Sauce Dog

Born in Roncesvalles....and I eventually ended up moving back there in my adult life. Unfortunately I won't be attending the con this weekend, I often skip this 'smaller' one and just save up for the main fan expo later in the year.

Yawn and Yikes! (also is he only getting his signature makeup for the final act? Seems like it is being put on just for the theatre)

Yeah, 100% needs to drive there as transit would make it too painful a trek. Best hit up those inside the downtown core first.

As a native Torontonian I actually have nothing but bad things to say about Paradise Comics...so it's a good thing it ain't on your map I would however recommend Gotham, and highly recommend you check out The Beguiling. Silver Snail is great as well though I honestly haven't been there since their last move so cannot say for certain (but they have always been a Toronto comic staple)

Jim's a cool dude who you should certainly buy comics from. A+ highly recommended and I look forward to my next purchase.

It is less about posting here to get Mike to notice and return the books and more about publically making it know who has been victimized, which spurs on more people to be vocal about it and also allow those who are currently doing legal action to easily find and message others in the same boat (since my centralized form is no longer active the boards are the single best place to find others)

Mike only told me that he filed a police report. Whether that is true or false i have no idea, nor do i know anything else other than who the suspect is.

His store, Cool Stuff, was apparently robbed back in January (I only found out recently though) and customer books were stolen (which ones and how many I do not know). He told me he filed a police report and shared security footage with me - at which point I NOPED right out of the conversation as it is now grand larceny and I am not getting involved in this growing mess further. I didn't post anything explicit about it since I was waiting for him to make an announcement or whatever, but that doesn't seem to be happening and so yeah, I guess might as well confirm it since a few other people also know at this point.

Due to the situation of many customer books being stolen from Hero Restoration, and how that now involves the police, anyone who still has not received their property back should be considering what legal channels they can go through or contact. If Mike is still returning books, or is in contact with some customers, he needs to be more communicative and transparent about that here (and not just rely on customers to post on his behalf). You should still post here if Mike has not responded to you directly, as it is better than nothing.

I've never had a page I've cut from a wrap come back as trimmed or qualified - maybe it's a possible risk, but for me personally it has never been an issue. I've cut my pages with a knife, so it was clean, but scissors will suffice. And yes, you can request how the page is facing. Be sure to include a sticky note attached to the bag/board of the page that specifies how you want it (not guaranteed they will do it though) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiLV6koOSWG/?img_index=1

per pm

No. Signature series should not have their own sets, that only serves to fragment existing collections, add needless complexity overall, and also possibly allow people to double dip (I can buy a 9.8, crack it and keep the label, get it signed and regraded, then use these label numbers for a single book in two separate sets)

I am all for any additional changes that can bring new paths to being competitive, and in the case of page quality I don't think it need be something as detailed as signature series points, rather just focus on the edge cases: +1 point to a book if it has WHITE PAGES, -1 point to a book if it as BRITTLE PAGES. That's it - no need for more rows for each grade/point values in between for each books as it is unified across every book regardless of grade. Everything else in between neither gains nor looses a point. This means two people competing for a common bronze set, where 9.8s are easy enough to find, can edge out the competition if they focus on finding only the best white pages. Likewise those who want to fill a golden age run with low grade white pagers might find they can compete against those who have the same books in mid grade books but with brittle pages.

This is 100% the case and has been occurring with customers going back to the beginning of his operations. Unfortunately I cannot share details publicly at this time (by request of several contacts of mine, who are happy to keep this to ourselves so long as they see that Mike continues to return books to customers, and works with police regarding a recent new snafu).

SpideyFein bought an epic big grail from me and the transaction could not have been any smoother. A pleasure to negotiate with!

That is just part of the other side of the wrap that is still connected (but folded over). You can see the exact panel that matches the art on the wrap.

Yup! Which is why I much prefer #4 over this issue when it comes to being the actual KEY book in JSA formation. They actually do something as a team in that book, not just sit around the table waiting for lunch

Good news for those of you who have not yet joined the club: You can win this copy soon at auction and instantly put everyone else in this thread to shame! https://comics.ha.com/itm/silver-age-1956-1969-/superhero/tales-of-suspense-39-marvel-1963-cgc-nm-mt-98-white-pages/p/7369-117010.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

This is certainly going to be something crazy to watch https://comics.ha.com/itm/silver-age-1956-1969-/superhero/tales-of-suspense-39-marvel-1963-cgc-nm-mt-98-white-pages/p/7369-117010.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

This might not fall into CIS coverage though, but anyone with such a policy should inquire regardless (as based on what I understand there isn't any insurance on Mike's end anymore) What doesn’t CIS insure? The following are excluded from our coverage: Government seizure or destruction of property; war and nuclear hazards; gradual deterioration such as fading, creasing or denting; nesting, infestation or discharge or release of waste products or secretions by insects, rodents or other animals; dampness or dryness of atmosphere; changes in or extremes of temperature other than fire; fraudulent, dishonest or criminal acts; voluntary parting with covered property; loss or damage while being worked on by you or others working on your behalf; and mysterious disappearance. This is not a complete list of exclusions and exclusions can vary by policy.

Whose insurance would they file a claim with?

That is my Tales of Suspense #39 in top right which has been returned disassembled. It was leafcasted and some color touch was done on it but never completed and most needed to be redone due to color mismatch (it is now in the hands of Phil at Phantom Restoration)

This! Inspect all the wraps returned to you carefully. A few customers have recently told me of missing pages, damage, and/or missing staples from books that were returned disassembled and never had the restoration work finished.

He says his intention is doing the right thing, and it sounds like he wants to mail back stuff (especially to those customers he knows are pushing for legal action) but what will come of this I don't know - especially if he no longer has those books to return.

Not in custody, just that all his regular/public phone numbers and emails do not seem to work anymore (bounce backs, and the phones are no longer his or disconnected). I don't have a phone number either for him, only one email address I think he set up after all this started and it has been my only method of commutation with him.