Randall Ries

Agreed. By far my favorite Adams Bat cover. Possibly my favorite Adams cover overall.

That's right. The book has a black cover as well. Most copies I have seen fall into the ow page quality. Many cr/ow. Some ow/w. Very very few white pages. There are also a few I have seen with a printing error that adds a horizontal line through Ms. Simonson's head. Even at high quality, that is still a ding in my book. One color break in the cover is hard to look at for me. I think this book is far more valuable for many reasons than IH 181. IH 181 is a bandwagon book, inflating its value. HOS 92 is a true rarity. If given a choice, I would take a 9.6 HOS 92 WP over a 9.6 IH181 WP all day long. Try finding the former vs the latter. You will have MUCH MUCH better luck with the latter.

The last thing I would like to add is about IH 181. Realistically, the story would have ended like this:

I only meant infallible as a tongue in cheek gesture. There are of course much better stories and artwork in many many other books. It always made me sick, the way Wolverine was pretty much Seigel and Shustered away from some little kid of a marvel Comics Group fan. At least the way I understood it to have happened. Cheap shot, Stan the Man.

Absolutely agree with both previous posts. Neal O'Neil set the train back on the tracks and other artists picked up on it and did their best. Loved the Aparo Brave and the Bolds in the 1970's. #109 was my first B&B purchase "Gotham Bay Be My Grave". Loved his artwork more than Adams' in some respect. His lines seemed to move. Like the cover on B&B 114. Aparo's art got heavy in his later years, but the 1970's stuff, coupled with Haney stories were unmatched. We had a factory outlet in town where I bought a lot of comics. The Adams run, Captain America #100-? were bought there and a lot of the oversized treasury and Famous 1st Editions. Of course the pharmacy in town as well. We still have that little kid in us, those that were fortunate to be able to spend our allowances there. The smell of the paper, the olfactory memory thing, is still a major trigger. Whenever I get a whiff of cheap bubble gum, I am brought back to my brother collecting Topps baseball cards in 1975. Those really WERE the days. I am glad and blessed I am not a latter day collector or strictly a buyer of those old books predicated on speculation. I love the books and would collect them regardless of their value. My collection is humble, but I think it's a quality collection. Even sought out the Little Lulu Four Color where she smokes doll hair and hallucinates. Just because I read about it in the 1970's in an Overstreet Price Guide. And I loved Little Lulu and Tubby when I was a kid. It's a Peter Pan complex to be sure. It's a thrill to see the books we loved as kids become so relevant in pop culture. Shown here is Bat 243. A nice book and has the whole of Lings foot! A weird criteria for buying the book. LOL!

No, I know the comparison is silly. It was meant to be to get attention directed to different issues and the way they stack up against the infallible IH 181. Bat 251 is all the things I have mentioned and you all have mentioned. I love the conversation we have been having. I was only illustrating that the return to murdering was a key point in the issue and that act finally redirected the character from the boob he had become since the 1940's. I didn't want to go into all the other things that made the issue pivotal as I felt they were obvious. I never said the murdering was the ONLY reason for the recent price spike, but it IS a big reason. It set the table for what the character has become and will remain. Also, I feel the cover, while classic and beautiful, is just "ok". It has never knocked me out even when I was a kid. I noticed the leg thing even as a ten year old when it was on the newsstands and in drug stores. As a kid who loved drawing, it stood out like a sore thumb. No. It was the interior that knocked me out. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Neal O'Neil (I love that) for their creativity and their apparent ire over what all those characters had become. To basically take the characters back and reset the mythos was the best thing that could ever have happened to them. Starting with Tec 395 and ending with Bat 255, Neal O'Neil simply put things back to where they should have stayed. I have thought about the splash in 251 and idly wondered: "I wonder who the poor sap was who taught the Joker to drive?" An in joke my friends and I have had for years is "Rest In Pieces, Alby", a line I use after kicking someone's in a big game of chess. That issue seeped into my consciousness for years. The full panel of Batman running on the beach has been reproduced in different forms for years. The way the story flowed from one panel to the next is like poetry. I don't get the same feeling with IH 181. The story isn't all that great and it seems like it was a tryout to see how it would go. They were lucky it took. It is a clunky story. When I read the current Adams Bat stuff, I have to admit I don't like it. The writing is terrible, the plots are ok, but there is a style and feel that is severely lacking. I'm not buying it. Those 1970's stories and artwork were excellent. Every single one of them. Batman 237 took place in the town that's 20 minutes away from where I live. As a kid, that was thrilling to me. I wish that I had bought a bunch of 251's in 2009 or 2010, whenever I had bought my copy. $115 for a 9.0? I thought that was a good deal then. My goal was to buy all those classic Adams issues, which did. Except for 242. I can't find the right copy that catches all the "word circle" in the bottom right hand corner. The oversized Treasury Edition C-51 I finally got graded by CBCS as a 9.2. They had the genius idea of grading, sliding the issue into an oversized mylar sleeve and adding two circular tabs to seal it closed in the back. Break the seals, void the grade. That is a lovely reprint with a new cover (at the time) by Adams. Even bought a signed poster of the wrap around artwork.

I'd go 7.5-ish.

The inside cover will say 2nd printing, third printing etc if it isn't a first print. The first prints don't have those qualifiers inside. As harsh as CGC has become, I'd give 6.5-7.0.

The murdering is - or the return to the murdering - IS the steering toward a darker interpretation. I think it's significant. Other people have written about how long it had been and heck, I wouldn't have known which issue(s) they were without their research. I found it fascinating which is why I keep returning to that event, but as I say, the return of the Joker to his old ways whether pinpointed as I have been doing, or a more broad definition of "a darker interpretation" are kyna the same thing.

There's no other reason why it would be so far ahead of the other Adam's Bat books value wise other than the emphasis I am placing on it. It's been "speculated" on for almost ten years with the values going up steadily. It got the o-fishial Classic Cover designation too, which only Supes 233 enjoys out of the books you mention. Each of the books you mention have something unusual happening in them to cause a spike in value. Same as 251. Bat 243 has Adams c/a and is still reasonably priced. Even in high grade anyone who wants one can have one despite the black cover. I'm not sure what you are getting at. The fact is the emphasis I am harping on is a very real reason why the book is enjoying popularity.

Well, sure but realistically isn't it one of those "1st Appearance Since The Golden Age..." thingys? That's long time for a maniac to refrain from killing his victims. Instead of robbing banks and building elaborate machines trying to kill Batman, Adams took the character back and put him back on the path he was created for: A deadly force to be reckoned with instead of a buffoon with a wounded ego that needed constant attention. I think we're all glad he took "Batman" back and made him "THE Batman" again. The former character became intolerable. The latter one was what Finger, Robinson and Kane created. The story is pretty good (although I am unclear how he got a shark into a giant glass vat), the artwork outstanding and we get the Joker back. It has a real "Classic Cover" designation, too. If I had my way, I would have CGC "1st Time Joker Kills Since The Golden Age" added to the label. It was either since Batman #9 or Detective #45. That's the only reason I can come up with for #251 to stand out from most of the other Adams c/a issues at that time. It even outstrips Bat #234 which is arguably more important. Here is a reasonable article written about it: https://bigcomicpage.com/2015/09/25/another-essential-batman-251-the-jokers-five-way-revenge/

I regret trading my HOS 92 9.0 blue label a couple of years ago. I got my Bat 251 9.0 Blue for $115 several years ago. I do not think it's overrated. I think it's been underrated for too long and a whole lotta people suddenly realized it was a key issue in that the Joker began killing again after being on the wagon for 31 years. Since 1942!

The book has always been of interest. Wrightson's death certainly spurred the pricing spike.

True enough. It's hard to beat IH 181. At least Wrightson came up with the idea for ST by himself and didn't steal the idea from some kid. Which is pretty much what happened with Wolvie from what I remember in the 1970's. I remember they had some sort of "drive" for kids to submit their ideas for characters and they would receive a free comic book or something for their efforts if they used their idea. I remember that because I submitted an idea which didn't get used. Or did it? My submission was for a character called "Quasar". I don't really like Stan Lee at all. The Creator Of The Known Universe And Multiverses. Nevertheless, I like drbanner's comment. HOS 92 has had steady legs over the years and has ALWAYS been sought out. I bought a HUGE run of HS 30 years ago playing the odds. Of course, they were all there except for #92. Really nice shape, too. Would have liked to see what the #92 looked like. IH 181 can't be beat for the short haul, I guess. And it's all speculative, isn't it? I still think IH 181 is riding a crest. At some point, that wave may crash. There are far more copies available of that than HOS 92 in the same grades. I hope HOS 92 will continue its upward trend as steady as it has over the years. My big hope/fear is an ST movie is made. Only problem will be DC will make the movie and their movies typically suck. If they stick the character in a JLA movie, that won't help. I love the character. I don't want a "Martha" moment in a ST movie or worse yet, a "Linda" moment between Superman and ST. I swear to Christ I will lob a slushy at the screen if they mess it up. Swamp Thing could be a smash if they keep it away from DC Comic movies. Or pay a really good director big bucks and write a good story to support it. Hey. Maybe have the fans submit ideas for the movie. NAAAAAH! THAT wouldn't work!

I dunno about that. They are being bought up briskly from what I can see.

Like to see my original 1956 first appearance Elvis Presley TV Guide? I am a huge EP fan myself:

I thought the use of the Ace of Spades was a clue to what lay inside the book. The card is associated with death. The Joker started killing again beginning with this issue. Since Batman 9 he hadn't killed. I always thought it was a clever tease!

No, I suppose not. Perhaps in the long run, HOS 92 will still be holding its value after the IH 181 bubble bursts. I can't believe how asking prices have jumped just in the last 3 months. I think it's a risky gamble. HOS 92 had always been an accurately priced book, not easy for the average collector to buy at any time. I wish Peter Jackson, with a really fat budget, would do a Swamp Thing movie.

There are a couple of sellers on ebay that stand out as "unreasonable" when pricing out their comic books. I wonder if they wonder why their books sit around? Maybe they don't. here's a good example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/GREEN-LANTERN-76-89-CGC-SS-VF-NM-ALL-14-SIGNED-NEAL-ADAMS-DENNY-O-NEIL-1970/221223227017?hash=item3381ee8e89%3Ag%3AZ8gAAMXQCndRhVPq%3Asc%3AUSPSPriority!05059!US!-1&_sacat=0&_nkw=green+lantern+76&_from=R40&rt=nc&LH_TitleDesc=0|0 I can't buy from him because I posed that very question. I got "blacklisted". Not that I could buy from them in the first place. Their pricing isn't speculative, like IH #181 seems to be. It's just high. Really: https://www.ebay.com/itm/DETECTIVE-COMICS-27-VF-LG-FORMAT-13-5-8-x-10-FAMOUS-1ST-ED-REPRINT-1939-1975/222021086113?hash=item33b17ceba1:g:sf8AAOSwezVWvEYf:sc:USPSPriority!05059!US!-1 Is that right?: https://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-JOKER-2-CGC-SS-9-4-SIGNED-BATMAN-LEGEND-JERRY-ROBINSON-JOKER-CREATOR-1975/321597336619?hash=item4ae0b1ec2b:g:JRAAAOSwD0lUc82M:sc:USPSPriority!05059!US!-1 Good one, boss!: https://www.ebay.com/itm/SWAMP-THING-7-CGC-SS-9-4-SIGNED-ARTIST-BERNIE-WRIGHTSON-BATMAN-CROSSOVER-1973/222648341357?hash=item33d6e0136d:g:eY8AAOSwJs1ZvwIM:sc:USPSPriority!05059!US!-1

Exactly. How hard would it have been to add a loin cloth on a nude Batman? Sure, his fight with Ra's in the desert shows him just wearing his "slacks" (whatever those are called), but the cover is always more insinuating than what's in the book. Given the CCA, why would Adams even try to submit a nude cover? Are there other examples in the bronze age of this kind of thing? Maybe Adams wanted to be the first. He got snapped back at any rate. It's a weird cover an battle in that both Batman and Ra's would have died in the desert from heatstroke before their battle concluded. It went on for hours, if I remember correctly. Did Ubu separate them to their corners every 10 minutes or so for a rub down and a drink of water? I don't think so. It's still my favorite Adams Bat cover with 'Tec #395 and #402 following up close.

I get Wrightson probably won't be signing anymore stuff this side of a seance, but his ask is WAY out of line. Even his bottom line price is out of line. I guess it will sit there.

Yup! That has always bugged me too!

O'Mealia could draw, couldn't he? Almost a poor man's Frazetta.

I bought a 9.0 copy in 2014 for $900. Now, the same book in grade is seeing $3,000. I bought another copy, a 7.5 for $1500 earlier this year. Some are now pushing $3000 and climbing. https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-House-of-Secrets-92-CGC-7-5-1st-app-Swamp-Thing-1971-not-CBCS-DC-Comics/132597087293?hash=item1edf66fc3d%3Ag%3A-awAAOSwPwla3~ZM%3Asc%3AUSPSFirstClass!05059!US!-1&_sacat=0&_nkw=house+of+secrets+92&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=m570.l1313&_oac=1&LH_TitleDesc=0 A signed 9.0 is trying to be sold on eBay for $15,000. I made the seller an offer of $3k and he said the lowest he would go is $7500. https://www.ebay.com/itm/HOUSE-OF-SECRETS-92-CGC-9-0-SS-BERNIE-WRIGHTSON-1ST-APP-SWAMP-THING-MOVIE-SOON/131754888312?hash=item1ead340c78%3Ag%3AGwkAAOSwoudW6o9g&_sacat=0&_nkw=house+of+secrets+92&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=m570.l1313&_oac=1&LH_TitleDesc=0 A photo of mine is included here. I traded the 9.0 before Wrightson passed. Not good! I like the fact I got one with ow/w pages. A lot of them are ow or cr/ow.

I noticed it decades ago. No way the Joker could stand that way. Major perspective mistake. But hell. I guess we can forgive Neal his one drawing mistake he ever made.