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Rusty staples and sunken treasure! by Hibou

360 posts in this topic

I just wanted to point out that I clarified something I wrote above...

 

I made this change:

 

"...cyst or tumor on her spine and most likely would be born with a defect or possibly down syndrome."

 

I originally wrote:

 

"...cyst or tumor on her spine and most likely would be born with down syndrome."

 

That should not have been connected that way.

 

Sorry for any confusion. :)

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So my friend Rob and I did some preliminary sketches and color studies about these WW1 heroes. It was a bit ridiculous because it was going to be an obvious swipe of the Avengers, JLA and other established characters!

 

For instance...

 

I thought of this Irish WW1 nurse who had magical abilities and she would wear a scarlet red nurse outfit. - Scarlet Witch

 

A German who built himself a suit of armor complete with a maxim and mustard gas jets. - Iron Man

 

A French soldier who finds these two mysterious rings on the battlefield that give him strange abilities. - Green Lantern / Batman

 

A Russian soldier blown up on the battlefield becomes half man, half robot thanks to the work of a secret scientist. - Cyborg / Colossus

 

We could have Thor just be Thor utilizing mythological references.

 

An American doughboy from the 3rd Army. - Captain America.

 

...

 

 

 

For the most part, I think the idea came about after seeing a helmet of the AEF (American Expeditionary Forces) 3rd Army.

 

It just looked like it would be cool to make a Captain America helmet out of that.

 

3army_zps39b00545.jpg

 

At any rate, it was fun to talk and laugh about... maybe we could make the French WW1 soldier something like Batroc the Leaper and he would just jump around with an adamantium baguette!

 

There were more drawings and such but this was all I could find at the moment:

 

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(The coloring was being tested by my friend on this one)

 

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So, as I said before, this never took off and sadly I left the University in 2003.

 

My daughter was a year old now and I felt I had to make a financial jump. With that decision, I also found my drawing time reduced to a point where it was practically non-existent. Around this time I was getting a lot more serious about collecting coins and was starting to gather a fairly nice collection of different type pieces but I was also still very much into comics and buying a little more here and there.

 

My collection at this point was mainly made up of rather inexpensive Bronze Age books that I enjoyed... Marvel Team Up, X-Men, Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man... come to think of it, my collection consisted of mostly Marvel.

 

That would soon change as my daughter was getting older and pre-school was right around the corner.

 

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Right around the time my daughter was getting ready for pre-school, I started thinking of what influences she would have and what influences I had growing up.

 

As I said before, pop-culture... especially television, was full of superheroes and science fiction in the late 60's through the 70's. From the re-runs of 60's television like Star Trek and Batman to cartoons like Super Friends, it was nonstop exposure.

 

Just thinking back for a moment there were so many that I enjoyed...

 

 

 

The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman

 

Shazam and the Mighty Isis

 

Wonder Woman

 

The Incredible Hulk

 

The Amazing Spiderman

 

 

 

I'm sure there were many others I didn't mention...

 

So I was thinking of what might appeal to her and the first thing that came to mind was a character that I had liked myself for some time.

 

I always liked Wonder Woman and I'm guessing some of that might've been because of Lynda Carter playing that role in the 70's...

 

 

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I do remember that a cousin of mine loved Wonder Woman when we were growing up and she would always pretend to be her. Whenever the family would visit my grandparents and she was there, she always seemed to have Wonder Woman comics with her as well so I would occasionally flip through them.

 

In the mid 80's, when I was first heavy into collecting comics, I found a GA Wonder Woman comic at a store and bought it for her. I wish I could remember what issue it was but I bought it as a birthday present for her thinking that she would like a 'really old' Wonder Woman comic.

 

So as I started to think of Wonder Woman as a positive role model for my daughter... (I just recently watched this and would recommend it: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/wonder-women/film.html ) ...I also started to look again at the DC characters and feeling some kind of renewed enthusiasm towards them.

 

My father always preferred DC characters as those were the first he was introduced to as a child immigrant from France in the late 50's. Batman 121 was the first comic he purchased from the rack and I never knew that until I recently showed him a copy I picked up last year. Upon seeing the book again he recalled a lot of memories from it.

 

So I started to look at and buy more DC comics than I had been and my daughter was on her way to pre-school.

 

It was now 2005 and she was starting to pay a little bit of attention to the superheroes that surrounded me as I was growing up.

 

clww_zps5ac5a0b9.jpg

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After two years of pre-school, it was now time for my daughter to attend Kindergarten. This meant a new school and a little bit of anxiety for me. The pre-school she had been going to was at a private school and we would've liked to continue her schooling there but it was going to be too expensive for us so we chose the public school route.

 

I guess that was inevitable as the private school closed about 3 years later.

 

The anxiety for me is that we don't exactly live in the best neighborhood and this new environment concerned me a little. We met with the teachers and other school staff and felt better about this decision but it was still going to be a new experience for all of us.

 

It was right around this time that my wife and I introduced our daughter to The Powerpuff Girls.

 

They had been around for a while and we were familiar with them from years before. We thought we would see if she would be interested in them and it didn't take her long before she was hooked and I noticed something interesting in what appealed to her. The rough and tough green one is called Buttercup while the younger acting blue one is Bubbles and the pink one... Blossom, is pretty much the leader.

 

Of all of these, she was attracted to Buttercup... the tough one.

 

She would always ask me why her eyes looked like that. (Meaning her scowl)

 

From the Powerpuff Girls, I tried to get her into the Tiny Titans a little later and she seemed to like them a little as well.

 

But for the next couple of years she was all about the Powerpuff Girls!

 

Her 1st year of Kindergarten was now here and she seemed to be a little nervous about this new experience.

 

So at the spur of the moment, the morning of her first day at school, I came up with an idea...

 

Well, it wasn't entirely my idea as I borrowed it from what my father did for me when I was younger.

 

So that morning, I took a small sheet of paper and drew a quick Buttercup for her and placed it in her lunch bag... sort of as a lunch companion. Plus it was her favorite and I thought that seeing 'the tough one' in her lunch would encourage her if she was still feeling nervous during the day.

 

She really liked the drawing and that encouraged me to do a few more of these on the following days. Looking back, I hadn't really looked at the Powerpuff Girls to see exactly how they were drawn but I did them anyways.

 

These were the results:

 

cards9_zps8cbc5228.jpg

 

What I did realize while doing these is that whatever this was that I was starting to embark on... it got me back to drawing even if it was for just a little bit in the morning before I went into work.

 

So with that, I decided to continue doing these but as a nod to my father, I'd do them on the same material he used... my mothers old keypunch cards.

 

I had an unopened box of them and thought... well, why not?

 

These keypunch cards are basically card stock with one side blank and the other side printed with numbers.

 

keypunch_zps4bb68d9b.jpg

 

And so it began.

 

Every morning she had school, I would do a different drawing for her. Most of these drawings I would copy from another source. Part of that was a way for me to quickly come up with something but another reason for that was that it would get back to how I started to draw when I was younger... and that was by copying other artists.

 

Some of these drawings were just my own, but I'd say the majority of them were copies. Some of the subject matter would pertain to something that we had read (she was always read to and later when she learned how to read, she would do so on her own) or something that we did or talked about that day.

 

It was like a continuing conversation with pictures.

 

So this went on through Kindergarten...

 

And then 1st grade... 2nd grade... 3rd grade and 4th grade.

 

Somewhere around 3rd grade, my time in the morning became shorter and shorter so the drawings became jokes and riddles but I would still occasionally do a drawing.

 

These are some of the drawings and jokes I did for her during those 4 years...

 

As I was just going through these, I didn't realize just how many there are. :eek:

 

cards7_zps0d9d6c72.jpg

 

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...

 

 

What came out of these drawings for me was a big return and interest in comics. I would soon become serious once again about collecting as I saw my daughter take an interest in these characters I was drawing for her.

 

That was almost like a license to collect once again! lol

 

 

 

 

 

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Father's Day: 2007

 

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I distinctly remember the first time I saw a CGC book.

 

I believe it was late in 2007 and our family took a road trip for the day. We ended up in this small town and while browsing through different antique shops and such, I found a coin and hobby shop. I went in and was looking through the various coins when something else caught me eye.

 

Displayed up on the wall behind the coin counters was a copy of an early World's Finest. I can't remember exactly but I'm thinking it was issue #3.

 

You see this is where I get a little confused because I remember that all I could see was the cover and a big 3.0 displayed in the left corner of it's plastic case.

 

So I asked the shop owner what that was and he said to me...

 

"Isn't that cool? It's a CGC book."

 

And so my appropriate reply was...

 

"What is this CGC thing?!"

 

He told me that it was just like NGC (for coins... which I was pretty familiar with) and it was a professionally graded book.

 

I asked him how much it was and he told me that it really wasn't for sale but just to show as he really liked the book.

 

So with that I asked him if there was a way to open the plastic case it was in and he told me no. Upon hearing that, I thought to myself that it was ridiculous to put a comic in a plastic case that couldn't be opened and thus ended my first exposure to CGC.

 

I figured that kind of thing wasn't for me because part of collecting comics is being able to evaluate the interior.

 

So I continued on my merry way buying new comics and cheap older issues and concentrating a lot on my coin collection.

 

My daughter was now into reading comics and I would make sure to buy her a few with each stop to the local comic shop.

 

claudiacomics_zpsac506373.jpg

 

At this point, in 2008, I was stabilized in my collecting habits between comics and coins until one summer afternoon.

 

I had just stopped at my local comic shop to pick up a few new books when I decided to go and make a visit to my local coin shop to pick up a couple Silver Eagles. I hadn't been into this shop in about a month so I figured I was overdue.

 

I walked in to the coin shop expecting to see the same displays as I always had but I was shocked to see what I did when I walked in.

 

Comics.

 

On the walls.

 

Key issues.

 

Silver age and Golden Age.

 

...

 

I wasn't sure what was going on and after greeting the owner, I asked what was up with the comics. He sort of knew what I was into in terms of coins but he had no idea that I was into comics as well.

 

He simply told me that he had enjoyed collecting comics since he was younger and decided to get back into the business.

 

I was in shock.

 

I hadn't seen this caliber of selection of books in such a long time, that I was a little overwhelmed. Right there, displayed on his wall were the first 6 issues of the Hulk... early FF and Spider-Man... Avengers, Golden Age horror like Tales from the Crypt.

 

I thought I had entered comic-geek paradise.

 

Well one book in particular stood out to me upon this days visit.

 

It was a copy of Avengers 4 and from what I could see, it was a really nice looking copy! I hesitated but I asked him how much he wanted for that book and if I remember correctly, he said $225. I asked to see it and couldn't figure out why it was that 'cheap'. He told me that he thought it was around VG in condition and showed me the back where a piece was missing.

 

I had to think about this for a little while, but here was a copy of Avengers 4 in my hands. The first SA appearance of one of my all time favorites.

 

I told him I would take it and this is when I officially began my third phase of seriously collecting comics.

 

Sadly, I no longer own this book but here it is...

 

My first big acquisition of my current comic collecting incarnation.

 

avengers4.jpg

 

avengers4bk.jpg

 

 

Little did I know what path this purchase would put me on! :)

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It's funny what age does to your memories.

 

I just remembered that the Avengers 4 was in a PGX slab and at the time, I had no idea what that was... I just assumed it was something like that CGC World's Finest I saw the year before.

 

It was a 4.0 and I had to ask the owner what the 4.0 signified and he told me that it meant VERY GOOD.

 

When I brought the book home, I carefully examined the plastic case and figured out how to break it open and then cut open the inner well. I still didn't feel that a comic like that should be in a plastic case that you couldn't open so I put it in a heavy mylar after reading it.

 

I guess I forgot that whole experience.

 

 

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A few days after making this purchase, I went out and bought a new copy of the OSPG (Overstreet Price Guide). I saw how they had modified their grading scale once again and was now using a decimal scale from a 0.5 to 10.0. I liked this system better as it seemed that the old 100 point scale was too wide. For instance in VG, you had a range of 35-54 with 45 being the straight grade. With this new decimal system it was finely tuned as a VG is a 4.0... a VG- is 3.5 and a VG+ is 4.5.

 

It certainly seemed to make a lot of sense to me but I did notice that it tied in to these graded books.

 

This is the grading value card I made up back in the early 90's (it looks like I tried to combine my old style of grading with the new 100 point system) as well as an index card I still have of a Hulk 181 to show how I kept information on my books.

 

It's funny, but I bought my first PC in 1994... a 486 66MHz speed demon with 8 MB of RAM!

 

Looking at this card also reminds me of when I bought that Hulk 181. I was out of town and I stopped in at a comic shop I had found. On the wall was this copy of Hulk 181 for $280.00 (based on these notes, in current terms, it might've been an 8.5 / 9.0). So as I was leaving the shop, the owner told me that they were having a half price sale the next day. I told the owner that I was from out of town but I would've been interested in the Hulk 181. She whispered that she would let me have it at half price since I wasn't going to be around the following day... so I bought it for $140. Today that would be about an $800 - $950 book!

 

On the Hulk 181 grade, the 9 that follows the 'VFN87' refers to the OWL system or page whiteness level.

 

 

We've all said it... "If only I kept that one." lol

 

EarlyComiccard_zpsb66bfd04.jpg

 

So with this new OSPG that I purchased after acquiring the Avengers 4, I familiarized myself with the new grading and looked up some prices on previous key books that I once had and compared them to my older price guides.

 

I was a little shocked but also enthused! I thought about all the other books this gold mine of a coin / comic shop had and made a decision... I would sell off some of my coin collection to fund some purchases of key books.

 

A short time later, I purchased a nice copy of the elusive Amazing Spider-Man 14!

 

I would finally have a copy and once again, it felt great to own it. After that it seemed like it was off to the races as I bought key issues and books that I liked... some that I never thought I would.

 

I decided to find a way to display these books on the wall in this extra bedroom where I have my drawing table and other collectibles. I did this because I liked the feeling it gave me to actually see these... much like how I would feel when I would walk into that store and be greeted by a wall of comics! The room is pretty much left in the dark throughout the day so I didn't have any concerns about light or other conditions.

 

comics07_zpsb1aa7064.jpg

 

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Within a few months, I thought I had acquired a nice small collection of important books. Sadly, I don't own a single one any longer as they were passed on to allow me to further my collecting interests.

 

Another book I purchased during this period was a copy of Avengers 1.

 

This would be my first experience with a 'Restored' comic.

 

Still not fully aware of how the hobby had changed from the 80's / 90's, I happily purchased this copy. I could see what had been done to it, but to me, it was still an Avengers 1... another book that I loved.

 

If I remember correctly, the book had color touch all along the spine and the staples had been replaced. There might've been more to it but that's what I remembered. It cost me a bit but I was able to sell it back to this coin / comic shop about a year later for exactly what I paid.

 

From here, my search for comics extended to eBay and even Comiclink which I found accidentally one day while looking for a particular book.

 

I have to credit one book in particular though for bringing me here to the CGC boards. I had found a really nice looking copy of The Flash 123 on eBay and I was watching the bids. I was starting to pay a little more attention to these graded books and this one was one of those. It was a CGC book with this purple label that said restored. I won the book and was thrilled at the price I paid for it as it was so much lower than what the price guide had the book listed at.

 

Around this time I was a little active on the eBay comic forum and upon winning the book, I posed a question to the public as to what the notes on the label meant.

 

Someone on the eBay comic forum suggested that I go to the CGC forum and ask the question there as they should be able to help me more.

 

And so, that's exactly what I did.

 

It was now the end of April- 2009 and I came here to pose this question:

 

What does CGC mean when they say

 

As you can see, not much came out of that first post and it took me another year before I actually became a member here.

 

(Within that thread, you'll see that I followed up on it but not for 2 years after the initial question was posted.)

 

 

 

 

 

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For that year between my first post here and my second post, I was continuing to buy comics from various places. At some point I thought to look at the CGC thing a little closer. I had now purchased four books that had been graded...

 

Avengers 4 - PGX 4.0

 

Flash 123 - CGC ® 5.5

 

Action Comics 252 - CGC 5.5 (Old Label)

 

Strange Tales 110 - PGX 4.5

 

I took all three out of the slabs as I just couldn't see the purpose of encasing a book in plastic that couldn't be removed. On one trip to the coin & comic shop I had a lengthy conversation with the owner on the value and purpose of getting a book graded by CGC. At this point, all I could see was the monetary gain as these books always seemed to sell for more. I simply figured that the cost of having the book graded was factored into the final selling price and that's what pushed the books into higher realized prices.

 

The owner told me how once a book goes 'out of NM range' within the OSPG, a lot of books sell for astronomical amounts. I asked how one would know that or how could you look that up if the OSPG made no mention of these.

 

He told me that you could research different sites and then he told me there was a site that kept track of all these sales.

 

I didn't know at the time that he was talking about GPAnalysis... http://comics.gpanalysis.com/

 

He then told me about the value of the restoration check by CGC. This was the first time I had heard that a restored book would actually be worth less than an unrestored book in the same grade.

 

As he explained what types of restoration are commonly done on books, it clicked and I could see the value and need of a service as CGC.

 

I think that's close to when I made the decision to come here and get a membership. So with that, I paid my fee, waited to get my 3 free coupons and started posting here.

 

As I looked up my second post, (almost a year and a half after my first post) I had to laugh! I posted it in the Registry section but I did at least mention that I was trying to create one.

 

Complete Newbie and Hello!

 

I submitted my first three books (plus one that was paid for) and it was a very fun process to track...

 

My first CGC books:

 

(Again, I don't own any of these now)

 

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As I made my way through these boards during those first couple of years, I got to communicate with a lot of different and wonderful people. I bought numerous books and sold a lot as well. I was even able to re-purchase some of the books that I sold and later regretted... but then sold once again. :(

 

I learned that some members had themes that they would collect and I always thought that was such a fantastic idea. I had heard about Paratroopers theme and even (if I remember correctly) a fish-in-the-face theme. I didn't think much as a theme being a focus but that would come around soon enough.

 

I do remember my first small focus here though and that was going to be a collection of all the early Captain America appearances or keys. I got pretty far in that one but stopped once I figured I had most of them from Strange Tales 114 to Captain America 100.

 

So this was close to what my collection looked like before I made another move to try and focus my collecting habits further...

 

(Of all these books shown, only the Sensation Comics 12 remains in my collection.)

 

EDIT - MAY, 2014... the Sensation 12 is now sold as well.

 

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While I had these books, my daughter would often come in and sit in the chair to look at these walls of books. We would take turns picking out our favorites from first to second... third and so on.

 

Interestingly, she would pick the Fantastic Four #3 as her favorite which is my favorite early FF book although 4 and 12 are very close.

 

...

 

Something that I've always understood about myself is that comics and drawing have always gone hand in hand. It was the comics that encouraged me to draw and then later on, it was the drawing that encouraged me to find the comics again.

 

These boards gave me an opportunity to get back into trying some serious drawing outside of the daily lunch pictures that I would give to my daughter. I believe it was a couple of years ago that a board member here (DiceX), put together a series of amateur art contests. I entered each one and then even entered one for the CBCA (Comic Book Collectors Association). They were all fun but it only highlighted what part of my issue is when it comes to any 'assignment'... I get way too involved which ultimately slows me down.

 

The amateur art contests here were held about every other week it seems and it would consist of some assignment.

 

For instance on one week it was to redesign Wonder Woman's costume and then another week it would be to show Ghost Rider or Yoda utilizing their powers in some bizarre fashion. And then there was the one where Deadpool's pouches had to be used for something unusual.

 

Like I said, these were a lot of fun to do and gave me an opportunity to meet some other artists that I admired and subsequently purchased pieces of art from.

 

These were my entrees from those contests:

 

 

Yoda using the Force to turn the pages of a comic...

 

(Before Photoshop)

 

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(After Photoshop)

 

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Re-designed Wonder Woman costume...

 

Well, not exactly I guess lol

 

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Ghost Rider using his powers in an unusual manner...

 

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Halloween Monster...

archfinal_zps4e7f9a73.jpg

 

Deadpool using his pouches for something odd...

 

deadpoolfinal_zpsa0a7d327.jpg

 

 

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It happens to all of us...

 

Some unexpected expense comes up, whether it's a car repair or a new appliance, it's bound to happen and on more than one occasion, I had to sell a few books to cover such costs.

 

What I would try to do though, is use those moments as an opportunity to reevaluate my collection and what I was doing.

 

One such moment came up a couple of years ago and it was then, that most of the books shown so far were sold. I was really starting to look at all sorts of Golden Age books and in particular early Superman books. I'm certain that was a result of seeing a board member's (Comicdonna) collection of Action Comics posted.

 

My favorite early Action Comics cover is #15... the Fred Guardineer underwater cover. I was never sure why it was, I just always thought it was such an intriguing piece. As I was starting to sell a few books, I found that Comiclink had a lower grade restored copy coming up in their next auction and I thought to myself that I may actually have a shot at getting it.

 

I had a little idea of what it might go for but I was a bit stuck on what to do. Would I sell off a lot more books than I wanted to initially to be able to buy that book? I knew I certainly didn't have the money to get the book any other way, plus I had other financial issues I needed to attend to.

 

So I sent a message to the boardie whose Action Comics I so admired and asked what he thought of the book and what it might go for. I also explained how I was stuck and didn't want to sell books I would later regret if I didn't win the book.

 

He offered me some great advice and thoughts and told me that Comiclink had a time-pay program so I could bid on the book and if I won it, then I could accumulate the needed funds.

 

That suggestion helped immensely as I called the company and told them what I was looking to do. They told me that there wouldn't be any problem and so I was set to try and go for a big fish!

 

I won the book but with absolutely no room to spare as it sold for exactly what I could absolutely afford.

 

Needless to say, I was thrilled and it made the selling of what I had in my collection up to that point, more palatable.

 

...

 

I didn't realize it at the time, but I had just taken my first step into the water!

 

 

 

(Former Copy)

 

action15med.jpg

 

 

UPDATE: January 2014

 

This is now my current copy which is discussed here...

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7385027#Post7385027

 

 

 

Action15_zps155e1563.jpg

 

 

 

 

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So my focus was shifting towards Golden Age books and there was a point where I thought that it would just end up there.

 

I was looking at more early Action Comics and picked up a copy of #26 and #36... two more of my favorite covers.

 

I was also looking at some Detective Comics and Sensation Comics and thought to myself that maybe I would focus on the DC trinity Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman but only from their parent titles.

 

The only problem with this approach was that there were so many other books that I liked that came out of their self titles as well. Books like Wonder Woman 7 and Batman 11 were strong favorites of mine so I didn't think that this attempt at a focus would work too well.

 

I've always liked Jerry Robinson's work on Detective Comics and yet again through Comiclink, I found another all time favorite that had a lot of eye appeal but happened to be restored as well.

 

I guess I don't have a big issue with restored books.

 

At any rate I picked up a copy of Detective Comics 70 for what I thought was a good price.

 

It's just such a classic cover and actually, the interior story is pretty close to the action on the front cover.

 

(Former Copy)

 

tec70-4_zpsf56431af.jpg

 

 

UPDATE: February 2014

 

 

This (was) my current copy...discussed here...

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7469267#Post7469267

 

(Former Copy)

 

Book was sold in October of 2014

 

detective70_zps8216126f.jpg

 

 

UPDATE: December 2014

 

Current (fill-in) copy... discussed here:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=8223581#Post8223581

 

 

dctec70_zpsdfb85753.jpg

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This Detective 70 has almost all the elements that make up a classic underwater cover that I find so appealing.

 

The single action shot of the main character, sea life (fish in this case) and vegetation, water flows, a sunken ship, treasure chest and some vintage underwater apparatus.

 

The only thing missing is some kind of skeleton or skull.

 

In terms of underwater elements, I think this one compliments the Action 15 rather nicely.

 

I like the colors better in the Action 15 but the rich black areas of this cover give the surrounding colors more emphasis.

 

...

 

Despite this second purchase of an underwater book, it still hadn't occurred to me where I was going with this as I was still purchasing other books that weren't underwater related. Books such as Action 116, Detective 73 and Captain America Comics 14 were some of the other books acquired around this time.

 

Sometime later, it would be a simple GA sales thread that gave me the first inclination that I had a thing for underwater covers.

 

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I just went back to double check on some dates and it also helped me to remember exactly when these next series of events took place.

 

It wasn't a GA sales thread that turned my head, but two separate posts in the Gold section about 2 months apart.

 

This was 2011 and with my mind a little focused on the DC big three, I was looking at some posts in the Gold section of these boards when I decided to go through a rather long thread... I'm not sure exactly which one it was but within that thread, a board member (Skypinkblu) had posted a group shot of all of her Sensation Comics / Wonder Woman books. It was one of those groups shots with the entire floor covered with these books. As I was looking at all of these, one issue just jumped right out at me. I wasn't that familiar with all the issues and covers of Sensation Comics and I couldn't see what number it was exactly but it was an early one. So I went into the cover browser site and looked it up.

 

Sensation Comics #5

 

I didn't recall ever seeing that cover up until then and I was blown away.

 

I just thought it was a beautiful book.

 

So my search began for a nice copy of Sensation 5 but it wasn't looking that good. Shortly after my search began, I found that Metro had just put a copy up for sale and it was within my price range. I think it was $180 and they had it listed as GOOD. I thought to myself that this was the perfect book for me and went ahead and bought it. From their FC scan, I could see the issue with the book as it had water damage along the spine. That didn't really matter to me as the cover and the colors were spectacular.

 

When I got the book, I was very excited but here was something that I had never seen before.

 

Rusty Staples.

 

Okay, not just rusty staples... but staples that were barely there as they had rusted away. That book changed my perception of collecting lower grade books as for the first time, I could see just how much damage water can do to a book and how once the staples are attacked, the integrity of the book goes with it.

 

Here is the book as I received it.

 

sensation5.jpg

 

sensation5bk.jpg

 

sensation5int.jpg

 

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I loved the book but was a bit taken back by the damage. I created a thread on this book and was directed to talk to one of the Restorers on this board (Ze-Man)... I had a very informative and pleasant discussion with him and he informed me of all the actions I could take to preserve the book.

 

I was going to go ahead and send this in to Ze-Man but at the last minute, I decided to hold off for financial reasons. I was very curious as to how CGC would grade a book like this but I knew that these rusty staples were no longer serving a function for the book nor was it benefiting anything.

 

So prior to sending the book in to CGC, I carefully removed the remnants of the two staples. There was very little left, but upon removing the parts, I could closely see just what kind of damage was done to the surrounding papers.

 

It was bad.

 

I sent the book in and a short time later got the book back.

 

I wasn't surprised by the grade but it sure was a nice looking 1.5... lol

 

(Former copy)

 

sc5.jpg

 

 

 

So with this purchase, I noticed that I now had the DC trinity underwater AND it was from the parent titles... I thought that was pretty cool.

 

Although it would be another post in the Gold section, a couple of months later, that sold me on what it was that I really liked and when I first realized exactly where I was going.

 

Oh no. I just realized something...

 

I'm sort of jumping ahead here but the side story to the Sensation Comics 5 is that about a year later, I was contacted by Skypinkblu. She knew about my lowly copy of Sensation 5 and informed me that she was selling her undercopy.

 

It would certainly be an upgrade so I bought the book. The only issue I had with it was a spine roll and I knew that if I submitted the book as is, CGC would most likely put it into a magazine slab due to the dimensions.

 

(That's one of my OCD things I guess... GA books in magazine slabs. I don't think I can explain that one!)

 

Anyways, I had communicated with a board member (MastrCntrlProgram) on another book of mine a few months earlier so I decided to ask what he thought of the book in terms of pressing a spine roll out.

 

Not to get into the controversy over pressing, but I'm a little weary of it although I certainly understand that it's now integrated into the hobby. Up until this point, I had one experience with pressing and after that, I figured that I would just stay clear of it but in this case, I figured this Sensation 5 would be with me for a long time and for aesthetic purposes and to squelch my OCD, I'd have this done.

 

These were the before and after results:

 

SC5BA1.jpg

 

SC5BA2.jpg

 

 

 

I was very pleased with what was done and submitted the book to CGC a short time later.

 

After getting this nice upgrade, I sold the 1.5 copy and now have this one proudly in my collection!

 

The colors in this piece are terrific and it has such an otherworldly or alien feel to it. The fish looks terrifying and the vintage diving suit brings it all together! :cloud9:

 

 

sen5.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2012 was an odd year for me in terms of buying and selling.

 

I knew that I was very attracted to these underwater books and it entered my mind to start a collection of them. I figured I had a nice start from the three that I had and upon seeing someone's Tomb of Terror 16, I learned that there was something pulling me towards these books.

 

At this time, I didn't see this as a focus at all... it was simply an attraction.

 

During the year, I also decided to start a small collection of Neal Adams SS books and had a pretty good start. That was fun to put together but it lacked a certain challenge to me as there were always so many available.

 

An interesting turn of events took place during that year and in the middle of buying all sorts of cool books, I learned that the person who helped me at the beginning of this road (Comicdonna) was going to be selling off part of his collection.

 

To say that the books he put up for sale went quickly... would be an understatement. For lack of a better expression, they flew out the window but I was able to get the bookend to Action Comics 15 and that was Action Comics 96.

 

He explained to me that he bought it raw as a VF/VF+ (8.0/8.5) but it came back as a 6.5. Apparently, there's a light, non-color-breaking crease and he told me that if I was into pressing, it might make a huge difference in grade. I told him that I loved it just as it is and wouldn't be pressing the book.

 

I felt thrilled to have one of his books and like I said, I think it makes a nice bookend to the Action 15 which is the only other underwater cover of that title through the Golden Age.

 

Action Comics 68 and 123 show Superman in the water but I don't classify those as underwater.

 

A little later I'll get into what my criteria is for an underwater cover. I explained this to my friend, Rob and I got a funny look... :screwy:

 

Again, I see the familiar elements that appeal to me:

 

Strange sea life, water flows, vintage aquatic wear and all sorts of various color. From a design standpoint, I like it when the artist uses air bubbles in the composition.

 

 

 

AC96.jpg

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I've tried to think of what might be behind this attraction to these underwater books and I can't point to one thing.

 

I've always loved the ocean and have fond memories of family vacations to Maine and Cape Cod, MA. My father would lounge in the beach chair enjoying a cigar while my mother and I would scour the beach for strange washed up sea shells and creatures.

 

My favorite find was always the horseshoe crab as I thought it looked like a monster!

 

horseshoecrab_zpsbf9d58fc.jpg

 

The movie Jaws certainly had some kind of effect as the terror of the deep might always be right under you but for me, when I was younger, there was something more terrifying.

 

Being a big fan of all the Universal Monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Werewolf, the Mummy... one chilled me more...

 

The Creature from the Black Lagoon!

 

 

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I just remembered something else as I was going though some photos on my phone...

 

About 3 years ago, we took a family vacation down to Lancaster, PA and we stopped into this antique mall that was nearby. Among all the items there, this one piece caught my eye and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I'm not sure of the time period but it was this full body antique diving suit! I think it might've been around $400 and I really wished I had the extra money then.

 

Now that I think about it...

 

What in the world would someone do with a full diving suit?!

 

I'm not sure but this thing was pretty unique to me! :)

 

vintdiving2_zps5d1ea2bb.jpg

 

vintdiving_zps1c2f9fad.jpg

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On second thought...

 

That would've made one heckuva Halloween costume!

 

Anyways, after I purchased the Action 96, another book caught my eye and I'm not surprised.

 

At this point, I thought that I would keep my underwater books to just Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman from their parent titles but I felt I needed to expand that idea as there were far too many other underwater cover books that I had been looking at that really appealed to me as well.

 

As I was just passing through the sales section here, I came across this book that I bought right away. I have a handful of Katy Keene books but this one is certainly my favorite. I think one of the things that I like about the Katy Keene books is that throughout the pages, you'll see that her outfit changes and the new clothing style (as well as other things) being credited to some young reader who submitted the design. I think that was a very clever marketing device and having paper dolls in the comics didn't hurt either... which is why sometimes it's hard to find complete books.

 

For me, this is a great Bill Woggon piece ... you can't get much better than Mermaids! (Is that a crown of seaweed she's wearing?!)

 

And in terms of color and all of the other underwater elements such as the treasure chest, sea plants, fish, starfish and seahorse, it just makes for a fun cover!

 

 

 

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Getting this book officially broke the ice in terms of where my collection would go but there was just one problem... the book was from 1957 and originally I wanted to limit these underwater books to Golden Age.

 

I knew that if I expanded it to Silver Age, I would be in big trouble because then that would get me into all the Sea Devils and Aquaman books as well as the SA Sub Mariner. There are some awesome covers in those respected titles but it would be too overwhelming.

 

So I needed to figure out how I was going to do this but I figured that this book was not that far outside of the typically accepted Golden Age period.

 

 

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EDIT- Book was sold in the 2014 summer sale.

 

The year 2012 closed out with not much to add to my focused theme and at that time, I still hadn't fully identified what my range would be.

 

This changed at the beginning of the new year (2013) as once again, while going through the sales section here, I found someone selling a copy of that Tomb of Terror 16 book that I had seen about 3 months earlier and was very attracted to.

 

The inclusion of the Katy Keene 37 into the collection I was piecing together enabled me to look outside of the DC superhero books, but once I purchased this Tomb of Terror 16, it marked a nice turning point for me.

 

That purchase opened the door for me to buy other PCH (Pre-code Horror) books that fit my interest and that was thrilling to me. I really liked a lot of those PCH books (almost too many) but told myself that I couldn't get into that genre because it looked way too consuming and once I started, I could so easily get lost.

 

So I was very happy with this Tomb of Terror 16, but was this book truly an 'underwater' book? Well, the one figure is shown nearly completely submerged underwater with but a single arm sticking out. About half of the cover was devoted to showing the action underwater and some familiar elements were on display such as water flows, air bubbles and even a skull in this one!

 

So to me, it was an underwater book!

 

This also formulated my criteria for an underwater book and upon telling this to my friend, he summarized...

 

"So, the cover has to show someone dying a horribly agonizing death by drowning..."

 

Okay, well that's just how he is but no, that wasn't the criteria.

 

I figured that at least half of the cover had to depict some type of action occurring clearly underwater. If a figure was involved, the majority of that figure had to be shown fully submerged but a limb or two could be shown out of the water. I thought that was a pretty concise way to identify what I could include in this theme.

 

I had formulated a specific direction and it would be 'unda' water and not 'inda' water... and if someone could recommend a good therapist, I'll certainly consider it! lol

 

 

TOT16_zps9ada2d46.jpg

 

 

I really like the Lee Elias work on this one as he did some really gruesome covers, most notably (I believe) Black Cat Mystery 50 and Tomb of Terror 15.

 

If I remember correctly, the ghoul on this ToT16 is actually a Vampire.

 

 

 

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EDIT- Books were sold in the 2014 summer sale.

 

I decided to go back and look at the DC superhero books again and specifically Sensation Comics. It appears that there is a lot of underwater material between that title as well as the Wonder Woman title.

 

So a few months back, while browsing Comiclink once again, I came across a very nice looking copy of Sensation Comics 83 that certainly fit my criteria as it was absolutely an underwater cover. I don't tend to follow census data that much (I know I should) but I thought it was pretty cool that there's only 6 total graded copies of this book with 2 being higher than this one... a 6.5 and a 7.0. I'm not sure if this is a common book (where simply a lot of ungraded copies exist) or if it's uncommon. I can't recall ever seeing this cover before but that doesn't mean much.

 

It's a fairly simple, but fun, composition with not that much added outside of the main action between Wonder Woman and the Mermen.

 

I do like the various colors on this but it's nothing like the amazing job on Sensation 5... you do see H.G. Peter's almost uniform delineation of the cover by use of the water flows which is similar to issue 5.

 

 

sc83_zpsdebbc68b.jpg

 

 

I didn't expect to find another book within that months auction that I felt I should have! At first, I was just set on getting the copy of Sensation Comics 83 but once I found this Star Spangled Comics 68, I almost couldn't stop going back to look at it.

 

Maybe it had something to do with this big red Octopus staring back at me...

 

I wasn't going to get the Star Spangled 68 but in the back of mind I knew that if I let this one go, most likely I would have a very difficult time finding one again as I figured it would be a cover that I wouldn't forget. As with the Sensation Comics 83, there's low census data on this one as well with only 9 total graded copies and 4 higher than this one... a 5.5, a 7.0 and 2 7.5's.

 

Again, compositionally speaking, it's pretty simple... there's not much peripheral activity to move your eye but I think it's a very effective and well done cover by Win Mortimer!

 

And did I mention, the big red Octopus...

 

 

 

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Edit- 2015... SSC668 back in the collection: http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=8409268#Post8409268

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