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DCs and Bronze Market: The Greggy Report

Started by sterlingcomics,

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sterlingcomics

sterlingcomics

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Looks like our greggy has been busy with GPA from their latest newsletter. There goes the neighborhood!:

 

CGC and its effect on the DC Bronze book market - by Greg Loey

 

As one who follows the DC bronze market quite closely, there seems to be a prevailing trend: the bronze DC market is fueled more by books with cool or classic covers rather than "key" issues. Other than maybe a few books (GL 76, HOS 92 and perhaps All Star Western 10), DCs in CGC 9.4 grade don't normally sell for over 3 figures. Unlike Marvels during the same area, most of the DC first issues during the 1971-1973 time frame are quite common (eg. Shadow 1, Shazam 1, Tarzan 207, Swamp Thing 1). As a result, it seems DC collectors, as well as others who appreciate good cover art, are searching out the books with the cool or classic covers.

One of the few books that were identified early on, even prior to the advent of CGC, is Wonder Woman 199. I have to confess this is my favorite all time bronze era cover. The cover features fabulous art by Jeff Jones of Wonder Woman in chains with a masked executioner in the background. The shadowing and facial expression of Wonder Woman makes this cover quite mesmerizing. The value of this book has been limited due to the easy availability of copies in CGC 9.4 or above. Although some CGC 9.4 copies have sold for over $200, a more realistic value for this book is between $150 to $200.

 

Another popular book that has risen in prominence recently is Batman 227, with the Neal Adams swipe of the classic cover from Detective 31. Featuring layouts similar to that Detective cover, Adams has made the art even more dynamic with the damsel in distress trying to escape her peril. Otherwise, it was very faithful to the original, especially with the brooding figure of Batman in the background. The value of this book is pretty steady in CGC 9.4 at approximately $350-$375. For a book as popular as Batman, it's somewhat surprising that relatively few high grade copies have shown up for sale. Perhaps the owners would rather keep this gem of a book "hidden".

 

This brings me to my favorite Neal Adams cover, which is House of Secrets 88. The mood of the cover is somewhat similar to the Batman 227 cover, without the immediate danger of the female present .The wash tone affect and the simple color palette chosen fits the atmosphere of the situation perfectly. The technical brilliance exhibited by Adams makes this cover a "must have". This book in CGC 9.4 condition last sold for $350 (by me incidentally) in February of this year. This is markedly above the $200 and $275 prices that I've witnessed prior to the period that GPA reports.

 

The next cover features a similar theme; a damsel in distress. This is a fantastic cover of Phantom Stranger 26 drawn by the under-rated Michael Kaluta. The Phantom Stranger's dark shadow protecting the female on the ledge from the Spawn of Frankenstein, paired with the brilliant pinks of the cover, combine to form a compelling image. Although known for his work on the Shadow, Kaluta is at the top of his game with this cover. Given its relative low value, there haven't been many high grade copies available. In fact, there has been only one sale of a CGC 9.4 reported on GPA, and that sale was for only $51.01. Perhaps this GPA sale dissuaded others from selling their copies, but there is room to move for this book.

 

This brings us to another brilliant cover by Michael Kaluta, albeit a less well known book. The cover comes from Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion 7. As in the cover of Phantom Stranger 26, there are some pink elements in the cover that just catch your eye. Featuring an imposing figure of a person with a scythe and some of his followers, what isn't there to love? The value of this book is undetermined at this time due to the lack of sales of CGC graded copies. However, as with the discovery of certain classic covers when the Gerber Photo Journals were first issued, we should expect more copies to be made available in the future.

 

The final cover for discussion is technically a late Silver Age book, but is coveted by many fans of Neal Adams. This is the striking cover to Tomahawk 116. The coloring of the cover, matched with the technical brilliance of Neal Adams, makes this a "must have" book. I don't believe that any artist has drawn horses as lifelike and as beautiful as Neal Adams (see his rendering on the cover of DC Special 6). Although hard to express, this cover just seems to have the "it" factor. This book is extremely scarce in high grade, and there haven't been any known high grade sales of note. The current census shows that there is only one copy graded to date.

 

While in the past certain DCs were hoarded due to interior art and story, the current CGC climate has made cover art just as important. I hope you'll give these great DCs a look. DCs from the Bronze Age are rife with great art by Neal Adams, Bernie Wrightson, Michael Kaluta, and Nick Cardy. I'm sure that your search for these books and many others will be a fruitful one.

 

**Special acknowledgments are given to numerous members of the CGC forums who have assisted me with the writing of this article**

 

Greg Loey is a collector of Bronze Age DCs with a specialization in DC 100 page giants. He can be contacted at greg_loey@yahoo.ca.

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Zonker

Zonker

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Nice article, and nice mention of these CGC forums, where the books mentioned have gotten a lot of air time recently. thumbsup2.gif I still remember drbanner kicking off the "DC Covers you may not have seen" with that Tomahawk 116 cover scan, the first time I ever remember seeing that cover. 893applaud-thumb.gif

 

The one cover out of greggy's list that always has made me go confused.gif is the Dark Mansion 7 Kaluta.

 

2026_4_07.jpg

 

It certainly is well regarded by the forum here, and shiverbones lists it in his Top 40, but I've never really seen this one as something particularly special. It does have an interesting perspective, but... confused-smiley-013.gif

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greggy

greggy

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I doesn't really float my boat either, nor does the Phantom Stranger for that matter. And no mention of DC 100 pager #4?? 893scratchchin-thumb.gif
Bah...it's my article and I wrote about what I liked. BTW...DC4 has factors other than the cover driving up its prices. tongue.gif
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drbanner

drbanner

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Bah...it's my article and I wrote about what I liked. BTW...DC4 has factors other than the cover driving up its prices. tongue.gif

 

I agree with these things you say, but disagree with some of your choices!! sumo.gif

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greggy

greggy

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Bah...it's my article and I wrote about what I liked. BTW...DC4 has factors other than the cover driving up its prices. tongue.gif

 

I agree with these things you say, but disagree with some of your choices!! sumo.gif

sorry.gif

 

Where's your list? cool.gif

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drbanner

drbanner

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Bah...it's my article and I wrote about what I liked. BTW...DC4 has factors other than the cover driving up its prices. tongue.gif

 

I agree with these things you say, but disagree with some of your choices!! sumo.gif

sorry.gif

 

Where's your list? cool.gif

 

Oh no...did you lose it again!?!? 893frustrated.gif

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BachelorOfComix

BachelorOfComix

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I would've put HOM 236 & HOS 103 on the list instead of the Dark Mansion one. BTW, "One of the few books that were identified early on, even prior to the advent of CGC, is Wonder Woman 199."

 

Should be "was", singular not plural. foreheadslap.gif

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BachelorOfComix

BachelorOfComix

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I still remember drbanner kicking off the "DC Covers you may not have seen"

 

Linky please... hi.gif

Someone bump the old one or start a new one. 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

Here's the link, but...

 

...the problem is, over half the images are no longer being hosted, so you're missing a lot. frown.gif

"DC Covers you will never see" foreheadslap.gif

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deathlok

deathlok

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I still remember drbanner kicking off the "DC Covers you may not have seen"

 

Linky please... hi.gif

Someone bump the old one or start a new one. 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

Here's the link, but...

 

...the problem is, over half the images are no longer being hosted, so you're missing a lot. frown.gif

"DC Covers you will never see" foreheadslap.gif

 

"Isolated Incident"

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deathlok

deathlok

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Another problem with having great looking covers is it's subjective. That Tomahawk cover doesn't look that interesting to me, yet others find it really cool. The same with Wonder Woman 199, not that interesting to me. Greggy has told me that he doesn't really care for Batman 277, but really like that cover.

 

Now there are some covers that the consensus will agree that look cool, regardless of what your tastes might be. Greggy's article is based upon covers that he likes, not really covers that are well regarded. Great article though.

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awe4one

awe4one

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Now there are some covers that the consensus will agree that look cool, regardless of what your tastes might be. Greggy's article is based upon covers that he likes, not really covers that are well regarded. Great article though.

 

thumbsup2.gif Come-on guys, cut Greggy some slack....at least he made the effort to write an article.... 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

....and if it wasn't these, it was sure to be some syrupy romance covers..... 893whatthe.gifshocked.gifsmirk.gif

 

Jim

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nearmint

nearmint

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I agree. My focus is superhero books, and as much as I can appreciate a great western, sci-fi, horror, or romance cover, I don't really have the need to own any of them. Which, in a way, is lucky...I can't come close to affording all the superhero books that I want, much less other genres.

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sterlingcomics

sterlingcomics

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I agree. My focus is superhero books, and as much as I can appreciate a great western, sci-fi, horror, or romance cover, I don't really have the need to own any of them. Which, in a way, is lucky...I can't come close to affording all the superhero books that I want, much less other genres.

 

That's my excuse to collect only the "off beat" genres--cause I can't afford $$$ books foreheadslap.gif

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