Toughest DC Bronze Age Keys in HIGH GRADE

[g-man]

I would have to go with:

 

Green Lantern #76 (although I think there are NM unslabbed copies still out there)

 

Detective #400 (ditto)

 

Batman #227,237,243,244

 

Young Love #107

 

Wonder Woman #199,200

 

DC 100 page SS #5,6

 

HOS #92

 

DM of Forbidden Love #1

 

btw: if anyone has any of these for sale, PM me!

 

 

 

 

 

[drbanner]

What a great idea for a thread!! However, you forgot:

 

DC 100 Page SS 4

All Star Western 10

Weird War Tales 1

 

I don't think those Adams' Batman issues (other than 227) are all that hard to find in NM.

[g-man]

the ones i listed are all tough in 9.4 and even harder in 9.6. The #237 with the Reaper always has a printing crease about a 1/3 of the way down the front cover. Although naything can be found, I have had a hard time locating those particular issues (althoguh I recently acquired a 9.6 white page #244!)

[greggy]

Gman, you are wrong again! My copy does not have the printer's crease. However, it isn't in NM either!

[FlyingDonut]

ANY black cover DCs are IMPOSSIBLE to find in grade:

 

Just a couple off the top of my head:

 

Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love 1

Batman 230

Batman 243

Wonder Woman 195

Batman 300

Flash 215

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting some...

 

and besides, according to CBG, Green Lantern 76 is a Silver Age book!

 

[chrisco37]

Gman,

 

It's been my experience that GL #76 is an extremely tough book in high grade. I've been to at least 5 shows this year and haven't seen one better than F/VF (at best), slabbed or unslabbed. We talked about this book a long time ago, and I believe a 9.2 sold for over $1000 (that's 4x guide for a Bronze book in 9.2!). If they were out there, they would have been slabbed. I'm not a huge DC collector, but isn't this one of THE key books for DC Collectors from this period (2nd only to HOS #92)? People will always slab the keys in hopes of making a buck.

 

Chris

 

 

[jordanabigail]

Weird War Tales #1 and Ghosts #1 are extremely difficult to find in high grade.

 

[greggy]

Sinister House of Secret Love #1 or Batman 238? Boy, you and odin88 are both losing your sanity. And to think that I am only a few years younger than you!

[aardvark88]

Would say Detect 400 is much tougher to find than GL 76.

[greggy]

For one you are probably right. See what intelligent posts you can make when it isn't distorted by your one perceived CGC slight! I didn't see you complain about them OVERGRADING your CGC 9.4 Detective 359? The extra $$ you made on that book far outweighs the potential $$ loss on the stupid GL59! Get over it you bitter ex-collector!

[Kevin76]

The #237 with the Reaper always has a printing crease about a 1/3 of the way down the front cover

 

It's not a "printer's crease"..it's just a wrinkle in the paper and is there on the roll of paper being used,it happens before the blankets hit the paper.

[Joanna]

I've got a Young Love 107, and it looks to be around VF. Is it really that difficult to find?

 

-- Joanna

[greggy]

Unfortunately, this is one of the easiest 100 pagers to find. There must have been a large warehouse find because the first 3 100 page issues of the Young Love (107-109) and Young Romance (197-199) runs are extremely common!

[g-man]

i believe that are only 2 9.4s (I have one of them)..... so not that easy to get in high grade.

[greggy]

Yo, if you only consider 9.4 above or higher to be high grade, I guess you are right. However, this books is damn common! No denying that. Check the census on all bronze DCs and they will look scarce. Doesn't mean that they don't exist.

[Guest]

those 100 pagers turned up in a warehouse find approx 3 years ago I think Matt Schiffman (Xela Galleries) had a bunch of them in NM and they are all over the place now I picked up my copies raw for less than 1/2 guide and that might have been too much Chet

[Joanna]

Ah, okay. Well I bought my copy about 10 years ago, so it can't be a warehouse copy. It just survived in pretty good shape.

 

-- Joanna

[greggy]

Did the hot pink cover factor in you buying that book? Or did you buy it for the relevant letters pages?

[Joanna]

greggy,

 

Romance comics were so completely dead when I was collecting, that my comic shop guy would almost give them away to me, so I'd just take them for fun. I liked having a little variety, and reading the occasional non-super-hero book. And they were kinda kitschy with all those "I have a great job, success, and wealth but my life is empty without a man!" or "No man will ever love me because I have (insert flaw here)!" silly storylines.

 

My favorite was Young Romance 197 with "The story they dared us to print!!!"

 

"Don't waste your time, Fred. Liz isn't interested in boys... You know what I mean!"

 

(this while Liz paints a brick wall)

 

The whole story makes very broad hints at how boyish she is, and so not interested in dating boys but would rather be with her best friend, a girl. Naturally, they copped out in the end, and she falls instantly for Fred when he kisses her, a changed woman. But for the era, I'm sure it was risky stuff.

 

-- Joanna

[greggy]

Yeah, I remember how hard I was laughing when I saw that cover and all its innuendos! Typicall sappy ending though!