Gatsby77

New theory: At this point, I think Jaydog is trolling to such an extent that he actually has a high grade copy or two of Cerebus 1 stashed away and that his seemingly adversarial position in this thread was actually a ruse to shine a spotlight on and renew awareness of Cerebus, driving demand ahead of an impending sale. Well played, sir, well played.

I think Joaquin Phoenix is a solid choice for the role. He's grown steadily as an actor over the last 20 years, and has deserved the acclaim he received for films as diverse as Gladiator, Walk the Line, The Master and Her. Dude's come a long way since To Die For.

I always assumed that Deckard was a replicant, but my understanding is the different cuts of the film make this more or less true.

Happy to see they've _finally_ given TMNT # 1 a value again. To omit the price, noting only "prices vary wildly on this book," was a cop-out, particularly when we've got GPA data going back 5+ years (now 10+ years).

I don't have this year's Overstreet. But in last year's OAAW guides for just $12,000, while FF # 2 and 4 (# 19 & 20 on the Silver Age list) each guide at $12,500. So you're saying that in this year's guide the OAAW now surpasses them in value but is not on the list?

This is true. For awhile I bid on every Gold Key Magnus # 1 that came up for sale. Won some; lost some; ended up with 13 copies eventually. I did the same over a nine month period with Punisher Limited Series sets a decade or so ago - bid on every one under $40 shipped and ended up with a nice handful of copies (again, about a dozen each). "Supporting the market" and/or hoarding a given book =/= shilling, which is far more blatant price manipulation.

In other interesting pricing news, there's currently a CGC 7.5 up on Clink with a $750 asking price, which is less than a CGC 7.0 sold for in Clink's recent auction (shown directly below it with a final price of $786).

Exactly. If each book was offered for "$500 less than market value," the Cerebus would go for more money. Because, in 9.2 and up, it's worth more (grade for grade) than IH 181. The market value has been established. The current CGC 9.2 value for Cerebus 1 might be theoretical due to lack of recent GPA-verified data, but Overstreet's not wrong to state that Cerebus 1 in 9.2 is worth more than IH 181 in 9.2. That's what it's Top 10 Bronze List means; that's the parameters of the "value" discussion. And on that score, it's the Cerebus. Every time.

Again, you're just wrong here. It is proven, demonstrably more valuable grade-for-grade than IH 181 in 9.2, 9.4 and whatever other mythical 9.6 copies may exist. The market data say so; at least three reputable comic dealers in this thread say so; RMA (with whom I usually disagree) has delineated the myriad reasons why it is so (namely, the factual sales); and Overstreet's says so.

TL:DR (Just kidding, I read all 23+ pages) Cerebus # 1in the higher grades is indisputably more valuable than IH # 181 IH # 181 is arguably more important These are two totally separate things, but this thread deals with value - particularly comparative value at 9.2. And Cerebus wins. Hands down. We done yet?

I had two books graded on-site at Philly and they showed up on the census about two or three weeks after the show. Not sure why yours wouldn't be on there yet though. They didn't even have your invoice number when you called them? The number on your slab comes from that invoice number. Nah - they had the invoice number. Just explained that because they didn't have my CGC member number handy at the con, the online order status/tracking won't work. These weren't for onsite grading, but were just the regular slow track (Bronze, not Modern). Still nothing on the census; presume I'll receive them before the census updates anyway. From what others have posted, they've likely been graded & will ship to me later this week.

How quickly are books added to the census? I submitted my first ever batch on-site at Philly on 6/20. They said they didn't have my registration number so the online status updates won't work. Presume I'll receive them by month's end, but thought maybe I'd be able to tell when they are graded via census updates.

What about for second appearances? I submit that Daredevil # 169 should not count as Elektra's 2nd appearance, as I believe she appears in only 1 1/3 pages (~9 panels) and mostly in shadow. Folks who claim it's her 2nd appearance probably haven't actually cracked the book.

Seriously. Beautiful book!

Question - I submitted my first ever batch in person at a con via "Economy" two weeks ago. The invoice number doesn't yet show up online (says "Details not available for invoice.") Is this the lag time between "received" and "verified?" How long does it normally take for the books to show up under online tracking?

That Japanese Spider-Man # 1 is awesome! I thought I was cool for having a Japanese Spawn # 1 (still sealed), but dang...

I'll play!

Thanks much! My gut says to be happy with my slabbed 4.0 copy, but I literally looked for six years before finding anything other than a coverless copy of that book. If this were a legit 4.0 or better, I wouldn't hesitate, but too many variables for a no-longer must-have.

Dear Gator--how would you grade Richie's new Startling # 10? I note that he says it has neither "restored" nor his dreaded "conserved," but have a hard time thinking it'd reach 5.5, or that even he would shirk slabbing it if it would. If it were even a mere 4.5, I think $1,900's a more-than-fair price, but I defer to your wisdom. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Startling-Comics-10-1941-ORIGIN-FIGHTING-YANK-/141125536060?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276

New Mutants 87 peaked in my area (suburban Philly) at $85. Not price guide, it actually sold for those amounts. My first issue off the stands was also # 93 (for the Wolverine fight). Forget what month exactly I scored my copy of New Mutants 87 but I remember it was my holy grail and I mowed a lot of lawns to afford it. Went to one of those Philly cons at the Holiday Inn on Cityline, there was only one copy for sale in the whole place. Guide at the time was ~$35 but this was marked $50. I got it in a partial cash/trade deal, immediately went home and read it, damaging it to roughly a 9.0 in the process. One of my happiest comic buying experiences ever. In the years since I've picked up 7-8 more copies, never paying more than $15 for it. 98 was cool, and my friends & I re-read it lots, but it never attained the mythic bragging rights conferred on 87.

p.s. I'm actually thinking of going to the Va. Comic Con this month because both Liefeld and Trimpe will be there. Would it be blasphemy to try to get a double-signed New Mutants # 93?

I think it had a high print run because Liefeld and Cable were white hot, and _everybody_ read 93-94 for the Cable vs. Wolverine story and 95-97 for the X-tinction agenda tie-in, so at that point it was natural to finish 98-100 as well. Plus, 98 was a good story, with Cable going all "Mission Impossible" and identifying the new mutants for his rebuilt strikeforce, and finding Domino. Still, like ASM 361, it was hot from the beginning. In my area, it went to $8 within three months. Since I was there for its being on the stands, I have a hard time thinking of it as anything more than a $40-$50 book.

Hah--yeah--I checked the website this evening too. It's probably still there, but the site also notes it's date 2011. I just haven't been in 15 years. They have a pretty robust Facebook page, though. Impressed that Mike's made it through for the last 20+ years (and a bit jealous!)

OK, I was really hoping that this one was posted. I grew up in Main Line suburban Philly and the local comic book store was The Comic Nook, which was run by Jamie Hallett and...his mom! Yes, that's right, he owned and ran a comic book store with his mommy and they were both in the store ALL of the time. And this guy was as close to The Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons as you could ever imagine. He eventually sold the store to some guy who then sold the store to Mike Clark, who has run Showcase Comics on Lancaster Ave. since then. Anyway, during the 80s Independent Comics boom, he decided to get in the game and self-published this comic book! I think it ran 3-4 issues before he gave up but there are two hilarious anecdotes that I recall from that period. First of all, he declared the book "hot" within a few weeks of publication and would try to sell copies for $10+, and secondly, he tried to sell the original art to the first issue for some insane amount of money. Him and his mom were quite the characters and I've tried to google him over the years to no avail. I have no idea what happened to him but I would love to know. That's awesome, because Showcase Comics on Lancaster Ave. was my home comic store growing up. If I recall correctly he eventually expanded to three stores (South Street & the Granite Run Mall) before eventually going back to just the one. Never went to The Comic Nook, but I remember the various Fat Jack's and Comics & More locations in the early-mid 90s.

I'm not feeling it. The word that comes to mind is "pretentious," and not in a good way. Maybe it's because, like the Watchmen trailer, it tells you nothing about the plot but instead presumes fanboys will be excited because of their fondness for the Days of Future Past storyline. That, and simply seeing static shots of all those actors/characters makes us grin (Bishop!!) While the Watchmen trailer did the same, it also had a unique visual style and aesthetic that could intrigue non-fanboys ("hmm...this could be interesting"), this had literally nothing in it for folks unfamiliar with either the prior movies or the characters. In contrast, the Captain America movie unfolds like a solid espionage thriller and possible critique of the NSA that happens to feature comic book characters. Likewise, the Dark Knight trailer years ago introduced the Joker and hinted at a crime+corruption storyline that happened to feature comic book characters.