comicginger1789

Still awaiting hope for a June 12 date stamp to show up

Whoever failed could have failed better....booby would have been much more fun than bobby.

I'd love to have a CGC 9.8 Batman Adventures #12....so I could sell it for something much cooler.

Hi and welcome! There is a forum where you can ask for a grade here (not sure if you found it) https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/forum/42-hey-buddy-can-you-spare-a-grade/ As for a grade, it is at best 1.8-2.0. The water staining and colour loss hurts it. As is, around $100 book at best. Grading it might bump that up a smidge to $125

A back stamp. Comics version of a tramp stamp?

I don’t have a large collection compared to many and I only have two slabs that were gifts in my PC. I would be bummed if a book I thought was unrestored came back with colour touch. Now there could very well be a book in my PC that has colour touch. I am in the process of going through my books (verrrryv slowly) and regrading and bagging and boarding and reading stuff, and I feel like I can envision a book I bought a long time ago with weird marker bleeds through the front cover which I now know could be colour touch. So I will keep my eyes peeled but even if there is one I am not bothered by if. Basically I wouldn’t buy a purple label. But if a raw issue had some touch on it, and the price was right I wouldn’t say no.

5.0-5.5 due to spine and tanning.

Awesome book! I am jealous! As for a grade, definitely can see 5.5-6.0 on it no problem.

So not quite as old as I thought but I appreciate the responses thanks!

I don’t own it haha but was considering buying it but I couldn’t find any info on what it was or when it was from

Hi all, Golden age stuff is far from my strength but I came across this issue and am interested in knowing what year it’s from and what issue it is? Is it humour? I’m just curious if anyone has one or knows the year and any info on the artwork inside. Thanks!

Number of factors really: 1. First appearance of a character everyone born since she appeared seems to gravitate towards 2. While a lot of 9.8s exist, it’s still hard to find because it was based off a cartoon and more marketed for kids back in the early 90s 3. Print run is not extremely high. 4. The demand is there Personally I don’t get why anyone NEEDS a 9.8 copy when in all reality a solid 8.0-8.5 looks just as great and is a huge fraction of the price.

So here we are at number one! It was kinda tricky to dig through the memory of the past 15 years and pick out the highlights. There are loads more but most were quick ebay buys and flips or lots on ebay where I maybe made a tiny bit and kept some random issues. I tried to showcase more interesting books and finds that resonated with me in some way. But, enough chatter...time for numero uno! I wish this one had a bit better story but because it was a find and I consider it one of my prized possessions, it takes top spot. Apologies as I have told the tale before but here goes. This was a very early Ebay buy for me, around when I first got my own account. I wanted to get all of the drug-related non-code approved issues of ASM and started with issue #97. I found a copy online and because the seller did not put much info, I just double checked that the book was complete with no coupons cut or anything missing. He replied saying it was complete but that someone had written a name on the inside cover. I was like "hmm, well I could maybe keep looking" but for whatever reason I asked what the name said. His response was that it read "Gil Kane". He did not send pictures or anything and I thought surely this was some kid writing Gil's name in the book. At any rate, I made an offer anyways, the seller accepted and the book was sent to me. I still remember the excitement opening it to this day...and seeing the below signature on the inside page. I am convinced it is Gil's. Even if it isn't, it is staying with me forever anyways. At the time, Kane's art on Spidey and other Marvel titles was some of my favourite and still is. it was also the first signed comic I ever received. Fast forward to 2016 and the year I got married. Some coworkers wanted to get me a wedding present. One of them was going down to the Toronto Fan Expo and Stan Lee was there. He knew I loved comics and offered to take a book down for me to have signed (I also helped him acquire a copy of Dr Strange 182 which had his two fav characters on the cover and his wife a copy of Inhumans 1 from the Secret Invasion arc as that was her favourite character). I could not attend because my wedding and honeymoon were obviously priority that year. So immediately I knew what book I wanted to have signed by Stan. And here it is on the front. This book stands for a lot. A great score, my first signed comic, the first comic I had signed (or sent to be signed) by someone, it contains Spidey, may favourite character and is part of a great little bit of comics history having no comics code stamp on it. The trifecta would be to have John Romita sign it, I just have not gotten around to that but I need to. Overall, I am so happy I have it. It will always be the book I am most proud to own and even though I have had bigger monetary scores, it stands out amongst anything else I have added to the collection.

I love store stamps too! Any stamp really! Is there a thread for that? Maybe we can add store stamps to this one too.

Before I post number one, a couple honourable mentions that I recall but don't fit into my top 10 for various reasons. I remember them all though, so I figure they were worth mentioning....honourably. 1. ASM #300. First purchase I ever made from outside ebay over the internet. I sent money in good faith, he sent comic in good faith. I did not include this as it was a specific purchase I wanted. It was around 12 years ago but it was a screaming price for a NM copy and I own it still 2. The dusty box of comics. A local guy was selling a box of old comics for $100. I went to check it out and man, they were soooo dusty. Just after handling a couple I had grime on my fingers. The box was mostly Gold Key/Dell stuff but there was a diamond in the rough. Doom Patrol 99. I am not a Silver Age DC guy but knew I could break even with that book alone. Later, when I got home and went through the box with a finer tooth comb, there was a reallly beat copy of Astro Boy #1 and some early Star Treks worth some coin. So I ended up doing well. The rest of the box was donation material. I kept the only Marvel book in there, seen below and a couple others but was more of a sell for profit find than an add to the PC find. 3. I found a Hulk #180 in a poorly listed ebay lot. However, after some dealings that went south with someone who was supposed to press the book and send off to CGC for me but resulted in this not happening and the press popping a staple. What was going to be a nice profit towards a copy of ASM #50 turned into a modest profit from a raw sale and a sour taste. I still remember it though but because of the negative taste, I kept it off the list. And because it did not work out, I have still yet to pull the trigger on that ASM #50. Below is the grainy listing pic and then the pic of it after it was pressed and the staple popped. 4. A local collectible shop opened up within the last year and a half and I made some great finds there. Everything was $3, regardless of condition or title. The best stuff I found was ASM #212 (when the hype was silly and someone paid me a lot for it as I already had myself a copy) and a run of Eternals. I was super happy because I wanted to read these but at the time, Eternals news was out and these were pricey online so was a nice find. Lots of other stuff too, like random issues of Tomb of Dracula, Ghost Rider and Defenders from the 70s. Was most happy with a Doorway To Nightmare run found there in great shape. Oh and I also found the infamous "Pearl Necklace" Archie issue. Sold it though because I don't really get the love. Headlights covers and what not, sure but the innuendo stuff is such a funky niche. But hey, to each their own! Anyway, below is some of my stuff from there. 5. A visit to a pawn shop (yup a pawn shop) found me getting lucky with a couple Batman keys seen below, and some other goodies. They had a sale on. Grand total...$11.45!

So COVID happened, the border closed and I was sad. No longer could I cross the border to pick up parcels (heck I have 2-3 there waiting for when it opens up). So how was I gonna get me some comics? I hate paying $15-30 for shipping for a small amount of books or even 1 book! I had to buy comics so I took to avenues I had never used really before. And I really regret that it took me this long to do so. First, Facebook groups here in Canada. Found a few things, minor things really. For the most part, people seem to price high. But at least I could view people selling stuff. Then, I started working Kijiji and Facebook harder and found stuff. The best find was a pile of romance comics. They were cheap and I looked at the pics and figured even if they were rough (which most were), I could probably double my money. Plus, even add a couple romance to the PC. I posted the pics the guy had used once I bought, in case someone else saw something worthwhile. I go over stuff once in hand but was excited to share some buys and posted before I had them in hand. Welll, a fellow boardie let me know that the Girl's Romances 105 in my lot was worth something. I was excited. And I got lucky, as it was one of the nicer copies. I sold it to another boardie just a week or so ago. I was super happy and I hope it arrives to him, along with the others I sent and I hope he loves it in a way that I just couldn't. This money made then went towards upgrading my copy of ASM #194 (I had a lower VG copy that I always felt stuck out because most of my issues from $150-400 are at worst Fine, with most VF). This was a quick flip that went well and a quick purchase (the ASM #194 was also bought off a boardie, along with a couple other missing ASM issues) and it will stick out because I knew somehow that something in the stack of romance comics was gonna be good.

Isn't "Schmuck" the name of Liefeld's new character he is creating? Named after the sound he makes when he trips and falls over because it's hard to walk on tiny feet?

So this collection was a doozy. A connection was made with someone I knew who's stepfather had a bunch of comics. I had met the guy couple of time and one day, he mentions having comics and says he was thinking of just "having a fire" with them. I said woahhhhh at least let me see what they are. I THINK he was joking but either way, he started sending boxes with his stepson who I knew and I valued them. He said they were just taking up space and would be happy to get whatever money he could so once again, I was in a selling situation. The deal was similar to my last one, where I offered to sell it all for him in exchange for some books. A few of the books I wanted were worth a fair bit so I ended up paying him a bit of money but I made out quite well. It was a collection that had a bit of everything...a full Ms Marvel run with duplicates, a bunch of Conan mags, other Marvel mags like first Star-Lord, Planet of the Apes magazines, bronze age war books, a John Carter run, a Warlord run, some Green Lantern/Green Arrow, a Howard the Duck run and a first bronze age Black Adam, some Claremont/Byrne X-Men, a higher grade X-Men 58 and higher grade silver age Archie books. Once again, I made around $1000-1200. In addition, these were the books I snagged and paid a VERY discounted amount for. I was amazed at the condition on these too as they were stored in boxes stacked with none boarded and only some having bags. I went with the magazines because they rock and I did not have many. Now, I have a healthy amount. Some of these books like the Ms Marvel Mystique appearances helped me finish the run, which I was elated about. I also filled in some Spider-Woman issues I was missing but I forget which ones exactly so they aren't pictured, as well as some random others that did not sell and he said just to keep them. The FF book had a wicked cool stamp on it so I had to keep it

My biggest fear is that my collection could be stolen or destroyed in some manner....and to be honest, it is not even something I think about often but when I do, I feel super bummed that, in reality, it could happen. Thankfully, I live in a newer home, my books are stored well and our city/neighbourhood is not frequented by much crime at all (at least not theft) so these "fears" are very very small. Fear of missing out? Every day I miss out on probably hundreds or thousands of good deal. You all do. You cannot see every book, every piece of art, every collectible comic item being sold. Kinda like you can't predict when the world will end, so is that really even a fear? Fear of overpaying? This is a simple one. If you pay for something and that is all you think about, you overpaid. Even going into it, if you budge from your number where you feel comfortable, you likely will always have that feeling of overpaying. I have overpaid before but at the end of the day, I either kept the books because they were not such a gross overpayment that I can't stand to look at them OR I sold them for that reason. No point having something you don't like if all it does is bring up bad memories. Early on collecting, and for newer collectors, you are probably going to overpay from time to time. Accept it. You are gonna spend $5-10 on stuff you maybe could have gotten for $2-3 if you were patient or knew where to hunt. Time and experience will ensure this happens less and less as you continue in the hobby. Fear of overpricing? Unless you have to move a book this second, you start a bit higher than you think you should get. Then you slowly drop it. If you want a quick sale, you drop to what you would happily accept. If you are unhappy with an amount, don't sell. And if you want to be up on prices of books, there are sites, forums and people to follow who organize such info. Besides, if you sell a $5 book that is actually currently a $20 book, you are sweating the small stuff. Be more worried if you are selling a $500 for $100. I just don't find these fears to be affecting me personally but if you do hopefully some of what I have blathered on about helps.

I throw in free comics, usually 1-2 at least just because. I’ve received that a few times as well as thank you on invoices. A few people have even sent some extra goodie which is awfully generous.

Yes, my dad is not a big comic guy, but he supported the fact I collected. He did not usually let me spend much more than $30-40 so when I was allowed to buy stuff early on, I tried to make it count by buying lots. You could get great Bronze Age stuff...like 40-50 comics...for like $20 or less. It is how I grew my Spidey collection and collection as a whole early on. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that those days are gone. That dollar bin books back then are now legit $5-10 books...which still pains me to have to pay sometimes for fillers but tis the way it is.

Everyone out there probably has a flea market or yard sale story. Sadly, here where I live, yard sales are very VERY junky. As a result, I rarely go out to look unless the yard sale specifically lists old books, comics or magazines. Occasionally to save time, I will reply to ads or call to see if it is even worth my time (most people are great to talk to plus it can get word around that you are someone looking for comics). This "word" is how this yard sale came to me. My family was visiting us to see our son for the first time so this is only a month after the previous X-Men collection. My wife gets a call from her nana that she is helping a friend with a yard sale and he has lots of comics. Unfortunately, she missed the call to her phone around 9am and by the time she saw the message, it was nearing noon. We were gonna go for a walk with the little guy so I figured lets stop by and see on our way. When I got there, I was told that someone already bought a bunch. To this day, I wonder what that person got. Old Spideys? Silver and Golden Age goodness? I think about it on occasion. Luckily, the guy said he had another bin full in the garage so I went in, not expecting much but boy was I surprised to see these. I ended up spending a whopping $60 on the stuff. Sold some books to break even but I was most pleased with adding to the collection. The books were in really good shape considering they were just stacked in a pile in a bin, some with bags, most without. There were others I kept too but this was the main score. I always hold out hope I will find more at yard sales but a local collector friend has also only had one find in the last decade or so in this city and it was just some Bronze Age Rawhide Kid stuff. Very high grade and cheap but nothing one would consider key or noteworthy by any stretch...and this guys hits yards sales hard.

They do seem to have a lot of people who collect them. Heck, there is even a site or an app where you can check the supposed value on the things. I dont know enough about that and perhaps I should, because while I don't buy them personally, if I found a rare or valuable one I would def sell to someone who wanted for some good ole comic money. Some of the figures are silly looking. Some I like. I have been gifted two, a Doc Ock and Spidey and they display nice on my wall so I kept em. At some point though, one would think they would slow down in terms of collectibility. But as long as superhero shows and movies continue to come out I feel they will be along for the ride.

Ever since moving to where I now live, I have regularly checked local avenues, scoured pawn shops and tried to find places that sell comics. It seemed nothing every came up. The one shop that has records and comics only had 80s and 90s stuff and anything from the 70s was automatically priced at $7 or more, regardless of condition. I have gone through the place literally issue by issue and they rarely add anything and there are books that have been there for decades (they mostly make their money on records, DVDs, CDs and clothing/used books). Finally, about a week before my son was born, an ad popped up. A guy was selling an X-Men collection, a solid run from #97 to around 300, with a few missing. Plus, some McFarlane Spidey books. I went immediately. The books were owned by a younger guy. He was moving back home from university and wanted to sell some stuff to put towards a Hulk 181 (this was the early spring of 2018). I was pumped when I saw what he had. All the good keys were there, 100, 101, 130, the Dark Phoenix Saga, 266 and more. All in great shape, like nothing worse than FN and many VF condition. The price was right but I had a goal so I negotiated a bit and got everything for $575. My goal was to sell most of it (in hindsight I could have really had a nice X-Men run between this collection and the teacher collection but alas, as I mentioned I just don't get super excited about X-Men). I wanted to keep a couple fun issues and ultimately, keep 101 since it was a book I doubted I would ever purchase but I like the cover and thought it would be great to own. In addition, I also got to upgrade a couple ASM issues and there were a few I did not have so that was great! After selling what I did not want, I came away in the green by about a couple hundred bucks profit plus the following books kept for myself. This has also been the most money I have ever shelled out at once for a single book or collection. There are 20 more or so after these issues but these were the earlier ones I kept. Prior to this the only X-Men I owned were issues 57 (Neal Adams cover I love), 141 and 142, along with a run of Morrison's new X-Men. EDIT: I totally forgot that this gem was also part of this collection and was obviously kept!

I mean, he def pressed it. I guess him saying nothing has been done to it is the lie. Lots of sellers do this....press a book or "claim" it original owner or belonged to their brother. Basically, feign stupidity to make it seem like you could get a good deal on a novice seller or potentially improve the book's appearance yourself if you bought it. I mean, the pictures tell most of the story, the book is clearly still in the 3.0-3.5 range for me anyway regardless of what Mark Wilson did to it.