ExNihilo

Well someone signed it across the gauntlet. EDIT: That appears to be George Perez's signature.

I went further back in the "Bat"/"Cat" history and picked up this.

That's a good way to do it. The books go to a good place and the books are sufficiently damaged to eliminate a market for them with collectors.

I remember some store posted a Facebook video of them destroying a pallette of comics (I forget which store and which exclusive it was). But it was simultaneously good that they were doing it to limit the print run, yet heartbreaking to see some reasonably okay comics just getting destroyed.

Thanks Kev. That was me that shot you the email last night. Thanks for looking out.

I didn't mean to belittle the artists work. I merely meant certain issues that are less desirable or find their way into dollar bins, I would imagine that the original art associated with that cover and interior pages would likely find a very small number of interested buyers. Not only now, but even more so in the future. I guess I misunderstood the definition of drek as I thought it referred to books that tended to be "worthless" due to some combination of story and/or art that just didn't stick with a larger part of the consumer base. Not necessarily that the art itself is bad, but more...unmemorable. Yeah, this is the problem at hand. I could buy certain pieces, but the result would be me ending up in an ever increasing more difficult financial situation. I have some level of control over my spending, but between continuing to collect comics, my desire to continue traveling domestically/internationally, along with spotting the occasional sculpture that might catch my attention, and some grail art pieces that I wish to someday own, it becomes a balancing act of "what's most important". In the short term this means some slight disappointment at having to resign myself to the fact that I won't be getting one thing, but such is life...you don't get what you always want. I just feel that my attention gets pulled in different places instead of focused on one thing or hobby (hence why I was curious if others collect other things or if they had to give them up in order to pursue OA). Yes! I "collect" air miles/credit card points as well. It's the only thing I collect that's guaranteed to yield me a positive return.

I would buy this if I only had the money.

Scott, this emoji's jaw can't drop far enough but it's the best I can do on these boards. Any facilitator's heading to SDCC able to pick up one of each for me? Preferably also with experience shipping out prints?

Oh geez. I didn't even read the Important Note.

Well, judging by the description it sounds like they send all copies to "the other guys". I'm guessing the books are pre-screened by The Comic Mint as soon as they receive it from Diamond. Then the 500+ copies are likely pre-screened again by "the other guys" before getting slabbed. You have to trust that A) "the other guys" are legitimately picking 9.8's and not just selecting the best and saying they're 9.8's and B) that they really are destroying any remaining copies to keep the distribution run at 300. If you ever see a raw copy floating around, then you know something ain't right.

Geez, I hope the books you had mounted on there were okay from the fall.

Books are typically pre-screened by the seller to check for damage/defects. The highest quality books are likely cherrypicked. I would imagine over time they've determined a pass rate, so if they know 80% of the books come back as 9.8, they probably submit 375 books. The other 75 mostly return as less than a 9.8 and any extras probably get sold off somewhere. Of course, any book that comes back over 9.8 is then offered up at a premium to whoever wants it.

Yup. On the one hand it's a travesty that a cover that beautiful didn't sell out quickly. On the other hand, maybe it's finally a sign that the variant market is oversaturated and the publishers will cut back on how many variants they allow. (wishful thinking, i know).

Will you be offering any of the JSC virgin covers of ASM800?

The only "support" I need is financial support so I can buy this: http://www.joshuamiddleton.com/2018/07/batman-50-original-cover-art-for-sale.html

Yeah, it was, but I remember not more than 2 months ago, I wouldn't have to go through that extra step. It just doesn't seem like a very meaningful change to eBay to me.

This is a general question for everyone and not just for Rick2you2, but what other stuff do you collect? I want certain pieces of OA, but money is obviously a limiting factor. It's hard to convince myself to by a 4 figure piece that would cost almost as much as a down payment on a new car, or a mid to high grade IH181, or is valued at more than my entire collection of comics. The car at least provides utilitarian value, the IH181 will bring me some value eventually should i re-sell, and the comics provide entertainment over an extended length of time. I realize that some pieces will hold value if from superstar artists (Batman: Hush comes to mind). (And by "hold value", I mean they're not likely to lose 80% of the value over my lifetime). But for the other 99% of modern OA that hits the market each week, how much demand is reasonably out there. For example, if someone were to buy the cover of The Sentry #1, I just can't imagine there being a large market of buyers 30 years down the road. I just feel like certain books are meaningful to us in the here and now. A new collector 30 years from now will find meaning in the books of the future and less so in some of the drek of today (unless it's a key book/artist of some kind). I dunno, I'm new and naive to all of this, and most importantly, too poor to buy the stuff I wish I could have.

I don't know what coding eBay changed on the backend, but I hate that links to listings that have ended take me to current listings. In this case, it took me to an overpriced Black Panther book. smh.

Since joining this community, this was the first key I bought a year ago. I had it signed by Stan and then a few months later sent it back out to be signed by Joe Sinnott. I think I now know what parents must feel when they send their children off to summer camps. There's the sad good bye. The nervousness of not being around and wondering if they're doing okay. And then the elation when they return to you and you see they're in one piece. I mean, I think that pretty much sums up how I felt not having this book in my possession and then receiving the shipping and receiving notification that I had a package waiting for me. But don't worry SS...I'll never leave you again.

Tier (also list FastTrack where applicable): Economy S/SNumber of books: 1 Received CCS: n/a At CCS: n/a Received CGC: 5/3 Verified: 6/12 Graded: 6/25 Shipped/Safe: 6/30 Received (by owner): 7/9Total Business Days: 48 (42 with CGC + 6 with UPS) Tier (also list FastTrack where applicable): Modern S/SNumber of books: 2 Received CCS: n/a At CCS: n/aReceived CGC: 4/26 Verified CGC: 6/6 Graded: 6/11 Shipped/Safe: 6/14Received (by owner): 6/22Total Business Days: 42 (36 with CGC + 6 with UPS) Tier (also list FastTrack where applicable): Modern S/S Number of books: 1 Received CCS: 6/1At CCS: 6/25 Received CGC: TBD Verified: TBD Graded: TBD Shipped/Safe: TBD Received (by owner): TBD

I finally read the issue today and can't say the result of the wedding was a surprise. The epilogue though certainly was and I can't wait to see what comes next. Maybe I'm the minority here, but I love how King weaved the letters into the guest artist pages. And I 100% agree with you, no matter how people feel about the story, the Middleton covers are just ravishing in person. Literally dumbfounded and awestruck when I opened my package to see them with my own eyes. Worth every penny for its artistic quality alone.

Just out of curiosity, which ASM 361 is still available? Judging from the responses 2 of the 3 have been picked up.

Well, then you could always use the gift card to buy a money order. I'm pretty sure Twin Cities Comics won't take the gift card straight up, but again, that's something you'd have to discuss with them. No offense, but payment methods aside, should you really be spending $200 getting a signature when you don't have a PayPal account and for whatever reason don't want to (or are unable to) just write a personal check?

I haven't bought from them in probably 10 years now. Their website still looks as though it was created around the same time as the internet. The UI is poor and I can never seem to easily find what I want from the search bar. Couple that with outrageous prices and I just haven't had a need or desire to buy from them. It's a shame because I remember seeing the ads in comics as a kid and wanting to go. I stopped by the LA location (back when it was around) and was awestruck by the size of it. (And that wasn't even the big one!). Now if I'm looking to fill gaps in runs I just wait for a discount on Midtown or something.

You can pay for extra insurance with USPS. I've had a package insured for $2k once. I always go USPS Priority Mail and stuff the box with cardboard, bubble wrap, and packaging foam. Shipping usually takes about 2 days if sending it across the US. If more local (like from CA to NV), I've had the package arrive overnight. Plus I get a tracking number. All this for $25. That's why I've never understood why Registered Mail takes 2 weeks and costs nearly double.