Rune

Today's addition, the first pedigree Conan #10 9.8 with nice registration and WP: Get it here: http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7097&lotNo=93557&type=wlem&wlc=335583994 I guess this song may be a perfect extension to my previous "get it here" sentence : (ok, tomorrow will not be too late, there's still 22 days (thumbs u )

[Anticipated Question:] "Rune , you have added Signature Series and Savage Tales books, why have you not separated the Pedigree books from the baseborn books? " Sorry, forgive me, pedigree books have now been added to their own folder Conan the Barbarian #1 to #24 (and Annual #1) 9.8+ Pedigree Books Would have been nice to add Topnot's #1 Boston book (the only #1 9.8 pedigree book?), and CarlD's two super-rare Suscha News 9.8 books, namely #11 and #12, maybe someday If the books do not appear chronologically in the folder, then select "oldest first" (instead of for example filename or title). Currently, about 75% of the pedigree books are from the Suscha News Pedigree Collection. PS. No-no-no, I will not create a new folder for WP books

Savage Tales #1 to #3 books in 9.8 have now been added: Savage Tales #1 - #3 CGC 9.8 I have 6/13 of #1 (ok, should have saved the scan of Barry James' book, when he bought it on EBay January 2014, but I forgot ) I have 3/3 of #2! I have 1/4 of #3 (yes, could have had 1 or 2 more, did not save the scans back then ) They are so impossible to find, will of course continue my search!

But first things first Got a question about SS books the other day and checked Census: SS 9.6+ books #1 to #24 plus Annual #1 #1: 1 book in 9.8 and 3 books in 9.6. #2: 0 #3: 0 #4: 1 book in 9.6. #5: 0 #6: 0 #7: 0 #8: 0 #9: 0 #10: 0 #11: 0 #12: 0 #13: 0 #14: 0 #15: 1 book in 9.6. #16: 0 #17: 0 #18: 0 #19: 0 #20: 0 #21: 0 #22: 0 #23: 2 books in 9.6. #24: 2 books in 9.8 and 2 books in 9.6. Annual #1: 0 In total, just 3 SS books in 9.8 and 9 books in 9.6. I have found 2/3 of the 9.8 SS books and 3/9 of the 9.6 SS books, but I did find 2 9.6 books signed by Barry Windsor-Smith (quite rare and hard to find), see them all here: Conan the Barbarian Signature Series 9.6+ (I know, I know, I should not mix 9.6 books in this thread , but then there are only 3 SS books - and we lose all the Barry Windsor-Smith signed books, so I hope it is ok the bend the Matrix just a little here )

Still a bit of a sad day, first Barry James sells his entire collection in June, now Torbjorn seems to follow: http://www.ebay.com/sch/thor1971/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1 Of course this means that other collectors may get a chance to acquire these great books.

Thank you , maybe I should start a magazine section with the Barry Smith Savage Tales books (#1 to 3) I think I have more than 50% scans of these 9.8 books

Doc Joe's old copy of #19 just emerged on EBay starting at $395 - and nice centering too (Doc Joe always had an eye for these details). Some 9.8 #19s have sold for about 2K, even OW-W: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Conan-the-Barbarian-19-cgc-9-8-ow-w-pages-Barry-Smith-cover-interior-art-/171379208423?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

I would be surprised, if a 914M2-bagged book no longer fitted in a CGC box. The 2 mil Mylar is very thin, it bends easily, even if it has 1/3 the strength of steel. The problem may more likely be if you stack your CGC books (horizontal storage), then the Mylar can be very slippery (the Mylar surface is very smooth), this may cause your books to slide, if you are not careful. So far I have not had these problems to any great extent using 2 mil, but using 4+ mil may be quite another story....

Still it is intriguing how Rodel could conclude otherwise. One possible explanation could be the amount of exposure, for example being submerged in a few minutes vs. 24 hours But I am just guessing. Even a few hours may be way too much exposure: "All of these slabs were in CGC-issued open-at-the-top poly bags (to protect against scratching), upright, in a box. The water came in over the top and filled the bags approximately 1" - 2". It's difficult to say how long they sat in the water filled bags since my wife didn't want to venture into the basement until she knew it was safe (the power was still on), but it's safe to assume a few hours (2-4)." Source: http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2794764&fpart=1 I fully agree that your results clearly indicate that Mylar bags are warranted for extra protection (not that these bags will prevent water damage to completely submerged books, but it may reduce impact of transient high levels of humidity - and protect from water damage, if books are not submerged for a long time). If fact, had the unlucky person in the quote above used sealed Mylar bags (or similar sealed bags), the 1-2" of water would probably not have harmed his books - since the water would probably just flow down the Mylar and never enter the holder. Using the Gerber 914M2 and their archival tape (taped all the way from left to right), I do believe the amount of oxygen influx is greatly reduced. And of course there is the 99% UV protection of the Gerber Mylar D. Now I wonder how the acid free archival tape responds to water BTW, here is my new ToD #1 9.8 WP in Gerber 2 mil (914M2) Mylar D sealed with clear double-sided acid-free archival tape (at 40% air humidity, 72 F) - but no experiments will be performed on that book PS. It just struck me that the Count indeed is the real Batman I mean, the Count can actually transform into a bat (thumbs u - while Batman has no such ability! (sorry, I could not help it but to share this insight )

Just added #16 OA: Also in pencil: You can purchase the pencil version here - 16k: http://www.kochcomicart.com/Featured.asp?Piece=1603

Over the years I have collected a substantial amount of Conan cover photos/scans, although restricted to the first 24 issues and Annual #1 (=the Barry Windsor-Smith issues). The collection is not complete, of today's 357 Conan the Barbarian #1 to #24 plus Annual #1 books I have pictures of 268 (= 75 %). Because not all books are ever offered for sale, and of course I may simply have missed some, the list can never be expected to be complete. But no more sleepless nights! - Now you can FINALLY get answers to your questions: 1. What do the three 9.9 books look like? (#2, #7 and #21)? 2. Is there an #4 with perfect cover orientation/alignment? 3. I've never seen an #12 9.8, must been an error in the CGC Census, right? 4. In this short human life, will I ever see the single #1 9.8 belonging to the Signature Series? And so on... ;-) You can find it all here (let me know if I can improve on anything): http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/ Replies can be made here, thank you:http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7757093#Post7757093

Finally found a close to perfect ToD #1 9.8 WP: And two Savage Tales - even if they are OW-W 9.6, they are extremely scarce, of each issue, less than 10 books exist in 9.6 and better:

You're welcome, thank you. And today's addition: Conan the Barbarian #7 9.8 WP Get it here: Conan #7 9.8 WP CLink Auction It's an old CGC book, graded in January 2004, so Census did not grow...

Got the Gerber Mylar D 914M2 for normal sized CGC books a few months ago, bags are 2 mil and work fine - you can find them here: http://www.egerber.com/category.asp?CategoryID=450&SubcategoryID=566 An important thing to know is that Mylar D offers nearly 100% UV protection: "Our specially Impregnated Mylar D stops 99% of the UV light. Mylar D is accepted as photo safe to direct contact and is used internationally by archives and museums. Yes, it costs 8 times more than standard Mylar, but it blocks UV hundreds of times more than other plastics." And the basics: "Advantages of Mylar® Type D Compared to Commonly Used Plastics: Resistance to diffusion of gases like oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, etc. is 350 times greater than polyethylene. Permanence. There is no noticeable change in storage-100 years when compared to 2 to 5 years for others. Resistance to moisture, insect attack, fungus, mold, mildew, acid, oils, grease, and solvents is "excellent" compared to "fair" for others. Strength and creep resistance is 10 times that of polyethylene, one-third the strength of steel. Volatile Additions--Mylar® contains no dangerous plasticizers, slip additives, surface coatings, antioxidants, acid-hydrolysis compared to other commonly used plastics." I used the archival double-sided tape to seal the Mylar bags: http://www.egerber.com/category.asp?CategoryID=451&SubcategoryID=558 The tape is a bit fiddly to work with, but not that hard either, seems to do a great job of sealing the bags. I seal them about ½" from the end of the flap, all the way from left to right, this should secure the book a nearly airtight environment. So I guess this is the end of line for me - no more cheap plastic bags. All info above is from the Gerber website. Sorry if this sounds like a Gerber commercial, but I have found no better Mylar solution for CGC books (many sellers on EBay wrongly advertise that they sell Mylar for CGC books - those are from Clearbags.com and not Mylar. For CGC magazines Clearbags may still be the best or only option, Gerber does not seem to produce optimal sizes - for magazines 10 7/16 x 15 1/4” dimensions are great, the Gerber 1114M2 or 1117M2 are probably both too wide and/or too short or too long).

And today's addition - the true #9 OA: Conan the Barbarian #9 Original Art Cover Bidding begins July 18th (I'm in, after I win the lottery (thumbs u ) http://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/covers/barry-smith-conan-the-barbarian-9-cover-original-art-marvel-1971-/p/7097-19001.s?type=bodylink--3rdparty--comics--ngc-7097-consign-eml3--tem061714#1132811328204

Thanks, of course *cough!* I still have your original CLink photo - makes your book look much nicer than the CConnect scan: Whenever possible I do have scans of the back covers too, haven't uploaded those though (maybe some day). I never thought that this scan collection would be a way of reuniting previous owners with their sold Conan books, but of course it may work as that too!

You're welcome, thanks. Actually I have not yet read Cerebus, but did finish the Opus 1 and 2, although not easily - Windsor-Smith seems a lot better at drawing/painting than writing. Still a good read, (especially for those who wish to know more about Barry Windsors-Smith's life and views upon the Universe,) even if the Conan parts are few and far between: OPUS 1 OPUS 2

Well, same here, prices are just a curiosity to watch. As my dear wife often points out, I could not even dream about selling my top Conan books :-) And yes, CLink prices are often lower, but CConnect did send out a printed event auction catalog (and emails a few hours before ending auctions) that may explain the high or record prices (and they extend auctions in case of late bids, increasing chances of "bidding wars").

Thank you for the kind words, I fully agree that this is indeed one of the finest run of books ever. Personally I own about 10% of the books shown on the uploaded scans, and my best guess is, if we take the top 7 sets on the following list, then we have accounted for about 50% of the books I have uploaded: http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/SetTypeDetail.aspx?SetTypeID=52 In recent years, Census has grown quite a lot. When I started collecting in 2007, there were 9 #1 9.8, now there are 32. Of course this means that more collectors may enjoy these great books. The demand still seems very strong though: a few days ago several 9.8 books sold at ComicConnect for very high or record prices - here are a few results: Issue in 9.8 --- $$$ Conan 1 --- 7200 (third highest price I have seen, 8300 is max at GPAnalysis, but I know a book sold for 9600 at ComicLink (CLink) in about the year 2009. CLink prices are not registered by GPAnalysis) Conan 2 --- 5500 (3x the previous highest price of about $1900 at CLink) Conan 3 --- 3655 (highest price in the last 5 years - $6k is the highest price, but back then there was only one #3 9.8) Conan 21 --- 2600 (highest price is $2802, so this was a close call) Conan 4 --- 2300 (record price to my knowledge) Conan 10 --- 2272 (record price to my knowledge) Even #9 with a date stamp on the back sold for $1750 (more than 2x the previous highest price I know of), but it was a beautiful pedigree book with pure WP and perfect cover centering and orientation/alignment.

Just added a folder containing Barry Windsor-Smith's original art covers for Conan the Barbarian: http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Original%20Art%20Covers So far I located: #0, #2-4, #8-9B-11, #13-14, #19-20 & 24. Annual #1 is not correct (I believe) as stated before. Saw #0 for the first time myself:

#13 might not be considered Barry's best, but still interesting to see - I have not collected many OA scans, maybe now is the time to start that library Many more Conan the Barbarian 1 - 24 OA covers can be found here: http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryfavoritesroom.asp?gfav=5741

Hmmmm #4 OA is purdy too Although expensive, last time it sold for nearly $100k: http://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/covers/barry-smith-conan-the-barbarian-4-the-tower-of-the-elephant-cover-original-art-marvel-1971-/a/7084-92354.s

Thanks, Joe, yes that OA would indeed be the Holy Conan Grail I did find something on a site that looked like Annual #1 OA, although it looks a bit too clean - still that may be Windsor-Smith's best Conan cover ever:

No, it should just work without any account. On a mobile phone or tablet the site may look strange and it may be harder to find the scans. On my pc (Win7) it looks like this:

Thanks, it has taken about 7 years to collect the pictures. I left them like I found them, thus they are all unedited.