The Greatest Editorial I've Ever Read

[blackterror]

Maybe it's the most enjoyable editorial I've ever read...or the most memorable .... but the point is it's worth repeating.

 

This is from Comic Book Marketplace #43 ... page 4 ... January 1997.

 

Ha, Miss Jensen! by Gary M. Carter.

 

When I was but a a mere lad, my brother and I would venture northward to the wilds of Hollywood, to visit Malcolm Willits at Collector's Book Store. After more than three and a half decades, I'm still in contact with Malcolm ... he still runs Collector's Book Store...and he still preaches the gospel of comics. His latest communication really hit me where I live...so much so, in fact, that I decided to share his "words of wisdom" with CBM readers....now here's Malcolm...

 

We've had great authors this century. Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Lewis: the kind of authors that rare book dealers, colectors, and college literary departments love to sink their fangs into. But as the millennium approaches, a startling fact emerges. Not one of these first editions approaches the value or rarity of the simple 10cent American comic book.

 

At least four or five comics books already bring higher prices than any other 20th century American publication. In other words, our most celebrated authors haven bested by the likes of Siegel & Shuster, Bob Kane, and Simon & Kirby!

 

Forget 'social value' ...that and $1.25 might get you a cup of coffee at the San Diego Con. Let's talk monetary value...what was produced for kids back in the 1930's brings big bucks today. Sure, Faulkner invented Yoknapatawpha County, and Steinbeck chronicled Tom Joad's travels from Oklahoma to California...but did any of their characters ever save the universe? Superman and Captain Marvel did it all the time! Batman solved more crimes than Sherlock Holmes and Captain America practically won World War II single-handedly! These are our real 20th century heroes, and they'll be remembered a lot longer than Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, and Steinbeck!

 

And rarity? First editions by our most cherished authors were sometimes limited to 1,000 copies. Comic books sold in the hundreds of thousands of copies. The first editions survived....the comic books didn't. Today, only a dozen or so pristine copies of many 1930's and early 1940's titles still exist. The market increasingly reflects this, as prices continue to go through the roof. Records are being set which cannot be undone. First editions may difine the age, but they sure don't bring the dough. The comics do ... (thumbs u

 

So HA, Miss Jensen, who nature intended to make comeo appearances in MacBeth, but instead was my 7th grade teacher in 1947. (She tore in half, my January, 1939 copy of trhe Mickey Mouse Magazine which I had found in a Salvation Army Store....and purchased for a nickel.)

 

But in spite of Miss Jensen and all those like her, WE'VE WON, Gary ... all of us who loved and saved our comic books during a time when the collective ignorance of the world was united against us. The century ends with the lowly comic book surpassing, in value and rarity, all of the other literary/paper collectibles.

 

EAT THAT, all you professors and highbrows standing in unemployment lines! EAT THAT Miss Jensen, destroyer of civilization...I'm confident your'e still around somewhere...stirring newts and frogs into a pot and taking kids comics away!"

 

Malcolm Willits, December 1996

[blackterror]

And as a postscript ...

 

From the Introduction of The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer...

 

"I have known many adults who have treasured throughout their lives some of the books they read as children. I have never come across any adult or adolescent who had outgrown comic-book reading who would ever dream of keeping any of these "books" for any sentimental or other reason."

-- Frederic Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent

 

 

 

"What th - ?"

-- Superman, Action Comics

 

 

PS ... I wonder in what comic Feiffer lifted that quote?

 

 

 

 

[PokerKid]

And as a postscript ...

 

From the Introduction of The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer...

 

"I have known many adults who have treasured throughout their lives some of the books they read as children. I have never come across any adult or adolescent who had outgrown comic-book reading who would ever dream of keeping any of these "books" for any sentimental or other reason."

-- Frederic Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent

 

 

 

"What th - ?"

-- Superman, Action Comics

 

 

PS ... I wonder in what comic Feiffer lifted that quote?

 

 

 

Well, we know it didn't come out of ASBR10.

 

 

 

Indeed an opinion piece worth sharing. Thanks.

[nearmint]

I miss Gary Carter. He was a very positive force in our hobby.

[sakaridis]

I miss Gary Carter. He was a very positive force in our hobby.

 

I agree. CBM under Carter's editorship was a fantastic magazine, with plenty of "eye candy" (classic covers mostly), but with some excellent writing on a number of interesting topics.

 

When Gary left, the downward spiral began and it was only a matter of time before CBM kicked the bucket.

[Larryw7]

I've been reading my run of CBM for the past few months. I'm at #78, near the end of the Carter years. I really miss that mag. I wish Gary would come back to the hobby and revive CBM(or start a new publication dedicated to comic collecting).

[CAP Freak]

I've been reading my run of CBM for the past few months. I'm at #78, near the end of the Carter years. I really miss that mag. I wish Gary would come back to the hobby and revive CBM(or start a new publication dedicated to comic collecting).

I'd subscribe.

[sakaridis]

Me too! In a heartbeat!

[blackterror]

 

This needs to be read by every collector on a regular basis in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

[swapto]

[HeyMoe]

I was fortunate enough to discover CBM at issue 10.

I then bought most of the back issues from 2 onward.

(They were out of #1s! )

It was THE magazine that got me interested in collecting.

(The Atlas articles by Pat Calhoun(IIRC), articles about such things as the discovery of Marvels 'proto-type' issues, are still great to read.)

Still have 'em, and still read thru 'em whenever I can.

 

Great mag!

 

[MR.COMICBOOK]

Similar to me always finding Gilligan's Island and Three Stooges much more enjoyable them those so called highbrow shows like LA LAW.

[blackterror]

This is still my favorite comic editorial of all time and I think it should be pinned to the top of the page and made required reading for all collectors.

[blackterror]

Maybe it's the most enjoyable editorial I've ever read...or the most memorable .... but the point is it's worth repeating.

 

This is from Comic Book Marketplace #43 ... page 4 ... January 1997.

 

Ha, Miss Jensen!

by Gary M. Carter.

 

When I was but a a mere lad, my brother and I would venture northward to the wilds of Hollywood, to visit Malcolm Willits at Collector's Book Store. After more than three and a half decades, I'm still in contact with Malcolm ... he still runs Collector's Book Store...and he still preaches the gospel of comics. His latest communication really hit me where I live...so much so, in fact, that I decided to share his "words of wisdom" with CBM readers....now here's Malcolm...

 

We've had great authors this century. Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Lewis: the kind of authors that rare book dealers, collectors, and college literary departments love to sink their fangs into. But as the millennium approaches, a startling fact emerges. Not one of these first editions approaches the value or rarity of the simple 10cent American comic book.

 

At least four or five comics books already bring higher prices than any other 20th century American publication. In other words, our most celebrated authors haven bested by the likes of Siegel & Shuster, Bob Kane, and Simon & Kirby!

 

Forget 'social value' ...that and $1.25 might get you a cup of coffee at the San Diego Con. Let's talk monetary value...what was produced for kids back in the 1930's brings big bucks today. Sure, Faulkner invented Yoknapatawpha County, and Steinbeck chronicled Tom Joad's travels from Oklahoma to California...but did any of their characters ever save the universe? Superman and Captain Marvel did it all the time! Batman solved more crimes than Sherlock Holmes and Captain America practically won World War II single-handedly!

 

These are our real 20th century heroes, and they'll be remembered a lot longer than Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, and Steinbeck!

 

And rarity? First editions by our most cherished authors were sometimes limited to 1,000 copies. Comic books sold in the hundreds of thousands of copies. The first editions survived....the comic books didn't. Today, only a dozen or so pristine copies of many 1930's and early 1940's titles still exist. The market increasingly reflects this, as prices continue to go through the roof. Records are being set which cannot be undone. First editions may difine the age, but they sure don't bring the dough ... The comics do!

 

So HA, Miss Jensen, who nature intended to make cameo appearances in MacBeth, but instead was my 7th grade teacher in 1947. She tore in half, my January, 1939 copy of Mickey Mouse Magazine which I had found in a Salvation Army Store....and purchased for a nickel.

 

But in spite of Miss Jensen and all those like her, WE'VE WON, Gary ... all of us who loved and saved our comic books during a time when the collective ignorance of the world was united against us. The century ends with the lowly comic book surpassing, in value and rarity, all of the other literary/paper collectibles.

 

EAT THAT, all you professors and highbrows standing in unemployment lines! EAT THAT Miss Jensen, destroyer of civilization...I'm confident your'e still around somewhere...stirring newts and frogs into a pot and taking kids comics away!"

 

Malcolm Willits, December 1996

[thehumantorch]

Maybe it's the most enjoyable editorial I've ever read...or the most memorable .... but the point is it's worth repeating.

 

This is from Comic Book Marketplace #43 ... page 4 ... January 1997.

 

Ha, Miss Jensen! by Gary M. Carter.

 

When I was but a a mere lad, my brother and I would venture northward to the wilds of Hollywood, to visit Malcolm Willits at Collector's Book Store. After more than three and a half decades, I'm still in contact with Malcolm ... he still runs Collector's Book Store...and he still preaches the gospel of comics. His latest communication really hit me where I live...so much so, in fact, that I decided to share his "words of wisdom" with CBM readers....now here's Malcolm...

 

We've had great authors this century. Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Lewis: the kind of authors that rare book dealers, colectors, and college literary departments love to sink their fangs into. But as the millennium approaches, a startling fact emerges. Not one of these first editions approaches the value or rarity of the simple 10cent American comic book.

 

At least four or five comics books already bring higher prices than any other 20th century American publication. In other words, our most celebrated authors haven bested by the likes of Siegel & Shuster, Bob Kane, and Simon & Kirby!

 

Forget 'social value' ...that and $1.25 might get you a cup of coffee at the San Diego Con. Let's talk monetary value...what was produced for kids back in the 1930's brings big bucks today. Sure, Faulkner invented Yoknapatawpha County, and Steinbeck chronicled Tom Joad's travels from Oklahoma to California...but did any of their characters ever save the universe? Superman and Captain Marvel did it all the time! Batman solved more crimes than Sherlock Holmes and Captain America practically won World War II single-handedly! These are our real 20th century heroes, and they'll be remembered a lot longer than Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, and Steinbeck!

 

And rarity? First editions by our most cherished authors were sometimes limited to 1,000 copies. Comic books sold in the hundreds of thousands of copies. The first editions survived....the comic books didn't. Today, only a dozen or so pristine copies of many 1930's and early 1940's titles still exist. The market increasingly reflects this, as prices continue to go through the roof. Records are being set which cannot be undone. First editions may difine the age, but they sure don't bring the dough. The comics do ... (thumbs u

 

So HA, Miss Jensen, who nature intended to make comeo appearances in MacBeth, but instead was my 7th grade teacher in 1947. (She tore in half, my January, 1939 copy of trhe Mickey Mouse Magazine which I had found in a Salvation Army Store....and purchased for a nickel.)

 

But in spite of Miss Jensen and all those like her, WE'VE WON, Gary ... all of us who loved and saved our comic books during a time when the collective ignorance of the world was united against us. The century ends with the lowly comic book surpassing, in value and rarity, all of the other literary/paper collectibles.

 

EAT THAT, all you professors and highbrows standing in unemployment lines! EAT THAT Miss Jensen, destroyer of civilization...I'm confident your'e still around somewhere...stirring newts and frogs into a pot and taking kids comics away!"

 

Malcolm Willits, December 1996

 

Great read, thank you.

[Johnny545]

Thanks for putting this up, fun read.

[comicjack]

Thanks for the reboot miss those CBM years and Gary Carter was the creative juice needed in the hobby.

[Timely]

Thanks for the reboot miss those CBM years and Gary Carter was the creative juice needed in the hobby.

 

FYI... I just spoke with Gary Carter's father last week. Both Gary and his father (88 years old) are doing great!

[sagii]

CBM definitely was responsible for my shift from bronze and silver to primarily gold collector. Miss it soooo much! Recommended reading for any 'serious' collector!

[Bookery]

On closer inspection, it's actually a pretty bad article that mixes apples and oranges.

 

First off, books have been around a lot longer than comics. The article compares the prices on the very earliest comics with prices of what are considered fairly contemporary books. If one goes back before the 20th century, there are a number of books that have topped the $10 mil. mark. "Birds of America" exists with 119 known copies (many more than a lot of early comics), yet has sold as high as $11.5 mil.

 

Moreover, even if we stick to the 20th century, many of those books mentioned DID sell for more than comics until the arrival of CGC. When anything rises 10-fold in about a decade, it isn't love of the medium driving prices but rabid speculation. Comics also get premiums in high grade due to their fragility... books on the whole are more solid and survive in better shape over time. Also many early books bring huge amounts despite being re-bound, repaired, written it, etc. Comics plummet in value if any of this is done to them.

 

Maybe if rare first editions were suddenly slabbed, and we could have p***g contests over whose "Ulysses" is 9.4 and whose is 9.6, we'd have quite a different story price-wise.