Moondog

Congrats, Bill. I too am out. Still dealing - but no more collecting.

Here are mine. The sign came with the comics in the box.

Though not dirt cheap anymore (this copy sold for $288,000 last April), the first time the words SUPERMAN COMICS appear on the cover of a comic book is this ashcan edition. If it changes hands 2-3 times in the next 10 years - it's a million dollar book.

Thanks, Sha.

So blessed to have kept them all these years. Now the next generation can enjoy/preserve them.

I picked up a copy of the Consumer Cooperatives in the second batch of ashcans from Sol Harrison. I've seen 2 others over the years.

Somehow this yankee made it back alive!

Fishler, Warren and I purchased a collection in Chattanooga in the mid-80s we dubbed the Mile Low Collection. It had an Acttion 1 but the books were so brown and brittle that I let them buy me out of the deal. Literally every single book was crumbling in our hands.

Now THAT's a wacky theory!

That’s exactly what happened to my wife and I, Bill. Almost the same timing, price and rates. CDs were 18%!

That huge, attractive UPC on newsstand editions really does it for you, huh? 🙄 This is the first time I’ve ever heard that from anyone. When they put a diagonal line through the box to differentiate editions collectors and dealers at the time said nothing. Nobody cared. When Marvel started putting character heads in the box everyone was happy - because it wasn’t so ugly.

I am skeptical about the DA 1. Especially since it wasn’t given a grade. In my mind there is no question that DA 2 is an ashcan because I purchased a cover in the same batch of ashcans as the Action Comics ashcan. The cover is a reprint as are the insides. Could some have been sold on the newsstand outside DCs offices as it’s been rumored - sure - but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an ashcan. I don’t know if there was a registration filed for the title with the USPO, but this book was created for a reason, and the most logical conclusion is it’s an ashcan.

I think this photo was taken in 2003. I asked Steve to slab these 3 favorites. The Superboy didn't make the cut then.

Thanks again, Tom!

As I said, the only art I was offered was the White Indian story. I was not aware of any other art.

Great issue. Besides the ashcans it also has Jon Berk’s feature on Lamont Larsen.

The only art that was offered to me was a Frazetta White Indian complete story.

There is a Hit (Quality) ashcan. Champion Comics. A few other obscure publishers too, but Timely just sent in the logo with their trademark registration. I had the Millie The Model registration which I sold to Mark. I believe he has the Human Torch too.

What really put my ashcans, and all ashcans for that matter, on the map was when Gary Carter asked me to contribute a complete feature for Comic Book Marketplace 71 in 1999. It was a 12-page article that included a complete (up to then) census of every known DC ashcan. It also featured every image of every ashcan in my collection. I highly recommend this issue to any serious Golden Age collector. When I sell my last 4 ashcans it will be the end of a nearly 4-decade quest to accomplish something no other comic book collector has ever done. In fact Sol Harrison himself didn't have the Supergirl ashcan! I've said this before but it demands repeating - owning something no one else on the planet has is pretty cool.

I was convinced that ashcans, as historically important as they were, would never attain the level of respect they deserved unless they were listed in Overstreet. Real comic books are listed in Overstreet. Ashcans are real comics. They may not have been sold on a newsstand, but there was no question in my mind (and many others) that they were comic books. Enter Tom Gordon, Overstreet managing editor, comic book historian and long-time advocate for ashcans. He was as determined as I was that they needed to be listed in the Guide. Through Tom's efforts Bob finally listed ashcans in the 2006 edition - a full 20 years after first reporting on my initial purchase. The 1998 publication Comics Between the Panels published by Dark Horse ran a very cool feature on my ashcans. This book is an overlooked gem. Wizard jumped on the ashcan band wagon in 2002 when they ran a nice piece on my collection. The photo of Steve and me is one of my favorites. A couple of years after Bob finally listed ashcans, JC Vaughn asked me to do a definitive article for the Guide. Mark Zaid and I co-authored the piece. We had a lot of fun with it. The 2010 uber tome - 75 Years of DC Comics by Paul Levitz had a nice section on ashcans. Paul was gracious to inscribe my copy. Part 3 coming up.

I was convinced that ashcans, as historically important as they were, would never attain the level of respect they deserved unless they were listed in Overstreet. Real comic books are listed in Overstreet. Ashcans are real comics. They may not have been sold on a newsstand, but there was no question in my mind (and many others) that they were comic books. Enter Tom Gordon, Overstreet managing editor, comic book historian and long-time advocate for ashcans. He was as determined as I was that they needed to be listed in the Guide. Through Tom's efforts Bob finally listed ashcans in the 2006 edition - a full 20 years after first reporting on my initial purchase. The 1998 publication Comics Between the Panels published by Dark Horse ran a very cool feature on my ashcans. This book is an overlooked gem. Wizard jumped on the ashcan band wagon in 2002 when they ran a nice piece on my collection. The photo of Steve and me is one of my favorites. A couple of years after Bob finally listed ashcans, JC Vaughn asked me to do a definitive article for the Guide. Mark Zaid and I co-authored the piece. We had a lot of fun with it. The 2010 uber tome - 75 Years of DC Comics by Paul Levitz had a nice section on ashcans. Paul was gracious to inscribe my copy. Part 3 coming up.

Now that I'm selling the last items from my collection, I thought it might be interesting to some of you to know how I came to collect Golden Age ashcans, and how this long and winding road ended up here. When I purchased my first 6 ashcans in October (November?) 1985 I had never seen one before. I didn't know what they were. There was no information anywhere about them. But when my old pal, Joe Desris, asked me if I was interested in checking out this small stack of books that Sol Harrison gave him, I was intrigued. Seeing the Superman and Wonder Woman ashcans for the first time was like a bomb burst in my head. I love history, especially the history of American comic books, and even though I had no idea what they were, I knew I had to have them. Joe had shopped them around to a few other dealers and everyone said the same thing, they're cool but what are they? Sol also wanted $10,000 for the 6 books which turned everyone off - except me. When I went home and explained to my wife that I spent $10,000 on 6 comics that I had no idea what they were, she gave me that bemused look I'd seen a zillion times before and said I'm sure it'll work out. I sent images of the 6 books to Bob Overstreet and he ran a story on them in the 1986 edition of the Guide. So Joe went back to Sol and said that the buyer would buy more if any were available. Well, there were more. 2 more buys in the next 6 months netted a second Superman, 2 Action Comics, 2 Action Funnies and many, many more.

Haha! Great story, Jeff. So happy you still have all the WCs!

There actually were a few hundred non-first issues. Mostly early pre-hero DCs like Detective 2-5, New Comics. Famous Funnies 2-4, etc. All the Classics Comics/Illustrated. First issue Four Colors. I have the definitive list that was put together by the seller. Matt has it for the Pedigree Book.

I will be posting a timeline tomorrow.