telerites

Sorry I missed this thread, Claudio.  Don't log in much.  So many great items.  Loved seeing them.

I thought of Black Phantom since Bill Black revived her in the AC Comics line and you mentioned it looked fairly modern.  Did they release figurines?  I was out of collecting then so I have no idea.  

It certainly looks like Calamity Kate like @MasterChief mentioned above too.

tied to an anchor to tied to a stake

I think it might be Black Phantom from Tim Holt books (Red Mask)

Who needs Chris Evans, Reb Brown is still around.

On 3/30/2022 at 1:23 AM, adamstrange said:

 

"The Tehran Conference was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943, after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran."

Mussolini had been deposed by then.

What made this perplexing to me is that I think the North African Conference refers to the Casablanca Conference held in January of 1943 in North Africa.  Stalin didn't attend although he was invited.  Mussolini was deposed in July of 1943 so I do now understand why he isn't shown.  I am unsure when this ran but obviously after the Tehran Conference.  Seems like a relatively long time span to represent both in the cartoon since I think of editorial cartoons as representing current events or feelings pumping through the populace.

Thoughts on Santa representing something more than conveying bad stuff going to happen to the Axis?

reinforcement that lawbreakers lose

Not a comic but a piece of original editorial art by Dorman H. Smith.  I know about the meeting plans in Santa's bag and wonder why Mussolini is missing although Santa bears a resemblance which doesn't make sense.  I assume Santa just is Big Bad Santa and delivering plans that the Allies have agreed to wreak havoc on the Axis.

Thoughts?

blackstone the magician to chandu the magician

I am also one who thinks this isn't the stupidity acme.  I wonder how many thought we reached the peak when Mitch bought his Action 1 for what was nearly $2K or TMNT #1 going for over $250K (and I have the first 9.8 graded and I still think it is nuts), or when that New Mutants 98 9.9 sold for over $12K and so on.  

The other thing is stupid money attracts stupid money so other investment seekers are coming.  

I wonder how much of the hobby is made up of just collectors.  I mean I started in 1972 and have never bought a book just for investment purposes.  I bought it because I liked it and wanted it my collection (which I have joked is why my collection is worthless ).  I still love this hobby and love my collection but I guess it has evolved and I am just a grumpy old man.  

big green skeleton to big green robot

On 3/20/2022 at 9:47 AM, Robot Man said:

They grade UGs don’t they? Tijuana Bibles have pretty tame covers. Question is, why would you want to grade them?   

I have seen some with pretty explicit covers so when I read Mike's post, I thought some could and some couldn't.  Just doing a google search and looking at the images shows a variety of tijuanas.  

On 3/20/2022 at 8:45 AM, CGC Mike said:

There are several reasons why a collectible cannot be graded or encapsulated by Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®). Some of the most common reasons involve authenticity, size and subject matter.

Collectibles that display extreme nudity on the front or back will not be certified. For example, if the cover image depicts explicit sexual acts, CGC will not grade it, and the item will be returned.

underground to underwater

On 3/17/2022 at 10:02 AM, buttock said:

I've heard of jumping the shark, but not humping the shark.  

space detective to a planeteer

On 3/10/2022 at 11:24 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

What qualifications does someone have to have to work as a grader for CGC? When they were still small, they hired collectors like Phil Kaltenbach. They've grown too big for that to be possible now, I should think.

Now having a pulse and living within 50 miles of Sarasota are probably ample qualifications.

New hires probably get to watch a fifteen-minute training video and then start grading.

On 3/10/2022 at 12:22 PM, Robot Man said:

Good question. I would imagine you would have to have some track record in the hobby. Maybe not.

At least there are checks and balances. Books aren’t graded by a single person. Is there one person at the top who has the final say? What is Matt Nelson’s involvement? I can’t believe he looks at every book.

I can’t imagine doing that all day long. Burnout has to be a problem. 

They are hiring

https://recruitingbypaycor.com/career/JobIntroduction.action?clientId=8a7882525c3d7d8e015c6b03a47c11dc&id=8a7883a87a2feaa8017a3f84cc82600c&source=&code=&fromAggregate=false

On 3/10/2022 at 1:27 PM, Wall-Crawler said:

concierge service?

Yeah, I don't know if it because I have been a member since 1999 and/or have 100% rating or something else.  It has been quite a while since I had it.  I captured and image of what it shows when I go to contact customer service - 

Here are the benefits when I click explore your benefits

Not the same issue but I hadn't sold on Ebay since they made their change to requiring a linked bank account.  I kept getting emails saying my account was restricted because I hadn't updated the information (only the selling was restricted).  So I thought I might start listing some items and went through the process.  It took my information but kept saying I was restricted.  I have been on Ebay since 1999 and have the concierge service so I called and I have to admit, their response was friendly and they noted it was a bug in their system that impacted some people.  It took two days for them to resolve but they did.  

On 3/10/2022 at 7:24 AM, EastEnd1 said:

Seems to me CGC simply set a business policy... the market (ie, WE) granted them the authority to determine pedigrees. 

I agree with you.  Like I said I have no issue with CGC deciding what constitutes a pedigree. 

On 3/9/2022 at 4:55 PM, sfcityduck said:

The bigger question, for me, is why does CGC think it gets to determine what comic collections qualify as "pedigrees" and which do not?  The pedigree concept pre-existed CGC.  Key pedigrees pre-existed CGC.  CGC has no right to be the arbiter of what is or is not a pedigree.  It holds no trademark on the term "pedigree," has not trademarked the previously recognized pedigrees, and has no right to be the sole arbiter.

I personally have no issue with CGC deciding what they think is a pedigree as long as they follow their own definition.  BP mentioned it above, CBCS recognized other peds before CGC like the New Hampshire, Eldon, Cookeville, etc.  

I wonder if those would still be unrecognized by CGC if CBCS didn't jump in first and was pulling at least some business away from them.

Wrong or right, agree or disagree, like I mentioned earlier I applaud your efforts and it is a fun speculative venture.

On 3/9/2022 at 4:38 PM, sfcityduck said:

Only very few of the books appear to have been obtained in trade.  Possibly only three or four.  The MH Collection includes books bought second hand, so hard to see a few books obtained in trade as disqualifying.  I suspect that other major pedigrees include books obtained in trade or in the secondary market.  It was just part of the culture of the time.  The key to pedigree status is that the collection as a whole must overwhelmingly be OO, and it appears that is the case with the Promise Collection.  

This is logical and I do not disagree.  I just wish CGC would modify their definition because that is not what it says.  Just like the trimming - they say it is restoration but some more learned folks here have told me it is not and I believe CGC has waffled on the label.

If latitude is to be ascribed, definitions should not be as rigid.  

And forgive me, one of my earlier jobs with state government before I retired was a technical writer and later I dealt directly with the legislature, I had to weigh every word I wrote and said.

Regardless of my nit, your research has been fascinating and no doubt time-consuming.   

On 3/9/2022 at 4:07 PM, sfcityduck said:

The evidence supports that the CA 3 was obtained by the OO in trade.

I have tried to keep up with this thread but I am unable to spend a lot of time on the boards.  Just curious on this - if it was obtained in trade, it couldn't be considered a pedigree book, correct? 

Per CGC's definition --

The collection must be original owner.
This means that the books must have been bought off the newsstand as they came out.