"Fireside Book Series", anybody collect these?

[currincomics]

Saw one at the flea market on Saturday,"The Fantastic Four" and it's the HC copy. Only paid $5 for it, but with it being a hardcover was'nt sure how to grade. Book is in great shape(no I still do not have a scanner), and would say an 8.0 or higher-then again it's a HC so I'm unsure how to grade. It is most certainly not a rag. So, anybody collect these books?

[Ian_Levine]

There were three DC Fireside Books which are staggeringly hard to find. I paid way over the odds to get them, and then they all turned up out of the blue on e-bay

 

HEART THROBS - THE BEST OF DC ROMANCE COMICS

AMERICA AT WAR - THE BEST OF DC WAR COMICS

MYSTERIES IN SPACE - THE BEST OF DC SCIENCE FICTION COMICS

 

There were also several Marvel Firesides too, but that's not my subject.

[goldust40]

I collect them although I appear to be alone in this pursuit - I don't know anyone else in the hobby who's seriously after them. HC copies of most, if not all of the Firesides are scarce - a VF Fantastic Four HC guides for $61 in Overstreet, so yes, you did very well there (I've never seen one in HC, and I do look for them when I'm at U.S. shows, admittedly not as a priority). Generally most dealers charge over guide if the book is a 1st print and in high grade, or an HC. I remember Motor City wanting $300+ for an HC Heartthrobs, and it wasn't in NM.

 

Hearththrobs (especially in HC) is the hardest to get, or at least the most expensive, followed by Marvel's Greatest Superhero Battles, and then Mysteries In Space. Overstreet lists 15 entries for Fireside, but there may be more - or at least similar format books by other publishers (Ideals springs to mind).

 

Bear in mind that the best loved Firesides (Origins, Son of Origins, Bring On the Bad Guys) are also the most common. The Superhero Women is scarcer, and there was also a dual volume of Origins/Son Of Origins in a slipcase that occasionally turns up at shows, and of course ebay.

 

Firesides have possibly become less collectable due to Marvel Masterworks and DC Archives providing a more lavish and definitive reprint format, although I always liked the brightness of the color reproductions in those old '70s volumes.

 

Apart from the nostalgia the only other reason to buy these volumes would be to sample the florid, self-serving prose of Stan the Man - there's certainly enough revisionism and hyperbole here to make even the most dedicated comic fan wince in agony. However, his fluff still makes for an amusing read.

[goldust40]

I forgot the novelty Firesides, such as the Marvel Superhero Coloring In book and Crossword Puzzle book. These books are scarce in decent grade simply because they were meant to be written and drawn in, usually by small children (as opposed to big children, like us). They're also not listed in Overstreet.

[Galactus]

For your information there are also 5 individualy numbered Fireside Fun Books (magazine size) as well as a collection of issues #1-2 in one huge volume.

Goldust mentioned the Word Games issue which came out at the same time as Marvel Mazes to Drive you Wild (hard to find) & Marvel Superheroes Cookbook.

 

On the Ideals versions, there are 4 that i know of (FF/Spidey/Hulk/Cap A.) - These i consider to be far harder to locate that almost any of the Fireside items and given that they came out at the same time and with the same quality interior, i am surprised they do not sell for more.

[Galactus]

Ian just out of curiosity, what do you know about the Superman form the 30's to the 70's Fireside type book. I mention it because i have seen the cover used quite often in other such publications over the years (indeed i have one such item published by Hamlyn in 1982 - using the exact same cover)

[goldust40]

I agree about the Ideals books - you generally never see them. Cheers re what Fireside Fun books there were. As for Batman and Superman from the '30s to the '70s, I've got copies of these but they've fallen apart (they weren't bound very well, and I've had them since the '70s). They've got B&W interiors.

[Ian_Levine]

Ian just out of curiosity, what do you know about the Superman form the 30's to the 70's Fireside type book. I mention it because i have seen the cover used quite often in other such publications over the years (indeed i have one such item published by Hamlyn in 1982 - using the exact same cover)

 

 

It's not Fireside.

I've got both the Superman and the Batman, and without going to check, I think they were by Spring books.

[Ian_Levine]

I agree about the Ideals books - you generally never see them. Cheers re what Fireside Fun books there were. As for Batman and Superman from the '30s to the '70s, I've got copies of these but they've fallen apart (they weren't bound very well, and I've had them since the '70s). They've got B&W interiors.

 

Sorry to disagree Andy, but I'm certain they were part black and white, and part colour.

[Galactus]

Ian you are correct in saying that the Superman from the 30's to 70's is published by Spring and it does indeed have mostly black and white interior with some colour pages.

 

My original question still stands though..are you aware of how many time sthe cover of this publication has been used in other Fireside "type" books.

[goldust40]

No offence taken, Ian. It's been so long since I read those books (or even located them) that I forgot. They were important in terms of my interest in the hobby, though.

[Ian_Levine]

My original question still stands though..are you aware of how many times the cover of this publication has been used in other Fireside "type" books.

 

 

I'm afraid I have no idea.

[Aman619]

If you ever go to a convention where Motor City sets up, check out their inventory of 70s hard and soft cover Firesides etc. He always turns them up . Its surprising to me when I hear how hard the three softcovers are to find because I remember seeing piles of them remaindered in bookstores in the 80s when I bought one of each of them for maybe a buck apiece. I guess they were all sucked up by buyers since then.

[joe_collector]

Apart from the nostalgia the only other reason to buy these volumes would be to sample the florid, self-serving prose of Stan the Man

 

That's the key for me, and one reason I crack open an old Fireside from time to time.

[goldust40]

If you ever go to a convention where Motor City sets up, check out their inventory of 70s hard and soft cover Firesides etc. He always turns them up . Its surprising to me when I hear how hard the three softcovers are to find because I remember seeing piles of them remaindered in bookstores in the 80s when I bought one of each of them for maybe a buck apiece. I guess they were all sucked up by buyers since then.

 

Yeah, I mentioned Motor City as they always have more Firesides than anyone else. Sadly their prices on them are ludicrous - I've never bought one off them, although I've been tempted.

 

As for piles of remaindered softcovers back in the '80s.......wish I'd lived in the U.S. back then.