F For Fake

The #2 was the last one I needed for my 9.8 set, took me a long time, but very happy to have it. I'm not normally a slab or registry person, but this was a set I wanted. Man, the later prints in 9.8, good luck, that's gonna be a bear. I pick them up raw whenever I see them in decent shape, but haven't subbed any.

WHOA! I can speak from experience, that is a TOUGH BOOK. It took me many, many years of digging and I finally got one as part of a huge trade. Had to pay through the nose for it, but at the time I think there were only 2 or 3 copies in the census. People just don't understand how hard this book is. Big big congrats!

Thanks! I think this may actually be an upgrade for me, which was very surprising given the location and price. I was digging through his boxes and found this one, which wasn't priced. So I said "There's no price, how much do you want for it?" And he said "No price means 50 cents" (and 50 cent books were 3/$1) so I couldn't get my buck out quick enough! I'm still gobsmacked that you can pull Dave books out of bargain bins, but they're definitely lurking out there!

Love it! Digests are criminally underappreciated.

That particular book may not have any extras. I've never had that volume, so I can't say. I think that was DC's first omni (could be wrong) so it may have been light on content. But most of the modern omni's I've read have been pretty stacked.

I've used Geminis for years (and whatever they were called before they named them Geminis) without issue, and I also use their precut boards. Make a sandwich with three or four pieces, book is bagged and boarded and then that is wrapped in a magazine bag, then into the cardboard sandwich, then the sandwich into the mailer. This can then be slipped into a priority legal flat rate envelope if desired. I cut cardboard for 20 years and I came to hate it so, so, so very much. Pre-cut boards are worth every penny spent. For nicer books I make a cardboard sandwich, wrap in bubble wrap, then do the 1092/1095 double box priority combo. The priority boxes and envelopes are available for free from USPS, and they'll even deliver them to your front door. Print the postage at home, have USPS pick them up for free. Can't beat that with a bat. I think about all the years I used to schlep boxes to the local post office, and just wanna cry.

They can have SOME bonus materials. The DC Omnis in particular usually seem to collect all or most of the extras from previous editions, like the forewards, costume designs, sketches, cover galleries, etc. I'm rereading the Kirby New Gods Omni right now, and it's got a ton of that stuff in it. Read the Grayson Omni right before that, and it had a bit as well. So I think it depends on the title, and what was previously published. If the files are readily at hand, most of the stuff seems to graduate over to the omni. As was previously mentioned, I'm excited about some of the Marvel reprints. I sold my Silver Surfer and Uncanny X-Force omnis back when prices went nuclear, and have regretted it, so I'm looking forward to getting those again. Same with Eternals, and I've held off on repurchasing as I have to imagine we'll get a new edition when the movie hits, hopefully with new restoration. Other than that, the volume I'd most like reprinted is the Captain Britain Omni. Another one I shouldn't have let go of. There are some I don't mind that I sold, like Aaron Ghost Rider, the Punisher stuff, Immortal Iron Fist, etc. I bought 'em, I read 'em, I sold 'em at a premium, I'm good with that. But there are a few I miss.

I also wonder if, at the time, they WANTED the boxes to be bigger, to take up maximum space and make an impact on the shelf? In the 80's, I recall that the toy aisles of TRU, Target, Zayre, etc were stacked to the rafters. Just enormous stacks of these toys. The larger boxes may help the figure stand out. I dunno, just a thought. I sure do miss those days, though!

Awesome! This was also a Christmas present for me, always love the design.

I pick up Dakota North whenever I find them in nice shape for a buck or less, just one of those cheap books I love. And you can't go wrong with Zatanna! And yeah, I love those Gold, silver and copper metallic ink second prints, those are also books I'm always hoarding for some reason. The New Warriors Gold is def one I don't see as often as the others.

Thanks! I knows, I can't find Tank Girls at all, much less nice copies on cheap. Was stoked to grab it!

Posted these in CG but thought you all might dig them here too. Weekend garage sale pickups, most in the 3/$1 bin, some $1.50 to $2, all less than marked. It was a good weekend!

Some lovely Dave books I found in the 3/$1 bin at a garage sale this weekend.

Some garage sale DH goodness. Gotta love that Art Adams Creature book for $1.50!

And here are some of the 3/$1 drek books that only I would be excited about!

Decent haul of copper/modern cheapos this weekend at a garage sale. It had been advertised on CL as having comics, toys, etc. The only comics shown in the ad were some strongly priced #1's like Star Wars, Wolverine, Suicide Squad, etc. So I figured the comics wouldn't be something for me, but I was very much interested in the GI Joes pictured. I arrived about 15 mins early, but was waiting for the official start time. There was one other guy there in his car, and he eventually got out and came up to talk to me. He told me he was there for the comics, I told him I was there for the toys, so we had a nice chat. Once the sale started I bought all of the Joes at a fair price. The other guy, in my estimation, overpaid for the "good" books mentioned above, and took off without checking out the other boxes, which is a shame for him, because that's where the good stuff was! The seller apparently bought every #1 that came out in the 80's, bagged them up and put them away. Everything was in great shape, every single book bagged and boarded, and also in alpha order! Best garage comic sale I've ever been to! Most of these were 50 cents, or 3/$1. I did pay $1.50 to $2 for a few. $10 for the Tank Girl and $4 for the Deadline, and couldn't get the money out of my pocket fast enough! Some hot stuff I can sell easy (paid $5 for the Young Avengers 1 and 3/$1 for the rest of the run) but also lots of cheap stuff I'll gladly keep. Those Alf and Chuck Norris 1's are all mine, baby! Some beautiful Dave books in the 50 cent bins too. Delightful morning!

There were a TON of yard sales going on Saturday, and I found a few things. I'd circled a sale on Craigslist that advertised comics and toys, and showed pics of a display case full of Joes, several straight arms, etc. Got to the sale Saturday AM only to find that this was the second weekend for this sale, and all the good Joes had been scooped up! That's how it goes sometimes. I went ahead and picked up the rest of what was left. Mostly figures that no one likes or that you always find (tons of vehicle drivers, Crystal Ball, Iceberg, etc) but for the price I decided to take them. I ended up scoring on the comics though! That story will be over in the garage sale thread. Moving on from the sale I was still Junk Crazy, so I went by the toy mall. Didn't find much, but I did pick up a grubby Donald Duck figure for my Duck shelf, and a couple of cheap soft head Turtles in decent shape. Next up I took my wife to a mall in a nearby city so she could do some shopping, and discovered a vintage toy shop in the mall, which was a first for me! Most of the stuff was crazy overpriced, but I did pick up these DVD battles sets for $20 each. Missing the DVDs, but I'm opening them anyway so I don't care. I don't do modern Joes much, but I always thought the radioactive Snake Eyes was a cool figure, and I love the MASS device accessories.

I don't think it will deter buyers on desirable books, but it is definitely narrowing the gap between eBay sellers and buying books at shows/cons. For the past several years, the real advantage of buying at a show was that you could hold the book in hand and be sure of what you were getting, but chances were you were going to pay up for it. eBay was more of a crapshoot on quality (and the book arriving as stated) but you could usually save a great deal of cash vs shows. But with shipping and now taxes as well, that gap is narrowing. I'm seeing it locally. A lot more selling on Facebook, at shops, etc. I myself have sold a lot more locally than on eBay in the last year or so, and it's great, because it's cash in hand, no tax worries, everyone wins.

I agree with everything being said here. I hadn't subbed a book ever since they brought out the new holders (which was what...two years ago now? Longer?) because I was afraid of the books being damaged, newton rings, turnaround times, etc. I finally decided I wanted a book slabbed, so I sent it walkthrough. The newton rings aren't too bad on my copy, but the fact that we have to worry about it at all is ridiculous. If turnaround times are now pushed out several MONTHS, that is simply inexcusable. If there are that many books coming in, then they are making money hand over fist. They need to expand their operation to get TAT and quality control back in shape. I have a few more I'm considering subbing, but until the TATs and ringing are resolved, I won't be sending any more in. I gambled on one book and did ok, but that's all I'm comfortable with at this time. I was so excited when Voldy came to town, because it seemed like we'd finally have some competition, which would make things better for EVERYONE. But that turned out to not really be the case. I don't know where a new competitor would come from at this point, who has the capital and experience to provide a strong challenge. I suspect that ship has sailed. So, at this point, the only competition CGC has is their customer base. As long as everyone is subbing, they have no pressure to improve.

Registered has always taken forever for me. One time I went to the post office to see if I could just pick the package up, because it had been apparently sitting there for several days. Was told that there's only one guy with access, one key, and he wasn't there. So, yeah, registered is unpredictable and doesn't follow the logic of most USPS shipping times/routes.

Not sure about Wolvie, but does Jack get a credit for creating the Spawn logo?

Oh yeah, I've got that Spawn bundle as well. WHo knows when I'll get around to reading it, I still have stuff stacked up from the Dynamite bundle, the IDW Transformers bundle, etc. Hard to beat those deals.

Oh and @Cruzin' Thru Comics congrats on chasing that dream! Hope it works out great. Lots of very pragmatic types around here, and I understand that, but I think when it comes to big dreams, you just have to go for it, you know? So good on ya!

This is funny, because one of MY best friends since middle school and I have often talked about opening a toy shop called B & B Collectibles, because our names both start with B! He moved to California for several years, but is back home now. We both have "normal" jobs and don't have the time or interest in opening a shop anymore, but I think we're going to set up at a GI Joe show next summer and fly the B & B banner just for fun.

yeah, see, this is the Neal I've seen more often than not. I'm not "talking bad" about him, I'm just reporting the facts, which are neither good nor bad, they're just facts. I've handed him a stack of cash and he was very chummy and pleasant. I've witnessed him be pretty cranky. But more than anything I just pass on his booth entirely to avoid the hucksterism. It's neither good nor bad in and of itself, he's trying to make money, and good for him. Just doesn't appeal to me. Of course, if he really wants to make some cash, he'd probably do well to cut back on the sheer amount of space he's paying for. Geez louise, his tables take up a whole GD wing of a convention floor!