Your best day in comic collecting? 6 6

[theCapraAegagrus]

When I opened the Secret Santa gift from exchange here.

It got me into collecting/reading DC's The Golden Age TPBs, Elseworlds TPBs, and Neal Adams overall.

Edited April 7, 2019 by TwoPiece

[gunsmokin]

These are a blast to read! I’ve dreamed of these types of scores but have only had two true “scores”. The first occurred in 1981 when I popped into a second hand book store that regularly sold traded in comics 2 for a quarter. Usually went in about once every other week but rarely was there anything of real value until one day..... A guy had just dropped off a lot of about 50 silver age Marvel’s.  The lot included Silver Surfer 9 through18. ASM 115 through 128 and X-Men 50-66 as well as a few others but these are the ones I remember the best. Three years later, Mother Nature blew them away in a tornado mentioned elsewhere. The second score happened 4 years ago. My elderly next door neighbor gave me five comics he had since childhood when I mentioned that I collected comics. All were coverless but one was All Star 3 with the last page missing! Two years later, our street was being torn up and rebuilt and in the city of Oshkosh WI, you pay for half and the city pays the other half. My neighbor doesn’t have much money and is obviously on a fixed income. He said they were on a ten year plan to pay the city back so I sold the All Star for $1k and went to city hall and anonymously paid down $1k of his bill. He has no idea. He refused to take anything for the book when I told him of the value so I figured this was the best way to repay him for it. I almost forgot one. Having CREIG FLESSEL call me to ask me about a commission that I had written to him about was very mind blowing as well.

Edited April 7, 2019 by gunsmokin

[Cliff R.]

My best day was in 1963 when I traded 2 DC comics for an Amazing Fantasy 15.

My worst day was when I sold it years later for $50. 

[KirbyJack]

52 minutes ago, gunsmokin said:

He said they were on a ten year plan to pay the city back so I sold the All Star for $1k and went to city hall and anonymously paid down $1k of his bill. He has no idea. He refused to take anything for the book when I told him of the value so I figured this was the best way to repay him for it.

Very nice, GS!

[MGsimba77]

9 hours ago, Aweandlorder said:

Every day is exciting to me. I make a habit of having at least one purchase a day on the bay. I have my saved searches on the items I'm looking for and am always in contact with sellers. Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug. But every day. EVERY day. Is exciting 

Yeah I feel the same way about the thrill of the hunt. I got an eBay alert couple weeks ago on a 9.6 ASM 70. I've been waiting years for one to pop up. Considering I'm trying my best to minimize my spending as I got my sights set on a bigger comic book target I went back & fourth debating myself on whether I should go for it or not. After a half hour of dithering finally decided to go after it. Logged on to eBay...low & behold it was gone! Someone snatched it up literally a few minutes before I logged on!!! Still kicking myself as it was a perfectly wrapped beauty! That day I was the bug 

[rsouxlja7]

getting my AF15 in the mail was magical. 

[Robot Man]

Some wonderful and amazing stories here.

I have been collecting close to 50 years. So many collections, individual scores and finds it’s hard to remember the best. But I will go with this one.

I’d been reading comics for several years when in 1962 I bought my first MAD Magazine. This had a profound effect on me for some reason. I devoured it over and over. I was inspired to try and find as many back issues as I could. I asked friends, hit used book stores and flea markets, garage sales. Kept adding to my run. One day my dad took me to Hollywood with him on business. He dropped me off at Cherokee book store that had a large vintage comic department upstairs. I had  5.00 allowance money and $5. he gave me. Going up the bending staircase there were old comics thumbtacked in cleaners bags on the walls. I was blown away to see issue #9. But it wasn’t a magazine but a comic book. I had never seen an actual EC MAD. It was priced at $3.00. I had never paid any more than cover price or less for a comic. I thought long and hard but I had to have it. I picked it off the wall and a small pile of cheaper ones and took it to Bert Blum and handed him my money. Out I went with my prize. My dad was pizzed that I had blown $3. on one comic but I didn’t care. What makes this so special is by paying more than cover price turned me into a collector that day. The rest is history...

My other biggest day in comics was the 2000 SDCC. This show marked the appearance of nearly every living EC artist at the time. Due to MAD, I had become a rabid EC collector. I carefully went through my collection selecting a couple books for each artist to sign. I sat in awe at their panel and then the big moment. I walked into another room and there was a long row of tables with all my heroes sitting there. Kurtzman, Elder, Kamen, Craig, Both Severins, Williamson, Feldstein and many others. I walked from artist to artist with my books and questions. One of the most amazing days ever in all my collecting days. They are all gone now but I still have the memories...

[newshane]

12 hours ago, DocHoppus182 said:

I’ve had a lot of fun or “best” days during my time collecting you could say.  I think one of my favorites is something that occurs quite frequently.  My best friend’s basement is our hang out.  It’s completely finished and even has a fridge stocked with pink lemonade and yoo-hoo!  Sometimes we trade back and forth, sometimes we just watch tv.  Of course I could say my best day was the day I discovered Timely or the day I finally got a copy of Hulk 1 back after foolishly selling my first one a few years prior.  Those were definitely great days. But sitting with my friend amongst the things we love, by far, is the best.  

The basement is a lot bigger than this, but here is just one view from where I sit.  I should take more pics for the comic room thread.

 

Is that an old Marantz receiver I see in the background? Nice. My dad had one. It slammed. 

[thunsicker]

Like most my best days (and the ones I’m trying to relive now as a collector) were sitting around my best friends house reading our subscriptions and trading them back and forth.  It was the seventies and he had a subscription to Daredevil (Miller’s first run) and I had a subscription to the X-Men (Early Claremont/Byrne).  Then we’d go down to the head shop, as Iowa City didn’t have a comic shop and the head shop was the only place you could get back issues.  I guess the owner got into selling comics through underground comix then expanded.  I think he still runs a comic shop in Iowa City, though he’s out of the other business.  It always seemed like such an adventure to go down that dark dirty alley to the shop.  We felt like such rebels.

[Hollywood1892]

Reading all these amazing stories and scores not only brings tears to my eyes and tells me I made the right decision getting into this hobby but it also tells me I've barely broke the periphery of it. I can't begin to imagine the magical moments to come.👍😁

[Silver_Couch_Surfer]

Summer of August 2017, one of my most memorable hunts ever.

I heard about a neighborhood garage sale and decided to bring my brother along to show him the ropes. It was decided he'd be the driver while I was the foot soldier. We get to our first house, he pulls up on the opposite side of the street and says "I don't see any comic books, let's go!". I'm like "hold on man!, let me get out and take a look, you never know!". So I get out of the car and as I start to cross the street, I see a little glimmer of hope! A Dell logo protruding up from a beat up box. I walk up to the box and quickly flip through a few books, nothing crazy and they all looked pretty beat up. I asked the seller, "how much do you want for these old books"? He replies "uh, I don't know, how's $20 for everything?" I pulled out a 20 spot and off we went to the next house.

A few hours later we get back to my place and I start peeling away each issue at a time. Mostly misc bronze and some moderns. About half way down in the box I pulled an ASM 128 and right underneath that ASM 129!! I yelled so loud in excitement that I'm sure my neighbors down the street heard. That was a good day! I've had other awesome pickups but this one will always be remembered as "the one".

Edited April 8, 2019 by Ovrclck
spelling

[sfcityduck]

My best day was when a new friend I'd made in my first year of middle school showed me his 1979 Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide and told me about something I'd never heard about before - a comic book shop - in my hometown.  I will be forever grateful that my friend inspired me to become a comic collector.  

My second best day was when my Dad told me a few weeks later that he had his childhood comic collection (late 40s early 50s) in storage at my Grandpa's house.

[Robot Man]

I wouldn't know to thank or curse that friend...

Wow, what did your dad have and did he give them to you? I wouldn't have told him about that price guide...

[Robot Man]

I bought this at an antique show for $3. after some other guy's $2. offer was rejected. I didn't know the significance until I went home and looked it up. The lady had a Loony Tunes, a beat up Archie and this...

As great as this was. It wasn't my favorite find.

[BigDaddy1]

I'll share another story of one of my favorite comic days.

Back at my first job a few years ago, I was making roughly $250 a month at my local skate arena (only worked on weekends). This was in my early days collecting in comics. My comic shop told me he had some ASM 300's, in near mint to mint condition. I decided to dedicate one month of my job towards an ASM 300. After getting the money I bought the comic. Was the first time I spent over a hundred dollars towards any comic, and still remains the most I've spent towards one. 

 

[dupont2005]

Meeting Jaime Hernandez at a store signing

[Carlucci54]

New to posting, but have been reading for over a year and learning a lot.

Started collecting while in college, in the early '70s, quit for various reason in the mid-'80s.  Kept everything bagged and boarded and boxed, took them with me everywhere I lived.  Bought an Overstreet Guide every 2 or 3 years to follow the field from afar.

Noticed an apparent acceleration in Guide prices a few years ago, then what seemed an even steeper acceleration 2 years ago -- at least in early Bronze Age comics, which formed the bulk of my collection.  Decided I might start to sell part of my collection since I'm getting to be an old fart nearing retirement.  Spent a year doing a lot of research into the state of collecting, including a lot of reading on these boards.  Learned about slabbing, which didn't exist when I was collecting, and pressing, which may have existed, but if it did I wasn't aware of it.  Bought a membership here at CGC.  Researched pressing services, selected one.  Put together my first batch and sent it for pressing and then on to CGC for grading and slabbing.

Two of the comics in that first batch were Amazing Spiderman #129 and Giant-Size X-Men #1, both of which I bought at cover price when they were first released.  Submitted those two through the Standard Tier since I knew they were my most valuable comics and estimated that one or both might have a market value around $700-800.

My best day in comic collecting was the day I saw on my account that those two comics were graded and shipped, and then learned that my ASM #129 was graded 8.5, and my Giant-Size X-Men was graded 9.8 with white pages.

I'll take some credit for properly storing my comics for all those years, but I also have to give credit to joeypost, whose terrific work definitely contributed to those grades.

The experience made me want to resume collecting as well as selling.  I've truly enjoyed reading and learning on the boards, and now plan to participate in them, at least a little.  I just wish I had more time.

Edited April 9, 2019 by Carlucci54

[ExNihilo]

Way back in the 90's when Marvel launched the Heroes Reborn imprint, Jim Lee came out to my LCS for a signing event.  I remember waiting an hour in line for Jim to arrive.  It was the first signature I ever got on a book in a time before I knew what CGC was.  (Heck, I'm guessing there was no such thing as Signature Series back then).  Better yet, it was a time when signatures were free and you could stand around and actually had time to talk with the creators without the pressure of a massive line behind you.  It's the only time I've seen Jim in person, but one day I hope to make it to a con to express how 20+ years later, he's still my favorite artist.

Second best day would probably be the day my FF48 arrived in the mail.  Silver Surfer was and is my favorite character so getting that book was always a childhood dream.

And not a story about collecting, but 2 years ago I attended D23.  This was just a few days after Joan Lee had passed away so Stan would have been forgiven for canceling his appearance.  But he was there to accept his Disney Legends award and to thank the fans and to express how they energized him and brought him joy.  And he was there the next day as well when he and Mark Hamill were guests of honor on the parade that went through the convention floor.  It's the only time I ever saw Stan in person and it's a moment I'll never forget.

[Hollywood1892]

9 hours ago, Ovrclck said:

Summer of August 2017, one of my most memorable hunts ever.

I heard about a neighborhood garage sale and decided to bring my brother along to show him the ropes. It was decided he'd be the driver while I was the foot soldier. We get to our first house, he pulls up on the opposite side of the street and says "I don't see any comic books, let's go!". I'm like "hold on man!, let me get out and take a look, you never know!". So I get out of the car and as I start to cross the street, I see a little glimmer of hope! A Dell logo protruding up from a beat up box. I walk up to the box and quickly flip through a few books, nothing crazy and they all looked pretty beat up. I asked the seller, "how much do you want for these old books"? He replies "uh, I don't know, how's $20 for everything?" I pulled out a 20 spot and off we went to the next house.

A few hours later we get back to my place and I start peeling away each issue at a time. Mostly misc bronze and some moderns. About half way down in the box I pulled an ASM 128 and right underneath that ASM 129!! I yelled so loud in excitement that I'm sure my neighbors down the street heard. That was a good day! I've had other awesome pickups but this one will always be remembered as "the one".

Oh man👍

That is totally awesome Fa Punisher at a garage sale!!!

That only goes to show what other treasures can be unearthed in what the ignorant perceive as trash.

😀😁😂🤣

[Hollywood1892]

5 hours ago, BigDaddy1 said:

I'll share another story of one of my favorite comic days.

Back at my first job a few years ago, I was making roughly $250 a month at my local skate arena (only worked on weekends). This was in my early days collecting in comics. My comic shop told me he had some ASM 300's, in near mint to mint condition. I decided to dedicate one month of my job towards an ASM 300. After getting the money I bought the comic. Was the first time I spent over a hundred dollars towards any comic, and still remains the most I've spent towards one. 

 

That is stunning

I think an ASM 300 and a BA 12 are on my next horizon. I kindve want to buy them together.

👍