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Post by Brother J on Sept 9, 2007 18:54:28 GMT -5
I really haven't been buying much of anything, but there were a few undergrounds on eBay recently that I wanted, so I won them. Here they are:  local Philly radio station comic, it's not really as brown as it looks in this picture. I wanted it since this was a station I listened to a lot growing up. and I picked up a couple other books since I was already buying from the seller:   |
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Post by UDog™ on Sept 9, 2007 21:04:06 GMT -5
Very good find brotherj congrats on getting the books you wanted ;D .
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Post by G on Sept 9, 2007 21:35:33 GMT -5
Those look about as obscure as it gets. Although I think I have seen a Moon Comix before (could be wrong, but it "looks" familar). I find the appeal limited in these books, but when I think about it, when you show a book like this, it instantly becomes a book hardly anyone else has....thus maybe the appeal???
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Post by Brother J on Sept 10, 2007 7:39:09 GMT -5
Those look about as obscure as it gets. Although I think I have seen a Moon Comix before (could be wrong, but it "looks" familar). I find the appeal limited in these books, but when I think about it, when you show a book like this, it instantly becomes a book hardly anyone else has....thus maybe the appeal??? Well, undergrounds are really my thing, so I understand when people don't think they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don't really have a focused goal when it comes to collecting these. It might be something as simple as having a cover I like (like the Moon Mix comix above) or something that is obscure just because it is. I also hunt out books by UG creators that I enjoy, guys like Crumb, Shelton, Rory Hayes, etc. |
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Post by G on Sept 10, 2007 14:10:39 GMT -5
I dont think I ever meant anyone who was more into undergrounds and obscure than they were into mainstream. Or at least supported by a decent sized comic company. You've always been this way??? Have you or do you have a big favorite comic company that is mainstream? I know youve been on valiantfans a long time. So, I kind of picture you have a lot of mainstream books too. Its just you have a lot of undergrounds and obscure as your specialty. At least, that is what I have always pictured. Are you saying that youve always been more obscure and underground than well established comics?
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Post by Brother J on Sept 10, 2007 16:39:55 GMT -5
I dont think I ever meant anyone who was more into undergrounds and obscure than they were into mainstream. Or at least supported by a decent sized comic company. You've always been this way??? Have you or do you have a big favorite comic company that is mainstream? I know youve been on valiantfans a long time. So, I kind of picture you have a lot of mainstream books too. Its just you have a lot of undergrounds and obscure as your specialty. At least, that is what I have always pictured. Are you saying that youve always been more obscure and underground than well established comics? Nope, not at all. I started with comics the traditional way, reading Marvel comics as a kid. There was a shop in a little village within walking distance of where I lived at the time, so I got into collecting comics because of that and reading the "Marvel Guide to Collecting Comics". I got into independent comics back in the late 80's during the great Black and White craze that was triggered by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That exposure led me to collecting Cerebus, which I did from issue #100 to it's end in 2004. I was like everyone else in the early 90's, reading Wizard, hearing about the next hot book and trying to track it down before the price got too crazy. I found out about VALIANT that way, although I was too late to get Pre-Unity at a good price. The majority of my pre-Unity books I had at the time were purchased at the crazy prices of the day. As for getting into underground comix, that kind of happened by accident. I was (and am) a big David Lynch, so I was buying every movie he did (on VHS at the time). There was a movie called "Crumb" which was heralded as being "Presented by David Lynch". I found out later Lynch had nothing to do with it, he just lended his name to the publicity because he was friends with the director of the film. Watching Crumb made me want to find out more about these weird comix. I started collecting things and my interest grew because of several things, one being the great auctions Don Donahue was putting on eBay (Don was the publisher of Zap Comix #1) and the other being the comicspriceguide Underground Comix forum. There's a great group of guys there who really know their stuff, and we also have an underground comix legend as a semi-regular poster in Jay Lynch. I still collect traditional DC and Marvel Comics, and I definitely have a lot more of them than I do undergrounds. I also still enjoy going to comic shows and "dumpster diving" for comics, most of which are usually DC or Marvel stuff. The only reason the undergrounds are my main focus right now and I haven't been buying much of anything else is basically because of a lack of money. My wife and I moved to PA and built a house, and I have yet to find a steady job. My wife makes good money and I could probably buy stuff, but until I have a job of my own, I don't feel right about spending on my hobbies. Anyway, that's the deal. I still enjoy a good superhero comic, and have a ton of them. |
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Post by cfs on Sept 10, 2007 21:55:42 GMT -5
Someone called my collection esoteric the other day. Is owning X-men #1 to 300 esoteric? Are 10 boxes of 70's & 80's Marvel with few duplicates... esoteric? Of course not. I've seen this stuff a million times. It bores me. I post pictures of the obscure stuff. I post pictures of things that are harder to see. My collection isn't esoteric, it's diverse.
I think undergrounds are cool to collect. I'm just not into most of them.
cfs
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Post by G on Sept 11, 2007 4:31:57 GMT -5
I love the movie Crumb! That is a great documentary. You watch it thinking he is weird as hell. Then you realize he is probably the sanest one of the family. I think he is a gifted artist. I love how he draws constantly. Its not that he is such an extraordinary artist. Its just he has so much practice he can just make it work. I sit down at book stores a lot of times and will be in there drinking coffee. And I will get a Crumb book out and read his cartoons. Amazing stuff! He has a great imagination! A twisted mind and humor. I love it.
I would love to own a few of his books. But it seems like they are expensive and plus I cannot tell what I am getting with Undergrounds. There seems to be a lot of printings. I cannot tell the differences.
Ive always wanted to see a copy of the Underground Price Guide. Is it really comprehensive? Does it settle a lot of the mystery of colleccting Undergrounds?
Also, do you think there is much of a market for it? Certainly it is a niche market. But, is it something that if you decided to sell, would you normally be able to sell it quite easily on ebay, or would it just sit and sit?
I know we have a dealer near where I live and he has boxes and boxes of the stuff. I havent been to his shop in a long time. If I knew what to look for, I might buy his some of it. Most of the stuff looks like it just sits there and collects dust. For some reason he has his Underground Comics next to his Porn Magazine section. So, you usually see 3 or 4 guys back there flipping through the Nudie Mags and no one looking at the Undergrounds.
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Post by Brother J on Sept 11, 2007 7:50:53 GMT -5
I love the movie Crumb! That is a great documentary. You watch it thinking he is weird as hell. Then you realize he is probably the sanest one of the family. I think he is a gifted artist. I love how he draws constantly. Its not that he is such an extraordinary artist. Its just he has so much practice he can just make it work. I sit down at book stores a lot of times and will be in there drinking coffee. And I will get a Crumb book out and read his cartoons. Amazing stuff! He has a great imagination! A twisted mind and humor. I love it. I would love to own a few of his books. But it seems like they are expensive and plus I cannot tell what I am getting with Undergrounds. There seems to be a lot of printings. I cannot tell the differences. Ive always wanted to see a copy of the Underground Price Guide. Is it really comprehensive? Does it settle a lot of the mystery of colleccting Undergrounds? Also, do you think there is much of a market for it? Certainly it is a niche market. But, is it something that if you decided to sell, would you normally be able to sell it quite easily on ebay, or would it just sit and sit? I know we have a dealer near where I live and he has boxes and boxes of the stuff. I havent been to his shop in a long time. If I knew what to look for, I might buy his some of it. Most of the stuff looks like it just sits there and collects dust. For some reason he has his Underground Comics next to his Porn Magazine section. So, you usually see 3 or 4 guys back there flipping through the Nudie Mags and no one looking at the Undergrounds. The printing information isn't too tough to learn if you are willing to study it a little bit. I think most don't feel it's worth the effort, but if you want to collect undergrounds and not get ripped off, you have to learn quickly. LOTS of sellers mismark UG's, usually saying a book is a first printing when it's not. Yes, the underground price guides help. The sad thing is there are really only two official guides that have come out in all the years of collecting undergrounds. Probably the best one was the Kennedy Guide. VERY comprehensive and a must resource for determining printings. Of course the prices are out of date because the book came out in 1982. It's out of print and a collectible in itself. It was going for close to $100 for a time, but seems to more routinely go for $40-$50. I recently found a copy on eBay with a $5.00 Buy It Now, which I bought and flipped right away for $50. The newest guide is the Fogel Underground Comix Price Guide, nowhere near as comprehensive as the Kennedy and it includes way too many porno books, since those seem to be a major interest for Fogel, the creator of the guide. The good thing is the pricing is a lot more closer to accurate and it's supposed to receive updates, one of which should be out later this year. As for selling my undergrounds, yes, I could definitely sell the majority of what I have fairly quickly on eBay. You would be surprised at how strong the market is for some of the more rare items. The bidding sometimes gets pretty fierce for some items, which is another reason I haven't bought much stuff recently. |
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Post by G on Sept 11, 2007 19:34:24 GMT -5
Sounds cool....
Are there any Grails or Key issues? Are Undergrounds divided into eras like Silver, Bronze, Gold, Copper, etc? And what about today? Are Undergrounds still alive and thriving or are they mostly a thing of the past? (Trying to get a mini education as much as I can here).
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