sfcityduck

Most dealers are also collectors and Seuling put on conventions etc., so he definitely qualifies. But, his heyday was really late 60s and 70s.

When did Larry Ivie start collecting original art? I'd like to know more about him as well.

I'd like to know more about Ted White. He was publishing comic articles in SF fanzines in the 50s, but I don't think he ultimately had that much impact on comic fandom then or later. I'd be happy to learn more if I'm wrong about that.

Largely true, although there were some happenings, including folks publishing comic articles in SF fanzines in the 1950s, EC comics fandom in the early 50s, and guys perfecting some of the finer points of back issue comic acquisition and dealing.

Jerry Bails is certain the highest profile comic collector and the one who deserves, for all he did (Alter Ego, the Society, etc.), the title "the Father of Comics Fandom." I'm not going to argue the significance of him or many other of the early 1960s "fathers and mothers of modern fandom." BUT, I do not think that Jerry Bails was the first collector to draw national attention for advocating for comics, the first collector to think about comics from the deeper perspectives of comic scholarship (artist identification, the business end of comics, indexing, etc.), the first collector to amass a collection of thousands of GA comics purchased off the rack, the first collector to pioneer some of the key tools for filling in the back issue gaps in a collection, the first collector to reach out and develop contacts with key industry figures, or the first collector to start amassing comic book original art. I doubt anyone can check all of those boxes, but I can think of someone who comes close. I'm curious if I'm missing other contenders.

Jerry Bails is an obvious contender. The Lupoffs and Thompsons as well. The Rutland Parade guy is Tom Fagan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutland_Halloween_Parade Appears that the parade started in 1960. I'm curious about any folks who may have predated 1960.

I'd never heard of Hames Ware - Thanks! Found this article about him: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/sep/21/remembering-hames-ware-20180921/ Interesting read, but I think his contributions may be a little late in the timeline. I'd like to know more.

Let's start with an important preface: I'm not asking who compiled the oldest or biggest comic collection. We all know Edgar Church started compiling comics in 1937, continuing that effort into the 1950s. But, Edgar was a commercial artist who may well have been buying comics as reference material. He is not known to have had any interactions with other comic book fans or to have ever been advocate of comics or comic book collecting. He was unknown to the comic collecting community until 1977. No, I'm talking about folks like Lupoff and the Thompsons. Folks who not only were buying and holding comics, but were also making important efforts to promote comics, comic collecting, and/or comic dealing. My question is very focused: Who was the first great or prominent comic collector to have a significant impact on the activity? My guess is that this person, at a minimum, was active prior to the "All in Color For a Dime" series was published in Xero in 1961. It may well be one of the authors in that series. Or maybe an early collector dealer like Malcolm Willits or Len Brown. You tell me. I have my own theory, but before finishing an article on the subject, I'm trying to learn what others think.

I'd seen this cool Gold Key rack topper on its own before, but never seen it attached to a rack. Now I understand why. It was a rack pack rack:

Great price! Reproductions are selling for $350 and yours is in great shape!

I'd rather have it raw so the story can be read. The cover of Durango 2 is an uninspiring photo. No point to CGCing it.

I would sell them raw because generally (with exceptions) Western comics are not collected for their covers.

Check out this thread for more info on Golden Age Dell racks:

I think it's a great price and if I lived in the area I'd already own it. I first saw it on an online site months ago. My only hesitancy is that it appears to be the least useful style of comic rack. Might not be enough space between racks vertically to accommodate a slab display. And I don't think the shelves have enough depth for Archive format books. So you'd probably only be able to use it for displaying bagged comics or shelving paperbacks (and there are Dell paperback racks in a similar style which would fit PBs much better - in fact I have one which is pictured earlier in this thread). These days you can get both vintage and brand new vintage style spinner racks for under $500 (including shipping to your home). So if you're looking for a more practical storage space, I'd consider the options.

Our cats look like siblings! Our racks certainly ARE:

Here's my newest rack, the 1948 Dell rack. This is not in as nice condition as I usually get, but this rack came from a drugstore in Sacramento (Tower Theatre drug store) that my mom was going to when she was a kid back in 1948. So I couldn't resist. In the background, you can see my three shelf Gold Key rack, same format as three shelf Dell rack, which is great for oversize books.

It's a late 1940s Dell rack. Very unusual design. That's the only one I've seen. I don't live anywhere near its location, and shipping is really difficult, or I'd have bought it already. It's not a very practical rack though. I believes the shelves are too shallow to shelve Masterwork/Archive type books (which is what I use most of my racks for since racks harm comics), and unlike the three shelf Dell racks this can't accommodate oversized books (excepton the top shelf).

The GCD, however, says most of the L. Miller's had no number.

If it helps, that's a reprint of Captain Marvel 64.

You know what's also cool about that picture of the Manzanar store? That duck image is taken from WDC&S no. 26, which was cover dated November 1942. It looks like a very nice larger than life (e.g. not traced) rendition of the cover of that comic. So the folks running that store were putting effort into bringing attention to the comic display.

Another pic for the Robot Man: 1950s Little Golden Book wood rack.

While Action 1 v. D27 is an obvious match-up of the two longest running and most popular early superheroes. So this one's a no-brainer. But, I think some of the other match-ups need a bit of refinement. I'd note that the following comics at one time or another held the world record for highest price ever paid for a comic: Action 1, D 27, MC 1, Whiz 2, MPFW 1, and CA 1. Two of those five are not making your list. How about Whiz 2 v. CA 1 or MC 1? The 9.0 Whiz 2 has sold for more or comparable amounts as 9.0 CA 1. I also think that AS 8 may be in the mix with AA 16 and Flash 1.

It is interesting. There were also many Italian-Americans and German-Americans in service during WWII. The explanation, I think, is simple. The folks who immigrated to the U.S. and their children and grand-children born here, regardless of where originally from, largely decided that they owed their allegiance to the U.S. That's basically the history of our country (unless you are a native American). My son is studying the post-Civil War period. One thing that really lept out to me was that there was considerable doubt as to whether folks from the Confederate states would fight for the U.S. during the Spanish-American War. The kids and grand-kids of the former Confederate soldiers did. Proving that Americans' love for their country can overcome former alliances, even those by former traitors.

JPep, Nice to see the thread bumped. Do you have an ETA on when the Okajima pedigree will show up on the 50 Objects site?

What are they?