john ivic

Neal's Other Romance Books Returning to the journals today after a lengthy absence. Picked this one up on ebay and there is nothing romantic about this catfight cover! Most of the covers for this title depicted some goofy scenario, regardless of who was doing the writing and art. But of the 15 covers done by Neal Adams, there are about four or five that stand out. I plan on picking up a few more. And they are pretty hard to come by slabbed, as you will notice if you check the CGC census. Just about all of these issues have less than 20 graded. Kick some butt Lois! Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Something Needs Fixing Just picked up this copy on ebay. Problem is, I can't add it to my Flash set as the reply says, "there is no certification number for this book". And if you check the set score detail for this issue, there are no points displayed for any of the grades. Huh?!? Hopefully the problem will be fixed soon enough so I can boost my point total by another 480, which is what this book is worth in 9.8. It contains the third and final GL/GA backup story by Neal Adams. Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Lots Of Registry Points Here Finally paid for this book which I won in the last Pedigree Comics auction. Cover's okay, never was a fan of Gil Kane. Totalling 1750 points on the registry, it is now my highest valued book as far as points go. And the points/dollar ratio turned out great, as the 1750 is almost four times the amount I paid in dollars. Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

AAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!! The holy grail on my want list, Creepy 14, was on sale on ebay up until today. It was an eight day listing for this issue in CGC 9.2 with white pages beginning yesterday. Unfortunately, I'm about broke at the moment and my credit cards are maxed out. I had hoped that the book would go unnoticed for its eight day tenure, but no such luck. Sold sometime today in the afternoon. It has been ages since this particular issue has been on the market in CGC. Just how long? The last sale was in August, 2005! It features the first work by Neal Adams in a Warren mag. As far as tough to find Adams books go, this one tops the list. Well, maybe the buyer will decide to flip it over. I can only wish. I'm sure many of you out there have had this same experience. What gnaws at me was the fair buy it now price of $96. I should have sold a book from my collection at my LCS as soon as I saw it on ebay. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

And Why Not The 1970s X-Men? Much to my chagrin, my ranking on the CGC points registry has always stayed within the 270-300 area. As everyone probably knows by now, I specialize in Neal Adams books from the late silver and early bronze age period. Problem is, so many of the books I have by Adams amount to peanuts when it comes to points. Unless you acquire the major titles with his artwork like Batman, Green Lantern and X-Men in ultra high grade, you are not going to move up in points very fast. Which brings me to the X-Men books of the late Seventies. So many great covers by Dave Cockrum and John Byrne. And I'm sure the stories are just as great. I've won two in the last 24 hours - a 9.6 95 and a 9.6 120 from Pedigree Comics and ComicLink, respectively. Right now I can't afford high grade slabbed copies of X-Men 94 or Giant Size 1, so I'll focus on the ones between 95 and 120. Beats collecting some oddball title just to accumulate points. After all, you can't go wrong with the X-Men, right? Oh, and don't worry fellow Adams fanatics, I won't stop buying slabbed books by Neal anytime soon! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Adams Avengers Just won this in the ComicLink auction. Might very well be the best Neal Adams Marvel cover. A striking depiction of the Vision beating the out of a skrull. If you're familiar with the story, then you know that the awesome android is going berserk because his beloved Wanda is being held captive by the skrulls. Fortunately for the alien, Thor and Iron Man are able to restrain Vision. A signature copy to boot, signed by Adams and Stan Lee. Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

All Hail The New Record Holder! Wow! One million more than the previous record. Who's the lucky (not to mention rich) auction winner? Can't wait too see all the coverage about this in the media. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Intense Adams Cover Finally managed to get this one on ebay. Last time I checked there were only five copies on the CGC census. Actually a combined effort here, with the cover art being credited to Jay Scott Pike along with Adams. Well, it's got Neal's look all over it, so it's good enough for me. Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Nice Superboy Scene Here's the final book from the auction. Just when I thought I'd seen every great Adams cover, another one pops up that I'm unfamiliar with. This is actually the first Superboy comic that I've bought since I began collecting again way back in 2002. Just awestruck by Neal's detail on this cover. Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

One of Neal's Finest The second book from the comic link auction. Awesome Spectre cover with Wildcat in the foreground. And it's always nice to get the 9.8! My winning bid was somewhat lower than what you would usually pay for this book in 9.8. Gotta love those c-link auctions! Be back with the final journal on the last book I'm bidding on. Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

The First One Secured From Latest Comic Link Auction Conan 45, from late 1974, the tail end of Neal's DC/Marvel glory days. Adams did some inking in this issue and also the cover with Gil Kane (strange pairing if you ask me). I'm bidding on a couple of other Adams books and will follow up with journals if I win them. Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Adams Getting In Touch With His Feminine Side? Picked up this very hard to find book on ebay recently. This is one of three DC romance covers that Adams did. They just don't get any harder to find than these. Now to track down Heart Throbs 120 and Girl's Romances 134. Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

At Last.....After Six Years And I'm the first collector on the registry to do so. A feeling of satisfaction, to say the least, upon completing the goal of acquiring all of these books in high grade. And this last one is a Mass. pedigree to boot. And like all the Tomahawk covers by Neal Adams, it's a stunner. Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Some Sellers Need To Wake Up It never ceases to amaze me how some sellers on ebay set prices on their books and are convinced they will sell, no matter how many times they have to list them. Case in point: five CGC issues of the Neal Adams Tomahawks listed the other day graded at 9.4 or 9.6. The prices range from 499.95 to 649.95. This is the third time the seller has listed these books in the last four months. The prices have not changed, nor does he add the best offer option. Needless to say, he won't sell them this time around either. The books are all overpriced by $100 - $200, depending on the grade. One of these books I need, but not at the price he wants. Like I said, wake up and smell the coffee! Or just let your books sit until hell freezes over. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

One Of Many Covers Picked this up at one of my LCS. Always been a fan of Frank Frazetta and this cover has to rank as one of the best. Would have preferred a higher grade, still, this one presents the appearance of a 9.0. I will be posting more journals with some other Warren mags with his cover art when I acquire them. Enjoy. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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 ! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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 To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.