258 Comics Away From EVERY DC

[PovertyRow]

I want to bear your children.

 

[Warlord]

WOW, that is something! Glad you came by to share the story. I hope that you keep us posted on your progress!

 

Are you generally collecting HG issues of the easier/common issues or have you just gone for decent copies without pushing hard to find really sharp copies?

 

And what's up with some of the easy stuff on your list, like Dexter's Lab and TTAnnual #5? All those dealers you listed couldn't come up with some of those?

 

I thought that Mike, with about 5,000 to go, was doing an impressive job of amassing the all-DC collection:

 

Mike's Amazing World of DCs

 

He says 29,992 DCs. Also he has a for sale list from a variety of publishers that is about 10,000 comics. Have you two been keeping in touch?

 

[ross]

I have about 12 Dc's.....

 

Speaking of which, how common is it for people to go for the entire Marvel collection?

 

Are there a lot of people that have done it?

[Joanna]

uhmmm Joanna...i only need 12 dc's...

 

There's womb for you, too, then.

[BachelorOfComix]

There's womb for you, too, then.

[greggy]

There's womb for you, too, then.

[rob_react]

I have about 12 Dc's.....

 

Speaking of which, how common is it for people to go for the entire Marvel collection?

 

Are there a lot of people that have done it?

 

Completing a complete Timely/Atlas/Marvel collection would be a royal pain. I shudder to think of it.

[Ian_Levine]

Trying to answer everyone's queries that came in overnight.

 

1 - Much as I want a Double Action 2, seventy five thousand is about sixty thousand more than I'll ever pay. But there IS a really low grade (fair) copy doing the rounds somewhere.

 

2 - I will not have a coverless in my collection, so I ignore them everytime. I will buy with a piece of the cover missing, but will NEVER buy coverless unless it's to upgrade a comic I already have.

 

3 - Yes I've been in the UK all along. My Mother lives in the US but I didn't acquire my DCs over there, although of course I DID get most of them directly from US dealers like Vincent and Harley.

 

4 - Why - you ask !!!!!!

I always loved DCs and always wanted to collect the lot in the Seventies and gave up by the mid-eighties. I was never bothered by the grade as long as the comic had a front cover. And I always opt for the cheaper copy just to afford to finish the collection. So I've got poors and I've got 9.0s too. Whatever I could find for a price I could live with. I try not to overpay, so if anyone wants to outbid us on e-bay (I'm searching daily now) thinking I'll pay more than the top bid, then they're wasting their time, cos if we lose a comic on the list now, then it's purely because the price it sells for is over the price I'm willing to pay. I usually prefer slightly below guide. And with a few exceptions, I'm bitterly opposed to paying way over guide for anything purely on principle. Having said that, if any of you see a Fat And Slat Joke Book for ten times guide, I still advise you to buy it, although I already have it myself, but it's SOOOOO rare, that the guide value is pure nonsense.

 

5 - Detective 1 - I bought a low grade copy of Stephen Fishler a few months ago and it doesn't look too bad. I did fix it up (it needed it) and it looks better than its grade now.

 

6 - As for the "easy" stuff, I found that restarting after a sixteen year break meant that lots of comics that may have been a doddle to buy when brand new, weren't so easy to find now. I'm STILL trying to find Dexters Laboratories, and Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children 27, and a couple of Scooby Doos and now for the BIG mysteries - two of them.

Tales Of The Teen Titans Annual 5

Dragonlance Annual 1

Both are listed in Overstreet yet no-one seems to have ever had them

DO THEY EXIST ???????????

 

7 - Mike at DC Indexes (www.dcindexes.com) has been a big help in my discovering some of the more obscure items (Adventures With The DC Super Heroes, Atlas Of The DC Universe) and eventually tracking down and owning them. His site is AWESOME and his list of promotional DCs is better than Overstreet (although I've found loads that are on NEITHER list). Unfortunately the list of promotional stuff seems endless. And HOW many Bionicle issues are there Every time I think I've got them all, ANOTHER one turns up.

 

Thanks for all the kind comments and all I would ask is PLEASE don't bid against us on e-bay (my friend Richard Machinson at Quicksilver comics does all the buying as he has a US office and lots of dealers won't ship small items outside the US), and unless it's a rare Golden Age, which you'll all bid on nayway, PLEASE don't any of you bid on an item just because you think I need it, or it would seriously screw up my attempt to complete the collection.

 

Thankyou and much appreciated.

 

Now can any of you help with anything affordable, or with a lead to a cheap Double Action Or a Big Book Of Fun Comics Or any Scribblys

 

Ian Levine.

 

 

[JohnBull]

Astounding doesn't do it justice.

 

But seriously, just looking at the 258 non-promotional issues you need, aren't you worried that you might one day actually have them all ? This is obviously a major endeavour that takes a lot of time, if you finished there could be a void.

 

That said, maybe you could use the time to read them. Out of the 30000 odd, how many would you reckon you've yet to read ?

[Ian_Levine]

I'm so close now that I fully intend to have them all within six months. Double Action and the Big Book Of Fun Comics will probably prove the hardest, and Scribbly is proving deceptively hard too, although maybe, like Christine Farrell, I'll get stuck on Buzzy 70.

[dam60]

Ian, congratulations to you!!! One day I hope to have a full run of Batman, Detective and all other Batman titles and if the $$$ is there Actions too. Congrats on your feat!

[JohnBull]

I'm so close now that I fully intend to have them all within six months. Double Action and the Big Book Of Fun Comics will probably prove the hardest, and Scribbly is proving deceptively hard too, although maybe, like Christine Farrell, I'll get stuck on Buzzy 70.

 

I'm not sure which is a more depressing thought - owning every DC comic except Buzzy 70 or actually having to go out and buy a copy of Buzzy 70.

 

I wonder how many people have ever got this close before in a task of this magnitude ? Not many in the UK certainly (you must have the sole copies of a fair few issues over here). I can't lose this mental image of a pile of grizzled, die-hard DC completists slaving over their computers going "God, if I could only finish my Buzzy collection !"

[richnerd]

I've only got 258 to go before I have EVERY DC comic ever released to date since 1935. With especial thanks to Paul Sassienie, Jonathan Browne, Vincent Zurzulo, Stephen Fishler, Harley Yee, Joe Verenault, and too many others to list, if you'll allow me, here are the 258 I'm still missing. If anyone can help with any affordable low grades please, then e-mail me at ian.levine@btconnect.com

 

Thanks and I hope you don't mind me putting up the list. It's getting very exciting now.

 

 

ADVENTURE COMICS (1-12 is NEW COMICS, 13-32 is NEW ADVENTURE COMICS)

16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 46, 63, 70

 

THE ADVENTURES OF BOB HOPE - 59, 68, 79

 

THE ADVENTURES OF JERRY LEWIS (Adventures Of Dean Martin And Jerry Lewis)

21, 29, 47, 51, 69

 

THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET - 5

 

ALL AMERICAN - 2, 4, 10, 16, 35, 38, 43, 50, 52, 75, 89, 91, 99

 

ALL FLASH - 30

 

ALL FUNNY - 1, 11, 15, 18, 20

 

ALL STAR WESTERN (1950s) - 72, 73, 83, 87

 

ANIMAL ANTICS / MOVIE TOWN ANIMAL ANTICS - 12, 18, 25, 31, 45, 49

 

BATMAN LEGACY

 

BEAUTIFUL STORIES FOR UGLY CHILDREN - 27

 

THE BIG BOOK OF FUN COMICS - 1

 

BIG TOWN - 3, 22

 

BUZZY - 27, 34, 70, 72, 75

 

CARTOON CARTOONS - 2, 3

 

COMIC CAVALCADE - 15, 27, 46, 60

 

DALE EVANS COMICS - 22, 24

 

A DATE WITH JUDY - 15, 25, 43, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 62, 65, 69, 70, 71, 73, 79

 

DETECTIVE COMICS - 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 25, 27, 29

 

DEXTERS LABORATORY - 2, 4, 16

 

DOUBLE ACTION - 1, 2 (Number 1 is an ashcan)

 

DRAGONLANCE Annual - 1

 

EVERYTHING HAPPENS TO HARVEY - 4, 6

 

FALLING IN LOVE - 3, 4, 39, 42, 43, 49, 69, 73, 74, 79, 80, 137, 141

 

THE FLASH Original Series - 37, 43, 67, 71, 72, 81, 82, 83, 96, 97

 

THE FOX AND THE CROW - 71, 79, 80

 

FUNNY STUFF / DODO AND THE FROG - 3, 14, 27, 28, 30, 31, 34, 36, 37, 39, 50, 85

 

G.I.COMBAT - 44, 63

 

GIRLS LOVE STORIES - 10, 11, 72, 79, 84, 87, 93, 108, 116

 

GIRLS ROMANCES - 14, 18, 31, 63, 76, 82, 109, 113, 144

 

GREEN LANTERN (Golden Age) - 23, 30, 35

GREEN LANTERN GREEN ARROW COLLECTION - 2 ("More Hard Travelling Heroes")

 

HEART THROBS - 66, 68, 81, 106, 107

LOVE STORIES - 149

 

HERE'S HOWIE - 7, 16, 17

 

HOPALONG CASSIDY - 99, 105, 108, 115, 129, 131, 132, 134

 

HOUSE OF MYSTERY - 17, 27

 

IT'S GAMETIME - 3

 

JACKIE GLEASON AND THE HONEYMOONERS - 12

 

JIMMY WAKELEY - 17

 

JOKER DEVILS ADVOCATE - 1

 

LEADING COMICS (Becomes Leading Screen) - 20, 21, 31, 33, 35, 42, 43, 47, 68, 71, 77

 

(LEAVE IT TO) BINKY - 16, 25, 50

 

LEGION LOST - 1

 

MISS BEVERLY HILLS OF HOLLYWOOD - 7

 

MODESTY BLAISE Trade Paperback - 1

 

MORE FUN (First six issues are New Fun) - 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19, 35, 52, 54, 56, 57, 81, 114, 123, 126

 

MUTT AND JEFF - 2

 

REAL SCREEN COMICS / TV SCREEN CARTOONS - 84

 

REX THE WONDER DOG - 43

 

SCOOBY DOO - 43

 

SCRIBBLY - 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15

 

SECRET HEARTS - 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 56, 66, 69, 71, 73, 77, 87, 96, 100, 144

 

SENSATION COMICS - 7, 8, 16, 35

 

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES - 5

 

TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS ANNUALS - 5 (1987)

 

WESTERN COMICS - 26, 37, 40, 49, 53

 

WONDER WOMAN - 2, 98

 

YOUNG LOVE - 52

 

YOUNG ROMANCE - 128

 

 

 

I'm spending 2 days at the flea markets and antique shops, I printed out your list and will keep my eyes open for you.

 

Rich

[minutekev@50]

Congrats on your feat Ian Yeah, who says you can't have them all?

 

Also, just how do you store a 30,000 book comic collection? Especially considering a lot of them are pretty scarce books?

[chrisco37]

Congrats Ian! That is truly remarkable. Considering how close you are, I think you came to the right boards. I'm sure many of us will keep an eye out for some of your missing issues. I'm blown away! Unreal!!!!!!

 

Welcome to the Boards!

 

Chris

[seank]

 

I had no idea New Adventure 26 was THAT rare. I guessed the Big Book Of Fun Comics was gonna present a problem though. But Paul levitz himself told me I'd have trouble with Sugar and Spike 2, and yet I found two copies.

 

Very impressive collection. I'd love to see a photograph.

 

And are you interested in selling one of those Sugar and Spike #2s?

[seank]

I have about 12 Dc's.....

 

I bought some DCs when I was 12....

[FlyingDonut]

Ian:

 

I may be able to source some of your books for you. I've sent your list to Cards, Comics and Collectibles in Baltimore, who I am pretty sure has some of the Scribblys, some of the romance books and some of the other things.

 

Al Stoltz at Basement Comics al@basementcomix.com has the early Detectives and probably some of the early More Funs (from the "Lost Valley" pedigree). He also has, and I'm sure he's the only one in the universe with two of them, a Supergear book.

 

I'll let you know what we come up with!

[OldGuy]

And as for Marvel, I've NEVER been remotely interested and never will be. I've been into DCs since I was six years old, and had over two thirds by the early eighties, then gave up for seventeen years.

 

So your collection doesn't include the Marvel/DC crossovers?

[Darthdiesel]

And as for Marvel, I've NEVER been remotely interested and never will be. I've been into DCs since I was six years old, and had over two thirds by the early eighties, then gave up for seventeen years.

 

So your collection doesn't include the Marvel/DC crossovers?

 

Or Wildstorm /Image/Cliffhanger crossovers? What about the Amalgam books?