SPAWN! A look back at an award-winning collection of graded slabs. 9 9

[newshane]

Tonight is my 11th anniversary as a registered member of the CGC boards. 

I've been inspired by other Spawn fans to share my old collection. The set was called "Malebolgia's Gemstones" and won best in set from 2013-2018. In 2013, the set won the "Best Presentation" award. This set also included all of the mini-series and one-shots. A separate set, which only included issues from the main title, won the award for the "Best Modern Age" collection in 2018. That set was called "The Files of Mammon." I've decided to share the larger set with everyone because it included some super cool and super rare oddities that I think the serious collector would enjoy. 

I will start posting the collection tomorrow. I intend to post one issue a day, which will take me over a calendar year. I hope to be consistent, but life may get in the way from time to time, so please forgive me if I fail at my goal. I will begin at issue #1 and will proceed from there until I finish the regular title. After that, we will dig into the sideshows. 

Since I've sold the collection, I will be obscuring the serial numbers of all books out of respect for the new owners, whoever they may be. 

I invite and eagerly welcome any and all commentary and questions, but I do kindly ask that you use the hide feature if you choose to share any images of your own Spawn books. Thank you! 

Here are some highlights from the (Files of Mammon) collection, and a quick peak at the awesomeness to come. Malebogia's Gemstones, the set I will be sharing, is MUCH larger and these statistics only cover a portion of what I will be sharing. 

Set statistics:

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 * * *

This set features signatures and/or sketches from: Todd McFarlane, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Dave Sim, Greg Capullo, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silverstri, Rob Liefeld, David Hine, Steve Niles, Angel Medina, Danny Miki, Michael Golden, David Finch, Jonathan David Goff, Mike Mignola, Brian Haberlin, Skottie Young, Robert Kirkman, Jock, Philip Tan, Sean Murphy, Alex Ross, Gerardo Sandoval, Grant Morrison, Erik Larsen, Paul Jenkins, Jonboy Meyers, John Leguizamo, Kevin Conrad, and Ash Gonzalez.

Set highlights include:

Spawn 1 – CGC 9.9
Spawn 3 – CGC 9.9
Spawn 4 – CGC 9.9
Spawn 9 – CGC 9.8 signed by Neil Gaiman
Spawn 10 – CGC 9.8 signed and sketched by Dave Sim
Spawn 11 – CGC 9.8 signed by Frank Miller
Spawn 16 – CGC 9.8 signed by Greg Capullo and Grant Morrison
Spawn 25 – CGC 9.8 signed by Marc Silvestri
Spawn 42 - CGC 9.8 signed by Kevin Conrad.
Spawn 59 – CGC 9.9
Spawn 62 – CGC 9.9
Spawn 74 – CGC 9.8 signed by Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane
Spawn 81 – CGC 9.9
Spawn 82 – CGC 9.8 signed by Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane
Spawn 97 – CGC 9.9
Spawn 100 Mignola Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Mike Mignola
Spawn 100 Miller Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Frank Miller
Spawn 100 Ross Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Alex Ross
Spawn 104 – CGC 9.8 signed by Angel Medina
Spawn 105 – CGC 9.8 signed by Steve Niles
Spawn 130 – CGC 9.8 signed by Danny Miki
Spawn 145 – CGC 9.8 signed by Greg Capullo
Spawn 148 – CGC 9.8 signed by Greg Capullo
Spawn 150 Sketch Cover – CGC 9.9
Spawn 166 Variant Cover - CGC 9.8 (HTF)
Spawn 169 – CGC 9.8 signed by Brian Haberlin
Spawn 171 – CGC 9.9
Spawn 172 – CGC 9.8 signed by David Hine
Spawn 185 McFarlane “Headless” Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 (rare)
Spawn 185 Sketch Cover – CGC 9.8 (extremely rare)
Spawn 185 Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Whilce Portacio
Spawn 189 Sketch Cover – CGC 9.8 (rare)
Spawn 199 – CGC 9.9
Spawn 200 - CGC 9.8 signed by Michael Golden, Robert Kirkman, and Todd McFarlane
Spawn 200 Capullo Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Greg Capullo
Spawn 200 Finch Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by David Finch
Spawn 200 Lee Variant Edition – CGC 9.8 signed by Jim Lee
Spawn 200 Liefeld Variant Edition – CGC 9.8 signed by Rob Liefeld
Spawn 200 Silvestri Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Marc Silvestri
Spawn 202 - CGC 9.8 signed by John Leguizamo (the actor who played Clown in the 1997 Spawn movie)
Spawn 219 Convention Edition – CGC 9.8 signed by Michael Golden and Jonathan David Goff
Spawn 222 Kudranski Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 (rare)
Spawn 227 – CGC 9.9
Spawn 245 - CGC 9.8 signed by John Leguizamo (the actor who played Clown in the 1997 Spawn movie)
Spawn 250 Capullo Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Greg Capullo
Spawn 250 Jock Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Jock
Spawn 250 Murphy Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Sean Murphy
Spawn 250 Tan Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Philip Tan
Spawn 250 Young Variant Cover – CGC 9.8 signed by Skottie Young
Spawn 253 – CGC 9.8 signed by Paul Jenkins
Spawn 255 - CGC 9.8 signed by Jonboy Meyers
Spawn 258 – CGC 9.8 signed by Erik Larsen
Spawn 259 Sketch Cover - CGC 9.8 signed by Gerado Sandoval
Spawn 260 – CGC 9.8 signed by Erik Larsen
Spawn 265 Gold Sketch Edition – CGC 9.8 signed and sketched (custom, full-figured commission) by Philip Tan
Spawn 265 Red Sketch Edition – CGC 9.8 painted and signed (custom, full-figured commission) by Ash Gonzalez

Edited December 25, 2022 by newshane

[ADAMANTIUM]

happy anniversary and well done!  

[newshane]

SAVED

I will be posting hyperlinks to every issue here in this slot. That way, Spawn fans won't have to keep clicking through scores of pages to find their favorite issues throughout the thread. 

Thanks to everyone who is riding with me down memory lane! This may seem like an act of hubris, but my actual hope is to educate, inspire, and entertain other fans. I'm also pretty sentimental about the character AND this particular collection. I've moved on from Spawn and the "Modern Age" in general, but I feel like the process of going back through my scans will bring me small joy everyday. 

Edited December 25, 2022 by newshane

[newshane]

Okay! Let's get this party started! 

I'm actually going to begin with Malibu Sun 13 - a preview magazine that was commonly given out as a freebie at comic book shops during the early 90s. Many of them were thrown away or mistreated. As a result, finding a copy in this condition is nearly impossible.

I was around 13 years old when I first got into collecting, and my interest in the hobby coincided with the speculation bubble that was rapidly growing at the time. Spawn was "dark" and the character definitely piqued my interest. There was a lot of buzz about Image Comics in those days, and one of the earliest images of Spawn appeared here in the preview mag. 

Other "appearances" that predate the publication of Spawn 1 include an ad in the first issue of Rust, which was published in April of 1992. Spawn 1 and Malibu Sun 13 were both published in May of that year. I also believe that an image of Spawn (a B&W rendition of the cover of Spawn 2) was published on the back of Todd McFarlane's baseball card, which pictured the artist, sans shirt, on his follow through swing.

As a collector, I never bothered chasing down Rust 1 or the baseball card. I don't consider these legitimate first appearances, and neither does the CGC. In fact, many people feel the same about Malibu Sun 13. The reason why I chased one down is because I remember getting this issue when I was a kid. 

For the record, the CGC considers the first appearance of Spawn to be Spawn 1, and that is a correct assertion. 

But many people chase this book as the first "true" appearance, so we will start with this beauty. This was one of my earliest purchases from the board. I cannot recall who sold it to me. I've included the back cover as well because it is another super early image. 

Please note that all of my scans are untouched. I did not play with the contrast to make the colors pop because I felt like that would be ingenuine. 

Here you go! Tomorrow, we will take a look at the first issue in the run. 

 

 

 

[xela_v]

What an achievement, I'm a fan of spawn and has been collecting for a bit but my collection doesn't even touch 10% of yours.

Your set may go down in history unbeaten!

PS: I am still in the lookout of the two issues that you're missing, I still believe there are 9.8 condition of those books somewhere

[Spawnfreak]

On 12/25/2022 at 3:46 PM, xela_v said:

What an achievement, I'm a fan of spawn and has been collecting for a bit but my collection doesn't even touch 10% of yours.

Your set may go down in history unbeaten!

PS: I am still in the lookout of the two issues that you're missing, I still believe there are 9.8 condition of those books somewhere

Which two issues are you missing?

[newshane]

On 12/25/2022 at 6:09 PM, Spawnfreak said:

Which two issues are you missing?

Well I never had a Spawn 64 in 9.8. There are several now, but I had a hard time with this one back in the day because none existed, and I couldn't find a good raw candidate to save my life. Black cover. Polybagged. Tough issue. 

The other one was spawn 156. Impossible book in 9.8. To this day, there are none on the census. I discuss these books in a different thread, and I will address them again here in due time. 

I sold the collection several years ago. I'm no longer collecting this title. 

[newshane]

Tell you what though, if anyone does fine one let me know. 

[Spawnfreak]

On 12/25/2022 at 10:32 PM, newshane said:

Well I never had a Spawn 64 in 9.8. There are several now, but I had a hard time with this one back in the day because none existed, and I couldn't find a good raw candidate to save my life. Black cover. Polybagged. Tough issue. 

The other one was spawn 156. Impossible book in 9.8. To this day, there are none on the census. I discuss these books in a different thread, and I will address them again here in due time. 

I sold the collection several years ago. I'm no longer collecting this title. 

I wasn' t hawking mine, just curious.

[newshane]

Spawn 1 - CGC 9.9 - Mint 

Pristine copy of a legendary book. Started its life in a first gen slab. I think it was a red label, but it's been so long that I cannot recall for certain. I know I had it reholdered. 

I got my copy before the price got ridiculous. Back in the day, you could get 9.9s for a "safe" multiple of whatever the 9.8s were going for. Now it seems like people shoot for the stratosphere by dropping a random number of ridiculous value. 

A 10.0 copy never became available for sale back when I was collecting the run, but I surely would have paid a ridiculous sum of money for it.

I have very fond memories of this issue. Was certainly one of the "must-haves" back in the day. 

 

 

[xela_v]

On 12/25/2022 at 7:32 PM, newshane said:

Well I never had a Spawn 64 in 9.8. There are several now, but I had a hard time with this one back in the day because none existed, and I couldn't find a good raw candidate to save my life. Black cover. Polybagged. Tough issue. 

The other one was spawn 156. Impossible book in 9.8. To this day, there are none on the census. I discuss these books in a different thread, and I will address them again here in due time. 

I sold the collection several years ago. I'm no longer collecting this title. 

156 is the one I specifically had in mind since I saw your post offering bounty for it. I have something close to 9.6 so far but no 9.8.

[newshane]

SPAWN 1 BLACK AND WHITE VARIANT - 9.8 NM/M 

This is the black and white edition of Spawn 1 and was offered as a 1:50 dealer incentive for Spawn 65. This reprint of Spawn 1, featuring new cover art by McFarlane, was produced over five years after the series debuted. 

This was the first Spawn variant of the regular run. I think it was quite notable that Spawn was one of the only series of the early 90s to dodge the "chromachromediecutholographic" trends of the time. There were no Spawn variants or special editions in the early days. I give credit to McFarlane for bucking that trend, but he certainly made up for it later. In many cases, there were a dozen variants for a single issue. Unfortunately, McFarlane is continuing to release variants. The most popular type of variant has been the "black and white" cover, which is usually the same artwork as the "regular" edition. The only difference is the absence of color. 

With this particular variant, however, fans received a fresh image. 

Here is some additional info with a cited source: 

"This was a retailer incentive for Spawn #65 with each LCS getting 1 for every 50 ordered, hence any LCS ordering between 50 and 99 would get one; 100-149 two etc. Spawn #65 had a total print run (world-wide, including News Stand sales) of well over 200,000, with around 180,000 pre-orders to comic shops world-wide. Not every LCS would have ordered exact blocks of 50 hence the actual number of Spawn #1 Black & White variants includes a little guess work."  -recalledcomics.com

I'm not particularly fond of this cover, and I always found these to be a little overpriced, but I do admit that it is a wildly popular book. Here is my old copy: 

*NOTE - any perceived imperfections are the result of an old, beaten-up scanner. The book was jet black and glossy. 

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by newshane

[JoeBrrr]

Amazing collection and posts I love the description behind the books too! Did you ever chase the #1 error version or do you not care as much for it ?  The 9.9 is a true beauty. 

[newshane]

On 12/27/2022 at 1:15 PM, JoeBrrr said:

Amazing collection and posts I love the description behind the books too! Did you ever chase the #1 error version or do you not care as much for it ?  The 9.9 is a true beauty. 

Thanks so much! 

I didn't chase the error version. Why not? I hate to sound silly, but there wasn't a registry slot for it, and the money was better spent funding my registry set goals. 

The mint copy of the first issue is one I should have kept, but hindsight is always 20/20. 

I'll buy another copy one day, but it will be a "mere" 9.8. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by newshane

[oldmilwaukee6er]

Only one time have I come across a BW #1 in the wild (regionally).... it was a VFNM copy for $100 and I flinched. Next time I saw it was around the 600 mark 

[troydivision1]

Apologies in advance if this is a topic you don't want to broach, but what made you decide to sell the collection?
I am always fascinated by the dedication to complete a top ranking goal / achievement and then walk away from aforementioned top ranking goal / achievement.

[newshane]

On 12/28/2022 at 6:41 AM, troy.division said:

Apologies in advance if this is a topic you don't want to broach, but what made you decide to sell the collection?
I am always fascinated by the dedication to complete a top ranking goal / achievement and then walk away from aforementioned top ranking goal / achievement.

I think it's a wonderful question, and I'd be wondering the same thing. Someone in another thread asked me the same question. Here was my response:

Reasons.  

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. 

[newshane]

Spawn 2 - CGC 9.8 - NM/M

One of my favorite covers from the first year of the run. 

Again, please accept my apologies for the quality of the scans. Quite a bit of "noise" on some of these. 

Edited December 28, 2022 by newshane

[newshane]

SPAWN 3 - CGC 9.9 - MINT 

Another banger from the early days. I love the composition and line work. This cover art is superior to the first two issues, in my opinion. 

At some point, I think I had this old red label reholdered. If memory serves correctly, this was a stunner of a copy. Beautiful, even for a 9.9 copy. I never did learn what sort of magic was required for a 10.0 grade, but I'll take 9.9s all day. 

I bought this from a boardie after reaching out to him. I trolled all the registry sets and sent out inquiries for top copies. Thankfully, the seller was willing to accommodate me. 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2022 by newshane

[newshane]

GOT 9.9s?