The book I picked up at the flea market was Crystar #8 a book I only wanted to buy if I found it in the wild. Now it’s up in its correct home.
(For those that don’t know when Glen Danzig left the Misfits he formed Samhain which later changed names into Danzig, the logo of the band was ripped from this cover)
I’ve been looking for Crystar 8 for years but can never find it in the wild. I keep thinking it would be so easy to find as I see the series all the time at stores and cons. Issue 8 is always missing. The other one is Quasar 14. Can never find that damn book even though I see entire shortboxes of the series for 50 cents each all the time.
Didn’t even know to look for this book, now I will absolutely add it to my list. Speaking of Quasar #14 and early McFarlane, I never have any problem selling Infinity, Inc 14 thru 19, whenever I see them for a buck or two.
Enjoyed Anthony’s flea market round up so here’s mine:
Set up at a small convention at a brewery this Saturday put on by a local comic book shop.
My back issues range from $2-$10 with most in the $3-$4 range. I had two short boxes of Marvel, one of DC and one of Indies (Spawn making up nearly half). I think I sold maybe only 10-12 books out of those boxes - a few Spawn, one or two old Detective Comics/Batman, a couple of Amalgam and set of OG Infnity War 1-6.
Where the show shined for me was in the one BCW plastic premium box of ‘minor and major’ keys. Sold lots of books in the $20-$75 range. I only had two Absolute Batmans (14 Harley Quinn cover and Annual A Cover) and they sold very quickly for $20 and $30 respectively. Moved a low grade ASM 251 for $40, a couple of Spawn #1s for $20/$30, an ASM 601 for $75, Zatanna 15 for $40, Marvel Premiere 28 Legion of Monsters for $75, Simpsons Comics & Stories #1 polybagged for $25, $SiKtC #1 Foil for $30, a mid-grade Wolverine #1 and a low-grade Uncanny X-Men #141 for $80 among others.
What did I buy? I think I’ve mentioned before, I focus on collected editions for my eBay storefront. Picked up a Daredevil Epic Collection: Purgatory & Paradise for $20 - last one sold on eBay for $150. Also picked up an Incredible Hulk Epic Collection: Leader Lives for $20 - last one sold on eBay for $89.
Overall, pulled in just under $1k - felt like a solid haul considering no one even considered a thing from the box of CGC books I had. Show booth cost $50 and I paid a friend’s son $50 for helping with the loading and unloading as well as minding the booth while I went hunting.
This is my experience, as well at small, local shows when i set up.
I try to point out my slabbed books (keys at very reduced prices), and it doesnt go well.
Ebay is better, but at the small shows? - fuhgetaboutit. They dont want em
Is that you or someone hired to cosplay?
If that is you, that is dedication. And probably played a role in your success!
I haven’t set up at one myself…but of the many shows I’ve attended the last couple years I don’t recall seeing someone asking to see a slab wall book…
Continuing the discussion from Odds and Ends:
Haha not me, just a well known local Superman cosplayer that I cajoled in to a picture with one of my back issues.
Was running this announcement later.
What a difference between the buzz for the Spears Halloween books and these holiday ones.
I don’t hear anyone really talking about them, hyping them, etc. Maybe I’m just not seeing it on my end?
Seems quieter. Wasn’t promoted as well, maybe?
i feel like Spears dropped off the face of the planet with all this AB dominance.
I love it! Hopefully Absolute Batman is a wake up call for the industry to focus less on gimmicks, variant covers etc. I know this is wishful thinking on my part. We already have evidence of this back in the 90s where gimmicks have a shelf life and it almost killed the industry, and now they’re doing it all again.
Big big sales numbers for Abs Batman 14 and 15 and they’re bringing in new readers. That’s why the earlier issues are so sought after. They’re not from flippers, it’s from people who want the issues. A lot of people don’t live near a comic shop. They hear about the series and go on ebay to get them.
Uh oh. Not so random!!!
I’ve opened 4 cases so far. They are in order in the case with ratios placed in each case randomly. Which is WAY better than what it was with the halloween bags. I was pulling maybe 5 or 6 in a row of the same cardstock cover from the same case. There are still slight impressions from the bag seam even with the thin cardstock they put in the bag. You can still tell a foil / glow / sweater from a cardstock book just by feel. Overall an improvement, but in my opinion this book is a dud compared to what I did with the last blind bag.
So hypothetically a retailer could pull out all the good books and put out only duds. Given that you can tell the difference.
I think he went back to the well too soon after Halloween. Along with other publishers pushing the blind bag thing, so the novelty is getting stress-tested quickly.
