buttock

PCH is scalding hot. GGA is scalding hot. This particular book, having both, has become a key to the newer generation of collectors. I'm never surprised at a price like this for one of these books.

No, but it's a selling point and probably able to squeeze a slight bump in price. People have done far more for far less.

Well that's kinda the issue. The Weird Mysteries 4 in HA has the alleged fake stamp. https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/weird-mysteries-4-bethlehem-pedigree-gillmor-1953-cgc-vf-75-off-white-pages/p/7248-36026.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515 CGC's pedigree recognition has been questionable at times, especially in the 2nd gen label era. There was an Action in the last HA signature auction that was labeled the San Francisco copy inaccurately. I could see the "different stamp" theory working if there was some consistency, but there are other books from the same era and same publisher with the appropriate stamp. In fact there are 3 other stamped Bethlehems currently at auction from 1953, all of which have the appropriate stamp, and typically a date stamp on the back cover also, which the WM 4 doesn't have. Heritage has almost 100 1953 Bethlehems in their archive. I just went through around 30 of them, and of all of them that have a stamp (most of them) they're all the correct stamp. Here's a book from the same month, 4/53, which has the correct stamp. https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/witches-tales-18-bethlehem-pedigree-harvey-1953-cgc-vf-nm-90-off-white-to-white-pages-lee-elias-cover-howard-nostrand/a/14102-17784.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515# Definitely doesn't smell right.

What a great run and just absolutely chock full of primo Everett art inside.

That's a great one!

Over the years I've seen a rare few books with an EJ Kery stamp on the back where Bethlehem is spelled wrong, i.e. "Behtlehem". I've been told by several people that these are fake, but I'd like to know more. The story of the faked Mile Highs is notorious, and everyone loves a good gossip story, so I'm hoping someone can clarify this.

Really? You think rust migrated through 32 folios?

Yeesh. I sold that copy for probably $250 several years ago. Guess I should have held onto it.

Can we agree that Rothko sucks?

I tried to, but working with the artist was like working with a toddler. I understand your point on art, at some point hyperrealism is no longer pushing boundaries. But that doesn't mean that every abstraction by an artist is worth fawning over either.

It's like how the old Germans would hand down the beer stirring stick from generation to generation. It's really the trowel that is what is worth so much. Probably at least $1BN.

Can you clarify this? I've always thought this was unknown.

DC had several colors that oxidized during this time period. I tend to think of the green (e.g. B&B 18, SA 80 -- the green is most often orange/brown from oxidation), but I've seen that with blues also. I don't know if it's from light exposure or another element. Horrific 3 is probably the worst example of that green oxidizing. Just try and find a copy that's not brownish orange.

I think I understand what you're saying, I'm not sure if it's sun fade or not, but the rectangular area suggests a price sticker at some point. If you compare the back cover of the two copies, they match colors pretty well suggesting that something happened to the front alone.

Look at the top right hand corner of the faded copy.

Her eyes...

This isn't really true. A grade is simply a way to give a ballpark description of a book, while also giving it a rank relative to other books in terms of condition. Not everyone has the same preference of attributes or defects, so you try and take everything as a whole and put a grade on it. If I'm on the phone with you and tell you a book is NM or VF, you should be able to have a pretty good idea of what it looks like. And that's the whole point of a grade, not to assign different values to each technical flaw.

You're probably right. Then there are the dummies like me who never bother to resubmit, reholder, or CPR.

I consigned books to Bob earlier this year. The day after they were listed I didn't see them on the site, so I emailed him to ask and they had already sold. Couldn't have gone smoother. For the books you're listing I would strongly consider using him.

Excellent Toth cover!

Perky the quiz pig?!?!?!

I have a beat up #2 also, but I don't have a scan handy.

At some point every grader will start to think that pressed books are how HG books should look. The idea of the strictly graded 1st gen label is silly now. Those books were given leeway for pressable defects. Send them in now in the same condition and they'll be dinged heavily. It's a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy.

Doesn't get any better than that.

It depends on what time frame you're considering, but IMO yes. They prefer books that have been absolutely pancaked over those that haven't.