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CGC Journals

Our community journals

  1. I could think of no better occasion to mark my 1st Journal entry.

    Finally, my Marvel Bronze Age 1st Issue set "Badger's Bronzers" is finally 100% complete. I recently received the last books back from CGC that I needed to complete the set. One was a disappointing grade, so I bought a 9.6 copy on ebay to replace it. The other Giant Size Werewolf #2 came back in 9.6 which made the cut. I was very glad as that book has been very difficult to track down in high grade.

    Anyways, I am now un-obscuring my set. It is finished and ready to be seen by all who want to take a look. There are front and back pictures of every book, so take a peek at the gallery. There is one single highest graded book in the set (see attached).

    Whew! this has been a long time coming! Finally time to celebrate! :)

    Rude_badger

    17445.JPG.480f79ed59e675c7ab5f6875ab507f68.JPG

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  2. ...once again no 9.9 :(

    HI Guys!

    I have been away for a while :)

    Mego World Greatest Superheroes are my new passion so CGC books have lost the top priority in my collection...but despite of this I keep on submitting books...

    I have just received 60 graded comics (mostly early copper age) I had shipped to CGC in February 2016. 39 working days to get the awaited "graded" status is a VERY LONG TIME in my opinion.

    Honestly, after 38 submissions, I need to say that this long waiting really demotivates me a lot. I think that 15-20 working days should be the maximum acceptable amount of time. :(

    These books were selected during 2015 and most of them came back in 9.4 (the minimum grade I usually accept for post 1980 books) or better...

    2x 8.5 3x 9.0 9x9.2 13x9.4 17x9.6 16x9.8

    ...with the gem being a complete DD 227-233 (Nocenti Miller) run...that resulted in an almost complete set in 9.6-9.8 (weirdly 227 came out in 8.5 doh!)

    Unfortunately after 38 submissions to CGC for a total of 880 books I still haven't received a single 9.9 :(

    TITLE ISSUE FORECAST CGC

    Amazing Spider-Man 255 9.4-9.6 // 9.6

    Amazing Spider-Man 343 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    Avengers 299 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    Avengers 300 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    Cloak & Dagger 4 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Daredevil 227 9.4-9.6 // 8.5

    Daredevil 228 9.4-9.6 // 9.6

    Daredevil 229 9.4-9.6 // 9.6

    Daredevil 230 9.4-9.6 // 9.6

    Daredevil 231 9.4-9.6 // 9.8

    Daredevil 232 9.4-9.6 // 9.8

    Daredevil 233 9.4-9.6 // 9.6

    Elektra Assassin 3 9.4-9.6 // 9.2

    Excalibur 1 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Excalibur 6 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Excalibur 7 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Fantastic Four 322 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Fantastic Four 323 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    Fantastic Four 336 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Hulk 369 9.6-9.8 // 9.2

    Spawn 9 9.4-9.6 // 9.6

    Thor 392 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    Uncanny X-Men 275 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Uncanny X-Men 276 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Uncanny X-Men 169 9.4-9.6 // 9.2

    Uncanny X-Men 198 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    Uncanny X-Men 231 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    Uncanny X-Men 234 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    Uncanny X-Men 236 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    Uncanny X-Men 238 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    Uncanny X-Men 262 9.6-9.8 // 9.2

    Uncanny X-Men 270 9.6-9.8 // 9.2

    Uncanny X-Men 280 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    Uncanny X-Men 284 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    Uncanny X-Men 285 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Uncanny X-Men 294 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    Uncanny X-Men 295 9.6-9.8 // 9.2

    Uncanny X-Men 296 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    Wolverine 4 9.6-9.8 // 9.0

    Wolverine 5 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    X-Factor 12 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    X-Factor 14 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    X-Factor 33 9.6-9.8 // 9.2

    X-Factor 35 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    X-Factor 71 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    X-Factor 84 9.2-9.4 // 9.0

    X-Factor 85 9.6-9.8 // 9.0

    X-Factor 86 9.6-9.8 // 8.5

    X-Factor 19 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    Uncanny X-Men 186 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Uncanny X-Men 193 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    Uncanny X-Men 197 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    Uncanny X-Men 267 9.6-9.8 // 9.2

    Uncanny X-Men 279 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    Uncanny X-Men 287 9.6-9.8 // 9.6

    Uncanny X-Men 288 9.6-9.8 // 9.4

    Uncanny X-Men 289 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Uncanny X-Men 290 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

    Uncanny X-Men 291 9.6-9.8 // 9.2

    Wolverine 2 9.6-9.8 // 9.8

     

    Ciao!

    Federico - Italy

  3. B. Koski
    Latest Entry

    New Gods #2

    Darkseid's 1st cover appearance. Trying to find a higher grade of this book, but seems very hard to find graded for some reason. I see plenty of #1's....just not many #2's..?

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  4. Udidar1
    Latest Entry

    A quarter gone

    Damn you fire in Fort Mac. If I was there i would drink a 2litre of Pepsi and take a leak on it to show my disdain. When i moved to Australia from Canada, my brother let me keep my comic collection at his place. His place is now just a pile of ash. His comic and my comic collection are history. I think i had 63 graded comics there. Thankfully no valuable graded ones. Just cheap Hulks mostly i think. I will have to go through my notes someday to figure out which ones. But my near complete run of ungraded hulks ( not super high grades) and his near complete ungraded iron man in nice grade along with a few thousand other comics are burnt to a crisp.

    Actually i dont give a as i finally found out my brother was ok but is trapped out at his jobsite while his wife and little ones made a frantic dash south out of the city.

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  5. It's taken me years and a bit of cash but I am finally in the top spot in Captain Marvel Adventures.

    My recent ascent was helped by the fact that Starman221 was going in the opposite direction. Seeing the goal within striking distance I did a sprint to the finish line and put myself fairly deep in the red based on my buying budget but that's cool because I always pull myself back out. My recent purchases may be my last for most of the rest of the year unless a must have item appears.

    My next goal is to try and reach the registry total that Starman211 had when he won the 2009 Golden Age set of the year. That total was 34870 while I have 29930. I have no illusions that I will suddenly win Golden Age set of the year the moment I exceed 34870 particularly since the competition has become much fiercer since 2009. The lowest registry point total in the Golden Age category was 47355 but that one was 95% complete while mine is a dainty 35%. On the other hand I have no comics with a grade less than 7.5 and I average well above 9.0. A good percentage of my collection are highest or second highest grade.

    I probably have a better chance of winning best presentation and I've spent a ton of time on my comic descriptions. I've read almost every comic I own using scans online. So if you want to learn more about Captain Marvel, the ORIGINAL Captain Marvel, Please check out my set and enjoy.

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  6. Adventures and musings about Buying, Selling and setting up at Conventions and Shows

    I participated in my first ever show last October. You can read about it here: http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=8903742#Post8903742

    I was pleased with my sales, it was an excellent learning experience and most importantly, I had a great time. I must have did "ok" as I was invited back by the show organizers.

    In my town, there use to be a larger two day Antique Show, but with the sale of the local Legion (where that event was held), the Antique Show organizers asked the organizers of the Collectibles Show to "take over"...I think this is a good thing, merging the two shows.

    The first show under the new 'brand' is scheduled for Sunday, April 17th, 2016. Moving forward, the plan is to have a regular two day show in October.

    For as long as there is some degree of interest I will share my experiences, good and bad. I also look forward to any new comments and tips from more seasoned sellers. Thanks for your interest!

    Thanks for reading!

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    Recent Entries

    CollectThemAll
    Latest Entry

    From Great Pick to Conterfeit to Reprint

    The ups and downs of collecting. At a major comic convention I found an elusive book, a Martin Luther King Jr. comic book (The Montgomery Story). This was prior to the anniversary, and the movie which sparked renewed interest in this important part of American history. The price was par for the course ($90). So after a quick examination, I pulled the trigger and bought two. I even showed a few knowledgeable dealers who examine the book and were very impressed with the find.

    A month later after sub,it ting to CGC I was informed that they were conterfeits. From there the hunt was on to locate the dealer. One of the major dealers at the next convention pointed me in the right direction to hunt down the part time dealer I had made the purchase from. After a little calling around I found him and explain the situation. Armed with my correspondence with CGC I explained the situation to him. He was reasonable and agreed to refund me the purchase price. I ate the CGC cost and kept the conterfeits. Or, so I thought.

    Half a year later, CGC contacted me and informed me that my books were modern reprints and not counterfeits. CGC requested I send the books into them and they would reslab the books for free.

    In a years time, I went from great find to conterfiet to CGC graded reprints.

    Today I am a lot more careful but still looking for a Vintage MLK comic!

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    Recent Entries

    My first OA pieces...

    I have seen several journals lately were the author has displayed their OA for everyone to see and they are great journals. I am new to OA and only have two pieces but I love the two I have. One is a Rai #1 blank sketch with Rai by Juan Navarro and the other is a Bloodshot Reborn #1 with a sketch of Bloodshot by Sanford Greene the current artist of Power Man and Iron Fist. Needless to say, I am hooked. I currently have a commission withe Jamie Tyndall for Roku on a Ninjak #1 blank using copic colors and I will post that when I get an image. That book is going to CGC from Jamie Tyndall. The Bloodshot Reborn is with Sanford Greene and I will be submitting that to CGC at the SC Comic Con next month. I have a great time talking with the artists and it is always a thrill seeing what they produce. This is not only for the few pieces I have but also seeing others in journals and the OA thread. Thanks for your time everyone and for viewing the journal.

    Jason Fuller

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  7. Can't afford to keep her!

    Well, it's been a while since I posted in my journal, and I must say, it was fun when I had the money to do it. I did once have the #1 set for 4 years in a row, until CGC expanded the set type to go to 2002...and that's what pushed me down. So...I lost some interest in the "ol girl" and was considering liquidating her, along with all the other doubles and slightly lower graded that I have. Just wondering what would be a fair price. Does anyone think that $3k is too much? If so, what would be considered a fair asking price for the set?

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  8. The aim - every series, every variant

    First off, this isn't my main collecting goal. I'm not completely fond of all of the variants out there. There are some I like and some which just seem utterly pointless. I guess the idea of collecting all variant covers is down to preference, some like it, some hate it.

    That being said, I do like the idea of completing them.

    As of writing this out there are

    DW 4th Miniseries (begins March 2016)

    DW 8th Miniseries

    DW 9th Miniseries

    DW 9th Year 1 (begins April 2016)

    DW 10th Year 1

    DW 10th Year 2

    DW 11th Year 1

    DW 11th Year 2

    DW 12th Year 1

    DW 12th Year 2

    DW Four Doctors Miniseries

    As many of these are ongoing and they only began in August 2014, it seems like a pretty easy task. However, many are American releases and being in England it's hard to get hold of them for ok prices. More often than not, even without postage they are around $40. Even those that are cheap, the postage is often higher than expected.

    So as it's not my main collecting goal it is going to be tricky, but as they are ongoing series and relatively cheap it should be easier than most.

    Below is a list of those known to me which I do not currently own and will be ticking off, and adding to the list as I go.

    Doctor Who 4th Miniseries

    N/A

    Doctor Who 8th Miniseries

    #1 - Alien Entertainment Variant

    #1 - BAM Variant

    #1 - Long Island Comic Con Variant

    Doctor Who 9th Miniseries

    #1 - Hastings Exclusive Variant Cover

    #1 - Alien Entertainment Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Barnes and Noble Exclusive Variant

    #1 - BBC Shop

    #1 - Books-a-Million Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Buy Me Toys #1 Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Buy Me Toys #2 Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Black Cat Comics Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Comics on the Green Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Comics to Astonish Exclusive Variant

    #1 - FanExpo Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Fantasy Realm Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Gifts for the Geek Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Happy Harbour Comics Exclusive Variant

    #1 - ISD Gaming Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Limited Figures and Comics Exclusive Variant

    #1 - More Fun Comics Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Newbury Comics Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Pop Culture Paradise Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Strange Adventures Exclusive Variant

    #1 - Think Geek Exclusive Variant

    #2 - Blair Shedd Variant Cover © 1:10

    #2 - Hastings Exclusive Variant #2

    #3 - Hastings Exclusive Variant #3

    #4 - Hastings Exclusive Variant #4

    #5 - Hastings Exclusive Variant #5

    Doctor Who 9th Year 1 (begins April 2016)

    N/A

    Doctor Who 10th Year 1 - All #1s

    Alien Entertainment & Fantasy Exclusive Variant Cover

    BBC Shop SDCC Exclusive Variant Cover

    Comickaze Exclusive Variant Cover

    Heroes & Fantasies Exclusive Variant Cover

    Newbury Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Think Geek Exclusive Variant Cover

    Warp 9 Exclusive Variant Cover

    Austin Books & Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Big Planet Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Borderlands Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    Collected Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy Exclusive Variant Cover

    Gifts for the Geek Exclusive Variant Cover

    Madness Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    NJOY Games & Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Planet Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Royal Collectables Exclusive Variant Cover

    Strange Adventures Comics & Curiosities Exclusive Variant Cover

    Super-Fly Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    Third Eye Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Victory Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Texas Toyz Exclusive Variant Cover

    Warp 9 Exclusive Variant Cover

    Austin Books & Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Big Planet Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Borderlands Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    Collected Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy Exclusive Variant Cover

    Gifts for the Geek Exclusive Variant Cover

    Madness Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    NJOY Games & Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Planet Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Royal Collectables Exclusive Variant Cover

    Strange Adventures Comics & Curiosities Exclusive Variant Cover

    Super-Fly Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    Third Eye Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Victory Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Texas Toyz Exclusive Variant Cover

    Second Printing

    FanExpo Canada Exclusive Variant

    Doctor Who 10th Year 2

    Complete

    Doctor Who 11th Year 1 - All #1s

    Alien Entertainment & Fantasy Exclusive Variant Cover

    BBC Shop SDCC Exclusive Variant Cover

    Comickaze Exclusive Variant Cover

    Heroes & Fantasies Exclusive Variant Cover

    Newbury Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Think Geek Exclusive Variant Cover

    Warp 9 Exclusive Variant Cover

    Amazing Fantasy Books & Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    ACME Comics & Collectible Exclusive Variant Cover

    Alakazam Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Bat Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    Austin Books & Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Big Planet Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Borderlands Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    Collected-Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    Superheroes in Training Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Gifts for the Geek Exclusive Variant Cover

    Madness Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    NJOY Games & Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Planet Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Royal Collectibles Exclusive Variant Cover

    Stange Adventures Comics & Curiosities Exclusive Variant Cover

    Super-Fly Comics & Games Exclusive Variant Cover

    Third Eye Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Victory Comics Exclusive Variant Cover

    Texas Toys Exclusive Variant Cover

    FanExpo Canada Exclusive Variant

    Doctor Who 11th Year 2

    Complete

    Doctor Who 12th Year 1 - All #1s

    Gamestop Cover

    ACME Comics Exclusive Variant

    Alien Entertainment Exclusive Variant

    Barnes and Noble Exclusive Variant

    Gifts for the Geek Exclusive Variant

    Hastings Exclusive Variant

    Hoknes Comics Exclusive Variant

    Strange Adventures Exclusive Variant

    Think Geek Exclusive Variant

    WARP 9 Exclusive Variant

    1Up Comics Exclusive Variant

    Comic Cave Exclusive Variant

    Madness Comics and Games Exclusive Variant

    Mile High Comics Exclusive Variant

    Planet Comics Exclusive Variant

    Texas Toyz Exclusive Variant

    Third Eye Comics Exclusive Variant

    Wonderland Comics Exclusive Variant

    Doctor Who 12th Year 2

    Complete

    Doctor Who The Four Doctors Miniseries

    #1 - Alien Entertainment Exclusive Variant Cover

    #1 - Books-a-Million Exclusive Variant Cover

    #1 - Books-a-Million Black & White Exclusive Variant Cover

    #1 - Café Anime Exclusive Variant Cover

    #1 - Hastings Exclusive Variant Cover

    #1 - Hastings Black & White Exclusive Variant Cover

    #2 - Café Anime Exclusive Variant Cover

    #3 - Café Anime Exclusive Variant Cover

    #4 - Café Anime Exclusive Variant Cover

    #5 - C

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  9. I have more comics then I thought!

    Although I've sold well over one-half my collection over the years I still have at least 30 long boxes left. I just found a box of autographed comics (Kirby, Williamson, Krenkel, Thorne, Moench, Layton, Golden, Adkins, Vigil and Byrne so far; as well as my Hulk collection from the Silver Age on. I just finished reviewing my Silver Age Sub-Mariner set. I may need three issues to complete. It's a blast to look at these books I have not looked at in over twenty years. I'm reboarding, rebagging and labeling the books for my private collection, mulling over future sales, books to be submitted to CGC and memories of meeting these creators since 1982. What a great hobby/avocation.

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  10. The story of a new collector going after the heroes from his childhood and the series that got him into starting a collection of comic books in the first place.

    I will keep this post updated with every new transaction, flub up, additions to my background/life and more. Hopefully it will be a good read.

    10/29/2011

    I joined the CGC forums in hopes of collecting a character I had loved growing up, Steven Rogers. Cartoons and video games were my introduction to Rogers growing up, along with the films made in the 70s and in 1990. When finding out the price of the books, the early Cap books, I knew I was in over my head and unless I won the lotto, collecting Cap would be a no go for me unfortunately.

    I decided to focus my efforts on Deadpool. Complete opposite from Rogers but Wade Wilson was fun to play in the Ultimate Alliance games and that drew me into him. After going through some private messages with some collectors here who wanted to sell some CGC Deadpool titles, I had to pass on this collecting also. At the time I wasn't financially stable enough to start collecting anyone really so I abandoned ship and forgot about comic books and collecting.

    02/05/2016

    Fast forward to now.

    I have a MUCH better job than I did when I first joined. It gives me some wiggle room with starting up a hobby. Still not enough to buy a Captain America #1 but maybe one day! I could at least start buying some Cap lots on eBay though!

    In the last month I had a friend lend me the Deluxe Hardcover Edition of Saga. I asked him about the series after seeing it was an Eisner Award Winner and that IGN named it their Series of 2015 or something to that extent. It was also their 2014 Series also, so back to back wins in that category. I became a little curious about a series regarded that highly, regardless of what I think about IGN for the most part, and figured I would ask my comic book buddy.

    I started reading the book on a Friday night and couldn't put it down. I became hooked INSTANTLY. After I finished it up I jumped to the trade paperback he also lent me. I had both books read by Saturday evening and immediately jumped back and read them all again, twice in one weekend! I asked my buddy if he had any single issues for sale and he said no, just the trades.

    He sent me to Midtown Comics website and I immediately got on and grabbed 20-32, all the back issues they had, in addition to 13B. I then jumped on eBay and started looking for 1-19. I found a 2-20 lot and used a MasterCard gift card I received for Christmas and used the full amount on that lot to ensure I won it and I did. Now I'm left with finding #1 raw, currently working on that with a member now, to complete my raw run. lol

    While searching for the raw issues I did come across a good deal on a couple of CGC 9.8 copies of #22 and #23 on eBay for $50 shipped and nabbed them up. I have also picked up a 9.8 SS (Vaughn and Staples) #1 first print thanks to a member on here! I have also signed up for a 9.8 subscription from BeachBum and also got a few back issues (16, 17, and 32) he had around. So I have gotten off to a good start on the CGC run.

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  11. I dont know what I am doing.....but I have never let that stop me before.

    Having long been interested in the subject of conservation I decided to chronicle my journey into the "meat and potatoes" of conserving comic books. First off, I had to have a working description for what I would consider "restoration" compared to "conservation". I came up with this:

    Conservation: Actions taken to repair damage and age degradation, also steps that can prevent further damage from aging and handling. Primary focus on preservation, with visual appeal as a side benefit.

    Restoration: Actions taken to visually improve a book from the effects of wear and handling, primary focus to improve the appearance and tactile feel with preservation being a POSSIBLE side benefit.

    Not ground breaking stuff, just something I had to really nail down to improve my focus and direction.

    What I will be doing is performing some well known procedures for conserving books, I have zero experience and expect to have a steep learning curve. Of course I will not be practicing on AF 15s or anything close to a key book, just some old GA fodder I have kicking around. This should be fun, funny, and just maybe informative, I am wide open to suggestions, criticism, and even a little ridicule.

    Oh, what have I done.....

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    Recent Entries

    Oh, I have to enter a teaser do I ? We will see...

    Just finished the first 10 issues of The Human Torch (2004) with the art by Skottie Young. I was not before, a fan of said Mr Young. I've got copies of most of his variant covers from the past few years, but that type is not reallly up my alley. I have to admit that the story line, though a little disjointed, was actually pretty good, but was either streatched out too far , or mashed together too tight. And Young's artwork did grow on me a little, but the soul patch on Storm's chin was a little too 1990 ... . I fail to remember who the writer is, kinda reflects my effort to learn. RECEIVES : Three Stars out of Five.

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  12. Well yes it was christmas morning i was super bummed about Loseing the other night a bid online for a cgc human torch 1975 but i was still greatfulfor the holidays but all i could keep thinkin was about that darn auction with the smell of turkey and all the fixings lingering over my head it was time too open our ptesents

    My wife says open yours first so she went behind the bottom of the tree was a odd shaped rectangler box wrapped in shiny wraping with a big red bow i started shreding it open boom there was my comic from a few nights back the same one she was the one who out bided me amidst the cristmas rush so i got my human torch

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    Recent Entries

    Opening my store in a few months and figured i would document the process as i have time.

    Opening my store in a few months and figured i would document the process as i have time.

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  13. I guess it pays being a good big boy this year.

    I must say that I must have done something right this year to deserve the gift I had just received from the good people at CGC.

    I have to admit over the past few years I was frustrated along with other collectors with some of the things that CGC was changing with their company such as changing their modern tier from 1975 to 1980 and with their slower turn around times with higher prices and not so friendly staff at the shows, but this past year that all seems to have faded away with friendlier staff and faster turnaround times with reasonable prices on grading.

    I just received in the mail today a returned submission from the NYCC this past October and to my surprise I almost fainted when I opened the box and saw my ASM #148 come back a 9.8! I was in total shock considering that when I submitted it there were only 6 in the registry in this grade so this would be lucky number 7. I had recently saw on eBay one had just sold for $2500 so I was really shocked that this book was in such high demand and rarity in this high grade but I have no intentions of selling this bad boy in the near future but to rather join its high grade friends in my collection.

    Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

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  14. MacFarlane
    Latest Entry

    ....or, Staring At Creases...and I don't mean the ones that have grown around my eyes...

    A few years back I quietly embarked on a comic collecting quest that is somewhat ridiculous, and somewhat maniacal. Many people have laughed at this and many others have just looked at me like I have a hole in my head. I'm getting used to those responses now, and frankly put now find them amusing.

    Here's the quick-and-dirty of it: I've started an autobiographical collection.

    I'm looking at a certain section of my life when I was wandering back and forth to my Local Comic Shop and picking up my weekly titles and I'm targeting high grade for all of those-and I want them graded. Is it financially motivated? Nope - most of these are worth 3-5 bucks. Is it completely insane and a waste of money? Sure, but it's my money and that's what I'm doing.

    My original collection had me reading them (and often times lending them out to my friends for reading) and all the typical things we all did when we first bought comics. The catch-all of "Oh, they're in great condition. I keep them all bagged and boarded" does not mean much these days with the standardization of grading so if I want high grade I'm buying them again. So guess who's going shopping???

    Biggest problem I've found in this last year is that these comics that are passed by and left behind by most collectors are not trading actively. The boards are filled with speculators trading "Keys, Keys, and More Keys," however none of these are Keys, so they are not getting listed. Those that I could find are put into dollar bins at the Local Comic Shops and are nicked and dinged from the process of getting dumped in there: spine crease city...

    I was lucky recently in finding a site specifically geared to Valiant comics-I just made my first gap filling purchase there and I'm glad something like this exists. Over the next few months it looks like filling in that need-it-list will get a lot easier, but I cannot expect it for every publisher.

    My current predicament is that I need to find a place to get early Image comics online in large quantities. I'm not going to sit around picking off one comic at a time with crazy fees on ebay. Any suggestions anyone?

    R-Mac

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  15. EC ed's Journal

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    aka...Diary of an EC Completist.

    I decided I'll give this "collecting diary" thing a try...

    The basic idea will be to chronicle the progress of my collection going forward. Perhaps I'll begin with a bit of a retrospective. Comments are welcome, of course!

    I'll post some content as soon as I decide where/how I want to begin, and then I'll press ahead from there!

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  16. JKirbyfan
    Latest Entry

    Do you have one?

    Just completed my Kirby/Comic room......behold.....

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  17. Vorpal's Journal

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    A long-time geek's journey into the world of comic collecting!

    Here's a repost of my introduction thread:

    "Hi all, I just started getting into comics (at age 37!) but have always been a nerd/geek (Star Wars, D&D, computer games, Magic: The Gathering cards, etc.) and have bought random copies here and there over the years, whenever a title/cover struck my interest. My son has been into superhero characters for a few years now, and we were leafing through the comics bin at Half Price books a few months back when I stumbled upon the awesome Michael Golden cover on Doctor Strange Vol. 2 #55. I knew nothing about it except that I loved the cover. I quickly looked up the issue on my phone and read that many consider it to be one of the best-written DS stories, so I picked up for a whole $1 (condition issues). I ended up enjoying it, and recently decided to start picking up some other DS issues -- I'm really drawn to the Frank Brunner pieces in vol. 2. Then I read that a movie is coming out next year, and decided to accelerate my purchases of some of my favorite covers before they become too much more expensive. I should be posting up some raw Doc Strange goodness in the next week or so!

    So obviously I've gotten into Doctor Strange, but (like a lot of people) I have also re-acquainted myself with Iron Man after thoroughly enjoying the movies. Being an engineer, I identify with Tony Stark and his endless tinkering with armor designs. Because of my affinity for the character and his technology, I've decided to focus on the following Iron Man comics:

    1. Tales of Suspense 39-58 (i.e. ToS Iron Man solo titles); and

    2. 1st appearances of each major Iron Man armor. For issues where the cover does not show the armor, or where its new appearance is obscured or otherwise poor, I'll also collect a cover that depicts it nicely. My goal is to have my very own "hall of armor" in my home office :) At this point I don't plan on extending to armors after the 1968 Invincible Iron Man run.

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  18. I guess I should first state that I was never a big DC comics fan but heres what I thought based on what I saw.

    I'm pretty excited about the whole slate of comic book movies on tap for the next several YEARS but I am a little concerned about the quality of some of them. I think the summer is gonna be dominated by comic book movies for the foreseeable future but I feel like we run the risk of comic book movie fatigue, especially if there are a whole bunch of bad ones, and they're PG13, with happy endings, and mangle the storylines, no swearing, etc. Already, when I talk to my wife about what movies I'm looking forward to seeing she's like " capes, powers, whatever ". As I've said before, I think the comic industry is on the verge of a bubble much like it was in the 90's with all the variant covers, scarcity by design, missed issue deadlines, reboots, inflated prices, etc. and its only a matter of time before this house of cards built on a three legged chair collapses. Until then though, lets enjoy the ride.

    I saw the Suicide Squad trailers and I was intrigued to some degree but I had a few reservations. I think the movie can only be as strong as its weakest link which is clearly Will Smith. I think Deathstroke ( aka cool Deadpool ) along with Harley Quinn & Joker are gonna be the characters people are wanting to see. Harley and Joker I think are covered for the most part but Will Smith simply can't act. Whatever hopes they had can only go as far as Will Smith's range which isn't far. I'm sure he'll probably be trying to work a joke or some Fresh Prince into his lines every few minutes. I think what happened is he probably had his people say " Hey, Will wants in ", and that was that, but I don't think he was anybody's choice. As for Harley, I think the character is interesting in the comic book sense but I don't know that that'll translate to film well and her actual name sure as hell shouldn't be Harley Quinzel. It'll have to be written really well. As far as Joker, I don't know that I'm feeling it all that much. I like were they're trying to go in the sense that the Joker never really looked like a criminal hence the gold fronts and tattoos but I just feel that they went in the obvious direction. Criminals have gold teeth and tattoos so lets put some on him, hey how about a tattoo that says HaHaha, nothing says crazy like HaHaHa right. I always felt that the most successful Joker storylines were so good because writers gave him style and his character was distinct. Batman is the dark knight detective, strategist, planner whereas the Joker is unpredictable and criminally insane, two opposing forces, hero and nemesis. What let you know the Joker was criminally insane were his actions, not his tattoos or gold teeth. I find Jared Leto's Joker to appear more in the moment, sign o the times, and comical whereas Heath Ledger's Joker was sinister and frightening before he even did anything. When I first saw Heath Ledgers Joker I thought he looked like what I never knew the Joker should have always looked like and what the hell was I thinking falling in love with Jack Nicholson's Joker. We'll see what happens. Whats the deal with Killer Croc, in the comics he's like a creature, and isn't he supposed to be huge, in the trailer he looks like a power ranger ( like Apocalypse ). If Marvel can pull off a believable Hulk then I'm sure DC could have done a better job with Killer Croc. Lastly, whats up with the latin american Cholo-esque character, who's he supposed to be? I can understand the desire for diversity, I'm all for that, but Chuck Tailors, Khaki's, white t-sirt, starter jacket, and a skull tattoo on his face. There were guys like that walking around the neighborhood I grew up in. I thought they could have done better. I think the crowning achievement is Viola Davis as Dr. Waller, I feel like they got better than they deserved for such a small role. I heard they initially wanted Oprah, but come on, she owns a network, is a billionairess, and has only done like 4-5 movies in the last 30 years. I don't think she's trying to cap off her career or that it'll draw middle aged women to the theater by having her in the movie.

    With regards to Batman v Superman, I'm pretty excited about this one as well, until I saw the latest trailer. As with Suicide Squad, I think the weakest link is Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and maybe Gal Gadot as WW, but at least you can look at her, Jesse Eisenberg looks crazy with long blonde hair. Like the Joker, I always thought Lex Luthor was so cool because he was sinister and I don't think Jesse Eisenberg can pull off sinister. Mark Zuckerberg is not sinister unless he's stealing your ideas. The conflict between Superman and Lex to me centered around the fact that Kal el is like a god, he was born that way but is totally unassuming about his power and just wants to be like the rest of us whereas Lex is supremely smart believing that it elevates him above everyone else but despite that can never have what Superman was born with. Hero and nemesis. It takes gravitas to pull that off and I don't think Eisenbergs got it, Kevin Spacey, now your talking, its like trading in a Cadillac for a Prius. As for Gal Gadot, I've never seen her act but I don't mind looking at her. I don't know how they're gonna pull off the invisible plane and magic lasso but whatever, I'm on board. As far as Afleck as Batman, I've been pretty impressed with him after The Town and Gone Girl, I can see him as a older, saltier Batman, especially after J. Lo and Gigli, I'm on board. I'm worried about the story though, the Dark Knight Returns which this movie is loosely ( and I do mean loosely ) based on was if anything a core Batman story but here we have a Batman story in a Superman movie. How is that gonna play out, I don't know how if I can see how that works. I thought the DKR conflict centered around Supes sensibilities jading him in changing times and his becoming a company man whereas Batman has always been a vigilante and outsider. I thought the endgame fight between the two was Batman proving to Supes that despite his acting like one of us he must on some level recognize that he is superior to us which entails some degree of Hubris which is the weakness that Batman exploits by opening up a couple o cans of whupass on him as only Batman can. On some level Superman would have to know or rather believe he's superior to us ( ie. " I could have killed you by now if I wanted to "). Superman thought he was going to win that fight which made the loss so painful and awesome. You've got to love the whole idea of Superman wanting to be one of us but on some level recognizing he's better than us but in our frailty we lay him low proving that in fact he is mortal after all. Masterfully done, and I especially like Frank Millers personal " I did this to you " feel which I had never really seen in Batman stories, very bitter. Unfortunately, thats not what this movie is about which worries me. Of course the battle will be awesome to watch, a real treat, but without the deeper meaning I don't think it can truly be awesome and genre defining which DKR was. I think this is what Christopher Nolan was always shooting for with his Batman Trilogy, whether you believe he accomplished it or not is a different story, but I definitely think the transcendent is wh

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  19. Really?

    I just wanted to share as others have of my CBCS graded comics being resubmitted to CGC. Before I disclose the findings, I'd like to say that CBCS graded books don't fetch as high a price as CGC books, so I bought a couple CBCS graded books for a "good" price knowing that I'd crack their case and submit to CGC. I was hoping CGC would grade them the same or better (obviously) but I was very disappointed.

    CBCS grade Amazing Spider Man #22 9.2. Came back as TRIMMED 8.5. So a two-grade drop + the dreaded purple label. F'n great.

    CBCS grade Thor #196 9.8. Came back as a 9.6.

    So I'm going to steer clear of CBCS books as I can't trust their grading standards. I look forward to reading other collector's tests on this. I remember a collector who submitted some Harvey books where CBCS didn't catch a trimmed book, and in general, the CBCS grading was not as stringent. WTF CBCS?

    I haven't received the comics from CGC yet, or else I'd post the images.

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    Royjoseph1
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    Don't know what to do with this

    a>

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  20. Ozark Comics
    Latest Entry

    This cover could be interpreted in many ways....

    Casper and Wendy enjoying their own special brew of Cloud Beer????

    Or maybe it's supposed to be some type of twist on an ice cream float.

    Or since the cover is October, perhaps Warren Kremer was celebrating Oktoberfest after all.

    Maybe he was thirsty

    You decide

    Anyway, as the Germans say during Oktoberfest...Prost! to Warren Kremer and all his many years of great covers!

    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/ComicView.aspx?PeopleSetComicID=790298

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