Math Teacher

I have always liked the dark blue cover from this book. And the colors from your book look very good! Joe

I think you could get a 5.0 to 6.0 after a press. Joe

My guess is a 4.5, and cross your fingers for a 5.0. Joe

Well, if a person did trim it, s/he did a VERY poor job! Joe

Gentlemen, Thank you for your input. I'm going to order an ASM #10 CGC 5.5 for $385. I am very happy with that price! Thanks again! Joe

Yes, me too. I could have sworn that I typed in that EXACT number 5 or 6 times this morning. I guess I was having a "senior" moment, which, unfortunately, are happening more and more often. Joe

I'm contemplating a purchase of a back issue from Instagram. He posted a picture of the book, and I went to CGC website to verify CGC certification. When I type in the certification number, it came back as "not found". I know that I typed in the number correctly, and I am attaching a picture so you see the number also. Is this a common occurrence? Should I proceed with buying the back issue, or should I run away at top speed? I've never seen this happen before, which is why I am asking for advice. Thanks in advance for your time and cooperation. Joe Ankenbauer

This is the nicest book of the bunch (of my 3 Murphy Anderson GA try-out issues). It was sold to me as an 8.5, and I think that this issue can achieve that. There are 2 slight indentations along the left-hand side of the cover, which you cannot see in the scans. The corners look pretty sharp to me, and the spine is in good shape, top to bottom. There does seem to be some rust on the bottom staple. As before, I would appreciate your input. Thanks! Joe

Here's another Murphy Anderson GA try-out issue. I believe it was sold to me as a 7.0. Unfortunately, I don't think it will achieve that grade. Lower left-hand corner leaves a lot to be desired. Also, the bottom part of the spine is rough. I would appreciate to hear your thoughts! Joe

For God's sake, will you quit making sense? Joe

Here's a copy of Showcase #56 I picked up during the summer. It was sold to me as an 8.5, but I don't think it will reach that level. It does have a slight indentation on the mid-right hand size of the cover that is not visible in the scan, along with a small color-breaking crease. Slight nick on both the bottom-left and upper-left corners, along with a few spine stresses. Also not a clean cut issue, which you can see in the 9th/10th pictures. Any opinions would be welcomed and appreciated! Joe

Here's my two latest acquisitions: Journey into Mystery #85 CGC 4.5, courtesy of @Mike22. Strange Tales Annual #2 CGC 7.0, from Ebay. Joe Ankenbauer

Has anyone ever bought issues from this business? They have a CGC 5.5 issue of ASM #10, at what I consider to be a reasonable price. This would be an upgrade to replace my G/G+ copy. However, I don't want to purchase a book from some "fly-by-night" operation. https://www.icomicexchange.com/ Any information that you might be able to provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Joe Ankenbauer

Thank you for another perspective on my question. Just out of curiosity, where do you find issues like this? Joe

Thank you for such a thorough explanation. I completely understand about the "hunt." One of the reasons I am thinking about starting on a Brave and the Bold #1 - #24 run is because these books don't come up for sale all that often (at least I haven't seen them often). The excitement of seeing a book you need is just so enjoyable. One aspect of comic book collecting that I really miss (due to the 24/7 availability on the Internet) is the stopping at every local comic book store while on vacation. Stopping at these stores to see what they had available was always an adventure, and I picked up many books in my collection this way, at very reasonable prices. I guess we should follow some commonly spoken advice: "Collect what you like." Thanks again! Joe

I'm not trying to be critical in any way. Could someone explain to me why someone would want to collect these type of issues? I'm sure there is a very viable reason, but I'm not sure what it is. Pretty please, with sugar on top, don't attack me for asking a question. I honestly want to know. Joe

Mike recently sold me a copy of Journey into Mystery #85. Mike communicated well throughout the entire process. Book was sent quickly and was very well-packaged. I hope to make more purchases from Mike in the future! Joe Ankenbauer

Paraphrasing Hannibal Smith from the A-Team, "I love it when a sale gets done!". Nice book, and sold for more than recent GPA latest sale. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Joe

Unless we boardies are Simpsons aficionados, the joke in this post will not be understood. Just to be clear, as a Simpsons aficionado, I DO understand where this comes from. Joe

I do have Showcase #56 too. I recently put together a mini-run of Showcase #55 - #56 and The Brave and the Bold #61 - #62 (the Murphy Anderson Golden Age revival books). Showcase #55 I have in CGC 8.0, and I think the other three books are all at least 7.0 - 7.5, if not higher. Joe

I do have both of these. I also forgot to include in my list Action #242 and Adventure #247. I'm sure they are pricey, but you can't argue about their importance. Joe

I have bought three books from Metro (not super expensive, but worthy of slabbing), and all three graded at least 1.0 lower than their estimated grade. Joe

Well, I'm more of a super-hero guy, despite my purchases of Rawhide Kid #17 and Two-Gun Kid #60. I definitely have no interest in horror. Right now, I'm considering working on the following runs: The Brave and the Bold #1 - #24 The Avengers #1 - #16 (where the Kirby covers stop) X-Men #1 - #17 (also where the Kirby covers stop) I looked at GPA, and I could get Avengers #1 - #16 in 6.0 (excluding my already owned/purchased #1 and #4) for around $3000. That seems doable. Some of these issues are remarkably cheap! My first two purchases would have to be #2 and #8. I looked at GPA again, and I could get X-Men #1 - #17 (excluding my already purchased X-Men #1) for around $5500 - $6000. Interested, but that might be out of my price range. My first two purchase would have to be #4, followed by #2, #3, #9, and #12. I haven't priced a BatB #1 - #24 run, but my main interest in this is the excitement in finding one of these issues. From what I've read here on the boards, these issues don't come up for sale that often. I am aware that there are several of these books for sale in the Comic Market: Golden/Silver/Bronze Age Only forum, but I need to pay for Journey into Mystery #85 first. I would like to get an Infantino Flash run, but those Showcase issues and early Flash issues are SO expensive. I guess I will have to stay satisfied with my DC Archives and Showcase of those issues. Right now, I'm trying to get a high mid-grade issue of Strange Tales Annual #2. I'm looking for a 6.5 to 7.5 graded issue. Thanks for all the input, guys. I've really enjoyed all this back-and-forth! Joe

First Sgt. Rock, correct? Joe

I'll take it! Thanks for working with me, Mike! Joe Ankenbauer