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Rating spec books
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354 posts in this topic

9 minutes ago, the authority said:

Batman #619 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 🙏 

Pretty sure we mean 609 here not 619

FYI

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9 minutes ago, the authority said:

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

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First, thanks for doing this thread -- I'm learning a lot and revisiting a lot of material I've frankly become jaded about. (For example, Morrison JLA -- you could probably find the whole thing in tpb in every Barnes and Noble in the country. It's ubiquity makes it easy to forget how awesome that run is.) 

This is a great, fun thread and an enormous contribution to the community. Thank you!

While I like the pick of the Circle Chase series, it seems to me #4 is much harder than #1 to come by. To the extent people will try to complete this set, the last issue has some potential to see demand. Not disagreeing on #1, just throwing that additional tidbit out there.

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48 minutes ago, Readcomix said:

First, thanks for doing this thread -- I'm learning a lot and revisiting a lot of material I've frankly become jaded about. (For example, Morrison JLA -- you could probably find the whole thing in tpb in every Barnes and Noble in the country. It's ubiquity makes it easy to forget how awesome that run is.) 

This is a great, fun thread and an enormous contribution to the community. Thank you!

While I like the pick of the Circle Chase series, it seems to me #4 is much harder than #1 to come by. To the extent people will try to complete this set, the last issue has some potential to see demand. Not disagreeing on #1, just throwing that additional tidbit out there.

Thanks for the kind words. I’ve definitely received a lot more from this community than I’ve given. I’m having fun with the thread as time permits. I’ll add the #4. I almost always buy these in sets when possible and I definitely have more #1s than Han #4s. 👍

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1 hour ago, the authority said:

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

One of the things that I like about this book, and the "Fatal Attractions" crossover, and the Sabretooth mini, is that you can pinpoint just about this time as when the Marvel offices start laying out covers on computers. Because someone thought it was necessary to use every font available to them and violate some pretty big typography rules (e.g it's a bad idea to unevenly scale type, because then it appears pinched; check out "OF" "A" and "X" above).

One other Deadpool book I think is a good cheap spec is Nomad 4, which is I believe Deadpool's first appearance outside the mutant family of books. You can find them in dollar boxes.

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8 minutes ago, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

One of the things that I like about this book, and the "Fatal Attractions" crossover, and the Sabretooth mini, is that you can pinpoint just about this time as when the Marvel offices start laying out covers on computers. Because someone thought it was necessary to use every font available to them and violate some pretty big typography rules (e.g it's a bad idea to unevenly scale type, because then it appears pinched; check out "OF" "A" and "X" above).

One other Deadpool book I think is a good cheap spec is Nomad 4, which is I believe Deadpool's first appearance outside the mutant family of books. You can find them in dollar boxes.

I’ll add it. How would you rate it raw and graded 1-10

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@GLCBrad recommended Batman 609,  the 1st appearance of Thomas Elliot who becomes Hush. I’d have to agree that this is a great and a little overlooked spec book. Then throw in another fantastic Jim Lee cover and you have an wven bigger winner. 

Looks like a steady $15 to $20 NM book on eBay. A CGC 9.8 looks to run around the $110 to $120 range. Still plenty of meat on the bone in my opinion. 

I own at least 1 copy of the book. All of my books from this age are VF/NM to NM+. 

Rating 

raw NM = 6 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 6 out of 10 maybe a little higher. Not my spec but I do like it a lot. 

4A169927-4CFF-4D7A-9726-1D05AD5BC6E8.jpeg

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

I’ll add it. How would you rate it raw and graded 1-10

Since there *are* a handful of Deadpool appearances that precede it, not particularly high. Maybe a 2 or 3 for raw and a 3-4 for 9.8 (since no one is slabbing Nomad)

Edited by GeeksAreMyPeeps
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@Readcomix suggested the next one and I like it too. It’s Deadpool The Circle Chase #4. I tend to think of this as a way better raw spec than CGC book. The reason is, the book is sought after by set collectors. A lot less people collecting CGC 9.8 are going to be interested in this compared to people wanting the #1-#4 set. 

I own many of these but a lot less than #1. I’d like them to equal out which will probably never happen. 

Rating

raw NM = 6 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 5 out of 10

C37468AA-CAA9-4C6D-A1A2-90FD94874FFB.jpeg

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5 minutes ago, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

Since there *are* a fnadul of Deadpool appearances that precede it, not particularly high. Maybe a 2 or 3 for raw and a 3-4 for 9.8 (since no one is slabbing Nomad)

Okay thanks, good info 👍

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Next entry is a suggestion from @GeeksAreMyPeeps in Nomad #4. An early appearance of Deadpool. I personally had no idea this even existed ( as a Deadpool appearance ) until tonight. I like it. It’s inexpensive and has a pretty cool cover including Kip Winger’s hair...lol 

I’m buying a copy because I like all things Deadpool and I don’t have this one. I also agree on the suggested ratings. 

Rating 

raw NM = 3 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 3 out of 10

 

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Okay, time for some Valiant books. I think the rating for pretty much any Valiant book since 2012 is going to be affected in a big way by the success of the upcoming Bloodshot movie. Movie/TV appearances by Marvel and DC characters may temporarily give a boost to the first appearance of the characters involved, but it doesn't do a whole lot to boost readership (with some rare exceptions; I think Guardians of the Galaxy readership probably benefitted from the movie). Basically, I think that movies don't turn non-comic readers into readers. I don't expect Valiant movies to break that trend, BUT, what I do expect to happen with a successful Valiant movie is for readers of Marvel and DC books to check out the line. Most comic readers know who the Marvel and DC characters are already, and either they're reading those books or they're not, and media doesn't change that. But a lot of readers don't know much about Valiant. They're pretty much consistently less than 1% of the market, so there's a ton of room for growth, especially since it's the third biggest shared universe wholly-owned by a single entity (so I'm discounting the various Image books that cross over occasionally). Not every new reader is going to hunt down individual issues or even key issues, but some of them will. My ratings assume at least a halfway decent movie that viewers generally enjoy. Without a decent movie, the future of the Valiant line is probably a big wild card.

Ninjak #4

I pre-ordered a bunch of this book, just for the cover, but it turns out that the issue also features the origin of Roku, and first appearances by four of the Shadow Seven (a batch of Ninjak villains). This is the A cover. There are 2 order-all variants, a 1:10, and a 1:20, but I think this is one case where the most abundant cover will turn out to be the winner in the long run.

Raw: 6/10

CGC 9.8: 8/10 (the paper on Valiant's non-prestige books make it rather tough to find 9.8s.

image.thumb.png.7ae465ea5f1168e291ca19da42a53cb0.png

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Next up is All New Wolverine #2. I love this book. Nice cover and the 1st appearance of Honey Badger. Marvel keeps getting it right with all characters in the Wolverine family. She is going to continue to grow in value in my opinion. 

I own 1 CGC 9.8 and a few in NM- to NM. 

Rating 

raw NM = 7 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 8 out of 10

19D0A1CE-D577-4F2D-BC2A-6A2A4E358DE0.jpeg

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Next up: Shadowman 5, the first appearance of the new Doctor Mirage, Shan Fong. While many of the Valiant title characters have first appearances back during the original run in the '90s, this Doctor Mirage is essentially a new character, (In the new continuity, she's the wife of the character that was the original Doctor Mirage.) She's a staple of the magical side of the Valiant Universe, along with Shadowman and Punk Mambo. There have been a few announcements that a television show for the CW was in development, the latest news coming in December of 2018.

While we're focusing on non-variants, it should be noted that many Valiant books in the new line have variants. I'm mentioning books that have room for growth for the order-all covers, but obviously incentives will grow along with that. Pictured here is the A cover. There's an order-all "Pullbox" Variant, which is basically a black cover with a hint of the linework for this cover in a very dark gray, a 1:20 variant, and a 1:125 linewide variant.

Raw for order-alls: 6/10

CGC 9.8: 7/10

Shadowman_5-666x10241.jpg.1c968ce7ae7a0c0f07a70770139c7e8d.jpg

Edited by GeeksAreMyPeeps
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So I borrowed a little family tree info from the Marvel database. Someone is working their butt(s) off over there to put all of the info together that they do. Very handy. So the next entry is Venom vs Carnage #2. The 1st appearance of Toxin. This book has very good potential in the right circumstance.

I own a CGC 9.8 and a couple raw NM.

 

rating

raw NM = 7 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 7 out of 10

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567FF59B-073E-4C19-8931-B00704FB1665.jpeg

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Next up JLA #40 and #41 featuring the 1st and an early appearance of Grail. I was informed that her 1st fill was in a Divergence book and I’ll be studying up and listing that 1 tonight.

She is Darkeseid’s daughter and a well designed character to boot.  Half New God and half Amazon. She is immensely powerful in almost every way plus it seems she can fire off Omega beams. In other words, she is one super scary villain. Perfect addition to an upcoming movie in my opinion. The aretwork is outstanding for her entire run. 

I like both books but #40 was the winner out of the gate. Now it seems people are actively seeking both books and the price they will pay has narrowed in difference. The incentive cover to #40is gorgeous but it’s price does not seem to reflect its rarity yet. 

I own 2 CGC 9.8 of #40 plus 1 NM+ raw. I also own 3 NM+ raw of #41 and 3 of each of this run up to #50. 

Ratings

#40 

Raw NM = 7 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 8 out of 10

#41 

raw NM = 6 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 6 out of 10

there is demand for #41 so I will return with better info later.

 

 

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Edited by the authority
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Sometimes books go crazy on prices then fall back to reality. Alias #1 is one of those books but I think it’s more likely to end up at its highs than it’s current price. Jessica Jones and this series were created by Brian Michael Bendis. Yeah, you’ve probably heard of the guy. He’s currently writing a miniseries called Naomi...

Anyway, this book sold regularly at $60 or so in NM and over $300 in CGC 9.8. Every cover in the series makes you know that it’s from this series. A lot like Gaiman’s Sandman that preceded it. It is original looking material.

The story is outstanding...and sad. Jessica Jones has already been a Betflix hit and I see more potential for her to grow. I’d really be interested in seeing more about her hero days.

All that said, I sold all, yes all of my 9.8 and raw NM at their peak. I have zero but this book is on my “ buy it this year” list. I do own it in reprint form. It’s back to a very reasonable even low price. Mix that with an eBay % off coupon and this could be a big winner. 

Rating

raw NM = 8 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 8 out of 10

5415E43E-A743-413C-A5AB-ED8C00985319.jpeg

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