Latest addition, 1st appearance...

Its 1.11.2012 and what do I see? Not one, but two of the comics I want for my collection come up for sale on ComicLink that you rarely ever see show up in this condition. To date I had only seen these come up for sale like once every couple of years. Problem is I cant afford both, no way. So I make my choice, and its Fantastic Four 104 CGC 9.6. I wont go into it here about why I wanted this issue so badly but if youre interested you can check out the journal I wrote about it on 2.4.2012. As Im sure youve surmised by now, the other book I had to pass on at the time was Giant Size Fantastic Four 4 CGC 9.6. Apparently this exact book, serial number and all, sold on ComicLink earlier this year and I didnt see it. Dont you hate it when that happens?

Anyway, the buyer put the book up for sale on eBay a couple months later and was asking twice what he had paid. Ouch. Im not paying that so I offered 200 less than what they were asking. No dice. The seller lowered the price 100 then 150 of their original price but it still didnt sell. I was tempted to go up on my offer for fear that someone else would snag it but I took Tnerbs advice and stuck to my guns. Instead I asked the seller if they would accept my original offer...which was 100 more than it sold for earlier in the year...and just do the transaction direct through PayPal. He finally accepted and I was thrilled. I made payment as soon as the transfer of funds completed and the seller shipped that same day. Now the waiting game begins.

According to usps.com my book should be arriving today, Saturday. Ive decided I cant wait anymore, its 2pm so Im gonna go see if the mailwoman delivered my comic. Sigh, nope. Now its 4pm so Im checking again. Well, the mailwoman showed up but no comic. Grrr. Pulling up tracking info on usps.com now and it says item was attempted delivery at 12pm but address is undeliverable so it is being returned to sender. What...the...heck. Tried calling PO...they closed 2 hours ago and wont reopen until Monday, of course. Reaching out to seller now. If they printed the shipping label using the address in PayPal then this should not have happened. On the other hand if they hand wrote the shipping label and misprinted something then that would explain it. Nope, they printed the shipping the label right off of PayPal so this has to be a PO error. Cant do anything about it until Monday at this point.

Its Monday morning and I call the PO. I pity anyone that has ever tried to navigate this IVR in an attempt to reach a human being. Finally I am being transferred...I wait for 10 min when all of a sudden the hold music stops. Im like hello, anyone there...aaaaannd Im disconnected. I dial back into the IVR from h-e-double hockey sticks and eventually reach someone. First thing I say is how sorry I am for the grief they must receive from customers about their IVR...I am very sympathetic and polite. After all, this person didnt invent the automated system that led me to them, and they didnt fail to deliver my package. The agent was cool and said he cant stand the IVR either, then he gave me a trick to get around it. Nice guy. He brought up my tracking number, confirmed the address is correct, said the postwoman must not have read the address closely enough, emailed the local PO and asked them to redeliver immediately. The package was diverted from Tuscon and made its way back to me today, delivered! Totally pays to be nice.

With the drama ended I am SO happy to finally have this book in my hands, and now framed on my wall. So why all the fuss? Whats so great about this issue anyway?

1. This is the last appearance of one of the original Xmen, dated February 1975, before the new Xmen were introduced in August 1975. The Xman in question is their founder, Professor X, who was last seen battling Magneto in The Defenders 16.

2. This is the first appearance of Jaime Madrox, The Multiple Man. Ive always liked this character and its cool to read about his origin and meeting with Professor X for the first time. I had been waiting until the graded book was in my hand before rereading my beater copy so Im looking forward to revisiting this story.

3. This fills a huge whole in my Xmen the Missing Years set. Not counting the books Im still waiting for CGC to return to me, I only need 4 more issues to complete the set! This particular book, in this condition, has taken me the longest to find...5 years to be exact. Its very satisfying to check this one off the list for sure.

Thanks for sticking with me as I recapped my experience in finally obtaining this book. All is right with the world. Now I get to be excited about Phoenix Con on Friday...even though CGC wont be there. Big question mark on whether I crack open my Hulk 181 to get it signed, but either way I know Im gonna have a blast. Tnerb, wish you were here man.

Til next time...

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