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About this journal

My documentation of my collecting journey for my Death and Return of Superman set, from online auctions and purchases of CGC 9.8 examples to submissions of raw books.

Entries in this journal

My Submissions in 2022

Not a bad year for submissions, not a bad year at all.  Here are my self submissions from 2022. August Both of these were pressed by CCS. I’m glad I got the 9.8 on Dracula #2, it was one of only two in Universal 9.8 after I submitted it. This book came sealed with trading cards, there is no way it would have gotten the grade without a press. Honestly, I only threw in the AC #697 with the submission to make it worth the time and effort. I sent the two books to CCS in Augu

Brandon Shepherd

Brandon Shepherd in Submissions

Superman: Newstime

NEWSTIME: The Life and Death of the Man of Steel  I’m grateful to finally have this magazine in CGC 9.8, I’ve wanted it for a long time. For years there were only two 9.8s in the census, @Iconic1s has one, and that copy won’t be going anywhere any time soon. I also figured the other 9.8 more than likely wouldn’t come up for sale anytime soon also, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I purchased five raw copies from the Mile High Comics website in October 2021. After the di

Superman: The Man of Steel #18

Doomsday is here! Superman: The Man of Steel #18 (12/92) is the first full appearance of Doomsday, the villain who killed Superman in Superman #75 (1/93). I just had a copy return to me from CGC and I’m pleased with the result. I found this piece last year at my LCS, I already had a graded copy but I couldn’t resist, I coughed up $35 and never looked back. I didn’t take a good picture but I was amazed at the freshness of the book. The book looked like a solid 9.8. I wa

Superman: The Man of Steel #19

I now have all three printings of Superman: The Man of Steel #19 in CGC 9.8 grade! The third printing was the last one I needed. I had been watching the third printing pictured above on eBay, then one night submitted an offer for the hell of it, to my surprise it was accepted by the seller. These three books look really good together. I just need to get a first printing in a new holder for consistency. The red “Modern” label isn’t going anywhere, you just don’t see to

Superman: The Legacy of Superman #1 Second Printing

The Legacy of Superman #1 Second Printing  I’ve been spending some time over the last few months searching eBay for raw copies of the harder to find later printings I still need for my Death and Return of Superman collection. One such book on my list was Superman: The Legacy of Superman #1 Second Printing, a true ghost, I have yet to see one in a comic shop or for sale online. After searching unsuccessfully, I decided to reach out to a friend, who just so happened to have a 9.8 copy certifi

Action Comics #683 and I

Action Comics #683 (November 1992) is a book I'm quite fond of, not only for the cover art but also for the era the book was published in, collectively referred to in the hobby as Post-Crisis. I also call this time frame (1986-1992) Post-Crisis/Pre-Doomsday, or Pre-Death and Return of Superman, which is my favorite era of Superman reading material, focusing on great stories and character development for all the main and supporting characters involved. I did not start reading comics until ea

ReHolder Delirium and Submission Ambitions

I decided it was time to get back on the saddle. I reactivated my CGC membership because I had some slabs that really needed new holders. I had been putting this off due to a very unfortunate experience I had two years ago with a ReHolder submission. I submitted several books in the spring of 2019 from my Action Comics set, these were expensive pieces from the ‘70s, two of them were pedigrees, one such book was also in a fragile first generation holder, all were in 9.8 grade. I packed them well,

REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN!

REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN! “Reign of the Supermen!” was the third act in the Death and Return of Superman saga, that began in the final pages of Adventures of Superman #500 (June, 1993), with four separate ‘first sightings’ of four different individuals wearing the famous “S” shield.  Each creative team on the four separate Superman titles had their own ideas on how Superman could return from death. The editorial decision was to just use all four ideas, with four very different Super

DOOMSDAY IS COMING!

I’ve recently acquired a new piece for my CGC Death and Return of Superman set, Superman #v2 #73 (11/92). This book completes a set of four, which serves as a bookend to a much larger set. Why? The four Superman titles cover dated November 1992 each contained a teaser page, the last page, warning us that "Doomsday is coming!" While the stories for each of these books had nothing to do with the forthcoming "Doomsday!" storyline, beginning in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 (12/92), the

Brandon Shepherd

Brandon Shepherd

The Death and Return of Superman Collector's Editions

The Death and Return of Superman saga is so 90s, and also credited with the beginning of the publishing gluttony that paved the way for the market crash later in the decade. One such 90s thing about this set is the number of "Collector's Editions" released. I have most of these and enjoy them, but it has been frustrating finding them graded. These editions crowed just about every comic shop in America but I never see any raw 9.8 candidates. Most of the graded examples are also listed with high B

Brandon Shepherd

Brandon Shepherd

Superman: Funeral for a Friend

I've been building the perfect beast that is my CGC Death and Return of Superman set, going on 12 years now. My set is an assemblage of subsets, including the "Doomsday!" and "Reign of the Supermen!" chapters, along with all the multiple printings of the various issues, Platinum Editions (Superman #75, Adventures of Superman #500), and Collector's Editions. Another subset, or beast, is the "Funeral for a Fried" chapter, a collection of nine books that tell the story of a world without

Brandon Shepherd

Brandon Shepherd

The Death and Return of Superman Multiple Printing Saga

My journey into this wonderful hobby began in early 1994, when I found The Death of Superman graphic novel at Kroger, I was 11 years old then. The graphic novel collected the seven issue storyline "Doomsday!", the comic book colors inside hooked me. I had heard of this “event” but I was so late to the party that it was over. The Death and Return of Superman story arc was a trilogy of storylines; "Doomsday!", "Funeral for a Friend" and "Reign of the Supermen!", all ancient history by '94. After I

Brandon Shepherd

Brandon Shepherd

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