high grade Big Little Book prices

[Yellow Kid]

There seems to be growing interest in collecting high grade BLBs. Probably part of this comes from comic collectors who don't want to spend the money that a CGC 9.4 book costs today. And part of it may simply come from the realization that high grade BLBs are truly rare. Low grade copies of most titles are readily available for under $50, and many are only a fraction of that. High grade copies, the equivalent of a CGC 9.0 book or higher, on the other hand are very hard to find. I would be interested in knowing what you think is a fair price for high grade BLBs that you would grade as 9.0 and 9.4. I am going to list a few titles and would really appreciate your input on any or all of them.

 

GRADE

9.0 9.4

1. Buck Rogers and the Doom Comet

2. Flash Gordon in the Ice World of Mongo

3. Mickey Mouse and the Bat Bandit

4. Tarzan and the Golden Lion

5. Terry and the Pirates

 

Thanks for your feedback!

[Theagenes]

I wish I had more information for you, Rich, but I just don't know. I'll be anxious to see what others have to say though. David might have some input on the Tarzan one. The only BLBs that I have actively tracked are the two John Carter ones---both of which sell for a couple hundred in high grade.

[Mmehdy]

A friend of mine has a large collection probably 800 of them and wants to sell them in a lot for a fair price..pm me if anybody is interested and you gotta have the juice...

[Comics-n-ERB]

Hey Rich!

 

Hope you and your family are doing well.

 

My experience is on the uber nice BLB's they will command prices in the hundreds.

 

You know I work on updating my ERB BLB's when ever I can.

 

I think I paid $200 for my copy of Tarzan and the Golden Lion. This was around 5 years ago and I've not found a nicer copy since. Here it is.

 

 

 

 

[sacentaur]

Beautiful Tarzan copy.

 

Is page quality an issue with BLB's?

[Comics-n-ERB]

Thanks!

 

Yes, page quality is an issue but not to the degree it is on a comic. It's rare to find one that has White pages, most are cream with nicer ones being off white.

 

I avoid brittle pages or pages that are tan and stiff.

 

This is my nicest BLB and it does have white pages. It's a file copy. I paid $700 for it and was happy to do so. I've never seen a copy anywhere approaching the grade of this book.

 

[Theagenes]

Beautiful, David!

[BitterOldMan]

I am curious on how the spines are on BLBs? Once you purchase a really nice one, is it wise to open the book?

 

Thanks!

[rodan57]

Good question.

 

Can they be carefully read or are they now a display piece due to age?

[Yellow Kid]

Like a 9.4 comic, I would be very careful reading it, but I think they are primarily for viewing and investment. Someday, either CGC or a new company will start grading and encapsulating them.

[shrunkenhead]

A friend of mine has a large collection probably 800 of them and wants to sell them in a lot for a fair price..pm me if anybody is interested and you gotta have the juice...

 

[BangZoom]

 

 

Gorgeous book.

[BangZoom]

 

Jungle Jim is another favorite of mine.

 

Since he generally doesn't get much attention here on the boards, I thought I'd post one of his BLB's.

 

 

[BB-Gun]

Jungle Jim is another favorite of mine.

 

Since he generally doesn't get much attention here on the boards, I thought I'd one of his BLB's.

 

 

 

I think I have that Big LIttle Book.

I was familiar with Jungle Jim stories because of the Johnny Weissmuller movies which featured that character.

I didn't discover until later that his strip was the top feature of the pages by Alex Raymond.

 

[sacentaur]

Jungle Jim is another favorite of mine.

 

Since he generally doesn't get much attention here on the boards, I thought I'd one of his BLB's.

 

 

 

I think I have that Big LIttle Book.

 

I do have it - thnx to Yellow Kid and others who have participated in this thread as it motivated me to pull my BLB's (I have less than 20) out of storage today, and they are very cool books.

 

It's been so long since I've looked at them, it's rather refreshing to rediscover these again. Like comics and pulps, BLB's are a part of our entertainment cultural identity.

[Comics-n-ERB]

Jungle Jim is another favorite of mine.

 

Since he generally doesn't get much attention here on the boards, I thought I'd one of his BLB's.

 

 

 

I think I have that Big LIttle Book.

 

I do have it - thnx to Yellow Kid and others who have participated in this thread as it motivated me to pull my BLB's (I have less than 20) out of storage today, and they are very cool books.

 

It's been so long since I've looked at them, it's rather refreshing to rediscover these again. Like comics and pulps, BLB's are a part of our entertainment cultural identity.

 

 

There you go!

[lou_fine]

There seems to be growing interest in collecting high grade BLBs. Probably part of this comes from comic collectors who don't want to spend the money that a CGC 9.4 book costs today. And part of it may simply come from the realization that high grade BLBs are truly rare. Low grade copies of most titles are readily available for under $50, and many are only a fraction of that. High grade copies, the equivalent of a CGC 9.0 book or higher, on the other hand are very hard to find. I would be interested in knowing what you think is a fair price for high grade BLBs that you would grade as 9.0 and 9.4. I am going to list a few titles and would really appreciate your input on any or all of them.

 

GRADE

9.0 9.4

1. Buck Rogers and the Doom Comet

2. Flash Gordon in the Ice World of Mongo

3. Mickey Mouse and the Bat Bandit

4. Tarzan and the Golden Lion

5. Terry and the Pirates

 

Thanks for your feedback!

 

Not sure if this is going to be of much help for you in term of real market value, but Overstreet do have these BLB's valued in top of guide (i.e. VF/NM 9.0) at the following prices:

 

1. Buck Rogers and the Doom Comet - $240.00

2. Flash Gordon in the Ice World of Mongo - $250.00

3. Mickey Mouse and the Bat Bandit - $275.00 for No. 1153 and $450 for nn

4. Tarzan and the Golden Lion - $155.00

5. Terry and the Pirates - $125.00 for No. 1156 and $220.00 for nn

 

No idea if BLB's are going for above guide or if they are going for below guide in today's market. I would not be surprised though if it followed the rest of the general comic book market in that anything below high grade tends to sell for a discount to guide while HG copies sells for a premium to guide.

 

From the OS guide though, it looks like the last time any of the above 5 BLB's had any type of price movement was back in 2008. Probably not a good sign since OS did the same thing with the Platinum Age books before taking a huge whack out of their valuations in this year's edition of the guide. Especially with the PA Top 10 Mickey Mouse books which saw huge drops of 50% and 65% in guide. Hopefully, we won't see the same thing with the BLB's since they guide for a lot less than the Platinum Age books.

 

 

[sacentaur]

Jungle Jim is another favorite of mine.

 

Since he generally doesn't get much attention here on the boards, I thought I'd one of his BLB's.

 

 

 

I think I have that Big LIttle Book.

 

I do have it - thnx to Yellow Kid and others who have participated in this thread as it motivated me to pull my BLB's (I have less than 20) out of storage today, and they are very cool books.

 

It's been so long since I've looked at them, it's rather refreshing to rediscover these again. Like comics and pulps, BLB's are a part of our entertainment cultural identity.

 

 

There you go!

 

 

Just for comparison sake, my copy is not as nice as yours - what would your BLB 1139 grade at?

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

These are beautiful books. I have a few odd titles; Og Son of Fire; Radio Patrol and G-Men. I almost picked up one at Wonder Con this year but passed. I was surprised to listen to a Jean Shepherd podcast earlier this year where he discussed the Og radio show in great detail. I pull them out every five years for a look too.

 

Good luck finding a happy home for them Rich!

[lou_fine]

Speaking of uber HG BLB's, the only set that I remember seeing was Geppi's collection during the Diamond Int'l Galleries grand opening back in the mid 90's.

 

If I remember correctly, he had them all on bookcases in a side room of the Gallery. Nice and minty fresh they all appear to be including duplicates of many copies.