Rayguns and Secret Societies

Anyone who has known me for a while knows I can be pretty persistent when I want something. (Some might even say stubborn.) As time has passed I’ve learned that coupling persistence with patience works much better than persistence alone.

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The Johnny Raygun Story

Shortly after moving to Missouri in 2003 I found a comic store (creatively named “Another Comic Shop” in order to appear first in the phone book. Remember those, kids?) which became my “go to” store. I maintained a small monthly subscription list in order to receive all of the benefits of being a regular customer: a 25% discount on all purchases, a free copy of the monthly catalog Previews, a free protective bag and backing board with each new comic, and excellent trade-in values on comics I brought in for store credit.

In May of 2004 the store participated in the third annual promotional event known as Free Comic Book Day, a day when the largest comic book distributor Diamond Comics, several publishers, and participating retailers split the cost of special issues and give them away for free, theoretically increasing long-term business. Some stores limit customers to a book or two of their choice, while others allow more. Not only did ACS allow customers one of every title, they encouraged it!

Of the dozen or so books I walked out with that day only one stood out: a quirky, amusing book called Johnny Raygun. While there was nothing spectacular about the book, I found it to be fairly entertaining and, since it was from an independent publisher and the creators were from New Hampshire, thought I’d order an issue or two of the regular series. The next time I visited the store I asked the owner if he had any in stock (”No.”) or if he could order any (“is it in Previews?”) Despite the high quality of customer service he provided, the owner relied on Previews for EVERYTHING. I checked the latest issue, and the publisher (Jetpack Press) was not offering a new issue that month.

However, I did some research online and found that all previously published issues were listed in Previews’ Star System, a list of back issues they still had in stock. I asked again. No go. He din’t have a Star System catalog on hand, but if I could just find out the order numbers he MIGHT be able to get them…

A few weeks later my first child was born prematurely, and a few goofy comics was the least of my worries.

Things settled down, and somewhere around October I visited jetpackpress.com. There I discovered that I could order all four of the previously published issues at cover price. I also saw that the site was offering a “retailer’s package” – multiple copies of some of the issues, singles of others, for $9 (somewhere around $1.40/copy.) I offered to pay my retailer full cover price ($12) in advance for the four issues I wanted if he’d order the package. Even though I was willing to accept all risk that they books might never show up and let him keep the extras to sell….No go. Again, it was outside the regular Diamond ordering system, and he wouldn’t budge.

(Yes, I realized at this point I could have ordered them online or checked one of the other stores in town, but this had gone from a “what the heck, I’ll give it a try” scenario to a quest to show my retailer that I wasn’t sacrificing one book for another; this was money I would not otherwise have spent in his store. I would meet his stubbornness with my own!)

Then, a few weeks later, I visited to store to trade in some books. While talking with the owner I happened to glance down at the folding chair behind the counter, and sitting on it were two issues of (you guessed it!) Johnny Raygun! Assuming those copies were not for sale or reserved for someone else, I said “Hey! Johnny Raygun! Do you have any more of those?” His reaction?

“I was just about to dump these in the quarter bin - you want ‘em?” He handed them to me, I picked out a few other items, and checked out.

So two books I’d been willing to pay full price for ($3 each) cost me 25 cents apiece.

Minus my 25% discount.

In trade credit.

I was looking over my copy of Previews later that night, and was stunned to discover that, listed in the Jetpack Press section was the “Johnny Raygun Quad Pack” which included: Johnny Raygun Special Edition #1, Johnny Raygun Quarterly #1-4, and the “rare” variant edition of last year’s FCBD edition – all for $8.95 (before discount.)

Needless to say I ordered it and received it a few weeks later. I still have each and every issue. Shortly after that I cancelled my subscription list and stopped buying new comics altogether. Another Comic Shop moved a few months later, then closed permanently just before the mall it moved to was demolished.

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The Secret Society of Superheroes Story

By the turn of the century my interest in comic books had faded to the point where I was buying just a few per month and "waiting for the trade" on any title I knew would be reprinted in a collected edition a few months after the individual issues hit store shelves. Most titles (especially those designed to be only a few issues long) were being reprinted, (usually with extra material included) so the "get it now before it's gone!" factor had been almost completely eliminated. I can't remember when I learned about The Secret Society of Superheroes, a two-issue, prestige format (square-bound, double-sized issues on higher quality paper) series from DC Comics, but I do know I've wanted to read it for at least a decade. I’ve waited, and waited, and waited, periodically checking Amazon and other sites for any indication a collected edition would be released. As of this writing the books have never been reprinted in ANY format.

Why, after all this time, have I not given up waiting and just purchased the two individual books?

1) I’m persistent. Or stubborn. Or both.

2) The minute I do, a collected edition will be released.

3) On the websites of a mail order service I used for a couple of years and a store where I used to shop, the two books are currently selling for $18 and $20 each. I’ve checked ebay in the past, and sets ranged from 30-40 dollars.

But that hasn't stopped me from periodically checking ebay, just in case. And then, just a few weeks ago...

Both books, in new condition, at a 'buy it now' price of $7.95 plus $2.95 shipping. In total, a dollar less than I would have paid sixteen years ago.

I didn't jump on the deal immediately. The seller only had 11 prior sales, which is a bit of a red flag. Plus, the deal just seemed too good to be true.

So I waited and watched the listing for three days. I gave it more thought than I probably should admit. Was I being TOO stubborn? After sixteen years the odds of it being reprinted were slim. If the books turned out to be in “less than new” condition I could at least read the story, then recoup at least a few dollars selling it on ebay. And if the listing turned out to be a scam I’d be covered by Paypal’s protection policy.

I decided to go for it. I logged on to ebay, and...

“This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available.”

I figured it was either a scam or the seller realized the actual value of what they had.

I checked, and the seller had ended ALL listings.

Then I did a general search for the books again. Most listings fell in the $30-40 range.

Except one.

Both books, in new condition, at a 'buy it now' price of $5.95 plus $2.95 shipping. In total, three dollars less than I would have paid sixteen years ago.

The seller’s information looked familiar...the same city and state as the other listing, and the name was similar, and there were fifty-eight positive reviews.

There are now fifty-nine. The latest reads:

“Items as described with an extra comic included! Well packaged, timely delivery!”