Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 13, 2016, 02:07:09 PM

Quote from: steveinthecity on August 12, 2016, 08:46:24 AM

Quote from: JonInIowaCity on August 11, 2016, 10:31:28 PM
Jon's on vacation right now. I can write up a poll when I get home, but there's tons of old MLJ and Archie characters. I'm not so rigid that people can't answer in the way that feels right to them though.

I totally get it.  For me, it would just be nice to see the top three or four or more in any poll.  On another forum we've done this to place the top SA, BA, or FF titles for example.  In this sort of environment I'd rather polls always give multiple options.  FF is my all time favorite comic, particularly from the 60's, but I'd hate for ASM, Action, or Lois Lane to be excluded from that list.

If we were to select a favorite Archie artist of all time and the votes went to DeCarlo we'd never know maybe Fernando or Lucey finished third (or whatever). I like the idea of "standings" if you will.

Enjoy your vacation. 

The thing is that there has to be some sort of winnowing process before you can even whittle it down to a list of manageable size for rankings. I don't think the forum polling allows for that large a number of multiple-choice responses. In the case of a favorite MLJ or ACP character apart from those appearing in the main long-running Archie-related titles, there are just too many of them to include in a multiple-choice poll, and that's equally true of the artists who worked at MLJ/ACP over the past 75+ years. I forget what the max number of voting buttons is for polling, but certainly it's only a fraction of the number of well-known artists or characters.

EDIT: I checked into this in the SMF Help section, and it does say:

QuoteTo offer more than five choices in a poll, users should simply select Add Option as many times as desired.

Is it really unlimited? Could someone running a poll add as many as 50 or 100 options, or just add as many options as posters happen to mention by name in their posts? I could probably list 50 different non-Archie MLJ/ACP characters just after thinking about it for 10-15 minutes. Even if you could add all those, it might seem a little impractical or wonky in actual use.

I visit another SMF forum where we select "best" issue or cover from a title. One I recall was best Weird War Tales cover where we would delete our ten least favorite several times, then, five, three, and finally winnowing down to one vote until the community's favorite cover was left standing. The thread starter has to do this in several rounds as choices get voted off, but it's pretty cool to watch the progress in the sense that a favorite gets voted off or continues into the next round(vote).

I don't mean to veer away from the original intent of Mark's thread, but I'm interested in hearing about High School from any era.  I find the later school years fascinating, in specific the socialization aspects that likely affect most of us for many years following.

I was suprised to see Rusty's school start at 7:45.  We started at 7:55 and that was way earlier than any others in the district.  We were let out at 2:40, so in a span of six hours and forty-five minutes we had nine "mods"(modules or classes). One Mod was lunch and two mods bookended the lunch so we had one class that lasted an hour in essence. There was a four minute break between classes, so that made each mod(class) somewhere around 46 minutes when all said and done.  On Wednesdays we had a dedicated "club" or activity period added(yearbook, debate team, drama, etc.) so class periods were even shorter that day except for the ones wrapping lunch.  Class periods were only about 35-36 minutes those days including the four minute break so the day just flew by.

Some kids who had classes like auto or woodshop, Vo-Ag, Phys. Ed., etc. had a full hour class before or after lunch, so there were three lunch periods(mods) each day.

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on September 04, 2016, 04:37:07 AM

Quote from: steveinthecity on September 04, 2016, 02:05:37 AM
The Big Jim, Big Jack, Big Josh, etc. also seem pretty cool.  It's Kirby art in those 70's comic ads, is it not? 

I've seen those comic book ads. It is Kirby. Not sure if the King did any actual packaging art for Mattel. I'm blanking on Big Josh and Big Jack, but wasn't there a Bulletman doll? Not the Fawcett/DC character, some Mattel original superhero, like the Captain Laser figure that was a late add-on to the Major Matt Mason toy line of the 1960s -- my dream comic franchise, along with the identically-scaled Ideal's Zeroids and Colorforms' Outer Space Men, but it'll never happen. There were abortive attempts at all of those, that managed to squeak out a single comic or two.

Anyway, back to Kirby. I'm not sure how he got set up on a number of these deals, but I know that he got some decent bucks for the re-designs of the second wave of Kenner's Super Powers figures. That's why the action figures weren't based on Kirby's original Fourth World character designs from 1970 -- it was a way to get Kirby money (that he wouldn't have gotten since he had no rights to the DC characters he'd created). The Mattel stuff obviously came earlier. I think Paul Levitz and Jenette Kahn worked some deal out with Kenner to help him out, and that's when DC wanted him to do the wrap up to the New Gods saga that eventually became the graphic novel The Hunger Dogs. I also remember seeing in the 70s these small carded games (like those slide puzzles and similar low-priced items) that had beautiful package graphics that were pure Kirby, and they were all classic hero characters like Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, etc. Not sure if those were Mattel too, or some other toy company.

Quote from: steveinthecity on September 04, 2016, 02:05:37 AMI even like those C.W. McCall themed figures now that I think about it.   

C.W. McCall sounds like it should be some kind of toy figure trying to tap into the brief C.B. radio fad of the 1970s (there was even an Archie story about that). Can't say that I'm familiar, though.

I didn't know about Kirby's involvement with designing action figures or Super Powers, so I appreciate the info.  Glad to know he was being compensated for that work.

C.W. McCall was a real thing ---he or they recorded the song "Convoy" during the CB craze and toys followed shortly thereafter.  What red blooded American kid didn't dream of life on the open road in an 18-wheeler?  Never saw the actual toys, just pics from an old Sears catalog and e-Bay.  My trucking life went as far as standing along a highway pumping my arm up and down to encourage a passing truck to blow it's airhorn.  Life was simpler back then for six and seven year olds. 

Sticking more to the thread topic I read Our Love Story #32 from Marvel(1974), also B&V #149.  I'm tempted to start a "Bronze Age in review" thread as I read and re-read material from this era all the time, but not sure if many are interested in the older stuff.

I don't recall the specifics of the story any longer and I haven't run across it in a few years, but the gist is Betty got let down by Archie while attending a dance and in the final panel Jughead says to Betty "If there should ever come a time I'd willingly kiss a girl it'd be you" (or close to that).  It makes my heart go pitter-pat just recalling it.

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on September 03, 2016, 02:09:53 PM

Quote from: steveinthecity on September 03, 2016, 12:07:13 PM
Just wondering when someone might bring Action Jackson into comic book reality, or even Best Of The West.  Jay, Jamie, Janice, or Josie West might appeal to a younger market demo(horsies!)  Those Viking and Knight characters were pretty awesome as well, but I forget their names.  They would have kicked GI Joe butt going one on one, but the Joe's had better accessories plus the kung-fu grip thing going for them.  I still think Johnny West should get a comic.

You would appear to have a penchant for those briefly-marketed toy lines owned by now long-defunct manufacturers. Marx Toys and Mego Corp. have been out of business for many decades now. Too bad you didn't ask about Stretch Armstrong... I happen to know that one is now owned by Hasbro. No idea who (if anyone) now owns on the ones you mentioned. The only really viable nostalgia toy properties would probably be long-running franchises that had prior equally long-running comic book incarnations.

I don't know if it's a "penchant" per se, but I've always really liked those action figures, Mego as you mentioned in particular.  The Big Jim, Big Jack, Big Josh, etc. also seem pretty cool.  It's Kirby art in those 70's comic ads, is it not? 

I've always found it interesting that my playing with fighting or war themed "dolls" throughout my youth resulted in me being such a peaceful, kindly, and sensitive person in the long run. 

I even like those C.W. McCall themed figures now that I think about it.   

Quote from: irishmoxie on September 03, 2016, 11:37:18 AM
My favorites are when Archie goes on dates with multiple girls on the same night.

I suspect you share large company on that point.   

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on September 03, 2016, 05:15:35 AM

Quote from: steveinthecity on September 03, 2016, 02:18:49 AM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 31, 2016, 09:19:27 AM
ROM #1 & 2

Is this a reboot I wasn't paying attention to?  The original series was pretty cool. Bedrock City Comics from Houston actually ran a ROM only booth at the STL convention a few years ago as a gimmick of sorts, and managed to cover costs of the booth.  There are some underground ROM fans out there evidently.  I was a little late to the party, but it would be nice to see all those early issues repackaged for sale.

Yes. IDW has been expanding the number of their properties licensed from Hasbro (and other toy companies), first with MICRONAUTS, then ACTION MAN (which was the British version of the original G.I. Joe), now with ROM. This is all leading into a big crossover event series called REVOLUTION, which will feature all of the aforementioned properties plus the long-running G.I. JOE and TRANSFORMERS titles, and spinning off yet another new/old one, M.A.S.K.

This latest crossover would appear to be building on the success of a prior IDW crossover, TRANSFORMERS VS. G.I. JOE, which recently completed its 13-issue run. I hadn't been following either Transformers or G.I. Joe, but I bought that one simply because the art was drawn by Tom Scioli (co-creator, along with Joe Casey, of Image's GØDLAND series, which I loved) in his usual pseudo-Kirbyesque style.

Thanks for the info, I'll look these up. 

Just wondering when someone might bring
Action Jackson into comic book reality, or even Best Of The West.  Jay, Jamie, Janice, or Josie West might appeal to a younger market demo(horsies!)  Those Viking and Knight characters were pretty awesome as well, but I forget their names.  They would have kicked GI Joe butt going one on one, but the Joe's had better accessories plus the kung-fu grip thing going for them.  I still think Johnny West should get a comic.

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 31, 2016, 09:19:27 AM
ROM #1 & 2

Is this a reboot I wasn't paying attention to?  The original series was pretty cool. Bedrock City Comics from Houston actually ran a ROM only booth at the STL convention a few years ago as a gimmick of sorts, and managed to cover costs of the booth.  There are some underground ROM fans out there evidently.  I was a little late to the party, but it would be nice to see all those early issues repackaged for sale.

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on September 02, 2016, 04:06:53 AM

Quote from: BettyReggie on September 01, 2016, 07:23:52 PM
I remember one story when Archie had a fake earring on. And everyone thought he looked so cool. Reggie was jealous of Archie. Reggie went to get both ears piereced. And next day Reggie saw that Archie had no earring in his ears. Reggie was really mad about it.

That's like the one where Archie decides that the shaved-head look is the new thing, but he's hesitant so he gets a fake rubber scalp piece and just wears that. Reggie sees Archie, and doesn't want to let him get the jump on him by being the trendiest, so he goes straight to the barber and gets his head shaved. Then it turns out that whatever girl it was that Archie was trying to impress is over her infatuation with the skinhead look, so he ditches the bald wig a day or two later, and Reggie's stuck with a shaved head. I think there was another similar story where B&V both got their hair styled short, so Archie and Reggie went and grew their hair long, but the girls laughed, so they went the opposite way and got crew-cuts, which the girls hated too, but of course they were stuck with them.

There was another story reprinted not long ago where Betty & Veronica switched hair colors and the boys were so flummoxed they turned the tables by all wearing red hair Archie-type wigs(even Pop Tate!).

I don't recall the exact story, but it's been reprinted in the last year or so.  In it Veronica is bragging about her exclusive high end boots and the leather was made so soft as a result of being gummed by toothless old women.  There's loads of stories where I'm just cracked up by a random panel.

On a related note anyone who has a chance to read old Bob Montana(dailies or comics) will notice that Montana had an enormous gag to panel ratio.  A four panel daily might contain three verbal gags for instance. Maybe not all fall-down funny, but causing one to smirk every couple seconds makes reading those worthwhile.

Does this question only apply to the current ACP titles?  I'd say Jughead, B&V, and Sabrina top my list.  I'm also cool with Archie as I'm a Waid fan.I'd prefer to make this sort of call after more issues were published of each title.  I mean, I'm a huge fan of Bronze Age and really like Omega The Unknown(as an example), but I'd feel silly ranking that title higher than Kamandi or Warlord as it lasted only ten issues compared to the others mentioned.

A GCD type listing specifically geared to Archie, would be interesting, but more so for character appearances and general story themes and story appearances as well as creator credits.  I'm not even sure how to begin such an undertaking.  The old forum had loads of info, but it was posted scattershot and woefully incomplete even after 8-9 years.

Invest for profit, no.  I do try to support the company by buying most of the product, and I occasionally "recycle" books back into the community so others might read the stories and catch the bug, as it were.

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 20, 2016, 10:54:08 AM

Quote from: steveinthecity on August 20, 2016, 10:24:12 AM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 20, 2016, 12:30:43 AM

Quote from: Ottawagrant on August 19, 2016, 12:46:55 PM
See, that's an interesting point. B&V sell 70,000 copies with 25 different covers. So the question is- how many different people are buying this comic? Not that (less than) 3,000 people are buying all 25, but issue #1 of a comic usually sells well.

The true number of unique readers or retail purchasers will never be known. The sales figures that are a matter of record only indicate the (nonreturnable) sales to comics retailers. You can probably safely assume that most of the unique readers are represented by single-copy sales of the main cover, and that most of the variant cover sales (by retailers to comic book collectors) represent additional copies of the same issue sold to one reader or collector who purchased one or more variant cover copies of the same issue number containing the same story. Collecting variant covers has nothing to do with reading comic books, it's more like collecting stamps. Some of the unique readers will simply purchase a single copy of the cover that appeals most to them, but if you stop and think about it, there's no reason for a publisher to incur the additional expenses of the variant cover artwork and printing costs, unless it results in selling additional copies that wouldn't have been purchased otherwise, if there had been only a single cover produced. Really, the crucial thing here is the publisher selling copies to the retailer. Some retailers will try to assemble a complete set of all cover variants and sell those (usually online) as a set.

While I agree with this, I'd remind everyone to consider the vagaries of the speculator market particularly where #1's and hot artists are concerned.  Maybe a "drop in the bucket", but CGC and CBCS aren't hurting for business.

I'm not sure what "vagaries" you're alluding to Steve. People who aren't comic book readers as such, but are only interested in making money by reselling (after grading, etc) variant covers for profit? But that would include all retailers, too. Then too, these things are mercurial in nature, and can skyrocket in price and plunge just as quickly in a very short window of time.

I'm not sure what that might mean in terms of trying to get a handle on how many retail sales, out of any given reported sales number of copies (to retailers), might be distinct individuals. I guess the number we're trying to estimate (out of say, the 70,000 copies total sold of B&V#1 to retailers) is how many individuals purchased a copy of B&V#1 (out of the 70,000 -- or less? -- being offered by retailers for sale), not how many of the 70,000 copies were sold by retailers at a profit. How many retail consumers were involved in a sales transaction for that comic book, regardless of whether each of them purchased 1 copy, 10 copies, 100 copies, etc.

I'm pretty much addressing the question of "who buys multiple covers". I'm certain the Adam Hughes B&V was "invested" in even more than Archie #1 due to Hughes (as an example of vagaries) and we'll see those copies show up on the CGC census over the next 3-4 months as well as e-Bay.  To the other topic, I've pretty much abandoned hope of determining exact print runs of some more recent comics as stuff shows up at Cons that isn't accounted for by Diamond numbers(from creators). I'm interested, though.  Still.   

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 20, 2016, 12:30:43 AM

Quote from: Ottawagrant on August 19, 2016, 12:46:55 PM
See, that's an interesting point. B&V sell 70,000 copies with 25 different covers. So the question is- how many different people are buying this comic? Not that (less than) 3,000 people are buying all 25, but issue #1 of a comic usually sells well.

The true number of unique readers or retail purchasers will never be known. The sales figures that are a matter of record only indicate the (nonreturnable) sales to comics retailers. You can probably safely assume that most of the unique readers are represented by single-copy sales of the main cover, and that most of the variant cover sales (by retailers to comic book collectors) represent additional copies of the same issue sold to one reader or collector who purchased one or more variant cover copies of the same issue number containing the same story. Collecting variant covers has nothing to do with reading comic books, it's more like collecting stamps. Some of the unique readers will simply purchase a single copy of the cover that appeals most to them, but if you stop and think about it, there's no reason for a publisher to incur the additional expenses of the variant cover artwork and printing costs, unless it results in selling additional copies that wouldn't have been purchased otherwise, if there had been only a single cover produced. Really, the crucial thing here is the publisher selling copies to the retailer. Some retailers will try to assemble a complete set of all cover variants and sell those (usually online) as a set.

While I agree with this, I'd remind everyone to consider the vagaries of the speculator market particularly where #1's and hot artists are concerned.  Maybe a "drop in the bucket", but CGC and CBCS aren't hurting for business.