Summer 1989 - When We Were Bat-Maniacs

Doug: So I pack-ratted a bunch of Batman stuff. What's it to you?

Doug: I've been taking advantage of my holiday break to move past comic books and into other books and memorabilia in my attempt to "cull the herd", so to speak. In fact, here's a plug for my auctions -- lots of new stuff goes live tonight (12/30) at 7:00 pm CT here in the States. In addition to the lot you see above, you'll find some Marvel Masterworks, various trade paperbacks, comic history books, etc. But back to this stuff -- yeah, I was that guy who grabbed whatever I could in a fit of Batmania ahead of the June 1989 release of Tim Burton's first Batman film. I was so excited that Bats was going to get the silver screen treatment. I had just loved Superman: The Movie and Superman II and had very high hopes for the Batman movie, too. Count me among those who were skeptical about Michael Keaton as the choice to play our hero... Now some 26 years later, he looks even better in the role!

Doug: But the real reason -- the real reason -- I wanted to discuss Batmania today was the hidden gem you see below. Yes, I saved the funny pages out of the Chicago Sun-Times from Sunday, November 12, 1989 when Marshall Rogers's newspaper strip began. The plot spun out of the events of the first Bat-film. NOTE: You may notice that the image is spliced -- my scanner was just a wee bit small to accommodate the width of the paper. But this is awesome! Who doesn't love themselves some Rogers Batman? Please enjoy.

UPDATE: Many readers in our comments section have noted that they did not know this strip even existed. Well, after a not-too-strenuous Internet search, I've found a blog with lots of great scans. Enjoy, courtesy of Scans Daily.

Memorializing a Deceased Comic Book Collection

 

Doug: Today I'm excited to share the fruits of an idea I got when I was only several weeks into selling my comics collection. As I was scanning and scanning (and scanning some more), it struck me that it was sort of cool that even though the books would be leaving my possession, I'd always have high quality images of my books. If any of you have ever used the various online photograph merchants, you also know there are some neat products out there that you can adorn with the photos of your choice. I've used Shutterfly several times to make gifts such as calendars, travel mugs, etc. So it seemed a natural fit to do something with my comics. The end product is a 49-page 8"x11" hardcover book (featuring almost 100 of my cover scans) that is simply wonderful. Enjoy the images... I have!

 

  

Sales Tales Revisited (once again)

Doug: I'd mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I've been making solid (if slow) progress on the selling of my comic collection. We've discussed this several times in the past, but since it has been a few months I thought I'd give you a progress update.

As I'd said in that post, I have been able to sell the lion's share of my Marvel collection (approximately seven longboxes), with about the contents of an eighth longbox remaining. My DC collection only exists in three longboxes, and I've begun to make a dent in those. Of note is my recent parting with a 1st printing set of The Dark Knight Returns #s 1-4 for $155.00. That was beyond my expectations. I also moved the stories "A Death In the Family"/"A Lonely Place of Dying" as a lot for $100.00 and The Killing Joke for $50.00, both on Buy It Nows. I did pretty well on several of the other Batman mini-series I'd mentioned in that previous post, and have several more in my listings that either just sold (I'm typing this on Saturday, 8/15) or have been relisted.

Which brings me to another phenomenon - if eBay is the purest form of capitalism (and I think it is from a basic standpoint of supply and demand), then that conversation must also include opportunism. I say that in reflection of comics or lots that I've listed multiple times, and then all of a sudden sell. The buyer and seller truly have to be in the right place at the right time for specific markets to exist. And saying that, within that conversation are books or lots that I just scratch my head as to why they won't sell. I am particularly thinking of Giant-Size Super-Heroes #1 featuring Spider-Man, Morbius, and the Man-Wolf, with cover and interior art by Gil Kane. My copy is mid-grade but very pleasing to the eye. Yet it's sat through several weeks' worth of listings. But then a book or lot will sell on a Buy It Now and I'm left to wonder, "Jeez - why didn't you take your chances and enter the bidding process?" Surprisingly (to me at least), I've had some trouble unloading some 90s X-Men comics.

Another series of wins were my sales of the Gitcorp DVD-ROMs. I had four of them (always wanted all of those). I sold the Avengers disc for $150 through a bidding war, Iron Man for $125 on a Buy It Now, Amazing Spider-Man for $75 (guy won it on the opening bid), and Fantastic Four for $40 (again, opening bid). As several of our readers have mentioned, the discs could be copied to a hard drive. I've done that, and backed the files up in three places for safekeeping. There was no reason to keep the discs. And that being said, later on I am going to sell some of my Marvel Masterworks, such as the first two volumes of Avengers, first volume of Fantastic Four, etc.

Lastly, I'd reiterate my "formula" for setting that opening bid for those of you who haven't been involved in these conversations previously. I regrade the comics, always with a fresh and objective eye, and double check the 2014 Overstreet Guide price. I start with a Buy It Now of approximately 85% of Guide, and then set the opening bid at approximately a third of that value. So truthfully, if a buyer wins with that opening bid they are getting a heckuva "deal". At least as far as the Guide goes, and whatever that means... I said at the very beginning that I wasn't just going to flat-out give anything away. While I've lowered my prices on some relists, I've always felt like I got something in return for my trouble.

So where has the money gone? Way back when I started this journey, just over a year ago, I'd mentioned to you that repayment of our sons' college loans was about to kick in, and we also needed to get rid of a vehicle that was beginning to nickel and dime us, replacing it with a new car. We also had a wedding in our family as I've discussed earlier. To say that the proceeds from my sales have been a boon would be an understatement. With just the sale of that Avengers art page, we were able to make a nice down payment on my wife's new car. Our wedding expenses have been covered - easily. And now the money just supplements the budget, or we save it for things we couldn't now do with the loan payments occupying a large slice of our budgetary pie. And to think: I was offered $3000 for the whole collection. I've already made that five times over, and am still going. And I think I'll keep going, on into my collectibles, some of my comics history books, and so on. Of course I've treated myself to several of the IDW Artist Editions*, and that's OK by me. Paring down has not been a bad thing,

*Don't judge. Well, OK, go ahead. I have purchased all of these at nice discounts, though; in fact, I have the Herb Trimpe's Hulk and Joe Kubert's Tarzan, vol. II on pre-order, each bought for only $49.00. After those two arrive this fall, I will have -

Joe Kubert's Tarzan, volumes I and II

Gil Kane's Spider-Man

Marvel Covers

John Romita's Spider-Man, volume II

John Romita's Spider-Man Artifact Edition

John Buscema's Silver Surfer

Mike Zeck's Classic Marvel Stories

Herb Trimpe's Hulk

There are video reviews of these books on YouTube that will really give you an idea of how awesome these reproductions truly are.

Now How In the World Did That Happen?

Doug: Today we're talking about those head-scratchers in the condition of your comic books. Defects, accidents, mishaps, even odd marks that you have no idea how they occurred. These can be books you have owned or seen. The troubles in question may even have been caused by you.

Doug: So why this topic? As has been well-documented, I've been selling my comic collection for the past 11 months via eBay. I've made a serious dent in it, having emptied five longboxes with a sixth knocking on the door. I've told our readers that there have been some victories along the way, but for most of my books I'm seeing revenues in the area of 30% to 33% of the prices in the latest Overstreet Guide. Many of the books I'm selling were purchased at retail by me, but several hundred were bought as back issues. What I've found is that in many cases those books are still in the bags in which I brought them home -- price stickers, dealer grades and all.

Doug: Which brings us to today's exhibit. Pictured below is my copy of Marvel Feature #11, which ended last night (and is no longer my copy). Here's the description I included with the listing, and I'll stop writing now -- once you read it and inspect the book's cover, I think you'll be able to fully discuss the question at the top of this post: Now how in the world did that (hole in the cover) happen?

Up for bid is a good looking copy of Marvel Feature #11, the first try-out issue for what eventually become Marvel Two-In-One.. I am no professional grader, so please consult the scans when choosing to bid. 

11  I am not going to put a grade on this one. I so wanted to say "high grade" in the listing, because when you first look at this comic's front and back covers, you'll say "wow..." However, if you check the front cover scan you'll see my reservation (and it's a big one if you're a serious collector). Notice the white call-out arrow near the Hulk corner box -- you can see a hole (yup - an actual hole) in the cover at the top of the arrow. And at the bottom of the arrow is a mark that looks like it wanted to become a hole, too! It's not pushed through, but is a noticeable blemish nonetheless. So that being said, I think you'd agree that the rest of the book would grade VF. But I can't get past the obvious defects on the front cover. Interior pages look great with sharp corners and off-white brightness.

Caveat emptor -- Ruminating on Internet Buying

Doug: Recently I had a purchasing experience that I'd rate marginal at best. In the midst of my dissatisfaction I complained to Karen, who in turn told me of some past troubles of her own. So we thought, what the heck? -- let's bring this over to our readers for some praises and pans of your own!

Doug: Below you can find my controlled rant that I decided to post on two ratings sites. I do read such sites most of the time to gain information about products and/or companies, but in this case did not do my homework ahead of time. But I wanted to be sure that future shoppers would have access to my experience. Here it is:

I used the Internet to shop for IDW's John Romita Amazing Spider-Man Artifact Edition. Two Cats Comic Book Store in San Francisco by far had the best price I could locate. In fact, they were over 20% better than the dealer with whom I usually place orders for books of that price/value. I placed my order via the Two Cats website early on May 1 2015, a Friday. My PayPal account showed a deduction later that same day. However, the next communication I had from Two Cats was on May 7 when in checking my account on their website it showed the order was "In Preparation". I phoned the store directly on May 12 to inquire about the situation -- eight business days after my order. I was told by the female clerk that "it takes time to get orders ready". My thought was, if it takes that long perhaps Two Cats should not offer Internet sales.

The next day, May 13, my account showed that the book had shipped. However, I never received an email in confirmation, no tracking number, etc. I had asked the clerk the previous day how the package would be shipped -- she stammered around and finally concluded that it must be through the U.S. Postal Service. Needless to say, I had no confidence that a) the package had truly been shipped, and b) it would arrive safely (the latter statement is no reflection on the USPS, who I've used 100s of times for eBay business).

The book arrived today, May 19 -- 18 days after my order. To say I am disgruntled at the time it took to receive such a costly book would be an understatement. When I have purchased Artist Editions from other dealers, they have come in large boxes with several cubic feet of static-free packing peanuts cradling the books' outer boxes. Not so here. My book was in it's storage box, and then a makeshift box of corrugated cardboard was wrapped around that. That's it -- no liner, no cushioning, nothing. Obviously the book's storage box is dinged up on all four corners. The book itself is fine, although I'm not convinced that part of the delay was due to the employees perusing it over a week-and-a-half's time. Let's just say the spine didn't creak when I first opened the book.

So while other reviews for Two Cats seem positive in terms of the in-store experience, I will not place any future orders via the web, regardless of the price. In retrospect, I'd rather have paid retail price for my book but gotten it in 3-4 days. Live and learn, I guess.

Doug: I've included some photos of the packaging so that you can see how flimsy it was, as well as damage to the inner box. What makes me mad about that is that the inner box was designed for long-term product storage -- that it's cushioned on the edges is perfect, as these books are huge and heavy! But I've been able to give the book a thorough look-over (as has my eldest son, in wide-eyed amazement), and it's come through the shaky passage in great shape. As I've said previously, I cannot recommend these books from IDW enough -- they are a peek straight into the creative process of comics history. Just wonderful!

Doug: So while I would not steer you toward Two Cats Comics, I would sure like to sing the praises of a few other Internet vendors with whom I've had nothing but success stories to tell. The guys and gals at In Stock Trades are fabulous beyond belief, both in pricing and in shipping speed. After Amazon (and recently to be honest, before), they have been a steady go-to for the trades and hardcovers I purchase. Remember -- it was In Stock Trades from whom I purchased by first four Artist Editions. The care they took in packaging the books is detailed above, and you can see the photos on the link just above.

Doug: Other dealers who have been solid are Cheap Graphic Novels -- check out their Bargain Bin (I have!) and Tales of Wonder. I've snagged some great deals from both of these companies. I'll also give a shout-out to Edo Bosnar for tipping me off to the folks at The Book Depository in the UK, who will ship those lovely little digests of Marvel love for free. Those things are just great!

Saying Good-bye to Big John Buscema

Doug: First off, if any of you reading this have yet to show your love to your significant other, my question would be "Why are you reading this?"

Doug: On to business. A couple of days ago I promised an update on the selling of my collection and I was able to find some time Thursday evening to pen this. What a wonderful ride on something that turned on a whim. As our regular readers know, I've been selling my collection since July. My Avengers collection is just about completely gone, and was a fantastic kick-start to this whole thing. You may remember that my G+ copy of Avengers #1 was purchased for $889.50, while the VG #4 left my home for $510. To say that the first several weeks were a bittersweet but lucrative experience would be an understatement. Eventually, I got bored with the tediousness of packaging the comics, so decided that I'd mix it up and part with my collection of 17 Megos. Those all eventually sold, giving me $725.05 (Kid Flash was the grand champion at $103.27). Around a month ago I was checking the sold prices for John Buscema art -- preferably of the Bronze Age variety. Seeing two pages from Fantastic Four #175 and what the seller made, I decided to test the waters for myself.

Doug: As we returned to new posting on February 1st, I told you that I had begun to list some art. Did I ever...  My wife is still incredulous at what has transpired over the past two weeks. I told my economics class what I was doing, and pulled my auctions up on screen so they could see what I was talking about. One young lady exclaimed, "Someone is going to pay you that... for a piece of paper?!?" Why yes, dear child, they are. When last I reported, the Avengers #76, page 3 page was at $3650; it sold for $4000. Man, I'm still pinching myself. But then there's the rest of the story. If any of you dabble in selling on eBay, you know one of the knocks on them are the fees. I use PayPal exclusively for payments. When the buyer paid, I checked the deposit because I wanted to see that lovely number in my account. But what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a deposit minus a 3% service charge! Yep -- only $3880 went in. And knowing that tomorrow is the end of the eBay billing period, I'm going to get dinged for an additional 10%. If you're playing at home, my net will drop another $400. But wait -- there's more. I wasn't sure I wanted to let the USPS handle such a pricey treasure. Instead, I took the heavily reinforced package to UPS. What a fiasco. I was told that something of that value had to have 2-3 inches of padding on both sides; the package I'd crafted was maybe 1 1/4" thick. OK, well I appreciate the care. Then, again because of the value, I had to open the package to confirm that I was indeed shipping what I said I was shipping. So the clerk gave me an exacto knife to slit the side of the package. I was able to pull the page out about an inch, and he said that was good enough. So while I'm doing this, he's figuring my cost (rounding it, we're talking the Chicago area to the Los Angeles area). He comes back with a number around $180. Three days guaranteed, plus they'll repackage it in a crush-proof box. You watch Spongebob? You know when Patrick just stands there with his mouth agape and a little drool in the corner... "Uhhhhhhhhhhh..." Yeah, that was me. But I'm there, I do have the money, and I say "go ahead". Ouch. So my $4000 gross will net me around $3300. Now, as I stated in the earlier post, I thought the page was worth $2000; obviously I came out way ahead of that. But c'mon -- $700 in shipping and misc. fees?

Doug: I think one of the things we love about eBay is the sense of competition. That's great when you're the seller; can be a little frustrating when you're buying. It was really neat to see my lots jump right toward the end. Notably, a Conan page by Buscema and Joe Sinnott (the only time Sinnott inked Big John on the Conan the Barbarian mag) doubled in the last few minutes, as did a partially-inked Conan sketch (talk about an after-thought. It was hanging on my wall and I wasn't going to sell it until the Conan comic page went so high). So what I'm going to do is just give you a look at what I sold and the prices folks paid to relieve me of these extremely cool collectibles. I'll talk once more about the collection at the end.

Avengers #76, page 3 >>> $4000.00

 

Avengers #265, page 7 pencil rough >>>> $105.27

Avengers 265, page 7 pencil rough -- back of page

Conan the Barbarian #46, page 15 (inks by Joe Sinnott) >>>> $935.00

Barbarian illustration in pencil >>>> $87.89

Photograph of back of Barbarian illustration -- Hulk study?

Conan study in pencil and partially inked by Buscema >>>> $544.00

Conan pencil study; prelim for cover of Norwegian Comic Book Convention cover >>>> $114.27

Marvel Heroes and Legends #1, page ? >>>> $56.85

Thor vs. the Silver Surfer unpublished story, page 3 -- pencil and ink rough >>>> $330.00

Man with a gun pencil rough on vellum >>>> $20.00

Doug: Lastly, I also sold the Flintstones illustration by Scott Shaw! Here's the photo of it again (the scan wasn't very good):

Blue line pencil and ink >>>> $35.03

Doug: Not a bad take, huh? If you don't happen to have a calculator, those sales grossed at $6228.31. Needless to say, things like a downpayment on a new car and making an impact on the parents' portion of our sons' student loans took big steps forward over the past two weeks.

Doug: I am hanging on to two pieces (well, I actually have two pages by Jeff Moy from the Legionnaires series that I'll be selling in the coming week), largely because they've been professionally matted and framed. I think you can tell by looking at them that I could probably get somewhere in the neighborhood of $4000-5000 for the duo. But I think I'll wait.