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SW3D

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Journal Entries posted by SW3D

  1. SW3D
    June 6, 2019
    It's been a long time since I posted a comment or written a journal.
    I've been on the sidelines watching the world of comics vicariously through the movies, TV shows, the internet, and auction houses.
    What brings me back is the sad and dissapointing news that the DC Universe has pulled the plug on the new Swamp Thing series after having only aired one episode. It's a head scratching decision since the show was given absolutely no chance to succeed, yet it has drawn glowing critical reception from fans and critics alike. What were the suits at AT&T thinking?
    Sure... there's talk about a new Warner streaming service to debut sometime soon, which may mean all Warner related media gets scooped up and thrown-in a central service blender, including all things DC, but then why not keep the show going until then and simply allow DC Universe subscribers to migrate over after the consolidation is complete? Why not allow this high-quality show to keep going and gain momentum and be the anchor show the DC universe really needs? I'm sure if it was ported to the Warner platform, DC fans would follow.
    Apparently the high production costs, lack of faith, and changes in the direction of the entertainment division killed the Guardian of the Green, as well as the Doom Patrol... which is really a bad move considering there are so many remedies to get the DC Universe profitable and  get the cash flow moving towards producing more and more content to keep suscribers happy and attract new ones.
    I for one was about to subscribe, because of Swamp Thing, until today. I was hopeful to see Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol, and perhaps hundreds of other heroes and stories that deserve to be told. Imagine an Animal Man series, or Gaiman's Sandman, or Kirby's The Demon, or Ditko's The Creeper, or Moore's Hellblazer? Imagine Vertigo's line of comics finally made into live action series. Imagine a Green Lantern's corps, or a Dr. Fate, or Deadman, or hundreds of others?
    James Wan, Len Wiseman, Gary Dauberman, and Mark Verheiden need to be congratulated for producing the best looking Swamp Thing to ever grace the silver or small screen. Quite frankly, the costume is breath taking. It's a shame all this artistry won't be given a chance to blossom.
    It's so very sad.
    SW3D
  2. SW3D
    If memory serves me correctly, this may have already been discussed on a journal topic or two, or on the chat boards, but I can't seem to find it. And if anyone knows of the discussion I'm referring to or something similar, I would be grateful if you could point it out.
    Anyway... the other day I noticed on eBay, a seller has on auction, Daredevil 181, the infamous, "Death of Elektra". It's the Newsstand Edition in 9.8. In his seller's description and characteristics, he provides the GPA Analysis stats of Daredevil 181, and goes out of his way to point out the stats for Newsstand Edition sales as compared to the Direct Edition. Basically, he champions the idea that Newsstand Editions are recognized as rarer and as a result, sell at a higher value than Direct Editions. He effectively uses the latest GPA sales figures for Daredevil 181 in 9.8 to prove his argument.
    I decided to log on and see for myself. And lo and behold, he's right. GPA Analysis, for Daredevil Volume 1, Number 181, makes a clear distinction between the Newsstand Edition and Direct Edition, with listings of the latest sales for grades from 7.0 to 9.8. As far as I know, other than Spawn #9 (which is more about the variance), this seems to be the only other comic book that GPA provides distinct sales figures for, between Newsstand and Direct Editions.
    I'm curious... Is this a new trend for GPA or just a one-time experiment? Are we going to see GPA give more and more comic books similar treatment? And if so, will Newsstand Editions become prized possessions? Just to clarify, I'm specifically referring to Newsstand Edition comic books published and distributed during the Direct Edition era. Somewhere between the Mid-to-Late 70's and into the 80's, when Direct Editions became the norm, Newsstand Editions became the 2nd class citizen comic book. It is well known that Newsstand Editions were published in fewer numbers and received far harsher treatment than Direct Editions, which is why it's more challenging to find them, let alone in high grade. Sadly, today, modern Newsstand Editions are virtually non-existent.
    For me, that is nostalgically, Newsstand Editions have a special place in my heart over Direct Editions. I grew up buying comic books off newsstand racks for many years before I discovered a comic book specialty shop. And even when that happened, I didn't immediately embrace the LCS concept, nor did it provide the convenience it could have simply because it was located miles away from where I lived, and that was enough of a hassle for me to choose my neighborhood newsstand over the LCS ninety percent of the time. Of course, today, as an adult, the LCS wins out hands down. The LCS offers a far greater variety of comics and back issues than any newsstand could ever carry, and, sadly, newsstand nowadays, just don't carry a lot of comic books, especially Marvel.
    Ever since I started collecting CGC Comics, I noticed a small but growing niche among collectors and their positive attitudes toward Newsstand Edition Comics. There seems to be more and more collectors accepting and embracing Newsstand Editions... and I like that! I like that younger collectors, through our exchange of information and reminiscing, are given insights as to how comic book collecting was like before the advent of the LCS and Direct Edition distribution. It reminds me of what I read and learned about those collectors buying comics in the Golden, Silver and early Bronze Ages. Those collectors faced a whole set of challenges I could never really understand as a child, but appreciate now as a seasoned collector. I will admit, I was fortunate to begin collecting when the hobby was reaching maturity and becoming mainstream... and therefore I recognize how much easier I had it... much like how much easier the modern child has it as compared to boys and girls growing up in the 70's and 80's. And of course, this trend will always self-perpetuate as the decades roll along. The "old" guys will talk about "back in the day" as a "new" audience listens.
    So where will this go? Will the modern comic book collector feed their curiosity and collecting habits by seeking out Newsstand Editions? Will the GPA lead the charge in this endeavor? Will the CGC follow suit and change things up in their census by distinguishing Newsstand Editions and Direct Editions? Will comic book dealers and sellers fuel the fire further by jacking up the prices of Newsstand Edition comics (Mile High comics anyone?). I guess only time will tell. What are your thoughts?
    Before I go, I would like to share a scan of my original copy, Newsstand Edition of Daredevil 181. I can't remember the exact newsstand I bought it from, but more than likely it was purchased from a stationary store with a spinner rack in my neighborhood growing up. The CGC graded it a respectable 9.2 with white pages. Although it may not be a 9.8, nonetheless I'm happy with the grade because I know it got rough treatment from the get-go. And all things considering, after 32 years or so it was under my care, it received a near mint grade... a grade achieved without pressing... that's something to be proud about.
    Thank you for reading, and as always, Happy Collecting!
    SW3D

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  3. SW3D
    Actually, in this case I don't mind being by myself.
     
    So, it is official... Spawn #9 is a very hot! hot! hot! little comic. Word of Neil Gaiman's move to Marvel Comics, and his decision to take the Angela property with him has sparked a massive interest in Spawn #9, the 1st appearance of the red haired angelic beauty (I love redheads!).Well, it seems there were about half a million copies of this comic printed back in the day. How many have survived I have no clue, but there are a lot of them available. I've visited eBay and there is a long list of available Spawn #9's... one in CGC 9.8 with Neil Gaiman's signature. Asking price $400 - $600. So landing one for your collection is not difficult to obtain.In fact, I received a newsletter from Mile High Comics, who state they are giving away 1 copy of Spawn #9 with every purchase of $50 or more. Check it out: "Marvel revealed yesterday that Neil Gaiman is moving his sexy heroine, ANGELA, into Marvel's new GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY title, effective with issue #5. This has caused not only our pre-sales of GUARDIANS to explode, but also initiated a mad scramble for all the past appearances of ANGELA in the Image Universe. See the complete Image list at the end of today's newsletter... ANGELA'S first appearance was in SPAWN #9, for which demand has absolutely skyrocketed overnight. Blessedly, we have been stashing back issues of SPAWN #9 for many years, so we still have enough copies in stock to offer you one copy completely for free as a reward for placing any $50 order with us over this next weekend. Just place your order, and then ask for your free copy in the "notes" section of our order form. Limit one copy per client, please..."http://www.milehighcomics.com/newsletter/032213email.html However, there is a variant of Spawn #9 which appears to be rare: the Newsstand Edition... which has the Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode box appearing on the cover, and is printed on newsprint paper, and is missing the Jim Lee poster, and is only 36 pages long versus 40 pages for the direct edition. As I understand it, this makes it variant. I double-checked on all my favorite comic book buying sites looking high and low for a variant/newsstand edition of Spawn #9 and could not find one. I also reviewed all the current Spawn collections on the Collectors Society to see who may own a copy and no one seems to have one. Then I went to CGC.com and checked the census... and to my shock, there is only 1 Newsstand Edition... one and only one! Yes... you have guessed it. I am the lucky winner! I have the sole graded Newsstand Edition of Spawn #9. Check it out: http://www.cgccomics.com/census/grades_standard.asp?ComicID=116184I know my celebration will be short lived... for it is only a matter of time before they start popping out of the woodworks, but it is nice to know, that I hold in my possession the very first of its kind. The very first CGC graded variant of Spawn #9. I copy I bought last year in a back issue bin at my local LCS.I have no idea what it is worth. Mile High Comics is selling a copy... a Very Fine copy for $265.60. They had a Near Mint copy listed for $320.00 but it appears to be out of stock. Here's the link if anyone's interested. http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=enlarge&issue=77934967760%209%20NEWSSTAND What's funny is Mile High is also selling a direct edition near mint copy of only $72.50. Check it out: http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=enlarge&issue=77934967760%209On Bleedingcool.com's forum, the Bulletin, I found a thread about the very subject: Speculator Corner: Spawn #9 By Neil Gaiman And Todd McFarlane, The First Appearance Of Angela. The dialogue exchange about Spawn #9 is quite funny. One poster did state: "The newsstand is the only one worth owning, flipping or grading." FYI: This little lady made her "debut" back in my journal I posted on March 4th called "The Irony of Spawn #9": http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=13176 Check her out once again. Thanks for reading and Happy Collecting!SW3DTo see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  4. SW3D
    Recently, the CGC has modified the Adam Warlock Keys Set by adding a number of titles where Adam Warlock has made an appearance (comic books which are mostly concentrated in the Bronze Age). Personally, I do not agree with these new additions, since the theme of the set is Adam Warlock Keys, meaning only those comic books which have key significance related to Adam Warlock should be included in this set. Which comic books you may ask? Well, although I am no comic book historian, nonetheless, I will offer my opinion about the keys which I feel have historical and canonical significance not only to Adam Warlock but to the greater Marvel Universe at large.
    But the first question should be, "What defines a comic book key issue?"
    Here is my definition:
    Comic Book Key Issue: a Comic Book Key Issue is a comic book which has historical significance and marks a special event in the canon of a Character, a Title, a Publisher, or even a Genre. Such keys include but are not exclusive to: 1st Appearance(s); Origin(s), Death(s); the Return; 1st Costume; New or Altered Costume; Altered Physical Appearance; New or Altered Powers and Abilities; New Secret Identity or Alter-ego; Secret Identity or Alter-ego Revealed; Revelations, the 1st Professional Work of a Writer or Artist; Premiere Issue or 1st Issue of a Title Run, the Last Issue of a Title Run, Anniversary Issue; etc.
     
    So, if I follow my definition, what are the comic books that should be included in the Adam Warlock Keys set? In order to determine this, I decided to research and reread all the comics which the CGC has included in Adam Warlock Keys set and some others that were not in the set (Thor 163 and 164 where the Cocoon makes a cameo appearance). I read not from the original sources, but from various reprints collecting many of Adam Warlock appearances in the Silver and Bronze Ages. I believe these reprints to be faithful to the source material. The books I've consulted are:
     
    Essential Fantastic Four Volume 4
    *Reprints Fantastic Four 66 and 67
    Marvel Masterworks The Mighty Thor Volume 8:
    *Reprints The Mighty Thor 163, 164, 165, and 166
    Marvel Masterworks Warlock Volume 1: Reprints:
    *Marvel Premiere Volume 1, Numbers 1 and 2
    *Warlock Volume 1, Numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8
    *The Incredible Hulk Volume 1, Numbers 176, 177, and 178
    Marvel Masterworks Warlock Volume 2: Reprints:
    *Strange Tales Volume 1, Numbers: 178, 179, 180, and 181
    *Warlock Volume 1, Numbers: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15
    *Marvel Team-Up Volume 1, Number 55
    *Avengers Annual Volume 1, Number 7
    *Marvel Two-In-One Annual Volume 1, Number 2
    And after re-reading these collected editions, I also decided to include my own key comments which I believe merit inclusion and may have been overlooked by CGC graders and comic book historians. These additional key comments, denoted by me as "overlooked key comments", will follow the CGC key comments quoted from the CGC graded labels of the key issues listed. Other "overlooked key comments" will appear for issues which previously had no key comments; these examples can be considered overlooked keys. Please let me know if you agree or disagree, and preferably, with an explanation as to your opinion.
    So here it its...
    ...The following is my list of those comic book keys which I believe should be included in the Adam Warlock Keys set, with a brief explanation of why they are comic book keys issues:
     
    Fantastic Four Volume 1, Number 66
    CGC Key Comments:
    *2 part Origin of HIM (Warlock).*
    *HIM does not appear.
    *Should be modified to read, "Origin of HIM (Warlock)": contrary to popular belief, HIM's origin is not discussed in Fantastic Four 67, therefore, technically, it is not a 2 part Origin story.
    Overlooked Key Comment:
    *1st Appearance of the Cocoon.
    Fantastic Four Volume 1, Number 67
    CGC Key Comment:
    *Origin* and 1st Appearance of HIM (Warlock) in cameo.
    *Contrary to popular belief, HIM's origin is not discussed in this issue and should be omitted from the key notes.
    Overlooked Key Comments:
    *1st Incarnation of Adam Warlock: Officially, it is the first of three (3) Adam Warlock incarnations in the span of a decade. In this initial depiction, HIM is very much an innocent child-like being, pure of heart, with the urge to understand his purpose of creation and to gain knowledge of the universe at large; HIM can be considered neither villain nor hero.
    *1st Appearance of HIM (Warlock) in the Silver Age.
    Thor Volume 1, Number 165
    CGC Key Comments:
    *1st Full Appearance of HIM*
    *Watcher appearance.
    *Last 12 cents issue.
    *Not to be confused as HIM's/Adam Warlock's 1st appearance; see Fantastic Four Volume 1, Number 67 for Adam Warlock's 1st appearance.
    Overlooked Key Comment:
    *1st Appearance of Thor succumb by Warrior Madness aka Berserker's Rage (2-panel Cameo last page).
     
    Thor Volume 1, Number 166
    CGC Key Comments:
    *2nd Full Appearance of HIM (Warlock).
    *Thor vs. HIM.
    Overlooked Key Comment:
    *1st Full Appearance of Thor succumb by Warrior Madness aka Berserker's Rage.
    Marvel Premiere Volume 1, Number 1
    CGC Key Comments:
    *Origin of Warlock.
    *Thor, Hulk and Fantastic Four appearances in Flashback.
    Overlooked Key Comments:
    *2nd Incarnation of Adam Warlock: HIM is given the name Warlock by the High Evolutionary and becomes a Messiah-like superhero.
    *1st Costume Incarnation: a playful homage to Fawcett's Shazam which incorporates Captain Marvel's jagged lightning emblem and red and yellow colors.
    *1st Appearance of the Soul Gem (green colored): this is first of the six (6) colored Soul Gems, aka Infinity Gems or Infinity Stones.
    *1st Appearance of Counter-Earth.
    *1st Issue of Marvel Premiere.
    *1st Appearance of Warlock in the Bronze Age.
    *Altered Physical Appearance: the first depiction of Adam Warlock without eyes; no explanation given (Note: Adam Warlock is frequently illustrated without eyes; this can be seen over the course of his appearances throughout various titles including his own, and with no explanation offered).
    Marvel Premiere Volume 1, Number 2
    CGC Key Comment:
    *Warlock*
    *Not a key note in my opinion; it should be omitted from the key notes.
    Overlooked Key Comments:
    *Warlock is given the first name Adam by a group of children on Counter-Earth, thus he is now known officially as Adam Warlock.
    *1st time Adam Warlock uses the Soul Gem.
    *New or Altered Powers and Abilities: Adam Warlock, through use of the Soul Gem, can devolve a sentient being.
    *Altered Physical Appearance: Adam Warlock is once again illustrated with eyes (Note: Adam Warlock's eye color is undetermined as the colors of his eyes frequently change over the course of his appearances throughout various titles including his own, and with no explanation offered. The colors of his eyes have been depicted as blue, brown, black, white, red, and yellow. I speculate the variance in eye color may represent subtle changes in his energy levels, moods and emotions, or quite simply, for reasons unknown made by the artist or colorist).
    The Power of Warlock Volume 1, Number 1:
    CGC Key Comments:
    *Origin of Warlock
    *Letters from J. M. DeMatteis and Richard Pini.
    Overlooked Key Comments:
    *Premiere issue or 1st issue of Warlock's solo title.
    *Story continuation from Marvel Premiere Volume 1: Numbers 1 and 2.
    Strange Tales Volume 1, Number 178
    CGC Key Comments:
    *1st Appearance of Magus.*
    *Warlock begins.
    *Clarification is required: Technically, one can argue, this is the first appearance of the Magus (Adam Warlock's future evil self). And although I agree with that statement, however, if you read the story, it is more accurate and
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  5. SW3D
    Adventures of Superman Gil Kane
    Gil Kane's The Amazing Spider-Man: Artist's EditionYesterday afternoon, as it seems to be my daily custom of late, while on my lunch break, I visited Midtown Comics Grand Central. I actually went there with the intentions to buy the trade paperback volume collecting Grant Morrison's seminal 80's run on Animal Man... which I did. Aside from that, I also checked-out the wall of new releases and noted, with a measure of indifference, Marvel's Superior Spiderman #1 to be the big draw. Quickly passing that up, I kept perusing through hundreds of titles, looking for anything of interest, and a new release by DC instantly caught my eye: the hardcover book... Adventures of Superman Gil Kane. It's a funny thing!... perhaps almost serendipitous!... but on December 30th and January 3rd, I posted two journals detailing my purchases of Marvel Premiere #1 and #2 featuring Adam Warlock, beautifully brought to life by the majestic hand of Gil Kane. One of the replies to the latter journal came from Brandon Shepherd, who agreed with me on my opinions of Gil Kane: "Neat book SW3D! You're absolutely right about Gil Kane, he was a master." I replied to Brandon's comments: "Hey Brandon, I was looking through your exceptional AC collection... tremendous!... lots of high grades. I actually own AC's 545 to 554 which I bought back in the day from my favorite local newsstand which feature Gil Kane's exceptional art. I also collected his Superman run from 381 to 392... None of which are graded as of yet.There's something exceptional about Gil Kane... he has his own unique style that no one else has... like a unique stamp. When you see a Gil Kane rendering, you immediately know it's him... like seeing art by Neal Adams, Jack Kirby, or Steve Ditko... you just know it's them. I am actually waiting for the CGC to finish grading my newsstand bought copy of Action Comics 552 and 553 which includes guest appearances of Animal Man and a host of others. Those two comics feature two of my favorite covers... GK packs them with wall-to-wall action! There's a natural fluidity and depth of excitement that very few can replicate let only master."So lo and behold, DC has published and released Gil Kane's run of Action Comics and Superman from the 1980's... comics which I collected and treasured for their brilliant art work. Priced at $39.95, I had no choice but to add it to my collection. I'm sure there are many of you out there who are unfamiliar with Gil Kane. That's okay... there's plenty of time to get familiar with the legend. Gil Kane's real name was Eli Katz... born on April 6, 1926, in Riga, Latvia. At the age of three, his family immigrated to the States and settled in Brooklyn, New York. By the age of fifteen, Gil Kane was working at MLJ Comics (now known as Archie Comics), working on Pep Comics and The Shield. Sometime later, Gil found himself working side-by-side with the dynamic-duo: Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, at Timely Comics (Marvel's predecessor). By the late 50's, DC came calling and this is where Kane really made his mark. While at DC, with John Broome, Gil Kane co-created Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern (Showcase #22), and the Silver Age Atom (Showcase #34) with Gardner Fox. He also lent his prodigious talents on titles like the Teen Titans, Captain Action, and Hawk and Dove. Fast forward to the 70's, and Kane is working for Marvel, co-creating Iron Fist (Marvel Premiere #15) and Morbius the Living Vampire (Amazing Spider-man #101) with Roy Thomas. His work on Conan and Adam Warlock are stand-out's, but his reputation and fame is solidified with a brilliant run on Amazing Spider-Man. In fact, this past Summer, Marvel and IDW teamed-up to bring you a glimpse of Kane's fantastic draftsmanship in the monolithic book: Gil Kane's The Amazing Spider-Man: Artist's Edition... faithfully scanning the original comic artwork appearing in ASM's 96 -- 102, and 121 (the infamous "Death of Gwen Stacy"). This is a beautiful book! I was rifling thru it this afternoon at Midtown Comics. Priced at $125 it is a bargain! I'm going to pick it up... no doubt about it! My favorite issues happen to be 101 and 102 where we are first introduced to the Living Vampire: Morbius. On top of that, Peter Parker grows four additional arms... making him a spider-like freak. Throw in the Lizard for good measure and it becomes a "Merry-Marvel-Monster-Free-for-All"!Leap into the next decade, the 80's (incidentally, the decade where I did most of my comic collecting), and Gil Kane is back at DC, illustrating the adventures of Superman and his co-creation: Hal Jordan. Some of my favorite Green Lantern books are the ones penciled by Gil Kane, where he provided the interior artwork and covers for issues 154, 156, 166, 167, 177, and 184. Sadly, on January 31, 2000, Gil Kane passed away from complications due to lymphoma (a type of blood cancer). This upcoming 31st will mark the 13th year of his untimely death. It's is fitting that DC put out a book commemorating his brilliance. I hope you all pick up a copy and enjoy his amazing talents. I'm including a pic of not only the Gil Kane's Superman book I picked up today, but also Marvel's Masterworks featuring Warlock which reprints Marvel Premiere 1 and 2, and Warlock No's 1- 8, featuring Gil Kane's illustrations. Good reading and Happy Collecting!SW3DTo see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  6. SW3D
    I caught this article on Yahoo tonight, written by Eric Spitznagel of BusinessWeek. See the link: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/those-comics-basement-probably-worthless-095537403.html
     
    I really disagree with it... and I think it's a bit unfair. What are your thoughts? SW3DBarry T. Smith, 44, spent most of his life collecting comic books. And he always considered them an investment. "These books would someday be college tuition, or a house down payment," Smith remembers thinking. "I would lay them all out in my parents' living room, sorting them, cataloging them, writing down entries on graph paper while cross-referencing them against the Overstreet Price Guide."After college he landed a tech job in Silicon Valley but held on to all 1,200 of his comics, including several hundred early issues of Marvel's X-Men, which his research suggested had grown in value every year. The comics sat in a storage unit, boarded and bagged, for close to two decades. When Smith found himself unemployed and in need of money to support his wife and two daughters, he decided the time was right to cash in on his investment.The entire collection sold for about $500. "I'm not too proud to admit, I cried a bit," Smith says.He's not the only would-be investor who's discovered in recent years that his comic collection isn't worth nearly as much as he'd hoped. Kevin J. Maroney, 47, of Yonkers, N.Y., decided to sell 10,000 comics, roughly a third of his collection, on consignment with various comic book stores in Manhattan. Thus far, fewer than 300 have sold for a total of about $800. He's not surprised by the lack of interest. "A lot of people my age, who grew up collecting comics, are trying to sell their collections now," says Maroney, who works in IT support for Piper Jaffray. "But there just aren't any buyers anymore."Frank Santoro, a columnist for the Comics Journal and an avid collector himself, has noticed the same trend. "More and more of these types of collections are showing up for sale," he says. "And they're becoming more and more devalued. The prices are dropping." He recently had to break the bad news to a friend's uncle, who was convinced his comic collection--about 3,000 books--was worth at least $23,000. "I told him it was probably more like $500," Santoro says. "And a comic book store would probably only offer him $200."Stories like these are a stark contrast to what's typically reported. To go by media accounts, 2013 has been a huge year for the vintage comic market. A Minnesota man found a copy of Action Comics No. 1--the first appearance of Superman, published in 1938--in a wall of his house and sold it for $175,000 in June. Three decades ago a different copy of the same comic sold for about $5,000, a record at the time. In August, meanwhile, Heritage Auctions hosted a comic-oriented event in Dallas where a highly-graded copy of the 1940 comic Batman No. 1 sold for a staggering $567,625. A recent piece on the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch website was especially enthusiastic about comics as an investment strategy, calling them "more predictable than stocks" and "recession-proof." Old comics, the author suggested, could even save your home from foreclosure.Outlandish claims and tales of amazing windfalls elicit only groans from Rob Salkowitz, a business analyst and author of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture. He also happens to be, in his own words, "a guy in his 40s with a basement full of old comics." He warns that too many people have been deluded into thinking they are sitting on a comic book gold mine."There are two markets for comic books," Salkowitz says. "There's the market for gold-plated issues with megawatt cultural significance, which sell for hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars. But that's a very, very, very limited market. If a Saudi sheik decides he needs Action Comics No. 1, there are only a few people out there who have a copy." And then there's the other market, where most comics change hands for pennies and nobody is getting rich or even breaking even. "The entire back-issues market is essentially a Ponzi scheme," Salkowitz says. "It's been managed and run that way for 35 years."Bill Boichel, the owner of Pittsburgh's Copacetic Comics, argues that transactions involving high-profile vintage comics happen in an entirely separate market. "Ultra-high-grade books sell for as much or more than ever to doctors, lawyers, brokers, and bankers," he says. Comics like The Amazing Spider-Man No. 1--an Ohio man recently auctioned a copy for $7,900 to help pay for his daughter's wedding--are considered a "blue chip stock of high liquidity, in that there is always a ready buyer for it."On the other end of the spectrum, almost any comic book store owner can supply eye-opening tales of depreciation. Walter Durajlija, an adviser for Overstreet and owner of Big B Comics in Hamilton, Ont., sold a copy of Uncanny X-Men No. 94 in 2010 for a record $26,500. Last year, that same comic sold in his store for only $12,000. "[My] last two sales [of X-Men No. 94] were $9,501 in February of 2013 and $8,089 three short days later," he says. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. "Incredible Hulk No. 181 was getting $20,000; they now trade for $8,000."Todd McDevitt, who owns a chain of five comic book stores in Pennsylvania, remembers when Superman No. 75, published in 1992 and featuring the death of the hero, was selling for $75. Today, collectors are lucky to get $8. "I still get calls from folks who think they can retire after buying what they thought was the 'last' Superman," McDevitt says. (Death, of course, proved only a temporary setback for the Man of Steel and his comics.)Even investors buying rare comics don't always make a profit. Steve Geppi, the Baltimore comic book magnate, agreed in 2006 to pay $1 million for a collection of original Archie Comics artwork from the 1940s and '50s. But when Geppi tried to sell some of his newly acquired pieces, he realized they weren't nearly as valuable as he had believed. By 2010, Geppi was claiming he couldn't afford to pay the remaining half-million he still owed the Archie artist's estate.There are many theories for why comic collectibles have stopped being valuable. Some blame readily available reprints. "What drove the collectibility of the old comics was that they were once genuinely rare," says Salkowitz. Others point to the grading system, which now requires that comics be encased in plastic polymer. "It really is a shady process that's completely changed the marketplace," says Santoro. And there's reason to suspect that the Internet era has yet again worked its magic on prices: "In the '60s, the only way to read these stories was to own the original issues," says Salkowitz. "Now you can go on Pirate Bay and download a torrent of anything you want for free."Opinions are equally mixed on whether the comic collecting bubble has permanently burst. McDevitt alternates between stories that are hopeless and optimistic. He jokes that after a year of turning down collectors trying to sell their worthless comics, he's realized he would make a great doctor: "I'm apparently very good at giving people bad news." But he also has a fondness for the rags-to-riches stories that built up the myth of comics' value. Just ask him about the elderly widow who brought in her late husband's comic collection and "was literally car shopping the next day." Or the couple who paid for the adoption of their first child with profits from the husband's old comics.As for Barry T. Smith, he's now gainfully employed as a senior product manager at Milyoni, and he still has one comic from the collection To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  7. SW3D
    AKA... John Byrne's First Published Comic Book!
     
    AKA... Thank you Marvel Comics and Dan Slott for the Distraction!I went to Midtown Comics Grand Central yesterday during my lunch break. It was busier than normal, and I just assume everyone was there buying up the sickening glut of variant covers of Amazing Spider-Man #700... the last issue and "death" of Peter Parker... well lots of them were, but some shoppers were lucky recipients of X-mas gift cards looking to redeem and take advantage of post holiday sales... myself included!Quite honestly, I really couldn't care much about ASM #700! Dare I say!!! Although I'm not a huge fan of Spidey, I did love the 60's cartoon show. The very bizarre "Revolt in the 5th Dimension" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF8fasFUucQ) is my favorite episode of the series featuring the best soundtrack and score for a cartoon show (that's my opinion)... funny thing... the episode is actually directly lifted from Canada's Rocket Robin Hood episode "Dementia Five" (check it out:
    ), which was written by the legendary Ralph Bakshi best known for Fritz the Cat, The Lord of the Rings, and Fire and Ice animated movies. Any-hoot... I have a bone to pick with Marvel over their consistent maltreatment and abuse of Peter Parker. I know he's just a fictional character, but the poor guy's been through so much misery and pain in his life... he's literally been treated like a whipping boy... enough is enough!!! Easy Spidey... easy Spidey... don't lose your cool. But that is a separate topic of conversation which I may quite possibly broach another time.Meanwhile, back at Midtown Comics... there's a Holiday Sale going on: a whopping 40 percent off on all back issues until December 31st! They do this virtually every year... a great opportunity for savings. So, yesterday afternoon, I began searching through their vintage section looking for a bargain, and lo and behold I spotted this little rare gem: ACA Comix No. 1.What you say? What in the heck is ACA Comix No. 1? Glad you ask. ACA Comix is an Alberta College of Art publication (May, 1971), a "brochure" featuring the very first published comic book written and illustrated by none other than the master... John Byrne. John Byrne, the color-blind, English born but Canadian bred writer/artist, best known for his legendary works on Avengers, Uncanny X-Men, Alpha Flight, Fantastic Four, Superman, and his creations Rog-2000, Doomsday Plus 1, Danger Unlimited, and Next Men, attended the Alberta College of Art in the early 70's ('70 -- '73). For some enlightenment onto ACA Comix No. 1, I decided to take an excerpt (used without permission... please forgive me) from an interview conducted by Jon B. Cooke, which appeared in Comic Book Artist #12:"Comic Book Artist: You mentioned in an interview that your first full-length comic story was Death's-Head Knight back in the early '70s. What was that?John Byrne: Not sure I would actually have called it my "first full-length comic story." Death's-Head Knight was a project done for the Alberta College of Art, which I was attending at the time. The curator of the gallery had brought in a comic art show, and needed a "brochure" to be given away at the door. He asked me if I could prepare something on relatively short notice, and I did, some 20 pages, each double-width. It was a sword-&-sorcery story."To my knowledge, only 500 copies were ever printed... Holy Sh*t! Only 500 copies... incredibly rare! And I Google searched ACA Comix No. 1, in an effort to determine a price-value and any known counterfeiting and reproductions... but my search came up empty. I also cross-referenced the CGC census, and only one... count it... 1... graded copy exists... an 8.0!If you visit John Byrne's website, Byrne Robotics, you can click and view his scanned panels of the comic book brochure: http://www.artofjohnbyrne.com/gallery/earlydays/collegedays/. Amazingly, I bought ACA Comix No. 1 for the incredibly low price of $3.00... that's right!... just three bucks... that was the final price paid after a 40 percent discount from the original asking price of five bucks (see pic for the sticker price). I really can't believe it! I somehow feel it's too good to be true! To be honest, I don't know if it's the genuine article or not... but I'm willing to bet it is. In a way I think it's serendipitous! For the last few months I have been eyeing a CGC 9.4 of John Byrne's classic Charlton title: Doomsday Plus One #1; a high grade copy of Uncanny X-Men #129 (1st appearance of Kitty Pride, White Queen, and Sebastian Shaw: by the way... my very first X-Men comic book back in 1979... which I still own but it is in terrible shape... it's been read to death!); and I've also been aching to buy The Art of John Byrne soft cover portfolio book published back in 1980, which I used to own and carried nearly every day with me in an art portfolio along with my HC copy of How to Draw the Marvel Way... but due to an unfortunate accident involving spilled ink... was forever ruined (along with my late 70's Balantine Book Volumes of The Art of Frank Frazetta)... and in a stupid act of blind rage... I threw it out! God I miss that book... those really slick illustrations of Wolverine... or the painted iconic image of Superman flying through the sun... to the very tech-heavy black and white comic book involving an astronaut (a dead ringer for JB himself), crash landing on an alien barren planet, only to discover a sinister dome/moon base which contains its own artificial "Garden of Eden-like" ecosystem inhabited by a mysterious woman and her giant robotic protector. JB is actually kind enough to include on his website, selected images from The Art of John Byrne... check it out: http://www.artofjohnbyrne.com/gallery/artofjohnbyrne/. So, to be an absolute hypocrite... A "shout-out" and really BIG THANK YOU goes to Dan Slott and Marvel Comics for ASM #700... for helping to distract all those rabid comic book hunters at Midtown Comics yesterday... and of course to Midtown Comics for their always exceptional service and for a very nice and truly historic key!SW3DTo see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  8. SW3D

    A Bar Code Trick Revealed!

    By SW3D,

    How to Identify First Print Editions and Variant Covers Using the Bar Code
    Here's a little trick that was revealed to me by the good people at Midtown Comics.
    I asked the question: How can I determine if a comic is a first print edition versus a second print edition and if it's a standard cover or a variant cover?
    His answer: Check the bar code.
    Now let me explain what he meant.
    Take the two available covers of Hero Worship Issue 1 published by Avatar Press. One cover depicts Zenith saving a bawling infant from a driverless runaway rig, a second cover depicts Zenith flying over a city, with what appears to be a metal guardrail ripped from a nearby rooftop.
    Once again, both covers are from Issue 1, but obviously one of them is a variant cover... but which one? Can you guess? Well there's no need to guess anymore. Here's how to tell them apart...
    ...On the back covers of each comic, we discover the bar codes. If we match up the bar codes, their number sequences are nearly identical. But if you take a closer look... they're not. What's the difference? On the right-hand top corner of each bar code, you'll discover a five digit number sequence. The bar code on the left has the following sequence of numbers: 01011; the bar code on the right: 01021. The very last number on the extreme right of each sequence, is the number 1, which denotes that each copy to be a first edition or first printing. The second to last number on each sequence, you'll notice a variation. The bar code on the left has a number 1, while the bar code on the right has a number 2. That number 2 signifies it's a variant cover: cover number 2 of print 1.
    So now you know how to identify the print edition as well as a cover variant of any comic but checking the bar code.
    Note... not all comics have bar codes, especially comics published prior to the mid-70's.
    If you have a comic collecting tip to share, please do so... I'm always happy to expand my knowledge of the hobby.
    Happy Collecting!

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  9. SW3D
    Thus far, Angela has made three appearances in the Marvel Universe proper. Her first being in the last issue of the Age of Ultron Maxi-Series. Her second and third, in Guardians of the Galaxy 5 and 6, respectively.
    In the latest issue of Guardians of the Galaxy, No. 6, Angela takes on the entire team and manages to utter only one word throughout the entire issue. That's right... just one word! WTF?! What happened to the sexy, flippant, "in-your-face", loquacious Bounty Hunter I used to know and love?
    Is it?: A: "Angela has been resurrected from the dead, and thus far her vocal chords are in a state of flux?"
    Or is it?: B: "In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream?"
    Or is it?: C: "Angela's from another Universe where they speak a foreign language, and without her Universal Language Translator, conversation with aliens is futile?"
    Or is it?: D: "Brian Michael Bendis and company don't give two sh*ts about Angela and won't develop her any further?"
    The answer: Who knows?!
    So far, the main players populating GOTG have been interesting to read, characterized with a marginal amount of depth, flair and zeal, and in some cases... whimsy. But Angela is just plain DULL! She'cold, like a dead fish... flat and one dimensional... it's painful to read!
    So I am begging you, dear reader, if you want Angela to survive beyond a few generic appearances before they castigate her into "Cameo Obscurity", "Guest Appearance Limbo" and the always tragic, "Where Are They Now True Believer Oblivion", let Marvel know! Make your voice known! Stand up and shout! "Neil Gaiman... where ever you are... SAVE ANGELA! SAVE YOUR CHILD!"
    If not... I'll do it! I'll be Angela's savior! I'll come to her rescue and restore her to her former glory and take her to new heights! I got plenty of ideas and stories for Angela that would make her a sensation! Allow me to fire off a few ideas and let me know what you think...
    ...First off, Angela will have a throw down with Thor and give Odinson a run for his money! Why? To establish Angela as Marvel's version of Wonder Woman. As I see it, Thor is to Superman, as Angela is to Wonder Woman, as Captain America is to Batman. And the romantic chemistry between Thor and Angela will be obvious. But, lamentably... it doesn't quite work out.
    Second, Angela will be hired by Shield to bring in the head of the green skinned monster: The Rampaging Hulk! Why? Hulk smashes... runs amok... for the umpteenth time ... and you know who goes toe-to-toe with the behemoth.
    Third, the beginning of: "The Prophecy"... heading out for the stars on another bounty, Angela crosses paths with the Golden Boy: Adam Warlock... and a love affair ensues where Angela is with child and thus may deliver to this universe a very powerful entity... but not before a certain Cosmic Cabal have a say in the matter... bringing about another huge maxi-series, mega crossover, universe shattering event and variant covers galore!
    And how does Warlock eventually save Angela and fetus from forces more powerful than him/her? How else?... by absorbing her into his Soul Gem... protecting them in the Pocket Universe! That's a good Daddy!
    Fourth: Post birth: Angela returns from the Pocket Universe, where Angela plays Mother, Mentor, Protector to her child... and the pair become the Marvel Universe's equivalent of Lone Wolf and Cub! You don't want to mess with these two!
    Five: Angela's daughter turns evil... "The Prophecy" as predicted by those Cosmic Malcontents as seen in scenario number three comes absolutely true! Yes... our heroes got it wrong! Sometimes the good guys do it up! So now it's up to Angela to right the wrong's and take her down. Can Mother kill Daughter?!
    So there you have it! Tell me what you think.
    And with all sincerity, the wonderful and creative minds at Marvel have unlimited potential and mythology to explore with this character... Give her a fighting chance!
    Here's my latest Angela encapsulation, the Angela I used to know and love as she graces the cover of Spawn 97 (see pic). Just compare that gorgeous and sassy Man-Hunter to the dead fish sleep-walking in the Marvel Universe.
    Till next time.
    SW3D

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  10. SW3D
    Essential Reading: Angela Pre-Marvel
     
    Two days ago, I ranted about Angela's current incarnation in the Marvel Universe. I was particularly unhappy with Angela's one word dialogue in Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3, No. 6, and her rather shallow depiction among other things.I was kindly reminded that GOTG 7 was released on Wednesday, October 16th, and that I should read it. And I promised that not only would I do so, but apologize and retract my earlier comments if I found Angela's ship righted. Okay... so I've read Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, No. 7, and I'm a little p*ssed and somewhat confused! WTF is going on? Why does Angela keep calling her home, the Elysium Fields and Heaven as "Heven"? And why does Angela act as if she's never visited Earth... referring it to something she's read or heard about in stories? The "Heven" reference is made even more confusing if you read Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3, No. 5, where in her own thought balloons, Angela refers to Heaven, spelled "Heaven" and not spelled "Heven". Did someone at Marvel forget to hit the "Spell-Check" button before going to press? And as far as Earth is concerned, Angela's been there plenty of times... perhaps not "Marvel's" version of Earth, but definitely the Image Universe's version, where Angela visited New York City plenty of times. I'm just going to go-out-on-a-limb here and say, "I think Marvel is trying to distance itself from Angela's Image Comics publication history and origins"... duh... obviously... no revelation there! However, I think that approach is very unfair to: Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane (Angela's co-creators), to Angela fans (if there are any other than myself), and comic book readers in general. In my opinion, even if legal reasons are barring the way, you cannot simply turn your back on a character's prior published history and expect a readership to simply accept it. And I understand, because of copyright law and courtroom settlements, a publisher taking new ownership of a previously published character, may not be allowed to reference or reprint copyrighted/trademarked names and places previously published by another publisher. In fact, Marvel is no stranger to such legalities, as they successfully lobbied against British Publisher Quality Communications over the publisher's use of the word "Marvel" in the pages of Warrior Magazine and its then flagship character: Marvelman, back in the early 80's. And the irony? Marvel currently has 100% ownership and copyright claims to Marvelman, however, it cannot reprint the adventures of Marvelman/Miracleman (written by both Alan Moore and later Neil Gaiman) published in the pages of Warrior Magazine and Eclipse Comics, respectively. However, Marvel does have ownership to the Mick Anglo, Golden Age Era of Marvelman, once published by L. Miller & Son, and have already reprinted a small selection of the Golden Age material. But I say... Marvel, the current owners of Angela, have a wealth of talent, and in my opinion, can birth creative and clever allusions to Angela's Image back-history without sparking a foul cry from Todd McFarlane or Image in a lawsuit... and as far as I understand, "Heaven" is not copyrighted or trademarked by anyone. Allow me to point out another thing from GOTG 7 that really got under my skin: there's a scene on page 14, panel 6 (bottom panel: wide-shot) in which Gamora points a gun to Angela's face, and Angela just shrugs it off and say's, "I admire you." What the !!! If you ever read Spawn 9, Angela 1 -- 3, Curse of the Spawn 9 -- 11, Spawn's 62, 89, 96 - 100, Angela Glory: Rage of Angels (a six issue crossover event), and Aria Angela 1 and 2, then you'll know that Angela is one tough, mean-spirited, take-no-prisoners, and take-no-bullsh*t, fighting machine! Angela is on a power-level par with The Mighty Thor, and some of the other Marvel "heavy-hitters". Angela can kick serious ! And Angela is a proud warrior who doesn't tolerate sh*t from people and authority... let alone aliens she hardly knows. So Gamora putting that gun below her chin in a threatening manner... the Angela I know would have decked Gamora, much less made the attempt to lob her green head off... much like the way she cut-down Groot into wood chips in issue 6. Now I know Gamora is a bad- in her own right. And I've read Gamora's adventures in the pages of Strange Tales and Warlock, and I know she wasn't given the moniker, "Deadliest Woman in the Whole Galaxy" for just any reason. And I know Gamora is very powerful in her own right (and gorgeous), and is considered on an equal power-level to Adam Warlock from "treatments" received through her step-father, Thanos, who augmented Gamora in order to have her assassinate the Magus (Warlock's evil future self).However, we are talking about Angela: an Angel, a Warrior, and a Bounty Hunter, created by God! To have Gamora pull a gun on Angela and wave it in her face is like having Gamora pull a gun on Thor or DC's Wonder Woman... I'd like to see that happen! Angela is cut from the same cloth as the Odinson and the Amazonian. In my opinion, Angela should have decked Gamora for that slight... lights out!Okay... enough of my cry-baby rants. I'm going to drop it from this point on. For those of you who are new to Angela, I've strung together some quick tidbits and facts about the fury angel I've read from comics previously published by Image: Angela was co-created by Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane. (Spawn 9)Prior to moving to Marvel, Angela had been illustrated in the pages of Image Comics by the likes of: Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Greg Dwayne Turner, Greg Capullo, Rob Liefeld, Jay Anacleto, J G Jones, Joe Quesada, and Ashley Wood. Angela is the Elysian Fields top Bounty Hunter. The Elysium is a floating city in Heaven (not "Heven") as ruled by the ultimate authority: God (depicted as a kindly old lady). Angela has visited Earth several times, and New York City in particular. (Spawn 9, 68, 89, Curse of the Spawn 10, Angela Aria 1&2 (in Victorian Era London), Angela Glory: Rage of Angels)Angela is over 100,000 years old. To celebrate her 100,000th birthday, Angela visits a remote ice planet and kills a dragon... chopping its head off! Happy Birthday! (Angela 1)Angela has killed over 30 Spawns in the service of Heaven! (Angela 1)Angela is the amalgam of 6 female souls. (Origin in Curse of the Spawn 9)Angela has gone toe-to-toe with Spawn (Al Simmons), losing only once, but that was just a lucky move on the part of her inexperienced foe. (Spawn 9)Angela has a twin sister named Lilith, whom she kills by throwing her into the Argus. (Curse of the Spawn 11)Angela and Spawn later become fast friends and develop a romance of sorts (see Angela 1 -- 3, Spawn 96 -- 100). Angela makes her last appearance in the Image Universe in Spawn 100 (December, 2000). Angela is killed by the ruler of the Eight Circle of Hell, Malebolgia, when he lances Angela through the chest with her own weapon. Angela's body is taken back to the Elysian Fields by Spawn. (Spawn 100)Some memorable lines uttered by Angela:"I've been decorated a dozen times in the battle against the forces of Malebolgia. A score of active combat medals. I've personally destroyed over thirty Hellspawn. No one has ever questioned my integrity before... no one who wanted to keep their vital organs intact and inside them..."(Angela 1)"Shut the hell up, unless you wanna use my lance for a tampon!" (Curse of the Spawn 11)
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  11. SW3D
    AKA... John Byrne's Ultra Rare First Published Comic Book!
    Last December, on the 27th to be exact, I shared my little story of how I walked into Midtown Comics Grand Central and walked out with this ultra rare Holy Grail... for only $3. That's right... only three dollars! And the original sticker price on the comic was $5, however, MCGC was running a 40% sale on all back issues. So when all was said and done, I walked away with this piece of comic book history for just three bucks! Incredible!
    And what exactly is ACA Comix No. 1?
    ACA Comix No. 1 is an Alberta College of Art (ACA) publication (May, 1971); a "brochure" featuring the very first published comic book written and illustrated by the man himself, John Byrne, when he was an art student. Fast forward 42 years, and the color-blind, English born but Canadian bred writer/artist, has achieved legendary status for his work on Avengers, Uncanny X-Men, Alpha Flight, Fantastic Four, Superman, and his creations Rog-2000, Doomsday Plus 1, Danger Unlimited, and Next Men.
    From an interview conducted by Jon B. Cooke, which appeared in Comic Book Artist #12, John Byrne states, "Not sure I would actually have called it my "first full-length comic story." Death's-Head Knight was a project done for the Alberta College of Art, which I was attending at the time. The curator of the gallery had brought in a comic art show, and needed a "brochure" to be given away at the door. He asked me if I could prepare something on relatively short notice, and I did, some 20 pages, each double-width. It was a sword-&-sorcery story."
    I honestly have no idea how many "brochures" were printed, but I am going to take a guess and say anywhere between 500 to 1,500 copies. The big question: How many have survived for over four decades? I am confident the vast majority have sadly, ended up in the trash. And according to the CGC Census, what I have in my possession is only the second graded copy... and I am exuberant to know it is the highest graded of the two, having been graded an 8.5.
    If you visit John Byrne's website, Byrne Robotics, you can click and view his scanned panels of the comic book brochure: http://www.artofjohnbyrne.com/gallery/earlydays/collegedays/.
    Anyway... for all you rabid JB fans... here it is... a picture of the ACA Comix No. 1 encapsulated and graded.
    Thanks for reading... and as always Happy Collecting!
    SW3D

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  12. SW3D
    I'm not a huge fan of variants. In my opinion they are a publishing gimmick to get the vulnerable comic collector into spending more cash. Variants are nothing more than a single comic book clothed in multiple shirts; honestly, it's rather foolish of us to fall for such marketing ploys. And yet, I'm probably one of the biggest fools!
    Aria/Angela: Heavenly Creatures is a two (2) issue mini-series published by Image Comics nearly 15 years ago. It features my favorite hellion, Angela, before she became Disney/Marvel property, and the Asgardian heir to the throne. Believe it or not, for a two (2) issue set, there were an astonishing thirty-seven (37) variants published. And as gimmicky as these variants are, I have decided I want to collect them all. But I question myself, "Why am I even bothering with it?" Quite frankly, if it wasn't for Angela's appearance, I wouldn't. Okay... that sounds harsh but it is true. However, it's all part of my greater ambition: a complete collection of Angela published appearances, including variants, before her switch to Marvel Comics. It is a collection I will call "Angela Pre-Marvel".
    The following is a list of the entire set of variants for Aria/Angela: Heavenly Creatures #'s 1 and 2:
    Aria/Angela #1a, Joe Quesada cover
    Aria/Angela #1b, Jay Anacleto cover
    Aria/Angela #1c, Whilce Portacio cover
    Aria/Angela #1d, J G Jones cover
    Aria/Angela #1e, Jay Anacleto's 2nd cover for issue 1
    Aria/Angela #2a, Jay Anacleto cover
    Aria/Angela #2b, Chris Bachalo cover
    Aria/Angela #1a, Limited Edition Holo Foil, J G Jones cover (only 5,000 published)
    Aria/Angela #1b, Limited Edition Holo Foil, Jay Anacleto cover (only 5,000 published)
    Aria/Angela #1c, Limited Edition Holo Foil, Whilce Portacio cover (only 5,000 published)
    Aria/Angela #1d, Limited Edition Holo Foil, Joe Quesada cover (only 5,000 published)
    Aria/Angela #1a, Museum Edition, Jay Anacleto cover; full color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1a, Museum Edition, Jay Anacleto cover; blue color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1a, Museum Edition, Jay Anacleto cover; red color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1a, Museum Edition, Jay Anacleto cover; black color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1b, Museum Edition, Whilce Portacio cover; full color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1b, Museum Edition, Whilce Portacio cover; blue color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1b, Museum Edition, Whilce Portacio cover; red color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1b, Museum Edition, Whilce Portacio cover; black color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1c, Museum Edition, J G Jones cover; full color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1c, Museum Edition, J G Jones cover; blue color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1c, Museum Edition, J G Jones cover; red color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1c, Museum Edition, J G Jones cover; black color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1d, Museum Edition, Joe Quesada cover; full color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1d, Museum Edition, Joe Quesada cover; blue color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1d, Museum Edition, Joe Quesada cover; red color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1d, Museum Edition, Joe Quesada cover; black color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1e, Museum Edition, Jay Anacleto's 2nd cover; full color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1e, Museum Edition, Jay Anacleto's 2nd cover; blue color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1e, Museum Edition, Jay Anacleto's 2nd cover; red color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela #1e, Museum Edition, Jay Anacleto's 2nd cover; black color cover (only 100 published)
    Aria/Angela Blanc and Noir Edition #1, Jay Anacleto cover ("the black and white pencil edition" presents the entire first issue in its original pencil form)
    Aria/Angela Gold Edition #1, Jay Anacleto's 3rd cover for issue 1 (Gold Foil Edition)
    Aria/Angela Gold Edition #2, Jay Anacleto cover (Gold Foil Edition)
    Aria/Angela Tower Records Gold Edition #1, Jay Anacleto cover (only 500 published)
    Aria/Angela Tower Records Variant #1, Jay Anacleto cover
    Aria/Angela European Ashcan Tour #NN
    (cardstock cover, 5 ½ inches by 8 ½ inches, 12 pages featuring b&w illustrations/art from the comic).
    Of all these variants, the Museum Editions present the biggest challenge collecting, simply because they are rare due to their low print runs and carry a fairly high price tag even before grading.
    Funny thing... the CGC has confusingly recorded the title of this series as both Aria/Angela: Heavenly Creatures and simply Aria/Angela. So when you study the census population numbers, you have to search under both titles for the complete graded numbers.
    Yesterday, a package from the CGC arrived. It was a box containing eight graded comics which were submitted last year at New York Comic Con. The two appearing in the photo are the Aria/Angela European Ashcan Tour which were signed by series artist Jay Anacleto on October 9, 2014. I'm happy to say they each came back graded 9.8; grades achieved sans pressing.
    In a few days I'll share with you the other variants and the grades they achieved. Until then, thanks for reading and as always, happy collecting!

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  13. SW3D
    "Where have I been?" That's what some of you may have been asking... others... are probably saying "Who cares?"
     
    Well... for those who care... in the beginning of 2014, I was still a passionate comic book collector. Then in late January early February, I fell in love.Before I reveal this new love, I just want to say I am still collecting comic books and still have every interest in the hobby. I keep an eye on the market and visit the CGC journals weekly... but to my shame, I haven't been contributing journals at all. My apologies for that. But it seems like a lot of journalists or usual suspects are also on hiatus. I credit Bag O' Fleas, Tnerb, and Hammership Down, as well as some newbies for keeping the journals alive. Thanks guys! Keep the fire and passion burning!So... back to little old me. What exactly has been my goal when it comes to comics in 2014? It's been selling comics from my original childhood collection which I got graded in 2012 and 2013, and to use the revenue generated from these sales to buy one or two desired comics. In other words, I am focused on downsizing my collection to a small core group of comic books, which will be categorized as my "elite" or "premium collection". Now this decision has been somewhat emotionally difficult for me... since I have to say goodbye to some treasured memories, yet the upside is that with the "once in a blue moon purchase" of an elite comic, I get to revel and bask in the glow of a new cherished memory.But what exactly have I been up to since my last journal? Well, I haven't bought any comics, save for some minor stuff at my local LCS, but I'm delighted to say, I found a new "love of my life". This new love brings a profound joy to my heart, an inner sense of well being... and some cramps and aches to my wrists (no... that's not a sexual reference... get your mind out of the gutter). Alright!... so who or what is it? Who or what is this She-Beast? Who is this Siren who hath captivated my mind and plucked my Heart Strings?Drum roll please!It's playing the guitar!... Specifically Classical Guitar and Acoustic Guitar.That's right! I've gone cuckoo and gaga over the nylon string instruments and genre/style of music/play. For the moment I take an hourly Classical Guitar lesson every week and devote about an hour a day for roughly five hours a week... that is whenever I can squeeze in the practice time between work, exercise, play and rest (yeah... But whose got the time to rest?).So, for the time being, comic books have taken a back seat.Truth be told... I always wanted to play a musical instrument. I briefly tried piano (had an electric Yamaha keyboard in my late teens in college but it eventually collected dust). I also took some voice lessons, but that didn't last. And once I came very very close to purchasing a drum kit... but chickened out for practical purposes... a drum kit is way too space intensive for NYC apartment dwellers and way too loud... I can only imagine how often the neighbors would call the cops on me for the racket... but damn the skins rock! Perhaps one day. But anyway... on a whim... or perhaps the Rock Guitar Gods whispered a subliminal message into my ears... like a mindless Simon Garth mystically drawn by the bearer of the Voodoo Amulet, I walked into Sam Ash Music Store one day and walked out with a Cordoba C3 Classical Guitar and began a new love affair.Since then, after popping my first string (literally the 1st String), I've bought a second guitar and the new obsession has been going strong.I'm still learning the basics... which is not easy. I'm getting familiar with the basic stroke and fretting techniques, reading and interpreting sheet music and composition, learning finger combos, stretching my fingers for dexterity and articulation, and building the stamina required for proper posture, sitting and handling the Classical and Acoustic Guitars. What do I hope to accomplish?... Do I want land a gig at local watering hole? Do I want to go on Tour and Live the Dream? Do I want to make a surprise appearance on American Idol? Nah... none of that. I'll be happy with just merrily playing at home for Family and Friends or to impress a chick with a romantic song. But speaking truthfully from the heart... my hearts' desire is to master playing Classical Guitar from the Spanish, Baroque and Romance periods, Flamenco (ala Paco de Lucia... God rest his soul), popular Acoustic ballads, and the Classic Rock songs of the 60's and 70's I grew up listening to. But mastering any of those will take years of practice, devotion and dedication. Wish me luck on that endeavor because mastering or sticking to anything has not been something I've ever been able to accomplish. As for CGC Journals... don't you fear... I should have a couple of journals written by year end of my latest acquisitions (I got two "holy grails" on my radar). And I feel another Angela journal burning in my heart... when the time is right it will come. I don't know why that Redhead has captured my heart... but she has... even though she is as dull as a brick in the current Guardians of the Galaxy series. I'm hoping Angela will make an appearance in a future Marvel film... I know that won't happen anytime soon... but maybe one day.Anyway... for now I leave you with a snap shot of my two guitars.Till next time.Happy Collecting!SW3DTo see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  14. SW3D
    The 1st Appearance of the Green Lantern known as Mogo!
    This little beauty was delivered to my greedy little hands yesterday afternoon. It is a newsstand bought copy of Green Lantern, Volume 2, Issue number 188. I bought it for a measly 75 cents back in 1985 and read it once or twice, maybe three times. It was graded 9.4 (Near Mint); not bad for a 28 year old comic!
    Lamentably, I can't remember what the main story is about... I have just a vague recollection based on the cover: John Stewart decides to share his secret identity with Coast City and the rest of the DC Universe... and sadly that's all I can remember.
    However, it is the back-up story, the "Tales of the Green Lantern Corps" written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons that truly makes this issue special. Said story is a key 1st Appearance of the Green Lantern known as Mogo. Who? Mogo is a sentient planet... that's right... a living, breathing, planet! This is something I truly love about Alan Moore's wildly active imagination! Who the hell would think of such a thing? A sentient planet and a Green Lantern no less? But it makes sense... Why couldn't planets be living organisms? Now just imagine Galactus trying to cannibalize Mogo? I think he might be in for a rude awakening. Now that would make for a cool story!
    Anyway, Mogo is introduced in this whimsical little tale, as narrated by Corps favorite Tomar-Re to rookie Anisia. It is a very brief story, and also introduces a villain named Bolphunga the Unrelenting: a bad- alien mutha-f*cka along the lines of Lobo. So this pink-skinned alien comes looking to pick a fight with Mogo... based solely on Mogo's reputation for being the toughest Green Lantern in the universe. I don't want to give any more away, but it is a clever little piece and worthy to read and to collect, not only for the fact it is written by Alan Moore (stamped with his wicked and sardonic sense of humor), but also because of Mogo's eventual mention in The Prophecy: The Blackest Night: "The Planet-Form Green Lantern Mogo will be the last to fall, as Ranx explodes a Blink-Bomb within his core. And after that, there will only be the Demons dancing in the ruins of OA to the rhythm of drums bound with taut blue skin."
    Just for clarification, that last quote does not appear in GL188 but comes from Alan Moore's other TOTGLC classic story "Tygers", first appearing in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual 2, 1986. In "Tygers", Abin Sur (Hal Jordan's predecessor) journey's into the nightmarish planet known as Ysmault, in space sector 666, where a distressed ship has crash landed. While on the rescue mission, Abin Sur encounters Ysmault's demonic denizens and the ghastly being known as Quill of the Five Inversions, who bestowes upon Abin Sur the apocalyptic prophecy of the horrific end of the corps: The Blackest Night... thus this little story serves as the impetus and inspiration for Geoff Johns' Blackest Night.
    If anyone is interested in reading these stories, you can find them both reprinted in: DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore, in both soft and hard cover formats. I highly recommend this book for any fans of Alan Moore... heck for anyone in general!... for it also contains the classic Superman stories: "For the Man Who Has Everything" and "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow Parts I and II"; and the classic Batman story: "The Killing Joke".
    Back to GL 188... as you can see, the cover features two signatures: One from veteran artist Joe Stanton (co-creator of E-man), and the second from the legendary Dave Gibbons (of Watchmen fame). I was lucky to get these autographs at the New York Comic Con this past October. Both artists were true gentlemen; very gracious with the public and me. If you care to look, if you visit my gallery of images from my CGC collection, I took a photo of Joe Stanton autographing the comic pre-encapsulation (see link: http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/ComicDetail.aspx?PeopleComicID=366984&PeopleSetID=67626 ). I also snapped a shot of Dave Gibbons, but sadly it came out too blurry (I must have been nervous), so it didn't make the cut. Oh well, perhaps next year.
    If you have any stories about your comics and what makes them special... please share.
    And if you're wondering why I'm back on the Journals... I am suffering from a bad case of writer's block and really need a "breath of fresh air".
    And with all honesty... I miss it here!
    Happy Collecting!
    SW3D

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  15. SW3D
    AKA... Only a Face a Mother Could Love!
     
    Not to steal Mikelutes thunder, but I was meaning to post this for sometime now, so his journal posting seemed liked the perfect segue......I have been a fan of Judge Dredd, ever since I first read the Eagle Comics reprint of the mini-series: The Judge Child Quest. Inspired by the release of Dredd 3-D (which was pretty good considering it was filmed on a low budget; Karl Urban rocks as Dredd!), I went on my own quest to find and purchase a high grade copy of JD's first appearance... which debuted in the weekly UK newsprint comic: 2000 AD, Prog 2 (published in March, 1977, which included a set of Biotronic Man stickers).For its FMV (Fair Market Value), I consulted Overstreet, ComicsPriceGuide.com and ComicBookRealm.com, but none of these price guides list the title 2000 AD. However, I did consult The Comic Book Price Guide for Great Britain, which lists a VF/NM copy of Prog 2 at 250 Pounds (about $405 USD). Just an FYI: In order to view prices and valuations CBPGGB, one must pay for an annual subscription service, which is currently $16.95 USD.Armed with the knowledge of its FMV, I trolled on eBay... both the U.S. and British sites, and found a few raw ungraded copies available... but in poor shape or as part of collected sets and lots listed at high BIN's. I also tried my two favorite comic book auction sites (ComicConnect.com and Comiclink.com), but alas, 2000 AD's were nowhere to be found.Then I did a Google search of British Comics Specialty Stores, and visited several online stores and even contacted a few, but came up empty.Frustrated, I eventually abandoned my search, partly because I couldn't get what I wanted, and partly because no third party graders (CGC or PGX) currently grade 2000 AD's oversized formats. However, during my search, I did come across a stateside comic specialty internet store, mycomicshop.com, and although they didn't have 2000AD, Prog 2 in stock, I did find several back issues available, including two keys which I purchased:The first key I bought was the first and only time Judge Dredd ever removed his helmet (not including Sylvester Stallone's 1995 notorious movie take). This golden nugget can be found in the pages of 2000 AD, Prog 8 (April 16, 1977). Check out the pic below to see what Dredd looks like. Not what you were expecting... I know, it's a jip... but that's life! But it makes me wonder... what the hell does Dredd really look like to illicit such a response from those three car thieves? It reminds me of Roger Corman's '75 cult classic, Death Race 2000, when the late David Carradine revealed the surgically reconstructed face of his character, Frankenstein... Ugh! Incidentally, Pat Mills wrote a comic book sequel to DR2, called Death Race 2020. Who? Don't worry... his name will pop up a few times... trust me. The second key features John Wagner's very first published work on the character in 2000 AD, Prog 9 (April 23, 1977). Scottish writer John Wagner (who was actually born in the US but moved to Scotland with his Mother at a very early age), along with Spanish artist Carlos Esguerra, co-created Judge Dredd. Over a dispute about creator conditions with the publisher, IPC, John Wagner balked, and the first seven issues of Dredd's initial appearances were written by freelance writers. Prog 9 marks Wagner's return to the character and his first published Dredd story. It also features the first appearance of a Heavy Metal Kid Robot in a story that pre-sages the "Robot Wars", sparked by the Call Me Kenneth rogue robot, who lead a deadly and bloody robot revolt against Mega City One and its populace. This revolt is serialized in the following five issues (Prog 10 -- 14). Just an FYI: Wagner's first JD story was reprinted in Eagle Comics' Judge Dredd: The Early Cases No. 1, along with the "Robot Wars". Aside from Dredd, there are five other serialized stories which include: Invasion, Flesh, Harlem Heroes, Dan Dare, and Mach 1. Of the five, and due to a morbid and disturbing curiosity, only Flesh, Harlem Heroes, and Mach 1 are worth eliciting discussion...Flesh (created by Pat Mills: British Writer notable for Charley's War, ABC Warriors, Sláine, and Nemesis the Warlock): 23rd Century Man has developed time travel, and for whatever unknown reasons, future Cowboys (like they're still likely to exist) elect to travel back in time to harvest the meat of dinosaurs... yes, you read that correctly... Dinosaurs! What's in that Big Mac? And on top of that, our future generations also throw caution to the wind and offer first class vacations, as we discover a group of tourists on holiday in a sightseeing train ride through dinosaur country. Predictably, a nasty T-Rex nick-named "One-Eye" (don't laugh you anal loving jokesters), goes nuts, and starts munching on the dumb f*cks... predating Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park novel by thirteen years and the movie adaptation by sixteen... although I say, the whole convoluted mess seems rather inspired by the late sci-fi master Ray Bradbury, in his 1954 classic: "A Sound of Thunder". Harlem Heroes (another Pat Mills creation): Really only worth mentioning due to the art by Dave Gibbons of Watchmen fame. This one's about a futuristic sport known as Aeroball...perhaps an inspired amalgam of the Harlem Globetrotters and Norman Jewison's'75 flick Rollerball (an adaptation of William Harrison's short story "Rollerball Murder). In this particular episode, the villain looks a lot like Marvel Comic's favorite cyborg: Deathlok. Check him out on the lower left corner in the pic I provided. You tell me... Deathlok knock-off? M.A.C.H. 1 (and yet another Pat Mills creation... damn the man's prolific): British secret agent John Probe (an answer to 70's TV show the Six Million Dollar Man and is drawn to look a lot like actor Lee Majors), is the lucky recipient of a miniature supercomputer chip surgically embedded into his brain, which gives him superpowers through Man Activated Compu-Puncture Hyperpower (M.A.C.H.): a computerized form of acupuncture... a process by which inserting thousands of electro-needles into Probe's body, his energy will increase until he has the strength of 50 men! Can you believe? I say... insert that many needles into me and charge me with so much energy I'll probably f*cking burst... much less bleed to death!Well... that about wraps things up. If anyone out there owns any 2000 AD's... come out and share your favorite keys and stories... no matter how silly. Anyway... I'll let all you lucky survivors of the 2012 Apocalypse get back to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Comics! Happy Collecting!To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  16. SW3D
    With the formal announcement by Marvel Comics (at New York Comic Con on October 14, 2013), of the publisher's planned volume reprints of the 24-issues run of Eclipse's Miracleman (hitting LCS racks sometime in January 2014), and the continuation and perhaps the conclusion to Neil Gaiman's saga of the character, I could not help but get nostalgic about the first time Alan Moore's ground-breaking sojourn into superhero deconstruction, appeared in print.
    Sometime in 1985, I first read the exploits of Michael Moran in the pages of Eclipse's Miracleman. The artwork and "foreign" feeling to the character really excited me, much like the first time I read Judge Dredd. There was an odd vibe, an air of grey if you will... an almost hallucinatory and bizarre skin to it, common from comics published by the independents, but something that was so very different and lacking from the generic titles which appeared in the pages of Marvel and DC in the early 80's. Yes, I was so very excited, and also somewhat in awe and a bit frightened, much like when I was a child and first beheld a comic book... for I knew I was onto something!
    Reading the editorial pages, I discovered Miracleman was really a British import known as Marvelman. Little did I suspect back then, Miracleman was also my very first exposure to who was to become my favorite comic book author: Alan Moore (Just an FYI: I read Miracleman before Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing. Yep, I did things backwards back then... actually still do). Lamentably, due to Eclipse's financial difficulties, which led to long delays on issue releases and much shorter print runs in the low thousands, buying Miracleman became an impossible challenge. As teenage wildlife became the norm for me, I soon gave up on comic books altogether and entered college, missing out on perhaps the best of Moore's and Gaiman's Miracleman saga yet-to-come.
    Fast forward to late 2005 or early 2006 (memory is foggy), when I bought my first CGC graded comic book ever: Swamp Thing Volume 1, No. 1 in 9.2. This purchase soon fueled the "CGC bug", and eventually I began to search for more comics I always wanted in encapsulated form. Such purchases were representative of titles and comics that really resonated with me as a young collector. But it wasn't until January 2012, when I bought my very first encapsulated Miracleman: Issue #15: the controversial "Death of Kid Miracleman". It's a glorious 9.8 sold to me by fellow boardie EwanUK. EwanUK used to have the number one ranked CGC graded Miracleman collection in 2006 and 2007.
    The current Miracleman number one rank since 2009 is held by mschmidt, called M's Miracleman. Congrats Mr. Schmidt! Beautiful collection! I bow to you!
    I was (and still am) very envious of EwanUK's collection, as well as Humbug's (2008's champion), and mschmidt's (who amazingly, has two collections in the two top spots), and wanted to purchase each and every Miracleman issue to compete with theirs, including the fabled Miracleman #1: Blue and Gold Editions, given away at San Diego Comic Con back in 1985. Some of these rare and hard-to-find Miracleman #1's, feature Alan Moore's inscription. Holy Sh*t! But I soon reasoned that there was no point to this pursuit because money's just too damn tight!
    But seriously, I thought to myself, "Why would I want to dethrone a fellow collector... a champion... who worked so very hard to put together such a magnificent collection? Why? Is there really a point to it? I said to myself, let the champion enjoy the limelight... let the champion enjoy the fruits of their labor... he deserves it!" Instead, I said to myself, "Why don't you just build your very own collection... a new and original collection... a never before seen collection... from the ground up! And build something related to Miracleman and Alan Moore... something you could be equally proud of and not have to rain on someone else's parade!" Then the inevitable questions came, "But what? What could this new, never before seen collection be?"
    Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning, "Where had Eclipse's Miracleman really come from?" Kimota!
    Many of you are aware, and many of you are not, but British publisher Quality Communications and Editor Dez Skinn (the UK's answer to Stan Lee), published an anthology magazine in the early 80's called Warrior: The Magazine of Quite Weird Heroes. This adult-oriented, black and white monthly, had a serialized format, with original works contributed by some of the UK's top talent: Steve Moore, John Bolton, Steve Parkhouse, David Lloyd, Brian Bolland, and some newcomers: Gary Leach, Alan Davis, Steve Dillon, Grant Morrison (perhaps you've heard of him?), and including perhaps the greatest living writer of comic books today: Alan Moore. Mr. Moore, if you are somehow reading this, please, take a bow.
    Marvelman, Warrior's flagship character, was a gritty take on UK publisher's L. Miller & Son and creator Mick Anglo's Golden Age knock-off of Fawcett's Captain Marvel/Shazam. This serial saw Alan Moore's first foray into the land of Superhero Deconstruction pre-dating DC's Saga of the Swamp Thing and Watchmen. The premise was simple: "What would happen if a middle-aged man would awaken from a "virtual amnesia" only to discover he's the by-product of a government experiment that gave him superpowers from the infusion of alien technology? Only later to discover, the suppression of his memories was a government cover-up?" Holy Sh*t what a premise! I love conspiracy theories, and this one read like an X-files before the Chris Carter show ever saw the light of day!
    Also in these very same pages, came the debut of Alan Moore's dystopian masterpiece: V for Vendetta. A seminal and powerful manifesto, Alan Moore, the "Modern-Day Shaman", injected V for Vendetta with a heavy dose of candid realism and magical realism, and spun a beautiful web... hand weaving a complex tapestry which explored such themes as politics, the human condition, domino effect, and synchronicity, rarely seen in comic books before and even today. If you read and re-read V for Vendetta, and pull back and look at all the details as they link and come together, perhaps you'll understand the genius behind the man, who must be channeling the Universe and Womb of Creation for such insights!
    Although both serials were critical successes, Warrior struggled with sales and only lasted 26 issues. Its demise was brought about by a confluence of low sales, creator control issues, -script and art delays, and ultimately Marvel Comics trademark suit over the use of the word "Marvel" in "Marvelman". The consequences of Marvel's litigious actions against Quality Communications, also meant that both Marvelman and V for Vendetta never saw their respective sagas completed, until some years later when their ownership rights were sold to Eclipse and DC Comics respectively. Eclipse's Miracleman issues 1 through 6, as well as DC's V for Vendetta's issues 1 through 6, are color reprints from the black and white serials which first appeared in Warrior.
    In the summer of 2012, leading up last year's NY Comic Con, where I would submit my first comics to the CGC, I decided I was going to make an ambitious and mad-dash effort into putting together a collection. Imagine a collection that featured both Alan Moore's Marvelman and V for Vendetta in the very same pages? Not to mention some other oddball characters the likes of Axel Pressbutton the Psychotic Cyborg (co-created by Steve Moore and Alan Moore; BTW: these two have no relations), Father Shandor the Demon Stalker, illustrated by legendary artist John Bo

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  17. SW3D
    Back in 1992, a few months before Superman was infamously "killed" by Doomsday, DC published a one-shot special by Walter Simonson, appropriately called: Superman Special #1 by Walter Simonson.
     
    And what is so special about this comic book?At the moment, it is the first of its kind. Not only is it the first graded example to be introduced to the CGC Census, giving it temporary OAK (One-of-a-Kind) status until others get graded, but it's also further distinguished by its triple signature provided by Geoff Darrow and Michael Golden (both artists contributed pin-ups illustrations), and by the man himself, artist and writer extraordinaire, Walter Simonson. The other things which merit personal praise: it's my original owner newsstand copy I bought from the racks over 21 years ago, and, the grade it has achieved, a 9.2 with white pages (a decent grade proudly awarded sans pressing), assures me all the hard work and efforts I put into keeping my comics preserved have paid-off. But the real speciality is in the controversy connected with the story: Does Superman die in this issue and come to be replaced by a being known as the Sand Superman?The Sand Superman was originally conceived by writer Dennis O'Neil and debuted in 1971. This rather bizarre creation was to play an integral part of a character and mythos re-launch of Superman. The revisionist approach occurred during a time when DC campaigned to re-invent their main characters (Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, et al), in an effort to distance themselves in the wake and fallout of the campiness and puerile nature of the 60's Batman TV show. In an effort to bring Superman to a more "mortal" level, O'Neil devised a way for Ka-El to lose two-thirds his power (much like John Byrne would later do in 1986 with The Man of Steel title). It all started in the pages of Superman #233 (cover art by Neal Adams) and ran through until issue 242. The Sand Superman was introduced as an incorporeal entity from another dimension known as Quarrm, who made its way to Metropolis by way of an extra-dimensional wormhole caused by a freak explosion. The entity was able to siphon energy from Superman, construct a body in the likeness of Superman made of sand, and eventually used the absorbed energy for superpowers that mimicked Superman's. Several encounters and battles with Superman allowed this Golem-like thing to grow as strong as the Kryptonian, all-the-while draining and reducing Superman's powers to nearly one-third of his original level (thus accomplishing O'Neil's mission). However, with the absorption of Superman's powers, the alien parasite also absorbed an aspect of Superman's personality and spiritual make-up, changing its moral compass as it came to the realization that what it was doing was both harmful to Superman and mankind. Ultimately, "Super Sandy" returned on its own volition to its home dimension. This fascinating yet convoluted mess of a story can be read in greater detail through the following links: http://www.supermansupersite.com/1971.html or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarmer or http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Sand_Superman_(Earth-One). In some vague and obscure way, I see some snippets of the O'Neil story, used in the ludicrous plot to the 1983 movie Superman III, where Clark Kent fights an evil doppelganger of Superman, created from the side-effects of the fission of Kryptonite and tar (I kid you not... tar). If you never seen the movie, the absolute best scene, and in my opinion, the only reason to see the movie, is the action-packed fight between the Evil Superman and his "pure" Spirit embodied as Clark Kent. You could see for yourself in two parts, brought to you by comiccollector87 and Christopher Gibbs (thank you both whoever you are):
    ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL12bbRPUz4. Jumping forward to 1992, Walter Simonson revived the Sand Superman. In this updated story, Lex Luthor, in an attempt to synthesize Kryptonite for a nefarious purpose, accidentally neutralizes its radioactive properties, leading to the creation of an energy parasite composed of sand. The creature forms a construct in the likeness of Superman. And after each successive encounter and battle with the Man of Steel, the sandy doppelganger not only drains and absorbs Superman's powers, but looks more and more like the real McCoy, until you cannot distinguish the fake from the genuine article. AUTHORS NOTE: The following paragraph is my interpretation of the end of Superman Special #1, by Walter Simonson, which admittedly, I could be 100% wrong since it is based on a hazy and spotty memory of a comic book I read 21 years ago and may possibly be co-mingled with my own imagination. So here it is (or how I believe it ended)......In the climactic battle between Superman and Sand Superman in the Fortress of Solitude, where both combatants are indistinguishable, the ambiguous ending, in my opinion, lends the reader to believe that the Sand Superman has killed Superman either by strangulation or by completely draining and cannibalizing Ka-El of his powers and life-force. Victorious yet remorseful, the sand creature rises over the lifeless body of Superman, looks solemnly over his corpse, and vows to carry-on the heroic legacy of Superman. I can only assume from that point, Superman is dead and Sand Superman assumes the mantle of the new Superman. Or has he? Check out this blog site for further speculation: http://siskoid.blogspot.com/2011/05/reign-of-supermen-210-post-crisis-sand.html And still further speculation as channeled through dialogue exchange by fans making some interesting points: http://www.comicvine.com/superman/4005-1807/forums/post-crisis-era-superman-died-in-1988-645961/Well... I met the man himself at NYComicCon, and after getting his inscription, point-blankedly asked him the question: "Did Sand Superman kill Superman?" With equal ambiguity to rival the comic book, Mr. Simonson slyly smiled and replied: "If that is what you want to believe." Well... to be honest, I don't know what to believe. I find it difficult to accept Superman's death at the hands of such an energy vampire, yet I am equally amiss to know Superman would choke a foe to death. That just seems too out-of-line with the Big Blue Boy Scout I've come to know and love. However, the Sand Superman was a bit of a crackpot with a pathological streak, and may have committed murder, only to pull a Talented Mr. Ripley. What do you think? SW3DTo see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  18. SW3D
    Once again, I'm thrilled to introduce and debut a new comic to the CGC Census and to the Collectors Society. For all you Captain America and Marvel fans, this one-shot comic was a promotional giveaway that was included as a free insert in the Thursday Edition of the Wall Street Journal on June 6, 2013.
    My brother, who's into the stock market, reads the Wall Street Journal daily. And he knows I'm a big comic book geek, so he calls me late in the evening (about 9ish) on June 6th, to let me know that there's a free comic book of Captain America with today's edition of the WSJ. I immediately rush down to the local CVS Pharmacy to see if they have any Wall Street Journals left.
    I remember it was pouring rain and I got soaked. But I didn't care... I was determined to find these comics. Luckily CVS had two WSJ's still available. So I snatched them up and went to the cashier to pay for them. And to my detriment and horror, the cashier, not knowing there was comics in these papers, folds each newspaper to cram them into a plastic shopping bag!
    I was mortified and couldn't believe my own stupidity and absent mindedness. I should have forewarned her. It was my fault. And I walked out into the rain in disbelief feeling these once mint limited edition comics had a catastrophic crease directly down the middle of each book. What bad luck! Bummer!
    Downtrodden, I skulked back to my apartment and pulled them out to see their condition, and thankfully they weren't half that bad. I believe I got very lucky and somehow the comics may have slid to once side and avoided getting folded down the middle. But, being an anal-condition-sensitive-freak that I am, my paranoid ego couldn't rest until I found unblemished and unadulterated copies.
    So I went back out into the rain and walked a few blocks until I found a newsstand that was still open. And voila, this store had six unsold Wall Street Journals... I guess nobody in my neighborhood cares to read about the financial markets.
    I immediately searched through each one to see if they had the comic, and sure enough they did. And, learning my lesson with the CVS cashier, I asked the bemused cashier if I could personally place each WSJ into a plastic shopping bag. And, after a second of looking at me like I was a complete nut, he shrugged his shoulders and said yes. And why not? I mean, it wasn't like he was going to sell these newspapers so late in the night to other customers.
    The rain was still pouring. And knowing my comics could get wet, I placed the shopping bag underneath my shirt. So I skipped back home like a little boy, dripping wet but gleeful that I had six potential mint comics. And the rain did absolutely no harm to them since they were tucked away under my shirt and inside the multi-layered protection of each newspaper.
    As soon as I reached my humble abode, I laid each newspaper flat on my dining table. I changed from my wet clothes to dry ones and thoroughly dried my hands... making sure I wouldn't accidentally wet any comic. I fetched eight acid-free bags and inserted backboards in each and proceeded to the dining table. Like a surgeon, I delicately pulled out each comic from the center of each Wall Street Journal, separating each comic book from the advertisements and coupons they were grouped with. I inspected each one, taking mental note of the edges, the surface condition of the front and back covers, as well as the interior paper quality and staples, and then carefully placed each inside an acid-free bag with backboard. Afterward, I was satisfied knowing that at least 4 of the 8 comics were in Near Mint Plus state. And 22 days later, I those 4 to Wizard World NYC for grading.
    Yesterday, they came back: 2 9.8's and 2 9.6's. Wow! I rarely get 9.8's... mostly 9.2's, 9.4's and 9.6's. And the CGC did a beautiful job with the encapsulations. The holders just look gorgeous. I'm happy!
    About the comic book itself, I've taken selected excerpts (without permission) from an online article which appears in Ad Age Media News: "Kiehl's, the skincare and haircare retailer, sent a custom Captain America comic book to Wall Street Journal subscribers in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco on Thursday as part of a content-marketing effort meant to help the company better connect with men.
    The Kiehl's comic book, which was created by Marvel Custom Solutions, takes place in the original Kiehl's store at 3rd Avenue and 13th Street in Manhattan and features characters and displays from the company's past and present. Marvel Custom Solutions is an internal agency within Marvel's promotions group that works with marketers to create print and digital comic books, as well as a variety of other products, such as book covers and posters. The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion.
    Kiehl's President Chris Salgardo, himself a comic book fan, reached out to Marvel earlier this year. "Of all of Marvel's iconic characters, Captain America was a natural fit," Mr. Salgardo said in an email interview. "He is an American icon and the story-line fits well."
    In the 12-page story, created specifically for Kiehl's by writer William Harms and artists Angel Unzueta and Ty Templeton, Captain America must protect some "rare extracts and botanicals" -- hidden in the Kiehl's basement -- that could be used to create another super-soldier like himself.
    The story doesn't mention any Kiehl's product by name, but the action is bookended by ad pages from Kiehl's including six pages touting its Facial Fuel for men and Ultimate Man body scrub soap.
    The comic book is available at Kiehl's stores with the purchase of any product and a digital version is on the company's website, but Kiehl's worked with The Wall Street Journal because the company wanted more people, predominantly men, to see the comic. "We feel it is so true to our DNA," Mr. Salgardo said. "Instead of advertising, this allows potential new customers to understand Kiehl's -- our quirkiness, but also our expertise in serious skincare."
    A comic book insert for a skin-care company appearing in The Wall Street Journal might seem like an odd fit, but beauty advertising is a growing priority for the paper. "This is a great example of our ever-increasing strength in the beauty category," said Nina Lawrence, VP-global marketing for ad sales at the paper. "We've invested in developing our beauty reach over the past few years and it continues to be a huge area of growth for us."
    Currently the Kiehl's website lists the "Limited Edition Captain America Comic Book" as out of stock: http://www.kiehls.com/Limited-Edition-Captain-America-Comic-Book/899,default,pd.html.
    Here's more promo on the comic book as seen on Marvel's website which includes a video: http://marvel.com/news/story/20784/ring_the_nyse_opening_bell_with_captain_america_kiehls.
    Now I wonder: How many of these comics were printed and distributed? And how many were bought? And how many were destroyed that were not sold? And how many survived and are collected? I imagine the numbers are low since most promotional giveaways usually are discarded by the general public.
    If you're looking to buy one, there are a number of raw/ungraded available on eBay. And I have to say, for a free promo comic, I was impressed by both the artwork and story which I believe takes place in the Marvel Movie Universe, with a guest appearance by Nick Fury, drawn and portrayed as Samuel L. Jackson.
    S

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  19. SW3D
    "The Blood-Hued Sun sets slowly this eve, painting the Louisiana Bayous in tones of ominous crimson. On the shore, men and women already prepare for the midnight ritual to come. Wood is gathered, a bonfire ignited! Now, the moon rises... and it begins!
    Drums pound out strange sensual rhythms, recalling the pulsation of hearts that once beat in primordial Africa. Clothes are discarded... and naked bodies jerk and writhe, spasmodically, held fast in the throes of ancient passions.
    Then, she appears... the Voodoo Queen, her supple, subtly muscular form bending and swaying in serpentine splendor! Held above her head, its silver shape gleaming in the moonlight... the ceremonial blade!
    Eyes lifted to the heavens, the voodoo woman takes seven slow, measured steps to the stone slab where you lie! And... you are afraid! For you... You!... Are the central figure in this baleful rite! You... Simon Garth... the Human Sacrifice!! You, whose panic-stricken stare lances upward at that woman... that flesh-rending blade, poised maddening above... The Altar of the Damned!"
    And with those beautifully crafted words by the legendary Steve Gerber (co-creator of Howard the Duck), we are reintroduced to the world of Simon Garth... the coffee king of Louisiana... the man who had it all and lost it all... the man who would lose his soul and take us on a journey to reclaim his soul... the man who would become a Zombie!
    In my humble opinion, Tales of the Zombie #1 is a forgotten key issue. Not only is it the second published appearance of Simon Garth (who first appeared in a one-shot story written by Stan Lee), but it is an Origin Issue. Steve Gerber craftily weaves a complete landscape for Simon Garth, revealing how he fell into the supernatural predicament which became his curse.
    The original Golden Age one-shot written by Stan Lee and handsomely illustrated by Bill Everett (which first appeared in Atlas Comics Menace #5 and has been reprinted in the pages of Tales of the Zombie #1 and in Tales of the Zombie Annual #1), introduced the three main players: Simon Garth, Gyps the Gardener, and Simon Garth's daughter, Donna, but gave readers no indication how Simon Garth became a zombie nor how he fell under the machinations of Gyps (the slimy bearer of the amulet which controls the Zombie). Lee's macabre story offers only vague and murky hints as to such... but it's up to the reader to fill in the blanks. Nonetheless, Stan Lee's mini is a well-crafted and effective horror piece, albeit a quickie. And it may be presumptuous for me to say this, but I sense this 7-page story may have served as a muse for Len Wein, who told a similar tale in nearly equal length, with Alec Olsen's plight (as seen in DC's House of Secrets Volume 1, No. 92: the first appearance of the Swamp Thing).
    When Tales of the Zombie #1 first hit the stands in the Spring/Summer of 1973, it was part of cultural torrent which flooded movies and television: Exploitation Cinema (sometime known as Grindhouse Flicks, Cult Films, and another cloth coined by Michael Weldon: Psychotronic Movies). Exploitation is a label derogatorily cast on many low-budget films, both Domestic and International. I see Exploitation as having a vague philosophy akin to an Anti-Dogma, for most exploitation films have broad themes deeply embedded in existentialism, anti-heroes and vigilantism, anti-religion, rebellion, alienation, anti-slavery, civil rights, crime, violence, sex, drugs and the downfall of an oppressive government and/or civilization, where anarchy and chaos is the order of the day even within the confines of society. I see it as a legitimate movement, a sub-culture, perhaps counter-culture, which pulp magazines and comic books inevitably belong to. Just to clarify, I don't subscribe to such a philosophy, for I am a civilized man and prefer the safety and comforts of a lawful society, but from time-to-time, when the banality and the mundane of everyday life sets in, I find myself exploring such bizarre themes which can be readily found in cinema and literature, and that is as far as it goes for me. Horror is exploitation by design... for it is created to exploit our most base emotion: fear, and amplifies it to draw an intended reaction. In the broader scope of things, we are nothing more than Guinea Pigs in the Hands of Our Creators...the World Weavers... and that's true exploitation.
    George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), is a cult classic and considered one of the most critical and successful horror films of all time; having broke-ground as the movie to usher in the Zombie-Apocalypse genre. It is also considered an Exploitation Film. On the heels of the success of NOTLD, countless zombie movies, horror and gore-splatter movies, Apocalyptic-themed B-movies bombarded the silver screens across the globe for decades to come. Undoubtedly, Marvel, Steve Gerber and Company capitalized on this make-a-quick-buck movement. They brought back Simon Garth, wrenching him from the pages of his Menace #5 one-shot casket, and I suspect, had Gerber read-up a chock-full of Robert E. Howard horror pulps ("Black Canaan", "Out of the Deep", "Hills of the Dead", "The Black Stone", and "Pigeons from Hell"), Howard Phillips Lovecraft ("Robert West: Re-Animator"), and probably Mary Shelley's The Modern Prometheus to get into the proper mood to write an undead fable.
    And with all that, Gerber took Lee and Everett's fantastic little tale, loaded fresh paper into the typewriter, and with a few keystrokes from the master's fingertips, Simon Garth was resurrected. And for nine glorious issues (really ten, but Simon Garth doesn't appear in the last issue save on the cover... go figure), we followed Simon Garth on his odyssey to reclaim his soul and his humanity: a violent and gory journey which culminated in the pages of Tales of the Zombie #9.
    But it all started in Tales of the Zombie #1, where we discovered Simon Garth, elitist extraordinaire, the king of a coffee empire, laid supine and helpless, bound and gagged on rotting earth, as he watched in sheer terror as a heathen Voodoo Priestess waved a deadly dagger over his heart. And we watched with equal tremor as Simon Garth made his unlikely escape through the deadly swamps, only to meet his untimely end, as former and disgraced employee, Gyps the Gardener, now sworn enemy, plunged the twin blades of sharpened garden shears into his bloodied chest.
    But even in death, the story didn't end there, for Gyps, ever the conniver, forced the Voodoo Priestess to perform the ritual... the taboo ritual that brings a man back from the dead, as a mindless, walking Zombie. And under the power of twin Amulets, one worn by the Zombie, and the other in the hands of the Master, the Zombie is magically compelled to do the bidding of whoever controls one of the twin amulets.
    If we peel back the cyanotic skin to Gerber's story, it is replete with several themes commonly found in Exploitation Cinema. First, on a superficial level, the themes of Slavery, Rebellion and Uprising is addressed: Simon Garth, Wealthy Industrialist and the Master of Men, has now become a Slave to a man beneath his station. For in this story, the tables are turned: Gyps, once the disgruntled and disgraced employee, fired for misconduct (Gyps was caught being a Peeping-Tom when he watched Garth's daughter, Donna, skinny dip in the pool from behind the bushes he was shearing), is now in control of one of the twin Amulet's, and thus becomes the Master to Simon Garth, his former Employer and former Master... but

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  20. SW3D
    Spoiler Alert: Plot Details from Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #1
    Hello Boys and Girls, tis me again, your humble Angela fanatic with another exciting installment of "For the Love of Angela". I have a confession... after Guardians of the Galaxy 10, I completely lost track of Angela. I recently skimmed through copies of GOTG 11 - 13, and All-New X-Men 22 -- 24, at my local LCS, to see what my fair lady was up to, but the whole "Trial of Jean Grey" just didn't do it for me. And that's crazy since two of my favorite redheads were in the same crossover event; what's not to love? I know it's ignorant and unfair of me to say, but truth be told, I compared it to Claremont's and Byrne's classic "Dark Phoenix Saga", which I grew up with... and there's just no comparison.
    Back in late May, I read the press release regarding Angela's all new origin due to come out in Original Sin and related titles. I don't want to pass premature judgment on Original Sin, but, vaguely, the complex plotline reads like some crazy cosmic murder mystery reminiscent of Alan Moore's classic murder mystery conspiracy fable, The Watchmen. Is anyone else getting that vibe too? "Who Killed the Comedian?" is now, "Who Killed the Watcher?" Ironic isn't it? Watchmen... The Watcher? Or, once again, am I making a superficial and unsubstantiated connection between the two? Or maybe I just miss, "The Author" who refused to be given any credit for his work on Marvelman aka Miracleman (see Marvel reprints of said works).
    Anyway... before I cause some controversy between Moore, DC and Marvel, let me stir another by revealing the plot details of Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #1.
    WARNING: SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE PLOT DETAILS TO ORIGINAL SIN: THOR & LOKI: THE TENTH REALM #1
    Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #1 was released on July 8th. I've waited nearly two weeks to post this journal to avoid spoiling it for anybody intending to read it who hasn't yet read it. So If you haven't and don't want to know, look away and move on! Yes... you have been warned: I will discuss in detail, the all-new origin of Angela, which in my opinion, is both an Angela and Thor key worthy of collecting for it has major ramifications for the Odinson and possibly the Marvel Universe proper.
    I am also going to say I'm very excited about the whole thing! Yes, you read that right! I'm giving Marvel its due by saying Angela has finally been given a legitimate back-story. And boy what a doosey it is! In my humble opinion, Marvel has effectively retconned Angela's Image origin (last seen in Curse of the Spawn #9), out of existence save for those fans (like me) who still cling on to it like an amalgam of six tragic female souls made into an angel... or an Angela. Yes, I'll continue to treasure and never forget Angela's lush history as seen in various Image titles, but I'm happy to say I am finally ready to move on.
    It's no secret I'm building, or attempting to build, a complete collection of Angela comics from her Image days. This lofty goal has been in the works since February 2012 when I accidentally discovered I was the sole bearer of a Spawn #9 Newsstand Variant. Little by little, I've been amassing a set (both raw and graded), a set I am calling "Angela Pre-Marvel": basically Angela's entire publication history across all Image titles (save TBP's, reprints or foreign variants). Some of them are very rare and difficult to obtain. But I'm getting there, slowly but surely, however there's still plenty more to go. And I'm delighted to say, without revealing anyone's identity, there is another CGC Boardie who is also on a mission of equal import... another who is equally as passionate of Angela, and perhaps... more ambitious than I. This collector I predict will have a magnanimous collection, one which will encompass Angela appearances in both Image and Marvel. We have been in contact, and I will be at this collector's disposal in any way I can to support and assist in achieving his/her collecting goals. We have discussed splitting Angela into two distinct CGC Collections:
    (1)Angela Image
    (2)Angela Marvel.
    Angela Image: From my research, Angela has made 25 distinct appearances in comic books published by Image (not including TBPs, collected editions or foreign variants). In addition, these 25 comics have 16 variant covers (not including foreign variants), which would bring the total collection to 41.
    Angela Marvel: It goes without saying, in no time, this will be the bigger of the two collections (especially with the sickening amount of variant covers which already exist), with Angela having already made appearances in Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, All New X-Men and now Tenth Realm. Also, I've read the latest rumors through Bleeding Cool, that on or about the upcoming San Diego Comic Con (July 24th -- 27th), Marvel will announce an Angela solo series to be helmed by Kieron Gillen and Marguerite Bennett; I'm so keeping my fingers crossed on that one.
    If there is anyone else out there looking to build an Angela collection, and who has no clue where to start, allow me to recap a list of the Angela keys worthy of collecting:
    Image Comics:
    Spawn #9 (Angela's 1st Appearance)
    Curse of the Spawn #9 (Origin of Angela)
    Angela #1 (Angela's 2nd Appearance: 1st Greg Capullo art on Angela)
    Spawn #100 (Death of Angela)
    Marvel Comics:
    Age of Ultron #10 (The Return of Angela: 1st Appearance of Angela in the Marvel Universe)
    Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, #5 (2nd Appearance of Angela in the Marvel Universe; joins in the following issue)
    And now let's add to this growing list:
    Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #1 (the all-New Origin of Angela)
    Okay... so on to the show:
    In this exciting first issue, The Orb (a kooky Ghost Rider villain with a gigantic eyeball for a head), holding one of the murdered Watcher's eye balls, purposely reveals its secrets to Thor, Luke Cage, the Hulk and Spider-Man. Each superhero see's a unique revelation specific and significant to their lives. In Thor's case, he discovers the existence of a Tenth Realm (previously believe to be nine), and, most importantly, he discovers has a sister.
    With do haste, Thor returns to Asgard, to confront Queen Freyja (Thor's Mother, Loki's Foster Mother, and current ruler of Asgard in place of the missing Odin). In this confrontation, Queen Freyja reveals the truth (transcribed and formatted in screenplay-comic book -script hybrid form, with dialogue in quotes since I didn't write it):
    Page 8, Panel 1: Ext. Ancient Asgard -- Day
    Extreme Wide Shot: Ancient Asgard: a full-scale war between Asgardians and winged Angels.
    Flashback: Caption: "Long Ago."
    Queen Freyja
    (Off Panel)
    "You spoke of fire. Of blood. Of a war that makes all
    conflict since seem like the shadows of a child's game.
    A war with Angels. You caught the smallest glimpse of that war..."
    Flying Angel
    "Death to Asgard! Death to the nothing ones! Nothing for nothing!"
    Page 8, Panel 2: Continuous
    Medium Shot: Queen Freyja and Odin, side-by-side in ferocious battle.
    Queen Freyja
    (Off Panel)
    "But I lived it. And it cost me all."
    Queen Freyja
    "Hold hard husband! If we fall now... Asgard dies forever!"
    Odin


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  21. SW3D
    Well, I woke-up this morning to find my Amazing Spider-Man 256, 9.2 Original Owner Copy Newsstand Edition just sold on eBay! What? That was random? Or was it?
    Last night, before the purchase, I received an e-mail from one buyer interested in my copy asking if I could reduce the already discounted price of $49. And I thought about it and counter-offered offering $45. And I explained to the interested party, at $45 I would just break-even.
    Well, lo and behold, another buyer comes in out-of-nowhere and just swooped-in and bought the comic outright at $49!
    And I'm like... "What? What the heck is going on? Why the fuss over Amazing Spider-Man 256? And why my particular copy at 9.2? Like... nobody wants a 9.2 in this cynical 9.8 day and age!"
    So I do what I always do when I'm in a quandary... I go to Google to find my answers. ?
    And guess what? Apparently the internet is abuzz with movie rumors and Easter Eggs about the one-time Spider-Man villain Thomas Fireheart, aka the Puma.
    Here's the site that started it all: http://thedailybugle.tumblr.com/post/72012128469/by-ned-leeds-city-bureau-smash-the-tail-of-a
    And here's another one recapping what it may mean: http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Amazing-Spider-Man-2-Viral-Update-Features-An-Easter-Egg-About-Puma-40926.html
    Thankfully I still have Amazing Spider-Man 257, the Puma's 2nd Appearance I bought back in 1984, and at a higher grade, 9.4, with White Pages, and the distinction of Newsstand Edition. Here's a link to my eBay site: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Spiderman-257-HTF-Newsstand-Edition-Original-Owner-Copy-CGC-9-4-WP-/281164119097?pt=US_Comic_Books&;hash=item4176affc39
    Yes, I know what you're thinking... "It's selfish to self-promote your wares", but if I've learned anything from the masters of self-promotion, Stan Lee and Steve Jobs, it's necessary to toot your own horn to get a-"head" in life (pun intended: read on). So ain't nobody gonna toot or "blow" it for you unless you pay them! Am I right Eliot?
    If any kiddies are reading...sorry for the toilet humor.
    Ironically, I was person_without_enough_empathying to Meshuggah last night about having wrapping fatigue from X-Mas, and being a lazy bear in hibernation mode not wanting to get out and move from my humble abode. Now I gotta bubble wrap and package the comic, and schlep it to the Post Office in the snow. It's freezing out! Does anyone have a snowmobile I can borrow?
    Anyway... I'm going to continue to MANstruate and state that I'm also cranky that my original owner copy of Amazing Spider-Man didn't get a much higher grade than it deserved. Take a look at the photo and tell me if it looks better than a 9.2? It's well centered and I can't detect a blemish on it. And many of you all know, I'm against pressing... so this beauty of a 30 year old comic looks the way it does without "restorative intervention" (please don't kill me on that one... it's just my humble opinion... and I'm Manstruating!... Why? Cause my Cowboys were knocked out of the f*cking playoffs and it sucks to see NFL playoff games that your forced to root for someone else's team! Damn! Easy Spidey! Easy Spidey! Take it Easy!).
    Tnerb... if you are reading this... good luck to the Eagles... they deserve their spot in the playoffs! And to Tony Romo... wherever you are... Get Well Soon Brother! I know everyone dogs you for your valiant and sometime miscalculated gun-slinging efforts (myself included), but I do want to say, thank you for your hard work! It can't be easy with injuries and concussions and playing a sport that's designed to knock you on you're ! I really hope to see you back! Get well soon! And to the Dallas Cowboys Team as whole (includes Jerry Jones)... thank your for all the nail biting moments. Although it seems we always come out on the losing end of the stick, at least its never a dull moment with you guys. And honestly... I love that! Many teams can't say that. Watching their games can be SO F*CKING BORING! The Cowboys always make it EXCITING! Thank you... I'm still a fan... always and forever! America's Team!
    Alright... nuff said... gonna get out of bed and go to the post office. I'll probably more to my peeps at USPS until I've exercised the demons!
    Thank God it's Saturday!
    SW3D

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  22. SW3D
    The very topic of Pressing is a much heated debate with a clear division for those who see it as a non-restorative technique and those who do and are seeking pro-disclosure. This journal entry is not intended as a rebuttal or definitive response to the "Pressing Debate", but intended to give unbiased insights on why the issue remains relevant to many collectors and to offer collectors a broader scope of understanding, education, knowledge, and awareness of our hobby.
    The following text is quoted verbatim from the Official Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide Third Edition (2006) by Robert M. Overstreet and Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg on the topic of Pressing where arguments are made from both camps:
    "As alluded to in the beginning of this article, pressing is one of the most lively areas of debate in the comic book collecting community. Pressing can be a complicated procedure that includes fully disassembling a comic book, performing work on one or more of its constituents parts, and then reassembling it. Pressing can also be something that is done to a comic book as a whole. In each case, there are a variety of measures which can be taken and they produce a variety of results, some positive and some negative. Even stacking or storing comic books a certain way can produce some of the effects of pressing.
    It can be a volatile issue.
     
    In one camp, it is clearly accepted that pressing falls under the banner of restoration. In the other camp, advocates maintain that restoration requires the addition of something to the product being restored. Pressing, they say doesn't add anything.
     
    Mark Zaid, a comic book dealer and attorney, was one of those pleading the case for pressing as restoration:
    'Those who support the notion that pressing is not restoration typically argue that the technique fails to 'add' anything to the book. It is also typically argued that the process has been around for decades, and that its subtle, if not covert use, was widely known to the 'leaders' and 'experts' of the community.'
     
    Another contributor, Brian Ketterer pointed out that many of those speaking out on the issue are not uniformly anti-pressing. They are, he suggests, pro-disclosure:
     
    'For those against pressing, it is mostly about their right and ability to get information about the history of a book as they feel entitled to use that information about whether they want to purchase a given book.'
    For others, though, it was very much about the definitions.
    One respondent, John Foss, wrote, 'Restoration would include the restorative techniques mentioned in The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (staple replacement, pieces added, tear seals, color touch, etc.). In addition, I would expand upon the old definition of restoration to include pressing. Though not as invasive as the other forms of restoration, it is restoration nonetheless...'
     
    CGC, since the company started grading comics, has never considered pressing (along with other factors addressed under 'Restoration' below) to be restoration and correspondingly does not list it aas such on the blue CGC 'Universal' label.
     
    Retailer Todd McDevitt, sad, he would consider 'Any deliberate attempt to alter the condition of a comic' and would therefore include pressing as restoration.
     
    Writing on the broader topic of restoration, archivist Tracey Heft of Eclipse Paper Conservation noted, 'No less an authority as the International Institute of Conservation (IIC) has defined restoration as 'any attempt to return an object to its original form and purpose, in the attempt to recreate an earlier known state or condition.'
     
    Comic book dealer Doug Schmell, though, makes a strong statement the logic of the other side:
    'Pressing is a non-violative means of 'removing' non color-breaking creases, surface impressions, dings, impacts, bends and folds; it does not 'add' anything to the structural integrity of the comic book as do the examples listed above for restoration. Pressing is not restoration in my opinion and should be strongly differentiated in nomenclature and status from the restoration means listed above. Pressing is a safe and non-evasive means of conserving the aesthetic appearance of a comic book without adding to its physical form.'
     
    Terry O'Neill, a dealer, ventured his thoughts on the inclusion of pressing in restoration in a straightforward manner: 'I would not include pressing, but would include any kind of additions of ink, glue or paper,' he wrote.
     
    Collector Howard Gerber summed it up simply enough: 'I have been collecting since 1963. This pressing debate seems kind of silly to me. If an expert can't tell a book has been pressed professionally how can one call it restoration?'
     
    A number of those responding to our questions were adamant that since nothing was added during some forms of pressing then it should not be considered restoration.
     
    It may be important to note that pressing is not a new issue, but its rise in significance can be linked to the higher prices being paid for comics today. Mark Wilson of PGC Mint, who has in the past restored a significant number of comics, did a good job of identifying the genesis of some of the concerns:
     
    'Where it becomes obvious to the novice when the following scenario occurs: A book was professionally graded, scanned and logged in a file for all to view. It now has an identifiable history. A dealer or collector purchases this book and believes that the grade is way too strict because it was just stacked wrong prior to grading. The book is then removed from its holder and 'pressed' because it has a slight warble or spine roll. It is then resubmitted to a professional grading service to be graded once again. It is now assigned a slightly higher grade and then put back on the market for sale. The book is once again scanned and logged. Because of our incredible network through the CGC message Boards, other Boards, dealer websites, auction Houses, ebay, and (most importantly) better computers and quicker download time, we now have instant access to scans of books in a way that was impossible just five years ago. Now someone notices that the book had a slight grade change and wonders why. This will then create a 'stir' on the message boards and the controversy begins. Opinions fly like bats in the night.'
     
    Wilson also offered another observation: 'Can proper pressing improve the grade of a book? Yes. Can it lower the grade of a book? Yes.' He also said that complaints are rarely heard when a book is pressed, resubmitted and then comes back with the exact same grade or a lower grade assigned.
     
    Staking out something of a middle ground, longtime dealer Gary Colabuono offered the following:
     
    'If it can be determined that a book has been pressed -- then it deserves a 'restored' label because the obvious, detected work can be considered no different than detected color touch or tear sealing.
     
    If it can't be determined that a book has been pressed -- then the book must get a 'universal' non-restored grade since every means of detecting restoration will have been utilized and none found.'
     
    Collector-historian-dealer Richard Olson also moves in that direction:
     
    "Grading is looking for defects -- a perfect press might remove a defect but if it is truly undetectable, I don't see a problem. At the same time, if the pressing leaves any signs, then it is no difference than any other type of restoration.'
     
    This new definition was added to this year's Guide:
    Pressing -- A term used to describe a variety of processes or procedures, professional and amateur, under which an issue is pressed to eliminate wrinkles, bends, dimples and/or other perceived defects and thus improve its appearance. Some types of pressing involve disassembling the book and per

  23. SW3D
    Also Known As: The Other Number 9!
     
    Curse of the Spawn 9: The Origin of Angela!I love keys. And I love rare books. And I love OAKs. But I especially love when I am the first to introduce a comic book to the CGC Census, and one that combines all three of these virtues.And I did this once before with the very same character that I have since fallen in love with: Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane's angelic co-creation: Angela. That book in question is the Newsstand Variant Edition of Spawn 9: Angela's first appearance. I had the pleasure to debut this rare key variant to the CGC Collectors Society back on March 4, 2013, a few weeks before the announcement of her return to the four-color page, in a journal titled "The Irony of Spawn #9". Since then, a mere 7 of its kind have turned up in population (4 9.8's, 2 9.6's, and 1 9.4), while the Direct Edition has ballooned to a total of 580. So if you compare, the Spawn 9 Newsstand Edition population is currently only 1% of the Spawn 9 Direct Edition, which makes it very rare indeed! And I just added another Newsstand Edition to my collection, bringing my total to 4 (2 9.8's and 2 9.6's)... which means I own 4 of 7 Spawn 9 Newsstand Editions... or 57% overall. We are all familiar with the current story: Angela has been sold by one of her Father's, author and fantasist extraordinaire Neil Gaiman, to Marvel/Disney. They have exhumed Angela's remains from her quiet resting place in the Image Universe, and forcibly reincarnated her in the Marvel U. The redhead beauty made her ho-hum debut in Age of Ultron 10, with a subsequent appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy 5. Angela, in my opinion, is no longer the sexy kick- rogue bounty hunter of the Elysium Fields. No! She's been converted to an obsequious indentured servant of the House of the Mouse and will probably end up guest starring until her popularity and novelty runs dry. And there is irony to all of this since what I love about Angela is her obvious distaste for authority and flippant nature at anyone who pisses her off. Angela is one of the very few characters that I know (other than Satan/Lucifer) to buck the authority of the highest authority... but now she must bow her pretty little head, and clean up her act, and kneel before her new corporate masters, who have sanitized her with a Quesada-conservative-girl-scout-makeover which just makes me want to puke! WTF!The funny thing is... because of all the legal bruhaha once caused over the battle of Angela's ownership rights between McFarlane and Gaiman, McFarlane unceremoniously had her killed off in Spawn 100: lanced through the chest with her own weapon by Spawn's arch-nemesis... the demonic overlord Malebolgia. Angela bled to death with an open chest cavity in the arms of Spawn. So how did she do the impossible? How did Angela come back from the dead? That's a great mystery to explore. But comics being comics... rarely does a character truly stay dead.Rise o' Angelic one... rise like the undead and bow to your new Corporate Masters! Join the mindless zombie hordes, corporate "yes" men, denizens of the Marvel U, and the thousands of indentured peasant factory workers tilling for pennies in lands unknown, who work day and night to provide an endless sea of Disney product for the world to consume! Join them in the creative malaise of Imperial Corporate America! Join them in the staggering great gulf of cosmic oblivion! Join them onto your doom!But if there truly be Marvel Cosmic Gods... a Mighty Marvel All-Father (not Odin but somebody far more omnipotent), then I fall to my hands and knees and pray and beg to him/her to show Angela mercy and give her a chance... a shot at her very own title (not just a mini-series). I think she deserves it!But anyway... getting on to the New Kingdom: The Other Number 9... This is the other Angela key, the other rare one and OAK, which I have the pleasure to debut to you all: Curse of the Spawn 9: The Origin of Angela. Yep! That's right! In these very pages we get a first hand look at the creation of the heavenly creature Angela. Now truth be told, Curse of the Spawn 9 is not a very rare book. No, not at all. There are plenty of raw copies floating in eBay just waiting for someone to pick 'em up, or discover them in the back issue bins of your local LCS. That's how I got these 6, going from LCS to LCS, amassing a total of 20, but cherry picking these 6 as the best of the best from those 20 and getting them graded. But finding a 9.8 or 9.6 wasn't easy... but I am sure there are plenty of mint copies out there. However, for some odd reason, no collector ever got one graded... that is until yours truly came along. So what you see here are the first batch of Curse of the Spawn 9's ever graded: five 9.8's and one 9.6... only six total... which, I predict, for the briefest of moments, makes them rare indeed. But I am certain the word will get out, and by next week 1,000 more will follow.And although the graders of CGC have erroneously omitted this key detail from the Key Notes, Curse of the Spawn 9 is where Angela's origin is first explained. Here's a synopsis I borrowed without permission from ComiXology on Curse of the Spawn 9: "Angela has been commissioned by the survivors of the planet Pentagus-Fraser to destroy the evil ravaging their planet. Amidst the melee, Angela battles the arachnid beast, Argus. She becomes distracted by the face of the mysterious Deurges long enough to become entangled in Argus' Web. After her capture the legend of Angela's origin is revealed in flashbacks of the lives of the sacrificing souls that were blended to become the Heavenly warrior. In each case the last thing they see is the dispassionate face of Deurges". Visit the page at: http://www.comixology.com/Curse-of-the-Spawn-9/digital-comic/42566And so I lord over my new Kingdom and expel all Disney product for my cherished land, and outlaw all goods which exploit the unfortunate. So Sayeth the Monarch of the CGC Kingdom of the Curse of the Spawn 9!Now I must leave you since I must attend a summit with the other Kingdom (Spawn 9 Newsstand Edition)... and just between us... I am planning a consolidation of power! If you know what I mean. Kill the other King! Mu Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!SW3DTo see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  24. SW3D
    AKA: "It's Him! It's Him! It's Him!"
    Well I had to do it; I had to buy another. I have no idea what compels me to do such crazy things like buying multiple copies of comics that I love; it's probably mental illness.
    Since early 2013, I had been searching for another copy of Marvel Premiere #1: a key showcasing the metamorphosis of HIM into Warlock. But I wasn't searching for just any example of Marvel Premiere #1... I had to have a Suscha News pedigree graded 9.6 with white pages. Why? Because I'm obsessed! This beauty of a comic joins my two other Marvel Premiere #1's, which are also Suscha News pedigrees. So now I have a total of three MP #1's and all pedigrees.
    With Adam Warlock's star power on the rise, Marvel Premiere #1, and most any Adam Warlock key has risen in value due to speculator demand. Why? Simply because Warlock is rumored to debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe... likely helping the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy battle the Mad Titan... Thanos!
    Many collectors and Adam Warlock fans have debated Warlock's first appearance; Marvel Premiere #1 has gained considerable interest and support as the coveted key, but I respectfully disagree. I still hold Fantastic Four volume 1, number 67 as the magic key. However, in its favor, Marvel Premiere #1 debuts a number of tropes that have since become integral to Warlock's mythology, making this comic a historical key nearly equal to Fantastic Four 66, 67, and Thor 165.
    Here's the low-down on what makes it so special:
    *HIM is given the name Warlock by the High Evolutionary, and, in order to save Counter-Earth from destruction, he becomes a Messiah-like superhero.
    *1st Costume Incarnation: this is the very first time HIM/Warlock dons a costume, which is a playful homage to Fawcett's Shazam incorporating Captain Marvel's jagged lightning emblem and red and yellow colors. The Magus, Warlock's evil future, wears a near identical costume except that his is a gray and white/silver mix, and has a skull embedded in the center of his belt.
    *1st Appearance of the Soul Gem (green colored): this is first of the six (6) colored Soul Gems, aka Infinity Gems or Infinity Stones; the possessor of all six gems becomes master of Time, Space, Mind, Soul, Reality, and Power.
    *1st Appearance of Counter-Earth: a near-perfect facsimile of Earth.
    *Altered Physical Appearance: the first depiction of Warlock without eyes; no explanation is given (Note: Adam Warlock is frequently illustrated without eyes; this can be seen over the course of his appearances throughout various titles including his own, and with no explanation offered).
    So a lot happens in this issue, which also features early appearances of the High Evolutionary, his evil creation, the Man-Beast, and the Fantastic Four, Thor, Hulk and The Watcher as seen in flashbacks.
    Feast your eyes on my triple set... isn't it magnificent!?!
    Now if only I can get a pedigree example of Spawn #9.
    Thanks for reading and as always... Happy Collecting!
    SW3D

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  25. SW3D
    My sincerest apologies to the CGC for posting a picture involving a PGX graded comic book, and to anyone else who may take offense, but if it is any consolation, it is my intention to eventually crack it open and submit it to the CGC for grading.
    This journal happens to be my third entry (hence Part III) focusing on the numerous variants published for the Aria/Angela: Heavenly Creatures mini-series, and as I stated in the prior journals, my goal to collect them all. The pair in the picture represents the Gold Edition variants in the series, with the only variable difference being gold foil logos on cardstock covers, with art provided by the main artist of the series, Jay Anacleto.
    I am a big fan of comic book artists, and I come to think of myself as pretty knowledgeable about who's who in the industry. But I will admit, prior to the Aria/Angela series (which I only picked up a year ago), I had no knowledge of Jay Anacleto. Thankfully, Aria/Angela changed all that. What can I say about Jay Anacleto? I met him in 2013 and once again in 2014, both occasions at New York Comic Con. This past October the artist was gracious to sign eight (8) comics for me, one of which is the Gold Edition variant pictured on the right. At the signing, I got the opportunity to browse through a portfolio of his original art he was selling (none of which I could afford on my paltry budget). Of what I can remember, the illustrations were incredibly photo-realistic, dripping with hyper details, making many of the comic book subjects he drew, come to life with eye-popping realism. If I had the money, I would commission a work... probably an image of Angela side-by-side with Adam Warlock. I don't know why, but I keep seeing these two together... maybe it's just wishful thinking.
    In the Aria/Angela mini-series, Jay Anacleto does a brilliant job of making both Aria and Angela seem vividly real... like models torn from the pages of a magazine. And Anacleto does something that no other artist has done before (save JG Jones)... he depicts Angela with blue eyes. JG Jones also did this, coincidentally in the same series, as he is one of a number of artists to provide a variant cover for issue #1. But whereas JG Jones provided just one cover and therefore a single image of Angela, Anacleto illustrates Angela throughout the entire mini-series with soft, glowing, coral blue eyes; "Angelic" would be best to describe them... as a result, it gives Angela a softer tone... perhaps a more human tone... not seen in previous renditions. I believe it's a subtle quality that suits her and would probably make her more accessible to the readership. Perhaps someone from Marvel will read this and take note.
    SW3D

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