Get Marwood & I

I like that theory on the blank and slashed barcodes @shadroch - it makes sense, to stop an individual comic barcode being scanned in error. If that were true though, wouldn't the Whitman bags have their own barcode? They don't - here's a front and back of my old ASM 192-194 bag: Also, this image further undermines the theory: @wormboy has a cracking thread running here with more info on them: As you say, there are no absolutes on these early variations. I think that's why people love them so much

They weren't reprints, just the early direct edition front runners and Whitman would bag them up and sell them like this in packs of three: @RockMyAmadeus is probably the best man to ask about their history - I remember reading some in depth posts from him on the subject.

Boom indeed! Cool book. I did have it, way back. Here's my copy. It was hard to find, but not that hard. If you know what I mean

The boards are great, yes, and they do give you a channel to escape the slings and arrows. They are like every other thing in life though, a mix of good, bad and stu ugly. You just need to embrace the good, ignore the bad and polish the ugly (once in a while). Have a read of my pence, miller and font threads @The Resurrection. Links in my signature line below. I'd love to get more input as they are about comics and have a faintly whimsical, nostalgic slant that might appeal. And the comics are tatty as hell

Me too. It's all good Chris, just a bit of banter. We're all friends now

Good points Bob. How do you think they did it with the single pages? If I sent in a single ASM #1 page, how would they know if it came from ASM #1 or the golden record reprint from 1966? The reasonable conclusion is that CGC would need to receive the whole book to verify it and then separate it into pages themselves, or be present to verify the submitter separating the pages. So if I sent in an AF15, complete enough to verify, could I then ask them to split it into separate pages and to then split certain pages into single panels, e.g. the first suit apperance panel etc? How far will CGC go in legitimising the separation of comics in this way? There must be a policy, as they have started the ball rolling already with their single page / coverless NG slabbed books.

That would be nice to see.

And you.

Too late! Yep, I agree. But do they.......?

Indeed. I just find it an interesting question. At some point, CGC staff would have come together to agree whether they would grade a single page. They clearly decided that they would and, in doing so, 'legitimised' the action. Would they do the same for half a page, a quarter or less? Have they already decided, or has the possibility not yet been considered? I asked a different question of CGC in the 'Ask CGC' section of the boards recently and they kindly deleted it. So I'm not inclined to raise this there, as they don't seem that interested in responding to their members. So unless anyone has a graded half page (or less) to share, we may never know!

Those days are gone @The Resurrection. It's all arguing over AF15 and threads about terrorism nowadays. You could always take a look at some of my threads if you want. They're about collecting. Unfortunately though, about things only I collect. Or so it would seem.

Worry not. It was definitely a Hugh Grant one

And so many great people have replaced them

Nothing sinister. 'Bugger' is a word we English sometimes use to imply regret. I was just considering my own past words and actions, that's all. It is my birthday soon you know

Note I said Whitman in inverted commas. I don't want a visit from the Whitman police

The blank UPC typified the early direct / 'Whitman' copies. When directs settled into a regular pattern they were produced in lower numbers than newsstands. Then there was a reversal over the years to the point where newsstands dwindled to nothing and were then cancelled altogether. I just had a look on ebay for an ASM 165 'Whitman'diamond price box copy and a 694 newsstand. See how many you find compared to their opposites.

To be fair, I think we were talking just US newsstands. The Canadian newsstands do indeed have comparatively low print runs compared to their US counterparts. So for me, it's a simple scenario. Any book that is comparatively low in availability will likely garner a premium. Early directs, later newsstands, Canadians, pence, 30/35 cent variants etc etc etc. The completist will pay more for them all.

It does. The early directs, often referred to as 'Whitmans' were comparatively low in the production numbers which is why they often go for a premium. The first ASM was #165 and that's a really hard book to find in decent shape.

Sounds painful. Do you get a refund if you don't get the fast track service you pay for? I was planning to submit for the first time but all this negative feedback lately is putting me off.

Completists might be responsible for some of the high newsstand prices. I attempted ASM 500-700 and couldn't find a single copy of about 20 of them before I stopped collecting. It was harder being in the UK of course, but I'd scour eBay relentlessly and for some issues you would see hundreds of directs and no newsstands day in day out. Some people I know put out huge bounties on certain issues, e.g. 694 and I freely admit that I would pay 10 times the direct edition price without a second thought to get a book if I could find it. I don't have the figures, but the marvel newsstands were clearly a tiny % of the run prior to them ceasing production altogether (with Superior Spider-man #20 as I recall). Some people are indeed over egging the scarcity of newsstands from way back, but it stands to reason that the scarcer they are as are % of production, the harder they will be to find, especially in high grade. And therefore the right collector will pay a premium.

I can suggest a permanent fix that I'm sure would work. 'Pack them properly'.