Another SOTI thread, starting with Blue Beetle 54, low grade $250

[SOTIcollector]

Just a few SOTI items. One tonight, and two more by this weekend. Coming up soon I have a copy of SOTI and a copy of Parade of Pleaure.

 

The usual rules. Paypal or check is fine. No HOS or Probies. I ship only once a week, typically on Saturdays. Shipping in the U.S. is $10; outside the U.S., it's exact cost for a fully insured shipment, so shipping can be expensive. I will never falsify a customs declaration.

 

Tonight it's just one book. Blue Beetle #54. Looks at first glance to be about a VG-ish, but on closer inspection I'd call it a FR at best. There a significant spine split and brittle pages, which resulted in the paper loss you see at the right edge. The cover is so tenuously attached that, even with my outstanding packaging, I can't guarantee the cover will still be attached when the comic arrives. The CF and at least several interior wraps are detached; I did not inspect all interior pages at the staples than that due to the brittleness of the pages.

 

Okay, the condition is the bad news. The good news is that this is a SOTI grail book. Along with Phantom Lady 17 and Reform School Girl, this is one of the most iconic covers pictured in SOTI. This book is rarely offered for sale, and this is your chance to get a (relatively) affordable copy.

 

$250 and it's yours.

 

I apologize for the upside-down photos. Pics from my scanner or digital camera come out fine on Photobucket, but you can blame Steve Jobs for the upside-down photos that come from my iphone. Even when I correct the orientation before or after upload, the iphone photos are typically presented with an incorrect orientation.

 

 

 

[Filter81]

[comicparadox]

Quick and easy. Welcome back to the Boards, Adam!

[SOTIcollector]

Holey moley! That was fast!

More to come before the weekend.

[JEFF.ZEMKE]

Nice pickup.

[Speedy-D]

[bcc]

 

Double :mad:

[torontodesignguy]

great book... congrats to buyer and seller.... bring more on!

[SOTIcollector]

great book... congrats to buyer and seller.... bring more on!

Thanks for the request and the enthusiasm. Yes, there's more to come. That's probably it for comic books in this thread, but I do have at least two books coming up: a copy of Seduction of the Innocent and a copy of Parade of Pleasure (missing two pages, but with a really nice dust jacket).

 

I've had requests from individuals who would like a shot at the books before I post them, but the fairest way I can think of to offer them is to post them as first-come, first-served. When I get the pics and descriptions ready, I'll post them.

[Twistty1]

[Filter81]

[SOTIcollector]

Yes, SOTI and POP still to come either tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a copy of Dr. Wertham's 1973 "The World of Fanzines". It's a former library book with the usual library markings and card sleeve, but otherwise unmarked.

 

$40 shipped in the US. Shipping elsewhere more.

 

The good news: the dust jacked is in amazing shape because it's been well protected by a cellophane sleeve. The bad news: that cellophane sleeve was taped to the book and also its flaps were glued to the inside covers of the book. The tape got old and brittle and came off easily, but the glue is still stuck really well. If you're looking for just an amazing dust jacket, you could peel the cellophane sleeve off of the front and back inner covers of the book, unwrap the cellphane, and you've got an amazing dust jacket. Of course, I'd recommend keeping the book in the dust jacket. You'll have a really nice copy of this book to read and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vaillant]

@SOTIcollector: How much more would be to ship to Italy?

I was thinking I could send this as a gift to a friend of mine, but unsure…

[SOTIcollector]

@SOTIcollector: How much more would be to ship to Italy?

I was thinking I could send this as a gift to a friend of mine, but unsure…

Thanks for your interest.

 

I calculate exact shipping, and then I pay part of that cost. With a shipping box and packing material, this book weighs just over 2 pounds. USPS shipping cost is $19.45 to Italy. I'll pay part of that, so your cost would be $55 shipped to Italy via USPS.

[vaillant]

Hi, many thanks, I’ll think about it. :-)

[Mac Man]

Yes, SOTI and POP still to come either tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a copy of Dr. Wertham's 1973 "The World of Fanzines". It's a former library book with the usual library markings and card sleeve, but otherwise unmarked.

 

$40 shipped in the US. Shipping elsewhere more.

 

The good news: the dust jacked is in amazing shape because it's been well protected by a cellophane sleeve. The bad news: that cellophane sleeve was taped to the book and also its flaps were glued to the inside covers of the book. The tape got old and brittle and came off easily, but the glue is still stuck really well. If you're looking for just an amazing dust jacket, you could peel the cellophane sleeve off of the front and back inner covers of the book, unwrap the cellphane, and you've got an amazing dust jacket. Of course, I'd recommend keeping the book in the dust jacket. You'll have a really nice copy of this book to read and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used this in my doctoral research and it was both fascinating and helpful in getting a "feel" of Werthem. I very nearly "lost" and opted to buy it from the library

[SOTIcollector]

ABOUT SOTI:

 

This is it. Comic book history.

 

In case you're not familiar with the story: back in 1948, Dr. Fredric Wertham, a psychiatrist with very impressive credentials, started publicly criticizing comic books as harmful to children. He pushed to ban the sale of "crime comic books" (which included any comics with crime in them, such as superhero and war books) to children under 15. Thanks in large part to his efforts, there were comic book burnings. Comic book bans were debated and in some cases implemented in cities like Los Angeles, Boston and Detroit. The New York Legislature investigated the detrimental effects of comic books, as did the United States Senate. In April, 1954, about the same time the Senate hearings into comic books started, Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent was released. Its 400 text pages plus 16 more illustration pages detail just how dangerous comic books are. As a result of Wertham's efforts and the Senate investigation, the industry adopted the Comics Code, which effectively neutered comics for years to come. Wertham nearly single-handedly killed the entire comic book industry.

 

Back in April, 1954, the first edition of SOTI was published. At some time thereafter, my guess is probably late '54 or early '55, a second printing was published.

 

Both of these printings were published with a bibliography at the end (a single leaf, pages 399-400). A few copies of the first print were distributed before the book's publisher, Rinehart, decided that the bibliography had to be removed. So the bibliography was carefully sliced out of the remaining copies before they were sold. A few first printings survived with the bibliography intact, but I have never seen or heard of a second printing that survived with the bibliography intact.

 

There are two things that distinguish the second printing from the first printing.

1) The inside front flap of the second print reads "SECOND PRINTING."

2) The first print has an R colophon on the publication page, but the second printing does not have this colophon.

 

Other than these things, it's easy to mistake a second print for a first print. Whether you buy one of mine or another copy of SOTI, be sure you know how to tell a first print from a second print. Over the years I have seen many sellers with unjacketed copies of second prints who mistakenly thought they were selling first prints.

 

I have also owned copies that were missing an illustration page from the center. The illustration pages are unnumbered, so be sure to always count the center pages (there should be 8 leaves/16 pages).

 

ABOUT THIS BOOK:

 

 

This is a beautiful copy of SOTI with the bibliography intact. Most copies of the book have no bibliography, but this is one of the ones that survived with the bibliography, and it's NOT a former library copy.

 

The photos tell the condition story.

The book: R colophon is present indicating true first print. Bleaching to the front and rear interior boards. Name written inside FC; otherwise unmarked. Spine is grey rather than black. From moisture? Bottom of spine abraded. A very nice copy.

 

The dust jacket:

Very solid, with some color flaking that's evident in the photos. Red lettering on the spine of the DJ is faded. Small amount of paper loss at the upper and lower spine of the DJ.

 

Paid by Check/Money order, price is $595 shipped in the U.S. Paypal's fine as long as you're willing to cover the fees (which I believe is about 3%, or $18).

Shipping outside the US is likely to be expensive, because I'll only ship this in a way that can be fully insured. Shipping outside the US is at my cost minus $5.

 

[SOTIcollector]

Last one for tonight. Sometime in the next few days I'll post at least one more book. A copy of SOTI in rough condition that will be free. You'll have to earn it, but it'll be free. Details to come. But for now...

 

Here's another bit of comic book history.

 

There are three notorious books from those olden days when parents were deathly afraid of their kids' reading material and Senators wanted to put EC out of business. There's Seduction of the Innocent by Dr. Fredric Wertham, Love and Death by Gershon Legman, and this one, Parade of Pleasure by Geoffrey Wagner. Even though they are not comic books, you'll find all three listed in Overstreet because of the influence they had on the industry. Of the three books, POP is by far the scarcest. If you're just looking for any copy of SOTI or L&D, you can find it. But POP is another story. Finding any copy at all for sale is tough. Finding one with a dust jacket in nice shape? Darned near impossible.

 

There were two printings of POP: one in England, and one in the US. This one is the US printing, which is important to know if you're looking to buy this just to marry its dust jacket with a book you already have.

 

Condition: Let the photos be your guide, but here are some particulars about the condition.

 

This is a former library copy, so it has the markings you would expect. The dust jacket was previously taped on. The tape is gone, but the tape stains remain on the book.

 

In addition to criticizing comics, this book also criticizes movies, pin-up magazines and paperback books. It has illustration pages with illos of the above subjects. All of the comic book illustrations are present, but some insufficiently thoughtful person removed two photo leaves (two sheets/leaves=4 pages) of pinup models including Marilyn Monroe. I have made color copies of the missing pages and tucked them into the book. When the pages were liberated, they caused some damage to two remaining pages, which have been taped (not by me, of course). This should be evident in the photos.

 

The dust jacket has a clipped front flap, a library sticker on the lower spine, and some black stains (ink?) along the upper and lower edge of the DJ.

 

Get a load of that copy of Adventure Comics from the book. "Superboy, Superman's brother..."

 

Paid by Check/Money order, price is $595 shipped in the U.S. Paypal's fine as long as you're willing to cover the fees (which I believe is about 3%, or $18).

Shipping outside the US is likely to be expensive, because I'll only ship this in a way that can be fully insured. Shipping outside the US is at my cost minus $5.

 

 

 

[snitzer]

love that SOTI...so tempted

[Twistty1]

Those are both great copies... I especially like the DJ on that POP copy.