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john ivic

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Journal Entries posted by john ivic

  1. john ivic

    Speaking Of Rare Ones

    By john ivic,

    Don't Have it Just Yet
    At the moment I'm bidding on the Adventures Of Bob Hope 106, 1967, CGC 4.0, signature series signed by Neal Adams. These Bob Hope issues done by Adams are probably the most difficult books to find of all the work he did back in his heyday. This is the only one for this issue on the census, which tells you how hard it is to find in high grade. I won't even add it to my registry set if I win it due to the low grade.
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  2. john ivic
    Adams X-Men
    Purchased this one from ComicLink recently. Features interior artwork by Neal Adams. A nice cover by Marie Severin. This was the last issue Adams worked on and the next to last of the original run. Enjoy.

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  3. john ivic
    HOM Creepiness
    Won this one in the last Comic Connect auction. A nice horror cover by Michael Kaluta, who was doing all kinds of work for DC at the time. A triple cover on this one, (how's that for a printing defect) with the outer cover a 9.2. Love the blue and yellow color combination. Not too often that I add a 9.8 to my collection. Enjoy.

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  4. john ivic
    Sorry Silverage Collector
    Featured here is MSH 13, Captain Marvel's second appearance. I'm actually bidding on this book right now. My apologies to Silverage Collector because I've beaten him to the punch. (Alluding to the journal just prior to this one.) For some reason I just love this cover. It's a beautiful copy, date stamp notwithstanding. Also features the first appearance of Carol Danvers, although it does not state that on the CGC label. Quite difficult to find in such a high grade. Enjoy.

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  5. john ivic
    Adams Deadman Rules
    Bought this beauty on ebay, making it my first purchase for 2014. And I got it for a great price too! In my recent journal on the Tomahawk 116 I bought, I mentioned that the covers on that title may be the best that Neal Adams has ever done. But the case certainly can be made for his SA Deadman run also. Actually, I think this cover is just so-so. There are some other SA covers more stunning, particularly 207 and 214. Enjoy.

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  6. john ivic

    A Favorite Cardy Cover

    By john ivic,

    Always Fancied This One
    Won this copy of Aquaman 38 in the last Comicconnect auction.It has a cool, psychedelic cover by the late Nick Cardy. Just wanted to show this beauty to everyone. Happy New Year !

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  7. john ivic
    Simply Awesome
    Won a CGC 9.0 Tomahawk 116 in the latest ComicLink auction, upgrading from the 8.0 I have. And it's hard to know where to begin when describing this cover. Neal Adams outdid himself here with this beautiful western culture clash illustration. Actually, it does not look so much as pencil work as it does a painting. Many Adams aficionados consider his Tomahawk covers the best work he's ever done and I would find it hard to disagree. A great pity that he did not do the interior art on these books also. This particular issue is my favorite DC cover, period.

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  8. john ivic
    In Response To SW3D
    One way to gauge the worth of certain books is obviously to go on the net and see what the established dealers sell them for. But here's where things get bizarre. Let's take Witching Hour 1 from 1969, CGC graded 9.4. A book that also happens to be on my want list. One rather famous comic dealership in NYC is asking $895 for a 9.4 with ow/w pages. Another, less known dealer on the internet is asking $324.95 for the same CGC grade with white pages. Now, which copy do you think I'll purchase? Duh!?! And I have not even checked the Overstreet price for this book. Don't need to, I guess. Point is that too much confusion is created as far as value is concerned from so many sources, not just the dealers. Just keeping looking for those bargains all you collectors!
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  9. john ivic

    Neal's Debut

    By john ivic,

    Of All Titles!?!
    Up for bid on ebay and ending today at 9 p.m. is Archie's Joke Book 44. This happens to be Neal Adams' first pro work, dated January, 1960. A CGC 7.5 with crm/ow pages. A historic issue, considering how far Mr. Adams has come. And he was only 18 at the time he did this work. Included is a scan. Enjoy.

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  10. john ivic

    Nice Signature Accquired

    By john ivic,

    Adams Superman Rules
    Just bought Superman 204 CGC 9.2 signed by Neal Adams on ebay. This is the highest graded SS copy and a beautiful cover in my opinion. Scan included for all to enjoy.http://mrbill128.com/417/07_18_2013/cgc_superman_204_92_4024.jpg
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  11. john ivic
    Waited Too Long....
    Recently missed out on a CGC 8.0 Heart Throbs 120 from 1969 on ebay. It was listed with a starting bid of $29.95 or buy it now price of $39.95. Someone else picked it up with about 2 days left before closing. The reason I'm transfixed with this issue is because Neal Adams did the cover art. Neal Adams doing work on a romance comic? That's right. About as rare as it gets for Adams. Anybody out there on the registry that may have bought this book? If so, I'm still willing to buy.
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  12. john ivic
    Nice Haul Of Adams Books By Years End
    Picked up some more difficult books with Neal adams art. They are The Adventures Of Jerry Lewis 104, 9.6 (Savannah), Adventures Of Bob Hope 107, 9.4 and 109, 9.2, Batman 217, 9.0, Challengers Of The Unknown 72, 9.8 and 74, 9.6 (Rocky Mountain) and Tomahawk 118, 9.6 (Savannah). Happy Holidays everybody!
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  13. john ivic
    .....Or Getting In Over Your Head
    In the October Comiclink auction I put in bids for six books. I expected to be outbid on at least three of them, in the end I was outbid on two. The total for the four books I won? $1,318.21 including the shipping and buyer's premium. OMG! I sweated it out for about a week before getting an unsecured loan. Perhaps some of you have been in this situation before. I guess it teaches one a valuable lesson. I certainly learned from this. No matter how badly you want certain books, DON`T type those bids in recklessly! Now to start scrapping up money for Christmas!
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  14. john ivic

    Flash 204

    By john ivic,

    Won this in the recent Heritage auction. A cool Neal Adams cover with Iris Allen ratting out her husband's secret identity. Also a pedigree, which is always nice to acquire. Enjoy.

  15. john ivic

    Tough Ones III

    By john ivic,

    They Just Keep Coming....
    More Neal Adams CGC difficult-to-find books keep coming my way. I now have Our Army At War 183, 9.4, Savannah, Adventures Of Jerry Lewis 102, 9.0, Savannah, Tomahawk 119, 9.4, Massashusetts, Tomahawk 127, 9.2 and Challengers Of The Unknown 67 and 70, both 9.4. There are some more Adams books that are Savannah pedigrees that I have yet to purchase. Thanks go to Worldwide Comics and ComicLink, where I bought these books. Life is good!
  16. john ivic

    Going For Marvels Now

    By john ivic,

    Need Some Keys
    Having accquired just about all the DC stuff I wanted, I'm setting my sights on a few Marvel books now. These include: ASM 121, 122, Silver Surfer 4, 14, Captain America 117, TTA 93 and Avengers 57. If my budget allows, I should have all these books by summer.
  17. john ivic

    More Tough Ones

    By john ivic,

    Some Gems Turned Up That I Happily Purchased
    Recently added these Neal Adams difficult-to-find books to my collection: Our Army At War 182, 9.6, Slobodian, Our Army At War 186, 9.4, Suscha News, Tomahawk 129, 9.2, Slobodian and Challengers Of The Unknown 68, 9.4. Now if only those elusive Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis books by Adams would turn up. Happy Holidays everyone!
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  18. john ivic
    A Thought On Turning Fifty
    Today marks my Fiftieth birthday. Incredible how time flies. What I would not give to go back exactly 40 years, the time I first started to collect comics. Marvel comics had just gone up in price to 20 cents and DC comics were at their 52 page, 25 cents stage. If you told me back then that I would be collecting comics today, let alone paying hundreds of dollars on a single book, I would have said that you were...... well, you know. As I have stated in my bio, I collected comics throughout the 1970s before caling it quits. I would not resume buying comics again until 2002. I think that those of us that have returned to collecting after a long absence all feel the need to re-capture our childhood in some way. Now, for anyone that says I will be collecting 30 years from now....
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  19. john ivic

    Upgrading To The Nines

    By john ivic,

    It Seems Under 9.0 Is Somewhat Unpopular Amoung The Big Spenders
    I'm currently on the hunt for better graded copies of a few Neal Adams books I've listed on the registry. These include Brave & The Bold 80, 82 and 85, Avengers 95, Strange Adventures 209, Hot Wheels 6 and Secrets Of Sinister House 10. Not that 8.5s are anything to sneeze at from this era - 1968-1973 - but why not grab the higher graded copies if you can afford them?
  20. john ivic

    The Tough Ones

    By john ivic,

    The Books That Were The Hardest To Find
    Now that I am nearing the end of my collecting days, I have decided to list the ten books that were the most difficult to find in high grade. All are silver/bronze age and all but two feature artwork by Neal Adams. Here they are in alphabetical order: Batman 245, Creepy 14, DC 100 Page Super Spectacular 5, Detective Comics 397, House Of Secrets 82, Phantom Stranger 4, Star Spangled War Stories 134, Tomahawk 116, Vampirella 1977 Special NN and World's Finest 176. Hope that all of my fellow collectors out there also accquire the "tough ones" on their want lists.
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  21. john ivic
    Mission Accomplished!
    Due to the recent upgrades by CGC, I've reached my objective of 30,000 points on the registry. Nice to be at this level after two and a half years. There are still a few must haves I would like to add, such as Green Lantern 76, Batman 232 and Creepy 14.
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  22. john ivic

    Fluctuating Values

    By john ivic,

    It All Depends Where You Shop.....
    It never ceases to amaze me how one can accquire a certain book for a considerably cheaper price than what the next guy paid. For example, check out the Flash issues just won in the Pedigree Comics auction. Flash 120, CGC 8.5 sold for $206 and 127, 9.0, Western Penn, sold for $252. I've seen the same issues at the same grade go for much higher prices. Also, Flash 202, CGC 9.6, Pacific Coast, went for $100. The same book, same grade, and also a Pacific Coast copy, went for $325 on Comiclink about 18 months ago. Does this mean that the Pedigree Comics auctions are being ignored for the most part? One has to wonder.
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  23. john ivic
    The end is nigh.......
    As I have stated in my bio, I have just a few more books to add to my registry. Problem is, some of the Neal Adams books I need are quite difficult to find slabbed. If anybody out there has the following graded at least 9.2: House Of Secrets 82,Phantom Stranger 5, Heart Throbs 120 and Creepy 14, then I'm buying if you're selling.
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  24. john ivic
    Just won this in the Comic Link auction. Probably the hardest one to find in high grade among the Kree/Skrull war issues, due to the black picture frame cover. Although here we take a detour from that storyline, as our heroes battle the mandroids. Surprised to see that my winning bid was under $250. Six more Adams books to go. Enjoy.

  25. john ivic

    Defenders 5

    By john ivic,

    Picked this one up the other day. Features the origin of the Valkyrie, a character who figured prominently in Thor Ragnarok. Got it for a cheap price too. Not the outrageous sum you'll find for this book on ebay for the same grade. Enjoy.