cbbcomics

-Here's an interesting take on a spider's strength compared to a human. Look at the #1 rated answer. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070720210557AAb1MCn -I think jumping spiders can jump 50x their own body length.

Nice bomics

I think it's sharp!

It truly is!

Two beauties!

x1,000,000! Well said!

So true, brother. The enjoyment of this awesome hobbie is in the books. Of course value matters, but balancing that with the art and stories that make it matter in the first place is the key.

Thank you, Brannon!

Thanks peewee22 and lou_fine. I found the right boardies to work with to get these puppies. They aren't 7.0s, but I still love 'em.

Thanks to a fellow boardie, my AF15 now has a companion.

My AF15 next to his little brother.

I primarily use my phone to lurk the boards so the mobile view is probably different. Each thread takes up a large portion of my screen versus the "list view" on the old site in which I could see lots of threads within a topic in one shot. Maybe downsize (or condense) each thread for mobile?

I purchased a GL 76 from Mike. He's great to deal with and the book arrived extremely fast and well packed! A+ boardie!

You don't have to come to this thread at all I'm not forcing you to. I did not say that you were forcing me, if you re-read my post. You see you have started a thread on an open public forum and I shared my observations and thoughts. Not that you directly requested that anyone do so; however, when this thread went far awry from the comic book efforts you engaged in, you both asked for and welcomed advice. Advice was given and in many cases, you noted how it was helpful and you would make changes to follow much of the sound advice given. By sharing your efforts which to me seem to be continuous, repeated personal and business related non-improvements, critique from some of us who tried to offer constructive assistance ensued. You have stated it is your journal which in a way is a fair statement but you have no ownership of the site (at least none that I am aware of, perhaps you are a business investor or partner of CGC but you have not stated such) and therefore, any desire to limit participation is not an option. I will; however, forego any future critique unless you see the need to offer a reply to this post and I may wish to follow-up with any insight I feel compelled to add. I do want to give you some information as to why your situation is significantly relevant to me and why early on, I provided my thoughts that may have been helpful. I am in my early 50s. I retired from state service as the Deputy Administrator of the state agency which administers among other programs Employment Services and Unemployment Insurance benefits. I worked for the agency for 30 years and started as a Clerk, making $900 a month. Every advancement I had required that I meet the minimum requirements, then an application, followed by a multiple interview process if I made it that far. We are classified state workers which means there are several restrictions and some protections on job security and advancement. There is no pay for performance, COLAs, or automatic advancement. Unclassified employees such as those that appointed can receive what wage is deemed appropriate unlike classified who are restricted to whatever pay band they are in. I worked a placement desk, administered aptitude and proficiency testing, performed employer relations, did UI administration and adjudication, managed a local workforce center and then advanced through several other positions as state program technical supervisor and also chief of research until I was fortunate enough to end my career as the Deputy which is the highest level in our agency that a classified employee may attain. I then managed every program director over all these programs including ES, UI, JTPA/WIA (now WIOA - job training/placement) IT, Veterans, and Research. With my work experience, I provided information that I had learned and shared with job seekers and employers. Your posted comments and actions are similar to some job seekers I referred to jobs. After a few referrals with either excuses of why they couldn't do it or interview no-show, I saw that these folks didn't want to work. As an example that is related to what you have shared, I worked with a program called Ticket to Work which provided vouchers to individuals who were receiving disability but still able to perform many jobs. This would have helped them find gainful employment but when I worked with the program only 4% of the tickets issued in my state were used. Moral, they wanted to stay on public assistance and receive their benefit. Similar to UI benefits and the United States passed so many extended benefits periods, someone could stay on UI for a very long time plus receive other types assistance without job attainment or effort. A bit more on myself, I started working for the state during my last semester of college. I worked two jobs while in college. One was mowing yards and taking care of swimming pools. I even continued to mow yards when my foot was in a cast and I would wrap it in a trash bag to keep the grass out. I did this in 100+ degree weather at times. To this day, I hate taking care of my lawn but I do it and want it to look good to boot. I saved my money as much as possible (full disclosure, I had a scholarship that paid for some books and tuition and my parents had invested in a college plan so that was incredibly helpful). I paid for my food, gas, groceries, car insurance, and such. Four months after I graduated college, I bought my first house with my own money. And yes, I collected and read comics through my college days, starting way back in 1972 when I bought my first comic off the stands which I still have. Even though there were loads of books, I wanted to add like SA keys and lots of GA, I chose to save and plan for the future. To wrap up this brain dump on my part, to relate my understanding of your situation even more, my child had some special needs tied to a birth defect which required major surgery to correct. It was something we could wait until she was older and after she graduated high school, we located a specialist, had the surgery, and a lengthy rehab period later; she is doing great and attending college with great grades and got her first real job last summer in retail. My ex-wife was a Special Education teacher working with educable, mentally handicapped and I learned a great deal from her. She worked to finish her Master's Degree and is now a LPC working with many similarly handicapped patients. So I do find sympathy and indirectly, empathy, for you and your situation. I will never lose that feeling; however, when an individual who is able to help himself chooses not to for whatever reason, I find it exceedingly difficult to continue supporting that person's effort. I wish you the best and hope your future will be bright. Wow! Well done Telerites.

Yes...it clearly is enabling (in the negative sense of the word). I've started to make this point several times in the thread, but figured it wasn't worth the energy. I'm glad you made it, though... Edit: along those lines, I made a plea here a couple/few months ago that we stop responding. I was basically told to off. Well, thank you for trying, Sir. I suppose some folks just see this entire thread as entertainment fodder. If I understand things right, OP has never been a comic collector, and is not interested in collecting comics...only interest in comics is as their use as a widget for making profit buying and selling them, period. Same with board games, same with video games, same with coins...comics are just the latest widget (correct me if I'm wrong OP) Interesting. I appreciate you clarifying. That's probably part of the "issue" here.

I appreciate the community's many attempts to help the OP. After hundreds of pages of great advice and repeated misfortunes, I think Revat really summed it up well. Assuming this is not an extremely well orchestrated social media experiment , it seems as if the percentage of total advice given that was acted upon is likely less than 1%. If history repeats itself, the OP will continue to post and the community will continue to give advice and consequently get frustrated when it's not followed. Could it be possible that this cycle is in some way enabling? What would happen if the community stopped responding to anything the OP does that is destructive and only post affirmations when he does something constructive? I know it sounds nice and fluffy , but could it be true? If this were the approach the community took, I'd 100% agree that encouraging any comic-related discussion would interfere. Another approach could be to only discuss comics with the OP, nothing else, and only when there is no discussion of money or value. Regardless, I wish the OP the very best. Now here's my to the OP: Be a collector again. Making money from comics does not seem to work for you. Don't trade unless value is the last thing on your mind. I'm not encouraging you to trade your $500 book for someone else's $10 book just because you like the $10 book better. I am saying don't do it with the objective of getting something more valuable. It rarely seems to go in your favor. Just collect. Also, don't seek affirmation from people here on the boards or anywhere. That must come from within, buddy. Everyone struggles with it too, so it's an endless, yet possibly enjoyable journey. I recommend not posting anything related to your personal life. But if you want to talk comics... This isn't a troll nor a social experiment, just a guy that wants to make money with comics. My personal life I've cut down on but I don't mind sharing since I don't hide things or try to make them appear better to impress others. My last few comics buys and sell have went well so that's something I'm proud of.

I appreciate the community's many attempts to help the OP. After hundreds of pages of great advice and repeated misfortunes, I think Revat really summed it up well. Assuming this is not an extremely well orchestrated social media experiment , it seems as if the percentage of total advice given that was acted upon is likely less than 1%. If history repeats itself, the OP will continue to post and the community will continue to give advice and consequently get frustrated when it's not followed. Could it be possible that this cycle is in some way enabling? What would happen if the community stopped responding to anything the OP does that is destructive and only post affirmations when he does something constructive? I know it sounds nice and fluffy , but could it be true? If this were the approach the community took, I'd 100% agree that encouraging any comic-related discussion would interfere. Another approach could be to only discuss comics with the OP, nothing else, and only when there is no discussion of money or value. Regardless, I wish the OP the very best. Now here's my to the OP: Be a collector again. Making money from comics does not seem to work for you. Don't trade unless value is the last thing on your mind. I'm not encouraging you to trade your $500 book for someone else's $10 book just because you like the $10 book better. I am saying don't do it with the objective of getting something more valuable. It rarely seems to go in your favor. Just collect. Also, don't seek affirmation from people here on the boards or anywhere. That must come from within, buddy. Everyone struggles with it too, so it's an endless, yet possibly enjoyable journey. I recommend not posting anything related to your personal life. But if you want to talk comics...

Thank you mschmidt and the rest of the contributors on this thread! Very helpful.

Purchased a large lot of Silver and Bronze ASMs, X-Men, and Avengers. I'm very pleased with the transaction. Tamir is a trustworthy boardie.

Amazing thread. Thank you for sharing your life in such an inspiring and creative way.

Great book, great price, great communication! Steve is the man. Cheers!

Kelly is an honest seller! Great book, great price, great packing/shipping, and excellent to work with!

Thanks, Chris. I'm glad we have gotten to know each other!