I just blind to it the whole time?

1

julia549•1mo ago

Used to worship Chris Claremont like he could do no wrong

For years I thought his X-Men run was untouchable, but last month I went back and read the Muir Island Saga and man, that pacing is a mess. The dialogue is so bloated it reads like a soap opera. Has anyone else revisited a classic run and been totally let down by what you used to love?

8

beth_reed•1mo ago

That one Wednesday where every back issue I grabbed was a dollar bin gem

I hit up this shop in Toledo last week during their half off Wednesday sale and found a near mint copy of Watchmen #1 for 50 cents because the owner thought the cover was dirty. The whole stack I got for under 10 bucks ended up having like 200 bucks worth of value on eBay. Has anyone else had a random weekday haul that just totally made your week?

17

pat_fisher24•1mo ago

Still don't get why everyone loves that Grim Knight Batman story

I had a comic shop guy in Austin tell me I was reading the whole thing wrong after I complained about it. Said I needed to focus on how it deconstructs the character instead of the violence. Gave it another read and yeah, I kinda see his point now but I still think the plot is weak. Has anyone else had to read a story twice just to see what the hype was about?

2

dianaanderson•1mo ago

Pro tip: check the print run numbers before buying back issues

I was at a show in Portland last weekend and a dealer showed me how some comics from the 90s had way higher print runs than people realize. Turns out X-Men #1 from 1991 had over 8 million copies printed, so that 'rare' copy in your longbox isn't worth what you think. Anyone else ever get burned on a book that turned out to be super common?

10

nora110•1mo ago

Trying to find a specific panel from a 2003 Daredevil run took me three days

I knew it was a splash page with Bullseye in the rain, but I couldn't remember the issue number. Everyone online kept saying it was from the 'Guardian Devil' arc, but that was wrong. I finally found it by digging through my own longboxes, and it was in a random annual, not the main series. Has anyone else had a simple comic search turn into a huge hunt?