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Lee K

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Journal Entries posted by Lee K

  1. Lee K

    Not a DC reader?

    By Lee K,

    Courious about the new 52, but don't know where to start?
    Stay away from Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman - you already know those characters, because everyone does...Do yourself a favor and try: Frankenstein, agent of S.H.A.D.E. or Demon Knights (if you like things medieval) or Suicide Squad.
    If you enjoyed reading The Killing Joke - try the new Barbara Gordon Batgirl and see how they incorporated that into her new backstory.
    There's a lot of good reading in the books that have been released so far - pick one up and give it a read - it isn't your father's DC...not exactly, anyway.
    Happy Hunting
    Lee K
  2. Lee K

    Scheduled for grading

    By Lee K,

    times
    There once was a time that modern books moved from 'Scheduled for Grading' to 'Graded' in a day or so, but now it seems to take several days. I don't mind, nor am I complaining, but has anyone had a modern invoice change to 'Graded' today, and if so, what was your 'Received' date?
    Thanks
    Lee K
  3. Lee K

    The saga of my PLOD

    By Lee K,

    or how good is that guarantee?
    So, for those of you that have not been following my journals I had Strange Adventures #130 come back to me from CGC with the dreaded purple label of doom (echoes: doom, doom, doom)...
    I love Strange Adventures as a book - it just 'clicks' for me and as such I collect issues of that book outside of my normal go-go check collection. This time I had selected to send in three raw books that I had added over the past year (using my coupon - I love my coupon), SA #110 which I bought at Emerald City CC, from A-1 Comics who I believe are from Sacramento, and SA #130 and #185 (Big Apple) which I had purchased from WWcomics.com. Of course, almost every large on-line has either a guarantee or a waiver about restoration, and WWcomics.com has a well written guarantee on their website. It promises the return of the money spent for the book. Shipping & CGC costs are not discussed and therefor I assumed them to be entirely my expense - which is perfectly normal.
    Now, unfortunately, it was time to write the email and see how they would make good on the guarantee. I can't express how pleased I was, and am, with the customer service I received. I was told that I could break the book out of it's slab to save on return shipping costs (just include the CGC label, so they can call for grader's notes) and to ship it back and I would receive the money back I spent on the book. Additionally, I was offered a small additional sum to defray some of my shipping costs, which was and is extraordinary.
    On a separate note - I have now slabbed the two books I purchased from A-1 comics at EMCC and both of them received from CGC the exact grade that was on the price label when I purchased the book - SA #110, came back 7.5 (it was listed VF-), and SA #125 came back 8.5 (and it was listed VF+). I love accuracy like that, and I will buy more books from this dealer as money permits.
    Thanks for reading - and thanks for being such great dealers.
    Happy Hunting
    Lee
  4. Lee K

    Shipping & Customer Service

    By Lee K,

    yeah...
    So it turns out that if you leave a message for Customer Service at CGC, no-one listens to it - because all the overnight messages go to a phone that sits on a vacant desk.
    So now - my package has been shipped safe to my billing address.
    No-one is at my billing address, that's why I have a shipping address.
    And no-one did anything all day to correct this, because no-one sits at that desk in customer service.
    I'm completely perplexed by this.
    Well - what do you know - I called before 5PM Florida time and they called UPS and issued a delivery intercept for my package and it will be delivered to the right place after all. Thank you CGC.
    Still - fix where the overnight messages go at customer service, OK?
    :L
  5. Lee K

    Grade

    By Lee K,

    What?
    So I wonder sometimes, when you use the phrase "My book went up/down a grade" - what do you mean?
    I tend to be a little old fashioned I suppose - I consider 'a grade' to be a change from one 'word' grade to another. In my world the grades are: Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, Fine, Very Fine, Near Mint, Mint, and Gem Mint - nine grades in all, and Iim still not 100% sure about Gem Mint. But as we all know those nine grades don't represent the numbers 1 through 9 inclusive. In fact, we utilize 24 numerical grades representing everything from .5 (No Grade) to 10 Gem Mint, when we purchase a book graded by a 3rd party.
    The nuances between VF- and VF+ (considered by many to represent a two grade difference) are a little vague to me - certainly if I use the old Overstreet criteria. But do you consider that to be a two grade difference (VF- to VF to VF+)? Or is that a one grade difference (7.5 to 8.5, representing a difference of 1.0)? Or are you a little like me and that isn't a whole grade at all, simply variations on the same grade (VF), or as I used to call it Very Fine-ish.
    Because, when all is said and done - the grade is just an opinion and the opinions that REALLY matter are the buyers and the sellers. Often I think that CGC is too hard on a particular book - sometimes I think that they are too soft on a particular book; and I believe that Golden Age books and Atomic Age books get a boost - and Modern Age books get whacked.
    I think that stamped and china penciled date stamps and dust shadows are far more offensive to the eye (and subsequently should be to the grade) than slightly rounded or rounded corners.
    But that's the difference between buying a number, and buying a grade. At least it is to me.
    Happy Hunting
    Lee
  6. Lee K

    Veterans' Day

    By Lee K,

    you, me...
    It has little to do with comic books - but thank you to all my fellow vets out there, for it is through your willingness to serve and my willingness to serve that all of us can enjoy our silly little hobby.
    Plus, without you and me - we wouldn't have such classics as Daredevil vs. Hitler; Superman 14; and oh so many covers from Action, Batman, Captain America, Young Allies, Marvel Mystery, Exciting Comics, The Nam, Weird War Tales, Our Army at War, Star Spangled War Stories, GI Combat, Air Combat, Combat, Heroic Comics, War is Hell...and so on...
    Happy Veterans' Day
    And Thanks
  7. Lee K

    Storage Options

    By Lee K,

    For all my damn slabs...
    I have storage issues - but let's be honest with ourselves, unless you collect something really small, say - stamps...hold on, hold on - my friend's dad passed away year before last and there were stamps everywhere in his 3-bedroom ranch house...boxes, books, sheets, letters from overseas friends formed during WWII, African stamps, Nazi Germany stamps - there were stamps EVERYWHERE...and then we found more; oh and he had a ting for maps (me too) so then there were three sea-chests full of maps: National Geographic, National Parks, road maps, city maps...
    That having been said - I (we I assume, since you are reading this) collect comics and proper storage required space - even raw comics, miles upon miles of raw comics, take up space - but my slabbed books, well they're a problem.
    I don't even have that many slabbed books, 150 maybe (?), but they are starting to infringe on the available space. I had been planning on ordering comic boxes designed to accommodate slabs, but every time I do I end up with 'issues' with getting the boxes - so I have subsequently given up, and no-one had any supplies for us slab hunters at Emerald City CC. Which is frustrating - Seattle is not a small city - and the con is both big and well attended, but all I ever get is a bunch of $1 books and some hammered SA & BA books and maybe 3-5 slabs that someone has overpriced on their back wall - because we're all loggers and fishermen in western Washington and we don't know how to surf the internet for auction sites or have even the slightest idea what stuff really sells for on-line, so I'll be happy to buy your book for 50% more than GPA. But no slab supplies.
    So...I was poking about with my books last night (or the night before) and I noticed that I had a couple options: I can either store my slabs in Magazine sized boxes, that are readily available at my LCS and have the lid not close 100%, which is OK; or I can store them sideways, lengthwise, in a short comic box with a little room left over - which I am figuring I can fill with old packing material (because I have sooooo much of that from CGC, Comiclink, Heritage....blah, blah, blah).
    I'm thinking the best bet is for me to clear out some old stuff that I don't care very much about (X-men anyone?) and use the newly empty boxes for the portion of the collection that I do care about...
    Anyone else have any inventive solutions for storing your slabs?
    Happy Hunting
    Lee
  8. Lee K

    One week off

    By Lee K,

    and what do I find?
    Everyone wants to know about turn-around times. Hell, I'm as impatient as anyone, but I'm more interested in what you collect or what interests you, than in how long your books have been at CGC.
    My main collection focus is well known, but - well, what about what you like to read? I know that many of you (not all, obviously) still look forward to Wednesday and the opportunity to purchase your weekly reading material. What do you look forward to?
    I'm enjoying a number of the new DC titles (or old titles). Blackhawks reads a lot like the modern GI Joe titles (thanks to the writer, I'm sure) - Demon Knights is proving interesting as Swamp Thing. All-Star Western's current storyline with Hex in Gotham is great and I look forward to it each month.
    Are any of you following the entire 'Spider Island' storyline over at Disney? I'm not, but I have been picking up the Shang-Chi issues (Disn...I mean Marvel always did write martial arts better than DC).
    What about the indies? Any of you look forward to or recommend any of the indies - I've heard good things about Lady Mech from Aspen, and I enjoyed the first few issues of DHP from Dark Horse (although I may have to let them go from my regular monthly reading due to the price) - but is there anything else you would recommend?
    Let's read and enjoy comics, rather than getting frustrated about where they are from day to day in the 9.9 White Page process...
    Thanks for reading & Happy Hunting
    Lee K
  9. Lee K

    Bummer deal

    By Lee K,

    tease - tease - tease
    Got my grades in on 3 issues of Strange Adventures...
    #110 - 7.5 OW/W - which is better than I expected (7.0) and I am happy with, because although I know there are better copies out there, I'm sure they're all hoarded in the collections of those grey-tone fiends.
    #185 - 9.2 C/OW - Big Apple - which is what I expected, although I thought the page quality was one step better. But I'm happy I got my pedigree status without any questions.
    #130 - appearant 6.5 C/OW, SA - wow, I'm bummed on this one. I thought it looked better than #110, and I definately didn't see any amature resto work - but I'm not an expert; neither did the reputable shop I bought from though and they are, if not experts - then nearly so. I'm guessing it must be a pretty darn small spot.
    Oh, well - back to the hunt!
    Lee K
  10. Lee K

    I got bit again...

    By Lee K,

    damn.
    That makes two now...restored SA DC books. The first one was purchased at auction and had some minor color touch to the cover - not a lot, just one little line; but enough to make the book a lot less sellable.
    This one - my second restored book, I purchased from a reputable dealer, one who regularly discloses restoration when selling, so although CGC hasn't disclosed the exact restoration as of this morning, I am going to assume that it is very minor and easily overlooked - hell, I didn't see it.
    So, now one book from my go-go check collection; and one book from my Strange Adventures set have the very pretty purple label.
    Oh well - what're going to do? Stop buying comics? HA! and double HA!
    Maybe the other two grades will be sooo much better than I expected that I won't mind too much.
    Thanks for reading
    and
    Happy Hunting
    Lee
  11. Lee K

    It's the Surfer's fault!

    By Lee K,

    He wrote a journal...now I have to write one too........
    OK, so really I have been wanting to write a journal for days but have been at a loss for a subject till now.
    Lately, I have been surfing (not a pun) the internet and reminding myself both of the books I am looking to add to my collection now, and of the books that I highly desired in years past - and I was struck by the cover to Batman the Long Halloween (#1 maybe - I didn't look that closely), and I said to myself, "Self, is that not cool?" - and honestly, it is - not cool enough for me to want it before some other book that I desire, but cool enough that if it came to me as part of a box lot I might just keep it long term.
    And then, as I reflected later the same day on the myriad Bernie Wrightson covers that I never successfully added to my collection fifteen years ago, when that was my love - my thoughts drifted once again...and I came to wonder:
    What is your favorite monster cover? How about - what is your favorite monster cover on a non-monster book? A werewolf is cool, but how much cooler is it if he's (or she's - Wolvesbane counts, I guess) not on the cover of House of Mystery or Werewolf by Night?
    Just to get the ball rolling I offer up a couple of my favorites:
    Korak, son of Tarzan #54 - with its Kubert cover
    House of Mystery #133 - from when the book as a Sci-fi title
    Obviously, I love tentacles.
    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/ComicDetail.aspx?PeopleComicID=282761&PeopleSetID=49899
    Lee
  12. Lee K

    Fire! Fire!

    By Lee K,

    Ahhhhhh!
    There's a fire this morning in the same building that my LCS is located in and I haven't seen today's comics yet. I have no idea if there is smoke damage, fire damage, or water damage yet...at least I don't have much in my box.
    I hope this doesn't impare my LCS' ability to stay in business - it is awful tight right now for everyone.
    Good thoughts for my LCS and its really cool owners and employee...
    Lee K
    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  13. Lee K

    a question of pedigree

    By Lee K,

    American Kennel Club (AKC) or United Kennel Club (UKC)
    So I am preparing to throw myself into uncharted waters once again...I have purchased some pedigreed books from a reputable dealer and I was provided with certificates for the appropriate pedigrees. But, I haven't ever submitted a pedigreed book before. The process seems straightforward, but I am loathe to relenquish my original pedigree certificate when there is no guarantee that I will receive pedigree status on my label.
    I'm going to give it a go - but, well, wish me luck.
    Happy Hunting
    Lee K
  14. Lee K
    a look at the registry...
    OK - so not the journal I promised to write about the go-go check collection, but that journal is turning out to be more work than I anticipated. It's coming, it's coming.
    Instead I thought I might write a bit about the registry - I am fascinated by the registry. And today, because of my love of Matt Baker, Jack Kamen, Rulah, Zago, & Zegra - I thought I would start with the letter Z.
    In the letter Z there are 11 competitive titles, sort of; three of them have no sets: Zen, Intergalactic Ninja; Ziggy Pig Silly Seal(?); and Zoo Funnies (1945) - although I suspect Zoo Funnies will have at least one set soon, since it was just added. We can also ignore the sets for Zegra (1 set, obscured); & Zero Hour (1 set, 0 points).
    This leaves Zago, Jungle Prince; Zip Comics; Zombies!: Feast; Zoot Comics; Zorro (Dell); and Zorro (Gold Key) - 3 of the 4 Zorro sets are by the same registry member - so there isn't a lot to talk about there either; although the member appears to have a couple of really nice sets with 90% of the Gold Keys and 68% of the Dell - I can't really tell though, since there are no pictures.
    Zago, Jungle Prince is only a 4 book set and issue 4 has a Matt Baker cover - so I had high hopes that this might produce an attractive set to look at, but of the three registered sets there are no pictures.
    Zip Comics, this should be an exciting set to view - there's 4 sets, but the top two are obscurred, and the bottom one has zero points. The only really good set belongs to Poker Kid - it isn't obscurred, and all three books have images. I think if it were me deciding, obscurred sets would be automatically eliminated from all consideration, including point totals, in competitive sets.
    Zoot Comics - this should be a great competitive set, you have Rulah, Jungle Goddess in issues 8-20 (?) - Matt Baker and Jack Kamen art, bondage covers, headlights - nearly everything the GA good girl collector would want (me included) - instead 3 of the sets, including the top set, are obscurred and absolutely zero sets have any pics. Sadness...
    All this leaves is Zombies!: Feast - not a set that interests me, I don't read or follow Zombie books or other zombie goodness - it just doesn't have any appeal...but - here there's actual competitiveness, 3 set with points - the top two separated by 5 points. Set two is 100% complete with 10 pics - now this is interesting. Here are images of books I'm not familiar with! Here are the unobscurred sets.
    If it were me - armydoc's set for Zombies!:Feast - would be the number 1 set in all of the Z's.
    Next time - let's looks at the letter Q...or R, or whatever looks cool.
    In the interim, Happy Hunting.
    L
  15. Lee K

    Good Bye Sabretooth

    By Lee K,

    Iron Fist 14, CGC 8.5 OW...
    Now it belongs to my buddy. Sometimes it's just the right fit. I picked the book up raw at ECCC maybe 6 years ago, undergraded and 1/2 price - slabbed it - to see how the process worked, and had it in my collection for that time. Now it needs to move on to someone else who will love it - so a 40th birthday present is what it became.
    Lee
  16. Lee K

    Faces in comics...

    By Lee K,

    Or why portraiture fascinates me
    I don't think I have actually journaled about my fascination with portraiture - my love of the human face (and some animal faces - many have character in them as well). While I work at a regular job, processing paperwork and pushing a pencil, in my off time I paint. I have had some success with local shows and interact with local artists, but, like most artists that is the extent of my success.
    When I buy comics - when I scan the sea of books available from the myriad publishers - one of the things that drags me in is a strong portrait on the cover. From that follows my love of Alex Ross, Brian Bolland and others - even Carmine Infantino and Mike Grell do character studies (mixed in with their other work) that fascinate me. Kubert's Tarzans and Sgt. Rocks - Barry W. Smith's Conans - countless others - CC Beck, HG Peter, Fred Ray. Many of these books I don't have, or I only have RAW. Some I will slab, some I hope to eventually buy slabbed, others I will never own - just because I can't afford them all (ain't that the truth!)
    Outside of the realm of comics - Beardsly, Modigliani, Muscha, and Jasper Johns (ok-no portraiture there) and some of the work of Warhol fascinates me - I love some of the pop-art colors and some of that work famously comes from comics to main stream art.
    Lots of heavy line work combined (in many cases) with color.
    For those interested I have some stuff up on my facebook artist's page and I welcome you to look (it's a public page).
    In the mean time - Happy Hunting!
    http://www.facebook.com/kessler-art-works/177147268986738
  17. Lee K

    More Grades

    By Lee K,

    just like school - mostly B's...
    So I sent in some raw go-go checks & a Strange Adventures to use up this year's certificate with the expectation of a 7.0, an 8.0, and a 9.2...and off-white to white pages.
    I have to say that I'm pleased (mostly) with my returns:
    Swing w/ Scooter 4 - expected 7.0 off-white - received 8.0 White
    Strange Adv. 125 - ex: 8.0 off-white/white - received 8.5 OW/W
    Inferior Five 2 - ex: 9.2 OW/W - received 9.0 OW/W
    I may have to send in more Swing w/ Scooter issues...
    Happy Hunting
    Lee
  18. Lee K

    What a great day!

    By Lee K,

    yesterday & today combined to make a great week
    My books shipped confirming my grades.
    I finished paying for the Mike Grell splash page for DC Retroactive Green Lantern (with Denny O'Neil)
    My package showed up from Worldwide Comics (Tarzan 243 NM+, Strange Adventures 185 NM-, and Strange Adventures 192 NM-) showed up...
    AND my LCS got a 1/200 sketch copy of Justice League #1 which I picked up at a very reasonable price. Now I just have to by a 1/25 cover at a decent price on-line.
    Life is good - and I'm living it!
    Happy Hunting
    Lee K
  19. Lee K

    Grades are in.

    By Lee K,

    Modern grades anyway...
    and they're not shipped yet, so the bet is still on whether the moderns (from 7/5/2011) will ship before my SA coupon books (from 8/15/2011).
    All the books came back 9.8/White - so that's nice (expected, but nice nonetheless) since I selected a mixed bag of JLAs JSAs Justice League of Americas (new #1 at my LCS today!) and a Brian Bolland Batman:Gotham for my brand new Brian Bolland collection (hey - either you dig his art or you detest it - I dig it for its differentness).
    I figure my SA coupon books should grade sometime in the next 7 days or so but I really expect a 7, a 8, and a 9.2 - nothing to write home about. But I'm not the best shopper of raw SA books...
    Later - and happy hunting
    Lee K
  20. Lee K

    Flaming Scimitars and

    By Lee K,

    OK - I don't really do flaming swords - swords are for girls - I prefer a big ol' axe...
    Last night I had the time to sit down quietly with the last issues of the current runs of Justice League of America, Secret Six, Will Eisner's The Spirit, and Zatanna - all DC books that are wrapping up in order to make way for the NEW 52!
    As I have blogged previously, I don't have any issue with the DC re-boot - in and of itself - companies reinvent themselves all the time and the little baby-step resets that have happened over the past 20 years (25 years?) have failed to produce new readers in large quantities - at least not the numbers the industry needs to stay healthy. I'll agree that some of the re-imagined characters are a little silly - I just don't see that Clark Kent or Hal Jordan really need armor incorporated into their costumes - Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman - sure - they're not Kryptonian or armed with a ring that protects them from all kinds of dangerous stuff...
    That having been said - I will miss these books; these teams when the DC universe moves forward. The final issues ran the gamut from terrible to truely enjoyable.
    While I will miss the most recent team of Justice Leaguers - with & Donna, Bill & Mik, Jen & Kara...the last issue was terrible; a huge jumble of every story that was scheduled for the next several issues told piecemeal and retroactively as they went their own ways. A sad, poorly thought out end to a very pleasant book.
    Secret Six is like my secret pleasure - I always enjoyed the Suicide Squad, and this team carries the idea forward (kind of) with Deadshot and with Gail Simone's bloody incredible writing. Like any series some of the story arcs were better than others - but the closing story worked well for me. The only dissappointment was the lack of clarity of which of the six died and which lived.
    Zatanna. I love Zatanna - always have, even when she was drawn with that stupid space lobster on her head. Ugh! Whose idea was that? Anyway this 16 issue series is a lot of fun and an easy read. If you have never checked it out - go get them out of the dollar bin at the next con and read them in order. The closing issue was a treat, an enjoyable ending to an enjoyable ride.
    And The Spirit. This has been one of the better runs of the Spirit in recent years - the writing was excellent and well thought out and the art has been top notch. The issues with the Spirit Black & White backstories (the $3.99 issues) are the best treat - each one has a self-contained black & white story in the back of the book by an excellent artist/writer team. These are a serious treat - if you like the Spirit, track these issues down, I think they are #1 through #9. After missing these treats for several months (but continuing with the book) the last issue consisted of two of these black & white treats. And I loved it.
    So, while you wait for your status to change to: Scheduled for Grading - go read a comic; I did - I think I'll read some more tonight.
    Happy Hunting
    Lee K
  21. Lee K

    Verified

    By Lee K,

    So...
    So I now have two separate invoiced marked as 'verified'...one a small group of moderns that were checked in on 7/5/2011 and the other 3 books on my member coupon that were checked in today...
    Which group will be graded first?
    Which group will be shipped first?
    This is almost as exciting as anticipating my grades...
    Lee K
  22. Lee K

    1 in 200

    By Lee K,

    How am I supposed to get this?
    So I just got the info from my LCS and the breakdown for the new Justice League title is: regular cover, variant cover that comes with the digital download, 1 in 25 cover, and 1 in 200 sketch cover...
    I live in a town of 100,000 people with an aircraft carrier stationed at it, and my LCS is ordering an entire 75 copies of Justice League #1.
    So how exactly, without ruining my budget, am I supposed to get a copy of the 1 in 200 sketch cover? What a pain in my buttox.
    If anyone has an option that doesn't include spending an arm and a leg on Ebay, or your other site of choice - let me know...
    Sadness...

    Lee K
  23. Lee K

    Birthday Surprise

    By Lee K,

    So I was kinda hoping I would have grades...
    But, I don't.
    On the other hand I went to my LCS and my buddy there had purchased for me a raw copy of Strange Adventures #99 - maybe VG+/F-. A complete and readable copy for my collection.
    I am a happy man.
    Lee
  24. Lee K

    Twin Cities

    By Lee K,

    Just generally overgraded?
    So I got my second book from the Twin Cities pedigree in the mail yesterday - Flash 162 - I already have a Metamorpho 9. When I bid on this book I could see that there was a strong stress line and color break at the upper staple - but further review of the scan indicated that this was the only substantial flaw with the front cover of the book, so I figured 9.2 was an ok grade.
    Once I had the book in hand, or rather the slab in hand, I was really disappointed with the presentation of the book; the upper staple color break is bigger than in looks in the scan and much to my dismay the back cover of the book is dingy. I mean really grey/dirty - almost as if it suffered some smoke damage that none of the books were supposed to have suffered.
    Honestly, I think the book is a rather weak 9.0 - particularly since I have 7.5s & 8.0s that present better.
    Has anyone else purchased a Twin Cities book that they were less than thrilled with once they got it in hand?
    Thanks for reading my rant.
    Lee K
  25. Lee K
    Go! - Go! - Go!
    The Go-go check period, representing a slice in time from early 1966 through the middle of 1967 is more than a ploy to make DC's books stand out on the spinner rack from all the competition.
    On the surface, it isn't much different than the Marvel picture frame period or even the 1976 Bicentennial issues; it does cover a specific period of time, and it created a cover design format that was used across multiple books in every genre by the publisher and it did make those books look like part of a group on the stand - comic companies still use this technique today to tie-in all the books in a crossover event (just in case you need all 250 issued of the Fall of the Mutants).
    But a deeper look into the books shows the remains of an intense advertising campaign - 1/3 page adds sprinkled throughout the books read: For the best in (Humor, Adventure, Thrills...) Go! Go! Go! - earlier interior adds read: When chosing your comics, Go check, then go doublecheck! The Direct Currents (letter page) masthead was changed to incorporate the checks; bad beat poetry was written in an effort to promote Swing with Scooter and The Adventures of Bob Hope all surrounded by the checks as well...
    But for a period of 18 months (about) every DC title had black and white checks across the top and around the top corners, linking the CCA emblem and the DC Comics logo, so when viewed by a prospective purchaser on the spinner rack, they stood out.
    Spanning 526 issues in 51 titles, the go-go check collection is about 25% larger than the Marvel picutre frame collection - it covers all genres: Humor (Adventures of Bob Hope, Sugar & Spike), Adventure (Strange Adventures), Superhero (Action, Wonder Woman), Team Books (Justice League of America), Team-ups (Brave & the Bold), Romance (Falling in Love, Young Romance), Western/Frontier (Tomahawk), and guys without powers (Sea Devils)...it includes 1st issues (Plastic Man, Inferior 5, Swing with Scooter), key issues (Batman 181, Lois Lane 70), and 80 page giant issues (18 of them).
    It includes great cover art (Batman 189, Brave & the Bold 72, Detective 365, Our Army At War 173, Strange Adventures 197, Tales of the Unexpected 99), terrible cover art (Justice League of America 53, Showcase 62 & 67, Wonder Woman 165, World's Finest 161) and gorilla cover art (Hawkman 16, Star Spangled War Stories 126, Strange Adventures 201, Wonder Woman 170) [DC sure loves their gorillas].
    The go-go check collection has fewer issues that Amazing Spiderman (complete) or Detective (complete)...but is still very large. Will I ever complete it? probably not - at least not in high grade. High grade issues of Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Swing with Scooter, and the half-dozen romance titles are hard to come by. Most of the romance books were in the Savannah pedigree - but for the most part, I was badly outbid on them. I do suspect that I should be able to complete maybe 80% of the collection, if I keep at it.
    I'm happy with the go-go check collection as a goal - and it should keep me busy for many years to come. I hope you are as happy with your goals.
    Happy Hunting & nice knowing you;
    Lee K