Martin Sinescu

The experiences of buyers on the boards seem to back this up. MCS may buy on a tight grading scale, but they apparently turn them on the same scale, so at least it's across the board. It's just up to a seller to decide if the convenience is worth leaving that money on the table (as is the case pretty much anytime you sell to a dealer).

Yup, exact same here. I have maybe a 15% success rate where they agree with my grades. Like you, I've also sent stuff back that I bought from them originally (some Miracleman later issues) in the NM range that got knocked down into VF. Never removed them from the bag and still had their stickers on the back. That really cost me a good bit of money. Their selling tool is great though and it's a good way to dump random issues that are taking up valuable space. I haven't sold anything to them for a few years, I think, but if I were going to send stuff at this point, it wouldn't be anything worth more than a few bucks each just to minimize the hit I would take on the grades. I don't buy raw books from them too often as it seems they rarely have anything I want above VF/NM or NM-, but several folks on here have said they thought the books they received were undergraded, so that's a win if you're buying. If that's the case, they may just be harsh across the board and, of course, they have a nice page on their site which shows their grading standards and that isn't necessarily going to correspond with CGC's standards. With all that said, I still buy from them once every few months and the site is one of the best out there in terms of information (I use it almost daily), so I'm happy to support some aspects of their business.

Book's still going up. Closed last night on the Bay...

Lemme get dis, too.

and this

take it

Probably. I would assume DC cooked up the idea and pitched it to WM or WM buyers reached out to DC and asked them to put something special together, but it should be a win for both. I like the idea and glad they stuck with the vintage 100-page graphics. Kids won't be able to relate to that specifically, but would expect that aspect to be a hit with bronze collectors. And, again, we all remember how comics in grocery/convenience stores stopped us in our tracks as kids, so hopefully this will get books into kids' hands as well (assuming FBS doesn't buy them all)() As far as it being exclusive, this really shouldn't be a big deal. Various LCS's get their exclusives as long as they're willing to pony up and WM, Target, TRU, etc. had exclusive toys all the time.

Take Copy D.

Yeah, they're really becoming quite a powerhouse and I've been impressed with the breadth of stuff they get. Talked to a couple of the guys at HeroesCon (impressive setup) and they seem like nice folks.

My grab... this is the fourth graded ASM 300 I will have owned.

Man, that was a good pickup. So tough to find with a sharp wrap like that one!

Saved $86

I don't know that the comparison with Strats or the vintage guitar hobby is really valid since you're paying, what, a couple grand just for a new Strat off the rack as opposed to comics where many of these issues started at pocket change. I get that there's apparently goofy money out there across the board in most hobbies, but I don't think IH 181 is necessarily undervalued because other hobbies are more expensive. The thing that I find a little concerning is just how much disposable income everyone seems to have suddenly. I'd still like an IH 181, but I'd have to pay with credit to do it and it would take maybe the rest of the year to pay that off. And this would be with the realization that I'm paying waaayyyy more than it was last year. The people that are scooping these up at the drop of a hat are throwing 3, 4, 5, 6 thousand dollars or more at the book as if it's nothing. I just wonder if it is disposable income because of the surging economy or if other people are over-extending themselves to get a piece of the pie. That could spell real trouble if the strong economy proves unstable and people have to liquidate.

1st Aliens?

Nice touch with the 'Tec 68 just layin' around

Yeah, I had the same reaction immediately. I'm just too snobby about that stuff, especially if I'm spending that much.

I think there's lots of modern writers whose runs are held in very high regard and have that kind of power to attract fans. I see Gaiman and Morrison as kind of the torch-bearers after Moore and Miller, but, more recently, there's Bendis on Daredevil (I've heard his Avengers is good, too), Scott Snyder's Batman ('Tec 871 is a key issue because it is the beginning of Snyder's Batman work), Brubaker's Cap and DD runs, Remender on X-Force. Lots of guys and many of them have had long, acclaimed runs on those titles. Sometimes the premium is attached to the floppies, sometimes it isn't, but TPB and HC reprints are available in a way that they never were back in the 80's and before. The value of Gaiman's Sandman run (which I bought off the shelf starting with issue 6 and was sure would be worth a fortune one day), is really limited by the fact that it is reprinted to death. Check the prices on Omnibuses for some of these guys, though. When those things go out of print, they get astronomical, so people definitely value the stories. Remember what the original Miracleman HC's were worth? Insane prices. I'm one that really treasures a whole volume of a writer's run, so when I hear great things about Bendis's DD, I'd just rather get a HC volume than put together individual issues. Growing up, though, I had no way to read Byrne's X-Men or O'Neil/Adams Bats except to fork over big money for each individual issue. I think the other part of the equation is the proliferation of entertainment now versus "the good old days", whether within the medium or outside. Music, video games, sports, television, etc. It's all been cranked up to 11 and there are an insane amount of choices. That's kinda why I mainly stick to comics. It's rare that I watch TV or go to a movie because I need to control that overload to stay sane.

Amazing Spider-Man #31 VF- WP $275

Yup, most likely and yes, definitely tough to find in even decent shape. I think I've got Spider-Ham, Ewoks, Alf and Care Bears, all in about F/VF. As RMA said, maybe this turns up more HG copies.

Wow, comics changed a lot after you got out. Here's some that are late 80's/early 90's which should illustrate how much they evolved over that period: Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Alan Moore's Watchmen and Batman: The Killing Joke The Death of Superman (debatable whether it's great or not, but one of the more monumental events in comics) Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt

I had another very satisfying year and I continue to be happy with how much this con scratches my nostalgic itch for the old conventions I went to in the late 80's/early 90's. I got the three-day pass this year, although I got there late Friday and that pretty much only gave me two full days to roam the floor (not enough for me). I attended South Carolina Comic Con a few months ago and was surprised how apathetic I was to everything there as I was stuck in a bit of a directionless slump for a little while, so I was actually quite excited at how reinvigorated I was digging through all the boxes at Heroes. These pics show maybe half the floor, which is about all I managed to cover between Friday and Saturday. There's way more past 1100 (to the right) although the far right wall seemed to be where the fluff, novelty dealers were sequestered so it was a quick breeze through there.... Here are most of my pickups.... Lois Lane came from Dale. the X-Men stunners were from Worldwide. Bats 400 is one of my favorite issues and this FINALLY seems to be the raw NM+ "keeper" I've been looking for for years. From the "It's a Small World" category, the 'Tec 866 variant came from a dealer who, I found out, lives a few miles away from me. Supergirl #1 3rd Print I pulled out of a $5 box and looks to be at least a NM. I was on a McFarlane binge. All except the polybagged #1 came out of dollar boxes. ....and that's the stack of (mostly) Bats and 'Tecs I pulled from the same dollar-box booth. Spent $85 there. The boxes just went on and on. My stack was really teetering and sliding as I moved them down the line from box to box, so I decided to cash out before they just fell all over. I think I spent two hours there and didn't even finish. That booth was definitely packed with people, though, and I'd guess they had more than 50 long boxes (they said there were way more at the beginning of the weekend, but they had consolidated down from day to day). Several of these TPB's were dirt cheap (75% off cover). Although not dirt cheap, the McFarlane Spidey trade is the 2nd volume, which I was missing and was actively hunting at the show. I thought it might be a long shot to find it, but I made sure I checked over every booth that was stocked with trades and was glad when I finally found a copy near the end of the day Sunday. Bought that and the Origin of the Hobgoblin TPB at the same booth, so the dealer knocked 40% off his price on those. The discount TPB booths tended to be some of the busiest at the show. Filled some Spidey wants, again from Worldwide and Dale, so you know they're keepers. and some random stuff to close out. The FF's and Ghost Rider were more dollar-box pulls from the same dealer as the Bats and McSpideys. The Surfer What If? looks like a 9.6 and is one I was missing in my run. The X-Men 211, SS 50 and Spider-Ham are all things I tend to grab if I see nice copies. The highlight of the show, though, was running into an old friend from college that I hadn't seen in over 20 years. Ran into him with just minutes left in the show, but we went out for dinner afterwards and had a great time catching up. Overall, another great year and I definitely spent more than what I had budgeted because I kept finding fun stuff: high-grade "keepers", cheap books that I couldn't pass up, run fillers, reading material, etc. Just a great blend of stuff that I will enjoy for many different reasons. That's my report!

Wanna see something nuts?

As far as significance, I would say Supergirl might be the most important DC character. DC has a strong lineup of females created throughout the SA such as Wonder Girl, Zatanna, Ivy and Babs, but I would think Supergirl was the most impactful. Only Batgirl would rival her in terms of popularity/relevance across the decades and across various media, but she's obviously a derivative of Supergirl who came several years sooner. I'm not into the War genre, but I would think Sgt. Rock should be at or near the top as well in terms of significance. I don't really think any of the other names on the list would have the broad appeal of those 3 characters.

Man, I came away with a haul today. Still have tomorrow to go, which is good since I really hadn't even made it halfway across the floor by closing time. I hit Dale and Worldwide several times each, but I also found some unexpectedly nice little gems in random places and most of the dealers have been happy to knock a little off if I've asked (granted I'm not trying to take anyone's Hulk 181's). Definitely a fun time on my end with plenty more exploring to go.

I can't believe I didn't see that Power Pachyderms