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n2wdw's comic book room
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890 posts in this topic

Just caught up on your entries... some VERY nice additions! I couldn't help but notice your passing comment about the 'Spider-Gwen' thing.

 

I have a feeling that book, series, character, etc. is only starting to heat things up. I'd love to actually read the darn thing but I haven't been able to find any copies locally!

 

And you have some very impressive comic runs there!

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Hibou - Great minds think alike! This weekend I was curious about the Spider-Gwen thing, and I had time (I was at my kid's swim meet all weekend long), so I bought the e-comic of Edge of Spider-Verse #2 and read it on my iPad mini. The comic was good enough to make me look for more issues on the Marvel website (I didn't find any). I still don't get why graded copies are so expensive. Is it a lingering effect of the movie? Maybe, as there are more Gwen comics getting graded and being offered on eBay (which is good for us Gwen collectors). Would be fun to see Emma Stone as Spider-Gwen!

 

mediajunkie - I wish all those comics were CGC'd! But no, most of my collection is raw, including 99% of the comics in those runs.

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Very Happy With Modern Submission Turn-Around Time

 

In December, for the 1st time, I submitted comics to CGC using normal turn-around time (all my prior submissions were either the CGC coupon, fast track or on-site). This was a 10 comic Modern submission, and I decided to submit this way because I was tired of paying the extra for fast track. Also, I wasn't in a hurry, so I submitted them and then forgot about it. Okay, I didn't really forget about them, but I only checked about every couple of weeks, and I wasn't disappointed when the status didn't move.

 

But to my pleasant surprise, the status did move. My invoice was entered on December 8, and today on February 19 it was shipped. So it only took about 2 1/2 months. Fast track can take up to 6 weeks. So normal was only about a month slower, and I saved $100.

 

As for the grades, I was pleasantly surprised. My routine is to predict the grades beforehand. Then when the books get shipped, I open the invoice on my computer and carefully go through the list one by one (using a piece of paper so I only see one line at a time). This time, 8 comics either got the grade I predicted or higher. Only 1 of the 10 got a lower grade (I predicted 9.4-9.8 and it only got 9.2). Interestingly, 1 of the 10 didn't get graded at all. I'm looking forward to getting the books back so I can see what happened with that one. I'll post pictures once I have the books. Thanks for reading.

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Addition to Dave Stevens Covers Set

 

I won this comic on eBay the other day for my Dave Stevens set. It wasn't listed in the set so I emailed Gemma and requested it be added. It took about a day to add it (thanks Gemma!). Unfortunately, it rates only 24 points in 9.8. Gemma explained it's not an expensive book so isn't worth more points.

 

Gemma's right. You can get this book for under $20. But boy is it tough book to get in CGC 9.8! My copy is the only graded book. Raws typically have flaws that keep it from 9.8. But that's how it is with the Dave Stevens Covers set. Print runs were limited, and alot of the books are tough to get in HG. (Try getting 9.8s of Amazing Heroes 37 or Comico Attractions 6.) Still, many get less than 50 registry points in 9.8.

 

Ah well ... the search continues ....

 

 

Satanika18CGC9848_zpsb25e0caf.jpg

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Non-CGC Blue Goodness

 

Peter, thanks for your post, I'm always fascinated with comics history trivia. Nice to know the history of the Cerebus SS file copies.

 

Here are a few recent additions to my collection. First, a new comic for my Gwen Stacy collection. I became a big fan of Gil Kane through comics like this one (his Sword of the Atom comics are still some of my favorites).

 

AmazingSpider-man103CGC9076_zps3b1fa51b.jpg

 

 

And now for Non-CGC Blue Goodness. What's that? It's comics where you can get good deals. Two examples, lightly restored CGC books, and non-CGC graded books. Honestly, I think you can sometimes pick these books up for less than raw. So it becomes an ethical issue for the seller ... should you crack the book out of the case and sell it raw (and maybe "forget" CGC found restoration)? And why keep it in the PGX case when it provides no premium in the sell price? (Why send it to PGX at all?) Anyway, I'm always looking for books like this -- especially lightly restored CGC books -- as they often provide substantial discounts over FMV.

 

As I look at the Kaanga I'm tempted to break it out of the case and submit to CGC. It looks better than 5.5, but of course I'm judging it solely based on the cover. Still, I have my renewal 4 book coupon and I've been trying to decide what to submit ....

 

ClaireVoyantCGC60150_zpscb991949.jpg

 

 

Kaanga4PGX5570_zpsbd67076d.jpg

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Claire Voyant is my girl! I've wanted these issues for a few years now, I saw a nice copy 9.0 copy of #2 last fall on ComicLink but I was going after something else, I thought final price was a real bargain. I also found a digital copy of one the issues a few years ago, not bad for a Golden Age read.

 

Congratulations!

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Miscellaneous Updates On My Collecting Life

 

Brandon - Wow, a 9.0. I'll have to jump onto ComicLink and search for that one, to see what it looks like. Do you remember what the final price was?

 

And now, a few scattered ramblngs ...

 

* Weeding, refocusing and reorganizing my collection continues. I got down to about 24,000 comics, then this weekend I went through the dozens of long and short boxes I'm getting rid of to make sure I didn't want to keep any of them. It was like a comic convention among my own (discarded) comics. I ended up keeping about 750 of them. I spent the rest of the weekend re-organzing my collection. I thought it would be a chore, but I'm having a great time. I'll write more about this reorg later.

 

* Recently I tried to trade my Hawkman #4 (shown below) plus some cash for another boardie's higher grade Hawkman #4. The deal fell through, but I'm okay with that. I think I might send my #4 in for grading -- no matter what CGC gives it, I think it'll be better trading fodder if graded versus raw.

 

IMG_1089_zpscac8c8cd.jpg

 

 

* I'm watching auctions for 2 comics today. I'm excited about both, they would fill major holes in my collection. More on these auctions later.

 

* I recently won this Movie Comics 3 on eBay. I almost bought it twice, as after winning it on eBay (and forgetting about that win) I bid on another copy on C-Connect. Luckily I lost the C-Connnect auction (although at the time I was extremely disappointed). I wanted the comic because of the jitterbug cover. For some reason I like the dancing cover, and it makes a nice pair with my All Flash 25.

 

 

Untitled_zps1b633c73.jpg

 

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Brandon - Wow, a 9.0. I'll have to jump onto ComicLink and search for that one, to see what it looks like. Do you remember what the final price was

 

If memory serves me correctly, the 9.0 went for $600 or so, but I'm not entirely sure. I was tempted but I was busy going after the first book on the left of my sig line, Action #375. I checked ComicLink but the piece is not longer listed with the final price. I also think it may be the copy featured in the Gerber Photo Journal. I saved the pic.

 

Claire%20Voyant%202_zps16rf7rpk.jpg

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That's a very cool set of jitterbug covers... congratulations!

 

Good luck with your Hawkman 4 submission and I agree, a graded copy might be easier to move. That's such a great book regardless.

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Auction Wins -- Some Buyer's Remorse

 

This week I was watching auctions of 2 comics I really wanted. I won them both and I’m happy to have them. But I have some buyer’s remorse about one of them. So here’s the story.

 

In telling the story, I’m going to tell you what I paid for them as I think it helps understand my thought process. I sometimes do this, telling you how much I paid. Most people here seem to avoid talking about sale prices, I guess for privacy reasons. I get that, but it doesn’t bother me, because I only talk about sale prices that are public information (on eBay, ComicConnect, ComicLink, etc.). I also – usually -- don’t mind talking about sale prices on eBay BINs. Where I don't reveal prices is with negotiated deals with boardies here, unless I have the permission of the seller; otherwise without permission I consider those sales confidential so I won’t say what the seller agreed to (since those sellers might not want people to know).

 

The first comic is Starslayer #2. This comic is important to me because I’m a big Mike Grell fan, from his first Legion of Super-Heroes comic. He’s one of those combo writer/artist talents, and I pretty much like everything he’s ever done. The comic is also important because it has the 1st appearance of the Rocketeer by Dave Stevens. The back cover is by Stevens, so it fits in my Dave Stevens cover set (worth 88 points, which is a lot for this set!).

 

I’ve been looking for a 9.8 of this comic for a while. On eBay, people list them for silly money, like $300. On GPA, the 2014 average is $139. The 12 month average is $128, and the last sale was $108. A couple months ago, from one of those comic sites that seem to be popping up everywhere, the seller offered a 9.8 for $139 (the 2014 average). I offered $120. Only $19 difference, but neither of us was willing to budge. The fact the seller was holding so firm to the GPA 2014 average – even though more recent data indicated the book seemed to be on a downward slope – turned me off, so I decided to move on.

 

Then recently on eBay a 9.8 turned up for auction (instead of BIN). I decided to go for it, and entered a max bid of $135 using bidnapper. Could I have gotten a 9.8 from the other seller? Would he have gone down 4 bucks? I have no idea, but like I said, the seller’s attitude turned me off. Sellers can price their comics for whatever they want, but for most comics it's a buyer's market (because almost nothing's really rare).

 

A couple hours before the end of the auction, the price stood at about $75. With my high bid of $135, I was pretty sure I would win it. But no one wants to have to pay their max bid, right? As you know, all the action happens in the last 10 seconds, and here the price did spike up. But at the end I won it at $108. So I’m happy about it because not only did I get it for less than my $135 max bid, but also less than my $120 offer to the other seller.

 

By the way, I had a backup plan because there’s a 9.8 on sale on eBay right now for $136.25. I planned to buy this book if I didn’t win the eBay auction.

 

 

817089457_o_zpsptjcqk8a.jpg

 

 

The second book I won is Detective Comics 371. I won it in this month’s ComicLink auction for my max bid of $275.

 

 

Detective%20371%20CGC%209.4%20275_zpsnvckaymx.jpg

 

 

This is the comic I have some buyer’s remorse about. I had a 9.0 but I traded it last year for Batman 42, where (in my head) I got about $100 in trade credit. I think I got a fair deal, as GPA has the 2014 average at $87 and the 12 month average at $97 (and last sale at $75). A big reason I was willing to trade was because I wanted to upgrade. There’s not much GPA data, but it has the 2013 average at $366. That data, plus watching the book on eBay for almost a year, made me think that my max bid of $275 was a fair price.

 

So why am I feeling some buyer’s remorse? Well first, because the auction went all the way up to my max bid of $275. No one likes having to pay their max bid.

 

But mostly, because right now Greg Reece has a 9.2 on sale for $175. I knew that when I entered my $275 C-Link max bid, and almost immediately had second thoughts. Is an extra two CGC points worth $100 (and maybe more, since Greg takes offers)? I finally decided it was, so that’s why I entered my $275 C-Link max bid. But I have to admit, as the end of the auction neared I kind of hoped I’d lose the C-Link auction.

 

So anyway, that’s my story. Two comics, kind of mixed feelings. Thanks for reading.

 

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Auction Wins -- Some Buyer's Remorse

 

This week I was watching auctions of 2 comics I really wanted. I won them both and I’m happy to have them. But I have some buyer’s remorse about one of them. So here’s the story.

 

In telling the story, I’m going to tell you what I paid for them as I think it helps understand my thought process. I sometimes do this, telling you how much I paid. Most people here seem to avoid talking about sale prices, I guess for privacy reasons. I get that, but it doesn’t bother me, because I only talk about sale prices that are public information (on eBay, ComicConnect, ComicLink, etc.). I also – usually -- don’t mind talking about sale prices on eBay BINs. Where I don't reveal prices is with negotiated deals with boardies here, unless I have the permission of the seller; otherwise without permission I consider those sales confidential so I won’t say what the seller agreed to (since those sellers might not want people to know).

 

The first comic is Starslayer #2. This comic is important to me because I’m a big Mike Grell fan, from his first Legion of Super-Heroes comic. He’s one of those combo writer/artist talents, and I pretty much like everything he’s ever done. The comic is also important because it has the 1st appearance of the Rocketeer by Dave Stevens. The back cover is by Stevens, so it fits in my Dave Stevens cover set (worth 88 points, which is a lot for this set!).

 

I’ve been looking for a 9.8 of this comic for a while. On eBay, people list them for silly money, like $300. On GPA, the 2014 average is $139. The 12 month average is $128, and the last sale was $108. A couple months ago, from one of those comic sites that seem to be popping up everywhere, the seller offered a 9.8 for $139 (the 2014 average). I offered $120. Only $19 difference, but neither of us was willing to budge. The fact the seller was holding so firm to the GPA 2014 average – even though more recent data indicated the book seemed to be on a downward slope – turned me off, so I decided to move on.

 

Then recently on eBay a 9.8 turned up for auction (instead of BIN). I decided to go for it, and entered a max bid of $135 using bidnapper. Could I have gotten a 9.8 from the other seller? Would he have gone down 4 bucks? I have no idea, but like I said, the seller’s attitude turned me off. Sellers can price their comics for whatever they want, but for most comics it's a buyer's market (because almost nothing's really rare).

 

A couple hours before the end of the auction, the price stood at about $75. With my high bid of $135, I was pretty sure I would win it. But no one wants to have to pay their max bid, right? As you know, all the action happens in the last 10 seconds, and here the price did spike up. But at the end I won it at $108. So I’m happy about it because not only did I get it for less than my $135 max bid, but also less than my $120 offer to the other seller.

 

By the way, I had a backup plan because there’s a 9.8 on sale on eBay right now for $136.25. I planned to buy this book if I didn’t win the eBay auction.

 

 

817089457_o_zpsptjcqk8a.jpg

 

 

The second book I won is Detective Comics 371. I won it in this month’s ComicLink auction for my max bid of $275.

 

 

Detective%20371%20CGC%209.4%20275_zpsnvckaymx.jpg

 

 

This is the comic I have some buyer’s remorse about. I had a 9.0 but I traded it last year for Batman 42, where (in my head) I got about $100 in trade credit. I think I got a fair deal, as GPA has the 2014 average at $87 and the 12 month average at $97 (and last sale at $75). A big reason I was willing to trade was because I wanted to upgrade. There’s not much GPA data, but it has the 2013 average at $366. That data, plus watching the book on eBay for almost a year, made me think that my max bid of $275 was a fair price.

 

So why am I feeling some buyer’s remorse? Well first, because the auction went all the way up to my max bid of $275. No one likes having to pay their max bid.

 

But mostly, because right now Greg Reece has a 9.2 on sale for $175. I knew that when I entered my $275 C-Link max bid, and almost immediately had second thoughts. Is an extra two CGC points worth $100 (and maybe more, since Greg takes offers)? I finally decided it was, so that’s why I entered my $275 C-Link max bid. But I have to admit, as the end of the auction neared I kind of hoped I’d lose the C-Link auction.

 

So anyway, that’s my story. Two comics, kind of mixed feelings. Thanks for reading.

 

Congrats on your wins, try not to have buyers remorse and get too caught up in registry points. I used to worry about those points when I was first starting to collect slabs. I don't bother any longer, and find I enjoy my books a lot more now.

 

Just my $0.02

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Results of My Latest CGC Modern Submission #1

 

I mentioned before, my most recent modern submission (normal turn-around time) was entered by CGC on December 8. It shipped on February 19, so it took only about 2 1/2 months. I'm very happy with that turn-around time! Last week I mailed another modern submission, we'll see how that goes.

 

As for the grades, I was pleasantly surprised. 8 comics either got the grade I predicted or higher. Only 1 of the 10 got a lower grade (I predicted 9.4-9.8 and it only got 9.2). One didn't get graded at all. Let's start with that one. It's a Jay Company Tomb Raider. I asked Gemma why they couldn't grade it. She told me the cover overhangs the comic too much, so there was too high a risk of damage in the holder. (I just checked eBay, PGX grades this book so clearly isn't concerned about quality control -- wow, that's a surprise). This is the 2nd Jay Company book I've had this issue with. Why does JC make comics this way? I think I'll stop submitting JC books (and probably stop buying them too, at least in high grade).

 

Untitled_zpscunbpg4a.jpg

 

 

Since I'm on the topic of Tomb Raider, I got this one too. I saw a graded 9.8 on sale on eBay a couple years ago. It had an outrageous price, over $300. I made an offer but it was quickly rejected. Okay, that's cool, sellers can sell for whatever they want. I bought a raw copy on eBay for about $50. It came back only 9.6, but I'm cool with that since I saved over $200.

 

 

Tomb%20Raider_zpszizzov2j.jpg

 

 

The last book for this post is Optic Nerve 7. Optic Nerve by Adrian Tomine is one of those "slice of life" books. IMHO, Adrian does it better than anyone. These books have low print runs and are well read, so it took me forever to find a 9.8 possible raw book. (Submitting my own copy for grading was the only option; at this moment there are 2 graded copies in the census, a 10.0 and my 9.8.) I wasn't sure this one would get 9.8 but I got impatient so just included it in my submission. Hurray, it got 9.8!

 

 

Optic%20Nerve_zpsbptqgihp.jpg

 

 

Why did I want a 9.8? Because I'm lucky enough to own the original art of this cover. I met Adrian at SDCC in the early 2000s. It was right after I read Summer Blonde (the story in this comic). In his portfolio he had this cover for sale. It was expensive -- and I never feel comfortable negotiating with artists -- but I had to have it. So here it is. And the CGC 9.8 looks cool next to it.

 

 

3a5890ab-a7f8-4baf-a818-da2785b13605_zpsd1ibckiz.jpg

 

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..... 275 seems like a bargain for something like a 9.4 Detective 371..... and the underbidder thought so too.... GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

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Results of My Latest CGC Modern Submission #2 - Gwen Stacy

 

I've written before how Spider-man is my favorite character, and how the death of Gwen affected me. I literally fell off my bike when I was glancing through #121 on my paper route (I used to deliver newspapers on my bike to earn money for comics). To this day, I still cannot believe they killed Gwen.

 

I think it was Hibou who in his journal recently wondered why some characters were more popular than others. To me it's clear why Gwen Stacy has recently had an uptick in interest and popularity. The foundation was always there -- the love interest of a major character with a dramatic ending. The subject of a number of "after death" stories that -- whether good or bad -- kept her in the limelight (i.e., Gwen clone, Ultimate Spider-man, Blue, etc.). And (probably most importantly) a recent movie with her character played by a young, popular actress.

 

I have a small collection of Gwen Stacy commissions, that I did in the early 2000s. Here's probably my favorite, by Bo Hampton.

 

 

Gwen%20Bo%20Hampton_zpsrxlix4c5.jpg

 

 

Here's another by Neil Vokes:

 

 

Gwen%20Neil%20Vokes_zpserybc5eb.jpg

 

 

So anyway, I provide this story to give you some background on why I'm interested in Gwen Stacy. As a young teenager I identified with the awkwardly shy Peter Parker, and I still feel his pain when his girlfriend so tragically died.

 

In my most recent CGC modern submission, I included 2 Gwen books. The first was AVX. This is a really tough book because for most copies the spine has a number of white stress marks. After looking at a number of copies I finally decided to submit my best copy, hoping CGC would consider the flaws as publishing defects (and thus not ding the grade too much). No such luck! It came back only 9.2. Oh well. I haven't decided if I'm going to try submitting again, or just be content with the copy I have (with one eye on what might come up on eBay).

 

 

AVX_zpsxatya45b.jpg

 

 

The 2nd book came back better. In fact at 9.6 it came back better than I expected. This cover shows Gwen's tragic fall. I have to admit I went to the movie hoping it would have a different ending.

 

 

Dark_zps38satfks.jpg

 

 

Speaking of the movie, I can't imagine a better actress to portray Gwen than Emma Stone. Maybe Spider Gwen will catch fire and we'll see a reprise of Emma's character in a future movie.

 

 

Emma%20Stone%20150_zps7sr5njqd.jpg

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Results of My Latest CGC Modern Submission #3 - Mining My Collection

 

Most of my collection (thankfully down to under 25k comics now) is raw. Sometimes when I get a new CGC submission ready I mine my raw collection for books to submit (rather than submitting books I bought off eBay or other sources -- like keys -- specifically for the purpose of submitting to CGC). Here are a couple of books I pulled from my collection for my most recent modern submission.

 

I hoped the Ms. Marvel #1 would rate 9.0, but I'm not surprised it didn't (it was stored for over 30 years in a long box, without a bag or board). Mainly I submitted the comic because copies of Ms. Marvel #1 are going for crazy money lately. (CGC on a CGC 8.5 is $120; pretty cool since I bought it off the stands in 1976 for 30 cents.).

 

I submitted #17 only because I thought it might get a high grade. I bought this one off the stands too, and GPA pegs it at $50. So I guess it was worth the $18 to submit. In my next submission I plan to submit #18 -- a key, with the 1st appearance of Mystique.

 

 

Untitled_zpsmmruxwgd.jpg

 

Ms.%20Marvel_zps7xlqrffx.jpg

 

 

I also submitted Amazing Heroes 37 for my Dave Stevens cover set. Fanzines like this are so hard to get in high grade (being meant to be read, not collected), so I'm happy with the 9.6. In terms of my competitive set, there's not much different between 9.6 (20 points) and 9.8 (32 points).

 

 

Amazing%20Heroes_zps4clattnd.jpg

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It's hard to believe that Ms. Marvel 1 is nearly a 40 year old book...

 

As for that 8.5, I'd say it's a very good return on your investment!

 

And I have to say that I really enjoyed your latest Gwen post and your recollection of falling off your bike. Maybe what's behind the current Gwen interest is just what you wrote about.

 

A popular character deeply rooted in Spider-Man's history whose story is tragically cut short.

 

In my opinion, ASM 121 / 122 is probably one of the most defining classics of the Bronze Age and it should come as no surprise that it's sort of receiving a bit of a revival. It's been many years since I read that story arc but for me, the memories of first reading those two issues are seared into my mind as a modern day tragedy.

 

The unforgettable scenes of Spider-Man failing to save the woman that he loved the most, the dialogue between the two NYPD... the confrontation between a sunken eyed Peter Parker and a wacked out Harry, the Goblin's 'death' and ultimately the intensely dramatic Epilogue with MJ, have been with me since.

 

 

(And I hope that I got the issues and chronology right.)

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Shadow Preliminary Art by Michael Kaluta

 

Back in the early 2000s I bought this original art from Mike Carbonaro at a Pittsburgh Comicon. The art is the preliminary cover for Shadow #12 by Michael Kaluta. (The annual Pittsburgh con was always a great place to buy comics. We'll see how things change now that is being run by Wizard World.)

 

 

c8ebe65c-ebd5-4e6f-a682-11acf81c3a02_zpskmwiaob8.jpg

 

 

I spoke to Michael Kaluta at a con a few years later. He confirmed that, yes, this was the original preliminary cover art for Shadow #12. He drew the piece and then passed it by Denny O'Neil for approval. There's a note in the upper left corner from Michael to Denny to that effect. It's cool to own a little piece of comic history like this.

 

I wanted a graded copy of Shadow #12 for my collection, to pair with the art. It took a few years to find a high grade copy, and I've still got my eye out for a CGC 9.8. This CBCS 9.4 came up for auction on eBay a few weeks ago, and I won it. It's the first CBCS comic in my collection. This comic is important enough to me that I'll likely take it out of the slab and re-submit to CGC (CBCS holds no cachet with me, just how I feel). Thanks for reading.

 

 

Shadow%2012_zpspmj8y1di.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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