sfcityduck

The comic is only worth what buyers will pay. So I am not seeing a difference between “worth” and “liquidity” in this context. “Liquidity” as you put it is just “demand” and demand drives value. I have bought some very nice comics that did not sell in their raw state for months or years and which I was able to resell at much higher prices after Cgc grading. So, yeah, I think reputation of the grader impacts value.

The number of Four Colors you "do not have" is "over 1100 books and growing"? Maybe you stop trading them away.

Personally, I think Mike would be better off laying off that legal weed they got in Denver, instead of boasting that he's toasted.

I agree with both you and RMA, and think you are talking past one another. There is a clear difference in the value between a certified and un-certified book. I don't think RMA would dispute that. Third party grading and encapsulation has indeed created new price tiers that exceed the value of un-slabbed books. Which is why guys like RMA and many here slab so many books. But, the reason why that is so depends upon a single factor: The reputation of the third party grading service. Slabbing can accomplish two things: (1) It puts a grade on a book that is considered in the marketplace to be trustworthy and (2) it ensures that the book remains in that grade. PGX certified books do not benefit from the certification because that company is widely considered untrustworthy in its grading. That same fate could befall the books of any third party grader whose reputation erodes. So the "assurance" represented by the slab is indeed what leads to the higher tier of prices for slabbed books (by some companies, but not all).

MLJ's superheros died an earlier death than DCs and the titles underwent an earlier transition - like Top Notch to Top Notch Laugh:

And how about the strange saga of Moon Girl? Moon Girl # 6 Moon Girl Fights Crime # 7 and # 8 A Moon, A Girl, Romance

That's not a Western, that's a dog comic (like Rex) featuring Streak the Wonder Dog. GL lost the cover to Streak in his own comic:

The two best examples I can think of are Black Cat Western/Mystery/Mystic and Venus, as they changed genres a lot. But many titles did, including Sensation, More Fun, Police, etc.

I'm with the Robotman that the bad stories are depressing and not my preferred topic. I especially don't want to see anyone falsely accused. But, I'm with you that you learn a lot from these stories that is helpful to learn, and the telling of the stories does help avoid future problems. Fortunately, this site is populated by a lot of the good guys.

If you have any of the Ka-Zar pulps, they predate MC 1 having come out in 1936-1937.

Are you sure that wasn't a dust shadow?

You seem confused. Richard (YellowKid) did not say that Rick Durell's widow reneged on an agreement that they had made. Instead he says that at the last minute the widow turned down his offer in favor of Gerber's seemingly better offer. Richard is not dissing the widow: According to the post, Gerber made an offer he could not honor. The widow cannot be held at fault for believing that the person who made her an offer could afford to live up to its payment terms. That Gerber made an offer without resources to fund it is all on him. The widow further cannot be held at fault when Gerber, after the widow gave Gerber a break and told him he could start selling books to fund his payment obligation, (1) uses the moneyfor his Photo-Journals project instead of paying her and (2) starts charging her for "restoring" the comics he was selling. Rick Durell's widow did not "get what she deserved." What she deserved is what Gerber promised here. Instead, she got taken advantage of. And no ethical person should be condemning the widow.

The "Certified Guarantee Company" does NOT guarantee their evaluation of a book. From this website, what they guarantee is that the "Collectibles are authentic and have been inspected by at least two professionals." That's it. They also state: Finally, CGC states that even the minimal guarantee they do make as to authenticity is voided if you crack the comic out of the holder. In sum, what is going on here is that everyone is taking CGC on faith, because they are NOT guaranteeing their grade and evaluation, and there's no recourse against CGC if they get it wrong. Pretty awesome business model! Having said that, they have every incentive to try as hard as they can to grade accurately because the only thing they are selling is their reputation.

On the Gold Board you get some great stories shared and there's a lot of collective knowledge. But, every once in a while, I stumble across some info that is worth sharing. And the topic of that thread was one that I found very surprising and cool.

One abridged version: I'm of two minds about sharing this post. On the one hand, I hate stories that reveal that comic collecting has a very dark underbelly of corruption and unethical treatment which reflect really bad on the activity and its integrity. It is depressing. On the other hand, I think it is important to know who the good and the bad guys are/were. The post comes from this thread:

Dream in color:

The books in that picture were being sold by the store. RD was a frequent buyer. That is just the kind of store it was. Folks say that RD had MULTIPLE Action 1. What happened to his collection is a depressing scandal, at least in the versions I've heard told. The story has been told on these boards several times.

Based on what CGC says about the Conserved label, I get that if I can either clean the existing staples or replace with vintage staples: Conservation Repairs Conservation repairs are performed with the intent of preserving the structural or chemical integrity of a comic book using professional techniques and materials. It excludes aesthetic repairs such as color touch and piece fill. All conserved grades must satisfy the CGC quality scale of "A" and quantity scale of "1". Tear seals Spine split seals Reinforcement Piece reattachment Some cover or interior cleaning (water or solvent) Staples cleaned or replaced Some leaf casting De-acidification Materials Used for Conservation Repairs: Rice paper Wheat glue Vintage staples Archival tape

Is she from Portland?

I have read almost every comic I own. The very few exceptions being comics that are (1) very high grade that I have purchased to encapsulate and sell to fund acquisitions of comics I want to read or (2) comics that I bought already encapsulated to put on display.

Yes. Cole had different styles he used, and this comic cover reminds me of his PB work:

Super cool! Can I have your staples? LoL!

Here's some covers from the same time period of the series courtesy of GCD: