EC Star&Bar

I won't reveal if Stewart went for the trade. You may PM me if you'd like, until we reveal in this thread. The 'Tec 140 (Riddler) CGC 3.0 mainly looked to have some spine problems, like at one of the staples. The 'Tec 69, ungraded, did not look bad appeared to be a little rough around the edges. Classic Joker cover. Stewart has an extensively restored Sensation Comics #1, shown in this episode. I don't think they showed his copy of Captain America Comics #1. I believe that one had a large paper label of some kind affixed to the front cover, and he sent it somewhere to be restored. Stewart operates a superhero comics museum in Elkhart, Indiana. Includes movie & TV props and toys in addition to the comics.

I bought the silver back then. I still like it. Ordinarily I would've bought another copy with a different cover variation, but there was so much stuff coming out at the time that I had to set some limits.

I wanted to mention that in earlier decades of collecting, manufacturers advertised their bags as having a "tuck-in flap." So when a flap was inserted carelessly, after a comic was placed in its bag, diagonal impressions of its own flap could appear over time. (Comic shop inventory that sits for long periods can become messy from careless bag closing.) Sometimes, dealers would insert flaps and still apply tape over the opening -- while for most collectors' own storage, tucking a flap in would make taping unnecessary. I had a local dealer who "tucked & taped" on the bottoms of the comics in his inventory -- just one long piece of tape in the center.

That's one of the longest stories Frazetta ever did for DC -- many fans have seen it, as it was reprinted in The Greatest 1950s Stories Ever Told (HC and SC) and in a 1972 Tomahawk issue. Unfortunately the Greatest Stories reprint was marred by coloring that was way too dark.

Something you may already know - when DC published the 1985 Deadman series reprinting the Adams issues (7 on Baxter paper), they released a really nice retailers' poster, with original SA covers' art in the background. It would complement your books nicely. Not easy to find. I couldn't convince my retailer to sell his copy to me back then.

I think an "overrun" practice would've been pretty rare in the 1970s. In fact, press time was allotted in a strict way back then -- that's why it was so critical that a given issue was ready to go to press on time (and we got reprint "fill-in" issues of Conan and FF a few times, deadline trouble).

Yes - but only a couple of times (and I've been collecting since the mid-'70s).

The reprints of the earliest Marvel Star Wars issues are a great example of this, in that case clearly marked REPRINT on the covers. The distribution commentary by Randall is not an accurate way to differentiate variants from reprints. For example, Western began their Gold Key/Whitman variant system in 1971. It took a while, but the collecting community now OVERWHELMINGLY agrees that the books were simply variants, distributed differently -- look, if you want to talk about how long they stayed on racks, know that that has NOTHING to do with accurate reprint vs. variant terminology.

It's just not accurate to call the books "reprints" when they went to press at the same time as newsstand copies, with only the UPC box and a few other cover elements switched out. I was having this argument with an LCS owner more than 3 decades ago. Some things are widely accepted in the collecting community. You are confusing "variant" with "reprint" in this case...!! A reprint has nothing to do with distribution -- it is a case of either going BACK to press for a particular issue or other re-use of previously printed material. Comics professionals in production have VERIFIED how Whitman variants were handled. It's not a matter of opinion, It's a matter of accurate terminology. Lazyboy is just being accurate in this case.

Notice that the barcode on the Sandman sticker ends in 11, which corresponds with its November date. There were several non-newsstand DCs, like the 1988 Flash Gordon limited series, where professional UPC decals like this were used. Usually, as with Sandman and Flash Gordon, these were series that did not carry the Comics Code seal and produced primarily for the Direct market. Anyway, I do have a couple of comics where a decal had been removed without damaging the book, but a small amount of residue remained. I cut small pieces of wax paper and applied them over the residue temporarily, to keep the cover from sticking to anything. It's a good temporary fix -- easily removed, and allows some transparency.

Oh yeah, I much prefer the original coloring as compared with the new colors when that GL cover appeared on Showcase Presents Green Lantern #4 (2009).

Those earliest issues of Batman were slightly wider than most Golden Age issues. You will want to be careful about putting them into sleeves, short-term or long. The bigger GA issues sometimes benefit from Magazine size boards and sleeves (the next largest common size).

There was certainly some batty activity as far as page counts in the World War II era -- and keep in mind that, in some cases, these books were stitched with only ONE staple in the center...!

To me, the book looked more visually appealing (and natural) with the pages splayed out when looking at the back -- the original. Now, the interior is highly visible from the front -- me no like...! Anyway, the pedigree status could result in the grader being slightly more lenient than normal.

That's shocking for a 2nd print especially. I don't think any fan could ever have predicted something like that back in the '90s. Collectors will be on the lookout now, no doubt. There might be some scarce Batman later prints from the Knightfall storyline as well.

If I had to guess I would say that these '82s may be 1st prints. What do you think? I've never encountered those. As far as the 1987 issues you mention, I recall buying the Wonder Woman 3-pack (issues 1-3) no earlier than 1989, probably closer to 1990. So while I haven't done an ad comparison, I suspect the '87s are 2nd prints.

Especially since the impressions are at the tops, my strong suspicion is that in each case, a flap -- from the back of an adjacent comic's sleeve -- has pressed into the book. Likely the comics were stacked such that there was substantial weight, pressing flap impression lines. This would affect front covers only in cases where backing boards protected the backs. Also possible from flaps tucked-in the fronts. In that case a book's own flap would indent, and again back covers not affected. Flaps commonly become folded, like in store inventory, and the fold line can make a diagonal impression. Some manufacturers like those using the "Ultra Pro" brand (IIRC) had thick sleeves - a flap from one could make an impression on an adjacent thin-bagged or loose book. Any comics that show lines on the back covers were no doubt bagged with no board (or un-bagged). Anyway it looks to me that the size & type of impression is due to a flap in the book's storage history.

Going back to a post from a few years ago -- I believe the Battlestar Galactica issue's MP stood for Modern Promotions.

The first 2 that came to mind for me were Wein and Englehart, and then Roger Stern. I also liked Michael Fleisher.

The staining very likely was due solely to cellophane tape. I would doubt that there was any other adhesive/glue involved. I've owned several DCs from the late '50s / early '60s and I recognized right away your situation. Partly because very old cello tape normally "pops" off easily, I think your book should get a Universal grade. It's obvious that the tape was applied years ago and did the damage, so regardless of when it came off, I believe the book doesn't fall under a Restoration category.

Ernie Chan became DC's primary cover artist of the mid-'70s (following Nick Cardy -- early '70s). That's why there were so many Chan-pencilled DC covers from 1975-76-77. Around '78 and onward he was working primarily on Marvel titles.

First of all best wishes to all shop owners & employees. This will be disruptive in several ways. One of the shops nearest me currently is closed on Mondays AND Tuesdays. I'm sure they're scratching their heads right now for a new schedule.s I don't need convincing there are plenty of people who are willing to pay full retail. Convenience is certainly a factor, and loyalty to friends' shops. Ten years ago, I was buying my trades locally for just 10% off, with NO loyalty rewards. Since that shop's owners didn't seem to care about the $$ I was bringing at least twice a week, I began seeking other sources. Recently I bought a couple of the Epic Collection Star Wars TPBs in perfect condition. One of them clocked in at 93% OFF the SRP. 93% !!!! I don't expect mom & pop to compete with that. But I currently buy on average 100 to 150 trades & HCs per year. If all they can offer is 10% off, goodbye.

The book bound in buckram, for which I tried a 409/Fantastik cleaning with a soft brush, was an ex-library copy of "Bowling Talk for Beginners" illus. by Frank Robbins. Responded very well; if there was any lifting of the yellow fabric dye, I did not detect it. Gets a little "sudsy" though and I made sure to "rinse," despite any claims of the manufacturer saying no need. For most any glossy cover, I've rarely found need of anything other than water or naptha on a tissue -- but as I mentioned in another thread, isopropyl alcohol works well to remove permanent marker from a highly glossy surface. I recall another time I tried a little 409/Fantastic on a late-printing Tony Raiola Feature Book replica - high gloss cover. It was a success in taking off a little soiling that didn't respond to water. Regarding paper baths, I might mention that criminals in the past have developed ways of washing ballpoint ink off of checks. It's an interesting discussion for collectors of paper ephemera -- I recently watched a youtube video where ballpoint ink was treated for removal of an interior '60s JLA page. Takes some "balls" to go at ink like that on newsprint.. ! (Pun intended)

The covers of West Coast Avengers 2 and FF 234 were both preceded by the pioneering Strange Adventures 211 from DC (April 1968), and also see the final Marvel Family issue from Fawcett (#89, Jan. 1954).

It's a little bit of a complicated history, but you're likely aware that the brand "A Superman DC Publication" appeared on all of those titles prior to the "AA" brand, and following that was "Superman DC National Comics" which lasted for decades. All-American had broken away pretty briefly, having the biggest effect on All-Star Comics with the exits of non-AA characters like Spectre, Starman, and Sandman.