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Hibou

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About Hibou

  • Birthday 11/22/1969

Personal Information

  • Hobbies
    Art, Music, Sports... collecting!
  • Location
    Upstate New York

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  1. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    This weekend started with this... Please try to help Raccoons when you can. My daughter got this plush at the Marvel store in Disney World for my wife and I. There's certainly a story behind it but I'll save that for a little later. She's a senior in college this year and so her and her roommate decided to go there for spring break. She said it was a lot of fun but very expensive. Anyways, this was the perfect gift for us... a little sad though. Guardians 3 was such a good movie! It's been a crazy busy past few weeks but I certainly have a lot of good purchases to talk about soon enough. I had a rather long update all typed up last weekend but lost it all with another pc crash. That's kind of why I may do these disjointed posts going forward until I can get things stabilized a bit with this wretched antique of a computer.
  2. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    As St Patrick's Day weekend approaches, I'll pay a toast to my dear friend from Ireland who is by far... from Ireland. (That's a long story!) Cheers to you Rob... \
  3. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    Now I think I understand what 6's and 7's mean but give me a second to make sure...
  4. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    Intermission... This was always David's song for me and as I later found out, it was one of the last songs he listened to on this plane. I think he did that for a reason.
  5. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    This weekend was a good one. I helped my older daughter with her cell phone plan and then my wife and I picked up our younger daughter from college to bring her home to apply to our local university for graduate school. We told her that the only thing we asked was that if she accepted their offer, she wouldn't end up at the bookstore. If she did, she'd end up working with Rob and that would be terrible... (Just kidding...) Anyways, before we picked up our daughter, my wife and I stopped at this local used bookstore and I found a few interesting items, but it was what I found as we were leaving the establishment that had me in circles for the rest of the day! Before I get to that, I'll start with what I found that piqued my interest on this day... The first, was a set of Alien Legion (#1-#8) from 1984... I loved this title back then and I had a good friend in high school that shared my passion of this title so it was really nice to find this set which set me back by $16.00. ... ... The second item was this advertisement from 1882 featuring two owls enjoying an adult beverage (I think)... And the last item was this original signed promotional piece. I'm guessing it was from the 1930's as it features the image and signature of Vincent Lopez (Big Band Orchestra) and Sonny "Skyler"... You'll all recognize this song from a famous 1939 movie performed by the duo. For $10.00, how could anyone pass up this great piece of Americana Big Band Era History?! ... ... ... But it was this one book that was simply sitting on a window shelf that had me in knots... the price was steep but after talking to the bookshop owner about it, he offered it to me at a 50% off reduction. I passed. It ate at me the rest of the day as it started to drastically affect my mood. I knew in my soul that I shouldn't have passed on it, but with my other weekly financial obligations, it just wasn't the right time. Additionally, I think I wanted to do some research first. Well... I did the research and hopefully in a couple of days, I will be able to complete this possibly wonderful story!
  6. It's interesting to see actual graded examples and the wide range between a 3.0 and a 7.0.
  7. She was one of my favorite artists that I got to interact with at a show. Very saddened by this news.
  8. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    So that's the prelude as to why I shifted my purchases from the Fantastic Four to the X-Men during these months. Again, I was desperately trying to save my family... Obviously, none of this worked out, but in my mind (and still to this day), I felt that there was a path forward, towards achieving this... somehow. And it was those thoughts led me to this next purchase which was a copy of X-Men 133, or what's now been distinguished as "Wolverine's first solo story", from 1980...
  9. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    Through the late summer months into autumn of last year, I couldn't stop listening to Depeche Mode. In some weird way, that helped keep me grounded surrounding the turmoil that fell upon my family... the power of music. Some perfect stranger sneaks on tip-toes Steals my Shadow and goes where I go... (Hello David. What do you want to do today?) Following my binge buying of Fantastic Four books, I started to drift towards some X-Men books as I previously mentioned. I suppose that purchase of that Jim Lee X-Men 1 was kind of the bookmark to that. It represented the bridge between David and I. I can't remember if I told the complete story here or not regarding David and my wife but I suppose this is as good a night as any to start this journey. I guess I'll start with a little bit of time travel as it goes back to my original Rusty Staples, Sunken Treasure journal... the part where I told the story of being introduced to John Byrne's X-Men while in middle school in the early 80's by a friend of mine named, Brian. This was around 1982/1983 when I was introduced to John Byrne's X-Men and it had such a profound effect on me. I have to admit that I was more captivated by the artwork than the story telling by Chris Claremont, but now looking at these books from a 54 year old perspective, rather than from a teenager's perspective... it was both of their contributions that made that run so magical, in my opinion. That's probably why I ordered this today and can't wait to dive into it... Anyways... I was very familiarized with the X-Men and in the early 1990's, after my experience at the Joe Kubert school in NJ, I started working at the local university bookstore. Eventually, I would meet my wife here but this is where the story of David and I begin. Let's call it 1990. David was 9 going on 10 years old and this cute girl would sometimes bring her son in with her to work if there was a day off of school or a snow day or something to that effect. Well, I was seeing someone else at that time, but whenever this woman would bring in her son (David), I would end up, unknowingly, "baby-sitting" him. I'm not sure if that came across appropriately because I never thought of those days as "baby-sitting". I will never forget one of our very first conversations at this back table within the department that I worked. Somehow our conversation led to comics and then to (of all topics!)... the X-Men. He actually asked me on that day, how I knew so much about the X-Men and comics in general. That. That day... That was when and where our deeply rooted connection was formed. Over 30 years ago. So... This is weird to write but it's certainly the truth... David and I shared a connection longer than my wife and I... Try to figure that one out!
  10. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    Ok. Sorry CGC. Yes, I took liberties here and yes, it was fun. Ultimately, I just wanted to post the truth and I guess here we are...
  11. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    Another weekend finds its way in... how in the world does this keep happening? Today was a good book collecting day as I went up to my favorite LCS to take a look at a couple of low grade collections. I ended up buying this one collection that certainly needs some work, but holds a lot of potential based off of what may transpire in the Deadpool / Wolverine (Deadpool 3) movie. These were mostly early (new) X-Men books with most of them in the Byrne / Claremont era. There were a few that I wanted for my PC regardless of grade so I was happy to pick those up. Anyways, I'm starting to get an idea as to what is actually happening to me and it's both interesting and bittersweet at the same time. I kind of feel as if I'm looking at pop culture events and objects through the eyes of my son as if he were actually right along side me viewing this in real time as I would be viewing this. I know that some of that thought is based off of circumstance as in this moment in time, it was not meant for him to go... but it just happened to end that way. The books he lost - I'll find. The events he was thrilled to look forward to - I'll witness. The injustices he faced - I'll fix. You know, in some strange paranormal way, I feel like we're going to see this through together... one way or another. That probably makes no sense but it does to me as I write this and that's all that matters, right? ... ... ... Maybe it's the night that makes all of these thoughts materialize. Or maybe it is not the night, but rather, it's sister... Ok, yes... I just wanted to hear this song and wedged that in but can you blame me? It's a beautiful song. Something else that I've noticed that has changed in me is my attention to grades relating to certain books that I've been targeting. You see, I keep thinking back to when I was looking through David's books and seeing for the first time, the love that he had for certain titles and characters. It was never about centering for him. It was never about page quality, nor ultimate grade. It was always about the book. If you loved the book, character, story, or artist... that's all that mattered and to some degree, that's the attitude that I seem to have found myself adopting. To hell with the 9.X's... I'll get the book I like and be happy with it! And so here I was, looking at random auction sites when I found this one X-Men book that just screamed out to me. You have to get this! It was the ultimate rare copy after all... A 9.8 copy of the Jim Lee era, X-Men #1. However, this ultra rare copy was encased in one of CGC's Modern Era label slabs and based on my equations and based on current market trends and newly adaptive trading... This super rare copy of X-Men 1 (1991) should grade out today at a CGC 17.0 !!
  12. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    It was a tough night...
  13. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    As 2023 came to an end, the one thing I couldn't shake was where David was when I first met him. We're going back 33 + years now... I'll get to that story soon enough but I have always, and will always, associate the X-Men with both David and myself. Again, I'll get to this story soon enough but David and I initially connected (33+ years ago) based off of the X-Men. Many years prior to that, my comic universe blew up when I was introduced to John Byrne's X-Men (through a junior high school friend) in the early 1980's so that's where we're at. Once I attempted to resurrect my family with the Fantastic Four, it appears that I also tried to go back in time and pull David back into this timeline by revisiting The All-New, All-Different X-Men. There was that one book that I never owned that I tried to obtain prior to theendoftheworld... but there was also Wolverine (of course), but then there were these whispers of something else on the horizon. Yes, I bit... slightly. I heard those whispers of a certain pop star that might be a part of this movie that I (and David) couldn't wait to see, in Deadpool 3, especially in terms of what characters might surround this movie. Now this distant rumor sounded plausible but I didn't think that it would create the hype that it did. I went out and secured a copy of X-Men #130 that I was comfortable with, based on eye appeal and price. I've always really, really liked this cover even though I wasn't a big fan of the character. For me at this point, this wasn't a speculative buy as it was just more a 'piece that needed to be added to a personal collection'. X-Men 130 and the 1st appearance of Dazzler from 1980... So is Taylor Swift going to be Dazzler? I have no idea - most likely not, but can I actually nominate a singer for Dazzler as well as slide in a much needed intermission here? How about, Dazzler meets Kiss. This is Michelle Joy of Cannons (dressed as Dazzler for Halloween) with her band (dressed as Kiss)...
  14. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    As 2023 would finally come to an end, this would absolutely be where I spent the most of my money during the year... on Fantastic Four books. It is kind of ironic as with the previous incarnation of this journal, that's exactly what I was trying to focus on. The Fantastic Four and a funny green skinned alien with a large head. The sad part about these acquisitions though is that they weren't part of a forced focus - rather, they were a subconscious attempt at retaining... or regaining my family through the constructs of these heroes of my past. So yes, despite the Scarlet Witch... despite PulpFest and The Shadow.... hell, even despite BlueCoal... The Fantastic Four was where I looked to save myself. ... ... ... These are those 2023 additions...
  15. Hibou

    Digital Staples.

    The last Fantastic Four book I bought I guess brought this whole story full circle in a way. One night, I was just mindlessly browsing eBay and Mercari when I saw this book at too good of a price to pass up. I did have a relatively respectable raw copy that I believe I mentioned before but this graded copy I found, looked pretty good. Again, the price was just way too good in my opinion. It's funny, but I when I started this latest incarnation of my journal, I was trying to explore the sudden incredible spike that comic books in general took... and now here I was on the other end of that swing where so many books were dropping down to levels last seen before theendoftheworld in 2020. It was only fitting as I had just bought the misprint version of her 1st cover appearance, at a CGC 5.5, and now I had her 1st appearance too... at a solid CGC 6.0. Perhaps I was hoping that she could explain these funny symbols to me that started to appear in my head during those terrible weeks of August. Talk to me Agatha Harkness...