Buzzetta

Let's see what ComicLink, eBay and CGC brought to me in the month of January. Warning: all Silver Spideys What I picked up this month: ASM 6 in a 4.5 ASM 6 in a 5.5 ASM 18 in a 5.5 (I think it presents a bit better than a 5.5 but I could be wrong... thoughts? See image at the bottom) ASM 30 in a 7.5 ASM 35 in a 8.0 ASM 44 in a 8.0 ASM 64 in a 9.0 ASM 71 in a 8.5 ASM 72 in a 8.5 ASM 87 in a 9.0 ASM 140 in a 9.6 ASM 145 in a 9.4 ASM 303 in a 9.8 I am still waiting for the following back from CGC Another copy of Amazing Fantasy 15 ASM 1, 4, 7, 12(x2), 14 (Sending my 3rd copy in) 25, 46, 59, 87, 100, 129, Anyway... I think I am done for a bit unless something comes along or someone makes me an offer I cannot refuse. My goals this year are to crack the top 50 in the Spidey set and pick up at least another ten books in my goal to have the first 100 books slabbed. I also want to upgrade a few books. That copy of ASM 22 that came back 3.5 trimmed bothers me. I need to upgrade that. However, my ASM 23 that is at a 9.0 with a slight color touch? I am cool with keeping that one as my permanent copy. Trimmed bothers me to no end while slight color touch is acceptable depending on the grade of the book. Anyway... check out the 18. I thought it was a sharp copy and slightly better than the 5.5. As the saying goes, buy the book, not the grade.

So far? Upgrading or filling in slabbed slots on my Amazing Spiderman Collection: ASM 6 - 5.5 ASM 64 - 9.0 ASM 71 - 8.5 ASM 72 - 8.5 ASM 87 - 9.0 ASM 140 - 9.6 ASM 145 - 9.4 I upgraded the ASM 2.5 SP to a 4.5 Universal earlier this month and now upgraded to a 5.5 universal. I will probably sell off the lower two copies later on down the road to fund another book or tuition as needed. The 64 was upgraded from a 7.0 universal to a 9.0. I have always been a fan of the cover and the price was right from what I have seen on a 64 at that grade. There are a few other books I am interested in on the CLink auctions closing this week and will be monitoring to see if there is anything else I want to pick up. I am aiming for a decent condition ASM 18.

My order for 10 books was verified as sent in on 10/18 by CGC. I just sent in a package of three books using my club coupons. How long before I send in another box of books. So I my order for 10 Silver Spidey's were verified as being sent in on 10/18 by CGC which was right after the NYC Comic Con. The breakdown is as follows: 90 Days have passed 59 of those days would be considered word days assuming that CGC graders had off on 12/26 and 1/2 since the holidays fell on the weekends. Now I am not complaining about the length of time. That has been spoken about continuously since this summer. My question is how long would you wait until you send in another order? I sent in a package the other day of what was another low grade AF15, an Amazing Spider-man 1 that hopefully gets a 3.0 to 4.0 and a high grade 129. However I have other things that I want to send in. I recently picked up a high grade Captain America 109 and I have a bunch of other 7.0-8.0 Spidey Silver Age books and mid to low Spidey issues from 3-15 that I want to send in. Then there is some... well you get the idea. However, how long should I wait. Part of me wants to see what I win on the current comic link auctions before I send some stuff off. I figure wait and see if I get a couple of things at a price that would make sending in a raw book inconsequential since I got a guaranteed grade at a decent price. What are your thoughts?

It would have been nice if you would have been able to contact him. I'm sure he would have been thrilled to see this. Stinks you are one year too late. Maybe you might be able to contact his children? I took your idea and acted upon it. I wrote the following. Hi - I am a comic collector. While looking at an old Batman book I came across one that might have been owned by your grandfather. I was bored and wanted to see whatever happened to the original owner of the book. That search led me here. Thought you might want to see: I AM NOT THE SELLER http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-Comics-DETECTIVE-BATMAN-Golden-48-good-nice-issue-1941-1st-batmobile-/370567692628?pt=UK_Books_Comics_Magazines_US_Comics_ET&hash=item56478e4154 Anyway... regards

That was one of many reasons that I instantly passed on this copy.

Ha - Whenever I look for golden age books I see the name of the original owner somewhere written on the book. I assume that was due to "vigilant" mothers that wanted to make sure that Johnny's Superman 1 did not get mixed up or taken from him when he brought it to school. Then I wondered are these people alive and selling their books before they pass or are they part of the same deal like I noticed an estate sale that was recently divided up and sold on eBay? Then over on a GI Joe collecting site, people started talking about where do all their toys go when they pass. Some were under the assumption that they will be cherished and passed down for generations to come.

So I am in the market for a Detective Comics 48 and I take a look at every one that is put up for sale or auction on eBay. While looking at this listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-Comics-DETECTIVE-BATMAN-Golden-48-good-nice-issue-1941-1st-batmobile-/370567692628?pt=UK_Books_Comics_Magazines_US_Comics_ET&hash=item56478e4154 I noticed the name, "Rodolphe Marinelli", written on the cover along with the initials "RM" in cursive. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to see what happened to Mr. Marinelli. A quick google search led me here and this man fits the age of who would have once been the owner of this comic. http://www.imorial.com/rodolphemarinelli/ He died last year at the age of 82. He would have purchased this book around the age of 13-14. It is a question that I saw on another collecting board. What happens to all of your stuff when your number is called?

Captain America 1 9/11. Romita Variant, Joe Simon SS CGC 9.6 Woo Hoo Christmas Also picked up a Action Comics 76 that I will have to send in to get graded.

Going outside my Amazing Spider-man collection and Marvel Keys, I drifted into the world of DC Golden Age. I was sitting around going through eBay and Comiclink auctions these last few months and found myself staring at some of the DC Golden Age books. These publications were crafted in a simpler time. Sure, there was nothing that compared to what Jim Lee does with Batman and Superman. However, that does not mean that these books do not stand out on their own beauty. In the last few months I have picked up Batman 41 in a 6.0, Action Comics 36 in a 6.0, Action Comics 65 in a 7.0 and Action Comics 81 in a 5.0. I also picked up a copy of Superman 15 with slight restoration as it was too beautiful a cover to pass up on. What attracts me to each of these books? In the case of the Batman 41, it was the first Sci Fi cover and to me it opened the door and hinted at the bizarre things to come later on in the run. The Action Comics 65 and 81 were WWII issues and pleasant additions especially because the 81 tells a story by the cover alone. I cannot wait to get the Superman 15 graded as it screams Fleischer Cartoon series. The book I am most proud of is one that I know I overpaid for. The Action Comics #36 was recently won on Comiclink. Winning this book essentially came down to a contest of who would open their wallet the most. I rarely see the book in this condition and for some reason... I cannot explain it... I REALLY wanted it. Where does it stop though? Only time and money will tell. While even a low grade copy of Action Comics 1 is out of the question there are plenty of other books out there that are still within range. I am looking at you Detective Comics 48. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

First submission is finally back in my hands... Let's see what happened. Some pleasant surprises... some no pleasant So back in May, I submitted the following: Amazing Spiderman: 8, 22, 31, 37, 51, 61, 69, 84, 89, 121, 122 X-Men 58, Daredevil 4, Avengers 3, Hulk 340 Let's see what what happened and then I will vent on ASM 8: Hulk 340 - 9.6 Avengers 3 - 5.5 Daredevil 4 - 4.0 X-Men 58 - 6.5 ASM 37 - 6.0 ASM 84 - 9.4 (woohoo!!) ASM 51 - 6.0 ASM 121 - 9.4 (woohoo!!) ASM 122 - 9.2 (woohoo!!) ASM 89 - 8.0 ASM 61 - 7.0 ASM 31 - 6.0 ASM 69 - 9.0 ASM 23 - Restored 3.5 ASM 8 - Restored 7.0 Now, aside from the wait which has been well documented on the message boards by various members, I was very pleased with the service. The grading of my personal books was consistent with what I have seen with other books that have already been slabbed. Where is my gripe then? Well it is not with CGC. It is with a particular comic book dealer. You see, I have been buying books for many years as I assume many of us have. Years ago, I purchased the ASM 8 in what I thought was a nice grade for around $200. (We comic book fans have good memories like this) I have purchased restored books before but only those that have been slabbed and documented by CGC. To me, slight color touch is acceptable. I would have never purchased what I received back from CGC. The book came back as Slight P Trimmed. That was never disclosed to me upon purchase of the book. A question that I have always asked when purchasing a raw copy of a book of this price has been, "Has any work been performed on the book?" Now, I am left wondering, did the dealer know? Did the dealer choose not to tell me in order to move the book out of their inventory? Do I boycott this dealer completely even if I am interested in an already CGC graded book? I am left wondering how many of us have purchased books only to find that they were restored? I do not blame CGC at all. They merely identify and report. I do not see the difference in cover width between my CGC 7.0 Restored and my CGC 6.0 Universal copies of ASM 8. It is hard to see while they are still slabbed and I am not interested in taking them apart so I will trust CGC on this matter. Pleasant surprise on the ASM 69, 84, 121, and 122. The ASM 69 was the very first Silver Age book I ever bought. I remember paying $5 for it back in middle school because I wanted to own something that had a 12 cent cover. So while it is not so much a surprise, I am proud to see a 9 on it with white pages as I actually read that book a few times. Any time a Silver Age Spiderman comes back with a grade higher than 9.0 it is a nice feeling. The 84 was pretty cool but the gems of this order were the 121 and the 122. Besides the bump in registry points, almost 3000 between them, the books were always nice looking copies and graded at what I expected from them. Next step... joining CGC, and submitting a few other items. I am thinking of sending a beautiful copy of ASM 129 to be graded along with a raw copy of ASM 1 and AF 15. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Varying grades of Silver Age books... So, I went to the Big Apple Comic Con with the sole purpose of submitting fifteen books from my collection. The separation anxiety was nerve wracking. My selection included books that I had duplicates of in varying degrees as this was my very first submittal. I wanted to see if my grading by CGC standards would hold up. Everything I own has been purchased post CGC grading. I submitted the following: Amazing Spiderman: 8, 22, 31, 37, 51, 61, 69, 84, 89, 121, 122 X-Men 58 Daredevil 4 Avengers 3 Hulk 340 I am anxious to see the ASM 121 and the 122 as they should grade high and am curious to see what the Daredevil 4 and Avengers 3 rate out as. Depending on the grades and the turnaround time and my own nervousness, I would like to eventually finish having my complete Spidey collection from 1-100 graded to fill in the gaps that I am missing in my competitive set. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.