Lean is back, and he joins Neville and Ben as they drop a double episode (cause we got carried away)

An episode so big, we even changed our intro for it!!

Our brand new episode, stars a special guest and Guinness World Record holder Gareth Pahliney.

Gareth’s been a member of Grail Hunters Australia for just over 3 years, and earlier this year, following in depth scrutiny by the Guinness officials, Gareth was crowned with the world record, beating Deadpool fanatics worldwide to the title... Even Rob Liefeld himself! Ben and Neville talk to him about the origins of his collection, where and how it all started! They discuss the staggering cost, and value associated with such a large collection, his favourite collectibles, the logistics of collecting from all over the world and then we also touch on what else he collects. Believe it or not, he would likely qualify for more world records if he cares to apply for the title.

Neville proposed a cage match with Australia’s biggest Deadpool collector Blake Morgan, but after looking at the girth of what Gareth calls his arms, we thought it would bebest to not follow through with this.

Despite Ben and Neville’s best efforts, Gareth was incorruptible, and proved to be an all-round nice guy. Not only did he team up with a comic shop to open the doors to the general public, he’s also collecting funds for his favourite charities! For more information on the #deadpoolcave, head to www.gazcomiccave.com, it’s the world’s largest Deadpool collection and hosted tours can be arranged with Gareth himself! All door proceeds go to DogsTrust, and Esker House for Domestic Abuse Support Services.

Gareth also launched his own Youtube Channel called Gaz’s Comic Cave where he features his own collection and all other things pop culture: https://www.youtube.com/@gaz_comiccave

We promised big things for this episode and Royd delivered!!

In this episode, we are joined by Grail Hunters Australia member, comic and original art collector, Royd Burgoyne! For close to 15 years Royd's worked with Supanova Comic-Con & Gaming to recruit and host international comic artists during Australian events. The list of talent he's worked with is longer than Neville's.... we'll. It's very long. 

Royd starts by reflecting on his first purchases back in the 80's, and how, when he got hooked on original comic art (not to mention his loving partner playing part in his first purchase! It was literally the dark ages, pre internet and Royd talks about how he found the artists, formed relationships across the pond, and how those relationships became not only the foundation of what he does at Supanova but also his personal collection.

Ben and Neville get lost in the 'what-if's of original art collecting, before Royd shows off and talks through some of his favourite pieces and stories behind them (eg. John Byrne Shanna, Ashley Wood pieces etc.) and then  generously offers advice on sourcing and collecting original art, published pages and commissions.

We then discuss tips about displaying and storing artwork before jumping into assessing value of art pieces both personal and market value and discuss how personalising art impacts value 

To be honest, we could have gone for hours, and we'd love to have Royd back for a part two where we can field members questions! As always, sit back, crack a beer and enjoy the show.

In this Episode, Neville and Ben is joined by Lean Fouche!

We recap on our episode featuring James Anthony Joseph and what we learned (and still need to learn) on retro gaming and its collectability and tease next weeks guest! Won’t spoil it here, but it will be someone talking very high end comic related collectibles.

We then jump straight into movie talk! Movies, reception, the movie going market and appetite for Superhero movies? We start with Ant-man, what we think about the movie and the contrasting reviews by critics vs. the audience going to actually watch the movie. This flows into our next debate, have we seen the end of the MCU “hype”, are audiences cooling to Superhero movies in general, or do Marvel need to contract and focus on what’s made them successful in the past 10 years and then speculate what it could look like years from now.

Our conversation turns to online scores, market place finds! Neville reflects on his score which resulted in a road trip for comics, vinyl and other goodies, and Ben falling on hard times with no loot to show on 2023.

Ben discloses that he had a windfall on a Channel 9 gameshow a few years back, and we play a game of “What If” with Ben; had he purchased an Amazing Fantasy 15 with his winnings…what would his investment have looked like!

Lean shows off his books which came back from CGC Toddfather signing as we discuss CGC’s approved turn-around times and tricks around getting already signed comics graded. We explore the collectability of modern comics and toys and the likelihood of getting investment returns on modern toys and discuss whether it’s worth keeping stuff new-in-box

Supanova’s a couple of weeks away, and we preview some of the international stars who will be making an appearance at and what we’ll likely get signed at the event.

In this episode, Ben and Neville is joined by Melbourne's very own James Anthony Joseph to talk all things collecting! 

With James, it runs in the family! He started collecting at the tender age of three, following in his dad's footsteps, and now has 30 years experience in collecting. Aside of comics he also plays in markets for trading cards (including Pokemon and Magic) and retro games and gaming consoles.

We start with a retrospective look at James' journey as a collector of all things pop culture, and James shows off some of his favourite games and good scores he's had over the years. We discuss tips on what to look out for when buying games in the wild so you don't loose your pants.

We then deep dive into the emerging collectors market for games, and how it compares to 10 years ago, and then explore game grading and the opportunities that will bring to collectors and what it will likely mean for values in the future!

As always, crack a beer, put your feet up, and enjoy the episode with us. 

We're back for Season 5! Your host line-up have changed ever so slightly, but familiar voices will greet you as we reflect on our last purchases of 2022.

Mike's doing hard time in a Mexican prison (yes, please spread the rumour) so in Season 5 we'll be joined by Lean Fouche who will bring a fresh perspective on collecting comics 101 and ask the 'new to collecting' questions.

Nev and Lean got sucked into a large purchase. A comic? A Slab? How about a truck full of comics! Buying a collection sight unseen 2,500 kilometers away comes with a set of challenges not even Liam Neeson would be prepared for. Ben shares his impulse buy which resulted in a fun roundtrip and what could likely be the start of his new obsession (no, he'll never admit it)

We discuss the Todd McFarlane CGC signature event, and Lean shares his 12 month journey into collecting. (aka...sucked in!)

Crack a beer, and enjoy the episode.

What a rollercoaster month it's been!

First #acetategate with Black Flag Comics producing bootleg comics, then CGC Comics "standing their ground" on giving said Bootlegs a blue label and grading them up to 10.0 (but then....reversing said position ever so slowly like a MACK truck on a downhill) and now we have CBCS Comics exposed for shoddy practices.

Join Neville, Ben and Mike for a great episode as they take on CGC, CBCS and also discuss Neville's latest score (comic score that is)

They start with the next Chapter of #Acetategate and the third 'official' announcement from CGC on their adjusted position on the bootleg books. How will they be graded moving forward, and how would it impact public perception. Did they finally come to their senses, or is is it a saving face exercise? 

Our team then steamrolls into the news that CBCS comics lost close to 400 books submitted for slabbing, all submitted via a captain of industry Clan McDonald Comics! How do CBCS loose 400 books? Easy break all your own rules by shipping them to graders homes during Covid with no tracking and logistics oversight!! (Well, we wish this was a joke, but it's not)

Dive into what this means for CBCS, their reputation, and how it would impact the common collector, not to mention The Clan McDonalds Comics themselves!

The conversation takes a turn when focus shifts to Neville's latest score, discussing the short box he bought, and great keys he landed in the process. The hate flowed freely from Mike on this one.

They round it off with verdicts! Where does this put CGC, CBCS now, and five years into the future, and will we see a changing landscape of Grading Authorities as collectors shy away from submitting books and continue to question the integrity of said Authorities.

It's an action packed episode, deserving of a couple of beers, so get ready for a wild ride!

In this episode Neville and Ben are joined by fellow Grail Hunters member Lean Fouche for part two of "Comic Collecting 101" - class is in session!

Lean is "new" to comic collecting, and comes at it from both angles, investing as well as reading. After binging close to 50 episodes of our podcast in a few weeks, Lean highlighted that in many cases we discuss many comic topics with the assumption that listeners have a sound understanding and knowledge of collecting. As result we thought it  would be great to invite Lean on to a couple of episodes to discuss "Collecting 101", and explore the basics of how/where/what/when to collect!

Before we kick into the questions, Ben and Lean get side tracked as we discuss nostalgia with comics and toys and how that inevitably leads us to paying... or overpaying for relics from our childhood! Star Wars, Biker Mice, MOTU and then Ben gets all emotional as he recounts him playing with Kenner Indiana Jones bootlegs.

We then jump into question time! We discuss the comic barcode cheat-codes, and how to determine which series/run a comic is from.

The Question "Where do I start?" is surprisingly difficult to answer and lead us down a rabbit hole of debates and nostalgia. That considered, don't expect a quick Q&A as we have many distractions along the way. We deviate to jump on points for Star Wars (reading and investment) and how Movies, and TV fed the popularity of the comics. 

We follow that by exploring the cadence of comic publication, resetting series with a number 1 issues and the thinking behind why larger publishers are so quick to reset their titles.

As always, the episode is filled with distractions and laughs from 80's toys franchises to breast feeding we got it covered!!

Grab a beer and enjoy the episode

In this episode Neville and Ben are joined by fellow Grail Hunters member Lean Fouche. 

Lean is "new" to comic collecting, and comes at it from both angles, investing as well as reading. After binging close to 50 episodes of our podcast in a few weeks, Lean highlighted that in many cases we discuss many comic topics with the assumption that listeners have a sound understanding and knowledge of collecting. As result we thought it  would be great to invite Lean on to a couple of episodes to discuss "Collecting 101", and explore the basics of how/where/what/when to collect!

The Question "Where do I start?" is surprisingly difficult to answer and lead us down a rabbit hole of debates and nostalgia. That considered, don't expect a quick Q&A as we have many distractions along the way. We deviate to jump on points for Star Wars (reading and investment) and how Movies, and TV fed the popularity of the comics. 

We follow that by exploring the cadence of comic publication, resetting series with a number 1 issues and the thinking behind why larger publishers are so quick to reset their titles.

As always, the episode is filled with distractions and laughs from 80's toys franchises to breast feeding we got it covered!!

Grab a beer and enjoy the episode

In this episode Neville, Ben and Mike deconstruct the shitstorm that was Black Flag Comics' C2E2 event!

We discuss Black Flag Comics selling Ultimate Fallout 4 Facsimile Reprints with bootleg Acetate Covers with Four Staples at $100 a pop. Allowing "Influencers" to skip queues and bulk buy so they can flip it on their WhatNot channels for triple the price all while collectors and true fans (aka Blag Flag customers) are left out in the cold!

We chat about the "influencer" apologists crying foul and supporting their mates, and the likelyhood of Black Flag receiving a quiet letter from Marvel lawyers and also what endorsing these books means for the integrity of CGC as a grader.

All OBVIOUSLY speculation, we don't know what the hell is going on. We don't have the facts right? But we do know where true collectors are leaning toward.

You're going to need more than one beer, or at least a two for one cocktail for this episode, so strap yourself in!