Comics, Pulps, and Paperbacks: Why such a discrepancy in values? 25 25

[Surfing Alien]

I just made a major discovery today about Ray Johnson that will likely/hopefully propel me to follow through on an offer to publish his biography/checklist in a major printed art mag. His info is still so skinny, however this bit of news sheds enough light that there's little doubt that the Ray Johnson initially identified by @Pat Calhoun through David Saunders is indeed the prolific Paperback and Men's Adventure Mag artist.

 

Here's an extremely rare digest of the 3rd print of this Jack Woodford title I just picked up. It's just an "ok" Johnson cover but rare as a digest reprint of one of the Diversey Novel Library paperbacks that were released later as Avon "Bedside Novels"

 

[Randall Dowling]

16 minutes ago, Surfing Alien said:

I just made a major discovery today about Ray Johnson that will likely/hopefully propel me to follow through on an offer to publish his biography/checklist in a major printed art mag. His info is still so skinny, however this bit of news sheds enough light that there's little doubt that the Ray Johnson initially identified by @Pat Calhoun through David Saunders is indeed the prolific Paperback and Men's Adventure Mag artist.

 

Here's an extremely rare digest of the 3rd print of this Jack Woodford title I just picked up. It's just an "ok" Johnson cover but rare as a digest reprint of one of the Diversey Novel Library paperbacks that were released later as Avon "Bedside Novels"

 

You know, ever since you first posted about Ray Johnson, I feel like I'm seeing more and more covers by him.  Which sounds kind of obvious.  But I'm talking about hundreds of books.  As far as I can tell, he was far more prolific than Maguire or other cover artists.  

[Surfing Alien]

16 minutes ago, Randall Dowling said:

You know, ever since you first posted about Ray Johnson, I feel like I'm seeing more and more covers by him.  Which sounds kind of obvious.  But I'm talking about hundreds of books.  As far as I can tell, he was far more prolific than Maguire or other cover artists.  

Sunshine is the bleach for knowledge.. 😁

He did at least 500 paperback covers we've identified as obvious, but probably did many more, because he was an expert copyist and not obvious.

He probably did a hundred+ more interiors for MAM's based on limited info we have,  but few covers.

From 1949-1952 he probably did 1/4 of Avons covers, including Iconic covers in every genre... which is why his covers are burned in the psyches of all the original collectors...

[Arkadin]

On 6/2/2021 at 3:38 AM, Surfing Alien said:

Just opened up insane copies of the early Goodis Gold Medals. They are a bit musty but never read for sure.

Goodis is good. 

[OtherEric]

In today.  I already have the Simon & Schuster reissue of this in hardcover, but it's missing the Boris Karloff foreword.  And, of course, having an early Bantam has its own appeal:

[frozentundraguy]

I visited the Dreamhaven book store today. I picked up a couple of reader pulps and a few PB's. While not in great shape these two pulps feature stories by Robert Williams, L. Sprague De Camp, Henry Kuttner, Leigh Brackett, and Ray Bradbury. Tomorrow the PB's.

 

[OtherEric]

5 minutes ago, frozentundraguy said:

I visited the Dreamhaven book store today. I picked up a couple of reader pulps and a few PB's. While not in great shape these two pulps feature stories by Robert Williams, L. Sprague De Camp, Henry Kuttner, Leigh Brackett, and Ray Bradbury. Tomorrow the PB's.

 

 

Nice pickups!  This one also has "Spectator Sport" by John D. MacDonald and "The Greater Conflict" by Raymond F. Jones, which is one of the three stories that were mashed up for "This Island Earth".

[frozentundraguy]

I picked up just a few PB's and mostly sci-fi.

Quite a different twist on a outer space yarn. It's by Poul Anderson who incidentally attended the University of Minnesota. Just how would one become oriented if stuck between galaxies?

 

Next up the Cosmic Computer with a great Valigursky cover.

 

 

The 1957 printing by Avon for The Metal Monster.

 

 

Last but not least Nude in Mink (3rd printing June 1950) and a nod to Pat C. for tipping me off to Rohmer's works. I looked for Sumuru, but could only find 3 copies of Return to Sumuru.

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by frozentundraguy

[OtherEric]

1 minute ago, frozentundraguy said:

I picked up just a few PB's and mostly sci-fi.

Next up the Cosmic Computer with a great Valigursky cover.

 

Nice pick-ups all!  Cosmic Computer is not my favorite Piper novel, but it still has a lot to like.  I get the general impression the end of the book was modified because it was originally released as a juvenile and the original idea was deemed too complex for younger readers.

[Surfing Alien]

Just picked up this Schomburg cover gem of a digest, which i've never seen a copy of in 40 years. I had to look it up and it's in Warren (not credited to Schomburg) and Bookery (credited) so I'm considering it part of the Schomburg pb cover collection although it could also be considered a pulp digest.

A couple other nice arrivals, a minty Gold Medal hard boiled classic with a Barye Phillips cover

A Harry Whittington JD PBO, the artist is uncredited to date

A Gold Medal Whittington, cover unknown, possibly early McGinnis

Baby Peddler, cover by Al Rossi

 

[Surfing Alien]

Hadn't seen another Army Romances in years and Bookzim shows up with one this week 😮 Not a Schomburg GI shooting an Imperial soldier but the Warren King covers are cool in their own way. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ARMY-ROMANCES-VINTAGE-PULP-DIGEST-Autumn-1946-AMAZON-w-WHIP-Cover-HTF-/373603849593?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286

Edited June 12, 2021 by Surfing Alien

[OtherEric]

Found at my local store today.  I love the Avon covers from this era:

[Surfing Alien]

Some more Golden Age Avons with spectacular GGA

[Surfing Alien]

A couple more higher end pieces. A pristine copy of Mockingbird by Walter Tevis.

Been looking for the right copy and it finally showed up. Just a wonderful novel and gotten quite pricey. Now I need to find the right copy of The Queen's Gambit, another 1980's pb that is tough to find nice.

Sin Pit by Paul Meskill. A legendary hard boiled novel by Lion that never comes cheap.

Finally, another L.B. Cole Croydon Digest. If comic collectors ever discover these, look out above...

[Pat Calhoun]

Cool - Mockingbird has another cover just inside the outer one...

[Surfing Alien]

2 minutes ago, Pat Calhoun said:

Cool - Mockingbird has another cover just inside the outer one...

You're the one who reminded me about this one and I had to go re-acquire it!

[WolverineX]

3 hours ago, Pat Calhoun said:

Cool - Mockingbird has another cover just inside the outer one...

Is the story as good as queens gambit?  Also, why not the first Ed hardcover?

[OtherEric]

A few books from the local store today.  We'll start with this one, I NEVER find Woolrich in the wild.

[OtherEric]

And I'll follow up with some Frazetta covers:

[Randall Dowling]

One can never go wrong with Frazetta cover art.