I HAVE THOUGHTS. First, great to have Richard back, back. Now, to the actual thoughts. If OAaW #81 qualifies as a Sgt. Rock appearance, then so does G.I. Combat #68. The first "Sgt. Rock" is OAaW #83. Chamber of Darkness #4 isn't the first appearance of Conan. It's not the character until it's THE character. On to the CGC 9.9 kerfluffle: (as I don my tinfoil hat) I think CGC is grading comparatively now. Especially with large submissions of the same book. We saw this in the video they shared with the grading (or pre-grading) of fresh from the printer books. Add to that the fact that the recent influx of Wolverine #1 9.9s (and a 10.0!) all came from the same 77-book submission, it really looks like dealers now have a "cheat code" to maximize the chances of 9.9 grades coming back. Just submit as many high grade copies as you can buy, and wait for the money to roll in. Add to that Matt Nelson's previously expressed belief that there should be more 9.9 and 10.0 books on the census due to a mathematical model, AND his recent statement in an interview that a 9.9 could have a spine tick, and it seems like CGC graders might be facing pressure to output a certain percentage of 9.9 and 10.0 grades (regardless of the actual condition of the book). CGC is owned not by enthusiasts, but by the largest private equity company in the world. They are not in the business to improve the hobby for collectors, they are in the business to make as much money as possible. With CGC's "value" based pricing structure, they make more money on each 9.9 or 10.0 than they do a 9.8. Add to that the fact that big dealers are going to see most of those grades (and therefore the profit from selling the freshly graded books) means that the little guy won't get hit with big charges very often (but be encouraged to send in books like lottery tickets). And the dealers won't complain, because at least in the short term they will be making money hand over fist. TL:DR - the current CGC 9.9 surge is sketchy as hell.
Thank you Richard for reading my comment on this episode! I fangirled so hard when I heard it and that you liked my TH-cam channel name :) I love your show so much especially the members only livestreams! Definitely worth every penny of the $2.99 a month❤ and yes I’m a member under a different user name aka Machine_Elf_Overlords
21:30 I have never sold any comic I have ever purchased since I started collecting in 1982! Evan’s got the right idea about buying a bigger house!! 😅 One of the reasons I love this hobby is that there’s so many different ways to collect!
As far as the 9.9 issue is concerned, in a few years they will start prescreening for 10.0 and they will devalue all of our comics even further, making 10.0 less and less rare.
Never understood the 9.8 grading. Now I understand it. Next 9.9 grading more money for them. And yes in few years 10 grading. We should boycott them, they are using us. But unfortunately that will not happen 😂
With the printing of newspapers consolidating, that leaves plenty of newspaper’s printing presses looking for commercial work. This might explain the return to newsprint and a serious cost savings. I say this as a former Mailer in the newspaper industry for over 16 years. I only wish that we had had that contract.
Been reducing my collection since 2011. Was a Marvel Zombie from 1971 to the late 80s. CGC’d over 2000 books before I started to have them cleaned and pressed but still received a large number of 9.8s. Did manage to get a 9.9 X-men 172 that I sold in 2012 for $1057. I see there are now 2. Hoping to reach my goal of 600 comics and 50 magazines before I croak. I don’t sell books myself. I use ComicLink for slabs and Lone Star for raws. I’ve given away a few thousand books to the local library and a local LCS that has relocated. Still have a long way to go. No serious regrets.
All the Eighties indie love shown this episode has me over the moon. The 1-2-3 whammy combo of Mage, The Maze Agency and Grendel back-to-back-to-back had me whooping for joy. Those three titles featured prominently in my comic purchasing way back when in the time and world that was. The happiness I achieved watching Richard gushing ardently about Grendels, Argent Silver, Umbra Sprites & Matt Wagner's wonderful comic universe is the life's blood I needed today. The grackleflints may grumble but we know how colorful magic truly is. A pleasantly surprising birthday present for me today!
As someone that cracks open slabs to get to the golden age goodness inside, I would like slabs and even more so inner wells that where easy to open, with less risk of damaging the book. They should be to create a case that is easy to open but impossible to tamber with.
Hey John, Hey Richard, love the show, seen them all. Keep up the good work. I do have an idea about a topic. What is your take on movie adaptation comic books. Could you let your viewers know how collectable are they, how many there are, if you have any, if any are desirable, and if any are valuable. A few I have are, The Deep, The man from Atlantis, Blade, and Indiana Jones. What do you think? I think it would be interesting. Mike from Michigan.
Welcome back. It’s nice having guests, but the two of you together is what makes this a great show. I love how you play off of each other and give a point, counterpoint. Perhaps the next time one of you go on vacation you should take your camera, and keep the show going from some exotic port outside of Toledo, Ohio for example. All joking aside the two of you really do make the show.
For me, the fact that so many 9.9s are coming into existence now further reinforces my perspective of disregarding everything from CGC. There’s never been a better “wag the dog” example within this industry that I’m aware of. This time however; wagging the dog is in fact largely detrimental to the collectors within this hobby that have invested in 9.8s and below. Putting out a deluge of 9.9s is great for marketing, but one needs to ask, “why now?” I think in a few years and after the next time CGC gets called out for disreputability, we’re going to see exactly what fjleone commented on; that’ll be the 10.0 era. What good is a 9.8, 9.9, or a 10.0 from a grading company that’s just as reputable as my mom, who doesn’t collect comics anymore?
That's a great point. I'm wondering they instituted this whole 9.9 pre-screen to save their butts financially ever since they had those last 2 lawsuits in effect with the grading scandal. Maybe they weren't receiving enough submissions and decided to give people a chance to make more money and gamble submitting their 9.8s in hopes of 9.9s. I just sold my wolvie 1 9.8 and won't be surprised if there are more 9.9s in the very near future
Just to be clear, there is no 9.9 prescreen at CGC. That was an off hand comment by CGC president in an interview as something that could be a possibility. Nothing has happened since.
The 9.9 pre-screen is still just an idea passed around by the CGC execs. You can only do a 9.8 pre-screen, and the graders are now more likely to award some of them 9.9 and 10 if they’re exceptionally better in comparison to the other 9.8’s in the stack.
Glad to have Richard back I agree with him I don’t like how they responded why have a discussion forum and then say you’re too busy to talk about something brought up Like they made that video where the employee she said it’s all about eye appeal when she grades what exactly does that mean? because we see low grade books with well presenting covers how and where does the eye appeal play into the final grade? I don’t understand how they say they’re the leading industry standard but have to vaguely PR answer a basic grading question
Hi John if you check out Our Army at War 82 he actually is named Sgt Rock! I don’t understand why 83 is considered the first appearance and not 81 (which DC claims is the first appearance) or 82 that names him Sgt Rock.
![ILLSLICK - WINTER IS COMING [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dwTMeM1zIhQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I've been sending in books since about 2018 (couple hundred books). Last September I got my first 9.9 and last month I got my first 10.0.
Books of Doom is an under appreciated mini-series. Much better than the Doctor Doom (2019) series.
All of the recent DC facsimile editions are on newsprint -- it's great! I wish Marvel would do likewise.
I HAVE THOUGHTS.
First, great to have Richard back, back. Now, to the actual thoughts.
If OAaW #81 qualifies as a Sgt. Rock appearance, then so does G.I. Combat #68. The first "Sgt. Rock" is OAaW #83. Chamber of Darkness #4 isn't the first appearance of Conan. It's not the character until it's THE character.
On to the CGC 9.9 kerfluffle: (as I don my tinfoil hat)
I think CGC is grading comparatively now. Especially with large submissions of the same book. We saw this in the video they shared with the grading (or pre-grading) of fresh from the printer books. Add to that the fact that the recent influx of Wolverine #1 9.9s (and a 10.0!) all came from the same 77-book submission, it really looks like dealers now have a "cheat code" to maximize the chances of 9.9 grades coming back. Just submit as many high grade copies as you can buy, and wait for the money to roll in.
Add to that Matt Nelson's previously expressed belief that there should be more 9.9 and 10.0 books on the census due to a mathematical model, AND his recent statement in an interview that a 9.9 could have a spine tick, and it seems like CGC graders might be facing pressure to output a certain percentage of 9.9 and 10.0 grades (regardless of the actual condition of the book).
CGC is owned not by enthusiasts, but by the largest private equity company in the world. They are not in the business to improve the hobby for collectors, they are in the business to make as much money as possible. With CGC's "value" based pricing structure, they make more money on each 9.9 or 10.0 than they do a 9.8. Add to that the fact that big dealers are going to see most of those grades (and therefore the profit from selling the freshly graded books) means that the little guy won't get hit with big charges very often (but be encouraged to send in books like lottery tickets). And the dealers won't complain, because at least in the short term they will be making money hand over fist.
TL:DR - the current CGC 9.9 surge is sketchy as hell.
Good to have you back Richard.
Thank you Richard for reading my comment on this episode! I fangirled so hard when I heard it and that you liked my TH-cam channel name :) I love your show so much especially the members only livestreams! Definitely worth every penny of the $2.99 a month❤ and yes I’m a member under a different user name aka Machine_Elf_Overlords
21:30 I have never sold any comic I have ever purchased since I started collecting in 1982! Evan’s got the right idea about buying a bigger house!! 😅 One of the reasons I love this hobby is that there’s so many different ways to collect!
As far as the 9.9 issue is concerned, in a few years they will start prescreening for 10.0 and they will devalue all of our comics even further, making 10.0 less and less rare.
Never understood the 9.8 grading. Now I understand it. Next 9.9 grading more money for them. And yes in few years 10 grading. We should boycott them, they are using us. But unfortunately that will not happen 😂
With the printing of newspapers consolidating, that leaves plenty of newspaper’s printing presses looking for commercial work. This might explain the return to newsprint and a serious cost savings.
I say this as a former Mailer in the newspaper industry for over 16 years. I only wish that we had had that contract.
Been reducing my collection since 2011. Was a Marvel Zombie from 1971 to the late 80s. CGC’d over 2000 books before I started to have them cleaned and pressed but still received a large number of 9.8s. Did manage to get a 9.9 X-men 172 that I sold in 2012 for $1057. I see there are now 2. Hoping to reach my goal of 600 comics and 50 magazines before I croak. I don’t sell books myself. I use ComicLink for slabs and Lone Star for raws. I’ve given away a few thousand books to the local library and a local LCS that has relocated. Still have a long way to go. No serious regrets.
All the Eighties indie love shown this episode has me over the moon. The 1-2-3 whammy combo of Mage, The Maze Agency and Grendel back-to-back-to-back had me whooping for joy. Those three titles featured prominently in my comic purchasing way back when in the time and world that was. The happiness I achieved watching Richard gushing ardently about Grendels, Argent Silver, Umbra Sprites & Matt Wagner's wonderful comic universe is the life's blood I needed today. The grackleflints may grumble but we know how colorful magic truly is. A pleasantly surprising birthday present for me today!
As someone that cracks open slabs to get to the golden age goodness inside, I would like slabs and even more so inner wells that where easy to open, with less risk of damaging the book. They should be to create a case that is easy to open but impossible to tamber with.
Hey John, Hey Richard, love the show, seen them all. Keep up the good work. I do have an idea about a topic. What is your take on movie adaptation comic books. Could you let your viewers know how collectable are they, how many there are, if you have any, if any are desirable, and if any are valuable. A few I have are, The Deep, The man from Atlantis, Blade, and Indiana Jones. What do you think? I think it would be interesting. Mike from Michigan.
Welcome back. It’s nice having guests, but the two of you together is what makes this a great show. I love how you play off of each other and give a point, counterpoint. Perhaps the next time one of you go on vacation you should take your camera, and keep the show going from some exotic port outside of Toledo, Ohio for example. All joking aside the two of you really do make the show.
Don't forget Superman's first fight with Lobo in adventures of superman #464 😉
For me, the fact that so many 9.9s are coming into existence now further reinforces my perspective of disregarding everything from CGC. There’s never been a better “wag the dog” example within this industry that I’m aware of. This time however; wagging the dog is in fact largely detrimental to the collectors within this hobby that have invested in 9.8s and below. Putting out a deluge of 9.9s is great for marketing, but one needs to ask, “why now?”
I think in a few years and after the next time CGC gets called out for disreputability, we’re going to see exactly what fjleone commented on; that’ll be the 10.0 era. What good is a 9.8, 9.9, or a 10.0 from a grading company that’s just as reputable as my mom, who doesn’t collect comics anymore?
That's a great point. I'm wondering they instituted this whole 9.9 pre-screen to save their butts financially ever since they had those last 2 lawsuits in effect with the grading scandal. Maybe they weren't receiving enough submissions and decided to give people a chance to make more money and gamble submitting their 9.8s in hopes of 9.9s. I just sold my wolvie 1 9.8 and won't be surprised if there are more 9.9s in the very near future
Just to be clear, there is no 9.9 prescreen at CGC. That was an off hand comment by CGC president in an interview as something that could be a possibility. Nothing has happened since.
There have been a number of titles that were printed on that newsprint paper and I was shocked when I saw it.
37:45 a Lobo / Superman movie could be the “Deadpool” of DC.
The 9.9 pre-screen is still just an idea passed around by the CGC execs. You can only do a 9.8 pre-screen, and the graders are now more likely to award some of them 9.9 and 10 if they’re exceptionally better in comparison to the other 9.8’s in the stack.
Mage 👍 Grendel 👍 Critters 👍 You are rocking it with those bad boys 😁
Glad to have Richard back
I agree with him I don’t like how they responded why have a discussion forum and then say you’re too busy to talk about something brought up
Like they made that video where the employee she said it’s all about eye appeal when she grades what exactly does that mean? because we see low grade books with well presenting covers how and where does the eye appeal play into the final grade?
I don’t understand how they say they’re the leading industry standard but have to vaguely PR answer a basic grading question
The Wolverine/Lobo fight was so disappointing. Richard reminded me of it when he compared the two.
...so is G.I. Combat # 68 still considered Sgt. Rock's first prototype..?
Hi John if you check out Our Army at War 82 he actually is named Sgt Rock! I don’t understand why 83 is considered the first appearance and not 81 (which DC claims is the first appearance) or 82 that names him Sgt Rock.
Usagi is in critters number one
Unfortunately, CGC wasn’t too busy to take your $…
true nuff
Mamoa needs to play Lobo.
CGC is a joke and you should quit giving them money!! But if you have too then I'm sorry.