Readcomix

Weren't Peter Parker 90 and Marvel Team-up 141 on the stands at the same time as ASM 252, also with black costume appearances?

Also, from the Golden Age for your list: Blazing Comics #1, first Asian superhero, the green Turtle (by an Asian-American artist, to boot).

Just curious if our paths had crossed as I'm in his shop fairly frequently.

Is it me, or is 251 the toughest of the Adams keys to find these days? I haven't seen one in a shop in a while, but most of the others I see out there.

I have trouble finding Tec 395 in high-ish grades, but I don't come across 251 at all in my LCS stops.

Just learned of this today as well. Vintage, are you in upstate NY too?

I was floored; he was only 39. Darren was a terrific guy, and he leaves behind two sweet little children. I'm told it was Thanksgiving Day, actually.

I've known Darren for a few years and have bought from, sold to, and traded with him frequently. He was always fair, straightforward, and generous. If a book had cooled off, he had no problem drastically reducing a marked price upon request, but if you spotted a bargain, the book never suddenly became not for sale. He built long-term business relationships that way, all old-school with a smile and a handshake.

In fact, I looked at my phone earlier to determine the last time I saw him (via texts that we exchanged to plan to meet up at the shop). It was Oct 28, and we concluded a couple trades. I can't recall how it came up exactly, but Darren, Chris (the store manager, another awesome guy) and I were joking about proper disposition of a massive collection upon one's passing. I think it was Chris who said "They go with ya, like the ancient Egyptians." Darren laughed and said it would be great for us to go out with Viking funerals, burn us on our stacks of books. He had that kind of sense of humor.

He brought humor and positive energy to all he did, and he will be sorely missed! My condolences to Chris, Lowell, the 'Stache (the Comic Depot family) and Darren's own family.

Paul Harding did an amazing sketch of Darren walking on a beach with his children, and its up on his Facebook page. Many pix and stories being shared there, it seems. Paul, if you're reading, prints as a fund-raiser for Darren's kids would be awesome!

You will be missed, my friend.

Pep 26 - first Veronica (Betty and Jughead also in #22)

Amazing Adventures #1 (first Dr. Droom, first Marvel hero series)

Adventure #247 (first Legion of Superheroes)

Superboy #68 (first Bizarro)

Action #242 (first Brainiac)

Action #252 (first Supergirl)

Detective #359 (first SA Batgirl)

Airboy #3 (first Heap; comics' first swamp monster)

House of Secrets #92 (first Swamp Thing)

Archie's Pals N' Gals #23 (first Josie)

Archie's Madhouse #22 (first Sabrina the teenage witch)

Josie and the Pussycats #45 (first Pussycats; first Valerie = first black character in Archie universe)

I have to stop and look back to be sure I'm not being redundant....

Silent Invasion! What an awesome read! Had a few scattered issues, then hunted down the complete run in the form of four paperback bound volumes, old-school Marvel graphic novel size. Just read it end to end over Thanksgiving weekend, and it still blows me away! (Other thing I read was bronze but also awesome in a very different, 50's-EC way -- the 10-issue Michael Fleischer Spectre run in Adventure Comics, #431-440. Also recommended.)

Thank you! Never searched it with "Land" in the search term field; explains my sparse and pricey results in past, perhaps.

Problem is, my brain works such that if I spend $5-$10 on one of these, I am going to feel compelled to acquire a Crime Suspenstories #22 ASAP....And I'll probably do just that to myself, anyway.....

Maybe I'm stretching it to call the Muertos a Ras prototype then, but it was O'Neil and Adams coming out of the gate playing with a vampiric-looking character with a source of immortality (garden bed vs Lazaurus Pit), so it shows them playing with a germ that would grow into a major storyline soon enough....It's certainly not TTA#27 to #35, but its interesting in the way that the Challengers are in light of the first 2 issues of FF (non-costumed hero quartet; FF with similar pre-power skill sets) or the way "Thor" is portrayed by Kirby in DC's Tales of the Unexpected #16.

Looks to me that, unconsciously, they may have been evolving this idea of an immortal villain operating in a big, mysterious lair.

Sorry if I oversold the notion, but I'm still fascinated by their first story, a one-off, containing a seed of their Batman magnum opus.

Am I making more sense?

Anyone got a cover for All-American #3 out there? I'd be open to acquiring a cover for that one, as well as open to moving the coverless copy off to an arranged marriage...either is good with me.

For those wondering why my previous post has multiple copies of various 50's DC's listed (Superboy 45, Jimmy Olsen 8, etc) -- how the heck do I know?!?!?

Seriously, I acquired those coverless 50'ss DCs in a batch in the same antique shop near Poughkeepsie, NY -- former home of Western Publishing, parent of Dell/Gold Key. All I can figure is perhaps the plant also printed for DC at some point? Lots of retirees around there from that plant.

Today, sadly, the site of the plant (across the street from Marist College) is a couple of big box stores, Home Depot and one of those office chains...

Thank you for that beauty!?

I'll gripe about a few I can never find in the wild.....last issue of swamp thing (171), that wolverine with the cover where he's got sabertooth's decapitated head a la Crime Suspenstories 22, and the God vs Satan issue of Savage Dragon; 31, I think.

Here's what's in my parts yard, if I can help anyone:

Coverless books: Batman #84, Spy Cases #27, Perfect Crime #5, Miss America v.7 #39, Leading Comics #16, All-American Comics #3, Adventure #95, Jimmy Olsen #'s 8, 9 (2 copies), 13; Wonder Woman #'s76,77; Superboy #45 (2 copies), Adventure #216 and 217. The #216 has a back cover.

I've also got partial wraps for Women Outlaws #3, Superman #14 (28 total pages), and Master #95.

I've got a low-grade Thrilling #14 missing the center wrap, and a Planet #10 missing the 3 center wraps. In the case of Planet, I'd like to find the wraps.

Lastly, though Silver, I have coverless copies of TOS #14 and TTA #40.

God, such a great thread.....I missed the boat on swampy off the racks, but just earlier this year picked up a collection that contained about 40 issues from the beginning of Moore up through the 60-something. I bought them cheap, pulled the 25 and 37 to keep, and flipped the rest for 5x what I paid. But I flipped through one before selling and then read the run non-stop before parting with them. I was so blown away by the entire series; might be the only thing I sold this year that I miss. At the time, I was liquidatiing stuff for an All-Winners #3 that a guy was holding for me. If not for that, I may well have decided to keep them. But I'll likely reassemble a reading run at some point.

Thinking back, I dunno how I missed the boat on this when it was new. I did buy #50 and annual #2 off the racks, just because the covers looked interesting. Both moved immediately into my short box of permanent readers and remain there. Yet I did not turn to the regular series....and I have to say that having read that 40-book run, #50 is even more enjoyable in that context that I now have.

Also, I know this is a copper thread, but since it is a swamp thing thread I also want to express my love for HOS #92. If Hulk 181 is the AF15 of bronze, this is the Astonish #27. Took me years to find and acquire an acceptable copy via the in-person, LCS route.

Thx Jtlarsen! You really expressed the the 395/76 analogy very well!

Jimbo, thx on Worlds Finest! I had thought B&B 79 was the first time Adams had drawn Bats, but WF precedes it (and one gets a Tec 225 Martian Manhunter intro reprint).

This thread also turned me onto Batman #217, which I had been overlooking.

Does anyone think I'm off in calling the Muertos in Tec 395 a ras al ghul prototype?

Bottom line, there's still untapped potential value in that era of Batman books, in the context of their role in the character and his importance today. But if I have to bet on just one book to emerge big time from the pack, I take 395 for the first Adams/O'Neil pairing on the character, a seeming prototype for the biggest Batman villain intro'ed in the bronze era, and its relative elusiveness in high grade.

I'm in for 5 raw...a mid-grade reader, 3 nice mid-9ish, and one that should net a high nine outcome. It'll probably go in for grading with the next batch I submit. But for now it's 5 raw for me.

Completely agree with all you guys on this one. D.C. Acknowledged it's historic significance with a Milennium Edition, but the guide has yet to call it out.

Census only shows 121 slabs thus far, with 59 at 9.0 and above. No 9.8 and only 2 at 9.6.

I can't help but feel that for all the importance of the GL/GA groundbreaking series that Adams and O'Neil did, they also brought Bats all the way back to his pre-Robin roots and laid the groundwork for Miller's Dark Knight, and the character as he is loved today.

I'm not minimizing GL/GA, but I think this book is just as much the start (rebirth) of something important to the hobby. Off the top of my head, it may be the most underrated bronze book out there.

I just traded for a copy recently, for those very reasons! Under appreciated cool book for sure. It's also the first appearance of Victoria Bentley, a Dr Strange supporting cast member who is overdue for a recycling.

Thank you!

I didn't go through all 227 pages of this thread, so apologies if this has been raised, but I cannot help but think Detective #395 is the sleeper here. Of course, it currently doesn't hold a candle to Tec 400 or 411 or Bats 227, 232, 234, but it is the first Adams/O'Neil Batman story, and a ras al ghul prototype, to boot.

I know it lacks the iconic cover of a GL 76, but it's the comparable Bat book in all other ways.

Hello everyone, long-time collector (49 now; started off the racks at the 5) but new to the boards. Been reading for a few weeks, ever since the guys at Comic Book Daily turned me on to these boards.

Grew up on bronze books as they hit the stands; 90's killed new books for me, stuck mostly to back issues. Today, I'm focused on making my collection smaller and better while still keeping it diverse and interesting. For me, of late, that has meant Golden Age and Silver Age of all stripes, and a few bronze keys and oddities.

I've been enjoying buying small collections of late, pulling what I want to add to my permanent collection, and spinning the rest back out in trade or for cash to put back into the collection.

That's the nutshell; more details to come when I am rested enough to release my origin issue over the origin story thread!