Foreign Comic Collector issue#3 | Page 8

In the beginning… by Liaton-9000 adies and gentlemen, I would like to formally introduce myself. My name is Liam Sturgess, otherwise known as Liaton9000 (or Liaton-9000) across a variety of social platforms. I am a Canada-based collector. I have been active on YouTube as a video blogger since 2007, and I actively produce original music and videos as my main claim to fame. I was introduced to comics through the form of Archie Digests when I was around nine years old, and after a short hiatus, I expanded my field of interest to include such mainstream comics as Marvel and DC, never limiting what I would take a glance at in a local comic shop or online browsing. However, I had decided to focus mostly on key issues such as first appearances, classic covers, etc. In 2010, I discovered the company known as CGC and I quickly began to integrate myself into the community (after a rough start, seeing as I was three years under the required age to participate). L Soon after joining, I noticed one collector in particular would occasionally post his newest acquisitions, most of which were the key issues I liked to admire and collect. However, these were different – they were not the classic American editions that I was familiar with. The books being posted were translated into different languages (most of which I didn’t recognize), with altered covers and a plethora of unique qualities to each one. The first batch of these books that I was exposed to were foreign editions of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8, the origin of the black SpiderMan costume which would eventually become Venom. Among the books was an Italian edition, French, Dutch, Danish, Mexican, Brazilian, Spanish and even a Swedish. It was a sight to Australia see. Avengers #1 I was inspired by this post and ones like it (all by Hector at the time), so I did a quick eBay search for “foreign editions” and I purchased my first ever foreign key book: the Editions Heritage issue of Amazing Spider-Man #238, the first appearance of the Hobgoblin. Thrilled by this newfound niche of collecting, I sent the Greece user a message introducing X-men #94 myself and asking for advice on how to begin such a collecting venture. The user replied, introducing himself as Hector, going by the name Chespirito. I will let Hector tell his own story if he so chooses, but he welcomed me with open arms and told me everything I could possibly need to know about the foreign comics world. Little did I know that between he and I, we were only still just scratching the surface… Flashback several years: I found myself in a local Xmen #266 key based type set Brazil Page 8 French Italy Netherlands Spain