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Post by Brother J on Jul 29, 2007 20:17:23 GMT -5
Since I'm a big underground collector, I'm sure gowaltrip had me in mind when putting this here. One thing I will say, I wish I had more money to work with right now, because there is an unbelieveable amount of great vintage undergrounds available right now, and I think the prices are only going to go up. Wish I could have made it to San Diego as a large number of collectors I know were there along with most of the top UG dealers. Maybe next year...  |
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Post by G on Jul 30, 2007 5:52:44 GMT -5
Yes Brother J, I did have you in mind when I created this thread. Your knowledge in comics that are Underground far surpasses anything I know. I would be happy for you to take this area and run wild with it and teach the rest of us the ins and outs of undergrounds. You dont have to, but if you did, it would be appreciated. Undergrounds to me are one of the hardest areas of comics for me to understand. So any education you pass one will make me that much more dangerous.  |
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whetteon
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Post by whetteon on Dec 29, 2007 15:10:24 GMT -5
What are some of the hottest UG comics in the market today?  |
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Post by Brother J on Dec 31, 2007 5:40:01 GMT -5
One thing you have to realize with undergrounds, is that the books that might get crazy bids on eBay aren't the books that would be the best to invest in. A majority of the times scarcity rules the day more than content. I have some oddball stuff that cost me a lot of money, but they are certainly not items I would recommend to the novice collector. They tend to be oddball items that were listed in the Kennedy Underground Guide from 1982, because a VAST number of UG collectors are trying to collect one of everything listed in there. Obscure mini comix are another example of books that can go for big money.
My investment tips would always gravitate to things like R. Crumb first editions, first and early appearances of Maus, early Harvey Pekar.
I personally heavily recommend guys like S. Clay Wilson and Rory Hayes, but their stuff is so off the beaten trail, they're likely never to gain any popularity outside the underground masses.
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Post by G on Aug 27, 2008 20:32:14 GMT -5
I just got curious looking over these threads (and Im looking for material because that's supposed to be my job right?....sorry  ) Has there been many or any Underground Comics to find their way into the mainstream and ever hit it big? I would imagine if there is such a list, it would be rather small, but I would wonder if there was indeed some UG's that did make the transition and if so, do you feel they lost something when they made the move? Do you feel any actually got better. And I guess I would wonder the opposite too. Was there ever any comics that started in the mainstream, flopped and made their way to Undergrounds and had any iota of a following? In other words, they downsized to the UG and actually found a lot more success there? |
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Post by Brother J on Aug 28, 2008 8:32:11 GMT -5
I just got curious looking over these threads (and Im looking for material because that's supposed to be my job right?....sorry ) Has there been many or any Underground Comics to find their way into the mainstream and ever hit it big? I would imagine if there is such a list, it would be rather small, but I would wonder if there was indeed some UG's that did make the transition and if so, do you feel they lost something when they made the move? Do you feel any actually got better. And I guess I would wonder the opposite too. Was there ever any comics that started in the mainstream, flopped and made their way to Undergrounds and had any iota of a following? In other words, they downsized to the UG and actually found a lot more success there? hmmm, well, really tough to say. For me, underground comix is more of a genre than a way to publish, like being an independent comic compay. There are lots of comics that are independents that aren't close to being undergrounds. On the other hand, Harvey Pekar just did American Splendor with DC/Vertigo and I still consider that an underground comix, even though it was published by DC. As far as undergrounds that have hit it somewhat big with the mainstream, I would say R. Crumb is so well known, he is just about mainstream, although I would always catagorize anything he did as an underground comix. Same with Harvey Pekar. The American Splendor movie brought him to the notice of the general public and even got him published by a huge company like DC, but still an underground comix guy to me. As for the other thing, well, not as easy to answer. I think you're suggesting that someone who might have tried his hand with DC/Marvel, but decided publishing underground comix instead. Nothing really comes to mind. |
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Post by G on Aug 28, 2008 9:08:20 GMT -5
I wasnt really speaking of Marvel, DC.
More like Pacific, Now, Dark Horse, Caliber, etc.
Something kind of mainstream, but small....
Didn't quite make it with moderate backing, but on its own found a way to do well.
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Post by Brother J on Aug 28, 2008 13:52:59 GMT -5
I don't really think the question is applicable to underground comix. A comic is either an underground or it isn't, no matter where it was published.
Each person has their own definition about what is underground comix and what isn't. Somebody wanted to post images of the recent Flaming Carrot series in the underground comix Wiki. I (and others) didn't feel they belonged, mainly because I (and they) consider the Carrot to be an independent, not an underground. A lot of my fellow underground collectors consider porn comic books to be undergrounds. I feel some of them are, but most aren't. Very subjective thing that everyone has to make their own mind up about.
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Post by G on Aug 28, 2008 15:36:39 GMT -5
Hmmm...I was thinking of a few things I might of considered Underground that eventually made it to mainstream, but I guess now that you mention it, I would think of it as more Independent than Underground.
I guess this blurs the lines for me as to what is the difference between Independent and Underground? For someone like yourself, this is probably real easy.
The books I now would consider Independents and not Undergrounds could easily be found in Overstreet's price guide. Is that one criteria of Underground? Not found in Overstreet? What are the other characteristics?
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Post by Brother J on Aug 29, 2008 1:46:39 GMT -5
I guess this blurs the lines for me as to what is the difference between Independent and Underground? For someone like yourself, this is probably real easy. The books I now would consider Independents and not Undergrounds could easily be found in Overstreet's price guide. Is that one criteria of Underground? Not found in Overstreet? What are the other characteristics? For me, it's basically just a feel. First of all, the obvious answer for someone who doesn't have experience with them is undergrounds would be the things that are listed in the Kennedy Underground Comix Price Guide, other than the "ground level" books, which are early independents like Cerebus, Elfquest and things like that. To learn about the underground comix movement, here's a good intro for you: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_comixIf you're really interested in learning about it, there are also several excellent books on the subject. |
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