shrunkenhead

Good choice rjpb, and yes some very nice covers in that run. Low numbered GA runs are very appealing. For that reason I've been considering a run of Fawcett's Beware! Terror Tales...only 8 issues in the set!

I've tended to stay away from Atlas simply because there's so MANY that it seems like once I started, it would turn into a huge money pit. Still, a run of any Atlas title in 8.0 or better would be impressive, so hats off on the attempt. For the same reason ($$$), I've mostly stayed away from ECS, with the exception of my favorite covers (CSS#22, SSS#12, HOF #14, 17, 18, TTFC#33). Lately I've been pursuing Comic Media and Prize books, and I've been eyeballing some Charltons and Fawcetts. Love that Horrific werewolf cover!

I would love someday complete a run of Black Magic, Frankenstein, Weird Terror, or Horrific in high grade, but that's also a very longterm goal (for Frankenstein it may be totally impossible). Those books by Prize and Comic Media are pretty tough, and usually don't come cheap. I passed on the Black Magic that was offered in the last auction, as the reserve was a bit high. So, like you guys, I've been scanning the signature auction and thinking things over. Damn, those Fawcett horror books are going for a lot of $$$!! I love the covers, though...what do you all think about Fawcetts? Are they tougher than other books? Do they merit the high prices?

Sfilosa, sounds like you wound up with some nice stuff. So you've picked up like 10 beth atlas books, eh? Sounds like you've got a healthy pre-code collection going. Btw, did you notice the Spook LB Cole book in the upcoming Signature auction? Just thought it would be something that would grab your interest, given your past postings.

Sfilosa, Thanks for the tip about the Bethelehems...I'll be on the lookout for those dust shadows. I had heard some criticisms about River City books along the lines of bad page quality and a pungent odor to the books, but that info might be exaggerated...don't know for sure, as I don't have any River City books. So you say you went in a different direction, eh? I'm curious, pick up any goodies?

Oh and btw, I already got outbid on the Strange Mysteries #1, and given my latest pickup, I think I'll be laying low on that book...can't grab em all.

Wow, Paull, you are really picking up some great books as of late. I'm jealous! As of yet I've got zero Mr. Mysteries in my collection...someday...even in low grade, they get pretty pricey. So woo hoo! I went for a nice book on Heritage's latest auction--which just closed--and I picked up a Horrific #10 CGC 8.0 (bethlehem pedigree) for $200, BP included. Not a bad price, eh? Considering Metro's #10 in 8.0 is $400 and that's from River City, which I gather is not as nice a pedigree as Bethlehem (am I wrong about this?). Can't wait for it to arrive! Here's the heritage link to pics of the book: http://apps.heritagecomics.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=14092&Lot_No=17358

Thought this thread needed a wee shot in the arm...anybody noticed that there are two slabbed Strange mysteries #1 on ebay right now? One in 4.0, one in 5.0. Kind odd coinkydink, no? Always been a favorite cover of mine.....TTTTT ran it on one of their issues, I believe. Ive got top bid on the 5.0

In an editorial of the reprint series Tales to Terrible to Tell, the following question is asked: How exactly do you pronounce "Rro?" Do you trill the rrrrrs, like in Spanish?

I think the sale of those western books might largely depend on your geography. A store in Texas is likely going to move those books a lot faster than somebody in sunny southern California. But, even on ebay, where geography is more or less irrelevant, those books just don't move much these days, particularly the high-grade westerns. Lone ranger sells sometimes, but aside from that, zippo.

Very true Keith, the one semi-consistent exception being those few with big bucks who are chasing after Gaines file copies and the like. Those books, I think, have an appeal both to the horror fan and the investor. But for the most part, mid-grade does it for the horror buff. Hmm, could that be because the stories are actually worth reading, as opposed to most superhero drek? I think what I love most about pre-code horror is that it fits squarely into a uniquely American tradition, namely, that of the "weird tale." Poe, Lovecraft, Chambers, a host of other gothic writers and scribblers in the early pulps made the genre an American staple, borrowing from nineteenth century British gothic like M.G. Lewis' The Monk (a must-read novel for any pre-code fan!) and the French decadence of Rimbaud and J.K. Huysmans (Huysmans' La Bas also holds tremendous appeal for contemporary horror fans, I feel). It's hardly an accident that Ray Bradbury took to adapting his stories in the ole ECs. It was really a perfect marriage of media forms. There's a genuine literary tradition pulsing steadily beneath the surface of the pre-code comics. Granted the authors at Gilmore were hardly Poe, but the tradition remains intact. That to me is far more important than any webslinger. Hey, I've got a question for everybody: What are your interests outside of pre-code horror? My guess is that we'd likely discover a lot of parallels. Fans of B-movies? Horror fiction? Fascinated by the history of occultism? Well, those are my interests, anyway! In a way, I've actually made "horror" my profession, as I teach a course on the history of occult literature (no I'm not a believer, it's purely academic stuff). Anyone else done something similar, I mean, streamlined this fascination in horror into some facet of your life, work, etc? Ok, I'm done rambling!

Hey, this is semi-unrelated, but did you guys see the Thing #1 CGC 8.0 on ebay? Pretty nifty book. Sadly I bid my limit but was already outbid, and there's still several days remaining. Ah well, doesn't look like I'll be getting that sucker. Maybe one of you guys will grab it?

And as far as westerns go, I don't think they'll ever see the same sort of spike that horror has. There's a number of reasons for this...primarily, though I think it's a genre that hasn't aged well. The covers are generally not grabbers, so many of the stories stink, and it doesn't have the "gore/gross" factor going for it (let's not forget that comics are a Male market--guys like covers with gore, guns, and boobs...sad, but true!). There are a few western keys that I wouldn't mind having, but I'm not likely to buy them as there's so much other material I'd rather have.

Paull, On that point you may be right, there are no doubt more speculators fueling than market than readers. So, I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. Still, there's money to be made in ultra high-grade precode. I just noticed that a Tales from the Crypt #33 in CGC 9.6 sold on Comiclink for $3,500! Yowza!

While I largely agree with you, Paull, the unknown quanitity here is the amount of pre-coders that will come to the genre in the future. If the number of collectors doesn't change much, then I think your predictions about pricing are basically accurate. However, as POV rightly points out, BA horror (particularly DC in NM) is on the move, and it's my hunch that if BA horror attracts enough dollars, some of those collectors will eventually migrate towards precode stuff. Not all collectors, but some. And the key here, as we've been discussing, is that pre-code in high grade is very scarce. There isn't enough to go around, if interest happens to increase. You can add one or two dozen high-grade SA collectors to the market without rocking the boat too much. There's plenty of that stuff to go around. But the same isn't true of GA. A few new movers and shakers in the market could really upset things and make the high grade pre-codes harder to obtain than they already are. Of course, this could all be wishful thinking, as I've got a few high-grades I'd like to sell someday for serious $$$ when the revolution comes!!!!

I agree that pre-code prices won't spike again anytime soon. At least another 3-5 years before we see significant increases, and some decreases and levelling out should take place soon, if it hasn't already. I think that there are a few titles that will always get nice multiples....weird mysteries, weird tales of the future, and dark mysteries always seem to do very well on ebay and elsewhere. Other books can't achieve crazy multiples, though, unless they're (1) from top-notch pedigrees like the spokane books, or (2) slabbed at crazy-high levels (9.4, 9.6, 9.8). Still, it seems to me that most pre-coders like to read their books, and are consequently mid-grade collectors (F+ seems to do for most, no?) As a result, the mega-high grade books sit on comiclink, metro, etc., forever. They very rarely move, even when the prices seem pretty fair. Meanwhile highgrade SA breezes out the door at laughably high prices. I think this will change, as the market is fickle, and trends cycle in and cycle out. But I don't see a sudden shift in the forseeable future. If you're into spending the bucks for high-grade NM copies, now is the time to do it, as several of the major suppliers have more than they know what to do with. But some of those suppliers still need to drop their prices considerably if they expect to have cash in the register as opposed to a wall full of pretty books. Thanks for the answers POV, sounds like you've got one of the nicest pre-code collections going! Almost halfway there, yikes, I've got some catching up to do, that's for sure!

That Weird Terror cover is great; I've seen that one for sale a few times, seldom as nice as your copy! Weird Terror is one of those titles that I'd like to do a run of someday, but I've got a couple others I want to finish first (Black Magic and Beware! Terror Tales). Oh, got another series of harrassing questions for POV I was going through the older pre-code threads and read about your attempt to compile one issue from every pre-code title. How's that coming along? Halfway there? What's the average condition of your books, and which ones have been tough to catch (I'm guessing that some of those Avon one-offs aren't easy to get at a reasonable price). Anyhow, just curious...your collection sounds like none other that I'm aware of!

Oh, and I agree with Paull, Horrific #3 is an overrated cover, nyeah nyeah. It's even a rip-off of another Comic Media cover, but I forget which one at the moment...I'll look it up later.

Interesting discussion, gents! Yep, GA is definitely a different ballgame than SA in terms of page quality. I remember once proudly showing off a Vault of Horror CGC'd at 8.5 to an SA guy, and the first response was "eww, cream to off-white pages!". I was initally stunned. After slogging through the conventions and the bins and the untold numbers of G- copies, I luck onto a beauty, and this dude's person_without_enough_empathying about the pages!??! Ahem, I digress. Yeah, like I said, I have reservations about the light tanning on books, and I'm still not sure how I feel about my recent purchase (though it's not for sale, hehe). I am, these days, strictly a GA collector. I made the jump from BA to GA about two years back. Truth be told, I never developed any sincere taste for silver. I think that's mainly cause I'm not a super-hero guy. Never much went in for spidey or any of that sort of stuff. Like Paull says, finding books over 8.0 is TOUGH. Finding them at a price you can afford is damned near impossible. But to me, that's become the fun of the GA game. As far as I can see, the only thing that prevents a person from putting together a great run of Spidey, Avengers, etc, ad infinitum, is $$$$. The books are available, if you got the dough. Let's see, today's Sunday....if I spread around a few hundred grand, I could have a terrific run of Spidey in 9.4 delivered to my door by Friday. (Not that I have hundreds of thousands of bucks, but you get my point). Where's the challenge in that? No thrill of the hunt there. With GA, you've got to be vigilant, and you've got to be able to make good decisions quickly before someone else beats you to the punch and the book you wanted is tucked away forever. While that's proven intensely frustrating on several occasions, I get a real sense of satisfaction when I flip through my books and see what I've managed to put together. Here's how the page quality breaks down for me, for GA: White pages--You want my name written in blood? Where do I sign? Off-white to white--Sure thing! I think I've got a couple of grand under the mattress... Cream to off-white--I'll take it, if it's slabbed in 7.5 or better or if I've been looking for a long time. Cream pages--slabbed in 8.0 or better, if I can afford it. Light tan---a little turned off, but I'll take it if it's a classic cover, a key issue, or "scarce" Tan--it better be a mega-key of serious import Brittle--I don't care if it's Action #1, HELL NO!!

Sfilosa, good luck with that Cole run. With time and patience, I think it could be done at a semi-affordable price (and there's probably one or two people who've done it already). 8.0's are a great deal right now, as everybody's turning up their noses and pouring their dollars into the 9.2's and up. Five to seven years from now, when some of these books are still only slabbed at no higher than an 8.5, the tune's gonna change. Your comment about looking for books with off-white pages or better intruiges me. Do you other pre-coders out there find cream pages disdainful as well? What about--gasp--light tanning? At what point does the page quality make a book undesirable for you guys? I guess I'm asking as I recently purchased my first book with tan pages, and have mixed emotions about it. It's a great book with a classic cover (Airfighters #6...not horror, but maybe should be!), CGC'd at 6.0 with light tan to off-white pages. While I'm glad to finally own a presentable copy of the book at a reasonable price, I wonder what kind of resistance I'll have if and when I try to resell (due to the tanning). Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

And a very nice STT!

While I wouldn't pay $900 for that Tomb of Terror, I could see going as high as $600 or $700 as a reasonable bid. It is one of the classic covers after all. Paull, I'm not quite sure why you see a book as less "scarce" simply because people are holding onto the books in their collections as opposed to number of existing copies, etc. I understand the difference but either way the books are less available to YOU (this to me seems to be the key point), and that equates scarcity, be it real or "imagined." Thus prices naturally go higher, as they should for books that are "keepers" to collectors.

Zoiks! Wow, holy #*@#$!!! Something tells me you paid more than a 20% premium on that baby!

I agree, that Thing book looks great, certainly would have graded way higher if not for the tears you mentioned. Still, fantastic stuff!

Heya rjpb check yer PMs