Thoughts on collecting comics

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abacus
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by abacus »

Although not finding UK collector items to post about recently.I am still finding what can be considered bargains.Last week on holiday in Llandudno I came across a second hand shop with two boxes of Archie group comics half of which were pocket size editions which I was not interested in buying but picked out a half dozen normal size comics.I am not a fan of Archie comics and therefore didn't approach the boxes with a great deal of enthusiasm but there were some older comics amongst them .finally settled for these at a £1each.
PEP 1959
ARCHIE 1961
KATY KEANE '70s comic
VERONICA IN HAWAII
but my favourites were these two from the '70s
SABRINA THE TEEN-AGE WITCH
SABRINA THE TEEN-AGE WITCH
fun reads.
A few weeks before going on holiday Oxfam were selling THUNDERBIRD comics 99p each.
They were still there when I came back off holiday and the thought occurred to me I had better check through them to see if number 1 was amongst them(it wasn't)
I was struck by the fact that for a comic with a fairly short run it had many different retail prices ,starting it's run at 65p and finishing it's run at £1.15p with various prices inbetween.Every time you went in to a shop to buy it you must have wondered what the price would be. :)

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abacus
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by abacus »

I use a number of apps on my tab for reading, games , photo editing etc.
ISSUU a free app I now find handy because on the search you can type in-----
COMIC BOOK PLUS
or
DIGITAL COMIC MUSEUM
and bring up the comics on one app without having to search the internet ,the only draw back being there is no index therefore you just have to scroll through.I find that by clicking the follow tab I can keep them ready to use when ever needed.
two more interesting searches on it are
RADIO SOUNDSFAMILIAR
Which has many old TV TIMES for reading and scrolling further down has one or two Uk comics.
If you search for AIRBOY and bring up the comic then click at the side on MES BOITES DESSINEES
you will bring up a lot more comics.Just using the french name in the search will not work due to case sensative the french type e.
This is an app which helps save time after coming off of games etc and just by clicking on follow for each search you want to keep to your profile you have easy access bookmarks.
I know the comic sites are well known to collectors but this may be a quicker way of accessing them.

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ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

thanks for telling us about those handy sites, abacus---the TV Times one is very useful.

big bad bri
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by big bad bri »

that tv times site is great it is really good to see those issues of look in and i shall spend a good few hours on laptop trying to read them.
i didnt know of that site so once again im going to point out my wish for a links page or section on this site as there is prob loads of comics sites a lot of us dont even know about on this forum.

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abacus
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by abacus »

big bad bri wrote:that tv times site is great it is really good to see those issues of look in and i shall spend a good few hours on laptop trying to read them.
i didnt know of that site so once again im going to point out my wish for a links page or section on this site as there is prob loads of comics sites a lot of us dont even know about on this forum.
Recap on using ISSU app after having searched and clicked on something of interest ,on the right hand side is the name of the contributer and the follow tab.It's best to click on the contributer first to see if he or she has posted anthing else of interest before clicking follow.Once you have clicked follow clicking on the drop down menu at the top left corner of home search page and then on your own name and on following tag you will find the bookmarked item.There is a d c thompson & co.ltd page or just type Beano to find it ,however this includes mainly excerpts only.
Last edited by abacus on 12 Mar 2017, 17:55, edited 1 time in total.

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paw broon
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by paw broon »

abacus, we'd be happy to have you on CB+, and I'm sure the good folk on DCM would welcome you also. Anyone interested in comics - researching, preserving or reading and talking about them is always welcome.
I checked ourmembers list but you're not there under your comicsuk alias, but who knows, you might be there under a secret I/d :D
You mentioned Airboy and I've noticed there is a compilation of The Heap available now. Let me know if you fancy it and I'll look it up for you. Actually, I just found it. It was up my other tab.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=65030

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abacus
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by abacus »

paw broon wrote:abacus, we'd be happy to have you on CB+, and I'm sure the good folk on DCM would welcome you also. Anyone interested in comics - researching, preserving or reading and talking about them is always welcome.
I checked ourmembers list but you're not there under your comicsuk alias, but who knows, you might be there under a secret I/d :D
You mentioned Airboy and I've noticed there is a compilation of The Heap available now. Let me know if you fancy it and I'll look it up for you. Actually, I just found it. It was up my other tab.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=65030
Thanks for that Paw
Unfortunately the galaxy tab I use most of the time can only display the cover and not the pages on a number of comic book plus comics including the one you mention and therefore I have to look them up again on digital comic museum which does more or less the same comics.I like the look of the Heap comic and will check it out when I go on my main computer tomorrow.
No I am not on comic plus and am just a collector of comics with little expertise to add and I just somehow get by with a lot of waffle on this site and I shouldn't be bothering other sites .:D
Last edited by abacus on 10 Sep 2016, 18:25, edited 1 time in total.

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paw broon
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by paw broon »

I hope I'm not trying to teach my granny how to suck eggs, BUT, what viewer are you using on your Galaxy tab? If you're not using Perfect Viewer, I think you should try it. It's free on Google store and opens virtually all comic book digital formats, the main ones being .cbz and .cbr. but PV also has a pdf reader plug in available and, imo, it's the best pdf reader for comics on android.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... fectviewer
Join, then sign in and you'll be able to download the complete book and PV will open it for you. You don't have to chunter on in the forum, or make yourself too visible, but you will find good stuff to read.

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abacus
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by abacus »

paw broon wrote:I hope I'm not trying to teach my granny how to suck eggs, BUT, what viewer are you using on your Galaxy tab? If you're not using Perfect Viewer, I think you should try it. It's free on Google store and opens virtually all comic book digital formats, the main ones being .cbz and .cbr. but PV also has a pdf reader plug in available and, imo, it's the best pdf reader for comics on android.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... fectviewer
Join, then sign in and you'll be able to download the complete book and PV will open it for you. You don't have to chunter on in the forum, or make yourself too visible, but you will find good stuff to read.
I agree comic book plus is a great site and I regularly check for the latest uploads and as mentioned a number of the comics don't work on my galaxy tab but the same comics on digital comic museum work OK.This of course is reading them online and not downloading them which is a different matter.
I found an old notebook and found that I have downloaded from comic book plus in the past with a log in account (starflyer)that still works but I will not be posting to that forum since it covers a much wider spectrum of comics than the UK comic site and is mainly focused on US comics and with people with a much wider knowledge than me.
Whereas on this forum you just need to say what you did or didn't buy :D
On a previous post I mentioned the ISSUU app contains COMIC BOOK PLUS comics and when I typed in HEAP ARCHIVE all four volumes appeared and since this works perfectly on the galaxy tab I will be able to read them on the tab so thanks for the comic recommendation.
COMIC BOOK PLUS also works fine on my house computer but I prefer reading on the portable tab.

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abacus
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by abacus »

Art takes many forms from the standard landscapes to colours or shapes scattered across a canvas or even a pile of bricks exihibited on a gallery floor.The viewer can accept or discount the artistic interpretation of any exihibit on what he sees as it's merit ,that's whether or not he or she understands what the artist is trying to convey.

The problem for me with a lot of modern comics is that when art and intellect try to push the bounderies the resulting comics are often difficult to follow and understand.I read an article recently where someone suggested some starter graphic novels and named a few for the more experienced reader.
I must confess some comic stories have left me bemused and I think I am of average intelligence .
The point of this article is that if these type comics were around in my early teens I would probably not have been interested in comics.

Say what you will about the simplicity of golden age comics , there were lots of entertaining reads.
Last edited by abacus on 25 Dec 2016, 17:16, edited 13 times in total.

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starscape
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by starscape »

I struggle to read Golden Age comics, so I would disagree there. The artists and writers often had no idea what they were doing but were just trying to follow the success of the comics boom. There are some inventive ones (Plastic Man/The Spirit) but mostly simplisitic predictable stuff.

The Silver and Bronze Ages? Much better.

Modern comics are unfortunately written for the trade. Nothing much happens per issue. I can remember one Marvel event being announced as the culmination of a 5-year story arc. So, there's really no point buying last month's. You will have no idea what is happening. It's the same as TV shows. If you watch something like Game of Thrones, Arrow or Andromeda without having followed it, you will be completely lost. It's all for fanboys. It's all about the box set.

The colouring has advanced considerably but I find the art, in general*, too cartoon-y (I'm talking superhero comics here really). I think it's probably a manga influence.


*which means 'with exceptions'
STARSCAPE Comic
http://facebook.com/Starscape-Comic-108831387707862/
comics, cartoons, music & movies

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abacus
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Re: Thoughts on collecting comics

Post by abacus »

Of course in any age of comics there are good exceptions but in general the older comics had a slower paced storyline with the artwork attempting to be more realistic, this may have been because tv was in it's infancy and therefore the telling of stories in pictures was a more popular artform.I realise tastes change and the modern reader could possibly prefer today's comics but there does seem to be a slight nostagic view prevailing , hence the number of reprinted comics material becoming available.

There have been declines and resurges in comic sales over it's long history but I think today's strategy in marketing comics seems to be self defeating with it's reliance on movies and tv to promote interest in super heroes.It also must be remembered that super heroes (principally marvel) were comic creations of many many years ago , regardless of how they may have evolved now.
Free comic book day and comic cons help to introduce people to comics but they reach out to a limited aùdience.

As an elderly collector I used to think that Forbidden Planet would be only for young comic geek's, but that's not the case..One well rounded middle aged woman struggled to climb the stairs in our town shop ,there was young, old ,families ,the odd nutty person in fact allsorts and although it may be a sales ploy I get a "thank you "as I leave the shop whether I have bought anything or not.At least in our town shop they are trying to create a more amiable shop :)

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