In the Dark

A journal by Tnerb

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About this journal

Oblivious to anything new

Entries in this journal

Hefty Goals

Sometimes, it's the things from ones own youth that you want the most. Doctor Strange and Sub-Mariner have always been favorites of mine, but they were always underdogs. Both had series in the late eighties, but never seemed to thrive. It was the age of the mutants. I like the Sub-Mariner because of issue 38, an origin issue. Imagine an origin issue 37 issues after the first ones instead of just starting over...anyway... After reading it over and over with a few other random issues it became
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By the Guide

But, Which one? Years ago, decades by now, I had just started to collect comic books. Not just buy them, but surround myself with them. I bought both Marvel and DC, but it was the company born from a "Timely" manner that captured my imagination. After each comic book that I read and closed, the story continued in my mind's eye. My father must have seen something in my desire to spend my weekly allowance My father has always worked for himself. Even when my father was 13 and my grandfather p
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Modern Age Gold?

When will 9.8's become too plentiful? It's amazing how much CGC has changed the modern age market, not to mention speculation. I purchased a collection a few years ago and made my money back. A few comics I kept while others I sold. One being the first comic book appearance of Rocket Raccoon. But let's get to the books that just came out a month ago. With CGC being around for over 15 years and people sending in new comic books right away and flipping them, I wonder if this will destroy the
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Let's go Crazy

Another Signature My original previous CGC collecting goal was to complete the New Mutants set in 9.8 and higher. I am close, very close. However, the closer I got, the longer it took. I need one more in 9.8. I started to get frustrated and decided to go after my birthday books. However, I had another goal that started a year ago. One that seems a little crazy. One of the first comic books I ever got was a copy of Crazy! #3. I read it so many times it became tattered. When I received my cou
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Morphing the Hobby

Or Losing Signature Authentication Third party grading changed the comic book industry. It allowed people to purchase a comic book, secure in what they were buying. Let's forget for a moment that grading is a subjective art and pretend that every book cracked for a signature would retain its previous grade. Third party grading was supposed to be about the buyer getting what he was paying for. There was no more paying near mint prices for very fine product. Of course prices have escalated, t
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If suddenly by Magik

Or let's play make believe I would like to say this journal is about the New Mutants, but it's not. I mentioned before, what would happen if every book that was pressed suddenly became a restored purple label. This question was mentioned in simple curiosity. It wasn't meant to state that CGC should change their stance. There is no full-proof way to detect a comic book that was pressed. This lone reason is why I believe that this technique is considered non-restorative. But I do wonder, with
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Pressing the Subject

From a 9.2 to a ... After cracking my 9.2, I was introduced to someone who was happy to not only answer my questions, but show me how it was done. He showed me on a few comic books and then let me have a try. I did a few of my own I brought with me that were not for grading before I tackled my Uncanny X-Men 142. It was an interesting time, giving me multiple learning experiences and answering question after question that I had. I was happy with the press and it was one of the books I had gi
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Pressing

Before the procedure expanded? When I first found out about this non-restorative technique, I asked a great many questions. Some people were secretive and some were happy to answer questions, while a few more answered anonymously. I sent some books away for the process and asked about others. One book I asked about was X-Men 142...or rather Uncanny X-Men 142. I started collecting back issues tentatively. I felt that I'd rather buy new releases first at sixty cents and sixty-five rather than
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So, What's next?

Or, what came before? I have quite a few issues of the New Mutants graded. This doesn't include my 9.8's, although some of them are. I started to get my original collection graded years ago, but getting books signed and regraded took a portion of my revenue for new books. Next year I stated I would get all 45 books that were published for April of '72. I might not have them all graded, but I do plan on getting the rest of my original collection graded. The other major goal will be one I will
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What grade is Acceptable?

... If someone were to give away an Amazing Fantasy #15 for free as a CGC .5, I'm sure no one would turn that down. I like to look for those books that would grade equally low. My Crazy #3 was graded a 1.0...a 1.0, I was hoping for a .5. I just received a copy of X-Men #10. I will be sending that in... hopefully .5 is what it gets. I don't know what it is with the first silver age appearance of Ka-Zar that has me searching for a high grade. My first and only attempt netted me a SS 7.0. It wa
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But, is it a 9.8

Although I think I'm starting to ramble... But, it is a 9.8 I have many 9.8 books in my collection that if cracked for signatures will never come back a 9.8. My first experience with this was, I believe issue two of the two part Alpha Flight and X-Men story. Both were purchased as a 9.8. One returned unscathed while the second dropped two grades. I was still a novice on anything that has to do with pressing, Matt Nelson was still his own boss, or at the very least paired with Stephen Ritter.
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One Step Further...

From one to the other. Who didn't see what CGC was about when they first began collecting graded comic books? Were you skeptical? Did you question their validity? Did you buy PGX? And then crack the slab and send the comic book in hoping to flip it with the premiere grading company's name on it? Did it grade higher or lower? But what happens when you take a competing grading company and compare something they graded against what CGC would grade it. I sent in two books to get graded by a com
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Grading is Subjective?

Why? A defect on a book should be consistently prevalent. There should be no question about it. If the Marvel Value Stamp is cut out of an Incredible Hulk 181, what is subjective about it? A crease, a fingerprint? Shouldn't preference be taken out of the equation? Are stains judged more harshly by one grader and not as much by another? Is a rusty staple a death toll? After carefully looking over my 8.0 Iron Man #55, I didn't see any defect on it that wasn't already present when it was a 9.2
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Manhandled?

Treated like yesterday's newspaper??? Is it possible that my issue of Iron Man #55 was manhandled? Of course it is, but not by me and not by Jim Starlin. An amusing part of this story is that this was the first time that I double-boarded a book I wanted signed. It appears as though the extra precaution was for naught. When I turned the book over to CGC for onsite grading, my wife noticed that the person I handed it too seemed to handle it like a magazine being taken to the bathroom. I didn't s
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When a Comic Book Drops in Grade...

Is describing the grading industry as an art form simply a respectful way of saying they don't know what they are doing? With additional grading companies, it is imperative for CGC to get it right. In the early days skeptics sent a book in, had it graded, cracked it and sent it back in again. Would they get the same grade? Did it drop? Did it soar? I am sure the same people decided to try out CBCS and do the same. I know I did. But this is more about sending the same book in to the same compan
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Goals... What are they?

There is nothing more difficult to a collector than changing ones own goals. The past few months have been a time to re-evaluate my collecting habits. CGC has competition, and even though this new company has established a strong foothold in the grading market, they are in no way the reason why I haven't written lately; that honor goes to the person that put a ring on my finger. I was still able to travel to a few comic conventions this year, but this time my wife came with me. At these con
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A Day at Baltimore

Or the beginning of the end? This is my fourth year attending the Baltimore Comic Book Convention. After having the pleasure of going to Seattle for ECCC for the last three years, and the New York Comic Con for five years running now, I realized I have been blessed. In 2007 I attended Philadelphia Wizard World, a truly great Comic book convention. In 2008 I submitted my first comic books to CGC for on site grading. They were back the same day, I remember them advertising as same day. The whole
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Thee Birthday Book

Or Thank you RonnyLama Getting my birthday books in high grade has not been the easiest thing to do. One of the most difficult to find was Wonder Woman#199. This was a comic book I found at convention after convention, but it was always expensive for the grade. After finally finding one and grading it through CGC, I was happy with a 9.4. I found a Jimmy Olson Superman's Pal #148 which graded a 9.6 SS and an Avengers 98 through Greg Reece which graded a 9.8. All three were pressed through CCS.
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Sniffing the Newsprint

Or A a Small Memoir In the eighties when the deluxe format was released, one of the selling points was stronger paper. I imagine this stronger paper makes grading easier. Over time the newsprint paper used for comic books morphed into what is used today. But, is it better? I loved the feeling of opening a comic book and not only feeling the grittiness of the paper, but its smell. Today comic books have neither the feel nor smell of the comic books I grew up with. I imagine in the eighties w
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The Quest for a Signature

New Mutants Annual One: Take 3 The New Mutants were my favorite series. If you read any journals by me, this is something you most likely know. In the beginning I also disliked the art of Bill Sienkiewicz. However, on the annual, his only contribution is the cover. This stand alone story happens to be one of my favorites. I vowed if i were to ever crack open this book it would only be to get a triple signature by Bill and Chris Claremont with Bob McLeod. I cracked it even though I thought the
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Selling the Unsellable

Or I'm getting Married!!! Many of us created a top ten list of the graded comic books we would never get rid of. I recently sold two of them. After purchasing a car and my upcoming nuptials one might think I just need the money. Fortunately I don't. Collecting CGC graded comic books is still something I very much enjoy, I just have to change how I collect. All my invoices are closed and I have one left at CCS. I might be a little crazy there, but more on that later. As for the two comic book
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Thank You CGC

Or, How is that for an OAK, Bagofleas? For the past five plus years I have collected comic books graded by CGC. The first year, I dabbled. I was sticking my toe in, and then the following year, I jumped in. For three years I collected heavily, spending a lot more than my original self-imposed monetary limit of $45 per book in many cases. The last year I have limited myself to either books that meant something to me or from my birth month and year. I was able to go to ECCC again, but only be
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No More CGC for me???

Or... Oh just read the journal No more CGC for me? It's been a while since I wrote on a regular basis. There wasn't a week that went by that I didn't post at least one journal. I talked about what I was grading or what I was buying, but then CBCS came around and I slowed to almost a stop...or is that just coincidence. In the last year my life has changed, which includes my upcoming wedding. Years ago I mentioned about buying a car. I never did, because there was no need, but there was com
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FCBD

A bit early, but a bit better While most comic enthusiasts know Free Comic Book Day is the first Saturday in May, I got to celebrate a little bit earlier than the national date. On the last day of April I had the good fortune to get a long box of comic books absolutely free. Most comic shops have a limited amount of comic books to give out. These comic books normally have the banner announcing "FCBD" right on the covers. Sometimes they are reprinted material, others are used as coming attracti
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Hulk Sad

I don't know how to write a teaser line for this one. Reports have been confirmed, Herb Trimpe passed away at 75. Early this year I lost a friend. This was the first death that I knew of from someone I went to high school with. He was never supposed to exit his twenties, let alone get into his forties. Baxter jumped in and out of my life, but no more, much like Herb Trimpe, who's artwork would occasionally jump off the page at me. Herb's (arguably) biggest contribution to the comic world wa
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