ajaxfarrell Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 I have a Weird Mysteries # 11 that would be a Fine minus if somebody didn't spill a bit of paint on it. Oh well, I didn't pay too much for it and I found a decent copy was pretty hard to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*paull* Posted October 8, 2004 Author Share Posted October 8, 2004 (edited) Hey rjpb, in what condition is your WM 5? Ajaxfarrell, I believe the 11 cover is by Baily, too, right? Edited October 8, 2004 by paull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrunkenhead Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 I've yet to pick up a single Weird Mysteries....and I call myself a pre-code horror collector... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*paull* Posted October 8, 2004 Author Share Posted October 8, 2004 As you can see by my many posts, it's one of my favorite titles. Classic covers by Baily, wacky interiors with wildly diverging art quality. At the high end, you have Wolverton, who can't be beat. I'll post some panels later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjpb Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 My WM#5 is a VG, it has a chip out of the bottom of the cover, and when it recieved it there was also a tiny chip floating in the bag that had come of the FC at the spine, which I put back with a tiny spot of glue at the end of a toothpick (horrors). Does that make it restored? I suppose it has a 50/50 chance of the PLOD if I were to ever slab it - but it would be one of the last books to ever leave my collection. If not for the bottom chip, it would be a solid FN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
precodekeith Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 I believe the 11 cover is by Baily, too, right? Yup, more Baily. In fact, this cover came up in the Skywald, Eerie,etc. mags thread over in the mag section. Morse recolored it and used it for Chilling Tales of Horror, which he seemed to have a habit of doing, hehehe... I got my AIWW "man holds hypo and splits in two classic cover" for under $20, and it was just 3 years ago, bwahahaha.... I had to pay WAY more than that for my WM #11, though. So it all comes out in the wash, right? As far as the Morse pre-code books go, there are cats on eBay who bid on every copy every time they show up. So yeah, I think there is certainly some hoarding going on there of that particular publisher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*paull* Posted October 8, 2004 Author Share Posted October 8, 2004 That's a nice copy... the chip doesn't bother me since it doesn't affect the cover image. I'm sure that the book is worth far more now than when you first purchased it, even if it was after the late 90's pre-code horror boom. I was just looking at the CGC census and guess what the highest graded copy of WM 5 is..... a 7.5. Now it's very likely that some super high-grade copies are locked up in collections, but in comparison, it's interesting to note that the highest graded WM #1 is a 9.0 and the highest WM #2 is a 9.2. Even Horrific #3, another book I never see for sale, has a highest graded copy of 9.0 and another in 8.0. Mister Mystery #12 has three 8.0 copies as the highest graded, followed by three 7.5s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrunkenhead Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 There's a lot of classic pre-code horror that doesn't clock in any higher than VF or VF+ on the census. I think this probably has a lot to do with the fact that most golden age horror collectors aren't bothering with the census, as most collectors in this category don't bother to slab their books unless they're putting them on the auction block (and how many of you are thinking of parting with your books? Didn't think so!). However, the fact that most horror collectors are also READERS of the books they buy...it might just be that there really are fewer books in high grade. It's an interesting possibility... I've got several slabbed horror books that show as highest graded copies, even though they don't reach into the VF/NM range. I'm not quite sure what to make of this...but if there are any copies in higher grade out there, I think we can all safely agree that they're few and far between. I've got the highest graded copy of Ziff-Davis' Nightmare #1 CGC'd at 8.0, for example.... To our credit, we buy the books we want to buy, and are more interested in the book we want as opposed to whether it's an 8.0 or an 8.5 I say hats off to us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*paull* Posted October 8, 2004 Author Share Posted October 8, 2004 I agree completely... there are certainly many copies of the books that I mentioned in F - NM grades residing in collections unslabbed. But I do find it interesting that there hasn't been a single copy of WM #5 over 7.5 slabbed. Surely someone would want to take advantage of the astronomical price a high grade copy of the book would get in an auction... but I haven't seen one out there. Heritage also has never sold a copy. I can't imagine what a 9.2 copy would sell for. As a collector, I'm thrilled with VG copies of the books I seek out. I'm started collecting pre-code horror by seeking out low cost 2.0 - 2.5 copies, but I'm tired of dealing with problem staple areas, brittleness and missing chunks. I'm trying to stay at the 3.5 - 4.0 line or above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PovertyRow Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 That Weird Mysteries 11 is a favorite of mine. Not to be redundant but here's my copy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st-and-keys Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjpb Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 I'm sure that the book is worth far more now than when you first purchased it, even if it was after the late 90's pre-code horror boom. Yeah, back around 1996, I used my free classified in the CBG a few times listing books I would pay 1.5 to 2X guide for, and in addition to finding the WM #5 for $150, I also picked up VG copies of Astonishing #30, Out of the Shadows #8, and a low low grade copy of Picture Parade #1. Good deals are still to be had on classic cover pre-code books. I bought a Weird Mysteries #6 in GD for $40 on Ebay a couple of years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*paull* Posted October 9, 2004 Author Share Posted October 9, 2004 Well, I can tell you that based on what I just paid for a similar conditioned WM #5, you did pretty well on that investment There are still deals to be had, even on eBay, if you're not a condition freak. I've seen lots of good deals on pre-code horror lately. I bought a Weird Mysteries #6 in VG- for about $120 not too long ago. I'll be posting a pic of this one soon... it's one of my all-time favorites, and a book that I consider to be seriously underrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ft88 Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Here's my "Weird Mysteries 11" its for sale too. From a wanna-be horror collector http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=76&item=2274485100&rd=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfilosa Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Surely someone would want to take advantage of the astronomical price a high grade copy of the book would get in an auction... but I haven't seen one out there. Heritage also has never sold a copy. I can't imagine what a 9.2 copy would sell for. Most GA / 50's collectors are LONG-TIME collectors. Therefore, most of them are at the age that they don't need to sell their books to maximize their profit to buy other books (a la what many SA/BA/Modern collectors including myself do). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*paull* Posted October 10, 2004 Author Share Posted October 10, 2004 Interesting point... I think there's definitely a difference between a typical GA and an SA/BA collector. SA and BA books can find their way on the market via new GA collectors who want to liquidate old stuff in order to fund their new interests. But where does the GA collector go? He usually expands his collection instead of moving completely out of the hobby or into another area of comic collecting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*paull* Posted October 10, 2004 Author Share Posted October 10, 2004 (edited) Here are some panels from Wolverton's "Swamp Monster" story from Weird Mysteries #5... Edited October 10, 2004 by paull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*paull* Posted October 10, 2004 Author Share Posted October 10, 2004 (edited) Splash page.... Edited October 10, 2004 by paull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*paull* Posted October 10, 2004 Author Share Posted October 10, 2004 (edited) another.... Edited October 10, 2004 by paull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryw7 Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Splash page.... Dang, that's cool! I might have to buy one of these! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
