ExNihilo

I hate that I missed this thread. So many McFarlane's that I needed.

Sometimes I'll see a brilliant print and wonder who has the original. Now I know. You're lucky to have it, this is probably one of my favorite pieces of hers.

I'd like to know the book, but i'd also like to know what eBay and PayPals resolutions were.

Profits are a combination of expenses, revenue, and time. The seller has determined that whatever you might spend on books, isn't worth the headache he's currently going through. There's an entire thread devoted to blocking people from transacting despite the fact that they do in fact bring money to the table. (The EBAY Blocked User List thread). He was wrong. You were wrong. It's a transaction that both parties are at fault and both parties feel like they were more right than wrong. From our perspective, a refund less CGC would be fair. From his, you passed the 30 day terms and he's washed his hands clean of the transaction. Both parties are right. Both parties are wrong. Without knowing the actual intent of the seller, it could be anything from an innocent mistake to outright fraud. Whatever the case may be, there comes a point in time where your money no longer buys him happiness. Hence, their decision to stop working with you on a resolution.

Do we feel this is the right thing? Of course not. But it's the reality we live in. Companies have refund windows, beyond which buyers rights decrease. You misconstrue our words as agreement when it isn't. It's just realizing the limits of what can be done on certain platforms.

I'm honestly surprised as well given eBay rarely does anything to get involved. I had someone wrongfully give me a negative review for a transaction that never occurred. I had to fight tooth and nail with eBay to get it expunged. The fact that OP calls up eBay and says they have an issue that occurred outside of eBay's TOS and eBay says "oh sure, we'll look into that" boggles my mind. I think you misconstrue those early comments. No one questioned your character on page 1/page 2. They merely posited a "what if". You told your side of the story, and others came in playing devils advocate with how the seller potentially sees the situation. Asking how someone responds, or where there is potential reason to question future instances similar to yours, is really no different than those of us asking what would have happened if CGC hadn't returned the book to you for 3, 4, 6, 12 months.

I don't follow box office numbers but this is a win right? What were the original projections? And what was the estimated cost/distribution/marketing? I know Marvel movies have struggled of late, but this movie was too good so I'm hoping it's a box office success (in addition to a critical success).

It's sometimes hard (especially for new boardies) to know all the different ongoing posts. There are already two dedicated Marketplaces for book sales, one of which is Original Art. While I realize the Original Art collectors are more interested in covers and panel art, wouldn't it make more sense to have Sketch/Remarques located somewhere within that section of the boards? If not for the fact that your comment was the most recent post in The Signature Room, I never would have known this existed.

Personally, I store books front to front, back to back. This distributes pressure along the entire face of the book and not just along the spine. You want your books to be tight, but not too tight. If you struggle to fit another book, it's too tight. If the books are leaning, it's too loose. If the books are standing straight up and you can rifle through the top, it's just right.

I think Warlock being shoehorned into the film edges out High Evolutionary as least favorite for me.

When that newcomer is here to defraud legitimate collectors? Yes.

The blue background on the Hulk 181 was a dead giveaway. It's the same image used by an eBayer that should be well known around these parts as a fraudster.

I read that it's supposed to be a nod to the audience that we now know these characters well enough to understand Groot. I choose to believe that he still says "I am Groot", only that we can now interpret him ourselves. Ms. Marvel heavily caters to a particular audience demographic (teens/young adults). As someone not in that demographic, I found the series to be boring and the characters didn't captivate me the same was as the other heroes I know and recognize. Granted, Ms. Marvel is a new character and I quite literally don't own any books of hers. Ms. Marvel was the first Marvel series I just straight up quit watching and the only reason I finished was because my friend said there was an end credit scene that tied into the movie. The Marvels trailer does not look good at all.

The Carnage symbiote bonds with Silver Surfer. Surfer is so OP that feels like something that should never be able to happen. According to keycollector, every book is a key.

I remember when I got back into collecting and learned 430 and 431 were more valuable than the surrounding books. Still weird to me that 1st Cosmic Carnage has some inherent value. I mean, should that be any different than 1st Red Goblin? They're one time shticks.

If he used a spoiler tag, then there was nothing wrong with it. You interpreting "last line" is you forming opinions based on the tone of the trailers and what others have said here. Someone walking out of the theater could just as easily say "Mantis' last line", "Gamora's last line", "Drax's last line." The movie has to end, the characters have to say something last. Doesn't mean there's anything nefarious about it. I feel early on his trailer reactions always rode the Marvel hype train HARD. Like, he fanboyed excessively. Has he turned heel and now craps on everything? (sorry, didn't watch a 15 minute reaction video). Might be the first MCU film I don't see in theaters. Just haven't been a fan the way Carol is portrayed, nor do I like Captain Marvels power set. Even less of a fan of Ms. Marvel which I stopped with 2 episodes to go and only finished because a friend said I needed to see the end credits as it tied into the movie. I dunno, what was the goal of some of the Borg modifications? Nature itself is about evolution. You try one modification, realize it's ineffective, and then do another modification. Eventually you come across something that works. But you don't know what works until you do a bunch of stuff that doesn't work.

I dunno what's changed but when I've seen the prices of wall books lately, they're all well above market. Shop I went to over the weekend had keys on the wall that were 25% higher than eBay/Shortboxed app. It's almost as though they expect there to be haggling so they increase the price and then the buyer haggles down to something reasonable. There's good deals to be found rummaging through the boxes, but if you're looking for any key, it's hard to justify some of these prices.

Ah missed that. Then yeah, a press likely isn't going to improve it anymore.

Depending on the crease, it could potentially be pressed out so long as it's not color breaking.

Appeal? Yes. But enough to warrant grading? Personal opinion, but I wouldn't have spent money submitting the Batmans, half the Sandmans, the IH 340, or the Wolverine. IH 340 and Wolverine have taken off in recent years, much more than where they were 20 years ago. I'm skeptical of books that don't have the history of popularity to back it. Especially when the significance is "first ongoing series". Or whatever IH and Wolverine 1 is. I prefer my "firsts" to be something more substantial from a story perspective as opposed to something artificially manufactured by speculators to make something out as more important than it is. So yeah, OP's books are certainly appealing, but appealing is one factor of many that someone should consider when spending money to slab books. (And the only reason I say this is because it's something I wish my younger self was aware of before spending a bunch of money on slabbed books. I think a lot of people say slab what makes you happy, but there needs to be a real consideration to the financial costs.)

So many people enter the hobby and just think "slab this", "slab that". Let this serve as a warning to any one new who would come across it as evidence that there are real costs associated with slabbing. Take your time learning about the value of slabbing and when it's worthwhile and when it's folly.

me waiting for photos and updates:

Basically Gunn is saying Marvel is free to do another movie, he just won't be the one behind the Directors chair (unless they pay him enough). Same is true with the cast. I imagine we'll get a break from GotG films, but eventually we'll get another. It certainly won't be titled "Vol4" and will most likely be titled Guardians of the Galaxy and have a sub-title (a la: Thor: Love and Thunder, or Avengers: Endgame, etc).

That makes way more sense.

Where are you going that tickets are $30? I feel $20 for XD/IMAX or whatever the high resolution/quality screens are is about the norm. Standard viewings were like $15. Also, paying concession prices is a choice. I don't think I've paid at a concession stand in 30 years.