Cat-Man_America

Unfortunately, for the time being I am not. Just too expensive for me to play with at this time. I live vicariously through the pics of others! Roy, I get that vicarious feeling every time I come to this forum!

That's a beauty (thumbs u Thanks, Mr. B!!! Your books are mighty impressive too.

Moderate restoration (spine reinforced, minor color touch, pressing), ...Matt Nelson seemed to think that Bill Sarill may have worked on the book many years ago; I doubt that this one has ever been slabbed. Conservatively, I'd grade it around 7.5 ®. Restoration aside, it's a beautiful book with strong colors, ow-w pages and great eye appeal.

I recall seeing six (?) copies of Fantastic #3 when I visited Metropolis back in July; no idea of condition. At least that's the first thing I remember eye-balling in a display case while awaiting the retrieval of a beguiling Phantom Lady. Of course, Metro may have more copies of Fantastic #3 in their vault. Keep in mind that my recollection is a little vague here. My senses were being inundated by a variety of "shiny objects" that would turn any collector into a drooling puddle of jelly. Truth is, I probably asked about their impressive grouping of Fantastic #3, but my attention was diverted by other things. Maybe someone else knows the real story behind Metropolis presumed "stockpile" of Fantastic #3. All I can say is that it was impressive.

That's a tough one. I think I would say... 1. Fantastic 3 2. Wonderworld 7 3. Hit 5 4. National 7 5. Science 2 ...though the top 3 are basically interchangeable. What are your favorite Fine's? My favorite Fine covers are Hits #1, 5, 7, 17 ...Wonderworld #7 & 8 ...and National #7 and 16. Note: I just added that National #7 to my growing list of desirable Fine books (%#$@$$&) after eye-balling your copy. As a side note, while I revere Fine's covers I'm also impressed by Crandall's Hit covers featuring Stormy Foster (aka "re-imagining Errol Flynn as a costumed hero"), because to my artist's eye Reed Crandall had a grasp of perspective and anatomy that's second to none among comic artists of the era. Still, what's not to love about Lou Fine's covers and interior art? The fluidity of his stylized line work is phenomenal, ...dare I say unique among GA artists. Here is my one Lou Fine cover (hey, ya gotta start somewhere, right?)...

Absotively posilutely, Roy! MM #2 is such a perfect book. Purely from an artistic POV, Frank R. Paul's smokin' hot HT cover for Marvel Comics may be more iconic (what Timely collector doesn't dream of owning one?), but subjectively speaking, Chuck Mazoujian's Angel cover for MM #2 is the more visually stunning composition of those first two covers. Of course the interiors are great too; I think it's fair to say that where Timelys are concerned one usually can judge a book by it's cover. Just for grins, here are a few other classic Timely covers that knock my socks off... S&K's Hitler/Pandora's Box Destroyer cover for Mystic #7... Schomburg's best HT battle covers (#5 & #8)... BTW, do you still flirt with Timelys when not romancing that beeee-eautiful Whiz #2 you recently acquired? Inquiring minds want to know!

Nice Hit 5, October! I've only got one Lou Fine Hit so far (another Red Bee cover), but hoping to snag more next year. I can see why these are on your top 5 list; do you rank your faves in any particular order?

Thanks, Xavier; you're too kind! It's actually a pool table, I just didn't have any Pocket Comics to show off and they wouldn't fit on a Timely table anyway. OTOH, if you don't mind seeing a clever shot made twice, here's a beautifully restored 8.5 MM (originally from Roy's collection). IMO, this book has at least 9.2 eye appeal (conservatively, based upon my impressions), but CGC screeners may be a little tougher on some (m) restored books than others. Even though I'm a huge Schomburg fan, I think that Chuck Mazoujian's 'stache-less version of the Angel (his only cover for Timely?) is one of MM's finest action covers.

That's a classic, Scrooge; looks like we've got an evil sorcery theme going at the moment!

Now we can't have that! Drum roll please..... Dare I say it... The drool factor from all those nice PL covers you guys are sharing would make Betty Page blush!

Thanks, spillred! I'd been looking for a copy of this book in decent grade for years and one just popped up on my ebay search list in the middle of the night! I snagged that puppy without a second thought. That makes twice in a month that a tough Timely found it's way into my collection for less than guide. Welcome to show and tell! Er, I mean the boards! Does "less than guide" include Xmas presies? Not eggs-actly. You see, a strange hypnotic influence would occasionally come over Mr. McShopper (me) when he was diverted from buying gifts for relatives. This... ...for instance: These two books (the MM66 & DM7) were purchased from ebay auctions in December, for ...let's just say... much less than I would've expected.

Thanks, spillred! I'd been looking for a copy of this book in decent grade for years and one just popped up on my ebay search list in the middle of the night! I snagged that puppy without a second thought. That makes twice in a month that a tough Timely found it's way into my collection for less than guide.

Very nice, comixnoir. Thanks for sharing! I've got a couple of nice PL's in my collection, but not that particular issue. Matt Baker's knack for capturing the female form (often in ropes) is just phenomenal. As I mentioned owning a couple of PL's (in appropriate CGC bondage), it's probably just good manners to share an image. I'll hold one back because Phantom Lady is such a tease...

Beeeeautiful book Billy! I've always liked Ditko's art, and those early pre-codes are VERY hard to come by these days. Good snag.

Thanks guys; mighty nice welcome. Here is a book I purchased a couple of weeks back; it was one of those "right place - right time" deals and the price was definitely right. The book has some minor restoration (upper right-hand corner appears to have been reattached or tear sealed). I was a little concerned by about the possibility of trimming, but the interior doesn't look trimmed and the cover printing is off-set a bit; maybe someone can gauge this better than I can. Overall this book has a F/VF appearance with off-white pages:

Thanks, adam! My wife has surprised me before, but this one really took the cake (an 8.5 no less, but on a one to ten scale, it's an eleven!).

The best personal introduction I can devise for this thread is to show you what I discovered under a nicely lit tree a couple of days ago: But I'm getting well ahead of myself. Instead of a lump of spousal coal I ended up with a book that I'd really wanted (major drool factor); I must've been one heckuva lot less naughty than I thought this past year (go figure)! This is now one of the centerpieces of my collection; I'm still in awe. Any of you guys have similar experiences???

I'll probably be spending a lot of time in this thread. Love those two Caps, silvers, and BTW, from where I'm sitting it looks like you have more of a Midas touch!

BTW, are there any PEP fans out there??? So far I've only acquired one nice mid/high grade Pep (I'm an art guy, and really liked the execution of this Novick Shield cover)...

>>> "Very nice! Welcome to the Boards! I think you'll like it here." <<< Thanks, walclark! I look forward to getting to know folks.

Since you mentioned it...

Hi folks! I'm totally new here (obviously); my cape isn't even dry yet. So, I'll start off by posting an image of some GA books from my collection to test the link: This is kinda/sorta my way of saying hello. I know these books ain't big league stuff, but I'll see what else I can scrounge up (if you're interested). Hopefully, you won't be too disappointed.