Moondog

Thanks, BZ. I love looking at your books!

I have one too (someone told me it was an ashcan ). Why are they all really low grade?

Bang: On the top shelf, are those decoupage boxes made from the covers of All-Stars? I'm trying to figure out if we're just seeing half of the books or if it's something else... Nice workmanship on the cabinet too. D a m n that's cool! Thanks again for sharing.

I see the pulps too. What don't you collect, BZ?

Bang: How have you stored them all these years? Please describe whether they've been in bags or not, boxes, upright, flat, closet, safe deposit box(es), book case, etc. Also, how would you rate the page quality? Obviously you've been aware of the comics marketplace for the past 30+ years. What have you been thinking as you've seen prices explode and the value of your collection increase? Please excuse my prying and inquisitiveness, but to think that a collection like this has just been discovered - even though it has been owned by someone who is a collector (and not an heir) - is something so exciting that it's down right incomprehensible. I liken this discovery to how I would feel if you were Edgar Church and you just brought out your collection for all of us to see. The fact that you're a collector - and therefore appreciate and understand our excitement - makes it even better. I purchased a collection in 1986 of over 1,000 first issues. I had to wait nearly 8 years before the seller decided to pull the trigger. I still have nightmares about those years... so I can empathize with your fear that the seller would find another buyer. Thanks again for posting these scans.

Holy Moly! What an incredible 16! One thing, BZ, try putting something over the comic so the scan doesn't "square off" the sides. Lay a big envelope or comic box lid over the comic so you can actually see the edges and corners. Thanks again for showing these off!

Bang: Are these as nice as they appear? Thanks for posting them. Very tough to find these...

This is very cool. Fascinating actually. Nice work, everyone.

You're a sly one, Andy...

Always a favorite of mine...

But they also had patriotic covers like this one...

It's a 7.5 if you can't read the label...

Sorry if this isn't too clear... One of my absolute favorites. The only one known...

You guys crack me up. My Superman is an 8.0. I'm just old and couldn't recall exactly. I just checked and it is indeed an 8.0.

The All-Star and Wonder Woman I miss the most. I believe there was a scan once to the Superman/Superhombre ashcan someplace, but don't recall right now.

Same confusing listing every year. Please understand, I'm not complaining about the listing - we need as much info as possible - but there needs to be definitive examples in order to make it useable. For instance, take the authentic copy and show the differences in that and the reprint/fake/forgery. It may take a page or two, but it would be invaluable for collectors who care. Right now the writtend descriptions are so ambiguous that they're useless.

CGC said they "believed" mine was a photcopy based on Overstreet's description. The only problem with that is when I apply Overstreet's description, I can't tell the difference. Now, I've been doing this for over 30 years and if I can't tell, then I know it's a difficult process. The fact that your's came from NYC with complete runs of the mags is a positive. This book is picking up considerable steam. I sold my photocopy/authentic issue for $300 in Chicago in August. It was a VF. Yours looks a bit nicer. I've never seen a copy that is guaranteed authentic.

No one will be able to tell from this scan, King, and even if you scanned the interior, I don't believe anyone - including CGC - can definitively tell either. My copy (which I've since sold) was rejected by CGC as a reprint, photocopy, forgery, or whatever they're calling it nowadays. They may be right, but Overstreet's description of an original is so vague that it's really a crapshoot. Does your copy come with a provenance?

I have a beautiful example of the Junior Federal Men Club badge, Steve, and have been looking for a nice 16 to go along with it. For sale? --Gary

They're in the vault, SS. Maybe some day...

Yep. I still own them. Only ones known to exist (so far...).

No idea on the whereabouts of Stephen Browne. Nice pick up on the Slam Bang, Mark! Bob, my copy of the article is buried in one of 20 boxes...I'll let you know the issue number if/when I find it. With all this interest in ashcans lately, I'm sure the Double Action 1's and 2's will be flying out of the wood work. Heck, that thud sound you just heard was the market collapsing as I write this.

Cooler pedigree...hmmm...let's see...Sol Harrison, who was an office boy at DC in the mid-1930s...rises through the ranks to become president of the company...who may have actually been the person to hand-staple these rarities...is the source of my copies. Jack Mallette < Bill Thailing < Stephern Browne... Not bad company but certainly NOT the provenance of a Sol Harrison. Ah, the trash-talking collectors can get into! What I find interesting in that 20-year-old CBG story is the speculation that Jack and I spouted about the ashcans we had. We really didn't know what/why/when/who and tried to fill in the blanks. But I will tell you this: other than opening the envelope containing the first Windy City # 1's...nothing has ever been as exciting or awe-inspiring as the first time I held those 6 books. When I brought them home and explained to my wife that I had just spent $10,000 on 6 books that weren't in the Guide , she thought I was nuts. Really. She said she loved me, but that I had really lost it. Around the office the purchase became known at "Moondog's Folly". Maybe that's why I never gave up on my quest to get them listed in Overstreet. Today, as more information surfaces - and more collectors fall in love with them, ashcans are becoming more valuable. And with increasing value comes respect. And that is what I've been fighting for all these years. As Mark can tell you, their rarity and historical importance is intoxicating. To hold a pop culture artifact of this importance is almost a religious experience. Thank god, we can laugh at ourselves as well as appreciate our wondeful hobby. Now, if only I can get back the Wonder Woman and All-Star ashcans...then I'd be happy!

According to Tom Gordon, Bob told him directly that DA # 1 is not a fake listing. Now, the 1948 listing for Jackie Gleason is another matter!

I believe Jack got his copy from Bill Thailing. And the story behind it was the kid was given the book from DC because he was a crusader against Wertham. I'm not sure how Thailing ended up with it. Marnin called me on this book 10 years ago after they bought it from Jack. Since I already owned two I passed on buying it (around 10 grand I believe...). Still looks now like it did then!