H0RR0RSH0W

My last slab was Sgt. Fury #13 CGC 8.5 in June 2017.
Last one before that was ASM#300 9.6 in January 2017.
Although I read alot now. Read all 544 issues of the Uncanny X-men in 2017. Trimming that down to around 50-100 books a year which will include Hulk, GI Joe and more X-men with the occasional' ooh ohh have to read this one off'.
Not losing interest but rather setting my sights a little higher in terms of slabs. Not nickle and dime-ing my collection anymore but continuing to take larger steps as a collector , finally able to look at big books seriously. 
I would rather pick up one $5000 dollar book once every ten years than pick up 1 $500 book every year for 10 at this point. 

I realize that jumping into the conversation at this point is rhetorical but just for fun:
It proves that it is not counterfeit in that it ties that case and book directly to a specific grade. On record. Does it it look like the book that is supposed to be in that case? If yes then it undoubtedly is.
More often what happens is that a book and case has been tampered with. A resto or a touch-up has been at times substituted into a blue label CGC case and furtively passed off as that grade. It is to my basic understand a large part of why the CGC cases were redesigned.
So are there copies of WD# 128 & #56 that have been restored and case swapped? Directly in line with the comments above, no. The flipper is trying to put the OP into a catch-22 where he would only be able to crack the book out to prove it was not printed on a home computer
etc. thus nullifying the grade. A very convoluted way of backing out of a deal if you ask me.

I realize that jumping into the conversation at this point is rhetorical but just for fun:
It proves that it is not counterfeit in that it ties that case and book directly to a specific grade. On record. Does it it look like the book that is supposed to be in that case? If yes then it undoubtedly is.
More often what happens is that a book and case has been tampered with. A resto or a touch-up has been at times substituted into a blue label CGC case and furtively passed off as that grade. It is to my basic understand a large part of why the CGC cases were redesigned.
So are there copies of WD# 128 & #56 that have been restored and case swapped? Directly in line with the comments above, no. The flipper is trying to put the OP into a catch-22 where he would only be able to crack the book out to prove it was not printed on a home computer
etc. thus nullifying the grade. A very convoluted way of backing out of a deal if you ask me.

I had little trouble obtaining a copy of 246 for twice cover price, which did indeed take a few weeks to come across. Issues #244& 245 were a different story as the cheapest copies are around $15-20USD apiece right now. 
Can anyone clarify what I have been hearing as it is not entirely clear? GI Joe issue 250 is the final issue of the series? Or it is the final issue of the of the Dawn of the Arashikage saga with Dawn Moreno? The posts on YoJoe.com and Hisstank are
a little unclear as to what series they are celebrating the end of.
Which sounds like they may be talking about the Sitterson series, which is why I ask.

I know some collectors look at PQ first and foremost when considering a book. I do not believe it is the majority though.
For me PQ goes hand in hand with presentation. I mean that it is one of the factors of presentation, whilst a grade is a grade and is more of a quantitative measure of a comic.
At my level of collecting I am mostly happy when I get a book in w or w/ow rather than insisting on it and chasing something that is qualitative  so therefore more subject to opinion-because $$$.
 

Omega Red is cool.

We have a winner. CGC did grade it a 9.0. JoeyPost said 9.0 with a very small chance of a 9.2.  I was thinking about pressing it.  There was no reason too 

Not likely. At least  not based on PGX's say so. If it is clearly shown otherwise to be accepted as a file copy it should get the designation.
CGC is likely going to look at it on a case by case basis, as if you submitted it without the PGX case. Although that might help to make your intentions of desire regarding the grade more clear. However based on submission guidlines raw books must be submitted raw. I could be wrong but as far as I know you cannot submit a book already in a case. CGC does not crack for you.
So CGC will give the designation based on provenance, which PGX will not be able to provide. That would be up to you.

This is the principal of established value. Within a limit, the longer a book takes to get to a certain selling point in value the more likely it will be to stay at that value...or even increase. The more examples as well there may be of the book selling at a given price too. The consensus is that when a newer book reaches some nose bleed high selling price it  is shown that very often that price will simmer down to a more realistic selling price. If the book really is good and has the true earmarks of value then it may very well see that high selling price again. 
And correct you would be. There is nothing wrong at all with putting some money into collecting valuable comics especially if you plan on moving them along in the future.

To answer your question 9.8 is potentially more risky because lets say that 9.8 is the highest graded copy. Now lets say that another 9.8 comes a long, it now drops your single highest graded to 1 of 2 and therefore you will see the value drop greatly. This is not my opinion but rather an actual occurrence within the hobby.  Although using a copper or modern book as an example is perhaps a little weak in that the census is rife with uber high grades for moderns . All in all it likely cost you more to invest in as well.
 
Yes, in this vein a grade drop would be another reason or even a change in page quality could be another or damage from handling etc. but I feel that just reinforces my point. 
If someone has a good eye for modern books and keeps their ear to the ground about the art and storytelling there is nothing prohibiting them from using new books as an investment other than their own judgement and personal knowledge database.

No certainly not. But let me put it this way : I think your thinking may be wrong in regards to new comics in that it seems you are looking at every comic purchase as an investment. If all it took was money to invest in comics anyone could do it right? It is the understanding that comes from being involved in comics as a hobby and being able to decide for yourself from the knowledge you gain that may enable a person to make a profit from their collecting. So as far as valuable goes I do not personally know what will be worth a lot 50 years from now. Certainly most of what you buy will be worth something, but I do believe most if not all of what the average Joe comic collector is able to come across will not be worth much of anything , no.
As you mentioned in your first post your collection from 25 years ago has not seen a significant increase in value. You would not be the first to have this realization . So then why would the next 25 years or even the next suddenly cause these books value to exponentiate? There has to be a cause and effect. 
There is a mentality out there that sort of says "hey I've got old comics- I must be rich". In order to enjoy collecting one should avoid this trap.
 I admit I know nothing about these books other than Saga 1 is hot and I would hold onto that for the long haul if I were you.
It depends on the books really. It is not a general equation that you can just look at and sum it all up. For moderns the 9.8 - 9.6 grade point is really the sweet spot .
We could look at a book like ASM #300 over the last couple of years as an example. Recently 9.8 have seen well over $1000 dollars for a sales. This having been reached from the high 3 figures to the low $1000's about a year ago . Now to look at 9.6s's of the same book the prices went from around $350 to around $800 over the last year.So it is for the most part the same . Just a matter of how you want to spend the money. This has actually been a topic discussed on the boards and is itself a ratherbroad discussion. I personally look at the 9.8 as  a little more risky. 

I just see no potential for new books. Someone is always left holding the bag with the rampant speculation that is going on. Although "the older the better" is not always true either. New comics are really a different breed than their fore goers but I think that is a different conversation. The money in new comics does not seem to be in quality but quantity. What I mean by that is that comics have more widespread interest now ( even in the properties themselves) and as a side-effect a very large populace of readers.
For an "investment" try to buy the best you can afford, but none the less follow the golden rule of buy what you love and love what you buy. It may be you left holding those books someday and it not so pleasant to be forced to hold onto books you dislike.
Myself, I really enjoy buying new books for my reading part of the hobby I enjoy. So in regards to that I will use myself as the example: You will never find me buying a new book for 3 figures although I do indeed spend 3 figures in a year on books to read.If that makes sense.
 

I just see no potential for new books. Someone is always left holding the bag with the rampant speculation that is going on. Although "the older the better" is not always true either. New comics are really a different breed than their fore goers but I think that is a different conversation. The money in new comics does not seem to be in quality but quantity. What I mean by that is that comics have more widespread interest now ( even in the properties themselves) and as a side-effect a very large populace of readers.
For an "investment" try to buy the best you can afford, but none the less follow the golden rule of buy what you love and love what you buy. It may be you left holding those books someday and it not so pleasant to be forced to hold onto books you dislike.
Myself, I really enjoy buying new books for my reading part of the hobby I enjoy. So in regards to that I will use myself as the example: You will never find me buying a new book for 3 figures although I do indeed spend 3 figures in a year on books to read.If that makes sense.
 

IDK about the entire story arc or all the issues,  but I know for sure it is not in the Original (1963) X-men series.
However a couple of issues that took place in the Astral Plane are X-treme X-men #18 (2001) where Rogue , Gambit and Storm leave their bodies for the astral plane and Logan's near death experience is in Wolverine #176 (1988 series).

Yeah I think there are some good comics out there right now.... but
1. The speculation in moderns is frightening. Sometimes I fear it  is so wild that it could undermine collecting and turn all comic collecting on its ear. It is rampant and disappointing to see. There is no precedent for the "value" of modern speculation. Any perceived value rests on the real Golden Age as does much of the valuation of the other eras.
2. Plainly there is no where near enough broad interest in comicbooks. Once again referring to the Golden Age the number of people that actually collect and read Modern comics is small in terms of percent that might have interest in a given property. In the Golden Age comics were on every street corner, every drugstore, supermarket, used book store and  gas station , etc. Of the 320 million people living in the US right now how many of us actually go down to the corner store any more to pick up the newspaper and a coffee and get "the kids a comic"? I am not looking at any sales figures or publication #s but I got a hunch it is not a lot. Comics are not what they once were: a major mode of entertainment. 
3. Alot of the reason for the above statement is that we live in the information age. We have technology to circumvent the need to own physical copies. People get the news on-line and so too do many many people read comics; Often for free . This is reflected in what are actual print and sales numbers which are from what I know quite low.  Back when print runs were in the hundreds of thousands and those issues sold in large part comics took up a necessary space on store shelf space. You still have comic shops with pull lists and dedicated readers , I buy more than my share of floppies and back issue readers myself. But the 60's + 70's rebirth is over, the 80's boom is done, the 90's crash is in the past and the modern age simply consists of  the die hard's. 
4. Evidenced this all is in Modern comic culture. Look at comic cons. I hear they consist mostly of pop-culture/cosplay. TV series and movies drum up some interest in comics but a lot of that energy is bled of into other modes of comic culture and fan-dom.  Yes those people in attendance are buying , sometimes big, but does it really consist of a full resurgence and new Golden age? I just do not see how.
Comics will always be a beloved and popular cultural medium . The art , the stories and characters will remain iconic. At best the reflourishing and resurgence could cause a "renaissance" so unless someone can explain how it is a new Golden Age just because of some good writing  I say no way.IMO
 

When the adult in you decides you can finally afford the books you've yearned for since you were a kid...
(apologies for the shiny/glary pics, I was too scared to remove the books from the bags.  )
Silver Surfer is/was/will always be my favorite character so I just had to grab the first issue.  Next up is to find a decently graded/priced FF48.

 
I think for anyone who grew up in the 90s, adding ASM300 to the collection is a no brainer.  Realizing now that a grail book should be something that's impossible to attain so I guess I'm gonna have to reset my grail bar a little higher.  New grail book...AF15.

 
This one I kinda stumbled upon.  Then kinda had it set in my head that I just had to have.  A dangerous combination for someone who's just getting into the realm of collecting as opposed to just buying books for reading.  But still, I love Rocket from both movies so it's kinda cool to say I now own a copy of his first appearance.  I guess as Bradley Cooper would say..."Oh yeah."

 
This is one of my favorite books I've read because of the emotional impact and message it conveys.  I sent my copy off to get signed and graded at SDCC so I was looking for a new reading copy.  Found someone selling multiple copies of the book "unread" and "fresh from the distributors package" for half of everything else on eBay.  Literally bought up the last 2 copies.  Since the original copy I sent off for signing wasn't the best graded copy I could get my hands on at the time, I'll probably send off the better of the two to get signed and graded as well.

And three 

I just picked up this copy of Justice Comics #8 (Feb. 1949)

Inside is a article from the editors of Marvel telling the public to take Dr. Wertham's claims with a grain of salt

 
 

I don't disagree with you Roy, with the only exception being that I've been on other collectible forums with active marketplaces where the "I'll take it" rule would have kept things a lot more honest, and sellers bound to their own rules. Having a seller back out because someone else, who happened to be a friend, closer to them location-wise, or even offered more just to have the piece, would have been a very welcome rule in other online marketplaces, especially since there was no probation system in place to keep transactions fair and honest for everyone. I can easily count on one hand the amount of times where I had a seller subvert the PM system to pit buyers against one another, and if an "I'll take it" option existed there, I would have saved myself a lot more money in at least a couple of instances where the seller sold it higher than their original asking. I do agree that there will be rare situations (like this one) where common sense would dictate a commitment needed to be honoured the minute payment terms and details were exchanged, but I wanted to offer a different perspective on why I think there's a level of transparency that needed with the "I'll take it" that should be considered.

Except a seller gets to set whatever rules he wants for his sale whether it makes sense or not.  "First person wearing a green shirt gets the book".

Unless you have already stated that an in the thread must be posted to consummate the sale.

Those are some really fantastic detailed photos.Looking at them I do not think I have ever seen a slab that looked more tamper free. Pretty sure the slab is sound IMO.
A 9.6 can have a minuscule flaw such as that shown. That would probably be the limit. 
 CGC does not factor page color into its grades so the color you see on the books edges is irrelevant in this case. Although it looks pretty white to me.
In my experience what you are implying is that you are not happy with how the book presents. However the grade is the grade. For the future the idea of "comparing this slab to that slab to get a grade" is not such a sound method. Not terrible but you may be off a grade point or two.

Plus you are looking at the edges of the pages and that says nothing for the color of the pages inside the book. 
Not saying everything should go on blind faith but I would feel confident that the last guy who looked at the inside of the book is giving an honest account of what he saw.
Always exciting that first slab though 

Totaled. Heavy damage to frame, insurance company won't take the risk with the weakened structural integrity.
Salvage value $7800.