Randall Dowling

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.

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

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

On 3/20/2022 at 7:01 PM, Robot Man said:

Got to see the 3 “Ghoulantics” my buddies Grant Geissman, John Kousakis and John Gaughan. Really missed these guys. Such fountains of EC lore.

John Kousakis was so kind to give us each a pile of vintage EC t-shirts. He recently bough out the entire back stock of Grafitti studios con shirts. He will be soon listing them on the bay. I will post pictures later. 

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).  

On 3/20/2022 at 7:33 PM, Ryan. said:

Let me know if you get bored with this one. 

Tough book.

On 3/20/2022 at 5:33 PM, The Lions Den said:

Of course, you're right about that time period being the most common period for Marvel chipping. But from what I can see in the posted photos, the book does appear to exhibit the same characteristics I'd expect to see with Marvel chipping.

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.

On 3/20/2022 at 11:34 AM, wombat said:

Picked up this beauty from @jimjum12. 

That's a sweet looking copy, sir!!  

On 3/19/2022 at 8:27 PM, Joshua33 said:

I remember narrowly losing out on a piece of his on Ebay. Regret not paying more. Exquisite detail.

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.

On 3/19/2022 at 4:19 PM, Krydel4 said:

I have a question. Never having held an Action 1 in my hands or examined one. How would one be able to tell that this was legitimate from 1938 and not from one of the first reprints? Does it overlap with something on the back cover? 

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

On 3/19/2022 at 12:37 PM, Joshua33 said:

Are you still referring to the case? 

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

On 3/13/2022 at 7:58 AM, John R said:

The Standard Catalog of Comic Books (2003 edition) only shows Capital City order numbers but you can see the drop from issue 1 to the later issues.  

1 - 21300

2 - 15600

3 - 14100

4 - 26 approx. 10000 - 11000

27 - 36 approx 9000

There are 2 issues that show order of 1000? not sure if this is a print error. The issues are #6 and #28.

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.

@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...

On 3/14/2022 at 1:46 PM, WernerVonDoom said:

Thanks. I've got everything in an excel spreadsheet so it's always staring me in the face. 

Pro tip to anyone else trying this: Start from #1 and move up, instead of backwards like I did. 

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.  

On 3/14/2022 at 6:18 AM, chrisco37 said:

When I was reading the post, I thought that he was saying the slabs had big honking scratches.  You can barely see those even in the blown-up photos.  

On 3/14/2022 at 11:55 AM, The Lions Den said:

I'll go out on a limb and say that QC didn't think it would be seen as a problem...   

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.  

On 2/27/2022 at 11:23 PM, Yodisd said:

Does anyone have any advice for new collectors? Thanks 

1. Read the comics.  Don't just buy them and collect them.  Actually read them.  And then buy more of the stories and art that you like.
2. Don't be afraid to reach for books that you've been after.  I've never regretted buying something once in 45 years but I have lots of regrets over the books I didn't reach for.
3. It's okay to be someone who buys storylines, individual issues for covers that you like, and/or completes runs.  Don't feel required to collect the way other people do.
4. Never buy into the hype.  That's selling time, not buying time.
5. Check out all of the forums here (GA, SA, BA, etc.),  look at what other board members are posting and don't be afraid to explore areas that you're interested in.  There is an incredible knowledge base here and most members are glad to share their knowledge.
6. Explore, explore, explore.  I was a child of the 70s that grew up reading SA and BA comics.  When I was 18, I started getting interested in GA and magazines.  At this point, I've collected most genres of comics out there.  Thank goodness I didn't just keep reading and collecting SA and BA comics (as awesome as they are).
7. Don't get caught up in 9.8 fever.  They're making new ones every day.