I went to the event today. It was sellers with various back issues and some collectibles. These trade shows are designed to help fans and newcomers alike find back issues to complete their collections or look for older stories with their favorite characters, artists, or writers. I found a 1973 issue of Shazam! #2 and was surprised at all the other series and collections I came across. And of course, talking to other fans and sellers is a big part of this community. I was able to have a conversation with the seller from Marble Comics about the Kiss cameo in Howard the Duck. One of the best parts of comics are the fans. Sure you get the hatemongers, know-it-alls and message board trollers, but beyond them you get a group of nice people passionate about their hobby. It’s a great community. The comic industry is trying to kill it.
Probably not intentionally, but these kinds of shows may take the way of the dinosaur due to recent comic company marketing schemes. Trade paperback and black-and-white reprint volumes make the demand for these comics vanish. There were so many cool comics I could have bought, like the complete run of Watchmen or issues of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, but I already own those in cheaper trade paperbacks. Of course, if you really like the issue, you can still buy it. One of my best comic moments from my trip to London was finding issues of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing in a discount bin. Sure I already owned the paperbacks, but this was an artifact for me that I wanted to cherish. Of course, I didn’t need to - it was a superfluous purchase (let’s pretend for a moment that all comic purchases are not in of themselves superfluous). Why buy back issues now?
Of course, if the series hasn’t been collected in paperback volumes, you may need to go to these shows to get missing issues. The majority of comicdom is not available through Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. But, with this new digital age, that too may soon be a false statement. Marvel released random issues online for a few years for free if you registered on the website. Now, for a monthly fee, you can have access to Marvel Unlimited, a service that has thousands of issues at your fingertips. You can’t own the issues, but you can at least read the story for its plot points and understand its historical value. Other publishers will most likely follow with similar services.
But still, there are some titles not online or collected. Again, in London, I assembled the first 20 issues of the Deadpool series, so far not collected or online. You can find stuff at these trade shows, like the The Urbana-Champaign Comic Book Convention, but it seems like only a matter of time until all that these shows have to offer will be replaced with internet sales and web board posts. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing necessarily, only that it is different.
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Photos taken by me, Matt Knicl, Sunday March 2, 2008 at the Eastland Suites.
I apologize about the image formating, the website is messing with alignment.
Matt Knicl: My name is Matt Knicl. I'm a U of I alumn and one of those unemployed English majors Garrison Keillor likes to make fun of. I've been reading comics since high school and one day I would like to write them. My goal is to expose readers to what is out there in the world of comics and using my English powers, show what is worth reading or not. I can be reached at buzz.comics@gmail.com.
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the217
Buzz Magazine
Matt Knicl
My name is Matt Knicl. I'm a U of I alumn and one of those unemployed English majors Garrison Keillor likes to make fun of. I've been reading comics since high school and one day I would like to write them. My goal is to expose readers to what is out there in the world of comics and using my English powers, show what is worth reading or not. I can be reached at buzz.comics@gmail.com.