Anybody found any bargains in unexpected places?

[tony ingram]

Bill is not 'nearly brain dead' incidentally, he is aware of his surroundings, though he will never really recover.

Poor Guy! In a way that sounds almost worse - to be seriously brain damaged, yet still aware of what one has lost! Hadn't he recently qualified as a lawyer when it happened?
- Phil R.

Yes, he passed the bar in the late eighties. He had his 'accident' in 1992, was in a coma for awhile, and has been in full time care ever since. His health insurance was used up years ago so his family are now paying for his care. In 2007, a benefit book-'Mantlo: a Life in Comics'-was released to raise funds to assist them with the costs. Sometimes, I feel very glad I live in a country with the NHS.

[felneymike]

My parents offered to take me to the photo-oppurtunity-filled Happisburgh recently, as my entire family appears to have gotten into "proper" photography (i took a few snaps with my mobile so as not to be left out XD). Anyway after that we went to Cromer and stumbled upon a secondhand book shop where i found "The Empire Annual For Boys" from 1912 in great condition. There's a shop in Cambridge that would try and charge £50 for such a thing, and my two main sources in Lincoln would probably go for the region of £10, so what did i pay for it? £2.50!

It's published by the Religious Tract Society, which makes it sound dull until you realise they were the people beind the original Boys' Own Paper!, very unusually the first story in it actually features a woman as the main character... and she rides across the African plains, climbs a cliff and then wades into a horde of bloodthirsty natives with a blazing sixgun in each hand! I know the Suffragettes were gaining influence rapidly at that time, but it was still a bit of a surprise.

[presterjohn]

The Marvels in question, from memory were awful titles like Rom Spaceknight, Supervillian team-up and Omega (which I never liked - some did) not a great time IMHO for US comics in general. They pulped those great comics?? awwww still it was the war I'll allow that lol

I would have been heart broken if I had found any Archie comics in any comics bundle but pretty pleased to find Rom or Super villain Team-up. It just goes to show you that though we may all love comics here we often have very individual tastes. Viva la difference.

[nostalgicdon]

Having had my interest in comics resurrected a few weeks ago I started to look round for bargains. So far I`ve bought "The Golden Years Of Adventure Stories" ( D.C. Thomson ) and "Sporting Supermen" by Brendan Gallagher from The Works bookshop in Telford for £3-99p each.
Today I`ve bought a near mint "International Book Of Comics" by Denis Gifford from a local table top sale for £1-50p.
Yesterday I went to a Comic Fair in Birmingham organised by Golden Orbit, unfortunately there were predominantly American comics. However, I did use the opportunity to monitor prices on the few Brirish wares on offer. "The Ultimate Book Of British Books" was £14-99, mine was £4-59p inc post from Abebooks on the internet.
Tatty copies of eighties Hotspurs were £2 each, most Graphic novels were full cover price.
I spent 50p on a Lone Ranger comic and left sadder but wiser.It would appear to me that, even with hiked up postage charges, Ebay is the most cost effective way of collecting comics.

[bubbadog]

Yesterday I went to a Comic Fair in Birmingham organised by Golden Orbit, unfortunately there were predominantly American comics. However, I did use the opportunity to monitor prices on the few Brirish wares on offer. "The Ultimate Book Of British Books" was £14-99, mine was £4-59p inc post from Abebooks on the internet.
Tatty copies of eighties Hotspurs were £2 each, most Graphic novels were full cover price.
I spent 50p on a Lone Ranger comic and left sadder but wiser.It would appear to me that, even with hiked up postage charges, Ebay is the most cost effective way of collecting comics.

It is reading posts such as this which make me wonder if BICS in October is worth attending. Can anyone advise. My love is British Comics, not interested in the American offerings. I am a local to Brum.

[Lew Stringer]

It is reading posts such as this which make me wonder if BICS in October is worth attending. Can anyone advise. My love is British Comics, not interested in the American offerings. I am a local to Brum.

I think it depends on your specific area of interest. If it includes current British comics then you might be pleased to meet creators working on those titles, most of whom tend to attend such events. If your interest is solely nostalgia, it might not be for you.

If your main interest is buying old British comics, you might be disappointed as that's not what a comic show is really about. Having said that, if dealers such as Phil Clarke are there (and he probably will be, given he lives in that area) he may have old UK comics for sale.

If you're interested in the modern British small press/indie scene I'm sure there'll be plenty on offer. (For example publishers such as Accent UK, Futurequake, Gary Millidge, Knockabout, and Time Bomb Comics will all be exhibiting.)

http://www.thecomicsshow.co.uk/

The other thing is that many of today's British artists and writers work for American publishers, so the difference in style between the two countries is less distinct than it used to be. For example, the new Batman and Robin comic is written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quitely. OK, it's published by DC Comics, but if you liked Morrison and Quitely's work in British comics what difference does an American publisher make? Same goes for the work of Dave Gibbons, Kev O'Neill, Sean Phillips, Steve Pugh etc. Seems a shame to miss out of some of the top UK talent just because they're published by a company in New York.

Hope that helps?

Lew

[bubbadog]

many thanks Lew for the informative response. I think that I am edging towards attending but now have a better feel for what's on offer at the show.

Back to bargains in unexpected places, not so much of a bargain but a big (and pleasant) surprise. I was working in Bucharest a couple of summers ago and ended up with a free day to explore. I wandered around enjoying the sunshine and stumbled across a guy selling second hand books off a large table. I had a look but everything seemed to be in Romanian, however the stallholder must have spotted the foreigner and began waving to me to come over. I was amazed when he pulled out a box from under the table containing a batch of about 20 Air Ace digests. These were quickly purchased (maybe about a quid or two for the lot) and subsequently enjoyed, condition was great by the way.