c/comic-book-fans

That one con weekend where a collector tried to fence stolen comics in the dealer room

I was tabling at a mid-sized show in Columbus a few years back, and this guy walks up with a beat-up short box full of silver age keys. He was asking way below market (like $50 for a run of early X-Men) and had zero story about where he got them. I tipped off the show organizer, and it turned out half the books were reported stolen from a shop three states over. Has anyone else dealt with suspicious sellers trying to move hot books at a con?

Hit 100 issues in my run tonight and it just clicked

PSA: Check your long boxes before you buy them used

I grabbed a stack of long boxes from a guy on Craigslist last Saturday for like $15 each. Thought I was getting a steal until I got home and noticed the bottoms were all warped from moisture. Opened one up and smelled musty right away, had to toss a whole batch of old 90s Valiant issues cuz they had mold spots on the covers. I talked to a guy at my local shop and he said never buy used boxes unless you flip them over and check the cardboard for soft spots or stains first. Now I just buy new ones from the shop for $8 each and save myself the headache. Anyone else get burned on used storage gear like this?

Last Wednesday was the worst comic shop day I've had in 5 years

I went to grab the new issue of my pull list and some dude in a Deadpool hoodie spent 20 minutes arguing with the cashier about variant cover prices, holding up the whole line. Has anyone else had their weekly trip ruined by someone turning a simple pickup into a whole debate?

Found out that only 7% of comic fans actually read physical issues anymore

Tbh I was scrolling through Diamond's 2024 sales report the other day and it floored me. Digital sales now make up 58% of all comic purchases, but the real shocker was that physical floppy buyers dropped to just 7% of the fanbase. I thought trade paperbacks would be higher, but they only account for 35%. That means the Wednesday crowd I grew up with is basically a niche inside a niche. Has anyone else noticed their local shop shifting to more graphic novels and statues instead of single issues?

My local shop's pull list changed completely after 3 years away

I moved back to my hometown last month after living in Denver for 3 years. Stopped by my old comic shop (Collector's Corner on Main Street) and the whole vibe of the pull list wall had shifted. It used to be like 80% Marvel and DC stuff with some Image thrown in. Now I saw more indie titles like Something is Killing the Children and Saga holds than X-Men or Batman issues. The owner told me he started ordering based on what younger customers were asking for on TikTok (of all places). Has anyone else noticed their local shop's inventory shift this drastically in the last few years?

My worst comic book convention week ever

Last year I volunteered at a small con in Ohio and got stuck running the 'damaged book' table for three days. Some kid spilled grape soda on a first printing of Saga #1 I had just pulled from a dollar bin. Then a grown man argued with me for 20 minutes about whether a spine tick counts as 'minor damage' because he wanted half off. By Sunday I had sold exactly three books and got chewed out by the organizer for not pushing the 'collector grade' ones harder. Has anyone else had a convention gig go this sideways?

Shoutout to the comic shop guy who saved my pull list

I was at Cosmic Comics on Broadway last Saturday just flipping through some back issues, not really looking for anything. The owner, this older dude named Jerry, saw me holding a copy of a run I'd been trying to piece together for a while now. He just walked over and said "you know you can set up a pull list for key issues right, not just monthly releases?" I never even thought of that... I've been digging through bins for three years like a chump. He showed me how they keep a binder of collector requests and even added me to the system on the spot. Now I got an alert for the next big variant that drops in April. I saved like 15 bucks in shipping fees just from not having to hunt online after. Has anyone else ever slept on a simple service like that at your local shop?

Had to choose between a $40 omnibus and a $10 trade paperback at the shop today

Stood in my local shop for a good 15 minutes holding both. The omnibus had all the issues and looked nice on the shelf. But the trade was cheaper and easier to carry around. I went with the trade. Read it on the bus ride home and finished it in two sittings. No regrets but now I wonder if I missed out on the extra material. Anyone else struggle with this choice when you're on a budget?

Paid $40 for a signed Todd McFarlane issue and the autograph smudged on the bus ride home

Picked up a Spawn #1 signed by Todd at a local shop in Portland last Saturday. Grabbed it in a rush to catch the bus and had it in my backpack with no sleeve. By the time I got home the sharpie signature was completely blurred. Felt like a total idiot. Anyone roast themselves by ruining a grail this bad?

PSA: that 'rare' Spider-Man #1 variant you saw at a con is probably a reprint

Bought what I thought was a legit Miles Morales first appearance variant at a shop in Austin for $120. Got home and checked the paper quality under a light - thin and glossy instead of the matte newsprint. Learn to check the date codes on the inside cover before you pull out your wallet.

Debate I had at my local shop about variant covers vs reading copies

My buddy swears buying variant covers for $30 makes you a Real collector, but I say it's just FOMO marketing for speculators. Which side do you lean on when grabbing new releases?

The shift in X-Men fans from the 90s cartoon to the Krakoa era is wild

I grew up on the 90s X-Men animated series where fans were all about the drama between Cyclops and Wolverine over Jean Grey. But now, with the Krakoa stuff, I see a whole new wave of fans who care way more about Moira X and the political side of mutantkind. It's like two completely different fanbases, and the change happened around 2019 when Krakoa really took off. The old fans just want the soap opera back, but the new ones are all about the nation-building stuff. Which side do you think better represents what X-Men is supposed to be?

Ten years ago I would've laughed at anyone who said digital comics were better than floppies.

I was that guy with longboxes stacked to the ceiling, swore by the smell of newsprint and the feel of a new issue in my hands. Then my basement flooded in 2022, ruined about 300 comics I'd been collecting since the 90s, and I realized all that paper is just fragile baggage. How did you finally get over the physical vs digital debate?

Talked to a kid at the shop who only knows MCU Spider-Man

He had no clue who the original Ultimate Spider-Man was and it made me realize how much the comics have faded from the public eye, has anyone else had that awkward moment explaining 60 years of lore to a 14 year old?

Finally cleared the 300 issue mark in my collection

Hit 302 issues yesterday after a yard sale find... found a run of early 90s X-Men I didn't even know I was missing. It's not huge compared to some folks, but I've only been collecting for like 2 years so it felt good. Anyone else count their stuff obsessively?

My buddy told me I was holding my comics wrong

Went to a con in Cleveland and it totally flipped how I read comics

I used to just skim through issues looking at the art, skipping big blocks of text. Then at this booth a guy named Mike who drew for some indie press handed me his book and said 'try reading it out loud in a whisper.' I did that for like 3 issues of his series and suddenly I caught all these little character moments and jokes I woulda missed. Now I slow down and actually read every word bubble, even on stuff I thought I knew. Has anyone else had a weird trick that changed how you experience a comic?

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?