The Grail Hunters Comics Podcast

An episode so big, we even changed our intro for it!! Our brand new episode, stars a special guest and Guinness World Record holder Gareth Pahliney. Gareth’s been a member of Grail Hunters Australia for just over 3 years, and earlier this year, following in depth scrutiny by the Guinness officials, Gareth was crowned with the world record, beating Deadpool fanatics worldwide to the title... Even Rob Liefeld himself! Ben and Neville talk to him about the origins of his collection, where and how it all started! They discuss the staggering cost, and value associated with such a large collection, his favourite collectibles, the logistics of collecting from all over the world and then we also touch on what else he collects. Believe it or not, he would likely qualify for more world records if he cares to apply for the title. Neville proposed a cage match with Australia’s biggest Deadpool collector Blake Morgan, but after looking at the girth of what Gareth calls his arms, we thought it would bebest to not follow through with this. Despite Ben and Neville’s best efforts, Gareth was incorruptible, and proved to be an all-round nice guy. Not only did he team up with a comic shop to open the doors to the general public, he’s also collecting funds for his favourite charities! For more information on the #deadpoolcave, head to www.gazcomiccave.com, it’s the world’s largest Deadpool collection and hosted tours can be arranged with Gareth himself! All door proceeds go to DogsTrust, and Esker House for Domestic Abuse Support Services. Gareth also launched his own Youtube Channel called Gaz’s Comic Cave where he features his own collection and all other things pop culture: https://www.youtube.com/@gaz_comiccaveSit back, crack a beer and enjoy the episode!

In this Episode, Neville and Ben is joined by Lean Fouche! We recap on our episode featuring James Anthony Joseph and what we learned (and still need to learn) on retro gaming and its collectability and tease next weeks guest! Won’t spoil it here, but it will be someone talking very high end comic related collectibles. We then jump straight into movie talk! Movies, reception, the movie going market and appetite for Superhero movies? We start with Ant-man, what we think about the movie and the contrasting reviews by critics vs. the audience going to actually watch the movie. This flows into our next debate, have we seen the end of the MCU “hype”, are audiences cooling to Superhero movies in general, or do Marvel need to contract and focus on what’s made them successful in the past 10 years and then speculate what it could look like years from now. Our conversation turns to online scores, market place finds! Neville reflects on his score which resulted in a road trip for comics, vinyl and other goodies, and Ben falling on hard times with no loot to show on 2023. Ben discloses that he had a windfall on a Channel 9 gameshow a few years back, and we play a game of “What If” with Ben; had he purchased an Amazing Fantasy 15 with his winnings…what would his investment have looked like! Lean shows off his books which came back from CGC Toddfather signing as we discuss CGC’s approved turn-around times and tricks around getting already signed comics graded. We explore the collectability of modern comics and toys and the likelihood of getting investment returns on modern toys and discuss whether it’s worth keeping stuff new-in-box Supanova’s a couple of weeks away, and we preview some of the international stars who will be making an appearance at and what we’ll likely get signed at the event.

We're back for Season 5! Your host line-up have changed ever so slightly, but familiar voices will greet you as we reflect on our last purchases of 2022. Mike's doing hard time in a Mexican prison (yes, please spread the rumour) so in Season 5 we'll be joined by Lean Fouche who will bring a fresh perspective on collecting comics 101 and ask the 'new to collecting' questions. Nev and Lean got sucked into a large purchase. A comic? A Slab? How about a truck full of comics! Buying a collection sight unseen 2,500 kilometers away comes with a set of challenges not even Liam Neeson would be prepared for. Ben shares his impulse buy which resulted in a fun roundtrip and what could likely be the start of his new obsession (no, he'll never admit it) We discuss the Todd McFarlane CGC signature event, and Lean shares his 12 month journey into collecting. (aka...sucked in!) Crack a beer, and enjoy the episode.

In this episode Neville and Ben are joined by fellow Grail Hunters member Lean Fouche for part two of "Comic Collecting 101" - class is in session! Lean is "new" to comic collecting, and comes at it from both angles, investing as well as reading. After binging close to 50 episodes of our podcast in a few weeks, Lean highlighted that in many cases we discuss many comic topics with the assumption that listeners have a sound understanding and knowledge of collecting. As result we thought it would be great to invite Lean on to a couple of episodes to discuss "Collecting 101", and explore the basics of how/where/what/when to collect! Before we kick into the questions, Ben and Lean get side tracked as we discuss nostalgia with comics and toys and how that inevitably leads us to paying... or overpaying for relics from our childhood! Star Wars, Biker Mice, MOTU and then Ben gets all emotional as he recounts him playing with Kenner Indiana Jones bootlegs. We then jump into question time! We discuss the comic barcode cheat-codes, and how to determine which series/run a comic is from. The Question "Where do I start?" is surprisingly difficult to answer and lead us down a rabbit hole of debates and nostalgia. That considered, don't expect a quick Q&A as we have many distractions along the way. We deviate to jump on points for Star Wars (reading and investment) and how Movies, and TV fed the popularity of the comics. We follow that by exploring the cadence of comic publication, resetting series with a number 1 issues and the thinking behind why larger publishers are so quick to reset their titles. As always, the episode is filled with distractions and laughs from 80's toys franchises to breast feeding we got it covered!! Grab a beer and enjoy the episode

In this episode Neville, Ben and Mike deconstruct the shitstorm that was Black Flag Comics' C2E2 event! We discuss Black Flag Comics selling Ultimate Fallout 4 Facsimile Reprints with bootleg Acetate Covers with Four Staples at $100 a pop. Allowing "Influencers" to skip queues and bulk buy so they can flip it on their WhatNot channels for triple the price all while collectors and true fans (aka Blag Flag customers) are left out in the cold! We chat about the "influencer" apologists crying foul and supporting their mates, and the likelyhood of Black Flag receiving a quiet letter from Marvel lawyers and also what endorsing these books means for the integrity of CGC as a grader. All OBVIOUSLY speculation, we don't know what the hell is going on. We don't have the facts right? But we do know where true collectors are leaning toward. You're going to need more than one beer, or at least a two for one cocktail for this episode, so strap yourself in!

In this San Diego Comic-Con Special Episode, Neville chats to Gary Chaloner Next week Neville will be travelling to San Diego Comic Con where he will be hosting a panel to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of some of Australia's most iconic comics and the creators behind them In his preparation for the panel, many of the great creators behind titles such as Southern Squadron, The Dark Nebula, Jackaroo, Flash Damingo, Phantastique, Nightshade and The Rock took time out of their schedules to chat to him about the story behind the stories. With the consent of the creators he will be releasing them over a number of short episodes so collectors and readers passionate about the books and stories can enjoy them as much as he does Gary started his career in comics as a publisher in 1982 when he got the band together and formed Cyclone Comics which went on to play host to his own work.Cyclone went on to publish a range of amazing comic books with titles as diverse as The Jackaroo, The Southern Squadron, Dark Nebula, GI Joe Australia, Flash Damingo and CCQ (Cyclone Comics Quarterly).As the years rolled by, Gary also worked overseas, including US editions of The Jackaroo and The Southern Squadron; a very odd issue of The Badger as well as the award-winning Planet of the Apes. Gary also worked on The Olympians, a two-issue prestige series for Marvel Comics which featured his art inked by the great Gary Martin with covers inked by Todd McFarlane (Spider-Man and Spawn) and Karl Kesel. Gary was also lucky enough to have worked with the late, great Will Eisner on stories featuring Eisner’s early creation: John Law, Detective. This was subsequently released by IDW Publishing and awarded a Ledger for International Title of the Year.Gary's more recent creator-owned projects included a pulp adventure series Red Kelso, an Australian adventure series The Jackaroo, and The Undertaker Morton Stone.And now? Well Gary's back with the rest of the crew to take on the 40th anniversary of our bronze age heroes! Crack a beer and enjoy the episode!

In this San Diego Comic-Con Special Episode, Neville chats to Dave De Vries In a few short weeks Neville will be travelling to San Diego Comic Con where he will be hosting a panel to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of some of Australia's most iconic comics and the creators behind them In his preparation for the panel, many of the great creators behind titles such as Southern Squadron, Dark Nebula, Jackaroo, Flash Damingo, Phantastique, Nightshade and The Rock took time out of their schedules to chat to him about the story behind the stories. With the consent of the creators I will be releasing them over a number of short episodes so collectors and readers passionate about the books and stories can enjoy them as much as he does. David is a film writer, director, and producer and also writes and illustrates comic books. He started his comic book career in the early 1980s with work for OzComics, Phantastique, MAD Magazine and Penthouse. Together with Gary Chaloner, Glenn Lumsden and Tad Pietrzykowski he established Cyclone Comics in 1985, to ensure that their characters could be published while remaining under their control. Dave entered the American market through First Comics, and Malibu Graphics with The Southern Squadron, a superhero team that at that stage had taken over the Cyclone title, and in America he worked on The Phantom for Marvel Comics, have worked on Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Star Trek comics for DC Comics, and Valiant Comics, and also other projects like The Puppet Master and Planet of the Apes, Flesh Gordon, Black Lightning and a Green Lantern annual for DC, as well as recreating the origin of Captain Boomerang with John Ostrander in an issue of the Suicide Squad. We get an exclusive behind the scenes look at the origin of Southern Squadron, the evolution of the team members into who they are today but also the purpose of the team and what makes them unique. Beyond that Dave talks about his influences, and process in putting pen to paper, whether it’s writing or drawing and shares some sage advice from legends like Todd MacFarlane! Is this reason to celebrate? Well, they are BACK BABY! Southern Squadron along with many other Bronze Age heroes will return to Reverie and share their universe with a new generation of characters as part of the big bash 40th celebrations. Crack a beer, and enjoy the episode

Foreign Comics and foreign prints of US comics are booming!! Neville and Ben are joined by Matthew Roybal. Matthew is a journalist, and also co-founder of Foreign Comic Collector Magazine as well as admin of one of the friendliest and engaging comic groups on Facebook of the same name! (Well Grail Hunters Australia set a pretty high bench mark, but I agree!!) Matthew takes us on his collecting journey over the past 10 years as we discuss how, from humble beginnings on the CGC boards the foreign collecting community have grown to be thousands of members strong. We talk about his grail books to date, and then discuss how CBCS and CGC adopted and approach foreign books and how it's impacted the value and desirability of the foreign comics. Matt takes us on a journey showing off "Brazilian Frank Frazetta", Mexican "non-canon" Spider-man books and so much more! Tune in for a 90 minute marathon of entertaining and insightful conversation about all things foreign comics! Find Matthew here: Instagram: @define999 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/274684996585171/

Ben and Nev are joined by a special guest, Scott Liston! Scott's been part of the comic collecting community for years, and a card punching Grail Hunters member since day one. Scott also happens to be Event Director of Supanova! Also, he needs to add to his business card "Hell'a funny guy". Comic Collections, Community Spirit, Investing in books, Supanova events, and more NFT's and Poohing on Planes than you can shake a stick at - just a taster of what lies ahead. It was destined that we were to start with a debrief of poohing on planes, but rest assured we quickly jump onto other unsavoury discussions! We chat about how the local community have grown, and how online networking has encouraged us hermit collectors to get out and meet each other face to face. We chat about how and where NFT's fit in in the collecting landscape and try to explain to Old Man Liston how to go about buying his own. After this we move onto 'timing' on buying books for Investments, or rather when not to buy. Current hot books and trends, and investments on the horizon. Scott provides us a quick rundown of the favourite books in his collection, and how he came about some of them. We spitball about the future of "Nev and Benny's" Collectable shop and what we'd be selling. After this we jump right into Supanova! How Scott got involved in pop culture events (and met his wife!), and how the event calendar evolved over the years. We talk about how Covid's impacted events around the country in the past 2 years, and how Brisbane in two weeks will be the first step back to normality for local events. We speculate HARD about future guests, but you'll have to listen to the episode t to find out if we could crack Scott!

With Mike celebrating 31 days of gaming on Twitch for the month, Ben and Neville are joined by special guest Jordan Howlett to talk Comic Non Fungible tokens. We've all heard "disruption is good", and the comic publishing and collecting landscape have experienced many disruptions over the years. Fast forward to 2021 and we're again experiencing a brave new territory with Comics NFT's! Jordan's a member of the Collectors Club on discord where they assist and educate those members new to the community to get up and running and enjoy the collecting environment in Veve. We start by discussing the one comic to rule them all, Hulk 181, and why it will always be a special comic in Jordan's collection, and discuss how to assess/measure the best grade to 'invest' in if you have the money to spend! We then jump straight into NFT's. We pose the questions - What are NFTs - Why NFT's matter - How does it work - Where and how do you buy it - What's Veve and Gems With loads of questions in between, and Jordan was kind and patient enough to share his knowledge and experience with us (i did ask him to dumb it down as we know nothing of this! Ideally you'd be able to leave this episode and be able to make an educated choice about whether it's for you or not but most importantly a better understanding of where it sits in the collectors and investors landscape. If you want to know more, check out their group on Discord, all new members are welcome discord.gg/collectorsclub

Join Mike, Ben and Neville for another hilarious episode as they provide a recap on Supanova Melbourne (And GABS) right before the fourth wave of COVID lockdowns struck Melbourne! It quickly turns into a therapy session where they reflect on the crazy prices in the market and books going out of reach. They debate shows including Falcon and Winter Soldier, and upcoming Loki and trailers including Black Adam, Eternals before jumping into our recent Ebay successes and fails (Looking at you Ben!) They also field many members questions including: - The much debated first App of Wolverine is it 180, or 181? - A run down of their favourite underrated creators - Updates on Spawn World And then get terribly side tracked by UFO's (Due to Department of Truth obviously!) Crack a beer and give us a listen!

Stage 4 lockdowns can't keep us down! We're back on Zoom for this jam packed episode, and it's packed with Comicy goodness. We recap on our visit to Big City Comics and then dive into a few of the big topics for January including: - DC's Future State books, are they finally doing something right? - We share our thoughts on Marvel and Disney's TV Projects including Wandavision, - We go on quite an elegant rant about Trading Card prices and speculation around market manipulation causing the price rises we are seeing. If that's not enough we move to Grail Hunters members questions (of which we had looooads) So grab a beer and join Neville, Ben and Mike for the lighter side of collecting