Infinite Marvel Picture Frame books 23 23

[MasterChief]

22 hours ago, namisgr said:

It was graded April, 2021, be it for whatever reason.  But the Suscha picture frames all first made it to market over 10 years ago, and as of last September there were only 2 9.8 copies of this ish in the census, so this 9.8 grade is new and almost certainly from a re-grading.

There were three certified copies of FF#120 from the Suscha News collection that came to market in 2011-12 via ComicConnect. These books were graded 9.4, 9.4, 9.6, and bore sequential certification numbers. All three books were graded on 12/28/2010. Both of the 9.4s are currently searchable in the verification database. The 9.6 is not.

Here are the images of the books. The 9.6 does not appear to be the newly graded 9.8 copy. It's possible that the second 9.8 copy, which appeared in the census on August 29, 2011, is the former 9.6 copy. While I have a sizable amount of data on the collection, I don’t have it all, especially raw copy books that failed the 9.2 prescreening certification process. I could be wrong, but I am fairly certain that there were no raw copies of FF#120 sold by Metropolis/ComicConnect. That said, over the course of the last several years I have seen books appear that were questionable as to being from the collection.
 

  

[MasterChief]

17 hours ago, MGsimba77 said:

I think he bought off the rack until some point they decided to give him access to the pallet. I think they're closed now but they were still up and running until recently as far as I've read. 

Yup. As reported by the Sheboygan Press, Suscha News closed in December of 2019. 

[MasterChief]

5 hours ago, namisgr said:

Spinner racks really were defect-inducing to new books.  Packed tight, kids would often paw through a stack to see whether there were any different titles behind the book that was showing.  To get copies without the resulting spine stress lines, you had to get to them on the day they were received and first displayed, Wednesdays in the mid-Atlantic region at the time.

But there were also some news agencies and drug stores that would use tiered wooden shelves to display books and magazines, and my recollection is it was easier to find comics in pristine shape that way than from the local 7-11 spinner.  It's impressive that the Suscha News collector had the interest in grade quality and the foresight to strike a deal to get books before they even were put out for display.  And it shows in the consistent and incredible quality of the picture frame comics.

The Suscha News collection is my favorite Silver/Bronze age pedigree for the breadth, depth, and original off-the-press aesthetic condition. IMO, you'll have a hard time finding better. Moreover, the story behind the collection is intriguing and establishes a nostalgic link to the original owner and uniqueness of the books. What's more, the collection was reportedly not manipulated prior to initial certification. This fact was reported by numerous sources during the initial public offering, and I independently verified it through a conversation with Vincent Zurzolo in 2019. An amazing revelation given the propensity of today's dealers to maximize certification potential through manipulation prior to resale.

I started capturing certification data when the collection premiered in 2010. Data points such as titles, issue numbers, grades, certification numbers, page color, scans, and in some cases, sales info. At this point I have examined enough data to draw reasonable conclusions as to collection size and the collecting habits of the original owner.

As the story goes, the original owner bought multiple copies of each issue from the local magazine distributor's backroom. The data I've collected supports that claim. The story isn't BS (as some collection claims are). I will say that it appears as though the original owner had title favorites. One of which was Conan the Barbarian. During the Marvel picture frame production period the collector was buying between 5-9 copies of each issue.

I've often thought about what it must have been like to open the printer's shipping boxes in the backroom of Suscha News, digging down into the stack of freshly printed comics while smelling the newly laid ink, and selecting only the finest looking copies out of the bunch. What an experience that must have been for the original owner. Every week repeating the same scenario and not knowing what each unopened box would bring... the titles, the artwork, the new characters and the 1st issues! What an experience it must have been. The stuff that dreams are made of. And in my opinion, that is what makes the Suscha collection so special.

[namisgr]

Thanks for the great set of posts and the useful information.  This is the copy that was graded in August, 2011.  It looks distinct from all 3 of the Suscha News copies.  I bought it from Joe Shaffer/Doc Joe here on the boards several years ago, so he might know more about its origins, although I don't see him posting in these hinterland forums any more.

Edited May 29, 2021 by namisgr

[Ghost Town]

At first glance, the ComicLink Suscha 9.8 doesn't seem like it's any of the copies that MC posted.

I was living in NYC when Metropolis introduced the collection and managed to cab over and snag a lot of Suschas. While most of the books I bought were slabbed, some were not.

None of the raw Suschas were graded 9.8 by CGC. But I got at least a couple 9.6s.

[HighVoltage]

Thank you for the info about the Suschas! 

[southern cross]

Yes, thanks for the information on the suscha news collection.

I have the TTA 93

Edited May 30, 2021 by southern cross

[namisgr]

5 hours ago, southern cross said:

Yes, thanks for the information on the suscha news collection.

I have the TTA 93

The Silver Age part of the collection baffles me, as there are only scattered issues that have been encapsulated and labeled as Suschas.  I used to own the FF31 and 34, but have seen pictures of only a handful of the SA FF issues of the title.  The original owner in his writeup posted by Metro said that by 1968 he'd bought about a thousand books.  Maybe a bunch of the Silver wasn't high grade.  

Edited May 30, 2021 by namisgr

[greggy]

[namisgr]

That's an odd oversize right there, Greg.  Is that just a cover?  If so, it would look nice trimmed and married to a white paged interior.

Edited May 31, 2021 by namisgr

[namisgr]

Another tough Western series.  The 17 (1 of 3), 18 (1 of 4), 19 (1 of 1), and 21 (1 of 2) are top census copies, while the 20 is 1 of the top 4 graded.  Severin, Kane, and Ayers did the covers.

  

  

Edited May 31, 2021 by namisgr

[greggy]

5 hours ago, namisgr said:

That's an odd oversize right there, Greg.  Is that just a cover?  If so, it would look nice trimmed and married to a white paged interior.

Yes, it's a proof cover I bought on eBay ages ago.

I have some of more desirable but non-picture frame books such as Ghost Rider 1, Marvel Premiere 15, and Strange Tales 169 among others. 

[southern cross]

23 hours ago, namisgr said:

The Silver Age part of the collection baffles me, as there are only scattered issues that have been encapsulated and labeled as Suschas.  I used to own the FF31 and 34, but have seen pictures of only a handful of the SA FF issues of the title.  The original owner in his writeup posted by Metro said that by 1968 he'd bought about a thousand books.  Maybe a bunch of the Silver wasn't high grade.  

Think that is the case.

Wasn't it reported that the books first graded had not been pressed and there was a grade screen done for grade.

Probably why not many of the silver were slabbed.

My TTA 93 is a white page 9.2

Bought this thru comic connect auction when the books first appeared.

Glad it was a 9.2 as that was in a comfortable price range for me many years ago. 👍

[namisgr]

Cover art by Kane, John Severin, Ayers, Shores. 

    

  

 

[namisgr]

More tough westerns - white paged copies can be especially challenging, given that the reprint westerns were printed on the cheapest paper.  How tough?  The Ringo Kid #17 at 9.0 is one of the top four graded copies.

    

    

[djpinkpanther67]

Ringo Kid 14 is a difficult one as well

[Ghost Town]

37 minutes ago, djpinkpanther67 said:

Ringo Kid 14 is a difficult one as well

I think all the Ringo Kids are pretty tough to find in high grade. Ringo and Millie the Model must be hanging out somewhere well off the grid.

[namisgr]

I never did own a nice copy of Ringo Kid #14.

Here's the collection of picture frame Rawhide Kid.  Top census copies are #94 (1 of 2), 97 (1 of 2), 98 (1 of 2), and 100 (1 of 5). 

  

  

Edited June 6, 2021 by namisgr

[namisgr]

  

  

[jimjum12]

First tribute cover I remember buying... It was cool to see the retelling of their origin ... Big, John knocked it out of the park  This will be at least a double post @drbanner ... GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

Edited June 6, 2021 by jimjum12