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alecholland
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Posts posted by alecholland
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On 2/24/2024 at 12:44 PM, Surfing Alien said:
Dracula, a Russ Jones book with art by Al McWilliams Ballantine U2271 $35
Awesome cover and interiors. A very tough comic/mag interior vintage pb. Scarce in any condition.
About Fine. Spine has a bit of lean and some stresses but covers are otherwise pretty nice without hard creases.
It took me over two years to find a copy in decent shape. Nice pickup!
- jimjum12 and Surfing Alien
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On 2/22/2024 at 5:44 PM, Surfing Alien said:Just finished reading "War With The Newts" or rather re-reading because as I read, it started to come back to me that I knew this story, pretty sure I read it back in college days when I was voraciously consuming the classics. A tale well worth reading and/or re-reading. Very Continental in its satire on politics and human nature and quite humorous in a sad (and savage) way. Not full of dated space/time physics either so none of the suspension of disbelief required
Other than remarking that a Pat recommendation usually can't go wrong, I'll leave it at that so there's no spoilers 
This copy had some old water soiling to the back pages so I happily read it in the vintage pb edition. I can't do e-readers, I need smelly old paper
Just started reading my copy the other night. Read about the first 70 pages or so and am really enjoying it so far. My wife roped me into helping her with some graphic design/website design for a relative, so my reading time at night became much more limited. Hopefully I will be able to finish it either this weekend or the next.
I enjoy the tactile feel of holding a book and the old paper smell as well. I just can't do Kindle or the like yet.
- Pat Calhoun, Surfing Alien, jimjum12 and 2 others
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On 2/21/2024 at 1:14 PM, frozentundraguy said:
Breaking away from PB's for a moment I have a copy of Galactic Patrol to share that I just purchased. Published by Fantasy Press these are the best sci-fi HB editions of the late 40's and early 50's per Pat. In fact I must thank Pat for sharing his copy with me recently.
While I'm at it here are the 4 books from fantasy press that I have acquired thus far.
Added to my want to buy list. My wife thanks you and Pat.
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On 2/19/2024 at 1:14 PM, jimjum12 said:Another quick question.
As a western fan going back to days watching Bonanza, High Chapparral, Gunsmoke, and Rawhide with my Grandpa, I occasional snag books and comics from that genre. I wouldn't mind a sweet copy of The Haunted Mesa, but I digress. I notice many of the early 50's westerns have nice covers. Does anyone know who did this one? His pallette is often mesmerizing. GOD BLESS ...
-jimbo(a friend of jesus)
I do the same thing Jim. My Grandpa loved western TV shows like Gunsmoke and Bonanza. He had quite a collection of Louis L'Amour books which I regret not taking when he passed away. If I see an old western paperback when I'm out and about I will pick them up. My Grandpa was the greatest person I have ever personally known. It's my small way to remember him.
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On 2/11/2024 at 1:39 PM, Pat Calhoun said:
well, that said, if you get hold of one of these that you think is too pretty to read make sure you get a reader copy too because the upper right BC blurb is severe understatement. this is not just a book, but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hang out with a wise and wonderful voice that will help you to the end of your days: may you live long and prosper.
This has been on my TBR list for a while. My only copy is a reader copy. I'm reading Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber right now, but this just moved up to next in line based on your recommendation.
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On 2/10/2024 at 5:23 PM, Surfing Alien said:
Still a stellar copy but tough to grade with that issue.
I'd really call that a qualified VF/NM. That's kind of what the 'qualified" grade is for right? Everything about the cover is eye watering, the little bit of wave doesn't bug me at that level, not calling it perfect mint. But the page sticking out does have to detract a bit, unfortunately it is a very common problem with early Ballantines, that glue dries out bad. It does almost look like the back section from that page back might be very slightly uneven?
As mentioned above, some of these are disasters waiting to happen if you open them wide without holding them tight at the spine. I've seen a ton of this title broken at the spine. There's a reason the story became a classic bestseller: tons of people read these early printings to death, passed them around etc. Combined with the poor glue and lasting popularity, most copies are pretty beat and nice copies get snapped up into collections.
Thanks for the info Lowell!
The other Ballantines I bought from this seller don't have this problem. Pages on all those are still very supple and glue hasn't dried out.
All in all, It's a beautiful display copy that I didn't pay too much for, so I'm still pretty happy.
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On 2/9/2024 at 2:12 PM, Surfing Alien said:
Online buying and selling is soooo hit or miss. One of the "services" I guess I provide as a seller on the boards is a " filter" for all the c*r*a*p I've bought online that looked high grade but weren't described or pictured right
I use comic terms and VF is about my highest grade. That's a real sharp book with very minor flaws.
I find the old bookman's terms of Good- Very Good-Fine completely useless for pbs and think they should be roundly kicked to the curb by the hobby as happened with comics eventually but there's no corralling the interwebs into that without more hobby centralization. People use terms like "acceptable" and "mint" and everything in between with no regard.
That "More Than Human" is pretty but I have to say I almost fell on the floor when I saw his "Fahrenheit 451" - even with the dark cover inks that looks VF/NM maybe NM to me from the front. If the spine and back are similar it's very rare like that. Better than mine and a real treasure. I don't even know what kind of a price tag I'd put on that for sale as it's such a sought after author/title. A great find wherever you got it from Erich!
Well... it does have a couple issues and I'm not sure how to grade it. Here are a few more photos.
It has a bit of a bend to the bottom back cover which I didn't notice until I started taking photos. Also, one page extends out a bit from the book and is rough cut. It isn't loose, but it worries me a bit. In addition, when I opened the book slightly at the back pages it makes a bit of a cracking sound which made me even more worried about loose pages. None of them are loose currently, but it went straight back into a sleeve and back on my bookshelf. I'm worried if I mess with it too much it might cause a problem.
In hand, it still looks like it came straight off of a book rack. I don't think it's ever been read.
What are your thoughts? I'm not sure what grade to put in my spreadsheet.
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On 2/8/2024 at 5:34 PM, Surfing Alien said:
So, it's official, I booked flights and hotel room for the LA Vintage Paperback show on Sunday March 17th at the Glendale Civic Auditorium
https://la-vintage-paperback-show.com/
It's one of those things I've wanted to go to for several years now, due to Robot Man's reviews, my own curiosity about a somewhat legendary paperback event and the stars aligning this year both time and money-wise that I can swing it.
I'd love to meet any West Coast Boardies who might attend such a thing so figured I'd make a post. I'm going to actually make a separate thread in the Pulp section to keep it from getting lost in the sauce in this one but, as this is the PB nerve center in my eyes, I figured I'd let y'all here know first.
Congrats! I would love to go at some point in the future. If it's allowed, please take a few photos. It would be awesome to see some of the sellers booths.
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On 2/6/2024 at 4:22 PM, johnenock said:
Just got these locally for a dollar apiece(a couple are unread). Problem: What do you guys use to get price sticker residue off?
I'm curious about this as well. I have several paperbacks that have stickers on them. My LCS used lighter fluid to remove the sticker from a paperback I bought from them, but I'm pretty sure that's a no no.
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My first LCS was Rock Bottom Comics in Columbia Missouri.
My friends Randy and Dan took me there and introduced me to the Claremont-Byrne X-Men. It was by far the most popular title at the time. From there I got into New Teen Titans, Micronauts, ROM, Cerebus, Heavy Metal, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella.
Glenn was the owner and I never thought he liked me much, but he tolerated me because I was friends with Randy and they really got along great. I bought my first back issues there which were Submariner 1 (silver age) and Superboy 84 (silver age). I think I paid $10 each for them at the time. It was a lot of money to me at the time but I saved money from my paper route to buy them.
Rock Bottom Comics was also right next to Ernie's Cafe & Steakhouse which was one of my favorite restaurants in Columbia. They had great diner food and original artwork hanging in the diner by Chester Gould, creator of Tracy.
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On 1/31/2024 at 4:05 PM, Surfing Alien said:Since I consider this the main paperback thread, I always try to announce news here first. Some of you know that I am a bit of a Peanuts fanatic and that I've been working quietly behind the scenes to research and publish a guide to the First Edition, First Printings of the early Peanuts digest sized strip reprint books published by Rinehart & Co. and subsequently by Holt, Rinehart and Winston from 1952 through 1974.
For reference, they look like these:
You can work on something forever, tweak endlessly and always wonder if its done and never publish it
Any of you involved with any research probably knows that circle jerk intimately Well, I promised myself that I would get it online this January and here it is, January 31st and work has been busy and I ran that sale thread and February 1st is looming and it promised to be the day I blew that self-imposed deadline.
So I worked deep into the night a couple nights this week to do some final tweaks and figure out techie things like re-directing domain names and such and conferred with Nat Gertler, the blogger behind Aaugh.com, who provided lots of insight and helpful commentary and promised myself, like Aragorn at the Gates of Mordor, that there might come a day when I blow a self-imposed deadline, but this would not be that day! So yesterday, I sent Nat the link, everything worked and he announced the page on his Aaugh Blog and the site is live
Here's the link:
https://www.peanutsfirsteditions.com/
It is still a work in progress, I do intend to add some more pictures and documentation of the later Rinehart books and the hardcover books on the introduction page, but I was not gonna let that stop me from getting the checklist posted, which is the meat and potatoes of the project. If any of you like this kind of stuff and want to collect it, I hope the site proves useful and at least somewhat clear in the method of presentation.
The first printings of the first three books are rare. It was and still is quite startling to me how much confusion there is in the marketplace about what constitutes first printings of the first editions. Even the Schulz Museum, who I consulted on the project, had no scholarship on the early editions of the publishing empire that Peanuts became. I hope this site provides some navigation for collectors to find their way a bit in the sea of printings spawned from humble beginnings back in 1952
Very cool!!
Back in a former life (about 14 years ago) I was the head graphic designer for a company that made bookmarks for museums. I was lucky enough to get to work with the Charles M. Schulz Museum to create some die-cut bookmarks of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy and Woodstock for their store. I looked for the couple I kept last night to post a photo, but I think they are packed away somewhere. They were really great to work with, but they were very specific about what we could and couldn't do with the characters. It was a fun experience.
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All the novels I own have already been posted, so I thought I would add a few sci-fi anthologies with PKD stories.
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On 1/24/2024 at 9:25 AM, PopKulture said:
I have a few sharp Burroughs with Frazetta covers, but I don’t think I have much in the way of sci-fi except the occasional straggler. I pulled a few boxes of stuff a while ago for a sale, but I’m only now getting around to it and I don’t remember everything that went into the boxes months ago. While I was digging around, I found a box of movie magazines I had intended to list on eBay; that was probably ten years ago and they’re still sitting (trouble is, now I want to keep most of them!).
OK, I'll keep watching to see what you post. I mostly collect sci-fi paperbacks, but I have a fairly decent amount of fantasy and sword & sorcery as well including most of the ERB Frazetta covers.
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Will you have any sci-fi books?
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On 1/19/2024 at 6:59 PM, Surfing Alien said:
Thanks fellas, it's Lowell
All I had to do was double check my previous messages from you. Sorry about that.
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On 1/19/2024 at 11:14 AM, jimjum12 said:
Only way I was able to buy was to scour the leftovers. I've still managed to find some goodies, but my targets aren't as focused as yours. Lloyd's threads are worth the time simply for the learning experience, even if they've already been decimated. I'm sure you already figured that out. I've actually missed out on a Lloyd jewel and found one later, since I now knew to look. GOD BLESS ...
-jimbo(a friend of jesus)
That's what I do as well. This thread and several of the sales threads have been very educational. Books I've seen in this thread and in Lloyd's and other sales threads that I've missed out on get added to my want list. I've managed to find a few a them for sale in other venues later.
- jimjum12 and Surfing Alien
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On 12/24/2023 at 2:51 PM, PovertyRow said:
Go Jimbo Go!!!
I'll send pm to get shipping details from you.
Thank you!
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***SOLD!***
I'd like to help out.
Adding an Edgar Rice Burroughs lot all with Frazetta covers to the group (3 books)
Group lot of Ace Doubles - all D series (5 total books)
Asking $30 shipped (CONUS only). All proceeds to JimJum12
Please note: Due to the holidays, I don't think I will be able to ship these until the end of next week. But I will keep in touch with buyer to let them know when they ship.
D-150 - The World Jones Made (Philip K ) & Agent of the Unknown (Margaret St. Clair) - Poor but readable. Pages are falling out of book. I've checked a couple times though and it appears to be complete.
D-443 - The Dark Destroyers (Manly Wade Wellman) & Bow Down to Nul (Brian W Aldiss) - VG- Multiple non-color breaking bends on cover of Dark Destroyers. Otherwise perfectly readable.
D-449 - The Genetic General & Time to Teleport (both Gordon R Dickson) - Near Fine/Fine Nicest of the group. Miscut cover only real issue. Bought it recently and then realized I already had a copy.
D-457 - Vulcan's Hammer (Philip K ) & The Skynappers (John Brunner) - Not sure how to grade. Looks VG+ or so but about 80 pages of Vulcan's Hammer and 20 pages of The Skynappers are no longer glued to spine. They aren't loose yet, but they have broken away from the spine. Also some chips out of top cover Vulcan's Hammer.
D-507 - Meeting at Infinity (John Brunner) & Beyond the Silver Sky (Kenneth Bulmer) - VG+ This one would be nicer if it had been shipped to me in a box. The bottom right corner of Beyond the Silver Sky got dinged and bent during shipment. Otherwise it is a really nice copy.
Additional note: If someone is interested in this lot, I also have readers copies of Ace H-30 City by Clifford Simak and Ace D-261 The Variable Man and Other Stories by Philip K . The Variable Man has some loose pages at the beginning, but is complete. I will add these to the lot if someone wants them.
The photos are a little yellow. Color is better than photos show.
Adding a few more books. Still $30 shipped CONUS.
Edgar Rice Burroughs lot - all Frazetta covers!
The two Ace Tarzan books are in Good reader condition. I thought Return of the Mucker was around VG shape, but when I pulled it out to take a photo, it has some loose pages unfortunately. Still decent reader though.
Again, photo is more yellow than books actually are.
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Amazing Spider-Man 118 & Amazing Adventures 1 now SOLD!
Thank you sir!
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Spider-Man 118 & Amazing Adventures 1 on HOLD pending pm confirmation
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Superboy 113 & Detective Comics 446 SOLD!
Thank you sir!
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That's it!
I am always open to reasonable offers if anyone is interested.
Thanks for looking.
Other than remarking that a Pat recommendation usually can't go wrong, I'll leave it at that so there's no spoilers 
I use comic terms and VF is about my highest grade. That's a real sharp book with very minor flaws.
Any of you involved with any research probably knows that circle jerk intimately 
Adding an Edgar Rice Burroughs lot all with Frazetta covers to the group (3 books)
CLOSED - 30% off everything left. RECAP P. 1 is updated - Surfing Alien's Big Classics February Golden Age paperbacks sale.
in Golden/Silver/Bronze Age Only
Posted · Edited by alecholland
I always loved the NYT review on the front cover of this one - "comes awfully close to being a great work of science-fiction." If I remember correctly, I think this book was nominated for a Hugo award. Plus, Leigh Brackett wrote the original screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back and although it was rejected, I think they kept several of her original ideas in the final version. Except Yoda was called something weird and I can't remember what it was.