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Post by brutalis on Dec 27, 2017 8:05:15 GMT -5
I really miss the LCS stores that were run by young guys back in the day...they were decent to their customers/fair for the most part and loved what they did. There were a few in the day who embraced what was special about a LCS and managed to become the places to hang out at and did great business. We even had a few stores here in Arizona spread across the map who "specialized" within the LCS concept since distribution wasn't limited to just 1 source as it is now. One store in Tempe near the college focused on Japanese items/cards and his store was the go to shop for anything Japanese from VHS to toys or models or magazines. Another here in Phoenix and a smaller shop in Mesa carried British imports so we got lots of Doctor Who books and items and some of the early turn on for 2000 AD/Judge Dredd and Captain Britain before they were well known. Most of the owners here were middle aged men/women that already ran used book stores or collector toy stores who had established shops with low sales and the LCS provided them a new source of revenue that suddenly became popular. There were a few unscrupulous types who took advantage of youngsters but luckily they didn't remain very long as word spread quickly of their practices and people would avoid those shops.
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Post by batusi on Dec 28, 2017 12:08:38 GMT -5
I really miss the LCS stores that were run by young guys back in the day...they were decent to their customers/fair for the most part and loved what they did. There were a few in the day who embraced what was special about a LCS and managed to become the places to hang out at and did great business. We even had a few stores here in Arizona spread across the map who "specialized" within the LCS concept since distribution wasn't limited to just 1 source as it is now. One store in Tempe near the college focused on Japanese items/cards and his store was the go to shop for anything Japanese from VHS to toys or models or magazines. Another here in Phoenix and a smaller shop in Mesa carried British imports so we got lots of Doctor Who books and items and some of the early turn on for 2000 AD/Judge Dredd and Captain Britain before they were well known. Most of the owners here were middle aged men/women that already ran used book stores or collector toy stores who had established shops with low sales and the LCS provided them a new source of revenue that suddenly became popular. There were a few unscrupulous types who took advantage of youngsters but luckily they didn't remain very long as word spread quickly of their practices and people would avoid those shops. My favorite Comic Shop was the one where I had to travel A bit to get to...it was a few hours drive but well worth it! Mid/Late 80's, it was like arriving in heaven, the owner was middle aged, had a beard & he was like JESUS to me! He was so kind and friendly. He had the best comics! I remember picking out gems like Batman 80 pg giants and Neal Adams issues & Aparo Aquaman issues & Kirby FF issues in nice condition for cheap prices. He always told me that I had the best taste in old comics. I would call ahead and he would pick out comics for me...the best customer service I can recall!
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Post by brutalis on Dec 28, 2017 14:12:15 GMT -5
There were a few in the day who embraced what was special about a LCS and managed to become the places to hang out at and did great business. We even had a few stores here in Arizona spread across the map who "specialized" within the LCS concept since distribution wasn't limited to just 1 source as it is now. One store in Tempe near the college focused on Japanese items/cards and his store was the go to shop for anything Japanese from VHS to toys or models or magazines. Another here in Phoenix and a smaller shop in Mesa carried British imports so we got lots of Doctor Who books and items and some of the early turn on for 2000 AD/Judge Dredd and Captain Britain before they were well known. Most of the owners here were middle aged men/women that already ran used book stores or collector toy stores who had established shops with low sales and the LCS provided them a new source of revenue that suddenly became popular. There were a few unscrupulous types who took advantage of youngsters but luckily they didn't remain very long as word spread quickly of their practices and people would avoid those shops. My favorite Comic Shop was the one where I had to travel A bit to get to...it was a few hours drive but well worth it! Mid/Late 80's, it was like arriving in heaven, the owner was middle aged, had a beard & he was like JESUS to me! He was so kind and friendly. He had the best comics! I remember picking out gems like Batman 80 pg giants and Neal Adams issues & Aparo Aquaman issues & Kirby FF issues in nice condition for cheap prices. He always told me that I had the best taste in old comics. I would call ahead and he would pick out comics for me...the best customer service I can recall! Now that is the kind of customer service that just isn't around much anymore. Back in the day one of the main shops me and my friends utilized the manager/owner was fantastic. When my best friend got married the owner made a gift of good graded Thor comics: 10 in all as a wedding present. He also would take some of us who were "regular customers" with him to pick up the new weekly delivery at the airport when it came in and use us as cheap labor and reward us with 1st pick of some free new comics for the effort. One of the shops had set up a large screen television and ran anime or science fiction movies all day and would use that set up for video game contests on the weekends. My regular shop I have used since I was around 18 years old and the owner and I still connect to this day when he is there and we will go out and do lunch and talk about the old days.
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Post by brutalis on Jan 5, 2018 8:26:17 GMT -5
Remember When: Wolverine was fresh, new and not Wolvergod? He didn't heal instantly from wounds, his past was a total mystery, Sentinels registered him as not totally mutant, his surly and gruff exterior was interesting and he wasn't the team's best member/weapon. Those early issues of Uncanny X-Men highlighted all the newest members but Wolvie stood out for me. The kind of Eastwood cowboy loner don't give a shit don't take no shit attitude along with the striking visuals of his mask and claws (pointed rounded claws not those damn samurai blades) that everyone imagined as part of his gloves until learning they were housed inside his forearms and a physical part of him (not knowing his bones were adamantium laced) and that he endured great pain every time he "popped" them out, literally wounding himself each time. His friendship with the "elf" Nightcrawler who became his friend (a whole "nother change where the new was fun and the current not so much) and drinking partner.
Sometimes giving us everything in a character's back story isn't the best thing. The slow and little reveals along Logan's journey were much more entertaining and not taken to any extreme which helped make the Wolverine a great anti-hero. A bit of mystery helps to keep us wanting more and makes it exciting when a new detail is exposed. Now our boy Wolvie is over exposed and powered up to the Nth degree in healing and skills and I have zero interest in such a character. For me the Wolverine when he 1st appeared is the more satisfying character....
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Post by brutalis on Jan 15, 2018 8:47:48 GMT -5
This Remember When brought to you from the crippled old creaking body department! Spending hours in your youth digging through bags and boxes of unsorted comic books all day long in seeking issues which either caught your eye or intrigued you enough for wanting to read them without flipping through or looking between the covers first? These days most of us can internet search and see and read and review a comic book and know what we are getting before even getting it. In my good ol' days it was nigh unto being impossible for having any sort of lists other than what you could crate upon your own based on what little you might have collected already or seen an ad for within another comic.
How did any of us ever find what we were searching for? Sheer determination and sometimes just pure blind luck and lots of dirty fingers. I would spend the better part of a day in one store (usually an old used book store) taking in the pulp paper smell becoming intoxicated while searching through brown grocery bags and crumbling cardboard boxes. Seldom was there any kind of filing system to these places as they simply bought whatever somebody dragged in to sell. These were the days before dealers found out there was gold in them that' hills of paper. For some well spent time and a few dollars you would go home with a mountain of comics to enjoy. Sometimes you hit the jackpot and other times you hit a crap well of stink. It all depended on what you liked and whether you chose to make the most of your purchases.
Never was I truly home and disappointed for within every mound of comics was newfound joy and splendor never before seen. It was all new even though it was old. Finding the missing issues of series I tried to follow. Finding single issues of comics I had heard of through ads. Finding issues which a friend was hunting for. Creating fun and excitement in your eternal search was the name of the game and seldom can you truly say that you had a better time than those moments buried amidst piles of comics in your life...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2018 9:40:27 GMT -5
This Remember When brought to you from the crippled old creaking body department! Spending hours in your youth digging through bags and boxes of unsorted comic books all day long in seeking issues which either caught your eye or intrigued you enough for wanting to read them without flipping through or looking between the covers first? These days most of us can internet search and see and read and review a comic book and know what we are getting before even getting it. In my good ol' days it was nigh unto being impossible for having any sort of lists other than what you could crate upon your own based on what little you might have collected already or seen an ad for within another comic. How did any of us ever find what we were searching for? Sheer determination and sometimes just pure blind luck and lots of dirty fingers. I would spend the better part of a day in one store (usually an old used book store) taking in the pulp paper smell becoming intoxicated while searching through brown grocery bags and crumbling cardboard boxes. Seldom was there any kind of filing system to these places as they simply bought whatever somebody dragged in to sell. These were the days before dealers found out there was gold in them that' hills of paper. For some well spent time and a few dollars you would go home with a mountain of comics to enjoy. Sometimes you hit the jackpot and other times you hit a crap well of stink. It all depended on what you liked and whether you chose to make the most of your purchases. Never was I truly home and disappointed for within every mound of comics was newfound joy and splendor never before seen. It was all new even though it was old. Finding the missing issues of series I tried to follow. Finding single issues of comics I had heard of through ads. Finding issues which a friend was hunting for. Creating fun and excitement in your eternal search was the name of the game and seldom can you truly say that you had a better time than those moments buried amidst piles of comics in your life... In the 80's ... Every Friday my LCS is open until 10pm and I usually spend about 2 hours after work going through the long-boxes (about 20-40 boxes worth) looking for the right book to read and to enjoy and sometimes with luck ... I find a missing issue of the storyline that I liked the most and this activity that I did in those days were fun and exciting to see the issue that you are searching for! I miss that LCS and when around 1998 ... that LCS went out of business and I did not know that because I went to Hawaii for a two week trip and came home seeing it close shop and that's was one of the saddest days in my life. It's took me 3 years to find another LCS that I like and it was closer to work!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2018 14:05:55 GMT -5
Remember When....
Comics were everywhere. In the waiting room at the doctor's office. At the dentist. At the barber. In Mom & Pop stores. Pharmacies. Grocery stores. Convenience stores. Flea markets. Book sales.
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Post by brutalis on Jan 16, 2018 15:07:56 GMT -5
Remember When....Comics were everywhere. In the waiting room at the doctor's office. At the dentist. At the barber. In Mom & Pop stores. Pharmacies. Grocery stores. Convenience stores. Flea markets. Book sales. Oh yes, some of my great finds early on were through flea marts/swap meets and mom and pop shops who would stock odds and end comics and were more like the current Dollar stores where you could get almost anything. Going to the barber shop was great because you would find comics you haven't read or seen to add on t your want list whenever you were grocery shopping with your parents. Every Friday was pay day for my dad so went straight to the local market when he got in from work. Was able to convince them every so often into letting me get a comic and while my mom would do the shopping dad walked us 3 boys to the end of the strip mall where there was a Dairy Queen. So a fond memory for me is eating my DQ Dilly while reading a new comic
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Post by brutalis on Jan 23, 2018 8:48:14 GMT -5
Remember When: Superman the movie with Christopher Reeve was the pinnacle of comic book movies in theaters? Marvel had yet to create a big screen movie even with Stan the Man having moved to California and pushing to have Marvel in Hollywood. Superhero/comic book movies were considered small potatoes and for kids in cartoons and television shows. The closest to heroic comic book marquee movies were the occasional Tarzan or Flash Gordon and Chinese Kung Fu movies and it was DC/Warner Bros Superman in 1978 which finally proved spending the big bucks on a comic book movie was worth the effort. Before this movie the special effects were prohibitive and even then highly expensive to highlighting the powers and abilities of the Man of Steel. If this had flopped we might still be reading and not watching at the movies. I and millions across the world were delighted to believe a man can fly.
Christopher Reeve is Superman on the big screen to many and while the movie series quickly declined it is that 1st and 2nd movie which are still a highlight and cornerstone of Superheroes moving from the news stand and into Hollywood.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2018 10:27:00 GMT -5
Remember When: Superman the movie with Christopher Reeve was the pinnacle of comic book movies in theaters? Marvel had yet to create a big screen movie even with Stan the Man having moved to California and pushing to have Marvel in Hollywood. Superhero/comic book movies were considered small potatoes and for kids in cartoons and television shows. The closest to heroic comic book marquee movies were the occasional Tarzan or Flash Gordon and Chinese Kung Fu movies and it was DC/Warner Bros Superman in 1978 which finally proved spending the big bucks on a comic book movie was worth the effort. Before this movie the special effects were prohibitive and even then highly expensive to highlighting the powers and abilities of the Man of Steel. If this had flopped we might still be reading and not watching at the movies. I and millions across the world were delighted to believe a man can fly. Christopher Reeve is Superman on the big screen to many and while the movie series quickly declined it is that 1st and 2nd movie which are still a highlight and cornerstone of Superheroes moving from the news stand and into Hollywood. I watched that movie on the big screen over dozen of times and hid in the bathroom so that I can see it again and I've didn't get caught! ... I was in awe seeing him fly and saving Lois Lane in that Helicopter Scene that defined that movie!
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Post by MDG on Jan 23, 2018 11:26:55 GMT -5
Remember When: Superman the movie with Christopher Reeve was the pinnacle of comic book movies in theaters? Marvel had yet to create a big screen movie even with Stan the Man having moved to California and pushing to have Marvel in Hollywood. Superhero/comic book movies were considered small potatoes and for kids in cartoons and television shows. The closest to heroic comic book marquee movies were the occasional Tarzan or Flash Gordon and Chinese Kung Fu movies and it was DC/Warner Bros Superman in 1978 which finally proved spending the big bucks on a comic book movie was worth the effort. Before this movie the special effects were prohibitive and even then highly expensive to highlighting the powers and abilities of the Man of Steel. If this had flopped we might still be reading and not watching at the movies. I and millions across the world were delighted to believe a man can fly. Christopher Reeve is Superman on the big screen to many and while the movie series quickly declined it is that 1st and 2nd movie which are still a highlight and cornerstone of Superheroes moving from the news stand and into Hollywood. I watched that movie on the big screen over dozen of times and hid in the bathroom so that I can see it again and I've didn't get caught! ... I was in awe seeing him fly and saving Lois Lane in that Helicopter Scene that defined that movie! I watched it again recently and was pleasantly surprised how well it held up. I think that's mainly because it wasn't "a superhero movie"--it was a movie with a superhero in it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2018 11:34:07 GMT -5
I watched that movie on the big screen over dozen of times and hid in the bathroom so that I can see it again and I've didn't get caught! ... I was in awe seeing him fly and saving Lois Lane in that Helicopter Scene that defined that movie! I watched it again recently and was pleasantly surprised how well it held up. I think that's mainly because it wasn't "a superhero movie"--it was a movie with a superhero in it. Beautifully said and I've seen this movie a month ago on my friend 65 inch TV and still enjoyed it immensely. Christopher Reeve was simply sensational.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Jan 23, 2018 22:30:53 GMT -5
Remember When: Superman the movie with Christopher Reeve was the pinnacle of comic book movies in theaters? Superman the Movie still is the pinnacle of superhero movies...in the threatre, on TV or anywhere else. Never bettered in 40 years.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 23, 2018 23:30:33 GMT -5
Remember When: Superman the movie with Christopher Reeve was the pinnacle of comic book movies in theaters? Superman the Movie still is the pinnacle of superhero movies...in the threatre, on TV or anywhere else. Never bettered in 40 years. Too bad it has to have stupid Superman in it. Needless to say...I disagree.
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Post by berkley on Jan 24, 2018 1:05:40 GMT -5
I don't think there are any superhero movies that I feel much nostalgia for ... maybe partly because I was already too old by the time they started coming out in the late 70s or early 80s, but also because I don't think the genre really translates well to the screen. At best they're a kind of forgettable entertainment. Not even the best of them work as well as the comics, IMO.
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