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A Complete DC Collection (and not from who you think)!!! Three Cheers!!!

Started by dam60,

188 posts in this topic

dam60

dam60

Posted
Posted

This just in from Scoop!!!! I had no idea that collecting the full run is so popular. God knows if I had the money I would do it too. What an accomplishment!!

 

http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/scoop_article.asp?ai=5726&si=122

 

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Exclusive: Collector Amasses Complete DC Collection

Superstars, Scoop, Friday, July 09, 2004

 

 

A private collector in the northeastern United States has accomplished the astounding and unprecedented feat of assembling a complete collection of every comic book ever published by DC Comics.

 

For those of you who have trouble visualizing the enormity of the task, that's over 30,000 individual comic books!

 

Amazingly, with the exception of a small handful of items toward the end of the quest, this collection was achieved the old-fashioned way with a lot of legwork and mileage, scouring comic shows and stores large and small from coast to coast. Almost no Internet usage was involved in assembling this amazing collection.

 

The collector, who has chosen to remain anonymous at this time, started on the road to this accomplishment in 1970, when it was decided on whim, to accumulate all the back issues of all the DC superhero comics. Subsequently at the San Diego ComiCon (as it was then known) in 1987, with the superhero titles virtually completed, the collector had reached a crossroads.

 

"What do I do once my primary collecting goal has been achieved?" was the basic gist of the discussion, a situation many collectors have faced.

 

At the urging of the staff of the now-defunct Sparkle City Comics, the collector chose to expand the parameters of the collection to include all of the comic books ever published by DC.

 

For 5 years, until its dissolution in 1992, Sparkle City served as the main conduit, funneling vintage DC Comics into the collector's hands. With their heavy annual show schedule, the company was able to easily connect with other dealers and private collectors throughout the country in order acquire needed items.

 

A dedicated band of fellow collectors and other supportive dealers also actively participated in the hunt over the years. It was common practice at the beginning of a major convention for the hunters to congregate at the Sparkle City table for copies of the latest want list update, before fanning out into the dealers room.

 

In early 1992, Mike Wilbur of Diamond International Galleries and Alan Grobman (both then of Sparkle City) entered the ranks of the select few who have personally seen the collection. They spent three weeks that winter at the collector's house. Day after day, from morning until after midnight, they flipped through a seemingly endless succession of boxes, as they checked, verified and toke notes.

 

Complete runs of Action, Adventure, All Star, Batman, Detective, More Fun, Sensation, Superman, and other titles both well-known and obscure passed through their hands as the weeks progressed. From early rarities like Big Book of Fun Comics and New Fun Comics up through the Golden and Silver Ages to then-current titles, the main core of the DC collection was there. All that remained at that point was to finish filling in the fringes with the rest of the war, western, romance, mystery, and humor titles. Ongoing new releases were covered through a long-standing arrangement with a local comic shop.

 

"It was an almost surreal experience," Wilbur said, "just box after box of books that most collectors can only dream of seeing."

 

Among the more esoteric items in the collection is the two-volume set of Cancelled Comics Cavalcade, published by DC in 1978. With a print run of only 35 copies, these books contain stories left over following the infamous "DC Implosion." Printed for copyright purposes, these were distributed internally to creators whose work it featured. The collector's copy was acquired from The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide's publisher Bob Overstreet. Included with the books is a cover letter to Overstreet from then-DC Editor Mike Gold, detailing the information for the Guide.

 

"I remember [the collector] spent a lot of time visiting when we were still down in Tennessee," recalled Overstreet, "I sold [the collector] an Action Comics #1 and a few other things."

 

The almost final book in the collection was the romance title Girls' Love Stories #56, a nothing-in-particular issue of a nothing-special title that was simply frustratingly difficult to locate. Acquired in late 2002, this was thought to be the end of the long road, until the discovery of the obscure Golden Age DC comic, the Fat and Slat Joke Book. Once this additional piece became known, a copy was acquired within a couple of months, in early 2003.

 

Since the assembly of the collection was primarily a labor of love and not a search for glory, the collector had chosen to avoid the limelight. However, in light of the historical importance of the achievement, the collector did acknowledge to Scoop that "The First Complete DC Collection" was a reality.

 

The collector would like to extend personal thanks to Joe Vereneault of JHV Associates, Alan Grobman, Gene Carpenter of All-American Comics, fellow collector Mike D'Alessandro and Wilbur, with special mentions also going to Joe Mannarino, John Verzyl of Comic Heaven, Mike Goldman of Motor City Comics, Ron Pussell of Redbeard's Book Den, Harley Yee, Richard Evans of Bedrock City Comics, Rob Ronin, Michelle Nolan, and Nostalgia Zone of Minnesota for their assistance, support, and encouragement.

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burntboy

burntboy

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maybe THIS is why Ian is on hiatus?!?!?!? devil.gif

 

how weird that two guys got to almost the same seemingly impossible point so close to one another??? 893whatthe.gif

 

i still hope Ian comes back AND completes his collection thumbsup2.gif

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deathlok

deathlok

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Wow, kudos to that guy for not coming on here and being an [!@#%^&^] in his quest to complete his collection. What a feat. Ian might as well give up now, what's the point. 27_laughing.gif

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Thegoldenage

Thegoldenage

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I'm not sure why this is big news. The collector mentioned in the article is not the first person to complete a run of DC Comics. There are several known (and probably several more that are unknown) complete runs of DC comics and in my estimation if and when Ian completes his run, he will probably be seventh or eighth collector to do so. With the advent of the Internet and the growth of the auction house circuit, there are very few Golden Age DC comic books that are difficult to find. Of course, cost is a huge factor today, but back when the aforementioned collector amassed his run of books, cost wasn't nearly as big a factor. Even today, if given the money, a collector could amass the entire line in about a year or two.

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OldGuy

OldGuy

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I'm not sure why this is big news. The collector mentioned in the article is not the first person to complete a run of DC Comics. There are several known (and probably several more that are unknown) complete runs of DC comics and in my estimation if and when Ian completes his run, he will probably be seventh or eighth collector to do so. With the advent of the Internet and the growth of the auction house circuit, there are very few Golden Age DC comic books that are difficult to find. Of course, cost is a huge factor today, but back when the aforementioned collector amassed his run of books, cost wasn't nearly as big a factor. Even today, if given the money, a collector could amass the entire line in about a year or two.

 

 

Yea, you're right. Any dumbazz with an internet connection could do this. No big deal. insane.gif

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Aman619

Aman619

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Its about time she took credit for the incredible goal of collecting every DC before Johnny-come-lately Ian stole her thunder and announced it first. He has acknowledged her quest saying that she probably has them all already, but never collected the premiums and giveaways. SO he can still fill those in for the Compleat Complete DC collection.

 

Feel better Ian??

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deathlok

deathlok

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this is the woman Ian wanted to contact and was told NOT to invade her privacy - - - so he called her anyway. There was discussion about it here at the time...
I'm shocked that Ian would call when told not to. How unlike him to do that. (Note sarcasm wink.gif)
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sckao

sckao

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I'm not sure why this is big news. The collector mentioned in the article is not the first person to complete a run of DC Comics. There are several known (and probably several more that are unknown) complete runs of DC comics and in my estimation if and when Ian completes his run, he will probably be seventh or eighth collector to do so.

 

Who are the other collectors? This article claims this person is the first (given their own criteria, of course.)

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