tth2 Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 16 hours ago, Crowzilla said: 20K would have bought any book in the late 70s. Just ask John Snyder. And would have brought you heap loads of scorn for spending so much money on comics. Just ask the Dentist. rob_react 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageComics Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 21 hours ago, rob_react said: here's a larger version of the scan. I got the grader's notes. I believe it was graded harshly at the time and has easily improvable issues ("finger bends" on the back cover being the most obvious) What a stunning book. I know you can't judge a book by a scan (especially from a front scan only) but that book wouldn't look out of place in a 9.2 holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 23 hours ago, sfcityduck said: Personally, I'm not going to be shocked when it turns out that the 8.0 Mastro was upgraded to 9.2 back in 2014. Wasn't the Action 1 upgraded about the same time? 21 hours ago, rob_react said: 23 hours ago, buttock said: I've never seen that image of the Mastro copy, and boy does it look better than 8.0. here's a larger version of the scan. I got the grader's notes. I believe it was graded harshly at the time and has easily improvable issues ("finger bends" on the back cover being the most obvious) 31 minutes ago, VintageComics said: What a stunning book. I know you can't judge a book by a scan (especially from a front scan only) but that book wouldn't look out of place in a 9.2 holder. Have any of you guys considered the possibility that the simplest and most logical explanation sometimes is the real one and that there might really be no mystery at all? Don't you simply love old label goodness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageComics Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 1 minute ago, lou_fine said: Have any of you guys considered the possibility that the simplest and most logical explanation sometimes is the real one and that there might really be no mystery at all? That is what people are actually saying between the lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 2 minutes ago, VintageComics said: 4 minutes ago, lou_fine said: Have any of you guys considered the possibility that the simplest and most logical explanation sometimes is the real one and that there might really be no mystery at all? That is what people are actually saying between the lines. You guys are just so polite and diplomatic all the time which is so un-Trump like in this politically incorrect day and age. I just find it so much easier to read the actual lines themselves as opposed to reading between the lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 56 minutes ago, lou_fine said: Don't you simply love old label goodness. Maybe we should all look for these old label goodness to see if there is any potential for their grades to be bumped up a few notches. For example, if we look at the first 6 pages of the current CC auction sorted by Highest Price First, it looks like there are 5 GA books or only about 3% in there with the old style labels. A copy of Adventure 40, a couple of Timelys, and a couple of early Fox books, with a few of them still running at a substantial discount to guide. Maybe an opportunity here if people forget to bid at the end? Hm.......that Subby 13 looks quite tempting, but too pricey for my shallow pockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_react Posted September 6, 2017 Author Share Posted September 6, 2017 On 9/5/2014 at 10:48 AM, rob_react said: Okay, at this point I think the official information on this book is going to be what we've seen. Just an entry in the census. The possibilities for this book are as follows (in order of likelihood as I see it): It's the FN68 copy returned from a 21 year vacation It's the missing Mastro copy upgraded to a borderline 9.2 (in a combination of being harshly graded initially and likely pressed to get rid of the "finger bends" mentioned in the notes) It's a new, unknown book. We haven't speculated much on this possibility since there's nothing to speculate about I'd love to know for sure one way or another. Some day... If I'm supposedly avoiding the fact that this book was pressed I'm doing it in a funny way by saying the book was likely "pressed" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_react Posted September 6, 2017 Author Share Posted September 6, 2017 Also, when I say "easily improvable" I'm not talking about magic or wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_react Posted September 6, 2017 Author Share Posted September 6, 2017 There I go dancing around the issue again: Quote It's the "missing" Mastronet copy returned from its vacation and pressed up to a 9.2. Looking at the scan that follows and checking the grading notes it's a possibility. It was graded harshly at the time (just look at it!) and had some pressable defects (non-breaking "finger creases", etc.) As with the FN68 copy, this book would move from off the list (as an 8.0), up to #3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowzilla Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 3 hours ago, VintageComics said: That is what people are actually saying between the lines. Would certainly explain why Mastro has said he can't find the 8.0 copy anymore - because there's not one to find. And totally agree. If that very light crease at the bottom right could be made to vanish, very easy to imagine this in a 9.2 holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tth2 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 5 hours ago, Crowzilla said: Would certainly explain why Mastro has said he can't find the 8.0 copy anymore - because there's not one to find. And totally agree. If that very light crease at the bottom right could be made to vanish, very easy to imagine this in a 9.2 holder. So the 9.2 Tec 27 previously sat in a 8.0 holder, and the 9.0 Action 1 previously sat in a lower grade holder. Are we finally at a stage where there really are no more "fresh to market" high grade copies of mega keys anymore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_react Posted September 7, 2017 Author Share Posted September 7, 2017 17 minutes ago, tth2 said: So the 9.2 Tec 27 previously sat in a 8.0 holder, and the 9.0 Action 1 previously sat in a lower grade holder. Are we finally at a stage where there really are no more "fresh to market" high grade copies of mega keys anymore? One thing- we don't know for a fact that this copy is he missing Mastro copy. It just seems (to me at least) to be the likeliest scenario. Of course, the second most likely scenario is that it's a copy that sold in the 1990s, so that's not a new copy either. But, we really don't know that this is the Mastro copy. As was pointed out, t might just be a promotional image put together with the Mastro scan. As for fresh-to-market books, if you mean "new to the hobby" then I think we're near the practical end of that possibility. We're looking at a 90-year old original owner for an Action 1 bought at 10 years old. It's still possible, but we're pushing it to the limit these days. I think (hope?) there will be some surprising collections that come out of early (1st and 2nd generation) fandom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfcityduck Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 1 hour ago, tth2 said: Are we finally at a stage where there really are no more "fresh to market" high grade copies of mega keys anymore? Did you miss the last Darren Adams eBay auction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowzilla Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 1 hour ago, tth2 said: Are we finally at a stage where there really are no more "fresh to market" high grade copies of mega keys anymore? All Star 8? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfcityduck Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 1 hour ago, rob_react said: I think (hope?) there will be some surprising collections that come out of early (1st and 2nd generation) fandom. I think that's a certainty. At this point, the term "fresh to the market" really means to many "not in a CGC holder," and there's no doubt that there are many "mega keys" that haven't been entombed yet in the collections of early collectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batman_fan Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 I thought the CPR game was a large part of the Comic dealer market these days. Given you no longer need to own a store or drag tons of books from con to con. You just need to do lots of box diving for books that can be pressed/dry cleaned and sold for more. There are so many venues to sell through now someone just needs a loaf of Wonder bread, press, and scanner and you are in business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, batman_fan said: I thought the CPR game was a large part of the Comic dealer market these days. Given you no longer need to own a store or drag tons of books from con to con. You just need to do lots of box diving for books that can be pressed/dry cleaned and sold for more. There are so many venues to sell through now someone just needs a loaf of Wonder bread, press, and scanner and you are in business. No, box diving is too too much work and hard on your back. As we have seen from the Jon Berk Auction, as a comic book dealer these days, all you need do is sit back in your easy chair, zoom in on your scans, be astute and then selectively bid away in order for your profits to follow. Edited September 7, 2017 by lou_fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearmint Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 On 9/6/2017 at 10:05 AM, VintageComics said: What a stunning book. I know you can't judge a book by a scan (especially from a front scan only) but that book wouldn't look out of place in a 9.2 holder. You really think so? The color loss on the spine and the 1" crease on the bottom right corner would really bother me in a 9.2 holder. jimbo_7071 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1koko Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 7 minutes ago, nearmint said: You really think so? The color loss on the spine and the 1" crease on the bottom right corner would really bother me in a 9.2 holder. Was thinking the same jimbo_7071 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 54 minutes ago, nearmint said: On 9/6/2017 at 10:05 AM, VintageComics said: What a stunning book. I know you can't judge a book by a scan (especially from a front scan only) but that book wouldn't look out of place in a 9.2 holder. You really think so? The color loss on the spine and the 1" crease on the bottom right corner would really bother me in a 9.2 holder. 46 minutes ago, 1koko said: Was thinking the same Yes, but isn't that the CGC 8.0 scanned copy you are looking at and not the 9.2 graded copy? What if the 9.2 graded copy took care of some of these issues or made them less pronounced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...