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Another clutch of summer readers : Noticed I seem to buy more raw comics in the summer and gravitate toward slabs during cold weather. Not sure if its the convention season & garage sales or more a reaction to the Northeast Ohio weather where it's minimal clothes in July and totally encased (in multiple layers) in January.... -bc

My former copy. Sold it in a CC auction awhile back. But please don't tell me that was your under copy ! -bc

C'mon Powerball ! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tales-to-Astonish-13-CGC-9-2-1st-Groot-GUARDIANS-OF-THE-GALAXY-MARVEL-1961-/182225332619?hash=item2a6d79e98b:g:qRoAAOSwaG9XJkft -bc

Thanks all ! The #16 I posted is graded 9.2. I'll leave the artist discussions to the wiser folks but the GCD has added this blurb : "From GCD Error #5411 (20 November 2010), Tom Orzechowski states there is a stylization similarity to this cover and the splash page to Tales to Astonish (Marvel, 1959 series) #2, "The cover shows a solid stylistic similarity to the splash page in Tales to Astonish #2's story "I Spent Eternity in a Deep Freeze." That story is credited to Bob Forgione. ...Toward center right, just this side of the control room, there's detailing that follows the curvature of the gated window for no reason at all, and otherwise is inconsistent with its own angles. Likewise, there's wainscoting, a view screen and some rivets just behind the blurb, on an angle and level inconsistent with the control room immediately above." Credit for "Bob Forgione ?" added to pencils and inks with Carl Burgos." Wish someone had cached some #15's - my copy is held together with bubblegum and duct tape. My #14 isn't much better but at least there is no question who the artist is : -bc

Last Burgos cover of the series : -bc

That might be my old copy, if you got it from Dale. It was sharp. Probably so. Did you upgrade? No. It went away during one of my periodic collection purges. Those books rock ! Beautiful glossy copies of tough issues Gratz ! -bc

Glad to see you Divad ! Here's another that got dorked in a prior post because I actually spent time organizing my photobucket : -bc

Couldn't agree more having done it myself several times due to various reasons. Also, very glad to see your collecting interest continues! To BAF - With what you've shared the past several years, it's okay to take a break !!! -bc

I posted this on another website in response to some PHM questions. Like to add it here for archival purposes. Tales of Suspense 38 officially marks the last of the PHM issues with a cover date of February 1963 Only Tales of Suspense 37 (1/63) and 38 (2/63) actually made it into 1963 cover dates; the rest had all converted to a superhero format by then or ceased publication as in the case of World of Fantasy and Strange Worlds. But it wasn’t the end of the PHM stories! It was just the end of the PHM covers. The PHM stories continued as 5 page nuggets that were hidden inside the newly introduced superhero cover issues of Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense for another 16 months until June 1964. This doesn’t include content from Tales of Asgard (JIM 97-125), Tales of the Watcher (TOS 49-58) or Wasp’s Tales (TTA 51-56) as those had ties to the contemporary superheroes (although the first couple of the Tales of the Watcher stories are questionable in my humble opinion). After paging thru several collections of post-PHM issues that encompassed every issue of the big 4 (JIM, ST, TOS & TTA) as well as the first couple of years of the superhero titles (FF, Avengers, ASM, IH, Sgt. Fury, X-Men, DD, Thor and the like), the PHM Sole Survivor Award goes to: SKRANG Skrang was the last of the original PHM villains in the last original PHM story. Unfortunately, he retreated in fear from the Earth because he saw that elderly lady in the first panel wearing a fox stole while she was out alone on a casual evening stroll. We later find out that on Skrang’s planet, his race was at war with a vicious army of fox people and if this fragile Earth female was sporting one as a trophy around her neck, we were far too superior to even risk an attack. That story appeared in Tales of Suspense 54 (which also sports the second appearance of the Mandarin - June 1964): From there, we have to wait for the re-birth of Marvel Horror in the early Bronze Age and the subsequent reprinting/re-telling of the stories from our beloved PHM classics. To me, it sort of starts with the Tales of the Watcher re-appearing in Silver Surfer 1 (8/68) and the one-shot Tales of Asgard (10/68) and definitively reboots with Tower of Shadows and Chamber of Darkness in mid-69. Here’s a list of the issue’s I’ve compiled that contain original PHM-style stories that continue into the Marvel Silver Age Superhero era: Amazing Fantasy 15 (not like anyone’s going to buy it in any shape for the PHM content) Strange Tales 101-113 Journey into Mystery 83-104 Tales of Suspense 39-48, 50-54 Tales to Astonish 35-51, 54 Here’s some of the Rogue’s Gallery from this group: The Frightful Frog-Man (from Strange Tales 104) The Star Raiders of Planet Torgo (from Tales to Astonish 37) Tremble before the Killer Treadmill of Rodrigo Cadiz (from Tales to Astonish 50) As you can see, these villains were just as cover worthy as Roc, Glob, Sserpo, Torr and maybe even the mighty Moomba ! I did not have access to any sizable amount of Atlas/Marvel westerns, so feel free to add data if there is any. The Pre-Hero Marvel sub-genre that originated with Strange Worlds 1 (12/58) under the combined talents of Lee/Ditko/Kirby/Ayers and others actually blossomed for 6 years until the superheroes were mature and diverse enough to finally carry the entire issues in June 1964. Thanks for reading and as usual, keep ‘em coming ! -bc

Added a couple more to my Schomburg Human Torch covers set : -bc

About an hour ago I officially sold off the last of my SA/BA superhero books to fellow boardie 1Cool. So I'm down to my PHM hoard and a few GA superhero books. Feels sort of liberating, in a comic geek way. Was re-reading this thread and noticed I re-arranged my photobucket pics and messed up a bunch of links. Reposting just 'cause this was fun to put together last summer : -bc

Thank you very much ! After lurking the boards and this thread for 24% of my life, glad I can finally contribute Got to give a shout out to the people who inspired & educated me on the PHM world : Nelson (my first comic dealer who steered me toward the PHMs), Punyhuman (for starting this thread), Forbush-Man, Sharkey, Red-Hook, Divad, ThatPOVGuy, Silver Surfer, AdamStrange, SFilosa, TheWatcher, TRMoore54, AtlasFan, Cheetah, KirbyJack, JimJum12, Bronty and you ! Sorry if I missed any others ! After 7 years of focusing on these books, I'm almost halfway to having all 164 of the PHMs in VF/8.0 or better grade. I gave up collecting SA Marvel superheroes around 2008, because "collecting" became more like "ordering" from eBay or another website and not hunting - these PHMs have been a small game hunters dream ! And like you, these books will probably be the last to go when I finally sell it all off. -bc

Those rock ! Always love to see those awesome books in your PHM collection !!! Here's a couple of my TTA favorites : -bc

Cool splash! My favorite is "My wooden form is harder than any element on earth!" but keep the matches away please. -bc

Ideally 5k would be nice Thanks for the quick reply ! The hunt is on... -bc

Dear G.A.tor, How much should I expect to pay for a Human Torch #2/#1 blue label CGC in the 5-ish range to anchor this run : Thank you very much for your time & sharing your knowledge ! -bc

Thank you very much! I love these Kirby covers with monster-pants & panicky people. -bc Same here & people being chased by cavemen and dinosaurs are pretty cool too. Thanks for positing your copy of TTA #23. That book in HG is just amazing! Thanks ! Here's a better pic of the full cover: -bc

Thank you very much! I love these Kirby covers with monster-pants & panicky people. -bc

This one shows the number "307" clearly in the upper right hand corner -bc

Yes chez/chay(?) has some sweet books on the bay now. Someone say Moomba? This is another book that is numbered on the inside cover (you can see it in the Code stamp). Also got an Amazing Adventures that shows the same numbering. Anyone know anything about this collection? -bc

Sorry to dredge up an old thread but picked up a cheap Deluxe Edition off eBay on a whim last week and have really enjoyed re-reading this series again. I'm in the underappreciated camp. Was a Marvel zombie in the early '80's, but bought the Ronin issues as they came out due to the DD run. I actually "hid" them in my collection 'cause they were DC (I've since learned the error of my ways). I do remember that I liked the series and as others have mentioned, couldn't really remember the exact details after 30+ years with no real ongoing legacy. Story still seems fresh & pleasantly re-surprised by the multitude of splashes and fluid sequence flow. The "science" of the story is much more appreciated as an adult - I started studying Bio-Medical Engineering in college just 2 years after Ronin came out (subliminal inspiration maybe?). Yes, I liked Heavy Metal magazine so that may have some bearing as well as someone else admitted. Well worth the couple of bucks and the time ! -bc

Another summer reader I grabbed at the show : -bc

Finished off Strange Worlds - picked up the 4 & 5 at the All-Americon in Warren, OH today. Yes there are two #3's - one is from KirbyJack and the other from jimjum12. Thanks guys for helping complete another set ! -bc

Awesome book ! Love the perspective from the saucer ! Got mine from a used book store in Ann Arbor, MI : -bc

Summer reading material from the recent Akron Comic Con : -bc