Saturday night... 2 nights until Halloween. 

I figure I'll skip the continuity of this journal for now and jump around a little in celebration of the season... don't worry, I won't be posting endless Loreena videos on loop .

Hey, it happens!

Anyways, my friend, Rob has been posting some amazing contributions to this art contest that's been promoted by Retro Supply https://www.retrosupply.co/   (under #frightfall2022 in IG) and to be honest here, I'm quite envious! 

He sent me a text some time ago telling me that he thought that by entering this contest, he'd be able to get back into the creative spirit.  Well I certainly think he succeeded here and even though I didn't get his authorization to re-post his artwork, (to hell with that nonsense!) I'd like to share a couple of my favorites of his.

I'll get into this more later, but I'm forever grateful to him for sharing some Photoshop knowledge with me (back in the day) when times were more innocent. 

He taught me the technique of layers and a new way of coloring that was mind blowing to me at the time. 

Now, we're talking 20 plus years ago but such is life!

Anyways... 

For some odd reason that I can't seem to articulate yet and no, it's not the Scotch, my favorite of his, from this contest, is the Necronomicon!

Wait.

Am I simply seeing the Darkhold here?

(oF CouRsE nOt!)

Nonsense.

Ok, fine... yes.

...

...

Here are my favorites of his...

There are a few more too that I really like but I'll leave it at that. 

Why?

Because I'm still wrapped up in Depeche Mode at the moment and I need to take an intermission break and post a video!

Fine.

I think you all get the idea...

Oh, yes... David Gahan's wife?

(No, I didn't bring her up before but that last video kind of reminded me of her for some reason.)

Here ------->

Obviously I felt the need to post this one last night too but now I'm done... promise! 

Sunday night... 1 night until Halloween. 

I figure I'll skip the continuity of this journal for now and jump around a little in celebration of the season... don't worry, I won't be posting endless Loreena Depeche Mode videos on loop .

So, I do have a few books that would be seasonally appropriate to talk about although these were recent acquisitions for various reasons.  I'll start with my latest purchase which has a cover that I've always loved but it also may spark an interesting debate.  I'll go back to the swamp for a moment here and connect this back to my earlier posts regarding the Man-Thing and Swamp Thing.  I'm certainly a bigger fan of the DC character, in Swamp Thing, but Man-Thing is very close behind.  Historically speaking, Man-Thing was created first, however Len Wein, who co-created the Swamp Thing, also was involved with the formative issues of Man-Thing.  Apparently he was the roommate of Gerry Conway who is credited as having created the Man-Thing along with Roy Thomas. 

That being said, I have a suspicion that Man-Thing is going to be a vital character in the future of the MCU as the appearance of him in the awesome Werewolf by Night special has created a lot of noise in the comic collecting community.  As he is a Nexus being, I can hope to see him eventually used within any future alternate reality story-lines.

I can just say that I'm glad I got my Man-Thing 1 last year, even if it is only a CGC 7.5.

.

When I found this next book, it was obvious that I had to get it as it was a nice pairing to my Man-Thing 1... but this one had a twist. 

Well, for me at least...

I can't remember what thread it was here on the boards, but someone added a comment that I hadn't really thought of before and it's been something I've thought about quite often since I initially read it.  The comment stated something like, the reason Swamp Thing eclipsed Man-Thing in popularity and appeal was because DC had the great Bernie Wrightson illustrating their book. 

So, let's take that at face value but switch it up a little and do this...

WHAT IF Bernie Wrightson illustrated the Man-Thing instead of Swamp Thing?

If that happened, would the Man-Thing have eclipsed Swamp Thing in popularity and appeal as was proposed in that comment that I read?  Well, that's hard to say, obviously, but this book that I picked up gives us a peak into that alternate reality.  Again, this is only a CGC 7.5 but like I said, it's a nice book to pair...

Yes, that's Bernie Wrightson drawing his version of Man-Thing and I think it's fantastic! 

Again, I always loved this cover but it wasn't until just recently that this wrinkle was added to this book as it gives us a glimpse into what could've been.

I think it's a fascinating question.

...

...

Intermission:

This next book isn't really a 'monster' book but I think it does tie into the season in a way. 

I don't have much to write on this book except to highlight the price that I paid for it. 

Comiclink ( https://www.comiclink.com/ ) has had 2 great months of auctions, although I have to admit that it's been a while since I actively viewed their site.  Anyways, last month I found two books (one of those I'll get to later) at auction ending prices that I thought were more than fair.  Now this book, I'd never heard of before or seen before, but I was immediately drawn to the colors and composition.

The fact that it was a CGC 8.5 certainly didn't hurt. 

Again, I don't have much to add to this but for the price... and that was for only $23.  Now if I'm not mistaken, that's LESS than it costs to slab the book! 

And here's the best part... it's the first appearance of The Day the Earth Stood Still and if they should ever make a movie of this... I'm golden! 

...

...

... Wait, what?! 

On 10/30/2022 at 10:29 PM, Hibou said:

This next book isn't really a 'monster' book but I think it does tie into the season in a way. 

I don't have much to write on this book except to highlight the price that I paid for it. 

Comiclink ( https://www.comiclink.com/ ) has had 2 great months of auctions, although I have to admit that it's been a while since I actively viewed their site.  Anyways, last month I found two books (one of those I'll get to later) at auction ending prices that I thought were more than fair.  Now this book, I'd never heard of before or seen before, but I was immediately drawn to the colors and composition.

The fact that it was a CGC 8.5 certainly didn't hurt. 

Again, I don't have much to add to this but for the price... and that was for only $23.  Now if I'm not mistaken, that's LESS than it costs to slab the book! 

And here's the best part... it's the first appearance of The Day the Earth Stood Still and if they should ever make a movie of this... I'm golden! 

 

 

...

...

... Wait, what?! 

 

 

 

That’s a cool book, you got a steal of a deal!

Thanks Brandon... I think so too!

Halloween Night...

Or so it was. 

I had this long entry all set to go a couple of nights ago but a nice trick was cast upon me and the PC crashed along with all of the content disappearing.  Certainly not a treat!  Anyways, that unfortunate event allowed me some time to rewrite this entry in my head at least, so we'll start again.

It's kind of funny but in these past few days I think I've come to understand better why it is that I write here.  Yes, part of it is to share thoughts and experiences, but I also feel that it gives me a slate to place a lot of my constantly circulating and evolving ideas.  For instance, I've come to the realization that I spend a lot of time revisiting the past... trying to recapture happier thoughts and times of a younger (more innocent) time.  It's been a long time since we took part in any kind of celebrating of the Halloween season and this year was no different.  However, that didn't stop me from retrieving some fond memories that have been packed away in the odd crevices of my mind.  For instance, I was able to come up with three decorations from the 70's that pretty much envelope the feel of the holiday for me when I was much younger.  What's also interesting, is that it was just a few weeks ago that I had a similar thought enter my mind when thinking about three of my all time favorite Christmas gifts I received as a child and of course I had to act on purchasing the third of those gifts as I have the other two.  That story is for another day, however.  Anyways, back to Halloween... I easily came up with these three memories. 

There's the life-size jointed Skeleton, the illuminated Pumpkin / Cat / Witch decoration and the Pumpkin Man head...

I also remember an Owl cutout along with a Witch House that went along with this one but it was the Pumpkin Man head that seems to have had a lasting effect on me. 

Come to think of it, I think that image has also influenced some of my earlier artwork pieces...

As I was putting this journal entry together, I kind of fell into an impulse purchase after finding that 55" jointed Skeleton on Etsy for $9.  It'll be fun to have that back but I have no idea what I'll do with it yet.  In addition to these decorations, I also remembered a couple of monster magazines too that were some of my favorites and I'm trying to determine if I really need to go back and purchase those too or just let those memories stay where they are.

...

...

...

And now back to comics...

A few posts back, I hinted at a purchase that I made and wasn't quite sure what to make of it. 

Of course this book fits in with the season but the decision to purchase it was based on some other factors.  Now, if I were to try and break those down, I'd say that this purchase was driven by 40% organic attraction, 40% FOMO (both past and present) and 20% speculation.  What's funny is that the character in this book has become somewhat of a meme over the course of these past two years and yes, it does go back and relate to Wandavision.

Before get to that though, I have to talk a little bit about how I've been thinking about a certain title and a certain character that hasn't been introduced yet into the MCU but figured it was only a matter of time.  Interestingly, some current news indicates that it may be sooner, rather than later, that this actually happens.  As I was thinking about the Fantastic Four and their inevitable introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, another character was close behind in my mind in terms of a book (or a piece of this character) that I would want to get.

That character being the Silver Surfer!

For some months now, I had been thinking about a few books in particular but couldn't narrow it down as to exactly which one I wanted to focus on trying to acquire first.  Those books being, Fantastic Four #49, Silver Surfer #1, Silver Surfer #3 and Silver Surfer #4.  Of these four books, I had owned nice copies of FF 49 and SS 1 but I had never owned Surfer 3 or 4.  I currently have a very low grade, reader copy of Silver Surfer 1, so I kind of thought that I didn't need an upgrade right away but that cover is just so good... so iconic!  Now, Silver Surfer #3 was a book that I started thinking about during the episodes of Wandavision based in part on speculation and FOMO. 

At the time, that book heated up (no pun intended) so quickly that it became out of reach in terms of what I was comfortable paying in various grades but it was a book that I certainly had a strong interest in.

Each week, it felt like we were getting closer and closer to a big reveal in that series and yes, this is where the meme took root. 

Well, as we all know, that big reveal never materialized and so I figured that I had time to sit on that one too. 

Over the course of these past couple of months I began to narrow down my choice of what Silver Surfer book to target and that was now between SS 1 and SS 3.  There were a couple copies of both issues that I was looking at on various sites but then this "news" dropped, out of the blue, on a Friday (I believe), just a couple of weeks ago.  At first I wasn't sure what to make of this rumor / leak.  Was it true or were we all being trolled?  Well, the story was that Deadline was reporting that Mephisto had been cast.  But it was who was being cast as him that left me and I'm sure many others, scratching their head.  I thought about it for little bit and figured that it was odd enough that it might be true and then that's when the past FOMO of Wandavision reared up and started to nag me.  If this was true, this book that had cooled down considerably might pop back up within the following week, especially if the rumor really had legs to it.  And so, I figured that this weeks long debate I was having with myself, on what Silver Surfer book to acquire, had been settled for me.  There was a copy on eBay that I kept going back to look at.  It was listed with a Best Offer option and so I threw out a number. 

As expected, the seller counted and I figured it was right in the middle of where we both were and fair enough.

Now whether or not this rumor, leak or whatever it is proves to be true, I feel that I got this book right at where it should be in terms of price and I'm happy to have this one crossed off of my list.  Sure, it has some issues, but for me it has enough eye appeal... although I wish that the front and back covers were flipped.  Meaning, that the back of this book looks great and usually I try to go for the books where the blemishes are mostly on the back.  I'm certainly not complaining though!

Silver Surfer #3 and the first appearance of Mephisto...

So who is this mystery person that's been cast to play Mephisto?  Well, that would be Sacha Baron Cohen... yes, Ali G, Borat, Bruno as well as many other personalities and characters. Like I said, it's odd enough that it just might be perfect.  The rumor is that he will show up in the Ironheart series on Disney+... https://deadline.com/2022/10/sacha-baron-cohen-mcu-ironheart-mephisto-marvel-disney-plus-1235147636/

So, I guess we'll see. 

Now, I did find this image on Instagram (raichu.cooper)  : https://www.instagram.com/raichu.copper/?hl=en ,who does fanart pieces.  This one image of Sacha as Mephisto gives us a peek of what could be ahead and if this is true and the final reveal is anywhere near this... I think Marvel scores a hit!

Happy Halloween everyone! 

I'm not sure why I decided to do this tonight but here I am...

I was going through my Comiclink 'watch-list' trying to determine what book or books I wanted to target before this auction closes out next week when I discovered a section of their website that I don't think I knew existed.  Under your account tab, they have a record of all of your previous purchases along with the prices you paid. 

My list goes back 11 years - back to 2011. 

It kind of put me in a depressed mood but I do think there's a lesson to be learned here.

And so of course I had to go ahead and look at current GPA even though I understand that it only gives a limited view of current conditions. 

Still, it's enough to set you back a bit... and so, I'll pour a glass of Johnny Walker Red (it's cheap and serviceable) and I'll put on my favorite Cure song (because why else would you listen to this...  even though I may have posted this one before).

I suppose I'll get through this and understand a little better of how this all works...

I do have to point out that some of the GPA prices that I posted, reflected blue label pricing but it still can be a good indication of where things are. 

Also, apologies for the variation in image sizes...

So as I process through all of this, I do have to admit that my most regrettable sale was the All American 61. 

What was I thinking?!

Well, I might've been thinking that I could obtain that again at some point without giving any consideration to current trends but no, that book has sailed... it was a good story at least.

"Can't you see I try?
Swimming the same deep water as you is hard
The shallow drowned lose less than we..."

So what did I learn?

Well, over the course of those few years, I spent around $5700 and could've returned around $28000 if I had been looking at this as a long term investment. 

But... I didn't. 

So now, what if I were to look at the collection I'm assembling now, through the scope of a 10 year lens? 

Might I be able to replicate the same outcome?!

I have to end it here... getting too depressed looking at those old books.

You know, I think what I'm doing now is what I tried to avoid with my last two themed collections but I think I'm having more fun doing it this way.  There have been so many books that I had been wanting to get for various reasons and breaking free from those focused values has broadened my interests quite a bit.

I had to snap out of this even though I brought it on myself by taking a look at those old Comiclink auction purchases so I went out hunting for books this afternoon at our local flea market and a couple of antique stores.  I think I did pretty well today but there wasn't anything spectacular... I may have overpaid on one book.

The Captain 3 D is pretty nice and has both of the the 3D glasses still intact.  The Kirby Sandman 1# is really nice (maybe a VF+) and it was only $3 but I do think I overpaid on the Lil Ghost #1.  That one was $20 but I had never seen this title before so I took a chance on it.  It's published by St. John and has art by Al Fago who created Timmy the Timid Ghost.

Lil Ghost 1 is from 1958 so it's kind of an odd one for me.  Timmy was a competitor to Casper so I'm not sure how this character fit in.

The comic price guide is from 1981... Detective Comics 27 is listed at $9000 in Mint. 

These two pulp digests from the 50's were $4 each and I couldn't pass up on those great covers!

I didn't think I could go wrong with these reprints at $1 each...

There were a handful of other dollar books that I picked up as well but this was something interesting.  A fanzine from Dale Roberts (All Star Fandom #15) which looks to be from 1988.

These finds certainly helped get me out of my self induced 'funk' but it was the way that this day ended that proved to have been the perfect tonic.  My wife and I had been searching for years for an antique mall type of place to set up and it looks like we may have found just the right spot.  Over the years, we've accumulated a lot of things that we were hoping to resell someday but not seeing eBay as the right vehicle to utilize.  We're pretty excited by this!

Speaking of eBay... I recently sold a book there and I just turned that sale around to get a book I've been neglecting for too long. 

Super happy about this purchase and I can't wait to pair this new addition to a book I currently have, but on top of that, I went ahead and got one of these... I think the jointed Skeleton purchase I mentioned a few posts back, fueled this purchase.

There were 2 different sizes of these produced in the 70's. 

There was a life size one (I had a Superman - sold it ) and then a half-size version... this one that I got is the half-size version. 

I found these original adds from a great site called plaidstallions.com ( https://plaidstallions.com/reboot/ )

That certainly sounds like a sketchy website address but it's good. 

It's getting close to the end of the week and it couldn't have worked out better for me. 

I had an unexpected week off from work because I had to use up my sick days and it was at the perfect time as my wife and I used this opportunity to build up our booth in the newly discovered antique lot / mall.  It's been a lot of work and maybe it'll be a positive experience... or maybe we'll not make a dime.  We'll see how it works out.   

Things are certainly tightening up a little, however, even though I've sold a book and some other items on eBay, I've turned those sales around into some additional books that I'm finding. 

Now on top of this, a huge winter storm is bearing down on Buffalo, NY over the course of these next couple of days and had I been working, I'd be right in the middle of that so I guess I lucked out.  I managed to get together with Rob last night at a local brewery for a mid week meetup which also worked out just right as he's on vacation for the rest of the week too.  We had a great time talking about the variety of things that we do including the aforementioned 'tightening of wallets'...

Ok, yes... I definitely wedged this song into the discussion here because, well, I had to!

I'll go back one more time to last year just to close out my purchased spec books... although there is one book that I'm saving to add to a much bigger post once my 'guest' arrives as Rob just referenced yesterday.  I have to admit, it took me a while to get what he was talking about as this 'guest' has been so delayed, I've almost forgotten about it!  Anyways, it was around late last Summer and going into Fall that we started hearing whispers that in the Spider-Man : No Way 
Home movie that was slated for release in December of 2021, there was a chance that we'd see Charlie Cox reprising his amazing role as Daredevil.  Now as soon as I heard this, there was one book (to me) that immediately came to mind and it was a book that wasn't entirely based on speculation on why I needed to find a copy... rather, it was more rooted in fond memories of my youth.

This is going back quite a bit, but I'm fairly certain it was about 40 to 41 years ago... 1982 / 1983.

From 1981 to 1985, I delivered newspapers, door to door, and on occasion, (I'm not afraid to admit it) I'd look through items left on the curb as garbage.  This behavior stemmed from stories that my uncle on my mother's side had told me about the value in 'trash picking' as he liked to put it.  He was an antique dealer and perhaps a part time junk dealer, maybe in the same vein as Fred Sanford minus the Lamont and Aunt Esther...

He would have these amazing 'old' items and at times he would tell me that these items were things that he 'picked up on the side of the road'.  And so with those stories in my head, especially in the early mornings while delivering papers and everyone else was asleep, I'd take a look through boxes and suitcases left out on the curb.  I remember finding old tobacco tins and other things that I thought of as antiques back then but there was one morning in specific that I'll never forget. 

I still remember the house that I was at...

After placing a newspaper in the box at this one house, I noticed a bunch of boxes sitting next to the garbage can at the curb and so I went over and lifted up the top of this one box.  Inside this box was a stack of comics, pretty much all Spider-Man related and all books from the 70's.  Now I can't remember what other books that were in this pile of comics, because the book that was right on top, was the one that left me thinking that I had just found an Action Comics #1.  Well of course it wasn't anything close to that but in 1982 / 1983, at the age of 13 to 14 years old,  I was right into the early stages of seriously collecting comics and understanding their value.  At that time, Frank Miller's run on Daredevil was gaining a lot of attention but there was this book out there that was regarded as his very first Daredevil and that's Spectacular Spider-Man #27.  That was the book that was right on top of this stack of comics and I felt like I had hit the lottery. I don't remember if I kept the book in my collection or flipped it right away for some John Byrne, X-Men book... I'm guessing that's exactly what I did because some things just don't change.

So this book retains a lot of sentimental value to me and it was the first book I thought of when I heard that Daredevil might make an appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home.  I think I tried to force it into being a speculative pick but in reality, it wasn't... it's just a book with (what I call) a classic cover and yes, it is Frank Miller's first Daredevil!

I didn't feel the need to get a 9.8 - all I really wanted was a solid copy with a near perfect wrap and that's what I felt like I got in this purchase.

Edit - I had to go back and change my last post because I mixed up Doctor Strange : MoM and Spider-Man : NWH...

Now that I've tied up 2021 (finally!)... I can get into the first months of this year (2022) and document what my mind set was going to be as I set forth into this new year on top of the speculative craze that was 2021.  So, to be honest, the way I was thinking in terms of what the future of the MCU may hold... I admittedly was stuck on the Black Knight speculative market.  I guess I was off, but mark my words here, Jon Snow and the Black Knight will create a speculative craze that has yet to be realized!

Ok, yes.. that might be a bit of hyperbole.

Seriously though, the post credit scene in Eternals was very underwhelming but as Kevin Feige and Kit Harrington have hinted... Winter is Coming.

Wait.

No...

The Black Knight is Coming!

As most of us know, the Black Knight led the Avengers in the mid 90's and could this be where the future of the MCU Avengers lead?  Possibly... afterall, Captain America has to be replaced unless it was a Skru... <redacted>

Damn you, TVA!

Ok, let's try this.

Kit Harrington is too big of a name to be out there floating in the ether as the MCU meanders through time and space, right?  And so this was my thinking as I found this book on Mercari during the first few months of 2021... it was a book that I had just recently purchased as a raw copy from the boards here, but as a graded copy, this was pretty substantial! Not only that, but it is one of my favorite covers of the short, five issue run.  I checked the CGC census but knew enough that this was a tough book as it was and so even though the price was a bit steep... I had to bite.

And so I did.

I was thrilled to add this Golden Age beauty to my collection... one of my favorite covers of this overlooked title!  And as far as the CGC census goes... there are a total of 42 graded Universal copies with 18 higher than this one but still, as most of you Black Knight collectors know, eye appeal is certainly an issue with these but I thought this one had just enough for the grade and the price.

The first Black Knight from Atlas Comics with a cover from the incredible Joe Maneely!

Probably the most astounding raw deal that I've ever been a part of emerged in the early months of this year (2022) and I can't wait to write about it.  Throughout these past journal posts, I've written about my favorite experiences, my favorite re-acquisitions and stories such as that but earlier this year, I found a book at my LCS that I would have never thought I'd see there, let alone find a way to actually make a deal for it!

I'd have to say, that in my years of collecting, dealing, trading and buying comics... this next book was perhaps the best deal I've ever made.

To be continued...

Time for an intermission but yeah, I'd say this does relate to my next story!

Before I get to that story and yes, I've probably over-hyped it, I'm going to jump ahead again a little to write about this recent Comiclink pickup. 

I mentioned before that they've had some really good auctions lately and this past one was no exception as I had about a half dozen books that I was following.  The auction close dates on the different sections spanned around 3 weeks so it gave me some time to think about what I wanted to target and focus on.  Well during this time, I went to check the shipping and I saw that there was a drastic price increase from the previous 2 months.  With the last 2 books I purchased off of Comiclink, the combined shipping was $25, which I thought was reasonable, but when I went to check how much 2 to 3 books would cost for this past auction... I was amazed that they were now charging $60 for 2-3 books!  I have to admit, that drastically altered my decision making and so I only kept with 1 book with shipping being at $20. 

I meant to call them to ask if that was right but I got too busy with other things and forgot about it but if those are their new rates, I don't see committing myself to buying more than 1 book per auction.

Ok, with that small rant out of the way, I'll get to the actual purchase.

I certainly didn't need this book and I'm not quite sure why I felt the desire to get this copy, providing I already have a copy but in higher grade.  Well, I think it has to do with my new found, fun habit of pairing books.  This one was a little different though and it has everything to do with the CGC census.  You see, it was 9 years ago when I got my copy graded and when I did, it was the only graded copy on the census.  As it turns out, there are now 4 graded copies on the CGC census and my copy that was graded in 2013 is tied for the highest at a 5.5 (Fine-).  So when I saw that there was another copy up for bid on Comiclink, something came over me where I felt I needed to own another copy so to claim 50% of the market.

I know... it makes no sense.

Anyways, this copy is a CGC 4.5 (Very Good+) and I thought it would make a nice compliment to my old copy.

The book goes back to my underwater theme and I still really like this cover.  I think some of it is sentimental as my mother used to get these comics as a young girl and cut out the paper dolls from them.  I think maybe that's why a lot of these issues are tough to come by and maybe even overlooked a bit. 

So yes, a blast from the past but here is my new, second copy of Katy Per... I mean Katy Keene #37.

The mermaid cover.

Here's the current CGC census on this issue...

And finally, here is my pair of Katy Keene 37.

Wow... I hadn't realized how much my new work schedule has affected my 'posting time' until I saw the date of that last entry... yikes!  

I'm sitting here through another excruciating Rams game... I expected a drop off this year, but certainly not this.

So now they have Baker Mayfield (whom I'm a fan of), but that's not going to help.  They need to solidify that offensive line this off season after losing half of that cohesive unit over the course of the last one.

Ok, football rant is over.

I have a story lined up that I need to get to as it represents my favorite 'purchase' over this past year, as I teased before and where I left off with the Scritti Politti video.  As much as I'm looking forward to telling this story, I'm equally excited to start talking about this transformation that has taken place in my collecting habits along the way, which I'm just starting to understand now.  I know that I don't have the time to get into a 'winded' post to start this story but I'll at least start it here...

Back in what I once described as my 'Golden Age' of collecting, there was a book that I always wanted to get but the prices (even back then) were way too high for me to consider trying to get a copy, not to mention the rarity of this issue. And so, for me, it was simply relegated to a 'Classic Cover' status and stored in my mind as such. 

Now I've written and documented about how I've paid attention to the speculation market, especially as it relates to the MCU and that plays a crucial part in this next story.

It was just another average day for me until I opened up Facebook on this snowy day in January of this year (2022). My favorite LCS had posted a bunch of pictures from a very, very large Golden Age comic collection that he had purchased and brought into the store...

And this is where the story begins!

(What?!  I can't believe the Rams just won!)

The short recap.

It was just another average day for me until I opened up Facebook on this snowy day in January of of this year (2022). My favorite LCS had posted a bunch of pictures from a very, very large Golden Age comic collection that he had purchased and brought into the store...

...

...

Now this collection was very impressive to say the least, especially if you were a DC fan or collector.  In this group of books that was shown, there was a book in there that brought a smile to my face, as it always does but there was something odd about it.  I already figured it was going to be well out of my price range and so I figured I would just stop in to look at it in person and leave it at that.  It was the end of January (2022) and my daughter's tuition payment was coming up and seeing how we were just out of the Christmas season, I figured I'd stop in... not only to see this amazing collection that was brought in, but to also sell a few random books to help with that school payment.

I can't remember what I sold that day as it was kind of irrelevant and here's why.

The books I brought in put $200 in my pocket.  Right after that transaction was completed, I told the store owner that I would go and take a look through the boxes of Golden Age books he acquired.  Most of these were CGC slabbed which made it extra nice to look through.  And then, the book that I had first spotted in that group photo, was now in my hands and I tell you, it looked soooo good!  But now here is where I could actually see first hand, why it was an oddity.  When I first looked at the group photo, I could see the front cover and I could see the CGC grade and something wasn't gelling.  But now, now with the book in hand and being able to read the CGC label, it made a lot more sense to me.  I flipped the book over to see the price and I stopped for a moment. 

This book was priced at $1500.

The most I had ever paid for a book was $1300 but I just kind of felt it right there and then.  I didn't think I would ever have the opportunity to get this book again if I didn't jump on this.  I brought the book up to the counter and began to have a discussion with the store owner.  I was still a little confused over the grade and the CGC notations.  I just wanted to clarify what I was reading... along with seeing what he would be open to in terms of time payments.

I had $200 in my pocket that he had just given me.

And so, what do you think I did?

I asked him if I would put $200 down, could he hold the book for me?

He laughed and said "Didn't you sell those books for your daughter's tuition payment?"  I think I responded with something like... "Well, easy come - easy go."

And so it was.

He accepted my down payment and I took a picture of this Frankenstein book to have as a memento of this seemingly impossible commitment to a purchase that I had made.  I left the store on this snowy afternoon feeling like somehow I had won the lottery.  I think I texted my friend Rob to exclaim something to that effect but soon after the exuberance subsided, the reality started to sink in.

"Damn, I still need to make that tuition payment and now I have this over my head too."

That night, I opened a bottle of Scotch and I thought... and I thought...

(I had to go back and edit my edit... this was from this past January (2022), not last January like I incorrectly corrected.)

The last few days of January, 2022...

I came up with a plan but I wasn't sure if it was going to work or not. 

My immediate thought was that this plan would fall short but I would at least give it a shot.  I had been paying attention to trends, some based on spec and some based on history and so my Scotch induced plan was to piece together a large package of 'hot' books and see what I could do to reduce this $1300 bill that I had accrued.  It wasn't just the financial hit that was at the center of this though... rather, it was what would I give up, to secure a book that I never thought I'd be able to get.

To quote Mick, "I'd give it all up for you..."

Again, this was in the early weeks of this past new year (2022) and the market was still in a state of being 'hyper reactive', as I like to put it, following the craze of 2021.  And with that understanding, I didn't feel like I was exploiting the environment... I just felt like I was dealing in 'real-time'... offering up these books that the store owner could profit off of, while reducing my outstanding balance.  I went through all of my comic boxes and pulled out almost every 'spec' book that I could find.  What's not shown is a competitor graded copy of Conan #1 (6.5) and Showcase #55 (5.5). 

Now if those two graded books were CGC graded, I probably wouldn't have felt so great but these two were CBC** and based on that, it was much easier for me to decide to add those two in with this group.

So, In addition to these two graded books, these were the raw books I included.

To be continued...

The books shown in the photo are as follows (left to right, top row and then bottom row)...

Silver Surfer #44 (1990) - 1st Infinity Gauntlet

Peter Parker / Spectacular Spider-Man #9 (1977) - 1st White Tiger in comic form

Daredevil #115 (1974) - ad for Incredible Hulk #181 / Wolverine

Hulk #1 (2008) - 1st Red Hulk / cover

Star Wars #39 (1980) Part 1 of Empire Strikes Back

X-Force #11 (1992) - 1st full 'real' Domino

Captain America #341 (1988) - 1st Lemar Hoskins / Battlestar - Daredevil #43 cover homage

Invincible Iron Man #1 (2017) - 1st Riri Williams as Ironheart cover

Flash #129 (1962) - 2nd Golden Age Flash in Silver Age / 1st SA app of JSA

America #1 (2017) - 1st America Chavez solo comic

Marvel Comics Presents / Wolverine #1 (1988)

Monster of Frankenstein #1 (1973) - 1st appearance & origin Frankenstein in Marvel

All New Captain America #1 (2015) - 1st Sam Wilson as Captain America

Fantastic Four #66 (1967) - Origin of HIM / later Adam Warlock

Fantastic Four #353 (1991) - 1st appearance of Mobius M. Mobius

Fantastic Four #185 (1977) - 1st appearance of Nicholas Scratch / Warlock and son of Agatha Harkness

X-Men #212 (1986) - 1st Wolverine vs. Sabretooth

Moon Knight #1 (1980) - 1st solo Moon Knight title and Origin

Daredevil #39 (1968) - 1st Exterminator / later Death-Stalker

Avengers #196 (1980) - 1st Taskmaster

(Again, the two books not shown were non CGC  slabbed copies of Showcase #55 - 1st SA Solomon Grundy which was a 5.5 and a Conan #1 - 1st Conan which was a 6.5  I love Showcase 55 but the fact that it wasn't CGC graded bugged me and it had a sharp subscription crease running down the middle. The Conan #1, I really wanted to get a CGC copy but now that Marvel has lost the rights, I feel like I have some time to get that book back.)

...

...

Most of the books listed were in the VFN/NM (Very Fine to Near Mint) range or better but the books in Red were somewhere in the area of VG (Very Good) to VF (Very Fine).  In terms of what I paid for those books, I believe that the Moon Knight 1 and Fantastic Four 66 were the highest at around $30 each, while the moderns were purchased off the rack... everything else fell somewhere between $1 and $10.

So yes, "I gave it all up..."

When I brought these books in for the shop owner to take a look, I told him that I was just looking to apply these to my outstanding balance.  He went through them and said something to the effect of "Wow, you brought in a lot of books that are hot right now". He then stated (and I was shocked to hear this!) that with everything I brought in, it equated to MORE than my outstanding bill.  I replied to him that if he was good with doing an even trade off, then I was good.  That made me exceptionally happy because I really felt like we had both won on this deal. 

Those books that I let go of, really meant very little to me with a few exceptions of course, but the big book I was getting in return... well, I'm still thrilled to pull this book out even today and look at it.

Even if it is a 'Frankenstein' book...

To be continued...

So...

I'm still following trends and such and just found it pretty humorous how this book blew up this past week.

I still love this book and think it's a very undervalued and over looked issue (well, not anymore but not for the reason I thought it would be) and it's all because of this.