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Mystery Tales #40 that just sold on eBay...

Started by MyComicBookArt,

28 posts in this topic

MyComicBookArt

MyComicBookArt

Posted
Posted

4.14.13

22:27:50 PDT

on eBay

[font:Century Gothic]$4000[/font]

Mystery Tales #40 (Apr 1956, Marvel) *AS SEEN ON "LOST" ABC-TV SHOW / Ditko

 

Item number:

300887449764

 

The dude buying them all up didn't win

he bid $3,999...

but this new player t***_ ( 33Feedback score is 10 to 49) ????

bid the $4000

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

Posted
Posted
4.14.13

22:27:50 PDT

on eBay

[font:Century Gothic]$4000[/font]

Mystery Tales #40 (Apr 1956, Marvel) *AS SEEN ON "LOST" ABC-TV SHOW / Ditko

Item number:

300887449764

That listing referenced my listing from a few weeks ago, and copied the basic format of the title etc. Looks like it worked out quite well for the seller -- more power to him (assuming the winning bidder pays, etc.).

 

I thought I had set a new benchmark price for this comic, but (sniff) that sure didn't last long.

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

Posted
Posted
It appears the $4,000 auction price was not legitimate; the high bidder did not pay.

And the book has been relisted

There are any number of reasons why this could have happened, but in my mind it taints the auction and value of the comic somewhat. However, it is already up to $510 in bids, so I think it will do pretty well.

 

It's a lot like that Teen-Age Diary Secrets #6 (with Marilyn Monroe cover) that sold at an exorbitant price ($2,355, I think) and then wasn't paid for, and relisted, selling for $565.

 

It could be a simple matter of the high bidder getting carried away and wanting to "win" without having the funds to follow through (another "bid and run" incident), but it looks weird whenever that happens.

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

Posted
Posted

For posterity, here is my auction listing for Mystery Tales #40 from a few weeks ago. I spent some time putting together the listing info with lots of links and information, so it would be worth having a record of it for the sake of those who are curious about this issue and want to find out what sets it apart from other issues of Mystery Tales, as well as other Atlas titles from the same time period.

 

----------------------------------

 

MYSTERY TALES #40. Atlas/Marvel Comics, 1956. Comic used prominently in a scene of the popular ABC-TV program "Lost." First Atlas art by Steve Ditko!

 

ABOUT MYSTERY TALES #40: Though there are many great issus of this Atlas/Marvel title, Mystery Tales #40 stands out for two key reasons: (1) It's the first work done at Atlas by legendary comic-book artist Steve Ditko (alongside Journey Into Mystery #33), who soon became instrumental in the creation and development of Spider-Man and other key Marvel superheroes. And (2), Mystery Tales #40 gained a special mystique when it was featured prominently in a scene of the acclaimed TV drama "Lost."

 

HOW MYSTERY TALES #40 WAS USED IN "LOST": Mystery Tales #40 appears in "Lost" Season Four, Episode #11, which is titled “Cabin Fever” and originally ran May 8, 2008 on ABC-TV. Since then it has become highly sought-after by "Lost" fans, regularly selling for multiples of guide value.

 

The scene where Mystery Tales #40 appears involves a flashback: Richard Alpert visits a 5-year-old John Locke in the year 1961, showing up at his house under the pretense that he's seeking a gifted child to attend a special school. Alpert first must conduct a test (referred to as "the Dali Lama test") to find out if Locke is ready, so he places six objects on a table and asks Locke to choose one of them. The objects include a baseball glove, a knife, a leather-bound "Book of Laws," a compass, a container of sand, and Mystery Tales #40. Locke chooses the knife, and Alpert realizes Locke is not ready (perhaps an indication of Locke's fitness as a future caretaker of the island), and abruptly exits the room.

 

MORE INFO:

 

• Watch the scene on

 

• About "Cabin Fever": Lostopedia and Wikipedia

 

HOW THE MYSTERY TALES #40 STORIES TIE IN WITH "LOST" MEANINGS: "Lost" fans have pored over Mystery Tales #40 and found numerous parallels between the comic's stories and the plotlines and themes of "Lost." (Soon after the comic appeared on the show, several ardent fans published a blog about their quest to track down a copy of Mystery Tales #40 and hopefully unravel clues to the TV show's mystery.) To begin with, the cover art depicts a distressed-looking man sitting in an airplane and looking at the window at a hidden city -- or as the text says, "The Hidden Land!" This scenario pretty much sums up the entire "Lost" premise of people on an airplane ending up in a mystery location.

 

Not only does the title story echo "Lost," but so do each subsequent story. It's almost as if the show's creators, J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, had used Mystery Tales #40 as part of their "Lost" bible when conceiving the storyline. Such stories as "The Warning Voice," "The Crossroads of Destiny," and "March has 32 Days" involve time travel, recurring incidents at airports, parallel realities and other science-fiction concepts that define the "Lost" mythos. ("March Has 32 Days" was specifically referenced in the Lost ARG Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project.) Even the story about the statue seems to echo the giant foot statue seen at a remote beach location of the "Lost" island. See the photos of Mystery Tales #40's interior pages below for examples.

 

MORE INFO:

 

• Television Zombies article : "Mystery Tales #40: The Lost Comic"

 

• BuddyTV article : "Lost Easter Eggs: 'Cabin Fever' #4 - Mystery Tales"

 

• Lostopedia page : Fan theories about Mystery Tales #40

 

• Chicago Tribune blog about the comic's use in "Lost"

 

• Comic Book Movie article about the influence of comic books (including Mystery Tales #40) on "Lost"

 

• The comic's "Lost" notoriety has made its cover iconic enough to sell as a rubber coaster , button , or T-shirt . ("Don't make the same mistake young Locke did! He had Cabin Fever! Choose this classic Mystery Tales #40 comic book cover or retro logo now, or be Lost forever, John! It's as easy as ABC!")

 

ITEM VALUE: The 2013 Overstreet guidebook values this issue in GD, VG, FN and VF at $$$: ((( 21, 42, 63, 126 ))). This comic sells at multiples of guide due to its association with the hit TV show "Lost," and because it is artist Steve Ditko's first work for Marvel/Atlas.

 

In August of 2010, the comic was auctioned alongside other "Lost" props by the auction house Profiles in History ( link ), and the lot (item #682) sold for $3,750 (see results page or screen-captures below). That is not a typo: The comic and a few other props from the same scene sold for $3,750.

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

Posted
Posted
It could be a simple matter of the high bidder getting carried away and wanting to "win" without having the funds to follow through.
Extremely likely that that's it. A thrill bidder.

People who do that suuuuuuucccccckkkkkk.

 

Here is the current auction .

 

Looking at the bidders in the previous auction , if it had not been for the "thrill bidder" snipe, the comic would have sold for the next increment over $600. (Actually, that's not necessarily true -- there might have been other snipes that didn't go through because they had already been outbid by the highest snipe.)

 

Two of the highest legitimate-looking bidders in the previous auction have already placed bids in this one.

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goldust40

goldust40

Posted
Posted
It could be a simple matter of the high bidder getting carried away and wanting to "win" without having the funds to follow through.
Extremely likely that that's it. A thrill bidder.

People who do that suuuuuuucccccckkkkkk.

 

Here is the current auction .

 

Looking at the bidders in the previous auction , if it had not been for the "thrill bidder" snipe, the comic would have sold for the next increment over $600. (Actually, that's not necessarily true -- there might have been other snipes that didn't go through because they had already been outbid by the highest snipe.)

 

Two of the highest legitimate-looking bidders in the previous auction have already placed bids in this one.

 

With the thrill bidder presumably blocked there's only going to be one winner of this auction.

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

Posted
Posted
It could be a simple matter of the high bidder getting carried away and wanting to "win" without having the funds to follow through.
Extremely likely that that's it. A thrill bidder.

People who do that suuuuuuucccccckkkkkk.

 

Here is the current auction .

 

Looking at the bidders in the previous auction , if it had not been for the "thrill bidder" snipe, the comic would have sold for the next increment over $600. (Actually, that's not necessarily true -- there might have been other snipes that didn't go through because they had already been outbid by the highest snipe.)

 

Two of the highest legitimate-looking bidders in the previous auction have already placed bids in this one.

 

With the thrill bidder presumably blocked there's only going to be one winner of this auction.

Thank you for the tautology .

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goldust40

goldust40

Posted
Posted
It could be a simple matter of the high bidder getting carried away and wanting to "win" without having the funds to follow through.
Extremely likely that that's it. A thrill bidder.

People who do that suuuuuuucccccckkkkkk.

 

Here is the current auction .

 

Looking at the bidders in the previous auction , if it had not been for the "thrill bidder" snipe, the comic would have sold for the next increment over $600. (Actually, that's not necessarily true -- there might have been other snipes that didn't go through because they had already been outbid by the highest snipe.)

 

Two of the highest legitimate-looking bidders in the previous auction have already placed bids in this one.

 

With the thrill bidder presumably blocked there's only going to be one winner of this auction.

Thank you for the tautology .

 

I meant that the usual suspect will win. Could've phrased that better, certainly. doh!

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Sqeggs

Sqeggs

Posted
Posted
Not so much "allow" as cant prevent.

 

I guess but you would think ending an auction early would earn a seller some sort of demerit. Perhaps it does; I haven't sold anything on eBay in ages.

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