Laszlo the Mudjar

So, given all the turmoil in the equity markets of late, anyone come across big drops in heretofore untouched GAs, keys, or other supposedly more secure books?

I would agree and disagree with that idea or more succinctly I would refine the idea. I agree that looking for "popular" modern artists puts one into the spec camp, however, I would argue that there are literally thousands of artists from which to choose so why not find one that a) you like personally AND b) is popular. Going for only a) is not without merit but I would argue has less chance of holding value. I would never buy art with the intention of flipping, but I would prefer to buy art that I like AND is from a popular artist. Not sure if I explained that well, but I tried

Looking thru the amazing pencil work above that was my thought exactly. How popular is Dave Johnson? I really like this cover:

Hey - no one said getting old is easy. At least my poor 'ole brain remembered it had something to do with "blue". Blueish cover blueish name. The cape is blue !!

Hah . . . found it in "Have prices eased up" Thanks for playing everyone

Really really similar to that but the colors and art jumped out as different . . . more neon like. Too funny . . . it's driving me bananas. I'm gonna have to go thru every thread I ever perused and look for the picture

That certainly fits all my criteria and is definitely cool, but not what I was thinking about. As I recall their was one main spacesuit guy or super hero guy with a helmet. I think the helmet had a mohawk, but I could be totally making that up.

I saw a cover on the board here that I really liked, and now I'd like to go look around and see if it's stupid high priced or in my "maybe" range, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. I'm thinking many folks here are so knowledgeable about individual books that if I describe the cover someone might actually know what I'm talking about. Anyways, this is only if one is bored. So . . . what I remember was it was in space, I think it had a guy shooting a laser and either had a space creature or a spaceship, and the cover was kinda blueish and very attractive and someone here had been after it for a while. I can't remember if it was Golden Age or Silver, but it was older for sure. Anyways, that's all I got. Any guesses. Thanks!

Thanks! And, to everyone else "WOW" lot's to look at now. I guess it truly does come down to personal taste, but at least I've got some place to start looking. Thanks again everyone. Keep posting!

Duh!! I hate getting old. Yes, if at all possible I intended to post in the OA general forum not the Marketplace. I suppose if it doesn't get moved I could just repost the question.

Having all of 3 modern comics in my collection, I am woefully lacking in knowledge as regards modern day comic artists so I was wondering if there is/are standout favs amongst boardees here??

I have a personal method that applies to many items including comics. If you had to buy right now at the presumed price, would you? To me if the answer is no I wouldn't pay $100k for a restored Detective Comics 1 then I would have my answer. We all live within our spending limits set by our circumstances. The question is how do YOU want to spend your resources. Me I like spending money on cars and comics. Fancy wine, vacations, homes, clothes, etc. . . . not so much.

@DC# You need to start a patreon account so we can send a tip your way for all your hard work. Really great to see the numbers presented like that. I really thought 2022 would see a substantial pullback given the movement in the stock market, but such is not the case for the most coveted comics.

As to the topic at hand I'm all in favor of restoration. We do it to cars, furniture, paintings, etc. with no thought to altering the value. I like to present my favorite comics on a wall in a frame so I and others can enjoy the art and reminisce about the "good 'ole days". Restoration makes for better presentation and in the case of this hobby lower prices. In fact, I'm hoping one big restored GA book stays available long enough for me to save the moola. It's a fraction of the price of a Blue label.

What a small community we are. That was mine that I put up for sale on MCS at their minimum commission meaning $0 for me. I don't collect Detective Comics so I just wanted it to go to someone that was a collector. Story behind the restore: Believe it or not the tear was my first ever tape pull when I took it out of a bag after 40 years in a closet, and since I really didn't think it would be worth anything after the pull and given it's general condition I thought I'd experiment with a touch of glue to put the tear back in place. I figured a smudge of glue would be nicer to look at than a white tear. Anyways, hope you like it! (Sorry about the clipped panel - bought it that way at a flea market and found the missing panel after the fact - fortunately it's not part of the story or art but advertising as I recall).

I agree with the statement to the extent that a higher price might have been possible, but I would put a finer point on the words "too low." When a seller sets a price and achieves said price both buyer and seller are hopefully happy. I intentionally priced my first batch of comics below market in a desire to move them quickly. Given the fact that about half my books sold in the first 2 days, it appears to have worked, and I am ecstatic with the results. Could I have perhaps priced them higher and gotten more money? Yes, without question. That doesn't alter the fact that I am happy with the results and do not consider my sales prices to have been "too low." I think they met my goal of a quick sale, and secondarily I greatly enjoy the thought that my prices give the buyer a sense that they got a deal. In fact, given the MCS habit of grading comics lower than most might expect is exactly that type of marketing ploy. Give buyers a reason to think they are getting a deal, and you will increase your success as a seller. I know I for one hate paying "market" prices or more for a book and love when I get "a deal". Anyways, just a tiny point in a fun hobby.

Nothin' yet Waiting 'til I get my C&P books sold then I should have a decent pile of cash to go after a GA Captain America Comic. Although a recent thread I started made me think about starting a collection of New Gods and that might be a better use of the money. We'll see . . .

Decided last year to focus my collection in specific areas and so sell those parts of my tiny collection that didn't "fit in". I am inherently lazy so the thought of dealing with the process of selling was causing me stress just thinking about it. Granted once I consider my cost of grading and the commission involved I'm probably close to 50 cents on the dollar but, I think it's still worth it to me given the complete ease of the transaction. One mailing to CGC and one mailing to MCS and badda-bing badda-boom I get a nice check in my PayPal account and can now go shopping for something I actually want. Tried to price everything 10% under "market" and that seemed to work well as most everything I had sold within days. Don't know if anyone mentioned this in the thread yet, but the data MCS provides regarding sales of the comic you are listing is truly worth the 10% commission itself. It really lets one set a "fair" price pretty easily. Excellent service and GREAT product. Kudos to MCS for their consignment process!! Now if I could just get back the books I sent for cleaning and pressing sometime this century it sure would be nice

Do I become a creepy old man if I admit Barda in uniform does more for me than bikini Barda???

I admit as a fourth level collector I am amazed at the incredible depth of knowledge here. I would never have realized it was a parody. Knowing that now - what a great line: "There lives the driven little man who dreams of having it all!!! . . . The opportunistic spoiler without character or values, who preys on all things like a cannibal!!!" Hah, what a line given the context!

Yeah this thread brought up an excellent point for me. I own zero New Gods and they are definitely in my collecting range and there's only a handful. I think barring that big Golden Age Captain America Comics buy getting in the way, I think collecting the Kirby New Gods might be fun in '22. Glad I asked the question!

You can't have 2 favs. You already put dibs on this guy I thought??

So recently I subscribed to Marvel Unlimited as well as DC Universe, and I've been reading lots of books that Kirby drew. Honestly I didn't care for Thor as much as I thought, and I'm finding I really like Mister Miracle especially when I consider it's Kirby written, Kirby edited, and Kirby pencilled. I admit I'm biased because I personally own 1-25 in decent quality, but what do other Kirby fans think? Is Mister Miracle worth a Kirby collectors notice? If I'm honest with myself, I find I prefer his later work to his earliest work, but that's probably mostly due to my age having grown up reading Silver and Bronze and not really reading much from the Golden Age. Anyways, just wondering what Kirby fans think? Here's my number 1-3

If I'm honest I have never been a fan of comics signed on the cover, but to be even more honest I'm a bit put off by how many Stan Lee signed books are out there. I feel like the guy spent his last 20 years signing away, and that, to me, cheapens it. Don't get me wrong I think Stan Lee was a comic book genius, love his work, and think the world is better for it. I just think the guy went a little crazy handing out signatures. Anyways, that's just one old dude's thoughts so don't nobody get their panties in a wad please.

Obviously I'm seriously behind because I don't have any Golden Age Kirby. I think I need to rectify that soon Too bad I'm not one of those Bitcoin billionaires so I could go grab me an early Captain America Comic. Great stuff guys!