n2wdw's Tales of the Comic Book Room 15 15

[n2wdw]

Hello all - Thanks to those who reached out to me to see how I'm doing.  I'm fine and my family is good too.  We've dodged Covid so far (we are all vaccinated).  My kids are mostly adults now and on their own (almost).  My wife and I moved to our forever home (where my comics are).  I'm still buying comics but maybe not so much, but maybe because my high bids aren't high enough nearly as much anymore. I'm still hoping to complete my Baker covers set before I retire.  I'm happy to say, though, that I've built up my Pappy collection -- I now have a 10 year, 12, 15 and Family rye. 

Anyway ... here are a few comics I've gotten since the last time I posted.  As always, thanks for reading.

 

 

[n2wdw]

The main thing that threw me for a loop and made me lose interest from posting was, my dog of almost 15 years passed away in January.  This really kicked me in the gut.  I never cry -- part of being Asian I guess -- but I could not stop crying.  Here's a picture of me and my dog, Peekaboo, the day before we had to put her down (she had cancer and was in pain).

 

My wife and I weren't planning to get another dog right away, but the void left by Peekaboo was frankly too much to bear.  Some people said to us that it was a disservice to Peekaboo's memory, that we should mourn her for a while before getting another dog.  They got it completely backwards.  Peekaboo was so big in our lives, that when she was gone, we HAD to get another dog to try to fill the void.  In fact, we ended up getting 2 dogs, so it took 2 dogs to replace Peekaboo.  To me, that's a testament to how incredible Peekaboo was.

Anyway, sorry for the downer posting, but I just wanted to fill in the gap as to why I have not been posting this year.  Here is a picture of my 2 new puppies.  The Dachshund is Bella (Peekaboo was half Dachshund), and the Cavapoo is Daisy.  Thanks for reading.

[jimjum12]

I confess I was wondering about you.... you leave a big hole too, brother. I totally understand now.... thanks for the update. Getting another dog as soon as possible is always what I recommend. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

Here's my little guy... he's only 4 and I'm already dreading that final day.... 

 

[Robot Man]

Hi Mike. Good to see you back. Yeah, losing a pet is like losing anyone you love. It is a part of the deal. We have had to put down two dogs. There just aren’t any words but you got to keep going on. I wouldn’t call your new ones  replacements but more like additions. 

Good to see you are still collecting. I’m reaching the point where I am very happy with what I’ve already got and have slowed down a lot. Prices have just gotton out of hand and availability for what I would still pay up for is pretty unavailable. Still enjoy the hunt and talking comics with like minded people.

Oh, finally finished my Junie Prom run...

[Robot Man]

On 8/28/2021 at 7:51 AM, jimjum12 said:

I confess I was wondering about you.... you leave a big hole too, brother. I totally understand now.... thanks for the update. Getting another dog as soon as possible is always what I recommend. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

Here's my little guy... he's only 4 and I'm already dreading that final day.... 

 

Watch it. If that pile falls on him might be sooner than later....

[jimjum12]

On 8/28/2021 at 10:59 AM, Robot Man said:

Watch it. If that pile falls on him might be sooner than later....

He's faster than gravity... one of his more endearing features  GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[jimjum12]

You should see him spin .... we've had Whirling Dervishes come to the house to sit at his feet and learn  GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[badback83]

Hey Mike.  I’m sorry for your loss.  I know how hard it is.  I’ve had to say goodbye to two cats in the past 2 years (Kenny and Emma) The most recent was Emma, about a year ago.  Only had her for a month.  She had the feline disease that severely impacts her immune system.  The vet said it was essentially feline AIDS.  It’s very tough to say goodbye.  
 

Im really happy to hear that you have a couple new babies.  Here is my new little lady.  Tinsel.  Got her a few weeks before Christmas last year.  
 

[n2wdw]

@Robot Man and @jimjum12 - Thanks for your kind words.

@DocHoppus182 - Nice to see Tinsel among your collection.  Peekaboo would sit with me for hours in my comic book room.  I don't yet let Bella and Daisy in the comic room, as usually they'll poop there!  (Yeah, we're still potty training them.)

 

Shifting gears, I have yet to go to a comic convention since covid.  I've gotten the vaccine but I'm so used now to staying home and buying from my computer, I'm not sure if I can handle a big con like NY or ECCC.  Luckily Baltimore is having its con this year, so I'm going to that one.  Baltimore seems like the perfect size right now, not huge but bigger than a small local fire station con.  I've only been there once before (which is strange since it's close to me), but it still is one of the best cons I've ever been to, in terms of buying comics.

Shifting gears again, if you've read this thread, you know I'm a big Dave Stevens fan, and also a Bettie Page fan as the 2 go together to some extent.  Here is a Bettie collectible that I've gotten that I don't think I've ever posted.  Bettie was the model for the cassette tape of 2-Pump Louie.  I've never listened to the music as I don't have a cassette player, but I suppose Bettie was an appropriate model given the name of the band. 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

[jimjum12]

Here's a little Day Brightener .... GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[n2wdw]

Sometimes You Win By Losing

Gangsters Can't Win # 3 is one of my grails.  I've looked for years for a good looking copy.  Then this week, this copy pops up on Heritage's weekly auction.

I decided to go all in with a $2500 high bid.  Of course, with Heritage's 20% buyer's premium, that would be $3000 if I won.

$3000 is a lot of money, and I immediately began regretting my bid.  This morning when I woke up, the first thing I did (after feeding the dogs) was to check if I won.  I had mixed feelings as the Heritage page loaded.  I'm sure I would be happy if I won, but $3000 is a lot of money. 

Well, I didn't win.  The book closed at $3,400 ($4,080 with BP) so I wasn't even close.  I congratulate the winner, but frankly I am relieved not to win.

 

So far I've tried twice at grading copies.  My first attempt came back 3.0, which was expected -- I just wanted to get a placeholder for the collection.  My second attempt came back 3.5 -- this was kind of disappointing as I was hoping for better - although as I look at it again, I suppose that was too optimistic.  At this point, I feel like this box on my want list has been checked off and I can go after other things.  Thanks for reading.

 

   

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by n2wdw

[mlansdown]

On 9/6/2021 at 11:50 AM, n2wdw said:

Sometimes You Win By Losing

Gangsters Can't Win # 3 is one of my grails.  I've looked for years for a good looking copy.  Then this week, this copy pops up on Heritage's weekly auction.

I decided to go all in with a $2500 high bid.  Of course, with Heritage's 20% buyer's premium, that would be $3000 if I won.

$3000 is a lot of money, and I immediately began regretting my bid.  This morning when I woke up, the first thing I did (after feeding the dogs) was to check if I won.  I had mixed feelings as the Heritage page loaded.  I'm sure I would be happy if I won, but $3000 is a lot of money. 

Well, I didn't win.  The book closed at $3,400 ($4,080 with BP) so I wasn't even close.  I congratulate the winner, but frankly I am relieved not to win.

 

So far I've tried twice at grading copies.  My first attempt came back 3.0, which was expected -- I just wanted to get a placeholder for the collection.  My second attempt came back 3.5 -- this was kind of disappointing as I was hoping for better - although as I look at it again, I suppose that was too optimistic.  At this point, I feel like this box on my want list has been checked off and I can go after other things.  Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

The Promise Collection copy of GCW #3 is certainly nice, but I have to say that between the cover abrasion next to the G in Gangsters, the recessed staple, and the carousel of dust shadows, that 9.2 grade looks like a real gift.  I think you dodged an over-graded book with this one...

[Robot Man]

No kidding. People are obviously blinded by that big number in the upper left corner and consumed by auction fever. $4K is insane even if that book were a 9.2. I really love this issue as well. Here is my copy. I think I paid $40. for it a year or so ago. I'm good with it...

[n2wdw]

On 9/6/2021 at 4:40 PM, mlansdown said:

The Promise Collection copy of GCW #3 is certainly nice, but I have to say that between the cover abrasion next to the G in Gangsters, the recessed staple, and the carousel of dust shadows, that 9.2 grade looks like a real gift.  I think you dodged an over-graded book with this one...

 

On 9/7/2021 at 12:02 PM, Robot Man said:

No kidding. People are obviously blinded by that big number in the upper left corner and consumed by auction fever. $4K is insane even if that book were a 9.2. I really love this issue as well. Here is my copy. I think I paid $40. for it a year or so ago. I'm good with it...

 

 

Yes, I saw those defects too, and I was no doubt blinded by the big number as well.  I think that contributed to my bidder's remorse right after I placed my bid.  On top of that, I personally don't place much value on pedigrees (other than the Mile Highs), so I regretted placing a high bid where some of the price was due to the pedigree.  Again, I'm glad I didn't win.  

[n2wdw]

Recent Additions To Lady In White Collection

Here are a few additions to my Lady in White collections, which are books with covers that have an eerie gothic feel, with a damsel in distress wearing a flowing white gown. For the most part, the only times I grade mags are for this collection, and I'm always struck on how hard it is to get high condition mags.  I think that's because (1) it's harder to store mags, due to their larger size; and (2) the people buying this genre -- monster and scary stuff -- are probably more likely to read and re-read the mags, as opposed to being collectors who might read once then store away. 

I remember as a kid -- this was about 50 years ago -- my uncle used to buy these kind of comics, along with war comics, and he kept them in piles around his favorite lazy-boy and read them to death.  Eventually he would give them to me and my brothers in grocery paper bags.  We stored them for years in the attic -- along with the monster, ghost, and DC war books, there were a lot of early Charltons.  Eventually, as a kid, I sold them to a local dealer for, I think, $40.  I remember my dad was pissed that I had made the executive decision to sell them and pocket the money for myself, but I think secretly he was glad to get rid of them as they were taking up space.  Looking back, I think I got fleeced by the dealer, as he was a college age dealer and I was just a pre-high school kid who didn't know anything about comics except Spider-man.  But I used that $40 to buy more comics so at least I was consistent.

That dealer had kind of a sleazy feel to him.  He was still living with his parents, and every now and then he would sell comics in his parents' garage.  I distinctly remember walking in that garage door and seeing piles of comics stacked in piles on foldable tables.  The dealer called these events "conventions."  Even though I was a kid, I'd been to real conventions by then (in Richmond), so I knew his sales were more yard sales than a real con.  I didn't buy any comics from him, as I collected mostly just ASM at that time.  Like I said, I'd been to the Richmond con by then, and while there I'd bought a stack of 1960's ASMs, so I was getting to know what was good stuff and what was junk.  I eventually sold my ASM collection to another dealer in Richmond, which was another time I got fleeced, but that's another story (when I got into my late teens, I re-started the ASM collection and now it's complete).  Anyway, thanks for coming along with me on this journey down memory lane.

 

 

 

[jimjum12]

I'd like to hear more about your early years as a collector .... and if you're speaking of Richmond, Virginia, I'm right up the road from there and still attend the Cons when I can. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[n2wdw]

On 9/11/2021 at 10:48 AM, jimjum12 said:

I'd like to hear more about your early years as a collector .... and if you're speaking of Richmond, Virginia, I'm right up the road from there and still attend the Cons when I can. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

Yes, the con was in Richmond VA at that round shaped hotel on Broad Street (it's probably not there anymore).  I grew up in Henrico to the west of Richmond. I went to Tucker HS.

I went to UVA for college, and at that time, my dad got transferred so my parents moved to Northern VA.  That was close to 40 years ago, and I've only been to Richmond once since then.  That was about 15 years ago, and things had changed so much I was barely able to find our old house.  The house looked the same though.

I know Richmond now has regular cons but I've never gone, even though I lived in the DC area my entire life since college -- except 3 years ago when we moved to Bethany Beach, DE.

I actually got out of comic collecting and focused on books around that time I sold my Uncle's comics to that dealer.  In fact, thinking back, I probably spent that $40 on books, not comics.  I used to go to used book stores and I still love the smell of old books (and comics).  I collected SF and mysteries. 

In college, I got back into comics.  There was a used records and comic store on the Corner at UVA that I went to all the time.  During the summers, I'd go to small local cons.  When I graduated from college, my collection was about 6 long boxes.  Most were Marvel as I was trying to complete runs of what I call the Original Marvels (ASM, Avengers, FF, Captain America, DD, Thor, Incredible Hulk) -- I'm talking about the titles that began in the 60s, not GA.  It took me over 20 years to complete those titles.

When I graduated college, I still lived in the DC area but I had to work in Atlanta for a month.  While there, I went to Dragon Con, which was the first big convention I'd ever been to.  I remember seeing Wendy Pini walking across the hall dressed as Red Sonja.  She was with Deni Sim (now Deni Loubert), Dave Sim's then wife.  Deni was dressed just as revealing as Wendy, but unlike Wendy, Deni was just kind of out there -- I mean, I got the sense she was acting single even though she was married.  So it didn't surprise me when she and Dave eventually split up.

When I was in my late 20s, my older brother gave his comic collection to me.  He collected DCs (whereas I collected Marvels).  His collection was about 3 long boxes.  That gave me something else to collect.  I don't have the biggies like Action 1 or Detective 27, but I do have Superboy 1, WW 1, the first Legion, 1st Batgirl, 1st Supergirl, stuff like that.  I've also completed long DC runs, like Detective 325-881, Batman 200-713, Superman 150-423, JLA 1-261, etc.

At its biggest, my collection was over 50,000 comics.  But a few years ago, my wife and I decided that we would move to our little beach house in Bethany DE when our kids were out of the house.  In our beach house, I only had a small bedroom for my collection, so I decided to sell a big part of my collection.  I sold a little over half my comics, but I kept all the good stuff. 

I remember going over my collection list a million times, to make sure I kept all the good stuff.  Right before selling those comics, I found Batman Adventures 12 in one of the boxes I had planned to sell.  It was a raw copy but it looked pretty good, so I sent it to CGC and it came back 9.8!  If I sold that comic it would have been a disaster, as I only got about $3000 for all those comics. 

That might not sound like alot for 25k+ comics, but what I was selling was junk.  I sold the comics on Craigs List to a local dealer, but before that, I tried to sell to some of the big national dealers like Lone Star and Mile High.  After seeing my list, they told me they weren't interested -- they didn't even make me an offer.  So like I said, what I sold was junk.

About 10 years ago, I started getting into CGC.  Also, with my big runs finished, I started focusing on keys, GGA and golden age.  I used to focus on titles, but now I'm mostly a covers collector.  At this moment, my collection is 27086 comics.  Ten years ago, I didn't have any CGC books.  Now, I have over 1300 CGC books.  And I mostly only buy graded books, or books I plan to grade myself.  My focus right now is books with covers by Matt Baker, anything Dave Stevens, Bettie Page, golden age GGA (especially what I call Dastardly Bondage covers), and pretty much anything that catches my eye.

So @jimjum12, that's a quick history of my collecting life.  I'd be very interested to hear about yours!

 

 

[Robot Man]

27086 comics? You know exactly? I’m real organized but I gave up counting many years ago...

[Jayman]

@n2wdw I have to say that while I am mostly interested in seeing your collection (which is wonderful), I also enjoy your posts regarding food and drink. Last year or so you mentioned certain bourbons and I decided to sample the Blantons you recommended. It’s very nice! Glad to see you posting again!

[n2wdw]

On 9/12/2021 at 10:43 AM, Robot Man said:

27086 comics? You know exactly? I’m real organized but I gave up counting many years ago...

I have my list in Excel so it's easy to know how many comics I have at any moment.