RockMyAmadeus

I love the comic cover fridge magnets, too. They're neat little pieces of art that you can look at without having to worry about damaging them.

Please find someone else to interact with. There are hundreds of other posters on this board to choose from. Thank you.

One more time. Please find someone else to interact with. There are hundreds of other posters on this board to choose from. Thank you.

That's not true. Please find someone else to interact with. There are hundreds of other posters on this board to choose from. Thank you.

This is what I was referring to. "Stu" is not a member of this community, nor should he be treated as such. Please find someone else to interact with. There are hundreds of other posters on this board to choose from. Thank you.

Yup. And even the most saintly among us can't forever tolerate someone flashing their dong at you, trying to get your attention. If you're a decent person, if you're a reasonable person, and someone makes it clear they don't want to interact with you...just be a grownup and find someone else to interact with. You'd think this would be basic common sense, but it's not.

A solid 10 Gem Mint of a post. The blocked user didn't get under my skin, but his attempts to do so are why I blocked. I don't want or need that kind of Dranzer in my life. And if any blocked user is a reasonable, conscientious, respectful and respectable person, he/she will honor and respect that, regardless of his/her personal opinions on the situation. That's how grownups with irreconcilable differences handle things, regardless of why they're irreconcilable, or who is at fault, or any other consideration. Like I said...the real problems in any and every community are the ones who can't control themselves, who have to poke, poke, poke, baiting until they get a response, to which they then point and say "SEE!? I TOLD you so and so was a jerk! This PROVES it!" It's completely dishonest. It's real trolling, not the mere disagreeing with someone that is often called "trolling."

I'm not seeing that - the Action, Adventure and Detective have substantial corner curls, rippling, no doubt tears etc Looks as if they're in slots that are too small to accommodate them. They might all benefit from a press though I'm pretty sure he was kidding.

There's nothing wrong with ignoring those who get under your skin. In fact, it is the proper, correct thing to do. The real problems, in any community, are the people who try to force everyone to get along, through peer pressure and provocation, and to see things "the way they do", not allowing that A. there have always been people who are oil and water, and B. not everyone is required to get along with everyone else. It is no one but moderation's place to tell grown adults how, why, where, and what they should (and should not) post, nor to chastise them personally, nor to publicly "offer" your "advice" on how they should be getting along with others. If someone makes it clear to you that they don't want to interact with you, the right thing to do, the conscientious thing to do, is to honor that. If you find yourself refusing to ignore them when asked, but choose instead to harass, harangue, provoke, or cajole them in any way, no matter how subtly...you...not they...are the problem.

People are dropping the term "print run" again. Where did DC release this information...?

Hey, are we throwing out definitions, here...? Cool! According to whom...? Who decides what has "no collectability (sic) or speculation value"...? Who makes that determination? I'll hang up and take my answer on the air.

I really don't think you read what I wrote, but oh well. There is simply no way to PROVE that a book HAS NOT been pressed. Just because *I* didn't press it, doesn't mean someone else didn't. That's great that you think I would be honest enough to not lie about the pressing status of my books now, but I don't trust that you would say the same thing on the chance that you lose...and, with the bar at 95%, you almost certainly would. And then there would be nothing whatsoever to prevent you from claiming then that the contest was, in fact, rigged, despite any precautions taken. And then what? It's a setup for everyone to fail, regardless of the truth of the matter. You could completely GUESS and still come out with a pretty good percentage correct. That's not scientific. "You would have lost anyway" are not the words of someone with an open mind on the issue. "You know it" are also not the words of someone with an open mind. How do you know what other people do and do not know? If you manage to get someone to accept your challenge, good luck to you. I would be fascinated by such an event, despite the substantial pitfalls facing anyone willing to do such a thing. If you can come up with scientific controls, you might have something. No pressing advocate worth his salt would dream of taking such a challenge as stated. "The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

Your challenge is impossible. First, where are you going to find books that you will accept have never been pressed? I have tens of thousands of books that have never been pressed, because I bought them new, or bought them when they weren't worth pressing (and still aren't), and hardly anyone knew about pressing. Are you going to trust that I will produce books that haven't been pressed? It's easy to rig such a challenge. Second, I have no access to 25 GA books that "I know" haven't been pressed. As noted above, mid to low grade books are certainly detectable; they're "flat" where they shouldn't be, like at color breaking creases and the like. And I don't have access to upper mid to high grade Gold or Silver. Who is going to provide such unpressed books, and demonstrate that they've "never been pressed"? And if you managed to find such books, again, it would be easy to rig such a challenge: just add a little edge bend that could be pressed back out. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." Just because a book doesn't appear to be pressed, doesn't mean it hasn't. Conversely...though it's easier...just because a book looks like it HAS been pressed, doesn't necessarily mean it has. You are in complete control of that, and don't let anyone ever try to tell you otherwise. You need not debate anyone longer than you wish to, ever. You have perfect freedom and control to end any debate you're a part of, at any time, for any reason, or no reason at all, simply by not continuing to take part. You have the power.

Here, again, is my take: 1. Pressing is an art, even more than a science. Those who have the ability to do it properly, introducing little, if any, "pressing defects" to a book, are very rare, because it takes time, patience, and a gentleness that most people don't possess. It is not easy to properly press a book. We're talking about paper that is decades old, that can behave in unexpected ways, and was never meant to be preserved. 2. Pressing is a high wire act. Too much moisture, and things start to warp and ripple. Not enough moisture, and your defects either don't come out at all, or (more commonly), your defects come back if you just squash the book into submission. You cannot squash books into submission. You must, must, MUST balance your moisture, pressure, and heat, constantly, and what's more, you must change your methods depending on what you're working with. A 1948 Avon requires a completely different approach than a 2013 Marvel, and they all have their own unique challenges. 2013 Marvels, for example, were printed on tissue paper, with giant staples. Does your presser know this? Does he/she know what it takes to not impress the covers with your staple tines? It's not easy, nor is it quick. 3. The customers for pressing neither know, nor care, that proper pressing takes time. Ok, yes, if it's a 1991 book with a single 1/4" NCB spine tic that keeps it out of 9.8, no, that's not difficult. But if it's a 1963 Marvel key, then you're working with 55 year old paper, and you have to be gentle. But...with the prevalence of "low cost" (you get what you pay for) and "quick pressing" (a contradiction in terms), then yes, the market has come to expect that, and here's the kicker: they have no way of knowing if someone else could have done it better. You improve an 8.5 to a 9.4? Great! Wow! But there's no way to know if someone else, doing it better, could have gotten a 9.6. And even if you were to send it to someone else, because of the vagaries of grading, it's still not really proof. 4. "Good enough" is what rules in the market. That's why I don't press for others anymore, outside of a handful here and there. It's not even remotely worth it. I enjoy pressing. It is absolutely restoration. It's proper restoration. I am thoroughly amazed at what is possible, and how books can be "saved" from the ravages of whatever they have gone through. It's a joy to turn a mangled, water damaged mess into something presentable. But it is not easy, it is not cheap, and it is not something that can be done by anyone with a press. And until and unless the market, from front to back, recognizes that, then there's nothing really anyone can do.

I am completely with you, Bob, that books that have new problems introduced by improper pressing should be downgraded, and not "glossed over"...and I agree that that is happening.

You must only have experience with poor to mediocre pressing, on low to mid-grade books. I suspect that those who think that "pressing is detectable 95% of the time" are people who only have such experience, and have never actually done the process for themselves. When done properly, on an upper mid-grade or better book, it is not detectable. The higher the grade, the "less" possible it is to detect. You have a few NCB spine stress marks and maybe a 1" NCB bend with some thumb dents? A typical 9.0? Those can come out, and you might get a 9.4-9.6...sometimes even a 9.8....and you would never know the book was pressed. Then you went to someone who is a mediocre to poor presser.

I guess it depended on whether shops ordered them. In the Bay Area, they certainly were.

I've gone through periods like that. I found something that thrilled me again in comics, but it comes and goes. Whatever you find to give you that thrill again, in comics or not, I hope it comes soon for you.

I haven't sold on eBay since January, but I may have to start selling again soon. Seriously, if you find a site that's at least comparable to eBay, please do share. The ones you mentioned are GREAT...if you're selling high grade Silver, or key Gold, or art, or the like. If you're selling, say, Fantastic Four #349 SS...well...that's not their target market, unfortunately.

Yes, the lady who owns all 12 is, I think, "IBeforeE" on this board. Mine was #9, I think. I forget now. I don't remember the other 2. Yes, they stacked all of these when wet, and smeared all of them. Such a shame, too. All my #2s (I owned 10 black #2s) were smudged like that.

Wow. What a special copy. Absolutely gorgeous.

Now THAT is worth the price of admission. By my research, this would only be the 5th confirmed copy, though, of course, the other 45 (plus whatever A/Ps or others they made) might still exist. Very, very nice!