Not Steam Punk, but just starts moving ahead a bit more with my Fourth, and Largest, submission

My previous submissions have been mixed bags and I look at them as more learning experiences than serious submissions. I was submitting comics I had bought and thought were nice examples that would do well to be graded. I got some surprises (Brave and the Bold 14 at 7.5! Third highest graded and THE lone 7.5! and a great Tales of Terror Annual 3 at 8.5) and some disappointments (an Xmen 211 at 7.0 -- one of my first submissions and I missed the non-color breaking folds on the back cover, but you live and learn -- and a Daredevil 21 at 8.0 which I thought would be higher). Most of the others were not shocks or unexpected, but I am learning what CGC looks at and, from speaking to more experienced graders and others, I am beginning to notice more of what contributes to good grading. I am hoping this is reflected in what I send in to CGC going forward.

This group is large (to me) at 30 books. The group consists of beautiful Silver Age DC's (except for a single EC, single Fawcett and a single Marvel) -- mostly Detective and G. I. Combats. The Detectives are common (relatively for Silver Age) but they are really nice and I'd like to see them get in the 9's (9.6 and above would be a home run, but I won't be too heartbroken if they aren't quite there). The G. I. Combats are the real prizes, and depending on where they come in is how happy (or devastated) I will be in the end.

Yes, I admit it; I am grading some of these for profit. Ugly word that, it seems. Thing is, I try to make my hobby (i.e. collecting comic books) pay for itself. I don't have lots of disposable cash, but I do see there is opportunity now and then to buy small collections or (what I think are) high-grade books at good prices, and then turn around and sell them for a profit. I almost always end up keeping at least one or two books from each collection so those don't cost me anything (since I sell the rest for a profit -- hopefully). I have a wide range of comics I collect, from Captain Marvel, Felix the Cat, Al Cap books, Pogo, EC War, Sci-fi and Mad, to Dr. Strange, Xmen, Teen Titans (first run), Green Lantern, and many of the comics with Neal Adams art, and one day I'd like to be able to get the Frazetta Famous Funnies! And some of them can be expensive. I'd love to just sit around and buy buy buy, but for now I am working at being a comic book monger (which does allow me to buy buy buy as long as I also sell sell sell).

Don't get me wrong -- I actually enjoy this. I love the hunt, the surprises, the education, and the feeling of making my love of comics pay for itself (that last is just icing on the cake really). The exposure I get to the breadth of comics alone is worth it. That Brave and the Bold 14 is a perfect example. I had an opportunity to buy a group of comics from the original owner and thought the majority of the value was in the DC Superhero books from about that time (mid 1950's). Lots of Swashbuckling four colors, Disney Comics and Stories, and Tarzans. The superhero books weren't in great shape, but I knew they still had some value. But when I was looking through the collection I noticed there were a few of these Brave and the Bolds that looked nice. They weren't the Justice League issues so I had no idea what they were, just noticed the title and that they looked nice. Turns out the 6 or so Brave and the Bolds, in conditions between 6.0 and 8.0, are just about equal in value to the rest of the collection. Where else would I have been exposed to the Pre-superhero DC's (I know, DC always had Superheroes, but they had a few series that everyone knows now that didn't start out that way but became the vehicles that ushered in the Silver Age -- Brave and the Bold and Showcase). And now I know much more about all of the comics from that collection.

Another example - one of the first collections I bought was also DC -- late 1950's to early/mid 1960s. None of the major Keys (it did have a poor condition Green Lantern 1 and coverless JLA 1), but in researching the value yours truly, who had been a big Marvel fan, suddenly discovered that DC was the real innovator of the Silver Age. Maybe DC didn't have the same type of angst and humanity that Marvel incorporated, but they did create a dash of realism (if that can be applied to comic book heroes) by injecting science-fiction origins for superpowers. Marvel grabbed that formula and ran with it (to the bank). But DC set the stage and really is to be given a lot of credit for the modern superheroes.

Not to say I was a total rube when it came to comic book history, but by buying and selling comics I have expanded my horizons and it pushed me to start learning more about the history and characters, and, of course, how to grade and view comics as objects of pop-art. My appreciation of, and attachment to, the hobby comic collecting has only grown through my pursuit of comics and profit.

So now I am trying to move into a little higher end of the comics business. The G. I. Combats were a bit of a gamble. I hope to at least make my money back so that I can be educated for the next group of comics I buy, and it would be great if I made a nice profit. I'd like to be able to buy my first Gaines File copy with comic book profits!

To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.