The sun is shining... never mind, its just Sunspot!

I have purchased raw comics off of Ebay on occasion. I have learned that most sellers will either embellish the condition of the issues or simply dont know what they are talking about.

Some know EXACTLY what they are doing and just dont care. I have even seen sellers who "guarantee" their grades for 14 days or so, knowing full well that CGC doesnt grade that fast.

You have to be very discerning and very careful and selective about buying raw in any case, but especially when doing so on Ebay. Without actually holding the comics in your hands and examining them closely, you cant be sure of the condition. This is even more so now with some dealers beginning to ask CGC style prices for high grade raw issues.

Anyway, among the raw purchases I have made, not any have really panned out to be what they were represented as.

... until now.

I have wanted to put together a set of all 8 issues of the Fallen Angels mini series. Being a big fan of the New Mutants, this series is one I have desired in CGC graded condition for some time, since it features Sunspot, Boom Boom and Warlock. But they just are rarely if ever submitted for grading.

This means I had to find them in top notch raw form and submit them myself. After searching the web for what seemed like months, I finally happened upon a seller on Ebay with all 8 copies in what was described as NM/M condition. I looked at all of the other items they had and most were listed with grades that seemed to adhere to Overstreet standards. Everything from fair up to NM. This was the only auction they had with NM/M as the condition, which as we CGC Collectors know, equates to 9.8.

I decided to risk it and fork over the $25 for the lot. I figured if just two or three were worthy of grading, it would be worth it. So I bought them and waited for them to show up.

A few days later, they arrived and I proceeded to very closely look them over with my CGC level eyeballs. I was astonished! They all had a real shot at 9.8! I wasnt completely sure about #3, but otherwise I was absolutely pleased!

Since Val Mayerik was appearing at SDCC, I sent #4 through DWC for Val to sign. I then took #1,2,3,and 7 with me to Supercon to just submit for Universal labels. The only reason I didnt take 5,6 and 8 with me was because I had already determined that I would be going to Baltimore and Joe Staton and Mike Mignola could sign them.

Now I wish I had waited on the four universal submissions because Tom Palmer will be at this years Supercon and can sign them all. I may consider cracking them for this purpose, but we will see.

Anyway, they have all returned from their varying locations and the final results are in! #3 got 9.6, which didnt completely surprise me. #4 got SS 9.6, signed by Val, which was a little disappointing, but I can live with it. But the rest all achieved 9.8, including the ones signed by Staton and Mignola!!!!!

Absolutely awesome! This raw Ebay purchase turned out to be pretty much all it was made out to be! I am more than pleased with the purchase and final results. This is hands down the best blind raw purchase for grading that I have made!

Doing this also made me the #1 rank in the set as well, which is always nice.

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