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Best Bang for the $$$ in GA books

Started by alecholland,

91 posts in this topic

143ksk

143ksk

Posted
Posted
How about Airboy? I talked with one dealer this weekend who said if I like Swamp Thing, I might want to check out Airboy comics with stories about The Heap.

 

Airboy is one of the better titles of the GA and certainly one of the cheapest. There are some really cool horror and SF covers towards the end of the run, and the earliest issues (Air Fighters) have some amazing covers and interior work.

 

I also like Capt. Marvel and Whiz for fun GA stories for not much money.

 

The upside of both these characters is that you can try them out for less than $20.

 

For more $, Pep would be my choice: great art and stories. The pre-22 issues are fairly common, but the 22-50 run is the best IMO.

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alecholland

alecholland

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Another good publisher is Nedors. I'm biased because my comic collecting revolves around superheros and have only read one but thought it was decently written for it's era and the artwork is not bad either. Very affordable compared to Timelys...to me it's almost like the middle class man's Timely. Great covers, good stories.

 

R.

 

 

Not directed to R, but speaking of the post-1961 superhero bias, be prepared to set that aside when exploring GA. It covers every genre and then some. As much as I love my GGA, I often find myself distracted by interesting war and western stuff. DC reprints from the 1970s - DC Special, 100 pagers, etc. - are a great way to see some fantastic GA stuff dirt cheap. Once you've read a Toth western or a Heath war story, there's no going back.

 

Alex Toth is one of my favorite artists. A few months ago I read the complete classic adventures of Zorro and loved it (the art that is, the stories were hit and miss IMO). Heath is definitely another great artist. (thumbs u

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KirbyJack

KirbyJack

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Toth? Heath? We seem to be drifting back to E.C.s. They really do give "bang for the buck" but, as has been noted, they're readily available in affordable reprint form (even less buck).

 

So, just to offer something unconventional, how about a classic Kirby-drawn issue of Star-Spangled or Boy Commandos? How about a Reed Crandall Blackhawk or Doll Man? I just picked a rough copy of Feature Comics #50 for ten bucks.

 

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Scrooge

Scrooge

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For more $, Pep would be my choice: great art and stories. The pre-22 issues are fairly common, but the 22-50 run is the best IMO.

 

I'll second that Pep's interiors are as consistently good as the average late WWII Quality books. Just too pricey for my tastes. I'd rather buy a couple of good AA Western and War books instead.

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VintageComics

VintageComics

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I find it interesting that so many of you collect reprints. Doesn't that defeat teh purpose of collecting the actual comics themselves? Ithough comic collecting was about owning something cool AND old. Now you all have me wondering...

 

R.

 

 

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Doctor Svord

Doctor Svord

Posted
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Another good publisher is Nedors. I'm biased because my comic collecting revolves around superheros and have only read one but thought it was decently written for it's era and the artwork is not bad either. Very affordable compared to Timelys...to me it's almost like the middle class man's Timely. Great covers, good stories.

 

R.

 

 

Not directed to R, but speaking of the post-1961 superhero bias, be prepared to set that aside when exploring GA. It covers every genre and then some. As much as I love my GGA, I often find myself distracted by interesting war and western stuff. DC reprints from the 1970s - DC Special, 100 pagers, etc. - are a great way to see some fantastic GA stuff dirt cheap. Once you've read a Toth western or a Heath war story, there's no going back.

 

Alex Toth is one of my favorite artists. A few months ago I read the complete classic adventures of Zorro and loved it (the art that is, the stories were hit and miss IMO). Heath is definitely another great artist. (thumbs u

 

Fantastic Worlds and Lost Worlds are a couple of affordable Nedor/Standard Sci-Fi Horror books that have Toth covers and stories. Well worth checking out.

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MrBedrock

MrBedrock

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How come nobody mentions the REALLY affordable golden age books like Boy Comics after #40, Daredevil after #50, Looney Toons after #50 or Walt Disney Comics and Stories after #60 or so? These are all extremely cheap and generally available. Most are priced at around $10 each. They have well known characters. They are generally good reads and they were published over a relatively long span so they must have been popular back in the day.

 

Oh, and if you admit you collect them people look at you with pity, or like you have just sprouted a third eye.

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rjpb

rjpb

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Toth did a lot of great pre-code stuff in the crime and horror genres - and by and large it's not that expensive. Heath did some great 50's Atlas war covers that can be had for far less than his DC work from the same era.

 

Atom Age esoterica in general is still a relatively inexpensive play ground, and while there are a number of pricey "grail" books in the crime and horror genres, there is much cool stuff to had in both for less than what most superhero books would cost. Atlas being a great publisher to start with (plenty of Heath covers).

 

One pre-code crime run that is a bit of a challenge to complete, but has some great hard-boiled stories is Dynamite #3-#9 from Comic Media featuring Johnny Dynamite.

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telerites

telerites

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I do agree on Airboy. I think it is good title with some very cool covers. IMO, undervalued as well.

 

Someone also mentioned the Street and Smith Shadow. Great covers, reasonable prices, Bob Powell art.

 

Many of the Quality titles are well quality, good art, good stories and reasonably priced. I'm partial to National Comics (Uncle Sam covers).

 

You might try this. Go to WOWIO . You can actually download some GA books (that are in the public domain, so it is legal). Best of all - it's FREE.

 

They have some Nedors, Qualitys, Fiction House. Try before you buy.

 

 

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Straw-Man

Straw-Man

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How about Airboy? I talked with one dealer this weekend who said if I like Swamp Thing, I might want to check out Airboy comics with stories about The Heap.

 

i collect the air fighters run, which is the precursor to airboy. i love them. it was bedrock who put me on to them.

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*paull*

*paull*

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If you like horror, check out the Farrell horror books (Haunted Thrills, Fantastic Fears, Strange Fantasy and Voodoo). The interiors were consistently good, and better than most other pre-code horror publishers. Reasonably priced, too.

 

Can't go wrong with Wolverton interiors, whether they are humor, horror, science fiction, etc.

 

I second (third) the Alex Toth choice...

 

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seank

seank

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I find it interesting that so many of you collect reprints. Doesn't that defeat teh purpose of collecting the actual comics themselves? Ithough comic collecting was about owning something cool AND old. Now you all have me wondering...

 

R.

 

 

I like reprints because they enable me to read great old comics on a limited budget. Most of what I collect as comics is not available in reprints, so I save my $$$ for those. It's a matter of getting the most bang for my buck with a mix of reprints and originals.

 

That said, few things beat the smell and feel of reading a 60 year old comic.

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jimjum12

jimjum12

Posted
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If you like horror, check out the Farrell horror books (Haunted Thrills, Fantastic Fears, Strange Fantasy and Voodoo). The interiors were consistently good, and better than most other pre-code horror publishers. Reasonably priced, too.

 

Can't go wrong with Wolverton interiors, whether they are humor, horror, science fiction, etc.

 

I second (third) the Alex Toth choice...

 

Always great advice on the boards.DEFINITELY dust off the golden age Photojournels by Gerber.Here's a couple of possibilities.GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

phantom1-1.jpg

 

ve19.jpg

 

ve15.jpg

 

ve18.jpg

 

ve13.jpg

 

P.S. The art on the Heap is pretty good.

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jimjum12

jimjum12

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Don't forget the fine products available from the Ziff-Davis line.Many have painted covers and the interior art is decent.Amazing Adventures # 1 has an INTERIOR Schomburg full story and also Wood.They cover several genres.GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

aa4f.jpg

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Straw-Man

Straw-Man

Posted
Posted
Don't forget the fine products available from the Ziff-Davis line.Many have painted covers and the interior art is decent.Amazing Adventures # 1 has an INTERIOR Schomburg full story and also Wood.They cover several genres.GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

aa4f.jpg

 

agreed; cool books.

 

wts.jpg

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jimjum12

jimjum12

Posted
Posted
gotta love the venus run.

 

venuses.jpg

 

SHEESH !! No wonder I can't find any for sale....YOU'VE got them all.I did forget to mention that there's only like....10 known copies of each issue.Thanks for posting them,and all in a giant "V".GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo( afriend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

 

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VintageComics

VintageComics

Posted
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Amazing Adventures # 1 has an INTERIOR Schomburg full story and also Wood.They cover several genres.GOD BLESS...

 

You mean like this copy that I currently have in the Marketplace?

 

:insane:

 

AA11950.jpg

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adamstrange

adamstrange

Posted
Posted
Another good publisher is Nedors. I'm biased because my comic collecting revolves around superheros and have only read one but thought it was decently written for it's era and the artwork is not bad either. Very affordable compared to Timelys...to me it's almost like the middle class man's Timely. Great covers, good stories.

 

R.

 

 

Not directed to R, but speaking of the post-1961 superhero bias, be prepared to set that aside when exploring GA. It covers every genre and then some. As much as I love my GGA, I often find myself distracted by interesting war and western stuff. DC reprints from the 1970s - DC Special, 100 pagers, etc. - are a great way to see some fantastic GA stuff dirt cheap. Once you've read a Toth western or a Heath war story, there's no going back.

 

Alex Toth is one of my favorite artists. A few months ago I read the complete classic adventures of Zorro and loved it (the art that is, the stories were hit and miss IMO). Heath is definitely another great artist. (thumbs u

 

If people are going to show books in this thread...

 

AllAmericanToth-1.jpg

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