wardevil0

What is going on with Warlock? James Gunn or Joss Whedon forget who, just said in an interview that Warlock's cocoon is in fact, in the post credits scene to Thor 2, and that it is Hatched aboard the collectors ship or w/e in Guardians.. in gotg you see a hatched cocoon briefly. Also Joss is a big Warlock fan so I think they've been secretly trying to fit him in as the big hero for phase 3. so Warlock, or Him unhatched, has already had a movie appearance! Is there any thought that the cocoon is actually Paragon/Her? She has many fewer appearances to pursue if you want to cover your bases.

Yes! That's exactly it! That's what the original comment was all about! Overstreet published a list which was a comparison of the selling price in US$ of a single copy of several Bronze Age comics, including a single copy of Hulk 181 vs a single copy of Cerebus 1 in NM-/9.2 condition. That is the topic of the thread in which we are debating. Everything else has been obfuscation. Is Hulk 181 more popular? Yes. Does Hulk 181 sell more copies daily? Yes. Does the highest-graded copy of Hulk 181 sell for more than the highest-graded copy of Cerebus 1? Yes. Is Hulk 181 more of an "iconic key?" Yes. Have recent sales shown Hulk 181 to be continuing to increase in price? Yes. Is Hulk 181 likely to outpace Cerebus 1 and become clearly more valuable in the near future? I think it will. Would one discrete copy of Hulk 181 in NM- sell for more than one discrete copy of Cerebus 1 in NM- in the year 2013? The people who made the list say "No," and many of us agree with them. To continue to assert otherwise indicates that either: one does not actually want to talk about the topic, or one fundamentally disagrees with Overstreet's valuation process (in which case one should probably just disregard the whole list). I'm not sure what point this is trying to make. New GPA highs are set for books all the time. That's how/why they go up in value. -J. Jaydog, why are you so willing to concede that the upward spiral of Hulk 181 prices is normal, but the thought of Cerebus 1 increasing in value is so laughable? Yes, I know that a new GPA high has not been recently set by Cerebus 1, but that could change in the blink of an eye. We simply don't have the information to accurately gauge the true interest in Cerebus 1, but a lot of dealers have said they would price a Cerebus 1 (9.2 or 9.4) higher than a Hulk 181 in the same grade.

That is the same thing. I work with this every day so maybe I take it for granted that people know. Give me a sec: http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-the-Market-Value-of-a-Company http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/market+value So I think I found two companies to illustrate the difference in our two perspectives: Apple and Lockheed Martin. Apple has 5.99 billion shares of stock out there in the world, and each one seems to be worth about $98.94 today. Lockheed Martin has 315 million shares of stock out there, and each one seems to be worth about $173.50 today. Market capitalization says that Apple is by far the more valuable company because it has so many more shares of stock, but the more valuable stock is Lockheed Martin. The individual collector is less concerned with the collective value of all Hulk 181s (the company) than about each discrete copy (the stock). Does this make sense? It's been a long day at work for me so I may be leaving out important bits.

OH. I see. I now understand your position much more clearly, but I'm afraid we may be at an impasse. From my perspective, I cannot conceive of "collectibles" as having value in that way. Comics are not shares or stocks, because there are maximum numbers of all comics. There cannot be more of them once they've gone to press, but there can be fewer of them. Shares can be continually issued, stocks split, etc. With comics, rarity can be a premium. Since I'm not as familiar with the financial market, let me posit this scenario and you can tell me if I'm on the right track. I added up all the sales recorded in GPA for Hulk #181 in unrestored 9.6 and 9.8 from 2013 and got $276,924. I then added up all the sales recorded in GPA for Avengers #4 in unrestored 9.6 and 9.8 from 2013 (exact same parameters) and got $203,020. So I agree that Hulk #181 generated more revenue in the marketplace, but I still do not agree that it's more "valuable" than Avengers #4 just because it came up for sale so many more times.

Please open your 2014 OPG, or turn back to page 58 of this train wreck, and note that the difference in price is only $100, which is less than 5% of the overall value of each. Last year, Hulk #181 was $100 over Cerebus #1, and this year Cerebus #1 was $100 over Hulk #181. Both increased, but Cerebus #1 increased a bit more, in this particular timeframe, in this particular grade. I don't think I understand your explanation of market value above, "the price for each book sold times the number of books sold," but it seems like you agree with what Chuck Gower, RMA, and others have been saying:

I definitely think that the word "guide" should be interpreted this way, as one factor to be considered when buying and selling. We've all encountered books that sell briskly "above guide" and books that languish even "below guide." There are so many other factors, such as "highest graded copy" or scarcity (real or perceived). In this one instance (aggregate of 2013 data), and this one grade (NM-), the math project that is OPG indicates Cerebus #1 is more valuable than Hulk #181. Does that mean Cerebus #1 is a better investment? No. Does that mean Cerebus #1 is more valuable in all grades? No. Does that mean Cerebus #1 will be above IH181, MP7, IM55, etc next year? No. It just means that at that moment in time, in that particular grade, the consensus of Bob and his advisors was that Cerebus #1 cost more than Hulk #181. Discussions about which is "more important," or "king of the Bronze Age," or which would sell for higher in 9.9, are not questions that can be determined factually because they are personal preference or because the copies are not known to exist. The way I see it, Cerebus #1 is "cooler" because it has such a limited print run and represents an incredible accomplishment in comics: an independently-published 300 issue limited series. That being said, I'd rather have a Hulk #181 because I think the lack of new Cerebus material will allow the fanbase to dwindle while the corporate juggernauts behind Wolverine will keep him in circulation.

some definitions of PRECISE from Merriam-Webster: 1 : exactly or sharply defined or stated 2 : minutely exact 3 : strictly conforming to a pattern, standard, or convention 4 : distinguished from every other some definitions of ACCURATE from Merriam-Webster: 1 : free from error especially as the result of care 2 : conforming exactly to truth or to a standard : exact 3 : able to give an accurate result I say this not to be pedantic but because words and their meanings are important if multiple people want to communicate effectively. To my mind, GPA is more precise but OPG is more accurate. GPA is one data source that has rock-solid input for what it has. OPG has a multitude of data sources that can be a bit fuzzy sometimes, if for no other reason than that we don't exactly know how they come to their conclusions. Do prominent, public sales get weighted more heavily than dealer reports, for example? I don't know, but I bet all those factors are included somehow. Please remember that OPG is an annual report of nationwide trends, not a continually updated stream of selected data points. GPA doesn't include ComicLink, for example, because they do not allow their data to be shared.

Why would they pop? If any book in that run should be heating up it would be 10 and 34 I think. Maybe 39 too I always thought #21 had a lot going for it. First Brother Blood, pre-Crisis Monitor appearance, Night Force preview story. All it needs is for either Brother Blood or Night Force to make a go. I like NTT 39 too. White cover, Flash and Robin quit... But for NTT 42 and 43, it would require people to actually want to read their comics for them to pop, and that generally rules out most of the factors that make comics pop. (ref: Marvel Super-heroes 18, first appearance of a bunch of characters NOT in a recent hit movie but still skyrocketed in value) But if you think they will, don't sleep on Annual 3 for the conclusion of the Judas Contract arc.

Some of the Shea Stadium promo material sold a few weeks ago... you caught Spider-man's wedding!

The signing had two rules. 1. Two book limit. 2. One of the books had to be from the last 15 years. Republications do not count. Within twenty minutes of the signing Art stopped signing books and yelled about how there were more signed copies than unsigned copies of Maus in circulation and that this is why he doesn't agree to signings. This was a reaction to someone bringing book 1 and book 2 of Maus to get signed. I wonder why that matters to him? So what? Maybe like a famous singer or song writer that keeps getting asked to sing the same song from 25 years ago, over and over again, he just wants someone to bring him something else he's done. If he is going to bother showing up to a signing he should expect that he will be signing things. Who cares if it is Maus or someone's Tshirt. Shouldn't he be appreciative that people like his work? I guess I just don't get it. I met Herb Trimpe at a con in DC last year. He was generally pleasant to most people, but I showed up with a GI Joe: A Real American Hero 119, which he had written, penciled, inked, and colored! He seemed so happy to see something that was a little less common. Then a guy I was with was deciding which print to buy, and picked a Captain America over a Hulk/Wolverine print. Herb was thrilled that people wanted something from him other than Hulk 181-related stuff. He was nice to everybody, but was clearly tired of being best-known for some work from about 40 years ago.

I'm sure it is. If I couldn't be courteous while letting fans down I'd at least be courteous when I made an excuse to not even look. Yep I've found it's best to not say much at all-if you say for instance the backgrounds need work or the anatomy what you'll get is an artist arguing about why you're wrong and it's perfect. At that point it's okay to drop the courtesy. I heard a story during an interview on the Fatman on Batman podcast a while back... A young creator took his portfolio to Marvel to try to get some work. After showing it around to sugar-coated but unenthusiastic responses, he shows it to Larry Hama, an editor at the time. Mr Hama proceeds to disassemble the guy, blowing him up for glaring stylistic errors. The artist flips out, argument ensues, artist gets thrown out of the building. Time goes by, artist realizes his work was kid stuff, and sets out to rectify the problems Mr Hama identified. Comes back to Marvel, gets a job, and is one of the more in-demand artists today: Greg Capullo. He's frequently mentioned how grateful he is for the honest, constructive criticism of his work he got from Mr Hama. There are a couple of other corroborating stories online. Personally, I've only met a few creators but so far they've all been great. I only go see creators I like and can actually discuss their work; they seem to like that. I also usually buy some of their prints or whatever, and get those inscribed. They seem to like that, too. I've had decent conversations with Ben Templesmith, Richard Case, and Don Rosa while the lines were short, and Ben Dunn (via email) and they were all top-notch.

HYPE HYPE HYPE! I attempted that with the Fun and Games #8 as the third Groot. All the US copies for sale disappeared from EBay. BUY BUY BUY! The next book after that is Fantastic Four #204 (disclaimer for Silverdream: I have no idea what happens in that book, and randomly pulled it out of thin air.) Daredevil 127 looks awesome... continuation of a story from 126 where the identity of Torpedo changes. You could say that 126/127 is basically the same as Hulk 180/181 in terms of cameo/first full appearance. It's within the realm of possibility that Torpedo will be a character in an upcoming movie/TV show/mass hallucination, so buy them now! OMG! Fantastic Four 204 is guaranteed hot! The next key for Guardians of the Galaxy 2! First appearance of: Queen Adora and Nova Prime, aka Tanak Valt, founder of the Nova Corps! Marvel wikia RMA's completely right on this topic, it's too easy to build up hype for virtually any random Bronze Age Marvel. Every book was a first appearance or key story development.

Yeah, what's the value of publicly posting "PM sent?" If you want to make the deal privately, then do so via PM. Posting that you are being private is counterintuitive. I assume MCMiles is correct and it is being used as a way to stake a claim without making any kind of commitment.

Pics, please. If not mentioned, X-Men: Alpha has a second printing, without the chromium cover. X-Men Chronicles (1995) covers look the same, but indicia seems to indicate. The comicspriceguide.com scan is small and blurry to me, but kind of looks like it says Second printing. 2nd print

Pics, please. If not mentioned, X-Men: Alpha has a second printing, without the chromium cover. Mycomicshop.com also lists Ka-Zar #1 (1997) as a second print, but I'm not sure. The UPC code ends with 00121, which normally means it is a variant cover. A second print would usually be 00112, correct? I guess the indicia would be definitive. "2nd print" "1st print"

was one of them for that 1st Gamora? not yet, that person said they are paying me on the 13th also Raychay112233 paid after the case was closed so I guess they shouldn't be on the list anymore. But I do have a new one that may or not be on your list. mandhenni - contacted me after I sold them a WD127 CGC 9.8 They claimed the book arrived damaged (message below) "I think it might've gotten damaged in shipping. The part that says 9.8 and all that. It Is like folding and rippling. Like it came loose from the glue or whatever they use." I responded that in my initial picture the 'paper label' is already wavy and that it's normal for the label to appear that way because of the way they have the case etc. I told them I did not think the book was damaged (as I did not hear about any damage to the actual case, broken plastic etc) their follow up "the label is coming unglued from the inside" which I then reiterated the same thing I had said before this was their final message on July 24th "Then its not a perfect case..if the inside is damaged " Today they requested a refund. I asked them to ship the item back. Just wanted to pass this info along to the next person he buys a WD127 from. Hope your label is perfect. Are people crazy? No CGC labels are ever glued in. They just sit in the space. I've cracked a few for signatures and the paper label was completely loose in there. On extra-thick slabs, the paper can get quite wobbly. I'm assuming this is an attempt at a scam for partial refund and not just naivety, but that may be because it's a pet peeve of mine when people "LOL" at you when they are the ones who are in the wrong.

This is truly crazy, but the price bump for graded copies has been discussed for a few years now. The difference between pristine and certified by someone else to be pristine? I still think the analogy holds with coins, paper money, etc. I understand paying more for the peace of mind on restoration check, undeclared damage, and so forth but not that much more. Maybe the time value of money? I can spend the next three weeks going to every LCS I can and will eventually pull a 9.8-worthy copy for $2, or I can go on CLink or HA and drop some cash and have it delivered right to my door.

Huh? 9.8 =/ 5.0 What's your point? Please give me an example of someone paying 1-400 times the going rate of an item outside of collecting comics, only because it's in very high grade? Again...Huh? Coins, Sports cards, cars, toys....nearly the ENTIRE universe of collecting literally anything. Unless you collect damaged things on purpose. That would be pretty fun. So you can't provide a direct example, of something that sells for 400-800 times it's value in high grade in one of these fields? Not quite to the same extent, but certainly in the ballpark, and the best I could do in five minutes: 1965 Ford Mustang (original, comparable to Blue 9.6) - $60,000 Ford Mustang Original 1965 Ford Mustang (restored, comparable to PLOD 9.4) - $22,000 Mustang Restored 1965 Ford Mustang (rusty, complete, comparable to Blue 1.8) - $5500 Mustang raw The fact is that for many collectibles new high prices for "among the best" copies are set all the time, while beaters are plentiful. What would you get for a 10th century Chinese tea set with chipped ceramic? A tiny fraction of what you'd get for a flawless set. It's almost too easy to come up with examples. Watch any episode of Antiques Roadshow, or Pawn Stars, etc and see people show up with their damaged goods trying to get full price. It may not be 400-800x price, but most of those things don't start at $1. If a $1 item rockets up to $25, it's a huge percentage increase but I could still buy it with the change in my piggy bank. We're talking about an item that many completists want for their Wolverine runs, but wasn't highly regarded as a collectible when it came out. The gold ink cover shows wear easily, and its years as a discount bin book have taken a toll on the total quality of the supply. I would never pay that much for a copy, but likewise I would never pay the current asking prices of New Mutants 98 or Walking Dead 1.

Ha ha! I see what you did there, and I enjoyed it.

I'm pretty happy with this new acquisition... a new signature and slab on a book I've had for about 20 years... Dirty Pair 1 signed by Adam Warren, probably best known for his current series Empowered. This is his first pro work... There are two 9.6s in the census, this one and someone else's blue label.

I'm not sure I agree that the number of people involved should be the determining factor for PL v HoS. From the sounds of things, this is outright theft. Not to mention the fact that it reduces confidence in sketch ops, which is bad for the boards (Castrillo aside, the worst problem people normally face is that it takes ages to get their sketch - that's distinct from buying and selling books where by now most people that participate on the boards know that there are a fair amount of cowboys around aside from established boardies). I think the issue with the number of people involved is that it may be the difference between an accident/oversight/temporary personal problem and a long-term pattern of misconduct. A few people may have their sketch delayed for some mysterious reason (PL until it gets made right), but if the entire thread is off track it may be embezzlement of opp funds (HoS for theft).

It sure beats short boxes Previously, I had maintained my collection in short boxes on shelves. This became pretty cumbersome as my collection rose over 10,000 issues. Some LCS's in my area used drawers to store their comics like filing cabinets. I found a source that would custom-make such comics cabinets, but they were approximately $1000 each. I evolved from that to regular steel vertical file cabinets, which can cost more than $600 each. I transitioned from that to used office supplies, which were a winner at $50-60 per drawer. Choosing a cabinet is a geometry problem. You have to make sure that the internal dimensions are good for comics. Most drawers are deep enough for comics to stand upright, and most drawers are long enough to hold about as many as a short box. The real considerations are in width. Assume that a comic is 8 inches wide, which will allow for a Golden Age book with a little space between rows. Measure the width of the inside of the drawer, which will be a few inches narrower than the overall width of the cabinet itself. For example, a 36" cabinet has 34" of room inside, which lets you make four rows, while a 42" cabinet has 40" of room inside, which lets you make five rows. Once you have your cabinet, you need to consider its placement. A fully loaded 36" cabinet will weigh about 950 lbs, so don't put it in your attic. Also, don't plan on moving it to reach the leaky pipe in the wall behind it unless you add mobility. Turn your empty cabinet over by tipping it backwards so the drawers don't fly out. Get it all the way upside-down and look at the bottom. Every cabinet has removable feet for leveling. Unscrew those all the way out. Take one with you to the hardware store to make sure you get the right bolts to go back in. At the store, you will need to buy the following parts: 1. Wood furniture dolly 2. 3 inch swivel casters (need 4) 3. Hex head bolts ¼ inch, size 20 x 1½ (sold in packs of 4, need 4 packs) 4. Flat washers 5/16 inch (2 for each bolt, so 32. Sold in packs of 50) 5. Hex nuts ¼ inch, size 20 (1 for each bolt, so 16. Sold in pack of 100) 6. Solid wood panel as large as your cabinet and at least ¾ inch thick 7. Wood screws approximately 1½ inch long (need 8) 8. Wood screws approximately 2-2 ½ inches long (need 8) 9. Hex head bolts of the same size as the levelers you removed from the bottom, 3 inches long (need 4) 10. Flat washers to fit the hex bolts for the bottom of the cabinet (need 4) I was able to buy all these things at Lowes. You will need the following tools, at least: A. Flat head screwdriver B. Pliers C. Power drill with ¼ inch bit, Philips driver, and drill bit slightly larger than the bolts you got for Part #9 D. Pencil E. Two adjustable crescent wrenches F. Ruler or T-square Build your cabinets! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I don't remember the whole story... what had the Beyonder been eating anyway?

Still trying to get the bad taste of Secret Wars II out of my mouth. Never forget the awkwardness...

But are your copies "GEM" VF/NM? SUPER DUPER GEM 8.5. The absolute best examples of 8.5s there are! Among 8.5s, they are the 10.0s of 8.5s! I'd like to see "Gem" added to all eBay auctions, like the obnoxious "HOT! HTF! LQQK! CGC Ready! CGC it!"