Randall Dowling

Always been a mystery to me. To each their own.

Jared Leto is radioactive to the success of any film when he's not the star. I don't believe it gets better with more of him.

I've made a commitment to behaving better online than I would in person. But this thread is testing me.

Am I the only one that thinks that looks photoshopped? The drop shadow looks heavy handed.

I've always thought this is the most undervalued Warren Frazetta cover. Nice copy, OE!

Leave it alone. It's already been through enough.

To be clear, chipping (Marvel and otherwise) is a result of tearing from a dull blade when the open side of the book is trimmed during production.

I've made this same post a few times before. I got this from @skypinkblu (Thanks, Sharon! ) many, many years ago. These are far and away the best solution I've found. Multiple colors available. And I've had them slip and land on comics and they come right off without a trace. https://www.amazon.com/Post-Standard-Flags-Dispenser-680-BE2/dp/B00006JNO8/ref=sr_1_2?crid=18UN43I4B4T6Q&keywords=3M%2B1%2Binch%2Bflags&qid=1647828487&sprefix=3m%2B1%2Binch%2Bflags%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-2&th=1

Very cool, Bob! It's the guys like these 3 that really make it fun going to these shows. I've never seen that copy of Picture Stories from the Bible. Looks like you picked up a nice little haul. I have a copy of Pushover, also (love those early digests).

Tough book.

People that collect Amazing Spider-man 300 would agree with you. There are books that suffer this phenomenon in almost every age of comics. It's just far less common than the early Marvel SA books.

That's a sweet looking copy, sir!!

They're even more detailed in person. The photos don't do them justice.

While not technically pulp art (interior illustrations from men's adventure mags), these two pieces I picked up are pretty impressive in person. Vic Prezio is one of my favorites of this genre. I particularly like his delineation of trees and tree trunks. Cross posting from the Men's Adventure mag thread.

It's because it's in a blue label that you know it's legitimate. CGC verified it.

Is that poor centering or are you just happy to see me?

Nice pickups, @lbcolefan! I would've bid on the Battle Cry but all my pennies were committed to purchasing a couple pieces of original illustration art by Vic Prezio. I'm really happy with both, photos don't do them justice! (Forgive the glare, they're already framed behind glass.)

It's worth noting that these are Capital City numbers (as you did). It doesn't include Diamond or other distributors. Actual print run would be much higher.

More strength required. It'll move.

Not that this thread needs another theory, but my personal belief, given what is known, is that the person that donated the art (either in person or through an intermediary) was someone wealthy enough to not be overly bothered by not selling it. Additionally, I think that said person had some information/rumors/suspicions that the provenance of the artwork was sketchy and could be challenged. And recognizing that owning the art itself was possibly problematic for potential heirs, they found a viable (and I believe ideal) alternative by donating to the LoC anonymously. Could it have been Stan? Sure. Could it have been some other Marvel employee? Absolutely. Could it be some random friend of Martin Goodman's? Or a seedy friend of Goodman's son, Chip? Why not? There are a thousand plausible scenarios. It's fun to speculate but until someone comes forward with first-hand knowledge, it's just a fun thought experiment. There's no way to know. My guess is the answer is directly connected with all the other missing SA Marvel art and then whatever changing of hands took place after that.

1-12 months.

@Axe Elf Unfortunately, you'll find that there are many sellers on eBay, at conventions, and in local comic shops that are all over the place on grading. FWIW, I've come to the point where unless I know the seller and have a good sense of how they grade, I don't really pay attention to what other people grade raw books. If there are high resolution scans, I trust my own grading from those and assess price accordingly. If not, I recognize I'm taking a gamble and I price that in to what I'm willing to pay. In either case, I make my own assessment of grade and whether I'm a buyer. I've purchased thousands of magazines over the last 30 years and, although there have been lots of winners and losers, this is the best way I've found.

I really wanted that Toth Hot Wheels page...

I call this @oakman29's Cardinal Rule to Comic Collecting: Start with the biggest keys and work your way down. It really is solid advice as the gains for keys almost always outpace gains for non-keys.

But what do you do when the book is a 9.8 but the slab is only a 9.4? How does that impact the value? 9.8 books should be in 9.8 slabs. We need some sort of service that will certify the condition of the slab.