sfcityduck

My guess on that one is he wants the best available copy of Action 1. That copy was the Cage when bought it. When the Darren Adams copy came out, and looked better to a number of eyes, he decided he need to buy that. Action 1 means a lot to him because his father was assassinated and he grew up with an editorial cartoon of his father in Superman costume doing good deeds for his country on his wall. He does not appear to be a hoarder or an investor.

I'm not understanding why you say Hariri is "almost certainly bidding." He pass on the WW 1 nine months ago. He already has a 9.4 Sensation 1. I don't know if he has or wants an AS 8, but I do know that Wonder Woman does NOT hold the same allure to him that Superman does (and Batman to a lesser extent).

Many on this site can make better guesses than me. My thinking is: The WW 1 didn't hit $300K with an additional winning bidder (Darren Adams) who isn't bidding here. So you could be right about $250K. Metro appears to be buying these big money books only when they've got a buyer in hand (like Hariri) and Hariri has a 9.4 Sensation 1. $500K seems very aggressive for Sensation 1 when WW 1 doesn't top out above $300K. Maybe Hariri needs an AS 8 or maybe not. But, I don't think you'll see many of the dealer types (Gator, etc.) going $1 million on a book without a buyer because no GA DC comic that's not an Action 1 or D27 has ever gone for more than $450K (Flash 1). So I'm thinking the comfort level tops out at $600k.

You think the first or second AS 8, at best, is worth the same as the second or third Action 1? Seems like a very aggressive price for a later GA book.

My guess is Dave Anderson owns it since I've never seen anyone discuss the thing. It sold for a $70K in 1995, but the grade has not been reported that I know of.

Hariri didn't want the WW 1 when it was up for sale recently, so I don't know why he'd want it now. He also has a 9.4 Sensation 1, so I don't think he needs this one. He's a Superman guy first, Batman second, and Wonder Woman wasn't even on his radar until he visited the set when the movie was being filmed. These books should show what the non-Hariri market really is. I'm thinking the AS 8 might hit the $600K range, the others more in the $300K range. The WW1 did not hit $300K 9 months ago, and this flip will have one less bidder.

AS 8 has broken $100K. Sensation 1 and WW 1 are over $50K. I'd say we're about 1/6th of the way there.

And it's off! The AS 8 auction is now live. Ends in 10 days. Are they going to auction these serially or overlap? Too early to tell.

I am thinking about this copy. The "O" seems like a potential concern. As does the scuffing (maybe even an erasure? or could be the light) on the right. Otherwise, it looks pretty good. Your thoughts on grade:

I get your point, and I have not bought this book, but I would not be buying it with hopes of flipping a really high grade. My point is more basic: It is a beautiful comic, much better preserved and with much richer colors than the norm. the label does not bother me and I don't see a front cover crease breaking color or otherwise detracting from the art (in contrast to most subscription variants).

I bought it for a decent price and am going to submit to CGC. I'm hoping 9.0 or above, but I recognize the risk.

I might. What do you think about this comic. I think it looks pretty good.

Someone has put a bunch of Canadian editors up on eBay.

Thinking about it, I'm really not. They aren't "cover" books. The collectors seeking these issues tend to be super super super completest (going after numerous variations of the same issue), so grade may not be as much of a motivation for most collectors of this stuff. Most of these books are lower in value, and thus makes less economic sense to slab them. And the market for CI does not appear to be a flipper market. Finally, sometimes the HRN is inside, not back cover.

Great Dell paperback rack! I make do with a wire Signet spinner rack for my frequently re-read paperbacks.

Really good question. I'm curious if anyone remembers this story and knows anything at all about it.

Well there are definitely Church copies of Classic Comics (unless, that is, those Fantazia copies somehow got misidentified as Church's, which seems unlikely):

You should post your CI rack pictures here! A pretty cool CI rack, one sided stand up with two columns for books, was sold on this site here:

That's what I thought. I think I saw one recently for sale.

Those Jungle's are beautiful!

I thought I would add the picture of this comics rack from a 1953 article Wertham wrote for the Ladies Home Journal. An interesting question for SOTIcollector would be if any of the comics illustrated in the LHJ article aren't pictured in SOTI. Could be something that should be noted by the OPG as this was a hugely influential article.

Just read this story in an old 1989 CI fanzine: "A PRISTINE MINT set of Classic Comics originals 1-27 has just been sold by FANTAZIA, a major comic dealer in New York. The 27 originals have been untouched since 1946, stored in a special cardboard and felt box with gold-embossed "Board of Education" imprinted on it. This is the first recorded discovery of an actual mint set of early Classics originals. There was no Mile-High set of Classics. This should set the standard by which all other high-grade Classics are judged. If re-sold individually, they should have a certified Fantazia copy pedigree." The article also states that Dupcak sold the books for $15K to $20K, which was then about double guide, but had gotten offers as high as triple guide after word got out (but they were already sold. Great story. Anyone able to answer any questions about this? Like: * Aren't there actually MH Classics? * What happened to these comics (somehow I'm guessing a dentist snatched them up)? * Is there a fuller story about this discovery? Just one of those cool things you run across when cleaning out the closets that gives rise to questions that may actually get answered in this internet age.

On a different thread, I promised Damonwad I'd post these pics as he's a CI collector. They are of Worldwide Classics Newsletter No. 7 and illustrations it has of vintage CI racks:

Great racks. I'll post an article I have from a classics fanzine on CI racks later that might interest you. I had a thread on racks, but it seemed everyone lost interest before I got to the classics racks.

This is the front cover that goes with that back cover. I'm not seeing a color breaking crease. Thoughts on grade?