Your Biggest Comic Book Regret Or Disaster?

[The Whovian]

I was born in Yugoslavia.
Started collecting comic books very early. Meaning I would have a stash I used to trade with friends and many more that I wouldn't give to anyone.
There were no bags or boards but I kept them flat and facing each other with stapes at the opposite end.
Once the war started I had to leave them all behind.
From the place that traditionally was not a collector's market, you can't even find those books anymore. Just imagine how cool it is that they said Comic Book or Magazine from Jugoslavija. A lost civilization like Mayan's.

I was collecting:
Eks Almanah
Magazine mostly B&W. Jugoslavija, despite being a Communist country at the time, was perhaps the only regime of its kind that allowed comic books from the west. This Magazine had a wide variety. Batman, Flash, Thor, Tarzan, Spiderman, Hulk, Dracula, Umpah-pah, Phantom, Aster Blistok, Mandrak the magician, Flash Gordon, and few original Yu-Comic Book characters like Herlock Sholmes, Bili The Pluc etc.

Stripoteka
Magazine B&W. For a more mature audience. Rip Kirby, Modesty Blaise, Blueberry, AXA, Prince Valiant, Coco-Bill, Spider etc. I ended up reacquiring a few of these but not even close to what I used to have.

Alan Ford
B&W pocket-size Comic Books created in Italy. This is the only one I was able to replace completely with issues I used to have and then some, in newly printed hardcovers. However, the first prints would probably have me set for life by now.

And my absolute favorite:
Strip 81 /82 / 83
The dimensions of this Comic Book flip Rock Music magazine was something I never have seen before or after. It was a mixed bag of Marvel, DC reprints as well as European titles. And when you flipped them, it was a Magazine talking about the current Rock music scene. Later I was able to buy a few issues, but they are all in fair to poor condition.

This is only the ones I regret leaving behind every day, but my collection was substantial with other titles as well, and no chance of ever replacing them.

Sorry you had to go through that Attila. I can't imagine living in a war torn country. Glad you are safe and doing well now. Have you since started to recollect the issues you lost?

[Attila Kiss]

Sorry you had to go through that Attila. I can't imagine living in a war torn country. Glad you are safe and doing well now. Have you since started to recollect the issues you lost?

As mentioned, Alan Ford (the Maxmagnus years) is pretty much complete, although in new prints only.
Stripoteka, I was able to find some nice copies just not as many as I used to have.
Eks Almanah, I found less than 10 issues. Could have gotten more but they were all in very poor condition.
Strip/Rock, found about 30-35 pieces again in a trash-collectors state.

The problem is that people in Yugoslavia were not in a mindset of collecting comic books, so if you find an odd issue, there is a good chance it went through a thousand hands. Often I wonder what happened to my well-cared collection? Was it thrown out? Did someone take good care of it as I did and perhaps made a fortune selling them to the right collector, or just used the paper to lit a fire? Perhaps, the books are still in circulation with friends passing them down from one to another, or a bomb blew them to pieces?

I remember my Father, half-jokingly and repeatedly telling me to throw out those books since they were worthless. The interest in these comics is small because collectors don't even know they exist. Hard to figure out what would be the real value now but I'm sure my Father's jaw would drop if he knew that some books like, Action Comics #1 are selling for millions. Of course, the original American prints are scarce and more desirable, but a NM book from Yugoslavia is probably a rarer find.

[Scott Taylor]

I traveled around Croatia last year. Wonderful experience, but I saw absolutely no comic books for sale, new or used. Really would have liked to pick up a comic from over there.

Sorry you lost that collection, thats really rough.

[Jim Kelly]

I've been in Slowenia and Serbia--and a friend of mine bicycled along the Dalmatian coast. I went to Serbia a few years ago to find the birthplace of my grandmother (when she was born there it was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Before I took the bus out to her small village, I walked around Belgrad and I saw that there was going to be a comic book convention there and made a mental note of it, but after visiting my grandmother's birhplace I ended up on a long circuitous adventure and never got back to Belgrad in time for the comic book convention. I've always wondered what kind of comics they would have had there.

[The Whovian]

As mentioned, Alan Ford (the Maxmagnus years) is pretty much complete, although in new prints only.
Stripoteka, I was able to find some nice copies just not as many as I used to have.
Eks Almanah, I found less than 10 issues. Could have gotten more but they were all in very poor condition.
Strip/Rock, found about 30-35 pieces again in a trash-collectors state.

The problem is that people in Yugoslavia were not in a mindset of collecting comic books, so if you find an odd issue, there is a good chance it went through a thousand hands. Often I wonder what happened to my well-cared collection? Was it thrown out? Did someone take good care of it as I did and perhaps made a fortune selling them to the right collector, or just used the paper to lit a fire? Perhaps, the books are still in circulation with friends passing them down from one to another, or a bomb blew them to pieces?

I remember my Father, half-jokingly and repeatedly telling me to throw out those books since they were worthless. The interest in these comics is small because collectors don't even know they exist. Hard to figure out what would be the real value now but I'm sure my Father's jaw would drop if he knew that some books like, Action Comics #1 are selling for millions. Of course, the original American prints are scarce and more desirable, but a NM book from Yugoslavia is probably a rarer find.

There's a big market for foreign comics right now. If you do a search on Ebay for any title from another country, you'll be shocked at the prices.

[Attila Kiss]

I traveled around Croatia last year. Wonderful experience, but I saw absolutely no comic books for sale, new or used. Really would have liked to pick up a comic from over there.
Sorry you lost that collection, thats really rough.

When I was looking around for comic books from the ex-Yu region I found a few "newer" releases from Croatia. Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Spider-Man flipbooks with 2 issues in 1 book, so they must have/sell them. While I lived in YU, comic books were sold at newsstands (they were called "kiosks") however looking at google maps (satellite images of streets) I haven't seen a single one, so I have no clue where they sell them now.

I've been in Slowenia and Serbia--and a friend of mine bicycled along the Dalmatian coast. I went to Serbia a few years ago to find the birthplace of my grandmother (when she was born there it was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Before I took the bus out to her small village, I walked around Belgrad and I saw that there was going to be a comic book convention there and made a mental note of it, but after visiting my grandmother's birhplace I ended up on a long circuitous adventure and never got back to Belgrad in time for the comic book convention. I've always wondered what kind of comics they would have had there.

That is quite an interesting story, Jim. Since I left, in 1991, I haven't been back there yet. Besides a few friends, I don't have many relatives there. My parents died, my sister and her family moved to Austria. It's interesting you mentioned that where your grandmother was born it used to be Austro-Hungary. My grandpa and I were born in the same city, 52 years apart. He was born in Austro-Hungary, I was born in Yugoslavia.

I have no idea what would you be able to find at Beograd convention. Probably a little bit of everything. Lots of today's comic book artists working for Marvel, DC, and Image are from parts of the ex-Yugoslavia. The comic book market was very strong there, with lots of original characters created by YU-creators. Stripoteka even bought the rights to produce their own stories of Tarzan. Those issues are probably the most sought after ones.

There's a big market for foreign comics right now. If you do a search on Ebay for any title from another country, you'll be shocked at the prices.

Never thought to look there. Well, I've been burned so many times on eBay, I don't shop there anymore, but you are right. Here it is:

TOMB OF DRACULA #1 ���� SERBIAN EKS YUGO EDITION COMIC

I used to own this exact issue in better shape. Heck, I had Eks Almanah #1 with Dan Dare as the main story. (It was one of the very rare Color editions of the Magazine since most of them were printed in B&W).

[The no face guy]

No. but I'm pretty sure I had comic stolen from my collection.

I went out and got the Roy Harper heroin issue before it became worth anything, and kept my comics housed in my parents basement. They had some younger guy living in there for awhile and the issue went missing from my collection around that time.

[Mace Dolex]

I had the entire Robotech comics run published by Comico and gave to my LCS for store credit because I needed space even if the art on those books was pitiful.

Also gave away my Judge Dredd run from Eagle Comics.

[AnthonyO'Brien]

Had the first America Chavez appearance in villiany or whatever it's called. Sold it for a couple of bucks pointing out its young avengers connection. Didn't think much of the art or story. Like that ever stopped a comic being valuable! It's now worth hundreds.

[shooshoomanjoe]

I can't see myself parting with my collection but over the last decade I've significantly dropped my monthly spending due to storage. My fiance is starting to make noise on how the long boxes have taken over the garage.

[4saken1]

No. but I'm pretty sure I had comic stolen from my collection.

I went out and got the Roy Harper heroin issue before it became worth anything, and kept my comics housed in my parents basement. They had some younger guy living in there for awhile and the issue went missing from my collection around that time.

Not comic related, but I had a MTG deck that had all of the Power Nine cards in it stolen by a 'friend'. They weren't mint or anything, because I played with them, but I used protective sleeved. Still worth a lot, though.