I just want to start this off by saying that this post right here was basically a childhood fantasy for me. Ever since I started collecting comic books about 3 & 1/2 decades ago, it was always the dream to have all of those impressive big key issues safely tucked away in my own personal collection. Now that I’m (kinda) a grown adult, I can (kinda) make those far fetched dreams, a reality…(kinda)…
While I still need my personal Holy Grail in Amazing Fantasy #15, which is the 1st Appearance of my all time fav in Spidey, I do have quite an impressive pile of long term portfolio books stacked safely away in my safe. Books that were unobtainable in the early days of my collecting have become a reality today, which is pretty badass.
Tales of Suspense #39 (1st Iron Man), Incredible Hulk #181 (1st Wolverine), and X-Men #1 (1st X-Men) are books I can say I’m proud to own. In fact, X-Men #1 is the reason for this post today as I’m sitting on not one…not two…but THREE tasty copies at present!!! Ok…ok…2 of the 3 are not mine exactly, but I’m in possession of 3 of these badboys right now, and that is something I never foresaw when I was just a lil’ booger picker.
While one of the copies does indeed belong to me, one is owned by a customer at my shop, while the other is owned by my shop. So I guess I own 1 & 1/2 copies of this gem of a book. The reason I’m hanging onto 3 of these at present is that these tasty fuckers are waiting for me to have a little time to give them a good press before sending them out for grading.
What’s a press?!?
Funny you should ask, and I’ll just refer you to an old post I popped up some years back that breaks down what exactly a press is, and does for a comic.
@blewitt/impressive-results-fixing-comics-and-making-cash-5fad4d1805403
@blewitt/impressive-results-fixing-comics-and-making-cash
Look…possessing any copy of this book in any grade is like hitting the lotto to some degree. With that being said, condition matters and could be the deciding forces of whether a copy sells for $3000 or $30000.
My personal copy came alongside a large collection that I bought years back. It’s a gorgeous book but does have a big issue that I’m leaning towards correcting. It seems that one of the previous owners decided to have some color touch added to the cover. I am not a fan of restored books and am like 99% sure I want to look into having that removed. That in itself is a process and needs the right hands on it, so I got some work to do in finding a professional I trust to handle it. It’s minor, but noticeable…and in general restored books are less desirable while usually being slightly more affordable. I’d rather have a slightly beat up unrestored cover, so I’m going to have to start doing my research on who can help me with my situation.
My customer’s copy is solid. He told me he bought it years back, so he’s sitting pretty no matter what. I’m really excited to see what the shop’s copy comes back as. I bought this copy almost a year ago, and I’ve been jonesing to having the proper time to devote to prepping this for its next chapter in its journey. I believe the shop’s copy is the prettiest one, and depending on the grade…could be a $10-$15k book!!!
I’ll be sure to document it as it unfolds to share with you all. As always, thanks for taking a nerdy moment with me.
Blewitt