JesterSB

I sold a little over half my comic collection, and some Magic cards to fund these (~$15K). First up, 3 basic lands from Ravnica: City of Guilds (2005) by artist Christopher Moeller. I hope to one day own all 5 of these (I know where the Plains is, Island is MIA): You're going to see a theme here, as I love the BW color combination (Orzhov guild from Ravnica), and 7/10 pieces I own are from the Ravnica or Return to Ravnica blocks. Here is Orzhova, Church of Deals by Martina Pilcerova (Ravnica, 2005) and Sindic of Tithes, Steve Prescott (Gatecrash, 2013) Finally, 5 pieces from a single artist (maybe). All of these are attributed to Tim Hildebrandt, but according to his brother Greg, he actually painted them and submitted them to Wizards of the Coast as Tim to keep his name in the industry after suffering a stroke. Tim never recovered and eventually died. They are: Lantern of Insight (Fifth Dawn, 2004), Steelshaper's Gift (Fifth Dawn, 2004), Reito Lantern (Champions of Kamigawa, 2004), Boros Signet (Ravnica, 2005), Orzhov Signet (Guildpact, 2006)

I think that guy is just unsure what the market is for an Alpha Hoover right now and wants to make sure he doesn't leave anything on the table. The artist unfortunately died a few years ago, and his last piece that sold publicly went for $18.2K last March (Regeneration). Did you want to see the art I bought recently?

The part I find more impressive is the more run of the mill stuff getting thousands too. Saw one from your buddy kev walker for 4500 IIRC on a card I'd never heard of. Not that I pay any attention to the cards anymore but still. Those prices on new cards from new sets are kind of a joke IMO (except things like Angels/Dragons/Planeswalkers). They won't be resold for that any time soon. I can right now go pick up very nice Kev Walker pieces (but the cards are bad/so-so) for $500-$1000...many even. He is one of the most prolific contributors to the game, and it wouldn't surprise me if he becomes the most prolific before much longer (I think he has painted the 3rd most cards to this point). All that said, I love his style, and if I had the funds I would be making offers to Terry for a couple of his pieces. Unfortunately, I went a little bonkers of the past 4 months buying 10 different Magic pieces, so I'm kinda broke.

Technically 19 years old, and the card is great. Still played in a Legacy and Vintage to this day, and has the word "Lotus" on it, which automatically brings a premium. That said, I think this sale did open a lot of people's eyes and propped up the market even further for older tournament staples original art.

The power of the inhuman who gave her the vision was specifically that the vision would show someone die, so I'm pretty sure someone will die. If it's Fitz or Simmons, I will quit watching the show and that's not hyperbole. They are the only "good" thing that's happening on the show right now. They've beat up on them enough, leave them alone. Mac too, but I think it's going to be Yo-yo, since she seems a little too powerful.

Not comic art, but from a comic book artist. Chris Moeller Forest from Ravnica (Magic: The Gathering)

Yes! There's no grieving when a rectangular black screen bleeds. Lame cliffhanger that was a super cheap emotional gimmick rather than advancing the story. The story will pick up at the exact same point whether we know who bites it or not. Same advancement. I'm hoping they don't have a graphic depiction of a well liked character getting brutally murdered. Just me Maybe the story picks up there, maybe it doesn't. Maybe they start the next season with everyone back in Alexandria, or Hilltop and they still don't tell us who bit it as characters get revealed one at a time as alive. It's exactly the kind of thing they would do to toy with our emotions. I agree it's a cheap trick and it is annoying if that's the route they go.

Thought with only a little more than a day to go you guys might want to jump on this before it's too late: You get a lot for the money with lots of exclusives if you kickstart it. (I am in no way affiliated with IDW or the kickstarter project)

The amazing thing is any high grade copies of this book exist looking at those pics of the boxes.

I've been playing magic since 1995, and I've owned nearly every card ever printed at one point or another. I'd be more than happy to look over a list for you.

No one is denying that this is the first appearance of Wolverine and that it is significant. However, it is not the famous, iconic image that the Hulk #181 cover is, which is why the #181 cover is more significant, even if it is the second appearance of the character. There are people, like myself, who know the OA landscape, know who the usual suspects are for this piece, and what they are likely to pay and not pay, both for the #180 page and the #181 cover should it surface. I'm not saying that $750K-$1mm is impossible, but it would be a total guess/leap of faith and certainly not based on any facts, logic, comps, or any other kind of information that dialed-in collectors have at their disposal. I'm certainly no expert, but I don't really believe anyone is in this case since it is an unprecedented sale. I am basing this on my belief that Wolverine is the 4th most popular character in comics (way above #5 whoever that may be), and the other 3 did not have a cameo before their first appearance, so how can you judge where this sale will go? Comparing Wolverine to any of the examples you have given is IMO a joke. Like I said originally, the figures I gave are a guess, just like yours.

It may be the first depiction, but it's not the most important one. The Hulk #181 cover and the GSXM #1 cover are both more significant. Hulk #180 may be where Wolverine first appeared, but X-Men is what made him a star (and the X-Men franchise is more popular than Wolverine alone). I own the OA to the very first Gwen Stacy appearance in ASM #31, but it's not worth as much as, say, the cover to ASM #121 or 122 and probably not as much as some random Romita covers which feature her as well. I also own the OA to Red Sonja's very first panels in comics from Conan #23, but it's not worth as much as the Conan #24 cover or most of the interiors; heck, there's probably at least 1 or 2 #23 pages worth more as well. No, I'm not comparing Gwen Stacy and Red Sonja to Wolverine, but I am dispelling the myth that first appearance trumps everything else - it doesn't. This is the art world and there are numerous other factors which come into play - cover vs. splash vs. interior, content of the page, execution of the page, etc. Fact is, Wolverine's second appearance on the cover of Hulk #181 is bigger, better and more significant, and probably would fetch $1 million. And, by the transitive property, if the (superior) cover is worth about a million, this page isn't. I'm not sure anyone is saying that the cover of Hulk 181 wouldn't go for more than this. That doesn't mean this won't sell for > $1M though. My guess is it will be > $750K with a chance at $1M...it's significance should not be understated. If I had unlimited funds, the order of Wolverine OA I would want would be the IH181 cover, then probably this page. The cover of GSXM1 (and likely X-men 94) would probably be worth more, but that has as much to do with Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Storm as it does with Wolverine.

What do you use to mount the books to the wall. Plate hangers from Michaels/A.C. Moore.

Having a child basically put my comic room on hold for the next 18+ years, but I do get a half a wall in the basement:

I was 10 years old in the 1990's and there's no question which book I'd enjoy more... AF #15 eights days a week. That's why I said "most folks."

Also, this.

I happen to own both these books, in grades that puts them at about equal market value. I can tell you personally my Turtles 1 is one of only 2 untouchables in my collection (barring upgrade), while I could foresee myself selling the AF15 some day. I think the 9.6 Turtles 1 will be worth more than the 4.0 AF15 in 10 years, but maybe not in 50 years. There are just so few of that book available, especially at that grade or higher. I can always buy an AF15 if I had the cash, but there have been times in the recent past where finding a 9.6 Turtles 1 hasn't been possible. Basically, most folks who were 10 years old in the 60s and 70s are going to take the AF15 every time, and kids from the 80s and 90s are going to take the Turtles. We won't know what the milennial kids will do until they have the money to do it, but my money would be on the Turtles long term (though AF15 is certainly a safe investment).

I think they would, though not quite as well. I would buy one first to make sure.

Not a comic room but something related. I have been looking for a good affordable slab stand forever, and I finally found it. It's a tablet stand: http://amzn.com/B007FNF5IC

I believe the evil chick from the "Torch" episode will be back next week.

As a Wolverine fan, I approve of the comic selection.

As I predicted, you can't really have an ensemble cast like this and expect character growth for everyone in the first 2 episodes. Now that they are focusing on other characters besides Skye, and growing the rest of the team's personae, the show is getting better (duh). It's a slow burn on the major plots, but I quite like that as long as each episode has an interesting premise.

Episode 2 was an improvement over episode 1. I expect it will continue to improve as the actors find their characters and the writers find their rhythm.

Golden (1) Tec 27 (2) Action 1 (3) Cap 1 (4) All-Star 8 (5) CSS 22 Silver (1) AF 15 (2) FF 1 (3) Hulk 1 (4) ToS 39 (5) X-Men 1 Bronze (1) Hulk 181 (2) GSXM 1 (3) ASM 129 (4) Cerebus 1 (5) UXM 129 Copper (1) TMNT 1 (2) NM 98 (3) ASM 300 (4) Wolverine 1 (5) Wolverine 10 Modern (1) Walking Dead 1 (2) Batman Adventures 12 (3) Ultimate SM 1 (4) Marvel Zombies (series) (5) Civil War (series)

I felt the show was fairly weak, with most of the characters falling flat, but it IS a pilot episode. Go back and watch the first episode of Star Trek: TNG for instance and you'll see similarly flat characters and hokey plot devices. It takes time for actors to find their characters, and for the writing team to settle into those characters. I will stick with this at least for the first season, and if it improves like I suspect it will, it'll be a mainstay for years.