F For Fake

I'd definitely trust your judgment over mine on all things "statue", and I will be curious to see what the final total is. Far more popular characters like Scarlet Witch, Rogue (I guess she's a Comiquette, not a PF), Storm, etc were what? 3k-4k edition size? And they have sat around for a while (not a critique of the piece themselves, mind you. I have the Scarlet Witch and the Rogue, and love them both.). Dazzler is much more niche character, and there isn't even a definitive look for the character that the fanbase can agree on (for instance, the blue body suit will always be MY Dazzler.) So, I'm really curious to see which way they go with her, edition wise It's one of those that could sell out super fast, or could linger for years and go on clearance, and neither result would surprise me!

Oh wow, I was wondering when they'd finally post pics. Not in love with the portrait (she's a big toothy!) but I may end up getting her simply because I don't think they'll make a ton of them, and once she's gone, prices will jump. I bet the edition size is fairly small for this one, better to grab her now instead of paying Regret Tax later. We'll see, I've got a couple of other priorities right now, but may end up taking the plunge.

Never tried it on a slab, but I will say, these things are handy for prying open just about anything you can think of! Great for painting tasks, obviously, but I can't count how many times I've pulled this thing out to wedge/crack/pry any number of situations.

This is a blast, please continue!

Ha, got the same. I immediately thought "Oh no, no emoji AT ALL? I'm doomed."

This is also one I'm looking to pick up at a show locally. I've found a few over the years, but either the box is missing, or it's a repro, or the price is too high. One day I'll find the right one for me.

Thanks for the notification, it did indeed summon me! Grades are in!

Same exact thinking/grades on the HoS and Fear for me. My initial reaction was that they were nicer (and closer to what ended up being the actual grades) but those little bits of wear allowed me to talk myself out of it.

1 Bullseye (Racket), and two within a grade (Iron Man and Comet), but the two I deliberated the longest, HOS and AiF, I was just a bit too hard on. Pretty close overall, but in this game, with these eagle eyes, "pretty close" will land me near the bottom of the standings! Racket Squad in Action #1 6.0 Iron Man #4 9.0 Comet #1 7.0 HoS #90 8.0 Adventure into Fear #10 7.5

Thanks so much, very kind of you! Went to the Urgent Care with a terrible stomach ache that wouldn't go away; they sent me to the ER, where I was admitted and kept for a couple of days, and on the third day they took my gallbladder! Still a bit stiff and sore, but overall much better. Sort of became an unplanned "lost week", but I'm getting back into the groove of things now. Appreciate the thought! PS: Grade submitted, sorry Mike!

Very sorry for the delay, ended up having an unexpected hospital adventure and small surgery last week, just now getting back to work and checking email/messages etc. I'd assumed I'd completely missed out on this! Will have grades your way momentarily!

I hesitated to speculate on it previously, but now that the big bomb has dropped, everything Mike has said in this thread pointed to an addiction of some kind. Once you've dealt with a junkie or tweaker, you develop a radar. I was really hoping that the books were still out there, but this seems to confirm the worst. Shady business dealings are one thing, as are health issues, debt issues, and an ego issues, but they are things that can be dealt with. You can't reason with an addict. Sincerely hope many of you can still be made whole, and for the books that are gone, let's hope there's some way to get those treasures back in the right hands. But it's clear that Mike needs the book thrown at him, not only for the sake of the people that he's ripped off, but clearly for his own sake as well. This path only leads to one place.

Teachable moments are important. We all make mistakes. I've made tons, and will continue to make them! Having an opportunity to say "I was wrong, and here's how I'll fix it and learn from it" is such a great thing. It can be a blow to the ego, but owning up and growing as a person is such a valuable experience. This guy missed his chance, and doubled down with a FDQ exit. Good riddance. As for the topic at hand, no, I see no reason to add any new rules. I think disclosing the return shipping responsibility is a great idea, and I have always done it myself, but making it a rule, I don't see the need. Reputable sellers will do the right thing. Bad sellers will get weeded out. The world turns on. Sorry to Balls on the bad transaction. That's a really cool book. Sucks that dingbats are out there screwing up perfectly nice books with their incompetence.

Wow, three boobs, or two boobs and a grossly dislocated shoulder? That is something else.

Whatever it takes to clear the way for an oversized hc collection of Kirby's 2001 stuff, I'm in. I don't care who owns it, just gimme the book.

Absolutely, I definitely got it for Christmas, and was so excited. Lots of memories tied into those boxes.

That's all great stuff! And yes, no doubt, the pages without scans could be very exciting, sometimes you really didn't know what you were going to get ha One time I ordered a Giffen cover, Thanos #9, and there wasn't a scan on the site, but I thought "Well, it says it's the cover to Thanos #9, that's what it should be!" When it showed up, it was actually the cover to #10, which had been labelled #9 on the art itself. He offered to refund, but I kept it, because it was still an awesome cover. (Wish I still had it!) Sometimes I'd just order random panel pages from artists I liked, without scans, and just let myself be surprised. At the time it was cheap enough that I could take a chance. Good times.

Will was the first "real" dealer I ever worked with. Worked out extremely generous terms on time payments so I could land some stuff I really wanted. These days I tend to stay away from dealers, in favor of looking for deals at auctions, but I wouldn't hesitate to work with Will again. Very polite, kind, fair and professional.

Those really were fun times. Scouring every corner of the site to find something worth buying, then sending the list and waiting days...weeks...maybe longer...to see what he actually had in stock. I know it drove people nuts, but I got a lot of really nice pages at great prices through those sales.

That auction was wild. $15k+. The detective work done in the FB groups was pretty amazing. For all we know, those were the original figures used in the catalog photo shoot. Wild stuff. Even if I had the money to spend, that's not the sort of thing I'd buy, but somebody out there now has ultimate bragging rights. Those MM Cobras are pretty amazing.

Every holiday season, I take vacation the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, and do a lot of stuff with family and friends. One tradition, going back many years, is my best bud Brian and I go out and hit up every toy shop in town. He's a confirmed G.I. Joe Junkie, and I like a little bit of everything. This year our outing happened to coincide with the big flea market at the fairgrounds, so we made a stop by there as well. Didn't find much comic wise, though I was more than happy to pick up these Hellboy Seed of Destruction books for a measly $3 each. I also grabbed another G.I. Joe Classified store display, which make great displays for home as well. Funny, I got the first one for free at a Walmart three years or more ago, and bought my second one for $25 at a Peddlers Mall, a couple of years later. Paid $50 for this one. I guess I'm getting easier, or supply is finally drying up. Also talked a guy down on a big bin of plastic junk. Lots of MotU, Joe, TMNT, etc Mostly just bits and pieces and accessories, but there's plenty of money in there to make it worthwhile. Besides, digging through plastic junk is my favorite hobby. The big score of the day was this box from the Marvel Comics Collecting Kit. I know we've discussed these a few times, they were available through either Sears of Penny's Wish Book catalogs when I was a kid. The kit came with a bundle of comics, a price guide, bags and boards, and one of these boxes. I FINALLY tracked down the orange/red one at a garage sale this summer, and this weekend, at long last, I grabbed the green one! You've rarely seen a man get his wallet out as quickly as I did that day! All in all it was a very fun outing. Hope you all had a groovy New Year!

Yes, really terrific. I have the JLI bias, but it was easily my favorite read of the year.

Thanks @Get Marwood & I for the heads up. I haven't been on since the holidays, just now getting back to work, and getting caught up on stuff. Sure, throw me on the list, never hurts to try, I s'pose.

Wow, yeah, i just assumed they'd never grade it, so I never sent mine in. Unstapled, newsprint preview, seems like an odd thing for them to grade. I don't really trust their grading these days, so I guess mine will stay raw.

Always love this thread, and am in danger of using up all of my "likes"! Great stuff! We had an expensive year (refinished the floors, new HVAC system, roof repairs, new appliances) so there wasn't a ton of comic money, but I did pick up a couple of things I liked. Upgraded my AV4, finally got a Walt Kelly Pogo strip that I liked (though I still want one with Pogo and Albert), and the Godzilla book is one of the best covers of the modern age, IMO. Onward to better things in 2024. Happy holidays, all!