oldmilwaukee6er

The price of gold Turn around time (TAT)

Inventory of The Haight-Ashbury Pedigree (Courtesy EggsAckley) NAME OF COMIC ISSUE NO (if given). PRINT (1st unless otherwise noted)

Pedigree- The Haight-Ashbury Pedigree Origin (Medium)- In an article published in 2013, CGC noted that the Haight-Ashbury (H-A) Pedigree is the first-ever CGC-pedigreed collection of vintage underground comix. In articles published in 2013 and again in 2015, CGC notes the following: • These comics were collected by a single individual (original owner or OO) from San Francisco starting in 1970. • After obtaining his first batch of underground comics, the owner started putting aside new books every week for the next five to six years, never reading them. • Although he was not a comic collector, he collected other items and knew it was important to store them carefully. • From 1976 to 1981 the OO added a few comics and associated publications to his collection, but nothing like the early years. • In 2012, the owner came across the books he put away decades ago and decided to sell them. • Howard Greber (AKA Eggs Ackley) contacted the OO and purchased the entire collection. • The 2015 Heritage listings did not offer any further insight into the OO of the pedigree collection. The Heritage listing only offers “From the collection of Howard Greber.” Quality (High)- Heritage’s David Tosh was quoted as saying that “none [other collections] have come close to this one, in terms of condition.” He goes further in noting that “almost all the major keys are here, many in the finest certified condition known to exist.” CGC (2013 & 2015) note that because the comics were so carefully stored (meticulously, says one article), they boast exceptionally rich color, freshness, and “look like they were printed yesterday.” Moreover, Paul Litch, CGC primary grader, commented that “this is a rare and exceptional collection of underground books that has never been seen in such high grade. The pages are in beautiful condition; the covers have bold colors.” Completeness (High)- The H-A Pedigree consists of approximately 523 underground comix and magazines. CGC notes that the collection features an overwhelming majority of first printings with minimal duplication (~89% first print; but see also the list in my next post). As previously noted, “almost all the major keys are present” [There are some NOTABLE exceptions, including reprints of Snatch 1, Zap Comix 1, Mr. Natural, Big Ash, Motor City… i.e. most pre-1970 comix]. Known H-A Pedigree comix: • The Collected Cheech Wizard #nn Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Company and Sons, 1972) CGC NM+ 9.6 Off-white to white pages.... • San Francisco Comic Book #3 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1970) CGC NM 9.4 White pages.... • Snatch Comics #2 First Printing Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Apex Novelties, 1969) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white pages.... • Death Rattle #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Kitchen Sink, 1972) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white to white • The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #1 First Printing - Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1971) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white to w... • S. Clay Wilson Portfolio Comics Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1970) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white to white pages.... • Zap Comix #8 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1975) CGC MT 9.9 Off-white to white pages.... • Motor City Comics #2 First Printing - Haight Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1970) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.... • American Splendor #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Harvey Pekar, 1976) CGC NM+ 9.6 Off-white to white pages.... • Big Comics #2 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1971) CGC NM 9.4 White pages.... • The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #2 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1972) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages.... • Snatch Comics #3 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Apex Novelties, 1969) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white pages.... • Funny Aminals #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Apex Novelties, 1972) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages.... • Zap Comix #3 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Apex Novelties, 1968) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white to white pages.... • Arcade the Comics Revue #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1975) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages.... • Fresno Comix #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Commonwealth Graphics, 1973) CGC NM- 9.2 White pages.... • Zap Comix #4 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Apex Novelties, 1969) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages.... • El Perfecto Comics #nn Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1973) CGC NM 9.4 White pages.... • Zap Comix #7 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1974) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.... • All Stars #2 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Gary Arlington, 1970) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.... • Black And White Comics #nn Haight Ashbury pedigree (Apex Novelties, 1973) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.... • Promethean Enterprises #2 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Promethean Enterprises, 1970) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.... • San Francisco Comic Book #2 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1970) CGC NM+ 9.6 Off-white to white pages.... • The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #4 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1975) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white to white pages.... • Slow Death #2 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Last Gasp, 1970) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages.... • Tortoise and the Hare #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Last Gasp, 1971) CGC NM 9.4 White pages.... • The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #6 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1980) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.... • The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #5 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1977) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white to white pages.... • Garbage Comix #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Krus McDonald, 1973) CGC VF/NM 9.0 White pages.... • The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #7 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1982) CGC NM 9.4 White pages.... • Junkwaffel #2 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1972) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages.... • Junkwaffel #3 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1972) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages.... • The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #3 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1973) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages.... • Graphic Fantasy #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (D. B. Features, 1971) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages.... • Grunt #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Grunt Records, 1972) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.... • Your Hytone Comix #nn Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Apex Novelties, 1971) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white to white pages.... • Facts o' Life Funnies #nn Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1972) CGC NM+ 9.6 Off-white to white pages.... • Junkwaffel #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1971) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white to white pages.... • Snarf #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Kitchen Sink, 1972) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white pages.... • Weird Graphic Fantasy #4 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (D.B. Features, 1973) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white to white pages.... • Artistic Comics #nn Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Golden Gate, 1973) CGC NM 9.4 White pages.... • Slow Death #3 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Last Gasp, 1971) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white to white pages.... • Despair #nn 2nd Printing - Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, No Date) CGC NM- 9.2 White pages.... • Bid Source: Internet • Fantagor #2 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1972) CGC NM- 9.2 White pages.... • Anomaly #4 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Jan Strnad, 1972) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white to white pages.... • Tales from the Tube #1 2nd Printing - Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1973) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white to white pages.... • Underground Comix-Related Book Group - Haight-Ashbury Collection (1970s-2000s).... • Underground Comix, Poster, and Magazine Group of 6 - Haight-Ashbury Collection (c. 1970s).... (Total: 6 Items) Market acceptance (TBD, but expected to be High). The first 47 comix (and two comix lots) were auctioned by Heritage in August 2015, showing very strong results. As of this writing (2015), it is unknown if/when additional books will come to market. ________________________________ References Certified Guaranty Company, LLC (CGC). (2015, July 7). Haight-Ashbury underground comix coming to Heritage Auctions. Retrieved from http://www.cgccomics.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?NewsletterNewsArticleID=3191 CGC. (2013, January 31). CGC recognizes Haight-Ashbury pedigree. Retrieved from http://www.cgccomics.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=3161&

On FOMO / FOLO in soccer and comic books If you read this journal, you may have picked up that I LOVE lurv English Premier League soccer (and have since the late 80s). One of the only podcasts that I listen to religiously is the Guardian’s Football Weekly (http://www.theguardian.com/football/series/footballweekly). I have another friend at the corner spot bar that likes to talk footie and he listens as well. Last night, while doing dishes, I was catching up on the pod when midway I began to identify with the discussion on fear of missing out (FOMO; or fear of losing out FOLO) and football transfers (after Gregg Bakowski; 20:27 mark). “Football just seems to have become a reflection of social media and everybody condenses their judgement to 4 or 5 games, even less than that. And player stock rises and falls given a few good games. And the pressure put onto to clubs by fans to be seen as active in the transfer market.” The argument is… Fans put pressure on soccer clubs to act in the market. The clubs are petrified of missing out to a bigger club (FOMO). This leads to ridiculous prices paid in the transfer market. The inflated transfer market means a £5-6M ‘gamble’ player now costs £14-15M. THIS is the impact of FOMO / FOLO. So, let me see if I can extend the analogy to comics. Speculators, adaptation to other mediums, and the 'This Week on Your Collection' thread put pressure on collectors to act in the market. Collectors are petrified of missing out (FOMO). This leads to ridiculous prices paid in the market. The inflated market means that a $3-5 gamble book now costs $35-75 (e.g. the $75 variant ‘flavor of the week’ or the sudden Devil Dinosaur love) One confounding variable is that BOTH are in a boom market, i.e. the new £5B TV deal for BPL soccer rights or the Zeitgeist-Geek-Con Era, so that is also pushing the market forward. So, what role does FOMO / FOLO play in your collecting, AKA which manager are you? Arsene Wegner? Content to flip through your books and look forward to another year of working with those books? Jose Mourinho? Had your want list ready since April and pizzed that you cannot buy them? Louis Van Gaal? Making panic buys?

Pedigree-esque – The Don Rosa Collection Origin (High)- Keno Don Hugo Rosa, herein Don Rosa, is a comic book writer and illustrator who is well regarded for his award-winning “duck” and Disney stories (mostly Scrooge McDuck or Donald Duck). Rosa has also been recognized as among the first scholars of “fandom,” writing and illustrating columns for major fanzines, such as the “Information Center” in The Rocket's Blast Comicollector (1974-1979), or other features in Comic Buyer’s Guide; formerly The Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom), Comics Journal, & Amazing Heroes (CBP 2008). Don Rosa is also a noted comic book collector who began collecting around 1962. It is said that his collection contains “every comic book and magazine issued from every publisher from 1966 to the late 1980's” (CBP 2008a). Quality (Medium)- “Don Rosa Collection” books typically exhibit tight bindings, sharp corners, deep ink reflectivity, and a fresh newsstand appearance (CBP 2008). Don Rosa comix have graded between 9.0 - 9.6 when slabbed by CGC, with some raw examples in in FN to FNVF range. Completeness (Low)- To date (2008), only “groundlevel” comix like Comix Book or Comix Intl. have surfaced from the “Don Rosa Collection,” however given Rosa’s similar involvement in comics fandom as many UG artists (e.g. early Crumb, Lynch, Williamson, etc.), it is very likely that the collection includes some u-comix. As of this writing (2008), only comics from 1970-present have been released for sale which are dominated by Bronze Age Marvel, DC, Charlton, & Gold Key. Known “Don Rosa Collection” comix: CGC 9.6 Comix Book #2 (1st) Don Rosa @ FN Comix Book #4 (1st) Don Rosa w/ COA FNVF Comix Book #5 (1st) Don Rosa w/ COA VFNM Comix International #2 (1st) Don Rosa w/ COA VFNM Comix International #4 (1st) Don Rosa w/ COA CGC 9.0 Comix International #5 (1st) Don Rosa http://www.pedigreecomics.com/detail.php?issue_id=10002 Market acceptance (Medium - High)- Most(?) of these books were sold through/by Matt Nelson prior to the formation of Comic Conservation Service (CCS). This was around 2007-2008 or so. Each Don Rosa book should include a COA and CGC will include the notation of “Don Rosa Collection” when Rosa books are slabbed (see image link above). ____________________ Comic Book Pedigrees (CBP). (2008a). The Don Rosa collection. Retrieved on February 14, 2008, from http://www.comicpedigrees.com/don-rosa-collection.htm (dead link). @ This copy was briefly listed on Pedigree Comics website & I was able to bid on it. However, for weeks my bid went unanswered and follow-up communications showed that the book was pulled from the website & its whereabouts unknown.

Good point, BrotherJ, and thanks for the comment. Here is a list of the underground comix ‘pedigrees’ or ‘provenances’ that I will be exploring in the coming weeks: Don Rosa Haight-Ashbury Don Schenker (Print Mint) File Copies Fred Todd File Copies IRS Massachusetts I was able to salvage text on the list above and will be re-working it into the format show above and below, e.g. using the four criteria for pedigrees- origin, quality, completeness, and market acceptance. Once the above list is complete, I will look toward the following: Don Donahue File Copies Denis Kitchen File Copies Harvey Kurtzman File Copies Malcolm Whyte Collection Graham Nash Collection Others? However, I do have a slight problem with the Donahue File Copies. My LIMITED research in the mid-2000s demonstrated (to me) that while a small cache of original Donahue Files surfaced on Heritage, at least TWO collectors were able to submit Donahue catalog books directly to CGC AFTER and earn the file copy designation, which dilutes the provenance of a Don Donahue File Copy. For me, Donahue catalog books do not equate to file copies. It will be difficult, however, as I am now 10 years removed from the original research that I did.

Pedigree-esque – The Apex Novelties Collection (sometimes called Mowry salvaged Zaps) Origin (High)- Mowry’s Opera House originally opened in 1879 and was located at the corner of Grove and Laguna Streets. The building had a very colorful history to say the least—it served as a temporary City Hall and Coroner’s Office following the 1906 earthquake and fire, it was a boxing arena, where John Sullivan fought Gentleman Jim Corbett (Fogel 1999), and during the early 1910-20s it served as a popular middle-class nightclub (SF Public Library). The 1960s saw Mowry’s Opera House in decline as “white flight” to sprawling suburbia led to urban exodus. Apex Novelties’ Don Donahue rented loft-space in the old opera house to rock bands, nude dancers, and even Rip Off Press (Kennedy 1982). The precise date of the fire is still a point of contention, but Donahue recalls that it was during the printing of C*nt Comics (c. 1969) that the loft caught fire, a “spectacular blaze” that burned the roof off (Kennedy 1982) and consumed approximately 500 copies of Zap Comix #1 (1st) stored on-site. The “Apex Novelties Pedigree Collection” consists of 12 partially burned copies of Zap Comix #1 (1st) personally salvaged from the Mowry’s Opera House Fire@ by publisher Don Donahue. The cache of Mowry-salvaged Plymells surfaced from Donahue in November 2006 following personal communications with myself.# Quality (Low)- Because the books were salvaged by Donahue after a fire, all books grade CGC 2.5 or below and will exhibit fire and water damage. Completeness (Low)- Only one issue / title is represented, Zap Comix #1 1st print, however, this issue is decidedly key and moderately scarce, with less than 100 total examples in the CGC Census. Market acceptance (Medium Low)- While this pedigree is not recognized by CGC, books can be slabbed and earn universal blue labels despite the damage. Also, the books continue to garner moderate interest past the point of initial sale. Of the 12 discovered, 11 were sold to Michael Carbonaro (Neatstuff Collectibles LLC) around April 2007, with the remaining copy sold to me. The copies were first offered for sale to the public at San Diego Comic Con 2007, and they range from copies that are little more than charred remains, to those that exhibit only tell-tale water damage & scorching at the edges. Each “Apex Novelties Pedigree Collection” Zap Comix #1 (1st) includes a signed certificate of authenticity that includes a brief printing history, description of the fire, and the signatures of the late Don Donahue and Juststopit.DoyouWANTastrike? author Dan Fogel. References Fogel, D. (1999). UG!3K. Hippy Comix, Inc., El Sobrante, CA. 160 pgs. Kennedy, J. (1982). The official underground and newave comix price guide. Boatner Norton Press: Cambridge, MA. ISBN 0960665439S. @ Note that some debate exists over the precise date of the fire. # More info: http://www.comicspriceguide.com/forum2/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=38619 (dead link)

On pedigreed underground comix The strong results for the Haight Ashbury pedigree books had me thinking of the topic of pedigreed underground comix. Is there such a thing as a pedigreed collection of underground comix? For some time in the ‘early-oughts,’ underground comix community debated about the existence of a pedigreed underground comix collection, and this debate continued until the publication of the first Fogel’s underground guide in 2006 (the introduction of the Malcom Whyte Collection). At issue, is whether or not an underground collection would meet the four criteria for a pedigreed collection, which are: Origin- A pedigreed collection must have been accumulated by one individual during the time the comics were released on the newsstand. Quality- A pedigreed collection must primarily consist of high quality comic books. Completeness- A pedigreed collection must contain a substantial number of key or rare issues, or represent a significant portion of a particular genre, company, period, or classic title / character. Market acceptance- CGC and the collecting community must continue to recognize the pedigree name of a collection past the point of initial sale. The hurdles for an underground comix pedigree would be finding an original owner underground collection of an appropriate quality and completeness (generally >500 books) that would earn the CGC designation / market acceptance. Prior to 2006, no u-comix collection had met the designation and since that time only two have met all four criteria- the Malcom Whyte collection (presumably) and the Haight-Ashbury pedigree. So in the mid-oughts, I began to research the concept of ‘pedigree-esque underground comix,’ which are books that have a recognized provenance or books that are part of other recognized pedigrees. When my freewebs account was disabled or the website went tits-up, I thought I lost the information. But nothing is really lost on the deep web. And so with the help of the Wayback Machine search engine, I am able to comb through a few archives of the old site and recapture some of that text. I will be housing / working with the information here in my journal until I find a proper place for it. Also, I hope to build a record of the Haight-Ashbury books (and possibly the Malcom Whyte collection) here.

This tumblr feed still makes me laugh. http://xmenwithgooglyeyes.tumblr.com/ My lady's modern collection is outgrowing her two banker's boxes so I am picking up a new short box to get her stuff organized. When we discovered the X-Men tumblr feed above, I did a bunch of R Crumb w/ googly eye stuff. Found this X-Men book in her stash this morning.

Wow, the book in question CGC 9.8 Death Rattle #1 sold for $1195 with BP. Damn. There are some big results for books that I was not following too... $1700 for CGC 9.6 Cheech Wizard Makes my 9.0 straight from Eggs look mighty tasty Coincidentally, my lady loves this book ("that's mine" she says everytime she sees it). She will be pleased to read of a 9.6 selling for $1700

Plutona #1 (Lemire/Lenox) A little something for the modern spec box... Plutona came on recommendation from my LCS. I have owned Sweet Tooth books in the past, and most recently enjoyed the dark Sweet Tooth tale (“Black”) that was including in Vertigo Quarterly CYMK #4. My LCS guy likes Lemire and I even said “I thought you might recommend this book.” And so paid my $3 and change and on my way. This is the story of five suburban kids who find the body of Plutona, the world's greatest superhero, in the woods one day. ALSO pulled We Stand on Guard #3. Off reg work today, just doing the online bit and so I am cleaning the apt before walking downtown to connect with the lady for the afternoon. ALSO, last night I scored some more ‘corner spot comix’ and I will have them to sort through later tonight.

Lichtenstein’s Head, Red & Yellow This painting is on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of a modern rebel’s installation. Pretty solid slice of modern art for $14. We hit it on a walk along Lake Michigan last week (part of capturing summer thing). Hard to believe that it is September already, though I do love the changing of the seasons. I liked seeing this Lichtenstein up close, see the pencil marks, see the mock zip a tone dots. Good stuff. There was a big Warhol there too, we studied it up close at times- all the repair work; all the overpainting, into the museum early on a WED- like 1030AM just after they opened and we floated around the large elderly groups so as to get up close and personal with many works. Van Gogh to Pollack, including a sweet comic booky Miro. CHECK IT http://mam.org/van-gogh-to-pollock/gallery.php Blanked on Haight Ashbury pedigree So not two weeks after I blow my nut on WWChicago, one of the nicest batch of underground books this side of the countercultural revolution surfaced for sale on Heritage. I suppose I could have paid more attention in retrospect, though I am glad things are working out the way they did. IN SHORT- I subbed my high grade Zap Comix first prints to CGC, thereby locking up some funds but also assuring me back slabbed books back (and high grade u-comix are turning around). ALSO, if I hadn’t subbed the books, I may have gone bigger on pre-slabbed books potentially postponing my own plans further. I think it worked out. BUT I GOT SKUNKED. With BP, I spread around $2400 worth of bids AND LOST EVERYTHING. Some stuff I was interested in, other stuff ‘punish bidding’ a little to protect my own stake in a book (e.g. I paid Metropolis ~$240 for my CGC 9.8 Freak Brothers #5, so I tried to push 9.8s I do not need to 200+ and 9.6s to 150+). ANYways… it was a funny moment with the lady- Me ”So I spread around 2k worth of bids on Haight Ashbury books, but I don’t intend on winning any“ Her ”Really!? You bid 2k and you expect to come home with nothing?” SHE LAUGHED. On FRI when we were bopping around town to two stores (and Recordhead for video games), I was lamenting the losses- recounting how I was slammed at the corner spot and all the while my phone is pinging me with OUT BID notices. I really did think I would bottom feed 1-2 books. Ooooo boy, she loved that, ate it up. Poor me. No money spent. “Don’t you have a bunch of high grade stuff coming back from CGC?” She reminds. ANYways… cannot wait to order up a month of GPAnalysis and see all the new highs, here are the results for what I was losing: The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #1 First Printing - Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1971) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white to w... $900($1,075.50 w/BP) The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #2 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1972) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages.... $550($657.25 w/BP) The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #4 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1975) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white to white pages.... $280($334.60 w/BP) Motor City Comics #2 First Printing - Haight Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1970) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.... $600($717.00 w/BP) Zap Comix #8 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Print Mint, 1975) CGC MT 9.9 Off-white to white pages.... $650($776.75 w/BP) The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #5 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1977) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white to white pages.... $220($262.90 w/BP) The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #6 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Rip Off Press, 1980) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.... $260 ($310.70 w/BP) Zap Comix #4 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Apex Novelties, 1969) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages.... $380 ($454.10 w/BP) Zam Zap Jam #1 (Print Mint, 1974) CGC NM 9.4 White pages.... $110($131.45 w/BP) Zap Comix #8 (Apex Novelties, 1975) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white to white pages.... $150($179.25 w/BP) The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #4 (Rip Off Press, 1975) CGC NM/MT 9.8 Off-white to white pages.... $130 ($155.35 w/BP) Snarf #1 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Kitchen Sink, 1972) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white pages.... $90($107.55 w/BP) Zap Comix #3 Haight-Ashbury pedigree (Apex Novelties, 1968) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white to white pages....$440($525.80 w/BP) ASIDE- Crazy that Spawn.com is dead I mean I was complaining about not being able to buy a shirt and now see that the website has been killed. That just seems crazy to me. Of course, I have liked Spawn since the start, but SERIOUSLY Image (as a whole) needs to step up its merchandising plan for its creators (beyond The Walking Dead). RANT- I despise the new McFarlane website design so hard.

Two Spawn Ts Last FRI I had a blast taking the rest of my corner spot money and hitting up two comic book stores to scour for dollar books. I hit Vortex ($1 boxes) and Lost World (50c). I bought 7 Usagi books, including 4 1st print copies of #10 (xover with TMNT). I also picked ANOTHER Outliers #1 (2012) for 50c! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!? I drooled over one and now I own 2 for $1.50. This new copy does have a UPC style sticker on the back and so perhaps this was sold to retailers as well as KICKSTARTER. It is a little nicer condition sans the sticker on the dustcover. Still, cool book. ALSO stopped by an air brushed T shirt place round about 56th and North Ave. I showed them some images of Spawn and ordered up a T ($60) with a design akin to issue #1. For that price, I also asked for some detailing on the sleeve, something in acid green. Spawn is not really merchandised (for example, one cannot buy a T-shirt at www.spawn.com **Ed there is no spawn.com anymore try http://mcfarlane.com/) and so Spawn shirts, outside of fan art Red Bubble, have been tough to come across, or so I thought. I posted the following on Facebook Commissioned an airbrushed Spawn comic T-shirt from Air It Up on North Ave with the last of my Allium tip money. The guys were positive about it and I am excited, because Spawn.com does not sell shirts or license them. ‪#‎spawn‬ ‪#‎comicTshirt‬ And our own BrotherJ came right back with a response: Did you not check eBay? I was floored! Of course, eBay for perhaps some bootlegged stuff. Super sweet Spawn shirts. However, there is one catch… they all appear to be Asian styling and so very small. I tried an XL allover Deadpool shirt at WWChicago, just like the ones sold here, and it was tight. In addition, to get the larger sizes it costs more- as they come from Poland, UK & Taiwan (the Polish ones are the coolest, but cost around $50USD shipped). And so… double down? Or gamble on my airbrushed one? Well, I doubled down. I bought the $18 Taiwanese shirt in 3XL (just in case; normally I wear XL). Haha SPOON it can always sleep in it if it comes too large (which I doubt). It should be here by 9/23 and my new airbrush will be done tomorrow WED, in time for new comic book day!

Good thoughts... in the end I did not spec on HHFT and I am kinda glad. Good book, but I missed at every level and to buy in now is not my style. I dig Fight Club 2 so far but definitely hear you on the story lagging a little- there are other books I read first by far (FC is pretty much a spec books for me).

Strategy is constant Last THURS we were in an all-day meeting for work. Mostly I took journal notes (avid note taker, being a visual learner), but I did jot down the following that I will be applying to my own collecting philosophy for 2016. Strategy is constant; it is not something that you look at once per year or even once per Quarter. Because the situation and inputs are always changing, so one’s strategy should be a CONTINUOUS PROCESS and one’s GOALS should align to the strategy. Basically STRATEGY informs GOALS determines PROJECTS that consist of ACTIVITIES. That gives one a way to break down larger goals into daily activities. I suspect the most focused of you readers out there already do this inherently. I will have to start doing this stuff deliberately for 2015-2016.

More curation The other night I had a blast closing out the weekend pulling books out of my file cabinet (depleted after several raidings, the latest being the 23 or so books to Sarasota) and into a ‘freshie’ magazine box. I do love the curation process most of all, the review of the books and finding treasures forgotten or lost. Re-bagging and boarding. I am also eyeing another 20 or so Freak Brothers 1st printing books for CGC sometime just after the holidays (perhaps January). It is always so much fun discovering new / old items, e.g. I found a vintage “Dirty Disney” (Wally Wood) handbill of poster as well as a vintage Robert Williams marijuana baggie “header card.” Just cool, cool mess you do not see every day. NSFW Dirty Disney by Wally Wood (but >45yrs old) Robert Williams MJ baggie 'header card' c. 1970 On Crumb Found a lot of Crumb, and yet some big gaps too. My Crumb collection at this point represents some 10+ years of grinding eBay and local cons to put together first print books. It is tough, classic eBay grind, one can buy a book 4 times before you ACTUALLY get the book and grade. Plus NOT A LOT of Crumb stuff, quality Crumb stuff has been surfacing on eBay and for a spell CGC underground books were beat down. Local cons sell Crumb and so the best prices can be yielded locally and shipping overseas. Other countries buy Crumb, to be sure. Some Crumb I will always hold on to- Zap, Mr. Natural #1, Motor City 1-2- these books are just too difficult to find over time. I NEVER found a single copy of BIG #1 1st print, not in the wild and not one that I could afford on eBay. I pretty much abandoned that search. In the past I have written that, I think pre Mr. Natural #1 Crumb books will outpace those 1972 or after, as 1971-2 seems to be the year that underground comix hit mainstream and Crumb BLEW UP (multiple printings, or caches of books like Don Donahue). Although the modern Crumb books (he published a lot in the 1990s) will increase, the VALUE proposition is in pre-1971 Crumb work (before his mess was reprinted so quickly it became indistinguishable, e.g. Uneeda Comix).

The Wednesday One (8/26) This week was all about the usual pulls, and my WED bled to THURS before I made the local comic store (LCS). My pulls last week were Spawn #255, which is now the highest legacy numbered title in publication. Make no mistake, Todd McFarlane is definitely eyeing #300, the mark for independent titles set by Sim’s Cerebus (300 issues). The other pull last week was Munchkin #8, the lady’s favorite and she took it and was running off giggling and reading it on the bed (a scene in itself). FINALLY, I pulled Fight Club #4, a spec book of sorts, but also one that we are run collecting together. I ALSO picked up a new magazine box, as I had some organizing to do.

A lesson in FOLO or boys collect, men invest After the rush of a major comic con, there is always the post con low, especially when it signifies the start of the academic year. SUN was another lovely day of cool weather, English Soccer, disc golf, and old fashioned Milwaukee beer gardens. I have been blessed to have a light summer with my lady, a rarity to be sure, a mini retirement of sorts. But that is coming to an end. As such, we are beginning to plan our last 1.5 weeks together and making out summer bucket list. At the top are the outdoor beer gardens that began to pop-up in Milwaukee about 2 years ago. Nothing like crushing a nice round of disc golf and quaffing a 1.0L of fine dark German beer- all in a climate poised to win in just about any global climate change scenario. There are other things on the list- today we walked to the Milwaukee Art Museum and down to the public market for a lobster roll and then along the Riverwalk back to the apartment. Just under 20k steps and lovely all day. Tomorrow I am pulling a double with in-service all day and then my shift at the corner spot (last shift!). I suppose now is the time to discuss why I desire an ASM1, but I listed my previous goal as a Amazing Fantasy 15. For a while, I have wanted an AF15 like book, and I remember the moment when that thought started to weigh on me. It was c. 2002 or so, living in Louisiana, and I had just launched back into comics full bore. I saw a small Maxim or Men’s Health article that stated something akin to BOYS COLLECT, MEN INVEST. And it had a small pic of AF15 and the brief article prompted one to ‘sell your collection and buy the best copy of AF15 you can afford.’ WOW… sage advice. At the time, and for some time after, an AF15 was within reach of many comic collectors. However, that has changed (at least for me). And I lost out. Now, as I age, I want to make certain that IF something PREMATURE should happen, I do not leave a burden behind for my lady. After 3 cross-country moves and slowly selling, donating, and discarding long boxes, I want to curate, specialize, and diversify into some ‘more liquid books’ than my specialist, genre-specific books. And AF15 represented a move in that direction, a move toward blue chip books. But I lost out, and so my focus shifted toward ASM1. In reality, it is the fear of losing out (FOLO) that pushes me toward ASM1. I missed out on AF15 before the geek-Con boom, and if I am not careful I may well miss out on ASM1 too, i.e. get priced out. However, I believe I have an ASM1 in my collection(!!), I just have to ‘find it’ (meaning grind my doubles, drek, etc. & reinvest that money). In fact, most of us have an ASM1 in our collection, OR WHATEVER GRAIL WE WANT, if we take the time to find it- i.e. curate, specialize, and downsize.

What the heck is a guy named Oat Willy doin' on variant Team Slippers? Natch. Get back to collecting undergrounds!

Hey Brother J, thanks for the comment! I usually see this book at WWChi and there were two copies again on FRI (the other being a CGC 7.0). Typically, this book is only found in FNVF or less and priced at $300+. I suppose I justified the price as part of the package ($130 for all) and based on the above. In the end it is an undercopy & will be eye-candy for when I set up at local cons. Generally, I like SF1 as a long-term investment over others in the series. FINALLY, you and I are alike in the sense that if it catches our eye, it is generally a pretty good deal (though your patience is commendable).

The GRRL's SUPPLEMENT- WWChicago 2015 Con Report **unedited** General complaints: o 4.50$ for a bottle of soda at the small vending, but if you wait in line you can get it for 3.50$? Robbery! o Strollers should be outlawed. o Designating the atrium as the professional cosplayer area makes for some serious congestion. You either have to be rude and cut through photos or stop and wait. You can’t really go around because everyone’s getting pictures taken. o On the first floor (I didn’t go to the second floor), more seating would be nice, especially since this year seemed more open floorspace-wise than in previous years. Sometimes you need to sit rearrange your stuff o Having to raise your hand to show your band feels really lame. Someone commented it was like being in a cult. General praises: o Re-entry is a godsend when you have bought more stuff than you can carry o Allowing us to bring in our own food/drink is awesome o The increase in beverage vending spots this year was nice (both adult and the aforementioned $4.50 kiosks) o Getting deals at nearby restaurants because you have a wristband is aces (the crème brulee at Gibson’s was divine) o Putting the autograph area on its own floor was really nice because those lines really gum up the works o Ditto with putting the arcade on the second floor. I don’t need any distractions when I’ve got my shopping agenda. Plus, it cuts down on the number of people on the first floor. o The panels look good and if I was going for more than one day, I’d probably attend a few Cosplay was light this year overall. But we were there on a Friday so it’s possible the good stuff was happening Saturday. Superheroes were noticeably far and few between. A few more supervillains (Scarecrow and Jokers were the most common) o A few Harley Quinns (not as many as in the past) and Catwomen, 4 Banes (one Christopher Nolan, 1 Batman and Robin, 2 old school), quite a few Deadpools, Spider-Men, a lot of Jedi, a few Han Solos, 1 bikini Leia, far fewer Dr. Who (more Tardis/Dalek tank dresses, fewer corsets/steampunk), hardly any steampunk cosplayers at all, Ash Catchem was popular, especially with women cosplaying him (but not in a feminized/sexual way, just women dressing as Ash Catchem), a few Alice/Malice in Wonderland no Mad Hatters, Cheshire Cats, White Rabbits o Firefly/Serenity cosplay was not present at all (last year there were a lot of Mal’s, Kaylee in the pink dress, Jaynes) o A few Ash Williams (make sense since Bruce Campbell was there) o Definite uptick in the number of Arrows o No real surprise but Chromeboys were popular o I saw at least two Zantannas o Delightfully absent were zombies (are we done with that trend yet) o Also missing were the super sexualized women costumes. Even ones that were sexy weren’t as tacky as years past. I didn’t even see any booth babes this year. o Video game cosplay was scant with Mario and crew being the most common followed by Assassin’s Creed (Ezio, Altair, Connor in order of popularity) and Minecraft. No Fallout, No Bioshock, No Half Life, No Halo (all common in the past) o Best crew was a tie to a Marioland group and a group of Chromeboys with a pregnant Immortan Joe bride o My personal favorite was a woman Loki hanging out with a Maleficient (complete with wings and horns), and an Aurora o Second best crew was an impromptu encounter between Venom, Carnage, and Spider-Man out in front of the convention center o One crew was dressed as Inside Out (I think). Really they were just painted primary colors but one woman had a blue wig on and so I think that’s what they were dressed as o More costumes this year seemed purchased (such as mine) and not as many homemade. o Little kids were split between Spider-Men costumes and Wedge Antilles X-Men were nearly non-existent in terms of merchandise and cosplay (I saw maybe three Wolverines—Hugh Jackman leather jacket and jeans version--and one Cyclops) Star Wars t-shirts were hands down the most common t-shirts worn by those not in cosplay attire Doctor Who and Harry Potter continue their decline in terms of merchandise and cosplay but suddenly Supernatural and Vampire Diaries are incredibly popular in terms of merch (hard to tell with cosplay since both shows are basically pretty people in regular clothes doing stuff) LOTR and Games of Thrones were all but invisible in terms of merch Elf ear cuffs are very popular with no fewer than 4 jewelry vendors selling them; alumninum link jewelry is in a boom phase as I counted no fewer than 6 vendors specializing in it; jewelry prices remain stable and pretty reasonable There were more hardcore steampunk vendors this year which is odd since there were so few cosplayers; 2 designated corset dealers and another 3 that sold corsets along with hats, gauntlets, skirts, goggles, masks, et; 2 designated hat vendors So many weapon dealers (even if not actual weapons). I counted 4 dedicated booths selling varieties of swords, knives, switchblades; there was also at least one guy selling what I hope were Air Soft guns and not real guns, but I could be wrong Funko vinyl toys are the new beanie babies (my husband’s words, not mine). When I bought a Robot Devil a guy next to me wanted to know what I was going to do with it and when I said “Open it and put it on my desk” he went apoplectic. Probably the single most common merchandise after t-shirts are these little guys. I’m guilty of buying 3 myself: R2D2, the aforementioned Robot Devil, and Ezio o I also think it’s hilarious that one booth has them at $10 and others have them as high as $25. They are not investment pieces, people! The giant tattoo section with 20 artists was really interesting and had I known I may have partook of it, but it took up a huge amount of real estate which leads me to the following observation There seemed to be even more vendors that have nothing to do with popular culture: o two soda companies, the large designer nail booth, a booth selling eyeglasses, Ameriprise, Lasik surgery; a psychic; the exotic meat jerky guy o A lot of booths were taken up with odd things like designer contacts, henna, facepainting, hairstyling, the lightup t-shirt/hat/tie/whatever booth T-Shirt prices are getting ridiculous. When $20 is the cheapest you can find, that’s a problem. I didn’t see a single $10 or $5 place and those used to be so reliable Maybe because they changed the layout again (there was a smaller vendor area that I called the Dead Zone that I don’t even think people knew existed) and because there were so many random vendors, it seemed like there was less to look at o No Superheroes Stuff, Threadless, or Mighty Fine or at least not noticeable enough in the shadow of the juggernaut that is Stylin’ o Artists’ Alley felt like there fewer visual artists and there were more authors pimping out their books and jewelry makers. o Felt like fewer indie writers/authors were offering comic books/graphic novels o Artists’ Alley also had a number of empty booths, more than I’ve seen in the past Never before have I heard so many vendors complain about being “cleaned out” on Thursday. Several were hoping for reups on Friday to get them through the weekend but they were sweating it. Vendor complaints of not having enough merch, the sparse feel to the overall layout, the proliferation of non-pop culture vendors, and the continuing homogenizing of the vendors (something I pointed out last year) all begs the question: Is Wizard World’s aggressive con schedule (22 in 2015, 9 of which were new cities; 17 scheduled for 2016 so far with 7 of those being new cities) taking its toll? o Additionally does Wizard World’s aggressive schedule actually improve the scene for smaller cons? I’m thinking of the success that Mighty Con in Milwaukee/Madison/N. Illinois has had in the past few years despite a WW being added to Madison, an Awesome Con added to Milwaukee, and a Fantasticon. Do cosplayers go to spend money or go to be seen? Wizard World is not a con like Dragon Con or Gen Con or the Anime Cons where cosplayers go to spend money on their costumes, it’s predominantly a comic book con so are a lot of cosplayers a problem? It’s clear that the celebrity/autograph component is what sells. I once again thank Wizard Chicago for separating that mess from the vendors/comic book dealers. Are we about to experience con fatigue where only the entertainment/celebrity portion thrives and the pop culture and comic books go back underground or more local?

The final push After finding a few comix and spreading some money throughout the room, my wife and I like to walk the floor together the last hour or so. She sees the con through a different lens and so I like to make sure I allow time to see the con through her eyes. Typically, this is also when we make any last minute purchases, such as Ts or hoodies or the like. I shopped T shirts, but really my heart is in finding a Spawn T shirt. With the exception of the Walking Dead, Image seems very poor at licensing. One example, go to spawn.com and try and find a T shirt. Ridiculous. I mean seriously, I get that ‘you’re a collection of artists’ and ‘you don’t do licensing well,’ but nut up, hire a lawyer, and put some swag out there for your properties. ANYways, one of these days I will hire a local airbrush / spraypaint artist and have them ‘Spawn me up’ a white T. I believe my lady will cover it in her Con Supplement (I ask her to write her observations each year for the past 3-4 as a foil to my own), but we were hunting X-Men swag a little because we have a theory that X-Men stuff, with the exception of some small uptick around Age of Apocalypse, will be in short supply until Marvel returns the property to full ownership. We subscribe to the theory that Marvel is deliberately tanking X-Men & Fantastic Four in an attempt to fully re-secure the properties. Thankfully, this mutant hate does not seem to be translating to the comics or the back issue market. I only hope that trend continues. After lookie-looing some the main T shirt vendors (and I wanted a new graphic hat), we did buy a few items from one of them (not sure, was not Stylin Online). My lady bought two shirts and some yoga pants, while I picked up a Black Panther T for a friend. They worked a deal for the three Ts and they threw in my Revenge of the Jedi for me. As I said before, I have wanted a knock-off for comparison sake for my original purchase. ALL THAT SAID, I did not buy a single T shirt this year, which diverges form years past. Eventually, I would go back to Stylin and pop on a simple Deadpool hat with a B&W graphic bill. Happy with that purchase, even if I do not collect Deadpool anymore. That’s just me funning as part of the zeitgeist. After that, we perused Artist Alley. Actually, we made our second pass through. I brought a Garbage Pail Kids blank cover and a GPK variant by Dean Haspiel (Dino), in the hopes of securing a commission. However, as has CLEARLY been established, I got lost along the way. I did stop by his booth about 5pm and introduced myself, expressed a sincere fondness for his work, and learned that there were two commissions in front of me. We chatted cordially about his collaborations with Harvey Pekar, his work on American Splendor, The Fox (I buy for my nephew; and scored that $2 graphic novel), & his recent work on GPK (me explaining that the underground has a rich connection to the underground comix movement). He said check back in an hour ~6PM, and we did and saw that he was finalizing the first of the two commissions (and I knew that it would not happen for me). So after checking in with him, I purchased a lovely Fox con sketch ($50) and a round of drinks for us all. As we drank, I brought out my GPK Love Stinks variant cover by Dean and he began signing and throwing books at me! Amazing guy! I only wish I had planned better and had him sketch a “Disgusting Justin” GKP cover. I’ll hold that book for a future sketch opportunity. Here was my haul from Dino- GPK Love Stinks Dino variant. He signed this book for me and explained to us how he initially drew Trish black but that IDW made him change her to white. True story. Billy Dogma. This is his self-published book and he made certain I took home a copy. Excited to acquaint myself with his work here. TWD #1 Raleigh Con variant! The more we chatted, the more he put on the pile (even signed one of his trading cards) and this one was well received. He tossed it on the pile and stated “sell this one on eBay.” We laughed. This one is going to the nephew when he is of age (he is only 7 now). After that, we were down to our last. My wife reminded me that a steampunk friend was in artist alley (James Lacroix) and so we sought him out and spent our last on prints to support his cause. A great day capped with a glorious feast at Gibson’s- steak, a twice baked potato, and mushrooms – washed down with a double Jameson / coke back (with a free crème brule dessert with proof of con attendance). Awesome. After digesting and basking in the events of the day, we limped back to the Brew City by about 1030PM. Next up I will share the GRRL’s CON SUPPLEMENT as a foil to my own perspective.

After the meet-up and more grinding, I plucked the following books for 50% off from Nationwide Comics / Terry’s Comics. The total was $325 and I paid $160. We d*ckered for like 10 seconds (one exchange- me suggesting a small stack discount, they stating the books are already half off) before I realized it was FOOLISH to argue over $10 and paid my money. Radical Amerika Komiks Vol 3 #1 (1st); A publication of the Madison, WI, chapter of the Student Demographic Society, this represents Wisconsin’s first underground comix (precedes Mom’s Homemade #1 by a few months). Easy NM. Mom’s Homemade Comics #3 (1st). I see this book all the time. Happy to add this nice VFNM copy to my collection. Now I just need a lovely #2. Mother’s Oats Comix #1 (2nd). Took a chance on this stunning early Rip Off Press book; red logo; stated 1st print on BC; but it has the black over blue word balloon that marks it a likely 2nd per the FUGG15. This is why one should always carrying an underground guide, even if it does take up precious real estate in the backpack! Zap Comix #3 (1st; heavy cover stock). Damn, another stunning NM or better book. If I had this one at the start of the day, it would be at CGC awaiting a plasti-tomb. This is my best book of the day! ALSO, I found X-Men 102 & 121 for the chef. No pics because I went down to the corner spot last night and presented them myself. The 102 was VGFN and the 121 was VF or better. I was happy to pay $70 for the pair, having struggled to find both books in a lower, more affordable grade. I texted my buddy and he was ecstatic (though he now speaks of going after GSXM and 94-99 to round out his run).

Basking in a glorious ‘con-over’ Ahh the con hangover… The money is gone and the ache of 30k steps, hunching over long boxes for hours. and twisting one’s body to squeeze in alongside the mundanes begins to set it. Also, the dehydration from neglecting the body in favor of comics must be corrected and of course, one must BASK in the GLORY of the HAUL (Valhalla witness me- shiny and chrome!). The day after a nice con I like to do nothing. Sans recover, bask in the new ‘mics, scan them, and reflect on my experiences. And so that is what I will do! ALSO-watch English soccer (my fave thing to do on ANY Saturday). After CGC, I began my normal routine- and my routine is underground comix from the 1960-70s. I also really do enjoy Usagi Yojimbo and I have added 3 action figures to my want list (Space Usagi, one by Antarctic Press & the 2004 relaunch figure). Therefore, I hit more toy displays than in year’s past. Finally, I was also on the lookout for X-Men 102 & 121 for my friend the chef, as they are the last two issues of his 100-200 run (we will not read em until he has all 100 issues and can read them straight through). I worked 100-400 aisles until 4pm and then 400 through the rest of the show from about 430-7pm. Typically we meet up twice during the show and during our first meet up at 4pm we shuttled swag to the car so we could enjoy the remainder of the show less encumbered. So I worked 100 to 400 systematically, crisscrossing the long aisles. My approach is usually the same, scan the signage, scan the wall, and ask after undergrounds. My first fruitful stop was a booth were most everything was $2. I picked 4 TPBs- Lenore Wedgies; The Fox- Freak Magnet; Twisted Sisters 2 (collection of the feminist underground comix of the same name), & Forgotten Realms EXILE (Drizzt DoUrden). I also plucked VGFN copies of Black Panther $4-14 as a gift for a friend. STOCKED UP first stop. And on I worked. The next fruitful stop was Comic Cellar, a dealer from CA and someone who always has 1-2 short boxes of u-comix, along with the odd nice wall book. I plucked this Robert Crumb American Greetings (Hi Brow) greeting card for $16. Before Crumb inspired an avant garde & outsider art movement in comic form with the publication of Zap Comix #1 1st in 1967, he drew this cards for the Cleveland, OH, company. I like how this card has his art inside and out. A nice find. After, I broke the ice with the dealer, he pulled out a few nicer undergrounds behind the table. I ended up taking the following 3 books for $130 San Francisco Comix #1 (1st and only); A nice presenting VG copy w/ bongwater, resin stain on BC. Even though this is an undercopy for me, I just could not pass it up for $100. Freak Brothers #10 (1st; $2.25 cover; full color interior); a stunner (!); would not hesitate to call this NM+ and I rarely do that Kanned Korn Komix (promo); this book was included with the first pressing of Canned Heat’s Future Blues album c. 1970. I have the album; now I can marry the two. This book is signed on the interior by guitarist Larry Taylor. After that, I had more luck with toys for a spell… but did get skunked on MOC Usagi Yojimbo action figures. So, I picked some TMNT loose figure bins and plucked an ‘89 Usagi & a ‘91 Space Usagi ($3ea; no accessories). I also picked 2 Heroclix for a friend. He plays only black characters (his team is the Black All Stars) and so I found him 2 decent ones (65-85pts) for like $2.5ea. Nice guys at that booth. They helped me dig last year and did so again (and always seem to produce the cards too).