Stan Lee File copies????

[comicmankev]

That what I wasn't sure about. thanks for clearing that up Theres hundreds out there with his sig on it, real or not. But I've never seen an actuall SS apart from the SLFC. What is the title you have, and when was it done? Just wondered if it was at the same time, and wondered whether CGC got their moneys worht out of him in one day

[AlexH]

It is Spectacular Spider-man #27 CGC 9.4 (highest graded Stan Lee SS book I might add).

 

I believe it was done at the San Diego Comic con last year. I think there was only one other book done that day (Nick Fury #1?) because he only signs one book per person at cons. And that was after a 3 hour wait in line.

 

Hope that helps.

 

[AlexH]

guys - - my whole point was "Are these REALLY" Stan's copies? I have a hard time with this. I think its a clever marketing gimmick, nothing more. Stan always said he never kept any comics or he'd be rich. Suddenly there are hundreds of them showing up.

 

OK, I did a bit of searching and this is what I came up with:

 

http://www.go-star.com/antiquing/spiderman.htm

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/film/2096800.stm

 

Both of which seem to point to these being Stan's copies.

 

However, I have noticed that some of his "file copies" don't contain the words "file copies" on the CGC label. For example:

 

http://apps.heritagecomics.com/common/view_item.php?source=&Sale_No=14031&Lot_No=16541&sid=F7A888E063B9559151AE02DF731EECF2

 

In this case, Heritage is selling a signature series book as a file copy, even though it isn't labelled. Makes you wonder...

[comicmankev]

That does sound a bit dodgy??

[Aman619]

guys - - my whole point was "Are these REALLY" Stan's copies? I have a hard time with this. I think its a clever marketing gimmick, nothing more. Stan always said he never kept any comics or he'd be rich. Suddenly there are hundreds of them showing up.

 

OK, I did a bit of searching and this is what I came up with:

 

http://www.go-star.com/antiquing/spiderman.htm

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/film/2096800.stm

 

Both of which seem to point to these being Stan's copies.

 

However, I have noticed that some of his "file copies" don't contain the words "file copies" on the CGC label. For example:

 

http://apps.heritagecomics.com/common/view_item.php?source=&Sale_No=14031&Lot_No=16541&sid=F7A888E063B9559151AE02DF731EECF2

 

In this case, Heritage is selling a signature series book as a file copy, even though it isn't labelled. Makes you wonder...

 

Im ready to let this go...I love Stan and Im not trying to besmirch his name. I just think that Stan was presented with this idea, all wrapped up as a package, and he said "sure". Both pages you linked to were just pieces of the press releases Heritage put out. And Stan is a good guy, and an expert marketer. He knows how to go along with a pitch as good as anybody, so whether he said all that, or parrotted it, is about the same thing.

 

So IMO, perhaps the first wave of Stan Lee comics was from a box he found along with the other stuff he auctioned off. But I feel pretty strongly that not ALL of these comics, while definitely having come from the House of Ideas, actually came out of the House of Stan.

[goldust40]

I'd never heard of "Stan Lee File Copies" until I saw them on Heritage, and I've been collecting for 30 years. Also these "File copies" devalue the term as they're in generally low to tatty grades, and have no interesting notations in them, like the Pay Copy of Marvel Comics 1. These may indeed be his own personal copies, but if the market had known of their existence a couple of decades earlier it may have lent some credibility to this series.

 

With so many Marvels having Stan's signature on them (even ones he didn't write), is anybody that bothered? Wouldn't you prefer Kirby's sig?

[lou_fine]

You can pay whatever you want for a Stan Lee file copy. I'm not saying it isn't worth it to you. I'm saying it isn't worth it to me, and that *I* won't pay 8X NM guide for a G/VG book just because Stan owned it.

 

I am also absolutely amazed at the kind of prices which people are paying for these low low grade Stan Lee file copies. Just surprised that I don't see file copies from some of the other big name creators such as Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Steranko, etc.

 

Makes me wonder if my Harry Wildenberg file copies of Famous Funnies #1-#5 is worth any money or not. After all, Wildenberg is often acknowledged to be one of the founding fathers of the modern comic book (see OS guide page 298). In addition, FF #1-#5 represents the first five newsstand comic books to ever be published. Finally, I also guarantee you that these are a lot rarer than Stan's books which seems to number in the hundreds.

 

Now, let's see. Since Stan is able to get 8X NM guide for his file copies, all I am asking for is just a miniscule 1X VF guide for Wildenberg's file copies. That would leave me with a nice tidy $31K.

[blowout]

I'd never heard of "Stan Lee File Copies" until I saw them on Heritage, and I've been collecting for 30 years. Also these "File copies" devalue the term as they're in generally low to tatty grades, and have no interesting notations in them, like the Pay Copy of Marvel Comics 1. These may indeed be his own personal copies, but if the market had known of their existence a couple of decades earlier it may have lent some credibility to this series.

 

Thats the whole point to this that aman originally raised that I find most disturbing, the fact that its only recently that anyone knew about these books

 

The whole premise behind these 'Stan Lee File Copies', as I understand it, is they were the actual books he used as reference back in the SA. They were not necessarily his own personal copies, but kept by Marvel for him to refer to, hence the low grades.

I really hope they are genuine, as has been stated, the alternatives are not very paletable.

[dolphinsrwj]

i have always wondered if they are legit or not.i own 3 of his file copys journey into mystery#123 cgc 5.5 marvel feature#11 cgc 5.0 and amaz spiderman#107 cgc 8.5 it does sound like a clever gimmick to make money on lower grade copys,but part of me really wants to beleive they were his because i bought three.

[JohnBull]

I think they get crazy when you see the later issues (which is all I seem to see by and large). Lee had given up most of the writing chores by the time of most of these issues, so I can't exactly see them being used for too much research. If someone walked into my house and offerred me huge multiples of NM-guide for my POS copies, I'd be only too happy to sign them.

[goldust40]

It's a license to print money.

[blowout]

Lee had given up most of the writing chores by the time of most of these issues, so I can't exactly see them being used for too much research.

 

Yeah, you'd have to figure he'd know the characters after around 20-30 issues or so of each title, I can't really see any research copies being required after writing a book for a mumber of years.

[PedigreeMan]

Makes me wonder if my Harry Wildenberg file copies of Famous Funnies #1-#5 is worth any money or not.

 

Care to share the story behind these, Lou?

 

(And if I may say, it really sounds like you have one heckuva collection! )

 

Alan

[HeritageJohn-migration]

Here's the straight story on the Stan Lee File Copies. All of what I'm about to relate was extensively covered in the media at the time of the initial sale, or later on on various message boards. None of this is new information.

 

Severla months after we had our first auction, we contacted Stan (both Jim Halperin and I had met him before), and he invited me to come out to LA and look through a store room full of stuff. He said he had no idea what was in there, but I was welcome to come out and have a look.

 

I went to LA, met with Stan, and started digging through boxes. In the course of this "excavation", I found a number of comics that Stan had saved over the years (I also found a whole lot of comics from the 1980s and 1990s that he had been comped, but those were neveer included as part of his "File Copy" collection). Many of the books Stan had saved were in low to mid-grade, with the occassional high-grade surprise. We decided to label and market these books as the "Stan Lee File Copy" Collection, as we felt that designation best represented the way the books had been used.

 

Forward about six months: As time went by, and we were certifying books that were a) lower grade and b) of less historical significance, Steve Borock felt that the designation "File Copy" was no longer appropriate. We decided to label the books as Stan Lee Signature Series books, as they were, indeed, signed by Stan, and they did, indeed, come from his collection.

 

The bottom line is this: Any book that Heritage has sold from either the Stan Lee File Copy Collection or the Stan Lee Signature Series came to us directly from Stan. No exceptions. We are very proud and happy to work with Stan, and are proud to be the auction house he chose to offer his collection to the public.

 

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding.

 

Best regards,

 

John E. Petty

Director of Auctions

Heritage Comics Auctions

[OldGuy]

Thanks for that information. I won five of the SL File Copies from Heritage and re-sold two of them to cover costs. I very much enjoy the three I have left.

 

On another topic, what is Heritages policy on selling restored comics as unrestored? Assuming the policy is to not do it then how will Heritage compensate auction winners when undisclosed restoration is found, as happened in this case:

 

Book you sold as unrestored 7.5

 

Same book sold as unrestored 8.0, but obviously restored

 

And this one:

 

Restored - PLOD

 

Restored even more and POOF! Universal Blue Label

[BachelorOfComix]

[FFB]

Frankly, what I'd like to hear more about is all of the Golden Age books that are sold in one Heritage Auction, only to appear re-slabbed in another Heritage Auction, cleaned and pressed (and in some cases trimmed), at a much higher grade, but with no disclosure of the restoration.

 

Also, why do you allow your employees to bid on the auctions? That seems like a huge conflict of interest.

 

Here's the straight story on the Stan Lee File Copies. All of what I'm about to relate was extensively covered in the media at the time of the initial sale, or later on on various message boards. None of this is new information.

 

Severla months after we had our first auction, we contacted Stan (both Jim Halperin and I had met him before), and he invited me to come out to LA and look through a store room full of stuff. He said he had no idea what was in there, but I was welcome to come out and have a look.

 

I went to LA, met with Stan, and started digging through boxes. In the course of this "excavation", I found a number of comics that Stan had saved over the years (I also found a whole lot of comics from the 1980s and 1990s that he had been comped, but those were neveer included as part of his "File Copy" collection). Many of the books Stan had saved were in low to mid-grade, with the occassional high-grade surprise. We decided to label and market these books as the "Stan Lee File Copy" Collection, as we felt that designation best represented the way the books had been used.

 

Forward about six months: As time went by, and we were certifying books that were a) lower grade and b) of less historical significance, Steve Borock felt that the designation "File Copy" was no longer appropriate. We decided to label the books as Stan Lee Signature Series books, as they were, indeed, signed by Stan, and they did, indeed, come from his collection.

 

The bottom line is this: Any book that Heritage has sold from either the Stan Lee File Copy Collection or the Stan Lee Signature Series came to us directly from Stan. No exceptions. We are very proud and happy to work with Stan, and are proud to be the auction house he chose to offer his collection to the public.

 

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding.

 

Best regards,

 

John E. Petty

Director of Auctions

Heritage Comics Auctions

[FFB]

Whoops! Didn't read your reply before I posted!

[deathlok]

Thanks for that information. I won five of the SL File Copies from Heritage and re-sold two of them to cover costs. I very much enjoy the three I have left.

 

On another topic, what is Heritages policy on selling restored comics as unrestored? Assuming the policy is to not do it then how will Heritage compensate auction winners when undisclosed restoration is found, as happened in this case:

 

Book you sold as unrestored 7.5

 

Same book sold as unrestored 8.0, but obviously restored

 

And this one:

 

Restored - PLOD

 

Restored even more and POOF! Universal Blue Label

 

 

Heritage should not care if the certified books they offer are restored or unrestored. They are the auction house, not the grading company. OG, your questions should be asked of Mr. Borock, not Heritage.

[OldGuy]

Thanks for that information. I won five of the SL File Copies from Heritage and re-sold two of them to cover costs. I very much enjoy the three I have left.

 

On another topic, what is Heritages policy on selling restored comics as unrestored? Assuming the policy is to not do it then how will Heritage compensate auction winners when undisclosed restoration is found, as happened in this case:

 

Book you sold as unrestored 7.5

 

Same book sold as unrestored 8.0, but obviously restored

 

And this one:

 

Restored - PLOD

 

Restored even more and POOF! Universal Blue Label

 

 

Heritage should not care if the certified books they offer are restored or unrestored. They are the auction house, not the grading company. OG, your questions should be asked of Mr. Borock, not Heritage.

 

I strongly disagree. Heritage is responsible for what they sell, not CGC.