Fantastic Four Collecting Thread! 33 33

[Straw-Man]

i think you'll find there is no burden to owning that beauty.

[Sweet Lou 14]

Major collecting milestone for me, one of my big purchases for the year.

I'm not usually a date stamp guy but it's well placed and you can't ask for a nicer 9.4 otherwise.  It's one of only seven, and the only other one I've seen at auction (twice!) was a CR/OW copy.

I now have #12-153 in at least 9.4, with just a handful of Bronze books I'm still trying to get to 9.6.  I've been looking for #18 for a LONG time.

I still have a goal of finding #11 in 9.4, but there are only four of those so who knows when I'll get a chance.

[Primetime]

On 8/14/2022 at 8:31 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

Major collecting milestone for me, one of my big purchases for the year.

I'm not usually a date stamp guy but it's well placed and you can't ask for a nicer 9.4 otherwise.  It's one of only seven, and the only other one I've seen at auction (twice!) was a CR/OW copy.

I now have #12-153 in at least 9.4, with just a handful of Bronze books I'm still trying to get to 9.6.  I've been looking for #18 for a LONG time.

I still have a goal of finding #11 in 9.4, but there are only four of those so who knows when I'll get a chance.

Love that full date stamp. That copy was a slightly early release for that book (June, 1963). Nice colors 😎

Edited August 15, 2022 by Primetime

[Straw-Man]

wonderful colors lou!!

[KirbyJack]

Well done, XIV!

[Drummy]

I'll say -- well done!  When I collected HG FF's, the best I found in this issue was a 9.0 -- everything else was way too pricey due to the scarcity in HG.  Exciting!

Dan

[WernerVonDoom]

On 8/14/2022 at 8:31 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

Major collecting milestone for me, one of my big purchases for the year.

I'm not usually a date stamp guy but it's well placed and you can't ask for a nicer 9.4 otherwise.  It's one of only seven, and the only other one I've seen at auction (twice!) was a CR/OW copy.

I now have #12-153 in at least 9.4, with just a handful of Bronze books I'm still trying to get to 9.6.  I've been looking for #18 for a LONG time.

I still have a goal of finding #11 in 9.4, but there are only four of those so who knows when I'll get a chance.

That is an amazing copy = congrats!!!

A run from 12-153 in 9.4 is a huge achievement. Esp #12-#30. Wow.

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 8/15/2022 at 2:32 PM, Drummy said:

I'll say -- well done!  When I collected HG FF's, the best I found in this issue was a 9.0 -- everything else was way too pricey due to the scarcity in HG.  Exciting!

Dan

Yep, here's the 9.0 undercopy, which is ticketed for Bob Storms' web site later in the year.

[fantastic_four]

On 7/25/2022 at 9:40 AM, Jaylam said:

On 7/24/2022 at 10:51 AM, DC# said:

This is probably heretical to say…but Sub-Mariner on the cover of #4 looks so much like a John Byrne illustration to me.   And I never even read Byrne’s Namor title.
 

Expand  

Ever notice how the shape of Namor's head kept changing over the years....

For most of my life I assumed Bill Everett was going for a Japanese look for the character due to the look of the facial features and the infamous strength of the Japanese navy in conquering most of the Pacific islands and Chinese mainland for centuries up until America disarmed them after World War 2, so I was surprised when I heard within the last decade or so that he was going for an Elven look for Namor.

I can think of multiple reasons why a Mayan look for his race may make more sense, but I won't have much opinion about that until after I've seen Wakanda Forever and heard some of the details for Namor and his kingdom's back story for the MCU.

Edited August 16, 2022 by fantastic_four

[fantastic_four]

On 7/29/2022 at 8:22 PM, WernerVonDoom said:

On 7/29/2022 at 3:26 PM, MattTheDuck said:

Picked up this raw copy from which showed up in today's mail from @speedcake.  I have a nice slabbed copy that used to be @WernerVonDoom's which I bought at a CL auction but did not have a copy from my 70s collecting.  This book looks a lot like books I would have happily purchased in those days, and it's great to be able to read the story.

#37 is a sneaky tough book in high grade.

Agreed.  I rarely ever saw high-grade copies for sale during my prime FF collecting years between 2000 and 2011.  Finding a 9.2 was rare, and I don't recall if I ever saw one above that grade aside from maybe when Doug Schmell sold his collection.

[mr_highgrade]

On 8/16/2022 at 11:38 AM, fantastic_four said:

Agreed.  I rarely ever saw high-grade copies for sale during my prime FF collecting years between 2000 and 2011.  Finding a 9.2 was rare, and I don't recall if I ever saw one above that grade aside from maybe when Doug Schmell sold his collection.

Were you able to complete your HG run? 

[fantastic_four]

On 8/16/2022 at 11:41 AM, mr_highgrade said:

On 8/16/2022 at 11:38 AM, fantastic_four said:

Agreed.  I rarely ever saw high-grade copies for sale during my prime FF collecting years between 2000 and 2011.  Finding a 9.2 was rare, and I don't recall if I ever saw one above that grade aside from maybe when Doug Schmell sold his collection.

Were you able to complete your HG run? 

To my own satisfaction, yes, although my #1 is only a 7.0.  I could have kept upgrading everything and going for a better copy of #1 but didn't feel particularly inspired to after I finished the run in mostly 9.0 or better.  

My registry sets are still up to date because I haven't bought anything since 2011.  It shows me as updating them more recently than that but it isn't correct.  I think those registry set update dates get automatically bumped up when they do some kinds of software updates.

I could see myself getting back into it but not yet.  I mostly quit in 2011 due to going into a new relationship, moving twice in 2013 and 2014, and then having twins in 2015.  Right now I'm mostly collecting Marvel action figures from Hasbro and a Japanese company called Medicom Mafex.  That hobby is so related to comics I can easily see myself getting back into upgrading at some point--particularly once my 6-year olds can read and if they get into comics themselves since there are so many lying around the house for them to try.

Edited August 16, 2022 by fantastic_four

[mr_highgrade]

On 8/16/2022 at 11:47 AM, fantastic_four said:

To my own satisfaction, yes, although my #1 is only a 7.0.  I could have kept upgrading everything and going for a better copy of #1 but didn't feel particularly inspired to after I finished the run in mostly 9.0 or better.  

My registry sets are still up to date because I haven't bought anything since 2011.  It shows me as updating them more recently than that but it isn't correct.  I think those registry set update dates get automatically bumped up when they do some kinds of software updates.

I could see myself getting back into it but not yet.  I mostly quit in 2011 due to going into a new relationship, moving twice in 2013 and 2014, and then having twins in 2015.  Right now I'm mostly collecting Marvel action figures from Hasbro and a Japanese company called Medicom Mafex.  That hobby is so related to comics I can easily see myself getting back into upgrading at some point--particularly once my 6-year olds can read and if they get into comics themselves since there are so many lying around the house for them to try.

Are you still sitting on that bronze age collection that you picked up back in the day?

[fantastic_four]

On 8/16/2022 at 12:00 PM, mr_highgrade said:

Are you still sitting on that bronze age collection that you picked up back in the day?

I haven't sold anything over the years so yes.

Why?  I'm not up-to-date on the market aside from updating values on my top 50 or so most expensive comics in my collection which I've continued to do over the last decade just so I'm not completely out of touch with the market and what I have invested in it, so aside from the big recent increases in keys like Giant-Size X-Men #1 I have no idea what the Bronze market is like these days.  It's insane how much keys and desirable Silver issues have jumped since the pandemic started, so I'm definitely curious about what's going on with Bronze.

But either way I have no current plans to sell.  I have long had a plan to half-retire and use my collection as a part-time job, but I'm nowhere near ready to do that yet.  Maybe once my kids don't need daycare anymore in a few years.  

Edited August 16, 2022 by fantastic_four

[mr_highgrade]

Correct me if Iam wrong,  didn't you snap a FF #49 CGC 9.6 on ebay back in the day for a BIN price of $650.00? 

[fantastic_four]

On 8/16/2022 at 1:14 PM, mr_highgrade said:

Correct me if Iam wrong,  didn't you snap a FF #49 CGC 9.6 on ebay back in the day for a BIN price of $650.00? 

If you mean the copy that half a dozen collectors around here have been razzing me about for years because they saw it moments after I bought it then that's the book pictured below.  My records tell me I got it for $750 on a Buy-It-Now in 2002.  That was over triple Overstreet NM at the time so it's understandable that the seller didn't list it for more if he was unfamiliar with the multiples CGC books were getting which was new, controversial, and not widely-known among collectors at the time.

The seller actually messaged me after the sale saying he had gotten a dozen higher offers after I bought it--and I got multiple higher offers as well via DM including one from Bob Storms--but the seller said he'd honor it anyway.  Definitely the best buy of my life given the value then and ESPECIALLY the value now.  I track the annual percentage yield (APY) on all my CGC books which is right around an 8.5% increase for every year I've owned them, and this one really helps boost all of the others up.  

I used to buy every high-grade copy of FF 52 I saw.  I forget how many I have but it's at least four or five raw copies that I assess between 8.5 and 9.x.

Edited August 16, 2022 by fantastic_four

[fantastic_four]

This is my #49.  Got it for $613 in February 2003.

[mr_highgrade]

On 8/16/2022 at 1:48 PM, fantastic_four said:

If you mean the copy that half a dozen collectors around here have been razzing me about for years because they saw it moments after I bought it then that's the book pictured below.  My records tell me I got it for $750 on a Buy-It-Now in 2002.  That was over triple Overstreet NM at the time so it's understandable that the seller didn't list it for more if he was unfamiliar with the multiples CGC books were getting which was new, controversial, and not widely-known among collectors at the time.

The seller actually messaged me after the sale saying he had gotten a dozen higher offers after I bought it--and I got multiple higher offers as well via DM including one from Bob Storms--but the seller said he'd honor it anyway.  Definitely the best buy of my life given the value then and ESPECIALLY the value now.  I track the annual percentage yield (APY) on all my CGC books which is right around an 8.5% increase for every year I've owned them, and this one really helps boost all of the others up.  

I used to buy every high-grade copy of FF 52 I saw.  I forget how many I have but it's at least four or five raw copies that I assess between 8.5 and 9.x.

[Primetime]

[jimjum12]

On 8/16/2022 at 1:48 PM, fantastic_four said:

If you mean the copy that half a dozen collectors around here have been razzing me about for years because they saw it moments after I bought it then that's the book pictured below.  My records tell me I got it for $750 on a Buy-It-Now in 2002.  That was over triple Overstreet NM at the time so it's understandable that the seller didn't list it for more if he was unfamiliar with the multiples CGC books were getting which was new, controversial, and not widely-known among collectors at the time.

The seller actually messaged me after the sale saying he had gotten a dozen higher offers after I bought it--and I got multiple higher offers as well via DM including one from Bob Storms--but the seller said he'd honor it anyway.  Definitely the best buy of my life given the value then and ESPECIALLY the value now.  I track the annual percentage yield (APY) on all my CGC books which is right around an 8.5% increase for every year I've owned them, and this one really helps boost all of the others up.  

I used to buy every high-grade copy of FF 52 I saw.  I forget how many I have but it's at least four or five raw copies that I assess between 8.5 and 9.x.

... yes, it was $ 750 .... that figure is permanently seared into the fatty tissue of my brain .... talk about "Johnny on the Spot".  GOD BLESS.... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)