Captain Collector's Strange Half-Year in Review
Thomas Sr. (Captain Collector)Last updated: 1 July 2020 approx. 3 min read
It really has been a very special half-year that lies behind us. June is coming to an end, and we are tentatively making our way into a summer that is different from the summers of recent years. Of course, everything is shaped by the omnipresent virus. People wearing face masks in the street have become an everyday sight.
Everything looked very different
But let's turn the clock back a little and look at the start of the year. Back then everything still seemed fine, and I was firmly convinced that the Chinese Year of the Rat (I was born in 1960, in the Year of the Rat) would be my year. A bit naive, but that's how it was.
As early as February, when we opened our Amazing Comicshow at the Galerie 111, dark clouds could be seen on the horizon. Fortunately, we were able to bring the Comicshow to a successful close before the lockdown came and sealed our shop airtight for almost two months. Now it was all about shifting as much of our sales as possible to the online shop.
Super-Adaptoid Captain Collector
In concrete terms, that meant listing new comics, figures and other items practically every day, so as to offer the widest possible range. And indeed, sales in the online shop rose significantly compared with previous months, though not to a level where I could have happily closed the shop for good. Online trade wasn't going quite that well.
Even so, it was interesting to watch how buying behaviour changed because people could no longer shop in person. My son's trading card departments, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon, on the other hand, went literally through the roof. Sometimes I thought the zombie apocalypse had really arrived and everyone wanted to stock up on trading cards as fast as possible. You never know …
I have to admit that, despite everything, I was glad when I was allowed to reopen the shop in mid-May. During the weeks of lockdown I gave Amazing a thorough overhaul: clearing out old stuff, making new space, cleaning and rearranging the shop windows and getting the place shipshape.
The time after
Now I was curious to see how my customers' buying behaviour had changed, if at all. And quite a lot had indeed changed. Online sales dropped back somewhat, but not to the level before the lockdown. On the other hand, new customers turned up in the shop and bought some things that had been shelf warmers for months (years!). Interesting. Why is that? I don't know.
The regulars, of course, stayed regulars; nothing had changed there. If anything, we gained new regulars. Another factor worth mentioning is the impact of my blog posts. I'm getting more and more requests for comic valuations, and courses (comic grading) are in demand too. Apparently many people used the lockdown to browse the internet and to read the odd post by Captain Collector.
And to top it all
In mid-June I then had a pretty nasty incident when, without warning, the balance organ in my right inner ear gave up the ghost. Because of constant dizziness and the nausea that came with it, I was unable to do even the simplest things. My wife stood in for me in the shop for an entire week.
A short hospital visit finally identified an inflamed nerve as the culprit, and a high-dose chemical sledgehammer brought relief within a few days and, in the end, a cure. All's well that ends well. The trigger? No idea, could have been anything.
All in all, then, it wasn't a bad first half of 2020. It wasn't what I had imagined at the start of the year, but it was fine as it was. If everything were predictable, life would probably be boring and sluggish. Meanwhile I'm already looking ahead to the second half of the year, full of curiosity and raring to go, and I'm keen to see what it has in store for me. Bring it on, life! Captain Collector is ready!
No matter how rotten you feel, always remember that at some point you hit rock bottom. Then there's no other way: it can only go up. I'm just a realistic optimist.
Thomas Sr. (Captain Collector)Captain Collector's Superfluous Words of Wisdom
Avengers #178 Comic: Avengers #178 Language: English Publisher: Marvel Comics Year: December 1978 Condition: Fine Plus, FN+, 6.5 Avengers #178 brings an exciting story from the 1970s, the Bronze Age of comics. The comic is in very good condition. The Avengers have been fighting the villains of Earth, and also those from other worlds, every month without interruption since 1963. Marvel's flagship superhero team was assembled by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby from already existing superheroes of the then-young Marvel Universe. In the beginning it was Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man and Wasp. Over time, others joined, some left the team, later returned, or stayed away for good. Today, the Avengers are probably the most popular and best-known superhero team in the world, of course also thanks to the Marvel films, which have brought them close to non-comic-readers as well. Tags: avengers, jack kirby, thor, john buscema, squadron sinister, scarlet witch, captain america, quicksilver, iron man, red guardian
Challengers of the Unknown #77 Comic: Challengers of the Unknown #77 Language: English Publisher: DC Comics Year: January 1970 Condition: Very Fine, VF, 8.0 Challengers of the Unknown #77 by the legendary Jack Kirby. Here, a classic story from the 1960s is brought back to life. The issue is in good condition. Tags: challengers of the unknown, jack kirby, jack the king kirby, dc comics
Astonishing Tales #34 Comic: Astonishing Tales #34 Language: English Publisher: Marvel Comics Year: March 1976 Condition: Fine/Very Fine, FN/VF, 7.0 Astonishing Tales #34 was one of the Marvel series of the 1970s that gave a home to all kinds of heroes who didn't yet have their own title. Here Marvel presents the first cyborg in comic history: Deathlok, created by Rich Buckler. The comic book is in good used condition. Tags: astonishing tales, marvel tryout, marvel comics, bronze age of comics deathlok
Die Rächer #74 Comic: Die Rächer #74 Language: German Publisher: Williams Year: 1977 Condition: 1-2 (One to two) Fine Die Rächer #74 from the legendary Williams publishing house. The comic book is in very good condition. Tags: die rächer, avengers, marvels avengers, williams verlag
Avengers #158 Comic: Avengers #158 Language: English Publisher: Marvel Comics Year: April 1977 Condition: Fine/Very Fine, FN/VF, 7.0 Avengers #158 brings an exciting story from the 1970s, the Bronze Age of comics. The cover was drawn by Jack Kirby, and the comic book is in good condition. The Avengers have been fighting Earth's villains every month without interruption since 1963, as well as villains from other worlds. Marvel's flagship superhero team was put together by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby from already existing superheroes of the then-young Marvel Universe. At the start, it was Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man and Wasp. Over time, others joined, some left the team, some returned later, and some stayed away for good. The Avengers are today probably the most popular and best-known superhero team worldwide, of course also thanks to the Marvel films, which have brought them close to non-comic fans as well. Tags: avengers, jack kirby, thor, john buscema, squadron sinister, scarlet witch, captain america, quicksilver, iron man, red guardian
Incredible Hulk #123 Comic: Incredible Hulk #123 Language: English Publisher: Marvel Comics Year: January 1970 Condition: Fine Plus, FN+, 6.5 Incredible Hulk #123 with the Fantastic Four and the Leader as guest stars. The story is by Roy Thomas and Herb Trimpe. The issue is in good used condition. The Hulk is one of the oldest superhero characters in the Marvel Universe. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created him in 1962 as a kind of tragic Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde character. Due to an accident involving radioactive exposure, physicist Dr. Bruce Banner transforms (mostly involuntarily) into a large green monster known to everyone since the Marvel films at the latest: the Hulk. The series initially ran for 6 issues before being cancelled. A few years later he was revived in the Tales to Astonish series, where he wreaked havoc from issue #60 onwards. This comic series was renamed after #101 and became Incredible Hulk with #102. Incidentally, one of Marvel's most famous superheroes made his first appearance in this series: Wolverine first appeared in October 1974 in Incredible Hulk #181. Tags: incredible hulk, hulk, marvel comics
Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian #36 Comic: Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian #36 Language: English Publisher: Marvel Comics Year: December 1978 Condition: Very Fine Minus, VF-, 7.5 Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian #36 from Marvel's black-and-white magazine series. This issue features the comic adaptation of an adventure story by Robert E. Howard, adapted for Conan by Roy Thomas and skilfully brought to life by John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala. The magazine has a fantastic cover painting by Earl Norem and is in good condition. Tags: conan the barbarian, savage sword, marvel, robert e. howard, barry smith
