Man, you think the comics world is hot shit, and then you see this headline at HuffPo: 70-Year-Old Woman Auctions Off $1 Million Worth Of Comics. Which means Maggie Thompson is selling her comics.
Thompson, 70, has been collecting comic books since she was a girl in the 1940s. She married another comic book collector, Don Thompson, in 1962. Twenty years later they left Ohio, where Don Thompson had worked as a reporter, for Wisconsin to take over editing duties for an industry magazine, Comics Buyer’s Guide.
They spent years working on the magazine. It grew into a paper-and-ink equivalent of a Facebook page, connecting comic fans, distributors, writers and artists across the country. Don Thompson died in 1994, and CBG folded in January. But Maggie Thompson is still as sharp as Wolverine’s claws. She blogs about industry happenings and can talk for hours about how comics have evolved from something parents abhorred to a part of mainstream culture.
“Paper-and-ink equivalent of a Facebook page.” Yep, that’s what we called ’em alright, as we scrubbed our union suits on the washboard in the crick.
(This was going to be kibbles ‘n’ bits but I have a plane to catch. Sorry.)
In fairness, one of the things I liked best about CBG in its heyday was exactly the sense of community in fostered in its pages. So likening it to a pre-internet Facebook doesn’t sound entirely offbase. No matter how old the phrase makes me feel. :-)
To be fair — that’s from the Associated Press. (Click through the HuffPo link and see the logo next to the byline.) Which somehow makes it worse.
Oh, I was going to say, the headline could be “Age-ist Writer Places Insulting Story Including Dumbass 60s Batman TV Show Reference on Famous Cheapskate Blog for No Pay”—-but then I realized that half the time I am a dumbass who writes for free too.
Well, that was better than the AP…
The lede:
Holy auction block, Batman!
Well, ten years ago, I would have described CBG as the equivalent of a Usenet group.
You had a washboard? We had to use ROCKS. And when the snow covered the rocks, we had to use ice. Of course, we had to dig through eight feet of snow to get to the ice at the bottom.
@torsten careful throwing “holy headlines” stones as I recall an article at Salon written by Heidi with a similar headline. Also, headline typos ie “How other really see us, via The Huffington Post” might affect how others view us.
http://f.cl.ly/items/371e3J332V1y0y172y3S/Screen%20Shot%202013-11-22%20at%209.00.19%20AM.png
What a shame.
I thought 70 was the target demographic these days anyway. DC needs to talk to Ensure about buying ad space!
Yeah, cliche-ridden, (cliche-riddled? ha ha ) but I did like this one: “But Maggie Thompson is still as sharp as Wolverine’s claws”
You would think they coulda mustered “Comic Book Journalist Auctions Off Entire Collection” or “Founder of Comic Book Fandom Auctions Off Collection” or something. Still catchy and a lot less “BAM! POW!” That corny shit is so tired.
I did not write that Salon headline. But I did make the typoi in the OG of this post…and many more mistakes as I struggled to get to bed so I would have three hours sleep. And I still only got two so no more posting.
The story was from the AP, but I saw it in a bunch of places with different headlines, so I think it’s a fair cop to blame the Huffington Post for that. I just clicked through and it has been changed to the less generic “70-Year-Old Industry Icon Auctions Off $1 Million Worth Of Comics.” I still don’t see what her age has to do with it, though.
I loved CBG and miss it dearly. That’s how I found ComixAce, Peter David and so many others! I hope Maggie makes a giant pile of cash.
CBG was such a good read. Too bad the economics did not work out. And distribution was another killer; it was hard to obtain in any way shape or form where I live.
But best of luck to Maggie. Maybe the backhanded publicity will help raise awareness of her auction.
Comments are closed.