About KaptainMyke®

---

THE WEBSITE
For over 20 years, www.kaptainmyke.com has continued to evolve alongside the internet itself. What began as a Photoshop forum grew into a thriving online community with more than 2,000 members, over 17,000 uploaded images, and 10,000 active discussion topics. As social media platforms emerged and traditional forums faded, the website adapted to changing times.  The next evolution transformed KaptainMyke into an online t-shirt brand featuring hundreds of original designs inspired by movies, television, and pop culture. Long before it became common, KaptainMyke was creating apparel based on fictional brands and companies from films and television. Some of the earliest designs included Lao Che, Brady’s Pub, Jack Rabbit Slim’s, Big Kahuna Burger, The Old 96er, Callahan Auto Parts, Wally World, and many more.  Following the economic downturn and recession of 2008, the online apparel industry changed dramatically. Commission rates dropped sharply, print-on-demand marketplaces became heavily saturated, and large retailers began selling graphic t-shirts at extremely low prices. As competition intensified, many independent online shops struggled to survive.  Today, KaptainMyke has evolved once again — now focused on toys, collectibles, books, artwork, and original creative projects while continuing to celebrate pop culture, nostalgia, and independent creativity.

THE MAN
Michael Frederik Sorensen aka "KaptainMyke" is a writer and professional private research consultant with more than twenty years of experience. Research requests are handled on a case-by-case basis, with primary focus placed on collectibles research, authentication, market history, and industry knowledge.  A lifelong collector with more than 30 years of experience in comic books, toys, and pop culture memorabilia, KaptainMyke has built a reputation through deep industry knowledge and long-term involvement in the collectibles community. Since launching www.kaptainmyke.com in 2002, the website has continually evolved while remaining rooted in a passion for nostalgia, preservation, and collectible culture.

In addition to writing and research projects, KaptainMyke also offers items for sale through eBay from a large personal collection of unique collectibles, comic books, vintage toys, and rare action figures accumulated over decades of collecting.

THE BOOKS
In 2016, KaptainMyke published an online blog explaining how to professionally press comic books at home. At the time, it was one of the first publicly available guides of its kind anywhere in the world and quickly gained attention within the comic book collecting community.

Building on that foundation, Michael Frederik Sorensen published the first edition of Comic Book CPR in 2019 — a detailed field guide focused on comic book pressing, cleaning, defect reduction, and restoration awareness. The book became widely recognized within the hobby and remains available through Amazon and bookstores nationwide.  In 2021, Sorensen released a second supplemental guide titled Comic Book Stain Removal and Whitening, a 225-page advanced reference dedicated to stain reduction, paper treatment methods, and whitening techniques. That edition was later discontinued, rewritten, and substantially expanded into Comic Book SRW: Third Edition in 2025, featuring updated procedures, revised research, and additional modern techniques.  Comic Book CPR has been rewritten featuring updated procedures and additional modern techniques as well.  There is a First Edition for beginners, and a Second Edition for advanced comic book pressers looking to tackle advanced defects like Holofoil, Polybagged, and Cardstock Cover comic books.  Michael Frederik Sorensen has since published a number of fiction crime thrillers and horror novels that are widely available on Amazon and all major nationwide book retailers.

THE COLLECTION
The private collection behind KaptainMyke spans decades of collecting and preservation, including more than 800 professionally graded comic books, over 8,000 raw comic books, and more than 1,000 sealed and mint vintage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures and collectibles.

Michael Frederik Sorensen is also an authorized and licensed CGC dealer, bringing firsthand experience with comic book grading standards, defect detection, restoration awareness, pressing techniques, and long-term collectible preservation. The information and techniques shared throughout this website are built from decades of real-world experience working directly with collectible materials and preparing books for professional third-party grading.

Founded in 2000, Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) is widely recognized as the industry leader and most trusted third-party grading authority for comic books and collectibles. The goal of the guidance provided on this website is to help collectors maximize presentation, preservation, and grading potential to achieve the highest quality results possible.

"Feel free to contact me and ask any questions you might have. I will respond to most email messages within the day received."

"I love pop culture...and you should, too. "

-KaptainMyke