RockMyAmadeus

via Imgflip Meme Generator (I liked your post before I read the last paragraph.)

Don't get me wrong, there certainly ARE other tells, for sure. I've dealt with Cerebus #1 ever since getting my first ones (real AND counterfeit) in the late 90's, and I've had more than a few pass through my hands. One guy even tried to take me to the cleaners by selling me a counterfeit for $250 (when, at the time, they were selling for $20-$30) that he didn't state was a counterfeit (this was back in 2001, 2002 maybe?) and tried to claim he was in the clear because he didn't claim anything about it. And this was a DECADE before eBay made it even remotely easy to get your money back, I had to make essentially a court case to my BANK to prove that this guy was trying to defraud me, but I got my money back. I suspect Paypal, because they're corrupt, ate the charge, and didn't take it back from the seller, scumbag that he was. So I'm pretty passionate about these books. Yes, there are other tells, but far and away, the easiest is just to open that cover...if you can...and see that reflection. That doesn't require you to become an expert in the other tells, like with the various Turtles #1 printings.

Yes, quite clearly. But you don't need to see them side by side to tell. See this picture? This is the OP's example. See the reflection? You can almost read the panels closest to the spine in the reflection. Clearly a counterfeit, no contest, and you don't need to see it side by side with a genuine one to know it. I suspect that's how everyone else arrived at that conclusion as well.

who are you? are you even serious? Do you know how many of the "old guard" paid for funerals, replaced burned down houses, helped members when they lost their homes, gave money to those who were in NEED, and NEVER asked for even a thank you! You want to talk about the character of those men and women like you are capable of telling your hole from the one in the ground? Are some of the guys a bit snarky, yes, do they like that the sense of community has lessened in time? Yes. But I am shocked that a guy who has been here for such a short time knows SOOO much about what made this place to begin with. Even I missed some of the best times on this board, and yes we are a little reserved in who we take in after countless scammers, frauds, and thieves have made their way in over the years? Damn, there are reasons for things and maybe if you listened more you would understand why people are the way they are. I wish the "old guard" would come back because alot of those people were good people and are missed, especially when they provided some awesome conversation. A-f-bomb-ing-men.

I thought of a better example,,which would be the inside front covers of Batman: The Dark Knight #1-4. If the "finish" (for lack of a better term) looks like a cover of Spawn, it's a counterfeit. If it looks like the inside front covers of DK, it's real.

This is a perfect example of micro-managing. Was there a huge problem with people abusing the like system? No. Frankly, the like system shouldn't exist in the first place, but it does, so we deal with it. There weren't tons of "fake accounts" serial liking posts to create a disruption, but you put in controls anyway. Is there some advantage, some benefit, to the like system? Is someone awarded a cash or other prize if they get the most likes? Does anyone besides the one liking and the one being liked really care? No, no, and no. Life has risk. Trying to mitigate every possible scenario, restricting everyone on the off-chance that a tiny group of people are going to be "disruptive", is the very definition of micro-managing. There is simply no need for such a limit on a board populated by (ostensibly) adults. Is it a big deal? Nope. Is it even worth this much discussion? Nope. But it is a perfect indicator of an attitude and ethos that goes so much deeper than this specific issue, and threads like this are where you have ended up. How about simply letting people be free to like, or not like, as they see fit, as much as they want, or as little as they want, rather than trying to determine some "number" that is "needed by most users" (in your view, of course)...?

Well, that's one view. Granted, sometimes the creation of a sub forum for which there isn't interest creates a ghost town. But sometimes it allow people with interest in a topic to gather together and feed off of each other's enthusiasm. Yup. It certainly is one view. But one need not sift through a million wrong answers to discover the correct one.

No. Gloss does not "fade." It can be worn, but wearing the inside front cover's gloss off is going to be fairly uncommon (understatement.) See the reflection of the light in the above picture? If the interior front cover reflects light, as in the picture above, it is counterfeit. If one has even a little experience with these books, they do not need a "side by side" comparison to tell the difference. It is glaringly (pun unintended) obvious, and an instant giveaway. No obscure art "tells", which aren't consistent anyways, necessary. If further help is necessary, compare a typical Direct market copy of Spawn below #100 to a standard Marvel book from 1994 (say, GI Joe #150), and you'll get an idea of the difference.

Yes.

No. Excessive micro-management and aggressive control of what, where, when, how, and why people post is why this thread exists in the first place. Utopia is fantasy; it does not exist in the real world, and trying to force it is what drives and has driven people away.

No.

Just fine, and always has. That those with power get offended doesn't change the truth of my statement.

Instead of endlessly complaining about other people, the answer is the same as it has ever been, for everyone: make better, more logical, more rational, more reasonable, more coherent arguments, and don't be so easily offended so often by so many. Those who claim that other people are intolerant, who "constantly argue", who "always think they're right", and who are "bullies", are almost always, if not always, the ones most guilty of those things themselves. If one finds themselves constantly upset when confronted by those with different opinions, perhaps the intolerant one isn't those other people...

Frankly, you are a fool if you believe that. The only way that can be true is if Paradise did submit the books that month, but did not pay to have them graded. Otherwise, you are a sucker for falling for their story.

Mr. President

This is a childish response to a reasoned appeal, and you ought to be treated accordingly. Attitudes like yours make this place unpleasant. It's what really deserves strikes. I hope you are able to come to your senses.