L.B. Cole cover thread! Post your favorites by the master! 40 40

[Professor K]

On 6/19/2023 at 1:59 PM, Point Five said:

If I'm honest, I don't see anything that's super-distinctively LB Cole in that cover. The kids' faces definitely don't look like his. There's a looseness and sloppiness to the rabbit and wolf that feel off for Cole. The lines and forms don't seem to have the crispness of his inks... compared to e.g. the Taffy #1 cover from the same year. Inking over someone else's pencils and in an extreme rush to make a deadline? I guess it's conceivable.   

 

I see what you mean about the rabbit and wolf. I was thinking the same,  or that they don't look like his animals from Frisky Animals. The shape of the eyes on the little guy dwarf or whatever he is does have the same ovular shape as many of the creatures on Taffy and Frisky but that was common in cartoons back then. There are no brightly colored plaid or stripes on Krazy like Cole often used.

I'd like to think the L.B. Cole Black Light authors did their research properly but they could be wrong. Two things that have me leaning toward Cole is that the castle towers in Krazy are drawn the same as in Frisky 2. The knots on the trees in Krazy and Taffy 1 are very similar. 

Also possible that Victor Fox didn't want signatures on his covers. I don't think many or any Fox books had signatures. Or maybe Fox was paying Cole peanuts so he just turned in a quick cover. Even GCD isn't sure. But they do include it in their L.B. Cole cover checklist.

 

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by Professor K
picture added

[pmpknface]

On 6/18/2023 at 9:40 PM, Professor K said:

I just grabbed this little book tonight. Heritage describes it as such:

KrazyLife #1 (Fox, 1945) CGC VF- 7.5 Cream to off-white pages. Funny animal stories. L. B. Cole-esque cover. Only issue of the title. Overstreet 2022 VF 8.0 value = $170. CGC census 5/23: 1 in 7.5, 4 higher.

Black Light the World of L.B. Cole says it's his cover. I think it is. What do yo all think (or know)? 

I was watching this one - nice pickup!  I consider it a Cole cover and have one in my collection.  His art was so different all the time, it can be hard to pinpoint every one of his covers he did as "distinctively" his.  

 

[gadzukes]

I've got this one headed my way.  Looks like a really decent copy.

[Robot Man]

Nobody collects westerns or humor. Unless it’s LB Cole of course…

[Professor K]

Hi everyone. Ok honest opinions please, how did I do on this? Normally I wouldn't go for a restored book from the 50's but I made an exception because it's an A-1 and it looks nice, but also Blue labels of this book ain't cheap. Also it's the highest graded restored copy on the pop. 

Looking at past sales of purples I see a 4.0 C-1 for 2,472 a year and a half ago. This book went for 502.00 in 2015. .

Well here are the past sales and the book. 6.5 slightly miscut Blue for 15,600 a few months back and there are 15 higher graded. I figure a 6.0 Blue right now would come pretty close to that or possibly surpass it.

Edited July 11, 2023 by Professor K

[Point Five]

Seems like a great deal to me. Congrats! 

 

[Jayman]

Seems a decent price to me, and looking at how your copy presents would make me very happy with it. Congrats! 

BTW, the contents are reprinted from this book that I had in my collection for years before I realized it.

[comicjack]

Good deal and having a copy is awesome 

[Qua-Brot]

On 7/11/2023 at 8:48 AM, Jayman said:

Seems a decent price to me, and looking at how your copy presents would make me very happy with it. Congrats! 

BTW, the contents are reprinted from this book that I had in my collection for years before I realized it.

I just sold one of these, would have asked for more if I knew the connection 

[pmpknface]

On 7/10/2023 at 9:59 PM, Professor K said:

Hi everyone. Ok honest opinions please, how did I do on this? Normally I wouldn't go for a restored book from the 50's but I made an exception because it's an A-1 and it looks nice, but also Blue labels of this book ain't cheap. Also it's the highest graded restored copy on the pop. 

Looking at past sales of purples I see a 4.0 C-1 for 2,472 a year and a half ago. This book went for 502.00 in 2015. .

Well here are the past sales and the book. 6.5 slightly miscut Blue for 15,600 a few months back and there are 15 higher graded. I figure a 6.0 Blue right now would come pretty close to that or possibly surpass it.

Congrats!  It's tough to get any copy and yours looks sweet.  Enjoy it!

[Professor K]

On 7/11/2023 at 8:48 AM, Jayman said:

Seems a decent price to me, and looking at how your copy presents would make me very happy with it. Congrats! 

BTW, the contents are reprinted from this book that I had in my collection for years before I realized it.

Holy cow I've never seen this. Bizarre cover. And that top hat, so shiny!

On 7/11/2023 at 9:47 AM, comicjack said:

Good deal and having a copy is awesome 

On 7/11/2023 at 10:45 AM, pmpknface said:

Congrats!  It's tough to get any copy and yours looks sweet.  Enjoy it!

Thanks. I'm thinking at this point pretty much every Blue label that comes around there's gonna be at least one person who's gonna just keep on bidding and not quit for nothing. I figured it was now or never with this one. 

Edited July 11, 2023 by Professor K
spelling correction

[pmpknface]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:07 PM, Professor K said:

Thanks. I'm thinking at this point pretty much every Blue label that comes around there's gonna be at least one person who's gonna just keep on bidding and not quit for nothing. I figured it was now or never with this one. 

Well, don't hold out hope for a blue label if that's what you really want someday.  Now that you've got his one you can always flip and/or up/side grade.  And if that never happens you've got this beauty on your shelf, so you've already won.   

[Jayman]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:30 PM, pmpknface said:

Well, don't hold out hope for a blue label if that's what you really want someday.  Now that you've got his one you can always flip and/or up/side grade.  And if that never happens you've got this beauty on your shelf, so you've already won.   

Or go for the other Cole skull spider. They make great bookends! 😁

[Professor K]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:30 PM, pmpknface said:

Well, don't hold out hope for a blue label if that's what you really want someday.  Now that you've got his one you can always flip and/or up/side grade.  And if that never happens you've got this beauty on your shelf, so you've already won.   

Oh no that's it. I'm done. A-1 is A-Ok with me 

[Professor K]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:45 PM, Jayman said:

Or go for the other Cole skull spider. They make great bookends! 😁

Oh! That's what I said. That's a nice one. Yes having a Startling Terror 11 without a Suspense 8 is like having just one of the two Mask Comics. It's nice but it's like having cookies and no milk. I have neither one so..........yeah 

[Point Five]

Prof K's great pickup above reminded me that I bought this restored Startling Terror Tales #14 (CGC 7.5, Slight C-1) in January fully intending to crack it out. I've finally done that tonight! The rich cover inks look so good outside the slab. 

LB Cole did so ridiculously many classic covers, I doubt this one cracks anyone's top 20 but I've always had a soft spot for it. It's *so* distinctively LB Cole, has this awesome jazzy logo, and the colors pop against the black so well it almost looks like a silkscreened poster or something. I love it.

[Professor K]

I never really looked at that cover with very much "intensity" until now. Yeah it's actually really good. The blood dripping hand, guy face down in a pool of blood, the green dude. And the black and red contrast. Even the font of the letters is cool. I also love where he signed it. 

[Professor K]

I got another in the mail yesterday. Pretty sweet colors for a 3.5 I think. 

[Point Five]

On 7/12/2023 at 12:07 AM, Professor K said:

I never really looked at that cover with very much "intensity" until now. Yeah it's actually really good. The blood dripping hand, guy face down in a pool of blood, the green dude. And the black and red contrast. Even the font of the letters is cool. I also love where he signed it. 

All this! I've also found over the years that there are certain LB Cole covers that don't thrill me in average lower grade, but if I see a mid-to-high-grade copy it almost looks like a different book. Startling Terror Tales #13 is the best example I can think of, with the scientist guy with the green monster behind him... a cover that never did much for me, but when I see higher-grade examples as I have the last few years the colors and composition are striking and it's surprisingly quite cool. Whereas a classic like STT #11 looks good in any grade.

(Not sure why I'm on such an STT kick lately. I actually do collect other titles!)   

 

[vaultkeeper]

Here's my Startling Terror Tales #13 in 7.5