• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

n2wdw

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,895

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Journal Entries posted by n2wdw

  1. n2wdw
    I have 858 CGC books.  Actually, that's 858 in my registry sets.  If you also count the ones not in my sets, I'm probably well over 900. 
    One thing about slabs, they take up a lot of room.  I have 12 CGC boxes so I store many of my slabs there.  I store the rest on shelves in my comic room.
    In my old comic room, I displayed CGC books on wire shelves, somewhat like dealer walls at cons.  Below are a couple pictures from my old comic room.  These wire shelves did a good job at displaying books, but I could only store 1 or at most 2 deep.  So they were good with display but not storage.

     
    When I was designing my new comic room about 3 summers ago, I knew I had to made the shelves deeper.   My new room is much smaller than my old room, so I couldn't afford to have shelves that could only store slabs 1 or 2 deep. 
    In my new comic room, there's a main wall that's all shelves.  Below is a picture of version 1 of the shelves.  You'll see at the top I have a tall shelf to store original art.  Below that art shelf (and above too, although you can't see them in this picture) are shelves to store CGC books.  The shelves were just under 6 inches deep.  Within a year though, I was already running out of space.

    So last summer I re-did the shelves.  Below is a picture of version 2.  The shelves are much bigger, about twice as deep.  I added 2x4 beams to support the weight of the greater number of books.  The shelf with my drill is sized height-wise to hold original art.  Most of the others are sized to hold slabs.  I do have a couple shorter shelves that can hold comics in Mylar, but aren't tall enough to hold slabs.  This variation in heights was done to make maximum use of the wall.  You might ask, "what is that window doing at the back of the shelves?"  Well, as I explained in an earlier post, my new comic room is in an addition to our beach house, and that's a bedroom window (the bedroom is obviously on the other side of the wall).  The contractor was going to charge me to take out the window and replace it with drywall.  I can't remember exactly how much, but it was over $1000.  I told him not to bother with it.  The art I display on the shelf blocks the window so no one in that bedroom can see into my room.

    Below are pictures of those shelves with stuff on them.  Thanks for reading.



     
     
  2. n2wdw
    As I mentioned in my first post, my main collecting project right now is to get a copy of every comic with a cover by Matt Baker.  By my count there are 293 Baker comics.  Currently I have 133 of them, so I still have a long way to go.  Here are a few from my collection.

    Most of my Bakers are raw (88 are raw and 45 graded).  I store the raw Bakers on shelves in a small alcove in my comic room.  Like most beach houses, we have a shower you access from the outside (so you can wash off when you come off the beach).  The alcove is above the shower so that's why it's kind of small.  Anyway, I built shelves in the alcove to store comics.  You might wonder about moisture getting into the alcove but that's not a concern because the shower below is well ventilated.
    The shelves though are narrow.  Here's a picture to show scale.  They are about the size of a Pop figure box turned on its side.

    I used to store the raw Bakers in 4 rows on one of the shelves -- see the picture below.  You can see I was running out of room.

    So recently I built more shelves in the alcove -- see below.  In this picture the raw Bakers are still stored in the narrow shelves, on the left.  I built the shelves so below there's room for 2 CGC-sized boxes.

    The new shelves are much deeper.  Below is a picture of the Pop figure to show scale. 

    Now I store the raw Bakers in 2 rows on one of the new shelves.  Even though I have them in 2 rows (rather than 4), the bigger shelves give me room for expansion. 

    This next picture provides a better view of the alcove and the new shelves.  I'm always trying to figure out ways to display comics.  Here I'm displaying some of my favorite Bakers, his romantic covers with minimal writing on the cover.  Thanks for reading.

  3. n2wdw

    Comic Spinner Racks

    By n2wdw,

    I have 2 comic spinner racks in my comic room.  They're not vintage.  I bought them new a few years ago.  I think the company went out of business though as I Googled them last year but couldn't find them.
    Here's one of the racks.  It's not the best picture but you can kinda see I keep my Sin City collection there, as well as Tomine's Optic Nerve (which is the best "slice-of-life" series IMHO).

    I hang action figures on the racks, including this Gwen Stacy.  I got John Romita to sign it years ago at a MegaCon.

    Here's the 2nd spinner.  In this rack I have the complete Strangers in Paradise series, along with Astro City, Marvels, Planetary and Miller's DD run.

    I have a third comic rack, but it's not a spinner.  It's the kind you attach to a wall.  I like it because the bins are wider so I can store Silver Age books there.  Here are a couple of pictures.  Thanks for reading.

  4. n2wdw
    I have 2 TVs in my comic room.  That may seem excessive since the room is small (about the size of a bedroom), but the room has 2 main areas and there's a TV in each area.
    Our house has a single floor (I'll call it the ground floor, although it's raised from the ground by about 4 feet).  The 1st area is on this ground floor.  I have a 1080 flat screen with Apple TV and Roku.  I can also attached my iPad to it.

    The 2nd area is "upstairs." It's build on top of our ground-level shed, so it's about 4 feet higher than the 1st area.  You get up to it via a wood ladder, with Tim Sale's Gwen Stacy looking at you.

    Upstairs I've got a smaller flat screen.  It's only 720 but actually it's a better TV so the picture quality is better.  A DVD player is connected to this TV, and I've got some of my favorite movies and TV shows there.

    Changing the subject completely, Manhattans are my drink.  I typically prefer them served on the rocks, but up has its advantages.  This is especially true if you know the bartender, as sometimes he'll give you the leftovers to top up your drink.  It's like getting 2 drinks for the price of 1.   Here's my drink from this weekend with dinner out with the wife.  For food I got a Caesar salad with grilled salmon.   It was a great dinner!

  5. n2wdw
    Here are 3 new additions to my Lady in White collection.  As I've mentioned, to qualify for this set, the cover has to have a gothic feel to it, with a damsel in distress wearing a flowing white dress or gown.  The books have to be at least 9.0. 

    One of the books came with this flyer.  So some people consider the original collection by @miraclemet to be a pedigree, which I definitely think is fitting.

     
  6. n2wdw

    Displaying My Statues

    By n2wdw,

    I started collecting comic statues a few years ago.  There's something cool about seeing your heroes in 3D. 
    Collecting statues is a challenge though, because they take a lot of space.  Early on I decided to throw away the boxes.  I wasn't going to keep the statues "mint-in-box," and I didn't have the room (or the desire) to save empty boxes. 
    Even still, displaying statues takes a lot of space.  I devote almost an entire wall of shelves for statues, and others are scattered throughout my comic room.  Here are a few of the statues in my comic room.



     
     
  7. n2wdw
    Along with Matt Baker, Dave Stevens is one of my favorite GGA artists.  I started reading and collecting Stevens years ago, when Rocketeer appeared in the old Pacific comics.  I have just about all his comics, and a few years ago I began collecting graded copies of his covers.  This year, I made it to the top of the Dave Stevens Covers registry set.

    I'm not sure how many more books I'll be able to add to my set.  Finding high grade raws to grade are near impossible, and many Stevens comics -- the ones I don't have -- have only 2-3 copies on the census (so rarely turn up for sale). 
    So I'm turning to other Dave Stevens things to collect, like raw autographed comics and his non-comic work.  Anyway, here are a few of the comics from my Dave Stevens Covers registry set.





     
    I am not a big fan of CBCS -- in fact I use CGC exclusively (with the exception of 1 comic) -- but the one thing they offer that CGC doesn't is their verified signature program.  They use CSA Comics (an autograph authentication company) to verify unwitnessed signatures.  You obviously need this for people who have passed away.  Dave Stevens died in March 2008 and I believe CGC's SS program started that year.  So I guess it is possible there are CGC SS Dave Stevens books out there, but I have never seen one.  I do, however, buy raw comics autographed by Dave.  Last year I got a nice looking Cheval Noir #7 and decided to try out the CBCS service.  Here it is (hopefully posting this won't get me kicked off the boards).

  8. n2wdw
    A few years ago @miraclemet put together a collection he called Lady In White.  Then after putting it together, he decided to sell it.   I remember reading with great interest his posts about putting the collection together, and then how sad I was when he decided to sell it (but of course I think we all understand wanting to change collecting direction from time to time).
    Anyway, fast forward to a few weeks ago.  I was looking at some of my comics and I realized my herd included "Lady In White" books.  So I decided to put together a Lady In White collection.  But what to call it?  Damsel In White?  Gothic Chicks?  Really, "Lady In White" was the best name.  So I PM'd miraclemet, and he gave me permission to use the name "Lady In White."
    To be in the set, the cover has to have a gothic feel to it, with a damsel in distress wearing a flowing white dress or gown.  The books have to be silver or gold, perhaps bronze, but definitely not modern.  For bronze and silver my threshold is at least 9.0.  I haven't decided yet for gold.  I think I'm going to be strict with myself on these guidelines or else the set will lose direction and won't be as much fun. 
    Here's what I have so far.  (I originally posted this in my old journal; I'm posting it here to continue the quest ....)

  9. n2wdw
    I won 2 Bakers this week on eBay.  I'm especially happy with Midget Comics #1.  It's offered so infrequently I went all in with a max bid of $100 -- and then it closed at only $8!  I paid a bit more for Crown Comics #6, although it likely went lower because of its PGX grading rather than CGC.

  10. n2wdw
    I've been posting in my old-format journal for about 4 years and I finally decided to venture over here (if you're interested, my old journal -- with the same name -- is here: https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/312873-n2wdws-comic-book-room/).  I've moved over partly because I'm intrigued by this new journal format.  And partly because of Photobucket's new ransomware policy of requiring you to pay $400 per year for 3rd party hosting.  My old journal has not been affected yet, but it will be soon, and I'll lose the pictures from all my journal posts except recent ones where I directed loaded the pictures.  In other words, my old journal will soon be ruined, as I will not pay $400/year to PB.  If they offered 3rd party hosting at $100 or even $200 a year I might pay, but not at $400.  To me -- as with many other people (just check the internet) -- that's tantamount to extortion and I won't support such a company.  Even if PB changed their policy I might not go back to them.  PB is essentially dead to me.
    So here I am.  A little information about me.  I'm 55, married for 25 years, 4 kids ages 22, 20, 18 and 16 (by the end of the summer).  Three of my kids are in college but I'm in, as they say, my prime earning years, so I'm spending more on comics now than I ever have.  I've been collecting as long as I can remember.  My favorite comic is Spider-Man, following closely by Cerebus and Strangers in Paradise.  I started collecting as a completest, and I've completed most of the Marvel silver age titles and have long runs of many DC silver titles.   Now though, I'm no longer a completest.  Instead I primarily collect keys and good girl art.  One of my main collecting pursuits at the moment is to get a copy of every comic with a cover by Matt Baker. 
    My wife and I plan to retire in about 6-10 years.  We have a little beach cottage and we'll spend our golden years there.  When we're not there we hope to travel the world.  A couple years ago we did an addition to the house, and that included a comic room where I keep my stuff.  This comic room is smaller than my old comic room (by more than half), so I have to be careful with what I buy.  So, unfortunately, there will be no GI Joe USS Flagg aircraft carriers in my future.  But I'm pretty sure I can keep collecting keys and GGA.
    So anyway, here is the door into my comic book room.  Come on in and look around.  I hope you come back often.

  11. n2wdw
    It looks like comicon is thinking about not letting people who bought tickets during pre-registration to participate in general registration. http://sdccblog.com/2012/08/sdcc-2013-open-registration-pre-registration-buyers-left-out/
    It looks like comicon is thinking about not letting people who bought tickets during pre-registration to participate in general registration. http://sdccblog.com/2012/08/sdcc-2013-open-registration-pre-registration-buyers-left-out/
    Long story, but during pre-registration I was only able to get a ticket for Sunday. I live out on the east coast and it doesn't make sense for me to travel all the way to SD for just Sunday. So if this decision is made then they'll be no SDCC for me this year.
    Truthfully, I was already thinking about skipping it this year and going to WW Chicago instead. SDCC has become such a hassle. Getting tickets is just step 1. Then you've got to get a hotel room, and last year for me it cost too much because I lucked out on the hotel reg process. And then there are all the crowds.
    I've been to WW Chicago twice, and both times it was pleasant: easy to get tickets, hotel room (right across the street), good selection of comics, more artists than I have time to see, and travel/hotel/food much less expensive so I have more to spend on comics.
    I think this announcement by SDCC has made the decision for me, because it's reminded me of how much a hassle/cost SDCC is, so I think I'll go to WW Chicago no matter what the SDCC decides.
    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  12. n2wdw
    This past Sunday I went to a local northern VA con in Dunn Loring. This con is held every few months. It's held at a fire station, which always reminds me of cons I went to as a kid.
    This past Sunday I went to a local northern VA con in Dunn Loring. This con is held every few months. It's held at a fire station, which always reminds me of cons I went to as a kid. The place was packed, and it surprised me at how many dealers were selling comics for a quarter a piece, all in alphanumeric order and long runs of titles. I don't even bother with my want list at these boxes, I just grab want I think I might not have. There were also alot of 50 cent and dollar boxes (again, in alphanumeric order), but there didn't seem to be much difference between those "higher cost" boxes and the quarter boxes. I could have spent more time there, but I had to get home to help decorate the tree (and to watch the Redskins).
    The con also had a pretty good selection of silver and gold (for a local con), and I picked up a few silver age Marvels for pretty good prices (ie, less than ebay or comiclink).
    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  13. n2wdw
    XYZ
    My collecting focus has changed over the years, but what's been constant has been my goal of finishing my "original marvels" runs. For me, as a kid, the original Marvel titles were ASM, Avengers, Cap, DD, FF, Hulk and Iron Man, and my goal was to get complete runs of all these titles. I completed them all a few years ago, except for the very early ASM and FF, which I'm working on gradually (I'm missing about 15 issues).
    Most of these runs I keep in long boxes, like these 4 boxes for ASM:

    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  14. n2wdw

    n2wdw's comic book room

    By n2wdw,

    With Lady Mechanika #4 so delayed, there seems to be a drop in demand and prices of back issues.
    Initial prices in Ebay remain high, but sellers seem willing to deal (at least some). I've always liked LM. The story's great, and the Joe Benitez art is excellent. I've been able to pick up a bunch of CGC copies for reasonable prices. I've even taken over the #1 registry spot for the LM set! This is my first venture into the registry and it's kinda fun. Also a great marketing mechanism for CGC, as it fires the competitive spirit and makes you want to send more books to CGC. I've even gotten into the yellow label thing for blue labels I already had, for the extra points. (It would be more fun though if the registry updates happened more often.)
    Here's a picture from my comic book room, where I display the LM CGC books.

    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.