GoldenPRGuy

It was always the one I was missing as well till a fellow boardie sold me his. It's probably in the same shape as the one on eBay, a reader for sure, but apparently a valuable one.

Wow, did that Jolly Jingles 12 fr/gd really just sell for 700? That's amazing, and awesome.

Had to pick up another... just don't see them much these days, and after Boston ...

I missing 4 issues myself, and only have a dupe of #6.

CCC had a Pep 10, a TN 5 and a Black hood 17 or 19 (can't recall and can't recall the other two). They also had a really beat up Zip 4 in a box. Van Liew had a Zip 37, 36 and a really trashed 21. I'll admit I considered the 21, such a good cover art-wise but the damage steered me away. The old guy had a restored slabbed TN23 for like 159 bucks. That's really all I saw.

Well I hear what you're saying, but it was just a weird vibe. It's not like I have any intention of stopping, but when the guys manning Reece's booth look at me cross eyed when I ask if they have any MLJs it makes me wonder. Jim Payette also gave me an odd look when I asked if he had any with him and he had to repeat MLJ several times before saying no. One guy, a Boston dealer who is always at the show, think he is like 95, asked what I was looking for. I said MLJs and he proceeded to show me a bunch of boxes of Boy and Bulletman comics. It's not like I'm asking the cashier at the liquor store if they have any 'RM' champagnes ... I know the odds of them having any idea what I'm looking for is slim to none and I'm not above reminding myself that I'm a d-bag for even asking. But this is a comic show, and MLJ -- if it really is rare -- should be known as recognized as something that is sought after ... at the very least by the handful of GA dealers that still exist. Aside from that Harley had nothing on his wall. White says he doesn't seem many any more. Ted V had a few trashed ZIPs in a box, and that CGC'd Archie 4 (5.5) still hanging where it's been for the last several shows. The most interesting convo I had was with the Card, Comics and Collectibles guys who had 5 MLJs up on the wall (all lower grade, and all of which I had). They told me that a local collector keeps bringing in old beater peps that he collected and read and now wants to sell. Nothing significant yet, but who knows what will turn up next. I love that what we collect is scarce, but if no one knows about them outside of our little circle and even dealers who should be in the know are starting to forget ... who's going to be around to buy them? That is, once we are done essentially passing them back and forth between the 50 of us.

Boston Con = Sad day for MLJ collectors. Could count the rags on one hand.

OK OK, I went a little high but it's only money. I wanted it and now I can add it to the collection with the one you sold me.

Nice one Steve, here is my latest:

Steve, why did you put baby in the corner? She should be upfront and center! That looks like an amazing copy, have you considered slabbing it? What do you think it would grade at?

Nice Keith! Congrats. Was wondering who grabbed those! I picked up another copy of 8 the other day too. Not the best shape but I just love that cover.

Now the winner of that 3rd copy of Archie 8 for $250 and the accepted purchase price of $170 for his 2nd copy of TN 41... Genius! Pure f-ing genius!

I feel bad for whoever won this auction. I would've paid a lot more for that book, but I emailed the seller several times with no response. The auction was clearly a sham. The seller had not done any buying or selling in almost a year and was not a collector. I don't think I was alone in not bidding this up due to the fraudulent nature of the auction. Plus they are from Ocala Florida, need I say more. (Sorry I'm not sorry).

Great copy. I have two but had my eye on that one -- never bid though. Actually didn't bid on any of them. I was trying to show some restraint since I already had copies of all. The only one I consider bidding on as an upgrade was that Jolly Jingles #12 with the hitler cover. I was really surprised/impressed with the price it brought.

What's to hate? That's a great book to own in any grade!

I'd sure like to go to your "local shows". I never see MLJs like that at any of mine... Ha! Exactly. My 'local' shows are the NYC and Boston Cons, and nobody pulls an un-slabbed Pep or any other MLJ out of a random box at either. They are usually behind a piece of glass at HA or CC as an auction preview, or insanely overpriced on someone's back wall. On an semi-related note, in my work travels I am constantly searching for comic stores that I can pop into for a few minutes to continue the search -- recently did this on my way from Vancouver to Seattle (but the following seems to apply everywhere) and I'm thinking some of these store names really need an upgrade ... 'Lost World of Wonders', 'Nostalgia Central', 'Blah Blah Blah of the Past'. Thinking most of these places could get away with names like, 'This Week's Comics', 'Sold Our One GA Book on eBay' and 'Trading Cards You Can Buy Anywhere'. To anyone still stumbling upon MLJs at cons or your lcs, I salute you!

VERY true!! I've had more luck finding Peps recently +2... Pep has dominated the MLJ market for so long - and they have become so expensive - it seems that collectors are in the process of discovering other MLJ titles (e.g., Blue Ribbon, Top Notch, and Zip). In an article I wrote for one of Overstreet's GA updates some 20 year ago, it was mentioned how scarce the MLJ's are and I believe that still holds true today. If anything, over time MLJ's have become even more difficult to obtain. That's because someone is hoarding all the sweet sweet copies... I'm actually amazed at how few I see listed anymore on eBay. Not sure if that's cause people are choosing to go with CC, HA and CL auctions or just hoard them like many of us, but the well certainly seems very dry. I do agree that the less popular (historically) MLJ titles have gained serious traction in the past few years, which is nice to see, but I still need some so it's frustrating. Kids and the new home have kept me pretty distracted, and poor, as of late, but I have been keeping up with all the banter, as well as browsing the usual sites on the reg. There is some quality stuff sitting out there, mainly cause it's over priced and the sellers won't budge, but the overall volume is not what it was 2 years ago. PS. Nice looking books posted lately. Keep 'em coming.

Great finds as always, Steve!

Haha, come on now, it's really not that shocking is it? The king of misspelled and poorly-punctuated rants is just trying to sell his book again ... a far fall from his original 10k asking price. The fact that the 4k reserve has been met is also not surprising as it is likely him under another name. If it goes no higher he will pull the book, or post something on the boards like he did after he tried to auction it on CC and the winning bidder mysteriously backed out after the close.

Love this cover. Was hoping to pick up a copy in a recent HA auction, but I fell asleep.

I bought my copy when I was just a kid for about $35 dollars. Aside from the dust shadow and a dog-eared upper right corner, it presents nicely, is pretty tight and fully attached with OW pages.

On a non-zip note, I think we would be doing this topic a disservice if we didn't recognize what's happening on HA right now ... already at 31k with the BP.

Another amazing copy, Steve! Don't ever slab 'em... no need.

Yeah the big spenders are over on HA bidding the up San Fran Pep 34, already at 22k with 23 days to go.

Late to the party as usual ... been moving into our new home and I am spoon-ing exhausted! I was watching these end the other night and did consider throwing in a last minute bid on the A1, but I thought, "Andrew, you already have 2, who needs 3?" Todd ... haha Anyway, while I agree the A1 went a little low (and I think that was due to the lack of detail and images in the auction), I actually thought the other prices were a bit soft. The A2 was ok, but the rest just seemed a little light for me. Am I the only one?