rjpb

I haven't been to a comic-con since the late 90s. Ebay pretty much sucks up my vintage comic budget. However, I keep thinking I'd like to check one out again, but I've heard the monthly LA con is mostly toys and porn these days, and the reason I stopped years ago going was the lack selection of GA & pre-code material ( I would often end up buying stuff I was only marginally interested in, in order to justify the time spent there). Back in the 90s, while there were always a few dealers with books both overgraded and overpriced, many dealers were flexible and willing to work out a deal on low-mid grade books, even when they were reasonably priced to begin with ( It seemed pretty easy to get at least 20% knocked off the asking price on most books, and towards the end of the day as much as 50%). I'm surprised with all the competition from Ebay and other on-line sources, that there are apparently many dealers out there with unrealistic expectations of what their inventory is worth. Who are they selling to? Is there really that large a collector base interested in low-mid grade books, who don't use Ebay and are therefore unaware of the FMV of these books?

Black cat #33 has a cooler than average cover, so I can see a file copy going for guide, but it seems to me alot of Harvey File copies don't sell that quickly at guide.

Screw 'em - I find alot more stuff on Ebay than I ever found at shows.

I've posted this before in a different thread, but since I have it scanned already, I figure it deserves a second look. I always felt this was an underappreciated cover from Cole's Four Star era.

Keith $75 for a VG Mr. Mystery 12 in 94-95 was a steal back then - I remember Harley Yee had a VG+ copy for $300 back around that time - it was that price that had me cross it off my want list as it was never a must-have cover for me. Around 95-96 I came across a FR copy for $40, which I turned around and sold in a CBG classified for $75. As for prices on high grade horror classics - except for the Harvey File copies - I'm afraid the days of buying these for only 3 or 4 times what a VG copy might cost are gone. While the absurd multiples for every .2 increase in grade may ease somewhat, I think that there is a larger appreciation for just how rare most of this stuff is in unrestored HG - and there will always be enough deep pocket collectors out there to compete for any pre-code book considered a "classic". That being said, 6K for a Mister Mystery #11 sounds extremely ambitious - I'll be surprised if Metro sees that much for it.

Comichut - Shocking Mystery 51 is probably my favorite Cole cover from the Star era, certainly his best crime cover from the early 50s. Psychedelic!

Here's another Cole war cover - the accidental gerber no-show Contact #2 - a cool cover none-the -less. Somehow I think a paratroopers vs. Japanese Zeros battle would have been a bit more lopsided the other way.

If that Black Cat 50 you bought was better than a Fair, you made out like a bandit. I paid $750 for a NM file copy back in '96, and at the time VG copies were selling for $250-$300 if you could find one, but I do remember just 2 or 3 years before that, that it was still possible to buy alot of classic pre-code crime and horror for guide if you were the first to find it - those were the days. Thanks to Harley Yee, I was able to pick up such classics as Horrific #3, Crime does Not Pay #24 and Fight against Crime #20 for guide back then. I still think pre-code crime and horror is quite affordable - all the classic cover "keys" are still available in mid-grade for well under $1000, and low grade copies for a few hundred at most. If you compare this to Silver Age keys or many GA Superhero "classic covers", let alone keys, it's not that bad. And when you get to lesser "keys" and other cool covers, VG copies often run less than $150, sometimes as little as $30 - $50.

Banner, Nice Contact - I'd like a copy of that as well. Cole did a few really striking war covers.

All these Cole covers have got me searching for some new ones to add to my collection. This one arrived today.

Paull Great pickup - and decent eye appeal! I always thought the Voodoo & Fighting Man Annuals were pretty cool and agree they always seem to be very low grade when they show up. I don't have either one, but maybe someday. Thanks for sharing the splash pages - does anyone know If the contents vary in the Ajax/Farrell annuals?

Yes, I've got a Strange Suspense Stories 19 as well as copies of: Amazing Detective 13, Black Cat Mystery 33, Crime Does Not Pay 42 & 47. Law-Crime 1, All-True Crime 27, Justice 41, Suspense 25, Fight against Crime 14, Manhunt 2, and now, Mysterious Adventures 20 - I am missing an original Shock Suspenstories 1, but will make do with the reprint, unless I come across a ridiculously cheap VG copy. I know Hand of Fate 24 has a small electric chair on the cover - but I don't really think of it as an electric chair cover - I think there might also be an Atlas book with an electric chair in one of the sidebar panels, but that's not enough for me either. I am thinking of branching out into superhero covers with the chair - like Captain Marvel Jr. 119, and I know I've seen a few others from the early 40s, but can't recall exactly what. Anybody with info on Superhero electric chair covers?

Just arrived today - completing my collection of pre-code crime/horror electric chair covers ( I think). As a bonus it has some pretty gruesome panels inside. I got it from Neatstuff - and thanks to these boards I was unsurprised that it took over a month - and of course shipped media mail for $8. It was slightly overgraded as a vg/f - (it's more like a vg or vg+), but I think Neatstuff's reputation has hurt them enough that if you are patient you can still get some good deals - as even with the shipping charges this copy cost less than 3.0 guide. I would buy from them again, but only if the price is right.

Not my purchase, but I was wondering what you precode fans thought of this price. If it's truely a fine, I'm guessing it's not too bad - not a deal, but considering WM#5 is a horror grail for many, it could have gone higher.

Well. it's a low grade copy, but I've wanted a Phantom Lady comic for years and this one came along at the right price - nice pages as well. Now I'll have even more of desire to break the piggy bank for a #17 one of these days.

Thanks for sharing gentlemen - Happy Halloween indeed!

jkrk - that MM looks nicer than a 6.0. great cover - That's the only S&K cover in the run, right? comichut - nice to see so many raw HG Timely's - not that there is anything wrong with slabbing HG GA, but it's nice to know there are still raw books out there that look that nice.

A recent aquisition - low grade but the price was right. Not pictured in the Gerber - but not a white space either - I'm guessing non-EC horror didn't get quite the same respect back in the 80s, as there are a few runs which aren't completely represented. I love the self-referential cover - I wonder if that's a self-portrait of Myron Fass himself. Overstreet references "heart torn out" and "blood drainage", but don't expect anything too graphic - run of the mill sub-EC horror resides inside.

sfilosa I have to agree - not one of Cole's best on that Catman - that you have a HG copy is evidence of your commitment to collecting the man's work. I salute you. paull & POV - I once had a very low grade Startling Terror #11 as well - I foolishly sold it for 3 times what I paid - perhaps I'll find it again at guide

Here is my copy of Catman #32 - I've posted it before but this is the thread for a reprise.

Thanks, sfilosa, and far nicer than my copy as well. Excellent book!

I haven't added any L.B. Cole covers to my collection in the last few years, concentrating more on Schomburg among others, but this thread has got me jonesing to buy some Star horror and jungle books. Keep 'em comin'.

Stronguy, that Cap #18 brings back memories - when I was about 13, circa 1972, I bought that issue in what was probably G/VG from an ad in the CBG for $18 ( more than a weeks paper route earnings!), I remember it had a splotch of silver paint on the BC. I sold it a couple of years later for $35. I hate to think of what it would sell for now, even in low grade. If I were more sentimental I'd probably buy it from you - it is a great cover! If I remember correctly, it contains a story where Cap & Bucky drop into Japan to destroy a supergun capable of firing shells into the U.S., and has panels of young Bucky gleefully shooting down Japs with a machine gun.

I agree completely - BB 105 would be on my want list if it weren't for all the clutter - it really is some of Cole's nicest work. This is why I generally prefer Cole's 40s stuff - the covers are free of extraneous verbage. There are a few Star books where the captions were kept to a minimum, and one of my faves is the bloody hands cover on a Startling Terror - the number escapes me, but I'll post it sometime unless I'm beaten to it.

The 3rd part of the L.B. Cole sci-fi trilogy. Sorry it's a low grader. Also sorry about the size descrepancies, these were all scanned at different times.