16 comic book challenge & personal collecting goal finally accomplished! What would you pick? 0

[justin]

Early last year I did a big sell-off here, getting rid of nearly my entire collection (about 200 books). You might remember it as the “buy one, get a bunch free” post). In its place I picked 2 storage boxes and made a goal that I would fill these with slabs and when they got full, I would be done. This meant that I had to choose exactly 16 slabs and a few raws that would be the most important to me. And each book had to be the best of what I can afford. I did this to de-clutter my life and I also knew that I would be moving to a smaller place with my wife and kids. Here is what I ultimately got:

Exciting Comics 36 CGC 1.0: I bought this raw and sent it in to be graded. I always wanted a WWII Schomburg cover and Black Terror is a great, affordable way to get one.

Fantastic Four 9 CGC 1.5: This book was handed down to me by my uncle. He used to have full runs of every Silver Age comic. Yes, he had all the keys too. But, long story short, his mom burned all his comics when he went to college. This was the sole surviving book. I sent it in to CGC

Daredevil 111 CGC 9.0: this is a rare “Mark Jewelers” copy. I freaking love the Silver Samurai and this is his first appearance. I used to have OA from this book too. Bought off eBay.

Daredevil 115 PG ad page: I got this page slabbed because 1, it is the first ad page for Hulk 181 and , 2, the letters part talk about Daredevil 111. Love it!

Incredible Hulk 181 CGC 4.0: I’m a big Wolverine fan so this book was a must. I wanted the most affordable, complete copy with the best alignment I could get.

X-Men 173 CGC 9.8 SS: this book has the best fight scene ever drawn/written and it just so happens to be between Wolverine and the Silver Samurai. Was looking for a blue label 9.8 but I just had to get this SS version when I saw it on eBay.

Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk 1 CGC 9.8 Sketch variant: This book brought me back into comics after a 15 year absence. I also own the OA of page #19. Bought this as a CGC 9.6 off eBay then got it pressed to a 9.8.

Wolverine 145 Nabisco CGC 9.4 SS: I originally bought a 9.2 SS but it got stolen from my front door. Luckily I got this 9.4. I love Sienkiewicz and this is my favorite cover of his.

Amazing Spider-Man 300 CGC 9.2 SS: I feel that this comic is the perfect comic in every way. It is my ultimate favorite book. I had a 9.8 but sold it to pay debt and get this SS instead. 

Marvel Super Special 22 CGC 9.8 SS: Bought this as a 9.8 blue label then I sent it to Rich Henn to be SS’ed by Jim Steranko on 2/22/20. HTF in high grade and now I have the only SS in 9.8. This is the jewel of my collection.

GI Joe 21 CGC PG SS: this one is crazy. I love GI Joe 21 and I always wanted it signed by Larry Hama. However, I don’t like the cover to GI Joe 21. So I bought a beat-up 21, cut out my favorite page, gave it to Rich Henn and he got Larry so sign it.

Star Wars: Tag & Bink 1-2, and II 1 CGC 9.8: such an amazing and funny series if you are a Star Wars fan but dang if there are hardly any graded copies. There’s less than 6 of either of these in 9.8. I bought II 1 off eBay but I had to send in raw versions of 1 & 2 to be graded.

Green Lantern 76 CGC 7.5: I always loved this cover. It’s a great story too. Tried to get the best alignment and centering as I could as most copies are crooked. 

Daredevil 187 CGC 9.8: As far as I can remember, this was the first comic book I ever bought.

The raw books I have are: Superman 199 (best reader story ever), The Sword in the Stone - Gold Key edition, Wolverine 2 (1988), Looney Tunes 122 (I have OA from this book) and Detective Comics 405 (great read). 

so with that, what books would you pick if you only could choose 16?

 

I also did the same for my video game collection. But that is for a different forum.

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by justin

[Myowncollector]

Whatever ones that are the most valuable that have the 1st appearance of someone that hasn't appeared in a movie or tv show since 2012.

[comicginger1789]

You have 16 slabs and 4 raws and you want to get it down to 16? Ditch the raws IMO. That or ditch the raws except the Looney Toons ish that goes with the original art you have and sell the ad from DD showing Wolverine. You can get a copy of that issue for less than was likely paid to slab it. 

[Mercury Man]

Those 3 Star Wars books don't interest me at all.  I would ditch those and keep:

• Superman 199 (best reader story ever)  and we need more Superman in our lives 
•  Wolverine 2 (1988)   due to your comment about Silver Samurai
• Looney Tunes 122 (I have OA from this book) awesome that you have the OA for this as well. 

[justin]

Maybe I said something wrong. My collecting goal is complete. 16 slabs was the goal. The 16 i have are the ones i will keep. the raws I am keeping as well (They are a small outlier. I won't add or subtract from them).

I am just celebrating and wondering what you would pick if you only had 16 slabs to choose from.

Edited May 10, 2020 by justin

[Buzzetta]

1 hour ago, justin said:

Maybe I said something wrong. My collecting goal is complete. 16 slabs was the goal. The 16 i have are the ones i will keep. the raws I am keeping as well (They are a small outlier. I won't add or subtract from them).

I am just celebrating and wondering what you would pick if you only had 16 slabs to choose from.

Narrowing your collecting down to 16 things? 

You are a better man than I am and this is coming from someone who has a smaller collection than what I believe to be average around here. 

 

[kav]

3 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

Narrowing your collecting down to 16 things? 

You are a better man than I am and this is coming from someone who has a smaller collection than what I believe to be average around here. 

 

I'm narrowing down to 16 AF15s

[jason4]

I have 45 books. I dont think I can narrow down further it's all keys and was 400 books at one time. But if I had to pick it would be hard. 

[KirbyJack]

Assuming I can never own any other comics for the rest of my life? These.

 

[Lazyboy]

21 hours ago, justin said:

so with that, what books would you pick if you only could choose 16?

Can I just pick suicide instead?

Okay, that might be a bit extreme, but I still wouldn't see the point in owning only 16 comics.

[Turnando]

5 hours ago, justin said:

Maybe I said something wrong. My collecting goal is complete. 16 slabs was the goal.

You were clear.  Reading comprehension is a rare skill, it's not your fault.

Love the Super Special Blade Runner.  I have that one for reading.  Same for the Tag & Bink, my kid and I read those and love them.

Edited May 11, 2020 by Turnando

[justin]

3 hours ago, KirbyJack said:

Assuming I can never own any other comics for the rest of my life? These.

 

I'm curious and would love to hear you reasons why these would be the ones you would choose.

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by justin

[KirbyJack]

1-5 and 12 for the part of me that wants to own prestigious books. I considered keeping Spider-Man 1, JIM 83, etc., but if I only get 16 comics, they’re gonna be FFs. So those are my biggies. 
48-51, 57-60, and annual 1 because they’re such monumental comic events. Their greatness represents the greatness of the entire Kirby run.

Annual 6 because it’s my favorite single comic book of all time. If I could only read one comic for the rest of my life, it would be FF annual 6.

[bb8]

8 hours ago, Turnando said:

You were clear.  Reading comprehension is a rare skill, it's not your fault.

Love the Super Special Blade Runner.  I have that one for reading.  Same for the Tag & Bink, my kid and I read those and love them.

Yeah I read his post and then was incredibly confused by people suggested he ditch some his treasured keapsakes he'd painstakingly assembled.

[theCapraAegagrus]

Of what I already own, or...?

[justin]

...of what is most important to you. Already owned or wish to own.

But be careful about what you wish to own. I originally got a Giant Size X-Men 1 GCC 5.0 thinking it was one I always wanted, but it doesn't have any significance to me and I got bored with it quickly so I sold it.

[theCapraAegagrus]

1. Action Comics #1
2. Detective Comics #27
3. Superman #1
4. Batman #1
5. Amazing Fantasy #15
6. Amazing Spider-Man #1
7. Iron Man #1
8. Captain America #100
9. Thor #126
10. The Incredible Hulk #1
11. Spawn #1 CGC Gem Mint
12. Eerie #1 (1947)
13. Dark Knight Returns #1 CGC Gem Mint (doesn't exist - yet?)
14. Kingdom Come #4 CGC Gem Mint (doesn't exist - yet?)
15. Brave and the Bold #28
16. Avengers #1

[Summydad1]

All comics in the highest grade I can afford. Not gonna choose Action 1 or tec 27 etc. Because those are most likely out of my price range/budget in any condition. I choose books that I either own or could own. 

1. Hulk 181-Want

2. GSX 1-Want

3. ASM 129-Own

4. Avengers 4-Want

5. Cap 100-Own

6. Supergirl LOSH 23 Hughes-Own

7. ASM 300-Own

8. Harbinger 1-Own

9. Eternal Warrior 5 Mack-Own

10. Vampirella 1-Want

11. Silver Surfer 4-Own raw/want CGC

12. ASM 121-Own

13. Cap 109-Own

14. Bloodshot 0 platinum-Want

15. Batman 227-Want

16. Randomly choose one of these: Wonder woman 38 Finch or Superior Spider-Man 20 Campbell or X-23 1 Dell Otto-Own the WW and Spidey. Want X-23. 
 

[justin]

I also want to make a note that if I were to come across another graded book I really want, I will sell one of the other 16. The goal is to always have only 16. it makes you weigh the importance of a purchase. Prevents you from buying just because. You really have to think about it

[october]

I have, at least what I consider to be, a pretty small collection at around a thousand issues. I could probably narrow it all the way down to 100 if I had to, but any lower than that and I think I would just sell everything.

Edited May 12, 2020 by october