rockman2008

Take your time, Mitch. I'm fading fast...but I wanna read one more mega post before I die.

Here's one you rarely see for sale:

http://www.comicconnect.com/bookDetail.php?id=664456

Gator:

 

What is your opinion of the 'Dark Knight III DK3 Master Race #1 1:5000 Jim Lee Signed Sketch Variant Cover' selling for $4050?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dark-Knight-III-DK3-Master-Race-1-1-5000-Jim-Lee-Signed-Sketch-Variant-Cover-/381521096844?hash=item58d46df08c:g:8AgAAOSw5dNWmX4v

 

Goes to show you that some folks do desire such

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Congratulations, rockman.

Thank you, BZ. Always enjoy your puzzles.

The first Fawcett image was tricky because it's just a color blotch representing something (in the context of the cover, an underwater trail of blood). Forgot what the coloring process was called but it was an expensive technique executed at the engraving plant where colors were added without black and white line drawings. Some publishers like Timely (under skinflint Martin Goodman) rarely used it. Others like Fawcett and Street and Smith used this painterly effect to produce some of the most sophisticated covers of the Golden Age.

 

 

 

Here is an additional clue for #31.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a Fawcett comic.

 

 

 

 

Slam-Bang Comics #4

#34

 

 

 

Batman #6

But posts like these genuinely make me feel poorly.

 

Wayne-Tec's actions tell me he is far more of a speculator than a fan of comics. Nevermind the book he's going to steal may be another's hard to attain grail. There will be more flips in his future I'm sure. The only question is how many more collectors will he insult and step on for a few dollars more?

 

I respect you looking out for the community as I've said. But this feels more like a personal attack. You claim that I'm more of a "speculator than a fan of comics" when I've spent years contributing what I've felt to be thoughtful posts and threads that come from the heart of someone who is very much a fan of comics.

I was being clinical ("calling a spade a spade") and not making a personal attack.

Others have looked at it from another angle and have come to the same conclusion.

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=15&Number=5892925&Searchpage=2&Main=266984&topic=0&Search=true#Post5892925

I doubt Wayne-Tec is flipping to chase a grail. By his admission he has no comic that he calls "grail." What he did is not a crime but it doesn't make it any more palatable or acceptable on a social networking forum.

It might help to review the sequence of posts to see how it went down. Actually most of us were initially happy to see Wayne-Tec get a good deal on the book because he fooled us into thinking he was more a collector... rather than a junior mmehdy.

Hey, anyone who is willing to continuously apologize for this can't be a total dirtbag. I'm not following this too closely, but what does everyone want him to do at this point? Sell it for what he paid and not a penny more? He got a good deal, is trying to raise money, and has some profit in this book now. What am I missing he? Besides to umbrage and anger?

Wayne-Tec can continue to apologize all he wants but it's all wildly_fanciful_statement. The fact that he equates taking from a boardie who was here for due diligence on a book, to eBay's "Buy It Now" shows that he doesn't understand what he did and lacks remorse. I haven't followed too closely but from his posts the boardie did not appear to give up his interest in the book and was asking for opinions at the time of Wayne-Tec's grab.

With hindsight, the newbie might have taken more precaution as a stakeholder. On the other hand, I would have expected boardies here to help each other out... and respect certain communications as sacred. No one here ought to feel paranoid that a lead can be pulled from under them when asking for advice.

What to do now at this point? How about telling Wayne-Tec (and future Wayne-Tecs) to cut it out and show this board is not made up of wolves. Wayne-Tec's actions tell me he is far more of a speculator than a fan of comics. Nevermind the book he's going to steal may be another's hard to attain grail. There will be more flips in his future I'm sure. The only question is how many more collectors will he insult and step on for a few dollars more?

Since my income doesn't justify making four-figure purchases with any regularity, I have no choice but to let go of an expensive book in order to pick up another. I'm certainly okay with that because from my point of view, I pick up a book that I enjoy, other collectors pick up the books I make available along the way which they enjoy and everyone enjoys the hobby overall.

You sound like you're making up excuses along the way.

By your hostile grabbing and flipping, you've made an affordable book to collectors become less affordable at the end of the day. What is the added value that you've provided to collectors in this case?

The sad part is the internal contradiction in you being "okay with that" from your point of view, seeing how you're in the same economic position with those that can't afford expensive books. Kinda hypocritical?

Can anyone tell me if buying a Detective Comics #36 in CGC 1.0 grade is worth it at $1,200? The cover has some major tears, but the book is universal grade and complete.

 

I'm new to the pre-Robin Detectives and would like to start looking at getting some soon. Some sagely advice would be appreciated from fellow pre-robin Detective collectors.

 

Thanks!

 

1st RULE: You do not talk about available books going for cheap in PRE-ROBIN TEC CLUB.

2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about available books going for cheap in PRE-ROBIN TEC CLUB.

As a collector, I know Pre-Robin Tecs are always in demand. Inexpensive copies are quite frankly, a gift. Unfortunately they have become the favorite of flippers, and someone is always out there ready to eat your lunch.

Indeed. Wayne-Tec is back in the pre-Robin club. He has a Tec 36 of which he will own and treasure. Look for it on eBay in 30 days.

 

Don't be silly, it's already up for sale in for sale thread!!!

It was in the stars. Miss Cleo told me.

The pleasure was mine. Sigh. I don't think I'll be able to afford another Tec 31 as nice looking. Many thanks again, David. (thumbs u

Brundage/Howard books

Indeed. Wayne-Tec is back in the pre-Robin club. He has a Tec 36 of which he will own and treasure. Look for it on eBay in 30 days.

This came in the mail the other day. Girl Comics #3, one of the truly scarce Atlas books to find.

Rodan's posts are great, as always.

 

The drop in Uncle Scrooge could be due to the switch from Dell to Gold Key. Gold Key might've had a different strategy or worse distribution.

 

The drop in sales for Dell was due to their changing the cover price from 10 cents to 15 cents, while the competition raised their cover price to no more than 12 cents. The price difference caused many readers to switch from Dell over to the competition. This was another factor for the rise of Marvel in the early 1960's.

 

True but in part. Marvel had the Super hero genre nailed by 1965, and Dell remained Dell. I can remember all the price increases, and it did not affect me or my friends from childhood. I can safely assume the price changes did not affect the estimated 250,000 other teenage boys either.

 

"It starts with the story" - Alfred Hitchcock

 

CAL w/ long memory

I didn't say it was the only factor. The Dell price change came in '61 and the fanboys will admit content-wise 1961 Marvels were not as compelling when compared to the later stuff. They didn't know what they were getting in Marvels. It took the boneheaded mistake by Dell management to cause young readers to try something new. Of course, many readers may have been tired of Dells in the first place, but back then buying decisions in comic books were typically influenced by parents. And that measly three cents made a world of difference to parents.

Rockman, w/ a longer memory but will always respect Cal even though he thinks he ought to chuck the purple jacket

Rodan's posts are great, as always.

 

The drop in Uncle Scrooge could be due to the switch from Dell to Gold Key. Gold Key might've had a different strategy or worse distribution.

The drop in sales for Dell was due to their changing the cover price from 10 cents to 15 cents, while the competition raised their cover price to no more than 12 cents. The price difference caused many readers to switch from Dell over to the competition. This was another factor for the rise of Marvel in the early 1960's.

I asked this question a few years ago and people said Amazing Adventures 3.

I had retracted my original answer to the OP 'cause I thought he might be asking for something else. It appears almost all the Silver Age Marvels cover-dated May 1963 have the corner box with the explicit label "Marvel Comics Group." I say "almost" because Kid Colt Outlaw 110 (May 1963) was a hold out and still used the "MC" box. There may be other titles but May 1963 seems to be the demarcation date.

Keep them coming, Scrooge. Even though I sold off most of my Battleground issues, I did keep the #1. The Maneely quad-fifties on the half-track cover is one of my favorite. During the Korean war, this was our answer to the chinese human assault waves. A great book to read on the K-war is "The Forgotten War" by Clay Blair which vividly describes these type of battles.I also still have my Revell quad-fifties half-track model I built 40 years ago.

Were the wave attacks informally called "banzai charges" by the Korean war vets? I'm curious how the writer of the story I've posted could have gotten it so wrong; i.e., the Chinese never yelled "Banzai!"

From Mystic #35:

From Journey Into Unknown Worlds #24:

Rockman, I hear you about sappy but I've become inured to those. Recall, these are post-PX ban so maybe Stan really tried to avoid any controversial topics and a repeat ban so it might have influenced his stance and it dovetailed into that story style you mention you do not care particularly for. But, wait, I will take sappy over silly most times. Silly war story you ask, well, yes, with the one below with "Chowhound" as Able company's scout. See hilarious panels below. I add a couple of eerie panels from the Pakula job during WW I. The Lawrence of Arabia story is not a bio story but only cover one incident. Wish it had been more large scale, still a fun little story.

If you think the Atlas war stories were bad, Kanigher over at DC took war stories to new sappier lows. To add insult to injury, he hired Hank Chapman (post-Atlas) to hack out stories involving animal mascots. It's no wonder some comics scholars don't see Chapman in high esteem say compared to Kurtzman, in spite of his outstanding contribution to the genre from 1951-52. Btw, that "My Buddy" story I posted earlier is a favorite of an EC scholar and fanzine editor.

I came across this RQ Sale 5 pager from Strange Tales # 29. One of his better horror stories.

Excellent example. This story is from his peak period of 1954 when his art reached an intensity in fine lines and cross-hatching. The influence here is Mort Lawrence, whom he had assisted over at Orbit. The style that many have noted to resemble Maneely is actually a rough simplification of this style. Nearly all RQS work from 1954 deserve classic status.

I will be posting more Sale stories later in this thread.

It's a real shame Atlas cranked out a lot of sappy stories about war orphans going off with American GI's. They've dealt with stories of war orphans before but they always inevitably lead to an unsatisfactory conclusion. Since we've been talking about RQS, this next story is one my favorites. "Black Hate!" (MAN COMICS #12) seems to approach the issue with some honesty but the writer paints himself in a corner by the last page. Personally I'd rather have the story end on the fifth page and leave it ambiguous. The change in characterization is too sudden and mars a good story.