E.C. Fan Addict THREAD 27 27

[Raze]

On 12/11/2022 at 7:07 PM, fifties said:

I normally attribute HTF comics in the current day as not having been big sellers when they came out.  Totally unscientific I know, just my gut feeling.  

IDK what horror covers Woody did.  You could go to the Grand Comic Database to find out though.

Funny thing is, I just bought a second copy of this issue in a bit better (I hope) condition, so I might offer this one FS when I get the other one in.

Im interested in the under copy...

[yrag9591]

The only EC horror covers by Wood are Tales From The Crypt 26 and 27.

[Silver]

Is it correct to state that only two EC comics ever had 15 cent cover prices, WSF 23 and 24?

[OtherEric]

On 12/12/2022 at 3:52 PM, Silver said:

Is it correct to state that only two EC comics ever had 15 cent cover prices, WSF 23 and 24?

No.

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by OtherEric

[fifties]

On 12/11/2022 at 5:13 PM, Raze said:

Im interested in the under copy...

When I get the other copy, I'll PM.

[fifties]

On 12/12/2022 at 3:52 PM, Silver said:

Is it correct to state that only two EC comics ever had 15 cent cover prices, WSF 23 and 24?

Apparently they were losing money on the Sci Fi books, so tried the 15 cent cover price to help the bottom line.  I would speculate though that sales dropped even further with that higher price tag, as it only lasted for two issues.  Eventually they simply consolidated both Weir Sci and Weird Fan to just one title.

Their two 3D books were a quarter each.

[Telegan]

On 12/12/2022 at 6:31 PM, fifties said:

Apparently they were losing money on the Sci Fi books, so tried the 15 cent cover price to help the bottom line.  I would speculate though that sales dropped even further with that higher price tag, as it only lasted for two issues.  Eventually they simply consolidated both Weir Sci and Weird Fan to just one title.

Their two 3D books were a quarter each.

 

 

Just popped in to say being relatively new to pre-code and Golden Age horror comics in terms of collecting (and not extremely wealthy - lol!), this is the first Golden Age horror comic I think I ever bought, and that's not saying much, since I just bought it a month ago.  lol.  It's a Restored CGC 3.5, but I don't care.  I love that little guy on the cover.  He kind of reminds me of Elton John.  I've since followed it up with a copy of Mystery Tales #43 simply because the cover kind of blew me away when I first saw it, and I have so many questions for the guy on the cover (but that one's off-topic for this thread).

Edited December 13, 2022 by Telegan

[fifties]

On 12/12/2022 at 11:02 PM, Telegan said:

 

Just popped in to say being relatively new to pre-code and Golden Age horror comics in terms of collecting (and not extremely wealthy - lol!), this is the first Golden Age horror comic I think I ever bought, and that's not saying much, since I just bought it a month ago.

I've since followed it up with a copy of Mystery Tales #43

If your first GA book is an EC, please post a scan of it here. 

AFA the Mystery Tales book, it has a great cover image, but it's not GA or PCH.

[Silver]

On 12/12/2022 at 4:03 PM, OtherEric said:

No.

 

Thanks Eric! I guess I thought those were 25 cents!

[OtherEric]

On 12/13/2022 at 3:34 PM, Silver said:

Thanks Eric! I guess I thought those were 25 cents!

I apologize if my answer was a bit terse, but I figured the scans were more eloquent than anything else I might say.  I think one of the Picture Stories from Science also had a 15c price but I didn’t have a scan handy.

[Telegan]

On 12/13/2022 at 2:37 PM, fifties said:

If your first GA book is an EC, please post a scan of it here. 

AFA the Mystery Tales book, it has a great cover image, but it's not GA or PCH.

As for the EC comic, I'll see if I can get a scan of it in the next couple of days and post it in this thread.  Regarding the Mystery Tales book, yeah, it's not EC/PCH (that's why I said it would be off-topic for this thread), but not GA?  It's a 1955 book.  I figured anything to 1956 is considered GA (basing it on this : https://www.cgccomics.com/resources/glossary/ and the definition of "Golden Age" there) , but if I'm wrong, please correct me - I'm still learning.

[OtherEric]

On 12/13/2022 at 10:00 PM, Telegan said:

As for the EC comic, I'll see if I can get a scan of it in the next couple of days and post it in this thread.  Regarding the Mystery Tales book, yeah, it's not EC/PCH (that's why I said it would be off-topic for this thread), but not GA?  It's a 1955 book.  I figured anything to 1956 is considered GA (basing it on this : https://www.cgccomics.com/resources/glossary/ and the definition of "Golden Age" there) , but if I'm wrong, please correct me - I'm still learning.

I was going to say that nobody considers 1956 Golden Age under current definitions, but then I realized there is actually at least one exception that enough people use to be meaningful... the last EC comics.  But in general, I would say the only time a 1956 book would be considered GA is if it's the last few issues of a title (or better yet, publisher) that was primarily from the Golden Age but overran slightly.  It might also be used by some people for anything predating Showcase #4, but I think more people would use the Comic Code Authority introduction as the cut-off, assuming they didn't want to get a nice debate going on the subject instead.

It can be a very convoluted topic of discussion; there are even people who insist that the "real" golden age ended in 1945 with the end of WWII.  It's made even messier by the fact that most comic collectors simply do not have any Golden Age books in their collection, so they don't really need to know the details of what's considered what.

Hopefully that makes some sense, and welcome to the thread!

[Robot Man]

Technically, books from roughly 1946-1956 are considered to most to be “Atomic Age”. My favorite era and the backbone of my 50+ year collection.

As a kid growing up in the dawn of the SA, running into “10 centers” was always very special. Very prized by kids in my neighborhood. We rarely bought and sold them for money but you often had to trade several “12 centers” for one. They are still special to me. 

[OtherEric]

On 12/14/2022 at 8:46 AM, Robot Man said:

Technically, books from roughly 1946-1956 are considered to most to be “Atomic Age”. My favorite era and the backbone of my 50+ year collection.

As a kid growing up in the dawn of the SA, running into “10 centers” was always very special. Very prized by kids in my neighborhood. We rarely bought and sold them for money but you often had to trade several “12 centers” for one. They are still special to me. 

I must, respectfully, disagree.  In my experience, the only group where it's true most people consider them "Atomic Age" are, well, Atomic Age collectors.  Which is admittedly probably the most important group in this context, but in my experience collectors who don't seek out those books either don't know what the term refers to, or are confused as to why people insist on separating them from the rest of the golden age. 

I do like the term and think it's useful to distinguish the era from the rest of the golden age.

[adamstrange]

On 12/14/2022 at 11:46 AM, Robot Man said:

My favorite era and the backbone of my 50+ year collection

 

[Telegan]

Well, as promised, I thought I'd post my first EC/PCH comic that I picked up in an auction a month or two ago.  I really need to invest in a flatbed scanner as mine is too small for slabs, and I couldn't get a decent enough pic to want to upload it, so I'll go ahead and upload the original scan from the auction as a substitute :

[EastEnd1]

Was transferring some comics to a new safe deposit box and thought I'd share this super-rare EC... only fifty were printed and they were solely distributed to EC staff.  These rarely come up for sale anymore and I was very glad, and lucky, to pick this up in the 2000s...

[grendelbo]

On 12/14/2022 at 8:22 PM, EastEnd1 said:

Was transferring some comics to a new safe deposit box and thought I'd share this super-rare EC... only fifty were printed and they were solely distributed to EC staff.  These rarely come up for sale anymore and I was very glad, and lucky, to pick this up in the 2000s...

[fifties]

On 12/13/2022 at 10:00 PM, Telegan said:

  Regarding the Mystery Tales book, yeah, it's not EC/PCH (that's why I said it would be off-topic for this thread), but not GA?  It's a 1955 book.  I figured anything to 1956 is considered GA (basing it on this : https://www.cgccomics.com/resources/glossary/ and the definition of "Golden Age" there) , but if I'm wrong, please correct me - I'm still learning.

 

That issue of Mystery Tales was cover dated July, 1956.  Here's my reference; https://www.atlastales.com/title/184

In regards to "ages", I go by Overstreet, who defines the GA as the period from1938 to 1955.  Once the publishers had to submit to CCA rules, generally beginning with books dated in the second quarter of 1955, they simply were not longer of the same caliber as previous years. The Silver Age technically began in the fall of '56, with Showcase #4, so a good case could be made for, what to classify the comics that came out between April 1955 and October 1956.  They are not GA and technically not SA, although leaning in that direction because of their "cleanliness" as compared to pre code fare.

[Telegan]

On 12/14/2022 at 9:54 PM, fifties said:

 

That issue of Mystery Tales was cover dated July, 1956.  Here's my reference; https://www.atlastales.com/title/184

In regards to "ages", I go by Overstreet, who defines the GA as the period from1938 to 1955.  Once the publishers had to submit to CCA rules, generally beginning with books dated in the second quarter of 1955, they simply were not longer of the same caliber as previous years. The Silver Age technically began in the fall of '56, with Showcase #4, so a good case could be made for, what to classify the comics that came out between April 1955 and October 1956.  They are not GA and technically not SA, although leaning in that direction because of their "cleanliness" as compared to pre code fare.

Actually, you're correct - it's 1956, not 1955.  I'm not sure why I thought it was 1955.  I'm starting to learn that a lot of pre-code stuff is really a "Wild West" of sorts and has some gotchas and "left to interpretation" concepts.  Thanks for the info.