surfer99

Latest addition...at last. The title of this journal was either going to be ?Getting outbid blows? or ?Latest addition?. I?m thankful it?s the latter and I?m still trippin that I actually own this comic (I elected to wait until the book was actually in my hand before posting this). It?s been a long stressful crazy road. This is the first comic I?ve ever bought from an auction site (company name withheld) outside of eBay and the experience has been nerve-racking to say the least. The auction was announced a MONTH before it began so there was plenty of time for the anticipation to build. It seemed like forever before the auction finally started and then I didn?t want to bid right away because it might generate more interest in the book than I wanted, and drive up the price. At the same time I didn?t want to wait too long and risk something going wrong (I?ve kicked myself before for waiting too long to bid and forgetting about it until the auction was already over). So about three days before the auction was scheduled to end, I placed a large bid and became ?high bidder?. Now I just had to wait until Saturday at 10:00PM EST for the auction to end to see if I won. This is where it gets weird. I tried to login to the auction website at around 6:30PM on Saturday to see how I was doing, but I couldn?t get on. I was finally able to login and check the auction about 15 minutes or so AFTER the auction was scheduled to end. I was still high bidder, but just barely. The current bid was within a few dollars of my maximum bid amount, but the auction showed an end date/time of Sunday at 10:00PM EST. Say what?!? The auction should have ended, but instead it?s been extended another day? I immediately e-mailed the tech support/customer service team for the auction site to find out what happened and express my concerns (I should have won the book, but instead the chances are now very good that I?ll get outbid). Their customer support was very understanding and supportive, and advised they would end the listing immediately, making me the winner of the auction. Sure enough, I brought up my account and it said ?Congratulations! You are winner of this book.? Score!!! Then about 30 minutes later I get an e-mail from a senior executive at the auction website who explained the problem. Turns out the images were so large on all their current auctions and so many people were trying to access the site that their systems crashed. Because of this, bidders were not able to login and place their bids during the last couple hours of the auctions. Their solution was to disallow viewing of the large scans toward the end of the auctions going forward and to extend the current auctions another 24 hours so that anyone who was unable to access the site to place their bids would have the opportunity to do so. I'm thinking, that?s great but I was already assured this book was mine...right? Or are you saying that I?m out of luck now? The next day I checked the auction and it still showed that I had won, but it didn?t give me the option of completing my checkout. I sent an e-mail to customer support and asked why I could not purchase the book. I was told a customer service manager would be contacting me on Monday to discuss it. Uh-oh, that doesn?t sound good, so I asked if I had cause for concern. The senior executive responded this time and assured me there was no need to be concerned. He stated I had won the comic, but an invoice had to be created manually. He advised my credit card would be charged and my book would be sent. It took a few days, but my credit card was finally charged. Even then, it wasn?t until I received the book yesterday that I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions! I?m thankful to the Staff and the Executive Team at this auction website for making the right call and I will hopefully be using them again in the near future. So why all the fuss over this book you ask? There are many reasons?it?s from the early Bronze Age (1973), it?s the HIGHEST graded copy on the census (only 11 copies exist in this grade out of only 46 total graded copies), it features a terrific battle cover with one of my favorite villains (Juggernaut), not to mention The Avengers and Spider-man, widely recognized as the best looking cover of the entire series, and it rarely EVER becomes available for sale (according to GPAnalysis there is only 1 copy of this book for sale on average in this grade each year; the last sale was 04/08/2007). I am extremely fortunate and thankful to have added this book to my collection. Til next time. ***

Villains: X-men, Silver Surfer So there was some interest in the Random Registry Ramblings, but to keep things simple I?ll limit my posts to one or two topics at a time. Right now, let?s talk about? The art of the crossover- no I?m not talking about Steve Nash with a basketball I?m talking about great Silver/Bronze Age appearances by cool heroes/villains where the story continues from one title to another. For many of these you have no way of knowing what happened to a character prior to the book you?re reading unless you read the notes by the editor in the comic itself. Take Hulk 172 for example- it talks about how the Juggernaut was trapped in some other dimension before making his escape in Hulk 172. How did he get trapped in the first place? I want to read that story! The editor?s note in that panel says to see X-men 81 and Dr. Strange 182. How else would I know this? If not for the editor?s note I would never have had the chance to read that very cool back story. I enjoyed putting together the following list over the past several weeks so you can follow the exploits of some of my favorite villains as they jumped from one book to the next (in order of appearance). There may be some holes, but for the most part it should be complete through the Bronze Age (*note- this list does not include flashbacks, robots, clones, etc.). I?ve been trying to pick up reading copies of these to fill the gaps in my collection ever since I started this little project and I?m really glad I did. These stories rock! Enjoy. VILLIANS X-MEN Magneto: X-men 1 to X-men 4-7 to Journey into Mystery 109 to X-men 11 to X-men 17-18 (70 reprints) to Avengers 47-49 to X-men 43-45 (91-93 reprints) to Avengers 53 to X-men 63 to Fantastic Four 102-104 to Amazing Adventures 9-10 to Avengers 110 to (Daredevil 99- story continues, but no Magneto) Avengers 111 to Defenders 15-16 to X-men 104 to Captain America Annual 4 to Super-villain Team-up 14 to The Champions 16 to X-men 111-113 Juggernaut: X-men 12-13 (67 reprints) to X-men 32-33 (80-81 reprints) to X-men 46 to Dr. Strange 182 to Amazing Adventures 16 to Hulk 172 to X-men 101-103 to X-men 122 to Spider-woman 37-38 to Amazing Spider-man 229-230 to X-men 183 to Marvel Team-up 150 to X-men 194 to X-men 217-218 Sentinels: X-men 14-16 (68 reprint) to X-men 57-60 to Avengers 102-104 to X-men 98-100 to Hulk Annual 7 to The Champions 17 to X-men 151 to New Mutants 2 The Living Monolith (Pharaoh): X-men 54-56 to Marvel Team-up 69-70 to Power-man and Iron Fist 57 to Revenge of the Living Monolith Sabretooth: Iron Fist 13-14 to Power-Man and Iron Fist 66 to Power-man and Iron Fist 84 to Spectacular Spider-man 116 to Spectacular Spider-man 119 to Power Pack 27 to X-men 212-213 to X-men 222 to Daredevil 238 to Wolverine 10 VILLIANS SILVER SURFER Loki and Dormammu- Avengers/Defenders war: Defenders 8 to Avengers 116 to Defenders 9 to Avengers 117 to Defenders 10 to Avengers 118 (to Avengers Annual 11) Thanos: Iron Man 55 to Captain Marvel 25-30 to Marvel Feature 12 to Avengers 118 to Captain Marvel 31-32 to Avengers 125 to Captain Marvel 33 to Daredevil 107 to Warlock 9-15 to Iron Man 88 to Avengers Annual 7 to Marvel 2-in-1 Annual 2 to Logan?s Run 6 to Captain Marvel 57 to Avengers 174 Super-Skrull: Fantastic Four 18 to Fantastic Four 32 to Thor 142 to Captain Marvel 2-3 to Captain Marvel 25-27 to Marvel Chillers 7 to Marvel Team-up 61-62 to Alpha Flight 9-10 to Silver Surfer Annual 1 (Volume 3) to Silver Surfer 25-28 (Volume 3) I?ll leave you with an image of my latest acquisition, Defenders 15 CGC 9.6, off-white to white pages. Magneto is one of my favorite characters and I just couldn?t resist the chance to grab this high grade Bronze Age issue for such a great price (thanks again finuga). Til next time. ***

Issue 1 I?ve been having a lot of fun with my registry set lately and wanted to share my experiences, but then I thought why not make this a recurring event? So if you?re reading this, welcome to issue #1!! Quick about me- I?m a Christian family man who enjoys collecting high grade Bronze Age appearances of the X-men and Silver Surfer. If this sounds like someone you have no interest in hearing from please stop reading now, otherwise proceed. Finding comics and determining value- up ?til this point I?ve only looked to purchase and/or sell books through eBay. I?ve been a member of eBay for almost 10 years and I?ve always done really well in spite of the fees. When it comes to collecting however it can be extremely tough to find the high grade books I want (I suppose if they were easy to find they wouldn?t be as much fun to collect, but still). I thought for sure I?d find some great issues at Comic-Con but no such luck (unless I bought them unslabbed which I did not want to do). I did however find a few great web sites that many of you may already be familiar with- Heritage Auctions, Pedigree Comics, Comic Connect and Worldwide Comics. It?s been a lot of fun using these web sites to search for comics I want and at the same time I?m able to search for books in the same grade that I already own that have been sold- knowing the selling price helps me determine whether or not I?ve made a wise investment. Of course if you?re like many collectors you could just let GPAnalysis do all this for you, but personally I?d rather not spend the $9.95/month, and besides it?s more fun to do it myself. Cover markings- one thing that makes absolutely no sense to me is the grading of books that have writing on the cover. How is it that some of these covers can have grease pencil marks or date stamps but have no mention of that on the label while others, even though they are still Universal, are noted on the label by CGC as having a ?pencil marking?? I understand it doesn?t affect the grade, but it looks terrible in my opinion and it should be disclosed by CGC on the label in every instance since not all sellers are honest enough to bring it to your attention up front. The lesson here is buyers beware and if in doubt ask questions! Latest addition- I recently picked up an Iron Man Annual 4 CGC 9.6 off eBay. I can?t believe this book is so undervalued. It features a really cool cover and appearance by the Champions (yeah I know they didn?t last long, but hey the team included Iceman and Angel from the X-men so they?re cool in my book!) and it?s one of only 6 in the highest grade on the census. Score! Well that?s it for now. I suppose if you like listening to me ramble on about comics I?ll know it by the number of views you give this posting. If there?s interest I?ll write again at some other point, if not then I?ll limit my posts to one topic at a time. I?m out. Be cool, hug your kids and bring your wife flowers just because. ***

Comic-Con is a must for any fan. My family and I just drove back home to Arizona after spending five amazing days at the San Diego Comic-Con. Everyone had a great time and the weather was nice. If you go next year though, be prepared to spend a lot of money because hotel ($120/night), gas ($75/tank) and food ($12-25/person/meal) are expensive. Taking the trolley from the hotel (we stayed in Hotel Circle) to the Con helps because it?s only $15/person for a four day pass and you don?t have to pay for parking ($10/day) or fight for a parking spot (most lots are FULL anyway). Let me tell you, preview night was in-sane. A local TV station reported ?a select group of fans who purchased four day passes were lucky enough to attend preview night on Wednesday?. ?Select group? my butt; dude, there were SO many people there on Wednesday (had to be 100,000) that the Convention Center staff was completely lost, lines were crossing over into one another, people were cutting in, it was just mass pandemonium (and that was just to pick up your badges!). Once you got inside it felt like riding the subway during rush hour with people packed in every aisle. The only reason I would recommend doing this is to snag any books you want before someone else does. If there?s not something you?re looking for in particular, skip it and wait til Thursday or just go for the weekend. The rest of the week was great. Much less crowded and you were able to take it all in one row at a time. The place is HUGE so you?ll need a couple days just to get through it all (and be sure to bring your walking shoes). I haven?t been to the Con in 8 years so it felt like everything was a new experience. The booths were all tricked out and there was definitely a Hollywood influence (Paramount, Sony, NBC, ABC, Nickelodeon and Fox to name a few). There are some cool photos on http://www.comicspriceguide.com/ to give you a feel for what it was like. This year we decided to check out some of the panels for the first time- highly recommended. We didn?t make it to the Heroes panel, but we did get to see the LOST panel, the Chuck panel and the Nickelodeon panel. It?s a great chance to listen to the actors and creators talk about what?s happening on your favorite shows and watch exclusive footage for the upcoming season. On the last day of the Con we attended the Michael Turner tribute panel. It was cool to hear Mike?s family and friends talk about the good times they shared with Mike and at the same time watch a slide show of personal experiences Mike shared with them (while working, on vacation, at the bar, etc). There was laughing and there was crying. I was doing great until Mike?s best friend, Frank Mastromauro (who has been a very close friend of mine for many years), spoke at the end then I just lost it (there was not a dry eye in the house). Mike was such an extraordinary talent, but a lot people don?t realize what a great person and friend he really was also. Anyone that goes to the Con is also encouraged to take full advantage of all that San Diego has to offer rather than spending every minute inside. We spent a couple of hours one afternoon taking a seal tour http://www.sealtours.com/ which is an amphibious (land/sea) vehicle and we spent Friday going deep sea fishing http://www.pointlomasportfishing.com/ (caught 4 Kelp Bass and 1 Barracuda, packed ?em in dry ice and ate ?em when we got home- SO good!). There are also several fantastic seafood restaurants in the area and Seaport Village is a great place to pick up some souvenirs. All in all we had one of the best vacations ever. As far as comics go, I found some nice hard to find reader copies I was looking for, but I struck out on finding any of the CGC books I really wanted. While there were several booths that carried CGC books, I was surprised there were not more CGC books there. There were plenty of high grade raw copies I could have snagged, but I?d rather not risk it (because they may grade lower than what I?m paying for or they may have restoration). Guess I?ll have to go back to searching eBay for those. Well, that?s it for now. Hope to see you at next year?s Con!!! ***

You will be missed. Michael Turner 1971-2008 A really good friend of mine called from Santa Monica and broke the news to me the morning after it happened. I had only met Mike a couple of times when I was in town visiting my friend, who was very close to Mike, but anyone who has ever met him will tell you what a great person he was. Mike was well known by friends, family and fans for being one of the nicest most genuine guys you?d ever want to meet. What I will remember most is his smile, sincerity, big heart, determination, and certainly his passion for the comics industry. He has left a legacy that will never be forgotten and this world is left a better place because he was in it. We will miss you Mike. Please keep Mike?s friends and family in your prayers. --- http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16988 http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080628-Turner.html http://www.aspencomics.com/ http://www.wizarduniverse.com/062808michaelturner.html ---

Latest addition; up next...San Diego! Well, I took my own advice and spent a little more on a book that has all the qualities I'm looking for: rare high grade issue from the Bronze age (only 9 of these on the CGC census to date...and it's the highest graded copy), a sweet battle cover, a guest appearance by my favorite character, and it even includes Chapter 1 of The Defenders vs. The Avengers epic battle (GREAT story!). Thank you finuga for parting with this one! The book also features a "bondage cover" showing Hawkeye and Valkerie trapped by the Red Ghost. Admittedly I don't understand the significance of this, but that's cool. The only problem I have with buying this book now? I'm trying to save up for the San Diego Comic Con in July! Ugh! Oh well who knows, maybe I'll get there and I won't be able to find any good books. Yeah, that'll happen. Guess I'll have to get a second job to support my habit! Hey, don't judge me, it's not like I'm blowing it at the casino or at the bar or something. This is an investment! Besides, collecting comics is a blast and next to spending time in God's word or with my wife and kids, nothing else compares. Til next time... ***

Latest addition. What can I say? I love high grade Marvel comics from the 1970's featuring guest appearances of my favorite characters and GREAT covers like this! Hulk #172 CGC 9.6= $200. Hulk and Juggernaut smashing through a wall together causing untold amounts of destruction= priceless. This is what comic book collecting should be! Sure, if you're lucky you can find a Hulk #181 CGC 5.0 for around the same price, but keep in mind there are currently 2976 copies of that book on record at that grade or higher (according to the CGC census). Conversely, there are only 25 copies listed of Hulk #172 in CGC 9.6 or higher. To get an idea of the rarity factor, do a search on eBay for Hulk 181 CGC and Hulk 172 CGC and see how many you can find of each. I'm not saying Hulk #181 isn't a great book, I've got a CGC 8.0 copy myself, but in terms of collectibility my money's on the book that has everything going for it (rarity due to condition, rarity due to age, limited availabilty, great cover and a high action crossover featuring my favorite characters). On a completely unrelated note...my Phoenix Suns traded Shawn Marion for Shaq. I will have to take the high road like everyone else and reserve judgment on that one, but a championship would be nice! Go Suns! ...

Collecting CGC books is not so easy. When I first started collecting CGC books about a year ago I thought, OK, the first thing I'll do is go through my 1500+ comics and slab my favorite books if they are in decent condition. Some I even sent to be pressed to get the best possible grade (note- for those who may not know, "pressing" is the process of flattening your book and getting the creases/spine roll out...this process is not considered "restoration" so you will still get a Universal Blue label from CGC). I also searched eBay and bought high grade copies of the cool alternate covers I wanted and sent them to CGC as well. Most of the books came back with grades I was happy with at the time and I enjoyed them, along with some other mid-grade key issues I scored off eBay. Several months later something weird happened. Suddenly those mid-grade books and variant covers I had amassed didn?t satisfy me anymore. I realized, ?Hey, these books are more common, less collectible and less valuable than the higher grade older books.? So, I started selling a lot of my new CGC books?I upgraded some (ASM 129 CGC 6.0 to CGC 8.0, GS X-men 1 CGC 5.0 to CGC 8.0, etc.) and ditched others altogether (DD 168 CGC 7.5, X-men 133-134 CCG 9.0, X-men 188 Sketch Variant CGC 9.8, etc.). I lost money on some and made money on others but all in all it?s been a good experience. So what have I learned so far? 1) Don?t send in books for pressing unless you are confident they will come back with a high enough grade to make it worth the investment and one you will be happy with in the long run, 2) Don?t settle for a lesser grade if there is any way possible for you to go for a higher grade (if it costs you an extra $100 to go from a CGC 9.4 to a 9.6 or 9.8, do it!!), 3) Buy books that you want to treasure forever, not books that you think will just be a good investment?especially be wary of spending a lot on Modern age variant covers (I bought the Civil War CGC sketch cover set because the art rocks so hard, not because I think it?ll skyrocket in value), 4) Bronze and Modern age books I loved because of the cool covers but didn?t think were worth much are now the pride of my collection and a great investment in high grade (Captain America 173 and 241 CGC 9.6, Doctor Strange 2 CGC 9.6, ASM 161 CGC 9.6, Hulk 250 CGC 9.8, etc.), and 5) never ever spend hundreds of dollars on a raw un-graded book (I bought my first Hulk 181 on eBay, sent it to CGC, and it came back with a ?restored? 7.0 grade?ugh!). I wish someone had told me these things from the beginning, but hopefully some of you will at least find this information helpful. Happy collecting!

My love of comics began with the Silver Surfer. I've been collecting comics for 20 years. I got started when a friend of mine gave me half a dozen Silver Surfer books because he and I liked to surf together. I've been hooked ever since, and the Silver Surfer remains my favorite character of all time. I also enjoy Amazing Spider-man, Uncanny X-men and Wolverine. CGC is a new passion I've developed over the last couple of years. It's the perfect way to preserve, assess the value of, and admire my favorite books. Granted, I can't read them encased in plastic like that, but that's what reader copies and re-prints are for right?