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Rating spec books
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354 posts in this topic

Next up, Birds of Prey #8. I know that DC gets beat up by Marvel at the box office...most of the time. They do it to themselves. They’ve tried to make everyone as dark and brooding as Batman until recently. They need to do a little character building and bring in some more modern characters. That made me think of this book. There nothing overly special about it except for a great cover and, oh yeah, Nightwjng and Batgirl kiss. Why has DC waited so long to introduce some of these characters ? Why don’t they use more source material ? I mean actually stick to it. 

Anyway, I have 1 probably VF/NM copy of this book. I used to read the series and it was pretty good stuff.

Rating

raw No = 6 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 7 out of 10

* this will always be a big book with Bat collectors whether it happens on the screen or not. *

167F2C2B-EAE9-447A-8000-A40592A9F3E4.jpeg

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Next we have Alias #24. Only one reason this book made the list. The modern age Purple Man makes his first appearance here. Talk about scary super villains, he takes the cake. Super creepy guy who has a very abusive power. He’s already been on TV but he would be a formidable villain for nearly any Marvel hero. I hate him. Very few comic characters have ever brought out that kind of feeling while reading a comic. It’s both a testament to Bendis  who wrote him and the character himself. This book is too cheap. It isn’t overly plentiful and man could he make a hero shine. Btw, the entire series is really worth reading and we’ll talk about #1 later in the thread.

 

Rating NM = 6 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 6 out of 10

 

1B23DE35-18EB-49DE-8B15-7BDA666CE6B3.jpeg

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...and now Kingdom Come #1 and #4. The entire series is worth owning. I have the 6 most perfect sets I could find but on to the actual books. Issue #1 features. The 1st appearance of Magog, a guy powerful enough to cause Supes to retire...kind of. The #4 features one of the best, most titanic, battles you’ll ever see ina comic between Superman and Captain Marvel. Add to it that ( peak ) Alex Ross is the artist  and ( prime ) Mark Waid was the writer. I believe this will be the biggest DC movie ever made...if it ever comes to be. The heroes are actually threatened and that makes it interesting. Both of these books are less than $10 in nice shape. Ridiculous in my opinion. 

ratings 

#1

raw NM = 7 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 8 out of 10

 

#4

raw NM = 8 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 8 out of 10

7FED45D5-31F0-4B6A-B2C9-1AF7B925BA3B.jpeg

64F24719-7A49-4C9E-8CF8-B2ED1D0CA43C.jpegGerksAreMyPeeps suggested adding issue #2 as the 1st appearance of Red Robin so here it is. 👍

 

3BDA004E-3115-4795-B67C-A8420200E58B.jpegPlease note that this is not Tim Drake.

Edited by the authority
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58 minutes ago, the authority said:

...and now Kingdom Come #1 and #4. The entire series is worth owning. I have the 6 most perfect sets I could find but on to the actual books. Issue #1 features. The 1st appearance of Magog, a guy powerful enough to cause Supes to retire...kind of. The #4 features one of the best, most titanic, battles you’ll ever see ina comic between Superman and Captain Marvel. Add to it that ( peak ) Alex Ross is the artist  and ( prime ) Mark Waid was the writer. I believe this will be the biggest DC movie ever made...if it ever comes to be. The heroes are actually threatened and that makes it interesting. Both of these books are less than $10 in nice shape. Ridiculous in my opinion. 

ratings 

#1

raw NM = 7 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 8 out of 10

 

#4

raw NM = 8 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 8 out of 10

7FED45D5-31F0-4B6A-B2C9-1AF7B925BA3B.jpeg

64F24719-7A49-4C9E-8CF8-B2ED1D0CA43C.jpeg

Might as well put #2 on the list as well. First appearance of Red Robin. I am of the opinion that the first appearance of any costumed/powered character, either hero or villain, connected to either Batman or Spider-man, is worthy of a spec play.

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6 minutes ago, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

Might as well put #2 on the list as well. First appearance of Red Robin. I am of the opinion that the first appearance of any costumed/powered character, either hero or villain, connected to either Batman or Spider-man, is worthy of a spec play.

Added it. Thanks 👍

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2 minutes ago, the authority said:

Added it. Thanks 👍

It is probably important to note that it is not Tim Drake in the identity of Red Robin. But then, so many characters have filled so many different roles in the Batman Family. Kingdom Come is Elseworlds. First Red Robin in continuity is Countdown Week 14, but again that's not Drake.

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3 hours ago, the authority said:

Next up, Birds of Prey #8. I know that DC gets beat up by Marvel at the box office...most of the time. They do it to themselves. They’ve tried to make everyone as dark and brooding as Batman until recently. They need to do a little character building and bring in some more modern characters. That made me think of this book. There nothing overly special about it except for a great cover and, oh yeah, Nightwjng and Batgirl kiss. Why has DC waited so long to introduce some of these characters ? Why don’t they use more source material ? I mean actually stick to it. 

Anyway, I have 1 probably VF/NM copy of this book. I used to read the series and it was pretty good stuff.

Rating

raw No = 6 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 7 out of 10

* this will always be a big book with Bat collectors whether it happens on the screen or not. *

167F2C2B-EAE9-447A-8000-A40592A9F3E4.jpeg

This is a very, very strange book. The weirdo, slightly pervy vibe to the reason why it's a standout aside, it's a book that has consistently violated the standard arc of comics "hotness." Aside from a bizarro sale last October, which I think isn't a real sale, this book has never sold for less than $100 in 9.8 (as recorded by GPA.) And yet, it's never sold for more than $350 in 9.8, either. It's just been steady for two decades now. It's no more rare, nor less, than #7 or #9, but this is the issue everyone loves. Fun fact: #7 has never, ever sold as a slab, in any grade, as reported by GPA. Funny, huh?

Very frustrating, as someone who has spent 30 years watching the peaks and valleys, scooping up books at their lows, and waiting for their inevitable highs again. 

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8 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

This is a very, very strange book. The weirdo, slightly pervy vibe to the reason why it's a standout aside, it's a book that has consistently violated the standard arc of comics "hotness." Aside from a bizarro sale last October, which I think isn't a real sale, this book has never sold for less than $100 in 9.8 (as recorded by GPA.) And yet, it's never sold for more than $350 in 9.8, either. It's just been steady for two decades now. It's no more rare, nor less, than #7 or #9, but this is the issue everyone loves. Fun fact: #7 has never, ever sold as a slab, in any grade, as reported by GPA. Funny, huh?

Very frustrating, as someone who has spent 30 years watching the peaks and valleys, scooping up books at their lows, and waiting for their inevitable highs again. 

Thanks for the information on the sales of the book. That’s a valuable addition to this thread. 

That is crazy with all the slabbing going on that one book has never had one. I’m sure there are others. You’d think a person might do it just to complete a run of 1 to 10 or something like that. 

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37 minutes ago, the authority said:

Thanks for the information on the sales of the book. That’s a valuable addition to this thread. 

That is crazy with all the slabbing going on that one book has never had one. I’m sure there are others. You’d think a person might do it just to complete a run of 1 to 10 or something like that. 

I will slab a Birds of Prey 7 in October in Baltimore and sell it on eBay on October 28, just to have the GPA high book. BWAH HAH HAH HAH.

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1 hour ago, the authority said:

Thanks for the information on the sales of the book. That’s a valuable addition to this thread. 

That is crazy with all the slabbing going on that one book has never had one. I’m sure there are others. You’d think a person might do it just to complete a run of 1 to 10 or something like that. 

Oh, it's been slabbed...there's a lone 9.6 on the census...but it's never been sold, at least in a venue that is recorded by GPA. There used to be a ton of books like that. Batman Adventures, for example, had essentially three books reported on GPA: #1, #7, and #12. Then, slowly but surely, slabs got sold, and GPA filled out. And yet, even to this day, no one's ever sold a #15, and there's a gap in GPA.

Edited by RockMyAmadeus
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2 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Oh, it's been slabbed...there's a lone 9.6 on the census...but it's never been sold, at least in a venue that is recorded by GPA. There used to be a ton of books like that. Batman Adventures, for example, had essentially three books reported on GPA: #1, #7, and #12. Then, slowly but surely, slabs got sold, and GPA filled out. And yet, even to this day, no one's ever sold a #15, and there's a gap in GPA.

Next on my list! <cue maniacal laughter>

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20 hours ago, valiantman said:

Since it's a speculation topic, that's the key aspect for newsstands.  They have the same covers as the direct edition, but different distributions. 

Fun fact, I’ve been finding some later ones did not. I know at least one of my Deadpool’s had a variant as its newsstand. I’ll see if I can dig it out. Haven’t compared them all.

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7 hours ago, the authority said:
16 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

This is a very, very strange book. The weirdo, slightly pervy vibe to the reason why it's a standout aside, it's a book that has consistently violated the standard arc of comics "hotness." Aside from a bizarro sale last October, which I think isn't a real sale, this book has never sold for less than $100 in 9.8 (as recorded by GPA.) And yet, it's never sold for more than $350 in 9.8, either. It's just been steady for two decades now. It's no more rare, nor less, than #7 or #9, but this is the issue everyone loves. Fun fact: #7 has never, ever sold as a slab, in any grade, as reported by GPA. Funny, huh?

Very frustrating, as someone who has spent 30 years watching the peaks and valleys, scooping up books at their lows, and waiting for their inevitable highs again. 

Thanks for the information on the sales of the book. That’s a valuable addition to this thread. 

That is crazy with all the slabbing going on that one book has never had one. I’m sure there are others. You’d think a person might do it just to complete a run of 1 to 10 or something like that. 

Its just a good story that many over the years have actively sought out.

 

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4 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:
6 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Oh, it's been slabbed...there's a lone 9.6 on the census...but it's never been sold, at least in a venue that is recorded by GPA. There used to be a ton of books like that. Batman Adventures, for example, had essentially three books reported on GPA: #1, #7, and #12. Then, slowly but surely, slabs got sold, and GPA filled out. And yet, even to this day, no one's ever sold a #15, and there's a gap in GPA.

Next on my list! <cue maniacal laughter>

Not a bad idea.  Two 9.8 run collectors = a big sale.

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I love funny comics. I was a big fan of newspaper cartoons growing up and like that kind of humor. Comics typically are more serious so when one isn’t, it stands out. Tag and Bink are Dead #1 and #2 are hilarious books. High and lows usually occur based on the movies being in theatres...or not.

I had a bunch and I think I sold them all. 

Ratings on 

#1 

raw NM = 6 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 6 out of 10

#2 

raw NM = 5 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 5 out of 10

 

86683723-9392-478D-A686-00305C2493A2.jpeg

03358B0B-E0D6-4FA6-92CE-2E1D5BB0BB75.jpeg

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Just a few thoughts:

I like Batman 619 more than the rest of the storyline as it's the first appearance of Hush and can still be found for $5 and less. 

I've always hated Batman 655 as it's such a BS first appearance. 656 is so much better but doesn't have a variant which I think is the key to driving 655 as the one collector's want. I'm not sure the market correction will ever come, but I've been buying 656 on the cheap for a few years. 

 

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Here we have Deadpool The Circle Chase #1. It seems significant to me and also seems a reasonably priced raw between $20 and $30 for a nice copy. It sells for around $100, give or take a little, in CGC 9.8. 

It’s plentiful on eBay but what isn’t ? It’s the 1st book from the 1st Deadpool mini series. This is the rare occasion where I see the 1st regular series as a better buy than the 1st mini due to the writers but this is still a book I like to buy.

i have a CGC 9.8, a CGC  9.6, and a lot of raw books from VF to NM. I love it.

 

rating

raw NM = 6 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 7 out of 10

0A74D90D-5B04-4387-9A93-28CE27807CA0.jpeg

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2 hours ago, Hey Kids, Comics! said:

Just a few thoughts:

I like Batman 609 more than the rest of the storyline as it's the first appearance of Hush and can still be found for $5 and less. 

I've always hated Batman 655 as it's such a BS first appearance. 656 is so much better but doesn't have a variant which I think is the key to driving 655 as the one collector's want. I'm not sure the market correction will ever come, but I've been buying 656 on the cheap for a few years. 

 

Batman #609 is a great add. I’ll put it on the list. 

I think people have settled on 655 over 656 but things can change. Who knows. Wasn’t 655 the 1st Morrison too ? That may have a little to with it. 🤔 

thanks 🙏 

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