Sauce Dog

We ain't talking about unique one-of-a-kind art pieces here - these are mass produced comic books, bind it if that is the way you would like to keep and display it (as potential resale value is absolutely unimportant for many of us who just want the book in our collection)

On 6/9/2024 at 11:07 AM, BA773 said:

Mhhh... this last part of the message make me envious to go on a big book that I seen on ebay one day ago... I think this book is a sleeper anyway so it could be the time to make a good deal!

edit: There is also the Coverless Facebook group you can use to find em.

Depends on the book, but that sounds about right for the most part (For example my most recent coverless purchase was a FF#52 for $120, and the GPA on 2.0 is $349), also bought a More Fun Comics #72 (a semi-key; Doctor Fate's new helmet issue) for only $80 and the FMV for that in 2.0 would be around $600 now (though in this case it is a book where the cover is an important part of the book being a key, so in these cases the price would be much lower)

I would suggest also not looking at any OLD price data for coverless books (before 2019 is a good start), as the market for them was much worse than they are now and you could pick up very big key books for even cheaper - outlook on coverless keys has changed so much in the recent years.

On 6/5/2024 at 10:18 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

I second this and maybe should clarify it is what I meant by saying this

In other words, I don't have the info and @revat didn't find it either, I just thought for sure the two I tagged having had a "list" at one point could then point you to the legal recourse information, and not that they themselves are in any kind of legality way.

 

I'm personally no longer keeping a list or collecting new customer data, but there is still an effort to do so at https://herorestorationcomic.com 

@Copy801 I would recommend reaching out to the Linn County Sheriff's Office as they are handling the case right now.

On 6/1/2024 at 6:53 AM, Bosco685 said:

For those interested in watching; Netflix defaults to the English dubbed version (it's not a horrible dub, but I found it took too much away from the amazing performances of the original), however you can easily change it back to the original Japanese + Eng Subs in the settings once you start watching.

On 5/28/2024 at 9:45 AM, Neo "The One" said:

Got another inquiry from the website (HeroRestorationComic.com) Sent him the contact info for Detective investigating.  I'm leaving out his name for privacy concerns, but looks like he's part of the AF 15 club.

Hi there, 

 

I recently just found out about all the stiff going on with hero restoration. I had a book that was with them to be restored. An Amazing Fantasy 15. Was wondering if there was anything I could do to get it back. I've been trying to catch up on the matter through the forums, but there is too much information to sift through. Would you be able to let me know what is going on, and what my next steps could be. Thank you.

 

Kind regards,

I don't think we ever matched a customer to the AF15 he sold for 10k.

As for a tally of outstanding books, that is impossible tell at this point I think considering many people might not even be on these boards to tell us (I have records of all submissions between 2019-2020 I think, but only the initial submission not the status of it so can't tell which were completed and what he still has. Submissions after that were stored online via jotform but not sure if he still access to that and what I gather his actual record keeping was horrible - so I'm sure Mike doesn't even know). From my original form I was using to help return items to customers, after I shut it down there was still approximately $55,000usd worth of comics he was in possession of that I knew about (and that was only from about eight customers)

On 5/28/2024 at 7:25 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

I don't know where the "upgrade" mentality comes from. I have been collecting for 40 years and have never upgraded a book. I generally don't buy a copy unless I'm happy with it, so why would I upgrade?

I do have a few books that turned out to be a little rougher in hand than what I was hoping for or that have particular defects that bug me, so I have a few books that I would upgrade were the right copy to come along at the right price, but even with those books, upgrading is a very low priority.

I guess I don't think like the number-in-the-corner chasers.

Some of us can't afford our favourite rare books unless we buy them in tattered, falling apart, incomplete conditions (and for many GA books you can't just wait for the next one as it might be years or even a decade until one comes up for sale - and then you might be even MORE priced out of ever owning a copy). But you know this, since you also say you WOULD upgrade books (priority is subjective in this case)

My favourite Marvel character is Iron Man and so I jumped at buying the most affordable copy I could when I was growing up which was falling apart and needed to be slabbed just to keep it from disintegrating (so I couldn't even read it anyways), that has since been upgraded in my adult years and is a much better display piece (which is a big factor for most of us when it comes to our favourite books). 

As for the number-in-corner chasers, who want to upgrade a 9.6 to 9.8 for example, I can think of one good reason: Winning a competitive registry set. That upgrade could mean thousands of points and determine if you take the top spot, and if you don't make it a priority you are now waiting an entire year again just for your chance to compete for a prize. 

I have high hopes for this - but in my heart I know that this movie will be nowhere near as horny or soapy as any self-respecting X-Man adaptation should strive to be

I do hope they don't totally default to the 'core' original members. The general public already knows there are other members thanks to the TV show and other media, so it is fine to put in some fresh faces and explore the space (I don't want to see Beast again, can do without Angel - certainly not another poor Archangel arc even though he is my favourite - we absolutely don't need Logan in this when the new Wolverine is right there and she has been a much better overall fun character for years now. Give us Armour, Polaris, Forge, or Marrow (I also would love Sunfire and Sync, but think the visuals associated with them wouldn't be ideal right now - let Human Torch be the 'Marvel fire guy' for now and no sense including Sync if he is just copying VFX at the cost of any meaningful character development)...and Cyclops, cause he's always right.

This was awful, and yes there are worse things like Morbius, but nothing redeeming in this either that made me want to continue to give it my time after 45ish minutes. The ADR was absolutely overdone and distracting.

Sell it as is on the coverless Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1307135689495725

On 5/14/2024 at 2:17 PM, piper said:

Anyone up to put together a Top 5 or 10 Horror Actor list?

For me Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Vincent Price have to be on it.  What mainstream modern actors should be on the list?

Udo Kier jumps out to me as a good bridge between the old Hammer style horror actors and the modern era.
 

For those interested there is a good documentary on Shudder (When it first released it was over 3 hours long but they went back and re-edited it an acceptable 99 minutes. The full 3 hours I think are now only found on physical releases, but I honestly don't recommend that version)

https://www.shudder.com/movies/watch/boris-karloff-the-man-behind-the-monster/d8ae9075460b0a71

I assume any authenticated Restored books will be purple with a black bar at the top (same for Qualified books for other reasons, such as popped staple)?

On 5/2/2024 at 1:26 PM, universal soldier said:

 hopefully you are wrong. If not, I've got some fancy TP that will last me through my incontinence years.

110% not representative of the whole community, it shows that only people old-as-balls use this forum (which is not a surprise. CGC does a poor job advertising it or their registry, and anytime I've found someone 'young' who even knows about these places they've been quick to sass me how 'old' it is). Most new collectors I've met through instagram or other social channels are in their 20s (only one younger than that who is a local kid, but I also don't go to LCS anymore so not sure what the walk in age ranges are like) 

Yes, I do it all the time - however it is better to source at least the back cover for these coverless books as that will allow you to obtain a 0.5 grade (at least half of the cover wrap must be present to qualify for a 0.5 grade, any more missing from a book and it is automatic NG).

This More Fun #72 has an entire facsimile cover wrap attached using the original staples.



However this Strange Tales #110 only has a facsimile for the front cover, the back cover is original.

On 5/2/2024 at 8:55 AM, D84 said:

Who thinks this will be worse than the comedy classic staring David Harbour?

I get the vibe there is less studio interference going on so far, so that alone makes it sound like it will turn out better (though I didn't HATE the Harbour one...I just didn't like it as a single sit down movie experience)

News has been flying around that they used AI for the creature designs in the new Hellboy movie, however the the director clarified and said he misspoke and the new Hellboy did NOT AI for the creature designs but rather he meant he used AI for another movie The Offering.

However...here is the thing, I'm not sure I can fully believe it at this point, as we know stuidos want to avoid negative press and apparently the director also said that the Hellboy movie characters are 100% practical and have "no cgi enhancement".... and we all know that when a studio and staff are touting the 'all practical / no CGI' lines during production & marketing it is nothing more than a pile of lies. Hope it isn't the case and this project is AI free.

On 4/28/2024 at 5:25 PM, shadroch said:

How do you know they will be safe, and whose insurance covers them from the time you drop them off until they are mailed?

Reputation is all that is needed. There are plenty of places in Toronto I AVOID going to because of how poorly they handle books (cough Paradise Comics cough), and a store should have insurance if anything major happens prior to mailing but that is a risk you take regardless (or during mailing, though I've yet to hear anyone have an issue with the shop I use in this respect. Though every book I submit I take photos of at the time of submission in front of them, with invoice in view, and signatures of them confirming it)

On 4/28/2024 at 10:44 AM, Gaard said:

Is there an advantage to having a dealer sub your books for you?

For anyone NOT located in the United States it makes a massive difference in shipping. If I wanted to ship ONE single book to CGC for grading myself, and have them return it to me, the cost would be around $90usd just for shipping (not including any surprises coming back over the border via duties/imports if paperwork isn't correctly done). Submitting through a dealer has them mail a giant bulk shipment, and have all the return paper work completed/optimized as well as using discounted business rates (which often only add maybe $10 shipping costs to my order for a stack of books).

My dealer isn't handling the actual books much either, you just have to drop em off bag & boarded properly and you know they will be safe (all my big books are in an archive sleeve as well as a bag/board to prevent any issues while shipping)

On 4/27/2024 at 7:30 PM, revat said:

Nothing was taken by force or physically stolen, and the defendant doesn’t seem to have committed or threatened any violence.  

 Fixed that for you. Okay, that's enough out of me ;)

On 4/27/2024 at 9:43 PM, jimbo_7071 said:

It could get a 5.0 grade from CGC but not a 6.0 grade. The mistake is in thinking that eBay bidders are rational. People's bids are usually driven by emotions—not wanting to "lose" since the auction houses have brainwashed people into thinking that a willingness to pay more for an item than anyone else on the planet makes you a "winner," FOMO (fear of missing out), mania due to bipolar disorder (which is often followed by depression and suicidal ideation over having spent too much money), etc.

And that's if it's a real sale. With eBay, you never know.

You assume most ebay bidders buying raw KNOW how to grade correctly  No need to bring emotion into it when lack of skill will suffice. I'm sure some of em were thinking that was an easy 7.0.

Dunno, maybe people think it looks like having a shot at being the highest graded copy on census (which is a 6.0)? Maybe there is a pedigree for it due to that marking on it?