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PatrickG

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Everything posted by PatrickG

  1. I have 4 of the ECCC going off in my next batch of books to be graded. Fingers crossed. I'm not keeping all of the SS variants I'm getting. Just the 1/1000 Frank Quitely Mxy/Batmite and one ECCC as a display pair. Probably getting a Gweedo frame. You want a modern that's a beast to get graded, take a look at the Lootcrate Action #1. Most got damaged in shipping per eBay. Thin cover stock. 64 pages, saddle stitched. Newsprint interior stock. There are two 9.6s. Everything else is lower. And it just came out in January. Any handling or improper storage and all the pressing in the world won't get a 9.0!
  2. Harley Quinn's case is similar. I'd never have considered counting Batman Adventures. And if that counts, why wouldn't her comic appearances in the magazine? Does Lego Batman have a first appearance? I'd guess it would be a Lego pack-in comic. But it could be a cover if you only count standard monthly comics. And since the NM #98 cover is SYMBOLIC, it would represent Domino rather than Copycat, right? Because covers often have jack to do with story. I can think of some characters who appear on covers without being in a book. Sometimes before they debut. Jon Kent. First appearance is Convergence #2 as a baby. But nobody counts Cable that way... And versions of Jon Kent appeared in Superboy (New 52), Batman Beyond, and Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow. All as the son of Superman and Lois, named Jon. Meanwhile he appears in his kid form in Lois & Clark. He appears in costume in the first Rebirth Action Comics cover, three weeks before he has a costume in an issue of Superman. The market seems to be going with Convergence: Superman #2. But there's sizable buzz that issue will be written out of continuity in the next two weeks, replaced with a more normal birth as Superman's history gets rewritten. But Superman (Rebirth) will stay in continuity likely even if the Convergence issue doesn't. In general, comics fans think of characters as stable versions but continuity now tends to be modular. If you want the first appearance, any form, of Jon Kent, I'd go with the Alan Moore story. If you want the first appearance of the kid in Super Sons, that answer might change.
  3. I'd agree with this. Imagine the market manipulation publishers could get into otherwise. "Oh. Bruce Wayne has never actually appeared. That was his clone. Now we're introducing the REAL Bruce Wayne who will become Batman." On that note however, I distinctly remember that the Spider-Clone Saga indicated that Kaine was the clone from the 70s clone story and Ben Reilly was a newer clone created from Kaine. But that seems to have flipflopped? That's a first appearance issue with the new Scarlet Spider book.
  4. In general, my take on the best medium-to-long term spec right now: 1. Promo comics. Fast Food. Cereal box. Toy pack-ins. Why? Because they're harder to get in good condition and even many "normal" collectors trash them. Also, because you can get them at bargain prices in amazing condition in odd places. These often have reprints of desirable issues that can gain value over time. Many reprints are worthless but the key, IMHO, to a good reprint is one with good display value. 2. International editions. Geo-politics is crazy. Between talk about trade barriers with Mexico and EU strife, any of these books could be either hard to get imported into a U.S. market, more expensive to import, or impossible to find in the future. And, again, the market is far less well-documented and there are reprints of key issues that almost never get reprinted. Take a look at those German Marvel reprints from '99. Marvel U.S. tends to put ugly black borders on its reprints or giant "not for resale" logos on them. The international offices for Marvel and DC are a lot more down with the idea of "counterfeiting" or at least maximizing the display value of reprints. And if you're going to slab it, the display value matters. Even that German Superman/Batman that isn't a replica of anything (aside from being taken from interior art) gets top dollar for being a "naked Supergirl" cover. Because foreign offices are more concerned with having a strong visual hook for reprints whereas the domestic publishers are a lot more obsessed with telegraphing that a reprint isn't an original. And reprints, obscure variants, giveaways, etc. tend to be where the money is because they're what collectors miss the first time out and/or because they can be had cheaper before the market notices them.
  5. Does that mean the Walmart DC comics count as first printings? They have blue trade dress and 1st print covers. But they rotate the UPC and remove cover price. The Marvel books are even closer with only a UPC difference. As I noted in the other thread, the Trinity #1 got weird. 1st print variant cover art. But completely different logo IDing it as Batman: Trinity and a Batman series logo. Superman and Wonder Woman's names stripped. Indica identifies the title as Batman: Trinity rather than Trinity as well and has an April 2017 cover date, implying it's a completely different series. (On top of that, there will likely never be a Batman: Trinity #2. Because Walmart editions are pretty much only #1s.)
  6. That being the case, later key issues from the run might be an inexpensive hedge in case an adaptation takes off. Buy, get them in toploaders, grade if the adaptation takes off, unload at cost if not.
  7. If you can, walk me through this: https://www.cgccomics.com/census/grades_standard.asp?title=Happy!&publisher=Image+Comics&issue=1&year=2012&issuedate=9%2F12 I see: MorrisonCon 2012 Exclusive, Convention Edition, ForbiddenPlanet.com Edition, and Variant Cover. What I don't see is "Standard Edition".
  8. I must have misread. Congratulations on the top copy!
  9. This one has a very noticeable difference to a point where the slab should have a different title. Figured photos were in order.
  10. It was a mini. I recall generally positive reviews with some light criticisms. There was nothing confusing here but nothing approaching his more brilliant stuff either. The show is both truncating and expanding the plot. They spoil the miniseries twist in the pilot. Basic premise is a crooked cop turned mob hitman gets hired to find a missing girl, fights pedophiles and assorted mafiosos, and is assisted by the abducted girl's imaginary friend, a blue cartoon horse named Happy that only he can see or hear. The show is being expanded out to a job-of-the-week format. Kind of Quantum Leap meets Roger Rabbit meets Sin City. As many have noted, the whole thing may hinge on how likable the actor playing the horse is and the animation quality.
  11. Grant Morrison's Happy! I noticed that the majority of CGC'd copies by far seem to be the MorrisonCon exclusive, which I'd have thought would be the most collectible/exclusive. However, it seems to be the most CGC'd version, like I say. There has literally never been a CGC'd version of #1 that isn't at least a variant and the vast majority are con exclusives. The standard edition hasn't been graded. This strikes me as weird because they're filming a pilot for SyFy right now. I've heard some skepticism about the -script (mainly that it blows a plot twist early) but it seems unlikely to me that SyFy would pass on this with the likely budget for the pilot and Christopher Meloni attached. Is there some kind of buzz indicating it won't get picked up or will flop? Are people holding onto copies of #1 in Mylar or toploaders, waiting to see how the show performs? I realize Morrison hasn't had the biggest track record with his stuff getting adapted (I'd have thought Joe the Barbarian or Annhilator would get adapted) but I thought this one looked like a done deal. Do I have fan blinders on?
  12. No but here's an example on eBay of somebody's Superman #1 (Rebirth). http://www.ebay.com/itm/Superman-1-DC-Universe-Rebirth-Walmart-Exclusive-Sealed-/162365444647?hash=item25cdbc1227:g:RUQAAOSwnHZYggDJ A search for "Walmart Rebirth" will get most of the new ones aside from Injustice #1. I think "Walmart New 52" would cover the earlier packs.
  13. They're generally located near the front near the Pokemon and Magic cards. The delay between books being new and being featured in these packs is about 2 to 3 months. Walmart versions rotate the UPC 90 degrees and have no cover price. They otherwise tend to look like first printings. (They also replace the company logo trade dress with whatever is current in the few cases where they reprinted material more than a couple of years old.)
  14. Personally, I like the display value of them because they have no cover price and otherwise typically have "first printing" features aside from the UPC code. Some feel to me like they should rightly be considered variants rather than reprints since they come out so close to the originals. But the latest packs struck me as interesting as they start to deviate from Rebirth/New 52 #1's. One pack has the original Injustice #1 (with the Rebirth DC trade dress and logo in place of what was on the original printing). But it was one other pack that took the cake for me. They have DC's Trinity #1 (Rebirth) but they've renamed it BATMAN: TRINITY #1. I bought one and cracked it open and the change is in the indica as well as the cover. They've also stripped Superman and Wonder Woman's names off the cover and replaced the main logo with a giant (current series) Batman logo. The cover art is the same, however. I'm aware of these things happening in foreign editions where lesser known characters will be sidelined to emphasize Superman or Batman. I don't think I've ever seen a U.S. store exclusive where they renamed the SERIES as the variant feature. It's on the order of if SUPERMAN/BATMAN had been called "BATMAN & FRIENDS" on newstands. Or, in this case, only a specific retailer's newstand. It also seems questionable to me that there will be a BATMAN: TRINITY #2 since the interior of these packs tend to be remaindered/oddball books. Only the outer facing book is a store exclusive. And Walmart's exclusives are almost all first issues. I suspect the next wave will probably have SUPER SONS. Assuming they don't retitle it ROBIN & SUPERBOY or SON OF BATMAN/SON OF SUPERMAN or something. I have a feeling if Walmart is requesting title changes to emphasize Batman, SUPER SONS might get a different name at Walmart.
  15. Oh. One thing to watch out for on the Lootcrate book: It looks to me like around 80% of them have spine damage near the top staple. Packing issue? If you're buying one second hand, inspect the spine. My copy that came with Lootcrate came damaged but I was able to get an undamaged one on eBay. In general, the better condition ones hover around $20. I would not buy one without a photo. (EDIT: Unless it's a reading copy. This is a great reprint to have a reading copy of since, unlike most, you get the full issue and the ads. And it's a lot cheaper than the USPS version to acquire, for the time being. That said, this book came damaged in most cases and the newsprint and very thin weight of the cover suggest to me that a high grade copy may be a great longterm investment. Aesthetically, it's probably the best reprint since it has the full issue and an unobstructed cover, unlike USPS and Famous First, which I think are the only other complete reprints?)
  16. Interesting. I'd never noticed that before. If anyone was curious about international books, what I can gather is that a local publisher typically acts as publisher for localizations, under license. In the case of the Mexican books, you have Editorial Televisa, a media company, who owns Smash magazine. They have both Marvel and DC rights and the staff operates DC Comics Mexico and Marvel Comics Mexico, where they can publish books in Spanish as DC or Marvel. They're "unlettering" and relettering classic books into Spanish, using period fonts that match the lettering they're replacing. The covers are in English, however, aside from the text on the gold seal. With the paper being thick, glossy paper and the cover being a glossy cardstock, I'd wager there's a chance at a high grade on submission. They're reprinting a lot of stuff I've never seen reprinted outside of Millennium editions (All-Star #3, All Star #8, More Fun #73, Superman #76). While the covers are cropped down to modern size, I think they're better display pieces than Millennium editions for using the full cover space. (Ideal would always be a Golden-Age size reprint. The only examples I can think of that are DC's Masterpieces, Maris/Flashback 70s B&W reprints, and the German Marvel reprints.) In general I think publishers are wary of creating counterfeits -- though with a book like Action #1 or All-Star #3, they're so rare that you could assume any new good copy is a counterfeit and the companies could avoid that just by giving the replica a noticeably BETTER paper stock. Maybe a light gloss.
  17. On the subject of international reprints, Eaglemoss also did reprints in multiple languages including English as an incentive for sub scripting to their trade paperback collections in Europe, Australia, and Latin America. Spanish, German, English, and -- I think -- French and Portuguese. 10 cent cover. Modern size. Black frame around the cover art identifying it as a collector's edition.
  18. The Lootcrate book is modern dimensions. It reprints the full issue with ads on newsprint. The colors come from a digital restoration of key Golden and Silver-Age books for the Mexican Liverpool department store chain, which is rereleasing lots of key issues in Spanish language, carefully relettered to match the original style. Because of the relettering, recoloring was a part of it. The Liverpool edition had a glossy cardstock cover, foil stamp, no cover price, and glossy interior pages. Full issue. You can tell the Lootcrate is descended from the Liverpool because of the cover cropping (DC Mexico devised new cover cropping methods to get golden and silver age books to modern size) and the green necktie on Butch Mason. Except for Lootcrate and Liverpool, I believe the necktie has ALWAYS been red.