Or, what remains to be seen?

...................................Darkness..."There was darkness for more years than I can remember. Once, I was new and pristine; out in the world and available. I had the power to enthrall and the ability to help people lose themselves in a world of wonder.""Now, I sit. I sit and wait; for what, I don't know. I long to be out in the light again. I yearn to be useful and appreciated again. I pray that one day, someone will notice me, here in the darkness. Won't somebody take the time to see me for what I am? Can't someone pull me back into the light and allow me the chance to be a gateway of inspiration?"........................Have you ever wondered how many comics and magazines are in stores and collections, sitting around, not able to reach their full CGC glory?While the truth is all of the major, historic, pedigree-like collections of classic books have probably been unearthed and auctioned off, there still remains an unknown number of personal collections and dealer inventory that have remained untapped, even in this day and age.What treasures could be out there? What books are waiting to be discovered by a young enthusiast, an intrepid collector, or someone reading this right now? How long will comics with fantastic potential wait to become CGC'd? What OAKs remain unseen in boxes around the world?At times, I have felt like a comic book archaeologist, digging through musty old boxes in search of valuable and historic items of a lost, artistic civilization. I feel like freeing the books from their prisons and allowing them to be seen and appreciated for what they represent, without being chased or shot at.Recently, I visited a comic store in my city I had been wanting to check out. They had a varied selection of new releases, but I noticed there were no variant covers to be seen. When I asked the owner about it, he proceeded to "inform" me that variants were bad for the industry.I mentioned to him that I was in search of top grade copies for signings and grading. He then proceeded to "inform" me that CGC and those who collect them are also bad for the industry.After a conversation with him about these statements, he simply finished by saying, "Everyone has different views. Mine just happens to be right, and yours just happens to be wrong." Wow! Really? I almost walked out (and maybe I should have), leaving the five new issues I had gathered on his counter, but I DID want them for the Tampa convention coming up next month. I bought them and left. The archeologist in me will never have me going back to his store ever again, even knowing I might be able to free one of his relics. I don't know why a store owner would want to purposefully offend a potential repeat customer because his views on the shared industry are different. Yes, there are those who look to only make money from buying and selling CGC books. But there are also those who are in it for what these books represent. It's no different than true archaeology. There are those who use tools to find relics of the past from lost civilizations, for the education and betterment of humankind; to bring these historical pieces to life for all to see. Then there are those who only wish to profit off of their finds. I wonder which one the store owner cares about most?You can find people who want to capitalize monetarily off of practically any industry in this world (snow cones for example). This does not make the tools of those industries bad, nor the industries themselves or the people who wish to use those industries to further the betterment of its products. I don't see anything wrong with CGC or it's practices.They serve a purpose in our hobby. To protect and authenticate our historical and new items alike, giving everyone the chance to see, appreciate and yes, even own these treasures. A person's motives behind utilizing CGC is up to them.I was a collector, like my father before me, we searched year after year for the finest specimens. It was his passion that I learned from before he passed away. After he died, I sold off the majority of my collection (a story for another time). It was CGC that got me back into the industry. It is because of them and the community they helped to create, that I have an even deeper appreciation for these books and the creators from whom they spring. So how can they be "bad for the industry" when they can inspire those like me to collect again?I have sold graded books. But when I do, there is always this feeling of loss for me, like I'm letting go of something priceless. I usually do it to help fund my specific collecting interests in the hobby, rather than to turn a huge profit.When I search boxes looking for artistic relics from creators gone by, I am not doing so with the idea of making a profit off them. I am doing it for the chance to find that rare item; that book that has never been graded before, or reached a particular grade level before. I often do it with creators in mind, looking for copies that they could sign at future shows, allowing them to put a small piece of themselves back into a book that they helped create, and then preserve it for all time.Who knows what is out there waiting to be discovered by those like us? Who knows what glorious works of art are just sitting somewhere, trapped in limbo. We have the opportunity to unearth them and provide them with a chance to be something special to the whole world again.This is what makes this hobby so thrilling to me. This is what drives me to seek out these books. This is what collecting is all about.And as my big bro would say,Thanks for reading Below is an OCC (original collection copy) of mine, Daredevil #91. I believe it is a 9.6 and I plan on taking it to Baltimore for Tom Palmer to sign.To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.