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Maiden voyage to mighty maiden vs malevolent magician

Shot in the dark.... I need centerfolds for Tessie the Typist #22 and Captain Marvel Adventures #13.

Sandman #4

I'll chip in

Okay, after much hemming and hawing, I am going with these 5 and the 7-month story that unites them. It starts with seeing the Cap alone in a showcase in an antiques shop with what seems an out of line price on it. The store owner informs me it's a consignment and gives me the dealer's name and number. Knowing nothing about the guy, I call him up and finally after three weeks of phone tag get to inquire about the book, broaching the price gingerly. He says, "Oh, that's just for my reference. You can have it for X." Sold! I go to the shop a few days later, pick it up, and call him to inform him I had followed through. THAT is when he says, "I have some more if you're interested." "What else have you got?" "Let me see here...Sub-Mariner 5, Batman 10, Leading 1,2,4,5; Superman 55..." I make a arrangements to meet him at a local flea market, but it's a few weeks out because he is a vintage record dealer, often doing shows. He occasionally fills non-show weekends at this flea market. Okay, let's take a look at those books you told me about. "Oh, I didn't bring them today. But I have these." He pulls out The Torch and the Subby 14, plus a Cap 78, and immediately informs me that the Torch and Cap are on hold for a guy. So I purchase the Subby 14 and ask him to call me if the other guy doesn't come through. And I still want to meet to see the other books. And how did you get them, anyway? "I was buying this old guy's massive record collection, and as I was leaving with the records, he throws a handful of comics on the box I'm carrying out and says here, take these old things too." So they are all from an original owner, with a brief interim in the possession a disinterested vinyl dealer who simply knows very old comics have some value. As I'm leaving, he says, "Oh, I put another one in the shop. Go see it. You can have it for X." Okay, please tell the owner and I'll take a look. That was the America's Best #10. I call again to arrange to see the DC's and Subby 5 that I've yet to see, only to be told he took them to a large show and some guy came through and bought them. All gone. I thought I hit the end of the line. But a couple weeks later he calls. The Torch and Cap deal fell through. I make arrangements to meet him and buy the two. Thinking it's all that's left, I am unprepared when he produces an All-Winners #3. But we negotiate a price and a time to meet again. Due to his travel schedule it's a month out, but he swears he will hold it for me. Finally, seven months after it began with a casual walk through an antiques shop, I've acquired every piece of this guy's little find that I could. With a sole exception for a TTA #27, I refused buy another book of any consequence in the period I was going back and forth with this guy, never quite sure when we would get together and a Subby 5 or Batman 10 or something I wasn't expecting would be put in front of me. It was exciting and nerve-wracking because he was such a flighty, cavalier character who wasn't focused on comics, so I felt like I had to keep dry powder handy on the off-chance he would produce another piece he forgot to mention. That's the basic version of the cat-and-mouse negotiation. Zany, but a good time!

Scaly creatures to More scaly creatures

Thx, I keep to a low-information diet, so I'm often (non-comic) pop culture clueless.

The Romanian newspaper???

You're ok...you're just speaking in tongues...seeing those 5 is a religious experience, after all!

Still working on top 5....can you wait a week for 11-15, Rick? Seriously, this does give everyone a place to park all those agonizing honorable mentions that everyone is saying could've displaced their fourth or fifth picks on any given day. Cool!

Yes, I do. His work, with notable exceptions such as DD, is mostly not to my taste. I like his writing better than his art, generally. I'm just in the "underwhelming" camp on Ronin, and gave me reasons why. That's all.

There's got to be a good story here, Jeff... And congrats!

Monster to monstrosity of a marriage

Cool, thx! Guess whether it's worth it depends on how much help your LCS is and how much you need. If you have the time (for forms and shipping etc) and are confident in your own grading and how it reflects cgc's grading, maybe get a membership and save the $$ yourself. But if time and grading are an issue, the LCS may be worth it. But know that if you get a membership and choose to submit through the LCS, you do not get your discount. Your explanation is likely why.

Really? I did not know that pseudonym. Thx! Sal Trapani does the lead story inside; cool, old-school feel.

Yep. His art can be pretty to look at, but I often cannot tell what is going on. My eye is drawn nowhere. (Not that I can draw.) I just find his layouts disturbing. And for whatever reason thru six issues I Could not bring myself to care about any of the characters. Their personalities did not come alive for me; no connection. It's not relative to any other comic; just an absolute experience I had with this story. I realize others experience this work differently.

No poll....we're keeping with the theme of the books themselves....eternal competition....just call out your vote and post the supporting evidence. Change your vote every time, and post a vote as often as you like! And maybe sneak a Josie/Sabrina/Cheryl/Katy K/Ginger etc in there once in a while! It's all good!

I've only shipped through one LCS, so I don't know if my experience is typical, or whether they have latitude under their submission privileges. But yes my LCS packages it, does not mark up cost, and receives the books back at the shop, where I pick up. He says he gets a free submission for every "X" number that he sends in; I forget how many. Seems like a bargain for the service he provides, which includes expertise from seeing so many before/after submissions.

Gasp! #4 from ACG. SA horror anthology with decidedly 50's Art.,pretty cool, especially ghosts vs Nazis and a giant octopus-like serpentine thing stuck into the legend of the Marie Celeste. What's not to like???

Back to another Electro

Yeah, but that poolside strip panel in 23..... BWS is a fan of "The Last Picture Show," I bet.

Added today, via trade:

Thx; his ambitions make his comics work make more sense to me. I like but unlike many do not love his comics work. DD yes, and the DK plot/concept, but otherwise he's in the OK camp for me. The filmmaker wannabe thing sheds light on this.

Bring 'em please! I keep going back over those Internationals...what an array of covers! And the logo lettering strikes me because it reminds me of a very 70's underground comix logo feel. Wonder if an old EC letterer worked with Crumb et al?

Sure, but maybe knocked off from an inside panel?