acistaro

My first graded Copper Age comic found amongst my father's extended collection.

Found all 5!

Found a bunch of Karloff comics, some old gold key Universal monsters, some Ripley's Believe it or not, and a few Twilight zone books ... Here's a couple shots of the Karloff books.

Here he comes to save the day!  Looks like it just got pulled off the newsstand.

As someone new to selling books at shows on my own, and as someone who used to assist my Dad selling at shows in the 80s and 90s, I can attest that there is no difference in the morals of sellers, buyers, and random thieves between then and now.  And based on the words of wisdom of my late Grandfather (who never sold a single comic book) - "Keep your wallet in your pocket.", I would assume crime has never been low enough to be flippant about it at any time period in history.

Keeping the expensive stuff behind the table in plain view is Comic Show 101 - and I'm not going to debate whether this is victim blaming or not - just pointing out the obvious way to avoid being a victim.  Hope the thief gets caught, but I also hope others learn to setup their stands to minimize their chances of having their stuff stolen.

It's got it's issues, but it's my Dad's, and I wouldn't sell it or even trade it for a higher grade.

Another trio from the FF series I just can't part with...

I know I'm planning on selling most of the collection, and not sure what the 1 will grade at, and the 4 is pretty.... But these are so iconic, I feel like they're worth holding onto at any grade.

Found this stack of 10 centers in my Dad's office... Didn't even know he collected DC.

On 4/30/2023 at 9:34 AM, WNY said:

Ok, let’s not get too distracted and come back to the topic at hand: @acistaro’s awesome collection.

@acistaro joined the boards on Monday and drops that epic collection on our collective heads and all of our minds were blown (at least mine was) inside of a week. 

This is what this hobby is all about. Awesome stories like this. Whatever you decide to do with that collection @acistaro, how incredible is it that your dad left you this memory and story. Really happy for you man. 

I appreciate all the concern - and yes, we've already discussed this with tax experts and have started looking into the big auction houses... he didn't just collect comics - he's got every Topps Baseball card complete set from 1957 to 1970... he has complete non-sports card sets that are highly sought after - Mars Attacks, Beatles, Three Stooges, Gilligans Island, Spook Stories, Outer Limits... sports autographs - the Miracle on Ice Team signed, Muhammad Ali signed gloves, Bobby Orr signed hockey stick, a picture of Mantle, DiMaggio, and Ted Williams that he had signed twice because the first time DiMaggio signed over Mantle!... oh and a wall of Bowen statues and busts... these are just the examples - I have a basement and office filled with collectibles and quite frankly it's overwhelming... not just because it's so many collectibles to go through - but my Dad was an awesome guy and included me in his hobbies.  He was best man at my wedding because I considered him not just my Dad, but my best friend - at the very least, out of all of my friends - the one I could count on no matter what.  So deciding what to keep and what to sell is a painful process.

I love sharing his collection because he always wanted to set up his basement and office to display all his collectibles, and he just never got around to it.  Unfortunately back to back flu infections took him from us when he was only 61 and other than being overweight (he called himself the Fatman), he was in otherwise good health.  I'll continue to post pics of his collection as I go through it.  I'm definitely pulling out Avengers Annual 2, Spider-Man Annual 1, and his Silver Surfer 4 (who doesn't love that cover)... and as I get stuff graded and decide to keep stuff, I'll post to share it.

On 4/26/2023 at 7:56 PM, Spyderfan said:

I'd bet we'd all love to see pics of the other big hitter books your father collected!  I'm pretty sure I could find a wonderful home for that X-Men 1, just sayin'..... Good luck with whatever you do with the remainder of books you don't keep.   

Ask and ye shall receive.

On 4/25/2023 at 10:32 PM, Batmanis#1 said:

I would get that room fixed if you don't have the funds sell 1-2 books and get it to were it is safe until then put the comics elsewhere. That is a lot of money to risk. Make sure the room has the proper humidity level as well.

That pipe has looked like that since the 80s when we moved there - and the comics have remained there in acid-free mylars and backing boards in a temp-controlled finished basement with a battery back-up sump pump.  That being said, the entire collection is being brought up from the basement soon, as most of it will likely be auctioned off.  My Dad passed away about 4 years ago now and we're just starting to get the emotional fortitude to grade his collection and part with it.

I'm trying to hold on to some comics - AF15 and ASM 1-50, maybe his early FF run (I don't think I could sell his FF5)... but Hulk 1-6/102-110, Tales 39-99, Journey 83 thru Thor 150+, X-men 1-66, Avengers 1-100, Daredevil 1-100, TtA 27-101, Strange Tales including 89 and 110, Sgt Fury 1-40... will hopefully grade well and find a good home.

Well, I might as well make my first post a good one.  I submit my application to join the club, inherited from my father, the great collector, Armand Cistaro III.

- Armand Cistaro IV