newshane

It's important to note that munkalunk has been informed about the nomination via PM and has read the PM. He's offered no further defense or follow-up besides what was captured in the original thread.

I'm in full support of following the rules and the discussion period. In my original post, I apologized in advance for flubbing any protocols regarding HoS nomination. I am sorry for being foolish enough to glaze over the rules for induction before posting. I hate to be "that guy" but in this instance I am. I was mainly in a hurry to let people know about the scam so they wouldn't fall victim to it. Forgive me. I just want the other customers to find out and pursue options with the seller. They deserve a refund just as much as I did. I'm all in favor of the rules, waiting, whatever. I don't think it will really impact the guy if he is placed on the HoS because he never really did business here under that account, but at least there will be some discussion about the situation and enough information for board members to decide whether or not to do business with him.

I am fine with whatever the board decides to do as a community. It is my hope they would choose to protect themselves and those around them from falling prey to the fraudulent scheme. You are correct about the technicality involved since I did get a complete refund. My nomination is designed to allow people to make their own informed decision. In the end, it is my hope that his other customers are made whole again. Do you know if any other Boardies did business with him? Unfortunately, there is no way for me to determine how to contact his other eBay victims. I can see which items were sold and for how much, but everyone's ID is partially blocked/scrambled for privacy. I wish I knew how to contact them. They deserve their refunds as much as I did. His ID is about 2 years old, and his post count is only 7. Doesn't look like a shill account because it's so similar to his eBay ID. I don't know if anyone has done business with him or not.

I am fine with whatever the board decides to do as a community. It is my hope they would choose to protect themselves and those around them from falling prey to the fraudulent scheme. You are correct about the technicality involved since I did get a complete refund. My nomination is designed to allow people to make their own informed decision. In the end, it is my hope that his other customers are made whole again.

I think so too, but I cannot remember exactly. It is customary also isn't it to post a notice of the poll with a link in CG? The poll has been linked from within a thread in CG. That could get lost in the thread no? And newcomers to the topic might miss it. Okay. I just posted a new thread in CG.

I think so too, but I cannot remember exactly. It is customary also isn't it to post a notice of the poll with a link in CG? The poll has been linked from within a thread in CG.

Sorry. I should have been more precise with my language. You are correct. Thanks for helping us keep this straight.

I do want to state for clarity that I received a full refund. But this problem transcends our transaction. Other people have been damaged. All I want is for them to be made whole again. And I want people to protect themselves against falling for the same scam. This is also explicitly criminal. I just don't see how we couldn't move to ban this guy.

That's what the rules say. He is a board member, even though the transaction was over eBay. He ripped off me, and I am a boardie.

I suggest blocking eBay user munkalunk228. The board caught him selling fake double-cover comics on eBay. Then the board caught him lying about it. I was one of his victims. It's a relatively long read, but the details are contained in the spoiler tags below.

Okay. I just sent him a PM notifying him of this thread and my decision.

I feel that it is my responsibility as a concerned member of this community to nominate munkalunk directly to the Hall of Shame for a number of egregious transgressions against the CGC community, eBay, and the hobby itself. Summary: munkalunk, known as munkalunk228 on eBay, was recently caught selling fake double-cover comics on eBay. You can see how the drama unfolded by reading the links posted by awakeintheashes. At first, munkalunk played the victim by telling the board he purchased all of the double-cover comics from his local comic shop and was unaware that they were fakes. He is pressured by the board to identify the crooked comic shop. He refused to do. After further questioning, he finally breaks down and ADMITS that his "friend" was manufacturing the fake double-cover comics. Here is a quick history: 1. On June 7th, I won an auction for what was listed as: SPAWN #259 DOUBLE COVER ERROR MISPRINT TODD MCFARLANE SATAN ANGELA. The winning bid was $16.27 and the shipping amount was $4.99. I immediately paid $21.26. The comic was delivered by munkalunk on June 14th. 2. I sent the comic for grading and it was received by CGC June 17th. 3. The next day, June 18th, JollyComic posted a thread about munkalunk in Comics General. You can read the discussions in the links quoted above by awakeintheashes. This is when I learned I was the victim of fraud. 4. I challenged munkalunk to make things right on the boards, but he refused to acknowledge me in the thread and I never received a PM. 5. I then contacted munkalunk228 on eBay and asked for a complete refund. At first, the seller offered a $10 refund. I won the comic for $16.27 and paid $4.99 shipping. That's a total investment of $21.26. Obviously, getting less than 50% back was not acceptable. He proceeds to blame the problem on his local comic shop. 6. I immediately respond that this isn't acceptable. I also threaten to go the authorities to report his fraudulent activity. This seems to get his attention. At this point, he very reluctantly offers to refund me, less shipping cost. According to him, this was the "right" thing. 7. Fortunately, he ends up refunding me for the $16.27 AND the $4.99 shipping charge. While this gets him off the hook for our deal, I'm still upset at the following: A. There are other victims out there who may never learn they have purchased a fake. Something tells me that this seller will not be actively seeking out his customers to inform them of the situation. Some of his double-cover books have sold for well over $100. B. I've already sent the book to get graded. So I'm still out on the $40 or so it takes to grade a comic. Hopefully I can call CGC first thing in the morning to cancel that order. I take ownership of that decision. C. This guy is blaming it on his local comic shop but will not identify said shop. Deep down he knows that he has been involved in CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. We all know he won't name the shop because the shop doesn't exist. That tells me that this scumbag is manufacturing fakes and ripping people off! D. His claims put all the comic shops within 50 miles of his address in a pretty rotten situation. E. His eBay feedback will remain pristine because you cannot revise positive feedback. He will probably change his ID and continue to rip people off. I guess it was only a matter of time before I got ripped off. I'm usually much more vigilant and careful about my purchases on eBay, but this was a time when I got over-excited about a relatively cheap item. I didn't even bother to look at his feedback. LESSON LEARNED. Did I get a full refund? Yes. Did I email the user with news that I was nominating him? No. It's important to note that he was very flippant when told by other members that he would probably get nominated. I'm sure he knows that his days here on the boards are over. I believe that knowingly selling (and probably manufacturing) fake comics to unsuspecting customers is a serious breach of ethics in this hobby. I can't imagine someone being able to recover from such a thing. It is for that reason that I'm bringing this before the boards. I know nothing to do except put him directly on the HoS list. I've never had to nominate someone before, so excuse me if this is a breach of protocol, but I am here to open an official discussion and seek advice on how to protect others from this scheme. So what shall we do? If I need to officially nominate munkalunk to the HoS, then please consider it done. See below for a comprehensive image of all his postings in the threads. Of course he went back and deleted some of them, but not before they were captured.

Thanks to dscott for nabbing this for me back at ECCC. First one I've seen of its kind. Really nice! He always handles my books with the greatest care.

That is AMAZING Rich! Wow!

Thanks so much for the write-up on the chaos over at the Spawn desks! Very informative and answered a lot of questions I had. Excellent read, as usual! I think the problem is that Todd is afraid to let go. If I recall correctly, I remember reading in a letter's section that he was more or less shocked at what David Hine and Brian Holguin were doing with the series. He DID let go at that point for a few years, but he couldn't stay away. I think he kind of regretted walking away, and by that time the canon was so convoluted that it was difficult for him to get it back. It also seems like he has a hard time keeping his fingers out of the plotlines, even when other writers are steering the ship. Let's not forget, he was so tepid about his own writing abilities that he used a pseudonym (Will Carlton) when writing some of the early Kudranksi run! Spawn has so much potential. Just needs the right, hard-hitting talent in the writing department. Talent. Consistency. Long-term strategy. Coherence. And let's have a war to decide if Spawn will be a superhero character aimed at pre-teens and teens, or is it going to be the dark and depressing horror/drama that it's long tried to be? I like McFarlane's general approach with the movie -script, keeping it dark and mysterious and r-rated, but who knows what the ultimate quality will be? Just imagine what the right movie team/budget could do.

Very excited to add the first double-cover to my collection!

God...please let me know if you ever want to get rid of that.

You don't have to go back TOO far to find cool painted covers from the modern era. Here are a few of my favorites from my SPAWN RUN. These are actually very difficult to find in high-grade.

Dang Joe! You're really racking up! Wow!

I know Erik Larsen is famous for his work on Savage Dragon, but his latest efforts on Spawn are absolutely embarrassing in my honest opinion. I wasn't a big fan of Jonboy Meyer's art either. Looked too cartoon-ish. But Jonboy was supposed to be the head artist on the series. Why did he only last 3 or 4 issues? Do you happen to know why he got the can? The title is clearly in free-fall. It's a jumbled mess with no clear direction. Things were stable when Kudranski was at the helm. I'm also not a fan of the whole Venom symbiote rip-off look - Spawn with fangs, claws, and a 4-foot tongue just looks stupid. I know that McFarlane is determined to make it to at least issue 300, but it's been garbage for too long now. It seems like he is going through the motions. HOWEVER, the variant covers by Sandonoval have been EXCELLENT! PS - those shadowboxes are awesome! I am a huge fan of the old Atari artwork.

God, I want one.

Looks like you use wood glue...some of the products have self-adhesive.

Two words. Rusty staples Maybe, maybe not. Mine have been in a fire proof safe for 5 years with no signs whatsoever of anything like that. Of course, I regularly open the safe and have about 10 pounds of silicate crystals in the bottom of it. Cool. It's something I'm still looking into and not really in a rush right now. If I did have a safe it would be opened regularly in a climate controlled area. It's just the thought of losing another collection to a disaster such as a fire again makes me shutter. I think we are all afraid of that. But keep in mind that your comics would likely perish even inside of a fire-proof safe. After 30 minutes or so, the heat alone would do a number on your comics, even if they were encapsulated or bagged.

Two words. Rusty staples Yep. I wouldn't risk it. Stay away from "fire-proof" storage.

Cormac McCarty is the greatest American author of all time. Yeah. I said it.