Twofold Comics

Archive for January, 2010

Do you collect comics for fun or profit? Well if you’re like most collectors, it’s a little of both. Regardless, if you think that one day you may sell some or all of your comics (and it seems many of us do) you may want to learn more about “slabbing.” Slabbing is the process of having your comics professionally graded, and then encased between two sheets of hard plastic (some sources identify this plastic as “Barex”, but there’s some controversy as to what type of plastic it is). A special paper that prevents acidification is tucked into the comic as part of this process. Slabbing protects the comic from weather extremes, mositure, dust, and all the other things that can decrease a comic’s value.

Collectors both love and hate slabbing–there is no middle ground. First, here’s why they love it. Slabbing protects a comic indefinitely (no one knows for how long exactly, as the process is so new). Once slabbled you don’t have to worry that your prized Superman, Batman, X-Men, Spiderman, or Archie comic will lose its value, or any of its “eye appeal.” That’s a big plus! Also the slabbing company (Comics Guaranty, LTD or CGC is the major one, although there are others) will grade your comic as part of the process. Grades are on a .5 to 10-point scale with .5 being poor and 10 being Mint. When you’re looking to value and/or sell your comics it’s a great advantage to have it graded. It’s much easier to sell a comic if you can say it’s a CGC 6.0, instead of “in my opinion it’s in Fine condition.” I know this from personal experience and from talking to other sellers, including those selling comics, for my book eBay PowerSeller Secrets.

Now, here’s why some collectors hate slabbing. Once a comic is slabbed you can’t read it! You can’t take it out from between the plastic that encases it without destroying the seal that the grading company puts along the top of the case. Once that seal is broken the grade is no longer guaranteed. That makes sense because if you take it out you may change its condition somehow, thus reducing its grade. (Although I think most collectors would be careful enough not to harm their comics.) So if you are going to slab a comic you have to get used to the idea that forever it will be encased between plastic sheets. You’ll still be able to see its front and back covers but you won’t be able to page through it. That’s a tough thing to get used to. Also, slabbing ain’t cheap. Depending primarily on the comic’s age it can easily set you back $50 once you figure in shipping and insurance. And here’s something that’s not discussed all that much: the cases get scratched easily, and when light hits those scratches your beautifully encased comic doesn’t look so hot. New cases aren’t as expensive as the original ones if the comics don’t have to be regraded, but you still have to pay for shipping and insurance to CGC and back.

There are more pros and cons to this slabbing business but those are the main ones.

My advice? Slab Golden Age comics that are worth at least $150. (Because more modern comics are cheaper to slab, you may consider slabbing one of those if its current value is $100 or so.) It’s worth the cost in the long run and at $150, a comic is a pretty valuable investment, which will likely appreciate over time. There’s great peace of mind that comes from knowing your comic will not lose any value after you slab it (barring a change in market conditions, of course). If you want to be able to read your comic, you can also search the web for a PDF version of it. These are available from newsgroups devoted to the hobby. Or you can buy one of those printed compilations of old comics.

Enjoy your hobby! Comics are a snapshot of American pop culture, just like magazines or fashions. Besides they can bring back some great memories.

It was interesting watching most people getting in line to enter the San Diego Convention Center. People were picking up their one day passes and more people were picking up their 4-day passes. Best of all, people were dressing up in costume. Today was the first real day of Comic-Con. That meant bigger crowds than Preview Night, panels, and other excitement.

The first large panel in Hall H was the Fox panel for “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “Max Payne”. Keanu Reeves was there for “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and Mark Wahlberg was there for Max Payne. Then Hugh Jackman made a surprise appearance to promote the Wolverine movie coming out in 2009. Though, it seemed the biggest event of the day was the second panel in Hall H. It was a panel for the new teen vampire movie Twilight – thousands of screaming girls. (When I am trying to find out information on a new movie, I just go to 104Movie.com)

DC made an announcement about their new massive-multiplayer online (MMO) game. This will be their chance to combine MMO gaming, social networking, and comics. Jim Lee is going to be the executive creative director and that should add a lot of credibility to the venture. Sony Online Entertainment is the co-developer of the project. (A great business networking site is 104inc.com)

I got to see the premiere episode of “Fringe” by chance. Fox was showing the premiere episode at various times at one of the local movie theaters. I was wandering by and someone asked me if I wanted to watch the episode. The theater was about half full for the 7:30 showing. The show got a pretty good reception from the audience.

It was only a few years ago that the ownership of camcorders was limited only to those who could afford to cough up the hundreds of pounds required to buy one. Nowadays, you get one on your mobile phone.

The rise of the digital camcorder has been a surprisingly swift one that saw digital recording move from handheld devices created for the specific purpose of making videos to just another extra on your camera or mobile phone in barely any time at all. Of course, with the speed that today’s technological advancement moves at, where one product has barely hit the shelves before the newer, improved model is announced, is this really a surprise? Not exactly, but that doesn’t make looking back over the short life of the camcorder any less interesting.

The first camcorders worked using video tapes and were not only expensive, but bulky too. They were created during the 80s and operated by being held in the hands or screwed onto a tripod. However, it wasn’t long before one of technology’s favourite design enhancements – miniaturisation – took hold and camcorders began to shrink rapidly until they were as easy to carry around as a normal camera. Once the industry had began to boom in the 90s, camcorders switched from VHS recording to their own format, VHS-C, which unfortunately wasn’t too compatible with most VHS players. This created many problems when people found it difficult to find ways to play back their movies other than on the camcorder itself!

Following that, however, came the age of digital cameras. This new breed of camcorder used very small tapes called MiniDV tapes, which could be edited using a computer by connecting the camcorder via USB. This incredible technology changed the way camcorders were used and began to make way for people creating and editing their own videos and movies. The MiniDV used with digital camcorders was created in 1996, which just goes to show how recent the technology is.

Today, many camcorders still use MiniDVs as they are convenient and easy to use. That is, of course, if you’re using a proper camcorder as opposed to a camera with a recording function or even the video mode on your mobile phone! It’s amazing how many items of technology have a camcorder built in and it could well be the case that this is the way the industry will continue – but until then, while proper camcorders as the ones that fully do the job, a digital camcorder that functions as nothing other than a digital camcorder – well, perhaps with some photographic talent – is the way to go.