The Great long over-due Albedo Anthropormorphic (#2) census

[Steve Hubbell]

Kon nichi wa to Dojo members, Usagi Yojimbo fans, and everyone else,

With the twentieth anniversary of Usagi Yojimbo's first appearence in Albedo Anthropormorphic coming up, I have been curious as to just how many of the 2000 copies of this special issue are still around and how many can actually be accounted for.

To start things off, I have one copy, bought in 1998 for approximately $25.00, from an ad in Comic Buyer's Guide.

Abayo...
Steve

[Wily Pueo]

I have 2 copies. Paid 25 and 35.

[go]

Dear Readers,
I have one copy which I bought for the $2 cover price.
It is the only copy I have ever seen.
Sensei Sakai autographed the book
at the Japanese American Library in San Francisco.
Thanks for the fun!
Best wishes,
go

[HOKITA]

If I had the moola.

[Steve Hubbell]

Kon nichi wa,

Four down, one thousand, nine hundred, ninety-six to go...

Sorry for the repeat posting... I was using a friend's computer and signed onto the internet through AOL and could not seem to stay logged into the Dojo, not to mention other weird little *#^$@ that seems to go with AOL!!

Hope to hear from a lot more people...
Abayo,
Steve

[GrinnellFan]

I currently have one. I used to have two, but sold one to Dranatha.

GrinnellFan

[Todd Shogun]

I've got one copy. I paid way too much for it (I think it was $100 back in '89 at the SDCC). Stan himself has (I still believe) 10 copies in his secret stash.

[Dranatha]

I have 1 copy I bought June 2004. I paid $250 for it. After two and a half years of searching almost everyday for it, I thought it was a bargin. I got this issue from Grinnellfan.

[Steve Hubbell]

seventeen down (counting Stan's ten unconfirmed copies), nineteen hundred eighty-three to go...
abayo...

[Todd Shogun]

If you're serious about doing a full-blown census that we could publish on the Dojo, I could send out a UYD email to the list and have the members send their responses directly to you. That way you capture those who don't visit the board. It would be difficult to get ahold of every issue. I bet several have been destroyed, lots are with people who probably don't read UY (the lost souls they are), some are in comic shops, some in people's garages, and some are owned by other Pro's (I bet Steve G. has a decent stash himself). One thing I'd like to see is who in other countries have the issue, just to see how far it has spread since the days when Steve and Stan couldn't even give copies away!

[steven hubbell]

Todd Shogun

If you're serious about doing a full-blown census that we could publish on the Dojo, I could send out a UYD email to the list and have the members send their responses directly to you. That way you capture those who don't visit the board. It would be difficult to get ahold of every issue. I bet several have been destroyed, lots are with people who probably don't read UY (the lost souls they are), some are in comic shops, some in people's garages, and some are owned by other Pro's (I bet Steve G. has a decent stash himself). One thing I'd like to see is who in other countries have the issue, just to see how far it has spread since the days when Steve and Stan couldn't even give copies away!

Cool, go for it... Just seemed like something interesting to check into with the twentieth anniversary of the publication...

I sent an e-mail with the first few postings from this thread to the Usagi Yojimbo mailing list on Yahoo but it was lost in a black hole, or was yahood as someone called it. (probably lost because the html was disabled).

I had not gotten around to resending it.

As far as Albedo #2 in other countries, one of the issues currently / recently up on e-bay was from a seller in Australia...

Abayo...
Steve

[Todd Shogun]

Done deal...

[Steve Hubbell]

Thanks to the Shogun's e-mail, I have received around a dozen more responses concerning current ownership of some of the 2000 copies of the infamously scarce twenty year old Albedo Anthropormorphic NR 2 featuring the first published appearence of everybodies favorate Ronin Rabbit.

This adds eight more copies still owned, several copies sold or auctioned off, and several sightings...

Abayo...
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I had two copies. One I bought on ebay ~4 years ago for $300, but I
recently sold that copy to Dranatha on the UY boards. My other copy I
found on highqualitycomics.com when they were just starting out for $10 or
$15, I can't remember. They are based out in California.

Scott/GrinnellFan

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I still own one copy. I received two copies as a gift back in the fall of 1986 from Rock at Bee's Comics - sadly, long gone - in the Metro Detroit area. I had been a customer/unofficial employee/friend for several years, and was moving to East Lansing to return to Michigan State University. Usagi wasn't very popular in that area at that time as I recall. A couple of the local shop owners even referred to him as "you soggy old bimbo" and didn't stock the book. One of the copies was included in a collection of Usagi/TMNT/X-Men that I sold for $2500 in 1988 to help pay for the pearls I bought my wife as a wedding present. Interestingly, I do not have a complete collection of Usagi anymore. In moving from apartment to new home in 1994, a couple boxes of comics vanished. I lost a complete run of Cerebus and most of the Dark Horse Usagi issues, and have been unable to fill in several holes in the Usagi run. The silver lining was that I had the books insured - one of the things I learned from Rock!

abayo
Kurt Romig
lowly ashigaru

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Steve,

Boy, did you get a good deal! This book consistently sells for $300+, minimum,
regardless of condition. Stan Sakai told us over this past weekend at Anthrocon
that he saw a signed copy go for over $1100 sometime last year.

I own one copy of the book, purchased on eBay in May of 2000 for $300. (The
seller was from Deltona, Florida.)

Last month, I purchased a second copy on eBay for $440 (from a seller in Mobile,
Alabama) with the intention of donating it to the Anthrocon charity auction,
which just occurred on July 10 with Stan Sakai in attendance. The book then sold
at the auction for $550, though this figure's a little distorted because people
always bid more for charitable causes than they would under ordinary
circumstances.

I personally saw at least two other people at Anthrocon with copies of this
book.

Hope this helps a bit!

Matt

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I got mine at a comic book convention in Portland Oregon during 1987 for $65.

I still feel it was worth it.

Kelly Green

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Hello Steve,

Usagi Yojimbo Dojo wrote:

Kon nichi wa to Dojo members, Usagi Yojimbo fans, and everyone else,

With the twentieth anniversary of Usagi Yojimbo's first appearance in Albedo Anthropormorphics NR 2 coming up, I have been curious as to just how many of the 2000 copies of this special issue are still around and how many can actually be accounted for.

To start things off, I have one copy, bought in 1998 for approximately $25.00, from an ad in Comic Buyer's Guide.

Please reply to this email


if you own a copy: Yes, one.
how much you paid for it: $2 plus California tax.


and where you got it: My local friendly comic book store.


Also mention State/Country where you found it: California, USA

Abayo...
Steve Hubbell
Hatamoto
UY Dojo

Thank you for including me in the fun!
Best wishes,
go

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I have a copy. I picked it up through Ebay for $270.00 back in 1999. Not sure
where the seller was located. I am in Texas.

Thanks!

Have a great day!

-Erik

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I have one. I obtained it in Santa Clara California during an Anime con that
Stan was a guest at. Another Usagi fan GAVE it to me for free as he had 3 copys
and wanted one to go to another big fan of Stan.

Yea, I know. I still dont believe it myself

<dustykat@earthlinkdotnet>

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hi all,
i bought a copy of albedo #2 off ebay for $210 in either 1999 or 2000.
i got a second copy, along with a copy of the rarer colored cover of #1, and a copy of the second printing of #0 for $75 for the lot on ebay in 2001.
i sold one of the copies of #2 for, i believe, $410 shortly after that on ebay.
i honestly don't remember what state either of them came from, but i myself live in chapel hill, north carolina.
so that's my story ...
-casey burns

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[Usagi]

I wish I could buy comics...I cant wait for AWA

[Steve Hubbell]

Here are some more responses to the Great Long-Over-Due Albedo Anthropomorphic (#2) Census...

These bring the count up to... (Pause for Drumroll)... thirty confirmed copies and one thousand, nine hundred, seventy issues still unaccounted for...

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Gods, I have to dig through my comic collection. I'm not sure *what* I have. LOL! SW, did you ever get this one?

Wolfie-chan

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Yep I got it in 99' at the KC Comic Con...dumb luck the dealer had it
sitting there so I snagged it up, cost me 48.00 I think x_X

SW
(Lady ShadowWing)

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I have two copies. The first was around $75 from a long since out of business comics shop in Maryland. The second I got for $15 from a shop in northern Virginia that did not know what it was. Both were acquired in the early 90's I no longer remember exactly when.

Scott Kniffin

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Picked up my copy for cover price (don't recall exactly what that was) in
Los Angeles, CA. Back in the dim times...

(Dare I say it, I picked up a copy "off the press" rather than from a
/r/i/p /o/f/f /a/r/t/i/s/t comic book reseller).

Sincerely,

Niall C. Shapero

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I have one I bought new when it came out in louisville ky bagged and boarded read once!!

j carter

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