c/comic-book-fans

That one Wednesday when my comic shop had a buy 1 get 2 free bin and I went feral

Last month I stopped by Capitol Comics on a random Wednesday after work, just planning to grab the new issue of Saga. But they had this huge cardboard bin near the register labeled 'B1G2' and it was stuffed with random 90s issues, some from Image and even a few old Valiant books. I ended up spending 45 minutes digging through it and walked out with 18 comics for like $36, including a full run of Deathmate that I never thought I'd own. The only downside was I had to reorganize my short boxes twice since nothing was in order, and now I'm wondering if that bin was a fluke or if other shops do this kind of thing on slow weekdays. Has anyone else found a deal like that and was it actually worth the sorting pain?

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bennett.mason•3d ago

Bought a $220 omnibus of a run I already trade-collected, what a mistake

Three nights of double-dipping on 90s X-Men back issues later and my shelf just looks redundant, has anyone else dropped cash on the same story in two formats just because the hardcover looked pretty?

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the_mila•12d ago

That con booth run where I revived a guy's dead longbox

At a small con last month in Fresno, some guy had a longbox of 90s Spider-Man issues that were practically crumbling from humidity. I spent like 3 hours flattening and re-bagging about 60 comics with him, using a hair dryer and some old backing boards I found in my car. He swore they were worthless, but we found a first appearance of a minor villain in there that he'd missed, worth maybe $40 on a good day. We both laughed about how we spent more time on the art than on actually walking the show floor. Has anyone else ever gotten stuck doing free repair work at a con, or is it just me and my weird urge to fix every bent corner I see?

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jade_johnson•16d ago

Why do long-time fans gatekeep old runs so hard?

I skipped 90s X-Men for years because fans act like Claremont is the only writer who mattered. Then I read Age of Apocalypse last month and got it, but I still think Byrne-era Fantastic Four is overhyped. Which side are you on, legacy purists or newcomers who just want a good story?

1 comments

elliot_taylor•17d ago

That comic shop's back issue sale had a catch I didn't see coming

Went to a shop in Portland last Saturday for their 50 cent back issue bin and grabbed a stack of early 90s X-Men. The guy at the counter pointed out they had a store policy about buying more than 10 issues, something about them needing to verify condition first. I figured no big deal, but then he started flipping through each one and pulling out ones with slight spine creases and saying they couldn't sell those at the discount price. Took me 20 minutes to get through my pile and I ended up paying full cover for like 6 of them. The thing is, I get it, they don't want people flipping damaged books, but the rule wasn't posted anywhere. Has anyone else run into shops with weird unspoken rules like this when hunting back issues? How do you handle it without looking like a jerk?

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williams.jenny•19d ago

The back issue bin advice from a stranger in Dayton actually paid off

Back in March I was at Comic Town in Columbus and this older collector saw me eyeing the new Spider-Man variant rack. He said 'you're gonna spend $80 on that foil cover and regret it in a year, that money is better spent on a key back issue.' I figured he was just gatekeeping or whatever, but I took his advice and grabbed a 1992 Venom first appearance for $75 instead. That book is now worth around $190 and I actually read it twice, compared to the variants I bought before which just sit in a box. He also told me to stop buying every #1 issue that drops because most of them lose value fast, and he was right about that too. I paid $60 for a first issue last fall that I can barely give away now. Has anyone else had a random shop regular give them advice that ended up being the best tip they ever got?

1 comments

oscarc53•19d ago

Stop calling every reboot a retcon, it's not the same thing

Saw a thread last night where half the comments mixed up retcons with soft reboots in the new Batman run. A retcon changes past events, a reboot just resets the status quo, they are not interchangeable. Has anyone else noticed this getting worse since the whole DC All-In rollout?

c/comic-book-fans

That one Wednesday when my comic shop had a buy 1 get 2 free bin and I went feral

Bought a $220 omnibus of a run I already trade-collected, what a mistake

That con booth run where I revived a guy's dead longbox

Why do long-time fans gatekeep old runs so hard?

That comic shop's back issue sale had a catch I didn't see coming

The back issue bin advice from a stranger in Dayton actually paid off

Stop calling every reboot a retcon, it's not the same thing

That time I looked up a creator's old letter column replies and it changed how I read the run

Went from hating modern comic fans to being one over 5 years

My old long box got soaked in a basement flood, sorting through it hit different

A 12-year-old kid told me my panel layouts were lazy, he was right

Found my old long boxes at my parent's house in Tulsa, now I'm hooked on re-reading

Buddy at the shop told me I was babying my collection too much by keeping everything bagged and boarded

Found a trick for reading silver age comics without damaging them

Found a comic shop that actually helps new readers

Hot take: That kid at the comic shop who told me Batman is just a rich guy with mommy issues was actually right.

Wasted $80 on a signed variant from a local show, total regret

Took me 3 hours to fix a single comic book binding, thought I knew what I was doing

That talk with the kid at the store made me rethink gatekeeping

Overheard two guys at my local shop arguing about whether Miller or McFarlane ruined Spider-Man

That con weekend where every seller found my want list

Dropped $60 on a rare variant cover and it arrived bent because the seller used a paper envelope

Overheard a guy at my LCS say he buys comics just for the covers to flip them

Comparing dollar bin diving vs curated pulls for building a collection

The way folks treat The Dark Knight Returns like it's the only Batman story worth reading