CentaurMan

I think I know someone who might like this shot:

Holy smokes! Nice books! I love that early Planet stuff!

12 down, how many more to go? Does anyone have a count on the total number of Cole covers?

It's Jon Berk's world and the rest of us are just living in it.

Anyone have a Weird Comics #11? I'd love to see a copy of that one.

Excellent, excellent points. One thing I worry about with my collection is that I'm not setting up for easy resale if I ever had to dump books. I think if I put a poll up on whether people are more impressed by an All Star 3 or a Wonder Comics 1, the AS would win by a large margin. I also agree on the "one of a kind" point. A lot of the promotional books that esquire and others have been posting are tough to properly appreciate almost because of their uniqueness. That's why I focus on books that in their day were considered relatively mainstream with national distribution that are part of numbered runs (collectors are drawn to numbered runs like moths to a flame). While I don't collect Catman, the popularity of that series to collectors is very understandable, despite the extreme difficulty in finding some of those books. I think the lack of "sharing appreciation" (as you put it) keeps unique promotional, regional, or low print run foreign books from capturing some of our imaginations.

Probably my favorite single comic book. Yours is in great shape for a Wonder #1! Congrats!

You're totally right on that last paragraph. I should edit it out. I sound like a #$&%. It's more that despite what it may seem like, I have a limited amount of available funds for collecting. That Flash 1 and All Star 3 represented a significant amount of my potential buying power tied up in two books that, if I sold, I had a reasonable chance of replacing one day if I ever came into funds. The Adventure 40 I wouldn't sell because I don't know if I could get a comparable copy.

couldn't have said it better myself, I also agree with this way of thinking. One of the primary drivers for us collectors is Scarcity. If something is plentiful and easy to obtain, we generally don't want to collect it (unless driven by Nostalgia, another primary driver that I'm not discussing here). We're drawn to Scarcity. But in the case of silver age superhero comics, the books just aren't scarce. There are thousands of available copies of any mainstream title you're looking for. So, as silver/bronze collectors we create Artificial Scarcity by restricting our collection to a certain grade. Unfortunately, by creating Artificial Scarcity via grade focus, we set ourselves up for a zillion pitfalls (trimming, pressing, undisclosed resto, resubs, etc) that serve to add more supply to a market that we thought was Scarce. So we have to rachet our grade threshhold even higher to feel like we've truly got a rare item. Plus, one tiny ding or tear causes the book to lose a vast amount of its value, so the comics shouldn't be handled/read/enjoyed except in rare cases. Personally, I suck at grading and resto detection. Just not good at it. Tried to learn, but I'm still inconsistent. So it's much better for me to focus on comics where the actual discovery of a single issue, any issue, is a rare event. Scarcity in early Golden Age isn't driven by grade, it's driven by a true lack of copies. Low grade? Restored? Who cares! I'm just happy to find an actual copy. My tiny little group shot picture a few pages back doesn't allow you to see the grades of the books, but does it matter? My 3 Wonder Comics are 1.8, 2.0, and 2.5, with amateur resto on the first two copies. Does it matter? If I told you I had a copy of New Comics #2, would your first question be "What grade?" No, it would be "Where the hell did you find one of those??" In recent years I sold my All-Star Comics #3 and my Flash Comics #1 because even though they're keys, they aren't Scarce enough for me (more common than an Adventure #40 or All-American #16, although certainly Scarcer than a Batman #1 or Captain America #1). That All-Star #3 sold for more than my 3 Wonder Comics #1 are worth combined, but I'm much happier with the Wonder Comics. That's how I like to collect.

So what's the connection between the Fox books from Point Five's timeline (the early years) and the Fox Feature Syndicate books that Donut posted (which, coincidentally, have foxes on them)? My knowledge base of comic history collapses after 1941.

Hey, why do you get to have all the fun! Because october lives 6 blocks away and was personally vouched for by PedigreeMan, a giant among men. If you live nearby, come on over! I've got a lot of slabs that need cracking...

In all honesty, the same can be said of quite a few of the early outfits, don't you think? No, because most early outfits didn't have covers as good as Fox books. I'm not saying Fox interiors were worse than their peers, they aren't. They're better than some (early Fawcetts are rough, as are some early 4th tier publishers like Nita), worse than others (I think 1939-40 DCs were better, as were early Lev Gleasons). I'm saying that the Fox covers were so good for the time period that the fact their interiors were typical for the time period is a disappointment.

Neat timeline! FWIW, Centaurs died about the same time, although they were pretty well in their heyday in 1938-39 when Fox just got off the ground. Similar diversity of stories and art (maybe even more...I'll try to scan the interior of an early Centaur at some point), although generally inferior covers (with some great exceptions). Fox covers rock. In fact, Fox covers are so good that the interior artwork/story quality is IMO frequently a disappointment. Thank you!!! I've been wondering about Kooba Cola for YEARS, and couldn't understand why I'd never seen any other advertising memorabilia for it. I had no idea it was a marketing ploy. I'm so glad you solved that for me!

With the help of Andy (a.k.a october, whose assistance has been invaluable), I'll be setting up a series of "group shots" soon. Flessel DCs, pre-Flessel DCs, all sorts of Centaur runs, early Whiz, early King Comics, Silver Streak, etc. It'll be fun.

I don't mean to hoard (drives me nuts with Metro and the Fantastic #3), so if it ends up that a Wonder Comics #1 trade I'm currently working on falls through, I'll probably offload a copy. I'm drawn to that book like a moth to a flame, but keeping 3 copies is too many, long term.

Honestly, while I certainly acknowledge that those books weren't cheap, compared to high grade silver age Marvel, these books are generally steals. To each his own, or course, but I'd take a 'Tec 1 for under $10,000 a hundred times out of a hundred before I spent that much on a more common book from the 60's whose value is highly dependent on the absence of imperceptible (to me) flaws. And without being terribly grade-conscious, I'm downright casual about handling the comics. If you come to the Chicago forum dinner, you can read a 'Tec 1. Hell, it's extensively restored anyway, so what's the harm? They're comic books, not Faberge eggs, and I think it's good for the hobby if the so-called "golden age keys" aren't viewed as inaccessible to everyone. Maybe I'll bring my Action 1 to the forum dinner this time as well (although I have nagging security concerns at the convention itself which may stop me from doing that, as I like to flip through long boxes without worrying about where my bag is). If I do, rest assured that if you're there, you can flip through it. I bet you haven't read the cool Zatara story before.

Seriously, I didn't mean to pre-empt his shot. I freaking LOVE that collection he's assembling. Lots of tough books in that picture, and right in the sweet spot of what I try to collect.

I almost didn't put the Fawcetts (wildly unappreciated, in my mind) in the photo, in favor of my King Comics #1 and Comics Magazine #1, but then I thought of you and kept them. I bought that book from The Dentist himself. VERY tough to find in any kind of grade, and most of the copies I've seen are restored with badly-matched color touch. While I don't mind restored books, this one isn't.

I'll happily trade one for Centaurs I'm looking for (see abbreviated want list below). When dealing with collectors of the very rarest books, I need currency they appreciate. Cash frequently doesn't cut it.

And Ryan, I absolutely LOVE your collection, small though it is. Fantastic taste, sir!

Ok, I'm not set up to take quite of few of my group shots as many of the books are in another location, but I do have some of my keys close by. Not the best picture (I don't have an aptitude for this), but I wanted to contribute.

I'll post some fun group shots in the near future. I'm finally getting my act together to show some new books, after years of coasting on the same old scans.

Here's my copy. Definitely Hitler. My link broke as I reorganized my photobucket scans. Here's the book for thread posterity:

Yup. While a dealer will keep books in slabs for future resale, most GA collectors I know will crack them open to enjoy their acquisition. Especially with something as unique as an ashcan, where miniscule differences in grade don't make a substantial difference in value. Hell, keep the label with the book if the grade CGC guesstimated is that important (for some unknown reason). The comic is less likely to be damaged once free of the slab anyway if properly stored, given the propensity of slabs to wrinkle corners.

Here's my copy. Definitely Hitler.