Rusty staples and sunken treasure! by Hibou

[Hibou]

EDIT- Book was sold in the 2014 summer sale.

 

This past week or two has turned out better than expected but it also forced me to run a couple 'Emergency Fund' sales to offset these purchases.

 

This latest book came up from a discussion I was having with my friend on the September Comic Link auction. Over a couple beers, he informed me that I would be 'in trouble' if I looked at the months selection of books... meaning that there were a lot of cool books that I would be interested in. Well that night, I took a look to see just what was being auctioned off and he was right. There were a lot of books that appealed to me. This one in particular stood out because it was an early issue of the title and featured the old logo which I always liked. In total, I believe there were about 5 books that I would think about.

 

The one thing about Comic Link that I don't like is that there really isn't a way to track a book or books by themselves without putting in a bid. Usually when you get to the auction early, you can place these tracking bids with low amounts knowing that you'll ultimately be outbid but it enables you to keep tabs on the book if you're wondering what it might sell for.

 

On a side note, I really wish Comic Link reported to GPAnalysis...

 

Anyways, when I came upon the September auction, it was already about 3-4 days in, so a few of these books had some higher bids. I wanted to track this one book so I placed a bid which was only about $2 over the current bid at that time. Once I placed that bid, I saw that I was the high bidder but I figured I would be outbid soon as there was 10 days or so left on the auction.

 

As the days passed, I found two other books from two different sites which would make it clear to me that I wouldn't be getting anything from the Comic Link auction as those other two were 'must haves' and two that I couldn't pass up!

 

So I forgot all about the auction but was pretty surprised to see an email from Comic Link stating that I had won the auction once it had ended.

 

I guess I was happy but it just meant that I would have to sell a few more items!

 

I couldn't believe that the bid I had placed nearly 2 weeks earlier had held, but I'm glad I now have this book in my collection.

 

It's a fairly simple cover featuring Robin Hood and according to my grading scale it scores mid-range at a 60... still, to me it's an attractive book.

 

I was most familiar with Irv Novick's work from late Silver Age / Bronze Age Batman titles and maybe it's just me but that just may be Bruce Wayne on the cover!

 

Irv Novick passed away in 2004 at the age of 93.

 

 

[Hibou]

EDIT- Book was sold in the 2014 summer sale.

 

Sometimes things pop up when you least expect it!

 

A PCH (Pre-code Horror) sales thread that I came across here on the boards a few months back from board member MyComicBookArt was such the case when I stumbled upon this book.

 

Weird Terror was one of those books from the early part of the 1950's that would provide a convincing exhibit of Dr. Wertham's arguments. Looking these books up in the OSPG (Overstreet Price Guide), Weird Terror was published by Comic Media from 1952-1954... right in the crosshairs of the time surrounding the congressional hearings on violence in comic books.

 

Within this title there are mentions of many violent and questionable practices that might leave one wondering if they were practical for the youth of the 50's.

 

Reading through this today, it all seems quite tame but put into the context of the 50's, I suppose this material would appear to be shocking.

 

I've provided a couple pages depicting the interpreted cover along with the text pages that provided a glossary of supernatural and other paranormal terms. I suppose that was the most shocking element of these books and what is referenced in the OSPG.

 

As for this book in itself, it's a fantastic underwater cover that comes very close to reaching a top score on my grading scale. This one scores a 95 as we're given everything from a treasure chest to a skeleton and some odd creepy fish type creature.

 

This was one of the books I recently submitted to CGC and it came back right where I thought it would, as a 3.0.

 

Full disclosure... I'm a sucker for date stamps.

 

What other characteristic could be applied to a comic that would offer you a slice of time within the history of its passing?

 

A date stamp.

 

The exact day where perhaps a clerk looked at this book for the first time as he prepared to put a stack of these up for sale for eager customers to throw down a dime...

 

I love date stamps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And these are the pages that I mentioned above...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hibou]

Before I get to the other books, I just thought I'd make a quick mention of the NYCC that I attended last weekend.

 

This year was a little different than the previous two years that I went and it was a bit of an eye opener as to just how much money is involved with this event. When a bottle of water is going to cost you $3.50 and the same amount for a trick-or-treat sized bag of candied nuts... something is out of whack, in my opinion.

 

Not to mention that you couldn't get cell service in the Javits but fear not... there was a remedy to that, in the form of a $6.95 fee for a day of WiFi.

 

It's sad but it is what it is...

 

At any rate, I went this year with the full intent of getting another piece of art from Ramona Fradon.

 

Have you ever met someone that you felt like you knew when prior to that meeting, you had never come across them personally?

 

Such was the case with Ramona last year when I met her for the first time and got to briefly talk to her. It was very bizarre and perhaps it was just her personality, but I really felt like I knew her... yet, I had never seen her before.

 

So this year, I told myself that before I bought any comiccon exclusive or souvenir, I would seek out Ramona first and buy another original piece.

 

When I got to her table, I briefly talked to her, said hello and then began to dig through the many pieces of OA she had scattered about the table.

 

It didn't take too long before I found a piece that I absolutely loved...

 

It was a watercolor piece, around 14X17 of The Sub Mariner and Aquaman battling a large terrifying Octopus! It was a fantastic piece but unfortunately she was asking $250 for the piece. If I had more money, I would have jumped on that but of course my funds were very limited.

 

It took quite a while but I finally settled on two pieces that I was very happy to get...

 

I got a small 6X6 drawing of Mera for my daughter and I bought a larger underwater Aquaman on a very cool Sea Turtle piece.

 

I asked Ramona how often she has to reference sea life when she does these compositions and her answer was quite humorous. She said that for the larger creatures, she uses reference but for the random sea life, like fish... well, in her words... "I just draw them- they're just fish."

 

How perfect.

 

I guess after the numerous years of drawing Aquaman in the 60's, drawing underwater scenes are simply 'old-hat' to her.

 

Still...

 

I'm always fascinated when an artist in the twilight of their career still has a crisp quality to their line work and an eye for draftsmanship that would put many to shame, including myself!

 

So these are my two acquisitions from this years NYCC from Ramona and I couldn't be happier with them.

 

Last year, I purchased a full figure Aquaman from her and this year, I have a nice underwater piece that will proudly join my focus!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are my pictures from last years NYCC...

 

 

 

[Hibou]

As I was going through some books this weekend and trying to get a few more things in order, I realized that I had another piece of original artwork that certainly deserves a mention here as it ties in to my collecting theme.

 

A few months back, Darth Corgi (a fellow board member) held a sales thread of some PCH books and some of his artwork. I was able to obtain a nice PCH Mystery Tales from Atlas that fits my collecting focus but I also got a very nice pen & ink / watercolor from him as well. I still have to submit the Mystery Tales but in the meantime, I can show you the watercolor piece I picked up from him.

 

For those not familiar with Christian, he illustrates the series 'Korgi' which is available here:

 

http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/christian-slade

 

A few pages back, I mentioned that a couple of years ago, a board member held art contests here on this forum and showed the pieces that I had done for those. Well, I think the most valuable thing I picked up from those contests was being made aware of some of the fabulous talent that exists right here on this forum that ties so many of us together, sharing a common hobby. There were a few artists from those contests whose artwork greatly appealed to me and one of those artists was Christian (Darth Corgi).

 

His style varies, depending on the subject matter but I really like the serious but whimsical nature of his artwork. Looking at it from a purely illustrious point of view, his work breathes a childlike fascination of nature with a touch of Bernie Wrightson...

 

I truly mean that as a compliment!

 

Anyways, here is more from his website portfolio...

 

http://christianslade.com/

 

And the watercolor piece that I couldn't walk away from...

 

 

 

 

[Hibou]

EDIT- Book was sold in the 2014 summer sale.In my opinion, it's one of the most iconic sounds of pop-culture...

Record and upload audio >>As a child, watching television on Saturdays and Sundays opened up many worlds of wonder and excitement. From the Saturday morning cartoons to Monster Movie Matinee... Star Trek, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, The Wonderful World of Disney... they were all favorites of mine. But as much as I loved the Universal Monsters, Godzilla was a big favorite that combined a love of monsters with a love of dinosaurs.He was the 'King of the Monsters'.Rising out of the ocean to wreak havoc on the inhabitants of Japan, Godzilla was larger than life with a terrifying roar. The movies slowly seemed to become campy on par with the 60's Batman series, nonetheless, they were always enjoyable!The amazing theme from Akira Ifukube:Godzilla - King of the Monsters original trailer:So yes, this is a pretty big buildup for this next book but to me, this is the Batman / Godzilla cover that I've always liked! Batman 104 had been on my pick list for a while but I didn't want to pay a lot for a nice mid-grade copy. There have been a few around and some really nice higher grade copies but those were always in the $400+ range and more than I wanted to spend on a copy. It was through an overseas transaction that I acquired the copy that I did and was pleased that it was worked out mostly in trade. I had a group of books that I was selling to a UK boardie and when I was asked if there was anything I was looking for, I mentioned the Batman 104. He told me that he had a mid-grade raw copy and when I saw the scan, I thought that it would fit nicely in my collection. I was happy when I received the book and read the story which was really pretty good! I was concerned about the stain at the top of the book but wasn't sure if it was distributors ink or not. The boardie I bought it from thought that it was... as did I, but with things like that, you never know how they might grade out. I posted the book here to get some opinions before I sent it in...http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=50&Number=6893675&Searchpage=1&Main=307871&Words=+Hibou&topic=0&Search=true#Post6893675So I was a bit nervous thinking that the book might actually come back somewhere between a 3.0 and 4.0 but was very pleased to see that it appears CGC thought the same in the stain being distributors ink.So maybe it isn't really Godzilla, but I wonder if Shelly Moldoff was inspired by the movie as it appeared in American theaters, the same year that this book was published in 1956.For a scale grade, this one is a 65.************************I mentioned Monster Movie Matinee above as a Saturday television favorite. That was a local production that was aired here in Syracuse, NYThis is the classic opening to that which I fondly remember! The earlier opening...And for anyone interested...

[Hibou]

This next book I found purely by accident.

 

I had no idea it existed but once I stumbled upon it after impulsively opening up an email from MyComicShop, I knew I would have to get it. The reason I usually don't open up email from MyComicShop is the same I don't open the emails from Heritage or Metro/ComicConnect or many others...

 

I know about the monthly auctions and can't afford to get caught window shopping!

 

Well a couple of months ago now, I did just that. On impulse I decided to open up the email from MCS and click the link to their auction. I was just casually browsing through the titles when my eyes stopped at this book with a fantastic cover. I don't believe that I've ever owned a Plastic Man comic from Quality Comics so I love that this is my first... now I have to find a source online to read it!

 

This was my first experience going through the MCS auction process and it was a little frustrating only in the fact that I thought I won the book... about 10 times over. I was unaware of the 2 minute extensions given to these auctions. So I placed what I thought was a high bid only to see it incrementally go up and extend the auction each time another bid was entered.

 

I suppose I like that because it gives you time to think about how much you'd like to bid instead of getting into the fever of the last 10 seconds like in so many other auctions.

 

Regardless, I was thrilled to get this one but I do wish CGC had more information to list on the label. I'm guessing the cover was done by Alex Kotzky but I'm not certain. I've checked online but haven't found a definitive answer.

 

The background water has this beautiful airbrushed / painted look to it which really showcases Plastic Man, Woozy, the clamshell and the shark. In terms of a rating on my scale, this one would be a 70.

 

 

 

[Hibou]

So I have 4 new books to send into CGC... one in particular will be sad but I'll talk about that one later.

 

For now, I have one book that wasn't long on my seek list but once I saw a copy, it jumped to the top of my 'must buy' list.

 

It was earlier this year that I first discovered this particular book. I was familiar with the title but not in a manner that would draw me to collect it... rather to simply appreciate it's history. The cover artist would be the same as the one who illustrated the cover of the Captain America 26.

 

Alex Schomburg.

 

His artwork is mostly associated with crazy, mind bending compositions making sure that no space of the art board goes wasted. It wasn't until I became a member here on these boards and began reading all the invaluable information posted here that I found out more about this artist and his pseudonym...

 

Xela. (Alex spelled backwards)

 

Xela signed airbrushed covers are highly coveted in my opinion as they mark a distinct transformation of Schomburg's artwork into a more 'pulp' feel.

 

Such is the case with this cover. As far as I can see, it wasn't signed as a 'Xela' but it certainly is one of his most beautiful pieces.

 

The female figure (as always seemed to be the case) is gorgeously rendered while the remaining composition is so tastefully done.

 

There are so many appealing elements to this cover, it's no wonder I fell in love with it so quickly. From the female in the see-thru submersable to the Sawfish... it's a brilliant piece! Of course the female is wearing high heels but I guess that was the style of futuristic conceptions from the 40's...

 

At any rate, this was a book that I purchased off of eBay and was thrilled to get, although I did miss a nice opportunity at a little higher grade at roughly the same cost a couple of months before finding this one.

 

Such is the case with collecting comics.

 

In terms of a rating, this one gets 80 points!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hibou]

This is what's so great about this place...

 

I'll elaborate more later but here's the short version:

 

A boardie that I've dealt with before reads this journal and sends me a link to a book he found that he thinks would fit my collection. I love the book and only have another single issue from this title.

 

The actual book he sends me the link of is pretty attractive but just for the heck of it, I look to see what other copies are out there.

 

As it turns out another boardie has a very attractive copy for sale and so I contact him and complete a deal!

 

Like I said, once I get this book and send it in to be graded, I'll fill in more pieces to this story but I just had to get this out there on how awesome this place can be at times!

 

[Hibou]

What a way to end the year!

 

Five books back from CGC... an AMAZING print to share that my friend Rob gives me for Christmas and the boardie who (more or less) inspires me to start a journal... is my Secret Santa!

 

Unfortunately, my next post is of an Atom Bomb...

 

More to come.

[Hibou]

EDIT- Book was sold in the 2014 summer sale.

 

 

So maybe that was a bit extreme...

 

But that was the visual that went through my head on this next book.

 

Jumping back to the NYC ComicCon for a moment, I went there with one book in mind to hopefully and finally find a copy. I had been after this book for a while and could never seem to get my hands on one. I knew that they were out there but trying to find a nicely presenting copy in a grade that would also be affordable to me was proving to be quite difficult!

 

Unfortunately, I didn't find that elusive book at the ComicCon.

 

Nevertheless, I would continue to scour the internet hoping that by chance I would stumble upon a copy before it was taken.

 

Such was the case one afternoon while on the road, I took out my phone and started searching. What I found took me by surprise as it appeared that someone had just posted a copy with a BIN on eBay. I clicked the link which brought me to the eBay mobile site on my phone. I looked quickly at the book and was very excited at what I was looking at. It seemed that I had found the right book with the right price tag. I quickly skimmed over the description (first mistake) and downloaded the image so I could enlarge it a little to see the details of this book a little better.

 

Again, these pictures were being viewed on my phone but from what I could gather, it had all the hallmarks that I look for in terms of eye appeal on lower grade books.

 

Like I said, the price seemed fair (although I failed to see that there was an option to make an offer... second mistake) so I quickly hit the BIN and was thrilled that I had found a long sought after book and had scooped it up before anyone else! I was actually rather proud of myself...

 

... for about 4 hours.

 

When I got home later, I went back to the now closed item and looked more closely at the book and read the description more attentively. I read about the problem areas of the book but thought that maybe with some luck the book was being overly scrutinized by the seller.

 

Not the case.

 

The book came well packaged and was shipped pretty quickly. I was excited to get it but my enthusiasm quickly diminished once I actually opened the book and saw the interior.

It was the death of a comic book.

 

Brittle pages and the interior was not overly scrutinized as I had hoped but possibly a little bit under scrutinized in my opinion. Detached and split centerfold as well as the wrap preceding. And then I saw that within that center area of the book, if I manipulated the pages further, I would start getting even more split and detached pages.

 

 

 

 

 

The front and back pages weren't that bad and it at least allowed me to view some of the story but there was no questioning that this book had reached the end of it's life.

 

I posed the question to myself if I should return the book or simply keep it as yet another beacon of learning about the pitfalls of collecting. I chose the latter.

 

 

 

 

 

So I now had a copy of this book that I had so desired but it was certainly anticlimactic. The next thought I had was to submit the book to CGC, again as a curiosity test to myself. How would they grade a book like this? Obviously from an investment point of view, it made absolutely no sense but as I've stated here before... part of the thrill of this hobby to me is learning more and more about it. I find value in looking at various grades and learning what it is about those grades that make them such. I thought to myself that this book would grade at a 1.0 or Fair. It was advertised as a 2.5 or Good+ but that seemed too high for me upon my observations.

 

And with a coupon for 4 free submissions to CGC, I decided to give it a go and send the book in along with 3 others...

 

A few weeks later, once I got the grade on the book, I was shocked and this was where the vision of the atom bomb test shot through my head. I was surprised to see that it was given a grade of a 2.0 (Good) but I had overlooked something that should've been obvious to me. I was so focused on the interior of the book that I failed to see what most of you will pick out right away.

 

I suppose I could say that I wouldn't expect it on such a low grade book but nothing should surprise me anymore when it comes to manipulating books to garner maximum appeal.

 

 

 

...

 

 

TRIMMED.

 

...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I learned yet another lesson with this book and that was to not jump so hastily on purchasing a book (especially while on the road and window shopping with a cell phone!) regardless of how sought after it is. Looking back, I would have been better suited if I had saved the money and shown a bit more patience. Since this purchase, I've found 2 other copies but both from Heritage and both pretty much out of my price range for now.

 

So anyways, I have another place holder...

 

Whiz Comics 19

 

 

 

Despite all the negativity of this particular book, this cover is absolutely stunning to me! A beautiful piece by CC Beck featuring Captain Marvel putting a shark in a head lock with a Baker-esque girl observing nearby.

 

The colors on this piece really seem to compliment each other nicely and on my scale, this one would be a 70.

 

While carefully going through this book, I thought this page stood out a bit as this issue was published in 1941, many years prior to the early to mid 50's from which I was more familiar with subject matter such as this appearing in comics.

 

Of course that may simply be because I haven't come across any others that may exist.

 

 

And finally...

 

Of all the books I've submitted to CGC, this was this first time that I had to use a 'post-it' on the Mylar front of this book indicating that the book was practically falling apart at the centerfold!

 

 

eBay.

 

You win some, you lose some. (thumbs u

 

 

 

 

 

[Hibou]

Okay, I just can't hold this back any longer...

 

This is the awesome print that I got from my friend for Christmas! And when I say awesome, well the print is so much more that in hand, than when viewing it as an image online.

 

So here it is!

 

 

Jason Edmiston's Creature From the Black Lagoon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rob seems to be a big fan of Jason Edmiston's art and I don't blame him one bit!

 

Here's his website and artwork:

 

http://jasonedmiston.com/portfolio/paintings/

 

And if anyone was wondering, the Ming the Merciless print is AMAZING... as is the CSS22 print and the Lugosi Dracula!!

 

Happy Holidays!

 

 

[Hibou]

Another book that has been on my want list was one from EC Comics that I had seen a few times but one that I thought might be difficult to find in mid grade given the dark cover.

 

This next book I found for a reasonable price on Worldwide Comics. I believe it was the second (or third) book I purchased from them and the first raw book. It was priced under $50 so I figured I would take a chance and I have to say, I was pleased with the service and grade.

 

I submitted this book to CGC with the free submission coupon and it came back very close to what I purchased it as.

 

Like I said, it was purchased raw and was listed as a FN (OW/W Pages)...

 

When I recived the book in hand I thought that the spine creases might keep it down a little.

 

What was a pleasant surprise was that in hand, I graded it as a VG/FN (5.0) and CGC put it at a FN- (5.5) and yes, with OW/W pages. So I figured it was a good purchase and a book I really like having in my collection.

 

What can you say about this cover except... WOW!

 

George Evans captures a very dramatic scene which is beautifully accentuated with a terrific color scheme!

 

The treasure chest full of gold coins gleams upon the diver as a monstrous shark closes in... a sunken ship in the background provides the ghostly backdrop as a skull and crossbones printed on the treasure chest tells of foreboding danger.

 

Piracy only ran for 7 issues for EC Comics from 1954-1955 but their picture frame covers stand out to me. Of course, none more so than this one!

 

On my scale, this one comes very close to a perfect 100 but settles at 90... (and a 95 if I count the graphic skull and crossbones.)

 

 

 

 

This was something that I thought was a pretty nice touch...

 

 

[Hibou]

I really need to get to this before the holidays get too far away from me here... the tree is still up, as are the lights and decorations, but I know it's just a matter of time before these days start to fade off into the year.

 

One aspect of these boards that I'm very fond of is the outreach, camaraderie and generosity which is thoroughly displayed from time to time and especially around the holiday season.

 

For the past three (or is that four now) years that I've been an active member here, I've enjoyed participating in the yearly 'Secret Santa' event that's conducted in the Comics General section of these boards. By participating, your name is thrown into a 'hat' and you're given a board members name to buy a gift for and likewise, someone is given yours. What I like about that is that it encourages you to browse through your given boardies posts to learn a little about what they like or collect. Often their 'wish list' is pretty detailed but sometimes it's left a bit open to anything.

 

Well this year was quite interesting in the fact that the board member who was given my name just happened to be the one who drew me to the Journals section here and inspired me to start one on this underwater themed collection of mine.

 

That boardie is Miraclemet, who detailed in very entertaining fashion, his quest and assembly of the now disassembled Lady in White collection as I mentioned earlier in these pages...

 

Miraclemet's Lady in White Journal

 

The first thing I should mention is that I was extremely touched by the wrapping paper.

 

Yes, the wrapping paper!

 

You see, what he did was somehow create a collage of very cool and awesome underwater books (some of which I actually own!) and transform that into a wrap.

 

This is that wrapping paper...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I really get a kick out of with this is that there are a few books on the wrapping paper that I didn't know about which have been added to my list.

 

Fight Comics 11 and Famous Funnies 215 have been long on my must get list and there's actually a book featured on there that I currently have at CGC waiting to be graded that was recommended to me by Miraclemet as well...

 

And that perfectly illustrates the camaraderie that can be built here!

 

What was individually wrapped in this paper was 4 awesome paperback books as well as these two fantastic GA books...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll talk about these two later once I get them graded but for now I would just like to show them and once again, publicly give a very big THANK YOU to Miraclemet for his generosity and thoughtfulness during this holiday season!

 

Thank you, Charles!

 

 

 

 

 

[Hibou]

EDIT- Book was sold in the 2014 summer sale.

 

As the Whiz Comics 19 was a near disaster from eBay, I thought I would show the other side in which a raw purchase from eBay was actually a nice surprise.

 

This was another book that I had a few attempts at purchasing raw but it just never seemed to pan out for one reason or another. While browsing through one of my favorite search sites...

 

http://www.comicseeker.com/

 

... I found a nicely presenting copy of this book that I had been after. It was on eBay and it was listed with only a front cover image. The description of the book was pretty detailed and listed as a VG+ to Fine- (4.5 - 5.5). I followed the auction for the week and was able to win the book at what I thought was a fair price. If the book wasn't as I thought it would be, I figured I would've lost a little but not a lot... I understood that I was taking a gamble.

 

When the book arrived, I was a bit pleased with what I had bought. It was pretty much right in line with how it was presented on eBay through the description. I figured that I would send it into CGC and it would come back as a 4.5 or maybe a 5.0 if it was a good day!

 

I wasn't sure on the paper quality but it did look pretty good to me.

 

When I finally got the book back, I was very pleased! A little higher grade than I thought and the PQ was a nice little bonus.

 

As for the book itself, by purchasing it raw, I was able to read through it and enjoy it before sending it in and the cover is very cool to me.

 

It's the first book I've owned prominently featuring a Sea Horse and I really love the fact that this book brings me back to Irwin Hasen who did the cover to this one and whom I met at the Kubert School about 25 years ago.

 

As for a point value to this book, it's a 70.

 

 

(Former copy)

 

 

 

 

Irwin Hasen is now 95 and here's a nice interview with him from two years ago as he still had time to enjoy his Martini and Scotch.

 

 

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/nyregion/for-irwin-hasen-a-life-with-dondi.html?_r=0

 

[Hibou]

A couple of months ago, I mentioned on here that a boardie sent me a link to a book that he had found that would certainly fit my collection.

 

That boardie (once again!) was Miraclemet. The book that he had told me about was at Metropolis Comics. It was a lower grade copy (Raw G+) but once I saw the cover, I had to get one! It was a Fiction House book from a title that I had only one other of (#39), as I wasn't too familiar with the series outside of it's name.

 

He also told me that Metropolis had a couple very high grade copies... but in excess of $500 for those, it would be well out of my means.

 

So I thought about picking up the G+ copy but it had a few too many flaws that I knew would bother me for a book with such an amazing cover!

 

And so, I thought I would look around a little to see what else I could find.

 

That search brought me to eBay where I found a very nice looking raw copy that looked to be in the upper, mid-range grade and more of what I would like. As luck would have it, I recognized the eBay seller name as a boardie here as well and so I thought I would try to contact him directly through the boards to see if we could work out a deal.

 

That board member was Bunky Brian and he graciously offered the book to me for less than he was asking on eBay. I thankfully accepted the offer... when I received the book in hand, it actually looked better than what it was listed at on eBay. A very tight cover with nice pages! After flipping through the book and admiring the GGA (Good Girl Art) within... I promptly sent the book in to be graded by CGC.

 

Well I just received the book back and I'm very pleased!

 

Again, I'd like to thank Miraclemet for bringing this particular book to my attention and to Bunky Brian for a very nice deal.

 

It's become very obvious, that the majority of my collection is made up of lower to mid-grade books so this one sort of sticks out a little but that's quite all right!

 

Rangers Comics 33 with a FANTASTIC cover by Joe Doolin!

 

From a purely illustrative point of view... what is there NOT to like?!

 

Beautiful pen and ink work which depicts a male and a very attractive female diver being confronted by a very large shark!

 

And finally, here it is... I thought of scoring this book as a 95 but there is a Starfish in the lower left corner next to the skull which would count as sealife and given that...

 

This book is a 100 points!

 

Seriously though, the two figures underwater (with vintage diving equipment) against a massive shark... a sunken treasure and a ghostly Galleon ship... yes, a skull... water flows beautifully complimenting the line work and then of course, there is the Starfish!

 

 

 

 

 

Joe Doolin who did the cover work for this issue (and A LOT of other Fiction House books), is quite an artist!

 

He was in his late 40's when he drew the cover to this book as he was born in 1896.

 

 

 

 

His artwork graced the covers and pages of the pulp Weird Tales... here are a couple examples of that:

 

 

 

 

 

I did mention that I enjoyed looking through the book and admiring some excellent examples of 40's / 50's GGA.

 

I just thought I'd show a couple of pages that would point that out...

 

 

 

 

 

And finally...

 

CGC makes the notation that this book contains Hypodermic needle panels.

 

And here are those panels as illustrated by Lily Renee.

 

 

 

 

Yes, this Lily Renee...

 

 

 

http://booksdogsandfrogs.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/non-fiction-monday-lily-renee-escape-artist/

 

 

[Hibou]

I can now update a move I did around the beginning of December as the Post Office finally came through after a few weeks of worrying on my part.

 

There had been one book that I was consistently looking for an upgrade to and that opportunity came about in December. The book that I found happened to be in the monthly MCS (My Comic Shop) auction but there was one problem... the auction would end 1 week before Christmas.

 

Absolutely horrible timing.

 

This was THE book that I wanted in terms of a nice upgrade to a low grade copy that I purchased last year so my mind started to work on finding a way to fund a purchase that I normally wouldn't be able to at this time of the year.

 

One thing that came to mind was to move a book that was very dear to me and one that I loved but only if an acceptable replacement was within reach.

 

I remembered first playing around with this idea when I saw a boardie (VintageComics) post a rather nice looking low grade copy of this key book of mine. He posted it for sale in late October and I remember looking at it and thinking to myself... or rather wondering to myself, if I would rather have his copy or mine. I left the debate unsettled in my mind but resurrected the idea once I started to think of this plan to get a little extra money to fund this upgrade from MCS that I was looking at.

 

So I contacted Roy (VintageComics) and asked if he still had the book as I never saw that it had sold. And as luck would have it, he did still have it and so I proceeded to further advance this plan. I thought about it for a few days and then decided to offer for sale one of my favorite books.

 

I was a little nervous hoping that there wouldn't be a hiccup along the way as I knew it would be very difficult to replace the copy I was selling if this deal fell through... (which was a main reason why the Post Office had me worried for the past 2-3 weeks).

 

Once I sold my copy, I turned around and purchased Roy's book as he was aware beforehand of what it was that I was trying to do.

 

With a little extra cash in hand now, I was able to successfully bid and win the book that I really wanted to get in the MCS auction and was thrilled about that!

 

Well just today, the book that Roy sent to me from Canada (after 3 weeks!) arrived safely and in perfect condition. I want to publicly thank him for keeping in touch with me during the whole process and easing my nerves in terms of the hang-ups that can occur when shipping internationally!

 

And so here they are:

 

I sold my Restored (3.0) Action Comics 15 for this Universal (1.0) copy...

 

(Originally here: http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7385027&fpart=4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then that provided me with the means to upgrade my (2.5) copy of Tales from the Crypt 40 with this (6.5) copy...

 

(Originally here: http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7385027&fpart=5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now if I ever hit the lottery or make some big gains in my financial situation, I'll look to hopefully one day upgrade the Action 15, but until that time (if it should ever come) I'm comfortable with this decision!

[Hibou]

EDIT- Book was sold in the 2014 summer sale.

 

2015 EDIT- Book is back in the collection!

 

How is it that you can admire an artist so much but have so little to represent that?!

 

Well, such is the case here.

 

I've only owned one Matt Baker book prior to (finally!) obtaining this one. The previous Matt Baker book I had was a lower grade copy of Phantom Lady 18 and once I sold that, I felt like it might be a very long time before I would find another book of his that might be affordable and I really liked.

 

In my view, he drew some of the most alluring women in comic form which contributed greatly to the GGA (Good Girl Art) genre.

 

Sadly, Matt Baker passed away at the young age of 37... he was born in 1921.

 

There's a great book about him called:

 

Matt Baker - The Art of Glamour by Jim Amash and Eric Nolen-Weathington

 

 

Here is a nicely done flash preview...

 

http://issuu.com/twomorrows/docs/mattbakerpreview/1?e=0

 

Although Baker did a lot of romance and western books, his women always seem to want to jump right out of the page at you... well, maybe that's just my imagination!

 

(Generic image - Phantom Lady 18)

 

 

 

Matt Baker has a few, very beautiful underwater covers (and one in particular that may be very difficult to obtain) but this one nicely combines GGA with PCH... it should be no surprise that Wertham had his issues with Matt Baker's work as was made famous by his focus on Phantom Lady 17.

 

I had been after a copy of this book for a while and it seemed that many of the copies I had found were all right around the same grade and looked pretty much the same. This one too has a lot of the familiar issues that I kept finding such as that miswrap and tanning but this one happened to come around at the right time and was actually a little cheaper than I thought it would be. This copy was found in the January 2013 Comiclink auction and I'm thrilled to finally have a Matt Baker book back in my collection and what an amazing cover on this one!

 

The two Sea Creature Women in the foreground are stunning especially the backward reclined posed one! I absolutely love the colors here, but if there was one complaint I had, it would be in the confusion I saw as to whether this was a completely underwater depiction or not.

 

At first glance, this looked to me like a subterranean pool with the central male figure jumping in but after looking at the background figures, I'm left to assume that this is entirely an underwater scene with those figures swimming around as shown by their flowing hair and 'sea tendrils'...

 

As for a scale, this one scores 65 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first two pages of the Princess of the Sea story as illustrated by Dan Barry.

 

 

 

 

 

I just wanted to add that the Matt Baker book, "The art of Glamour"... contains full color reprints of Phantom Lady 17 and 18 along with a couple of other stories.

[n2wdw]

I really enjoy your journal and the stories of buying books for your collection. I especially liked your story about Action 15.

[Hibou]

Thank you!

 

And sometimes I live vicariously in your comic book room!

[Hibou]

Why I love this place...

 

Today an underwater 'Mini-Grail' sort of fell into my lap courtesy of a fellow boardie. I put a down payment on the book and it'll probably take me 3-4 weeks to pay it off but it was one that I thought would be very tough to get when I started to realize what I was doing with this collection.