CBR: Pipeline - Nov 24, 2009

[CBR News]

Augie longs for yesteryear as he looks back at the problem with expensive comics in 1995, reminisces briefly about a short-lived comics magazine from this decade, and comments on a couple of interesting Marvel solicitations.


Full article here.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Loved that letter about pricing!

I can even remember thinking that about those particular books at that time (particularly tales to astonish, which I had wanted to read), wondering how I could stretch my weekly allowance to get the books I really, really wanted to read - I was 12-13, so still too young to actually have a job to make money (and there's only so many times Dad's willing to cough up for mowing the lawn or washing the car).

Heck, I can still remember gasping, staring with an open mouth at 'X-Men Deluxe Editions'... particularly when I actually got them, and found out that it was just a standard issue on different paper.
(Oooh, the drama and intrigue of Scott and Jean moving out to the boat house, and yet another issue about Jubilee leaving the mansion to join Gen-x).

It makes me laugh as this was my first experience with comics going up in price*, and although it's been pointed out to me it wasn't the biggest jump they'd ever taken, it sure felt massive at the time - and it definitely stopped me trying out new titles, especially if there was no buzz in Wizard about them.


*Waxing Nostalgic: Actually, it had happened once before, but not as dramatically, or as randomly.
Australia used to have cheaper editions of the comics at newsagents about three months after the American editions were released.
Not sure of what the difference was, except that it had Australian dollars on the cover) - and a few months before the US jump to $1.95, they'd done away with these and we'd experienced a slight increase in price - and annoyingly, missing three months worth of issues at the newsagents because one month it was Aussie editions (three months behind), the next month US editions, with no warning it was going to happen.
(Although for a further nostalgic digression, when that change happened, some newsagents took longer than other to catch on that they were supposed to be charging more for them now, and me and my friends compiled a list of which one's were still cheaper/which one's had employees who wouldn't check the price and just type in the old one.... kids are all about stretching a buck).

[fan4fan]

So, you stopped reading comics before Fantastic Four #20 (Volume 1)?

Or were those brain cells a casualty of the baby-induced sleep deprivation?

Speaking as the fater of twins, I'm supposing the latter.

[Iron Maiden]

Gosh, yes. Molecule Man has been around for along time. And he was in Jim Shooter's Secret Wars plus Secret Wars II. Granted he's not been around much since except for some back up stories in some FF annuals (24 and 26 IIRC). He was merged into a Cosmic Cube with the Beyonder in FF #319 but it was later revealed in one of the annuals that his "essence" or human part was sent back to Earth with part of his power intact.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I admit it -- I've never read the Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four. Nor Secret Wars II.

Thanks for the history lesson, Iron Maiden

-Augie

[pmpknface]

Gosh, yes. Molecule Man has been around for along time. And he was in Jim Shooter's Secret Wars plus Secret Wars II. Granted he's not been around much since except for some back up stories in some FF annuals (24 and 26 IIRC). He was merged into a Cosmic Cube with the Beyonder in FF #319 but it was later revealed in one of the annuals that his "essence" or human part was sent back to Earth with part of his power intact.

Yeah man! He's the one who dropped that mountain range on the Hulk in Secret Wars! He's kind of a runt, but scored with Volcana who is a Titania like female villain.