JLA/Planetary & a question

[tishooo]

Hi everyone

This is my first post to the community - other than the occasional comment on v1.0 and v2.0. I am curious to know whether you might have any good ideas as to what I ought to do with a couple of long boxes worth of old comics.





Some of my comics date back to the early 80s, but most are more recent ones - with a DC bias. Most of them I also now have in TPB format.

To be honest, some of them probably have some value (eg some variants and sought after runs) - and some I will keep for sentimental reasons (incl. the lack of TPB availability - eg Linda Danvers Supergirl) - but I am currently cash rich time-poor (and storage-poor!) and just want rid of them.

Now, the kicker is that I am based in Scotland, so comics are even less popular here than in North America. I was thinking of just freecycling them on a box-by-box basis, but if I can think of anything more sensible to do with them - that I can do relatively quickly and painlessly - that would be great.

Bonus - a couple of Planetary scans. I have an ambivalent feeling towards the end of this story. It seems to me to imply that Bruce & Diana will be just as maniacal in this reality as the Planetary team were.

I am really really hoping I have not screwed anything up in this post. I checked and rechecked the code and the rules. Please be gentle with me if I have made a boo-boo.



PS - in case tags are still switched off: char: elijah snow, char: wonder woman/diana of themyscira, char: batman/bruce wayne, creator: jerry ordway, creator: warren ellis

Comments

[yaseen101]

What shall we do with this new world?

Babies, babies, babies, babies,

[roxrox]

Oh please no, I don't even want to think about them having babies.

[xammax]

Diana/Bruce forever.

[roxrox]

*covers ears and refuses to listen* la la la la la

[xammax]

THE DCAU is canon.

[yaseen101]

If it is then Bruce ends up all alone and the Bat/WW thing happened only for a short time.

[xammax]

Please as far as I'm concerned Diana showed up before his death and gave him immortality.

Admittly it was the DCAU that gave me the Bats/WW idea.

[yaseen101]

Actually, I will be better off if he just dies from old age with his family and colleges all around him, I really can't see Bruce as an immortal.

[xammax]

Generations down there wants a word.

[yaseen101]

Well Generations was an Elseworlds (not to mention one of my first and favorite comics) but I'm referring specifically to the DCAU and the mainstream. While Bat/WW totally works in the DCAU, I really can't see him becoming an immortal.

[yaseen101]

Not to worry, Bruce ends up all alone and Bat/WW thing happened only for a short while.

Icon adds a double punch.

[sailorlibra]

Re: Icon adds a double punch.

[xammax]

Thank you Generations III.. or II

Re: Icon adds a double punch.

[sailorlibra]

Oh, yes. If only it had lasted. :[

[yaseen101]

BABIES!

[jelly_ace]

Motto motto motto motto!

[adze]

Maybe donate some of the comics to a children's ward of a local hospital, if they're suitable?

[legba]

If you just want rid of them, how about donating them to a local school, library or shelter? There's no shortage of people who could do with a bit of entertainment. And if, as you say, comics are rare, then they might be appreciated all the more.

[thanekos]

well, it's not quite your world just yet- you've got their Drummer to deal with, don't you?

(there is one; atleast I think one was visualized during Bruce's " THESE FOUR " bit)

Drummer

[tishooo]

I think you see the Drummer at least twice. He is seen in the background when Diana 'doors' to Gotham, and then during Bruce's speech he says something along the lines of 'seen less often - the Drummer...'

Not sure how much of a threat Drums would pose without more people like Elijah to keep him focused though.

[roxrox]

Yeah, if money isn't an issue and you're planning on keeping some of them, I would just donate whichever ones you didn't want to keep. Or perhaps you could do a little research and see if there's any one in your area that is an avid collector and see if there's any that they might want?

[star_of_airdrie]

actually the market is so soft that it may pay to donate them and take the deduction because as with most collectibles right now, their book value is probably higher than their actually value in the secondary market. Comic books is not my area of expertise, but if you itemize, it may be worth it. You just may want to double check for any rare editions.

[tishooo]

I assume by 'take the deduction' you are referring to some aspect of US tax law? Doesn't apply to me as a British taxpayer, I'm afraid, but I think donating is definitely the way I am going to go.

[blakeyrat]

In the UK you get taxed on charitable donations? Wow.

[tishooo]

Well, not exactly. Its pretty different system from the USA - most UK taxpayers will not have to do an annual tax return, instead their tax, national insurance deductions etc are worked out by their employer and HMRC.

Only people with more 'complex' tax affairs have to do an annual self assessment and file this with HMRC For example, those that are self employed would have to do a self assessment as a matter of course, and if you have various different income streams you might find it a good idea.

We don't really have the same concept of a lot of ordinary expenditure being tax-deductible in the UK, unless it is spend in the course of running a business - so, mortgage interest, sales taxes, and lots of other things I seem to remember that you can get deductions for in the US/Canada, are just taxed here, and that is that!

Charity donations can be made gross of tax, but the way it works for us is that the charity claims the tax element of your donation on your behalf as long as you have confirmed to them you are a UK taxpayer. So, for example, if I am a basic rate taxpayer (20%) and I donate £80 to a charity, they will actually receive £100 as they will get £80 directly from me and £20 from the government. The obvious flaw is in regards to non-monetary donations - such as goods that you give to a charity shop - no tax deduction available.

So, the short version is, on the whole we probably pay more tax than you, but we don't have to fill out those horrible forms every year, and worry as much about potentially being audited. After filling in tax returns for both Canada and Australia in the last 10 years, I think on the whole I prefer the UK system.

[blakeyrat]

Ah, that makes sense kind of. It would suck for me, since almost all of my charitable donations are goods and not cash, but alas.

Anyway, I'm glad I live in a State without a state income tax, because you're right: the forms are ridiculous. Even more ridiculous is that the IRS here actually calculates exactly what you owe, they just don't *tell* you what their figure is. (i.e. the government knows what you owe, but they won't give an option to just pay that without doing your own assessment.) It's kind of goofy.

My state taxes are just property and sales, and sales tax is still pretty low around here (8.5% in my city, 7.5% base IIRC.)

[werehawk.livejournal.com]

Nice pangolin! Did you see that yourself?

[blakeyrat]

Nah just Googled it up. Pangolins are my favorite animal.

Thanks

[tishooo]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I would say that my collection skews towards 'not really for kids' - although I have a bunch of things like Ex Machina, Invisibles and a smattering of vertigo and wildstorm comics, mostly what I have is mainstream DCU.

However, I am of the opinion that a lot of this isn't really the kind of stuff I would be keen to see 5-7 year olds reading (pyscho pirate eye gouging anyone?).

I haven't lived in this area long enough to know any local schools/shelters etc. I'll maybe ask at the local Oxfam Books store to see if they would take them - or have good alternative ideas.

[geoffsebesta]

I always donate extra comics. Don't know how it works is Scotland but here you can deduct them from your taxes at cover price. This is infinitely better than you will ever get selling them, and plus you get to give them to lots of people who want to read them.

My suggestion is to separate them by age range and give them to a local hospital.

[tishooo]

Ha! Just responded to star_of_airdrie on this - the UK tax system doesn't work like this for charity donations for the most part. Donation is the way forward though.

[lamashtar]

It does go against the grain to donate rarities to people you know will fold and mutilate them..I have the same problem with my Hellblazer series.

[tishooo]

Yeah I agree. I am somewhat unhappy about freecycling them as I have seen people posting want ads for old comics and magazines in order that the could make clip art/mosaics etc.

The idea of people taking scissors to these once-prized possessions makes me feel a bit sick.

On the other hand, I just don't have the time or inclination to put the effort in to sell them. If only I had been so keen to get rid of them back when I was a student and had time to mess about on ebay.

[jlroberson]

Well, that's why God invented Ebay. I used to have 1-100. Till I sold them for $3 apiece as a lot.

[lamashtar]

Were they in good condition? Pretty sure most of mine I threw in a longbox unprotected.

[jlroberson]

They were all in F-VF. The amount I give per copy was an average; I actually made a bit more than that. I usually do fairly well on Ebay when I sell by lot.

Still have 5 longboxes I'm slowly selling off.

[perletwo]

Looking at the statues there around them. I think I can identify Cyborg, Swamp Thing, Aquaman - maybe Guy Gardner, judging by the big boot?

[rickperry]

yeah that's what they look like lol

[rickperry]

horrible outfit for Diana.

[jlroberson]

It is, and I do not know why, but I have loathed this comic since the first time I read it. I really don't know why it bothers me so much. It just has this cold, heartless and somewhat outliney feel that I don't get when I read the actual PLANETARY. There's just something ugly about this one, and I don't feel that way because I feel the characters have been blasphemed or anything(I liked RUINS, or at least part 1). I just...can't explain it.

I do think Ordway's art here has something to do with it. Again, I don't understand that either as I usually like him.

[halloweenjack]

I honestly feel like Ellis just got tired of writing this about halfway through. Up until then, it was pretty good; after that, Clark gets taken out by Ellis retconning his powers, Bruce ends up with the Batlogo on his outfit, therefore kind of ruining the whole point of the comic (which is that superheroes don't exist because Snow et al. suppressed them), and Diana takes out Jakita off-panel after Jakita is show practically gutting her. Especially after Planetary/Batman, which really was quite good, this was just sort of dumb.

[rickperry]

I actually do not remember this elseworld special at all.

[janegray]

I ♥ Diana ^_^