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comic-keyes AF #15 NM+

Started by Timely,

188 posts in this topic

burntboy

burntboy

Posted
Posted
I was trying to come up with a good way to describe the level of photoshopping done on Duppie Sale's scan here, and the best I could come up with was the scene in The Fifth Element (on my top ten SF movie list and rising), where they reconstruct Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) from one remaining strand of DNA.

 

That's about the level of reconstruction done on that scan.

 

Oh, and on another note......

 

hammerpleads.jpg

 

as the "poster boy" for naive newbies getting sucked into hammer's web, i'm still amazed by this auction. IF, as Red indicates this is severely photoshopped, some buyer is going to get a book that probably won't look anything like a 9.6. i mean the picture does but there's gonna be a rude shock.

 

and then, as thanos pointed out, there is the inevitable unanswered question - "what competent comic collector/dealer wouldn't grade an AF#15, that has a chance at a 9.6????? i mean, come on - if a 9.4 goes for $122k, what the hell is a true 9.6 worth??? ($200 - 250k??). so why on earth would anyone (no matter how they may despise CGC) pass up this financial dream?? i wrestled with these questions and bit on a 7.5 AF #15 2 years ago. it came back trimmed, but at an 8.5.

 

the bottom line is that all of these "too good to be true" AF#15 auctions (hammers and others) are just that. you don't sell a potential $200k book in a no reserve, private auction on e-bay, with only a single front scan!!!

 

when will the madness stop????? insane.gifinsane.gif

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comicmankev

comicmankev

Posted
Posted

I think the whole idea is that not EVERYONE will ask for a refund? A lot of 'ab'normal collectors want a copy of AF15, and they may just not be in it to flip encapsulated confused-smiley-013.gif

 

I must say years back when I bought from him, I almost didnt send the books back. they were a couple of $500 books and I thought 'is it worth it'? Obviously a different situation to a book that will probably end in 5 figures, but hey, not everybody can be 'confrontational'?

 

thats my theory. For every five books he sells, he only refunds 3. he loses NOTHING out of this because he does not refund the shipping/grading fee/etc. So as long as he keeps the money in the bank, he can only gain. He comes out of most deals as a good guy by saving the buyers cash because he gave them a refund (and lots wouldnt! losing $100 in grading and shipping is better than losing $10k of a book confused-smiley-013.gif).

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Shield

Shield

Posted
Posted

The 9.4 copy sold on Heritage, the "large" scan blown up to 800%. Even straight lines don't appear perfectly straight when blown up to that magnitude.

 

490224-af152.jpg

490224-af152.jpg.1797152b5f7080cfc69df93c3543d99e.jpg

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Red Hook

Red Hook

Posted
Posted

First of all, apologies for the big scan post, but you will see why it's so large, as I proceed.

 

I was immediately taken with the weird , non-edge on the left-side / spine-side of the book. As Gertrude Stein wrote in her autobiography, after coming back to visit her childhood home and not being able to find the house......

 

"There is no there there."

 

I took THREE scans of high end slabbed copies of AF #15 that sold on Heritage. Not so oddly, it's near impossible to find a high end copy that isn't slabbed. You might find a 4.5 raw, but not 9.0 and up.

 

Look at the edges of the three verified 9.0s and up. They've all been scanned, and the shadow of the lamp in the scanner casts a shadow in the upward direction....note the shadow ABOVE the top edge in all four books. So far so good.

 

But when you examine the left edges of these four books, there is a total disconnect with reality with Hammer's scan. The other three exhibit some sense that they are three dimensional objects. There is a "roundedness", a dimension, to these books. There is no such three dimensional quality to Hammer's scan. It just ends in a sharp line of pixels. Very abruptly. No transition from front to wrap at all. Flat, and totally unbelievable even to the casual eye. His scans ALL look like that!

 

fouredges.jpg

 

I could go over other parts of the book, but it's really redundant at this point. We already know what he does. This is only a reminder. Nothing new. I only do this because it's a hoot, and it's not even very challenging with his scans. I will continue to refer to them, as I have in the past, as Hammer's Digital Wet Dreams. It's the book, some niave fool (no insult intended) WANTS to believe exists out there.

 

They only exist in Hammer's twisted mind. There is no "there" really there!

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Ze-man

Ze-man

Posted
Posted

Fun to look at the side by side..thnx Red

 

And was that book on the far left really a 9.0?

 

Perhaps Hammer should just sell "Digital ArtPrints of Covers" and not the actuall comics.

His "dreams" could then at least be legitimate.

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sterlingcomics

sterlingcomics

Posted
Posted
You'll only lose several hundred dollars in the deal (for four shipping costs, four insurance costs, the cost of CGCing a high dollar book, and the use of those many thousands of dollars over the course of a minimum of 3 months so that you can't leave feedback and he can make interest off of your investment)

 

Joanna, Nothing like SUBTLE reminders for those caught in the cross fire 893frustrated.gif

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Aman619

Aman619

Posted
Posted

good work Shield. I looked closely at Dannys scan in photoshop, and aside from the abnormally straight edges of ALL the straightedges (of the book AND inside AMAZING FANTASY) I didnt find a real smoking gun, so I did post anything. I didnt compare a rea; corner scan though, and yours is perfect! It would take a hundred scans to place the book perfectly in the scanner to end up with perfect straight lines (down to the pixel level!) as in his image. Not noemal...but not conclusive on its own.

 

Not that there is a chance in heck thi sis a real book...

 

REDHOOK - - more great work with your comparitive spines!

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Aman619

Aman619

Posted
Posted
I think the whole idea is that not EVERYONE will ask for a refund? A lot of 'ab'normal collectors want a copy of AF15, and they may just not be in it to flip encapsulated confused-smiley-013.gif

 

I must say years back when I bought from him, I almost didnt send the books back. they were a couple of $500 books and I thought 'is it worth it'? Obviously a different situation to a book that will probably end in 5 figures, but hey, not everybody can be 'confrontational'?

 

thats my theory. For every five books he sells, he only refunds 3. he loses NOTHING out of this because he does not refund the shipping/grading fee/etc. So as long as he keeps the money in the bank, he can only gain. He comes out of most deals as a good guy by saving the buyers cash because he gave them a refund (and lots wouldnt! losing $100 in grading and shipping is better than losing $10k of a book confused-smiley-013.gif).

 

As Ive posted before, this was and still is Dannys MO. I ve heard that he used to brag about the joys of mail-order fo rthis very reason!!

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Red Hook

Red Hook

Posted
Posted
OT - The 9.4 scan may just have color balance issues, but I think the 9.0 curator looks the nicest out of the 3 actual comic books in your post.

 

I agree. Check out Heritage's past inventory for the huge scans of the whole book!

 

Red

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Red Hook

Red Hook

Posted
Posted

I still consider Ebay responsible for harboring this criminal and allowing him to operate.

 

Also- It is going to get to the point where any serious collector who hasn't absorbed all the info out there on Keys is not going to get much of my sympathy.

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Red Hook

Red Hook

Posted
Posted

I decided that since we don't really have any experts on restoration posting here, I would go over and ask the local resident guru on the CPG boards for his opinion.....

 

hammerquestion.jpg

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Joanna

Joanna

Posted
Posted

 

Joanna, Nothing like SUBTLE reminders for those caught in the cross fire 893frustrated.gif

 

Sorry, Sterling. I didn't mean to open old wounds. I just get so tired of people saying, in effect, "oh, but he refunds the money" because he doesn't refund all of the money that the buyer spends -- not by a long shot. I was just trying to cut that argument off at the pass.

 

-- Joanna

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sterlingcomics

sterlingcomics

Posted
Posted

 

Joanna, Nothing like SUBTLE reminders for those caught in the cross fire 893frustrated.gif

 

Sorry, Sterling. I didn't mean to open old wounds. I just get so tired of people saying, in effect, "oh, but he refunds the money" because he doesn't refund all of the money that the buyer spends -- not by a long shot. I was just trying to cut that argument off at the pass.

 

-- Joanna

 

no offense taken. Definitely agreed-I lost $130 in slabbing/shipping fees and another $20 to ship it back--so I was out $150. Given the alternative, which is selling these on eBay, I would've lost more...

 

I'm now burntboy's side kick, lightly toasted lad. Here at your service....

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