newshane

GSXM 1? IH 181? There are too many copies available. The widespread availability of these books leads me to question their value as an investment. Of course, I've never been one to buy comics as an investment. That being said, the price of these widely available keys continues to slowly creep up. But it just doesn't make any sense to me. I think the trend upwards is indicative of a bubble market. As with any other investment, it's all about supply and demand. While the demand is strong, the supply is even stronger. Anyone with the means can make an eBay purchase within minutes. Go searching for either one of those comics and you'll have an easy time finding what you want. With that in mind, I am truly astonished that some comics continue to creep upwards in price. For example, $800 for the first appearance of Deadpool? That's a joke. Same for ASM 300 or GSXM 1 or IH 181. There are just WAY too many of these books floating around. Once again, we are in another bubble. Great time to sell, poor time to buy. Take your money and invest it in stocks, bonds, precious metals, and commodities. That's the safest, surest bet. Not as sexy as having a GSXM 1, but a much wiser approach from an investment angle.

Reholder: Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Received by me - 1/14/15 Modern Slow Track submission one: Received by CGC via CCS - 12/22/14 Verified - 12/22/14 Scheduled for grading - 2/5/2015 Graded - 2/13/15 Modern Slow Track submission two: Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Verified - 1/21/15 Scheduled for grading - 2/12/15 Graded - 2/17/15 Modern Fast Track submission one: Received by CGC via CCS - 2/9/15 Verified - 2/19/15 Scheduled for grading - 2/19/15

Agreed. The file they send you is too small to be useful for much of anything. 502x70 resolution / 73.9KB file size. I paid for this service one time and the image below is exactly what I received. They only sent an image of the front cover, not the back. IIRC, they charged me $5 for this image and I had to call the CGC to remind them to send it to me. It's a pretty image, it just isn't large enough to be useful.

I tried this once, and the results weren't too good. Pressing would do little good when you consider the awful color rub. Here is an unopened toy from the 90s. You'll notice that the comic wasn't packaged too carefully inside of the box. The results weren't surprising.

Reholder: Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Received by me - 1/14/15 Modern Slow Track submission one: Received by CGC via CCS - 12/22/14 Verified - 12/22/14 Scheduled for grading - 2/5/2015 Graded - 2/13/15 Modern Slow Track submission two: Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Verified - 1/21/15 Scheduled for grading - 2/12/15 Graded - 2/17/15 Modern Fast Track submission one: Received by CGC via CCS - 2/9/15

Lots of movement for me this week. Babysteps, but I'll take what I can get! Reholder: Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Received by me - 1/14/15 Modern Slow Track submission one: Received by CGC via CCS - 12/22/14 Verified - 12/22/14 Scheduled for grading - 2/5/2015 Graded - 2/13/15 Modern Slow Track submission two: Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Verified - 1/21/15 Scheduled for grading - 2/12/15 Modern Fast Track submission one: Received by CGC via CCS - 2/9/15

Reholder: Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Received by me - 1/14/15 Modern Slow Track submission one: Received by CGC via CCS - 12/22/14 Verified - 12/22/14 Scheduled for grading - 2/5/2015 Modern Slow Track submission two: Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Verified - 1/21/15 Scheduled for grading - 2/12/15 Modern Fast Track submission one: Received by CGC via CCS - 2/9/15

Modern Fast Track submission one: Received by CGC - 2/9/15

CCS fast track pressing / no pre-screen Received: 1/6/15 Submitted to CGC: 2/10/15

Reholder: Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Received by me - 1/14/15 Modern Slow Track submission one: Received by CGC via CCS - 12/22/14 Verified - 12/22/14 Scheduled for grading - 2/5/2015 Modern Slow Track submission two: Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Verified - 1/21/15

Strange that the image is the cover of issue # 2. It does mention that Spawn is " upcoming" so we have to assume # 1 wasn't out yet, when printed. If you'll notice, the same image (cover for issue 2) appears in the preview cover (Malibu/Adventure Comics #1). I'd say that the image had been around for a while.

Spawn appeared on the back of a Todd McFarlane baseball card before he appeared in Rust, Previews, or Malibu Sun. Malibu Sun 13 is a solicitation magazine. There was no story. Just preview art. Previews was a magazine. The first comic book appearance of Spawn was in Spawn #1. EDITED: However, as the owner of one of only three Malibu Sun 13s in CGC 9.8, I'm all in favor of any hype surrounding it!

Modern Slow Track Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Verified - 1/21/15

I'm actually upset that I somehow missed this auction. I would have been all over that. Dude was in Nashville, too.

Reholder Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Received by me - 1/14/15 Modern Slow Track Received by CGC - 1/5/15 Verified - ?

I can really appreciate this level of nerdery! Looks like something I'd do myself.

I have Fan Edition 1 as well as the gold foil variant.

This is not always true. Not all books continue to stay at post speculative highs after the release of a subsequent movie or television show. To make this conclusion is not only dangerous, but also false. I bet you're a blast at parties.

Spawn 1 CGC 9.9 - just sold on eBay for $990. Last CGC 9.9 copy sold for $635.76 on 11/21. Last time I checked, they were going for $300 a piece. That's pretty on-fire.

Sorry, but no purple labels for me - especially silver age. I think the Avengers copy was a better deal than the Spider-man because the restoration was less intensive. Which one would I have purchased? Well, that depends on the math. It depends on how much it would cost to have the color touch removed. Then I'd have to add on additional grading and shipping fees. It might just be possible to come out ahead. Doubly so for the Spider-man. I'd send it in for restoration removal. I wonder what it would grade with the tear-seal removed? Once again, you'd also have to consider the additional grading and shipping fees. If, after all was said and done, I came out ahead with the purples, then I would have purchased the restored copies for resubmission after removal. If not, I'd go with the blue labels every time. I understand the difference in being a collector and an investor, but I'm the type of collector who would rather have the original intact. I'm just not a fan of restoration unless the book is extremely scarce or rare. In that instance, I favor it because the process prevents further degradation and allows the book to be preserved for future generations. On a silver-age or bronze? Just not for me. If you want to have a copy just for the sake of having a copy at the best price possible, then I see where you're coming from. But personally? I'll take the blue label.

That is absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

So far my resolve to not buy EC Sci-Fi comics has held strong.. but Wally Wood, Frazetta and Jack Davis make it tough... I still can't believe you haven't been going after EC. I mean...I'm actually completely flabbergasted and bewildered.

I WANT ONE!