sfcityduck

Start the countdown for some classic covers from Adventure Comics! 3, 2, 1 ...

Great questions! Normal order is John, Paul, George and Ringo because that's how they entered the group. Used to be John, Paul, George, and Pete (and for a short time Stu). Pete got fired and Stu left before it really took off. So they don't count. The "fifth Beatle," that's a tough one. No doubt that George Martin was their most significant musical collaborator in the first four fifths of the 60s, but he'd never consider himself a Beatle or perform with them. Billy Preston not only contributed to Let it Be and Abby Road, but he performed in their last live performance and two singles were credited to the "Beatles with Billy Preston." Those credits, however, make it clear that Billy wasn't a Beatle. He was outside the Beatles. So he's not the fifth Beatle either. Eric Clapton played on a few songs, and John wanted to get him to replace George if George stuck with quitting, but George didn't. So that just shows they didn't think of Clapton as the fifth Beatle either. No, the best candidate for the "fifth Beatle" is Mal Evans. He was their friend and roadie from the beginning, he stuck with them through the end and beyond as an employee, and that moment in "Get Back" when he's contributing the hammer piece to Maxwell's Silver Hammer is fantastic! An article on Mal notes: So I'd call the "fifth" Peter Penny "Mal." Glad I could be of help straightening this all out for you!

Based on recent comp prices of comics I was thinking of selling, prices are dropping.

I remember seeing a copy of this on eBay for a while for four figures. Always wondered what the full story on it was. Boston Pops also did some cool Star Wars merch.

A little bit more research turned up there were 300 copies of the later 2-D issues printed like Hampsters. Miracle man was only 100 copies, presumably because it was first.

Good article on the Eclipse 2-D variants: https://recalledcomics.com/Miracleman2d3d.php BUT they are copper not Bronze in my book.

I think the MSS are definitely a contender for rarest giveaway. Rarer than the warlord toy mini-comic? IDK.

It wasn’t like Cat Y was giving the 2-D issues away, Eclipse was offering them for sale for $5 each in the pages of (much lesser priced) comics that were only sold in comic book stores. So I am fairly certain the bulk went to comic collectors. You do have a point about titles like Hampsters, the folks who have those may not think they are cgc worthy and I could see how they might end up in what we used to call a quarter bin along with all the other B&w turtle inspired books that came out back then. Interesting topic! I am glad they came up!

Eclipse Comics 2-D variants of 3-D comics are cool, and I remember how you could get one by writing into Fantagraphics when they came out and paying a higher price. However, by definition almost all went to comic collectors (probably completists) who are likely to have preserved them. So I think there are probably more in existence than some of the other contenders which didn't get instant recognition for being a limited edition collectible and instead were damaged or tossed out by kids who read them (like Supergoof and DTMATBK). For example, the rarest of the 2-D comics is, I think, the Miracleman 3-D no. 1 which has five 2-D versions on the census (the blue foil is also five and the gold foil is 10). But I think it is a safe assumption that there could be up to 80 or more copies still in existence given Eclipse sold them for a while during the 80s. I remember seeing some back in the day, but I haven't looked or thought about them for decades.

The MSS perplex me. Were they sold as a manufactured collectible or were they more of a vanity piece for those involved in their creation to give away? I'm thinking the later, but I don't know.

I don't think the print runs were miniscule and they have been collectible for a while. I think the folks buying those tend to hold on to them and not submit them to CGC. So while the one's I looked at for genre books, including the Scooby-Doo 1 and a Sgt. Fury had more a than a handful of CGC copies, it's worth noting that the Star Wars 1 which trades more frequently is up to 257 copies. So I'm thinking that they are not as rare as other contenders.

Better selling is different than highest revenue or biggest profit. The comic which sells the most copies per issue is the best selling. The comic which generates the most money per issue is the highest revenue and the comic which generates the most money net of costs is the biggest profit.

I agree with you on not counting undergrounds and fanzines. They are super cool (I've been picking up early Dave Stevens covers and stories) but the rarity is manufactured into the concept and there are many that were basically just vanity press and never really distributed in any real way to anyone other than the author's friends. I did not know that Supergear was unauthorized - surprised that Swan or whichever regular Superman artist did it would work on the book. I think it is a cool item but being unauthorized puts it into a different category for me. It is more like a bootleg or counterfeit or Tijuana bible if it was unauthorized and I don't think deserves a place in a discussion of rare comics. Remco Warlord is rare, although I see them for sale periodically. I feel as if I've seen more of them than the Dennis the Menace and the Bible Kids 10, but it may be rarer (definitely if you are talking in the original package with the action figure, right?). Some might argue it also doesn't belong in the conversation because it is a mini comic, but given your input I'm going to bump this up to my candidate for the rarest Bronze Age premium / giveaway comic: The Super Goof 61, Black Hole 4, etc. Whitman variants I also seem to see more than I see the DTMATBK 10. That may be because they are more popular characters and titles. Dennis books are generally harder to find than Disney. I have also seen file copies of those books. There are 26 Super Goof 61 Whitman variants on the Census. So I'm still going with Dennis the Menace and the Bible Kids 10 as the rarest non-giveaway Bronze Age comic:

Arthur Dow's Ipswich?

Subby appeared in MPFW and Namora, and lasted longer in Atlas revival. Toro was not in early MMC as his first appearance was HT 2. But I have not counted them up. I wonder if Bucky beats out CA? CA may only be 4 or 5 on the Timely/Atlas list.

What is that? Looks more like a fanzine or underground. Any notable creators?

This was around a decade or so ago but it was less than $2k I think. I believe the winner was a boardie. It was discussed. I vaguely think that maybe Flying Donut knew the winner ( and maybe he has one too). I do not think that anyone who gets one sells them.

I'm a good home who will love and cherish the art. PM me. Thx!

For a promo and overall, I'm going with Supergear (I've only seen one, and I should have hit the BIN on eBay but I was a fool): For a "newsstand" comic (e.g. one with a price) I'm going with Dennis and the Bible Kids no. 10 (very rarely seen): :

I was there last month. A big store with long lines of buyers buying comic related stuff when I was there, but no back issues. Really more of a book store with comics and toys.

Grand Comic Database. I'm guessing: Superman, Robin, Batman, Captain Marvel. For the five spot, probably Subby. While Plastic Man had long runs in Police (100 issues) and Plastic Man (64 issues) and a few other appeararnce, Subby was in MMC (92 issues), Sub-Mariner (42 issues), Human Torch, All-Winners, All-Select and I'm sure other titles. My gut says Subby beats out Plas.

Ringo? SOTIcollector has had some great ideas. His site is awesome and his passion is second to none. But naming the Peter Wheat variations out of order after the Beatles is not one of his great ideas. Just sayin'.

Not Silver, but four of my five Dennis comics - ones you don't see very often especially in this condition (the other Dennis I own is a Marvel 1 I bought off the stand): Note: signed Ketchum cover on the very rarely seen no. 10.

Superman, even excluding Superboy, has more GA appearances than Robin.

Superman by far if you count Superboy. He regularly appeared in Action, Superman, World’s Finest, More Fun then Adventure (as Superboy), Superboy, and did a variety of appearances in other title and many promotional comics. My guess is Captain Marvel has the most appearances for a non-DC superhero, but Subby, Plastic Man, and Doll Man might be contenders for a top 5 spot. (I do not count Phantom.)