jimbo_7071

White horse to white horse.

12 to 13 and gripped female in distress to gassed female in distress.

Blonde big city girl to blonde girl in a big city.

You have nearly a complete run, including some highest graded copies, true? I'd venture to guess that whatever copies you're bidding on are at the top of the census or close to it. Those aren't necessarily an appropriate barometer for the overall health of the title. We still have a strong seller's market right now--probably the strongest I've seen since 2001, so nothing is ice cold--but if you look at MMC prices from 2001 to 2018, I don't think you'll see much growth relative to inflation. The Schomburg war covers could be exceptions; no. 46 is certainly an exception. I like the run, but there are plenty of other books on my want list that I think will continue to increase in price, so it makes sense to go after those first, especially Bats, Tecs, and Caps. That's not to say I wouldn't go after a Marvel Mystery if I saw the right copy of one of my favorite issues. but I couldn't justify being aggressive.

That whole run has been stagnant for a long time. I like MMC but don't own any; I've avoided buying them because they seem to be on their way down. I've purchased some scarcer books that probably aren't going anywhere, but that's only been because buying opportunities are limited. The MMC issues, including number 9, are all relatively easy to find if you have the money. I'd buy one if I could get a bargain; otherwise, what's the rush? Most new collectors care more about the movie and T.V. tie-ins than anything else, and Subby and the GA Torch just don't have much pop-cultural capital.

I have a question about GPA. A while back I purchased a book on eBay that was listed at $600 with the best'-offer option enabled. I made an offer and, after a counter-offer, purchased the book for $500. However, when I search eBay, it shows that the book sold for $600, the original buy-it-now price, not the $500 that was negotiated. Which amount would show up in GPA?

Uncanny Tales to Uncanny Tales.

True. I missed out on a least HA book because of their format. I think they estimated that they would get through 80-120 items an hour (or something like that). I logged in based on that estimate, and even though I had a significant cushion (just in case they went a little fast), the item that I was interested in had already closed. I'm guessing they must have burned through 150 or more items per hour in that particular auction. My numbers might be off, but you get the idea.

One thing I don't like about the CLink featured auction format is that books from different eras are mixed together. I have little interest in anything other than GA, yet if I want to follow the CLink auction live, I have to spend time looking at SA, BA, etc.

Your post reminds me that I got a set of DC superhero glasses from Taco Bell, possibly around 1979 (when I would have been five). The set included an Aquaman glass, and my grandmother's automatic dishwasher washed Aquaman's underwear off.

South Seas Girl by Baker near the water to South Seas Girl by Baker under the water.

Flowers to flowers.

From a fella in a fedora about to grab a girl to a fella in a fedora about to be grabbed by a ghoul.

No, I wouldn't bid on that book. There's a certain type of collector who goes hard after "hot" books--the type of collector who measures his own worth by what books he owns. That type of collector always has to have the hottest books; his favorite books always happen to be the same books that everyone is talking about. He cares more about impressing other collectors than he actually cares about building a collection. The book isn't the flavor of the month any longer, so no one would be that impressed, so that type of collector will stay away; the type of collector who would have paid six figures for that book has already moved on to whatever is hot at the moment.

lou_fine, you're not the only one who's jaded. Actually, I was never too excited about this issue. I can't be very enthusiastic about a book that's a key because of first appearances when neither of the characters in question appears on the cover. The collecting of "key" books is being eclipsed; covers are taking over. More Fun 73 has a decent cover but not a great cover. The way the book spiked a few years ago had a definite jumping-on-the-bandwagon feel. I don't think the book will sell for six figures this time around, but we'll see.

From a giant head with horns to a spectator with a horn.

There are only three copies in the census: a 5.0, an 8.0, and this one. (Granted, the probable reason why there are fewer than 10 copies in the census is that a copy isn't valuable enough to slab unless it's high grade.)

From "The Man Who Could Not Die" to a man who is probably a goner.

Yellow dress to yellow dress.

Big yellow dragon(?) to big yellow plant.

Did the HA copy have some rust on one of the staples? I imagine the seller of that book was extremely pleased with the result. The colors were nice, though. The market is crazy right now, but it's understandable. People are breathing a sigh of relief and splurging after the apparent recovery of the economy. The price on the Fight 44 tonight surprised me more than the price on the 39 yesterday. I guess any result is possible with a bidding "war" as long as people keep telling themselves that it's possible to "win" an auction.

One book I was watching was the Chilling Tales #14. The colors are great, but zooming in on the book, I thought it looked like an 8.0 sitting in a 9.0 holder. I guess other bidders disagreed because it hit $5K! https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/horror/chilling-tales-14-youthful-magazines-1953-cgc-vf-nm-90-white-pages/a/7189-93038.s?ic2=mybidspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyBids-101116# ETA: Another book that I thought was overgraded was the WDC&S 59, which hit $3,120 in 9.0. https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/cartoon-character/walt-disney-s-comics-and-stories-59-dell-1945-cgc-vf-nm-90-off-white-to-white-pages/a/7189-91095.s?ic2=mytracked-lotspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyTrackedLots-101116

As hot as the L.B Cole books are right now, it will hit that easily.

From one fellah being bullied by two girls to two fellahs being bullied by one girl.

I've never been to a SDCC, and based on what I've read here, I have no reason to ever go. I don't like crowds, and I have zero interest in anything going on there other than the selling of GA comic books--zero interest in the celebrity appearances, zero interest in the non-comic-book merchandise, etc. What I'm gleaning is that the best merchandise is more likely to be found online than at SDCC.