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Maxx #3 Black - Research
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Started by RockMyAmadeus,

462 posts in this topic

RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

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So you have number 10, you would think there has to be at least a few somewhere numbered 1-9 still floating around?

 

They weren't in the large stack of ashcans that Jay Company got from the Image offices in about 2002 (when I bought mine.) Jay Company would frequently go to the Image Offices in Orange, CA, and clear them out of all their "old variant stuff", including the ashcans. These were in a lot of about 200 ashcans they got, mostly Stormwatch.

 

In this batch, there were 10 Black #2s, 1 Black #3, 35 Red #1s and 8 or so Blue #1s.

 

I bought them all. In this context, it may have been that these were the only ones left. I don't know, as this is the only time I ever was able to buy blacks. There have been 2-3 Black #1s, 4-5 Black #2s, and ZERO Black #3s for sale on eBay since at least 2000.

 

Maybe Sam Keith still has them. I'll have to try and track him down, but someone said he was living in England right now.

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Solar

Solar

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Why were these books produced? Were they intended to be incentives or gift editions?

 

I'm just curious because the fact that they're signed and numbered (even to the point of including "AP" editions) makes me think that Keith wanted them to be a nice high-end collectible; however, the fact that Jay Company was selling a stack of them directly from Keith and people are speculating that they may have been tossed in a landfill implies that they were never really distributed.

 

They seem like very cool books, so I'd like to know the story behind their publication.

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spreads

spreads

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I read somewhere that many of these were intended to be gifts for friends and family (the number one blues were probably for the fans), but who knows exactly...

 

Does anyone happen to have extras of the 1 and 2 red that they'd be willing to trade? I have an extra number 3 red I'm offering as bait.

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spreads

spreads

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Yeah I was hoping that search would help me out a bit there, i know i've missed some great deals on the past because of ebay's fickleness....to be honest i'm probably not gonna part with this guys, since i've almost completed the set....and my snipe was substantially higher, so if someone would have outbid me, they would have paid through the nose :P

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

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Here is one that just ended on Ebay for around 150 USD.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300350611782

 

 

 

IMG_0414.jpg

 

Absolutely fantastic. This is only the second #3 that I...or, I imagine, most of us here...have seen. And this copy looks to be in much, much better shape than the 7.5.

 

Congrats to Spreads for such a killer deal, and yes, it's unfortunate (for the seller) that eBay's system doesn't allow these European sales to show up on search list results, or I imagine it would have gone for SUBSTANTIALLY (as in perhaps as much as $1,000+) higher...if I'm being really bold, I do not think $2,000 is out of line for this particular book. It's just one of those "so rare, but no collection is complete without it" type books. #3 is, by far, the hardest of the ashcans to find, followed closely by #2 and then #1. Taking out of consideration my #2s, there have only been two sales of #2 on eBay since 1999-ish. There have been about five #1 sales, including the mini-hoard shown here:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT%2c&item=280391210712

 

I will contact the seller and ask about how/when/where they obtained it...with the number, I imagine they got it brand spanking new back in 1993.

 

By the way, JohnnyD...do you have or can you scan an ad that showed these for sale (in the early issues of Maxx)? I don't have access to my books at the moment, and would like to see one. I do have a Maxx #1 in hand, so I'll check that.

 

Congratulations, Spreads, I know how much the set means to you...you're 3 away from the set? I'm still 5 away. ;)

 

By the way...I'm still missing #1 Black, #2 Red, #3 Blue, and #2+#3 Yellows....there's several Black #2s available for trade if anyone's interested.

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spreads

spreads

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Thanks for your input...yes this is the last black that i need and aside from the number one and two red (which should be easy to acquire cheap if i'm patient) - i'm short only the number three yellow (i might be waiting awhile on that!).

 

Replying to what you were saying on the set, i could see how i might pay 'any amount' for that one to complete the set, especially if i have 11 of the 12 and have been looking for awhile. Conversely however, the big buyers willing to shell out cash for the maxx ashcans are still very limited. I'm obviously not gonna shell out big money to get extras and of course knowing others here are looking for these two i'll gladly step aside...this could be one of those things that a lot of collectors just ignore thinking, 'it's so rare i'll never find one and i'm comfortable with that...' Only time will tell...You never know, someone might find a pile of black number 3 lying around, it's happened before :P

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JohnnyDeLicious

JohnnyDeLicious

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I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T SEE THAT #3. Congrats spreads, if you ever need some quick cash, you know where to find me. RMA, no chance I'll get to it before next month, but in my head they ran in the first and possibly second issue. Which seems counterintuitive to the "Preview" function they seemed to be performing.

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spreads

spreads

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Is issue #3 the hardest to find in any color? Any idea on valuations of a Red #3?

 

Yes, with the exception of the blacks, all colors have decreasing print runs after issue 1...i'm not 100% of these numbers but i think it breaks down like this...

 

Blues - 4000, 800, 500

Reds - 1400, 500, 350

Yellows - 500, 150, 100

Blacks - 50

 

I don't know what to tell you about valuations, they seem all over the map for maxx ashcans...one minute ppl are paying $100 for a red#1, the next you wouldn't find a buyer at $35, i have my price points but i'm not willing to divulge that :P And of course condition is a big factor as most ashcans are pretty beat up...

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FlyingDonut

FlyingDonut

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Question - for those of you who are collecting these things, how many people are chasing them? I"m only asking because this might be analagous to the chase for 30 and 35 cent variants, where at the end of people's sets the prices for super-hard to find ones went through the moon. Now, as people have complete sets, the prices have come way back down.

 

Do you guys think that's the kind of action we'll see on this, or will these prices have legs?

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