• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

What's your A+ piece -- the Budget Grail Edition
0

21 posts in this topic

I don't know whether this thread will have legs or not, but in Grail threads I've seen - such as Your 1 Grail - I notice that people generally will go for the kind of obvious (cover) picks: AF 15, Action 1, GSXM 1, Hulk 181, etc.  And why not?  Those certainly are grails - who would turn down the cover to Hulk 181 (or Batman Adventures 13)?  

But I'm curious to hear people's A+ pieces - pieces that mean almost as much as a grail, but something that might be semi-possibly-maybe-quasi-obtainable.  Either a grail that is, say, under 100k, or an A+ piece that you've always wanted almost as bad as that X-Men 137 cover but maybe a bit more obscure (and a bit less money).  And if you have some A+ pieces in mind, post a couple if you want!

Me: not my all time grail, but since I'm very much a nostalgia based collector, I always circle back to the Flash #251 and #253 covers.  Gun to head -- I'd go with #251.  In 1977, my friend told me about The Flash - I thought he was some kind of heroic dog like Lassie!  But no, it was a comic book!  I'd never seen one before.  And like any good 6 or 7 year old, I badgered my parents into taking me to the neighborhood Circle K where they bought me my first two comics, Captain America #212 and Flash #252, and the addition was born.  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Obtainable" meaning it may be available at some point and I may be able to afford it...this page by Chris Bachalo.

I collect his Generation X art, and this has a huge nostalgic grip on me. I remember turning to this page and seeing a character I'd seen a million times (Wolverine) in a style all it's own.

It is my "holding-out-hope" most desirable piece from an artist I collect.

 

IMG_0055.JPG

Edited by skrilla1212
Removed dupe pic
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’d love to pick up a Godzilla vs Red Ronin page from the 1970’s Godzilla book. There were some great splashes. 

Also, a prime Bolland Judge Dredd Page. And a Golden Micronauts Page featuring Karza & Bug. 

Edited by PhilipB2k17
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Same thing here as the other Grail thread, and this isn't even really a list. Just a handful of pieces. I could go on and on and on and on....

On 11/2/2017 at 3:49 PM, ESeffinga said:

I don't think I have a Gail (the one piece), I have a whole list of pieces that I'm probably have a stroke if I could bring them home though.

Just a couple more recent quickies off the top of my head:

I'd love to pry this away from Albert, for instance. Not gonna happen, but...
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=590613

or this piece from Arnie and Kathy...
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=904753

 

I'd take JL's Jeff Jones Wonder Woman cover in  heartbeat.
Or that Wrightson Lab image above.

I could go on and on, and I don't put any one of these above the others, they all just stun me in different ways.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the sub-$100K category, that's a very easy call for me - there can be only one true Grail:

Uncanny X-Men #172 cover - the single issue above all others that got me into comics, the most meaningful piece in my collection

with honorable mentions to the following:

Uncanny X-Men #176 cover - the first comic I bought off the newsstand (fortunate to own this one too)

Marvel Feature v. 2 #1 (feat. Red Sonja) cover - also in that first batch of comics I ever read along with UXM #172

Thor #339 cover - the book that my dad and I drove all around Denver in the snow trying to find (please sell this to me Mr. Simonson!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, eewwnuk said:

Batman fan, i believe i saw the cover to detective 620 turn up on ebay a few years ago.  Same seller had my all time favorite joker cover.   Both sold for 1k each.   I was a day late ?

It was a buy it now and sold for $1250 ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of the items i love are well below the 100k .  Although mr. Fish just listed iron man submariner #1 on CAF as for sale.  He's taking offers. No idea what its worth. Wish-  I could be a contender. 

 

So here are a couple of indy grails I would love to get.  First Ken steacy - Vortex 1 cover.  2nd Peter Hsu Adventurers #1 and 3rd -  a comic by Jim Lee .

710899.jpg

895779.jpg

2017-11-12-19-44-44-.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Shemp said:

It was a buy it now and sold for $1250 ?

Where is the banging your head against a wall emoji?  I could really use it right now.  I quit looking at Ebay OA several years back just because there is so much junk it got too painful to wad through

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, batman_fan said:

Where is the banging your head against a wall emoji?  I could really use it right now.  I quit looking at Ebay OA several years back just because there is so much junk it got too painful to wad through

Please dont go back.  Its my only chance to getting decent breyfogles ??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have stopped using the whole grail terminology in thinking about my collection. There isn't any one piece that would "be the one thing" I want to complete my collection or for which I would gladly sacrifice something super important or valuable just to get my hands on it. Unlike a lot of folks, though I remember my initial foray into comic reading fondly, I don't remember that first book I read or any one comic that changed it all for me or the like. Sure there are books and stories I remember fondly and things I would like to own, but my triggers are mostly seeing something cool and wanting it because I like it-not thinking about something I loved back in the day and pining for it now. I realize that isn't particularly typical in this hobby, but that is how it is with me these days-which is why I am often just as happy with something for my collection that came out this year or 25 years before I was born as I am about something that I grew up reading-and often I don't know I want it until I see it.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was extremely blessed when I first got on comicartfans.com, I found my grail and was able to make a cash/trade for it. Flash 323. Then, I set my sights on other covers that I really had a nostalgic feel for, like Saga of the Swamp Thing 3. I'm thankful that Tom Fleming had the Doom Patrol 1 cover by Steve Lightle up on his site for sale and that he allowed me, a young comic art collector with NO experience in the hobby, to trade him for it. When I got into the hobby, I never had any idea that I would be able to acquire what I thought of as grails. But, like I said, I have been extremely blessed.

There are still pieces out there that I'd love to find and buy, but none are really that major, just "grails" for me because of my nostalgic feel for them. I want the mechanical covers to Ghost Manor 36 and Space War 28 or Space War 30 (because those three "covers" were created from inside panels and only mechanicals or silver prints should exist for them). I want the cover to Ghost Rider 25 back. I want the cover to Archie Giant Series 522 by Dan DeCarlo. I want the cover to The Beagle Boys 38.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
0