mrmitchgro

The date stamp across her forehead is pretty good!

White Mountain: What other non-Gaines pedigrees had ECs in them? Let's see 'em!

River City:

Since we're going with pedigrees, here are a few more: Bethlehem:

It's a great run Jeff. I picked up this one in the ComicLink auction last month, only 5 left to go!

Purchased a big Marvel SA key from Jay - transaction went great. Fast shipping and well packaged. Thanks again!

I wish this one was mine! But alas I was just calling attention to the sale. I do have a couple of EC Northfords though, and they are very nice (thumbs u

I've always been a fan of the book. One of the great pre-code books, and as important as any other. +1 The issue has significance as the first EC Horror book (along with COT 17), not necessarily because of the cover. But it brings up an interesting point, that much of the demand in ECs these days is driven by the cover (and less by the stories within) These seems to be true for Atlas as well IMHO. ..... with the one exception being that the typical Atlas cover is FAR superior to the typical E.C. cover ( except of course, those few Ingles beauties) GOD BLESS.... -jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u P.S. Weren't there less than 12 Gaines Files of VOH 12 ? From what we've read, there apparently was only one. And it's my understanding that even the one file copy may have been purchased after the fact by Mr. Gaines. I'm sure Steve will correct me on that if I'm wrong

I've always been a fan of the book. One of the great pre-code books, and as important as any other. +1 The issue has significance as the first EC Horror book (along with COT 17), not necessarily because of the cover. But it brings up an interesting point, that much of the demand in ECs these days is driven by the cover (and less by the stories within)

You sir are always a fountain of knowledge. I knew that there was only one Gaines copy but wasn't aware of the details behind it. Makes me happy I was able to grab mine when I did!

I think the last price I saw it listed at was $19.5k or so. The fact that there was no scan was unusual for a book that pricey. Like I said, I hope whoever bought it got one first! I know Overstreet lists that book as scarce, but how likely do you think it is that another NM (or better) copy is out there in the wild? That would be my main concern with buying that copy as the single highest graded (currently).

$14k without a scan! Hopefully the buyer got one privately prior to the sale. Has anyone ever seen this copy? Did anyone here buy it? VOH 12 Sale on CLink

Fascinating as always!

Picked up a Frazetta Famous Funnies from Robert. He shipped quickly and securely, and was great to deal with. Thanks!

unfortunately not... Something tells me there might be a few people that go by that handle in Florida!

Can't go wrong with early Supes. Congrats!

I think a lot of collectors our age (I'm assuming you're early 30s, as I am) have had similar trajectories. I put together a complete X-Men run when I got back into collecting since that's what I read as a kid, but I found as you did that buying SA books is just a matter of bankroll size, where the "thrill of the chase" doesn't really exist. Since I started putting together my EC run, I've been much more satisfied as a collector, and while it's frustrating sometimes (i.e. if cheetah is missing the same Tales from the Crypt issue as you, just wait for the next copy to show up in a couple of years ) I feel like it's kept me more engaged in the hobby in the long run. So congrats on the new focus! I don't think you'll regret it.

I think the Saints could use you if you are interested not bad Rick. Bill, with Brees they don't kick FGs . Although the the J-E-T-S beat him up a bit last week. our kicker has missed quite a few FG's this year; Brees has no WRs this year, so the Jimmy Graham well has been dipped into a ton already I bet Morten Andersen could still hit from 40+!

Thanks to Dan for a grail book at a fair price. The packaging was really well done, and I'd buy again from him in a heartbeat!

That was my point. I thought it was unnecessary fear-mongering based on an incomplete set of facts (i.e. a blurry picture that may have a dot).

I agree with the others that it's a blurry picture. If I was shopping for one I'd definitely ask for a better picture before bidding. Not only is the "dot" possibly there, but the blood is really off on the last S in turtles as well. I wouldn't rule out it being a counterfeit. From what I can see, it's not worth the risk for peace of mind. I would avoid at all cost. Exactly on the blood on the S. Here's a good 1st print that looks 100% legit Turtles #1 8.0 This isn't a raw book we're talking about, it's been graded. I know CGC has missed some counterfeits in the past, but I think you guys are being way too over-cautious here. I've seen plenty of legit first prints where the red didn't line up with the S. Being educated about the warning signs of fakes is essential to being a well-informed buyer, but you can't let yourself see boogeymen in every copy that's not 100% perfect. People put a lot of faith into CGC. However, they are experts at grading the condition of comics. You can't assume they know every aspect of counterfeit TMNTs. They are human beings, and they make mistakes all the time. If you don't believe that look at all the posts here about bubble slabs, wrong labels, pebbles inside slabs, poor shipping mistakes, etc... It's not just the blood not lining up. It's the blood not lining up AND the possible dot we know is unique to the 2nd print cover. Both of those together would make me wait for the next one if I'm buying. If I'm spending $2,000+ I'd be perfectly happy to wait a few more weeks for another one to show up to make sure I'm not getting a counterfeit. It's not like this is a book that rarely comes up for sale. Since CGC often labels books as counterfeits, I in fact do expect them to be experts in spotting them. I think it's telling that in regards to the book that started this thread, CGC made the buyer of the mislabeled 3rd print whole by finding a 9.8 first print replacement. That couldn't have come cheap. So while they do make mistakes, I have confidence in their ability to make it right. On the other hand, consider copies of Gobbledygook. CGC doesn't grade these specifically because they can't tell them apart from the fakes. So if they were worried about the same issue with TMNT 1s, they wouldn't grade those. You of course can do whatever you'd like with your money, but asking a seller for an additional picture to verify the dot seems like the right response, not "avoid at all cost".

I agree with the others that it's a blurry picture. If I was shopping for one I'd definitely ask for a better picture before bidding. Not only is the "dot" possibly there, but the blood is really off on the last S in turtles as well. I wouldn't rule out it being a counterfeit. From what I can see, it's not worth the risk for peace of mind. I would avoid at all cost. Exactly on the blood on the S. Here's a good 1st print that looks 100% legit Turtles #1 8.0 This isn't a raw book we're talking about, it's been graded. I know CGC has missed some counterfeits in the past, but I think you guys are being way too over-cautious here. I've seen plenty of legit first prints where the red didn't line up with the S. Being educated about the warning signs of fakes is essential to being a well-informed buyer, but you can't let yourself see boogeymen in every copy that's not 100% perfect.

Have we seen examples of them mixing up 1st/2nd prints? I know there was the 3rd print that was mislabeled, but maybe I missed other examples I think we need to keep in mind that 99.99% they get it right. It's important to understand the printing differences to be an educated buyer, but we need to be careful about disparaging sellers' books when the resolution isn't good enough to tell one way or the other. When in doubt I'll trust CGC

From the first picture it appears to be a first print. The resolution in the second picture is just too low to tell for sure, but I see what you're talking about.