GeeksAreMyPeeps

Yeah, but that didn't always hold true for Byrne. His She-Hulk series didn't have particularly impressive sales. Regarding Hughes, Campbell, etc., yeah, it's the combination of those things. Other artists doing similar subject matter don't necessarily guarantee similar results. Agreed that trends change in collecting. The only thing that seems to persist through all ages is the desire for first appearances of characters.

I don't disagree that Campbell's and Hughes's popularity doesn't lend itself to the popularity of a run of books, but I would certainly describe them as "hot artists"; what that term means is a little different now, as collectors seem to be more focused on covers. (Can't see the insides when the books are in slabs.) Quesda's work saw some interest for a while, although not to the extent of the others. There were a few others later in the '90s that were hot briefly, but that may have been more from speculation of trying to identify the next hot artist than legitimate interest from readers.

Campbell? Hughes?

First appearance of Dusk.

Yeah, can't stand that about eBay. "That rare variant in CGC 9.8 is no longer available, but maybe you'll be interested in this mid-grade common cover we've chosen for you!"

Does anyone know if the $40 range has been the going price for the Spider-man #1 signed by McFarlane with the web stamp on the back cover? https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=spider-man+1+mcfarlane+signed+stamp&_in_kw=1&_ex_kw=&_sacat=0&LH_Sold=1&_udlo=&_udhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_sadis=15&_stpos=10018&_sargn=-1%26saslc%3D1&_salic=1&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=50&LH_Complete=1&_fosrp=1

I gotcha that you meant the complete set is tough; just clarifying for others.

I was a regular New Mutants reader at the time (one of the few, it seems), and I noticed that Liefeld's style had similarities to McFarlane as well, and picked up a few extra copies of 86 (because first issue of a hot artist on a title was a thing that drove value then). But I don't remember anything indicating that Cable was going to be an important character outside of the blurbs in the comic, but everything was hyped then, even characters of little consequence.

Anyone can edit Wikipedia to say anything they want it to.

Not true, depending on what you mean by "right away." It was months after the release of 87 before it became a must-have. The second printing wasn't released until about a year after the first.

Armorines V2 1–3 aren't problematic, it's the #4 that's tough. For the same reason, a complete set of Shadowman V3 1–6 and Unity 2000 are tough. Last issues had serious distribution problems.

Looking at the actual book, it doesn't appear to be a tear from damage but more a production flaw. That would still put it at 9.2?

Looking for opinions on how small tears like at the bottom of the back cover here, which I recall to be common on books in the '80s, will affect the end grade for this book if submitted. Also, is it correct to call this a bindery tear, or if that pretty much only used for corners. Should I call this a production tear?

So, sharks that eat the brains of other sharks?

This is the way to go. Everyone who pre-ordered gets theirs, and if you have a bunch of regular customer who don't pre-order that book, put some aside in case they want it. Keep your regulars happy. The rest are available 1 per customer.

My understanding was always that once a new book goes in a bag and into the back issue bins, it's an older periodical and there would be tax applied (and usually a .25 or .50 premium on the price over the cover price). But of course I've been to shops where they leave "new" books out for a few months, and they're all sold as new books without a sales tax. But I imagine those officials who track tax fraud have bigger problems to worry about than whether a comic shop is charging tax on a book that came out a month and a half ago.

In New York there is no tax on new periodicals, but there is on old periodicals. So new books, no. Back issues, yes. I was actually surprised to find out how many states do have tax on periodicals: http://www.magazine.org/node/29333

Looks a bit like Hellboy

True, but you can also find a wide variety of designs for COAs. The blanks that an older COA were created from might be less readily available. This assumes of course you can verify from the shop what a legit COA looks like.

What that is is the box printing 100% Black only, and the rest of the background printing 100% Black with some additional Magenta, Cyan, or Yellow kicker.

I think the same might hold true for the Operation: Galactic Storm issues of Quasar.

One could check with the store in question (if they're still around) to determine if they issued COAs. It might be a little more difficult to forge a sig *and* counterfeit a COA.

This is the regular version. Maybe worth a buck.

Spider-man 21 Annual

I disagree with the notion that the X-Men Deluxe #1 was a reprint. All editions for X-Men #1 were solicited at the same time. If you're classifying this as a reprint because it shipped later, then you have to classify all of the variants as reprints, as the covers shipped one per week, with the deluxe being last.