surfer99

Thank you for sharing your story and posting these cool books! I don't frequent the boards because to me they're all over the place and hard to follow sometimes. I like the journals cause they are more of a one stop shop. I don't see a lot of GA so I'm glad you posted these. Look forward to seeing more!

Ready for another vacation... My family and I were fortunate enough to go to So Cal over the holiday weekend. We spent the first night hangin out in Downtown Disney. The next day we lounged about at Huntington Beach and had lunch on the boardwalk before meeting some friends for dinner in Hollywood. It was cool to see the street performers and stars on the walk of fame...Marilyn Monroe had some tiny hands and feet! The next few days and nights we were at Disneyland and CA Adventure. My legs and feet are still mad at me, but it was a blast. We drove back home to AZ and the next day I was on my feet again walking all around Phoenix Con. It was a great show and seems like it's doubling in size every year...over 100k people this year. Several great comic dealers and lots of cosplay made it lots of fun. You can see a couple of the nice books I walked away with below. I also picked up a high grade copy of Marvel Team Up 141 that Arthur Adams signed for me. I will share that went it comes back from CGC. The great Jim Steranko was also there too but I didnt have anything worthy for him to sign. Hopefully the opportunity presents itself another time. Also had a few books signed by Todd Nauck for bagofleas. Always happy to help a friend, and he was nice enough to return the favor by recruiting a friend to get Roy Thomas to sign a couple of my books at Heroes Con. I got a premium CGC membership this year for the first time and picked out the 4 best looking books in my collection that werent already slabbed so I could use my coupon. I knew these werent in NM shape but I was hoping for VF/NM with a press. Thankfully I showed these to a dealer I trust, Ed Robertson, and he gave them the once over while taking the time to show me the flaws I hadnt seen before. After reviewing the prices these books sold for in the grades he believed they could achieve with a press he recommended against wasting my coupon on them. I appreciate his advice and will spend the next 10 months looking for worthy raw copies to submit before the coupon expires. Would love to find a Werewolf by Night 32. Why is that book so dang hot? Likely people expect it to become a film or show, and rightly so, Moonknight is a great character. I mean, um, that book is garbage, none of you should want it...at least not until I get my own copy, haha. Lastly, best of luck to all on the registry awards! Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Stan's Soapbox... If you've ever read some of the great Silver Age books that Stan wrote, especially Tales to Astonish, you no doubt have noticed that he was a bit of a male chauvinist...or at least he portrayed women in such a way that leads you to believe he was. He can be forgiven, it was a sign of the times, and as such was reflected in his writing. One thing you never did see though was bigotry. In fact, he spoke in depth on this topic in the Stan's Soapbox section of Fantastic Four 81 which I just read. In case you don't have this issue, or maybe just don't read this section on a regular basis, I typed it up below for your reading pleasure. After reading this, I have a new respect for Stan the man. The fact that this was printed in 1968, the year of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, tells me he was speaking out against that kind of hate in the best way he knew how. STAN's SOAPBOX Lets lay it right on the line. Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. But, unlike a team of costumed super-villains, they cant be halted with a punch in the snoot, or a zap from a ray gun. The only way to destroy them is to expose them -- to reveal them for the insidious evils they really are. The bigot is an unreasoning hater -- one who hates blindly, fanatically, indiscriminately. If his hang-up is black men, he hates ALL black men. If a redhead once offended him, he hates ALL redheads. If some foreigner beat him to a job, he hates ALL foreigners. He hates people he's never seen -- people he's never known -- with equal intensity -- with equal venom. Now, we're not trying to say its unreasonable for one human being to bug another. But, although anyone has the right to dislike another individual, it's totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race -- to despise an entire nation -- to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance. For then, and only then, will we be truly worthy of the concept that man was created in the image of God -- a God who calls us ALL -- His children. Pax et Justitia (Latin for peace and justice) Stan. Nuff said! Til next time... *** See more journals by surfer99

Stan's Soapbox... If you've ever read some of the great Silver Age books that Stan wrote, especially Tales to Astonish, you no doubt have noticed that he was a bit of a male chauvinist...or at least he portrayed women in such a way that leads you to believe he was. He can be forgiven, it was a sign of the times, and as such was reflected in his writing. One thing you never did see though was bigotry. In fact, he spoke in depth on this topic in the Stan's Soapbox section of Fantastic Four 81 which I just read. In case you don't have this issue, or maybe just don't read this section on a regular basis, I typed it up below for your reading pleasure. After reading this, I have a new respect for Stan the man. The fact that this was printed in 1968, the year of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, tells me he was speaking out against that kind of hate in the best way he knew how. STAN's SOAPBOX Lets lay it right on the line. Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. But, unlike a team of costumed super-villains, they cant be halted with a punch in the snoot, or a zap from a ray gun. The only way to destroy them is to expose them -- to reveal them for the insidious evils they really are. The bigot is an unreasoning hater -- one who hates blindly, fanatically, indiscriminately. If his hang-up is black men, he hates ALL black men. If a redhead once offended him, he hates ALL redheads. If some foreigner beat him to a job, he hates ALL foreigners. He hates people he's never seen -- people he's never known -- with equal intensity -- with equal venom. Now, we're not trying to say its unreasonable for one human being to bug another. But, although anyone has the right to dislike another individual, it's totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race -- to despise an entire nation -- to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance. For then, and only then, will we be truly worthy of the concept that man was created in the image of God -- a God who calls us ALL -- His children. Pax et Justitia (Latin for peace and justice) Stan. Nuff said! Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Latest addition... Where have the journals been? OK, I'm writing this for all of you who miss reading journals as much as I do. So, I celebrated my birthday last week. Cmon, dont get personal and ask how old...just know that Im feeling my age, . My loving wife of 24 years...no, she is not 24, we have actually been married for that long...gave me a small budget to buy myself a comic. She knows I love comics, but doesnt have a clue what I would want so I am totally cool with getting it myself. Anyway, the book I chose is a CGC 9.6 copy of Avengers 137 which features the Beast and Moondragon agreeing to join the team. Ive always liked this cover and as I looked at the date of publication I realized, hey this book features an Xman appearance the month before the reprints ended with Xmen 94. This means it will be added to my Xmen the Missing Years set! When I first considered this issue for the set I left it out because I figured if the Xman was part of the team, ala the Champions, then it didnt really count as an appearance per se. Im waivering on that a little with the addition of Avengers 137, but my logic is that Beast didnt join the team until the end of the issue AND it features Toad, kind of, who is an Xvillain, so you know what...Im counting it. Issue 136 was a reprint of Amazing Adventures 12 so Im standing firm on not adding that one. So pretty cool right? New book for my birthday and my favorite comic book set! OK, thats all Ive got for now. Tag Tnerb or bagofleas, or any others who are willing to write the next journal, you are it. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Heard about a comic stash... So a friend of mine told me he was in downtown Phoenix a few days ago at an electronics reclamation store and he ran across several boxes of comics buried in the backroom amongst all the other stuff they had for sale there. He knew I collected comics so he gave me a heads up in case I wanted to go check em out. Today was that day. Would I find an Amazing Fantasy 15 or Fantastic Four 1 like Ronnylama and Tnerb jokingly suggested, or more likely would I find the junk I expected? I arrived at the store which was in a seedy part of town (thankfully it was daylight), parked my truck in the dirt parking lot, and walked through the front door with bars on it (and the windows). I was immediately overwhelmed with the smell of what reminded me of my grandmother's house mixed with an auto repair shop garage and dust. The older man and woman who worked there were nice enough and left me to my own devices as I took a look around what turned out to be a huge warehouse full of all kinds of...well, stuff. Lots of old electronic equipment and small box after small box of various machine parts. As I walked around I tried to soak in all the odd things I was seeing in this warehouse including dusty old musical instruments, old photography equipment, stuffed panda bears with real working fish tanks for stomachs, credit card machines, a dirty litter box in the corner, a wall of military patches, barber chairs, outdoor lighting, and a bunch of stuff that I had no idea what it was. Finally I came upon a row that had like 20 small boxes of comics on the top! This was it...what the heck could they have hidden here? Find out next week when I continue this journal... OK, that would be pretty messed up after I got you all sucked into this story, right? So, Im looking at the first box and its got all these oddball Image and Independent titles from like the last decade or whatever, and a few DC and Marvel oddities from the same time period...not exactly what Im lookin for. The first thing I noticed about the books tipped me off to what I was really looking at...all the backing boards had a store stamp for Atomic Comics. This was a local store...actually they had 3 stores here...that closed its doors several years ago. I always wondered what happened to all their inventory. Im sure they sold all the good stuff online or to other comics shops and then all the leftovers, well they landed here. Then it hit me...this reclamation store, this is where businesses go to die once they go out of business. Hey look over there...stacks of old DVDs with Blockbuster stickers. Yep, suspicions confirmed. Kind of sad really, but interesting to see all this old stuff. I still took the time to look through the rest of the boxes. You never know right? Maybe somebody missed something. Oh, here are some XFactor books...nope, issue 7 was as close as I was gonna get to issue 6. Dang. I got really excited when I saw Hulk 289, 288, 286, 281...come on this is one of those junk issues thats gotta be here, but no...there is no issue 271. Sigh. Well, I didnt find any gems, but I gotta say I did have fun on the journey. Now I feel like heading to the flea markets and looking on Craigs List in search of comic treasure. Nah, I think I will get ready for ECCC instead! Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

ECCC is only a couple weeks away! Hard to believe its been a year since my first trip to Emerald City Comic Con where I met great friends, enjoyed great food, and picked up some great comics. Seattle is a cool city and I cant wait to go back in less than 2 weeks! Over the past year Ive managed to gather a few Silver Age books worth considering for grading, and several Modern Age gems. The plan is for Ronnylama to work his pressing magic on them and we will see if he and Tnerb deem them grade worthy...although they are pretty strict so I may have to just take my chances on a couple. If Im lucky I may even pick up a few nice books at the show or even at a LCS there. I would like to maybe get some sigs like last year too, but it doesnt look like it. While there are a lot of cool guests appearing, there arent many creators from the Silver and Bronze Age...despite all my lobbying to ECCC to send an invite to Steve Englehart. Neal Adams will be there and of course Stan Lee, but I dont really have anything for either of them to sign. In any event Im really looking forward to this trip and will no doubt post a trip summary when I get back like I did last year. If any of you have attended or plan on attending a show together, please write a journal or leave a comment about it. As fun as this hobby is, it is even more so when you share it with others who love comics as much as you do. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Latest addition... Not what you were expecting I know, but still...I love this book. I saw that Herb Trimpe was going to be at the Amazing AZ Con in February this year and I really wanted to find something cool for him to sign. I could have him sign my reader copy of Hulk 172 but I already have a 9.6 copy that I dont want to crack and the reader would only get like a 9.2 with a press, so nah. I decided to check the comic book database to see what else Herb had a hand in creating and thats when I came across Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD 15. I know, I know, he is not in any way related to the Bullseye we all know and love from Daredevil 131...which I would also like to pick up someday...but this is like the proof of concept character that inspired that Bullseye so to me thats pretty cool. Rather than having a supernatural ability that allows him to always hit his target, this Bullseye relies on weapons he creates himself that strike with amazing accuracy no matter who is pulling the trigger. He uses just such a weapon, a rifle that tunes in to the specific heartbeat of its victim, to assassinate Nick Fury in this issue. Wait? Nick Fury was killed? Well thats sure the way it looks until you follow the story in the next chapter in Avengers 72! I love it when storylines transition from one title to another like that. Also featured in this issue is an appearance by a rock group called Country Joe and the Catfish...never heard of em, but turns out they used to sing anti-war songs during the Vietnam era. In this issue theyre singing about the Fantastic Four and Dr. Strange, . Sadly, poor Bullseye meets his maker at the hands of Dum Dum at the end of this issue which is unfortunate cause he really could have had a great run if another writer took the time to develop the character. Oh well...Bullseye, you will not be forgotten and your legacy lives on in the new Bullseye. P.S. Ive never cracked a slab myself so I may need to look up that YouTube video we made with Ronnylama at ECCC last year. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Thanks bagofleas for this annual reminder... We spend so much time and money looking for that next great addition to our collections, it's nice to take a moment and appreciate the books we already own. So on that note I will follow bagofleas lead and take stock of my top 10, comparing it to my last top ten from 9/21/2010...been awhile since Ive done this apparently. The one caveat I will make is that this list is specific to graded books, and not any that are currently raw. 10. Tales of Suspense 82 CGC 9.4 WP (previously Marvel Team-up #4 CGC 9.6) New to the list, and a title that's new to my collection. I was drawn to this set because of the early Cap appearances and have not been disappointed. This copy I actually submitted to CGC myself and was very happily surprised it came back NM. It also features the first appearance of the Adaptoid who would then evolve to become the Super Adaptoid in issue 84. I look forward to collecting all the Cap issues in this run in high grade. 9. Fantastic Four 28 CGC SS 7.0 OW/WP (previously Hulk #181 CGC 8.0) New to the list. I have a couple of issues signed by Stan and this one tops the list featuring the second crossover appearance of the X-men. I wish it was in higher grade, but still a keeper any way you look at it. 8. Avengers 110 CGC 9.6 WP (previously Hulk #172 CGC 9.6) This one took a drop from number 2, but is still one of my favorite covers. I remember how excited I was to win this auction and the one for the third part of the story in Avengers 111...the second part of the story was in Daredevil 99 which I also own in the same grade as these. Did I mention I love crossovers? 7. Fantastic Four 104 CGC 9.6 WP (previously Hulk #150 CGC 9.6) New to the list. This is another iconic cover featuring Magneto on his throne with his foes at his feet and their beautiful women his captives. Magneto is best when he plays the egotistical maniac. 6. Marvel Team-up 4 CGC 9.6 WP (previously Giant-Size X-men #1 CGC 8.0) This one moved way up from number 10. With the X-men appearance and tough black cover it was inevitable. Very key book from the X-men the Missing Years collection. Love it! 5. Amazing Spider-man 92 CGC 9.6 WP (previously Captain America #173 CGC 9.6) New to the list. Such a great book. Iceman and Spidey together is always a good time. I remember it wasn't cheap, but I was so excited that I had won the auction...one of those books that really stands the test of time and all the whats hot whats not phases. 4. Marvel Tales 30 CGC 9.6 WP Twin Cities, Ka-Zar 2 CGC 9.6 OW/WP, Ka-Zar 3 CGC 9.6 WP (previously Captain America #172 CGC 9.6) New to the list. If bagofleas can have several books in one category making up one of the top 10 slots then so can I. These will never leave my collection. Each issue is part of a 3 part original X-men story featuring The Angel and the death of his father and it's written by none other than Jerry Siegel...the same Jerry Siegel that created Superman. That would be like Stan Lee writing a Hawkman book or something. How cool is that? 3. Amazing Adventures 11 CGC 9.6 WP (previously Avengers #111 CGC 9.6) New to the list. This is one I never thought I would own in this grade just because of the high cost. Thankfully I got a big bonus at work one year and my wife was very supportive of my decision to purchase this beauty. Awesome black picture frame cover featuring the first appearance of the Beast with fur. 2. Giant Size Fantastic Four 4 CGC 9.6 OW/WP (previously Avengers #110 CGC 9.6) New to the list. Of all the books in my collection, this one proved to be the most difficult to find in grade. It took YEARS of looking at auction after auction. I finally found one during a ComicLink auction one year, but that same auction also featured a copy of FF 104 CGC 9.6 and I could only afford one of the two. I chose the FF 104 at the time because I loved the cover so much. If I had known how hard it was to find the GS I would have picked that one up instead. Fortunately the person who purchased that book from ComicLink also sold it years later on eBay...to me! First appearance of Jamie Madrox the Multiple Man, appearance by Professor X, and a key book in my X-men the Missing Years set. 1. Hulk #181 CGC SS 8.0 OW (previously Amazing Adventures #16 CGC 9.6) This one took a huge jump from number 9. Honestly it should have been number 1 all along, but now even more so since it's been signed by both Len and Herb! This was the first CGC book Ive ever owned, and it was a gift from my amazing wife on 12/25/2006. It was the most nerve-wracking decision to get it signed this year, but it SO paid off...taking something so special to me and making it even more special. Sometimes, the risk really is worth the reward. Lastly, these 10 were on the bubble and honestly could still fall anywhere in the 7 thru 10 range, but this is a top 10 list and not a top 20 so here are the honorable mentions in alphabetical order... Amazing Adventures 10 CGC 9.4 WP Rocky Mountain Amazing Adventures 16 CGC 9.6 OW/WP Daredevil 111 CGC 9.6 OW/WP Fantastic Four 48 CGC 8.0 OW Fantastic Four 103 CGC SS 9.4 OW/WP Hulk 150 CGC 9.6 OW/WP Special Marvel Edition 15 CGC 9.4 WP Strange Tales 120 CGC SS 8.0 OW/WP Giant Size X-men 1 CGC 8.0 OW X-men 141 CGC 9.6 WP, X-men 142 CGC 9.6 WP Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Fan Fest 2014... I know I just wrote a journal, but I had two things I wanted to chat about. So this past Saturday my wife and I attended her company Christmas party, held every year in Phoenix on the baseball field where the Diamondbacks play. We had a great time...it was a Latin theme with hot dancers, a performance by Pitbull (and some guy I hadn't heard of, Daddy Yankee), and the food/drink was even better than last year. This brings me to the next morning when we decided to check out the inaugural Fan Fest comic book convention...held in Glendale on the football field where the Cardinals play. How cool is that? Now if only there had been an event on Friday on the Suns basketball court I could have completed the trifecta, . Anyway, it was a small convention, put on by the same people that do the Phoenix Con in May. Still, there were several dealers and lots of fun stuff to check out so I'm glad we went. My favorite dealer was there, Ed Robertson, so it's always good to catch up with him, and I did walk away with a few nice copies of TOS for my collection. I'm looking forward to watching this con grow next year with even more comics! I will leave you with a pic of the dancing Deadpools...these guys were having a blast, there were like 8 of them doing the can can, . If I don't talk to you before then, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

This is what I'm told... So I was at the mall this morning doing a little Christmas shopping and I passed through a Barnes and Noble bookstore. They have a great selection of board games and toy figures now...and of course comic books. After reading SW3Ds journal about newsstand copies I thought I'd see if they had any Marvel titles worth picking up. But wait...why is it that all I see are DC titles? I checked with the clerk who informs me that yeah, Disney/Marvel decided to pull all their books from large retailers, opting instead to distribute solely through small businesses (which she clarified to mean comic book shops). Say what?!? Does this mean no more Marvel direct editions? Appears so. There were still plenty of DC copies though for whoever is interested. I know, I know, it's like saying there are plenty of Booster action figures when all you really want is a Turbo Man (for all you fans of the Jingle All The Way movie, ). RIP Marvel newsstands. *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Felt like writing... Just chillin on a Saturday night and had comics on the brain so thought I would write about them. It's been cool reading Tnerb's journals this month and seeing some great books, like that DD 7..even if it IS only a 5.5 haha. Just kidding, I would totally take that book in a 5.5 even. DD is a pretty cool character and Im sure Im one of the few who actually enjoyed the DD movie. Lately Ive been buying fewer and fewer modern books and more and more Silver and Bronze books. Tales of Suspense has been my favorite with Captain America. Anyone else think Cap should have started his title at number one and Iron Man at number 100 instead of the other way around? Iron Man was on that book first after all. Oh well. Ive also been enjoying Strange Tales with Nick Fury. I even picked up a crossover appearance of Nick in a monster book, cause you know I love crossovers...Creatures on the Loose 35. Havent read it yet, but lookin forward to it. Thats the problem with the older books...they cost a lot more than Modern books so I have to savor them longer before reading and filing them. The last cool book I bought was from my LCS last week. Journey Into Mystery 107 featuring the first appearance of the Grey Gargoyle. Its only in VG but still nice for a reading copy. I wont go into it here, but Im sure Im not alone when I say that the only real Thor is the Odinson and the only real Cap for that matter is Steve Rogers. I will leave it at that. OK thats enough writing for now. Gonna go read Iron Fist 12...that is a cool Cap story. Hope everyone has a great weekend! *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Movie inspirations... I picked up this book cause I liked the cover and I remembered its the second appearance of Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD. I saw a decent copy of issue 135 for sale several months ago and Im still kicking myself for not snagging that one. Side note...the actual first appearance of Nick Fury was really a couple of years earlier when he was just a plain ole Sgt in Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos 1. Anyway, I enjoyed the story and couldnt help but think the Captain America movie drew certain inspirations from this book. Namely, there is a scene where Fury walks into this barber shop thats really a secret SHIELD base...kind of like that scene from the movie where Steve walks through the door of a store thats really a front for the secret military installation where Cap was born. Then there is another moment where agents of Hydra are trapped in a SHIELD facility and spy a window depicting a cityscape below thinking they will smash it to make their escape, only to find the street scene was painted on the outer section of a wall...kind of like that scene in the Cap movie when he first wakes up from suspended animation. Are these ideas that may have been repeated in various forms in other books and movies? Sure. Im just sayin that due to the time period of this book and the strong ties to Nick Fury and Hydra, my money says Marvel was thinking of this book...and who knows how many others...when they created the Cap movie. I think its smart and a great thing for comic book fans like ourselves who love these stories and appreciate the movie even more when we discover similarities like these. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Featuring the 1st appearance of Ronan... Its that time of year again when I need to curb my comic book spending...mounting debt and holidays approaching and all that. There are a half dozen books I really want to send to CGC, but again because of budget constraints I have to wait...which is fine. Of course this doesnt mean I have to stop collecting comics, I just cant spend as much as I would like. Fortunately Im still able to unearth amazing books from my LCS at a premium discount so not all is lost. Which brings me to the most recent addition I picked up and the title of this journal. Sifting through Silver Age back issues I found this beauty. I knew the significance of the book when I saw the cover and the condition looked to be VF to me...the price too was insanely low, so I snagged it. I'm not a huge Guardians of the Galaxy fan but I used to love watching Ronan battle the Silver Surfer back when Ron Lim was on that title so I have an affinity for the character. Now I guess the only question becomes do I eventually get it pressed and graded? I compared it to my Hulk 181 which is an 8.0 and the wear is very similar so Im thinking it has a great chance at that grade. Looking it up on eBay...cause who knows, I might need to sell it someday...the 8.0 graded copies are selling for about 200. The raw copies advertised in the VF range are going for about 75 to 100. Looking at the numbers and adding in applicable fees, the valuation is probably the same between graded and ungraded...either way I would be making like 10 times what I paid for the book which totally rocks. So what is the general consensus on this one...to grade or not to grade? Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Latest addition and one step away... Its official...my Xmen the Missing Years set is now 97% complete with the addition of Fantastic Four 103. Only one more book is needed to complete the set! Every book in this collection has been hard to find, and sometimes afford, in high grade but somehow Ive managed to get them all in NM- (9.2) or better with most being NM+ (9.6). I actually saw this copy for sale a couple of months ago, but the seller wanted almost twice what I was willing to pay for it. I emailed the seller an offer but they were only willing to come down like 18%...so I waited. The seller steadily dropped the price over the next couple of months until it finally landed on my initial offer and I made the purchase. I could have lost the auction to someone else, the seller could have stuck with his initial asking price and let the book sit unsold in limbo for years, but thankfully those things did NOT happen and it is now in my hot little hands. About this book... Release date was the same year I was born, 1970 Part 2 of 3 in the Magneto/Sub-Mariner team-up to take over the world Features an awesome Thing vs. Sub-Mariner battle over land and sea...this is one instance where the cover doesnt let you down and you come to find out there was like a two second battle, haha Features a cameo by President Richard Nixon who would later be revealed in the pages of Captain America 175 to be Number One, leader of the Secret Empire Written and signed by Stan Lee on 9.8.12...this is the first time Ive ever bought a Signature Series book thats already signed Drawn by John Romita and signed by John Romita Jr. in homage to his father on 9.9.12 With all that going for it I just couldnt pass up such a great book. I will continue to search for the last missing piece to my collection, but for now Im going to enjoy my FF 103 and go back and reread the whole storyline. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Latest finds from my LCS... I cant be in Baltimore enjoying the con with friends so I will satisfy my comic cravings and journal jonesing with stories of my latest local acquisitions. I love browsing Silver and Bronze back issue Marvels at my LCS...I never know what cool books Im going to find and truthfully I would much rather spend my money on reading copies of these than most of the Modern stuff out today. I only collect a few new Marvel titles any more...Uncanny Xmen, Uncanny Avengers, All New Xmen, Avengers. Yeah I think thats it...although because of Tnerbs review I may have to start reading ASM again, especially since Peter is back. I would love to read Cap but I stopped picking that one up when the latest volume started cause the stories were just bad and now they have gotten worse with Cap losing his powers. Sigh. Anyway, this journal was supposed to be about Marvel Feature. I like the Tales to Astonish stories with Ant Man and when I first saw these Marvel Feature issues I thought maybe they were reprints or something, but they are actually new stories. The last solo Ant Man book, or really Giant Man to be technical...its still Hank Pym any way you look at it...was Tales to Astonish 69 from July 1965. Hank was still with the Avengers as YellowJacket until he and the Wasp were essentially replaced by Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch in Avengers 75 from April 1970...my birthday book that I really want in high grade someday by the way. Ant Man and the Wasp would not be seen again until Avengers 137 from July 1975 when the Beast joined the team...another book I would love to have in high grade. Prior to that time however Ant Man and the Wasp had a solo book run in Marvel Feature issues 4 through 10 starting in July 1972...this was the reintroduction of Ant Man, and an underrated book IMO. This is the same Marvel Feature that gave us the first appearance of the Defenders in issues 1 through 3...I have not read those but would like to at some point. I was able to pick up issues 4 thru 8 at my LCS and have really enjoyed the stories so far so I purchased issues 9 and 10 off eBay as well to complete the set. Gotta have the whole story, right? Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

They really aren't about the comics... My wife and I decided to take in a matinee this afternoon at a small local theatre in Tempe...the movie was Maleficent. It was a bit of a chick flick but I liked it...totally flipped the whole Sleeping Beauty story. Anyway, as we were walking into the theatre we noticed a small new comic book store in the corner of the shopping complex. After watching the movie we of course decided to take a peek inside the comic store. I am noticing a prevailing theme in these new stores... Young guy behind the counter, nice but knows nothing about comic books as evidenced by the lack of knowledge when attempting to discuss anything from the latest comics to the greats of the Silver and Bronze Age. New comics on the wall, a few Copper Age CGCs which was nice, but nothing of significance. Magic the Gathering cards, Star Wars toys, mini fridges filled with sodas, and a couch with a video game console. A couple things that were different with this one... Several pages of original comic book art from some Sabretooth comic and other character art, all priced at 250 bucks each. Long boxes packed with LOOSE comics from the Copper Age mostly...yes I saw some New Mutants being mangled in there...and modern comics printed within the last couple of years all nicely bagged and boarded. Makes no sense to me. In the end, wanting to support a new local business, and a comic shop no less, I walked out of there with a bagged 10 issue reading copy set of Daredevil from the Bronze Age...issues 120 through 130. I picked up some earlier Daredevil issues from my LCS a couple weeks ago and have really liked the stories so why not. It seems new comic shops have a serious lack of inventory problem when it comes to older comics as this is not the first time I have experienced this. I also think these new shops are geared more toward new readers inspired by the awesome comic movies we have seen in recent years...and thats OK. If kids wanna read through some cheap older books, new books, grab a soda and play video games at their new LCS I say more power to them. As for me, I just hope there will always be comic shops out there with plenty of older inventory that can satisfy my collecting and reading interests. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I managed not to peek... I was telling Tnerb as soon as I saw the book had been shipped safe that I REALLY wanted to check the grade online, but somehow I managed to contain myself. I have never had more anxiety about the grade of any book in my life. This book has a lot of significance for me for a number of reasons. Sure its the first appearance of Wolverine, but more importantly its the first graded comic Ive ever owned...a beautiful 8.0 copy given to me by my wife 2006 as a Christmas present. Now I can blame her for all of the money spent on CGC books since that time, . Anyway, while checking out who was going to be attending Phoenix Con this year I saw the names Len Wein and Herb Trimpe. Now why do those names sound familiar? Ohhh yeah, the writer and artist who created Wolverine! Hey, how cool would it be if they signed my Hulk 181? Then again, what if the grade dropped...that is too horrible a thought, Im not gonna do it. Besides, CGC isnt going to be there anyway so they cant witness the signatures. How can CGC not be there? This is Phoenix Con, its huge. Let me check the boards to see if anyone else is going and if there are other options. Turns out a very nice gentleman by the name of Hank Pym was going to be there...and he was a certified CGC witness. Ive never used a witness and didnt know how the process worked. I reached out to Hank and he was more than happy to assist me if I wanted to get my book signed. Now comes the days of indecision...should I or shouldnt I? Ultimately I decided, if it happened, a lower grade Hulk 181 signed by both creators was more prized to me than an unsigned 8.0 copy. Besides, its not like I would ever part with this book so what the heck. The result...if you havent peeked already...is below. I am extremely pleased it turned out the way it did. No regrets whatsoever with the decision. Hank had his reservations because the signatures arent very prominent, but I really like the signature placement...Lens blends in with the shadowing of the Hulks muscles and Herbs blends in nicely with the pants. This is cool to me cause it doesnt take away from the art itself. Thank you again Hank for being there for me throughout the process, and to Tnerb for encouraging me to go for it while I seesawed back and forth. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

True or False... I was reading some of this stuff and found it hard to believe so I thought, hey maybe I should write a journal to see how much my fellow collectors know. So...these are all true or false and once everyone has had their fun guessing, I will give the answers. If you believe something to be true and can even site the issue where this occurred then we will all be doubly impressed. If something is true and you can prove it, but I thought it was false...well, then I will just be embarrassed. Good luck and have fun! 1. Quicksilver can fly. 2. The Angel can breathe in space. 3. Magneto was turned into a baby. 4. Black Bolt once destroyed a planet. 5. Cerebro was first called Cyberno. 6. Jack O Diamonds was the first evil mutant. 7. Iceman was the last Xman to join the team. 8. President Nixon committed suicide. 9. The White Queen can deny a mutant the use of their powers. 10. Shang-Chi means "the rising and advancing of a spirit". 11. When Hulk gets mad he used to turn back to Bruce Banner. OK thats all I can think of right now. For more fun with Marvel trivia, I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book/game called Obsessed with Marvel...I got it as a gift a few years ago and it has 2,500 questions...I still only get about half of them right. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

No peeking... Here we go again, no peaking and revealing to you as I open the box! These are the last few books I submitted at Emerald City Comic Con this year in Seattle...so sad there are no more coming from that show...until hopefully next year. I had to get these pressed at CCS...I picked them up at the show so there wasn't time to let Ronnylama work his magic on them. Let's see how they turned out. This is like opening birthday presents, so excited. Box is opened and first book turned over is...Special Marvel Edition 15. This is the first appearance of Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu. My friend LeeK handed me this book and said it was time for someone else to appreciate this beauty. It was a PGX 9.0 copy and I was ecstatic...it is now a CGC 9.4 copy with White Pages. How crazy cool is that. Thank you again Lee. Ive since picked up a few issues from this series for reading and theyre a lot fun. I would love to see this character featured in a Marvel movie. Time for the second book...Xmen 121. This is the first full appearance of Alpha Flight. I found this book in an obscure little dealer booth hidden between larger booths full of toys and tshirts and other random stuff. Super nice lady and her son ran the booth, which was like 5 foot by foot, but big enough to hold several rows of comic boxes and a small display stand on which I saw this book. It was a PGX 9.4 copy and I got an amazing deal on it...it is now a CGC 9.6 copy with White Pages. SO happy. OK, last one...Daredevil 159. This is the second Frank Miller work on the title and features an appearance by Bullseye...not to mention the secrets of Daredevil's billy club are revealed. I picked up this one up at the aforementioned little comic booth as well. I ran across it while flipping through the boxes of raw books and thought it looked like a 9.2 so for the low price I jumped on it. I am pleased to see that it exceeded my expectations...it is now a CGC 9.4 copy with White Pages. All in all I am extremely satisfied with the work done by CCS and the grades received from CGC...in the end it was worth the money spent and the 4 month wait. Ive got a few other books ready to submit, but its going to be awhile...this hobby is expensive. In the meantime I look forward to reading the acquisitions of others while I await my final CGC invoice. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Latest addition... I don't know why I did it. Maybe I was channeling my inner Tnerb, but I saw this on eBay recently and figured why not throw up some ridiculously low bid and see what happens. I was very surprised when my bid won...less than a dollar more and I would have been outbid. Of course I sent a text to Tnerb right away to say, hey I just bought my first New Mutants CGC book. He agreed I got a smokin deal so Im happy with the purchase. Im not really a New Mutants fan to be honest but for some reason I do like this cover, and the fact that it features the first appearance of Thunderbird II was the clincher for me. Who knows, now that Ive created a New Mutants set I may just have to keep an eye out for some other key issues. My son has always wanted the first appearance of Deadpool and I wouldn't mind owning the first appearance of Cable...two issues I had in high grade once upon time, but I sold them before they got hot. Oh well, Im sure I will find reasonably priced copies at some point. Until then I am content owning issue 16. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

The book that never was... I picked up what I would say is a NM copy of Giant Size Super Stars number 1 from my LCS awhile back. It features a cool Hulk vs. Thing cover and I thought maybe this was some reprint that Marvel rewrapped in a new cover, but no it actually was a new story and I really enjoyed it. I even considered getting it graded, but after checking eBay even 9.6 copies weren't selling at low prices so I decided just to keep it raw in my collection...it may not have investment value, but at least I have a very nice reading copy. So as I was looking through the ads and reading the previews...I know Im not the only one who enjoys doing this on these 60s and 70s books...I saw a preview for Giant Size Super Stars 2 featuring Morbius vs. Spiderman vs. Man Wolf. As it turns out, that book was never published and the Giant Size Super Stars title ended after issue 1, but it did continue in a way with Giant Size Fantastic Four 2. Now I'm wondering if that Spiderman story was ever published and just under a different title maybe, does anyone know? Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Look what came in the mail... After answering that all too familiar knock at my door tonight I was greeted by my friendly neighborhood UPS man who presented me with not one, but TWO boxes from CGC! OK so they are not huge boxes, but still exciting for me. Like last time I am opening these up one at a time and sharing with you as I go. These are some of the books I submitted at ECCC and I believe Ronnylama had a hand in pressing them for me. Let us see what happens... Tales of Suspense 82 CGC 9.4 WP 10/66 1st appearance of the Adaptoid...later becomes the Super Adaptoid I really did not expect this to grade so well. I thought maybe a 9.0 or 9.2 at best...and white pages even, wow. I think I picked this one up at my LCS awhile back. I have been collecting higher midgrade reading copies of this series because I really enjoy the Cap stories. When I saw this copy looked really nice and had a first appearance of a character I liked I had to get it graded...preserved for future generations and on display for all to appreciate. Avengers 104 CGC 9.4 OW/WP 10/72 Sentinels appearance Slight disappointment with this one since it is for my Xmen the Missing Years set and I was hoping for a 9.6, but a 9.4 is nice too. Still a nice grade for an early Bronze Age book and Im happy to have it in my collection. Spidey Super Stories 6 CGC 9.6 OW/WP 3/75 Iceman appearance I know what this next book is before I even flip it over because the back cover gives it away. There is a 9.8 copy for sale on wwcomics but it is hard for me to drop 200 on such an obscure title and issue. So what happens when I get to Seattle for ECCC...the great and kind Ronnylama, knowing I wanted this book for the aforementioned Missing Years set, presents me with a copy he picked up for me. Yeah, theres that comradery and community in action we all love hearing about. Now lets see what how it turned out...wow, 9.6! Thats amazing and I couldnt be happier with that grade. Thank you again Ronnylama! That is all for the first box. Im so happy, I could stop now...but, naaahh. Lets open the other one and see what we got. Only two books in this box and both with a yellow label. Daredevil 158 CGC SS 9.0 OW/WP 5/79 Frank Miller run on Daredevil begins. Signed by Joe Rubenstein on 3.28.14 and Klaus Janson on 3.29.14...Name written on 1st page in pen. Another gift from Ronnylama...I dont think either one of us saw there was a name written on the first page, but it doesnt bother me since it came back with a yellow label. Not a bad grade either, and the memories I associate with it now make it that much more special. So cool. Marvel Team Up 100 CGC SS 9.6 OW/WP 12/80 Origin and first appearance of Karma; Xmen cameo Signed by Klaus Janson on 3.29.14 There was a comics shop in Anaheim I visited a few years ago and they had like 6 of these that looked to be in really good shape. I picked out the one I liked the best with the intent of getting it graded. I took the book with me to CGC when I saw that Klaus was gonna be there and the rest is history. Very happy with these results. Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I love these... My favorite comics are those featuring the Xmen from the Silver and Bronze Age and I love crossover books, so its only natural that my collecting focus gravitated toward Xmen crossovers during that time period. I started rereading some of those this past weekend in fact...cant get enough. As I looked through my collection I noticed I also had some crossovers that werent Xmen related, and I really liked them too. To clarify, when I say crossover Im referring to a story that started in one title and the continued in another...not to be confused with a guest appearance which is self contained within one book...I like those too, I just dont think of them as crossovers per se. Now Im looking to collect, at least VF reading copies for now, of any Marvel crossovers featuring characters I like...heroes or villains, Xmen or not. I started putting together a list, but would love some help if any of you fine people can think of any that I might like. Avengers vs Doctor Doom: Super Villain Team Up 9 Avengers 155 Avengers 156 Avengers Defenders War: Avengers 115 Defenders 8 Avengers 116 Defenders 9 Avengers 117 Defenders 10 Avengers 118 Spiderman and Sub Mariner Team up: Daredevil 77 Sub Mariner 40 Hulk vs Psyclop: Avengers 88 Hulk 140 Thanos War: I realize I am missing a ton here but these at least allow me to get the gist of the story... Avengers 125 Captain Marvel 33 Avengers Annual 7 Marvel 2 in 1 Annual 2 Death of Nick Fury: Nick Fury Agents of SHIELD 15 Avengers 72 Angel Solo Story: KaZar 2 KaZar 3 Marvel Tales 30 Magneto vs. Everybody: I love how all these books tie in together and make reference to what happened with Magneto previously, taking us on that journey with him... Tales of Suspense 73...no Magneto, but key to the storyline Avengers 47 Avengers 48 Avengers 49 Xmen 43 Xmen 44 Xmen 45 Avengers 53 Xmen 62 Xmen 63 Fantastic Four 102 Fantastic Four 103 Fantastic Four 104 Amazing Adventures 9...man this issue is hard to find in high grade Amazing Adventures 10 Avengers 110 Daredevil 99...no Magneto, but key to the storyline Avengers 111 Defenders 15 Defenders 16 Xmen 104 Super Villain Team Up 14 Champions 16 Juggernaut vs. Everybody: Xmen 32 Xmen 33 Xmen 46 Dr. Strange 182 Amazing Adventures 16...this issue also part of a crossover with Thor 207 and JLA 103 Hulk 172 Ultron Battle: Avengers 127 Fantastic Four 150 There are other crossovers I really enjoyed from the Copper and Modern Age like the Mutant Massacre, The Fall of the Mutants, and even Vendetta that just ran through Cable and XForce and Guardians of the Galaxy, but for the purpose of this journal I just wanted to focus on the Silver and Bronze Age. If anyone can think of any great crossovers I might like, please let me know. Thanks! Til next time... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Wish I didn't... I told Tnerb I would wait til I received the books from CGC but that could be another month or more away so Im writing this now. I had 3 invoices I submitted at ECCC...2 Universal and 1 Signature. I filled out 1 CCS form onsite to press some books I picked up at the show, these were Universal...the other 2 invoices I only used CGC forms but was assured they would be sent to CCS first. I saw the Universal invoice that was to go through CCS move to Verified status a couple of weeks ago but no news on the other two...and none of the invoices ever appeared on CCS. I called CCS a couple of days ago to find out if they knew what the status was on any of my invoices. They assured me that the 1 Universal invoice in Verified at CGC had been pressed but the other 2 invoices went straight to CGC and are already graded...without pressing. If I want them pressed at this point I would have to pay for re-grading in addition to the pressing fees. I was told that I should have written PRESS in large print on the CGC forms to ensure they got pressed first. It was also explained that the reason I didnt see the other 2 invoices on the CGC site is because my account number probably wasnt listed on the forms...I checked later and it WAS on the forms so that makes no sense to me. I notice now on the CCS form there is a check box that says Send to CGC...there is no check box on the CGC form that says anything about Pressing or CCS. I asked when I was there...after filling out the one CCS form and the two CGC forms...if I needed to fill out both the CGC and CCS forms and was assured that I did not. I wish I would have done it anyway, or paid closer attention to the check boxes. It is what is at this point...now Im just waiting to see what the grades are when they get here, and without the pressing Im not very optimistic. Such a bummer. Thanks for listing... *** To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.