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RE: People who don’t read comics, but rush out to buy “Very Special Collector’s Issues” of comic books.
Yesterday, it was all over the news that Captain America is dead. I’m sorry if I’ve spoiled anyone, but CNN and the Times kind of spoiled it first.
Anyway, swarms of non-comic readers rushed to the comic shops to snatch up Captain America #25, convinced that it will be worth a ton of money some day. The same non-fans also bought Fantastic Four #543. I won’t spoil what happened in that book, but it was a Very Special Issue.
Now, unless you’ve been paying absolutely no attention to my journal, you all know that I read and collect comic books. In fact, I wrote my Master’s Thesis in American History on comic books. Okay, so we’ve established that I’m a regular reader.
Well, today, I went to buy my copy of Fantastic Four #543, a book I read every month. I couldn’t get to the shop yesterday, so when I arrived today, I learned that had been sold out. Now, Fantastic Four never sells out. But this month is different. After all, it’s a Very Special Issue. Or something.
This pisses me off to no end. Why? Because I know perfectly well that all of these non-readers who bought Captain America #25 and Fantastic Four #543 as “investments” have no intention to read them. They’ll probably put them in a lock box or something until they think they can sell it for a lot of money.
Reality Check: You will not make a lot of money on these books. Let me explain how this works. If a book is rare, then it is worth a lot of money. If you find a copy of Fantastic Four #1 in mint condition in you attic, you’ve got something. But most current comic books will be worth $2.75 tops. You’re not being a savvy businessman. You’ve fallen for Marvel’s publicity stunt. And people have been falling for these same stunts since the ‘90s.
As for Captain America #25… Do you people really think he’s going to stay dead? He’s about as dead as Superman, whose death issue also sold like hotcakes.
What all of this means to the comic fan (like me) is that we miss out on books we read every month. Sure, I’ll be able to buy FF #543 on e-bay in a couple of months. But I shouldn’t have to. I’ve had a lousy couple of days, and I was really looking forward to reading this comic book. Now I have to go to Borders each week and hope they get a copy in.
/end rant
Yesterday, it was all over the news that Captain America is dead. I’m sorry if I’ve spoiled anyone, but CNN and the Times kind of spoiled it first.
Anyway, swarms of non-comic readers rushed to the comic shops to snatch up Captain America #25, convinced that it will be worth a ton of money some day. The same non-fans also bought Fantastic Four #543. I won’t spoil what happened in that book, but it was a Very Special Issue.
Now, unless you’ve been paying absolutely no attention to my journal, you all know that I read and collect comic books. In fact, I wrote my Master’s Thesis in American History on comic books. Okay, so we’ve established that I’m a regular reader.
Well, today, I went to buy my copy of Fantastic Four #543, a book I read every month. I couldn’t get to the shop yesterday, so when I arrived today, I learned that had been sold out. Now, Fantastic Four never sells out. But this month is different. After all, it’s a Very Special Issue. Or something.
This pisses me off to no end. Why? Because I know perfectly well that all of these non-readers who bought Captain America #25 and Fantastic Four #543 as “investments” have no intention to read them. They’ll probably put them in a lock box or something until they think they can sell it for a lot of money.
Reality Check: You will not make a lot of money on these books. Let me explain how this works. If a book is rare, then it is worth a lot of money. If you find a copy of Fantastic Four #1 in mint condition in you attic, you’ve got something. But most current comic books will be worth $2.75 tops. You’re not being a savvy businessman. You’ve fallen for Marvel’s publicity stunt. And people have been falling for these same stunts since the ‘90s.
As for Captain America #25… Do you people really think he’s going to stay dead? He’s about as dead as Superman, whose death issue also sold like hotcakes.
What all of this means to the comic fan (like me) is that we miss out on books we read every month. Sure, I’ll be able to buy FF #543 on e-bay in a couple of months. But I shouldn’t have to. I’ve had a lousy couple of days, and I was really looking forward to reading this comic book. Now I have to go to Borders each week and hope they get a copy in.
/end rant
