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.
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