Can I find replicas of old Marvel comics?!
Question: I've always found the older animation and storylines far more intriguing than the newer comics.
Really enjoyed when they ran old strips in the Marvel Classics series.
Is it possible to attain replicas of old 60's/70's issues of comics like Fantastic Four or Spiderman, like, the first appearance of Dr. Doom or the Sub-Mariner in Fantastic Four? (I don't mean real first editions, just replicas!)
Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
Answers: I've always found the older animation and storylines far more intriguing than the newer comics.
Really enjoyed when they ran old strips in the Marvel Classics series.
Is it possible to attain replicas of old 60's/70's issues of comics like Fantastic Four or Spiderman, like, the first appearance of Dr. Doom or the Sub-Mariner in Fantastic Four? (I don't mean real first editions, just replicas!)
Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
Octavarium - in the last ten years or so, the big thing in comics has been Trade Paperbacks - square bound volumes that collect usually 4, 6, 12, or more individual comics into a single book. These are extremely affordable and available, you can even find an aisle full of them at any Borders or Barnes and Noble, and they're all over Amazon.com (usually with a nice 30% discount) Nearly ever individual comic that's been published in the last ten years can has been collected in some form or another, and the majority of comics from the past 60 years have as well.
If you're mainly interested in comics from the 60s and 70s, there are two basic options: one is the Marvel Essential volumes, as well as DC's Showcase volumes. These collect between 20-40 comics into one book for usually under $20 for people like yourself who want to read the old stories but don't have the cash or the incliniation to track down the originals. The one downside is that these volumes are black and white, that's why they're so affordable. Part of the reason for this is because the coloring method for comics was different 30 years ago, so it's expensive to go back and recolor everything, so they offer the stories to you cheaply in black and white (also on cheaper paper). Some stories, however, have been re-colored, but they're a bit more expensive.
Below I've linked to the Amazon listing for Essential Fantastic Four vol 1 (the cheap black and white one) and the Fantastic Four Omnibus vol 1 (the more expensive color one). If you look in the book description, it explains that the Essential contains FF #1-20, and Annual #1, and the Omnibus contains FF#1-30 and Annual #1. (Namor's reappearance and the first Dr. Doom are in FF #4 and 5, respectively)
If you want to look at these before you purchase them on Amazon, your local Borders or Comic Store (they're still around, stop in one if you haven't in awhile) are sure to have some examples of them, so you can see what you're getting, and whether you like the black and white or want to shell out the cash for color (I not a fan of the B&Ws myself, but plenty of people don't mind). For future references, they've released DOZENS of comic titles from the 60s and 70s in the B&W Essential and Showcase editions, and only a couple of the color Omnibus ones. There's a Fantastic Four Omnibus Volume 2, along with a Silver Surfer, Amazing Spider-MAn (1&2) X-Men (starting from the All-New, All Different X-Men in the 70s) Amazing Fantasy, Howard the Duck, Frank Miller's Daredevil, and more.
Really, find a decent comic store near you and ask some questions of the clerk on duty. They'll be able to show you lots more even than I've told you about here. They reprint old comics all the time in various ways.
Here's a good place
http://www.nostalgiazone.com/
There are always collectors of these comics,,we have 2 shops in my city that sell backissues,,check out ebay and other comic related sights,,
there are absolutely loads of trade paper backs which include a multitude of reprint material
try:
ebay
waterstones
forbidden planet
and any other specialist comic stores