Inaflash Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Thank you. It is a nice looking copy. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Here's my copy low grade too. I believe I sold that copy, about seven years ago. It has a black color touch, doesn't it? Also directed Joanna to a F/VF copy, about six years ago. I wonder if that's the best copy around? Given how late the book was published, I would imagine it didn't get much distribution -- St John's distribution was, of course, spotty at the best of times. So I would guess there aren't too many copies left. I would think a truly high-grade copy might have made it on to the census by now, although you never know. I don't think this book is so much scarce as it is obscure and overlooked. It seems only serious collectors know it's a Baker cover. I've owned three copies in the past ten years, and I've seen several others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjpb Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I've seen other copies of this book factory-trimmed like Sqeggs'. Comic specs were less than perfect back then. My copy is lower grade, but more of the art on the right hand side is preserved than in most copies I've seen. Never saw that before. Interesting book, but it lacks the oompf of WR #17. The rewritten dia barely makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjpb Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I don't know if it's the original, but it's clearly inspired by it IMHO, not just in composition but topic. I take it the difference is that post-code St. John didn't feel they could be as obvious as to the one sailor warning the other off. I notice another post-code change is swapping booze for coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBFan Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 And what's up with using the name "Matt" in the word balloon on an old piece of Matt Baker's art? That surely wasn't an accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB1952 Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 And what's up with using the name "Matt" in the word balloon on an old piece of Matt Baker's art? That surely wasn't an accident. Agree, I guess now we know who's responsible for this beautiful girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-Color Brian Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 (edited) Why is the usual Baker detail lacking in that cover? I don't doubt that at least part of it is Matt's work, but it just seems so sterile compared to the WR17 and other books. Edited December 6, 2014 by tricolorbrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBFan Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 My thought is that Baker abandoned the art before it was finished, in favor of the cover that was actually used for Wartime Romances #17. Details were probably added after-the-fact by someone other than Matt Baker himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjpb Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 That makes sense, as it doesn't looked inked by Baker. The lack of detail may also be partially due to eliminating the bar details and replacing them with a coffee shop if this is the case. St. John wasn't producing much at this time, so I could see them cutting corners and reusing rejected cover art. Are the interiors new material? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 That makes sense, as it doesn't looked inked by Baker. The lack of detail may also be partially due to eliminating the bar details and replacing them with a coffee shop if this is the case. St. John wasn't producing much at this time, so I could see them cutting corners and reusing rejected cover art. Are the interiors new material? Here's what John Benson's St. John/romance master list says: SECRETS OF TRUE LOVE 1, February 1958. Cover: BAKER. CCA Approved. Al Fago-edited material. Cover is a reworking of the cover of WR17. (And here's the link to download the whole list as a .pdf file): http://www.fantagraphics.com/downloads/stjohnchecklist.xls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 That makes sense, as it doesn't looked inked by Baker. The lack of detail may also be partially due to eliminating the bar details and replacing them with a coffee shop if this is the case. St. John wasn't producing much at this time, so I could see them cutting corners and reusing rejected cover art. Are the interiors new material? Here's what John Benson's St. John/romance master list says: SECRETS OF TRUE LOVE 1, February 1958. Cover: BAKER. CCA Approved. Al Fago-edited material. Cover is a reworking of the cover of WR17. (And here's the link to download the whole list as a .pdf file): http://www.fantagraphics.com/downloads/stjohnchecklist.xls And here is the entry from the checklist in The Art of Glamour book: "inventory, probably drawn in 1954" That seems a little off since WTR 17 has a cover date of September 1953. If the Secrets of True Love cover is an early draft of the cover to WTR 17, then presumably it was also drawn in 1953. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-Color Brian Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 (edited) I don't think it's that great a cover. I would pay maybe $25 for one. Let's have a debate. Edited December 6, 2014 by tricolorbrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I don't think it's that great a cover. I would pay maybe $25 for one. Let's have a debate. Not a completist, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicnoir Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Just saw the CC result on the Seven Seas 4. It beat out the PL 23 in the same grade by over a grand. Would not have happened not that long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-Color Brian Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I will gladly give you $100 Tuesday, for your undercopy today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I will gladly give you $100 Tuesday, for your undercopy today... You want pepper jack, Swiss, or American on that? Grilled onions will run you extra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-Color Brian Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Ummmm....ham-burger... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Baker Brigade Just when you thought you were done - they drag you back in. You've come so far, but really the task is St. John ROMANCE. So this very collectible two issue Kubert run is a must have. Then there are the St. John's photocovers, painted covers, GCE's, and Adventures 1 & 2. Yikes! 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Baker Brigade Just when you thought you were done - they drag you back in. You've come so far, but really the task is St. John ROMANCE. So this very collectible two issue Kubert run is a must have. Then there are the St. John's photocovers, painted covers, GCE's, and Adventures 1 & 2. Yikes! Nice! I've taken a run at copies of these in auctions but never landed one. Probably need to try harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-Color Brian Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 (edited) Do you want a VG- #1? I know where one is...for $65, or a VG+ for $60...in fact, there are 6 of them on eBay right now...doesn't sound too scarce to me. Edited December 14, 2014 by tricolorbrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
