Comic Book Heaven
Where have I been? Well, on vacation, visiting my parents and seeing a few friends back in Boston. Plus, I've been taking a little break from keeping up with the journal every single day. Things will probably continue to be sporadic for another week-plus. I figure: It's the holidays, right? Time to relax and get away from the stresses of everyday life.
And both of them impressed me by being just what I like in a comic book store: Boxes of comics, neatly organized, priced, and easy to lift up and examine, all easy to access and even to browse through. I probably spent an hour in each store with my want list picking out things I want.
Web Head impressed me with better grading and slightly better prices. Plus, I made my best 'finds' there, including a very nice copy of Justice League of America #47 for only $10.00 (it often fetches $20.00 and up on eBay). That's Entertainment, however, had a lot more floor space and consequently a nicer selection. But the grading and pricing was erratic; when you see two copies of the same book in basically the same condition, and one is $3.00 and another is $8.00, you wonder what's going on (and, of course, you get the $3.00 one).
And perhaps best of all I lucked into several books or comics that I wanted but had not known existed. Plus a few cheapie comics that I stumbled across and said, "Hey, I used to have a copy of that, but I got rid of it. Heck... it's only a buck, I'll buy it and see if it's as fun as I remember."
These are the experiences that make being a collector rewarding. Especially when you're not just filling a list, but when you feel you're buying things that you'll enjoy, and you feel lucky to have come by when you did.
What did I buy? Well, I just about completed my collection of Avengers stories (through issue #202; yes, many of my copies are reprints), plus Frank Miller's Daredevil run. I snagged a few Iron Fist and Justice League fill-ins (I've almost got all the JLA/JSA team-ups! Only three issues to go!). I grabbed a bunch of The 'Nam, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes and old Marvel Team-Ups. I also finally found the last two issues of Magna-Man: The Last Superhero, an 80s comic by Comics Interview Publications which I'd found the first issue of, enjoyed it, but never saw the other two.
A nice stack of stuff to read when I get back to Madison and integrate it with the other pieces of the series I've been saving 'till I have the whole runs.
I've also done a lot of reading, finishing Lois McMaster Bujold's Mirror Dance on the flight out, and I would say it's on a par with - but different from - her Cetaganda novel in the same series. I've also read nearly all of Octavia E. Butler's "Patternist" series (except for Survivor, which is not available). Its themes are built very heavily around various kind of slavery, how people can force other people to be bent to their will. It gets to be not just grim but a bit repetitive after a while. I think after I finish Patternmaster (last in the series, but the first written) I will put her aside for a bit. However, I would say that Mind of my Mind is the best in the series.
So, it's been a good vacation. I'm accomplishing what I wanted to do, but getting a lot of relaxation in, too.
And on that note, I will sign off for now. I'll probably do another entry shortly after New Year's.
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