joe_collector

This is one actually looks like Stan...

Not for the less-than 9.4 stuff, but I could seriously see a "due to collector demand!" introduction of a CGC 9.7 and possibly the reintroduction of the 9.5.

2 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Thanks  I thought it would have been more of a ongoing story

It kinda was, and they had a daughter who went on to become The Huntress.

You

1 minute ago, jcjames said:

You should read more.

You should write less.

2 hours ago, VintageComics said:

Trying to pigeon hole them because of a phrase that could mean many things is just childish.

They do treat every book the same.

Just like the Post Office treats every package the same.

But you can also pay extra if you want faster shipping.

That's exactly what I said - you pay extra for "faster grading" not "better grading".

3 hours ago, Quicksilver Signs said:

Be curious to see the percentage of kids who read comics by decade, considering practically EVERY kid read comics in the 50's

I've seen demographics on "percentage of comic readers who were kids" and it's like 90% in the 30's and 0% now.

2 hours ago, jcjames said:

 

And anyone who's ever been to a Con and could have should have warned the kids about the expected costs once inside - you can't just walk up to Shatner empty handed and get a sig or photo.

 

I was just waiting for a "blame the victim" comment to appear.

I will remind you from my above post, that these are all 15-17 year old kids who have literally never been to a Con before, religiously checked the website and Facebook pages before going, and all had $50-$100 in spending money on them.

One girl went over to get an auto from some co-star on Riverdale and it was $125-$150 a pop, which is absolutely outlandish and kinda heartbreaking if you think about it.

1 minute ago, VintageComics said:

You generally get what you pay for in service and if you're paying more it's generally because you're getting more.

 

Actually, that was the main complaint because CGC stated "we treat every book the same", and 99% of the time you effectively pay for faster grading.

Not even close, Amazing Spider-man.

33 minutes ago, Quicksilver Signs said:

Technically they charge more when submitting a book, determining FMV before submitting to the proper tier. They don't charge more for a 9.8 compared to a 9.0 

Actually, they still do on Walkthrough, where a lot of the most valuable books go, with a 3% knock off FMV from $150 Min to $5,000 Max. 

And I don't know if they do it anymore, but CGC used to "bump" books that pre-graded higher than the FMV of the class, up to a higher-priced level. I remember a thread about that, and people were pissed that it still took XX days to process, rather than the XX of the tier they actually paid for. So they effectively "charged more for a 9.8 compared to a 9.0".

The Superman Family 211 - October 1981

Even now, long after the ComicCON is over, this answer is still on the site:

How Much Does it Cost to Get an Autograph:

Each guest sets his/her own price for autographs and photo ops. We don't currently have access to those prices, but we are trying to get them before the show so people can prepare accordingly. In that regard, you can get as many signatures as you are willing to pay for (possibly limited by how large the remaining line is behind you, of course).

On 6/14/2017 at 2:38 PM, ChiSoxFan said:

Exactly.  In theory, the 3rd party grader has no self interest in how a book that passes before them grades out.   They're not looking at making substantially more money or less money depending on the grade

Huh? I always thought CGC charged more for higher-priced books?

Has that changed?

Comics and comic book media-related shows are currently going in the same direction as baseball cards did.

My kids are in high school now, and the comic book hype has gotten so big that we recently had a big ComicCon here in Ottawa, with some relatively big names appearing, including William Shatner. So a lot of their friends were all hyped up to go,  including one guy who blew his entire birthday $$$ on bringing a pile of friends there. Of course, there was little information on in-show costs  (the website said it would be "coming soon" but never showed up) and there were huge Facebook threads about "how much are autographs/photos" and "how much are the discussions?", etc. but again, the organizers kept their mouths shut. (After the Saturday show, some nice folks posted itemized lists of the inflated costs, and there was a healthy slam session after that.)

So these hyped-up teens flow into the ComicCon floor (at $55-$150 a ticket) only to find some seriously high-priced autos, like in the range of hundreds of dollars (and some no-shows) - a huge tomato surprise given that the Con website had absolutely no info and facebook inquiries went unanswered. One girl who paid for her entire family said "there was nothing to do but walk around" as everything was vastly overpriced and scams and ripoffs were everywhere. One jerk was selling "Mystery Boxes" with action figures and toys, and one guy showed his and it was 2 USED and broken action figures that wouldn't sell for 10-cents BNIB. The current joke that day was "Now I know why they call it a Con", which was pretty amusing to me.

As my kid told me on Monday, they were still extremely angry and bitter about being scammed. It was the biggest letdown that many had experienced in their short lives and the poor guy who blew his birthday stash was still irate. They had pocket money with them, like $50-$75 for spending,  but that doesn't do squat when the autograph you want is $200 and pictures are $100. None of them intend to attend another ComicCon. These pseudo-celebrities realize that this gravy train won't run forever, and are trying to bleed the nerds dry as fast as they can, but this whole cycle of greed is just going to kill off the phenomenon even faster. 

Greed kills hobbies, and I remember the exact same thing happening with card shows. I used to take my dad to shows during the mid-late-80's, and it started with free admittance and stars like Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull signing autographs for FREE (yes Virginia, it did happen), to the 90's, walking into a $30 show and seeing minor leaguers and never-been's selling their scrawl for $100 or more. I walked out, and never came back, just like these kids at the ComicCon.

On 6/21/2017 at 8:32 PM, FineCollector said:

No, not the same at all.  A comic is meant to be read.  What is a baseball card for?

You do realize you're on the CGC forums, right?

On 6/21/2017 at 8:17 PM, FineCollector said:

The internet made baseball cards obsolete.  Not hard to find pictures and stats from your favorite players anymore...

What? What? What?

Baseball cards dropped because people started figuring out how many millions and millions of these things were out there in pristine shape, as opposed to being blissfully unaware. seriously, no one paid $$$ for a Barry Bonds or Ken Griffey Jr rookie card just to see their first-year stats - a cheap card from later one would have that and future year's stats.

Initially, it looked like Bushmaster or Moses Magnum to me.

On 5/10/2017 at 8:48 AM, boomtown said:

Also the crossover with the JSA in Justice League 107-108 (which re-introduced the old Fawcett characters) was great.

One of the very, very, very few DC books I bought as a kid - great covers and pretty cool stories.

Guys, the Legion of Monsters #1 magazine is a TITLE where single stories of lone monsters are featured, and there is no monster team-up of any time.

MP 28 is correctly noted as the first team-up of The Legion of Monsters.

Chrome or Chromium Age works for me, and it's been brought up many times before.

It would start with Spider-man #1 which started the whole "multi-cover, artist as rock star, limited platinum/chromium cover, million-seller" phase in comics (along with the start of Valiant), and would end.. where?

On 5/25/2017 at 4:11 PM, divad said:

But we're talking about REAL books . . . 

Next up, a story about selling a truckload of 90's long boxes for 35-cents.