KEYS or SETS posted by bagofleas

[CSJournals-migration]

Its a personal choice

 

People get into this hobby for a variety of reasons.

 

Some just want to make money by flipping comics. Some are just Collecting Nuts and want every issue of every series that they are interested in. Some want to collect just key issues. Some want just comics that give them a nostalgia from childhood. Some collect only certain artists or writers.

 

Heck some actually want to READ the stories and gawk at the artwork on the inside. WHOA you mean there are stories in these things? haha.

 

Anyway I happen to have a little of each of these qualities but am definitely in the Collecting Nuts category.

 

I have my favorites just like each of you do. I tend to be a completist and strive to get all of a particular series. I also strive for strict 9.8 WP copies or better as many of you do.

 

In the CGC side of comics however keys are graded in spades while many of the other issues in most sets are like trying to find that darn proverbial needle.

 

Combine this with the cost of acquiring CGC graded issues and the longer the series the more likely people are to just get keys and really cheap ones when they show up. The longer the series the more momentous it is when one of us Collector Nuts actually completes one.

 

The decision to collect keys or sets is a purely personal choice and can vary not only from person to person but also from set to set for an individual. There are some sets that I only want the keys of and some I JUST HAVE TO HAVE ALL OF NO MATTER WHAT.

 

I have a fairly large collection going now but so far have not completed a single set. Im soooo close on a bunch of them however. As collectors we all know that typically the closer you get to finishing the set the longer and harder it becomes to finally get those last pesky few. We also tend to be willing to pay more for those last few than we might otherwise just to finish the darn thing.

 

Anyway one of my goals is to complete my Dazzler set in 9.8 and I recently acquired two more issues I needed. Im only nine away from the whole thing and some of them are OAKs. The image below is of my recently purchased copy of number 37. Its one of those lower print run later issues in the series and is currently the only 9.8 out there.

 

What are your goals? Keys or sets? Which ones? How close are you? What did you have to go through to get there?

 

See more journals by bagofleas

[Kevin.J]

I am what you termed as a collecting nut and want everything I can get my mits on.

99% of my collection is raw and I like it that way, as I do like to read them aswell.

I am pretty much complete with Marvel as a company except maybe 50 issues or so.

I have most Marvel keys some in great condition and some not so good.

DC, I am complete from about 1958 on, ( again except for about 50 issues ) with most titles that I want to collect and working backover on the impossible task.

Other companies I have in varing amounts, some titles complete some not.

I could definitly do with some upgrades as I went for quantity over quality, back in the day.

I dont know what my goals are or where my collection is going these days, I just react to what I see in front of me when it comes to buying on Ebay, Clink etc.

[bagofleas]

Wow! That's awesome! Yeah, I used to have over 11,000 raw books myself.

 

Everything from Marvel to DC to Valiant to Image to critter comics to Harveys and Gold Keys... you name it. But after my dad passed away, my mom needed to clear out the space and I just didn't have the space myself to store 'em so I sold 'em in one fell swoop.

 

Now I wish I had never done it. I would have had a boatload of CGC worthy books to send in. Oh well.

[surfer99]

That's a cool cover on the Dazzler book you picked up. Is that the Silver Samurai? If so I might have to pick up a reading copy to check it out.

 

You know my collecting goals already- all X-men appearances outside their own title pre-1980 to start. Would love a CGC set for that someday to help me stay organized.

 

 

[bagofleas]

Unfortunately no, it's not Harada. It's a basic holographic samurai created by a computer under the control of a woman who is trying to kill Alison.

 

Woulda been cool though, huh?

[Kevin.J]

Wow! That's awesome! Yeah, I used to have over 11,000 raw books myself.

 

Everything from Marvel to DC to Valiant to Image to critter comics to Harveys and Gold Keys... you name it. But after my dad passed away, my mom needed to clear out the space and I just didn't have the space myself to store 'em so I sold 'em in one fell swoop.

 

Now I wish I had never done it. I would have had a boatload of CGC worthy books to send in. Oh well.

 

I dont have many Harveys but I love Gold Key. I especially liked the old TV series spin offs like Star Trek, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea etc.

I think that these are so under rated by most collectors and that makes it quite easy to fill a set.

Its a shame you had to cash your books, I hope you got a good price.

[mzhammer]

That Dazzler is cool! I was just looking at an issue yesterday on worldwide comics. I had the idea to look at comics that came out on my birthday and my wife's birthday - Would love to put a little collection together of those, but I've already started collecting so many others... Best to wait, for now... My wife is 9 years younger than me, her's a definately cheaper!

 

As a new collector my tastes keep changing... I have a nice raw collection of BSG, all time favorite TV series, (re-imagined)

 

With CGC, I've started and am close to my first complete set. Of course, it is only 7 books. (is that cheating?) NYX. I fancy the 1st Appearance issues and my very 1st graded book was NYX #3, but decided to try and get all of them. The illusive #6 is all that's left - there's 1 on eBay now, but it's a 9.6... Do i get it and complete, or wait for one of those 9.8's....? For now, I wait....

 

I think I may be a nut? Ask me again in a year!

 

 

[n2wdw]

I'm a completist. I started collecting Marvels and my goal was to have complete sets of all the Marvel superhero titles that began in the 1960s. I'm maybe 95% there. At conventions, I try to pick up an issue or two of ASM and FF (the two titles where I have the most holes, primarily between 1-10).

 

A few years back collecting became less fun, since what I still needed to get for my Marvel collection was so expensive (I like going to conventions and coming home with a lot of inexpensive -- ie, under $5 -- comics; I could no longer do that for the marvels I needed). So I decided to start collecting the main DC titles (Action, Detective, Superman, Batman, Justice League, etc.). I didn't have to start from the beginning as a few years back I bought my older brother's collection; he was a dc collector and had about 4 long boxes. What's surprised me is how easy it's been to collect these titles. I collect raw, and for silver I'm fine with vg/fn. After 3-4 years of doing this, buying mostly at conventions (Pittsburgh, Chicago, SDCC), I've been able to put together long runs of these titles. I'll never have a complete run of Action or Detective due to the cost, but I think complete to 100 or even 50 is possible.

[Kevin.J]

Keep up the good work and good luck.