buy one get 9 free
Now the wait. So much drama! So much entertainment!
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interesting how each one has the same number of grades, almost like cgc was completely in on the scam
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Good episode for season 2, What If? CGC could no longer grade Marvel comics 
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Iām seeing a lot of posts using āfour staplesā as a shortcut to describing the frankensteined cover.
Just to be clear, I checked the Stray Dogs acetate version, and it also has four staples. So the comic having four staples doesnāt prove that the cover was added after production.
What would seem like a clear indication of a frankensteined book is that in this case the book has the same barcode as the main print run (the Stray Dogs acetate has a different barcode, so is a distinct variant).
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I think the big difference on the four staples issue is the internet of Image at the time was to produce the acetate cover and the printer or publisher did it, the Frankenstein books didnāt, but great point on the barcode.
Soā¦ technically we could all produce our own acetate covers, buy one of the discounted UF4 reprints, and make our own bootleg bootlegs. There are high quality images of the acetate covers out there. Wonder if CGC would notice the difference.
And yes, this has been great reading!
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I have to say I really do not care for the book, I do not, not jealous, not upset, didnāt go, didnāt care.
Flippers are influencers?
I need my money, I get that, you printed a book that didnāt sell out and now you found a way to sell the ones that people didnāt want. Good on you. But if there are consequences, then you have to accept that as a risk too.
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Itās all very gross; a little insight into the grubby end of the hobby.
āOver $100ā¦ If you want to buy one, buy one; if not, donāt buy it, itās okay, because these books are probably going to be $400 or $500, especially with all the hype around this bookā¦ā
In other words - youāre the fool if you donāt buy them - but only as an āinvestmentā, who cares about the art, or the content, or anything else.
Black Flag invested too much money in doing a variant print of a facsimile that nobody wanted. So they cooked up a way to make it more āexclusiveā by adding acetate. But didnāt believe in their own plan - so they didnāt set limits, and were glad to sell as many as possible to āinfluencersā to get them out the door; but then didnāt even try to hide the piles they were selling to them, or keep any back for the people who were queuing. And when they realised that the books were actually sellingā¦ panicked and jacked up the price. All of which is incredibly amateur management of their brand, and bad treatment of their core market, i.e. the people who would actually queue up for this without it being pumped to them by influencers.
CGC do need to give a public response though. A shady retailer will do what a shady retailer will do, and itās basically what weāve come to expect from them; but CGC need to protect their brand, and giving blue labels to frankensteined books isnāt ok.
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The Black Flag owner is a ā ā ā ā ā ā ā snake oil salesman. What a ā ā ā ā ā ā ā loser dumbass.
You know what he reminds me ofā¦?
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The more I think about it, the more it feels like the perfect storm, pulling in all the things people have recently had issues with: store variants, print runs, declining standards at CGC, shady retailers, āinvestmentā vs ācollectingā, WhatNot, price gouging, availability of con variants outside of con attendance, influencers, pump and dump, etc. etc.
Fascinating.
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Everybody loves and wants Blag Flag comics? I never even heard of them until this fiascoā¦ 
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Here is an interesting point, watch at the 6:55 mark on for about a minute
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All of these store variant/ spec websites are in bed with each other. Its why you see store variants on the Top 10 list every Friday. And when you call them out on it, they give some bs deflection answer.
And no, Black Flag did NOT set 750 aside last year to sell at a future date. THATS ABSURD. They are selling unsold copies, and what better way is to dress it up with a new bs cover, that they paid someone to staple on the book
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Is it true Clayton Crain who was scheduled to be at C2E2 did not make it to the show?
Also makes you wonder if he had any say to this acetate cover that covers up his art.
Guess we will never know 
That and the fact that the retailer admitted it themselves.
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