Why Golden Age Collecting is Fun

[vaillant]

@Bruce: The original Alter Ego must have been awesome. In fact, I am beginning to fully appreciate what Roy Thomas did for the Marvel age vision now that I know more of the golden age.

[BB-Gun]

@Bruce: The original Alter Ego must have been awesome. In fact, I am beginning to fully appreciate what Roy Thomas did for the Marvel age vision now that I know more of the golden age.

 

I have all of the first Alter-Ego issues now but only a couple are from my original collection. The scan above is from Jerry Bails, I think. My copy has duck tape holding the binding together.

 

You can get most of the early articles from the Fandom Annuals published by GB Love or later by Bill Schelly. I think Comic Plus and the Digital museum have electronic copies as well.

 

 

[RareHighGrade]

Griff and Caddotx, how old are you? I'm always curious to know the ages of collectors that move to GA. Conventional wisdom is that GA collectors are an older crowd, but I don't think that to be the case.

[quicksilver]

 

Why Golden Age Collecting is Fun ?

I beg your pardon. My impression is that most people on here do this for a living ...

But I might be wrong

But off course youre right : work can be fun / dealing can be collecting, etc.

 

 

I look at it the other way. I became a dealer in order to be involved in the hobby I've loved all of my life, and as possibly the only way to be able to afford the books I crave (thanks to the Gerber books, the most expensive books known to man) - it wouldn't matter to me if all the books were worthless as long as I could have them.

[vaillant]

Griff and Caddotx, how old are you? I'm always curious to know the ages of collectors that move to GA. Conventional wisdom is that GA collectors are an older crowd, but I don't think that to be the case.

 

I’m very curious to know as well. Conventional wisdom is just an indication: I started to collect 1930s italian comics when I was 16; of course getting more mature lets you trutly appreciate the material, but I am convinced it largely depends on education and upbringing too…

 

I look at it the other way. I became a dealer in order to be involved in the hobby I've loved all of my life, and as possibly the only way to be able to afford the books I crave (thanks to the Gerber books, the most expensive books known to man) - it wouldn't matter to me if all the books were worthless as long as I could have them.

 

As it happens in most of cases, at least that’s how it has been in Italy since the 1960s: there are hardly dealers which are not (or have been) loyal readers and/or collectors. Of course, the commercial aspect can exceed the initial love for the comics, but this is something that depends on you.

 

ìYou can get most of the early articles from the Fandom Annuals published by GB Love or later by Bill Schelly. I think Comic Plus and the Digital museum have electronic copies as well.

 

Thanks – I have to check out the Digital Museum…

[Bookery]

So as a lot of folks know I chose to specialize in Don Winslow books, and man has it been fun so far. ~Griff

 

You probably already know this, but just a caution on Overstreet's listing of the 1937 Don Winslow. This is a pulp magazine, though it does have 16 pages of color comics inside. OPG is not far off on the 2nd issue, but is way off on the 1st. This title is quite scarce, but nevertheless is still a pulp, and priced accordingly. If you track one down, you can probably get it for about 1/3rd of the OPG price. Happy collecting!

 

[Caddotx]

Griff and Caddotx, how old are you? I'm always curious to know the ages of collectors that move to GA. Conventional wisdom is that GA collectors are an older crowd, but I don't think that to be the case.

 

47 but I feel much older.

[cirnick-migration]

I grew up on Silver Age, but now I read mostly Golden Age due to the vast quantity and versatile genre list. I am still having fun finding out about characters that started out in Golden Age that I never realized before. Or finding a favorite artist's work in a GA book. For us kids who grew up on SA, it is like finding a hidden treasure a few years ago

[jimbo_707]

I started collecting comics in the mid 80s when I was about 9 or 10. (I'll be 40 next month -- ugh!) I started out with new issues off the stands and back issues that I bought at a nearby bookstore, but I quickly learned that there were dedicated comic book stores and local comic book conventions. I also got a copy of the Overstreet Price Guide which had beautiful full-color cover galleries that included quite a few GA comics. At any rate, once I became exposed to older comics, I fell in love. I continued to collect a mish-mash of books from all ages, but the GA books seemed so old that to me they were practically magical. (Most of them were no older than early Bronze Age books are now!) The first pre-Silver-Age book I remember getting was a low grade Muggsy Mouse #1, which I actually bought from a shop in Fort Collins, Colorado, while my mother and I were out there visiting my aunt.

[Stevenrams]

Collecting GA books is fun but unfortunately very expensive--especially for HG and Mid Grade Books. Even some low grades are out of range and I can only buy maybe one a year.

 

I bought a Thrilling Comics 41 with the classic Hitler, Mussolini, Swatzika Blanket cover with cover art by Alex Schomburg and Bob Oksner interior art. I bought it slabbed a CGC 4.0 with OW PQ and it still cost me a cool grand. By no means cheap and still a low-grade by most collectors' standards but at least it's the high end of the low grade if there is such a nomenclature. Way too expensive for many collectors so I'm back collecting Silver and Bronze.

 

 

[mrmitchgro]

Griff and Caddotx, how old are you? I'm always curious to know the ages of collectors that move to GA. Conventional wisdom is that GA collectors are an older crowd, but I don't think that to be the case.

 

I've found quite a few younger GA collectors as I've built my EC collection (I'm 33). I think the perception that it's an older group is because us younger guys do much more reading than posting - there's a huge amount of knowledge to be learned!

[miraclemet]

I'm a spry 39 years old myself, and decided to focus on GA collecting mostly because I got burned out by the lack of uniqueness of SA collections and the general wide-spread availability.

 

When money's tight (or even not) I'd rather save up and spend it on something unique or at least rare, rather than just be the 800th person to buy an IH181.

 

 

[adamstrange]

rather than just be the 800th person to buy an IH181.

 

The 5252nd

http://www.cgccomics.com/census/grades_standard.asp?title=Incredible+Hulk&issue=181&publisher=Marvel+Comics&year=1974&issuedate=11%2F74

[miraclemet]

rather than just be the 800th person to buy an IH181.

 

The 5252nd

http://www.cgccomics.com/census/grades_standard.asp?title=Incredible+Hulk&issue=181&publisher=Marvel+Comics&year=1974&issuedate=11%2F74

 

point made...

[vaillant]

Huk #181…

 

 

Collecting GA books is fun but unfortunately very expensive--especially for HG and Mid Grade Books. Even some low grades are out of range and I can only buy maybe one a year. […] Way too expensive for many collectors so I'm back collecting Silver and Bronze.

 

Well, Steve, this is only partly true.

Of course, if you go after the more rare or sought after books, you have to spend what most people would feel outside a reasonable price.

But there are a myriad of great titles, with great writers and artists, which can still be had for $50-400 apiece, even scarce ones.

[PowderedH2O]

I just got back into my collection (after a LONG time away). I've so far bought two GA books.

 

Why do I love them? Because they are so freaking awesome!

 

Why do I hate them? Because there are so many great titles that I want to collect and I know that I can't possibly do that at the price that each issue costs.

 

I am considering building a type set with maybe one or two issues of a variety of different titles, since there is no way I'll ever complete a set that has more than 15-20 books. Maybe my favorite 50 titles, one book each from Pre 1950?

[Marty Mann]

I just got back into my collection (after a LONG time away). I've so far bought two GA books.

 

Why do I love them? Because they are so freaking awesome!

 

Why do I hate them? Because there are so many great titles that I want to collect and I know that I can't possibly do that at the price that each issue costs.

 

I am considering building a type set with maybe one or two issues of a variety of different titles, since there is no way I'll ever complete a set that has more than 15-20 books. Maybe my favorite 50 titles, one book each from Pre 1950?

 

Good luck with your collecting!

 

mm

[Limited66]

I'm 35, so my comic collecting started in the late '80s and was pretty much whatever was current, though I read a lot of SA comics because of Marvel Tales.

 

In the 90s, I was a huge Tales from the Crypt fan and started buying EC reprints and loved those stories. That led me to historical information on the SOTI congressional hearings and the whole pantheon of 1950s horror comics, all of which I wanted to own. I especially wanted to own an original EC comic, but I didn't think I'd ever find one that I could buy. As I got older and actually made some money, I finally bought some low grade ECs off of Ebay, but I was seriously disappointed in their condition.

 

Eventually, I found this forum. I was interning in NYC, and I went to the Time Machine because it seemed like a cool store and at the time I was looking for a list of the comics that had the panels that Lichtenstein had ripped off. Steve Borock happened to be in the store and suggested that I ask that question on here, which I did and I got really good responses.

 

Here, I discovered all kinds of GA I had never seen before and it just took off from there. I've bought all kinds of pre-code horror here, ECs and then classic GA WWII covers in Actions, Timelys, and Nedors.

 

So thanks CGC forum for blowing my mind and expanding my collecting horizons!

[eman13]

I usually lurk on this forum (great info from fantastic collectors, how can I not? ) but I thought I would mention why I collect golden ages. I started seriously a few months ago but I have been at it since I was around 10.

 

I am a scientist and a dabbler in general, leading to me trying very odd things in the name of science. Much of my inspiration has come from comic books and I feel a need to repay that debt to them by collecting, protecting, and archiving them ESPECIALLY the golden ages. They hold the most unique and pure (as in the influence of them are only from themselves or an obvious source) ideas that one can build upon.

 

Even as I write this I am running a machine I designed and built that produces nanoscale metal wires as a prototype to a much stronger predecessor: Carbon Nanotubes. Another project I am working on is increasing SOD production in cytoplasm to result in reduced free radical damage to the nucleus. In plain English it results in a slowing of aging. I have attracted some attention for my work and have been given lab space, resources and training for its progression.

 

So I collect to repay a debt to the source of my inspiration.

 

And to answer the question of age, I am twenty years old and will be twenty one in July.

 

[conditionfreak]

Ernie Gerber is why I started collecting golden age comics. I grew up reading the silver age and put together a decent collection of them when I got older. But then I got ahold of Gerber's scarcity guide and I was hooked. I started searching for "Gerber 6's" and above for my collection. Then I zeroed in on the 8's and the Gerber White Spaces".

 

I just like having what everyone else doesn't. Of course, with anything I have. SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE, has them. But only a very few people.

 

Almost everyone has an ASM #1, Fantastic Four #48 or Batman #227.

 

Don't they?

 

But how many have a Buck Rogers #1 or Stuntman #1? Not too many I think.