Tag Archives: Spider-Man

Dukes of Jersey

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For those of us who grew up in the ’70s and ’80s, The Dukes of Hazard was a staple of Friday Night television, even if you weren’t a fanatic(and I wasn’t), but there was a certain charm to the Duke clan, who consisted of Uncle Jesse, cousins Bo, Luke and Daisy (and Coy and Vance, who were the “scab” cousins introduced after Tom Wopat and John Schneider left due to financial disagreements.) Even in their theme song, the family is referred to as “modern-day Robin Hoods. What comic fan of the time didn’t have a soft spot in their hearts for these lovable rogues?

The gentleman who came in to sell his Dukes of Hazard wares was affable enough.  And he gave us a great deal on some rare Dukes items.  The cherry on top, however, was a ride in his General Lee.  He put almost a decade’s worth of effort into this car and it showed, in every perfect detail down to the jugs and TNT (really road flares) in his trunk.  Getting to ride in this car fulfilled a dream I didn’t even know I had:  I got to be a Duke for an afternoon.  

The dude who brought in the Amazing Spider-Man comics came in with some champagne dreams.  His asking price of $3,000 was completely unrealistic given the condition of the books…while they were not as bad as some comics I’ve seen, they were a far cry from the condition they needed to be in to get the money he wanted.  I stand behind my assessment of their value and think that we came to a reasonable compromise.  

The Green Goblin IS Spider-Man’s arch nemesis, even though Norman Osbourn was “dead” in the comics for twenty-five years.  And while others tried to take his place, most notably, his son, Harry, who was Peter Parker’s best friend, no one could match the evil and madness Norman exuded.  When I commented that these two particular books were ‘book-ends’ what I was meant was that issue #14 was the Green Goblin’s first appearance and issue #122 was his final appearance (until they brought him back in the 1990’s during the whole clone saga–and the less said about that, the better).  These are two pretty kick-ass books and are must-haves for any Spider-Man fan.  

Our Canadian Brony.  Well, he certainly was intense and had a true passion for My Little Pony.  I’ve never understood the allure of this phenomenon of My Little Pony, especially among young to middle-aged men.  It’s been speculated that former president Bill Clinton is a Brony, which would explain a lot.  Thank God this was not the only thing he brought with him or it would have been a long trip for nothing.  The Chris Hemsworth THOR statue WAS something we were very interested in, but it being an artists proof and not coming with a box or a certificate of authenticity almost squashed the deal.  But, since this was a prototype of a very popular character made, it was worth a leap of faith on Walt’s part.  And as a personal aside…I’m glad I got the tattoo I got rather than the tattoo he has.

And lastly, while not well received in The Stash, Star Trek has been near and dear to my heart since I was in high school.  The philosophy of Gene Roddenberry struck a chord with me in my adolescence.  I found this fella’s story to be pretty cool; basically, he wanted to replace for his cousin a Mego Starship Enterprise bridge playlet he had broken when he was sick as a child.  Walt let him slide A LOT regarding price.  I guess he felt a kinship…it seems to be happening more and more the older Walt gets.  

Bryan had some great one-liners in this episode and even Ming got off a zinger or two.  By the way, don’t bother trolling the internet looking for Bryan and my sex tape.  It’s locked away in an unmarked wooden box in a storage unit located somewhere in Area 51….

And there ya go!

 

 

 

 

Con Men

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SOLD!

Let me tell you, cataloguing a 27,000 piece comic book collection is some Tough Sh*t.  This episode showcases Gary Conover’s collection — one of the most impressive I have ever seen, and I’ve seen many.  Gary was a reservist at the Secret Stash from day one.

Unfortunately, it was time for him to sell his collection, and he turned to us to help him.  We could have bought it for the store, but circumstances of running a business would require us to buy it at wholesale prices, meaning Gary would not get the most money for his books.   Luckily, he is one of our favorites, and so we were all happy to volunteer to put on an auction for free and run a mini-con to help him make the most money he could to help defray medical expenses.

More on the Con in a second.  Let’s get to some of our transactions.

The He-Man cel — for those not familiar with this 1980’s cartoon, He-Man was a toy line produced by Mattel.  Filmation, in conjunction with Mattel, produced He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, a cartoon that was essentially a 22 minute commercial for the toys.  The cels that this gentleman brought in are fairly common, although the color schematic was pretty cool.  Even without the overlay, it’s a fairly valuable piece.  

Geek Note:  DC Comics produced an insert in which Superman met with He-Man in the early 1980’s.  In their encounter, because He-Man’s power is magical in nature, he held a slight advantage over the Man of Steel.  

Next up, Amazing Spider-Man #300.  This book is significant because it introduces the villain known as Venom.  Comic fans will no doubt realize that the symbiote that makes up one half of Venom was originally the alien costume that Spider-Man got during Marvel’s Secret Wars “Issue #8” which had its first appearance in Marvel Team Up #141 and Amazing Spider-Man #252.  Because Spider-Man was repulsed by the idea of an alien sharing his body, he went to the Fantastic Four, specifically their leader, Mr. Fantastic, in an effort to rid himself of the parasite. Using sonic energy, Mr. Fantastic was able to accomplish the split. 

Feeling betrayed, the symbiote bonded with Eddie Brock who harbored animosity toward both Peter Parker AND Spider-Man.  A photo-journalist rival of Parker’s, Brock was discredited and publicly humiliated by Spider-Man.  

Walt is right.  Fans LOVE Venom.  My seven-year old son loves Venom.  

Ah, Kiiiirrrrrk!  The Admiral Kirk doll, signed by William Shatner, from the movie, The Wrath of Khan.  Please realize, Star Trek is not terribly popular in the Stash and, my geek reputation takes a pounding whenever Trek is brought up.  But I love Star Trek.  Sure, they talk a lot, but in the 1960’s they really didn’t have many cool special effects.  And Gene Roddenberry’s vision for the future was one of galactic harmony.  Sure, he threw in a Klingon here and a Romulan there, but he really did want everyone to get along.

Thank God for William Shatner and his kick-ass ways.

James Tiberius Kirk was a role model for me.  The kind of person who would use diplomacy until it was time to bruise your knuckles.  A kind of Teddy Roosevelt of the space ways.  

 

I am surprised Walt bought it, even with the signature.  I like to think he did it as a silent acknowledgement of me and my love of Trek.  Yeah, right.

By the way, Walt, don’t podcasters do a lot of sitting around, just talking, too? Just sayin.    

The Superman Advertising poster —  How cool is it that Rob Bruce was able to pinpoint within a few years the date of that piece by using zip code trivia?  I knew it wasn’t from the 1940’s because of the way the cardboard backing was manufactured.  In the 40’s, the cardboard would have been a lot rougher in texture and cut.  The manufacturing process was a lot less sophisticated pre-WW II.  

For all that, it was still a pretty cool piece that would have looked great in the Stash.  It’s always a bummer when we’re unable to come to an accord with a seller — especially for something we want.  

Back to the Khaaaaaaannnnn!  Um, I mean Con.  

It really was a pleasure to help Gary out.  He was there for the store when it first opened, and I’m glad we were able to be there for him when he needed us.  It was exciting to see those great books sell and go to real fans.  

A very special thanks to Stan THE MAN Lee for putting a little something extra into our auction.  Just goes to prove what a prince he really is. 

I wish Gary well.  It was a pleasure and a privilege to be part of his collecting.  

That’s all for this week.  Thanks for reading folks.

And there ya go.

Stash-Teroids

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Some of my most treasured childhood memories revolve around the video games, Space Invaders, Asteroids and Q*Bert.  Seeing a machine as pristine as the Asteroids game featured on this week’s episode snapped right back to the late 70’s.  This is a classic.  There is no other game like it.  Hand-eye coordination, getting a case of the “twitchies” from all the button-pushing…

Both the seller and the buyer made out well in this deal.  But the real winner was Walt and the Stash, getting $50 for doing nothing other than standing there talking to a guy about a game.

Next up were the Amazing Spider-Man comic books.  Walt purchased for the store the essential Spider-Man stories:  #101, first Morbius; #122 and #123, the death of Gwen Stacey and the Green Goblin; #129, the first appearance of The Punisher; #300, the introduction of Venom and ASM #36 Volume 2, the 9-11 issue.  These stories are the creme-de-la-creme of the Spider universe and are highly sought after.  

The GI Joe figures — and the Night Raven fighter jet are key pieces for any hardcore GI Joe collector.  While the box for the jet was slightly damaged, the actual toy is pristine and the footlocker containing the original series of Joes is hard to find in any condition, complete.  I think was a big score for the Stash.  This is not my area of expertise.  This is more Ming’s wheelhouse.  I grew up on the 13″ Joes.  I remember them when they were the Adventure Team.  

Finally, the Star Wars battle ships.  Again, this is Ming’s era and he really had a blast when these came in.  While I was a huge fan of the Millennium Falcon, by the time Kenner got around to making it, I had stopped playing with toys and was heavy into collecting books and comics.  These are huge, big-ticket items that are sure to please any Star Wars fanatic.

This week’s stuff was a mixed bag to be sure.  It tickled me that it was so Ming-centric, coming on the heels of our big sandwich win.  Way to go, Ming!  

And there ya go.