n2wdw's comic book room

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CGC Turn-Around Times

 

This year I started submitting a new invoice about once a month. The idea being, once I get over the initial processing time, I'll get a CGC shipment each month. With a few months of data I thought I'd report how this is going.

 

* Modern (13 comcs) - submitted 2/24/2015 - shipped 5/1/2015 (66 days)

 

* Value (15 comics) - submitted 3/25/2015 - shipped 7/23/2015 (120 days)

 

* Coupon (4 comics) - submitted 4/14/2015 - shipped 5/7/2015 (23 days)

 

* Magazine (4 mags) - submitted 4/21/2015 - shipped 6/18/2015 (58 days)

 

* Modern (11 comics) - submitted 4/21/2015 - shipped 7/28/2015 (98 days)

 

 

Frankly, I'm not sure if I see any pattern here, other than the turn-around time is getting longer (but this is probably due to the convention season).

 

Maybe I do see a couple patterns. First, smaller invoices seem to get processed faster than larger ones. Second, It seems to take longer to grade older comics than moderns. Both these make sense.

 

Anyway, I continue to submit an invoice about once a month. Even though I'm not getting them back on a regular monthly schedule, it's fun to check the status every now and then and see how they're doing. I also enjoy saving fast track fees, although on-site is still tempting.

My New Comic Book Room - Wall Books (DC gold and silver keys)

Continuing the tour of my new comic book room, here are pics of my wall of DC gold and silver keys. This shelf is about 8 feet long and about 4 inches deep. I'm thinking about changing it to about 6 inches deep to hold more CGC books.

 

This weekend I'm hoping to move my DC Direct and large Star Wars action figures to the new CBR. Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, that new room is quite awesome and I love the way you're displaying so much. It's like beautiful, organized chaos! I could see going into that room and not leaving for hours upon hours! (thumbs u

wow your comic room is great. I really enjoy reading your journal. It's one of my favorite things to read on this site.

Edited August 6, 2015 by raybowles

Wow, that new room is quite awesome and I love the way you're displaying so much. It's like beautiful, organized chaos! I could see going into that room and not leaving for hours upon hours! (thumbs u

 

Pretty much what I was thinking as well!

 

A couple of questions...

 

 

 

 

What are the stacked boxes above the books here?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And who did the Gwen Stacy portrait drawing in the middle? I like that a lot!

 

 

 

My New Comic Book Room - Action Figures

 

Tivo32 & raybowles: Thanks! It's always nice to see people actually reading what I write here.

 

Hey Hibou: The middle Gwen picture is by none other than the great George Perez. When he did it for me over 10 years ago, he said it was the first Gwen Stacy he'd ever done.

 

The stacked boxes are my action figures. Mostly these are DC Directs. Here's a better picture.

 

 

 

 

I had major stress about whether I would be able to fit all my superhero, Star Wars and Star Trek action figures in the new room (which is only about a third of the size of my existing room). I don't have a need to display them, I just want to keep them. Now, a few weeks after playing around with storage, I think I will be able to fit them all by stacking them whenever there's space. Like that shelf. Or on the floor behind my short boxes:

 

 

 

 

Here are my Star Trek and Star Wars large figures stacked on the top of the shelf (going up to the ceiling):

 

 

 

 

I also stack them on the floor in corners:

 

 

 

 

I've pruned some action figures from my collection, but for the most part I think I'll be able to store them all. Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

Wow, n2wdw, you live in a comic book shop! Great pictures, showcasing a lifetime of passion and collecting. This makes me want to create a comic room of my own, all my items are boxed and stacked in my finished basement. I'm afraid I'm somewhat of a vampire when it comes to my collection, I fret over light. Also, I used to collect P.O.T.F. Star Wars figures in the 90s, but I couldn't handle all the imperfections in the packaging, like haveing a pristine card, but then having a bubble with that was slightly imperfect. It drove me nuts so I let it go years ago.

 

I spy a Dracula magazine that is a bit out of focus. (thumbs u

VERY nice!

Spot some 'Top of the List' golden age books among all the other treasures. Really nice displays. Like Brandon said, it's like you live in your own comic shop. Enjoy seeing it! (thumbs u

Sagii - Yeah, my goal is for the room to feel like a comic store or con booth. My favorite stores/booths are the ones bursting from the seams, so you have to look through every nook and cranny or risk missing something. There used to be a store in Wheaton MD, Hole In the Wall Books. There's a new incarnation of that store, but the original one was so packed with comics and pop culture stuff I could spend hours. That store's one of the inspirations for my comic room. (By the way, I really enjoy reading your journal, you have an amazing collection.)

 

Brandon - Yeah, recently got Dracula Lives #5 back from CGC. I bought it from eBay earlier this year, and debated whether to send it in as I eyeballed it at only 9.4 or so. So I was shocked when it came back 9.8. Just goes to show I have no idea how to grade magazines.

 

 

 

 

Ah, Dracula Lives #5, great cover. It also contains a chapter from the Roy Thomas/ Giordano adaptation of original novel! I have the TPB of that collaboration, both in B&W and color, well worth it if you have not already read/picked it up. It's great you got on eBay raw and thought it was only a 9.4, congratulations.

My New Comic Book Room - Wall Books (Gold GGA)

 

Not sure how much of my stuff I'll be able to move to the new comic room this summer (as we stop going there after Labor Day, when school starts). I still have huge trash bags full of action figures I still need to move over, as well as over half my comics. I'm keeping many of the comics in my existing comic room for now, as I'm still obviously collecting. I'm just moving over the boxes that contain titles that are complete or mostly complete.

 

Here's more of my wall books, this time my golden age good girl art books. It's amazing how these books go back to the 40s and 50s. Modern books are probably more explicit, but these 60+ year old comics are more racy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My New Comic Book Room - Wall Books (Gold GGA)

 

Not sure how much of my stuff I'll be able to move to the new comic room this summer (as we stop going there after Labor Day, when school starts). I still have huge trash bags full of action figures I still need to move over, as well as over half my comics. I'm keeping many of the comics in my existing comic room for now, as I'm still obviously collecting. I'm just moving over the boxes that contain titles that are complete or mostly complete.

 

Here's more of my wall books, this time my golden age good girl art books. It's amazing how these books go back to the 40s and 50s. Modern books are probably more explicit, but these 60+ year old comics are more racy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OUTSTANDING! A Who's who of classics covers, titles, genres and artists! I posted a copy of Babe #2 in the golden forum yesterday, also one of the best GGA covers ever. Will have to do a' ree'l in my journal of some eventually now Thanks for posting!

My New Comic Book Room - Statues

 

Our family beach house is about 4 hours from our primary home. I spend weekends at the beach with my family, so I drive down late Thursday or early Friday and go to work at oh-dark-hundred Monday morning. So I work at the beach on Fridays (and I actually get more work done being out of the office).

 

So from Monday through Thursday morning, my routine is to decide what stuff from my collection to move to the beach house. By far, the most stressful stuff to move are my statues because they're so fragile.

 

My new comic room has a small loft (that is above the shed where I keep stuff like the lawn mower and lawn tools -- I'm into gardening because I think it's cool to see things grow). Here's the steps up to the loft (note the big Gwen Stacy poster):

 

 

 

 

I display my statue collection mostly in the loft because they're kind of out of the way (so safer -- as you might imagine, I have alot of young nieces and nephews who like hanging in the room -- they call it the "action figure" room). Here are some pictures of the statues I've managed to move over so far. Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Sagii - Thanks for posting. I love that Babe #2, it's now on my want list.

Hey Sagii - Thanks for posting. I love that Babe #2, it's now on my want list.

No prob, glad i influence you in a new item of interest. My MLJ collecting focus is the golden age heroes (with very few Archies). But your Betty and Veronica 40 has that one now on MY want list. Cool statue presentation too sir!

More On The New Comic Room

 

As the summer winds down I'm really happy with what I was able to accomplish with the new comic room. I was able to move almost my entire collection except for about 40% of my comics that I'm keeping in my existing comic room for now (we live in that house during most of the year except for the summer, that is until I retire). I'm still working on sets in those boxes, and I might try to pull from them for future CGC submissions.

 

Here are a few pictures of the new comic room. Here's a desk I rigged up, with 9 long boxes stored underneath. I got the swivel chair on Amazon. I use the desk when I'm working from home. (On the desk is a Harry Potter butter beer cup from Universal. Great for coffee.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is a picture of the shelves right next to the desk. Hanging are some of my favorite art, cells from Kiki's Delivery Service and Power Pull Girls both picked up at past SDCCs (I have 3 daughters so that one's special to me), autographed Star Trek photos, and a pen and ink of Gwen Stacy by one of my favorite artists, Tim Sale (still one of my best eBay wins ever).

 

 

 

 

Space is a premium so I've hung shelves everywhere. Here I've hung a shelf above the original art so I can display some CGC books. Large size Star Wars action figures serve as a back stop.

 

 

 

 

This summer's been a slow one for me in terms of new purchases, as I've been too busy trying to move my stuff over to the new room. Probably a good thing seeing as how the market is cratering (ugh). But with the Baltimore con on the horizon I have to start getting serious about putting my want list together.

 

Funny thing, last year I was incredibly excited about on-site grading at Baltimore. But now that I'm sending in a new CGC submission about every month, I don't feel the need for the immediate gratification of on-site; I'd rather save the $7 per book for Modern. I guess we'll see. Probably it's more likely I'll take advantage of on-site for stuff I pick up at the con (assuming there are any on-site spaces yet, which is certainly no guarantee given how fast it filled up last year).

 

Thanks for reading.

 

End of Summer Thoughts

 

As summer ends I've been thinking about what's next on my comic collecting horizon. I'm moving a few last things to my new comic room. Our beach cottage (where we plan to retire and which has my new comic room) is about 4 hours from our primary home (where my existing comic room is). Outside the summer and a few holidays, we're not able to visit often due to work and kids. My wife has asked me if I'll miss seeing my stuff. I tell her no, which is the truth. I'm just relieved I've been able to fit almost all of my stuff into the new room, which is less than half as big as my current comic room.

 

I've had to really maximize storage spaces. Here's some thin shelving I made to fit into a space about 4 inches wide, where I store my Overstreet Price Guide collection (there's enough space if I'm ever able to complete the collection).

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing I wanted to do was make sure I could fit both my spinner racks in the new room. I bought these about 14 years ago from a mail order company. They sold brand new comic spinner racks (for about $150 each I think). I think that company's gone out of business so spinner racks are somewhat hard to find now. Here are my 2 in the new comic room (the Gwen Stacy action figure is signed by John Romita).

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the last couple months I've gotten 2 CGC invoices back. I'll post a few comics in the near future. I have 2 invoices still at CGC. Both Modern normal track. One is graded, the other is received (but not yet verified). I'm working on a new Value submission, but at the moment I only have 3 comics (you need a minimum of 15).

 

On the collecting horizon, there's Baltimore con. I haven't bought any comics the entire summer as I've been too occupied with moving my collection to the new room (reminder to self, I have to make sure my comics insurance policy transfers over to the new room). So I don't have any major expectations for Baltimore. I doubt I'll go as crazy as last year. Maybe go through dollar boxes and fill some holes, get a few comics to try to submit on-site, pick up a few SA and GA comics for my next Value submission. Maybe just enjoy being immersed in comic fandom for a couple of days (as I haven't been to a comic convention since last year in Baltimore). My 16 year old daughter, who is really into cosplay and everything Japanese, will be coming with me for at least 1 day.

 

Anyway, getting kind of melancholy with the end of summer. At least we have football season to look forward to.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

[...]

 

I display my statue collection mostly in the loft because they're kind of out of the way (so safer -- as you might imagine, I have alot of young nieces and nephews who like hanging in the room -- they call it the "action figure" room).

 

[...]

 

 

I think I know that feeling, a profound sense of anxiety when young kids are running around your statues and other collectibles Still my 3-year-old son has not yet damaged anything, but I do not trust him to be alone with my statues and books

 

You also have an amazing collection, congrats! Maybe I should show your photos to my wife so that she can see, I'm not the only person to own a few comic book collectibles (and related nice stuff)

Just caught up on your posts... you have a museum and I love it!

 

Your statue collection is very impressive.

Living And Not Just Browsing the Comic Room

 

Here's a better picture of the Gwen figure signed by John Romita. I think I got John's signature a few years back at a MegaCon.

 

 

 

 

Something I've never liked about my existing comic room is it didn't have any place to sit. It had a small alcove with a desk that I used as my home office, but that area wasn't really part of the comic room. So I never really spent time in the room except when I was organizing stuff or just browsing around.

 

So in designing the new comic room, I wanted to have places to sit so the comic room was more of a place I could hang out, rather than just browse from time to time. Despite the smaller space, I managed to include 3 seating areas.

 

Here's the first, which I use as my home office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Across from this desk is a flat screen TV connected to a Roku. I'm having fun re-watching the West Wing series (I've realized there are some episodes I never saw).

 

 

 

 

The second seating area is in the "loft" part of the room, which is about 4 feet up from the rest of the room (this loft is build on top of our ground-level shed). This green chair is surrounded by my statue collection (I posted pictures in an earlier post). Because I'm obsessed, I bought a small flat screen TV at Best Buy and connected an Apple TV. My wife thinks I'm crazy with 2 TVs, a Roku and an Apple TV in such a small room, but my kids completely understand why I NEED ALL THIS STUFF.

 

 

 

 

The 3rd seating area is off the loft. It's a little room with bean bag chairs (so we call it the bean bag room). Our house is small and not alot of places to get away when you want privacy. My kids use the room when they want to get away from all the ruckus of the family and our guests, when they want a quiet place to read, or someplace to make a phone call or facetime to their friends. So it's really great because now my kids use the comic room, so it's more a part of our family. Here's a picture:

 

 

 

 

Here's the view from the bean bag room:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading.