newshane

Your quest would make more sense to me if I knew what you'd paid for the 7 boxes ? Does the value of a 9.9, cover this cost ? I understand you might not want to say it here but feel free to PM me as I'd love to know.

Thanks for your interest! I do think it's best if I didn't throw around an exact number. Please rest assured, however, that the figure is low enough to make the quest worthwhile. If I get multiple 9.9s from the same issue (I don't think this will happen) then it could even be profitable. I know a few collectors who would probably be extrememly interested in those particular issues and if I do get multiples from the same issue, they will be going on the market.

If I do get 9.9s back, some of them will be unique in their position on the census and I will own some "monopolies" on grades for certain issues.

However, profit and economy did not come into play in this decision. I don't collect Spawn for profit and I'm not seeking to flip these books. I am simply maniacal in my search for books of the highest quality.

As a result, I'm willing to pay stupid money.

Good thing I didn't have to...in this case.

To answer your question - yes the value of a single 9.9 would cover the cost.

Hearing that some of the boxes were previously opened is a slight concern, as the best copies could already have been cherry-picked from those.

It doesn't LOOK like someone rummaged through the box for the best copy. It looks like someone opened up the box and simply removed the top few dozen copies. I think you'd be surprised to know that some of my best examples came from a box that had already been opened, so if someone did rummage through the box in search of the best copy...I think they failed.

Keep in mind that this is left-over stock from a comic store.

It's also interesting to note that I found the best copies near the middle of each box. Copies packed on the top and bottom appeared to be more succeptable to damage in transit or storage. The best books were also protected, in many instances, by the overlap caused when some of the books shifted around.

The worst copies were near the top. These copies suffered from severe (relatively speaking) spine rub.

Went through the last box tonight and found a few additional candidates. I've called an end to my searching. All candidates have been pulled and packaged for future shipment.

I've found a total of 12 candidates from seven boxes. Of the dozen I pulled, I feel very strongly about three or four. Most of the boxes were sealed and contained around 200 comics a piece. Some of the boxes had already been opened and were missing copies.

As far as my experiment is concerned, I'd say there is a 0.3% chance of finding a mint book in a sealed box that has been moved around a few times in the last few decades.

Keep in mind, I've only sent off five candidates thus far and none of them have yet been graded. Those books have, however, passed the 9.8 pre-screen over at Classics Incorporated.

I now have another seven to send off.

I will be thrilled if I get just one.

I found two books just now that are absolutely gorgeous! The binding is perfect and spine-wear is almost non-existent. The staples, however, aren't exactly parallel and that gives me slight cause for concern.

My strategy is simple - pick about a dozen or so from each box and then compare them to one another as things are "narrowed" down by increasing scrutiny. I check the coners first, then all the edges. I check the staples to make sure they are tight, well placed, and free of rust or gum. I look down the spine for signs of rubbing. I shine a tiny, intense flashlight on the cover. I hold at different angles to look for dimples, dirt, or other flaws. The process is rather disheartening - one tends to run across a number of books that are perfect in everyway, only to uncover some flaw - a spot left by the printer, a bowed staple, the tiniest crease along the far-edge. These liltte flaws make all the difference in the world!

As I await grades from my first batch, I thought I'd post one more picture.

Each box had a packing slip like the one in the picture.

"These products have been carefully produced, examined, and packed by..."

Can we drop the discussions regarding the picture of the girl with the "unusual name" already? It has nothing to do with comics, from what I can tell. Let it die the death it deserves.

Glad I could keep you entertained MagnusX...

isn't that a brand of condoms, btw?

I sent "Catwoman" some Spawn books for free. Figured her kids could use the books...afterall, I was a poor child growing up. My parents didn't have hundreds of dollars to spend on books, so the opportunity seemed worthwhile and sending them actually made me feel good.

Looks like a scam? That makes me sad.

Oh well...I did it for good kharma.

I've been digging through piles of Spawns looking for 9.9s so I have my fingers crossed. I can use all the luck I could get!

On other matters raised in the thread...I accidently requested a slab ownership transfer just last week. I entered in one wrong number, hit enter, realized what I had done...and I quickly contacted the owner with an apology. Never heard back from him though.

I also have to wonder about people "stealing" serial numbers from unregistered books.

That's why I immediately register mine once they arrive.

BTW...does anyone know of an authentic comic book charity of some sort? I have a pile of stuff to give.

I've read through this thread, but maybe I missed it. How did you manage to fine the boxes from the distributor that had never been opened? I've seen long boxes filled of some of those early 90s comics people thought they'd get rich off of, but I've never seen boxes directly from the distributor unopened...

The short answer is that a local guy sold them to me. He bought out a local comic book store a few years ago and the boxes were surplus items. I'm sure plenty of stores (especially ones that went out of business) made the mistake of ordering too many of these books back in the day and it doesn't surprise me that a few boxes were left over. You can also say that I got lucky by remaining vigilant and checking my connections.

I made a chart a few months ago tracking sales of the Spawn title. As you can clearly see, Spawn suffered a severe drop in sales after the movie bombed back in the late 90s. This, of course, actually makes it very difficult for a collector to find exceptional copies of books past issue 150. None of them are Gerber 7s or 8s of course, but substantially rarer and more difficult to find than the earlier issues everyone loves overcharging for.

Chris, my point is this - there were hundreds of thousands of these things floating around in the early to mid 90s. While I'm sure many of them made it to the landfills or ended up being fine reader copies, I'm sure many more of them are still sitting around in boxes somewhere.

Of course, poor storage conditions, such as the ones my books were subjected to, can make the proposition a heavy gamble. I even found a spider eggsac inside one of the boxes! The guy kept them in a "shed" supposedly. Some of the boxes kept very well, others were violated as the adhesive on the tape slowly wore off over the years. I also can't help but to think that some of the boxes were manhandled, based on the evidence gathered as I began to sort through them.

There were two major distributors of comics in North America during the early 90s if I recall correctly. One was Diamond, the other was a company based out of Montreal, Canada. My boxes were from Canada. Maybe the Diamond boxes fared better? By the way, if I'm wrong about this - I welcome corrections from any veteran comic dealers. Thanks guys!

-Shane

UPDATE: Of the five books I submitted for pressing and grading, all five passed the 9.8 pre-screen over at Classics Incorporated. Early next week (I believe), the books will be sent to CGC modern fast track. I really believe that only one of the five has an honest shot. I'll let you know when they arrive.

I also have another box of raw comics to peruse. Unfortunately, my career and graduate school are eating up a great deal of my spare time.

Either way I guess I'll be able to update this thread at least a few more times before seeing it float away to the archives. Wish me luck!

- S

P.S. I know the decision to have the first batch pressed is somewhat controversial, but I wanted to give these books every possible chance. I know it would be a better scientific study to see how they would do without the pressing, but I'll save science for the next batch. It's time to add more mint slabs to the collection.

I don't think that the nicest damaged copy CGC has found should be a 9.8. I find fault with that type of thinking. If a book can't get to a 9.8 because of a bindery/production problem, so be it. 9.8 completists will just have to deal or die angry.

Agreed.

Just saw the scans.

That's got to be the ugliest 9.8 in CGC history.

...when is your first sub due back?

 

Good luck (thumbs u

So far, I have pulled a total of 10 books for submission. I have one box left, so that number may grow.

I sent off 5 books this morning. This first small batch - the best 5 representations I could find of a specific issue - shall be pressed before submission to the CGC.

I think only one book has an honest chance at a 9.9.

I'm following the board's advice. Hopefully my worst book will somehow grade out at a 9.8. If that happens, they will have no choice but to give the other book a 9.9 - it's that far ahead of the other ones. It's important to note that I have NOT posted pics of this particular specimen.

Of course there is a chance that they will nail the spine rub damage. But based on what I've heard in this thread, I might get a small pass since the distributors of the era were relatively brutal in regards to packaging (as you can see in my photographs).

My experiment will certainly establish how the CGC, on a particular day at least, grades spine-rub damage from Modern Era books. The books I'm sending in are flawless - except for the spine-rub. So if my grade gets banged up badly, it's likely due to the spine-rub. I'll be seeking graders' notes in any case...hopefully they will be available this time.

I should be able to provide grades by the first week of September, if Modern Fast Track can get back to me in 10 business days (I've had GREAT luck with Modern Fast Track so this is a possibility. I didn't want to go Modern...and keep everyone waiting for the next 3 months, ).

Either way, I'll have at least a FEW things for sale soon if anyone is interested. haha!

I just want ONE 9.9 out of this...to give the whole story a happy ending.

I'm pretty pessimistic though. I have to be honest!

You guys will be the next to know...right after me!

If I find anything amazing from the final box, I will provide another update.

PS - I didn't find ANY keepers from the issue 12 box (the all-black issue). Maybe a handful of 9.8s...but I've already got that issue slabbed.

Lets see the scans

+1

Please don't have them...*gasp*...signed.

Someone finally found one?

Holy @$(#%@&%!

CONGRATS!

Someone is going to end up spending stupid money for that book.

I decided to take the best raw copy of Spawn 12. I then put it side by side against a 9.8 slab of Spawn issue 12. On the very bottom of this stack is the 9.9 slab of Spawn issue 4, which also features a black spine and edges. I'm sorry the pics aren't more detailed, but it was the best I could do with the limited lighting and equipment at my disposal. Can you guys spot the differences between the 9.8 and the 9.9? Now compare those books with my raw copy. I'd say my raw copy is somewhere in-between the quality of the two slabs. Is it good enough for a 9.9? I seriously doubt it.

The top pic is the top left hand corner of all three books. The bottom is a pic of the bottom left hand corner.

Going back to today's find - the Spawn issue 12 books. I've posted more pics of defects. Look at the bulge around the staples on some of the books. Would this press out? Now look at the wave at the edge of the comic. Finally, look inside the red box on the bottom picture. Can you see what I describe as a "band of dirt" running along the side? Grrr...Spawn 12 is a rough issue because it is solid black. I think I might have pulled one or two 9.8s from this whole rotten box, which appeared to be in perfect shape from the outside, by the way!

Speaking of staples, I found some problems with the stapes in the second box. Here we have a stack of Spawn #21, which has a relatively low print run for early era Spawn comics and the registry even gives this issue a significant bump in points because of it. It's a white cover, so the spine rub issue isn't as noticeable. I'm not sure what caused the staples to look so ragged. Was it a production issue? Did the shifting, settling, and weight of the books somehow lead to this defect? Check out what's going on in the red circles. Also, notice that I've drawn an arrow to another interesting defect. A dirty, gluey type of material. I practiced scrapping it off with a straightened out paper clip and I was able to remove approximately 50% of it during an experiment with a rougher copy.

The second reason I was disappointed can be clearly seen in the following pictures. RUSTY STAPLES! The tape used by the factory to seal the box was quite poor and had apparently separated from the box. As a result, air and moisture started to creep in. The results are quite evident. BAD BAD BAD news! Not happy with this batch at all. Not all of the comics had rusty staples. That's the funny thing. Some of them were perfectly clean! Nonetheless, it's a good thing I have four boxes left.

UPDATE:

Today I cracked open box number three. I was very disappointed for a few reasons. First, the books had shifted considerably. Check out this shot!

Could be a fingerprint, dimple...anything really. I'm not very experienced at grading "trick" covers, but I know the heavier paper stock used by the manufacturers are a lot less susceptible to corner damage or rubbing. The corners of your book look perfect to me, but like I said earlier...there is a lot more to a book than the corners alone.

Your feelings about that book are similar to my feelings about my Cable 1...which came back as a 9.8. After staring at it at many angles for what seemed like hours, I finally found the flaw. It was the tiniest little edge "push" that I've ever seen! The corners on that book are textbook perfect.

Grading IS subjective, as everyone likes to point out.

I think comparing the 9.8 slab with the 9.9 slab...and throwing the raw candidates in between for a good eyeballing...I think that's going to help me a lot. It also helps that I'm fortunate enough to own dozens of 9.9 slabs already...but on the downside none of them have been self-submissions.

Not to change the discussion here to grader notes, but it is worth noting...

I don't think you can really get them for 9.8s. I ordered some notes for a Wolvie Limited 1 that I got out of a distributors box...thought it was a 9.9 but it came back a 9.8.

No notes available and I never did get my money back. Just reminded me...I need to call about that.

I am about to crack open a box of raw Spawn 12s. This particular issue is solid black along all edges... Any flaws should show up really nicely. I can also compare the nice raws I find with a graded 9.8 copy Spawn 12 that I already own! THEN...I can compare those against my mint slab of issue 4, which is also solid black along the edges. This should give me the best possible standard for making final decisions regarding the books that make it and the books that won't.

I think that would be more informative than anything else I've done.

Hado...that's literally the only flaw on the book and it looks worse than it is because of the way it was pinched, if that makes any sense.

A 9.9 can still have a flaw, and of course that is why 10s exist.

My 9.9 of issue 1 has a similar tick.

I have other 9.9s that have similar TINY flaws.

I think the deal is this...it can only be ONE and it must be minute.

That would be my best GUESS of course. I'm learning here.

*paging Beachbum!*

The book is going out tomorrow. Modern fast track. Like I said, I just want to establish a reference for my own good. I don't really expect this to come back as a 9.9.

The good news is that I have another raw copy of the same issue that is in BETTER condition than the one pictured. I will definitely keep everyone updated on the grade.

I will also be cracking open a third box this weekend. I won't go insane with the pics from here on out unless I find something truly interesting or different. Stay tuned!

I'd go so far as to say, in fact, that the corners on the raw book in the photograph are better than those on the 9.9 slab!

But the slab has a perfect spine. Very little rub at all. It's clearly the product of an OCD collector who, back in the mid 90s (man how I miss those days!) got a distributors box fresh off the press and put his gloved mits on the fresh cookie!

The spine rub has me concerned. The photographs really bring them out. The book "presents" better in person...and when I initially graded the books, I didn't happen to notice it as much.

I have a 9.9 mint slab of Spawn 1 that shows some evidence of spine rub, IIRC.

I remember being kind of surprised at that. I will have to break it out of the vault later this evening. I'll show you guys pictures.

I'm glad some of you are enjoying this insane journey of mine! I am really enjoying the hunt and being able to share it with people who understand makes it VERY enjoyable for me as a collector.

Basically, I live in the middle of nowhere and I only have one real-life friend that is a comic nerd, and he isn't an insane collector like I am so...

Thanks.

I think the next step will definitely be to send it off for grading. It's the only way to know for sure!

I don't expect the book in the picture to get a 9.9.

I can say the following:

You've seen the pics. The corners on the book are incredible! It's the spine-rub that worries and interests me the most!

Details you can't see? Well, the book is FLAT. The book has never been touched by my bare hands. I used protection.

It has sat in a sealed distributors box for 18 years! VIRGIN.

I am personally going to guess 9.8.

I'd rather play it safe.

So why is this thread in this forum? Because, while I wait for a grade from the CGC, I want to hear YOUR best guess!