Jesse-Lee

15 minutes ago, StreetPreacher said:

Love this cover too, I picked up the same book along with #27 that has a similar Jim Lee cover.  I love picking up these earlier Wolverine books, some of them have amazing covers, but you can still find them in the $5 boxes

Yeah, 27 is an awesome cover too!

Found this bargain-hunting the other day:

22 minutes ago, RhialtoTheMarvellous said:

Little bit of spine wear, very slight, along the edge. Probably more noticeable on the dark background and maybe if looking at it edge on. The bottom corner has noticeable wear. There appear to possibly be small specks on the front cover where color is lost.

9.4 if the specks are just artifacts or dust, but probably 9.0+ either way.

Thanks, cover specks are from my scanner, didn't realize how badly it needs cleaning!

20 minutes ago, Jbruno6 said:

 

Nice books - what are those comics on the shelf mounted in?

I think I still have a bunch of these in a box at my parents' house, but I did find this one the other night when going through some of my old bins here at my house. Didn't realize people still collected them. Any I should look out for if I find that box?

I've actually never been to a comic convention - went to some local baseball card shows as a kid. But in college, I worked at the dorms at UW-Milwaukee, and in the summers we'd rent them out like a hotel, and my job was basically that of the GM of the "hotel." This is back when Gen Con, the main Dungeons and Dragons con, used to be held in Milwaukee. Since so many people stayed there, my co-worker and I decided to call and see if Gen Con would give us free day passes to check it out, and they did. It was super interesting - I wish I was really into collecting at the time because I bet there were some cool comics to be had, although the focus was on tabletop gaming. I did get to meet Lou Ferrigno though, so that was pretty neat. I remember him being really nice, although I think we got to meet him for all of about 30 seconds.

Recent LCS back issue sale pickup. This book came out when I was in about 6th grade, and it's one of my favorite covers ever. I used to put a piece of paper over the cover and trace Wolverine, and then I'd try to draw him freehand. I suck at drawing.

2 hours ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

How’s the grade on that new raw copy you grabbed?

Pretty darn good, I think. Not a 9.8 I suppose - slight issue on the lower left corner and a little bit of slight wear along the edge of the spine, but no spine ticks and it's super clean otherwise (unlike my obviously dirty scanner, sorry about that). Still, for $2.50 it's a really nice copy.

1 minute ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

@Jesse-Lee

 

Just in case you still want a 9.8 copy of Wolvie 17

There’s one available in the marketplace for $135/best offer 

 

 

Thanks! I guess now that I have a 9.2 and a raw copy, I should be satisfied... for now.

9 minutes ago, jcjames said:

If you buy a book for $45 with the intent on not selling it later, you ARE down $45... but you got the book you wanted. It was a sale, not an investment.

I think you just want appropriate value for the money you're spending and to be confident you're not getting ripped off.

So, you now have two books that you like, both in decent quality, for $47.50 total.

Sounds like you did good, and maybe learned something of value as well!

 

Thanks, yeah, I guess that's exactly how I should be looking at it. I felt like I made a couple of mistakes when I got back into collecting, especially as it pertains to slabbed books. But so far the slabs are books I want to keep, not flip, so maybe it shouldn't matter as much.

3 minutes ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

If $180 for 1 cgc 9.8 kills your budget for 2-3 months, your ability to collect books for investment is very limited.

Yeah - if I had my way about it I'd be spending a lot more - and in the past month as I started collecting again, I've definitely spent a lot more. But I also like buying a variety of books, and I do have to be cognizant of other expenses. My wife is very patient but she knows I have a lot of "hobbies," and if I start dropping a grand a month on books it's going to be an issue unfortunately.

6 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

9.8's on coppers/moderns may be pricey specifically because they are 9.8's, not because the book is itself hard to find. Below that grade, they are largely common. If you love this book, you can get these routinely in $1-$5 bins in decent shape, and on ebay for under $20. I've personally bought and sold several of these in the $1-$10 range over the last few years that I dug out of the $1 bins. Maybe not 9.8, but certainly in NM condition. It's certainly not a hard book to find. Unless it's a book that you feel you just have to have in 9.8, I'd recommend getting a nice raw NM copy, put it in a mylar and half/full back, and enjoy it. Not worth paying that much for a book that is common in decent grade unless you just absolutely have to have it.

Thanks all for helping my perspective on this - I kid you not, literally this morning I found this exact issue - Wolverine 17 - in really nice condition at a nearby LCS's "back issue sale" celebrating Free Comic Book Day. Paid $2.50 for it. Also, because I never learn and I'm too impulsive, I already bought the graded 9.2 before I made this post... But the thing is, I really do like the issue, and I like how it looks slabbed.

I guess maybe my use of the word "investment" wasn't right - for books like this for me, I don't plan to sell, so I feel like if I find one in a decent enough grade and it's already slabbed, maybe it's worth it? I guess I meant "investment" in the sense that I wouldn't necessarily lose money if I bought a slabbed book for less than FMV. I'm probably just trying to justify it to myself.

One thing I've learned for certain is I could never own a comic book store, because I'd never want to sell anything!

On 8/25/2020 at 1:05 PM, Lurker89 said:

I'm down to give it a chance. Dark serious vibe.

We bounce back and fourth between good and bad Batmen ... Keaton good followed by a slew of bad until we get to Bale followed by Affleck bad ... And hopefully Pattinson good. Time will tell. 

The tone seems to check out so far.

I can't see Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Superboy Prime maybe... He seems too whiny to me for some reason. I could imagine Chris Pratt, or Bradley Cooper. Someone along those lines. That said, I'll see this when it comes out. As a DC comics fanboy, I have to give props to Marvel on how great their movies and overall movie strategies have been. DC just plain dropped the ball when it comes to movies.

Sorry, double post for some reason

So, I'm not new to comics in general, but definitely new to slabbed books and more "serious" collecting overall. One of the pieces of advice I've heard a time or two was to not buy moderns under a 9.8 if possible. But it got me thinking - there are a number of books I want that fall in the copper or modern category that either I can't necessarily afford in a 9.8, or if I try to buy raw, it's a crapshoot.

Here's an actual, tangible example: I really love the Wolverine #17 cover. Classic Byrne cover, Wolvie ready to strike on a simple red background. It sells lately between $125-$180 on eBay in a 9.8 (goCollect lists it at $180 FMV). In my budget situation right now, I could buy that single book and then nothing else for 2-3 months. Or I could buy a lower grade or raw copy and continue to buy other, lower priced stuff like new books and lower-priced back issues every couple of weeks.

Raw copies of that book typically sell between $8-$20 depending on grade, but you're relying on a seller's grading and some online photos, so you can't be assured of a high grade. I recently found a copy of Wolverine #17 in a CGC 9.2 for $45 shipped. So based on raw books, you're paying a $20 premium over a presumptive NM (using the $20 sales price for raw as a ceiling), but you're guaranteed a minimum 9.2 grade and your investment shouldn't really diminish over time if it's a solid performing book (vs. buying what you hope/think is a NM+ raw copy and having it come back an 8.5 for example).

Am I thinking about this wrong? Should I pass on 9.2, 9.4, etc and save for 9.8 only because of future investment? Or should you just buy what you like at good prices you find and rest assured in the fact that solid books should appreciate regardless of grade? Or am I just overthinking the whole thing? Either way, I freaking love that cover and have a sweet CGC NM- coming my way, and it looks great.

My kid just got the new "battle pass" and was showing me all the available skins - Thor, Wolverine, Mystique, She-Hulk, Storm. I'll admit it does look pretty cool. Just based off my anecdotal evidence, I've tried to get him into comics for years (he's 12), and he thinks they're ok, but doesn't really care. He likes the movies and he loves the game - they had a Deadpool skin a while back and he thought that was really cool, even though I won't let him watch the movie yet - but as for actual comics, he could take them or leave them.

Honestly, I feel like if it gives a bump to anything it might be to digital issues. My kids love their devices to the point where I've seen them watching tv and movies on their phone in the living room, where we have a 70" TV. They'll sit there, TV off, eyes glued to their phone video...

14 minutes ago, jeffreyk said:

I won this one last night!

Eyyy!

Don't drink and bid... Eh, it's not that bad, got it for $30 and it is a cool cover, but probably should have passed and found a 9.8 on the 'bay if I really wanted it instead of impulse clicking - shipping cost is half the book cost! Ah well, I'm sure I can break even if I don't want it; price is peanuts compared to the heavy hitters in this thread!

I visited a comic shop today I haven't been to since probably 1997. When I was in college, I'd go to this shop and it was like a hoarder's paradise/nightmare - magazines and comics piled everywhere. Back then you couldn't get into the overflowing long boxes because you'd have to pick up giant stacks of stuff. New books were stacked in piles on the floor, wherever they fit.

Today, the shop is super clean and super organized - back issues all nicely boxed, a proper "new this week" rack on the wall, shelves of wall books behind the counter. The old owner passed away years ago, but the new guys seem to be doing a great job. It looked like an entirely different place!

Anyway, I picked up a couple more new bat-books, and then I found this neat Shadow of the Bat #1 set in a $1 bin, still polybagged. Comes with some cool inserts - I looked at pics online, I want to keep this one bagged for now just because it's kind of cool. I also found Spiderman Unlimited #1 - not in a dollar bin - but at a really fair price for its condition, which is outstanding.

Thanks - I was hoping it'd grade it that range, that's what I actually thought when I saw it.

1 hour ago, Angelo. said:

I feel like that looks better than a 5.5 - it's really bright!