RareHighGrade

Issue #23 started 1938 with a bang. Its cover depicts a frontiersman stranded on a snow-covered mountain and fighting for his life against a pack of hungry wolves. The artwork reflects Flessel’s transition to covers with more mature and suspenseful themes. The remaining issues in the run represent some of his best Golden Age work. Apparently, this issue does not exist in high grade. The Lost Valley copy is the highest graded by CGC. No one has seen a Church copy.

Issue #22 is the only Christmas cover in the run.

Here's issue #21, which also has a Norman Rockwell feel to it. Two issues later, the vibe changed considerably.

#20. My copy is mid-grade. The Church copy of this issue is a 9.6 that was stolen from Harley Yee’s booth several years ago and has never again resurfaced.

Here is issue #19:

#18 represents the first surfing cover on a comic book. This is the Church copy, which was (under)graded by CGC as a 9.0 over 20 years ago.

The last book I obtained comes up a bit later in the run. I'll flag it when I post the book.

That's a gorgeous copy that looks every bit an 8.5.

#17 is another very tough issue that is rarely seen, with only 3 Universal copies on the census, none of which is high grade. No one has seen the Church copy. My copy is a raw non-pedigree, although, once again, it might be from the “penciled S” collection even though it doesn’t have the trademark “S.” After this issue, most of the remaining books in my run are CGC graded.

Issue #16 has an interesting backstory. The cover is based on Federal Men, one of Siegel and Shuster’s earliest works in the medium, with a monthly storyline that stood out for its unusual blend of crime and science fiction. The cover of this issue is not signed, but looks exactly like Shuster’s artwork, so it was long believed that it represented the Siegel and Shuster team’s first cover (almost a year before Action #1). But then Jon Berk interviewed Flessel, who disclosed that, in fact, he was the artist and that he had intentionally mimicked Shuster’s style so that the art would be an accurate representation of the strip. As a side note, this cover also represents the first (and only?) one devoted to soliciting readers to join a comic book fan club. No one has seen the Church copy of #16. Mine is a raw non-pedigree, although it might be from the “penciled S” collection, despite missing the trademark “S.”

Issue #15 ushered in the first of the Flessel covers, and it’s a classic. In Norman Rockwell style, the artwork evokes the carefree nature of boyhood, which is a continuing theme of Flessel’s covers until issue #23, when the subject matter became more mature and darker. This issue is extremely difficult to find. In fact, according to the CGC census, it is the rarest New Adventure issue, with only 3 Universal copies, none of which is high grade. This rarity is reflected in the recent sale of Ian Levine’s former copy, a CGC 4.5 that sold for $12,500 last month. My raw copy comes from the Church collection.

This is the raw Church copy of #14, which has an ad for Detective #1 on the back cover. Interestingly, there are two Church copies of this book; the other copy is a CGC graded 7.0.

Issue #13 was long considered rare; in fact, it’s listed as a 10 (less than 5 copies in existence) in the Gerber book. However, its reputation for rarity, as well as its related value, caused a handful of issues to surface in the marketplace. There are now 8 Universal copies in the CGC census. This is my raw copy, which comes from the “penciled S” pedigree, a collection that includes many pre-hero DCs in decent grade.

Here's the Church copy, for comparison.

As you will see, the covers started out whimsical and humorous, but then steadily progressed to more serious themes. The covers on the first three issues in the run were done by Whit Ellsworth, who was the artist on most of the covers of New Comics, the series that preceded New Adventure. Here is the first New Adventure issue, no. 12. It’s a pretty tough book, with only 8 Universal copies on the CGC census. This Lost Valley copy is one of the rare examples of a 1930’s book that is in higher grade than the Church copy, which comes in second in the census at 5.0.

It has been a decades-long goal of mine to complete the run of New Adventure Comics, which most seasoned collectors agree is the most challenging series of DC books. This 20-book run includes numerous classic covers by my favorite Golden Age artist, Creig Flessel, as well as interior work by the likes of Siegel and Shuster, Leo O’Mealia, Fred Guardineer and Bob Kane (before Batman). My quest started in the 1990’s, when I ran monthly want ads in the Comic Book Marketplace magazine offering to purchase any of these books. How many responses did I get? Not even one! So I had to do it the hard way – picking up, at most, a copy or two a year from dealers, fellow collectors or auctions. Although I was able to complete most of the run after a couple of decades of effort, one issue continued to elude me. Until now. Having finally completed the set, I plan to post the books in sequential order in this thread.

The slide continues. Even though this book was resubbed for an upgrade from 8.5 to 9.0, it still dropped 15% from its prior sale price. Classic Comics #32 Lorna Doone - First Edition - The Promise | Lot #93056 | Heritage Auctions (ha.com) I saw other examples as well in the current HA auction.

Did a Boardie get the Double Action #2? I hope so.

There were also some good deals to be had. I thought that the unrestored Tec 5 in 7.0 for $10,625 was a bargain. As was the unrestored More Fun #35 (one of the toughest MF issues) in 7.0 for only $3,437. The buyers of those books should be very happy.

The prices obtained for most of the pre-hero Tecs were record breakers for the respective grades. Some examples: Tec #1 restored .5: $22,500 Tec #2 restored .5: $4,062 Tec #8 restored 1.8: $4,687 Tec #18 restored 2.0: $5,635 Tec #23 restored 3.5: $5,625 I don't recall ever seeing prices like these in the past. These would have been strong prices for unrestored copies.

Is that the highest price ever achieved for a mid-grade PL #17?

Those are strong prices. The Tec #8 in 1.8 for over $17K, and the Tec #6 in 4.5 for over $13K were also strong prices.

It certainly looks no different now, other than having a fancier gold label. I wonder what "defect" was improved?

That was both interesting and entertaining, thanks adamstrange.

Penalizing non-color breaking bends is the CGC grading practice that I least agree with. And sfcityduck's two examples perfectly illustrate why. I doubt there is a collector out there who, if presented with the same book in the two grades shown, would take the 8.0 over the 7.0.