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I'd sell you my right arm before I parted with a prog 2. Well, ok, maybe a toe but I'd want more than a tenner. Besides, I don't know what I would be proving if I sold you a prog 2 for a tenner but nice try, I like your cheek.

Wow! I know I can inspire heated debate but I?m starting to feel like Salmon Rushdie, I may go into hiding until the Fat One is lifted, co?s he?s starting to feel heavy and I?m finding it hard to breath!

OK, I will try to defend myself one more time, although if anyone else takes another shot, I may go down.

I initially started buying duplicate issues of prog 2, because the first time I purchased one it was such a thrill, as I am a huge Dredd fan. I then bought another one to recreate that buzz and it spiralled from there. I now own more than I probably should but I never bought them in the first place in order to sell them on and I still do not plan to sell them on. I am trying myself to understand why I own so many and I believe the reason is as follows. If a dedicated Superman fan got hold of Action Comics number 1 it would be a fantastic thrill, as there are very few in existence. I consider myself a dedicated Judge Dredd fan and although owning prog 2 was a thrill, it was somehow diminished by knowing that there were many copies still out there. To counter this I started buying duplicate issues and I now believe that I have a collection which is not matched by any other Tooth fan. I think this equals the feeling that a Superman Fan would have in owning issue one of Action Comics. I have gone to a lot of trouble to obtain copies of prog 2 and have travelled up and down the country in pursuit of my goal. I will admit, I am pleased when they increase in value but still do not plan on selling them and I probably never will (I say probably because everyone has their price).

My previous threads have mainly been about promoting Tooth. I have done this by hyping back issues because I believed that if there was a thriving market in back issues, this would also create an interest in the current progs amongst collectors and investors, who do also have an interest in reading comics. I believe that this is also a way of getting in through the back door in America. As with music, if we can crack the American market then Tooth would be sitting pretty. Despite what various boarders have said, I still believe the above to be true, or at least, as part of a strategy.

Without being critical, I don?t see anyone else on the board trying to promote 2000AD, although I may be wrong, as I don?t read all the threads. To be honest, and I have avoided saying this but I am not too happy with the current story lines, characters and art in 2000AD and do not believe that Rebellion are doing a good job at the moment. I would hate this to be the beginning of the end. If they do not have the success with the Judge Dredd game as that hope to, then they might just drop the comic like a bad apple, but I think Rebellion have their own agenda and only time will tell.

I would just like to finish by saying thanks to Devons Daddy for being my only ally in the last thread, it was nice to have a voice of support amongst all that hostility. Thank you DD.

Also, my collection does not just consist of prog 2?s. I also probably have the biggest collection of Judge Dredd and 2000AD paraphernalia in the world. I do have a life outside of 2000AD but this is my hobby and I get great pleasure from it.

Now, as requested in my last thread, I will create another thread, unrelated to promoting back issues. I will talk about Tooth and my likes and dislikes, I may even tell you a little bit about myself and I promise never to post another thread related to hyping back issues, although the first appearance of Lobster Ransom might be worth getting hold of.......just kidding.

Thank you for listening and come on PaulVonScott, lift that Fat One, he?s heavy and he ain?t my brother!

As usual my thread has created some heated responses and I will leap to my own defence.

Some boarders have jumped to the conclusion that since I am buying many copies of 2000AD, that I am hyping the comic in order to increase the value of my own collection.

I am happy to see the value of my collection increase, as would most of you if you are honest. But I would like to make one thing clear. I have been collecting and reading comics for 30 years now and thought that I would never stop. What happened to the American comic industry really pissed me off and aside from the Uncanny X-Men, the only title I read now is 2000AD.

I am hyping 2000AD since I believe that it has the potential to create a whole other Universe, to rival Marvel and DC. I think most characters have the potential to have their own comic printed each month, with original stories and artists. No cross overs and no duplicate covers. It would be just like in the early days of comic collecting. Everyone chooses their favourite titles to purchase each month. 2000AD would be the flagship issue and launch new stories and characters and the comics should be American size. 2000AD has been apart of my life for 26 years and I will do all I can to help increase its profile. I even move all the copies of 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine to a more visible position when I am in Smiths.

In response to the comments regarding why Rebellion should create a demand for back issues, why shouldn?t they sell back issues at Dreddcons, this can only help to increase the profile of 2000AD in general.

And one last point, I may be buying many back issues and aside from the spare 1 - 500 that I recently sold to Blackthrash, I have never actually sold any other 2000ADs. I also have all my Marvel and DC comics from when I was a kid and I am not selling them.

What I am trying to say is I am not buying and selling. I genuinely love the comic and would love to see it's true potential realized, just for the fact that I would like to see 2000AD at the top of the tree, looking down at Marvel and DC.

Sadly, this would take a big investment on behalf of Rebellion and they would then have to crack the American market. I think it would work and I would love to find a backer who would invest in the idea. This will probably never happen but I can dream.

Finally, for all of you who think investing in 2000AD is a dirty thing to do. That's what makes the world go round and motivates people. The more successful 2000AD is, the more money Rebellion makes and the better and more creative people it can employee. Then, instead of launching and loosing new talent, they might be able to retain writers and artists. If this happens then the quality of the current issues will increase and we will all be winners.

Hi Guys

I have been promising to write something along these lines for a long time now and intended to entitle it 2000ADs collectability but things change, especially my mind.

I think we are missing out on some of the mighty progs potential and this is something that has not been addressed or taken advantage of by the guys at Rebellion.

I?m 38 now and so can remember back to when comic collecting was just taking off in the UK. There was only the Forbidden Planet, which was based on Denmark Street, in the West End of London and soon after followed Dark They Were and Golden Eyed. Comic Conventions also started to become popular but they were only about 3 or 4 times a year.

I touched on what I believe killed off or seriously damaged comic collecting in the nineties, in a previous thread and so will not go too deeply into that but to start and set the scene, I will discuss what I believe fuelled the craze in the seventies and eighties.

Many people are like magpies, they enjoy collecting, but what they collect depends on what captures their interest first. It could be stamps, coins, art or in our case comics. One of the reasons collectors originally started collecting comics was because they wanted to make their sets or runs of comics complete. For example if you bought Spider Man number 4 and started reading from there and enjoyed it, you would probably make an effort to buy issues 1, 2 and 3 but since they are no longer in circulation you would have to buy from another collector and pay a premium. You would then keep these safe and continue collecting the whole series. This is true of most items that people collect but comics are unique in that they have many other factors which influence their collectability. For example first appearances of characters that later on become more popular, increase a comics value, thereby creating key issues. Hulk issue 181 introduced Wolverine and now sells for hundreds of pounds, Amazing Spider Man 129 introduced The Punisher and is therefore much sort after, X-Men Giant Sized 1 and issue 94 introduced the new Uncanny X-men and both these issue are priced at ?1,000 + for a near mint copy. This is also true of popular villains, I think Iron Man 54 introduced Thanos and X-men 5 introduced Magneto, both these comics are in demand and very expensive. In addition to these influences, another factor has arisen. Once an artist becomes popular, his earlier work, when he was less well known, increases in value. An example being, the late great Jack Kirby or even living legends like Neal Adams.

The reason I am talking about American comics is because they started to introduce artificial means to increase a comics collectability, such as multiple covers, crossovers and platinum covers, which as we all know, has now backfired. There is now a gap in the market, which I believe 2000AD can fill.

2000AD has all of the above factors, which instigated and fuelled the original comic collecting boom in the seventies.

Firstly, there has been a single run of 2000AD since 1977, currently reaching prog 1371. This would be a challenge for any collector to complete and ultimately a very satisfying achievement. Secondly, in this run, covering 4 decades, over 26 years, (you can work that one out!) there have been many popular characters introduced, thereby creating key issues in 2000ADs history. For example, as you all know prog 2 introduced Judge Dredd and sold last year for ?551 through Comic Book Postal Auctions. Prog 149 introduced Judge Death. Prog 228 introduced Rogue Trooper. Prog 1035 introduced Nikolai Dante. I will mention all the other key issues later. In addition, 2000AD has also launched the careers of many artists who have become massive world wide, as a result, their first works have appeared in many different progs, artists such as Brian Bolland, Carlos Ezquerra and in recent years, Henry Flint. The progs where their art first appeared will one day be much sort after.

Another factor which 2000AD has, which American comics don?t, is the inclusion of free gifts in certain issues. When free gifts are included, most are taken from the comic, used and then discarded. This means that the issues which are preserved with their free gifts intact, are then much harder to find, the comic is not complete without the free gift and cannot be considered near mint.

Apart from prog 2, all the other issues, from 30 onwards, can currently be picked up for a few pounds, many are being sold unwittingly at comic conventions for 50p - ?1.00, when they are a potential goldmine. In addition to the above, it is much harder to find near mint copies of the first 500 progs of 2000AD due to the poor quality paper that they were printed on

I believe that 2000AD is the new Marvel because it has all the factors needed to recreate what fuelled the original craze and like Marvel, there is a whole Universe of Characters, which has been built up and established in British culture over the passed 26 years.

With all of the above in mind, I have created a list of what I believe are the key issues that will eventually increase in value. I will also include what prices they are currently selling for.

Prog 1 (Very hard to find in Near Mint, with free gift, which was a Space Spinner. Top price ?551 Comic Book Postal Auctions December 2002).
Prog 2 (Very hard to find in Near Mint, with free gift, which was the Bionic Stickers. First Appearance of Judge Dredd. Top price ?551 Comic Book Postal Auctions December 2002).
Prog 3 (Very hard to find in Near Mint, with free gift, which was the secret agent wallet. Top price ?221 Comic Book Postal Auctions December 2002).
Prog 4 ? 10 (As with the above, much sort after and very hard to find in near mint, current prices range between ?15 - ?40 each)
Progs 71, 72, 77 & 78. (All these progs were banned due to infringement of copy write and will never be aloud to be reprinted. (Prices vary on ebay, but depending on condition they sell for between ?20 and ?40.00)
Prog 149 ? 151 (First run of the three prog Judge Death story. Also, first appearance of Judge Anderson in prog 150. Approx ?7.00 each)
Prog 160 (First appearance of Mean Machine and the Angel Gang. Approx ?2.00)
Prog 228 (First appearance of Rogue Trooper. Approx ?4.00)
Prog 300 (This copy is very hard to find with the free metal Judge Dredd badge stuck to the front. Approx ?4.00)
Prog 330 (First appearance of Slaine. Approx ?1.50)
Prog 780 (First appearance of The Button Man. Approx ?5 but very hard to find with the free wallet, which was attached to the front)
981 (First appearance in 2000AD of Sinister Dexter. Approx ?2.00. Although they did appear, for the first time, in the 1995 2000AD Winter Special)
1035 (First appearance of Nikolai Dante. Very hard to find with the free Space Girls Poster. Approx ?2.00)
Prog 1159 (Came in two covers. One with Devlin Waugh on the front and one with The Hangman. Very hard to find with the Hangman cover. The Devlin Waugh issue also had a free CD Rom. Approx ?2.00)
1208 (There was a pallet load of this issue damaged by flood and so it was not distributed well throughout the country. There are now very few in circulation and may be the rarest 2000AD comic after prog 2. Prices vary on ebay but it has sold for between ?20 and ?50.00).

In addition the Summer Special Super Comic from 1977 is very hard to find and sells for between ?20 - ?35. Also, mentioned above, the Winter Special from 1995 has the first ever appearance of Sinister Dexter and for some reason does not appear very often on ebay but when it does, it sells for about ?10. The first 2000AD annual from 1978 is the hardest of the annuals to come across and sells for about ?15 - ?20. There are some copies which do not have the 1978 date on the cover or the spine, also, they are not priced inside. These are very scarce and I have only ever seen 2 copies. I cannot remember what price they sold for but I value them at about ?50.

All the above comics are not the only key issues and I am sure many of you can think of a lot more. Also, I have not included the first appearance of any artists work, so if anyone has more time than me, it would be great to see a more comprehensive list.

My main point for writing this piece, is because I am trying to make the point that nobody seems to realize the potential for many of the above comics and if any of the other characters take off in a big way, such as Nikolai Dante or Rogue Trooper, then prices will sky rocket. I would love to see more of 2000AD back issues at comic conventions, this can only lead to new readers and lapsed readers returning to the comic. Finally, the reason I am saying that Rebellion is not taking advantage of this, is because at this years Dreddcon, there was only one stall selling back issues and they were from about progs 500 and above, many were multiple issues and it was totally uninspired. Surely the place to sell back issues of 2000AD is the Dreddcon, they certainly had enough space.

So, my message to you guys is, that you can pick up 2000ADs with first appearances and great artists, for a couple of quid, surely that?s a risk worth taking.

Hi Guys

I have just been back to the Shoreline site, looking for updates on the Dredd film and the site has changed slightly.

I don't know if this is old news but both synopsises have also changed drastically. I know they changed a while back but I think they've changed again. If you look under film library, you get the choice of Shoreline Films and Riptide. I'm not sure what connection Riptide has to Shoreline but they seem to be producing the two Dredd movies. They are both still entitled Possession and Dredd Reckoning but from what I remember, these two new synopsises differ greatly from what they first had up there. From what I remember, I much prefer these two new ones, especially Dredd Reckoning, as the first draft was a carbon copy of the Stallone film.

My only minor concern is that the genre they appear under is Action rather than Sci-Fi. I do hope that they are not going to tone down on the special effects and costume budgets in order to save money.

Have a read and let me know what you think.

Oh and Merry Christmas to you all.

Tarantino

Link: http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/" target="_blank">http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/

I just got back, very disapointing, I wouldn't go to another one. Hardly anything there.

The rarest and most highly valued are prog 1, 2 and 3 with their free gifts. They sold last December on comic book postal auctions for ?551 each for progs 1 and 2 and prog 3 went for ?225. click on link below and then scroll down to near the bottom.

Also any progs pre 500 are rare in near mint, becasue of the paper they were printed on, so if you find one with no rips, creases or writing then look after it becasue they alway fetch a premium.

Finally, 1208 is one of the rarest, due to either flood damage to a pallet load or bad distribution. Wake recently sold one on ebay for ?50

Link: http://www.compalcomics.com/results/brit122002.html" target="_blank">http://www.compalcomics.com/results/brit122002.html

Oh well looks like everybody is at the Dreddcon, maybe I will just drive to Oxford and find it when I get there. What's the worst that could happen?

Hi guys

I just realized that I do not have the address for the Dreddcon in Oxford. Also, is it easy to find off the M40. I'm leaving at 9.30.

Cheers - Tarantino

Well the singing hampsters were short lived, my supplier is having problems, never mind the lighting and Discarrays are going like hotcakes! Now there's an idea, if hotcakes sell so well, why don't I have them on my site?

Have a look at the site Wake, I've added two new products, Mathmos Lighting and Singing Hamsters (don't ask)

Sorry, I did not put the link in the correct box, here it is, also I forgot to mention delivery takes 3 working days. So last orders by 10am on saturday 20th December.

Best regards - Tarantino

Link: http://www.discarray.com/" target="_blank">http://www.discarray.com/

Hi Guys

20 Shopping days left until Christmas.

Now I know it's not the done thing, but I would just like to remind everyone about www.discarray.com, it's slowly starting to take off for me and I am adding more and more products all the time.

For all you music fans out there, the Discarray is the perfect Christmas present and as I enjoy visiting the board from time to time, I would like to offer every boarder a ?5 discount off every Discarray on the site. If you buy two then that's ?10 off. Also I would be grateful if you could recommend Discarray to your friends and family and I can also extend the offer to them. As the offer is not on the site, please contact me first to arrange your discount.

Click on the link below to view.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Best regards - Tarantino

Relax Slips, don't be on so defensive, I wasn't really having ago at you. I was trying to be a bit ironic by adopting Pauls attitude but I guess that didn't come across. You do what you ilke with your progs. At the end of the day I'm taking a risk by investing in comics......

But I do have a plan
Which one day may bear fruit
Or go down the pan
It's a risk that I take
With the money I make
You guys make it sound grubby
That I invest in my hobby
But I took some advice
On what I should do
To keep all my comics
Looking like new
Now my comics are stored in boxes of card
Out of the light, where reading is hard

I had an idea, which seemed good at the time
How to make money, without turning to crime
We all have our vices
And investing is mine

Now I know you must think
All my comics are mint
But I do have a box
Which I keep in the sun
I've saved them for reading
And these are for fun!!

Tarantino

Firstly, in response to Slips, I don't think I have ever tried to hide my investing behind an altruistic motive. I've stated, what I believe are the facts about the state of the comic industry. I'm not trying to save it in any way. In fact, I think Slips is doing more harm in taking his recent copies to the recyling dump, if that's the case then some of us have probably wipped our bums on his copies and no one will get to enjoy them in years to come.

In response to Opaque. My whole collection, right up to the current issue is in pristine Near Mint, and all early issues have creamy white pages. I also have all the free gifts, Annuals and Specials, as well as all the Judge Dredd titles. This has been a labour of love, I have spent the last 15 years completing the collection and it was never for investment (unless someone makes me an offer I cannot refuse!)

Tarantino