sfcityduck

Fool and their money? Around twenty separate copies have sold on eBay in recent months with most below $10 and a number below $5. There are over 60 copies on eBay now with prices starting at $5 and only one of those priced over $100. It will probably never sell (Cgc 5.0 for around $150).

Hard to believe a dealer would be criticized for making a market for a historically important piece of comic history based on a reasonable premise: The book arguably was the first American published "comic book" (albeit a reprint and not in what we now view as the classic comic format). A number of scholars seems to agree and the book and related objects has made it into the libraries of top Universities and Museums. Two examples: https://www.library.dartmouth.edu/digital/digital-collections/adventures-mr-obadiah-oldbuck; https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG167376 That's a lot different than flogging copies of a minor and insignificant comic book like Major Inapak the Space Ace, which is plentiful due to a warehouse find, as being worth $100, even though it routinely sells on eBay for $10, which I shockingly saw a dealer doing recently at a Bay Area con (I'd didn't ask about the price, my hope is it was a joke or mistake). The hard thing about selling comics is that they are only worth what folks will pay. They have no objective value. The value derives from a mix of things like the historical import, the beauty of the interior art, the first appearances of important new characters, increasingly the cover art, etc. The market sets the price. But when you are selling a very very rare comic for which there's no market history, the seller has to go with their gut and hope a buyer agrees. I've had to do that for comics I sold for four and five figures, and I can tell you that the comics I've sold keep me up at night not because I think my prices were too high given the merits of the books in question, but that I sold them too low. And since none of those books have re-sold, and may not re-sell or other copies come to market in my lifetime, I may never know. But at least the next sellers of any copies of those comics that emerge have some market history to work with. Something I didn't. So I can't really criticize BB on selling an Obidiah Oldbuck or claiming it is part of comic history. The unsupported hype of the San Francisco collection is more specious to me. Would have been better to just let the comics speak for themselves or to fully document his claims (and he did neither). But hard for me to take even that too seriously given the similar practice industry on the backstories of a number of "pedigrees." Hard for me to trust most of them.

Not in the U.S.

Agreed. But I just don't care what they say. I've always assumed OPG underpriced to aid dealers. Originally, buyers got a fraction of OPG and dealers would sell the "undervalued" books for over OPG. Maybe the astute and nationally networked collectors and dealers knew what was going on, but for a kid like me I had no clue. I didn't hear the "truth" or rumors, like Bob suppressing the value of books he didn't yet have, until after the internet became a thing. Now, regional price valuations are a thing of the past, most pricing can be determined without any need for OPG, and the best way to profit on "information disparities" is to find books that are underappreciated for one reason or another due to general lack of knowledge - buy them - and try to rectify that. Which is why, being a democratic sort of guy, I like to see knowledge shared and want OPG to include more info.

Its about the information, not the prices. Prices are now too volatile, up and down, to make any printed annual book a valuable reference. Really, the only thing I check these days for prices are auction results (Heritage, eBay, etc.) for really up to date pricing. I don't think GCD is all that useful because it has too few datapoints for a lot of GA. But the information in Overstreet is priceless and not compiled anywhere else. My only criticism of OPG is that they should include even more info. If I'm the editor, I'd be on the lookout for new datapoints because that is what will keep people buying. If I really wanted new content, I'd start covering Canadian editions and maybe starting emphasizing some U.S. manga facts. Why isn't there an article in OPG discussing the first manga printed for a US market, or the first manga translated into English for a US audience, etc., or even inclusion and identification of those comics? Lots of room for growth for the OPG, both big and small.

Very nice books! But you are missing one.

Spotted at the Museum of Western Film History in Big Pine, California, over the weekend of the 4th: Someone at the museum has a wicked sense of humor! Strongly recommend a stop if you are driving Hwy 395 up the eastern side of the Sierras! Very cool little museum with cool displays featuring some great stuff from all eras. Also can't recommend enough the Copper Top BBQ further north in Lone Pine. Simply great! In fact, every stop I made on Hwy 395 up of the back of the Sierras was fantastic. I recommend the whole drive from the Southern point on up to at least the very beautiful Sonora Pass (first pass north of Yosemite where I turned West towards SF).

You have some of the most "well loved" books on the boards in your sales. But you know what? The fact you bought them makes me realize you truly enjoy reading comics. I know you have pedigrees, but I'm more impressed by the thought that these are books you bought when many others would have passed them by. Great to see these reading worth books getting passed around.

You make a good point: Both Kirby and Stan had imperfect recollections. Stories changed dramatically at times. Some extraordinarily crazy claims were made. Which is why taking one or the other's statements on "faith", as some fans (more accurately "fanatics" do) is always a mistake. Most folks writing on these topics are driven by an agenda and tend to pick and choose and ignore contrary evidence. For example, on this OP's thread, he only addresses information which contradicts his views when its brought up to him. My subjective view is that we don't see this kind of thing in writings about Toth, Wolverton, Krigstein, and many others, even when written by sympathetic authors, because the authors largely keep their biases in check and are open to following the evidence. Indeed, most major "comic historians" writing about Caniff always address ghosting by Noel Sickles and how that improved Terry. Yet, with Kirby, outrageous claims are made with no real reality check. That's just not good history. I don't get why that is, but it seems like there are some peopel and groups (such as the Kirby "Museum") which view their mission of promoting Kirby as a requiring an "if you give them an inch they'll take a yard" mentality. I don't view that as scholarship. Jack Kirby was undoubtedly the "King" of 1960s super-hero artists. He absolutely peaked in that decade and that work makes him worthy of my comic book Mount Rushmore. But his myth has been unduly extended, in my opinion, due to the influence of Stan's "Jack 'King' Kirby" hype. Which to me is ironic.

I just don't get the the OP's constant criticism of Joe Simon on his various threads. Simon deserves a LOT of credit for his place in GA comic history both before and after he took on Kirby as a partner. Yet this OP seems to believe that to elevate Kirby he needs to "push down" Kirby's major collaborators. Many instances of that being unjustly done on his threads. So if he's writing a book about comic history, I'll be taking a pass. I prefer comic history that takes into account the documents and is not one-sided. Not a recreation - Simon's original design: Don't know who owns it, but this may have been the first time it was published:

Someone page SOTIcollector! I'd love to know if SOTI mentions any Dell Comics!

From a purely Scrooge perspective, that's actually better than the American edition because all of Scrooge is on the front cover whereas he wraps around on the American original.

Vacation Parade 2

Also first Scrooge cover by Barks.

Anyone know where this was taken?

Um .... check out this amazingly high 96% fresh critic reviews and 87% avg. audience score for Andor: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/andor But, I agree, that review sites do get swarmed by people who are downgrading shows, often without having seen them, for political reasons. So the critics are better indicators than the audience these days and your friends you trust (assuming no biases) likely your best bet.

That show is Andor.

While I sympathize with your pain, fortunately, I think you are a in minority. Time and technology have made the original trilogy far less impactful for me then it was to my 11 year old self. When it came out it was off the scale in terms of visual effects, story, costumes, everything. Now I see it with new eyes that are jaded by quality special effects in just about everything. That's ok. I still enjoy the story, but it can't possibly have the same impact on me that it did when it first came out. The key to enjoying any massive property like Disney or Star Wars or Marvel or DC is to pick your poisons. I've never watched a Marvel cartoon. To my eyes, they all suck. The tv shows are a bit better but not worth my time. Why watch them? Especially, when I can watch a great cartoon like Avatar: Airbender or higher quality DC tv? But Marvel live action movies are generally on balance an enjoyable watch so long as you're not looking for great revelations or "fine cinema" - they are bubble gum that give pleasure. Much more than DC cinema which can still be ok. Back to Airbender, though, and the live action is unworthy of the quality of the cartoon - so why watch that? You just have to pick your poisons. The notion that because you don't enjoy the shows doesn't mean that they should be shut down. Obviously, lots of others do enjoy them. It's entitled to think otherwise. None of us are the star of the movie that is life. In any event, I can understand giving up on Andor after the first episode. I cannot understand watching the whole series and failing to see its brilliance. Reasonable minds can disagree, tastes differ, but the camp of people that view Andor as some of the best Star Wars ever made is large. The final episode is the best acted and directed Star Wars ever put to film in my opinion - and it was done without constant green screens. I also enjoy the stuff that is fan service to my youth - Mandalorian etc. I'm not going to claim any of its is Emmy worthy. It's just fun. And with comics and Star Wars that's largely the point. The rare cases will an Andor with incredible acting, adult level plots, and outstanding direction/production/etc.

A "green girl" cover I've never seen before! Fantastic! Got add that to the list.

Completely agree. We just don't have enough evidence for any definitive conclusions.

Item 5: An example of treasonous comic company behavior: Air Ace Vol. 3 No. 2 (Feb.-March 1946) RAW. Why is this treasonous? First some pics: Why this comic potentially matters more than anyone thinks: When this comic came out only the U.S. had an Atomic Bomb; The Soviets would not detonate an Atomic Bomb until August 1949; While it was inevitable the Soviets would get an A-Bomb because the discovery of fission in 1938 meant that a nuclear chain reaction was possible and that the energy produced from fission could be used to produce an A-Bomb per commonly known physics theory, there were still secrets behind the bombs, notably their specifications, material composition, and inner workings. It is thought the Soviets only created a bomb as quickly as they did because they were fed information from spies, like Klaus Fuchs, on the inner workings of the bomb. Specifically, Fuchs reportedly gave the Soviets information regarding the "gun design" used for the early A-Bombs. With that in mind, what the heck is this!! Yep! Air Ace Comics was clearly transmitting nuclear secrets in 1946! Not noted in OPG. Any physicists on this site feel free to comment. Nice Reader Copy - Price $50!

Sold! Glad its going to a good home! PM me your address and payment preferences and we'll work out the details.

Item 4: This one is special and I will not be sad if it does not sell. Especially for fans of the Oppenheimer movie, here's The Ultimate Atomic Age Comic Book and Record Set: Set consists of: 1) The LP "Dr. Edward Teller - The Size and Nature of the Universe - the Theory of Relativity" (Spoken Arts - HS-OP-8240) as "presented in collaboration with General Dynamics Corporation" signed by Edward Teller ("father of the H-Bomb" and enemy of Oppenheimer - no idea how to grade an LP but looks to be in great rarely played shape - I have never played it); 2) The following comic book insert that was part of the set: The Atomic Revolution (M. Phillip Copp 1957) CGC 8.5 WHITE (plus a bonus mid-grade raw of the same comic to read - ignore the Real Life Comics): Only three on census, only one better copy; Copp, a leading producer of giveaway comics for industrial companies, had been an agent for and represented Noel Sickles in the 1940s, and there is a strong argument Sickles was involved in the production of this comic which strongly appears to be his art (also notable that a copy was in Sickle's best friend Caniff's personal files) - see here for more info and views of the art and other Sickles art of that time: And don't forget the bonus mid-grade reading copy so you can enjoy the story and art. 3) Rare Gatefold LP holder with pockets (shows wear and bumps on corners, some scrapes, but best I've seen); 4) The following non-comic inserts for the gatefold: Business card of Frank Pace, Jr., President of General Dynamics (A-frame format in high grade); Printed note from Frank Pace, Jr. stating his pleasure in sending recipients the set (in high grade); The rarely seen star chart poster (also in great condition); and The trippy "Exploring the Universe" poetry and art insert (generally looks great but oxidation on staples). 5) Other Bonus Items: A nice copy of the non-gatefold LP cover to use as a storage option for the record; and A contemporaneous magazine ad for the record and comic. You can't get much more atomic culture than this. PRICE: $1,200 but will consider offers with first "take" winning.

Congrats to you on both books!