Dick Pontoon

Saw it last night with Mrs. Pontoon, Pontoon Jr. and a buddy of his. We all liked it fine and were glad we went. I have a bit of superhero movie burnout and it was somewhat standard fare but I have no major complaints and liked it better than some of the more recent Marvel movies. I thought the direction was a little ho-hum in the non-CGI action scenes, but was very glad the story was framed around good guy vs. bad guy and not some overly complex cosmicmultiversetheentireworldisgoingtooblivion plot. Plus, it was only 2 hours long! Hooray!

But what's the grade?

I have a nice selection of shops in my area that carry back issues, so it's not entirely unexpected to find things. Here's a few items I picked up that were no-brainer buys; I walked in and knew I'd be walking out with them.

I very rarely use a phone for the Boards. Am having zero issues on laptop and desktop, Windows and Mac, Firefox usually.

I'd probably call it a 3.5, but I could imagine it being anywhere from a 3.0-4.0 in a slab.

I would guess that the ink transfer comes from the cover of whatever book this one was stacked on. Moisture was introduced and then you have part of the cover sticking, foxing and rusty staples.

Yup. I was actually a bit surprised at some of the prices on the books I bid on, but I guess it makes sense if they're pulling in some social media-based Whatnot-type clientele. I don't know if I'll be following any future auctions. That website has me yanking out what little hair I have left. Plus, Mark Wilson.

This thread needs more Star Comics! Hugga Bunch #5 is the meat in the sandwich.

I don't want to cut the line, but here's my #223 and #224.

Most likely a scam. "Sold" yesterday on ebay from a new, zero feedback seller: https://www.ebay.com/itm/354976892358?hash=item52a64585c6:g:CsIAAOSwCBFk2HlW&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwKzuBwO0jDzOQVwBZms1DBZfEQyKwYEpeZibyYv6%2BPzHj8wF7Mf106MDLxrotzGCYfsaAnYE1deZ7K0DOTwKh%2BYtcWBwzC%2BcLfKs8of0dpJ3KRvgEP1sDYR9Nwei%2B14LKjOsEzzWBGCG6TCLSCWgBUb5M1cp%2FoDuORhg78xDJpJ7VQ7RVDaj%2FslX9DEusgLqx1ajYiteR5EUxq03H5xedOyqh%2BXRSChEMIVaEymh4x%2FBVcLE6VldxrvMgbJ5EBKhiQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR8bX3KzCYg

I'm in the 5.0 camp. Congrats! Great book!

2.0 at best. Mold/mildew Slabbing that would not make sense.

Nice! Is that a Flee-Marquette special?

If you're going to do it, I'd get it pressed. If it was me though, I'd never send in a 9.8 to be regraded let alone for a signature. I'm too risk averse, there's no guarantee it will come back as a 9.8 and with a signing it'll be handled more than a straight submission.

I only picked up one book. The others I was watching either went higher than I wanted to pay or after taking a good second look I decided to wait for another with more eye appeal.

Not trying to rub salt into the wound, I'm genuinely curious; did prices end lower than pre-pandemic prices on your books? When I'm buying these days I'm generally thinking about values circa 2019-2020 unless I'm looking at something rare or in high demand.

I dunno about that. As folks age and pass away, pop culture collectables, trends and nostalgia will fade and change for sure and I believe that will affect comics, too. I don't think I need to mention examples of once popular genres or items that are now in low-demand or flatlined. However, I think the bulk of collectors of those GA publishers are several generations beyond the original owners and are collectors who grew up on 60s - 80s comics.

It's also quite possibly a labeling error, which is not uncommon. There are numerous threads about similar books.

My story is similar to Robot Man's. I started buying off the rack in the mid-'70s and then going to the monthly Boston show. I'd hit used bookstores and comic stores, which were less common then and often a tad pricier than a show. In the late '90s I started buying online. I don't get any special charge out where/how I buy a book, I care more about adding it to my collection. Where I bought it doesn't really matter.