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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2014 18:20:18 GMT -5
Something I feel like is really important to talk about and that I feel nobody talks about anymore mainly because of the almost instant gratification of the internet is "the hunt". What I mean by this is those days you go to that comic store that every city or town has, it may not be your local, but it just has wall to wall dusty boxes and boxes of stuff that the store doesn't have listed on a computer and it's either in the owners memory or you just have to start looking. And you may go in with the idea of looking for 1 particular thing but manage to fine 10 other things you cannot believe you've found and didn't even know existed. I'm only 24 years old so I can speak for most people when I say when you want to find a new comic or old comic to read, you type something into Google or ebay and you'll find it. But you can't find everything. And ever since hearing an interview with Jeph Loeb a while ago and hearing him talking about catching a train and a bus to find that one store and hope they have something only to find they have much more, I have put this into practise.
I go into my local comic store now and everyone that works there is my age but they don't seem to comprehend this idea and so its very difficult to even strike up a conversation about comics, which in my opinion is the only reason worth going into the store otherwise just buy online. And there is nobody I talk to who ever goes on the hunt anymore besides the guys that work at these old dusty comic stores. I have about 4 local stores in Melbourne within walking distance of my work, and I have my weekly pull list with them. But once a month I get 2 trains (I can drive but wheres the fun in that) in order to reach a suburban town that has a store like I mentioned and I just spend hours in there looking and ALWAYS walk out with something amazing. I would absolutely love to hear about similar experiences about great experiences on "the hunt" and MAINLY things you've found that you never would have found before. I can say personally, on top of 100 other things, I have found about 4 DC Elseworlds titles not even listed anywhere on the internet that I could easily find if I wasn't looking for it. No more of this point and click crap. Get your hands dirty. It brings me so much happiness going on the hunt for comics and I want to hear other peoples experiences. Cheers!
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Post by Bob Reyer on Feb 5, 2014 19:38:38 GMT -5
Benji,
When I was a kid, there weren't comics stores at all, let alone the Internet, so if you missed an issue, "The Hunt" was most definitely on! Antique stores, flea markets, sidewalk sales, old book sellers; it was a real struggle to find anything older than last month's issue buried behind something else on the rack. In the early-Seventies, a store opened in NYC called "SuperSnipe Comics", which I believe was the first dedicated comic book store in the area, and Forbidden Planet a few years later, and with the advent of conventions, it was a great time for collectors needing to fill gaps! You still had to search, but that was part of the fun, as there was nothing better than the serendipitous find of a book you didn't know much about that would end up a favorite!
I have a pretty wacky "Hunt" story to relate, that I don't think I've ever told on-the-air. Flash back to the early-Eighties, and I had some gaps in my Fantastic Four collection, particularly within the first thirty issues. I was working at the record store when a customer I also knew from my LCS came in and told me that a comics store had opened in the town my store was in.
"There's no comics store in Patchogue" I said;
"Yeah, it's a little place just east on Main Street called Dr. Mobogo's Intergalactic Outpost!" he replied;
"Your joking--there's no such place!"
"Well, his sign doesn't say that, because he's inside the Casino Clam Company."
"You're telling me that there's a comics store inside a fish monger?"
"Yep, you should get over there before everything good is gone; it seems like the guy's own collection."
A day or so later, figuring my leg was being royally pulled, I drove over to the Casino Clam Company ("Wholesale--Retail--Fish Dinners"), and walking in, I found no comics whatsoever. Turning to leave, a young lady wearing a black rubber apron walked out of the back room, apologizing for being late. She set up a display board on one of the showcases holding filet knives, and proceeded to unload Mylar-bagged copies of Fantastic Four #2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, and 13 ! Excepting that #12 had a slight tear to the back cover, and #3 a clipped panel (but both netted me quite a bit in trade toward replacements!), they were in fine or better condition, and the prices were ridiculous! For example, the #6 which was VF/NM and would have guided for about $125 was marked $25! Stammering, I asked if there was a discount for larger purchases, and she went to get "the boss". I told him the issues that I wanted, and pointed out some of the problems, and he told me the price would be $200 for all nine; "Discount for cash?" I asked (Why not, right?) "Sure, $150"; I ran right to the bank, and rushed right back to the clam store.
As I said, I did have to up-grade two of them, but as I basically bought all nine books for the actual price of the Fantastic Four #6, I had no complaints! The transaction would end up costing me a lot of money, as it stoked my interest in not only finishing up my Fantastic Four run, but filling all the gaps in Avengers, X-Men, Captain America, Strange Tales, JLA, Doom Patrol as well as all sorts of mini-runs and oddities. An even-better "side-effect" of this purchase was that by now being "forced" to buy a copy of FF#1, I was at a con a year later where I was able to have Jack Kirby sign it, and two years later have Stan Lee sign the same book!
This was a hunt that really paid off!
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Post by joestate on Feb 5, 2014 19:53:11 GMT -5
Bob that story is amazing! I'm so happy this forum exists solely for that story haha. I am in awe at your FF #1 signed by the comics giants!
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Post by Bob Reyer on Feb 5, 2014 20:00:07 GMT -5
Bob that story is amazing! I'm so happy this forum exists solely for that story haha. I am in awe at your FF #1 signed by the comics giants! Joe, I'm still amazed by it, and it's my story! You never know where the gems are hiding, right? One of the best things about owning that book is that whenever I show it to someone, their reaction to seeing it brings me instantly back to the feeling I had meeting Stan and Jack--sheer goosebumps! |
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kiro
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Post by kiro on Feb 5, 2014 21:58:40 GMT -5
I love this thread as well! With the craziness that everyday life brings I try and do the same thing. There are about 5 decent comic shops within a half hour of driving from me. If I am bored or need to clear my head I can travel to the stores and dive into the long boxes for hours. Even if I dont end up finding anything, the enjoyment of "the hunt" is euphoria. I am myself while looking through those old issues because I appreciate the time and effort that the artist and writer took to create these stories and always find myself wondering the story of each physical book often imagining a yound child seeing this particular issue on the shelves and picking it up in the 80s or a parent rewarding a child for their hard work on chores with a trip to the comic store. I am not looking for any real hard to find issues right now so like you Tooth I always walk away with some random issues to fill in the gaps of some series I am collecting.
I dont have any cool storys of finds that I came across but my coolest comic story I have goes like this. I have been slowly collecting decent quality back issues of the Amazing Spider-man. I can find a lot in $1 boxes all over and a lot of cheap issues at cons. I grabbed issue #253 from a $1 box at a con which is the first appearance of the Rose. My local con is twice a year and whenever they announce artists and writer guests, I always check to see what issues I can get signed. Last June I see that both Rick Leonardi, the penclier, and Bill Anderson, the inker, would be there so I would get the same issue signed by both. I found Rick right away doing a comission and he signed it. He then tells me that Bill Anderson is at the con as well. Rick says that the craziest thing is that they both worked on this issue in 1984 (I was 1 year old) and they had never met in person until that day! I found Bill in an adjacent room and he told me the same story. Such a cool story of getting that book signed that day that I will have forever.
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Post by Raider30 on Feb 5, 2014 22:00:26 GMT -5
Heyo, Nice topic. I was thinking about starting one just like it so I'm glad you did. I also had the same question. The majority of the talk is about the newest issues hitting the shelves and I've often wondered if people had holes they were trying to fill in collections, or any fun finds, that sort of thing. I love going to comic shops and whenever I travel, if possible, I try to find an LCS to visit. Just to see what they've got, even if it's nothing I want or need, it's always fun to go poking around someplace new. In fact I started this topic: Share your recent acquisitions so people could share what they've found on their hunts. My signature also contains a link to my pull file post which has a section for things I'm searching for, things I've found/runs completed, and books in my 'to read' file. I don't know if anyone checks it or will check it, but I'd certainly love to see what other people are searching for and what they've found. - Beau |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2014 22:08:09 GMT -5
Wow. Just wow.
I feel like following Bob is pointless. But I'll try.
There's this great little shop called Evil Empire in Melbourne (for those ever venturing to Melbourne any time soon Evil Empire and Collector's Edge are the go to places for hidden gems and you walk in and can never see the guy that works there but he manages to pop out of nowhere every time and ask to help. And he knows where everything is and mind you this place looks like if all the hoarders in the world had a town of hoarders, in that town he would be the hoarder. And while flicking through I managed to find a few sentimental things I'd been searching for (The whole run of Chuck Dixon's Robin at around 50c an issue) I came across a bundled set of the first 20 issues of Grant Morrisons JLA bundled together for $30. I bought it no questions asked, came home and opened them to find they were all signed by Grant Morrison himself and the first issue also signed by Howard Porter.
I also came across the Stephanie Brown Batgirl (favourite female DC character) figure which is impossible to find now and it was selling for its original shelf price.
And right before the moment everybody realised Arrow was actually not too bad a series I came across the entire run of Mike Grell Green Arrow including annuals for $60. The owner is probably kicking himself now.
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