RDK

Not sure if you're joking or not re the piece being for sale, but why would anyone get a commission done only to resell (unless one didn't like it i guess)? I would think that anyone else could simply get the same artist to do a commission for them, probably without the resale markup.

If books are so easily and casually "pressed" and "restored" I can't help but wonder if it's such a big deal after all. If it became an accepted practice, with the stigma of restoration removed - and provided it doesn't actually harm books in the long run - then i could see the possibility of its use actually decreasing since it would no longer be such a "big deal." I mean, if we agree that greed (or at least a desire to drive up selling prices) is a prime motivation behind the current pressing practice, maybe buyers would think less of paying multiples of guide for a "flat" book if they simply assumed that slightly "lesser" books could be pressed flat instead. In other words, if easily pressable flaws had less of an impact on grade/price, then fewer dealers might even take the time/money to engage in it. Either way, it doesn't affect me much. I'll take my horns off now...

Yeah, I know, but i have no idea who/what Ion is, but they seem to have Green Lantern on the covers.

A bit anticlimactic after Ares' GL covers, but nevertheless... Picked this up from the Graphic Collectibles sale and just received earlier today...

Holy [embarrassing lack of self control]!

So I don't suppose that "Ray's-bought-on-Ebay" collection would be considered a pedigree, would it?

We wanna see signatures not slabs!

Not surprised at all by your good experience (except for the fact that the guy picked up the shipping). The fact that a dealer may be "shady" by selling restored books and lying about it certainly doesn't mean that all his books are tainted. I'd bet that the actual number of times that a guy like Gio or Ewart screws someone over is rather small by percentages. Whether or not one wants to deal with such a seller, though, is a different issue entirely...

Nice Doom! Who's the artist?

WTF is that? I mean who?

Don't have them in hand yet, but just picked these up from the latest Heritage auction (my first purchase from them, if only so they'd send me their catalog ). Nothing spectacular, but very cheap - got them both for about $60, including BP & shipping. I actually dig the Swamp Thing page since it's from a run on the book that I really enjoyed.

What's a 9.4 or 9.6 copy of issue #1 go for? I never realized the interest in these books; maybe I'll get mine slabbed.

I've forgotten. What's the history/background of these stamps? Were they produced for retail or some MMMS promo?

Nice score! Good thing I missed it.

Love to see what you'd come up with Rob's Transmet page!

Hilarious! Thanks Ares! Now if I could only get that as an overlay...

I'm with Thomas, actually, in that I usually prefer lettering on a page - it is a comic book after all - and this is the only page I have sans dialogue, but I think i prefer this one without any word balloons. It's not so cluttered that way, and I bought it (in this case) primarily for the depictions of the characters. Now I have to pick up the actual comic so I can find out what they're saying...

Man, after reading about all the scandals and greed and underhandedness in the comic biz, a geek-fest thread like this is a breath of fresh air. btw, my vote goes to Hulk.

Probably not considered much by you guys' standards, but it's my second piece in two months and only my fourth overall in twenty years. I guess that means I'm an actual OA collector now! Late period John Byrne, but I really like this page because it features both Spider-Man and the FF and I could afford it.

Does the University library know where they got their copy from?

Oh, man, this thread is gonna keep me busy for a while. Definitely needs to be pinned.

Realized that I'm missing 23 as well. What's the story with this issue? Were fewer printed or spotty distribution???

Gotcha, Keith - thanks!

I have been unable to find any in online comic stores, but MH does list them on ebay for waaaaaaay cheaper, although they have not listed any in the past 2 weeks...not that I would buy anymore anyways and they are also signed versions...which appear much easier to get stateside (EwanUK, thoughts? ) I'm still confused. Is this the regular version on Ebay http://search.ebay.com/a1-sketchbook_W0Q...2d1QQsofocusZbs with the Fabray cover? I guess I'm looking for the "variant" with the Leach cover. Is that right?

Okay, I'm interested but also a bit confused. Any clues on the best place to find the A1 Sketchbook with Miracleman? It looks like Mile High has them at $12. I've never seen one elsewhere.