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Wizard's Top 10: Where Are They Now?? Issue 12, August 1992 #2 Magnus: Robot Fighter #0 (send-away version) (it's a super limited version of the comic): A slabbed 9.8 sold for $203, while an unslabbed one went for $87. Good pick, though getting it required cutting up issues 1-8 of Magnus, but given those are quarter bin fodder, this worked out better #10 Amazing Spider-Man #274 (Ghost Rider appears): Copies are selling in the $1-3 range, nothing is slabbed. QUARTER BIN FODDER Issue 13, September 1992 #2 Spawn #1 (duh): Unslabbed copies range from $25-50, slabbed $100ish and one for over $900. I'm calling this a good buy. #10: Amazing Spider-Man #101 (IT'S MORBIN' TIME!!): Unslabbed copies are going for around $250 and up, with graded copies going for up to triple that for even a 7.5. Obviously Morbius was the character re-find of 1992 and 30 years later continues to be Marvel's most beloved property. Great pick by Wizard here! Issue 14, October 1992 #2 Solar #10 (Solar's origin PLUS first appearances of Geoff the Geomancer and the Eternal Warrior!): Unslabbed seems to be around the $10 mark with slabbed copies in good condition around $100. This is the first non-chase variant Valiant comic that even achieves  status! I'm sure there will be more from this beloved comic company that was definitely poised for greatness in 1992.#7 Youngblood #1 (duh): I have a friend who used to take a copy of Youngblood to comic cons and have everyone he could get to to sign it. They'd generally either laugh or give him a funny look, but would sign it in the end. Anyway, that's the most value Youngblood has since no one is actually buying this. QUARTER BIN FODDER #9 John Byrne's Next Men #1 (Well, it's a #1 issue of a series by at-the-time celebrated writer John Byrne. I guess that's something. Also the first Dark Horse book to break into the top 10): One copy sold for $3. A lot containing this and five more issues didn't sell for $0.99. QUARTER BIN FODDER. Apparently #21 is the first appearance of Hellboy. I'll be interested to see if that breaks through eventually. Issue 15, November 1992 #5 Magnus: Robot Fighter #12 (first modern appearance of Turok): A copy in a lot with Turok #1 sold for $15, while slabbed 9.8 copies are going around $300. This is a very qualified GOOD PICK. #7 Eternal Warrior #4 (first appearance of Bloodshot, star of hit movie Bloodshot): A slabbed copy sold for $80, and TWO count them TWO copies unslabbed in a lot sold for $5. QUARTER BIN FODDER #9 Shadowhawk #1 (duh): There's exactly one recent sale for $4. QUARTER BIN FODDER Issue 16, December 1992 #1 Rai #0 ("Cool cover" and tells the future of Valiant): The only sale is a sub-$50 slabbed copy. No one wants this. QUARTER BIN FODDER #3 Eternal Warrior #5 (first(?) full appearance of Bloodshot, star of hit movie Bloodshot): You'll be shocked to discover there's no sales of this, not even in lots. QUARTER BIN FODDER #5 Harbinger #10 (first appearance of H.A.R.D. Corps): Just guess. QUARTER BIN FODDER #7 Shadowman #8 (first appearance of Master Darque): QUARTER BIN FODDER Not a good month to be a highly-coveted Valiant comic, I guess! Endless Mike fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Jun 15, 2022 |
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Jun 15, 2022 01:29
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For some reason I read 'first appearance of H.A.R.D. Corps' and just laugh.
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Jun 15, 2022 02:31
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Dawgstar posted:For some reason I read 'first appearance of H.A.R.D. Corps' and just laugh. I'm fairly certain during the Deathmate crossover with Image, there's Amalgam-style mashups and we get H.A.R.D.C.A.T.s and/or Wild Corps.
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Jun 15, 2022 02:37
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Endless Mike posted:Good pick, though getting it required cutting up issues 1-8 of Magnus This kind of stood out to me too, especially with Wizard helping accelerate the "collectible comics" craze it seems a little insane that a comics company would release a comic that would require you to cut up your comics. Maybe they were hoping it would boost sales by having people go "I'll buy one to cut up and one to preserve."
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Jun 15, 2022 04:26
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That’s exactly what it was. They want you to buy multiple copies of the same book. They still do.
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Jun 15, 2022 04:27
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One to cut up, one to read, one to bag and seal away in a safe. But wait, you need two of the one you get for free if you cut up the others, so you need for four to get two.
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Jun 15, 2022 04:52
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FWIW, compared to inflation $3 in 1992 is worth $6.25 today, so it does not take many $100+ comics to make Wizard a good investment advistor. I'm too drunk to compare it to actual stock. but I assume my results will extrapolate perfectly.
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Jun 15, 2022 05:09
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Twelve by Pies posted:This kind of stood out to me too, especially with Wizard helping accelerate the "collectible comics" craze it seems a little insane that a comics company would release a comic that would require you to cut up your comics. Maybe they were hoping it would boost sales by having people go "I'll buy one to cut up and one to preserve." StumblyWumbly posted:FWIW, compared to inflation $3 in 1992 is worth $6.25 today, so it does not take many $100+ comics to make Wizard a good investment advistor. However, looking this up, I now have levels for "mediocre" (beats inflation) and "good" (beats the market), so that's useful. (It more or less matches with where I was judging, anyway.) Endless Mike fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Jun 15, 2022 |
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Jun 15, 2022 14:16
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StumblyWumbly posted:FWIW, compared to inflation $3 in 1992 is worth $6.25 today, so it does not take many $100+ comics to make Wizard a good investment advistor. The thing to remember is that in 1992, people were taking those hot comics and selling them at a huge mark up immediately. Cover price might have been $2 for Big Image Book #1 but two weeks later dealers had stacks of them for $10 at cons (or more!) and price guides like Wizard had them at huge mark up. Something X-O isn't covering is the price guide in every issue of Wizard which was color coded like a stock ticker. You'd check it every month to see how your collection was doing. Maybe you should go out and get some of that hot book from the top ten to improve your portfolio? It didn't take a genius to see how rotten the whole system was.
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Jun 15, 2022 16:19
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You know in my ten years working at a comic store I never saw anybody try to bring in those Valiant issues to try and fund their kid's college education like they did with your X-Forces and Death of Supermans.
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Jun 15, 2022 18:14
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Random Stranger posted:It didn't take a genius to see how rotten the whole system was. The thread tag isn't an accident. Dawgstar posted:You know in my ten years working at a comic store I never saw anybody try to bring in those Valiant issues to try and fund their kid's college education like they did with your X-Forces and Death of Supermans. I mean, how could you with SUCH LOW PRINT RUNS???
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Jun 15, 2022 18:14
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Hello 1993! Wizard Magazine Issue #17 January 1993 Cover   Contents   Wizard News     Article of Note     Article of Note        Article of Note    Article of Note   Brutes and Babes    Fan Art!      Top 10 Heroes and Villains I mean, it's coming back right? The Top 10   Magic Words!     Random Ads     
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Jun 15, 2022 19:17
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The only money I’ve ever made from colllecting comics came from Ultimate Spider-Man and The Walking Dead. I bought them because I love Spider-Man and zombie movies. Any comics I ever bought as “investments” turned out to be worthless. I remember holding on to my copy of Marvel’s Masters of the Universe #1 in a plastic shopping bag under my bed because the cover said “COLLECTOR’S ITEM!”
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Jun 15, 2022 19:24
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YEAR 1 TOP 10 COMIC STATS Total unique comics appearing: In 120 slots of the year, 30 unique comics appeared on the top 10 lists. Appearance by publisher (each appearance will count, even for comics that last multiple months): Marvel: 110 Valiant: 7 DC: 3 With Image only having just launched by August 1992, there was only four remotely major publishers at the time: Marvel, DC, Valiant, and Dark Horse, so it's no real surprise to see this. Most Valuable Comic (in 2022): Not too surprisingly, the platinum cover of Spider-Man #1 is selling for the highest. It was a chase cover only sent to certain comic shops as a "thank you" for making Spider-Man #1 the top-selling comic of all time. Longest time in top 10: New Mutants #87 made it the full 12 months (and, indeed, will continue to appear after the first year. Cable was pretty popular! Runner-up: Uncanny X-Men #248 made it 11 of the 12 months, only dropping out in issue 2 before returning. One and done: Ghost Rider #15, New Teen Titans #2, New Mutants #100, Infinity Gauntlet #1, and Amazing Spider-Man #274 all had a single appearance in the first year. Series with the most comics appearing: Uncanny X-Men had six issues appearing: 201, 248, 266, 268, 281, and 282.
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Jun 15, 2022 19:34
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Splint Chesthair posted:The only money I’ve ever made from colllecting comics came from Ultimate Spider-Man and The Walking Dead. I bought them because I love Spider-Man and zombie movies. Any comics I ever bought as “investments” turned out to be worthless. Yeah, I sold my first 50 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man back to my store at peak interest and did okay. I have some technically valuable comics with like Amazing Spidey #298-300 but I've also read them so they're nowhere near mint. Or near mint.
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Jun 15, 2022 19:47
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Maybe if Wizard put NFL Superpro #1 on their top 10 list, it would still be ongoing today makes u think
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Jun 15, 2022 20:04
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X-O posted:
Art by that character from the third Blade movie (and probably a bunch of Blade comics)
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Jun 15, 2022 20:07
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We almost had a month with no Marvel in the top ten, but were saved by Morbius.
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Jun 15, 2022 21:15
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The letters section mentioned that the toy section of the magazine had expanded to two pages with a semi-annual price guide. How much longer until they spin it off into ToyFare?
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Jun 15, 2022 23:44
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The ad about Cain from Harris Comics made me laugh thinking about it. The bad girl craze is about to break out, they're Vampirella's company and they decide to make a comic with a dude. Canny as a fox.
Dawgstar fucked around with this message at 14:48 on Jun 17, 2022 |
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Jun 16, 2022 00:26
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Twelve by Pies posted:The letters section mentioned that the toy section of the magazine had expanded to two pages with a semi-annual price guide. How much longer until they spin it off into ToyFare? Four and a half years
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Jun 16, 2022 05:19
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Dawgstar posted:The ad about Cain from Harris Comics made me laugh thinking about it. The bad girl crazy is about to break out, they're Vampirella's company and they decide to make a comic with a dude. Canny as a fox. I actually do want to know much more about his cyber baseball cap
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Jun 16, 2022 21:47
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poly and open-minded posted:I actually do want to know much more about his cyber baseball cap I think that's a replacement bit of skull, with a window so you can see his brain? 90's!
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Jun 17, 2022 10:34
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This thread fills me with nostalgic depression and sadness.
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Jun 17, 2022 12:45
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Wizard Magazine Issue #18 February 1993 Cover   Contents   Wizard News     Article of Note    Article of Note   Article of Note   Article of Note      Brutes and Babes    Fan Art!      Fine, if it's not coming back we'll do something else.   The Top 10   Magic Words!     Random Ads     
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Jun 19, 2022 22:05
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This is several issues ahead but very cool. Kenneth Rocafort won Jim Lee's drawing table in a contest in 1995. He was born in '83 so that makes him 11 or 12 at the time of the drawing. drat. This was issue 43. Kenneth would later draw one of the two covers to Wizard issue 124 in 2002. X-O fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Jun 19, 2022 |
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Jun 19, 2022 22:27
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X-O posted:Wizard Magazine Issue #18 February 1993 This feels like the Wizard I grew up on (sadly).
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Jun 20, 2022 00:50
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 Petition to change Gavok's avatar to this
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Jun 20, 2022 03:34
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Wizard Magazine Issue #19 March 1993 Cover  Contents   Wizard News     Article of Note    Article of Note    Article of Note     Article of Note    Brutes and Babes    Fan Art!        The Top 10   Magic Words!     Random Ads This issue also included the 10 page Epic Comics ad from the OP. Starting to get to the era where almost every other page is an ad.    
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Jun 20, 2022 12:41
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I love the Comic Watch for X-Men #4 noting that #1 is already worthless since they printed so many. Makes u think
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Jun 20, 2022 13:03
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Ah, yes, it was in fact Rai #4 that explicitly had nothing going for it aside from there weren't many copies and nobody bought it. I asked the owner of the comic store I worked at who had been in the business for decades and does pretty high end Gold and Silver Age back issue stuff if he ever bothered with the Valiant comics in the early 90's and the answer was mostly a blank look.
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Jun 20, 2022 14:06
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Wizard's Top 10: Where Are They Now?? These next few issues seem to have ton of turnover. I'm sure these will be the comics that are truly valuable in 2022! Issue 17, January 1993 #2 Spawn #4 ("Underordered" and had a tear-out coupon): There's exactly one recent sale: A slabbed 9.4 for $27. I think calling this QUARTER BIN FODDER is being too nice. This is bird cage liner. #3 Bloodshot #1 (first issue of new character find Bloodshot): There's a few sales, all in single digits. QUARTER BIN FODDER #6 Rai #4 (Low print run. That's it. There's absolutely nothing else at all interesting about this.): One copy took an offer under $15. We'll call this #7 Rai #3 (See above.): Seems to run around $7 for an unslabbed copy. Beating inflation, I guess! #9 Harbinger #4 (See above. Also had a coupon for something, too.): Going rate is around $10. Four new Valiant comics in one month! This Valiant company must be pretty great! Issue 18, February 1993 #1 Superman #75 (In this issue....A Superman DIES!): Sealed copies are running around $10. I was actually expecting a bit more here. #7 Magnus: Robot Fighter #5 (First appearance of Rai and a low print run): One copy sold for $5, another for $20. A slabbed 9.8 took an offer under their $400 BIN price. I'm calling this but it's kind of hard to tell.#10 WildC.A.T.S. #2 (It has a prismatic cover that "gives you an aneurysm if you look at it too long" which is a solid recommendation and a coupon): Unslabbed copies are a couple bucks, and a slabbed 9.6 went for a whole $28. This is some QUARTER BIN FODDER Issue 19, March 1993 #8 Venom: Lethal Protector #1 (First issue of Venom's first solo series AND a foil cover!): There's one unslabbed sale for $26, and a number of slabbed copies around the $100 mark. Good pick! #9 Superman #66 (Possible hint of the first appearance of Doomsday *Narrator: It was not.*): I can only even find one listing, and it didn't sell. QUARTER BIN FODDER #10 Superman Special #1 (Something about the Superman that died was a fake Superman introduced here. *Narrator: It was not.*): There's a number of sales, all in the single-digit range. This is QUARTER BIN FODDER but given it's a Walt Simonson book, probably one worth snagging if you come across it! Endless Mike fucked around with this message at 16:17 on Jun 20, 2022 |
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Jun 20, 2022 16:13
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Wizard Magazine Issue #20 April 1993 Not really sure what got into them this month but they included more articles than normal that were somewhat worth reading! Cover   Contents   Wizard News     Article of Note     Article of Note       Article of Note   Article of Note       Article of Note    Article of Note    Brutes and Babes    Fan Art! No future superstars in this issue. Nope. Second time for Chris Battle, who was mentioned earlier in the thread? Guess he was steady submitting covers.        The Top 10   Magic Words!     Random Ads     
X-O fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Jun 20, 2022 |
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Jun 20, 2022 16:45
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Endless Mike posted:Wizard's Top 10: Where Are They Now?? These are always interesting. To bring the feet on the ground perspective as it were, I've been able to visit a lot of different comic stores over the southeast, to say nothing of visiting others at cons and a few things stand out about the Valiant books. First, these early 'first generation' runs you probably won't find because small print run. If you do find them, the price tag depends on the age of the owner to what they're priced at. If they were of an age reading Wizard when it was coming out, then they'll probably be 5-10 books with things like a few of the #1s (and things like the first modern appearance of Turok) being in the realm of pricy. If they were older or younger, quarter bins. Even the trade paperbacks had low print runs, just because they were expensive to make. I remember finally reading Harbinger, I believe it was, in trade and being super stoked because they talked it up for AGES and being very underwhelmed. I decided to stick with New Warriors. Edit: Also LOL at the last Wizard review. "Alpha Flight's Shaman can count himself among the hottest characters today."
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Jun 20, 2022 17:43
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I know the comic bust killed a lot of the smaller publishers (hell it nearly killed Marvel too) but it is kind of crazy to see a bunch of smaller publishers getting even a tiny bit of hype before it all came crashing down. I will say that the articles and interviews are a whole lot better written than the stuff that came out in the 2000s. Good job Wizard.
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Jun 20, 2022 18:25
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I wish Crossgen got as much hype as Valiant.
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Jun 20, 2022 18:37
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Wizard Magazine Issue #21 May 1993 I think this is the first issue that really feels like the Wizard I first remember reading. The letter section is the first thing in the book, and the main monthly features are starting to look like I remembered them. Cover   Contents   Magic Words! This one features a letter explaining the TRUE ORIGINS of Venom! Also Jeff Matsuda letter fan art!     Wizard News    Article of Note    Article of Note      Article of Note   Article of Note    Article of Note    Brutes and Babes    Fan Art! Raff Ienco is currently drawing Darth Vader for Marvel and Ken Lashley has been all over the place. In fact, he was drawing Excalibur by the end of the year that this issue of Wizard was published in!      Wait This Returns Before Top 10 Heroes/Villains?  Comic Watch   The Top 10   Random Ads ROYAL FAMILY TRADING CARDS?!?!?        That Arcomics ad is loving hilarious. "Art and Story by the creators!" "First appearance of major characters!" X-O fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Jun 20, 2022 |
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Jun 20, 2022 18:46
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Recommending Cerebus to the woman letter writer asking for better representation of women in comics has aged really really really badly. Also asking for pictures of women comic book readers. That has also aged really really really badly.
Madkal fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Jun 20, 2022 |
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Jun 20, 2022 19:44
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Madkal posted:Recommending Cerebus to the woman letter writer asking for better representation of women in comics has aged really really really badly. In the 21 issues I've posted so far I've skipped a few Dave Sim interviews for this exact reason. I'm not sure anyone wants to read what that dude had to say anymore. I'm not saying there's anything bad in them, but I'm not reading them and I don't think anyone here is interested in reading them knowing what we know now. quote:aged really really really badly I'm sure there's going to be a lot of that in this thread. It may very well be the prominent theme going forward. X-O fucked around with this message at 19:51 on Jun 20, 2022 |
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Jun 20, 2022 19:48
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Sim hadn't gone Full Dave at that point, but it was the first interview in Wizard that got me reading Cerebus (that and a combination of him showing up in that issue of the Mirage TMNT which I read via the First reprints). I remember having my mom order the first phone book. I did a book report on High Society and never bothered to tell them it was a trade because it wasn't technically a book but it was certainly more gripping than anything else I'd read at that point. This was also about the time Sim started on Mothers and Daughters where the first story arc felt like a sort of return to form after Jaka's Story and Melmoth but then it's where the cracks really started to show, ending with the male light and female void and bah.
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Jun 20, 2022 19:55
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