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Manuel Marino Music Composer

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Manuel is a passionate, driven, and techsavvy AV technician, artist and music composer with over ten years of experience, specializing in the captivating world of music and entertainment.

Manuel is an expert in creating soundtracks for short filmsfeature films and video games.

Manuel Music Blog is a diverse digital platform where creativity and intellect converge, covering a wide range of topics from 3D Art to Music, and Technology to Philosophy.

It’s a collaborative space that features the insights of both Manuel, contributors and participants, appealing to enthusiasts across various fields.

With dedicated sections for different arts, instruments, and cultural reflections, this blog serves as a rich resource for those seeking inspiration, knowledge, and a deep dive into the myriad aspects of artistic and technological exploration.

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Why Comics?

Every time I conduct a personal examination of the good and bad aspects of my life, reading comics consistently emerges as one of the best things that ever happened to me. It’s simply an experience I will never regret – a source of joy. And we could all use more of that, couldn’t we?

The core attraction of comics is the simple and primeval allure of stories. The art of storytelling is as old as mankind and will always be with us. That’s what comics are: words and images that come together to form a story.

If you’re not into reading comics but want to give it a try, the entry point is easy. It’s how I got into this hobby when I was eight years old. It’s how it took hold of me and never let go – a sublime addiction that has stayed with me throughout my life.

It begins with one issue. A typical comic book issue contains 32 pages of full-color art and story.

Pick up a comic book, any comic book. Perhaps the cover catches your eye, someone recommended it, you read something positive about it on a website, …

...Read the rest.

“Why Comics?”

Grading Your Comic Books

Understanding the condition of a comic book can help determine its value. Grading your comic allows you to describe its condition using a universal scale. Comic grading is subjective, but the Comics Guaranty Company (CGC) can grade your comic for a fee, providing a third-party opinion and making the grade less subjective. They use the same scale, so it’s not always necessary to pay them for grading.

The highest grade a comic can receive is mint. A mint condition comic should look like it just came off the press. For a comic to be in mint condition, there can’t be any tears, cuts, or creases. The comic should lay flat on a surface without any rolling or curving of the pages. The spine must be completely straight. The staples in the spine should look new and can’t have any rusting or unusual bending. The pages of a mint condition comic can’t have any fading or discoloration, marks or smudges, and there can’t be any rips or tears. The only acceptable marking on the comic is an autograph.

Not every comic is perfect, and the next best grade it can receive is near mint. Older comics in near-perfect …

...Read the rest.

“Grading Your Comic Books”

Collecting Comic Books

Collecting comic books is an exceptionally rewarding hobby. In addition to the wealth of stories and countless hours of entertainment they provide, comic books often appreciate in value. Much like baseball cards, stamps, and coins, comic books have their own collector’s market. As with any other collectible, comic books can increase in value, but to achieve the highest price for your collection, it’s important to ensure that your comics are in the best possible condition.

It’s often challenging to maintain your comic books in pristine, off-the-press quality. By the time you’ve purchased your comics, they’ve been handled multiple times, from being boxed up at the warehouse, to spending hours in transit on a truck, to being displayed on a shelf and touched by customers. Even if you buy your comics from a specialty comic book store, they won’t be in perfect condition by the time you purchase them. However, comic book store owners typically understand the collectible nature of comics and treat them with care, so I would recommend buying from a comic book store.

Once you get home and finish reading the story, what’s next? You’ll want to ensure that your comic books are stored properly

...Read the rest.

“Collecting Comic Books”

Comic Books Awards – Did You Realise The Good-looking Comic Books Are Truly Art?

When you think of comic books, one of the last things that comes to mind is whether any comic books receive accolades. Is there such a thing as comic book awards?

Surprisingly, there are. In the United States alone, there are several organizations that present awards to various comic book genres.

One of the primary organizations that offer awards to the comic book industry is called The National Cartoonist Society Awards, which includes fifteen categories. A panel of judges conducts the selection process, with regional chapters and general members participating in the voting.

Another comic book award organization is the Comic Buyers Guide Fan Awards. These awards were first handed out in 1983 and are divided into several categories, ranging from favorite publisher to favorite inker to favorite comic book hero. In 2003, the most recent year for which data is available, the favorite comic book publisher was DC, holding a 46% majority, followed by Marvel with approximately 23%. Dark Horse had a marginal 2% of the votes. The favorite comic book was the JSA (Justice Society of America), with nearly 8% of the votes, while the favorite comic book hero was Batman, with just over 14% of …

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“Comic Books Awards – Did You Realise The Good-looking Comic Books Are Truly Art?”