Mr. Spider-Woman

What's the crime committed here the part of the seller? Some kind of fraud, probably? It's clear something shady is going on but I'm curious what laws the seller has broken.

Best wishes, here's to a remarkable recovery.

Beautiful Fantastic Four #5!

I'm slowly plugging away at my Sgt. Fury collection. Here are my latest acquisitions.

Fantastic Four #541 (November 2006) and Fantastic Four Volume 4 #13 (December 2013). #13 was the last Fantastic Four comic distributed via newsstand. The only later issue was spinoff FF Volume 2 #13 which came out a week later.

I found the Kiehl's Captain America #2 custom edition in a 50-cent bin at one store. The Welcome Back, Kotter was in a dollar bin at a different store. I had no idea Marvel has (or had) a custom edition department. The Kiehl's Captain America #2 came out in 2014. Issue #1 came out in 2013 and seems to be much easier to find. Comic Vine has a list of 50 different custom edition comics from Marvel Custom Solutions: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/marvel-custom-solutions-comic/4015-57063/issues-cover/

Is it newsstand issues overall or just certain newsstand comics that are increasing in price? I think that's what I'm most curious about. Is the market for newsstand issues expanding as more people start collecting them? Or is it a few select issues graded 9.8 that are seeing price increases? I honestly don't look very hard. If I'm in a comic shop, I browse the Fantastic Four box(es) and look for newsstand issues I need.

My local Walmart has removed the cardboard displays for both the Marvel and DC comics. I did find a stack of Marvel 3-packs and 7-packs on a random shelf with a few DC packs as well. There was also one open Marvel 3-pack. I'm pretty sure there were three Planet of the Apes 3-packs, three Black Panther 3-packs (can't remember the issue), and several different Moon Knight 3-packs. I still wonder who came up with these 3-packs and the Walmart variant covers. It seems like such a random thing for Walmart to want to do. There's no promotion anywhere, no way of knowing when new packs will drop or what comics will be in them.

Sales of a single graded 9.8 comic doesn't tell us much. It could be as simple as a collector wanted a copy and that was the only one for sale and they didn't care how much it cost. It would take a huge amount of time and energy for someone to chart sales of newsstand and direct editions over multiple years to determine whether newsstand copies (graded or raw) are commanding a premium. I think if there was a significant increase in prices for newsstand copies in the market, someone would notice. I'm sure there are people tracking sales of certain titles or characters. I know I haven't paid much more than cover price for any newsstand issues of various Fantastic Four titles for my collection. Maybe if I get down to only needing a handful I'll consider paying a premium to finish off a specific run or title.

I picked up one of the 7 comic packs a week ago. Darkhold: Black Bolt #1 Connecting Variant is on the top. It was one of three identical 7 packs. I've never come across them before locally. I check every now and then in case there's a new Fantastic Four Walmart variant available. There were also a bunch of the regular 3 packs which I think were all from Gen 14 posted by dzbad back in February. Don't know if that means this Walmart never got the latest packs or if those sold out and the unwanted packs from months ago are left.

VHS and Betamax only? No Cartrivision?

That makes sense. I guess I didn't realize how "cheap" it is to have your own variant printed by Marvel. Obviously the economics work out for the stores involved or else they wouldn't be doing it. However, how did these stores know this particular issue was going to be a big one and have the foresight to order the variant and set up the CGC slabbing?

Where is this variant coming from? Don't store variants require a minimum of 3000 copies for Marvel to fire up the presses? EDIT: A quick Google search shows the variant was sold online by a few comic shops for $199.

That's crazy money.

If I wanted a poster to hang on the wall, I'd go with the virgin cover. If I want a comic book for my collection, I want the trade dress.

Awesome find. It would be nice to learn the story behind this and any other copies that may be floating around out in the wild.

Artgerm had an awesome Dazzler variant for A.X.E. Judgement Day #6 back in October. Marvel released a 24" x 36" poster with very similiar art.

Has anyone ever figured out who is paying to put these 3-packs together? At my Walmart, comic books are shelved with trading cards and other collectibles which are stocked by a third party (MJ Holding) and not Walmart.

I picked up the New Fantastic Four #1 pack. It's almost identical to the 2nd printing cover. The other comics in the pack were X-Men #8 and Avengers #54 30 Years of Deadpool variant. Nothing special.

I've added Strange Tales (Volume 1) #101-122 and Strange Tales Annual (Volume 1) #2 to Solo Titles under The Human Torch. I'm not sure where to put Strange Tales (Volume 1) #124-134 that featured both The Human Torch and The Thing. Or the 1994 Marvel Select one-shot Strange Tales Featuring Thing, Dr. Strange, Human Torch. Maybe I need to add a new category for Team-Ups. The Strange Tales issues featuring The Human Torch and The Thing can be listed there plus the various issues of Marvel Team-Up (Volume 1) featuring members of the Fantastic Four. I can also move the 2018-2019 Marvel 2-In-One series. Or maybe change Solo Titles to Solo Titles & Team-Ups. The End miniseries is listed under Miniseries & Limited Series. The one-shot you mention is titled The Last Fantastic Four Story and is listed under One-Shots. The weirdest part of Marvel renumbering Fantastic Four Volume 1 is counting the 11 issues of FF Volume 1 published between issue 588 (cover date April 2011) and issue 600 (cover date January 2012).

Nice haul(s). I wish I had the time and money and energy to take a long weekend and travel around searching for auctions and comic shows and the like.

Thanks, I forgot about Strange Tales. I'll look into it and Marvel Team-Up. If my count is accurate, I own roughly 75% of the issues on the list. I have probably read less than 25%. I own 100% of the Fantastic Four issues in the Ultimate Marvel category but haven't read a single one yet. Marvel's Greatest Comics was a reprint, right? For now I'm not including reprints on the list. Other reprints include Marvel Collectors' Item Classics, The Complete Fantastic Four (UK), Marvel Selects: Fantastic Four, and True Believers: Fantastic Four.

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. I'm a huge Fantastic Four fan and for a few years now I've been working on a complete list of Fantastic Four comic books and related titles. It's not a list of every comic book the Fantastic Four appear in, only comics featuring or starring the Fantastic Four or one of its members. My goal is to eventually own every single issue on the list. Sources include my personal collection, eBay, Mile High Comics, Grand Comics Database, Marvel Database, and MyComicShop. The list is divided into five categories: Main Titles, Solo Titles, Ultimate Marvel, All Ages, and Miscellaneous. There are further subdivisions within each category. Not included are reprints, variant covers, price variants, direct edition/newsstand variants, Mark Jewelers variants, or comic books published outside the United States. I thought I'd share my list here and ask for any input, suggestions, additions, or corrections. Main Titles Fantastic Four Volume 1 1961-1996; 2003-2011; 2011-2012; 2015 Volume 2 1996-1997 Volume 3 1998-2003 Volume 4 2013-2014 Volume 5 2014-2015 Volume 6 2018-Present Fantastic Four Annuals Fantastic Four (Volume 1) 1963-2012 Fantastic Four (Volume 5) 2014 Miniseries & Limited Series Official Marvel Index to the Fantastic Four (Volume 1) 1985-1987 Fantastic Four vs. the X-Men 1987 Marvel Action Hour: Fantastic Four *Alternate Reality* 1994-1995 Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising 1995 Fantastic Four: Fireworks 1999 Domination Factor: Fantastic Four 1999-2000 Fantastic Five (Volume 1) *Alternate Reality* 1999-2000 Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan 2000 Before the Fantastic Four: Reed Richards 2000 Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms 2000-2001 Fantastic Four: Big Town *Alternate Reality* 2000-2001 Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine 2001-2002 Fantastic Four 1234 (Marvel Knights) *Alternate Reality* 2001-2002 Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules *Alternate Reality* 2003 Fantastic Four & Iron Man: Big in Japan 2005-2006 Fantastic Four: Foes 2005 X-Men / Fantastic Four 2005 Fantastic Four: House of M *Alternate Reality* 2005 Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four 2006 Fantastic Four: First Family 2006 Fantastic Four: The End *Alternate Reality* 2006-2007 Fantastic Five (Volume 2) *Alternate Reality* 2007 Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four 2007 Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four 2008 Fantastic Four: True Story 2008-2009 Dark Reign: Fantastic Four 2009 Spider-Man / Fantastic Four 2010 Fantastic Four: Grand Design 2019 X-Men + Fantastic Four 2020 Empyre 2020 Fantastic Four: Antithesis 2020 Fantastic Four: True Story 2021 One-Shots Fantastic Four Special Edition 1984 Fantastic Four - The Legend 1996 Marvels Comics: Fantastic Four 2000 4 (Universe X) *Alternate Reality* 2000 The Sentry & Fantastic Four 2001 The Fantastic 4th Voyage of Sinbad 2001 Marvel Mangaverse: Fantastic Four 2002 What If… Dr. Doom Had Become Thing? 2005 The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Fantastic Four 2005 Fantastic Four Special 2005 Fantastic Four: 40th Wedding Anniversary Special 2006 Fantastic Four: A Death in the Family *Alternate Reality* 2006 What If? Fantastic Four *Alternate Reality* 2006 Fantastic Four: The Last Fantastic Four Story *Alternate Reality* 2007 Mythos: Fantastic Four 2007 Fantastic Four: Isla De La Muerte! 2008 Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure 2008 What If? Newer Fantastic Four *Alternate Reality* 2009 Fantastic Four Cosmic-Size Special 2009 Fantastic Four in ¡Ataque Del M.O.D.O.K.! 2010 Fear Itself: FF 2011 Fantastic Four: Fifty Fantastic Years 2011 100th Anniversary Special - Fantastic Four *Alternate Reality* 2014 Fantastic Four Wedding Special 2019 Fantastic Four: The Prodigal Sun 2019 Fantastic Four: 4 Yancy Street 2019 Fantastic Four 2099 2019 Fantastic Four: Negative Zone 2019 Annihilation Scourge: Fantastic Four 2019 Fantastic Four: Grimm Noir 2020 Empyre: Fantastic Four 2020 Empyre: Fallout Fantastic Four 2020 Fantastic Four: Road Trip 2020 Related Series Giant-Size Fantastic Four [Giant-Size Super-Stars] 1974-1975 Fantastic Four Unlimited 1993-1995 Fantastic Force 1994-1996 Fantastic Four Unplugged 1995-1996 Fantastic Four 2099 *Alternate Reality* 1996 Marvel Knights 4 / 4 2004-2006 Fantastic Force (Volume 2) *Alternate Reality* 2009 FF 2011-2012 FF (Volume 2) 2013-2014 Marvel 2-In-One 2018-2019 Marvel 2-In-One Annual 2018 Future Foundation 2019-2020 Solo Titles The Human Torch Strange Tales (Volume 1) *Issues #101-123* 1962-1964 Strange Tales Annual (Volume 1) *Issue #2* 1963 The Human Torch (Volume 1) 1974-1975 Human Torch (Volume 2) 2003-2004 Spider-Man / Human Torch 2005 Spider-Man & the Human Torch In... Bahia De Los Muertos! [One-Shot, English] 2009 Spider-Man & the Human Torch En... Bahia De Los Muertos! [One-Shot, Spanish] 2009 Incredible Hulk and the Human Torch [One-Shot] 2011 The Thing Marvel Feature (Issues #11-12) 1973 Marvel Two-In-One (Volume 1) 1974-1983 Marvel Two-In-One Annual (Volume 1) 1976-1982 Thing (Volume 1) 1983-1986 The Incredible Hulk and the Thing in The Big Change [Marvel Graphic Novel #29] 1987 Adventures of the Thing 1992 Thing/She-Hulk: The Long Night [One-Shot] 2002 The Thing: Freakshow 2002 Startling Stories: Thing - Night Falls on Yancy Street 2003 Startling Stories: The Thing [One-Shot] 2003 Hulk and Thing: Hard Knocks 2004-2005 Thing (Volume 2) 2006 Stan Lee Meets the Thing [One-Shot] 2006 Invisible Woman Captain Universe: Invisible Woman [One-Shot] 2006 Invisible Woman (Volume 1) 2019-2020 Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Fantastic Four Ultimate Fantastic Four 2004-2009 Ultimate Fantastic Four Annuals Ultimate Fantastic Four 2005-2006 Ultimate X-Men / Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual 2008 Ultimate Fantastic Four Miniseries/Limited Series Ultimate Secret 2005 Ultimate X4 2006 Ultimate Extinction 2006 Ultimate Power 2006-2008 Ultimatum 2009 Ultimate Comics: Doomsday - Ultimate Enemy 2010 Ultimate Comics: Doomsday - Ultimate Mystery 2010 Ultimate Comics: Doomsday - Ultimate Doom 2010-2011 Ultimate Fantastic Four One-Shots Official Handbook of the Ultimate Marvel Universe: Spider-Man & Fantastic Four 2005 Marvel Spotlight Ultimatum 2008 Ultimatum: Fantastic Four Requiem 2009 Related Series Ultimate FF 2014 All Ages Marvel Age Marvel Age Fantastic Four 2004-2005 Marvel Age Fantastic Four Tales 2005 Tales of the Thing 2005 Marvel Adventures FCBD Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four 2005 Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four 2005-2009 Fantastic Four and Power Pack 2007 Fantastic Four Giant-Size Adventures 2009 Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes (Volume 1) #19 [Invisible Woman] 2010 Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes (Volume 2) #7 [Invisible Woman] 2010 Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes (Volume 2) #11 [Hulk and The Thing] 2010 Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes (Volume 2) #23 [The Thing] 2012 Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius Fantastic Four Presents: Franklin Richards [One-Shot] 2005 Everybody Loves Franklin [One-Shot] 2006 Super Summer Spectacular [One-Shot] 2006 Happy Franksgiving [One-Shot] 2007 March Madness [One-Shot] 2007 World Be Warned [One-Shot] 2007 Monster Mash [One-Shot] 2007 Franklin's Birthday! [One-Shot] 2007 Fall Football Fiasco [One-Shot] 2008 Spring Break [One-Shot] 2008 Not-So-Secret Invasion [One-Shot] 2008 Summer Smackdown [One-Shot] 2008 Sons of Geniuses [One-Shot] 2009 It's Dark Reigning Cats and Dogs [One-Shot] 2009 April Fools [One-Shot] 2009 School's Out! [One-Shot] 2009 Miscellaneous What If? What If? (Volume 1) 1977-1983 *9 Issues About the Fantastic Four* What If? (Volume 2) 1990-1998 *12 Issues About the Fantastic Four* Other (Promotional/Giveaways/Etc.) Fantastic Four Young Model Builders Club Giveaway (Save the Shuttle) 1981 The Fantastic Four Chronicles [FantaCo] 1982 Fantastic Four Roast 1982 Fantastic Four Ashcan 1994 Marvel Action Hour Preview Flipbook 1994 Marvel Action Hour Preview 1994 Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising Collectors' Preview 1995 Fantastic Four: The Origin of the Fantastic Four [FOX Kids Video Mini Comic] 1996 Fantastic Four Vol 3 #1/2 1998 The Home Depot Safety Heroes [Home Depot 25th Anniversary Promo Comic] 2004 Heroes vs. Plaque: When Plaque Attacks! [American Dental Association Giveaway] 2004 Target Presents Reading to the Rescue [Target Promo Comic] 2005 Fantastic Four: The Movie 2005 Build a Fantastic You with 5 A Day The Color Way [Walmart Movie Giveaway] 2006 Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four in All Aboard! [Amtrak Giveaway] 2006 Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four in… Brain Drain! [OfficeMax Giveaway] 2006 Daily Bugle [Marvel Giveaway] *3 Fantastic Four Issues* 2006-2007 Spider-Man and Fantastic Four in Hard Choices [Elks Club Giveaway] 2007 Fantastic Four Silver Surfer [2K Games Prequel Mini Comic] 2007 What If This Was the Fantastic Four?: A Tribute to Mike Wieringo 2008 Fantastic Four [Taco Bell] 2009 Fantastic Four Trapped in the Data Vortex [Hitachi Data Systems Giveaway; 2D] 2011 Fantastic Four Trapped in the Data Vortex [Hitachi Data Systems Giveaway; 3D] 2011 Taco Bell/Fantastic Four 2011 Fantastic Four 2021 Calendar [Marvel Giveaway; 60th Anniversary] 2021 Intercompany Crossovers Challengers of the Fantastic #1 [Amalgam Comics] 1997 Superman/Fantastic Four: The Infinite Destruction [DC Comics] 1999 Gen¹³/Fantastic Four [Wildstorm] 2001

My local store had a full box of these. I flipped through looking for any Fantastic Four comics but didn't see any so I left them all.

Probably. But with my luck I would find some, buy them, and end up with nothing to show for it.