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Speaking of Art Adams...I just found this gorgeous copy of Animal Confidential and decided to rebag it. And as I was removing it from the bag, of the worse possible thing happens, which never happens because I'm so careful. The tape snagged the cover and a piece ripped off.

Aaaarrghhh!!

2 hours ago, divad said:

I hope you learned your lesson from that . . . never ever take "in trade" from a dealer.

 

I was the one pushing for the trade. He doubted the value of the book, even at $40.

It was an easy way to keep cash in my pocket, since I had so many copies of ANMNPO1 2nd.

I always take a couple copies of books that are heating up to use as currency. Dealers usually offer me 1:1, as opposed to asking for cash and getting the wholesale rate.

9 hours ago, BishopT said:

Holy mackerel on All New Marvel Now Point One 2nd print!

I brought one to a local one-day con about a year or so ago. The dealer who I showed it to held it like it was a dead rat, until I convinced him to look it up on ebay.

It took a while, but he finally condescended to give me the $40, or whatever it was at the time, in trade.

12 hours ago, Lightning55 said:

I have several of each, the full blue, partial blue, blue/green, the shattered versions, even an orange-red one.  All are in superb condition, minimum vf, most nm.  I don't think the care of the book has anything to do with the hologram situation.  It was likely produced that way (however they make them), and glued on as usual.

On the shattered holograms, the effect is built in to the image.  There are no actual interruptions in the surface of the hologram, smooth, shiny, and consistent.

I've seen it demonstrated (can't remember where) that someone was able to recreate the color change using heat.

As far as the shatter-effect is concerned, I believe the holograms are thin pieces of layered films under the plastic cover. Which may mean the breaks are internal and not sensed by touch.

All conjecture - I'm not an expert in this field.

43 minutes ago, Ace Bandage said:

I have been opportunistically piling up 9.8's w/  5 standard covers and one WWLA. I frankly had been ignoring the Director's cuts but maybe I shouldn't have been. 

And don't forget the HTF WWLA Exclusive CGC 9.5 special edition

9 hours ago, littledoom said:

Who would have thought Annihilation Conquest Wraith #1 would be a $100+ book? ... looks like it's only climbing up!!!

I did. After reading the TPB when it came out. Something about the character stood out. A very unique character who is a Kree? Smacked of promise for future use.

Seriously - read the mini, if you get a chance.

10 hours ago, First Upgrade said:

BLACK HOLO, no image visible, no green, no blue, no yellow or any other color...CGC notes "Distorted Hologram"...this one will be auctioned next week via MCS (My Comic Shop)...

Was the grade of 5.5 determined primarily due to the hologram error?

20 hours ago, Wolverinex said:

Lol WOW.  That's so cool. I thought Stan was mainly on the west coast.  I didn't realize he went to NC.  Did you talk to him?

I go to Heroes every year and for most of them, anytime Sergio or Stan were scheduled, they cancelled for health or conflict reasons. I never thought I'd have the chance to meet them.

Last year, they did a versus tshirt with Groo and Usagi for the show, so we knew that they were attending. However, their flights were in doubt (June 2019 saw massive flight cancellations due to weather, 737 Max mess and airline labor shortages) - meaning may have missed them again.

They finally made it and since I was volunteering all weekend with my exGF, I got to say hello as they were setting up their tables. I thought that would be it and was ecstatic to have had the brief interaction.

Then my ex was tasked with sitting at their table to help Sergio with anything he needed. I was temporarily in charge of Stan's line, which was an hours long wait.

That is how I got close enough to offer them snacks and pester them - asking repeatedly if there was anything I could do for them. They were so humble and preferred to take care of their own needs.

My ex had many deep conversations with Sergio and he had her handling his money and making change for the fans. He gifted her with a pile of free stuff - many of them were signed. I was able to get a sketch from both of them by the end of the Saturday.

That was in my top HeroesCon moments. Along with meeting and having long converstions with Art Adams and Nick Cardy (right before he passed away), the 2010 Saturday night charity auction and partying with Mark Texeira after the con in 2009.

Good idea! We were just discussing UY books in the Coppers Heating up thread.

But...how the heck has there never been a thread devoted to Usagi before??

One of my uber-geekiest moments was last year at HeroesCon. I was volunteering and brought snacks and water to Sakai, Aragones and Evanier. I was basically offering my unfettered servitude just to breathe the same air that they were. But one granola bar and they were done with me.

On 7/19/2020 at 7:29 AM, Wolverinex said:

Insane I can’t even find a copy online now...

Actually ebay currently has dozens of Space Usagi books from all (3 diff volumes?) series available at mostly reasonable prices. Most issues up now are under $10. And I'm surprised that almost all issues that have sold since the announcement have remained under $25.

I've always thought that UY books are undervalued, as alluded to by a previous poster. If this show doesn't kick them off, then I guess Albedo 2 and #1 of the first ongoing series will remain the only truly desirable issues.

Too bad, because I've been buying every UY book that I come across. I believe in the appeal of the character and love the stories. Sakai is a true craftsman.

31 minutes ago, miraclemet said:

There's an interesting documentary about the early days of the Funko company on Netflix called "Making Fun: The Story of Funko" it's interesting to see the approach of fan cultivation that they built their business model on. 

When you describe Lego as you do, it is certainly a head-spinning, head-scratching hobby. Since we started buying legos for our daughter I've always kept the boxes/instructions because of just what you described (despite my wife thinking im silly for doing it). Someone could write a book about the market nuances of the difference collectibles sub-groups. It'd be a very interesting read. 

 

Yes, Thank you! I've written a lot about Funko on this thread, but have somehow forgotten to mention the documentary.

Also, head slapper.....LEGO is such a perfect lesson on how weird the world of toy collectibles gets!! You can buy a LEGO set now and have a very reasonable expectation that it will triple in value over the next ten years. But they're so pricey, that it is an expensive investment. And it has nothing to do with actually making the design. Some boxes that sell have been built and some are unopened...just like Funko pops.

Another thing that requires mention in this thread: Netflix's series The Toys That Made Us. SO, So, SO, so good, as a kid of the 70s/80s, I get engrossed in the stories of the most popular playthings - now collectibles - of then and now. It's full of lessons about how these lines come about and how they end up in our possession years after their release in retail. Whether do to nostalgia, or greed, or everything in-between.

On 7/1/2020 at 3:30 AM, 01TheDude said:

now now--- let people enjoy what they like.

No need to be nasty about it.

Here's a question that I have, though. It is not coming from defensiveness or attempting to perpetuate a conflict...but I'm asking the community, honestly:

What is the problem that people have with Funko pops? When I saw them (see my narrative at the beginning of the thread) at comic shops from 2010 til 2014, they were background noise. I barely noticed that they were there and then once I got into them, I quickly learned to appreciate what the company was doing as they created fun likenesses of personalities and characters.

There are a lot of comics (and toys) out there, which have aesthetics that are not everyone's cup of tea. But I have rarely seen this much vitriol aimed at an entire segment of collecting - well, since the gimmick covers of the early 90s.

Oh! Good deal!

I appreciate it.

Does anyone recognize this Conan the Barbarian #93 from 1978?

Is it a Whitman variant? Initial research turned up zero copies.

1 hour ago, Frisco Larson said:

I'll start with my highest graded Copper Age comic. 

Great way to start us off!!

Do you think that the boys and girls at CGC ring a bell when they put the 9.9 and 10 stamp on a book?

How often does that happen - does anyone know?

@woowoo

I think those are awesome, too, but I had to go back and check that this was indeed a Copper thread.

5 hours ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

Who is it?  I still don’t know 

Starbrand - who has been threatening a comeback over the past decade.

But Hey Kids, Comics! has a point, which is taken. But obviously she is one of the New Mutants, if you're not a reader. Just like this guy has to be either Cloak or Dagger, if you've never read the book. But you don't know much if you don't follow the books...I don't know. I just know that I like these covers enough to collect them.

BTW, I've seen better Cloak renditions.

4 hours ago, Lazyboy said:

Let's play a game. It's the mid-80s and you're a big Marvel fan. A new issue comes out, but OH NO, IT'S MISSING ALL IDENTIFICATION!

Who is the character on the cover? Which series is the issue even from?

Yeah. Exactly.

I like characters to look like, you know, themselves. Say what you want about the art, but that's a terrible Magik (and New Mutants) cover.

The pentagram kinda gives it away. 

I mean...play the game with Marvel Age #44. Is there a point to this game, if Mr. rando comic shopper doesn't know the characters?

Well, I've always liked it, since I first bought it off the news stand.

BWS eschewing the norms of feminine beauty found in comics?? ...all day long, for me, brother!

4 hours ago, jcjames said:

 

Let me have your attention for a moment.

So you’re talking about what? You’re talking about, complaining about that sale you lost, some son-of-a-gun that doesn’t want to buy, somebody that doesn’t want what you’re selling... Let’s talk about something important.

Are they all here? … Well, I’m going anyway. Let’s talk about something important.

Put that coffee DOWN! Coffee’s for flippers only.

Do you think I’m messing with you? I am not messing with you. I’m here on a mission of mercy. Your name’s ComicFan? … You call yourself a flipper you son-of-a-shill? ….I’d wish you good luck but you wouldn’t know what to do with it if you got it...

 

😂

That is too great!!!

1 hour ago, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

I think the one massively undervalued 25th anniversary frame issues is New Mutants 45; that's one of the best single-issue stories of the Copper Age.

And a cover that should be mentioned in the new Magik spec.

1 hour ago, World Devourer said:

Heh. I wonder if anyone out there has been burgled, with the offender only taking some petty cash, jewelry, CDs etc and not touching comics, Funko Pops etc worth far more than their getaway car?

"Whew. They only got my wife's CDs and that ugly brooch her grandmother left her. They ignored my collection - thank God!"

Hah! Yes!

Right after Hurricane Irena, (September 2017) Atlanta had various periods of blackouts. My house lost power for a week. So, I stayed at my exGFs place and never went home. When I got back, the door was unlocked, which was fishy. I walked around the house and found a broken window in the back. So, I dialed 911, because I remembered hearing that the police should check that its safe before you go in. An hour-and-a-half later, two squad cars showed up and the cops did a walk through. It took them a while. When they came out, one of them said, "if you see that your boxes of toys had been gone through, it wasn't the robbers, we were looking at them."

I have an entire comic room and a mountain of Funko pops. I've grossed about $7000 in the last six mos. nust selling a small portion of my pop collection and definitely have over $50K in comics. The thieves took my Bluetooth speaker, a few small electronics and some food. ALL of my valuables were untouched (until the police showed up).

Three years later - I still approach my house with nerves, when I get home. It sucked but I'm extremely glad that nothing was taken, that couldn't be easily replaced. There are probably lots of stories out there, like this one. As an aside, I've had more comics stolen by porch pirates  than I lost in that burglary. There are many ways to get violated by someone messing with your home, without even seeing the transgressor.

On 6/25/2020 at 1:27 PM, Joosh said:

I own none, I don’t get it. I sold off most unopened action figures from 90’s because I just don’t appreciate them like I do my comic books. They also take up too much space.

the only toys I buy now are the ones that come with a comic; I take the book and sell the toy.

Sorry - I couldn't resist....but seriously:

1) I felt the same way about them before falling in love with the line (see my loooooong description at the beginning of the thread). I saw them in FYE and comic shops and mostly ignored them. But I didn't ignore them enough not to notice that the pops that I was shaking my head at are now selling in the triple digits.

2) Can't we all say "I don't get it" about 99% of the stuff that other people get excited about? And I'd guess the percentage of people who would say "I own none, I don’t get it" about comics would be greater than 99%. So it's all a matter of 'to each their own.'

But none of that answers the question about their comparison to beanie babies. I wrote about this earlier, but to non-comic collectors ' comics look and sound a lot like beanie babies.

Just sayin'

Nice sale on the RHPS pops!

I attended the Saturday movies and had fun, but the pops didn't call to me when they were new. I wish that I had at least grabbed a Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

I just went through about 100 boxes, which I considered to be 'inventory.' It turns out that 75% were individual pops that I'd like to keep and display. I don't know how I'm going to break that news to my GF. Maybe she'll break up with me over that decision, therefore taking the need to get rid of more, off the table.