I met Bill through a shared passion for collecting rare comic book variants. What I will miss most about Bill is his infectious enthusiasm. When he would get excited about a given topic or comic book issue, what followed over the ensuing days/weeks/longer would be like a stream of consciousness, where from time to time Bill would have a sudden new thought about it and fire off a message.
Bill was one of the original co-founding members of the CPV Price Guide and he authored and co-authored many articles over the years -- what I'd like to share with others reading this tribute are some links to Bill's work that can be read online. (He also authored annual market reports for the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide but that is a print publication only; I do have one scanned which I'll share below). Before I share the links, here are some of Bill's own words in a correspondence from just last month, which are a perfect example of not just his enthusiasm, but also his great pride in his research, and joy in sharing his knowledge with others:
"I mentioned more in my current CPV market report about Archies then I have ever done in any of my reports by far. I mentioned unheard things about Archie digests and Archie comic books that nobody could possibly know about. In my report there are several images to show the books that I talk about that I know nobody's ever seen before in my opinion. I think people should reread my CPV market report to really understand what I pointed out they'll never see information like that ever again in their life I believe. I really went all out and overboard in my current CPV market report probably the best most intense Archie research to point out the unknown that I could ever provide to the hobby." -- June 6, 2024
The above from Bill references this particular article that he wrote:
From Pandemic Boom to Bust in Comics, by Bill Alexander (2023)
https://www.cpvpriceguide.com/from-pandemic-boom-to-bust-in-comics/Below are several of his other articles from past years:
Newsstand (And in Turn Canadian Price Variant) Awareness Is Exploding,
by Bill Alexander (2022)
https://www.cpvpriceguide.com/newsstand-and-in-turn-cpv-awareness-exploding/CPV Market Report: Year In Review, by Bill Alexander (2021)
https://rarecomics.wordpress.com/cpv-market-report-year-in-review/Market Report + Dell and Archie CPVs 1951-1959, by Bill Alexander (2020)
https://rarecomics.wordpress.com/market-report--dell-and-archie-cpvs-1951-1959/Notable Sales, Archie "Phase 1" CPVs, and Widening 9.8 Premiums
by Bill Alexander (2019)
https://rarecomics.wordpress.com/notable-sales-archie-phase-1-cpvs-and-widening-9-8-premiums/Harvey Canadian Price Variants, by Bill Alexander, Salvatore Miceli, and Benjamin Nobel (2020)
https://rarecomics.wordpress.com/2020/01/07/harvey-canadian-price-variants/Record-Breaking 2018 Sales for Canadian Price Variants, by Bill Alexander and James Gilbreath (2018)
https://rarecomics.wordpress.com/record-breaking-2018-sales-for-canadian-price-variants/Bill was a big influence on me personally, encouraging me so much in my own writing about comics, helping me with my articles, introducing me to comics I had never known about, and even inviting me to contribute to his Overstreet market report for the 50th anniversary edition. "Bill Alexander with Benjamin Nobel" they printed at the top of the page:
https://rarecomics.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/bill-alexander-report.jpgI will miss you Bill. Thanks for sharing your enjoyment of the hobby with me and everyone else. Our next CPV guide edition will be dedicated to your memory. Rest in peace.
