Slot: |
First Printing - Signed by Bob McLeod |
Item Description: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 17 Signature |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
It's pretty cool how Superman is almost being overtaken with these creatures! It's also pretty cool that this Custom Set allows me to display these books in reading order, the way I always wanted to! Oh no!! DOOMSDAY IS COMING!
This is the very first of the four Doomsday cameos to hit shelves with the words Doomsday is Coming on the front. In my opinion, this book alone proves that newsstand editions are NOT superior collectibles. Seriously, would you rather have Doomsday is Coming on the front of a book like this, or a bar code?! For me, the answer is pretty clear!
I had a Universal 9.8 of this book in my collection from the earliest days of my collecting CGC graded books. At the time, I was focused primarily on the Doomsday portion of this set. I had bought that one on eBay and it was in this set when I started it, through reaching 100 percent completion. When my set was 100 percent complete and I only needed a few more 9.8’s I decided to replace some books with Signature Series if the right book presented itself. The copy you see here is one of those books that joined my set at that time.
You don't see many signed by Bob McLeod so I am very happy to have it! I reholdered this book in December 2020.
In April 2021 I added the book in the second picture slot to my collection. It had originally been listed on eBay for $350.00, then dropped to $250.00, before I got it for $160.00 after a couple of offers. According to the seller, Bob McLeod commented that this was the first time he had sketched Doomsday. Well, I think he did an awesome job... when I first spotted this book I knew it belonged in this gallery next to this other book he had signed. I am really happy to have a Signature Series of his in this set, as well as to be able to show this cool Doomsday sketched book next to it (and perhaps the first/only one of his at that)!
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Slot: |
First Printing |
Item Description: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 17 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
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 Superman Blank comic with a Doomsday head sketch by Bob McLeod that is shown with that book.
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Slot: |
Second Printing |
Item Description: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 17 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
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: |
First Printing |
Item Description: |
Superman 73 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
“When you are courting... an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.” Albert Einstein
This is one of the earliest books I had already graded 9.8 when I started this set. I wish I could remember exactly when I got it but perhaps that information is at the Vanishing Point inside my memory. I reholdered this book in December 2020.
I really like the way the image vanishes into the background on this cover. I think Waverider is a very cool character and I like the way he ended up tying into this entire storyline during Superman Doomsday Hunter Prey. It must be tough to monitor the time stream only to keep it intact while not interfering with it. We know that even he couldn't sit it out when it came time to help Superman stop the monster Doomsday for good though. In my opinion they should have left Doomsday at the end of time, rather than have Brainiac pull him out. It was just so cool to think of Doomsday at the end of time. That just made sense whereas everything they did after that just diluted his significance... on that note, I have no idea who or why they later also added those stupid looking goat horns to Doomsday... that is probably the dumbest thing I have ever seen! Why mess with Ultimate perfection! But I digress!
Speaking of digressing... if you look through this entire set and still question my commitment to these books then check out the second picture slot. I thought it would be cool to also have reader copies displayed and easily accessible so I got a spinner rack and did just that. There is a raw copy of every issue on the rack (but not every printing) plus a couple others, like the Wizard: Superman Tribute Edition (which I also have 9.8's of both the Regular and Authentic Edition). These are unbagged and mostly extras I picked up that weren’t submission candidates (don’t worry, the window behind the rack has the light completely blocked with a solid panel behind the blinds!). It’s fun to grab one once in awhile to read, or flip through. I made the sign toppers myself.
I bought the spinner from Spinner Rack at:
https://spinnerrack.com/
I am very happy with the rack as well as their customer service. They also sell one that holds CGC graded books!
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Slot: |
Second Printing - My Submission |
Item Description: |
Superman 73 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
This book is from my own submission and was one of only two 9.8's in the census when graded.
(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 love this book and searched really hard for a nice raw copy to submit. I submitted it with my first big submission of 20 books and was really happy when I got the grades and learned that this one earned a 9.8! I got this book for $6.79 raw on eBay but it was one of a few I had bought separately until I felt that this one was in good enough shape to maybe come back 9.8 after CCS pressing.
I have one more of the Doomsday cameo second printings to get in this set (AC 683) and I had two of them submitted when I got this one back... keep an eye on the AC 683 second printing slot for updates... hopefully there will be a 9.8 with white pages there if you look.
Update #1 - Of the two AC 683 second printings I submitted, one came back 9.6 and has been added to the set. I've since got my hands on three more raw copies which I'll send in with my next submission.
Update #2 - All three of the AC 683's second printings came back 9.8! Details are in that slot... wow!
Note - a third Superman 73 second printing 9.8 joined the census in April 2020 and was listed on My Comic Shop in May 2020 for $499.99. It was gone in less than 24 hours! That makes me very happy that I had success with my $6.79 raw copy shown here!
The item in the second image slot is a window cling from 1994 when Superman Doomsday Hunter Prey came out. I decided to put it with this book because Waverider played a pretty important part in that sequel. I have had this for years but had lost track of it through the course of several moves, things in storage, etc. I finally was able to locate it when going through boxes for about the fifth time... I was really happy to find it! It's not a super rare item or an expensive one but this one means a lot because it's been with me for a long time. It's made to cling inside the window so the image is reversed... I flipped this picture in photos so it would read correctly in the gallery.
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Slot: |
First Printing |
Item Description: |
Adventures of Superman 496 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
"Not Kltpzyxm! Mxyzptlk!! Now the first thing I'm gonna do... Oh, nuts!" Mr. Mxyztptlk
This cover is obviously one of the goofier of the four Doomsday cameo books. Mr. Mxyztptlk was never one of my favorite characters in the pages of the comics but I really enjoyed how he was done in Superman: The Animated Series in the '90's. I really love all of the episodes from that series!
This is one of the earliest books I had when I registered my books. I reholdered this book in December 2020.
I added an image of all four of the first printings of the Doomsday cameos in the second picture slot. I think it's interesting to see what was going on in each of the Superman titles when this storyline kicked off. I consider the four Doomsday cameos a set within this set and I enjoy showing them all together like this. I've since upgraded Superman: The Man of Steel 17 to a Signature Series 9.8 copy but wanted to leave this picture as they were when first brought together. I did this in all cases where I upgraded or reholdered a 9.8 and there was a group picture already included in my set. This helps me remember how much work it has been to not only first assemble, but then maybe even upgrade a book; not to mention the stress of sending a rare book away for reholder.
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Slot: |
Second Printing - Signed by Jerry Ordway |
Item Description: |
Adventures of Superman 496 Signature |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
This is a pretty cool second printing and wasn't that hard to find. I won the Universal copy of this book that helped me get my set to 100 percent completion on eBay for $100.00, and later upgraded this slot to this Signature Series book signed by Jerry Ordway. I reholdered this book in December 2020.
The thing I really like about the various printings in this set is how the title colors were changed, as well as the roman numerals being added. The different colors make each printing's cover feel totally unique from one another.
It always brightens my day to pull out some of the various printings and look at them side by side!
I have included a picture of all four Doomsday cameo second printings graded 9.8 in the second picture slot as they were when first assembled including my Universal copy. The same image of the first printings is included in the first printing slot of this same book. In the gallery tab, these are located on the same page so you can expand them both and look at all of the first and second printings of the Doomsday cameos all at once, which I think is pretty cool!
This was the *first collection in the World that contained all four second printings of the Doomsday cameos all graded 9.8! It took a lot of work but was also a lot of fun putting them together! I hope anyone looking through this set enjoys the way I have photographed certain books to show them together in meaningful ways. I think it adds to the presentation of this set, but it also allows me to look through the set and reminisce without having to handle my books all the time.
*My friend Brandon Shepherd became the second member of the 'All Four Doomsday Cameo Second Printings in 9.8 Club' in December 2020... congrats Brandon!
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Slot: |
Second Printing |
Item Description: |
Adventures of Superman 496 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
This book was $100.00 on eBay and stayed in my main set until it reached 100 percent completion. My Signature Series 9.8 is signed by Jerry Ordway.
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Slot: |
First Printing |
Item Description: |
Action Comics 683 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
Of all the Doomsday cameos I enjoy this cover the most. The realism is amazing and the moon is haunting in the background! I really enjoyed all four cameos of Doomsday punching his way out of containment. There have been a couple of these on eBay asking over $3K... I don't understand what is driving that asking price (or if anyone will ever pay it) but it makes me glad I got mine long ago. I reholdered this book in December 2020.
On 25 May 2020 an eBay auction of this book ended with a final price of $210.37 with 48 bids (9 bidders), another 9.8 ended on 1 June 2020 for BIN $249.99 so I guess these two sales answer the three thousand dollar question posed above.
The second image is of a piece of original art I picked up in a ComicLink auction. I originally chose to put it with this book because it was first in the gallery in the competitive Registry set and I wanted this original piece of art to also come first when viewing that set. At this point I have so many things with other books that this is as good a place as any for it! If I am correct, this piece pre-dates even these Doomsday cameos.
The top half of the image is the page, and the lower half is a blowup of the stamp that is on the back of the artwork. Aside from the image being super-cool, the stamp on the back says Special Projects Dept and has the date 3/22. I can only assume this may be 3/22/1992 but I am not 100 percent certain. The project name is Style Guide/Doomsday Model Sheet so I am (again) assuming by the date and the facts concerning the way it is referred to that this was done to ensure all artists drew Doomsday consistently throughout all of the titles, and must have been done before the story hit shelves. Janice Walker is currently Senior Art Director at DC and I am pretty sure the initials MC are for Mike Carlin. If you are reading this and know anything else about dating this piece I'd love to hear from you.
Here's the info from the ComicLink listing:
DOOMSDAY STYLE GUIDE
Section: For Sale / Original Comic Art / Miscellaneous / DAN JURGENS
Primary Artist Name: DAN JURGENS
Secondary Artist Name: BRETT BREEDING
Dimensions: This art is executed on standard 11" x 17" art board and has an image area of approximately 11" x 9"
Item description: Illustrated by the Famous Superman Killer's Creator
ComicLink Comments:
Doomsday was created by Superman artist/writer Dan Jurgens in 1992 and first appeared in Superman: Man of Steel #18. He's the creature that famously killed Superman in the best-selling "Death of Superman" saga that culminated in Superman #75. When DC decided to kill Superman, long time fans realized it would not stick, but the general public was completely sucked in by the story and sales jumped to over a million copies. It was the first time in years that many people bought a comic book and it touched off a whole new era of collecting. The aftermath of the "Death of Superman" was huge, with sales on subsequent issues going through the roof. Doomsday became an important part of the Superman mythos following this huge event, and the character has returned several times over the years. He even kills Superman in the high profile 2016 movie, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
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Slot: |
Second Printing - My Submission - First 9.8 Copy |
Item Description: |
Action Comics 683 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
This is one-third of the first copies of this book to ever achieve 9.8, all three were graded on 7 April 2020 and were from my own submission!
Of the three, I added this one to this set because its certification number is lowest... if these books were identical triplets this one entered the world first!
This book was the last of the four Doomsday cameo second printings that I needed graded 9.8 and was a grail of mine for quite some time. I always looked at the four cameo books as their own small set within this set and their second printings are an even cooler set within the set within the set. I already owned Adventures of Superman 496 and Superman: Man of Steel 17 second printings in 9.8 and had no problem finding them already graded. The other two were a different story though; there was only one Superman 73 and zero Action Comics 683 second printings in 9.8 so I knew I'd be doing some hunting if I wanted them. Relatively early in my efforts, I was really happy to get a Superman 73 second printing back 9.8 from one of my own submissions (I only paid $6.79 for that one raw!).
I had previously submitted two copies of this book (I paid $99.95 and $20.00 for those) but the best I got back was a 9.6, which previously occupied this slot. I had considered resubmitting it but was afraid it may not upgrade, or worse, come back lower. I instead decided to hang onto it while looking for other raw candidates. The 9.6 was still the highest graded at the time so it wasn't the worst book in the world!
Almost immediately after getting the 9.6 back I found the three that are now 9.8’s in three separate listings from the same seller on eBay. The seller sold comics but I would not consider them a comic book dealer because they dealt in many other things as well. It was just very fortunate that I found these listings because these copies were each in lots of 8-10 books and were not listed as anything special among them. I only found them because I was so disappointed in my book coming back 9.6 that I was feverishly (yes, feverishly) going through listings looking for other copies. In fact, in the listing pics all I could see was the very clean spine of the book sticking out from under another book... when I spotted the roman numeral I quickly bought the first lot for $30.00 and then checked the seller’s other listings. They had two other lots that also each contained a copy of this second printing, so I bought them as well. I communicated with the seller and they checked their stock for a few other books I needed but I had no luck there. I also explained what I had planned for the books and they assured me they would be packed well, and they were. When they arrived the AC 683 second printings were the gems of the bunch! It looked like whoever owned them put them straight in bags and boards when new.
I was confident two of the three were 9.8’s but the third would be close. I sent all three through CCS and am obviously ecstatic that all three came back 9.8. It's kind of crazy if you think about it... in one day the census went from zero to three 9.8's of a book over 27 years old when graded. I'm glad I found them and not someone just interested in making a buck.
This book proves that persistence can pay off and that there are still some really good books out there waiting to be found after almost 30 years… you just have to want to find them bad enough.
I included a picture of all three of the 9.8’s in the second picture. Check out the sequential certification numbers… pretty cool!
When I got the three raw books looking as good as they did, I promised a friend of mine, Brandon Shepherd, a 9.8 if I got more than one because I knew that he also really enjoyed this book... it was his set that first inspired me to work so hard on my pictures and description for my set so I felt it was the least I could do. I've since sent that book off but will be keeping the other two.
I have included a picture of all four of the second printings of the Doomsday cameos in the Adventures of Superman 496 second printing picture slot… check it out!
Note - in early 2023 there were a total of five 9.8 copies of this book in the census. The first sale I know of occurred on 3 May 2023 via eBay. The book was listed auction style with an opening bid of $800.00. It did not sell during the first seven day auction but was re-listed identically and sold for $800.00 with one bid just a few hours before auction end.
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Slot: |
Man of Steel 18 Promotional - My Submission |
Item Description: |
Direct Currents 57 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
This is only the second 9.8 to enter the census and the fourth graded total. I bought a small lot of three of these and submitted this copy myself! I really wanted to have the Direct Currents for both Man of Steel 18 and Superman 75 in 9.8 and I was able to make it happen… I was so happy when I got the grade for this book as well as the Eleventh Printing of the TPB… both earned 9.8 and the TPB was the first copy ever graded! It was a very nice little two book submission! I really love the art on this book!
I originally had this book as well as the DC Direct Currents 58 displayed at the end of the storyline, but they seemed to get a little lost there. I then decided it would be cooler to put each right before the issue they previewed... I like them better here!
I seriously cannot understand why there aren't more copies of this book, and especially the Superman 75 edition graded! Crazy!
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Slot: |
One of ONLY five 9.9's with over 4500 graded |
Item Description: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.9 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
From the 'NO ONE CAN KILL SUPERMAN!' collection.
This is the first 9.9 that joined this set!
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.
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.
In early 2022 I added a triple cover 9.8 copy of this book to my collection… I call that book The Beast and you can check it out in my Custom Set of these books.
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Slot: |
Triple Cover - The Beast |
Item Description: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
I call this book The Beast… with three covers it’s bound to be BULLETPROOF!
This was the first book I bought from Collectors Comics and it couldn’t have went any better. I originally found it listed on eBay and then purchased it the same evening from their website. When I first spotted this book I was stunned… I don’t usually go out of my way to pursue books like double covers, errors, and things like that, BUT… a TRIPLE COVER CGC 9.8 copy of the first full appearance of Doomsday!! Even though I already had a 9.9 copy of this book, I couldn’t pass up what is very likely the ONLY triple cover CGC 9.8 copy, if not the only triple cover copy, period! The grade date on this book is 3 March 2022 and it blows my mind to think about how long this book was kept before being graded nearly 30 years after it’s original release… WOW!!
I’m so happy to have two very unique copies of this book; a 9.9, and this triple cover 9.8… better known as The Beast!
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Slot: |
First Generation Slab |
Item Description: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Modern |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
I know you are supposed to buy the book and not the slab but when this book popped up for sale in January 2023 I thought it would be a cool addition to my collection. It was graded 29 December 2000, which is CGC’s first year of operation, and it is still in it’s first generation slab. I would bet it is one of the earliest copies ever graded and may be one of a very small number that can still be displayed this way.
To top it all off, this slab is PERFECT leading me to believe it may have only seen one other owner…
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Slot: |
Second Printing - Signed by Dan Jurgens |
Item Description: |
Superman: The Man of Steel 18 Signature |
Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
Research: |
View Comic |
Owner Comments
I enjoy the color choices that were made on the various printings of this book. I won my original copy of this book, a Universal 9.8, on eBay BIN for $72.24, not too bad. Much later I added this Signature Series copy signed by Dan Jurgens.
I had originally been looking for this printing for awhile and finally found the first copy 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. It was nice to upgrade this slot a little bit with this current Signature Series copy...
...adding this Signature Series book was quite an ordeal! I first noticed it auction style on eBay for $249.00 I think for 30 days. At the time I was super disillusioned with the hobby because of a few things going on with DC Comics, WB Movies, Instagram Trolls, and QC issues with some of my submissions. This book would’ve provided just a small bump to my set; that, the price, and my blaise attitude at the time allowed me to let it slip my mind. Plus, I didn't really need another book signed by Dan Jurgens. It ended without selling and was re-listed for five days... I was sort of getting back into it but didn't feel like dealing with an auction so asked the Seller to just let me BIN for $250.00 to get it over with... he wanted to let the auction play out and wished me luck so I blew it off once again. A couple weeks later I saw it listed again auction style for $249.00 for five days... this time I decided I'd wait it out and snipe it, if it worked out, great, if not then whatever... this is where it gets interesting! The night of auction end came and there were still no bids... with three minutes left I suddenly seriously had to take a crap... it was a force of nature... I rushed to take care of business and probably set a world record for fastest defecation... I washed my hands because I'm not disgusting and got back to my couch where my wi-fi/cellular is the strongest. My hands still slightly damp, I decided to snipe this bad boy with around three seconds left... I typed in my bid and waited to confirm it, when I hit confirm my phone would not respond, I think maybe because of my damp finger!!! The auction ended with zero bids! Arrrggghhh!!! I immediately messaged the Seller and explained the phone malfunction (not my massive and expedient dump) and again offered to do this for $250.00... probably pretty sick of me by then I didn't hear anything back from the Seller. About a week later he re-listed it for $240.00... this time I made sure to go to the bathroom well before auctions end and low and behold here it is! I was the only bidder! A nice little addition to this set and my overall collection of these books!
Having all five printings of this book in 9.8 felt like hitting a major milestone in the original 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 also signed by Dan... with these two books 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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