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Some Recent Buys and a Trade Recently I picked up fairly nice copies of Rangers 6 and Junie 4, for sending to CGC. I'm working on a complete run of Junie. For Rangers, I'm working on a run of my favorite GGA covers, which all appear before the title turns to a western. I also bought this signed poster of Say Anything, which is one of my favorite all time movies. It's signed by John Cusack. The only registry set I'm actively competing in is the Dave Stevens Covers Set. Me and @Taxmick1 are pretty much the only people active in this set. Taxmick1 has an amazing ability to find copies of obscure Stevens' books. One example is the 2nd printing of 3-D Zone 16 (Space Vixens). Below's the 1st printing, which is common. The 2nd printing doesn't have the writing along the top, and also doesn't have the Canadian price. I've been looking for a copy of the 2nd printing for years. Then a couple months ago, I'm looking at TaxMick's set, and I see he has a copy. I wrote him a message, asking where he found it (hoping I might be able to find one there too). He told me he actually had TWO copies! So I traded for his undercopy (thanks TaxMick!), which was still 8.5 (qualified due to Dave's signature). In exchange, I sent to TaxMick this Sirens of Cinema, which is my undercopy. There are only 4 graded copies: one 9.8, two 9.6s and a 7.5. A few years ago, I wrote to the publisher to see if he had any copies. He said he had one box left. I asked him to pick the best 3 for me, and he did. One came back 9.8 (the one in my collection), and the other came back 9.6 (the one I sent to TaxMick). The last copy I bought from the publisher is still ungraded in my collection. So these are probably the highest graded copies, unless there are some nice copies out in the wild. Thanks for reading.

Minor Tweaks To My Comic Book Room I haven't posted in a while. I just haven't felt like it, given the state of our country. So I've been mostly a lurker lately. Still, I've made a few tweaks to the Comic Room lately. I'm always looking to make more space. I installed this pull out metal shelf. When it's pushed in, it holds my GOT Iron Throne lamp and -- one of the pearls of my collection -- the complete original art for Cerebus #6, which is the first appearance of Jaka. Below's a picture when the shelf is pulled out. Now I can get access to the comics and books stored behind the shelf. And below's a picture of when I shift the Cerebus #6 OA, to show and get access to what's behind the OA on the shelf. Here's where I store some of my favorite movies. I mostly stream nowadays, but I like having DVDs when the Internet is down, or when I want to watch Ultra High Def. Moving to something else, below's another tweak. I'm always trying to find ways to display more comics, both CGC and raws. The below is a pic where I display some of my statues. Now though, I've installed this clear plastic shelf just above the statues. I can still see the statues, but now I have this extra shelf to display comics. Below's a picture where I've placed a Dogface comic, as an example to illustrate how I can display comics on the shelf. Moving on again, here's a corner of my Comic Room where I display some Bettie Page CGCs and autographs. Thanks for reading.

Marvel Preview #6 VG 4.0 $4 take at 25% off

Epic Illustrated #3(B) VF 8.0 This book was pressed $50 take at 25% off

Psycho #8 VG 4.0 $13 take at 25% off

Creepy #11 Fine+ 6.5 $45 take at 25% off

So I find it's kind of hard to place bins, as it's hard to figure out what the high bid is. Maybe the OP can post the current high bids more often. Anyway, for Jumbo #96 I'll increase the current high bid (whatever it happens to be) by $1.

I'll take Comic Images 1995 Golden Age of Comics Promo chromium card. This card is #F1 'Startling Comics #53'. This card was originally included with Overstreet's FAN magazine. Comic Images 1995 Golden Age of Comics Promo chromium card. This card is #F2 'Exciting Comics'. This card was originally included with Overstreet's FAN magazine. Comic Images 1993 Bone, Series One Promo card #3. This Thorn card came with a copy of CARDS Illustrated. Comic Images 1993 Bone Promo card #7. This Checklist card came with a copy of CARDS Illustrated. Comic Images 1993 Bone Promo card #C-3. This Smiley cut-out card came with a copy of CARDS Illustrated.

Comic Link July 2020 Action - Bettie Page Here are the Bettie Page mags I won at this month's CL auction. I was able to win all the Bettie lots, which surprised me as my bids weren't that high. The only one I really went for was the Art Photography with the classic Bettie pose. Again, I thought bidding was soft this month.

Comic Link July 2020 Action - Marilyn Monroe Lately I've been collecting some Marilyn Monroe items. Not a lot, just like a toe in the water. This CL auction had a number of CGC graded MM mags. I managed to win 3. I managed to win these for (IMHO) lower than market prices. As I mentioned before, I thought the bidding was kind of soft this month. I wonder if prices were hurt because so many Marilyn lots were offered. And of course there's the economy. When Covid first hit, I didn't see any weakening of prices. But lately I have, not a lot, but incrementally. I'm just noting what I've seen. Personally, I'd rather have a working vaccine even if that meant higher prices. I'd welcome higher prices in that case! I really miss traveling, or just the simple pleasure of shaking hands, giving a friend a hug, and going to a steak restaurant and getting a vodka martini while deciding the steak you're going to get (actually, I typically get the ribeye so there's no choice there; the fun part is ordering the sides.)

San Diego Comic Con So Comicon was last week, and even though I have issues with it, I very much miss it. Here are some pics from my last SD comicon, in 2018, when I went for 1 day with my daughter.

This looks delicious! The bottom pic looks like roasted chicken and -- suckling pig?

I'm a big bourbon fan too. Here's my bar at the moment. I actually have a comic related story about bourbon. It was at the Wizard World Chicago con in 2013. I've been to that con 3 times, and each time I went to Gibson's steakhouse for dinner. I always ate at the bar, and this time I was just starting to get into bourbon. I asked the bartender for his recommendation, and he told me to focus on the Bs. Basil Hayden, Bookers, Blantons, and Bakers. So that's what I did, and 7 years later those are still my favorites. In addition to those, I focus on Jefferson (because I went to UVA), Hudson (because one of my favorite steak places -- Bourbon Steak in SF -- has a smoked bourbon flight that I've had many times), and Whistle Pig (because over the years I've developed an appreciation for ryes). Anyway, those are the bourbons I focus on, and like comics, I collect as many of the variants that I can find. Basil Hayden, which is my #1 bourbon, has a lot of versions. I also have a few other bottles -- like Tin Cup -- that I buy on sale, so I'm not always drinking the expensive stuff. I also make sure to always have Maker's Mark, which is delicious and the best bourbon (IMHO) for bourbon novices. Anyway, here's my drink from that night at Gibson's, as I still have the pics from that con. It was a Basil Hayden Manhattan. For food, I got the wedge (love all the blue cheese) and the roast chicken with spicy peppers (not sure what I was thinking, not getting a steak; probably my selection was based on the side dish -- spicy peppers). And this con was one of my best ever for getting comics. Here are the main ones I got. Thanks for reading.

Love hearing stories like this. Shows how small a world it is, especially in our hobby.

Comic Link July 2020 Action This has been a great auction for me. I spent more than I would otherwise, since I haven't been to a con since January 2019 (Terry's), and I probably won't be going to another one until who knows. This auction had a number of Bettie Page and Marilyn Monroe CGC mags. I was excited about these lots, as you don't see them often. I thought bidding was soft, and this allowed me to win a few. I'll post pics later. Here's my big win of the auction, the Lost Valley copy of Fight 35. I've been looking for a copy forever, so I decided to just go for this. Bidding got to $2500. I decided, what the heck, I'll put in one more bid at $2600. It was the high bid about 2 hours before the close. I was surprised (and happy) my bid held. Thanks for reading.

Those are some very nice wines, especially with a big rib eye. Maybe start with seared foie gras to go with the Doisy. Who is your wine storage (just curious) -- Zachys? My wife and I built a cellar in our house. Holds about 2800 bottles, and right now we've got about 2200. Here are some of our babies.

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Hi Mike - I don't know for sure. It seems like IDW published this cover multiple times -- I think I actually have 3 examples where it was used. One time I spoke to someone at the IDW table at a con, and he said they did use the cover in more than one edition, but other than this general info, he didn't have any more information. But like I said, I don't know for sure.

I don't mind people posting in this thread. At least it means someone is reading and I'm not just writing into the ether. I am keeping busy. I'm lucky to have a job where I can work at home. And my garden's never looked better. We need a nationwide plan. There's no point in shutting down again without a nationwide plan, as we'll just be back here. If the doctors say, "we can beat covid if we all wear masks, stay 6 feet apart, and close things like bars," then we all have to do that (and yeah, that would include the POTUS) or there's no point in even trying. And it is worth it to do this, as we have evidence that it works (see New York for example). It will be interesting to see what happens if they have to cancel the NFL and college football. Football crosses all political boundaries, way more than any other sport. If that happens (and I'm not rooting for it, just like I'm not rooting for the stock market to drop), then maybe everyone will start taking covid seriously.

Yes, she does look like Mopsy!

I messaged the seller and he told me it sold. Too bad, as he would have made more money (from me) if he let the auction run its course. Then I asked the seller if he would act as a middleman/broker to convey an offer from me to the seller, with a generous broker fee if a deal could be worked out. I haven't gotten a response. I do have this 9.9 copy, which was a book I submitted myself. I just thought it would be very cool to have a 10.0 too.

I haven't been posting lately because Covid has gotten me down. Doesn't seem to be getting any better, and I don't see how it can without some kind of national plan. Comics aren't as interesting to me at the moment. Frankly, I've been spending more time (and money) on my wine collection. At least I can drink that. But I have sent some things to CGC. Their turnaround is amazingly fast nowadays, which probably is an indication of how this pandemic has impacted their business. Anyway, sorry for the downer post. Here are some things I've gotten back from CGC lately. First up is this great Jack Kirby GGA cover. I was incredibly happy with the grade on Rangers 16. I thought it was nice when I bought it, but I never thought it would come back 8.5. I was also pretty happy on this 5.0 on Torchy 3: Here's the weirdest thing I've gotten on eBay lately. A Lindsay Lohan action figure, signed by Lindsay. Thanks for reading. Stay safe.

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