How many copies of Albedo #2 do you think still exist?

[shaxper]

I ask myself this a whole lot. Considering that Steve Gallaci was actually trying to give these away at conventions at one point, I wonder how many ended up in trashbins, or got shoved under a couch cushion and folded in two. Does anyone know roughly how many Steve had left once the issue started drawing attention and selling above coverprice at conventions? I'm willing to bet that the number he sold is a decent low estimate of the number that remain, figuring that some of those would get lost and destroyed, just as some of the ones that were bought/ recieved earlier may have survived.

Maybe a better question to ask would be what conditions the surviving copies are in. Obviously, NM would be the hardest to find. With an all black cover, an independent publisher, and transportation to and from many conventions, I'm willing to bet some of them were below NM before they ever touched Steve's table. Mine's a VF. I wonder if that makes it much more common.

[Todd Shogun]

One thing I notice about comics is that stacked together unbagged, they actually act as protection for each other. I bet a stack of Albedo NR 2's could harbor several NM copies. Mine's a NM and bought it at the '89 SDCC in a mylar snug for $100. I don't know, but if I were a comics creator and just published my own zine, I'd make sure they were in great shape if I'd want to sell them. Plus Steve went all out in the repro department. Just look at the quality of the comic. It may have been an indie, but the quality surpassed most other comics at that time. Plus it's a tougher comic, with that heavier stock paper, it can probably withstand damage better than your typical newsprint issue comic.

[shaxper]

True, but that mostly black cover also shows wear like it's nobody's business. My copy is a VF simply because someone read it once. Minor cracks from the spine all over the place!

and unbagged comics can only protect eachother when cared for properly. If they're crammed in, shoved forward or backward to make room, or simply slump forward or backward from having an overly spacious box, then they get hurt pretty badly. If they're stored in the wrong place, moisture and dust will still wear down on them heavily too. Considering that anthropomorphic titles haven't been hot since the 1980s, as well as the fact that overstreet thinks it's worth $4 these days, the likelihood that copies of Albedo 2 may have met this kind of fate by being placed in backroom storage or (worse yet) bargain bins, seems probable to me.