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Spawn Goodness - Low Print Spawn
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21 posts in this topic

Hey everyone !

I just wanted to start a thread about how much I love Spawn. Been collecting since the 90s and went probably 25 years without touching a Spawn book. Recently starting reading the entire series and can't get over how amazing and fun Capullo's art is. 

I recently bought a copy of #243, which is supposedly the lowest print run of all the books. I'm curious what people's thoughts are on how collectible the lower print run stuff is, esp with the sheer potential of how amazing a Spawn reboot could/will be. You all think these have a lot of room to grow? 

 

Also, what are your favorite issues , covers, variants, story arcs, etc.

For Wanda !

 

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Here are some more stats:

Grade of 9.9 - 12 comics (3%)
Grade of 9.8 - 333 comics (96%)
Grade of 9.6 - 3 comics (1%)
Signature Series - 40 comics; three original sketches; 32 artists and writers are represented.

Universal Grade - 88% of the run
Signature Series - 12% of the run
Restored - 0%
Qualified - 0%
Conserved - 0%

* * * With the exception of two missing issues, this set represents the full Spawn run (including all variants) from issue 1 to issue 275 * * *

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Wasn't there also an informative website that explained some 1st cameo ads or some such, along with some of the issue stats?

I don't have it bookmarked, but if someone could tag the boardie? :shy:

 

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On 12/12/2022 at 8:24 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

Wasn't there also an informative website that explained some 1st cameo ads or some such, along with some of the issue stats?

I don't have it bookmarked, but if someone could tag the boardie? :shy:

 

http://www.spawnworld.com/

A boardie runs it. @Lobstrosity

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On 12/12/2022 at 9:13 PM, newshane said:

http://www.spawnworld.com/

A boardie runs it. @Lobstrosity

And bookmarked, thank you!

I was kind of around when you sold, I believe there was a mycomicshop involved, I remember what ideas you had and wreslted with on timing, value, and time of opportunity.

I just mention it, cause though not a lot have mentioned, we remember, those awards were well deserved, and I'm glad that you made all that headway at something you were passionate about.

I just thought I'd mention, with all the current events that your passion was not lost to time :cheers:

 

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Love Spawn! It's been a staple of my collection since the beginning, the various newsstand issues marking the times I've moved or an LCS closed. 

I really enjoyed Newshane's pursuit of the 9.8+ set and I remember his bounty on a HG #156 reaching 80+. That book is tough in HG. 

Here's my monster number... 528. I try for raw NM+ and only have 3 Spawn slabs (100 Ross, 150 Lee & 151 SS Medina/Perez)

590532742_Screenshot_20221213-072708_CLZComics.thumb.jpg.e10369b6695da3cdf135b7d4e1131267.jpg

Edited by oldmilwaukee6er
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I can definitely tell you that 156 is the toughest issue to find in high grade. It always eluded me. I just checked the census, and apparently it has still eluded everyone else, even after all these years. 

I privately offered a ridiculous bounty to several dealers. It didn't matter. 

One very popular dealer here told me that "I can't find one if it doesn't exist." 

I believe he is correct. 

Far as print runs go? I'm not sure 243 is the lowest. I don't think that's correct. 

Looking back, it seems like the Philip Tan and Kudranski eras seem to be the most difficult to find. 

Issue 64 was also very tough. It was a polybagged issue with a black cover. Back in the day, there were no 9.8s, and I was having a beast of a time finding one. Looks like there are a few on the census now. 

Spawn 212 was a beast as well. Very tough book. 

Those are the three that stand out in my memory as the toughest books to find in grade. 

 

 

 

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On 12/13/2022 at 11:06 AM, newshane said:

I can definitely tell you that 156 is the toughest issue to find in high grade. It always eluded me. I just checked the census, and apparently it has still eluded everyone else, even after all these years. 

I privately offered a ridiculous bounty to several dealers. It didn't matter. 

One very popular dealer here told me that "I can't find one if it doesn't exist." 

I believe he is correct. 

Far as print runs go? I'm not sure 243 is the lowest. I don't think that's correct. 

Looking back, it seems like the Philip Tan and Kudranski eras seem to be the most difficult to find. 

Issue 64 was also very tough. It was a polybagged issue with a black cover. Back in the day, there were no 9.8s, and I was having a beast of a time finding one. Looks like there are a few on the census now. 

Spawn 212 was a beast as well. Very tough book. 

Those are the three that stand out in my memory as the toughest books to find in grade. 

 

 

 

OMG, thanks so much for commenting everyone. That's amazing. When did you sell it and why? 

And why is 156 the hardest one to find in high grade? 

I've learned so much in so little time ! :)

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On 12/15/2022 at 4:18 PM, yoda12288 said:

OMG, thanks so much for commenting everyone. That's amazing. When did you sell it and why? 

And why is 156 the hardest one to find in high grade? 

I've learned so much in so little time ! :)

I sold it back in 2017 IIRC. 

Reasons. hm 

1. The joy was in the hunt. The thrill was the journey. By the time I arrived at the destination, I was exhausted and had no desire to look back. 

2. The sheer size of the collection was very cumbersome. Around 450 slabs. At one point I had an entire room in the house stuffed with slabs, collecting supplies, packing supplies, and boxes from the numerous shipments I would get on a near weekly basis. Eventually, it strangely became a source of anxiety. 

3. My daughter was born that year, or maybe it was when my wife was pregnant. I can't recall, but family takes priority. I think I ended up breaking even on the collection, which is amazing when I think about how much I overpaid (at the time) for some large swathes of the collection. It was nice to have spendable money vs. a badarsse collection. 

4. I got really, really frustrated chasing the variants and trying to keep up. It got ridiculous. There was least one variant every single month there at the end; sometimes there were several variants. It was eating up a lot of cash that could have been better spent elsewhere. 

5. I was starting to open up my eyes to the joy and wonder of Golden Age collecting. The variant game left a really sour taste in my mouth, and I'll probably never go back to collecting moderns. 

I think that covers it. 

Do I regret it? Even though I know it was the wisest choice at the time, I do regret it. I don't want to talk up the collection anymore than I already have, but it truly was an incredible run. It was always my goal to put together a collection that was literally historical - preserving the title in mint form for the sake of posterity and the long haul. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

RE: 156. Why was it the hardest? I don't know, exactly, but I do know that it was the hardest. Hands down. No argument. That was my experience, and I'm quite certain that I was the most vigilant Spawn hunter in the world for several years. I just couldn't find one above 9.4 NM. Again, I also had people looking all over the world (literally) for one. Here are some possible reasons:

1. Print runs were starting to bottom out. 

2. Most of the book is pure black. This makes all the flaws stand out. The flaws on a black book really impact the overall look and "spirit" of the book because they are so much easier to spot. This is what makes MANY issues difficult. 

3. IIRC, the cover stock changed during Tan's run. I think the quality and feel of the paper was a little flimsy compared to other eras. 

4. Interest in Spawn had pretty much bottomed out because Todd had been absent for many years at that point. It just wasn't one of his priorities. He had hundreds of millions from his toy company, so I guess I get it. But Spawn, as a character, suffered. As a result of this lack of interest, people just weren't collecting and taking care of these issues. It's a SHAME because this is one of my favorite runs in the whole series. Tan was amazing. 

Since I'm all sentimental, I may begin a thread in Modern where I share each issue...one by one. I still have scans of them all. I will black out the serial numbers out of respect for the new owners, whoever they may be. I think it would be fun! Stay tuned. ;) 

 

Edited by newshane
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Cool to hear the love for Spawn. Personally, I think the writing's always been weak but the art has been great. My favorite bits of writing were the Tan/Miki and Larsen runs. Some pretty cool stuff going on. The Jim Downing era didn't click for me. All read too slow for a book built on punching cyborg apes.

To echo 156, it's funny, I just got back 153, 154, and 155 in 9.8 from CGC today. But didn't send my 156s because they weren't close. I've never seen one without spine ticks.

I've got the whole run except for 245, 249, and 263. I second the variant stuff though. It's really getting out of hand and turning me off getting them even at preorder discount prices.

I bought those signed variants of King Spawn 1, Gunslinger, etc. and may kick myself in the future. Don't think they're going to hold value in the long run. They do look nice though.

At least it's all motivated me to keep working on this McFarlane book I've got in the works at a scholarly press. Hope to have it out this Fall.

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On 12/16/2022 at 6:35 AM, lightninglad said:

Unless I missed it, I didn’t see the Spawn / Savage Dragon “As Seen on TV” newsstand. I’ve seen commented that there were only 300 copies. That’s seems insanely low. Does anyone have any info on it?

The listing for it is found here:

http://spawnworld.com/books/crossovers/savagedragon/spawnsavagedragon01.htm

There are no official print run stats, but in my experience, there are likely a lot more than 300 copies of this book. It's not common, but if you want a copy you can find one.

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On 12/12/2022 at 8:24 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

Wasn't there also an informative website that explained some 1st cameo ads or some such, along with some of the issue stats?

I don't have it bookmarked, but if someone could tag the boardie? :shy:

 

 

On 12/12/2022 at 9:13 PM, newshane said:

http://www.spawnworld.com/

A boardie runs it. @Lobstrosity

Thanks for the tag @newshane!

@ADAMANTIUM if you're specifically looking for the info on the pre-release ads, you can find my timeline here:

http://spawnworld.com/features/firstappearance.htm

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No problem, Trent! I hope all is well with you! 
 

Trent is the leading Spawn expert, and his website was a tremendous help as I built my registry set. He gave me permission to quote or paraphrase some of the synopses that I used in my set the year I won best presentation from the CGC. Super great guy and a true godsend to Spawn fans. I highly recommend his website. :headbang:(worship)

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Wow, everyone, I've learned so much in so little time since starting this thread! 

@newshane, thanks for your response. I totally get that the hunt is what makes it so fun and exciting but family does come first so respect. :) I'm still trying to process exactly what all you had and the epic scope of it. In a way I feel like some of the Spawn stuff that's lower print run and iconic will age very well. send along any links you have of the collection, pics or whatever. Would like to see .

And wow, @Lobstrosity, kudos on that site. It's a great resource.  

Any recommends on next books to pick up as holds? I want to pick up some that I personally like because of cover appeal, interior art, or story regardless of collectability. But I want to slowly start getting more of the low print stuff before it gets out of reach for my broke self because I feel like these books are going to shoot up even more once the movie starts coming along. I know, I know, it's supposedly been coming out for like 15 years now lol 

 

 

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On 12/16/2022 at 3:41 AM, jazawlacki said:

Cool to hear the love for Spawn. Personally, I think the writing's always been weak but the art has been great. My favorite bits of writing were the Tan/Miki and Larsen runs. Some pretty cool stuff going on. The Jim Downing era didn't click for me. All read too slow for a book built on punching cyborg apes.

To echo 156, it's funny, I just got back 153, 154, and 155 in 9.8 from CGC today. But didn't send my 156s because they weren't close. I've never seen one without spine ticks.

I've got the whole run except for 245, 249, and 263. I second the variant stuff though. It's really getting out of hand and turning me off getting them even at preorder discount prices.

I bought those signed variants of King Spawn 1, Gunslinger, etc. and may kick myself in the future. Don't think they're going to hold value in the long run. They do look nice though.

At least it's all motivated me to keep working on this McFarlane book I've got in the works at a scholarly press. Hope to have it out this Fall.

Totally agree with you on the writing. It has been some of the weakest at times, but the art is insanely beautiful. I got back into collecting about 2 years ago after being a lapsed collector for 15 years. Spawn was one of the titles I went back to to collect. Instead of trying to get the whole run like I was, I switched focus and started hunting down the keys. I did send in plenty of the homage issues from the early 200's and got 9.8 on those. My focus is now to just get the Spawn keys and keep hoping the 1st appearance of GS Spawn (already have 119 in 9.6, but looking for 174 in 9.8) does drop a bit to add that. 

Gunslinger has become one of my biggest favorites to come out of this series.

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Gunslinger is a great character. Sent off two 174s and got a 9.6 and 9.8 back. Beyond pleased. Also sent 119s and got a 9.6 in newsstand and a regular in 9.8.

I'm curious if Scorched, King, and Gunslinger will maintain their popularity. I think if they hit 100 issues it would speak a lot to the characters and the staying power of Spawn. I keep thinking of Dave Sim's Cerebus as a point of comparison and how no one really collects it except for the early issues. Would that happen to Spawn if McFarlane steps away again? Not to sound morbid, but what happens to the character when he dies?

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