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surfer99

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Journal Entries posted by surfer99

  1. surfer99
    Latest additions...
    or first journal of 11/11/11...
    I mentioned in a journal a couple weeks ago that I had unexpectedly "won" (i.e. had the privilege of purchasing) several X-men books I was bidding on in the ComicLink auction. Those books arrived earlier this week and I've added them to my collection no problem. All are graded 9.6 and look great. For what it's worth they gave me a nice bump in the standings as well- moving up from 552 to 500. The books I picked up were...
    X-men #124
    X-men #125
    X-men #134
    X-men #136
    X-men #138
    I also snagged a couple X-men books on eBay just before the ComicLink auction ended...
    X-men #108
    X-men #113
    Did I mention I wasn't buying any graded comics this year? Don't judge. What's that? No, I do NOT have a problem. I can stop any time I want, I um, just choose not to.
    So I went to add these last two to the registry and I received the dreaded "These books are registered to someone else" message. Issue #113 posted the next day so I assume the seller responded right away to the request to reassign the book to me...I am still waiting 3 days later for issue #108 to be added to my set. Can I just say, if you're going to sell your books, please, delete...them...from...your...registry! OK, climbing off soapbox now.
    Anyway, all things considered I'm happy to have added these to my collection and I look forward to someday completing the set. Check out AJRodriquez's collection if you want to see how amazing this set looks when complete in high grade (drool). That's how it's done my friend.
    P.S. Hey, how about those Value Tier turn around times? Sorry...couldn't resist.
    Til next time...
     
    ***

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  2. surfer99
    Latest addition...
    OK, so I took the advice of my fellow collectors and decided not to bid on the raw copy of Tales of Suspense 49 that I wanted since the buyer would not guarantee the book was unrestored. I feel good about not pursuing that one, especially since I ended up being the winning bidder of another book that I really wanted...Fantastic Four 28! This seller seemed much more confident about their book being unrestored, and regardless of what the grade itself ends up being this book is just gorgeous! As long as it comes back with a blue label I am a happy man. I'll submit this one fast track at the Phoenix Con next month along with some others I'll submit as economy...even though I still have not received the 3 economy books I submitted at the Amazing AZ Con on 1.7.12.
    I forgot to mention the other 3 books I submitted at WonderCon when I wrote about that experience last month, so here they are...
    Avengers 47 probably a 9.2
    Avengers 53 hoping for a 9.4
    Sub Mariner 52 probably a 9.4
    I'll be sure to follow-up with the grades received on those when I receive them over the summer.
    Til next time...
     
    ***

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  3. surfer99

    Should I Bid?

    By surfer99,

    Auction ends in 2 days...
    So there's this book I'm looking at on eBay that'll likely go for a couple hundred which is about what I would be willing to pay. The book is ungraded but looks very clean and I would love to add it to my collection. The problem again is that it's ungraded. I asked the seller if there was any restoration done as I would want to send to CCG and would only be happy with a Universal blue label. He said there was none he was aware of, BUT he did not guarantee this.
    This is an older book and I would really rather not pay for an already graded copy. I don't mind taking a chance that I'll get a lower grade with a raw copy, like if the seller said it was an 8.0 and it came back a 6.0, but I'm hesitant to jump in when it may come back with the dreaded purple label.
    What do you guys think?
     
    ***
    (completely unrelated photo)

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  4. surfer99

    WonderCon and beyond

    By surfer99,

    It's been a BUSY week!
    There is a lot to tell in one journal to describe the events of this past week so I'll have to condense it for you as best I can...
    Wednesday
    At 3:00am the family and I drove from AZ and arrived in Anaheim, CA at 9:00am. We parked at the hotel, took a shuttle to iHOP and grabbed breakfast. After breakfast we walked across the street, spent all day and night at Disneyland, then headed back to the hotel. Feet and legs were already feeling it, but we covered a lot of ground and it was a blast.
    Thursday
    Woke up at 8:00am, grabbed free breakfast at the hotel and took the shuttle back to Disneyland. Spent all day and night there, but we saw everything we wanted to see and rode everything we wanted to ride more than once. By the end if the day my legs felt like they were literally going to buckle and I was gonna do a faceplant at any second...seriously.
    Friday
    Forgot to pick up our badges for WonderCon yesterday because we were too busy having a great time at Disneyland. WonderCon doesn't open til 12:00pm so we slept in a bit and walked down the street to the convention center at 10:00am...then waited in line an hour and a half for our badges. I am happy to report though that it was SO worth it! WonderCon absolutely rocked and my legs held up the whole day! I'm not kidding, I had as much fun as when I go to the SDCC, and I picked up a few nice looking books that I submitted to CGC while I was there. I do wish there were more panels and previews because the wife really enjoys those, but still when factoring in the Disneyland experience, none of us were missing the SDCC. I'm thinking if it goes back to Northern CA next year we'll make the trip and see the sights in San Francisco, although I'd really rather it stay in Anaheim.
    Saturday
    The kids spent the night at a friend's house Friday night so the wife and I decided to hit Disneyland again just her and me on Saturday morning. It was really cloudy and a little windy...should I grab the umbrella from the trunk before we catch the shuttle? Nah! We'll be fine! When we got there, there were NO lines so we got to spend the first hour or so riding our favorite attractions again and again...then the rain came. Buckets and buckets of rain. The last time I was that cold and wet I was playing in the snow up in Flagstaff. So, so cold! We made it back to the car, grabbed the umbrella then walked to the Con where our kids met up with us. We spent another couple hours there dripping wet and freezing, walked back to the car, grabbed some lunch then drove home to AZ with the heater cranked!
    Sunday
    Slept in...man it feels good to be back in my own bed...for one night at least. Hopped on a plane to San Antonio, TX in the afternoon for a 3 day training class I had to take for work.
    Monday-Tuesday
    Training in San Antonio. Good food by the way, especially the barbeque. Ate at a place called The County Line. No joke, I could have drank the BBQ sauce straight up it was so good. I would have taken a few bottles home, but I only took a carryon and you can't take more than 3 oz on the plane. Also visited the Alamo today which was pretty cool. Didn't know David Crockett (the tour guides insist he did not go by Davey) fought there.
    Wednesday
    Training wraps up early and my flight home doesn't leave til the evening so I've got some time to kill. What should I do? Hey, I wonder if there are any comic shops here? Sure enough, a quick search on the Internet and I found Heroes and Fantasties, see pic below, so that's where I'm headed. Who knows, might find another book or two!
    Looking forward to being home after this crazy trip and really wishing I didn't have to go to work on Thursday. Oh well, what's a couple more days right? All I know is this weekend it's all about the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's.
    Til next time...
     
    ***

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  5. surfer99
    All X-men appearances...
    My goal is to collect first print high grade CGC copies of all X-men (and X-villain) appearances outside of their own title pre-1980, preferably starting with those appearances made before the new X-men team began. What can I say, I love seeing the X-men show up as guest stars in other Marvel titles, and I would love to have the best such collection ever assembled!
    The plan for the books I'd still like to add is to try and find the highest grade copies I can afford raw, submit them to CGC myself, wait for an eternity to get them back, and be happy with the ensuing grades received...unless they come back with anything other than a blue label- those will not be added to the collection.
    There are some books I only want if they're NM+ so for those I'll want to find graded copies, but the rest I will pick up raw unless I find a really smokin deal on something. Paying for all graded copies is just too cost prohibitive and I'll have to accept that not every book I have can be a 9.6. But I'm good with that, these books will still look fantastic in my collection regardless, and I can always do what I see a lot of other collectors doing and that's upgrade when I can.
    Til next time...
    ***

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  6. surfer99

    Submission Status

    By surfer99,

    Let's see if my books are scheduled for grading...
    Thought I would call CGC to check status on the 3 economy books I submitted at the Amazing AZ Con on 1/7 since it will be 40 business days tomorrow. I was told it will likely be another 3 weeks before they're graded. In CGC speak, that means another month and a half, but I'm OK with that. It is what it is. They are a month or more behind and we all know that going in. I just hope I'm still preaching patience in May when they're still not graded, .

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  7. surfer99
    Worst idea ever...
    If you have seen the Facebook comments you already know how mad everyone is at the SDCC event organizers- personally I blame the VP of Events, Robin Donlan. Why are we so upset? Because we registered our member IDs long ago, followed the directions given in the SDCC e-mail notice to purchase badges- click this link on 3/3 at 8am and do not share the link with anyone- then we went to click the oh so secret link that the San Diego Tourism and hotel sites posted on their public web sites and Facebook pages, only to spend 15 minutes trying to access a link that didn't work! Turns out the only way you could purchase tickets was to copy/paste the link into a web browser, or go on the SDCC web site directly. By the time we did that the tickets all sold out VERY quickly.
    In reading the Facebook comments, there were a lot of folks who were able to get tickets for some days and some members of their family, but not others. After waiting in line for an hour starting at position 30,080 I am sorry to say all tickets were SOLD OUT!
    I'm happy for the 10 percent who didn't rely on the e-mail link, went to the SDCC website directly and were able to get tickets for themselves and everyone in their family on the same days. I'm sure they will have a blast. Hopefully next year the organizers come up with a better way to sell the SDCC tickets. I never had issues buying tickets online in the past with the most recent being in 2010.
    Fortunately, I'm still headed to WonderCon in a couple weeks so I am looking forward to that. It's not the SDCC, but I'm thankful. Hope to see ya there!

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  8. surfer99
    Looking to stick with a familiar theme, but branch out into the...
    Silver Age! The early X-men guest star appearances from this time period (by special arrangement with X-men magazine) had some fantastic covers and the colors really pop off the page.
    I started my X-men collection in the Bronze Age with Hulk 181 (and later added Giant Size X-men 1) in CGC 8.0. Love these books, and the new team, but what really started to intrigue me were the X-men appearances that occurred when there was no X-men title. The focus of my collection for the past several years has been on obtaining 9.6 copies of these issues. For whatever reason that is the magic number I had to have, not 9.4, not 9.8, but 9.6- don't ask me why I just really like the 9.6. I suppose it could be because they're better than NM, but not as expensive as NM/MT. Anyway, I love these issues and will continue to collect them, along with high grade copies of the new team in X-men 94-143.
    So now this brings us to the Silver Age. I have been so fixated on getting only 9.6 copies that I never really considered collecting the earlier X-men appearances because I could never afford 9.6 copies of those. Then I realized, if 8.0 copies were good enough for my Hulk 181 and Giant Size X-men 1, then darn it, I can accept less than a 9.6 for my Silver Age X-men appearances as well! Will some of the lower grades still be expensive? Sure, but not so much so that they're unattainable. They are hard to find without overpaying though so wish me luck and as always I will let you know when/if I'm able to add any to my collection.
    P.S. I found a cool site another fan put together that gives a breakdown of all the X-men appearances, although I would use the term appearances lightly on some of these...
    Silver Age X-men appearances: http://www.justafanboy.com/SilverAgeXmen/
    Bronze Age X-men appearances: http://www.justafanboy.com/BronzeAgeXmen/
    Nice to know there are others out there who share my passion for these issues!
    Til next time...
     
    ***

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  9. surfer99

    Unknown Secret Mission

    By surfer99,

    Among other X-men storylines...
    I spent some time (OK a lot of time) this weekend researching X-men storylines from the 70's (my forte), looking through the footnotes in each issue, and updating my comic descriptions to link the various issues associated with a particular storyline. Why? Because I like to follow the story along to see how it plays out, and now I can. If anyone else would like to check out some of these great stories, I've put them in order and listed them under their respective plotlines. Enjoy!
    Beast- flying solo
    1972 Amazing Adventures #11-12
    1972 Marvel Team-Up #4
    1973 Amazing Adventures #13-16
    1973 Incredible Hulk #161
    1974 Captain America #174-175
    1975 Avengers #137 (joins a new team)
    Magneto- world domination
    1969 X-men #61-63
    1970 Fantastic Four #102-104
    1971 Amazing Adventures #9-10
    1973 Avengers #110
    1973 Daredevil #99
    1973 Avengers #111
    1974 Defenders #15-16
    Magneto- revenge against the X-men
    1977 X-men #104
    1977 Super Villain Team-Up #14
    1977 Champions #16
    1978 Marvel Team-Up #69 (Beast sub-plot)
    1978 X-men #111-113
    Juggernaut- escape from limbo
    1968 X-men 33
    1969 Dr. Strange #182
    1973 Amazing Adventures #16
    1974 Incredible Hulk #172
    Secret Empire- operation hostile takeover
    1972 Amazing Adventures #13 (Brotherhood of Evil Mutants captured)
    1972 Incredible Hulk #150 (Havok and Polaris captured)
    1973 Avengers #111 (Angel captured)
    1973 Incredible Hulk #161 (Beast captured)
    1974 Incredible Hulk #172
    1974 Captain America #172-175
    Secret Mission- unknown?
    1974 Marvel Team-Up #23
    1974 Defenders #15
    In these issues, references are made to a "secret mission" the X-men have been tasked with, but this occurred after the Secret Empire was defeated in Captain America #175. The question then becomes WHAT was this secret mission?!? This next part kind of blew my mind a little...these two issues, Marvel Team-Up #23 and Defenders #15 were both written by none other than Len Wien- the man who only a few months later would bring us Hulk #181 and Giant-Size X-men #1! It's apparent from comments made in GSX #1 that the Professor knew of Wolverine and had been keeping tabs on him, so my guess is this secret mission was to enlist him in the X-men. Unfortunately before the X-men could reach out to him, they received a new mutant alert from Cerebro that resulted in their defeat and capture by Krokoa. As a result, Professor X was left to gather a whole new team on his own that included Wolverine. Pretty cool to think Len was laying the groundwork for the new team in these issues and we didn't even know it!
    Yeah, I know I spend too much time thinking about this stuff, but it's fun! Something else that came out of my research- I found another Bronze Age X-men appearance I didn't know existed! I was reading the footnotes in Power Man and Iron Fist #57 and saw a reference to Defenders #63 (1978). I did a quick search on eBay and sure enough, there's Havok and Polaris on the cover! How cool is that? Of course I bought a reading copy right away, so now I'll be on the lookout for a 9.6 copy to add to the collection.
    Thanks for reading!
    Til next time...
     
    ***

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  10. surfer99
    Latest addition...3 years, worth the wait!
    I let this one get away from me a couple times, once on eBay a few months ago, and three years before that at the SDCC. Check out this comment I made in my Success at SDCC!!! journal from 2009- It killed me, but I had to pass on a FF #104 CGC 9.6...it was in my hand, but the seller wouldnt take less than $600 and thats not gonna happen. So glad I held out, because I finally picked it up, and for less than half that price! This is proof that good things do come to those who wait!
    There are a number of reasons I love this book...
    1) Published the year I was born so theres some sentimental attachment there- I was a baby when this book Im holding in my hands was made, and it looks better than if it had just come off the rack!
    2) Features an appearance by President Nixon, before he committed suicide in Cap #175
    3) Oldest X-men (or X-villain) cover appearance after the flagship title entered reprint mode
    4) Continues the story from X-men #63
    I will elaborate on that last point. The first thing I thought of when I saw this cover for the first time was, Why is Magneto wearing this weird outfit? So I did a little research. It started with Magnetos defeat in Avengers #53 which led to X-men #62-63 where it was revealed that Magneto had fallen down an ocean gorge and into an underground series of caverns leading to the Savage Land. The new suit Magneto created for himself served two purposes- to allow movement to his damaged limbs (presumably suffered in the fall), and to syphon off the majority of his magnetic powers which he used to mutate the Savage Land natives (reminds me of the device Magneto used in the X-men movie to mutate Senator Robert Kelly). When the Sub-Mariner found Magneto unconscience on the outskirts of the Savage Land in Fantastic Four #102 he was still wearing this outfit.
    I think its pretty cool that Stan Lee and John Romita continued with the same outfit and storyline for Magneto in Fantastic Four #102-104 that Roy Thomas and Neal Adams began a year earlier in X-men #62-63. Im sure it helped that Stan was the editor too- way to keep up with continuity Stan, we do notice and appreciate it!
    Note: While in the Savage Land, Magneto also took the liberty of creating an energy-draining costume for Angel which he used against the X-men in Avengers #111, but thats a story from another journal (What happened to the X-men Part 2).
    Til next time...
    ***

  11. surfer99

    2011 Year in Review

    By surfer99,

    Yes I know January is almost over
    I was just looking through some of my previous journals and ran across one called Year in Review or No Comics in 2011. My goal was to give my wallet a rest and not spend any money on CGC books in 2011. Lets see how that worked out for me. The comics I added to my collection this year include
    2 22 11 Amazing Spiderman 92 CGC 9.6
    4 15 11 Marvel Team up 69 CGC 9.6
    7 23 11 Hulk 161 CGC 9.6
    8 4 11 Marvel Team up 23 CGC 9.6
    9 22 11 Xmen 128 CGC 9.6
    10 8 11 Sub Mariner 34 CGC 9.0
    10 14 11 Xmen 108 CGC 9.6
    10 18 11 Xmen 113 CGC 9.6
    10 24 11 Daredevil 111 CGC 9.6
    10 27 11 Xmen 124 CGC 9.6
    10 27 11 Xmen 125 CGC 9.6
    10 27 11 Xmen 134 CGC 9.6
    10 27 11 Xmen 136 CGC 9.6
    10 27 11 Xmen 138 CGC 9.6
    Looks like I went a little crazy in October. OK in my defense though I got a fantastic deal on all of these books and I did sell several books in my collection to help offset some of the cost. Id like to say I wont buy any CGC books this year but its a little late for that and Im really hoping to make it to the SDCC again. What I can say is that I will buy smart this year and make every purchase a worthwhile one.
    On a completely unrelated topic there were layoffs announced today in the company where Ive worked for over 15 years and my organization was directly impacted. Ive had a lot of folks praying for me and honestly Ive been ready for whatever God has planned for my life however scary that may be. As it turns out though God still wants me here for now and Im thankful for that even I say goodbye to some great coworkers who were not as fortunate. Regardless of what would have happened though God is still good and I know he cares about me. I say this to let everyone know that no matter what you may be going through in life you don't have to go through it alone.
    Til next time. Cause there's always a next time.

  12. surfer99
    CGC accepting submissions...
    As mentioned in my last journal, I was at the AZ Con this weekend and was pleasantly surprised to find that CGC was onsite, and accepting submissions. I checked the Con web site but didn't see any mention of CGC so I didn't expect they would be there. The guys I met at the CGC booth, Mike and Joe, both seemed really nice. I spent most of the time talking with Mike since Joe was pretty busy doing other stuff. I mentioned to Mike how some people on the registry have been expressing their displeasure with the current wait times and the $5 per submission fee. As far as the fee, he said it was a necessary part of doing business. It was successful when implemented for the NGC and since CGC mostly follows suit with what works in the NGC they implemented it for CGC as well.
    As far as the wait times, he said they are now shipping books that were submitted in August. He said they had considered updating the website to indicate the current wait time for Economy is longer than the published 40 business days (this is what I think they should do), but decided against it since they hope to get caught up. He said he does feel bad for the individual collector who maybe only sent in a few books and are stuck in line behind a dealer who sent in a few boxes. To be honest, this isn't a huge deal for me. I get that they're busy and I'm sure they're doing what they can to get the books graded and shipped out as quickly as possible. I don't see any reason they would intentionally drag their feet, and I would rather they take their time and do a good job.
    Which brings me to my next point...once I saw CGC was accepting submissions, I drove home, spent an hour going through my collection to find the best looking books , and ended up with a handful I thought may be worth submitting. I brought them to Mike and Joe gave me their thoughts, and I ended up submitting these 3 books...
    Doctor Strange #182
    X-men #80
    X-men #121
    My hope is that they all come back graded higher than 9.0, the X-men #121 could be even higher which would be fantastic, but we'll see. Mike says I should see the books by the end of February, or possibly early March. I'm not going to stress. I'll get them when I get them and hope for the best!
    Til next time...
    ***

  13. surfer99
    Not the SDCC of course, but still fun...
    Heard about this Con on the radio last week and decided I would take the family to check it out http://amazingarizonacomiccon.com/. We'd gone last year for the first time and it was fun so why not. Then I find out one of my closest friends was going to be in town with his family representing his company at the Con so it was awesome to get to see them while we there too.
    Like last year, the main attraction was The Walking Dead since the creators are local here. Not my thing, but it was um...interesting to see and hear the zombies vs. monster hunters contest. As with most Cons there were plenty of people in costume...my favorites were this big guy in a cool Thor costume, and this REALLY big guy in a Predator costume (seriously...I'm 6'5" and he made me look short, and he was built like a wrestler). Oh yeah, and I have to admit I also liked the women of Mortal Combat (see pic).
    I had a good time browsing through comic boxes and managed to pick up a couple nice reading copies of some old Avengers books at 50% off. There were a few vendors that sold graded books, but nothing that caught my eye. I did see this one seller who was asking $15,000 for a 9.8 copy of Hulk #181. I know it's a high grade copy of the first Wolverine, but man, $15,000?
    My wife also found a Pop! Marvel Captain America Vinyl Bobblehead I wanted. It looks great next to the Thor Pop! Marvel Bobblehead I got from my son for Christmas. Have you seen those things? I hate to use the word "cute", but I don't know how else to describe them. They have big eyes and no mouths. I was also hoping to find a few more Marvel Tokidoki blind boxes (they make great laptop bag accessories), but no luck there.
    Oh yeah, CGC was onsite too! I'll write about that in my next journal.
    Til next time...
    ***

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  14. surfer99
    Latest addition?closer to my goal
    I love this book, and what?s more it gets me one giant step closer to my goal which is to collect an X-men ?set? of my own design. I had to make some hard decisions to pay for it (took a page out of Tnerb?s book and sold some of my other books that weren?t as critical to my collection), but it was well worth it. I?d like to collect all the X-men appearances (featuring two or more team members/villains?not including flashbacks) in CGC 9.6 condition during the time between teams (from X-men #66, Mar 1970 to X-men #94, Aug 1975) when the ?X-men? title was in re-print status:
    03/70 ---------- OLD X-MEN ENDS ----------
    04/72 Incredible Hulk #150 (Havok, Polaris)
    05/72 Amazing Adventures #12 (Beast, X-men)
    07/72 Amazing Adventures #13 (Beast, Blob)
    09/72 Marvel Team-up #4 (X-men)
    11/72 Amazing Adventures #15 (Beast, X-men)
    01/73 Amazing Adventures #16 (Beast, Juggernaut)
    03/73 Incredible Hulk #161 (Beast, Mimic)
    04/73 Avengers #110 (X-men)
    05/73 Avengers #111 (X-men)
    02/74 Incredible Hulk #172 (X-men)
    04/74 Captain America #172 (X-men)
    05/74 Captain America #173 (X-men)
    06/74 Captain America #174 (X-men)
    07/74 Captain America #175 (X-men)
    07/74 Marvel Team-up #23 (Iceman, X-men)
    09/74 Defenders #15 (Magneto, Blob, Professor X)
    10/74 Defenders #16 (Magneto, Blob, Professor X)
    08/75 ---------- NEW X-MEN BEGINS ----------
    I have reader copies of all these and just love the stories, art and covers SO much! Currently I only need Amazing Adventures #12, #13, #15, Hulk #161, Marvel Team-up #23 and Defenders #16 to complete my little mini-collection. These are not as difficult to find as my other books, but they?re not cheap. Hopefully I?ll have them before too long, but for now I am REALLY enjoying owning my Marvel Team-up #4! My goal after attaining graded copies of the above is to complete my CGC sets of Amazing Adventures #11-#17 and X-men #94-#143. From there, who knows? One thing I do know though?I will never get tired of collecting!
    Til next time?
     
    ***

  15. surfer99

    Oops, did I win that?

    By surfer99,

    Latest additions...
    I've been wanting to add some X-men comics to my #94-#143 set so I did a little research to see what they've been selling for the past few months. This gave me a good idea of what I was willing to pay for the books (i.e. just over the lowest selling price). I'm not getting in a bidding war because there are plenty of these books out there and I'm comfortable with placing a minimum bid of what I think they're worth.
    Someone was selling a nice collection of these on eBay last month so I bid on a handful of them...and was outbid on all of them. No biggie, I knew the ComicLink auction coming up, I'll bid on those. The ComicLink auction was ending yesterday so I decided to bid on 12 of the issues I wanted for my collection thinking I may end up winning 1 or 2 which would be great. Well, apparently the bidders were sleeping on that auction because I ended up winning 5 books! I have mixed feelings about this...I'm happy to have these books and the price was great, but it's still a lot of money (for me) to spend at once. Can you imagine if I had won all 12 auctions?!? OK, lesson learned, be careful what you bid on, you just might win it. I've said it before, but now I mean it, no more bids for me this year (fingers crossed)!
    I'll add these to my collection with pics and descriptions when they come in (also looking forward to that bump up in the standings).
    Til next time...
     
    ***

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  16. surfer99

    Someone's gotta do it

    By surfer99,

    We need a journal so I'm posting one...
    OK so apparently Tnerb has been indisposed as of late as I have not seen a journal from him, or anyone else for that matter, in a few days. The way I see it, it's better to listen to my ramblings than to nothing at all.
    As you may know, I recently sold by Wolverine #1-#10 CGC collection and my ASM #129. Honestly, I just wasn't attached to them any more so I figure someone else can enjoy them for awhile. I made a good chunk of change in the process and picked up a few nice CGC books, but I also surprised myself and spent a good amount putting together a reader copy (4.0-8.0) run of Bronze Age Avengers, issues #112-#180 to be exact. I already have reader copies of Avengers #88-#111 and had only intended to add issues #167-#176 (and Thor Annual #6) for the Korvac Saga, but figured why not collect all the issues in between. (You completests out there know what I mean.) Turns out these are some GREAT stories! This is a good reminder of why I started collecting comics in the first place. I can't wait to spend the next couple months looking through every old newspaper scented issue.
    I also picked up an X-men series from 1999-2000 written and drawn by John Byrne called "X-men: The Hidden Years" (#1-#22). It sells really well on eBay and its John Byrne so I figure it?s gotta be good. This series chronicles what happened between X-MEN #66 and GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1. Wait, isn't that the time period that has become the focus of my CGC collection? Yes, yes it is. OK kids, time for bed, daddy's got some reading to do!
    Til next time...
     
    ***

  17. surfer99
    Latest addition, 1st appearance?
    This is one I?ve wanted for a long time and it?s been really hard to find in high grade. I was searching on ComicLink and saw that one had sold a couple months ago and was bummed because I would?ve paid more than what it sold for, but then I did a search on eBay and found the exact same copy/serial number?which I ended up getting for almost half the price! It features the first appearance of the Silver Samurai (real name: Kenuichio Harada) and sports a great battle cover against Daredevil. Crazy how different he looked then compared to the Modern Age where he?s all decked out in his silver garb. Reminds me of how different Bullseye looked in S.H.I.E.L.D. #15 compared to Daredevil #131 (I realize they?re not the same person, but they did take on the same identity). The Silver Samurai and Wolverine have had some fierce battles over the years and they have a long history together (he is the half-brother of Wolverine?s love, Mariko Yashida). He?s a great character and I?m very happy to be adding this gem to my collection.
    http://marvel.com/universe/Silver_Samurai
    http://www.comicvine.com/silver-samurai/29-3174/
    Decided to do some searching on the internet for the Silver Samurai and learned that he is purported to be a central character in the new Wolverine movie scheduled for 2013! According to rumors Ken Wantanabe is being considered for the role. That would be pretty cool (and funny since they?re both named ?Ken?)!
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430132/
    1979 X-men #128 CGC 9.6
    I also just picked up a CGC 9.6 copy of X-men 128 for a really good price. I love the cover on this one, and the fact that it stars Proteus?the mutant Wolverine fears because of his reality warping abilities! Makes sense, Wolverine relies on his heightened senses for everything and when he can?t rely on them he completely freaks out. ?A fist of ice closes around Nightcrawler?s heart as ? for the first time since they both joined the X-men ? he hears the sound of fear in Wolverine?s voice.? (Excerpt from X-men #127.) Great story!
    http://marvel.wikia.com/Kevin_MacTaggert_%28Earth-616%29
    Til next time?
    ***

  18. surfer99
    Better to have loved and lost...
    Ever get to looking at your books and think, "This comic doesn't really fit in my collection anymore?" It's like, you loved it when you first got it, but then your collection just kind of evolved in a different direction. That's what happened to me and I decided that rather than hold on to these books, I will put them up for auction so someone else can enjoy them for awhile. I can also use the money gained to expand my current collection of Bronze Age X-men appearances (I still love the Silver Surfer though so I'm holding on to those for now). Having said that, these are the books I will be putting up for sale in the next couple weeks (more than likely on eBay).
    Alpha Flight #33 Universal CGC 9.6, 1st Lady Deathstrike
    Alpha Flight #34 Universal CGC 9.6, 2nd Lady Deathstrike
    Amazing Spider-Man #129 Universal CGC 8.0, 1st Punisher
    Sub-Mariner #34 Universal CGC 8.5, Defenders prelude
    Wolverine #1 Universal CGC 9.6
    Wolverine #2 Universal CGC 9.6
    Wolverine #3 Universal CGC 9.6
    Wolverine #4 Universal CGC 9.6
    Wolverine #5 Universal CGC 9.8
    Wolverine #6 Universal CGC 9.6
    Wolverine #7 Universal CGC 9.8, Hulk
    Wolverine #8 Universal CGC 9.4, Hulk
    Wolverine #9 Universal CGC 9.8
    Wolverine #10 Universal CGC 9.6, Sabretooth
    Wolverine Vol. 3 #20 Universal CGC 9.6 retailer incentive
    Some of these were hard to come by and the first appearance of the Punisher of course is a key issue, but I feel good about this decision and I know someone else will be thrilled to add them to their collection.
    Til next time...
    ***

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  19. surfer99
    Latest addition?
    You know, I told myself I wasn?t going to buy any comics this year because I?ve been spending too much in my opinion. I love collecting comics, but really there are others things in life I could be spending my money on?painting the house, buying new appliances, paying off credit card debt, putting money in savings (we are crazy to spend like the money will always be there), not to mention going on a mission trip to love and serve those extremely less fortunate in Malawi or Haiti (I want to do this soon). So the realization I came to was rather than do away with comic spending all year like I?d planned, I?ll just limit my expenses.
    I tried to pick up a copy of Fantastic Four #104 CGC 9.6 on ComicLink recently but I was outbid last minute (OK, which one of you snagged my book!?). I love that issue because of the great cover and it features one of my favorite villains. Alas, it was not meant to be. That?s OK though, I am happy with my consolation prize that is the title of this article- Hulk #161. This book has been on my want list for a long time, it?s part of Marvel Masterworks X-men Vol. 7 which I?m collecting the individual issues of, and the price was right ($60 less than it?s been on eBay). That?s a purchase I feel good about, and it looks great framed and mounted on my wall (Frame-It Again Sam frames work GREAT!) next to my other top 8 books (hey, just thought of that- I should pick up a couple more frames so I?ll have a ?Top 10?).
    This will move me up a little in the rankings, but not as much as I?d like?I prefer to be in the top 500. For now though I?ll have to be content with moving just past the poor old duck loving man?no really, his member name is ?pooroldman? and he has a nice Donald Duck collection.
    Til next time?
    ***

  20. surfer99

    Collection update

    By surfer99,

    Just added quotes and storylines?
    I was surfing the net a few weeks ago hoping to learn more tidbits about the comics in my collection?reviews, back story, trivia, etc. (yeah, I know, get a life right) and I ran across this really cool web site, http://marvel.wikia.com/Contents that has all of these things for every Marvel comic ever made, from 1939 to present. Maybe I?m the last person to find this site, but I thought I?d share anyway.
    I just finished adding a link to every one of my comics so I can check out the details of each book at a glance, and I?ve included a memorable quote from each book as well. I think this one from The Champions #16 might be my favorite- "You can take the hero out of the X-Men, but you can't take the X-Man out of the hero!" -- The Beast (Hank McCoy)
    This was a fun exercise and it gave me a chance to go back and really look at some of these issues which I hadn?t read in years.
    Til next time?
     
    ***

  21. surfer99
    Latest addition, or I blame Tnerb...
    You know what? Writing these journals is almost as much fun as collecting the comics themselves?I said ALMOST!
    So in an attempt to be fiscally responsible this year, I pledged not to buy any CGC books in 2011, period. Well, I couldn?t even make it to March and I blame Tnerb! ?Check out this auction? he tells me. ?You don?t have to place the winning bid, just bid? he tells me. So what do I do? I place the bid and win the book! Just kidding Tnerb, I appreciate the head?s up on this one and I?m actually very happy with my purchase and the price. It didn?t hurt that I had a really nice bonus at work either.
    This book now becomes my oldest CGC 9.6 to date (January 1971) and it even has White pages. Man that was 40 years ago! How crazy is that? I often wonder how the book stayed in such great shape all these years?bags and boards haven?t been around that long and we all know how easy it is to damage a book (just check out this journal from Lee K http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=8276). Whoever the original owner was, you know they loved the book and took the necessary steps to keep it safe all these years. Thanks to the great protection provided by the CGC case it?s in now I will continue to look after this gem for years to come!
    So not only is this my oldest CGC 9.6 but it?s also the first appearance of an X-man (Iceman) since the team?s flagship title was cancelled (March 1970). That alone was enough to put this book at the top of my wish list so I?m really happy to have it safely tucked away in my collection now where it belongs. Now if I could just figure out how to display it?I?ve seen those wooden frames you can buy that let you slide the books in and out, but I?m not sure I?m sold on the idea of a wooden frame.
    Well now that I have the ASM #92, what?s next on my wish list you ask? I don?t want to say right now because I know Tnerb will find it and then I?ll have to buy it! ! Who knows, maybe I will end up with another CGC book or two this year after all, we?ll see. J
    Til next time?
     
    ***

  22. surfer99

    Marvel Masterworks

    By surfer99,

    Always a collector?
    OK so I said I?d take it easy on buying CGC books in 2011, but I didn?t say I?d stop collecting comics! Just found and bought two Marvel Masterworks hardcover books that collect a lot of my favorite X-men appearances! SO cool!! I have reader copies of all these already, but the collected editions will look great on my bookshelf and provide me with a resource for quick reference and frequent re-reading!
    Marvel Masterworks Volume 7 features Amazing Adventures #11 on the cover and collects the following?Amazing Adventures #11-17, Amazing Spider-man #92, Marvel Team-up #4 and the Incredible Hulk #150 and #161. My favorite writer of the Bronze Age, Steve Englehart, wrote a cool Introduction in 2008. I won?t give you all the details, but I will share the first paragraph with you?
    ?Once upon a time, The X-men didn?t sell. Let?s see if I can make that statement comprehensible. In 1963, Marvel introduced two new super-teams, both written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. One was The Avengers, which featured all the popular heroes Marvel had already established. The other was The X-men, which featured five teenagers no one had ever heard of, led by a cripple, who fought villains no one had ever heard of, like Magneto and the Scarlet Witch. Oddly enough, The Avengers sold quite well, and with its sixth issue went from bi-monthly to monthly. The X-men did not sell quite well, and when its ?twin? went monthly and it didn?t, it solidified itself in readers? minds as a second-rate title.?
    I guess I understand, but isn?t it funny how things turned out?
    Marvel Masterworks Volume 8 features Avengers #110 on the cover and collects the following?The Avengers #110-111, Captain America #172-175, Incredible Hulk #172, #180-181, Marvel Team-Up #23, #38, The Defenders #15-16 and Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4. Steve wrote the Preface for this one (Roy Thomas wrote the Introduction) in 2009. This just solidifies why Steve is my favorite writer of the Bronze Age?the man kept the X-men alive and in the spotlight when they didn?t have their own title! Take a look at the first couple paragraphs from this one?
    ?Once upon a time, the X-men had lost their title, but I wanted to resurrect them. The first book I ever did was Amazing Adventures, featuring the Beast on his own, and I made sure to get the other X-ers in there. Then, when the Beast was cancelled, I worked the team into my other books over the next few years. What I didn?t realize, until Masterworks editor Corey Sedlmeier pointed it out, was that I was essentially their ?sole standard-bearer?. That really does come as news to me. I liked them and wanted to keep them in the public eye, but since I was ?featuring? them, I never thought of them the way I thought of the Avengers, the Hulk, or Captain America. Those guys had titles, and I wrote those titles. The X-men beyond the Beast were community property. I assumed the community was using them too, but I guess not like I was.
    I just liked them, so I used them, to help tell stories about the main characters in my books. I could do this because the Marvel Universe was a coherent entity, so the X-men continued to exist in it even if they had no comic to call their own.?
    Thank you Steve! Something else I learned from reading this, but should have guessed, is that Steve wrote the plot for Incredible Hulk #172 (even though it was un-credited) to wrap up the Juggernaut portion of the storyline he started in Amazing Adventures #16. I love that he didn?t just leave the story hanging when Amazing Adventures got cancelled. He previously wrapped up the Beast part of that story in Incredible Hulk #161, featured in Marvel Masterworks Volume 7 above. Again, thank you Steve, you are appreciated more than you know!
     
    Til next time?
     
    ***

  23. surfer99
    Final addition?
    My final CGC purchase of 2010 is Iron Fist #15 CGC 9.6 with white pages. It?s fitting that my last book of the year is also the last book in this series. I didn?t plan on buying anymore comics this year, but I had to bid on this and was shocked and ecstatic when I won. In this issue, Iron Fist meets the X-men for the first time?and of course misunderstandings become a battle royale! Good times. As an added bonus, this book has the third highest point total in my collection so far (behind Hulk 181 CGC 8.0 and X-men 107 CGC 9.6). A very welcome addition to my Bronze Age collection of X-men appearances!
    Well, that?s it for this year. Hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and a blessed New Year in 2011!
    P.S.- THANK you CGC Registry for updating the point totals on some of our previously undervalued comics!
    Til next time?
     
    ***

  24. surfer99
    It?s been a great year, but?
    I figure with it being December and all, it?s a good time to reflect on the year from a collecting standpoint. I?ve had some success in adding books that I really really wanted, and I had to let a few go in order to help pay for them, but I have no regrets (other than paying too much in the first place for the books I sold at much less than cost). So let?s take a look and see which CGC books I was able to add to my collection this year?
    02/08/2010 Power-man and Iron Fist #57 CGC 9.6
    03/08/2010 Hulk #150 CGC 9.6
    03/16/2010 Captain America #175 CGC 9.6
    03/17/2010 Marvel Team-up #53 CGC 9.6
    03/26/2010 Avengers #111 CGC 9.6
    04/15/2010 Power-man and Iron Fist #66 CGC 9.6
    08/06/2010 Marvel Team-up Annual #1 CGC 9.6
    08/30/2010 Marvel Team-up #4 CGC 9.6
    11/19/2010 Champions #16 CGC 9.6
    12/08/2010 (I?ll let this one be a surprise and post it later)
     
    OK, I obviously had no willpower in March, . Darn tax refund, more tempting than Dunkin Doughnuts! It?s hard having all that money in your hand?I should have paid off debt instead, but I nooo, I had to buy comics! Argh! I?m surprised I didn?t add any new X-men books this year. It wasn?t for lack of trying mind you, I just kept getting outbid and wasn?t willing to pay more than I wanted to pay, you know? X-men books are great and I look forward to completing the collection, but there?s no rarity factor there?you can always find high grade X-men books if you can afford them.
    I?ve had to wait a year or more to obtain some of these books so it?s very satisfying to own them now. It?s funny though, you have all this built up anticipation to find and buy a particular book, and then once you have it, like Tnerb you find yourself asking, ?OK, what?s next?? Why is that? I think its human nature; it?s just the way God designed us. We like the thrill of the chase. For me, I will always collect comics and some I will never part with, but I figure a little self-discipline can?t be a bad thing. And let?s face it, comics don?t grow on trees?ok, I guess technically they came from trees, but that?s not the point. The fact is high grade comics aren?t cheap and I am very happy with my current collection. That being said, I?m going to do my best not to buy any CGC books in 2011 and instead live vicariously through watching my friends build up their collections. If I can?t make it the whole year, I pray I at least make it through March!
    With this being the holiday season, I hope everyone has a very Merry CHRISTmas (that?s I right, I said Christmas, not the politically correct, ?Seasons Greetings?) and blessed New Year! Lastly, let?s all make a point of being nice to someone this week who doesn?t deserve it. God would love that!
    Til next time?
     
    ***

  25. surfer99
    If you had to go through your collection?
    ?and choose just 10 comics to keep, getting rid of ALL the others, which would YOU keep? I know, I know, a very difficult decision, but if your house is burning down and you?ve got to grab and go (after caring for your family and pets of course), which 10 books would you choose?
    I?m not a big fan of the ?What if? series, but it?s kind of cool to think about the concept. For me, this is the list of top 10 books I own that I could NEVER see myself parting with?
    1. Amazing Adventures #16 CGC 9.6 Off-White/White Pages
    Why this book? A. This one is near and dear to me. Check out my 10/07/2008 journal entry for more on this one?Juggernaut rocks.
    2. Avengers #110 CGC 9.6 White Pages
    Why this book? A. This is the one that got away?then I found the same exact book months later and paid even less than I bid previously! Check out my 10/09/2008 journal for the whole story.
    3. Avengers #111 CGC 9.6 White Pages
    Why this book? A. Ties in with issue #110 and has a tough black cover.
    4. Captain America #172 CGC 9.6 White Pages
    Why this book? A. Bronze Age X-men and Banshee crossover appearance.
    5. Captain America #173 CGC 9.6 White Pages
    Why this book? A. Bronze Age X-men and Cap team-up- nice!
    6. Giant-Size X-men #1 CGC 8.0 Off-White Pages
    Why this book? A. This one speaks for itself and I?m a huge fan.
    7. Hulk #150 CGC 9.6 Off-White to White Pages
    Why this book? A. Rare (11/35 copies in this grade or higher) Bronze Age X-men appearance featuring first ever crossover with Havok and Polaris.
    8. Hulk #172 CGC 9.6 White Pages
    Why this book? A. Smashing cover, early crossover appearance of the X-men and an all out slugfest between Juggernaut and Hulk. That?s what I?m talking about!
    9. Hulk #181 CGC 8.0 Off-White Pages
    Why this book? A. Besides the obvious, this is the first CGC book I?ve ever owned?it was a gift from my wife (God bless her!).
    10. Marvel Team-up #4 CGC 9.6 White Pages
    Why this book? A. Newest addition! This is a very cool, rare (21/128 copies in this grade or higher) black cover, featuring an early Bronze Age original X-men crossover appearance while their own title was in re-print mode. Love it!
    Of course there are many other books I own that I don?t want to part with (my X-men collection in particular), but if push came to shove I?m holding onto the 10 above.
    Would love to hear about some of your top 10 lists!
    Til next time?
    ***