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Minggu, 19 Desember 2010

An Approach To Building A High Quality Comic Book Collection by Pietro Floro Albano

(submitted 2010-12-17)

By 'quality' I mean comics where the level of writing and art combine to create a satisfying reading experience. And I mean every single issue or trade paperback in the collection is a quality read. No losers. one hundred percent really good reads.

It used to be both difficult and expensive to build a collection like this. Difficult because the typical collection would usually be composed of a mixed bag in terms of quality. Almost everyone has some crappy issues mixed in. The way to weed out these unwanted issues would be to engage in a regular culling of your collection - selling or trading away the unwanted issues. This would be the difficult part. The expensive part would be the fact that you bought those unwanted issues in the first place - you actually gave money for bad reads. Since they're used, it's a sure thing that you'll get less than retail price if you even manage to sell - assuming we're not talking about Golden Age or key Silver and Bronze age books.

I say 'used to be' because something new has happened and is happening in the comics horizon that is presenting new possibilities : Digital comics. The big two, Marvel and DC, and the biggest distributor, Diamond, already have their digital strategy in place, others are quickly moving to this new business model.

For publishers and distributors, going digital leverages portable communications devices such as cellphones and net books and iPads and iPad-like devices as well as more longstanding tech such as desktops and laptops. This gives them an avenue to the devices used by a younger class of potential comics consumers - a market which, heretofore, they have had difficulty reaching when compared to the previous generations.

One of the more obvious questions is: Will digital comics replace paper? Yes, but only for some comics readers. Pick up a typical 22 page floppy and then read a digital comic. I'm sure that you'll agree with me that there is still something to the tactile feel of paper, of being able to flip through an issue or a trade paperback, of being able to display it on your shelf or put it in a box, of being able to reread it without turning on a computer switch or using a zoom control. Digital comics are more than acceptable to read but after more than two issues, I'm detecting mild eyestrain from looking at the monitor's glare. So I don't think paper comics will disappear.

Now let's talk about those 'new possibilities' I just mentioned.

I would like to read every issue of the Mighty Thor ever published by Marvel. No kidding. Every issue. There are hundreds out there. Digital comics affords me this opportunity. Currently you can subscribe to Marvel digital for five dollars a month and get access to seven thousand issues. So, time considerations aside, I can read every issue of Thor. But do I want to own every issue of Thor? No. Even if I can shell out the money for those expensive old Tales to Astonish issues, I don't want every single issue. I just want the good ones. Off the top of my head that would be the Lee/Kirby issues, the Mangog Saga, the Eternals Saga, all the Simonson issues and all the Gruenwald/Pollard issues. I know these are good issues because I've read them (the Lee/Kirby issues in Essentials). I've read them after I purchased them. I've purchased a lot of other Thor issue that I'd rather not have given money for. I look a these unwanted comics and wish there was some way I can know if a comic is good or not before purchasing it. And now there is.

First I read the book in digital format then I identify the quality issues. These then comprise my buy list - whether new or backissues. This simple use of digital technology allows me to avoid throwing money on bad comics and maintain a high quality collection without culling. Additionally, I don't have to miss out on continuity since I have access to all the issues in digital format.

About the Author

Pete Albano
http://www.comicsrecommended.com/

Rabu, 01 Desember 2010

Super Petruk dan Super Gareng



[Today found a new picture on Facebook. Mr. Heru had one warehouse collection of 'antique' like this. Contact him if you're interested! These old comics are already rare / hard to find. But if you are diligent in looking at used-book markets, chances are you have a chance to find a book like this.]

Scan from Mr. HERU di facebook.

Minggu, 21 November 2010

LEE THEBATFAN JOHNSON - Wong Amerika




I've found a new friend at facebook, , an American people. He love Batman so much, and have a lot of collections!

Rabu, 17 November 2010

Superman Toys at KFC



Kemarin sore, sepulang mencari kursi dan tempat tidur bersama istriku, kami mampir di KFC dan membeli paket ini, berhadiah boneka superhero JUSTICE LEAGUE, yang diiklankan tv : Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman atau The Flash. Aku dibelikan istriku, memperoleh boneka Superman ini.

Visit album saya di PHOTOBUCKET.

Kamis, 11 November 2010

TNT Cargo Car - Video



A "TNT" promotion car at my town area, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Minggu, 07 November 2010

Penjual Velg di Jemur Sari, Surabaya


Seorang penjual Velg Mobil sedang membersihkan tempat berjualannya. Di sekitar Jl. Jemur Handayani, Surabaya.

Kamis, 04 November 2010

An Indonesian Meat Ball Seller


An 'Indonesian-Meat-Balls Seller', with his merchandise, at my housing complex, Sidoarjo City, East Java, Indonesia.