Bookery

Print-on-demand may indeed be a possibility. But the old-time pulpsters are not much into computer uploading, so it's hard to say. If all else fails, I may find a way to attach it to my website, where it could possibly be made available for free. It's not like one gets rich publishing reference books anyway. But again... it's not the same as a nice professionally bound book. -- Tim Cottrill

This is the first place I've mentioned this, but after 12 years I am finally working on an update to the guide. I'm not putting in the hours on it I did for the first two, so it's moving along slowly, but then again there's not as much new work to be done at this point. It could probably be done within the year if I pressed myself on it. Am reformatting it slightly... it will be a bit easier to use... with most titles now getting an overview paragraph of the type of material to be expected. Prices will be the last thing I get to and update. The big problem is... I'm not sure there's anywhere left to publish it. I'm not interested in self-distributing it like the last one. So even if I finish it, it may be a moot endeavor. HOWEVER... in the meantime I can give you a general sense of prices since 2005. Pristine copies, as with comics, have become a world unto themselves, and may bring serious premiums. Otherwise, basic science-fiction pulps really haven't changed that much in the last dozen years. Some hero pulps have actually dropped in value... later Docs and Shadow pulps have been impacted by the reprints. Detective pulps have definitely been on the upswing, and are getting much tougher to obtain. These have probably risen to various degrees across the board in the past decade. And also as with comics, the more over-the-top covers seem to be in ever-increasing demand, particularly in grades above "vg". Authors are less important than they used to be... now it's all about cover art. The rare stuff seems to get ever-rarer, at least in terms of being seen out for sale.

Exactly right. I'm in more of a position to know than most... I spent 2 years putting my own 600-page guide together (for my own buying and selling purposes -- not for re-sale) and update it regularly. OPG may be too low on a number of "key" books, but is way inflated on the vast majority of GA. In fact, the dirty little secret that is seldom talked about is that most GA issues have been gradually falling in value over the years as newer generations have no connection to it. Except for certain highlight issues, the majority of Dell, Fawcett, Quality, Lev Gleason, western, romance, movie tie-in, and other lesser known issues sell for well below OPG, and generally then only if they are marketed as a bargain in comparison to OPG prices (30% off guide, 50% off guide, etc.). I'm talking mainstream grades here... 2.0 to 8.0... as pedigrees and ultra high-grades are a world unto themselves. Even most non-key DC books sell for under guide at present. The dilemma for OPG however, is that many of these comics sell at all only when seen as a "bargain". If OPG lowers a $100 western, say, to a more realistic value of $50... does the new market value immediately fall to $25? Lower it to $25, and is it now $12? It would be difficult for the guide to keep up with the ever-changing prices brought on by the guide's very attempt to come into line with the market. Yet that said, I believe there is more need for published price guides now then ever. EBay is not trustworthy on scarcer books... too much manipulation and also fears that the seller isn't describing the book properly (page count, etc.). Analyzing GPA is a science... one few folks take the time to learn. The "free" online guides are worth what you pay for them. There is still a need for a learned well-thought out guide/guides in the marketplace to properly assess values and trends for those who can't or don't want to take the time. (When I put the pulp guides together years ago, it was a challenge to make sure I didn't over value books because of a few sales that turned out to be the same two guys battling each other for books... once they obtained them, prices again settled back to previous levels). OPG is a wealth of data. No price guide can keep up with certain volatile items in a given short period, but I think if OPG dropped all of the "cover price or less" material out of the guide and concentrated on actual collectible issues (with a larger font that could actually be read), and dropped its fear of showing downward movements, it could rise back to being the primary go-to source it once was.

Fast shipping, secure packaging, tracking updates... all around just great service. Thanks!

In Captain Marvel Adventures #41 (1944), Cap' visits several landmarks in Dayton, Ohio, and battles Nazi saboteurs at Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson AFB).

Bruce Banner was born in Dayton, Ohio. And there was an issue of the Incredible Hulk around 2000 or so that had Hulk traveling through our own suburb of Fairborn, depicting actual buildings just a few blocks down the road from our shop.

Great thread! I think the boards would be served well to have a lot more of this type of "behind the scenes" or "life of a dealer" type threads. That said, I am reminded by this thread why I quit doing shows. A la Danny Glover, "I'm too old for this S...!" Plus, the older guys on this thread know that once they put you on the standard blood-pressure medicine... one restroom break a day becomes a ludicrous concept! It took several decades, but I finally got the shop to the point where I don't need to do shows anymore... the clients come to me! (many of them dealers.... but it helps to be within a few miles of the "crossroads of America"). I won't get absolute top dollar, but I don't have show costs, so it all balances out. Case in point... I just picked up a collection this weekend in various grades that contained nearly all the big Marvel #1s (only FF #1 was absent). Between pre-existing want-lists, and first announcing the collection on my website this morning, by afternoon most of the "big stuff" is already sold. But it takes many many years to develop that deep a client list.... and one of the best ways to do that in the beginning is by doing lots of shows. Kudos to those that have the stamina and drive to still do it!

-- sold a copy of Percy Crosby's "Skippy's Own Book of Comics" to his daughter. -- Al Feldstein stopped in the store, but didn't buy anything. -- Harlan Ellison shopped at our show booth. -- gave David Prowse a one-sheet poster depicting him in "Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell" when he did a signing in our store. -- Mad-TV's Pat Kilbane opened a shop in competition with us for awhile. -- Kyle Hotz was at one time a regular customer. -- Dave Chappelle used to shop here on occasion. -- Butch "Eddie Munster" Patrick's been in. -- one of my ex-employee's married a famous porn actress and they've both been in (she's retired from the biz, so I won't name her without permission). -- Jim Steranko bought a copy of my pulp guide. -- purchased underground artist Jim Osborne's personal collection. -- used to have a file customer whose legal surname is Batman-- and yes, he did collect Batman comics.

A sharp copy of Buck Rogers' one and only pulp-cover appearance!

You still overlook the most important thing... no one is twisting anyone's arm to buy these books... or slabbed books in general. I have thousands of vintage comics in my shop. For some bizarre reason, not a single one of them has skyrocketed in price since the sale of the Action #1. And curiously, my grading standards have not changed either, and nothing has received a "grade bump". If one isn't buying comics simply as a stock-exchange style commodity, then purchasing something you like in a grade you trust, whether it's from CGC or whether it's raw, and at a price you find reasonable... none of that has been altered one whit by the Action or Detective, or any other of the $1 mil+ books that literally affect the lives of only a handful of people on earth willing to put that kind of cash into them. The rest of us go on business as usual.

I'm a big proponent of logical thinking, and this comment makes no sense. Fishler is a dealer. As such, why would he keep paying more for books than his customers could ever come up with? He clearly knows people he believes will some day pony up even more than he paid. especially if you can control the market, then ypou can pay any price and knock you competition out This is only partially true, Mitch. You're right in that a savvy dealer (or collector) can successfully manipulate the market on unique or very rare items. This is where hype comes into play, and its a fair enough tactic if the hype isn't dishonest. But it's also risky... one has to know the potential clientele, good timing, as well as have a penchant for ballyhoo... but even then it's no guarantee. But try as he might, Fishler (or anybody) isn't going to keep getting record prices above everyone else for, say, a 6.0 AF15, because there's just too many copies available from too many sources. In comics there really aren't all that many books scarce enough and popular enough where a single person, or even small group of persons, can successfully manipulate the market. So in the end, I'm not sure this sale, "manipulated" or not, really says much about the greater comics marketplace.

I'm a big proponent of logical thinking, and this comment makes no sense. Fishler is a dealer. As such, why would he keep paying more for books than his customers could ever come up with? He clearly knows people he believes will some day pony up even more than he paid.

Funny Here is Dime Mystery from the same year (Feb-May of 1938) looks like the same artist, same woman, yet I have not been able to find any attribution. The Feb issue is by artist John Drew, the other two are by David Berger.

Barbarella (1968) Danger: Diabolik (1968) However, Buck Rogers started in the pulps ("Amazing Stories") and only later became a comic strip. The Shadow definitely does not belong on the list... based entirely on the long-running pulp magazine (which in turn was inspired by a radio show).

I'm not sure what the connection is between Venus Books and Carnival Books but Carnival also published Reckless. Note that they mention that the alternate title of the book is Pleasure Bound. Interesting.... Now I need to get the Carnival book to complete the set... Does this mean Kermit Welles and James Clayford are the same writer? Presumably. The confusing part of this question is that I know James Clayford was a pseudonym used by Peggy Gaddis. And in doing a little bit of Googling I've learned that Kermit Welles was a pseudonym of Manning Lee Stokes. So... I dunno. Was the book a collaboration? "James Clayford" was a house pseudonym used primarily by Peggy Gaddis, but Norman Daniels and Brett Halliday each had a title using the name as well. I'm not aware that Stokes did, however. It's diffficult to say without having the books in hand, but if I had to guess I'd say... The Clayford and Welles books are different novels. The publisher (these are related subsidiary lines I believe) just cheaply re-used the same art. Then when the Welles book was reprinted, somebody saw the art again, only recalled or re-used the Clayford title. It could be three editions of one title... but just as likely is two different novels sharing the same title at one point, and all sharing the same artwork (models and artists are expensive, y'know).

These seven? They've got the height requirement.

Actually... I was trying to think of a gun-toting gorilla carrying a girl and couldn't recall one. I was correct, btw. That is clearly a sasquatch and not a gorilla... yeah, that's the ticket!

That wouldn't be one of the Saucys... it's not ringing a bell (lots of gorilla covers with girls, one I can think of with a rifle, but none with both..unless I'm just drawing a blank). SAUCY DETECTIVE! I stand corrected! Yes... it's been so long since I've seen a copy that I completely forgot about it. I've never owned one, nor seen one in person that I recall. If pulps had a Gerber Guide, a lot of these would be Gerber-8s and 9s!

That wouldn't be one of the Saucys... it's not ringing a bell (lots of gorilla covers with girls, one I can think of with a rifle, but none with both..unless I'm just drawing a blank).

Just acquired this one (June 1937)... Saucy Movies are all scarce, but this double-size issue is especially elusive (Heritage has never had one despite offering a number of Saucys over the years). Oddities of note -- contains a 3-page comic strip titled "Dawn of Hollywood"... the interior art is abysmal... particularly disturbing as it looks like "sexy pictures" drawn by a 7-year old! (though the issue calls them "the swellist gang of artists outside of Gay Paree!") The publishers are also not above just making stuff up to sell copies, such as this blurb... "Coming! A new novel by Paul Haggard who is fast becoming the country's most popular mystery writer!" Yep! In 1937 it wasn't Agatha Christie or Raymond Chandler or Rex Stout of Erle Stanley Gardner... it was "Paul Haggard"!

In my last pulp guide (2005) I have it listed at $10 in "good", $25 in "very good", and $50 in "fine". Leonard also appeared in that title in the May & Sep 1952 issues, and in the Jan. 1953 issue, though they go for a bit less as the "Three-Ten" story is the most famous amongst them.

I don't remember all of the specifics either, but I'm guessing Tolkien didn't get paid by Ace until the court ordered them to do so, which came about some years later. Wollheim was probably accurate in that the copyright had not been properly secured... but the court ruled against Ace anyway. And by that time Ace had made lots of money and publicity off of the matter, and likely still came out ahead. Frustrated that he couldn't keep his books out of that disgusting paperback format, Tolkien relented and sold the authorized rights to Ballantine, who made a fortune off of endless reprintings. Of course, Tolkien and his estate made a fortune as well... something that would likely never have happened if the books remained in hardback only, and likely out of print for long periods of time. I'm a bit surprised about Tolkien's initial attitude, however, and as an Ivory Tower type professor, I'm guessing he didn't really understand much about affordable mass-market paperback books. He felt they were beneath him, which means he must have considered himself at a loftier level than the likes of John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Harper Lee, and just about every Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner up to that time!

All excellent and accurate points, Dwight. In fact, one of the difficulties in judging pulp prices on better items is that whenever you see a record price paid for a high-grade pulp, there's a pretty good chance it was sold to one of maybe a half-dozen prominent high-end collectors. Once these folks have their copies, remaining books that turn up may sell for a fraction of the last price. Of course, it's not much different in comics. There are others here that would know better than I, but I suspect the really top prices paid for big comics at auction generally end up in the hands of maybe only a couple of dozen different collectors, with scattered exceptions. That is indeed one of the dangers for long-term investors (collectors generally won't care)... and that is that high-prices and GPA averages on big high-grade books... whether it's pulps, comics, or paperbacks, are often driven by only a small number of people. If those people complete their runs, or get out of collecting, prices can be subject to radical shifts.