tth2

Got this in 1980. 

#86

Thanks!

This li'l guy?

My Northland Challengers of the Unknown are all graded NM-:

He was not the winner.

Good idea.  Done.

+1

For me, it’s a little like the baseball hall of fame. Even the folks at CGC are seeing some covers for the first time and being too impressed. These are like the Harold Baines of pulp covers - really solid, but not HoF nor “classic.” 
Like your example, I’ve dabbled in pulps for almost fifty years. I’ve read almost all the old school books and reference on the subject, and yet, many of these recently designated “classic” covers were never even given a second glance by pulp collectors or broken out for consideration. How did they hide all these classic covers from the Goodstones, Sterankos, and Robinsons of the world??
Granted, in the good old days, the contents mattered way more than the covers, and that’s the opposite of what is fueling the current resurgence in pulps. However, if you designate every cover a “classic,” then the designation really begins to lose its gravity. 

I think they’re going to the well too often with the “classic cover” designation. If every cover that has a skull on it, or a woman in bondage, gets the “classic” designation, collecting a subset of pulps CGC doesn’t consider classic will eventually be more challenging! 
A nice group of submissions, by the way! 

#87

Pulp pedigrees
 
CGC recognizes two pedigree collections centric to pulps: Strasser and Yakima. The Strasser collection was found stacked on shelves in the basement of a farmhouse in Ohio in the late 1980s. The collection numbered nearly 2,000 pulps, encompassing issues published between 1933 and 1939, and was very high grade with white paper. A code containing the letter A, D or C (and sometimes the name “Robert Strasser”) was written in fountain pen on each cover, usually in the logo. Many popular titles were present in the collection, including Shadow, Doc Savage, Spider, Operator 5, Wu Fang, Yen Sin, Pete Rice, Phantom Detective and Argosy. They were sold piecemeal at pulp conventions in subsequent years.
"Secret Agent X" and "Popular Detective" pulps from the Strasser pedigree.
Click images to enlarge.  
The Yakima collection surfaced in Yakima, Washington, in the late 1990s, containing mostly science fiction pulps between 1939 and 1953, which were stored in wooden boxes in a basement. The collection also included many pre-1939 pulps in lower grade, but those from 1939 on were unread copies with deep ink, full gloss and white pages. Dave Smith purchased most of the Yakimas and included certificates with each copy as he sold them. Full runs of Amazing Stories, Startling Stories, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Planet Stories, Fantastic Adventures, Astounding and Doc Savage were present in the Yakima collection.
A Yakima pedigree certificate and images of the Yakima storage upon discovery.
Click images to enlarge.  
Several comic book pedigree collections also contained pulps, including Edgar Church/Mile High, Bethlehem and White Mountain. Pulps identified as originating from a comic book pedigree collection, as well as from the Strasser and Yakima collections, will receive the CGC pedigree label if in unrestored condition.
 

It was Byrne taking over that swung it for me. I'd given up buying current comics and was only buying 'old' comics at the time and a school friend said I should take a look at X Men, so I did and was pulled right back in. We reconnected recently (after many years,) and I reminded him that he was responsible for my renewed interest back then. Talking comics with childhood friends is a great way to be 14 again. 

#88

lotta mass copies in asm and sarge runs, but this is the best one, with old label goodness to boot!

Challengers of the Unknown 48 may be my only comic from the Massachusetts collection:

I vividly remember buying X-Men 94 off the newsstand at the airport in San Diego while my family was on vacation.  I was surprised to see X-Men because it had been on hiatus for a while, after having been a reprint book for several years.  As I hadn't bought (or even heard of) GSX 1, I was confused by what was going on as well, but still found it to be interesting and continued to buy the new series. 
Plus, there were a few elements that pulled me in.  I knew Dave Cockrum from the Legion of Superheroes and liked how he was revamping the X-Men's costumes to look more like the Legion's costumes.  I remembered several of the new characters--Banshee because his original appearance had been relatively recently reprinted in the X-Men, Wolverine because I remembered his appearance in Hulk (although I didn't think he was a big deal) and Sunfire from a recent appearance in Sub-Mariner (although he didn't stay, of course).

Good idea.  Done.

I'm just a heel.

#89 with contest and statement of ownership, contest winner from issue #92. 

They're real, and they're magnificent! 

#90

She rejected my marriage proposal. Can't blame her. R.I.P. Christine. GOD BLESS ...
jimbo(a friend of jesus)
 
I never had one.