JLA Brad

I agree, it is very nice to see that group shot of those books - they look fantastic.  It's always nice when the books can see the light of day once in a while.

On 3/26/2023 at 12:06 PM, comick1 said:

Brave and the Bold #52 in high grade was an early grail of mine for many years. I searched about 10 years before landing on the Savannah copy. I know what you're thinking. The Savannahs had mediocre page quality. Not this one. It was at least off-white. Pages were very supple. Prior to that, I searched for it in collections all the time. It's not like there were multiple collections of B&B 1-100 in high grade, but I'd see runs from the 45-100 range once in awhile. I say #45 because the cat had been out of the bag for awhile on the B&B #42-44 Kubert Hawkman run for awhile by this point in the late 80s and early 90s. But the rest of the run was not particularly coveted except maybe the #54. Anyway, I'd be looking through multiple copies and this is how it would invariably go as I was sifting through the B&B box at any given convention when a dealer landed on a nice new collection of silver age DCs.

#45 NM- check

#46 VF+ check

#47 VF check

#48 NM check

#49 VF+ check

#50 VF check

#51 NM- check

#53 (cue stylus needle scraping away from the vinyl sound) check

#54 VF check

#55 NM check

There was NEVER a #52 in grade. Most of the time, it was just plain absent. The couple times it WAS there, it was the only one in the run that was a VG or had some technical problem that the other didn't have. A popped staple. A spine split. Something catastrophic. 

NEVER a B&B #52

This went on for nearly a decade. 
Finally that Savannah copy came along (Greenhaulgh?) and it's been in my collection ever since. I've seen a couple nice high grade issues here and there over the ensuing 25 years, but not quite upgrades to the Savannah. But I would have been on those like flies on $#*t if I didn't have this copy. Nobody else seemed to have quite the urgency of getting a nice copy of that. Often times, I'd see those couple high grade copies just sit and sit and sit. Nobody'd buy 'em. Haven't seen a high grade one for sale in awhile now, but the census is compatible with my experience, too. Only a single 9.2 copy as highest on the census. 4 in 9.0. 3 in 8.5 and 11 in 8.0. 

That issue, by the way, is an ALL Kubert issue with Sgt. Rock. There were very few of those in the OAAW run with the whole comic devoted to Sgt. Rock alone (with no backup story). It is the second meeting of Sgt. Rock and Mademoiselle Marie (the first is OAAW #115). It's also the first time all the major DC war characters teamed up. . .Sgt. Rock, Haunted Tank, Mademoiselle Marie, Johnny Cloud. It's just a fantastic comic all around. 
If you don't have a copy, I strongly recommend you put it on your list.
 

The 9.2:

Perhaps it was this one that currently resides in my collection...

On 10/29/2022 at 12:49 PM, Silver said:

Well, speaking of Cave Carson, let's get to it. His first issue in #31 is considered a very tough issue in high grade. I have had to upgrade mine twice, once from a low grade copy to a 5.5, and then a couple of years ago to this raw copy:

 

 

Yes, one of the stragglers that I have yet to acquire for the B&B run.  Patience is the key!

On 10/29/2022 at 12:51 PM, Silver said:

This issue I have had since the 70's no real need to upgrade it as it was the nicest early issue of B&B that I had:

 

I was not so fortunate to acquire my #33 in the 70's...hence I paid fair amount more for mine:

...and my #26, which features the second appearance (of three consecutive) of the Suicide Squad, also tops out at an 8.5:

Well, ok then.  Actually, my copies of #25 and #26 are not as nice as many of the prior issues I have in the run to date.

#25, which has the first appearance of the Suicide Squad, is a little pricey in comparison to the issues around it (well, until we get to #28, of course).  This issue marked a departure in the series to this point as it contained no Viking Prince, Silent Knight or Robin Hood... going to a more "contemporary" set of characters in the Suicide Squad.  

On 9/6/2022 at 5:19 PM, Silver said:

That 11 is a tough one!

Agreed!  That and the #6 were the last two I needed to get in the first 24 issues of this run.

Well, as far as #18 goes, you've got a great copy and a nicer one that I possess. 

I will say that I have a fairly nice #19 though...

On 8/29/2022 at 10:07 PM, Silver said:

I don’t know why this thread petered out, both Brad and I have nice copies of many of the issues. I just scored this one, and guess what? It completes my Brave and the Bold run of 1 - 200 complete. I have a knack for leaving the best for last:

Ahhh!!! that's nice!  Always very satisfying to complete a run!

On 8/30/2022 at 10:17 AM, Silver said:

Just to keep this thread rolling, I'll jump right in to last book we left off on which is number 15. I had a pretty bad copy of this for many years that I got as a kid in the mid-70s. It was my first and only pre-hero issue. This copy is a raw fine and one that I'd like to upgrade if the right copy ever comes along.

This one is an incredibly hard book to get in good condition.  I have a copy in CGC 8.0 and it is tied with 3 others as highest graded.  There are very few copies (24) even certified.  I managed to purchase my copy over 6 years ago and I'm actually quite surprised another hasn't come along (yet) with a higher grade.

On 9/24/2021 at 7:41 PM, tth2 said:

 I should have burned these books when I owned them.

 

Yes, you would have done everyone a favor, Tim 

On 9/20/2021 at 8:58 PM, Galen130 said:

Then they picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue...

Surely you can't be serious...

Hi Dave,

No questions from me either.   Just wanted to comment that I've also used My Comic Shop in the past to sell some books and have had absolutely no complaints on their service.  I would (and will) use them again soon.

Brad.

On 8/8/2021 at 11:22 PM, comick1 said:

Congrats on completing the set, JLA Brad. I've been working on my own high-grade set for more than 30 years and still am about 5 issues shy. No, I don't have a nice #2. They are ALL difficult in grade, but that #2 is in a stratosphere of its own. Love this entire run more than life itself. The Kubert and Heath stories alone are worth it for the price of admission!

Yes, I think I just happened to luck out on finding a #2 in 7.0.  While there are (comparatively speaking) quite a few CGC certified copies of this issue (43), only 5 exist at that level or higher (only 1 at 7.5).  I would imagine there are some collectors (like jimbo) who have nice copies in this run that are raw.  I'd like to think there is a pristine copy of B&B#2 safely tucked away somewhere out there...at the very least, one which would grade out higher than the current census leader.  As we've seen lately, there are still HG raw collections out there!

This is a 9.6?  That top left corner looks chewed up!

On 8/4/2019 at 3:04 PM, jimjum12 said:

They look great in grade …. You'll nail it down soon enough..... not a quest for the impatient … GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

Well...it took another 20 months or so from the last entry in this message thread (what? has it been that long?), but I finally picked up the final copy I needed to complete this min-run.  B&B #6 and #11 were proving to be stubborn, but in the last couple months I was finally able to get nice copies to fill out the set.  I've included a picture of the final piece of the puzzle.  

I'm pretty happy with the set I've compiled.  The lowest graded book in the set (Batman Free B&B on the registry) is B&B#2 at a CGC 7.0 and nine of my issues are graded at 9.0 or higher.

Well, I would've posted to this (and I do think it is a good idea), but I happened to go 0 for 9 in the CL auction!

Can't win them all...or any of them in this case 

Hey, I have one of these too! (although nowhere as nice as many others in this thread).  I purchased it at a local comic shop back around 1989 for $50:

1 hour ago, Jeffro. said:

 

Looks like Nichelle went a little overboard with her signature

On 3/4/2021 at 3:26 PM, Silver said:

That’s awesome! My set pales in comparison to the one JLA Brad is putting together (he’s getting close) but it really isn’t about what grade your books are in. Something interesting about the Viking Prince stories, I read them all in order, DC published a hardback reprint some years ago that has them in order. There is zero continuity to the stories . As standalone stories they were great, but to read them in order . Jon literally sails to Africa in a day and is then back in Scandinavia the next. 

I loved the Silent Knight too, #15 is one of may favorite issues overall, I just love that cover. 

Now, now...don't sell yourself short Danny.  That is an awesome collection you've assembled there.  I'm still quite a bit away from completing the run myself.  I'm finding that there is a lot of competition for some of those mid #50 issues!  I love that picture of your first 24 books.

Very well done!!  Now just pick up that pesky #28 already!!!

Brad.

Thanks for the heads up Dave. @thehumantorch

However, I got out of the All-Stars a few months back.  I actually had that issue in that exact grade - it wasn't the Mile High copy though.

Brad.