c/comic-book-fans

TIL there's a guy who has read every single issue of Uncanny X-Men since 1963

I was at my local shop in Portland last weekend and overheard this old dude talking to the owner. He said he started collecting X-Men #1 as a kid and has kept up with every issue, every spin-off, every crossover for like 60 years. I asked him how many issues that was total and he guessed somewhere around 1,500. It blew my mind that someone could track a single franchise that long without dropping it. Has anyone else met a collector who stuck with one series from the very start?

Can we talk about how I ruined a signed copy of Amazing Spider-Man #300 at a con in Chicago?

I was showing off my CGC 9.8 copy to a buddy in the dealer's room and knocked a full cup of coffee off the table right onto the slab, and the guy next to me just stared while I stood there frozen for like 30 seconds before grabbing napkins.

Back in 1992 a comic shop owner told me to bag every issue I buy

Old Mr. Henderson who ran Comic Kingdom in Des Moines said if I didn't bag my comics right away the covers would yellow and the staples would rust. I thought he was just trying to sell me more bags and boards. Fast forward to last month when I dug up my old Uncanny X-Men #266 and found the cover has turned orange around the edges. He was absolutely right and I wish I had listened to him 30 years ago. Anyone else have a piece of advice from a shop owner that they ignored?

Rant: I think Batman Year One is way overrated compared to Year Two

Honestly, I've been reading comics for like 15 years now and I still don't get why everyone goes nuts over Batman Year One. I picked up the trade again last week after seeing it at the top of every 'best Batman stories' list. The art is okay I guess, but the whole thing feels slow and too focused on Gordon's boring family problems. Meanwhile I flipped through Batman Year Two which nobody talks about and it had way more action and a darker tone that actually felt like Batman to me. The Reaper villain in Year Two was genuinely scary and the plot moved at a good clip. I know I'm probably in the minority here but has anyone else actually sat down and compared these two without the hype clouding your judgment?

Hot take: collectors who bag and board everything vs. people who read their comics freely

I was at a small con in Nashville last weekend and overheard two guys going at it hard about this. One guy was saying he keeps ALL his floppies in mylar bags with full backer boards, never reads them more than once, and treats them like investments. The other guy was like, "dude, comics are for reading, not hoarding" and he pulls out his beat up copy of Swamp Thing #37 that's got coffee rings on it. I get the investment side, some of these key issues go for serious money now, like 200 to 500 dollars easy. But at the same time, I have a run of Uncanny X-Men from the 80s that I've read maybe 5 times each, and they're wrinkled and worn, and honestly they mean MORE to me that way. So where's the line? Do you preserve your books like they're museum pieces or do you actually use them? I'm genuinely curious what this group thinks because I'm torn on this myself.

Found a trick for organizing my pull list that finally stuck

I kept forgetting which issues were coming out each week and would end up buying doubles or missing stuff. Tried apps, spreadsheets, nothing worked for more than a month. Then a guy at my local shop in Austin told me to just use a small whiteboard on my fridge. I write down the next 3 Wednesdays and the titles I'm following. Takes me maybe 2 minutes after I get home. Has anyone else found a simple system that beats all the fancy tools?

The way folks talk about Silver Age comics now bugs me a bit

I was at a con last month and this teenager called a 1962 Fantastic Four issue "old and boring" without even flipping through it. Honestly, they didn't get that those stories were building the whole foundation for modern superhero stuff. Ngl, it makes me feel old when people dismiss the original stuff just because the art is simpler or the dialogue is cheesy. Tbh, have you ever actually sat down and read a full Silver Age run, or are you just judging the cover?

That fancy variant cover I bought for $50 really wasn't worth it

I dropped $50 on a Jim Lee variant cover of Batman #100 at my local shop last month thinking it'd be a cool investment. Saw the same issue for $12 on eBay last week. Anyone else get burned by overpaying for variants at the store?

Rant: That guy who told me to bag my comics wrong?

Some older collector at the shop last saturday swore by those poly bags flipped inside out to 'let the paper breathe'. Tried it on a batch of 12 issue i got for 40 bucks. Checked them 3 months later and the bags stuck to the covers, left this weird residue. Has anyone else got burned by bad bagging advice from 'experts'?

Debate: reading physically at the shop vs. waiting for the trade paperback collection?

So I keep going back and forth on this. At my local shop in Austin, I ended up pulling singles for this indie series called The Last Mechanic because I liked the first issue so much. Spent around $4.50 each for twelve issues, something like $55 total. But now that it's done, I see the whole trade paperback is coming out for $18. I could have just waited and read the whole thing at once, no ads, no waiting a month. But I also really liked the weekly discussions with the shop owner, he pointed out details I totally missed. It's a whole different experience. What do you guys prioritize, the community of buying singles or the convenience and cost of trades?

Hot take: comic fans at that con in Phoenix were way too serious

I went to the big comic con in Phoenix last Saturday and walked through the artist alley section. What got me was how many fans were just standing there arms crossed, not smiling, almost like they were judging the artwork instead of enjoying it. I saw one guy literally pull out a magnifying glass to check the line work on a $15 print. Has anyone else noticed fans acting like art critics instead of just having fun at these shows?

Met a guy at the con who showed me how to bag and board comics without leaving air bubbles

Took a chance on a dollar bin Daredevil run from 1981 and it totally changed how I look at the whole character.

I always thought the Miller stuff was overrated but after reading issue 168 with that gritty street-level storytelling and Elektra's introduction I had to admit I was wrong, has anyone else been surprised by a random cheap find?

TIL a collector told me my bag-and-board method was ruining my Silver Age books

I always slid the comic into the bag with the spine on the left, but a guy at a con in St. Louis last spring said that traps moisture along the spine and causes foxing over time, so now I flip it spine-right but have to ask you all does that actually help or is he full of it?

That one comment from a guy at the shop changed my pull list forever

I was at Third Eye Comics in Annapolis last summer. An older collector saw me grab like six new number ones. He just said 'you're missing all the runs that matter.' Stung a bit. Now I focus on finishing long series instead of chasing every debut.

Stuck between two comic shops for pre-orders

I had to pick between my local shop that charges cover price but is 20 minutes away, and a bigger store across town with cheaper variants but a $5 fee. I went with the local place since I got to chat with the owner about the new Ultimate Spider-Man run. Did picking the closer shop work out for anyone else or did the fees and selection make you switch?

Found out Peter Parker's been Spider-Man for 15 years in-universe and I had to sit down

Was reading that new Ultimate Spider-Man run and got curious about the timeline. Looked it up on some Marvel wiki. Apparently from his first appearance in 1962 to right now in the main comics, only about 13-15 years have passed in-universe. That's insane. I've been reading these books for 20 years and the guy still hasn't finished college. Meanwhile I'm over here with a mortgage and a kid. Anyone else find a random comic fact that just broke your brain?

Overheard a teenager at my LCS say digital comics are 'better than paper'

I was at my local shop, Graham Cracker Comics in Chicago, last Saturday picking up my pull list. There was a kid, maybe 16, telling his friend that reading on a tablet is superior because you never have to worry about bagging or storage. It got me thinking about the whole digital versus physical debate. I've been collecting floppies since 1985 and have about 12 long boxes in my basement, but maybe he has a point about convenience. Has anyone here made the switch to mostly digital, or do you still prefer having the physical issues in your hands?

Spent 3 hours tracking down a single variant cover at my LCS

I needed the Peach Momoko variant for Ultimate Black Panther #1 and called five shops before finding one that still had it. The guy behind the counter checked three boxes in the back before he found it wedged between some old stock. Has anyone else had to hunt down a specific cover like that?

That signed issue I bought from my LCS turned out to be a fake

I picked up a CGC graded Amazing Spider-Man 300 at my local shop, Cosmic Comics, last Saturday for $400. It had signatures from McFarlane and Larsen on it, looked legit. Got home and checked the serial number online, turns out it was a slab swap with a fake label. I went back the next day and demanded a refund, guy gave me my money back but said he didn't know it was fake. Has anyone else run into fake graded books at their shop?

That time I laughed at a guy for bagging his comics until I saw his collection from 1992

There's a dude at my local shop, Big Ben's Comics on 4th Street, who puts every single issue in a mylar bag with a board, even dollar bin stuff. I used to think he was wasting his time, but then he showed me his run of Uncanny X-Men from the early 90s where the covers looked brand new, no yellowing or spine ticks. My copies from that same era look like they went through a washing machine. I still don't bag everything, but I'm wondering if anyone else has had an old comic that suddenly shot up in value just because it was stored right?

Rant: Reading a digital comic on a tablet vs a physical floppy is completely different

I was going through my long boxes last weekend to find an old issue of X-Men and realized I hadn't touched a physical comic in like six months. I'd been reading everything on my iPad for convenience. But there's something about the smell of the paper and the way the pages feel that makes the story hit different. The digital stuff is fine for catching up but I missed three panels because of glare at the coffee shop. Has anyone else noticed they remember story details way better from the paper copies?

Hot take: First appearances don't matter as much as people say

I used to chase first appearances hard. Spent $80 on a random issue #1 from 1993 at a con in Portland. Thing is worth maybe $5 now. The real key is finding key story moments or iconic covers that actually hold value over time. Anyone else stop caring about number ones and focus on creative runs instead?

That moment I realized people confuse 'first appearance' with 'first cameo'

I was at a comic shop on Saturday and this guy was bragging about his copy of Incredible Hulk #180. He kept saying it was Wolverine's first appearance. I showed him the panel where Wolverine only has one line and his face is half in shadow. That's a cameo, not an appearance. The real first full appearance is issue #181. The owner behind the counter just nodded at me. Has anyone else dealt with this argument? It happens to me about twice a year.

Finally finished reading an entire omnibus in one weekend

I've been collecting these things for years but always got distracted. Picked up the Geoff Johns Green Lantern omnibus volume 1 on Friday and actually sat down and read the whole thing by Sunday night. Like 1200 pages. My eyes hurt and I barely ate but I did it. Got to the Blackest Night setup and could not put it down. Anyone else ever actually manage to finish one of these monster books in one go or am I just crazy?