posted May 13, 2003 10:05 AM            

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I find that I am willing to spend 35 bucks on an archive for a character that never interested me. I'm not sure why, but I rmember distcily as a kid not wanting to spend 35 cents on a Sgt Rock comic, but now, I have no qulams about spending 100 times that amount for a HC of the same comic. Has anyone else experienced this? Are there chjaracters or comics that you routinely passed on years ago, that for some reason or another you now must have as an archive. I'm not talking about archive completeists because I relize that they buy everything.

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posted May 13, 2003 10:41 AM               

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Yep--

Plastic Man

Sgt. Rock

Enemy Ace

Superman

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posted May 13, 2003 11:00 AM               

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Certainly money is an issue, but...

Yep, I've taken the Archive plunge on things I "never" collected. Doom Patrol comes to mind. Only had a few Atom (silver) comics, but jumped on that pretty quick too.
best..
CArlo

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posted May 13, 2003 11:43 AM            

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It just strikes me that there were comics that I wuld never have paid 25 cents for that I am now willing to pay 35 bucks for.

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posted May 13, 2003 11:54 AM               

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Yeah.
I didn't follow any of the war titles, although I occasionally glanced at Enemy Ace, and ten years or so later bought some back issues at conventions. But I have the Rock and EA archives, and I've enjoyed them. I'd buy mystery/horror archives too, if DC were to do any, and especially westerns and things like Sea Devils and Rip Hunter, even though I often skipped those comics.

And then of course there's all the Golden Age stuff--I wasn't around for any of it, so I don't suppose it counts as far as being the subject of your question is concerned, but I buy all the archives.

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posted May 13, 2003 12:40 PM               

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I have to concur with James Friel. Some of this stuff was not available when I started collecting in 1970. Plus my tastes have changed, since I was eight. In the old days, I only bought certain Marvels and The Justice League of America.

Today everything from every genre to every company is fair game for purchase.

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posted May 13, 2003 12:42 PM            

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I do have all the Archives, but I'm not really a completist. I genuinely want all of the Archives that have been published. New Teen Titans 1 was iffy, NTT2 will also be iffy. Legion is in the iffy range and JLA is getting there. However, if DC decides to Archive material I'm not interested in (Vertigo's Kid Eternity and Black Orchid for instance), I will have no problem passing.

In my earliest days as a comic book reader, I could afford only 5 comics on a regular basis. Occasionally I could afford more, but I couldn't rely on it. If it wasn't a superhero title, I didn't pick it up. I did pick up a few Marvels, mainly when I was a little older and could afford more, but mostly I read DC.

At the time, I wouldn't have bought a war, horror, romance, western, funny animal, or any other genre. Now, I'll buy any as long as they are good. I've spent a lot of money on Disney, particularly The Carl Barks Library in Color and the most recent EC reprints. I'd also buy Archie Archives if they were available (and if I've got any money left).

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posted May 13, 2003 02:39 PM               

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...although I won't buy an archive of something of which I own the originals (merely financial considerations right now)...

best...
Carlo

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posted May 13, 2003 02:53 PM               

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Heck, I buy archives of material I already own completely in either original or microfiche form. THAT is a bit more of a waste of money, I think, than taking a chance on something you've never read before!

But, you're right. I would never buy a Sgt. Rock comic, but I got the archive the day it came out and really enjoyed reading it.

- Bill

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posted May 13, 2003 10:10 PM               

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Most of the archives were titles or characters that I never bought as a kid. New Teen Titans and the later Legion archives are the only titles with content that's younger than I am.

There are three reasons I'd buy an archive for a title or character that I passed on initially.

1. Changing tastes. I only liked serious, mature style comics as a kid (Moon Knight, Ka-Zar the Savage, then First, Epic, pre-Veritgo, Love & Rockets, etc.)

I never would have appreciated 60's Legion or World's Finest as a kid.

2. Not enough money. 80's/90's Legion always looked cool, but I only had so much money

3. Limited knowledge. Besides not knowing about classics such as the Quality Blackhawk and Enemy Ace, I was a marvel kid. Crisis was basically my first DCU title (Amethyst was the first). I missed the first New Teen Titans series and never knew about the LoSH, Jonah Hex, Sgt. Rock until Crisis.

Spirit is the only book that I bought as a kid that I've been buying as archives.

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posted May 14, 2003 09:52 AM               

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I'd never been particularly interested in Plastic Man, but I'd always heard good things about Jack Cole's work, so when I saw a good deal on a Plas archive, I grabbed it. I'm very glad I did.

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posted May 17, 2003 05:26 PM               

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I never read Enemy Ace as a kid, but purchased it right away when it came out. This had to do with my changing tastes over time. Also I had the good fortune to have Joe Kubert as an instructor for one class at his school and was very interested in the process of reference and chosen topics for comics after that.

Although I haven't picked it up yet, I will also eventually get the Sgt. Rock for the same reason.

I would buy Mystery titles archives nowadays if they did them, mostly for the artists involved. I never bought them first generation though (unless you count Phantom Stranger).

Same thing goes for a Dial H for Hero archive. Never picked it up back when due to financial considerations, but would yank it off the shelf now as an archive.

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posted May 17, 2003 09:43 PM               

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Enemy Ace is the one and only book that I didn't buy when it was on the stands, mostly due to a lack of stories throught the eighties and lack of interest on my part about a German WW1 Flying Ace. Not until very recently have I begun to have an affinity for the character. Haven't bought the Archive yet but, soon, very soon.

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posted May 18, 2003 12:49 AM            

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I bought the Blackhawk Archive, a character I never followed, and I regret it. Outside of the first issue reprinted, I have not enjoyed the stories.

On the other hand, I bought All Star Archives 8 and enjoyed it even though I have never been a fan of the JSA.

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posted May 19, 2003 11:06 PM               

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Yes, Enemy Ace.

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posted May 20, 2003 02:39 AM            

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I bought the Rock and Enemy Ace Archives, despite never buying their comics as a kid. I was very pleased with both purchases. I'm looking forward to continuations of both, and to other pleasant surprises.

Let's see westerns and romance and humor and horror and...

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posted May 20, 2003 01:17 PM               

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Beginning in 1958, I seldom bought DC westerns until Jonah Hex, never bought romance or war, and my frequenting of their science fiction anthologies limited itself to Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space after about 1959 or '60. I didn't buy Sea Devils or Rip Hunter or Metal Men after the first few issues, or Challengers after about the first 30. I stopped buying Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane around '61 or '62 and didn't pick them up again until the early '70s.

If they were selected intelligently, I'd buy 'em all now in archive form, with the exception of the post-Simon & Kirby romance material.

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posted May 20, 2003 08:36 PM            

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I bought Plastic Man and Blackhawk archives, and Daredevil (softcover) Masterworks.
Never read the characters before. (Except for the odd Blakhawk or two when I was young.)

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posted May 20, 2003 11:36 PM               

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In many regards, the "characters" are not a major concern of mine. It's not like I have an overriding affinity for particular characters, which affects what I buy. Sure, I guess I have a nostalgic fondness for some of the DC heroes, since I knew them from 'way back.' But, in regards to my archive purchasing habits, it matters very little. I just like "old comic stories," plain and simple. They are fascinating little relics of their eras. Despite whatever limitations in artwork and storytelling they might have, I still derive a lot of entertainment from them, from either their creative vibrancy or their historical contexts (usually a combination of both).

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