Friday Fish Fry

December 15th, 2023 by

As a collector, the rule was always “the time to buy is when the opportunity presents itself.” If I were searching for a certain issue, and I was at a comic book convention, a dealer has the issue I am seeking, I should buy it. The real trick was in negotiation of the price. I was never really good at negotiation. I passed up on a few grails that I wanted because I did not have the money on me to buy them.

Then the internet came along and really changed things. eBay made rare items not so rare. Since everyone and their family members suddenly had rare comics in their closets or attics or basements. This flattened the whole market, but did not cure the real issue with some people. The issue being condition.

Novices in any collecting hobby tend to not grade correctly. With comics, many collectors can be very picky. If you claim the comic is 9.8 condition, I can guarantee you, someone will debate you and tell you it is a 9.4 in order to get a lower price. Grading was even considered subjective, though Overstreet price guide had a system outlined for grading.

Then along came CGC, some cheered the idea of having a third party intervene, grade the book, then seal it in plastic. Slabbing by many comic book purists was considered horrible. Well, as soon as someone handles that 9.8 copy of Sub Mariner #1 a little roughly, you now have a 9.6 or 9.4. With slabbing, the 9.8 remains 9.8 until someone wrecks the case. There is no dispute.

Once CGC entered the market, the costs of certain comics skyrocketed. A 9.8 was the near mint, most perfect a comic could receive. Thus you look at 9.8 graded comics are always close to double 9.6, which is considered a common grade for modern comics.

Lately the comic book market is now declining. The pandemic had injected some new enthusiasm into the hobby, because people could do the collecting solitarily, with minimum interaction. That enthusiasm has waned, but it has also inflated the market. Some books will still hold value, and be unaffordable to new collectors or collectors with smaller budgets. Others become artificially inflated whenever a movie or television show is announced.

Savage She-Hulk #1 was a grail of mine, I wanted a slabbed copy in 9.8. I felt $500 was a very fair price. When Disney announced the show She Hulk on there streaming service. The price was about $1200 for a slabbed 9.8 comic. Out of my budget. I looked at purchasing lower grades, but did not. I knew the price would go down if the show bombed. The show was terrible. The comic dropped in price. I was able to get a slabbed Savage She Hulk #1 in 9.8 grade for $480.

The comic was one I read back when I was a child of 12. It was a very good story. Jennifer Walters was an attorney. Her cousin was Bruce Banner, the Hulk. Jessica was in an accident, which required a peer to peer blood transfusion. Bruce matched her blood type and he performed the transfusion. Jennifer gained the powers of the Hulk in female form. She also could control her transformation. Great origin story, and the art was done by John Buscema and Chuck Stone. I enjoyed the comic, but gave away my copy as a child. This was before I became a comic book collector.

Unfortunately I have done that too often as a collector. Sold something, then wanted to reaquire something, when it was more expensive. But, you can’t keep everything forever and hope it becomes valuable.



Thanks for stopping by.

Teen Spider Adventures Universe Comic 50

October 4th, 2020 by

This is the fiftieth comic in the Universe Zero story line. Since I have been posting only once a week, it means Barstool Entertainment is two weeks away from continuing a story line for a full year. Universe Zero will end in about 20 more weeks, and then on to a new chapter.

One thing I have forgotten to do is post to this website new YouTube videos. I post on my YouTube channel twice a week, and forget to promote those videos on my site. So starting this week, I am going to do my best to remember to post videos to this site.

Self Parody

March 22nd, 2020 by

At some point, when you try to pander to smaller and smaller groups in order to boost sales, your company becomes a parody of itself. Marvel has done just that.

The “New” New Warriors comic is an eye rolling, agenda driven, pamphlet of propaganda. Already people on both sides are complaining, but for different reasons. Those whom are tired of being attacked as everything evil point to these two characters and say, this is why we stopped buying comics. The continued shaming, blaming, and destroying of iconic characters due to some social justice agenda has turned off major comic fans – white males. The “progressive” crowd is complaining that the characters feel like an insult. An attempt to attack or make fun of “progressive” views. Unfortunately this unintended parody is the whole reason why people of all walks of life have stopped buying comics. It is also why groups comic book companies are trying to court won’t buy comics. In an attempt to be “diverse” comic companies create characters that are cliched and pander, rather than create characters whom are original and engrossing.

Sadly a hobby I had enjoyed for nearly four decades is coming to a close. Comic companies were able to continually reinvent themselves in creative ways, update characters in ways to make those characters not only more appealing to new people, but satisfy older fans. The creativity is gone.

The whole method of producing comics and distributing them is also bloated and antiquated, thus would eventually collapse under its own weight. The take over of comics by the current regime of agenda driven nitwits was the introduction of sand into the gears of a machine that was breaking down.

Why would I buy a pamphlet that is designed to propagandize hate and bigotry against me disguised as “progress” or “inclusive”? Why would I buy something that insults me?

The central concept of heroes was altruism. The heroes fought for the good of all people, not for some misguided ideals or values. Superman fought for truth, justice, and the American way. Unfortunately the American way has become distorted and viewed as wrong. If you look at the actual origins of Superman, and the origin of Superman’s creators, things become very clear. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were children of immigrants whom sought and achieved a better life in America. Spider-Man fought crime because he did not want others to suffer tragedy he suffered as Peter Parker. Uncle Ben was killed because Spider Man refused to stop a thief. With great power, comes great responsibility.

Creators of comics tend to be influenced by their own world view. Creators put themselves into their creation. Villains reflect the creators perception of evil. The hero fights against that evil. Superman’s greatest villain was Lex Luthor. The origins of Lex Luthor have changed throughout time, but Superman’s goals have not. Lex Luthor was a genius whom used his intelligence to commit criminal acts. Then Luthor became the CEO of a global corporation. A ruthless businessman intent on furthering his own goals. Spider Man’s rogues gallery is filled with villains whom represented the misuse of science for personal gain or misused their powers.

At some point comic book companies in the attempt to prove themselves as being pleasing to all people and inclusive, end up displeasing everyone and alienated those whom were fans.

Thanks for stopping by.

Pardon The Exposition

February 2nd, 2020 by

I am the soul person writing, drawing, coloring, and haphazardly editing Teen Spider Adventures, and before that Gorilla Fish. That is why I release a comic once a week. At that pace, it would have been ten years before Gorilla Fish covered the entire story arcs, I had outlined to cover. So I switched to Kid Spider Adventures, changed some story arcs, and aged him to Teen Spider.

When I first wrote, and still writing, the Universe Zero storyline, it was intended to be a Gorilla Fish endeavor. It still technically is a Gorilla Fish story, but I have graphed it onto Teen Spider Adventures.

A lot would have had to happen before I would release Universe Zero. Gorilla Fish would have travelled to multiple universes, there would be some familiarity to some of the characters introduced, etc.

Bagboy was intended to be a main character in the Universe Zero story. Now it is Teen Spider. When I rewrote Universe Zero, there was going to be some exposition. Since the plans that would have played out in Gorilla Fish did not happen. Gorilla Fish’s Evolution would have been a few panels, and it would have taken place in the BagBoy Universe. At that time, the villains would have separated into their own smaller alliances, and things would have been slightly different.

PinBot was going to be the main villain in Universe Zero to begin with, so I decided to have him explain how the multiverses work, and how he discovered a way to execute his nefarious schemes. Gorilla Fish was going to be the foil. I had to alter some of the story points a bit, but the overall story comes to a similar conclusion.

Please keep reading, thanks for the support. Thanks for stopping by.

Updated Characters Page

December 1st, 2019 by

Updated the characters page to include Antenna Girl and Dark Hammer. They are under the Universe Zero listing.