Complete All-Star runs in private hands...are there lots of them?

[tilleycs]

He agreed with my post. Basically, I would hate to spend years putting a collection together of WHAT APPEARS TO BE, HARD TO FIND BOOKS, only to see a slew of collections flood the market.

 

It's the SAME REASON people pay MAD MONEY to buy the highest graded copy. Yes, they have some idea that sometime in the future, a higher graded copy might come along, yet IF THEY KNEW there was a WAREHOUSE (or A COLLECTION) with a ton of HIGHIER GRADED COPIES, then they wouldn't pay as much (and maybe not even want it).

 

But that will always, always, always be the chance you take when buying high-dollar books. There is always the possibility of a warehouse find, regardless of what book it is.

[tilleycs]

Finding out decades down the line that there are boatloads of All-Star Runs out there in high grade would be deflating for me if I'd put so much time, effort, and dough into putting together a run (I'm not rich, so it will be a herculean effort if I manage to someday pull this off). But it wouldn't be deflating because I'm trying to keep up with the jones' or something. It would simply be deflating because I took so much time and effort to complete a quest that proved unecessary. Kinda like climbing a mountain that few others have reached the top, that kinda thing. Wouldn't it be a drag if you got to the top of the mountain only to find they'd built a mega-sized shopping mall up there?

 

Would it be a drag? It depends on why you were climbing, doesn't it? Not to go too "psychobabble" on this subject, but if you were trying to do it for bragging rights or to fill some kind of self-esteem need to be better than everyone else on some level, that's a fragile motivation to begin with. It all depends on whether you let the specialness (for lack of a better word) be taken from you. No one would be able to take away your accomplishment.

 

Everyone wishes they could have or do something that no one else in the history of the world has ever had or done, but "there's nothing new under the sun". Don't think I'm against your goal, I'm not. I hope you reach it. I just don't see why someone else doing the same thing would lessen your accomplishment. I don't think it's necessary to measure it against other people. Measure it from where YOU started.

[sfilosa]

. I just don't see why someone else doing the same thing would lessen your accomplishment. I don't think it's necessary to measure it against other people. Measure it from where YOU started.

 

A question for you:

 

Are you a high grade collector?

 

I says this simply because most HG collectors (which would be similar to a low grade collector of hard to find books), don't collect LOW AND MID GRADES, simply because IT WOULD BE EASY.

 

High Grade / Rare book collectors are not looking for easy task, that has been done hundreds of times. We want a challange. And part of a challenge is knowing that not every one else has already accomplished it.

[Fan4Fan]

I says this simply because most HG collectors (which would be similar to a low grade collector of hard to find books), don't collect LOW AND MID GRADES, simply because IT WOULD BE EASY.

 

I find this interesting....

 

Largely, because that is not what motivates me.

 

For me, I like a high-grade book because I can more easily relive the feeling of when I bought that issue originally off of the stands and read it for the first time.

 

Granted, the high-grade books that I have are largely Bronze Age....

 

Maybe I'm odd, but difficulty of collecting would be a major disincentive for me to do something like this for a hobby.

 

Thanks,

Fan4Fan

[shrunkenhead]

F4F, I don't think your stance is all that odd, though I think it does point to where the two dominant paths in the comic collecting world diverge (and no I'm not going to quote Robert Frost, I hate that effing poem!).

 

On the right hand, you have folk such as yourself, who buy highgrade bronze or silver because it gives them a nostalgic rush of sorts. Or they can identify with the characters (spidey, hulk, etc.). On the left hand, you have collectors who are only interested in the esoteric or hard-to-get. This could be in the way of high grade gold, or it could be the quest for obscure titles that most of the comic collecting world has never heard of (I need a highgrade copy of Doc Carter's VD Comics if anybody's listening!).

 

What makes one person pick Path A and another Path B? I guess it's largely contingent on your interests outside the world of comics. I have always been one to go after the unusual, the hard to find, and so on. It's just a part of my personality as long as I can remember. So when it comes to comic-collecting, I am typically NOT INTERESTED in books that were readily available in my lifetime (with some exceptions). Just as Path B holds no appeal for you, I have no desire to be a Path A-type of person. I'm not looking to relive an earlier experience; I'd rather hunt for buried treasure.

 

And I've got no need to revisit my childhood, as I'm right now (and forever more) in the thick of it!

[shrunkenhead]

With that said...

 

Does anybody happen to know of anyone with a nice All-Star run? Still curious as to what's out there....no need to name names if you'd rather not, but I'd love to hear some testimony!

[Fan4Fan]

F4F, I don't think your stance is all that odd, though I think it does point to where the two dominant paths in the comic collecting world diverge (and no I'm not going to quote Robert Frost, I hate that effing poem!).

 

On the right hand, you have folk such as yourself, who buy highgrade bronze or silver because it gives them a nostalgic rush of sorts. Or they can identify with the characters (spidey, hulk, etc.). On the left hand, you have collectors who are only interested in the esoteric or hard-to-get. This could be in the way of high grade gold, or it could be the quest for obscure titles that most of the comic collecting world has never heard of (I need a highgrade copy of Doc Carter's VD Comics if anybody's listening!).

 

What makes one person pick Path A and another Path B? I guess it's largely contingent on your interests outside the world of comics. I have always been one to go after the unusual, the hard to find, and so on. It's just a part of my personality as long as I can remember. So when it comes to comic-collecting, I am typically NOT INTERESTED in books that were readily available in my lifetime (with some exceptions). Just as Path B holds no appeal for you, I have no desire to be a Path A-type of person. I'm not looking to relive an earlier experience; I'd rather hunt for buried treasure.

 

And I've got no need to revisit my childhood, as I'm right now (and forever more) in the thick of it!

 

Good points... I felt like I sold my childhood when I sold my collection way back when. So, I'm slowly trying to reclaim a bit of it...

 

As to Path B, I do see the appeal, and I am pondering some buried treasure myself... still, I'd like to know it is out there (rather than not out there) so that I have a hope in hell of accomplishing it. I guess I hew more to tilleycs's take... I'd be collecting for me and don't care if its been done before.

 

But, as you say, each person collects in their own unique manner... and more power to 'em!

[Harvey Dude]

With that said...

 

Does anybody happen to know of anyone with a nice All-Star run? Still curious as to what's out there....no need to name names if you'd rather not, but I'd love to hear some testimony!

 

I wish I had the money to put together a nice run of All-Star comics. Here is the Edgar Church/Mile High copy of the last issue. Given the black cover, this book is almost impossible to find in high grade and since it is a last issue from the early fifties, it is scarce in its own right. I doubt if many "nice condition" runs would be intact to this day. This book contains the last golden-age appearance of Green Lantern, Flash and Dr. Mid-Nite.

 

[skybolt]

With that said...

 

Does anybody happen to know of anyone with a nice All-Star run? Still curious as to what's out there....no need to name names if you'd rather not, but I'd love to hear some testimony!

 

I wish I had the money to put together a nice run of All-Star comics. Here is the Edgar Church/Mile High copy of the last issue. Given the black cover, this book is almost impossible to find in high grade and since it is a last issue from the early fifties, it is scarce in its own right. I doubt if many "nice condition" runs would be intact to this day. This book contains the last golden-age appearance of Green Lantern, Flash and Dr. Mid-Nite.

 

 

Beautiful cover.

[archiefan]

With that said...

 

Does anybody happen to know of anyone with a nice All-Star run? Still curious as to what's out there....no need to name names if you'd rather not, but I'd love to hear some testimony!

 

I wish I had the money to put together a nice run of All-Star comics. Here is the Edgar Church/Mile High copy of the last issue. Given the black cover, this book is almost impossible to find in high grade and since it is a last issue from the early fifties, it is scarce in its own right. I doubt if many "nice condition" runs would be intact to this day. This book contains the last golden-age appearance of Green Lantern, Flash and Dr. Mid-Nite.

 

 

Beautiful cover.

 

That is just so so nice

[esquirecomics]

It's the SAME REASON people pay MAD MONEY to buy the highest graded copy. Yes, they have some idea that sometime in the future, a higher graded copy might come along, yet IF THEY KNEW there was a WAREHOUSE (or A COLLECTION) with a ton of HIGHIER GRADED COPIES, then they wouldn't pay as much (and maybe not even want it).

 

This is one of the reasons why I have suggested to CGC that they list the graded pedigree designations somewhere on their site, preferably in a searchable database. Other than the possibility of a special find whether from a warehouse or from a unknown collection (and it does happen, that's how I obtained my Batman #2 CGC 9.2), the likely HG copies are from one of the pedigree collections. It would be real helpful to know whether the other CGC 9.2 Batman #2 copy is MH, Larson, SF, etc, so I can assess what else might still exist that could compete.

[tilleycs]

A question for you: Are you a high grade collector?

 

Why, what in the world would make you ask that? Am I? No, probably because of this difference in collecting philosophy. Now you've done it, you've brought out the philosopher in me...don't say I didn't warn you...

 

I says this simply because most HG collectors (which would be similar to a low grade collector of hard to find books), don't collect LOW AND MID GRADES, simply because IT WOULD BE EASY.

 

High Grade / Rare book collectors are not looking for easy task, that has been done hundreds of times. We want a challange. And part of a challenge is knowing that not every one else has already accomplished it.

 

I choose not to collect high-grade books because I don't view comics as an investment, and I don't think it would be wise for me to do so. I also don't want the stress associated with them ("Oh my God! I just dropped it/sneezed on it and cost myself hundreds of dollars!"). Why set yourself up for such a headache? And where's "the thrill of the hunt" when all you have to do is be willing to write a bigger check than everyone else?

 

To me, it's the same as buying a $7,000 couch. Yeah, you own it, but what good is it if you don't let yourself or anyone else sit on it and enjoy it (and God forbid anyone would want to come NEAR it with food or drink!)? It may be the most expensive couch in the neighborhood (oooooooohhhhhhhh aaaaaaahhhhhhh), but in the big picture, TO ME, big deal. Same thing with cars - if my Sentra gets me everywhere as good as your H2 or Mercedes, TO ME, you sure have wasted a lot of money to accomplish the same thing (getting from place to place), unless of course you bought it to make up for something lacking in yourself (which is an issue that no amount of high-dollar comics or cars or anything is going to fix). I'm too busy trying to save for retirement (since SS won't exist then, remember? ) to waste my money (that's MY money, not yours) on high-dollar issues.

 

My challenges in the hobby are different. Since I only collect reader copies, my goal is to get full runs as cheaply as possible. My challenges run more along the lines of keeping it in perspective as a hobby, and controlling my hobby instead of letting it control me and get me neck-deep in debt.

 

I have nothing to prove to anyone by having the highest grade of any issue, and my self-esteem certainly doesn't hinge on doing something with funny books that no one has ever done before or owning "the very best" of anything. Geez, have fun, already, will ya? We are much more than our hobbies.

 

I relate to wanting to get full runs, and I understand wanting rare books (I own a few rare books on pro wrestling), but the point of spending money on high-grade issues when you can get the same issue (since my interest is in reading them) for much less, I have to admit, is lost on me. Just view me as a lack of competition, all you high-grade collectors.

 

A lot of it, obviously, is a money issue for me. I don't see it as the smartest thing to do with your money, but not everybody's goal in life is to be smart with their money (and I don't say that to say that I'm better than them, it's just a difference in philosophies - I'm sure they see me as a bottom feeder and a tightwad - although I prefer the term "frugal" ).

 

Whew! Carry on.

[Aman619]

I skimmed this thread so sorry if I repeat anything already said. IMO putting together a run of All=Star isnt that hard... if you dont care for HG. You can find Gs and VGs and pretty quickly have every copy.. Same for Batman and Detective. Its going for solid HG that becomes difficult both financially as well as supply-wise.

[Larryw7]

With that said...

 

Does anybody happen to know of anyone with a nice All-Star run? Still curious as to what's out there....no need to name names if you'd rather not, but I'd love to hear some testimony!

 

I wish I had the money to put together a nice run of All-Star comics. Here is the Edgar Church/Mile High copy of the last issue. Given the black cover, this book is almost impossible to find in high grade and since it is a last issue from the early fifties, it is scarce in its own right. I doubt if many "nice condition" runs would be intact to this day. This book contains the last golden-age appearance of Green Lantern, Flash and Dr. Mid-Nite.

 

 

Holy [#@$%!!!], that looks brand new! What colors!

[Aman619]

I just looked at Metropolis and they currently have ALL but 18 issues in stock. Thats 66% of the run in one stop shopping. If you leave out the sole copies that are HG as too expensive, you can still make one phone call and be over HALF WAY home...

 

Go for it!!

[Fan4Fan]

A question for you: Are you a high grade collector?

 

Why, what in the world would make you ask that? Am I? No, probably because of this difference in collecting philosophy. Now you've done it, you've brought out the philosopher in me...don't say I didn't warn you...

 

I says this simply because most HG collectors (which would be similar to a low grade collector of hard to find books), don't collect LOW AND MID GRADES, simply because IT WOULD BE EASY.

 

High Grade / Rare book collectors are not looking for easy task, that has been done hundreds of times. We want a challange. And part of a challenge is knowing that not every one else has already accomplished it.

 

I choose not to collect high-grade books because I don't view comics as an investment, and I don't think it would be wise for me to do so. I also don't want the stress associated with them ("Oh my God! I just dropped it/sneezed on it and cost myself hundreds of dollars!"). Why set yourself up for such a headache? And where's "the thrill of the hunt" when all you have to do is be willing to write a bigger check than everyone else?

 

To me, it's the same as buying a $7,000 couch. Yeah, you own it, but what good is it if you don't let yourself or anyone else sit on it and enjoy it (and God forbid anyone would want to come NEAR it with food or drink!)? It may be the most expensive couch in the neighborhood (oooooooohhhhhhhh aaaaaaahhhhhhh), but in the big picture, TO ME, big deal. Same thing with cars - if my Sentra gets me everywhere as good as your H2 or Mercedes, TO ME, you sure have wasted a lot of money to accomplish the same thing (getting from place to place), unless of course you bought it to make up for something lacking in yourself (which is an issue that no amount of high-dollar comics or cars or anything is going to fix). I'm too busy trying to save for retirement (since SS won't exist then, remember? ) to waste my money (that's MY money, not yours) on high-dollar issues.

 

My challenges in the hobby are different. Since I only collect reader copies, my goal is to get full runs as cheaply as possible. My challenges run more along the lines of keeping it in perspective as a hobby, and controlling my hobby instead of letting it control me and get me neck-deep in debt.

 

I have nothing to prove to anyone by having the highest grade of any issue, and my self-esteem certainly doesn't hinge on doing something with funny books that no one has ever done before or owning "the very best" of anything. Geez, have fun, already, will ya? We are much more than our hobbies.

 

I relate to wanting to get full runs, and I understand wanting rare books (I own a few rare books on pro wrestling), but the point of spending money on high-grade issues when you can get the same issue (since my interest is in reading them) for much less, I have to admit, is lost on me. Just view me as a lack of competition, all you high-grade collectors.

 

A lot of it, obviously, is a money issue for me. I don't see it as the smartest thing to do with your money, but not everybody's goal in life is to be smart with their money (and I don't say that to say that I'm better than them, it's just a difference in philosophies - I'm sure they see me as a bottom feeder and a tightwad - although I prefer the term "frugal" ).

 

Whew! Carry on.

 

My '91 Jetta and I salute you!

[skybolt]

A question for you: Are you a high grade collector?

 

Why, what in the world would make you ask that? Am I? No, probably because of this difference in collecting philosophy. Now you've done it, you've brought out the philosopher in me...don't say I didn't warn you...

 

I says this simply because most HG collectors (which would be similar to a low grade collector of hard to find books), don't collect LOW AND MID GRADES, simply because IT WOULD BE EASY.

 

High Grade / Rare book collectors are not looking for easy task, that has been done hundreds of times. We want a challange. And part of a challenge is knowing that not every one else has already accomplished it.

 

I choose not to collect high-grade books because I don't view comics as an investment, and I don't think it would be wise for me to do so. I also don't want the stress associated with them ("Oh my God! I just dropped it/sneezed on it and cost myself hundreds of dollars!"). Why set yourself up for such a headache? And where's "the thrill of the hunt" when all you have to do is be willing to write a bigger check than everyone else?

 

To me, it's the same as buying a $7,000 couch. Yeah, you own it, but what good is it if you don't let yourself or anyone else sit on it and enjoy it (and God forbid anyone would want to come NEAR it with food or drink!)? It may be the most expensive couch in the neighborhood (oooooooohhhhhhhh aaaaaaahhhhhhh), but in the big picture, TO ME, big deal. Same thing with cars - if my Sentra gets me everywhere as good as your H2 or Mercedes, TO ME, you sure have wasted a lot of money to accomplish the same thing (getting from place to place), unless of course you bought it to make up for something lacking in yourself (which is an issue that no amount of high-dollar comics or cars or anything is going to fix). I'm too busy trying to save for retirement (since SS won't exist then, remember? ) to waste my money (that's MY money, not yours) on high-dollar issues.

 

My challenges in the hobby are different. Since I only collect reader copies, my goal is to get full runs as cheaply as possible. My challenges run more along the lines of keeping it in perspective as a hobby, and controlling my hobby instead of letting it control me and get me neck-deep in debt.

 

I have nothing to prove to anyone by having the highest grade of any issue, and my self-esteem certainly doesn't hinge on doing something with funny books that no one has ever done before or owning "the very best" of anything. Geez, have fun, already, will ya? We are much more than our hobbies.

 

I relate to wanting to get full runs, and I understand wanting rare books (I own a few rare books on pro wrestling), but the point of spending money on high-grade issues when you can get the same issue (since my interest is in reading them) for much less, I have to admit, is lost on me. Just view me as a lack of competition, all you high-grade collectors.

 

A lot of it, obviously, is a money issue for me. I don't see it as the smartest thing to do with your money, but not everybody's goal in life is to be smart with their money (and I don't say that to say that I'm better than them, it's just a difference in philosophies - I'm sure they see me as a bottom feeder and a tightwad - although I prefer the term "frugal" ).

 

Whew! Carry on.

 

I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't need to own a HG GA copy to feel good about my collection, but at the same time I hate having a book with multiple tears, stained cover, spine roll, etc. The cover to me is just as important as the story inside. That being said, the average grade for my GA collection is between 6.5 and 7.0.

[tth2]

I says this simply because most HG collectors (which would be similar to a low grade collector of hard to find books), don't collect LOW AND MID GRADES, simply because IT WOULD BE EASY.

 

I find this interesting....

 

Largely, because that is not what motivates me.

 

For me, I like a high-grade book because I can more easily relive the feeling of when I bought that issue originally off of the stands and read it for the first time.

 

Granted, the high-grade books that I have are largely Bronze Age....

 

Maybe I'm odd, but difficulty of collecting would be a major disincentive for me to do something like this for a hobby.

 

Thanks,

Fan4Fan

 

I like HG for the reasons expressed in both your and sfilosa's posts. Aesthetically, I love 40+ year old books that still look new. Similarly, I am awed by the fact that such fragile documents could survive for so long in such good condition, and therefore I enjoy the challenge of finding these rare books that have defied the odds.

[DarrenSmith]

What makes you think there will be a market for a run of All-Star Books 65 years from now? Your potential buyers are not even born yet and why would they even desire these books?

 

Why do people buy POTTERY that is thousands of years old. Or PAINTING 500 years old, or FURNITURE that is 200 years old? Because they want to and to the best of my knowledge, none of these people LIVED when the ITEM was MADE.

 

I pondered what you said for awhile and I have decided you are trying to compare apples to oranges. First, the items you have listed are collected because they were made by a person and not massed produced by machinery. They are collected mainly for their artistic value.

 

Now I am not knocking collecting All Stars, it was just the comment that alluded to their value 65 years from now. I have several books in my collection that I know will eventually diminish in value over time, but I love the books so much I keep hold of them.

 

Darren

[Aman619]

speaking of paintings 500 years old. I wonder just how valuable they were considered merely 130 years after their creation? Im curious, just who owned the Old Masters works in the 1600s? And how were they [erceived at that point? Were they already considered priceless? Or was it just in the last 100 or even 50 years that they reached mythic status?