wardevil0

But the way pages (or "leaves") are wrapped for stapling would mean that fragment could be from the corresponding position at the back of the book, not the next sequential "story page."

I don't have the issue to check (lol) but maybe that's part of the rest of the wrap that's still attached? Or maybe it's just stuck together with glue from someone trying to keep the loose pages together, so they thought it would be more damaging to remove it? Only the graders and original submitter would know for sure, I guess...?

Apparently this is a very rare EC Comic?

At the time comic shops were operating outside the UPC system with dedicated distribution (Diamond, Capital City, etc) and retail channels. All comics sold in convenience stores, book stores, grocery stores, etc. had a bar code. Comic shop workers had to manually enter the price per each.

I think most of those values are where they should be, but consider those values as relative to the respective keys from the run, so assume slow growth.

It's really not that much of an issue... there's a small buyer's premium but it's on par with most other online auctions. The only thing I watch out for is shipping, which has a fairly high initial rate. Inside the US, shipping for one item starts at $20 (last I checked) but goes up slowly from there, so it's more cost effective to get more than one item if you consider shipping as part of your per-unit costs or whatever. They're also sometimes slow to ship, but I've always gotten things incredibly well-packed and secure. I have no information on shipping to Canada.

I don't think there was necessarily a direct connection between the backup stories and the main story, but I may not be remembering correctly, 15 years later.

I read Countdown as it came out, and thought it was ok. It wasn't as strong as 52, which I think hurt it by comparison. It was tied to its time as a build-up to a crossover event, so it may not stand up on its own as a story today.

Sorry, but what's the QC issue here?

9.9 and 10 are in gold colored ink, to be extra super spicy special.

Second chance offers are still a thing on eBay, but I consider them a scam either way. Imagine the item you were bidding on was about $105 when you put in your max bid of $150. Then a shill bidder pushes it up to just above your max bid, then backs out of the sale. The second chance offer is at your max bid, when you could have gotten the item for $106 without the shill bidder interference. It seems like a scheme to get the bid price up, to me.

Do you hear the sad Hulk music...? Final issue of the first Magnus series from Valiant, also a newsstand copy.

The problem with this is that if Mike released the books to anyone other than their proper owners he would definitely make himself vulnerable to liability. It also assumes Mike has an organized record keeping system that definitively links each book to its rightful owner and not just a stack of Silver Age keys on a TV tray.

We look back now and see Detective Comics and Action Comics as these iconic, tentpole series that have spanned the generations, etc etc, but it's less likely people felt the same way about it in the early 80s. There was really no reason to maintain a long-running title just because it was long-running.

No one releases current sales data anymore. Comichron is the best source for historic info, but with direct distribution the way it is (Lunar, Penguin Random House, Diamond) there's almost no way to tell unless the publisher tells you.

Actually buying the run from MCS would be much more expensive. The least expensive options available for #15 and #16 alone cost more than $200 combined.

He's in Europe, so has to factor in shipping, duties, tariffs, fees, penalties, customs excises, surcharges, and so forth.

Marvel UK was a semi-independent subsidiary in the 1980s, with a few independent locally-produced series that got popular and transitioned to the main Marvel universe, like Captain Britain and Death's Head. The 1990s MarvelUK imprint was a way to try to capitalize on the edgy appeal of the art style. Most of the MarvelUK books started with guest appearances from Marvel characters but not many MarvelUK characters appeared in mainstream books. Nick Fury, Punisher, and Cable were in Motormouth, X-Men and Excalibur were in Hell's Angel/Dark Angel, Venom and Carnage were in Wild Thing...

I saw this guy follow-up on the Facebook page: it was repacked by FedEx.

I'll add one to this stack...

Actually, I'm wondering if the FBI Art Crime Team would be the way to go. I would assume most local law enforcement would be unfamiliar with the nuances of high-dollar paper, but these guys might be interested if the total dollar value gets high enough. Check here: https://artcrimes.fbi.gov/art-crime-team-1 Or, if @MattTheDuck or @Sauce Dog want to compile complaints and pursue this route, I can refer you directly to the Special Agent on the Art Crime Team in the Portland Field Office via PM.

Maybe "deniability" is a more appropriate term than "liability." As long as no one really sees what's going on, he can claim to still be working on it and the problems are all due to impatient, pushy, inconsiderate customers.

This was a four-part series, two by Now and two by Eternity, numbered 1, 1B, 2, and 2B, with the publisher's title listed first on their issues (NHS Speed Racer / Speed Racer NHS).

None of that looks right. I've never gotten a box that shape from CGC, I've never gotten the shredded cardboard packing from CGC, and I've never gotten clear cellophane packing tape. I just opened a box of 25 two nights ago and it was the usual packing, with inch-thick cushions around all sides in a box shaped to fit slabs standing upright. I call shenanigans on the original poster... maybe they used an intermediary presser or comic shop to submit for them? Maybe the box got destroyed by FedEx and they re-packed it? Maybe they dropped some slabs and are trying to scam some free reholders? Maybe it's all faked for social media clout. I know if I had unpacked damaged slabs I'd be showing off the cracks.