lou_fine

Thanks Win! You are right, except for the #1 and the #3, they are really very reasonably priced. I now have 33 of the first 50!!! I can see the horizon. Nowhere close to having the first 50, but at least I do have Harry Wildenberg's file copies of Famous Funnies #1 to #5. Too bad they are all low grade and trimmed to fit into that stupid book format.

Bill; For me, this one would be a simple choice. Definitely the classic Marvel Mystery #9 even with the extensive restoration. The major reason for this is that there seems to be a awful lot of New Comics #1 that have shown up in the marketplace over the years. Now if it was a New Fun #1, than that would be a completely different story.

Although a bit cartoonish, I have always loved the colours on this book.

Yes, it seems that a lot of the early pre-hero DC and early Centaur books had a lot of really spectacular double centerfold page spreads in them.

Bill; Great little story and that's a nice looking Mystery Men #1 you got in the Fotress. Which was the better copy and do you remember whatever happened to your two copies of Mystery Men #1?

CM; With respect to the three issues of Comic Pages, are they all equally tough to find or is the first one much tougher to find relative to the other two issues? Thanks and keep on throwing the stats to us! I haven't run the numbers yet, but based on my own searching, I'd say the 1st and 3rd issues are clearly the toughest. The middle one is a little tougher than standard Centaur tough, but doable. I'll be curious to see if the numbers bear that out. Thanks Win; I am interested in this small run since I believe that I may have a copy of the third and final issue. I should probably go back into my closet and see if I can find it. I certainly recognize the cover and believe that I may have picked it up from Harley back in the late 80's or early 90's. Personally, the cover for the third issue is nowhere near to being as nice as the cover to the first issue. In addition, it can't be that tough if I possibly have a copy in my collection. Anybody want to trade here if I can find my copy of the third issue.

CM; With respect to the three issues of Comic Pages, are they all equally tough to find or is the first one much tougher to find relative to the other two issues? Thanks and keep on throwing the stats to us!

CM; Definitely agree with both Bill and Adam that this is an extremely unique cover in terms of the colours. Where does this book sit on your "Windex" scarcity rating and how does it compare with the other two Comic Pages? Does your scarcity ratings indicate that this Funny Picture Stories run is scarcer than the Funny Pages run since it is basically an all-humour run without any super heroes which certainly has a dampening effect on the demand side of the equation? I guess there's no chance that you are planning to sell your copy is there?

CM; Now that you have provided us with the Windex ratings for the Funny Pages run, would you also have a Windex rating for the Funny Picture Stories run. This run is far far less popular than the Funny Pages run as it has no super heroes and should probably scored quite high in accordance to your theory. Hopefully, the demand is not low enough to put it right off your chart similar to the bulk of the Millie run.

Now that's a really key issue of Funny Pages to own! Extremely tough to find these books all the way from back in 1938. Any idea as to what the true market value would be on this particular issue? Not sure if this book is fairly valued or slightly undervalued in guide since it is a very early first appearance that is listed for less than $5K in top guide. Maybe it's the humour cover that 's keepig prices down on this particular issue? Thanks; That's a critical Centaur, v2#10, with the first appearance of The Arrow hidden in those pages. I liken it to Feature Comics #27, first Doll Man, which also has a nondescript funny cover, also has very few sales data points, and also sells for many multiples of guide when it comes available. Here's my Funny Pages "Windex" ranking for scarcity (higher is tougher): v2#8:....16 v2#9:....18 v2#10:..25 v2#11:..16 CM; Now, that's a really interesting number on the Vol 2 #10. Being such a key issue and in high demand, you would normally expect this book to have a lower relative scarcity number in comparison to the surrounding issues as it should be showing up in the marketplace more often. To me, this could mean the following: 1) This issue IS truly scarcer than its surrounding issues; or 2) This issue is NOT any scarcer than its surrounding issues, but is being retained by collectors in their collections due to its high desireability; or 3) This issue is NOT any scarcer than its surrounding issues, but is being retained by collectors in their collections due to its perceived low price in the marketplace; or 4) Any combination of the first three factors. Anybody else have any thoughts on this book?

Now that's a really key issue of Funny Pages to own! Extremely tough to find these books all the way from back in 1938. Any idea as to what the true market value would be on this particular issue? Not sure if this book is fairly valued or slightly undervalued in guide since it is a very early first appearance that is listed for less than $5K in top guide. Maybe it's the humour cover that 's keepig prices down on this particular issue? Thanks;

CM; That's an outstanding book to have and extremely tough. Would this be the highest scoring issue from the Funny Pages run according to your "Windex" scarcity rating charts? I can certainly see how additional copies of low-demand issues would have a significant impact on the index. I wouldn't necessarily say, however, that this particular issue is not in demand as these later issues all have the Arrow appearances in them. Now I can certainly understand humour issues prior to Volume 2 #10 being in low demand. BTW: What was the original rating on the All-American #7 before it effectively got downgraded?

Bill; First time that I have seen an interior page of a Cosmic Aeroplane book. Would ALL books from this pedigree exhibit these markings or would some of them not have them similar to how not all Church books have the MH coding? Not all. I can't remember the book but I do remember the disappointment of not finding any interior panels checked on one CA copy. Adam; Is it possible then that this particular book may have been designated as a Cosmic Aeroplane in error and did not actually come from the collection? Not meaning to diparage any book that you may have, but simply asking more from a pedigree verification point of view.

Bill; First time that I have seen an interior page of a Cosmic Aeroplane book. Would ALL books from this pedigree exhibit these markings or would some of them not have them similar to how not all Church books have the MH coding?

AA 61 is still pretty affordable considering how cool the cover is and the first app of Solomon Grundy. Now, pre-Robin Tecs are crazy. I think that train has left the station for me. Norinn; Not sure if I would call AA #61 affordable. Definitely affordable if you are thinking in terms of OS guide prices only. The only problem here is that whenever a copy does show up in the marketplace, it tends to go for a substantial premium over guide. I still remember a mid-grade copy in one of the major auctions selling for around or possibly above top guide price several years ago. Also don't seem to see this issue showing up in the marketplace that often. I guess the classic cover image must make this a keeper in everybody's collection once they get their hands on one, as the rest of the run is generally void of any classic covers.

I have to agree (and was just going to post the same thing). Very, very tough book in grade - and difficult to find at all unrestored - but oh man that price range just makes me cringe. I'm perfectly happy with the A-Man 6 (which does retell our hero's origin...) STEVE Besides the substantially lower price point for A-Man #6, I also feel the cover image for issue #6 is superior to the cover image for A-Man #5. Now, is your copy of A-Man #6 up for sale anytime soon?

That was mine. I'm not sure where it is now. It sure was a beauty! West West; I think Joe Smejkal at one time owned all of the Sandman Adventure covers (except for issue #40). I believed this was back in the 90's, so I am not sure if this was after you had owned issue #42 or before you had owned issue #42.

The ad said $14,600, which already was approx 7X Guide at the time. I doubt even JP would've been asking 18X Guide. Tim; One of the only times that I have found you to be incorrect on something factual on the boards here. I remembered for sure that the book was for somewhere in the $40K+ range. Managed to find my catlogue from JP and the Adventure #42 was the cover book for the catalogue with an asking price of $49,500. You must have been looking at another book by accident. The ad in the OS guide #31 also lists the same price. Since guide price was $7,000 in that year's edition, it looks like he was asking just a little over 7X guide. Of course since the guide was only in the $5K+ range when he made the ad, I guess he was really trying to ask for a little over 9X guide. BTW: I also noticed that he was asking $12,000 for your now Church copy of Ibis #1 when it was guiding for only $1,700 at the time, or also a shade over 7X guide. Looks like you got yourself a pretty deal in comparison since your price was in the $8K+ range for a book guiding at $3K, or a little under 3X guide. .

Now, if I remember correctly, I should have the Larson copy of this book somewhere in my collection. On the other hand, If I also remember correctly, there was some very minor amount of restoration on the book.

What's the first Christmas cover of all time? Is it Famous Funnies #5 or something like that? How tough is it to obtain this book and is there much of a demand for it as interest in these early newspaper reprint books seem to have really dropped right off the planet? BTW: Merry Christmas to everybody on the boards here and many more purchases throughout the new year!

Already knew about this Central Valley thread. What I really wanted was a link to the actual Central Valley books that Brian has up for sale. Even a search for central Valley on his own website comes up with nothing except for the current week's books. Thanks anyways for trying.

That's an absolutely gorgeous copy of this book. Just love the greens on this book. Was this book sold raw or GCG graded? Any idea on the grade and if this book was sold for over guide or way over guide? I have heard quite a bit about this Central Valley collection. Does Brian actually have a catalogue of the books for sale from this collection or do you have to contact him and ask about a specific book that you might want and hope he has it? Asking since I was unable to find anything about the Central Valley collection on his website and I wouldn't mind picking up something if the price is resonable. Thanks for any info you may have!

The same thing has also happened with the DC pre-hero books as they have come to a virtual dead stop over the past several years. I guess it all has to do with the demand side as prices on these books have plateau while the super-hereos contunue to go up. Thanks for depressing me Lou, since I recently bought a Detective #1. Just an absolutely great book to have! But like they say, the best time to buy is when it's down. So, this might actually be a good thing since everything tends to go around in cycles. Especially considering that this book has seriously underperformed pricewise in the last 10 years in comparison to the other big GA books.

You are absolutely correct here! When the first few price guides came out in the early 70's, the reprint books and books such as Single Series 20 and Feature Book 26 were near the top of OS's price list. Unfortunately, the market has become more and more narrow over the years until it has become virtually dominated by super-hereos only, with all other genres falling by the wayside. The only major current exceptions to this trend are the Ducks and the Archie books. Anybody purchasing a Single Series 20 or Feature Book 26 back in the 70's would certainly be losing money right now since these books have basically remain the same in guide for all these decades. Big big dollars back in the 70's, but virtually peanuts in today's market relative to the super-hero books. The same thing has also happened with the DC pre-hero books as they have come to a virtual dead stop over the past several years. I guess it all has to do with the demand side as prices on these books have plateau while the super-hereos contunue to go up.

Who is Harold Curtis? I assume he must have been the original owner of these books. How extensive was his collection in terms of quantity, quality, breath, etc? Just curious, that's all.