All about my purchase of X-Men #12 which is the first appearance of the Juggernaut.

I went to my first San Diego Comic Con this year and the one thing that I really really wanted to get was a nice copy of X-Men #12. Why? Well the Juggernaut is one of my favorite comics and I really like buying early X-Men comics. I had found really beautiful copies of X-Men #16 and #28 for around $40 each several months before.

I was looking for a clean copy that would cost me between $300-$450. That pretty much meant I had to get a non-graded copy since most 6.5's and up that are graded sell for above that price range.

My girlfriend and I scoured all the comic booths we could find and we took notes on all the issues that looked okay, good and outstanding. Even if they were over my budget. It was pretty easy since most comic retailers with the issue were in a special Gold and Silver Age zone on the floor.

I think that taking notes when shopping at a convention or show is very important. It allows you to make the vendors fight for your dollar. "Is $35 the best you can do? I found a very similar copy at Mile High Comics for $32"

This time I didn't really need to play hardball since I found only one issue that I really like. It was priced at $350 and my girlfriend and I thought it looked really nice. We looked it over, chatted with the owner a little, added it to our notes and then told him that we might be back. We finished scouring the show floor (saw about 4 more issues that I didn't like) and then after a short discussion we went back to the booth with the copy we liked.

We asked the gentleman if $350 was the best price on it and he dropped it to $300 without any pressure. I was the happiest consumer on the floor when I walked away from that booth. I actually bounced up and down a few times and hugged my girlfriend.

I have big plans for this issue as well. I live right outside of Baltimore, which happens to host the Baltimore Comic Con (BCC). Stan Lee happens to be the guest of honor at this year's BCC and I am going to get his signature on my copy of X-Men 12, 16, 28 and Savage She-Hulk #1. X-Men 12 will then be sent to CGC for Signature Series (SS) grading where I hope it will get a 7.0 or above. There are only 27 SS copies of X-Men 12 in the registry and only 10 of those are a 7.0 or above. The highest graded SS is a 9.2.

I will send X-Men 16 and X-Men 28 in for SS grading if I can afford it. I am trying to find out how much that will cost me from Desert Wind Comics.

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