MasterChief

From the Toronto Collection (August 1955)

New Hampshire Pedigree Copy from the Overstreet Collection.

This was advertised as the "Seattle Copy." I'm not familiar with that collection. 

Circle 8 Copy.

3 hours ago, adamstrange said:

Those are from the 60s whereas the Maneely covers are from the 50s.

Yes. What I'm saying is... Maneely's work in the 50s may have creatively inspired small elements of Leone's work in the 60s. 

6 hours ago, damonwad said:

8 hours ago, RICK STARR said:

 I believe the western genre was a labor of love for Joe. Just so many detailed covers and art.

I agree. Western fans, like myself, are very lucky he was able to do so much work in the genre before his untimely death. And the death of the genre.

Maneely's four-color Westerns are remarkable. Gritty composition employing close-ups and wide shots of pistoleers help add complexity, tension, and emotion.

Perhaps speculation, but his work may have influenced, to some small extent, the Sergio Leone spaghetti western. Certainty, seeing all of Maneely's western work in one location brings to mind Leone, the sounds of the innovative scores of composer Ennio Morricone, who left us this past Saturday (RIP 1928-2020), and the Greatest Standoff EVER...

5 hours ago, Bronty said:

5 hours ago, MasterChief said:

Agreed. Whoever worked over that book is a jack@ss. The Eldon 6.5 was beautiful, nothing wrong with it. Patinated with age, it presented an appreciation for natural preservation signified by time and the book's ability to stand its tests. Now recycled and remade. It exhibits an artificial look manufactured by a flipper who damaged the object of age with wantonness greed.

Well, I look at the two scans, and I hate to say it but I like the 7.0 better.   Most all of the back cover defects are just as present on the 6.5 but can't be seen as easily because of what appears to be a huge difference in the color saturation of the scans.   It seems like all that's really changed is that the book has become better centered and in the process flaked a small amount of color on the back cover.   In hand I'm not sure its really changed much.    But you clearly know more about this than I do.   

That being said, I certainly hate that this is being done and find 'facejobs' offensive.

I've read your copy down through the years and you're no mock-up of a learned hobbyist. I've always appreciated your perspective on things -- no matter the subject of discussion.

On 6/20/2020 at 1:12 PM, batman_fan said:

On 6/20/2020 at 1:09 PM, Gotham Kid said:

Does CGC downgrade because of a detached CF ?

my understanding is yes but that book looks a bit on the weak side to get a grade bump from a "tuck job"

Not sure a staple tuck will work with the Eldon Cap #3.

In addition to the back-cover pigmentation loss, seems the face job procedure caused complications that may well inhibit any follow-on cosmetic work.

On 7/4/2020 at 6:53 AM, lou_fine said:

Looks like this description was probably rewritten by the consignor themselves as they might not have been happy that it is trending lower than the lower graded copy.

Lower graded copy is targeted for manipulation.

On 6/11/2020 at 5:15 PM, lou_fine said:

Yes, not sure what is going on here with the back cover scans for both the All-Star 8 and the Sensation 1, since you certainly don't seem to see the same "out of focus" problems with all of their other books.  

Since these 2 books are apparently coming from the same source and they have a Reserve Price set in place on them, I suspect it's quite possible that CC might not even have the books in hand and what we are seeing is a scan of another poorly done scan or picture which the consignor themselves probably did not bother to take a close look at before flipping it out to CC for posting.    

The back cover images used in the ComicConnect listing are of substandard quality because they appear to have been cropped, resized, and compressed from the original source imagery, which resulted in image quality loss and poor visibility.

Here are the original images bearing the Pristine Comics sticker.

20 hours ago, lou_fine said:

22 hours ago, MasterChief said:

Adam's is the quintessential carnival barker operating a circus maximus of misrepresentations. His comic-book lineage fairy tells eclipse any story dreamed up by P. T. Barnum and substantiate the ole adage "There's a sucker born every minute."

Hey Mitch;

Did you see the tag team duo of Adams and Nelson when they did up that big "crock and bull" 5-minute eBay video for the CGC 9.0 copy of Action 1 that ended up seling for $3.2M, but somehow conveniently left out some rather critical details in their timeline history of the book?  

Edited 20 hours ago by lou_fine

Yeah... I saw the Adams cedar-chest provenance picture show. What a gag! It's a fine-tuned confidence game. There's none better.

The sequel's something to take pleasure in, too. Adams doesn't mention the provenance of the All-Star Comics #8 or the Sensation Comics #1 in the follow-up show, BUT the (alleged) lineage is used as a provocative advertising lede in many news articles promoting/reporting the Adams' Wonder Woman eBay auction.

By the way...

If it's true that "advertising is to a genuine article what manure is to land — it largely increases the product” ... then why on earth has ComicConnect not mentioned the distinguished provenance of these two books (original owner bought from a magazine distributor) in their auction descriptions?

BTW...

Here's a better scan of the ASC#8 back cover

On 6/6/2020 at 8:51 AM, lou_fine said:

Isn't it amazing how soon we forget, especially when these 3 books got so much hype, as per usual from Darren Adams:

https://www.federalwaymirror.com/business/federal-way-business-owner-auctions-rare-comics-donating-portion-of-proceeds/

Looks like it sold for $936,233 along with a $399,100 for the CGC 9.6 highest graded copy of Sensation Comics 1 and a further $226,877 for the CGC 9.0 graded copy of Wonder Woman #1.  

If I remember correctly, some boardies were expecting the books to sell for a bit more at the time, considering the huge and unexpected success of the Wonder Woman movie at the time.  

"These comic books never even made it to the news stands. The original owner started collecting them in 1941. He bought his comics from a magazine distributor and took them directly to his home, where they remained, undisturbed, for 70-plus years."

Adam's is the quintessential carnival barker operating a circus maximus of misrepresentations. His comic-book lineage fairy tells eclipse any story dreamed up by P. T. Barnum and substantiate the ole adage "There's a sucker born every minute."

This Beach-Head Earth!

The Marvel King-Size picture frame mag with 34 pages of Neal Adams knock-out Avengers artwork, all for just two bits.

Of course, the story by Roy Thomas isn't too shabby, either. (Actually, it's one of my favorites.)

Here's more Marvel Lore...    

The intro and subsequent chapters within Avengers #93, or as they're lettered by Sam Rosen as "Parts", were based on classic science fiction novels Thomas read as a teenager.

The story intro, This Beachhead Earth, was taken from the 1952 novel This Island Earth by Raymond F. Jones, which later became a 1950s sci-fi movie of the same name.

Part Two, A Journey to the Center of the Android! comes from Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, which also was adapted into a movie. And,

Part Three, War of the Weirds!, comes from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, which became another 50s sci-fi classic.

Below is the atomic age artwork used for the movie This Island Earth, which is commonly known in the entertainment industry, and to movie poster collectors, as a "one sheet." It's followed by the splash page for Avengers #93.

On 4/7/2020 at 11:14 AM, Baron Mordo said:

 

 

Gorgeous Suscha News copy!

From the data I've collected, it appears as though the original owner may have had an affinity for picture frames (or maybe he had a job during the period that provided extra income to buy multiple copies of every comic available!). Whatever the case, no less than three copies each of the 1972 run of Amazing Adventures were in the collection.

BTW... If you didn’t have it already, here's the image of the original label book when the collection premiered. (Oh, and welcome to the boards!)

On 4/4/2020 at 3:23 PM, Werner_Von_Doom said:

Love this cover:

On 4/6/2020 at 6:00 AM, Werner_Von_Doom said:

Hmmm, my 9.2 was raw and sent in straight to be graded. I wonder if I should...?

Sounds like you have an elusive and unique book on your hands.

Not only has it survived the ravages of time in remarkable condition, but it is one of possibly two particular 9.2 copies that can bear the distinctive seal of...

On 4/3/2020 at 2:43 AM, djpinkpanther67 said:

This week’s mail

 

Beautiful copy!

Marvel lore has it that Roy Thomas tried for years to use the Timely heroes of his youth in the comics he wrote, but Stan Lee would have none of it. It was only after Lee was promoted to publisher and Thomas to editor-in-chief, in 1972, that Thomas was free to revive the Golden Age characters that inspired his career. Avengers #97 is the book, and in particular the cover, that cemented his dream.

This cover is an excellent example of the Kane Frame. It's a creative masterpiece of 3-D action rendered from a framed composition that brilliantly captures the illusion of dramatic, heroic movement. Powerful and captivating. It's the perfect newsstand eye candy!