Arkham

Detective Comics #298   6.5   SOLD!
$500

Detective Comics #31   0.5   SOLD!
$31,000
This book is complete. It may not be the finest known copy, but it certainly might be the finest 0.5 out there, as it is the complete book.

Welcome Mike! 
Welcome Arkham!

Hi Mike!! WTTB!
 
I should also re-introduce myself!  I'm in my forties, based in Australia, biiiig batfan (well, Joker really). I joined the boards awhile ago, but have just taken a three year hiatus after becoming a dad for the first time. I'm back in the hobby with a passion now and look forward to getting a little more active on the boards too. 

Hi Mike!! WTTB!
 
I should also re-introduce myself!  I'm in my forties, based in Australia, biiiig batfan (well, Joker really). I joined the boards awhile ago, but have just taken a three year hiatus after becoming a dad for the first time. I'm back in the hobby with a passion now and look forward to getting a little more active on the boards too. 

Not a flea market find but wanted to share beyond my journal...Last year, well, nearly a year and a half ago, an acquaintance referred an older gentleman to me about some comics. 
As he was from out of province, I met quickly with him one afternoon over a year ago when he was in town for a medical appointment to look at his books.  We couldn’t agree to something at that very brief meeting is because my initial offer, in typical fashion, was “not enough” and “below his expectations.”  These were books he had as a child and had hung onto all these years. 
Regardless, we stayed in touch here and there and I looked at more of his books via email, gave him storage advice, etc.  He emailed me to say he was in town this week for another medical appointment and asked me if I was still interested. I said yes. So, we agreed to meet.  With both of us wearing masks and social distancing I looked at his books in the trunk of his car in the hotel parking lot (we joked people would think we were doing a drug deal) and he had a change of heart and I upped my offer a bit and he came down a lot, so we did the deal.
This is a sample of what I think is the “better stuff” but I still have a lot of 10 cent Dell’s and early cartoon/Disney books to look at and process along with a few other comic books.  Not really any super hero books. Mostly war and westerns.  In total, it was like two and a half banker boxes worth, books towered side by side (didn’t really do anything with my storage advice).  He mentioned he thought he had more crime books but has not been able to find them. I told him if he did, to call me.  He seemed happy, so hopefully if he does ever find them, he will call me again. 
I don’t come across these type of books too often, even though most of them are low to mid graders, I wanted them.  Plus, quite a few of them seem to be Canadian editions which I find interesting.  It will take a bit of time to process, but here are a few group shots of what I picked up.

Teen titans all the way
here is mine
triple signed with an anfolfo remark!

I keep coming back to this thread. It’s honestly the authority on the topic on the Internet. Just wanted to reiterate how much I value the OP. Thanks mate. 

I keep coming back to this thread. It’s honestly the authority on the topic on the Internet. Just wanted to reiterate how much I value the OP. Thanks mate. 

I keep coming back to this thread. It’s honestly the authority on the topic on the Internet. Just wanted to reiterate how much I value the OP. Thanks mate. 

I just want to say that this is one of the best, most informative topics on these boards.
I still bust it out from time to time to get a visual for some diff things I'm considering for my raws.
Free bump for the newbs on the site who may be interested in it.

Deadset LEGEND!!
 
Dan contacted me after seeing a post of mine, where I was whinging about missing out on a particular variant, then sourced me a copy and sent it through.
 
It arrived in record time with some of the best packaging (the should be patented "tab system") I've ever seen.
 
Could not recommend this champion more highly.

I put this bad-boy on pre-order from Sideshow...   It's going to look amazing on the other side of the TV to the Noble Collection TDK cowl!! 
 
 

I put this bad-boy on pre-order from Sideshow...   It's going to look amazing on the other side of the TV to the Noble Collection TDK cowl!! 
 
 

I've had an idea for a vintage style Batman story kicking around for a while, I pitched it to DC years ago and they were on board, then management changed over and it got lost in the shuffle, so I'm putting it to paper and offering it up in weekly installments like an old serial.
 
The first three episodes are up now, and new ones are up on Wednesdays. The site also has spoilers which are clearly listed if you happen to be interested in the process and don't care that much about having things given away.
 
You can read the other chapters here>>> THE BATMAN DEATH RAY
 
Check it out--hope you like it.

Perhaps take a picture holding the book and today's newspaper and send it in.....

Seeing that this question seems to show up in every single "what supplies should I be using?"-thread on these boards, I figured it was about time to show the visual differences between the various sizes of E Gerber mylar that can be purchased from board member Hotflips or E Gerber themselves.
 
A couple of notes:
 
- Mylites, Mylites2 and Archives are the same size across product numbers, the only difference between them is the weight (Mylites2 are twice the thickness of Mylites, Archives are twice the thickness of Mylites2) and the fact that the Archives are open at the top & have a 7/8" flap that cannot be folded over.
 
- For this guide I'll be focusing on the 5 primary comic book sizes: Current (700), Standard (725), Silver/Gold (775), Gold (800), and Super Gold (825). The number in parantheses refers to the width of the product group - for instance all Gold-sized Mylites, Mylites2, and Archives are 8" wide. The height amongst these product groups never changes, however - it's always 10.5".
 
- Picking out half-backs or full-backs for these mylars is easy - simply choose a half-back or full-back one size smaller than the mylar itself. For instance, the 700 half-back or full-back fits inside the 725 mylar.
 
- I picked three random books to show inside the mylars: a Sandman #8 (modern book), a Daredevil #64 (silver age book), and a Black Terror #11 (golden age book), so feel free to ignore whatever doesn't apply to your specific collecting focus.
 
- Yes, it annoys me as well that it's "Mylites2s" instead of "Mylite2s", but that's just how it is.
 
- (Current) 700M2 and (Standard) 725M2 mylars are the only two sizes that will fit in a regular comic book box and a drawerbox - for all other sizes, you'll need to either use the E Gerber acid-free comic book boxes (which are wider than a regular comic book box), Magazine-sized boxes or CGC-sized boxes.
 
Anyway ... on with the show - all scans have been cropped & resized to the same aspect ratio, so the mylar sizing differences should be obvious across the images.
 
---------------------------------------
 
Modern book inside a Mylites2:
 
For a modern book, my preferred size is the (Standard) 725M2 - it doesn't fit too tight, and can be used for BA and SA books as well. Stay clear of the (Current) 700M2 size - it's way too small for anything other than books printed within the last 10-15 years, and it just doesn't make sense to spend money on a mylar that only fits one very specific type of book.
 

Modern book in Mylites2 (Current) 700M2 Modern book in Mylites2 (Standard) 725M2 Modern book in Mylites2 (Silver/Gold) 775M2 Modern book in Mylites2 (Gold) 800M2 Modern book in Mylites2 (Super Gold) 825M2 ---------------------------------------
 
SA book inside a Mylites2:
 
In a pinch, the SA book will fit inside a (Standard) 725M2 mylar, but I much prefer the larger sizes. A SA book will not fit inside a (Current) 700M2 mylar.
 

SA book in Mylites2 (Standard) 725M2 SA book in Mylites2 (Silver/Gold) 775M2 SA book in Mylites2 (Gold) 800M2 SA book in Mylites2 (Super Gold) 825M2 ---------------------------------------
 
GA book inside a Mylites2:
 
My favorite here is the (Super Gold) 825M2 mylar - it takes oversize indies (like Cerebus #1) as well. A GA book will not fit inside anything smaller than a (Silver/Gold) 775M2 mylar, and even that feels a bit too tight for my liking.
 

GA book in Mylites2 (Silver/Gold) 775M2 GA book in Mylites2 (Gold) 800M2 GA book in Mylites2 (Super Gold) 825M2 ---------------------------------------
 
Modern book inside an Archive:
 
Archives are open at the top, so make sure you stock up on E Gerber's grey acid-free boxes to store them in - I personally don't use Archives by themselves at all, only in combination with a Mylite or Mylite2 (the popular double-bagging combo).
 
Seeing that Archives are a fair bit thicker than Mylites2 (which translates to a tighter fit around the book), you have to be much more careful sliding the books in & out - the reason I'm not attaching a scan of the (Current) 700R size below is because I was worried I'd damage my modern book trying to get it in there. Even the (Standard) 725R size seems too tight here because of the increased thickness.
 

Modern book in Archive (Standard) 725R Modern book in Archive (Silver/Gold) 775R Modern book in Archive (Gold) 800R Modern book in Archive (Super Gold) 825R ---------------------------------------
 
SA book inside an Archive:
 
The SA book barely fits inside the (Standard) 725R mylar - I wouldn't recommend using it like this.
 

SA book in Archive (Standard) 725R SA book in Archive (Silver/Gold) 775R SA book in Archive (Gold) 800R SA book in Archive (Super Gold) 825R ---------------------------------------
 
GA book inside an Archive:
 
The GA book barely fits inside the (Silver/Gold) 775R mylar - just like with the Mylites2, I much prefer the versatile (Super Gold) 825R size here.
 

GA book in Archive (Silver/Gold) 775R GA book in Archive (Gold) 800R GA book in Archive (Super Gold) 825R ---------------------------------------
 
Combos
 
For more expensive books in my collection, I bust out the double-bagging Mylite+Archive or Mylites2+Archive combos - one combo for modern books, one combo for SA books.
 
I've found that when you're doing combos there's really no need to use full-backs - half-backs will do just fine because you're doubling up the bag (you put one half-back in the inner bag next to the book, and one half-back in the outer bag for support). I also like using Mylites instead of Mylites2 - I find the Mylites too flimsy to use by themselves, but inside an Archive they work great.
 
Of the SA combos below, my favorite is the one that uses the Mylites2 (Gold) 800M2 and the Archive (Super Gold) 825R.
 
A tip: When you're using a combo, put the book inside the Mylite or Mylites2 with the flap at the bottom of the book - it makes it a lot easier to slide it in & out of the Archive.
 

Modern book in Mylites2 (Standard) 725M2, which is then placed inside an Archive (Silver/Gold) 775R SA book in Mylites2 (Silver/Gold) 775M2, which is then placed inside an Archive (Gold) 800R SA book in Mylites2 (Silver/Gold) 775M2, which is then placed inside an Archive (Super Gold) 825R SA book in Mylites2 (Gold) 800M2, which is then placed inside an Archive (Super Gold) 825R ---------------------------------------
 
CGC Bags
 
For CGC slabs you have a couple of different options:
Mylites2 (Legal Size) 914M2 fit a slab pretty well and look amazing, but are relatively pricey. Transplant also mentioned that due to their size & stiffness when put in a regular CGC box, they "make the box bow out some". He suggested using CGC Magazine-sized boxes instead.
 
  E Gerber, unfortunately, doesn't carry Mylites in the Legal Size, but Bill Cole Enterprises have 1 mil Mylar Arklites that are sized specifically for CGC slabs. Bill Cole & E Gerber share the same Mylar patent, so Arklites are completely identical to Mylites. Bill Cole products are horribly overpriced, though, so 50 CGC 1 mil Arklites actually cost more than 50 Legal Size Mylites2 (even though the Mylites2 are twice as thick).
 
  A lot of board members swear by the Hotflips CGC Flip-n-stick bags which are clear polybags with a reseable flap.
 
  Another option would be the Bags Unlimited resealable CGC bags which are very similar to the Hotflips Flip-n-stick bags; it seems like the Hotflips bags are clearer & cheaper, though.