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Recent Pre-Code Purchases
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22,189 posts in this topic

Wow, Paull, you are really picking up some great books as of late. I'm jealous! As of yet I've got zero Mr. Mysteries in my collection...someday...even in low grade, they get pretty pricey.

 

So woo hoo! I went for a nice book on Heritage's latest auction--which just closed--and I picked up a Horrific #10 CGC 8.0 (bethlehem pedigree) for $200, BP included. Not a bad price, eh? Considering Metro's #10 in 8.0 is $400 and that's from River City, which I gather is not as nice a pedigree as Bethlehem (am I wrong about this?). Can't wait for it to arrive!

 

Here's the heritage link to pics of the book:

 

http://apps.heritagecomics.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=14092&Lot_No=17358

 

893applaud-thumb.gif

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Great books Everyone!!!!

 

As a lifetime horror comic collector (Started reading bronze horror on the stands in the very late 70's) I have always collected both pre code & bronze. I like both equally, and for different reasons. Keith mentioned my trading low grade pre code for high grade bronze. Besides the nostalgic factor he mentioned, there were two others. Firstly, low grade run of the mill pre code is going down, but still had good trade value, while high grade bronze was flying. It was a no brainer that the thing to do would be swap it out and replace the pre code down the road. The cost of replacing a $15 GD Witches tales will still be $15 in a couple years, but a $15 NM bronze will likely be closer to $50. I traded average stuff. Not [!@#%^&^], and not keys. Just average Fr-VG pre codes. I will replace the ones i liked, and i still buy ones i like when i see them. I also kept about 60 (Black cat mystery for instance will never go Under any circumstances) The other reason, is I was starting my bronze horror website as a resource of information and wanted to be as complete as possible. I could never have afforded all the bronze i needed to get the 800some issues of Just DC horror complete.

 

And as for 70's not being gory enough, you just have to know where to look! There are severed heads, hearts out, acid in face, hanging, shooting, corpses, impalings, eye injuries, etc, all over! To me its more fascinating to find these code approved taboos since they had already been specifically banished.

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So woo hoo! I went for a nice book on Heritage's latest auction--which just closed--and I picked up a Horrific #10 CGC 8.0 (bethlehem pedigree) for $200, BP included. Not a bad price, eh? Considering Metro's #10 in 8.0 is $400 and that's from River City, which I gather is not as nice a pedigree as Bethlehem (am I wrong about this?). Can't wait for it to arrive!

 

Here's the heritage link to pics of the book:

 

Nice pick-up. I was looking at that, but went in another direction. Basically, on Heritage, it seems that the Reserves on the Bethlehem books are basically Guide Plus Grading Fees (that's including the BP). So they are price reasonably.

 

Regarding River City and Bethlehem, I'm not sure I would say either is better. I don't have any River City yet, but I have a number of Bethlehems. The only problem with them (and it is not a problem on your book), is dust shadows (sometimes very heavy) on the back cover. Other than that, its a pretty good pedigree.

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The Iger shop created some terrific covers for the Farrell horror books. I'd really like to know more about who wrote the text for the cover word balloons. Haunted Thrills, Voodoo and Fantastic Fears had some great skull and skeleton covers that included word ballons with a macabre sense of humor.

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Sfilosa,

 

Thanks for the tip about the Bethelehems...I'll be on the lookout for those dust shadows. I had heard some criticisms about River City books along the lines of bad page quality and a pungent odor to the books, but that info might be exaggerated...don't know for sure, as I don't have any River City books.

 

So you say you went in a different direction, eh? I'm curious, pick up any goodies?

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I picked up the Beyond #12 in CGC 8.0 Bethlehem for $115 (with BP). Just thought it was fairly cheap for a Pre-Code book (even though the cover isn't the greatest).

 

I picked up a very nice CGC 9.0 Golden-Age Crime book for 60% of guide (including the BP) and then got a early Marvel SA book in CGC 9.0 for a very nice price (and it was a book that really fits into my collecting goals).

 

I probably should have picked up a nice Atlas Bethlehem book or two, but since I've probably bought 10 of those in the past five months from Heritage, I decided to conserve my funds.

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Sfilosa, sounds like you wound up with some nice stuff. So you've picked up like 10 beth atlas books, eh? Sounds like you've got a healthy pre-code collection going.

 

Btw, did you notice the Spook LB Cole book in the upcoming Signature auction? Just thought it would be something that would grab your interest, given your past postings.

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Sfilosa, sounds like you wound up with some nice stuff. So you've picked up like 10 beth atlas books, eh? Sounds like you've got a healthy pre-code collection going.

 

Btw, did you notice the Spook LB Cole book in the upcoming Signature auction? Just thought it would be something that would grab your interest, given your past postings.

 

Some of the Atlas books are Pre-Code, many are post code. I have maybe 30-40 CGC Atlas books in 8.0 to 9.4. I would love to complete a title, but that is a very long term goal as many of the titles don't even have every issue CGC'd, let alone a copy in CGC 8.0 or higher.

 

Regarding the Spook book, never thought about it.

 

Just kidding. I look at Heritage's Signature Auctions probably everyday (yes, I'm pathetic). That book doesn't have an L.B. Cole (Disbrow) so it's not really on my list. Plus, it was up for auction six months ago, when the reserve was around $500.

 

That said, I'm actually thinking about it as it still is a beautiful book and actually a very cool cover. This signature auction is a bit weak in the 50's books that I like, so it is tempting. Not there aren't about 50 other books (mostly Silver-Age) that I want. Can't have them all, can I. grin.gif

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I would love someday complete a run of Black Magic, Frankenstein, Weird Terror, or Horrific in high grade, but that's also a very longterm goal (for Frankenstein it may be totally impossible). Those books by Prize and Comic Media are pretty tough, and usually don't come cheap. I passed on the Black Magic that was offered in the last auction, as the reserve was a bit high.

 

 

So, like you guys, I've been scanning the signature auction and thinking things over. Damn, those Fawcett horror books are going for a lot of $$$!! I love the covers, though...what do you all think about Fawcetts? Are they tougher than other books? Do they merit the high prices? confused.gif

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So, like you guys, I've been scanning the signature auction and thinking things over. Damn, those Fawcett horror books are going for a lot of $$$!! I love the covers, though...what do you all think about Fawcetts? Are they tougher than other books? Do they merit the high prices?

 

I not an expert on Fawcett (or most other) Pre-Code Horror books. I mostly like L.B. Cole Covers, Avon and Atlas. There are other I do want, but Fawcett's probably wouldn't be high on my list.

 

That said, I am interested in obtaining at least one of the Crowley copies (either a horror or crime book) just to add Crowley to my list of pedigrees. Of course, it will have to have a cool cover. grin.gif

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Damn, those Fawcett horror books are going for a lot of $$$!! I love the covers, though...what do you all think about Fawcetts? Are they tougher than other books? Do they merit the high prices? confused.gif

 

Nah, they aren't tough to get if you wait it out. Fawcett was a huge publisher in their day, and I can only think of one TMIH and one WOF that may have had low distribution off the top of my head. 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

Now, if you're only into HG stuff, I guess it depends on what YOU consider HG and your "cut off" grade for purchasing. Don't expect to throw together a nice run of Fawcetts in 8.0 or better in just a few weeks, but hell, you probably knew that already... insane.gif

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I've tended to stay away from Atlas simply because there's so MANY that it seems like once I started, it would turn into a huge money pit. Still, a run of any Atlas title in 8.0 or better would be impressive, so hats off on the attempt. For the same reason ($$$), I've mostly stayed away from ECS, with the exception of my favorite covers (CSS#22, SSS#12, HOF #14, 17, 18, TTFC#33). Lately I've been pursuing Comic Media and Prize books, and I've been eyeballing some Charltons and Fawcetts.

 

Love that Horrific werewolf cover! 893applaud-thumb.gif

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I'm with you on Atlas... There are just too many books. I'm sure that the stories are fine based on the quality artists that worked for them, but I can't say that I'm a fan of the Atlas cover designs. I prefer one large cover image instead of the tiered approached that Atlas used for most of their books.

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