eschnit

...I answered my own question.  If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, for the artists that mimic themselves.  And copying is the sincerest form of flattery for those that were “inspired” by someone else.  I guess it’s all over the place without having to look too hard.  Thanks for entertaining my naïveté...

Maybe it’s more common than I thought and a silly question.  These are both Whitman, same publisher, but still, such a similar color scheme.

I have a question I’m certain I can get the answer for here.  Look at these two books.  Two different publishers, 3 years apart.  Only thing in common is Matt Baker.  There are so many similarities it’s surreal.  The explanation isn’t obvious.  I’m wondering what it is.  The artistry of the two ladies tilt, the angles, the action, the symmetry are all 👨‍🍳, but the thing that maybe stands out the most is the color scheme.   It almost looks like Baker had the same colorist at the same publisher and said make APC 8 look identical to Seven Seas 6, can we get the same ink?  It’s surreal to me.  I can think of a few Batman covers years apart with close to identical color schemes, but that’s easier explained it seems.

Brought the goods

On 4/2/2019 at 2:16 PM, Comcav said:

APC 8 - Not sure I can be friends with you anymore.  That copy is SICK.

You can go ahead and be friends again 😬

On 4/2/2019 at 2:14 PM, Ricksneatstuff said:

Authentic Police Cases 8- CGC 7.0 WHITE- $3500

Absolute Killer Matt Baker work. Only 2 higher

There will not be discounts or offers accepted on this book

 

Take

...btw, since this thread is devoted to Mr. Baker, I’ll share a take for the fans.  Someone asked who should be on the Mount Rushmore of comic book artists.   Will Eisner, Lou Fine, and Jack Kirby are 3 easy choices that it would be hard to replace with others.  If anyone included Schomburg, Adams, Romita, or Frazetta, none could easily be excluded.  And there are others.  For me, I’ll leave Adams, Romita, and Frazetta off the monument.   So, 5 guys, 4 spots.   I’m not sure which one of Eisner, Fine, and Kirby doesn’t make it, but one of ‘em.  Baker and Schomburg are the two with no peers in my opinion, none.   As much as we appreciate him, he’s under-appreciated.  The magic in New York at the time was something else I bet.  Does anyone know anything about his death?  He has a heart attack at 38?  There’s got to be more to the story...

Four is extremely difficult...

Eisner, Kirby, Frazetta, Baker or

Fine, Miller, Romita, Schomburg

Can anyone reasonably argue against any of those 8?

Adams, Steranko, Windsor-Smith, Ditko?

Here, this is my Rushmore:

Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Alex Schomburg, Matt Baker 

I think "the peoples" Rushmore would be Eisner, Kirby, Schomburg, and replace Baker with Ditko, Frazetta, or Adams.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Punch-Comics-11-CGC-4-5-Chesler-1944-Scarce-less-than-Punch-12-or-13-/333125274835

Is it afternoon yet Rick, or are you in Hawaii?

Just now, Sauce Dog said:

Thanks! This was actually my first, and currently only, comic with any sort of 'providence' to it - so was unsure of where 'File Copies' stood on the pedigree scale of importance.

I should note, I'm not an expert.  I have a good idea, but lots of folks on here know better than me.  

29 minutes ago, Sauce Dog said:

I only just noticed that some of my old horror comics have had a giant increase in price since I purchased them (maybe five years ago?). I was most surprised about Chamber of Chills #23 which I picked up for about $120 (already graded), and even then was surprised that such a good looking comic could be only a 4.5 (Out of all my comics, this is the one with the most impressive color and never fails to make me stare at it - still vibrant to this day)

Question to those in the know - how desirable is a File Copy pedigree for such a comic, and what kind of price modifier could I expect on it (If any)?

 

Great investment!  The fact that it's a file copy doesn't hurt, but it's not of great consequence either way.  Pedigrees, and from the collection of, can add something, not too much most of the time, but something.  File copies can be meaningful, like in EC copies for example, because they're all near pristine., but not so much because they're file copies.  In this case, the book speaks for itself.   Your fair market value is of a presents extremely well 4.5 CoC 23, which is high enough.  

My opinion has little to no merit, but it may be worth sharing.  Dealers know the answer to this question.  Hardcore Golden Age collectors with deep pockets, that have been collecting for 50 years could get concise, and iron out details.  My list won't be in the ballpark, but may be worth seeing what an avid hobbyist thinks vs the truth.  

1) Action Comics #1 

2) Detective Comics #27

3) Superman #1

4) Batman #1

5) Captain America #1

6) All-Star #8

7) Flash #1

8) Marvel Comics #1

9) Wonder Woman #1

10) Suspense #3

...top 10 most desired is a separate list from most valuable.  The lists wouldn’t be very similar. 

Are some or all of the non-Centaur's G.A.tor's as well?  i.e., "event auction"?

...I assume not all, or the Cap Am 1 would have come up

6 minutes ago, ThothAmon said:

If you have time I'd put some boots on.  I'd expect tonights action to be fast and furious.  I wouldn't be surprised to see some of those 1/2 hour extended bidding sessions.  These books do not grow on trees.

they did grow on trees though, sort of, didn't they?

...fake plastic trees?

Sidenote, Star Comics #3, wow.  More than a couple things stood out that I bet would be news to Golden Age fans.  First off, loss for words on that cover.  Second, so Chesler handed the reins to Centaur at #10 circa March, 1938.  So Harry Chesler signed off on that sucker.  I'm sure it's a classic cover.  I have a lot to learn... One thing I know is Mr. Chesler was not African-American. 

12 minutes ago, ThothAmon said:

  4 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Rick's collection also deserves a notation

...could not say from the collection of Rick, no one would know who that was since about half of all top GA collectors are named Rick.  Would need to say from G.A.tor or from Mr. Bedrock or Rick'sNeatStuff, etc.

47 minutes ago, MrBedrock said:

I had always heard "buy the book, not the label" and thought...who in the world would value the label over the book. It just didn't compute that someone could actually care more about the label?!?!? I still can't believe what I am hearing. Is it true? Apparently it is.

I can't imagine anyone values the label over the book.   But, an example.  A boardie has the top two graded books of a desired Planet, one is a 9.2, the other a 9.0 Mile High.  Can look at the book within the slab and determine which book deserves a higher grade, but in the end it's very close.  I believe he had a tough time deciding which to keep and which to sell.  In the end, I believe he chose to keep both, but ranked the 9.2 higher for which he wanted to keep.  It's a tough call, because Mile High pedigree matters.   All things being equal, there is some value, some, for some collectors, for the history of the book.  Maybe zero to plenty of folks, but not zero to all.   It's not wholly irrelevant to everyone whether a book is from a pedigree or collection, or no label would include the information, and it would never be mentioned in descriptions.  Also, as time goes by and more and more books are entombed, they can't be touched.  So we can value the book itself all we want, but in the end, all we have is the covers, and the label.  We can't read a book in a case.  We can't even tell if a book's pages are brittle, except for the label says so, if we weren't the ones that got it graded.  I mean the integrity of the grading process is questioned all the time.  It's not that they don't do their best, but they're not robots.  No one could convince me that the 9.9 Hulk 181 is without question the best specimen of all of the graded 181s.  And yet, we trust the grade on the label, and it's worth at least 10X what a 9.8 is.   All I'm getting at is, is a lot of value is subjective.

I've got a dumb question, but I'm interested in learning.  Planet 55, Joe Doolin cover.  Doesn't it look Bakeresque, or is it just me?

...oh, and it's not because it's you, in case it seems silly.   It's more because you did something remarkable.  There's 4 census copies of this book and 29 of that one, whatever, and those numbers will increase marginally over time.  But you pulled off one of each and every, then sold them all together.  That they came from that collection is of some relevance.  And yes, plenty of people don't care if a book came from Jon Berk, Nic Cage, or whomever.  Or if it's a Larsen pedigree, Crippen, etc., but some do.  Certainly there's a premium on Mile Highs, though there's separate logical reasons for that.  Pedigrees are different than from the collection of as well, as there's a level of quality aspect.  I can't remember the book or two, but there were a couple of them that were Larsen pedigree, Berk collection, and I promise you that was of consequence to some, if not everyone.  To me, that's a cool thing.  Larsen to Berk to Gator, I got a book good enough for them, good enough for me.  Not me personally, but I think the idea make sense.  Alright, enough on that topic lol.  smh

Worked out just right.  We recognize the lack of ego, respect for the books, and well-earned reputation you have.  Just a last thought on it, I think it might have been ideal to slip a cert in the back of the book with the CGC id on it that said "from the collection of".  I imagine that could be a thing, if not abused and overused, that CGC could do that wouldn't be a negative to anyone.   I know I have a cert on a Crippen book as an example.     

Was that National 16 yours Gator?  I'm guessing yes.  Same "S" marking as the handful of Centaurs.  It's an amazing mystery.   Btw. I haven't done the math, but I'm a numbers guy, quick and dirty, you done well.  The auction has been a bullish success, and I mean on a relative basis to any measure, except maybe your own projections, which I don't know.  But I'm happy for you.  We all hunt if we're into gold.  And admire what you've done, as it was an ultimate challenge decades in the making.   In the end, this community is relatively small, and your toils dispersed throughout.  You're actually part of the legacy of Centaurs, and what they mean overall now, in a way you probably couldn't have been if you had never sold them.  Not perfect solace I'm sure, but onto the next.  You're appreciated.

...sidenote, new "from the collection of" labels" seem like they'll be ultra-rare going forward, as so many books are already slabbed now, i.e. if you handed these off to Metro raw, they'd have gotten slabbed with a from the collection of Gator notation.   Maybe you can get your own sticker? 

6 minutes ago, Zolnerowich said:

Fantastic!

And interesting: another "S" book, like AMF 2/2 and AMF 2/5... 

....and 2/7