sfcityduck

Marty also posted his copy of the book, which looked even better in color: So I thought, I've got to find a really nice copy of this thing!

A few weeks ago, Marty Mann posted this on his "Top Two" thread: When I saw this, I was blown away. I love Robotman, and this may be the only time I've seen him on the cover of a comic. And that there was a publication that mixed together stories by DC (Robotman, Boy Commandos, etc.) with Fawcett (Captain Marvel, Ibis, etc.) and other publishers? Why hadn't I ever heard of this!?!

You are rubbing salt in the wound! I got busy at work and forgot about the auction. I was planning to go strong for this one. Oh well. The better deal was the day before, when this five sided Marvel-DC-Archie rack from the 1960s was auctioned with a $400 shipping cost but went for $227.50 ($627.50 with shipping). I gave it a pass because of the bad spray paint job that bled onto the sign, but it is very cool and someone should be really happy: That rack answered a question I had about a sign posted up thread that recently sold at Hake's for $562.86, just a little less than this rack. The sign was three sided with what was probably a clipped edge, I now know this sign was originally five sides not three:

My dad gave me his collection a few weeks after I started collecting comics. Changed my life. Late 40s and early 50s. Mostly DC, Dell, Fiction House, Fawcett, Ziff Davis, and ACG (I may be forgetting some). No Timely or E.C.

Very safe water proof professional packaging, relatively high limit shipping insurance, and a hefty premium for using a high speed, tracked, signature required, shipping mode. I was paying for peace of mind, so it was no bother to me. I would never want to lose/damage a book in shipping that could not be replaced.

Really glad you're happy! I put up a thread on this before, but I generally sell off comics which are so highly graded that owning them is, in my mind, a bit of a sacred trust. I just don't want to be responsible for preserving the "highest graded copy" of a book if there are NOT a bunch of others. An example: I sold a really high grade Duck to a board member for a price that was undoubtedly the record for that book. He was so concerned about keeping the book safe, he offered to fly my wife and I to a very nice vacation destination near his home and put us up in a hotel AT HIS EXPENSE if I'd just deliver the book in person. As much as I'd have loved to have done that just to hear his stories and see his collection, I had to turn him down due to the press of my schedule. Instead, I shipped the book to him using the fastest and safest method I could find, AT MY EXPENSE ($500 to $750 if I recall). I did so because I understood the stress he felt about the book and I was happy to pass that stress on to him. Instead, I prefer to have nice looking comics that don't cause me guilt or concern when I'm displaying them on a wall (rotating of course). For me, 7.5 to 9.0 is my preferred range. So I tend to keep the 9.0s. However, I do have one I might want to unload. If you really are interested, send me a PM, and I'll send you a picture if you want it to rejoin its brother.

"is the same" or "is NOT the same"?

Another part of it is that a lot people judge a country by its leadership, viewing the people of that country favorably or unfavorably based on their view of the country's leader/government.

Fair enough. I sometimes see people argue that holding a book is the same as buying it. The implication being that if you hold a book you are wasting away money. I think that's terribly misguided. I misunderstood and thought that was what you were saying.

Is it that you value your Black Cat for more than $10K or you just don't need the money. The fact you call $10K a ridiculous price that you wouldn't pay tells me that you really don't value Black Cat as more than $10K. In my experience, when guys need money, they will sell their comics. Priorities change. The issue is not that your price is $12K or $15K, its just that you don't need the money enough to want to sell.

That's actually not at all true. Not selling a book does not have anywhere near the same economic impact as buying a book. When you don't sell a book, that just means you aren't obtaining a new infusion of cash. When you buy a book, you are outlaying cash. In the case of a $10K book, the economic difference between those two actions is a $20K swing. To pretend that they are in any way the same economic choice is foolish. You aren't "buying" a book when you choose to hold it - you are merely foregoing a cash infusion. I know a guy who nets maybe $100K a year. He has comics worth more than a $1M (multiples). But, he lives a comfortable lifestyle. He doesn't need a cash influx for anything. So he feels no desire to sell any of his books. If he sold a comic for $50K, his life would not change in any meaningful way. But, if he bought a book for $50K, he'd be hurting. He'd need to sell some of his comics to make ends meet. So holding is not in any way analogous to buying in any meaningful economic comparison.

You do realize that a similar list could be drawn up to tarnish the U.S., right? To give one example, prostitution is legal in some U.S. states, and in most others it is prevalant despite its illegality, including operations that are using victims of international sex-trafficking (such as the one outside mar-a-lago that led to Kraft's arrest). Overall I'm not saying we don't have more freedom and a better legal system than Dubai, because we do, but I think you are focusing on the trees not the forest. If the standard is that you don't want to travel to a country that has less freedom and a worse legal system than the U.S., you'll end up denying yourself the opportunity to travel to most of the world.

Everyone is entitled to form and voice their opinions. Some opinions are more informed than others. Often the key is finding the best sources for information. But, even then, reasonable minds can often disagree. Newshane states he "wouldn't feel welcome" in Dubai. No one can dispute those feelings. But, the fact is that many other people do feel welcome in Dubai and it garners a steady flow of western tourists.

Western pop culture is all over the middle east. That Superman comic I linked is from Lebanon. There are 1,195 Arabic language comics on eBay right now. This thread is about a comic con in Dubai, right? They are opening up a Legoland soon in Dubai, as well as a theme park with Dreamworks, Sony, and Lionsgate lands, as well as a smurfs village. More Arabic comic pics off ebay:

Most people try to avoid war zones. But, most of the MIddle East is not a war zone. And Westerners are welcome in places like Dubai. It's a popular tourist destination with most of the top western hotels.

Lots of Westerners live and work in the Middle East. It's not as scary as some here think. For example, a lot of western law firms have offices in places like Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, Abu Dabi, etc.

Interesting comment given that the most ever paid for an Action 1 was by Ayman Hariri, a Lebanese billionaire and Muslim who resides in Riyadh. In part, he was inspired to love Superman because he had an editorial cartoon on his wall growing up that portrayed his father as Superman (his father was the then prime minister of Lebanon - he was later assassinated), Comics are found all over the world, including in Muslim countries:

Wasn't the contest a coloring contest? So if he does, it must be incomplete.

Far from a cesspool. Quite inspiring really.

Isn't Windsor South of Detroit?

That is a good looking 5.5. And white to boot!

You got me curious.

We won't miss you, I'm sure.

There is a guy still alive in the SF Bay Area who bought an Action 1 off the newstand, entered the contest, and won.

The back cover has a modified design from regular editions (less art) to leave room for the subscribers address, which is printed on the back.