Gonzimodo

I've always assumed the fugly 9.6s and 9.8s I've seen over the last couple of years were just the result of lazy or loose grading by CGC, but now I wonder how many are the result of a scam like this. It's also been pointed out that this guy can double-dip by resubmitting the original 9.8 book for grading and then reselling it, but why stop there? If you think about it, submitting the book again just gives him another 9.8 registry number to swap out the book and resubmit for a custom label or "clerical error" with a missing MJ or CPV designation or whatever to manufacture another fake. Lather, rinse, repeat. Theoretically, all it takes is one solid 9.8 copy to generate as many 9.8 registry entries as he needs, at least until too much handling results in it no longer receiving a 9.8 grade. Obviously, I can't verify that this is happening, but it seems possible.

I use lighter fluid, although if you use too much or wipe too hard/too much, you can remove color from the covers, so be careful!

I've always seen it as his back to us, but now I can see it both ways. From the original art, I guess he's facing us, though. Huh.

CGC's job (in theory) is to verify what a collectible is, verify its completeness, identify any restoration or other issues, and grade it accordingly. If the process stops in its tracks because something fails the first step (verification) for whatever reason, whether because it's a fake or just something that offends their delicate sensibilities, I'm fine with that, as long as they're consistent. Their company, their rules. (I lean toward them simply refusing to grade bootlegs or unauthorized editions, though, regardless of how much acetate you slap on the cover.)

Geiger was just okay, IMO. The Gary Frank art was fantastic, of course, but the story/plot seemed kind of basic. However, it did some really fun world building and definitely hinted to a much more interesting world and timeline that led directly into Junkyard Joe and his other, upcoming books. I haven't read Junkyard Joe yet to see how well it all blends together, though. So to me, the series felt more like an introduction to the world Johns is setting up rather than the lynchpin of it. As I recall, he left it pretty open so he can come back to that story if he wants, but it's perfectly fine as its own, complete thing if he doesn't.

I'm sure there have been many doctoral theses written on the deeper meaning of "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang."

Yeah, "garbage" is probably too harsh. It's obviously many orders of magnitude better than anything I could ever produce. I just remember buying the TPB of Long Halloween and getting more and more frustrated and disappointed as I read it. It was very underwhelming to me and did not live up to the hype at all. Obviously, most people would disagree, but that's why it belongs here, right? I wonder if it's one of those stories that just worked better in monthly installments than it does as a binge read.

Promethea can be a pretty tough read. I remember there being some good stuff among all the magical navel gazing, but I haven't read it since it came out or had an overwhelming urge to revisit it. That ABC Comics line was a lot of fun at the time, though.

Huh, I guess I should have looked again for the Infinity Gauntlet shirt. There are at least two on eBay now. One's really faded and ratty, the other looks nice. Here's the nice one.

I had this X-Men shirt when it came out (ordered it from a comic book, of course) and have been wanting to replace it for years, but it has always been impossible to find or way overpriced when I do find one. I see one now on eBay for $170, which is still too much, especially since I know I'll just ruin it with nasty pit stains. (White t-shirts are not my friend. ) I was also a size smaller then, so the image on the front didn't look so dinky. It has Cyclops and Wolverine on the front, the rest of the team on the back. I also had a black Infinity Gauntlet shirt, with the cover image from issue 4 ("Come and get me!") in the upper left on the front and the cover to issue 3 (all the heroes) covering the back, but I haven't been able to find that one anywhere. I wore these shirts all the time back in '91-92 as a college freshman. Surprisingly, the ladies didn't flock to me...

My unpopular opinion was going to be that all of Loeb's Batman work, especially The Long Halloween and Hush, is overrated garbage. I just don't understand why so many people seem to love those two stories in particular.

Well played, sir. Wasn't one of the guys who kicked him out of his store calling him "Strap-On?"

Oh, that's only one of the gems in the video... So apparently the dealer (Marc?) bought a book from this StickyGoose guy at a con in 2022. His Royal Stickiness then says he heard that the dealer's peers and coworkers "humiliated" him for paying too much. (He also mentions that this is the same trip where he got kicked out of multiple comic stores. ) So he sees the same dealer a year later and wants to sell some more books, and this time the dealer is "sauced" and doesn't want to deal with him. (He makes it very clear that he means the dealer is drunk.) Then you get this gem: “Obviously he does not like me whatsoever because I… I got him. I mean, I sold him something that he overpaid for.” The video then gets pretty adversarial with dealers in general. He says that when dealers tell him to stop filming, now he just walks away. The reason? Strap in... “How stupid do you have to be to not want promotion, to not want exposure of whatever it is you’re trying to sell, and if you were to give me, uh, a little bit of a deal or just show me any kind of love, I mean, I can literally promote you. And and I’m not trying to be arrogant, I’m not trying to be egotistical, I’m just, I’m just telling you the truth. And if these guys don’t realize that, they’re just dummies.” So now he's apparently "shadowbanned" from this year's convention, and the persecution is real: “It’s kind of one of those things where you try to be a nice guy, with the uh, you know, with filming and promotion and saying how good a shop is, saying how great a convention is, only to get it spat back in your face, um, when when the good guys (which, I’m saying me as a good guy… and you, as the show goers), once the good guys win one and get one on these dealers, this is what happens. So I’m shadowbanned from Big Lick Comic Con.” So beware not to "get one" on these dealers, people, or you could be next!

Also nothing on Friday or Saturday!

We made it longer than 24 hours with no new posts in this thread!

I totally agree with you on the shady restoration and nondisclosure stuff you mention, but I can give him a pass for being only tempted to do it without actually going through with it. I know I'd be pretty angry if I sent a book like that to a store for a signing and they lost it, but ultimately it was no harm, no foul. I'm not going to get on the guy's case for thought crimes, though. I was just surprised by the seeming support for the idea that you need to try to pay FMV for everything under all circumstances and possibly even throw extra money at a dealer after a deal is done if you feel it wasn't fair to them. That was just weird. (And also, yes, obviously, please don't be a scumbag and take advantage of ignorant non-dealers... well, unless they also prove to be scumbags... ) And I don't think you're unjustly on your high horse, I think we're just focusing on different aspects of his story.

I always thought it was a staple/feature of the hobby and a dream of collectors to find ridiculously underpriced items and bask in the warm glow of their unbelievable luck, but apparently that now means you're a selfish, evil person or something. Don't get me wrong, I understand how people can and will take advantage of ignorant widows and orphans and whatnot, but finding something like that in an antique store or comic store is one of the unique thrills of the hobby. Besides, I hear that dealers aren't your friends, right...?

And Avengers!

It looks like it will be Ahsoka, which is kind of strange considering the stretch goals.

Hmmm, I guess I'm wrong, since the chart shows both variations of Yoda's cane and snake, as well as the blue lightsaber for Jedi Luke... So I guess it works for how I described but includes the three most common variants. It would probably be overkill to include the double-telescoping lightsabers.

"Releases" is probably a better word than "issues."

I think that graphic just shows what basic weapon type and color came with the initial issues of each figure, so for that, it's very helpful. I like to match mine up that way, but I'm still missing a couple because prices have gotten out of hand, and bootlegs (Ugh!) are becoming more and more common. I don't care about the different mold variations among the stormtrooper guns (for example), just whether the figure initially came with the black one or the blue one. That chart seems perfect for that, as far as I can tell.

I found a mid-grade Amazing Spider-Man 238 in a back issue bin for $6 but didn't initially want it because it didn't have the Tattooz. A couple months later, I came back and it was miraculously still there, so I bought it. I eventually bought a higher grade copy with Tattooz, but I still have that first one. At a different store, I found almost a full run of Miracleman in the back issue bins priced very cheaply. I grabbed them all, including #15, which was only $6. That was a book I had been chasing for years. These were both back in the late '90s. I also bought an ASM 129 from Half-Price Books back in the late '90s that they had marked at $75. I thought it was pretty cool, but that was a lot of money for me back then, so I waited about a month until I had one of their 15% off coupons and then bought it. I have no idea how much it actually guided for at the time, but looking back, I can't believe I almost let that slip through my fingers so I could save about $10. That particular Half-Price Books location used to be an amazing honey hole. I found an almost complete, very high-grade run of Wolfman and Perez's Teen Titans for 50 cents each, including NM copies of 1 and 2. I also pulled about 40 issues of Tomb of Dracula out of there that were marked at 10 cents each for some reason. (I've never seen them price comics that low before or since.) They didn't have #10, unfortunately, but I eventually found one on eBay. I got a full run of Akira (Epic) for $1 each. I later found another copy of #38 there, also for $1. That was all in the mid-2000s. Unfortunately, I did pass on a Tales from the Lantern (early Bone) that they had marked at $100. By the time I had the money for it, it was long gone. It's the same store where I found an NYX 3 for $1 and flipped it immediately for $60. I kind of wish I would have held onto that one a bit longer... Same for the New Mutants 98 that I sold for... $10. That was right before Deadpool got so popular. So yeah, I've had some good luck with things over the years, but I've also bungled my fair share of sales.

TWD actually became one of my favorite monthlies for a few years. It was a solid book and worth reading... until it wasn't. The TV show was pretty much the same. I think Kirkman killed it at the right time.