Do we want the prices (values) to excalate?

[Scrooge]

You contend that comic book burning in the '50's had an impact as large as paper drives in the '40's.

 

Hold on a second, I need to remove all these words you're putting in my mouth.

 

I knew you would come with that. Please in your own words, tell us exactly what your position is. Where did I err in my statement of your opinion?

[joe_collector]

If we are talking about Canada then the impact might have actually been greater in the 50's but that is a whole another discussion.

 

That's actually very true, and my father and his brothers lost all their crime and horror comics to the PC (Progressive Conservative) "thought police", which is why he only has Westerns and a smattering of DC/Timely hero books left.

[joe_collector]

Please in your own words, tell us exactly what your position is. Where did I err in my statement of your opinion?

 

Just read Surfer's reply, and you know if I'm agreeing with him, that he knows the deal.

 

And I would love to see the exact quote that supports your earlier statement. Please repost where I contend "that comic book burning in the '50's had an impact as large as paper drives in the '40's" for all to see.

[homerwannabee]

Did anyone think that maybe a reason behind the comics being destroyed is that they felt that these comics would never be worth anything.

You and your funny pictures. How cute!

 

Edit: this I will end this argument and let Joe have the last word. There is a point in time where you have to realize this argument is going nowhere in we are constantly going around in one big circle.

[Scrooge]

Please in your own words, tell us exactly what your position is. Where did I err in my statement of your opinion?

 

Just read Surfer's reply, and you know if I'm agreeing with him, that he knows the deal.

 

And I would love to see the exact quote that supports your earlier statement. Please repost where I contend "that comic book burning in the '50's had an impact as large as paper drives in the '40's" for all to see.

 

So you agree then that, in the US experience, paper drives had more of an impact?

[joe_collector]

So you agree then that, in the US experience, paper drives had more of an impact?

 

Yes, but before you automatically read anything into that , it doesn't mean I adhere to the revisionist Homer History that politically-motivated comic burnings or garbage runs were purely symbolic and had no effect on comic survival rates.

[whisp]

Did anyone think that maybe a reason behind the comics being destroyed is that they felt that these comics would never be worth anything. Do you really think that these same people would destroy the comics had they an inclination that these comics could possibly be worth anything? It really does not matter the method of disposal. The fact is they were disposed of. And I have no doubt in my mind that if these people had realized the future value of said comics that they would not be in mass to destroy them. This really is becoming a game of semantics. Either way comics were disposed of.

 

I can see that happening. I throw out all my pc magazies that I usally buy since when I am done with them I feel they will never have any value. I can see this same attitude in the 40 and 50"s towards comics. If only we all had hindsight.

[General Zod]

It could be argued the insults you throw around are a resort used by those who lack intelligence.

 

Certainly not in my case, and it's more a situation where I don't have the patience to slowly walk people through the basics.

 

I'd be a terrible teacher, since I grasp things so quickly, part of me doesn't understand why others cannot do the same thing. So while I do understand the "learning curve" is a longer for other people, it still irritates the out of me sometimes.

 

If you do not extend patience towards others, how should you expect others to treat you? You implied in another thread that you are a churchgoer. "Do unto others as you would them do unto you". That should ring true to you if you are as you say you are and ought to practice such tenents.

 

I don't need to add any more to the intelligence aspect as others have done rather nicely in pontificating on that point.

[adamstrange]

Again, you are making fun of my theories, yet you totally spit in the face of all Golden Age comics collectors by implying that golden age comics were weaker storyline wise than the great and mighty Marvel.

 

Dude, I love Golden Age books, but the storylines were weak beyond compare...almost as weak as most of the interiors... Reading most GA books is pure torture, they do have the best covers though.

 

Yup. No need to torture yourself by reading those GA comic stories Eisner, Barks, Kurtzman, Kriegstein, Stanley, Everett, Kirby, Wood ...

[adamstrange]

This statement is inaccurate. Comic books have been "collected" as we know "collecting" since the beginning of the hobby. Organized fandom as we know it today sprang up in the late 50s/early 60s. There were comic conventions AND price guides of some sort in the early 60s (and probably earlier).

 

I agree, and I know the EC collectors were "organized" in the sense that they were creating chapters of The EC Fan-Addicts in the early 1950's. Also, many people were asking the EC editors where to buy back issues, since they had already asked to buy them directly from EC, and the editors couldn't help them.

 

And don't forget about Pop Hollinger!

 

But no conventions, media coverage, etc., and most importantly no public perception that old comic books could be sold to someone for good money.

 

 

There were conventions, and people were paying for a premium for old books as least as early as 1960 - that's the earliest fanzine I have. I'm sure there are earlier ones out there - Xeno?

 

But the debate is about the GA, right?

 

It would be interesting to learn more about the origins of the hobby. Somebody mentioned the EC fans, and I know just from reading some of those issues and letter pages that there was a "community" out there following and collecting those issues at the time.

 

It's interesting--but not surprising--that there were some fanzines that pre-date the Marvel Age.

 

[bronze_rules]

Did anyone think that maybe a reason behind the comics being destroyed is that they felt that these comics would never be worth anything. Do you really think that these same people would destroy the comics had they an inclination that these comics could possibly be worth anything? It really does not matter the method of disposal. The fact is they were disposed of.

 

Firstly, homer I think you should rephrase and clarify your statement as "ONE contributing factor to the dearth of existing supply of vintage comics was due to the casual discarding of many comics due to lack of any perceived monetary worth." I am assuming that is what you meant, implicitly; however, by not explicitly stating this, you are setting yourself up for others to hammer on the implication you are making the assertion that this is the ONLY reason for the decline.

I think all of the posters are in agreement that it is not the only reason.

Others, however, still seem to vehemently cling to the idea that it had absolutely no influence and as such is an absurd notion.

 

As for JC, I believe he has already agreed with the aforementioned clarification, whether or not he admits or understands it.

 

You can add in age, attrition, a child-dominated readership, lack of an OS guide, and the young age of the hobby at that time, but the Second WW and Wertham are two things that no other era has had to deal with.

 

 

"A person can achieve everything by being simple and humble." Rig Veda

 

 

[joe_collector]

Others, however, still seem to vehemently cling to the idea that it had absolutely no influence and as such is an absurd notion.

 

You need to read this thread again, and you'll see that myself and many others, have offered multiple reasons for the dearth of GA comics (including my statement on the OS in 1970), and it's actually homer who clings to the ideology that "valuation is everything", going so far as to state that the actual reason comics were sent to the paper drives in the 40's and burned by political advocates in the 50's, is:

 

"... because they weren't worth anything".

 

This will be my last statement on this issue, and I highly recommend if you want to comment further, read the entire thread, not just a post or two here and there.

[He11blazer]

Haven't read the thread, but my answer is:

 

No. I want them to fluctuate.

 

That way I can buy low, sell high, and use the profits to add to my permanent collection

 

 

[PLOD-migration]

Again, you are making fun of my theories, yet you totally spit in the face of all Golden Age comics collectors by implying that golden age comics were weaker storyline wise than the great and mighty Marvel.

 

Dude, I love Golden Age books, but the storylines were weak beyond compare...almost as weak as most of the interiors... Reading most GA books is pure torture, they do have the best covers though.

 

Yup. No need to torture yourself by reading those GA comic stories Eisner, Barks, Kurtzman, Kriegstein, Stanley, Everett, Kirby, Wood ...

 

EC Comics aren't Golden Age We know this because, as Chromium says, the storylines aren't weak and the interior art is actually good.

[the blob]

slow and steady increases should keep the whole thing from exploding.

 

though it is nice to see some book go from obscurity to being worth something. it's nice that it happens a dozen or more times a year. it sux that those books usually drop after a month because the internet/ebay have a way of sucking all the hype out of something. it used to be that the "pop" on stuff like that could last years. now you barely even have enough time to find that other copy of JLA 166 or Spotlight 6 out of the back of a box (I wrote "6" because "5" should presumably have been easier to locate).