Get Marwood & I

She does seem a little horse doesn't she. Channeling Venom's gloves too. And that's some industrial strength sticky pad on her left foot there.

OK, where do we start...

Yes. Our cover girl seems to be quite alarmed by the pose, doesn't she Ken.

I started a thread some years back called 'Position Impossible' which included quite a few of these. It's sitting in my 'Your Posts Removed by Moderators'. The whole thread got pulled because I masked a few swear words here and there as I pretended to replicate each cover position that was posted. Here's one from it - I could never work out whether it was anatomically possible or not, but it didn't half hurt when I tried to replicate it

Charlton sighting! Fightin Marines #166, December 1982

I have a 92 & 98 both cents, don't have a 94 at all What a pair of pence slackers

The postman's going to drop it, isn't he

Do you think the buyer could sue CGC for stupidity?

Snap

Define 'missed out'

Repaired that for you

They all look nice. What are the Penman copies like in the flesh Kev - did the photos do them justice? The X-Men #1 does have an air of double your money next year to it, yes. Not that you'd ever sell it of course, you pathological hoarder you.

It's nice listening to the recollections of long term collectors If A&G follow normal procedure, they should post the auction results at some point showing the prices realised. Here is a previous pence AF15 from 2019 - not in the best shape, but still a decent pre-commission hammer price: When I started this thread is was not supposed to be about money and how much things go for. I wanted to curate what existed and focus on all the wonderful nuances, gaps and differences. But it's hard to ignore what is going on now in the hobby and not comment when the books that you ummed and ahed over at £500 on a dealer's wall not so long ago now will set you back forty grand on a good day. It does mean that the books are moving out of reach now though, and that makes me a little sad if I'm honest. It's inevitable of course. Anything that people love, and which is in comparatively short supply, will escalate over time, certainly now that there is so much money in the world. With every character from those old books that we collected for a few pennies or pounds getting their own show or film appearance nowadays, even the 'crappy' books of old are now shooting up. It's wonderful in one respect, I suppose. But in another, quite sad. Never again will the purchase of an AF#15, or an ASM#1 or even an ASM#50 be an affordable possibility for many. Cents or pence. Where does that leave some of us? At least we are seeing more and more examples now of pricing parity and that does please me having banged the drum for so long. A pence copy is no longer something inferior. It is just as important as its cents cousin. Just infinitely scarcer. And increasingly, now, just as financially valuable. But an era is over now. There's no two ways about it. I've finally been priced out of the market.

I enjoy reading your posts Paqart and you seem to have lead a very interesting life. The hobby is quite tough now. I watched an auction yesterday of the sort of silver age Marvels that have always been in reach and it became clear that those days are well and truly over. Only the very rich can now consider collecting early Marvels. The 'unremarkable' books that commanded a few pounds for so many years are now £500 each and the keys now command new car prices in mid to low grade, house prices in high. The things that got many of us into the hobby in the first place are now largely out of reach. If you have them all, that's great. You can look forward to a comfortable retirement. If you don't, or have gaps, you can find yourself out in the cold. But it's not all bad news. The trick, as you say, is to find a new collecting avenue that has yet to catch fire to the same degree. Something that is interesting and manageable and with just enough supply to sustain long term interest. I mentioned before that it is the medium that I love. I have a fondness for Spidey and those old Marvel super hero books but I just can't afford them anymore, and I'm by no means on my uppers. I have found other titles, niche variations and other publishers comics to be just as enticing - if not more so - and now enjoy collecting and curating more than I think I ever have. If it's in your bones, you'll find a way to keep it going.

Don't worry about it. There's two confirmed copies out there. Maybe I'll get lucky one day if there's a third

I've been pondering myself whether the ending is the reason it is resonating.

Would you ever think of taking the plunge Albert? The Tatlock Collection has a ring to it.

Who let Yoda in?

Well done. The only one I don't own of the known issues. A few choice swear words were uttered when I saw it in the sold listings, given how often I search.

Sorry, didn't see your reply Kev. Probably because you're so thin now

No, add 26.4% to the final hammer price that you see for what the buyer will actually pay. Or 33.5% if Redshade is right.

Just me and the old girls in the cinema for my third trip this afternoon. Smaller screen but still managed to sit where others were not. I love this film. Third viewing and there isn't one scene that doesn't hold the attention. You know my views on the ending if you've followed this thread, and they haven't changed, but this is one of those films that has left its mark on me. It's brilliant.

We were saying that - odd books to be absent Blimey. Thanks for posting all the prices Kev, here and in the PM stream. I wasn't far off on the AF15 then! Blimey squared. That's a lot of extra money, isn't it.

I view your contributions as very much on topic Rich. Your analysis reinvigorated it and gave us all a lot of fresh food for thought. I used to get a little sensitive about keeping things on track. I don't anymore. Anything about UK distribution is welcome here.