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Toughest Marvel Bronze Key in HG?

Started by drbanner,

63 posts in this topic

BronzeBruce13

BronzeBruce13

Posted
Posted

I'm not qualified to speak on DC's as until recently I have not spent much time collecting them and have no wealth of info or experince to share. I actually liked/collected Jonah Hex and recently sold my 9.4 #1 White when unloading all 9.4 and unders from my collection. If I can find a 9.6 W or a 9.8 within reason, I'll buy it back.

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BronzeBruce13

BronzeBruce13

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I've had some... loved the covers more than the stories I guess... although Ploog was great.

 

I don't dislike them at all, but when I've acquired them, I never felt compelled to keep them long... and sold them at the right moment. I like reading some EC horror though.

 

More than anything, I think I just missed out on that Marvel era (or didn't gravitate towards what was left) when I first started reading/collecting as a kid... therefore I have no real emotional connection. The style of the covers make a connection, but the characters and stories never had a hold of me at my "Golden Age" of collecting.

 

 

 

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BronzeBruce13

BronzeBruce13

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I have to agree that they are both top 5...

I have to tell you that my MS 5 9.4 is indeed centered very nicely. It took me 3 CGC 9.4's before I found this one. I paid more for it than I could have nabbed a White pager for... that one is up at Heritage, you can see why I passed.

 

 

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murph0

murph0

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I saw yours, mine is about as well centered as yours..neither are perfect but they are close. I think the reason why some of the other issues people have mentioned in here are harder to find is b/c there's just no reason for the mass public to know that it's time to submit that particular book..Special Edition 15? I'd guess that's a lurking book that's sitting unknown in a bunch of collections similar to Marvel Premiere 15. When you have a book that's been hot for a period of time, and literally just a handful of books come up in ultra high grade (MTU 1, MS 5), then you can be pretty certain it's a damned hard book to find.

 

Brian

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ArAich

ArAich

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Anyone know if Mike Ploog referred to here (Ghost Rider, Marvel Horror comics) is the same Mike Ploog layout editor for the animated Lord of The Rings in the 70s?

 

Yup. Their one and the same. Ploog also did the still sequences in the Wizards movie too. Awsome stuff!!! tongue.gif

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drbanner

drbanner

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Thanks for the input fellas - the CGC stats are interesting, but it would be even more interesting to see a breakdown by percentage for each grade relative to the total number of issues graded-to-date. Anyone???

 

I think I need to edit my list to remove my personal collecting bias - MTU was one of the 1st bronze titles I collected, and have had at least 2 NM copies (note the absence of a numerical grade wink.gif ), while I never really looked for Iron Man 55- thusly, no NM's of that one for me personally. So I'll revise my rankings to list the top 3 as MS 2, MS 5, and MTU 1, and a POLL is in order grin.gif

 

Speaking of tough in high grade, the CGC census shows 0 9.8's and only 9 9.6's of ALL OF THE FOLLOWING DC BOOKS COMBINED!

 

All Star Western 10

House of Secrets 92

Weird War Tales 1

Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love 1

Detective 400

Green Lantern 76

 

I think someone needs to start a similar thread for us DC fans...G?

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BronzeBruce13

BronzeBruce13

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I'm not going to do that much legwork for you Mike you crafty devil grin.gif look it up and get a calculator! wink.gif

 

Actually, I should have mentioned all the totals when I was referencing the Census for 9.6 and 9.8 grades. I think its safe to say that the more popoular the key, the more copies submited obviously. I wouldn't expect drastic differences in equally coveted keys. I noted the lower submitted books as a reason for thier lower availablity currently which is not true scarcity.

 

When you do see lower submission numbers on a key you know is desired by many, that's another indication that less true HG copies exist.

 

You should send your (2) "NM" MTU #1's in. Judging from comments I heard here about your ungraded sales and your sharp eye buying items to CGC and resell, I would imagine I can accept your claim. I would mention that I owned and/or have seen 3 other NM- 9.2 copies that would have got a NM 9.4 prediction from me before submission... they are tough on that book, don't bank on a 9.4's unless it's just obvious as hell. Good Luck BTW... if one comes back a 9.6 Email me first we'll get it done somehow grin.gif

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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drbanner

drbanner

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You should send your (2) "NM" MTU #1's in.

 

Unfortunately, you'll notice I used the past possessive tense "had" when mentioning them frown.gif .

 

True, my MTU's may have been anywhere from a 9.2 to 9.6 on any given thursday via CGC, but they looked a whole lot like "the book" I sold you (which me and a friend, who offered me 3x guide for it raw, figured about a 9.4). The point was more to the fact that since basically I found killer copies for myself, they must be available for everyone else too, which I now feel to be an erroneous assumption...

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BronzeBruce13

BronzeBruce13

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Missed that Mike.. sorry. That sucks though! (BTW... do you have an English degree? You describe sentence structure better than most)

 

Anyway... finding killer copies is not easy, nor is finding a consistent source that does not feel compelled to CGC his own books and make more money??... take your one great raw source out of the equation and where are you? Probably closer to the rest of the pack unless you're fortunate enough to have more than one.

 

As far as the book you sold me... I can see where you might have wondered if the registration issue might get it knocked down to a 9.4. I would also think, that generally, when buying raw its in your best interest to be conservative about what grade you are hoping for... or down play expectation when a book is on the fence between projected grades... so predicting a 9.4 does not sound unreasonable for those reasons.

 

Like many books that have a prevalent characteristic that other books don't, or a common defect in high percentage, this book almost always has registration issues in my experience and so I feel that characteristic did not weigh heavily against it (at CGC). Structurally, there is no doubt it was a 9.6... I would offer it was maybe a high 9.6 with a slim chance to do better on a different day (and without the registration problem - which probably comes into play more if it was considered for a higher grade). You should have seen it compared to the other 9.6 I had bought... yours/mine was way better. Even though the very top of the comic code was trimmed off, I decided I could live with that on this book due to its history of being misregistered. In order for the Comic Code to have breathing room on top, the text at the bottom would have to be riding the edge or trimmed off slightly as a trade off. With this understanding, I felt the eye appeal of the book was not harmed knowing what the alternative would likely be and that there is so few of theses registered perfectly.

 

If I ever see a 9.6/9.8 White that's centered better and looks like it deserves the grade, I'll do my best to buy it and sell this one. Thanks again for the opportunity... keep 'em coming grin.gif

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FlComicFan

FlComicFan

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Thanks to greggy/bruce for the answer on the Thor 193 and Dark Mansion 1. Guess I am just unlucky as far as the printers crease is concerned for Dark Mansion. Regarding grading, my grading standards for NM pre CGC were equal to their current NM 9.4 .If a boo had 4 square corners and no edge wear or spine stress it was good enough for me. I did also pay attention to the page quality anything below off white I didnt touch as far as bronze books. My initial sack of books I sent in didnt have too many surprises all grading 9.0 to 9.6. I missed a few structural defects I was not looking for but I have just learned from speaking with Haspel and John Cruschinski to look at the books very closely as opposed to the "at arms length" approach that Overstreet supported. I just dont nitpick above that grade , 9.4 is a beautiful book and good enough for my budget/tastes. Going above 9.4 passes my anal retentive grading and gets into the coin collectors mentality which isnt my forte. Besides which if I am going to pay the prices those books go for I expect to see a grading standard outlined. Since CGC has no plans to give you that I'll stay with raw silver/bronze books when I can find them for close to guide and really have delved more into Golden Age stuff. Keep up the infomative posts gents ( and ladies) Chet

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