|
Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2020 13:25:52 GMT -5
As someone who owns a lot of key issues, I absolutely feel that the availability of inexpensive reprint issues takes away some of their charm. At the same time, I think it's great that these historic stories are being made accessible to people who can't otherwise afford to read them. Those Marvel dollar reprints are so much fun to browse through in the store, and I remember how excited the Marvel Milestone reprints made me in the 1990s. I just wish there were efforts to reprint entire memorable runs instead of just first appearances. About 15 years ago, the Cleveland Plain Dealer was including with its Sunday paper a reprint of each issue of Amazing Spider-Man from the beginning, and I thought that was incredible. I'd love to see more of that! Well, the publishing function of most of those reprint issues now is as a loss leader to get people to buy collected editions of the larger runs or to buy into a contemporary event where those characters introduced play a key role, I don't see them being interested or motivated financially to reprint long runs as single issues. That spot in the marketplace has been filled by trades, omnibi and other collected editions. -M
|
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,333
Member is Online
|
Post by shaxper on Apr 5, 2020 14:31:52 GMT -5
Maybe you’re just a key issue snob. And/or richer than us poor slobs. Nah, I just happened to hit that sweet spot in my early twenties where I had a job, had a paycheck, and had no home nor kids to spend it on yet JUST when the back issue market had utterly collapsed and everything was relatively dirt cheap. I bought a handful of truly pricey key issues, but I'd say less than ten of the many many key issues I purchased during that window of time ran me over $100. Folks pulling the new stuff were spending more per week than I was spending on the classics.
|
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,333
Member is Online
|
Post by shaxper on Apr 5, 2020 14:33:36 GMT -5
As someone who owns a lot of key issues, I absolutely feel that the availability of inexpensive reprint issues takes away some of their charm. At the same time, I think it's great that these historic stories are being made accessible to people who can't otherwise afford to read them. Those Marvel dollar reprints are so much fun to browse through in the store, and I remember how excited the Marvel Milestone reprints made me in the 1990s. I just wish there were efforts to reprint entire memorable runs instead of just first appearances. About 15 years ago, the Cleveland Plain Dealer was including with its Sunday paper a reprint of each issue of Amazing Spider-Man from the beginning, and I thought that was incredible. I'd love to see more of that! Well, the publishing function of most of those reprint issues now is as a loss leader to get people to buy collected editions of the larger runs or to buy into a contemporary event where those characters introduced play a key role, I don't see them being interested or motivated financially to reprint long runs as single issues. That spot in the marketplace has been filled by trades, omnibi and other collected editions. -M Yes, that is the current business model. What I'm saying is I'd prefer to spend $6 an issue on a high quality floppy restoration of a classic book and pull it every month, ultimately spending far more than I would on a collected edition. Is that a healthy business model for the industry? I have no idea. It's what I'd personally like to see.
|
|
|
Post by earl on Apr 5, 2020 20:14:52 GMT -5
My collection is made up of reprints and actual issues and there is a fair amount of overlap to be fair. I've got some series in reprints and some actual issues, as for many series that is the only way to read the book.
With reprints, I got complete reading runs of lots of series. I wish Marvel was better about keeping things in print, as there are more than a few that are maddening in that they are hard to get - which makes it hard to put together a run in any one particular reprint line (Essential, Masterworks, Omnibus or Epic collection)...you sometimes have to put it together as certain ones seem to be vaporware printed and crazy expensive used.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2020 22:57:07 GMT -5
It's in b&w but still cool if you're a Punisher completist. It reprints #1 of the 1986 limited series
|
|
|
Post by Phil Maurice on May 7, 2020 9:45:44 GMT -5
The three-issue run of Crime Reporter from St. John was all-reprint, repackaging material of just a few years earlier from the Chesler studio ( Dynamic, Punch, Red Seal, others). Some slight alterations were made, some character names were changed, and new covers were provided by Bob Lubbers and Matt Baker. The second issue includes the infamous "red hot poker" panel singled out by Wertham in SOTI. It originally ran in Dynamic Comics #17, but this is where Wertham saw it.
|
|
|
Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 7, 2020 10:20:22 GMT -5
When it comes to reprints (single or collected) I found that my attitude about them changed as did the other responsibilities in my life did. Teen and 20 something me, would never think of buying reprints. Teen and 20 something me also lived with my folks or I was single and had a lot more disposable income. As the responsibilities of getting older, married, having children, paying more bills/cars/rent changed so did my attitude on reprints. Now I use them a lot to get things I feel I can't justify buying the original of. Even if I can technically afford it. It still seems wasteful. And I have a feeling that with MCU and DC movies and tv shows indirectly increasing the costs of older key issues, that my attitude won't change even when the kids are out of the house and financially independent and my wife and I move to a smaller place with cheaper rent.
|
|
|
Post by beccabear67 on May 7, 2020 14:51:59 GMT -5
I had that crime Reporter #2. I don't think I ever saw a St. John comic that was above Good condition though which is too bad as they had the best quality covers originally. I contrast had Avons, M.E., and even Fox comics in nice shape though. Anyone remember those early '60s reprints under the brand I.W.? I had a few of them and they were similar to Charlton in terms of quality and paper stock. A similar company was Super but I don't remember running into any of them. I like the 25cent Skywald Jungle Adventures reprints, all three issues of them. A chance to affordably see some of those crazy late '40s Fox stories. I see now that Super put reprints out earlier with that same title! I had Jungle Action #1 as a kid with Lorna reprints in it, later I got the first four issues with more of the same. They were sort of hokey stories but usually top quality art, and also there was Agu the Giant Ape!
|
|
|
Post by pinkfloydsound17 on May 7, 2020 15:07:52 GMT -5
^ I have that one!
I don't actively seek out reprint books but I have some annuals and stuff that are reprints. Things like treasuries which I like more because of the size. I am never gonna own a Batman 1 but the treasury is wicked fun.
For Spidey, I never got into Marvel Tales. I figured I could get the original issues and I have a healthy 85% of the issues I want from start to the 90's. There are a few (and some in other reprint titles) with some cool original covers that I would be happy to have but they will have to come to me as part of other lots or be found cheap.
|
|
|
Post by Phil Maurice on May 7, 2020 15:28:05 GMT -5
I had that crime Reporter #2. I don't think I ever saw a St. John comic that was above Good condition though. . . They're out there, but they command a heavy premium. My CR2 is about a Fine-.
|
|
|
Post by brutalis on May 7, 2020 16:41:26 GMT -5
When it comes to reprints (single or collected) I found that my attitude about them changed as did the other responsibilities in my life did. Teen and 20 something me, would never think of buying reprints. Teen and 20 something me also lived with my folks or I was single and had a lot more disposable income. As the responsibilities of getting older, married, having children, paying more bills/cars/rent changed so did my attitude on reprints. Now I use them a lot to get things I feel I can't justify buying the original of. Even if I can technically afford it. It still seems wasteful. And I have a feeling that with MCU and DC movies and tv shows indirectly increasing the costs of older key issues, that my attitude won't change even when the kids are out of the house and financially independent and my wife and I move to a smaller place with cheaper rent. These days I almost prefer the reprints over the originals as the printing process has gotten so much better. When the 1st reprints into trade came around (Stan Lee Son of Origins) I felt the colors were too "bright" and didn't seem right in consideration of what comics I already had in my collection. Now I see the improvements and advancements in TPB and Omni's makes the outrageous prices for those back issues avoidable as far as I am concerned. Finally much of the 70's goodies I grew up reading have been collected and some very small doses of 80's are beginning to come into being (wish there was more 80's) to enjoy. Yet some floppy comics are just better in a sense as they invoke memories and sensations and thoughts from their original purchase. Over the last year or so having delved into grabbing up the old westerns and war comics I missed out on, I have to admit to liking those a whole lot at the moment.
|
|
|
Post by beccabear67 on May 8, 2020 13:05:28 GMT -5
I did enjoy Marvel Tales circa #137 onward for awhile, until it got to the place where the issues were in paperbacks #2 & 3 which I already had (original Amazing #7 with the Vulture). Now I wish I'd kept up with it (and kept them). I looked at those editions a U.S. newspaper released, but they printed a half an issue at a time and so there seemed a lot of those to try to get, and every other 'issue' had to have a new cover and some did not fit in at all aesthetically with the early-mid '60s or Steve Ditko. I guess I would have to go for whatever these Marvel Tales sell for now (which can seem a lot when I remember paying 60 cents)... might be second only the the Russ Cochran early '70s ECs and first Gladstone Disney books for best regular comic format reprint!
|
|
|
Post by earl on May 9, 2020 10:53:34 GMT -5
Since the age of trades and hardcovers has happened in the past 25 years or so, it is interesting to see what becomes collectable. In many ways, there are some reprints in certain series that are more "unobtainium" than some actual issues. Things that went through low buy in orders and never got reprinted sometimes go for crazy amounts of money, yet volumes in same series around it can be plentiful and affordable to find. You have to keep on top of certain series, as they will sometimes also go out of print quick, where other volumes will hang around available for seemingly years.
Some of the wilder expensive trades are some Batman reprints of Legends of the Dark Knight series, where literally you will see a trade being offered at like $40 bucks when the actual issues are mostly dollar box stuff or at least comics less than current new ones.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 9, 2020 12:22:14 GMT -5
Since the age of trades and hardcovers has happened in the past 25 years or so, it is interesting to see what becomes collectable. In many ways, there are some reprints in certain series that are more "unobtainium" than some actual issues. Things that went through low buy in orders and never got reprinted sometimes go for crazy amounts of money, yet volumes in same series around it can be plentiful and affordable to find. You have to keep on top of certain series, as they will sometimes also go out of print quick, where other volumes will hang around available for seemingly years. Some of the wilder expensive trades are some Batman reprints of Legends of the Dark Knight series, where literally you will see a trade being offered at like $40 bucks when the actual issues are mostly dollar box stuff or at least comics less than current new ones. That's the fulcrum I base a lot of my decisions whether to buy something in trade or as individual issues lies. Can I get the single issues cheaper than I can get the trades? More often than not, the trade is the cheaper/more cost effective choice, plus it's easier to store & read than single issues, but there are times that the single issues are the better value and in those cases I will get the single issues rather than the trade. With most Golden Age and Silver Age material, the answer is easy, the trades are easier and cheaper, Bronze Age is a crapshoot as to the better value, and modern stuff is usually trade purchase only. It's the 80s and 90s material where the balance usually falls on single issues, though not always. -M
|
|
|
Post by earl on May 9, 2020 22:15:50 GMT -5
Lots of the classic Marvel and DC silver age stuff has been reprinted pretty well though in a few different series. When you get into the 70s and 80s, it's a bit more hit and miss. DC is definitely more patchy on this kind of thing.
I definitely built part of my collection on issues as certain series are never going to be reprinted in any complete way. It would be great if DC could put out big collections of complete 70-80s Batman, but the way contracts are setup, doesn't look like it will happen. I have no idea how they handle some of those artist trades like the Gene Colan where often times the story bounced between Batman and Detective with same writer and different artist.
|
|