Aweandlorder

53 minutes ago, chrisco37 said:

Only thing he was worse at than speculating (if we count the Church books as an outlier; but what an outlier it was) is grading.  

I so wish I had a copy of my “refund letter” on the NM TTA#57 I returned back in 2002 that got me blacklisted from purchasing from MHC.  

I havent ordered from him since the 80s but that sure would be interesting to read

3 hours ago, chrisco37 said:

More great stuff.  Thanks for posting.   Chuck just whiffs and whiffs.  The only thing he got right was that the Punisher movie was going to be a stinker (but that doesn't stop him from loading up).   

I wonder how many issues of DD #272 he still has laying around (out his 1000 copy order, if he did order than many)?   

The month before he actually thought there was a chance it would be big and he believed the Batman movie will flop because of Keaton...

Looks like comic book speculating wasnt his only weak field

On 4/9/2018 at 12:50 PM, Gatsby77 said:

Yeah - I hadn't looked up prices for Faust in about a decade and was shocked that raw 9.0s now go for less than $20 on eBay.

I just assumed that # 1 first prints would have kept pace with increases of what I consider similar books -- like Crow 1 and Cry for Dawn 1.

Also, wondering how much earlier your Chuck newsletters go.

Asking because I'd be curious to see what he recommends for Nov. 1988 (Wolverine # 1 and Punisher War Journal # 1) and how much he hyped PWJ # 6 prior to release (as I remember his in-comic ads offering it it for $.99 (limit 5).

My first issue of Comic Buyer's Guide came in spring 1989, and it noted that, after months, neither PWJ # 1 nor Wolverine # 1 were available for re-orders; and that PWJ # 1 had the highest print run of any modern book (before it was de-throned by Legends of the Dark Knight # 1 a year later).

Just curious to read contemporaneous confirmation of those facts.

I started subscribing to Mile High and NICE around late 87. Up until Dec 88 (the date of which I started archiving this journal) Chuck didnt really rant too much other than on his quarterly Mile High Features Catalogs. The newsletters prior to that date were very short (around 10-12 pages) and mainly consisted of entries put in by Leanne C Harper, which continued highlighting special books even after Chuck started his Guts & Glory columns, in a section called "From The Clubhouse". She nailed all of them though, even New Mutants 98 (although she didnt think it was anything special). 

I remember ordering Wolverine 1 & PWJ 1 from MHC when they came out and thinking those were very smart buys back then. In fact I subscribed to both titles through Chuck and remember being pleasantly surprised when I received Wolverine 10, not knowing it had Sienkiewicz work and Sabretooth in it. That was a huge book for me back then. As far as PWJ6, I did cover it HERE although I didn't highlight it 

1 hour ago, Gatsby77 said:

I started collecting the summer of 1989, so this resonates with me.

Kills me how much the market's changed since.

I went to a convention in DC last weekend and passed on Nick Fury vs. Shield # 1 and # 2 at $1 apiece, as well as copies of the Excalibur Trade (1st appearance) for $2.

One book I did buy was Faust # 1 (first printing) signed by Tim Vigil -- for a whopping $8.

Good times...

Yes I did too (when it first came out). Faust was another book that Chuck missed out on but I ordered because I loved Vigil's work. And every time I think about it I get mad because Chuck had shortages on that issue and I was sent a 2nd print months later by the time it was a $30 book instead of the 1st print which I ordered. Of course I can get it now for $5-10 but I will never forget how angry I was when I finally received it back then and it was a 2nd print... Shame on him! (but I still love him anyways)

Come to think of it, Im pretty sure I also ordered Caliber Presents #1 and was never sent this book because of shortages. I just loooved Vigil back then and cant imagine I wouldnt order it from him when it came out 

I'd be interested to know how many dealers/publishers partook in that activity. I know that Adventure had a deal with someone re Adventurers #1 that was later exposed and I'm sure many others did too. Nowadays everything shifted to eBay on a much much smaller scale but the roots of pumping n dumping were in the those mid-late 80s years

Love him or hate him (and I think that everyone hates him lol) he supports the hobby, by supporting his business. No harm in doing that unless you're scamming others. Well it's kind of a sensitive topic I suppose.. but as chuck illustrated, there were many who did just that by sitting on near complete inventories and hiking prices till they cashed out. That is a trade which goes on till this very day by the pump n dump blog warriors. 

Yes uncensored mouse was a big deal. To borrow from your analogy, if that happened today, the after market prices would've been insane. The presentation of this book contributed a lot to the buzz; a sealed book with a black cover about an American cultural phenomenon.. so taboo! Great call indeed. 

A bit surprising about his Innovation write up as I didnt recall hearing about them until then. The 1st two titles I remember seeing from them were Stargazers & and a fantasy title by the name Group Larue. Those were the two solicitations from them that month. I picked legends of the stargazers of course but not because of chuck. Mainly because of that Hughes cover. I was big into Frazetta inspired artists back then and Stevens & Schultz weren't enough for me  that cover really got me into his stuff and I became a fan since (I think he only did maze agency & death hawk prior to that)

I still have all the books I bought from chuck. They're all located in a separate section of my collection 

I think I bought only one copy of Fist of North Star because I was already burnt from all the manga/martial arts/Asian books that came prior to that (remember Jademan comics which came out earlier that year? I bought ALL the #1 issues on those titles ??). Btw the Master Editions of Northstar which came out in early '00 are very rare and going for crazy prices. Particularly volume 6 & 8 are $150 books if you can find them

28 minutes ago, Martin Sinescu said:

Okay, first.... Marta DuBois as Catwoman...... hubba hubba  

Wait, gimme another minute. 

I did get goosebumps reading about Death in the Family, that was awesome. Such an exciting time. Funny he mentioned some potential heat on the trade, I brought my DITF tpb to school and one of my friends knocked it off my desk accidentally when he turned around to talk to me. I totally melted down on him, creased the cover up and everything. That coulda been worth $500 today (in my mind. back then.)

ROFLing about that spec on Tec 599, that one laid an egg investment-wise, but give him credit for thinking outside of the box.

And Punisher War Journal 6 with Wolvie, oh man, how did Chuck just contain himself to 300-500 copies? Definitely remember the heat on that one, but, of course, the story didn't live up to the hype.

Keep 'em coming!

Those numbers are kinda bonkers.. I wouldnt even be surprised if they were somewhat inflated.. I mean im sure he got those to fill orders, but not just to spec around... But then again who knows? Only Chuck does

Im reading those newsletters and it sounds like the wild west days, so much money was going on spec, I did it conservatively, but I had 2 other friends who collected and were orderings tons of each.. Insane!

Funny how quick DC went and put out that DITF trade.. It was out and ready a few days after the story arc completed! Thats why they used real cheap paper on that TPB, I cant remember any other trade that came out in such poor quality.. It looked like a mini yellow pages   

1 hour ago, Martin Sinescu said:

Man, this is bringin' back the memories. I used to get my spec advice from another mail-order service (American Entertainment, I think -- my friend in HS used to bring the monthlies with him and we'd pour over them all day at school), but it was the same time period and many of the same hypening applies.

I kinda get it on the Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown as #2 issues did have a tendency to get ordered in lower numbers. Wasn't the Nick Fury vs. Shield #2 book worth a bit more for that reason? I seem to remember that, so maybe there was a bit of a precedent (GI Joe 2 would be a more obvious example, but I'm also drawing on the prestige-format hype as, at that time, everything prestige seemed like gold after DKR and KJ). Same deal with the Grell Bond prestige mini. I was all over that, seemed like straight money.

Blind Justice (Detective 598-600) was mega-hyped on the heels of the movie because of the connection to Sam Hamm. One of my LCS's already had copies marked up to $10 and nestled lovingly in their glass display case even while there were 30-40 still on the shelves.

Also, Return to Big Nothing, I totally latched onto that hype as well. Still have my copy. Still waiting for the $$$.

Great stuff, thanks for posting.

YES on all counts sir.

GI Joe #2 was a considered "scarce" and was going for around $40-50 (double of what #1 went for at the time). I somewhat doubt that Chuck thought of that book in his Meltdown #2 spec otherwise he wouldve been ALL over that comparison, but good call nonetheless 

And judging from your avatar, I think you're going to REALLY like my next installment

Stay tuned