Westy Steve

Ok, it's my understanding that Marvel Entertainment (or Disney), (or whoever), can't produce movies with "mutants".  And that's why they were looking at emphasizing the Inhumans.

Last night, I was watching Elektra (sp?), which was the sequel to Daredevil.  And I realized that there were a handful of bad guys who had mutant powers.

Then what about Bullseye in the Daredevil movie?

I was thinking of other examples of characters in Marvel movies with unexplained, mutant-like abilities.

So is the simple answer for Marvel just not putting a label on it?  I mean, why not bring in any mutant you like as long as you don't label it as a "mutant"?

Not the best picture, but I'd appreciate opinions.  It has an assigned grade.  Wonder what you think it would grade with a press.  Please don't post if you already know the answer.

Question for the OP....did you get it pressed?  If so, can we see it now for educational purposes?  I have heard the pressing decreases the appearance of spine ticks somewhat.

FWIW, Terrapin, I completely agree with you to the last digit.

Is that a tear on the lower right corner?  I think the spine really hurts the grade of this.  Just too many little ticks.  It's nicer than a VG, but I don't think it makes Fine.

7.0.  That big diagonal crease and the tear brings it down from what would have been about an 8.0

If that's a tear on the back cover on the left, then 8.0.  If it's not a tear, then 8.5 to 9.0.

Post a better picture of the lower right corner.  Can't see the crease.

On ‎6‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 8:14 AM, WEBHEAD said:

Guess I need to go to someone who will at least publish their secret recipe.   You can see I've been here since the beginning so I've also seen how their grading has tighten and loosened over time.  Consistency is what we need... thanks in advance for your help... moving on.

That's the thing.  There isn't really a secret recipe.  IMHO, if you try counting tick marks and measuring things with a ruler, then you'll be thrown off the trail by how severe the ticks are, and where they are, etc.  Trying to be modest, I'm a pretty good grader, and I grade entirely based on the whole picture.  Grading is an art.  You just have to look at it and decide if it looks too scruffy for a 9.0, and too nice for a 6.0 and then start "wiggling in" in your mind until you reach a grade.  FWIW, IMHO it looks like a 7.5....maybe a 7.0 if the grader is fighting with his wife that day.   I own a GSXM1 in 7.5, and yours is about the same as mine.

Any idea how many people are playing?

On ‎7‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 6:16 PM, Brian48 said:

Nah. The Smith run is too good. You gotta have a nice copy to fondle.  Reading the Darkhorse HCs just aren't the same. The funky coloring ruined it for me.  

I think one of the later issues is a perfect reprint because Smith got behind in his work and they had to print SOMETHING at the deadline.  Maybe on of those would work on the cheap.

As it is, I think it's more like a 4.0.  But can you press it?  I don't know if you can press a book with a piece replaced.  I think a press would bring it closer to a 5.0 if CGC is forgiving on the chipping.

You all know that some Marvel Chipping doesn't start with big areas of missing paper.  In some cases, the paper is still there, but kind of ruffled, or rilled, or otherwise possessing a lot of microcuts.

If you have one of those books where it has marvel chipping, but the paper chips are still attached, does pressing help the appearance of these?  Obviously it can't untear the paper.  But does it line them up to make them look nicer?  Anyone have before and after pix?

Yes.  That's not restoration.

I think you're right.  7.0 at worst, but it could come back at a 7.5.  I call it a 70/30 chance.

I don't think it would drop the grade more than 0.5 points in that state of preservation.  So 7.0, and maybe 6.5 at worst.

Looks like a 9.2 to me based on the scan discoloration of the spine.  I don't see a point in pressing it.

Yes, the picture is terrible, but we thought about taking a picture at the last second before submitting it to CGC.  Thank you so much for the help.  That's kind of what we were thinking.  It's a 6.0 to 6.5 and it will jump half a point due to the press.  The inside of the book and the back are really nice, so I'm hoping that it will get the benefit of the doubt if the graders are split on their opinions.  I'll let you know what happens.

No guesses?  It was submitted to CGC, so you can try your luck on guessing how it will grade!

1 hour ago, topcat54 said:

He sent a list of books he had also said he was in NY on a job?  would be back later this wk.

He didn't want to mail them wanted an in person transaction. Seemed sincere then again you never know.

Good to know.  I've spent all my powder at the show (unfortunately), but I'm sure the lead is useful to someone.

My daughter and I estimate an 8.5/9.0 once pressed. Some spine stress around the bottom staple may go away once pressed. Top corner should press out nicely.

This book was sent off for a press and grading.  Cover is the worst part of the book.  The back and insides are perfect and page quality is offwhite to white at the very worst.  Supple book that smelled good.  Trying to get a feel for the current grade, and perhaps how the press will help.  Thanks in advance.

1 hour ago, topcat54 said:

Well you live in Florida so just wondering if you seen this it's not X-MEN but worth the look for some nice keys in multiples

 

 https://daytona.craigslist.org/clt/d/comic-collection-for-sale-mid/6216933158.html

Be careful with that.  I found a craigslist scam originating from that area.  The seller showed some genuinely nice books, but was advertising in a bunch of places all over Florida EXCEPT where they lived.  And then they really wanted to mail the books, and didn't want to meet in person.  And of course they didn't want paypal.  I'm not saying this is the same person, but make sure you can see the books in person and hand over funds in person.

I went to TampaCon yesterday with a friend and my daughter.  You guys might remember that I started a thread here about the surprising (to me) cost of NM copies of the "new" uncanny X-men for issues #94 through #101.  You might recall I was trying to put together a short set in CGC 9.4.   For years (decades), I put off my idea of putting this set together and when  I finally decided to tackle it, I was shocked by the prices.   If I can find my old thread I'll post it below:

Found it..mostly people arguing:  https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/371050-when-did-x-men-get-so-expensive/?tab=comments#comment-8666397

Anyway, I had to make concessions on what I could afford with the Giant Size X-men #1 and the X-men #94 but I find myself needing only the #100 now.  Naturally, when you're one book away from completing your set, you start thinking "what's next?".  And I considered doing Conan #1 through #10, but then realized if I could just get the Conan #1, it would be more fun (to me) to hunt for other Bronze keys.  I find I'm really enjoying finding high grade bronze keys.

So yesterday, my happy naïve self makes the trek do TampaCon firm in my resolve to find a CGC 9.4 Xmen 100, a high grade Conan 1 (ideally an 8.5 or better), or as a back-up plan some of the other neat bronze keys you guys seem to post all the time.  Figured that would be a piece of cake with about 20 dealers in attendance at TampCon, right?

Wrong!

There was not a single 9.4 X-men 100 to be found.  Nor 9.2, or 9.0...nothing.   Heck, I think I noticed that only one dealer even had some of the other Xmen (like #95 - 101) slabbed in NM.  Dealers kept telling me that it sells as fast as they get it. 

So how did my hunt for Conan's go?  Not too well!  Nobody had a Conan 1 in higher grade that I saw. Later in the show, my friend, Mark, showed me one he found in 9.6 that I missed.  But I couldn't have spent those funds anyway...(Ok, I could have, but then divorce proceedings would have followed shortly thereafter).

As a footnote, I did end up making a deal to buy one at the show, from a friend I saw there, that will be shipped to me, but I found the fact that I couldn't find my Xmen 100, nor my Conan 1 at the show kind of jarring.  Where was all the high grade bronze?

OK, so after striking out twice, I went on the hunt for something nice.  Some nice, slabbed, key bronze beauty. After arranging for the purchase of the Conan 1 from my friend, I only had a few hundred left to spend.

The results were about the same.  Now remember, I was willing to consider the entire UNIVERSE of high grade slabbed keys in the $300 to $400 range.  Yes, I found some, but it was surprising how few there were.  One dealer (you can guess who) had a hoard of them, but beyond that one dealer, there didn't seem to be that many scattered about and those scattered ones tended to have some healthy asking prices, though I saw a few candidates.  I finally settled on a nice slabbed FN/VF Batman 251.

Bottom line is that I'm hooked on my hunt for nicer bronze keys.  But this is my testimony that an off-line hunt for these books appears to be far more challenging than I thought it would be.  I was naïve in thinking I could fill my want list at a big show.

33 minutes ago, Martin Sinescu said:

Ah, got it, thought he was saying that was the reason Supey was going to hell (to battle what was actually some space alien and not the real devil), thanks for clearing it up 

Almost.  Flash and Fury made a comment about how Superman going to hell was a "bit of a stretch" (of reality).  And my comment was that the entire Superman storyline is a "stretch".  Us collectors will fully accept the existence of someone as far-fetched as Superman...an alien being who is super powerful, with super breath, super speed, xray vision, heat vision, etc.  We can totally accept that.  Yet, we think it's crazy to think of Hell as a real place. 

I find that interesting.

There are probably millions of people who believe the exact opposite.  That Hell is real, and Superman is not.

Not trying to start an argument on religion.  Just pointing out that it's funny what us comic collectors will accept as "realistic" and "unrealistic".  But that's the fun of comics.