*paull*

The Iger shop created some terrific covers for the Farrell horror books. I'd really like to know more about who wrote the text for the cover word balloons. Haunted Thrills, Voodoo and Fantastic Fears had some great skull and skeleton covers that included word ballons with a macabre sense of humor.

Hey Shrunk, that's a nice pickup! I really like those Don Heck Horrific covers!

Here's panel from Mister Mystery #14... pretty nasty, huh? Aragon/Gilmor was one of the more brazen publishers of the time...

I noticed that too... I believe that there is a thread in the Marketplace about those two books... Here's a purchase I made today at the New York con... not a huge selection of pre-code horror, but I saw some things that I craved... some of them beyond what I wanted to pay for them, however. This is a book that I've wanted for a while... Mister Mystery #14 with one of my favorite covers by Bernard Baily. This copy has a couple of corner creased, a small piece out on the lower right corner and a slight shadow at the top. Still a solid copy, especially for this title.

Here's a new purchase... Haunted Thrills #18 (1954), the last issue in the run. This copy is in about VG condition. The interiors aren't as interesting as the earlier issues in the run. Different artists at the Iger studio worked on this one than the early ones that I have. I like the cover though... Iger had a way with using skulls and skeletons on his covers...

I'm sure you're right I only have three slabbed books, and haven't taken them out yet. They are just so cool to see in the holder. But I do want to read them, especially my copy of Weird Mysteries #2 with a Wolverton story.

Thanks for the compliments... I haven't cracked this book out of the holder yet (mainly because when I bought it, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep it!), but I simply can't believe how bright and glossy the cover is. If this is a 3.0, hook me up with more, please. I have to get myself a scanner... these photos are crapola! Regarding reprints, I really don't buy any reprints of any books. The only thing that I'm interested is the TTTTT from New England Comics that POV recommended... because of the articles on pre-code horror. There's nothing like reading the original books...

Here's a book that I bought sometime late last year. It's a Mask 2 CGC 3.0, but the front cover looks beautiful. It makes a nice companion for my 3.0-3.5 Mask 1. Has a white mark at the upper right corner, probably from another book that was stacked on top of it. It doesn't look like a tape pull. A couple small creases on the cover, but this book has incredible gloss and color depth for a 3.0. It has a couple of heavy creases on the back cover, but who cares! The master, L.B. Cole, did his magic on the front.....

Anyone have a copy of Weird Mysteries #5 for sale? I'd really like one for my collection.

The western title I _am_ collecting is Women Outlaws. I enjoy books with women heroes and villains and this title has both... and a lot of sassy talk from the women outlaws, that's for sure. Fun books to read...

I'm a fan of westerns, but don't collect westerns currently. There are so many titles that I just don't know where to begin and which I would find interesting. I don't know what the future holds for GA western titles. It will be interesting to see if they hold or lose value over time. One reason that I think Westerns could hold value is that these characters (Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Billy The Kid, etc.) were real-life myths and legends, heroes and villains. I don't know if interest in them will ever die. As for my other interests, I collect records, Steranko-related items, watch a lot of film (and some B-movies, but I don't really care much for low quality B 50's horror stuff), and various types of photography.

That's a really nice book, but I have other wants on my list that have to be found first...

As for me, I have no interest in BA horror. I have a number of books with Wrightson stories from HOS and HOM that I bought about fifteen years ago, but I don't foresee myself buying any more. The BA books simply aren't gruesome enough for me! I think a lot of people are interested in BA books because of the price spike and quick return on investment.

I agree... the market will always steadily rise for both high grade and key issues. It's the low-grade non-keys that are going to stagnate for years to come, I believe.

shrunkenhead, I tend to believe that the BA horror run right now is being fueled for the most part by the BA gold rush over the past few years, not because these people are necessarily horror fans. These people had the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the price boom... I can't see how these same people who are used to paying $100 for a BA CGCed 9.2 book will react when they are paying 2-3x that for a VG raw copy of a GA horror book. I think they are more speculators than readers.

An 8.0 key horror book is a holy grail. You're right... how often does an 8.0 Weird Mysteries #2 or Mister Mystery #4 trade hands? If you had one for sale, it might be the only one on the market at the time. Name your price...

I think we also have to consider what would bring people to collect horror books (besides insanity of course)... does a lack of good, current horror books mean that people collect older ones? does a resurgence of current horror books push people to buy old ones? Is horror a timeless genre? If you say "of course!"... what about westerns? Where do you see the market for western-themed comics going in the next 10-20 years?

There's no way that we're going to see a boom in pre-code horror prices like we saw in circa 1995-1996 anytime soon. Look at the top books in the genre: Eerie #1, Adventures Into The Unknown #1, Mister Mystery #12, Horrific #3, Vault of Horror #12, Tales of Terror Annual #1, etc. These books are all selling for over guide right now. It takes undervalued books by collectors and dealers for a boom to occur, and it just can't happen with pre-code horror. There may be specific titles, artists or publishers that will get more recognition and see appropriate price jumps, but it won't be genre-wide. I predict that we're going to see a levelling off of the common issues. There's going to be some resistance to the prices that are out there right now.

POV, I agree with you about the prices of pre-code horror. To be specific, I think that the prices for mid-low grade pre-code horror common issues without classic covers or artists is way overpriced right now. Who is spending $100 on a common mid-grade copy of Witches Tales, Adventures Into The Unknown or Web of Mystery? I'd like to hear more about the pre-code horror market from dealers because I simply don't see how they are getting the prices I see listed on websites and see at shows. On the other hand, I still think there are a number of books that still sell for 1.5-2 times guide and books that should be broken out in the guide and given increases over other surrounding books from the same title.

About Don Heck, I'm not even sure that it's the same guy who drew both the 50's horror covers and the Silver Age Marvels! I love those horror covers, but can't stand what he did in the 60's and beyond.

Regarding arrival dates and distro markings, they don't bother me at all as long as they are small. I consider them a part of the history of the comic art form. The books I collect are usually nowhere near 9.0, so arrival dates don't matter at all to me.

The Horrors #13 is filled with crime stories similar to the types that Startling Terror Tales had in some of the issues. Maybe these are Fox reprints? Not scintillating stuff, but the cover is the best part, and underrated as far as I'm concerned. One of my favorites by L.B. Cole... Nice copy of Horrific #3! That's a tough book to find in high grade. Thanks for posting the War Fury #1... I had no idea that Heck had copied one of his previous covers.

Here's another purchase that I made this summer... Horrors of Mystery #13 (The Horrors #13) by Star Publications with another great L.B. Cole cover. I had a beater copy but fell in love with this 6.5 copy that I saw at a show. This is a really underrated cover, even in the realm of Cole covers. In the guide, the other issues in The Horrors series have higher values even though the covers aren't near as good. (all interiors are crime stories, reprints I believe)

I consider Mister Mystery #12 and Horrific #3 to be similar, two slightly overrated covers that go for big bucks. Personally, I much prefer the Mister Mystery cover even though it's not Baily's best... he did better work on other issues in that run. As Heck did in Horrific.

Regarding page quality, I avoid tan pages, but am OK with cream-off white if the book is desirable. I almost completely stopped collecting Silver Age Marvels, the books that jump-started my interest in vintage books. As shrunkenhead mentioned, it's only a matter of money to put together a collection of any Silver Age Marvel title. Want a run of 9.0 Fantastic Four #1-100? Give me a couple days... Want a 8.0 run of Weird Mysteries? Umm..... have a few years? Anyone here collect Suspense Comics? My copy of #8 has a bit of a brittle spine and it looks like that it's a common affliction with this title. The cover paper looks to be of low quality. I want to get #9-12, but fear that it's going to be pretty difficult to get these books near 4.0 or 5.0 without giving up a limb.