AC
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Post by AC on Feb 12, 2014 23:28:43 GMT -5
Had an idea for a thread. Something that had been mulling about in my head for a while now... something I thought would make for a fun podcast (however, with no knowledge of audio manipulation, and a voice fit for mime... a thread'll have to do).
As comic readers, I think we have the "uncanny ability" to place ourselves when it comes to certain comics or comic events. I know I can pinpoint exactly where I was when reading certain issues... or what was going on during certain events.
Today, I want to discuss the Death of Superman in 1992.
I was 12 years old, and living on Long Island. This was one of those times where I felt as though I was "in the know" on something comics related... you see, I was a paperboy for New York Newsday. This, as far as I know, was the paper that broke the story.
I remember getting my stack of papers, and the bottom half of the front page exclaimed:
"Great Caesar's Ghost! They killed Superman" with a picture of Superman grappling with the creature who would be Doomsday.
At first, I felt annoyed... Annoyed that I, as the wise 12 year old comics fan didn't know about this. Not that I particularly cared about Superman or anything... it's just, I thought I was the guy who knew comics. I then realized that among my tiny group of friends... I was likely the only one who knew. So, I quickly spread the word and gained a short-lived reputation as a "guy in the know". Silly, to be sure.
At the shop (later that same day), we harassed the poor guy behind the counter for as much information as he could give... he didn't know anything we didn't. He did, however, set up a special subscription system for the Death of Superman saga. He would put aside every issue for you... including BOTH versions of Superman 75 if you paid for the run up front, plus like an additional $20.
My best pal was quick to plop down the cash, but I didn't. Not for any hindsight wisdom or moral reasons... I simply couldn't come up with the money.
As each week went by during the death storyline, the guy at the shop would jab at me for not having a subscription (keeping in mind, I was 12)... and every week (except one) I was able to grab the issue off the rack.
The one I missed was an issue of Action Comics... which, I missed the Friday at my normal shop, but found the next day in a baseball card shop.
On the day Superman #75 was released, I cut a deal with my mother. I begged her to wait at the comic shop that morning until they opened (it was a Friday, and I had to go to school). She actually did it. She waited in a line, and picked up the book for me.
I remember getting home from school that day, and I was greeted by the newsstand (unbagged) edition on our dining room table. I was happy to have it, but was disappointed not to see the black-bagged version. I went up to my room to read it, and was surprised to find both the black-bagged version AND the first part of "Funeral for a Friend" on my bed. That was a good day.
I still haven't opened that black bag. In fact... twenty years later at a local Half-Price Books, I managed to actually find an unbagged deluxe Superman #75 WITH all the goodies that came in the bag... for a dollar... so I bought it... and put on the stupid armband.
Anyhoo... hopefully this can help spurn some fun retrospective discussion. I think these remembrances and deja vu-y sensations may be somewhat unique to our fandom.
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Post by defiant1 on Feb 13, 2014 1:09:41 GMT -5
When I first heard about Doomsday and Superman dying, I didn't care. I don't like DC characters for the most part. I watched all the lead in stories come out and didn't buy any. On the day Superman #75 was going to be released, I was asked if I would help a store pick up their order at the Diamond Warehouse on the south side of Atlanta. I had a truck and they didn't want to make several trips. I agreed to help. I always liked seeing the Diamond warehouse, even though it wasn't much to speak about. Two or three of us loaded up our vehicles at the warehouse and made the trip back to the store. I'm thinking we brought the books in the back door. Being a comic fan, I always hung around while the subscription comics were being sorted. The store was not open yet. The store sold comics, but they'd become better known for selling vintage movie posters. I recall standing behind the counter looking at the crowd outside waiting to get in. The manager (my friend) was on the phone taking an order for a movie poster. The "helpers" were sorting out the subscription comics so they'd be ready when the doors opened. It was like being in the eye of a hurricane. The doors would be opening soon. The crowd was going to pour in. I look over at the manager who had been completely focused on his phone conversation. He hangs up the phone with a big smile on his face. Then he looks at the front window of the store and sees the huge crowd waiting for the doors to open. He angrily says "This is why I hate comics." I was perplexed. I said "This is going to be the biggest sales week this store has ever had on comics." The manager agreed, but he said "That one order I took over the phone will be more profit than all this week's comic sales." I shut up and thought "wow". The store sold some high end movie posters, so I didn't doubt the integrity of what he was saying. I pondered in that moment why they even wasted time on comics at all. Ultimately they did quit selling comics, but it took a few years more to make that decision.
I slipped through the entire marketing event proud that I had saved my money and didn't buy overproduced comics that had very little long term potential. Later that day I stopped by a few other stores. One store had sold out, and they were having to buy the comics back from their customers in order to meet the demands of people walking in the door. Customers were selling the book back to the store for $10, just so the store could flip it to a demanding customer for $20. People years later recall being gouged, but they ignore the fact that they were idiots demanding the comic at whatever cost they were charged. The stores were simply trying to meet demand. You can't sell a comic for cover price and then turn around and restock for twice cover. That's stupid. If it costs them twice cover to restock, they have to charge twice that to make any money.
After the craziness settled down, my niece and my dad tell me they'd like a set of the comics. I tried to talk them out of it, but they insisted. Newsstand comics came out about three weeks after direct market editions. I lucked up and found most of the early stories on the spinner racks.I even bought a bunch of the newsstand copies of Superman #75, but I knew my dad and niece would want the black bag edition. While explaining the situation to a girl that managed a store near my home, she said "don't worry about it". She magically pulled two copies from behind the counter and sold them to me at cover price. I lucked up because her brother owned a comic distribution warehouse. Her store had never sold out.
I gave away two sets of the comics the following Christmas. My dad set them aside and never touched them. I inherited them back in 2008 when he passed away. My niece tried to sell them back to me when she got older. I told her she'd have better luck on eBay.
df1
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Post by G on Feb 14, 2014 4:42:24 GMT -5
Thanks Ace for taking the initiative to create a thread. A cool one at that. If you have aspirations of doing more of these in the future and if you would like, I can make it where I can give you a subdirectory and you can add books to it as you wish. Let me know.
As for Superman #75, I remember how it screwed me out of a different speculation play going at the time. You see, I had already tied up my money on what should have been the next sure thing. Me and my friend went halves on 100 copies of Bloodshot #1. This was hyped as the next sure thing. Although Valiants had peaked, they were stil hot and this book sported a chromium embossed cover by BWS. Bloodshot was already hot from his previous appearances and this book was being hyped big time.
The problem this was hyped before Superman #75 being named as the death issue. Wouldnt have been a problem, that is until it was revealed it was coming the same day as Bloodshot #1 which just crippled sales because now the much hyped Bloodshot #1 was playing second fiddle to Superman which was an absolute historical frenzy. And I had none.
Undeterred, I had a comic convention show to run that weekend. I brought with me all my comics including my 50 Bloodshot #1s. I got to the show early, set up and travelled around to dealers trying to find copies of Superman #75. Luckily I found a dealer sitting on a bunch of Supermans but had no Bloodshots and wanted some. A straight up deal was struck but he would only trade me 9 copies. I rushed back to my table and hung a $9 price tag on each one. This was typically an unheard of price because it was only 3 days old.
The doors opened and it was a frenzy in there. I sold all 9 of my copies within 10 minutes. I could have sold them all day if I had them, I was asked about all day. I did wind up selling about half my Bloodshots at double cover price but it was clear Superman had taken all the steam out of my Bloodshotd. Too bad I didnt hold on to my few copies of Superman because the lowest they were going for by the end of the week was $50 a copy. I heard it was easy to get $75 and desperate customers seeing final copies in stores were getting $125 a copy. 2 months later you couldnt give them away. They were ice cold.
As for my Bloodshots, I still own about 20 copies to this. I always wonder what would have happened had Superman had not of come out the same day? The hype was there. People wanted the book but Superman took their minds off of Bloodshot. And just a few months after that, you couldnt give away Valiants either.
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AC
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Post by AC on Feb 14, 2014 17:08:04 GMT -5
I rushed back to my table and hung a $9 price tag on each one. This was typically an unheard of price because it was only 3 days old. This is a nice segue into my next "Where were you when..." Today: Youngblood #1 This, if I'm remembering correctly was the first Image comic released. I remember the "American Entertainment" ads that ran in like EVERY comic in the early nineties painted Youngblood as an X-title, only not published by Marvel... "Mutant heroes for a new generation" or some such nonsense. Being in the early stages of X-Men completionism, my best pal and I knew we would HAVE to buy this new title. I remember we went to the shop almost daily looking for this book. We had very high hopes, considering this was going to be a $2.50 book, which at the time was TWICE as much as any of the X-Men titles. Finally the day came where the book was released. We rushed to the store, only to find that there were ZERO copies on the rack... instead, there was a single bagged and boarded copy tacked to the wall with a FIVE DOLLAR price tag on it. This was release day... and the book was tagged at twice cover price. I remember contesting it, and refused to pay. It was a week or two earlier that I bought a copy of X-Factor #5 (first appearance of Apocalypse) for $5 from this very same shop... I couldn't justify paying the same amount for a brand-new book. My pal wasn't deterred, he was, however $2 short. We had to walk all the way back to his place so he could try to swindle the extra cash from his mother... then walk all the way back (probably about a 5 mile round trip... so 10 miles of walking in total that day) so he could buy a copy. He told the shop owner he wanted the one on the wall... but was advised that one was "just for show", and proceeded to pull an un-bagged and un-boarded copy out of a box and sold him that one for $5. This served as the first of my two disappointments during the Image launch window, and ultimately saved me quite a bit of money over the next several years. I did wind up finding a copy of Youngblood #1 about 15 years later... in the all too cliche 25 cent bin (along with issues 0, 2-6). I attempted to read it, and found it really bad. I felt vindicated in that a crooked comic dealer unwittingly talked me out of buying it for full price. |
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Post by defiant1 on Feb 14, 2014 20:39:23 GMT -5
I have no noteworthy stories to tell about Image comics. I was not interested in anything they published until Union #1. It never went up in value and I never saw #2 come out. I think I own a newsstand copy of Spawn #1 with a bar code. I know I own a newsstand copy of Wildcats #2 with the white cover. I knew the newsstand copies were much rarer, so I was more inclined to buy the comics that were not produced in excessively high numbers.  I do own the distributor TPB's which rebound Youngblood and Spawn. Those are much harder to find.   I also own the Youngblood #1 Treasury Edition because I collect Treasury sized comics.  df1 |
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Post by G on Feb 16, 2014 16:50:45 GMT -5
I look back at the formation of Image as when comics lost what it had forever. Its when creators got bigger than the comics and the respect that what worked beforehand and when deadlines stopped mattering. It could have been a transition to something great but Ive personally never seen anything to live up to the hype.
Youngblood #1 was the first Image comic but by comparison it is no Fantastic Four #1 nor does it come close to even a Magnus ##1. In fact I would go on to buy all the launch comics like most collectors back then and I can honestly say I dont recall even one memorable story or even a scene. I never cared about any Image character and I went in with a completely open mind and a paying customer. None of it ever hit with me.
What I did notice is covers that said nothing about the inside of the book. You can look at over 200 covers of Spawn and not know a thing about the book. Most of the covers just show Spawn in some demonic menacing pose.
What did become the norm was missed release dates to the point of acceptance today. It was unaccrptable before Image, its not even a concern today.
People like to blame the speculation boom for the fall of comics along with gimmicks, I place more of the blame on the guys who became bigger than hobby itself, was rewarded for substandatd work, allowed pricipals to vanish, and took over high executive positions they were unqualified for and continue to damage comics today.
To me Youngblood #1 represents the day comics died.
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AC
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Post by AC on Feb 24, 2014 22:44:13 GMT -5
Keeping with the Image launch... Spawn #1
This book wasn't one that we were terribly excited for. I think me and my pal kinda talked ourselves out of caring about this one as we were exceedingly irritated at the high prices for all the McFarlane Spider-Man issues.
That having been said, Spawn kinda snuck up on us. We showed up to the shop one day, and there it was. The owner didn't mark the price up, which was good. The LCS we shopped at was tiny... like a glorified walk-in closet. Usually we were alone when we were there, insofar as patrons. Today, however, there was another with us... a man, probably in his mid to late 40's. He came to the shop for EVERY COPY of Spawn #1 that the store had. He initially asked for 100 copies of it, however had to settle for about 25 or 30 or so. My friend and I quickly snapped up a copy each simply to ensure we could buy one if we decided to.
We watched this guy buy a thick stack of Spawn #1, the whole time he was telling us to do the same, as he was sure the value was going to skyrocket. He was duly prodded on by the shop owner, who must have seen dollar signs. This was my first run-in with an actual "speculator"... and turned out to be the first time I personally acted as one as well. Though I only bought one copy of the issue, I did so in the hopes it would go up in value. I think the highest sticker I've seen on Spawn #1 was like $15 or so... a quick check of comicspriceguide.com has it valued at $6. Not anything I really regret or anything... just one of those purchases that stuck with me. Hell, I still haven't read my copy yet.
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Post by defiant1 on Feb 25, 2014 5:31:52 GMT -5
My understanding is that Todd McFarlane still has cases of the comic. He was supposedly quoted as saying there is no need to ever pay above cover price because he still has plenty.
df1
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