When it comes to "who buys what" I tend to think that people's privacy be respected.
** Hi Phil. I agree with this 100%. As a collector, I don't want people to know what posters I buy or consign unless I share such info voluntarily. But as an ex-reporter and news director, when an occasional free-lance assignment would come my way, it was my duty to "try" to find out who is the winning bidder. This is why news stories about high-profile auctions will always reveal -- if they can -- whether or not the winning bidder is known or anonymous. And most readers are curious about this info 100% of the time, esp. if they have no stake in the story itself. ** At other auctions I used to cover, bidders who took the top lots refused comment and/or would not give their names even if I knew them. That's fine. They were kept anonymous. In Fishler's case -- a simple "no comment" would have sufficed -- or even -- (and this happens often) -- an "I'll tell you everything you want to know, but keep my name out of it." But Fishler was identified, he knew I was a writer and obviously, if he didn't want to answer my questions, he could've refused and I would've protected him. But though he was uncomfortable seeing my notebook, he gave me his age and quickly told me why he bought those posters -- two things no one could know unless he voluntarily shared and confirmed them. (In my news stories, I never reported things "heard by someone else" -- I only tried to confirm them; without confirmation, they don't go into the story). At MoPo, I'm not bound to such restrictions, I'm responsible for my own words -- but I'm still careful, given the zillions of lawsuits for which I've been threatened during the past several decades. ** The irony is while nosy reporters are universally hated, 100% of the info people get outside their neighborhoods or friends -- comes from the dastardly media of which I used to be a part. But I protect people's privacy and their right to talk to me "off-the-record," without fear of being "outed" -- unless they make public a portion of a private conversation they had with me previously. Any portion of such revelations that I dispute will not go unchallenged. But that rarely happens because cooler heads (including my own) -- and a good count to "10" -- will more often prevail. -d. -----Original Message----- From: p...@cinemarts.com To: davidmkusum...@hotmail.com; MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Stephen Fishler... Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:47:19 +1100 My interest in comics died when I was 10 years old, apart from Classics Illustrated which fueled an unceasing interest in literature and history, and the comic-like LOOK AND LEARN and HOW AND WHY WONDER BOOKS. If family fortunes had allowed, I have no doubt I would be an archaeologist today. Had we had US comic imports in Australia then, rather then the (now) somewhat odd local versions - 100 pages of comics but just the line illos and no colour, it might have been a different story. The great Carl Barks appeared in colour as many other Mouse and Duck comics, but nothing came close to Barks's terrific epics. Then years later I rediscovered comics from Russ C's E.C. reprints in the 80s, and of course all the original ECs had been banned in Australia back in the Wertham days. Even early EERIES and the like were banned. I still have that great Nostalgia Press EC collection, but do regret selling off the EC boxed libraries when I moved continents. If Bruce trips over a forgotten pallet of the EC sets, then send them to me. They remain one of the great gifts to comic lovers, as does the numerous issues of SQUA TRONT magazine. When it comes to "who buys what" I tend to think that people's privacy be respected. Phil ----- Original Message ----- From: David Kusumoto To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 5:46 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Stephen Fishler... ** I saw Fishler in person that one and only time -- and he struck me then as a very quiet but intense young man, almost trying to hide from any attention. When I tried to interview him, he was visibly uncomfortable and gave me only a few one-breath quotes. But everyone in the huge room was curious about him. "Who's the kid with all the money who looks like he just got out of high school?," was the general buzz. Instead of letting someone else bid on his behalf, Stephen flew from NY to L.A. to bid in person. That was a helluva sale -- and it was striking in that you got the feeling that Stephen himself knew he was not going to lose those two Universal horror posters; he had no limit. It happened at Bruce's first stand-alone showroom sale (Dec. 1998) -- after directing Christie's previous poster sales in New York. Fishler struck me as a very mysterious figure. Since then, I've seen him quoted many times and have learned that he has ALWAYS been a big name in the comic book world. ** My wife and I have always found it intriguing that so many movie poster collectors are hyper-intellectual guys who used to collect sports cards or comic books, who love sci-fi and Star Trek -- who have a high-geek factor that people (esp. women) can instantly spot in a crowd. For example, the character "Dwight" in NBC's "The Office" -- played by the hilarious Rainn Wilson -- is the sort of guy you'd expect to collect comics and posters, a guy who treats the Lord of the Rings or Star Trek-type universes like a religion. And so he does. ** There used to be this quiet, portly guy in his 30s who was a graphic designer in our office in San Diego. And we used to laugh because at lunch he would tell us off and on that any woman he might marry in the future -- MUST first know all about Star Trek and understand it. And oh, of course, that woman would have to be gorgeous. He didn't collect movie posters, but he DID collect comics and action figures. I bet if I drew a line connecting all of MoPo's members -- that I would find (besides a shared interest in posters) -- a past or present interest in comics, sports cards and sci-fi/sorcery stuff. Speaking for myself, I was real INTO comic books during the first 5-6 years of Comic-Con before moving on to books and movies big-time. -d. -----Original Message----- Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:36:24 -0700 To: davidmkusum...@hotmail.com; MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU From: sa...@comic-art.com Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Stephen Fishler... David first time I met Steve he was 12 years old looking for Fantastic Four #1 and had the cash with him and much more. a year later he was a dealer too. Always a good friend, I know he won't be bothered by mentioning that his father was a liquor distributor and that should tell you everything. His mother is a sweet lady and Steve is a very smart businessman Rich At 04:28 PM 3/14/2009, David Kusumoto wrote: On the AP wires today, see below. [BTW, Fishler was/is a big buyer of movie posters and is loaded with $$$. I saw him at Bruce's huge auction held in L.A.'s cavernous Pacific Design Center that I covered 10 years ago for Movie Collector's World. At the time he was only 31 -- and he walked away with the biggest prizes of the day -- two unbacked one-sheets for "Dracula" ($74,750) and "The Invisible Man" ($55,200).] -d. ---------------------- Rare Superman comic sells for $317,200 Mar 14, 5:44 PM (ET) By DAVID B. CARUSO NEW YORK (AP) - A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman has sold for $317,200 in an Internet auction. The previous owner had bought it for less than a buck. It's one of the highest prices ever paid for a comic book, a likely testament to the volume's rarity and its excellent condition, said Stephen Fishler, co-owner of the auction site ComicConnect.com and its sister dealership, Metropolis Collectibles. The winning bid for the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, which features Superman lifting a car on its cover, was submitted Friday evening by John Dolmayan, drummer for the rock band System of a Down, according to managers at ComicConnect.com. Dolmayan, who is also a dealer of rare comic books, said he acquired the Superman comic on behalf of a client he declined to identify. "This is one of the premier books you could collect," he said in a telephone interview. "It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books. I talked to my client, and we made the move." Dolmayan said the client has "a small collection, but everything he has is incredible." Only about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are known to exist and they seldom come up for sale. "Maybe in a booming economy, it would have done a hundred grand more, but in this economy, I think the price is great," Fishler said. The man who had previously owned the book purchased it in a secondhand store in the early 1950s when he was nine years old. He paid 35 cents. --- Associated Press writer Adam Goldman in New York contributed to this report. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.