RockMyAmadeus

By the way...as I have always said, I don't care if the turnaround time is 6 months...so long as my books aren't hammered, I'm fine with it. Others do other things for other reasons, but time is not an issue for me....so long as I'm nut subbing 7 copies, and getting 4 9.6s and 3 9.4s. I'd much rather sacrifice speed for consistency, rather than the other way around.

You were fortunate. Imho, this last year has been the tightest CGC has ever been on Moderns - I do a ton of SS books where I crack out 9.8s and I've never experienced this many grade drops upon resubmission. I like tight grading as much as the next guy, but I feel they've moved the needle way too far in the other direction now. Much, much too far. My latest sub was 280 SS books. Got a fair number of 9.8s....but I SUB 9.8s...and the rest was all over the map. 9.4 80's, 9.0 70's. Things that didn't use to be a problem...like production corner chips, which are as common as anything in 1980's books...are now being taken into account. Also, printer's creases, which used to be taken into account wayyyy back in the early days, and then no longer taken into account (which is as it should be) are now apparently being taken into account. The issue is that I knew what CGC graded 9.8, and what they did not. Now, I'm back to second guessing, and looking for total perfection before submitting (and still not getting above 9.8, either.) I cannot waste my time submitting a Web of Spiderman #31 and getting a 9.4. That slab is worth much less than it cost to get done. That's not acceptable. Also, I'm getting grading notes like "top front cover rippling/warping, bottom front cover rippling/warping"...on books like Silver Surfer #44 (1991). Every single copy of that book has that issue, as do most Marvels of that time frame (which is partly why Marvel went to offset printing and abandoned newsprint in 1992, and DC did the same.) That's something that Shawn Caffrey knows, because he's done this for so long. It's not something that the "new graders" seem to know, and it seems to be having an effect on grades. CGC cannot change its standards at halftime. We shall see how this turns out. This I know, and this I hope everybody at CGC understands: if a book is in a 9.8 slab, and it hasn't been damaged in the process...and there are enough ultra, ultra, ultra anal SS guys who don't let anything happen to the book in the process...and it comes back in a 9.6 or 9.4 slab....it's not going to be conducive to business. It's high time for a "guaranteed grade" program...and it's certainly possible to implement, if the will is there.

Grade that flaw like they have always graded that flaw, not tighter than they have always graded that flaw. Tight grading isn't the issue, changing grading standards is the issue. This, this, this.

Alien was a suspenseful movie, and very, very good for what they had to work with. Aliens is one of the most thrilling sci-fi movies ever made, an absolute classic. That's it.

I think we touched on it, but you're correct, it's a terrific run. JL/JLI/JLWhatever is my all time favorite series. Here's a slightly better (though still not great) pic of the one AH cover I still own in that run: That is one of the single best issues of the run. That entire Despero arc is one of the best.

I've tried to sell it here on the boards before. At some point I'll put it on the bay. But in theory, its gotta be one of the rarest of all Adam Hughes 'variants'. Per Comicchron, it was the 170th most popular comic in May of 1995, on Issue #32. More than a year before that in 1994, it probably wasn't better than 110-120 in terms of ranking. Obviously this was AFTER the crash of 93, so I can't imagine this title was heavily in demand. And THEN you throw in the DC UNIVERSE aspect, and it feels like the number of copies has to to be ultra ultra low. The DCU copy is a second printing, right? Print runs from 1994-1995 were substantially higher than later years. It's not going to be too terribly rare. And 1993 wasn't really the crash....that was the crazy year. The crash was more of a long, slow descent into madness from 1994-1997. Kind of like the stock market from 1931-1933. As Revat said, the earliest DCUs were, indeed, second (or "Collector Pack") printings, like Green Lantern #36. The ones published from late 1993-1996, however, were concurrent printings. Same with the newsstands, they just swapped that plate and ran them at the same time.

It is incredibly foolhardy to post remarkable eBay wins before the item is in hand. All it takes is one person to let the seller know, and it's "oops...I lost the book. Sorry, here's your money back!"

I have a registry. I don't have all my books listed. I don't know if there's anyone with more Kieth SS books than I, though the store owner that had the signing in 2013 (from whence the Venom books came) might have more. I've got about 50, had about 65.

Very tough. He only signed a handful of times in 2013. Wow. You know, I thought I knew every single Sam Kieth book from 1983-2000 or thereabouts. Even the really obscure ones, like Blood of Dracula #3 from Apple Comics and Target: Airboy, and Cadillacs & Dinosaurs: Man-Eater #1-3. Did everyone know, for instance, that he inked Mage: The Hero Discovered #6-15? Even books like "Secret Origins Special #1", where he just did some interior art. I stand here completely flummoxed that I did not realize that Manhunter #1 was a Sam Kieth book. And I own multiple copies! Wow. That's kinda cool! Coppers heating up, indeed!

I'm waiting for that big Scalphunter revival/TV show/movie Goooooo LADY COP!

Harumph!

First time I've seen this book. I wonder how many other cases there are of a logo for a character that prominently features some other character. I've never noticed that. Interesting!

There are some people that I discover that I have on ignore, and I've totally forgotten who they are and why I put them on ignore. Usually, it's because I found out they put me on ignore, and then forgot I did so. Some of those people have even taken me off ignore. (No, I don't habitually check, but if someone says something, like AJD up there, that raises suspicion, I'll check...usually my gut is right.)

Good to know. Added another one to my list. Yes, responding to people in separate posts is awful. (Insert scream meme here.)

Bob Polio always makes me laugh.

Someday, he'll sign again.

Yes.

Supa-Pimp was driven out of here by some shady dealings of his about, what, 3 years ago...? Don't remember...

Yay. Yay yay.

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but Hughes' first major comics run was Justice League America, starting with issue #31. It's a beautiful run.

This is a secret "things I need to be on the lookout for to flip" thread, isn't it....?

Enjoyable little presentation.... My belief is that before you can really do 'impressionistic' type of art, you really should be grounded in the fundamentals, if not absolutely a master of them. Moebius (Jean Giraud) spent many years on 'Blackberry', completely MASTERING a look from a genre not even a part of his native land... Before venturing into a more abstract form. It gave it substance, and thus artistic merit. McFarlane began his career by learning the basics.... anatomy, layout, perspective, etc.... But since comics are somewhat a perversion of those techniques in the first place (and Todd never really mastered them anyway), his growth to the 'next level' or whatever you want to call it, is spectacular in it's flashiness, no question, and somewhat pleasing to some to look at... but in reality... artistic reality... it's overly unnecessarily busy and...kinda flat. Of course, much like professional wrestling, it caught the eye of many young boys right at the onset of puberty and it SOLD incredibly well and.... well... If you want to see the progression of a master, check out Picasso's "First Communion": Picasso was FIFTEEN YEARS OLD when he painted that. Look at the composition. Look at the realism. Look at the use of light and dark. It's breathtaking, and far beyond anything most of us could ever produce. The argument that you can "break the rules before you know them" doesn't hold water. (PS. I thought it was "Blueberry"? Or is there a "Blackberry", too?)

By the way...if you haven't seen this, it's important for every fan of art to watch: Because if everything is art...then nothing is.

As stated above, that's your opinion and you are more than welcome to have and share it. That does not make it fact. Nobody is right! There are people that see beauty in cigarette butts, Fords, and Kim Kardashian.....it's in the eye of the beholder! This comic came out when I was 11 and working in my father's sports card/comic store. This cover is the very first thing in life I saved all my money so I could get every cover. Sometimes the beauty is deeper my friend! Of course. I thought Return of the Jedi was the greatest movie ever made. I was 11 when it came out, and it was the very first movie I got to see "by myself." Hell, I thought the Poseidon Adventure (1972) was the greatest movie ever made. So, of course, people are going to have their perceptions affected by childhood memories, absolutely. But when you consider the cover on its own merits, objectively...it's a pretty "meh" cover. Just Spidey, with giant eyes, crouched in webs, with lots and lots and lots...and lots...and LOTS...of spiders. Not much dynamism to it. And I love McFarlane art (although that qualifier shouldn't HAVE to be made, someone will invariably make that accusation, so I thought I'd cut it off at the pass.)

True indeed. Of course, not all opinions are created equally....