David Swan1

There were only a handful of highest grade issues available and I let one slip through my fingers so I was determined to try and avoid it happening again. World Wide Comics had two highest grades but the combined price, for me, was very high although reasonable given the quality of the two comics. This is part of my quality over quantity goal. I hadn't purchased anything since May so I had a nice amount of money to spend but this still put me well in the red and there I will stay until the end of the year. My current plan is to make my next purchase the beginning of summer 2015 so there is going to be a long wait. I picked up Captain Marvel Adventures #32 CGC graded 9.4 and #40 CGC graded 9.2. This gets my total percentage in the set up to 30% and I finally feel like my set has officially arrived. I have 26 highest grade issues and 14 that stand alone. These numbers are so much higher than the current registry point leader it's ridiculous. I still don't think I can win Golden Age set of the year or Presentation of the Year but I think my set is ready to get some consideration. My next scheduled purchase would actually be the most I've ever paid for a single issue and these rarified airs can sometimes take my breath away. I worry more now about my package arriving safe and sound. I've been hearing more buzz about a Captain Marvel movie in 2016 with Dwayne Johnson reportedly confirming his casting as Black Adam. This movie won't be based in the same universe as the Man of Steel universe and will be a bit more light hearted which is probably a smart move. If it becomes a popular franchise my collection may jump in price but it could also price me out of the market going forward. On the other hand the movie may never happen. We shall see. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Back in the late 80's early 90's I got heavily into sports card collecting and if you know anything about the hobby at the time you're probably already letting out a sigh. The only player I know of still active from that era is Derek Jeter and his time is running out. I've decided to purge most of my cards which is a painful act given the time and money I spent on the hobby but I have to face facts the nearly 100% of all the cards are essentially worthless. I put most of the blame for what happened on Beckett and their stupid price guide. The guide was intended to reflect the prices of cards based on what dealers were selling at and yet every dealer I came across was selling at half Beckett or less so unless there were a ton of dealers selling at twice Beckett, Beckett was pulling the prices out of their rear ends. Mind you even the half Beckett price was inflated and driving up demand beyond reason. Besides offering inflated prices the Beckett guide (a magazine I bought religiously) hyped up rookies to no end. Once a player was in the league a few years Beckett couldn't care less but an unproven draft pick was golden. The card makers responded to the overinflated hype and price speculation by cranking out millions of cards and is if that weren't enough more card makers entered the market and each company started producing multiple sets. Instead of a player having one, maybe two rookie cards they could now have a dozen diluting the price of each. Collectors were stocking up on dozens of Gregg Jefferies and Todd Van Poppels and each one was going directly into a sleeve and kept in mint condition. Beckett can never seem to do enough evil so now you can have your worthless card graded and slabbed at a price that would almost assuredly cost more than any value you could get out of it. Another thing that happened that I don't blame on Beckett or the card industry is the reputation of almost every player from that era was ruined. Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens; some of the greatest statistical players ever and I don't know if any will make it into the Hall of Fame. Other players like Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Jose Conseco not only got pinched in the PED scandal but are also looked at as jokes. Even players untouched by the scandals like Ken Griffey Jr, and Frank Thomas were either tainted by the whole unsavory atmosphere or perhaps just were so overproduced that no statistics could overcome the excess availability. I also collected basketball, football and hockey but the overproduction killed them all. I called a local sports card store and offered hundreds of mint cards of some of the era's stars and the store had no interest so I'm just throwing most of them in the garbage. It's just not worth my time and effort and it's a fitting end. Comic books in the 90's also seemed to be desperate to commit suicide but at least they produced entertainment (occasionally). There is a reason I stick to Golden and Silver Age comics because I've painfully learned that once something is considered collectable any new items produced are no good as collectables. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

My goal had been to win Golden Age set of the year and it's a very very long term goal but I'm starting to think my chances are better in the Best Presentation category as it's not nearly as much of a brute force competition. I thought I would go through the 2014 winners and see how I compare. This is a completely self-serving posting that I will use just as a comparison when next years awards roll around. With 100% images, 100% description and a long description for the set my Captain Marvel Adventures collection is my only candidate. Zabra's Complete Action Comics, 25952 registry points, around 300 comics, 33% completion of the massive 911 comic set. Lee K's Go Go Check set, 22580 registry points, 147 comics, 27% completion Bagofleas' New Mutants, 4463 registry points, 107 comics, 98% completion My 20840 registry point in Captain Marvel Adventures is right in there and my 29% completion is between Lee K's and Zabra's but way behind Bagofleas. Where I lag greatly is in volume. My 44 issues just is not competitive against these three sets and my additions are slow in coming. I will add at most two more comics this year and based on my current schedule I will be adding just one comic next year. Unless CGC allows a more modest sized set to win it may be awhile before I can get noticed. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Creating the best Captain Marvel Adventures set requires striking while the iron is hot so it kills me to miss out on so many opportunities. Right not on Heritage Comics the following Captain Marvel Adventures are on auction. #9 9.4 Mile High #16 9.4 Mile High #29 9.6 Mile High #80 9.4 Mile High These would fit MAGNIFICENTLY in my collection but any one of these would shatter my budget. Issue #16 is already up to $2200. This is the most impressive CMA auction I have ever seen and I will be sitting entirely on the sideline. Among other things I'm just not willing at this point to pay the Mile High premium but those are some BEAUTIFUL issues. Someday I might be willing to shell out the big bucks but not today. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

There are yet again rumors of a Captain Marvel Movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson claiming to be playing the World's Mightiest Mortal. I generally ignore these rumors because I've heard them for years but this time I'm thinking it may just happen with or without "The Rock". For one thing Warner Brothers has to be kicking themselves daily for essentially sitting on the sideline during the golden age of Superhero movies. Not only are Marvel property license owners raking in the dough but Disney/Marvel is building up the brands to tremendous heights. WB's coma is absolutely inexplicable but it sounds like they are finally waking up and Captain Marvel looks to be one of the main characters they're looking to capitalize on. The biggest problem I see with a Captain Marvel movie is differentiating him from Superman. To comic layman he appears to be Superman in a red costume. Even if you add Dwayne Johnson many people will just think of him as the black/Samoan Superman. This concern may be somewhat overblown as Captain Marvel and his lightning bolt transformation SHAZAM! has made its way into the collective consciousness of our society to the point where SHAZAM is sometimes used as an exclamation by even non comic book fans. I'm also not sure what the copyright issues may be with the damn Marvel version of Captain Marvel. To integrate Captain Marvel into the DC movie universe you'd need to eschew the lightheartedness like Tawky Tawney. As much as I'd LOVE to see a fun Captain Marvel movie in the spirit of the 1950's hero the economic facts are that the producers would be swimming upstream and would likely have to go with a much smaller budget than the current $150+ million dollar movies. Plus, characters like Tawky Tawney, Mr. Morris and the Lieutenant Marvels just don't mix with Snyder's Superman or Nolan's Batman and I don't think WB wants to create a separate universe for Marvel. Captain Marvel already has some darker elements particularly in his creepy origin with the dark subway train and the suicidal wizard. An interesting template would be Miracleman by Alan Moore although that might be going a bit too far. A successful Captain Marvel film might be somewhat of a sister kisser for me. On the one hand I get to see one of my favorite superheroes on the big screen. On the other hand it may boost the popularity of the comic which would be great for my existing collection but if enough interest is generated I may get priced out of the market. Captain Marvel will never rival Superman, Batman, Captain America or Spiderman but currently similar issues at similar grades are up to 10 times more for a Superman comics than Cap. If I saw even a 50% rise in cost I would probably bail out and just keep what I have. Maybe I should pray for a kick franchise... in ten years. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

My goal is to one day win Golden Age set of the year and I thoroughly intend to meet that goal even if it takes me a decade or more but the fun is in the journey. So with the 2014 Registry Awards posted I thought I'd look through this years winners and see if I could possibly be competitive using my Captain Marvel Adventures collection. I'll go through them on by one. 1. ALFRED PENNYWORTH, JOKER'S WILD, Batman comics. Registry pointwise this one destroys me. I will never have this many registry points. Some very high grades mixed in with some middling grades but to be missing only 3 issues out of the first 100 issues of Batman comics is astounding. Presentationwise it's near bare bones with no images and only nine brief descriptions. With 17 comics added this year alone it's a very active set. 2. hkp, What the Church run might have looked like? Mickey Mouse Magazine, Another monster on registry points. This one is 100% complete with more than half having images. The activity is very low with only two comics added since 2012 and those seemed almost like a quick dash before voting started. This one is pretty awesome. 3. clarkkentdds, Off to the Museum, Superman comics, A truly awe inspiring collection but a surprise winner given than the set is obscured. I guess CGC felt ok in un-obscuring it for the competition. The number of high grade early issues of Superman puts a tear in my eye. It's a thing of beauty with nearly 20 times the registry points of my Captain Marvel Adventure collection. My collection will NEVER compare. On the other hand there are zero images and the descriptions are pretty much pointless with descriptions like 'OWW'. This is an active set with 9 comics added this year alone. For me the best of the three was the Mickey Mouse Magazine with a far better presentation but it was lacking in activity. I'm surprised 'Off to the Museum' was even considered given that the set is obscured. I was a little disappointed this year since the GA winners were dominated by registry points mostly in lieu of presentation and I simply cannot compete with these 160K+ registry point behemoths. My goal is to reach about 36K registry points in the next 8 years and that isn't even a quarter of the lowest registry points in any of this year's winners. I understand that there is also the best presentation award but I really do think the GA winners should have more than the bare minimum. 'Off to the Museum' is a tease and I wish I could see those issue. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I did my first trade with a CGC member whose anonymity I will respect giving up my issue 45 CGC graded 9.2 for issues 66 graded 9.2 and 76 graded 9.0. From a registry standpoint I definitely came out ahead. I don't think it was a total coup for me as I was quite fond of issue 45. It's an earlier issue with a higher registry point value than either of the other two and it has less graded copies but I would be lying if I said I didn't think I came out well. I have a little bit of history with issue 66 as I lost it in an auction over a year ago. It is very rare that I lose an auction when I really want a CMA issue and this one would have been perfect in my collection as it was a highest grade. My opinion is the buyer probably got caught up in the moment and overpaid (BTW the person I traded with was NOT the person who beat me in the auction). The buyer then IMMEDIATELY put the comic up for sale on ComicConnect at an even more inflated price and I gave up any hope of acquiring it unless the price dropped significantly. When the comic didn't sell the buyer then posted it on EBAY at an even HIGHER price. The comic vexed me because highest grades are my bread and butter but I was not willing to pay the bloated price. I won't go into the how's and wherefores but a deal was made and everyone left happy and I now have issue 66 without overpaying. I loved issue 45 and although 45 and 66 are both 9.2's only issue 66 is a highest grade. Issue 76 was something I've wanted for a while but only because I have a milestone obsession. It would have filled in a gap and produced the first continuous run of four issues in my CMA collection. I do realize it's a stupid goal which is why 76 was way down on my wish list. When I ranked the available comics on which I want first both 66 and 76 were low enough that I wouldn't have bought them for years (if they were still available) but it's still nice to have them. The trade does several things to improve my collection. First, it adds one additional comic to my comic count and volume is the biggest weakness of my set. Second, it increases my total registry count by over 200 points. Third, it gets me one more highest grade comic. On the downside it reduces my registry point average and grade average. Also, I may never see another issue 45 at 9.2 and above whereas 66 and 76 were both available. All in all it went well. It was also nice to improve my set without spending money, besides a small shipping fee, particularly since it's going to be a long time before I make another purchase. I won't be buying anything until September and it might be a lot longer than that depending on my next target. My new quantity over quality really slows down the growth of my set. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

It's always shocking to me to see a comic almost 70 years remain in a 9.6 condition. The comic below is a beautiful copy but I notice that the cover is slightly translucent so I wanted to ask a few questions related to this condition. My assumption is that a translucent cover is the result of excessive exposure to ultra violet rays. Perhaps the comic was displayed on a wall by a proud owner. Would this be an accurate assumption or could something else cause this condition? How much, if any, does this take away from the CGC eventual grade? Given that it got a 9.6 either a semi-translucent cover has little to no effect on grade or this condition occurred after the comic was slabbed. This leads into my next question which is do the CGC cases offer UV protection? In other words could I take a slabbed comic and frame it without worry about damage from UV rays? My biggest concern in considering this comic for purchase is that the semi-translucent condition occurred AFTER the comic was slabbed and it would no longer be considered a 9.6. I can tell by type of case that this was an early comic to be slabbed. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Just noticed I've lost my number one spot in All-American Men of War. I know of a comic I could buy that would put me back on top but I've vowed to devote all my resources to Captain Marvel Adventures. I'm going to have to just let that series go. At least I still have All-American Western. Oooh, maybe I shouldn't have said that out loud. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Starting this year I have decided to devote my entire monthly comic budget to Captain Marvel Adventures at the expense of my other sets. Since January I've added four new issues and continue to slowly work my way towards the top position held by Starman221, the 2009 Golden Age Set of the Year winner. I am trying to set a pace to take over on registry points in another 8.5 years although I'm actually moving up faster than that. This year I finally passed the half way mark in registry points in my quest to take the top spot. Two years ago at this point I had purchased 11 CGC comics and bought 27 total throughout the year. Last year I had purchased 7 CGC comics by this date and ended the year at 13. This year I have bought just 4 and will likely buy just 1 or 2 for the remainder of the year. The reduction in volume is offset by an increase in quality and I've added some comics that previously I might have blanched at because of price. Having a budget has really helped me keep my expenses in line but I confess that it's a challenge to go 3 and 4 months between purchases. My ultimate goal remains to have the top golden age set. It may take a decade or so but so be it. The fun is in the journey. I now have 28% of the set with every single comic having an image and description. My collection has 24 highest grades with 12 being alone at the top. Compare that to the top collection which has only 9 highest grade issues and just 1 that sits alone at the top spot. Almost all the rest of my collection are second highest grade. My lowest grade is a 7.5 and I have seven 9.4's and my first 9.6 this year. The top collection has 23 issues graded BELOW 7.5, only three 9.4's and nothing above 9.4. Starman221 has an impressive 37 pedigree issues which beats my 25 although my percentage of pedigrees is much higher. Despite being well behind the top Captain Marvel Adventure set in volume and registry points I have a much higher average grade, a higher registry point average per issue and far more top grades. There are a few more areas my set lags behind. Starman221 has issues 1 through 26 while I have nothing earlier than issue 30. Starman221 is tied for the highest grade of issue 1 which although only a 5.0 is still the best CGC grade in existence. He also has a 7.5 grade of the hard to get issue 150. These are the alpha and omega of the sert and I confess that I wish I owned them. However if I were collector with unlimited funds and I wanted to create the greatest Captain Marvel Adventure set ever I'd be looking at my set not the top registry point set because I doubt there is another CMA set in the world with this many highest grade issues. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I went looking on Comic Link and *WHOA* I was stopped dead in my tracks. Issue #50 of Captain Marvel Adventures in NM+ condition. That's a 9.6 Golden Age comic. As a rule I don't divulge what I paid for a comic but in this instance I'm breaking my rule. I originally put in a bid of $530 and got back a response saying $555 was the minimum. Then I put in $555 and after a few more moments decided I was stupid for trying to penny pinch on such a deal. If I let this one by I would regret it for years to come so I went with the asking price of $600. Ironically, earlier this year I had lost an auction on a 9.2 of issue #50 which sold for $455 and in hindsight it turned out to be a blessing. This purchase manages to do a lot of things for my collection. 1. It is my first 9.6 grade CMA. It's also a MONSTER 2100 registry points which easily breaks my previous record of 1100 2. With this comic I am now over half way to reaching the registry point total of the current number one CMA set. Just 18019 more points to go. 3. I particularly enjoy when I buy a comic that is shared with the number one set and my grade is higher. In this case my 9.6 is much higher than the 9.0 of the number one set. 4. Because this one issue has so a high registry point value I now have a higher average registry point per comic than the number one set. His is 471 per comic and mine now jumped from 441 to 479. 5. I am now in the second year of my ten year plan to take the top spot in CMA. I have a specific target registry point goal per year and with this comic I have now far exceeded my goal for the year and it's only May. I will buy one maybe two more comics this year. 6. For whatever reason issues 50, 51 and 52 are very heavily graded and I now have one of each; a 9.6, 9.4 and 9.4. Now I can ignore those three issues which just liter the internet. Now when I say heavily graded I'm talking about dozens as opposed to hundreds or thousands in the case of silver age and beyond. In the case of issue 50 there are 49 graded copies and two 9.6's. I've seen other CMA issue with three or less graded copies so 49 is a huge amount relatively speaking. 7. I am now back in the top 500. Given that this has drained my budget and then some we'll see how long I last. It's going to be at least three or four months before I buy something else unless a "can't miss" deal comes along.

Like most, if not all people on here, I love to buy and receive a new addition to my collection. However my decision for the rest of the year is to go for quality over quantity. The sad part is that if I shoot for the ones I want, based on my budget, I'll be purchasing precisely two comics for the rest of the year. I've already gone over two months without an addition. In the previous two years I'd bought 5 comics by this point. In 2012 I bought 27 comics through the year and in 2013 I bought 13 comics. If I buy just 2 more it will be 5 for the whole year. The one comic I'm looking at would be easily the biggest one I've ever purchased. We'll see if I can go the next eight months with just two purchases. It will be tough. The next comic I buy will likely be June at the earliest and then the rest of the year will be spent saving for the big one. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

A 9.0 Captain Marvel Adventures #13 This would have gone great in my collection and the opening bid price was $799. Looking on ComicPriceGuide.com a graded 9.0 is $1575 so that's a heck of a bargain yet I didn't even bid on it. In fact no one bid on it. Why? At least for me it's because the comic appears to have severely slipped in the case and I don't know what kind of damage it might have caused. Should I have gone for it? I could have broken it out of the case and had it regraded but I just let that one go. Was I crazy? Obviously I could have gotten it for about 1/2 guide so maybe I missed a huge opportunity. I just know I would have never gotten around to regrading it and seeing it all askew would have bothered me to no end. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

CGC is already starting to post info about the upcoming yearly awards. I've always felt that a job worth doing is a job worth doing right and as far as I know the CGC collector awards are THE premier comic collector awards so it would be neat to see them done right. I have a few suggestions that I think would improve the quality of the awards. Some may be already in place. This would reduce the number of winners and save CGC money on printing and sending certificates. 1.Disallow any set that is obscured. This includes even Best in Set. If a person doesn't want their set to be seen they probably don't want a certificate. I have actually seen sets win Best in Age that are obscured although they might have been obscured AFTER their win. 2.For Best in Age only consider sets where the collector has put in some effort. There should be a significant amount of images and issue descriptions. Again, if you only enter the registry number and call it a day you probably don't care about an award. 3.For Best in Age or Best Presented only include sets that have actually been added to in the past year. I have seen at least one set win without having a single addition in the prior 12 months. I've also seen sets win and then immediately get dismantled. If the set meets my above three criteria it's probably in it for the long haul. I've even seen a collector win Achievement in Comic Collecting Award and then turn around and remove all comics. 4.Avoid awarding instant sets. I've seen impressive sets spring into being overnight and disappear just as fast. This one isn't as hard and fast as the first three but slowly built sets are probably going to be around longer. 5.I think it would make sense to treat the CGC awards like the Oscars with sets being submitted. Have a check box on the Control Panel that says [ ] Consider Set for 2014 CGC Awards. The person would have twelve months just to click a box. There have to be a lot of certificates being sent out to people no longer actively paying attention to their sets or in some cases sets that no longer even exist. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Is there a best position to store them in? In other words laid flat on it's front, on it's back, on the bottom edge, on the side edge, on the top edge etc... Thank You To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I wrote less than a week ago that I managed to make it back into the top 500. A few days later I was bumped out again. Today it would take me over 300 registry points to get back in the top 500 so not only am I dropping I'm plummeting. Based on my budget the only CMA comic I could afford in April would be a 300 registry point comic which wouldn't get me back in the top 500 NOW much less in 3 weeks. If I let my budget accumulate I could afford a 640 registry point comic in May but at the rate I'm dropping that won't even come close. The moral of the story isn't woe is me. After all there are much better measurements of a collection than registry points but it really shows that CGC's popularity is increasing fast. I'd say it's only a matter of time before I'm pushed out of the top 600. Who would have known there were this many deep pocketed collectors posting there comics on CGC's site. It will be interesting to see how big CGC can get. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Well, that didn't take long Four days ago I snuck back into the top 500 and already I'm bumped out. That was probably my final venture into that rarified air. Not only do I have a strict budget but I have the budget set to continually go down. My thinking is I've created a solid foundation for my sets and now I just need to hone them. Plus, this is an expensive hobby and there are other places my money may be better served. That's not to say I won't be adding at a healthy pace but not like I did the first three years. With CGC seeming to become more and more popular my expenditures just doesn't seem to be enough to be a top 500 collector and that's fine. I probably won't have a new addition for at least several months and maybe longer and by that point I'll have been pushed way down in the top 600. With the increased popularity of CGC I begin to question whether my dream of winning Golden Age set of the year will ever be realized. My Captain Marvel Adventure set is far from being ready but based on last year's winners two of the three were probably better than any set I could EVER make. In fact on registry points alone two of the three may have been more than one could even possibly accumulate collecting CMA even if money was no object. In the meantime, while my set sits dormant for a short period, I have been reading CMA comics from Comic Book Plus's online site. The stories are silly and hokey but if anyone expects a Golden Age book to be intelligent and thought provoking they haven't read much GA. I would say these stories are better than most Superman stories from the same era. On the other hand if my funds were significantly deeper I would be buying Superman and Action comics (there I confessed it) but they are WAY more expensive for the same grade. My belief is I'd rather have a spectacular collection of a lesser set than a mediocre collection of a popular set. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I have managed to get back into the top 500, at least for the time being, but it took a big 1100 registry point comic to get me there and I'm just hanging on by a thread. My newest acquisition is a beautiful 9.4 at a great price. Well, maybe not THAT great since it had been sitting around for several years without a bite. The reason I waited so long is because, although it's a lovely cover and an awesome grade for a Golden Age book, it is perhaps the most heavily graded of all the Captain Marvel Adventure comics with 62 graded copies and 9 graded 9.4. I avoided this issue because it was just so darn available but a 9.4 Golden Age is still a 9.4 Golden Age even if 8 more exist out there. I'm sure my visit to the top 500 will be short particularly since I'm going to take at least a few months off to replenish my coffers. I have a very strict budget and my next addition may be a big one. I'm very meticulous about my collection and I have a list 32 potential buys, their place of sale, grade, price, registry points and how close they are to the highest grade. I then crunch all the numbers and come up with my next purchase. I keep track of my added registry points per year and how many I need to reach number one. I have another number one grade in my crosshairs but this would easily be my biggest purchase ever and would go through over half my budget for the rest of the year. It all depends on how long I can go without making a purchase. My record last year was 2.5 months. If I bought the big one I would only be able to buy a couple more for the rest of the year. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

You Decide I'm a big fan of Captain Marvel and the Captain Marvel Adventures but I've only read a fraction of them because few have been reprinted. They're in the public domain and there are legal cd's with all the issues scanned but I never went out and purchased one. Yesterday I found a website called ComicBookPlus that offers public domain comics for viewing and I decided to actually read the comics I own and add expanded descriptions to my issues. I was reading through a story called "Mr. Tawny Loses Faith In Mankind" in issue 96 where Mr. Tawny's likeness is used to sell products including a breakfast cereal where he declares, 'It's Great'. At first I assumed this was a parody of Tony the Tiger except that Tony the Tiger was first created in 1951 and this comic was published in 1949. Coincidence or more? You decide. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

It's hard for me to believe that I went from July 1st 2013 to January 30th 2014 between purchases of any issue of Captain Marvel Adventures but I kept having other opportunities in other sets that pulled away my funds. I'm back in gear this year with two new additions and still on pace to take the top spot in CMA in less than 9 years. Yes, it is a mighty mountain I've started to climb but I intend to scale this thing. Neither of my additions this year have rocked my collection but they're decent. My one unalterable requirement for additions is they must be as good or better than the same issue in the top collection. In the case of comics not in the top collection I just go for a high grade as in 9.0 or better. My goal this year is to buy up about a half dozen or more comics that have been sitting around the internet for several years but I haven't gotten around to grabbing up. Then the path gets harder as I'll either have to wait for new opportunities or turn to higher priced issues. In the latter case it will mean a reduction in quantity since I have a hard budget that I stick to. I've also discovered they staying in the top 500 highest registry points group may be more than my budget can handle. I reached it twice last year but twice fell out and have yet to make it back in. My next scheduled purchase would put me back up in the top 500 but I have a feeling that would again be only temporary. It appears there may be more than 500 people accumulating registry points faster than me which is a good sign for CGC. One thing I'm considering this year is abandoning all my sets except Captain Marvel Adventures to focus on it like a laser. I enjoy my Western Comics but for economics sake it may be better to have one great set rather than a bunch of very good sets. So if anyone has actually read all the way through this rather self serving, boring post please stop by my Captain Marvel Adventures collection and get a look at the series. I have 100% images and description so it may be worth a visit. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Every year I take a very self-absorbed look at my CGC advances for the previous 12 months and set goals for the next year so I can track my progress. 2013 was an awesome with my main goal being to reduce my volume of purchasing. My goal had been 12 purchases for the year which may seem miniscule but that's a decent amount of Golden Age comics. In 1012 I purchased 27 comics so 12 would be a significant reduction and I missed my goal by just a single comic having bought 13 comics throughout the year. More importantly was the fact that I stayed below budget and actually went almost 3 months without a single purchase to prove to myself I could do it. I managed to reach number one in All-American Western and with a few more purchases should solidify my place until I choose to give it up given the small volume of issues. I received my first certificate with my number one spot in All-American Men of War. I didn't even realize CGC sent out physical certificates until I received mine in the mail. Captain Marvel Adventures is my premier set but I haven't added to it since July 1st because other opportunities kept coming up. I did add quite a few comics to CMA but they were all in the first half of the year. Given that not a single must-have opportunity came up since July 1st tells me that the road forward in building this set will be a lot harder than the road so far travelled. There are about 8 to 12 CMA comics online I'm still interested in and I intend to purchase at least half of them in 2014 but I am running out of available buys. In 2014 my main goal is to stay under budget which is a lower budget than 2013. I have established a solid base for all my sets and this year will be more about polishing them and I intend to continue to reduce my budget although never to zero. It is still my intention to someday be number one in Captain Marvel Adventures but it's going to be a long road but that's fine. I have a bit of cash left over from 2013 so I'm hoping to start off 2014 big and put more focus back on CMA. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

This is my first purchase since September and it's a modest one. I had intended on finishing off the year big but instead I pick up a wimpy little 7.0 All American Men of War with a puny 58 registry points. Despite its mediocre grade this one is tied for the highest CGC grade for issue 41 and it is the very rare All American Men of War priced to sell. Seriously, check out Comic Link. There are dozens of highest and second highest graded issues and they are all massively overpriced and none of them sell, ever. There are loads on Ebay and although the prices aren't as ridiculous the sellers are still dreaming. This is the first AAMoW I've bought in over a year and I considered just saying to heck with that collection even though I currently hold the top spot. This is actually one of two AAMoW that I purchased this week but I haven't added the second one to my registry yet. If sellers actually start pricing the comics decently I might start paying attention again. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Based on my newly created budget I wasn't supposed to buy any CGC comics until later this month or next month but as any Golden Age collector likely knows there are opportunities you can't pass up or you literally may not see them again in your lifetime. All-American Western is a VERY difficult set to collect. There are just 24 issues total and many of them have just one or two CGC graded copies. Imagine my surprise/delight upon discovering not one but TWO highest grade issues on EBAY at reasonable prices. The issues are 8.0 and 8.5 which aren't stunningly high grades but again these are the highest graded currently in existence so I can't do any better and both have white pages. I won another All-American Western graded 9.4 from this same dealer awhile back at an unbelievable bargain and one person commented that even for a 9.4 it looked amazing and I have to agree. I wonder if the same person graded all these issues and was in a bit of a mood because just like the 9.4 these two comics look better than their grade and as I said have white pages. The one problem on one issue is poor placement of the staples. I take it the dealer learned his lesson on the auction because this time they were sold as "or Best Offer" so I didn't get nearly the bargain. My only problem now is the CGC website seems to be having some problems with a few of the issues of All-American Western and it's not showing their registry points. I wasn't able to successfully enter my CGC certification number for issue 126. Hopefully it will be resolved soon. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Back in July I decided to impose a spending cap and immediately spent into a deep deficit when a couple can't pass up auction items came up for sale. So then I had to hold back on my spending to get my allowance back in line. This meant a wait until October at the earliest. July to October. *whew* At this point it's officially been two months and since no must have items have arisen I've stuck to my goal. Sure, there are some items out there I'm burning to purchase but I'm proving to myself that I control my spending not the other way around. My longest gap between purchases since collecting CGC collecting was 67 days late last year to early this year and I'm very close to surpassing that. This is coming from someone who purchased 27 CGC comics last year alone. This in no way means I've given up my goal to have the number one Captain Marvel Adventure collection on the planet but it may take awhile. My spending limit is not exactly austere and given my budget for the rest of the year and available comics I plan to add another 1700+ registry points and probably between 4 and 5 thousand registry points a year going forward. Not a small amount but certainly less than I was doing. My hope is to get around 2x registry points per dollar spent but that's not always possible so 4 to 5 thousand may be overly optimistic. Regardless, I am looking forward to continuing my collecting in the next month or so but not buying anything can sometimes be as refreshing as buying. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I'll confess I'm a huge DC fan and I don't really share in all the excitement over the flood of Marvel films. I thought Iran Man 1 rocked, Iron Man 2 did not, Captain America and the latest Hulk were disappointing and Thor was decent but not spectacular. Avengers was fun but I didn't feel it was disserving of all the accolades it received. The Dark Knight Rises had some real issues with the plot but overall I thought it was a better crafted film then Avengers and the realism gave it more emotional depth and gravity. I felt somewhat detached from the Avengers like I was watching a big loud party but not invested in the results. Having said that I think Warner Brothers has really painted themselves in a corner. The Nolan realism plays to Batman's strengths and I do think they managed to integrate in Superman but things will only get more difficult from here on out. The upcoming Flash film is going to be a real challenge and I'll spell out why I believe this to be so. 1. DC is trying to create one unified universe. Can you picture The Flash standing next to Christian Bale's Batman? How about Weather Wizard or The Trickster or Captain Cold? How about Gorilla Grodd? Can you picture and 8 foot tall talking Gorilla in the Nolan universe? Nolan wasn't even willing to use Ra's Al Ghul's Lazarus pit or Bane's Venom or The Jokers deadly joybuzzers and acid flowers. I suggest redoing the Flash's origin completely. It's not an iconic origin. Maybe something more akin to Dr. Manhattan's with him somehow tapping into the speed force. He needs a believable costume so avoid the muscle suit from the TV program (a show which I loved) and choose the villains wisely. I think Professor Zoom is a no brainer and God, if only they can figure out a way to do Grodd. But this is what I mean by WB backing themselves into a corner. Realism and The Flash are a real hard mix. 2. Speaking of the villains. Who among us read The Flash and didn't think that our hero should have been able to mop the floor with anyone in his rogue's gallery except perhaps Zoom. For goodness sake Captain Cold's only weapon was a stolen freeze gun. You can only do so many stories with him making slippery ice under the Flash's feet. Man of Steel gave Superman back his speed which means they can only water down The Flash's speed so much before he becomes the SECOND fastest man alive (if we consider Superman a man). The moment The Flash's engages one of his villains the fight is over. Green Lantern was somewhat easier because he has a much stronger group of villains to challenge him. 3. Could time travel fit in the Nolan universe? Should the writers just stay the hell away from time travel? No time travel means no Abra Kadabra. Some of the best Flash stories involve time travel but it's a dicey proposition given the universe DC is establishing. 4. I believe a realistic universe for the heroes to occupy has greater reward possibilities but it is going to be extremely tough. There are so many avenues that are sealed off. People complained that Man of Steel was too serious but the world tends to be more serious than the movies. Even that slight humorous nod when the female soldier called Superman "hot" seemed awkward and out of place. A lot of changes needed to be made to Clark Kent to fit into a realistic universe including having Lois know his secret right off the bat. And can any of us imagine Henry Cavill becoming the awkward, glasses adjusting Clark Kent from comics in Man of Steel 2? 5. If you think The Flash is hard to do in a realistic universe think about The Martian Manhunter or Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman may be the hardest because the thought of an Amazonian Island with Greek architecture existing in the same universe as Nolan's Gotham City seems hard to conceive but unlike The Flash her origin is far more iconic. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.