As previously noted, I lost my old url, zipper68.com. It bummed me out a bit because I'd had it for years... and I liked having a simple, easy-to-remember url that pointed to my blog or website... and was connected to my online message board presence as well. (I am Zipper68 on various message boards.)
But, maybe I found a better one.
I am now, MrZipper.com.
MrZipper.com will point to this blog for the foreseeable future. Now, maybe I'll have to change my message boards names to Mr. Zipper as well.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Zipper's Autograph Gallery
I lost my zipper68.com url. I was too slow on the renewal... although I have to say I'm kinda shocked that someone actually scooped it up the moment it expired. Now there is a useless and empty generic "financial services" blog at that address. What's the point?
In any case, my original autograph collecting site, Zipper's Autograph Gallery is still online at the old Geocities address. I haven't updated it in quite some time, however it serves as a good resource and a bit of a time capsule. As long as Geocities will host it for free, I'll keep it there.
In any case, my original autograph collecting site, Zipper's Autograph Gallery is still online at the old Geocities address. I haven't updated it in quite some time, however it serves as a good resource and a bit of a time capsule. As long as Geocities will host it for free, I'll keep it there.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Bittersweet Thoughts of Days Gone By
About 20 years ago, they pulled up the flooring in my grandmother's attic, and underneath the flooring were a few dozen newspapers including many Sunday funnies with all the major strips... all from the 40s. Apparently they used the newspapers as a layer between the subfloor and the flooring. The newspapers were as white and flat and fresh as the day they came out.
I held onto the color funnies for a few years and eventually tossed them out because they were big and not easy to store. The guy from the local comic shop told me there was no demand for them and they were basically worthless... he didn't want them at any price. This was long before ebay, obviously...
I really wish I had kept them now. They'd probably be worth a few bucks, but more importantly, it would be a nice memento from my Grandmother's home. What I would give to be there just one more time... to sit at her kitchen table and butter a piece of bread while she stood at the stove cooking.
I held onto the color funnies for a few years and eventually tossed them out because they were big and not easy to store. The guy from the local comic shop told me there was no demand for them and they were basically worthless... he didn't want them at any price. This was long before ebay, obviously...
I really wish I had kept them now. They'd probably be worth a few bucks, but more importantly, it would be a nice memento from my Grandmother's home. What I would give to be there just one more time... to sit at her kitchen table and butter a piece of bread while she stood at the stove cooking.
Visit The NOD Message Board
If you're a fan of comics, comic collecting and the history of comics, be sure to check out the Network of Disclosure's (NOD) message board.
Lot's of great comics on display. You'll also see some of the hobby's most respected names hanging out. Oh, and Marnin Rosenberg is there too.
Lot's of great comics on display. You'll also see some of the hobby's most respected names hanging out. Oh, and Marnin Rosenberg is there too.
Where Fan Mail Goes to Get Answered
From the Wall Street Journal, 4/22/2009
#######
Where Fan Mail Goes to Get Answered
By JOANNE KAUFMAN
In the course of her career as a psychotherapist, Shelley De Angelus counseled schizophrenics, patients with multiple personality disorder, and garden-variety neurotics.
Long exposure to people with inflated expectations, economy-size fantasies and delusions of grandeur serves her well in her current slot as the office manager of Mail Mann, Inc., a Los Angeles-based fan-mail and fan-club service. Daily, she or her colleague Marie Kehoe stops at the post office to pick up white plastic bins of letters addressed to such clients as Anna Paquin, Ralph Fiennes, Richard Gere, Reese Witherspoon, Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Joe Cocker and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as some cast members of the series "Two and a Half Men," "30 Rock" and "Brothers & Sisters."
They've got mail, thousands of missives a week -- from fans who want to express approval/disapproval of their idols' political stands, religious beliefs, recent headline-making behavior, taste in mates or taste in movie roles. From fans who want to express sympathy or support when there's been a death in the celeb's family. From straitened fans seeking cash (five- and six-figure requests are not uncommon) and from fans seeking a far more precious commodity: a date for the high-school prom.
"What surprises me is the intensity of the expectations," said Ms. De Angelus in a recent phone interview. "It's one thing when a 14-year-old writes 'take me to the prom.' But when a mother writes saying 'take my daughter to the prom,' you have to wonder."
She wonders equally about the woman who keeps those cards and letters coming for Chad Michael Murray, star of the series "One Tree Hill." "This fan seems to see him as her best friend," said Ms. De Angelus. "I find it astonishing seeing that she has written many times a week for years and has never gotten a response. Her letters are incredibly boring," she added.
The requests contained in such notes may vary, but the opening salvo and closing line are strikingly similar. "Everyone tends to start with 'I am your number one fan,'" Ms. De Angelus said. "And all the letters end with 'please send a picture."
Mail Mann is one of a small handful of companies that has taken over a job once handled solely by movie studios. "Years ago, that mail was seen as a very important gauge of an actor's popularity," said veteran publicist Lee Solters. "Now it's all about the box office: You're bankable or you're not bankable."
Named for its founder, Mackie Mann, a child actor who grew up to be a producer of TV commercials, Mail Mann was launched 25 years ago. "A friend who was a talent agent asked me if I knew anyone who did fan mail," recalled Ms. Mann. "She had a client, Peter Reckell, who's on 'Days of Our Lives.' At the time he was very big, a teen heartthrob, and I said I'd look into it. I started looking and I couldn't find anyone -- and I thought, hmmm."
She began Mail Mann in her garage, handling Mr. Reckell's correspondence, and soon signed up David Hasselhoff, then the star of the series "Knight Rider." Ms. Mann's husband, a dolly grip, was very helpful with client recruitment. "When he went on location, he would talk to stars about my business," she said. "I got a lot of people that way."
As time passed Ms. Mann increased her revenue stream by helping stars start fan clubs and by creating a Web site to sell celebrity merchandise.
There's an ebb and flow to the client roster. "We usually get called when celebrities all of a sudden have so much mail they don't know what to do with it," said Ms. Mann. "Then they stay with us while their career is peaking. But after a while their popularity may wind down and the expense of responding to their fans becomes more than they want to incur."
The decline in scripted programming has hurt the firm; an actor without a series or a movie of the week may not be getting a sufficient hillock of letters to need assistance in dealing with them.
There's a "set-up charge" of $250 and a minimum monthly charge of $125 for Mail Mann to pick up letters from the post office or a celebrity's home, retrieve emails and deal with correspondence per clients' wishes. For Emilio Estevez and Marina Sirtis, star of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," that means a form letter thanking fans for their support. For most others, it's the dispatch of a 5-by-7 photo (8-by-10s have gotten too expensive) with what's known in the trade as a plate signature (a mechanized copy of an autograph).
"We have a few customers like Hector Elizondo who will come in the office and sign their own photos," Ms. Kehoe said. "He's the sweetest guy in the world. I think Charlie Sheen also signs his photos. He likes to be liked by his fans."
Mail Mann screens letters for threatening content, with protocols in place for handling such situations. "We'll also keep a dubious letter on file for future reference if it's something we don't feel easy about but doesn't constitute an imminent threat," said Ms. De Angelus. The company is also on the lookout for letters that might be worthy of a celeb's special attention -- for example, a charity requesting a personalized item for a benefit auction or a fan with an especially compelling story. "I remember a letter from a young French girl whose father had never acknowledged her and she didn't have a lot of friends. She used Elijah Wood as a role model," said Ms. De Angelus, referring to the "Lord of the Rings" star. "He had inspired her to achieve quite a lot, so she got a personalized photo."
Another attention-getting letter came from a young gay man to the campy actress Elvira, saying that she was his fairy goth mother and had helped him through a difficult adolescence. He too received a personalized photo from his idol.
For some celebs less responsive than Elvira and Mr. Wood, "we're the last thing on the totem pole," said Ms. Mann. "They have managers, they have agents, they have publicists. They don't care about letters accumulating somewhere. The people who want their mail done understand that the fans make their careers."
#######
Where Fan Mail Goes to Get Answered
By JOANNE KAUFMAN
In the course of her career as a psychotherapist, Shelley De Angelus counseled schizophrenics, patients with multiple personality disorder, and garden-variety neurotics.
Long exposure to people with inflated expectations, economy-size fantasies and delusions of grandeur serves her well in her current slot as the office manager of Mail Mann, Inc., a Los Angeles-based fan-mail and fan-club service. Daily, she or her colleague Marie Kehoe stops at the post office to pick up white plastic bins of letters addressed to such clients as Anna Paquin, Ralph Fiennes, Richard Gere, Reese Witherspoon, Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Joe Cocker and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as some cast members of the series "Two and a Half Men," "30 Rock" and "Brothers & Sisters."
They've got mail, thousands of missives a week -- from fans who want to express approval/disapproval of their idols' political stands, religious beliefs, recent headline-making behavior, taste in mates or taste in movie roles. From fans who want to express sympathy or support when there's been a death in the celeb's family. From straitened fans seeking cash (five- and six-figure requests are not uncommon) and from fans seeking a far more precious commodity: a date for the high-school prom.
"What surprises me is the intensity of the expectations," said Ms. De Angelus in a recent phone interview. "It's one thing when a 14-year-old writes 'take me to the prom.' But when a mother writes saying 'take my daughter to the prom,' you have to wonder."
She wonders equally about the woman who keeps those cards and letters coming for Chad Michael Murray, star of the series "One Tree Hill." "This fan seems to see him as her best friend," said Ms. De Angelus. "I find it astonishing seeing that she has written many times a week for years and has never gotten a response. Her letters are incredibly boring," she added.
The requests contained in such notes may vary, but the opening salvo and closing line are strikingly similar. "Everyone tends to start with 'I am your number one fan,'" Ms. De Angelus said. "And all the letters end with 'please send a picture."
Mail Mann is one of a small handful of companies that has taken over a job once handled solely by movie studios. "Years ago, that mail was seen as a very important gauge of an actor's popularity," said veteran publicist Lee Solters. "Now it's all about the box office: You're bankable or you're not bankable."
Named for its founder, Mackie Mann, a child actor who grew up to be a producer of TV commercials, Mail Mann was launched 25 years ago. "A friend who was a talent agent asked me if I knew anyone who did fan mail," recalled Ms. Mann. "She had a client, Peter Reckell, who's on 'Days of Our Lives.' At the time he was very big, a teen heartthrob, and I said I'd look into it. I started looking and I couldn't find anyone -- and I thought, hmmm."
She began Mail Mann in her garage, handling Mr. Reckell's correspondence, and soon signed up David Hasselhoff, then the star of the series "Knight Rider." Ms. Mann's husband, a dolly grip, was very helpful with client recruitment. "When he went on location, he would talk to stars about my business," she said. "I got a lot of people that way."
As time passed Ms. Mann increased her revenue stream by helping stars start fan clubs and by creating a Web site to sell celebrity merchandise.
There's an ebb and flow to the client roster. "We usually get called when celebrities all of a sudden have so much mail they don't know what to do with it," said Ms. Mann. "Then they stay with us while their career is peaking. But after a while their popularity may wind down and the expense of responding to their fans becomes more than they want to incur."
The decline in scripted programming has hurt the firm; an actor without a series or a movie of the week may not be getting a sufficient hillock of letters to need assistance in dealing with them.
There's a "set-up charge" of $250 and a minimum monthly charge of $125 for Mail Mann to pick up letters from the post office or a celebrity's home, retrieve emails and deal with correspondence per clients' wishes. For Emilio Estevez and Marina Sirtis, star of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," that means a form letter thanking fans for their support. For most others, it's the dispatch of a 5-by-7 photo (8-by-10s have gotten too expensive) with what's known in the trade as a plate signature (a mechanized copy of an autograph).
"We have a few customers like Hector Elizondo who will come in the office and sign their own photos," Ms. Kehoe said. "He's the sweetest guy in the world. I think Charlie Sheen also signs his photos. He likes to be liked by his fans."
Mail Mann screens letters for threatening content, with protocols in place for handling such situations. "We'll also keep a dubious letter on file for future reference if it's something we don't feel easy about but doesn't constitute an imminent threat," said Ms. De Angelus. The company is also on the lookout for letters that might be worthy of a celeb's special attention -- for example, a charity requesting a personalized item for a benefit auction or a fan with an especially compelling story. "I remember a letter from a young French girl whose father had never acknowledged her and she didn't have a lot of friends. She used Elijah Wood as a role model," said Ms. De Angelus, referring to the "Lord of the Rings" star. "He had inspired her to achieve quite a lot, so she got a personalized photo."
Another attention-getting letter came from a young gay man to the campy actress Elvira, saying that she was his fairy goth mother and had helped him through a difficult adolescence. He too received a personalized photo from his idol.
For some celebs less responsive than Elvira and Mr. Wood, "we're the last thing on the totem pole," said Ms. Mann. "They have managers, they have agents, they have publicists. They don't care about letters accumulating somewhere. The people who want their mail done understand that the fans make their careers."
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Another Ebay Forger Busted
The ebay name Celeb Factory seems so appropriate as they were obviously manufacturing the autographs. From WalesOnline...
#######
Mother sold fake Princess Diana autographs
Sep 24 2008 WalesOnline
A single mother who made more than £13,000 selling fake autographs over the internet was given a suspended prison sentence today.
Louise Marney, 32, admitted deceiving people by selling the signed photographs of celebrities, including Princess Diana and Sean Connery, to customers who believed they were genuine.
Swansea Crown Court heard the telemarketer, of Walters Road, Neath, south Wales, was the “forerunner” of a website called Celeb Factory, which was set up by an accomplice she has only identified as Jason.
Through the website, and internet auction site eBay, the pair offered for sale thousands of fake signed photographs of stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Kylie Minogue, Pele, Muhammad Ali, Simon Cowell and the cast of the A-Team.
Ben Blakemore, prosecuting, said prices for the autographs, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, ranged between £19.99 and £89.99, with the exception of the false Princess Diana autograph, which was advertised for sale at £299.99.
Marney admitted conspiring to apply false trademarks to goods between September 2006 and July last year, by purporting the autographed goods were genuine when they were not.
Celeb Factory sold 4,770 items on eBay alone in that period, Mr Blakemore added. The court heard Marney bought legitimate photographs from another website and sent them to Jason to sign before they were returned to her for sale.
She was paid at least £300 per week, Mr Blakemore said, making a total of up to £13,800.
The Celeb Factory website offered customers “one of a kind” original autographs that were “an investment for the future”, the court heard.
Mr Blakemore added: “The defendant even had the audacity to put a peace-of-mind guarantee to it.”
The scam was eventually uncovered by trading standards officers from Neath Port Talbot Council investigating the sale of a fake signed Sean Connery photograph.
Nic Sefton, defending, said Marney had “complete and utter remorse at the situation she finds herself in”.
He said: “It was completely out of character for her. It was undertaken, in reality, through necessity.”
Marney stopped trading with Celeb Factory before becoming aware of the trading standards investigation, Mr Sefton added.
Judge Christopher Morton dismissed claims made in a character reference that Marney is a “woman of high integrity”.
He said: “Over a ten month period, she has taken a full part in conning people out of money.”
He sentenced her on her basis of plea, that Jason was “at the centre of the scam”, but told Marney: “You were fully involved in the sale of these items sent out with counterfeit signatures.”
The judge sentenced Marney to 42 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered her to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will take place in January.
#######
Mother sold fake Princess Diana autographs
Sep 24 2008 WalesOnline
A single mother who made more than £13,000 selling fake autographs over the internet was given a suspended prison sentence today.
Louise Marney, 32, admitted deceiving people by selling the signed photographs of celebrities, including Princess Diana and Sean Connery, to customers who believed they were genuine.
Swansea Crown Court heard the telemarketer, of Walters Road, Neath, south Wales, was the “forerunner” of a website called Celeb Factory, which was set up by an accomplice she has only identified as Jason.
Through the website, and internet auction site eBay, the pair offered for sale thousands of fake signed photographs of stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Kylie Minogue, Pele, Muhammad Ali, Simon Cowell and the cast of the A-Team.
Ben Blakemore, prosecuting, said prices for the autographs, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, ranged between £19.99 and £89.99, with the exception of the false Princess Diana autograph, which was advertised for sale at £299.99.
Marney admitted conspiring to apply false trademarks to goods between September 2006 and July last year, by purporting the autographed goods were genuine when they were not.
Celeb Factory sold 4,770 items on eBay alone in that period, Mr Blakemore added. The court heard Marney bought legitimate photographs from another website and sent them to Jason to sign before they were returned to her for sale.
She was paid at least £300 per week, Mr Blakemore said, making a total of up to £13,800.
The Celeb Factory website offered customers “one of a kind” original autographs that were “an investment for the future”, the court heard.
Mr Blakemore added: “The defendant even had the audacity to put a peace-of-mind guarantee to it.”
The scam was eventually uncovered by trading standards officers from Neath Port Talbot Council investigating the sale of a fake signed Sean Connery photograph.
Nic Sefton, defending, said Marney had “complete and utter remorse at the situation she finds herself in”.
He said: “It was completely out of character for her. It was undertaken, in reality, through necessity.”
Marney stopped trading with Celeb Factory before becoming aware of the trading standards investigation, Mr Sefton added.
Judge Christopher Morton dismissed claims made in a character reference that Marney is a “woman of high integrity”.
He said: “Over a ten month period, she has taken a full part in conning people out of money.”
He sentenced her on her basis of plea, that Jason was “at the centre of the scam”, but told Marney: “You were fully involved in the sale of these items sent out with counterfeit signatures.”
The judge sentenced Marney to 42 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered her to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will take place in January.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Me and Marnin and my wife and chicken parm
Had a great dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant in Great Neck, NY Saturday night. The legendary comic dealer and fan Marnin Rosenberg was our host.
We chatted about the history and politics of the hobby... and after dinner, Marnin opened the vault and let me hold books I could only dream of owning. Super high grade copies of early Marvels, Golden Age pedigrees... a jaw dropping exposition of newsstand fresh books.
My wife was even tolerant enough to reserve any sarcastic comments and eye-rolling. All it took was a wonderful dinner capped off with cannolis.
We chatted about the history and politics of the hobby... and after dinner, Marnin opened the vault and let me hold books I could only dream of owning. Super high grade copies of early Marvels, Golden Age pedigrees... a jaw dropping exposition of newsstand fresh books.
My wife was even tolerant enough to reserve any sarcastic comments and eye-rolling. All it took was a wonderful dinner capped off with cannolis.
Getting the band back together?
Wow... it's been almost a year since my farewell post.
Now I'm thinking about making another run at it. Lots going on with NOD... plus I have some other stuff on my mind.
Let's see if I can get it going again.
Now I'm thinking about making another run at it. Lots going on with NOD... plus I have some other stuff on my mind.
Let's see if I can get it going again.
Friday, October 12, 2007
The Final Curtain?
After a year or more of struggling with sporadic posting, I'm calling it quits.
The blog thing was fun for a while, but frankly, I don't have anything new to say. It should be fun, and when it turns into a chore, it's time to sign off.
I will keep everything up and hopefully this can serve as a resource for people new to the scene. Plenty of scam info and juicy reading in the archives.
Best of luck to all, thanks for reading, and farewell. For now, at least.
The blog thing was fun for a while, but frankly, I don't have anything new to say. It should be fun, and when it turns into a chore, it's time to sign off.
I will keep everything up and hopefully this can serve as a resource for people new to the scene. Plenty of scam info and juicy reading in the archives.
Best of luck to all, thanks for reading, and farewell. For now, at least.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
How NOT to Ship Comics... Or Anything Else
This is how one CGC Message Board member received a lot of 20 comic books he won on eBay. No kidding.
You'd think it would be common sense, but do you have to ask sellers now to "not ship my winnings in a cereal box?"
You can read more about it here.
Friday, July 06, 2007
It's Summertime, and the Blogging is Hard
Sorry for the long delay between posts. I'm still alive and kicking... but I just can't spend a lot of time in front of a computer in the spring and summer. Plus, sometimes I just don't have a lot to say (believe it or not.)
On with the show...
I have been able to knock a few more Action Comics war covers off my want list. Here's the first one. Thanks to my buddy Alton for finding this for me at his LCS:
On with the show...
I have been able to knock a few more Action Comics war covers off my want list. Here's the first one. Thanks to my buddy Alton for finding this for me at his LCS:
More to follow. Soon. I promise.
Friday, April 13, 2007
The Joker Times Seven
Impulse buy alert!!!
Ok, I got it at a great price and couldn't resist this Golden Age gem.
Thanks to SoCal and Esquire Comics who were offering a run of Batman 1 - 100 at very reasonable prices.
I like it so much, I'm going to have to put a bunch of Golden Age Joker covers on my want list.
Ok, I got it at a great price and couldn't resist this Golden Age gem.
Thanks to SoCal and Esquire Comics who were offering a run of Batman 1 - 100 at very reasonable prices.
I like it so much, I'm going to have to put a bunch of Golden Age Joker covers on my want list.
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