Signature Series unboxing

[wardevil0]

Thanksgiving weekend hullaballoo

 

Hello all, I hope everyone had a Thanksgiving weekend that was happy and enjoyable in their own way. One of very few drawbacks to mine was that my CGC submission was attempted to be delivered the day we left to visit family, so all I had was the little orange slip to pick them up later. Sigh.

 

Over the weekend I did a little shopping, and was surprised to find some Defiant Comics binders in an antique mall. I picked up two Plasm 0 Premiere Editions with card sets, and passed on a Dark Dominion binder with no cards. I think these may be the only two Premiere Edition Plasm 0 binders I've ever actually seen. If I remember correctly there were brutal allocations and although I had pre-ordered I only had an option for the Second Edition. Two decades later, I got them cheap.

 

We returned home to find several parcels awaiting rescue, including two slabbed books from mycomicshop.com auctions, one eBay win, a few raw books from mycomicshop.com, and my order of CGC frames from Gweedo's Showcase. I haven't opened those up yet, pics to follow.

 

But, the main event was the CGC shipment which I picked up on the way home from work yesterday afternoon. I had submitted five books for Signature Series at Baltimore (unknowingly intermingled with several journal mainstays). The books I took were as follows:

 

Justice League #1, to be signed by 3 of the 4 main creators-Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire. I bought this copy just as Max Lord was having a bad day in Wonder Woman #219. I thought the book looked pretty solid, and estimated a 9.6. I was surprised to find it a 9.2, but I can see previously unnoticed creases on the back cover near the spine at the bottom. I don't know if these were there all along and I missed them or if they happened during the signing. No big deal; I'd rather have a book with three sigs that presents so well on the front regardless of condition. Maybe if I can find Terry Austin at a signing I'll send it through CCS with all four main names.

 

Strangers in Paradise (Abstract) #1

Strangers in Paradise (Abstract) #3 to be signed by creator Terry Moore. I bought both of these new off the rack back in 1994 after hearing good things about the series and the previous 3 issue Antarctic Press miniseries. I liked them okay, but didn't pick up the book to follow and left comics altogether a few years later. It was tough to be a comics fan in the late 90s. Anyway, since I'd had them for nearly 20 years I expected them to be a little rough and estimated 9.4 for each. I got a 9.6 on #1 and a 9.4 on #2: excellent.

 

Uncle Scrooge #219

Uncle Scrooge #285 to be signed by creator Don Rosa. These two are significant keys for a Don Rosa Uncle Scrooge collection. US #219 is the first major comics work by Don Rosa (other than newspaper strips). I'm impressed by the fact that on his first job for Gladstone he was able to write and draw the whole story and the cover; no try-out run for him! US #285 is Part One of his opus "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck," which is a truly impressive saga that attempted to gather all the previously disparate stories done by The Good Duck Artist, Carl Barks, and tell a cohesive narrative. They had never originally intended these stories to be in-continuity per se, so there were always inconsistencies. Was Scrooge in the Alaska Gold Rush or the Spanish American War in 1898? Both? Don Rosa threaded together the references to Scrooge's family and history to take him from the little shoe-shine boy who earned Number One Dime to the grizzled miser he was in his first appearance in Christmas on Bear Mountain. No mere "funny animal" book, this is solid storytelling. The #219 I bought as a slabbed 9.8 and could only hope that it maintained grade; the #285 I bought off the shelf at the same place as the Strangers in Paradise back in the day. I estimated a 9.8 and 9.4 respectively, and nailed it.

 

A photo array for your amusement...

 

See more journals by wardevil0

[SW3D]

Looks like TG was very good to you. It's a Bonanza!

 

I was going to get Keith Giffen's signature on several books, but he cancelled his appearance at NYComicCon.

 

I've been meaning to read Strangers in Paradise. I heard so many good things about it but always got sidetracked by other titles... will have to look for a TPB.

 

The Don Rosa signatures are sweet! I don't see he name pop-up that often. I would love to get one of his famed pedigrees and have him sign that.

 

Looking forward to see what you got returned from CGC.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

SW3D

 

[wardevil0]

The one thing that I'm kind of disappointed in is the lack of informational notes on these. Out of these five books, the only item worth noting is "1st app. of Maxwell Lord (Black King)?" Nothing on the first Don Rosa work, nothing on "Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" part one, nothing on Strangers in Paradise at all. Oh well, I know what they are and I don't plan on selling them so I guess it doesn't matter.

 

Twenty years ago I kept a list of all my comics in a generic spreadsheet and every single comic had something in the description box, usually based on the Comic Values Monthly or Wizard style. I: Introduction of a character, 1st: work by a creator, V: versus in a prominent fight, A: appearance of a guest star, etc. Even if I could only write "A: Alfred" in a bland Batman comic I always put in something. I suppose this philosophy is not universally shared...

 

I'll add a little about the two books I got from mycomicshop.com tomorrow maybe. Doing the journals is conducive to adding photos and descriptions to my registry sets, kind of a two-for-one.

[roninduelist]

That #219 is a difficult book to get in 9.8 and Signature Series too?...congrats.

[SW3D]

I may or may not have been vocal about CGC missing the boat on Key Comment details.

 

I really don't know what gives... but like you said, at least you know why they are keys... however, for the misinformed, some keys like this might accidentally slip out of the hands and grasp because they didn't realize it's historical importance. I would like to see the CGC improve on these matters by doing more research before the final label is printed.

 

I also agree with you 100 percent, writing journals for each comic does kill two birds.

 

Looking forward to reading more of your gems!

 

SW3D

[wardevil0]

I think we did recently discuss writing notes on the back of the backing board and/or invoice, but unfortunately I'll have three more invoices return before I'm able to put that theory into practice.

 

 

[Lee K]

I put a boatload of notes on my last submission. They were universally ignored. Don't waste you efforts.

 

Lee K

 

Oh, I forgot the good part, congrats on your books!