Bookery

I didn't think to send it to them... but perhaps they would have (with the NG designation). It was about magazine-size.

I always thought collecting individual pages of comics was silly. Then I found myself buying this page (though I no longer have it)... it's one of the key title pages from Shakespeare's 2nd Folio from 1632. I realize now that if you can't have the whole of something you prize... sometimes a part of it will just have to do!

Yesterday was "National Book Lovers Day". We celebrated it by getting out of the book business. We'll still carry all of our comics, posters, and various collectibles (including some rare books and 1st editions)... but have given up on the basic literature and used book market after 33 years. Too much competition from downloads, Amazon, and $1-bulk book operations. Plus the last generation or two cares little on the whole for books. We specialized in fiction... about 20,000 titles, and had a far better selection and lower prices than Half Price Books. But after 500 years, the era of the independent bookseller is over. But... a good run while it lasted. (Besides... if it can't be viewed on a screen, it's not a real book anyway).

Unless a state specifically has no sales tax (Oregon, for instance) you are required by law to collect sales tax on all retail sales (though some states exempt specific products). Even if you are selling out of your house, but have made it an ongoing concern (as opposed to a one-time collection sale) you are technically supposed to have a business license and collect sales tax. In fact, TECHNICALLY, you are supposed to collect tax even on out-of-state sales, but nobody does, since Congress has never been able to agree on a uniform system of collecting internet taxes (it was supposed to have been passed at least twice by now, but each time got delayed). This is one of the big gripes Brick & Mortars have... we are required by law to collect tax, but internet sellers are able to be exempt simply through lack of enforcement... a big disadvantage for B&Ms. Amazon is now required to collect sales tax from any state in which they operate a physical location (such as a shipping warehouse). As Amazon expands, more and more sales are being levied this tax.

The problem with these periodic discussions is that the comic investors always play with disingenuous statistics. The typical comparison is made along the lines of "in the last 10 years the stock market has doubled in value... but look... AF 15 has gone up 10x in that time!". The stock market in its entirety is compared with the best of the best in terms of comic book appreciation. A more apt comparison would be to compare the rise in Apple stock with the rise in AF 15. There is no way to classify how comic books "as a whole" have fared. But the vast vast majority of comics from 1975-on can be found in $1 discount boxes (or even less)... adjusted to inflation, or the fact that a current new issue sells for $3.99... that's a massive loss in valuation. The graphic novel back-issue market is all but dead... we have 1500 gns marked down 70% or more below issue (these are new, not used) and still little interest. Western comics, humor, movie tie-ins, classics, and even lesser known hero books such as Super Magician, sell today for far less than they did 10 or even 20 years ago, esp. with inflation adjustments. A million years ago I worked for Merrill Lynch, so I know how risky stock investments can be. But even then... one can study a company's finances, make an assessment about their product and management, and invest accordingly. With a few practical exceptions, the appreciation of individual comic issues is just dumb luck. Nobody would have predicted years ago that New Mutants 98 would ever be anything but a $1-bin book. No one would have gone out of their way to invest heavily in Batman Adventures 12, featuring a new goofy cartoon-based villain. Check GPA on once stalwart titles like Showcase... except for a few keys, most copies in average grades market at well below OPG values. Comics are certainly more fun for most of us than buying stocks, and can be enjoyed for far more than their resale value. But to say they, as a whole, have proved to be a great investment is likely untrue. The one advantage comics DO have, is that a well-informed savvy buyer can seek out hot issues tucked in discount boxes, or backboard bargains when a dealer has overlooked current trends (and nobody can keep up on everything). With stocks, you can't just buy a company at half current market.

For an old-timer like me, it's still difficult to wrap my brain around some of these prices... especially for things like the above book. It's amazing the thousands of dollars a comic will bring if it's cover is just slightly "sexy", or if it has a bondage or torture theme, even if these are tame by the standards of other mediums. Extrapolating out, I guess that means the "average" pulp magazine must be worth about $5,000 now? The typical men's adventure mag., maybe $2,000? It looks like all of my old vintage paperbacks must be worth at least in the hundreds each. Until recently, I was oblivious to the fact that I'm a multi-millionaire.

Though weakened by the loss of his triplicate self, Icelandic crime still cannot rest easy when faced with the awesome power of Duo-Dude.

They did... Jan '41, Mar '41, Sep '41, and Feb '42 issues also had sf themes. In Spicy Adventure, the Aug, Oct, and Dec 1940 issues has sf covers, as did 1941's Feb, Apr, Jul, Sep and Nov issues, and the Jan and Mar issues of 1942.

Of course, per your opening sentence, it could also be viewed as comic collectors being way out of line on what they are willing to pay vs. availability... it's all a matter of perspective. Movies are driving collector values right now. Eventually, the movie fad will move elsewhere. (Far more Tarzan movies were produced than all of the current major comic-hero franchises combined... but eventually the demand for them faded as did high-levels of collector interest). But, I agree with pretty much what you say above. Some things are actually TOO RARE to be highly collectible. This is one of the factors that has kept pulp prices way below their comics counterparts. Despite more gruesome horror covers, more flamboyant good-girl art, more eye-catching SF themes... a copycat-cover on a comic book will bring many times what the original pulp will. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that pulps are just too hard and frustrating to collect for many... and if you're obsessed with high grades... forget it. And movie posters are awkward to display... not much fun flipping through folded-posters in a box... and unless you live at the Biltmore... tough to find wall-space to devote to them.

As one who enjoys paper collectibles across a broad spectrum, even after decades in the business I will never cease to be amazed by these books. I don't believe there is another collectible of any kind that reaches these kinds of valuations with such a large number of copies available. Compared to some collectibles, Action 1 & 'Tec 27 would be considered abundant! With several copies having blown past $1-million, it's interesting to note that a First Folio Shakespeare, complete, can be had for around $2-mil., with probably fewer than 2-dozen copies in existence, and only a handful of those not locked away in museums. Poe's 1st book, Tamerlane, I believe now goes for around $1-mil., if you can shake free one of the 20 or so known copies. I think there's only about 2 or 3 dozen known copies of Tarzan's 1st app. in All-Story... which goes for around $20-k or so... even fewer copies of the 1st edition hardback in dust-jacket... maybe $50-k for a decent copy. There are several KEY movie posters out there with fewer than 10 copies, going for far less than $1-k. The 1st ed. 1st Pocket Book I think has fewer than 20 known copies... somewhere around $20,000 will get you one... if and when one shows up for sale. Weird Tales #1 is not all that rare... but there are still certainly far fewer known copies than Action #1... can be had for around $20k. 1st edition Frankenstein, which was issued in 3 small volumes making it difficult to find whole, maybe $100,000, with I'd guess fewer than 50 existing copies. Others with more knowledge can chime in... but I'm guessing there are not even any classic automobiles, furniture antiques, rare coins, etc., that will bring over $1-mil. with estimated quantities of 200-300 in existence?

Odd... the collection was never offered to me, and we're one of the largest shops in the world. There's also a large shop in Northern Kentucky you'd have thought they would have tried as well, before hauling them that many miles. (However, to be honest... I'm not sure how excited I'd get over Star Wars. Half a dozen issues sell instantly... the rest sit here with multiple copies in stock). There seems to be an odd fact with comic collections... really good stuff... golden-age rarities, prime books, etc., will often just be sold for a fraction of their worth to the nearest small dealer available (esp. true with estate collections, where the owners don't bother to know what their relative collected, or what it's worth). Then the folks with very little, or at least fairly routine collections, will spend big $$$ traveling all over trying to eek out top-dollar, or refusing to believe dealer after dealer who explains what they have isn't worth that much.

So few people ever take this into account. I have a flea market dealer who has bought from me for years. He will often buy a book for $100, and gets excited when he flips it for $110. He can't stand to hold onto anything. If it doesn't move within 2 weeks, he'll turn it over for a loss. I actually rather regret selling him good books, because he won't make the effort to make something more substantial from them. He never has more than $200 - $300 to spend, because his profit margin never lets him build on his available funds. The books I sell him could bring $150 for that $100 with just a bit of effort, or more in the case of bulk items he buys cheaply. To top it off... he drives a round trip of 2 hours to get here, so he actually loses money on travel costs. But it makes him happy, so I shouldn't care, I guess. But unfortunately for me, he will never build over time into being able to acquire larger deals.

No. Now... I've nothing against flippers... in fact I couldn't exist without them in today's market, as the majority of my collector sales are to flippers and dealers. But they are not technically the same thing. As a dealer, I've invested over half-a-million dollars in downtown real estate, and much more in upgrades, repairs, and renovations. I pay $10,000 per year in property taxes. I collect and send to the state tens of thousands of more dollars per year in sales taxes. I have employed dozens of people over the decades. Flippers are generally solo-agents, and I don't know of a single one that pays a penny in taxes on their earnings. A dealer is part of a community, which, I know, in the age of all-internet all-the-time is pretty much meaningless anymore. Dealers are generally in it for the long haul, if they can survive. It's a career. Most flippers have other jobs. Often they do this only for a few years and then move on. Both transact comics, and both are useful to the hobby, but they are not the same animal.

Wasn't me. My only post pointed out the title of the comic.

Best Comics (1939)

One of the problems is that the industry itself has over-promoted the idea that old comics are valuable... especially the OPG. People don't get this false sense with used paperbacks or other modern-era items. The paperback price guides over the years don't include last month's Stephen King novel. Few expect their 1990s issues of Time Magazine to be worth a fortune. Nobody complains when the hardback they spent $24.95 for is available next month at the used bookstore for a third of that or far less. But there's this weird idea out there that all comics books will be worth cover-price or more down the road. The OPG should remove any comic from its listings that's valued at less than $10 in NM (maybe then it could increase the font-size to a readable level for us oldsters)!

I published a pulp price guide back in 2005... "Bookery's Guide to Pulps". It's a bit dated now (though I'm working slowly on an update). Though out of print, there are still dealers on ABE Books and Amazon that carry copies. Pulps have historically been graded like books, with 3 grading tiers... good, very good, and fine. The good and very good grades are actually pretty similar to comics, but the "fine" grade would be closer to a "very fine" in comics terms. In a numerical system, the 3 main grades are probably close to comic equivalents of 2.0, 5.0, and 8.0. Pulps grading higher than 8.0 are very rare (except for some digests), but some pedigree copies do turn up. Keep in mind, the science-fiction pulps are what you will come across most often. Many of these have spectacular covers, but they are also among the more common pulps... so be wary of over-graded and over-priced copies at flea markets, or from comics dealers who aren't overly familiar with pulps. If you come across a copy of the pulp guide, in "general", SF pulps probably haven't changed too much in value over the past decade (except for true high grades), hero pulps are fairly stable except for rarities, and detective, weird menace and good-girl covers have risen since last publication. Like comics, over-the-top cover art is in increasing demand. Be prepared to be frustrated as a pulp collector... you can buy an Action #1 tomorrow if you have the money... but you may search for years for a $50 pulp to fill that gap in your run! -- Tim Cottrill

Many years ago one of my regular customers brought it in. He was one of the panel speakers at the 1966 science-fiction WorldCon. He won it as a door prize at the Con (probably asking himself what the heck is this, and who is Ed Wood?). I have all of the mailing materials that came with it. It came from the offices of Greenleaf Publishing (Earl Kemp) and was mailed directly to the WorldCon president. The book was released at the same time as the movie, and maybe it was some sort of cross-promo thing? My customer was a regional film rep at the time, and his job at the Con was to promote the new release of "Fantastic Voyage". He passed away a few months ago in his late-'80s. He rarely got rid of anything in his collection, and the fact that he sold this indicates of the many things he hoarded away, this apparently held little significance for him.

Here's a good-girl cover... with extras. This is Ed Wood's "Orgy of the Dead", complete with pre-production unbound copy, 2 sets of galleys with corrections, and Wood's original manuscript, with numerous corrections in Wood's hand and the editors, plus Forrest Ackerman's original manuscript for the book's Introduction.

Speaking of Karloff... I have this lobby card from 1921 I picked up at auction. There are two other cards from this movie that have surfaced, but both of those have Karloff turned away and less recognizable. Otherwise, from what I've been able to research, this may be the earliest movie poster image of Karloff there is. This is his 11th film, and most of the previous roles were bit parts (crowd scenes, etc.) where he's not likely to turn up on a card or poster. Not quite a serial card... but it's tale of villainy in the Far North has a serial kind of feel to it.

Thanks! When I get a little closer to finishing I'll get back to this. I may also be seeking some input from these boards on sales prices, especially of the rarer and more obscure stuff, that may not show up in the usual searches and sites. Neat Populars, btw.

Thanks CC!

Your model is surprisingly close to my own. Only I don't even do shows. I sell here at the shop and that's pretty much it. That may seem highly restrictive, but we're near the crossroads of I-70 and I-75 -- two of the world's busiest highways -- so we get a lot of out-of-state collectors and dealers in. I sell stuff pretty reasonable so that a good portion of our business is to dealers... but I save on all of the hotel and table costs, so if I take less than I might get at a show, it all works out to about the same. But I don't negotiate. I have my own 600-page pricing guide I've put together, and I pretty much stick to it (though of course adjustments need to made on volatile books on a regular basis). I have some customers and show promoters tell me I'd do so much better if I did shows, or put books on eBay. But I don't know how, since my sell-through on anything halfway decent is pretty much 100%. The only things that are hard to move, even at large discounts, are the things that are slow everywhere... Disneys, Classics, old westerns, etc. And even then I generally move them here eventually. There 's no trouble selling stuff. The trick is getting to buy it. The one thing no one has mentioned is that for every customer that wants you to match or beat an eBay price, there is a seller expecting the same thing. "Well, this is selling for $50 an eBay, so unless you give me $50 for it I'll just sell it there". Basically, I'm supposed to pay $50 to match the eBay price, and then turn around and sell it at $40 to beat the eBay price. No thanks. I grade tightly and price fairly, but that's it. It sells when it sells. And like G.A.tor... on the big books anyway, it's generally the same deal... tough to make much more than 10% - 20%, so really there's no choice in the matter.

I haven't spent much time tracking down price data yet... mostly just get general reports from some of my clients and dealers. I did see not too long ago some Weird Tales at Heritage seemed to be going for healthy prices... but I don't recall how nice the grades were. There was a gorgeous copy of Weird Tales #1 listed at Heartwood Books a short time ago... it was described as a solid "Fine" and may well have been the best copy in existence. It was priced at $12,000, and I was thinking that seemed like a very reasonable price. I was seriously considering it, but then wondered why it was still available... maybe I'm thinking WT prices had softened? But a few days later it was gone. It's one of those over-thinking it situations... if it's available, then it must be too expensive. If it's gone, then it must have been a bargain! I'm holding out for Schroedinger's Pulp... it's both available and sold simultaneously!

I will still employ three price columns in the new guide, but I was already planning to move to a 10-point grading scale (pulps don't really need the half-grades at this point, I don't think). But it's particularly confusing now with pulps being included with comics at some of the big auction houses. Traditionally, a pulp in "Fine" condition is about as good as it gets in most cases (equivalent to perhaps an 8.0 or better in comics). But when someone lists a pulp as "Fine", a comic collector may assume it's only in mid-grade. But oddly enough a "very good" in both pulps and comics is roughly the same. Factory-trimmed pulps are obviously much easier to find in higher grade than traditional "overhang" pulps, and should be priced at a different spread, as should most digests. I'm leaning toward 2.0, 5.0 and 8.0 columns, with of course an introduction defining the other grades. But it might go 2.0-4.0-8.0. I'll figure it out later. Of course... if I acquire the next "Church Collection"... all pulp-guide plans could be put on the back-burner...