The Greatest Editorial I've Ever Read

[Knightsofold]

I bet a slabbed 9.4 first edition of the Bible would go for a lot.

[Bookery]

I bet a slabbed 9.4 first edition of the Bible would go for a lot.

 

Would that be the... (*ahem*)... Church copy?

 

 

[Sqeggs]

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.

 

It's a fun read but I was thinking along these lines as well. I see his point that comics books, which were once despised, are now sometimes worth more than Hemingway or Fitzgerald first editions. I have a suspicion, though, that that fact wouldn't cut much ice with Ms. Jensen.

[Sqeggs]

I bet a slabbed 9.4 first edition of the Bible would go for a lot.

 

Would that be the... (*ahem*)... Church copy?

 

 

[blackterror]

I can say Bookery's - is not one of the greatest, entertaining, memorable editorials I have ever read, but to each his own. Hey, it's an editorial ... it's not a research paper. My goodness bookery who put a burr in your saddle.

 

I would point out in lieu of the CGC comments that the editorial I posted was written in 1996 before the advent of CGC and what was true then ... is only multiplied now.

 

Books were printed in limited amounts ... they were collector's items and objects for the rich.

 

The "lowly" comic book cost 10cents and was printed by the millions for the masses. It is incredilble how few have survived. Books were by the very nature and cost preserved and comics by their very nature and cost were trashed. Comics books are historically the underdog ... they are the Peter Parker/Clark Kent collectible.

 

Anyway, I don't the think the editorial I shared is about dis-respecting books ... it is about respecting comics ... Comics would not exist without the former. I personally like the thought that something an English tacher threw in the trash is economically superior and artisitically appreciated (by some if not all) to some of the stuff that same English teacher would have held in higher esteem. Personally, I learned words from comics like excelsior and cosmic and invulnerable from comics. Comics increased my word power and while no kid could have ever had the first edition of Birds of America ... there was a time when almost every kid could possibly have had Whiz 1, or Walt Disney Comics and Stories 1, and Action 1.

 

[Bookery]

I can say Bookery's - is not one of the greatest, entertaining, memorable editorials I have ever read, but to each his own. Hey, it's an editorial ... it's not a research paper. My goodness bookery who put a burr in your saddle.

 

Mistook this for a discussion board. My mistake. No biggie.

 

[Sarg]

There's kind of a "revenge of the nerds" attitude in the editorial. Kind of dumb, but what you'd expect from a comic collector with a chip on his shoulder. He sure showed his 7th Grade teacher!

 

It also sadly demonstrates the American idea that importance is only measured with Federal Reserve Notes.

 

I'm not sure it's something to brag about that a copy of "Marvel Mystery" #3 is more valuable and coveted than a great literary work. But of course there's no reason to make the comparison in the first place. A Deusenberg sells for way, way more than an Elvis Sun record, but that doesn't tell you squat about anything except the person making the comparison.

 

I read books. And I read comics. I listen to classical music, and I listen to rock and roll. Everything creative has something to offer some aspect of our cerebral cortex.

Don't stay stuck in permanent adolescence because some snob traumatized you at age 14.