thewritestuff

So... you’re saying I should leave it alone?

I recently received a re-slab from CGC (after the original slab was damaged in transit from CLink), and it's a rather valuable Golden Age book. Comparing it to some of my other slabs, it seems that this one has too much space inside the inner well, and I'm afraid the comic has too much freedom to move around. A hard whack, and the book will move. Is this just what the new slabs are like, or did someone screw up and choose one that was too big (meaning, the inner well)? It seems as though my other graded Golden Age books mostly have inner wells that just fit the book, so there is little chance of shifting from side to side. I am not in the habit of transporting or over-handling my books. However, in the event that I decide to sell someday, I'm concerned that the book might be damaged in transit.

Cool, thanks. So I can find this in any of the newer guides?

I noticed that Heritage Auctions will often state something along the lines of "Ranked #2 on Overstreet's Top 10 Crime List". Sometimes it's related to crime, sometimes horror. I'm having trouble finding any of these lists, and I'm not sure if they were published in a price guide or separately. Where can I find these lists? Can someone clarify? Thanks.

Has anyone had success removing one of these labels? I am just curious if there's a way to get rid of the CLink sticker/label without scratching the slab. Thanks.

Thank you, skypinkblu! I looked and looked, and all sorts of similar ones popped up but not this one.

Greetings! I have heard people on the boards mention a book or guide loaded with lots of photographs of Golden Age books, pre-code stuff, etc. where the "blank spot" or "no show" books were listed as well. Can anyone give me the exact title of this book and where I might find a copy? I did a search and it seemed many other books popped up, but not this one... Thanks for your input!

This is my first experience doing business with Travis. He is an easy fellow to deal with, and his communication is excellent. Best of all, I was able to knock a nice pre-code horror off my want-list, and the book arrived safe and sound just a couple days later. I look forward to our next transaction!

I’ll take it, per pm!?

Thanks for the response. Any idea what a 7-8.0 would be worth? I’m just wondering if I should bother getting it pressed.

Thanks! I would love to think so, but it might need to be pressed first.

This came in as part of a trade. It is Brenda Starr #9 and it has great eye appeal with bold colors. Minor soiling on back. Slight ding on top left corner (front cover). The photos actually do a decent job representing the flaws as they appear in person. I don’t collect much gga or romance, and I couldn’t find much guidance online as to current market value... perhaps that means this is a rare issue #? assistance appreciated!

😃

This was a yard sale find from 5 or 6 years back. Pages are tan. The cover has lots of little wrinkles, but decent eye appeal. cover almost detached. I can get better photos, but was looking for a ballpark grade/value. Id like to think it’d be at least a 1.5? 2.0? Opinions welcome. Thanks!

Sorry I missed it. If you have any more lb cole stuff, please dm me?

I made a decent haul from the last ComicLink auction. When I picked up the package at FedEx, I immediately got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. It looked like someone stomped on half the box. Long story short, after I got the package home and inspected the contents, I noticed one of the CGC slabs has a diagonal crack on the back of the case in the upper right corner. Thankfully, the comic itself appears in good shape. Anyone else have problems with fedex from auctions?

The 119 is really the first Cole issue that grabbed my attention. I really love this 117 but I can't seem to find a nice-looking copy.

Let me know when you want to sell this one, Adam

Congrats on the 112. I consider it the cousin of #119, another favorite. I almost made a run at it, but I have a nice looking raw copy to look at for now. I hope you’re right in supposing tight-fisted collectors will take advantage of the market, because I still feel like Cole’s reputation (and prices) will only grow, and I think people are realizing the beauty and scarcity of once-ignored books and have become obsessed with “the hunt” instead of following the overwhelming majority of superhero appearances, second appearances, costume changes, and so on, of which there are hundreds of thousands of copies for anyone to own.

Not sure if I can shed some light on the subject, but here's my long-winded attempt: I am a comic book fan/collector from way back. I was exclusively into Marvel and DC as a kid, leaning heavily toward the Avengers and X-Men. My friends and I used to collect soda cans and cash them in to buy comics off the rack at a local convenience store. We'd read them, trade them, and draw our own comics based on what we'd read. Ah, those were simple times Later, I got caught up in the Image hype of the 1990s and snagged all the gimmicky variant covers, etc. I used to go around to comic book stores and buy all the variants, then sell them for five times the price at a local flea market. The money went right back into my own collection. Sadly, at the time, I ignored all the "old stuff" because I could not relate to it, but also because it was waaay out of my price range. The vibrant, shiny covers of Spawn, Gen-13, Lady Death and the like were my focus at the time; they were inexpensive to buy and easy to flip for a fast buck. Other independent titles such as Bone and The Crow are the only titles that still appeal to me from the "modern" era. After a lot of the local shops closed their doors, I went off to college, went to work, and my collecting days were few and far between... Flash forward fifteen or so years later, after I finished college, began a career, and bought a house, I had a little bit of extra cash and started to gravitate back to the world of comics, only to discover that my tastes had changed. I found a lot of the modern stuff poorly drawn and somewhat silly. I found a lot of the Bronze stuff somewhat goofy, but at least nostalgic. Eventually I discovered my tastes shifting to the Silver Age, then the Golden Age. Eventually I stumbled upon some old Golden Age comics at a yard sale--including copies of Spook 27 and Shocking Mystery Cases 56--and began to learn about pre-code crime and horror. The more I learned, the more I began to love and appreciate these two genres. I was already in the middle of writing a new novel, and I had already intended comic books to play a role in the plot. My interest in Silver and Golden Age comics began to filter into the story. I became hooked on the works of L.B. Cole. I can't explain it, really. His art just struck a chord with me, and the rest, as they say, is history. I'm not a completist. There are some issues that just don't appeal to me in the same way (I'll admit it, I felt that way about "the skull with the mullet", aka BB 115, until I actually purchased one and held it in my hands; I still feel that way about some of his other covers). There are plenty of horror comics out there that just don't appeal to me (for example, I don't care for Black Cat 50, it's just too "ugly" for me). Instead, I just see an issue I love, and have to have it. Why? The answer is simple. It's the same reason a lot of you horde copies of your favorite issues: 1) because comics are a form of nostalgia, and they remind us of a time gone by, and 2) because we are at the age where we can afford to do so. With the internet, social media, comic cons, etc., titles and artists that were only known to hardcore fans are gaining more and more exposure, and likewise more appreciation.. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that L.B. Cole and other artists have been featured in various books and price guides. I could be wrong, but I think that with the movies and television shows out there, comics have never been "cooler" than now, and I'd expect the young people of today to be the collectors of tomorrow... and eventually they'll shake off the variant craze and expand their horizons, much like I did.

Just wondering if this is overkill... My slabbed books often arrive with open-top polybags, and on more than a few occasions the top CGC label has either fallen off or has become partially detached due to it sticking to the top of the poly bag and/or just general rubbing during shipping. Because of this, I started storing my graded books in the large Gerber Mylites. They look nice, and it seems to prevent scratching, and also protects the older books with the sticker label on top. Anyone else store their books this way? I was wondering if there is a downside to this... could this harm the slabbed book in some way? Please share your thoughts.

I was wondering if anyone else uses the large (magazine sized?) Gerber Mylites for their graded comics? I've had slabs sent to me in polybags before and they always look crappy, so I started placing mine in the Gerber acid-free Mylites. They look fantastic, and I think the Mylites do a better job to prevent scratches/protect the corners. However, I am wondering if this could somehow be bad for the comic. Please share your thoughts.

Thanks for the responses. I was thinking the same thing. The reply I received said they looked at the staples "under magnification", but I thought I could spot some rust in their crappy auction photo, which is why I contacted them in the first place. I'm sort of torn about entering a few bids anyway (it's still early in the bidding), since these issues are definitely rare and it might be a long time (if ever) that I get a chance to add them to my collection.

Hello. I am relatively new when it comes to collecting Golden Age comics. That said, there are several books I'm interested in that are graded between 8.0-9.0 by two well-known third parties. I contacted one of the auction houses, and they confirmed that at least one of the books had "a small amount of rust' on the staples, and that a small amount from one of the staples had begun to transfer to the spine of the comic itself. My question is: how much does this knock down the grade of the comic? What about the value? Would I be better off bidding on a nice-looking 7.0 with clean staples than an 8.0 with rust on staples? My concern is that I might be purchasing an 8.0 or a 9.0, but (many years) down the road it might be difficult to resell the issues in question, especially if the issue worsens. Please share your thoughts...

Normal Rules No HOS or Probies US Destinations only. Free shipping and insurance. PayPal preferred. References available. 1st or similar in the thread wins it. I'm in the process of moving, and most of my stuff is at my new place, so I can post better photographs this weekend, if anyone is interested. The photos you see were taken for my own records for insurance purposes, and I put a copy of my water bill in the photo to prove I actually own it Ghostly Tales #55 feat. 1st appearance of Dr. Graves, Ditko art, and a cool Nazi cover. What more can you ask for? This is considered by many to be a Charlton key, with the added bonus of having the (somewhat) rare "double cover" error. Both covers are graded 9.0. Last I checked, I think there were only 5 total copies graded, this being the 2nd highest (unrestored) graded.The only issue with this is that the CGC case has a crack on it (this is how it arrived when I purchased it years ago from eBay). Was asking $600/best offer. Price drop to $550/best offer.