I do have six new trees in the back yard, in addition to the three that I had moved from other locations about a week ago. However, I’d be willing to bet that at least three or four of them will not make it… particularly the ones I transplanted from the flowerbeds by the house.

Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself that if I have six new trees in the back yard today, I must have followed through on the bold statement in my last post. However, I will neither confirm nor deny your suspicions. Was it all bravado? Am I a hardened botanical criminal? Only Ladybug and I know the truth…

I am currently buying comic books. I’ll buy them without seeing them. I don’t pay a whole lot, because I’m buying them for my own reading enjoyment, not to re-sell. I really don’t pay very much for 1990’s comics, when Marvel was all about the X-everything and the stories and art all sucked. But I do but them. And as I buy duplicates of books, I’ll be assembling sets to give away to schools or young readers.

Rates

Anything up to 1969: $0.50 / issue
Marvel & DC, 1970’s: $0.20 / issue
Marvel & DC, 1980s: $0.10 / issue
Marvel & DC, 1990-1997s: $0.03 / issue, X-Force or Cable: $.01 / issue
Marvel & DC, 1998-2000s: $.08 / issue
Dark Horse, First, Eclipse: $0.08 / issue
Image, Valiant, Malibu, Wildstorm, and all those other hack 1990’s publishers: $0.01 / issue

Don’t know what’s in there? Don’t feel like looking at the dates on stuff? Just ready to get rid of a stack of stuff? E-mail me at ross@unc.edu, tell me how many books (or roughly how many books) you’re trying to get rid of, and I’ll shoot you a quote.

Shipping

E-mail me at ross@unc.edu with the number of books (and any other information relevant to getting you a fair price), and I’ll get back to you with a shipping address and confirmation that we’re good to go!

I’ll ask you to box them up (all lying flat) and ship them to me Media Mail, and I will pay you a small packing allowance, as well.

Paying You

I make payments via PayPal, personal check, or, in some cases, money order. Domestic orders only, since I don’t really mess with International shipping and all that stuff. Let me know how I should pay you when you e-mail me.

Notes

• I’m not interested in buying from dealers. I’d like to buy from individuals who want to get rid of old comics to make space.
• Seriously, I’m doing this because I love reading old comics of any type. I pay more for old comics because I like reading old comics.
• I don’t want 68 copies of the same book– someone sold me 32 copies of Harbinger #17 at one point, and even giving some away, I still have like 19 of them. Boo on that.
• I am currently giving away copies of Harbinger #17 to anyone who wants one.

.

My plans tonight include taking Ladybug to the library to return some books, stop by a post office, and then head home, change clothes, and GO COMMIT A CRIME. Yes, folks, I am hereby broadcasting my intent to commit a heinous crime. I plan to go tonight to a lot that has been torn up by construction that was begun several years ago but never completed. I plan to take with me a shovel. This lot is well out of sight– in fact, no road or complete path leads to it, because it is so abandoned that the path that was cut has grown over with brush and small trees.

The lot is muddy, and several small trees have sprouted up. Some are probably 4-5 years old, which would mean that they germinated in the mud right as the area was torn up.

I’m going to dig up several of these trees…. trees which do not belong to me… and take them back to my yard. I’ll feed them well and hope that they grow big and strong and one day keep people from the International Church from looking into our home from the church parking lot. I’ll keep these trees alive, when it’s plain to see that if construction were to resume, they’d be sacrificed in the name of progress.

I’m no social crusader… I want a nicer yard… so I can’t claim that this is a crime fueled by a healthy sense of disobedience. Wish I could.

So, if you are a law enforcement official, let this blog post serve as fair notice that tonight, I intend to commit the crime of tree theft from an abandoned lot. If I come home to a garage surrounded by SWAT teams, I will be unable to get my shovel, and I will call off my dastardly plan. Otherwise, I will assume that all of you law enforcement types are OK with it.

Seriously, doesn’t Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons look like a video game character?