ExNihilo

No matter how you define it, the period following Secret Wars was bad. Poor writing, no real editorial direction, bad gimmicks (all those variant lenticular covers), loss of talented creators. And it all led to the shake-up that saw CB Cebulski moved up to Editor-in-chief. Honestly, ever since then, the brand has turned around. But things were looking REAL bad for a time there. DC went through a similar period where New 52 was kinda lambasted by the fans. On the flipside, Rebirth was well received. That Rebirth coincided with Marvels downturn only served to magnify how poor Marvel stories were flagging, comparatively speaking, at the time.

Who went on to lose, nay...embarassed, in the first round. (EDIT: not a big hockey fan, but i think the Lightning may have tied the record for most wins? But they certainly didn't beat the record for most points.)

Is no one else using this when transporting books? Plebes.

Here's a hot tip: if you have some random wires sticking out of it and a clock, you just might find yourself with a lot more space than you were expecting, as well as some unexpected security to provide "assistance".

well great, now i'm worried about some of my books...

True story. There are so many variants these days it's kinda disgusting. If there's art that you like, sure, go for it (assuming it's priced within reason). But i hate when books have like 20 variants as it just feels like it's watering down the marketplace. Half of those covers don't even look good.

None of my books have ever come back as 10's so i think CGC is highly inaccurate. (PS: Welcome to the boards.)

Yeah, in my younger days I would have dropped the book based on the art. But as I've gotten older I've come to appreciate a good story more. del Mundo's art is terrible. If it wasn't for the fact that we're finally getting the War of the Realms, I just might have dropped the book sooner. I really don't understand why Marvel editorial has opted to lean towards this cartoony aesthetic for a lot of books. I much prefer DC's stable of artists with the likes of Lee, Fabok, Capullo, Eaglesham, Kubert, etc.

They are sanctioned by Diamond/Publisher. I believe in order to get an exclusive variant, you have to request a certain number of copies from the publisher and then commission the artist. Diamond is still the distributor of the books (I believe). Yes, printed by the publishers. Most of the covers you see are probably store exclusives and your LCS is unable to purchase them. A lot of times, you kinda just need to follow artists on instagram as they'll often give a sneak peek of upcoming covers. For bigger issues, there are some comic sites that will aggregate covers. For example, comicburst compiled all the Detective 1000 covers here. Unfortunately, a lot of these covers aren't necessarily revealed until after your Previews orders should be placed.

Tailspin implies that there are no good stories out there worth reading. There are plenty of good books being put out by Marvel right now (Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc). Some books flounder, but to say "their" (implying all of Marvel) is a stretch.

Shoot, when I was 14 there was no such thing as a tracking number. You mailed in a form and waited patiently 6-8 weeks for your package to be delivered.

Marvel's best books right now are stuff like Immortal Hulk (white male protagonist), Venom (white male protagonist), and ASM (white male protagonist). God, I hate when identity politics gets in the way of a good story. /s

I thought this was going to be a post about the Martha's.

I'm guessing the creators have gone to CGC and explicitly stated that they require the special slip, otherwise they're not authorized to give a signature series label for their books. I think there are some creators who explicitly don't allow their signatures to be graded at all. So in my case, CGC asked my facilitator for the slip before accepting the books. When he said he wasn't aware of the new policy, they sent him back to JSC's table to acquire one.

Some creators feel as if their signature is some how worth more on the secondary market when slabbed by CGC. As a result, they feel they are owed a cut of whatever that additional value is so they charge more for it. Thus, if you get a book signed by JSC it's $20/book. But if you're getting it slabbed by CGC, it's $30/book for no logical reason whatsoever. To me, it's ridiculous that CGC even acknowledges and supports this sort of behavior. At SDCC last year, I had a facilitator help me get the ASM covers. He picked up the books, had them signed, and walked back to the CGC table. CGC asked for a slip of paper indicating that I had paid the "CGC rate". Not having one, they walked my facilitator back to JSC's booth where I had to pay the $10 difference per book and was given the slip saying everything was good to go. What had changed between my books in the time I had left JSC's booth, went to CGC, and came back that would warrant the extra $10? What did JSC do in that time, that somehow made my books "worth more"? Absolutely nothing. It's a scam if we're honest. And as a result, I have no intention of buying another signed book by JSC.

Like it did with Black Panther when it boosted theater counts, it could attempt to do this again. But we shall see if it will bother since both are Disney properties now. I forget who mentioned it here in this thread, but I feel like earlier someone theorized that it was actually in Disney's best interest that Avatar remain the #1 grossing film in order to increase/maintain interest in the franchise for when the sequels come out.

If it's like SDCC last year, he'll have some virgin cover variants along with a cover E. Gotta make as much money as he can. It's $30 if you are submitting to CGC. $20 if you're not.

Told myself I would let fate decide whether or not I purchased this set. If I woke up before they went on sale, I'd get a copy. But now I'm seeing $115 for the set of 4. Too rich for my blood. Good luck to whoever's getting them.

Don't even get me started on the old fogies from 2009. "Back in my day we had to walk to the comic book store in the snow!" And then there are those upstarts from 2017. What a buncha smart-gluteous-maximus'.

I like Brie as a person, she's got this friendly, bubbly personality that plays well on the press tour. But I think everything you said is an exaggeration. She is by no means "of vital importance" to the franchise. They didn't NEED her movie to be a worldwide success. It's not like the very fabric of the MCU was riding on the success or failure of her movie. They HOPED her movie would be a worldwide success. What they NEEDED was for Endgame to be a worldwide success, because if it was an absolute failure, then 10 years of quality filmmaking would have all been for naught. I assume she'll take a lead role in whatever the next phase of movies, largely because they've pushed her real hard in the comics. Whereas DC has Wonder Woman at the forefront of their Big 3, Marvel doesn't really have a female lead with the same established history or popularity. All this stuff about her bearing the namesake of the company or this or that, it's all pomp and circumstance. I really hope her next movie is better than her origin. I hope that her character is fleshed out. I'm not being down on Captain Marvel, I just think it's better to temper one's expectations on the promise of the character.

I actually like this homage cover. I have no interest in the Black Cat series itself, but as far as artwork to pay homage to, this was a good choice.

Here's the stand I was referring to. There's a way to request UV protection, but it's not showing up in the "Material Type" drop down. https://cgagrading.com/OnlineStore/AcrylicDisplayCaseStandforCGCGradedComicBooks.html Here's the wall mount variety, which does offer UV protection acrylic. https://cgagrading.com/OnlineStore/AcrylicDisplayCaseWallHangerforCGCGradedComicBooks.html There's also this frame as well: https://www.amazon.com/Economy-Graded-Comic-Resistant-Acrylic/dp/B01MYOHHQ6/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=graded+comic+book+frame&qid=1557457004&s=home-garden&sr=1-3 For sturdier wall mounts, I think your local art supply store (for me that's the chain Michael's) will have a variety of solutions to put your mind at ease.

The thicker case provides a sense of security. I also think they tend to be sturdier as a result which means I can feel a littler more secure when handling the books. For example, I get nervous just handling minor keys in mylites at cons that in my head I think 'what would happen if someone was less thoughtful'. I mean, sure, there's that shaking syndrome where books get shaken up in slabs, or you could drop it and crack the case (and more), but those will be an issue no matter what protection you choose to use. All things being equal, I don't have to worry about someone looking at a slabbed book, whereas a part of me worries that someone might be gripping the sides of the mylite/topholder too tight causing a slight crease. The chances are small, but I'd still prefer the more secure option.

Actually, I assumed there had to be some sort of archive department that is used for historical references, whether they be used in comic stories, or as material for MCU writers/producers/directors. I can't imagine comic writers having to know the full breadth of knowledge of a characters background without there being someone in the background assisting with that. I can't help but think back to one of the Tom King Batman issues where he flashes back to moments between Bruce and Selina and in some instances practically uses the same words verbatim. I mean, maybe he remembered those moments from his own collection and referred back to digital copies. Or maybe someone helped him.

I forget in which thread it was, but there was a user who has a CGC stand that is UV protected. There are similar UV protected frames that can be mounted as well.