By Terrence J. Brady
JANUARY 2004
Make any New Year resolutions? I did.
I resolve to...
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Abstain from mocking those who kowtow to the CGC demi-gods.
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No longer make light of those foolish minions who sacrifice their
first-born so they might one day possess the elusive 10.0 book.
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Be less judgmental of those conniving leeches that stoke the CGC
furnaces of propaganda and profiteering.
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Lower my voice, turn the other cheek and meekly stand by as my
beloved pastime gets raped by a handful of parasitic capitalists.
That being stated, I just hope that YOUR resolution lasted longer than
mine because there's no-way-in-blank that I'm gonna stick with that one! HAHAHAHA
Onto business .... I'm not big on redundancy so I'll try to never
feature the same book in multiple columns but I felt that this next
auction needed mentioning. Back in October, we saw a copy of BATMAN 608
inducted in the H.O.S. However, it was, at the very least, a FIRST
printing! Now we've got a second printing of
this book selling for over $100!!
"You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of
sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose
boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your
next stop, the Twilight Zone!"
The question that arises is ...when did folks start collecting second
printings for investment? And WHY is CGC slabbing these books?! It
almost makes me want to break out that 3rd printing of TMNT #1 that I've
got stuffed away (somewhere) and have it slabbed. God helps us people
but is this the beginning of a new dementia of slabbing we're entering?
Catwoman 1 (v2)- NM/M 9.8
Price: $102.50
Non-slab price: cover
Hereeeee kittykittykitty....
Yes a CATWOMAN flick is on its way. Time to start slabbing them CAT
books and turn 'em over for big profits (because that's what happens
when a movie is made about a superhero, right?). And what better way to
make the movie a smash but to throw in a big-name mutant, ahem, actress
like Halle Berry?
Though the film is still in production, there's a slight im-purr-fection
with this tale. It's not CATWOMAN. (At least not the one most folks are
familiar with).
This upcoming 2004/05 film isn't about Selina Kyle, a.k.a. the world's
greatest cat-burglar. Instead, Hollywood (in its infinite wisdom) has
rewritten the concept and made this tale about a graphic artist,
Patience Price, who is murdered and then brought back to life by an
Egyptian Mao cat. What then? Well, Patience goes on a kick-butt mission,
dressed like a "crime-fighting S&M hooker" (not my quote but I love it)
to avenge her murder. (Rumor was they wanted Whoopi Goldberg to reprise
her role as Oda Mae Brown but when she declined someone suggested the
cat). Don't know about you but I already got my DVD pre-ordered.
Berry is now the fifth actress to don the catsuit for the big
(and small) screen but many loyal fans to the '60s BATMAN series will
state that Julie Newmar was, is, will always be ... the cat's meow.
Newmar (the first CAT) made her debut on the TV series in March 1966
(episode 19) and was an instant success.
The statuesque Newmar oozed a wily sensuality from her skin-tight guise
making the Cape Crusader look like a smitten school-boy. Today, with
Hollywood's in-your-face style of filmmaking, I'm sure we'll be treated
to a "slightly wilder" femme fatale which will be a tainted rendition of
what once was. Gotta love progress.
In any event, box-office bust or blast, the two-year-old comic that
sells for cover might be a better investment if used to line your
kitty's litter box. Thanks to Carl B. of Malmesbury, UK for submitting
this auction.
Green Lantern 200 - NM/M 9.8
Price: $60.95
Non-slab price: $1.00
"When day is bright... or is it night? No... ah... something or other
will escape my sight... let those who... who... Let all those looking
for a fight... something something... Green Lantern's light."
GREEN LANTERN fans will appreciate the joke but if you're not up on your
history of the GL Oath, this page will help
you better understand. Don't know about you but I'd like to nominate
PERDOO to be the official CGC mascot for 2004.
The auction ... The first of two anniversary issues featured this month
is GREEN LANTERN 200 which appeared in May 1986. Sporting a Walt
Simonson cover and tale by Steve Englehart (with art by our own FEMME NOIR's Joe Staton!), this 200th issue (from the
second series) is a book all GL completists will want. Aside from that,
this book hasn't lit any fires for collectors.
Fetching a 75-cents cover, the comic still clutters up the dollar bins
at most conventions. A recent [unsuccessful] eBay auction had an opening
bid of one penny for VF/NM
copy -- no takers. Gotta wonder if one book can't snatch up a single
cent, why another grabs 60 bucks?
The obvious reason why is because the latter book is enshrined in bogus
plastic which has a shelf life of seven years. Yes, seven (give or take)
but all bags from Mylar to Saran Wrap (joke) should be replaced over
time. Problem with the CGC holder is it costs a whole bunch more loot to
replace than a Mylar sleeve (undoubtedly one of the two Great CGC Lies
no one dare speak of). The other one? Well if ya don't know, I suggest
you start reading this column more often.
Yes, all hail the GREEN LANTERN and the chump who likes to spend sixty
times on what a comic is actually worth. Thanks to Mike A. of Kingman,
AZ for submitting this auction.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 500 - Mint 9.9
Price: $199.95
Non-slab price: cover
500? Wow! Who would have thought a puny teen bitten by a spider some 40
years ago would be slinging across the cover of his 500th issue?
Certainly not Marty Goodman who, back in 1962, told young scribe Stan
Lee that such a character was "repellent."
But there he is, MJ in tow, surrounded by "all the boys." A very cool
cover by J. Scott Campbell and while I haven't picked up the issue yet,
I'm sure it'll be easy to find since its a new release. So why would
anyone deal out 200 bucks for such a book? Well, no one did ... for a
third time.
Heck - it might even be more than three times but while I've seen this
same auction up thrice in the last month, its always had the same
results ... zero bidders. What does this tell us? That, perhaps, buyers
are starting to wise up? Nahhhh! A more likely scenario is their Visas
are maxxed out from the holidays and pockets contain nothing but lint.
That's too bad for this seller. I'm sure if we were to wipe away the
internet facade, we would probably see ol' Marty behind this auction
attempting to cash in on the CGC Spider-cow. (Just kidding MG).
