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Just a quick post to show a cool comic I picked up recently, Shazam Annual 1, which reprints the classic CC Beck cover from Cap Marvel Adventures 18:

Completing Some Additional Runs

Recently I completed my Wonder Woman (1st series) run.  For DC titles like this -- and Action, Batman, Detective, etc. -- I'm not trying to complete the entire series starting with issue #1.  Trying to get Action #1 (for example) is out of reach of me, and even if I could buy a page in order to check #1 off my want list, getting the rest of the early issues is a collecting project I don't have the energy or money for.

So for DC titles like this, I usually pick an issue to start from and then collect the title to the last issue.  For the 1st Wonder Woman series, I picked #178, which began the "new" Wonder Woman run, and I collected it to the last issue, #329.

The last issue I needed to complete this run was #196.  Because it was the last issue I needed, I splurged a bit to get a nice presenting CGC copy.

I also recently finished my Strange Tales run.  Again, I don't have the cash or energy to start from #1, so I began from #110 (the first Dr. Strange) to the last issue, #188.  I also included in this run Annuals 1-2. 

The last issues I needed to finish the run included the 2 annuals.  Based on what was being offered on the internet, I just decided to get CGC copies.

The last issue I needed was #111, the 2nd appearance of Dr. Strange.  I paid more for this issue than #110, Doc's 1st appearance.

Here's the quick story.  I bought #110 from Mike Carbonaro at a San Diego con in the early 2000s.  It actually was part of a larger deal.  We were dickering over the price of Tales of Suspense 39 -- first Iron Man -- and to close the deal, he gave me a steep discount on Strange Tales #110.  I remember running back to my hotel room for my checkbook, as I hadn't expected to spend so much money at the con.  I still have both comics in my collection:

So anyway, that was many years before the Dr. Strange movie so prices have changed.  Back then, I got #110 from Carbo for $140.  About a week ago, I got #111 from Lone Star for $192.  Thanks for reading.

New Bettie Page Signed Collectible

Recently I bought this card signed by Bettie Page.  It reprints Bettie's famous Christmas photo from Playboy's Jan 1955 issue. 

Of course, you have to be careful when buying signed items on ebay, as the signatures may be fake.  But Bettie's sig is not uncommon (unlike, for example, Marilyn Monroe).  And if you were going to fake a signature, you probably wouldn't use a beat up ball point pen.

So I decided to send the card into PSA for authentication, as I thought it would make a cool collectible in the slab.  It only took about 2 weeks to get PSA's verdict -- the signature was authentic.  Hurray!

And I think this does make a cool looking collectible.  Thanks for reading.

  New Matt Baker Addition

Major win last night in the Heritage Sunday auction -- True Love Pictorial #11!  I never thought I'd own this classic Matt Baker cover in CGC 6.0!  (I wonder if I could inch up the grade with a press to get rid of the spine roll?)

My goal is to get a copy of every comic where Baker did the cover.  On my list there are 303 Baker covers (some of them are reprints), and I have 206 of them.  At this point, I think I've gotten most of the easy ones, so the hunt is getting really tough now.  This new addition is definitely one of the hard ones, so I'm very excited to have it.

Completing Runs

I used to be a completest, and for the first 4 decades of my life, I worked on completing runs of what I call the Original Marvels (ASM, Avengers, Cap, DD, FF, Iron Man and Thor).  I completed those titles a while ago, and then I floundered around for a few years trying to figure out what to collect next.  I eventually gravitated to Golden Age GGA, so I moved from a titles collector to a covers collector. 

But lately I've been trying to complete some runs that were almost complete before I switched to covers. The last issues to completing a title are always the most expensive, as I always bought the easy (i.e., cheap) issues first.  Doesn't everyone?

For example, recently I finally finished my run of the original Marvel Star Wars title (issues 1-107).  I needed #107, which was the last issue and rare (it was rare probably because, by the end of the title, not many people were buying it).  It's a cool cover with the entire gang, so I decided to splurge ($83) and buy a nice CGC copy.

Another title I've completed recently is DC Wonder Woman Vol. 2 (issues 0-226, 1000000, Annuals 1-8, GS 1).  The last issue I needed was #184 with the Adam Hughes "vintage" cover.  I guess you'd call this a modern GGA cover.  I like Hughes work but I'm actually not crazy about the cover art.  I decided though to splurge since it was the last issue I needed, and also on eBay, there didn't seem to be a great difference in price between raws and CGCs.  So I opened my wallet and spent $180 for this one.  Thanks for reading.

My Baker buys in 2020.

4 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Junie Prom is a fun set. You would think hey, 4 issues, no problem. Wrong. These are pretty tough in any kind of decent shape. I’m still looking for a 2. There was one right here on the boards a while back a I missed it by a nano second. I’m sure I will turn one up one of these days. Not much I lose any sleep over anymore. 

I also like those early Rangers. Also tough books. Finding the right copies at the right prices are a bit of a challenge. But isn’t what collecting is all about? 

Hope you are doing well Mike. 

Hi Bob - Good to hear from you.  With this #4, I've actually completed my Junie Prom set.  Here they are: