Crowzilla

On 4/22/2024 at 11:30 PM, Silver Surfer said:

How about the Allentown Wonder Comics #2 in an upcoming auction, love that copy. 

I owned the 1 and 2 for quite a while. The one had a long spine split, but was otherwise very nice and the two was beautiful.

Hope this goes to a nice long-term home.

Peter such a wonderful and beautiful run, many thanks for sharing with us.

As a side note, am I the only one who looked at the pictures of the Church Adventure #s 26, 29, and 30 and imagined the copies of Action #1, 3, and 4 sitting in the original stacks next to them and in similar conditions?

On 4/7/2024 at 7:01 PM, woowoo said:

Who knew rust makes paper better page quality.

It also worked for the KC copy, originally Off-white as an 8.0, now Off-white to White as an 8.5

Lesson as always - the longer you keep rust with your books, the better it is for them.

On 3/28/2024 at 1:46 PM, szav said:

The IH 181 cgc 9.9 went for 150k at a time when 9.8s were going for less than 10k.  I can’t see this going for less than 500.  Not in this day and age.  

Not saying it’s worth that to me, but I’d be floored to see it go for less than 200.

in 2011 when the Hulk #181 sold prices were on their way down to $10K (from a peak of around $15K two years prior), but the pool of 9.8 graded copies at the time was just over 30. 

The pool of 9.8s copies of GSX #1 is 60% greater than the number for Hulk #181 (249 copies vs 157 copies), so the potential of another 9.9 coming forward one day seems to be much greater - but until it happens, who knows.

If the 9.9 Hulk was a 15x multiple of the 9.8, I'm not sure I see why the GSX should be a 30x multiple (and certainly not a 50x multiple).

On 3/27/2024 at 5:54 PM, Vintage_Paper said:

I believe even if the top corner of the cover is missing you can identify the version by the indicia on the inside front cover. The November copies have a black rectangle over the word October and possibly the word November was also added to it. I'm not a Marvel Comics 1 guy - just trying to recall when what I saw a few decades ago.

Correct. The October part is blacked out and then at the end of the indicia the November 1939 copyright is added

On 3/27/2024 at 11:21 AM, nearmint said:

Well, you lose thousands of dollars in reholdering fees.  And I don't think assuming is necessary.  If the notes don't mention which version of the ad is present, then that copy was certified prior to CGC beginning to note it, and therefore it's printing status is undetermined.

CGC will reholder the Superman #1 for $50 and note which version it is.

On 3/26/2024 at 3:17 AM, shadroch said:

The Great and Powerful CEEGEESEA has spoken.  They realized there might be some bucks in getting those 178 copies reslabbed and moved quickly to make it happen.  Does anyone want to guess what the fees would bring in if 100 copies are regraded?

I can guess. 100 x $50 reholder fee is $5000.

But unless you know your copy is an "On sale June 2nd" copy, there is little incentive right now to reholder.

On 3/24/2024 at 11:07 PM, Professor K said:

. I think we can safely -u-me that only the 1st prints have AC 14 June 2nd. I don't even care if there is a difference between the 2nd and 3rd prints. They were all printed in such a short time frame. But it would be good to note the 1st printing copies mainly because of the different ad. 

Not safe to say at all. We don't know if the 2nd prints were printed on May 22nd (after the weekend when newstands were all reporting being sold out) and still had carried the June 2nd date.

The only thing we can safely say is that copies that have the "On Sale June 2nd" ad are not 3rd prints, and that copies that have the "On Sale Now" ad are not first prints.  CGC just needs to note on the label which ad is inside, no need to try and declare what print number it is.

On 3/24/2024 at 10:34 PM, Aman619 said:

1.  Superman #1 first print was released.  Sales data was collected and it was determined that it was a runaway hit.  

not sure we can count on this step because its been widely accepted that the sales reports took at least 2-3 months to be collected and reported to publishers.  We've all accepted the stories that thats why Superman wasn't on the cover of Action again until issue #7, right?  And even 20 years later DC waits months to see if their premieres in Showcase did well enough to get their own books.  However, It can also be true that just by visiting newsstands in NYC and asking a few questions, that the DC execs could learn that the copies sold out quickly and then get on the phone and call other cities perhaps.  Then they could gamble on getting more copies out there.

So I think Im agreeing with you while quibbling about saying "sales reports" in their traditional sense being a reason for reprinting Superman 1.  They weren't fast enough back then.

 

 

I used to argue that sales reports couldn't be fast enough back then, but we know that Goodman got sales reports back for Marvel #1 very quickly - and was so impressed he ordered a print run that was 10x the initial print run (which still sounds crazy - he ordered a print run of 800,000 copies, when Superman was the best selling/most recognizable character already and they did three printings over 8-10 weeks to reach a similar number).

There are also reports that Superman #1 was the first comic that people lined up at the newstand for when it was released. That would be a good and quick indication that maybe they needed more copies. Maybe a good research project for SFDuck if he can determine where that information was first published.

Wouldn't it be strange if we found out that the "On sale now" variation was printed for people who mailed .25¢ in for a copy of World's Fair 1939 so that they didn't get a book that looked stale by having an old ad in it.

I think it is a very big leap to assume that copies from the three print runs have survived in anywhere near equal quantities.  Just too many reasons for that not to be true.

Submitters will need to start requesting for CGC to note which version it is on the label for there to be any change. And/Or willing and able buyers will have to hold firm saying I won't buy unless I know it to be X.

On 3/22/2024 at 5:11 PM, Uatu13 said:

Do you have a picture of the back of Batman 1?

On 3/21/2024 at 6:32 PM, fast eddie said:

Hi Sean! Remember me? I am your Pink Floyd boot buddy from ages ago! I'm glad to see you on here,,,,,,,, I've been asking about you! I still have that Marvel Mystery 15 I traded you for! Hah! Cheers! 

Holy mackerel!

They'll let anyone on these boards now! What a blast, was talking about you with someone else recently. Hope all is well

On 3/20/2024 at 10:42 PM, sfcityduck said:

I would be shocked if he knew about Thrill 1 and Flash 1. But, he did live in D.C. and maybe the info was available in government records (LoC, copyright, trademark). Still, I was thinking he was looking for Whiz 1 (which didn't exist) and Slam Bang 1.

I would (and wouldn't) be shocked also. But certainly the information about Thrill was out there for some reason - though I seem to remember that the Flash took everyone off guard when it was also found. Maybe Dave was the first person to research and then actively hunt for Thrill Comics #1.

On 3/18/2024 at 12:11 PM, sfcityduck said:

New and fascinating Wigransky discovery - a Wigransky Article from the Evening Starr of July 19, 1946: 

 

Here's what we learn:

* In 1946, Dave's collection was 1,240 comics. (It would number 5,000 to 6,000 two years later) and he'd joined and had pins for a bunch of comic clubs (remember he won a Pep comic as a member of the Shield club);

* He was amassing a "a complete set of the Fawcett publications" which he "never let any one else handle them, and I very seldom handle myself" - again, reinforcing that Dave was keeping his collection in top condition - and was looking for Master Comics 1 and 2 which "he heard about but not seen" which evidence he was in contact with other comic fans as was the fact that other young comic fans were coming to him with questions;

This is really amazing. This article was around the same time that Action #100 was on the stands, so to have a collection of 1,200+ books (soon to be 5,000+) and be condition conscious of at least part of them at that age is remarkable. Same age as Jerry Bails, but obviously started researching long before him.

When the article mentions he is looking for the first two numbers of the Fawcett Publications, I wonder if he is already looking for Thrill/Flash #1?

Great piece. Hakes had a beautiful, boxed example almost a decade ago that sold for "only" $5,060. Hake's Superman Figure

Considering how popular toys in general are to collect, and the fact that is really the first toy of the first hero (and the first action figure ever), that is just a horrible rate of return. The Heritage Batman toy auction last year had 25+ pieces that sold for more than double what this figure did, very sad.

On 3/15/2024 at 11:10 PM, adamstrange said:

You're welcome.  There are more articles, including complaints that the Overstreet Guide is pushing up prices, but to find them I'd have to go back through my collection of RBCCs.

I was surprised at how early on this concern was raised.

It's hard for collectors from the last 30 years to imagine a time when the rise in prices of Overstreet were seen as too aggressive. My first copy of the Guide was #10 (had been aware of it earlier, but when the price for a copy was equal to 25-30 new comics, it was easier just to flip through a copy at Waldenbooks all the time), and even then it was hard to find hot books at anywhere near Guide prices.

I do like the article by Bob Pinaha though - supposedly at a time when strip books like Feature 26 and Single Series 20 were just as in demand as Superheroes, he was appalled that evil capitalists would be pointing out that first appearances and pre-code horror would be the investments for the future. Remember, we can easily fight these people (who aren't "true" collectors anyways ) by not buying overpriced comics. Once we do that, all the prices will drop. Let's make an agreement to only sell comics for a max of 1/2 GPA from now on. You go first.

On 11/17/2023 at 3:35 AM, Daveb25 said:

Won a restored bat1 to reenter the fold

Great book - and I think a bargain.

Given how much individual pages from this book have been selling for, the price of a restored whole one is way too cheap.

On 10/26/2023 at 8:13 AM, I like pie said:

You can call in and get them to honor standard tier pricing. I've had no trouble getting that done in the past when a submission is well past it's stated ToT.

That would be awesome as it would be over a $1K savings, I'll see what they say.

On 10/25/2023 at 2:01 PM, jlrangers21 said:

Oh.  You are not going to like my Unlimited Value then.  ...

Shipped : 10/16/23

 Nope.

But congrats on the grade!

#4338955 been in "Scheduled for Grading" since 10/10

Do you all come in everyday, take a look at it and go... "Nah, maybe tomorrow"?