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Mark and Gary's Ashcan Census

Started by Moondog,

77 posts in this topic

esquirecomics

esquirecomics

Posted
Posted

Well, this is actually neither a Golden Age book nor fits within the Gerber "9" or "10" threads, but it is an "ashcan"!! And because it is so special I think it will resonate with the collectors in this Section so I share it here.

 

Volume 1 & 2 from 1978.

 

These books are perhaps the rarest collector's items of the Bronze Age. DC had expanded its line in what it proudly called the "DC Explosion," but soon canceled a whole slew of titles in what wags quickly dubbed the "DC Implosion." DC produced this two-volume ashcan edition to protect its' copyright to the content, printing a mere 35 copies. Of these, 34 were given to the creators and copyright people, and one to price guide publisher Bob Overstreet for documentation purposes. Containing pages photocopied on one side only with blank blue covers and a taped spine, the books each measure 8.5" x 11". Many of these comics were featured in DC house ads, offered as subscriptions, or both before the sudden cancellation. And many of canceled DC series ended on cliffhangers. From the Fantastic Frank Collection.

 

Cancelled.jpg

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Moondog

Moondog

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Well, this is actually neither a Golden Age book nor fits within the Gerber "9" or "10" threads, but it is an "ashcan"!! And because it is so special I think it will resonate with the collectors in this Section so I share it here.

 

Volume 1 & 2 from 1978.

 

These books are perhaps the rarest collector's items of the Bronze Age. DC had expanded its line in what it proudly called the "DC Explosion," but soon canceled a whole slew of titles in what wags quickly dubbed the "DC Implosion." DC produced this two-volume ashcan edition to protect its' copyright to the content, printing a mere 35 copies. Of these, 34 were given to the creators and copyright people, and one to price guide publisher Bob Overstreet for documentation purposes. Containing pages photocopied on one side only with blank blue covers and a taped spine, the books each measure 8.5" x 11". Many of these comics were featured in DC house ads, offered as subscriptions, or both before the sudden cancellation. And many of canceled DC series ended on cliffhangers. From the Fantastic Frank Collection.

 

Cancelled.jpg

 

Very cool, Mark. I've almost owned a set on four different occasions. By the way, Overstreet lists CCC in the promotional comics section of the Guide. Paul Levitz has said it was not a promotional book - that it's an ashcan. Just another example of a listing that needs to be changed...

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batman_fan

batman_fan

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I picked up some old OS Golden Age Quarterly mags from 1993-94 and got to see the master in action!!! (thumbs u

 

Ashcanad.jpg

 

I never bought one book from years and years of Overstreet and CBC ads. Amazing.

 

Maybe the ad would have done better if you had made it look more like Theo Holston ad from those early Overstreet Price Guides :insane::baiting:

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G.A.tor

G.A.tor

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I picked up some old OS Golden Age Quarterly mags from 1993-94 and got to see the master in action!!! (thumbs u

 

Ashcanad.jpg

 

I never bought one book from years and years of Overstreet and CBC ads. Amazing.

I hear that a lot...that is the reason I never (and still don't ) print advertise
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G.A.tor

G.A.tor

Posted
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I picked up some old OS Golden Age Quarterly mags from 1993-94 and got to see the master in action!!! (thumbs u

 

Ashcanad.jpg

 

I never bought one book from years and years of Overstreet and CBC ads. Amazing.

 

Maybe the ad would have done better if you had made it look more like Theo Holston ad from those early Overstreet Price Guides :insane::baiting:

oh, gary puts theo to shame :insane:

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esquirecomics

esquirecomics

Posted
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I picked up some old OS Golden Age Quarterly mags from 1993-94 and got to see the master in action!!! (thumbs u

 

Ashcanad.jpg

 

I never bought one book from years and years of Overstreet and CBC ads. Amazing.

I hear that a lot...that is the reason I never (and still don't ) print advertise

 

1993-1994 is very different from now though, and one word explains it: Internet.

 

I receive lots of inquiries for the sale of collections from my Overstreet ad. Of course, the individuals are e-mailing everyone in the guide but I have bought collections as a result. Then again, my ad in CBG never produced anything so far as I can tell and I stopped it.

 

The problem with Gary's ad was simply availability and reach. The odds were quite low that someone outside of the comic community had an ashcan that Gary didn't have so if anyone did (or still does), they probably never saw the ad. If that ad were in the OSPG today it would likely at least receive one or two inquiries but that is because we now have ashcans in the guide and several copies are in the possession of actual collectors (and one or two speculators).

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Moondog

Moondog

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I picked up some old OS Golden Age Quarterly mags from 1993-94 and got to see the master in action!!! (thumbs u

 

Ashcanad.jpg

 

I never bought one book from years and years of Overstreet and CBC ads. Amazing.

I hear that a lot...that is the reason I never (and still don't ) print advertise

 

1993-1994 is very different from now though, and one word explains it: Internet.

 

I receive lots of inquiries for the sale of collections from my Overstreet ad. Of course, the individuals are e-mailing everyone in the guide but I have bought collections as a result. Then again, my ad in CBG never produced anything so far as I can tell and I stopped it.

 

The problem with Gary's ad was simply availability and reach. The odds were quite low that someone outside of the comic community had an ashcan that Gary didn't have so if anyone did (or still does), they probably never saw the ad. If that ad were in the OSPG today it would likely at least receive one or two inquiries but that is because we now have ashcans in the guide and several copies are in the possession of actual collectors (and one or two speculators).

 

Plus it was an effective way for me to give ashcans some publicity when I was really the only guy who had any back then.

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esquirecomics

esquirecomics

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I still have some doubts as to whether this book is an "ashcan" versus a "protoype", and I suspect we may never know the answer.

 

Rare Crime and Penalty Ashcan Sold in Private Transaction

 

ComicsPriceGuide.com has learned that attorney Mark S. Zaid, owner of EsquireComics.com, has acquired a version of the historical comic Crime and Penalty #1 which is considered to be an ashcan copy. The copy was purchased from John Chruscinski of Tropic Comics and is the only known copy in existence.

 

"It is a thrill to even learn about, much less own, a rare and in this case previously unknown example of comic history and I am proud to now count this book among my collection," said Zaid.

 

Ashcans were prototype books produced by publishers to secure the trademark for a particular title and never were supposed to be offered for sale. At most, a handful of copies were produced for internal use and filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, hence their extreme level of rarity.

 

The ashcan for Crime and Penalty #1 features the cover art from Crime and Punishment #1 and the interior is a complete copy of Crime Does Not Pay #59. Of interest to comic historians and collectors is the fact that the title Crime and Penalty was never used by Lev Gleason.

 

“I am happy to have owned this comic rarity and I think it has found a good home among the other ashcans in Mark’s collection,” said Chruscinski.

 

According to Mark, the book will be added to his private collection, which can be viewed as part of his "Special Collections - Notable Key & Rare Issues" at www.esquirecomics.com, that includes numerous ashcans including several only known examples such as the 1940 ashcan comic Crack Comics #1.

 

 

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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I don't think it's desirability differs whether it's a prototype or ashcan. It's certainly interesting to see that they went to the trouble of color printing for it. Very neat! :applause:

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