Yours has quickly become my favourite comic channel. You're very authentic, knowledgeable, and clear in your delivery. I hope you can keep doing this for years! By the way, inspired by your episodes, I bought copies of The Phantom Stranger #20 and House of Secrets #146 at my LCS today. Many thanks.
Phantom Stranger has some unbelievably good covers. The stories are ok, but character is much different than the Phantom Stranger I grew up with in the 1980s. I hope to continue as long as I can as well, this has been a lot of fun!
Finally I've found someone to validate my obsession with bronze horror! Please never stop! 😂 I love them all but gravitate towards the Bernie covers and Adams of course!
There are a lot of us out there! It's a lot more affordable than collecting pre-code horror, and there's a good amount of quality books out there that are still attainable!
DC went into a horror emphasis with such titles as Phantom Stranger, Spectre, Swamp Thing and even Jonah Hex (Weird Western Tales) while Marvel did it with Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf By Knight and Frankenstein Monster. Many with incredible covers.
DC early 70s horror titles are just amazing. Wrightson, Adams, Kaluta, Sparling, Cardy...just incredible stuff. Marvel certainly had good ones as well, but hard to beat what DC was putting out.
I like Silver Age Horror Comic's. Always looking for a great Cover and price. I'm a Marvel guy, but I do prefer DC when it comes to their Horror. Marvel can get tricky, you have to be very careful that you aren't buying a reprint. Back when I started collecting reprints were Taboo.
It's funny how that is, with collecting reprints. They were long disdained by collectors, but I think Horror may be one of the exceptions. There are a lot of Marvel super-hero reprint titles that don't have much value at all.
Some of the Unknown Solider stories from Star Spangled War Stories are surprisingly gritty for that period of time - certainly worth checking out! Weird War is also pretty interesting, but can be hit and miss issue by issue.
Lots of great information! I'm especially interested in finding out more about different horror titles myself. There's so much great cover art on those.
Really great video! I've only recently been getting into DC Bronze Age Horror over the last couple years. I've been surprised to learn how many horror titles DC actually published. It's been fascinating to explore. My personal preference would still be Marvel, largely because of the Kirby & Ditko reprints. However, I also like the Neal Adams covers on the DC titles. I have never had any Charlton horror, only their superhero titles. Ditko is way more prolific than I realized. I never got the Warren magazines when I was young only because I couldn't afford them. I spent my allowance on the regular comics. Though as an adult, I have been scooping up the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu mag when I come across deals.
Ditko's range is very impressive. His 1960s Creeper series is also worth checking out if you haven't already. I remember having a hard time with Warren initially because it's B&W, but their mags have certainly grown on me over the years.
@@raph-retro-comics - Yep, I have a couple of Ditko's CREEPER issues. I was more speaking to the sizable volume of indie work Ditko has done. He has some back-up features in the PACIFIC COMICS of the early 80s, and he did a few issues of THE FLY for Archie Comics. I just stumbled across that stuff within the last few years. As for the b/w mags, I think once you get to a point where you really appreciate good pencil art, the b/w mags become the perfect display platform.
Great job! Glad to see another fan of the 70’s horror stuff! Can’t beat Wrightson, Adams and Cardy (to name a few) in my opinion! Finding them in high grade is very tough, and they do get expensive, but I’m glad they’re getting some love!
Indeed! I'm stunned at how expensive some of those Wrightson and Adams covers go for at auction. Nosebleed prices! It's still possible to find the occasional deal or book, but it's become so difficult.
My favorite company from the 1970s horror is Charlton, the Tom Sutton and Steve Ditko artwork is a great childhood memory for me. But the covers on DC’s House of Mystery and House of Secrets is very eye catching. And I appreciate all the horror titles from Marvel for the reprints they put in those titles that are from the 1950s Atlas era
Tom Sutton is a very under-appreciated artist! I'm only discovering his work now. I'm glad to see there are a good number of Charlton collectors out there!
As a kid my comic book collecting started to dwindle due to (what I perceived at the time) the astronomical price increase of over $0.40 per book. Today I'm more into comic book art cover (both old and new). My buying expenditures has increased to over a dollar, but I still stay within a reasonable budget.
I really try to reign my spending in. In many ways, the availability of older comic books have never been so accessible, which makes it a lot easier to find books, but that certainly doesn't mean they're cheaper! Well, at least a lot of the pre-1980 stuff. The overprinted stuff from the 90s is still available for next to nothing.
Enjoyable survey! Part of the allure of Bronze horror titles for me is the explosion of new artists from the Philippines, Latin America and the singular Korean creator Sanho Kim, not to mention the reappearance of Golden Age artists like Bill Everett and Jack Katz.
There are several excellent artists that came from the Philippines in the 1970s who would go on to have successful careers. I think I listened to a Comics Historians podcast with an interview with Paul Levitz who went into some detail on how they would submit their work and it was quite interesting! Bill Everett did some fine work on Subby in the 1970s!
Big congrats for reaching 1k subscribers! I discovered your channel about a month ago and it quickly became one of my favorites. Your knowledge and your collection are top-notch.
Thank you! I'm very grateful for all the people who have subscribed and watched my videos. There's still a lot for me to learn, and I'm amazed at some of the information given by viewers.
Man, your videos make me nostalgic for the Bronze Age! Have to agree about the cost of new comics, but did pickup Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow trade for $7.00 on eBay!
You're spot on with your assessment from this genre. Charlton chimes in at 3rd for sure. But there are a handful of really awesome covers. DC is tops for sure here. But Marvel makes a valiant effort to compete. I'm finding much of the Bronze Age Horror titles are hard to come by at our Florida cons. A few here and there. I'm fine with mid to low grade. So I'm hoping to unearth more as I go digging in the bins.
It used to be that dealers just wouldn't bring them to conventions as they didn't sell very well. Superhero books still rule that era, but I think dealers are starting to realize there is a collector base out there for these books.
I recently found a small stack of the Peter Graves horror books title from charleton as well as some Witching Hour comics all of which were given to me.
I'm sorting through a collection of comics from 1960's to 2000's that I acquired cheaply and still have a lot to go waiting for the bags and boards so at a standstill at the moment.so have around 2000 or more comics to finish sorting . I was given some boxes of mostly 70's and some going back into golden age of reader copies mostly and several hundred of those. I just finished those and giving the ones I don't want to a collector who reads to kids since most are archies, ducks and such that are easily picked up in decent condition if I was looking for them in any case. I saved some war comics and some dell gold keys, classics illustrated that weren't destroyed as well as a 50's horror comic. so got something out of it. will deliver the last of the worn-out comics in the morning to get them out of the way.
Good evening Raph Great show, enjoyed the comics parade, they do get the heart pumping, it is great to see Bronze and Copper age titles getting there due of late and not languishing in the dollar bins anymore. Your thoughts on the future of comics is pretty close too the mark I think. Cheers Al The Goldkeyfourcolorkidownunda
Thanks Al! I do think comic book collecting will be here for a good amount of time, but it certainly looks grim for new issues. Plenty of old comic books to keep collectors happy though!
An under-rated aspect of these were the quality of the reprints! I understand that Golden Age stories are at times harder to read, but you can really find some gems in some of these issues!
You say and feel almost exactly the same things I feel. We’re the same age so that could be part of it. Definitely read Invincible! I couldn’t read it for years because I hated the art. Then I read it and actually liked the art. I’d say Invincible is in the top 3 comic titles of the last 20 years.
I unfortunately allowed a box full of the late 60's magazine type horror reprints of the 50's to get away from me. Talking about Mile High I saw a video on the acquisition of a warehouse of comics that were saved instead of being destroyed by a distributor . The son sold the almost 1 million or more comics to help pay for the father's defense in court since he was a gangster and had been arrested in New York.
I have dead of night 10 & witching hour #40 just both incredible covers, loving your content btw learning alot! Do you think not brand echhh #1/champions #1 are undervalued?? I certainly do as team books.
Great covers. I really wish Forbush Man would have made a better entrance with the first issue of Not Brand Echh because the cover is so great. I do like Champions as a fun team series. I'm surprised it didn't last longer than it did with the quality of the characters.
@@raph-retro-comics Yes Excactly I agree 👍 he kinda ruins the cover, I think they look like what we now know as pop art/meme type of characters so have room to spec brand echh quite futuristic for it's time, and champions because it's early ghost rider and raw copied are cheap! I think the best investment out there for a team in marvel superheroes 18 insanely undervalued the Same way acengers #1 was cheap for years and years what do you think?
It is sad to see the slow death of new comic books (floppies) -- similar to the cinemas. Many reasons for what's happened to bring comics publishing to the state it is in today, but I think the constant rinse-and-repeat/reboot has run its course. The House of Ideas ran out of ideas.
I'm hoping this is just one of the many down cycles comic books have gone through over the years, but this time it feels like it's going to be harder for the industry to recover.
I think that's part of it. The cover and interior paper quality just feels weaker. A lot of times, you'll find that they were miscut, especially the interiors as well.
I dont think charlton comics were ever published in high grade. I remember when charlton comics clogged the quarter bìns And dont ever forget wayne howard. For a while the buyers guide had pages of creepy and eerie mags for a buck each l think the koch brothers bought the captain company inventory when warren closed. I regret not having all the vertigos.
Yeah, Charlton books were printed poorly right out of the gate, from paper quality to how they were cut. Thank you for mentioning Wayne Howard, I just did a little reading about him - quite the pioneer for this time. It seemed for a while those Warren magazines were everywhere and so cheap.
I stopped reading all superhero comics in the mid 70s they're worthless to me, read one superhero comic and you read them all. I still have my horror comics but my favorite and i still like them are Warren and Heavy Metal magazines.
@@raph-retro-comicsIf you're going to start reading Heavy Metal try to start with the early stuff. The U.S. stuff has a much different feel and look than the French stuff. Most of the Corben stuff from both Warren and HM is in anthology. Eerie covers blow Warren out of the water for sheer grotesqueness.
You pack alotta stuff in each vid. I could prolly comment on each chapter, but th last one re today's comics... Trade paperbacks seem to be th logical vehicle. There's just not enough words in a floppy. I'm done w/it before I get off th toilet for cryin out loud!
I've noticed with the few new comic books that I have, they do read a lot faster compared to older comics. It seems the older the books are, the more words they pack in. Trade paperbacks are a lot sturdier and withstand a lot more readings - they've come a long way.
Also the interiors as well! There are some nicer painted covers as well as Ditko covers later on, but yes, the covers on their early horror stuff are not very good.
Indeed must echo your sentiments, the comic book industry is and has been in decline for a long time. Dying a slow death if you will. There are still many good titles out there but overall most new comics are not enjoyable for me. I collect mostly bronze, silver and golden age now.
Thank you for subbing! It feels the decline is not reversible, certainly for single issue floppies. I think the larger format trades/manga series will last longer, but will also decline eventually. That being said, there is still a pretty solid group of back issue collectors out there. However, for any hobby to survive, there needs to be new readers, and new comic books were the bread and butter to bring in new readers and collectors.
@@raph-retro-comics True, without new blood a slow death is inevitable. I’ve been saying for 15 years on RUclips our hobby is moving towards elitism. A place for people that have plenty of disposable income for the rising cost of collecting comics especially Silver and Golden Age books. Economic decline, social-political instability does nothing to help.
@@captainstrangelife The chase for high grade key books just seems out of control. Even with prices coming down a lot, they still seem too expensive - although this is coming from a guy who doesn't spend more than $100 for a comic book that often.
Restraint?!?...blah. Throw caution to the wind and go nuts. Works for me. As for you take on comic shows, I find them a waste of time. The shows today maybe well attended, but they are horrible. It's all swords, mystery boxes, crappy jewelry, fake lego figures and let's not forget Funko pops up the wazoo. True comic dealers are becoming few and far between. As for those that are still setting up, their prices are so far out to left field that it's discouraging to even look. My books these days are 99% purchased online. I've got some more goodies scheduled to arrive tomorrow (I gotta stay off the auction sites) 🙄
I can't do auction sites anymore! Especially the ones where you can do last minute sniping, as the adrenaline rush is too much and I end up paying more than I'd like. You're going to have to send me the details on your latest score!
Yours has quickly become my favourite comic channel. You're very authentic, knowledgeable, and clear in your delivery. I hope you can keep doing this for years! By the way, inspired by your episodes, I bought copies of The Phantom Stranger #20 and House of Secrets #146 at my LCS today. Many thanks.
Phantom Stranger has some unbelievably good covers. The stories are ok, but character is much different than the Phantom Stranger I grew up with in the 1980s. I hope to continue as long as I can as well, this has been a lot of fun!
Finally I've found someone to validate my obsession with bronze horror! Please never stop! 😂
I love them all but gravitate towards the Bernie covers and Adams of course!
There are a lot of us out there! It's a lot more affordable than collecting pre-code horror, and there's a good amount of quality books out there that are still attainable!
Love that bronze horror!
DC went into a horror emphasis with such titles as Phantom Stranger, Spectre, Swamp Thing and even Jonah Hex (Weird Western Tales) while Marvel did it with Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf By Knight and Frankenstein Monster. Many with incredible covers.
DC early 70s horror titles are just amazing. Wrightson, Adams, Kaluta, Sparling, Cardy...just incredible stuff. Marvel certainly had good ones as well, but hard to beat what DC was putting out.
I like Silver Age Horror Comic's. Always looking for a great Cover and price.
I'm a Marvel guy, but I do prefer DC when it comes to their Horror.
Marvel can get tricky, you have to be very careful that you aren't buying a reprint. Back when I started collecting reprints were Taboo.
It's funny how that is, with collecting reprints. They were long disdained by collectors, but I think Horror may be one of the exceptions. There are a lot of Marvel super-hero reprint titles that don't have much value at all.
I love your channel.
I tend to like horror comics. I want to check out some horror adjacent titles like Weird War and Unknown Soldier but I’m interested in most genres
Some of the Unknown Solider stories from Star Spangled War Stories are surprisingly gritty for that period of time - certainly worth checking out! Weird War is also pretty interesting, but can be hit and miss issue by issue.
Lots of great information! I'm especially interested in finding out more about different horror titles myself. There's so much great cover art on those.
The 1970s is an absolute gold mine for horror cover art!
Probably my favorite video of yours! Very insightful and I’m grateful you answered my question. And yes, you pronounced my name correctly 👍👏👏👏
Thanks Christian, happy to answer your question! It was nice to do a Q&A video, although I felt like I rambled on a bit too much towards the end 😅
@@raph-retro-comicsyou didn’t ramble! It was my favorite part of the video listening to you talk about your thoughts and feelings on old books.
Really great video! I've only recently been getting into DC Bronze Age Horror over the last couple years. I've been surprised to learn how many horror titles DC actually published. It's been fascinating to explore. My personal preference would still be Marvel, largely because of the Kirby & Ditko reprints. However, I also like the Neal Adams covers on the DC titles. I have never had any Charlton horror, only their superhero titles. Ditko is way more prolific than I realized. I never got the Warren magazines when I was young only because I couldn't afford them. I spent my allowance on the regular comics. Though as an adult, I have been scooping up the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu mag when I come across deals.
Ditko's range is very impressive. His 1960s Creeper series is also worth checking out if you haven't already. I remember having a hard time with Warren initially because it's B&W, but their mags have certainly grown on me over the years.
@@raph-retro-comics - Yep, I have a couple of Ditko's CREEPER issues. I was more speaking to the sizable volume of indie work Ditko has done. He has some back-up features in the PACIFIC COMICS of the early 80s, and he did a few issues of THE FLY for Archie Comics. I just stumbled across that stuff within the last few years. As for the b/w mags, I think once you get to a point where you really appreciate good pencil art, the b/w mags become the perfect display platform.
Great job! Glad to see another fan of the 70’s horror stuff! Can’t beat Wrightson, Adams and Cardy (to name a few) in my opinion! Finding them in high grade is very tough, and they do get expensive, but I’m glad they’re getting some love!
Indeed! I'm stunned at how expensive some of those Wrightson and Adams covers go for at auction. Nosebleed prices! It's still possible to find the occasional deal or book, but it's become so difficult.
Great job on this series. I really enjoy your insights!! thank you
My favorite company from the 1970s horror is Charlton, the Tom Sutton and Steve Ditko artwork is a great childhood memory for me. But the covers on DC’s House of Mystery and House of Secrets is very eye catching. And I appreciate all the horror titles from Marvel for the reprints they put in those titles that are from the 1950s Atlas era
Tom Sutton is a very under-appreciated artist! I'm only discovering his work now. I'm glad to see there are a good number of Charlton collectors out there!
As a kid my comic book collecting started to dwindle due to (what I perceived at the time) the astronomical price increase of over $0.40 per book. Today I'm more into comic book art cover (both old and new). My buying expenditures has increased to over a dollar, but I still stay within a reasonable budget.
I really try to reign my spending in. In many ways, the availability of older comic books have never been so accessible, which makes it a lot easier to find books, but that certainly doesn't mean they're cheaper! Well, at least a lot of the pre-1980 stuff. The overprinted stuff from the 90s is still available for next to nothing.
Congrats on hitting the 1K milestone and beyond. You have great, engaging content. Keep up the great stuff.
Thanks Brian! I'm very grateful to have hit the 1K mark and look forward to creating more content!
Enjoyable survey! Part of the allure of Bronze horror titles for me is the explosion of new artists from the Philippines, Latin America and the singular Korean creator Sanho Kim, not to mention the reappearance of Golden Age artists like Bill Everett and Jack Katz.
There are several excellent artists that came from the Philippines in the 1970s who would go on to have successful careers. I think I listened to a Comics Historians podcast with an interview with Paul Levitz who went into some detail on how they would submit their work and it was quite interesting! Bill Everett did some fine work on Subby in the 1970s!
Big congrats for reaching 1k subscribers! I discovered your channel about a month ago and it quickly became one of my favorites. Your knowledge and your collection are top-notch.
Thank you! I'm very grateful for all the people who have subscribed and watched my videos. There's still a lot for me to learn, and I'm amazed at some of the information given by viewers.
Thanks!
Thank you for the continued support!
Man, your videos make me nostalgic for the Bronze Age! Have to agree about the cost of new comics, but did pickup Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow trade for $7.00 on eBay!
Bronze Age comic books are great! Quality can vary a lot, but a lot of different comic books to explore!
You're spot on with your assessment from this genre. Charlton chimes in at 3rd for sure. But there are a handful of really awesome covers. DC is tops for sure here. But Marvel makes a valiant effort to compete. I'm finding much of the Bronze Age Horror titles are hard to come by at our Florida cons. A few here and there. I'm fine with mid to low grade. So I'm hoping to unearth more as I go digging in the bins.
It used to be that dealers just wouldn't bring them to conventions as they didn't sell very well. Superhero books still rule that era, but I think dealers are starting to realize there is a collector base out there for these books.
I recently found a small stack of the Peter Graves horror books title from charleton as well as some Witching Hour comics all of which were given to me.
I don't know much about the Dr. Graves series, but Witching Hour is great. Best enjoyed an issue here and there!
I'm sorting through a collection of comics from 1960's to 2000's that I acquired cheaply and still have a lot to go waiting for the bags and boards so at a standstill at the moment.so have around 2000 or more comics to finish sorting . I was given some boxes of mostly 70's and some going back into golden age of reader copies mostly and several hundred of those. I just finished those and giving the ones I don't want to a collector who reads to kids since most are archies, ducks and such that are easily picked up in decent condition if I was looking for them in any case. I saved some war comics and some dell gold keys, classics illustrated that weren't destroyed as well as a 50's horror comic. so got something out of it. will deliver the last of the worn-out comics in the morning to get them out of the way.
Good evening Raph
Great show, enjoyed the comics parade, they do get the heart pumping, it is great to see Bronze and Copper age titles getting there due of late and not languishing in the dollar bins anymore. Your thoughts on the future of comics is pretty close too the mark I think.
Cheers Al The Goldkeyfourcolorkidownunda
Thanks Al! I do think comic book collecting will be here for a good amount of time, but it certainly looks grim for new issues. Plenty of old comic books to keep collectors happy though!
Just subbed. I love videos like this with deep insight and info from a comic vet.
Thanks for subbing, much appreciated!
Great video 😎
I used to love those 100 page DC books. For 60¢ you couldn’t go wrong!
An under-rated aspect of these were the quality of the reprints! I understand that Golden Age stories are at times harder to read, but you can really find some gems in some of these issues!
You say and feel almost exactly the same things I feel. We’re the same age so that could be part of it.
Definitely read Invincible! I couldn’t read it for years because I hated the art. Then I read it and actually liked the art. I’d say Invincible is in the top 3 comic titles of the last 20 years.
Invincible has been on my read list for a while - that pile of reading material is starting to get a bit out of hand lately.
@@raph-retro-comics I’m only 800 floppies in hand behind!
I unfortunately allowed a box full of the late 60's magazine type horror reprints of the 50's to get away from me. Talking about Mile High I saw a video on the acquisition of a warehouse of comics that were saved instead of being destroyed by a distributor . The son sold the almost 1 million or more comics to help pay for the father's defense in court since he was a gangster and had been arrested in New York.
I think I saw the same video! I think it was Chuck Rozanki's video on his second 'Mile High' purchase. What a crazy story!
Charlton horror is fun, especially high grade.
Yes! Very tough to track down in high grade, but worth looking for!
Good video thanks
Have you tried out Warrant publishings Shudder and Vampiress Carmilla magazines? They’re done in the vein of Creepy and Vampirella.
I have not seen them, but I just looked them up and they look great! Certainly a nice homage to those old Warren magazines.
I have dead of night 10 & witching hour #40 just both incredible covers, loving your content btw learning alot! Do you think not brand echhh #1/champions #1 are undervalued?? I certainly do as team books.
Great covers. I really wish Forbush Man would have made a better entrance with the first issue of Not Brand Echh because the cover is so great. I do like Champions as a fun team series. I'm surprised it didn't last longer than it did with the quality of the characters.
@@raph-retro-comics Yes Excactly I agree 👍 he kinda ruins the cover, I think they look like what we now know as pop art/meme type of characters so have room to spec brand echh quite futuristic for it's time, and champions because it's early ghost rider and raw copied are cheap! I think the best investment out there for a team in marvel superheroes 18 insanely undervalued the Same way acengers #1 was cheap for years and years what do you think?
It is sad to see the slow death of new comic books (floppies) -- similar to the cinemas. Many reasons for what's happened to bring comics publishing to the state it is in today, but I think the constant rinse-and-repeat/reboot has run its course. The House of Ideas ran out of ideas.
I'm hoping this is just one of the many down cycles comic books have gone through over the years, but this time it feels like it's going to be harder for the industry to recover.
not peter grave but Doctor Graves
I wonder if Charlton comics are hard to find in good condition because they famously used the lowest quality paper.
I think that's part of it. The cover and interior paper quality just feels weaker. A lot of times, you'll find that they were miscut, especially the interiors as well.
I dont think charlton comics were ever published in high grade. I remember when charlton comics clogged the quarter bìns
And dont ever forget wayne howard. For a while the buyers guide had pages of creepy and eerie mags for a buck each l think the koch brothers bought the captain company inventory when warren closed. I regret not having all the vertigos.
Yeah, Charlton books were printed poorly right out of the gate, from paper quality to how they were cut. Thank you for mentioning Wayne Howard, I just did a little reading about him - quite the pioneer for this time. It seemed for a while those Warren magazines were everywhere and so cheap.
I stopped reading all superhero comics in the mid 70s they're worthless to me, read one superhero comic and you read them all.
I still have my horror comics but my favorite and i still like them are Warren and Heavy Metal magazines.
I really should give Heavy Metal a try, as there are a lot of great artists who have done work for that magazine!
@@raph-retro-comicsIf you're going to start reading Heavy Metal try to start with the early stuff. The U.S. stuff has a much different feel and look than the French stuff. Most of the Corben stuff from both Warren and HM is in anthology. Eerie covers blow Warren out of the water for sheer grotesqueness.
Charlton? For anything? (I was a kid and comic reader in the early 1960s).
Hah! I used to thumb my nose at Charlton, but there are some hidden gems there. You just have to seach a bit more.
You pack alotta stuff in each vid. I could prolly comment on each chapter, but th last one re today's comics... Trade paperbacks seem to be th logical vehicle. There's just not enough words in a floppy. I'm done w/it before I get off th toilet for cryin out loud!
I've noticed with the few new comic books that I have, they do read a lot faster compared to older comics. It seems the older the books are, the more words they pack in. Trade paperbacks are a lot sturdier and withstand a lot more readings - they've come a long way.
The problem with Charlton, its as if they didn't put much effort in their covers.
Also the interiors as well! There are some nicer painted covers as well as Ditko covers later on, but yes, the covers on their early horror stuff are not very good.
Indeed must echo your sentiments, the comic book industry is and has been in decline for a long time. Dying a slow death if you will. There are still many good titles out there but overall most new comics are not enjoyable for me. I collect mostly bronze, silver and golden age now.
BTW, great channel. Subbed you!
Thank you for subbing! It feels the decline is not reversible, certainly for single issue floppies. I think the larger format trades/manga series will last longer, but will also decline eventually. That being said, there is still a pretty solid group of back issue collectors out there. However, for any hobby to survive, there needs to be new readers, and new comic books were the bread and butter to bring in new readers and collectors.
@@raph-retro-comics True, without new blood a slow death is inevitable. I’ve been saying for 15 years on RUclips our hobby is moving towards elitism. A place for people that have plenty of disposable income for the rising cost of collecting comics especially Silver and Golden Age books. Economic decline, social-political instability does nothing to help.
@@captainstrangelife The chase for high grade key books just seems out of control. Even with prices coming down a lot, they still seem too expensive - although this is coming from a guy who doesn't spend more than $100 for a comic book that often.
Restraint?!?...blah. Throw caution to the wind and go nuts. Works for me.
As for you take on comic shows, I find them a waste of time. The shows today maybe well attended, but they are horrible. It's all swords, mystery boxes, crappy jewelry, fake lego figures and let's not forget Funko pops up the wazoo. True comic dealers are becoming few and far between. As for those that are still setting up, their prices are so far out to left field that it's discouraging to even look. My books these days are 99% purchased online. I've got some more goodies scheduled to arrive tomorrow (I gotta stay off the auction sites) 🙄
I can't do auction sites anymore! Especially the ones where you can do last minute sniping, as the adrenaline rush is too much and I end up paying more than I'd like. You're going to have to send me the details on your latest score!