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

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 4/22/2024 at 12:37 PM, newshane said:

Look. My wallet is waiting...

 

 

[Qalyar]

On 4/21/2024 at 2:39 PM, newshane said:

SPAWN GODSLAYER 6 - CGC 9.8 

Well, this is it! The last one! I will go through my files again in search of any strays, but I think we're finally done. 

It's taken us 16 months to get through it. I tried to maintain a pace of one book per day. I came close, but I failed. Maybe my dissertation had something to do with it? 

A truly massive collection. The sheer size of it was one of the reasons why I had to get rid of it. 

I'll had additional thoughts on this collection coming soon, so stay tuned if you're interested. 

If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them! I can't tell you anything in the way of cost or profit, other than the whole affair was stupidly expensive, and I wish that I would have bought Bitcoin instead.  

Thanks to everyone who's been tuning in. 

My goal with the collection was to complete a genuine archive of the entire series. I was approaching it for fun, but also out of a desire to preserve the world's finest record of McFarlane's work. I accomplished my goal. This was truly the finest collection of graded Spawn books that have ever been assembled, and it will be extremely difficult and extremely expensive for anyone who attempts to even match it. These statements aren't about me. They are about the collection.

Unfortunately, the collection is no more. It's been busted up and all of them have long since moved on to new owners. 

After selling the rarest variants piecemeal, I sold the overwhelming bulk of the collection to a massive dealer who will remain unnamed. I personally drove the comics in a rental car and did the deal in person. I would have made much more money selling them individually, but with such a massive collection, you have to consider the cost and logistics involved with packaging and shipping all those books. Not to mention the time involved! It was much easier for me to sell them altogether to a dependable buyer. Much easier and safer to move them myself than to package them. It was a marathon 22 hour round trip, but the deal was done, and I moved on. 

My next focus was assembling robot covers from the Golden and Atomic ages. I had an incredible collection. I sold them all. Really regret that, too. Now, I'm working on getting a few of them back. I've also decided that I will no longer have a focus. I'm tracking down any book that looks cool to me...I have obligated myself to only purchase "elite" copies of each issue. By elite, I mean a pedigreed or top/near-top census copy. My buying has slowed to an absolute crawl. Buying top copies ain't cheap, and there is a bottom to the wallet that's even more shallow after some major lifestyle upgrades over the last few years. Nicer housing and all the associated expenses, for example, comes with a steep cost these days. Kids ain't cheap, either. Especially when you insist on giving them the best you can. 

I got a lot of enjoyment out of the Spawn run before the variant game robbed me of every last ounce of it. I've also gotten a lot of enjoyment going back over the collection with all of you. It's been fun reliving the hunt! 

Happy collecting! 

I will be posting "ranked lists" over the next few weeks. Stop by if that intrigues you or feel free to create your own! This thread is open for any discussion related to Spawn. Cheers! 

I just wanted to thank you for taking all the time go through these images and share them with us. Spawn has never really been one of my books, but I followed along all the same, because this really was an achievement in modern collecting -- both in terms of the quality of the books you had assembled, and the sheer breadth of the material you tackled. I know that, as a physical collection, it's gone, but through this thread, in a way, it continues to live on. And rightly so. I do not think we'll see its kind again for a very, very long time.

[newshane]

On 4/22/2024 at 3:59 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

If I'm not mistaken, the CGC only started cranking out 9.8s of Wolvie 35 after they acknowledged the production defect. Of course, I haven't been privy to the problems with that book in quite some time. 

Yes. There has got to be a 9.8 copy of Spawn 156 somewhere. The question is...where the  is "somewhere?" I certainly turned the world upside down looking for one, I guarantee you that. 

But there is another possibility...

a 9.8 copy will never be found. 

Get to looking fellas! Let me know! 

[captainzombie]

On 4/22/2024 at 6:02 PM, newshane said:

If I'm not mistaken, the CGC only started cranking out 9.8s of Wolvie 35 after they acknowledged the production defect. Of course, I haven't been privy to the problems with that book in quite some time. 

Yes. There has got to be a 9.8 copy of Spawn 156 somewhere. The question is...where the  is "somewhere?" I certainly turned the world upside down looking for one, I guarantee you that. 

But there is another possibility...

a 9.8 copy will never be found. 

Get to looking fellas! Let me know! 

Spawn 156 and 201 are the death of me. I have sent in so many of both, especially 201 and I get nothing but 9.6's. LOL! It is these stupid black covers. Ugh

Again thanks for posting all of the books that you have had from the Spawn universe. It was quite the fun ride and hope you can continue or somehow we can continue this thread as it has been a blast.

[newshane]

On 4/22/2024 at 4:10 PM, Qalyar said:

I just wanted to thank you for taking all the time go through these images and share them with us. Spawn has never really been one of my books, but I followed along all the same, because this really was an achievement in modern collecting -- both in terms of the quality of the books you had assembled, and the sheer breadth of the material you tackled. I know that, as a physical collection, it's gone, but through this thread, in a way, it continues to live on. And rightly so. I do not think we'll see its kind again for a very, very long time.

Thank you, sir! I've appreciated your contributions to the thread, and I'm glad you've enjoyed it! 

I wanted to document the collection outside of my personal hard drives and the registry. I've obscured my sets. This allows the collection to "live on" while removing it from consideration for any additional awards. I'm also careful to transfer registry numbers whenever requested. Haven't had a request in a hot minute, though. 

I wanted to document it here in a public forum while giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy the process of reflection. 

As far as a graded collection goes, I agree with your assertion that we won't "see its kind again for a very, very long time." 

Many of the books (especially the 9.9s and some of the more esoteric signature books) would be nigh impossible as they are probably locked away in "permanent" collections and will likely remain so for years to come. I'm not saying it's an absolute impossibility, but I don't know anyone crazy enough with the sort of disposable income necessary to get it done. Folks either A.) are crazy enough but don't have the money or B.) have the money but know better. It wasn't cheap to get it done ten years ago. Now that many of the books have seen insane increases in value, it would be...wildly expensive. Not only that, but all the money in the world won't buy a book that's simply not for sale. Ask me how I know!  

I did get a significant sum for the collection, but to be honest...I sold it for a song. Nowhere near what it's worth today. That makes it especially tough. I don't dwell on it for long, lest I become bitter. 

* * * * * * * * 

Coming up soon! I will compile two lists. 

List A - the hardest to find issues 

List B - my top 20 or 30. 

I'm going to have to think for a long time.  

Edited April 22 by newshane

[newshane]

On 4/22/2024 at 6:44 PM, captainzombie said:

Spawn 156 and 201 are the death of me. I have sent in so many of both, especially 201 and I get nothing but 9.6's. LOL! It is these stupid black covers. Ugh

Again thanks for posting all of the books that you have had from the Spawn universe. It was quite the fun ride and hope you can continue or somehow we can continue this thread as it has been a blast.

They are both tough. 

201 was a tough one. I finally found one that had already been slabbed, IIRC. I remember subbing a few copies. No dice on that front. 201-215 or so can be very, very tough. 

I will definitely post from time to time! I have a few things to talk about...

I've been experimenting with AI image generators. I haven't been thrilled with the results, but here is one I threw together in tribute of this thread: 

Spawn himself has infiltrated the collection! 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 4/22/2024 at 4:02 PM, newshane said:

If I'm not mistaken, the CGC only started cranking out 9.8s of Wolvie 35 after they acknowledged the production defect. 

On 4/22/2024 at 4:02 PM, newshane said:

Yes. There has got to be a 9.8 copy of Spawn 156 somewhere. The question is...where the  is "somewhere?" 

On 4/22/2024 at 4:02 PM, newshane said:

a 9.8 copy will never be found. 

 

On 4/22/2024 at 4:57 PM, newshane said:

As far as a graded collection goes, I agree with your assertion that we won't "see its kind again for a very, very long time." 

[newshane]

On 4/22/2024 at 7:44 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

 

 

Correction...a graded Spawn collection. 

If someone out there is putting one together, I can't wait to see it and wish them luck! 

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 4/22/2024 at 6:37 PM, newshane said:

Correction...a graded Spawn collection. 

[Poutine]

Yeah I won't be taking on this daunting task

Very glad you did and have shared, this is one of my favorite threads of all times and one of the reasons I still come to this site, which is difficult to do these days due to the culture 

[newshane]

On 4/23/2024 at 12:50 PM, Poutine said:

Yeah I won't be taking on this daunting task

Very glad you did and have shared, this is one of my favorite threads of all times and one of the reasons I still come to this site, which is difficult to do these days due to the culture 

I'm so happy to hear this! 

Where can we go from here? 

I've made a list of the top ten most difficult books, in my experience. I just have to sort them. I'll start with #10 and proceed at a daily pace until we arrive at the most difficult book. 

More AI fun...

 

[zuulioso]

I want to express my thanks as well @newshane. This has been a lot of fun following the thread. I too sold the larger part of my collection during the Covid boom. I am down to only 26 graded books, 22 of which are Spawn. I can't remember if I or anyone else asked this anywhere during the thread, but did you ever consider or have interest in news stand variants? I had a decent looking first gunslinger (119) that I thought had a shot at 9.4. Turns out, I missed a small color breaking defect on the back cover and it got a lowly 7.5. It was the only one I had that I thought might be worth a shot.

[captainzombie]

On 4/23/2024 at 7:15 PM, newshane said:

I'm so happy to hear this! 

Where can we go from here? 

I've made a list of the top ten most difficult books, in my experience. I just have to sort them. I'll start with #10 and proceed at a daily pace until we arrive at the most difficult book. 

More AI fun...

 

I have an idea I'd like to throw out there. Not sure if you'd be up for it as its kind of intruding on your thread, but how about if those of us that still have Spawn slabs, could maybe toss up one of ours each day and tell a story of what it took us to get that book to the grade it received, while you are also posting your lists, etc.?

[newshane]

On 4/23/2024 at 10:36 PM, captainzombie said:

I have an idea I'd like to throw out there. Not sure if you'd be up for it as its kind of intruding on your thread, but how about if those of us that still have Spawn slabs, could maybe toss up one of ours each day and tell a story of what it took us to get that book to the grade it received, while you are also posting your lists, etc.?

I would totally love it! 

The thread is totally open for Spawn related stuff! No intrusion. I'd love for you guys to post.

[newshane]

On 4/23/2024 at 8:20 PM, zuulioso said:

I want to express my thanks as well @newshane. This has been a lot of fun following the thread. I too sold the larger part of my collection during the Covid boom. I am down to only 26 graded books, 22 of which are Spawn. I can't remember if I or anyone else asked this anywhere during the thread, but did you ever consider or have interest in news stand variants? I had a decent looking first gunslinger (119) that I thought had a shot at 9.4. Turns out, I missed a small color breaking defect on the back cover and it got a lowly 7.5. It was the only one I had that I thought might be worth a shot.

Thank you, brother! 

[newshane]

MOST DIFFICULT BOOKS OF THE REGULAR RUN (VARIANTS NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION)

*NOTE - I'm not claiming that ALL of these books belong on the "hardest to find" list. But they DO belong on MY list. I'm just speaking from personal experience, here. Also, I started out of the gate with a very sizable collection when I bought out @Doc Joe's registry set. There may have been some extraordinarily difficult books that he tracked down. Since I didn't have to go hunting for them, I really can't say, and those books have been excluded from consideration. 

The good doctor isn't nearly as active here as he was many years ago, but I would LOVE for him to chime in if he sees this! Doc...do you have anything to share about your experiences putting together your Spawn run? For those of you who haven't been with me long, this collection's genesis was Doc's old collection. I began by purchasing a few issues. Then entire swaths of the run. Finally, I decided to buy everything he had! From there, I began my journey to "fill in the gaps" in the registry. I'd say that around 30% of this collection was initially gathered by Doc; I did the rest. I just remember the JOY of getting HUGE boxes of graded Spawn slabs from Doc! The joy of seeing that little red envelope flashing on the old CGC boards....the one that indicated I had DMs from Doc. Those were the days! 

Now, let's take a look at the ten books that gave me the most trouble....

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10. - SPAWN 26 

This book is an anomaly for sure. This was back in the day when print runs were absolutely massive. There were quite a few of these on the census at the time. But, for some reason, copies NEVER seemed to go on sale, and finding raws worthy for submission was proving to be a far greater challenge than it should have been! This was one of the last books that I added to the collection. I honestly can't recall if I bought a graded copy or a raw, but I was thrilled when I finally landed a 9.8 copy. It took forever, and I don't have a good reason why. The other books on this list make sense. This one? A mystery. 

Edited April 24 by newshane

[newshane]

MOST DIFFICULT BOOKS OF THE REGULAR RUN (VARIANTS NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9. - SPAWN 201 

10. - SPAWN 26 

 

Other people have mentioned having a hard time with this one. Looking back, I think I did as well. 

Lower print runs and unforgiving jet black everywhere. Those are the typical reasons why there are so many tough books in the run...at least if you insist on having 9.8s or higher. I really dig this cover, even though I'm not a big fan of Spawn with FANGS. 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 4/25/2024 at 3:37 PM, newshane said:

MOST DIFFICULT BOOKS OF THE REGULAR RUN (VARIANTS NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION)

1. 156

[newshane]

On 4/26/2024 at 5:34 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

Of course! Anyone who has been keeping up here already knows! 

[newshane]

MOST DIFFICULT BOOKS OF THE REGULAR RUN (VARIANTS NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8. - SPAWN 207 

9. - SPAWN 201 

10. - SPAWN 26 

 

Spawn books from 2010-2012 are probably the toughest. Here is one from the era, which featured some awesome interiors and occasional covers by Kudranski. I loved his artistic take on the character. He was able to accurately capture the "mood" of the character.