In the Dark

A journal by Tnerb

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About this journal

Oblivious to anything new

Entries in this journal

The New Mutants

The New Mutants As it was with collecting comic books, it was the New Mutants that drew me into the grading community. I was new and naive. I did not get the small intricacies between a 9.8 and a 9.6. I didn’t realize what a trimmed cover was or how you could tell if a book was restored, But over the years I have learned that as much as I have learned there is still so much more to absorb.   I met Bagofleas through the registry, as I did others, but it was the New Mutants set that
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Having Fun Again...

Having Fun Again   Or   In the Pursuit of Happiness     One of my first goals collecting CGC graded comic books was to get a full set of New Mutants in a 9.8. By the way, the set is still highly undervalued in the points area.  They even added the additional prints of the Marvel Graphic Novel, also undervalued. When CGC first added the Custom sets I immediately added a few…and then left them there.  As we all have some extra time I started to spring clean by de
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New Mutants 58, the results are strikingly Eerie

The box has been open and the cat was dead.     I can’t say I’m surprised. I expected a 9.6 to be the highest grade out of the two that I submitted and I’m ok with that. I just have to continue the search. I did hope that I would finally attain that 9.8, but it wasn’t meant to be.  I have about six conventions scheduled over the next three months so I’ll be back into the boxes again searching.  I even stopped being picky.  I just buy them now to have them.     The other invoi
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My White Whale

I’m sitting here contemplating whether to open the box I just received from Fed-Ex. Last year I submitted two copies of New Mutants 58 to run the gauntlet. This gauntlet of course went through the process of pressing and then grading. I only chose two copies to submit out of some thirty odd assortment of the same issue. I did this with the hope I could finally achieve every single issue in a 9.8 between 1 and 100.  This has not been easy.    The box in question currently sits on my tab
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Feeling Blind

My first Journal was simple. I had a through an dI wrote. Now, thoughts have been few and far between. My life opened and upended again. I am almost exactly where I started and better off for it. However, my collecting has changed, and I don't necessarily mean by grading company. Marvel lost me on all titles but two and that might change to one. I have been visiting more comic conventions in the hope to lose myself into my hobby. Ive been listening to inspirational messages and trying to create
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CGC or the Other Guys...

First off let us state who the other guys are. If they are not CGC, then they are the other guys. I have posted books on social media. And the one thing that was a real turn off is that if I posted a book by the other guys it was ridiculed and deemed a gift grade, no matter what the grade was. If it was a 9.2, CGC never would have graded it that high, or an 8.5...WHAT? With that grease marker... A 9.9... They are giving you a gift. If it was graded by CGC there was unadulterated praise. A Gem
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CGC and the New Case

Or Let's forget about Surfing There has been so much said about the new case and the waves it created. My problem with the new case is totally different. CBCS has their case, PGX has theirs. And then there is Halo and Vault. The case is essential to the collector, or at the very least it is to this collector. In 2007 I immersed myself back into the comic book world and picked up my first two CGC graded comic books. They were both blue label books, one was a 9.8 (eventually I sold this one)
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What have you Lost Lately?

Or I have been "Wallaced" once again. Sometimes my collection is filled not with what I have, but with what I lost. I am a collector. The Star Wars Pepsi cans I had to cut at the bottom to allow the soda to be released without breaking the seal lay in a box some where in storage. The Star Wars action figures are in multiple boxes in multiple closets behind multiple book cases. Should I mention the hardcover novels I like to read, the pops craze that took over my shot glass space, or my digi
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Lee, this is Life

The following is very personal and close to my heart. It's also sad. I needed to vent and I chose to do so where I feel most comfortable. This isn't about comic books.   045772324I've been a private person. I got this from my father. When I started to collect CGC graded comic books I wrote about them in the journals over the years. As I wrote I opened up. I not only told you of my efforts to complete a New Mutants set in a 9.8, not only did I talk repetitiously about my ASM 129, but I also wro
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World's Finest

Originally written for PopCultureUncovered with the upcoming Batman Vs. Superman movie to be released. I hope I did it justice. Batman and Superman: Truly the World's Finest. As a Marvel comic book fan it might be difficult for me to say this, but my first introduction to the World's Finest team wasn't the Fantastic Four, Avengers, or the X-Men; it was the super duo of Batman and Superman. Even though I wasn't around for their first comic book meeting, I was introduced to them in 1981. It im
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Just in Case...

Or a Second thirty in thirty??? I posted about CBCS in a journal earlier today. I'm hoping it will not be deleted, but in case it was, here is another one to keep the streak alive. Covers, let's talk about covers. Graded books can not be read unless the slab is cracked. I don't know anyone purchasing a premium comic book at a premium price just to read it. I'm sure Vince didn't crack open the Action Comics #1 just for that purpose. I will continue to send in the following... New Mutants
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CBCS

Or please don't delete     First and foremost I am not putting this out on the chat boards so my journal can be erased. This is not praise for them nor is it an advertisement for their service.CGC changed the market when they arrived on the scene. Some dealers thought it was a great idea for a third party grading company while others (myself included) thought the idea was dreadful. I'm not sure when PGX started since my attempt to speak with them has been unanswered. I should try again, but
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One Day Left

Things that make you bid on eBay For the past few years when November arrived I strived to write thirty journals in thirty days. The first year I tried, I did it because I wanted to see if I could write when I needed to rather than when I wanted to. I am happy to say that first month, as much of a struggle as it was, was a success.l, as was the following years. Last year, I think I challenged others to write there own thirty in thirty. A couple have tried. I didn't think I could do it this yea
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The Quest is On

Thank you Richard and Wendi In eighth grade I had a friend by the name of Greg Horn. He was one of the few I let know that I collected comic books. I think I did this because he might have let slip during a session of Dungeon's & Dragon's that he liked comic books. One series, I didn't realize at the time was a reprint, was Elfquest. This was originally published by Warp Graphics in black and white. Epic reprinted these amazing stories in color. The first one I remember picking up was is
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One more left.

108 out of 109 isn't bad The only New Mutants issue that I need in a 9.8 is issue #58. There is one out there, but it is already safely in some one else's collection. But then again, the one issue they need in a 9.8, I have the only one, so.... Touché! I have at least ten raw copies of #58, two of which are easily a 9.6, with a press. The question however, is could it be a 9.8? The single 9.8 out there will not be cracked for a signature. The reason why? Because it WON'T retain. So the co
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The First Four

And I don't mean the fantastic kind Both issue two and three of my Daredevil collection are graded by CGC and signed by Stan Lee. I purchased each of these raw, at a convention. When I had them in my hands with a 9.0 grade, I was ecstatic. My first and fourth issue are also signed by Stan Lee. Their grades are no where near as good. I hope to get those a bit higher, but my next Silver Age raw book I am looking for is DD issue five. Wally Wood worked his magic in this issue. If I can only g
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All for One

Picking a Grail There are a few grails I would love to get in a high grade. Once upon a time I picked ten books that one day, I would like to have in a 9.2 or higher. A 9.2 is respectable, but a 9.4 is desirable and a 9.6 would be a blessing. Dare I dream higher? The two books that come to mind are both tied to Daredevil, although not Daredevil titles themselves. I remember reading Amazing Spider-Man 16 over and over again. The Circus of Crime gave both DD and Spidey a battle. The only thin
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A Monthly Budget, but for What?

All for CGC or all for reading? Every week I buy comic books. I buy these to read with no thoughts of grading them. They are plentiful and others have already sent them in. There is no guarantee that what I send in will get a 9.8. But what if I stop buying comic books on my monthly basis for one year? The question then becomes what do I send in? I have already sent in over twenty of my own to be graded, some with signatures. Do I finish those? Do I send in more of Crazy! #3? Or do I waste m
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700

Did I really write that much? 700 is such a nice round number. I wish more of the comic books I collected would reach this number, but the way companies are these days I fear I'll have 700 number ones before having one 700 ever again. I started writing journals when I realized I enjoyed collecting these slabs. My first journal was posted over six years ago. Since then I questioned CGC, thanked CGC, and even propositioned them for a job. I had fun over the past six years writing these jo
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At a con

I love these things I spent a few hours at the New Jersey Expo Center looking through comic books. I bought three books to turn over to CGC, but never did. My wife and I started to collect Funko Pops and I spent a bit on them, not to mention my wife wanted a mystery box. Please don't ask. I did find a Journey into Mystery that might get a .5 that I would like to turn in. As I was heading home I decided to send in ten books. All of which will be for low grades. I have three copies of Crazy I
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Hating number ones???

Who really likes these? What is going on? Why are companies putting out first issue after first issue? Companies look at the numbers and they might show sales but what else do they show? The past few number ones I read don't begin a story as much as continue eight months after the ending of the Secret Wars, especially since the series didn't end yet. I recently picked up a Marvel Super Heroes issue 23. This .25 cent comic book has three stories in it. Wouldn't it be nice if Marvel would con
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Return of the Jedi

Or the last great Star Wars movie??? Return of the Jedi was released in May of '83. It wasn't for another year that I picked up New Mutants issue 15, which started my collection of comic books, but the Return of the Jedi limited series made its way into my home before then. I don't know where I purchased it or if it was a gift. I fathom I got them one summer at camp. This limited series and the picture book (remember school book sales?) gave me the option to relive the movie. It was so good th
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The Empire Strikes Back

Same Galaxy, still far away... I was eight when Star Wars came out with The Empire Strikes Back. My father was remarried but still taking us to movies. I've seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Smokey and the Bandit, and Kramer vs. Kramer to name a select few. I was amazed by the Hoth scene in this newest Star Wars movie. I was even able to get a few more action figures this time around. At eight it's easier to be a pain in the than when you are five. That winter we had a horrible stor
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Star Wars

In a galaxy far, far away... I remember going through the Sunday Newspaper and picking out the times to see Star Wars. I was a child of divorce and Sunday afternoons happily brought me time with my father. I'm sure it was my sister who went outside to retrieve the paper from our front walk. I can easily recall the full page ads in the entertainment section. After seeing such movies like the Rescuers, the Apple Dumpling Gang, and Escape to Witch Mountain, my father changed my world. After th
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Collecting O. C. D.

Overall Comic Desires My collection has to be complete. But what is complete? The New Mutants title has become stagnant since I need only one more. I finished my Magik and Longshot limited series and stopped with my Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars since they climbed in price. The Thing and Ka-Zar are both good backups, but I began to get something a bit more ragged. I can't say when it started or which was my first, but it's those ripped up shredded well read graded .5's I love. I even went
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