Professor K

Ok yep that's probably where they got it from, Overstreet. I just looked in my Gerber Vol.2 and it's listed with a cover date of April/May 1945. CGC really should have changed that long ago as they have them all noted as Rural Home, Fall 1945. I suppose to find out you need to see the info inside the book but I haven't found a way to read it online or any pics of the interior pages. Just my senseless curiosity but I do wonder if the copies without the black printing artifacts are from a different print run than the ones that have them. Thanks for that info

I've said here many times that 2017 was when I really discovered Golden Age comics. Prior to that I only knew about mainly DC and Captain America. And it was mostly due to Mr. Berks ComicConnect auction. That was the game changing event for me. The point where my whole view (and my life) changed. And seeing all those great books all in one place helped a lot for me to put it all in perspective . I used that auction as a guide to learn all I could about the early stuff- series, publishers, artists, and history. I figured if he had them they must be the ones to find out about.......and they just looked so awesome most being such high grade. Thanks for that Mr. Berk.

I see what you mean. They are unintentional you're right. There are just on so many copies I've looked at and many or most are in the same places that I thought some might have been intentional. I looked at the past 32 sales I found going back to 2005 (some were sold multiple times so about 20 or so different books) and only few have no "black printing artifacts". Thanks for helping me see that. Not that it matters much but I still wonder why mycomicshop has the book categorized as having an A and B copy. The A copy as May and B as September. Do you think there was a 2nd printing months later? If Mask #1 is dated Feb/March 1945 it would make sense that Mask #2 was an April/May issue. And if there was a second print maybe one of the printings has those artifacts and the other doesn't. Maybe nobody alive knows for sure but if I was to guess and if there were two printings and I would think most likely it is the 2nd printings that have no printing artifacts. printing artifacts

Hey PF, I'm sure too that the lines are defects like you said. However the 2 squigly lines between the eyes of the mask on the right are on most copies I believe. Scratch that, actually I just looked at about 20 copies from past sales. The 2 squiglys in question are on about 2 out of 5 copies. Pretty much identical on each one. That's the only reason I'm wondering if the were intentional and thought maybe if there were 2 prints of the book that could be the tell tale sign to tell them apart.

A question I've been meaning to ask. Mask #2. According to mycomicshop (Lone Star Comics, who are awesome imo and give us a detailed census for free) there are two versions of Mask 2. It says Mask 2A and 2B so I guess thats what they mean. I've looked at many and I have noticed a difference in the location and/or quanity of the tiny black markings that can be seen especially on the white theatre masks and also on the title logo. Every copy I've seen has these, some are nearly identical, some aren't. The only other thing I have detected is the two squigly lines between the eyes of the right theatre mask. I believe these are part of the art and not random markings. Most have them. But the Mask 2 that sold on CC recently doesn't seem to have them. Here is the CC copy and the Promise copy. Check out the right mask . Anyone know what mycomicshop is talking about? Maybe it's this? Also every cgc copy I've seen says Fall 1945. I just noticed mycomicshop says 2A is May 1945 and 2B is September 1945. All Mask 1's are dated 2/3 1945 by cgc as far as I can see.

Thanks Jack. I am sir, I am. Happy and Peppy and Bursting with Love

And coming soon........Yeah I bought it (not on e bay). I figure a 6.0 Blue at this point would go for around 21 to 25k. And I don't have 25,000 to spend on a comic. But without a Mask 2 my life was incomplete.

Good question. My . I have never owned a Green label. Usually there is something missing from the book. Parts married don't bother me much but still I wouldn't wan't one, or to spend money on one. Conserved and Restored- Sure why not. My personal rule is restored books can not have more than moderate restoration. B-3 is my limit. No trimmed. My circumstances have a lot to do with why I don't mind conserved or restored Golden Age books. I was strictly a 1961 to 1974 guy until around 2017 , got my first GA in 2018. I had thousands of books, many full runs, and a few hundred graded keys (spent nearly 10 years selling about 98% of them). So by time I got hooked on the splendor of GA books most of the prices of the books I wanted were really high, now insanely high for many of them. This is why I don't mind adding nicely restored books to my collection. Had I been getting these books 10, 20 or 30 years ago like I wish I had then at this point I wouldn't have to go after conserved/restored stuff..... but it's a good way to get books you love. I wouldn't hate them but I probably wouldn't want to own any other than like an AC 7, Tec 31 or books like those. Another good thing especially with high demand books that are conserved/restored is that although they will always sell for less than Blue labels as time goes by and Blue label copies become available less I believe more people will look to conserved/restored copies to fill that hole in their lives ( not only because they're cheaper but because ya get sick of waiting). Maybe over time conserved/restored copies especially of high demand books will sell for maybe even 50% of what Blue labels sell for. I'd say at this point the average figure for conserved/restored books is around 25% of what Blue labels sell for. A couple examples of books I really wanted that if they were Blue in the same grades I would not have, or if I did they'd be very low grade. Which kind of leads to another question. Better to get a presentable mid or high grade restored (other than extensive and/or trimmed) or a low grade Blue copy (like .5 to 1.8ish)? For me it's conserved/restored only for appearance sake, but most likely low grade Blues will increase in value at a higher rate than conserve/restored copies will.

I have wondered why many comic artists who could create art on the level of the artists considered to be great artists (like Mr. Whistler) for example didn't do more one of a kind paintings over their lifetimes. Not talking about original art but like oil paintings such as Whistler's Mother. Maybe because the time it would take to create a painting wasn't worth the money they could sell it for at the time.

Totally agree.

Well he wasn't the best considering the competition. Even the biggest fans would probably agree. Most of his comic covers were basically shock value to get people to buy. You've probably seen some of his other work which is very different from his comics. He really was a great artist as far as detail and realism, especially with nature and animals art.

Yep, I've thought that. I think I stated here once that I wish he had done the Captain America run instead of Shomburg. Too bad he didn't do any DC's (that I know of) or float around a little more among publishers. If had done a Superman, Flash, Batman ect. ect covers they would have been awesome no doubt.

I think it's been retconned to him shouting "Excelsior!"

Really? I always thought it was Ryan as far as officially clocked. People think Walter Johnson and Bob Feller did it too way back when. J.R was fun to watch though. Sad how his career ended like it did. Let's mosey on over to the baseball section and discuss this.

Got this in the mail yesterday from Lone Star Comics (mycomicshop). They really have their act together and are very pleasant to deal with. Good people. I find most Texas folks are. Not quite Tomato Red but a strong Rose Coral I think.

So you have this guy's full name and a recent known vicinity assuming you know the location of that starbucks. A photo of him with some of the stolen books, and how did the police get access to his vehicle? They got into his van? Was he present during this? Just trying to understand how this went down. Why would he leave his van behind for one thing. Did they catch him? Did he flee on foot or in another vehicle? While carrying all those comics? Was the Honda van registered to him? If so there will be an address. His name is Bobby Lee Jr. Hoard? "Jr" in between Lee and Hoard? Is Lee his middle or last name? Just trying to tie up these loose ends. Seems with all this info on the guy he shouldn't be too hard to find.

I have the Black Light Flexi. Got it cheap on e bay, 50 bucks in real nice condition, like new. So what happened? I thought the pic of Cat 31 they used was a Cole re-creation from the 80's or early 90's but maybe it's your 9.4?

Comiclink calls Mask 1 a Satan cover and Mask 2 a devil cover. This I just learnt. On ComicConnect? They have the 7.5 Mask 1 this month. Comiclink has a 6.0 Mask 1 and a 5.5 Mask 2 starting August 18th. And Heritage has a 2.0 Mask 1 that they pulled from last weeks auction returning on August 25th. All of a sudden it's raining Masks. The 4.5 Blue Bobby Blue Dynamic Comics 8 on ComicConnect is out of the gate at 16,500 without the 15% bp, so like 20k in just a few hours. 2 years ago a Blue 1.5 sold for 4,300 and 2 weeks ago a 1.5 C-1 with a trimmed edge sold for 4,800. How much will the 4.5 get? I have no eye deer. At least 40,00 I would guess. How many ya got Jack?

I think you have to pay 5.00 for the pics when you submit unless they just do it for all books now. Seems like a lot of extra work for them to just do it for free, but maybe now they do . There is a pretty nice 6.0 on comiclink ending shortly after this 7.5 on CC. https://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2FAUCTIONS%2FSEARCH.ASP%3FFocusedOnly%3D1%26where%3Dauctions%26title%3Dmask%2Bcomics%26ItemType%3DCB%23Item_1709087&id=1709087&itemType=0

Wow, there are two 9.4's and you guys own 'em both!

Dang jimbo that Catman 31 truly is exceptional. All the colors line up perfectly. Is it from a pedigree collection? .

I'm assuming when they assess a book for these stickers they do not remove the book from the holder. If they do need to crack the case then definitely don't do it. Personally I wouldn't bother. Nice looking books don't need a shiny sticker to sell for their maximum amount. But if you think a book is undergraded then resubmitting it is an option with or without a CCS press. One grade bump up will increase sale value more than a sticker in my opinion. I have this QES book. I do think its undergraded and I'm considering sending it for a press and regrade.

Wow your #31 looks great. All the layers of ink line up near perfectly if not spot on . That's real nice.

A really cool duck hit e bay today. W/Make offer. https://www.ebay.com/itm/256158755875?hash=item3ba4406c23:g:cBUAAOSwEndkwohQ&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwETo%2FIlI6Us49Q62dsfvvvfxyQDKvYBkInGasG3ogekQL6Iq9XRlOEI2EjGA2J4NN3XF9AZhuC6KPD7sWK5O0%2FWrNl%2B%2B1YFFam4xAUofZIqVlhRN8lBIjc1ukUoyiPdG9ngYi%2Fwn0D%2F5cqUQur1PF%2FddWQSNRBpom1%2FiNoXhl8NeO4c0COsDf7QGfrxJZfJwxARCRbHOBczvyXwFJl%2BiSZF%2FsBwv%2Biugl%2FcTPeeYJfSvE75r%2F8gOBXU6pxTmigWKpA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4Kzz56zYg