Gonzimodo

Oh, I also remember getting rid of a GI Joe 155 in mid-grade at a garage sale for probably 20 cents or so.

The only book I really remember from early on that I wish I still had was the GI Joe #1 Treasury Edition. I loved that book and have no idea what ever happened to it. Most of my bungles are from 15-20 years ago when I was selling a lot on the 'bay. I sold an almost complete run of the 1997 Deadpool series (1-50 or so, plus the annuals, Encyclopaedia Deadpoolica, Baby's 1st, etc.) for something like $60 around 2003. Oops! I apparently sold my run of the 70s Eternals around the same time, although I don't remember doing it or what I got for them - I'm sure it was only $15 or so. I sold a couple New Mutants 98s that I picked up at Half-Price Books back when they were going for $10 or so. I only paid $1 each for them, though, so no biggie, and I still have my original that I bought off the stand. I sold a high-grade NYX #3 (also a $1 buy from HPB) for like $40 because I figured it would never go higher than that. I've sold a lot of other things over the years that I should have held onto, but those are the ones that stick out. On another note, I have a buddy whose family ran our local newsstand for years, and he had a Star Wars #1 35-cent variant in HIGH grade that he held onto forever. (And yes, I know that he actually had it and that it wasn't the Diamond reprint, because I've personally seen and held it a few times.) He moved away years ago, but I emailed him about it a couple months ago, and he said he had put it up for consignment a few years ago at a card shop. Apparently it mysteriously disappeared along with the shop owner when the shop went out of business.

I did the same thing! Luckily, there was enough word of mouth that I started buying at issue 7 and then bought a set of 1-6 on the 'bay for like $35.

My best friend's mom ran an antique store for a few years until she recently retired. She got wind of a comic collection being sold by a recently widowed woman in the area, so she went to check it out. She initially balked at the price ($600 or so, as I recall), but ended up buying the whole collection. Then she contacted me (the only comics guy she knew) to see if she had made a good purchase. It was probably 250 or so Golden Age books in various conditions, including a lot of early (teens and twenties) Batmans. Not being a Golden Age expert by any means, I knew she had made a good investment and assured her she would at least make her money back. I remember the big excitement was going through the coverless books to see if she had a Detective 27 or something like that, but no such luck. Still... I'm pretty sure this Captain America book was in there, because it's such a striking cover and I'd never seen it before. (For some reason, I remember the issue number as 6, but that's the cover I remember with the creepy claw hands, so it has to be the one she had.) When she sold the books on the 'bay, she couldn't believe how much she was getting, and this Captain America book was probably the biggest surprise when it brought in something like $1,200. This was probably twenty years ago at this point, so I can't even imagine what that collection would be worth now. (Sorry, that's a bit off-topic, but this book really sparked the memory.)

I hope I didn't violate any terms of use by recommending an outside vendor. I have no affiliation with them and was just trying to be helpful. As I said, I have no skin in the game regarding where anyone buys their supplies; that's just the one I use.

This is definitely worth the investment for your keys, IMO, especially considering how you are displaying them. Mylars offer much greater protection than regular bags, and they really do make your books look better. Check out www.egerber.com . Their prices are great if you buy in bulk. You can get 2,000 Mylites 2 of your preferred size for under $400. Mylites 4 would be a little over $600 for 2,000 if you want to go that route. The Mylites+ are a little thinner and feel more like regular comic bags, but it's almost a negligible price increase to upgrade to the Mylites 2, which I think would work much better for your purposes, anyway. I HIGHLY recommend getting the Half-Backs (backing boards), too, if you don't want to spring for the Full-Backs (thicker backing boards). Their bulk price for 2,000 Half-Backs is comparable to the price of regular backing boards through most dealers (<$10 per 100, including shipping). I use them exclusively now and am in the process of re-bagging my entire non-key collection in regular bags and Half-Backs. I would love to put everything in Mylar, but honestly the cost just isn't worth it for most of the books. However, from what I understand, regular backing boards become little acid factories over time, so it's worth it for me to replace them all with Half-Backs now and not have to replace them in the future. (Plus, it's been a lot of fun to go through my collection again and see old books I haven't actually looked at in years. ) I'm sure other people can suggest other places to buy Mylars in bulk, but E. Gerber's worked great for me. I really don't care where you buy them, but I honestly think you should make the investment, especially when you see that the price isn't as prohibitive as you may think. Your comics will be better protected, and they will look even more amazing when you have them displayed like that.

True. My bad.

They are looking to catch and prosecute.

Does anyone here watch Live PD? The Mile High Comics robbery was just spotlighted as their crime of the week, complete with the video (including plumber's crack) and a statement that the value of the stolen comics was over $40k.

Hi, everyone! My name is Scott, and I've been reading and collecting comics as an actual hobby since 1984. The first comics I actually remember reading were my brother's Star Wars 1-6 back in 1977. I was a Star Wars freak as a kid, so of course I had to sneak those whenever I could. I distinctly remember that he had stapled some of the pages together where there were double-page ads, so those ads wouldn't interrupt your reading. In 1982, I became obsessed with GI Joe, and during one fateful trip to the grocery store, I stumbled across GI Joe #7. I didn't even know there was a GI Joe comic until I laid eyes on it, and I instantly fell in love. That was the first comic I ever bought with my own money, and it now occupies a place of honor in my geek room. (Yeah, it's been read to death and is only about a 4.0, but as far as I'm concerned, it's one of the centerpieces of my collection.) From there, I bought as many Star Wars and GI Joe comics as I could find (not many in my small town and with very limited resources), and I remember famously saying to anyone who would listen that the only good comics were GI Joe and Star Wars and that superhero comics were for losers and dorks. I soon discovered that I was apparently a loser and a dork, and I've been hooked ever since. (It was Secret Wars that got me...) I've now been buying and reading steadily for the last 35 years with only a couple small breaks, and I've amassed a collection that has pretty much taken over my basement. I'm currently in the process of re-bagging everything, and it's been a ton of fun seeing great old books that I haven't pulled out in years. I plan to submit a few of my gems to CGC in the near future, and that's how I discovered the boards. I've been lurking for a couple months, but hopefully I'll come out of my shell and post every now and then.