Rating spec books 13 13

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

6 hours ago, the authority said:

Last group before a break. I’m a pretty big fan of Kevin Smith. Clerks was superb. His standup comedy is hilarious because he is one witty guy. He also feels like one of us. He is a comic book guy and was before it was popular to be one. 

I like his comics too and feel like a couple might be undervalued. The first is Daredevil #1 by him, Joe Quesada, and Jimmy Palmiotti. Three movers and shakers in the comic industry over the last two plus decades. This wa s a great read. Loved it. Still brings decent money but not what I’d expect. 

Green Arrow #1 is another one of his books that I enjoyed. I personally hadn’t cared about Oliver Queen for a long time outside of the JLA stuff. I was a Green Lantern /Green Arrow fan around the time Mike Grell was doing covers.

Green Arrow had some nice covers too. Loved the Quiver storyline. You can buy Green Arrow #1 for around $3 to $5. 

These are the kinds of books that you expect to always be cheap...until they aren’t anymore and you end up paying a premium because now someone else figured out it was great too. Such if the life of a comic guy or gal. I’ve learned many lessons. This is one of them.

Daredevil is more popular but the Green Arrow is way too cheap so opportunities in both of them.

I own at least 2 NM copies of each.

rating

Daredevil #1 and GA #1

raw NM = 7 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 7 out of 10

 

I managed to get my Daredevil #1 signed by the creative team at a Big Apple Con in 1998. Still have that, and the Clerks books I had Smith sign.

[Hey Kids, Comics!]

23 hours ago, darkstar said:

Death has significant appearances in Captain Atom #42, Books of Magic #4, and an Ambush Bug prior to her encounter with Luthor in Action Comics #893 and #894.

Thanks for that. I had no idea about the Captain Atom 42. After reading it online, it's a great appearance by her and her third overall.

[exitmusicblue]

15 hours ago, the authority said:

You may be asking yourself, how have we come this far into the thread without mentioning Adam Hughes and Catwoman in the same sentence ? Wonder no more, the next 4 are 3 blue chip covers and one that should be in my opinion.

Issue #51 is THE Hughes Catwoman that will always the most love. Issues #70 and #74 are on equal footing in a tie for 2nd place while #46 has the most possible room for growth. 

Issue #46 reminds me of Sophie Turner who plays Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones. She wasn’t popular yet when this book came out. 

I own them all in NM- to NM.

ratings

#51

raw NM = 8 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 8 out of 10

the rest

raw NM = 6 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 7 out of 10

AH is a modern master.

[alewario]

Just wanted to say I appreciate both the content and the timbre of this thread.

 

[the authority]

3 hours ago, alewario said:

Just wanted to say I appreciate both the content and the timbre of this thread.

 

Thanks 🙏 

I promise to be back with more later on. My wife has me painting a deck today so I’m thinking of changing my name from the Authority to the lobsterman 😆

Edited May 5, 2019 by the authority

[EmpyreDave]

2 hours ago, the authority said:

Thanks 🙏 

I promise to be back with more later on. My wife has me painting a deck today so I’m thinking of changing my name from the Authority to the lobsterman 😆

I am really enjoying this thread also. Currently trying to collate my collection of 15,000+ that is anything but collated. It’s nice to come across random books that are of value. Kudos to all who contribute to this thread. 

[BishopT]

I've always thought Kevin Smith's Daredevil was undervalued, but I think that's the case with most of the great Daredevil runs after Miller.

[the authority]

25 minutes ago, BishopT said:

I've always thought Kevin Smith's Daredevil was undervalued, but I think that's the case with most of the great Daredevil runs after Miller.

I agree with everything you said. Daredevil has been amazing many, many times. He has a who’s who of great writers. 👍

[WhatMeWorry]

On 5/1/2019 at 10:43 PM, 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.

I like Kingdom Come #3 as well since it is the reemergence of Captain Marvel (not Shazam). Was able to sell a few copies of that when the film hit.

Edited May 6, 2019 by WhatMeWorry

[the authority]

Next up Spawn #9, the 1st appearance of Angela. What a cool character. Really, they’re both great characters. In the early 90s, I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next in this series. The writing was hit and miss but the villains were great. Violator, Overtkill, Angela, Chapel, and even the hero seemed like a villain...sometimes.

I loved McFarlane’s art. I know he isn’t everyone’s favorite. Still like Neal Adams , Frank Miller, and Art Adams, he really drew both sleek and powerful looking characters. Capullo was great too.

Back to Angela. Had she stayed a Spawn character, her appeal would be more limited. Instead, she moved to Marvel and the sky is the limit. It doesn’t hurt that she now seems to be working in the right side of things. Heaven seemed more like hell in Spawn in actions and deeds. 

I have several NM copies of this book. I’d love to have a CGC 9.8 but I don’t have any of them.

rating

raw NM = 7 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 7 out of 10

[BishopT]

3 minutes ago, the authority said:

Next up Spawn #9, the 1st appearance of Angela. What a cool character. Really, they’re both great characters. In the early 90s, I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next in this series. The writing was hit and miss but the villains were great. Violator, Overtkill, Angela, Chapel, and even the hero seemed like a villain...sometimes.

I loved McFarlane’s art. I know he isn’t everyone’s favorite. Still like Neal Adams , Frank Miller, and Art Adams, he really drew both sleek and powerful looking characters. Capullo was great too.

Back to Angela. Had she stayed a Spawn character, her appeal would be more limited. Instead, she moved to Marvel and the sky is the limit. It doesn’t hurt that she now seems to be working in the right side of things. Heaven seemed more like hell in Spawn in actions and deeds. 

I have several NM copies of this book. I’d love to have a CGC 9.8 but I don’t have any of them.

rating

raw NM = 7 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 7 out of 10

What do you think of Age of Ultron #10 (regular and not Angela bagged varaints, though) or Guardians of The Galaxy #5 as spec?

[the authority]

 

1 minute ago, BishopT said:

What do you think of Age of Ultron #10 (regular and not Angela bagged varaints, though) or Guardians of The Galaxy #5 as spec?

I have a regular and Skottie Young variant of GotG #5. Really loved her in that series. I’m going to need your help on the other one. I read the series but can’t recall that specific book. 

If you have the time, let us know what you think of them and how you’d rate them. 👍

[BishopT]

Yeah I love that Skottie Young GOTG #5, I've got a newsstand of the regular cover, too. Also a store variant, think it was Laughing Ogre (Mary Jane homage). I'd say that's a solid spec, but I don't know how to rate it.

AOU #10 is her first appearance in the Marvel Universe (right?). I have two of the 1:50 Angela variants by Quesada, but only one regular copy. It seems this one was really highly printed, but I don't know how much it would spike if a movie appearance was confirmed or something. I only have the two 1:50s because they were plentiful around here a few years back and I managed to get them for $10 a pop.

[WhatMeWorry]

17 minutes ago, the authority said:

Next up Spawn #9, the 1st appearance of Angela. What a cool character. Really, they’re both great characters. In the early 90s, I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next in this series. The writing was hit and miss but the villains were great. Violator, Overtkill, Angela, Chapel, and even the hero seemed like a villain...sometimes.

I loved McFarlane’s art. I know he isn’t everyone’s favorite. Still like Neal Adams , Frank Miller, and Art Adams, he really drew both sleek and powerful looking characters. Capullo was great too.

Back to Angela. Had she stayed a Spawn character, her appeal would be more limited. Instead, she moved to Marvel and the sky is the limit. It doesn’t hurt that she now seems to be working in the right side of things. Heaven seemed more like hell in Spawn in actions and deeds. 

I have several NM copies of this book. I’d love to have a CGC 9.8 but I don’t have any of them.

rating

raw NM = 7 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 7 out of 10

I bought this and a Hot Wheels Spawn Mobile packaged together. Should I separate them?

[the authority]

6 minutes ago, WhatMeWorry said:

I bought this and a Hot Wheels Spawn Mobile packaged together. Should I separate them?

I wouldn’t. I’d just buy another book but I’ve never owned that Hot Wheels Spawnmobile either 😊

[FlyingDonut]

1 hour ago, the authority said:

Next up Spawn #9, the 1st appearance of Angela. What a cool character. Really, they’re both great characters. In the early 90s, I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next in this series. The writing was hit and miss but the villains were great. Violator, Overtkill, Angela, Chapel, and even the hero seemed like a villain...sometimes.

I loved McFarlane’s art. I know he isn’t everyone’s favorite. Still like Neal Adams , Frank Miller, and Art Adams, he really drew both sleek and powerful looking characters. Capullo was great too.

Back to Angela. Had she stayed a Spawn character, her appeal would be more limited. Instead, she moved to Marvel and the sky is the limit. It doesn’t hurt that she now seems to be working in the right side of things. Heaven seemed more like hell in Spawn in actions and deeds. 

I have several NM copies of this book. I’d love to have a CGC 9.8 but I don’t have any of them.

rating

raw NM = 7 out of 10

CGC 9.8 = 7 out of 10

This is the newsstand - there's a real premium paid for this book.

[the authority]

11 minutes ago, FlyingDonut said:

This is the newsstand - there's a real premium paid for this book.

I keep learning about this from you guys.  I’ve heard a lot of talk about newsstands but never really paid attention until recently. They definitely seem to have a strong following based on the prices I’m seeing.

I have a few things I’m curious about as far as what year was the tipping point ? The other thing I wonder is does the same thing make older direct issues. Are the old direct books more valuable due to relative rarity ?

[BishopT]

I have 2 Spawn #9 newsstands, but they're both FN+ at best (found them when the 2nC opened here a handful years ago). Those newsstands are always marked up, I never find them in the dollar bins. In fact, there were a couple of years before the big early Image newsstand craze hit where I didn't see any.

[Lazyboy]

40 minutes ago, WhatMeWorry said:

I like Kingdom Come #3 as well since it is the reemergence of Captain Marvel (not Shazam). Was able to sell a few copies of that when the film hit.

 What are you talking about?

[valiantman]

10 hours ago, the authority said:

11 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:

This is the newsstand - there's a real premium paid for this book.

I keep learning about this from you guys.  I’ve heard a lot of talk about newsstands but never really paid attention until recently. They definitely seem to have a strong following based on the prices I’m seeing.

I have a few things I’m curious about as far as what year was the tipping point ? The other thing I wonder is does the same thing make older direct issues. Are the old direct books more valuable due to relative rarity ?

There's not a ton of concrete information on newsstands at this point, but a high-level description is available (appropriately) at Newsstand101.com 

Edited May 6, 2019 by valiantman