L.B. Cole cover thread! Post your favorites by the master! 39 39

[pmpknface]

Because I know that Cole fans have 1 character that he drew that we just cannot get enough of, I bring you more MIGHTY BEAR!!!  Specifically, a cover proof to #13:

[pmpknface]

One of these went on HA tonight.  Mine isn't as nice, but I'm glad I have one in the archives at least.

 

[pmpknface]

For tonight's sampler, the book I was going to share before that one above had a copy that was auctioned.  Here we have Target V9 #4 with a sweet gorilla vs hawk cover!  Maybe it's an eagle, I dunno.... it's got a red face and gold feathers and I'm no ornithologist so you tell me.  I just know it's awesome!  Grab one of these if you see it.  Mine's got a handful of creases and dings but nothing too bad and the scan really doesn't do the colors justice.   Only 8 on the census, but 2 9.0's and 1 9.6!!!  I still have it raw, for now.  Oh, also don't sleep on the giant 52-pages either!  I think the original art for this went not too long ago too on HA.  Here she is:

[adamstrange]

On 8/13/2024 at 12:10 AM, pmpknface said:

with a sweet gorilla vs hawk cover!  Maybe it's an eagle, I dunno...

vulture

[pmpknface]

On 8/13/2024 at 1:12 AM, adamstrange said:

vulture

Yes... the rare Western African Golden Vulture!  Known for it's bright feathers and tendency to attack large mammals and kidnap humans.  I think I saw that on National Geographic once!   

[Jayman]

My only Target, but a good one. 

[pmpknface]

On 8/13/2024 at 12:08 PM, Jayman said:

My only Target, but a good one. 

Fantastic cover that even gets the "classic" designation.  When I first started collecting Cole covers this was one of the first I picked up.  That's an excellent copy!  Like most of his Targets this is often overlooked / undervalued.  I thought mine would have graded a bit higher, but I'll take it.  

 

[Professor K]

On 8/13/2024 at 12:13 PM, pmpknface said:

Fantastic cover that even gets the "classic" designation.  When I first started collecting Cole covers this was one of the first I picked up.  That's an excellent copy!  Like most of his Targets this is often overlooked / undervalued.  I thought mine would have graded a bit higher, but I'll take it.  

 

Like a mix of Mask 1 and Suspense 11

[LadyDeath]

@pmpknface Do you think Cole's Terrific Comics 6 cover is undervalued? I feel it should be more heralded like his Mask, Power or Catman covers.

1944 too, so it's his early work and definitely has that trademark. This copy was my first Cole cover so maybe I'm biased.

[pmpknface]

On 8/13/2024 at 11:26 PM, LadyDeath said:

@pmpknface Do you think Cole's Terrific Comics 6 cover is undervalued? I feel it should be more heralded like his Mask, Power or Catman covers.

1944 too, so it's his early work and definitely has that trademark. This copy was my first Cole cover so maybe I'm biased.

Yes, my friend, I agree with you.  It has a ton going for it.  Gotta love the masked gentleman hero in a top hat!  It has that ominous looking down vibe that has been used forever.  I did the city scape too!  I also agree what what you pointed out, that it is one of his earlier works with (what I love) his even more cursive looking sig at the bottom.  So I may be biased too!  ;) 

 

What it has against it, in my opinion, may not be fair.  First, it doesn't come up that often.  Maybe if a high grade copy did surface for sale it may draw some attention and more would pop up that would help.  There are 2 8's, 2 9's, and a 9.2!!! out there.  I'm not sure when the last one of those surfaced. 

Edit:  The 9.2 when in 2021 for $13,800.  So there goes that!

What I think may also contribute to it is that this isn't the book people think of when they think of this title.  That would go to this one....

I think it overshadows the other 5 in the run.  I've been hoping to find a reasonable #4 for a while but haven't been able to pull the trigger on one yet.  Me being a Cole freak would love to have the entire run someday, but it's a long shot... I know...   A 2.5 of #5 went in January for $13,200!!!  It's just the king of the run.  

I just checked and there's 48 #5's graded and exactly HALF as many #6's!  It being the last issue it may have had a lower print run too, just a thought.  But I don't see them that often and there may be less so demand SHOULD be higher.  Time will tell!  Enjoy your book in the meantime!   

This one, #3, has the least of any issue graded with only a 5.5, 7.5, and 9.0 ahead of it and 10 total.  Snagged from a boardie years ago:

Of that HA has only auctioned 2 copies, neither graded and both lower-mid grade.  Maybe it should be more valued too!  

I've been posting 1 random book a night.  I've never tried to put all of his covers in chronological order.  Maybe I should try???  Thoughts???

[LadyDeath]

On 8/14/2024 at 12:24 AM, pmpknface said:

Yes, my friend, I agree with you.  It has a ton going for it.  Gotta love the masked gentleman hero in a top hat!  It has that ominous looking down vibe that has been used forever.  I did the city scape too!  I also agree what what you pointed out, that it is one of his earlier works with (what I love) his even more cursive looking sig at the bottom.  So I may be biased too!  ;) 

 

What it has against it, in my opinion, may not be fair.  First, it doesn't come up that often.  Maybe if a high grade copy did surface for sale it may draw some attention and more would pop up that would help.  There are 2 8's, 2 9's, and a 9.2!!! out there.  I'm not sure when the last one of those surfaced. 

Edit:  The 9.2 when in 2021 for $13,800.  So there goes that!

What I think may also contribute to it is that this isn't the book people think of when they think of this title.  That would go to this one....

I think it overshadows the other 5 in the run.  I've been hoping to find a reasonable #4 for a while but haven't been able to pull the trigger on one yet.  Me being a Cole freak would love to have the entire run someday, but it's a long shot... I know...   A 2.5 of #5 went in January for $13,200!!!  It's just the king of the run.  

I just checked and there's 48 #5's graded and exactly HALF as many #6's!  It being the last issue it may have had a lower print run too, just a thought.  But I don't see them that often and there may be less so demand SHOULD be higher.  Time will tell!  Enjoy your book in the meantime!   

This one, #3, has the least of any issue graded with only a 5.5, 7.5, and 9.0 ahead of it and 10 total.  Snagged from a boardie years ago:

Of that HA has only auctioned 2 copies, neither graded and both lower-mid grade.  Maybe it should be more valued too!  

I've been posting 1 random book a night.  I've never tried to put all of his covers in chronological order.  Maybe I should try???  Thoughts???

Glad you agree. I'm a big Schomburg fan and while #5 is objectively better I just love #6 - the top hat guy is fabulously rendered and I also dig the cityscape/ominous tone. Cole's classic tropes on full display with the theme of greed, etc. Pretty surprising there's only 24 graded copies. You make a good point which I hadn't noticed, is the lack of higher graded copies which is peculiar. Just a tough book I guess. I got my 5.5 for around $880 after it originally sold on heritage for $1,080 (or more with buyer's premium) so I'm pretty happy about that!

#3 is another one that's pretty underrated, nice copy! Almost looks like Cole's take on a Schomburg action cover.

You should give it a try. Do you have any good Catmans? I really want #26a, #29 or #31 which I think are the coolest. Hard to find for fair prices.

Edited August 14 by LadyDeath

[pmpknface]

On 8/14/2024 at 5:40 AM, LadyDeath said:

Glad you agree. I'm a big Schomburg fan and while #5 is objectively better I just love #6 - the top hat guy is fabulously rendered and I also dig the cityscape/ominous tone. Cole's classic tropes on full display with the theme of greed, etc. Pretty surprising there's only 24 graded copies. You make a good point which I hadn't noticed, is the lack of higher graded copies which is peculiar. Just a tough book I guess. I got my 5.5 for around $880 after it originally sold on heritage for $1,080 (or more with buyer's premium) so I'm pretty happy about that!

#3 is another one that's pretty underrated, nice copy! Almost looks like Cole's take on a Schomburg action cover.

You should give it a try. Do you have any good Catmans? I really want #26a, #29 or #31 which I think are the coolest. Hard to find for fair prices.

I remember when you got the book, I thought you got a deal then and it looks like an even better deal today.     Another thought / factor - romance books are doing very well right now.  The 5.5 of that Pop #20 that sold went for $1600 on Sunday!  

The Terrific #3 is a bit Schomburg-like, except it only has 4 people on it!    

Ok...  I've got a bit of down time.  I'll try to scrape together some data and add it to what I've got already.  This may take some time....

As far as Catman's go, yep!  I've got a few.  If you can see my sig line I'm just looking for the yellow cover with the floating heads.  This is my set so far.  I've gotta re-scan a few.  I overpaid for the #28 before so many of them came out of hiding.  But I scored most of these years ago here on the boards.  Since I've graded the ones that hadn't been already.  The #32 presents so well for a 2.5 because the back cover is missing a chunk.  

https://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/SetGallery.aspx?PeopleSetID=164625

I don't think the #27 gets enough love.  I'll share this one with the class though:

 

Edited August 14 by pmpknface

[LadyDeath]

On 8/14/2024 at 9:06 AM, pmpknface said:

I remember when you got the book, I thought you got a deal then and it looks like an even better deal today.     Another thought / factor - romance books are doing very well right now.  The 5.5 of that Pop #20 that sold went for $1600 on Sunday!  

The Terrific #3 is a bit Schomburg-like, except it only has 4 people on it!    

Ok...  I've got a bit of down time.  I'll try to scrape together some data and add it to what I've got already.  This may take some time....

As far as Catman's go, yep!  I've got a few.  If you can see my sig line I'm just looking for the yellow cover with the floating heads.  This is my set so far.  I've gotta re-scan a few.  I overpaid for the #28 before so many of them came out of hiding.  But I scored most of these years ago here on the boards.  Since I've graded the ones that hadn't been already.  The #32 presents so well for a 2.5 because the back cover is missing a chunk.  

https://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/SetGallery.aspx?PeopleSetID=164625

I don't think the #27 gets enough love.  I'll share this one with the class though:

 

Wow, there's only 4 graded for Pop #20... and I noticed that Catman #28 is pretty sought-after. There seems to be a healthy number of Cole's Catman run on the census so they're not super scarce - but like I said, it feels like a challenge to nab a decent graded copy for a good price. Just saw a 7.5 Crippen of Catman #31 starts on ComicLink tomorrow:

[pmpknface]

On 8/14/2024 at 7:41 PM, LadyDeath said:

Wow, there's only 4 graded for Pop #20... and I noticed that Catman #28 is pretty sought-after. There seems to be a healthy number of Cole's Catman run on the census so they're not super scarce - but like I said, it feels like a challenge to nab a decent graded copy for a good price. Just saw a 7.5 Crippen of Catman #31 starts on ComicLink tomorrow:

Yea, the "reasonable" part is tough.  Of course what's reasonable to 1 is different from another.  I don't know what a GPA would tell you, but HA hasn't sold one in graded in over 7 years so I wish you luck on this one!  

Actually the census on all the Pop Teen books are very low.  I only purchased 1 graded (#8) and got the rest a long time ago.  I haven't gotten the bulk of them graded yet because they aren't really high grades, but I'll get there.  In fact 3 are "scheduled to be graded" now.  These are the census numbers (albeit from a bit ago, so some may be off) and the entire run is on the low side.  FYI - the #5 is for the AP reprint because that's what I own, which I'm ok with:

Popular Teen-Agers    5    27
Popular Teen-Agers    6    3
Popular Teen-Agers    7    5
Popular Teen-Agers    8    9
Popular Teen-Agers    9    10
Popular Teen-Agers    10    12
Popular Teen-Agers    11    22
Popular Teen-Agers    12    4
Popular Teen-Agers    13    8
Popular Teen-Agers    14    10
Popular Teen-Agers    15    10
Popular Teen-Agers    16    3
Popular Teen-Agers    17    12
Popular Teen-Agers    18    12
Popular Teen-Agers    19    10
Popular Teen-Agers    20    4
Popular Teen-Agers    21    4
Popular Teen-Agers    22    7
Popular Teen-Agers    23    4
 

[Point Five]

That low population number for PT #16 jumps out. I bought this copy some 20 years ago, always kinda hoped to upgrade but not to be. Super tough book! I love the deep rich colors. The reds look like they were made with fluorescent lipstick. In these 20 years I've only found/owned one other copy, in pretty similar grade.
 

[pmpknface]

On 8/14/2024 at 10:03 PM, Point Five said:

That low population number for PT #16 jumps out. I bought this copy some 20 years ago, always kinda hoped to upgrade but not to be. Super tough book! I love the deep rich colors. The reds look like they were made with fluorescent lipstick. In these 20 years I've only found/owned one other copy, in pretty similar grade.
 

Well done Arlene, I mean... sir!  ;)  

Your colors are better.  I think a press would have helped me out, as you can see creases easy:

I also just checked.... it's still at 4, with this 4.0 - the lowest.  It's below 2 5.5's and an 8.0!!!  

[Darwination]

This is maybe one of those cases where a little grime/age deepens the color.  There are plenty of GA books out there that look better with a little age. Heritage has the cover proof.  I was hoping to catch a glimpse of that 8 there...

Tastes would vary on which of the three here look best color-wise.  I'd probably lean towards Pumpkin's

[pmpknface]

On 8/14/2024 at 10:21 PM, Darwination said:

This is maybe one of those cases where a little grime/age deepens the color.  There are plenty of GA books out there that look better with a little age. Heritage has the cover proof.  I was hoping to catch a glimpse of that 8 there...

Tastes would vary on which of the three here look best color-wise.  I'd probably lean towards Pumpkin's

Thanks man!!! 

I was required by New England comic law to locate this lobsta cover.  I can "try" to get a better scan if you want one:

Registry update:  now 13 listed of #8. 

[Darwination]

I didn't know you could just walk out on the beach and catch lobsters

 

[pmpknface]

On 8/14/2024 at 10:34 PM, Darwination said:

I didn't know you could just walk out on the beach and catch lobsters

 

Of course!  Just ask Kramer...