BladeTX

Hi Bob, I’m not reholdering a 9.9. I just mentioned that I have a friend who would like to if the risk of downgrade was not there. CGC’s sister coin grading group NGC guarantees the grade. If they find it to be lower they will buy the coin off the market or reimburse the owner the difference. But they charge more to grade expensive coins than comics.

I was shocked to find an eBay listing for $250K of the following: Also if you'd be interested in a MEGA MASSIVE Marvel collection I'd sell spider-man 1 to 800 avengers 1 to 503 captain America 100 to 600 daredevil 1 to 500 fantastic four 1 to 645 iron man 1 to 500 x-men 1 to 600 with journey into mystery 86 (1st Thor) tales of suspense 39 (1st iron man) along with first Ant-man, Wasp, Dr strange, Luke cage, Iron fist and Hulk 181 and Giant Size X-Men 1 included along with 2,000 bonus random extras all for $250,000

Damn AF15 and ASM 1-700 is incredible. How long did that take you?

I just sent in 10 books (worth about $8K) to CGC to get new style holders and Walking Dead custom labels. All are 9.8 Signature Series and 1 is unique. I watched a CGC Podcast and they seemed pretty clear that if a book comes in for a reholder and it is clearly over-graded, they will reassess and lower the grade. Their rationale was they do not want an overgraded book out there, even if they previously made a mistake (or the book degraded somehow). I've got a friend with Walking Dead #1 CGC 9.9 ($10K+ book) and an AF15 (unsure of grade but it would easily buy a new car) and he would love to reholder them but is afraid of the risk of a downgrade. I've done a batch of 5 and a second batch of 10 and all came back same grade. How many books have you sent for reholders and have you ever been slapped with a downgrade? If you were, did CGC notify you in advance that the downgrade was coming?

Hi all, I am on a fairly long quest to complete my Registry set with each issue signed by the writer and either cover or interior artist. That is 50 Signature Series books in total. I'm 2/3 of the way after 10 months but getting to the end will require that I hunt down people for signatures and also risk some expensive 9.8s and hope nothing in the signature process tanks the grade. Have you completed a major collecting goal? What was it??? Post no matter how small or big, as long as you have a sense of accomplishment!!!

Yeah that’s more like what I expect to see from RK.

That is hilarious!!!

Interesting! I have only seen a couple of Kirkman sketches and they are scribbles. This is the most detailed one yet I have seen. Do you know what he charges for sketches? These seem pretty rare, probably because he has no time to do this at shows. Possibly done for someone he knew?

Yeah, I expected that. I heard it is the last book in the 8th volume since Compendium #3 so expected to be the end of Compendium #4. Would figure there is something big at the end as a cliffhanger. Like Compendium #3 ending at Issue 144 with heads on pikes. Which kind of cracks me up, because Compendium readers needed to wait 4 years to find out how that resolved. Adding to your speculation, the cover and teaser is out for #193 and it is definitely not in the Commonwealth...

Company Marketing Departments stretch the truth all the time. It’s my field and I have had to decline campaigns because of lack of provable evidence. Putting this out on Facebook is pretty bold. I agree, this smells of desperation.

Doesn't it get hot and cold up there???

Strange, I had those on my Watch List and they are closed with 0 bids. They were the ones starting at $150.

BTW, as luck would have it, Sensei Ryan just posted CGC 9.8 copies of the #7 and #8 Second Prints on eBay last Sunday and they are active until the end of the weekend. Be sure to check them out if interested. These don't come around often, so if you are intent on getting the Second Prints, this is a great opportunity. Ryan, you can thank me later

Hi Tim and welcome. Reprints for first 50 are 2, 7, 8, 33, 34 and 50. 33, 34, and 50 have cover variations whereas 2, 7, 8 look identical, just different dates. Good luck in completing your collection! I personally have a second #1 but have plans to get it sketched by Tony someday.

Partially right. It does not come back as Purple label restored. It's in the thread on the risks of Fireproof safes. The collector purchased a beat up copy of the exact same comic and had the staples professionally swapped. Came back CGC Green Label 9.8. So a qualified book but in his case not restored. Still a big hit versus 9.8 Universal

I hear you 100%. And if the herd of ASM collectors want to fight over this book, game on. I have only been back to collecting for a year. 35 years ago when I was collecting, there weren't variants (or maybe a few, but none that stand out). This is manufactured scarcity. I collect Walking Dead and they just did 151 simultaneous variants with store logos on the front of the book - just insane, though I have heard Marvel is an equal offender. Anyway, good luck selling the book!!! Might want to get it graded then put it out there. Hopefully it is a big windfall for you.

Hey man, it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay. So I guess if 9.4 is $13K, a 9.8 is over $20K. Now you are getting into OA level prices for a printed book. I'm sorry, I just don't see it. I know, it's supply and demand. Buyer better hope that demand is stable for a very long time.

I'm sure it is worth it to someone but to me... THAT IS INSANE.

Honestly, ComicConnect.com has it figured out the right way with the 3 minute extensions after each new bid which resets another 3 minutes. This ensures if there are 2 extremely interested buyers, they will bid themselves to death, sometimes getting bidding fever. I know people that hate that style of auction but I think it is smart and allows sellers and the auction house to extract maximum $$$. eBay sniping is fair too. As Sensei Ryan said, that's just the way the game is played. I saw an auction recently and the book was at $80 with 5 seconds left. 2 people tried to snipe it and it sold for $217. So sometimes it can backfire.

Thought I would share my 4 favorites - let’s see yours!!! Top left: TWD #1 signed by Kirkman and Moore Top right: TWD #2 also signed by both Robert and Tony with Tony's sketch of a Walker. Very high quality sketch. Bottom left: TWD #19, signed Kirkman with Moore signature and sketch (average quality) Bottom right: TWD "Hero Initiative". Joe Jusko Marvel artist and one of my Top 5 favorites from the series. Second pic: The "Hero Initiative" is a full wrap-around cover that looks like this. The bloody infant hand in the crib is pretty macabre but I thought it was a nice touch.

So I absolutely love the Rathburn back cover sketches on the early TWD issues (and am incredibly jealous of Phill the Governor who has the OA for Issue 25). So I need some help. I know that Rathburn did back cover pin ups for Issues 25 to 29 and 31 to 38. I've got those. However, I saw the reverses of Issues 52 and 53 and they had Rathburn drawings as well. After Issue 50, which ones have Rathburn back covers? I *might* start collecting those as I think they are really pretty awesome.

Sweet! Got any other TWD treasures like this?

Well, the “follow the leader” is carried over from the comics, though that is not working out so well for a new community in the book. But sadly I agree with the quality of the shows in Seasons 7, 8 and 9A. I do think second half of Season 9 has been good. But I am watching the series over and into Season 5, I am still on the edge of my sofa and ready to immediately watch the next episode. Those first 5 seasons really were something special.

Yeah, I heard that

Ha , that is like predicting the stock market. Prices for issues 1 and 2 in CGC 9.8 have both fallen 35% or so over the past nine months. So could be a great buying opportunity or on the way down.