valiantman

On 11/2/2023 at 8:13 PM, valiantman said:

Won an auction, paid immediately.  To my surprise, I won a second auction from the same seller within 10 minutes. I sent a immediate message requesting combined shipping on the two auctions won within ten minutes of each other. Combined shipping was stated in both auctions, with a specific amount to be paid for the second item.  No response. I sent a second message the next morning, since the email sent within minutes of winning both auctions was ignored. They responded that they already shipped the first item, and it was my fault for paying immediately. I should have waited for them to invoice me for both auctions combined.

Yep, my fault. I paid immediately. Imagine the nerve of an eBay buyer to pay immediately. I guess I should have apologized.

I'll even call them out:  https://www.ebay.com/str/smrcollectibles

On 10/30/2023 at 12:24 PM, Ant-Man said:

Superman #123 - nice! That book takes me back to my first job as an intern at a health insurance company. I think I had it, a Tiger Woods Sports Illustrated, and an Independence Day toy on my desk. 

Sounds like a fun mix of "grab bag" style books. If you want to spread them out and post a picture or two here, the guys on the board might enjoy seeing if there are any gems among the books you don't know much about.

What was your total cost?

I don't think there is an answer that can satisfy everyone. A book like Amazing Spider-Man #667 isn't really worth CGC slabbing as a regular edition. Meanwhile, the Dell'Otto variant is one of the most sought after modern Marvel books. Requiring a $30 CGC book (such as the #667 regular edition) which is barely worth the cost of grading or shipping, in order to complete a "no variants" set is strange because there are other editions with the same content printed at the same time. Allowing a book like #667 Dell'Otto variant to fill that "regular edition" slot in a no variants set would make the registry points awarded skyrocket for a set that was supposed to be regular editions. Only rewarding 30 points or whatever low value to a #667 Dell'Otto variant filling a regular edition #667 slot doesn't make any sense either. 

I understand the comic collector mentality that readers don't need variants, especially expensive variants, because readers just want to read the story.

However, CGC is involved here, this is a CGC registry discussion, and readers who only want to read the books (and still don't think slabbing is even a good idea) aren't really CGC collectors in the first place. Have a "no variants" set of CGC graded books intended to cater to those (essentially) non-CGC people seems like a marketing effort which isn't going to hit its intended audience. It's like having a program to award good driving discounts to people who don't even own a car, while purposefully offering no benefits for drivers who own many exotic cars. Those exotic car drivers have to participate in a different program altogether.

On 10/26/2023 at 8:18 PM, DougC said:

If you have a registry set with any type of variant, reprint, facsimile, or generally anything not published first hand you will need to watch your sets.

Does that mean a set like Ultimate Fallout was allowed to have the second print or a facsimile from ten years later for Ultimate Fallout #4 qualify to fill the empty spot, but now it doesn't? 

On 10/25/2023 at 11:32 AM, Dr. Balls said:

Step 1: Buy an empty slab from someone, or carefully crack open a less-valued one.

Step 2: Buy a photocopy of AF15 off Ebay

Step 3: Make a fake CGC label using Illustrator, Photoshop or Canva:

Step 4: Put them all together in the cracked slab, (use a mylar with no backing board for the authentic look) close it up with clear tape at the top and bottom and viola! You've now got an AF15 Stunt Double that you can view while you keep your original locked away safe and sound.

By the time you put it on display up on a wall, you can't tell the fakes from the real ones unless you pull it down for a closer look.

Are all of those fakes? That display looks great! 

On 10/21/2023 at 5:37 AM, Bosco685 said:

Miss Minutes is a master manipulator for sure.

Everyone with that fake southern accent is a manipulator always looking out for themselves.

Miss Minutes, Scarlett O'Hara, Reba, etc.

It's still in the USPS system.  4114 Clubhouse Road is a US Post Office

If it was someone's house, I'd be worried. 

On 10/23/2023 at 9:53 AM, MatterEaterLad said:

Halperin has bought a few things from me on eBay over the years. Always a weird surprise.

Especially when he makes an offer on a book and I'm thinking, "You're a multi millionaire with one of the most valuable collections on the planet, and you want this Forever People comic for $100 off?"

When I was about 7 years old, we had a yard sale at our house on the driveway with a couple of tables and a bunch of junk that we didn't need anymore. I think I tried to sell some toys I didn't play with because they were for "little kids". Anyway, this long Cadillac drives up and the driver gets out with his wife who is wearing a full-length mink coat (this was in the days before you would get paint thrown on you). He has a giant gold ring with stones flashing on his right hand as he pulls out a $20 bill from his wallet to pay 50 cents for a single old small sauce pan that was discolored, without the lid, and the handle was loose.  They got back in their car and left.

I guess the story is worth 50 cents, since I still remember it 40 years later. 

On 10/21/2023 at 10:04 AM, Pacino13 said:

When looking up other comics i also see pokemon the first movie mewtwo strikes back #1 (viz media) as being published jan 1 1998 so that would pre-date both the above mentioned books. 

Most items listed as "January 1" are from sometime during that year.  When people know what year something was produced but not the exact date, they just put in the year.  "January 1" is automatic, so it gets added even though there's little chance it was actually January 1st.

On 10/13/2023 at 11:26 PM, Randall Dowling said:

On 10/13/2023 at 8:39 PM, Microchip said:

I had that sensation, when they were interrogating Brad Wolf, what was their motivation for all of this running around??   Things had definitely got muddled.

Not a good sign.

Yeah, same thought about that scene.  This episode was better than the last but it's all a bit... amateurish.  Which can have it's own appeal (agree with Greg's correlation with Dr. Who). 

But if I wanted to watch Dr. Who, I'd just watch Dr. Who.

Brad Wolfe = Bad Wolf

Disney now seems to be announcing that Loki is Marvel's Dr. Who.

On 10/11/2023 at 8:42 AM, grendel013 said:

The copyright date being incorrect reminds me of Office Space when the guy moved the decimal place over by one. Such a "small" error. Lol. I'd almost think it was intentional. Like some sort of calling card. 

Put on your criminal game plan hat... 

If I counterfeit this book but make a small error that only I know about... then when I flood the market with the counterfeits, the price of all copies will fall. At that point, I'll buy multiple copies of the real TMNT #1 for myself. I'll know which is which because I know about the small error. Then once I'm satisfied, I'll tell everyone how to identify the counterfeits.  My stash of real books will skyrocket!

On 10/10/2023 at 5:29 PM, I like pie said:

On the flip side, I think if Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan never went to Tatooine, Anakin would have grown up to be a really good pod racer and mechanic.

Would Anakin have survived the Tusken actions that killed his mother? 

On 10/10/2023 at 5:19 PM, I like pie said:

On 10/10/2023 at 4:52 PM, valiantman said:

 It can be both genetic AND potentially anyone.

I think most fans understand this. My opinion is that, if genetics are involved, there is a better chance the children will excel at using the force.

Not to mention, their parents would most likely know how to train and bring out those powers, from their experiences. 

The best example in canon would be Anakin>Leia>Ben Solo.

So, you're not objecting to the "Jedi are everywhere" problem of all the Star Wars stories since Disney took over?  I thought that was a complaint.

In canon, Anakin>Leia>Ben Solo were passing along Jedi training.  If parents who were never identified were never trained, there'd be nothing to pass along until a Jedi identified and trained one of their children, seemingly "another new Jedi" with no backstory.

Is there still some argument that George Lucas never intended for anyone-and-everyone to have the potential to become Jedi? It can be both genetic AND potentially anyone.

We know the midichlorian count would be used to identify infants/children for Jedi training, but it doesn't mean their parents didn't also have high midichlorian counts. It just means their parents weren't identified as infants.

The fact that George Lucas created both the midichlorian concept and the Jedi temple full of children of all races means that George Lucas put "the possibility of becoming a Jedi" into any species on any planet in the galaxy. It wasn't introduced when that unnamed kid in Disney's Episode VIII pulled the broom to himself. It was introduced in George Lucas's Episode I, when the temple was full of Jedi from everywhere.  George Lucas had "several" Jedi before Episode I, because we had one Palpatine, one Kenobi, on Yoda, and three Skywalkers. We also know that other Jedi were hunted down and killed. George Lucas put Jedi everywhere... or at least, the possibility of becoming a Jedi... all over the galaxy.  With or without the genetic requirement.

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but the whole series is very much like "What If... Marvel Was In Charge Of Doctor Who"

Things go wrong on the timeline, so things need to be fixed, but the fixes are sometimes complicated, and what's that? Another Doctor Who Loki? Who has Doctor Who Loki been chasing? Another version of himself? It's a girl?!?

I've seen just about every modern Doctor Who episode, and the overlap in type of story, basic plot, quality of (some) effects, timey-wimey-wibbly-wobbly stuff, etc., all very much like Marvel bringing Doctor Who to the U.S. audiences that never watched Doctor Who.

On 10/6/2023 at 7:34 PM, VintageComics said:

Last night I sat and chatted all night with some highly successful people who work for Warner and Paramount. They create movie scores for big films and one guy used to work with Hans Zimmer.

We're talking about people who are near the top of the feeding chain in entertainment. It doesn't get bigger than Hans Zimmer. 

We talked long and hard about their industry, and let me tell you they have NO idea what's actually happening. Much of the conversation went along similar lines of the conversation here with me having a head start because of my research, and we sort of concluded that the mediocrity will be pushed to the forefront, the people at the top will be protected (because they are the true talent - AND THE MONEY) and the people at the bottom will suffer the greatest. 

And this seems to be the formula emerging tech implements from all of these discussion we've had.

That tech upending industries causes the poor to suffer the most, the middle class which is somewhat more stable than the lower class experiences the turmoil but somehow manages to navigate it and the wealthy continue to benefit the greatest. 

Basically the normal cycle of life, only amplified and sped up from analog to digital.

I guess I'm confused why this is a problem. It's not about the poor suffering, it's about people who are easily replaced by others with the same skill, more skill, or technology, needing to find a different line of work or to obtain skills/education that allow for something other than "easily replaced". That situation happens nonstop without A.I., throughout history. What's different this time? It will happen quicker? That might be a good thing. Things that go wrong slowly for just a few people at a time take years to get solved. Things that go wrong quickly and impact a lot of people will get solved more quickly because it impacts a lot of people.

On 10/6/2023 at 8:58 AM, fantastic_four said:

As far as I can tell only Rian Johnson in Last Jedi has tried hard in the movies or television series to establish that anyone can be Force-sensitive.  Lucas clearly seemed to prefer that it be somehow tied to genetics.  The fact that Johnson was allowed to just change canon on the fly is another brick in the wall of Kathleen Kennedy's mis-management of the Star Wars universe since Disney acquired it.  But Lucas contributed to this by not making it crystal clear how this is supposed to work.

But I'm not sure how consistent that has been across all of the films, cartoons, and extended universe.  I wouldn't be shocked if there are dozens of allusions to the idea of anyone being a Force wielder throughout canon.  If anyone disagrees or knows of other references to anyone wielding the Force in other works please do share.

Every child in the Jedi Temple has the genetics to be Force-sensitive, every Sith has the genetics to be Force-sensitive, so even if Lucas did require it to be genetic, he created the Prequels and put those genetics in dozens, hundreds, or thousands of "families" from all sorts of planets and species.

On 10/5/2023 at 10:58 AM, bluehorseshoe said:

Yeah my tween daughter that likes Taylor Swift and rainbows and colored markers that smell like pumpkins; she use short memes to communicate too.  Great approach to getting your message across. 

On 10/5/2023 at 9:17 AM, bluehorseshoe said:

On 10/3/2023 at 7:07 PM, valiantman said:

... or any since.

Why do you always have to edit whatever you are trying to slick about?  Get it right the first time.

People tell me that I overexplain, so I try posting a short meme. People don't understand the short meme, so I overexplain.

I have a feeling the same people look at a STOP sign waiting for it to switch to GO, or they just yell, "FOR HOW LONG?" at the sign.

On 10/4/2023 at 11:43 AM, jsilverjanet said:

If Empire was released today, people would complain

I've always thought Return of the Jedi would have been the end of the franchise.

"We waited SIX YEARS for them to give us teddy bears and blow up the Death Star... again?!? I'm done."

But that's only if Empire and ROTJ even got made because the Star Wars Holiday Special would have been on every hard drive.  Bea Arthur sings! Fan boys swoon.