newshane

Yep. I really do think the color copy is a tougher book, which is unusual.

SPAWN 194 - CGC 9.8 Gorgeous cover! Love this one. I remember it giving me fits, too. Another one of the "lasts." You can tell because it's in the "pressure slab" version of the current gen. holder.

This is just sickening. The best thing to do is stop buying them. Publishers are milking collectors dry, and they are literally laughing on the way to the bank. Seriously folks. Stop these ridiculous chases. Collect what you love. Don't chase a registry slot. Speaking as someone who has been there.

No clue. This was a long time after I stopped collecting/following Spawn. EDIT: and this sort of "variant" buffoonery is precisely why I burned out and turned away with disgust.

I think I may have owned that exact Punch 14 at one point. Nice grab! It's a cool book.

SPAWN 193 SKETCH - CGC 9.8 According to my notes, these were supposedly released in numbers equal to the color version. I didn't cite my source, so take that notation for what it's worth. I do recall having a harder time finding an acceptable copy of the color version. As with other "sketch editions," it's usually just a matter of patience and a willingness to spend the cash. Honestly, I can't remember any of the sketch editions (with the exception of 185) being as challenging as some of the standard editions.

SPAWN 193 - CGC 9.8 Who needs Starsky and Hutch when you have Sam and Twitch?

Fantastic collecting theme!

SPAWN 192 - CGC 9.8

SPAWN 191 - CGC 9.8 I remember this one being extremely difficult. One of the last issues I was able to find. This was encapsulated in one of the discontinued "pressure" design slabs. There was no inner well in the earliest itineration of the current gen slab. Thankfully, they changed the design after a few brief months of total uproar.

SPAWN 190 - CGC 9.8

SPAWN 189 SKETCH - CGC 9.8 Back in the day, and I believe this is still probably true, this was the second rarest Spawn comic, behind the 185 Sketch. All I have is anecdotal evidence from a few dealers back in the day, but they made it seem like there were around 150 of these, tops. Who knows? NOTE: I did not engage in business with these particular dealers, but I did trust them. As with the 185 sketch, I suspect most all of these have been graded. You'd have to be lucky to find a raw copy. There are currently 84 on the census in varying grades. One thing is for certain. This is an extremely difficult (and expensive) book. EDIT: Just checked eBay and there are several copies available if you can pony up the cash. Looks like people are asking several thousand dollars for a book like this. Knowing what I know about private sales of 185 sketch, I'd say that's (unbelievably) in line.

Great memories of mowing the lawn and saving my money for those back when they came out.

SPAWN 189 - CGC 9.8 Scarce variant up tomorrow!

First thing I'd do is make all the neckbeards in the encapsulation department wear hairnets.

I'm just saying... put me in charge, and you aren't going to have any hairs of questionable origin floating around in your slabs. I'm sending that back to the kitchen. Blackstone's accountants don't mean anything to a quality control maniac like myself.

SPAWN 188 - CGC 9.8 Is Whilce trying Jae Lee's trick with the ink splashing? Off-topic, but I freaking loved Jae Lee's work back in the day! Namor was awesome! If I were God Emperor of the Known Universe, I would show the world the glory of a Jae Lee run on the series!

Step one: fire everyone currently working in QC. Step two: hire me as the QC manager. I am the most obsessive SOB that's ever walked the earth, and I have a peerless eye for detail. I'm also a monster of a manager. I'll get everyone the results they deserve. Issue one: you might not be able to afford me. But I promise you that like this would never happen. Might be worth it after all. Issue two: it's in Florida. I'm afraid of Florida Man, and I don't want my face eaten by a random maniac. If you pay me what I'm really worth, I might be willing to compromise. CGC - send me a PM. I am the baddest on the planet.

SPAWN 187 - CGC 9.9 Probably my second favorite 9.9 - right behind my copy of issue #4.

I began watching at 7 minutes as requested. I completely disagree with the maker of the video. 1. I could care less who I buy from or how big the booth is. I'm interested only in their stock and the asking price. 2. The best salesmen will always make you feel like friends. I find nothing wrong with this relationship. The guy in the video acts like personalized customer service is a bad thing. As long as they don't use the relationship to their advantage by being deceitful, who cares if they are chummy? I don't expect them to show up at my daughter's wedding. That would be a little unreasonable. There are levels to relationships. I've enjoyed interacting with various salesmen before, but I never fooled myself by thinking, or expecting, any sort of favor when it came right down to business. When I build these sort of relationships as a buyer or seller, I tend to respect the deal even MORE than if I were dealing with a faceless entity. As a man with solid business ethnic, I'm going to provide the same sort of service regardless, but I would especially hate to hurt someone that I had been "chummy" with.

SPAWN 186 - 2ND PRINT - CGC 9.8 Surprise! This one was harder to find than the first printing. As we move forward, everyone can saddle up for the variant game that would eventually lead to my total rejection of the series AND the collection. If you thought the 185 variants were ridiculous, just wait until we hit the 200s.

SPAWN 186 - CGC 9.8 Portacio enjoying a little run here. I have a SICK original sketch by Portacio that you will see at one point a ways down the line. Honestly, I get pretty sick when I think of letting all of my original sketches go. Almost all of them were absolutely stunning. I remember negotiating the pieces directly with Portacio's wife. Very nice folks, and a properly sick artist who understands the Spawn aesthetic. \

@CGC Mike This.

It really doesn't get any better than Terrific 5. Absolutely one of the coolest covers of all time.

SPAWN 185 - SKETCH EDITION - CGC 9.8 There are 33 total on the census, with eight copies in 9.8 (2 of those are signed). So, this is one of six copies in Universal 9.8. Don't let the census numbers fool you. I image nearly all of them have been graded by now. Back in the day, I heard rumors of print runs as low as 16 (obviously false), but no higher than 100. This is the RAREST and MOST VALUABLE Spawn comic out there, at least it certainly was back in my day. I admit that I haven't been keeping up with the series since issue 275 or so. This was also the first "super expensive book" that I bought. This was years ago. I saw it on auction at eBay. I was in grad school at the time, and I didn't think it was a responsible purchase, but my girlfriend at the time (who is now my wife) told me to go for it! I didn't need a big push to make the decision. If I recall, I got my graded copy for $1600! Out of respect for the privacy of all involved parties, I cannot divulge what I received for the book several years later, but I made an exponential profit. A few years after I sold the book, I had someone reach out to me to buy it. I was able to track down the guy I sold it to, and I eventually brokered a massive private deal between the two parties. Let me just say that the sale was high enough to buy a lower-end new car. Secretly, I was massively sick about it. I made quite a bit of profit, but if I had just waited! I would HATE to see what one would go for now. No recorded sales on GPA since 2013, when a copy moved for $2750. I will give massive props to the guy who made the bigtime profit from the book. He was thankful that I was able to negotiate a very high price (he did NOT want to sell initially, but this amount of money would talk to anyone), and he actually gave me a generous finder's fee! I did not solicit for any fee, by the way. I was doing this for nothing. But there are good people out there in the collecting world. He showed me proper thanks, and I'm forever grateful for it! This book is the Spawn collector's holy grail, and it would be the centerpiece of anyone's collection. I'd love to see images of the two signed copies though! I was WAAAAAY too scared to risk losing that 9.8 grade.