rjpb

Doiby - congrats on the Wonderworld #7. I was the underbidder, but I'm glad to see a fellow board member won it. I'm happy to hear it looks as undergraded in person as it looked in the scan, no way does it deserve a 1.8, I'm thinking it should have been a 2.0 or a 2.5.

I think it was reprinted in color in Mr. Monster #3. I enthusiastically recommend the whole series to any pre-code fan, especially the Super-Duper Specials, which reprinted classic pre-code crime, horror & sci-fi in color.

Yeah, back around 1996, I used my free classified in the CBG a few times listing books I would pay 1.5 to 2X guide for, and in addition to finding the WM #5 for $150, I also picked up VG copies of Astonishing #30, Out of the Shadows #8, and a low low grade copy of Picture Parade #1. Good deals are still to be had on classic cover pre-code books. I bought a Weird Mysteries #6 in GD for $40 on Ebay a couple of years ago.

My WM#5 is a VG, it has a chip out of the bottom of the cover, and when it recieved it there was also a tiny chip floating in the bag that had come of the FC at the spine, which I put back with a tiny spot of glue at the end of a toothpick (horrors). Does that make it restored? I suppose it has a 50/50 chance of the PLOD if I were to ever slab it - but it would be one of the last books to ever leave my collection. If not for the bottom chip, it would be a solid FN.

Not as nice as Puny's copy, but I just picked it up on Ebay. The cover is loose, and there are a couple pieces out of the spine, but I think it has great eye-appeal for a low grade copy, and probably the nicest copy I was going to find for under $200, as this cover always seems to attract a premium.

paull, congrats on the WM #5 - I still remember the excitement of finally getting a copy myself - though my wait was more like 2 years. A few posts back someone brought up the topic of underappreciated pre-code horror. Here is a book that I've always felt deserved more attention, but can probably still be picked up for it's fairly low guide price. I first bought a copy of Adventures into Weird Worlds #24 when I was a kid in the early 70s - that copy is long gone, but when I rediscovered it in the Gerber guide back in the early 90s, it was one of the first pre-code horror books I purchased when I got back into collecting. A classic Everett cover!

One of the great covers of the run.

Great book paull! Always thought that was an eye-catching cover - what are the stories like?

If I was looking to collect a high grade Atlas run, I'd look no further than MENACE. Only 11 issues and some excellent covers!

It's probably no harder to find than Horrific #3, but expect to pay twice guide at least - it's not as unknown as it once was. Still, guide is low enough that it will seem cheap compared to most pre-code horror.

I hadn't thought of the Horrific #3 as particularly high grade until you mentioned it, but it is a very glossy flat copy. When I bought it from Harley Yee 10 years back ( for a whopping $38), I think he called it a FN- , probably due to the spine wear (no splitting though) and the edge tanning at the top and bottom of the covers (more noticable on the inside). After looking at alot of CGC scans of GA books (and even buying a few) I'd feel safe calling it at least a FN 6.0 Here is another excellent Don Heck cover - when I was a Marvel zombie in the early 70s, I didn't appreciate his talents, but when I discovered there was more to pre-code horror than EC, I realized how great he was. And you've got to love the logos on the Comic Media horror books - did he design them?

And here is a copy of War Fury #1, the book the image was taken from - the first pre-code war book I ever picked up, and a classic in it's own right - as it is also a flamethrower cover and has extremely violent war stories inside.

Great score on the Horrors of Mystery 13. What sort of stories are inside? Here is a post of my Horrific #3 - this was one of the first pre-code horror books I picked up about 10 years ago, when I branched out from collecting pre-code crime.

Shrunkenhead, the image of the bullet-hole-in-head guy on Horrific #3 is taken from War Fury #1. Unless someone beats me to it, I will post both later tonight. I've always loved the cover to Horrific #3, and personally always felt Mr. Mystery #12 was a tad overrated - cool cover for sure, but not in my personal top-ten. Now if that poker was going into the eye- that would be something.

The only time classic cover horror books come out of the woodwork in greater numbers is when higher prices make selling an attractive option. Even with the number of file copies out there, I don't think there are enough copies of books like ToT 15 and Black Cat 50 to satisfy demand. These are "key" books for pre-code horror collectors and even at 2 or 3 times guide are still pretty cheap compared to alot of classic cover superhero books from the GA. If not for all the file copies, I think those two books would sell for even more in high grade. As for Horrific 3, it is recognized by many collectors as one of the classic covers of the genre. We all have favorites which haven't reached icon status, and every collector can probably think of a couple "classic" covers which don't excite them, but Horrific 3 has been a high demand pre-code book for years. For many pre-code titles, I've long felt that the most overvalued issues have been first issues - an influence of super-hero titles where that has a real signifigance. I think for most pre-code horror collectors, the issue number is far less importance than the cover and/or interior art and story.

The ending price on that Tomb of Terror 15 is steep, but I don't see it as ridiculous - at least not compared to the prices on alot of high grade slabbed Silver, Bronze and Modern books. I think I've seen VG copies sell for around $200 on Ebay a couple of times - after Black Cat #50, it's probably the most wanted Harvey horror book.

Here's a scan of the Thing #6 I just bought on ebay. While the front cover looks alot better than a VG, the book has had a spine roll pressed out, leaving a big crease in the back cover, and has tanning in the page margins, as well as a nearly 1" tear at the bottom of the last few pages. All this was aknowledged by the seller in his listing. The book looks far glossier in person than it did in the listing.

I definetley own fewer ECs than I would if they had not all been reprinted. Currently the only originals I have are a couple of Crime Suspenstories, a VG 20 and a F/VF 22. I've traditionally been a cover collector when it comes to pre-code books, but I've been picking up more books for their interiors lately - and ebay has definetly brought the prices down on non-classic cover horror books. I just picked up a solid VG+ Thing 6 for the 2.0 guide price.

I don't actively look for Ajax/Farrell books (except for Fantastic Fears #6 - which I never see), but it has seemed that they are more likely than some other pre-code publishers to be low grade based on my casual obsevance. As for my own collecting preferences, I used to pick up higher grade pre-code books now and then, if they were the first copy I found, back when they were still pretty cheap, but these days when I buy them they're usually in the 2.0 to 5.0 range. If I own a GA or Atom Age book in 4.0 or better, I don't feel any urge to upgrade, and I can't resist lower grade when the price is right.

Between that Skull cover and that "Fatal Scalpel" splash, I might have to add HT#5 to my want list. Nice books by the way.

Punyhuman, Great cover on the Marvel Mystery 29 - I like to buy the war covers from 1944-1945, mostly because they're pretty cheap as Timelys go - but the some of the covers in the 20s are very cool! Eventually, I'll be looking for them as well.

This arrived in today's mail - now I'll have to buy a #19. I don't think this is as scarce as Overstreet says, as there are 17 copies in the census, although the OPG definition of scarce is 20-100 copies existant. Any guesses, on average, as to what percentage of GA Timelys are in the census?

Whether by Shelly or Kubert, those old Hawkman covers on Flash Comics are great! Nice aquisition.

Here is a recent Ebay purchase. Patience pays off. I like buying Schomburg war covers when I can find them for a good price, and I watched a copy of this book in similar condition get bid up well over guide a couple of months ago, this copy comes along with a below guide starting bid, and I'm the only bidder - go figure. While the Schomburg war cover Harvey books often feature heroes even more obscure than Nedor's (Black Cat & Green Hornet excepted) some, including this one, have great early Kubert art inside.

I've seen that cover in Gerber, but never read the dialog before. Cap's line is priceless, especially if you imagine him doing it in an Edward G. Robinson voice. One of these days I'll have to find me a copy.