tth2

Great books, Harry. I LOVE that B&B 24.

I was thinking more about this, and I'm actually not so sure how true this is. I'm under no illusions that there are not more HG copies out there (in fact, I really hope there are more HG copies out there, otherwise I'll never be able to complete any runs), and adamstrange has indicated that he knows of collections with some gems that have continued to sit quietly out there. But think about this: a primary source of HG SAs has been pedigree collections, but of the major SA pedigrees, 1962-63 seems to be the earliest when most really start going strong (PC, Curator, Northland, Mass). So that leaves Western Penn, White Mountain and Bethlehem of the known pedigrees which cover the 1950s and early 1960s extensively. Bethlehem is, well, Bethlehem, which means there can be pretty wide variation in quality, and even the nice books can have a bit of tanning. But there are undoubtedly some nice runs of DCs from that pedigree. I know almost nothing about these early Bethlehem DCs, to be honest, but would be willing to bet that Bethlehem will not be a massive source of 9.4 and 9.6 early DCs. I've seen 9.4 Western Penn DCs from as early as 1961, but no earlier thus far. Tom Hanlin has confirmed there is a complete Western Penn Showcase run, but doesn't seem to think that the Showcase 4 and 22-24, for example, are of 9.4 quality. Does this hold true for Western Penn runs of other DC titles from 1956-61? So the jury's out, but I'm not setting my hopes very high. The wild card is White Mountain. Like Bethlehem, it can be of uneven quality, but we also know that many issues from the 50s and early 60s can be absolutely stunning. I know very little about early SA DCs from WM, the earliest 9.4 WMs I have are from 1962. Perhaps adamstrange knows whether there are WM runs of early Showcase, B&B, JLA, GL, Adventure, Flash, etc., and how good they are? If I had to pick where I think the most HG copies from this era would come from, it would be WM. Of course there is always the possibility of yet-undiscovered pedigrees and non-pedigree books, and I hope they will emerge. In fact, most HG copies that I've seen of early SA DC have not been pedigreed (or at least identified as being from a pedigree). Not one of my GLs is a pedigree, and none of the ultra-HG early JLAs that I've seen yet is a pedigree. But if this is the case, then the supply of new HG will continue to be more in the form of a slow drip than a massive flood ala the Pacific Coast collection.

This thread just keeps getting better and better! That is one tough book to find at all, let alone in grade, although I decided to check the census just now and was absolutely stunned to see that there is now a 9.2 unrestored copy. Mark, I take a position that is completely indefensible logically on the "which came first" issue, which is that Showcase 4 is the beginning of the SA, but Tec 225, which came out a year before, is still a SA book. I know, I know In my mind, Showcase 4 is clearly the beginning of the Silver Age, because not only did it introduce a new character but that new character clearly stirred things up, enough to cause DC to start rolling out a bunch of new characters. Tec 225 introduced a new character who became a solid SA character who had his own run for a while, and therefore I consider it to be a SA book. But it's hard to say that old Jon'zz Jon'zz set anything in motion, and if Showcase 4 had never happened, Martian Manhunter would undoubtedly have been relegated to the footnotes of history.

Thanks Adam, and those are great books you're posting. Definitely not seen as often. Post some more early Flashes if you've got them! The covers in your posts are so rich, are the inks and gloss really that good in your copies?

How's that line from Crocodile Dundee go, "Showoff? Heh heh, that's not showing off. THIS is showing off": Sorry I have to use the Heritage scan, but my scanner has been down since before this beauty arrived. A likely story. You're not the only person who "claims" to own the vaunted first appearance of Starfish-Man, Scourge of the Shallow Seashore, arch-nemesis of Aquaman's feet! It's a minor key at best, and yet so many people fuss over it. Why? I'll never know. One of the great mysteries of the universe -- just like "Where did that extra brown sock go?" You'll be seeing stars soon if you keep this up! Methinks I need Redhook to drop a JLA Psychedelico masterpiece on your arse to give you some new nightmares!

How's that line from Crocodile Dundee go, "Showoff? Heh heh, that's not showing off. THIS is showing off": Sorry I have to use the Heritage scan, but my scanner has been down since before this beauty arrived.

Sweet books! Love those gray tone covers. The inks on the Flash 112 look exceptional! A few more, the Western Penn run of B&B 34, 35 and 36:

I love that cover! The last 10 cent Showcase.

WOW!!! Dennis the Menace #1! I've never seen that before, in any grade! Talk about tough to find. Dennis's are a totally different ballgame. Joe, do you think you can post some of the great travel story covers?

And I didn't even break out the big gun yet! Seriously, it's always nice to have an excuse to show off a few books, and to see other people's books. I love 10 cent SAs!!! And very nice books, Actions below 300 are really tough to find in HG. I've said it before, but HG SA from 1956-1962, even mainstream titles, is often harder to find than a lot of HG GA. So few pedigrees cover this "dead" period for comics, and the few that do, such as White Mountain and Bethlehem, can be erratic in terms of grades, as you've pointed out. It's rumored that Western Penn goes back to this era, but I've only seen drips and drabs, although what little I've seen was very sharp.

Not at all Steve, I was just taking a poke at certain members who can't be named but whose name involves a guy who used to be a Congressman and married to Cher. Definitely do post your Atlases (or any other SA 10 centers)! You are dating yourself, you old fogey! So many options, but it was more fun to attribute your name to Sonny Bono than Bono Vox...

Thanks BB, if I ever get a new scanner I'll post some more, particularly more Flashes. BTW, AWESOME run of Adventures! Those pre-300 Legion appearances are impossible to find in 9.4, and I would gladly pay silly money to anyone who's got any!

So despite my subtle hints, you're still participating in this thread! That is a really sharp looking copy, why are you grading it out as a 8.5 only? Problems with the back cover? Primarily due to spine stress (non-color-breaking) and light surface impressions. With a press job, it might go 9.0, but it's no better than an 8.5. The scan doesn't really show the NCB stresses very well, although a back cover scan would probably make it easier to see them because of the slight breaks in the black spine line. I'll put up a back cover scan later. Too bad, I'd pay silly money for a 9.4 copy!

Not at all Steve, I was just taking a poke at certain members who can't be named but whose name involves a guy who used to be a Congressman and married to Cher. Definitely do post your Atlases (or any other SA 10 centers)!

So despite my subtle hints, you're still participating in this thread! That is a really sharp looking copy, why are you grading it out as a 8.5 only? Problems with the back cover?

B&B 1 is definitely SA. I love that comic, I had a coverless copy when I was a kid and must have memorized the stories, I read them so many times.

Arch? Arch?

At Adamstrange's request, let's have a thread posting our favorite SA books with 10 cent covers! What's that you say, that would eliminate every Marvel superhero book except for FF 1 & 2? Gee, what a horrible coincidence! I'll start off with a few favorites, which I've posted before because my scanner is down and I haven't been able to make any new scans in a while: Flash 111 (CGC 9.4, OW-W) Showcase 34 (CGC 9.4, OW) Green Lanter 1 (CGC 9.4, OW-W) And last but not least, a Redhook masterpiece I like to call Legion Psychedelico

Brandon, thank YOU for a super smooth transaction! The 9.6 Sgt Fury 60 and 84 that you passed on are even nicer!

Think I'll join you!

Nice pick ups, DL. You don't see the Sgt Fury 42 very often. But, er, what pedigree are these from?

Hey Arch, can we get this thread pinned?