n2wdw's Tales of the Comic Book Room 15 15

[n2wdw]

I spent some time today rearranging some of my comics.  Here is the back of the door to my comic room.  I bought the black CGC frames from a boardie a few years ago, who was looking to get rid of them.  They're solid and stable, so useful for mounting books to a door (which obviously is constantly opened and closed).  On top are some of my favorite GGA comics.  On the bottom are Marvel silver keys, including FF #1 signed by Stan.

(If you look to the right, you'll see my Lloyd Dobler Say Anything action figure signed by John Cusack about 3 years ago at a Philly WW con.)

 

Edited September 2, 2019 by n2wdw

[n2wdw]

Matt Baker Update

I won 2 Bakers last night on eBay, Canteen Kate 2 and TAR 23. 

On my list, there are 300 comics with covers by Matt Baker.  In my quest to get a decent copy of each, I have 181 of them, with 119 to go.  I feel like I've made good progress, but still unsure if completing this collecting goal is possible.

The TAR 23 is what I look for, a nice looking copy that has a flaw that keeps the price reasonable.  Unfortunately, for a number of Bakers still on my list, even lower grade copies go for extravagant prices.  Thanks for reading.

 

[MB1952]

2 hours ago, n2wdw said:

Matt Baker Update

I won 2 Bakers last night on eBay, Canteen Kate 2 and TAR 23. 

On my list, there are 300 comics with covers by Matt Baker.  In my quest to get a decent copy of each, I have 181 of them, with 119 to go.  I feel like I've made good progress, but still unsure if completing this collecting goal is possible.

The TAR 23 is what I look for, a nice looking copy that has a flaw that keeps the price reasonable.  Unfortunately, for a number of Bakers still on my list, even lower grade copies go for extravagant prices.  Thanks for reading.

 

Canteen Kate 2- Enjoy book it has been with me for years. It’s not press so you can probably get higher grade. 

 

[Robot Man]

3 hours ago, n2wdw said:

Matt Baker Update

I won 2 Bakers last night on eBay, Canteen Kate 2 and TAR 23. 

On my list, there are 300 comics with covers by Matt Baker.  In my quest to get a decent copy of each, I have 181 of them, with 119 to go.  I feel like I've made good progress, but still unsure if completing this collecting goal is possible.

The TAR 23 is what I look for, a nice looking copy that has a flaw that keeps the price reasonable.  Unfortunately, for a number of Bakers still on my list, even lower grade copies go for extravagant prices.  Thanks for reading.

 

Nice grabs Mike. I especially like the Canteen Kate. #2. Cover to cover Baker and a book that is just begging to be cracked. 

I did well on the bay last night too. I didn’t “win” anything but probably paid too much for 7 ECs from Comixs4Less. Can’t wait to get that package!

There seems to be a lot of good stuff on the bay last night considering it was a holiday weekend...

[szav]

4 hours ago, Robot Man said:

from Comixs4Less.

Gotten a bit from this guy lately too, seems to grade pretty tight.  One of my current favorite eBay sellers.

[n2wdw]

5 hours ago, kat123 said:

Canteen Kate 2- Enjoy book it has been with me for years. It’s not press so you can probably get higher grade. 

 

Thanks!  I'll take good care of it.

[n2wdw]

5 minutes ago, szav said:

Gotten a bit from this guy lately too, seems to grade pretty tight.  One of my current favorite eBay sellers.

I've bought from him too.  Always been happy with his stuff.

[n2wdw]

Winter Projects

As the seasons move from summer to fall, I'm focusing on some collecting projects that I've been ignoring.  These projects aren't sexy like Matt Baker or Dave Stevens covers, but they're significant (IMHO).

Last year, I completed my collection of all the Legion of Super-Heroes early appearances.  Now I'm working on getting all of the Teen Titans early appearances.  As of this moment, I need 5 comics.

I'm also focused on getting a copy of every Overstreet issue.  Not just his annual price guides.  There are many other titles, like Advance Collector, Marketplace, Monthly, Update, Review, Bulletin, Fan, etc.  I collect these mags because they provide a history of the comics market.

Another thing I'm collecting is getting a copy of every comic published by Atlas (Seaboard).  Sometimes I wonder if there is anyone else in the world collecting this.  But then, that's what makes everyone's collection unique.  We all collect different things.

More on this later, as I complete these collecting projects.  There's nothing better than going shopping on eBay as I'm watching NFL football.  By the way, opening night, Packers v. Bears!  Best to you and yours, especially if you're in the path of the hurricane.

[n2wdw]

By the way, you might ask how I define the Legion early appearances.  Well, the Legion's first dedicated title was Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, where the Superboy title changed to this name with #231.  (That's not completely accurate.  There was a short LSH series -- volume 1 -- that ran from 1 to 4.  Despite this, most people consider Superboy and the LSH #231 to be the first series devoted to the LSH.)

So, I consider the issues BEFORE Superboy #231 to be the Legion's early appearances. That's my cutoff, how I draw the box around this collection.  Here are the issues in this collection:

• Adventure 247, 267, 282, 290, 293, 300-361, 363-380
• Action 267, 276, 285, 287, 289, 290, 298, 309, 319, 331, 365, 377-392
• Jimmy Olsen 72, 76, 85, 100, 106, 117
• Karate Kid 1-9
• Legion of Super-Heroes (V.1) 1-4
• Lois Lane 47, 50
• Superboy 86, 98, 100, 117, 147, 173, 176, 183, 184, 188, 190, 191, 193, 195, 197, 198, 200, 201-230 (Changes to Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes with #231)
• Superman 147, 149, 152, 155, 156, 157, 172, 173, 221, 295
• World’s Finest 142, 168

Here's the source for this information:  https://comicvine.gamespot.com/profile/thegamerdaddy/lists/legion-of-super-heroes-completist/37616/?page=1

[n2wdw]

I haven't done a food post in a while, so here we go.

Last weekend the local grocery store had a fantastic sale on tomahawk steaks ($9.99 a pound; as a comparison, my friend -- who is in the business -- told me restaurants typically spend upwards of $20 lb for tomahawks).  Here's the steak -- it was huge,enough to feed 3 people.

 

I decided to grill the steak using a reverse sear.  It goes on the Big Green Egg and you cook it low and slow (at about 225 degrees) until you get the steak to about 120 degrees, which is 10 degrees below rare (my ultimate target temp was 130 degress, medium rare).

When it got to 120 degrees, I took it off the grill and wrapped it in foil.

 

Then you get ready for the sear.  That's why they call it a reverse sear, as you do the sear at the end.  I got my Egg up to 700+ degrees.  At this point in the cook, the Egg is stoked so it's easy to get to high temperatures.

 

Here's how the steak looks after the sear:

 

And here's the steak after it's been sliced.  The challenge with searing at the front end, is over-cooking the steak. But here it's a beautiful medium rare.  Thanks for reading.

[n2wdw]

Junior!

I had a big win on eBay last night, Junior 10!  This is my favorite restoration -- a little glue on the cover (my other favorite is a little color touch).

I recently got the very well done reprint of the Junior series from @Robot Man, so it was great timing to get his comic.  Hopefully it won't be my last Junior.

[Robot Man]

3 hours ago, n2wdw said:

Junior!

I had a big win on eBay last night, Junior 10!  This is my favorite restoration -- a little glue on the cover (my other favorite is a little color touch).

I recently got the very well done reprint of the Junior series from @Robot Man, so it was great timing to get his comic.  Hopefully it won't be my last Junior.

That book slabbed is a crime. Lucky for you, you have the great reprint book to enjoy all that Feldstein genius!

[n2wdw]

22 hours ago, Robot Man said:

That book slabbed is a crime. Lucky for you, you have the great reprint book to enjoy all that Feldstein genius!

Yep, and it's a beauty too.  I wonder who I got it from?

[PeterPark]

On 9/8/2019 at 7:18 PM, n2wdw said:

Junior!

I had a big win on eBay last night, Junior 10!  This is my favorite restoration -- a little glue on the cover (my other favorite is a little color touch).

I recently got the very well done reprint of the Junior series from @Robot Man, so it was great timing to get his comic.  Hopefully it won't be my last Junior.

The Juniors have really taken off. I liked them at $100-$150 each but I'm priced out now...10, 13 and 16 are all I have. They're really great books. 

[n2wdw]

On 9/10/2019 at 1:36 PM, PeterPark said:

The Juniors have really taken off. I liked them at $100-$150 each but I'm priced out now...10, 13 and 16 are all I have. They're really great books. 

I'm pretty much priced out too.  That's why I love to find restored books, especially minor things (to me) like a little glue or color touch on the cover. 

[AJD]

56 minutes ago, n2wdw said:

I'm pretty much priced out too.  That's why I love to find restored books, especially minor things (to me) like a little glue or color touch on the cover. 

Yep, gotta love the purple label of affordability!

[n2wdw]

Here are new additions to my Lady In White collection, which are covers having a gothic feel to them, and where the lady in distress is wearing a white gown.  So far I have 33 graded comics and magazines in this collection, with the average grade just barely hitting my requirement of 9.0.  These mags are so hard to get in high grade!

Edited September 14, 2019 by n2wdw

[n2wdw]

EC's Confessions Illustrated

I'm not a big EC collector.  I have a few.  I like them, but I'm too far along in my collecting life to start trying to collect big expensive runs like this.  (It would be like trying to start collecting Atlas comics.)

Mostly I collect covers of select ECs.  As for reading them, I content myself with Ross Cochran's EC library of slipcased, hardback books - which are great!

Here is the only EC series I've got a complete run of, Confessions Illustrated.  There's only 2 issues so it might seem easy, but they're not very common. (There aren't any copies on eBay right now.) The covers are crazy!  They make me wonder what people thought in 1956 when they saw these mag-size comics on the shelves.

[Robot Man]

Very cool Mike. I had ‘em all at one time but they are all gone now. I think this title was probably bought by people who bought romance comics. 

[jimjum12]

Just picked this up, Mike ….. a Schomburg effort that I wasn't aware of.... filled with risque cartoons and pin-ups with more emphasis on the cartoons. Thought it might appeal in your thread. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)