My long boring Valiant story......

How did you become a VALIANT collector?

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rlute11
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My long boring Valiant story......

Post by rlute11 »

Warning!!! This is long. If you feel like reading this make sure you have some time. And some coffee. And you need to be really bored or something. Otherwise come back later or just skip it and post “Welcome to the boards”!



In all the years I’m been lurking around here, I’ve never had much of a desire to post. I enjoy reading what you all have to say, but I’ve never felt I had much to contribute. I used to come by once a week or so, but since the big news broke I’m finding myself here at least once a day. I’m sorta itching to throw in a post or two, but it feels like I should start here. I’ll never be a person who posts often, or posts particularly intelligent comments, but sarcastic remarks are a definite possibility.

So…. here’s my Valiant story.

It was 1991. Wait, no it wasn’t, it was 1986. I was 11 and lived in an extra small town in central Idaho (Potlatch). I would walk down to the small drug store to buy candy bars, legos, or G.I. Joe guys, depending on how much money I could scrape together. Right inside the door they had a large rack of comic books. It was as tall as I was, and at least 4 feet long. All the comics neatly arranged side by side. I would slow down to gaze at all the colors and logos, but would quickly walk away as to not get caught.

I have no idea where this came from, but for some reason I thought of these comics as forbidden fruit. These were for older kids, and I didn’t want to get caught looking at them. This was a small town of 800 people, and if the clerk caught me looking at them, soon the whole town would know. What embarrassment! What shame! No clue why I thought this, but I always felt the eyes of the clerk watching me suspiciously as I walked past that rack of comics. It just nurtured my lust for them.

One summer day in 1986 I found myself in possession of $10 of mad money. After years of pent up desire, I finally decided, to hell with it. I going down there and spending ALL $10 on comic books. To hell with the shop owner, to hell with rules and etiquette, and to hell with submitting my family to public humiliation. I walked down there, threw open the door, stepped over to the comics and checked the clerks eyes.

He was staring right at me.

Glup! I turned my back to him so I wouldn’t think about what I was doing. For the first time I picked up some of the comics and held them in my hands. Which ones should I buy? They were $.75 each so I decided I’d pick out 10. Actually looking at the covers and the art was so exciting. I picked up G.I. Joe #52. I watched the cartoon every day so I was pretty excited. I started flipping through it and wound up reading the whole thing while I stood there. Since I read the whole thing I didn’t think I needed to buy it anymore. Plus I’d been there for so long, I chickened out and bought I G.I. Joe action figure instead.

To this day I am somewhat embarrassed by my addiction to this hobby. I do not have a single friend who share’s it. Outside of my wife and my family very few people who know me know I collect comic books. I’m thankful for places like this where I feel understood.

I didn’t actually start collecting comic books until 1989 when I was 14. We had moved to a small town in Eastern Washington of about 12,000 (Moses Lake) that had a sports card shop. It also sold new comics and had several long boxes of back issues. My dad went there to talk to the owner about something and came home with Star Wars #11. Being an even bigger Star Wars fan than G.I. Joe fan, I immediately decided I now collected Star Wars comic books. I went down there next day and bought all 12 issues he had, plus around 6 G.I Joe’s. Now what?

I discovered a large comic shop in a larger town an hour away (Spokane, WA). Over the next few years I bought most of the back issues of those two titles, started collecting new comics (all Marvel) and became an authority on ordering through the mail.

For better of worse, my dad encouraged this new hobby. Unfortunately, he was interested in the investment potential. I was totally duped by those catch lines in the American Entertainment catalogs. “Please make sure you order enough copies!!!” and such. Sure, I got 50 copies of X-Force #1 and X-Men #1 like all the other idiots out there. But I also bought 10 copies of Wolverine #50, ASM #358, X-Factor 71 and many similar “can’t miss hits!” All I had to do was explain to my dad why this or that was going to be valuable, and he got it for me. At this point I was getting an allowance and did farm work in the summer, so I had some money. But never enough to satiate my ridiculous appetite. My dad would let me use his credit card but I had to pay him back.

At the same time I was also buying back issues for my collection. Mostly Star Wars, G.I. Joe, X-Men, Punisher and Avengers. I wanted to get every issue. The comic shop an hour away was great, but I often went the mail order route.

In 1991, for a mail order I needed to add $1.75 to get free shipping. I picked a recent book listed under Independents. Magnus Robot Fighter #1.

I thought it was cool, but it wasn’t Marvel. So I forgot about it.

When Unity was solicited, I remembered. I got excited about it, so I ordered 5 copies of the entire crossover. In fact I was so excited I thought I should start collecting all the valiant issues up to Unity. But I waited. That was dumb.

After reading Unity, I immediately tried to get all those pre-unity issues. You know, along with everybody else. I also stopped collecting most of the Marvel titles I had been getting and started getting every Valiant instead. I could just tell. This was the place to be for great stories.

Getting those early issues was very hard. Thanks to my dad the investment genius, I managed to get several before the prices got way out of hand. First was Harbinger #1 – 6 for $90. I thought it was a steal. I got Rai #1, X-O #1, Shadowman #1 and Solar #1 and #3 for $20 each. My dad gave me Magnus #12 for my birthday. He paid $75.

In ’92 and ’93 I managed to pick up almost every pre-unity book. I loved them. I now was collecting Valiant exclusively. I even quit buying X-Men and Ultraverse. I was buying two copies of every issue. You know, just in case. I bought 20 copies of Bloodshot #1 and 10 copies Turok #1. Plus multiplies of Rai #9, Bloodshot #6 and #7, and Shadowman #16.

In 1994 I was a senior in High School. Still slightly embarrassed about my hobby. I was elected as Senior King of the Sweetheart dance. As part of it, I had to fill out a form about myself. No big deal. Under hobbies I put that I collected comic books.

The next day, I had to walk down the center of the gym, in front of 1,200 students, while MY FORM WAS READ ALOUD!!! I was stiff as a board and pale as a ghost. I didn’t know they were going to read them in front of everybody! After that, I got sick when I thought of comics.

I decided it was time to cash out. Not everything of course. It was too soon for the newer stuff. But I tried to sell some older things I thought would be easy to move. Of course it wasn’t. The realization that everything I had was actually worthless maDe me want to get even further away. I went completely cold turkey and walked away from comics.

Of course I have to collect something, it’s how I was born. I got into Magic cards. I discovered that when I get into something, I don’t get in halfway. It’s a curse. Through six years of college I collected Magic cards new and old. Eventually I grew tired of the constant new sets that would come out 3 or 4 times a year. I was wasting too much money on it and not actually playing and enjoying them enough.

In January 2000 I discovered how easy it is to sell on ebay. In one night I listed 100 Magic cards and made several hundred dollars. I eventually sold my entire collection and made over $1500. The comic books were next.

I decided to sell my Star Wars and G.I Joe collections first. I had almost a complete set of each. I figured I just had to get the few remaining issues I needed, and then I would sell them each as a set. So I bought them on ebay. That’s all it took. I was hooked again. Damn!

It was so easy buying on ebay. Plus I had $1500 I didn’t have before. I got all kinds of books I had wanted before but couldn’t afford. Of course, I didn’t buy a NM copy of Hulk #181 for $500, or anything foolish like that. I didn’t want to waste it all on at once.

I did get a Harby #0 pink and a Unity #0 Red and a Rai #3 and #4 and finished up my Pre-Unity set. Then I found this website. That inspired me to want to collect the entire Valiant Universe. So I started finishing complete runs. I completed A&A, EW, Harby, Rai, Shadowman, Magnus. Mostly I bought in bulk on ebay, but I eventually registered on here so I could buy some things from a few members. Sometime in there I won a near complete NM pre-unity run for $125. So I had to finish that one as well. Got a second Harby pink and Unity red. Never could get a cear though.

At this time I was living in a medium-sized town for WA (Yakima) that had three comic stores. It took me a few years to actually go in them and look around. I found a few books I needed in the quarter bins. Both VvVU price variants, which I eventually sold here, were there but overall it was a disappointment. So I stuck to online shopping.

I don’t know if I have a short attention span or what (then why am I writing so much??? Serious, is ANYONE still reading this?), but I stopped buying Valiants around two years ago. I was just burnt out. I hadn’t finished X-O, Solar and several of the smaller titles, but I figured, especially with the Gold books, that if I waited, the prices would go down more. Because Valiant isn’t really coming back. Right?

So I stopped, but after selling a bunch of random junk in my house, I completed a few runs I had started years earlier, and started and finished new ones. X-Men 94 – 350, Conan 1 – 115, Avengers 84 – 200, ASM 228 – 370, Fantastic Four 48 – 123, Tomb of Dracula 7 – 70, Miracleman 1 – 24, and large runs of Hulk, Captain America, New Mutants, Thor, early Silver Surfer, Warlock, Iron Fist, Amazing Adventures Squadron Supreme and Werewolf by Night. I even started buying 70’s Batman, Weird Western Tales and DC war titles plus other random sets and series I had never even knew I wanted.

Then I read in here about the Harbinger hardback. What was I thinking? Why didn’t I finish my Valiant collection first? I should have at least gotten a cear before I got all Marvel 70’s and 80’s crazy. Oh well, now I’m working on it. I’m almost done too.

So that’s where I am now. I need less than 10 books so the end is in sight. For some reason I just love these Valiant books. Even the stories that suck. I love ‘em. I really hope Valiant comes back in a strong and successful way. It feels like it would validate my passion for them. I might even have to buy my first new comic book since 1994. How much do these things cost now anway…..?

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tarheelmarine
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Post by tarheelmarine »

Did you finish the GI JOE run? I have an almost complete set of it, though many of my copies are reading copies. There are a few I still need.

I am with you on the CEAR.

Don't be ashamed of the hobby, it keeps you young. :thumb:

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Daniel Jackson
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Post by Daniel Jackson »

Great story. Welcome the the site, I'm sure there are more than a few members here who can help you finish your collection. The CEAR may be bit tough and get ready to pay some $$$ when you do find one.

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Post by cobra_commander »

Welcome to the boards :thumb:

I haven't read yr post :oops:

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Welcome

Post by dac55 »

Welcome. Stay awhile. :thumb: Great story. Keep the Ultraverse Books. :thumb:


David

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Post by Elveen »

Hola compadre....

welcome to the place where we all are.

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rlute11
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Post by rlute11 »

tarheelmarine wrote:Did you finish the GI JOE run? I have an almost complete set of it, though many of my copies are reading copies. There are a few I still need.

I am with you on the CEAR.

Don't be ashamed of the hobby, it keeps you young. :thumb:

Yeah, I finished GI Joe and Star Wars back in 2000. When I first found ebay. It was probably easier then.

A few years ago I got outbid on just about every cear that sprung up on ebay. Now they cost more and they don't pop up as much. Oh, and I have less money now too.

So, yeah.

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rlute11
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Post by rlute11 »

Daniel Jackson wrote:I'm sure there are more than a few members here who can help you finish your collection.
Yeah, I'm waiting to get two lots of auction wins, so I know I actually have those books, then I'm going to post the last books I need in the buy/sell section like everyone else has been doing recently. Hopefully that will help.

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rlute11
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Re: Welcome

Post by rlute11 »

dac55 wrote: Keep the Ultraverse Books. :thumb:
I will, but I can't pull them out and look at them or else I'll have an uncontrollable urge to get them all. That's what happened with Defiant.

Oh and I just accidently bought complete runs of two Crossgen titles, just because I read about them in Dead Universes. What the hell was I thinking!? Now I collect those too!!!

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betterthanezra
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Post by betterthanezra »

Welcome to the boards :thumb:

I read the WHOLE thing and in one sitting...

-Brian

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Post by Elveen »

betterthanezra wrote:Welcome to the boards :thumb:

I read the WHOLE thing and in one sitting...

-Brian

I started....... stopped..... then finished.

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Post by Chuck »

Dude, that was long.

Welcome :thumb:
Image

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Post by SnotDrip »

welcome as well :thumb:

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Post by Zero »

Image

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Post by Dr. Solar »

Welcome to the bored.

Cool story. At least the parts I read. I at least skimmed through it all.

My first comic was G.I. Joe also. Issue 85.

I wasn't elected senior king of the sweetheart dance though.

I was elected most likely to spend his 20s meditating under a mango tree. My 20s are almost up and boy did I prove THEM wrong.

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Post by X-O HoboJoe »

Dr. Solar wrote:Welcome to the bored.

Cool story. At least the parts I read. I at least skimmed through it all.

My first comic was G.I. Joe also. Issue 85.

I wasn't elected senior king of the sweetheart dance though.

I was elected most likely to spend his 20s meditating under a mango tree. My 20s are almost up and boy did I prove THEM wrong.
So, uh . . . just what DID you do to that mango tree? :o

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tarheelmarine
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Post by tarheelmarine »

X-O HoboJoe wrote:
Dr. Solar wrote:Welcome to the bored.

Cool story. At least the parts I read. I at least skimmed through it all.

My first comic was G.I. Joe also. Issue 85.

I wasn't elected senior king of the sweetheart dance though.

I was elected most likely to spend his 20s meditating under a mango tree. My 20s are almost up and boy did I prove THEM wrong.
So, uh . . . just what DID you do to that mango tree? :o
:hm:

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Re: My long boring Valiant story......

Post by Lightning Strike »

Excellent story! Makes me wonder how much I would get if I sold off all of my kids' Star Wars figures, ships and accessories (they have TONS of them). Not that I would, but it makes me wonder. :hm:

Anyhow, welcome to the boards! :)

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Post by Lightning Strike »

Daniel Jackson wrote:Great story. Welcome the the site, I'm sure there are more than a few members here who can help you finish your collection. The CEAR may be bit tough and get ready to pay some $$$ when you do find one.
I've been looking for one for a while now and yes, they will cost you some $$$.
I keep saying to myself "be patient, you'll get a steal one of these times", but then I'm reminded of all of you guys. :!: :wink:

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Re: Welcome

Post by Lightning Strike »

rlute11 wrote:
Oh and I just accidently bought complete runs of two Crossgen titles, just because I read about them in Dead Universes. What the hell was I thinking!? Now I collect those too!!!
Oooooo, was one of them Negation?! If not, you MUST get that series! :)

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Post by Lightning Strike »

Dr. Solar wrote:
My first comic was G.I. Joe also. Issue 85.
My first comic wasn't a G.I. Joe, but my first G.I. Joe comic was the "silent" issue, and I thought it was awesome.

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Post by Lightning Strike »

X-O HoboJoe wrote:
Dr. Solar wrote:Welcome to the bored.

Cool story. At least the parts I read. I at least skimmed through it all.

My first comic was G.I. Joe also. Issue 85.

I wasn't elected senior king of the sweetheart dance though.

I was elected most likely to spend his 20s meditating under a mango tree. My 20s are almost up and boy did I prove THEM wrong.
So, uh . . . just what DID you do to that mango tree? :o
:lol:

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Post by Dr. Solar »

Lightning Strike wrote:
X-O HoboJoe wrote:
Dr. Solar wrote:Welcome to the bored.

Cool story. At least the parts I read. I at least skimmed through it all.

My first comic was G.I. Joe also. Issue 85.

I wasn't elected senior king of the sweetheart dance though.

I was elected most likely to spend his 20s meditating under a mango tree. My 20s are almost up and boy did I prove THEM wrong.
So, uh . . . just what DID you do to that mango tree? :o
:lol:
i don't get it

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Post by Chiclo »

Dr. Solar wrote:
Lightning Strike wrote:
X-O HoboJoe wrote:
Dr. Solar wrote:Welcome to the bored.

Cool story. At least the parts I read. I at least skimmed through it all.

My first comic was G.I. Joe also. Issue 85.

I wasn't elected senior king of the sweetheart dance though.

I was elected most likely to spend his 20s meditating under a mango tree. My 20s are almost up and boy did I prove THEM wrong.
So, uh . . . just what DID you do to that mango tree? :o
:lol:
i don't get it
You said that you were not meditating under a mango tree during your 20s.

They asked what you were doing under the tree, implying you were still there but not meditating.

The implication is that you were beating your meat like it owes you money under a mango tree during your 20s.

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Post by cobra_commander »

Way to bogart rlute's VALIANT story, Lightning strike :roll: :lol:


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