General Zod

So my girlfriend laughed at me upon viewing that and said "yes, they are a real thing and you should have bought me a pair!" 

I bought her a baby Groot t-shirt and Spidey baby booties instead.  And went home with nothing but cash after selling a few books.  I did have a lot of fun at the con despite not sticking around the rest of the weekend to catch any celebs.  Maybe next year - this was more about getting money for grading and upcoming house expenses.  And hiding part of the profit from the little woman.  Never disclose your full profits in case you want to splurge on a book later!  My gift to you, ladies and gentlemen.

Was anyone around to witness the armed man targeting the police?  My best friend texted me about it and I was like, "gunman? What gunman?"   I stuck just to the Exhibitor's Hall on the bottom floor so I never saw anything out of the ordinary.  Except for this (no, not the blue people - I don't know who they are, like 50% of cosplayers these days):

On 5/23/2017 at 9:41 PM, Barlor 001 said:

Hi on auction sites anywhere from 88.00 to 160.00 war comics are a little soft on price right now, Guide price in the 196.00 range.in my opinion. Just guessing I would have to see the back and inside to raise the grade.

This is why I asked. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Our-Army-At-War-151-CGC-8-5-DC-1965-1st-Enemy-Ace-Sgt-Rock-Cover-D12-cm-/351274501209?hash=item51c9978459:g:CsQAAOSwMpZUqEP1

That listing and two 9.0s (asking price $1,295 and 1,500) just came up today after I couldn't find anything in the ballpark even on Heritage Auctions within the past few years.  For what it's worth, I ended up submitting it for grading.  Those are the two best copies I've seen for sale but I felt my copy was well worth grading.

Oh and the back is good.  My scan actually doesn't do the book justice but it's a strong candidate for 8.5 if not better. 

On 5/24/2017 at 2:41 PM, valiantman said:

Welcome back, Zod.  Here's a fun argument that came up recently...

When do we celebrate birthdays?

Hulk #180 is like a birth occurring just before midnight, and Hulk #181 is the first full day after.

Which one is the "true" birthday? 

  Now I need a drink.

On 5/24/2017 at 6:40 PM, VintageComics said:

Left click / highlight and then just quote what you've highlighted.

Eureka!  Thank you sir.  (And I didn't read in time to include the other reply with this one.  I am sorry for inflating my post count. 

On 5/24/2017 at 7:06 AM, 1Cool said:

Not sure if we kneel now or would later be better?

Whenever the mood strikes you.  I don't plan to whip you into obedience right now.   I did get saluted at the Phoenix Comicon tonight, so I am satiated for now.

3 hours ago, robocard said:

Headed down to the con in a few. Opens at 4:00- hope we see some of you. Mike already started a pile. 

Ed

A pile of these?

26 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

Wassup!

Trying to get back in the saddle, that's what's up!

My apologies if this is the wrong section of the boards to post this here.  I am struggling very hard to figure out the value of this book since I don't think a copy like this condition comes up for air often:

Lazyboy,

I am struggling so hard to get your post accurately quoted and giving up for now.  But:

1) I agree, ads aren't part of storylines and not really appearances.  As for the flashback reference, people are now saying Domino in NM#98 isn't her first appearance because later it's revealed it was a shapeshifter or some other garbage and she "appears" for the first time in a flashback.  Or something like that.  I feel like I dropped acid just trying to make sense of what people have said about it.  This doesn't need to be rocket science. 

2) With all the one-shot type stories out there and some retcon-hopping out there, it's only going to get harder to keep up with (remember "One More Day"? Ugh) "is so-and-so really that person?"  We're getting shape-shifters and copycat vigilantes.  If some writer gets the hair-brained idea to turn Clark Kent into an impostor from day one and insist the new one is the true Superman today, we are going to have problems keeping the sanctity of what constitutes a first appearance even further.

3) I need an energy drink. My ADHD is getting worse these days and I had to re-write my response three times to get my point across.  Clearly, I hope.  Cheers.

2 hours ago, ParamagicFF said:

Welcome back! Not that we know eachother, but welcome none the less!

3. I concur that the big 2 are publishing junk these days. I've been off them for about 5 years now. Hoping to come back at some point and find that the Marvel line is great again like I did back in 2007. Then again I liked the first few months of the New 52.

6. I agree that cameos are first appearances. But if I have to choose which one to own, I want the first FULL appearance.

8. I moved from a state that had Whataburger and Jack in the Box, to one that had neither. I don't know what I was thinking.

Thank you!

Arizona also has those.  The big 3, plus many other good places.  Even Sonic's.

Timing is indeed everything.  Nearly every key book I bought between 2006-2009 during my intense buying period has been a home run or a grand slam.  JoeyPost knows what I'm talking about.  I focused almost solely on DC silver age keys (especially dark covers) and a couple of indies from the '80s.  They're undoubtedly much more expensive to obtain now but $800 will still find you a delicious DC SA key with lots of room to grow, if you have about 5 years of patience.  If you're a comic book collector looking for potential great returns, you can't be a Marvel fanboy.

1. Wow, the boards look different.  Will take some getting used to but I see positive things from it. 

2. I found out what happened to Nik.   I was in mourning last night having just told my girlfriend a few days ago why I refuse to sell a "crappy" book I sent to him for slabbing in jest for a grading contest here years ago.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.  He affected us all in many good ways.  Solid character which I know the world misses.

3. Glad to see comic collecting is still going strong.  I really haven't been pleased with how Marvel (and to a bit lesser extent, DC) have been feeling anti-consumer with pricing, variants and re-booting but I guess I am not really their target demographic anymore somehow.  What really bugs me is that they do almost nothing to make this much more kid-accessible price-point and story-wise.  There is currently no real or sustainable way to grow the market with the younger generations through their philosophy.  So who are they trying to keep or grab, if loyal readers like me get dumped along the way?  I was reading since the late '70s!  Why do I single out Marvel a bit more?  One name:  Joe Quesada.  Forget David Gabriel.  Joe has really done a lot of damage with his behind the scenes work.  The quality of consistent storytelling has seriously dropped off a cliff under his watch.  I feel the ship is getting out of control.

4. On the other hand the movies are pretty good.  The quality across the board has been rising, even the DC ones (except for Suicide Squad - a real stinker aside from Margot Robbie stealing the show).  Hopefully the bar will continue to get raised and we keep having more fun going to the theaters.

5. I see I don't recognize a lot of posters here.  It's been a while since I last lurked or posted here.  I don't seem to have enough free time for everything anymore.  I need to finish school so I can pretend to work while I browse the boards.  I would like a time machine or at least a remote that stops time.  Thank you in advance if you get me one.

6. Cameos are the first appearances, screw you guys.    Now I hear about flashbacks not counting.  C'mon.  First appearance is about timing.  Argue all about what context it is in, but the first time someone appears, no matter what role it plays in the story, that's the first time a reader acknowledges the presence of said person/entity/amoeba.  This needs to be uniform all across the board, too.  Hulk #180 - first appearance.  Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 - first appearance.  Stop the madness!

7. JoeyP is still the man.

8. I'm hungry now.  Are there any cookies in the back or do I have to go to In-and-Out to get something to eat?  I know you don't have those in Florida.  Which is a good reason why I moved.  Humidity, screwballs and lack of In-and-Out?  Nuh uh!

I've spoken to Mr. Perez twice.  Seriously nice fellow.  Best regards to him, hope he gets back to speed very soon.

Are they the only loose action figure grading company?  I've had interest on and off in collecting figures but have never paid very good attention to who's doing the grading or the pricing market.

Sad for him and his family.

I forgot to look him up while I was living in the area for 3 years.

1 hour ago, classicaaron said:

couldn't they at least do a better job organizing the shows so that all the comic dealers could be in one area that way I only have to concentrate on one are of the convention.  that way I don't have to compete with someone posing in front of a Jurassic park jeep to take pictures or some insufficiently_thoughtful_person spilling his wild bills soda in the aisles while I try to look at books.  basically have 5 smaller conventions under one large umbrella and I would find it more enjoyable.

This is the best solution, I think.  And I'd direct all the cosplayers to one corner or room to maximize traffic flow.  I'm just not a fan of how cons are these days and it's just going to get worse as different types of fans clash when layouts aren't well-designed to help minimize friction.  Going to my first one in 8(?) years and I pretty much plan to make a beeline for the comics and stay there for most of my time like usual.

Good topic, Roy.

Hi ladies and gents!

Kind of returning from the dead again. I recently moved back to Phoenix after a near 6 year absence.  Going to be coming to the con on just Thursday and looking forward to it! Hope you all have been in good health.

I might have a few slabs from my registry with me to sell for some quick cash for grading.  Thinking of bringing a bunch of my Spideys.  Terry of Terry's Comics let me know he wants to make an offer.  (Will I be able to refuse?)

What is his aversion to grading it? If I had the highest known copy of the most valuable book it'd be graded and then the slab would be sealed in Lucite so nothing could ever happen to it

He doesn't care about any of that - the book is going to his son. And he already has it well stored away in a protected environment. AFAIK all viewings have been very private.

Speaking of rumors, didn't MMehdy once post that he knew of a collector with a high grade Action 1 that was waiting on the submission of the Church copy and hoping a "page quality bump" might get his a higher grade?

Mitch knows of many action 1 raw owners out there (as do many). I still would hedge the church copy is best existing until otherwise disputed

My money is strongly on this one too. Unfortunately it won't be officially graded for quite some time if ever. Steve's assessment is good enough for me, however.

I remember Spawn had a countdown that sped up whenever he used his powers back in the day.

 

Did they write that out of the storyline?

I'm guessing they had too, but I always thought that was a cool element to the plot.

 

I always wondered this as well. I stopped reading at issue 17 when they had the distribution problems.

 

I recall Mcfarlane saying he wanted Spawn to run like Cerebus, a full begining and ending, and then thats it, no more.

From what I remember, he was going to be sent back to Hell upon depletion. However one of the writers introduced a female character (can't remember her name at the moment) who kind of temporarily stopped it, I think. Something to that effect. But Todd did say in an interview (after the settlement of the lawsuit with Neil Gaiman - I read this because I was researching Angela) he plans to have the current incarnation of Spawn be replaced by a different person eventually, which is why he let Alan Moore create a Medieval Spawn to show Al Simmons is not the first Spawn.

I haven't read the title in a very long time but I've heard the writing needs a lot of work. The history sounds very convoluted.

I am not crazy about Deborah Woll joining as I don't really think she's that hot.

Would you rather this be a CW show?

Double no

wouldn't that be a "no no"

A double negative. So... yes?

Wow, that looks like absolute crud. I'd give that to a dog for a chew toy.

I still wonder if anyone has ever wandered into this thread to see there name requested to be blocked.

Um, it did happen. Just today.