lou_fine

For a minute there, I thought this was the Church copy of Boy Comics #17! Now, that was a real doozie of a unforgettable thread and the only other one that was probably directed related to Boy Comics. Maybe we don't want to go there as this one seems to be a lot more fun and comic book related. (thumbs u

If tape was used to improve the grade, is it really unrestored? I thought it depended totally on the type of tape which was being used. If it is just regular adhesive tape which is seriously damaging when used on comic books, then it is considered to be unrestored and given a blue label. If it is archival tape which contains no harmful plasticizers, is totally reversible, and does absolutely no damage to the underlying comic books themselves, then it is considered to be restoration and given the PLOD.

All-Select #1 is a monster eater! +1 You've got my vote for All-Select 1! (thumbs u

I thought he was anti-CGC? according to his listing he is: "I have NEVER "SLABBED" a book. I find it unnecessary to burden the buyer with the added cost of paying for an INCONSISTENT, UNDEFINED, and more importantly ---- an UNACCOUNTABLE "slabbing" service of DUBIOUS value ---- by a BIASED 3rd party." That's only a small part of the rant BTW. Slabbing would spot the restoration too so that's probably the main reason he doesn't like it. According to his listings, he doesn't regard 'archival tear seals' as restoration. These are merely 'conservation' according to his book descriptions. One could say that his eBay listings could be misleading to an unseasoned buyer when it comes to resto. He'll certainly acknowledge any repairs to books, but he just might not use the term 'restoration'. Does it really matter what he regards as restoration? It is what it is. But at least he acknowledges that the book has been altered - the same can't be said for some sellers. A rose by any other name He's acknowledging the resto but then also saying that no, its not really of any significance as to be identified as such, and in fact he has done the book a favor by 'conserving' it. Nonsense really. The fact that the guy resents CGC so much is because he is an old school Luddite dealer who would prefer to pass off any book without too much investigation of its makeup. Rest assured if there was no CGC, then there would be none of this 'conservation' rubbish in his listing descriptions. I don't have too big of an issue with this whole restoration / conservation demarcation. From my point of view, restoration is just a more generic term that is used to describe an entire family of activities. Conservation is simply a more defined term which is used to describe a smaller segment of these activities within the larger overall restoration family. Actually, it is a more detailed and accurate designation, assuming that he has placed the activity in the correct category. BTW: CGC was planning to also implement the conservation / restoration designations when they were thinking about getting rid of the PLOD and going to a uni-colour labelling system several years ago. Maybe Richie is just ahead of his time.

Well, I see that you are starting at the top and working your way down. Congrats on a nice copy of a real key book. (thumbs u

many times (thumbs u took this from heritage archives Edgar Church copy!!! Has demand for this once HTF book cooled off a bit over the years? This Church copy sold for $57.5K back in 2003 when top of guide was only at $6,400. It looks like all copies in all grades sold for multiples to condiction guide back at that time. Even restored copies were able to fetch a premium to guide. Appears to be no longer the cas as with the Metropolis copies, it looks like this book can now be picked up for a slight discount to guide. It looks like guide has finally caught up to this book. Or more correctly, it looks like the market value has actually dropped on this book over the past decade while the guide has continue to move up.

Yes, I am quite sure that there are more than 10-20 copies in existence. The problem is that they are all sitting in private collections as this book rarely shows up in the marketplace. If you look at the Heritage archives, the only unrestored copies they have sold were way back in 2002 and 2003.

I am sure that others could probably come up with earlier appearances, but for the above, I would say: 1) Funnies on Parade from 1933 for the comic book; 2) Shenna in Jumbo #1 from 1938 for the first female lead; and 3) Western Picture Stories #1 or Star Ranger #1 from February of 1937 for the first Western book. Any ideas as to the first hero book as opposed to first super-hero book? Would it be Dr. Occult in New Fun #6 from 1935?

Well..............what I have is 10 short mag boxes. You would love some of the Superman's in the collection. Lot's and lot's of Gold, and you wouldn't believe the Silver. Did he just loan them to you for the fun of it? He had some problems back home and wanted me safe keep them for awhile. I'm very jealous of them. He truly has some beautiful books. Beautiful set of books as others have already stated! (thumbs u Hopefully your friend resolves his problems and they are not marital related because he could run into some serious issues there. It's simply amazing how your better half can often admonish you on your worthless wipe your azz collection when you are married, but all of a sudden claim it's worth a gold mine upon a separation.

Not sure there was a Windex for Star Comics, but I'd sure like to see one! I don't believe there was a Windex for the Star run. I am quite sure that there was a Windex for the Amazing-Man and AMF runs. So, it would be greatly appreciated if somebody could repost it here. (thumbs u Was there ever a Windex done up for the FPS or Star Ranger comics?

Thanks for posting this as it's always nice to see copies of these HTF books! (thumbs u BTW: Your copy looks very sharp and clean for a 6.0 grade. Any reason why it would be graded so low by the boys at CGC?

Well, it certainly couldn't have been any of the board members here as OS would have selected A-Man #26 or KDF #10 if that was the case. Actually, I've always heard complaints from his advisors that anything OS was told would more than likely go in one ear and straight out the other as Overstreet always tended to do his own thing when it came to the price guide. As for the cover for FPS #7, it doesn't do anything for me as I don't see anything special or at all classic about it. Just your standard Centaur funny cover.

Mitch; If your are referring to just the Centaurs, it would most definitely be the Star Ranger book. Did you end up winning one of the Billy Wright Centaurs in the end?

With respect to the FPS #7, I certainly would not call it a victim of hype, more likely a victim of an error by Overstreet in selecting this particular issue and designating it as a rare book over and above all of the other rare early Centaurs. I have heard lots of talk about rarity with respect to some of the last few issues of A-Man, the first 2 issues of KDF, most of the Star and Star Ranger books, and select issues of Funny Pages near the end of the run. Have never heard anything at all with respect to FPS #7, so I would certainly say that it is not due to any type of hype. Looking at the Heritage archives, there are tons of sales for the supposedly HTF Funny Pages and also on most of the early A-Man books (especially the A-Man #5). Not many sales for Star & FPS in general, and specifically, no recorded sales at all for either Star Comics #3 or for FPS #7. So I assume that most of the copies which you saw available for sale must have either been private sales or at conventions.

You're correct, it's not. Totally! I would probably have to say the same thing about the Funny Page V4 #1. Any idea as to the other 2 Centaurs which Overstreet has designated as "rare", namely the Star Comics #3 and the Funny Picture Stories #7?

With the recent Billy Wright books attracting a lot of attention to the early Centaurs and how some of them never shows up in the marketplace, I was wondering if there is a consensus on the rarest Centaur books out there? I know that Win (CentaurMan) had his Windex scarcity list of Centaur books out there a few years ago. That was an excellent run of posts that we had there for awhile, but my search skills on these boards are almost at zero. It would also be good to see if this scarcity index should be adjusted with some of the books that have made their way into the marketplace in the interim. As a result, a link to this previous thread would be greatly appreciated. (thumbs u I know that Overstreet has designated some of the Centaurs as rare in the price guide, but from his listing, they would appear more a case of rarity relative to demand since virtually all of them are from the later Centaur super-hero time period. These would include the more in-demand books such as A-Man #5 (this book can't truly be rare) and Funny Pages V4 #1 which both should be a lot easier to find than the much earlier Star Comics #3 which OS has also designated as rare. Of interest is the Funny Picture Stories #7 which Overstreet has now designated as rare just a couple of years ago and has now broken it out accordingly in terms of price. Any reason why OS would select this particular issue from out of the blue when the much more widely acknowledged ones such as the A-Man #26, early KDF's, and Star/Star Ranger Comics seems to be talked about much more here on the boards? Would any of the board members here like to share their opinions as to the rarest Centaur books out there? Hopefully, we'll hear from some of the long-term prominent Centaur collectors such as Win, Ryan, Jon Berk, etc. on this topic.

+1 Most definitely!

No, that was such a long time ago. I just chalk that up as part of the learning process which I hopefully won't repeat the next time. Hmmmmm. You bought the comics that looked better to you. What then did you learn? Was it something about yourself? In terms of learning something for the future, I was referring to recognizing the signature "G codes" as San Francisco copies and not passing on them the next time a seller has them for sale at a non-pedigree price. Especially since I have yet to acquire a Tom Reilly book for my collection to this date. Looking back if I knew what I know now, I would have grabbed all 3 books without a moment's hesitation.

Congrats on a gorgeous pickup! (thumbs u Certainly looks very presentable for what I assume is a CGC 5.0 graded book.

I would say so. +1 Most definitely!!! (thumbs u I would love to get one of these one day.

I initially thought that this pedigree book was supposed to be a 4-person effort and not just you and Steve. I thought West and Mark Haspel were also involved in it or were their involvement limited to only the less important CGC angle of the book?

Matt; There's a very simple solution to your dilemma here! Turn down all future pressing submissions until the book is done and you will find that the book will be done in no time flat. Seriously though, it's good to hear that the book will eventually be done although I get the feeling that you are going to find out that the upcoming January to March time period may also just as well be July.

I fully agree as they simply have much more highly profitable pressing business concerns for the forseeable future.

I believe you've hit the nail on the head with your closing comments. This is a labour of love and as a result, has simply fallen between the cracks of his business and family responsibilities which have much higher priority for now.

I'm sure he is busy but this book is years overdue. Shouldn't promise what you can't or won't deliver. Especially when they was collecting advance payments from collectors for this book several years ago.