In the Dark

A journal by Tnerb

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About this journal

Oblivious to anything new

Entries in this journal

Do I dare? Part II

Or, At Lee K's request? I started to make my list of books to talk about. Two of them happen to be my Amazing Spider-Man #129 and my original New Mutants #15. Two books I have mentioned repeatedly. After much thought (ok, next to little thought), I decided to pick books I most likely never mentioned.       I have a bit in my collection and even though I don't have something that all of you will reflexively gasp "Wow", I might have a couple that will emit a "cool". I already started to ta
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Do I Dare?

Or Some of my Favorite Things The past few years I have written every single day in November. In essence a thirty in thirty. I did it originally as a challenge to see if I could write with an imposed deadline. Do I dare try again, especially in light of not writing much as of late? This journal being numbered a measly 617.       I think I will try again, going forward I feel I will fail, so instead of writing a fresh journal everyday I'm going to list thirty books in no particular order,
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The 3 Aspects of CGC

And it's not Received, Graded, Shipped. There are 3 aspects to CGC: the corporation, the employees, and most importantly, the fans. Occasionally when the fans get disgruntled, it's the employees that feel the backlash, not the corporation. I've seen some graders not only at work, but at play. They have no special powers. They are just like any of us.       When CGC added a $5 invoice charge we balked, but we paid. When they added a fee for additional signatures, we paid. And when they ad
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Reading a 9.8

Or, you mean they are supposed to be read?!? It's no secret. At the onset, I hated CGC. Ok, maybe hate is a bit extreme. Comic books were meant to be read, weren't they? And what could a well read comic book ever hope to achieve? In my early collecting years I read the same books over and over again. It's not like I had a large supply to peruse through. The idea of encapsulating felt utterly ridiculous.       Of course, my thought process has changed, and I have even been fortunate enough
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Needing Help with Bronze

Or Learning all over again. I turned over a copy of Mister Miracle #7. I looked it over and graded it between a 9.2 and possibly getting a 9.4 at best. Originally I was going to press the book and have it graded but decided against the pressing. I figured doing this raw would help me discern what I will have to look for, after all if I can't see what is wrong, then what's the point of grading.       I received the book back on Sunday and was shocked at the 9.0. What did I miss? Where did
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Baltimore Comic Con: Day 2

George Perez, Mister Miracle, and most recently, lost wallets. Day two had Bagofleas head straight to CGC and I went all the way to the back of the one of two signature areas. Our first goal was to get George Perez, to add his scrawl to Joe Rubinstein's and Jim Starlin's on a cracked 9.8 copy of Infinity Gauntlet #1. Once the artist arrived, I sent a text to Stephen to bring the book. I wasn't expecting "witness" Bob to bring it himself. It was a full hour before I got the signature and I woul
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CGC at Baltimore: Day One

Or how many is too many? I couldn't do much. In fact, I couldn't do anything at all. But I did have fun. I was able to get three Starlin signatures on three different Strange Tales...after waiting two hours in line for him to arrive, which was the same time the allotment of books received by CGC was just too much, so while I waited for the cosmic creator to arrive, onsite closed. I was four to five aisles away from CGC, maybe six and I kept watching as CGC employees carried box after box past
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CBCS vs. CGC: An Opening Salvo

Or Please Don't Delete Me CGC began doing business amongst massive scrutiny. In the beginning, it was a rare occurrence to have a retailer or collector accept them as a beneficial commodity to the industry, rather than a bane. I once discredited CGC myself on heresy alone. I felt comic books were meant to be read, not slabbed.       CGC was initially started for the sole purpose of protecting the consumer. How many people have purchased a pristine looking comic book at a premium price on
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If they weren't thrown away in the first place.

Did you watch the final seconds tick away as the ending bids kept increasing. What's a comic book worth anyway?           I think with today's prices and inflation we forget how much a million dollars actually is. As a young kid, my sister tried to teach me how much $1 million dollars actually was. The main difficulty she had teaching this to me was that I had no idea of the value of a single dollar, let alone one million of them. We were in the kitchen discussing the vastness of it. Sh
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A Little like Surfer; More like Fleas

If I can't afford Action Comics #1, isn't this the next best thing? I look, once my invoice is marked shipped/safe, I look. I can't seem to help it. Recently Surfer 99 had one of his invoices marked shipped/safe. I told him to look. I demanded he do so, I begged, pleaded, and beseeched. He did not. He likes the toy surprise inside the Cracker Jack Box. My ill' bro Bagofleas had an invoice also marked shipped/safe. He said he refused to look. I twisted his arm. He looked.       I have an
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Bidding on SuperMan's First Appearance

When a Million Dollars is not Enough Austin Powers had Dr. Evil hold the earth ransom for 1 million dollars. He was corrected by one of his henchmen, it wasn't enough. One of the greatest financial decisions you could make is when you finance a car or a house, but now you can add buying a comic book to the list. With 6 days left the highest graded copy of Action Comics #1 has already surpassed 1.75 million, $550,000 more than what I told my coworkers I bid.       Of course, this is a boo
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A Curious Effect

Does CGC take CBCS as a serious threat to their business model. While my modern tier submission seemed to quicken, my fast track submission lingered.       Since CBCS was announced to the collecting masses, I have noticed CGC changed a few things. First, they changed the way they graded restored books. So far, this did not affect me. The other thing that occurred is that CGC started to utilize their Facebook page; something that was rarely done.       I like seeing new books, and w
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Thank You, Hank Pym

Or, what I saw at CGC. In January I was at the CGC offices, grading comic books. One of the books that came through was a commissioned piece by Natalie Sanders, which had been purchased by a friend. I drooled, salivated, and turned slightly green with a tinge of envy. However, I had to put it into the back of my mind, because I had a job to do.       Before I left the offices, I asked Bradley to let me know if he ever saw an opportunity arise again for such an opportunity to get a commis
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When a Variant Hurts

Will they or won't they??? The Mile High SDCC drama unfolds. I can not say I have never bought a variant. In the nineties I was guilty of wanting the gold variants from Valiant. However, when it came to the first variant I can remember buying, it was the Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21. I picked my favorite between the two covers available. This is something I still do, with a few exceptions. If a variant is priced higher than the cover price, case in point 1:200, I tend to pick the cover price
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Soaring as Captain America

Is this worth a new #1 or #100 It isn't breaking news, it's everywhere and it started on the Colbert Report. The Falcon has been announced as the next Captain America. He isn't the first to take the mantle over and I'm sure Steve Rogers will be back. After all, the Winter Soldier more recently accepted the shield after the "death" of Rogers, and in the eighties when Steve was "fired", the US Agent had the title and the shield and yet Steve still returned, but what makes Sam Wilson worthy this
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Holy Moly Batman

...or Meeting Neal Adams...again Two years ago, while attending Philadelphia Wizard World 2012, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Stan Lee. Anyone who has seen Stan in the past few years knows a meeting with him only lasts a few seconds. The amazing part about it was how I met him the first time. On the first day he attended the con, during his first signing I was escorted to the front of the line. How could it get better than that? Let's flash forward to NYCC 2013. I was getting signat
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My "181" Grail

This isn't the 181 you're looking for I still possess the first three books I ever had graded. Recently I cracked one to press, had it signed, and graded again. I'll write about that later. One of my first ten graded by CGC was an Incredible Hulk 181. Unfortunately, an old roommate decided to switch his copy with mine. My copy was equivalent to what my ASM 129 graded the first time. The copy he switched with mine received a 3.5, and I have since lost the desire to ever own one again. But, a
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Two Days in; Three Books Back

Or...this is the end... The main reason I go to Wizard World is because of CGC. If they weren't there I wouldn't bother going. I collect comic books not pictures of movie stars, although I must admit the thought of Karen Gillian is very appealing to me. Last week I took a day to go to the New York Special Edition. I found some books I was looking for and happily brought them home with me. I could have turned them over there, but then I'd have to wait a few months, especially since they are o
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Brain Paste

Or on mt way to the con. I was stressing. The morning of the first New York Special Edition was a very stressful beginning of the day. Even though I left with more than ample time, I should have realized that the trip to New York would be anything but easy, especially after what transpired a few days before. Wednesday, three days before the New York Special Edition was to open, I had yet to purchase my train tickets to get me there. I stopped at Suburban Station to purchase them. Normally I
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CGC and Points

Could CGC reward us with a higher point system? Every year CGC has the registry awards. Recently a journal was written on how any obscure sets should be omitted. You can read what David Swan had to say http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=15401 CGC complied with at least one of his suggestions, but could CGC also reward someone who diligently collected, who scoured the back issue bins, who tirelessly followed auction after auction to put together a set
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My Daredevil passes through ECCC2014

Or can CCS do much better? My first CGC experience was at a Wizard World convention. I purchased two graded books from a vendor as a novelty. At the time, I considered them to be the equivalent of someone giving me a shot glass from another country. It was nice to have, but with no real value. I found myself a bit more curious, I brought some of my favorite comic books to the convention for CGC to grade. One of the ones I picked was my copy of Daredevil #168. Throughout the years, this part
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It was a Longshot

Or Closing in on 600 I went to ECCC for a few reasons. The main one was to hang with RonnyLama, Lee K., Shivabali, and Surfer 99. The other was to get some books signed. Not just any books, but one of my favorite series of books. When my first LCS turned me onto back issues, I scrounged to buy the Daredevil Miller years. A few of those greatest issues being 158, 168 (more on this later), and 181 were on the wall around the store. This location is where I drooled the most and found the greatest
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CBCS vs. CGC

Or, And in this corner... The gauntlet has been thrown. Someone put their money where their mouth is and that someone is Steve Borock. I too once did that by meeting with CGC to try to get a job. I flew down to Florida to try my hand at grading. The three days there were great, but alas due to reasons that I will not disclose I did not get the job, although I was good enough to be offered one. I do know more about the grading practices and "secret sauce" of CGC but will not discuss that e
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What if it isn't CGC?

Or Don't blame the dog for what the cat did. What if the Barex material they use is causing the lateness? Grading comic books is relatively easy, all you need is a good eye and an honest opinion. The first time I graded comic books I was approaching twenty. The one thing I had to learn while grading them was I had to be impartial. These were my books and of course I wanted the best possible grade, however just because I wanted the best possible grade doesn't mean it was. I was in the CGC
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Shaking Up the New Mutants

Or these aren't the X-Men your parents told you about. I've decided to narrow down my sets. At one time I took over the first place position of the New Mutants. I did this by having a single book more than the previous holder and a lot more signatures. This has since changed. Bagofleas regained first place without looking back and I helped him do it. I also built my set by his rules. Nothing under a 9.8 was posted. That is about to change. I'll have three sets and I hope that will dwind
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