CGC Registry

My Introduction to Comic Collecting



Rank: 4
Score: 3552
Leading by: 770
Points to Higher Rank: 446

Set Description:

One winter day in early 1994 my family and I were at the grocery store, where in the magazine section, a graphic novel caught my eye, The Death of Superman (1993). I was 11 years old and had yet to get into comic book reading and collecting. A year or more prior I had heard of the death of Superman event, I even saw a Saturday Night Live sketch about Superman's funeral, Chris Farley was the Hulk, Aquaman brought shrimp and comedian Sinbad was Black Lightning (no one knew who he was). The graphic novel reprinted DOOMSDAY!, the seven issue storyline from late 1992; part 1 of the Death and Return of Superman Saga. This was all yesterday's news in 1994, but thumbing through the graphic novel had me interested and eager to catch up.

Also at this time, the first season of LOIS AND CLARK:THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN staring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher was airing on Sunday nights. REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN! - part 3 - had also concluded several months earlier in the comics. When I went to a comic shop for the first time in the spring of 1994, there were still posters on the wall proclaiming “Superman Lives!” This was my time (and calling) to become a reader of Superman comics.

Part 2, FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, examines how those closest to Superman, the citizens of Metropolis and the rest of the world were affected by his loss. These particular comic books take me back to a special time in life, my transition from late childhood to early adolescence. When I think about the time spent finding all the individual issues as a kid and the CGC examples I’ve found as an adult, I still find myself wondering from time to time if I will ever be able to put this storyline and collection to rest.

I love the cover art for the four Superman titles cover dated November 1992, with the Doomsday teasers on the last page: Superman: The Man of Steel #17, Superman #73, Adventures of Superman #496 and Action Comics #683. These four issues eluded me as a kid, I’ve since found all of them as an adult and I still look for them to this day. The solid background covers for many of the DOOMSDAY! issues were appealing to me as a kid and made me a Superman fan for life. The FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND covers also got to me. After almost 30 years of seeing all of these issues in grungy poly bags at every comic store, used book store and con I've ever been to in my life, seeing CGC certified 9.8 examples of these issues is like seeing that girl next door, who usually dresses down, then one day steps out in heels, a little black dress and hair and makeup to die for - makes my heart sing!

When I purchased my first graded example for this set sometime in the late 2000s, my intention was to keep it basic and only go after the first printings, but there has always been that side of me who is a completest, who cannot help but want the Collector’s Editions and multiple printing variants for these issues. As a kid I found many of the issues from various collector’s packs at Toys “R” Us, many were 2nd, 3rd and 4th printings. When I learned about the difference in printings as a kid, with the print variant notated with a Roman numeral next to the issue number, and the title color scheme and taglines that changed colors on each printing, I came to the mindset that these later printings were not worth the paper they were printed on. I, along with several other collectors now realize that these later printings are much more of a challenge to find in high grade than the first printings.

I’ve been fortunate enough to find some of these ‘girls next door’ in the wild, which I've submitted for grading to have return to me in 9.8 holders. These books already carry a lot of nostalgia and the pieces I've submitted to CGC have a sense of accomplishment. I may not have pulled those pieces off the racks when first released, but I take joy in finding these books randomly, decades later, and eyeing the pieces that make the grade.

I have my childhood memories, my worn graphic novels, most of the individual issues and the handsome Death and Return of Superman Omnibus (2013). This storyline was my introduction to the world of Superman and comic book reading and collecting. Who knows, if this event never happened I might not have gotten into comic books at all.

~Annual Registry Awards: Best Set Presentation - 07/14/2017

"Don’t worry, Brandon Shepherd, we won’t turn you away like the Black Lighting was in the SNL skit. We think that your Superman (Doomsday Death Funeral Return) Set is turning into something special! Keep up the good work and thanks for the walk down memory lane."
comic_presented_sm Best Presented

Slot DescriptionCert #GradeScore
Action Comics 683 3938021001 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 683 Second Printing 2095335005 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 684 3938021002 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 684 Second Printing 3755989018 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 684 Third Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Action Comics 685 2094430013 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 685 Second Printing 0290717001 9.825 Shop eBay
Action Comics 685 Third Printing 2100508012 9.825 Shop eBay
Action Comics 686 0153226015 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 686 Second Printing 2046450005 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 687 3909818023 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 687 Collector's Edition 0150582012 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 688 1056680022 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 689 3725610017 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 690 No Comic    Shop eBay
Action Comics 691 1247238024 9.840 Shop eBay
Action Comics 692 2024151012 9.840 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 496 1024355016 9.840 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 496 Second Printing 0297768001 9.840 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 497 4153375001 9.840 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 497 Second Printing 3828778006 9.825 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 497 Third Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 498 0315840001 9.840 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 498 Second Printing 4082607010 9.825 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 498 Third Printing 2037659008 9.825 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 498 Fourth Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 499 No Comic    Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 499 Third Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 500 2025804022 9.840 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 500 Collector's Edition 0150964024 9.848 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 500 Poly-Bagged Platinum Edition No Comic    Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 500 Poly-Bagged Platinum Error Edition No Comic    Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 501 2120111001 9.840 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 501 Collector's Edition 3783147003 9.848 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 502 2137122012 9.840 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 503 3971067011 9.840 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 504 3842633006 9.840 Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 505 No Comic    Shop eBay
Adventures of Superman 505 Collector's Edition 2138942012 9.840 Shop eBay
Green Lantern v3 #46 2129329013 9.865 Shop eBay
Green Lantern v3 #46 Second Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Justice League America 69 No Comic    Shop eBay
Justice League America 69 Second Printing 0218419014 9.840 Shop eBay
Justice League America 69 Third Printing 3955497007 9.840 Shop eBay
Justice League America 69 Fourth Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Justice League America 70 1568952003 9.840 Shop eBay
Justice League America 70 Second Printing 0228209014 9.835 Shop eBay
Justice League America 70 Third Printing 4317934006 9.835 Shop eBay
Justice League America 7?0 Fo?urth Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Justice League America 71 1077720005 9.832 Shop eBay
Newstime #nn 3970746002 9.848 Shop eBay
Supergirl/Lex Luthor Special (1993) 1 2048737015 9.832 Shop eBay
Superman 73 4220040001 9.840 Shop eBay
Superman 73 Second Printing 3754718009 9.825 Shop eBay
Superman 74 3734485013 9.848 Shop eBay
Superman 74 Second Printing 4188673003 9.825 Shop eBay
Superman 74 Third Printing 2014436015 9.850 Shop eBay
Superman 74 Fourth Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Superman 75 1027499055 9.880 Shop eBay
Superman 75 Poly-Bagged Edition 2088929002 9.8160 Shop eBay
Superman 75 Poly-Bagged Platinum Edition 0998751002 9.8480 Shop eBay
Superman 75 Second Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Superman 75 Third Printing 0185823007 9.880 Shop eBay
Superman 75 Fourth Printing 0290717002 9.840 Shop eBay
Superman 76 0294920006 9.840 Shop eBay
Superman 76 Second Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Superman 77 0178186002 9.840 Shop eBay
Superman 77 Second Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Superman 77 Third Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Superman 78 No Comic    Shop eBay
Superman 78 Collector's Edition 1258197003 9.840 Shop eBay
Superman 79 3726865003 9.840 Shop eBay
Superman 80 3757947015 9.840 Shop eBay
Superman 81 1999493013 9.840 Shop eBay
Superman 82 2119985012 9.864 Shop eBay
Superman 82 Collector's Edition 0320093016 9.840 Shop eBay
Superman 82 Second Printing 1620455014 9.864 Shop eBay
Superman 83 3861036013 9.840 Shop eBay
Superman: The Legacy of Superman 1 No Comic    Shop eBay
Superman: The Legacy of Superman 1 Second Printing 3853145009 9.832 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 17 1038834027 9.856 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 17 Second Printing 2062905023 9.832 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 3970687002 9.872 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Second Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Third Printing 2071306002 9.832 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Fourth Printing 0275195011 9.832 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Fifth Printing 0261145020 9.832 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 19 0103480033 9.848 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 19 Second Printing 1567579006 9.832 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 19 Third Printing 4065085003 9.832 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 20 0629293019 9.824 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 20 Second Printing No Comic    Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 21 3726599002 9.824 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 22 1402954043 9.824 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 22 Collector's Edition 0282160002 9.824 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 23 No Comic    Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 24 3790544003 9.824 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 25 0178186012 9.824 Shop eBay
Superman: The Man of Steel 26 1247247005 9.824 Shop eBay

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