Treasures and Trash

Steve Duin is a metro columnist for the Oregonian. Most of his writings deal with the politics and people of Portland. However, the man is also a comic book fan. He’s even co-written a couple of books on comics and collecting with Mike Richardson, the publisher of Dark Horse Comics. In a recent column, he compares his experiences visiting both WonderCon and the California International Antiquarian Book Fair. The comparison isn’t pretty.

I have collected comic books for more than 35 years, but the proximity of the two events reminded me why I increasingly find more to like in books. The Internet, observed Ed Smith, a book dealer on Bainbridge Island, has redefined scarcity and value in collectibles, but the new realities are routinely ignored by comic dealers, most of whom are still trying to hawk pedestrian, overpriced junk.

As Jules Feiffer observed, "Comics, first of all, are junk," but the best comics are exhilarating time capsules, compact tantrums of desire or paranoia, unappreciated duets of illustration and graphic storytelling. Few of the best comics or graphic novels, unfortunately, were on display at WonderCon, which explains why so much of the Exhibit Hall was given over to anime, video games and movie studios. Many dealers were exhibiting the same trash they couldn't unload 10 years ago, at double or triple the 1995 price.

Is this a fair criticism? I haven’t been to that many conventions, but his description sounds generally accurate. Should dealers exercise more discretion about what they bring to sell instead of trying to unload their overstock? Is getting rid of overstock the whole reason they show up at conventions in the first place? Is this a practice that is turning people off from attending conventions?

I should add that the Oregonian also recently did a good profile of Mercury Studios, the home of artists such as Steve Lieber, Matt Clark, and Karl Kesel.