ExNihilo

Ugh. Tried placing a bid on one of Artgerm's auctions, but the site crashed. Does this happen frequently with pieces that are really in demand? On the one hand, I'm disappointed I didn't have a shot at the piece. On the other, my bank account is relieved.

what's the publishing page say?

That's kind of on OP for not being more specific with where they wanted the book signed. Judging by pics from the signing events, they just lay all the books on the table and the creator just signs them really quickly.

Just came across this post...

I had no idea they handed out a comic at the Tron panel. That's cool.

If it's a blue label book, yes, you can crack it yourself. I always send the old label in with the book so CGC can update their census. If it's a yellow label book, let CGC crack it, and you just provide a window bag.

So when you dine at most sit down restaurants you pay as soon as you order your food? Before it's been sent to the kitchen to be prepared? Before your party has eaten it? CGC's allowed to dictate when they push payment through and they determined that charging accounts when they have the physical book in hand makes more sense for their business model than upfront when the online form is filled out before the customer has even mailed the book. This seems like such a minor inconvenience to quibble over. Especially when there continue to exist more pressing matters such as ongoing QC issues.

Yes, but imagine a Spawn/Batman film.

I lucked out and got both Alien Worlds books for $10 ($16 shipped). $8/book seemed like a good deal to me.

I didn't know who Dave Stevens was until I joined these boards. But every time I saw issues listed in the sales forums, there was always high praise for his work and listings seemed to sell in a hurry. I remember, I loved that Planet Comics #1 cover as soon as I saw it and knew I had to get it. It was only a matter of prioritizing these books over other more immediate collecting goals. Well, the day finally came where I was content with the big keys I had always wanted and decided to shift my focus onto starting a small collection of some of Dave's more popular covers. Thrilled to call these mine.

Why bother with encapsulation at all? There are valid reasons for getting a book slabbed, just as there are bad reasons for getting books slabbed. So for instructional purposes, why do you want to slab it?

There's so many these days, I'm starting to file facsimile's/reprints in their own box. Same with sketch covers.

My major keys are separated in an emergency box of sorts so I can easily grab it if the need arises. I have another box of ungraded books that are like $200+.

I thought CGC really screwed the pooch with the whole Acetategate fiasco. I can't believe the guys across the street just went "hold my beer". Talk about squandering an opportunity to gain market share. To be fair, don't the other other guys already just operate out of their moms basement or some such? I suppose that's their "secure facility", but that's really not saying much.

I don't know much about double/triple cover error books, but do they take the highest graded cover or do they take the top cover? In any case, I would think that an acetate cover (being a hardy plastic material) could be cut/manufactured in a way such that the corners would be sharp with no damage to any of the edges. If we assume that the cover constitutes a large part of a books grade, then wouldn't it be easier to score a higher grade with such a cover? I'm not saying that there was no foul play, but following that logic, I'm less surprised by the higher grades. Of course, as I type this, I decided to look up recent books that should logically have similar sturdy covers to see how they fared. Marvel Legacy was a lenticular cover, made of some sort of plastic. Guess how many 9.9s and 10s there are? Zero. Amazing Spider-Man 789 Lenticular? Zero. Moon Knight 188? Zero. Mighty Thor 700? Zero. I think we can see where this is going.

I kinda gave up on this thread and all of a sudden I see 10 unread pages. Glad CGC issued a statement to give the book a qualified label, even if it shouldn't have taken 2 weeks and almost 200 pages to come to the right conclusion. My god. I don't read the other boards, but that sounds horrible. This is my biggest concern with the Signature Series program. All it takes is one unscrupulous witness and suddenly the validity of everything is brought into question. I refuse to submit signed books to the other company because of how they give verified sigs a yellow label (yes, it still states 'verified' as opposed to 'witnessed'). I hope we never cross that bridge, but you're right in stating that it is a week point in the system.

You think Blackstone cares about you having fun? If you want a custom title that's going to cost you.

Not like I need a brand new car anyways. Just gonna pray my existing car can go another 15-20 years.

One can only hope that we keep the pressure up that long that CGC is constantly reminded of it's wrongdoing. They did put out a statement. It was the usual "here's our exclusive signing".

Why not just submit the books in the bag/boards you already have them in? I agree that's an oversight on their part and they should ask customers what size bags to send, then again, I never buy their shipping kit since Priority Boxes as USPS are free anyways.

Not that it matters much since OP doesn't seem to come to the boards often, but does this qualify for probation list or anything?

I thought CGC made this announcement months ago. I definitely recall them stating that they had made some changes and that did a test run and that the result was lower TAT's.

Similar in principle to when you overpay your taxes each year and get a refund. If you pay up front, you're giving CGC the money to invest it and potentially make modest returns on it. If you wait to pay until your book is entered in the system and they being providing the paid for service, then those are extra days in which that cash is in your account gaining interest and what not. I acknowledge, that we're talking about 60 days here (depending on CGC's TAT), but I like to carry the same principle across all financial decisions. Same reason my credit card is set to pay on the due date and not a minute sooner.

Glad to hear that. Just know, any negativity is largely directed at CGC Corporate. We appreciate the voice you've lended to us, we just wish Corporate felt the same.

Looks to be about a 6.0. I don't think a press is going to help much.