Shadow

Very sad. I won one of his Raffle prizes a few years back. We communicated a bit about that. RIP

OK, this year my raffle prize is heavy JLA. 5 Bronze Age Justice League books (#109 8.5ish, #119 and #120 VG 4.0, 121 and 122 8.0ish), all 7 issues of JLA Incarnations, JLA Our Worlds at War #1, all 12 issues of JLA Year One, and all 6 issues of Secret Six (2006). The more modern books should be 9.2 or better.

I think I stopped buying X-Men in the 170's when I was younger. When I started collecting again in 1994, X-Men seemed to daunting to collect as they were all over the place with multiple titles, etc. I ended up buying up to the 300's for the heck of it. I got hooked on X-Men before the hype started. I think it was issue #107 that a friend of mine had. Followed by the Claremont/Byrne run. (I liked Wolverine before Wolverine was cool. - sound like the old guy...)

I've done that at times with small batches. Case in point: DC Superstars, Superteam Family, Champions, etc. Just decided to get the rest. Usually it's Bronze Age for me.

I was fortunate to get a GS X-Men #1 from October before the COVID lift off in prices. Funny I used to think the reprints before #94 wouldn't be worth anything... Haven't put them on my list because they don't really register with me. I have about 15 of the Silver Age (prior to #65) still on my list. Grade is what holds me back. I remember Bob Storms telling me to only get the ones from the 20's on up in at least 9.2.

I'm in. I'll have to see what I have.

Only a handful are graded. Vast majority are just bagged and boarded. Most are 9.2 or better in my estimation. I culled any less than 9.0 on the journey. (I learned how to grade better in my 19 years here... ) The journey is the best part. May seem frustrating at times but once it's done, you're kind of like "what next?" Maybe when I get old and it will be time to sell someone may value having the complete sets?

It’s funny how the time goes by. I never thought it was 25 years. As a kid, I loved the Spider-Man treasury that reprinted some of those MTU issues. Loved the Band on the Run homage cover and X-Men in it. And that started the inspiration roots I guess.

Found the last two issues of Marvel Team Up I needed this weekend. Now I have the entire 150 book set plus Annuals. Three weeks ago I finally found #15 with Ghost Rider and this weekend I finished up with #24 and #27. Looking in my Excel I realized I started this journey back in 1998 with #53 because the X-Men were in it. Hit some large issue hauls over time. (Thanks Greggy and his Raffle prize in 2015! He also put me on the path to wrap up Marvel Two-In-One...) The Completionist Curse is strong in this one... oy. So, MTU joins my full sets of Justice League of America (and the 3 B&B's), Conan the Barbarian, original 1970's Swamp Things and other smaller runs. (Not sure X-Men 94 - 300 counts...) Thanks for letting me share as their aren't many people who "get it" as we do here! Original What If series is in sight along with Invaders, Champions, Batman Family, etc. Unless I win the lottery, series that won't make it are adding all the X-Men Silver Age as #1 is out of my price range, World's Finest, FF... I have a number of runs in each so building on those will have to keep me content.

Where's that Time Machine when you need it...

I'm in! A great tradition here where we can share our enjoyment of the hobby!

I think this is pretty interesting. There are no 8.2's etc. Some of the differences between the .2's is very hard to find IMO. But what do I know...

I traveled to the Baltimore Comic Con for the first time this year. Basically I had heard it was more pure comics and artists vs celebrities. I was impressed though the layout threw me a bit so it slowed me down plus I missed some dealers as we had a 7+ hour drive home. (Sorry no pictures as I never think about it. But thanks to 1Cool, you don't need any as he did a fantastic job!) First off, I took my daughter and two of my closest friends who live in DC now. We all started collecting back in 1978. We all quit in the mid-80's with college. (I relapsed into my comic addiction in 1994...) Bob Storms is always one of my stops and brought some great books I was looking for. He let me take my friends back in the booth so I could show them what some stuff from our youth was worth now. Bob is the best grader in the business that I've encountered. Trust his grading. I also stopped by Bedrock City and bought some nice FF's. Always nice and sometimes run into them at C2E2. Got a lot of signed prints (Starlin, Hughes, Staton, Jose Garcia Lopez, Frank Cho) plus a signed Hildebrant book focused on LOTR. Last, but not least, I met Greggy in person. I introduced myself, talked a little shop, he pointed out Murph's booth so I bought a few books there. Thanked him again for winning his Raffle circa 2016. Since Motor City is a shell of it's past self, it's nice to go to a show like this. Probably needed to be by myself and more time (and cash) to really dive into it.

Life well lived. I always found his art work solid, reliable, good with drawing people. I can’t think of any of his work that was less than very good to great, no “mail in’s” I can recall. His character designs quietly set the future table at Marvel.

Wrightson Swamp Things! I also have the original run. Loved the first 10 issues story and art

Langes

For me I have: full run of Justice League of America plus the three Brave and the Bolds X-Men 94 to 300 entire Conan the Barbarian Avengers 119 to 255 all original 1970’s Swamp Things Im about 6 issues shy of all Marvel Team Ups

So, I bought this on a whim at the Motor City Comic Con a week ago. Thought it would be a NM 9.2 but the crease at bottom corner has a bit of color break (and I wasn't wearing my readers at that moment - note to my older self...lol) I like Roger's brief run on Detective as they tie into when I started collecting around 1978. This morning I opened it up to find two signatures inside. I believe they are Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin's. Pretty cool! Since not witnessed, no idea if they add to value? But I like it no matter what.

As this is where we house all the group's talented work here, this was my latest. Currently at the printer for some prints to be made for my nephews. (Sorry for sideways. Not that way on my PC.) Thanks for letting me share. I'm wrestling with doing another FF one next.

Thanks for the pictures. I went today and found it to be still on the path of a shadow of its former glory. I go every year for the past 29. For comics, this show is really like most local shows that are also cheaper to get into. Once the bigger guys like Bob Storms, Dale Roberts, Superworld, Motor City (for god's sake it was there show), etc stopped coming it really slipped. I still enjoyed myself and found the best deals at Langes (which is normal even at their Muskegon Mall stores). I'm a sucker and optimist for these shows so I'll still go. One thing I do enjoy is just picking up some books not on my list at these smaller shows. Example would be Collector's Zone and the $5 bins. If it reminds me of growing up in the 70's and early 80's, my nostalgia kicks in and I'll buy a few. I did get some books on my list (5 in all - nothing too expensive) and I bought some upgrades. Highlights for me are Conan #15 w/ Elric (upgrade), GS Captain Marvel #1 in a really nice shape, A Roger's Detective #473 (que up the late 70's nostalgia), Man Thing #5 (also nostalgia as I owned the Power Record as a kid. I think it was a Marvel Horror Series as I had Werewolf by Night record, Frankenstein and Tomb of Dracula.), Super-Villain Team-Up #1 and House of Secrets #140 with Patchwork Man (Swamp Thing #3 nostaligia...). Also picked up a nice West Coast Avengers #45 for the heck of it. I wasn't able to make C2E2 this past Spring and I'm really tempted to drive to Baltimore in September for that show. I've heard great things about it. Comic guest list has some of my favorites still with us like Jose Garcia Lopez, Hildebrant, Arthur Adams, etc. Plus some of the bigger dealers.

Spot on

I enjoyed it. Slow build but wrapped me up before mid-stream

Great points! I will look at exhibitors and artists ahead of time. Wear comfortable shoes I tend to scout first. Try to find some unique dealers. My trusted go-to’s are Bob Storms and Dale Roberts at bigger shows. I will usually research their websites prior and ask them to bring some books. Bob is excellent at doing that and one of the best graders I know. Bring cash with a budget in mind. Don’t be tempted to exceed with credit cards Want Lists keep me on course but I will by lesser price BA books on a whim.

Never met him but the Community creates a connection. Condolences to his family and friends

If any of you do artwork, sometimes you get stuck. Similar to my collection, I have a "completionist's curse". I was working on a Batman and Villains drawing but was stuck for almost a year. There was another idea in my head regarding JLA vs Legion of Doom, Darkseid, etc. So I pulled the Batman off the drawing board and went to work on this one. Pretty much flowed out and didn't take me long. Thought of Perez and his way to incorporate some nay characters. (Poor man's version...) Black & white version plus the final colored one. As always, thanks for letting me share it here! Sorry for the sideways pictures! They are normal view in my PC...