c/comic-book-fans

Back issue bins are better than preorders, change my mind

I stopped preordering floppies 2 years ago and started digging through back issue bins at my local shop in Columbus, found 3 complete runs for half the cover price. The hunt is more fun and I actually read what I buy instead of letting a pull list sit in a longbox for months. Anyone else ditched their pull list and gone full bin diving?

0 comments

corap61•1d ago

Comparing 2 comic shops in Columbus was night and day for back issues

I hit up the two big shops in Columbus last Saturday, Laughing Ogre and The Soldiery. One had their long boxes sorted by title then number, the other just had a stack labeled "90s X-Men, dig through it." The organized one let me find the 3 issues I needed in about 15 minutes, the other I gave up after 40. Anyone else notice store organization makes or breaks a hunt for older comics?

2 comments

joseph_bailey•4d ago

Can we talk about how I bagged comics wrong for 15 years?

I used to put the bag flap on the left side, so the adhesive strip sat right over the top staple. Last month I saw a collector at a con in Austin flip it to the right and I finally noticed the back cover crease I'd been leaving on every single issue since 2008. Anyone else damage their pulls for over a decade before catching on?

2 comments

the_riley•5d ago

Floppies vs trades - I still pick single issues every time

Went to my LCS last Wednesday. Guy next to me was buying 3 trades. Said he never buys singles anymore. Waits 6 months for the collection. I get it. Cheaper. But I like the weekly ritual. The cliffhanger waiting. That flimsy paper feel. Trades are neat and tidy. Single issues are messy and alive. Am I the only one who still prefers the hunt every Wednesday?

2 comments

jesse_smith10•6d ago

Noticed kids at my LCS don't flip through back issues anymore

Back in the 90s we'd spend hours digging through long boxes. Now the younger crowd just pulls up the price on their phone and asks the clerk to grab it. I saw a kid do that three times in 10 minutes last Saturday.

2 comments

oliviabutler•6d ago

Shoutout to the guy at my LCS who pulled me aside to warn me a key issue was overpriced

He stopped me at the register last Saturday and pointed out the same book was $15 cheaper at another shop across town, so I saved $20 and now I always ask his opinion before buying.

2 comments

park.aaron•6d ago

The shift from reading comics in floppy issues to waiting for the trade paperback - what side are you on?

I used to grab single issues every Wednesday without fail (dropping like $25 a week at my local shop in Omaha), but after I moved 3 years ago and missed a few key issues, I switched to trades only because they're cheaper and read smoother, but now I miss the hunt and the community buzz - do you stick with the monthly floppy ritual or wait for the collected edition?

2 comments

brooke448•6d ago

Wasted $80 on a box of discounted comics from an estate sale...

Thought I scored big. A whole long box for eighty bucks. Pulled the first issue out and it was a 90s variant that smelled like mothballs. Third issue had half the cover ripped off. By the time I got to the bottom I had maybe five books that were worth reading. The rest was all beat up copies of random series nobody even remembers. Shouldve just taken the cash and bought three trades I actually wanted. Anyone else get burned on those "mystery box" deals?

2 comments

laura_wilson•6d ago

Finally gave in and read Saga after years of avoiding it...

I've been reading comics for like 15 years now and I always avoided Saga because the hype was just so loud. Everyone at my local shop in Portland kept telling me to pick it up but I figured it couldn't be that good, you know? Then last month I was stuck waiting for a bus in the rain for 45 minutes and the guy next to me handed me his copy of Volume 1. I read the whole thing standing there in the drizzle and I had to walk back to the store to buy the next three volumes. The way the characters talk to each other feels so real and messy and the art has this weird beauty to it I wasn't expecting. Now I'm all the way through Volume 7 and I can't believe I wasted 10 years being stubborn about it. Has anyone else had a series they avoided forever and then got completely pulled into?

2 comments

lucashenderson•9d ago

Took me 3 hours to realize my comic boxes were upside down

I was reorganizing my long boxes last weekend and kept trying to fit books in but they wouldn't slide right. After fighting with it for way too long, I realized I had the boxes flipped so the lid opening was on the bottom. Felt like a total goof standing there with my 90s X-Men issues scattered around. Has anyone else done something this silly while sorting through their collection?

2 comments

the_laura•9d ago

Can we talk about the trick that got my kid into older comics?

So I have been trying to get my 11 year old son to read classic X-Men for over a year now. He would flip through but never really got into the stories because the old art style looked too dated to him. I tried showing him the 90s cartoon, I tried getting him the modern reboot books, nothing stuck. Then last week I just handed him a cheap reprint of God Loves, Man Kills from the $5 bin at my local shop. That one graphic novel did it. He sat down and read the whole thing in one afternoon. The themes were heavy enough that he felt like he was reading something grown up. Now he is asking about Claremont's run and wants to know where Kitty Pryde shows up next. Has anyone else had luck using a darker one-shot or graphic novel as a gateway for a younger reader?

2 comments

henry150•12d ago

Dude at the comic shop told me Siege was a bad starting point, he was right

Last year I wanted to get into Marvel comics for real, not just movies. Guy behind the counter at Cosmic Collectibles in Denver said start with the 2012 Thor run, not Siege. I ignored him, picked up the Siege hardcover for $30. Could not follow half of what was happening. Went back a month later and grabbed the Thor by Jason Aaron stuff. Way easier. Has anyone else gotten bad starter advice from a shop employee that set you back?

2 comments

fisher.jessica•22d ago

Tried joining a comic book discussion group on Facebook and got yelled at for not knowing the exact shade of green on Swamp Thing's 1984 cover

I figured it'd be a chill place to talk about Alan Moore runs, but man, those guys treat variant covers like they're grading my real estate contracts, and now I just stick to lurking on Reddit where nobody cares if I call John Constantine's coat beige instead of tan.

3 comments

val974•24d ago

Shoutout to the guy at my local comic shop who told me to stop bagging my floppies

I mean, I always thought you had to bag every single issue the second you brought it home. But this old timer at Cosmic Comics in Denver told me I was wasting my time and money on bags for stuff I'd read once and trade in. He said just keep the high value keys bagged and let the rest breathe in a short box. I tried it for like 6 months now and my $3 bin fodder actually looks fine, no worse for wear. Anyone else ever get advice that went against everything you thought was gospel?

3 comments

the_drew•1mo ago

That $70 variant cover I thought would be worth something

Last year I bought the 1:25 ratio variant for issue #5 of a new series from a shop in Portland. The store owner said these early printings always jump in value. I paid $70 and kept it in a sleeve thinking I'd flip it in 6 months. Now that same book sells for $12 on eBay and I'm stuck with it. Anyone else have a stack of covers that never appreciated?

4 comments

the_robin•1mo ago

Got into a heated debate with a guy at my LCS about Silver Age key issues

Last Saturday at Midtown Comics I was flipping through a beat-up copy of X-Men #12 and some dude walks up and tells me I'm wasting my money because the graded market is crashing. Asked him why he cares what I spend $40 on and he just walked away. Anyone else run into gatekeepers like this at their local shops?

3 comments

wade_anderson•1mo ago

That conversation with a collector at a kitchen table in Tulsa

I was at a small comic convention in Tulsa last fall and struck up a chat with an older guy named Frank who was just pulling out long boxes from his trunk. He told me he never bags his books from the 70s and 80s because he swears the plastic traps moisture over decades, and his collection has zero yellowing compared to his friend's bagged stuff. It made me rethink my whole storage system for my Silver Age issues. Anyone else ever tried going bagless for older books?

3 comments

cora_west5•1mo ago

Pro tip: Reading comics digitally vs collecting floppies - a debate from a collector who tried both

I spent around $150 on ComiXology last year to try going fully digital, thinking it would save space and money. But after 6 months, I missed the smell of the paper and flipping through my long boxes at home in Portland. Now I'm curious - how many of you actually stick with one format for good, or do you bounce between both like me?

3 comments

ben_fisher•1mo ago

Guy at a comic shop in Denver wouldn't stop telling me how to read Watchmen

Last Saturday at Mile High Comics, this guy in his 40s saw me pick up a Watchmen trade and spent 20 minutes explaining why I needed to read it in real time to 'feel the panels' or something. He kept grabbing my arm and saying 'no, you don't get it, the grid layout is the whole point.' Has anyone else had a random fan try to dictate your entire reading experience like that?

3 comments

noahwood•1mo ago

That app that sorts your pull list saved me 30 minutes per shop visit

I kept forgetting which issues I already grabbed at my local shop in Denver. After 3 wasted trips home to check my longboxes, I finally tried the CLZ app and it kept everything synced. Has anyone else found a better way to track variants without spending $40 a year?

3 comments

lilyt23•1mo ago

Went to a local comic shop's signing event and noticed something about the crowd

I stopped by Big Brain Comics in Minneapolis last Saturday for a signing with a smaller indie artist. Figured it would be just a handful of diehards like me. But I saw maybe 15 people waiting, and like half of them were just scrolling on their phones the whole time. One guy didn't even look up from his screen when he got his book signed. Has anyone else noticed comic fans acting super distracted at events lately?

3 comments

the_elizabeth•1mo ago

Warning: Don't lend out your long boxes at a con

Last weekend at the Pittsburgh Comicon I let a guy borrow three of my long boxes to carry his haul and he disappeared for like two hours. Came back with all my issues shuffled up and two of my #1s missing, didn't even apologize. Anyone else had stuff walk off when you were trying to be nice?

3 comments

the_felix•1mo ago

That guy at the comic shop who gatekeeps Silver Age issues

I was at Cosmic Comics in Portland flipping through some old X-Men books when this dude in his 40s walks up and tells me I'm holding issue 14 wrong because my fingers are on the cover. He said I should only touch the staples. I get protecting rare books but come on, I was just looking at it for 30 seconds. I asked him if he works there and he said no, he just hangs out to make sure people don't damage the stock. Has anyone else run into these volunteer hall monitors at their LCS?

3 comments

the_hayden•1mo ago

Hit 1,000 issues in my collection last week and didn't even notice till I counted

So I was just reorganizing my long boxes after picking up a few back issues from a local shop in Portland. I figured I had a decent stack but decided to actually tally everything for the first time in years. Turns out I crossed the 1,000 mark somewhere around issue 45 of a run I bought last month. It was wild because I never set out to hit a number, I just bought stuff I wanted to read. The milestone made me realize how much random junk I've actually held onto too. Like there's a whole box of 90s Image comics that I'll probably never touch again. Has anyone else hit a surprise number in their collection and felt weird about it?

3 comments

jesse_smith10•1mo ago

Found out last week that pressing the reset button on my circuit breaker panel actually fixed my flickering basement lights

Had a $150 electrician bill scheduled for next month but after reading a random forum thread about overloaded circuits I hit that little button and everything's been steady for 5 days now - has anyone else had a fix that simple scare you into thinking you'd been overcomplicating things?

3 comments