Cat-Man_America

gal on sled to gals on slabs...

This thread feels like deja vu all over again. 

Since this is basically a popularity contest featuring fave pedigrees, here's my honest opinion (the top three usually sell for multiples of Guide, so they're shoe-ins):

1) Church

2) San Francisco (Reilly)

3) Gaines File

4) Larson

5) Fill in the blank _________ (Could be Chinatown, Chicago, Okajima, Allentown, Denver, Billy Wright, Rockford, Promise Collection or other pedigree depending on the book & perceived grade)

On 10/18/2023 at 9:46 AM, Dr. Balls said:

They're really cranking on that wheel for that dude!

It was a split decision, ...there was a lot of "buzz" around getting the war info spilled via half measures. 

witch with a broom to witch at the stroke of midnight with Toro in cold storage...

I kept my Promise Collection bids within reason targeting specific books wanted and was never awe struck by the hype or eyebrow raising grades which ...apparently... quite a few early auction bidders were.  The heroic tearjerker story certainly left a lot of folks enthralled with the pedigree or melodrama behind it, but there were just too many omissions in the story and efforts to keep the original owner(s) and family anonymous provided too many red flags for my liking.  It's a shame that some of the prices have dropped significantly (the finger pointing for this is understandable), but I don't think Promise Collection overall value deflation is a market correction, but rather a specific pedigree correction. 

Bird-like baddie to Angel with wings on his chest, but mustache has been clipped...

On 10/13/2023 at 12:11 PM, aardvark88 said:

Pic was designed for Dr. Wertham's X-mas card:

Wertham apparently had a real "thing" for the Human Torch or maybe he just anticipated the bonfires! 

On 10/13/2023 at 9:08 PM, Point Five said:

I thought I was done with Schomburgs, but couldn't resist this crazy cover. And in general I have a fondness for these weird C-lister Harvey superhero titles from the early-to-mid-1940s. Sucks to be you though if you plunked down your 10 cents expecting to read an epic comic story about the patriotic heroes on the cover... these guys are relegated to a lowly text story inside and appear nowhere else. ("SORRY KID, NO REFUNDS!")

...But'cha can't beat dat Schomburg cover now, can ya kid? 

Sharp nails to fiendishly long giant sized nails...

Joe Simon Claw Silver Streak cover to Jack Cole Claw Silver Streak cover...

On 10/12/2023 at 12:55 PM, sfcityduck said:

Piedmont is a small location with no obvious borders. Folks who claim to live in the "Piedmont neighborhood" may actually live in Oakland. Has Bob ever stated the parents names or address? 

I've always just assumed that while the books are undoubtedly real and very high quality, the story may have just been puffery to buyers and/or misdirection to keep sellers anonymous. The kind of thing Heritage did with Promise which was nearly the same story.

I think the San Francisco Collection/Reilly story is more interesting than the Promise Collection because many of the books had never been opened from descriptions contemporaneous to their acquisition. Also, the stamp on the back of some of the books is unique and very distinct to this collection. The misdirection part is certainly possible, but GA comics weren't as BIG a consumer market back in the early 70's with sky high or rather Mile High values.  If there was misdirection it was to insure the buyers would have continued access since my recollection is that the collection was bought in lots over several weeks. I wish Bud Plant would come back to the board and share his knowledge as I'm sure he has knows a lot more about these books than most of us.

My simple observation is that the stamp on the back could be an owner's stamp or a bookstore, newsstand, drugstore, or other store or chain of stores in operation during WWII. The stamp could be the origin of the name "Reilly" or something like it with a "T" or "Tom" in front of it. It looks a bit more like a business design than a name to me, but it could be either or something else altogether. However, given the sources at our disposal these days, it wouldn't surprise me if some of this information can be tracked down with a little ingenuity and research. It's certainly one of the more intriguing mysteries in our hobby. 

Purchased from Bud Plant at the OAFcon up in Oklahoma where all the kewl kids like MrB were set-up... 

Here's an early one from '42... 

On 10/7/2023 at 3:59 AM, Primetime said:

These three were all out in April, 1940

Beautiful April '40 trifecta. I have two of the three, ...MM#8 and DM#5... which are tough books, but Mystic #3 is so mystical I can't recall having seen a copy in the wild! 

Note: I believe all three are Alex Schomburg covers, but unless I'm mistaken only the Mystic is attributed as such.

Recent acquisition (note: I'm not a Fiction House collector per se, but great cover art and robots are always a consideration and when this popped up at the OAFcon it was just too good to resist)...

sidekick menaced by knife to distressed damsel menaced by "fully armed" villain...

six sidekicks to just one which visually measures up in a variety of situations!  

On 10/4/2023 at 12:42 AM, Telegan said:

There's no telling how many collections are waiting to be found out there.  The Feed Store collection, Bobby Blue collection, etc. all had some high(er) grade classics in them.  I'd be more concerned about Silver Age onwards than Golden Age, but still, there's still a shot there are some hidden gem collections out there.  I'm guessing most of the raw ones that are still floating around will be hard-pressed to be 9's or even 8's if people are into flipping through them or reading them, but who knows.

The handling and subsequent grading is the issue, but hard pressing is always a possibility!  

On 10/3/2023 at 3:09 PM, clarkkentdds said:

In another 10-20 years, will the census for rare HG material be double? Triple?

What are the chances top census GA (or Atomic Age)  books will stand as top in 10-20 years from now?

Interested in opinions..

Very difficult to predict because of crack-out & press grade bump resubmissions, but most high grades should retain their top tier status. And, those books that get knocked out of top spot may still be considered as "best" by collectors dependent on the perception of laxness or tightness of grading at any particular point in time.

I don't expect many new collections of uniquely high grade raw books will pop up ...some perhaps, but that number diminishes over time. Also, the census is a tricky thing because there isn't just one third-party grading company with a census.  That means calculating the actual number of graded books or high grade copies in the marketplace at any given time can't be accurately estimated through just one census. 

Food for thought!