joe_collector

I don't think too many collectors are cool with removing the staples, removing the pages, then marrying a Tattooz insert to a comic, and then putting the Frankenstein book all back together, so you're probably referring to some unethical sellers.

But the key question is which one came out first? Might have to consult some Might Marvel Checklists for that.

When they vastly over-powered him and turned him from a cool underdog anti-hero into an invulnerable bully. At a certain point, he became unkillable, and that made the character uninteresting,

Guys, the timing of the X-Men spike is purely coincidental, and as much as I love Smith's art, this was right at the time X-speculation took off and collectors starting routinely buying multiple issues for resale. There were also other reasons, such as Rogue joining the X-Men (she was very popular back then) and X-Men Byrne back issues were very hot, so it was the case of the X-specu-era dawning, not the change in artist.

I can just see some maroons sitting in the board room in the early-80's: "Oh man, that was money well spent - we are going to make millions once the kids get wind of our wicked Tattooz!!"

And it only took 8 years. http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1170701#Post1170701

Oh, so you found a stack of these worthless, sanitized reprints in a landfill and were hoping to make a killing selling them here?

I think I hear your Mommy calling you for dinner.

Man, that's horrible and they removed everything that made the original cover special. From a different perspective, the edited removal was in good taste, as the original all too campy cover are filled with old fashioned 1970s sleazy elements, I prefer this one better, a power man logo in place of luke cage would be even more ideal. And this clean looking reprint beats all the old beat up read issues hands down, and pricewise too The sleazy stuff IMO is what made it cool Exactly, and this "super-sanitized" version is insulting to the original creators, and totally robs the character of his identity. Luke Cage (I still wonder what his real name is?) is a street- hood criminal who got framed for selling coke, then became a super-mercenary for hire (based on Shaft) investigating drug dealers, thieves, murderers, pimps and other thugs. How the heck you can attempt to "sanitize" that?

Can you even get the Tattooz out of the little envelope without ripped it apart? I would never try, but it doesn't look easy, if at all possible. I have my OO copy, but I bought a couple of OO copies off eBay (in ASM lots) and I was a bit worried, but couldn't find any way to safely check. So I just held them up to the light and saw the little spiders/stars or whatever is in them.

Agreed, and while it's not as bad as a "clipped MVS" (which IMO is the worst type of these), it's still an incomplete book and deserving of the GLOD.

Even so, I have seen worse 9.2's that that, and probably some 9.4's during a "gift grade period".

Man, that's horrible and they removed everything that made the original cover special.

It's quite difficult when these "clubs" take up most of the first page. Maybe we need a new "Comic Book Clubs" forum? That's actually a great idea. Would be pretty cool to see a forum dedicated to certain books, and its fans, all in one place. I just asked Arch, so we'll see what he says.

I am pretty sure I have one or two in the 9.X range, but I still don't understand how that latest copy only graded a 9.0 - back cover issues?

I played it on PC, but I tried the PSN demo out and it was a lot of fun on the consoles - I am waiting for it to hit $19.99 and I'm in for PS3.

The best game for the Genesis was the first Madden game, which allowed you to sack the QB and potentially put him out of the game, and then an ambulance would drive out on the field (running over players and bouncing them off the hood) to pick up the battered QB. I can remember one night, playing with some friends (All-Madden vs. Dallas Cowboys ), with me blitzing Joey Browner (who was a beast back then) and putting the starting QB out on the first play, and then the backup QB out the second play. After that Dallas put in some girl-armed kicker or something, and he tossed up end-over-end floater balls all game - he was also invulnerable even though we sacked him 100 times or so the rest of the game. Good times.

It's quite difficult when these "clubs" take up most of the first page. Maybe we need a new "Comic Book Clubs" forum?

I just love that black cover to Marvel Tales 34.

I do that as well (mostly during the summer - JP and JP Lost World), and I love Hollywood tell-all books (have you read Killer Instinct yet? That book was hilarious and I lol'd at parts, like Oliver Stone changing the shoot to get "free cowboy boots"). Some of these are really good too: http://www.amazon.com/Spike-Mike-Slackers-Dykes-Independent/dp/0786882220/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1Q1YFNHXTTV78EQ87BTN http://www.amazon.com/Down-Dirty-Pictures-Sundance-Independent/dp/0684862581/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=02HJP18Q6YS2NA6EFJS4 http://www.amazon.com/Rebels-Backlot-Directors-Conquered-Hollywood/dp/0060540184/ref=pd_sim_b_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=1D73ZZE1RVTZVGRRJN0C http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Screen-Trade-Hollywood-Screenwriting/dp/0446391174/ref=pd_sim_b_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=05153VKCJD59GCZE6MQJ http://www.amazon.com/Hit-Run-Nancy-Griffin/dp/0684832666/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1891818G69SGRY2RZQ2A

I got a Kobo Paperwhite as a free bonus with a phone and I have been reading a lot more as a result. Award-winning novels, Jack Reacher books, techno-thrillers, detective noir, Dave Robicheaux books, and even some funny book novels. One of those I *really* liked was the first short story in the Masked collection. The backstory is yet another play on the Superman-Doomsday-style archetype, but it has a fun lead character with a gruesome twist, and some surprisingly good writing throughout. The story works because it ends the only way it could, but without telegraphing this from the beginning. It had me at at the first paragraph: Cleansed and Set in Gold I’m on the ground, trying to breathe through a chest full of broken ribs. The only reason I’m still alive is because I happen to be invisible at the moment. Verlaine is dead. His body is twitching, trying to patch itself up, but the thing that killed him is chewing on his heart, its long tongue flicking. I can hear Verlaine’s fingernails scratching against the rocks. We all thought Verlaine was immortal. He wasn’t.

Aren't all these "clubs" starting to take up way too much room?

Would it be interesting to someone like me, from a cultural/historical POV, whose only D&D experience is video games?

The problem is that people don't read comics anymore, and they just look at what's on the CGC label. And on that note, what is on the CGC label? The major point I would concentrate on is the first cover appearance, combined with the first full appearance in 362. People like covers, as they look kewl in their plastic tombs.

That depends on the theater you went to.