mikelutes

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Journal Entries posted by mikelutes

  1. mikelutes
    American Cancer Society's Relay For Life
    I am honestly not sure if something like this is allowed on the journals, but being a non-profit organization I figured it wouldn't hurt anyone to ask.
    Last September my grandfather, Colonel Theodore Dale, of 93 passed away, succumbing to a 30 year battle with prostate cancer. He was and continues to be a huge inspiration in my life of what a fighter is. A veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam he had more then 4500 flight hours in 33 unique airplanes and had an illustrious 30+ year military career.
    This June I will be walking in the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life in my grandfather's honor and am asking for any donations that anyone can spare. Even $5 can make a difference. I am including a link to my donation page on the American Cancer Society's website below. Thank you for anything you can do, even if it is just spreading the word and once again I apologize if this is not the right place to do this.
    http://main.acsevents.org/goto/mikelutes13
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  2. mikelutes

    Getting Anxious

    By mikelutes,

    Walking Dead #1 and #4
    On March 26th, I took my issues of Walking Dead #1 and #4 CGC graded at 9.8s to a comicon and had a CGC witness view Tony Moore signing them (they were already previously signed by Robert Kirkman). Well, he took the comics with him and they were received by CGC on April 21st and are still in the verified step. Its been over two months since I submitted these comics and I am just getting anxious about them and whether they are going to hold their grade. I mean yeah it was a CGC witness that had them but still nearly a month to be holding onto the comics is a long time, hopefully they will come back as 9.8s.
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  3. mikelutes
    Plus results of second and third CGC submissions
    I am just curious on what everyone's opinions are about whether or not to buy comics already graded or to buy raw ones. Whether it be raw ones from ebay or your local comic shop or what not do you prefer having that sense of satisfaction from sending in your own comics to get graded or do you prefer having the security of knowing what the comic's grade is when you buy it?
    Also I now have all my comics back from CGC from my second and third submission.
    Second submission, submitted at the Planet Comicon in Overland Park, Kansas:
    Walking Dead #1 and #4 both originally CGC 9.8 SS signed by Robert Kirkman, had them signed by Tony Moore at the convention in front of a CGC witness and they both kept their 9.8 grades and are now certified that they were signed by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore.
    Third submission:
    -Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama #1 (red foil edition), graded at a 9.4 (called up CGC on this one cause I was almost certain it was at least a 9.8, but apparently it had an indent on the back cover that I did not see)
    -Chew #1 2nd printing, graded at a 9.8
    -Tank Girl #1 graded at a 9.0
    -Tank Girl #2 graded at a 9.4
    -Tank Girl #3 graded at a 9.4
    -Tank Girl #4 graded at a 9.2
    -Tank Girl 2 #1 graded at a 9.8
    -Tank Girl 2 #2 graded at a 9.6
    -Tank Girl 2 #3 graded at a 9.8
    -Tank Girl 2 #4 graded at a 9.6
    I was very happy with my Tank Girls coming back as high as they did, would have maybe liked a little higher on Tank Girl #1 but it still came back higher then any other Tank Girl comic (only other one graded is a SS 8.0) as did Tank Girl 2 #1 (only other one graded is an universal 8.5), and as far as Tank Girl #2-#4 and Tank Girl 2 #2-#4, mine were the first ones ever graded by CGC which means I have the only complete sets of Tank Girl and Tank Girl 2 graded by CGC in the world which makes me very happy.
  4. mikelutes
    Curious what everyone does with their graded comics
    I absolutely love my graded comics, I may not have as many as a lot of people on here but I love the artwork and the way the comics look when they are encapsulated, but it kills me just having them boxed up or out of sight, I am curious what everyone does with theirs. I have purchased a few wood frames from GweedosShowcase.com and although they are gorgeous frames and decently priced, I am just curious what everyone here does with their graded comics. Whether you box them, display them, whatever you do with them, please share especially if you have any recommendations for sites that sell frames.
    **Picture is of a quad frame from GweedosShowcase.com with my set of Wolverine Limited Series**

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  5. mikelutes
    Even on comics he didn't have something to do with..
    I've watched countless comics sell on eBay that are signed by Stan Lee and something that has bothered me recently is that I've watched quite a few comics signed by Stan Lee go for big bucks even when he wasn't involved in those comics. Perfect example, I've watched several Wolverine Limited Series #1's sell for between $300-$350 in 9.8 with white pages when Stan Lee had nothing to do with Wolverine whereas the same comic signed by Chris Claremont sells for around $100 less. I mean it's one thing if you are talking about a later issue of Amazing Spider-Man or something. Does this bother anyone else or how do you feel about it?
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  6. mikelutes

    Judge Dredd #1

    By mikelutes,

    Why does CGC get this wrong so much?
    http://i47.tinypic.com/rwrxx1.jpg
    That is Judge Dredd #1 from Quality Comics from October of 1986. Yet I continuously come across Judge Dredd #1 from Eagle Comics from November of 1983 graded as and with the CGC label for the one from Quality Comics.
    CGC has worked with me in getting this corrected in the past but why is it such a problem? Anyone else have this problem?
    Image below is a recent purchase of mine off eBay of a Judge Dredd #1 signed by Brian Bolland where the label says its the Quality Comics issue but it's obviously the Eagle Comics issue.

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  7. mikelutes

    Just Curious

    By mikelutes,

    I know this is a comic collecting community but...
    I am curious what are some of your most prized collectibles that are not comic books? From talking to people on here and on the forums it is pretty clear that a good portion of us don't just collect comic books, so I am curious to see what some of your other prized collectibles might be? Doesn't have to be comic book related, it can be anything. I will post some pictures of some of mine soon.
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  8. mikelutes

    Bad Karma Volume One

    By mikelutes,

    Middleton, Chaos Agent, Old Dog, Hellbent, & The Ninth Life Of Solomon Gunn
    Hey everyone, this is just a short journal about a Kickstarter page I came across the other day for Bad Karma Volume One ("A 200 page hardcover comics, prose and art collection by Alex Grecian, Jeremy Haun, B. Clay Moore & Seth Peck and collaborators."). It sounded interesting enough to me that I made a small contribution and considering there's a week left I figured I'd post this on here for anyone who might be interested.
    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/badkarma/bad-karma
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  9. mikelutes
    Chew, Army of Darkness, Blackest Night, and The Marvels Project
    I just recently submitted 5 comics to CGC (they received them on March 10th):
    Chew #1 (first print)
    Army of Darkness: Ashes 2 Ashes #1 (Necronomicon variant)
    Blackest Night #1 (Sketch cover)
    Blackest Night #2 (Sketch cover)
    The Marvels Project #1 (Sketch cover)
    I personally would grade each comic at around 9.6 or better but I honestly feel I am pretty strict on my comics so I will be curious to see what these comics come back as. I am hoping for mostly 9.8s but we will see, I am still relatively new to the comic world. Also, just curious, I have been tracking the order status and it has been on received since the 10th of March, how long does it usually take for a Modern Tier comic to be updated to Verified or even Scheduled for Grading?
    Also, I am considering submitting my series of Tank Girl comics from Dark Horse (1991), my issue is that for comics from 1991 I would say these comics are around 8.0-9.0 (being strict), would you say it is worth it to have them graded? Also, according to the Census, only one issue of Tank Girl #1 has even been graded (8.0 Signature Series), no other issues have been graded.
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  10. mikelutes
    Will comics like Walking Dead and Chew hold their value?
    I am just curious what any of you think about modern comics and what kind of staying power their value will have over the years. I am not asking, of course, if modern comics will be worth more then golden/silver age comics someday, just if they will ever be comparable. Like two modern comics that really stick out in my head is Walking Dead and Chew, and right now they both are pretty hot and the 1st issue of each is worth quite the pretty penny, but I am just curious if you think that these will hold their value as well as golden/silver age comics have and if you think they will continue to grow in value.
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  11. mikelutes
    Golden, Silver, Bronze, Modern, etc.
    With my short experience with buying and looking around at CGC graded comics, it seems with older comics that CGC is a little more lenient with their grading. An example would be a silver age comic with off-white pages and corners that aren't fully crisp and sharp graded a 9.8, whereas a modern comic without white pages and sharp corners almost never seems to have a 9.8 grading. Am I the only one that has noticed this? Is it because they allow for a little more aging of the comics or does anyone know the reasoning behind it?
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  12. mikelutes
    Mostly happy, and anxious
    So, CGC updated the status of my first submission to graded and according to what it says the results are as follows:
    Blackest Night #1 Sketch Cover - 9.6 (predicted 9.8)
    Blackest Night #2 Sketch Cover - 9.6 (predicted 9.8)
    Chew #1 First Print - 9.8 (predicted 9.6)
    Army of Darkness: Ashes 2 Ashes #1 Necronomicon Variant - 9.8 (predicted 9.6)
    The Marvels Project #1 McNiven Sketch Cover - 9.8 (predicted 9.8)
    And as far as my second submission, I recently purchased Walking Dead #1 and #4 CGC 9.8 both signature series signed by Robert Kirkman. Well at Planet Comicon last weekend I had both signed by Tony Moore in front of a CGC witness so I'm hoping they both come back still as 9.8s. Wish me luck!
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  13. mikelutes
    Just curious about #1
    I've been looking into buying the Wolverine limited series from 1982 and I've noticed that some of the #1s have the price in a diamond surrounded by black whereas others have the price in a rectangle box. Is there a difference in rarity or does one signify something? I've tried looking it up but with no luck so any help would be much appreciated.
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  14. mikelutes

    Any ideas?

    By mikelutes,

    American Cancer Society Relay For Life
    So, as some of you know, I walked in the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life of NE Jackson County, Missouri this last June (I walked 22 miles and raised $2550). This year I have set my goals even higher and have already been getting to work talking to a few people about donations, sponsorships, silent auction items, etc. One idea I had this year is that I am contacting all the artists that will be at my local comicon in April (Planet Comicon in downtown Kansas City, Missouri) about them donating their artwork to put together a portfolio as a silent auction item for the Relay. I thought this might be something different and a way of sharing something I love with the rest of the people at the Relay and hopefully it would raise at least a little money. What I was curious is what everyone thinks of this idea? Any suggestions for other ideas? Or do you know any other artists that might be interested in donating a commission for this? Other ideas I have been looking into:
    -Local business silent auction items
    -Local business fundraisers
    -Autographed celebrity 8x10s or other items
    This is only my third year doing the Relay For Life, but I am wanting to get more and more involved in this. If any of you have any ideas or know of any artists that would like to contribute or would like to donate yourself, please contact me on here. And if you'd like to make a donation yourself, here is my personal donation page: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=52260&pg=personal&px=21877995
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  15. mikelutes

    Third submission

    By mikelutes,

    Tank Girl, Chew, and a B-movie actor saving a president
    I will be kind of interested to see how these come back.
    Tank Girl #1*
    Tank Girl #2**
    Tank Girl #3**
    Tank Girl #4**
    Tank Girl 2 #1*
    Tank Girl 2 #2**
    Tank Girl 2 #3**
    Tank Girl 2 #4**
    Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama #1 (Red Foil Edition)
    Chew #1 (Second Printing)
    *This will be the second graded copy of this comic
    **This will be the ONE AND ONLY graded copy of this comic
    As far as predictions go:
    Tank Girl #1-#4: 8.5-9.0
    Tank Girl 2 #1: 8.0
    Tank Girl 2 #2-#4: 8.5-9.0
    Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama #1: 9.8
    Chew #1: 9.6-9.8
    Really hoping the Army of Darkness and Chew comics come back as 9.8s or better, if the rest are at least 8.0s or better I will be more then happy with that because even though they are modern comics 6 of the 8 will be the ONLY graded comics of Tank Girl #2-#4 and Tank Girl 2 #2-#4.
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  16. mikelutes
    Continuing my journey in my grandfather's name
    This marks my third year walking in the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life. I lost my grandfather after a 30+ year battle with prostate cancer on September 9th, 2011. He has been one of the biggest inspirations in my life and continues to inspire me to this day.
    Last year I raised $2550, although this year with a new job I have not been able to do as much fundraising, not to mention I have been on the committee for my event to help plan everything so that's been taking up my time as well.
    I know cancer has touched just about everyone's life in some form or another and really this link is just for anyone interested in helping me out.
    http://main.acsevents.org/goto/mikelutes13
    That is the link to my personal donation page on the American Cancer Society's website. Also, if anyone is interested in any comics I have, I'd definitely consider selling some in return for donations as opposed to money. I did this on the boards last year and it did really help raise some money for this great cause. As much as I love my comics I am more passionate about this cause, so no matter what kind of support you can give, whether its a kind word or a passing on of the message, thank you. Every ounce of support does mean a lot to me.
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