PopKulture

Congrats - twenty-nine times over. What a true gem. I may be in the bare minority, but I've always preferred this over 31. Lurking over a castle is great n all, but more the Spectre's deal: kicking butt suits Batman more!

Last one for tonight:

Sorry about the tight crops on these, but here goes:

Not yet - I was playing fast and loose with my math. Does it count if I feel 82 some mornings?

You speak more to reality than golden age blasphemy. For example, Deadpool is now - and may be in ten years still - more popular than Sandman (Adv40), Hourman (48), Spectre (MF52), Dr. Fate, and so forth, further diminishing the relevance of those current heavyweight books. (which just may work out for me at 92 when I might be able to afford copies!)

A sidebar to the Batman v. Captain America equivalency: What if Frank Miller never revived the Batman franchise and Bats was eternally relegated to collecting oversized trophies, jumping on oversized cash registers and typewriters, and showing up first as Rainbow Batman, then Zebra Batman, or Batman Jungle Lord, etc., issue after issue. Would Tec27 then be a (strong) Tier 2 book? I remember hearing as a kid some anecdote about DuPont's system for bonuses and compensation, that the guy who invented Teflon, got a big (regular) bonus and then the big BIG (lifetime) bonus. Don't DC execs owe Miller a Bat-Cave on each coast with a mattress filled with $100 bills to sleep on for lifetime achievement? Of course it's likely there would've been a Batman reboot by another's hand, but it's tough to imagine it would've had any more lasting impact on a character's popularity - and collectability - than Byrne on Superman (about the same era).

I have a few Walt Kelly's "Fairy Tale Parade" that have a few holes on the cover with yarn tied neatly in looping bows, much to the same effect as your stitched copy. They were only a few bucks at an antique mall mixed in mostly with children's books, so I bought them. Grading them would fall pretty much outside the established guidelines, but they're cool curiosities nevertheless.

Best belt buckle north of Texas!

Downsizing is likewise appealing to me for the same reasons - that larger collections are increasingly unwieldy. I've had pinball machines stolen and damaged by leaky rooks, stuff ruined by water and insects or rodents - all manner of losses. Yes, I've got a lot of junk. It's a yoke around a collector's neck, no doubt, but we wouldn't do it if we didn't love the stuff in the first place. All we can do is try to minimize our exposure to losses and enjoy our artifacts while we can.

I really feel for you. I went through a similar situation a few years back. Sump pump failed AND the back up sump failed and we got a few inches of water. We never had any in forty years prior, so I got lazy. It happens. Everything was up a few inches to be safe, but the water rose to a "few inches" and an 1/8. Well, cardboard acts like a sponge so it soaked and soaked up all the water it could. Some of the bags held. others didn't. I lost random stuff I hated to lose like Vogue magazines from the 40's (pretty pricey today) and some posters, books, comics, etc. were damaged beyond salvage. Picking up a long box and listening to the water pour out like you're holding a sprinkling can is a sinking feeling. Good luck saving what you can. From that group shot it looks like you have a great collection!

Good riddance then to the silver age comparisons! Regarding omissions, it's a very DC-centric list. Overwhelmingly. Sure, DC is a golden age juggernaut, but 80% of the list? And all of Tier 3? Pep 22 has rightly been discussed. Whiz 2 has also been addressed, rightly so, but what about Captain Marvel Adventures 1? Used to be a top 20 book. It has certainly fallen from grace. Red Raven 1? Is that once-hallowed Kirby one-shot now less appreciated than every pre-Robin TEC? What about Planet 1, Jumbo 1, Jungle 1 - all long-running, and don't underestimate the importance of Sheena! Submariner 1? Human Torch 2(1)? Both less desirable now than all those Tec's or the first appearance of that favored of heroes, the Sandman? Police Comics 1? I think my biggest question at this point is whether this is somehow intentionally a list of superhero comics. Looking back a few decades, I can't imagine such a list without WDCS 1 as well as FC's 4, 9, and 16! If they've fallen that far out of favor, so be it. I guess I need to retreat back to my cave...

Crazy about comics!

Agreed. That's part of the underlying argument implicit in an AF15 vs. Batman 1 throwdown: Spiderman's origin and first appearance against what, Batman's 13th or 14th? A more appropriate match-up might then be Batman 1 versus ASM 1, both the premiere issue of well-deserved solo runs.

I'm not saying that... necessarily. The point had been made that ALL the AF15's are possibly/probably worth more than ALL the Action 1's. I would take a high grade AF15 over a high grade Batman 1 or the Tec31, as neither are close to Bat's first appearance, and the Action 7, again, not Supe's first appearance. And it's tough to argue that Whiz 2 or AS8 is as important as AF15 (they aren't). So, yes, in low to mid grade, there are just too many AF15's to justify it being more desirable than all the Tier 2 books listed, but as the grade climbs, the margins narrow rapidly. How about this: put the highest graded AS8, Whiz2 or even Tec31 or Action 7 on a table next to the highest graded AF15 (is there a 9.8 yet?) and ask all the attendees at SDCC or one of the big cons which book they would choose. I dare say it won't even be close! p.s. And I'm not a ravenous silver age guy or something. I'm just looking at the historical importance of the books.

What a horrible thing to happen to any collector. We can all sympathize with you and I sincerely hope you're able to get all your books back.

I think the numbers would support that as well. Think about it: Spidey capitalization is greater than that of the hallowed Action 1 starring one of the most important characters in all of fiction. Sort of makes you scratch your head similarly to when you hear that Tesla has a higher market cap than Ford.

And if we're hypothesizing including silver age, it's ludicrous not to include FF1 just because the movie franchise has cooled off (or thrown liquid nitrogen on) THE GREATEST COMIC MAGAZINE IN THE WORLD!! (Although I concede that AF15 could/should be placed higher because it introduces ONE character - perhaps the greatest superhero of them all.)

The snarky look on the redhead is priceless! Pure DeCarlo.