Atlas Comics Gerber 6 Issues

[jimjum12]

That's what I noticed also..... and again, not meant as a slight towards Gerber. What he put together in a couple years is awe inspiring. His focus would naturally be a bit more biased towards what he felt would be a marketable end product. Okay...... one more example..... Black Rider Rides Again # 1 is a "3"....... I'd bet there are a hundred copies of FF 1 (a "4") for every ONE copy of BRRA 1 ...... just saying. Gerber is still, to me, one of the guiding lights in fandom.....and the release of his PhotoJournal is a top 5 seminal moment..... it put the fun back in collecting for many people. GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[RICK STARR]

 

Great conversation and insight here by all. I think one reason we are not seeing some of the more appealing Atlas issues is because of the number of Atlas collectors now.

What's a good guess? Mine is 150-300 collectors, maybe more. A lot of issues are locked up in collections and duplicate issues hoarded. They are only sold or traded when an upgrade is acquired. Jimbo, I agree that Gerber may have assigned arbitrary SI numbers to many issues that was simply "guessimates". There are definitely some actual SI 7 's on several issues as many long time collectors realize.

Besides all the boardies on this thread, I know of at least 10 other heavy Atlas collectors (some dealers) with some complete runs of certain titles. They just are not selling. I have first dibs on one collection when it becomes available.

Well thats my .

[jimjum12]

Gene Carpenter of All American Comics (alas.... no website) is another of a handful of dealers who actively carry any volume of Atlas to speak of, told me that also..... and his ever changing selection illustrates that. I wish they were more common..... I think. Maybe it's a thrill of the hunt thing intrinsically .....GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[fifties]

Well guys, having registered on eBay in May of 1998, for the specific purpose of adding to my -at the time- meager collection of PCH readers, I will say that I have noticed a difference in the offerings available over the last few years, vs what was being auctioned back then.

 

This doesn't pertain of course to just the Atlas label, but for one thing, there were quite a few more of the really outrageous covers, i.e., Black Cat Mystery 50, Crime SS 22, Weird Mysteries 5, etc. available back then, and at reasonable knock down bid prices. Atlas issues, except for very hard to find numbers, or those with Wolverton or Matt Fox stories, could be had relatively cheap, vs other labels.

 

My THEORY is that collectors, over the years, on this national garage sale board, have absorbed up a good part of the collectible stock, leaving much less now for sale. And the very desirable covers, along with upper grades for most of the rest, are now in the stratosphere price-wise, as savvy collectors will make one pay through the nose before they'll part with theirs.

 

As one small example, personally, I have removed from the marketplace close to a thousand PCH comics that are in my collection and not going anywhere until I'm six feet under, . That shrinks the availability pool by that much. If 200 other collectors have the same intention about their books, then none of the Gerber 6's or numbers above would be available anywhere, assuming his scarcity numbers are reasonably accurate.

 

[rjpb]

When we talk about a book's scarcity in the marketplace, there are really two separate topics, scarcity in general and scarcity in the more desirable grades. There is all manner of lower grade Atlas PCH available cheaply on ebay, and even most of the more "classic" covers do show up with some regularity, though not cheaply anymore, but finding them in much better than VG is another thing all together.

 

For the run and publisher completists there are no doubt elusive books in even low grade, but that may be as much random chance as true scarcity. As many on this thread have pointed out, even the most common Atlas pre-code shows up with far less frequency than any SA Marvel, and the same could be said for most books published prior to the 1960s. Unless one is extremely diligent and willing to pay top auction prices, it can sometimes take years to find fairly unremarkable books at condition and price one is comfortable with, even if all they are looking for is a decent VG copy.

[fifties]

There is all manner of lower grade Atlas PCH available cheaply on ebay, and even most of the more "classic" covers do show up with some regularity,

I'd have to disagree on the classic covers. When was the last time you saw a Men's Adventures 25 (shrunken head cover illus.) on eBay in any condition?

 

AFA other Atlas reader grade copies, yes, to an extent, but nowhere near the variety that used to be offered. They have apparently been absorbed by the collecting community to a large extent.

[rjpb]

There is all manner of lower grade Atlas PCH available cheaply on ebay, and even most of the more "classic" covers do show up with some regularity,

I'd have to disagree on the classic covers. When was the last time you saw a Men's Adventures 25 (shrunken head cover illus.) on eBay in any condition?

 

AFA other Atlas reader grade copies, yes, to an extent, but nowhere near the variety that used to be offered. They have apparently been absorbed by the collecting community to a large extent.

 

There is a low grade copy of MA #25 available right now. Price is perhaps a tad high for condition, which is why it's still available, but knowing the seller I'm sure a deal could be struck.

[fifties]

Prices;

I bought a copy of Mystic 4 (Basil Wolverton story) off eBay earlier this year for $72 in VG condition. This morning another, in about a half grade higher condition, sold for $267.

 

Atlas prices seem to have exploded just during this year.

[quicksilver]

Tell me about it - I'm just glad I've finished.

[BOOT]

1. Hey, look at all these great comics!

 

2. Hey, where did all those great comics go?

 

[jimjum12]

Last year forum member Mark Woodcock compiled this into a spreadsheet. Here's a public google docs version of that:

 

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhStfAK4gPs0dDM4RThoVi16c3RXejhoMnRsT0tMOVE&hl=en_US

 

.....though it may take a few minutes to scroll through..... for those interested, the Mile High Church copies of any remaining Atlas books at the time of the 1977 Mega Catalog..... and not all are "bucknekkid MINT"....... GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u