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My First Sketch Op Almost Done

I'm hesitate to post this as I don''t want to jinx it -- but it looks like I might be getting the books from my first sketch op in the near future. I signed up for it last November (!!), and after drama involving the facilitator it looks like it's on track to be completed soon - finally! This, only after some good souls pitched in to get it done.

Both sketch covers are done. Hopefully they'll be submitted to CGC soon. I commissioned 2 covers, both homages to this Batgirl cover:

I commissioned a Black Canary and a Scarlet Witch. Here they are before being submitted to CGC (one a front cover, one a double cover):

Biggest Holder I've Ever Seen

This is another book I submitted for on-site grading at Baltimore, a TBP to add to my Frank Miller Sin City collection.

In Baltimore, CGC told me they didn't have a holder big enough to fit the book. They took it back to Florida for processing. To their credit, they still treated it as on-site and mailed it to me for no charge.

What surprised me is the size of the holder. It's about the same size as golden age, but much thicker. Here're a couple pictures comparing the two.

I really liked your Baltimore Con review... very nice 'Tec 48!

Thanks Hibou! I'm watching one of your eBay books.

On-Sites from Baltimore

I wasn't around on Sunday of the con to pick up my on-sites. It took about a week and a half for CGC to cart my books back to Florida, contact me to work out the shipping method, and then finally ship my books to me.

I've written before how I collect Jen Broomall's BDI trades. I got some of them graded in Philly. http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7287580&fpart=16

I graded 2 more in Baltimore. (I think I have the full set now, until she comes out with more.) I got one 9.8 and a 9.6. Ugh! I was hoping for 9.8s across the board. But really, the 9.6 was iffy at even 9.6 due to some wear along the spine and edges. I'm actually lucky to get the 9.6. Maybe someday I'll come across another copy and try again for 9.8 (her Legend of Oz TPB is getting hard to find).

Something CGC Wouldn't Grade

This is one of the books I tried to grade on-site at Baltimore. I've never gotten one of these before. CGC wouldn't grade it because the cover's a little bigger than the inside pages (I guess that's called overhang). I assume they thought encapsulating it might damage the book due to the overhang. Nice to see CGC has this quality control. I'm thinking about sending it to that other company to see what they might do.

Fun Key! First Mention of Batmobile and Gotham City

This comic was offered for sale here a few weeks ago. It caught my interest because the notes say it's the first mention of Batmobile and Gotham City.

I did some research. Overstreet confirms this comic is the first mention of the Batmobile, but says Wow #1 is the first mention of Gotham in comics. Huh? Wow is a Fawcett book, not DC. As far as I can tell, Wow #1 is the first mention of Gotham in comics, but it's not Batman's Gotham. Batman's Gotham is first mentioned in this comic, Tec #48. This is confirmed in a few places. For example, here's the review of Detective 48 by the ComicVine: "This is a pretty good crime story - a nice meaty plot involving a surveyor who finds a limestone cavern under the nation's gold reserves and the gangsters that frame his daughter for murder in order to blackmail the man into revealing the entrance to the cave.It also marks a number of firsts. Prior to this issue, the city which Batman operated in was New York - sometimes referred to as a 'gotham'. But in this issue, it is expressly named 'Gotham City'."

As for the Batmobile, there's actually a website batmobilehistory.com. It says: "Batman drove high-performance cars since his debut, but the term "Batmobile" didn't appear until nearly four years later in February 1941's Detective Comics #48. The car that first used the name was unlike later cars: this one was a bright red convertible that lacked fins, shields, or any other "bat" theme save for a small gold hood ornament. It did, however, sport a supercharged engine capable of tremendous speeds and a heavily reinforced nose capable of smashing through buildings without suffering any damage."

So the more I looked into the issue, the more I wanted it. In fact, I got a bit obsessed with getting the book. Problem was, the seller had it priced a bit more than I was willing to pay. But after some back and forth we were able to do the deal once the seller said he'd take a cash and trade deal. So I got the Tec 48 for cash plus these 2 books.

Detective 371 is one of my favorite Batgirl covers, but I was okay with trading it as I've wanted to upgrade. Shadow #1 was an easy one for me to trade. I won the comic earlier this year in a C-Link auction but it doesn't really fit in my collection.

So now I've got the first mention of the Batmobile and Batman's Gotham City. How cool is that!

Baltimore Con - Last thoughts

Some last thoughts about the con:

* It was fun, but for me Baltimore is a local con so I commuted from home each day (90 minutes each way). That made it not as much fun for me. It's more fun being away from home, to be able to completely immerse in comics and fandom. On the other hand, I was able to bring my daughter with me for the first time and that was alot of fun.

* There was TOO much to buy. San Diego doesn't even compare. NOT - EVEN - CLOSE.

* Speaking of SDCC, Baltimore sealed my decision to no longer go to SDCC. SDCC is no longer a comic con, and Baltimore really showed that. Sure, WW and other cons aren't true comic cons either, but SDCC is so expensive and so much a hassle. Last week SDCC sent out an email blast about buying tickets for next year (it was about making sure you were registered so you could participate in the ticket buying process). I've deleted those emails, I'm not going to even try to get tickets. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but it's a big deal for me because SDCC has always been my comic mecca. Well, no more, I'm done with it.

* I have to rethink my CGC submission strategy. In Baltimore I submitted (a) a 13 book Modern on-site invoice; (2) a 15 book Value invoice; and (3) a 21 book Value invoice. 49 books! Why do I need them graded? With that money, I could have bought 3 major grails I had my eye on. And where am I going to store these slabs? I don't know ... I'm sure I'll be excited when I get them (I wasn't at the con on Sunday so they have to ship my on-sites to me, I don't have them yet). But why do we grade, when it takes money away from buying books (kinda like throwing out the baby with the bath water). I'm not going to stop submitting books, but I will be giving a harder look at the books I submit.

* The fun of the con was offset somewhat by the "sketch op from heck" I'm suffering through right now. Sometimes I feel life is two steps forward, one step back ...

Anyway, here are a few statutes I picked up at the con. Thanks for reading!

Baltimore -- More stuff I picked up

Here are a few other things I picked up at the con. I was really surprised at the really good inventory of low- and mid-grade gold for sale, and at reasonable prices. I’d say I was “pleasantly” surprised, but maybe “alarming” would be a better way to describe it because I spent WAY more than I should have. I spent so much on Friday I was thinking I’d just window shop on Saturday but I couldn’t resist. In addition to wanting to spend time with the family, a big part of the reason I didn’t go on Sunday was I didn’t want to be tempted to spend more.

To give an example, this book is one reason why I didn't go back on Sunday. There were 3 copies of this book at the con, two were high grade and priced at around $1400 each. From the sticker you can see this one was offered at $525. Maybe the dealer would take $475 or even $450? Who knows, at this con it was definitely a buyer's market. So I didn’t want the temptation, I could not afford to spend more money!

Anyway, enough of what I didn’t buy! Here’s a book I picked up from Greg Reese, always a pleasure to do business with. His stock was incredible, and he gave me a little more off for being a repeat customer.

I bought this Matt Baker cover from a local dealer, for 80 bucks!

I also picked up these inexpensive Archie Montana covers. From a risqué level, Montana was right up there with today’s GGA artists (ebas, Tyndall, Debalfo, etc.) especially given the comics his covers appeared in (i.e., kids’ comics).

Baltimore Con - A few things I picked up

This was my biggest buy from Baltimore. With Ant Man apparently slatted for an upcoming movie, TTA #27 (1st apperance) and #35 (1st apperance in costume) are hot right now. Honestly I thought I'd miss the boat on these 2 books as they were rising in price faster than I was able to afford.

But I managed to pick this up from the dealer/collector I mentioned yesterday, who was at the con to reduce his collection. It wasn't cheap but I think I got it lower than current market value. Honestly I like 35 better than 27 since Antman is wearing his costume. Given the price difference (like 3x more for #27) I think #35 has a higher ceiling price wise. We'll see ...

Cons are always a great place to pick up books. They're so inexpensive (at least 50% off cover), I should take bigger advantage of it. The Ardard was only $5. Camelot 3000 Deluxe was $15, the other 2 were $10 each. Hard to beat that!

Baltimore Con - Wall Pics

I've decided to skip Sunday and just laze around the house today, spend time with the family and watch football. I've spent too much anyway!

Here are wall books from Friday and Saturday:

Baltimore Con - Saturday - Post Convention

To make today even better, when I got home I smoked beef and pork ribs on my Big Green Egg. I used a mix of mesquite, apple and hickory for the smoke.

Tomorrow I'm going to shoot up to Baltimore to pick up my on-sites (hopefully they'll be done!). Then I'll get back home before kickoff to watch the Redskins game. Before I leave for the con I'll put a pork belly on the Egg. It doesn't look great now but wait until after it's been cooking low and slow with smoke for a few hours. What a great weekend this is turning out to be!

So since this is a con report I guess I should post a pic from the con. Here's another book I found interesting, a low grade Richie Rich #1 for $300. It's on my want list and the price is right (and the dealer is motivated, I would not be surprised if he sold for $250, maybe even $225 -- maybe even $200!) but I'm hoping to get a bit nicer copy.

Baltimore Con - Saturday

Today was another great buying day (unfortunately for my bank account!). I bought so much I decided to submit another Value submission. So yesterday I submitted 15 books via Value (which was always my plan) and today I submitted another 21 books via Value, of which probably 10-12 came from buying books today and yesterday. Here's just one example. Maybe the best of all Schomberg GGA covers, this comic has been on my want list forever. I got it for 80 bucks!

Here's another book I've wanted for awhile, the 1st appearances of Loki and Odin. Okay, I paid more than $80 but I was able to get the dealer to come down a bit off the $400 sticker price.

When I planned to go to Baltimore I never expected to get comics like this. I've heard how great Baltimore is, and now you can add me to their list of supporters. At other big cons I go to (SDCC, Chicago) you tend to see the same big national dealers. They were here in Baltimore too, but also here are so many dealers I've never seen before. In fact, the guy I got the JIM #85 from is a collector who's reducing his collection.

As we were going back and forth on price for the JIM #85, I was checking GPA and eBay on my iPad. The dealer estimated the grade at 3.0. Okay, let's go with that. GPA has it at $385. I think that's lower than current market. So the dealer/collector got some cash, and I got a pretty good deal even if it comes in at 2.5. If it comes in at 2.0 then at that point it's hard to say. I like the book though. Some chipping on the side and the cover's spine is fragile, but otherwise great eye appeal.

So, onsite did close yesterday. But CGC opened it up again this morning at 11am (not sure why 11am since the con opened at 10am). This time though they limited people to 3 books max. By the time I went to the CGC booth around 2pm, on-site was closed.

I mentioned to the CGC staffer how at WW Philly on-site didn't close until Saturday, 3 days after opening. The staffer told me that had never happened before, that it's more normal for onsite to fill up the first day like here in Baltimore.

The only artist I really cared about seeing here in Baltimore was Gerhard. This is the first con I've ever seen him at. I bought from him this great hand colored print of Cerebus and Jaka.

I'll post wall pictures later. For now here's about the most interesting book I saw, 1 page of Batman #1 for $1000. I didn't buy it -- I wasn't even tempted, not really -- but I thought it was cool. I might have been more tempted if the page included the first appearance of the Joker or Catwoman -- but then I'm sure it would have been alot more expensive.

Baltimore Con - Friday

Just a brief report. I got to the con around 11am, 2 hours before the opening at 1pm. There were people there but no where as crowded as SDCC or even WW Philly. I went to get my wrist badge and it was then I found out they were offering VIP tickets -- $149 (VIP) vs $55 (general). I thought about upgrading. The biggest benefit was getting in an hour early all 3 days. But ultimately decided not to do it.

They let us in early at 1250, and I thought "Ha! I made the right decision! I'd be pissed if I spent extra for VIP and here all of us cheap seats are getting in early!"

(Some people are so clueless. I'm with a group of about 300 people who waited in line for 2 hours, sitting on the floor. Other people hung out in other parts of the convention center which is fine. But they weren't in the official line. So one guy -- who clearly has been sitting in a nice sofa -- I know this because we pass him as the line moves to the con door -- he tries to join our line. To his credit, the con staffer stops him and says "sorry sir, these people have been waiting in line 2 hours, they get in before you." I mean, what kind of person must that guy be to have to be told that?!)

I went straight to the CGC booth to submit my on-sites but I took my time. I didn't rush over because I remembered in Philly the CGC booth wasn't crowded except for about the first 10 minutes of opening day.

Well guess what? I finally make it to the CGC booth about 15 minutes after opening and there's a long line. I see 2 people and they are submitting long boxes of on-sites. Long boxes! Another guy is submitting a short box of Valiants (must be working on his set?)

Then, the CGC staffers start looking nervous. There's rumbling in the line that onsite is filling up. One CGC staffer asks everyone "who's submitting on-site?" Almost the entire line raises their hand.

The line doesn't move. The people in front are submitting tons of books! And -- THIS DRIVES ME CRAZY -- people ahead of me in the line do not move up when the next person is served. They just meekly stand in place. What the heck? Come on people, be assertive, you're in Washington DC now!

Is this possible? It's only 30 minutes into the con could they really close on-site? The main reason I'm at the con is for the freaking on-site. I start regretting not upgrading to VIP. That's what I get for making fun of the VIPs.

But thankfully I do get my on-site submission in (not a long or even a short box, just 17 moderns). Whew! Gemma checks me in, which is a nice coincidence as we exchanged emails last month about re-subbing a book to get an updated label and she remembers. Gemma tells me they ARE getting alot of on-sites and they will probably close for on-sites this afternoon (except for a few SS they'll hold back each day).

Wow ... in WW Philly they didn't close on-sites until (I think) Saturday (and the con opened Thursday, so 3 days afer opening). Here they fill up the first day? Although it makes sense I guess, Baltimore is a comic con and WW Philly is more a media con.

(Wouldn't it be possible for CGC to limit people to 50 on-site books or so? You can get in line as often as you want, but each time you can only submit 50 books. Seems like that would give everyone a chance.)

As for what I got today ... I wasn't expecting to do much, just go through dollar boxes as I've spent alot lately. But holy cow, the selection and prices, I couldn't let these deals go by ... I think I picked up 5-6 grails! I'll post more tomorrow.

This is why I can't save for Baltimore Con

I saw this on eBay last night, an autograph photo of Shatner and Nimoy authenticated by CGC. I lost out on a similar auction last month. Afterwards I did some research and realized I should have bid higher. The only place I can think of to get Shatner and Nimoy's signature is a Wizard World Con. A VIP Shatner badge is $275. Both a Shatner and Nimoy experience would probably be at least $400 and maybe $500.

I won this photo for a lot less than just the Shatner price. Which confirms what I've always thought, that autograph ops at WW cons are fun and great for collectors and fans, but they are lousy investments. So get them for fun, not to flip!

It amazes me the quantity and quality of great things for sale. There are so many outlets. As Baltimore approaches I'm pretty sure my biggest financial outlays will be the grading I'm submitting to CGC. I've spent too much lately on eBay and on these boards, I think in Baltimore I'll mostly be taking pictures and hitting the dollar boxes.

Major Grail !!! Bone #1 CGC 9.6

 

Wow, I can’t believe I own this! I won it last night in the Comic Connect auction. My winning bid was $1272. I was willing to go a little higher; the good thing about C-Connect’s extending time feature is you can always raise your bid if someone goes higher (although for the most part I hate this feature). Not much activity at the end. I was sweating bullets the last 2 minutes as I really didn’t want to bid higher.

 

Last GPA sale was $1500 in February. Okay, that makes me feel good to get it at $1272. But in January there were two sales at $1000 and $1050. Over the last 2-3 years the book has fluctuated in this range, from about $1000 to $1600. I’m astonished the book has sold for as low as $1000 (or thereabouts). I’m sure the buyers are turning cartwheels, but I cannot believe a seller would sell for that low amount.

 

As an aside, I’m really shocked people sell moderns on C-Link or C-Connect. They’re not the best venues for moderns, as I think they get lost among all the gold and silver. I’ve repeatedly gotten really good deals on C-Link and C-Connect. If I wanted to sell Bone #1 (or another high value modern), I’d either sell here on the boards or on eBay with a starting bid I’d be willing to live with. The only exception would be super hot books like Walking Dead #1.

 

Anyway, back to Bone #1. This is a hard book to find. I’ve been actively shopping for this for a while. On eBay right now there’s a 9.8Q for $5000 (egad!) and a 9.6 blue for $2500. But you don’t see it often. At shows they tend to be mid-grade raws, and expensive (north of $1000).

 

There are 27 9.6s (universals) on the census. No 10s, only 5 9.8s. I think most are in private collections, never to see the light of day. It’d take a lot for me to ever consider selling mine.

 

Interestingly, no 9.6 or 9.8 yellows (the highest yellow is 9.4). I’m already struggling about whether to crack the slab to get Jeff Smith’s signature. My initial thought is I won't. More likely I'll try to get him to sign a different issue with less risk, like #2 (the first appearance of Thorn).

 

I’ve had a couple of near misses this year. In January a boardie offered me a CGC 8.0 for $500. I decided to pass as I wanted a higher grade book.

 

In April I almost bought a CGC 9.4 from another boardie. He wanted $900, I was only willing to go $850. His offer was tempting, but I couldn’t get my head around that last $50 for a 9.4, I wanted a 9.6 or 9.8. If I was going to settle for a 9.4 I wanted a really good deal.

 

So I’m really happy to have this comic. Bone is special to me. For one I think the story’s great, one of the all-time greatest comics. But even more importantly, it’s something I’ve shared with my kids. All kids read Bone nowadays in school. My oldest daughter and son both really like it so it’s something I’ve been able to share with them. My daughter just started college last week (our first to go to college), so this shared experience is even more important to me.

 

Quick update: I'll probably be watching other sales for a while, I can't help it given how much I spent on the book. This one just sold on Heritage for $1123 (including BP). Qualified 9.4 from the Don and Maggie Thompson collection. I like the Thompsons (I remember Don's writings with alot of fondness) but I personally would not pay more for this pedigree. Can't wait to get my book from CC.

Going to Baltimore for On-Site Grading - Part 2

Decisons, decisions!

There's a book I want for one of my sets, and I'm trying to get a 9.8. Leading up to Baltimore I bought 3 copies off eBay. None of them are strong 9.8 candidates, but I planned to chance it and submit the best 2. I figured I could try to flip them if thet came in at 9.4 or 9.6 and at least get the cost of the comic + grading back.

But now the current Comic Link auction has the book I want in CGC 9.8. What do I do? The hammer price will be more than I want to pay, most likely. And the auction won't end until after the con.

After thinking about it, I think I've decided to go for the C-Link book. I'll have to pay more than I want, but I figure I can at least go $50 more than what I'd normally bid (i.e., the cost of on-site grading for 2 books). I might eventually submit the 2 books the normal way and try to sell them to make up some of my costs.

Hi dane323,

I think they cap it each day so people who only go Saturday (for example) have a chance at on-site if they submit early enough. They have less capacity though the farther you get into the con (which makes sense).

If you submit really early, they will probably have the books ready before the end of the con. If you're not there to pickup, or if they're not ready by the end of the con, they ship them to you.

Going to Baltimore for On-Site Grading

As I write this Baltimore Comicon is only 6 days away. I’m going for the first time. The main reason I’m going is because CGC is offering on-site grading. I discovered the wonder of on-site at WW Philly earlier this summer. I won’t say it changed my life … but if not for on-site grading I would not be going to this con. (I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels this way. I wonder if cons give CGC a financial incentive to do on-site grading?)

Here’s the price schedule for on-site grading:

• Modern $25 (versus Regular $18 / fast track $28; limited to 1980 to present)

• Economy $50 (regular $35 / fast track $46)

• Value on-site not available (regular $25 / fast track $35; 15 book minimum)

• Standard $85 (regular $60 / fast track n/a)

Clearly if you’re thinking about going FT for either Modern or Economy, then on-site is the better option. Personally I focus my on-site submissions on Modern. I've never used Economy. For books older than 1980, I use Value where on-site is not offered. For expensive books where you can't use Value, I use my 4 yearly membership coupons.

Right now I have around 17 Modern comics to submit on-site in Baltimore. I say "around" because I'm still trying to decide for some books. I might have a few more or less.

I also have around 23 books to submit via Value. I haven’t decided whether to submit fast track or normal. I might submit 15 fast track, and then hold the rest for my next Value submission.

Other than those CGC submissions, I don’t have a lot of collecting goals for Baltimore. I’m planning to take Friday afternoon off so I can be close to the front of the line to get my on-site books submitted to CGC (since this is the main reason I’m going to the con I don’t want on-site to fill up, although I doubt that will happen on Friday).

I’ll browse the dealer’s room on Friday but I’m not looking to buy a lot. Frankly I think I get better selection/deals via these boards and eBay (as well as c-connect and c-link). There are a few new comics I'm hoping to pick up. Depending on the condition, I might submit them via on-site (if it's still available).

On Saturday I’m taking my daughter. She's really into anime and wants to cosplay, so I’ll hang out with her (if she’ll let me). I'm hoping she won't get bored. She's never been to a comic con, only anime/manga cons, so I hope she finds enough to do. If she does get into the comic con then it'll really be great because I'll be able to take her to the cons I go to. It might be a reason to try for SDCC tickets next year (otherwise I'll probably be avoiding SDCC since it's so expensive and such a hassle to go to).

And then on Sunday I’ll shoot up to the con first thing to see if my on-sites are done; they should be, but if not I’ll have them mail them to me. I want to be home early because, for some reason, kickoff for the Redskins game is noon.

Anyway, I also hope to take pictures of cosplayers and dealer walls. I’ll post them here in my con report.

Major Grail !!! Bone #1 CGC 9.6

Wow, I can’t believe I own this! I won it last night in the Comic Connect auction. My winning bid was $1272. I was willing to go a little higher; the good thing about C-Connect’s extending time feature is you can always raise your bid if someone goes higher (although for the most part I hate this feature). Not much activity at the end. I was sweating bullets the last 2 minutes as I really didn’t want to bid higher.

Last GPA sale was $1500 in February. Okay, that makes me feel good to get it at $1272. But in January there were two sales at $1000 and $1050. Over the last 2-3 years the book has fluctuated in this range, from about $1000 to $1600. I’m astonished the book has sold for as low as $1000 (or thereabouts). I’m sure the buyers are turning cartwheels, but I cannot believe a seller would sell for that low amount.

As an aside, I’m really shocked people sell moderns on C-Link or C-Connect. They’re not the best venues for moderns, as I think they get lost among all the gold and silver. I’ve repeatedly gotten really good deals on C-Link and C-Connect. If I wanted to sell Bone #1 (or another high value modern), I’d either sell here on the boards or on eBay with a starting bid I’d be willing to live with. The only exception would be super hot books like Walking Dead #1.

Anyway, back to Bone #1. This is a hard book to find. I’ve been actively shopping for this for a while. On eBay right now there’s a 9.8Q for $5000 (egad!) and a 9.6 blue for $2500. But you don’t see it often. At shows they tend to be mid-grade raws, and expensive (north of $1000).

There are 27 9.6s (universals) on the census. No 10s, only 5 9.8s. I think most are in private collections, never to see the light of day. It’d take a lot for me to ever consider selling mine.

Interestingly, no 9.6 or 9.8 yellows (the highest yellow is 9.4). I’m already struggling about whether to crack the slab to get Jeff Smith’s signature. My initial thought is I won't. More likely I'll try to get him to sign a different issue with less risk, like #2 (the first appearance of Thorn).

I’ve had a couple of near misses this year. In January a boardie offered me a CGC 8.0 for $500. I decided to pass as I wanted a higher grade book.

In April I almost bought a CGC 9.4 from another boardie. He wanted $900, I was only willing to go $850. His offer was tempting, but I couldn’t get my head around that last $50 for a 9.4, I wanted a 9.6 or 9.8. If I was going to settle for a 9.4 I wanted a really good deal.

So I’m really happy to have this comic. Bone is special to me. For one I think the story’s great, one of the all-time greatest comics. But even more importantly, it’s something I’ve shared with my kids. All kids read Bone nowadays in school. My oldest daughter and son both really like it so it’s something I’ve been able to share with them. My daughter just started college last week (our first to go to college), so this shared experience is even more important to me.

San Diego Is In!

I submitted 5 books in San Diego, Modern fast track. I got them back on Monday, so it took only about a month. Frankly, I'm shocked (and very happy) they came back so fast. Thanks CGC!

All of them are SS. Three are by Joe Benitez. I bought them from his table in Artists Avenue. The first is the Lady Mechanika ashcan. Unfortunately he only had about a dozen to pick through. All had printing flaws (mostly rough edges where white showed through), and printing flaws don't affect the grade (from what I understand). This one came back 9.6. I was hoping for 9.8 but I guess at some point CGC does have to ding a book for too many flaws, even if they were due to the printing process. My goal is 9.8 for this book, so I guess the search continues.

Joe was offering his advance ready copy (ARC) of Lady Mechanika #4. Joe brought along 2 boxes of the #4, and he was kind and patient enough to let me pick through all of them (and I have to thank the CGC witness for his patience too!). I finally picked out 2 and submitted both. I was pessimistic about the grade through. Both had flaws around the staples, where it looks like the staple pushed the cover up (but there's no color break). On the long walk back from Joe's table to the CGC booth, the CGC witness assured me the books wouldn't take a hit as they were clearly printing flaws. I wasn't so optimistic. But the CGC witness was right! Both came back 9.8! Here's one of them. I'll probably sell the other. If you're interested PM me and maybe we can work something out. (One note -- Like an insufficiently_thoughtful_person, I didn't buy a copy to read! I'm dying to know what happens in #4!)

The other two are by Franchesco. He's become one of my favorite modern GGA artists, and he's about the nicest person you could meet. These books are his 2013 and 2014 sketch books. They're the limited editions and go for $50 each, but after we shared a few laughs he let me have them for $25 each (as I said, he's incredibly nice and approachable). I wanted to submit to CGC but the problem was, he only had a handful of each to select from (maybe 5 each). But luckily, both came back 9.8. So, four 9.8s and one 9.6 -- a great haul from SDCC!

By the way, I think 2014 will be my last San Diego Comic Con. When I reflect back, I had alot more fun at WW Chicago last summer. It's a better con for comics, much less crowded, less expensive, way less hassle. If you're a comic collector, SDCC is not nearly as much fun as other cons.

By the way, I don't know Anthony Castrillo and I've never dealt with him, so I have no first hand knowledge on how he is to work with. So I'm not trying to start anything. I do like his art. Here's another I got earlier this year from a boardie here.

Are Sketch Ops on these boards worth the bother?

Frankly, I don't think so. They just seem to take forever. It's different for commissions at cons. At least then you know you'll have it by the end of the con. Once though an artist was taking commissions at a con but said he could not finish at the con. He promised to get it done within a month. My mistake, I went for it. Well, it took 4 months, not 1, and most of the time I was unsure if it would really happen because he wasn't good at responding to my emails.

And then there's the cost. You're certainly not getting a deal when working directly with the artist.

The one thing you do get is the chance to get a commission to your specifications. And that's a big thing if it's a special artist and special characters. But I think you have to have that combination to make it worth the cost and hassle.

I really do like SS cover sketches, I've gotten into them the last couple of years. But I think it's a lot better to buy on eBay or these boards. Here's one I just got on eBay by Anthony Castrillo. I was the only bidder and was able to win it for only $89, less than half his commission rate (from what I could gather from some searching). I've read some threads here about how Anthony's commissions take some time. I don't know him and never dealt with him, but it's those kind of threads and my own experiences that make it doubtful I'll ever participate in another sketch op unless it's someone really rare like Dave Sim.

For an artist like Sim he's rarely at cons and there's not alot of his art flowing around. I'd love a commission of Cerebus with Jaka, so for an artist like him I'd be willing to pony up the money and I'd wait however long it would take. But for most other artists -- especially the ones you see at cons and have alot of art available on eBay -- it doesn't seem worth it. Just my opinion ...

Two issues closer to completing my Original Marvels Collection

I picked up 2 issues for my Original Marvels Collection (completing my runs of ASM, Avengers, Cap, FF, Hulk and Iron Man). Now I'm down to just 17 more issues!

I got the ASM 5 from a boardie. I paid more than I originally wanted, but it looks good for a 3.5 and they're expensive on eBay.

The FF 26 I got via best offer on eBay. It's a nice looking book except for the chunk out of the upper right corner. The left corner looks funky, but the seller assured me it was fine. I haven't gotten the book yet so I can't say. Either way it was a fairly nice looking inexpensive book to fill a hole. I don't plan on submitting to CGC.

SW3D - I never heard of Sucker Punch until your post. I checked it out on the internet and now it's definitely on my list to watch. Thanks!

Getting a deal when no one else is looking

I picked up this nice looking Brenda Starr on eBay recently. I watched it for a couple of weeks. There were no bids but that's not unusual, typically all the bids come in the last seconds. I did the same, using bidnapper (even with my bid coming from bidnapper I watched the last couple of minutes on eBay.) I was shocked when mine was the only bid! I can only assume no one else happened to be looking (maybe the summer and vacations).

I'll include it as part of my next Value submission that I'm dropping off at the Baltimore convention. Could this book get 8.0? I'm really excited to see.