Robot Man

On 4/2/2024 at 9:11 AM, Darwination said:

I prefer Chicago as a travel destination (greatly) to Pittsburgh, but the programming looks much better at Pulpfest.  Am I wrong?

It has to be more than about the shopping, but then again I'm curious about what's on offer in that department, too.

I get a little bit cynical about the profit motive driving conventions, but that's easy for an outsider to say.

I think “profit motive” has diminished quite a bit for con promoters at least on the West Coast. Even small shows. Real sad and I sure not a sign of things to come. I really look forward to shows. MUCH better than simply buying “on line”. I think the Torpedo show in LA in July will be a strong indicator. 

On 4/1/2024 at 10:59 AM, Darwination said:

Thinking about making the last minute trip up since Chicago is closer than Pittsburgh.  Programming looks more extensive at Pittsburgh, though.

I'd like to meet some of the other pulp scholars I've corresponded with over the years for certain or people from the pulpscans group, but throwing down for a hotel room and entry costs just so I can throw down for pricey books might not be in the cards right now

Do they screen films all day?  Surely, I'd get board of box flipping and shopping after a few hours, maybe not though

I guess the early bird entry is important?  Lord knows the very idea makes me feel like a Black Friday loon -

How about prices.  High prices on the sweetest items but nice "dollar" bin material?

I think I missed my “window of opportunity” for this show. Should have gone a few years ago. With plane tickets, hotel and food costs and the current “fever pitch” pulp prices, it most certainly wouldn’t be worth a trip from the West Coast. 

On 4/2/2024 at 7:23 AM, johnenock said:

Isn't there going to be a blizzard in Chicago this week? Brrr.

I can’t imagine. I lived through a couple of brutal winters there. Ironically, we got a DELUGE of rain at CalCon a couple months ago and another ton of rain at WonderCon last weekend. Just on con weekends… stay warm gang!

On 4/2/2024 at 8:24 AM, Mr.Fantastic said:

Thanks RM. Wish I had discovered them earlier. Fight and Planet overall are probably my favorite titles as well, but there are a few single copies from some other titles that blow me away too. Hopefully, I can acquire a few over the upcoming months and share them here. 

Oh yeah. Rangers (other than Planet) comes to mind as well. I still need a few of the earlier ones. Keep plugging away at them! 

On 4/2/2024 at 5:38 AM, Bookery said:

Hard to say if it's that, or it's just comic collectors thinking that it should be priced like a comic with a similar cover?  Either way, uninformed buyers leaping into the pulp market are going to likely get burned in a big way down the road, and that's not good for the hobby.

Though as a rule, pulps are harder to obtain than vintage comics, it's not always the case.  A science-fiction pulp from, say, 1942, is probably much easier to come by than comic books from that year.  As for the science-fiction reprint pulps of the '40s and '50s... Famous Fantastic Mysteries, A. Merritt's Fantasy, Fantastic Novels, Fantastic Story... these are among the most common pulps there are.  I'm in a small Ohio suburb, and I've had hundreds of them over the years.  Even in high grade, they aren't all that scarce.  

Very true. Same in LA. These have always been $10. Flea market buys even the great Finlay covers in high grade. They are drying up fast though. A year ago I would get a lot of push back if I put out high grade ones at $50. Folks just didn’t get the reasoning that “what would they go for if they were comic books?”

These prices are crazy. Driven up by newbies and uneducated flippers who know nothing about pulps and smell “blood in the water”. I had a number of these folks clear out my boxes at CalCon a couple months ago. And I had upped my prices in anticipation of it. I have pulled back on selling them a bit until the dust settles a bit. They are just impossible to price right now. 

I agree with Jim. I often mix in pulps with my GA comic sales threads. Have never had a problem to this point though. 

On 4/1/2024 at 9:01 PM, Kemidov said:

Robot Man, I did the same at WonderCon this past Sunday, but I started with just one pulp:  dropped off my Weird Tales 10/33 "Bat Woman" to test the new CGC waters. Had a similar experience with the very friendly and enthusiastic young staff at the booth... We'll see how it goes! Good luck to you.

Same to you. Good choice! That is a great one. I had never done a submission before so all new to me.

I figured I had better do some before the prices go up and I am bumped into higher tiers. There are a lot of documented sales on the classic ones but not as much on the “undiscovered” ones yet.

Most of the young workers had no idea about pulps since it was so new to them. Very helpful though. 

On 4/1/2024 at 2:02 PM, Mr.Fantastic said:

Hopefully, this new purchase will be the start of a long collecting journey within this genre. Fight Comics has so many great bondage/GGA covers, along with WIngs, Rangers, Jungle, and others. December 1945 Doolin cover with some early Matt Baker art. X-posted in pre-code thread.

 

Congrats!

So many great FH books. Luckily, I discovered them very early on when all anyone wanted were “men in tights” books. I scooped up most of them. Fight might be my favorite title right along with Planet. Fight #35 with the topless native girl cover is probably my favorite FH book. 

On 4/1/2024 at 4:16 PM, Heronext said:

Wish I'd seen it. For now I'll have to settle for this!

Me too. The only one of the “big four” I am missing. At least it is my least favorite of the group.

On 4/2/2024 at 6:57 AM, BB-Gun said:

I like this Costello cover.  The good girl reminds me of a Tiger Girl cover.

There are a lot of great GGA covers and interiors in this title. Most have Lily Renee’ lead off stories as well in a very polished style.

On 4/1/2024 at 11:04 AM, Darwination said:

That seem like a pretty crazy result for a somewhat common low demand pulp. Is this the now considered “FMV” for this one if I should consider my similar copy?

There have been several comments about lack of books and high prices at this and other shows. All true to a degree. I, too, went looking for specific stuff and hoping to find some at a decent price. Not much luck for me either.

I am maybe a little more open minded or more likely a little “less discplinded” than many of you. But maybe I work a little harder. Yes, I check out the walls. Where the pretty, key and more expensive books are. But I then ask if they have what I want (GA mostly). I look for those boxes and start flipping. Yeah. I end up impulse buying a little usually finding dealer mistakes and books that folks who can’t be bothered or have the patience to look for. Often, dealers have a box or two behind the table. I never come home empty handed.

Yes, conventions and other forms of buying in person have changed. But, at a show, you get the “thrill of the hunt” and the discovery. You also get to converse with like minded folks. Catching up with friends and meeting new ones.

Yes, a lot of great books turn up online. But a quiet, solitary, quick experience. I do that as well. But, like a slabbed 2 sided book, not much fun for your money. I much prefer examining books in person and taking them home that day.

On 3/30/2024 at 5:24 PM, 50YrsCollctngCmcs said:

When Wonder Con moved from the Bay Area to Anaheim it lost a lot of the fun local vibe. But I thought hey it is close and I can get there easily and it will be bigger and more interesting. Well it was bigger and other than cosplay the comic book aspect was much diminished. Still I try to keep an open mind at shows and purposefully go explore areas not comic related to see what else I might enjoy and try to understand the broader collecting world. That approach makes the shows more interesting and has led to some fun discoveries. Thanks for the report Bob.

Yeah, I used to love making the trip to WonderCon in SF. It usually happened the first weekend of the month so I could also hit the massive monthly Alameda antique flea market before I made my trip home.

I too welcomed the move to SO CA. A lot closer to home and more convenient. Yeah, lost a little of the NO CA vibe but took on a different SO CA vibe.

The show, like all comic cons has diminished a bit. Tough for a lot of out of state dealers to make it worth while.

Still, more than enough reasons to attend. We need more Cons here. I sure hope it ain’t going anywhere. I do wish it wern’t Easter weekend though. 

I don’t buy very many Fawcetts these days but bumped into these VERY reasonable issues at WonderCon.

The Whiz has a cool WWII cover and I have never run into one.

The Xmas #4 hits 2 chords with me. A super fat Giant and a Christmas cover. Also has a felt feature on the title and on Santa.

I hunt these Frankenstein books. Especially the later horror issues. They are fairly elusive. One I didn’t have. Yeah, low grade with water damage but it was a mere $25. at WonderCon and fished out of a box. Couldn’t pass it up. Maybe, I can upgrade down the line but if not, at least I have a whole filler until I do. 

Nothing like the truly beautiful books usually posted in this thread but I was lucky enough to stumble into this extremely rare Fox giant at WonderCon.

I have collected giant annuals for over 30 years. Other than the copy that is owned by @Hap Hazard (who was present when I dug this out of a box), Neither of us have ever seen another one.

Comprised of rebound Fox books. Yeah, the first one is a rather boring Hoot Gibson, but there are two very wild and violent Fox crime books and an issue of Pedro with early Wally Wood art.

This is just one of several reasons I like to go to cons and box dive. A fun and unexpected pick up.

Not exactly “romantic” but I picked up the last one I needed at WonderCon. Pretty, high grade, slabbed copies are wonderful, but folks who own them are deprived of the beautiful two interior Baker stories…

Just scored another Marvel teen age painted cover. 

A new surfing cover. Actually, more of a boogie board but an early lady surf riding none the less.

Bolles cover?

Will post what I picked up when I get the chance to check them out.

Check out my “Son of my 50 year Junk Obsecession” over in GA for a report.