Kripsys99

Nice books! Interested in the Bats 234. PM'd you.

My last auction wins from them a couple of months back took well over a month to ship out, but they eventually arrived without issue.

Another classic which I don't see posted in the thread which I recently got myself a copy of...

FINAL BUMP! Then it's off to eBay, where some 20 year-old crypto millionaire who saw GL#76 on a YouTube video of "hot keys" will snap up my book, and let it gather dust in the back room of his parents' basement. This book deserves a better fate than that! And no pressure guys, but I already bought the other book, so...

I've purchased a couple of books from ComicConnect lately without issue. That said, I completely agree that their customer service is lacking. I had some questions about shipping for the first purchase, and had to email multiple times to get a response. When I finally did get a response from one of the multiple emails accounts listed on their site (almost all of which I tried in a vain to get a response from), the person responding simply told me to get in touch with another department, without even providing me the email for that other department. Ended up going through with the purchase because I really wanted the book, but definitely left a bad impression.

B U M P # 2 !

Just saw that a TEC 400 9.2 went for $1822 on ComicLink the other night. GPA places a 9.2 in the $975 range (most recent sale was from 2020, but a 9.4 went for $1525 in January). DTACollect has an 8.5 for sale for almost $1400. Any thoughts on the jump in price for this book? Is this just symptomatic of the current hot market?

B U M P ! ! !

FS: Green Lantern #76 CGC 8.0 OW/W Looking to fund the purchase of a new book, so I have to reluctantly part with this one. GPA's current FMV is listed as $960 USD - so let's offer a board discount, and call the price: $910 USD / $1100 CAD First wins the item. Payment via PayPal (for your protection and mine) required within two days of purchase. Your PayPal address must be confirmed, and I'll only ship to your confirmed address. No probies or HOS. No returns. Shipping via Canada Post Expedited Parcel: USA shipping ranges from $35-$50 USD / $45-$60 CAD . Canadian Shipping ranges from $15-$45 CAD. (Insurance may add a few dollars to shipping costs.) For reference, my eBay handle is ComicCollector82 (https://ebay.ca/usr/comiccollector82).

Ordered a graded 8.5 OW copy of TEC 411 off Jim last week. Communication was great, payment was a breeze, and the book arrived to me in Canada very quickly, and extremely well packaged. Wouldn't hesitate to buy off this boards member again. Thanks Jim!

Sorry! Fyi, there's another 9.4 on eBay for $765 with a "Best Offer" option. Seller has low feedback, but item is eligible for buyer protection. Seller previously had book listed for $699 and evidently accepted a Best Offer below that price, but the book has been relisted.

@Randall Ries Started a great thread about Batman #221, and somehow that cover (my favorite) isn't in this thread... despite my having already posted in this thread...so I'm adding it now! Incidentally, thanks to Randall's thread, I upgraded my copy...now I'm just waiting for it to arrive... A couple more of my favorite off-beat Adams Batman covers that I didn't see in the thread while I'm at it: And one I'm still looking to add to my collection for good measure (if anyone has one 8.0 or above that they're willing to part with, let me know):

I never buy GA, so I'm seldom in a position to have to worry about it, but I'm curious about foxing? Does it tend to self-propagate/spread, or is it a "what you see is what you get" kind of an issue?

One of my favorite YouTube channels, Nerdstalgic, just did a fantastic video on how DC bungled it's cinematic universe, despite having a perfect blueprint courtesy of the DC Animated Universe. The video also compares and contrasts what the MCU got right versus the DCEU. Link below:

It really is an awesome cover - in fact, I think that it's Adams' best Batman cover: Batman's not bound like he is on the covers of 234 and 251, not in apparent helpless peril like on the covers of 232 and 244, not seemingly flying like on the covers of 241 and TEC 400, in a more familiar setting than on the covers of TEC 404 and 412, and not simply brooding in silhouette like on 227. Incidentally, I love and own all of the above books, but 221 feels more like Batman to me - dark, stealthy, in the city, perched on the side of a building, about to confront foes - and the choice of a red title splash really pops. Also, this is just a tough book to find period. Every raw copy I find has a rather significant flaw which I think would hold it back from a 9+ grade, and there are only 118 in the census (with only 24 graded 9.4 or above) - they just don't come up for sale that often. I think 221 is more comparable to TEC 404 (163 in the census, 29 at 9.4 and above) than to 227 (1,564 in the census) in this regard, and both 221 and TEC 404 seemingly go for similar prices nowadays. I don't think that any of 221, 227 or TEC 404 have particularly compelling scripts - I think they're all just exceptionally well suited to slabbing - they're all awesome Adams Batman covers. And while 227 has the cover-swipe going for it, I wouldn't be surprised to see 221 become the "next 227".

Out of curiosity, where would one hunt for such books? (Unless, of course, you'd prefer not to say! ) In my neck of the woods, in-person hunting is strictly verboten at the moment, and the usual online suspects (CLink, CConnect, Heritage, Hakes, My Comic Shop, etc, etc.) all seem to have books for sale at prices which are reflective of today's crazy market (and why wouldn't they).

My bad - I meant to write much lower rarity (as you can see by the remainder of the paragraph, that's what I was what I was writing about), not lower grade. I think Fantastic Four Annual #6 is a decent example/comparison - both books are of a similar vintage (1966 vs. 1968). For FFA6, $3500 will get you a 9.2 (vs. 9.0). However, there are over 1400 copies of FFA6 in the registry (vs. 60), with over 100 graded 9.2 or above (vs. 3). FFA6 features a first appearance by Annihilus - who is probably more well known through comic appearances than Peacemaker, but is now less known to the public given Peacemaker's prominent role in an upcoming tent-pole movie, and a starring role in a self-titled HBO Max show. I think you will undoubtedly be able to find a few DC books which have seen a marked increase in price of late - comparable to the increases seen across a large swath of Marvel books. However, I think the difference is that for DC, the marked increases in price are the exception - rather than the rule - and the increases which you'll find will generally be on a smaller scale compared to Marvel books. Good if you're holding those books already, not so good if you're still looking to get your hands on them!

I don't think you can compare Golden Age books - particularly first appearances of iconic characters - to anything in the silver or bronze age. It's an apples to oranges-made-of-literal-gold comparison. I don't think the Lady Shiva first appearance is a great example either - granted, it's a lot of money for a lesser know character, but it's only the 9.8 book that attracts that inflated value (probably because it's a 9.8) - from 9.6 on down, the book is pricey, but hasn't exploded to nearly the same degree (a 9.4 cost $135 in 2019, and $250 today). Fightin' Five 40 is crazy at $3500, BUT it's a 55-year-old book, with only 60 copies in the registry, only 3 are graded higher than 9.0, Peacemaker is in an upcoming movie and TV show, and that price (for the third-highest graded book) still PALES in comparison to the valuations which much lower-graded Marvel books (with first appearances by characters of similar stature) are receiving, despite some of those books having 1000+++ copies in the registry. Again, I don't think DC is immune, but I do feel like the Marvel guys are getting gutted right now in comparison.

Just wanted to share that I stumbled across a good source for MyLites bags and boards in Canada, given that they can be tough to find online North of the border, and shipping from the USA for these things can be a killer. The website is: https://www.darkagecomics.com/ The website is straight out of the 90's, but don't let that scare you off. Turns out the owner (Mike) is a collector who has been running his website on the side to fund his hobby/habit for about 30 years. I ordered a bunch of bags, boards, and back-issues a couple of weeks ago. Mike was really responsive, and got the bags and boards to me quickly. Anyways, thought I'd share since I'm always on the prowl for good Canadian sources of back-issues and supplies.

I looked at that book myself earlier today. Had I not just grabbed some books myself recently, I would have been bidding you up! Awesome pick-up!

A Superman 233 9.0 White Pages went for $800 in tonight's Comic Link auction. That's approximately equivalent to the current FMV for a 7.5 Batman 227.

I have to admit that I don't keep up with modern stuff - I have literally no idea what is happening in recent runs for either DC or Marvel - I'm still living in past issues which I never got around to reading, and collecting books I've always wanted and never got copies of.

Damn! So obvious now that you say it! Nice.

I think Batman 251 is an extremely important issue, even if not a "key". While nowhere near Joker's first appearance, it may as well be, as the version of the character it presents differs so wildly from any version presented in the preceding decades, and establishes the core traits of arguably the most recognized comic villain of the next 50 years. There are 2,750 copies of 251 in the census, and the last 9.6 sold on eBay went for a little less than $5k at the end of March 2021. A similar 9.6 sold for $3.5k in 2018 - a relatively modest increase factoring in the recent price craziness. Batman 232 is the first appearance of a popular villain, there are 2,800 in the registry, and a 9.8 sold this month for $6.25k - 9.8s were going for over $5k at the beginning of 2019. I'm not saying that DC is immune to the current market climate, but it sure seems more resistant than Marvel, and even important DC books seem a lot more accessible to average collectors.

Yeah, this is a really good point that I think is lost on a lot of the new/speculative collectors. There are lots of awesome books - with great stories, and/or covers, and/or twists - which don't contain "first appearances", character deaths, etc. And some of these books are in much shorter supply than some of the major "keys".