Ira K

This was one I decided a while back that I wanted to commission.  Here is the original book that I sent to Ash Gonzales. 

We had several discussions about what I would like to have done to this book, placement, etc and I sent the book to him to work on. The full process took roughly a year. I recieved several messages with updates and pictures throughout the process.  Here are some of those. 
It made it to CGC and actually went through the grading really quick. ( my only issue is that somewhere it picked up a couple "pressable defects "

which I think is just CGC trying to force CCS increase, but with this being oil paint on a glossy cover I didn't want to chance it lifting any of the beautiful artwork off.)  
Still I am extremely happy to have this one back with any major QC issues. Without further ado here is the final result. Note that this looks even better in hand and that I could not get the scanner glare to go away. 

 

Wombat is such a great guy for gifting me this, and this book will never leave my collection.  Autographed by the Master Frank Frazetta. 

When I sent my first package to CGC way back in early January, I had no idea how much things would change because of this pandemic.   Both Marvel and DC have canceled titles as well putting remaining issues of titles on digital format...which I don't do.  My comic pull list has decreased alot which is sad.  I find myself wondering which will be the next set of comic books that I will want to preserve a tad longer than just boarding/bagging them.  It has become a crazy world.  The following picture are the grade results.  I am happy with the grades, the one thing I am surprised was Superman 1, I thought for sure that it would come back as off-white pages because I thought the interior pages where somewhat similar to the yellow color on the title page but I was wrong, no problem with 9.6 with white pages.  I find it cool that my Birds of prey which was part of a mini-series ends up being the only 9.6 on the census hahahahaha.  The picture shows the before and after when my slab was register into the census.   Now the next set will be exciting because it will the signature signings coming back which will be sometime this summer maybe?? or fall?   I do expect some low grades on some of those comics because of the condition of the books, it is what it is. Catch you later.

Thor God of Thunder #1 (2nd Print) signed by Jason Aaron 

Another book with Neal Adams cover work that I picked up on ebay today. Issue 233 is regarded as the classic Superman Adams cover, but I like this one just as well. And a beautiful looking 9.4 at that. Enjoy.

This was the second book I won in the last Comic Link auction, along with the ASM 71. Yet another Neal Adams cover, but interior work also. The purchase of these auction wins will be my last one for a while. I'm now on lay off from my job due to the Covid -19 crisis. I don't know how much of an impact this will have on the collecting industry, except to say that most books will now be going for lower prices than usual. I imagine several collectors will have to sell their cherished books to keep on paying the monthly bills. Stay safe everyone!

I grew up in a small town in South Western Ontario, my friends and I used to do all sorts of activities from tunnel ratting through drainage pipes to good old fashioned street hockey, but what we really liked to do was collect.
    We started collecting sports cards  around the summer of 1987 and comics a few years later.
   If I recollect correctly, the first comic book I had was Batman Annual 14 with TwoFace on the cover.
   Sadly, over the years My friends and I drifted apart, though I continued collecting.
    Mostly my collection was focused on raws, that as a kid I thought would be quite valuable.
     Around the age of 14 things in my life began getting quite chaotic. I found myself getting into fights at school and eventually put into group homes until I was 18. Subsequently, my collecting took a hiatus.
    Once I was 18 I was removed from the group home and thrust into the streets to fend for myself. Without much of an education or direction in life, I turned to substance abuse, which in turn I got in quite a few fights.
    Eventually, I found myself at an alcohol rehabilitation clinic called "Brentwood". This is in the city of Windsor, where during my free time from programs I was able to resume my collecting activities.
   I began to accumulate a rather large collection of books that interested in, but didn't really hold alot of value, Spawn run, Maximum Carnage run, Knightfall run and stuff like that.
   Eventually I returned to Alcoholism and as the years rolled by, collecting drifted off into a distant memory.
   It wasn't until the late winter of 2018 that I resumed my hobby.
    I live in Toronto Ontario now, and the first shop I ventured into was "The Beguiling" on College St. This particular stores primary interest is providing the comic community with affordable raws at reasonable prices.
   The first books I purchased were Wolverine 1 (ongoing series) X-Factor 6 (first appearance of Apocalypse) and Punisher 1 (ongoing series).
 I hadn't even heard much about slabbed comics until a couple months later when I joined the forums and attended my first comic show in February.
  I'm a big fan of the dexterity of Supervillains, especially Carnage who I find is a conflicted soul, much like myself (lol).
    The first slabbed comic I bought was an Amazing Spider-Man 361 in 9.4 grade. I have no doubt in terms of fair market value that I overpaid considerably, but I was happy.
    Over the past year and a half I have accumulated a pretty decent collection and being a member of these boards I have had an opportunity to meet and interact with some pretty awesome people.
   I know we are all going through some tough times right now with the Covid19 Pandemic, but I can see that it has strengthened this community in ways I don't think any of us could have imagined.
  As I continue to collect, I've amassed a list of books I have really wanted and have eventually acquired, including New Mutants 98 and Amazing Spider-Man 300 (my two personal favorites). I have also fluctuated between collecting first appearances of key supervillains in both the DC and Marvel Universe such as Darkseid and of course Carnage. 
     In the past year and a half, my interests have shifted from modern to bronze and even silver age books.
  I have mostly directed my attention and finances to slabbed comic books, as I am not a professional grader and have really failed in alot of my submissions.
   In regards to slabs, I like to garner my finances into accumulating 9.8s, which I have amassed quite a few since I really began taking comic collecting seriously.
   My greatest purchase in my opinion, and despite my friend's protests has been Amazing Spider-Man 300 9.8.
  Now I know people will say "Why did you buy such an expensive book that is common as dirt?"
    Well, that is the mystery of that book, isn't it? How can one of the most graded books in the registry maintain such longevity and value? Too me I find it fascinating and in terms of strength of character (not monetary) it is one of the most valuable books available, and I imagine would be far more expensive if only 2000 copies were graded, and not 20,000.
   Thanks for listening....and happy hunting!
 

Won this in the current Comic Link auction the other day. Taking a bit of a break from the Neal Adams books that I'm currently going after. Always admired the artwork of John Romita and this is one of my favorite covers of his. A very nice 9.0 that looks more like a 9.4.

And so the collecting of books with Neal Adams covers continues. One of the very first, if not the first of his covers on a Superman title. Not too easy to find this particular issue either. Adams would continue to do the Lois covers for the next 16 books. What with doing the cover work on Superman, Action, Jimmy Olsen, Adventure, the Batman titles etc. - one wonders where he found the time to do all this. Enjoy.

Just won this in the latest Heritage auction. A tough to find book with cover artwork by Neal Adams. I'm now concentrating on books with Adams covers during the period from 1967-71. Surprised to have won this book for under $250. Enjoy.

Won this in the Comic Link auction last night. The greatest of the Neal Adams runs was GL/GA, and I could not pass up the opportunity to acquire one of these in 9.6. My winning bid was not too high, either. Enjoy.

A few Klaus Janson sigs I acquired through a buddy at the Awesome Con on 04/27/2019.

Picked this one up from Pedigree Comics just now. A landmark issue in that it features the first pairing of writer Denny O' Neil with artist Neal Adams. The two would go on to greatness, of course, with the GL/GA run a few months after this. This issue also takes Batman into a more gothic area, which would continue for years throughout the seventies. Definitely one of the holy grails of my collection. And my first signature acquisition since 2016. Four more Adams books to go. Enjoy.