Westy Steve

Q: How can you tell what books are going to explode from movie hype? A: Whatever I sell when I want to buy something different. We've probably all experienced this. Heck, I had a couple of books that I considered a "buying mistake" because when I did try to sell them to fund another acquisition, I was surprised how little demand there was for the book. I sold them for a cheap price. And then they got hot. Did I repurchase those books? No, because I know that the only thing supporting those books is Movie Hype, and when that's gone, look out below. On the other side of the curve are the people trying to sell books that did jump from movie hype and they are losing their luster. Pity the bagholders. It reminds me of the movie War Games, where the computer concludes that the best strategy is no to play. I'm not saying you can't benefit from movie hype. I guess this is a rant about how I'm growing sick of it. There are books I want that are current hot right now, so I need to wait until the hype fades. And it will. It always has. Does anyone remember how hard it was for dealers to sell early ASMs after the first movie's hype faded? So I'll just resign myself to picking up books that aren't benefitting from movie hype. But that list is getting smaller and smaller. It's irritating. OK, so enough of my rambling, rant. So that this thread can be productive, we've all seen the "books that are getting hot right now" threads. Right? Anyone care to list some books that are cooling off? Books that are experiencing fading luster? That kind of information needs to get out there to combat this ridiculous movie hype cycle.

First page talks about how many people were in it last year, and it tells that there will be a bunch of prizes. It also says that the contest will be on another thread. But it doesn't actually say what the contest is on Page One. It might be buried behind a bunch of GIFs, but I looked for it and didn't find it. Hence my question. It's cool of you to do this. Just not sure what "this" is. Is it a grading contest?

Ok, so can someone tell me what this is? Do I have to post here to participate?

I agree about the stories. I just started rereading some comics, and I was bouncing between the first Conan issues and Wolverine's own series from the 80's. And the more I read them both, the more I realized I enjoyed Conan more. I always thought I liked Wolverine more than Conan, but when I read them back-to-back, I find I'd rather read the Conan stories.

Funny you say that. I never played the NES version until years later. I couldn't win the SNES version, so I bought the NES version figuring it would be easier. Boy was I wrong!

It's like classic cars. If you use the correct original parts then you can't tell and it really doesn't matter. I have seen some fairly expensive games on eBay that do you have mismatch parts. Which builds a case that we need to have a grading service for them.

Shoot yeah! Below is a picture of a couple of my SNES games. Not my most expensive, but the Super Ghouls and Ghosts means a lot to me, even if I suck at that impossible game. It's dang near impossible to find black corners in this condition unless you buy a sealed copy and unwrap it. And even then, I've seen shelf wear on wrapped stuff worse than this. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it gives me the same thrill that a high grade (vintage) black cover comic does. It shouldn't exist, but it does, and it's nice to look at. The Populous was an ebay purchase. Not quite as nice, but it's eye candy. I do want to migrate them to slabs because I think they'd look cool.

Are they in nice condition?

Nicely bought!

Hey guys, A friend PMed me this thread, because he knows I collect video games. I've had the good fortune to pick Bronty's brain a couple times in another part of the internet regarding these games. One thing that needs to be brought up here is WATA game's pedigree. It's not a coincidence that they use a 10-point grading system like CGC's because there are some comic book people helping to guide WATA. I want WATA to succeed, but I have mixed feelings about this thread because....dammit...I'm not done buying up all the good games yet. And it sucks being into both games and comics because they compete for your collecting dollars. Anyway, WATA has a reputation for approaching the hobby "correctly" and the respect of some dubious big players. It's going to get interesting. Another interesting tidbit about WATA is they routinely grade games that are NOT sealed. It's a fertile field in the collecting genre because (until now), they were just an odd duck to the other grading company. I think we'll see a greater acceptance of them. It also creates another dynamic of collecting because the completeness of the games are evaluated and the condition of the manual is considered in the final grade. Now, let's drop this topic so I can continue accumulating all the cool stuff before it gets too popular. (check out this cover art:)

Just got this book. It has white pages. I know that doesn't necessarily mean that the cover is bright white, but usually there is a relationship there. Seller pictures of the book gave the impression that the "Conan" text on the front of the cover was fairly bright white compared to others that the seller had for sale. Yet it still doesn't seem that bright. Is the slab dampening the whiteness? Is this the best I can expect? Interesting...once I attach the pictures they look fairly bright white. I'm wondering if my eye is picking up on colors that the photographs cannot?

after a press, probably a 1.5 to 1.8. I'm not a big advocate of pressing, but it would help minimize some of the creases and make that book look better. FWIW, I'm dripping with jealously...especially if you can buy that for 1.0 money. (note...this presumes the staples look good inside and out).

8.0 because it's an actual small tear. If you have a presser work they magic to smooth it out, you might get a 8.5.

That's exactly where I'm at. 4.5 is possible if the grading team is in a good mood. The pressing will definitely help. Have you considered having it pressed, and then evaluating whether you want to slab? (It helps if you have a good presser local to you).

How the hell do they not list "nudity panel" on the slab?

I agree with the latest grades. If that piece wasn't out, I could see a 2.5 with a press. If you press that book, ( a good job that reverses spine roll ) even with the piece out, I could see a 2.0, and a 1.8 conservatively. The book has structural integrity, no tape or writing, reasonable chipping and big uninterrupted areas. I like this kind of book.

I really appreciate the replies. I think the front right bottom corner is confusing people. I gave a closeup earlier to show there is no significant stress there. The design on this cover has some diagonal lines that makes it look like stress. Here's a closeup of the bottom right corner on CGC 9.6 book for example: (I hope the CGC folk aren't tricked by it)

Just got this. Plan to slab it.

bumped...i put in more and better pix of problem areas up top

Same here. So many great back issues out there that are known to be high quality. I do think that I don't stop liking (loving?) comics, but my breaks are driven by a stronger desire to buy something else until I burn out on it, and eventually the wheel comes back around to comics.

You offered that maybe I'm just taking small breaks (vs. some kind of mental issue). Then you said you hit a wall and you're not collecting at the moment and you're disenchanted with the costs of the keys. I find I can get around the "key problem" by narrowing my focus, because then I don't need to get several keys, but rather only a couple, so it doesn't seem so insurmountable.

Heh, thanks for the advice. Here's some in return. Work on one or two runs at a time, and do them in a manner that make you proud.

Just you, handsome

If there was a competition, I think I'd hold the record for going in, and out, of the comic book collecting hobby. I keep getting distracted by other collecting interests, but right now, the "force is strong with this one" as Yoda would say. I'm obsessing, and on a scale of 1 to 10, I'm at a 10. I do think I've got at least a touch of OCD or something. At least these days, I've learned not to sell my stuff to fund other collections. Doing THAT in the past was a big mistake! Any of you guys swing in and out of the hobby a lot?

I've been working on finding answers to this question for the longest time myself. What I've concluded is to take a look at the rare U.S. coin market for an answer. It's been on the uptick after a multi-year downturn, but what I want you to take away from this view of the U.S. coin market is how upside down their demographics are. I used to literally marvel (pun not intended) at how I'd enter a coin show at the age of 50 years old and still be the youngest guy there by more than 15 years....and yet the market kept chugging along. Know why? I do, and here's where you can find the answer. Go over to the Golden Age subforum and ask those older guys how many will die with their collections. The answer, whether they admit it or not, is "most of them". When you're 70 or 80 years old, if you have money to spend, you use it to make yourself happy. i personally believe as I get older I'm less likely to sell my good stuff because I find myself in a jam for money less and less often. Many of the older collectors on this board already have their house paid for, and their needs met, and the reality is that the thrill of the chase for the next rare book means more to them than selling it for plain old cash. They have money. But they need that early issue of Action. So the market will chug along well past when most of the youngest of us are dying of old age. I'm completely serious. That's at least 30 years. All that being said, there's no written rule that you can't find ALSO something you like to collect that the kids today are into. Most of us collect more than one thing.