oatcrunch

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope they turn up! I had FedEx lose a package of mine as well. Even though it said signature required, it's likely the driver signed it himself (our property manager tells me that they do that sometimes, and we even had a tenant post a note on the front door imploring the driver to use the signature service as it's intended).

Of USPS, UPS, and FedEx, they seem to be the worst.

Sorry again about your lost book!

On 12/4/2022 at 9:50 AM, newshane said:

ANOTHER NOTE: the boyfriend she had before me would spend all his time and money at the LCS. She couldn’t handle another dork in her life

I've heard this from women I've dated before. My girlfriend loves that I collect comics (she's a huge plant nerd so I think she "gets it"), but I've been told by others that they don't want to date gamers because of past partners whose time and focus on that hobby was to the detriment of other aspects of their lives. Shame, but we all have our preferences I suppose.

Congrats on finding someone who supports your enthusiasm!

On 8/16/2022 at 12:02 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

Structure first, ahead of its lovely appearance, it's around a 4.0 due to the spine wear and damage around staples. I'd still keep unless you know you can track down another copy that presents as nicely (regardless of the grade.)

Yes I’m very happy with the appearance and really want to keep it. Hard to find raws that look this nice so I can live with the issues as long as I’m not taking a total bath on it. Thanks!

On 8/15/2022 at 9:14 PM, zzutak said:

This looks like a classic "oil transfer stain" to me.  This is what happens when oil from the interior printing ink migrates to and penetrates the cover stock.  Oil migration is possible because the printing inks used on the interior are oil based.  An oil transfer stain is definitely regarded as a blemish/defect, but one that's much less severe than an equivalent moisture stain.

If this was an aging issue, the discoloration would begin at the cover edges and work towards the cover center over time.  Just the opposite has taken place here.  The center of the cover (which is directly over the inked portion of the interior pages) has yellowed from the oil transfer.  The top and bottom edges of the cover (which are directly over uninked page margins) are still white.

Thanks, very helpful. It seems it's worth keeping, which is a relief because I love the cover on this copy.

On 8/15/2022 at 7:05 PM, Geoff2099 said:

I didn't know about oil transfers either.... If I'd paid a 5.5 price I'd risk a cgc submission for sure

I don't slab my books so I'm just trying to figure out if I should return it. If it's oil and if I get a consensus on a >5.5 grade (I'm going to a comic con this weekend and am hoping to get some feedback there too), then I'll just hang on to it. But we'll see!

On 8/15/2022 at 5:45 PM, scburdet said:

It looks to me like an oil transfer stain, something @zzutak recently educated me about. I will defer to those that have seen this in more than 1 comic to confirm this, but I don't think it's treated as harshly as a water stain. I'm going to say 7.5±0.5. I think this is a sharp looking copy and unless you paid a VF≤ price, you probably did OK.

 

Interesting, thanks for the feedback! I thought the answer was going to be "of course that's a water stain, what else could it be" so I've definitely learned something here.

I paid about a 5.5 price for it, so I'm hoping it's at least that with the minor tears along the spine.

Hi,

I recently purchased a raw Fantastic Four #49 on eBay and would love an assessment of some of the issues I'm seeing with it.

Although the seller told me that it was not water stains, there does look to be staining on the front (inside only) and back covers (inside and out). I am questioning it because it doesn't look like typical water staining to me, but I don't have any experience with older books with water stains.

If it is water stain, then I am going to return it. Any thoughts on whether this is actually water staining? If it is, what grade could I expect if I keep it? Any assistance is appreciated!

On 4/2/2022 at 4:41 PM, JollyComics said:

Interested.   Speaking of unbreakable, do you think that you can crack it open?

I purchased a halo slab a few months ago and had a bit harder time cracking it than I do cracking CGCs, but I was able to without damaging the book.

Great thread!

My first comic was Thor #347. Thor has been my favorite character, and Walt Simonson my favorite artist, ever since. When I started collecting again, I focused on getting the whole Simonson run before anything else and 347 was the first issue I purchased for that run (I lost all my old comics unfortunately).

Thanks y'all. This was helpful for setting expectations when I'm evaluating potential future purchases. Appreciate the feedback!

@Ahsoka Tano Jedi Apprentice I took a few more pics of the spine from above and the bottom back right corner. Thanks again for taking a look.

On 3/20/2022 at 11:23 AM, AhsokaTano Jedi Apprentice said:

You should have a complete picture of the back...and then move in close with some closeups......What's going on with bottom back right corner ?     7.5

The tics are hard to see from the side ...some close ups from above would have been nice.

The book look's great. The slight tear is a big bummer.

There is a couple problem area's on the back ...it's nice to see close ups of the issues. .....I'm new so don't pay much attention to me.

On 3/20/2022 at 9:22 AM, MrRoboto said:

Wow. Just a beautiful comic. I’m not sure what to even grade it. 8.0? 

Thanks for the feedback! I'll add a couple more pics of the spots you mentioned in your post, @Ahsoka Tano Jedi Apprentice.

Hello,

I purchased this off eBay for a pretty penny a few months ago and am interested in getting a better idea of the grade. I don't intend to get it pressed or send it into CGC any time soon, I just want to post some of the books I have so I am able to get a better sense of grades for when I shopping around.

The most apparent defect is the top staple has torn the cover slightly.

Thanks!

Here's the 4.0.

On 2/1/2022 at 4:05 AM, Frankielo said:

Can anyone snapshot me latest sales on this book in universal blue grade 4.0 and 4.5 in gpa. Thanks 

Here's the 4.5.

On 11/15/2021 at 9:20 PM, BigLeagueCHEW said:

 it’s being sold outside the U.S. Low seller feedback, and the arrival time would be when the money has cleared and is long gone. Oh, and it ends in 3 days.

Thanks, I spent a minute looking at it trying to figure out what was wrong with it to warrant the current price. Usually I would spot those red flags, but I guess I wasn't in a very observant mood.

On 11/15/2021 at 1:07 PM, BigLeagueCHEW said:

What is questionable about this?

I had the same problem so I cleared my cookies, logged back in and haven't had a problem since. Hopefully that works for you!

On 10/7/2021 at 7:56 PM, D2 said:

 

LOL!!!

Wow. I never thought of that. 

It's almost like it's "Wolverine: A Tale of Brooding (A Marvel Musical)

Damn it... 

 

 

Yes! Yes! So, I know you collectors exist, and I understand it. I can completely understand the love of the cover, and the collecting of these homages. in part I'm sure, like most of us, wouldn't expect them to continue this type of trend for decades.

It's the fact that Marvel, and now all other companies, are fully aware of this fact, and are deliberately exploiting you, indefinitely, knowing that the collector inside of you would be compelled to continue.

And that to me, is not a way to sell books. 

 

 

 

Exactly it. It's the exploitation of genuine fans and collectors.

 

I can't say I disagree. There are so many now that I'm just not interested in, so going forward I'm only considering characters or series that I care about. When I started buying them I didn't really think about how many they would produce and ended up buying quite a few just to round out the collection. In hindsight I would have skipped quite a few over the more unremarkable ones.

On 10/6/2021 at 7:34 AM, D2 said:

These have to stop. 
 

The modern era of comics have a bad reputation among many comic enthusiasts and this isn’t helping. 
 

We all appreciate callbacks and references to a point, with the warm and fuzzy appreciation of the familiar… the nostalgia. 
 

At another point however, the homage begins to act more like a distress signal, calling out the anxiety of a failing market, reliant on the past to secure its future. 
 

The one thing we have is power with our buys. Let us all stop supporting the homage. Let us all stop buying into products that reference the things we love.
 

We can still love these things! Let us love what was, not what reminds us of what was. 
 

These have to stop. 

Ha, you must realllly hate this part of my collection:

In all seriousness, I think your points are fair. For me, I just find them fun to collect. Cheers!

On 10/4/2021 at 7:47 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

Colors are nice in that! Nice pick up 😉

On 10/6/2021 at 12:09 PM, Terry JSA said:

The colors on this book are great! 

Thanks, the rich color is what convinced me to finally pull the trigger on shelling out the money for this one!

On 9/16/2021 at 11:15 AM, Ablation Steve said:

When I look at these 13 pages of covers, I can't call something horrible if it's just the product of its time and lived up to the standards of the past. When it comes to those two horrible Adventures of Superman, I think it's a case of "well, it's bad, but the issue is already late so let's just ship it."  And yeah, the Liefelds and World's Finest are super bad, but they're at least a style, one that some people obviously like because both of those artists have gotten work for decades.

But the one below should have never left the Marvel offices, would have been better if they'd just used the logo and a blank cover. This isn't a style, it's representative of the unfortunate time that every artist goes through as they're trying to get good. This is your 15-year-old friend's work that you look at and say, "Oh, yeah, good," but you're lying through your teeth. This cover makes me feel physically uneasy. 

 

 

I've been slowly collecting my favorite hip-hop variant covers, but this one will never be a part of my collection. I could at least understand why they went this route if the inspiration album had similar art, but the Grandmaster Flash album is a fairly un-stylized photo!

On 9/10/2021 at 1:55 PM, Terry JSA said:

The good ol’ scumbags of eBay. Pushing a facsimile as the real thing all while disclosing it’s not the actual thing in the description no one ever reads. 

About a month ago I saw a Werewolf by Night 32 facsimile sell for more than $600 (don't remember the exact amount)! I think they mentioned it was a facsimile, but it was buried in a wall of text in the description. I felt so bad for the buyer. I know we have to do our due diligence before bidding, but I understand how someone can get caught up when they see lots of others also bidding large amounts for the same book.

On 8/10/2021 at 7:53 PM, kav said:

If you want to see what it looks like when someone does LGBT stories right read Sophie Campbell's Wet Moon series-the characters are interesting and surprising.  Surprising is important-we dont wanna see the same recylced cliches so prevelant on TV.  I've had many interesting online conversations with sophie about how she writes so damn realistically.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out! Regarding this new story line being pandering, I hope - for the sake of good storytelling - that you're wrong, and we get something we both enjoy.

Cheers!