Book Guy

I lament the loss of the 'Superman is a D*ck' website which had hundreds of examples with wisecracking observations. The site was at superdickery.com but no longer exists. 'twas great!

67. Was both an Altar Boy and a Paper Boy. No morgue jobs, though one was offered to me...

On 4/29/2024 at 11:44 AM, Pat Calhoun said:

one of my all-time great book buys was at Pellucidar circa Dec 1979. was extra-special as it was the first hunt with my #1 son, Crane, then around a month old. hard to believe I had fifty bucks in my pocket, a lot of dough for the young family, but talk about an epic acquisition...

I don't recall it. It might have been before I worked in the 'Rare Book Room'!

On 4/28/2024 at 1:32 PM, BitterOldMan said:

Quite possibly, George Wilson, who painted covers for Gold Key comics, including Magnus Robot Fighter.  These photos bring back memories of the seventies, when my college roommates and I would take a break from studying and go hunting for paperbacks at Moe’s, Shakespeares, and Pellucidars book shops in Berkeley.  Only Moe’s remains and at a different location run by the daughter.  

I used to work at Pellucidar! Circa 1979 to 1984 when it moved.

On 4/17/2024 at 3:33 PM, Surfing Alien said:

Anyone know where you can get mylites for paperbacks or digests?

On 4/5/2024 at 3:55 PM, jimjum12 said:

I think it's like Doritos, they'll make more. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

I liked the TV adaptation of one of the SHARPE Books. I haven't read any of his Books, alas!

On 4/5/2024 at 8:47 AM, alecholland said:

I don't buy only sci-fi books. Here's a few recent non sci-fi purchases.

I just ran into references to the IMARO Books this week! Apparently he is a Black Conan written by a Black Author. The stories take place on a Fantasy version of the African continent (as did many of the Conan stories). The books piqued my interest and I am going to have to keep an eye out a half-price books! Any Good?

On 3/31/2024 at 1:24 PM, thehumantorch said:

I guess I follow you.  If I have a bunch of worthless stuff it can't fall any further and will always be worthless.  Of course all that worthless bulk takes up a ton of room and is tough to sell.  A dollar over and over takes a long time to add up.

And while the prices of key SA or BA or MA have generally dropped 50% the prices of many precode horror and quality GA books has doubled or more during that same time frame.

For illustration here's Startling Terror Tales #11.  I have a 4.5 that I thought was worth $4,000 to $5000 based on 3 to 4 year old sales of a 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and a 5.0.  Then a 6.5 recently sold for $33,000, a 4.5 staples cleaned sells for almost $10,000 and a 4.0 sells for almost $11,000.  And you can see the price doubled between 2020 and 2023 on the 4.0 and 4.5 staples cleaned.  While I don't see any sales this year on GPA I wouldn't be surprised to see another healthy increase.  Based on those sales I believe my book is worth approx $15k, 3 times what I thought it was worth a couple years ago. 

And while I love all eras of comics and have a fair slice of all eras in my collection I'll always consider a classic book like Startling Terror Tales #11 and it's ilk to be virtually immune to price drops.  I like owning classic books that rarely come up for sale and when they do they sell almost instantly.

		Rating		2022 Avg	2023 Avg	12m Avg	90Day Avg	Last sale
	UNI	9.2	River City pedigree	--	--	--	--	$6882Jul 2009
	UNI	8.5		--	--	--	--	$19200Nov 2021
	UNI	8.5	River City pedigree	--	--	--	--	$2975Dec 2013
	UNI	8.5	River City pedigree / Variant Cover	--	--	--	--	$1625Jun 2003
	UNI	8.0		--	--	--	--	$1972Jun 2013
	UNI	7.0		--	--	--	--	$18000Nov 2021
	UNI	6.5		$156001	$333501	$333501	--	$33350Aug 2023
	UNI	6.0		--	--	--	--	$4525Dec 2019
	SP	6.0		--	$31001	$31001	--	$3100Jul 2023
	UNI	5.5		--	--	--	--	$3457Dec 2019
	UNI	5.0		--	--	--	--	$4560Feb 2021
	C	5.0		--	--	--	--	$950Jan 2018
	UNI	5.0	Northford Pedigree	--	--	--	--	$368Aug 2003
	UNI	4.5		--	--	--	--	$621Mar 2014
	C	4.5	Staples Cleaned	$44481	$94991	$94991	--	$9499Aug 2023
	UNI	4.0		$52801	$108001	$108001	--	$10800Aug 2023
	C1	4.0		--	--	--	--	$2472Dec 2021
	UNI	3.5		--	--	--	--	$2250Mar 2020
	UNI	3.0		--	--	--	--	$1750Feb 2020
	UNI	2.5		$32262	--	--	--	$2851Aug 2022
	UNI	2.0		--	$32011	$32011	--	$3201Oct 2023
	UNI	1.8		$33471	$29001	$29001	--	$2900Aug 2023
	UNI	1.5		--	$23052	$23052	--	$2750Aug 2023
	UNI	1.0		$20001	$21352	$21903	$23001	$2300Mar 2024
	SA	1.0		--	--	--	--	$88Jul 2008

 

I could show you some similar charts for classic Timelys, other precode Horror, Matt Baker romance, LB Cole covers.  And I believe we just had a record sale for an Action #1.  Comic collecting isn't dying, the money has just shifted to classic GA.  And in MHO now's the time to start buying up key SA and BA.

I have the poster!

On 3/28/2024 at 5:43 AM, Surfing Alien said:

First, paperbacks with dust-jackets, now paperbacks that are hardcovers! What will they think of next

Seriously, those little Perma hardcovers are pretty cool. Most of the first 101 of the Perma "P" series are hardcovers and mostly non-fiction, but those went away and Doubleday eventually sold the line to Pocket, who changed it to the more successful "M" series which had some very collectible pb's, including the 3 James Bond titles and the Ed McBain (Evan Hunter) books.

There was a company that made little machines and sold them to Libraries that would take a paperback and 'Perma Bind' it in heavy clear plastic using the book and the original cover to make a small more durable hard cover. The company may have been called Perma Bind, I don't recall. I'm sure you have all seen ex-Library copies of paperbacks bound thusly. At least I think that's what mostly happened as I believe they also bound paperbacks into little hardcovers and sold them themselves presumably to Libraries. I know this as I once bought some Books from a Book Rep-a salesman who represented various publishers-and he had two books bound this way without Library markings, card pockets etc. One was a mid 1960's Harlan Ellison Book which I kept but can't put my hands on it. When I do I will post it. A Pyramid (NO MOUTH/SCREAM?). Anyway the Books I bought from the rep were his Salesman's copies-examples he showed Bookstore buyers to give them a feel for what the Book was. He represented more than one publisher but I don't remember which ones-mostly smaller ones, I think. Anyway, it seems likely he repped for the Perma Bind company and these Books were some sort of legit, albeit rare issues of the Books. I was also told at some dim time in the past that you could buy a binding machine and do it yourself as I said earlier, but these copies seemed to indicate a more regular Bookstore aimed path for copies like this.

The Groff Conklin Book is not what I'm talking about. I've seen this before as well as other titles done this way though I have no idea what they were. Shoulda bought 'em as they were unusual!

I got Ellison to sign my copy of the clear plastic bound Perma Bind and he was baffled by it. "Never seen this! Probably didn't get paid for it..."

On 3/18/2024 at 5:53 PM, Darwination said:

Looked that one up and then came across Nympho Librarian, too much, man

One of my favorites...

On 3/13/2024 at 9:16 PM, OtherEric said:

In today, after @jimjum12 showed his copy a few days ago:

There was a hardcover version of this as well! Same cover, same size, same publisher (I think). No jacket. A little hard to get. Published simultaneously, I think.

Thanks to all in advance. No, it's not for sale.

I'd call it a 4.5 IMHO. It's a tiny bit glossier looking in the pics than in real life. I included 2 pics of the front cover, one with no added lighting and the 2nd illuminated by the room roof lights.

Would pressing help this? If so, how. I am going to get this slabbed and I understand CGC has a pressing service. How much does pressing cost? How much extra time would it take? I haven't sent things into CGC for years so I'm not sure what the grading will cost me. Any thoughts on the value I should ascribe to it?

Thanks again!

On 2/22/2024 at 9:21 PM, OtherEric said:

In today.  This is a fairly tricky one, given that it's the first standalone publication of the story.  It first appeared as a serial in Liberty, then in a collection of three Cain stories called Three of a Kind.  I could stand to upgrade this quite easily, but it will do until a better copy shows up.

I love Cain! His stuff still reads very well.

Great item. I love anything with personalization and you can't get much better than an Author editing his own text for a later edition. Lotta changes! Some will be put off by the 'writing' in the Book, but if you've been around Books a lot, you know that's what makes it unique and therefore 'better'. I can't see comic collectors feeling the same way about Comic Books, but that's just an example of how two collecting groups can have different mind sets.

Joined and posted! Thanks. Looks like an interesting group.

Great piece! I don't think it is one either, but there is a reasonable chance and worth investigating. I am going to try and post on the Arkham Facebook forum again. The 'possible' sculpt doesn't belong to me BTW, but to a friend.

A little off the subject post, but of interest to Arkham House Collectors.

The greenish sculpture below is possibly (though not likely) a Clark Ashton Smith Sculpture. I tried to post pictures and details on an Arkham House Facebook page, but they did not go through probably because I'm not a member. Perhaps someone on these boards can point somebody who might be expert in the subject to this post.

Why might it be a CAS Sculpt? Well it came into a Thrift Store in North Oakland many years ago on the same street and nearby to where noted HPL Circle member and close friend of CAS George Haas lived for many years. George was known as 'Ji Eich' to the other HPL circle members and corresponded with many. He was a close friend with CAS and collected his Art and had quite a number of Smith's sculptures. The theme of the piece is in Smith's wheelhouse. The main problem is the signature on the base. CAS had two known signatures 'CAS' and 'KA' with the 'K' reversed. Perhaps there is a third signature variant I am unaware of? Probably not, but the close proximity of where this turned up to where Haas lived, the general overall 'look' of a Smith piece and the intriguing signature make me wonder. There is a book about Haas which I have, though can't get to at the moment. If somebody has one, they might look through the pictures and let me know if the green sculpt shows up. Thanks in advance.

The dark sculpture of the little guy with a helmet/hat is a genuine CAS sculpture for comparison, It once belonged to George Haas and is signed my Smith in the usual 'KA' manner.

Any help is appreciated.

Earlier today on Geary Street San Francisco. Pants-less, adult diaper wearing 49ers fan waits for a bus presumably for a happening Superbowl party.

Meme this!

As an aside, I was looking at a (for me) expensive silver age slab and debating whether to buy. I put it on my watchlist and I got a 25% discount offer from the seller. Then I noticed the seller was located in Astoria New York. I decided not to buy and part of the reason is I have no idea whether they are involved in all this or not. I can probably get one cheaper over time, likely raw, but the whole slabgate thing did play a part in my passing on it. Just my recent personal experience....

Lotsa Blade Runner Stuff out there. I'll see if I can dig up my ERTL Die Cast vehicles!