Red_Hood

Thanks, my copy was about $250 and I was in awe to see a comic for $1,000. That being the Fantastic Four #1. I was 13, turning 14 at the end of summer, so I never regretted not buying the Fantastic Four #1 as I couldn't afford it. I remember thinking back then that it was cool just owning a 10 cent comic. You didn't seem them around too often, even 12 cent comics for that matter. The only time I saw old comics were the pictures in the Overstreet Price Guide each year that it came out. I think the Atari 2600 was around $400 at the time so I was about $100 shy of my goal and I'm happy I was short of that goal.

Here's a few pics of my copy. I remember mowing lawns and babysitting all summer to earn money to buy the fancy new Atari 2600 with 2 joysticks and 2 paddle controllers, with wood panel siding and all the works. Then I saw this book for the very first time. I had just enough money to buy this and still have some spending money for the last 2 weeks of summer or keep working to save up for the Atari 2600. I thought one of my friends would end up getting the Atari 2600 so I chose the Strange Tales #89. I remember the store owner of the used book shop had a Fantastic Four #1 in about the same condition but was asking 4 times the amount of the price of the Strange Tales #89, plus as a young boy I thought the cover was cooler and knowing it came out about a month before Fantastic Four #1 made me think I was getting something super old. I wonder where that Atari 2600 would be now?

Yes, that is the CDN Edition with the 95 cent price on the cover. The group shot I made a few pages back with 12 copies of X-Factor #6 and 24 copies of X-Factor #5 are all CDN Editions. These were limited to sale in such places as grocery stores and convenience stores. The print run on CDN editions are approximately 100 times more scarce and even tougher to find in high grade.

But there are so many other books throughout the late 70's and 80's. For instance, I just saw GPA numbers for Star Wars #42 are around $200 each because Boba Fett and some other bounty hunters are on the cover, the same goes for Spider-Woman #1. I have approximately 50 copies of these that I'm mining through today. It's like I just picked them up from the printer shop before they even went to the distributors.

I want to throw my hat into the ring on this Copper Age! Bought out all the store stock from a dealer who had a store during the 70's and 80's. This doesn't even scractch the surface on the rest I didn't photogragh. The few sent to CGC have all are returned 9.8 and White pages. Here's a few more that will keep CGC busy. This stuff was never circulated or sold and have been stored for 20 to 30 years. There are the same multiples ( nearly 50 each of Nova #1, Star Wars #1 and yes, Hulk #271. Mostly Newsstand and Canadian Editions ) About 28,000 comics in all, perfectly preserved.

yes The Red Hood title doesn't pick up the Death in the Family story line until issue #15 in December according to the checklist. October only has Batman #13, Batgirl #13 and Catwoman #13. November is the same titles as above and Suicide Squad #14 Then in December the flood gates open with 8 titles carrying the story line.

With such a large res scan I'm sure the flaws look more amplified to us. Maybe it received a favoured grade because of pedigree status. Nonetheless, it's a tough comic to get in high grade.

Great story, Brian48. I couldn't remember the pedigree it came from, I wish I could see a picture of it. I know that feeling of getting caught up in the bidding. One door closes and another opens, I always say.

This was just listed today on the Link. http://www.comiclink.com/itemdetail.asp?back=%2FNewItems%2Easp%3FType%3D%26f1%3Di%2ELastUpdate%26ODire1%3DDESC&id=950319 Pricetag is a bit frothy. $2K? Well, good luck to him. The census shows zero copies in 9.8, and only 2 copies are 9.6, 8 copies in 9.4. I'm surprised that there are no 9.8 copies. It certainly seems tough in high grade when you look at Batman #227 and there are many copies in high grade with 5 copies at 9.8. It shows a pedigree copy of #395 selling for over $3,700 in 9.6 and the only 9.4 sale was about 7 years for around $545. Good luck to the seller either way.

These 5 uncirculated copies of Star Wars #1 were my best find this week.

Beautiful Detectives

Wow! Ryan, you are by far, one of the finest artists with a unique touch of capturing the essence of the golden age. I've paid visits to your website in the past as well and truly enjoy each piece you've done. Can you comment on a typical price range of these commissions that members have shared? I would be interested to inquire on a piece, your time frame, etc.

Here's one of my favourites and hard to find in high grade too.

The first 6 issues of Fear in very decent grade.

Want to thank Pickycollector ( Patrick ) for a smooth transaction on these latest pickups.

Patrick is the perfect guy to buy from. He has high expectations for his collection and when he sells you get exactly what he describes. Picked up some stuff from him not listed on the sales thread and couldn't be happier with the 12 Detective Comics and 4 Beware the Cat issues I received. Great communication and so glad that you're in Canada too so I can avoid customs fees. Definitely will deal with you and message you when I'm looking for something. Thanks for a great transaction (thumbs u

Wow this looks so much like my old undercopy when it was raw. Ended up grading a CGC 6.5. I wish it was a 6.5. I bought it raw from a reputable dealer and he didn't mention the 1 inch spine split at the top and 2 inch spin split at the bottom when I bought it. He did knock $100 off the price afterwards but I'd grade it at a 4.0 because of the spine split. Otherwise a nice copy with decent eye appeal so it'll be a keeper. Coincidentally, the dealer did have it graded as a 6.5 or Fine +

I bought this issue from Doug Sulipa many years ago and think it's a classic display by the creative team working for the established. You have to appreciate it's message.

I'm a member of this fine club now!

I would not want to be the employee of a grading company responsible for this. Secondly, someone who has $23,000 to spend on a comic and doesn't do research on such a suspect comic ( counterfeits existing, 1, 2, 3 print runs ) is asking for trouble. In my opinion, this is much worse then the guy that claims a grading company replaced his 1st print with another print. Why?!?, because this is the only trusted grading company in the industry. Anyways, a company should follow up, make things right and accept responsibility if necessary. If it is a 1st print, then there are misleading printing errors via Mirage Studios. Someone will be expected to speak about it for the sake of misrepresentation.

Some recent purchases in 2012. I know, some are from the bronze age but it's to celebrate the Batman collecting as a whole. [/img] [/img] [/img] [/img] [/img] [/img] [/img] [/img] [/img]

I recall seeing this as a 9.0 Rocky Mountain Pedigree, a couple months later it became what it is now.

Wow, possibly only 6,000 of the second print of issue number 1. I think this issue is a sleeping giant given that there are far less 9.8 and 9.6 copies graded. I'm sure they'll come out of the woodwork soon but it appears everyone wanting a 1st print overlooked the 2nd print and the low numbers. Good discussion guys.

I disagree...a 9.6 copy gets between $400 and $500 on ebay. Add in that it's as close to a 9.8 1st print as most will get and that there's only 2 9.8's on the census and you'll find people putting a premium on this one. As others have said, people have been paying nearly $300 for Laird's ungraded copies on ebay. I'd be very surprised if a 9.8 2nd print went for less than $500 anytime soon. I agree with Peter Palmer. There are more 9.8 and 9.6 1st print copies on the census then there are 9.8 and 9.6 2nd print copies. The print run for the 2nd print is relatively low and only separated by one month from print dates. The cover is virtually the same except for the inside covers. The print run on the 2nd print at 15,000 copies is very low for distribution standards and trying to get a nice high grade copy is much more affordable. I'm just as happy with my 9.6 2nd print, if not happier, as I am with my 8.5 1st print.

Great Communication and easy to deal with. Thanks again for a perfect transaction