Looking Back at 2020 and Looking Forward to 2021 2 2

[Math Teacher]

I know that this is a little late this year, but I’m going to look back at last year, and then look forward to this year.

 

Here are my four most significant purchases, along with a bonus.

 

Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 2.5: What else needs to be said about the most important comic of the Silver Age? I am going to have to sell off some nice books to pay for it, but I figured that if I didn’t get it now, it may have moved out of my financial reach.

 

Fantastic Four #48 CGC 6.5: I picked this up at C2E2 in February. I traded in my FF #48 CGC 4.5 plus cash to get this book. I also upgraded my FF #49 from CGC 6.0 to CGC 6.5.

 

Giant-Size X-Men #1 CGC 7.5: I picked this up from Ebay. This was a wise purchase, as it increased almost 40% in value since I purchased it. At this time, I have no interest in selling this book.

 

Incredible Hulk #1 CGC 1.5: I picked this up from a fellow board member. All I can say is that the extra $600/week in unemployment payments were needed for this purchase.

 

Brave and the Bold #1 - #24: Even though this set doesn’t compare to any of the above purchases, it’s still cool to have it. Numerous people have a copy of Giant-Size X-Men #1. On the other hand, the number of people who have BatB #1 - #24 (even though mine are reader copies) is significantly lower.

 

 

Now, let’s move on to my priorities for this upcoming year. Here are the top ten books that I am focusing this year, in no particular order: Amazing Spider-Man #7 CGC 5.0 - 6.0, Batman #47 CGC 1.5 - 2.5, Brave and the Bold #35 - #36, in CGC 7.0, Daredevil #4 CGC 6.0 - 7.0, Fantastic Four #50 CGC 6.5, Flash #113 CGC 6.5 - 7.5, Four Color #178 CGC 2.0 - 4.0, Showcase #6 CGC 2.0 - 4.0, and Showcase #23 Raw VG/VG- condition.

 

Amazing Spider-Man #7 CGC 5.0 - 6.0: After this purchase, I will have ASM #1 - #11 slabbed, which moves me toward my ultimate goal of having ASM #1 - #20 slabbed.

 

Batman #47 CGC 1.5 - 2.5: My friend, @KirbyJack, has convinced me to dip my toe in GA water. So, I’m going to follow the saying, “Go big or go home.”

 

Brave and the Bold #35 - #36: I already have BatB #34 in CGC 7.0. I just want to give that book a litte company.

 

Daredevil #4: I already have DD #1 - #2 in CGC 6.0. All my other DDs from #3 - #10 have been graded by a local dealer, and none of them were graded below 6.5 (and he’s a strict grader). With the lone exception of #4, which he graded as 2.5 - 3.0. My goal is to get the first ten Daredevil issues in slabs.

 

Fantastic Four #50: I already have FF #48 - #49 in CGC 6.5, so I just want to add some symmetry to this trilogy.

 

Flash #113: I have decided to collect each Flash issue where a Rogue makes his debut. And I might as well start with my favorite rogue, The Trickster.

 

Four Color #178: This is the first appearance of Uncle Scrooge. Although Scrooge’s popularity rises and falls, the character, Uncle Scrooge, is never going away. Another attempt at purchasing a GA book.

 

Showcase #6: I bought a restored copy of this book, in the hope that CCS could remove the color touch. Well, no such luck. It’s now out of its slab, and I have chosen to get a blue label copy to replace my restored copy.

 

Showcase #23: I currently have Showcase #22 and #24, along with Green Lantern #1. I’m just trying to get this mini-run completed.

 

If, or when, I get these ten books into my collection, I will continue to pursue upgrades and I may also start working on a Rex, the Wonder Dog #1 - #46 set. Yes, these issues will be harder to find and will likely be more expensive, but I like to have a set of books in my collection that few other people have. Besides, I will only buy reading copies, with a max grade of 2.0. This may be a multi-year project.

Edited January 18, 2021 by Math Teacher

[Savoyard23]

All fantastic books, but I am MOST impressed by that B&B run.  That's beautiful to see all those together.  Congratulations.

Only one of those I have is the 12 and I've toyed with the idea in the past of collecting the entire 1-200 run.

[piper]

Nice books!

My year from a collecting perspective wasn't as memorable as yours.  That said, I was able to pick up a number of Silver Age Books in 2020.  The notables were:

• Completed my ASM 1 - 50 run.  the big purchases were issues 10 and 22.
• TTA 27 CGC 4.5
• ST 110 CGC 5.0

Goals for this year? I'm just about finished paying for an XM 1 in CGC 3.5.  I should have purchased this book 5 years ago, but am very happy to finally add this to my collection.

I would also like to add an Avengers 1 to my collection and perhaps put a 1-12 set together (currently have 2-4).

After that, it gets tougher.  With the XM1 purchase, the big books I'm missing are FF 1 & 5, and Hulk 1.  I guess I could put some more early Marvel silver mini runs together or play the upgrade game.  I'm more likely to put my money into Bronze Keys moving forward (gasp). 

 

[Math Teacher]

13 minutes ago, piper said:

• TTA 27 CGC 4.5
• ST 110 CGC 5.0
• XM 1 CGC 3.5

All three of these books are nicer than what I have in my collection. TTA #27 CGC 3.5, ST #110 CGC 3.0, and XM 1 CGC 3.0. I would say that you did much better than you think you did.

[piper]

4 minutes ago, Math Teacher said:

All three of these books are nicer than what I have in my collection. TTA #27 CGC 3.5, ST #110 CGC 3.0, and XM 1 CGC 3.0. I would say that you did much better than you think you did.

Thanks for the kind words.  With all the great comics posted on the boards, it's easy to lose sight of my personal achievements in the hobby.