PopKulture

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 9:05 AM, Unca Ben said:

Amazing Spider-Man #33 -hands down the greatest Spidey issue ever, and my personal favorite comic book ever.  All of Ditko's previous Spider-Man stories were leading up to this.  This issue personified why Spider-Man was such a hit; the series is really about the person behind the mask, not the costumed superhero  or his super powers - but the hero's journey of the man behind the mask.  (Which is made even more interesting since Spider-Man is the only Marvel hero of the time to have his face completely covered -yet it's Peter Parker who is really the driving force of the series).

Mebbe this issue isn't considered a key by many , but in my opinion it should be.
A seamless integration of story with a master lesson in sequential art.  An entire comic book art lesson could revolve around this issue alone.  Eisner would be proud.

Very well stated! Your passion for this issue comes shining through. It reminds me why FF 51 is held in similar high esteem for a defining issue of one of the big runs.

Since it was published in 1954, Jimmy Olsen wouldn't qualify as silver age in many people's eyes now.

Also, I know the first several guides didn't even have silver age lists, so you'd have to look up some of the obvious contenders and compile an unofficial list thus. The earliest vintage guide I have handy right now doesn't even have a golden age breakdown of individual issues: instead, it lists top 100 titles only. The color section features a ridiculous onslaught of hallowed keys though!

I feel your pain, RM. I had a similar experience on Flickr where I had built a library of thousands of images of comics, magazines, paperbacks, pulps, ephemera, etc. only to have their policies change over and over until the legacy I had crafted was no longer recognizable as such. Instead of a pleasing array of pics, it became a crammed-together mess of Tumblr-esque nonsense, where pages never end and images just move and pop in and out as you scroll down. Utter chaos with no white space in between. That, and everyone reposting my images ad nauseum without permission or regard for the time and effort it takes to craft such a collection convinced me that it was little worth my effort anymore. I moved a bunch of my stuff over to ipernity (no small feat!) only to find out that they are going out of business (and barely holding on by a thread last accounting). And trust me, once upon a time, I really loved finding new stuff in the wild to scan and post. Very depressing indeed...

1 hour ago, gadzukes said:

This is coming my way in the mail.  Along with a bunch more.  I can't wait to see them.

The original owner cut each strip in half and made a comic book out of it.  I'm not sure how many pages will be in the book, but I think it'll be a sequential run of quite a few.

Pretty interesting and unique piece of comic history you'll have! Congrats.

13 minutes ago, N e r V said:

I think there was a time where maybe just those two and say Marvel comics #1 formed a holy trinity of what was a mega key in GA. The rest were important too but probably just regular keys in GA. First Superman, Batman and Marvel comic seemed to tower above the rest. 

It's not that those books don't still tower at some level but as prices on books have started going into orbit there seem to be (to me at least) a few more members into that club. Cap #1 and Whiz #2 don't exactly bring ho-hum sales in cash these days. And non traditional keys (don't know how else to say that) like Suspense Comics  #3 and Fantastic Comics #3 due to their rarity and new levels in the market might also now be a mega key.

If I had to place numbers on how I view books today it would be any book that could obtain six figures (or close to it) in its highest grade is a mega key. To those few hitting 7 figures it might be time to start calling those the super mega keys. Seven figures is currently the rarified territory in comics. 

Its just hard for me to put books like  Suspense #3, Fantastic #3, Cap #1, etc. in the same boat with another book that is also clearly a key but at the $5000.00 level.

I think you could open up a whole new debate too with what current collectors consider a key. A lot of them still think the word key can only be attached to superhero or character comics with origin or first appearances and others are fine using it for classic comics or covers (Suspense #3, Fantastic #3, Punch #12, Captain America WT #74, etc.).

 

 

Good insights. The "trinity" is firmly ensconced, but I think Superman 1 and Cap 1 are close, but so were AA 16 and Detective 1 not so long ago. And once upon a time, even Motion Picture Funnies Weekly was nipping at their heels. The thing about the trinity is that they ruled back in the day even when the newspaper strip books were red hot like Single Series and the Feature books (Single Series Tarzan anyone?).

With books like Fantastic 3 and Suspense 3, a lot of people are chasing the cover. It's a matter of debate if a key and a classic cover are the same thing - sometimes they coincide, it seems. One shift I've noticed is that the new classic covers owe more to skulls than flags: it appears that the macabre has surged ahead of the patriotic. Books like Superman 14 and anything by Raboy with a flag or eagle, etc. once led the pack as far as classic cover kings. Me? I love all of them!

On ‎6‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 2:09 AM, Flex Mentallo said:

 I first noticed the problem around ten years ago, when Baker romance surged on Ebay. I actually managed to pick up a Cinderella Love #25 in vgf at a local mart for around $20 - ie guide - when it was selling on ebay for low four figures.

I'm astounded. That was a four figure book? Is it still? Baker is amazing, sure, but that is quite the run-up!

Love the colors on this one:

I never saw this thread until now, so thanks for posting the Terry page!

Here are a few pages I photographed a few years ago:

Wonderful piece of comic history! Congratulations.

And to think I get excited when I find an "On The Wing" strip or the like.  Small potatoes.

And I don't think this one gets enough love:

This has to be one of my faves:

The few times I've had the pleasure, I was awestruck by his stories about the industry. Plan to get in line early because the line doesn't move quickly as a result (no one wants to leave.)

I heard him quote someone $500 for a commissioned sketch, but just a head shot! He does have a few pieces of original sketches with him at times - a quick Nick Fury face was $150 last time, and he had several, but the guy a few people in front of me bought them all. They were minimal, but very cool and very Steranko. He had some Fury from the waist up as well, but those were in the neighborhood of a thousand. A search on the Bay might give you an idea.

I had him sign my History of Comics the first time I met him, and later a Nick Fury #6, the homage to Wally Wood (I got the story on that one). He was a guest at the Windy City Pulp Show last April and I had him sign a 70's Marvel Doc Savage cover and that awesome Western Gunfighters (14 I think it is). I chose those books because they're more under the radar. He does charge $15 a signature now, but I'm wondering why I didn't have him sign more, like those FF covers and the Supernatural Thrillers.

On ‎6‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 7:38 AM, silverweb said:

I love seeing the love!  Here are a few favs of mine that have not shown up yet. You can tell I'm partial to Jack King Kirby

 

 

 

 

I like all the covers you posted, but this one is beyond cool! Such a powerful cover.

 

 

 

 

16 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Here's some of the stuff the older pulp folks could send away for...

Wow. Very cool, Robot Man. I've never seen the Phantom pin, and that Pete Rice badge must be dang scarce as well. It appears I've been chasing after those EMPTY antique cigar boxes all these years when I should've been buying them full, considering that's where stuff like this likely resided for a half century.

1 hour ago, G.A.tor said:

I made a similar comment a few years ago about sa vs ga. A boardie said to make it challenging , try to put an asm 1-50 run together in hg (9.0). I accepted the challenge and in 2 hours I had accomplished it.

I think the above comment sums it up nicely.

And I agree about the "thrill of the hunt" sentiments, especially in the pre-internet days - before databases and even the Photo-Journals. As a kid, I'd find some random copy of True Sport Stories and be like "Wow, I knew about the Street and Smith pulps, but they made comics, too??" Same fondness for titles like Sparkler where I discovered Fritzi Ritz and the old guard from the funny pages. Great times.

2 minutes ago, circumstances said:

It is, but the ones in my second five (AS 3, MF 52, MF 55, AA 16, AMF 2/7) could have made the first five, plus many others (lots of other issues of Funny Pages, Amazing Mystery Funnies, Funny Picture Stories, various Timelys and DCs). My faves are fluid!

Your cup runneth over, sir.

On ‎4‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 6:34 PM, circumstances said:

waiting and debating isn't making it any easier (and the choices keep changing), so this is this evening's top five:

 

If the choices keep changing, what book(s) fall out of this insanely iconic group?

The Arrow would seem to me to ebb and flo, but it may be your fave...

On ‎5‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 5:15 PM, Johnny545 said:

Maybe my second batch of 5 favorites at least as of today.  

Simply put - wow. I'm really going to have to go look at your top five now!

p.s. It seems you like red covers.

3 hours ago, gino2paulus2 said:

How Planet 10 isn't listed as a, "Classic Cover" on the label I am not sure...definitely one of my favorites of the run and of course a rivet cover which I greatly enjoy. Cool Books K!!

I would hate to be one of the poor comic-book high-priests that has the onerous burden of deciding what covers are classic. At times, it seems pretty darn arbitrary. I mean, does it get MORE classic than Action 1??? I suppose a distinction could be made between iconic and classic, but at some point it's splitting hairs.

Two of the great classic covers from decades ago that have dropped off the radar a bit are Target no. 1 and 7 - Everett and Wolverton masterpieces. Schomburg deservedly gets a lot of love now, and Baker is HOT while Raboy seems to have cooled slightly.

And which Planets to designate? Where do you stop. And I feel it would be easier to say which books were NOT classics for a title like Marvel Mystery. So too for a lot of the Avon one-shots and PCH and so on!

All worthy grist for the mill.

Not even in the neighborhood of your amazing RoboFinds, but this was on my radar for a long time when I recently picked it up for a five-spot. It's missing the spine, but it pops all the same next to my Buck pop-up books.

11 hours ago, MrBedrock said:

 

 

One of the best Patsy covers by Louise Alston, and that Lovers' Lane is uber-compelling. It's so mid-century, like a paperback cover or an interior spread from a 1954 Woman's Home Companion.

1 hour ago, walclark said:

This is one because it set the table for all superhero groups to come.

 

 

 

Wow, that's a great group, Walclark, and terrific reasons all.

4 hours ago, circumstances said:

This is going to take some thinking, but this is a definite:

Still the best golden age cover, imho.

A true keeper for sure!

I agree with Mmehdy's top 4 - and the arguments for the five spot could go on and on. However you allocate the founding of eBay, to one or more individuals, a case could there be made for number 5.