jimbo_7071

Lone boxing glove to lone contender in a boxing match.

Sparks to shark.

Outcast of Lost World back to the Lost World.

Shady-looking fellow who doesn't know what's behind him to shady-looking fellow who doesn't know what's right over him.

I just realized that the way the shadow was shaded makes it look like that gal has a really hairy lower leg! I've seen that cover countless times but had never noticed that detail before.

Lightning used for justice to thunderbolts used for mayhem.

Space Pirates to Star Pirate's Wonder Boots.

Comiclink has page quality listed on their advanced search page, but only a single page quality (not a range) can be selected. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to search by era or publication date on CLink's site; that shortcoming sort of negates the ability to sort by page quality. They re-did their site a few years ago; I'm not sure why they didn't include an era/age option.

I've more or less tuned out the CLink featured auctions because there's no way to filter out the non-GA material. However, I've decided to stop buying from HA due to the fact that they hired Mark Wilson. HA had been one of my main sources. As for HA's search feature, the two things I don't like are that one can't filter by page quality and that if one wants to filter based on grade, one must use HA's pre-set groupings.

I don't own a Stan Lee sig, but if I were ever to buy one, I would want one signed on the splash page, not the cover. Are there very many of those out there? (I'd also only want one for which he had written the story.) Is slabbing the reason why people are getting books signed on the cover now,? To me that's not aesthetically pleasing.

There's nothing wrong with it; it's pretty good artwork. I've bought so few raw books over the past 19 years that I seldom think about interior art. Now that most of my comics are in transparent caskets, I freely admit that I generally judge books by their covers, and many of the Superior and Ajax/Farrel covers are poorly drawn, even when the idea is good. Many of the artists seem to have been especially challenged when it came to drawing human faces.

LOL I feel like I'm living in Ray Bradbury's "Sound of Thunder." Somebody went back in time and dropped a cigarette butt, and what was bad is now good. Mis-cut covers will be taking off next.

It has nice eye appeal after the press, but with that long of a tear, I'd still cal it a 3.0. If I bought a VG book sight unseen out of a catalog and received one with that big of a tear, I know I'd be pretty upset.

A few years ago, an eBay dealer had the Northford (8.5?) copy listed for around $800, BIN. It didn't sell. I think he ended up putting it in a CLink auction.

I actually paid a very stiff price for this one back in 2001 (through Greg Manning Auctions; I'm certain there was shill bidding involved). I was underwater on it for many years.

I'd probably buy this book even at current prices, but the price would be painful now. I'm glad I picked it up before L.B. Cole covers got hot. (There are some others I'd like to snag if they ever cool off.)

That's one of the best ones; I wouldn't mind owning a copy. I only own one Superior; I wanted one example for my collection. The cover art is creepy but doesn't really show a deft touch.

Your post gives me some food for thought. Johnny Craig's artwork seems a little sterile to me--a little too clean or refined--but many of the other EC artists produced art that was well-drawn yet visceral and creepy. I can't say I've ever been drawn to ineptitude in an artist. To me, the Ajax/Farrell and Superior artists don't seem insane, just unskilled.

I'm with you; I don't see the appeal of many of them. They're vastly inferior to most of the ECs and Atlases. None of the Ajax/Farrell or Superior cover artists can touch Everett, Ingels, Feldstein, etc. There are a handful of good covers, but even the mediocre ones seem to be hot. Why?

Has the spine been moved? I can't get a good enough look on my Android to tell. I don't see obvious RSR, but it looks like it has spine ticks on the back but not the front, which seems a liitle atypical. https://www.comicconnect.com/bookDetail.php?id=803485

You may be late and/or early. You're late in terms of keys, but some of the non-key stuff that's been hot lately will probably come back down. GA is a small segment of the hobby; one collector can influences prices significantly for a particular title if he is trying to put together a run. It happened with Mystery Tales a few years ago, but then the collector who was buying that title died and prices started coming back down to earth. If you avoid whatever's hot right now, you'll be fine.

It is my personal copy, but I don't intend to sell it. (I rarely sell any books.)

I pay more attention to page quality and eye appeal than I do to the actual grade, but I tend to like books around 6.5 to 9.2. I've only purchased one GA 9.4 in the past five years (and nothing above that). For me, the small differences between a 9.2 and a 9.4 or 9.6 don't justify the premiums that the market has bestowed upon those higher grades. (I might swing for a very high grade book if the cover were a personal favorite.)

Kid Colt #1. When the movie comes out, that book will be worth a small fortune. Try finding one, though.

I was just reading this post and had to chuckle (ironically) at how true that statement still is today.