jlee

Cannot dispute much of what is stated above, especially the beefcake vs cheesecake comment. In all honesty, neither would be in my top 5 Baker romance covers. Neither can hold a candle to Pictorial Romances 17 in my humble opinion. And I don't think either would be in my top 5 rarest either. But I just think there are trends and right now, TAR 9 is trending up. Will it stay there? Doubtful.

Curious why you find that disturbing? I actually see TAR 9 on more want lists than the CL 25 for hardcore Baker collectors. I feel that CL 25 was the "It" book for a while and now momentum is shifting to the TAR 9. Regardless, both are gorgeous covers and you can't go wrong with either one.

Sweet copy!

Somebody pulled the trigger Yeah, on the Teen-Age Romances 38, too. T'weren't me.I noticed the #38 has a rusty lower staple. I am wondering about storage issue with this collection... I'll let you know how the two I got turn out. They certainly look fresh and glossy in the scans... By the way I'd be astonished if Craig isn't reading this thread. (He joined the boards specifically to promote this collection after all.) Ouch! He should have mentioned the rusty staple, particularly at that price. He seems to be letting the scans and the CGC grades speak for themselves. It appears as if some books were well stored but some of the group just listed have moisture damage. I also noticed some of the moisture damage on some of the more recently posted 6th street Baker books. I am a little surprised that moisture damage doesn't drag down the grades of books as much as other types of wear and tear, especially with the possible long-term hazards of water/moisture. I would agree that the 6th street books present very well with great color but the grades vary quite a bit and I would definitely carefully inspect the books and not rely on CGC's grading to determine value and condition.

The dead giveaway is the two male figures in the scene- classic Baker style. Also, look at the woman's hands... so elegantly drawn. My vote: Baker did it. The native looks like Baker, but Jo-Jo looks stiff and his head is too small for his body. My vote is it was Iger shop and Baker was there. I think Jim VB argues that it was an Iger shop artist copying Baker. Neither Overstreet nor CGC credit Baker ... but every seller with a copy does! I would agree with most of the feedback that this is a partial Baker/Iger shop cover. The men in the background look 100% like Baker. The woman is very stiff as others have noted and thus is very unlikely drawn 100% by Baker.

Awesome books. I have owned a lot of the romance digests and they are definitely tough to find.

Great photo and fascinating stuff.

I'm starting to wonder if this one is as rare as advertised. I thought there were only two extant, but just one the boards here, we've got at least three. Yes, but I only know of those three, plus one more- that copy that sold for about $700. on eBay last August, remember? Here's the census I've been keeping on this book: RICK STARR'S copy, my copy (which is the Crippen copy), the one that sold on eBay last Aug., and another copy owned by a member of the Yahoo Romance group (he sent me a scan, years ago). Those are the only four I've been able to confirm. Anyone else have one? I have a short box full of this issue. I'll try to scan them when I get a chance. Ken I would like one please. But it isn't a Baker cover. I previously owned a copy but sold it in the late 90s. So it may or may not be one of the copies listed above.

Is APC 18 rare? I think I have one sitting in a "I don't know what do do with these books" pile. I have two lower grade copies of APC 18. Not even scarce, IMO. Probably right. It's a Gerber 8. A while back, Michele Nolan had a couple of articles reviewing the Gerber ratings. Iirc, she agreed with this one. Maybe the scarcest issue in that run, but probably still not in the running with these other books. In completing a run of APC many years ago, there were several issues that seemed scarcer than the 18. I would rate the 18 a Gerber 6 and definitely not a 7 or 8.

The APC 18 is not rare at all in my opinion. I have seen many copies on eBay over the years.

I own two Baker Flamingo strips. Do you have these two or did you find some more? I picked up the scan from the auction site, I think. Apologies for poor quality of image:

I own two Baker Flamingo strips.

Nice one. Most issues of Authentic Police Cases are tough to find in nice shape. Do you remember whether the St Johns romance comics were on the newsstands? Apparently they had spotty distribution, which may account for their being underrepresented in the Edgar Church collection. I actually had a so-called Church Baker romance but it looked like a normal VG- without any gloss. There was some speculation that Church had bought some used ones. I did own several of the Authentic Police Case Mile Highs and the grades did vary a lot.

I'm kinda ambivalent about that cover, too. I agree the interior art is good, although the stories are reprints. Anyone know what the last St John romance comic was to have new Baker interior art? I think it would be a tie between the three books dated June 1954, Cinderella Love #14, Teen-Age Temptations #8, and True Love Pictorial #10. From this point on, all St. John romance books were made up from reprints (except the covers). Is "Fast Company" in Teen-Age Temptations 9 new or a reprint? If new, is that possibly the last one? "Fast Company" is originally from Pictorial Romances #7, May 1951. Man! You know your Baker! Great info. Thanks! (thumbs u Very impressive. Great to know!

One of my favorite Baker covers. Unfortunately, the two copies I have are in "bad" and "really bad" condition. My general attitude is buy any Baker romance regardless of condition that I am missing and then upgrade if at all possible. I have a few coverless and 2/3rd cover copies. So "bad" and "really bad" is quite good. I suspect this is a pretty rare book. I bought the only copy I have ever seen for sale.

Another "classy" guy cover. I wonder if Baker wrote some of the cover dialogue?

This one cracks me up. Love the guy's no nonsense approach.

Here is my copy of Going Steady 13

Possibly my least favorite Baker romance cover, ironically drawn during the same period as some of his best known greats. I might not have even bought a copy, except I found a mid grade double cover copy. I actually like this one. I like the #14 least in the series, although it has its charm with an older couple reminiscing about their past. The interior Baker art is also really good.

I agree that it's a terrific cover. I'm happy to trade the Kate illos of later issues for this full cover. This cover showcases Baker's tremendous versatility. And his wash cover technique is second to none in comics.

Here are a couple more paperbacks you might like. Marihuana (Dell 10¢ edition) by William Irish The French printing. Very cool. I have the US edition of the book, but not the French one. Thanks for sharing!

Last and hopefully not the least for the night.

Avons were always unique to me as they published comic books, digests, and paperbacks with the same title but sometimes different covers like this one.

I would agree with this title.

I always get a kick when I see this one.