8.21.15-8.28.15 Weekly Round-Up

Here's this weeks agenda. 

1.) New Stuff

2.) Mr. Robot May Be The Best Show EVER.

3.) Fear The Walking Dead

4.) Marvel Collectors' Corps

Let's dig in!

1.) New Stuff

Nothing crazy came in this week (M-F) but we did get a really nice collection last Friday that didn't make it into last weeks roundup. 

Some of you may have seen some instagram posts about it this week as I went through it. But the highlight for me was a copy of Fantastic Four # 3. FF#3 is the first appearance of the Fantasti-Car and the FF's uniforms. I'd never seen one "in the wild" before so it quickly made it's way into the personal "keep" box, and is nestled next to the FF # 2, 4, and 12 that I already had..

The collection was about 2k books, and also had some cool signatures in it, McFarlane ASM#300 probably being the coolest, as well as some hotter key issues right now like UXM # 266, Fear #19, DC Presents # 26 and others. The keys in the collection are currently up for auction now and they're ending on Sunday evening. So go throw some bids on them and get a great deal on some in demand issues. Box codes are J37 and J28, or you could just search our Auctions as there are only 24 of them currently.

FF # 3

AND, I picked up gorgeous copies of TMNT #'s 2 3 and 4. Pics below, for a great price from a new store in ATL. Definitely a cool find!

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These are up for sale on the site now, check em out!

2.) Mr. Robot

If you haven't seen this show, you can't possibly fathom how amazing it is. I've NEVER watched a USA show. And quite honestly don't know why I fired up the pilot on "on-demand" this past weekend. I guess the marketing budget paid off and my curiosity must have been peaked.

I was hooked 5 minutes into the pilot. I'm not going to spoil anything but the show starts off feeling like some type of Sherlock/CSI:Cyber hybrid where our main character is "out-there" to say the least, and he goes through the first few eps destroying people (all bad guys) through hacking. In and of itself, that is interesting. But then, the show decides to take you up the highest roller coaster you've ever been on and drop you over and over throwing plot twist after plot twist at you. If I had to sum it up it's Sherlock/CSI:Cyber/Fight Club/24/House Of Cards/ and the Sixth Sense all Rolled into one giant ball of awesome.

The cast is amazing, and full disclosure, I never thought a cast headlined by Christian Slater (who I've liked most for his "welcome to Sabre" video from "The Office"), and the Egyptian Pharaoh from "Night At The Museum" would be something I'd be into. Just goes to show you that the right role can make you like anyone.

The storyline is flawless, it's completely unpredictable and wildly entertaining. As of EP.9 there are 5+ plot lines moving at once, each one is as interesting as the last. I think sometimes the larger cast shows (Ex. Game Of Thrones) have a weakness in them where you find yourself disinterested with the less compelling storylines, and consequently drifting out of the episodes that don't feature all the action. This show does the best I've ever seen at keeping you interested in whatever is going on at that moment. There are times when we leave our main character for an extended period, and you never get bored or wish to see him again because what you are currently seeing is so compelling that you stay 100% invested all the way through.

 I consumed episodes 1-9 in time for this past Wednesday's finale before learning that we'd have to wait a week for the crescendo due to the horrific shootings in VA., and a similar plot line in Mr. Robot to what happened in VA.. But after chomping through the first 9 in a few days, I'm sure the break won't feel too long. And kudos to USA for allowing real life to be more important than TV. Did the families effected in VA. even know about Mr. Robot, who knows. But it's really a classy move by USA to not even take the chance, and know when to step back for a minute and put what's important into perspective.

One last thought. I'm not a super "techy" guy, but just like you don't have to love CNN or Fox News to be into "House Of Cards," this show is SO much more than the hacking. It's the characters and story that make it great, it just happens to be centered around computer hacking / cyber terrorism. I could honestly watch ep's 1-9 again before the finale and enjoy them just as much. AND THAT, is what I call great TV. CHECK IT OUT!

3.) Fear The Walking Dead

 Two TV show reviews in 1 week! Yes, you're welcome. This one won't be as long as Mr. Robot because, well, it's not as good as Mr. Robot. Don't get me wrong, this show is very solid, and certainly deserves a watch, especially if you love the Walking Dead. But I honestly thing this show may be liked more by people that have never even seen the Walking Dead, as they're intro into the series. 

It in no way relies on TWD so if you haven't seen any of the original series, no big deal. So far it comes off as a perfect prequel to the series. Shedding some light on how we got to where we are in TWD, while also offering you a more realistic look at the way people adapt to the reality of Zombies. 

We're only 1 ep in, so I'm sure AMC is re-running it all week. Definitely check it out and see what you think. Solid B+ from me in the pilot. 

4.) Marvel Collectors' Corps

MCC's 3rd collector box came in this week and it did not disappoint. We were treated to 2! Pops this time, and they're both really cool. The box also had the standard content of 1 Pin, Patch, Shirt (very cool pop secret wars shirt this time), and variant cover to a pertinent comic book (secret wars # 1 variant). Check out the pic below for the up to date collector corps exclusive pop list.  

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All 4 of the Collector Corps Exclusive Pops.

-Jeff//////ACC 

Classic Comics, Like Really, Classic Comics

We've sold "Classic Comics" before, shoot we've had a full run before from # 1 to about # 140 with tons of 1st prints and multiple HRN's of each issue. But we've never had something quite like this.

I got a call last Friday from a very nice lady from Florida asking me if we bought Classics Illustrated. I explained that we did but that the only one's with much value are the 1st printings in most cases. To be honest, most times I hear the word Classics Illustrated my head starts to hurt a bit as I think about how much time I have to spend in the guide, on ebay, and in recent sales to figure out which HRN I have sitting in front of me. But I'm always willing to look. She explained that she had # 1-20 of the series but wasn't sure what if any of them were first prints. Knowing that it's basically impossible to ID the HRN or edition of the printing without having the book in front of me, I told her to bring them by. 

She pulled up and had this worn looking box in her hands. As I approached I saw something that I hadn't ever seen before, which doesn't happen that often when it comes to comics. She had an original Classic Comics Library Gift Box # 1 in her hands that she was using to hold the books. I didn't even know that existed but apparently after the first 5 or so issues came out they began offering groupings of 5 issues packed together in a "gift box." A golden age TPB if you will. They're all separate, but could be bought for "ONE LOW PRICE!." 

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I believe they offered these through the first 20 issues (4 boxes of 5) but she only had the box for the first one. The first 5 issues she had were  a mix of 1st and 3rd prints with #'s 1,2,3 being 3rd prints and #'s 4&5 being 1st prints. So I'm not sure if those issues came directly from the "gift box" but it's certainly possible. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm amazed when anyone keeps anything from the 60's or older that's made from paper. But the fact that she had this paper (cardboard) box from the early 1940's (at a time when paper was being rationed) was quite amazing. And, it's not even in that bad of condition, shoot, she was still using it hold the books together. Sure a couple of the corners are popped. But it's in overall mid-grade condition, which again, is quite remarkable for something that was surely thrown away by almost everyone that had one.

We were able to get to an agreement to consign the 20 issues for the lady and they can be found now in our ebay store. Just search the box code SS1 in our store search bar and they'll pull up for you. In all there are 7 that are first prints. The rest are either 2nd or 3rd printings. The # 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 20 are 1st prints. The # 8 that she had (Arabian Nights) is especially beautiful as the cover is absolutely trippy and aside from some stamps from the original owner, it's basically flawless. 

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Let me tell you about the original owner really quick. The story I heard is that the lady that consigned them to me's husband was neighbors with an old man in Pensacola for years. In recent years he fell ill and was moved into an assisted living facility. The lady that consigned them to me and her husband were friends of the family and were told after the family took everything they wanted from the home that they were welcome to go through and see if they could find anything they wanted. So, they went to the house and began looking in the attic when they found these in the original gift box sitting under a board. Is that not the coolest thing ever! I know it's unfortunate that there wasn't an Action # 1 and a Detective # 27 in there. But it's still very cool. 

Anyway, enough rambling, photo's below of all the golden age goodness. Also, if anyone knows anyone looking for one of these boxes, let us know. No idea what it's worth as it's probably not even something that very many people know about. Honestly I'd love to keep it, but we're selling everything for someone. 

Keep collecting!

-Jeff/ACC

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