| Slot: |
Brave and the Bold 28 |
| Item: |
Brave and the Bold #28 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.0 |
| Cert #: |
1198548001
|
Owner Comments
One of the most important comics of the Silver Age - the introduction of the Justice League of America. This is an upgrade from an 8.5 I won in a ComicConnect auction in June 2013 (an important auction in my collecting history as it turns out). I had attempted to win a pair of 9.2's in a couple of comiclink auctions subsequently, but I just couldn't manage the prices. Then, out of the blue, a fellow boardie messages me and we get to talking. He has a 9.0 to sell. We are able to work out a trade/cash deal which included my 8.5. When I receive the comic, the upgrade enables me to proudly hold all three JLA B&B's in 9.0 or better!!!
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| Slot: |
Brave and the Bold 29 |
| Item: |
Brave and the Bold #29 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.0 |
| Cert #: |
1198176009
|
Owner Comments
Originally, I had purchased a 7.0 back at the beginning of 2013, not having seen much in terms of high grade B&B#29's for over a year. Then, ten months later, this 9.0 comes up for auction. I was determined to win it and did so, spending a then-record amount for any one comic. Of course, this record was broken many times over. This is one of 4 with a 9.0 grade and it trails only one 9.4. The 9.4 came to auction in the November Heritage Auction. Unfortunately, the auction coincided with a seminar I was attending, one in which I didn't have access to the internet. I couldn't keep my eye on the proceedings and could only hope my $29K bid would suffice. Of course, it ultimately did not and since I was not able to live tabs on the happenings, I could up my bids and lost out. Oh well, the hammer price of $38,240 can be considered saved money!
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| Slot: |
Brave and the Bold 30 |
| Item: |
Brave and the Bold #30 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.2 |
| Cert #: |
1127281006
|
Owner Comments
This copy is tied with two others for HIGHEST ranked on the census. It was definitely not cheap though! This is my highest graded of the three JLA B&B's.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 1 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.2 |
| Cert #: |
1054771002
|
Owner Comments
I had purchased a bright looking 8.0 as I wasn't seeing much in the way of high grade #1's. Then, a boardie posts a picture of his JLA #1 9.2. It's weird how these things pop up when you least expect them. I messaged him , not expecting it to be for sale, but what do you know? It was. I haven't seen another better version available since. This is the third highest graded on the census, trailing one 9.6 and three 9.4's.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 2 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #2 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.4 |
| Cert #: |
0010484011
|
Owner Comments
An unexpected occurrence with this book. I had messaged a number of boardies looking to buy their books and made a deal to buy this one. I ended up getting the book reholdered because I had scratched the casing. Well, I'm contacted by CGC and they inform me that the grade is too high and they are lowering it to a 9.2. I wasn't real happy about this, but to my surprise, CGC offered me a cash refund on what they called a misgrade on their part. So, they paid me back a sum of money to make up for the problem of a slightly lower grade- classy move on their part. The registration number still reflects it as a 9.4, but it is now a 9.2. As an aside, a 9.4 did come up for auction in the ComicConnect June 2013 auction. That was actually a good auction for some early JLA's. At any rate, I had a choice to make and I had to walk away from the 9.4 when the bidding got too high ($8,700). Why? I'll get to that in the JLA#3 notes.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 3 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #3 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 8.5 |
| Cert #: |
0916745010
|
Owner Comments
Regrets? I've had a few. This is one of them. I picked up this copy back in 2012. Tough, black cover makes anything in this grade or above a tough get and they don't come along every day. I definitely overpaid on this one, but I was just not seeing anything better out there. There are only 6 copies in the world certified higher than this one. That being said, as in many of the purchases I have made (or not made), timing is EVERYTHING! So, it is not quite a year after I purchased this copy that ComicConnect's June 2013 auction comes along. Well, in this auction a 9.4 shows up. So, in this one auction, I have a B&B#28 8.5, JLA#2 9.4 and JLA#3 9.2 that are being offered. I weighed my options and went after the B&B#28. I still made strong bids for the other two, but I just didn't go for broke on them. Looking back, I haven't seen either one offered publicly since, while B&B#28's have been way more plentiful. I might have made a different decision if I knew what I know now.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 4 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #4 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.4 |
| Cert #: |
1175948008
|
Owner Comments
If there is any comic in this series that has cost me the most (relatively speaking) it is this one. I've said it before, but early JLA's are tough in high grade, mainly because they hit the market so rarely...and when they do it can be pricey. Originally, I won a lower 9.0 grade of this issue in which I grossly overpaid. It was one of those situations where two people really wanted one book - that's all it takes. Foolishly, I won the book at WAAAY to high a price. But, again, you don't see these everyday. It was almost 2 years later before another JLA#4 came to market in a higher grade and that was this one. In a similar battle of what I can only presume was two people REALLY wanting one book, I threw more common sense out the window and emerged with this 9.4. It is tied with one other book for HIGHEST on the census...and I haven't seen another offered since. Strangely, even though I believe I overpaid for this issue, I don't regret it. I don't ever seem to regret the wins, only the losses ;) This book is notable for the first addition made to the existing Justice League, with the Green Arrow being granted membership.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 5 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #5 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.6 |
| Cert #: |
1198173018
|
Owner Comments
The single highest graded copy on the census (as of this writing). This is the Don/Maggie Thompson collection copy - boy they had some nice JLA's. By this point in 2013, after having missed out on the JLA#2 and #3 upgrades, I was in no mood to miss out on other upgrades, but luckily, for some reason, this one didn't drain the bank account as much as I would've thought (see JLA#4 -grrrr!)
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 6 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #6 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.2 |
| Cert #: |
0956859004
|
Owner Comments
I've had (and I'm sure all of you have had) many occasions when you've made a bid at auction that looked like a winning bid when at the last minute (I mean second) another bid comes in and you lose. This was the same situation (and a different situation) all with this one book. Way back in May of 2011 I had won a 9.0 of JLA#6, so 7 months later when a 9.4 comes to auction, I want to win it. I find bidding is tricky - there can be a fine line between getting in a strong bid early and having others bid you up or getting a strong bid late and not giving others the time to outbid you. In the case of the 9.4 (which I wanted), I played the game of waiting until near the end of the auction before bidding. It came back to bite me in the a** when my last minute bid was not enough and I lost out by $100. Fast forward almost 6 months later and a 9.2 comes to auction. I put my bid out fairly early, not something I felt would hold up. The auction closing came and went and I FORGOT all about it. I check my emails the next day and discover that my bid held up and I had won the 9.2! It was a nice surprise as this wasn't the first time I forgot the closing of an auction (I try not to do that anymore). This is tied for the THIRD highest grade on the census, with only 3 others grading higher (one 9.6 and two 9.4's). There was a $4,500 difference in the price between the 9.4 and 9.2, so I guess that's good?!?
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 7 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #7 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.4 |
| Cert #: |
0754821004
|
Owner Comments
Tied for HIGHEST graded on the census with 4 others. I haven't seen this come up for auction in this grade since the Savannah pedigree back in February 2011. I acquired this one back in early 2012 through a CL exchange purchase. It was a little pricey, but, again, I have not seen another copy of this grade available in the years since.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 8 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #8 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.6 |
| Cert #: |
1101077004
|
Owner Comments
Only one other book on the census matches this HIGHEST graded. Of course, this means I paid some big bucks to get it in auction. I've only seen one other book go to auction since (a 9.4 in 2013 that I had little interest in), other than to see what it went for.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 9 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #9 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.6 |
| Cert #: |
0006657001
|
Owner Comments
Here's a key book in the JLA series, the origin of the JLA. At one point in time I had four copies of this book - a 7.0, 9.4 and two 9.6's. I sold/traded two of the books, leaving me with two. As it turns out, this is tied for the HIGHEST graded on the census with 3 others at the 9.6 grade. In acquiring both 9.6's, I had to spend some money both times. Why did I go after another 9.6 when I already had one? The second 9.6 had slightly better page quality. So, as of this writing, I'm still holding two of the four highest graded copies on the census. I can live with that. Of course, the origin described in this issue has been re-imagined more than once, but this still stands as a key issue , even within the first 10 issues on the series.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 10 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #10 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.4 |
| Cert #: |
1101058003
|
Owner Comments
In early 2012 I just wasn't seeing this issue in high grade. I mean, patience is important in collecting, but JLA's aren't your typical Marvel series, there are less copies, plain and simple. So, I had picked up an 8.5 because I didn't see when I would get anything better. The Heritage auction in Feb 2011 was a big auction for high grade JLA's...and would define the last time a number of these books would be offered in high grade for a while - at least all at once. So, with that preamble, near the end of 2012 a 9.4 comes up for auction, this 9.4 representing the HIGHEST graded copy on the census (tied with 4 others). I ended up winning the book, paying what I thought was a hefty price. However, this book didn't really come up again in 9.4 until the Don/Maggie copy went to auction in August 2014 (and I don't think it has again since then). Given the scarcity of the opportunities, I'm happy with the purchase...and given that the Don/Maggie copy went for a nice amount higher, that makes me feel good too.
So, of the three B&B's and first ten issues of JLA, I have seven issues which are tied for (or the sole) highest grade on the census - until other copies come along to change this fact, of course). This is a point of pride for me.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 11 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #11 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1042664004
|
Owner Comments
As of this writing, there is no earlier issue that has been graded 9.8 than this one. This one was auctioned off in the Heritage August 2011 auction and was the most I had paid for a single comic to that point. I feel that even if another 9.8 were to pop up in the future, this was still a good purchase. Even though this one falls outside the first ten issues, that doesn't make it any more scarce in high grade opportunities to buy. This was my most prized comic for quite a while.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 12 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America #12 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.4 |
| Cert #: |
1101058004
|
Owner Comments
This copy is tied with SIX others for second highest on the census, trailing only one 9.6. If there is any early issue that has been available in high grade multiple times, it's this one. The Twin Cities copy is currently the highest graded, but I was the underbidder when it came to auction in 2013 (the second time it went to auction in just over 2 years). You can't win them all - though I've tried most of the time. This particular copy was obtained to upgrade on the page quality on a previous 9.4 I had picked up. I guess the 9.4 cost me about $5K less than the 9.6 would've, so that's good.
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