justafan

Sorry I can't post a bigger scan right now but these are the defects when I last went over it with an LED light. Front Cover: 3 light Non-Color Break spine ticks: 1 up to 1/16", 2 up to 1/8" on spine, light shallow Non-Color Break bends on FC due to handling between 1/8" and 1/4" Back Cover: 3 light spine ticks: 2 up to 1/16", 1 showing clear Color Break up to 1/8", the white streak along the lower right back cover spine is not a reader's crease. It is color rub from either stacking or rubbing against other books/spinner rack/shelf or due to production ink loss. A press would likely eliminate 2 or all 3 front cover spine ticks and all of the Non-Color Break bends. It would possibly eliminate 1 of the spine ticks on the back cover leaving 1 definite color break and 1 light spine tick and the color rub and color fleck near the bottom back cover staple. My issue is in grading the color rub on top of the other defects. Initially I had it at 9.4 but I took another look and with the accumulation of listed defects I put it in the 9.2 to 9.4 range from the OS grading guide. With a press I'd estimate 9.4/9.6 at best but definitely not 9.8. However, the color rub is making me unsure of even those grades. With the clarification of the defects listed above, what grade would you consider it now? Thanks for any additional input.

Might need to have my eyes checked but need help assessing this comic and others like it with similar type and quantity of defects. Please grade my ASM 505. Thanks in advance.

7.5/8.0 after a press. The color breaking creasing on the front cover edges and corners and the stain on the top back middle kill it for CGC putting it in 7.0 territory. Nice copy though.

I would wait to seed the good stuff until later in the show. go ahead and seed it with a few minor keys for the dealers especially in boxes that appear to not be organized. then once the show really gets going start seeding it with the better stuff. try not to let the scummy dealers see you but invite the other dealers you like to see what updated goodies you have at the end of the show. that way if dealers pick you clean it's only the weaker stuff and you may get a bulk deal out of one of the disorganized drek boxes. as the show goes on and you see folk's picking out the keys you can guage whether or not it's working or if they are only buying keys. if you see a fan of one run of books buying multiples, you can then offer him some keys from that run from this hidden box you just happen to have been holding back. as a buyer whose time is worth more than money, I prefer organized long boxes with books that are bagged and boarded. I hate wasting my time so if books are unbagged/boarded and disorganized I will save you for last which usually means not going to your booth at a large con. at a smaller show I may make it back to you. Yes, wall books pull me in but if the boxes are a mess I will keep walking. if you have no wall books but instead have clearly labeled alphanumerically organized boxes that don't look like they've been stored in a leaky basement and not overstuffed to the point where I can't dig through without bending or damaging the books then I will stop and rummage through.

With the exception of reading to my children I have to agree. I cringe at some of the dialog and plots in SA ASM's I'm reading right now. However, I do relish the tactile and olfactory stimulus I receive and share with the kids in holding these 80 year old comics that just happen to be worth $200+ currently. Certain back issues will be in demand for while to come. However, with the modern stuff, I get none of that enjoyment. Some of the stories are too mature for my kids and most are drivel. The comics neither feel, look, or smell the same as my SA/BA/CA or mid modern issues. The art also sucks. I feel like I'm in the same boat as a lot of you on here who've realized they are just buying comics for the sake of their collections but not actually enjoying or reading them. When you step back and look at the whole purpose of comics and why comics ever existed you realize the medium has already long been surpassed and Marvel and DC have already moved into their future replacement. Comics used to be the only medium for portraying the most fantastic, outlandish, exaggerated stories that could be printed. Kids and adults could immerse themselves in brilliant fantasy for only a few cents. Radio was the primary medium at the time that could spur the imagination with special effects that were not seen but only heard and allowed our imaginations to produce imagery for. However, radio was eventually was replaced by TV but special effects could never match what could come to life in comics back then. Gradually and eventually animation on television started to catch up and somewhat replace what existed in comics. I for one preferred the Transformers and GI Joe as well as TNMT and He-man cartoons to those in comics. But Spider-man, Superman, and Batman comics couldn't be beat by the cartoons and live action shows from the 70's and 80's. Though I did really like Spidey and his amazing friends. Then came the special effects of the 80's and 90's with CGI and better anime. Suddenly there was hope and possibility with well written Batman and X-men cartoon TV series and movies but with only rare exception were any big screen adaptations able to be produced so most of us fans still had to rely on comics to quench our thirst for out of this world superhero action. And then came the break through blockbuster movies and animated TV series of the 2000's. Of course this did wonders for back issue sales but the primary driver for moderns was the hope that a future story arc or character would cross over or appear in the next big Marvel/DC movie. However, that just never panned out and there seems to be such a big disconnect between the movies and comics that you don't need to read them to enjoy the movies which are now providing a far better product and medium for telling those fantastic, outlandish, and exaggerated stories that we yearn for. Instead of paying $5-6 a month for 1 comic, I can now get a whole netflix series (or soon to be Disney series) of animated spider-man, Batman, or live-action MCU and DCU movies for just $9.99/month. Not sure when print comics will die out but I for one would rather watch 30min - 5hours of my comics for $10/month vs read them 1 comic/month at $5/month for only 10 min of entertainment. In fact I would prefer if the comics would simply morph into an animated series for all current moderns but hopefully with better writing and stories.

I agree with the article. as a customer I've cut back. trimmed my file copies down to a single title. stoped buying new variants. saw that most of the titles I was paying $4.99 for were available in high grade for $1-3 3-6 months later. picking up common variants after 3-6 months. ignoring the flood of 1:X variants as most aren't worth the money spent. I'm saving about $50/month on regular issues and over $500/month on variants. I know this will put a minor dent in my LCS profit but i hope they and other comic shops follow suit and trim their orders to force publishers into doing away with the reboots and gimmicks and putting out just fewer titles with better quality.

For a discount. 10% off all listed prices. See first post for price list.

OK I just saw this last night and...it was...just OK for me. Cool but rushed opening sequence that seemed to shoehorn in some things that I felt they could have spent more time developing in the movie.

I don't get it either. there were at least 2 people that were willing to spend at least 30k for it. I'm guessing it's a couple of people for whom $30k is like $30, $300, or $3k for the rest of us; easily disposable for the right collectible. I just hope it wasn't some investor looking to flip or cash it in a few years. And if you are the owner of the 9.8 but are a collector whose focus is Captain Marvel would you really let it go? if you are confident prices will fall in the future you could sell now and maybe net $50k and then try to buy it back once the movies are done but risk it falling into the hands of another collector who will never part with it.

I'm just waiting it out. wanted to upgrade my ASM 13 but kept putting it off since I couldn't find a copy in the grade I wanted. finally decided to focus on it and 2 months later mysterio is announced as the villian in the next movie. the good part was copies came out of the woodwork. the bad news is the prices shot up 5x what they were. I'll wait until the hysteria dies down and just focus on other books. glad I got my ASM 101 in 9.8 a few years back for what I thought was a ridiculous amount $3k. seeing it go for over $14k in the clink auction makes me feel better and almost makes me want to sell it and try to buy it back in a few years.

had me until you mentioned dealers cracking open slabs...

just saw the full trailer at the theater last week. It reveals soundwave, shockwave, and starscream all G1 style original forms and what appears to be a holographic of a G1 style Optimus! I'm so excited now I really hope this one does well and does it justice unlike all those crappy Michael Bay movies. I would love this to head in the direction of a conflict with Unicorn in 3-4 movies!

2010 - 2011 Marvel ends Newsstand distribution to all but Barnes & Nobles and Books-a-Million (as cited by David Gabriel, Marvel VP Sales) AUG 2011 Newsstands are at ~ 1% of market extrapolated ASM 664 VF/NM SOLD (none on ebay and none sold in last 3-6 months) Sadly it's my only copy in the 600's but a pretty late one too. That's it folks.

Removed

Moved

FEB - DEC 2006 Newsstands are at ~ 2.75% of market ASM 527 FN+ $12 ASM 532 FN- $10 ASM 537 FN/VF $13

MAR - DEC 2005 Newsstands are at ~ 3.25% of market ASM 516 VF- $15 ASM 519 NM- $19 ASM 523 NM- $19 ASM 525 VF/NM $18

ASM 509 VF/NM $17

ASM 508 VF $15

ASM 507 COPY A FN- $8 COPY B VF/NM $17

ASM 506 NM SOLD 

ASM 505 NM SOLD 

ASM 504 COPY A VF/NM $17 COPY B NM SOLD 

JAN - AUG 2004 Newsstands are ~ 3.75% of market ASM 501 NM SOLD ASM 502 VF/NM $17