Bone Appreciation Thread 11 11

[DocGo]

HAPPY 15th ANNIVERSARY to everyone who’s contributed to this thread over the years!

It has certainly expanded my knowledge of this great series and I hope it has done so for you as well!

[DocGo]

I finally bit the bullet and bought a Thorn: Tales from the Lantern. In the early to mid years of this thread, I never really got the fascination with this book in terms of how much people were spending on copies. Those prices look crazy low now of course but I was primarily focused with raws and slabs of the comic series and they were expensive enough as it is. In early 2020, I started seriously looking for a high grade copy to own. Most Thorns I saw for sale in the previous 13 years were mid-grades at best so I was setting my sites high for something that was at least 8.0. Only two examples that fit this criteria came up for auction and my bids, which I personally thought were crazy, didn't come close to winning .

The copy below was bought in a thrift store for the $3.95 cover price in 2022. I wish it was me but alas, I got it second hand . I made the purchase in late 2022 for the most I've ever spent on a single book. The seller may have really regretted the deal after seeing the Heritage auction in March but I swear we were both happy at the time .

What do you guys think?

[WilliamG.Staggers]

On 6/8/2023 at 7:51 PM, DocGo said:

I finally bit the bullet and bought a Thorn: Tales from the Lantern. In the early to mid years of this thread, I never really got the fascination with this book in terms of how much people were spending on copies. Those prices look crazy low now of course but I was primarily focused with raws and slabs of the comic series and they were expensive enough as it is. In early 2020, I started seriously looking for a high grade copy to own. Most Thorns I saw for sale in the previous 13 years were mid-grades at best so I was setting my sites high for something that was at least 8.0. Only two examples that fit this criteria came up for auction and my bids, which I personally thought were crazy, didn't come close to winning .

The copy below was bought in a thrift store for the $3.95 cover price in 2022. I wish it was me but alas, I got it second hand . I made the purchase in late 2022 for the most I've ever spent on a single book. The seller may have really regretted the deal after seeing the Heritage auction in March but I swear we were both happy at the time .

What do you guys think?

Congrats! Can't believe it was sitting on a shelf somewhere for the cover price. Looks to be in great shape.

[DocGo]

On 6/10/2023 at 8:11 PM, WilliamG.Staggers said:

Congrats! Can't believe it was sitting on a shelf somewhere for the cover price. Looks to be in great shape.

Thank you sir!

FYI to everyone who has a copy: CGC no longer grades this issue (having stopped in October 2021). Apparently the thickness of the book causes problems with the encapsulation process. The 9.8 that Bedrock auctioned off through Heritage in 2020 became a 9.2 after a regrade in early 2021. Would be interesting to know exactly how/why this happened but I’ll guess that the case’s fragility had something to do with it.

[DocGo]

New pop quiz: what was the name of the letters section in the back of the Bone comics?

[whetteon]

On 6/15/2023 at 1:28 PM, DocGo said:

New pop quiz: what was the name of the letters section in the back of the Bone comics?

Do you mean you read them? 

[DocGo]

On 6/17/2023 at 6:08 PM, whetteon said:

Do you mean you read them? 

I guess I was the only one 

[DocGo]

To me the letters section, aka the Bone-a-fides, were a very important part of the book. This was largely because the issues weren’t exactly bi-monthly as originally intended and they acted more as a news section to get a loose idea about when to expect the next issue. Remember that it took 13 years for Cartoon Books to produce 55 issues of the regular series along with the 3 book Rose miniseries, the 3 book Stupid, Stupid Rat-tails mini, #13 1/2, the Holiday Special, the Bone Sourcebook, the Bone Handbook, 26 different pieces of new covers for various comic book reprints, the numerous TPBs, and all the promotion.

At most, Cartoon Books had three full time employees in addition to Jeff who did all the artwork (save for the coloring of all the covers except #1) and Vijaya who was the president. It’s truly remarkable how they got everything done and the letters section is a good history lesson.

Edited June 22, 2023 by DocGo
Capitalization

[DocGo]

Anyone see the 9.6 of Bone #1 that sold on eBay yesterday? Despite the timing of the auction (12:30pm CST on a Monday) it did much better than the ComicLink example in late May. It also had Off White-White pages which I think we’ll see more of in the coming years for newly graded #1s, as this was the latest 9.6 to come out of CGC. The pics weren’t fantastic but I could clearly see at least 2 small CB creases on the front cover which would probably put it at the lower end of the 9.6 spectrum IMHO.

I think I’ve mentioned this before but in case there’s anyone new: the newsprint used for the production of the first issue was fairly poor. Copies will need to have been stored in ideal conditions to get White pages these days.

[Pixx_L]

On 6/27/2023 at 3:45 PM, DocGo said:

Anyone see the 9.6 of Bone #1 that sold on eBay yesterday? Despite the timing of the auction (12:30pm CST on a Monday) it did much better than the ComicLink example in late May. It also had Off White-White pages which I think we’ll see more of in the coming years for newly graded #1s, as this was the latest 9.6 to come out of CGC. The pics weren’t fantastic but I could clearly see at least 2 small CB creases on the front cover which would probably put it at the lower end of the 9.6 spectrum IMHO.

I think I’ve mentioned this before but in case there’s anyone new: the newsprint used for the production of the first issue was fairly poor. Copies will need to have been stored in ideal conditions to get White pages these days.

Not to get off-topic but is comic-link worth trying to sell on for cgc'd moderns?

[DocGo]

On 6/27/2023 at 8:02 PM, Pixx_L said:

Not to get off-topic but is comic-link worth trying to sell on for cgc'd moderns?

It could be depending on what’s being sold alongside them. From my experience, the Link is mostly favorable to buyers but I largely don’t shop for superhero books.

[Pixx_L]

On 6/27/2023 at 9:23 PM, DocGo said:

It could be depending on what’s being sold alongside them. From my experience, the Link is mostly favorable to buyers but I largely don’t shop for superhero books.

I haven't even looked at it really. Do you say it's favorable to buyers because it's auction only or something? What do you shop for (out of curiousity)? Of the stuff I've CGC'd (from my teenage years in the 90s) very little of the superhero stuff is anything I care about holding on to as well.

[DocGo]

On 6/27/2023 at 8:34 PM, Pixx_L said:

I haven't even looked at it really. Do you say it's favorable to buyers because it's auction only or something? What do you shop for (out of curiousity)? Of the stuff I've CGC'd (from my teenage years in the 90s) very little of the superhero stuff is anything I care about holding on to as well.

I was just saying that superhero books are far more popular and probably get more action than what I typically look for. I do have a few superhero sets in my registry but I just completed my last one and haven’t needed to shop for them in quite awhile.

It’s more favorable to buyers because of the way their auctions end: at a set time with no way to use a sniping service.

[DocGo]

After nearly 12 years of signings, my collection of Bone #38 in Signature Series 9.8 is finally complete. For those not in the know, this was the only Bone issue with multiple covers that were released concurrently as well as the only issue with front covers not drawn by Jeff Smith exclusively. From left to right here are the credits: Jeff Smith pencils & inks with painted colors by Charles Vess, Jeff Smith pencils with designs & paints by Alex Ross, Frank Miller pencils & inks with colors by Jeff Smith (series colorist for the covers during this period, Elizabeth Lewis, also contributed).

The first signature was on 8/21/2011 and the last on 5/30/2023. I was beginning to lose hope on Alex Ross so I’m very glad CGC put his in-house signing together!

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 7/5/2023 at 1:43 PM, DocGo said:

After nearly 12 years of signings, my collection of Bone #38 in Signature Series 9.8 is finally complete. For those not in the know, this was the only Bone issue with multiple covers that were released concurrently as well as the only issue with front covers not drawn by Jeff Smith exclusively. From left to right here are the credits: Jeff Smith pencils & inks with painted colors by Charles Vess, Jeff Smith pencils with designs & paints by Alex Ross, Frank Miller pencils & inks with colors by Jeff Smith (series colorist for the covers during this period, Elizabeth Lewis, also contributed).

The first signature was on 8/21/2011 and the last on 5/30/2023. I was beginning to lose hope on Alex Ross so I’m very glad CGC put his in-house signing together!

This is a nice fulfillment. Congrats that it is now done, hoping that the registry next year gets remembered for any nomination thread! This year if possible, although deadline was last month.

It's nice to see commitment at any stage

 

[DocGo]

On 7/5/2023 at 8:51 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

This is a nice fulfillment. Congrats that it is now done, hoping that the registry next year gets remembered for any nomination thread! This year if possible, although deadline was last month.

It's nice to see commitment at any stage

 

Appreciate it. I don’t think my set will be worthy of a nomination until it’s closer to completion. Getting fairly close…

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 7/5/2023 at 10:31 PM, DocGo said:

Appreciate it. I don’t think my set will be worthy of a nomination until it’s closer to completion. Getting fairly close…

I had to look it up, but it does look well done if not all the way complete. It really is pretty close to complete and pretty regardless!

Pics description it's a lot to do and keep up with, kudos to you for being diligent.

Near 7 to 8 plus years at #1 should push it over. The edge, idk how much it takes to have it nominated or mentioned....

As these past couple of years there has been a nomination thread so idk

Nice set though.

Edited July 6, 2023 by ADAMANTIUM

[DocGo]

Got a few Heroes Con books back with very good results (big thanks to @Rich_Henn). Originally, I wanted all the single digit books in Universal but changed my mind with the #9. I’d probably never attempt to get a 9.8 of #8 signed because of the black cover and how the first 11 issues were published. This was originally a slab that thankfully kept its grade 

Just hiding the registration # until I’m done 

[DocGo]

Who doesn’t love a cover with beer? This is another one of those issues where I never got a solid copy from all the different lots I’ve purchased over the years. Bought this as a slab and retained its grade 

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 6/8/2023 at 5:51 PM, DocGo said:

I finally bit the bullet and bought a Thorn: Tales from the Lantern. In the early to mid years of this thread, I never really got the fascination with this book in terms of how much people were spending on copies. Those prices look crazy low now of course but I was primarily focused with raws and slabs of the comic series and they were expensive enough as it is. In early 2020, I started seriously looking for a high grade copy to own. Most Thorns I saw for sale in the previous 13 years were mid-grades at best so I was setting my sites high for something that was at least 8.0. Only two examples that fit this criteria came up for auction and my bids, which I personally thought were crazy, didn't come close to winning .

The copy below was bought in a thrift store for the $3.95 cover price in 2022. I wish it was me but alas, I got it second hand . I made the purchase in late 2022 for the most I've ever spent on a single book. The seller may have really regretted the deal after seeing the Heritage auction in March but I swear we were both happy at the time .

What do you guys think?