Full Circle 1 1

[badback83]

I’d like to share a story about acquisition, regrets and redemption.  

It started about about 10 years ago.  I decided that I wanted to purchase an Incredible Hulk 1.  I searched, saved, searched, sold some books and searched some more.  I finally found a copy I was happy with.  It was raw, low grade and priced appropriately at the time.  I called the seller, made the purchase and received the book.  I thought to myself, I’ve done it!  This is the crown jewel of my collection, never to be topped!  Well, apparently that wouldn’t be the case. 

Later the following week, I called one of my favorite stores that is about 45 minutes from where I live.  I just wanted to check in and see if they had anything new and interesting in.  I wasn’t really looking to make another purchase, I just always liked to say hey and see what was going on.  Up until that point, I had made several larger (large for me anyway) purchases from this store and I had a good relationship with them.  The owner informed me that they did indeed have some new goodies in, including a Showcase 4. He informed me of grade and price.  Now, for me at the time, being relatively new to collecting silver age comics, I knew who the Flash was of course but didn’t fully grasp the importance of the issue.  I went home, researched the issue and realized what I might have the opportunity to purchase.  But since I had just made my largest financial purchase on a comic just the previous week, I was hesitant.  

The next day, I went to a friend’s house to hang out.  He is about 20 years older than me.  My buddy dated his daughter when we were in high school, that’s how I met him and found out he has been collecting comics since he was 5.  He’s pretty much my second father.    He also actively collects.  We go to shows and he has pretty much has every Marvel silver and Bronze Age key and several full runs.  Many he bought himself off the rack.  The jewel of his collection is a full run of ASM volume 1, most of which he started buying off the rack when he was very young.  

He hadn’t seen my IH 1 yet, so I brought it.  We sat at the kitchen table flipping through the pages, in disbelief of what we were seeing.  A Hulk 1 at our fingertips!  As we are sitting there, I tell him that our favorite shop just got a Showcase 4.  He immediately said “Dude!  You have to get that!”.  We discussed the importance of the issue and while we are both mainly Marvel guys, except for his love of Superman, we agreed that this was an opportunity to get a book we thought was, for us, unobtainable.  I was still unsure, because again, it would’ve been the most I’d ever spent on a book.  It was priced at a little less than double what I paid for the Hulk.  I said to him that maybe I can sell a few things that I had collected over the years to get it, he agreed it would be worth it.  

That afternoon, I called the store, asked them if they still had the Showcase, they did.  I asked the owner if he could give me a few days to get the money, he agreed.  I went home, gathered some things up, and made a deal with a local dealer who always treated me fairly.  I called the store owner, informed him I’d be coming the next day and so I went.

I arrived at the store, he handed me the book, we discussed the issue and how it was a regular customer of his that sold him some books and that’s where the Showcase came from.  This customer was in the habit of slabbing books and then cracking them out apparently.  He still had the label with the book.  It was a universal 4.0.  Up until that point, I had only submitted a few books for grading and primarily was buying raw.  We completed the transaction, talked for a few minutes more and I went on the drive back home.  Of course, I had to stop by my friend’s house so we could bask in the glory of my new acquisition!  

I submitted the Showcase for grading at the next comic con I attended, along with a couple other books.  I submitted the Hulk as well.  Hulk came back 1.8 and the Showcase came back 4.5!  I was really happy with that, as it was a slight increase to what I purchased the book as (4.0).  At the time I had no idea about cleaning and pressing, although, thinking back, I believe the book definitely could’ve benefitted from it.  There were light bends and creases and some surface “dirt” here and there.  Anyway, in my collection it sat for a couple years.  
 

Shortly after I got the Showcase, I had my first GA experience.  Timely.  Uh-oh.  Basically, I completely stopped buying silver and started buying gold.  Cap, Cap and more Cap.  Now, even though I ended up with probably 10 - 12 issues of wartime Timely comics, it did take a couple years, as I was finding that I could only afford to purchase 1 or 2 issues at a time and they were always lower grade of course, plus many shows I’d go to, there wouldn’t be a single Timely in the room.  I remember I bought Marvel Mystery 15 and 18 the same day from the shop I purchased the Showcase from.  I can’t remember exactly, but I think they were about $500 each (They both came back 4.0 after CGC grading).  

I ended up selling a bunch of books off around   2013-2014.  I was going through some things, not thinking clearly and making decisions that hadn’t really been fully thought through.  Unfortunately, the Showcase was one of them.  While, I did get a good price for it, had I waited, the book almost doubled in price about 6 months to a year later.  I could be off slightly on my timeline, just to be clear.  I sold my Hulk 1 also.  

I always regretted selling those two books.  Not only from a financial standpoint, but more so from a collectors view.  Those two books were my favorite.  I liked everything about them.  The history.  The stories, even though some think they’re a little cheesy.  The covers.  To me, the covers have totally different feels to them.  The Flash, sort of happy and uplifting, bright.  While Hulk, gloomy, scary and dark.  Both books I loved so much.  

Over the next few years, I didn’t buy a whole lot.  It wasn’t until about 2016, I decided I need the Hulk back in my life.  I pretty much gutted the “collection” I still had in hopes of once again finding the Hulk.  Of course, it ended up being about 2.5x the original price I had paid.  I found a CGC 1.8 (not the same copy of course, but same grade) the next state over.  I drove down a little over 2 hours on a Saturday morning and made the purchase.  I felt whole again.  My bud was back.  It jump started my collecting again.  So, here is that copy of the Hulk, which I still have: 

I never could get over letting the Showcase go.  I can’t afford to buy another copy, as the price has more than quadrupled in the grade I had it.  I almost never look at GPA, or copies offered for sale.  It makes me sick to my stomach.  Not just the monetary aspect, but what it meant to me, the importance of the book, how proud I was that I owned a copy.  It’s always been in the back of my mind how dumb and irresponsible I was for letting a piece of history go. 

Last week I got some text messages from a friend of mine that sells books full time.  He sent me pictures of books he just picked up.  Something he does pretty frequently.  Among a few pics of random GA and SA was a Showcase 4. Low grade, but complete.  I told him how nice it was and we chatted a bit.  I jokingly asked if him if he wanted to trade for it, and surprisingly, he said he’d be interested.  Then it got real.  I had just got a few books back from grading that I hadn’t planned on letting go, but was this my opportunity?  I sent him a couple pictures of books I knew he’d like.  He did and, since it was late last Wednesday night, he said “let’s talk tomorrow afternoon”.  I agreed.  I have to admit, I couldn’t sleep that night.  To think, maybe I could get back what I foolishly let go years ago.  Not in the same condition obviously, but that didn’t matter to me. Could this be my chance to finally rectify the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my collecting life?

I woke up the next morning (last Thursday) and went to work.  All I could think about is the negotiation.  Would he like the books I offered?  Could we agree on valuation?  The valuation, I was less concerned about because he always treats me fairly and most of the time we agree on pricing.  I believed that that the situation was also helped out by offering a little cash as well.  Not a lot, but some.  At this point I was almost 100% prepared to let everything go to achieve my goal.  

I called him that afternoon.  I was excited.  I thought surely, this IS going to happen.  We talked for a minute, and then he dropped it on me.  He couldn’t accept any trade unfortunately.  Most of his upcoming shows were starting to get postponed or canceled due to what is going on right now.  He decided to only accept cash.  Not only that, but was offering it at a much lower price than we had just discussed the night before.  Basically for a quick sale.  While I felt sick to my stomach, I totally understood.  It was out of necessity.  And while he did like the books I was offering and under normal circumstances, I’m sure we most definitely could’ve made a deal.  

I’m not a wealthy person.  I have been lucky with what I’ve been able to collect.  I understand that and I’m thankful. Once in a while, I will sell or trade some thing(s) to be able to get something I’d like to have more.  Obviously I’d like to be able to keep everything I get, but it’s just not possible.  

We talked for a few more minutes and then hung up.  Defeated, I thought it was over.  The next hour or so, I was thinking maybe I could sell what I offered to him and use that money to purchase his Showcase.  The problem was time.  He was going to offer it to some other people.  I called him back and asked if he could at least give me that night to attempt to gather the cash.  He said that he would do that for me.  

I knew I had books that people would want, but I was struggling with the idea of taking a loss.  I know that it would be difficult to find someone that would pay that sum of money at once, at least around here.  It would’ve taken a lot of time to sell them individually and I didn’t have that.  So, I added up what I actually have into the books versus what I thought a conservative retail number would be.  I contacted a buddy for mine and after a little negotiation, we made a deal.  He will be able to make some money and I broke even and made just a little.  I consider that a win, especially with what it meant.

I called my friend with the Showcase and proclaimed “Done deal”!  We decided to meet the next day (last Friday) to hang out, complete the deal and have some lunch.  I couldn’t sleep that night.  I felt redeemed after such a long time.  

The next day I went to work, left about noon, which happens once in a while on Fridays and made the 45 minute drive to the restaurant.  My buddy and his wife arrived, we talked for a while, looked at other books he brought and just had some fun.  We talked about that in his experience, how rare the Showcase is in comparison to the other big silver age keys.  Some might think different, but not him.  He said that in his life, since he’s been buying and selling comics, he’s had 30 copies of Amazing Fantasy 15.  He’s only had 3 copies of Showcase 4.  I’ve been thinking about that nonstop.  Of course, there’s no debate that AF 15 is the more expensive book.  I would also concede that the majority of collectors would go for Spidey over the Flash given the opportunity to pick between one or the other.

Anyhow, yes this particular copy has seen better days.  The 2 major issues are that the spine is almost completely blown out and there is a large tear about 3/4 the way through the front cover.  The interior is complete and fully attached.  The page quality is actually quite nice.  The condition doesn’t bother me, as it’s what I could afford.  

I read the book when I got home.  I’ve read the stories before but I had to read MY copy.  So, here it is, the end of a long collecting journey.  I know this was a lot to read.  If you didn’t get bored and made it all the way through, I hope you enjoyed it.  

Maybe now I should put that Showcase run together that I wanted to years ago.  
 

 

 

 

[faster friends]

[oldbsturgeon]

That’s a cool story and glad to hear you got back the books.

 I have always been with the mindset, never regret selling and if you do, don’t sell it. I always wanted a hulk 181, so I bought one in around a 5.0 from a local store. I loved having it, then I wanted some drum stuff and sold it to fund the purchase. I still have the drums and am fine with that decision. Would it be nice to have the book still, sure. But I don’t regret the decision 

 

 

[WolverineX]

Wondeful story and book!  I love it. 

[01TheDude]

I like to think this worked out for you for the better. Yeah-- the first Showcase 4 was a higher grade but it was encapsulated and more of a thing than a comic. Now you have a book you can feel free to read and enjoy. To a raw collector like me-- that is the best of both worlds. 

[WolverineX]

Can't wait to see it with a showcase 22!

[ADAMANTIUM]

Awesome! Story and well written, Glad for your acquisition  !! @DocHoppus182

[slym2none]

tl;dr, next thread!

 

Seriously, great read, and while every story is unique, this one isn't like any I have read around here!

 



-slym

[Real Elijah Snow]

9 minutes ago, slym2none said:

tl;dr, next thread!

 

Seriously, great read, and while every story is unique, this one isn't like any I have read around here!

 



-slym

Condensed version:

Bill sold him a showcase 4. He's happy about it. 

[badback83]

41 minutes ago, Real Elijah Snow said:

Condensed version:

Bill sold him a showcase 4. He's happy about it. 

I figured at least 1 person here would know who sold it.  

[badback83]

1 hour ago, Wolverinex said:

Can't wait to see it with a showcase 22!

Yeah, that will be the next one I think. Definitely not hard to come by, just a matter of what grade and how much.

[badback83]

55 minutes ago, slym2none said:

tl;dr, next thread!

 

Seriously, great read, and while every story is unique, this one isn't like any I have read around here!

 



-slym

Thanks Slym! 

I tend to ramble.  Hopefully it wasn’t too bad.

[01TheDude]

1 minute ago, DocHoppus182 said:

Thanks Slym! 

I tend to ramble.  Hopefully it wasn’t too bad.

I would imagine people responding with TL:DR etc are not the audience you were seeking in the first place. You can tell you wrote that piece from the heart and fellow collectors can relate to that.

[badback83]

3 minutes ago, 01TheDude said:

I would imagine people responding with TL:DR etc are not the audience you were seeking in the first place. You can tell you wrote that piece from the heart and fellow collectors can relate to that.

Thanks Dude.  I understand that the post was probably too long and drawn out.  I enjoy the details.  And you’re right, it did come from the heart and I figured some here might enjoy reading an uplifting story of sorts in a time right now that seems to be very much doom and gloom.

[Real Elijah Snow]

I love details. I think your story is fantastic. 

[badback83]

Just now, Real Elijah Snow said:

I love details. I think your story is fantastic. 

Thank you.  I was thinking all week about if I wanted to share or not.  Furthermore, if anyone would care.  But I thought why not?  If I could entertain 1 person for just a couple minutes, I’d be happy.

[sagii]

Great story! We've all got at least one nail bitter in out travels.

Congrats! 

[Ken Aldred]

2 hours ago, DocHoppus182 said:

Those two books were my favorite.  I liked everything about them.  The history.  The stories, even though some think they’re a little cheesy.  The covers.  To me, the covers have totally different feels to them.  The Flash, sort of happy and uplifting, bright.  While Hulk, gloomy, scary and dark.  Both books I loved so much.  

 

Always great to read an account from someone else who genuinely cares about the comics for their stories and art and not as a speculative commodity.  The books I've purchased since joining the boards have all been about that same personal connection in some way rather than analysing how they're trending financially.  It's coincidental that a few of them have done well price-wise because of the films.

Congrats on the books, and the amazing sense of achievement, satisfaction and closure expressed in your post.

[Ken Aldred]

11 minutes ago, DocHoppus182 said:

Thanks Dude.  I understand that the post was probably too long and drawn out.  I enjoy the details.  And you’re right, it did come from the heart and I figured some here might enjoy reading an uplifting story of sorts in a time right now that seems to be very much doom and gloom.

Not at all. You've got a lot there to be enthusiastic about.  

[badback83]

4 minutes ago, Ken Aldred said:

Always great to read an account from someone else who genuinely cares about the comics for their stories and art and not as a speculative commodity.  The books I've purchased since joining the boards have all been about that same personal connection in some way rather than analysing how they're trending financially.  It's coincidental that a few of them have done well price-wise because of the films.

Congrats on the books, and the amazing sense of achievement, satisfaction and closure expressed in your post.

Thank you Ken.  I can’t lie.  I do think about the financial side of collecting sometimes.   But more often than not, my collector side takes over.