Set Description:
For years I neglected the heck out of this set despite the fact that it’s Wolverine in his first solo series, which ultimately led to the ultra-successful launch of his 1988 solo series. But it was that 1988 series, followed by its 2003 relaunch, that captured the vast majority of my attention (and comic budget) for nearly 14 years since the beginning of my CGC collection.
But what’s funny is the first CGC book I ever bought was…a Modern 9.8 copy of Wolverine Limited Series #3. I purchased that book way back in 2001, when the modern labels were still red and I was still paying most sellers with money orders. And as you’ll see I still own it.
In the following years I owned a multitude of sub-9.8 copies of issues 1, 2, and 4, but those were ultimately sold off as I realized I should aim higher. Of course my aim always seemed to stray from “Let’s find a 9.8 copy of LS 4” to “Hey look, a 145 Nabisco! Sweet!” Ah, the life of a collector.
But finally our story reaches 2015, and I finally told myself that it was time to stop screwing around and put together an SS 9.8 set I could be proud of. Naturally that initially proved to be an unyielding pain in the ass as I had a brutal time finding Signature Series copies that I actually wanted to buy. Why is that? Because Incredible Hulk 181 was released in 1974, yet almost every seller out there seems to think I want Trimpe, Wein, and/or Romita Sr.’s signature on these books. It was rather annoying.
As the year wound on I finally did land a copy of issue 1 that met my criteria, but was still having trouble tracking down 2 and 4. However, I was suddenly presented with a few opportunities to partake in private signings with a certain Mr. Miller, leading me to buy the best Universal 9.8 copies I could get my hands on.
Off the whole set went, and back they came in their sparkling SS 9.8 glory. Except the TPB unfortunately, but it left a 9.6 and returned a 9.6, so I can't complain.
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