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Lee K

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Journal Entries posted by Lee K

  1. Lee K

    Milestones lost...

    By Lee K,

    The go-go check collection moves backward...
    So I've been working on the go-go check collection for some years now, and when I first put the list together I listed the superhero books and then I researched for the other titles I needed to make the collection complete; sometimes I missed an issue of one end of a run or the other but by the end of the first year I was fairly certain that I had all the titles accounted for. Except...well a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I was missing a romance book.
    Now, I've never been a big romance or humor book collector - although I appreciate the variety of DC funny animal books from the 50's and I like many of them - so I couldn't figure out what I was missing and eventually I concluded that I was just misremembering.
    Until last week - thanks to the Savannah collection which has a nice grouping of romance books - I finally discovered that which I had overlooked: Heart Throbs issues 100 through 108. 9 issues that I added to my collection list and once again moved my back under 20% complete. For an entire year I waited to hit 93 books - and now I have to wait another couple weeks of even a month to hit 95.
    Oh well - it is the thrill of the hunt that excites me, so why not something as elusive as high grade SA romance books?
    Happy Hunting
    Lee K
  2. Lee K
    Yay! My modern submission is graded...
    All 9.8 - all white pages...
    So I've been trying to send in a small submission as regularly as I can - I know, I know - not the cheapest on shipping, but I can set aside a small amount of money easier than doing a big submission. I save the big ones for Emerald City CC.
    Also, I've been sending off the odd modern books - usually Justice League books, but I took time to go through my collection and pull out the covers by my two favotire cover artists: Alex Ross & Brian Bolland...Later I may even ask for a Brian Bolland DC cover set: Animal Man, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Gotham Knights are the big sets where he did work - but also an issue of Jonah Hex, the Zatanna one-shot: Everyday Magic, and the variant covers for the current (but sadly ending) Zatanna regular series (issues 1-6).
    That having been said - I didn't send any Bolland's this time - but I did send a Ross, and I did accidently send the Frank Miller covered All-Star Batman & Robin #5 (variant).
    Yeah, accidently - I had originally selected 7 books to send, but when I examined them in the art studio (best light in the house) I decided that a spine stress on the All-Star B&R and a bad corner an another book would prevent them from grading at 9.6 or better and I deleted them from my order and set them aside - or at least I thought I did; somehow I set the All-Star aside in the same pile as the books I intended to (and did) ship. So I got a call from CGC: there's a discrepancy in your order form and we won't do anything with your books until you call us...I cleared this up fast enough on the phone and the book was added to my invoice - I guess it was meant to be.
    Oh, yeah - the books:
    JSA #1 - just becuase
    JSA #73 - Alex Ross cover - because I love portraits, I paint portraits, and I think Alex's portraits rock...
    JLA - #7 - working on this set - just because I like it.
    Justice League of America (2006) - 3 - working on this set too (for some reason I don't own the variant cover to issue 3)
    Justice League of America (2006) - 4 - variant
    All-Star Batman & Robin - 5 - variant - because I am engaged by Frank Miller's compositions (sometimes - this one works for me, other's don't)
    Next up? The black covers: Justice League of America #0; JLA #8; Gotham Knights #18 (best Aquaman cover ever); JSA #74 (more Alex Ross)...I haven't even shipped these out yet - but I will soon...
    Till then - Happy Hunting:
    Lee K
  3. Lee K
    judging starts in 48 hours...
    Well, I had really hoped that one more submission would be graded and available to add to my sets before grading started, but it isn't going to happen. The modern books would have been enough to push me into 1st in one more set (where the competition is weak), but - well, it can wait till next year.
    Best of luck to all of you with your sets.
    and Happy hunting;
    Lee K
  4. Lee K
    Does anyone know...
    What the actual modern turn around time is right now? I've been Verified for weeks now with no change in status. I think today is business day 20 - but I don't always know which cons are 'major'.
    Let me know...
    Thanks
    L
  5. Lee K
    because my grades came in overnight
    They didn't all come back as high as I had hoped; I was looking for five 9.8's, a 9.2-9.4, and a 9.8(+) - I know dreamer, but the book appeared extra-super-fine-nice-minty-mint to me...
    I ended up with four 9.8's + 9.4, a 9.2 (as expected), and a 9.6 (umm, really?) - The only thing I can guess is the possibility of shipping damage.
    I packed my next shipment (arrived 5.9.2011) better - so I guess I'll see...
    Happy Hunting
    Lee
  6. Lee K

    Con season is here

    By Lee K,

    or, why I can't get my books graded...
    Well - because all of you who have books being graded too, clogging up the queue.
    I guess that's kind of the thing about summer. Pretty much every work week only has four business days for turn around time with convention Fridays not counting - that doesn's sound like much, but it is a 20% reduction in days per week...
    Add to that all the people who wait till the local convention to submit their comics for grading to save on shipping and you have created a substantial backlog of books to be graded at every level (ok - that last poart is a guess, an educated guess - but a guess).
    So now my books that were received on April 21st are in their 25th day - 20th if you remove all those Fridays - and their still sitting at verified...each day I log in and hope to see their status change, and at the end of each day I check again.
    Wish me luck - it's only a couple hours till 5 eastern time, and then I'll check again.
    Happy Hunting.
    Lee
  7. Lee K

    Verified

    By Lee K,

    sort of...
    So...I sent in two issues of JSA, two issues of Justice League of America, one issue of JLA, and one issue of All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder.
    I have verified two issues of Justice Society of America, three issues of Justice League of America, and an issue of Batman & Robin.
    Will quality control catch this and correct it before everything is graded and shipped? or should I contact CGC?
    Anyone else have this issue before?
    Lee
     
    And the response from CGC is:
    Verification is just a step so that we may put placeholders in the system so that we can print barcodes for each book. It is in no way final and the graders will fix it when they get to your comics.
    So that is good to know - and if it happens to you, know you know too.
    (and knowing is half the battle)
    Lee
  8. Lee K

    Perfect Weekend

    By Lee K,

    For a comic collecter and fan...
    I cannot imagine a weekend more fine than the one I just experienced. Friday - my books went from received to verified, and a second package was sent to CGC via USPS. Friday - I was the successful bidder at auction for Batman 181, 9.2, OW, for my go-go check collection, meeting one of my goals for 2011. Friday - after work I drove down to Mike Grell's place and spent all day Saturday and Sunday morning hanging out there while he worked on the new Denny O'Neil Green Lantern Retroactive story - I actually got to hang out in the studio while he worked and watch pencil and paper become finished pencil prelims. That is an experience.
    We drank coffee and hung out in the kitchen while he shared a couple stories about the comic industry, including one about Neal Adams and his habit of mooching food off of everyone in his studio - and how that can be a mistake if you aren't familiar with how the food was prepared. And later my wife and his wife went out on the ranch (they breed & raise horses) and got some time in with the foals and I got some time in with my old horse partner, who is pastured now that he is 25...pretty old for a fresian.
    Saturday - I heard from my friend in New Orleans that two local galleries are considering buying some of my personal art work for their shops (think good thoughts for me - I could use the exposure and the money) and I should hear something from one of the two today or tomorrow.
    All in all, a damn fine weekend - I hope all of you enjoyed your weekend equally.
    Lee K
  9. Lee K

    The Waiting Game

    By Lee K,

    or "RECEIVED, day 6..."
    Let's be honest, I couldn't live further from Sarasota, FL, and still live in the continental US. And my budget isn't what I would like it to be for buying books and slabbing books - but I do have some moderns from my reading enjoyment of the various Justice League titles I would like to have slabbed. It's just, well, the status titles: Received, Verified, Scheduled for Grading - I know that these terms are defined, but what do they mean to me, from a practical standpoint. Does received mean my books showed up; or my books showed up and if the box was totally crushed in a tornado accident with the USPS truck, then CGC would have called me or emailed me and said so. Verified I understand; but there seems to be two steps - verified with no information loaded, and verified with information loaded...is that a multiple step process? should it be verified and uploaded? I don't know...but sometimes, sometimes I feel that the little bit of information is more tempting, more teasing, and more frustrating than no information. Of course, after reflecting on it, I know that no information for 20 or 30 work days would drive me completely bonkers. So, some is better than none...now I need to wait for my seven books: 2xJLA; 2xJustice League of America (current series); 1xJustice League; 1xAll Star Batman; and 1xNew Mutants...
    Wish me calmness while I wait - I'm going to need it.
    Because their motto was: Living on Borrowed Time, I give you: Challengers of the Unknown 54
    Happy Hunting
    Lee K

  10. Lee K
    That's right - I have a marvel book in my registry
    OK - so I have some New Mutants lying around from when I closed my LCS so I sent in issue 87 just to see, under the premise that I haven't looked at them since I put them away. Now, since I am not in the business of selling anymore - I guess I am commited to having this one lonely marvel set as I slowly send in the odd Liefeld book from time to time.
    Happy Hunting
    Lee K
  11. Lee K
    cause my EMCC submission no. 1 came in.
    and like every Christmas Day there were surprises, disappointments, and excitement all around.
    Let me preface this entry with the following: all of these books are from my personal collection, all books I bought off the rack at my LCS. Books from 1984 through 1988 are from my time in the Air Force and were purchased at the LCS in Riverside Ca; books that are older than that are from when I was in high school, and books from 89 through 91 are from when I owned my own LCS. These books travelled from Seattle to Mississippi to Southern California, back to Seattle and through 4 apartments before settling in the house I own now. They have many, many miles on them.
    Until about 2000 - grade wasn't something I thought about when buying a new book from my LCS. The book was new, all the other books were new - they were therefor the same: 'new'. I understand now that 'new' isn't any more a condition than 'nice' is.
    My submission can be considered as two different batches - the first of which were all books that I thought could grade out at 9.8 or better - and before you comment, I have submitted only about 100 books during my membership and one of them was a 9.9 - so it does happen and you don't have to be a big dealer for it to happen to you (although it didn't this time). The second part of the submission is all Justice League of America books that I anticipated would grade out about 9.2.
    To avoid being redundant all of the books have WHITE pages.
    For my freaky Batman friend I had three variant cover books slabbed so that I might give them to him as gifts for his birthday: Birds of Prey 1 (9.8); Red Robin 1 (9.8); and Batman 700 (9.6).
    For me (& my wife) I got:
    Zatanna: Everyday Magic (9.8)
    Wonder Woman 181 from 2002 (9.6) for my wife
    New Mutants 70 (9.6) - I thought this was the best looking book in the submission. *shrug*
    New Mutants 81 (9.8)
    New Mutants 82 (9.4) (?!?)
    New Mutants 98 (9.8)
    JLA 1 - (9.6)
    JLA 2 - (9.8)
    JLA 3 - (9.6)
    JLA 4 - (9.8)
    Justice League 3 - Superman logo variant (9.4)
    And finally mu Justice League of Americas - the books with thousands of miles on them...
    Justice League of America 200 - (9.0) - I don;t know about this; it's a beautiful 72 page square bound book and it looks like the best bet for a 9.6 in the bunch. That's why I don't work for CGC
    justice League of America 212 - (9.6)
    Justice League of America 213 - (9.6)
    Justice League of America 217 - (9.4)
    Justice League of America 249 - (8.0) what? was I eating pizza?
    Justice League of America 253 - (9.6)
    Justice League of America 254 - (9.2)
    Justice League of America 256 - (9.4)
    Justice League of America 259 - (8.0) pizza again - this happened a lot in the 80's
    I am happy with my returns - and surprised, books that I anticipated would grade at the bottom of the range I was looking at graded at the top; and vise versa.
    On a happy side note - my EMCC submission no. 2 was graded and I peeked.
    All WHITE pages - all Cho Signature series:
    Shanna #1 - 9.8
    Shanna #2 - 9.8
    Shanna #3 - 9.8
    Shanna #4 - 9.8
    Shanna #5 - 9.6
    Shanna #6 - 9.8
    Shanna #7 - 9.8
    I had thought that they would all be 9.8's but there isn't any way for me to control how Frank handles the books while signing - so I guess one at 9.6 isn't the end of my world.
    Happy Hunting.
    Lee
  12. Lee K
    Now at scheduled for grading status...
    Not that either package is really exciting. Submission 1 has some modern variant covers from my collection for my buddy's birthday, a modern wonder woman for my wife, some New Muties from when I closed my own LCS that I thought might grade 9.8/WHITE for some collector I know...and a bunch of Justice Leage of Americas, Justice Leagues, and JLAs that I bought off the rack in the 80's & 90's that I thought would grade out 9.2 and better, oh - and Zatanna: Everyday Magic. 'cause it has that sweet Bolland cover. Submission no. 1 was just shipped - so I am excited to see what the post man brings me - and a little worried about the Justice League of Americas...
    Submission no. 2 was Shanna, She Devil 1 through 7 from 2003 with all Cho signatures...'cause I love me some Cho art and I figured what the h***, I got a few extra bucks.
    so...
    still waiting.
    and wondering...
    Lee
  13. Lee K

    Graded

    By Lee K,

    So one of my two Emerald City CC submissions is now "graded" status...
    All I have to do is keep from looking at it for 10 days or so until it shows up at my door.
    ...
    I can do it...
    Maybe
    Lee K
  14. 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

  15. Lee K

    Milestones...

    By Lee K,

    The go-go check collection moves forward
    So Emerald City ComicCon provided me with a lot of 'big fat nothing' for the go-go check collection; although I did have fun on Sunday and I dropped some books at the CGC booth for grading - but I only saw three go-go check slabs, all for Justice League of America books that I already have (albeit higher grade - all 9.6) and absolutely no raw go-go checks that I would bother to have slabbed - mostly reader grade stuff, call it 2.5 to 4.5. I did, on the other hand, pick up raw copies of Strange Adventures 110 (grey tone cover) and 125 (flying gorillas - I need to research how many flying gorillas I can find in SA DC books, this is getting uncanny) in fine to very fine condition at a good price - certainly a nice add to the whole Strange Adventures collection. I have to be careful how I abbreviate that: Siver Ave Strange Adventures somes out SA SA....
    But, hey this isn't about that - this is about a nice milestone: the go-go check collection will be 20% complete when I list my most recent acquisition: Strange Adventures 197 in 9.6 from the Savannah pedigree.
    I still haven't acquired any of the big three books from the set, but I do have some of the smaller keys, and I have strayed only rarely from the grade requirements: (1) at 7.5, (1) at 8.0, and now (3) at 9.6. Date-stamps are present more than I would like but I am relaxing about that some...(not much).
    I have representatives from most of the major SA pedigrees in the collection (no Green River which is sad); and I feel that the collection is progressing well overall.
    Anyway - I just wanted to share my recent success.
    No image this posting - I smoked my hard drive...
    Happy Hunting to all.
    Lee K
  16. 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...
  17. 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

  18. 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

  19. 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

  20. 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

  21. 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

  22. 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

  23. 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.

  24. 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

  25. 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