c/comic-book-fans

I used to roll my eyes at variant covers until last month's X-Men 97 drop

For years I thought variant covers were just a money grab. Then I stopped by my local shop in Portland and the owner showed me the Peach Momoko variant for issue 1. The colors and detail were just stunning in person, I couldn't believe how much better it looked than the standard cover. Spent $35 on it and now I get why people chase these things. The art really changes how you feel about the story before you even crack it open. Has anyone else been converted by a specific artist's variant run?

Saw a guy at the Denver Comic Con get yelled at for reading the actual comic

Was at Denver Comic Con last Saturday and watched a dude sitting on the floor reading a Silver Age Flash issue. Some guy walked up and told him he was wasting the convention because you should be buying and flipping, not reading. I think that's backwards. The whole point of this hobby is to enjoy the stories, not treat every book like a stock option. Has anyone else noticed the crowd at cons getting more about money than the actual comics?

That kid at the comic shop who told me Batman #497 was a bad investment

Can we talk about that comic book grading service that messed up my order?

I sent in a Silver Age Amazing Spider-Man #50 to CGC last month and they graded it at 7.0 when every shop I've shown it to says it's at least an 8.5. The grader's notes were totally generic, like they didn't even look at the book. I'm out $85 for grading fees and the value tanked. Has anyone else had a similar experience with them slipping on accuracy?

I finally found out that Stan Lee only wrote one full issue of Fantastic Four by himself

I was reading some old letter columns on a fan site last night and saw an editor note saying Stan basically plotted and left the scripting to others, which blew my mind since I always assumed he wrote everything in those early issues.

I finally regret that $200 indie comic kickstarter I backed last year

I put down $200 on a Kickstarter for a comic called 'Starlight Requiem' because the art looked amazing and the creator promised monthly updates. After 14 months I got a single issue and a bunch of empty updates saying they hit a 'creative block.' Has anyone else here gotten burned by a big comic crowdfunding campaign and actually gotten their money back?

TIL those 'limited edition' variant covers are just cash grabs

I spent $80 on a Jim Lee variant for a Batman issue last month thinking it'd be worth something. Found out from a guy at my local shop that they print thousands of these and they're basically worthless. Now I'm stuck with a fancy comic that's worth maybe $5 over cover price. Anyone else fall for the variant cover hype before realizing it's a trap?

Finally saved $50 by switching to trades at my local shop

I used to buy every new issue at cover price from the big chain store near my house. Last month I started trading in older comics at Cosmic Comics on 3rd Street and got $30 credit for a stack of 90s X-Men I never read. That covered half my pull list for February. Anyone else have luck trading in stuff you don't want anymore?

Lost my cool at a fan convention in Cleveland over some guy's hot take

Was at the Great Lakes Comic Con back in March and this dude in a Deadpool hoodie starts loudly trashing the new Ultimate Universe run during a panel Q&A. I jumped in to defend it and we went back and forth for like 5 minutes. Felt pretty stupid afterward because I missed half the panel arguing. Now I just nod and move on when I hear takes I don't agree with. Anyone else ever get sucked into a pointless debate at a con?

Took a chance on that weird indie comic from a small press in Portland

I was super skeptical about a book called 'The Rusted Garden' from some tiny operation up in Oregon. Picked it up at a con last month on a whim, and the watercolor art and quiet story about a guy fixing his dead lawn just hit me in a way the big two never do anymore. Has anyone else had a random indie title completely flip their expectations?

Hit issue #500 in my collection last weekend and it hit different than I expected

I was just sorting through some long boxes in my garage and realized I crossed 500 issues total. Didn't think a number would matter that much but it kind of does. Started collecting as a kid in the early 90s buying random X-Men and Spider-Man off the spinner rack at 7-Eleven. Now I'm sitting here with stacks from Image, DC, and indie publishers too. Anyone else have a random milestone that made them pause and think about how long they've been doing this?

Used to hunt dollar bins for keys, now I just wait for omnibus reprints

Back in 2019 I would hit up every con and local shop digging through those $1 longboxes for first appearances and key issues. Spent maybe $60 a month on random singles hoping to score something big. Then after the pandemic hit I realized I could just wait for the big collected editions and get the whole run without the gamble. Now I only buy omnis when they drop and trade paperbacks for the smaller stories. Has anyone else stopped chasing singles and gone full collected edition reader?

Found an old Silver Age issue in a garage cleanout last weekend

I was helping my uncle clear out his garage in St. Louis and found a 1966 Flash comic buried under a stack of old records. The pages were still crisp and it got me thinking how different the reading experience is compared to these new glossy digital prints. Anyone else stumbled onto a classic issue in a random spot like that?

Appreciation post for the old guy at my local shop who showed me how to bag comics properly

Last Tuesday at Midtown Comics in NYC, a regular named Jerry spent ten minutes teaching me the right way to use a backing board so the spine doesn't crease, and now my collection actually looks flat instead of warped has anyone else gotten a random lesson from a stranger that fixed a basic habit?

That $60 'graded comic' I bought on eBay was a total waste

Picked up a slabbed Amazing Spider-Man #300 from a seller in Florida. Paid $60 thinking it was a steal. Turns out the grade was fake, the case was a knockoff. Don't buy graded books without checking the certification number first. Anyone else get burned by fake slabs?

Vent: Saw a guy wreck his collection at a con in Cleveland

I was at Great Lakes Comic Con in Cleveland last Saturday and watched this dude totally destroy a key issue he was flipping through. He wasn't even being careful, just flipping pages with greasy pizza fingers and bending the spine back hard on a copy of Amazing Spider-Man #300. I tried to say something like 'hey man, maybe handle that a bit gentler' and he just shrugged and said it was just a book. The vendor looked sick to his stomach but didn't say anything because the guy was about to drop $400 on it. Has anyone else run into collectors who treat expensive books like they're reading a newspaper at Starbucks?

Classic Claremont vs modern Hickman X-Men - which era actually defined the team better?

I was digging through my longboxes yesterday in Raleigh and got into this debate with my buddy. He swears Hickman's Krakoa era is the most important thing to happen to the X-Men since Giant-Size #1. But I keep looking back at Claremont's 17-year run and thinking, that's where every core theme came from. The prejudice metaphors, the family dynamics, the crazy cosmic soap opera stuff. Hickman brought big ideas and a fresh take, but Claremont built the whole foundation with characters like Storm, Rogue, and Wolverine that actually grew over decades. My friend argues that Krakoa finally gave mutants a win and that's more powerful than the constant persecution cycle. But I feel like the struggle was what made them relatable in the first place. So which era do you think really shaped what the X-Men stand for, and why does one feel more real than the other to you?

Blew $80 on a comic grading kit and it was a total waste

I got into grading my own books a few months ago and bought one of those kits with the micro-tools and magnifying glass for $80 on eBay. Told myself it would save me money down the line. Five books in and I realized I was just making scratches and marking up the covers, not even catching real defects. The magnifier was too weak and the gloves kept tearing. Took one of my silver age copies to a shop in Austin and the guy there showed me what I missed just using his bare hands and a $5 jeweler's loupe. You don't need the fancy setup, just good lighting and practice. Anyone else get burned by those overpriced starter kits?

Saw a guy pull 30 back issues from a dollar bin at a convention last weekend in St. Louis

He wasn't even flipping through them carefully, just grabbing stacks like they were free candy. I watched him pull a first print of New Mutants 98 and a complete set of the original Secret Wars. Turned out he was a dealer from Kansas who drives to cons just to clean out the cheap bins before anyone else gets there. Has anyone else noticed the same guys hitting every dollar bin first at shows?

That convention in Charlotte made me stop trusting signatures

I was at HeroesCon in Charlotte last summer and a guy near me was selling signed books from a big name artist. Turns out he had a stack of books the artist never even touched, just a fake COA he printed at home. I watched three people drop $60 each on those before I said something to the staff. Now I only get signatures in person where I can watch the pen hit the page. Has anyone else run into fake signed books at a show?

I finally called out a guy at the comic shop who keeps spoiling runs for new readers

Last Wednesday at Golden Age Comics in Denver this dude in his 50s straight up told a kid how Invincible ends while the kid was grabbing issue 1 and I told him to shut it right there in front of everyone, has anyone else had to police spoilers in your local shop?

Saw a guy at the LCS in Austin argue with the owner for 20 minutes about a variant cover being overpriced

It was last Saturday at Austin Books and Comics. This dude was holding a foil variant of some Spider-Man issue and insisted the $30 sticker was a rip off because he could get it cheaper on eBay. Owner just stood there and said 'then buy it on eBay.' The guy kept going and going. I was just trying to flip through the $1 bin and it got so awkward I left without buying anything. Has anyone else had to bail on a shop because of one loud customer?

Had to pick between a pristine slabbed comic or a reader copy - I chose wrong

Last month at a convention in Austin, I had to decide between buying a near-mint copy of Amazing Spider-Man #300 for $200 or a beat-up reader copy for $40. I went with the cheap one thinking I'd save money and still enjoy the story. Big mistake. The reader copy had someone's old pizza stain on the cover, three pages were taped together, and the kid selling it gave me this look like he was doing me a favor. Now every time I flip through it I just get annoyed at myself for not splurging on the clean slab. Anyone else regret cheaping out on a key issue and just end up buying the expensive version later anyway?

Lost a $300 variant cover because I didn't check the bag

Picked up a rare Jim Lee variant at a shop in Portland last Saturday, drove home all excited, and found a crease running right down the middle because the bag had a bent backing board. I threw the board in the trash and sealed the comic in a proper sleeve with a new board, but the damage is done. Anyone else make a rookie mistake with storage supplies?

Vent: Watched my nephew flip through a brand new comic on his phone without even looking at the art

Handed him a copy of the issue that got me into collecting back in '92 and he just scrolled past the double page splash of the Avengers assembling like it was nothing, how do you even compete with that kind of short attention span?