SeniorSurfer

Gotta bump that amazing USA #1. 9.0? With CVA sticker?

I usually just get (as @wardevil0 remarked above) someone who just recites what's online. Heck, the boxes were just feet away from the representative, recently deposited within the last hour, and she still had no clue. Almost.

True, true. I had to re-type and forgot on the second time to end my shpiel with " "

In pre-eBay and even before-the-internet days, fans would line up to meet a creator/artist, tell him they admired his work and maybe even get an autograph on a picture or copy of a sketch or even a book (inside page of course) then move on, just as you said. It was all about the person in the booth, not those in the line. Multiple signings were not seen much (hey, if you admired the guy, you were happy with the meeting and an autograph - you didn't need 10 signatures to stare at) and anyone doing extra shenanigans (costumed play-acting, cutting in line, pictures from every angle, loud behavior, etc.) would be criticized by those in line. The sophistos would proclaim them "boorish" while the more spirited in the crowd would actively label them as an "a@@hole." You might even get a handler or Con security to escort the offenders out if they were obnoxious enough. And now they are described as "influencers?"

Right? That's what I told my wife, impressing on her that since deliveries are erratic, we would have to permanently stay home. I mean... that's what a home is for anyway. We would save money on those totally unnecessary European trips (let's face it... they don't like us there anyway), gas, eating out, etc. All savings could go towards more comics. I thought "win-win." She had other thoughts.

A brief tale told by an insufficiently_thoughtful_person, full of sound (but not fury), signifying nothing - other than caution. After many months of lounging at home with no deliveries, I started travels on a three week vacation. This of course was the precise moment FedEx sends a couple of emails stating that two packages are en route from CGC. I always leave a succinct, boldly typed sheet on my front door (hidden from street view so as not to invite pilferers) asking USPS/UPS/FedEx packages be delivered to my neighbors a couple of doors down with the appropriate name and address and have never had a problem. Still, I followed the links and attempted to stall delivery but "shipper does not allow this change to shipment" (paraphrasing). I tried to change delivery address, same result. I tried to have it held at a FedEx facility, same result. Actually any attempted change, despite continued friendly FedEx messages encouraging me to customize my delivery, were met with the same result. I then logged to my account and placed a "Vacation Hold" status on all deliveries (maximum time allowed was three weeks) and held my breath, which turned out to be just as useful. While overseas, I could only helplessly watch as delivery attempt after delivery attempt was made, with dutiful emails letting me know another attempt would be scheduled. After all the requisite attempts were made (unsurprisingly unsuccessful), the last email informed me the shipper would be contacted for further instructions. When I got back, I immediately contacted FedEx who would not allow a re-delivery or for me to pick up the packages at their facility because "shipper does not allow this change to shipment." They suggested I contact CGC, which I had to do via email as - Sockamagee! - it was late Friday and there was no one to answer a phone for the W/E. Though the email was dutifully sent, the next day I got a notification from FedEx helpfully telling me that the packages were going to be sent back to the shipper. I again called FedEx and re-told the story, ending with “let’s wait to hear from the shipper… you know, the one you told me to contact.” This representative seemed more open to the idea of sending the packages to a FedEx facility for me to pick up, though he would have to contact the “central facility” where they were actually being held and talk to a manager to see if such a thing could be done(!). While he graciously suggested some pick-up locations that were 500, then 600 miles away, I boldly suggested that a facility somewhat closer to the actual delivery zip code, say 20 blocks from my house, might even be better. Two days later I got an email from FedEx telling me the packages had arrived at the facility so I raced down there Quicksilver-like, only to be told by the two representatives manning the counter that tracking numbers showed they had been delivered to my house. Having been there myself, I assured them that hadn’t happened. Then they regrouped and told me there was no way the packages could have been delivered to them because that facility was only for shipping, while ground P/U were always sent to Facility B. I then showed them the email from FedEx which printed out the address of the facility where they had been delivered (that is to say…RIGHT THERE). Since this contradicted the tracking number information, I had now successfully stumped the band (What do I win, Johnny?). At this point, one of these gifted whiz kids – and I swear I’m not making this up – turned her head to the left, looked at a corner on the floor behind the counter, and said: “Oh… are these the ones?” I tried not to be overtly grabby as they handed them to me, then I asked if they needed to see some ID or maybe even have to sign for them since they might, you know, have something of value. They waved me away, saying that the packages weren’t even supposed to be there so there was no record in their system that needed me to confirm delivery. Whew! I don’t know why I was even worried after all that crack security exhibited from beginning to end by this Distributing Dynamo! If I ever get a response back from CGC (still waiting) I'll be sure to let them know that everyone's books are in safe hands with these guys on the job! Well, it turned out the story was not brief, but I still contend it to be cautionary.

200 pages, eh? Will it have legs to go to 300? (Maybe, since CGC continues to trickle out addendums to their previous "after careful consideration" responses).

Well, it's been like pulling teeth getting explanations and eliciting the proper answer despite all contributors here knowing in advance what should have been the correct answer to begin with. While the incredibly-good-grades-awarded-per-item-graded-ratio will probably never be addressed, it's good to note that we were allowed to continue this thread and speak our minds in what is still a CGC forum. I'm not sure if the non-focused pressure from other different social media weighed more or less than what was written here but kudos to them for letting us continue. Kudos also to Mike who had the thankless go-between job, and if he was somehow involved with a bit of coercive troubleshooting involving these decisions then so much the better.

So in summation of almost 200 pages (minus the excellent jokes and sidebars) we have: 1) Black Flag explaining why some people got "theirs" and others got bent. 2) CGC explaining why their procedure and labeling were correct (nothing doing on grading as yet). 3) Marvel explaining the definition and extent to which an Exclusive remains as such... going forward, anyway.

One of the few surviving books from my childhood. It has some obvious wear and a major spine split from the bottom to just under the top staple but I'll be buried with this one. Though my parents always encouraged me to read, I remember it was still a bit of a tough sell to pry a quarter (double the usual cover price!) from my father for this 'un. I might still have an extremely well-read copy of ToS #74 also (missing 1/4 of the FC and all of the BC which made it convenient to stabilize the FC to the back ad page with several horizontal pieces of yellowed tape) if it hasn't crumbled to dust yet.

Per PM: ASM 135, X-Men 56, 57 and FF 41

On the day of this upcoming show where it's been threatened (I can't think of another word) more of these and other garage-made variants of variants are going on sale, and in the wake of these 100+ pages on the subject, this bears remembering and repeating.

Or cut down on aerosols...

Don't know how much stock to place from an "anonymous" insider's take on the future of Marvel and DC, but to comment on some of his/her musings I would say that: 1) Marvel has a little more than "one final card" as they have the FF and their pantheon of characters (Doom and Galactus only should tide them over for a few years), 2) The actors of "Marvel's most iconic heroes are all out of the fold" but with the opening up of multiverse story lines there are ready-made explanations and precedent to introduce new versions of these characters, along with new multi-film plots. I do think that the increased content Disney demands does water down the product, no matter how much is spent on production values. I also think they haven't fully explored (exploited?) the theatrical values of their present characters, whatever universe they might inhabit though I would have liked to see a couple more films with some of the current stars. It just seems like due to the long production times to make these movies, they have to introduce newer characters (America Chavez, Illuminati, Kamala Khan, etc.) at the expense of fleshing out the more recognizable ones. That or they're trying to be inclusive and/or appeal to the younger crowds. The SA fan in me would rather see a sprawling Kree/Skrull war or a cosmic Surfer/Galactus storyline though.

ASM 13 and 15 per PM. Thank you!

Did someone mention me?

Great report and having never been to one, I too am living vicariously. I'm only interested in older comics so a lot (figurines, moderns, sketching, funkos, etc.) would be wasted on me, though I confess I always wanted to go and meet Stan Lee as I thought (maybe mistakenly) he was a fixture. I also assume dealer's setup/rental fees to be higher than any other con, so I'd hazard (again, maybe mistakenly) that they'd have to raise their book prices accordingly.

Thank you for posting these. Though I agree that there didn't seem to be "must buys," the kid in me likes to see these shows I remember from back in the day.