CGC Journals
Our community journals
-
- 12
entries - 0
comments - 174
views
Recent Entries
- 12
-
- 36
entries - 4
comments - 3537
views
Recent Entries
- 36
-
Latest Entry
Door to Door Trading cards
OK so on July 12th I sent a Card to CGC and SGC Both locations are in Florida. CGC order was with a elite membership express service level with sub grades and Turnaround times of 7 days for express and an additional 5 days for sub grades. SGC was a basic account basic service 30 day Turn around. Broken down this is how it stacks up to one another.
CGC Express with Sub Grades On Elite member account. CGC bill- $98.50
Plus the Additional $32.50 paid for Shipping with $3000 insurance through USPS from me to CGC
- Grading (1) - 51.00
- Handling - 5.00
- Sub-Grades- 8.50
- USPS Ship- 34.00
So in total for the 1 card with express level sub graded $131.30
$98.50-CGC
with advertised turn around of 7 days + 5 days (12 Business Days)
Currently I shipped 7/12/21 USPS delivered 7/16/21
nothing else as of now
Ok So now onto SGC there thing is No backlog, No Bloated Turnarounds, No Games just accurate grades in a timely manner. starting at just $30 a card. now I picked this company for a reason they have been around for awhile they are a very reputable company and a similar grading style to CGC.
SGC standard Service $30 Standard account with return Shipping $15 SGC Bill - $45
Plus the $7.49 paid for Shipping with $500 insurance through USPS from me to SGC
- SGC 30 day service - $30
- Shipping fee - $15
So in total for the 1 card standard level $52.49
$45-SGC
with advertised turnaround time of 30 days (business days)
Currently I Shipped 7/12/21 USPS Delivered 7/15/21
On 7/16/21 SGC sent email letting me know that they have received my card and appreciate my business
And although the card values are different this is just a side by side to better understand things automated emails when cards are received the fact that a population report should have been released instead of opening sports cards and games soon in stead work on the things that need to be worked on. some may see CGC is gonna be the Pokémon standard. well it is starting to look like opening more types of service is more important. This is just a comparison of how company's receive cards and how long it takes to process it all. Fix what matters, focus at the task at hand before tackling a new one.
-
It was nice to get these ones back, with some signature signings coming up in November, it will be likely in the New Year that I will be sending some old comics for blue labels.
-
- 2
entries - 98
comments - 406
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
The Search For Pre-1960 UK Price Variants
Hello
I'm not going to post a big explanatory preamble this time, but just note that in this journal I will be looking to see if I can find any pre-1960 dated comics which could reasonably be referred to as 'UK Price Variants'. As we now know, a UK Price Variant is a book made for distribution in the UK, with a single printed UK cover price, but which was printed in the US as a junior subset of the same original print run as the primary cents priced version. We know from my research that UKPVs were produced post 1960 for seven US publishers, but I wanted to see if I could find any books prior to that date, either from the US or another country.
I have a number of books to post about, so let's get started.
I recently picked up this copy of 'Skunky Shopkeeper', undated, which carries a stickered one shilling price and an indicia which notes that the book was printed in Canada and distributed in the UK by 'Streamlined Books' (a possible misprint of the 'Streamline' of 'Pictorial Romance' fame?):
Undated1ShillingSticker.thumb.jpg.b557d94efa1bdfdbb972927d15917de1.jpg)
I then picked up a second corner-nibbled copy, also with a sticker, and painstakingly removed it to reveal this apparently overprinted 6d price:
Undated6d.thumb.jpg.e136201c3dc326ebdff59aaa9655ed70.jpg)
Here are the two prices, side by side:
So my first thought was 'could this be a UKPV of an original Canadian book?'
I know very little about Gold and pre-1960s books. I'm sure there are people I could ask, but where's the fun in that? It's something to do, to potter on, explore and learn for yourself.
That said, the GCD helpfully tells me that my Canadian Skunky reprints the US comic 'Funland Comics #1'
So I grab myself a copy of that book, also corner-nibbled:
Cover.thumb.jpg.26ff8189f9fae5057e1421a3262a0430.jpg)
Is corner nibbling a thing in Gold?
The obvious difference of course is the cover which is manifestly absent from 'Skunky'.
The indicia of Funland advises that the book was printed in the USA, c1945:
Indicia.thumb.jpg.1908830b91c4ab703cb1a8353cfd3c86.jpg)
The interior story pages and content are the same as Skunky - here are the two books side by side:
Splash.thumb.jpg.8ed248014a27eda20a6f2bac0ccfd783.jpg)
A bit of Googling brings me to this image below, source unknown, which shows my Skunky as being one of a number of coverless Canadian comics, overprinted with UK prices by Superior/Century Publications for distribution in the UK by Streamlined of London:
It further says "The majority of these were remainders". Hold that thought.
The assumption is that I have two copies of a comic that was printed in the USA for Croydon Publishing, of which unsold copies were picked up by Superior/Century Publications of Canada, who then stripped them of their covers and then overprinted them with a UK price (which were then subsequently stickered at a higher price).
Incidentally, could the 6d overprinted price be for Canadian sales and the copies sent to the UK be marked up with the one shilling sticker? Mebbe.
Back to the pre-1960 UKPV search, can the coverless guts of an original US book, that is then overprinted with a UK/Canadian price in Canada be considered a variant? It can't really, can it. Now if there was a copy of Funland #1 with a printed UK single price, which came from the same print run, then yes. But amended guts? That's pushing it a bit.
Anyway, on inspection, the guts that comprise 'Skunky' do not actually appear to be remaindered copies of Funland #1 at all. If we look closely at these examples, we can see:
1. A very different print quality and colouring - Funland is clean, Skunky has got all the sloppy production marks that tend to indicate a crude reprinting:
The next two images show that clearly too - one clean, one with additional bits and bobs and an inferior production quality:
2. Next, we can see that the two sets of guts have different overall dimensions:
3. Any notion that that might be due to trimming evaporates when you see that the actual printed images are slightly bigger on the Skunky page than on the Funland original:
4. The staples location is different on the two books too, and the Skunky ones are much bigger than the Funland's:
My staple's bigger than yours mate!
All the evidence, which is much clearer in hand I might add, indicates that our Canadian Skunky was reprinted rather than being a cover-stripped, remaindered original US book. So the 'Printed in Canada' of the indicia refers not just to the price / logo overprinting, but the whole book. From a UKPV search perspective, that takes Funland #1 out of the equation, as a UKPV must come from the same print run as the headline country copy. That leaves us with Canadian Skunky.
Every copy of Skunky that I have seen has the 6d overprinted price. Now, if someone was going to reprint the guts, why would they then overprint a UK price? Why not do it all in one go? I say this, as I have noted that the 6d price moves from copy to copy (my copy vs GCD copy below):
In summary, it looks like Superior Publishers of Canada obtained the rights (?) to reprint the guts of Croydon Publishing's Funland #1, minus the cover, did so and then added their company livery, an indicia and a 6d price. They then either sent the whole lot to the UK, who promptly increased that price with a sticker, or sold some of the 6d copies locally in Canada.
Even if we view Skunky as its own thing, separate to Funland, there is only one reprinted/overprinted version in existence it seems, so it can't be a UK Price Variant. If there was a majority 6d printed Canadian copy and a lesser UK one shilling printed copy, both printed together, we could perhaps make an argument. But there isn't. It seems.
I rather enjoyed the exercise though, on this book, and it's fun to learn more about books of this age by mucking about with them directly and holding them in your hands. Especially when they include stories such as "Angel Pussy", the pages of which further illustrate the colour and quality contrast between the two books:
Play nicely, Angel Pussy!
Well, that's Funland vs Skunky out of the way, to get the ball rolling. Next up, Jeep Comics. Or Lucky Coyne. Or maybe K G Murray's Super Adventure Comic. Or another one of the various candidates I've amassed over recent years. I'll see which one takes my fancy before dropping Wonder Comics into the mix.
See you next time then, if you're interested....
- 2
-
- 29
entries - 112
comments - 2860
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
Moments in time..... loss
When you lose someone, it is amazing where you find them.
The emotions form in the moment and have no guided reason.
They can be subtle, or they can knock you to the ground.
But each and every time is a gift of heart-treasure.
- Read more...
- 0 comments
- 29
-
- 9
entries - 338
comments - 4936
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
Superman: The Man of Steel #19
I now have all three printings of Superman: The Man of Steel #19 in CGC 9.8!
The third printing was the last one I needed. I had been watching it on eBay, then one night I got bored and submitted an offer for the hell of it, to my surprise it was accepted.
These three books look really good together. I just need to get a first printing in a new holder for consistency. The red “Modern” label isn’t going anywhere, you just don’t see too many of those anymore, I also got it for about $25 years ago.
I tried to make a 9.8 last year of the first printing but CGC did not agree with me.
There’s always ComicLink!
Maybe, we’ll see.
- 9
-
Latest Entry
Slabs Slabs and more Signature Slabs..
Hi Everyone,
So I am a huge fan of The Last Ronin Franchise so I was lucky enough to finally receive 75 books I sent over for signature series grading which took about 10 months to complete. Was surprised to received a few 9.9's in the mix. I have over 430 books in the series so I am now slowly getting them all graded. Should have another 40 books back in the next couple of weeks from the Ronin crew signing which was in May 2022.
Check out the rest of the books at
https://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/Comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=149702
or for the slideshow
https://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/Comics/SetSlideshow.aspx?PeopleSetID=149702
-
- 12
entries - 499
comments - 3959
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
Adventures of Superman 497 9.9!
This book is the one I mentioned in my 'Comics and Collectibles!' entry yesterday, and earlier today. I am super happy that this worked out! It was over two years in the making but I am thrilled to now have this book in my collection! Instead of repeating myself here, please check out the entire story in the book's description in my set...
https://comics.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/ComicView.aspx?PeopleSetComicID=1325297
My brother took this picture and I will add plenty more once I receive the book from him safe and sound (knock on wood). I intended on waiting to receive the book before adding this entry but am far too excited
Here’s the art that the owner threw in… again, will post better pics when I receive these…
Spoiler
- 12
-
- 147
entries - 162
comments - 13109
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
Conan 2
Won this in the Comic Link auction that just ended. Yet another great cover by Barry Windsor-Smith. Again, this book is a re-acquisition to replace the 9.6 I sold during the pandemic. So in this case we're looking at a downgrade.
But my winning bid for this book was a surprise, having secured it for under $250. Enjoy.
- Read more...
- 0 comments
- 147
-
- 15
entries - 0
comments - 605
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
I haven't done a journal entry in 5 1/2 years!
So let's do this!
In a text to my wonderful girlfriend today, I said something to the effect of "it's like a cloud of lousy has been hanging over this whole week."
And it's the truth, we've both felt that way about our respective work weeks. But that also makes me smile when I reflect on just how much higher the floor is for "lousy" than it used to be in my life.
Looking at the calendar, today (May 26th, but my typing carried over into the 27th) is actually the 9 month anniversary of my divorce being court official. It's like Facebook official, only much legal-er! We were "only" married 5 years, together for 7 and change, but it was still the worst thing I've ever been through in my life. Even when you know it's the right thing to do, there's still a really heavy emotional soup to swim through. I didn't want to come out of it resentful...but I ultimately came out of it resentful. Though even resentful has a new definition - I don't wish her good, or bad. I just have no wish. Why is this you ask? The money, the house, her...meh, I can easily move forward from those. The only lasting wound - I got cut off from my three dogs. After she said she'd never do that. That's a microcosm of the relationship - a lot of talk, little execution. Reminds me of my father.
There's a lasting image in my mind from July 19, 2021, which was the day I moved the rest of my stuff out of the old house and into my new one (I love my new house btw). I had stopped back over to feed the dogs on my way out of town for work, and as I was about leave out, my Siberian husky, my baby girl, flopped down in front of the front door and raised a back leg in her standard "pet my belly" posture. I'd left the house plenty of times before, and she had NEVER done that. It was like she knew I was leaving for good and was saying "Don't go!". No shame, I cried for half the drive to Minneapolis. It's a 6 hour drive btw. Have not seen baby girl or the two boys since that day. And I asked multiple times.
One of the things a person learns quickly in codependence recovery - a codependent is drawn to what's familiar, even if it sucks. My ex-wife was very insecure and frequently nagged me about petty stuff, much like my mother. And as mentioned before, she promised, or ranted, or threatened, to do this that or the other, and never did. Much like my father. But... recovery! Why didn't I see this? Because we got together in 2013, and my recovery journey didn't start until a year later. By that time, I probably felt somewhat pot committed, but more relevant, I wasn't immediately ready to acknowledge that people in my life were hurting me just as much as I had hurt them. There were probably about 720 distinct invitations to break up. But my mindset at the time was that I could work on myself and lead by example. It clearly didn't work. But that's OK. I understand why I thought I could do it by myself at that time.
So yes, I make for a good study in a psychology journal, but what does this all have to do with comics? Well, if anyone has seen my recent sales threads, you're aware that I've started to lose my passion for collecting while maintaining a strong passion for the hobby. Somewhat oxymoronic, yes, but I can honestly say I still can't wait for a show once I commit to attending. And flipping through the raw back issue boxes is still a blast. But buying the plastic off the wall, then storing it in the comic closet, next to the readers I never read...can't I do something better with that money?
The simple answer is yes. In the past 6 months, I've been on five vacations. In the past 5 years prior to November 2021, I'd been on one. And I have had infinitely more fun. Seriously, no scale can capture the level of fun of these past 6 months in comparison to the prior 60 months. And a big part of that fun - the people. I've been surrounded by great people, and great settings, at every turn. I can finally be me to the fullest, not constantly tiptoeing around someone else's multitude of triggers.
Focus Matt, comics. Yes, comics. The overarching point - my collecting went back into overdrive in January of 2013. Not coincidentally, that was right around the time that I went through a really bad break-up, which rolled into several really dull dates, then led to hurting a really wonderful woman because I was a total mess of a human, and ultimately led to the relationship with my ex-wife. And from January 2013 to January 2021, my collecting was always rotating between spots 1-3 of my favored escapes. Hell, let's just call it my list of priorities. Collecting was a big help in keeping me distracted from the harshness of a reality I wouldn't acknowledge - the relationship wasn't working.
So, when the fact of divorce finally became real in the throes of last year's winter, I started to realize that I had a bunch of...stuff...accumulated. Some valuable stuff, sure, but still stuff. And I had to ask myself, "what is all this stuff really doing for me?" I started downsizing. The initial stuff was easy, save for maybe the JIM 85. But that's only because it hasn't stopped appreciating in value haha. Yet I still trucked a good amount of it to my new house, and I sort of started accumulating again. I didn't think I needed the distraction, but looking back, maybe I still did a little. I was on my own (for the first time ever!), and comprehensively, the happiest and healthiest I'd been in quite some time. Which only accelerated after I adopted my new husky.
But there was a lack of people in my life. I bonded quickly with one set of my new neighbors, but I had lost most of my rolodex of friends in the course of the failed marriage (another casualty of my ex-wife's insecurities). And my own family was out of the picture (a result of my own choices, zero regrets or regerts there). Essentially, I was missing someone that I could lean on when I did need it. Two times when that fact really hit home -- night #2 in Vegas, when I was sitting alone in the Irish pub between the Luxor and Mandalay Bay, and on Christmas. Christmas has always been a bitter time for me - it was a chore with my parents, and they'd fight like clockwork. And then my ex-wife turned it into a competition. "You only got me x, and I got you x, y, and z!" It's a wonder I didn't have any Christmas nights like in Step Brothers - "You smell like scotch and cheesecake." Probably because I don't like cheesecake!
2021 was the first Christmas I was completely free. And football was on. But I was still bitter. Football on TV says, "Merry Christmas, from our family to yours." I'd respond, 'F YOU!'
So ultimately...comics! Since 2013, I had never made them a financial burden (prior to late 2007 though...), or a hoarding kind of obsession, but they have been my security blanket throughout large portions of my life. But there's no shame in that. My counselor proudly says that alcoholism saved his life by making life bearable until he got into recovery. And comics did much the same for me. They were my escape from situations that I found unbearable, until I had developed the tools to make any situation bearable.
Life isn't just bearable though anymore; someway, somehow, I'm enjoying the heck out of it. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. My passion for collecting may have lessened in the process, but I'll take that trade off any day of the week!
Leading to today, and this week's cloud of lousy. I dislike my employer. I want to leave. Everyone in the office seemingly wants to complain to me. For whatever reason, I don't want to hear it this week. And this wonderful woman in my life isn't yet here with me every day. And she's having her own work issues. And FaceTime is a meager substitute for a long, tight hug when you both really want and need it.
There was a time long ago when I would have let this turn into a never ending downward spiral (at least until some temporary fix came along).
BUT...there are still many positives at work. I'm not just going to up and quit, because that would be idiotic. And maybe other opportunities are on the horizon, we will see. But more importantly - soon, very soon, she'll be here with me. And when late December of 2022 rolls around, I fully expect that I'll probably come home one day to find her in the midst of beer number three, trying to gift wrap the cat, while our dogs look on in sheer perplexity. And I'm going to lose my damn fool mind laughing.
It's not a never ending spiral. Lousy is only temporary. Tomorrow is always a new day.
Thanks for listening
- Read more...
- 0 comments
- 15
-
Latest Entry
My new comic is now LIVE on Kickstarter!
I'm excited to announce that my new comic, The Crimebusters #4, is now live on Kickstarter!
This one has been a lot of work for a long time. I've had a lot of health issues, and I drew this entire 36 page issue while lying down. But it's done, and I'm really excited, as this is my first issue that in color instead of black and white.
Thanks for all the support with this project!
- Read more...
- 0 comments
-
- 7
entries - 7
comments - 507
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
The Grade Is In - A conserved winner!
The grade is in and the experiment is now fully complete - I am officially a conservation nerd!
CGC correctly flagged the married cover as well as all the work done - and all of that passed the test in order to get a Conserved grade of 3.0! This is honestly slightly higher than I was expecting (my initial estimate was 2.5 at most), and even the White pages is an amazing cherry on top.
How it started: 0.5 incomplete, its life is in shambles.
How it's going: 3.0 conserved, ballin' with white pages.
- 7
-
-
- 14
entries - 11
comments - 929
views
Recent Entries
- 14
-
- 11
entries - 182
comments - 2517
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
Terry Austin Signing.
Like all of my off to see the Wizard entries this is showing my submissions to CGC. Raw pictures, updates as I receive them, and final pictures ( well hopefully as with some of the others there were times they had to make return trips. [Which were also posted])
These were the books I chose to send in for Terry Austin.
- 11
-
Latest Entry
TMNT Mirage Studios QUEST! Two new acquisitions!
TMNT #1 Second Print CGC 9.8
TMNT #2 Second Print CGC 9.8
- Read more...
- 0 comments
-
Latest Entry
The Mystery of the Harvey 15c Variants From 1972
The Mystery of the Harvey 15c Variants From Old 1972...
What's that you say? The mystery of the Harvey 15c variants, you say? Never heard of them!
Well, I certainly hadn't until last year when, whilst researching the distribution of Harvey comics in the UK by our old friends L Miller & Co, I happened across a book on eBay proclaiming an unexpected cover price. "Oh", I thought, "I didn't know there were price variants for these?", and I started Googleating. I like to think I'm quite good at Googleating now, after years of scouring online for variants, but I couldn't find anything about them. Not one reference, one comment, one loving blog column - nothing. And not one copy on the GCD either, or in any of the usual comic places (including here). Odd.
More in depth Googling ensued until I finally found one reference in a wonderful book called 'The Harvey Comics Companion' by Mark Arnold, which I duly purchased.
Here's what it had to say, on page 411: "These (Hot Stuff #110, 111 and Little Dot #143) are the only Harvey books known to have these variants":
"Blimey" I thought, "Only three examples? These are rare", so I started looking for them. Oddly, given the obvious pedigree of Mr Arnold, I soon found quite a few more than the three listed and I thought "Aye, aye, I'm on to something here...."
Fast forward a year or so and not only have I found a whopping 26 examples, but I've also, I think, established why they exist. That doesn't happen often - the what and the why. And happily, given my UK credentials, I think they exist because we - The UK - exist. I'm going to drop Mark Arnold a line shortly, to let him know what more I've found and it will either be a pleasant surprise for him or he's been keeping updates quiet for the next volume of the Harvey Companion (go buy it by the way, it's brilliant). Mark, if you're reading, Hello
Anyway, Harvey 15c price variants exist for at least 26 books dated between April and October 1972. Amazing really, to be posting this information, in depth, for what appears to be the first time, when the books themselves are 50 years old this very year. Happy Birthday, books.
Here's a nice looking example, with its 20c regular US copy alongside it:
15cVariant.thumb.jpg.eefb948b1f382dea69b5698ebfb69c60.jpg)
20cCopyB.thumb.jpg.9db6c1d1e927e8e0c884d0199ae4e9bd.jpg)
Cracking cover, isn't it. And notice how Harvey always chopped the code off?
Read on, if you're interested, for the full fifteen cent variation low down!
-
- 11
entries - 181
comments - 4494
views
Recent Entries
.thumb.jpg.68994ba9071e34261b4ce7cb567b032d.jpg)
Latest Entry
His masters hand
Wombat is such a great guy for gifting me this, and this book will never leave my collection. Autographed by the Master Frank Frazetta.
- 11
-
Latest Entry
My Top 50
Reboot of an earlier journal....
After years of trying to collect every comic I could find, I once owned 100,000 comics (most of them almost worthless). By selling, trading, and buying; I transformed my collection to just 50 comics. I previously created a journal picturing those 50 comics. Late last year I parted with half of my books to buy a childhood grail of mine. I have slowly been adding comics to get back to 50. I tried to edit my last journal, but I was unable to change my initial 50 entries. So, I have decided to start fresh with a new journal. I will update the list when new comics arrive, as well as explain why I got the book and/or kicked out the old ones. This serves for a digital library for me to enjoy my books while they sit in safe storage. It is mostly for my entertainment, but feel free to comment if you wish!
-
- 3
entries - 38
comments - 571
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
2022 top 50 (aka my current personal collection)
I'm going to take an opportunity about once a week to post a book from my personal collection.
I'll try to share the when, where, and why each book was chosen.
(this all depends on if I can remember or not...)
My ever-evolving personal collection consists of 49 CGC slabs (38 Signature Series / 11 Universal) and 1 raw book.
Once CGC grades treasury sized books it'll be a solid 50 CGC'd.
Why 50?
It is the number of books that fit in two short boxes.
Just enough to grab in case of an emergency or not take up too much room in the car.
Why ever-evolving?
I read a post many moons ago on these boards about ensuring that the handling of your collection was easy on your family when you pass away.
In it, someone mentioned selling 10% of your books per year once turning 40-years-old.
They also stressed to continuously refine your books down to a Top 10 that would be easy for your family to liquidate upon death.
Over the past 4 years I have reduced my collection from 34 short boxes down to 17 boxes* through donation, selling, and recycling efforts.
9 short boxes of raw comics to be graded
6 short boxes of CGC'd comics to be sold via eBay
2 short boxes of personal collection
As books are sold throughout the year money gets set aside to reinvest into / 'improve' the personal collection.
If a new book is purchased with the intent to add it to the personal collection (aka not a 'flip') then a book has to be taken out 'to make space'.To provide a clearer understanding, in 2021 I removed the following comics from my personal collection to allow new books to join:
Amazing Spider-Man #50 CGC 2.5
Batman #357 CGC 9.4 SS signed by Ed Hannigan
Calamity of Challenge #127 CGC 9.4
East of West #1 RRP CGC SS 9.8 signed and sketched by Nick Dragotta
Hawkman #4 CGC 4.0
Milk& Cheese SE CGC 9.8 SS signed by Evan Dorkin
New Teen Titans #2 CGC 9.6
Nova #1 CGC 9.6
Spawn 3D #1 CGC 9.6 signed by Todd McFarlane
That is all to say that at some point some of the books featured in this thread will not make the cut going in to the next year.
(I will edit posts when a book has transitioned out of the collection)
Without further ado...my current personal collection...presented in alphabetical order... - 3
-
- 3
entries - 29
comments - 712
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
Superman #16: Conserve or restore?
Not unlike this book itself, I'm torn! Recently acquired this seriously chewed copy with intention of doing one or the other, but not sure which way to go, though I do know that I will submit this afterwards for grading. At a minimum, I intend to leaf-cast the cover and every interior wrap to fill out the missing paper. That, along with a dry-cleaning of the cover, would hopefully come in just under the wire with a conserved grade. But it's also tempting to go further and restore the missing art/graphics inside and out, and give it a more thorough cleaning. Luckily, whatever rodent feasted on this didn't chew significantly into the interior art past the first several wraps. And, chew aside, the inside pages are fairly nice and bright.
So....what to do? Granted, this is hardly a major book investment-wise (it qualifies as a key, sorta, in that it's the first cover appearance of Lois Lane for this title). But I'm genuinely curious how others feel about the issues at play -- financial return, historical value etc -- when deciding on restoration versus conservation. Meanwhile, I'm gonna start dry-cleaning and leaf-casting and continue to mull it over...
- 3
-
Latest Entry
My OCD
Why can't I just be happy with collecting lower grade books? I'd save so much $$ if I could just be happy with books that fall into the good-fine+ category. All I'd have to do is ignore the outer edges of the books, and focus on the centers, but no, my eyes go directly to the even the smallest of faults, and they bother me. In some instances, the faults won't stop me from buying something, but bother me they do, sometimes occupying my thoughts for long periods of time after seeing them. I'm that way with all things that I collect, like vintage, Halloween ephemera, coins, records, cast iron, animal traps, tin cars and trucks, etc. I wonder if there are others that suffer from the same affliction as I do.....
-
- 18
entries - 36
comments - 2312
views
Recent Entries
Latest Entry
Comic Trading Challenge- November 15th Update
Alright, so for those who need a recap...I started with a CGC 9.6 Spawn #1 Newsstand, a CGC 9.6 Hulk #340 and $500 cash. The goal? Use the cash and books to trade/buy and sell my way to better things. The rules? Only books acquired along the way can be included in the journey. If I acquire a book I have doubles of, I can enter the duplicate (even if it is a book I acquired long ago) as part of the challenge. Otherwise, I cannot just add books from my "to sell" pile at home to this challenge.
To date, I have acquired:
TMNT #4 first print (7.5-8.5 range)
Hulk #340 Newsstand (7.0-7.5 range)
Batman #251 CGC 6.0 (upgrade on my VG raw)
Nova #1 FN/VF range
Tomb Of Dracula #13 VG range
Marvel Spotlight #12 VF upgrade (upgrade on my FN/VF raw)
Elvira’s House of Mystery #1 in FN+ range
ASM #23 CGC 7.0
I also still had $74 in cash PLUS the following books to trade/sell:
- Wolverine #8 in 9.0-9.2 range, raw
- PPTSS #101 in 9.0-9.2 range raw
- Hulk #449 in 9.0 range raw
- around a dozen other random issues including some Wolverine books, DC Secret Origins #1 and X-Force 11
So what happened since my last update?!?! Here we go!
Sold- I sold the Hulk 449 and the Wolverine 8 for $200. My cash pile is now at $274
Bought- I bought a raw ASM #361 for $200. It was advertised as a 9.0-9.2 BUT had a stain. The seller refunded me $50. So I have ASM #361 and $124 in cash. I already own a CGC 9.4 copy of this book (albeit direct) so this was purchased with the intent of trading/selling for more value down the road.
A Loss- So the PPTSS #101 and X-Force 11 I bought never arrived. I bought this on Facebook marketplace and appear to have been scammed! Argghhhh. Thankfully only a small loss but it hurts my challenge money. A lesson learned. This means though my cash pile drops $47 to a total of $77
Bought- A low grade Thor #166 for $20. About a 3.5. Cash pile now at $57
Bought- A low grade copy of Dell's The Creature #1 for $18. Cash pile now at $39
Trade- I traded the ASM #361 raw copy for issues 1-70 of Hellblazer, a series I have always wanted to have and read. I already own issues 1 & 2 so I kept the nicer of each copy and the others are now part of the challenge. The rest of the issues are going in the PC. Oh and $50 cash on top of the deal. So after factoring in the money to ship ($22), my cash pile is now at $67
Sold- I sold the Thor #166 for $40. Cash pile is now at $107
Bought- Marvel Super Mag Special on eBay for $50 all in. This was a sneaky find. A seller had a bunch of magazines listed and was one of those listings where you scroll through a drop down to see what issues were available. Well this was and was listed in "very good condition" however the picture looked amazing. I took a chance and well it arrived and is easily a VF-VF+ copy...maybe better. Very happy to have and right now, I am holding onto it but it MIGHT make its way into a trade or sale down the road. Either way, cash pile is now at $57.
Sold- Sold Marvel Comics Presents #1 for $15. Cash pile is at $72.
Sold- Hellblazer 1 & 2 for $40. Cash pile is now at $112.
Bought- A local shop contacted me and said they had some comics. Kind of an odd place that just opened locally, selling all sorts of weird occult type stuff but also random collectibles? Anyway they had a bin of comics and I grabbed 11, including a Spawn #1 and a Ghost Rider #28 (both books I had) for $45. From these 11, I kept Marvel Age 90 (just a nice McFarlane Spidey cover I don't have), Iron Man 281 (cameo of War Machine plus was a newsstand and sharp looking copy) and Death: The High Cost of Living #1 (fits with my desire to own more Sandman related stuff). This all brings my cash pile down to $67.
Sold- I sold the 8 comics from the above purchase for $70. Cash pile now at $137.
Bought- A CGC 9.8 copy of the Madame Xanadu #1 one shot with the Brian Bolland cover for $60. I figure it is easily worth that and will attempt to trade or sell. I have a goal in mind right now and we shall see if I can get there! Cash pile down to $77.
So where does this leave me? Well to the PC I have added:
Hellblazer 1-70 raw
Marvel Super Mag Special 16 (first Boba) VF raw
Marvel Age 90 in VF/NM raw
Iron Man 281 in NM- raw
Death: High Cost Of Living 1 in NM raw
And still remaining in the trade/sell pile, I have:
-low grade copy of Dell's The Creature
-CGC 9.8 Madame Xanadu 1
- $77 cash
As I mentioned, I have a goal in mind here or something I am chasing. We shall see what the next update brings!
- 18
-
Latest Entry
Cataloging the pence copies I currently own
This part of the journal will consist of all the current pence copies I have what can be uploaded here.The one’s what can’t be uploaded in this entry will go in a second entry.
Undated1ShillingSticker.jpg.6680ab7562462973e1e44394ed688c66.jpg)
Undated6d.jpg.6fd803eb67bb38e7965055de9b325737.jpg)
Cover.jpg.75cc8edbe4eccb84fedb3992edfa93b1.jpg)
Indicia.jpg.1ce39c162d63e8f0d0a232cd9450d6c7.jpg)
Splash.jpg.33f2772e40ab1697881615266fa8e417.jpg)
.thumb.jpg.339444cc3f9737c98ad1e7fdbe081370.jpg)
15cVariant.jpg.02251b77654f20b7da265b3267967362.jpg)
20cCopyB.jpg.81c16f6ba92c30ee5d7d305fec34eaf5.jpg)
.thumb.jpg.68994ba9071e34261b4ce7cb567b032d.jpg)
-
Journal Statistics
-
Total Journals661
-
Total Entries5,192
-
-
Recent Journal Activity
-
