sfcityduck

You are way more organized than me. I have to get my comic room done some day. Organized chaos in that corner:

The Spirit Archives are one of two contenders for the very best of the Archive/Masterworks style reprints without a doubt. The other contender is Fantagraphics' Carl Barks library, which is also a perfect product. Frankly, I don't think you are a true GA reader if you don't have the Prince Valiant (Fantagraphics), Spirit Archives, and Barks (Fantagraphics) collections. They set the standard. The IDW Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim is a close fourth. And the Sunday Press McCay books are also fantastic.

Why aren't you interested in a first appearance book? $10K-$15K can get you some cool first appearances. Heck, it could also get you a handful of cool origin retellings and other key stories. Far better than an overpriced piece of a book.

Comic collecting was going strong in the early and mid 60s, and there are a lot of collectors who were collecting back then who are still sitting on their collections. So I'm not going to be shocked when new high grade AF 15s emerge. Many folks don't encapsulate until they want to sell, and a lot of long time collectors just aren't interested in selling yet (if ever). Just think about it, we may never see the top Action 1, Superman 1, D27 or MC 1 ever encapsulated. Not hard to believe that equally passionate collectors are sitting on the much more plentiful Marvel keys.

I think it is unrealistic to think that Heritage would not know the CGC history of a $1M+ comic they are auctioning. They knew. My guess is the $2M estimate was a typo. Has any MC 1 ever topped $300K at auction or $350K in a private sale? I don't think so. But the CA 1 9.4 result makes $1M seem realistic. That $2M was just plain crazy The only comic to top $1.5M is Action 1. Heritage knows this. It was a typo.

All the Funny Folks features King Features Syndicate characters. Cool publication.

Completely agree. It was Dave's anti-Wertham comic that I view as a mixture of Crumb and Wolverton (and I was saying that before I even knew what a fan Dave was of Wolverton):

Sadowski's "Brain Bats of Venus" book includes the forward which Wolverton wrote for Dave's book defending comics from the forces of censorship. Ultimately, however, Dave's book never was printed. What Wolverton has to say about the movement to censor comics is a must-read for comic fans interested in the history of the medium. Most of it does not pertain to Dave, instead mainly setting forth Wolverton's views. Wolverton does say this about Dave: High praise for Dave from one of the most unique talents in comics. Wolverton goes on to detail the subjects Dave addresses in his book, and concludes that "with the help of spirited defenders like David Pace Wigransky," comic creators will keep on doing their best to keep entertaining comic readers. Interestingly, Wolverton notes that in the book "young Wigransky makes concise and intelligent suggestions for improving comic books as a means of entertainment." Really makes you wonder what Dave had to say. But, even without knowing that, Wolverton's statements cannot help but further elevate Dave as a comic collector in my eyes.

I still think it beats out the CA 1.

I originally got the above thinking I'd pursue a run of Cole space covers. With the way the pricing's gone, I ultimately decided to go another direction and decided to unload this one on a sales thread. To my surprise, it has gotten little interest despite what I thought was a reasonable starting price and several price cuts. And now, a boardie who is a Cole collector, and who I am sure was just trying to be helpful and give me some perspective, messaged me that "this particular one never did anything for me" and "I wouldn’t even pay $100 for it if offered at that price." In a world where Cole covers sell at incredibly high prices, that opinion really surprised me. I'm curious if he's right. I responded with my view: I admit I am not a Cole collector. But, I'm still surprised that the interest in the Cole space pulp with the comic cover is so thin. Perhaps I'm way out on a limb in my views expressed above. I'm just curious if you guys, real Cole collectors, see the space pulp as unworthy of collecting at even a $100 price? To me it's cool and unusual. So if that's the prevailing view, I'm more than a bit shocked.

Shameless plug and link for Greg Sadowski's new book that includes the info on the Wigransky-Wolverton correspondence: http://www.fantagraphics.com/basil-wolverton-vol.-2/

And a D27.

8 that he drew, but only 6 were "Illustories" that he both wrote and drew. Apparently, Wolverton himself wanted to count only the "illustories." Interesting stuff.

This book deserve more love. I might have to send it to CGC if no one wants it at this price.

Dave's correspondence with Wolverton did not just concern Dave's book on comics. It also concerned Wolverton's career. Sadowski writes in Brain Bats of Venus (make sure you buy it): Dave's comments were prescient. Wolverton's stint at Timely doing serious work ended after six serious stories. And Kurtzman would ultimately recruit Wolverton to work on Mad in 1953. Sadowski writes that Wolverton made the following notation in his diary after Stan Lee advised him that he didn't need any more stories from Wolverton: Dave, for his part, had noted in earlier correspondence to Wolverton that "You have not been just a mere cartoonist answering my questions, but a real FRIEND in every way." And it appears from the way that Wolverton corresponded to Dave regarding his career, politics, etc., that there was some truth in that statement. At the very least, Wolverton held Dave in enough regard to adopt his terminology ("Illustories") about comics and to actually draft a foreward for Dave's book on comics. This really seems far outside of the norm of fan/pro interactions for that time period (and maybe even today).

Thanks. I have not given up on further researching the Dave Wigransky story. There is still more to tell. Here's an example: Turns out that Dave had a fairly lengthy correspondence with Basil Wolverton that was recently brought to light by Greg Sadowski in his book "Brain Bats of Venus." Dave wrote a letter to Wolverton in August 1948 that enclosed a copy of Dave's Saturday Review of Books article rebutting Wertham. Dave's letter to Wolverton again displays his amazing (truly ahead of its time) knowledge of comics and comic history. Specifically, Dave noted that his comic collection contained Wolverton's work going all the way back to 1938's Circus Comics! Dave also lamented that Powerhouse Pepper, one of the comics on display in the famous photo of Dave at the top of this thread, wasn't selling (showing Dave also had a knowledge of the business side of the industry which is, again, astounding). Wolverton was sufficiently busy with his wife's pregnancy and the birth of his child in September, that he did not get back to Dave until October 5, 1948. Still, Wolverton valued Dave's letter enough that Wolverton responded by sending Dave a telegram -- the day that his wife and newly born child came home from the hospital! Wolverton followed up the telegram with a letter to Dave the next day, and he and Dave then had one of the most remarkable exchanges I've ever seen between a young fan and a professional creator. I am going to follow this up with highlights of what Sadowski wrote about the exchange of correspondence between Dave and Wolverton in Sadowski's MUST HAVE book (seriously, buy Sadowsky's book!). But for now, all I have time to relay is this. Dave's main purpose in writing Wolverton initially is revealed by this passage from Dave's first letter to Wolverton: And then Dave asked Wolverton to write the foreword. And Wolverton agreed to do so. Amazing stuff. But, not the full story on Dave and Wolverton's amazing exchange of correspondence. The more I learn, the more apparent it is to me that Dave really was the first great comic collector.

Back in the late 70s or early 80s I completed X-Men 94-up. That was the first run I needed to seek out back issues for. Then I started collecting every New X-Men appearance and related characters. Then Marvel over-saturated the new issue market with . So I stopped. And they've been sitting bagged and boarded for just about 40 years. Obiously, I bought plenty of other comics. But, new X-Men was the first time I decided to be a completest.

"Universal Crime Syndicates, Inc." was a shell corporation used by Martin Goodman to publish pulps, such as National Detective Cases from 1941 to 1949. Goodman played a lot of games with publishers. The indicia publishers for Marvel Mystery were: Timely Publications (16 issues) Timely Comics, Inc. (37 issues) Marvel Comics, Inc. (38 issues) But, during that same time period, the indicia publishers for Captain America were: Timely Publications (1 issue) Timely Comics, Inc. (19 issues) Complete Photo Story Corp. (48 issues) Marjean Magazine Corp. (5 issues) And the indicia publishers for Human Torch were: Timely Publications (2 issues) Timely Comics, Inc. (7 issues) Select Publications, Inc. (1 issue) Snap Publishing Co., Inc. (15 issues) Cornell Publishing Corp. (10 issues)

Hamburger? That's just a form of steak deserving of A1! I may be an outlier on this board, but I much prefer Human Torch covers to Captain America covers. The HT covers on MMC and HT are just so much more colorful and full of action that I have to give them the nod. Schomburg clearly drew a lot of inspiration from the HT. I've just thought since I saw the OPB No. 10 cover that Schomburg just loved how he could use the HT to make covers more colorful (reds and yellows) and full of movement. CA cover seem more muted in color and action to me.

I'm surprised given the desirability of LB Cole space covers that this one is going to slip away unclaimed at this price.

I agree, especially for an artist like LB Cole where no one cares about the interiors of the comics for which he does covers. All that matters are his covers. And this is a line drawn comic book style cover done at the same time as he was doing his Blue Bolt space covers.

Price cut to $500.00! Once again, if you don't own this book, then your LB Cole space cover collection is not complete. It's a steal compared to other similar covers. And uncommon to boot.

I will consider reasonable offers, but an unconditional "I'll take it" in the thread wins. I will not sell to the probate or the banned. Payment is by Paypal only (unless you have a better idea). I will ship comics (raw or slabbed) to the US and Canada for a flat rate of $25.00 (to ensure really great packaging). A signature will be required. I will take into account your carrier preferences. I will accept returns if notified within three days of buyers receipt of package.

Be the first kid on your block to own this rare LB Cole covered Complete How-To Book of Space (only three on CGC census, highest is 6.5): Price: $550.00 $475.00 $425.00 or best offer (see second post for terms). How often do you see this little brother to Blue Bolt 108? (reference picture of 108 - not selling a 108, follows): You just don't have all the LB Cole space covers unless you own The Complete How-To Book of Space!

It is Uncle Scrooge number 1, but not his first appearance. OPG was never wrong. You can choose from the remaining options.