shadroch

HOS 92! That was pretty short.

Not sure where the joke is supposed to be. From wiki.... In 1996, Gruenwald succumbed to a heart attack, the result of an unsuspected congenital heart defect. Gruenwald was a well-known practical joker, and due to his young age, many of his friends and co-workers initially believed the reports of his death to be just another joke. Just days prior, he had done one of his trademark cartwheels down the halls of the Bullpen. A longtime lover of comics, Gruenwald made it known amongst his friends and families that his one desire was to have his ashes used in part of a comic. In accordance with his request, he was cremated, and his ashes were mixed with the ink used to print the first printing of the trade paperback compilation of Squadron Supreme.[22] https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14619713-300-no-funny-business-when-cartoons-are-signed-with-dna/

I have some 1980s Hanna Barbara cells that were signed with an ink that includes their blood. The theory was the ink could be checked for their DNA. I've no idea if this is practical with today's technology. Mark Gruenwald had his ashes mixed with the ink for a special edition of Squadron Supreme.

There is no zip code so it predates that, which means it is before 1965.

Park West is generally a rip off ,although you can occasionally make a nice purchase. If you buy one of their " display' pieces, you save a lot of hassle. You can walk off with a nicely framed copy or wait a month to get an unframed ,raw painting in the mail. Then when you go to get it framed you get sticker shock.

Stan has a daughter, lots of money, and had a lifetime to plan for his care. Millions of elderly have none of that. I hope he gets the help he needs and enjoys a long life. Couldn't this all have been avoided with a fairly simple trust?

Go with HCK. HCK 4life!

There was a guy with a triple cover X-Men 201, that was getting crazy offers for it.

I suggest you research the owners background before you come to any decision.

Funny thing is that in 1993, books from 1968 were selling about as well as books from 1993 do today. I remember setting up at a show with original owner runs of Submariner, Iron Man, Cap and Silver Surfer. All anyone was looking for was X-Men 201( Baby Cable) and various early Valiants. Saw a dealer trade a bunch of Spideys in the 12cent-15 cent range to a guy for a Valiant Gold something, which he sold a few minutes later, his biggest sale of the day. Late SA,BA Marvels and DC were treated as lepers for a few years there.

My auction house calls anything over 25 years old Vintage. I get a kick when they advertise a lot of Vintage Modern comics. At one point, CGC was putting "modern" books in Red Labels.

I remember when the collection known as Mile High 2 was being offered. Many dealers felt the market would never be able to absorb so many books. Don't confuse scarcity with demand. These books will never scarce. Some of them may turn out to be in demand.

That ignores the history of fandom. Books after 1965 were most certainly treated like collectibles.

You were a DIY presser at one point, no? You worked hard at it, and gained a great reputation. People who press for money and don't do a good job will put themselves out of work. I agree anyone who sells a book should disclose it. I think its a travesty that at least one of the grading services will press your books for you but not bother to notate it on the label. Not sure how we can expect amateurs to follow a different set of rules than the industry leader.

Define scarce. If you are asking if they ever will be in demand, I'd say yes. Look at the stuff from the late 70s/early 80s that is slowly beginning to command decent prices.

Everyone has to start somewhere. I imagine the guys starting today are not much different than the guys who started three or five years ago. Some will be hacks and some will manage to get it right.

My experience with MCS is the books are generally under graded. Never bought from the other guys, except some TPBs at a show.

Really sorry to hear this. I actually thought he was involved in the Marvel film Universe and was doing okay for himself. If someone can contact him, I'm sure people here would be happy to buy some sketches.

Is Cali one of the states where dealers collect sales tax on their goods?

“We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes,” billionaire hotelier Leona Helmsley famously (and allegedly) sniffed.

You are forgiven.

My plan is to buy these, hold them five years and then sell one every few months. My niche, until now, has been in lower value books. I have many short boxes of $100 books, and a mostly filled box of books that are pushing the $1,000 mark but very few in the over $3,000 range. Didn't want to have that much tied up in a single book, so I tend to sell if a book gets over $2500. I don't have a lot of faith in the premiums 9.8s get, so 8.5-9.4 is what I'm looking at.

100K.

Cheapest fare I found for that day is $160. If it goes down to $100 or so, I'm in. Paid $59 each way recently.

Guess we all can't be as perfect as you.