• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Lee K

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,006

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Journal Entries posted by Lee K

  1. Lee K

    Hole in my routine

    By Lee K,

    After 30 days of reading, I think I'm hooked
    Now that Tnerb has finished his 30 in 30 experiment - my morning routine has a hole in it. Although perfectly aware that it is December this morning, I anticipated logging in and reading what new tid-bit Tnerb had to share with us today and I was terribly dissappointed when there wasn't anything.
    Obviously no-one can write every day, forever, ad infinitum...but good writing, and I think Tnerb's qualifies, is addictive.
    Thank you for 30 days of entertainment & enlightenment.
    Lee
  2. Lee K

    Back from Hiatus

    By Lee K,

    well a couple days in the hospital and a few more to recover away from the keyboard...
    And all of a sudden I have to tackle what I am taking to Emerald City CC this weekend for grading and what I am taking for signature series grading (hopefully). I think I have whittled it down to some Justice League of Americas, some New Mutants, some new Zatanna variants, two Weird Wars, some JLAs, and a WW for my wife, and a couple of All-Star Batman & Robins (all moderns). And I hope to signature series all 7 issues of Shanna from 2003 by Frank Cho...we'll see how that pans out financially.
    wish me luck - I'm going to need it...
  3. Lee K

    Going visiting...

    By Lee K,

    with an old friend.
    So I'm running off to the coast for the weekend with my wife, but I'm thinking on the way back I'll swing by Mike Grell's house and see what he's up to since he was named Editor over at Ardden Comics.
    As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think I have anything for him to autograph, he's signed it all: Batman Family, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Iron Man, Warlord, I even found an old Warlord action figure (he-man style) still on it's card and asked him to sign the card for me. I think I have to negotiate with him for a sketch - I think I really need a Green Arrow/Black Canary original sketch for the man who finished shaping Green Arrow after Neil was done with him.
    I think it will be a good Sunday afternoon stop.
    I hope my beach doesn't look like this: from Our Army At War #173 - a bad day at the beach.
    L

  4. Lee K

    Falling in love again...

    By Lee K,

    for the first time - sort of
    When I was young, I read comic books: Justice League, Avengers, Green Lantern, ASM, GI Combat, Weird War Tales. Since money was tight and my income/allowance was erratic at best I rarely was able to purchase runs of consecutive issues and I found myself more interested in books written in episodes with limited or no knowledge needed of what went before needed to understand the story. Weird War became a real favorite.
    When I wasn't reading comics, I read books - typically cheap paperbacks of science fiction from the 60s that were available cheap at the used book store or from my friends' family bookshelves.
    Lately I have found myself attacted to that again - simple 'what if?' science fiction stories; Buck Rogers, John Carter, aliens and spaceships...
    What I didn't know when I was a wee little lad, was that there was a huge volume of science fiction available in my favorite medium - 50s and 60s sci-fi comics were something that flew under my radar as a child (I started buying in the early 70s). Later, when I became aware that they existed, my tastes had changed and I was reading sword & sorcery - plenty of which was available by reading Conan: comics, books, whatever, and then reading all the Conan clones.
    Now that my tastes have matured again I am finding myself attracted once again to stories of space, of aliens, of the strange and the unknown.
    Slowly I have started buying 50s & 60s science fiction books, DC only (no pre-hero Marvels), with looser grade ranges than I do my go-go checks: say 7.0 and up - although I still want the books to present nice. Mostly I am looking at Strange Adventures and Tales of the Unexpected (Capt Comet & Space Ranger), as well as earlier war books: Star Spangled War Stories is easily my favorite of them (love Dinosaur Stories) - and I have to say I am happy - I'm enjoying the raw ones and digging the images of the slabbed ones.
    Just thought I'd share, because I think there is something special in these stories.
    I leave you with a clip from the front of Strange Adventures 118...The Turtle Men of Space!
    Happy Hunting
    Lee

  5. Lee K

    Hey you - write a journal

    By Lee K,

    Join the family of regular journal writers.
    It's easy and as a family of readers, we're non-judgmental. Write what you know (comics) or write what you love (more comics), it doesn't matter.
    An easy first journal could be as simple as sharing your collecting goals for 2011 - is there a target book for this year or a collecting milestone you hope to reach?
    In 2011 I hope to add one of the following 3 books to my go-go check collection: Batman 181, Detective 359, or Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane 70 - I am hoping for a 9.2 or maybe a 9.4 (I can't afford better) with off-white pages or better. I would also like to add a Strange Adventures #9 in 8.0 or even 8.5 or better (there's one in Heritage's big auction this month) but it is a lower priority and may have to wait till late in the year or even next year...
    In the interim, I hope to entice more people to journal regularly.
    This weeks book - Our Army At War #168, the first appearance of The Unknown Soldier; maybe not the most well known character to collectors of superhero books but he was able to headline his own title for over 100 issues in the 70's.
    Happy hunting
    Lee

  6. Lee K
    Because I was asked to follow up on my journal of 1/18...
    OK - so I wrote a long dissertation on this subject earlier; and then I bumped the back button on my mouse and lost it all, so I guess I'll be brief.
    Comics stacked one on top of another and left to be stored for years or even months undisturbed left us with some really nice comics preserved from the 40s, 50s, and 60s - beautiful, flat copies with great color gloss and flat spines. Even non-pedigree collections staored this way probably provided us with a great number of the 7s & 8s in our collections.
    Unfortunately, stacks of comics also provided us with dust/light/and oxidation shadows. When a book is only partially covered by the book above it and there is an exposed strip - that strip can form a shadow - a dust shadow, which is a stain on the book, is caused by exposure to dust, and typically found on books stored in attics. Sun shadows, which are a damage to the inks used to print the cover due to a limited lightfastness in the ink, are caused by partial exposure to sunight or other strong light and are common in books stored on windowsills and other very bright locations. Oxidation shadows, (as I understand them - I've never seen one) are caused simply by exposure to air, are a degradation of the paper caused by the increase in deterioration caused by oxygen.
    It is dust shadows that haunt me the most, and I suspect are most common in higher graded books because the other conditions would be excellent for the mid to long term storage of high grade books: a cool, dry, dark place (you know - where you get dust). My issue is that they are a stain - just the same as if you dripped your Capt. Crunch on the book while reading it, but CGC doesn't grade it as a stain (OSPG says visible staining on books graded 6.0 or lower, unless I am misremembering). Certainly a cover stain shouldn't be evident in a book graded above 7.0 or so. Now, I'm not railing against CGC; I respect what they have done for the hobby. And as long as they are consistent: i.e. they always ignore dust shadows in books graded 9.4 and below, or whatever their criteria is, then that is fine with me.
    But on books where the dust shadow isn't evident from a scan of the front of the book (how most are sold on auction sites), then I think the label deserves a note. Truthfully, I would like to see the same notation on books that have date stamps on the back cover - or frankly anywhere on the book. If there is room to note: '66' written in pen on cover, on my label - then there is room for: 4" x 1/4" dust shadow on reverse, or: date stamp on reverse.
    Well - enough for today.
    Happy hunting
    and congrats to pgbeckstrom on his first submission back from CGC
    Lee
    Oh - here's my notation - on the old label.
    Lee

  7. Lee K

    Why the registry?

    By Lee K,

    2,123 registry users with point totals ranging from 2,265,493 points to 3 points, and I don't even begin to know how many registry sets...
    Given that I would have to multiply my current collection by 100 to find myself in second place in total registry points, and with my limited collecting focus it is unlikely that I will ever be in 1st place in any of my registered sets; why the registry?
    I possess a competitive nature and I want to be 1st - and I am a completionist (is that a word?) so I want them all, so what does the registry mean to me?
    Well, more than anything, it's a chance to share with and connect with other collectors - whether it's Tnerb on the east coast or Peter in Portugal or anyone else that has sent me a private message - that I would never have met any other way. Even though our collections fail to have even a single book in common - we all collect, we all buy books encased in plastic tombs, and we are all compelled to share those collections with 2,122 other people (unless our sets our obscured - which I fail to understand, but to each their own). Our similarities outweigh our differences, our love of something as ephemeral as a picture-story book printed on cheap paper for the entertainment of young people (at least originally), is a commonality that makes us all part of the same sub-set of humanity.
    Second, I like to showcase what I have in my collection, to show off, to share what I love with others who don't dismiss it because it is a comic book. And this is why I love sets with images. How am I ever going to appreciate what others find enjoyable from the cover of Strange Adventures 79 (cool cover by the way) or Mr. District Attorney 65 (I made that up - I've never seen Mr. DA #65) if no-one ever shares? I could surf the chat boards (umm, no) or I could spend hours on the web researching on various sites (their comics are often too degraded to enjoy the images) - but both of those options are missing something: the recommendation of someone else who collects.
    Tnerb says: read these books - they are a good read. Surfer99 say: check out these Marvel Masterpiece collections - a great way to see these X-men appearances. Silver says: look at these various covers from the SA - how great are they?
    Collections and collectors that are about more then the accumulation of points, more than a #1 or #2 or #17 ranking within a set. They are about a love of something and the sharing of that love.
    The community is about collectors helping other collectors with their collections. I really, really enjoy our community. And although some day I hope to have a custom go-go check set for my collection, so I can have everything where it belongs - it isn't about that.
     
    In closing I have attached a cropped image from the cover of Mr. District Attorney #65 with art by Moldoff, which I looked up while I was writing this...
    Happy hunting and happy sharing.
    Lee

  8. Lee K

    How we collect, Pt. 2

    By Lee K,

    Staples anyone?
    It was brought to my attention that I neglected to address staples in my mile-long dissertation last week. And after having it tossed in my face, I have to admit that I don't really look at staples - not as part of a mental checklist, and it doesn't seem to be a deal killer for me.
    So, I went to my LCS - and pulled through their bin of 60's Charltons thinking about how I look at staples. I look for discoloration; I look for dimples, stress lines and staple related tears; I look to see if the book has been repaired at the centerfold and the staple folded back over the repair to 'hide' it; but staple placement didn't really stand out to me - at least not until I got home and looked through my CGC books. And well - I 'knew' from looking at the book when I bought it, that it had terrible staple placement - and looking at it again I was reminded that the staple placement was less than desireable; but in retrospect - I would have still purchased the book.
    Later this week - more discussion on dust shadows, sun shadows, and oxidation shadows following the requests of some of my readers.
    In closing - a pretty photo of a pretty fabulous 50's Batman, with terrible staple placement. For those of you who currently read Secret Six: the debut of Deadshot.
    Thanks for reading and commenting.
    Lee

  9. Lee K

    How we collect

    By Lee K,

    OK - we all collect what we love, but how do you select from your myriad of purchasing options?
    As much as it hurts me to do so, I assume we all have grade ranges and paper quality requirements for our collections, so I don't want to revisit those discussions. Instead I am interested in those things that are important to each of us that aren't really about the grade: Pedigrees, Dust Shadows, Spine Ticks, Rounded Corners, Date Stamps; Handwriting in ink/wax pencil/pencil; Cover Centering; Cover Gloss; Color Depth on the cover.
    Are they important to you? Ok - some of these items should be covered in grading, but CGC doesn't appear to grade particularly hard, if at all, against date stamps or dust shadows.
    Pedigrees: As a collector of mid to high grade silver age DC books I have some pedigreed books in my collection: Rocky Mountain; White Mountain; Pacific Coast (hard not to); Big Apple; Boston; and because I have a copy of Whiz Comics a Crowley - before I am done with my go-go check set I hope to add a Green River, a Sucha News and maybe one of whatever else gets added to the CGC pedigree list for SA DC. But - what I don't do is pay extra for the pedigree status, or at least not substantially more than I would have without the pedigree status. What about you? Is a book's pedigree status as important as the grade? the page quality? is it even a consideration?
    Dust shadows/sun fading: Ugh, I despise dust shadows, and while I don't have a copy of the OSPG handy while I am writing this - it seems to me that dust shadows are permitted on grades of 8.0 or less in the OSPG grading system. This is one of those instances where I agree with OSPG and I question CGC. I recently purchased at auction a CGC 9.2 copy of Our Army at War #178 with Off-White pages. This is a favorite cover of mine from the run and the scan provided by the auction house is of good quality and doesn't disclose any dust shadow. The book arrives, I open it, and lo & behold there is a dust shadow running the width of the book at the bottom edge. I am seriously disappointed. Where do you stand on the issue? Are dust shadows or sun lines a deal killer for you or just a negotiation point?
    Spine ticks: I have an unreasonable dislike for spine ticks; so much so that I would rather have a comic with a lower technical grade (one or two steps) that didn't have any spine ticks over a book with visible color break at the spine. How about you? What's your deal killer?
    Dates: OK, so I don't like date stamps - I know, I know, there are many people who love dates: stamped, pencilled, inked, even wax pencil. I would just as soon replace every book I own that has a date stamped/pencilled/inked on the front cover with another book of even grade as soon as the opportunity presents itself - except Strange Adventures 195 where the number 66 is written on the cover in pen - that's my White Mountain book and I got a killer deal on it. Stamps are the worst for me - particularly if they obscure any of the artwork or are distracting within the masthead. Like 'em/hate 'em? Share your feelings.
    Cover Centering: I think everyone prefers a well; centered book, but is it a primary concern for you? Me, well if there is a well centered option, I'll take it; but it certainly isn't a deal killer and I have many poorly centered books that I love.
    Cover Gloss: Not a big deal for me with a slabbed book, just because I can't tell. But in a raw book it is something I look at, and I look at it rather closely. I like a nice shiny book with strong colors -
    Finally - cover color strike: This is less difficult to tell in a slabbed book than gloss - you can tell if the color is deep and rich even through the plastic. I really prefer strong, clean colors and a clean color strike. I also want my white covers to be white. There's nothing like a dingy white cover to turn me off on a book I am viewing. Where do you stand?
    Hey - Thanks for reading...
    Next week: what's important within a set listing to you?
    and in closing - the image clip of the week: Rocky Mountain.

  10. Lee K

    Justice League of America

    By Lee K,

    The best superhero team ever...
    At least I think so; and I thought so as a child and teen as well. There was something about the Justice League Roll Call at the beginning of every issue. Would this issue have Green Arrow and Black Canary? Would the Justice Society visit from Earth-2? Everyone who was anyone in the DC universe could be in any given issue. You want Power Girl, Black Canary, and Princess Projectra - it could happen. You prefer the GA Flash, SA Green Lantern and SA Atom? OK - we can do that.
    The team headquarters is in a cave, or the Hall of Justice, or the Justice League Satellite (I know I spelled that right - but it looks funny. What an odd word: satellite). The members are Batman and Superman - no, wait, those aren't original members: the members are the Flash, Wonder Woman, the Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, with white gloves - don't get me started on why white gloves are important, but they are and they should get their own journal entry another day). Hundreds of appearances later the Justice League came to an end the 1st time - issue 261; at which point the only remaining members were Vixen and Gypsy - not exacly heavy hitters.
    Over the years we put up with Snapper Carr, Vibe (I can dodge bullets because I can break-dance; no really!), and Zatanna running around with a space-lobster on her forehead (bad costume idea). On the other hand we've had the big 5 or big 7 or big 9, depending on how you think about them: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, and Atom. There's been Dr. Light, Elongated Man, Plastic Man, Blue Beetle, Animal Man, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Zatanna, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Hawkgirl, Ice, Fire, Booster Gold, Starman (the alien one), Congorilla, Supergirl, Jesse Quick, and lord only knows who else - good characters, good storylines, countered by villians both dangerous: The Injustice League (original name idea there) and dastardly: Sinestro, Two-face, Merlin (the archer - not the magician), Black Manta and demented: the Joker.
    Years and years of reading enjoyment, improved by the blurred line of who is a member and who isn't - some continuity (over rated in my opinion) from story arc to story arc, but writing and art not restricted to a specific roster of members - if you can't draw Plastic Man, don't use him. If you can't stand Guy Gardner but you need a Green Lantern, use John Stewart or Hal Jordan. Have fun; be creative - let those creative juices flow as you consider your story arc or your 1-shot.
    In closing, I share with you a cropped image from the JLoA's 11th appearance: Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #29 - with an issue date in-between issue #7 and issue #8.
    Lee

  11. Lee K

    Journal or Chat Board?

    By Lee K,

    Is it better to address the room or to engage the room in conversation?
    So as of today I have been a chat board member for exactly 2 years, but I have a measly 307 posts the majority of which happened in Silver's 1 to 365 thread in 2009. (Great thread BTW - if you have never been to the chat board it is worth going just to search for and read this thread, but give yourself LOTS of time to get through all the images). When I cruise the chat boards I find myself seriously disinclined to comment.
    When I look at the threads on the chat boards I am overwhelmed by how many of the comments are spiteful at worst and completely unhelpful at best. There appear to be great board members out there whose posts are informative; but woe be unto the new board member who makes an error of opinion, or who disagrees with an older boardie without using suitably humble language to phrase that disagreement. Fire, brimstone, and malicious posts will follow. The newcomer is lambasted as stupid, unreasonable, unknowledgable, and contrary. There is such a limited sense of community, on occasion I read welcome posts to the new members - but most of the positive that I see in the boards is reserved for the 'good old boys' - I understand that you are more likely to share with a friend, I am too; but I joined looking to some kindred spirits, and I haven't really found any there.
    Now here - here I have found poeple I can relate too; people who collect what they love and who don't appear to slaughter every mis-posted, mis-quoted, or erroneous statement made. Maybe it just takes too long to click on my name and send an email, allowing time for a comment that might sound insensitive or downright rude to get filtered through the brain before posting. Posting - I think that might be the root of the problem, it is too easy; too fast to add your 2 cents worth and move on; so threads get derailed into diatribes better suited to the late night soaps.
    In closing - a portion of the cover for the book of the week - Sea Devils 13. In part because the flaming balls of fire remind me of what a derailed thread reads like.
    Thanks for reading my _
    Lee

  12. Lee K

    As 2010 winds down

    By Lee K,

    I find myself considering my acquisitions for the year...
    and I am happy. I added 25 books to my go-go check collection, 1 I purchased raw and 24 slabbed. 4 @ 8.5 (including the raw book that I had slabbed later); 6 @ 9.0; 10 @ 9.2 (including a Rocky Mountain); and 5 @ 9.4 - I nice haul for a year where I couldn't buy much because I had the expense of a wedding and a honeymoon cruise; which was well worth it. My shopping started with Superman 194 in 9.2 in January and ended with Our Army at War 178 in 9.2 in December.
    2011 looks to be a great year for collecting for me and I hope it is for everyone else as well. All the best to my friend-readers, Tnerb, surfer99, and Red Hook, and to everyone else who sticks there nose in here to see what I have to write about.
    I leave you with a crop of the cover of the week - Cavalier Comics no. 2. Having handled most of those weapons at one time or another, I respect the unnamed artist for representing them well; what an ugly bunch of pole-arms.
    Happy Hunting
    Lee K

  13. Lee K
    or: how I dropped 30 ranks in 30 days...
    I don't know - last month I was ranked 391 and trying to determine how many years it would take me to get in to the 200's - now I'm ranked 421 and wondering how many months it will take to get back in the 300's. Did we get a bunch of new registry members? if so, that's really cool - more people to share with. Or did everyone all of a sudden have a lot more money to spend on our hobby than me? which is kinda cool, but I wish I had some cash too...
    Oh well, buying season is ahead and I anticipate good things for 2011: reaching the 20% mark for my go-go check, and acquiring one of the 'big 3' of the go-go check set in HG: Lois Lane 70, Batman 181, or Detective 359...
    Happy hunting
    Lee
  14. Lee K

    Waiting

    By Lee K,

    for my first submission to be graded...
    OK - so I am naturally impatient, particularly when I don't know the answers. I sent three packages in to be graded and I am eagerly waiting for my first set of grades. Right now I am showing one package Scheduled for Grading and the other two Verified...it's weird because I just grabbed some books, more or less at random, from the piles of stuff I have as 'I aught to get this graded some day' - so I sent some Marvel, some DC, some silver, some bronze, and some modern. I guess just to get a feel for the grading process.
     
    Well, my first batch of grades came in while I was writing this entry: Showcase 61 - 9.0; X-men 94 - 6.0; X-men 95 - 7.5. Exactly what I expected from the Showcase, but 1.0 lower than I expected on the two X-men. I'm sure I'll get better at it with time.
    L
    Be well, and happy hunting.
    Lee
    Well, my second batch graded today: Iron Fist 14 - 8.5; All Star Batman 10(vulgar edition) - 9.9; GI Joe 0(retailer incentive) - 9.8; which is a little better than I expected for the two new books. Since Diamond ships UPS, a lot of the time the books arrive on the west coast with their corners dinged and spine creases from the strapping.
    Lee
    The last two grades just popped in: Justice League of America #45 - 8.5; and Hawkman #4 - 6.5. I'm a little disappointed about the Hawkman, but the JLA came in right where I expected.
    :L
  15. Lee K

    What else is there?

    By Lee K,

    I mean, we all collect comics or we wouldn't be here, right?
    So, what else makes you smile like comics make you smile? Now, I don't mean your spouse or family - my wife makes me smile, I understand that.
    But, I have other guilty pleasures - I love looking at the movie poster auctions on Heritage. I haven't purchased any - as an artist myself, I have no wall space; but I might make wall space for the 'perfect specimin'.
    When I was young, I was sure that I wanted to collect Buffalo Nickles - that didn't last.
    Before that and after that, stamps. U.S. Postage, which along with comics have some relation to my art. I love portriature - people are too cool not to paint.
    And, I have a thing for vintage european cars: right now it's a 1969 MGB GT, which was a little bit banged up Friday night by my buddy's Silverado. That's alright - we'll get it patched up: new grill, grill badge, grill trim, bumper arms, and hood. Plus repaint the hood.
    Now - what makes you smile?
    L
  16. Lee K

    Happy Thanksgiving

    By Lee K,

    Just so there is something to read that Tnerb didn't write...
    OK - just kidding, I read Tnerb's journals all the time, I find them an interesting window into the thoughts of another collector that I will probably never meet (I'm on the other coast...).
    But I wanted to take the time to give a little thanks. Thanks to each of you for being part of a bigger community that I enjoy, because without many of us and our many different likes there wouldn't be a comic book industry.
    Thanks that I still have a job, and even in this poor economy I have the extra funds to spend on something as frivolous as comic books after paying my mortgage(s), car payment, insurance, food, power, water and all those other little things we need to make our worlds go around.
    Thanks that I am healthy, that my family is healthy, and that we can all get together tomorrow and enjoy more food than some families see in a month.
    Thanks that as bad as life is compared to the 'good times' just a few short years ago, that life is still pretty darn good.
    Thanks you all.
    And as Tnerb says, "Thanks for reading."
    Lee
  17. Lee K

    Every single go-go check

    By Lee K,

    Finally I have a place for each one
    When I first decided to pursue all of the go-go checked books issued by DC in 1966 & 1967, I failed to adaquately comprehend the magnitude of my targe collection: 464 issues over 45 titles; war books, super-heros, funny books, and romance...
    Sure, some sets: Action, ASM, X-Men, Detective, for instance are larger, longer, contain more books - but at least some of the books are bronze & copper...the titles have strong followings, so there are multiple slabbed versions to choose from. On the other hand, all of my books are from 1966 or 1967; some: Sugar & Spike, Secret Hearts, or even All American Men of War, don't have many slabbed examples to select from - or they may be tied up in the collections of Silver, or SeaDevils (special thanks to SeaDevils for the raw Swing with Scooters that I have) he was very fair and kind.
    The more immediate obstacle when I started was that some of my sets didn't exist: there was no place to put my Inferior 5's, my Sugar & Spikes, my Swing with Scooters...but today, today I was able to add the final collection - Gemma, bless her heart, added Swing with Scooter and although all of my books are still raw, I have a place to put them after I have them slabbed.
    Today is a great day.
    Happy Hunting!
    Lee
  19. Lee K

    Stan Lee SS

    By Lee K,

    9.6? 9.8? 9.9? 10?!?
    OK - ok, so I carefully hand picked a modern book to send in for the signing; and I selected Wonder Woman because my wife digs WW...So how could I possibly be disappointed with a 9.8 White SS book? Well, I really gave it a hard, critical look before I packaged it up to send cross-country and I was completely comfortable that the book was nicer than the one 9.9 I own (since I read that one before I sent it in...)
    That having been said, I am certain that I will be happy with it upon its arrival and my wife will be happy with it under the Cristmas Tree, cause she's my Wonder Woman.
    Happy? yes.
    Ecstatic? no.
    I'll post my image when they email it to me.
    Good Hunting
    Lee
  20. Lee K

    Scheduled for Grading

    By Lee K,

    What does it really mean?
    For practical purposes, it means I should see my grades tomorrow; but hasn't my package been 'scheduled for grading' since it was received?
    I just making noise because I haven't gotten my grade back yet on my SS submission - so, maybe tomorrow I'll be satisfied (maybe I'll be happy too).
    L
  21. Lee K
    thanks to Tnerb for reposting in his half-answer.
    10 books? 10 BOOKS!? That's it as I'm running out the door in the underwear because the house is on fire? In all honesty whatever books were on top - or in the top box of slabs would probably be the ones that were saved, so Action, Adventure, Batman, Brave & the Bold, and Blackhawk would make it out the window/door...but, if I could choose 10 books, limited to my CGC slabs (I do have a couple brand x slabs...), then I would choose these - presented in alphabetical order.
    1. Batman 59 - CGC 8.0 OW - 1st Deadshot. Plus I love this cover with its childlike stars & planets and silly bat-spaceship.
    2. Brave & the Bold 28 - CGC 3.0 Cr/OW - 1st Justice League. I still maintain that this should be a 4.0; it fails to have any of the major flaws associated with a 3 - no detached cover, missing staples, significant tears or other damage - without regard to its grade, it is still my grail book. When I was young, Justice League was the first book I looked for on the rack with my mighty 20c in hand, and it still is today.
    3. Brave & the Bold 70 - CGC 9.4 OW - Pacific Coast. One of my nicest books from my go-go check collection and one of my favorite cover composition of the B&B run.
    4. More Fun Comics 78 - CGC 5.5 OW - One of my favorite Green Arrow covers of all time. Although not part of my go-go check collection, it is the 1st book in one of my forthcoming collections of Green Arrow cover More Fun books...I love the Arrow Car with the fins on the back and the pointy front-end; I love the spring loaded seat and just the fun of the whole composition.
    5. Our Army at War 168 - CGC 9.2 OW - 1st Unknown Soldier. The black backgound makes this one hard to find in high grade, it really should be scarce in HG in overstreet. My 9.2 is tied for second on the census with only a 9.6 higher. I might try to dig this one out 1st.
    6. Our Army at War 173 - CGC 9.4 OW/W. Not as rare in grade as the previous book, with 2 others at 9.4 and two at 9.6; but this is probably my favorite OOAW cover composition of the go-go check run; background explosions, the beach-head and whatever those big metal things are called that keep landing boats from beaching there - the men hunkered down into their helmets, it all ties together to be a favorite of mine.
    7. Sea Devils 3 - CGC 7.0 W. The only White Pages catagory on this list. There has always been something about grey tone covers that resonated with me as a collector. I don't have many of them, but the few I do hold a treasured place in my collection.
    8. Strange Adventures 195 - CGC 9.0 OW - White Mountain - 1st full Animal Man. For some reason, I really love Strange Adventures - but I have a fascination with anthology books anyway. Any time I can skip issues and still get an entire story (or 2 or 3 stories) in a single book, that make me way happier than continuity.
    9. Wonder Woman 164 - CGC 9.4 Cr/OW. The first book in my go-go check collection and still one of my favorites. What a great cover, plus a special meaning to me in the set.
    10. World's Finest 165 - CGC 9.6 - OW/W. Tied as the highest graded book in my go-go check collection. And the 9.6 with the best looking cover. There's just something fun about the little -eyed crowns and the gold swords that Supes & Bats are waving around. Kings of Crime indeed.
    This was harder than I thought - there's so much stuff to choose from. Well, that's my thoughts for the day.
    Happy Hunting
    Lee

  22. Lee K
    So I finally got back to 100% images and 100% texts for my entries..
    I don't really have a lot of time to spend on the computer, so I am happy that the site makes it so easy for me to add a comic to one of my sets. The problem is, I don't always have a comment about a book right away and I often have to adjust the image if I ripped the image from a site I bought from or I have to work up my own and edit it - and that takes time.
    I feel much better knowing that my page is up-to-date. Now I can get some journals written and maybe answer Surfer99's question myself.
    L
  23. Lee K
    But I'm not really a marvel collector, I mean a read some Marvel when I was young, but the stories don't really hold up well for me as an adult...
    So after digging through my stacks of DC goodness I found Stan Lee presents Just Imagine Wonder Woman - for some unknown reason I was really, really choosy when I selected this off this rack so I am excited to see how it comes back graded. The nice thing is my current wife is a huge WW fan and I didn't even know her when I bought this, so she's never seen it. It might just make a really nice stocking stuffer.
    L
  24. Lee K

    Waiting again

    By Lee K,

    Books are out to CGC and are verified...
    so now all I can do is wait. Plastic Man (1966) #1; Inferior 5 #1; and Teen Titans #2 are all sitting in line waiting their turn behind boxes and boxes of convention submissions and I'm sitting on my hands. I anticipate they will come back 9.0 OW/White; 9.2 white; and 9.0 OW - I hope I have gotten better at grading before I sent this batch in...
    L
    well - here's an interesting turn of events, my order status from CGC says graded, but they came in as follows: Inferior 5 #1 shows 8.5 OW/W and I anticiapted a 9.2 - this is the nicest book by far; Teen Titans #2 came in 8.5 OW - which doesn't surprise me too much - I thought it was a weak 9.0, but that's what Heritage had called it and I was willing to agree...the problem is with Plastic Man V2#1 - it came back 9.2 White, apparant SP.
    Slight color touch on cover. Damn
    Lee
  25. Lee K

    Mike Grell

    By Lee K,

    is an old friend of mine - 15 years and counting now...
    and since he moved from across the river from me to about 100 miles south of me, we haven't touched base. Anyway, I was thinking about him over the weekend because he and his wife Lauri didn't make it to our annual winter gathering and when I checked my morning email there's an invite for me & mine to come down & spend the weekend at his new place.
    I feel unprepared; usually I bring something from his past to tease him with - last time I visited I had a 'Warlord' action figure still in its box. Anyone else remember these? Really nothing more than a Warlord head stuck on a He-Man body. I guess one of the best things about knowing Mike and collecting comics is the stories. Here I am trying to tease him with this terrible action figure and he tells me a story about how he met the man the sculpted the bodies for all of the original He-Man figures and his Warlord figure. Turns out he's local to me too.
    Anyway, I just thought I'd share. Does anyone else have an old comic artist or writer that they get to hang out with on occasion?
    Good luck & good hunting.
    Lee K