Atlas Comics Gerber 6 Issues

[fifties]

Atlas Comics were so widely distributed that most seem to fall in the Gerber 3,4,5 categories, but a precious few were actually 6's. Here are my half dozen;

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Iksar]

Very cool books. I guess there aren't any 7s?

[goldust40]

Very cool books. I guess there aren't any 7s?

 

Surely there must be a few.

[Flex Mentallo]

Very cool books. I guess there aren't any 7s?

 

Surely there must be a few.

 

In reality, many. From Ernie's POV 20 years ago? I dont know.

[Johnny545]

Very cool books. I guess there aren't any 7s?

 

Surely there must be a few.

 

Strange Tales 1, 25 are both 6's if I recall correctly, no 7's in that Pre Code run.

[mrmyst]

Very cool books. I guess there aren't any 7s?

 

Surely there must be a few.

 

I know you know which ones

 

 

[fifties]

Very cool books. I guess there aren't any 7s?

 

Surely there must be a few.

 

In reality, many. From Ernie's POV 20 years ago? I dont know.

All we can really go by, however, is what Gerber categorized, when he did. You might also assume that his numbers then would still be valid, given that most of these would have already been in the hands of collectors, by that time.

Very cool books. I guess there aren't any 7s?

 

Surely there must be a few.

 

Strange Tales 1, 25 are both 6's if I recall correctly, no 7's in that Pre Code run.

Yes, I believe you are correct, and there are some others. Does anyone have any to display here? I know that one other member does have a JIUW 11.

[Pat Calhoun]

[Johnny545]

[goldust40]

Very cool books. I guess there aren't any 7s?

 

Surely there must be a few.

 

I know you know which ones

 

 

[RICK STARR]

Here are a few listed as 6's.

I could not find any 7's listed by Gerber for the usual horror/scifi titles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the only Mystic as a Gerber 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am surprised this is a 6. Seems not that uncommon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RICK STARR]

 

 

Cannot forget this one, definitely at least a 6, maybe a 7 in scarcity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fifties]

Thanks for the additional research, Rick; apparently I have two more 6's than I was aware of, in the genre.

 

 

 

 

[jimjum12]

Here are a few listed as 6's.

I could not find any 7's listed by Gerber for the usual horror/scifi titles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the only Mystic as a Gerber 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am surprised this is a 6. Seems not that uncommon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....I sure wouldn't mind that common Speed Carter..... as for Gerber, I just looked through my set and 'ole Ernie has WAY too many 3's in his SI for me to take his data on Atlas very seriously..... he has AIT 17 as a 3...... the equivalent of , say, an FF 20. Not in this World. The problem with Gerber's scarcity index (as good as it is...)is that it is all based on material that he chose to carry in his auctions..... so this excludes items that folks chose NOT to consign or sell to him.... and also items that he chose not to deal with. When his PhotoJournal was released, Atlas comics had not been the hottest thing on the planet, to put it mildly. Customers were few and prices were low..... so the better material may have just "seemed" scarce because people just didn't want to sell their VF's (at the time...) for $ 96 minus commission. His data is a piece of the puzzle, but nothing more. In my experience, his index is usually more accurate at levels of 7 and higher. 4 through 6 are OFTEN interchangeable..... and 3's and below are an almost pointless effort to consider. Billy Buckskin # 2 is at least a "7"....... GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

P.S. I have a friend who participated in many of Gerber's auctions..... and Ernie DID turn up some amazing stuff....

[fifties]

The thing of it is, Gerber's SI is the ONLY one available, AFAIK. Until someone comes along with a better yardstick, it's really the only reference we have.

 

I believe however that he WAS accurate, at least with the Mystic 9, given that it's not displayed in his Photo Journal.

[jimjum12]

...... all that means is that during about a one to two year time period he was unable to find a Mystic 9 or possibly deemed it too unimportant to focus on. There are quite a few Atlas books missing from his volumes. He has almost half of the Adventures into Terror run as Gerber 3......which is the same scarcity level he assigns to Daredevil 8 (Marvel edition)....... that's just not even close to accurate. I check out the scarcity index often...... it's a neat tool...... but if you ever followed any of his auctions and the type of material that Gerber generally featured, it's pretty obvious when certain books , publishers, and even genres may have received "arbitrary" consideration . This is not meant as an insult......as his was a MONUMENTAL undertaking. With his index, a Gerber 4 represents a population of 1000 to 2000 remaining copies (quite a variation in itself) and is considered "average" scarcity.....with a Gerber 3 being much more common than that. His "data" on Adventures into Weird Worlds is a bit closer to reality, with mostly 4's and 5's. That run is certainly not that much more scarce than Adventures into Terror..... in fact, in my experience the two runs are about equally scarce..... with many more issues deserving of a "6" than his study shows. Now a "7", by definition 21 to 50 remaining, is a level at which I personally don't believe many Atlas books would qualify. I wish I knew more about the Circle 8 pedigree, as that is a find that includes many of the post code issues and purportedly had as many as 200 copies of some 1950's comics (though I have yet to see specific examples....and I HAVE searched).

....... By the way, I am enjoying this topic.....and more light needs to be shed. It's a shame Ernie didn't have the opportunity to carry his project into the Internet Age where he could have put in place mechanisms to further embellish these scarcity levels. Personally, I feel that very few Atlas books from 1950 to 1954 should be characterized as 3's.....and the presence of so many casts a doubt, for me, on the accuracy of his source information in regards to Atlas. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[fifties]

He has almost half of the Adventures into Terror run as Gerber 3......which is the same scarcity level he assigns to Daredevil 8 (Marvel edition)....... that's just not even close to accurate. I check out the scarcity index often...... it's a neat tool...... but if you ever followed any of his auctions and the type of material that Gerber generally featured, it's pretty obvious when certain books , publishers, and even genres may have received "arbitrary" consideration . This is not meant as an insult......as his was a MONUMENTAL undertaking. With his index, a Gerber 4 represents a population of 1000 to 2000 remaining copies (quite a variation in itself) and is considered "average" scarcity.....with a Gerber 3 being much more common than that.

Well I dunno...I was heavy into building up my collection from eBay auctions from 1998 to about 2001 or so, and assembled an almost complete run of Adventures Into Terror, and close to that for most of the other Atlas horror titles.

Now granted that these were/are mostly reader copies in the G - VG range, but he makes no distinction in the SI as to their grades, but rather just their existence.

 

My point, however, is that they were relatively, "cheap and easy (to get)", which would lend credence to his estimates of scarcity. I would agree that one would think these books should garner a Gerber 4 SI, but given my experience back then, might still have to give the nod to them being 3's.

 

Like I prefaced, eh eh, I dunno.

[jimjum12]

Assembling so many is a commendable feat. There were some good deals to be had on eBay back then and it's a shame no more information was gathered about their scarcity. There certainly isn't anything remotely resembling common availability there today.... nor on any Dealer's websites with the possible exception of Metro..... who sells a lot but doesn't seem to be doing a lot in the way of restocking. Terry Stroud has focused on Atlas for close to ten years now and he always indicated to me that they were very difficult to replace as inventory. Your point about the SI not being related to condition is a good one. I have a good friend who has owned an LCS in the area for 35 years and I've seen the collections that have come through his doors over the years..... anything you could think of....as this is a Military heavy region with a large population..... and SA Marvels qualify as 3's..... Atlas, eh, not.It's not a small sampling, he easily has a couple thousand long boxes in his warehouse. I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree about this one. But I appreciate you starting this topic..... scarcity has always been an interesting subject to me. GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[jimjum12]

Scarcity analysis is further complicated by other issues such as demand and popularity. The less demand, the less an item is likely to be made available .... and the more popular or coveted, the less likely folks will be willing to sell. Both of those factors can create an illusion of scarcity that may be inaccurate. Adventures into Terror 20 is a favorite of mine and I count myself lucky to have a VG/F.....and I believe Gerber calls it a 3. I would imagine there would be a thousand copies of ASM 24 (also a 3) for every one copy of AIT 20. Maybe I make a big deal out of something that isn't..... it's just that accurate data is something I deal with at work every day (SPC Analysis and QC... Manufacturing related)..... so inconsistencies in numbers and their correlation stick out to me like a sore thumb. I have greatly enjoyed all the fantastic story scans you've provided, Fifties, and I hope I haven't come across as a pompous know it all..... as I sometimes (unintentionally) do. GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[rjpb]

Atlas must have been under the radar for many collectors back then. As I recall, Gerber didn't even bother with images for the end of the AIT run, and maybe one or two other Atlas PCH runs as well, an ignominy usually reserved for longer running romance titles.