Theagenes

I'm starting to think that collecting "gas mask" covers would be a pretty cool theme.

With your collecting interests and tastes I'm surprise you haven't delved into pulps already.

Here's a groupshout with bedsheets in the back and regular size pulps in the front for scale.

That's a great site and I've used it many times. A great REH reference is http://www.howardworks.com/ and for ERB pulps try http://www.erbzine.com/mag2/0220.html

Last year I bought and read the three volumes of recent Conan reprints in softcover. I then bought the Kull and Bran reprints which I also liked. This got me thinking about buying some of the originals and I started looking into Weird Tales of which I have now purchased 5 issues. I also noticed that Lovecraft, another author I enjoy, wrote for Weird Tales. At the same time I have become aware that ERB wrote for the pulps, but I haven't looked into any of his material. I've also noticed a lot of really great covers in this thread which might be of interest. I have purchased a number of Fiction House 40s comics over the years based on the covers. As you can see, I am pretty new at this, but for the moment will probably focus on Weird Tales, some other adventure stuff like ERB and now and then a cover I really like. Who knows where it will all lead, but as many people in this thread have mentioned, comics are starting to become really expensive for GA and anything newer isn't really a challenge to find. Mike Sounds you're looking to collect exaclty the same stuff I'm interested in. Wait until I'm done!

I would love to make it to one of the pulp cons some day. I've done very well on ebay, but as always it's a crapshoot. I much prefer to buy from other collectors and I've gotten some great books from fellow boardies. Heritage sometimes has good pulps in their signature auctions, but buying raw (as all pulps are) from them has become as hit-or-miss as ebay. Check out http://thepulp.net/ for loads of info including lists of dealers. Mike, what are you thinking about collecting? just curious.

I put four 30 cent variants in the Nik Auction. This is for a great cause so bid them up like it was 2004. If anyone wins at least three of the four I'll throw in a free raw mystery 30 cent variant. (thumbs u Black Goliath #2 30 CENT VARIANT CGC 9.4 W Conan the Barbarian #61 30 CENT VARIANT CGC 9.2 OW/W Marvel Team-Up #46 30 CENT VARIANT CGC 9.0 OW-W Marvel Two-In-One #18 30 CENT VARIANT CGC 9.0 W

So it was your fault I paid so much! Just kidding - It actually went for a good bit less than what I set my snipe for so I was very happy with what I got it for. I wasn't letting this one get away.

Are you friggin' kidding me!!!! PM sent!

(thumbs u

That's pretty cool. Certailnly he seems to look the part, with the cape, fold-top boots and mask, but it sounds the "cape" is a magic cloak he's wearing for this one story. Was this a normal part of his costume? If not, then he's really no different than Mandrake. Personally, I also like the Phantom as the first superhero in the broadest sense of the term. He is the first crimefighter that has the look that would come to be associated with superheroes - the tights and mask. Batman has no powers either, but most people on the street would consider him a "superhero." If you want to get technical, then yeah, Superman is the first. All of the elements that make up Superman were already out there - S&S just put them all together for the first time.

The prices are all over the map actually, from close to 1k for Solomon Kane to $75 for Ultimate Triumph (which I still need). There are several versions of each book as well. Here's a rough break-down: The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane (Wandering Star 1998) - Illustrated by Gary Gianni Leatherbound edition (50 signed/numbered copies) - $2000+?? Never actually seen one for sale. It wasn't sold to the public. Publisher's edition (100 signed/numbered copies) - $800-1200 Regular Limited edition (1050 signed/numbered copies) - $500-800 The Ultimate Triumph (Wandering Star 1999) - Illustrated by Frazetta Leatherbound Edition (100 numbered copies) - ?? Regular Limited Edition (1050 numbered copies) - $100-150 Trade Edition - $50-100 Bran Mak Morn: The Last King (Wandering Star 2001) - Illustrated by Gary Gianni Leatherbound Edition (50 signed/numbered copies) - ?? Regular Limited Edition (1050 signed/numbered copies) - $125-175 Trade Edition - $50-100 Conan of Cimmeria Vol. 1 (Wandering Star 2002) - Illustrated by Mark Schultz Leatherbound edition (50 signed/numbered copies) - $700-800 Artist's edition (100 signed/numbered copies) - $300-500 Regular Limited edition (1050 signed/numbered copies) - $150-200 Conan of Cimmeria Vol. 2 (Wandering Star 2004) - Illustrated by Gary Gianni Leatherbound edition (50 signed/numbered copies) - $700-800 Artist's edition (100 signed/numbered copies) - $300-500 Regular Limited edition (1050 signed/numbered copies) - $150-200 Kull: Exile of Atlantis (Subterranean Press 2008) - Illustrated by Justin Sweet Regular Limited Edition (1500 signed/numbered copies) - $75-125 Conan of Cimmeria Vol. 3 (Wandering Star, Forthcoming 2009) - Illustrated by Gregory Manchess Leatherbound edition (100 signed/numbered copies) - $500 Regular Limited edition (1000 signed/numbered copies) - $200

2002 towards2112, FlyingDonut, gman, ArAich, greggy, fingfangfoom, Chromium, supapimp 2003 Scrooge, Earl, BrianR, WEBHEAD, goldust40, sckao, Theagenes 2004 xsmanx, JordanScott, Stronguy, namisgr, Currin Comics, marvelcollector, toro, Buck Biggins. Norinn Radd, bounty_coder 2005 Sal, kingofrulers, Crows, Cryptkeeper59, theHumanTorch, John72tex 2006 joeypost, nepatkm, lookwhoitis, MCMiles, thirdgreenham, Monstro 2007 BlowUpTheMoon, MacMan, Count, blue808, Mr. Diggler, trmoore54, cheetah, bosco685, MR. COMICBOOK, JazzMan, bronze_rules, Spidermanontilt, Designer Toast, TupennyConan 2008 Comicopolis, Boozad, Nmtg9,Dollarbill, PEP, Black Lantern, Junkenstein99 2009 slym2none, ashsaytr

Yes, if you haven't read any Howard since you were a 12-year old voraciously digesting those dog-eared Lancers, you should really pick up the new Delrey trades and enjoy these stories the way the author really intended. And if you like beautifully Illustrated limited editions (and aren't an el cheapo) pick up these:

Happy Birthday BZ! Even though it's two days late.

Geek Care to tell us more about the edition. How long ago were these released? I'm a proud geek! If you're familiar with the new Delrey REH trade editions, these are the first editions from which those were printed. They contain all the stories in their most unedited form, including a number of fragments and drafts. No deCamp/Carter revisions. They are full of illustrations and well-made structurally. Scrooge, you would dig these - they are close as you get to having scholarly editions of his works. The Solomon Kane book is the first in the series and came out in 1998. It was followed by Bran Mak Morn: The Last King, The Ultimate Triumph (stories on the bararism vs. civilization theme), Conan of Cimmeria Vol.1, and Conan of Cimmeria Vol. 2. The third Conan volume was never finished and Wandering Star ceased publication of the series for financial reasons. Last year, Subterranean Press took up the series and published Kull: Exile of Atlantis. At first they said they were going to do Conan vol.3 but then announced that they couldn't for legal reasons. The reason became clear a few weeks ago when Wandering Star announced that they would be completing the long-awaited third Conan volume after all and it will be out later this year. Subterranean will do the rest of the series. I'll post some pics of the other books tommorrow. (thumbs u

I had the good fortune to purchase this volume from Gary Gianni himself. He is without a doubt one of my favorite current artists and I believe his in his work you can really see the influence of some of the great illustrators of the past like Frazetta, Foster, Wyeth and Pyle. I was excited when he offered to add a sketch - and the result just blew me away! How cool is this?

So does anyone else here collect the Wandering Star limited editions? I finally picked the first Conan volume awhile back was blown away at what a gorgeous book it was. I quickly started getting the others and think they are truly must haves for serious REH fans. With all due respect to Donald Grant, these are simply the best publications of Howard's work, both in presentation and content. Well, I finally got the first of series, The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane, in the mail today. It is a gorgeous book with beautiful B&W illustrations and full color plates by Gary Gianni, and it's chock full of extras like postcards of the plates and an audio CD of the poem "Solomon's Kane's Homecoming."

Sweet Bok cover!

Probably not since it was a one-shot. More likely, it was a "back pocket" copy.

I have seen it mentioned in several places, but I haven't been able to corroborate it. I'd love to know more about the circumstances behind its publication.

Thanks guys! (thumbs u BZ, Thanks for the link - I didn't realize Meagher did Straight Arrow. Did you ever post your copy? I remember you mentioning you had one but I don't remember seeing it - I bet it's sweet.

I was wondering if it could be slabbed, since it's not squarebound. Was it magazine tier?

Wonderful book!!! Congratulations. How rare do you think this is? Also, it is my understandign that there are some great colr panels inside of this. Could you scan and show those to us? Thanks!! Just posted some interior pics in the pulp thread! (thumbs u Link

Some more pics of the Flash Gordon Strange Adventures pulp. One thing that is interesting is that it is saddle-stitched format rather than squarebound. Also it has a number of full page, color illustrations by Fred Meagher (who does his best to mimic Raymond). Supposedly, this pulp was published without the permission of King Features and is basically a bootleg. Here is the ad for the second issue which was never published (no doubt because of a Cease and Desist from King Features. )