RockMyAmadeus

Sorry for the awful, awful pics.

This was a good thread. We should do this more often...

Awesome, as usual Dover. Your copper books are great!

I was just thinking about that the other day....one reading this thread might get the sense that Turtles #1 is common in high grade....without realizing that it's likely the majority of high grade copies are held by the people in this thread. (thumbs u

So...are you saying actor is your choice...?

Always count pages on every Silver and older book you buy.

This thread always makes me feel sad...then happy...then guilty, because I laughed while reading it. Then sad again. Poor ajax.

The answer to this thread is simple: 8 is a higher number than 6. No other reason. There is a difference between average 9.6s and average 9.8s, but the price for weak 9.8 is the same as the price for an average 9.8 which is the same as the price for a strong 9.8...because they're all 9.8s (setting aside issues like "centering" and "page quality", which don't affect the numeric grade.) What's the difference between a strong 9.6 and a weak 9.8? Often nothing. I've pre-screened books at the 9.8 level, had them rejected, sent 'em back through...having done nothing to them in the interim...and received 9.8s. Now, don't get me wrong....there IS a very noticeable difference between average 9.6s and average 9.8s...but there are just as many strong 9.6s and weak 9.8s that, on any other day, would easily...and quite justifiably...reside in the other's case. Why, then, is the price so vastly different between 9.6s and 9.8s...? REALLY GOOD question, eh...? And of course, the other answer is that there are plenty of copies in CGC 9.8 of most anything modern, so there's no sense in wasting time with an "inferior" copy.

I feel you, man. I cracked my .5 and gave it to a buddy that is a huge Infantino fan. He loved it and I didn't have to look at it mocking me. I'd be mocking you too for sending in a Silver Age book without counting pages first.... Looks like you already are. Oh, no, that was just a hypothetical....I would never mock you in public. (but seriously, folks...count your pages. Not counting pages is a rookie mistake. )

I feel you, man. I cracked my .5 and gave it to a buddy that is a huge Infantino fan. He loved it and I didn't have to look at it mocking me. I'd be mocking you too for sending in a Silver Age book without counting pages first....

Which needs to be in a Green Label, but what the heck...

Printing plates. Pffft...newsstand drek... Mike Zeck junk. X-Men trash.

Printing plates. Pffft...newsstand drek...

"One BEEELION DOLLARS!!!"

Someday. I know, I know, I'm a slacker...should be fixed tonight.

Yeah, I know. I still want your #3 Blue, so lemme know if you wanna trade.

Are you wasting time buying CGC 9.8s...? No. They will always and forever be the "highest graded" that one can obtain a complete collection of whatever it is they collect from about 1972-present. Will anyone be able to put together a 9.9 run of ANYTHING of any significance..? Tell me...how many *complete* runs of anything have extant copies in 9.9, with at LEAST 2 issues in the run...? Wolverine Limited series (by the skin of its teeth.) Wolverine: The Origin Locke & Key Anything else...? Probably a handful of IDW titles. Any Spidey titles? Even Spidey Minis? Not likely. X-Men? Batman? FF? Watchmen can't be done. Miracleman can't be done. Punisher can't be done. Nothing John Byrne did can be done. Nothing Jim Lee did can be done. Nothing Todd McFarlane did can be done. So....9.8 remains the legitimate ceiling for "highest graded" that one can reasonably pursue as a collection with any kind of completeness. Are you wasting time buying 1975-up 9.6s and lower, unless they're rare Indies like TMNT, Albedo #0-2, Cerebus, etc.? Yes. You can quite literally buy 9.4-9.6 examples at almost any convention, raw, without paying the slab premium.

Post me a scan, boyo, and I'll call it "4".

I would love to have a complete set. I've offered my black #2s for the other 5 I don't have (Yellow #2, #3, Black #1, Red #2, Blue #3) for a while, but no takers. Even when I stumbled on the blacks...as excited as I was, I still didn't really know their true demand. I bought a Yellow #1 for $50, but that was in 2008. I think in 2002, I was still thinking that these were "$5 books."

Maybe if you just changed it to "slabbed yes/no" it would be more clear.

Yeah, that would have been far, far more than I was willing to pay for these. I do remember that auction. I truly did not understand how rare they were then...almost 8 years ago, now. From my perspective, I had paid, or would soon pay, $1 each for TEN blacks, plus 35 #1 reds and about 15 #1 blues, so $300 at that time was a price...from THAT perspective, of course. Now, it turns out, it was a steal of a deal. Congrats! I do a LOT of research using old feedback. My only regret is that I didn't use it to record what I bought, and how much I paid in the reply itself. Argh! Thank the Lord for Paypal records. I know and I used to co-own a LCS, so you think I would know better. They've been in a safe for so long though, it would always slip my mind to upgrade the bags. I am actually thinking about having them CGC graded at SDCC this year- does anyone know how the on-site grading works? Do you get it back the same weekend or do they ship it back to you and you just save the cost of shipping it to them (and eliminate the risk of the comics being damaged en route)? My husband is going to be there with our friend Doug Paskiewicz, so I'm thinking about having him at least take the black issues (I will be home with a fairly new baby and our 3 year old son.) SDCC didn't have onsite grading last year, and they may not this year. At cons that do, if you drop it off by a set time (usually Sunday morning), onsite grading is same weekend. Best bet would be to drop it off Friday AM. Good luck! Let us know your results!

And for once...actually true!

Hey that's my book! I'm new to this forum, but I'm so excited I found it. I had no idea there was still such an interest in these ashcans- I know I still liked having them, but haven't really had anyone to enjoy them with (my husband isn't much of a collector.) I have a full set of the Maxx ashcans (quick pic shown above) and I bought them in 2002 off of eBay. I still remember bidding on the auction at my old job- definitely not something I needed to be doing on company time, but I could not pass this deal up. It was a Maxx collector's set including the rare Audio Tape for Issues 1-3 w/ info sheet, a full run of The Maxx (which I already had of course! ), Gold Foil Maxx 1/2 issue, etc. The ashcans were definitely the prize of the bunch and I can't believe that no one outbid me. Here's my specs: #1- 389/4000, 344/1500, 365/500, and 13/50 #2- 249/800, 246/500, 27/150, and 8/50 #3- 246/500, 41/350, 17/100 and 7/50 I also have the famous #5 foil card featuring Mr Gone from the Maxx trading card set. I didn't even believe that card existed till I saw it pop up on eBay a few years ago. I have that set framed- I hotglued them to the frame backing.... just kidding! I did have them framed though in their proper positions- it's a neat picture when it's all finished. I know you! You've posted about this before somewhere....but where? We've discussed this, even... Thanks for showing me the first Yellow #2 and #3 that I *think* I've seen, but now that you mention the details of the auction, I remember that one, too. It sold for wayyyyyy more than I was willing to pay in 2002. Now, however, it was probably a steal. Thank you for sharing!

False...? I this thread...

That's 3. Excellent.