Mewie

I'm fairly new to the the CGC community (started collecting slabs last summer) and I just spent the past hour reading this thread  

Submitted my New Mutants 98 in July 2022 to CGC (at San Diego Comic Con) as part of my first submission batch from my personal collection. After reading how strict CGC is, I didn't expect a good grade. After all, I've have my comics stored in various parts of my homes (including the garage) and I never rebagged or added new cardboard. I felt like I took good care while reading and enjoying my comics, but I had no idea what "near mint" consists of. So I was ecstatic to get my collection back last month... with the 9.8 grade. Whoever my presser at CCS and grader at CGC were - THANK YOU! I thought the blackish print marks in the middle of this cover would be a ding on the grade but i guess not - no complaints here!

I also didn't realized I had the Newsstand Edition. Mainly because when I was a kid, I would typically ignore bar coded covers because I find them ugly. I forgot how I purchased NM 98, but I remember why - it was simply to complete the NM series since I got hooked from issue 95 - the X-tinction Agenda storyline was my first entrance into the X-men universe and I loved the collaboration with all the mutants, and was so sad with the death of Warlock. 

I'm pretty sure I bought NM 98 for $1. So I feel like I won the lottery  This comic is the most valuable comic I possess today since I only started collecting comics from the early 90's. And then I stopped when I went off to college in 1998. It's been a WILD adventure collecting CGC comics and slabbing my personal collection from last year and I look forward to building up my slabbed collection for the rest of my life (and then hand it all to my kids).

With that said, I don't plan on keeping this issue for the long-run. I absolutely love Ryan Reynolds in the films, but the cover art (those LEGS) really bother me haha I'm thinking of waiting until there's more hype for Deadpool 3 but who knows, maybe there will be a comic book price bubble bursting beforehand. We shall see!

SPAWN GODSLAYER 6 - CGC 9.8 
Well, this is it! The last one! I will go through my files again in search of any strays, but I think we're finally done. 
It's taken us 16 months to get through it. I tried to maintain a pace of one book per day. I came close, but I failed. Maybe my dissertation had something to do with it? 
A truly massive collection. The sheer size of it was one of the reasons why I had to get rid of it. 
I'll had additional thoughts on this collection coming soon, so stay tuned if you're interested. 
If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them! I can't tell you anything in the way of cost or profit, other than the whole affair was stupidly expensive, and I wish that I would have bought Bitcoin instead.  
Thanks to everyone who's been tuning in. 
My goal with the collection was to complete a genuine archive of the entire series. I was approaching it for fun, but also out of a desire to preserve the world's finest record of McFarlane's work. I accomplished my goal. This was truly the finest collection of graded Spawn books that have ever been assembled, and it will be extremely difficult and extremely expensive for anyone who attempts to even match it. These statements aren't about me. They are about the collection.
Unfortunately, the collection is no more. It's been busted up and all of them have long since moved on to new owners. 
After selling the rarest variants piecemeal, I sold the overwhelming bulk of the collection to a massive dealer who will remain unnamed. I personally drove the comics in a rental car and did the deal in person. I would have made much more money selling them individually, but with such a massive collection, you have to consider the cost and logistics involved with packaging and shipping all those books. Not to mention the time involved! It was much easier for me to sell them altogether to a dependable buyer. Much easier and safer to move them myself than to package them. It was a marathon 22 hour round trip, but the deal was done, and I moved on. 
My next focus was assembling robot covers from the Golden and Atomic ages. I had an incredible collection. I sold them all. Really regret that, too. Now, I'm working on getting a few of them back. I've also decided that I will no longer have a focus. I'm tracking down any book that looks cool to me...I have obligated myself to only purchase "elite" copies of each issue. By elite, I mean a pedigreed or top/near-top census copy. My buying has slowed to an absolute crawl. Buying top copies ain't cheap, and there is a bottom to the wallet that's even more shallow after some major lifestyle upgrades over the last few years. Nicer housing and all the associated expenses, for example, comes with a steep cost these days. Kids ain't cheap, either. Especially when you insist on giving them the best you can. 
I got a lot of enjoyment out of the Spawn run before the variant game robbed me of every last ounce of it. I've also gotten a lot of enjoyment going back over the collection with all of you. It's been fun reliving the hunt! 
Happy collecting! 
I will be posting "ranked lists" over the next few weeks. Stop by if that intrigues you or feel free to create your own! This thread is open for any discussion related to Spawn. Cheers! 
 

SPAWN GODSLAYER 3 - CGC 9.8 
Honestly, all these Anacleto covers are pretty amazing. 
Philip Tan interiors? Yeah. I'm onboard with this. 
 

SPAWN GODSLAYER 4 - CGC 9.8 
Folks, we wrap up the journey tomorrow! 
 

SPAWN GODSLAYER 5 - MISSING 
I've never before displayed the image of a missing book in this thread, but I am breaking with tradition because this cover really...speaks to me in a primal sense. 
Final book tomorrow...

CURSE OF THE SPAWN 11 - CGC 9.8 
Another must-have for Angela fans. 
 

CURSE OF THE SPAWN 5-8 MISSING 
CURSE OF THE SPAWN 9 - CGC 9.8 - SIGNED BY GREG CAPULLO 
My last signature book, and she is a beauty! I'm sure Angela fans will agree...
This was a big month for me. I turned 18 and graduated high school. 
 

CURSE OF THE SPAWN 10 - CGC 9.8 
Another beautiful Angela cover. 
 

SPAWN MOVIE PREMIER EDITION - CGC 9.8 
A brutally difficult book for many reasons! 
This is STILL the only universal 9.8 out there. According to the census, there are also two signed copies in that grade. 
Not many of these out there. Very difficult. 
Rare "photo" cover. Interior reprints Spawn 61. Compare the photo cover to the cover of Spawn 61...
 

SPAWN-BATMAN - CGC 9.8 - SIGNED BY FRANK MILLER AND TODD MCFARLANE
I've explained this before, but I really took the time to window the books for prime signature placement. I also requested specific ink colors. Things didn't always turn out the way I planned, but many times they did. 
See how the font on the cover is silver for Miller and gold for Todd? 
Now notice the signature inks. Also, the placement. Batman was on top...so was Miller's sig. 

The twin sigs make something special of an otherwise non-spectacular book (sold about a billion copies, very common in high grade). 
 

SPAWN/BATMAN WAR DEVIL - CGC 9.8 
What the world...needs now...
isn't love...sweet love...
it's another Spawn/Batman crossover. Here ya go! 
Again, pardon the reflections from these double-thick slabs. 
 

SPAWN BIBLE - CGC 9.8 
Tomorrow...an interesting book with a provenance certificate! 
 

SPAWN RESURRECTION 1 - CGC 9.8 
 

SPAWN CAPITAL COLLECTION - CGC 9.8 
Rumored print run of just over one thousand. 
Many of them, like this one, were signed. 
A provenance certificate was included with this copy. I've attached it here for your perusal. 
 

 

I have never seen or even heard of this! Cool!

SPAWN 2 FAN EDITION - PLATINUM VARIANT - CGC 9.8 
Try finding one of these in your LCS. 
 

SPAWN FAN EDITION 3 - CGC 9.8 
 

SPAWN FAN EDITION 3 - GOLD FOIL VARIANT - CGC 9.8 
 

CRUSADE OF COMICS PRESENTS SPAWN 1 - CGC 9.9 
Notes from Spawnworld:This mini comic was sold inside "Todd McFarlane" Creates Lotus" video cassette packages. It is smaller than a usual comic at 4" by 7.5" and 12 pages.
It recounts the origin story. 
Finding a 9.9 copy of a mini-comic sold inside of a VHS case...TOUGH. This was and still is the top census copy. 
 
 
 

Yeah but I have more hair now so that's a plus.

SPAWN 265 GOLD SKETCH EDITION (BLANK COVER) - CUSTOM COMMISSION - PHILIP TAN SKETCH 
I didn't bother to block out the cert number because this is a custom, one-of-a-kind piece of art. 
I chased down Philip Tan's agent, Kirk Dilbeck, and spoke with him about a custom commission. Working with Dilbeck was a very pleasant experience, and we were able to arrange the commission for the San Diego Comic Convention back in 2017. I gave Tan about five different detailed ideas/designs for the commission and told him to pick whichever one tickled his fancy. Waiting to see which design he picked was a joy in itself! 
When I unboxed this one, it literally took my breath away! You already know that I was a huge fan of his work on the series, and I think I like this piece better than any of his "actual" Spawn covers! 
While it didn't hurt much to part with it at the time, I'm pretty devastated that I made the decision to do so. This is a really special book! If you own it, hit me up! I'd like to buy it back.  
I would also like to thank Doug Peters for acting as my witness. He handled the book perfectly! Maintaining 9.8 status was top priority for me. Y'all know by now that a "lowly" 9.6 just wasn't going to do it for me. 
To everyone who was involved with this - THANK YOU! 
I'm sure it's a very, very bright spot in someone's collection. 
...and if you think this is awesome...you might want to check back in tomorrow to see a custom GUNSLINGER design that smokes any Gunslinger cover out there. Yeah. It's THAT good. 
 

 

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Well, technically.....they're all sketch covers.... 

SPAWN 265 - SKETCH COVER - CGC 9.8 
A sketch cover? How unique. 
 

SPAWN 265 - CGC 9.8