SPAWN! A look back at an award-winning collection of graded slabs. 10 10

[Poutine]

On 12/29/2023 at 12:35 PM, LadyDeath said:

Is that what this is? I have a LD slab where the book is floating in place with no inner well. Thought it was a QC error.

https://d3nvbf5pqk2vjh.cloudfront.net/cgccomics/monthly_2023_01/1724296751_s-l1600(1).jpg.ab07fa1b9e8fc7523076742666fd7ab8.jpg

As been pointed out earlier, that is the "creep engine" design that has damaged books over time

[newshane]

On 12/29/2023 at 1:35 PM, LadyDeath said:

Is that what this is? I have a LD slab where the book is floating in place with no inner well. Thought it was a QC error.

https://d3nvbf5pqk2vjh.cloudfront.net/cgccomics/monthly_2023_01/1724296751_s-l1600(1).jpg.ab07fa1b9e8fc7523076742666fd7ab8.jpg

yep

[newshane]

SPAWN 250 - PHILIP TAN VARIANT - SIGNED BY PHILIP TAN 

Another "creep engine" slab. 

 

[LadyDeath]

On 12/30/2023 at 12:32 PM, newshane said:

Another "creep engine" slab.

Such a peculiar term. Nice looking book though.

Were the majority of your Spawn slabs hunted down or did you submit some yourself?

Edited December 31, 2023 by LadyDeath

[newshane]

On 12/31/2023 at 8:11 AM, LadyDeath said:

Such a peculiar term. Nice looking book though.

Were the majority of your Spawn slabs hunted down or did you submit some yourself?

I'd say 60% hunted down and 40% self-submitted. Maybe 65/35? 

I had to submit quite a few simply because there were no graded copies of certain issues at the time. I had no choice. Those were the gratifying ones. Nothing like chasing down some raws, subbing, and waiting for the grades to come back. Closest I've ever felt to being a kid at Christmas again! Man, when those grades would hit! Pure joy or disappointment. It was an addiction, clearly! 

I also learned how to accurately grade as a result of it all. Thankfully, I picked up pretty quickly and didn't throw too much wasted money to the wind. I also learned the value of pre-screening with the CGC and the advantages and limitations to pressing. My knowledge of the hobby tripled after the experience. 

[newshane]

SPAWN 250 YOUNG VARIANT - CGC 9.8 - SIGNED BY SKOTTIE YOUNG 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 250 - YOUNG SKETCH VARIANT - CGC 9.8 

Happy New Year! I'm almost certain that I have enough material to last another year! We will be wrapping up the regular series in about a month or so, then we move on to other titles in the Spawn Universe! Stay tuned! 

[newshane]

SPAWN 250 MCFARLANE SKETCH - CGC 9.8 

Forgot to post this one! 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 251 - CGC 9.8 

Say bye to Kudranski and hello to the new creative team. 

I am not a fan of Jonboy's work on the series. 

Things go totally downhill for a while. It gets even worse. 

Let me ask you a question. How far part would Spawn's feet have to be to make this perspective work? 25 ft or so? 

 

Edited January 4 by newshane

[captainzombie]

It appears that book #350 won't have a super crazy amount of variants, which is a good thing.

[newshane]

SPAWN 252 - CGC 9.8 

This is around the time when CGC fixed the creep engine. 

At this point, I'd enlisted the help of a few "9.8 subscription services" just to simplify staying on top of everything. 

I got AMAZING raws from Discount Comic Book Service  But I was still spending time and money buying multiples and culling the undercopies. I found a subscription service offered by a boardie. I wasn't completely happy with a particular situation, so I switched services and started doing business with @jerry3204 at 3204 Auctions. I'm not certain that he still offers subscription services. You may want to message him to see if he is still around, although he hasn't visited here in years. I was very happy, and there was only one book that he wasn't able to find on schedule. 

In case you're wondering, it worked like this: I'd select the title of interest. I'd pay for 3 issues in advance (which was the minimum requirement. All standard issues were one price, and all variants were available at a hefty surcharge. The price I paid was all inclusive (cost of the raw, grading and shipping). Although it removed from the equation most of the joyful work I was doing, it made things a lot easier. I was engaged to be married at this time, and lots of things were going on. I was also growing very tired of the entire game at this point...wondering why I was investing so much in a title with...art and stories that just weren't....resonating...with me. The subscription service allowed me to continue. I wasn't DONE at this point, but the sore aching was becoming harder to ignore. Adequate storage space was also becoming a real challenge. The end was in sight. 

 

[newshane]

SPAWN 253 - CGC 9.8 - SIGNED BY PAUL JENKINS 

How many Spawn books have been signed by Paul Jenkins? I don't know, but I'm willing to bet you're looking at one of the only ones. 

Jenkins was writing the stories for a little while...back in the day. 

Spawn was in full on razor-maw "symbiote" mode at this point. Again, not a fan of that look. I love classic Spawn. 

 

Edited January 5 by newshane

[J Bill]

Thank you again for posting these and especially for your honesty about how the stress and anxiety grew over time. I periodically get the bug for an issue chase or even for a small run, so I can't imagine what it would be like to commit to this level of effort. To be candid, and with all respect, I especially cannot fathom putting in this  kind of work for this particular series. I mentioned it previously in this thread, but I barely made it to #100 before jumping off. The content just wasn't strong enough to maintain interest for me. I'll admit some of the covers are slick, but even they start to become an exercise in watching how many cool poses they can put Spawn in. After 250+ issues, it feels like it could descend into madness a bit? I'm not checking this thread daily, more like 2-3 times/week, but it's actually starting to feel a little uncomfortable to observe at this point. Interesting since it sounds like you were about done yourself. I'm kind of surprised at my response to it now since we're all comrades in arms in this hobby with similar sensibilities and semi-obsessive tendencies. It's fascinating, really. Again, I sincerely don't intend to offend here- just sharing my immediate thoughts!

Edited January 5 by J Bill

[newshane]

On 1/5/2024 at 4:19 PM, J Bill said:

Thank you again for posting these and especially for your honesty about how the stress and anxiety grew over time. I periodically get the bug for an issue chase or even for a small run, so I can't imagine what it would be like to commit to this level of effort. To be candid, and with all respect, I especially cannot fathom putting in this  kind of work for this particular series. I mentioned it previously in this thread, but I barely made it to #100 before jumping off. The content just wasn't strong enough to maintain interest for me. I'll admit some of the covers are slick, but even they start to become an exercise in watching how many cool poses they can put Spawn in. After 250+ issues, it feels like it could descend into madness a bit? I'm not checking this thread daily, more like 2-3 times/week, but it's actually starting to feel a little uncomfortable to observe at this point. Interesting since it sounds like you were about done yourself. I'm kind of surprised at my response to it now since we're all comrades in arms in this hobby with similar sensibilities and semi-obsessive tendencies. It's fascinating, really. Again, I sincerely don't intend to offend here- just sharing my immediate thoughts!

No offense taken! I'm sure it's easy to see the madness, and don't be fooled. It takes madness to pull something like this off. 

I am a madman! I came to grips with that long ago. It's quite possible that this collection was a byproduct of my mental illness. There was no "semi-obsessive tendencies." This was full-blown obsession. Part of my daily life, and quite pleasurable for most of the way. 

At one point, it had to go. That was the most mentally comforting thing. I could have made much more money selling it piecemeal, but the time and effort would have been too much to bear. There came a time when I just wanted it all gone. 

The pleasure came in putting it together. Once that happened, I quickly fell out of love with it. 

Edited January 5 by newshane

[J Bill]

On 1/5/2024 at 4:32 PM, newshane said:

The pleasure came in putting it together. Once that happened, I quickly fell out of love with it. 

There's probably a lesson or parable on the human condition here about getting outside more or making human connections, but, oddly, I'm more inclined to find those Bronze Age issues of Batman I've been itching to look for!

[newshane]

On 1/5/2024 at 4:49 PM, J Bill said:

There's probably a lesson or parable on the human condition here about getting outside more or making human connections, but, oddly, I'm more inclined to find those Bronze Age issues of Batman I've been itching to look for!

Oh, I was in a touring metal band at the time. I got outside plenty.  

[captainzombie]

On 1/5/2024 at 4:32 PM, newshane said:

No offense taken! I'm sure it's easy to see the madness, and don't be fooled. It takes madness to pull something like this off. 

I am a madman! I came to grips with that long ago. It's quite possible that this collection was a byproduct of my mental illness. There was no "semi-obsessive tendencies." This was full-blown obsession. Part of my daily life, and quite pleasurable for most of the way. 

At one point, it had to go. That was the most mentally comforting thing. I could have made much more money selling it piecemeal, but the time and effort would have been too much to bear. There came a time when I just wanted it all gone. 

The pleasure came in putting it together. Once that happened, I quickly fell out of love with it. 

You have done an awesome job just recapping each issue for sure and especially those hard ones that took you patience to get in 9.8's. This has truly been quite the adventure and its been fun. Sucks when it comes to an end, you will have to find something else to keep this thread going.

I am getting there myself on having a pretty almost complete run of Spawn. While some of the books in my collection are not 9.8, I do have a good amount of the keys slabbed in a 9.8. Like you, the past 2 years, there are times where certain books caused me a headache in fear on what grades they would come back. The one book that has eluded me and driven me nuts is 201, every copy I've had has had some kind of an issue but the one that got me a 9.6 was borderline 9.6/9.8. Just stinks so I am still on the search for that one.

The past few weeks I have started venturing into also collecting the Spawn Origins Deluxe Hardcovers as I'd like those as part of my collection. If I ever part with the non-key issues in this entire run and keep the keys, I'd love to at least have the hardcovers to go back to and read.

[newshane]

On 1/5/2024 at 7:04 PM, captainzombie said:

Sucks when it comes to an end, you will have to find something else to keep this thread going.

 

It's going to be a long time before it ends. I still have to work my way through all the mini-series, foreign issues, sketch covers, one-shots, etc. 

I have a TON left! 

[newshane]

SPAWN 254 - CGC 9.8 

This might be the only Spawn cover where he is underwater? I can't recall another...

all we need here is a silhouette of Namor or Aquaman in the background! 

This was probably Jonboy's finest Spawn cover. 

 

Edited January 6 by newshane

[newshane]

SPAWN 255 - CGC 9.8 - SIGNED BY JONBOY