ender

7 minutes ago, G.A.tor said:

 There are some collectors that value double covers more than a single

it's an anomaly

so I suspect it would go for a slight premium for the right buyer 

Ok thanks

Since we are on the topic of covers, is there any real value to a double cover?  I understand that the outer protects the inner and that you grade based on the inner, but does a double cover have more real value than a single cover book?  I have a double cover batman 7.  It has a water stain and the outer cover is probably a 3.5 and the inner a 4.0 to 5.0.  If I were to sell the book would it be expected to sell for more than another Batman 7 with the same grade and similar eye appeal and page quality?  Sorry if this seems elementary but I have gotten very conflicting advise about it.  Thanks!

1. Action 1

2. Tec 27

3. Cap America 1

4. More Fun 73

5. Tec 31

6. Flash Comics 1

7. More Fun 54

8. All Star Comics 8

9. Suspense Comics 9

10. Adventure  Comics 40 (first drawn sandman)

This is just my list and money is kind of a consideration but not the top factor, if it were give me 10 copies of Action 1 or Tec 27, I sell them and then can get more than this list.

4 minutes ago, sfcityduck said:

Completely agree with Bluechip.  Many folks think it would be super cool to own Action 1 or D27 who are not comic collectors.  Why?  Because they are pop culture icons.  The bragging rights for owning such a significant book is obvious to all.

What shocks me more than the notion that movies impact comic values is the notion that someone would $200K+ for a comic with no pop culture significance at all.  Yet comic collectors have done it.  Why?  Because of the perceived coolness in the narrow segment of folks who run in that circle.  It's buying a bragging right aimed at a very very narrow audience. 

Really interesting and I have never really thought of it in that way

12 minutes ago, bluechip said:

The split between movie success and added sales of the original material is not a new phenomenon.  Lots of people love vampire movies and have never read "Dracula."   And what about the people who have read "Dracula" but don't read every vampire book?   Many superhero fans have read no comics, while many have also read them in the past but no longer do.  Or they've read just a few.   Some watch the movies without ever buying the toys or wearing the underoos.  And most will do all the above without ever spending, big money on vintage comics.   But the success of a character raises the number of people in all of those categories.    And that seems to me so obvious that I find it odd whenever somebody sees the world so thoroughly and exclusively through their own eyes, as comic collectors first and foremost, that they think worldwide exploitation of a character somehow isn't really a factor in the price of vintage comics.   It makes as much sense as saying that toy sales are not related, either.

I would agree with you as there are many who only like the movies but the chance of a person spending big money on a GA comic who says, I have never seen any movies or played with any toys regarding the character seems slim at best

2 hours ago, bluechip said:

I don't understand the logic being employed by people who say that hit movies expanding a character's awareness to billions of people are not a contributing factor in the value of something that's valued over a million dollars.    What else, then?   There must be something factoring into that value because the value is there.   So, if the movies that make the character beloved and widely known have no impact, what does?    The comic books themselves, read by hundreds of thousands?  The old TV show seen my millions?    How could a person believe those things would have an impact but that films known by billions would not?  

I think it can certainly factor in to a singular sale or even multiple sales.  All you need is one motivated buyer.  I think the issues is more complicated when one looks at weekly comic sales that seem to spike at a movie release and then very quickly subside.  I think there are movie fans and comic fans and just because someone likes the movies they may not buy the comics.  I teach a class that uses graphic novels and every semester I will have multiple students say they are "comic book fans" and I ask them which titles they read on a regular bases and the most common answer is "oh, I just watch the movies."  Having said that I would go back to where I started it only takes two people to make the value of a book go up.  They just have to be motivated and have the funds.  And if you bought the Berk More Fun 54 at auction....I'm talking to you! 

Would the multiply by five also be thought to work for the other big keys, some of which seem tougher to find than action 1 or Tec 27. Like More Fun 52, All American 16, or Flash Comics 1. I know there a fewer MF 52 on the census than action 1 or Tec 27

Anyone on here take home the More Fun 54? I went 25% over my self imposed max and still came up short to one bidder?. If you are a boardie, congratulations!

7 hours ago, skypinkblu said:

Love the LB Cole cover:)

What I'm really really enjoying about this auction (besides all the fun posts and the great books), is that I'm hoping that Jon will have made minor (disclosed) restoration more acceptable to a few more people.

I'm so thrilled to see a collection like this, because for years, I was happy to get a book with slight restoration (or even more than slight if it was going to put me in the poor house otherwise), because it allowed me to at least own a copy I loved, that looked nice and sometimes with all the PLOD rhetoric, I was kind of shy about showing mine to anyone..

I'm not a trimming fan and I'm not a fan of taking a destroyed book and making it a 9.8, but Jon's collection is the greatest example I've seen of beautiful books that had highs and lows, the BEST possible grades and some hard to find copies that had a "little help from their friends".

I'm talking about rare GA of course, not Silver and up where the books are so much more common. 

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, GAtor and I have spoken about it before, and there are many others who agree, but I find that sometimes newer collectors have been terrible turned off by just the "word", when in fact, it might help them own a lovely book.

Not for everyone, of course, nothing ever is:)

Thank you Jon, again...great collection, I just love it. I feel like I'm in a museum.

Totally agree that it is a shame that some folks are so against restoring the books or at least preserving them.  I wish that there could be some way to improve the paper quality and make it less brittle so the book doesn't just crumble and have that count as conservation rather than restoration as I don't think it has to actually whiten the pages.  Lets make the comics last as long as we can.  The are certainly not making any more of these books.  Anyway just my unasked for .  

Thanks to everyone for all the help and guidance.  I think I shall give Susan a call and see what she would recommend.

10 hours ago, ablue said:

I once had my Cap#1 restored by Mark Wilson in the late 80's and Matt Nelson of CCS? did my More fun #55.. I think though with the caliber of book you have the best in my opinion would be The restoration lab

Restoration lab  She is supposed to be the best..

Thanks, I will certainly check on it.

2 hours ago, ablue said:

Fantastic book! I always wanted to get one. Did you decide on who would be restoring this book?

I have only heard good things about Hero Restoration. Any dissenting or confirming opinions?

24 minutes ago, N e r V said:

Description

 

"Amateur Restoration Includes: Moderate amount of color touch on cover, pieces added to cover. Cover & 2 pieces of back cover reattached with tape. Moderate amount of tape on cover & interior." 

To much work to "undo"?

In this case, I would agree, too much to remove 

2 hours ago, path4play said:

Cool book.

I decided to get a book restored, because it is my all time fav, I couldn't afford a high grade and I really appreciate the artistic talent of the restorer.  However, for me I think it's a one time thing (unless I need cover attached for a really big time book that I have coverless).  Reason is it just takes too long...  As far as money, I think rule of thumb for moderate professional is 40%-60% of guide so you really need to love the book and make sure the math works. imo.  

It is a book I always wanted and I think the math would be in my favor.  On this one I think there are only 45 or so cgc copies and of those I think 28 are restored, so it would be in good company.

I was able to pick this up in the last Heritage Auction and feel pretty lucky.  It does have Moderate amateur restoration but I am pretty sure for somewherer between 2-3 thousand, I can change that to professional moderate resotration and get the grade raised from the 2.0 to between 6.0 and 8.0  . I realize many won't touch resotred books and that is fine but I was wondering for those of you who are more open to it, is this money to have the book professionally resotred money well spent, or would I spend 3000 and raise the value of the book by 1500?  This is all just opinion and I am curious as to what others would think.  Thanks in advance for any opinions as that is what I am after.  

Thanks

Great seller, book was accurately described, and very appropriate shipping costs and sent the book out quickly.

Ender feedback thread

This is the feedback thread for purchases made by Ender (Robert Wood) on the CGC boards

2 hours ago, Cosmic Boy said:

MORE FUN COMICS #68 - 1.0 - CLASSIC DR. FATE COVER

-- NO BACK COVER -- FRONT COVER TAPED TO INTERIOR -- SCOTCH TAPE AROUND ALL FOUR EDGES OF FC -- 

-- INTERIOR COMPLETE AND SUPPLE (NOT BRITTLE) -- 1 PIECE OF SCOTCH TAPE ON BACK PAGE OF 1st WRAP --

-- ENTRY LEVEL READER COPY THAT LOOKS DECENT IN MYLAR --

PRICE: $325

 

I will take it! PM on the way.

Does the climate one lives in have a big impact on this?  I live in west texas and it is almost a desert.  I would think this might be a much bigger problem in Houston, Florida, Louisiana, places like that.  Or does that not even matter?

I am looking at getting some amateur resto removed and replaced by professionals, hopefully with a more eye appealing outcome.  Anybody want to recommend someone to go to, or stay away from?  Are estimates something that one usually pays for or is that considered complimentary?  This is my first foray into this part of collecting and any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks

I have very few Timelys, but here is one.  Not in high grade, actually quite low, but it is some early Simon and Kirby goodness.

On 4/19/2017 at 3:25 PM, Cat-Man_America said:

 

True, point well taken, but if our society placed a greater premium on teaching students about history and civics, there'd be no need to wonder what prior generations were thinking.

While I'd agree that elements of GA characterization intended as comic relief are dehumanizing and indefensible in contemporary society, I'd just as quickly defend the work as a product of it's time.  Context is inarguably crucial to critical thinking.  Bear with me on this as I dig into this subject a little deeper.

Negative stereotypes should always be taken in the context of when they were created.  It doesn't matter whether we're discussing novels authored by Mark Twain such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn or illustrated characters created by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.  While it's entirely fair to judge the failings of society and indisputable evils of segregation, it's unfair to ascribe personal motivations to artists and writers of the past without taking into account their experiences and the peer attitudes which influenced the culture of the time. 

As a lifelong student of comics in our evolving culture, there are certain depictions that I find deplorable and therefor unacceptable in respect to my own collecting.  Where I draw the line is exaggerated racial stereotypes serving as comic relief with a couple of noteable exceptions: Chop-Chop (Military/Blackhawk) and Ebony in Will Eisner's Spirit.  These are borderline cases.  While Chop-Chop and Ebony were obviously intended as comic relief, these characters were humanized and given greater depth at odds with the stereotypes.  

Characters which are featured on a cover or in a story strictly for laughs, depicted as cowardly, ignorant and/or shiftless strictly because of their race, ...well, that just isn't my cuppa.  Rule of thumb: If it makes me wince, it isn't in my collection.

Conversely, I have no qualms about collecting war propaganda comics that depict an opposing military force in unflattering ways that occasionally extend to racial stereotypes.  If that comes across as a contradiction, well, so be it.  From my perspective there's a big difference in portraying wartime foes in a manner that is threatening and evil.  Nazis in WWII were often depicted as merciless brutes with shaved heads, Japanese as sneaky and yellow (cowardly?) after Pearl Harbor with exaggerated facial features such as buck teeth, slanted eyes and glasses (poor eyesight).  While war propaganda often utilizes racist elements it also has a very firm grasp of the public sentiment of the era to provide historical context.

History has great instructional value for every succeeding generation, IMO.  I think the oft-quoted philosopher Georges Santayana would concur.

Sorry 'bout the length of this, but this needed a bit more fleshing out.

I think this is well stated and agree that one has to look at the social context of the time, but also not excusing the mistakes that many (if not all) societies have made in their assorted pasts.

Anyone want to guess on the final price for the More Fun 52 that is restored and graded at a 2.0?  

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/more-fun-comics-52-dc-1940-cbcs-apparent-gd-20-slight-to-moderate-a-off-white-to-white-pages/a/7163-94147.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515

Amateur restoration could be redone by a pro and perhaps look a bit better.  Just see the book so rarely don't really know what to expect and the resto makes it even more unpredictable.

Well it went lower than Overstreet, but not the price I would have expected.  Hope it wasn't bogus for the buyer's sake.

Looking for parts for More Fun Comics.  I need covers for 

45

51 cover and first wrap

53 cover and first wrap

59 cover

62 cover and first wrap

72 cover and first 2 wraps

80 cover

81 cover

88 cover

91 centerfold

92, first 8 pages

96 missing cover

All American Comics 16, 21,24,25 - I need covers

Other things I am working on but would consider trading for the right parts

Marvel Mystery Comics 5 coverless

Sub Mariner comics 4 coverless

Adventure comics 48 coverless

All Star Comics 5 coverless

Action comics 39 I have some pages

Batman 14 missing a centerfold

Willing to trade within reason if it helps both of us or pay for parts.  Hoping to get some help.  Thanks!