COMC and I Are Developing an Unhealthy Attachment With One Another

 The title says it all.  Here we go again:

Finally a Staub auto and a relic to boot.  I still hope to find an auto where he signs as "Le Grande Orange," but this will do. 

I was leafing through a Beckett the other day and Stub's was the only auto card with a little black down arrow next to the card value. What up with that?  Did he skin a baby alive or something?  How can that stupid little arrow (the only one on the page, mind you) be justified?  I smell a conspiracy.

I decided a few weeks ago to start building up my Vida collection.  He's an unsung Louisiana hero, and he has some really great cards as Night Owl well knows.  These were a bargain.

This was Vida's competition in Night Owl's Cardboard Appreciation Hall of Fame.  Had to snag one.

Both of Chuck's '91 Topps Desert Shield cards and quite possibly the reason we won the war.

Let's get serious:

There were many more Juniors in the package, but most of them I'm saving for future posts.  In the mean time, check out these shiny bits.

One sweet-looking parallel.

 

This card has eight relics on it.  Eight.  I still don't know how I'm going to store it, but it's pretty damn cool, right?  Plus it was only ten bucks.

There were two cards that weren't included with my order as they had to be shipped from COMC's warehouse in Canada (?), but this is the first time that has happened so I forgive them.  Am I the only one that's happened to?

COMC + Payday = This

There are a few cards I really wanted that I found on COMC, and you know how it is when you have a few cards picked out and you know you're paying the shipping whether you get 3 cards or 30 so you search and search and fill your cart, 50 cents here, a dollar there, and before you know it you're spending $38.00.  That's how they get you..... 

Anyway, here's a bunch of new cardboard:



Austin Nola was a superstar at LSU and a member of the 2009 National Championship team.  He has since been drafted by the Miami Marlins and is currently working his way through the minor leagues.  His little brother Aaron is currently LSU's #1 starting pitcher.

The Marlins played an exhibition game against the New Orleans Zephyrs a few weeks ago and let Austin came to bat twice.  While hitless in both at-bats, he inspired a lot of cheering when he took the plate.

Dock Ellis has one of my favorite stories in sports.  Most baseball fans already know it, but for those who don't here's a quick recap:

On June 12th, 1970, Dock travelled with his team to San Diego to play the Padres.  At 2:00pm he took a hit of LSD to pass the time on his day off.  The only problem was it was not his day off - he was pitching at 6:05pm.  So he went to the ballpark, and he pitched.....a no-hitter.  Score one for the hippies.

This is Dock's '71 card, so it mentions half the story (the half about the no-hitter).  This guy had a crazy career involving mace, hair curlers and lots of amphetamines.  I recommend you check it out.

Did somebody say "Griffeys?"



The Tribute and Spring Fever cards are 2013 additions I've been wanting for a while.  The other two are just reasonably-priced late-issue Griffeys.

The rest of my purchase is pictured below - it's all Griffeys.  I searched in two ways:

1. Griffey Sr and Jr - cards with both father and son for my upcoming Father's Day post.  Like in my popular Jay Buhner post, there are a lot of cards that feature them both.

2. Cheap Griffeys - I had COMC sort the cards by price and I worked my way from the bottom up looking for any Griffeys I didn't recognize.

The result was a pretty healthy stack of cards.  Here they all are with no commercial interruption:

COMC got me again.  I wish they had a PWE option - I would buy individual cards a lot more often.

Happy Thursday!

A Fistful of Griffeys: COMC Delivers

I got me a nice COMC package the other day - this one comprised entirely of Griffeys.  I find myself placing an order a week over there, and it's been great when buying a bunch of specific cards.  The shipping is quick and they tend to be beautifully packaged.  Here's the rundown:

Not only is this a totally baddass picture of the Kid, this is the O-Pee-Chee Canadian version avec la plupart des mots en francais.  Topps is kind of paradoxical in the sense that in a time when most brands were plentiful and not particularly great, Topps cards were consistently pretty solid.  "91, '92, and even '93 are examples of overproduction done right.

I'm a sucker of reprints of overproduction era cards.  Something about them is so indulgent and naughty.  Most of these were bought for future posts, except one:

My love affair with '95 Leaf continues - this card is just for me.  All I need now is the Leaf Gold Stars insert card and I'll have every Griffey from that set. 

Pacific is weird.  I keep saying that and meaning it - what a bizarre insert.  I really wish the string wasn't attached....  I worry about putting this in a binder.

That's everything!  COMC has grown to be an important part of this blog as I hate trying to write a post without the base card in my collection.  I did it once (2008 SPx) but only because that base card is impossible to track down.  Still, you can't beat buying in bulk on eBay where Griffeys average below 25 cents per card after shipping.  Gotta love it. 

And just for fun, I saw Yo La Tengo at Tipitina's last Wednesday and was able to nab the setlist.  Ira from the band signed it after the show:



Yo La Tengo - Tipitina's New Orleans 5/1/13 - 2nd Set

They did two sets that night, and this is from their second set.  If you were there, I was the guy who yelled "Moby Octopad" when they asked for a request, thereby bumming out everyone looking to hear a different song. 

Super fun night - go see them if you have a chance.

COMC vs. RSD: A Very Vinyl and Cardboard Weekend

It was a big collecting weekend.  At Record Store Day on Saturday I spent all the money I usually spend on music for the whole year in only a few hours.

In addition to that, I received a package from COMC containing a bunch of Griffeys I need for future posts as well as a few other fun cards that were priced right. 

So the collector in me has been torn between new cardboard and new vinyl all weekend long.  Which will win the day? 

Let's start with the new cardboard:

One of the best photos I've seen Ultra use for our guy, and who doesn't want to be on the Z-Team?

The Big Red Machine Topps card is a beast, am I right?

A lot of good ones here, too many to comment on. 

McGwire is trying to ruin my Griffey card....

I bought a bunch of these to give out as gifts.  We love Brees down here in NOLA, so this is a pretty universally desired card here even among non-collectors of cards.

A nice group of Griffeys with a Drew Brees center.  Heck of a weekend for cardboard.

Now for some new vinyl:

First, I landed both my big RSD wants:

Sigur Ros Agaetis Byrjun limited to 1000 copies.  These are already going on eBay for $150.00, so I'm relieved I landed mine.

Fela Kuti Sorrow, Tears and Blood. This has already ridden my turntable twice.


Here are a few more RSD releases I was able to pick up:

I finally found the Dave Brubeck Trio 10" which I noticed is the same size/design/packaging as the 2012 release:

I'm thinking when all is said and done, this will be a whole series released one RSD at a time.

Miles Davis Milestones.  Like some of my favorite Griffeys, this is individually numbered:

There are several other Miles Davis records I passed on, but I may end up going back and picking them up after all.

Deftones Live Volume 1: Selections from "Adrenaline"

Corn on Macabre - I bought this only because the cover artist, Daniel Danger, is one of my favorite artists out there. I have about a dozen of his prints on my walls, so buying the vinyl for a fraction of the cost of a poster makes sense.....

Rough Guide to Psychedelic Brazil.  I gave this one a spin as soon as I got home.  It was good, but I have no reason to keep it on vinyl - it will end up on the 'Bay.

I also found this Vitamin String Quartet Performs Sigur Ros record which sounds pretty good but which I also may not end up keeping.  Apparently this one is also a limited release.

Phish Junta.  This came out last year for RSD, but the store I went to had held one back and I was the lucky finder.  It is also individually numbered.

I like Phish OK, but I love this album more than anything else they've done.  It's probably the only Phish record I'll ever buy on vinyl.

I also picked up some non-RSD records including:

Beach House Bloom.  Probably my favorite record of 2012.

Dr. John Desitively Bonnaroo - I have three copies of the original release, but this one is a reissue.  I'd much rather put the wear and tear on the reissue.

I raided the used records as well:

 

Big Brother & the Holding Company feat. Janis Joplin Cheap Thrills.  This is the one with all the biggest hits, including my personal favorite "Summertime."  And check out the great Robert Crumb cover art!

 [I forgot to take a picture of.....]

Herbie Hancock Futureshock.  This has the famous "Rockit" and some other allegedly bizarre futuristic Jazz compositions I have yet to listen to.  I bought this as an oddity and because I love Herbie Hancock.

Portishead Third: Limited Edition.  This baby came with a lithograph, a beautifully-etched 12" single of Machine Gun, and a 1GB special edition flash drive containing Portishead videos and documentaries.  My wife and I are big Portishead fans and this is a $70 record for only $30, so I had to nab it.

The Who Sell Out.  It was a dollar and is featured in my Greatest Album Covers of all Time coffee table book.  I must admit I don't know what songs appear on this album, but the condition of the record itself is superb.

Wet Willie The Wetter the Better.  I bought this because it was 50 cents and I loved the cover art.  It's just so unapologetically raunchy - I had to have it in the collection.  We gave this record a listen as a goof, and believe it or not it was not bad.  Wasn't expecting that.

Weird Al Yankovic Self-titled.  I had this one as a kid on CD and used to listen to it all the time.  The record was in great shape and it was less than 5 bucks, so I pulled the trigger.  And I'm glad I did!  When I got it home, I noticed this:

Signed by the man himself.  It'll be worth thousands someday.....

The greatest thing I got was not a Record Store Day release, nor was it a limited or antique used record.  It was this bad boy:

The Fela Kuti Box Set Volume 2.  This thing contains six albums of Fela doing his thing.  I defy you to put some Fela on and not dance - the guy had a great band and a fantastic sense of rhythym.  One of my favorite artists of all time.

I picked up Volume 1 a few years ago.  We put it on for parties and while cleaning the house or cooking meals.  Now we have six more records to choose from!

The biggest Fela Kuti hit is "Water No Get No Enemy," so if you're looking to try Fela on for the first time, that's a good place to start.

In the battle of vinyl vs. cardboard, vinyl definitely won this round.  That's probably going to be the case for every Record Store Day weekend for as long as my wife lets me out of the house to spend money.

COMC and My LCS Win the Wallet Wars Over the Evil Repack Boxes

Last month was the first card show I skipped since I started paying attention to card shows again.  I thought my money better spent on COMC.  Here are the cards I picked up, all for around 30 bucks:





My first Ron Kittle autograph!  This was not the most expensive card I purchased, but it's very cool and has a neat signature.  Check out the stylized R and the oval that dots the i and crosses the t's all at once.

I consider this one of the most interesting cards ever made.  Embarassingly enough, I still wonder how they did it....  Was he holding a blue or green card and they added it later, or is it some early version of Photoshop?  Madding, I'm sure you know, but don't ruin it for me!  I'm enjoying my ignorance.

I've wanted an un-mustachioed Rollie for a long time, and that Hank Aaron is just a beautifully put-together card (1994 Topps had some gems).  Then you've got Steve Lake with his pet cockatoo, Ruffles.  Cockatoos tend to live a long time, up to 70 years, so I wonder if that guy is still alive today.  Plus I don't always collect basketball cards, but when I do, they have rainbows over the Golden Gate Bridge.  Yowza.

That Desert Shield Kittle card is the most expensive card I bought in this whole post.  I am still on the hunt for the Griffeys, but at least I've got that Kittle on lockdown.  The Bowman Kittle card is a Tiffany, and that Staley Bowman card is one of the more disturbing pieces of vintage I've ever seen.

AHHHHHHHH!!!

The rest is a bunch of silly names, pictures, etc.  You know the type.

Hee hee.

I also had to stop into my LCS for 5000-count box I'm using for a secret baseball card-related project that has taken up nearly all my blogging time.  While I was there I snagged a few neat cards just for me.

That Chipper rookie is one of the few I don't already have.  The big Unit '89 UD offcially completes that set for me - very exciting.  The '90 Leaf Frank Thomas RC is one of the great ones of my time, so for a buck I just couldn't pass it up.  The Yaz just kind of spoke to me, as did ol' Gern.  I've been trying to pick up that Yogi on ebay and COMC for cheap, but none doing.  It's one of the most iconic manager cards ever made.  And finally, yes, that is an Aaron Brooks autographed card.  He's kind of a joke in NOLA, so I guess I kind of bought it as a goof.

I feel better when my money goes to cards I already know I love and want to keep as opposed to packs and packs of cards that, while some are cool, just cost too much to gamble on.  That's why I'll keep going back to COMC.  You other bloggers make sure to keep posting new cards for me to drool over, especially if they have names like Stubby Clapp and Urban Shocker.

Did you notice that none of the above cards are Griffeys?  What is happening to me?  Am I becoming a collector again?