lou_fine

No apologies necessary at all and absolutely love these squarebound BA beauties plus it's a Jon Berk copy to boot.

Interesting to note that it woud seem that all of the Church copies of the Suspense run have come into the marketplace already, with some on multiple occasions, with the sole exceptions being Suspense 4 and Suspense 8. Even back in the day when collectors talked about the rarity of the highly sought after classic cover Suspense 3, many including yours truly said that Suspense 4 was actually the toughest of the entire run to track down. Does any boardie here knows about the highest graded CGC 9.0 copy since it looks like it was graded not too long ago back in November of 2021. Almost makes me wonder if it just might be the "missing" Church copy although I believe that copy would most likely be locked up in some lucky collector's personal collection with the key thrown away? As for Suspense 8, clearly a lot more copies of this classic Cole spider cover, but none in true high grade except for the CGC 9.2 graded Promise copy. Rather surprising that the next highest graded copy is only a CGC 7.5 with 3 of them in this grade and the last being graded back in June of 2015. My bet is that if the Church copy ever surfaces and gets slabbed in the same grade as the Promise copy of possibly even higher, it just might have a good shot at hitting 6-figures. Especially since the Promise copy sold for what I thought was a relatively reasonable $60K for the highest graded copy by a long shot of a classic Cole cover. Either way, it would definitely be one that's worth watching if it ever does come about.

That was what I also thought and the main reason why I was rather surprised when they decided to add in the Cookville, Eldon, and Harold Curtis as offical CGC pedigrees when they were introducing and promoting their new CGC pedigree label back in 2019. You would probably need to send out an dvanced search party with next gen high tech binoculars to scour through these 3 so-called "pedigree" collections to find a book that would grade into the 9's. I imagine the key criteria used to justify ped status here was ease of identification along with the rather large size of these 3 collections which probably left visions of reholders and possibly even squeezable and huggable resubs dancing through their heads.

Now, that's a great pickup and Harley does have the odd little hidden treasures that he seems to be able to dig up for us every now and then. I remember being able to pick up a few of the odd Centaurs from Harley back in the day before they became so highly sought after.

As others have said here, no problem for Jon to share his much loved books with others, because isn't that what the fun of collecting is really all about:

Haven't been on the boards for a few days now, but this is definitely sad news to hear and a terrible loss to our comic book hobby place. Sincere condolences to his family and may he rest in peace in that big comic shop in the sky.

And if the pedigree in question were some of ther later ones like Cookville, Eldon, or Harold Curtis seemingly done only to promote their new pedigree label being introduced at the same time, definitely a big NO.

Looks like you joined the boards here in 2008. Being a longer term collector then, I highly doubt that you would be buying during the crazy Covid and gov't money giveaway time period and more likely selling during this pandemic driven crypto-like time periods for collectibles. Then again, with CCS/CGC then being absolutely buried with what might otherwise be worthless books in submissions, your books might have dropped in value by the time your got them back from CGC.

Based on Warner Brothers' recent abysmal track record, I think being in the DCU is a kiss of death these days. Well, not only the DCU now as this abysmal track record seems to be spreading to the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, if not all super-hero movies in general as their day in the sun appears to be finally be setting. If that turns out to be the case, definitely not a good time for all of the speculators who have bet the farm on the more recent and readily available in HG movie hype related books, although I am not sure if this will spread to the GA books since they seem to not have the same runup in prices when it comes to movie and TV related hype.

Well, if it's indeed all about the movies, does this mean that we should all be jumping onto the Police Comics 1 train before it leaves the station: https://blog.gocollect.com/is-plastic-man-next-on-james-gunns-superman-legacy-casting-list/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-plastic-man-next-on-james-gunns-superman-legacy-casting-list&utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Latest+GoCollect+Posts+-+Comic+Collectors++Corner&utm_campaign=Blog+RSS%3A+Comic+Collectors++Corner+(4%2F24%2F23)+NEW+(Copy) After the latest wave of Superman: Legacy casting announcements, there is growing speculation that Plastic Man is coming to the DCU. Only weeks ago, James Gunn broke the news that he had found his Superman and Lois. Shortly thereafter, he revealed three surprising additions to his cast: Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Mister Terrific. If that weren’t enough to motivate collectors and investors, Gunn added that Metamorpho will join Superman: Legacy. That has fueled theories that The Terrifics are forming, a team that featured Plastic Man and Phantom Girl. With superhero cinema getting more comedic and absurd, fans have been certain that Patrick “Eel” O’Brien would be perfect for his own comedy franchise. As the comic book community awaits what seems like an inevitable casting, it puts an added emphasis on owning these key issues. POLICE COMICS #1 Another DC character with roots deep in the Golden Age, Eel O’Brien debuted way back in 1941. The former thief gained his powers when he was shot during a heist and was doused in a mystery chemical. When the substance reached his bloodstream, it gave his body an elastic quality, and the legend was born. It’s not often that copies of Police Comics #1 are sold online in any grade. When one goes up for auction, it’s an attention grabber. Last October, a 4.0 sold for $18,000. Then again, even without the associated movie hype if in fact there even is any, I've always considered Police Comics 1 to be rather under-appreciated and hence undervalued in the marketplace. I will admit though that interest and the subsequent price point on this key book has stepped up quite a bit during the past couple of years, as evident by their example of a 4.0 graded copy selling for $18K last October when even the new guide this year has its condition guide value set at only $3,200.

I f you are referring to the Church copy, better than the winner who had paid $19,200 for it a year earlier in 2003 and sold it to you at a loss then: https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/superhero/green-hornet-comics-1-mile-high-pedigree-harvey-1940-cgc-nm-92-off-white-pages-we-have-a-projection-based-on-early-re/a/807-6139.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 Then again, since we were talking about Boy Commandos 1 in another thread, you really kind of gotta feel for the initial winner of the CGC 9.4 Church copy who had paid some $34.5K for it back in 2002 to see it resell for only $21,850 a few years later in 2005, but still double the $10,157.50 that it sold for when reholdered in a new slab in 2010 from the Gary Keller Collection.

Are you saying you are an old dog who can't learn any new tricks:

Never say never as we'll all be running down to the nearest loonie store to look for the sharpest pair of scissors we can buy when the CCG ownership group has pressed and squeezed all of the potential out of poor overworked Matt and introduced Jason as the new President of CGC with his new next generation state of the art "cutting edge" of grading for all potential resubmittors.

It's a virtual certainty that a comic of that valuation has already 'reached its full grade potential'. Being a longer term collector from well before the existence of CGC had even entered anybody's mind, it's rather ironic how sentiment in the marketplace has changed. I remember the so-called bad old days of the Wild Wild West when collectors would live in adject fear of restoring their books lest it destory the value of their books. And now with the safety and security of CCS/CGC with us, we now live in adject fear of NOT having our books "restored" prior to grading lest we not maximize the full potential and value of our books.

What's with the large white smudge marks on the back cover photo here? Looks like somebody placed something on top of the CGC holder and definitely not appealing for a $192K book.

Well, I guess double the fun here as we not only get to see the current marketplace value for CGC 9.8 graded copies of TMNT 1 and if they can hold onto their pandemic prices of a quarter million dollars, but also another chance to see CL squaring off against CC to see who comes out on top this time. With CL having a much stronger CA customer base relative to their GA customer base, this time the battle should be a lot closer than back in March where CL was able to fetch only $201K for their CGC 7.0 copy of Cap 1 whereas CC managed to fetched just over $300K for their CGC 7.0 copy of Cap 1 a short two weeks after the CL auction. Either way, will definitely be a couple of auctions to watch out for with respect to these two copies of TMNT 1 here.

Yep, especially since it was graded as a NM+ copy back in '87 and the large 4" spine split at the bottom would certainly have been caught by Payette during grading. Reminds me of a fellow boardie who sadly no longer posts here anymore, but had told me that he split the spine of his HG Mystery Men 1 when inserting it back into the mylar holder.

I guess you would be referring to this CGC 7.0 graded Allentown copy of Bulletman 1 then: https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/superhero/bulletman-1-allentown-pedigree-fawcett-publications-1941-cgc-fn-vf-70-cream-to-off-white-pages/a/7163-92063.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515# Grader Notes light spine stress lines small crease left top of back cover split top of spine The spine split is much more noticeable from the back cover, but have you considered the possibilty that this damage might not have been there on the book when Payette graded it as a VF+ back in '87 and was incurred in the intervening 30 years before CGC certified it as a CGC 7.0 graded copy in 2017?

Is this possibly the reason why most of the Fox Allentown Wonderworld and Mystery Men books were certified higher by CGC when compared to Payette's original raw grades?

You should be and now go and try findinf a copy of KDF 10 to keep it company.

Well, not only Payette then, as CGC also certifed it as a CGC 8.5 graded copy on its first go round.

Interesting and a bit surprised to see that the Allentown copies of Wonderworld 13 was graded as as CGC 9.6 copy while Wonderworld 14 was originally graded as only a CGC 8.0 copy. Especially since both of them were graded as NM raw copies by Payette who has a reputation as a strict grader. I remember going down to a Seattle con in the late 90's and Harley had both of these books in his "special box" behind his table. I remember looking at both of them for the longest time trying to figure out which was the nicer copy to pick up. It took me forever to decide since both of them looked equally nice, but the cover on WW 13 was slightly better condition wise, while the interior pages on the WW 14 was slightly better condition wise. I finally decided on the Wonderworld 13 because I figure the cover was more important than the interior pages and 13 was obviously an earlier issue than 14. I really should have taken Harley's advice and had simply taken both of them back home with me (even though I had no money on me as per my usual ) because he told me that if I didn't take them, they would be going to Fishler when he heads back East the next week. Sure enough, Fishler had the Wonderworld 14 listed for sale a couple weeks later at almost double what Harley was asking for the book. Clearly I did not understood or fully appreciate the true rarity and value of the Allentown pedigree books at that time. As for the Allentown copy of Wonderworld 14, if I remember correctly, I believe it is now encased in a slab that's much closer to the original WW 13 CGC 9.6 grade than to the original WW 14 CGC 8.0 grade.

Big congrats to you on your pick up here and even though the Boy Commandos title have clearly lost favor with the collectong base over the years, you certainly can't go wrong whenever you pick up an Allentown pedigree copy of a book. A bit surprised to see that the condirtion grade actually dropped on this book since it must have been a failed attempt at an upgrade since it was originally graded as a CGC 8.5 graded copy when it was first certified. Do I see an opportunity here, especially since it was also originally graded as a VF+ raw copy by Payette?

Well, looks like not quite bald yet, unless this is an old photo: Sean Linkenback is an attorney and author known for writing the Unauthorized Guide to Godzilla Collectibles, the first comprehensive guide on the subject in the English language. Before that he was an adviser to Warren's Movie Poster Price Guide, the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, as well as being an adviser on the first Sotheby's comic book auction, and a frequent writer about comics including the feature "CBM Presents Sleepers" in Comic Book Marketplace. Currently he works as an attorney in Atlanta, Georgia as well as being an infrequent columnist for the magazine Movie Collector's World. In 2014, Linkenback released The Art of Japanese Monsters, a comprehensive guide to worldwide movie poster artwork from Japanese science fiction and horror (kaiju) films of the past 60 years. It especially focused on the Godzilla and Gamera series of films produced by Toho Films and Daiei Film respectively. This book is available as both a regular hardbound edition and a limited leatherbound edition of 100 copies that was signed by Godzilla series star Akira Takarada and suit actor Haruo Nakajima.[1]

Well, it's been quite awhile since we've seen a CGC 9.8 graded copy of TMNT 1 up for auction, but I guess now here's your chance: https://www.comicconnect.com/item/1003292 Guess we finally get a chance to see what the "post crypto-like crazed" marketplace is for these CGC 9.8 graded copies of TMNT 1 now that we've also got an adittional 4 more copies graded at this CGC condition level for what is now a whopping 35 copies in this so-called CGC highest grade. My guess is that it will come in well short of the the trio that sold at CC for around a quarter of a million dollars back in the last 4 months of 2021.