Illustration by Chris Haley

Editor’s Note: Arlington-based comic book editor Jason Rodriguez is sending us his dispatches from a cross-country trip investigating the comics scene around the country. Read Part I and Part II.

History lesson: In the early 1990s a bunch of people said, “Wow! Amazing Fantasy #15 (first appearance of Spider-Man) originally sold for 12 cents. Forty years later, it’s worth $50,000. That’s one hell of an ROI!” (ROI = Return On Investment). I know, you’re thinking, “Comic nerds don’t say things like ROI,” and you’re right. The comic book speculator boom, the time when there were hundreds of crap books for every gem, was fueled by day traders, lotto buyers, and mid-level suits trying to build a fund for their kid’s college tuition or retirement property. The publishers were pushing a slate of first issues, chromium covers, and every other gimmick imaginable to trick the public into believing they could be buying the next Amazing Fantasy #15. A lot of the retailers pushed it, moving five copies of X-Force #1 to every man, woman, and child that came into the door, jacking the price up to $25 the week after it came out. It was a good time to be an industry guy, a bad time to be a fan. All this hysteria created a bubble and, once people realized their 25 copies of Bloodsport #1 are already worth less than the paper they were printed on, the bubble popped. Comic shops closed, creators were losing work, and the only thing left to show for it were billions of pages of cheesecake images showing people with really big guns fighting people with really big claws.

The boom and the bust. The Speculator Bubble. And I bring it up because, well, it came up a lot these past several days. A new bubble.

July 17
Memphis, TN

I started my day by visiting Graceland. Based on the green, shag carpeting on the walls and ceiling, I hypothesize that if Elvis was alive during the 1990s, he would have been caught up in the comic book speculator boom. He’d also have a ton of beanie babies and be a HUGE Survivor fan.

I met cartoonist Joel Priddy at his house. Joel’s Pulpatoon: Pilgrimage was the first book published by Richmond-based AdHouse Comics, one of my favorite comic publishers. Joel hasn’t really settled on what his next long-form comic should be. He partly feels like the one-upmanship that goes along with a local group of creators is something that could push him to complete his next project. We also talked in length about bubbles, particularly the one we may currently be in. It’s becoming impossible to ignore the increasing output of general fiction graphic novels against an apparent decreasing demand. We were both optimistic, but it certainly got me thinking about bubbles…

Comics & Collectibles in Memphis, Tenn.

I have nothing bad to say about Comics & Collectibles. Great group of guys, fantastic selection, and they’re obviously doing well. While I was there I saw men, women, and even an older couple enter his shop and make some purchases. No kids, though; there wasn’t even a dedicated kids section. Apparently their customers are primarily 25-40 year-old males. Where does the next crop of 25 year-olds come from? Will their chief demographic change to 26-41 year-old males next year? Being in business for 24 years, it’s safe to assume they’re getting new customers from somewhere. But, I don’t know, sometimes I can’t help but see bubbles… are the movies bringing the kids in at all?

Met with Chris Haley and his writer-collaborator Kurt Franklin for some drinks and fried pickles. I love these guys. At this year’s MOCCA, they were giving away sketches of Freddie Mercury to everyone who purchased a copy of Let’s Be Friends Again. Lots of great talk on the collaborative process, representation, and trying to network one’s way up the publishing chain. We also talked about creators who rely too much on the web. We were wondering if they’re building a bubble by only interacting with fans that seek them out. Are they getting enough criticism to push them to the next step?

After drinks I went to Karaoke with Chris. I thought I was going to kick his ass, but my blues voice was off and his rock voice was sexy as all hell. I didn’t stand a chance. Suffice it to say, he burst my bubble.