SEULING NEW YORK CITY COMICONS 1968-1984

[MrBedrock]

- the concept of protection took a long time to filter into the minds of everybody back then -

 

Were STDs a problem among comic dealers back then,

or did they even worry about that. They probably weren't getting any anyway!

[Robert Beerbohm]

How many women you saw at the early shows?

 

I heard a tale that aids started inside comic book paper, just like polio was transmitted via comic book paper as well - Unca Mort said so in a Action LOC reply back in 1959

[plasticman]

Bob:

 

 

"between those two issues are some 25,000 words out of my comics business history book - excerpt if you will - which gives this story some depth"

 

Would this be the book you have conceptualized for about a decade, or did it get published and I somehow missed the chance to buy a copy? The latter I hope.

[Robert Beerbohm]

Thanks for the inquiry and continued interest

 

the CBA 6 and 7 issues contains a chapter each covering mainly 1968 going into but not all of 1973 - the 3rd installment was not printed - in 1997 i began my coverage research of comic books from what we now call the Victorian and Platinum eras mainly 1842 thru the mis 1930s

 

a year or so back i realized i had filled in most of the blanks from that time span, and began focusing back into the mid 20th century

 

Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson as well as Random House has expressed interest in publishing my tome this year - which has given me more incentive to begin the finishing & polishing turning more notes into book

 

hopefully "soon"

[Detroit MIke]

I can' think of a more appropriate time to polish your tome than around Halloween. Put me down for the limited edition, signed book.

[Theagenes]

I can' think of a more appropriate time to polish your tome than around Halloween. Put me down for the limited edition, signed book.

 

Ditto! (thumbs u

[Robert Beerbohm]

they have expressed interest

 

now i have to find time (ie money to live on) while i finsish it up

 

as in, stopping with what i got

 

as one never "finishes" an effort like this

 

and some future historian will build on it as surviving documents become more and more known available fo researchers that we do not yet know of now

 

 

[otherworldsj33]

I went to the 1970, my mom took me, I was 11, and 1983 show. I remember Conan #1's going for maybe $5? at the '70 show. My mom looked at a Superman 2 and it was probably a vg-ish grade. I think the dealer was asking maybe $30-$40?, and she balked--way, way too much for a used .10 cent comic. At the '83 show I purchased a run of Spider-mans, all, or almost all 9.0 and better, most 9.2 to 9.4, a few 9.6's, from numbers 40 or so to about 100, for around, can't exactly recall, but about $275?

Then came the Greenberg shows...

[dem1138]

How 'bout some respect for the Serendipity shows that Bob Horn put on??? Can I get a witnes???

[Robert Beerbohm]

We brought 600 Conan #1 issues to our 2nd Seuling show which was in 1971 - we started them at $2 each for the first 10-20 copies; then $3 a book for the next 10-20 copies; we quickly accelerated to $4 a book for the balance of 550 copies and sold out. not bad for a couple high school students and a $120 cover price invesment

[MrBedrock]

We brought 600 Conan #1 issues to our 2nd Seuling show which was in 1971 - we started them at $2 each for the first 10-20 copies; then $3 a book for the next 10-20 copies; we quickly accelerated to $4 a book for the balance of 550 copies and sold out. not bad for a couple high school students and a $120 cover price invesment

 

At .15 each, 600 copies would have only cost you $90.00. Sounds like you sold them all for around $2300.00. But after expenses (gas, table fees, etc.), and all the mistakes in making change, you cleared about $18.53.

 

[swordsandrockets]

I went to the 1970, my mom took me, I was 11, and 1983 show. I remember Conan #1's going for maybe $5? at the '70 show. My mom looked at a Superman 2 and it was probably a vg-ish grade. I think the dealer was asking maybe $30-$40?, and she balked--way, way too much for a used .10 cent comic. At the '83 show I purchased a run of Spider-mans, all, or almost all 9.0 and better, most 9.2 to 9.4, a few 9.6's, from numbers 40 or so to about 100, for around, can't exactly recall, but about $275?

Then came the Greenberg shows...

 

I do remember having a pretty heated discussion with Bob Horn at a NYC (at the Roosevelt I think) Greenberg show when he was set up next to me. I was there early and had gone into the hotel storage to get chairs sit on and a few extras to prop my display up since the room was not completely set up. When he came he assumed I had just taken the extras from him and grabbed them back. When I asked him what he was doing and then fun started. After it got a little louder Richie Muchin (I know he is not loved on these boards but I always got a kick out of him) jumped into the fray on by behalf and told Bob what had happened. He begrudgingly apologized to the 19 year old kid who won the battle.

 

I set up at Greenberg shows from around 1983 to 1986 pretty heavily. Between Fred's Jersey shows and Mike Grecco's Tom's River show and Perry's show in Long Island (can't remember his last name) I was doing about 50 shows a year. Once I moved away for college I did a few here and there up through the early 90's. For the most part I did pretty well and was able to make alot of deals with the guys who just did whatever show was closest to their store. I cannot count the number of times I would buy something in New Brunswick on a Saturday and sell it in Philly, etc, etc on Sunday to another dealer. Those deals alone were usually enough to cover costs and then everything else I sold was gravy.

 

I have really fond memories of those days. Fred was always a protector for me, making sure that this young smartass didn't get ripped off or do anything too stupid. And even though he is a pariah to alot of folks here, Richie Muchin taught me alot of things about the comic biz that I would have had to learn the hard way and was always great to deal with financially. I have always wondered what would have happened if I had decided to take the plunge to be a full time convention dealer instead of college and other careers.

 

I was pretty much out of the loop during the collapse of Great Eastern and Fred as I was finishing college and starting the first of what would be many careers. Does anyone have a recap of what actually happened or link to one? I have heard a couple different pieces of stories but never seen the whole story in one place.

[Crowzilla]

At .15 each, 600 copies would have only cost you $90.00. Sounds like you sold them all for around $2300.00. But after expenses (gas, table fees, etc.), and all the mistakes in making change, you cleared about $18.53.

 

 

No Rich, after the show they decided to do something really crazy and they took their Conan money and bought shares of Disney stock (figuring better to own a piece of the whole mouse/duck rather than just their comics) and now after 5 splits and Drips are counted he's their 5th biggest individual shareholder.

Nice job Bob!

(thumbs u

[dem1138]

 

I do remember having a pretty heated discussion with Bob Horn at a NYC (at the Roosevelt I think) Greenberg show when he was set up next to me. I was there early and had gone into the hotel storage to get chairs sit on and a few extras to prop my display up since the room was not completely set up. When he came he assumed I had just taken the extras from him and grabbed them back. When I asked him what he was doing and then fun started. After it got a little louder Richie Muchin (I know he is not loved on these boards but I always got a kick out of him) jumped into the fray on by behalf and told Bob what had happened. He begrudgingly apologized to the 19 year old kid who won the battle.

 

That's a little surprising to hear about Bob. He always came across to me as a pretty even tempered guy. He ran shows every 6 weeks or so at the Holiday Inn across from the King of Prussia Mall. That place was my boyhood mecca. Then Bob Greenberg moved in and started doing shows at the Holiday Inn on City Line Ave. in Philly - for a time - these shows were competing so you'd have a show every few weeks. Then, for whatever reason, Bob closed up shop...I always liked his shows better for whatever reason - he seemed to get better dealers...

 

 

[swordsandrockets]

 

That's a little surprising to hear about Bob. He always came across to me as a pretty even tempered guy. He ran shows every 6 weeks or so at the Holiday Inn across from the King of Prussia Mall. That place was my boyhood mecca. Then Bob Greenberg moved in and started doing shows at the Holiday Inn on City Line Ave. in Philly - for a time - these shows were competing so you'd have a show every few weeks. Then, for whatever reason, Bob closed up shop...I always liked his shows better for whatever reason - he seemed to get better dealers...

 

 

He was OK after a little while and we got along just fine after that, I think it was a combination of the 3 hour drive from Delaware and having to drive in NYC that put him a little on edge. Bob's Philly shows always seemed to draw dealers from Philly and either south or west of there where Fred's (Greenberg) shows tended to pull dealers from North and East. And since I only did a Fred Philly show about once every 3 months (it always seemed that there was a conflict for Philly) I hope you never saw me and have me lumped in with the lesser dealers.....

[Robert Beerbohm]

We brought 600 Conan #1 issues to our 2nd Seuling show which was in 1971 - we started them at $2 each for the first 10-20 copies; then $3 a book for the next 10-20 copies; we quickly accelerated to $4 a book for the balance of 550 copies and sold out. not bad for a couple high school students and a $120 cover price invesment

 

At .15 each, 600 copies would have only cost you $90.00. Sounds like you sold them all for around $2300.00. But after expenses (gas, table fees, etc.), and all the mistakes in making change, you cleared about $18.53.

 

with all those cover price rises which began in 1969, some old dinos here have memory overload

 

you be correct, that is why you are successful business man

 

yep, $90, even better,

 

i think tables at the Seulingcon 71 show were $30, something like that, we had three, set up right next to Tony Goodstone, who wrote a book on pulps

 

and motel six was still actually six bucks and gas was under a quarter a gallon

 

we bought so many old comic books and pieces of original art we almost did not have room for it all getting home, blowing a couple tires along the way

 

it was that change making which got us

 

 

 

[Robert Beerbohm]

At .15 each, 600 copies would have only cost you $90.00. Sounds like you sold them all for around $2300.00. But after expenses (gas, table fees, etc.), and all the mistakes in making change, you cleared about $18.53.

 

 

No Rich, after the show they decided to do something really crazy and they took their Conan money and bought shares of Disney stock (figuring better to own a piece of the whole mouse/duck rather than just their comics) and now after 5 splits and Drips are counted he's their 5th biggest individual shareholder.

Nice job Bob!

(thumbs u

 

i wish

[MrBedrock]

How cool it must have been to set up at one of those shows, sell a bunch of newer books for crazy marked up prices (because that was the going rate) and turn around and use the profits to buy golden age and original art at a time when 1) it was available and 2) it was very cheap, relatively speaking.

If I knew then what I know now....

[GACollectibles]

How cool it must have been to set up at one of those shows, sell a bunch of newer books for crazy marked up prices (because that was the going rate) and turn around and use the profits to buy golden age and original art at a time when 1) it was available and 2) it was very cheap, relatively speaking.

If I knew then what I know now....

 

What, that you should never get involved in a land war in Asia?

[BB-Gun]

I went to Bob Horn's Serendipity shows in Philly (King of Prussia) for years. He semi-retired and stopped doing the shows. He kept his shop in the church basement (Capt Blue Hen). He is a pretty good guy. Always friendly to me. He was a little tougher at the shows because he was responsible for taking care of things.

 

I don't know what happened at the NYC show. I suspect he wanted a chair for his wife. Bob didn't sit down very much. His whole family worked on the shows in Philly and the boys were pretty good collectors too. Anyway, thanks Bob for all of the great shows and the nice All Star comics you sold me. And thanks for inviting Don Rosa to your show. He did a great on the Donald Duck original art I asked for.