Comic Book Quality..

[FailureByDesign]

This isn't really a DC comics question but im a DC guy and use these specific forums the most.

I receive my comics by post (live in the UK) and a couple of them came to me with very scuffed edges and slight rips. I have never been much of a perfectionist but this really bothered me and i couldn't add them to my collection in that condition. The irony is that i give the comics one quick read and then add them to my collection where they sit forever untouched.

This got me thinking anyway, how much of an anal personality do you have when it comes to your comics?

[The Somnambulist]

Me also. There was a period a couple or so years ago that some Marvel comics I bought would only have to be opened before the staples lost grip on the centre page.

Infuriating as Hell. :mad:

So much so that I have gravitated more towards picking up the Trades when they get released.

[CyberCoyote]

I'm the same as yourself.. even if I only read it once I like them to be in good condition. Being in the US it's usually easy enough to get a good copy.

Be that as it may, The Somnambulist has the right idea. If you can bear the wait for the books to come to tpb then the quality is usually consistent AND the format lends itself to multiple readings(and easier storage). Once upon a time having the single issues was a good investment, but with values being what they are these days the trades pose a lot of benefits if you don't mind being over 6 months behind the curve (what keeps me getting monthlies.. I'm impatient!)

[zryson]

Anal personality? I dont think I have ever heard that before but I am presuming you mean perfectionist? If that's the case I try to get comics as good as possible whenever possible. If they are new I expect them to look mint. That said I understand the comic printing process is somewhat of a brutal one and made worse by people handling comics badly (eating, smoking, not washing their hands, stacking them wrong, not packing them right, not bagging and boarding with thick enough boards for protection, etc)

Also having visited many lcs I often am shocked by the condition of many of the comics on the racks. Regularly I see greasy fingerprints from some person who was eating before handling the comics, others have tears and rips from the pages being turned too roughly, and many other comics have spine creases and bends and worse I regularly see comics dropped and then bent and put back up on the shelf for someone to buy!

Like yourself I usually buy comics via mail order (usually from ebay and other companies) and I have noticed the quality can vary tremendously no matter what store I might go through. Some even posted the comics to me with huge bends in the covers (they stated the condition as NM) and others arrived with only one staple attached or the centrefold popped or tears on the pages. And worse still, some arrived with sticky tape stuck to the covers --- and I'm thinking this is supposed to be mint/near mint?




This isn't really a DC comics question but im a DC guy and use these specific forums the most.

I receive my comics by post (live in the UK) and a couple of them came to me with very scuffed edges and slight rips. I have never been much of a perfectionist but this really bothered me and i couldn't add them to my collection in that condition. The irony is that i give the comics one quick read and then add them to my collection where they sit forever untouched.

This got me thinking anyway, how much of an anal personality do you have when it comes to your comics?

[GiantRaven]

The irony is that i give the comics one quick read and then add them to my collection where they sit forever untouched.

You will only ever read a comic once?! :eek:

[daveageallen]

first 3 issues of blackest night i had, all he cover/back covers came off during the first read.

[turtlefood]

first 3 issues of blackest night i had, all he cover/back covers came off during the first read.

And here i'm disappointed when a corner is slightly indented or there is an ink-related manufacturing problem ( my issue of Flash #4 has three blue lines going across one panel). I'm trying to just deal with very minor problems and only request an exchange from DCBS when something has a major damage like it's ripped/torn, severely bent, or...the cover comes off!

[Mat001]

This isn't really a DC comics question but im a DC guy and use these specific forums the most.

I receive my comics by post (live in the UK) and a couple of them came to me with very scuffed edges and slight rips. I have never been much of a perfectionist but this really bothered me and i couldn't add them to my collection in that condition. The irony is that i give the comics one quick read and then add them to my collection where they sit forever untouched.

This got me thinking anyway, how much of an anal personality do you have when it comes to your comics?

Not so anal that I don't ever read them again. What's the point of having them if you're never going to read them. Surely you know that they won't ever be worth anything like the rare, out of print and mint condition Golden Age books. If you're not interested in re-reading them, then you should just check them out from your library if they carry trades or invest in digital comics when you're able to.

Anyway, I can deal with comics that aren't in good shape. But I hate the rare moments when they're in bad shape after I get them. I could be wrong, but my copy of "Blackest Night" #8 did not have the gatefold of the resurrected characters stapled into the book. Or was it supposed to be that way?

If a comic has dog ears that are accidental, I just deal with it. I make a point to try and avoid causing the damage. If there's cover damage in the store for a new comic, then I look for one that's not that way and buy it. Cover damage being a cover that has more wrong than a broken spine.

[DoyleDog]

Not so anal that I don't ever read them again. What's the point of having them if you're never going to read them. Surely you know that they won't ever be worth anything like the rare, out of print and mint condition Golden Age books. If you're not interested in re-reading them, then you should just check them out from your library if they carry trades or invest in digital comics when you're able to.


Truth son, truth