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Merry Christmas to Southern California Comics from CGC Grading. These are just samples of comics we sent in. Our store has acquired a lot of CGC comics from collectors. so our eweb site is swelling with.new inventory. Due to safety precautions, much of the CGC inventory is stored off-site... .
A WORD ON GRADING COMICS... Many of our customers wish they could grade comics. I explain that wishing works better if they read about grading. Even then, grading is a tactile chore that becomes a skill only after successfully grading hundreds of comics. This is where the grading companies make their fortunes: through quantity and from submissions from collectors who know no better. Several of my employees have become adept at grading. They learned from me and through repetition. The constant acquisition of comic collections provides them with the necessary hands-on experience to get the grades correct most of the time. The store is a great provider of quantity, and quality, so 1.8s to 9.8s are always available to screen. However, we do get challenged on our skill sets. So, I thought I would validate our claims: We purchased a "warehouse find" in 2017, 15,000 comic books from Los Angeles. Of those, at least 13,000 were uncirculated copies. They ranged from 1976-1981 and were the leftovers from a comic book store that left them behind after closing down for good. None of the comics ever made it to the store's retail shelves. For whatever reason, the owner kept what he wanted and left the rest behind. We understood the depth of what we had and set aside the best copies for third-party grading. The total we opted to submit was over 1,000 copies of dozens of titles. We felt this was a golden opportunity to test our grading acumen and bank a lot of money later. We knew the submission costs would be over $25,000, so our choices had to be tight. 9.2 wouldn't cut it where 9.8s and 9.6s were as low as we could go and sustain profit. We had to be really good at grading in the 9s and absolutely understand what constituted a 9.8. This was also an endeavor that allowed us to match grading companies against each other. We sent 850 copies to CGC and 250 copies to CBCS from 2017 through 2020. We estimated we'd get back 60-70 percent 9.8s and the rest 9.4 down to 9.0. This would be a grand test of our abilities to cull out 9.8s and forever know what constituted comics in that grade. The results were 90 percent of the comics we estimated at 9.8-came back 9.8, and from both companies. Most of the remainder of the comics were submitted with the knowledge they would grade lower, but sell for profit in those grades. The math was all dependent which title and issue number. Neither company had an advantage over the other. CBCS stood up to CGC in accuracy. I stand by this statement because 250 graded copies don't lie. We pressed a group of the copies before submission. We became adept at turning lower grades into 9.8s and 9.6s. The proof was in the graded returns. Forty Savage She-Hulk 1s, some pressed, came back as 9.8s. Thirty Marvel Spotlight 32s came back exactly as predicted: mostly 9.8s with 9.6s seeded in. For those wondering, we received no 9.9s or 10s. A CGC-employed friend of mine said the age of the books, even with white pages, made those ultimate grades unlikely. You'd think we'd get one out of one thousand, but it didn't happen. On the flip side no can challenge us on the construct of a comic destined to be a 9.8.
Once again, we are plagued by comic bag shortages.Resupplies may not arrive until February. For now, we are reduced to selling single bags/boards, at the register, for new comics purchases only. We will not be selling comic bags/boards in bulk until further notice. .
.Jessica is our newest, salaried employee. She just received her first-ever paycheck!
COME SHOP THE 100+ SPECIAL EDITION BARBIE DOLLS WE JUST PICKED UP.THE SELLER BROUGHT US BOXED 1996-1998 SPECIAL BARBIES. WE HAVE A PRICE LIST FOR INTERESTED COLLECTORS. BARBIES IN GOWNS ARE PERFECT PRESENTS FOR CHRISTMAS FOR FANS! You can now see the listings and pictures on our Miscellaneous page by pressing the STATUES/TOYS/BARBIE DOLLS button.
JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED IN OUR TIME OF NEED! MORE INVENTORY!
.A RARE NEAL ADAMS SKETCH OF THE BATMAN: MAN WHO LAUGHS. FOR SALE AT OUR SHOP OR OFF OF OUR WEB SITE!
.NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT: ALICE COOPER DREW A SELF-PORTRAIT FOR THE COVER OF ALICE COOPER VS. CHAOS! FOR SALE AT THE SHOP OR OFF OF OUR WEB SITE!
.NEW IN THE STORE FOR YOU STATUE FANS!
.Despite the bad news break-in, the hits just keep on coming: Black Cat Mystery #50, the classic radium cover, just came back from grading. The CGC book is safely locked away elsewhere, but you can see pictures on our web site in the Golden Age section.
.Our shop suffered a devastating burglary on 7-15-2021. Three suspects on video forced open the front door despite bars, locks and the alarm The alarm and a witness helped end the crime, but not before they took off with a load of comics.They were covered head-to-toe and the plates had been removed from their dark-colored, late model Nissan SUV.One suspect cut open his forearm as witnessed in the video and bled profusely (Note the blood droplets in the photo). There's evidence there the police collected. Contact us through e-mail socalcom@aol.com if you have information.
.Partial List:
House Of Horror 1 CGC 7.5 $850 300 FVF $700 Large Feature Book #24 featuring Lone Ranger (1938) $800 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 16 CGC 9.2 $60 16 CGC 9.0 $50 18 CGC 9.4 $60 26 CGC 9.4 $60 28 CGC 9.4 $90 28 CGC 9.4 $90 United States of Captain America 1 variant cover $40 Isis 1 CGC 9.2 $50 Howard the Duck 1 CGC 9.8 $700 Weird Fantasy 13(1) FN $750
.Keep your eyes on our web site and the store for the large collection of CGC Bronze Age Marvels we just got in....
...And there it goes, the last of 14 copies of Amazing Fantasy 15 our store had acquired beginning in 2013. Most went to trade deals for awesome inventory. So Cal Comics' AF 15 legacy is now a thing of the past.
JUST IN! DOMINIC PACE OF 'THE MANDALORIAN' FAME WILL APPEAR AT THE STORE SATURDAY, APRIL 24TH! Dominic Pace
Gekko, The Bounty Hunter (The Mandalorian, Season 1)
Saturday April 24 (4/24/21)
12 to 5 pm
Dominic will have a comic about his character, Gekko, From the hit Disney+ show The Mandalorian. Four variants are available.
Prices: signed comic - $30 All 4 variant covers - $100 Signed photo - $25 or 4 for $80 Challenge Coins -$15 Signed Beskar - $30 No charge for selfies!
Jamie was just recognized by ShoutoutSoCal as a significant enterpeneur in Southern California:Meet Jamie Newbold | Business owner:
Hi Jamie, how do you think about risk? I began my career search at a young age. I felt destiny sent me into paleontology, but in San Diego there was little educational options at the collegiate level for that career. I took all the considerate classes a junior college had to offer in the sciences. I lost focus and desire when survival became an issue. I quit college and went into construction, for the money. I risked my future on the skills I sought working with wood. I took classes and taught myself fine woodworking. Then, I grew restless again and went the opposite direction to become a police officer. The inherent risks speak for themselves. That career is nothing but risks, but risks born with greater confidence as I acclimated to those new skill sets. That career lasted twenty years, until I was injured on the job, again, from taking risks. The injuries cancelled my future as a cop. My options for a replacement source of income were narrow. I took the greatest risk and became a comic book dealer. I was a hobbyist for two decades before losing interest. The hobby had changed greatly over the years I was out. I risked ignorance, money and pain to become a comic book dealer and a businessman. Years passed as I grew into place as an adequate back-issue dealer. I swallowed pride, disappointment and wasted money to get to where I could make wages selling comic books. I have a good, national, reputation, which has increased the status of my business and the income. My business and my store thrive through the years from risks. Granted, my life is not in peril, but running a small business in San Diego and California is no easy task. The only way to succeed is to weigh risks against the potential returns. I have family and employees I'm responsible for. Each risk must be considered, but to not be willing is to wither into obscurity. I've taken new risks and an now a restaurant owner. Unfortunately, in the time of Covid, My new business is at risk of faltering. Only time and inertia will tell if I thrive. Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others? Comic book retailing tells its own story. Perhaps the general population doesn't take my career choice seriously, but I work within a world of multi-million dollar sales. I'm constantly challenged by people who think my job is easy, like the low-hanging fruit of the hobby world. The truth is it take big bucks to succeed. The internet and social networking won't teach amateurs enough to avoid mistakes of ignorance. I wrote a book, the Forensic Comicologist, to teach the uninformed how to pursue this hobby as a fan and as a professional. I still see dozens and dozens of comic book guys chase easy money with no comprehension of their future. They want it easy and don't get that effort and education pay off in the long run. I made my business work because I paired up with others, both in the short and long term. Team efforts put multiple minds to task as a team and thrived off of mutually-agreed risks. The effort is reduced when shared with others. We learned our craft at comic book conventions. Those road shows provide the greatest experiences for comic book dealers, but they require massive cash expenditures to retail at the largest, busiest shows. Again, effort is mandatory. Working the world of the internet only gets a retailer so far without first having learned the business rules face-to-face. At the present, I own the business as a solo act, but employees are mandatory to sustain a level of constant activity. One-man shows will not get an unlearned retailer to my level. In-person dealing teaches people how to talk to each other, read body language/facial inflections and build rapport that are virtually negated by laptops, phone calls, computers and e-mail. But, there are some personalities that can't harness that kind of closeness. Get over shyness if you want to succeed. If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you'd want to take them around to? Anywhere they wanted in San Diego. The city is one-big dining experience. All the usual tourist attractions and nightclubs speak for themselves. The biggest mysteries are San Diego's back-country. I always make it a point to take people to these less-known gems. Who else deserves some credit and recognition? Any small business owner who loves being their own boss and is not afraid to work hard.
SOCALCOMICS EXPANDS ITS OPENING HOURS TO 5 O'CLOCK MONDAY-SATURDAY!
BECKY AND I DONATED COMIC BOOKS AND TOYS TO THE MARINES AT THE TOYS FOR TOTS CAMPAIGN IN SORRENTO VALLEY. COUNCILMAN CHRIS CATES GAVE US A WARM WELCOME AND MCDONALDS COUPONS FOR OUR CONTRIBUTIONS. CAITLIN AND I DONATED MORE OF THE SAME AT THE POLINSHKY CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S PROMISES CENTER.
AS OF 12-9-2020, WE WILL REMAIN OPEN FOR IN-STORE CUSTOMERS. WE'VE EXPANDED WEDNESDAY HOURS TO 9:00-5:00. WE HOPE THIS EXTRA HOUR ALLOWS OUR CUSTOMERS TO SPREAD THEIR SHOPPING OVER THE EXTRA HOUR AND COMPLY WITH RESTRICTIONS THAT LIMIT THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS IN THE STORE AT ONE TIME.
Feeling good about picking up four long boxes of Silver/Bronze marvels and DC Batman titles!
THE GOOD OLD DAYS!
THE STORE HAS QUIETLY STORED THIS PERSONAL JIM LEE SKETCHBOOK FOR SEVEN YEARS. THERE ARE ONLY 2 KNOWN JIM LEE SKETCHBOOKS THAT HAVE SURFACED. I OWN THIS ONE. THE OTHER LOCATION IS A MYSTERY. LEE SKETCHED, DOODLED AND EXPERIMENTD WITH MARVEL CHARACTERS WHEN HE WORKED FOR THE COMPANY. SOME OF THE ART REFLECTS LEE'S CONCEPTS FOR THE HEROES REBORN ISSUES FORM THE LATE 1990S. THERE ARE 63 PAGES OF DRAWINGS. THE BOOK IS CURRENTLY ON DISPLAY AT OUR SHOP.
GEORGE IS ONE HAPPY OWNER OF A SOCAL COMICS' COPY OF AF15!
CURTIS IS ONE HAPPY OWNER OF A SOCAL COMICS' COPY OF A STAN LEE SIGNED X-MEN!
SoCalComics has expanded its Discount Trades section. We've stocked this set of shelves with hundreds of desirable graphic novels at low, low prices. Come browes for your cool reads today!
Check out our store tour!
Please read through if you plan on coming INSIDE the shop beginning Saturday, May 23rd: Sole entry point is the doorway into the office. The garage door will be open, but chained off for entry. A disinfecting station is setup just inside that doorway for you to disinfect your hands before entering. EVERY individual must disinfect their hands before entering. Please wipe your hands after with a paper towel to remove excess liquid and dispose of it in the trashcan next to the door EVERY individual must wear a face mask while inside, at all times. It is within our rights to refuse service if a face mask is not worn, worn incorrectly, or taken off before exiting the building. DO NOT come into the store if you’ve had any kind of flu-like symptoms in the past 3 weeks. We do not have the resources to check temperatures, so we are going to use the honor system on this one guys… These policies apply to every customer who would like to enter the shop. Children, teens, adults, and seniors are expected to abide by these new policies. Shopping rules: We have a few new rules we are enforcing to make sure everyone can shop safely: Limited entry into the store. You may be asked to wait in a line outside if we have already reached max occupancy. Dollar box room will have a limited occupancy and will be timed if other customers are waiting. Vintage back issue boxes will require an employee escort. Like we have stated above, everyone coming into the shop is required to disinfect your hands and dawn a facemask before entering the store. Appointments and curbside pickup options are no longer required but still available if you would rather not come into the store. Our business hours remain the same for the time being: Monday-Saturday: 10am – 4pm Sunday: CLOSED We’re looking forward to having our doors open again in any kind of capacity. This is the first step out of many. We are taking these precautions for the safety of our awesome customers and our SoCalComics Family. Until Saturday, stay safe friends! -SoCalComics Team
A great customer testimonial to our store: "Dear Jamie, I am not sure if you remember me, but a few weeks ago I was the guy who bought a Superman book on eBay. I was sent the wrong issue, but the whole thing was rectified very quickly and professionally. I appreciate how quickly you sent the refund.By chance, a few weeks later I found myself visiting California for the first time in a decade. (I am from Boston.) My son and I came into the shop a half-hour before closing, after visiting the Safari Park. I really enjoyed meeting two of your very friendly employees and picked up a terrific golden-age Superman book. I must say they even if my visit was brief your shop may be the best comic shop I have ever visited. (And I have been to scores of shops.) The breadth of selection, the high quality items, the layout, and the friendliness of the staff were all top-notch. I enjoyed chatting with Shawn about the San Diego comic scene, and the other staff member (I am sorry I do not remember his name) was friendly and patient while showing me the golden age books. Not sure when I will get to California again but definitely will go back when I do. And I hope to pick up some of your books online. Finally, I enjoyed your shop so much that I purchased and have so far read about half of your book. I have really liked it so far. You did a great job. Hope to continue to buy books from you in the future. Yours, Ted H. Executive Director American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics Editor Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics
Dante Basco will be signing autographs and selling memorabilia at our shop February 15 from Noon to 2:00. Dante is best known as the actor who played Ruffio in the movie "Hook," and the voice of Zuko in "Avatar, The Last Airbender."
Steranko's appearance was a collosal achievement and a great crowd pleaser. He was happy to get a signed copy of my book and he paid our own Caitlin a huge compliment for her chalkboard drawing of the signing event!
New to our inventory!
Here's the latest and greatest art purchase for So Cal Comics: Silver Surfer #50 from 1991. This is the prequel issue to Infinity Gauntlet. Page 8 presents the epic collision between the Surfer and Thanos. We purchased the page from the guy that picked it up in 1992 at SD Comic Con from artist Ron Lim. Lim even signed the page.This page has never been up for sale at any market and hasn't been avaulable for 26 years.
Two new purchases for the store inventory.
Jamie and Southern California Comics made the front page of the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper at Comic Con 2019! The extensive article caprtures the Jamie's optimism for collectors of old comics. Other positive opinions were added to the lengthy article. The simple proof of strong sales of back issues at Con and at our store reflect the truth about the back-issue market's strength!
Accidental Aliens and Travis Revis are proud to present: SUPER-ABLED COMICS!."TEN FINGERS ARE OVERRATED," if you ask the creators of this new comic. Come to SoCalComics and get your copy today!
The pre-Code and Atlas Horor comics are here. Over 1,100 1950s-1960s horror comics. Ask for our Excel file list to see the contents of this; the British Collection. All books are listed with photos.
Hi Jamie and Gang, I've been a customer of Socal Comics for seven years. I did the bulk of my purchasing from your store AFTER I moved from California to Ohio. Around three years ago, I bought a Silver Surfer 1 (1968) VF condition from you for around $500 (I think I begged for a discount.) I noticed that the value of it has gone up a decent amount sent it out to be graded. It is coming back an 8.0. It has almost tripled in value. The point is, i started as a poor customer taking advantage of your payment plan system, but have worked up to collecting higher priced blue chip comics. I had no idea what that even meant, but after years of following and reading your interviews, I decided to forego a lot of modern day collecting and started buying older stuff. Socal Comics has been pivotal in how i collect. It is a fun hobby and now truly holds and even increases in value. I know I'm just one of hundreds, if not thousands of satisfied customers. The hobby of comic collecting is something special to me and has influenced a lot of me as an artist. Visiting your store maybe once every year or every other year is like a Mecca trip for me. Unfortunately, I forget what i want as soon as i want into the store, Because I want it all. Thank you again for being influential in such a great sense. It makes me believe in the goodness of people, businesses and it's stores like yours that set the hobby for success. " Will Keomany .
Beau officially hands our Caitlin her Health Certification. Alter Ego Cafe is proud to celebrate the evolution of ite operations.
Terry O'Neill and I made the trip to England to purchase hundreds of pre-Code Horror, as well as pre-hero Atlas/Marvel comic books from famed, local collector misician Richard Makinson.We're waiting for the books shipped over here to catch up to us. Stay tuned to our web site for the new listings!
Southern California Comics is proud to support the Superman Museum in Metropolis Illinois! We've donated to support them and will earn a brick in our name on their commemorative "Ham" Bricks Project. Our brick will be inserted into the sidewalks surrounding the SUPER MUSEUM
Our latest batch of store t-shirts are in stock. Adding to the sizes we sold out of, we now offer the same style in red! The white shirts are still $20. The new, red ones are $25.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COMICS WAS VOTED THE BEST STORE IN SAN DIEGO!
Our Latest Haul!
New purchases at the store: XM/Sideshow Logan Statue. #2/25 produced. Extremely rare: $1500! Then there's that think next to it in the glass case!
New purchases at the store! The pictured art are just samples.
Sarah and her husband met at So Cal Comics. They fell in love and are happily getting married. They chose to do a photo shoot for the wedding here at the place they first met!. Congratulations to the happy comic book couple!
Jasper earns his first ever paycheck at So Cal Comics! He'll earn his last paycheck in fifty years!
NEW AT THE STORE: Bowen and Women of the DCU busts!
Just back from CGC! AND: Due to Diamond's screw-up we have an overage of Price Guides. For a limited time; get the POTA OPG HCs for 40% off retail! Available for walk-ins only.
NEW AT THE STORE!
Becky entertains the audience!
Celebrating our donations to support PAWMICON! Here are just some of the incredible items that will be in our opportunity drawing baskets on Sunday! (A huge thanks to Southern California Comics and Mysterious Galaxy for hooking us up.) the event is tomorrow at hazard center plaza
Southern California Comics is now home to the world famous author, Jamie Newbold! His first book, The Forensic Comicologist - Insights from a Life in Comics is hot off the press and in the store NOW! Pick up your copy before they sell out.
Our most significant single-book acquisition in a long time.
Gone, but not forgotten! A heavily signed version of the Platinum Edition of Superman #75: Death of Superman. It's impossible to slab this since neither grading company will allow the bagged copy to be graded.
Our buying power cannot be beat! Bring your comic books to So Cal Comics for the highest purchase prices in town!
Our buying power cannot be beat! Bring your comic books to So Cal Comics for the highest purchase prices in town!
New at our store: a set of J. Scott Campbell signed 11x17 prints!
What A Great Show!
Altered Egos Coffee Now Serving! Open during most store hours
Comic Fest 2018. One of two panels I participated in: What's Wrong With Comics? The first was a solo act promoting my book; The Forensic Comicologist!
Store Manager Matt Joaquin has been with the store for years; apprenticing at evaluation, grading and buying old comic books. By 2018 Matt has gained my confidence with his purchase skills to handle just about and collection coming into the store. Feel free to bring your comics in to sell with either Matt, or I, at the helm!
SO CAL FUNNIES
PETER'S GIRLS! From the J. Scott Campbell Statue collection.
NEW AT THE STORE!
A first for So Cal Comics!
Will always be one of my favorite, personal photos
Here's Ray making our annual toy donation to the Polinsky Center for Children. We donate something to the Center every year. The kids housed in Polinsky often come from bad home situations (or no homes.) I spent may hours in this facility and others with children I was forced to remove from bad homes and bad parents.In all of my adventures and ordeals as a police officer; this aspect of my job saddened me the most. These lonely kids could use a hand from all of us.
Ray and Caitlin pose with a recent acquision of signed CGC books.
Our 'famous' black Dickies store work shirts - Just $25!
SOLD!
My son finds the best shirts!.
Check out Jamie on Pawn Stars from May 8, 2017.
We are always interested in buying! Please call 858-715-8669 during normal business hours or email socalcom@aol.com anytime to set up an appointment. We buy comics, comic book collections, toys, magazines, and all your comic book related collectibles.
We have an extensive collection of original art, including a HUGE selection of BATMAN pages. Check our website for images and prices of these ONE-OF-A-KIND treasures!
After thre-plus years of writing, editing and hoping my book The Forensic Comicologist: A Unique Life In Comics has been accepted by a publisher!
Dear Jamie, Hello. Thanks for sending the samples from your manuscript "The Forensic Comicologist: A Unique Life in Comic Books,? which we would be pleased to publish. Today we have some preliminary feedback to share. At its current length of almost 190,000 words, the manuscript will require some pretty major trimming to turn it into a saleable book. We?d expect this type of book to be in the realm of 120,000 words and after reviewing the samples you sent, we?re confident that such cuts can be made in a manner that will benefit the book. Might you be willing to reduce the word count to that extent? Since Michele Nolan copy-edited the text and is so familiar with your target audience, she is well-suited to offer an objective perspective on what content could be cut. Another important issue to address is the illustrations, many of which appear to be clip art images and cartoons that don?t relate directly to the text. Our market favors illustrations that are informative and particular to the book. About how many photos and illustrations do you have that meet those two criteria? Your answers to these questions will serve to jumpstart the process. We still have plenty to discuss in terms of the ins and outs of manuscript submission and other logistics, but our main message today is that we think the manuscript is a good fit and we?d enjoy the opportunity to work with you. We look forward to hearing your thoughts. Sincerely, Natalie Natalie Foreman Associate Editor McFarland & Co., Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com
ANOTHER SATISFIED CUSTOMER'S TESTIMONAL: I have always found you to be one of the reputable dealer I have purchased from from my original purchase of DD #1 so long ago. I made you an offer which you replied, that is fair and accepted my offer. I still have the book by the way and happy to have to have it in my Marvel SA key collection. JEFF HADDAD
Jamie was selected to be a judge for the 2017 Eisner Awards. Each year six people are selected, based upon their qualifications, to judge the "best of the best" in just about everything comic books.Jamie was honored to have been selected for this distinguished awards tradition.The winners are announced at Comic Con International 2017.
Always wanted to own OPG #1.Now we do!
Covers to some of the rarest comics from the 1930s.
The following is an excerpt from a blogger named Bob that writes for his blog; ComicSpectrumBlog. Bob writes about his search for his own copy of AMAZING FANTASY 15. The below paragraphs take up about two-thirds into his story: For the sites that I liked upon 1st examination, I set up accounts (where applicable), added the book I was looking for to my Want list where that capability existed, and sent e-mails to the site owners introducing myself and describing what I was looking for. Four sites never bothered to respond to my e-mail, so they were removed from consideration: QualityComix.com, PGCmint.com, EsquireComics.com, and BunkyBrothers.com If they couldn't be bothered to respond to my e-mail then I didn't feel like I needed to spend money with them. Five other sites responded to my e-mails. Three of them within a couple of hours (and this was on a Sunday afternoon), the other 2 by the following morning (Monday): ArchAngels Collectibles - Rob Hughes Detective27.com - Jeff Delaney HighGradeComics.com - Bob Storms Southern California Comics - Jamie Newbold SuperWorldComics.com - Ted VanLiew I got some nice notes back from each of these guys, but unfortunately none of them had any copies of AF #15 for sale. They mostly let me know that they'd keep an eye out, with the exception of Jamie Newbold, who had several copies, they were just not for sale. It turns out that he had decided to buy up key silver age comics for investment purposes, building a nest egg for retirement. While this wasn't going to do me any good for the purposes of buying AF #15, it was great for another reason. SoCal Comics is in San Diego and is located less than an hour drive from my home. I drove down there the following Saturday with my wife and we talked to Jamie. He's a great guy, extremely knowledgeable, and willing to share his experience. Jamie is probably the single most important factor in me now owning a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, even though he didn't sell it to me himself. By speaking to my wife and I at length about the investment potential of these key Silver Age books, as well as the fact that he himself was buying these books as an investment, it really drove home for my wife that while I don't primarily consider comics to be an investment, and I would not buy them solely as an investment, it sure is nice to know that any money spent on them is not money just pissed away on some ephemeral object of my affection. There is a tangible value associated with these books, you won't lose money on them, and they are an actual asset.
Congratulations to Becky for receiving accolades from the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE for her appearance in Artists Alley at COMIC FEST! One of our own employees makes the Big Time!
Looking for that unique gift for a Batman fan? Check out this Batman Animated Series Production Cel, featuring Harley Quinn and Batgirl. It comes with WB Store COA. This is a 1993 cel used in the episode titled "Almost Got 'Im." Only $800
SO-CAL INFO PAGE: VARIANT COVER EDITIONS
Folks, we've been asked more often than any of us can count about ordering variants for sale at the store. The below article was written by comic book writer Andy Diggle. Andy conducted an in-depth study of the state of the industry in 2015. He interviewed stores from all over about their takes on the the sales of current products last year. His article takes a strong shot at the problems retailing variants. His interviews produced a strong message about the hardships of the variant market.The article below sums up our attitude:
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The last major negative on the year generated the most passionate response: variant covers. The issue was a multi-faceted one, but across the board, participants believe they're bad business and not as valuable as they once were. And King knows to fear them as her shop "lived through the problems of the late 80's and mid 90's." "That era was so very tough to make it through, as comics became more about the fancy variant covers and other gimmicks and less about the interior quality and story," she said. "It created an unhealthy environment in comics that was only about speculation in the market. People bought lots of product and a lot was produced, but also lots of that product ended up filling warehouses. (It) nearly destroyed the market."
"I see an alarming trend in the industry now that focuses on the variant. I'm not talking about store variants, although maybe they should be discussed as well," she continued. "I am talking about the black polybagged, multi-cover, lenticular, and 1:5,000 cover type trend. They inflate the sales numbers at Diamond but don't necessarily translate to actual sales at the register. This trend wont stop until the shop owners say 'this far, no further' and stop ordering for the variants, but ordering for what they can actually sell through in their shops."
Others are already doing just what King said. DiBernardo said, "for the first time in 15 years, I have stopped playing any publisher's predatory buying games. Making me purchase Yx1.2 so that I can buy the next pop culture cover has stopped working." "The payoff is no longer there. It's actually been a great lesson for me. Getting out of the short-term speculation market has strengthened our bottom line and allowed us to focus on things beyond comics."
Variants also put shops in the position to be the bad guy, as Hendrick shared. Many readers don't realize that to get the option of ordering variants, you have to order significantly more copies than usual. And beyond that, they don't care, making retailers seem like the people who ruin everyone's fun. "A customer doesn't really care why I can't get them the cover of that book they want. They just want it, and they might not really want to pay more than cover price for it either. So it's sort of a win/lose lose/lose thing for a store a lot of the time," he said. "I came really close this year to just saying from now on no more variants." Marvel's the greatest offender regarding variants, and many are tired of it. When paired with the incessant reboots, shops are put in the position of taking great losses to satisfy customer demands.
"It's very frustrating when we're being asked to support a book, and then a year later when it's rebooted we're being asked to support it all over again. Only this time to get what our customers want we have to support it more than we did already," Hendrick said. Thompson added that the long lead time to the release of heavily marketed variants like Marvel's Hip Hop covers led to reader interest dissipating by publication date. That's a major issue for an unreturnable product. "Now, months later, the fervor has gone and those people who excitedly asked about (the Hip Hop covers) have now forgotten they exist. Which is bad news for us and, in the long term, bad news for Marvel," he said. "We've had to reevaluate our Marvel orders as a whole. While they may have caught us out once, they won't again."
One of the highlights of the show was the work we put into identifying the value of one of the significant finds we made acquring the science-fiction collection in late April. An original, 1930 post card from HP Lovecraft to his publisher William Coates. Truly an extraordinary piece that could have been lost in all the flotsam from that collection. The post card was signed by Lovecraft, a uniquely scarce thing to find in the marketplace. We showed the signature around the dealers room at Con and eventually found a buyer. Since this is a one-of-a-kind item for our store we decided to share the experience with you.
FANZINES
Several years ago, we purchased the science fiction/horror/fantasy book collection from Ed Farrell's relatives. Ed and I knew each other for years dating back to 1975. I lost touch with him about ten years ago. I was saddened to hear from his relations that he had passed from cancer. The family felt strongly about offering his massive collection of pulp magazines, comics, science fiction, horror, fantasy books, fanzines, original art and more. During my evaluation of the collection I uncovered an old fanzine titled THE RECLUSE. It looked old and was missing the back cover. With a little research I was pleased to learn that it was published in 1927 and featured early, published work of HP Lovecraft. This multi-page pamphlet also has the distinction of being the first known fanzine to ever be published. It's considered as the first true science fiction and fantasy amateur magazine. A twofer indeed! Unfortunately, I sold it before I realized I wanted to post this article so the above picture is from another, less attractive copy.
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SLIDESHOW!
Jamie Newbold is a 'licensed' Forensic Comicologist! He is an expert at assessing vintage books to assign the most accurate grade possible. Just the facts, ma'am.
The friendly SoCalComics staff!
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| Jamie | Matt | Caitlin and Kristin | Kent |
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| Shawn | Dennis | Jasper | |
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| Becky | Madison High After-School | Comic Book Club '15! | Ray |