EC Star&Bar

In my case, I've been collecting since the mid-70s. With an ever-growing collection, it became more and more difficult to stay away from ALL plumbing lines and to keep all of the books in ideal climate. It can be difficult to keep all of the books "cool, dry, and dark" when you have an older home with lots of windows, etc. We all know what the ideal conditions are. But paper collectibles are among the most challenging to meet those, when you have thousands of items.

Troubles for comic shops actually began in late 1992 with DC's Death of Superman fiasco. When investors realized that the character would return and their bagged 75s had no value, and the enhanced covers of other titles proved non-collectible/over-produced, they exited. Coupled with outrage from new or casual fans, the loss of investors and those others who left the hobby crippled smaller retailers and many had to close. I realize the Heroes World goings-on was a major contributing factor, but an unhealthy market situation had begun growing worse and worse some time earlier. Another factor, beginning in the late 1980s, was overproduction of sportscards -- which flooded the marketplace (on into big retailers) and adversely affected the many "Comics & Cards" shops in the U.S.

I think you're right and at this point it's impossible to say. The older comics market has been character-driven for many decades. For example in the 1970s, Overstreet had relatively high values for the runs of Famous Funnies and Tip Top. These titles' values were eventually dwarfed in comparison to superhero runs. The characters like Captain America and Batman will always be around in varous forms of media. Scarcity of the oldest issues of superheroes should continue to sustain high prices as demand remains high - an early issue of Action Comics for example likely will continue to climb, but how will a Popular Comics printed the same month fare?

Thanks for the correction - I do use VM&P, but I keep a glass unmarked bottle in the house, so I only refill once a year or so from the original steel can marked "VM&P Naphtha," and it shows I wasn't observant with the name. There were 2 books I had slight mishaps with, a mid-70s DC and a 1983 Pacific. In each case, I was spot cleaning the white areas of the back covers, and the naphtha slightly smeared inks it contacted (accidentally) as I swiped with a small bit of tissue. This is why I cautioned inexperienced collectors (I had about 10 years experience at that time, ca. 1984). In my case I was overconfident in my use of the naphtha. If you've ever tried naphtha on an old Sports Illustrated cover, you could see its powerful effects. There are some variables in play. Consider that comics publishers used a wide variety of cover paper stock. For example, in 1968 DC changed temporarily from what they'd used in 1965-67, but soon returned to a similar stock. I admit it can be baffling as to which combinations of paper and inks will respond well or adversely to cleaning techniques. With regard to tape and decals, here again you're dealing with variables. Most of my experience comes with various retailer stickers on book jackets. Some can take a lot of tedious work to remove. I have bought a lot of $1 graphic novels from Dollar Tree for example and their decals are VERY time-consuming to get rid of. Let me mention too that I have seen youtube videos where the collector starts lifting a decal with his fingernail, NO -no -no. Always lift with a slip of paper. My practice for cleaning of glossy book jackets, and glossy "cloth" bindings, is to try first with a small amount of water. Then, debris that doesn't "wash" off usually will respond to naphtha. I once used household spray cleaner with a soft brush on a buckram cover and it cleaned exremely well. Confidence follows experience, but I remain cautious. Finally, I'm familiar with comic immersion baths to treat transfer stains, etc, but I maintain for professionals only -- especially when you consider disassembly of the comic.

It's important to have operable fire extinguishers -- a must for the kitchen especially, as there's a better chance of limiting smoke from building-up & going to other rooms. You will want to know how to shut off water supplies, especially the main, to minimize chances of damage from a plumbing leak. And keep an eye on the water heater, especially an older one. I also wanted to mention that there have been reports of faulty dehumidifiers catching fire, so that's a concern if you use a portable model.

Thanks for the news. I guess a distribution shake-up is not entirely shocking, as it's been a lot of years of status quo.

I still have a couple of little mid-'70s Collectors Book Store catalogs. Here's a heads-up for Mad fans: I found one of the "Mad 5-Pack Bundle" bagged sets at an Ollie's Bargain Outlet store, priced at $5.99. Mags from circa 2014. (These sets pop up on ebay, but not so low-priced.)

These things have been known to happen. I recall an Archie/Marvel mixup like this, IIRC a copy of Conan the Barbarian cover with an Archie interior. So it's not unheard of.

EDIT -- Millennium Edition info I see has already been considered.

When a collector has been active for many years, it becomes easier to come to conclusions regarding whether a book has been trimmed or subjected to aqueous (water) cleaning. Solvent cleaning IMO can be difficult to detect, maybe impossible if somehow the inks have remained intact. I'm one of those in the "trimming is not restoration" camp, and you won't find me saying much else in that regard -- i.e., books should not be trimmed for any reason. So I can understand why a trimmed book doesn't receive a PLOD, but as a very serious matter the grade should be affected harshly. With regard to naptha: I've used naptha since the '70s for adhesive residue removal of glossy book covers and jackets. As a solvent that I believe is a close cousin to paint thinner (mineral spirits), it WILL react with most any inks and they will begin to lift. Inexperienced collectors should never use naptha for any comic, with the exception of CAREFUL use for adhesive residue removal on a glossy cardstock cover. I would NEVER advocate giving a comic a bath in naptha, as I have seen promoted in print (surprise, the same book's author in one case also advocated trimming!!). If you do use naptha in cases of adhesive residue on glossy stock, it's important not to go at it recklessly -- some residue can be very stubborn, and repeated attempts with most any solvent can result in loss of gloss. I do believe it's a better alternative for book collectors than lighter fluid. I haven't tried Goo Gone, but if you are a hardcore book buyer (of glossy-cover trades and glossy/jacketed HCs), remember that naptha is much less expensive (I have nearly a half-gallon out in my garage).

Scans/photos of the Gaines file copies can be helpful to get a feel of how untrimmed ECs look. You can look for books that came out the same month, noticing for example how far or near the right-hand EC symbol is to the right edge. I voted "no" on yours.

Here are the editions of those that I own: Shazam! From the 40s to the 70s (Harmony) -- paid only $3 for my copy, decades ago Batman: From the 30s to the 70s (Crown, 2nd print stated, blue cloth)* -- Note: Not a single Penguin or Catwoman story in here!!! Superman: From the 30s to the 70s (Crown, 2nd print stated, red cloth)* Superman: From the 30s to the 80s (Crown) -- a little better selection of stories overall, replacing some tedious Bizarro stuff (* Bonanza Books editions also exist for these two books. Jackets look the same, but different cloth and a few minor changes within.) I think one reason the Shazam! book tends to be expensive is the lack of later editions. It's also the BEST compilation of all.

I'm reminded of a seller of Grosset & Dunlap series books, like Nancy Drew, who was notorious for using markers to re-apply edge stains to the text blocks. Way too much childish stuff like that. By the way, if you have a glossy hardcover like the Random House Beginner Books or Dr. Seuss large format, isopropyl alcohol does a nice job of removing most marker (like a stray mark, for example). But you have to be careful with glossy paperback covers -- I once had one become slightly dull in the spot that needed attention.

The Overstreet Grading Guides emphasized grading a book from the inside out -- for example, if the centerfold is missing or the pages are brittle, then cover stress marks or small back-cover tears will be irrelevant to the overall grade. It's frustrating when dealers ignore that practice - and not disclosing a large stain makes you wonder if the interior saw much (if any) inspection.

Your books though are Bronze -- it's been my experience that the cover paper of high-grade Marvels of that era is far less likely to ever exhibit issues at the fold of the spine. When DC began using different cover paper stocks in the 80s, and especially in the late '80s with "New Format" books, I had a hell of a time at my LCS to find copies that exhibited a near-perfect spine. Slight fraying had begun on untouched copies. That hadn't been an issue with my earlier collecting, mid-70s and up, with the exception of bindery tears of Dollar Comics etc. (fatter books). Same with some '80s Marvels -- my Blade Runner Marvel Super Special had a horrendous bindery tear. Because of the cover stock of your '70s Spectacular Spider-Man issues, I don't think properly done pressing will harm them.

Looking closely ar the second pic, I think what we're seeing is just glare - from light reflecting off of the slight stress point (upper edge, FC), as another poster alluded to. If it were smudging from skin oils, we would see it from any angle.

Eye appeal of this copy is pretty good, I think, and a steal at $20. Looking at the bottom of the centerfold, wouldn't it be a good candidate for pressing?

I was able to nab a copy of Masterworks #9 for just $18.75 at a Half Price Books early this year. Not bad for a $75 book...

These types of Marvel reprints were usually packaged with action figures of the related characters. This isn't a "Marvel Legends" reprint though, as those were full-size (and listed individually at the GCD, comics.org).

Half Price Books, when they reopen, can be a good source. It's hard to find Superman/Doomsday: Hunter Prey without retailers having added a board in back, where the DCU box is on the back covers (hidden). But I did find a really sharp loose copy of #2 in one of their stores, $1.

Nice copy! I collect DC Prestige Format so I know that the spine corners can be cause for concern. I've always looked for copies with minimal, if any, bindery chipping.

Regarding what newsstand issues were readily available after the 2000s, for DC I could count on Looney Tunes as the one title available in a local supermarket chain. As another post alluded too, of course you had to be careful about cashier handling. Stores with self-checkout kiosks were great. I could scan, pay, and go while carefully guarding the book.

For me it's Bob Oksner. His work on Supergirl (Adventure) and Mary Marvel (Shazam) was top-drawer. Great pencils on Angel & the Ape too. Also Nick Cardy. His renditions of Wonder Girl and the few Black Canary drawings were really nice. Mike Grell's Black Canary deserves good reprinting (from Green Arrow bacups in Action). I might mention his Saturn Girl as well.

The spelling of Leo O'Mealia needs to be corrected.

I've owned my copy of 'Tec 400 since about 1980 (wow I feel old -- 40 years!). However it has significant spine stress at the upper staple. I haven't looked at it in years, but that's aways bothered me. I'm glad I made an exception though -- there were lots of other Bronze books I passed on that had comparable defects.