Jumping Juvenile Jellyfish

Action Comics #1, June 1938, available in an online auction today for about US$126,000.

Once upon a time, I would have harbored thoughts of buying such a gem, but those days are long gone.

Those who read comics (those published in the US and the UK) fervently would recall the nasty period in the early 1990s when publishers shamelessly hyped up their lineups with variant covers.

Remember Jim Lee’s X-Men, issue Numero Uno: five variant covers. Sold 8 million copies.

This was also the period when speculators came in droves into comicsdom, snapping up these so-called special issues – they are forever issuing 1st issues with one publisher even coming up with a number 0 issue.

A sort of flashback continuity kinda thing.

I remember my trips to the Mind Shop in KL Plaza all those years ago to collect my monthly share of issues during the pander the speculator era.

Issues would come with swanky variants covers and Wolverine (always a fan favorite) would make guests appearances in all sorts of not so popular titles.

The little runt with the pop out adamantium claws was Marvel’s sales killing machine back then.

I so hated those speculators during that particular period as they would hog all the so-called “collector’s item” issues in the hope of making a quick (US126,000?) killing at selling it second hand in mint condition.

Mint condition means that it is not read and is still in the plastic wrapping it came in.

To me, it was a major waste to hog something, and in so doing, deprive others who wants to do so, just so that you can profit.

Speculators are the scum of the earth were my thoughts back then.

The debacle of the US subprime mortgage and fancy schmancy financial derivatives and the likes similarly involved speculators and look what they did to the global economy.

Scum of the earth is perhaps still correct when it comes to speculators and their cahoots.

The little runt that is Logan