vaillant

I love them both – maybe you could just keep all the original cloth hardcovers on one side, not mixed with the more recent dust jacketed ones… That‘s usually what I do when I sort my books and magazines: I try to be strictly cronologic, or have a mixture of chronologic approach and historical/thematic one.

The paper is still very white, as they are from 1977-1979, so similar in late Bronze books which you can equally find with nice white covers. Thanks for the appreciation: remember these are magazine sized, and they really shine in magazine size! They are also 64 pages each…

What is the "mushroom jungle input"? Looks like a great book!

#26: This appears to be a key issue in Italy… very tough to find in grade – possibly they lowered the print run in this range.

#25 - Contains the issue of the wedding of Sue and Reed (the Annual) but uses a different cover… maybe from a reprint? Love the colors although the Skrull is a bit anemic…

#6 (which obviously contains #13, but I did not have it when I was a kid):

#5 (I am missing #4):

#3: the one that won me immediately! Despite the bizarre coloring, it works! I guessed they colored him green on the cover to give a more sinister feeling, like as he is in the shadows or something…

Little by little I am putting together a run of the title where I originally read a number of the early Fantastic Four stories. This is not the italian first edition of which I already showed some issues (but to which I am not much attached to as I was too small when it came out): it is a reprint which came out in the late 1970s which presents chronologically all the issues interleaved with the Strange Tales stories of the Torch (and the Thing). I just love this edition and would have loved to find them fresh "as they were on the newsstands", but here it’s not easy… The first three (#1-3, I am still missing #1) are tied to strong memories as I pestered my dad until he bought me a remaindered collection including all three (covering FF #1-9 or so). I was captured like a magnet by the cover of #8… I did not know who the Puppet Master was but surely it looked like a poignant and important story for the Thing! This have been my very first exposure to early FFs… Here’s #2 (still has the stickers within):

While I was sorting my magazine sized italian editions I just realized the cover used here it’s not the very same image of the original…

While I was sorting my magazine sized italian editions I just realized the cover used here it’s not the very same image of the original…

I definitely have to find the time to scan something…

You just have to get to know the specific people… A comment may seem brutal when it’s from a stranger, just gives you a laugh when you get to know the person.

Aside from mystery boxes (which I still think are fun/interesting although I see fastballspecial's point), I am considering the idea of making "starter packs" for collectors dedicated to single characters where I’d put the slant on quality of the stories rather than value.

All these issues are "hot", in the proper sense. This is one of the best Fantastic Four storylines ever, and this reminds me I want perfect copies of it: I might have to upgrade a number. I was so moved when I read it as a kid and when the Torch Don't think so. Does it need to be for me to feel bad about it?

Phillip purchased some Bronze and Silver age Marvels from my last sales thread. He was great in communication as we chatted a bit about the characters, paid immediately and was very responsive to the messages. Thank you very much! (thumbs u

BTW, whetteon how do you see the number of watchers? I can’t see it from the auction page.

I would grade that book as a FN/VF Exactly what I thought when I saw it… no way that is a VF.

That Speed Comics #26 is wonderful! How are the inside stories?

Are you talking about my books? Of course he does!

Well, yours wasn’t utterly "mysterious", in fact if one was looking for the Ultimate Fantastic Four it was just perfect!

I myself I don’t like the idea of "gambling" – I would not buy a mystery box unless I know there is a book I really want in it, but I like the idea of a "mysterious part", as I know I have enjoyed getting free books with some of my purchases. So yes, I do agree with your conclusion.

An unsettling hypothesis:

Just look at Doom staring from that cover…

But this inadvertently tickled arch – which is understandable given the points he explained. I guess the key point is to reveal as much as possible the more valuable content, and add "mystery" books to complete the package, this should avoid any raffle. Honestly I don’t think most of Jason’s buyer were buying from a "raffle" standpoint: most appear to be younger collectors which hoped for a deal on the whole of the better books and the filler material, and to get to know the various eras and characters, but it might be just me…