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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 17 |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #17 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0004499071
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Owner Comments
This was one of my first books and it stayed in my set all the way until it got to 100 percent complete. My Signature Series 9.8 is signed by Bob McLeod. I also have a very nice ss book with a Doomsday sketch by Bob McLeod in this book's second picture slot in my main set.
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 17 Second Printing |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #17 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1126790021
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Owner Comments
The Underworld Rises Again... and Doomsday is Coming! What else could go wrong?
Sequentially, this is the first Doomsday cameo book with Doomsday is Coming on the cover so I included the action figure in the second picture slot to show just WHO is coming! This guy looks like a formidable foe indeed!
This is a pretty cool book and I really enjoy having the second printing. I bought this book on eBay for $107.99.
(I now have all four second printings of the Doomsday cameos in 9.8 but have decided to leave my descriptions unaltered to explain the progression of finding them.)
I'm working on getting the second printings of all four Doomsday cameos. As of this writing I have 2 out of 4 and the other two are at CGC now in different submissions. I would love to have all four second printings of the cameos graded 9.8 just to have that small part of this set completely tied up!
Update #1 - I got Superman 73 second printing back 9.8! I'm now at 3 out of 4 of the second printing cameos in 9.8. I'm hoping for the best with the two Action Comics 683 second printings I am still waiting on. It will literally be a dream if either one comes back 9.8. I would love to add a picture of all four of them in 9.8 together somewhere in this set!
Update #2 - The Action Comics 683 second printings came back, the highest graded was 9.6. The 9.6 currently shares the highest grade spot in the census but it is also a disappointment because I was really hoping for a 9.8. I considered resubmitting the 9.6 but am worried that it could come back 9.4 so I decided to put it in the set. Immediately after I did this, I found three separate eBay listings from the same seller that each had 8-10 books in them. Each lot had an Action Comics 683 second printing buried in it. I bought all three lots for $30.00 each and the AC 683's second's were the gems of the bunch. I am going to submit all three with my next submission. Stay tuned.
Update #3 - I can't believe it! All three of the AC 683 second printings received 9.8! Full details are in that slot. Finally... I have completed what I consider a set within this set within this set, the four Doomsday cameo second printings all graded 9.8! I am the first to accomplist this feat!
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #18 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.9 |
| Cert #: |
1197450004
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Owner Comments
From the 'NO ONE CAN KILL SUPERMAN!' collection.
When I added this book there were a total of 3156 graded; 1586 were 9.8’s, but there were only five 9.9’s. That is a .15 percent chance to get a 9.9, which surely only decreases the longer these books are in the wild!
I knew that books like this one existed but I never imagined that I would ever have one in this set. I had already been talking to the owner about the 9.8’s from his collection that were missing from mine, and we were working on a price for those. He then mentioned this book and the Adventures of Superman 500 Platinum Error that he also had. Once we had a price for the 9.8’s I made an additional offer to add this one and the 500 Error, that he accepted. I really feel that we both dealt with each other very fairly, and I hope that he was as happy to sell these books to me, as I was to buy them from him. I know I could have just added these books to this set and forgot about where they came from, but I really feel like that would have been ungracious. I don’t mind letting whoever reads through this set know that I can’t take all of the credit for putting these books together.
I’m so glad to have a 9.9 of the 1st full appearance of Doomsday in this set! I got this book reholdered in September 2020. Sending this book (and a few others with it) away to get reholdered was so stressful that it inspired me to start my first CGC Journal titled Adventures in Reholdering! to document my experience as I worked to reholder all of my books that were in old holders.
The figure in the second picture slot is a SDCC exclusive from several years ago. I never fully realized how close it was to the cover of this book until seeing these images next to each other in this gallery. A friend of mine picked this up for me one of the years when I couldn’t go myself... thanks Joe!
Note - in November 2021 a 9.9 copy of this book sold auction style on Comic Link for $4532.00.
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Second Printing |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #18 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1992038022
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Owner Comments
I enjoy the color choices that were made on the various printings of this book. I won this book on eBay BIN for $72.24, not too bad.
I had been looking for this printing for awhile and finally found it for a fair price. I then searched pretty aggressively to find all of the subsequent printings of this book and get them into this set in a fairly short period of time. I sold a Marvel book I had to get a couple of the printings of this book, which I mention in their slots.
Having all five printings of this book in 9.8 felt like hitting a major milestone in the process of building this set. I later upgraded the first printing to a 9.9 thanks to the 'NO ONE CAN KILL SUPERMAN!' collection, even better! The book in the second image slot also came from that collection!
Speaking of the book in the second image slot... when the entire Doomsday, Funeral for a Friend, and Reign of the Supermen storylines concluded we still didn't have any idea where the creature that came to be known as Doomsday had come from! In 1994 the three part Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey did an amazing job of not only giving Doomsday an origin story but it also concluded (sort of) the story of Superman v Doomsday. Later, in 1995 this Doomsday Annual 1 even further elaborated on what Doomsday had been up to his first year after pulverizing Bertron back on a primitive Krypton... so so so COOL! This is one of only four 9.8's, three of which are Signature Series, and mine is signed by Dan Jurgens. I'm happy to show it here with the first full appearance of Doomsday... we get to see the monster fully in his containment suit in the first image slot and then in his birthday suit in the second slot... CRAZY!
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Third Printing |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #18 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1201783001
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Owner Comments
I bought this off of eBay for $72.24 and kept it in my set until it was 100 percent. My Signature Series 9.8 is signed by Jon Bogdanove and Louise Simonson.
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Fourth Printing |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #18 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1184407011
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Owner Comments
This is the third 9.8 to occupy this slot. The first two were Universal 9.8’s; I got this Signature Series 9.8 off of eBay long after my set was at 100% completion, and when I was only short one 9.8.
I got the first copy of this book along with the fifth printing thanks to selling a Signature Series Marvel book I had which had been signed by Joe Simon, Stan Lee, Steve Epting, and Ed Brubaker. I didn't mind because I still had Joe Simon and Steve Epting signatures on other books. I was really happy to finish out all five printings of this book with that book and the fifth printing in 9.8 at the same time! I paid $250.00 for that one on eBay... the fourth and fifth printings of this book seem to go hot and cold and I think my timing on that one may have been a little off at the time, picking it up while it was hot. Live and learn!
I submitted the second 9.8 myself around the time I bought the first one. I was on a work trip to Elizabeth City, NC and searched comic book stores near me. I ended up driving to Virginia Beach to check out a shop there. You never know where and what you'll find and seeing that there aren't a lot of shops near me I can't pass up the opportunity to explore when I am traveling. There wasn't much displayed but when I asked, the owner pulled it from the back and I ended up paying $20.00 for it. I had to hand carry it back on the airplane and finally submitted it. I was so happy when it came back 9.8! I like the stories associated with both of the Universals and just don't have the heart to let either one go. Getting the second copy back 9.8 may have offset what I paid for the first copy so things did work out in a way, even though I don't see myself selling either anytime soon! I swapped my submission, which was in the new holder, for the first 9.8 when I was getting books reholdered; the first copy was in an old holder and this saved me the trouble of sending it in.
The copy you see here now was listed on eBay with a fairly aggressive BIN price, or Make an Offer. I have committed myself to always improving this set when I could, but an opportunity hadn’t presented itself in nearly seven months so I was pretty excited when it popped up. The only problem was that, ironically, I was right in the middle of working out a deal on another book through the CGC Registry, and had already made an offer. The seller of the other book was not being very responsive and, because my funds are not unlimited (and because my Wife will only put up with so much), I hesitated making an offer on this book because if both worked out at the same time it would be pretty painful. After nearly four days of silence from the seller of the other book, I decided to go ahead and make an offer on this book and deal with whatever happened on the other one if/when it happened. I really didn’t want this book to get away from me!
Whenever I do make an offer, it is always what I think a book is worth; I don’t lowball the seller just to eventually meet in the middle, I start with MY top/fair price and hope the seller can sense that I’m not a crook. Therefore, the other pending deal had no bearing on my offer on this book and I am really happy that the seller accepted, and that it is now in this set. The fourth printing of this issue is the rarest of the five printings in 9.8, and even rarer when it comes to Signature Series 9.8’s; this being one of only two copies.
The second picture is of all three of my 9.8 copies.
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Fifth Printing |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #18 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1416825017
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Owner Comments
I have a second 9.8 copy of this book that was from my own submission.
I like the way the DC Universe logo has been knocked crooked by Doomsday's escape from containment, not to mention that he busted the title of the book! This guy is bad with a capital B... Bad!
For a period of time I also collected Captain America comics/memorabilia, but have since focused entirely back on DC/Superman. I had a Captain America 25 signed by Joe Simon, Stan Lee, Steve Epting, and Ed Brubaker. I sold that and was able to finance this book as well as the fourth printing at the same time. I paid $349.99 for this book but because I used money from a sale it wasn't as painful as it sounds! I probably bought this book on the high side but man I wanted to add it to my set! I love setting all five printings of this book side by side and just looking at them. I ended up getting my hands on another pretty nice looking copy which I submitted, and which came back 9.8, grade date 25 September 2020. I will hang onto the second copy as well even though I could probably sell it pretty quickly to make this slot overall less pricey.
This is the only book in this set that received a fifth printing. The second picture is of all five of these printings together to show the variations of the title colors. Kind of makes me dizzy looking at them sideways but this was the best way I could fit all five in the frame. Really fun!
I've since either reholdered, upgraded, or swapped out some of the books in the second picture but kept this group picture here to remember what life was like when I first got all five printings of this book together in 9.8 for the first time.
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 19 |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #19 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0958785003
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Owner Comments
This is one of my first books and also my favorite cover art. I have a newsstand of this book as well just for the fun of it. This book stayed in my set until it reached 100 percent complete. My Signature Series of this book is signed by both Jon Bogdanove and Louise Simonson.
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 20 |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #20 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
2048589023
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Owner Comments
When I added this book there were seventeen 9.8 Universal Label's in the census but I had never seen one for sale. Even an advanced search of eBay completed/sold listings didn't show any having been listed or sold at this grade. I had my original raw copy but it was nowhere near 9.8 condition so I was on the hunt.
I was on the verge of buying a lot of ten of these raw just to see what I might get out of them when this one turned up on eBay. I watched this book until the day it was going to end. Suddenly, several hours from it ending the seller ended the listing. I ended up getting ahold of the seller, asking if they still had the book. They said they ended the listing due to an error in it. I made them an offer which they accepted and now here it is. I'm really happy I was able to get it!
This book reminds me that there is a challenge with getting each book in this set. Whether it's waiting a week watching a listing, waiting for things to come in the mail, getting books reholdered for whatever reason, waiting months for books to be pressed and graded, or receiving raw book after raw book that isn't worth submitting... there is always a new challenge but it is always worth it to have another book to add to the set!
The second image included here is another example of where the Skybox Death of Superman card set removed the Batman family of characters. If you're not careful you may think that’s a bush in the lower left but its actually Fire in her super-hot Pyroplasmic Form. But then again, it could be a bush! It's also very curious that they not only changed the font of the text on the memorial plaque but also added 1992 on the card... I wonder why that was?
Hey! Who let Bibbo in!?
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 20 Second Printing |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #20 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
3709450021
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Owner Comments
"dil·ly-dal·ly - verb - waste time through aimless wandering or indecision." Dictionary
This book missed being the first 9.8 copy of this issue to enter the census by one day!
This book was graded on 17 September 2020 and was thought to be the first 9.8 in the census until another showed up on eBay, literally the day I received this one in the mail, that had been graded on 16 September 2020! Crazy that two 9.8’s of this book were submitted by two different people, in different parts of the country, and graded within a day of each other, 27 years after the release date... wow! This is still the first 9.8 copy to join a registered set... yes!
With the addition of this book I only needed three more 9.8’s to complete this set in all 9.8 or above!
I bought this book from fellow CGC forum member onlyweaknesskryptonite. I had bought some other books (raw and graded) from him in the past and was always really happy. In fact, I had previously bought a raw copy of this book from him that I submitted, and which ended up grading 9.2. That 9.2 was the second copy to enter the census.
The book that previously occupied this slot was a 9.6 and was the first copy of this book to ever be graded. I have included a picture of all three of my copies together in the second picture slot.
The consensus on the CGC forums seems to be that this is the rarest of the DC Universe logo books from this set. I got the 9.6 off of eBay when I had the one that would become the 9.2 submitted for grading. I knew my submission was not a 9.8; I was just going to be happy to have a copy of this book graded at all, but I also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have the 9.6 at the time either.
Although this may indeed be the rarest of the DC Universe logo books from this set I do not personally think that it is the rarest of all the books in this set. I think that distinction goes to the Legacy of Superman 1 second printing. I am basing this opinion on the amount of time I spent looking for these books. I have seen several copies of this book available. They all may not have been 9.8 candidates but they existed nonetheless. Try looking for a second printing of Legacy of Superman 1 and see how that goes; I spent a lot of time looking for that book and wasn't able to unearth even a single raw copy, or find anyone that said they had one. The only copy of that book anywhere was in the 'NO ONE CAN KILL SUPERMAN!' collection and it is now in this set.
This 9.6 was listed on eBay one morning and I considered it for a couple hours, asked my Wife what she thought, and then said what the heck and went ahead and bought it. It also helped that once I watched it, the seller sent me an offer within 15 minutes. I ended up paying $400.00 for that book. Yes, that was a lot of money for a 9.6, and of course I would have preferred a 9.8, but it was still pretty cool to have the first and only copy of this book ever graded at the time!
I knew I would likely never find a 9.8 raw copy of this book. I considered sending the 9.6 in for CPR if enough time passed with a 9.8 never showing up. I had looked it over pretty well and didn't see anything that would keep it from having a shot at being graded 9.8, but I waited, and waited. Interestingly, when I first added the 9.6 to my set the Registry did not even have comic scores for this book, and I had to ask for them to be created.
Then...
On Thursday evening, 24 September 2020, I was up looking at the forums and got a notification that onlyweaknesskryptonite had posted in the This Week Back From CGC topic. I went to check his post to see what my friend had gotten back from CGC and saw some pretty amazing books, including the beautiful 9.8 you see here. My jaw dropped! Once I picked myself up off the floor, I sent him a message asking if he intended on selling it. After a couple messages back and forth, I made an offer. I did not dilly-dally with this book and only made one offer which I knew was the top of what I was willing and able to pay. He agreed that my offer was fair; I paid immediately and he shipped it the very next day. On Saturday, 26 September 2020, less than 48 hours after seeing it on the CGC forums, I had the book in hand... FAST! At the time there was one 9.8 that just popped up in the census and I think we were both under the impression it was this book, until the eBay incident mentioned above. Even if I had known about the other 9.8 I still would have made the same offer.
Thank you onlyweaknesskryptonite for your help wth adding this book!
The other 9.8 ended up selling for $813.99 on 1 October 2020.
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 21 |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #21 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0079428017
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Owner Comments
"And one thing I do know, son, and that is you are here for a *reason*. I don't know whose reason, or whatever the reason is... Maybe it's because... uh... I don't know. But I do know one thing. It's *not* to score touchdowns. Huh?" Jonathan Kent - Superman: The Movie
"No, son. It doesn't matter where you were born or what you can do, you'll always be Clark Kent. Superman just helps out now and then." Jonathan Kent - Superman: The Animated Series
"You just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, Clark. Whoever that man is, he's going to change the world." Jonathan Kent - Man of Steel
"You are going to touch the lives of so many people." Jonathan Kent - Smallville
"I had the idea, Martha. The costume. The secret identity. I loved him. I thought I was helping. It's my fault Martha. I didn't know... I had such high hopes." Jonathan Kent - World Without a Superman
The World would not have Superman as we have come to know him without the influence of Jonathan Kent (and Martha...). I'm glad that they have chosen to portray him in such a positive way throughout so many variations of Superman's story.
I included a lithograph that I really enjoy in the second picture slot. This is based on pages from the graphic novel Superman: Peace on Earth from 1998. This lithograph was put out by the Warner Brothers Studio Stores a year later. It is signed by both Paul Dini and Alex Ross and my piece is Artist Proof 7 of 35. The top part of the image is a blow up of my favorite panels. I really love the way that Pa is shown with his hand resting on a young Clark's shoulder. I get the feeling that his touch is not only calming the young Man of Steel, but that whatever he is saying is helping to shape him into the Man that he will someday be... A Superman. Pretty cool piece that I think goes well with this book.
I got this book on eBay for $26.00 and had it reholdered in February 2021.
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 22 |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #22 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
2078094001
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Owner Comments
This is the second 9.8 to occupy this slot!
I bought the first one off of eBay for $35.00 and the one you see here, I submitted myself!.
I had submitted one from my original collection but it came back 9.2. My plan was to wait it out and either find a nice raw copy or hope that one would show up somewhere already graded 9.8. This isn't a rare book necessarily but it also isn't one that you see come up for sale that often either. I found the copy you now see here raw, and had it submitted when the first one was listed on eBay. I had just finished buying the books from the 'NO ONE CAN KILL SUPERMAN!' collection so wasn't planning on buying anything else for awhile. When it came down to it though, $35.00 and free shipping made the book on eBay too good of a deal to pass up, even with my submission pending.
This cover is a really cool image of Steel and I was glad to finally have it at 9.8!
My submission ended up coming back 9.8 as well and I now have it in this slot! I switched the books because the one I bought off of eBay ended up having a crack in the lower left corner of the holder, which I only discovered when looking through all of my books deciding which ones to reholder... much easier to swap out 9.8's so I can reholder other books first. It's funny how things work out sometimes though, after my original copy came back 9.2 I found a graded 9.8 and a raw that came back 9.8! I wish ALL my plans worked out this well!
I ended up letting a friend of mine have the second 9.8 copy for the cost of shopping... this is probably the only instance where I let an extra copy of any of these books go... it had less to do with the crack and more to do with helping a friend, and fellow collector of these books, out.
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 22 Collector's Edition |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #22 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1402911017
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Owner Comments
When John Henry was a baby on his mama's knee
He picked up a hammer and steel
He said "This hammer's gonna be the death of me, Lord, Lord
This hammer's gonna be the death of me" This Old Hammer - Folk Song
I think it is really cool that this John Henry Irons took up the mantle of Superman to honor his memory and used a big hammer! I had all of the Steel books as well. I really liked this character and his motivation for becoming a hero... if anybody killed this John Henry it wasn't a hammer like in the folk song though, it was Shaquille O'Neal's acting skills!
I snagged this book off of eBay at a really good time for only $19.99.
The second picture is of my favorite Steel figure in my collection.
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 23 |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #23 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1252437018
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Owner Comments
Although Jon Bogdanove is one of my favorite artists on this series this cover isn't near the top of what I like about his art. There's something about the lines of the art that just don't feel right. The cover seems to come across more as caricatures of the characters than the actual characters. Superboy's face, in particular, just doesn't look natural to me. I often wonder why this particular book seems to be such a departure from what I love about his style overall and it is really hard for me to believe that the same artist that drew my favorite cover also drew this one! I did get a great deal on this book on eBay for $29.00 though!
I included a cool Signature Series book with an original drawing of Doomsday by Jon Bogdanove in the second image slot. I think this rendition is pretty gnarly. I am always happy to see so much work done to a book and still have it come out 9.8. I'm really glad to have an awesome ss book by one of my favorite artists! I put it here to balance out the things I don't like about The Man of Steel 23 cover... I hope it worked!
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| Slot: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 24 |
| Item: |
Superman: The Man of Steel #24 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
3715928003
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Owner Comments
The first 9.8 that occupied this slot was From the 'NO ONE CAN KILL SUPERMAN!' collection.
That book replaced a 9.6 that was from my original raw collection. There were only five 9.8’s in the census when I added that book. When I got the book from the 'NO ONE CAN KILL SUPERMAN!' collection I had a very nice copy submitted but could not miss out on the opportunity to be certain to have a 9.8 for this slot at that time.
My second submission of this book came back 9.6 also so it had been a good decision to buy the 9.8 from the 'NO ONE CAN KILL SUPERMAN!' collection! I do have to say though that I have found that it is almost never a bad idea to buy a 9.8 you need for this set when you have a chance, whether you have a nice copy submitted or not. Much later, the book you see here now, popped up on My Comic Shop for a price I couldn't pass up as I was in the process of reholdering books. I decided to swap this book out, rather than be in a rush to reholder the one from the 'NO ONE CAN KILL SUPERMAN!' collection that was still in an old holder.
The book in the second image slot, Superman: The Man of Steel 27, is not a part of this competitive set but in reading/triangle number order it comes between Action Comics 692 and Superman 83 Funeral for a Friend/Epilogue, both of which are in this set. I did not like having this sequential gap in my collection so I grabbed this off of My Comic Shop when it was listed for $80.00. I am happy to have this book so my run goes straight through to the Epilogue, and wanted to have a picture of it in this set!
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