kpaqu1

FYI, I've updated http://www.silverwolfcomics.com for the first time in almost 7 years! Lots of nifty new scans and whatnot.

I did it in honor of needing only one more issue for a complete collection of Silverwolf and GMC comic books. That being SilverWolf Bulletin #5 w/Fat Ninja.

Heritage Auction just had the first 2 (very hard to find) Tim Vigil Grips portfolios at auction until last night. I'm blown away that I was the only bidder. I was willing to pay a lot for these bad boys. My winning bid was one whole dollar

Lucky!

Mr 9.8, thanks a million for the link in the first post!

 

I'd have to say Grips vol 1 is one of the top unfinished stories I always wanted to read. According to that link, Silver plans to finish all those stories! Great stuff. Although Grips vol 2 started after the full unfinished vol 1 story ended, so there were spoilers laid out. Still, I don't care.

 

I used to pick a lot of these books up when they came out and had letters in Greater Mercury's Grips, Dark Assassin, and I think Edge. GMC's Dark Assassin, Grips Adventures, and Edge comics were my favorites. Of course Vigil's Grips was the top of the list for Silverwolf.

 

In the last few years I went and picked up all these books I used to have. Mile High had them all for real cheap IIRC.

The Tim Vigil Grips stories are continued in GMC Action. It even continues the numbering of the original Grips series by starting with #5.

Another rare book is the Green Hornet hardcover reprinting the first 12 issues of the NOW Comics series -- volume 1. I talked with Tony Caputo and he said the book was so rare that he didn't even see a copy. A year or so later, when I talked with him, he'd either bought a copy from eBay or someone sent him a copy.

We were discussing the Green Hornet hardcover as we talked about how rare the Ralph Snart hardcover is in comparison ... only 300 printed of that one, but it was printed in 2004, so it doesn't qualify for this thread or this forum. If I remember correctly, Tony told me there may be less than 200 of those Green Hornet hardcovers.

I had no idea this was so rare. I got mine direct from Mark Heike who penciled issue 11.

I also got the Snart HC with the sketch when it came out.

How did you find all of these Tick books?

 

In order to finish my first-print set back in the pre-Ebay days of 1994, I actually went to a New England Comics store in Boston, but--while well-stocked in the regular issues, they didn't even have any Special Editions in stock.

 

And you're saying that above that the no-logo # 12 has four different back cover versions, right?

NEC put out a Tick catalog once or twice a year. The early ones were much like the newsletters being made of newsprint paper, saddle stitched, magazine size. Later catalogs were heavier stock paper folded like broadsheet newspapers.

They had just about every Tick product made listed. Toys, variants, paper plates, party favors, bubble bath, band aids, etc...

The NEC Newsletters I got from the Brockton, MA store, which I lived near. But you would also get them if you used their "FFAST" pre-order/mail order service.

The ashcan Tick sold out after the one 1996 catalog listing. The Chainsaw Vigilante variants took at least several years to sell out, they're listed in all the catalogs you see pictured: Summer-Fall 1996, Winter 1997-98, and the foldout one later in Christmas Season 1998.

And you're saying that above that the no-logo # 12 has four different back cover versions, right?

I believe that's correct. Here's the front of my Diamond edition:

 

Yup, this is the front cover of all four.

I had that NEC poster for a long time, and then gave it away.

 

Very cool collection!

 

I do believe it came in two different colors as well? The Tick as a darker damaged character like this portrays would've changed history.

Last group is of The Tick spin-off The Chainsaw Vigilante #1!

The silver foil is the regular issue. But the printer did a test run of under 50 each of gold foil, pseudo 3-D, and heavy orange.

Here are some NEC Newsletters.

#50/51 (Nov/Dec 1989) has a nifty Bob Burden Flaming Carrot and Tick pin-up page.

#100 (Jan 1994) has the Tick pages from Newsletter #14 reprinted. It's also an infinity cover.

I think centerfold poster also came from the #50/51 issue. I had it hanging on my wall for years.

btw, i thought it was a yellow gold cover.

They called it orange in the description, so that's what I'm going with. The cover paper is cheap like colored construction paper from elementary school.

Some more rarities:

For issue #12 NEC produced four different variant cardstock covers stamped with serial numbers:

Convention Edition (1000 printed)

Diamond Edtion (1000 printed)

Capital City Edition (1000 printed)

Tick Society Edition (2000 printed, must be a MOAV member to get this one)

The picture above is actually of the back covers. The front is the same as regular issue without the logos and a foil stamped tick symbol on chair Tick is sitting on. There is no printing on the inside covers and therefore no indicia.

I don't know why I never joined MOAV to get the last one, dang-it.

First I've ever heard of this book.

It was advertised in the NEC Summer-Fall 1996 Tick Catalog only, as far as I can tell. No prices are listed as they were on a separate order form sheet.

The Tick Orange Ashcan Edition #1

Pre-dates The Tick Special Edition #1 in 1988.

Bob Polio photocopied and hand stapled 50 preview copies. 4 stayed with NEC, 18 went to distributors, 1 each to Ben Edlund, George Suarez, and Bob Polio. The remaining 25 were sold in 1996 signed and numbered by Polio and Suarez.