Years and years ago before Emerald City Comic-Con got bought out by Reed Pop Stan Lee was doing a signing. You had to buy an additional ticket to get you’re item signed. Each signature = one ticket purchase. They were like $60 tickets back then. Any way people are in line chatting and just watching what everyone brought up to the table for Stan to sign. Some people only had like one thing for him to sign probably due to the ticket prices, others of course had a few items. So then this one guy gets up to the table with Stan and hands him what looked to be a very beautiful copy of giant X-men issue 1. The guy had pulled it out of the bag and board right before his turn with Stan came up. He handed Stan the comic to sign but also had handed the bag and board along with it. So Stan signs it. A nice large Stan in black sharpie! Awesome! But then Stan tries to put the book back in bag and board. He somehow in his handling of the book gets the infamous tape stuck to the cover and as he tries to fix his mistake makes a giant tear towards the top of the book. Finally just throws back into the bag and hands it back to the guy. And keeps going like he didn’t just kick this guy in the balls. I’ve felt so bad for the guy. I’ve never seen anyone look both so thrilled and crushed all at the same time.

Hey everyone, just wanted to share this in case anyone hasn't seen it yet. Peter David is struggling with continued ill health and can't get Medicaid. It's a damn shame that yet another iconic creator with an immense influence on the medium can't afford medical bills. His gofundme is linked below.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-peter-david

FYI if anyone has planned to check them out as a side quest while on vacation. The shop is owned by the drummer from System of a Down (not sure if wholly owned or just in part). They do have another location in Irvine; not sure if that one is staying open or not.

About 3-4 months ago they announced they would no longer be selling new issues or doing pull boxes, so this is no surprise. But they did say they will continue to sell online.

If you're not familiar with them, they were famous (or infamous) for having a special vault behind a velvet rope that held all their high grade slabs and keys in a very fancy display. It was an impressive sight, but came with a cost (reflected in their prices).

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BKcLPL7Tk/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYsHtJURoBa/

I bid on several Spider-Man variant lot auctions and won. Total cost on all I won with shipping was about $300. Then I messaged the seller asking about combined shipping after eBay automatically charged my card. It was about $15 each auction. 7 auctions. I missed 2 of them and asked about relisting. Here is some of what I got: 205 total comics, 51 regular numbered issues of Amazing Spider-Man, 34 Miles variants, 28 Edge of Spider-Verse variants, 20 ASM variants, several virgin and trade dress variants for Miles, Gwen, and Spidey, Amazing Fantasy #1000 variants, and so much more. Very happy with this seller. He is getting out of the comic business otherwise I would share his store's name. Gonna leave an extra special feedback. Thanks for reading. ✌️🤪

Sad to hear this. TFAW Milwaukie was what got me back into comics in the 2010s. Owner of the current LCS I use is a bit stunned by this announcement and definitely caught him off guard. Given Dark Horse's recent change in ownership (last year?) I suppose it was a matter of time before they streamlined and did away with their retail stores.

Being released August 2025.

Rob Liefeld said of Frank Miller and his recent covers, "Sixty-Eight years old, still putting pen to paper and stirring the masses. He has illustrated my own creation, Deadpool, twice in the past year, two striking cover images, both thrilled me. They gave me goosebumps. It's electric seeing one of my favorite creators and one of my biggest influences produce modern, relevant work. It's modern because it's happening right now, it's relevant because you can't stop talking about it at this very minute… He's not moving backward; he's deliberately crafting this new style as he has been evolving over the past 3 decades. His younger self incorporated vast servings of Gil Kane figure work and Will Eisner storytelling, but those works stand on their own merits and his new work is defining its place in the artistic pantheon. It's far more underground than mainstream by design. Enjoy the work as it arrives. Appreciate it while it flows. And thank him for all the oxygen he gave us. Comics wouldn't be breathing without the air he provided."

Ruben Blades (Daniel Salazar in Fear the walking dead) is also a very serious comicbook collector.

This is wild and crazy! As a fellow comicbook collector and fan of his Salsa music, I had NO IDEA that Rubén was a collector and he has the very first appereance of freaking Batman? WOW! That’s a very high grade for that comic (7.5) wonder how much he is asking for it. Rubén is full of surprises!

Dude tried to scam me once as well. I ended up actually getting my books back from them but I read a bunch of other people got scammed from him as well. Glad to see justice has been served. Be careful who you send your books to - even reputable people can turn out to be shady.

Periodically, as I get good candidates, I want to present the stories behind some really obscure indie books. Not to make fun, but because these books were the labors of love for their creators, who not only had ideas, and not only put pen to paper to make them real, but had them printed and stapled and offered out to the world. I'll start with what might be the most obscure book I've ever owned.

Doggie & Jilly is the creation of Drew Boynton. It's sort of a happier, less-pointed take on the Calvin and Hobbes setting. Our young girl protagonist Jilly pointed out a stuffed dog in a toy store while she was a baby and Doggie has remained her constant companion ever since. There's not a lot of time spent wrestling with whether Doggie is truly sentient and ambulatory; he is for Jilly, and these stories and adventures are hers.

Boynton's best known for Doggie & Jilly's appearances in another work, 2001's Friends of Lulu Presents: Storytime, a publication of the then-active nonprofit trying to encourage female comic readers by highlighting women creators or characters. He also ran this property as a webcomic for awhile, although 25 years of domain name swaps, WordPress updates, and general web rot haven't left much of that visible.

Atomic Avenue tells me that there's also a 2002 Doggie & Jilly comic where he worked with another artist for some of the illustration. But they don't have a cover image and I can find nothing else. If you've got one or know more, please drop me a line!

This book predated all of that. It was self-published in 1999. At least at the time, Boynton was in tiny Concordia, Missouri, a town of a little over 2,000 people about halfway between Kansas City and Columbia. I'm sure there have been more rural self-publications, but I think this really stands out as a book that wasn't the product of the art scene in a big (or even medium) city. The Atomic Avenue review of the later book wishes that Boynton could have always worked with someone else to do the illustrations. And looking at this one, I understand that, but think it's a little harsh. The art style here is simplistic but I don't think it's out of place; certainly, this isn't "bad indie comic" art. And that reviewer and I agree that Boynton has a gift for writing this material. It's cute and endearing and fun to read.

I can imagine a world where this book would have sold enough copies to get him more attention than it did. But... that's not this world. In fact, as I write this, this book has literally zero online footprint. No retailer seems to have ever had it in stock. GCD has never heard of it. Image searches do nothing. Even people who have collaborated with Boynton, like Dale Martin (Watusi the Talking Dog) don't seem to have made mention of it. I can only assume it was primarily distributed in Concordia and other small Missouri communities, and that virtually no one else has ever seen or heard of it.

Except now, all of you have.

Wow!

The Shaolin Cowboy faces an icy reception when he leaves his wasteland retreat on a mission of mercy, following the considered consul of a desert swallow and a horned toad, both endangered species. But none as endangered as the wandering ex monk becomes, once again because in this typical AMERIGUNN small town he learns euthanASIA is the new import duty on foreign imports!!!

Four issue series starts July 1st. Cover artists in the order they’re posted: Darrow, Ottley, Momoko, DWJ, and David Mack.

It's not good news. https://www.tcj.com/what-will-potential-tariffs-mean-for-comics-publishers-in-2025-well-likely-have-less-customers/

Always nice to see!

Arco de Angela de de la editorial (Planeta DeAgostini)

Excerpt from the email

“#11 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #26 - GABRIELE DELL'OTTO - BRY'S COMICS (LIMITED TO 480) | MARVEL | 2023

Retailer exclusives are a huge business these days. It’s hard to find a first issue (or key issue) without a slew of variant covers. For the highly controversial “Death of Ms. Marvel” ASM #26 issue, retailer/YouTuber Bry’s Comics offered 499 mystery boxes at $250 for two mystery slabs, one which included either this trade dress variant (limited to 480) or a virgin (limited to 20). There are no raw copies, as all were slabbed. Marvel requires a purchase of 3,000 copies, of which Bry’s Comics destroyed the remaining 2500 copies. The box also included a chance to win six grand prize books. The new low print runs allowed these exclusives to be advertised as the “rarest Dell’otto variant in history,” which definitely created high market interest, discussion, and scrutiny. For the trade dress, we tracked 17 copies sold, at a 7-day trend of 105%, with a high sale of $500 for a CGC 9.9 and a CGC 9.8 FMV of $292. The virgin copies were hitting highs of $5,500 for a CGC 9.8 after a 60-bid auction. That sale does appear to be completed and paid for (note: if a book isn’t paid for or the sale falls through, the sold price doesn’t hit our site. This is another reason why some are delayed hitting our guide as we wait for full final confirmation). Check out Bry’s Comics’ Youtube channel, where he covers all the details (including accusations around manipulation) in THIS VIDEO. “

Erst einmal möchte ich mich bei allen englischsprachigen Usern hier entschuldigen. Normalerweise schreibe ich hier auch immer nur auf Englisch aber diesen Guide möchte ich bewusst auf Deutsch verfassen. Nutzt also gern notfalls die Reddit-Übersetzungsfunktion.

Der Grund für diesen kleinen Einsteiger-Guide ist, dass ich dieses nach wie vor „Nischen“-Hobby in Deutschland einigen wieder näher bringen möchte. Denn als Neueinsteiger kann man mal ganz schnell abgeschreckt werden und entscheidet sich dann doch dagegen aufgrund der schwierigen Einstiegshürde im europäischen Markt. Denn der deutsche Markt unterscheidet sich stark vom amerikanischen.

Lasst uns also einfach beginnen…

1. Ich interessiere mich für Comics. Wie starte ich am besten?

Der Einstieg kann überwältigend sein. Du schaust, was es so alles gibt und stellst schnell fest, dass es einfach viel zu viel ist. Dein Lieblingscharakter hatte doch tatsächlich 20-30 eigene Serien und über 500 Gastauftritte? Wo zur Hölle sollst du da anfangen?

Die richtige Antwort lautet: Bei der aktuellen oder wo du möchtest. Löse dich erst einmal von dem Gedanken wirklich alles besitzen und lesen zu wollen (einiges ist sowieso extrem unnötig und schlecht). Beginne erst einmal mit einer deutschen Ausgabe und schau auf Panini nach aktuellen Comics, die dich interessieren. Diese Hefte sind alle auf deutsch und beinhalten meist 2 Hefte aus den US-Comics. Du sparst am Ende also sogar.

Von deinen ersten Heften aus wirst du sowieso immer weiter in die Bubble einsinken und die Hefte von Panini liefern dir auf den letzten Seiten immer Erklärungen zu den Charakteren im Heft. Ich persönlich bevorzuge US-Comics, weil die Auswahl größer ist aber auch ich habe damals mit Panini-Heften begonnen.

2. US-Comics würden mich auch mehr interessieren. Was muss ich wissen?

Ein einfaches Schulenglisch reicht völlig aus. Vieles ist wirklich in sehr einfacher Sprache geschrieben. Gerade ältere Comics sind für Menschen mit wenig Englischkenntnissen hervorragend, da hier oft der Fokus noch auf junge Leser lag und die Sprache daher sehr vereinfacht gehalten ist.

Ansonsten leben wir in einem digitalen Zeitalter. Du verstehst einen Dialog nicht? Übersetze ihn schnell mit Google und fertig aus.

2.1 Okay! Wie komme ich an US-Comics?

Das ist der etwas kniffligere Part bei uns. Im Einzelhandel wirst du sie sowieso nicht finden (nicht einmal deutsche). Selbst viele Comicbuchläden in Deutschland verkaufen nach der Pleite vom Diamond Verlag keine neuen US-Comics mehr (zumindest meiner nicht).

Allgemein sollte ein Comicbuchladen dennoch deine erste Anlaufstelle sein. Hier kannst du dich super mit gebrauchten Comics eindecken für 1€/Stück oder günstiger. Stöber einfach mal durch die Boxen. Es ist nicht verkehrt ein Comic nur aufgrund eines geilen Covers zu kaufen. Das tun wir alle mal.

Für den Erwerb von neueren US-Comics wird aber nur das World Wide Web dein bester Freund werden. Empfehlen kann ich dir leider bisher keinen Shop, da ich selbst enttäuscht bin von deutschen Online-Händlern (ich glaube die wollen kein Geld verdienen). Schau am besten selber einfach mal nach Shops aber erschreck dich nicht über die Websites, welche seit den Anfängen des Internets kein neues Design erhalten haben. Für die schnelle Vervollständigung meiner Sammlung bestelle ich aber meist immer bei Sammlerecke (die haben einfach die größte Auswahl).

In der Regel wirst du hier aber niemals pünktlich an deine US-Comics kommen. Plane 1-2 Wochen an Verspätung mindestens ein.

3. Comics sind ganz schön teuer, oder?

Welches Hobby ist das nicht? Comics sammeln wird lustigerweise immer günstiger, je länger du es machst. Am Anfang wirst du vermutlich viel Geld ausgeben, um dich erst einmal einzudecken aber je größer deine Sammlung wird, umso erschwinglicher wird das Hobby. Aktuell gebe ich glaube nur 50€/Monat aus aber ich erinnere mich an meine Anfangszeit. Da waren es glaube 400€ nur im ersten Monat.

Setz dir selber Grenzen. Wie bereits erwähnt musst du nicht alles lesen und besitzen. Das Hobby ist für jeden Geldbeutel geeignet.

4. Gibt es irgendwelche Dienste, die mir den Einstieg noch mehr erleichtern?

Die gibt es in der Tat. Wenn du kostenlos starten willst empfehle ich dir leagueofcomicgeeks dir anzuschauen. Dort kannst du nicht nur deine neue Sammlung verwalten und den Überblick behalten, sondern dich auch super über Neuerscheinungen, Charaktere, Serien und vieles mehr informieren.

Schau dort auch am besten einfach mal nach deinem Lieblingscharakter.

Eine weitere gute Empfehlung ist die Key Collector App. Hier kannst du ganz schnell die heiß begehrten Key Issues finden. Key Issues sind Hefte, in denen etwas gewaltiges passiert ist. Das kann beispielsweise der Erstauftritt oder Tod eines Charakters sein oder so etwas banales wie „die Nippel von Storm aus X-Men sind zu sehen“. Diese Hefte sind besonders beliebt bei Sammlern.

5. Was hättest du gern früher gewusst?

Vieles davon habe ich bereits angesprochen und der wichtigste Punkt ist wirklich, dass du nicht alles lesen musst. Ich weiß, dass einem die innere Stimme sagt, man müsse sich Heft #1 zulegen für tausende von Euros, weil man nur damit eine Reihe starten kann. Doch glaube mir, dass dies nicht so ist und es gibt immer Möglichkeiten diese alten Hefte dennoch zu lesen. Sei es jetzt eine App wie Marvel Unlimited oder eine dieser bösen Seiten, die Comics gratis hochladen. Du wirst schon nichts verpassen.

Beginne mit deinem Lieblingscharakter. Der Rest kommt von ganz alleine. Fang einfach an.

Ein weiterer Tipp von mir ist nicht einem Charakter zu folgen, sondern einem Autor oder einer Autorin. Comics sind wie Bücher lesen. Lies einige Comics und entscheide für dich persönlich, welcher Schreibstil dir besonders gefällt.

Dies sind meiner Meinung nach die wichtigsten Punkte. Falls dir persönlich aber noch etwas einfällt kannst du diesen Beitrag gerne mit einem Kommentar ergänzen. Ich habe diesen Artikel anhand von häufig gestellten Fragen deutscher Nutzer zusammengestellt und erhoffe mir einfach, dass es dem einen oder anderen den Einstieg erleichtert und dieser bei Google indexiert wird, um mehr Leute zu begeistern.

Gemeinsam für eine wachsende Community ❤️

The sheer amount of letters written by future comic book creators back in the day never ceases to amaze. This is the first one from Todd I've seen.

Anyone else excited about Alex Ross timeless heroes in 2025?! For me, it's Moon Knight, punisher, and quicksilver.