newshane

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.

SPAWN 185 - CGC 9.8 - SIGNATURE SERIES - WHILCE PORTACIO VARIANT This was one of those cases where I had a backup 9.8 copy in case the book dropped grade during the signing process. I'm showing off the signed copy since it's a bit more unique.

I think 70s DC horror is definitely going to be a collecting focus of mine...... one day.

SPAWN 185 - SECOND PRINT - CGC 9.8 Slightly different colors on this one as compared with the first print. A superior look, IMO. You can spot the difference in the robe and the smoke coming from the gun. Multiple printings of books are usually pretty tough because they tend to fly under the radar. This is no exception.

SPAWN 185 - CGC 9.8 - MCFARLANE VARIANT

SPAWN 185 - CGC 9.8 - CAPULLO VARIANT What's up with all the headless stuff? Why is this a mega key?

Yes.

I did have them all. The headless wasn't in that particular shot, though. Since you mentioned it, I'll start with it. SPAWN 185 - CGC 9.8 - Todd McFarlane's "Headless" Variant. This is the second least common of all 185 variants, behind the B&W sketch.

Let me go ahead and drop the mic............

SPAWN 184 - CGC 9.8 You're going to see some crazy books this week! 185 is extremely important. In the meantime, enjoy the headlights.

SPAWN 183 - CGC 9.8

Bottom. Some sources say around 17-20K. That changes after issue 185, which was a drastic turning point in the series. I don't really want to give away spoilers... We also see a peak at issue 200, and then the print runs get even worse. I had a line-graph that illustrated the peaks and valleys, but the CGC forum decided to butcher everyone's journals and FORCE them to go to the HORRID new version (I'm still extremely bitter about that), so it's probably lost to time and space. I had an awesome journal and they destroyed it...along with everyone else's.

SPAWN 182 - CGC 9.6 This is strange. I seem to remember having this in 9.8, but maybe not? It wasn't in my files or on the registry. Embarrassed to post this lowly 9.6! I thought I only had one, but I guess I was wrong. I do remember this one being tough.

I couldn't find my Overstreet. Sorry! All our books are still in boxes. Our new library shelves have been delivered, so I should be unboxing soon. In the meantime, here is: SPAWN 181 - CGC 9.8 Broken record: I love this cover! I'd even say it might be in my personal top 5! Certainly the top 10. Certainly the best Haberlin did, along with 178. These are both "I will have agains."

I personally avoid water damage at all costs...unless it was some sort of extremely rare golden age...even then.

SPAWN 180 - CGC 9.8 I remember seeing this cover in an Overstreet article. They were writing about the lower print runs during this stretch in Spawn, and this was the example they used. I will try to find it and post it later. In the meantime, here is the cover.

“I'm wondering if they were made with some sort of environmentally friendly plastic that would easily biodegrade in a landfill.”

SPAWN 179 - CGC 9.8 I can't remember who commented on this issue earlier in the thread, but this is the moment you've waited for! Phallicspawn? All joking aside, I really like this one! Seriously...all joking aside. I really tried hard to land a Mike Mayhew signature. No dice.

SPAWN 178 - CGC 9.8 After some stumbles, Brian Haberlin knocked it out of the park with this one! Definitely one of my favorites! I'll be compiling a top 10 or top 20 list soon. Maybe in celebration once we hit issue 200. I will definitely own this one again. It just speaks to me.