The reason I collect issue number 4 of the comic Knights of the Dinner Table is that there were two versions of it. The company that used to print them, Enteractive Facktory, was formed by the comic's author, Jolly R. Blackburn (yes, the R. is for Roger); however, running a comic-printing company wasn't his forté, so he sought another publisher. Kenzer & Company, run by David Kenzer, stepped in, and took over publication. This meant that two versions of issue #4 were published: one under the Enteractive Facktory name and one under the Kenzer & Company name. The EF one has font issues, including on the front cover; the K&C one is much more professional.
I already had one of these issue #4s, so wanted the other. I bought a copy on eBay, but it was the same as the one I already had. I bought another, and that was the same. By the time I got the one I wanted, I already had several of the other one, so figured I could keep on collecting them. I must have 20 or more by now.
Issue #4 is so old and (because there are two versions of them) so collectable that when they go up for sale on eBay they're usually close to $200 each. I don't buy those. The ones I buy are the ones put up by comic-book dealers who want a quick sale and put them up at a much lower buy-it-now price.
I was therefore pleased by not surprised to see a signed KoDT #4 for sale on eBay, along with signed issues of #2 and #3, for %57 including postage. I bought it, but when it arrived I found it wasn't signed; only issues #2 and #3 werre signed (one of them, twice). I was still pleased to get an issue #4 at a reasonable price, so wrote up a decent review but mentioned the missing signature.
The seller got in touch and said he did send the signed version. He attached scans to show it. I attached a scan to show it didn't have a signature, and asked if he'd sent the wrong one. He checked and he had, so apologised profusely. He offered to return $10 off the purchase price, but I asked him if I could keep it and buy the signed one as well. He agreed, so that's what we did.
When the signed one arrived, I was amazed. The seller felt so bad about his mistake (which I wasn't worried about, everyone makes mistakes) that he sent me two issues of #4 by way of a thank-you. Both were signed by Jolly R. Blackburn. One was the Enteractive Facktory version and one was the Kenzer & Company one. From having no signed copies, I'm now in the possession of two of them.
I wrote the seller a stellar review and thanked him for his generosity. He has a bunch of other early issues of KoDT he asked me if I wanted, but I politely turned the offer down as I don't collect those (and have copies already).
Kenzer & Company are reprinting some of their earlier issues, as they're so hard to find. Unfortunately, their distributor went bankrupt earlier this year so they've been sending subscribers digital .pdfs instead, but once they establish an alternative there'll be another version of issue #4 for me to buy.
I don't think I'll be collecting it, though.
