Lost

The laughs.... Yes I grew up in the Nineties and started collecting what was around me at the time. That is just what Bob Overstreet recommends you do when you get into the hobby. Fast forward 20 years and guys like me who are cleaning out the basements with all these 90-s issues that were smoking hot back in the day decide it's time to cash in, right? Wrong! Visit your local craigslist and type in comic book in the selling area and have a good chuckle with people who haven't followed the trends of where the market has gone. I wonder what the dealers who scour these sites must think looking for quality books and get blindsided by $3500.00 price tagged collections listing titles like Alpha Flight and Pitt... comicspriceguide doesn't help either with people who value their collections based on that phony system. Ah the Nineties... To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

A successful Atlas grading Okay so I am documenting my search for all Atlas first issues. I started with the Pre-Hero anthologies because they were my favorite titles. But now I have spread my grubby tentacles to include all Atlas first issues. I have managed to land a few winners too. I currently have 3 single highest CGC graded Atlas first issue books in my collection and 1 highest graded first. I just got back 7 books from CGC (all Atlas). 2 losers(1 PLOD & 1 half grade lower then expected)....but 5 winners. The four pictured represent Crime, Western, Horror, and Drama genres of books. So many different venues Atlas books spread to in the fifties. Big Winner - Outlaw Kid #1, though not the same caliber as Rawhide Kid and Kid Colt, he still enjoyed some success in his day and a brief revival in the 70's. His book at 8.5, is for now, the highest on census. Winner - Spellbound #1, not the most popular of the Atlas titles but still a rare horror/mystery book. Any Atlas book in CGC 7.0 and over is a winner. Winner - Crime Must Lose #4 (#1) I love crime books lately. You get great deals because of the smaller pool of collectors. And any Atlas book in CGC 6.0 is pretty neat. Winner - Young Men #4 (#1) What??? Not sure why I am so happy with this. Second highest graded and a beautiful book that looks 8 or 9. Small scuff on the back brought it down :-( Still love the book though! Again, not sure why. Not pictured was a little known book called Spy Fighters #1 back in the red scare days. A very respectable CGC 6.5. Til next time...the Atlas hunt continues. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Not sure why I had to have this. I did not grow up in the fifties but I do not care. The fifties had the coolest comic books. Batman and Superman were still chugging, but they had a lot of competition with crime, mystery, love, and of course horror. Then this little forgotten gem from a crime series that would become a New Trend to rock the world. The cover is great for what it shows and does not show. You want to know what is turning out the lights, and the horror she is screaming at. The next issue of the series became the Crypt of Terror/Tales from the Crypt and the rest is history. Aside from the Gaines file copies and a sole 9.0, this is the next best graded. Picked it up at the Boston Comic Con earlier this year and just came back from CGC. Thanks to Susan Cicconi and the restoration lab for the beautiful work she brought this book to.

is on the auction block!!!! If you do not frequent Heritage Auctions that much, I think you should at least stop by to take a look because you may never see it again after August 1st. "http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7079&amplotNo=91013" I feel this issue deserves a journal entry because frankly it has it all. It is the Highest Graded universal on census (even though it was a resub from a 9.0). It features the first appearance of the greatest villain of all time, the Joker, yet also includes the first appearance of another major villainess Catwoman. With a cover as classic, simple, and eloquent as could be thought of by Mr. Kane, will it break the Action Comics #1 record? Oh if I had the money.... To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

and it still haunts my nightmares... Way back in the nineties, nestled in one of the seemingly random cover shots that grace the Overstreet guide was cover art depicting a man being buried alive next to a ghoulish skeleton with eyeballs popping out. Strange Tales #28 from May of 1954! As a kid, I used to pull the covers over my head and imagine what it would be like buried alive. An awful thought this cover fully exploits in all its horror. The Jack Katz story from this same issue was used in the U.S. Senate hearings during the Seduction of the Innocent hysteria that comic books were corrupting the youth of America back in the fifties. I just got it back from CGC yesterday. Interesting to note that CGC didn't note any artist or creators for this issue, or even give it a classic cover designation which I think it rightfully deserves. Not to plug a site, but a non-graded copy of ST#28 is available for bidding on ComicConnect.com's April auction. It's a rare book, as many of the pre-hero Strange Tales are, so grab it before I do! Finding this book from my childhood memories was very satisfying, but for a Strange Tales issue even more rare, try finding issue #29. I theorize that bad press from the Senate hearings led to an angry mass of parents destroying copies of issue #29 in furious outrage. Also, it was probably too late to recall the cover of #29 depicting a witch getting ready to boil a man alive, so Atlas, under congressional pressure after the hearings, most likely drastically dropped the print run. Sadly ST#29 marked the end to the Strange Tales horror covers. They switched to more mystery/mystic covers with issue #30 and eventually the first Comics Code issue for the series started with issue #35. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

If you were a CGC grade right now, what would it be? I'd say from age six to ten we are all CGC 9.9.s - youthful and carefree, not rare at all by nature's standards. Surprisingly, before that we were mostly 5.0's. Wrinkled babies who made a mess. A rare 10.0 gem during this age category is a possibility, but they get a 9.9 because nobody wants to be the one who took responsibility for it. Around ages 11 to 14 some of us drop to a respectable 9.8. Some of us took the 9.6 hit with a random paper airplane that got stuck in our eye, or a random fall from your bike that gave you a knee scar. High school is a little stressful, and we start to see the 9.4's and 9.2's spring up here and there. College takes a toll too. Parties and drinking? Late sleepless nights studying for finals? Here we see a range of 9.2 to 9.0's and some unlucky 8.5's appear. Early twenties we are probably playing in the 8.5 to 8.0 category. The people who took care of themselves are still fresh 9.0's and 9.2's. Careful though. Marriage will drop us a full grade. Late twenties we start to see some 7.5's but many of us stay in the 8.0's. Like the bronze age, there are many 9.2's still around, but doesn't diminish the fact they are still a great find. Early thirties we see 7.0's and a few 6.5's. There are many lucky 8.5's still here (mostly woman though) We still surprisingly see some 9.2's here and there, and you get a little jealous for seeing such a high grade when they clearly didn't deserve it. Late thirties? I'd say 5.5 to 7.0. Solid Fines. From far away you look great, but on closer inspection we start to see all the imperfections that come with your grade. In our early 40's we start to take a lot of turns- with weight, aging, and health. I'd say the unlucky are in the 5.0's now. The majority of us are still 6.0's and a few woman are probably still in the VF/F 7.0 range. Some of us might have a crisis and be considering restoration at this age, but others have accepted this grade as pretty normal. There only one or two 9.2's around and you wonder where they are, and how to get them. Late forties means half of us are now solid 5.0's and half are now 4.0's Woman have joined men around this age, because when it goes, well it goes. There's a freakish 9.0 here and there, and you wonder if there has been some restoration that wasn't detected, or if it was one of those "gimme" grades. The fifties are a time for the 4.0's to flourish. Lost hair (missing pieces), weight gain (staining), muscle loss (chipping), sagging skin (ripples), deep wrinkles (creasing), and age spots (foxing). If we ever needed a press to help us, it's at this age. In our sixties, the lucky stay in the 4.5 range, while the others drop down to 3.0's. Here restoration probably won't save us. Maybe a qualified grade can help us though. Like a Qualified 4.0 with a bad knee and a herniated disc. Seventies are a time to drop in the 2.5-1.5 range. This grade we realize we are happy to still be around and decent enough for our age. There is probably an oddball 6.0 around somewhere, and when you see it, you realize how great a 6.0 rating is on older stuff. Eighties? A few 2.0's floating around. Here we are looking at 1.8-1.5 as our majority. Truly rare, and a great find in any condition. Nineties? .5. Congratulations on making it this far and getting any grade at all. Later? You get the NG. Sorry. You are a mess by now and nobody wants to look at you. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Just got it today. =) An undervalued Detective 1st appearance. Probably because 'ol Two-Face wasn't on the cover. Although as a kid, when I saw the picture of the book, I thought that was Two-Face shooting at Batman.

is where it all started. I made it my goal to find all the premiere first issues of Pre-Hero turned Hero comic books from the Atlas/Marvel days. If you are unfamiliar, the title "Tales of Suspense" introduced the world to Iron Man and re-introduced a solo Captain America. "Journey into Mystery" introduced us to Thor. "Tales to Astonish" introduced us to Ant-Man, and revived Namor and Hulk. "Strange Tales" gave us solo Torch, Nick Fury, and introduced Dr. Strange. I thought I had all the anthology turned hero books covered, except of course the one the big guy was introduced in....Spider-Man! So I faithfully followed Overstreet's directions from "Amazing Fantasy" to see "Amazing Adult Fantasy", and then finally to see "Amazing Adventures." Yes sir. In order to complete my goal, I had to find a copy of the Pre-Hero premiere issue the 'ol wall crawler debuted in. The oft-maligned 1961 Ditko/Kirby drive-in monster title "Amazing Adventures." Technically it's not a Pre-Hero issue. The debut of Dr. Droom (who?) in this issue is considered the first new silver age superhero attempted by Marvel/Atlas. I also thought since the troubled "Amazing Adventures" title went through three title/format changes to end as Amazing Fantasy, did it even matter? Luckily Amazing Adventures #1 is the least hard to find of the Atlas anthology issues, so I faithfully trolled the internet until I found one that looked to be in great condition. When I got it in the mail, it was a stunner. I looked at the CGC census and thought it might have a chance to crack one of the top spots if I got it graded. I took the book to Susan Cicconi of therestorationlab.com and we both agreed it had a chance at 9.0. She cleaned it up beautifully and sent it in to CGC. Finding any Atlas issue in the "highest graded" category is pretty difficult. Cheap paper and rarity are contributing factors. But when the smoke had cleared, CGC agreed with us, and it has joined the other 3 copies to grade at 9.0. None of the other 9.0's have sold publicly for the past 8 years, so it's difficult to get a handle on how much it's worth. But to me it is fulfilling to have one of the highest graded copies of an amazing book that started the path to an amazing superhero. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Oh a club. I have one of the 9.6's down there in my sig....bought it raw for a 100 bucks 3 years ago. the cornerstone of my collection. The cover is like a dream, love the dark blues and the contrast of blue with superman's suit. Neil adams is my favorite. Darkseid is the most powerful villain ever and the book is scarcer in high grade despite what mighty-what's-his-name says.

I'm sick of the DC Marvel quest to draw in more readers while alienating the rest of us. Restart all titles with #1. Hasn't that been done before? I refuse to be THAT collector to sift through a pile of books looking for the best one, because I disagree with the whole thing, therefore a 9.8 copy of one of the hundreds of X titles to me is worthless. Doctor Octopus as the new Spider-man? Really? I immediately stopped buying Spider-man after this, and won't do so for as long as Superior Spider-man exists. If nobody buys it, Peter will come back faster. Marvel has completely lost me. Half the books have a new look that look more like Japanese anime. The only title I buy now is Journey into Mystery which they haven't managed to ruin, yet. DC with the new 52? Yawn. At least we all just chalked this up to another crisis event and rolled with it. They have more continuity shifts than string theory. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Ok, I'm really bored. Nothing else to do on the east coast since I'm stuck inside from the storm, so I thought I'd share my random thoughts. I'm really sad that I accidentally sat on my CGC stack and cracked a few. Now I have to get them reholdered. Does it really take 10 business days? Anyone get them back sooner? I think CGC needs an XPress Reholder tier. People who crop out corners of comic books on EBAY are underhanded and sneaky. I know this isn't a CGC comment but it needs to be said. And what's with the new mature looking EBAY logo? The CGC grades I've been getting back are bumming me out. Anyone ever complain to CGC about a grade? There should be a formal appeal process. CGC could even charge for it and make even more money! I think the CGC grades that most confuses me are the 4-5-6 grades. They are all over the map. I've actually taken to HA, comiclink, and ebay and have been studying what can pass for these grades and it makes me even more confused. In a way this makes sense with the bell curve though. Think standard deviations where the middle grades are the most probable to have all sorts of different defects and variables, whereas the outliers are easier to identify with very few defects to the right of the bell, and lack of positive attributes on the left of the bell. CGC must have to make more judgment calls for the middle grades due to the variance. Actually I'm horrible at math and have no idea if any of this even makes sense. This entry has now concluded.

Hmmm question....and this looks like the right thread/forum... Why is Tales to Astonish #27 so valued? To me, it is the introduction of a really weak superhero...I mean I consider myself a seasoned collector and don't mean to anger anyone, but aside from the more historical angle of the book on introducing a silver age superhero in one of the 4 major anthologies of that time, and the Kirby angle. I just don't see why the prices for this book are so incredibly high...Since I have made it a mission of mine to collect all the #1's of the 4 pre-Hero anthologies I have to find Tales to Astonish #1 and get it even though I don't really want it...Why? Cause it's the series that introduced Ant-Man...gahhhh someone enlighten me and shut me up....

Death of Gwen Stacy! It was one of the most moving and well told two stories I read that hooked me on Spider-Man. I picked up the Marvel Tales Double Size issue that collected both stories at the store and read it many times. Classic!

Why one comic book collector suddenly became so obsessed with the Atlas decade before Marvel I remember as a 12 year old wondering why book value for a Tales of Suspense #1, the series that would introduce Iron Man, bring Captain America back into solo action , and eventually lead to his own series was so undervalued. I even remember thinking how obscure the issue probably was, and where would you even go to get one. It seemed nobody even cared about the early pre-superhero Atlas issues before they became Marvel Comics , and people did not seem to value comics as collectible back then, so most were probably trashed by mom when Jimmy discovered girls. Fast forward 20 years and it turned out I was right because I am still wondering the same thing. Only now we have the internet and I have money to throw around. I spent about a year trying to find a nice copy of Tales of Suspense #1 that was both in my price range and presented well. Not sure why I became so committed to this issue. Most likely the challenge of finding one led to me becoming obsessed. Also the launch of the series seems historic and important, not to mention the great sci-fi cover, and the fact that it was old and scarce in any grade. One lonely night on eBay, one popped up. The pictures made it difficult to determine what condition it was in. The sellers did not know a lot about grading but said it was in good condition. I asked for some more pictures which were a little better, but not much. It had a buy-it-now price of 999.00 so I decided to watch it for a couple days. About 7 people bid it up to about 250 when I decided to steal it away. Yes I paid 999! Was I regretful? Sure! Did I overpay? Maybe! Was I happy when it came? YES! Turns out the guy who found it was a painter who was painting an abandoned house in California and found the copy inside with a bunch of other old comics. He said this was the only one in good condition so he took it. Apparently, he held on to it for about 20 years until he put it on eBay. Timing is everything with getting the best price for a comic. Who is looking for what and when. Thankfully for this man, he found me. The comic book arrived a day and a half later and it had great colors, very little spine stress. A perfectly centered cover missing from a lot of higher graded copies, no major rips. It was beautiful. I sent it away to get pre-graded and pressed by Matt Nelson of Classics Incorporated, who agreed with my initial assessment that I had a beautiful CGC 6.0 Fine copy and a FMV of around 2000 (Smart guy who knows how rare they are!). Mid-grade of a hard to find book...I was living the dream! Turns out CGC must of been having a bad day and gave it the dreaded 5.5 grade....but I actually did not mind all that much. Turns out, I looked at a couple ToS#1 6.0s on Heritage Auctions that have sold in the past and mine presented way better. I really wish CGC would compare a comic they are grading to the same past copies they have graded for consistency, but it is clear they do not. I digress. The other hard to find Atlas key issue that I drooled over when I was young was Journey Into Mystery #1 Summer of 1952, a classic horror cover and super hard book to find. One popped up on eBay in 4.0 condition for 995.00. Price seemed high, but again, these rare copies never come up, so I grabbed it. So happy I did. No ugly spine stress marks on a tough black cover...just some minor yellowing on the back cover and a hard to see old piece of tape covering a small rip in the spine. Presents super well! Again, the series that would launch and become Thor, and continue until today with cool stories. A classic title from Marvel was all mine! Some final thoughts.... Overstreet severely undervalues these early Atlas #1 Pre-Marvel issues. ToS1 CGC 9.0 sold for $10,000 recently compared to book 9.2 assessment of 4200. The NM conditions of the #1s do not seem to exist and are scarce in any grade let alone VF/NM. The market knows this or soon will. They are in growing demand by a number of seasoned collectors as prices steadily rise from GPanalysis.com To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.