Robot Man

At the Rose Bowl stay out of the sellers inside the perimeter of the stadium. All new stuff. Also don’t cross the bridges unless you want vintage clothes. Do the big lot on the side. That is where the stuff you want is. It’s also worth it to pay more and go in as early as possible. You want to move fast and hit stuff coming out of boxes and trucks. Do it several times until every one is set up. Go late and you get what guys like me leave... Long Beach is a giant show like Rose Bowl. Many of the same dealers as PCC and Rose Bowl. Also pretty junky as well. Very little vintage comics although I have gotton lucky a few times over the years. I sell there with my friend. We bring some comics as does the guy you saw yesterday selling with the pb guy. Other than that that, pretty hit and miss (mostly miss). Can be good for other stuff though. In the past year, I have noticed a lot more people looking for comics. Seems like if you see any there is someone looking at them. REAL hard to find GA/SA/BA. Mostly picked over 80’s/90’s stuff. I do find a lot of photos and cool paper ephemera when I do the digging. Anything large and visual sells quick if priced right. The Torrance street fair on the 4th Sunday can be good too. Also free. They close down a few streets and people sell at the curb. Santa Monica Airport is the same day. Don’t bother. Mostly furniture, jewelry and shabby chic. We are lucky that we have pretty large flea markets every weekend here all year long. Stuff turns up but stuff like comics, vintage advertising and killer toys have really dried up. You really have to be open minded and dig to find the deals.

Fun find today...

Here’s what I got. Best thing was this prohibition Pabst sign. Cool 1950’s Beefeater ad figure. One comic, one pulp and one pb with a cover I liked. All stuff I can make some money on so I guess it was worth the effort.

I was there too. Day started out weird when the parking lot was closed. I had to get creative to park. Yeah, real dim vintage comic book wise. Saw a small pile of Dell 10 cent beater funny animals for $3. each. Passed but they were gone on my second trip through. A guy had a very large vintage Basil Wolverton reprint collection comic. Figured it would be $10-$20 so I asked. He told me “$75. They go for $150. Online”. Back it went and stayed unsold. I haven’t found or heard of any finds of vintage comics there in a LONG time. Lot of people looking but nothing but cheap 80s/90s swill. I have had far better luck at the Rose Bowl. I really go to find “other stuff”. Even that is getting hard to get. One of my dealer friends shops before he sets up. He summed it up pretty well. “Mostly bad garage sale junk”. I agree with most of your observations. Vinyl records are HOT. As are photos. There are lots of deals to be had if you go through the boxes. They are one of a kind and real varied. You don’t buy them for the people but for the situation. Motorcycles, Cars, places that no longer exist, kids with toys and even comics, newsstands, old advertising signs on old stores ect. I sell the heck out of old photos. Advertising, old sports stuff especially baseball, trophy’s, political and toys are still sought after. A lot of younger hipster kids are out there. Good sign. They are mostly after records and “mid century modern” (1950’s) stuff for their houses. I bought a western pb from the guy you mentioned. Randy Jones. He’s a long time buddy. He and his friend Jim Malley were set up with a nice spread of decent comics, toys and advertising and such. I saw Terry Stroud too. What a mess of a booth. Nice guy but VERY weird. Always has been. Shows what happens to you after a life time dealing in comics and junk. Yeah, PCC has seen far better days. You got to go early, move fast, stay focused and make friends with dealers that come across with stuff you want. Fun to go but pickings are slim. I did OK but nothing like they way I used to. It’s gotton to the point that if I don’t go, I don’t feel bad.

That would be Mr. Neuman... I have never seen any early Sylvester (pre Cracked) stuff. He was created as an Alfred E. Neuman rippoff by John Severin I believe.

Man, some great finds here lately. This is by far my favorite thread in General.

A good "junker" never kisses and tells...

EVERYBODY used Alfred before MAD! Oldest, I can trace back to is around 1896. Yes, I am Robot Man and I am a MAD addict...

Wow Doc! Congrats! Condition be dammed. I love little surprises like that. There is usually one or two gems in a bunch like that. Finds like that are far and few between these days but they are still out there if you look hard enough...

Scarey thought... did you rumble down in SD?

It has always been the “poor stepchild” to DC. I guess they felt they had to do the bare minimum on it and publish it anyway. They did superheroes, they rarely excelled at humor. Hopefully, they will keep it a float in the future.

I really never liked that one. As controversial as it was and I appreciated where they were coming from, I felt that they were above that. I have found out in life what little that really means. I have discovered that a sarcastic remark or a smile has far better impact. My parents rarely cared what I was reading (even Playboy) But they didn’t get satire. They thought MAD was subversive and I had to stash them. If they ever saw that cover, they wouldn’t have “got it” and I’m sure they would have paid a lot more attention to my “reading habits”.

Some of my favorite MAD covers! These to me represent MAD at it's finest.

Yeah, all good here. Was a pretty good one. Was watching the Dodger game and the chair started rolling on the hardwood floor. Heard the water in the jacuzzi sloshing and some creaking. Lasted about 3 or 4 minutes. Started out real subtle and ramped up a bit. Earthquakes are weird. They just come up out of the blue and by the time you figure it out it's all over. They are silent and they feel like a wave. I remember a close one a few years ago that was pretty loud and violent. Gotta stay calm and just ride it out. Not as bad as people think. I'd take an earthquake over a twister or hurricane any day. Thanks for asking!

Every generation has it’s own “Golden Age” for me it’s probably 1962-1968 after that, I still read and collected comics but girls, rock ‘n roll and cars were my big focus. NEVER stopped reading MAD though... My favorite ones to this day are the Kelly Freas cover issues.

No, printing plates can be used until they wear out. Odd that plates from monthly comic books would have been kept though. In those days comics were very rarely reprinted. Quality wasn’t that great on IWs. Probably because of worn plates.

Wow nice pair of colorful black covers! Really like the Terrifying Tales. The problem I have always had with these is that once you get past the cover, the insides are just to me. Thusly, it is the one publisher other than maybe aCG that I have the least of.

Fun article Pat. Many thanks!

Never get tired of seeing my first “grail”. Never forget the day I got my first one in the mail from Howard Rogofosky. I had to borrow some money from my mom. Worked if off for a few weeks. Man, I was the king of the neighborhood!

Matt Baker art in that one too!

Didn’t know there were any LB Cole IWs. Are these reprint covers? Never noticed this one.

Hi Tony. Good to see you back. I started a thread on IW reprints. Should be on first or second page. Should answer some of your questions.

The last modern. I remember buying was Simpson’s #100. I have never given up MAD though. Even though I could see them slipping and sliding. Most of the old artists and writers either retired or died. I saw them accept advertising and try to boost the price by printing in color. Editorial bent over low by introducing offensive language and “adult” situations. Lots of one shot lack of talent artists and writers without much continuity. The political commentary which was always a part of the magazine seemed to really ramp up and take over an entire issue sometimes. They were gasping for air and just gave up I think. MAD doesn’t need to die. Hopefully it could be revived in the future by going back and realizing what made it great in the first place. Something I don’t think the folks over at Warner Communications just don’t want to bother with. Bill Gaines would be rolling over in his box if he saw what his masterpiece has become. I the immortal words of Bobby Dylan, “The times, they are a changing” and not in a good way...

$210...? I thought you said 10 cents.

Found an old photo Years ago I found literally a full shopping bag of these. All stamped "special". Probably a movie theatre giveaway. The lady had no other comics, just a box full of this one. Was going to buy a couple of copies so I asked the lady how much? She replied "You want to buy them all?" When I heard the price I couldn't leave them...