spracknetch23

I started reading ASM digitally this week and I'm on issue 4. I've collected the book for 30 years, but read them out of order as I acquired them. Neat to read them in order and see the characters develop. Much more convenient and safer than reading the originals. 

On 10/1/2021 at 1:37 PM, sorrenmj said:

That OA is one of my favourite pages. A key page! Awesome collection. I am guessing there are not so many Russian Fugitoid #1's?

I agree. I owned that page for nearly 20 years. One of the high points in my collection for a long time! I initially won it for $100 in an Ebay auction in the early 2000s.

 I'm really not sure how many there are of the Russian Fugitoid.. but I've never seen it except for this copy. However I'm in the USA so they wouldn't exactly be on the newsstand here. 

On 9/30/2021 at 10:44 PM, jaybuck43 said:

Was it you that sold it on Heritage in 2019?  I bid on it then.  Sadly, didn't win it, but do have this Fugitoid page.

Yep, that was me! Wish I still had it now.. Not sure where it went. That’s a pretty great Triceraton page you have. 

Fugitoid appreciation post! He's a pretty underrated awesome character in my opinion. Here are some of my favorite Fugitoid items from my collection (#5 OA page (gone, unfortunately), 1985 iron-on, Russian Fugitoid #1). Alas, Gobbledygook has always eluded me. 

That #7 art is from the first print story. How exciting to find at an estate sale! 

Sad to see them go even though they haven’t published comics in years. For its original namesake, being named “Mirage” because of the fact they weren’t an “actual” studio.. 37 years is a good run. I suspect any of their remaining stock will go for sale on Eastman’s site.

On 9/21/2021 at 3:52 PM, porcupine48 said:

Nice!Blank inside cover?PS hey man!I was JUST wondering how you were doing my ol board buddy!Glad to catch you posting!

Thanks! Yep, blank inside and out. Pretty cool variant.    Hey bud, glad to see you're still around too! I've been laying low with collecting the past couple of years. But I can't seem to stay away from the boards 

On 9/21/2021 at 3:36 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Qualified?

a couple of pages missing near the end..

I only had 2-6, but sold them a couple of years ago 

On 9/16/2021 at 3:19 PM, sorrenmj said:

Ha ha that's incredible you saved that! I bet that is exactly how they were shipped! I can'y believe it. Just a piece of card and paper with a polite do not fold message to house what could eventually become a million dollar comic. Thanks for sharing that epic piece of comic history!

I actually was only six years old in 1984 and had no idea what TMNT was until 1987. But I acquired this envelope from another collector who had found it on Ebay along with the full set of seven 1984 iron-ons it was shipped with. Unfortunately the iron-ons didn't come with our deal. But I imagine this is how they shipped most things at the time! Eastman and Laird would have called you nuts if you told them their comic would be worth so much one day.

On 9/16/2021 at 1:30 PM, sorrenmj said:

Did anybody ever buy their #1 direct from K Eastman/P Laird and have it mailed to them back in 1984? If so how was it shipped? In a cardboard box, like you would expect today or some kind of bubble mailer? Just curious to know. I cannot imagine that what has now become such a valuable comic ever being shipped to customers in some kind of bubble mailer! Just curious is all

For what it's worth, I have this old 1984 mailing envelope from Mirage. It was used to ship the iron-ons. It's just a standard manila envelope, no bubbles. Maybe a similar thing was used for the comics? 

Getting this cool double cover Groo signed was memorable. The guys got a real kick out of it. They triple-signed it and each had their own way to sign each cover and title page. Unfortunately I only have the front cover scanned and I'm too lazy to dig it out atm. 

I had the TMNT 1 (3rd printing) signed by Peter Laird at Comicfest '93 in Philly. At the time, he said "wow, I've never signed one of these before. Is this a first printing?" Which is weird, because they signed many #1s before 1993. I think he meant he hadn't signed any of them on the front cover. 21 years later, I met Kevin Eastman at a Dayton, OH con and asked him to add his signature in the same color as Laird's. 

I had the Spider-man 13 signed by McFarlane at the '93 Comicfest as well. Went back to Philly in '94 to add Stan's signature. He signed it small in Spider-man's eye and said of Todd's large signature "Does this mean he has a bigger ego than me?" I know they became good friends later, but it's funny to remember that quip. 

On 8/26/2021 at 8:41 PM, Greatwhite said:

Just added to Hulu…all three seasons of The Tick Animated Series😀😀😀

Finally we can watch season 3 again. Hope they included the missing DVD episodes "Alone Together" and "Mole Men". 

On 9/12/2021 at 4:17 PM, sorrenmj said:

That Jim Lawson page is stunning and atmospheric!

Thanks! It's still one of the top pieces in my OA collection.

On 9/12/2021 at 1:47 PM, sorrenmj said:

What did it feel like leafing thru it?!

It was a great feeling. The coolest part was getting to the end and seeing the Gobbledygook ad..never saw it in person before. This was about 2014.

On 9/12/2021 at 12:25 PM, sorrenmj said:

Is there anybody here who reads their first print?! I cant image anybody would now but it'd be fun to know if someone does!

Nope, mine has been trapped in a CGC case since I bought it in 2013. I have a friend who has a raw copy, and I did leaf through it one time. But not to read. I can always read one of the 30+ reprints. 

This is kind of insane. Just saw that an original page from Raphael #1 sold for over $11k on August 31st. I remember thinking Eastman's price of $5k per page was ridiculous back when he started selling pages from this book on his site.

https://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2FAUCTIONS%2FSEARCH.ASP%3FPreviewCode%3D2021aug%26where%3Dauctions%26title%3Deastman%26GO%3DGO%26ItemType%3DCA%23Item_1504728&id=1504728&itemType=1#detail

On 9/4/2021 at 3:48 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

How long are we talking about?  When I set out to put together a high-grade Spidey run about four and a half years ago, #12 was one of the easiest of the early issues to find in 9.4.  #11 is nearly impossible to find in 9.0, much less 9.4.

I was referring to mid grade. I’ve never seen a #11 4.0 break $700 until now. I agree that the disparity in high grade prices and scarcity has been present for a long time. 

ASM 11 and 12 were about the same price in mid grade for a long time. Now 11 has left 12 behind with mid grade sales over $700 on eBay. Perhaps either the 9.0 sale has raised all tides, or people are priced out of #3. In this age of keys on fire, 2nd appearances are starting to have their day. 

Laird is the one who sold the property to Viacom/Nickelodeon for $60 mil in 2009. He had already bought out Eastman in 2000 as stated above. I don’t think either of them have a stake now, but as part of the deal, Laird kept the right to publish a certain amount of new TMNT comics per year through Mirage, although he hasn’t.