CW

Lol. I've been quietly answering Noob questions in the new forum for a couple of weeks now but I appreciate the excitement. The Fantastic/ House of Comics booth at Wondercon was epic as was our recreation of the chase scene from Bullitt!

Also agreed. Pressing doesn't fade a book. Only light, water and in cases chemical cleaners do that. It interestingly seems to lift blacks when done improperly, leaving a color pull effect and in a few cases I have seen, it bleeds some colors which does give the appearance of fade from the outside and bleed from the inside of a cover but usually on 1-2 colors and not all. Again I'm assuming this is not the norm with pressing but the process failing or being administered by a novice. It amuses me, when I first joined the boards the word pressing was a 4 letter word here and considered by many as extensive restoration. Bob's experience demonstrates how much has changed since then in the public opinion. I'm totally off topic but I thought it was interesting.

Agreed. Traditional fading is a defect that will lower a grade significantly. I just don't think this is the case here.

There can be significant variation in color throughout the print run of a single book. This is very noteable in books with orange or red covers. Books like Hulk 181, Secret Wars 8 and ASM 300 all have specimen that can range from a salmon orange color to blood red in the appropriate areas. This doesn't seem to effect the grade as it is a minor production issue (although some collectors apply a premium to the deeper colors). If this is an ink related production difference it shouldn't change the grade proper, just the overall eye appeal of the book as viewed by the collector and potentially the value they place upon it. With regards to fading, I don't see that as a factor on your books. If it was you should see a uniform loss in color. One of your books is dull in the reds but the yellows are very deep while the other has washed out yellows with strong reds. The black in the UPC box that you mentioned looks to me more like the black ink was running low at printing (although this would likely appear book wide not in one focused area) or (more likely) got transferred to another book in the production stacks shortly there after. The ink transfer defect might be supported by some residual black ink on the back cover of the book. (I can't remember what color the NM 98 back cover is. If it's anything but black you should get a good idea if black ink was coming off the books at printing. I've had books with this washed out look in specific areas of black. With regards to reproduction, do the covers to the 2 books feel the same in weight of paper? Meaning do they share the same properties of thickness and flexibility? If one feels Very different, maybe you have a fake. If they feel the same in paper specs, it likely isn't. To my understand (I may be wrong) the paper used on the late 80's early 90's books is very thin and not the sort of thing you feed through your ink jet printer to make copies. I was under the assumption that it was the type of paper that comes off of big rolls through the printer and is later cut and folded. The idea that you have a fake should be easily answered with some basic comparison of the interior and exterior of the book. The only other thing that I have seen that you might check is, in my opinion, pressing related. I've been noticing on some books that are obviously pressed (probably poorly or improperly) a bleeding of skin tones and magentas through the covers. They seem blurred and more prominent on the inside covers. I've also seen pressed books that have a suspicious color loss in areas that may be related to the same poor pressing techniques although I can't confirm this as it is just an observation on my part. Without seeing your books in person, I lean towards printing related. By all means send them to CGC and see if anybody gave you the right answer.

Killer show as usual. Thanks Wormboy and HOC for a great time. We saw sales and interest across the board from bargain to keys. We brought around 4000 50cent books, 1500 1/2 priced back issues and around 400 "wall books". By the end of the show we had multiple empty boxes in all categories. If you're on the fence about this show, get off and go! It has the feel of a comic swap meet. Beyond the incredible selection of books there is a very relaxed air to the room with lively comic conversations ongoing in all corners.

So I had a look on eBay. I see the $400 books listed. The very important number to check isn't what sellers are asking rather what the sold prices are. I'm sure you know how to refine your search on eBay to see sold prices. These are the actual amounts people pay for books. As an example: let's say I have a book that sells for $20 consistently. I list it at $400. You check eBay and see I'm asking $400. This obviously doesn't mean the book is worth $400 only that I'm asking that price. So always quote sold prices when talking book value. With that being said I checked the historical sold prices for Johnny 1 1st print and it looks like a 9.8 sold 4 years ago for $375. So theoretically if you buy a raw #1 for $20 and get it graded at 9.8 you have a book that previously sold for nearly $400. Doesn't mean it will sell for that again but the answer to your question is that the CGC certification can add significantly to the value of the same book uncertified. As a note, there are at least 22 different printings of Johnny #1 so odds are 1st prints will be advertised as such. If it doesn't say, it probably isn't.

Great minds think alike.

We are also forgetting about the 'ecstasy of gold' factor. People tend to reduce their judgment in the pursuit of treasure. No matter how smart or careful they are in normal daily situations. I mean look at the Goonies... would they have gone into that fireplace if they hadn't thought One Eyed Willie's treasure was down there? Probably not!

Perhaps a pinned topic for the super general questions like this. Or a pinned note to question askers to scan through the existing topics first and see if they can't find an answer before asking. I see Bob's point about putting in the effort to answer when another doesn't put in the effort to look.

Let's all remember to be patient and kind in answering newbie questions. We were all new at some point. I had a lot of patient collectors and dealers show me the ropes when I was a young collector and it helped me return the favor. Instagram and Facebook don't seem to be offering any education or information to new collectors in their communities. Let's make sure this place is different.

I totally agree with the parenting aspect of this. We are very literally meeting a stranger on the internet and offering to show up on their turf with a pocket full of money! After reading this I'm now insisting my kid only collects sea shells.

Are you only looking at 1st prints when comparing copies of the Johnny #1? As I recall there are several prints, the 1st being by far the most valuable. It sounds like the graded copy is a 1st print, probably in high grade, judging by the price. I'm going to guess the $20 copy is probably a later edition. In general uncertified "raw" books on eBay can sell for less than their graded counterparts simply because of the wildly varying grading by sellers and the inability of a buyer to see the book in person to agree to said grade. Certified books eliminate some of the unknown in online purchases and therefore command a premium on eBay (although this isn't always the case, some people like to gamble on raw books and all graded books don't carry the same eye appeal within one grade). There is also the effect of the uber high grade book. This is when a certified grade usually in the 9.6-9.8 range of an otherwise reasonably priced book commands an extreme premium. As a current example: New Mutants #14 sells at around $20-30 in NM raw and at over $200 in CGC 9.8. You can see the effect the grade has here in an extreme way. Its important to point out that these generalities don't always apply at shows where the buyer can hand pick and examine raw books in person. These are my observations and opinions so keep that in mind. Hope they help a little and welcome to comic collecting.

I feel like Moondog is winning at this point. Here's my proof of insanity: When I first started dealing in the early 2000's I started telling people in my neighborhood I was buying comics and if they came up with anything to give me a call (you know, the usual song and dance). After a few weeks, the guy down the street calls me over. He owns a bunch of rental property and one of his property managers has a load of books to sell me. I'm excited. I get the address and set up a meeting. On the day we arrange, I drive for a half an hour to the address he gave me. Knowing the owner, I'm thinking apartment complex, nicely kept, gonna be some cool stuff. I drive up and down the street a few times but the only thing on the block is the trailer park from David Lynch's heroin induced nightmares. I call my guy and he says "Yeah that's the place, drive up to the office they're expecting you." So I pull in now expecting to see the old man from Pet Sematary (yes I spelled that correctly) muttering "the person you put up there ain't the person that comes back." I get out, walk up to the door of the office, and drag open the screen door that's hanging on by one of its 3 hinges. From behind me I hear what 10,000 Marlboro miles sounds like and it says "I'm in the garden". I turn around to see the flesh and blood embodiment of the Baby Sitter Bandit from the Simpsons standing in the middle of 3 little rows of dust with a couple of stalks of corn growing out of them. I introduce myself and we walk back to a large workshop the manager uses for maintenance. The whole time we're talking this lady has a lit cigarette in her mouth. She doesn't touch it once and talks through it like its glued to her bottom lip. I spend 40 mins (that's about 5 more cigarettes if you are counting) looking through everything in the shop. The books end up being a couple thousand copper and modern books with a little slug of silver. Nothing great but there are a few keys and I'm excited. I get ready to pay and then I ask "How did you get these?" She proceeds to tell me that "The guy in spot 50 was a big collector. Loved comics". I ask her where he is. She tells me "Oh we smelled something coming from his trailer so we called the Sheriff. He died." I pass along my condolences and pull out the money. She says "Yeah, we found him laying on the floor on top of the comics..." Here's the part that certifies my insanity... I stopped for a minute... thought about it... thought about it...thought about it again...and then bought the books anyway. As I recall I made a decent profit. (Also, If you are a current or future customer I can honestly say that I no longer knowingly buy or sell corpse adjacent books).

sorry I mean

I'll take them as per PM negotiations.

Looks like a very pretty 4.5/5.0 to me. Has nice eye appeal and deep red that might tip it towards the up side. Does it have any white out on the highlights of the dress or just those two smudges at the top? Great book.

There is a thread in the market ebay/selling forum now (Wanted to make sure you didn't miss it). (Sorry in advance for any breach of protocol)

I don't know where they were signed. I got the one already slabbed.

So I got this in the mail today. Sig is in his hair in black I put it on the level of a book signed on the first page. The sig is hard to see but it is there and certified so.... I'm told there aren't too many of these out there. Anyway it might be on ebay shortly so keep your eyes opened. Also a friend of mine asked me to post a pic of one of his.

Glad you like it. I had a blast going to get the job done. FFB and Creig were great hosts. Does anybody know if there is an older SS?

That's just creepy Nice!

Sweeeeeet!

You don't have a Tec 44 tree in your back yard Everyone else does Seriously,Great book though.

hehe, I recognize that copy. Looks better in person.

OOH! My favorite. Here are my three suggestions (and personal favorites). Sorry for stretching the screen but these girls are worth it. Add Spirit #20-22 to your list.