SPAWN! A look back at an award-winning collection of graded slabs. 11 11

[AC Skywalker]

On 9/9/2023 at 2:30 PM, newshane said:

SPAWN 199 - CGC 9.9 

Yet another Violator cover in mint condition! Just a gorgeous book all around, and this is STILL the lone top census copy! 

 

This is such an underrated cover, amazing in a 9.9!

[newshane]

SPAWN 203 - CGC 9.8 

I had a very difficult time finding this one in grade. Tough book. One of the last I tracked down. 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 204 - CGC 9.8 

I freaking love Kudranski! Perfect artist for Spawn! Too bad the print runs are sinking to a new low. There was an obvious bump for issue 200, but then things settle back down...quickly. These are some of the more difficult books. 

Looking at the cover...I think about all the damage Spawn has taken over the years. 

 

[LadyDeath]

I often wonder if a 9.8 (or even 9.6) for issue 156 will ever be unearthed.

[newshane]

On 9/26/2023 at 10:53 AM, LadyDeath said:

I often wonder if a 9.8 (or even 9.6) for issue 156 will ever be unearthed.

We have talked about that here. 

I'm pretty bleak on the idea that it will ever happen, but I have been very surprised at the jump in census numbers on some of these issues. I honestly wonder where they came from. 

So, even though I'm of the opinion that we will never see one, I've also learned to never say never. 

[newshane]

SPAWN 205 - CGC 9.8 

My wife was always super supportive of my weird fascination with collecting Spawn. She even encouraged it. She was the one who encouraged me to buy the 185 Sketch, which at the time was by far the most I'd ever spent on a comic. She was quite amused at the way I would handle the books, and was even more amused by the obsessive way in which I would package them for shipment. 

This is probably the book that I most regret selling, for the simple reason that my wife purchased it raw years ago while she was visiting her parents in Indiana. Maybe she just got really lucky, but she actually bought a peerless copy! I sent it off (unpressed) and it came back a CGC 9.8. 

This particular copy is quite sentimental for those reasons. Looking back, it was foolish of me to sell it, but part of the appeal to the new owner was letting it go as one massive (99% complete) 9.8 run. I could have made more money selling them individually, but the cost in time spent packaging and shipping just wasn't going to work for me. I refuse to cut corners when shipping books, and packing, the way I insist on doing it, is quite a process. You can check out my Kudos thread for other people's opinions. 

It would be cool if I could track down this copy again one day. It's not breaking my heart or anything, but it would be cool! Like the man who sells his Camaro as a teenager, only to track it back down decades later. 

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by newshane

[LadyDeath]

On 9/26/2023 at 9:28 PM, newshane said:

We have talked about that here. 

I'm pretty bleak on the idea that it will ever happen, but I have been very surprised at the jump in census numbers on some of these issues. I honestly wonder where they came from. 

So, even though I'm of the opinion that we will never see one, I've also learned to never say never. 

Well said. I recently checked issue 149 and didn't realize it had so many 9.8s.

[captainzombie]

On 9/26/2023 at 8:28 PM, newshane said:

We have talked about that here. 

I'm pretty bleak on the idea that it will ever happen, but I have been very surprised at the jump in census numbers on some of these issues. I honestly wonder where they came from. 

So, even though I'm of the opinion that we will never see one, I've also learned to never say never. 

It would be wild if a 9.6 or 9.8 would see the light of day. I went and double checked my raw copy last night, and its probably a 9.4 at best. If a 9.8 ever surfaces, it would be one Spawn book that could probably fetch in the 4 digit range since it is so rare in a high grade.

[newshane]

SPAWN 206 - CGC 9.8 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 207 - CGC 9.8 

One of my very favorite Kudranski covers. This was a gorgeous book. 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 208 - CGC 9.8 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 209 - CGC 9.8 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 210 CGC 9.8 

This and the next few issues were extremely difficult for me to find back in the day. And I mean these were the toughest of the tough. This is approximately where the print runs bottomed out. They eventually started to climb back up a notch, but this was the valley. 

Michael Golden began a brief run as the cover artist beginning with this issue.. 

 

Edited October 1, 2023 by newshane

[newshane]

SPAWN 211 - CGC 9.8 

This one gave me big time fits back in the day. One of the last I had to track down. Spawn 210-215 were very, very tough! 

 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 212 - MISSING 

Only two books kept me from having a complete set of 9.8s or better. Spawn 156 and Spawn 212. I'm baffled that there are now 10 of these at 9.8. Back in my day, there were none. Where did they come from? I turned the world upside down and could never find one. 

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 10/3/2023 at 10:32 AM, newshane said:

SPAWN 212 - MISSING 

Only two books kept me from having a complete set of 9.8s or better. Spawn 156 and Spawn 212. I'm baffled that there are now 10 of these at 9.8. Back in my day, there were none. Where did they come from? I turned the world upside down and could never find one. 

where did they go? They found cotton eyed Joe!  ::

so close but not necessarily far away!

 

 

Edited October 3, 2023 by ADAMANTIUM

[newshane]

SPAWN 213 - CGC 9.8 

Another Michael Golden cover. To me, his work is pretty lukewarm. While there is nothing to openly despise, there is certainly nothing to celebrate. 

Part of the problem with the Spawn run is the lack of continuity. The book was going through so many stylistic changes during this time that it was hard to establish an identity for the series. One month things would be dark and grim and the next month it would look like a children's book again. Throw in story arcs that were going all over the place with no direction, and it's easy to see why Spawn's popularity was at an all-time low down at your favorite LCS. 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 214 - CGC 9.8 

 

[LadyDeath]

On 10/4/2023 at 1:52 PM, newshane said:

Part of the problem with the Spawn run is the lack of continuity. The book was going through so many stylistic changes during this time that it was hard to establish an identity for the series. One month things would be dark and grim and the next month it would look like a children's book again. Throw in story arcs that were going all over the place with no direction, and it's easy to see why Spawn's popularity was at an all-time low down at your favorite LCS. 

This is my biggest problem with Spawn. Big picture view: great concept, interesting story, complex character.

Close up: lots of exposition, massive retconning, really wordy in some issues, the new reports are a huge waste of time, and so many plot lines go off on a strange side tangent and then just end.

[newshane]

SPAWN 215 - CGC 9.8 

The "vomit" cover.