RockMyAmadeus

That's a racist and sexist statement. One, I'm sure, which few have a problem with, but I'm pointing it out. Otherwise, you're doing yeoman's work, so carry on.

You'll get the same effects that you see in other comics not done properly. In other words: there's nothing special about these particular books that prevents them from being done, like, say, chromium covers, which cannot be pressed, since they are plastic.

No. People have had it beaten into their heads that if negative feedback is left, they will be punished, in some way, by the seller, which has included some really psychotic and illegal behavior (such as stalking.) Since people are naturally reticent to complain in the first place, and since sellers aggressively fight (and almost always succeed, despite claims) to have negative feedback removed, negative feedback that manages to stay on an account is actually worth perhaps 10-20 complaints. The feedback system on eBay has been useless, since its beginning.

I would buy Black Daredevil.

Not if it's done properly. Same with GITD. I've pressed many Maxx 1s and Ghost Rider #15s. It's a little harder, but can be done.

None of this is unusual. In fact, it's pretty par for the course on eBay. That is why stories from sellers of "nightmare buyers" who "can't be pleased" should always be taken with a couple of pounds of salt, and why feedback profiles on eBay have....since 1995....been fairly pointless. Substance and context is what counts. If a buyer leaves lots of negs, it could be because they're jerks...but it could just as easily be that they're fed up with the trash that is routinely sent out in comics, by people who don't know what they're doing...or worse: do.

I enjoy talking about this run. I've said it a million times already, but Byrne loved these characters like his children, and it shows. He really attempted to do something great with this title, and I think he succeeded. It was certainly head and shoulders better than what came after, until Walt took over.

Wow. Some real steals in there. No one's making money on < $30 slabs.

There's a lot of concern about "swapped books", and with other companies, it's legitimate, because it's very easy to do, especially with certain types of CBCS slabs. But CGC cases have always been, since the beginning, fairly tamper-evident, and there are security features, even on the old slab, that CGC has never made public...on purpose. You also have to consider the details and realize that the value of the book plays a big part on whether your book is "swapped." Are we talking about a Fawcett Captain Marvel #31 from 1945? Probably not. I assume it's a Marvel Comics version from 1974, in which case...the difference between a 9.6 and a 9.0/9.2 really isn't that much. There's nothing in the pictures that indicates any damage to your slab. While it's tempting to believe there are legions of "comic swappers" out there, trying to swap out really high grade books with not so high grade books, it's not really true. And the books they are trying on are going to be a lot more valuable. Ok, yes, "fraud tests" and whatnot, but again...what is possible and what is likely are usually far apart, This is where knowledge is power: knowing how CGC grades, and being able to grade for yourself, are invaluable skills if you plan on buying and selling slabs. If you know what you are looking at, it's much harder to deceive you. Disclosure: I have both bought and sold thousands of slabs, and had more thousands slabbed. I'm "in it" as much as anyone. Finally: EVERYONE...and I mean EVERYONE...who buys or sells slabs should crack open at least one old slab and one new slab, and familiarize yourself with the components of every slab, so that you know what you're looking at, and how the slab works. It will help you out tremendously.

Nothing with mass can reach the speed of light....

Interesting perspective: 502k copies wouldn't have placed the book in the Top 25 for 1993. Probably wouldn't have placed it in the top 50. May even have not been top 100....

There was not. Those were special events, produced for the reasons I gave in the other thread. There is no "Direct Market" version of Alpha Flight #88, for example. You will never find one, because they weren't made. It does not exist (though, of course, watch someone be funny and make a mockup.) I was buying AF brand new at this point, and wondered why the copies the store got were newsstand. The answer: because that's the only way they printed them. Look at a typical "offset" (as this was what was affected) book from the time period: Punisher War Journal, which was distributed to the newsstand at the time. If you look at PWJ #6, you'll find Direct and newsstand copies for sale. But if you look at Alpha Flight #88...or #86, or Sensational She-Hulk #1...all you will see are "UPC" copies, which is a statistical impossibility when you're dealing with dozens or hundreds of individual copies. As for your experience with Hulk #397, I suspect you are misremembering. The distribution channels for the newsstand and the Direct market were completely different...starting at World Color and Quebecor from the moment they were finished with the printing process...and never the 'twain did meet. Stores wouldn't "accidentally" receive newsstand copies, and vice versa, because that's not how they were distributed, and the distribution process was multi-layered at the time. IF a store had newsstand copies, it's almost certainly because they went to the newsstand to pick up copies that they sold out of for one reason or another, or a customer brought them in and sold/traded them to the store. I don't doubt you probably got it from a comic store...but it didn't get distributed to that store... ...UNLESS, the store ALSO maintained a magazine distribution account, which, from what I can gather, was still true even into the early 90s for some retailers. If that was the case, they'd be getting newsstand copies, too...just a couple to three weeks later, which most stores I imagine didn't want to deal with. But no, accidentally sending the wrong versions out into the distribution streams...? Ehh, sure, anything's *possible*, but I seriously doubt it ever happened, again, because of the way the books were handled at the printers, from the moment the books were finished, AND because it was in the publsher's interests to keep close watch on what was returnable and what was not. And, of course, there was no longer any such thing as a "newsstand only" title, at least insofar as Marvel, DC, and the other mainstream publishers were concerned. Marvel in went so far as to print Direct versions of their "Newsstand specials" specifically for dopey completists that were distributed to stores, even though they already HAD a Direct version of the regular book! A "Direct" version of a book that already had a Direct version....but, even then Marvel knew how to deal with their addicts...er, I mean, "zombies." (Yes, I bought all three. I am weak.)

Oh, and that's an obvious code violation.

Barry Windsor-Smith did an interview in the mid 90s, and in it, he mentioned Liefeld. The story goes that Barry had been to Liefeld's place, or knew someone who had, and that Liefeld had not a single actual book anywhere to be seen, there were nothing but comic books everywhere. If your entire reference library consists of "reference" material from the medium you already work in, you're going to have problems... It is, by the way, why we are doing all the "reboots" in TV and film. Actual creative work is hard. Regurgitating other people's work that was successful in the past...? Piece of cake. The cessation of original creative output is a major symptom of a dying culture.

No need for AF and Doc Strange to be suspected...same with Moon Knight. Power Pack is almost certainly in the same boat. Those books had no "Direct" UPC edition, and I got several of them directly from multiple comic shops, and wondered why they were getting "newsstand" editions. Any "Direct Only" title from Marvel from 1988-1993-ish would likely have the issues. A good resource for finding out which titles were "Direct Only" is a Previews catalog, or a Capital City catalog, or Marvel Age, or Comic Shop News...those should be able to tell you, if there's any question, what titles were "Direct Only" and when they were, since several newsstand books went to Direct Only at the time (AF, for example.)

This is mentioned in the Quasar #32 thread somewhere around. Yes, that's exactly what happened. Books like Avengers and Cap were distributed to newsstands, while books like Quasar were not...so Marvel printed the "special editions" for newsstand distribution, so readers could get the whole story. For example, Alpha Flight Special Edition #1-4 is also AF #97-100, which...as discussed at length here...was not a newsstand title at the time. I'm wondering what other bits of info are missing from people's knowledge about this era. There was a ton bunch of unusual things happening, mostly due to the massive tidal wave of both product and quantities being produced at this time. It was a very haphazard time.

Pages of beautiful Anacleto art...(swoon)

eBay's still drunk off their holiday money.

Um.

It's not 500 terapixels, so no.

Did someone say something...? I thought I heard something... ( )