MCJ

Bought Thor movie poster set, arrived just as described in a priority mailing tube. Thanks!

I've already capitulated, with nearly 2 weeks yet to go. I placed tracking bids on about ten lots, placed larger bids on the ones I coveted the most, but none of them aggressive enough to carry the day. I have a slim hope for one lot, but so do a half dozen other people. Sigh. Meanwhile over at Clink, I'm still in the lead on what I've become convinced is the ugliest comic in the auction (for it's grade level). "Buy the book, not the label" is sage advice.

A lot of attention is focused on #118. The Suscha News 9.4 went for $1400 last month. By throwing out the $3000 figure you might have scared away a few bidders just now (I admire your technique)! I'm staying away from that lot. I think the Twin Cities copy of #86 9.6 w/white PQ is gorgeous. I put in my tracking bid and saw it demolished in fairly short order. I'm fond of that copy of #84, too, but I know I can't compete for most of these. Some of the lower graded copies, maybe. Spectator this year, bidder in 2012, methinks. I'm still a bit surprised at how tepid most of the bidding is at this point. Ultimately a lot of the action should come when the lots go live on the auction floor...I remember watching online the TEC 27 ($1.075 million) and the Marvel Comics #1 "Pay Copy" lots zoom up in price in a matter of minutes... I have set my sights on only one Heritage lot at this point, and I doubt the odds are in my favor, but an almost identical copy is coming up on Clink in May

I agree with you, the Pedigree copy has more eye appeal and should go for more. Both copies are special. Maybe I'll own a nice copy someday with anywhere near the same appeal as either of those, though certainly a few grades lower!

PQ trumps centering for most collectors? I suppose a patient collector would hold out for both white pages and better centering, though that's a pretty exclusive club, the X-Men 9.4 and above!

I thought of this YouTube clip when I saw the Topic After Felicia Day posted this on one of her blogs, the viewership spiked dramatically...

Nice cover art! I wonder what the cover art for #118 would go for? There are a few nice pieces of original art by Kirby up on Heritage right now, but looking at the final price history for similar pages relegates me to the role of a spectator.

The "Cage pedigree" book was 8.0...Unless it was taken out of that holder (and "high security frame") once it got buried in the storage locker (shudder)...

Speaking of getting #108 framed, I got the idea from Fantastic Thor to get some art framed next to the comic. I wouldn't want to cut up even reader copies, though... Affording a page of original art is out of the question, but I bought the Splash page and page 2 production art transparencies--which I assume were used in the Journey Into Mystery Omnibus and Marvel Masterworks, since the original art was long gone: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=270713341955&si=Rq19q%252F6W%252FPMYXX1Evsz6n7LBuQU%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT#ht_8774wt_1141 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=280640603156&si=Rq19q%252F6W%252FPMYXX1Evsz6n7LBuQU%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT#ht_8784wt_1141 I envision placing the two transparencies next to the pages from 2 reader copies, and then placing my graded copy of 108 by itself in a 3rd column, archival mat boards and framed with UV glass. If I had not gone on a recent buying spree, I'd have this project done already, but I've shelved it for awhile. No rush, once done, I expect to have it for years to come.

Sharp corners on that copy of #111! My favorite cover is #108.

Thanks for pointing this out. I'm new to Locke & Key, and I knew Subterranean Press puts out great science fiction reprints, so I picked up the trade copies of Welcome to Lovecraft and Headgames. Having the scripts is fabulous. Now I'm waiting for the next two volumes to come out...

I have given it a lot of thought, and weighed whether or not it is worth filling out a run with restored books at a fraction of the cost, and I decided against it. You've inspired me to start a new thread on the value of a PLOD. Watching the marketplace, unrestored high grade silver age books are increasing in value, while the restored books with the dreaded Purple Label of Death tend to sit unsold, even when priced at a third or less of the FMV of the Blue label books. Some of the Keys (like AF 15) still move, perhaps because the buyers cannot afford (or otherwise justify purchasing) an unrestored copy in the same grade, and just want a copy. The JIM 84 9.4 and the JIM 83 8.5 on eBay currently are considerably cheaper than their blue label brethren, but still too expensive for many collectors. Ultimately, they aren't likely to appreciate in value at the same rate as the unrestored copies will, and in the big picture, buying restored books could encourage more restoration. Our hobby has enough trouble with restoration on raw books to pass them off as higher value unrestored copies. Concern over that possibility is a factor in why the encapsulated unrestored books demand such a premium in the marketplace. (So no PLODs for my collection. I say let's continue to stigmatize Purple.)

Busy week for you! You're getting a lot done...Welcome to the JIM 83 club, brother!

I can guess who's after that white pages copy of 91...I can only imagine what a frenzy would erupt if it were a 9.2 or 9.4 instead I'm curious where the ow/w 8.0 copy of #83 will end up, price-wise. I'm jealous in advance...Perhaps I should be jealous of the sellers, given the timing of the auction one month from the movie premiere.

The plot thickens! Things start to get interesting in the 9.2-9.6 range.

Sold for $4500 Copy is NM/NM- and from a pedigree, but with a chip: That was a separate sale from when you sold your #3 registry set? I think the other copy went for $2,899? I bow in your general direction...

This copy was Canadian by virtue of the original owner being Canadian: http://www.pedigreecomics.com/detail.php?issue_id=11620 I love that copy, too. I have 3 copies of JIM 85, suddenly, and my 8.5 white pages copy is where the train stops for someone of my means. The former owner pointed me to another 8.5 copy (Mass. pedigree) that sold on Clink in July for $4,400 (!)

That makes sense, thank you. Time to update my census spreadsheet...It appears one of the 9.2's is in the resubmission process as well. I have copies of 83 & 85 in the pipeline myself, but they're nowhere near that territory.

Yeah. If I owned a PLOD (my new favorite acronym, Purple Label of Death), I'd see about removing the restoration work, if possible. That 9.2 issue of JIM 85 on Clink is calling to me, but there's no telling what it would grade out as once it's been "unrestored." Might *still* come back with the dreaded purple label... Speaking of the illustrious Capt., I'm wondering why his 9.6 copy of JIM 85 is going on the block in Clink's May auction. Wouldn't placing it on Pedigree make more sense? No matter. The bright side of the movie hype is that it's encouraged collectors and/or investors to release high graded copies into the market to capitalize on the fervor. More power to them. Some really low census numbers books might have company soon with raw books in the grading pipeline at the CGC, further increasing the accuracy of the census. Speaking of movie hype, I'm a bit glad I'm not trying to complete a run of Spidey or the Avengers right now. But someday, I'll own a copy of AF 15 that doesn't look like a gerbil made a nest in it...

Come on down out of the nosebleeds. 8.0's are perfectly acceptable (at least to me) and are far more affordable than all those high grade copies and still present very well. My run averages about 7.75, (Excluding the 83, which I'll wait awhile for till the current fervor is over...) it costs a small fraction of what it would have cost in 9.0/9.2 average. Overall, I'd hazard a guess that it would be at least 10X as expensive and even that may be conservative. For instance, I cannot imagine what one of the 9.4 84s would go for if they ever hit the market. A 9.4 just hit eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Journey-Into-Mystery-84-CGC-9-4-Purple-Label-/310308271663?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item483fd0762f#ht_1495wt_1141 Restored, though One of the owners of an 8.5 ow 84 is entertaining offers starting at $2,467 on Heritage... Kevin's been selling his high grade JIMs on eBay (#6 registry set)(I'm the happy new owner of his #85) but now I'm broke...I'm relegated to the bench with the Clink and Heritage auctions about to go live...I'll cheer you on, though.

I agree, having a run in the 8.0s would look nice, but I've discovered that in several cases, dealers are demanding a high premium for an 8.0. Sometimes you can find a higher graded copy that is more in line with FMV. All of these 8.5-9.6 copies coming up for auction soon would be a nice way to round out a collection. I'll envy the new owners, that's for sure

I was wondering yesterday what it would cost at current prices to complete a run of Journey Into Mystery #83-125 and Annual #1, with Thor #126 thrown in for good measure, with 83-83 in 8.5 condition, and the rest in 9.4. with a few straying into 9.6 and 9.2, since some of those 9.4s haven't come on the market in a Blue Moon... The result: $137,881 (remove $2025 if you don't want Thor 126 in there), which does not count shipping or financing charges. There are a few copies coming up sale that I will bid on for tracking purposes, but I will sell my car, nor liquidate my Roth, or sell a kidney to pay for I know what you're thinking, I'm a quitter... After all that's considerably less than a run of FF 1-102, Avengers 1-503, or the first 100 issues of Spidey... I'm guessing the upcoming #83 8.5 Twin Cities pedigree auction at Heritage to fetch around $30,000 (http://comics.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=7033&LotIdNo=50023), and 9.4 copies of 92 & 95 to go for at least $4000 each if they become available. There are some pedigree sales and white pages copies in that total as well, so I will readily grant you that this figure is a bit high. So, a run averaging 9.2 or 9.0 would be *much* easier! I have to admire those of you that own, will own, or once owned a complete run. I'm confident that it took (or will take) years of effort.

So adorable! I loved the Stan Lee photos later in the set, too. I'll spare everybody the inevitable photos of me playing with the Destroyer toy from the Burger King kids meals...

After reviewing the recent and current census reports, I have to agree, acquiring 90 has gotten easier with the new additions to the census. 84, 90 & 91 are really hard to find in 9.0 and above. VF/NM copies of 83 & 84 are out of reach for this year, anyway, so I decided to focus on 85 instead. I bid aggressively over the last few months for several 7.5 & 8.0 copies, but the owners wouldn't let them go, so I bought an 8.5 white pages copy today...In terms of census numbers, it doesn't look like there have been many additions since 2006 at or above that grade (a 9.0 certified a year ago sold for $5,500 according to the GPA). Which makes me wonder. How many high grade copies are in the PGX census? Every time I go to check, the message is "The census application is in the process of being updated." So I sent them an email. I helped the former owner make 150% profit on a copy he bought 3 years ago...He made a great investment

I love the Virgil Finlay interior art! Really nice page quality on that issue too, considering its age...