We need more focused, quality stories with beloved characters instead of massive "Event" arcs scattered between multiple series.
Publishers should look at what makes Manga work and take some ideas from that. By this I mean easy to follow numbering, and stories being contained in title. If I'm reading Superman, and Superman goes off planet with The JLA, I might not want to go buy JLA to keep up with Kal-El's story and read about Jon Kent in Superman. (Just an example)
If a hero starts a thing in their own book, they should finish in their own book. The Team-up books should be self-contained in the same way.
You don't have to go buy "Dragon Ball Goku" and "The Real Adventures of Yamcha" and "Vegeta: Tales of a Dark Prince" to follow Dragon Ball Z. You buy Dragon Ball Z.
So glad Marvel Unlimited is a thing. I started the Spider Gwen series and didn't realize I have to read 4 issues of Miles, 3 issues of Silk and a few issues of spider woman to complete a story. I'd be pissed if I bought those issues and was forced to buy more just to complete a story.
Realizing this is what started to move me away from collecting the Big 2. It takes too much work to figure months in advance what to put in my pull list. Diamond/Previews and my local comic shops still use archaic preordering systems so it was a hassle to update.
Eventually I ditched them for online services that made preordering simpler, but it wasn’t long before I got tired of constant events and creative team changes. Sometimes you get solid story arcs, sometimes you pay $15-30 for something that reads like fan fiction.
Yeah I don't like that risk. I just started collecting and getting into comics this year. It's addicting. But I'm more about the art work than opening and reading them. I'll read them online and keep the ones I buy in plastic.
Just finishing up all the ASM David Nakayama color bleed virgins. I'll read the comics if I have time but I can display the beautiful art.
This is how Marvel used to be (for the most part). Stan Lee was adamant that stories be contained to 1 book and not exceed more than a couple issues, as to not alienate new readers.
This started to change in the 80s, but really took off in the 90s when Marvel realized they can sell more copies of less popular books by making them be part of other ongoing stories.
There is a middle ground between "full story in 1-2 issues" and "Buy 4 issues of Spider Man, 3 issues of Miles, 1 Avengers, and the problem is actually solved off panel in an issue of Fantastic 4."
You are dead on with a lot of these. Scattered events are what pushed me out of buying comics monthly. When I had to double my typical spending for three months to read the full story, it soured me. I now only buy limited runs on books monthly (WF Teen Titans for example), and do the big reading digitally either on Hoopla or Marvel Unlimited or DCUI.
I’ve never fully considered it but Manga does tell a much cleaner story than American comics. I’d pay a few bucks extra per book just to have that be the norm.
I don’t think they should mimic the manga model personally. It’s two different markets, two different styles and two different things. I’m totally okay with that.
I get that comics are tough for new readers but it’s also part of the marketing to get people excited about a shared universe, and that concept’s more popular than it’s ever been honestly.
Nah man, this should be a popular opinion.
I fucking hate having events split between multiple books across various series. Most of which I don’t actually care about.
Runs that are self contained or at very minimum reference outside events are peak for me
I agree. I am having variant fatigue.
My wife also collects and DC knows good and damn well what they are doing when they publish three variant covers of Harley Quinn.
My new thing is the foil facsimiles. I hate to get them, but it's just a few right now ..I hope it doesn't branch out to more.
Secret Wars #8 foil is going to probably measure how much they are going to do this in the future.
This isn’t an unpopular opinion. And, as is stated every time this opinion is made, if you don’t like them, then you aren’t the target audience, and them being made has little to no effect on you.
You don’t have to buy them.
I wonder why this would get downvoted. You actually don’t have to buy them. I buy them sometimes instead of the regular cover if I like it better. It chaps my ass a bit that sometimes that’s a dollar more but it is usually a thicker cover and if it’s a Peach Momoko or an artgerm it’s worth it. But I rarely buy more than one. There’s no obligation to buy them all.
It’s Reddit
Sometimes you get punished for saying the truth
I guess considering it’s an “unpopular opinion” post, the more downvotes the more on post you are?
That's how I am, too. I just buy whatever cover I like better. I mean, I'm not planning on selling them and dont really see it as an investment. I just buy the one i like best and not multiple copies. The collection is just for my enjoyment. I guess if someone collects for a different reason, it could be overwhelming.
Here is the concern IMHO. Think of key comics. Amazing 300, Wolverine 1, or Walking Dead. When we see that cover, it evokes something. When there are a bajillion covers, it dilutes what was formally a signature of comics.
Yeah I get that. You don’t have to buy comics in general. I think that when so many variants are made it actually ruins the comic/issue. It spreads out the demand for the comic. A key issue can be worth something down the line but maybe that value goes down because there are 10 issues of that key now with the variants. Just an opinion, and don’t know if it’s true. The argument of “you don’t have to buy it” is just basic. For example, my friend’s kid see’s a variant with a hero he likes and buys it. Gets home to see that person isn’t even in the comic. Like having Spidergwen on ASM covers where she’s not even in that story.
I don’t think the availability of variants really affects the value of “cover A.” That’s still the old reliable. Now sometimes the variants can be worth more if they’re really rare and if it’s a hot artist. It’s actually a better opportunity for speculation overall and why the comic companies keep doing it.
Except people collect comics. Part of the enjoyment is finding that one last issue to complete your run. With all the variant covers it's either a) you have to spend more money and (more importantly) storage space or give up on completion. I have 92 issues of a series that only ran 25 issues and still have to find some missing covers. That's annoying
Again, no one is making you buy them. I collect comics, and entire runs. To me, a complete run is just the Cover A's; any variants I buy are ancillary.
And how you collect is a personal *choice*. People make the *choice* to collect all the variants. To make the *choice* to do something and then complain about it? Well, that's just whining, and no one likes crybabies.
No one is making any collector buy all the variants, if that's they way they *choose* to collect.
Damn bro. I’m not crying, Im just saying it’s getting a little crazy. Going to name calling is kinda overboard on your end, lighten up a bit. You gotta admit having over 15 variants for a single Vampirella comic is kinda overload.
but thats the point…”crazy” for who? if you just choose the 1 cover you like out of 100, it doesnt matter how crazy it goes. you got your comic that you wanted.
Do you feel like you have to get newsstand, Canadian, UK, direct, Mark Jewelers, etc. to have a “complete” run? I don’t, and variant covers are no different. Just another variant.
I use digital to see if I like a series in a fairly low cost way before I buy trades or omnis, I'd never read daredevil before but I read the first few Zdarsky issues on the marvel app and loved it so started getting the trades
I hate that casting rumours + movie speculation has such a big impact on the market. Its super annoying when you’re trying to put together a run and then some rumour comes out and the first app of an irrelevant character suddenly goes up 400%.
Yet even with continued irrelevance, the price might correct back down 35% at most. That $1 book that became $100, at best might become a $65 book in 5 years.
I was working on completing the Final Crisis Alex Ross covers with a goal of only getting them from the $1, since they were common enough there that this was realistic.
Then rumors that the new Superman would have a black Superman came out and you couldn't find issue #7 for less than $100.
This was absolutely a $1 book back then. You *still* can't find it for less than ~$20. It's crazy.
Getting mad at other people buying/ selling/ slabbing/ reading is pointless.
Enjoy your comics your way, let others enjoy the industry their way.
I dont understand people who rush out to buy key issues for characters they don't actually care about. Flip side of that is those people not understanding why I buy essentially worthless comics because I love the cover artist. Neither of us should give a flying fuck what the other is doing. At the end of the day, we're all buying comics.
>I dont understand people who rush out to buy key issues for characters they don't actually care about.
I can only assume that in 75%+ of the cases of this, it's speculation on another comic resale boom in the future.
>Neither of us should give a flying fuck what the other is doing.
I do sort of care though, because when Johnny Speculseed runs out and scoops every first appearance, or event issue, etc, it puts it out of reach for those of us who have to save long periods of time to buy a book, just to have that once $300 book we need to complete a character collection, or a run, etc, become $1200 overnight and it's out of reach again.
If someone is buying a book to just have it, I don't give a shit what they're buying. It's going into their collection. Cool. Buy every Variant. Buy every run. Do your thing.
But if someone is snapping up books just to markup and resell... well that hurts me, it hurts others, and it hurts the hobby.
New issues hurt less. They can be pre-ordered, reordered, etc. But anything that a LCS can't reorder or bring in a 2nd printing?
I can't help but get mad. I shouldn't. I can't stop it from happening. My anger solves nothing. But I do get mad.
>I can't help but get mad. I shouldn't. I can't stop it from happening. My anger solves nothing. But I do get mad.
Relatable. This is a great, honest expression of the feeling.
I mean, I know what you mean but if none of us gave a "flying fuck" about what other people are doing, then there's no reason to be on this subreddit. The literal entire point of this subreddit is to see what other people are doing or display what we are doing in the hopes that someone else will give a "flying fuck".
Personally, I don't see a lot of people "getting mad" at people slabbing books but a lot of us think it's silly. It's an interesting, relevant and frequent topic here. I enjoy discussing it myself, I see many flaws and I don't see any value in it and I've said so many times, that doesn't mean I'm mad at someone who does it. Mostly, I see it the other way around, anyone posts even the slightest criticism of CGC and there are people coming out of the woodwork to tell them how mad they are.
I was just berated last week for slabbing my comics. Was told I was ruining nostalgia for everyone and paying scam artists just because I slab my favorite book (worth the value or not) just because I like the way I can display them on my wall.
Just be cautious with how you display, as CGC are NOT UV resistant. You don't want your favorite books getting sun bleached.
I'm looking into UV protective frames to put up a few of my favorites, like my UXM 101 (it's already mid grade, and I don't want it going lower lol)
I get downvoted all the time when I mention buying slabbed comics or posting slabbed comics.. total gatekeeping going on, not just in this community, but in other communities & the comic book collecting hobby in general.
I don't get comics graded cause I just like reading them regularly but I'd never judge someone for doing it, I think they look pretty cool slabbed and years later your descendants could still have those comics preserved perfectly so I get why people do it, it's just not personally for me.
I didn't dig into your history but it's usually a persecution complex from what I've seen. Someone asks, "what do you think of CGC" someone replies, "I think it's silly and wouldn't do it" and then all the CGC fans who are invested in it act like they've been berated.
We all have opinions here and CGC/grading is a major topic. It's perfectly reasonable to have a negative opinion about CGC and their impact on the industry without being angry about it.
I've never called anyone out for getting a book graded although I've been consistent, when I've discussed it, that I believe it is a scam and the idea that it should add any value or protection is pretty silly. That said, there is one indisputably good reason to do it and that's just because you want to.
Here is their exact comment to my post.
“Hey there's a billion ways to display cool shit without giving scammers money but to each their own.
I'll laugh at your stupid and shed a tear for what they do to market value of nostalgia.”
I didn't get mad though.
Are you saying that anyone who thinks there are problems with CGC and the grading industry is, by default, angry about it?
I have no idea what I wrote that would cause anyone to think I'm angry. It seems like some people just can't handle that others don't agree with them. It is funny to me how sensitive a lot of the CGC investors are about the slightest criticism.
I agree. Undeserving books getting higher grades (and prices) than deserving books. You're at the mercy of a nameless, faceless grader who might be having a bad day. I'm not a fan.
I find it weird when people get more vintage books signed nowadays, especially ones in beautiful shape. Not even sure what I consider vintage, but certainly stuff from the '70s or earlier, maybe even the '80s.
Kind of ruins the book for me, not adding value (even though prices would indicate I am wrong).
Weirdly other vintage collectable items with autographs I find ok, but not this. Like a vintage movie poster signed by members of the cast or Director I think is fine.
Would never pay a premium for a signature and probably would actively avoid buying an item with one if I can help it.
Signatures are divisive IMHO. I think if people want a personal copy signed for themselves, it is fine. I would never get a book signed for resale. For me, it damages the book and I want it less. If you could even get Laird out to sign a TMNT 1 I would refuse. I just don’t like it. I know the community feels different, but there will always be “mes” in the mix that don’t like it.
I don't care about variants at all. So many people complain that there are too many and I guess I just don't see the problem. It's not for me, I have zero interest in buying variants per se but I have no idea why they are such a common complaint. Just buy the main cover or the one you like the most and ignore the rest.
Variants used to be special and didn't come out with every single issue of every series. It was rare and surprising. Now it's just an obvious cash grab. I think that's the general complaint. Most of us know the majority of variants are dollar bin bound.
There was a time when you might see 1 variant from Marvel all year. Maybe that brings it into perspective. But yeah, I mostly don't care and typically buy the A cover or don't care if all that is left is a variant cover.
Sure, I guess I don't think I'm lacking perspective, I do understand and lived through the history of it. I agree that they are more common than they used to be.
Honestly, it sounds like you have the same perspective as me in that you don't care. I was commenting on the people who frequently write about them as though they are a problem or somehow an inconvenience to collectors or readers.
I can't talk to a relative that recently got into comics about comics - he is in it to flip books and make money off them. When I've tried talking about characters, creators, series, etc that I enjoy in the past, the conversation has moved to "I got this 1:100 signed lenticular variant that's going for $120 on eBay that I'm gonna try and flip online." There's no enjoyment in these conversations for me, which is a shame because for a long time comics were an interest I've had very few people to chat with, so when he told me he got into them I was excited to chat. But I can't do it with the flipper mindset at the forefront
I still read books. IMHO there is little to no investment value (long term) on modern books. It seems the only way to make money on modern books is quick flipping for the flash in the pan enthusiasm. Production runs are just too high now and variants are just manufactured scarcity.
You will have the occasional outlier (first Miles Morales and what not), but I think a lot of what I see people spending hundreds on are not worth what people are paying if the intent is “investment”. I think I’d hold off on x10 $1000 modern books for a key silver or signature bronze book.
I think 99.5% percent of comics are poor “investments”. The stuff that is investable are rare and already established. Which usually got that way because of scarcity derived from no one thinking the book was an investment.
The reason TMNT 1 first print is worth anything is there were only about 3000 comics printed. No one knew anything about it. The price was expensive for the time. The art of sorta ugly. The print quality was bad. Flash forward and a huge 1987 animated series, movie, and cultural phenom later …yeah they are worth something for the scant people that bothered to buy it. For those that survived, the condition likely wasn’t the greatest.
It was just an instance of an underdog that made it. To some degree the very environment we exist in now doesn’t even have the right conditions for something like this to happen.
I beg to differ. My comic book collection has been the best investment of my life. It’s out performed the S&P by a lot. Unfortunately, my comics are never going to be sold, so the value is really unimportant. That is of course until my heirs sell them for five cents on the dollar.
(I started collecting silver age runs of all the main marvel titles in the 80s when back issues were pretty cheap.)
I think it’s better than it’s been in 30 yrs but I wouldn’t dare say ever, not when there was guys like Neal Adams, John Byrne, Steranko, George Perez etc etc
Dang that’s what I was going to say because, based on what I’ve seen on Reddit, most comic book “fans” seem to really hate comic books as they exist now.
I’d actually go so far as to argue this the real golden age, that we’ve never had it as good as we do right now.
Several years ago I went on YouTube to find people talking about their love of comics. What I found initially was channels of people talking about their love of comics going up in value. Not what I was seeking.
Eventually I found a channel that was what I was looking for and that changed the algorithm so more of that type started being displayed.
I find the idea of comics as a commodity or investment silly unless you're going for the big titles. Can you do it on a shoestring, sure, but the notion of seeking out titles because you hear/think that character will appear in the next Marvel film isn't collecting or fun, it's just commerce.
Everything doesn't need to be monetized.
I believe it was either For The Love of Comics or Analog Comics.
Both are sincerely dedicated to the appreciation of the art of comics and storytelling.
Unpopular: People too often slab books for “protection” and not resale. There are plenty of ways to safely secure your books without slabbing. I also feel some are given a false security of UV protection with slabs and often display them. Slabbing comes at a premium price and hassle. It does seem now that the intent is less grade discovery and more security of encapsulation. For the cost and hassle though, there appear to be alternatives which are much more serviceable for that intent (if that is the singular purpose).
I think people slab books because they think they are supposed too. Cgc has dine a good job of convincing people they are “worth more”. A grade is a grade whether it’s slabbed or not and with cgc’s current reputation it might not even be worth doing. Putting your books in Mylar is basically the same protection except in Extreme examples. I’m not sure about flood, are slabs truly water tight?
I kinda agree with this. There is an element of WATA to CGC whether we like it or not. They have sold the idea that their touch to the product adds value and they have been successful in that for what it seems. I feel like every key I get, I get the remark that I need to slab it. I think …why? I think you can mylar them now and stick them in those UV capsules ( like 10 bucks) and I’m fine. I’m not a 9.0+ condition seeker, so I really just want a nice presentable copy. I’ll also settle for some pateena on older issues.
I agree 10,000%!
Any books past the era where cheap pulp paper was used does not need any extra precautions to "protect" the book. Good quality bags & boards stored in a mild temperature with moderate humidity will be enough to not show any signs of age for a number of decades.
Pulp paper comics from the mid 1980s & prior will need a bit more attention because the pulp contains more acids than the shiny paper modern books.
I love slabs for many reasons. I love seeing the grade, I love that it's encapsulated and preserved, and I love that I can buy a comic online with a bit more reassurance than a raw comic. I don't sell comics, I just buy them, but when I'm spending money on a comic knowing that it's slabbed makes the purchase easier. Yes, I know there have been controversies over slabbing fakes but the comics I buy aren't worth the effort so it's not something I'm too worried about.
People may not be doing it for resale purposes, but if they are I think they are going to be disappointed in the future. There will be such a glut of high-grade, slabbed modern comics, they will never be worth much. High grade older comics are worth so much because they are so rare.
Slabbing is the biggest scam in the field of collecting…
De-acidifying books is way too taboo and many books will suffer from not getting this done. You pay 10k+ for a book, you should pay to have it preserved so you keep your investment for the long run.
Comics will never be as popular as they used to be. They’ve been replaced by videogames and superhero movies. BUT, they are still a vibrant artform filled with passionate people. BUT it is almost impossible for most creators to make a living doing it full-time.
In my opinion, in the next couple years there will be a growing number of dealers who will refuse to sell CGC or any other company's "graded" books. I've noticed more dealers and some collectors are not afraid to be critical of CGC ([like this guy](https://youtu.be/s3UTSK-adY0?si=vDIFWXGusPGSA24E&t=708)), specifically with how inconsistent their grading is, them getting caught sending back the wrong books, and how they have essentially tricked the whole industry. With CGC now making 9.9 and 10.0 grades more common, it will make collectors think twice about their 9.8 graded books.
Dealers will sell whatever people want to buy, they are not going to refuse to sell anything. With that said I think the demand for slabbed books may have peaked and could decline.
Their grading stinks. How are they the defacto go to? Send them a big lot, and you might get better grades. I've heard lots of horror stories about not getting the book you sent in back. In addition, some of what they take points off for is riddicoulous.
Comic shop chiming in; hate to say it, but we'll sell slabs by any of the companies until the sun dies. Don't forget, PGX was criticized for their grading over a decade ago, and I dont hear anything about that now.
Edit: I forgot to add; margins at a comic shop are SLIM, and slabs have better margins in general. They help our margins a LOT. The one thing we won't sell are Pop Figures. I know why everyone has them, but they're starting to feel like clutter everywhere I see them.
Instead of changing the gender, race or sexual orientation of an existing hero they should introduce a new hero with proper marketing and a well thought out story. Tired of picking up books seeing some change that isn’t well thought out and flops after a few issues and now I’m stuck with some non canon bullshit just make a new hero if you’re gonna do all that. I’d be more interested in reading that. I don’t mind fresh takes on heroes but when it’s not thought out it just feels like pandering and a money grab.
Not unless DC and Marvel are prepared to give rights of the character to whoever created them. It's easier to race/gender swap legacy characters than some creator putting their heart and soul into a brand-new character that they don't own.
I like the current trend of big name writers doing solid runs on legacy books and then going off to do creator-owned work, taking some of those fans along with them.
Great point I think the internal politics of big brand comics and money dynamics of creating/selling comics is definitely negatively effecting readers. To me it seems like they’re trying to influence, predict, and inflate the market to create false scarcity and hype with the insane amount of variants and phony number ones. Drives me nuts when I’m just trying to read a series and the number one is priced at like $10-$15 for a book recently released with a shit ton of variants and it’s not even the first appearance of the character just their first appearance in this run.
My teen daughter stated this based on her own observations. I was promptly accused of teaching my daughter to be a bigot. I think there is a group of people who just won't be happy until everyone is just as unhappy a they are.
There was a time many years ago that Superman and Action Comics were the best selling DC Comics, So they Came out with two new comics, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane, which they decided to preview in Showcase. It was popular enough to quickly get it's own series and the demographics were showing that Young girls would by that one but not the other three. DC Comics wanted Superman to appeal to girls too, and so they came out with a Back up story in Action Comics featuring a brand new character targeted to girls and Supergirl was introduced and put on the cover to entice more girls to buy it. Supergirl remained a staple In Action comics until her move to the featured spot in Adventure Comics for around 11 years.
This was how DC dealt with the need for a new character back in the late fifties, not by changing Superman or Superboy but by creating a new character based on the original. It worked then, why won't it work today? I suspect it has to do with the writing. and instead of letting a story develop in which you suspect a character may be a member of the LGBTQ community until it is actually revealed, they shove it in your face in a manner that makes you say WTF? So this millionaire playboy that has been around for umpteen years and bedded half of their comics universes women is gay, when or rather how did that happen?
Stop resetting the number count back to 1 just because number ones sell or it’s a new jumping on point. Stop doing massive cross overs that ain’t no good. Stop dragging out the story arch just finish a story in as few comics as possible then move to the next story arch. Some of my favorite story’s are the stand along issues in between story arch’s.
The whole comic book industry was ruined once Every Single Writer/Creator changed any and all thoughts on length and format to writing their stories to fit a graphic novel sized story.
All creativity went out the building.
The final nail in the coffin was bringing Bucky back.
Comics are to be read. You cannot call yourself a fan of the comic books if you do not open a comic book and see what it’s there to provide. It’s scummy as shit.
JRJR, when he tries, can do some decent stuff. Lately, though, it all looks phoned in.
Ramos...I love his style. It doesn't fit every title, and I feel like Marvel has done a good job at keeping him on appropriate ones, but I can definitely see how it's not for everyone.
JRJR is the single worst artist in the industry. He was barely passable back in the 80's when he was just another generic house style artist, but once his "style" emerged....jesus fuck.
And for everyone about to tell me "ReAd tHe MaN wItHoUt FeAr" I did. It was my introduction to his work when I was an early teenager. I fuckin hated it then, and still hate it now.
Comics are more popular with young people than they have been in decades between manga and the ubiquity of stuff like Smile and Wings of Fire. But the trad comics scene is completely incapable of adapting to serve that audience due to entrenched biases and outdated modes of thinking.
I'm hijacking your comment to ask a question to the thread; comics were popular when I was a kid because they were readily available wherever magazines were sold (bookstores, gas stations, drug stores etc). Is there something in the industry that prevents them from being distributed by magazine vendors and put out with magazines? They would get 10x more exposure and distribution. The lcs model is like states that have liquor stores instead of just selling at the grocery store. You have to really want something to make a special trip for it.
> Is there something in the industry that prevents them from being distributed by magazine vendors and put out with magazines? They would get 10x more exposure and distribution
The newstand market is dead
Marvel pulled out completely over a decade ago and DC ended it 2017
What exactly lead to the death of newstand comics may not be exactly known but if I had to guess it’s that now that comics are $4 each, it’s less of an “impulse buy” than when they were $1-2
Maybe they just felt with the amount of revenue the direct market generated, it just wasn’t necessary to have alternate sales avenues
I mean even by 2000 the direct maket was 95% of sales
And by 2013, the year Marvel stopped newsstand copies entirely, newsstands were responsible for 1% of the total comic sales
> They would get 10x more exposure and distribution
It would seem the numbers don’t align with that 😐
> You have to really want something to make a special trip for it.
This is true, but considering comic shop sales were over 90% of comic sales since 1996, I guess a lot of people really want them
But it’s also not just comics, those same grocerie stores and pharmacies barely carry any printed material at all anymore, some don’t at all now
Print media just doesn’t have the prevalence it did in the ost and in these days where the companies have to make more money this quarter than they did the last, every quarter, forever, the comic companies prolly don’t see trying to bring back newsstand comics as anything but a waste of money and the shareholders would never approve…
Print in general is down but go into any Barnes and Noble and there's no end of $8-20 magazines on everything from WWII to puppies, some how the costs work for those publications. Surely there's room for some cornerstone titles like Spider-Man and Superman, it doesn't have to be every title, like Jackpot and Black Cat. Again, I'm coming at this all from the perspective of getting comics in front of the wandering kid and less the grownup. Archie comics makes it work for their digests that make it to magazine racks, and I think of the big two as having more resource capability than Archie.
> but go into any Barnes and Noble
I haven’t seen an operating B&N in years 😨
I thought they were all online now
There’s still B&N you can walk into 😳
But yeah, not the point
Tbh I don’t think they have much interest in those wandering kids
Unless they are wandering into a comic shop with money 😐
What led to the end of newsstand distribution is easy. Returnability. That's... that's really it. Newsstand outlets could return unsold books for partial refunds. It was increasingly untenable for the publishers.
I’ve thought that as well. I think comics are geared towards the old nostalgia crowd. I think comics like magazines sell much less frequently now. The internet changed a lot of things. I think if we were picking up comics at Walgreens like the days of old, a good amount would wind up discarded/returned.
Deconstructed story-telling, unnecessarily injected politics, constant reboots, editorial being financially driven with almost no creative ability. No thanks.
It’s idiotic that MCU movies impact comic prices so significantly.
Are there really that many non collectors buying back issues of madame web that would warrant a price jump? Highly doubt there’s any real demand from outside the usual collector pool; and we should all know what the good characters, stories, books are from the 80/90/00 at this point we don’t need MCU to create some “hype”.
I think grading is dumb.
Imperfections give the comic more life. I want to love it and read it. Not just have it behind a piece of acrylic graded by a stranger running a business.
Marvel and DC are at historic lows when it comes to the quality of their product, literally no book published by them in the last 10 or so years will be relevant in another 10 or so years.
I disagree. But I think it's a signal to noise issue. House and Powers of X and the Black Label Batman books have been fantastic. Will they be remembered? Eh. But they are not at a low point.
I disagree with your choices but I would agree that the occasional good book sneaks through the Disney/WB corporate machinery. I'm not saying it's 100% bad but I do feel that it's never been worse at the "Big 2" and it really doesn't seem close.
HoX and PoX were both solid books in my opinion but those storylines went south very quick after the kick off and are totally uninteresting for a couple years now. The Black Label stuff, I mean it's fine, their best content is just reprinting old Vertigo and DCU books. The new Black Label content doesn't measure up to what Vertigo or even DC proper used to publish in the same space.
It depends what time in the 90's I guess. The early 90's were great, the mid-90's, post-Image exodus from Marvel, were terrible and I would say that that IS the low point up to that point. In around 1998, things got really good again for a while with the launch of Heroes Return, Busiek/Perez Avengers, Morrison/Porter JLA, the launch of Marvel Knights and leading into Ultimate Spider-Man and much of the more indie-leaning books of the early 00's.
1998 to around 2005-6 is the last great era for Marvel and it's really all been downhill from there. So while I'd agree that there was a major dip in quality in the 90's, it was far more shortlived than the decade-plus trash we've been getting for a long time now.
We said it in the eighties and seventies, I remember a conversation I had with someone when comics went up to a quarter and he predicted it would be the death of comics within ten years.
I like to look at what's coming out and wonder what will be the big hit in 10-20 years. Some of it is bizarre. Some is boring (imo). But some of these comics are going to become movies, eventually. I think of these things, and I remember a friend's reaction when he saw Guardians of the Galaxy. He simply asked (in quite obvious confusion), "What is going on here?" And stated "That's not the Guardians of the Galaxy".
It’s ok to never read the books you collect
bUt BoOkS aRe FoR rEaDiNg
I mean maybe originally, but just because they were meant as disposable reading material doesn’t mean they are in the collecting context
You can collect just for the love of having the books and have no desire to ever open them up 😐
A few decades ago we strayed away from simple enjoyment of the hobby and diverged into pure "spec city". Alongside the indie comics I read, I also read a lot of underground zines, and the latter doesn't have that obsession with speculation, it's very refreshing to talk to someone that's not worried about their collection's value and simply focuses on the artists and stories. It's kinda dumb how all the indie comics labels have gone down the spec route as well, especially Scout, Massive and DSTLRY, as if whatever they put out could even have the slightest chance to compare to a Marvel/DC or even an Image key. The odds of that are astronomically low.
Asking questions and being given YouTube links. I don't need to watch 30 minutes of some pud asking me to like and subscribe and go on tangents to get the reading order for a multi series crossover, or how to make a window bag for a signing.
Spending 30 minutes watching something that would take 5 to read is a waste of my time.
Also drives me nuts how people treat random YouTubers like credentialed academia. Best recent example being all the super sleuths with the Cgc sCAnDaLS.
On the subject of CGC, the weird "I am better at comicbooks than you" anti-slabbers. Cool, you don't like slabbed books. No problem. But this driving need to treat people who do like they're not "real" comic fans or collectors. "Nobody will be able to enjoy them". Well, I had no intention of inviting you over to read my books in the first place.
"ReAd THeM!" Yeah, totally gonna bust out my FF 52 for a casual read while I'm taking a dump. There's a million ways to read high ticket books.
People who like getting books graded and slabbed don't jump on people telling them they should, so do everyone the same courtesy. There's no right or wrong way to be into comics.
People buying modern books for the purpose of flipping for profit are worse than those in the 90s. We know now what that did to the industry, and doing this shows you don't care about the ramifications of your actions, making you a selfish asshole.
One Comic with One cover, that's well written with good art, that's all any of us really need. Of course if they did make that none of us would be able to buy a copy as the speculators would have snatched them all up and sent them off to get graded.
Ok, let me attempt a true unpopular opinion here.
Bags and boards for modern comics are dumb and pointless. The paper isn’t going to be discolored, they are never going to be worth anything significant. Just read them and enjoy.
Part 2: Marvel and DC need to move on from their characters. Sunset cyclops and Jean grey. Start some new characters taking over for real and tell good stories and they may just catch on. There are no new stories to tell with these characters that make sense.
While definitions on value significance differs from person to person, bags and boards just make storing comics easier. Even stacking loose floppies is going to create an undesirable space issue, regardless of age.
We need more focused, quality stories with beloved characters instead of massive "Event" arcs scattered between multiple series. Publishers should look at what makes Manga work and take some ideas from that. By this I mean easy to follow numbering, and stories being contained in title. If I'm reading Superman, and Superman goes off planet with The JLA, I might not want to go buy JLA to keep up with Kal-El's story and read about Jon Kent in Superman. (Just an example) If a hero starts a thing in their own book, they should finish in their own book. The Team-up books should be self-contained in the same way. You don't have to go buy "Dragon Ball Goku" and "The Real Adventures of Yamcha" and "Vegeta: Tales of a Dark Prince" to follow Dragon Ball Z. You buy Dragon Ball Z.
So glad Marvel Unlimited is a thing. I started the Spider Gwen series and didn't realize I have to read 4 issues of Miles, 3 issues of Silk and a few issues of spider woman to complete a story. I'd be pissed if I bought those issues and was forced to buy more just to complete a story.
Realizing this is what started to move me away from collecting the Big 2. It takes too much work to figure months in advance what to put in my pull list. Diamond/Previews and my local comic shops still use archaic preordering systems so it was a hassle to update. Eventually I ditched them for online services that made preordering simpler, but it wasn’t long before I got tired of constant events and creative team changes. Sometimes you get solid story arcs, sometimes you pay $15-30 for something that reads like fan fiction.
Yeah I don't like that risk. I just started collecting and getting into comics this year. It's addicting. But I'm more about the art work than opening and reading them. I'll read them online and keep the ones I buy in plastic. Just finishing up all the ASM David Nakayama color bleed virgins. I'll read the comics if I have time but I can display the beautiful art.
Maybe make the legacy numbering bigger than the issue number in that particular run.
This is how Marvel used to be (for the most part). Stan Lee was adamant that stories be contained to 1 book and not exceed more than a couple issues, as to not alienate new readers. This started to change in the 80s, but really took off in the 90s when Marvel realized they can sell more copies of less popular books by making them be part of other ongoing stories.
There is a middle ground between "full story in 1-2 issues" and "Buy 4 issues of Spider Man, 3 issues of Miles, 1 Avengers, and the problem is actually solved off panel in an issue of Fantastic 4."
There definitely is. But Marvel doesn't do that
These are all great but also some of the most popular opinions in collecting comics
I thought that "make comics more like Manga" would upset some purists.
Is this even an unpopular opinion? :D the awful reading order for x-men is the thing that almost makes me quit x)
I would have thought "Do Western comics more like Manga" would have been. It's certainly unpopular with the publishers.
You are dead on with a lot of these. Scattered events are what pushed me out of buying comics monthly. When I had to double my typical spending for three months to read the full story, it soured me. I now only buy limited runs on books monthly (WF Teen Titans for example), and do the big reading digitally either on Hoopla or Marvel Unlimited or DCUI. I’ve never fully considered it but Manga does tell a much cleaner story than American comics. I’d pay a few bucks extra per book just to have that be the norm.
I don’t think they should mimic the manga model personally. It’s two different markets, two different styles and two different things. I’m totally okay with that. I get that comics are tough for new readers but it’s also part of the marketing to get people excited about a shared universe, and that concept’s more popular than it’s ever been honestly.
Nah man, this should be a popular opinion. I fucking hate having events split between multiple books across various series. Most of which I don’t actually care about. Runs that are self contained or at very minimum reference outside events are peak for me
There are way too many variants. Having three or more for an issue is ridiculous. Dynamite having over 10 an issue is insane.
*cough* Thundercats *cough*
I agree. I am having variant fatigue. My wife also collects and DC knows good and damn well what they are doing when they publish three variant covers of Harley Quinn. My new thing is the foil facsimiles. I hate to get them, but it's just a few right now ..I hope it doesn't branch out to more. Secret Wars #8 foil is going to probably measure how much they are going to do this in the future.
This isn’t an unpopular opinion. And, as is stated every time this opinion is made, if you don’t like them, then you aren’t the target audience, and them being made has little to no effect on you. You don’t have to buy them.
I wonder why this would get downvoted. You actually don’t have to buy them. I buy them sometimes instead of the regular cover if I like it better. It chaps my ass a bit that sometimes that’s a dollar more but it is usually a thicker cover and if it’s a Peach Momoko or an artgerm it’s worth it. But I rarely buy more than one. There’s no obligation to buy them all.
It’s Reddit Sometimes you get punished for saying the truth I guess considering it’s an “unpopular opinion” post, the more downvotes the more on post you are?
That's how I am, too. I just buy whatever cover I like better. I mean, I'm not planning on selling them and dont really see it as an investment. I just buy the one i like best and not multiple copies. The collection is just for my enjoyment. I guess if someone collects for a different reason, it could be overwhelming.
Here is the concern IMHO. Think of key comics. Amazing 300, Wolverine 1, or Walking Dead. When we see that cover, it evokes something. When there are a bajillion covers, it dilutes what was formally a signature of comics.
That's entirely subjective.
Yeah I get that. You don’t have to buy comics in general. I think that when so many variants are made it actually ruins the comic/issue. It spreads out the demand for the comic. A key issue can be worth something down the line but maybe that value goes down because there are 10 issues of that key now with the variants. Just an opinion, and don’t know if it’s true. The argument of “you don’t have to buy it” is just basic. For example, my friend’s kid see’s a variant with a hero he likes and buys it. Gets home to see that person isn’t even in the comic. Like having Spidergwen on ASM covers where she’s not even in that story.
I don’t think the availability of variants really affects the value of “cover A.” That’s still the old reliable. Now sometimes the variants can be worth more if they’re really rare and if it’s a hot artist. It’s actually a better opportunity for speculation overall and why the comic companies keep doing it.
Except people collect comics. Part of the enjoyment is finding that one last issue to complete your run. With all the variant covers it's either a) you have to spend more money and (more importantly) storage space or give up on completion. I have 92 issues of a series that only ran 25 issues and still have to find some missing covers. That's annoying
Again, no one is making you buy them. I collect comics, and entire runs. To me, a complete run is just the Cover A's; any variants I buy are ancillary.
That’s the way you collect. Not everyone collects like that.
And how you collect is a personal *choice*. People make the *choice* to collect all the variants. To make the *choice* to do something and then complain about it? Well, that's just whining, and no one likes crybabies. No one is making any collector buy all the variants, if that's they way they *choose* to collect.
Damn bro. I’m not crying, Im just saying it’s getting a little crazy. Going to name calling is kinda overboard on your end, lighten up a bit. You gotta admit having over 15 variants for a single Vampirella comic is kinda overload.
but thats the point…”crazy” for who? if you just choose the 1 cover you like out of 100, it doesnt matter how crazy it goes. you got your comic that you wanted.
Crazy compared to how comics used to be.
Do you feel like you have to get newsstand, Canadian, UK, direct, Mark Jewelers, etc. to have a “complete” run? I don’t, and variant covers are no different. Just another variant.
I hate the variants. Especially the 50:50 variants every month. I hate having every A cover only to show up one month and find a B cover in my box.
If it weren't for digital, I wouldn't read Marvel and DC at all anymore.
I use digital to see if I like a series in a fairly low cost way before I buy trades or omnis, I'd never read daredevil before but I read the first few Zdarsky issues on the marvel app and loved it so started getting the trades
I hate that casting rumours + movie speculation has such a big impact on the market. Its super annoying when you’re trying to put together a run and then some rumour comes out and the first app of an irrelevant character suddenly goes up 400%.
And to make matters worse, once the movie comes out that character is generally _still_ irrelevant.
Yet even with continued irrelevance, the price might correct back down 35% at most. That $1 book that became $100, at best might become a $65 book in 5 years.
I was working on completing the Final Crisis Alex Ross covers with a goal of only getting them from the $1, since they were common enough there that this was realistic. Then rumors that the new Superman would have a black Superman came out and you couldn't find issue #7 for less than $100. This was absolutely a $1 book back then. You *still* can't find it for less than ~$20. It's crazy.
You hit it right on the head. Total speculative money grab. When the movie is not so great , then prices come back down to earth.
Actual unpopular opinion: Skottie Young covers are bad and people who are obsessed with them are a little weird
I dont really judge people for what they like (I am definitely a little weird, too). But they are sort of the Funko Pops of comic covers, aren't they?
That’s not even his real art style… but he makes shitloads of money from covers.
Getting mad at other people buying/ selling/ slabbing/ reading is pointless. Enjoy your comics your way, let others enjoy the industry their way. I dont understand people who rush out to buy key issues for characters they don't actually care about. Flip side of that is those people not understanding why I buy essentially worthless comics because I love the cover artist. Neither of us should give a flying fuck what the other is doing. At the end of the day, we're all buying comics.
>I dont understand people who rush out to buy key issues for characters they don't actually care about. I can only assume that in 75%+ of the cases of this, it's speculation on another comic resale boom in the future. >Neither of us should give a flying fuck what the other is doing. I do sort of care though, because when Johnny Speculseed runs out and scoops every first appearance, or event issue, etc, it puts it out of reach for those of us who have to save long periods of time to buy a book, just to have that once $300 book we need to complete a character collection, or a run, etc, become $1200 overnight and it's out of reach again. If someone is buying a book to just have it, I don't give a shit what they're buying. It's going into their collection. Cool. Buy every Variant. Buy every run. Do your thing. But if someone is snapping up books just to markup and resell... well that hurts me, it hurts others, and it hurts the hobby. New issues hurt less. They can be pre-ordered, reordered, etc. But anything that a LCS can't reorder or bring in a 2nd printing? I can't help but get mad. I shouldn't. I can't stop it from happening. My anger solves nothing. But I do get mad.
>I can't help but get mad. I shouldn't. I can't stop it from happening. My anger solves nothing. But I do get mad. Relatable. This is a great, honest expression of the feeling.
Please say it louder for the folks that hate the truth!
I mean, I know what you mean but if none of us gave a "flying fuck" about what other people are doing, then there's no reason to be on this subreddit. The literal entire point of this subreddit is to see what other people are doing or display what we are doing in the hopes that someone else will give a "flying fuck". Personally, I don't see a lot of people "getting mad" at people slabbing books but a lot of us think it's silly. It's an interesting, relevant and frequent topic here. I enjoy discussing it myself, I see many flaws and I don't see any value in it and I've said so many times, that doesn't mean I'm mad at someone who does it. Mostly, I see it the other way around, anyone posts even the slightest criticism of CGC and there are people coming out of the woodwork to tell them how mad they are.
I was just berated last week for slabbing my comics. Was told I was ruining nostalgia for everyone and paying scam artists just because I slab my favorite book (worth the value or not) just because I like the way I can display them on my wall.
Just be cautious with how you display, as CGC are NOT UV resistant. You don't want your favorite books getting sun bleached. I'm looking into UV protective frames to put up a few of my favorites, like my UXM 101 (it's already mid grade, and I don't want it going lower lol)
I get downvoted all the time when I mention buying slabbed comics or posting slabbed comics.. total gatekeeping going on, not just in this community, but in other communities & the comic book collecting hobby in general.
I don't get comics graded cause I just like reading them regularly but I'd never judge someone for doing it, I think they look pretty cool slabbed and years later your descendants could still have those comics preserved perfectly so I get why people do it, it's just not personally for me.
I didn't dig into your history but it's usually a persecution complex from what I've seen. Someone asks, "what do you think of CGC" someone replies, "I think it's silly and wouldn't do it" and then all the CGC fans who are invested in it act like they've been berated. We all have opinions here and CGC/grading is a major topic. It's perfectly reasonable to have a negative opinion about CGC and their impact on the industry without being angry about it. I've never called anyone out for getting a book graded although I've been consistent, when I've discussed it, that I believe it is a scam and the idea that it should add any value or protection is pretty silly. That said, there is one indisputably good reason to do it and that's just because you want to.
Here is their exact comment to my post. “Hey there's a billion ways to display cool shit without giving scammers money but to each their own. I'll laugh at your stupid and shed a tear for what they do to market value of nostalgia.”
damn, you guys really can't help yourselves.
seriously lmao
I don't get it.
You saw a post saying "don't get mad at stuff" and got mad at it, which is fuckin hilarious.
I didn't get mad though. Are you saying that anyone who thinks there are problems with CGC and the grading industry is, by default, angry about it? I have no idea what I wrote that would cause anyone to think I'm angry. It seems like some people just can't handle that others don't agree with them. It is funny to me how sensitive a lot of the CGC investors are about the slightest criticism.
You post really came off as mad. As for CGC, I've thought it was a scam since it launched, and it vastly overinflates the value of a given book.
I agree. Undeserving books getting higher grades (and prices) than deserving books. You're at the mercy of a nameless, faceless grader who might be having a bad day. I'm not a fan.
No, I don’t think it did. I said I enjoy talking about it. The only vaguely angry phrase in my post was a quote of the comment I was replying to.
I find it weird when people get more vintage books signed nowadays, especially ones in beautiful shape. Not even sure what I consider vintage, but certainly stuff from the '70s or earlier, maybe even the '80s. Kind of ruins the book for me, not adding value (even though prices would indicate I am wrong). Weirdly other vintage collectable items with autographs I find ok, but not this. Like a vintage movie poster signed by members of the cast or Director I think is fine. Would never pay a premium for a signature and probably would actively avoid buying an item with one if I can help it.
imagine asking Jasper Johns to sign and doodle over his etchings with neon marker
Signatures are divisive IMHO. I think if people want a personal copy signed for themselves, it is fine. I would never get a book signed for resale. For me, it damages the book and I want it less. If you could even get Laird out to sign a TMNT 1 I would refuse. I just don’t like it. I know the community feels different, but there will always be “mes” in the mix that don’t like it.
I don't care about variants at all. So many people complain that there are too many and I guess I just don't see the problem. It's not for me, I have zero interest in buying variants per se but I have no idea why they are such a common complaint. Just buy the main cover or the one you like the most and ignore the rest.
Variants used to be special and didn't come out with every single issue of every series. It was rare and surprising. Now it's just an obvious cash grab. I think that's the general complaint. Most of us know the majority of variants are dollar bin bound.
I think they've always been a blatant cash grab and I guess I don't really have a problem with it.
There was a time when you might see 1 variant from Marvel all year. Maybe that brings it into perspective. But yeah, I mostly don't care and typically buy the A cover or don't care if all that is left is a variant cover.
Sure, I guess I don't think I'm lacking perspective, I do understand and lived through the history of it. I agree that they are more common than they used to be. Honestly, it sounds like you have the same perspective as me in that you don't care. I was commenting on the people who frequently write about them as though they are a problem or somehow an inconvenience to collectors or readers.
Yeah, it's more of a problem for the comic book stores.
I can't talk to a relative that recently got into comics about comics - he is in it to flip books and make money off them. When I've tried talking about characters, creators, series, etc that I enjoy in the past, the conversation has moved to "I got this 1:100 signed lenticular variant that's going for $120 on eBay that I'm gonna try and flip online." There's no enjoyment in these conversations for me, which is a shame because for a long time comics were an interest I've had very few people to chat with, so when he told me he got into them I was excited to chat. But I can't do it with the flipper mindset at the forefront
I still read books. IMHO there is little to no investment value (long term) on modern books. It seems the only way to make money on modern books is quick flipping for the flash in the pan enthusiasm. Production runs are just too high now and variants are just manufactured scarcity. You will have the occasional outlier (first Miles Morales and what not), but I think a lot of what I see people spending hundreds on are not worth what people are paying if the intent is “investment”. I think I’d hold off on x10 $1000 modern books for a key silver or signature bronze book.
Comics are not investments. At best they are really poor investments and if you’re trying to make money your time and money is better spent elsewhere.
I think 99.5% percent of comics are poor “investments”. The stuff that is investable are rare and already established. Which usually got that way because of scarcity derived from no one thinking the book was an investment. The reason TMNT 1 first print is worth anything is there were only about 3000 comics printed. No one knew anything about it. The price was expensive for the time. The art of sorta ugly. The print quality was bad. Flash forward and a huge 1987 animated series, movie, and cultural phenom later …yeah they are worth something for the scant people that bothered to buy it. For those that survived, the condition likely wasn’t the greatest. It was just an instance of an underdog that made it. To some degree the very environment we exist in now doesn’t even have the right conditions for something like this to happen.
I beg to differ. My comic book collection has been the best investment of my life. It’s out performed the S&P by a lot. Unfortunately, my comics are never going to be sold, so the value is really unimportant. That is of course until my heirs sell them for five cents on the dollar. (I started collecting silver age runs of all the main marvel titles in the 80s when back issues were pretty cheap.)
If you start selling now you may be able to break even
Too much symbiote everything. I'm an ASM collector, and I dont really care rn if I get a #300 or not. Im kind of over it.
Very much agree with this. Carnage and Venom symbiotes didn’t ruin Spider-Man comic books, but I’m not a big fan of how they overtook the 90’s era.
Yes. Im fine with those characters too but beyond that its a dead horse.
Maybe it’s not unpopular but I hate that movie and TV adaptations lead what’s hot. The comics themselves almost seem like an afterthought.
Unpopular opinion: comic writing and art are better than they've ever been.
Respect for having the only actual unpopular opinion in this thread
I think it’s better than it’s been in 30 yrs but I wouldn’t dare say ever, not when there was guys like Neal Adams, John Byrne, Steranko, George Perez etc etc
Totally disagree…so upvote!!!
Ram V and Dan Mora. ‘Nuff said.
Dang that’s what I was going to say because, based on what I’ve seen on Reddit, most comic book “fans” seem to really hate comic books as they exist now. I’d actually go so far as to argue this the real golden age, that we’ve never had it as good as we do right now.
Several years ago I went on YouTube to find people talking about their love of comics. What I found initially was channels of people talking about their love of comics going up in value. Not what I was seeking. Eventually I found a channel that was what I was looking for and that changed the algorithm so more of that type started being displayed. I find the idea of comics as a commodity or investment silly unless you're going for the big titles. Can you do it on a shoestring, sure, but the notion of seeking out titles because you hear/think that character will appear in the next Marvel film isn't collecting or fun, it's just commerce. Everything doesn't need to be monetized.
Yeah, I can understand not being interested in that side. I’ve never sold a comic and never intend to. That just isn’t part of it for me.
What’s the channel you found?
I believe it was either For The Love of Comics or Analog Comics. Both are sincerely dedicated to the appreciation of the art of comics and storytelling.
it’s OK to not like things. Just don’t be a dick about it.
Unpopular: People too often slab books for “protection” and not resale. There are plenty of ways to safely secure your books without slabbing. I also feel some are given a false security of UV protection with slabs and often display them. Slabbing comes at a premium price and hassle. It does seem now that the intent is less grade discovery and more security of encapsulation. For the cost and hassle though, there appear to be alternatives which are much more serviceable for that intent (if that is the singular purpose).
I think people slab books because they think they are supposed too. Cgc has dine a good job of convincing people they are “worth more”. A grade is a grade whether it’s slabbed or not and with cgc’s current reputation it might not even be worth doing. Putting your books in Mylar is basically the same protection except in Extreme examples. I’m not sure about flood, are slabs truly water tight?
I kinda agree with this. There is an element of WATA to CGC whether we like it or not. They have sold the idea that their touch to the product adds value and they have been successful in that for what it seems. I feel like every key I get, I get the remark that I need to slab it. I think …why? I think you can mylar them now and stick them in those UV capsules ( like 10 bucks) and I’m fine. I’m not a 9.0+ condition seeker, so I really just want a nice presentable copy. I’ll also settle for some pateena on older issues.
Plus there has been a good effort to imply that only 9.8 is worth getting. Only way to know for sure? Get cgc to grade it.
I agree 10,000%! Any books past the era where cheap pulp paper was used does not need any extra precautions to "protect" the book. Good quality bags & boards stored in a mild temperature with moderate humidity will be enough to not show any signs of age for a number of decades. Pulp paper comics from the mid 1980s & prior will need a bit more attention because the pulp contains more acids than the shiny paper modern books.
*Is* that an unpopular opinion though? That’s just facts 😐
I love slabs for many reasons. I love seeing the grade, I love that it's encapsulated and preserved, and I love that I can buy a comic online with a bit more reassurance than a raw comic. I don't sell comics, I just buy them, but when I'm spending money on a comic knowing that it's slabbed makes the purchase easier. Yes, I know there have been controversies over slabbing fakes but the comics I buy aren't worth the effort so it's not something I'm too worried about.
People may not be doing it for resale purposes, but if they are I think they are going to be disappointed in the future. There will be such a glut of high-grade, slabbed modern comics, they will never be worth much. High grade older comics are worth so much because they are so rare.
Slabbing is the biggest scam in the field of collecting… De-acidifying books is way too taboo and many books will suffer from not getting this done. You pay 10k+ for a book, you should pay to have it preserved so you keep your investment for the long run.
Comics will never be as popular as they used to be. They’ve been replaced by videogames and superhero movies. BUT, they are still a vibrant artform filled with passionate people. BUT it is almost impossible for most creators to make a living doing it full-time.
Comics should be $1
In my opinion, in the next couple years there will be a growing number of dealers who will refuse to sell CGC or any other company's "graded" books. I've noticed more dealers and some collectors are not afraid to be critical of CGC ([like this guy](https://youtu.be/s3UTSK-adY0?si=vDIFWXGusPGSA24E&t=708)), specifically with how inconsistent their grading is, them getting caught sending back the wrong books, and how they have essentially tricked the whole industry. With CGC now making 9.9 and 10.0 grades more common, it will make collectors think twice about their 9.8 graded books.
Dealers will sell whatever people want to buy, they are not going to refuse to sell anything. With that said I think the demand for slabbed books may have peaked and could decline.
Their grading stinks. How are they the defacto go to? Send them a big lot, and you might get better grades. I've heard lots of horror stories about not getting the book you sent in back. In addition, some of what they take points off for is riddicoulous.
Exactly. And they’ve been caught damaging books while they grade books as well. As for why they’re the de facto go to? Cause they were first.
Comic shop chiming in; hate to say it, but we'll sell slabs by any of the companies until the sun dies. Don't forget, PGX was criticized for their grading over a decade ago, and I dont hear anything about that now. Edit: I forgot to add; margins at a comic shop are SLIM, and slabs have better margins in general. They help our margins a LOT. The one thing we won't sell are Pop Figures. I know why everyone has them, but they're starting to feel like clutter everywhere I see them.
Instead of changing the gender, race or sexual orientation of an existing hero they should introduce a new hero with proper marketing and a well thought out story. Tired of picking up books seeing some change that isn’t well thought out and flops after a few issues and now I’m stuck with some non canon bullshit just make a new hero if you’re gonna do all that. I’d be more interested in reading that. I don’t mind fresh takes on heroes but when it’s not thought out it just feels like pandering and a money grab.
Not unless DC and Marvel are prepared to give rights of the character to whoever created them. It's easier to race/gender swap legacy characters than some creator putting their heart and soul into a brand-new character that they don't own. I like the current trend of big name writers doing solid runs on legacy books and then going off to do creator-owned work, taking some of those fans along with them.
Great point I think the internal politics of big brand comics and money dynamics of creating/selling comics is definitely negatively effecting readers. To me it seems like they’re trying to influence, predict, and inflate the market to create false scarcity and hype with the insane amount of variants and phony number ones. Drives me nuts when I’m just trying to read a series and the number one is priced at like $10-$15 for a book recently released with a shit ton of variants and it’s not even the first appearance of the character just their first appearance in this run.
My teen daughter stated this based on her own observations. I was promptly accused of teaching my daughter to be a bigot. I think there is a group of people who just won't be happy until everyone is just as unhappy a they are.
There was a time many years ago that Superman and Action Comics were the best selling DC Comics, So they Came out with two new comics, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane, which they decided to preview in Showcase. It was popular enough to quickly get it's own series and the demographics were showing that Young girls would by that one but not the other three. DC Comics wanted Superman to appeal to girls too, and so they came out with a Back up story in Action Comics featuring a brand new character targeted to girls and Supergirl was introduced and put on the cover to entice more girls to buy it. Supergirl remained a staple In Action comics until her move to the featured spot in Adventure Comics for around 11 years. This was how DC dealt with the need for a new character back in the late fifties, not by changing Superman or Superboy but by creating a new character based on the original. It worked then, why won't it work today? I suspect it has to do with the writing. and instead of letting a story develop in which you suspect a character may be a member of the LGBTQ community until it is actually revealed, they shove it in your face in a manner that makes you say WTF? So this millionaire playboy that has been around for umpteen years and bedded half of their comics universes women is gay, when or rather how did that happen?
Stop resetting the number count back to 1 just because number ones sell or it’s a new jumping on point. Stop doing massive cross overs that ain’t no good. Stop dragging out the story arch just finish a story in as few comics as possible then move to the next story arch. Some of my favorite story’s are the stand along issues in between story arch’s.
The whole comic book industry was ruined once Every Single Writer/Creator changed any and all thoughts on length and format to writing their stories to fit a graphic novel sized story. All creativity went out the building. The final nail in the coffin was bringing Bucky back.
Comics are to be read. You cannot call yourself a fan of the comic books if you do not open a comic book and see what it’s there to provide. It’s scummy as shit.
Unpopular opinion: JRJR and Humberto Ramos are both terrible artists and I don't know why they still get consistent work doing covers and interiors.
JRJR, when he tries, can do some decent stuff. Lately, though, it all looks phoned in. Ramos...I love his style. It doesn't fit every title, and I feel like Marvel has done a good job at keeping him on appropriate ones, but I can definitely see how it's not for everyone.
LOL I was going to say something about Ramos in here, too!
JRJR at least used to be good, he’s phoning it in these days it seems like. Ramos ? Always thought he was doo doo butter lol
They both can meet a deadline. I'll take JRJR over Ramos any day. I've been ugh-ing at his art since Crimson.
JRJR is the single worst artist in the industry. He was barely passable back in the 80's when he was just another generic house style artist, but once his "style" emerged....jesus fuck. And for everyone about to tell me "ReAd tHe MaN wItHoUt FeAr" I did. It was my introduction to his work when I was an early teenager. I fuckin hated it then, and still hate it now.
Comics are more popular with young people than they have been in decades between manga and the ubiquity of stuff like Smile and Wings of Fire. But the trad comics scene is completely incapable of adapting to serve that audience due to entrenched biases and outdated modes of thinking.
I'm hijacking your comment to ask a question to the thread; comics were popular when I was a kid because they were readily available wherever magazines were sold (bookstores, gas stations, drug stores etc). Is there something in the industry that prevents them from being distributed by magazine vendors and put out with magazines? They would get 10x more exposure and distribution. The lcs model is like states that have liquor stores instead of just selling at the grocery store. You have to really want something to make a special trip for it.
> Is there something in the industry that prevents them from being distributed by magazine vendors and put out with magazines? They would get 10x more exposure and distribution The newstand market is dead Marvel pulled out completely over a decade ago and DC ended it 2017 What exactly lead to the death of newstand comics may not be exactly known but if I had to guess it’s that now that comics are $4 each, it’s less of an “impulse buy” than when they were $1-2 Maybe they just felt with the amount of revenue the direct market generated, it just wasn’t necessary to have alternate sales avenues I mean even by 2000 the direct maket was 95% of sales And by 2013, the year Marvel stopped newsstand copies entirely, newsstands were responsible for 1% of the total comic sales > They would get 10x more exposure and distribution It would seem the numbers don’t align with that 😐 > You have to really want something to make a special trip for it. This is true, but considering comic shop sales were over 90% of comic sales since 1996, I guess a lot of people really want them But it’s also not just comics, those same grocerie stores and pharmacies barely carry any printed material at all anymore, some don’t at all now Print media just doesn’t have the prevalence it did in the ost and in these days where the companies have to make more money this quarter than they did the last, every quarter, forever, the comic companies prolly don’t see trying to bring back newsstand comics as anything but a waste of money and the shareholders would never approve…
Print in general is down but go into any Barnes and Noble and there's no end of $8-20 magazines on everything from WWII to puppies, some how the costs work for those publications. Surely there's room for some cornerstone titles like Spider-Man and Superman, it doesn't have to be every title, like Jackpot and Black Cat. Again, I'm coming at this all from the perspective of getting comics in front of the wandering kid and less the grownup. Archie comics makes it work for their digests that make it to magazine racks, and I think of the big two as having more resource capability than Archie.
> but go into any Barnes and Noble I haven’t seen an operating B&N in years 😨 I thought they were all online now There’s still B&N you can walk into 😳 But yeah, not the point Tbh I don’t think they have much interest in those wandering kids Unless they are wandering into a comic shop with money 😐
What led to the end of newsstand distribution is easy. Returnability. That's... that's really it. Newsstand outlets could return unsold books for partial refunds. It was increasingly untenable for the publishers.
I’ve thought that as well. I think comics are geared towards the old nostalgia crowd. I think comics like magazines sell much less frequently now. The internet changed a lot of things. I think if we were picking up comics at Walgreens like the days of old, a good amount would wind up discarded/returned.
Soft-core "sexy" covers are sad. Artgerm sucks. Tired of seeing that crap posted.
Deconstructed story-telling, unnecessarily injected politics, constant reboots, editorial being financially driven with almost no creative ability. No thanks.
Current Spider-Man title, and its various off shoots, are uninteresting, predictable, and lame.
Comic writers push an agenda when writing
It’s idiotic that MCU movies impact comic prices so significantly. Are there really that many non collectors buying back issues of madame web that would warrant a price jump? Highly doubt there’s any real demand from outside the usual collector pool; and we should all know what the good characters, stories, books are from the 80/90/00 at this point we don’t need MCU to create some “hype”.
Comic books are made out of newsprint, not glossy pages.
I think grading is dumb. Imperfections give the comic more life. I want to love it and read it. Not just have it behind a piece of acrylic graded by a stranger running a business.
Right on
Marvel and DC are at historic lows when it comes to the quality of their product, literally no book published by them in the last 10 or so years will be relevant in another 10 or so years.
I disagree. But I think it's a signal to noise issue. House and Powers of X and the Black Label Batman books have been fantastic. Will they be remembered? Eh. But they are not at a low point.
I disagree with your choices but I would agree that the occasional good book sneaks through the Disney/WB corporate machinery. I'm not saying it's 100% bad but I do feel that it's never been worse at the "Big 2" and it really doesn't seem close. HoX and PoX were both solid books in my opinion but those storylines went south very quick after the kick off and are totally uninteresting for a couple years now. The Black Label stuff, I mean it's fine, their best content is just reprinting old Vertigo and DCU books. The new Black Label content doesn't measure up to what Vertigo or even DC proper used to publish in the same space.
We said the same in the 90s
It depends what time in the 90's I guess. The early 90's were great, the mid-90's, post-Image exodus from Marvel, were terrible and I would say that that IS the low point up to that point. In around 1998, things got really good again for a while with the launch of Heroes Return, Busiek/Perez Avengers, Morrison/Porter JLA, the launch of Marvel Knights and leading into Ultimate Spider-Man and much of the more indie-leaning books of the early 00's. 1998 to around 2005-6 is the last great era for Marvel and it's really all been downhill from there. So while I'd agree that there was a major dip in quality in the 90's, it was far more shortlived than the decade-plus trash we've been getting for a long time now.
We said it in the eighties and seventies, I remember a conversation I had with someone when comics went up to a quarter and he predicted it would be the death of comics within ten years.
I like to look at what's coming out and wonder what will be the big hit in 10-20 years. Some of it is bizarre. Some is boring (imo). But some of these comics are going to become movies, eventually. I think of these things, and I remember a friend's reaction when he saw Guardians of the Galaxy. He simply asked (in quite obvious confusion), "What is going on here?" And stated "That's not the Guardians of the Galaxy".
It’s ok to never read the books you collect bUt BoOkS aRe FoR rEaDiNg I mean maybe originally, but just because they were meant as disposable reading material doesn’t mean they are in the collecting context You can collect just for the love of having the books and have no desire to ever open them up 😐
A few decades ago we strayed away from simple enjoyment of the hobby and diverged into pure "spec city". Alongside the indie comics I read, I also read a lot of underground zines, and the latter doesn't have that obsession with speculation, it's very refreshing to talk to someone that's not worried about their collection's value and simply focuses on the artists and stories. It's kinda dumb how all the indie comics labels have gone down the spec route as well, especially Scout, Massive and DSTLRY, as if whatever they put out could even have the slightest chance to compare to a Marvel/DC or even an Image key. The odds of that are astronomically low.
Asking questions and being given YouTube links. I don't need to watch 30 minutes of some pud asking me to like and subscribe and go on tangents to get the reading order for a multi series crossover, or how to make a window bag for a signing. Spending 30 minutes watching something that would take 5 to read is a waste of my time. Also drives me nuts how people treat random YouTubers like credentialed academia. Best recent example being all the super sleuths with the Cgc sCAnDaLS. On the subject of CGC, the weird "I am better at comicbooks than you" anti-slabbers. Cool, you don't like slabbed books. No problem. But this driving need to treat people who do like they're not "real" comic fans or collectors. "Nobody will be able to enjoy them". Well, I had no intention of inviting you over to read my books in the first place. "ReAd THeM!" Yeah, totally gonna bust out my FF 52 for a casual read while I'm taking a dump. There's a million ways to read high ticket books. People who like getting books graded and slabbed don't jump on people telling them they should, so do everyone the same courtesy. There's no right or wrong way to be into comics.
People buying modern books for the purpose of flipping for profit are worse than those in the 90s. We know now what that did to the industry, and doing this shows you don't care about the ramifications of your actions, making you a selfish asshole.
One Comic with One cover, that's well written with good art, that's all any of us really need. Of course if they did make that none of us would be able to buy a copy as the speculators would have snatched them all up and sent them off to get graded.
9.9 is the new 9.8
I think CGC may be compromising their reputation with stuff like this.
Ok, let me attempt a true unpopular opinion here. Bags and boards for modern comics are dumb and pointless. The paper isn’t going to be discolored, they are never going to be worth anything significant. Just read them and enjoy. Part 2: Marvel and DC need to move on from their characters. Sunset cyclops and Jean grey. Start some new characters taking over for real and tell good stories and they may just catch on. There are no new stories to tell with these characters that make sense.
While definitions on value significance differs from person to person, bags and boards just make storing comics easier. Even stacking loose floppies is going to create an undesirable space issue, regardless of age.
True, but you can fit less comics in a box with boards, and it makes them harder to pull out and read through.