For This Is the Day... That a Superman Died
Action Comics 683 Second Printing
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COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Action Comics 683 Modern
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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2095335003
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Owner:
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Iconic1s
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
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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