The Overstreet Top 346 Silver Age Comics (all are listed)

[jreezy]

[bronze johnny]

I'm just starting to get into the price guide portion of the new Overstreet, and I've already found a significant error of omission.

 

It looks like Our Army At War #83 has finally cracked the Top 20 (#19, actually), but it didn't make the list of top silver age comics. Maybe one of the 'War Correspondents' could point this out to someone for the next guide.

 

While I haven't had a chance to add any of the new members to this list (FF #52, for example), I did take a look at any percentage increases from 2013 (not a single decrease, btw). Here are the top 10 increases for books outside of the Top 20:

 

OOAW #83, Superman #123 & 'Tec #359 all increased by 25%. Batgirl & Sgt. Rock are no surprise, but Supes 123 (Pre-Supergirl tryout c/story)? I must have missed the hype around this one.

 

Our Army At War #112 increased by just over 27%. Some war book recognition going on?

 

B&B #25 jumped 33.3%. Was there a Suicide Squad movie announcement?

 

Strange Tales #110 increased by just over 38%. Everyone knew this was coming.

 

Four Color #878 (Peanuts #1) jumped 40%. I've got to admit, this one caught me off guard. Is this a trend across the title, or was there a significant sale? Not bad Charlie Brown.

 

Strange Tales #89 moved more than 41% & #97 more than 42%. Pre-hero classics are alive and well.

 

But the #1 mover from this list is Superboy #68, a whopping 50% from the 2013 guide. The book gets a lot of love on these boards, but it looks like Overstreet is joining the party.

 

Antman, thanks for putting this together. Lists like this are always interesting to discuss and debate.

 

- Showcase 9 is a very significant book in terms of history and the early years of the DC's SA. Lois Lane becomes the first SA character to get her own title, long before the Flash. Showcase 9 represents the newest expansion of an existing series of DC hero books that long preceded the SA first appearance of the Flash. While SC 9 is not a first appearance book, the role Lois Lane had in the early years of the DC SA should not be underestimated in terms of importance. We should not judge the significance of what keys like SC 9 meant to the SA and the readers and collectors growing up during that period by the standards we use to judge a major SA key today. Here's an example of what can be called a discussion between two collectors where Collector A uses today's standard to define the bigger key:

 

Collector A: "A new movie's coming out starring character X - book is going to skyrocket! Bigger key than character Y's."

 

Collector B: "But character Y had a run of over 100 issues while character X never had a run of their own."

 

Collector A: "Movie, Movie, Movie!"

 

- Also, take a look at a recent sale of a beautiful copy of 7.5 SC 9 sold on Comic Connect. I know the buyer and that buyer knows SA keys.

 

- The OAAW 83 omission from the SA top 20 was pointed out previously in the War thread. It still amazes me how the editors over at Overstreet edit. I'm a big fan of the OSPG but discrepancies like this are inexcusable. Do they even edit? OAAW 83 has become a major SA key. The scarcity of this book in a decent grade is astonishing. And this book is going to keep going up the ranks.

 

- Interesting how a book like Adventure Comics 247 can come in behind books like the first issues of the Justice League of America and Avengers. Adventure 247 is the 1st appearance of the Legion, one of the greatest SA groups. So the Legion isn't popular and that immediately leads many to conclude that Avengers and JLA 1 are bigger keys? Perhaps due to a temporary bump induced by the hype of a film? If we study the DC Silver Age carefully and just how significant a book Adventure 247 was to DC Comics and the Silver Age, there's no doubt where this book belongs - ahead of the 4th app. of the Justice League of America and the "second BB 28 book," Avengers 1.

 

- G.I. Combat is a bigger book than OAAW 81. The 1st app. of the Haunted Tank is more significant than a Rock prototype.

 

- The word is that a movie is to be made about Calvin Coolidge. Perhaps some historians out there will move "Silent Cal" up the presidential ranks, ahead of Truman and Eisenhower?

 

- I look forward to returning to a time when the comic book market is driven by the interest of collector's/readers.

 

 

[Gopher John]

I wonder what this list would have looked like in 1982 (when I started collecting silver age books). DC would surely have a lot more in the top 50. At the time, the Legion of Superheroes and Challengers of the Unknown were very desireable books.

 

Only 2 Supermans (including the annual) and 3 Actions in the top 346? Not much love for the man who started it all. No Jimmy Olsen #1?

 

The good news for me (as a collector) is that my interests don't seem to garner that much interest from Overstreet or from investors, so I can happily keep plugging away at my collection.

[bronze johnny]

I wonder what this list would have looked like in 1982 (when I started collecting silver age books). DC would surely have a lot more in the top 50. At the time, the Legion of Superheroes and Challengers of the Unknown were very desireable books.

 

Only 2 Supermans (including the annual) and 3 Actions in the top 346? Not much love for the man who started it all. No Jimmy Olsen #1?

 

The good news for me (as a collector) is that my interests don't seem to garner that much interest from Overstreet or from investors, so I can happily keep plugging away at my collection.

 

Hype inspired by the "movie makes the comic book popular" crowd has artificially pumped books like Avengers 1 above Adventure 247. I'm a Marvel guy and let me tell you there's no way Avengers 1 is a more significant book than Adventure 247.