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STORMSHADOW_80

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Journal Entries posted by STORMSHADOW_80

  1. STORMSHADOW_80
    Hello It's been a little while since I've done a journal. A lot has changed, also a lot has stayed the same First off I would like to say thank you to CGC for their part in providing one of the best convention experience I've ever had! As a comic collector, for me when books are graded it is the final step of the journey of my books. I love the signature series program, and getting yellow labels is the cherry on top. Blue labels are awesome too and I enjoy having them both. This convention was the culmination of many different factors. I have my first set of books on the way back from CGC so I thought now would be the perfect time to share my experience. My 2018 Wondercon experience actually began in 2017...

  2. STORMSHADOW_80
    For my entry in the journals here is my latest project. Conan 1 statue. I got this kit for my birthday a few months ago and recently have been doing some rearranging of my glass display cases so I figured I might as well start building this guy.
    A little background. I first saw this statue on an interview with Roy Thomas. I was like oh my I have to have it to display with my book. A little research and I found out it is a resin kit. A little bummed I have to build it but I'm up to the challenge and I'm sure it will be rewarding. My progress so far is I've taken everything out, dry fitted it, and cleaned it. I'm going to stop by in a little bit to pick up some putty for a couple touch up spots and then primer it hopefully after work tonight.

  3. STORMSHADOW_80
    I've been meaning to write a journal entry for some time now.
    I've been a member of the CGC boards for a couple years now posting here and there. I know some of you guys already and hope to meet more of you in the near future. Some of my buddies already post so many journals, and this hobby has been so great to me, I owe it to all of you to start posting up some journals to share some experiences I've had with collecting.
    My name is Art. I live in SoCal. I've been reading comics for as long as I can remember. Before my town had an LCS I rode my bike to different liquor stores around town to get the issues I needed. I started collecting when LCSs started popping up in the early 90s. Kind of more dabbiling now that I look at it in hindsight. However at 12 or 13 I did spend my Christmas money on books. Kinda funny looking back. Too bad many of those books were "Hot" 90s books. I did at least search out a couple good books like New Mutants 98 and Vengeance of Bane. Also got to meet Frank Miller. I still have a lot of love for copper age books as those were the ones I grew up on. Then the crash of the 90s happened...
    After I was done being a cool teenager and while I was in the military I would start picking up books again at the BX. Mainly X-Men, Wolverine, and Deadpool,and Spawn. Just for the reading enjoyment. Selection was kinda limited though.
    Fast forward to being a dad. Through my children I rediscovered how great and how much enjoyment I got out of comics. So I started collecting again a few years ago. A couple things I noticed with ebay being around was how cheap some books were compared to the 90s and this strange new thing called "CGC". That is what I'm going to do. I'm going to start recollecting right! The CGC way. Im sure glad I did too. I consider myself a moderate collector. I seek out keys that I really like. Sometimes buying multiples to achieve that 9.8 for the permanent collection. About 85% of my collection I've submitted myself. And while nothing is wrong with buying an already graded book. I do have a sense of pride getting a 9.8 on a book and being able to attach it to story of how I found it. I hope to get into some of those stories with you guys in the near future.
    Thank You - Be sure to look me up on instagram

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  4. STORMSHADOW_80
    2015 with the help and encouragement of a couple of really good friends my CGC collecting has evolved into more and more beautiful yellow labels
    My very first CGC book when I started collecting comics again in 2013 was getting a Spidey 1 platinum edition signed by Stan and Todd. I always loved that book from back in the day. How it was made exclusively for shops as a thank you with a limited print run and no ads. I was fortunate to come across my platinum edition at a great price so I figured why not spend the extra $ I saved on a couple of great signatures.
    2014 Is when I really started learning all about the different aspects of CGC collecting. I started hunting down books from everywhere I could think of and sought those high grade raw copies. My submission quantities grew and I started doing a few 9.8 prescreens. Signature Series was still always on my mind (especially after reading so many great journal entries and seeing some of my fellow collectors and friends share their collecting journeys). But for me it took a back burner with the bulk amount of books I was getting. I did get a couple cool books done, but that was it.
    2015, Now my collecting this last year has become a lot more focused. I've been concentrating more and more on those books that really standout to me. And rather getting a bunch books graded, I've been embracing SS books for the personal collection. With the exception of Spidey, I got these books in the picture this year. A couple were already graded and a few I was lucky enough to have a friend get done at SDCC for me. I have a few more really great books coming soon from other conventions that I can't wait to share.
    2016, I plan on doing a few more SS books. Now that Wondercon will be in LA I might attend that show and hopefully Long Beach as well. The picture sums up a lot of my collecting style from rare variants to modern, copper, and silver age books. Next year I hope to get some more Silver and Bronze age keys.
    Thanks for reading

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  5. STORMSHADOW_80

    Beta Ray Bill

    By STORMSHADOW_80,

    Classic 80s
    I got to admit it took a little while for me to warm up to this book. And is now one of my favorites. I saw this book sitting in the showcase of a nearby shop for a couple months. At first glance I just noticed the old bag and board it had been in. Then my next visit to the shop I had some key issue money to spend and decided to have this book taken out for a closer look. To my surprise it was extra minty. I told the shop owner I would take it. He told me this was from his original collection. That makes it extra cool. Being able to say I got this from the original owner. Also I've known the owner from when he use to manage a local shop probably around the same time this book came out when I was just a kid. He just recently opened his own store last year. He's kind of old school and hasn't gotten into CGC books yet, but I thought of taking this book to him to show him it's gone to a good home and that I'm very proud to have Walt Simonsson's signature added to it at a beautiful 9.8.
    Thanks for reading, STORMSHADOW_80

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  6. STORMSHADOW_80
    A book I've dreamed of owning since I was a kid. :-)
    It's been a little while since my last journal. I'm very proud to be able to add this book to my collection. It was one of those books I was feeling like it was becoming more and more out of my reach. Indeed when I got my ASM129 it was a choice between that book and a Hulk 181. As it turned out I'm very glad with how everything ended up falling into place. I got my ASM129 before the spike of the Daredevil season 2 announcements, and this year I was ecstatic for it to be able to bump up in grade.
    When I first got back into collecting and heard about CGC books. I watched a lot of you tube videos of other peoples collections. A lot of people would say after they had been collecting for a while that they wanted to consolidate and be able to get a Hulk 181. I buried that in the back of my mind somewhere. I always told myself if I ever cam across a good deal on a 181 I would go for it. All the conventions I've been to buying a raw 181 from dealers wasn't worth it and almost always the condition wasn't that good.
    A few years goes by. The majority of my CGC collecting has been books I submitted myself and I very seldom sold any as I was trying to build up my volume of graded books. I have a comic room at home where I have most of my books on display on ikea shelves. I had been at capacity for some time and only sold a few books here and there to fund more grading and signature series costs. Then one of my buddies online came across one of those huge basement collections and was helping the owner sell it. I told him to let me know if the 181 would be for sale. He did and I made an offer on it. I was thinking the grade was around a 7.5 maybe an 8.0. I even posted it on the spare my grade section. The general consensus was 8.0-8.5. Luckily I had the inventory of smaller books and a few bigger ones to sell real fast.
    CCS did a fantastic job on my book! I was absolutely thrilled when it came back a 9.0!!! Now I am the proud owner of this book. Pretty cool as I got it from an original owner collection like most of my other big books. It really completes my current collection and ties in my bronze to copper to modern age books. I haven't been able to do much signature series books this year but it's all been worth it and I hope to do some more submissions next year.
    Thanks for reading,

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